Write. Click. Scrapbook.

Welcome, October!

 
This month's theme is shadows. We thought it might be a fun twist on a spooky theme. Funny thing happened--it didn't turn out to be so spooky at all!!

[Except for our resident Halloween lovers. Who came through with some awesome Halloween home decor! (Just like we were expecting hoping!!)]

 

One of the greatest parts about a one word theme is all the different places it can take you.This might be one of our most diverse galleries in a long time. We hope you love it!

 

Is there a song lyric that will inspire your thoughts?

Or an amazing quote that inspires some thoughtful journaling?

We hope we can inspire you to document your little shadow. You know, the one that follows you everywhere. We know how easy it can be to forget to document our everyday things. And taking a picture of ourselves with our littles can be tricky. But made easier with a shadow picture.

The idea of having/being a shadow can extend to children, too. Do you have one that shadows another? Do you still walk in your sibling's shadow? Maybe this is the month to document it!

Can you use the idea of shadows as a springboard for an advice page?

Or as an opportunity to recognize your bounty?

And shadows can be an excellent starter to help you document your past.

 

Shadows present unique photo ops. You can create shapes with your shadows.

Additionally, consider the potential of using shadows as a new perspective on a family photo?

And the graphic nature of shadows makes them interesting for action photos.

 

Follow Vivian's lead and substitute a photo for a silhouette. This allows lots of space so you can journal up a storm!

Have you tried Cloud's splatter technique that she taught us a few weeks ago? Her layout this month shows off the splatter. It's not too late to try it! Be forewarned, it's addicting. And may delight your children as well.

And lastly, we know you have other hobbies. (Guess what? we do, too!) Don't forget to include them in your scrapbooks!

 

 

While you are here, we have a couple of changes to tell you about.

 

WRITE. CLICK. SCRAPBOOK. EVERYWHERE!

Write. Click. Scrapbook. is taking over the world!! Okay, not exactly, but we are thrilled to have increased our social media presence.

Pinterest

We are now on Pinterest! We are so very excited to have a new place to post things that inspire us. If you have a Pinterest account, and like to pin us, please add our name to your comment so others can see us, too!

Facebook

Have you stopped by the Write. Click. Scrapbook. Facebook page recently?  Please join us each day as we highlight and link the daily post from our website, feature our awesome sponsors and let you know where else you can find our talented collective! It's also a great place for questions you may want answered!  Come on over and "like" us!"

Twitter

Did you know that we are up to 628 followers? Are you one of them? We'd love to have you! Our twitter name is writeclickscrap. If you follow us, we'll follow you and together we will have so very much fun!

Subscribe

This week we got all of our media outlets connected! Which means we had to switch our feed from a full feed to a partial. We realize that this means those of you who subscribe are going to have click over to read the full post. We are sorry for the inconvenience but are certain that having us active on Pinterest, Facebook, and Twitter will be worth it!! We do value our subscribed readers and appreciate your loyalty. If you would like to receive our daily updates in your reader, please subscribe to us here.

 

SUNDAY PHOTO+QUOTE

We would like you to contribute! Yes, if you'd like to submit a photo and quote for our Sunday Photo+Word posts you are more than welcome! Just send an email to writeclickscrapbook at gmail dot com with SUNDAY in the subject line. Please include your name and blog address (if you have one) so that we can credit you properly. We will notify you if you your photo and quote are going to be posted.

 

FAREWELLS

Lastly, the time has come to bid three friends farewell. We are devastated to lose three of our originals, Angie, Autumn, and Jody. We have pleaded with them to stay, we really did. But alas, our pleas weren't enough. We will miss them all and can't imagine our team without them. Witty, wise, and so good at what they do. We are glad to have been together for babies, moves, and cancer free announcements.  We really do wish all three of you the best. Please stop by often. Pretty please. And thank you for all you have done for us! xoxoxoxoxo

Welcome, February!

May we present our February Gallery, The Men in Our Lives. We set aside our princess papers and girly colors, to take a moment to focus upon the men and boys that we love. Sometimes we tease them, sometimes we torture them.

We admire them. We like that they admire us. And love us.

We appreciate their willingness to provide for us, to balance us, to pitch in, and even to be second fiddle for awhile.

