Write. Click. Scrapbook.

Starting Points. Day 3: MOOD

Hooray! It's Marnie again. Back for day three! I am so happy you came back for more fun. I appreciate your time, and your comments. Did you have fun with the word challenge? Did you find one of the challenges easier than the other? The one word or the color scheme?

Here is my answer to the word challenge. I picked the word fear. I put together a layout based upon my fall fear: football. I love it, but it worries me all the same.

 

Please leave me a link if you happen to make a layout, too, so that I can enjoy your work. Please??!!

 

Today for our third starting point we are going to get a bit moody!

 

START WITH A MOOD

Today we need our pencil, and paper again. You can go now, I'll wait.

::image source::

Okie dokie. This will take only a minute. I am going to tell you a mood, and I want you to write down what comes to mind. It might be a color combination. It might be a feeling inside. It might be a particular story, incident, time. Just breathe, clear your mind, and see what comes. Your mood is... happy.

 

I thought of my happy colors (orange, turquoise, pink). Probably because I refer to them as just that: happy colors. Word association, and all. Then I thought of my kids giggling. I love the wild abandon that accompanies their laughter. Then I had a picture in my mind's eye of my family round the table, eating, and talking. Then, lastly, I pictured me snuggled up with a good book. In that image I am small and I am devouring a library copy of Nancy Drew. I can see the plain green cover and the pages with their large print. But the most curious is the smell. I can conjure the smell of a library book with such little effort. :)

 

There are at least four layouts in that little list. More if necessary. But my pictures are organized chronologically, and there is little chance of me finding something to match the obvious ones in a reasonable time frame. So instead I went looking for a photo that exuded happiness. And look what I found:

Here is a closeup in case you can't see that yummy little mug!

Just looking at this makes me swoon. Love it. 

 

As you use this idea of a mood as a starting place, please know that you needn't use the mood as the subject of your layout, unless you want to. It can also be the basis for finding a photo with which to begin a layout. Or to help create a purpose to a layout that seems lacking substance. Or it can the whole reason for the layout. Whichever you would like.

 

Thank you, for stopping! Tomorrow is a give.away.day! Be sure to stop by!

Starting Points. Day 2: WORD

Hello! It's me, Marnie. Welcome back for day two in our week of starting points. I hope that you enjoyed the color schemes yesterday and had fun building a layout with color as your starter! I took the challenge, too, and made a layout using five colors you might recognize from the extras from yesterday.

Honestly, I usually find a scheme after I look at my photo, so this starting point felt a little like putting the cart before the horse for me, but I liked it!

(And how about this handsome high school boy living in my house? How did I get to be the parent of a high school'er? Really. I am barely out of high school myself in my mind... )

 

And now, our second challenge and starting point: one word.

 

START WITH A WORD

Today we are going to do a classic writing assignment. 30 seconds, a blank piece of paper, a pencil, and one word to spark a memory. 

"That's it?" you ask. And yes, I say. That's it. Close your eyes. Let your mind wander and see what happens. 

Here are two words and their accompanying layouts.

 

STRAWS

Straws make me think of slurpees and my time in the back of a pickup truck after the Farmer's Market as a kid. But I have already scrapbooked this, so I sat a minute more. Then I got to thinking about Pic-A-Pop and started writing about that. But as I wrote, I realized I wanted to include more than just the pop, and so I backed up and added my memories of pizza nights. Which together rounded out to include a little about my mom being a working mom. And now I have a layout that captures a memory oft remembered, but not yet scrapbooked. (I don't have very many pics of my childhood, but did find one with all three of the kids in it, so I used that one.) You may notice that there is nary a mention of straws in the journaling. It was just a starting point on this one, not at all the end point. And that is just okay.

WINTER

I grew up in Canada where winter is more than just a season. As I began to write, I ended up with a bunch of disjointed tidbits about winter that didn't fit into a particular layout. But did work under the general heading of winter. So I went with that! Unlike the straws layout, the starting point word is more than just a little evident here. This just shows us how inspiration can spark or be; either way works great!

