Write. Click. Scrapbook.

Silhouette Digital Machine: Tips, Tricks, and Secrets

Welcome to the final day of Silhouette week with me, Amy Sorensen. (I’m wishing I had more days to blog about this topic—we’ve barely scratched the surface.) Today I wanted to cover some helpful tips and techniques that work with the versatility of the cutter. Let’s jump right in!

A Few Silhouette Secrets

1. The secret to making your cutting mat stay sticky for longer. I discovered this the hard way: I once left a nearly-brand-new cutting mat sitting out, uncovered, on my desk. For an entire ten days of vacation! It was so dusty when I got back, it would hardly hold anything. That’s when I learned that to keep your mat sticky for as long as possible, you’ve got to keep it covered with the plastic sheet it comes with. This keeps the dust out and it also seems to revitalize the stickiness a little bit. Find yourself with a cutting-mat full of objects you’ve cut but don’t have time to peel off? Cover everything up with that plastic sheet until you’re ready to peel.

2. The secret to a dust-free mat. Even though I try to keep my mats protected, they eventually get a little bit of dust on them, or a few tiny pieces of cardstock from intricate cuts. Every once in awhile, give your cutting mat a wash. Use warm water, a little bit of dishwashing soap, and piece of scrunched-up plastic wrap in place of a rag. Rub gently with the plastic to wash off the dust and scraps, then let the mat air dry. (And then hurry up, put the plastic cover back on!) This won’t make the adhesive as sticky as it was when you bought the mat, but it will extend the stickiness.

3. The secret to removing little scraps. Use packing tape! Whenever I cut something that leaves a whole bunch of small leftover pieces, I reach for some packing tape. Roll it into a loop and carefully press it on top of the small remnants. Then peel the tape off and the remnants come off with the tape.

4. The secret to keeping stuff in place. Sometimes your cutting mat has simply lost all its sticky, and you don’t have a new one yet, but you need to cut something. Washi tape to the rescue! I mentioned this on Monday but I think it’s so useful it deserves its very own tip. Jennifer is the brilliant mind behind the idea: use washi tape to hold down the paper/cardstock you’re cutting. It peels right off when you’re finished. Just make sure that the object you’re cutting isn’t too close to the edge of the mat, so it doesn’t overlap the washi. This works perfectly when you only have a small piece of something you want to cut from.

5. The secret to not replacing your blade. If your blade starts to seem dull before its time, pull it out of the cutter and clean out the little tube it’s encased in. Small scraps of paper can clog the space around the blade, making it hard to turn and causing it to cut less precisely.

Silhouette Technique: Foundation Piecing

One of my other favorite hobbies is quilting, and I find that the techniques I learn with fabric quite often translate, in one way or another, to scrapbooking. Foundation piecing is a quilting technique that’s useful for small or intricate shapes; it involves using paper as a foundation, then removing it once you’ve sewn the small pieces together.

I figured out this technique when I made the title for this layout:

I wanted the title to have a mosaic feel, like the tiles you find in a swimming pool. I glued down a whole bunch of diamond shapes on a foundation of white printer paper, welded the word "memory" in the Silhouette software (I used Bemio, which I use almost every time I have a word with a lower-case y because I love this font’s y), and then cut it out with the covered-with-diamonds foundation.

Here’s another example, with step-by-step instructions:

I’ve been wanting to recreate in paper the spiderweb potholders from this blog post ever since I saw it last fall. (I also am itching to make a Halloween quilt—instead of potholders—with the same idea, but that’s totally another post!) Here’s how I made them:

1. I used this triangle card cut file by Loni Harris:

2. I ungrouped the object and deleted the triangle with the flowers:

3. Then I deleted the perforated line, drew a solid one, and grouped it all back together, which gave me a pair of 60° triangles:

4. Next I sized the paired triangles and then copy and pasted the object twice. I rotated one (click on the object, then click Object, Rotate, 180° degrees) and then lined up everything. I grouped these three triangle pairs, copied and pasted, and moved the second one down the mat:

5. Once the cut file was prepared, I got the foundation ready. I used a blank piece of white printer paper and some .5"-ish patterned paper strips. (Two of these are paper selvage—the cute edge design you cut from the edge of a 12x12 sheet.) I inked the edges of the strips, then glued them onto the white printer paper. (It’s necessary to apply glue all the way to the edge of the patterned paper strips!)

