celebrate CREATIVITY in all its forms

Pretty Details and Butterfly Wings

I love scrapbooking and have enjoyed this hobby full force for about ten years now.  I can't count the times people have told me they would love to start "scrapping" but just don't know where to start. 

Scrapbooking can seem daunting with the overwhelming array of supplies and product on the market these days.  However, creating a great scrapbook page can be easy if you start with a simple design and few well-placed details.

        

I'll de-construct this super simple layout to illustrate just how nicely various embellishments and small details can help add something special to any page.  

For example, this circular pearl buckle at the top of the layout may be a small addition but it has a big impact and helps create an elegant tone for the entire page.

Ribbon is another wonderfully versatile product.   Consider spicing up your photo with a ribbon photo corner.   Cut a small strip of ribbon, wrap it across the bottom of the photograph and adhere in place with double-sided tape. 

Sewing machine stitching on either side of the ribbon (before you adhere it) is optional but it can also add nice touch. 

Want your journaling to pop off the page?  Try making the first letter in the journaling the largest element in your text block. 

I printed the journaling (minus the first letter) onto a transparency and adhered the transparency to the cardstock using thin slivers of double-sided tape.  Then, add an over-sized, coordinating die cut letter for jumbo effect.

        

One word is all you need sometimes for a scrapbook page title.  The word "perfection" looks like it's handwritten with a marker but it's actually a rub-on.   

For more easy elegance, top off the title with a pearl embellishment to dot the letter 'i".  This tiny treatment also ties in nicely with the pearl buckle accent at the top of the page. 

When you're taking pictures of a special event, don't forget to zoom in on different parts of the subject that can speak volumes on their own. 

Remember, faces don't always have to be in the photo.  Feet can also make a statement-especially when they belong to a group of little ballerinas.

I loved the detail in the bodice of my daughter's dance costume, so I cropped the photo to dramatize that part of the picture. 

While the second photo, shown on the right works just fine without any thing else, I decided to add a hint of whimsy with some faint-colored butterfly wings.

To create the butterfly wings you'll need embossing powder, embossing ink and a heat gun.  You'll also need a sheet of acetate or a clear transparency.

Embossing ink is the substance that holds the embossing powder to the project before heating it.  Tinted embossing ink has a slight color in the adhesive that allows you to actually see what's being embossed.   

Of course you'll need a butterfly wing stamp.  This particular stamp is manufactured by Stamper's Anonymous  which has a wonderful assortment of fantastic wood mounted stamps.

After stamping the ink pad onto the rubber portion of the stamp, then press the image onto the rough side of a transparency. 

Sprinkle the embossing powder over the image completely.   Notice you can see the butterfly image as you work?  That's the tint. 

Regular embossing ink is practically invisible when applied and when you can't see the image clearly it's harder to know that you've covered the image completely with the embossing powder. 

After covering the image with the powder, tap off the excess onto a sheet of paper. 

Return the excess powder to the original container.  It's a good idea to put the lid back on the powder right away.  Trust me,  it's no fun when you accidentally knock an open jar of embossing powder off a table. 

Once you tap off the excess powder, it's time to heat it up.  Slowly fan a heat gun over the entire image.  Don't hold the gun too close to the project because the intense heat could melt or distort the transparency. 

Important note of caution:  The air that comes out of a heat gun is extremely hot and should be considered a dangerous tool when kids are present.  Please remember to keep out of the reach of children. 

The melted embossing powder cools almost immediately giving the image a raised surface texture.  Use small scissors to carefully cut each wing from the transparency.

Use a very small strip of double-sided tape on each wing to adhere it to the photo.  You can also slightly bend the wings so they stand upright. 

VOILA!  Perfect butterfly wings.

Of course, you can use various embossing powder colors to create a fun assortment of elegant wings to choose from for future projects.

  

These are just a few fun and easy ways to dress up any scrapbook page. 

By selecting papers and embellishment colors that play off of the color in the main photos you can achieve a more unified and coordinated look throughout your page. 

      

You definitely want the focus to be on your photos.  So try not to overdo it with your embellishments.  Remember a little can go a long way.

Keep it simple and pretty details and butterfly wings like this will help your pages take flight.

Oh, Baby!

Before you jump to conclusions, No-I'm not having a baby.  Now, having made that perfectly clear, I think this is the most adorable photograph.  Don't you?

