Write. Click. Scrapbook.

In Review

Hard to believe, but it is the fourth Saturday already. Which means we get to look back at the month and all that we have seen. 

Erin began the month with an honest assessment of Project Life and some terrific suggestions for how to make our 2013 efforts more successful. Amy wrote our journaling column this month, listing three resolutions that she made to improve her journaling this year. (And if Amy needs to improve, the rest of use are in trouble!! heehee!)

Sarah's week kept us all in stitches and helped remind us to let our funny bones show in our albums. Lisa finished the week with her photography article, and several good ideas for improving our self portraits--hopefully inspiring us to get out from behind the lens to be in our own photos.

Next, Diane offered us ideas for getting the men in our lives into our photos and onto our photos. Diane also provided the sketch from our gallery this month, with Marnie adding in a color scheme and a trendalert.

Lastly, Valerie built upon Lisa's suggestions for taking more self portraits by inspiring us to create self-pages. (That's a good term, no? Self pages? I suppose it doesn't matter what we call them as long as we make them, right?)

 

Before the calender turns its page, let's look one more time back at our gallery. The sneaks for next month's gallery are on the Facebook page, which means we are close to a new theme! Speaking of Facebook, if you haven't added us as an interest, please remember to do so. Without it, you won't see all our lovely posts! As a reminder, click open the "like button" so that it opens the drop down menu. From there, you have to choose "add to interests list." If you haven't a particular interest group yet defined, you can do so now (we might suggest "awesome scrapbooking sites"). Remember, once you do this, our posts will show up on your wall. Otherwise, the powers that be at Facebook want us to pay for you to receive our content. And well, that's just silly now.

 

As we walk together through the gallery, let's look for successful and inspirational elements. Things we can use to help make our pages better.

Look how Francine combines a font oft used in sports for a layout filled with soft hues and flowery elements. The juxtaposition is fantastic!

The little elephant in Aliza's title is the perfect example of how her pages are layered with details that need to be discovered by looking at them again and again.

Celeste is the master of shading. No one would ever believe this layout was digital. Never.

Marnie's layout celebrates the happiness of the moment with color, and cheerful elements. All working together to tell the story.

Francine's layout talks about making making the most of the mundane moments, which is brought to life by her use of the bright yellow. Such a little thing to help tell her story so well.

Did you notice all the little bits tucked under the middle of Celeste's layout? Helping to tell the story of her needing notes? Again, using tiny elements to help tell the story.

The new small size of Lisa's layout is awesome! The grey is the perfect backdrop for the red of the flowers, too, helping them pop off the page.

How many of you took photos on 10.10.10 or 11.11.11 or 12.12.12? Let Katie's layout inspire you to get them scrapbooked! And perhaps string up a few sequins like she did. They are so pretty. Clever embellishment idea.

Jenny's layout is a splendid journaling example. Such a tremendous idea! Emily's has a similar theme, listing advice for a former self. Christa focused hers on her 18 year old self. All of them are equally amazing. These are the kind of layouts that you will treasure for years to come. 

Kathy's layout has such a fantastic pairing of stark black and vellum elements. Each makes the other stand out more.

Do you see the same date stamp on Deb's layout as Katie's? While you are looking, notice all the arrows. They are so subtle, yet so effective en masse.

Valerie's layout is so tender. Perhaps made all the moreso by her not having used a photo. It just goes to show that you really don't have to have a photo to create a heartfelt, meaningful layout.

Did you read that Jennie used a photo that sits on her dresser? What terrific inspiration for us to do the same.

All the little wooden elements on Amy's pages help provide a warm coziness to her otherwise bright layout. It brings in the perfect bit of homeyness, especially when paired with the little houses. (And did you see that cute little face on her baby? Mmm!)

The bits of cloud, sky, and butterflies are so perfect for Diane's photo. Have you ever had a photo that so helped to guide your layout??