6. After letting the foundation piece dry, I cut it into two 8.5" x 2" strips, stuck these on my cutting mat in the corresponding spots, and sent it through the Silhouette. Before cutting, I changed the Cut Settings to Double Cut, since it needed to cut through two pieces of paper. (Click on the Cut button, then Change Settings to change to a Double Cut. This setting will stay in place until you change it.)

7. After cutting, I peeled the triangles off the mat and assembled the spider web following the directions in the potholder link (using double-stick tape instead of thread). Full disclosure: I had to re-glue three of the tiny triangle points. And I learned that it works better to put the web together by making two half-hexagon shapes rather than going in a circle. The edges don’t all quite match up without overlapping them a bit.

I can’t quite express how ridiculously happy these spider webs made me! I think they’d look equally as cute done in blue patterns (as snowflakes) and in pastels (as flowers.)

Silhouette Technique: Use the Pens

The first few times I used my Silhouette, I was a little bit afraid. Probably silly, but overcoming that initial will-I-do-it-right resistance was a little tough for me. That’s probably why I haven’t tried the Silhouette pens yet—but I do believe Diane has helped me get over my fears! She shared this layout:

The "Kisses for Daddy" title was done with the Silhouette pens. Here is her advice for using the pens:

Some designs in the Silhouette store are specifically for sketching. You can search for them by entering sketch designs. They also are indicated with the letter "S" in a grey box. Here's an example of one:

You don't have to use a design that is designated as sketch but sketch/outline images work best.

To sketch a design with your pens, replace the blade with the sketch pen of your choice and from the cut menu choose "sketch pen" under the cutting options. When you are done sketching an item you can also cut it out. To do this, leave the design you just sketched in place in the cutter, offset the design, change the pen back to the blade and cut the offset line.

For fonts, the thin ones work best. There are some options in the Silhouette store and several options at Lettering Delights too.

One great idea for the Silhouette pens is to use them to write the salutation on the inside of a card, like here:

To figure out where to place the text, draw a rectangle the same size as your open card in the Silhouette software. On the right side of the rectangle (the inside part of the card once it's folded), type the greeting, saying, or sentiment you want. Then place the cardstock or patterned paper on the cutting mat in the spot that corresponds to the place the image is in the software. Then delete the box and follow the above steps to sketch.

See! Totally not scary. I'm going to order pens next time I need a new mat or blade.

Silhouette Technique: Hybrid Scrapbooking

Christine taught me about the potential for using digital scrapbooking products with the Silhouette cutters. You can drag .jpg and .png files right from your file manager into the Silhouette Studio window. You can then use the trace and cut feature to turn the image into an object you can cut. To trace the image, click on it, then select Trace from the Object menu. Draw a space around the part you want to trace, then click on the Trace button. Delete the original image and you're left with the shape you can now send to the cutter as usual.

You can also use digital patterned paper with your Silhouette. Open the cut file you'd like to cut. Then drag the patterned paper from your file manager to the object in Silhouette Studio. When you let go of your mouse, the paper fills the shape. Use the print and cut feature to finish the piece.

Here's a great example to show the flexibility of the Silhouette when its paired with digital supplies. Christine created both an entirely digital layout:

and then a paper one with the same supplies as a hybrid layout:

Brilliant, yes? Christine will be sharing other hybrid scrapbooking techniques later this month—I'm excited to learn other techniques from her!

Free Cut Files
Amy Coose shared this cute layout:

The awesome part (well, besides its general gorgeousness): The circle "Love" text embellishment? Totally free! Every Friday, Chic Tags has a free cut file download. The Silhouette store has a weekly free cut file. And you can get the free WCS cut files monthly! We post these on the first day of the month.

And with that, we are at the end of the Silhouette week. I hope it's been helpful to you. Go forth, dear scrapbooker, and cut stuff out with your Silhouette. It's a great way to use your supplies!

