Write. Click. Scrapbook.

and the giveaway goes to . . .

Thank you, Elle, and Elle's Studio for such a terrific giveaway! We are thrilled to announce that our giveaway goes to

Carrie, consider it a belated birthday present for you! teehee! Please email your mailing address to us at writeclickscrapbook at gmail dot com so that we may get you your goodies!

For those you weren't selected, don't forget to click over to Elle's Studio to pick up the vintage labels and the 2011 calendar. It's never too early to start preparing for Christmas!

Stay tuned for more clever ideas from Monika!

give.away.day. featuring ELLE'S STUDIO

::beep beep beep::

::beep beep beep beep beep::

We interrupt this Christmas in July week to bring you a

featuring one of our prized sponsors

Did you know Elle’s Studio has just released 17 new items, including 2011 calendars and some super cute vintage number tags?

 

And have you heard that they have an upcoming journaling class, entitled, Journaling: In Your Own Words. And did you know that Journaling: In Your Own Words will be completely free? Mark your calendars for August 8th through August 28th, and set your bookmark to the Elle's Studio blog. This will be a 3-week journey exploring how 12 different scrapbookers tell their stories including tips and techniques to help you share your own story through and on your scrapbooking projects! (There will be giveaways, too, so mark it on your calendar and make sure you don’t miss it! Or better yet, become a Elle's Studio facebook fan to not only show your support but also to have a reminder that that August 8th is coming soon!!!)

If you would like to be considered for a fun assortment of Elle's Studio new goodies, please leave us a comment telling us your favorite calendar day, and why. Then, when you are the lucky number, you can take those vintage number labels and those calendar pages and make a fantastic page to preserve your memory. Or you can make some lovelies such as these by the Elle's Studio creative team.

Or,in support of Monika's efforts to get us ready for Christmas this year, feel free to use your new Elle's Studio calendar to create fun and beloved presents for Christmas! Oooh, the mini-album possibilities! Your families will adore them, and you. (But don't forget to order an extra calendar for yourself so you aren't tempted to steal back the gifted ones!)

Comments will remain open until 8:00 pm PST and the lucky number will be selected at random and posted tomorrow. Please remember to check back to see if yours is the lucky number before midnight Saturday! And just to leave you with a little song in your head....

Dashing through the snow. In a one horse open sleigh...

Christmas in July :: Treat Bag Toppers & Calendars

I am a happy little elf knowing that you're all enjoying the downloads! Mission accomplished.

Ready for me to reveal another secret? These are the first downloads I have ever completed entirely on my own! Designed, saved as PDFs, uploaded to blog...and it worked!  I did design one other download {scroll to bottom of post for free download} but I had to rely on Ali to work out the details of the PDF. But not this go around. I wanted to master it on my own and make it work...and I did! {Okay, I'm a little Type A and hate asking for help!}

REMEMBER: Never underestimate the power of yourself...you CAN do it!

So, on to today's adventure in crafting...Treat Bag Toppers to the rescue! {The reverse side of the design was left blank for you to have room to add your own personal message before folding over and adhering to the treat bag.}

 

Download Wcs_treatbagtoppers_monikawright

Yes, another download! Did you notice that all of the downloads to this point coordinate with one another? And if you're interested in the name of the font I've been using, it's called Pharmacy. I downloaded it for free from here. It's my new favorite.

So. At some point, we've all made up treat bags, haven't we? I happen to like the whole process of choosing the treats and packaging them up, but know that others feel like it's a chore. Here, two pencils are wrapped with ribbon and an eraser is covered with scrap holiday-themed paper and inserted into a snack bag before adhering {with glue dots} the treat bag topper to the snack bag.

 

If you prefer, use the ellophane bags that are available at Wal-Mart, Michael's, JoAnne's and Hobby Lobby in the candy-making aisles. 

But, if you're doing this the night before the Pre-School and 2nd Grade holiday parties, don't be discouraged. By all means use the zip top snack bags as I have here. It won't make a difference to the kids...it's all about making what you have on-hand work for you. I used colored staples to adhere the treat bag topper to the sandwich bag, these items were too heavy to use glue dots.

