Write. Click. Scrapbook.

click.

Wow, are you sick of me yet ;) I know that I have hosted the blog the entire week, but I had to share a Click. post too! 

Today I have the coolest challenge for you all. While pinning away over at Pinterest I came over this pin. 

[photo from Brenda Acuncius Photography]

See how brilliant this is?! Your challenge is to follow your kid around (or any other person that you love!) and shoot photos of what they typically do on a normal day. Just add a short caption to the photos and you have recorded a day in the life just like that! Awesome! And you could easily use the photos to make a minialbum titled: A day in the life of...

I am so doing this myself! Yes, I am challenging you and me both to do this! We can do it! And don´t forget to share your photos with us! 

Peace & Love

Ps. This blog is another example of snapping everyday photos and adding short captions. 

Love week | day 4

"My Darling, Darling I love you madly!" That is what my sister said to me when I was very young and the nickname stuck. To this day all my relatives (grandparents, dad,mom even my brother-in-law!) calls me Darling :) My nieces and nephew talked about Darling at their kindergarden and when I went to visit not long ago, their teacher said: Oh, YOU are Darling, we thought it was a cocker spaniel :) hehe...

Today on my last day of blog hosting, I thought I would share a few ideas for Guerilla Love. What is that you ask? Well, let´s just say it is a very fun way of spreading love and goodness around you. I have followed Patience Salgado on her blog kindnessgirl.com for a while now and I love how she gives example after example of how kindness changes everything. Her latest mission was to suprise the garbage collectors with a thank you note. I have been known to do a little Guerilla love myself :) It is simple really: leave a note in a library book, put a heart on a mirror or chalk up a sidewalk. 

 

Before Christmas I made these small envelopes and made them really pretty. Inside I tucked a little encouragment message for whomever would find it. I found some awesome free printables at a blog called Kind over Matter  there are a couple of downloads that are cards you just cut out and you can use them in Guerilla loving! Go check them out! 

 

Another place I have found lots of ideas is Color me Katie . For example she painted hearts on rocks and placed them in the cracks of a pavement "I made sure to fill some cracks in the sidewalk with the rocks for people who feel so low they just can't look up." How sweet is that?!!

 

Sherri from the blog Families are Fun! made this simple craft with her kids and had them put up the magnetic smiley caps to share smiles around town. 

 

There are so many small things that you can do to share the love with others this Valentine´s Day or anyother day for that matter! To get you started, here is a short list:

leave messages in library books or books at the bookstore

leave cookies or other treat for you postman/woman

leave new (or old ones you have read) magazines at waitingrooms

leave a note in someones pocket before they leave home

write a message on the bathroom mirror (we do that all the time!)

write a message on the street with chalk

I could go on forever! And don´t forget to include your children, it is such fun thing to do together! 

 

I will leave you with this sweet video from Patience with a great project to do on Tuesday (Valentine´s Day! 

 

Thank you all for a LOVEly week!

Love Week | Day 2

Well, hello love! I remember being in England as an exchange student when I was 13 and a random lady said that to me :)

How did yesterday's post go down? Perhaps you found something you felt was doable for next week??!!

Today I will be talking about scrapbooking. As I prepared for this week's postings I flipped through my albums to see if I had any Valentine´s Day layouts and I found one (1)! 

 

It is a layout that I made in 2009 after a lovely Valentine´s Day we had together. This was the year that I decided to do something nice for him, even though he thinks that this day isn´t anything to celebrate. We had the loveliest time! 

 

I did however find quite a few layouts that feature love ♥

My daughter took this photo of my husband and I on our 9th wedding anniversary last year. I was on a bannner high at the moment and used a printable one for this page. 

 

Amy Sorensen send this cutie layout for me to share with you!

 

In 2010 we had a little short photoshoot on Valentine´s Day! Of course I had to scrapbook it :)

 

Another anniversary photo (7th) that I just wanted to save in my album.

 

A layout that features just my husband (which is, when I think about it, very rare!).

 

I also found a few lovey dovey ones about my Sadie dog ♥

 

Here is a layout that I made just a few weeks ago. If you look carefully...

you will see another download made from Crystal Wilkerson's digital goodies!

You can either click on the image and then just right click + save the image or download the free pdf by clicking the link above. These are the smaller thought bubbles you can download the larger ones here.