Pretty Paper: Patterned Paper's Plethora of Purposes

Hi All! Katie Ehmann here with you for a week filled with the beautiful, the versatile, the jack-of-all-trades, the mother of all scrapbook supplies--patterned paper! Pretty paper is what sucked me into this hobby, and it keeps my creative mojo on its toes with its never ending patterns and multitude of uses. I'm pretty sure I have over one billion sheets of patterned paper, each one prettier than the next. Here's what is on the docket for the week:

 

• Monday: Scrapbook Layouts made with 99.9% paper
• Tuesday: Home Decor
• Wednesday: Party Fun
• Thursday: Giveaway Day (!!!) Featuring the gorgeous Darling Dear line from Studio Calico
• Friday: Holiday Trimmings

 

 

So, let's jump in, shall we? Patterned paper is often a key ingredient in the recipe of a well crafted layout. It works as a layer, a graphic element, an embellishment, a journaling spot, a title, or an overall complement to that perfect photo. More often than not, I begin my layouts by weeding through my billion-paper stacks and choosing a few pretty papers that work with my photo. I'll then select some embellishments, arrange everything on my page, add a title, some journaling, and I'm good to go. For this week, however, I decided to challenge myself to create some layouts that used 99.9% patterned paper--as backgrounds, as embellishments, and as titles. And I got some of my talented WCS teammates to play along!

 

Punches and Shapes

 

For this layout I cut strips of paper and weaved them together to create a unique patterned paper background. I embellished with more patterned paper punched into stars, and added a title. Hidden journaling is tucked behind my photo. Using foam adhesive can help turn paper into a dimensional element on your page. Using a die-cutting machine, like the Silhouette Cameo, can quickly turn paper or cardstock into a title.

 

 

I broke out my star punches and foam adhesive on this Halloween layout as well. This time I used the stars and the negatives to add even more interest.  

 

 

 

Emily S. used punches and negatives on her layout, "Daddy Kisses." And could the photo be any cuter? Seriously!

 

 

Paper Strips

 

For the next layout, I used the cut-off strips from the bottoms of 12x12 patterned paper and adhered them in a striped pattern on grey cardstock. I added my brief journaling to one of the strips, added a small button and a die cut shape, and called it good. Super simple, but a fun way to show off this instagram pic from last Thanksgiving. Plus I used those strips that I'd otherwise have tossed in the trash.

 

 

 

I also used left over strips for this layout, but these were created when I used an edge punch to make some confetti. They were so pretty I couldn't bear to throw them away, so I glued them down, added some stars punched from vellum and more paper, cut a title, and again hid my journaling behind my photo.

 

 

 

 

Emily S. also rocked the patterned paper strips in this layout:

 

 

 

 

 

Blocks and Layers

 

Patterned paper can also be used in blocks or in layers on a layout to give it a clean, graphic feel. Deb's layouts use blocks and strips of paper to complement her photos beautifully. I love her bold, graphic, signature style!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Emily S. showcased patterned paper on these layouts by also choosing big blocks:

 

 

 

 

 

 

And on this layout by using smaller squares:

 

 

 

 

Amy used smaller, more organically shaped patterned paper pieces on her layout. I love how she used the twine to "tie-in" her title!

 

 

 

Thanks for joining me today! Have you made layouts with 99.9% patterned paper? Leave me a comment and tell me about it! I hope you'll be back each day this week for more pretty paper projects!

 

write.

Today's Write. Saturday is going to be missing something you usually see in all of our posts: images. 

I'm doing that on purpose, not just because my October was stressful and busy and sad and wonderful all at once. In fact, I'm not including any images because I want to make a point: you don't have to immediately make a layout with the journaling you write.Creating a layout and writing your journaling don't always have to be two parts of one process; they can be done at separate times.

In fact, I've often gone years between the time I write a piece of journaling and the day I actually pair it up with a photo and make a layout with it. I tend to think of my journaling, in fact, as an extension of the photos. A snapshot in words, if you will, that adds something extra that the photos don't convey. If you write it as an afterthought, after you've made your layout and are trying to find a little bit of space to squish in the story, it won't be as vibrant as it could be.

