Kiss and Tell Scrapbooking

Hey Twelvers: DOZEN DAY Scrapbook Layouts Videos *** PLUS A Winner for the 200,000+ Blog Page Views!

SCRAPBOOKING LAYOUTS VIDEOS - PALOOOZA!

I got a comment from Rhonda who is a scrapbooker who is in the Big Picture Class with Stacy Julian. 

Kate, Your presence is requested on the TWELVE CHIT CHAT board to help us learn how to produce our own videos for class!!! Thx, Rhonda

Stacy makes videos called "Dozen Day" in which she shares the last 12 layouts she made and explains them, so the students in class want to do some too.  Here was my answer to Rhonda:

Hi Rhonda! OH Funny :) Ok.  I have videos on ustream which I film with a Microsoft web cam and I film the 10 minute videos for you tube on my husband's ipad. I have also used my iphone on the fly - like when I was skiing - to film and upload. I am not technically awesome by any stretch so when I have glitches I call in the computer man (aka my husband) to fix things. I'll check in to class now. P.S. I'm in my scrapbook room now and am torn between making a scrapbook page or an art journal page. I would love to combine those two worlds more.

And then I made my own Dozen Day Scrapbook Videos (scroll down or head over to You Tube through one of those links below).

PLEASE NOTE:  That I really tried to keep the videos under 10 minutes because my iPad condenses them to under 10 but I went over a bit so when I uploaded them I labeled them as  #1, #3, #5, #7, and #9 in case I had to add in supplements - I didn't - so they are labeled with ODD numbers only on You Tube but there is 5 (five) of them.

Video #1 (#1 on Youtube): {video link}

 

{video link for the tail end of #1 - start around 1:15 I think}

 

Video #2 (#3 on Youtube): {video link}

  

Video #3 (#5 on Youtube): { video link}

 

Video #4 (#7 on Youtube): { video link }

 

Video #5 (#9 on youtube): {video link}

 

 Want to make videos of your own and support this blog?  Click through to the affiliate link here - once you over at Amazon, if you make any purchases (so you don't have to buy the stuff below)  you can buy anything and means I'll get 4-6% and that goes to support this blog (which costs about $150.00 /yearr to typad - so it would be cool to have the blog at least support itself :)

  

This is the one I use fpr  ustream videos - and I thinkI paid $100+ at Best Buy, so it looks like Amazon is less expensive. I used the iPad for the videos up top.

And NOW FOR THE BIG (or 6x6 inch) PRIZE - dun daaa naaa naaah!  The WINNER OF THE POST for the 200,000 blog hits is

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Laura T. said...

Laura - please email me your address at katiescottscrapbooking@gmail.com and I'll send you some papers from the 6x6 kits I bought last weekend from Heidi Swapp / Sugar Chic; Heidi Swapp / No Limits; Amy Tangerine / Sketchbook; Crate Paper / Story Teller;  and some older Basic Grey / Basics White and Infuse and Offbeat and probably some other stuff too!

P.S. I don't work for any scrapbook companies so this is just stuff from my stash - but that I think you'll like. 

P.S. Hey scrapbooking companies - if you ever want to provide me some free stuff to give away on the blog... just email me or leave a comment!

Thanks for visiting my little space on the internet :)

Katie.

5 Common Reasons for Scrapbooker's Block and 5 Easy Ways to Solve It and Get Scrapping!

 

Scrapbookers, Imagine This:  You just received your print order, several envelopes of your latest and greatest pictures, and you now have a new and exciting stack of awesome photos just waiting to be scrapbooked!  There's the birthday party photos, photos from your last vacation, and some really adorable photos of your 8 year old.   You are all excited to scrapbook them!  You rearrange some things on your to do list and you somehow find 3 hours of uninteruppted scrapbooking time.  You put your photos in your photo organization system.   You get out your adhesives, scalloped edged scissors  and that new pack of embellishments shown at the last CHA.   Ready!  Set!  And Nothing.  Instead of "Go!" you are at at dead end STOP!  You stare at the dreaded blank page and then it hits you:  The Dreaded Scrapbooker's Block.  

Have you ever been hit with scrapbooker's block?  If you are a kid, chances are you haven't and you can stop reading and go play now!  But if you are a scrapbooker who is over the age of 18, then you might know what I'm talking about.  If you haven't experienced scrapbooker's block or perhaps you just need a definition for this frustrating condition, here's how wikipedia defines this common scrapbooker's ailment {please note I took some liberties with the "writer's block" definition and adapted it for our concern "scrapbooker's block"}:  

    "Scrapbooker's Block is a condition, primarily associated with scrapbooking as a hobby in     which the creative goddess loses the ability to produce new layouts.  The condition varies widely     in intensity. It can be trivial, a temporary difficulty in choosing how many photos should go onto     a particular layout or which embellishments to use for a visual triangle on the page to tie it all     together.  At the other extreme, some "blocked" scrapbookers have been unable to work for years     on end, and have been known to continue to buy supplies despite the complete stop of production     of scrapbooking layouts or mini books.  It can manifest as the affected scrapbooker viewing her     work as inferior or unsuitable, when in fact it could be the opposite. Scrapbooker's block is a     common affliction that most memory keepers will experience at one time or another, it is "an     inability to begin or continue scrapbooking for reasons other than lack of basic skill or     commitment".  

Who's been there?  I know I have, more than once.  Can I get an "Amen" scrapbooking sisters?