Christine's layout is filled with loveliness. The airmail edge helps give it the feel of a letter. The backwards staple and the hand drawn arrows give it a personal sense. Which goes well with the personal journaling! Unified layouts have such peaceful balance.

Paula's layout has a funny funny story. If you haven't read it yet, go now. We'll wait... Sweet, no? Have you had something old pop into your head lately? Perhaps the next time you do, you can hurry and make a page like Paula did.

Erin's layout is a reminder to take a moment and write about motherhood. Or something else equally important to you right now. Written with real heartfelt journaling. The kind Amy would be proud of.

Speaking of Amy, her layout begins as a letter to her daughter, but really is a chance for her to express herself. A nice way to let your feelings show.

Kelly's layout is a simple acknowledgment of a lovely characteristic of her daughter. Sometimes pages really can just be so sweet and simple.

Marnie's layout uses a font that is reminiscent of a Sharpie. What a perfect thing for a note one leaves one's self. Sometimes there really is a perfect font for a layout.

Lisa repurposed some old jewelry for her flower embellishment. What a terrific way to maintain a budget and be good to Mother Earth!

Thank you to the collective for some wonderful inspiration this month! And thank you, dear readers, for your loyal visits!

Those Were the Days

Let's dust off that shoebox you have stored somewhere in your home that is full of old photos. Today I challenge you to take a walk down memory lane and scrapbook a photo or two from your childhood. I LOVE looking at photos from my childhood, and despite the color cast and poor image quality, they still deserve a spot in my scrapbooks. I often don't have the exact year or much of any journaling to go with the earliest ones, but look at that little girl! That's me! It's part of my story.

So I end the week with some inspiring layouts from the collective. Let's ooh and ahh over all these cute photos of our much younger selves. Thanks for spending the week with me!

Here's me on my first birthday. I love the all the white space and the simplicity of this layout. 

 

Nice saddle shoes! Maybe those will be the next big fashion trend? Another layout by me, Valerie.

 

Deb is such a pro at using numerous patterned papers on one page. 

 

And here's another Birthday celebration. Layout by Deb Duty.

 

Don't forget about Halloween! Isn't Katie the cutest as the Wonder Woman! Love how she did the title on this layout.

 

Less is more on this layout by Kelly Jeppson about how her mom used to make most of her clothes.

 

Christine shares a memorable story about fourth grade. Don't let not having a photo stop you from telling a story.

 

A great multiple photo layout by Jennifer.

 

Don't forget about those sometimes awkward teenage years. Love how Diane worked the strips of paper.

 

This evolution of Diane's hairstyles layout is so inspiring! I wonder if I could find enough photos to try this concept?

Advice for Layouts About Your Childhood

• Don't get hung up on the details. Don't stress if you don't know how old you are or the location of the photo. Don't let anything stop you from scrapping those photos.
• Don't get hung up on picture quality. You can always try scanning the photo and making adjustments with your photo editing software.
• Do try an evolution/comparison type layout like Diane's Mane Event layout above.
• Do try telling a memorable moment without any photos.
• Do have fun creating layouts with your old photos!

Proud Moments

 There are little moments every day when I am proud of my son and make a mental note to document it in some way or just celebrate with a high five. Our own accomplishments might not be worthy of the Nobel Prize, but they are deserving enough to be scrapbooked. When's the last time you gave yourself a pat on the back for a job well done? Yep, my challenge to you today is to document one of your own proud moments. It could be a recent moment, or a non-recent moment.

Here's mine:

 

Lisa shares a simple accomplishment—how she succesfully folded a paper crane. Origami is so much fun. This is totally off topic, but sometimes it is a lot of fun to fold origami and use it as an embellishment on your page.

 

We've got a few runners here in the collective. Erin writes about how she never thought she'd be a runner. I love the clean lines on this—and look at all that journaling. Way to go Erin!

 

And Christine ran a marathon. A whole marathon. Twenty-six point two miles. Oh my, that is a lot of running. Isn't it amazing what our bodies can do!?