Knowing I didn't have a childhood photo to go with this layout, I looked back to a trip we took home to Canada a couple of years ago. In this photo, Lavender is wearing my childhood snowsuit, and she and Nigel are riding on my childhood toboggan, so it seemed liked the perfect accompaniment to my winter childhood memories.

 

So are you up for it? Ready to make a layout from one word? I hope you will try it. Here are five more random words to help spark a memory:

lollipop, novel, bicycle, chocolate, fear

I hope you will try it and see how much fun it can be! I would love to see what you come up with. Thank you, for stopping by and for being a part of our write. click. scrapbook. family!

SUMMER PHOTOGRAPHY CHALLENGE CONCLUSION

This summer we put together a photo challenge for you. We had asked you to take photos that would be iconic summer images that would help capture summer 2013. Earlier in the week we set out ten quotes and asked you to pair your images with those quotes. And now the fun part comes!

The final piece to this summertime challenge is a mini album! We have created 11 digital pages that you can use to create a mini album with your images. You could print them at home, and assemble a minialbum at home, or you could drop them into a photobook and have it printed up.

Here are the images:

You may download them here.

 

Marnie put together a sample photobook. 

Click here to view this photo book larger

(Please forgive her for not yet getting her watermelon pic!!)

 

She also followed some directions she found online for making a mini mini and used four of the pages to put together another tiny mini. It is eight pages printed on one 8.5 x 11 making it a mere 2.875" x 2.875".

We hope you love the album with its arrows, stripes, dots, and happy summer colors. We are pleased as punch and happy as clams to know that you, too, can have a fun summer album in just a minute or two!

Happy summer's end. Tomorrow is launch day! Can't wait to see you then!

SUMMER PHOTO CHALLENGE

This summer we put together a photo challenge to help inspire you to take a few iconic summer photographs. Next week we are going to put them to use, but before we do, we have one last prep step for you.

Today, we are going to be pairing each photo with one of ten quotes. Some will go together easily. Others you will need to put together. If you take time to do this now, it will make our project come together very easily. Getting so excited; you?

 

MATCHED QUOTES

Here is a list of the photos that are easy to pair with the quote and the quote that we have planned. Take a moment and make sure it works with your photo. If yes, mark your photo; if no, then move your photo and the quote to the unmatched pile.

PHOTO 2 

photo: flip flops
quote: Life is better in flip flops.

PHOTO 4

photo: watermelon
quote: When one has tasted watermelon, he knows what the angels eat.

PHOTO 5

photo: summer nights
quote: The summer night is like a perfection of thought.

PHOTO 7

photo: easiness of summer
quote: Summertime, and the livin' is easy.

PHOTO 8

photo: blue sky
quote: To see the summer sky is poetry.

 

UNMATCHED QUOTES

And here is the list of unmatched quotes. First, a reminder of your photos.

PHOTO 1: outdoor water
PHOTO 3: summer sun
PHOTO 6: summer's warmth
PHOTO 9: summer beauty
PHOTO 10: golden magic of twilight

And here are the quotes that you will need to align to these 6 photos.

QUOTE A: Hair gets lighter. Skin gets darker. Water gets warmer. Drinks get colder. Music gets louder. Nights get longer. Life gets better.
QUOTE B: Thank you stars and fireflies, for the magic of summer skies.
QUOTE C: Every summer has a story.
QUOTE D: Summer lovin' had me a blast.
QUOTE E: Summer light, summer night, summer feels alive and bright.

 

That's it! We're almost ready. Thank you for playing along all summer! Join us on Friday, August 30th, where we will put it all together!

Summer Photo Challenge #9 & # 10

Summer is winding down and so, too, is our photo challenge. Today we have two of our final challenges for you. As always, please remember to not only take your photos, but  to also keep them in an easy to find folder so that we might put together our super secret project, soon!

 

summer beauty

It might be your favorite summer flower. Or perhaps a beach sunset. The dancing flame of a fire pit. Anything that you find beautiful this time of year.

 

the golden magic of twilight

No, not the book, but the time itself. Find a quiet place to sit and wait for the perfect moment of the sideways glow of the lovely summer sun. And then snap away. So perfect.