And really, how often do you make a layout with photos you took just a few days ago? Or even a month ago? Yet I'm certain you copy them somewhere safe to wait until you are ready to scrapbook them.

Journaling doesn't have to be any different.

Let's take Halloween as an example, since it just happened a few days ago. If you're anything like me, you took fifty or so photos, and you've already downloaded them, deleted the bad ones, and found a few you fell in love with. Maybe you've even processed them already. (If you've already printed them, you're my hero!)

Now's the perfect time to write the story to go along with those pictures, when the memories are still fresh. Writing your journaling within a few days of a big event helps you to capture the small details that otherwise get lost to the vagaries of memory.

Here are 13 (oooooh, spooky!) prompts to get you started writing your Halloween journaling:

1. Write about something funny, cute, or surprisingly intelligent your child said. ("I have walked out all of my wanting for candy," my 7-year-old told me when I asked if he wanted to trick-or-treat on just one more street.) Or recreate an especially memorable conversation (my daughter Haley, for example, told me all about the hipster Disney princesses she’d seen somewhere. "You’ve probably never heard it" was, of course, included!)
2. Write down the bare facts: what did you do, who did you do it with, and where? 
3. Write about a detail of a costume—a color, an accessory, a prop, for example—that made it feel unique in some way. (One year, the beads on my daughter's hippie costume were so fabulously, wonderfully perfect that they are the focus of all the Halloween journaling.)
4. Make a list of all the kinds of candy in your kid’s bucket.
5. Write about a reaction. This is perfect for Halloween because it practically begs for reactions, what with all the scary, gory, silly, scanty, or startling characters about. There are also reactions to trick or treating by little ones, or to your neighbor's scary porch decorations, or to the enormous pile of candy. Or the sheer pleasure of taking off an obnoxious or itchy costume! (This year, my husband tried on his sister’s blimp costume and I was pretty certain my son Nathan might pee his pants he was laughing so hard.)
6. Write about how Halloween has changed since you were a kid.
7. Tell the story of a costume. Why was it chosen? Where did it come from? Does the costume-wearer have any sort of emotional or historical connection to the costume? (My 18-month-old niece Lydia is in love with all things Toy Story, so her affection for her Jessie costume was exceedingly cute!)
8. Use numbers to tell the story: what was the temperature? About how far did you walk? At how many houses did you trick or treat? How many times did your little one drop her candy bucket?
9. Write about something unique that’s never happened before. (Like my two oldest teenagers, who had a brawl over an extra-large Mountain Dew and who might’ve drank it all and then five minutes later they were happily answering the door for trick-or-treaters.
10. Describe your Halloween dinner. Do you eat before or after trick-or-treating? Do you always have the same thing? How do you fit (nutritious) food into the sugar-laden experience?
11. Write down the at-the-door process of trick-or-treating. Who knocks at the door? Does everyone say "trick or treat" or just one kid? Do your kids say thank you?
12. Respond to this starter: In twenty years, what I want to remember about this Halloween is:
13. Write about how Halloween smells. There’s something magical—I haven’t quite figured out yet what the key ingredients are—about the way a bucketful of Halloween candy smells. It takes me right back to being a kid. What scents do you associate with Halloween?

Once you've written your journaling about Halloween 2012, save it somewhere you'll find it when you scrap the photos. Put a copy of the file right into the folder with the pictures, maybe. Or put your journaling on your blog. Doesn't matter where, so long as you can find it! What matters is that you'll have gotten down a story, experience, or little bit of memory that might otherwise be lost when the time came to scrap those photos.

Memorializing the Fun

Halloween is one of those occasions that photos are nearly as important as the actual event! Perhaps it is that the costumes are often a once-in-a-lifetime wear. Perhaps it is the care and cost that goes into getting dressed for just one night. Perhaps it is the fact that it is a photo that can be compared year to year to see growth, and changes. And one photo will conjure up so many memories.

We want your photos to be successful this year, so here are a few tips from our team.