A Few More Journaling Prompts for Today

• Scrap a proud moment you remember from high school.
• Scrap a proud moment you remember from college.
• Scrap a proud moment you remember as a friend, sister, daughter, or wife.
• Scrap a proud moment in parenting.

Digging Deeper

I've been taking it easy on you, but now it's time to explore ways to dig deeper on those layouts about us. I challenge you to really try and stretch yourself with your journaling. It's so easy to write a sentence and call it good. I know because I do it all. the. time. But it's something I'm trying to get better at, especially when the topic calls for it. When digging deeper, also think about how your color palette may affect and enhance the mood of your page. 

Today I have a series of journaling prompts and layout ideas to hopefully get those journaling juices flowing. 

1. What's going on in your life right now, this very moment?

Take a minute to jot down what's going on in your life right now. When you think you're done journaling, push yourself to write a little more. You might be surprised with you have in front of you...in a good way.

Here's my version of "Right Now..."

 

2. Finish this phrase: "I am..."

Jennie describes herself with some basic adjectives.

 

3. Discuss a character trait that makes you who you are.

Christa shares about being optimistic. I love that great smile and girly, sophisticated color palette.

 

4. What are some things life has taught you?

Diane shares her "two cents" in this gorgeous layout.

 

5. Room for Improvement

In what area of your life can you improve on something? Lisa shares a layout about how she used to say she had low self-confidence, but then realized she really didn't

 

6. Talk about the tough stuff

Life isn't always unicorns and rainbows, so your scrapbooking does not have to be either. Celebrate some of life's struggles or maybe even some silly little wrinkles like Christine.

A Few More Prompts

• What do you like best about yourself?
• What matters most?
• What makes you sad?
• What's your 5-year plan? or your 10-year plan?
• What are you thankful for?
• Write a letter to your younger self.

 

Playing Favorites

Favorites! We all have them: favorite activities, favorite foods, favorite music, favorite books, favorite movies, favorite places, favorite people—the list is nearly never-ending. Favorites are totally painless and so easy to scrap. They are even easy to sing about. Cue music..... Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens. Bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens. Brown paper packages tied up with strings. These are a few of my favorite things.

(You can thank me later if you find yourself randomly singing that song from The Sound of Music later today.) And without further adieu, here's some inspiration from the collective for scrapping your favorites:

Make A List

I challenge you to sit down right now, get a piece of paper and a pen, and write down five to ten of your very favorite things. Take a cute self portrait and make a fun layout. I did just that exact thing yesterday. Here's my result:

And one from Diane

Another from Jennie. I love all the little bits and pieces on this one.

I'm always impressed and inspired by Jennifer's talent in fitting so many photos on a page.

One Favorite Per Page

Lisa shares a favorite place.

And Amy has one too.
 

Celeste shares her love for coffee.

Jennifer made a layout about her favorite television show.

And Christine shares a favorite activity.

 

I realized today, in challenging all you lovely blog readers to scrap more of yourself, that you're going get to know the collective over here a lot better this week.

More of Us

In keeping with the gallery theme this month, I decided a week of blogging all about us—the scrapbooker—was in order. For me, this is definitely a challenge that needs conquering. I just don't make myself a priority. I think our kids and family will look back through our scrapbooks and really cherish those layouts that include us or are entirely about us. Ninety-nine percent of the time, I am the one behind the camera in my home. I made two goals for myself when scrapping this year: (1) journal more and (2) get in more photos. It's so much more fun and maybe even easier to create layouts about our kids. But this week I challenge you to get in front of the camera and make a layout, or two, or more about yourself. The January gallery and Lisa's Click post on taking self portraits have gotten us off to a great start. I have a lot of prompts, ideas, and inspiration up my sleeve from myself and the collective. 

Let's start with something simple, that some of you may cringe at the thought of talking about: our birthdays, or more specifically—our age. Yes, our kids birthdays are so much more fun, but why not celebrate our own too?

Christa made this fun page about her last year in her thirties.