Scrapbooker's block can be caused by these five common problems:

1. Lack of Inspriation:  Oh sure there are dozens of inspiring projects on Pinterest and over at Two Peas, but nothing really "speaks" to you and your creativity just isn't sparked by anything - not even a glittery fire lit with hot-off-the-CHA-floor-patterned-paper by scrapbooking LOAD Coach Lain Ehmann herself.;

2. Over Awareness of the Audience:  Whether your audience is your own family or your online scrapbooking friends, you cant' seem to make anything because you keep thinking about what so-and-so will think of your completed scrapbook project so you just don't start or complete anything.;

3. External Circumstances like stress or health issues of the scrapbooker.  This will happen to all of us at one time or another.;

4. Sophmore Syndrome: Intimidation from a previous success.  Maybe you had a layout published in a magazine or recognized on an online scrapbooking gallery and now you are afraid to make another layout because you don't think it will be as awesome as the last layout.; or

5.  Perhaps the most dreaded of all "Trying to be Perfect":  You can't seem to do anything at all for fear that it might not be perfect and you'll ruin your photos, your supplies, or your own ego.

 Let's check in with wikipedia again and see what they say about the brain on scrapbooker's block {again I'll take some liberties and re-phrase to make it crafty}:

    "Scrapbooker's Block is more than just a mentality. Under stress, a human brain will "shift     control from the cerebral cortex to the limbic system". The limbic system is associated with the     instinctual processes, such as "fight or flight" response. Because the person is primarily thinking     in instinctual (learned) behaviors, creative processes are hindered. The person is often unaware     of the change, which may lead them to believe they are creatively "blocked"."

So enough of the problem, chances are you are just as familiar as I am with the causes or stresses of scrapbooker's block; what you really want to know is just how do you cure scrapbooker's block?

1. Take a Scrapbooking Class or Listen in on a Scrapbooking Group Discussion.

A few years ago I took Lain Ehmann's LayOut A Day (LOAD) Challenge and the exercise of making a scrapbook layout everyday for a month helped me get to a place where I could scrapbook no matter what; I think the key factor in this system is the short deadline. 

While I have been scrapbooking for well over a decade, I still take an occasional scrapbooking class to keep things fresh.  My favorite place to take online scrapbooking classes is Big Picture Classes.  I'm currently taking Stacy Julian's Twelve Class and Elizabeth Dillow's Twelve Challenges Class.

My favorite "Scrapbooking Discussion Group" otherwise known as a "podcast" is The Paperclipping Roundtable Podcast.   The Paperclipping Roundtable "airs" on itunes every week and is about an hour, topics include scrapbook organization, the process of scrapbooking, and scrapbooking tools and tricks.  Listening in always gets me in the mood to do some scrapbooking.

2. Keep a Scrapbooking Ideas Journal.

Whether you keep your ideas in a plain notebook, a fancy and embellished journal, or on your iphone; writing things down helps.  Even if you never go back to the list, the act of having written down an idea helps to keep it and grow it in your mind.  Depending on your personality, you may love or hate lists; but either way, try writing down ideas for a month and see if your ability to overcome scrapbooker's block improves.  My bet is that it will.

Pinterest is also a great place to keep ideas.  Major warning:  Pinterest is also a major time waster and can result in feelings of insecurity and inferiority since there are amazing ideas and photos there; so use Pinterest with caution.

3. Do some Free-Scrapbooking.

My husband often tells the story about how he was a bad student until he learned the trick of "getting ready" to do homework.  He'd tell himself that he was just "getting ready" to do some homework, he'd get his books and pencils, a snack, and sit at the desk; he didn't pressure himself to actually do anything, but, he says, once he was all set up and sitting there he'd do the homework.  Try that with your scrapbooking, get some photos out; get out some paper; don't pressure yourself to make anything but if you get even an inkling of inspiration, jump on it and go with whatever gave you that spark. 

Another idea is to make a card,  or a page in an ongoing mini book with a standard structure, or just to start doodling or punching or free hand cutting some patterened paper.  Just start moving and your brain will follow.

4. Just Do It.  Make a Page even if it is Not Perfect, especially if it is not perfect!  In fact, make an Imperfect Page! 

Take your worst, blurriest photo and the ugliest piece of paper you can find.  Make a page.  Just do it.  Once that's out of your system, you'll at least have done something.  The fact that its not awesome will give you the confidence to make the next one a bit better because it couldn't be any worse.  Just try it. 

In the alternative, set your kitchen timer for 15 mintues, and don't spend any time thinking, just do this:  1. Open your photo file and pick one without looking (1 minute).   2. Then pick a neutral colored cardstock, don't spend more than (30 seconds) picking.  3. Pick some letters, give yourself a minute.  4. Paste all that together (2 minutes).  5. Write something on the page - draw four or five lines and just start writing.  (5 minutes tops) .  6.  You are 8.5 minutes in and you can call it done if you like, but if you wish, pick a few embellishments and stick them down in a visual triangle (5 minutes tops). 

5. Find a Positive Place to Share Your Scrapbooking Work.

If you've been scrapbooking for any length of time, chances are your family has lost the level of excitement for your scrapbooking layouts that maybe they had in the beginning.  You need scrapbooking friends for this job my friend.

Feedback can be awesome, find a place where you can find some friendly scrapbookers who are at a similar scrapbooking skill level and share your work.  You can set up a flickr group or join in a variety of many, many scrapbooking communities online.  Or pick a few friends to be your viewing buddies. 