No matter how long you've been scrapbooking, I would venture to say you never really catch up on all the photos you'd like to document and that especially goes for baby pictures like this one.

The hands and cute pink baby booties in the photo above belong to my friend Beena, who is also an avid scrapbooker.  

I've always thought this picture was so precious and this shot as well as the photo below are two of hundreds I photographed for her one day, not long before her baby girl was born.

I think these photos are great examples of "faceless" photographs that can still be used to create very meaningful scrapbook pages.  I'll show you how I used these particular photos a bit later in this post.  

In the meantime, while I'm on the subject of baby photos and scrapbooking, allow me to share a great new idea book called Oh, Baby.

This book is published by Memory Makers books, and it's loaded with wonderful ideas on creating pages and projects about the little loved ones in your life.

     

There are so many wonderful ideas in this book by artists from all over the country including a few of mine that I'd like to share in greater detail.

Here's one example and I love the contrast that I created by combining a black & white photo with a color photo on the same page.  Of course the flexibility of digital photography makes this technique a cinch.   

  

There are four chapters in this book including Anticipation, Getting to Know You, Tricks and Quirks and finally A Family Affair.  

The layout below is featured in the tricks and quirks chapter.  My son was only a few weeks old in these photos and even at that age he was already demonstrating his various sleep positions during a single nap. 

As you can see, even nap time can provide some creative inspiration.

        

I didn't actually construct this page until last year-which was more than 7-years after these pictures were taken. 

So you can see how far behind I am on baby pages.  I think that also illustrates that it's never too late to scrapbook even your oldest photos.

          

I've been making a concerted effort to try to use more of the supplies I already have so I was able to use some embellishments that were buried deep in my stash. 

These adorable little elephant and lion die cuts had been tucked away for years and years and I'm glad to finally get them onto a project. 

The layout below is another one of my new layouts that I created using a very old picture.  This photograph at the the heart of the page is more than 9-years old. 

See what I mean about catching up on my scrapbook pages?     

     

I'm a better photographer today than I was when my kids were babies.  Looking back, I sometimes wish I had used a more creative photographic eye when my kids were younger. 

Still I was lucky to get a few shots like this one of my daughter when she was about 7-months old.

I generally do my journaling on the computer but every once in a while I use my own handwriting.  I've heard from other scrappers that down the road your loved ones will enjoy seeing your thoughts in your own pen. 

For this project I wrote my journaling on a circle die cut and then surrounded it with assorted pink flowers and matching buttons.  I love this look-it's so"girly".

If you're just starting to scrapbook you may want to jot down a few notes about favorite photos as you shoot them, and stash the notes with the picture.  That way you'll still have info about the photo regardless of when you actually incorporate it into a scrapbook page.

Meanwhile, here's a look at how I arranged the photos that I showed you at the beginning of this post.

As you can see there are no faces-just objects of sentimental value, which still make great subjects for scrapbooking. 

    

Chipboard is one of my all-time favorite scrapbooking supplies.  It looks like grey cardboard and is so versatile because it comes in all sizes, shapes, designs and in this case-alphabets. 

For this layout, I painted the chipboard letters brown for a fun title which coordinates nicely with the colors in the patterned paper.

Also, a little bit of "bling" goes a long way.  I think little rhinestone crown above the "B" adds a nice touch.  You can really punch up a layout with small, subtle details and additions like this. 

This Oh Baby! idea book is a great way to jumpstart your creative juices when it comes to using baby photos.  The ideas can also be easily applied to photos of any kind and subjects of any age.

I think you can see it's never too early to start scrapping pictures about your little ones. 

By the same token, it's also never too late to document the baby photos you love-even when your babies are no longer babies (like mine).

    

Cover Girl

It's great to be a cover girl!  Just ask 4-year old Maeve and I think she'll agree.  That's Maeve on the cover of the May/June 2008 issue of Memory Makers magazine.  That's also my scrapbook layout on the cover. 

What a fun thrill for both of us!

  

Maeve is the little sister of my daughter's best friend.  If she looks familiar, that's because she modeled an adorable polka-dot jumper that I made and featured in a post last year, entitled Tiptoe Through the Tulips.

The jumper has a tulip border that was created using a great technique called paper foundation piecing.   

I came away with so many wonderful pictures from the photo shoot and as an avid scrapbooker, these were great shots to work with for a few layouts. 

The page below was specifically created for consideration for a Memory Makers magazine "cover call". 