 

Thank you, always, for being with us and for taking the time to stop and visit! See you tomorrow for our Click! Saturday!

Summer Photo Challenges #7 + #8

Today we are back with two more photo challenges for our summer photo challenge. This summer we are building a photo folder with specific photos so that we might have them at the ready for a surprise project to be revealed in August! 

 

the easiness of summer

Summer has its own pace. Slow. Lovely. Today we are going to try find something that captures the easiness of summer. Is it your feet up on a lounge chair? A stack of books in the midst of being read? Toys strewn about the yard? Perhaps it's the time on the clock when your teenager (finally!) rolls out of bed. Think of something that represents summer and all it's lazy glory.

 

blue sky

And iconic summer image and memory: lying on the grass staring up at the puffy clouds floating in the blue blue sky. The blue of last summer is so distinct. The next time it's there, find the pose, and snap away. It's a lovely sight. One well worth preserving!

 

That's it for today! We hope you are playing along and having fun. Remember to keep your photos in a handy folder... it's almost time to use them!

August Sneaks & Summer Photo Challenge #6

It's that time! Sadly, August is merely days away. Happily, that means there is a new gallery coming! Here are a handful of sneak peeks for your viewing pleasure:

Francine
JennyL
Laura
Aliza
Diane
Mel
AmyK
LisaO
Stephanie
Marnie
Valerie
Sue
AmyC
Christine

 

We couldn't leave you without a little bit of "homework" so we have a new installment in our summer photo challenge. 

summer's warmth

This can come from the golden rays of sun, the tan on your skin, the ice cubes sweating in your drink, the sunkisses in your hair. So many places to find the warmth of summer. Where will you find yours?

 

Don't forget to get a photo that can be cropped to a square, and to save it in a file that will be easy to access come August!

Thank you for stopping by! Hope you enjoy the sneaks!! Only 6 more days and counting...

SUMMER PHOTO CHALLENGES #4 + #5

Today we are back with yet two new photo challenges for our secret mission to be unveiled in August. We are looking for photos that represent summer. Don't forget they need to be croppable to a square!

 

one word: watermelon

Whole, cut, being eaten. It is an iconic summer food. Oh, and delicious!!

 

summer nights

Turn up your ISO and down your shutter speed and get a great evening photo. Something that represents summer nights for you.

 

Don't forget to save your photos to a separate file that you can access easily at the end of summer. And try to build as we go! It will make our project much more fun when summer's end comes!

4 Item Challenge

Grab that brand new stamp set you just purchased or dust off some stamps from your stash. Pull out a black inkpad and your mists. I have a fun challenge for you today.

I made the layout featured in this post with only FOUR items: stamps, black ink, mist, and white cardstock. This challenge is perfect for anyone: the simple scrapper, the complex scrapper, the frugal scrapper, the messy scrapper, and I think the clean scrapper might even be able to handle it. 

So the rules are as follows: (1) you may only use the FOUR items listed above. (2) You may use ANY number of stamps and (3) any number and variety of mist colors. (4) Upload your layout to the Flickr group. (5) Post the link to your layout in a comment below. 

Stamps used are (clockwise from left) Hero Arts/Studio Calico Stepping Stone Alpha, American Craft's My Girl, Ormolu Montage, and American Crafts/Dear Lizzy Lucky Charm roller stamp.

And here's my four item layout.


 Can't wait to see what you create!

 

SUMMER PHOTO CHALLENGE #2 & #3

Today we are back with two new photo challenges for our secret mission to be unveiled in August. We are looking for photos that represent summer. And remember they need to be croppable to a square!

 

take a flip flops photo

Flip flops are the ultimate representation of summer's relaxation. Maybe shoot your favorite pair. Or show how many gather by the door on any given day. Or maybe shoot down if your standing, or long if your lying down.

 

take a photo of the summer sun

Shoot directly, or gather the radiance on a long summer's eve. Withering plants, jugs of lemonade, tanned skin, or other effects of a strong summer sun also will fit!

 

Don't forget to save your photos to a separate file that you can access easily at the end of summer. And try to build as we go! It will make our project much more fun when summer's end comes!