One can never go wrong gifting chocolate, especially Dove's dark chocoloate! I used my Crop-o-Dile from We R Memory Keepers to punch through the bag topper and the snack bag, strung some baker's twine through the holes and added an embellishment. I think this version is my favorite.

And what is Christmas without an Advent Calendar? At least for our family. I purchased this calendar at Target {online} two years ago, and saw the same style again in the store last year, but in red.

1. gather your Christmas-themed supplies and unscrew door handles
2. embellish door layouts so that door will still open, remembering to punch hole for door handle
3. decide if you will put dates in number order or random fashion 
4. choose your daily treats and make tags for each date
5. reattach door handles

For the past two years, our tags have included an assortment of clues to hidden, inexpensive gifts that would not fit behind the door, chocolate, dollar bills, family game nights, watching favorite holiday movies together as a family, family date night {dinner out} and items from the Dollar Spots at Target, Michael's and the Dollar Tree.  And we do all this x3, since we have three kids {18, 6, 4} and trust me the 18-year old does NOT want to be left out! 

At times it felt that they were more interested in the treat than the meaning behind it all. This year, we're adopting an idea I found in blogland and I wish I knew who to credit: reading a Chrismtas story for each of the 25 nights! We already have a nice collection of stories, but not 25. So we'll supplement that with new books, Bible stories and library books.

Here's a different spin on a countdown calendar I posted to the write.click.scrapbook. Flickr gallery before I was a design team member. Yes, it really is a cookie sheet. And those are wedding favor heart tins. I displayed this in the kitchen, so it fit the theme. You could also spray paint the cookie sheet for a cute alternative.

And one last calendar idea: a birthday countdown. Now they won't have to ask you how many days there are until their birthday! Here's the before, which was purchased at the Dollar Tree.

  
Here it is after I sanded down the shiny finish, painted with blue and green acrylic paints and used spray chalkboard paint for the middle. I might still try to cover the chalkboard paint and spray the outer rim with clear acrylic spray so that the colors will really pop!

I'd love to see your treat bags and calendars, so take a quick photo and upload them to our Flickr gallery.

Remember, tomorrow is give.away.day. {you never want to miss one of those} so I'll see you again on Friday!

"I don't remember, that's why I scrapbook."

Christmas in July :: Make it Pretty

I'm so glad you're here for another day of holiday cheer. Wow, day one was busy wasn't it? Greeting cards take some time but bring joy to those receiving them, so to me it's worth it. 

In my mind, the packaging of a gift is almost more important than the gift itself. Silly I know. But, who doesn't adore being presented with a gift that looks lovely, enticing, well-packaged and begging to be opened? {As a child, I might just have used the scissors to cut through the tape on my Christmas gifts and then used rolled up tape behind the original spot to make it appear that it had not been touched. It's not my fault, they were begging to be opened!}

GASP! EEK! HORROR! Another secret revealed.

Today we'll take a page of labels and turn common everyday household items into lovely, enticing, well-packaged gifts that you'll be proud to present. Are you ready to get crafty?

I bet you already guessed that your gift from me today was another download. These labels are sized to be used with your favorite 2 inch punch and can be printed on white cardstock, colored cardstock, kraft or even those 8.5 x 11 full label sticker sheets.

Download Wcs_roundlabels_monikawright

If you don't have access to a color printer, don't despair. Print those labels! I'll show you ways to add color with your stash of scrapbooking supplies. Believe me, people will notice your creativity, not that they weren't printed in color.

Reduce. Reuse. Recycle. By doing so, our family has reduced our trash pick-up to just 3 bags per week for a family of 5. Which also means that we have a lot of empty containers floating around. It's gotten so bad that Mr. wRight and the 3 kiddos ask me, "Can you use this for your scrapbooking, Mommy?", before they take it to the garage.