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Want to hear me read this essay?  Check this out:

 

 I hope that this article has been helpful or at least a bit entertaining.  Please leave a comment to share your most common cause of scrapbookers' block and your favorite solution.

If you'd like to learn more about "scrapbooker's block" or even "writer's block", check out these affiliate links:

 

 

 

 

DCWV The Snapshot Stack Layout #1: Snapping in the Girl's Room

Hello and Welcome to Paper #1 / Layout #1 of "The Snapshot Stack" / 24 Layouts.  I'm challenging myself to use each sheet of this 48 page stack from DCWV from the craft store to make 24 layouts. 

I used the three Polaroids on the left side of the patterened paper as embellishments for my page, they also served as the theme inspiration which I interpreted literally as taking photos:

This layout is all about how I took photos of myself in the girl's room mirror during my recent trip to Colorado.  The Journaling reads: "Confessions of a Scrapbooker:  While in Colorado I did my fair share of snapping pictures of myself while in the bathroom.  I was having so much fun and felt weird asking people to take pictures of me, so every time I went to the girl’s room, I’d snap a photo of myself in the mirror after washing my hands and before heading back out onto the slopes.  Just a little secret and not nearly as bad as that old Motley Crue song that was popular when I was in high school "Smoking in the Boy’s Room"  - just a little innocent picture taking, that’s all.  Katie March 2012"

 I also added some "hidden journaling" on the back of the layout about the song "Smoking in the Boy's Room" By Motley Crue which was the inspiration for the title of this page and about my thoughts on smoking and words of advice to my kids should they ever happen upon the back of this layout, its ok if they never do, but if they are the super curious sort, then its there for them to read sometime in the future:

  Here are some more details on how I used two 12x12 sheets, cut them in half and then stitched them together to make this double page layout  and about how the page went together:
I really like using old scraps to create letters with my quickutz Studio alphabet dies, they seem trendy even though the papers I'm using are well over ten years old.

The Hunger Games Scrapbooking Challenge Series (Day 12): District 2 Masonry

Welcome Scrapbookers to District 2 of Panem: Land of Masonry and Peacekeepers in what would have been the Rocky Mountains of Colorado.

Hey.  Psst.  I got a comment recently from a scrapbooker who said she "couldn't figure out" what I was trying to do with The Hunger Games Scrapbooking Challenge Series.  So I guess I should explain a bit:  I find that when I start with a theme for scrapbooking, I can translate the theme into all sorts of different scrapbooking pages and projects.  The theme gives me a starting point.  I recently discovered The Hunger Games and read through the triology in less than  a week and I am highly anticipating the movie.  Since the imaginary dystopian  world includes many districts and themes and characters, I thought it would be fun to use The Hunger Games as a theme or a jumping off point for scrapbooking inspiration.  You are welcome to join in and translate the themes as closely or as loosely as you wish.  There is a Flickr Group for this challenge if you wish to play along - here is the link to The Hunger Games Flickr Group. 

District 2 of Panem is the place where Peacekeepers are trained, and where the weapons are manufactured, but originally specialized only in mining and stone cutting. Publicly it's presented as the nation's stone quarries, just like District 13 was known for graphite mining. District 2 children are raised with a warrior mind-set and most of the Peacekeepers are from District 2. This district was the only one not on the side of the first rebellion, and after the attempt failed, were rewarded by better treatment from the Capitol, and better living conditions for their citizens. District 2 is in the Rocky Mountains, near the Capitol itself. The district is made up of many small villages, each based around a mine. Although the district is allied with the Capitol, due to their preferential treatment, the quarry workers suffer as much as any other district, not being excluded from the annual Hunger Games that take place. (source Wikia). 

Since I just returned from beautiful and amazing Durango, Colorado and that is the location of District 2, I'll be taking my inspiration from the location of this district in Panem. 

I made a photo collage in Picasa and typed in this journaling:  "Now I Know What John Denver Meant when he sang Rocky Mountain High.  I found myself singing the lyrics "coming home to a place {s}he's never seen before."  I was so moved by the beauty of these mountains and the solitude I found in the snowy trails.  I had visions of uprooting our family and transplanting us in Durango, Colorado.  I fell completely in love with this place. Charlie was not as convinced, he liked the vacation and made a lot progress in his ski lessons, but made it clear that he's a Florida Boy.  I do still hold out hopes for a vacation rental property."

I printed the photo collage on an 8.5 x 11 sheet and trimmed it just a bit and backed it with patterned paper.  No embellishments.  Just words and photos and a bit of background.  I did add a zig zag stitch for a little visual interest.   Simple.  And Done.

P.S. I know there's a misspelling in my scrapbook page and the print quality is not the most awesome; but I'm still calling it done!

If you wish to support this blog, check out these affiliate links for The Hunger Games books and related products:

 

 

 

The Hunger Games Scrapbooking Challenge Series Day 5: District 9 GRAIN

Welcome to the Hunger Games Scrapbooking  Challenge District #9 Grain! 

I wasn't exactly sure where to go with the inspiration of "grain" so I looked through some of my older layouts and found themes of cooking, growing, and selected some layouts that just seemed to have a  "grain" color.  I'll explain each of the layouts and hopefully it will spark something for you to play with so you can create a scrapbooking layout or project inspired by District #9 Grain.

The two top Layouts  have a theme of sunrise and sunset - grain farmers kind of live by the sun right? 