If you use it in a project, please share it with us!

 

Kelly Jeppson made this darling layout using two of the journaltags!

 Be sure to come back tomorrow as I share some things you can give away to your Valentine. 

CHA Armchair Attendee Week: Write. Click. Scrapbook. Team Members' "Must Haves"

Welcome to the last day of CHA Armchair Attendee Week! I hope you've enjoyed our week this week - I had a lot of fun checking out all of the sneak peeks, pics and video from the CHA show floor, and sorting through all of that to find the key trends I shared earlier this week.

For today's post, I (Vivian) asked Write. Click. Scrapbook. team members to tell me what their top "must have" is from this set of CHA releases. The only parameter I set was that they had to choose a product from a manufacturer whose design team they are not on. Some team members had an easy time doing this and were able to instantly name a favorite. Others took some time to think it over. Some of us had a really hard time and listed more than one product since our top "must have" was, in fact, a tie amongst several "must haves." Some are still thinking about it. Some lines were pretty popular amongst the team, as you will see below.

Without further ado, here, in alphabetical order by team members' last names, are our "must have" products:

Francine Clouden: Studio Calico Abroad Thickers and Alpha Stickers

Paula Gilarde: Crate Paper Storyteller Collection (especially the chipboard)

Donna Januzzi: Simple Stories Documented Mix & Match 6" X 8" Album

Vivian Masket: Dear Lizzy Neapolitan Date Stamp and Echo Park This & That Charming Collection

Lisa Ottosson: Pink Paislee Prairie Hill Collection (12 x 12 papers)

Christa Paustenbaugh: Crate Paper Storyteller Collection and Dear Lizzy Neapolitan Collection

  
Diane Payne: American Crafts Amy Tangerine Sketchbook Collection, in particular, the Remarks Pigment Stickers (the set at the far right)

Katrina Simeck: Lily Bee Double Dutch Collection

Celeste Smith: Studio Calico Abroad Collection (the papers, in particular)

Amy Sorensen: Bella Blvd Sopisticates Collection High Five Alphas

Emily Spahn: Heidi Swapp Instaframes and Bella Blvd Designer Tape

Keshet Starr: October Afternoon 9 to 5 Collection and Studio Calico Take Note Collection

Erin Sweeney: Studio Calico Classic Calico Vol 2 (especially the chevron mask and the washi tape) and Take Note Collections and the Crate Paper Storyteller Collection

 

Feel free to share your "must haves" in the comments below - we want to know what's caught your eye, particularly if we've missed seeing it!

I hope you've enjoyed CHA Armchair Attendee Week here at Write. Click. Scrapbook. this week! I don't know about the rest of you, but I can't wait until some of this new product hits stores!

CHA Armchair Attendee Week: Trends, Part III

Vivian here, welcoming you to Part III of the CHA trends report. Today we're going to take a closer look at trends in the types of products offered. (If you missed Monday's and Tuesday's posts, Monday's focus was on pattern and motif trends, and Tuesday's focus was on theme trends.) A reminder that I'm not aiming to be comprehensive in these posts; instead, I've chosen to comment on a few big trends to give you a taste of what's being released at this show. Today I'm going to focus on just two trends.

Our first product trend is one that I thought had already reached its apex, but I have clearly been proven wrong. Banners, flags, pennants, and garlands are everywhere! As I've done the last two days, I am going to share with you where I'm seeing the unique takes on this popular trend.

First up is Epiphany Crafts' Pennant Shape Studio Tool, which creates epoxy pennant shapes (click here to see a video of it in action):

Bella Blvd's new flag embellishments, which come in a huge variety of themes, are another fun take on this trend:

If you are interested in decorating your own flags, Maya Road's Kraft Flag Pins offer a great blank canvas option:

Another twist on this trend is the ready-to-go garland, like these two from the American Crafts Dear Lizzy Neapolitan line:

 

One more for this trend that I feel compelled to share...pennant buttons from the My Mind's Eye Follow Your Heart collections (look at the bottom row of buttons in each set):

On to the second trend for today: washi tape. Wow. There's a lot of it out there. A lot.

