Pants on Fire or is it Just California Again?

 Look, I sympathize with all victims of a natural disaster. No one wants to lose their home, their property, their stuff, or their communities. It's horrifying to those of us who have never been close to such things. I haven't ridden out a hurricane or ducked into the basement when the tornado siren sounds. I don't live on the coast where potential tsunamis might wash ashore. I have weathered only a couple of frightening earthquakes but mostly they are small and few. I have survived an ice storm that knocked out our power for a week. Our house stood, cold and frosty, but it was never in danger. So, I can't say how I'd be feeling if I went to work one day and found out that I couldn't go home because it was no longer there. 

I understand that California has had so much trouble with wildfires that it's almost a joke to the rest of the country. I mean, I admit when I first heard the news, I wasn't surprised or even interested. California was on fire...again. But something about this fire grabbed the nation's attention and I think it was the fact that it was taking out communities of rich, famous people. California has had devasting wildfires for years now, but once million-dollar homes and affluent neighborhoods were burning to the ground, it has become a crisis. Now the blame game really sets in; now someone needs to be held accountable. NOW something has to change. 

California has had plenty of time and opportunity to get their shit together when it comes to land management. Natural spaces need protection, not just preservation. If we aren't going to do anything about climate change, then we better start doing something about what damage it brings.  Trees will grow and grow healthier when they aren't competing for resources. So thin them out. Let timber companies harvest responsibly. 

I'm not an expert on how to manage a forest so I'm not going any further than the last paragraph about how California should manage its resources. It's not the point I'm trying to make anyhow.

The point is that it doesn't matter if the state screwed up. It doesn't matter if the federal government fucked up. What matters is that many people have lost homes and belongings and even whole communities. Those people need assistance and aid. And they should have it as any other citizen of this country receives it when a natural disaster strikes. I would only say that those who have the funds to rebuild of their own accord should refrain from diverting funds from those who do not. The government funds to supplement people in times like those are not a bottomless well. Funds run out. Take only what you need and leave some for the rest. 

The rhetoric about withholding aid until California officials and the governor get their shit together is ludicrous. The only people to get screwed in that are the victims that have already lost their homes. No one brought this up when Hurricane Helene took out homes in several southern states. No one said, "hey North Carolina, get your shit together! Don't you have building codes? Aren't you prepared for Hurricanes? Maybe you need to make home insurance mandatory? No money for you until you figure out how to keep your houses from falling over when the breeze blows." A Hurricane's path is more predicable than a wildfire, but it's not 100% accurate. That's why you have a million "models" every time new wind readings trickle into the weather center. Wildfires can shift drastically when the winds change. So, if you're going to help Hurricane victims out, you better be helping with the wildfires. California didn't cause the fire (even if they certainly haven't helped litigate the risk) just as North Carolina didn't ask for a Hurricane to plow inland. Politicians need to shut their yaps and write some checks.

Especially if the fires wiped out wealthy affluent neighborhoods. It might be hard to raise campaign funds in a state that's been told by the Federal Government to suck it up. The politicians and pundits who jumped on this train better rethink this. You're basically saying that it's a waste of taxpayer money, and other states shouldn't have to foot the bill for California's bad management policies. When California stops paying into the Federal government more than it gets back, maybe you'd have an argument. Fact is what the F is taxpayer money for, if not for helping other citizens recover from a natural disaster?! That's one of the things I don't mind my taxes paying for. Just like infrastructure, maintenance of government buildings, and public green spaces. Ask one taxpayer if he minds that his tax money is helping a family rebuild their home after a wildfire. I wonder what they'd say.

-Wy

Four More Years

 I can't really explain how I feel. It feels like the 5 stages of grief. I'm trying not to waste too much time in Anger and hurry up and get to Acceptance but it's not working out very well. I'll get there but I won't get there too soon. Hopefully by Inauguration Day: it will be the biggest, most attended Inauguration in the history of the country. *sigh*

I watched election results until about 1 AM, fell asleep, woke up and turned it off at 2 AM and nothing was looking good for Harris. When the Harris campaign comes out and says, "We're still optimistic", you know it's over. So today, this morning Nov. 6, I've been doom-scrolling and trying not to let my anxieties grow. I'm telling myself that this isn't the end of the world; just the end of the world as I know it. Sorry, Kamala, I just can't stay optimistic. I've already lived through 4 years of his BS and now I've gotta live through it all again but worse.

