Serpent Scraps

Izzie has been so absent from Cyberia lately. Simply slinking and lurking rather than squiggling. This state of affairs has not been helped by the fact that the Portkey to Cyberia does work but the connection is terribly slow and that the ancient Precioussss is playing sneaky games. Bad enough spitting the dummy and freezing when getting to 12gb of a 14gb backup and refusing to even acknowledge the existence of the podkin let alone allowing Izzie to update it with new gloomy music and baby backups.
But it's now chewed up Chatzilla and one of its two usb ports which just makes pottering online more of a hassle and less of a wonderful escape from mundane muggleness

But there's also been other temptations. Been a culture vulture feasting on museums and art galleries in July and returned to an older addiction - library books

While at the library in early July came across a notice for a scrapbooking class to be held there on Thursday 16th. It was two hours long and only 10 silver sickles. So why not try it thinks Izzie. It is time to start dipping our toes into the creative world
Actually, from looking at books about scrapbooking and lurking around craft and paper shops, it seems like the hobby from hell for Izzie. A feast of sentimental and sloppy slush and kitsch full of photos of pathetically happy families for a creature who despises and detests kids and is noted for the total absence of photos of herself or any dreary Dursleyish relatives. They are not in our wallet or on the mantel piece or in photo albums or online or anywhere at all.

The class lasted a good bit longer than two hours and there was only 3 scrappers and one teacher! All materials were provided and Izzie knew from slinks in supplies stores that the kits certainly would have cost at least the 10 silver sickles for the course. There were buttons, braid, die cuts, fluffy flowers, pretty printed papers and card
It was so strange getting the paws on scissors, paper, rulers and rubber stamps after so many years absence. Nothing like getting the paws wet to get the taste for more
The serpent has not gotten all sad and slushy but after getting the puke button pushed more than once by the sadness that is scrapbooking, got the notion of adding an evil twist and using it for our own nefarious purposes

Izzie's real obsession is tarot cards and learning how to do decorated journals or altered books and some of the scrappy skills are just the things needed
Was especially impressed with the many effects that can be created with rubber and acrylic stamps.
But apart from the slush, it struck Izzie that scrapping is infested with the same disease that plagues quilting and just about any leisure time activity these days. What began as a resourceful way of using up scraps of fabric or finding inventive uses for old magazines, buttons, ticket stubs and bits and bobs ends up becoming a huge industry where all these things can be got ready made and at a much higher price than the original materials ever could have cost.
There's craft stores that specialize in nothing but pretty coloured squares of fabric for quilt making and the ridiculous prices that the scrap stores charge for buttons, bits of leaves and pretty cutouts that could be gotten from any old magazine is just truly astonishing

No way is Izzie ever going to pay a fortune of forty silver sickles for a glorified photo album, archival quality or not. The inner scrooge slinked into an op shop and found an old but empty and possibly hand made album with brown paper and pretty lacy interleaved white sheets separating the pages. That was the tell tale sign that the thing was designed for putting photos in
This cost the princely sum of two silver sickles and will eventually be adorned with some of the contents of a very large bag of leather scraps - some big enough to cover it along with various coloured metal chocolate wrappers and blobs of splodgy spidery ink
Izzie's only concession to newness is a sticker book acquired in the remainder bin of the local Coles supermarket. None other than the sticker book for the latest Potter movie which is now so very last month and therefore ancient. Would have loved some of those Ministry logos and decrees from the last sticker book which unfortunately never did get sold off cheaply
Such a pity that the cauldron sticker is no bigger than the size of a golf ball as it would have been just the perfect thing to pop on the cover
Yessss. Izzie has found the perfect antidote to the lovie dovie icky sickly sweetness and light of the scrapbooking set.
If the serpent cannot snatch or steal a copy of Advanced Potions Making, then the only thing to do is make our own.
It will be a fun way to practise and to learn tricks and tips for use in the other grand project which looks like it will end up being moved onto the next 101 things in 1001 days list