The Memory Makers editors liked my original design as well as the various other elements in the layout.  However, they requested a few adjustments, including a greater focus on Maeve's eyes and a change in color pallete.

Notice how a close-up photo and the change in background color from orange to pink, affects the look of the layout?  If you're trying to evoke a certain mood when creating a page, then background color can have a major impact.

Here's another peek at the revised version on the cover-issue which is on newstands now.  This is my second cover layout.  You can see my first magazine cover which features my daughter on her 4th birthday if you click here.   It's really a great feeling to have my scrapbook efforts recognized in this way. 

This cover layout was requested by Memory Makers' editors back in November 2007 for May 2008 publication. That really illustrates just how far in advance many of the magazines often work on a particular issue. 

When the editors e-mailed me the news about getting the cover, I kept that info from Maeve's mom for months, until I actually had the magazine in hand. 

While my good friend Linda knew the page had been picked up for publication because she had to sign a release, she didn't know the layout featuring her daughter was selected for the cover.  It was really hard keeping that secret for the last 6-months.

Needless to say, when I handed Linda the issue with Maeve on the cover, she was pretty stunned and totally thrilled.  What a great keepsake this issue will be for the entire family.

I think you can see from the photo below that Maeve is pretty excited about it too.

    

Finally, here are a few more of my favorite shots of Maeve from the polka-dot jumper shoot.

I love all of these pictures of Maeve and she was such a perfect little model for me.  She was so easy to work with and quite enthusiastic about everything.  Her eyes and smile just light up everything around her. 

While this magazine cover is Maeve's first, I suspect this won't be the last for this cover girl. 

Love Is In the Air

Even though Valentine's Day has come and gone, chocolate lovers everywhere are likely still enjoying their sweet treats.  Yes when it comes to love, I add chocolate to the mix.

Hey, the French say it's good for your heart, right?

While on the subject of hearts, I thought it would be nice to share a few scrapbooking projects that are close to mine.

This is indeed the best of times, which is the title of the layout below.  I love these pictures of Cameron and Jordy, which were snapped right after one of Cameron's ballet recitals.

The driving force behind this layout was the adorable main picture of Cameron planting a big kiss on Jordy's cheek-and Jordy actually looking like he didn't mind.  Rare occasion.

These are some of my favorite pictures of these two cutie-pies and it was great to see this layout in the pages of in 601 Great Scrapbook Ideas published by Memory Makers Books.

Rather than printing a typical journaling block, I combined some computer printed sentences with pre-printed sticker words.  I simply mounted each sticker onto a tiny red mat to make the world stand out even more against the surrounding sentences. 

I also try to incorporate some sewing machine stitching somewhere on every layout if I can.

Cameron and Jordy are just like any other brother and sister.  They get into their little scrapes with each other, but they also adore each other as these pictures demonstrate. 

Of course when they're sweet like this, that makes mom very happy.

While on the subject of siblings, take a look at the page below featuring another pair of siblings-my mom and her sister.  This scrapbook layout also appears in the 601 Great Scrapbooking Ideas publication.

In the "now" photo, my mom is on the right.  In the "then" photo, she's on the left.

I think the 1941 black & white photo of the two of them as young girls is simply priceless.  I have a twin sister and I can definitely attest to the special relationship that sisters share.

You can probably tell from my scrapbook pages that I love to use lots of embellishments.  I think the trick is to make them all work together without making the page look too heavy, crowded or overdone.

Rubons are another favorite supply.  They're really easy to use and there are thousands of rubon choices on the market.   I think that these phrase-rubons add a perfectly elegant touch to the layout .

Once again, you'll find a little chipboard somewhere on most of my pages.  In this case I painted a chipboard scroll as well as chipboard letters to spell out the title Sisters to match the red in the pretty patterned paper selection.

My mom and my aunt were both thrilled with how this page turned out.  I think both photos in this layout are just perfect and so sweet.

Did I say sweet?  OK, now I'm ready for that piece of chocolate pictured at the beginning of this post. 

Sorry I don't have enough to pass around this time, so the least I can do is share this delicious page below which features lots and lots of sweet goodies.

This 2-page layout features photos I snapped from my favorite candy shoppe.  I highly recommend a stop at the Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory if you're ever in downtown Libertyville, Illinois.

The shoppe is also conveniently located right across the street from my daughter's dance studio, so I think you know what that means.  The owner was nice enough to let me snap a few photos so I could create this scrapbook page.