Convicted felons, in some states, can't even vote but they can become President. You can inspire an Insurrection and become President. You can threaten to use the power of the President's office against your political rivals and still be elected President. You can convince the voters that most of what you say is just "locker room" talk and have it proven in a court of law that it isn't but still be elected President. You can campaign for over a year with only ONE appearance with your wife at your side and still be elected President. If Melania can't take the time to put in a few good words for you...

I'm just gonna say this. Why is it that America votes for ANY man over a woman? You can pull a serial killer out of prison to run for President and he'll win if he runs against a woman. The smartest, strongest, most likeable woman ever will be defeated by a reprehensible man. DISCLAIMER: I'm not referring to Harris here, nor even Trump. Just sayin, it seems like America doesn't want to vote for a woman, no matter her character or experience, or intelligence. Women will always appear weak and second-class in this country. F you.

In 2016, when Hillary Clinton seemed to have it locked up, we got Trumped. I didn't chalk it up to her being a woman. I was surprised. I was called a snowflake and told to suck it up by MAGA supporters. I accepted the loss and got behind a new President because I believed that he was just full of hot air. He couldn't possibly be as incompetent as I thought. He would never follow through on all his BS: Build a wall, repeal Obamacare, defeat China with tariffs. But guess what? He did. He fucking tried it all! Even more. And when Covid came around, he was displayed as a buffoon and glory-seeker. We got a vaccine in record time and that is the only good thing he can claim because he did nothing else to allay our fears as a nation or even as a world.

When his term came to an end, when another old white guy was elected instead of him, he pouted and threw a tantrum refusing to leave the office. Yes, he did. He refused to cooperate with the incoming President's team and bring them up to speed on a CURRENT PANDEMIC. He held a rally on January 6th that inspired his followers to storm the Capitol, to complete an Insurrection. And he fiddled while Rome burned. He sat around and did nothing to stop it. The minute he got around to addressing those folks (and calling them good people), the violence stopped and they went home. He, Trump, had that power to STOP IT and DID NOT. So MAGA can say that he didn't incite anything...but he didn't stop it either. AND HE COULD HAVE.

When Trump left office, I didn't call anyone a snowflake. I did tell people to suck it up. I had been told that when my candidate loses, I need to suck it up. So that's the way it works, right? But apparently when Trump's followers lost, they had to call foul. They claimed election fraud, voting machine tampering, destruction of ballots, and on and on. No peaceful transition of power. No shake hands with the other team. No good sportsmanship. Just a kindergarten tantrum. 

WHAT IS IT? WHAT IS IT WITH TRUMP?

He's not that charming, he's not mysterious, he's not good-looking. He's an asshole. He's a bully. He doesn't care about anybody but himself. He's a spoiled rotten rich kid that thinks the world revolves around him. He believes that if he is the President, then he is America, and the people have to do what he says. Back in 2016, I was fairly confident that the Republican party would reign him in, slap him around, and make him play politics. They didn't. They let him go. They didn't stand up to him and any of his BS instead many representatives doubled down and backed him up! Even the Congresswoman of my own district, Elise Stefanik. She stands behind him and his BIG LIE even though he can't even pronounce her last name correctly. That's the kind of disrespect he shrugs off. If he really cared about your support, you'd think he'd at least take the time to say your name correctly. I've never heard him say it right, never. Suck on that, Elise.

Ok. Ok.

I need to find my center. I see that I'm ranting about Trump as a person rather than his policies which is why he should be elected. So, what are his policies? Good question. He wants mass deportation of "illegals". He wants the wars to end. He wants to fix the inflation problem with tariffs on imports. He also wants to use the Presidental power to take revenge on his political rivals. He also wants to use the military to put down protests he doesn't like. He wants to cut the tax rate for the wealthy and for corporations. He wants a military parade in his honor through Washington DC. He wants Puerto Rico to drop off the face of the Earth. He wants to be Putin's best friend. Just how is he gonna accomplish any of this? Has he even given us a plan? Oh, yeah, I forgot, he has "concepts of a plan". He didn't need a plan until he actually became President. So NOW he needs the plan. And I'm guessing it just might be called Project 2025.