Let's start with Queen & Co's six different sets of Trendy Tape, which I feel safe in saying offers something for everyone:

Aly sent me a photo showing the fun way these tapes were displayed in the Queen & Co booth:

Bella Blvd's Designer Tape comes in two different widths:

Crate Paper is offering Decorative Tape as part of both its Storyteller and Pretty Party lines:

October Afternoon is also offering washi tape, like these tapes that are part of the 9 to 5 collection:

I could go on and on here, as there's lots more washi tape out there, but hopefully the images above give you a good sense of the variety of tape that's being released at this show.

What do you think of these product trends? What other product trends are you noticing? Leave a comment and let us know.

Be sure to check back tomorrow for our weekly give.away.day. I'll be back with you on Friday to share write. click. scrapbook. team members' "must haves" from the CHA show.

CHA Armchair Attendee Week: Trends, Part II

Ready for more trends today? Vivian here with the second installment of CHA Armchair Attendee Week. Today we're going to be taking a look at trends in product themes. (Yesterday's post provided an introduction and included Trends, Part I, with a focus on patterns and motifs, so you might want to start there if you missed it.)

There are some pretty consistent trends that happen, with spring, summer, and travel lines typically released at the winter show in anticipation of the upcoming months, and winter, holiday, and Valentine's collections released at the summer show for the same reason, but there are always new ideas and twists on old ideas. A reminder that I am not trying to be comprehensive in my armchair attendance this week, but am trying to give you a taste of some of the things that have caught my eye, or the eye of Write.Click.Scrapbook. team members on the show floor.

Speaking of team members, look at how much fun Donna and Marnie are having at the show!

Marnie continued to have even more fun, along with Aly, when they confirmed yesterday's rumor and met Tori Spelling, who released a DIY jewelry line with Darice:

One theme trend I noticed that Marnie and Aly confirmed from the show floor (once they'd gotten over the excitement of having met Tori, of course!): office-themed products and collections. There are so many different takes on this - I'll share some favorites.

I instantly fell in love with these clean and colorful Index Journaling Cards from Lily Bee's Handmade Collection:

October Afternoon's 9 to 5 collection features a retro office vibe and lots of fun office supply images:

This next line is not as traditionally office-y, but I don't quite know what else to call it. I think I'm going to coin a new term: office eclectic. It's the This & That Charming Collection from Echo Park which combines receipts, rulers, fans, cameras, globes, ledger paper, numbers and many, many other patterns and motifs:

Last up in the office theme category are the Paper Clips from Studio Calico's Take Note line. Note the description on the package - these are paper clips with fabric. I think this is most definitely a new take on the office theme!

Another trend that seems to have exploded this year is the travel theme. There have typically been a few travel lines released, but there are so many more than usual this year, and there are a ton of really unique twists. I'm going to focus on those twists in the examples here.

Bazzill Basics Paper, typically known for cardstock, has been slowly making its way into the world of patterned paper. One of their new releases is the Wayfarer line, which I'm highlighting because of the chevron-print paper with map-print chevron stripes:

Studio Calico's Abroad line provides another interesting take on the travel theme. There's a lot that's unique with this line, but what I found most unique were the U.S. states wood veneer shapes and die cut shapes:

Another fun twist on the travel theme is this pattern-within-a-pattern (again, the quilt trend I mentioned yesterday) airplane paper from Glitz Design's Happy Travels line:

I'll share one more twist on travel, Basic Grey's What's Up line. I love the unusual color palette here and the fun hot air balloons (trust me, I'm not showing you more examples of this, but the hot air balloon is a trend-within-a-trend this year - they are popping up everywhere!):

Let's move on to our last theme trend: East-Asian-inspired.Think paper lanterns, cherry blossoms, koi, etc.

First up is My Little Shoebox's Aiko line. The sticker sheet image below shows several of the colorful motifs included throughout the line:

Next up is Bo Bunny's Serenity line, which includes many of the same motifs seen in the My Little Shoebox Aiko line (above) but adds others, including characters and symbols:

A final take on the East-Asian-inspired theme trend is Basic Grey's Konnichiwa collection, which features gorgeous colors:

So, what do you think of these theme trends? Do you have a favorite? Are you noticing other theme trends that you want to share with our readers in the comments below?

I'll be back tomorrow for Trends, Part III, where we'll take a look at trends in the types of products being released at CHA this week.

Happy armchair attending!