And that story brings me to this:

The first container was originally a bread crumb container, the second housed almonds and the third container held Stampin' Up brads. I'll use the first container to gift chocolate oatmeal cookies to my brother. He travels during the week and now he won't have to bother with returning my container. The second will have Nutty Nut Slippery Melts for my daughter's teacher. The smallest container will have a roll of stamps for my Mom's stocking. Three gifts wrapped and only a cajillion to go!

If you're interested in how I made the flower embellishments, I have a tutorial on my blog.

From start to finish in 5 steps:

1. find the card you'd like to use
2. embellish the label with ribbon
3. used pop dots behind the label
4. punch your desired shape from the front of the card 
5. place patterned paper behind the punched shape 

The 3" scallop punch is from Paper Shapers.

What to do for a classroom full of second graders? 

Candy cane treats, what else? Remember to have your child write their holiday message on the back of the punched scallop BEFORE assembling! Muuuuuuch easier.

Gift cards are a popular gift option for everyone. Have a few gift tins ready before you go shopping and pop them in when you get home. More gifts wrapped!

 
 Another use for the label?

Use them for napkin rings. Or, you could write around the white circle shape {on the green cardstock} with the guest's name for a place card.

I bet you didn't even notice that the place cards weren't colored ink did you?

Keep a few extra labels on hand so you don't run out when you finally have a quiet moment to wrap a few gifts. Funny right? Quiet moment? At Christmas? With the kids at home on Break?

And just a few more ideas before we meet again tomorrow. The labels are an ideal size to be used:

1. in your December Daily albums as journaling spots
2. in your December Daily albums as a place to hold your date
3. as embellishments for layouts and mini-albums
4. as a Christmas memory game
5. as gifts {embellish a few and package them up for Teacher gifts!}

Share with me in the comments some of your own unique ways to package gifts. Even better, post a photo to our Flickr Group or add a link to your comment.

"I don't remember, that's why I scrapbook."

Christmas in July :: Holiday Greetings & A Mini Album

Hi, I'm Monika Wright, and I'm one of the newest Write. Click. Scrapbook. design team members. I'm going to admit something to you right here, right now...I like crafting, projects, mini albums, creating home decor items, card making, altering items and photography more than I like making scrapbook layouts.

GASP! HORROR! SURPRISE! A secret revealed.

There I said it. I should tell you though that I have 8 albums full of layouts, so it's not as if I layouts aren't on my agenda. It's just I think all those other ideas are more fun. Please don't judge me. I'm a good person. Really. Hang around to see what fun I have in store for you this week. Okay, I might even include a layout or two, we'll see.

Now on to our week of holiday projects, ideas and gifts. While you're searching for your address book, go ahead and turn on your favorite holiday tunes and make yourself a mug of hot cocoa. We're starting this crafting party out by getting our greeting cards ready. You heard me right, Christmas cards. In July.

Most people don't have fancy photo editing programs that allow one to send custom designed photo cards to friends and family every year. Or if we do have those programs, they can be a bit intimidating. But, we're not going to let that stop us today.

Just for you, the best blog readers ever, I've designed post card blanks in an 8.5 x 11 format that can be printed at home, trimmed and then adhered to the back of a favorite photograph. I've included cut lines to make the trimming easier. A little gift from me to you!

 

Download Wcs_postcards_monikawright

Now that you've downloaded your file:  

1. gather your photographs
2. print the post card blanks
3. write a sweet note
4. address the card
5. add a stamp

You've just completed your greeting cards in 5 easy steps. Easy, cute, and inexpensive. {Be sure to use a glue stick or some other strong adhesive, you don't want the photo and the post card to detach during mailing.} I've mailed photo postcards like this as thank you notes for birthday party gifts and it works!

Now I'll share with you a mini album that can be prepared before the holiday rush. I purchased mine at an end of season sale. I had to store it for a year, but I got it on the cheap so it was worth it to me.

1. trim your cardstock
2. select your patterned papers
3. gather embellishments to store in a baggie
4. print holiday photos
5. assemble pages

With a little planning {steps 1 - 3 are done in advance} you'll have another 5 step project {almost} ready! And while you're at it, why not do more than one.

