Blogging From A to Z - 2018 - S is for

Welcome to the letter S in the A to Z Challenge for 2018.  I've been making my way through the alphabet at Michaels Arts and Crafts store (thanks once again to Jacqui Murray at WordDreams for the inspiration).  This is the letter I've been waiting for the whole month!  It is the one nearest and dearest to my heart.  It is SCRAPBOOKING.  Sorry for shouting but I just get so excited!

Paper first of all.  This is the single sheet section which I rarely use because it can get very expensive at up to $1 a sheet!

These are the 8-1/2 x 11 inch packs that can go as low as $2 a pack.  That's pretty good.  It's still not my favorite though.

These paper pads are more like it.  This was a recent sale at 70% off which meant a pad of 12 x 12 papers (48 sheets) was $5.  I must confess I have a bit of a paper addiction so I have to really control myself when I see this sale.

They come in smaller sizes too.  This is 6 x 6.

Can you say tons of paper?

Such pretty collections!

I'm not a fan of Martha Stewart and don't like buying her name brand products because I don't think she needs any of my money but she does come up with some really pretty designs.  My favorite of this batch is the one on the bottom right corner.

Of course, you need albums to put the papers in.  Michaels has quite a few of those too.  My preference is 12 x 12 ring bound.  I just find them easier to add pages to and I like the way the book stays open.  

Recollections is the Michaels' brand for a lot of scrapbooking items.  These are post-bound albums which are okay if you are doing a specific theme or limited event album.  

Lots of different styles here too.

Next up is the tools.  

Paper trimmers and punches galore. 

You can find hole punches in a lot of different sizes.

Fiskars is a big brand in this area.  

So now we have the paper and the albums and the tools to cut and punch with.  Next we need some stamps.  These are clear acrylic stamps. 

Tim Holtz is a big name in this department and some of his stamps are locked up because they are expensive.  

I love this one.  "The nice nurse is on vacation" she says with the needle in her hand.  I have given a few shots in my former occupation as a medical assistant so it makes me chuckle.  There were a few patients that it would have been funny to say this to.    

Dylusions is another brand.  She is way out there with her stamps.

There are wooden stamps too.  I always find those a little harder to work with because if you don't get the stamp done perfectly the first time it is hard to re-stamp in the same exact spot.

If you are stamping, you need ink.

Some other things you can use are paints and sprays.  I love the vibrant colors here.

These are special crayons that work with water to make very interesting effects.

Stickers is another necessity in scrapbooking.  There is a vast array of themes.

Rows and rows of everything you could think of.

Travel

School

Baby

There are some VERY expensive tools you can get too.  The old fashioned typewriter has made a come back.  Who knew?  Pretty sure I'm not spending $200 on a typewriter when I can get the same effect more or less with my computer.

This is the Cricut machine.  It, too, is very expensive and it is for cutting intricate details and also works using your computer.  I haven't gotten into this one and I'm not sure I want to start.  

The Cricut machine itself can run up to almost $300.

It has its own section of tools and special papers that go with it.   

Some people have compared my scrap room to a scrapbooking store but I don't know what they are talking about:

Looking in the room from the door.

My Original ScrapBox Workbox.  They are on a 3.0 version now but I got my 1.0 on sale for a bargain.  Each one of those drawers hold some sort of craft supply.  You can see some of my ribbon hanging on the side (used Command hooks for that!)

On the right wall.  Scrapbooks in progress, my printer.  The drawers hold alphabet stickers and words and sayings.  More paper and card making kits.  My coloring books.  On the bottom right is a binding machine to make my own books. 

The left side of the room.  Those binders are from Totally Tiffany and they are full of different supplies organized by themes.  It makes it easier to find things if I have them all in one place.  The drawers underneath hold specialty 8-1/2 x 11 paper, blank photo paper and other special scraps.  The desk itself is a sewing machine table but with all those binders on top of the sewing machine I don't really sew ever.  

My paper tower.  This is most of my 12 x 12 sheets.  The box on the bottom holds some 6 x 6 pads.  I need to do some rearranging here as you can see I have no room for some of the pads I just got (see above 70% off section - LOL)

Most of my wooden stamps.  I've pretty much stopped buying wooden ones.  There is a way to take the stamp off the wooden block but I haven't started that process yet.

Some of my acrylic stamps.  I have a whole binder full of smaller ones and another container full of just Christmas stamps.

Inks

See, I have some of the vibrant paints too!

Some stickers.  I have a lot more in the binders with their appropriate theme (school, baby, Christmas, Travel, Dads, Music, Party, etc.)

Five drawers full of punches.

And just in case you were feeling sorry for me because I didn't have some of the more expensive tools, here are a couple that I do have:  

My Slice machine.  It was among the first of the die cutting machines to come out.  The company has stopped making them but I am pretty covered in supplies.  I can cut almost any shape or letter with this small machine.

This is my MISTI stamp platform.  It allows me to stamp with any acrylic stamp over and over again in the same spot.  I also have the newer version of this by Tim Holtz.  Both are staples for me when stamping.  

I didn't even touch on a lot of the things in the scrapbook section like brads and all the different markers and chalks, stencils etc.  The glitter and adhesives I covered already in G for Glitter and Glue.  I have all those things too, but figured this would be enough about scrapbooking for most people.

One of the things I've wanted to do for a while was make a video about my craft room and the way I have it organized because I know I like looking at other people's systems to get ideas.  Maybe after the A to Z stops consuming me I'll do that.

So, what do you think?  Can I rival Michaels in the scrapbook section?  I actually think, stamp for stamp, I have more acrylic stamps than they do, but they have me way outnumbered in paper and albums, for now.  Hope I haven't bored you too much.  Stop by the other S-rs and come back Monday for T - no, not the drink.


(Note:  I decided I should add a disclaimer to these posts because I certainly don't want to give the idea that I am being paid by Michaels to do this or that they are furnishing me with material.  All pictures used in this blog series were taken by me at local Michaels stores, or are my personal pictures and every Michaels store may not have everything shown.)