Write. Click. Scrapbook.

2011 Highlights!

As the year draws to a close, we are grateful for a year filled with new additions, a new look, and new features. We hope that you have loved everything we have created for you! As a finale for the year, we brought back a few fan favorites!

What a terrific year it has been. We can only imagine what next year will bring... Thank you, dear readers, for being here every step of the way!

Then & Now

Greetings from snowy Montreal! Ann here, blogging from my mother's house where we are visiting my family after spending three blissful weeks in Florida with Mickey and all the princesses. It was our 2nd trip as a family of four so I made a point of re-creating many of the same pictures that we took during our previous trip. As a result, I have a plethora of Then/Now pictures that really show how my kids have changed in the last 4 years.

My favourite one of those is the Santa picture from the American pavilion at Epcot. I used the picture from 2007 and the one from 2011 to create my yearly Santa picture page. I cannot see many changes in Santa and Mrs. Claus but my kids sure have grown!

After creating this page, I came up with a few additional ideas for holiday themed Then/Now pages:

• Christmas pajamas: my kids get a new matching pair every year, it would be fun to look back and see all of the different ones from years past.
• Letters to Santa: would it be great to see how their handwriting evolved and what they asked Santa to bring each year? 
• Christmas cards: each year I create a digital Christmas card that I print to send to family and friends. I can already picture a layout showcasing all of these cards!

I have tried many times to complete a December Daily album and am not ashamed to admit that I failed miserably every time. However, this Then/Now theme is giving me hope. Yes indeed, perhaps there is hope for this mini-album challenged gal ;) Hum....wheels are turning, gotta get scrapping!

and the giveaway goes to . . .

Congratulations Laura! Please send your mailing address to us at writeclickscrapbook at gmail dot com!

give.away.day. featuring JENNI BOWLIN STUDIOS

Guess what?  It's...

featuring an amazing giveaway from the incomparable Jenni Bowlin! Woohoo!

If you like vintage, then you’re going to love Jenni Bowlin’s November Papercrafting kit! The November Kit features Jenni Bowlin Studio's new Red/Black Extension IV line. It's stunning and classic, a sure bet for your pages!

 

 

 

The kit includes: 8 double sided JBS Papers, 2 Bazzill Cardstocks, 1 Coredinations Cardstock, 1 JBS Shadow Sticker sheet, 1 package of JBS Vintage Number Cards, 1 package of Basic Grey Brads, Mercantile Exclusive Stamp, Mercantile Exclusive Stencil, Mercantile Exclusive Month Bingo Card, 1 vintage early 1900’s “Will” ledger page, May Arts Twill Ribbon, Maya Road Resin Flowers, and 3 small vintage milk caps.

write.click.scrapbook design team member, Celeste Smith, created this page with the kit. Don't you love how she used each piece of paper in the kit to create her banner?

But wait there's MORE! Jenni is so generous, she's also sending the winner these fabulous Days of the Week clear stamps.

Former write. click. scrapbook. team member, Lisa Dickinson, rocked these stamps on this layout.

You know you want it!! Just leave a comment below telling us what your favorite item in the kit is. After you leave your comment here, don't forget to click over to the JBS blog and check out what Jenni's design team did with this kit.

Comments will remain open through this evening. One lucky number will be selected at random and posted tomorrow. Please remember it is your responsibility to claim your lucky number before midnight Saturday. You will be contacted within one week to verify your email. All giveaways are shipped directly from the sponsoring company at their discretion.

December Dailies - an update

Hello dear Friends! Alexandra here to share with you a look at the three December Dailies I undertook this month of December.

With a daughter studying abroad, I really got to feel the warmth and magic the Holidays can bring. Nothing felt sweeter than having her home again and celebrating the Advent and Christmas with our three children.

 

Two years ago I kept one DD, last year I had two and this year three and eventhough I'm nuts about the concept of the December Daily, no I will not have four DDs in 2012!

DD#1 is a fabric covered 6inch post album. Its concept is very simple: one page is devoted to the journaling while the opposite page is composed of a 6" photo collage made under Picasa.

I made exactly the same album last December and found it both easy to keep and fun to go back to. As of today, I'm almost finished with this DD. All my mosaics are printed, I just have to type 5 journalings and it'll be finished.

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DD#2 is a binder I made using a very soft red fabric and Tim Holtz fancy metal corners:

For this December Daily, I have used Hipstamatic pictures taken with my iPhone. I had prepared the pages ahead of time and used the beautiful Lost&Found collection.

This DD was by far the easiest and fastest album to finish. I also enjoyed the "creative" aspect of that one!

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DD#3 is a series of folded card tucked into an empty cigar box.

I used "old" papers and Avital marvelous journaling cards for this December Daily. I have enjoyed keeping it but must admit it was too time consuming.

Here is a look at all 25 cards:

and what a card looks like when opened:

I still have to finish arranging quite a few instant pictures and journalings inside these cards.