Each year I do a holiday recap album for my in-laws as well as my Mom, with photos exclusive to our celebrations with them. Their albums are always the same design, just with different photos. It makes it easier for me and they're happy to have their albums so quickly after Christmas.

I think an opening page is always nice. This photo of the best cookies in the whole world don't do justice to their goodness. They're called Butter Hoernchen {German for Butter Crescents} and I could eat the whole tin in one sitting. They just melt in your mouth. And I have to wait another six months until they make their appearance.

Photos of kids and grandparents and family together are always treasured. Yes, it's great to have those" in the moment" not smiling at the camera photos, but one day the posed photos will be a treasure to have, too. Looking through my photo library, I'm amazed at how few photos we have of family members together in the same photo. Does that happen to you, too?

See how simple this is? Line around the page, minimal embellishments and just enough room for some journaling.

And the closing page. This is one of my favorite quotes about family and just seems to sum it all up for me. I sign all the projects I design for family with the line :: the wright stuff :: and the year.

Please share samples of your own holiday greeting cards and post them to our Flicker Group or share a link in the comments. I would love to see your creative ideas!

"I don't remember, that's why I scrapbook."

The Single Flower

photo and quote selection by Jody Dent-Pruks

quick to the point to the point no faking...

 

...I'm cooking MC's like a pound of bacon!

You know you’re going to miss those wicked rhymes LOL 

Now I can’t believe that my week here on the blog is about to come to an end.  It’s been fun co-hosting with Vanilla Ice this week and looking at ways to tackle fairly common problems we all experience as scrapbookers. 

Hopefully I have shown you plenty of examples of how to tackle things in different ways, as time and enthusiasm permits. Still, it’s not just about the end result. It’s the “getting to” that often poses the problem. 

Today I will be looking at the systems I have set up that support my crafty endeavours; systems that make things a little bit easier to get in and get some scrapbooking done whilst still living that crazy busy life we all seem to have! 

Now these are the things that work for me: 

Be Organised:

Oh yeah, sounds so obvious. That’s all good for you over achieving type A’s who would rather clean and sort than sleep I hear you muttering LOL (ok, I will admit there is a teeny tiny kernel of truth in that statement) but I really do see being organised as the solution to time poor scrapping (actually, time poor anything). 

Yes, I know it sounds as much fun as having your taxes audited, but the time you spend getting things ship shape will be paid back to you many times over in productive scrapbooking hours. 

Keeping and working with the supplies you love makes things so much simpler. You know the statement…can’t see the forest for the trees, well it applies to your scrapbooking stash as well. There is nothing like a good sort and purge to get my creative juices flowing!!

 

When everything is sorted, labelled and accessible it makes it so much easier to grab a few supplies and get working. My clear containers allow me to locate an item, use it and then put it back easily. 

It also means that if you have a big mess, it can be packed up quickly. As I don’t have a dedicated scrap space I do have to pack up after I scrap and if I can make that as painless as possible, I am more likely to get the supplies out in the first place. I can also take these containers with me when I go to scrapbook away from home. 

If you need any help with getting organised, you should take a look at our Spring Cleaning Week for lots of good ideas from the wcs team.

Set up a System:

Without a doubt the thing that saved my sanity when it came to my albums was adopting Stacey Julian’s Library of Memories approach. This was my “aha” moment because I could not sustain chronological scrapbooking (I'm all about the new set of photos in my hand!!).

 
 

By setting up four 12” x 12” albums (people we love, all about us, places we go, and things we do) I was free to do as I liked, when I liked! It doesn’t matter what I choose to scrap, there is a place to put it. I also put all size layouts into these folders – 8.5” x 11”, 8” x 8”and of course 12” x 12”. Brilliant. Easy. Love it more than chocolate…ok, maybe not that much. 

Now these are not my only albums. These albums may be the backbone of my system, but there are other formats that I use to make life easier.