With hundreds of selections of the finest handmade confections, this local shoppe is always a feast for the eyes and... um... the taste buds and tummy too.

I call this layout Decadent because the delicious choice of sweets in this shoppe are just that.  The title for this page was really simple to create too.  All you need are some foam letter stamps, acrylic paint and a fast drying ink-jet transparency.

Simply apply the paint to the foam stamp, and spell out your word onto the transparency.  Allow to dry completely.  Trim excess transparency from around the word and apply the title over your layout using very thin strips of double sided tape.

Thanks to the transparency, your photos will show through and the word will appear to be spelled right over the pictures.  I think using this effect is also safer than stamping directly onto your photos.  If you make a mistake it's so much easier to re-stamp a transparency than it is to re-print all the photographs.

For another example of this transparency title technique click here.

When it comes to that trusty chipboard there are also many ways to dress up this staple of a supply too.  For the lead letter in my journalizing below, I painted the chipboard "b" pink and then applied a tiny piece of the rubber stamp image onto the letter in two areas.  I think this is a great little extra detail.

Meanwhile, a great alternative to the standard-size scrapbook page can come in the form of a mini-book.  I decorated the mini-book in the photo below with pictures taken on my wedding day.

This particular book measures about 7" X 4 1/2", but don't be fooled by the small size.  You can still fit a ton of photos and embellishments in these little books and they can be just as illustrative of a special day or event as the larger scrapbook albums. 

For one of the side-by-side pages, I decided to keep it pretty simple.  After covering the page with patterned paper, I machine stitched around a pre-printed "cherish" definition which was on a piece of vellum.  Then, I simply mounted the vellum phrase onto a piece of pink cardstock and added a heart-shaped die cut.

This was  a really fun project to create, mostly because it took very little time at all to complete.  For those days you don't feel like spending hours and hours on a page, this may be the perfect project.

Taking a closer look at the outside of the mini-book, you can see once again that chipboard is a great accent.  In the photos below I used several layers of self-covered chipboard hearts as well as chipboard letters to spell out the sentiment of the day.

This mini-book project was featured in the book Ask the Masters-Making the Most of Your Scrapbooking Supplies published by Memory Makers books.

As you can see, sweet things come in all shapes, sizes, projects and for that matter... taste buds.  Now that has me thinking of chocolate again.

True chocolate lovers always know how to bring the conversation back to chocolate, don't they?

Like I said, love is in the air and that's always delicious.

Resolutions Anyone?

When it comes to New Year's resolutions, I've got plenty of them. Of course the hard part is sticking to them.  I'm sure I am certainly not alone on that one.  The scrapbooking project below is not only about resolutions but it's also about having a little creative fun with them too.

Each one of the six squares in this scrapbook page contains a different resolution which is artfully concealed under each square.  This is a really easy project and the steps can also be applied to many other paper crafts.

 

You can use cardboard from just about any source.  These squares were cut from the 12 X 12 plain cardboard that was attached to the bottom of a stack of cardstock.  The squares in this project each measure about 3-1/4 width X 3-1/2 inches in height. 

Each of the six squares in this project features a different patterned paper.  I also added various stickers, flowers, metal pieces and stamps.  There are so many different kinds of pattern papers and embellishments on the market it just makes a project like this even more fun. 

After you cut your cardboard square down to your desired size, simply adhere various patterned paper to the square and then you can begin attaching a few fun embellishments.  I think adding a little rubber stamp ink around the edges of the card also gives it a nice aged appearance. 

In addition to patterned paper and various embellishments, I decorated the front of each square using a clear packing tape image transfer technique.  It's the same technique that I used in the tag book project that I shared here several weeks ago.

If you click the tag book link above, you'll see my easy tutorial for this fun image transfer technique which creates a transparent sticker from an original photo.

Also click here for another example of how this technique can be used.

After decorating each square you'll need to compose your corresponding journaling making sure your paragraphs do not exceed the dimensions of the square it will be placed under.  I created each of my journaling blocks right on the computer, printed them out and then cut the copy down to size. 

The font I used for this journaling is called Papyrus and it's always been one of my favorites.

After cutting the journaling square down to size, you may also want to edge the journaling cards with a little rubber stamp ink too.  I love the look that edging gives a project and in this case it helps keep that vintage look consistent.  Set your journaling squares aside until after you've secured each of your cardboard squares to the layout.