It's not that I was enthusiastic about Harris. Some of her "plans" didn't make much sense to me. In fact, it annoyed me every time she (or her campaign) mentioned she was going to improve Medicare so that it would pay for in-home elder care. It already does. It doesn't pay for what is really needed: long-term care. She seemed inclined to carry on the support of Israel as it attacks all of its neighbors. But overall, I agreed with more of what she talked about than with Trump. Women need healthcare and they need to have an enshrined right over their own bodies. And listen up, boys, if we don't have those rights, you might not be gettin any!

Why were these two the only choices I had? Sure, I could write someone in but that seems like a waste of my vote since no one else would vote that same way. So few of us vote in this country anyway! In my rural county of NYS, less than half of the registered voters actually voted. I'm going to save that line of thought for another post.

I've vented enough and am starting to feel a little better. I think I'll go look at some cat videos and google search how to become a Canadian citizen. 

Just one last thing: I'm going to call it now. In two years (or less), Trump will ask Congress to repeal the 22nd Amendment that limits how many terms a President can serve. I know he's pretty old but I think he'd try it just in case his health stays good. He will also utilize every nuance of the Supreme Courts expansion of Presidental power; he will commit crime and call it an "official act".

sigh

Only 3 years and 364 days to go.

Just Follow Me on This

 Here in the US, you hear a lot of rhetoric about Freedom. It's as if we have cornered the market on it. There's plenty of Freedom out there and many countries embrace it, but Americans always seem to forget that. Like we invented it or something. But how Free can a person really be? I'm not Free to do ANYTHING I please. Even the Ten Commandments limit Freedom or whichever religious doctrines to which people subscribe. Our Freedoms don't allow us to go around murdering people or stealing from them. Our Freedoms don't even allow me to walk where I want because apparently all land is owned by "someone". 

Despite many Freedoms, or Rights, being preserved in the Constitution and Bill of Rights, we still exist in a society that works within the confines of certain norms, certain morals, even certain status. Freedom isn't the same as Equality and this country demonstrates that very well. We are free to practice any religion we choose but if we choose to practice one that is not mainstream or what our local community deems as "proper", we face backlash and stigmatization. So while our Freedoms are guaranteed, our Equality is not. It's taken forever for races to equalize, and it still has a way to go, if the current political nightmare is any example. Even genders still have to equalize as women are still paid less than men in many professions and continue to be treated as second-rate citizens. There are plenty of inequalities in this country, but none seem more misunderstood than financial inequality.

The difference between the poor and the wealthy is a cavernous gap. It seems that everything people depend on for a quality of life, a comfortable life, costs money. When you don't have money, you don't got nothing. Unfortunately, I mean that. Seriously. Name one thing we don't pay for. One thing that is entirely free. Fact is, we can't even live on One Thing. Food, Shelter, and Water are three things necessary for survival at bare minimum. We want a quality to living and that requires even more. So at the root of our America is Money. 

Money buys groceries and pays the rent/mortgage/property tax. Water might be free but you need to pay for a well to be drilled and again, the taxes on the property. True, we could grow our own food but you'd need more land to raise animals for meat. You could be Vegan and simply grow vegetables and fruit and all, but land ain't cheap. What happens when the weather turns bad? If your crops go under? The original point to diversification of employment was so that not everyone had to tend the garden at home. That freed some people to do other tasks/jobs like learning medicine, studying science, teaching kids, building houses or what all. We don't have to be self-sufficient, but the trade-off is that money must pay for everything. That value is what is ingrained in us as children. The value of anything is measured in how much money someone will pay for it. 

As a kid in school you were always asked what do you want to be when you grow up? A fireman, an astronaut, a teacher? We were delicately pushed into reliable jobs with good pay and benefits. You want to be an actor? Ugh, well maybe. You want to be an artist? A starving artist? An entrepreneur? How about a pharmacist? They make good money, and you don't have to deal directly with "sick" people, mostly. Now look, maybe times have changed and it's not quite so bad. Maybe parents and teachers do really let children follow their dreams. But honestly, if those dreams don't pay off, parents are stuck with their kids forever. It's in the parents' best interest to get those kids into good-paying jobs.