 

Take Your Photos Early

Jennifer lives in Minnesota where it gets dark early. Knowing that trick or treat photos aren't really possible, she does her photos early while there is still daylight. Though this requires a little extra planning, you will certainly be happier to have photos that are not underexposed or flashed bright white. 

And if you are concerned about your photos appearing too posed, ask your subjects to do something that their costume might do. The results may make you giggle! Look at Jennifer's boys...

... and Amy's kids.

Capture Your Pumpkin With and Without Sunlight

Capture your jack-o-lanterns in the sunlight, so you can see the detail of the carving. Then take one without your flash at night (set your camera down on the ground or on a tripod to hold it more still) to get the magic of the flickering lights. Katie takes hers after the trick or treating is all wrapped up. A nice end to the evening.

 

Repetition Repetition

When she got out years of photo to create her mini album, Monika noticed that she had photos of her husband applying her son's Dracula make-up and then photos of him applying her daughter's kitty cat make-up years and years later. She was struck by the passage of time. How quickly it goes and how comforting to see things stay the same.

In looking through her pumpkin carving photos, Marnie noticed that no matter how much her kids change, there are things about them that always seem the same. She giggled at the repetition and how glad she was to take a hundred million shots each year so that she has the in between faces, too. 

 

Take Advantage of Porch Lights

Don't forget to watch for interesting porches along the way. They can make for terrific backdrops

and provide wonderful lighting.

DOWNLOAD AND BACKUP

Marnie has twice lost Halloween photos due to computer malfunction, and once to a stolen camera. She suggests backing your Halloween photos up to a third party source that night and then printing a copy for good measure. And never travel with a camera with film in it. Oh, wait. None of us use film anymore. :) 

 

Spooky Edits 

And just for fun...

We know we have told you about PicMonkey before. Right now they have all sorts of Halloween edits. Look at the fun you can have!

 

Fun, gruesome, or downright disgusting, they have a little for everyone!

 

We hope you have enjoyed Halloween week! We would love to hear from you to learn what you loved best! Don't only 12 days left--don't wait too long to order your costumes and stock up on your candy!

It's Who We Are

We are scrapbookers. We may use our products to decorate our homes, create cards, or generally make stuff, but what we really do, and love, is scrapbook. Here are some Halloween layouts to inspire you to create your own. Cheesy theme paper not required. Orange and black not required. Photos not even required. Just you and a story to tell or a photo to preserve. Add in some paper and embellishments and an amazing layout is right around the corner!

 

COSTUMES

Celeste

 

Celeste

 

Diane

 

Valerie

 

EmilyS

 

PUMPKINS

LisaO

 

Diane

 

Deb

 

EmilyS

 

EmilyS

 

EmilyS

 

MINI ALBUMS

Remember how Katie made that amazing wall art with the October Afternoon Witch Hazel line? Well, she also put together a Halloween mini album that is awaiting its pictures. Look how amazing this is! Much like a December Daily, but for Halloween. It really is more fun to scrapbook the season beforehand when you are really in the mood. And not after when you have emotionally and mentally moved on! Perhaps Katie's album will inspire you to create your own!

 

And once you have an album for this year, why not make another for years' past like Monika did?

Wow! What a show! What a team! It just doesn't get better! Thirteen ways for you to document your spookiness! Seems like such a good number for the occasion!

Thank you for stopping by! Tomorrow is Thursday AND give.away.day. Yeah, baby. It's going to be a great one! See you then!

Try This at Home

A terrific side benefit of scrapbooking is all the craft supplies that you have on hand for making holidays more festive. It's so fun to just open a drawer and pull out what you need to make fun things. 

Lisa used some oogly eyes, masking tape, and toilet paper rolls to create the cutest mummies in the house. Because of the layered masking tape, they are really quite sturdy.

And if your children help you make them, they will love them for years to come. Don't you long for the homemade decorations from your own childhood homes?

With some help from her kindergartner, Marnie soaked some cheesecloth in watered down white glue to create these fun ghosts.

Once you have the wey cheesecloth, drape it over a small balloon (like your summer leftover water balloons) and let it dry. Maybe some oogly eyes would work on these, too!

 

Celeste used her digi skills and her amazing paper crafting abilities to put together some treat toppers.