Once you've finished decorating your cardboard squares, just line them up on your 12 X 12 background paper and secure each one using a metal hinge. Once your hinges are in place, simply adhere each journaling card under the corresponding cardboard square. Trim the journaling card as needed to make sure it's completely concealed under the decorated cardboard square.

Small metal fasteners are attached to the side of each card to secure it in place. Because the hinges, fasteners and the cardboard squares add so much weight to the page, I strengthened the whole layout by adding a piece of 12 X 12 cardboard to the back of the project.  The brads for the hinges and fasteners should be pushed through all layers including the extra cardboard backing.

I love using chipboard letters because they're so versatile.  If you're not familiar with chipboard, it looks like plain cardboard and comes in all kinds of shapes and letters. In this case I just painted the chipboard letters purple to correspond with the ribbon strip that I sewed directly onto the patterned paper.

If you decide to use ribbon like this across the entire page, you may want to secure the ribbon first with a very tiny strip of double sided tape down the center of the ribbon.  This will hold the ribbon in place while you do your machine stitching.  Just remember to always keep your stitching on either side of the center strip of adhesive. 

Never sew your machine needle over any type of glue or tape because the needle can carry small pieces of adhesive down into the machine's internal mechanism and gum it up, potentially causing serious damage to your sewing machine.

I used the packing tape image transfer technique on the outside of each cardboard square, and then used the original photograph on the inside of the card.   The photo below shows what the layout looks like with several of the cardboard squares lifted up to reveal the hidden journaling. 

Hidden journaling is a great way to add a little surprise to your scrapbook layout and the technique can also free up valuable space on a scrapbook page to include more photos.

One of the things I like about this layout is that it actually includes a few pictures of me for a change. Now, that's a rare page indeed.  Since I'm typically the one behind the camera in my household, there aren't as many pictures of me to scrapbook. 

Of course, thanks to my kids there are quite a few pictures of yours truly in hair rollers.  Why do kids do that?

This "resolutions" layout appeared in the April 2007 issue of Memory Makers magazine as part of an article I wrote on hidden journaling entitled Hidden Treasure.  I'll talk more about hiding your journaling on your scrapbook pages later and I'll share some other fun examples in an upcoming post.

Until next time, good luck with all of your crafting efforts as well as sticking with all your 2008 New Year's resolutions.

You've Been Tagged

Looking for a twist on scrapbooking?   How about a tag book?  For those times when you may not be in the mood to scrap an entire page, why not consider scrapping a little booklet instead?  This tag book is just perfect if you want to create a fun photo keepsake that won't take a lot of time to complete. 

As we approach the holidays, you may also want to try this super easy project to add a little something extra to that special gift.

A while back, I made this little tag book as a gift to my twin sister, Paula.  It's a delightful project to consider this time of year. When you open up the booklet it's like a little mini scapbook page inside with four individual panels to decorate as you please.  This project took about 90-minutes to complete.  That's no time at all and I love the finished look.

Here's what the tag book looks like from the back when opened up. Of course you can always add more embellishments to the back side.  However, in this case I just didn't want to cover up the pretty vintage paper, so I kept my additional elements to a minimum and confined to the first and last quarter panels only.

To make your own tag book, start with one piece of your favorite 12 X 12 patterned paper. This will be the paper that represents the outside of your tag book.  You'll also need a second sheet of 12 X 12 plain paper for the inside of the book.  Put both sheets together and cut down to desired size of the tag. I cut mine about 6 inches X 12 inches.

With both pieces together, fold one end over to line up with the opposite end.  Next, fold the first half side turning it back toward the initial fold.  Turn over and fold the other side in the same way.  This will give you the accordian-style tag book.

Once you have your folds in place, clip both ends at the top right and left corners at an angle to create the tag shape.  At this point adhere both pieces of paper together using double sided tape or glue. In this case, I chose to stitch all the way around the booklet for a more finished look.  Hole punch the top center of each quadrant for the ribbon.

Thread assorted ribbon through the holes you just punched and then embellish the tag book to your heart's content.  Since this project is likely to get handled quite a bit, you may want to apply a clear sealant over any rubons you use.  This should prevent the rubons from wearing off over time.

The transparent effect below which appears on the front and back of this tag book, was created using a packaging tape image transfer technique that's easy to duplicate.  Read further for the step-by-step instructions for this great application.