We love that we are alike, and that we are different.

We love them for their quirks, their mannerisms, their tastes, their hobbies.

We love them for the time they spend, and for enriching our lives.

We loved them as babies, as toddlers, as little boys, and as growing boys that begin to show signs of manhood.

We love their bonds.

We are attracted to them. Maybe even feel lucky to have them.

Simply said, they make us happy and we couldn't live without them.

We hope you take a minute or ten, to notice the men in your lives, big or little, and to let them shine in your scrapbook this month.

As you click through our new gallery or glance at the member list to the right, you might notice a new face (or two, or three). We are thrilled to welcome three new members to Write. Click. Scrapbook. this month: Moon Ko, Wendy Smedley, and Jamie Waters! You'll love their work for so many reasons—humor, storytelling, creative and clever product usage, photography—but most of all, because they know how to do their own thing and do it well. We couldn't be more pleased to welcome them to the team today, and hope you'll extend a warm welcome, too!

You might also notice a familiar face has disappeared from our team. We sadly bid goodbye to Elisha Snow last month as she prepares for the birth of another Snow-Boy. We'll miss her beautiful photographs and elegant pages in our gallery each month, but wish her all the best as she focuses on her growing family.

Happy February, and stop back later today to meet our regularly scheduled hostess!

Welcome, December!

Welcome,  December! Our team has put together an amazing assortment of holiday layouts guaranteed to inspire you to preserve all your December memories and activities. And what better way is there to set the stage for layout viewing than with some background music? Here is how it will work.

First, go grab a warm blanket (this is my favorite) and something warm to drink (wassail lovers unite!). Find a comfy spot and clear your calendar for a few minutes or more. Now, as you get started, there will be a song link. When you click on it, it will open in a new window (so that you may listen to the song in the background while you enjoy the accompanying layout). Now come back and click on the designer's name (in parentheses following the song). There are a few videos that might hold your focus (who can resist a sweet Charlie Brown snippet?) but don't forget to see the layout, too! (When you get to Tina's link, named "It's the Little Things", you might want to take some time to watch the whole video. It's a movie montage that is filled with glimpses of bygone Christmas movies. Ah! The memories...)

Now that you know how it works, let's get started! Welcome to December Days!

It's Beginning to Look A Lot Like Christmas (Elizabeth). Break out the wreaths and Christmas balls! Let's Decor8 the Halls (Francine), and let the 12 25 Days of Christmas* (Sara) begin. We've got to make a list of our Favorite Things (Aly) to know what All We Want for Christmas (Rebecca). Then we'll write our letters to Jolly Old St Nicholas (Ann) and let the preparations begin.

A quick trip to the grocery store will help us with our Apple French Toast Baking in a Closed Oven (Melissa) as everyone will be Home for the Holidays (Rachel) (including the Santa Babies (Mary) and the Baby Grinches (Jody)) which is good, because we'd have a Blue Christmas Without You (Lain).

Throughout the month, we will try to record all those things that mean Christmas Time is Here (Celeste). In our free time (??!!) we will Wrap Christmas (Jody), Make a List (Melanie), and Trim the Tree (Emily), that beautiful O Christmas Tree (Jen). Then we will gather everyone in to build a Gingerbread House (Beth). And when the overwhelm sets in We'll Put One Foot in Front of the Other (Erin) as we try to have a Holly Jolly Christmas (Lisa) or even a Merry Birthday (Marnie). 

We're so happy to be Home for Christmas (Angie) and to celebrate Winter's Song together (Kim). We'll try to remember It's the Little Things that matter (Tina) and to capture the magic of Believing (Tina).

We sincerely want to Wish You a Merry Christmas (Cheryl) because we think December is The Most Wonderful Time of the Year (Autumn).

* Please don't be offended by this version. It's a Canadian classic and could not be left out! 

One Minute Newsflash

Good Monday morning to you, Write. Click. Scrapbook. readers! We wanted to take the opportunity today to share a little site news on this last day of November.

