Personalize!

I wish that I had thought to do this myself, I've gotta give props to Whippy Cake for doing it first. I LOVE the idea of decorating the front of the book! Such a great way go show what the book is about, and it's just one more way to personalize it. So fun!

My Creative Space (a.k.a. my craft room)

So I had a lovely friend on Instagram ask me to do a "Studio tour on my blog." Why hadn't I thought of that yet?! She's such a gem. You may not have know this, but I am a very poor college student, and I live in my parents basement. I'm not ashamed, I'm only 19. I wish I could have my own craft room! But I make do with the space that I have. So here it is, my Studio Tour of my awesome bedroom!!!

I am a vintage kind of girl, my entire room has this ongoing theme of...old things. I LOVE it!! I would be completely content spending my Saturday mornings in antique shops sifting through vinyl and looking for tea cups to put on my vanity to hold my baubles.

My beautiful vanity table, a birthday gift from my parents for my 19th birthday. On the wall next to it, I've got my most used Pinterest project, my jewelry board. Best tutorial I've ever looked into. There's also the Wrought Iron Birdcage for Ross that I spray painted yellow to go with the rest of my room, with my fun 60's style red veil hat sitting on top.

My phonograph! My pride and joy, my love.Made a table out of an old chest, some sampsonite suitcases and records I never listen to. D.I. :)

My other record player (thank you, Target!), and my record collection. I always put my Frank Sinatra collection where they can easily be seen. As humble as I aspire to be, I always slip when I'm talking about my vinyls. Also notice that most of them are fashionably stored in a little blue suitcase. I have my fun with my multiple suitcases!

Where the magic happens!

 Look! You can see my smash supplies in those two cubbies by my laptop!

  

A little messy, I know. I'm investing in a particularly adorable blue rolling cart from Ikea come next pay period. Watch out for THAT blog post!

But amongst the madness, I have three seperate baskets full of smashing supplies, and one where I stick all the fun stuff I'm going to smash till i get a free moment from work or homework. I have this basket, which is reserved primarily for all Smash Supplies; pockets, journaling cards, label maker, clear envelopes, I have literally every smash supply out there.

In this basket, I keep all my washi tape and larger embellishments, sheets of paper, doilies, that sort of thing.

And this basket is my FAVORITE! All of the fun, teeny tiny embellishments! The glitter, the ribbons, the wood chip cut outs, the stickers, the lace, everything you could possibly think of! I go crazy in the craft stores with the itty-bitties.

 Bonus!! Also my closet; I'm VERY into fashion, looking cute on a budget. See www.foxyincollege.blogspot.com for more of that :)

Oh look, more suitcases...

 

 Something I do every Sunday evening; set out my clothes for the rest of the week. So helpful for early morning class or uncreative blah ensembles. None of that for this fashionista.

 

So that's that, my bedroom/ study center/ creative space/ smash emporium!  Hope you enjoyed it :)

My Most Used Smash Products

I am constantly finding myself running to the craft store (my favorite is Heartfelt Creations) for the same items every week or so.  I can't seem to get enough of them! Here are a couple of my favorite Smash Book pretties that will no doubt be found in my books.

I think that any crafter can say that washi tape is a MUST HAVE. I don't know what it's best quality is...the seemingly limitless supply, the adorable designs, the uniqueness of its transparency... my favorite thing about washi tape is that the style goes perfectly with the idea of a smash book; smashing everything into one place, with no apparent rhyme or reason. Washi tape is the perfect embellishment, with its trendy patterns and thin cut, perfect for sticking down an envelope or a piece of paper. 

I LOVE LOVE LOVE the smash pockets!! I frequently use both the small and large size. They're great for tickets, programs, or if you're a freak about organization like me, I often find myself throwing everything from one night into a pocket. The main reason that I love these pockets though is because it gives the beholder a chance to look at something from every angle. 

Something else that I'll do with the small pockets is I will print off all my pictures in wallet size, and then write the story of the photo on the backside, then put all the pictures together in the pocket; saves tons of space on the page and adds more to that "smashing" effect that I love so much!

Small Pockets

 

 Large Pockets

 

And the best for last...drum roll...the journaling cards! I cannot stress enough how vital journaling is, in any sort of scrapbooking! What's the point of gluing some pictures on a page and showing all your friends if there is nothing there to tell the story? Someone should be able to look at your book and be able to tell what is going on without you looking over their shoulder and narrating each page. 

Which is why I LOVE the journaling cards. All the pages in every smash book is so trendy and adorable, but some of them are pretty hard to write directly on. SO these cards are perfect for telling the story. I know that it can sound a bit daunting, telling every story for everything you smash. You don't have to put every detail, just enough that it will make sense to someone looking on at the memories. Just a sentence or two, that's all you need to do!

There are TONS of journaling pads, each with different themes. I use the Quote and Blank pad most, and you may find that you fancy the Travel and Family pads. No matter which one you find yourself using most, I beg you to use them. You're making your smash book to preserve memories, and what's the point of that if you don't put the story in with it?

 

The Basics

So MY pride and joy book is the one of my best friend, Steve, and I. He is SO great :) it was so much fun whenever we went out becuase along with a fun date or yummy dinner, we were looking for things to smash into our book.
That is something that I have found out is hardest for people starting their smash books; they don't know where to start!
I TOTALLY understand!
Hats where I was when I first started.it seemed so overwhelming becuase I felt like I had nothing cool to smash. I started out with a picture of Steve and I, and a set of chopsticks from a sushi bar we go to all the time. Seriously, that's ALL I started out with!
It is so easy to get started, you really just need to start looking for things when you go out. A business card, a movie ticket stub, lots of pictures...I have dried flowers in mine, love letters, newspaper articles...nothing is off limits!!

Hey, all!

Goodness, what is this "smash book" business all about?
Let me tell you...it's not your average scrapbook experience. What you do is you save EVERYTHING! All those movie ticket stubs, the program to your sister's dance recital, the wrapper from the chocolate bar that your "special friend" gave you on a rough day, and everything in between, and you smash it all in!
It's simple, it's fast, and once you get the hang out of it, it is a LOT of fun.