1. Saturday Morning:  I gathered random bits from the foods we eat on Saturday Mornings and included them as part of my page.  We don't normally eat a lot of grain products, but if you eat waffles or bread or other grain based products for breakfast, that could be a good topic for a page.

2. Yum. Yum. Extra Yum.  The title is inspired by a page in the book Little Pea by Amy Krouse Rosenthal - it is one of our favorite bedtime stories.  I also included a photo collage of pictures about food in our house - everything from shopping, to cooking to eating and family celebrations.

Here are 9 more layouts that are loosely associated with District #9's Grain Industry:

1.  Mac: Backyard Treasure:  This layout includes a lot of grain colored patterened paper.  I used a square punch on random bits of scraps and then cut them on the diagonal to form the triangles and put them into a pattern.  (This layout was based on an original design team page created for Jenni Bowlin's line at this past CHA 2012)

2.  Mr. Sunshine & The Night Owls:  This layout includes photos of us in our kitchen and is also a nod to the idea of how farmers get up early.

3. Love You:  This is another layout that was based on an original design team page created for the Dear Lizzy line from America Crafts from this past CHA 2012.  Again, the colors in the patterned papers look a bit like grain colors and the overall page looks like a sunburst.

4. Wasabi:  The subject of this page is the green spicy Japanese horseradish - which I absolutely love - but the photo includes sushi rolls made with rice, which I'm pretty sure is actually a grain!

5. Yum Yum Yum!  Here's another cooking based page, I used part of the packaging from a Barbie toy for the large Baker Barbie embellishment on the page.

6. October:  Here's another grain colored page - and I'm pretty sure that farmers harvest their grain crops in the fall right?  So I'm calling this one a grain based page too ;)

7. The Farm:  This page is actually about a farm and I know corn isn't technically a grain - but we did do the corn maze for the first time and the hexagon/octagon die cut shapes bring to mind busy bees and being productive in a farming kind of way.

8. Grow:  This page could have been included in District 11 Agriculture, but I didn't get it in that post, so I'll include it here - it is about plants after all.

9.  My Hero:  It is not obvious from this layout, but this photo was taken at Dunkin Donuts - which are made of grains, right?

Ok, so I kind of called it in today; but if you have a GREAT GRAIN IDEA for District #9 please leave a comment or post a link to your project, I would love to see it!

Meantime, if you wish to support this blog, please click on an affiliate link to browse Amazon for supercool scrapbooking and The Hunger Games products:

 

The Hunger Games Scrapbooking District 11 + A 2 Peas Garden Girls Memory Keeping Monday Scrapbooking Challenge

Now Playing: The Hunger Games on the Kiss and Tell Scrapbooking Blog:

I posted The Hunger Games Scrapbooking Challenge for District 11 this morning but used layouts that I already created in the video and blog post.  So I was feeling a bit like I didn't get to play enough.  So, after work, I came home and had to bust out a layout quick about agriculture.  We've been working on our herb garden.  I went to Two Peas in a Bucket for a little layout inspiration and found a Memory Keeping Monday with Jen Gallacher challenge to alter a sticker, check it out: 

 

So I connected dystopia with gardening and scrapbooking with stickers and stamps, totally logical right?  Want more randomness?  Watch me explain my layout and herb garden but please don't tell Charlie that I brought his iPad outside!

 

Here's how I alterned the stickers:

And here is my Spring Hunger Games District 11 Agriculture scrapbooking layout:

Ta-Da!  All these random things mixed up on one page makes me so happy and I had lots of fun making the page and the dorky video. 

And I didn't even get into how "Improv Scrapbooking" helps me to get to the mental place where I can bring all this stuff together while having fun, more on that soon.  Plus you can search this blog for related "scrapbook improv" posts if you are at all interested in the concept of merging scrapbooking with techniques from improvisational comedy to get productive, playful, present moment, positive, perfectly authentic scrapbooking fun.

If you'd like to get in touch with your inner child and get creative juices flowing and if you'd like to simultaneously support this blog, check out the following affiliate links:

Also, be sure to check out the Flickr Group and Facebook Event called "The Hunger Games Scrapbooking Challenge Series."

 

 

Old School & Modern Wedding Scrapbooking

This Scrapbooking Video is about my old school magnetic scrapbook wedding scrapbook and my modern scrapbook albums and photo books.  It is in response to Noell Hymann's Paperclipping Roundtable #103 "Too Precious to Scrapbook" and the connection between what kind of scrapbooker you are in relation to how you planned your wedding. 

 

Click here for a link to the Ella Publishing ezine article I wrote about scrapbooking your marriage and relationship based on Stacy Julian & Lain Ehmann's ebook Simple Secrets of Happy Scrapbookers and my adaptation of David Niven's book about Happy Relationships.

Click here for a link to Noel Hyman & Nancy Nally's podcast Paperclipping Roundtable PRT #103: Too Precious to Scrapbook relating wedding planning and scrapbooking.

If you wish to support this blog, check out these affiliate links which are related to products I mentioned in the video:

The Hunger Games Scrapbooking Challenge Day 3: District 11

Hello Scrapbooking Friends & Hunger Games Fans:

Welcome to Day 3 of The Hunger Games Scrapbooking Challenge on Kiss and Tell Scrapbooking, today we are visiting District 11:

 

The Hunger Games:  Today we are visiting Rue's District 11 Agriculture.  Rue reminded  Katniss Everdeen of her little sister, they relaxed together in the woods and Katniss sang to Rue as she tragically died.  We are going to use this part of the story as a jumping off point for themes for possible scrapbooking layouts or projects; think of them as story prompts.  Our themes for today are agriculture; siblings; relaxing in the great outdoors; and music.  Here are some (previously created) pages I made in each of these theme categories:

1. DISTRICT 11 AGRICULTURE:  Themes could include growing a garden, layouts about flowers or trees, tree climbing, nature, etc.