The Sad News

It is with heavy hearts we bid goodbye to our friends and fellow scrapbookers Karen Glenn and Linda Barber as they leave the inspiration collective at Write. Click. Scrapbook. to allow more time to focus on other areas of their very busy lives. Both women possess a simple, graphic style that has been an inspiration to thousands of scrapbookers, and we'll miss their monthly contributions here tremendously. Please join us in wishing them well, and encourage them to hang out at our Flickr gallery from time to time!

The Much Happier News

• If you haven't checked out the Write. Click. Scrapbook. Tumblr lately, you're in for a treat! Our team members frequently post neat-o ideas and links found around the internet that will make you say "oooh" and "ahhhh" right out loud. Check the archives for a full visual record of what's been posted over the last few months! 

• Have an idea for a gallery theme? Want to ask a question? Have a general suggestion? Visit our suggestion box to leave a comment and we'll be listening. We value your input!

• Tomorrow is December 1st. You know what that means! Stop by to see our new gallery full of scrapbooking inspiration.

• The Day After Tomorrow is December 2nd, and the first day of a month of Write. Click. Scrapbook. For the Holidays! We'll return to our regularly scheduled program of weekly bloggers in January, but for the month of December be sure to stop in for a daily dose of holiday inspiration meant to help you enjoy your most creative, stress-free and fun holiday season yet! You won't want to miss a single day. 

Now go track down a few Cyber Monday deals to spend some of your Black Friday savings (there are lots of scrapbooking bargains to be had today out there on the internets!) and rejoin us here tomorrow to kick off December in Write. Click. Scrapbook. style!

Five Things

One of my favorite things about the scrapbooking world is how many good tips I've picked up over the years—whether from a magazine, in a conversation, or on a blog, I am constantly on the lookout for good ideas and clever ways of doing things. I absolutely love when people share their tips, tricks, and good ideas with me, so I thought I'd share a random handful of ideas here today! If you have a minute, please leave a tip or two of your own in the comments to share with our community here at Write. Click. Scrapbook.

1. Catalogs are a fantastic photography resource!

When I teach photography workshops, I always bring a stack of mail-order catalogs with me to pass around the table. The assignment? Study the photographs inside for expert examples of how to pose children and adults alike for group photographs. The job of the photographers who take all those pictures is to sell clothes—in the process, people are posed in extremely fun and flattering ways. This is an especially good trick to pull out just before the holiday season when you're sure to want a photo of a large group of family and/or friends. Best of all, it's a FREE RESOURCE. Can't beat that!

An example of a great trick I learned from eyeing these photos with a more critical eye is to avoid having children scoot all the way back on a couch or chair when taking a group photo. Move them to the edge (provided they're old enough not to fall off!) so they can sit up straight with their legs dangling off the couch. You'll avoid strange distortions and everyone looks more energetic when they're not slouching on a comfy couch. You'll have to take my word for it on this one and just try it yourself—I have some good examples of group shots of kids taken this way, but not all of their mamas are OK with internet postings of their kiddos.

A few good ones to check out: Growing Up with Garnet Hill, Mini-Boden, and Chasing Fireflies. There are others, but you get the idea.

2. Put a USB microphone on your wish list.

When I first started teaching at Big Picture Scrapbooking I needed to buy a high-quality microphone to record my voice (which, by the way, sounds identical to what you might imagine an 11 year old would sound like; my only solace is that my sister Marie is my voice twin, so I'm not alone in my signature child-like vocal sound). I quickly realized that my purchase—a Logitech brand USB-equipped microphone for $29.99—was one of the best, most inexpensive tools at my disposal for preserving memories. I still kind of dread having to record myself for audio introductions over at BPS (ha), but I love plugging that microphone in and plunking my daughters down in front of it. I've recorded their first words, their preschool songs, conversations with me or their sisters... it is truly phenomenal to listen to these recordings and realize how fast their little voices grow and change. Best of all, it's easy to import the recordings into iTunes (free to download for everyone, Mac or PC) and burn them to a disc just as you would a music playlist. Think about the possibilities: besides the obvious fun you can have with children, it's great for interviewing older relatives, creating a message for your family to find on a disc tucked on a scrapbook page as a surprise one day, etc. And really? $29.99 is a reasonable price point if someone asks you what you want for your next birthday.

