In general, I delight in little things fairly easily (including singing along with The Sound of Music), and this hobby is no exception. I love finding tips and tidbits and deals and discoveries that I can share with others. So today I offer a random smattering of scrapbooking potpourri, some of which may be familiar to you, some of which may be brand new. And when I say random, I do mean RANDOM, so please do not try to imagine any sort of reasonable flow here, because it does not exist.
- Photographing a layout is way easier (especially if it's 12x12) and often looks better (due to natural lighting and no worries about lumps & bumps) than scanning it. And that layout will look fantastic on the web if you follow Jessica Sprague's formula for saving it.
- Speaking of Jessica... she's generous, that one. Back in November, I took an inspiring FREE class from her called Stories in Hand. I was astounded by the amount of heart and work she put into constructing the class and designing the gorgeous and comprehensive materials, just to offer everything at no charge. Well, she's doing it again, and this time it's a FREE instructor-led photo editing class. I'll be there.
- Big Lots sometimes gets in really sweet scrapbooking supplies. Over the past few months, I have scored a bunch of American Crafts Thickers, rub-ons and chipboard shapes. Just last night, I got these for $2 each:
Ask me if I care that these aren't their newest lines. Nope. I love 'em all.
- Speaking of American Crafts, they have some really cute desktop wallpapers on their website. You can download them for free.
- My favorite scrapbooking tool cost me less than two bucks. When I want something straight, I want it straight. My C-Thru Junior T-square makes that happen, and since it's clear, the job is even easier. It's like another appendage.
- Do you like journaling on lined, graph, or dot paper? You can print some here. And while you're there, you may as well grab a few extra Yahtzee score cards.
- Pretty much daily, IKEAgoddess (who happens to live in Germany) posts her favorite digital scrapbooking finds of the day. Word art, alphabets, embellishments, papers, page templates, entire kits... you'll find it all on her blog.
And speaking of Germany, here's the layout I told you I was going to finish. I knew as soon as I saw this storefront that it was layout fodder.
I also promised a challenge, so here it is. Create a layout simply for the funny factor. Tell about a quirk, a hilarious story, a direct quote from or conversation you had with one of your kids, whatever. Just make humor the focus. Then run on over and post it to our Write. Click. Scrapbook. Flickr group so that the rest of us can laugh along with you. If you need inspiration, our girl Cheryl is the Queen of Funny. Trust me.
I have thoroughly enjoyed being your hostess this week. Thank you for your feedback, your encouragement, and for sharing your own insight along the way. It's been a pleasure. :)