The point I'm trying to make here is that even as young children, we are taught that to be happy and successful means making money. We hold jobs we don't like because it pays well. We work with people we don't like because our retirement depends on it. We work overtime because if we lose this job, we lose our health benefits. We hold jobs because we need the money. Did we ever hold jobs because we liked the work that we did? Did the job ever have a value that wasn't connected to dollars? Did we ever get any personal satisfaction from it? The answer to all those questions is the true American Dream; if someone could answer "yes" to all of that, then they are living the Dream. 

We have stress because we can't work enough to pay for what we need. Not for what we want; what we NEED. If we can't work enough to pay for the things we need, how will we ever get rid of the stress? Stress that causes us to overeat, or to become fatigued. Billionaires will never understand, even if they've come from nothing. They have what they need and what they want. They have it millions of times over. The poor have stress and anxiety, wondering if they can make the rent or mortgage payment this month. The poor work paycheck to paycheck and Billionaires don't. The wealthy don't understand the fear of checking your bank account every time you pay a bill or make a transaction. That, I feel, is the true definition of being poor: checking your bank account daily.

When I felt financially secure, I hardly ever checked my account. I knew that I had enough money for my expenses and some extra. When I wasn't, I had to check every day, to be sure that I had enough to stagger my bills through the month and not miss one. A paycheck went in and the money went out the next day for a bill. If it's more than anticipated, like the electric bill, the account would slowly draw down. It was like watching a plane crash in slow motion; you know it's gonna hit the ground but when? Many people will say at this point, get another job, get a better job, get trained for a better job, go back to school. See, here's the real kicker, education costs money unless an employer foots the bill. If you can't pay your bills, you ain't paying for education. Even knowledge costs money.

But hey, yes, there are high-paying jobs that pay for everything a person needs. Guess what? Not everybody want to do them. Surgeons make a lot of money but I'm not cutting into people. Carpenters make a lot of money but I'm not much for building or math. Here's the thing: the jobs that make good money, I hate doing. It's not that I couldn't, it's that those jobs do not make me happy. They are the slog. They are the pit of despair. What I like is to do nothing. To write when I feel like it. To play games. To make art and play with papercrafting. To bake. But the things that I enjoy are not valued in this society in the way that is worth cold, hard, cash. 

Before anyone reading this gets their panties in a wad because I said I like doing nothing, allow me to elaborate. When activities aren't valued (aka not a real job), they don't pay well therefore they are worth nothing; they are nothing. But it isn't just that. It's that I have a physical rhythm. Some days I can accomplish a lot and some days I want to stay in bed all day. Working 9 to 5 on a day I'd rather be in bed stresses me out. The stress triggers anxiety and the anxiety builds because if I don't work, I don't get paid and I can't pay my bills. Not everyone in the world is built to work a standard job for 40 hrs a week (or more in most cases). Yet everyone in America is expected to or they are lazy and working the system.

No disrespect to the motivated workers out there who take pride in their jobs and have a substantial bank account and retirement savings. I'm talking strictly about us poor people. Paycheck to paycheck people. The working Poor. Why can't we be free, too? Why can't we stop watching our bank account draw down every time we need our car fixed? Why is it so hard to raise the minimum wage? Or to separate health care benefits from employment? Or to give workers more of a tax break EVEN IF THEY DON'T HAVE KIDS?!

Money, money, money, money, money...

It even dictates our laws, our elected officials, our manufacturing...it's EVERYTHING. 

Money may be the root of all evil, but it makes this world go round. I'm getting run over.

End.

Wy 

Blog CPR

 Does anyone use this platform anymore?

Does anyone Blog anymore or is it all Vlogs and YouTube reels?

I have come back to this platform because I like words. Photos are great and they grab your attention, but I honestly feel more comfortable with words. 

I see that my last post was back in 2021. I would have guessed before the pandemic as it seems like I haven't posted on here for soooooo much longer than that. I suppose in the world of social media that is a very long time. 

I missed my daily journaling and my posts here. My daily art activities fell into the abyss and that's to be expected when Life and Death catch up to you. I am being vague on purpose. Information may leak into these pages, but this post is to simply test the waters. Not that it ever really mattered if anyone was listening out there when I first started this blog. But it grew and became a reservoir of my artsy beginnings. More about stuff and things.

