When to let go...

So, have you ever had one of those days when everything you do seems to go wrong? Yesterday was "that day" for me. It started with a tooth chipping (thank goodness it's not one you can see), then a quote for a very expensive auto repair (that they are almost confident will fix the problem), then an item I ordered on the internet (and needed by Friday) turned out to be discontinued!
Maybe at that point I should have just gone back to bed and waited for another day to begin (that does seem like the smart thing to do now), but alas I moved on to the next thing on my list for the day. #8- Finish the envelope album for CHA
(that's the BIG trade show coming up).

I will let you know that until this particular time the journal had been going great...found all the pictures I needed and the pages/envelopes were complete. My final plan was to use a large manila tag at the front of the journal to introduce who and what the was book about. I decided to punch holes with the square border punch to be able to put the big tag into the wire-o and on the other side of the tag, I will print the words, " The family gatherings were simple and more often than not included good food and laughter. No matter how often we got together, there were certain things you could count ALWAYS count on..."This is what I got.


The tag jammed in the printer and half of the words printed on top of teach other!
Now, on MOST days I would have got another tag from the bin and printed it again. But yesterday was just one of those days and all I could do was sit and stare at that stupid tag.
Ever feel that way?
As I was sitting and staring and holding my head in my hands...
It came to me...as if a cartoon light bulb went on over my head,"it's OK, use it anyway, just let it go..."
so I did.

I grabbed a fabric swatch that was on my work table (just the right size for the space). I stapled it to the tag on opposite corners. I dug out a baggie of chipboard pieces I had painted for a project I was working on last week. The previously painted @ symbol was in the bag and seemed to fit the space. Now what to do to finish the sentence I had started? I went back to the computer and printed out...every family dinner to make it a complete sentence and glued it on with gel medium.

Done, I solved the problem.
My troubles are over!
I have fixed the tag "Gypsie Style".

So I turned the tag over to the front...painted the tag blue, added the picture and the names. Then used the new ATC clear stamps-Journal stamp to stamp the circle, added the text and then the rubbing.
Now do you see where I went wrong (again)?


It was the last step...the rubbing...it originally was going over the circle and then I changed it to the left side (where I was going to punch the wire-o holes). Back to the "fix it" mode of thinking. This one was much easier to solve than the last mistake I made.
The answer... GAFFER TAPE!
Gaffer tape can solve so many of life's problems. In fact, Debbie once had her cell phone held together with gaffer tape! Now if only I could use it to fix my car I could avoid those costly repairs!

In the end, the big tag had no holes punched in it, just a little piece of gaffer tape to save the day. That's the great thing about solving a problem Gypsie style...it all ends up looking like you planned it from the beginning. Sometimes just remembering to let things go lets in enough creativity to make things better than your original idea. Debbie calls these "happy accidents".
Works for me!(although I do not think this style will work when it comes to fixing my tooth or my car)

Past and Present

Got an email from a friend today that reminded me it was one year ago today the gypsies arrived at Skukuza (a rest camp inside Kruger National Park) in South Africa where we were traveling on one of our great Gypsie adventures. Thoughts about the whole experience have been on my mind all week remembering what a great time we had meeting so many fellow gypsies in such a far away place. South Africa was such a wonderful, exotic experience, almost mesmerizing to the mind that we were so far away and yet felt so at home. Much of this feeling due to the great hosts and many women we met in classes.
Teaching, traveling, meeting new people that want to talk Gypsie 24/7...priceless.

It almost seems like a dream when I look at this photograph. Unlike many of the other animals we saw, he was so calm and collected as our car approached.
Taking every step slow and methodically, one at a time.
I sometimes find this is a great way to approach a project: lay your photographs out on the table and ask yourself, "what is the real story?" Is it a birthday party, or is it about the change that has taken place during the year? Is it the vacation or is it the feelings you felt when you saw something you had never seen before. That's what Africa did for me. The story became more than pictures of people and animals. It was the feelings about the people, the sights and smells of new things, and the wonder of otherwise very common things.
So give yourself 15 minutes before you start the layout, or open the mini-book, to think of the real story (one step at a time).


That was the past and this is the present.
These just came with the May release:
ATC SELF-INKING STAMPS

Three self inking stamps that come in this cool little stack. There are six different styles: Journal, Ink, Write it, Label, Parenthesis, Confidential.

Love the storage factor here. Fabulous...love it...want them all.

What's NEW with you?

So, where to start? I decided I won't start at the beginning since that's so long ago in the world of gypsies...so maybe the new May release is just the ticket. Some of you may have seen it in stores already but it's VERY GOOD so I can't move on without showing some of the product I just got in the mail...the new calendar cards and office cards, the transparencies...all so clever and fun, I know you are going to like them.


These are the new ATC Transparencies (2 1/2 x 3 5/8") that fit into the ATC spinner. This picture doesn't do them justice they are so cool...so much detail you can't even see in these close-up's.

And in Photo Carousel size ((5 x 6 3/4") there are 10 different designs (2 of each per pack). I think these could work for so many projects as well as a great addition to a Photo Carousel!

These are the new 97% complete photo carousel cards. That means they are each 5 x 6 1/4" and fit into the photo carousel, although I can see them used in many other formats such as mini-books and layouts.
The first two pictures show the Office pack, 12 different cards (two of each in the pack). I love all the different cards because you just fill in the blanks or check the box, add a picture, but maybe not....just journal, but use the promps...love it...love it...love it!
FYI: there is also a Calendar pack that has 12 cards, one for each month. Totally my favorite!

This is one card from the CALENDAR pack and one from the OFFICE pack done up in Gypsy fashion using chipboard and our color transparencies. See...what did I tell you...you love 'em don't you? You can see more ideas for cards on the website. Just click on Video, Tips and Demos and scroll down to calendar cards or click here.

So that's just a little snippet of what the gypsies have been doing lately...thinking up great products to help you tell your story. There's more to come...so just wait to see what we come up with next, you'll be amazed!
What's NEW with you?

Were off and Running!

Welcome everyone to the new and much improved 7gypsies blog! We all know it's a long time in coming! Well, you know what they say about waiting for good things...it's never easy! So if you are here for the first time or your checking back for the 100th...welcome, were glad your here and hope you'll come back often for updates on product, video demonstrations, and photos of some great gypsie projects. We hope we can entice you to join with us, so grab your carpet bag filled with all your trinkets and treasures (and a glue stick or two) and jump into the big white gypsie van because were off and running on yet another gypsie adventure.