3. Always walk down the card aisle.

This is not a new idea, but sometimes it's nice to be reminded of a good idea: cards are a great resource for page/mini-album design. I created an entire mini-album this summer based on this Compendium post card I found at one of my favorite bookstores.It is by far one of my most favorite projects of 2009!

4. Mix a little heritage with a little modern-day.

Who said heritage pages have to always use old photos? While I do like working with old(er) photos, I think it's possible to transcend the gap between "way back then" and right now when you make a connection with a story (or even a single fact) about an ancestor and the modern-day you.

See? A legend about my great-great grandfather + my tomatoes from last summer. That's a combination that makes me happy.

5. Keep your inspiration organized.

I'm a hunter-gatherer when it comes to inspiration for my scrapbook pages. I'm so passionate about collecting good tips, cool designs, and samples of things I want to try and make myself that I fill binders and bookmark websites right and left with things I love and am inspired by. I'm also passionate about sharing good ideas, which is why I'm so excited to introduce a new feature of Write. Click. Scrapbook. today: the Write. Click. Scrapbook. Tumblr. (What??) Tumblr is a relatively new service that acts like a virtual bulletin board to post and categorize photos, links, text, audio, video and  quotes. It's free, it's easy, and it's a great way to organize all the amazing things you run across online; I don't know about you, but those websites I bookmark right and left have a tendency to get lost if I'm not careful. Tumblr provides a way to prevent that from happening.

You'll find a link on our navigation bar just under the banner to this new feature; we're just getting started, but the collective here at WCS will continue to add things scrapbookers might like on a regular basis. The archives are linked at the bottom of the Tumblr page; when you click the link you'll be taken to a handy thumbnail display of past postings. Please stop by and check it out! Thanks for reading this week.

Welcome, September!

"The whole purpose of education is to turn mirrors into windows." —Sydney J. Harris, American journalist (1917-1986)

"If there were no schools to take the children away from home part of the time, the insane asylums would be filled with mothers." —Edgar W. Howe, American novelist, newspaperman, and magazine editor (1853-1937)

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No matter what your feelings are about a new school year, it's an undeniable fact: the excitement and anticipation of a new school year is electric. And for scrapbookers? The promise of new school supplies alone is enough to send chills of delight up our spines. (It's OK, you're not alone). We're thrilled to present our "Back To School" gallery to the right—in it you'll find inspiration and more than a few touching pages about the end of summer as we know it and the beginning of a year filled with promise, homework, and brand-new boxes of Crayolas.

What do we have in store for you this month?

 

• ideas to get you writing about your innermost feelings as your monkeys step back on the bus

• lists to help you document your own elementary, middle, or high school experiences

• how to keep journaling short and sweet (but long on meaning)

• unique twists on traditional "back-to-school" layouts that keep journaling fresh and original

• incorporating the staple of the middle school experience: notes to and from friends

• useful lessons on scanning and repairing heritage photos

• creative ways to use your school-related photos beyond the scrapbook page

• inspiring examples of back-to-school "then and now" photography

• unique ways to photograph the school day

 

• clever tips, techniques, and lessons on how to stretch your supplies

• new sketches and design inspiration

• fun ideas for children not yet old enough to attend school

• chances to learn something new

• school supplies for grownups (because a little strategic shopping never hurt anyone's scrapbooking)

• an exciting and inspiring new site feature coming soon! You won't want to miss it...

Here's to a school year that makes you (and your children) jump for joy. We'll be scrapbooking it right along with you!

Check back later today for another post by the talented and funny Erin Sweeney!

Flickr Group!

Look up! Up at the top of this page in the Navigation Bar is a "Flickr Group" item. If you click on it, it'll take you right to our new Flickr group.

So why don't you head on over to the group and start sharing. Show us your first layouts, or create something new using this month's "Why We Scrapbook" theme. I've populated the group with our theme layouts, just to give you a warm welcome.

If you're new to Flickr, no problem! There's a "Sign Up" tab at the top of the Flickr group page that will get you started.  

Thanks!

We're an even 30 now!

Just a quick post to let you all know that the fabulous Candice Palmer has joined The Collective. Yay! Our Jedi mind meld skills came in extra-handy in convincing Candice to climb aboard.  Check out Candice's bio info to your right.

So glad you're here, Candice!

Now we just need to work on Margaret Scarbrough...