First, copy a small photograph onto regular printer paper.  It's important to copy your image.  Do not print the picture out.  Apply a small strip of clear packaging tape over the copied photo.  Then, rub the entire taped image using a bone burnisher.  A bone burnisher is a nice tool to have in your stash, but if you don't have one, a popcicle stick or spoon will also do the trick here.  Take your time and make sure you thoroughly rub all areas of the tape to ensure the image will tranfer completely.

After a good burnishing, run the taped image under warm water as in the photo below. Soak both sides of the image thoroughly.  The warm water will loosen the paper and cause it to slide right off the clear packing tape.

Once the paper peels away from the tape you'll be left with the transferred image on the packing tape.  Also, because the adhesive from the tape will not wash away, you'll have an instant transparent sticker from a favorite photo.  Don't forget to let your new sticker dry (face down) before applying to your project. 

Your new personalized sticker will have a wonderful effect on your project if you place it over patterned paper.  I have some other great projects using this fun packing tape technique that I'll share later in a different post.

Now, getting back to the tag project, you can also stitch a couple of pieces of ribbon into the seam to use as a tie-back to hold the tag book in place.  Carefully measure both pieces of ribbon first to make sure it will fit all the way around the tag book with room for a bow, before actually sewing it into the seam.

These tag books can be tailored for any occasion too.  Here is another example below with a baby theme.  Instead of using ribbon, try a few colorful buttons in the center of each quarter panel. Wouldn't this be great to go along with a baby shower gift?  You could decorate the inside of tag book with pictures of the mom-to-be.

I love the soft colors of the lavandar ribbon and matching patterned paper in the tag book below. I used the same packing tape technique on the front of this book too.  On the inside, I used pre-printed stickers to decorate the panels. The stickers were already inscribed with beautiful quotes so it fit nicely with the overall wedding theme.

These tags are also perfect for the holidays.  The 12 X 12 patterned paper that was used for the tag book below had red on the top half of the paper and the wonderful ornaments on the bottom half. I simply cropped most of the red out when cutting the paper down to size to keep the focus on the decorative ornaments. 

For this tag book, I attached my ribbon with these little metal brads. If you use brads, you'll want to conceal the prongs on the other side.  To do that, I simply cut little paper squares and angled them in a diamond shape on the inside to hide the metal ends perfectly.

As you can see, this is a really easy and versatile project. These little tag books can be customized to fit any theme or occasion.  You can add pictures and embellishments on the inside or even leave the quadrants blank for your own personal sentiments in your prettiest handwriting.  How special would that be?

These tag books can be attached to a gift box, or used as a stand alone gift.  Of course they also make nice memory keepsakes to keep for yourself. 

In the interest of full disclosure, I must add one quick warning here.  The folding for these tag books is so fast and fun, you may not be able to stop at making just one.  Trust me, it's pretty addictive and the possibilities are endless.

601 Great Scrapbook Ideas

If you're looking for fantastic scrapbook inspiration, look no further.  601 Great Scrapbook Ideas which was one of the most anticipated idea books in the industry, is now available.  The book is jammed packed with literally hundreds of some of the most beautiful and amazing layouts you'd ever want to see.  Honestly, I think the Memory Makers book editors outdid themselves with this edition.  This wonderful collection of never-before-seen layouts will have you racing to your scraproom to get cracking on your own pages right away.

The layout below is one of my pages included in the book featuring my son Jordy.  I remember when I created this page, I wasn't sure about using the photo because it is slightly blurred.  It turns out that's exactly what the editors liked about the photo because it suggests the whirlwind action that little boys are known for.  Just goes to show you even the photos you think aren't "perfect" can still be used to create a perfect page.

The 265-jammed packed pages are broken down into five distinct and delicious chapters.  Starting with Everyday Life, chapter 1 captures the pages that make up every day activities.  Hard to Forget covers holiday, seasons and special events in chapter 2.   You'll get a lot more than sugar and spice when you turn to chapter 3, which is entitled Princess and includes pages to show off the little girls in your life.  Up next, Prince Charming is a wealth of inspiration for scrapbooking those special men and boys you love.  Finally chapter 5 entitled Open Heart, shares wonderful pages that showcase family ties and meaningful friendships.

Memory Makers book editors also included something new this time around with a contributor index. This way, if you're looking for a particular designer, you'll have no trouble tracking down their pages.

The page below is another one of my favorite pages featured in the book. I created this layout for a good friend who was anxiously awaiting the arrival of her first baby.  Her husband snapped the pretty picture of her tummy.  This page really reminded me that you don't always have to see faces in a layout for the scrapbook page to have wonderful meaning and beauty.

