Write. Click. Scrapbook.

Youer Than You

photo by Tina Cockburn

FreeStyle

Today's event is FreeStyle! It is how we can use our scrapbooking supplies and ideas to decorate our homes, specifically, a little pink bedroom.

Thank you for a fun week! Katie you are the lucky draw for a tiny bit of goodness for playing along in the Flickr gallery this week. Please shoot me your address to marnie at writeclickscrapbook dot com. A big shout out to Margaret and Kelly for joining in the fun this week, and also to all the wcs team members who pitched in to make this a more diverse and delightful week!

Enjoy the video (and just know that when I say flower, I actually mean butterfly! Teehee!)

Speed Scrapping Relay

Welcome to Speed Scrapping Relay, our final team event of our

This event requires endurance, speed, and an ability to work well under pressure. Often team members accept a place on the relay team as incentive to push themselves to not just create something quickly, but also to finish something. If you are comfortable with half-done projects this may not be the sport for you.

Teams: Teams consist of a minimum of two players, but it most fun with 5 - 6. Team members needn't know each other well, but must all have a commitment to the project, specifically committed to following through with their leg of the relay. A team captain is preferred--someone to decide the order of the relay and who can keep the players on task.

Equipment: the standard. plus an ability to forward a scan/photo of your layout.

Rules:
1. create a team. decide upon a time frame. 2 days for turnaround should be sufficient. it is a SPEED scrapping relay after all...
2. player 1 creates the original layout, and sends a visual to player 2.
3. within 2 days (or the otherwise decided upon time frame) player 2 creates a layout inspired by that of player 1.
4. at the end of the 2 days, this second layout is sent to player 3, who then has 2 days to be inspired, and create a new layout which will then be forwarded to player 4.
5. and so on. and so on. until the final leg of the relay has been completed.

The fun? Really? What's not fun??!! First, you have the heart-racing excitement of knowing that you only have two days to finish a project. Second, you have incentive (and pressure) to actually finish a layout. Third, you have a place to go for inspiration. Fourth, well, you get to be a part of greatness. Take a look!

Our team is comprised of four greats and me, the captain! What fine company I keep! Oooh, and we have a special guest on our relay team! Guess who I wooed with my good looks and promises of chocolate! It's Margaret, er,I mean, Swift! Welcome, Margaret!

 

I had the good fortune of the opening leg. I opted for the oh so very current banners and some new stamps from American Crafts! (Look at that cute little birdie!) When I was done, I sent mine to Speed.
Speed liked the banners, too, and incorporated them into her sweet sweet layout. I must say, I was happy to see them go on! And Candice? Well, her layouts always get me in my mamaheart. Her photos capture such emotion, apparently even when she is in them and not just taking them!! And for this assignment, she went back to paper. Aren't we glad she did? Love this one.

Next up? Swift!

And the banner lives on... Woohoo! Swift rocked the house and the speed track with this one. Were we in a stadium, the crowd would be on their feet for this one! So honored to have Margaret with us for this one. Making me weak in the knees, for me, Margaret is all about the color combinations, and how her little details are just so right. Like the hedgehog. And the extra flag. Mmm good.

And now, off to Rebecca, or rather, Racer!

Rebecca ditched the banner, opting instead to keep Swift's three photos, and the right hand placement. Another little detail that is mimicked is the overlapping strips on the flowers. Reminiscent of the single word strip on the flag in Margaret's layout. And what can one say of Rebecca? Her soft muted colors are so peaceful. So kind. Her little touches, like tiny flowers and varied stitches, give her layouts a very finished, put together feel. Simple never looks so good.

And the final handoff goes to Blur!

Blur takes the last leg of our relay and crosses the finish line with gold medal glory! Maintaining the soft colors, Beth also kept the photostrip, but went from three to four photos and turned it to a vertical strip and horizontal photos. Beth, for me is peaceful balance. Her layouts are soothing to my sense of symmetry and my need for perfect measurements. She is masterful at combining patterns and for making it look so easy.