I have set up a series of albums for my 2 sons Oscar & Byron. They have an album (or two), which is just about them. They have school albums for Primary and High School. Byron also has a Preschool / Daycare album. I set the albums up exactly the same (keep it simple) and then just add each year. 

 

Byron's Daycare album was the first album I ever completed and it works in fine with his other albums.

The mini book should have a place in the scrapbooking hall of fame. They are just so do-able and time friendly. I have lots of mini’s and I plan to make many more. 

These are some of the albums that I have been showing you this week.

Subject albums are like the ones we have looked at this week, dedicated to a topic such as a holiday.  Once they are done you can move on or they can be open ended, where you add to them when you want.

The spine labels are clips that slid on and inserts so you can write on them. They are from a company called "Smiggle" and I use them all the time. With my "big" album I used one sideways on the cover. Very versatile. 

Back to Basics:

Find a place to work, whether is's a dedicated space (lucky you) or a place you can call yours till dinner is ready!!

 

Cardstock, patterned papers and your favourite embellishments should be in an easy to get to place. If you have to go hunting, you know you will probably talk yourself out of it! 

Have a set of tools ready to go. I have a bag that contains the basics and it also holds my ruler and cutter. If I need to bring in the heavy artillery – crop-o-dile, zyron etc - I can go to my cupboard and retrieve the items.  

 

 

 

Let’s face it, our photos are the jumping off point for most of our ideas so having them available makes sense. Sort, purge, print and file your photos so you have things ready to go when you need them. 

Make use of Special Scrapping Time:

I usually get to about 2 scrapbook weekends away a year. I love these getaways and catching up with friends, checking out people’s work and eating great food. In fact, if I am not careful I could spend the three days talking and eating chocolate!!

When I do have dedicated scrapbooking time I plan before I go, so I can maximise what I get done (and still leave plenty of time for talking and eating chocolate).

I have been known to bring my computer, my printer, and my own office chair (sitting for 3 days can do you in without a little comfort LOL). I pick a project and gather all the things I need so that I can hit the ground running, or scrapping as the case may be.  

 

I usually come home with my project completed or very close; happy that I achieved so much and tired from laughing, eating and little sleep.

Have Fun:

I can’t stress this one enough. If you are not having fun then you have to wonder why you are doing it. I love to get my supplies out and work on a project. I love the people I have met through this great hobby. 

I love that when I’m not feeling the love so much I can take a break, re-energise and then when the enthusiasm strikes, dive straight back in. 

So how are those problems looking now? 

Do ya think we have solved them? Or given you some new ideas to get moving on the solving? 

Word to your mother…it’s been a great week and thanks for all the great comments and feedback.

Now I have to stop pretending to be a 90’s rapper and I think I’m going to miss it!! 

If there was a problem yo I'll solve it

Check out the hook while Jody revolves it.

Ice, ice baby…

 

keep my composure when it's time to get loose...

 
 
 

...magnetised by the mic while I kick my juice!

Ahhh, I just never get tired of those awesome lyrics… but it’s back to solving your scrapbooking problems. 

I have so many ideas swirling around in my head, I know that I have to be a little smarter in the way I scrapbook. As I said earlier this week, I love being able to scrap out of order, working on different things at different times. 

With that in mind I have set up albums that I can easily come back and add to over time. Kids school albums are a perfect example of this; set up your system and then each year you update. You know what you are doing and it shouldn’t take to long, you just have to watch that you don’t fall behind (not saying that that has happened to me. Ha!). 

Other albums I have set up include fun albums like our “Little Book of Big Things”. I had noticed from our holiday snaps that we had gathered a small collection of photos of the kids posing with “big” things that you find in touristy spots. That was when I decided to make this small 6” x 6” album to document all these kitsch attractions. 

I kept it really simple – photo – location – journaling – date, and set the template up on my computer. I chose a patterned paper I thought would go with a lot of photos and used a small amount as my embellishment. I wrote a brief summary of how / why / when and that’s it. 

 

You can see the photos span nearly 10 years and I have plenty of space in that album to add another 10 years worth!