I think for now, the blog will become a host of feelings. I have felt very introspective of late and need a repository for all those conflicting feelings and tangled hypocrisies. Perhaps, I have hit my Mid-Life Crisis. Journaling has always made me feel better, so I feel like the blog needs to step back into action. 

So, for anyone who has happened upon the resurrection of this blog, please take note: all my old posts are still here. All 500 of them. But don't expect those kinds of things anymore on a regular basis. I envision this blog to be like the script of a podcast, a talking to myself, WORDS without sounds. Mostly it will become my mind drippings and mental wanderings on whatever subjects might pop in there. It may be very opinionated. It may be wrong. It may be unpopular. It may be brilliant. It will be my own. 

Readers, you may feel free to leave a comment and while I will read them, I doubt I'll respond. Introverted people hate to converse so don't expect much engagement here. If you need acknowledgement or attention, go to TikTok or X. I'm no longer into drama. But if you insist on arguing, I'll write paragraphs of expletives and use small words so your small minds can comprehend them. This blog will not be family-friendly and curse words may be found in any post. The angrier I am about something; the more cuss words will be in it.

Other than that, I hope to be back to my sporadic posts soon. I have not set a schedule for new posts, but I hope to write one every week. Starting...Now.

Chill.

Wy

The Color Palette Journal: Autumn Feast

 It's been awhile. 

I have no excuses or apologies. No one should.

But I do have a layout to share from the Color Palette Journal. I randomly selected a palette from my Pinterest board and will select another when this is posted. I work in a small Dylusions journal and my main mediums are ink and paper. This journal focuses mostly on rubber stamping and collage.

Here's the Autumn Feast color palette:

I didn't want to go the Autumn route but that's where I ended up because I just love Autumn!

Here's what I made:

I decided to make the leaves in the two shades of brown and use the colors in the background. I used a stencil set I hadn't used...ever. It's simple, faintly familiar, and just what I wanted: something to get the mojo flowing. As with many of the art journal pages I've shared on this blog, their main purpose is to spur my creativity and just settle my anxious mind. 

On to the next...

-Wy

oh, and yes...I have been contemplating this year's Halloween projects. I await a little inspiration from Tim Holtz in August but I have begun to think on some things that I'd like to get done that I have left over from previous years. Stay tuned. Halloween is coming.

The Art Journal: Uk'otoa

 So I watch a show on Twitch/YouTube called "Critical Role". It's a bunch of voice actors playing D&D. It doesn't sound like much of a show but it is, even if you don't know anything about D&D. It's a good story telling time.

Anyway, they recently released a new game and the promo that goes with it just stuck in my head as an earworm. (as good promotions will) So I decided to make an art journal spread about it. I'm pretty happy with it even though the song is still stuck in my head. (if you want the song stuck in yours, too, you can find it HERE.)

I did another video scan over of the spread since it's so large. It's uploaded to YouTube so I can embed it here. But I've got some still photos below that. This spread is done with mostly spray inks but there is some acrylic paint in there. This is in a large Dylusions journal, the flip style that is landscape, mostly. I mainly was ripping pages out of this to use as single sheets but now I'm just trying to do up the journal as I don't really like this long landscape format. (I should have just ripped it ALL apart but I already had done some pages so....) 

Have a great weekend!

-Wy

The Color Palette Journal: Red or Pink?

 I finished another spread in the Color Palette Journal. I will be randomly selecting the next one from my Pinterest Board.

My main problem with this palette was the dark red/pink/coral color. I couldn't decide what color it actually was. I thought, at first, a dark coral...more orange than red. But when placed next to the pink, it appeared more like red or a dark pink. I mention this because these are usually the hang-ups that prevent me from getting a layout done in good time. I begin to fixate on finding the "perfect" match and then I get nothing accomplished. I often forget that I'm the one setting the rules, so I can be the one to break them!

So here's what I made. It's simple and straight forward mostly for the reason mentioned above. I wanted to focus on the water droplets in this photo but completely forgot about that aspect in my quest for the perfect color. 

Here's the Color Palette that I had selected:

Here is my journal page:

Despite my color confusion, I had a great time making the spread. The red color is a neon shade that I thought would look more pinkish. But I still like it and it made me happy. It gave me a chance to use up some scraps and play with some newer supplies in my stash. (Karin Markers and neon ink pads)

On to the next...