 

Christine talks about turning 40 and includes maybe the first photo ever taken of her. Layouts with then and now photos are always great.

 

Diane made of list of things to do that matches her age in years.

 

And me, I simply stated a fun little fact about myself on my birthday.

Journaling Prompts for Birthday/Age Related Layouts

1. State the who, what, when, and where of your birthday celebration.
2. Make a list of things to do. Make the list length match your age in years.
3. Make a layout with photos celebrating each decade of your life (20's, 30's, 40's, etc.)
4. Scrap a past birthday and share fun facts about the big things that happened that year.
5. What are you looking forward to/not looking forward to about being a particular age?
6. What was your favorite birthday gift ever?
7. What has been your favorite age and why?
8. Make a layout about your most memorable birthday moment.
9. What is your dessert of choice/favorite cake flavor you like to have on your birthday?
10. Do you have any birthday traditions?

Designing the Manly Way

Hopefully you enjoyed the collective's inspirational manly layouts from yesterday.  Today we're going to tackle the design of those pages we create for the men and boys in our lives.  I find it easy to splash a page with flowers, frills and butterflies for my girls and I on a page, but that isn't an easy decision when tackling the pages about my husband, friends and nephews on a page! However, never fear, there are many, many other options the collective is going to show you today to incorporate in your manly designs!

STARS

Because I'm married to the military, my first go to design element on my pages are stars.  Stars and stripes have been in my daily life for over 16 years now so it's no wonder I tend to gravitate to them!  In this layout I used not only small star elements, but also created a central/large star element in the design for added punch.

Celeste used arrows in this layout as well as simply an accent piece in her digital layout.  The stapled gold star is just the right touch to finish off this layout.

ARROWS

Arrows are a trend that have been around for a while, but seem to be making a big debut again recently. I love them as an accent, as a focal point and as they were originally intended - to point to something.

I used a Silhouette chevron/arrow cut for this layout about my husband taking over as a commander.  I wanted the arrows to be pointing down to the photos, but added a pop of color behind each strip.

Aliza used arrow strips in her layout to point to the photo as well.  I love the leading lines above and below the photo to draw your eye in to what's important-the boys in the photos.

Jennie took it a step further and incorporated not only an arrow embellishment, but arrow paper as well layered with other papers, photos and embellishments.  I also love the small layer of embellishments in the right corner that also incorporates a subtle arrow.

I love how Katie included not only arrow embellishments and papers on her layout, but also threw in a handful of hearts to go with those as well!  It's hard to get hearts on a boy page and I love how she incorporated both on this page.

SHAPES

There are all kinds of shapes, big and small, that can be used on boy and male layouts.  Whether it's a large central element like we've already discussed or repeating patterns, it's a fun way to add color, dimension and punch to a layout.

Amy uses large stitched circles, paired with smaller circles (the sequins) to embellish her layout.  It pairs so well with the layered papers and the photos in her layout.

Christine paired lots of different sizes and colors of circles on her layout.  I love the way the photos are in the center and the circles draw your eye to them.

Celeste went a different route with shapes and incorporated lots and lots of hexagons in her layout.  I love the repeating pattern and different colors she used throughout her layout.  She used the hexagons for not only an embellishment, but to house her title and journaling as well!

Finally, we're bringing it back full circle (slight pun intended!) from the stars we began with and looking at how Valerie incorporated stripes in her layout.  Like the other layouts using repeating shapes, she is repeating her stripes up and down her layout.  What draws you in is the way she uses various colors and patterns behind her already established pattern.  It complements so well.

This new line from My Mind's Eye CHA 2013 would be extremely helpful in getting those designs started for your next layout. 

What are some of your go to design tips and tricks for the layouts about men and boys in your life?

Click.

Welcome to the first Click. Saturday in 2013! I wanted to talk a little about taking photos of ourselves. 
Self portraits can be a little intimidating and I know I try to hide from the camera alot. But I have found that with my iPhone capturing selfies are a bit easier than with my DSLR. What about you?