Welcome to CHA Armchair Attendee Week!

Welcome

Welcome to CHA Armchair Attendee Week! I'm Vivian, and I will be your host this week. As most of you know, the Craft and Hobby Association’s winter trade show is taking place this week in Anaheim, CA. Companies that manufacture craft products  -- including our beloved papercrafting products -- show their new releases in booths visited by retailers, who place orders for the new products. Lots of other folks figure into the mix as well, as craft publishers are represented, design team members help to staff booths, and celebrities usually figure into the mix. (I still have my piece of Paris Hilton scrapbook paper, signed when I met none other than Paris herself at CHA a few years back. Rumor has it that our own Marnie Flores may cross paths with Tori Spelling this time around.) 

I’m not at CHA this year, but have been having a lot of fun following all of the hoopla online and am excited to share some of that fun with you this week. Here’s the plan for this week:

 Monday: Introduction and Trends, Part I: Patterns and Motifs

Tuesday: Trends, Part II: Themes

Wednesday: Trends, Part III: Products

Thursday: CHA give.away.day. (yes, that’s right, as in goodies straight from the show floor!)

Friday: Write.Click.Scrapbook. team members’ “must haves” from CHA

 

Introduction

Getting on with our introduction…some of you may be wondering what it means to be an “armchair attendee.” How can you “attend” the show if you’re not there? Well, here’s my process.

• In the weeks ahead of the show, I regularly frequent websites that compile manufacturers’ sneak peeks. Most manufacturers “sneak” their new releases prior to the show via their company’s blog/website, Facebook, Twitter, etc. and that can be exhausting to follow without the aid of websites that do the work of compiling sneaks for you. Three good websites for this are Scrapbook & Cards Today, Scrapbook Update and The Scrap Review. Each presents the sneaks a little bit differently: Scrapbook & Cards Today provides clickable links by manufacturer, Scrapbook Update provides a clickable list by date of sneaks, and The Scrap Review blogs sneaks as they appear.

• As I look at sneaks, I make sure to check out both official product images as well as any projects showcasing the new products. Often a line or a product that doesn’t grab me at first looks different when I see it on a layout or a card.

• Once the show starts, I watch online for photos and videos from the CHA show floor. Not all companies do sneak peeks or extensive sneak peeks and seeing new products together with projects made with them in the booth can inspire. You can try searching #CHAshow on Twitter, check magazines' and manufacturers' Twitter feeds/Facebook pages/blogs, or follow targeted CHA forums (like the CHA Winter 2012 forum at Two Peas in a Bucket or Studio Calico's CHA forum).

• Most important, I make my wishlist! That was made much easier this year by Pinterest. I started a CHA Winter 2012 board and every time I looked at sneaks I pinned ones that grabbed my attention. (Don't worry, I won't buy it all!)

 

Trends, Part I

Now let’s take a look at trends in patterns and motifs. I am not going to attempt to be comprehensive here, but have selected three trends that have caught my eye and will share those with you. Beware, lots of images forthcoming!

The first trend I want to share with you is chevron. Chevron patterns started appearing recently in scrapbook products, but they have really taken off with this show. While chevron up until now has been primarily a single color chevron stripe paired with a neutral, this time around it seems to be “chevron with a twist.” Let me show you some examples.

This paper from Lily Bee's Buttercup line features a text-print chevron pattern:

This paper from My Mind's Eye On the Bright Side line features a fun multi-colored chevron pattern:

How cool is this quilted chevron from Pink Paislee's Prairie Hill line? When I first saw this sneak I had to stare at it for a bit to figure out all that was going on here!
Let's move on to look at another trend: clouds. I don't know about you, but cloud patterns just make me happy. I'm seeing a lot of patterned clouds this year.

This fun paper from GCD Studios' Oh Happy Day line features chevron clouds.

This sticker sheet from Echo Park's Hello Summer line features three different patterned clouds - one with a text print and the other two with different grids:

This piece of paper from Bella Blvd's Sunshine & Happiness line combines polka dot and chevron clouds with solid clouds, some with tiny hearts:

This paper, from My Little Shoebox's Happy Go Lucky line, features polka dot clouds, clouds with a doodle swirl pattern, and, while it's hard to tell from the sneak image (one of the limits of being an armchair attendee!), I think some of the clouds have text:

One more pattern/motif trend that is popping up all over the place: honeycomb/hexagon.