I just love all the little details on this page from the soft pink painted chipboard letters to the various flowers and buttons and the three different patterned papers. I even managed to sneak in a stamped baby footprint image, ribbon, painted chipboard photo corners, some white rubon words, a pink baby safety pin and some sewing machine stitching.  That's a lot of embellishments-but I think they all work together nicely.

My friend loved the layout and today she and her hubby are very busy bouncing their happy, healthy, beautiful little baby girl.

Trust me, when I say there's so much to enjoy in this publication.  I'm also stunned by the huge size of this idea book and it's really heavy too.  I think this must be Memory Makers' thickest idea book ever.  I couldn't help but pull out my trusty ruler to measure it for myself.  As you can see below, it's nearly an inch thick.  Now, that's a lot of awesome scrapbook inspiration!

There are more than 200 individual contributors to this book from all over the world. I think just about every style and skill level is represented too. There are fantastic examples of simple techniques as well as pages that show intermediate approaches to scrapping.  If you're a more advanced scrapper, there's plenty for you too, with plenty of inspiring layouts to get your creative juices flowing.  There is definitely something for everyone-and then some.

I really appreciate the staff at Memory Makers books giving me an opportunity to contribute to such a great project.  Clearly this was a huge undertaking, so hats off to the hard working editors who pulled so many layouts together from all over the world and from so many artists.  Memory Makers definitely has a winner here with a well thought-out, organized and eye-poppingly beautiful finished product. 

When it comes to 601 Great Scrapbook Ideas, the pages are just so delicious looking.  It's a good thing this book won't give you cavities because it's pure eye candy.  I love it, and I think you will too.

Making the Most of your Scrapbook Supplies

If you're looking for ways to use your plentiful scrapbooking supplies, have I got a book for you. Ask the Masters , Making the Most of Your Scrapbook Supplies from Memory Makers books is now available. The projects featured are the work of Memory Makers Masters as well as 2007 Masters team of which I'm proud to me a member. Most scrapbookers have an abundance of scrapping stash, I sure do. Well, this book will help you use your wonderful papers and embellishments in ways you may not have considered before.

This was quite an undertaking for all of the Masters who were each given multiple assignments for the book project. While I'm definitely a deadline-oriented person, there was some pressure to get everything finished. I spent plenty of late nights laboring over every major and minor detail of each project.  The sight of all my hard work neatly bundled up in bubble wrap a week ahead of the deadline was a satisfying relief. 

I snapped the picture below just before dropping 8 scrapbook layouts, one set of altered wooden alphabets, one board book and a thick stack of artist's contracts and model releases in the mail. Whew!

You'll love the amazing layouts and projects put together by a talented team of fantastic scrappers. Getting a chance to be a major contributor for a book like this is really one of the crown jewels that comes with the Masters opportunity.  The Ask the Masters book features ideas from 33 Masters who have contributed to Memory Makers magazines and books over the years.

My 2007 fellow team members include Brooke Bartimioli, Catherine Feegel-Erhardt, Hillary Heidelberg, Jill Jackson-Mills, Crystal Jeffey Rieger, Ronee Parsons, Katrina Simeck, Michele Skinner and Nicole Stark.

We were all given assignments to use various media that cover a broad range of techniques. The book features chapters on tools, supplies, embellishments as well as a final chapter on the new frontier in product usage.

My task was to create individual projects which showcased the use of, relief ink, corner rounder punch, foam stamps, embossing stencils, buttons, flowers, wooden alphabets, board book, rhinestones, and mesh. 

The layout below shows what I came up with for my mesh assignment. I decided to scallop a large 12 X 12 sheet of mesh and use it in the behind the main photos. I wanted it to look like one big net swallowing up the whole page since the layout highlights my son's successful fishing excursion.

Below you'll see a teeny-tiny sneak peak of my assignment using flowers. Of course, I don't want to give away too much of the book's contents here, because I'd love for you to pick up a copy for yourself to add to your personal idea library. Trust me, it's a great resource.

When I say the Ask the Masters projects were a huge undertaking, I'm not kidding. The assignment had me pulling supplies out of every nook and cranny in my craft space. It was pretty chaotic around here at the time. I think you can see from the photo below how my scrapspace pretty much got wiped out during the process. Not a pretty sight, huh?