2. KATNISS & RUE:  The SIBLING CONNECTION:  Katniss Everdeen was the older sister and wanted to protect her little sister Primrose from having to participate in The Hunger Games; Katniss volunteers to take her place as tribute and once in the games, finds a connection to Rue from District 11 since she reminds Katniss of her little sister.   Pages in this theme could include actual siblings or friends who seem like siblings:

Here's another page that I made about my sister and on the backside in the page protector I keep letters from her and her son:

3. REST AND RELAXATION IN THE GREAT OUTDOORS:  I picked some camping layouts and a layout about relaxing in our backyard hammock with a Story People quote that I love:

4. MUSIC:  This is the title page for my Music Section of my Library of Memories Scrapbooking Albums and several of the filler pages. 

P.S. Check out Taylor Swift's song from The Hunger Games and Ben Fold's song Rockin the Suburbs - I highly recommend both.

Want to play along?

1. Please leave a comment with a link to your layout.

2. Join the Facebook Event:  The Hunger Games Scrapbooking Challenge Facebook Event Page

3. Join the Flickr Group: The Hunger Games Scrapbooking Challenge.

4. If you wish to support this blog and have more fun with scrapbooking and The Hunger Games, check out these affiliate links:

 

 

The Hunger Games Scrapbooking Challenge #1: Main Characters

Welcome Scrapbookers to The Hunger Games Kiss and Tell Scrapbooking Challenge #1:   Main Characters.  Let the Games Begin!

Over the past week, I've been fully immersed into the dystopian world of Katniss Everdeen and The Hunger Games.  I couldn't help but notice that there were so many similarities between the main character, Katniss Everdeen, and myself.  Our nuclear family units growing up were identical, even the personalities of the family members, like our late fathers were hunters, our mothers worked in healthcare, and our little sisters had a fondness for stray cats.  The similarities didn't stop there, we went from a small town to the big city all by ourselves, we are claustrophobic, and we both love scrapbooking.  Yes, scrapbooking.  Apparently there is a little hope in dystopian District 12 in the form of some post traumatic scrapbooking and gratitude journaling.  I had to create something that showed the commonalities I noticed while I was engrossed in this trilogy.   Then I started thinking of all sorts of scrapbooking themes and ideas related to The Hunger Games and I thought it might be fun to host some scrapbooking challenges.  I don't have any prizes to offer but I do think you will have a lot of fun playing along with me.  {Pssst. If you know of any scrapbooking companies that might like to sponsor some prize give-aways on my blog for this series, please leave a comment and send them my way.}  With or without prizes, I can't wait to get started.

Let me explain my dystopian-scrapbooking concept, first watch The Hunger Games Scrapbooking Challenge #1 Video:

 

Want to play along?  Here's how:

Step 1.  CHOOSE A FICTIONAL CHARACTER AND COMPARE WITH A REAL LIFE PERSON.  I chose myself and Katniss Everdeen from The Hunger Games.  You could choose yourself or another person you love and pair them up with a fictional character,it doesn't have to be from The Hunger Games.  For example, if I were to do this for members of my family, I might compare my son Mac with the No, David books by David Shannon; I might compare my daughter Allison with the ever creative and social Olivia; and I might compare my husband Charlie to (hmmmmm) I'm not sure, maybe Jimmy Buffet or Alec Baldwin or I'm not sure; I know those aren't fictional characters - but I think celebrity personalities could count. If you are having a hard time figuring out who to choose, probably start with yourself - you know yourself best and think back to a character from a book, movie, or tv show, or even celebritiy personality, with whom you really identified with or felt a connection to, or even someone you aspire to be like.

STEP 2.  CHOOSE COMPARISON PHOTOS:  I found some photos of The Hunger Games' main character, Katniss Everdeen, on the internet and some photos of myself at about her age from the 80s.  I picked one full body shot with weapons and one head shot with a more serious face for each of us.   I scanned in my old photos.  Then I created a photo collage in Picasa.  I would have put Katniss all on the left and me all on the right except that I wanted our faces to be facing in and I don't think Picasa has the mirror flip feature so I mixed them up, I actually think it is a bit more interesting this way.   If you are playing along, find some photos of yourself or the real life person you are using for this comparison challenge and then do a google search for the fictional character you are comparing with your real life person.

Step 3:  COMPARE AND CONTRAST: This part of the process sort of reminds me of high school English class when we had to write an essay comparing and contrasting something, anything, my senior English teacher Mrs. Rideout was always giving us these types of assignments.  I remember creating a yearbook where we used characters from the stories we'd read and fit them into senior superlatives like "most likely to succeed" and "most popular" etc.  I created a table in word perfect listing the similarities between the main character of The Hunger Games and myself, it really was funny to see our common threads.  If you have a computer available, create a table to compare your real life and your fictional character; if you don't have a computer handy, just hand draw a table and handwrite in the blanks; in the alternative, you could go the high school "compare and contrast" essay route,but trust me, making a table with bullet points is much quicker and easier {and you are less likely to get all those red marks on the page when some persnicketly grammar policeman sees it} .   

