Get Your Photos Off Your Computer & Into A Scrapbook

Picture taking has never been easier!  We have our digital cameras, I-phones, and I-pads!  The ability to digitally capture a moment or memory is available at our fingertips 24/7.  I looked in my iPhoto program and I have over 6,000 photos!  Wow - I really had no idea that I've had that many.  Can you imagine what 6,000 printed photos would look like??

It would truly be overwhelming.  Decluttering our photo program is another topic for another time, and I want to focus today on preserving the memories from your best photos.  So, where do you start?  Here are 3 tips from Rebecca Ludens, Scrapbook Expert:

1.  Choose Only the Best

Choose only the best. You do not need every photo on your scrapbook pages. Think about looking at this album 10 years from now. Which photos will remind you of the moment or event. Select only clear photos that tell the story or show the emotion. Look for photos that include close-ups, that do not have distracting background images, and that tell the story from a unique angle.  You may find that you have just one special photo that you want to highlight on a scrapbook page.

My First Half-Marathon

2.  Pick a Focal Point Photo

Pick a focal point. Once you have selected the group of photos that you will be using for your scrapbook page layout, select one photo that will be the focal point of the scrapbook page.  If you have a clear focal point photo, your scrapbook page will feel anchored. It will have a place for the reader’s eye to rest as she takes in the full story of the layout.

Notice the top photo is off center to draw attention

3.  Print Your Selections

Print your selections.  Now it is time to print your photos. Consider these two ideas:
1) If the paper that you have selected to go with your theme is overpowering or busy, you may want to print your photos in black and white.

2) You may want to print your focal point photo larger than the rest of the photographs to make sure that it is clear where the focal point is on the page. I frequently print my focal point photo as a 4x6 inch print and then print the rest of the photos a 2x3 inch prints (two per 4x6 inch page). You may also consider cropping some of the photos to be smaller in size.

If your photos are only on your phone or on your computer, when will your family and friends get to see and enjoy them? Also, when will you add that all important journaling to go with the photos. Print out some of your favorite pictures and scrapbook them today.

Happy Scrapping!

And if you need some supplies, visit my newly established E-bay store:  Create and Scrap.  New supplies added daily!

Scrapfit - a way to stay in shape with your LOs

I just discovered a new blog and wanted to share with everyone. It's Scrapfit and it's a great way to stay in shape with your scrappin'! The blog posts challenges 2 times per month and they have awesome prize packs!



Here's my version of Workout #1:
The challenge was to use water & ink on your layout. The photo is me in Eleuthra, Bahamas during our honeymoon. I'm standing on a rock cliff above the bay. I'm not sure if you can really tell in this photo, but I've inked the edges of the pages. From a sustainability standpoint, I re-used some scraps of paper for my journaling, and re-used scraps of paper for my palm tree.

This challenge is due on the 14th, but stay tuned for their 2nd challenge for the month of August!

Paper Piecing - A Great Way to Use Your Scraps

In keeping with the green theme, a great way to not only save money, but re-purpose your scraps is to start paper piecing. Don't throw your scraps in the landfill! Start saving them and then you can paper piece.

What is paper piecing? Paper piecing is using cardstock and patterned paper to create paper embellishments for your scrapbook pages and greeting cards. They can come from easy or intricate patterns. You can find some great patterns in children's coloring books. To get you started here is a pattern that was used to complete the piece shown above. Have fun!

Gear up for presents!

“We never know the worth of water till the well is dry.” -Thomas Fuller, Gnomologia, 1732

When I talk about 'green' scrapbooking, I'm really doing the Earth an injustice. I'm limiting myself to just one little niche in my green endeavors - scrapbooking. What about the rest of the paper craft genre?

Even though it's only February, the holidays are here before you know it and everyone is scrambling around purchasing, buying, purchasing, buying, blah, blah, blah. So if you take some time now, you can be ready to MAKE some gifts come November. Here's what you can start saving:

• Cardboard - think of all the things that arrive in the mail or some type of cardboard packaging you get when you purchase something. Start breaking it down and putting it in a safe place. There are many projects we can do with this stuff.
• Tins and powder drink containers - we are big drinkers of Gatorade in this house. Every 10 days, I'm trying to do something clever with the container. Hold onto a few of these - I'll show you what we can do with them.
• Paper bags - some stores are going back to these instead of plastic. Throw a couple in the closet and we'll get creative with them.
• Shredded paper - are you shredding all of your confidential information? Good - you need to. Now bag some of that stuff and I have some ideas for it.

Stay tuned as next week I'll show you some project ideas with these materials.

K & Co introduces 2 new eco lines!

We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children. ~Native American Proverb

K & Company has introduced two eco-friendly paper lines and a tree donation program! I was very happy to stumble upon this on their website:

http://www.kandcompany.com/shop/pc/viewContent.asp?idpage=90

This link will explain their 2 paper lines and their Plant A Tree program. Let's face it - scrapbooking, at its very core, starts with paper. And we use A LOT of it. By supporting these 2 paper lines from K and Company, we are reducing paper, packaging and fuel.

Even though I pledged not to purchase anything new this year, my fingers are itching to get my hands on some of this paper and try a layout. How about you? Have you used either paper line?

Frugal Scrapbooking Tips

I love a bargain, and who doesn't these days? I came across yet another article about saving money on your scrapbooking & thought I would share some tips with you:

1. Look around the house. You would be surprised what “scrapbooking” supplies you can find. There are many household supplies or products including: paperclips, craft paint (not only can you use it to accent a page, but you can use it the same way you use stamp ink), old envelopes and used stamps (great for destination/travel pages), old/broken jewelry (use as embellishments), shopping/clothing/market tags (you can paint over, dye, or cover them), wrapping paper, gift ribbon, hair ribbons or rubber bands, game pieces, old maps, book pages (as backgrounds), cereal/shoe boxes (for chipboard) and much more. Just be careful that these items are acid free or at least if they are not, won’t be touching any of your photos.

2. Go digital - or at least a little bit. There are many sites out there that offer freebies every week or so. Not only can you use them to do digital scrapbooking layouts, but you can take parts of them and print them off to use on your regular scrapbooking layouts. And the great things about these is that you can print them again and again for different pages. Check out www.scrapgirls.com and www.digitalfreebies.com for some freebies.

3.) Have a scrapbooking supply swap. The next time you get together to scrapbook, just tell everyone that you are having a “swap” table where people can bring supplies they don’t use any more or don’t want. You could also make it a sale too if someone wants to sell something they have.

Scrapbooking may not be the cheapest hobby out there, but it needn’t be expensive. I am sure there are lots of other ways that each individual can make it even more affordable. If you have any more ideas for making scrapbooking cheaper, let me know your great discoveries. Post them here so we can all share!