I first noticed this trend with these two stunning papers from the My Mind's Eye Follow Your Heart collections (note that these papers also follow the quilted trend that we saw earlier in the Pink Paislee chevron pattern):

Another interesting take on this trend are the Jenni Bowlin Quilted Stickers, which come in four different designs:

Hambly also has an interesting take on the honeycomb/hexagon trend (and more chevron!) with one of their patterned cardstocks:

 

I could continue commenting on pattern/motif trends and pasting examples here for days, but hopefully this will give you a taste of what's out there and coming to stores soon.We'd love to hear from our readers - which of these three trends is your favorite? What other patterns and motifs are you seeing across sneaks?

Stay tuned for tomorrow's Trends, Part II, which will focus on product line themes seen across companies.

In Review

What a great month we have had! Join me as we take our final stroll through the January gallery and then put it all together for one last layout!

Francine: I love this layout for its groupings. Francine is a master of the collection. I love, too, how the photos seem perfectly placed. Like a well set table.

Karen:  I love how her layouts make me feel. She made use of my happy colors which tells me immediately that the title is not a mournful one, but cheerful. This layout reminds me to take pictures of things (and not just people and food) that make me happy. I have notes that have touched my heart that truly belong in my scrapbook. You, too?

Aly: The first time I saw this layout, I immediately wanted to rewind time to a time a few years' back when we were loaded in the car off to somewhere. Nigel, my oldest, never went in the car, unless we had a big destination. He had the luxury of staying inside. My littlest? She has been hauled about since she was small. At three weeks we started out to tennis in the cold midwestern winter, and we have not stopped since. Aly's layout made me realize I haven't take pictures of some of the more mundane activities. Add it to the checklist!

Celeste: I remember a winter as a child where the snow went halfway up our back door. We had to shove and shove to get the screen door open. But of course, there are no pictures. Celeste's layout is a reminder to me to keep my camera handy and take photos of those weather-related memories.

Marnie: Do you know that I purposefully took my camera along one day on our adventures knowing that I had this layout due? Do you that I am so glad that I did? I love to be a good student, and scrapbooking assignments help me to stretch just like school ones used to.

Erin: I love Erin's honesty. Sharing with us that her photos were taken for the Week in the Life album that never was. And how she didn't let them go to waste. Have you photos leftover from a particular purpose that might fit on a page of a different kind? Let Erin's example be your permission to get them on a layout!

Christa: Military wives are such an amazing lot to me. I am always impressed by how they roll with the punches, even when the changes are huge. And moving around the globe seems pretty huge to me. Wow.

Alexandra: Alexandra can take the simplest things and make them look beautiful. Have you taken a minute to finish up your December daily album? It's nearly February. Perhaps this weekend you could get it out and finish it up before the memories run cold?

Lisa: I love the linear beauty of Lisa's layout. And the little grouping of three at the bottom? Awesome! You know that our eye loves threes and fives best right?

Lisa: If you were to sit down and create a layout about today, what would a recounting of your schedule tell you? The changes in my own schedule over the past few years have been significant and annual. Join me in a pact to promise to record this before the memory of the madness fades?

Amy: For the past few years, Costco has offered free calendars with their holiday cards. I recognized this one, and think this is a magnificent use of one! Amy is so clever.

Marnie: I used to be so good at taking headshot pictures of my kids. Now we all seem too busy. So I was happy to find this one amidst my white balance practice photos. Plain headshots like these are permission to journal whatever I want. I love that.

Vivian: Do you ever read people's journaling and realize just how amazing they are? I loved reading Vivian's journaling. And I love how she introduced her daughter to this opportunity to serve our world. And you know what? It taught me that Vivian is a thoughtful person who is aware of others. And now I love her even more, not just for her great pages. Scrapbooking. It is so much more than paper and glue.

Ann: This photo will be a family treasure forever. When I used to teach at CKCs we would take polls on how many photos people took over a Disney vacation. 5000 was not unheard of. How does one begin to scrapbook that many? One at a time. Choose a favorite, just like Ann did. And what a favorite this one is.

Paula: This is your reminder. Get your family together and take a picture of all of you and then create a layout about today. I love how Paula's journaling becomes the vertical column. Clean and easy and purposeful. Perfect.