How about you? Have you been journaling your December? Have you finished your album(s)? Do share!

 

Journal your Holidays

December 27 is a good day at my house. By now I’ve managed to recycle the wrapping paper, sort and put away the boxes, and organize the new stuff, so the house is a little tidier and the kids are happily playing with their recent acquisitions. My December 27^th tradition is to find a quiet moment (as quiet as I can find in a house with three teenagers and a six-year-old) to write down our Christmas-day details.

I always feel better once I’ve journaled about a big event like Christmas. That way, it doesn’t matter when I get around to scrapping the photos. The stories and the little moments I might forget are all saved—and it also gives me an idea of how much space I need for journaling when I do get the layouts made.

Sometimes, though, it’s tricky to write about Christmas. Some things are repetitive—how many times do you need to write "we opened pajamas on Christmas Eve," for example? And there are often just so many details to get down—it can get a little bit overwhelming. Then there are all those heightened emotions caused by the expectation and the sentiments. Writing about the holidays can be overwhelming.

So!

If you’d like to get your holiday memories down but aren’t quite sure where to start, here’s a handful of ideas to help you give structure to your stories. Use them as a start and see where they take you.

What’s Unique?

Even though our holiday traditions mean that every year we do the same things, every year always brings something unique. For example, since this Christmas fell on a Sunday, at our house we decided to just open our stockings before we went to church, and then we finished the rest of the presents after. This added a completely different feel to our holiday! What was unique about this holiday season at your house?

One Moment

Rather than writing about the day in its entirety, focus on just one special moment. One of my favorite experiences this year, for example, was watching my daughter Haley open a pair of jeans she’d been coveting since October. I’d orchestrated it so she was completely surprised—and her response (that scream of joy that only 16-year-old girls know how to make) made all my efforts worth it!

the Preparations Behind It All

Speaking of orchestrating! Women do so much to prepare for Christmas, and in those preparations is an abundance of stories that often go untold. Maybe you had an incredibly lucky Black-Friday find? Or an epiphany about the exactly right gift right in the middle of Target? The story could be where you bought the gift or the lengths you went to in making it.

Honestly

Sometimes (surprise!) not everything goes as planned. You could, of course, sort of gloss over the disappointing and/or difficult bits—or you could be honest and write about it. This year, for example, I could tell that my nearly-14-year-old son was deflated even though he got quite a bit of what he’d hoped for. I finally realized it’s because of his age, and that’s what I journaled about. Even at Christmastime, authentic life is always more interesting to read about than the glossy bits.

Draw Connections Between Generations
Family is such an inherent part of the holidays. Try journaling about connections between, say, your son and a great aunt, or your daughter and her grandfather. Or, try a different angle by writing about a deceased relative you used to see during the holidays and what you wished your child knew about him or her.

Undocumented traditions

Every year, my kids receive a Christmas tree ornament. I started this tradition so that when they move out and have their own tree, they’ll already have some beloved ornaments to start with. But this year while I was shopping for ornaments, I realized that I’ve never written about the tradition. Are there any traditions you have that you haven’t written about?

Perspectives
How have things changed since last Christmas? What tradition from your childhood holidays do you miss? What conversations did you have that made you look at this year’s celebration from a different light?

The Impact of an Object

The objects we surround ourselves with during the holidays become more important each year. Write about what a favorite holiday object adds to your festivities. One example: I give my kids their Christmas-eve pajamas in the same gift bag every year. The bags themselves (one is fragile and held together only by clear packing tape and hope) each tell their own stories!

Your Own Experiences/Thoughts/Realizations

It’s easy, in all the preparation we do for others on the holidays, to overlook our own experiences. Take some time to write down what you thought or felt this year. What gifts did you receive that you loved? What did you experience?

Involve Someone Else

Sometimes the most authentic way to write about someone else is to get that person to do the writing! Ask your kids, significant other, family members, or friends to write down what they loved about Christmas. You could have them write about:

favorites:

• carol
•  food we ate
• December-break activity
• gift you received
• gift you gave
• item in stocking
• decoration
• moment

activities:

• ate
• opened
• gave
• went
• listened to
• saw
• smelled
• laughed over
• made
• were surprised by
• hoped for


little holiday details:

• weather
• decorations
• candles
• goodies
• friends
• family
• comfort
• beverage
• candy
• tradition

Happy holiday writing!

 

Planning Ahead for 2012

I hope you had a lovely Christmas, are enjoying Hanukkah, or beginning your Kwanzaa festivities. And if none of those holidays fit, I wish you a happy Winter! Now that Christmas has passed with joyous celebration in my house and we're enjoying the last few days of 2011, I've got a quick project for you to get ready for the new year. This will help you document YOU in 2012, one month at a time. I put this tutorial together for Scrapbook and Cards Today a while back, but thought I'd share it here as well.

The idea comes from my friend, Tina Aszmus, who does something on her blog called, "Currents." She blogs the following things (with a bit of creative license and variation) every week or so:

•enjoying

•thinking

•eating 

•drinking

•wearing

•listening to

•wanting 

•weather

•feeling

•wondering

I've taken her idea and made a few layouts with these lists over the past couple of years and thought it would be fun to make a mini and capture the year this way. I put together this mini to do just that.

First off, you'll want to score a 12x12 piece of cardstock into thirds (at 4 inches and 8 inches), then you'll cut that 12x12 in half, so you have two 6 inch pieces. Fold them accordion style and glue together by overlapping two of the flaps. A 12-pocket album will use six–6 inch strips glued together.

Once your accordion is glued together, cut twelve 3 " x 4" rectangles and punch a half hole on one of the 4 inch sides. Then glue a rectangle to the right side of each two page spread. To get all twelve, you'll also be using the back of the accordion to house your pockets and photos.

I then printed off the questions and cut them into 3" x 4" rectangles. I also cut up a sheet of calender bingo cards from the Year•o•graphy collection from Simple Stories (all patterned papers and stickers are from this line). I slipped the questions and the calendar in the pocket. 

The final step is adding the cover. I cut a 6" x 12" piece of paper, scored it at 4.5" and 8.5" then glued the back page of the album to that scored part. Then I scored at 3.5" and 9.5" so the cover would fold up and around the accordion. 

Decorate as desired, you can add a ribbon to hold it all together if you'd like. And there you have it, an accordion mini album, waiting to be filled. So every month in 2012, I'll take a picture of myself, attach it opposite the month pocket, fill out the card, and circle the date on the calendar. By the end of the year, I'll have a snap shot of me!

I hope this has inspired you to create your own snapshot. I promise this mini is fast and easy, I've already made a couple and know I'll be coming back to this style a lot in the next year, it's such a flexible project!

Enjoy the last week of 2011!

 

Sunday Photo + Words

{Photo: Lisa Ottosson}

write. click. scrapbook!

This is the Saturday where we get to put it all together. While you may not have had time yet to do your play along layout, I couldn't resist Donna's sketch, and Crystal's new kit, so I carved out a few precious moments and put one together. I opted for a bokeh photo and a childhood memory to round out the challenges.

Thanks for stopping by. Now go finish shopping! teehee!!

Merry everything and happy always!

Last-Minute Gift-Wrapping Inspiration

With only two days left until Christmas I'm going to dare to ask, are you ready?  I am, mostly.  There are quite a few things still left to do on my, um, to-do list, but the 25th of December marks the beginning of the Christmas season for my family, and I generally try not the sweat the small stuff.  However, there is one thing that needs to get done before Christmas day, and that is the wrapping of gifts!  If you are anything like me (meaning you are a bit of a procrastinator) you might be looking for some inspiration in the gift-wrapping department.  I'm here to help!  I've gathered some of my favorite ideas to share with you today, almost all of which can be made with supplies that most of us as scrapbookers already have on hand.  Personally, I love the handmade feel of a lot of these examples and so if you don't have these supplies available, improvise!  I think most of us can agree that when it comes to last-minute gift wrapping, simple is better.  So, relax, don't panic, and use what you do have.  It truly will all work out in the end. 

First-up is a collection of presents wrapped in kraft paper and glassine envelopes.  Add basic shipping tags and twine and the result is simple and elegant.

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Re-purpose your grocery bags as gift wrap.  For example, Trader Joe's always has wonderful graphics on their bags this time of year (I'm sure there are other stores out there with cute designs too).  Add simple white tags, twine, red ribbon, or washi tape - instant cute!

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The next two examples are not specific to this season, but can easily be translated into Christmas wrapping.  The various designs below were created by re-purposing paper grocery bags (again? yes! kraft is such a great neutral for any occasion) and scrapbook paper (and we all have lots of that on hand, don't we?!)

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You can find the tutorial for how to make these origami gift boxes, here.  And another tutorial on making your own doilies, here.

This gift-wrapping example includes some really cute, simple, and free printable tags.  If you click on the source link you'll find the post to download these tags for yourself.

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Speaking of tags, why not wrap all your presents in the same color paper and let your gift tags give that final punch of color and style.  All of the examples below are available as free printables.  I've linked to the source pages where you'll find the downloads for each set.

I think these mail-themed tags are adorable.  I absolutely love the combination of red and aqua

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I also love this tag

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They are from the same designer, with the same color scheme; one with white gift-wrap, one with kraft.  Both are simple, pretty, and easy.

These next examples are fun and whimsical

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While this set has a more modern aesthetic

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Here is a set with a focus on typography

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And finally, a set of tags with a vintage feel

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Thanks for stopping by today!  I hope I've provided you with inspiration for getting those gifts wrapped with style.  Even if it is done at the last minute!

And before I go, let me take this opportunity to wish all of our readers a very Merry Christmas!