In our latest gallery Note to self I counted to 9 layouts featuring a selfportrait! That is awesome! I asked the other team members if they had any tips and tricks for taking selfportraits and here is what they said:

Christine:  "I think if you have an iphone or ipad, you can easily turn the camera to the front camera and take a selfie! Also, timers and tripods are great for self portraits.  Oh and it doesn't even have to be just your head shot.  My husband and I take jumping photos a lot, with just a tripod and self timer."

Francine: "My tip is to get a shutter remote. It's a huge help and they are very affordable (e.g. on Amazon). Also take lots and lots of shots!"

Christa: " I have my resident (nearly) 8 year old take photos for me because she's actually quite good and knows to "look for the red dots on the inside" before she takes it!!
If no one is around I normally set up a lamp or something to focus on then plant myself where the lamp was so I'm not out of focus. It normally takes 100 photos to get one mediocre one!"

Amy: The turn feature is also on Android phones! (or...at least it is on mine.) My tip is to have a teenaged daughter who has taken approx. 2,281,972 self portraits. She will train you right!

I totally agree with all of the above and especially with Amy´s comment :) I have a teenaged daughter that has absolutely filled her Instagram feed with selfportraits! Ofcourse you should ask them for tips!

 

 I found this layout that I made a few years ago where she (my daughter) had used her DSLR to take hundreds of photos of herself! And that is one of the tips really, take lots and lots of photos, it is so easy since we have the technology for it now. Practise makes perfect!

 

Here are some hands on tips!

1. Practise holding your camera/phone at arms length. If you have a phone that allows you to switch to the camera infront (so that you can see yourself when you look at the display) you can more easily try different angles. Try not to use your flash, it creates such a harsh light. 

2. Take photos in a mirror. Practise holding your camera so that you don´t hide behind it. 

When you take a photo in a reflecting object remember to look into the lense of the camera, otherwise your eyes will be focused out in space. 

Also pratise on holding your camera steadily when you take mirror shots where you zoom in alot. 

3. A selfportrait doesn´t always have to show just your face. Perhaps you want to capture where you are or who you are with, like in this layout

But there is also more parts of you that represent you. It all depends on what you want to capture. Here are a few examples 

I have a passion for gardening. I love to get my hands dirty. That is what I wanted to capture in this photo. For this I simply layed my camera on the ground and prefocused on the plants and used my other hand to press the shutter.

Me and my dog Melvin were having a snuggle session in the grass and I wanted to try to get a few photos of it. As you can tell I layed my camera in the grass and zoomed in quite a bit, pushing the shutter with one hand.

Here I wanted the "feet-photo" effect, but didn´t want to just point my camera down. I wanted to capture where I was at the time. For these I used my timer.

Here are a few bonus ones that I found on my daughters memorycard :)

Is she the daughter of a photographer or what?! 

Before I end this post, I just want to clarify that although I am comfortable laying my camera on different surfaces like the ground or something else in nature you should be careful. If you feel like it would be a risk for your camera, don´t do it! Perhaps a tripod would be a great thing to put on your wishlist?! I am hoping for one for my iPhone! 

Have fun snapping picture of yourself!

Finding Humor in the Everyday

Today I'm wrapping up a week of fun and funny with layouts that put a funny and humorous spin on daily life...what I like to call the "Seinfeld perspective". I think some people tend to do this more than others naturally, and I hope you can find some inspiration as I showcase some "funny" styles of some of our members.

 

Christine 

First let's look at how Christine makes light of hamburgers, popcorn and talking on the phone:

 

Christine Newman

 

Christine Newman

 

Christine Newman

 

Christine's style is naturally light and funny. Let's look at some of Christine's techniques:

- she uses her photos to create almost a comic strip effect

- the doodles add a light and fun feel

- her layouts are bright and vibrant and full of life

- mixed-up fun fonts puts a fun spin on her titles

- she uses lots of funny photos!