STEP 4:  CHOOSE SCRAPBOOKING PRODUCTS TO SUPPORT YOUR THEME. 
Once I had my table and photos printed, I knew I wanted to create a 8.5x11 page rather than a 12x12 page.  Because my table and photos were 7x7.75, I knew I didn't have a lot of space for embellishments or even the title.  I wanted the photos and the table to shine and for the rest to support my theme.  I looked through my black patterened paper and found some patterns that I otherwise thought were ugly but seemed to work for these theme.  Then I went about finding letters to create a title with, the main focus there was that I needed smaller letters.  I couldn't find my white or black smaller letters, so I used bright blue and green mostly because they fit, but also because they were a bit discordant with the rest of the layout, which in this case supports the theme, and I used alternating colors mainly because that's all I had left, but I think that the use of two colors also supports my comparison of two people.  I didn't want to use a big flower or arrow or butterfly or other typical scrapbooking embellishment, so instead I chose to "jazz up" my page with some machine stitching.  That game me the idea for the title:  "Common Threads" so I stitched over my title letters as well and along the bottom of the photos with the zig zag stitch under the head shot photos.  Not every scrapbooking paper, embellishment, or letters have to have a meaning, but it is sort of awesome when they can support your theme visually.  Don't over-think this process, use what you have.  Often times, the real meaning of the embellishments or design of the page that I have used doesn't really hit me until after I have made the page;  That's OK, because I really believe that at some gut level, my subconscious was making connections that my thinking brain hadn't caught up with yet.  Just go with it.  Don't fret over the embellishment part of the page, if you've already done the thinking about the story of the comparison, the rest of the page is going to come together easily.  Remember, this part is supposed to be the fun part, so have fun!

STEP 5:  SHARE YOUR WORK!  I would love to see what you create with this challenge, please leave a comment with a link to your page.  I have set up a Flickr Group called The Hunger Games Scrapbooking Challenge.  Please feel free to join and upload your project and/or leave a link in the comments to your blog or online gallery.

If you wish to support this blog, then please click on one of the following links for cool scrapbooking and The Hunger Games related products at Amazon:

 

9 Clever Ideas for Project Life from Pinterest

Hey Scrapbookers! Here are 9 Clever Ideas for Project Life:

I'm getting ready to do Week 8 of my Project Life and thought I'd share some of the clever ideas I've seen on Pinterest for Project Life:

1. Ormolu jazzes up her journaling cards in advance. So clever (middle square)

2. Persnickety Prints has FREE Project Life Journaling Cards. (top middle)

3. Katrina Simeck adds in extra flap pockets for more photos. (top left)

4. Cherish Every Day uses collage printouts to get more photos in her Project Life. (bottom middle)

5. Rebecca Cooper's Everday Life Photo Checklist. (right middle)

6.  Marcy Penner created a Project Life "station". (left middle)

7. Alison Waken created a 4x6 version of Project Life. (bottom right)

8. Ali Edwards' 13 Everyday Life Journaling Prompts. (top right)

9. Life Love Paper has "Currents" Project Life Printables. (bottom middle)

Ok, I am sufficiently inspired, I'm going to go work on my own Project Life and should have a post up soon. 

Ok, I was going to stop there but I had to share this before I go:

I did call a "family meeting with homework" right here in my scrapbooking room and instructed each of my family members to pick a journaling card and write whatever they want about themselves, what they are doing right now, or their past week.  I told them they could write whatever they wanted and could even draw a picture if they wished.  They were all happy to oblige which was a bit surprising because I sometimes get eye rolls with some forced scrapbooking family involvement; but writing on the Project Life Journaling Cards was a short enough task and I gave them the choice of writing whatever they wanted and I think they all thought that was pretty cool.  Here's what they came up with:

The journaling cards are:

1. Everyday Life by Husband Charlie: "My wife is on a computer in one room.  My son in another and my daughter is on her laptop in yet another room. Meanwhile, I am reading an old fashioned paper newspaper."

2. The authentically distressed tag from my minivan being in the shop for repairs.

3. Here is the Story by my daughter Allison:  She opted to go for my "you can draw something" suggestion and the rose is a nod to the herb, vegetable, and flower garden we've been planting all weekend.

4. Memories by my son Mac: "I am playing digital Pokemon on the Pokemon website and I want to play now Mom."  He added a smiley face so as not to be too snarky and to better his chances of getting back to his game. 

I'll have my full Week 8 of Project Life up soon.  Meantime, if you wish to support this blog and stock up on Project Life supplies, here are some links:

P.S. If you are on the fence about any of the Project Life products, scoop them up while they last, they sell out fast at Amazon; it looks like the Cobalt Edition of the Project Life Core Kit is the only one still available right now. 

Springtime Scrapbooking

It is starting to feel like spring and a change of seasons for me means some seasonal scrapbooking:

My grandma used to wear seasonal scarves, I don't normally wear scarves but I do mark the seasons with my scrapbooking projects:

 

I use Stacy Julian's Library of Memories System so that most of my scrapbook layouts are in the 3 ringed binder 12x12 albums.  When a particular section of an album builds up, I'll take out those layouts and put them in a post bound "bump out" album.  I have a 12x12 post bound Spring Themed scrapbook album that includes traditional 12x12 scrapbook layouts along with page protectors with spring themed photographs so that the pages are all different and I get to use a lot of my photographs in one album:

I keep a 12x12 framed scrapbook page in my kitchen with the current season's "Bucket List" - its time to update since it is now February and the frame still contains our Fall Bucket List:

After I take the Fall Bucket List Layout out of the frame, it will go into either the "Things We Do - Seasons" part of my Library of Memories Album or it will go into a Fall "bump out" album depending on which album has extra space.  I love that making a seasonal scrapbook page or mini book can mark time, especially since I live in Florida and there are no clear changes in the seasons.  Making seasonal scrapbooking pages and projects help me and my family to notice and celebrate the seasonal things we do and to establish seasonal traditions in our family.