If you create a foldover treat topper, you don't have to find fancy bags, but can instead go with regular ziploc baggies for the treats. Much cheaper.

 

Celeste she also made these adorable pencil toppers! What a great gift for classmates!

Can't you also imagine them atop a cupcake? With some lovely buttercream frosting? Or perhaps an orange velvet cupcake with cream cream frosting?

 

If you have some diamond glaze and basic jewelry pieces on hand, you can make some custom Halloween earrings. For the first pair, Marnie printed a text box with the words boo and eek

and for the second pair, she printed a clipart ghost. Once printed, she just trimmed the art to size with her paper trimmer (like the ones above) or punched it out with a circle punch (like the ones below). First adhere the art with regular adhesive and then add diamond glaze on top! Really that's all that's needed. (Be sure to wait for the glaze to cure. Patience is a virtue. And uncured glaze is fingerprintable.)

 

We hope that these give you some ideas for making your Halloween more fun! We hope you will share your holiday crafts with us, too!

Tomorrow we get back to our roots... We can't wait to see you back again!

Something Spooky This Way Comes

This week we are getting you ready for Halloween! All week we will be bringing you ideas for your home, your kids, and your scrapbooks! Let's get our spooky on...

 

Home Decor

Halloween lends itself to the most wonderful decorations. It's got to be the luscious colors of autumn combined with the dark shadows of Halloween. And nowadays, Halloween papers are filled with graphic scrolls, flourishes, and elements that make possible items that are grown up and kitsch free.

Diane put together a Halloween cone with a piece of patterned paper and some holiday frill. Add a timepiece, a pair of sparkly bats, some candy, and it just doesn't get better.

 

Using the same fringe, Diane coordinated her candle decor. This is a quick way to dress up your candles for the season, and it's easy to switch out once November comes.

Here is a closeup so you can see the glitter and the pennant.

Having fallen in love with the new October Afternoon Witch Hazel line, Katie used the stickers and some papers to put together this amazing wall art.

We knew you would want a close up. Isn't it adorable? (in a spooky way, of course!)

And speaking of wall art, Paula and Marnie made some too! Paula rocked the web by making every section a different pattern. First she used her Silhouette to cut out the spider web and then she added each of the patterns by hand. Truly a work of art.

 

For her, not nearly as elaborate, but still festive print, Marnie searched online for dictionary pages with Halloween on them. She found one, downloaded it, and used it as her background. Adding a digital flourish from Echo Park and the word "boo" she printed it on regular white cardstock. 

Here is a closeup.

Then for a bit of whimsy, using two parentheses, a digital black cat, and a new favorite font, Marnie made a 4x6 print that she put in the backside of a $1 frame from Ikea.

 

Perhaps Halloween decor is fun as we just don't take the holiday too seriously. How could you take a candy holiday seriously? All those candy corns and bitesized snacks... Mmm. Did I make you hungry?

Tomorrow we will be back with some projects you can do with your kids! See you then! And if you have any Halloween home decor you have made, we would love to see it in our Flickr gallery. We will be checking all week and featuring your week here Friday if you want to add some in!

Mini Cards featuring The Twinery

All this week, our write. click. scrapbook. members showcased projects, layouts, cards and altered items featuring baker's twine from The Twinery. Today is our last day and we hope you've loved it all!

 

Sarah and Monika here with you today to round out the week long party we've had creating with goodies from The Twinery. I didn't count, but it's quite possible that we managed to create at least one project one of the 22 shades of eco-luxe, made in the USA baker's twine produced by The Twinery who have sponsored our posts all week. 

 

MINI CARDS

There's just something about mini-sized crafts that appeal to me and Sarah's set of cards are no exception. She's created a smorgasbord of precious, cute and innovative mini cards with her stash of baker's twine.

Says Sarah, "When I saw the bright colours of the Twinery twine, I was inspired to create a set of mini cards to show off how vibrant they are. I paired the Twinery twine with select QuicKutz shapes, and some stamped sentiments to create a set of fun 3 by 3 cards.

 

Perfect for the Holidays

 

Perfect Just Because 

 

 

Tutorial

Sarah has even shared a tutorial with us on how you can create these mini cuties for yourself!