Celeste: One of my favorite features of Celeste's layout is the thick'ish black borders around the photos. It really helps ground them. And then I seem to notice each of them, rather than just a group of photos. Celeste's pages have such a definitive style, too. Don't you agree?

Celeste: Did you notice how Celeste makes use of a visual triangle on this page? But there is a bit more magic than just the triangle. The photo cluster on the left is the same width as the journaling space on the right. This makes it look like a missing puzzle piece, thereby adding an additional sense of cohesion. It is subtle design elements like these that can transform your pages.

Kelly: Kelly is becoming a hybrid master! With her date doing double duty as the title, the scene is already set for the photos and story. 12.26 conjures a sense of calm and laze for many of us. Choosing to have so much subtext in a title helps to strengthen the message of a page.

Marie: Speaking of dates, how does one not love the date 1.1.11? and to have a baby born on that date? Well, that is pretty special. As a design tip, study Marie's choice of placement for her photos. When you are creating mosaics, make sure you don't have lopped off limbs leading into other limbs, and other such follies. Keep moving things around until they look right. You will know it when you see it.

Donna: I love the celebration of the everyday in Donna's layout. When I saw this, I wanted to run around my whole house and snap photos of all the clutter piles. And then I realized I didn't have hard space enough to record them all!! Teasing. Though I am not teasing about how much you will look back on photos like these and love how transported you will feel into times' past. Please remember to add these pictures to your list!

Celeste: Do you have a lazy day at your house? Or perhaps you have a day that has a regular routine? Have you captured it? Your photos don't need to be display worthy, remember you just want them to remind you of these days that are passing us by. If you do go on a photo field trip, perhaps keep your camera the same angle (up or sideways) for all the pictures as a means of linear bliss.

Keshet: I remember when Nigel was little and I wanted a photo to tell the whole story. And I couldn't figure out how. Well, silly, just add a blackboard! This is such a clever idea. If you check our Pinterest board you will see other examples of blackboards being put to good use, too.

Emily: Favorite part of this layout? The armchairs. Don't they just tell us a little bit about the story? Do you try to reach for embellishments that are purposeful? Don't you find when you do that you love them on your page? Me, too.

Marnie: This silly layout could have not been done and my children's lives would have been perfectly represented. But this page represents my love of learning and my efforts to continue to learn and grow and become every day better at something. And that is a page worth having.

 

The theme this month, Today, offered much inspiration for journaling, and photography, and our gallery was ripe with inspirational design. I took the challenge to document my right now with a new kid photo, stretched the journaling theme of everyday messes to include a messy photo, and added in one of the pieces of the printables page. Putting it all together, I came up with this. My new favorite layout.

I hope you felt inspired to make a new favorite as well!

scrapbook!

Gallery Walk

I have the pleasure of loading the gallery each month, which means I get sneak peeks of all the layouts as they come in. And then I get to spend some time with each project as I post it and edit the materials' lists. But even still, when I pull open the gallery as a whole, my knees swoon, just a bit.

Like every month, there is something in each project that catches my eye. Let's go in order of appearance.

Lisa's canvas: First, I love red polkadots. And tiny ones remind me of my favorite swiss dot dress when I was little. But my favorite part is Lisa's ingenuity in decorating a stamped doily. I would have been tempted to buy an actual doily, which would not have had the same simple glory that Lisa's stamped doily attains.

Aly's layout: Such a brilliant use of cards. I love how some of the circles are names, others photos, other designs. I think the mixture provides such good balance. And helps us to see how eclectic gatherings help tell stories.

Christa's layout: My favorite part of Christa's layout is how she used border punched paper to create shelves for her pictures. This subtle tie in to her subject unifies her story and photos and design. So clever.

Aly's layout: First, the pictures are perfect. I have had three small children and this very same situation, but never thought to bend down and snap a picture of the ornaments on the floor, or the giant grin of the culprit. Times like this I remember how important it is to visit our site often for reminders of all those photos we don't want to miss!! (Such a shameless plug!! teehee!!) Second, did you notice Aly's use of the photo corners? A quiet means of defining the photos as a whole.

