Lightbox ... yay or nay?

In my quest to post better quality layouts without a high end camera, I stumbled upon people talking about light boxes. What are those? I thought. Upon researching I instantly knew I had to have one, but I did not want to pay a lot of money. So I took to amazon and read reviews. I decided on this one from LimoStudios. The difference between this one and the higher end one was that the lights are inside the box already and the cell phone holder is also built into it so it is one complete system, which honestly I can see myself wanting in the future. With the LimoStudios you have to play with the lighting yourself a bit to get rid of shadows so it will be a learning experience. It is also pretty large so I had no choice but to do this on my floor.

The set up was super easy and the best part is that it all compacts down to one carrying bag. Instantly I was excited because the results were incredible. Now, I know I need practice with my light angles, but being a night time scrapper this made me excited. I could now scrap and share my things at night time, no more waiting until morning and standing outside on my porch in freezing temps in my robe lol.

So on to my layout :) I got a huge scrap haul a few days ago. I had intended on a youtube video, but I was slammed with a terrible stomach bug and am still recovering. I came across someone selling their scrap stash along with 2 planners that I have been wanting (those will come later ;)) I also scored pretty big at Michael's. They have an insane clearance on things I use most, spray inks 1.79 yes please! Ink pads $2 ummm yeah!! So I got my first Ranger's Archival ink which reacted differently with my gesso than other inks so I am assuming this will be practice as well. I am on a mission to stamp on every page now that I have what must be over 100 stamps. The gesso, let me also say, I got for 1.79 for the Faber Castell brand (honestly not my favorite but it was too cheap to pass up) 

I have been wanting a bow cut file for what seems like forever and I finally got one. This one is from Felicity Jane. Lesson learned as well since I am fairly new to the silhouette studio. With the basic you cannot use SVG files. Bummer!! I had already purchased the bow which was only .99 so I wasn't upset, but I now was on a mission researching how to change to svg to png when I stumbled upon the same cut file available in the silhouette store from FJ on sale for .75, but now I question if I need to upgrade o.O The bow is super easy to assemble and absolutely adorable. 

This was also my first layout using a shaker page as I finally got the fuse tool. I will do a review on that another time as I am still learning and I don't want to base my opinions after a few uses. It is definitely something that takes a bit of time and patience and I know I will love it in the long run. The heart is from the oh so amazing Cut Shoppe and if you've never gotten one of their cut files, I promise they don't disappoint. I am officially obsessed with everything The Cut Shoppe :D 

So what's my verdict? How could you not want one!! I mean the difference is just drastic! Especially if you are a night scrapper or if you live somewhere that rains often. Lighting is absolutely everything. I have felt like my pictures have often held back the beauty of my creations and being someone that loves photography and once did photography it was extremely frustrating. Happy Scrapping !!

Tiffani xx