-Wy

The Color Palette Journal: Fabric or Feathers?

 The random palette selected this time had a photo that was difficult to say what it was exactly. At first, I thought it was fabric but on closer inspection, it might be feathers. In any case, I took neither of these to heart.

This palette is difficult for me as many of these colors are ones that I rarely, if ever, use. Reddish purples aren't my faves and the dusty colors aren't in my wheelhouse. I managed to scrounge together some ink pads and markers that came close to this palette and I just did a simple watercolor background. 

The completed pages aren't any masterpiece, but I like the final outcome. Hey, it's just a journal page and now that it's done, I can get on to a different set of colors. Hopefully, ones that are more inspirational. 

-Wy

The Scrap Stash Project: Finished Projects

 Here's a quick photo display of some of the cards and projects I completed from the Scrap Stash Project.

I made mostly A2 size cards but I got a few slimline done as well. I had quite a stack by the time I was finished.

Best of all, I also have an empty scrap bin!

-Wy

The Scrap Stash Project: The Motherboard

 I've been using up my Scrap Stash recently and I'm rather surprised at how well and efficiently I've managed to whittle down the pile of parts and pieces. From a file folder stuffed with patterned papers, I've used up my larger scraps. But what to do with the smaller or odd-shaped bits?

Here's where it gets interesting. I am not the originator of this method. I read about this in a magazine article years ago and it was called The Motherboard. If you want to use up a lot of scrap bits all at one go, this is the method I highly recommend. And I've recently discovered a way to jazz it up a bit. But first, the original method.

A Motherboard is just a collage of paper. I used to make them in large sizes (like 8.5 X 11) and cut them down to card fronts. But I've changed my method as it's easier for me to work in the card front size from the beginning and I don't have to worry about cutting through multiple layers of paper with my trimmer. 

So here's how its done: cut a piece of paper/cardstock to A2 size. This is your base. Add a selection of paper pieces to the base with adhesive. I have found that I have lots of long rectangles and square shapes in my scrap pile. I like to make stripe backgrounds with these. Just cover the whole base and voila, a background ready to attach to a card base.

Wanna know how to make this even easier? Use sticker paper or an adhesive sheet as your base. You know those sheets of label paper that you can run though a printer? THOSE are awesome. Just cut them up to base size (or just use the whole sheet and then cut it down), remove the backing to expose the "sticky" side, and add your scraps to it. I like to just hang the scrap paper over the edge of the base and trim it off with scissors. That way, I don't have to get frustrated trying to line up an edge. It's all scraps anyway!

Wanna jazz this up? Make it look a little more cohesive? When you use the sticker paper, leave gaps between your pieces where the adhesive is still exposed. In those gaps, you can make a little magic.  

One thing you can do is add embossing powder to the sticky gaps between your papers. Once heated and melted, you get a glossy layer in your background. Just a reminder that embossing powders come in many forms and not all are great at sticking to the back of a sticker. But if you like this textured look as shown in the photos, it's pretty easy to do. If you prefer a smoother look, you'd have to use a very fine embossing powder or apply layers of embossing powder. That is not so easy as you'd have to apply an embossing ink over only certain areas. I like the textured look. (Though, I didn't try it, you could also apply very fine glitter in this space and burnish it in. Not sure if it would stay attached and I'm not a glitter girl.)

Or you can make it even easier (but no less messy) by adding foil to the sticky parts. I tried this a couple ways and here's what I discovered.

If you want to use those foiling sheets, like Deco Foil, that run through a laminator, it might work. I tried that. However, I discovered that because some of my scraps were more heavy-weight papers, the thickness prevented those foils from adhering everywhere. I couldn't get the foil in contact with the adhesive on the paper without having gaps. Those gaps, of course, would then stay sticky. If you had larger open areas, those types of products will work. For my applications, they didn't. As you can see from the photos, I wanted the foiling to simply fill in the gaps. (I will also mention here, that I did not try running it through a die cutting machine. It may be enough pressure to make the foil adhere without heat. In this method, I am not using a laminator to apply the foil: I'm relying on the adhesive, which is not heat stable.)