Celeste's layout: One of Celeste's greatest strengths is her design strength. She flexed her muscles for us again this month. Notice how everything about her layout is linear: the squares, the even spaces, the white space. And then, there's the photo. Tilted just so. Thereby drawing our eye in. And with tilt, the ninja's eyes become horizontally even with the squares, thereby providing one more bit of balance and symmetry.

Aly's layout: Did you read the journaling? It talks about a moment of quiet. I find most of my quiet holiday moments are spent staring at the lights on my tree. I feel a layout coming on!

Lisa's layout: Aside from the scrapbooking side of things, I might need some of those cookies!! hee hee. Lisa has such a way with her photos. (My favorite might be the kitty next to the elf!!) It's not just the photos she takes, but her angles, her lighting, and the details. Oh, the details.

Christa's layout: First, do you see how unseasonal the colors in this layout are? Not very Christmas-y,but really lovely all the same. And can you spot the triangle? The bottom of visual triangle is the left hand side of the layout (top to bottom). The apex of the triangle is the photo of Jed. This triangle wouldn't work without the tape at the bottom of the page in the lower left hand corner. Cover it up, for just a moment, and evaluate the difference. See? I told you Christa was clever!!

Kelly's book: I love the idea of a page or two representing each year of celebrations. I have made similar birthday books, but never thought to do it for Christmas. This is so very smart. And how fun to look at each year as it grows. Thank you, Kelly, for such a terrific idea!

Keshet's layout: Oh, food shots! What's not to love? I have taken photos of the neighbors' and teachers' treats in the past, but rarely seem to get them on a layout. I love how Keshet's layout show a close-up photo and then one in full packaging. Perfect.

Paula's layout: Paula's photo grouping is just perfect. And did you know that you can have this too? She used a digital photo cluster to put it together. These can be used for paper layouts, too by adding your photos, printing it out, and then trimming the edges. Adding the notation on the bottom of the photos makes it even more purposeful. And the layers on the title? Lovely.

Cheryl's ornament: Only Cheryl could transform a dollar store ugly plaque into this darling little creation.

Cheryl's plate: Or a plate into this? And if you try this at home, be sure to add shadows to the layers so that you can tell who is in front. It's the same as if you were using stickers. One on top, one below.

Francine's layout: The title is terrific and tell so much of the story. Good titles are so effective. I have been keeping track of the books we have checked out of the library on Pinterest and I know that a layout like this will be a perfect capture of our visual list! Something I love about Francine's layout is how the title is big and bold, and the flourish is big and bold, and the photos are just so tiny.

Lisa's layout: I love this one for its content. Have you a similar book? A place where you keep all your ideas together? Have you thought to photograph it and add it to your scrapbook? These items that make up our world are so fleeting. And yet, so basic for us. Perhaps you could look around your life and see if there's something you do often that hasn't yet made your scrapbooks!

Lisa's layout: Did you notice the texture of the blue ribbon beneath the photo? and how the ribbon isn't completely adhered, thus providing even more texture? The velvety softness adds to the warm glow of the lights. And again, Lisa's photos are well-composed so that the twinkle lights glow softly.

Marie's layout: The visual triangle on this layout is more like a pyramid, coming up and out of the paper. The stacked layers make the photo rise up and out of the page, catching your eye before anything else. And Marie was right on target in getting down level with the baby to shoot the photo at the appropriate perspective.

Monika's layout: Monika's design is one of my go-to designs. It works seamlessly for horizontal 4x6 photos. I probably have more than 20 layouts with nearly the same design. And, no, that's not lazy, just practical!! Further, did you notice the woodgrain tape? So hip!

Emily's layout: For a layout about a santa collection, Emily's layout is remarkably and delightfully void of santas. Rather, the title is the story and the photo is the evidence. The trees prove the season and the colors lend a cheer. Especially helpful with a black and white photo. And have I mentioned how real Emily's pages seem? And always have a twist of wry humor.

Donna's layout: Donna chose to use two patterned papers as her backdrop, though not in equal proportion. When she added her photographs, she put the narrow photo on the wider pattern, and the wider photo on the narrower strip. This slight adjustment creates flow from the vertical base of the visual triangle (the left hand side of the layout) up and through the triangle to the middle of the page on the right side. With the edge of the landscape photo crossing over onto the patterned paper on the left, the layout becomes cohesive and level.