 

MINI ALBUM

Sarah and Lisa Kisch, another write. click. scrapbook. team member, just happen to be friends in real life. This summer, Sarah's family had the opportunity to visit Lisa on Prince Edward Island. They actually made the trip in part to see Lisa perform in Anne of Green Gables. "She was absolutely fabulous!" says Sarah.

 

 

What a great mini album to remember the family adventures and friendships!

 

AND ONE MORE

If you can bear to give it away, this little wooden container filled with gift tags ready to add to holiday packages makes a wonderful gift item or even hostess gift. Monika even added baker's twine to the tag box.

 

 

By now, I think you can see why I, and our write. click. scrapbook. team members, adore crafting and creating with The Twinery baker's twine. Hoping you all find a little time to craft and create today as well.

Until next time,

write. click. scrapbook. is pleased to have had the opportunity to team up with The Twinery in creating our projects this week. Connect with The Twinery on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Flickr.

The Twinery's twine is made from 100% cotton, it's eco-friendly and made in the USA. Whether you're gift wrapping, crafting or tying up baked goods to give to a friend, their baker's twine adds a fresh, yet nostalgic look to any project at hand! Baker's twine from The Twinery comes in 22 delicious colors and is uniquely twisted against a bright white hue, creating an eye-popping burst of color and a creative embellishment! And all that color lends to a fun, candy-striped look. 

PREPPING FOR A GOOD YEAR day four: holidays

Happy day! I am so glad to have you back!! I really appreciate your company this week. I hope that you are having fun thinking about ways to stay ahead of your event photos! I cannot believe that I am going to have a football season captured, 10 school events taken care of, and by the end of today's post, 9 holiday layouts! That's right, today is about the holidays.

Looking to my beloved google calendar, I listed the holidays that we will celebrate this year:

1. Halloween
2. Thanksgiving
3. Christmas
4. Valentine's Day
5. St. Patrick's Day
6. Easter
7. Mother's Day
8. Father's Day
9. Fourth of July

Event photos. Which means I am scared away and therefore fail to properly record. But in prepping for the nine holidays, I set aside my concerns and dove head first into creating some layouts. Because the approach to each layout is unique, we will evaluate their designs one at a time.

I am hoping that there will be lots of crossover for your holiday schedules, too, so perhaps we can both use up the layout ideas!

Let's get started.

1. Halloween

Halloween is a big deal at our house. I have nearly as many Halloween decorations as I do Christmas decorations!! Every year we go trick or treating, and all three of mine will dress up. Because they change their mind on costumes about 6000 times a day for every day in October, I decided to go with a basic Halloween color scheme. To best capture the costumes, the photos will be vertical. I usually try to get the same sort of shot for each costume, so I felt safe going with three similarly sized photos. I also know that a layout with three kids need equal representation lest one feel more beloved than another... For a three vertical photo design, I opened up to my sweet friend and inspiration, Jody Wenke! and found this which seemed perfect! I even opted for a graphic element for my title in honor of Jody's creativity!

2. Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving at our house is a food day. Turkey, potatoes, vegetables, pies, more vegetables, more pies. Every year, I end up with tons more food photos than people! And they tend to be horizontal so that I can get lots of food in each shot. When I was visiting Teka's blog, I found a layout that had a big focal photo. Making it a four photo instead, I now have room for the turkey, the trimmings, the pie, and a place setting. We have repeating decor that is traditional in its colors, so I just followed that palette for my layout.

3. Christmas

A few years ago, I put my camera away for Christmas morning, but now realize I can't remember much about the presents or the morning. So this year, I am going to get a few more shots of the kids and their excitement. Knowing I will have several photos, and knowing that I am not very comfortable with two page layouts, I went looking for a sketch. I found this one at SketchSupport.com. I took a few elements off, but stayed otherwise relatively true to the sketch. I kept it whimsical and light as our morning photos will be in our coordinating pj's!