I made sure I wrote down all the details of papers, fonts, point sizes and colours so that I can always replicate it when I need to. I also cut the patterned paper into the 6” x ½ “ strips that I needed and tucked all this in the last page, so it is there whenever I go back to it. I can update an entry in this album in about 20 minutes.

 

Sure, that paper might run out and I might not be able to find it (note to self: check sisters stash to see if she has a sheet of this Basic Grey Recess paper LOL) but if that happens, I will just choose another coordinating paper and move on. When people look through this album, it’s not the paper that they are laughing and reminiscing about.

My “Gimme 5” album (a great BPS class by Cathy Zielski) is set up the same way. I worked through all the entries I wanted to during the class, and then decided that there was nothing stopping me adding people as time went on.

I have the template on my computer and when I think of a person, or 5 facts about them I jot it down in a note at the back of the album. I also cut up plenty of patterned paper squares so when I am ready for an update it will be quick and painless, and I’m not at the mercy of having just the right orange patterned paper on hand.

 

Other albums I have set up using this method include my “family stories “ album (old photos and a fond memory from my childhood). There is no pressure on me to update it, but if I come across a photo and I have a story, then I can quickly pull a page together. 

There is no rule that scrapbooking is an all or nothing proposition. Slow and steady (adding a page here, adding a page there) really can win the scrapping race!! I have lots of albums on the go and it does not bother me that they aren’t “technically” finished, we still get lots of enjoyment out of them and that’s really what its all about. 

OK, tomorrow is our last day. Sigh. Now that you have seen the albums and the layouts, I thought I would finish up by talking about the systems that I have in place that let me get any sort of scrapbooking done. 

Sounds like a plan…

And just before I go, a few photos for Vicki who had asked me in the comments section on Wednesday about scrapping albums for sport coaches, and I told her I would find some old ones of mine. Here they are.

Take heed 'cause I'm a lyrical poet

Miami's on the scene just in case you didn't know it!

       

and the giveaway goes to . . .

Soleil Moon Frye was Punky Brewster? Really? teehee...

Thank you for all your comments. And yes, we love all our Aussie visitors and their thongs (though must admit that we are curious as to what you call those flossy panties??).

Clearly, the rumors are true--women love their shoes. It was fun to read through the responses and see how not only do you mostly all have a favorite pair, but that sometimes you buy them in every color, and always call them by name and sometimes by embellishments! Oooh, we adore you so, our kind and lovely readers.

This week's lucky number belongs to

Jennifer, congratulations! We hope you enjoy your new kits! Please send your mailing address to us at writeclickscrapbook at gmail dot com. Thank you!

Up next, Jody and Vanilla join us with more lyrics and advice! See you shortly!

give.away.day.

Today is our vacation episode of

 
Marnie drove 30 plus hours to arrive in the scrapbooking mecca of Salt Lake City, Utah. It didn't take long for her to drive the familiar path to her favorite (and first) scrapbooking store, Paper Creations. [Not only are the still in business, but they are still as sweet and wonderful as ever.]

Guessing that some of you are as stranded as Marnie is at home for local scrapbook shopping, we thought it might be fun for Marnie to go on a little shopping spree for one of you! Channeling her best April (of Studio Calico fame), Marnie gathered supplies for two collections. The first is Soleil. Filled with fun bright colors, patterns, and a few yards of ribbon. (Including an heart shaped one selected by Poppy (and approved by Marnie).)

 

The second collection is Moon Frye. Very now, very hip, Marnie outdid herself by putting together bold graphic patterns in the lastest au current color pallette.

 

If you would like a chance to have Soleil & Moon Frye arrive in your mailbox, please leave a comment telling us your favorite summer footwear. Do you prefer the bright colors on your flip flops, or are you hip and trendy in your grey gladiators? (The FitFlop is my shoe of choice. Comfy molded footbed and a bit of exercise for the derriere at the same time. What could be better?)

Comments will remain open until 8:oo pm PST. One lucky number will be chosen at random and posted tomorrow. Please remember it is your responsiblity to check back and claim your number before the clock strikes midnight on Saturday!