To fill in the small areas, I used a product called Mega Flake. (Cosmic Shimmer makes a product called Gilding Flakes. Same thing.) There are several products like this on the market and it's not anything new. It used to be called "gold leafing". This product is a jar of very thin, metal flakes. Imagine a very thin piece of aluminum foil chopped up like a salad except you have a mixture of metals like gold, copper, and silver. These flakes can then be applied to a sticky surface (some have a special glue that remains tacky when dry) and burnished into the surface. This type of product works sooooo goooood for this application.

So I used a sticker label sheet cut down to the size of a card front. Exposed the adhesive. Laid down all my paper scraps and applied the flakes to what was left sticky. These flakes are very light and full of static so be prepared for a mess as bad as a 4 year old with glitter in a sprinkle jar. But the results are worth it. I would recommend working on a bare, hard surface that is easy to wipe off because the little bits of flake will become glitter and get everywhere. (I personally worked on my floor. My floor is covered with vinyl tiling and it was a simple matter of sweeping up when I was finished.) Be sure to follow the directions that the product provides. It requires a little burnishing and some buffing. Mega flake and the Gilding Flakes come in mixtures of colors and these flakes provide a more mottled look as seen in this last photo. Heads up: Flakes of this nature are also less shiny than the foil sheets. Just a FYI.

Also, you can use the two products together. Just use the foil sheet first, then add the flakes to fill in any gaps the sheet leaves behind. This will also give you a bit of a mottled interesting look.

I didn't count how many backgrounds I got from my scrap pile but I had a large stack on my desk when I was done. I'm still working through finishing some of them but next post I'll try to remember to share how I finished these.

-Wy

PS: Here's what those "flakes" look like.

The Scrap Stash Project

 I don't know a paper crafter that doesn't keep their small paper scraps. Some keep them for the duration of a project and some keep them for years (or decades). I keep them but, for the last few years, I have been good about using them. Once the pile gets to the point that I can no longer find things in it quickly, I pull it all out and use it. If I can't use it then, I pitch it. (Yup, you heard me; pitch it!)

I'm dedicating this post to how I managed to use up a pile of scraps and the things I made with it. I hope some of this might help you conquer your scrap stash. I'll probably have a couple posts regarding this ongoing project so stay tuned.

First, I pull out all the paper scraps. I sort them by color. I put them into rainbow order and put patterned papers in with the color that predominates. (If it's pretty equal, I'll just put them into the color family with which I would pair it.) As I am doing that, I am pitching any paper that is too small or is looking a little rough around the edges.

Any white or black (or sometimes ivory) cardstock is kept separate. I put these scraps into another pile. I use these scraps to stamp sentiments on for my cards or if the pieces are large enough, I'll also stamp images to be colored and die cut. I'll also use them as bases for ATCs, ATC Coins, and book marks. Colored cardstock scraps I am keeping to die cut as I recently invested in a die cutting machine. 

Second, for each color family, I sort the stack by size. Larger pieces may be big enough to be a A2 size background or they may be a good mat for a focal image. This is where I'll usually begin. It's easy. I start matching background paper to card bases and I assemble them right then and there. Do I have a finished product? No. What I have is a start. When I have a background all ready to go, all I have to add is an image and a sentiment or word, perhaps. I find my cards appear more cohesive when I have the background all selected as I can color a stamped image to match the colors of the card base.

For large pieces, it's easy to think in terms of a greeting card. But when you get down to the smaller pieces or odd sized pieces, you need to think in terms of other things. For instance, I use a lot of smaller pieces to make ATCs (artist trading cards or coins), bookmarks, or layered embellishments from geometric shapes.

The nice things about ATCs is that these could be used on a greeting card as a focal point. But I also keep a lot of my ATCs because I tend to use my favorite papers on them. Bookmarks can be laminated if you keep in mind not to use 3D embellishments or layer too many papers. If it's too thick, it won't laminate well but regular cardstock with a couple layers of patterned paper or stickers work pretty well.

Now you may wonder why I bother to sort things by color if I'm making backgrounds for cards and small projects. It's easier for me to see what papers I can pair up together. When papers are sorted into the same color family, it's pretty easy to see how many shades, tones, or values of color you have. If you're going to pair multiple colors together, you want to make sure those match between color families. It's also easier for me to match stickers or embellishments that I already have to these colors as well.

So that's the first step with the larger scraps. In the next post, I'll share my secrets of the Motherboard.

-Wy