If you would like to support this blog, please check out the following links for divided page protectors like the ones I used in my Spring 12x12 Scrapbook Album:

 

 

 

 

Improv Scrapbooking: How to Use the Principles of Improvisational Comedy to Become a Better More Authentic and Prolific Scrapbooker; Plus: SNL Mini Book & Being PRESENT in your Scrapbooking Process and Scrapbooking Videos!

Improv Scrapbooking:

I took an intro to Improvisational Comedy class last summer with Toby Martini and while taking the six week class, I had a spark of creativity that went beyond the class, learning the principles of improvisational comedy didn't necessarily make me funny, but it gave me a new way to think about my creative process and applying these principles to my process of scrapbooking has been a revolution for me.  I am more prolific than ever, in October I made 40 layouts in 7 days and last month I made 60 layouts.  Making a million scrapbook layouts is not the goal. Being more present and authentic in my creative process and product is.  Telling better stories is the goal.  Spending less time on stuff that doesn't matter  is the goal.  Spending more time on what makes my heart and soul sing is the goal.  I'm there and I want to share.

In Improvisational Comedy, one of the first principles you learn is to be present.  To listen to what your scene partner is saying and to respond to that, not to be thinking about what you are going to say next, but to be listening and then just opening your mouth and saying whatever pops into your head.  Improv Business Consultant Marcia McGilley of Limelight Presentations says  "I've also been a stage actor in plays, infomercials and 'improv' comedy shows. Improv is short for 'improvisational.' That's a fancy word which means thinking on your feet. No scripts or lines to memorize, you just say whatever pops into your head in a given situation. Improv was great training for real-life situations in business and consulting. I know how valuable it is as one of your communication skills." 

This principle of being present, listening and saying whatever pops into your head can be applied to the process of scrapbooking.  Think of what that little voice in your head is saying or what is on your mind or heart right now.  What has you worried or excited  or experiencing any heightened emotion right now.  Listen.  It is there.  Scrapbook about that.  Don't pre-plan it.  Don't write it down in a list of things to scrapbook later.  Just scrapbook it right now with what you have available to you right now.  Even if that means it won't be as awesome as you think it would be / could be with better photos, better embellishments, or better more thought out writing.  Chuck all that planning out the window.  Remember the Nike ads?  Just do it. Right Now.  You have 15 minutes to spill your guts on the page.  Don't edit.  Be real.  Say it (write it down) before you think much about it.  Don't worry about grammar.  Don't worry about anything that you think it should be, just go with what it is, what is in you that wants to get out.  Listen.   Listen and then Go! 

Here is an example of what I mean by Listening to What Your Heart is Telling You, Being Present, and Being Improv about how you respond to that in a scrapbooking kind of way:  (Hey - ppssst - blog reader - You can skip over this part or skim it - as I am a bit "improv" in my description - in other words, I am long winded - I'll highlight some important stuff).    Today is Valentine's Day, I intended to make a scrapbook page about Valentine's Day or at least the theme of love.  I started the page yesterday in anticipation of today being Valentine's Day - check yesterday's posts for the videos in which I made that and other projects.  But, this morning  when I woke up, I was thinking about Saturday Night Live and about the Grammy's Music Award Show, about Whitney Houston's death and about how Paul McCartney did the last number at the Grammy's; about how music and certain songs can instantly take us to a time and place and bring back memories; and about how the show Saturday Night Live also does that for me.  When I see or think about an SNL sketch, I am also reminded of the time in my life when I first saw it.  For example, the Coneheads and Gilda Radner bring me back to the 70s when I used to spend Saturday Nights at my Grandma's house watching the Barbara Mandrell Show, Love Boat and Fantasy Island, and then if I was still awake and Grandma would let us, we'd watch some Saturday Night Live, I don't remember it too specifically, but I knew it was cool.  In the 80s I can remember my friends in AP Calculus Class (my most hated class), imitating Dana Carvey as the Church Lady - "Now isn't THAT special?"  In college I used to spend the weekends with friends who were married with very young kids and we loved Kevin Nealon "I'll Pump (clap) You Up" and Mike Meyers in Wayne's World  - I'm pretty sure Dana Carvey was in both of those sketches too (without googling it  I think I'm getting his name right).  When I first met my husband and we were dating, we'd often watch SNL after dates and that one night in August 1997 or 1998(?) when we turned to NBC at approximately 11:43  (so we knew SNL had started and we were on the right channel) and we were horrified that they were trying to do a sketch about Princess Diana being in a car accident and then slowly realizing it wasn't SNL, it was real.  And now, my kids and I love Andy Samberg and his SNL shorts like Lazer Cats and Space Olympics.  The show has been a constant in my life.  It is like an old friend who knew me way back when.  I am reminded of the different people I watched the show with depending on the sketch and when it aired.  There are Deep Thoughts, like the ones Jack Handy used to do (miss those):  1. How powerful it was when Paul Simon sang The Boxer with the FDNY behind him right after 9/11 - I still get a little teary just thinking about how deep the emotion was at that moment; 2. How tender Chris Farley was when he did the awkward interview of Paul McCartney and he asked about whether it was true when McCartney sang "The love you take is equal to the love you make" and how Paul McCartney closed last weekend's Grammy Awards with that line and how the Beatles and Rolling Stones and U2 and Madonna have been musical constants  and all have been on SNL (well at least members of the Beatles have been on the show).  Music and this long running show of Saturday Night Live have been a constant in my life as I was born in the 70s and that show started in 1975 when my parents got divorced and that show has been the backdrop to my Saturday nights for as long as I can remember.  If I never scrapbooked about something as random as seemingly random as Saturday Night Live, my story would be incomplete; but more importantly, if today, when I took time to scrapbook, if I didn't scrapbook about Saturday Night Live because it was on my heart and mind, whatever else I did would have been forced and not as real, it would not make an impression on me; whereas if I scrapbook what I am passionate about right now, chances are in 20 years when I look back at that page, I'll be taken back to today and that page will be a better memory trigger for me of time and place, like when you hear an old song, than if I hadn't been present and listened and then scrapbooked using these improv principles.  Improv will make the memories more authentic and real.  There will be more of me in what I create.  I think this goes beyond scrapbooking; improvisational comedy principles can be applied to any creative process.