So if you are ready, grab some friends, some photos, and get started. Scrapbooking doesn't have to be an individual sport. And crops are not the only way to make it a team sport. I promise. All it takes is a few friends, a few days, and a whole lot of fun.

Thank you for visiting today and please keep working on your scrapolympic events! Everyone that loads a challenge layout to the Flickr gallery will be considered for a bitty giveaway! I'll wait til noon tomorrow! Also up tomorrow, our final event! See you then!

and the giveaway goes to...

Thank you to Renee and to Sue for sponsoring our Writeclickscrapolympic Week Giveaway! Without further ado...

Laurie, Lisa, and Sarah, please shoot us an email to writeclickscrapbook at gmail dot com with your contact information by Saturday at midnight! Thanks for playing! Stayed tuned for our relay event!

give.away.day. featuring ANNA ASPNES (RENEEPEARSON.COM) & SUSAN NEAL

during the writeclickscrapolympics

must be a little bit special. After a hard day of disqualifications (ouch! I am so sorry Netherlands. Seriously couldn't they give it to him anyway? It's not like the lane change mattered...) and bungled ski races (oooh, poor Julia) we need something to lift our spirits and rejuvenate our souls. So today we have two sponsors and two giveaways. WOOHOO!

First up,

Anna is a longtime friend, reaching back into our Simple days.  Not only could you find her in the magazine, but she also provided layouts and albums for Elizabeth's book. Anna is sweet, wise, and incredibly talented. And you could be the lucky number to a seat in her upcoming class, Album Magic: A step by step course in album creation, at reneepearson.com.

If you’re comfortable creating complete 12 X 12 digital pages but the idea of creating a cohesive album based on a single theme sends you running in the opposite direction, then this class is for you! Anna Aspnes demystifies album creation and leads you, one step at a time, through her own tried and tested process that will have you planning and executing albums over and over in record time.

Seriously, who doesn't want to learn how to make their album look good? Do you remember, before Napster and iTunes there were these things called albums? And artists used to work long hours trying to create an album feel. Yes, there were the known singles that would be released, but if you truly wanted to explore the artist, you bought the album and listened in order. The way it was meant to be heard.

Imagine making your scrapbooks an album instead of a smattering of collected singles. Intriguing isn't it? You are curious about it, aren't you? Me, too. Shall we take the class together? Oh, and if you click on that little Renee Pearson icon up there, over to the right in the sponsors column, you can head on over to Renee's site and see what other new classes she has in store (there's still time to sign up for Molly Newman's class!).

And secondly,

Sue is back with two Tender Mercy Kits. Sympathy cards are hard to create. Sometimes you hurt, too, and words escape you. Sometimes you just don't know what to say. So you end up buying at a time when handmade would say so much more. But no longer. Not only does this kit include everything you will need, but also includes digital elements and templates you can use over and over. And not just one of you will have the chance for this kit, no, Susan is generously offering two (!) of her kits today.

If you would like to be considered for today's Olympic-sized give.away.day. please leave us a comment telling us your favorite Olympic high and low so far. Comments will remain open until 8:00 pm PST, and three lucky numbers will be posted tomorrow. Don't forget to check back as all giveaways must be claimed by Saturday at midnight!

Bon courage! and may your writeclickscrapolympic dreams be coming true...

Don't forget to keep working on your BiScrapathon and your Skeleton Scrapping pages!

Skeleton Scrapping

Welcome back to another fun day of

Man, I really need to clean up that logo. I digress...

Welcome to Skeleton Scrapping. Skeleton Scrapping is not for the faint of heart. You must be able to look past the accessories (think patterned paper and embellishments) to see what lies beneath (think design). If you love sketches, then Skeleton Scrapping is for you!

Equipment: standard equipment plus x-ray vision for seeing past the colors, the layers, and the other distracting items.