 

Jennie

Jennie has a lovely lighthearted way of scrapping small moments. She uses subtle humour in many of her layouts: 

Jennie McGarvey

 

Jennie McGarvey

 

Jennie's methods of making her layouts funny include:

- focus on the quirks! She chose topics that were funny to her, like her son's favourite song being "Call Me Maybe!"

- using photos with her kids in funny poses. 

 

Aliza

Next lets look at Aliza's approach to funny:

Aliza Deutsch

 

Aliza Deutsch

 

Aliza Deutsch

 

Here's what Aliza said about her style: "I like to capture lots of our inside jokes, and I think using some humor in the telling of everyday stories just makes the journaling a little more fun and interesting. "

Aliza will also let her journaling range from silly to sarcastic to make a story funnier.

 

Sarah (that's me!) 

Finally, here's a few of my own examples with a funny spin on things:

 

Sarah Pendergrast

 

Sarah Pendergrast

 

Sarah Pendergrast

 

Sarah Pendergrast

 

Sarah Pendergrast

 

My tips for adding humor to your layouts are:

- use irony - either scrap something atypical, or pair your title and journaling with a photo that shows the opposite. For example, in my layout about dolls, I used a photo of me cuddling a doll with the title "I Never Really Liked Dolls." 

- scrap a funny story from your childhood - perhaps one that your parents tell over and over again!

- take a lighthearted look at sibling rivalry

- exaggerate! I took some photos from a "week in the life" project a few years ago, of my UPS man delivering my monthly kit, and exaggerated his role in my life!

 

Thanks for joining me this week. I hope you enjoyed it and had some fun!

Funny Photos

I hope today's post will give you a bit of a giggle, as I showcase layouts using funny photos. Perhaps the key to getting the biggest chuckle out of our funny photos is finding a perfect title to accompany the shot.

 

Often our funny photos are only discovered after the fact, when we realize an expression, or angle captured created a comical moment that was unexpected. I love how Jennie used her title to draw attention to the fact that it looked like her husband was eating the dog in this photo! By focusing on photo bloopers, we can scrap photos that otherwise might not make the cut when getting put on our pages. 

Jennie McGarvey

 

When my daughter was about a year old, we took our kids to an indoor water park, kind of spur of the moment...and kind of unprepared! When I looked at the photos I took of my daughter, I realized that it was blatently obvious that we had neglicated to bring her a swim diaper! I decided to name the layout "Bootylicious"! 

 

Sometimes photos are more funny in retrospect than they are at the time. Laughter is the great leveler, especially when it comes to parenting challenges. We've all been there, so why not put a funny spin on those moments. For example, this next layout captures the shear torture that my son was experiencing as he was dragged along shoe shopping with my mom! The title puts a comic spin on it, and we all had a few laughs looking at the photos, even my son! 

 

Christa also took a lighthearded approach to one of those challenging moments with her daughter, as she descibed the anatomy of meltdown in her layout:

Christa Paustenburg

Apart from the bloopers, many of us have family members that love to mug for the camera. I think these photos in Christine's layout speak for themselves!

Christine Newman

 

Christa used a funny photo of her daughter mugging for the camera to scrap a lighthearted topic, her love of bubblegum!

Christa Paustenbaugh

 

Sometimes funny photos are a true reflection of someones personality, or of a fun, lighthearted relationship between people. I love this layout by Christine that uses some funny photos to highlight just that!

Christine Newman

 

Finally, I think it's important to be able to laugh at outselves. We all have photos we would rather burn than share, but it can be possible to find humor in some of those, and put them on our pages. I always disliked this school photo of myslef. I was, unfortunately, one of those kids whose mom cut their hair! Now, some mom's I'm sure are good hairstylists, but when I saw my grade 8 photo, it struck me that mine was not...Instead of burning the photos (which occured to me), I found humor in the whole thing, and put that on my page. 

I hope you enjoyed these examples. I encourage you to embrace your funny photos! Scrap your bloopers, your bad photos and the funny expressions. Have fun, and a little laugh too maybe.