 Here are 3.5 videos that you can find on YouTube about the process of applying improvisational comedy principles to scrapbooking and my actual process:

1. Watch as I use improvisational comedy principles in my scrapbooking creative process:

 

I use the principles of improvisational comedy for my video making too - I just press record and talk, there is no preparation and I say what is on my heart and mind, I am in the present moment, not thinking about the next thing I'm going to say - this is improv - it isn't always funny or interesting - but it is real and the more real you are, the better it is in an improv way.

1.5 Here's my improv fix for the 20 minute video that wouldn't upload to YouTube - This is The Middle (which is also a great show by the way)  - I tried to get it to a point where there isn't too much overlap - but it is not perfect - it is improv!  And just ask Seth Godin about how he feels about shipping when it is not completely perfect - I'm pretty sure he'd say ship it. So here's the fix:

 

2. Here is part 2: (Darn it! There is a gap between #1 and #2 so I'm going to upload a 1.5 to bridge the gap).

 

3. SNL Mini Book Cover & Applying the Improv Concept of Using What You Have and Getting It Done Now:

 

If you are interested in learning more about applying the concepts from improvisational comedy to scrapbooking or to any other part of your creative process, please leave a comment and/or email me.  I am working on some projects that will expand on this concept and I need some guinea pigs. 

Meantime, if you wish to support my blog through the Amazon Affiliate Program, you can check out these books and Paul McCartney's new album, Kisses on the Bottom (which sounds like an improv concept of "taking it the wrong way") that dropped today:

Sing it Paul:  "And in the end, the love you take, is equal to the love you make. " 

I think you you can substitute the word love for memory keeping or the creative process; in other words, what you get out of your scrapbooking or memory keeping hobby is what you put in to it - so put good stuff in OK? 

Scrapbooking Embellishment Sneeze & How to Make Valentine's Day Embellishments and Banners

I saw a message thread on the Two Peas site the other day about embellishment sneeze.  While most of my scrapbooking does not involve a lot of embellishments, I do enjoy going overboard with scrapbooking embellishments from time to time.  IT.  IS.  FUN.  Here's a video about how I use punches and die cuts to facilitate scrapbook embellishment sneezing:

 

For more on scrapbooking embellishments and techniques, check out these books:

Don't Buy Valentines Day Cards! (Make Scrapbook Pages and Mini Books Instead)

We've been making scrapbooking videos with the iPad:

Heads Up!  Valentine's Day is Tommorow!  No, I haven't done anything yet.  No, I'm not worried about it.  Here's why:

 

A few years ago I had a blog post about how I don't like to buy Valentine's Day cards here is the link to that post (#2) and other posts about Valentine's Day and improving your marriage by scrapbooking:

1. Celebrate the pople you love with mini books.

2. Why I don't buy Valentine's Day Cards.

3. Write Your Own Love Story with Scrapbooking.

Improv Scrapbooking & How I Keep My Creative Flow in Scrapbooking

A scrapbook layout and a video:

I actually made this layout while making the video.

If you've visited my blog before, you might know that I've been developing a concept of applying the concepts of improvisational comedy to the creative process in scrapbooking.  Here's a video of my process (you might want to do something while you are watching and think of it more of as a podcast with video attached).

 

Bear with me, I'll have better videos up this week, stay tuned OK?

Here is the Sunshine Snow Days layout:

The Story:  Improv Scrapbooking + The story of a disappointing snow day and then two awesome ski trips.

Journaling: "Sunshine Snow Days.  Back in December, Allison and I went to downtown St. Pete for the snow fest, but got there just as the bulldozer was getting rid of all that exciting snow.  It could have ruined the day, but instead we found a small pile of white stuff and had a snow ball fight.  Then, in January we all went up to Ober Gatlinburg and even though there was no actual snow, Allison was thrilled to experience the man made stuff and learned to ski and we even made a snow man. "  Journaling stickers: "Happiness is not having what you want, its wanting what you have." and "Life Is Good.  Today was ... the best.  Ally got a 2nd trip to see snow & go skiing in Boone, NC."

Scrapbooking Supplies:  DCWV, Echo Park, Fiskars Border Punch & stickers.

Want to learn more about Improvisational Comedy Concepts?  Check out these books: