2022 Christmas Journal

I love to make journals but I don't write in them. I love to make jewelry but I really don't wear much jewelry also. So sometimes you just run across something that your heart desires to make because it's so pretty and you just have to have it.

That's what happened here. I ran across the journal pages to print off on etsy. They are by ARTYmaze. Her name is Andrea and she designs collage papers that you can print out to make colorful and beautiful journals of your own.

You can make them just like she shows on her YouTube channel or do your own thing. You learn so much just by watching her do it. And you get tips along the way you can use with all your crafting. I was surprised that I could make this journal with all the stuff in my stash. I didn't have to buy a thing. I'm a craft supplies hoarder and I freely admit it.

I don't have a laser printer. I have an ink tank ink jet ET2700 Epson and I love it. I only have to buy ink about once every 15 - 18 months. Really! But for the savings, you do sacrifice a little quality. I cannot get it to print vivid and deep rich colors no matter what I do. It just won't do it, not even on the highest quality and vivid print settings. Ink jet print does not compare to the richness of a laser printer. But I have a trick that makes my prints look like they are printed on a laser printer.

I use Prismacolor colored pencils to color the prints. And YES it does make them rich and it does make them look like laser. If you loved to color with crayons as a child then you will not mind coloring over your prints in places. These pencils are translucent and each layer gives a little more depth and color to the print. I only used two pencils, grass green and crimson red to deepen the colors. These high quality soft colored pencils leave a waxy sheen that also imitates laser ink. It makes the graphics pop. 

On this journal I used what I had with the prints that I got and the freebies on Andrea's facebook site. It is probably the prettiest journal I have ever made. I need to start earlier next year if I'm going to make them for gifts. I worked on it over several days to get it done.

I love the use of stitching on the sewing machine and fabric swatches mixed with paper and little bits of bling here and there. I might make some more of these.

My Winter Journal

I'm a paper addict and I've always been one. I like to make journals and sometimes I run across some beautiful papers and just have to make something with them. I saw these papers on etsy. They are from SSdigital studio. Go look them up.

I love the colors of blue, silver and white. And I love the watercolors of wild animals. It's the perfect kit. So I made a 5" x 7" album out of four brown paper lunch bags and covered the pages with these digital prints.

The paper pack has plenty of cards, tags and papers to make a very large journal and frankly I printed too much stuff for my little journal. I should have made two journals or one big one. It is stuffed to the gills with all these beautiful graphic prints.

I really enjoyed decorating it with glitter, inks, ribbons and shiny papers. I made a belly band with paper and ribbon to slip on and off to hold it closed because I didn't want to have to keep untying and tying the ribbon every time I opened it.

Look at all these beautiful graphics! I love the paintings and the watercolor texture shows in the print too. This is one of my favorites. I'm working on three at the moment. This one, a rabbit journal and a Christmas journal, all made from brown paper lunch bags. 

And I have another one coming soon maybe after Christmas with a flower cart/market/delivery truck theme with a cutout paper cart in the works. The papers are from MyPorchPrints on etsy but I don't want to get ahead of Spring just yet.

I didn't even use all the papers and tags that come with this set. There are so many of them to mix and match. I want to add some white sparkle snow and snow flakes to the pages but I'm almost done with it. Then it's on to the next.

It was such fun to work on this beautiful graphic kit. The only thing it was missing was a polar bear. I loved all the glitter!

A Good Time Was Had By All!

And what an event it was! Three days full of crafting and fellowship with Griffinites across the globe. It was a crafter's convention in virtual reality. There were so many beautiful things made and friends made along the way. My favorite class was the ornaments. I loved making these!

The creative juices were flowing. We got to learn not only how to make better crafts but a little peek into each other's lives and guess what? We're all alike! It doesn't matter what your background or where you come from, we all share the same loves, hobbies, heartaches and trials.

I did have my first Create forever marked for me and I know I'll never forget it. My twenty year old cat Smokey passed away at 5:00 Saturday, November 12th, before the start of the second day of Create 8. He was my Russian Blue, my 'little old man' and he loved me too. Even toward the end he would purr when I stroked his head. He couldn't see very good but he recognized me. 

He had the loudest purr. He was actually the sweetest, most loving cat I've ever had. He loved boiled chicken (he was a foodie) and he could eat his share even with no teeth. I will miss him every day. 

I think I would still be on an ugly cry and would have done that all weekend had it not been for Anna Griffin's Create 8 event to keep me very busy so I really didn't give myself time to grieve, but I know my little old man is in kitty heaven now. He was a good boy.

So I dove into the crafts, and the meeting rooms. I couldn't participate much in the craft rooms online because my connection on my phone kept kicking me out of them. My computer doesn't have a camera and microphone but maybe it will next year.

Yes, I'm going to do my best to make sure I attend next year. It is the best thing I've done for myself in quite a while. It is an extravagant  'indulgence' and I usually am more practical than that. Yes, it does cost money to attend but you get to stock your craft room and have a lot of fun. It's totally worth it!

That being said, it's cheaper than a cruise. I will have to save up every year to make sure I'm able to attend.

Who would want to miss making stuff like this? It is the most beautiful stuff I've ever seen. It's like looking at glitter for the first time! So pretty!

And it just kept getting better and better each day. There were prize drawings. I didn't win anything but a lot of stuff was given away! A lot of stuff!!!

Everyone was nice and friendly, sweet and genuinely caring and kind. I loved every minute of it! I got my box of supplies three weeks before the event and you are suppose to prep by cutting out things for every class and then make stuff along with Anna giving you tips and showing you how to put them together BUT -

I couldn't wait. I knew I didn't want to rush around and miss watching the class so I made at least one of everything before it even started. How did I do that? There's plenty of stuff so you have a lot of extra materials. So I used that. You don't have to follow along exactly, you can do your own thing and all the dies come with basic instructions and examples. 

I just had to wait until the week before for Anna to post the actual items we would be making and then just make them up from looking at a photo. Easy peazy. I already know how to put stuff together so I really didn't need the classes but I did appreciate all the tips and tricks, even though I had a few of my own. I just wanted all that stuff in the boxes - and I took it from there. I made so much stuff beforehand that I did enjoy watching, chatting and posting to social media along the way. I was a social butterfly! I can craft anytime but I can't interact on this level very often. 

If you were trying to keep up with Anna - forget it! Her team preps everything in advance and you are in real time. You will never be able to keep up unless you have a team and know in advance what you will be making. So many people get frustrated trying and they feel like a failure because they can't keep up. I just avoided all that and had a blast with it. I did make stuff on my time but I was all in watching the classes, participating in the chat and uploading my projects on social media platforms. I couldn't have done that if I were cutting and gluing and trying to make stuff in a frenzy. And yes, she does go fast. Faster than you can sitting at home. 

I did make a few things with Anna in the classes like the double diorama... I did that in real time and finished it later. And I made a few birthday cards in real time and I didn't like feeling rushed. Glad I made some in advance. I have all 12 birthday cards done now though.

Look at how much stuff I made!!!

Making memories at the #annagriffincreate8 event! 

Create 8 SPOILER - (part 2)

This is the crafting event of the year for every paper crafter and I'm sure it will not disappoint. Just being with a creative bunch of like-minded individuals is the thrill of a lifetime. To be surrounded by people who "get" you will be amazing. It's so hard to wait so I made some decorations for my stash from papers I already had and a few more things while I was trying to be patient but I finally gave in. You just can't put a box of stuff like this in front of me for 3 weeks and expect me to just not touch it... that's never going to happen!

I made so much wonderful, beautiful stuff. I didn't wait until the event started to dig into my boxes of crafty goodness. I had at least two of everything made before the event started, except for the folding screen and the feather charger. I made up my mind early that I wanted to participate and actually watch the videos and not spend my time feeling rushed, looking for stuff and cutting and putting it together. I made the ornaments for class and added my own bits to make them my own. I love these ornaments and as you can see, I love glitter and bling!

I'd heard from previous event goers that they found it hard to keep up. So I decided to get ahead of the game. I took it a step further than just cutting stuff out and letting it sit there for long. Really I just wanted the big boxes of goodies to play with. The classes were a bonus but I already had it figured out how to put most stuff together. They come with instructions and most of the class projects you can figure out how to do them once they're shown. I was off and running from the day I got that box!

As soon as the class prep videos were available and I could see what we were going to actually make - all except for the class charger and feather dies - I got busy. I was surprised that the dies I didn't like much turned out to be the ones that made the most beautiful cards. Once I figured out how to cut and layer those edge border dies I was hooked on them. There are little tricks you can use to cut and line up the edge. If you play with them enough, you can figure it out on your own. And I even figured out how to make my inner papers match the edges perfectly. A lot of the things I used were from other kits and items I already had.

Tip: I put the inner paper inside the card and traced the edge with a pencil so I could line it up perfectly when cutting the die out. It worked! When the card is closed it lines up perfectly. And to keep the shadow die from cutting the inner card edge I had to let it hang over the magnetic mat when I ran it through. Hey, that's two tips!

I made 8 ornaments, 2 dioramas, 2 albums, 8 tags plus the 4 class tags, 4 kirigami cards, 6 birthday cards, the 3 edge border class cards plus 1 more, 1 feathered charger and 1 folding screen before the classes even started. Couldn't wait! I'm an old retired crafter and I've been making stuff all my life so the classes weren't necessary for me but I intend to enjoy every minute of them anyways. My boxes were re-organized and most of my stuff was moved out to my other storage. I left some things out in case I want to make more stuff but one box is already mostly filled up with all the stuff I made.

I think I can make this keep going until Christmas or beyond. I hope to learn some new tricks and tips at Create 8! It starts in only 5 days! I am so excited!