Rules:
1. Find a layout that speaks to you.
2. Take it down to its bones, its skeleton. If need be, draw it out with your mouse, or your paper and pencils (those are those skinny wooden things with pretend lead inside!)
3. Build your layout on top of the skeletal remains, creating something that looks a little or a lotta like the original.
4. Sit back and smile realizing how much time you just saved. (And money as you don't cut and toss three or four patterns of paper before getting it right...)

Our Gold Winning Skeleton team for today hails from our own Collective. Using layouts from our February Gallery, they stripped them down, then rebuilt them into these beauties.

May I present, for your viewing pleasure...

We have two layouts based upon the original layout by the lovely and talented Stacy Julian:

layout by MoonBoots Marnie

I remained pretty true to the original bones, omitting embellishments but not trading out any of the basic design. I even borrowed the black, white, and green, loving the mood they created, and opting to find a photo that would coordinate with the colors, rather than the other way around.

layout by Krafty Kim

Kim also began with Stacy's layout, though changed up the one photo for three, and placed her journaling in list format. The light color scheme, grouped embellishments, and soft nature of the layout transform a Stacy layout into a Kim layout, where you might be hardpressed to recognize the skeleton.

Next up, two paper layouts based upon Candice Palmer's digital layout:

layout by Blocked + Balanced Beth

The skeleton of Candice's layout is evident in Beth's design, with the only change up being the double matting. Keeping the list format for journaling, selecting a striped patterned paper, and creating a white font title, Beth got additional accessorizing mileage out of Candice's inspiring layout.

layout by Asymmetrical Aly

Aly on the other hand, left behind many of the original accessories, though the title, photo and journaing are similarly located to those in Candice's layout. However, by moving the title up significantly, and placing the photo on an asymmetrical shaped matte, Aly creates a much different look and feel for a layout that is built on the same bones as those of Beth and Candice.

Next up, Moon Ko's Boy layout:

layout by MemoryKeeper Marnie

Always one to take the easy way, I stayed a close to the original design as I could: from photo orientation, to placement, to the cutout half circle. By opting for a color scheme that is as different as can be from that which Moon used, the two layouts become unique, even though nearly identical in basic design.

And Moon's The Boys layout inspired another:

layout by Journaling Jody

Jody stayed very true to the basic design of Moon's layout, though cropped the paper and photo to a size that would permit her to include more lengthy journaling. Interestingly, while Moon's layout focuses on her new son, and Jody's her teenage daughter, Jody's layout discusses all the firsts Jody's firstborn provided to her. Including thoughts of her as a new baby. Sometimes as we look to the design of a layout, journaling ideas sink in, too.

Jody Dent-Pruks inspired two diverse layouts with her February layout:

layout by the Awesome Ann

Even though Ann's layout mimics Jody's in many ways (photo, title, & journaling placement, wide side margin, and small upper embellishment), by using a mirror image of the original, the skeleton is tricky to see, even when hunting for it.

layout by Autumn Loves Both Paper and Pixels

Going digital on this one, Autumn has reworked the original enough that you may want to click back and forth a few times to see the similarities. Again, a bottom title, horizontal main photo, blocked journaling, and a small supporting photo are all in place. However, using an enlarged photo in place of the background cardstock, Autumn effectively uses a cosmetic change to camouflage the similarity of the skeleton. Tricky!

Our next prizewinning layout is based upon the original layout of Jamie Waters:

layout by Mysterioso Marnie

Again, why stray from perfection? I tried to leave as much as I could in place with Jamie's layout, not only the skeleton, but also the journaling, the background color, and the heart embellishment. I left off the minititle as I do not have Jamie's beautiful handwriting, and I liked the cleanliness of having a title-less layout.