4. Valentine's Day

When I was peeking at Jody's site, I saw my favorite layout and thought it would make a sweet Valentine's layout. Each year, the girls get a love shirt for the day, and we make homemade Valentines for their class. I figured this page could go either way. Or maybe it will house a picture of them reading the love note that I promise myself every year that I will write. Maybe this will be the year I do!

5. St. Patrick's Day

St. Patty's day at our house is mostly the hat and shirt! We have a giant tall Suessian hat in two tone green. I think it will match these colors well. Thinking that the hat is tall, I left room for a long skinny photo. And I will squeeze a little journaling in there, too. I didn't want it to be too plain, so I added a little subway-art effect on one of the rectangles. Do you like the bit of pizzazz?

6. Easter

I am realizing as I type this, that we dress for our holidays. Halloween costumes, Christmas dresses, Christmas pj's, Valentine's tees, St Patty's tees, and now, Easter dresses. Goodness, I suddenly feel so shallow. Thank heavens for Old Navy and Target so that the budget survives!!

I digress... Nigel is past cute shirts and ties, having moved into the land of white shirts and a dark suit. So I thought this page could focus on the girls. I picked traditional Easter colors, thinking the pastels will allow Lavender to still have pink on her outfit, and Poppy with her purple will fit right in! Again, the photo needs to capture my apparent need to shop and dress, so the photos will be vertical. I had a journaling square, but then wondered how much I would say about their dresses? If necessary, I will add one back in later.

7. Mother's Day

I have talked about my Mother's Day present before--a complaint free trip to the park for mom and kid photos. For this one, we sometimes go in Sunday dress, sometimes come home and change. And if we do that, everyone picks a favorite outfit that allows their personality to shine through, so the colors may be varied. To maximize my chances for success, I prepped with a grey page with elements neither too formal, nor too casual. I could have gone vertical or horizontal on this one (I will have both) so I just picked horizontal for fun! I did round the corners to soften the look. And I made sure to change up the direction of the shadowing so that it didn't have funky in between spacing.

8. Father's Day

We love Father's Day at our house! It means we grill a juicy steak dinner for Richard and he is good to make a big scene when he opens the kids' homemade cards. I wanted a layout that could be flexible for either of these photo ops, both of which would be a horizontal shot.

I didn't have a particular idea in mind for the design, so I went browsing online, and found this layout. I loved the vertical rectangles--they gave the feeling and warmth of a pieced quilt. To maintain that thought, I selected colors and patterns that would feel collected. Curated, if you will. I mimicked the stitching, too, for that added sense of a quilt.

9. Fourth of July

The final holiday layouts is the Fourth of July. We have celebrated our last three years in Utah. So while I don't love traveling that far, chances are, we will be there next year, too. Which means we will go to Day's Market, buy a package of fireworks for the kids, and then head over to the church parking lot to light them. And while I may go vertical for photographs of big (real) fireworks, our parking lot show is more smoke bombs and snappers, making nearly all the photos horizontal. And plentiful. Which meant I could do a repeating grid. Adding in some patriotic colors, and we have ourselves a festive and fun layout!

 

Wow. Who knew that event layouts could be so fun? I had a great time picking out colors and hunting for designs. In fact, I realized as I was making these layouts, that I needn't fear event layouts. They are a terrific excuse to use iconic colors and patterns, and don't need to be any fancier than any other layout I create. I am certain that the lack of storytelling and the multiple photos have been stumbling blocks for me. But in making these 9, I realized that the photos can carry a bulk of the story weight, and that is okay. Just because a holiday photo doesn't come with a particular story, doesn't mean the photos can't be scrapbooked. Nor do I have to pick just one great photo. I can use grids to add lots of photos. Repeating successful strategies isn't boring, it is brilliant! Grids work and they fit my design aesthetic, so they are awesome. 

I hope you will all take an evening to put together your holiday layouts, too. Especially if event layouts have scared you like they did me. I have been scrapbooking for more than 13 years, and putting these layouts together as a group has taught me so much about my perceived deficiencies. I really feel like I made a breakthrough!! Thank you for taking the journey with me!!

Tomorrow will be our final day of our "Prepping for a Good Year" week. I hope you will join me for one last set of ideas and layouts!

Have an incredible day!