Amy's layout: This is a wonderful reminder to get our memories on paper even if it means we must wait for the photo. And if you know what size it will be, you can create an whole layout and even place it in the proper album. Who said layouts need photos?

Amy's layout: Being a fontophile and a stickerphile, I have always wanted to create a layout like this, but have never been able to determine how to do it. Now I know who I can ask! I love the boxes and how she hand drew them. And I wish we lived close enough to visit my mom and help her decorate!!

Alexandra's tags: Such a clever way of documenting our homes. Tags relieve the pressure of having a particular number of items and are fun little canvases to decorate. And once we get some snow or put up some lights, I am totally taking Alex's suggestion to document our outside homes.

Thank you for going gallery walking with me. I hope it was helpful to evaluate the little things that make the layouts work so well.

 

Saturday Sketch

This week you have a chance to recreate Donna's layout. She put together a sketch for you that is also downloadable as a layered template. Enjoy!

Thank you, Donna! From all of us!

 

Printable

School ended for us yesterday. Which means Thursday was spent elbow deep in white chocolate popcorn. Having 16 teacher gifts to put together, I thought it might be easiest to print tags. So I made tags.

In case you need them ...

... you may download them here.

 

Thank you for stopping by and spending some time with us! We appreciate you and hope you are doing well on your holiday preparations. Next week will be filled with more December Dailies. Can't wait to see you here!

Welcome, December! & give.away.day. featuring OCTOBER AFTERNOON

This month we wanted to celebrate the love and effort that we take decorating our homes for the holidays. No matter what the celebration, it seems there is always room for a little festivity!! (Or a lot, hee hee!!) Sit back, relax, and enjoy peering into our Holiday Homes.

 

 

December is here and we are thrilled to announce the return of our daily posting schedule! Much like our summer months, each day will feature a new author and a new topic. Our team is thrilled to inspire your December to be filled with paper crafting, scrapbooking, and photography. So, while the weather outside may be frightful, our site will be delightful...

 

 

But, wait, today is Thursday. And you know what that means...

To celebrate the start of December and the holiday season, we're kicking things off with an exciting give.away.day. We know that many of you are working on winter or holiday projects and would love to add to your stash of winter- and holiday-themed products, so...without further ado...we bring you October Afternoon's Holiday Style collection!

If you haven't already clicked on the link or the images above to get a closer look, the Holiday Style line features twelve double-sided patterned papers and a large variety of embellishments certain to add holiday style (get it? :)) to all of your projects. With the mix of patterns and products in this collection you'll have lots of opportunities to document your favorite memories of winters and holidays past and present and will have lots of bits leftover for cards, gift tags, etc.

Here's a layout Vivian created using die cut embellishments from the Flower Sack (clever Vivian cut them in half to stretch them!) as well as Word Stickers and Little Flyers.

An added bonus today: check out today's post on the October Afternoon blog to see the sketch upon which this layout was based.

October Afternoon is really close to having 10,000 followers on Facebook. If you haven't already headed over there to like them, please do so and let them know that you were sent there by Write. Click. Scrapbook. A little birdie told me that there might be a prize or two or more when the magic number appears.

Interested in a chance to win Holiday Style? I thought so. Go ahead and leave a comment on this post telling us what is your holiday style. Comments will remain open through tonight. One lucky number will be posted tomorrow. Please remember to claim your lucky number before Saturday at midnight.

 

 

 

Before you go, we have some sad news. Beth, Melissa, and Marcy are leaving us. I have worked with Beth since 2006 and I can't imagine my scrapbook life not including her. Not one bit. Beth is not only a fantastic designer but also an amazing woman, friend, and mother. Melissa has been with us since we launched. I first noticed her name attached to a layout with tiny footprints. It was love at first sight!! And I carry her camera strap on my camera so I will have an excuse to think of her everyday! And Marcy, my fellow Canadian, is leaving far too soon. Her pages are top notch. We are sad we won't have a chance to get to know her more. But also know that we will see her often. Happily so! We will miss you all and look forward to stalking your blogs to keep up!

 

 

That's it! Don't forget to pour over the new gallery, to visit October Afternoon, to return to leave your comment, and to include a heartfelt goodbye to Beth, Melissa, and Marcy. What a day! What a month! December is going to be awesome!