Lastly, but not leastly, is another incredible layout designed according to Autumn Baldwin's original:

layout by Mademoiselle Marnie

Once the photos and patterned paper were place, the title begged to be moved. Or really, the dolly begged me to move the title off her face. Once the title was relocated to the upper left, the journaling block began whining that it wasn't very legible on the pink circles. What? Really? Fine. So I moved it up to the green patterned paper in the upper right corner. But, wait, you say! There is no green patterned paper in that corner. Aha, Watson! You are so smart! The green was also not an appropriate background, so it became grey. At which point we are all agreeing that it is a good thing this was a digital layout, or I would have wasted many papers and much ink (colored blocks of journaling are not usually in my budget...). So though I tried to stick closely to Autumn's original, the layout dictated some changes and when photos and paper speak, I listen.

The long and the short of Skeleton Scrapping is it saves time, is fun, and can help you get your pages done. And crossing the finish line is sometimes what it is all about.

Help yourself to some sketches out of our February gallery. Don't forget to post your work in the Flickr gallery! It might be fun and prizeworthy!

BiScrapathon

Welcome! Today we come to you from the balmy interior of my living room. It is a nice 73 degrees, perfect temperature for our event today. Winds are calm, energy is up. The players have been careful to get a good night sleep and are at the ready with water, Dr Pepper, and, gasp, diet Dr Pepper.

Our event today is the BiScrapathon. Anyone wanting to play should possess a desire to craft, cut, and paste. Photos are helpful, but not required. An ability to work well with others is encouraged, and a friend (near or far) is essential (if you think you haven't one, just head on over to the Flickr group, introduce yourself, and call yourself part of the family!).

Equipment for this event is standard: paper, scissors, glue, photos (if desired), and a trimmer. Embellishments are not mandatory. Also required for this event, an email account or a friend nearby.

Rules:
1. Select a friend.
2. Contact the friend and see if that friend would be interested in swapping photos with you.
3. Work out the details:
    a. Does your friend have size or orientation requirements? (It usually works best to scrapbook in their size and orientation.)
    b. Select the number of photos you would like to receive from your friend, and likewise, them from you.
    c. Pick a time frame for switching. (Sometimes it is helpful to play this game with a group, so there can be a mediator so your friend doesn't become your ex-friend!)
4. Get your photos ready, attach them to an email (or do an in person handoff), count to three and switch!
Once the switch has taken place, the race begins.

Scoring for the BiScrapathon is based upon time and perfection.
1. 5 points for finishing first
2. 5 points for finishing last
3. 5 points for color selection
4. 5 points for font selection/handwriting selection
5. 5 points for the perfect embellishments
6. 5 points for good design, photo placement, and consistent performance
for a total of 50 points possible.

Meet our teams:
Known for their clean graphic style, this team is sure to be a contender. Not only is their photo placement divine, but each of them scores consistently high marks in the color division. Also, don't underestimate their ability to wield a powerful pen. A good duo, MadDog is a sweet balance to the sharp wit of Sarcasm. 

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Floods and Mapluvr bring a strong design sense, and a wicked word sense. Floods rocks the titles, while Mapluvr is excellent with the wellcrafted journaling. With each of them raising their own triad of estrogen, they are sure to have patience for everything, which will add overall strength to their already strong arsenal of skills.

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This is a team to watch. Aided by the ringer, Envious* Jeppson, so named for the color denoted by her lucky first name, this team is sheer magic. With a fearless use of techniques and an unparalleled ability to mix and match products, Team Electric Eclectic is more than just a mouthful!

*Envious is not named for her envy of others, but rather for the fact that kelly = green = envy. clear?

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This amazing duo rocks both the sun and the stars! Their talent is not contained within their glass frames, as many have believed, but instead, they carry it around in a minialbum hidden on their persons at all times. (Insider fact: when Sunshine claims her mojo is missing, really she means her minialbum containing all her talent is temporarily misplaced.) Aptly named for their love affair with Thickers, this team just might swoop in and steal the gold. Not win it, but steal it. They are stealthy (Sunshine's role) and talented (the role of Starshine). Watch out!