I love the creative aspect of scrapbooking but I don't care much for the scrapspace destruction it often leaves behind.  Cleaning up my area after major projects is a major drag. I know most of you will agree with me on that. I can say that the area is finally back to "semi- normal" shape now. Um, well, sorta.

Anyway, in the end it was all worth it because I'm pleased with how the projects and the book turned out.  It was also wonderful to finally see how my fellow Masters handled their assignments since we often chatted about our projects on line during the creative process, but no one actually saw what anyone else was working on.

I do hope you pick up a copy for yourself. I think you'll agree that Ask the Masters is one sure way to get those creative juices flowing and really get you making the most of your scrapbooking supplies.

Photo Fun

Any scrapbooker will tell you meaningful journaling and photographs that mean something to you, are at the heart of the pages we create. I've made a concerted effort this year to really work on fine tuning my own photographic eye by studying various techniques that can help turn a good photograph into a great one.  Even though I've been a longtime "picture snapper", I'm still a work in progress when it comes to consistently taking photographs I think are great. I still take thirty or forty pictures just to get that perfect one or two that I love.

I thought it would be fun to share a few favorite photographs from time to time.

The photo above features my daughter Cameron, as she takes in the sights and apparently.... the smells of nature. I just love that look on her face. Here's another favorite photo taken the same day. I was lucky enough to catch her mid-laugh, and I think this really captures her good-natured personality.

       

It's funny, when you start scrapbooking, your mind just re-wires itself when it comes to photography and everything starts looking like a potential scrapbook page. For example, when I was taking these pictures, the scrapbook wheels started churning. I remember thinking not just about the images, but also about a particular dandelion rubber stamp I had in my stash and how I might be able to use it with these pictures. I guess that's what you call scrap-think.

The layout below shows how all the pieces to my "scrap-think" ultimately came together for a winning entry in the Memory Makers Masters 2007 contest. I love the two photos above as stand-alones but decided to use just a portion of each one in the layout. One of the MMM-07 contest requirements was to create a page that represented the theme "Celebrate Life", and this is what I came up with. Notice the dandilion stamp?

This layout was featured in the January 2007 issue of Memory Makers magazine.

 

As I mentioned, I've actually been taking pictures for a very long time. My Dad bought me my very first camera when I was a young girl. It was a Canon AE1, an ultra sweet film camera.  The AE1 was considered revolutionary in it's heyday and was one of the top amateur cameras to own.  I still have it and it's in mint condition along with its original hippie-inspired patterned shoulder strap. Remember those? 

While the AE1 made me a Canon user for life, the poor little thing now just sits on a lonely shelf in my closet, thanks to the digital revolution. Of course I'm keeping the AE1 for posterity and sentimental reasons. Technology is fantastic but it does have a tendency to render loyal favorites obsolete.

    

These days it's just too impractical to use film cameras and there's little comparison when it comes to the advantages of digital systems. Digital tech has really opened up a world of endless photographic possibilities for me and I'm learning more and more every day about what works... and even more importantly... what doesn't work.

Now if only I could get a few photos I love after just 20 pictures instead of the current 30-40....I'll be well on my way.

By the way, my 7-year old son snapped the picture of me above. Maybe he's a future photographer.

Anyway, here's to hoping all your shots (film or digital) are picture perfect. Click, click... flash!

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year?

Have you ever seen that office supply commercial where the Dad is joyfully filling up the shopping cart with school supplies as his sullen-looking children look on?  As you watch the dad click up his heels with each addition to the cart you can hear in the background that Andy Williams holiday classic, It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year.  The kids in the spot never crack a smile. I love that commercial.  Mostly because I totally get it. I'm sure those of you reading this with school age kids are with me on this one. Well, my kids Cameron and Jordy headed back to school this week after what I think was an extraordinarily long summer vacation. Sigh of relief! That's cause for celebration!

These pictures were taken on Cameron and Jordy's first day at their new school last year.  Come to think of it... I remember celebrating then too.

To be fair, both my kids were actually pretty excited to get back to school to see old friends and make some new ones. I'm just glad to get them back into the regular school routine, which includes a strictly observed bedtime of 8:30p.m. sharp. No more late nights for these two.

SUPPLIES  Patterned paper: American Crafts, chipboard letters/star: Basic Grey, alphabet ribbon: Close to My Heart, Chipboard circular heart: Heidi Grace, sticker words, acrylic paint: Making Memories, sticker numbers: EK Success.