Serpent Scraps

Izzie has been so absent from Cyberia lately. Simply slinking and lurking rather than squiggling. This state of affairs has not been helped by the fact that the Portkey to Cyberia does work but the connection is terribly slow and that the ancient Precioussss is playing sneaky games. Bad enough spitting the dummy and freezing when getting to 12gb of a 14gb backup and refusing to even acknowledge the existence of the podkin let alone allowing Izzie to update it with new gloomy music and baby backups.
But it's now chewed up Chatzilla and one of its two usb ports which just makes pottering online more of a hassle and less of a wonderful escape from mundane muggleness

But there's also been other temptations. Been a culture vulture feasting on museums and art galleries in July and returned to an older addiction - library books

While at the library in early July came across a notice for a scrapbooking class to be held there on Thursday 16th. It was two hours long and only 10 silver sickles. So why not try it thinks Izzie. It is time to start dipping our toes into the creative world
Actually, from looking at books about scrapbooking and lurking around craft and paper shops, it seems like the hobby from hell for Izzie. A feast of sentimental and sloppy slush and kitsch full of photos of pathetically happy families for a creature who despises and detests kids and is noted for the total absence of photos of herself or any dreary Dursleyish relatives. They are not in our wallet or on the mantel piece or in photo albums or online or anywhere at all.

The class lasted a good bit longer than two hours and there was only 3 scrappers and one teacher! All materials were provided and Izzie knew from slinks in supplies stores that the kits certainly would have cost at least the 10 silver sickles for the course. There were buttons, braid, die cuts, fluffy flowers, pretty printed papers and card
It was so strange getting the paws on scissors, paper, rulers and rubber stamps after so many years absence. Nothing like getting the paws wet to get the taste for more
The serpent has not gotten all sad and slushy but after getting the puke button pushed more than once by the sadness that is scrapbooking, got the notion of adding an evil twist and using it for our own nefarious purposes

Izzie's real obsession is tarot cards and learning how to do decorated journals or altered books and some of the scrappy skills are just the things needed
Was especially impressed with the many effects that can be created with rubber and acrylic stamps.
But apart from the slush, it struck Izzie that scrapping is infested with the same disease that plagues quilting and just about any leisure time activity these days. What began as a resourceful way of using up scraps of fabric or finding inventive uses for old magazines, buttons, ticket stubs and bits and bobs ends up becoming a huge industry where all these things can be got ready made and at a much higher price than the original materials ever could have cost.
There's craft stores that specialize in nothing but pretty coloured squares of fabric for quilt making and the ridiculous prices that the scrap stores charge for buttons, bits of leaves and pretty cutouts that could be gotten from any old magazine is just truly astonishing

No way is Izzie ever going to pay a fortune of forty silver sickles for a glorified photo album, archival quality or not. The inner scrooge slinked into an op shop and found an old but empty and possibly hand made album with brown paper and pretty lacy interleaved white sheets separating the pages. That was the tell tale sign that the thing was designed for putting photos in
This cost the princely sum of two silver sickles and will eventually be adorned with some of the contents of a very large bag of leather scraps - some big enough to cover it along with various coloured metal chocolate wrappers and blobs of splodgy spidery ink
Izzie's only concession to newness is a sticker book acquired in the remainder bin of the local Coles supermarket. None other than the sticker book for the latest Potter movie which is now so very last month and therefore ancient. Would have loved some of those Ministry logos and decrees from the last sticker book which unfortunately never did get sold off cheaply
Such a pity that the cauldron sticker is no bigger than the size of a golf ball as it would have been just the perfect thing to pop on the cover
Yessss. Izzie has found the perfect antidote to the lovie dovie icky sickly sweetness and light of the scrapbooking set.
If the serpent cannot snatch or steal a copy of Advanced Potions Making, then the only thing to do is make our own.
It will be a fun way to practise and to learn tricks and tips for use in the other grand project which looks like it will end up being moved onto the next 101 things in 1001 days list