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Interested in the BiScrapathon? If you are bored with your photos or worried about making another layout that looks an awful lot like the last three you have done, they you need to learn the BiScrapathon. It can be played anytime, anywhere. And if you would like to play this week, you can leave your layouts in the Flickr group. There may be a prize at the end of the week for one random person who plays along! Enjoy your day and thank you to Kelly for joining in the fun today!
 

writeclickscrapolympics

It is Olympic season. And being the good Canadian I am, I could not pass up the chance to celebrate with you. With the men's hockey misery of the '88 Calgary Olympics a faded memory, we Canadians cried and shouted with the success of Alexandre Bilodeau, thrilled for the home court curse to be a thing of the past. Have you an Olympic moment that touched your heart? I love them all. Watching years of dedication and training climaxing in what for some is but a moment is breathtaking to me. I cry when they fall. I clap when they land their jumps. I hold my breath as they wait to see if their times and scores are enough. Man, I love the Olympics!

Back to our week... I will spare you my tales of a curling bonspiel victory in the ninth grade, or of skating lessons at age 4, but I will ask you to join me this week in participating in our writeclickscrapolympics.

Get your slide ruler waxed and ready. Your photos sharpened and sized. Feel free to get some cool new wcs gear as well. Events begin tomorrow. I'd suggest a good night sleep (and refraining from all poppyseed--best to be safe!).

To begin, we would love for you to leave a comment telling us from whence you come. Our stats show that we have had visits from 136 countries. Honestly, that blows me away. Our team represents four of those 136: Australia, Canada, France, and the United States. (Though, some of us are expats and immigrants, who may call another land home. If this is you, too, tell us both your resident country as well as where you call home.)

Assignment #2 is to email someone who lives in a country different than you and tell them about us and invite them to come visit. Let's see how many of those 136 can come visit this week!

Thank you for stopping! Go buy a shirt and we will see you tomorrow!

love

Creative Adventure: Part 5 (mystery solved)

 So, we come to the end of our adventure together.  These last steps will complete your project, and reveal the mystery of exactly what this project is about.  They may take you a while, but like I've said before, you can always come back to this and finish it as time allows.  Thank you SO MUCH for playing along.  Be sure and share photos in the Flickr gallery as you complete some pages so we can all see your take on this project.  I have had a great time this week, and I hope you have as well. 

Here's today's video:

Here are your final steps for this project:

1. Journaling exercise: Grab a piece of paper and a pen or pencil. Write each letter of the alphabet down the left margin of the paper, one letter per line. Then write one thing that makes you HAPPY next to each letter of the alphabet, as shown in the photo below. (Feel free to get creative with finding one thing for each letter. Since I'm not really into xylophones, I put Extra gum for the letter "X".)

2. Once your list is complete, find one photo for each of the things on your list. You can use a photo you already have, take a new photo, or get on Google Images and find a photo. Make sure to select the large image size option when searching for photos on Google Images so the print quality is best.  Print your photos.

3.  Trim your photos to 4x4 or 4x5, and then add them to the appropriate page to match the letter of the alphabet each thing starts with. 

4.  Add your journaling.  You can simply write the name of whatever the item is that makes you happy, or you can write a brief reason why it makes you happy, or anything significant you'd like to record about that particular item.

5.  Add letter stickers to the front cover to create your title.  My title is "Happy Me from A to Z", but feel free to change that up if you'd like. 

(I haven't had the chance to finish mine yet due to unforseen and very time cosuming computer issues, but these photos will give you the idea.)

A few notes about why I chose this project: First, I think it's essential to scrapbook about ourselves; second, I wish I had something like this about my Mom and/or my grandma.  Not only would it give me a better feel for their personality, but I would also learn something about pop culture at that time.  Hopefully this will be something that you and your family/friends will treasure.

And lastly, thank you SO MUCH for your positive comments, your great suggestions, and your participation.  This is the first time I've done something like this and I've learned a few things about the process, so hopefully if I do it again it will be even better.  Happy scrapping!