Category Archives: video

Aug29

Solutions for the Chronological Scrapbooker

Posted on August 29, 2013 by Heather

Solutions for the Chronological Scrapbooker

Let’s switch gears a little bit, and talk to those scrapbookers who are stuck because they’ve wandered into the land of chronological guilt.

There are a lot of scrapbookers who feel they MUST scrapbook in order. Baby years must be done before school age years, and graduation after that. Never mind that the stories that keep popping up in their head have nothing to do with chronological events, but rather something like how much their child reminds them of another loved one, or of memories of their own childhood.

They’ve decided they must scrapbook chronologically, and forget about the stories that occur to them during their daily life. And then it happens. They see how much they have to do to get “caught up” to today’s stories that they loose their joy and enthusiasm for the hobby. They stop scrapbooking. And then the guilt really sets in.

We can solve this problem. And we don’t have to stop scrapbooking chronologically to do that.

I bet, by now, if you’ve been wandering around the world of scrapbooking for any length of time, you’ve heard of Project Life, by Becky Higgins. This, believe it or not, is how you can get “caught up.”

Project Life was originally designed so that people could take a photo a day, write a little something each day, and then just slip the photos and journaling cards into pockets. Quick, easy and done. It has since evolved and spread, and most people are using it weekly, and documenting the details of their lives.

I started a Project Life album in 2011, but never finished it. Here, take a look:

All very nice you say, but how does that apply to the pile of photos you have from 10, 15, or even 20 years ago that you have to scrapbook before you can even think about today’s stories?

Well, as you saw, the Project Life I started two years ago is still incomplete. I’ll break down the process for you in easily digestible chunks, and show you how to pull an album together.

You should be able to apply that process to any time frame you want to document, whether it’s last week, or ten years ago.

I’ll have that ready for you next week. While I’m working on that, why don’t you pull together the photos you want to use, and pick out some Project Life pocket pages and cards you like? You’ll need them to make your own album!

Check out the Project Life supplies at Amazon. (affiliate link) There are a LOT of choices!

May21

Setting Up the Binder and Monday’s Pages

Posted on May 21, 2013 by Heather

Setting Up the Binder and Monday’s Pages

The video walking you through the binder set up and the creation of Monday’s pages is ready for you. Yay!

Rather than add subtitles to the video, I’ve got some notes for you that will help explain my thought process.

1. I start off by sorting my photos by general time/subject, and by orientation. Orientation is important, because any vertical photos will need a creative solution if I want to keep the book in a standard orientation. I don’t want my readers to have to rotate the book repeatedly as they look at it, so I’ll have to either trim the vertical photos down, mount them on a cardstock page, or something even more interesting. It’s also important to keep related photos together, to create better story flow.

2. As I start trimming photos, I begin to decide whether I’m going to break the photo up between pockets, or trim the photo down to fit a single pocket.

3. When I’m flipping pages back and forth, I’m trying to keep track of the bigger picture, and the story of the day.

4. When I’m flipping endlessly through the cards, I’m realizing, I didn’t plan enough room for story telling, so am reevaluating the photo placement in regards to the day’s story.

5. Unmentioned product alert! Martha Stewart labels from her office supply line. Loving using them!

6. This is the easiest type of journaling to do: just tell what happened. No need to make it complicated.

A couple quick close ups for you:

I’ll share close ups of the whole book with you when we’re done.

Have you gotten started yet? If you haven’t, don’t you think it’s time to get creating? If you have, share it! I’d love to see it!

May20

Upcycle Your Old Vinyl Binders

Posted on May 20, 2013 by Heather

Upcycle Your Old Vinyl Binders

My camera’s battery died in the middle of recording the video about putting together the Monday pages for our Week in the Life project. That slowed me down a bit! 😉

So, to keep you entertained, I’ve put together a little video for you while my battery charged that will help you pretty up any old vinyl binders you’ve got lying around.

You’ll need a sheet of paper large enough to cover your binder, mod podge, a brush, and a pair of scissors.

Oh, and an ugly old binder.

If you could throw in a few stray cat hairs, I’d be much obliged. I’m not the only one who finds cat hair in odd places, am I?

Let me know if you have any questions! I’m sure I forgot to mention something that you’d find helpful!

Oh, and don’t forget to say “Hi!” to Simon. He loves the attention.

May16

Step One: Sort What You Have

Posted on May 16, 2013 by Heather

Step One: Sort What You Have

This is probably going to sound like a no-brainer, but the first step to putting together a Week in the Life Project is to sort the photos and notes you have by day. Need a video example?

Once you’ve got your materials sorted, take a quick look at what you’ve gathered, and make a list of what sorts of things are involved.

My list: (in addition to the standard 4x6s)

Monday: lots of memorabilia, three 3x4s

Tuesday: One 6×8, one 5×7, one 3×4 and no memorabilia

Wednesday: Two 5x7s, two 3x4s and a little memorabilia

Thursday: One 6×8 (Actually a 8×10 I will be cutting down.)

Friday: One 5×7, three 3x4s and some memorabilia

Saturday: One 6×8 and Simon’s wish list

Sunday: A 6×8, five 5x7s, a couple pieces of memorabilia, and LOTS of pictures.

Now that I know how much of what kind of stuff I have, I can plan how to arrange my album. I know I won’t need any 6×8 page protectors for Monday, and very little of anything for Thursday.

I am going to need a few more page protectors, so tomorrow I’ll make a quick trip to Michaels, so I can flesh out the interior. Then it will be time to start assembling it.

I will work on each day as a block, so you will have seven videos to check out and refer to once I’m done.

I’ve got a sick kid at home, so between that, and needing to head out for supplies, I probably won’t be able to start posting videos till Monday at the earliest.

Make sure you let me know if you have any questions!

Apr24

Made for Mom with Love Blog Hop!

Posted on April 24, 2013 by Heather

Made for Mom with Love Blog Hop!

Welcome to our MADE FOR MOM WITH LOVE Blog Hop! Join the journey to find some great ideas for gifts to give the Moms on your list or create a wishlist for yourself! Oh, and don’t forget, there are some freebies to pick up along the way too! You should have arrived here from Rebecca Kettner’s Pictures to Scrapbook. If you haven’t, you can start your whirlwind journey at Lain Ehmann’s Layout a Day.

One of the best Mother’s Day presents I ever got was a bouquet of tissue paper flowers my then three-year-old son made with my mother after I gave birth to my second son. While I would love to show you how to make tissue paper flowers if you don’t know already, there are many, many videos up on youtube that more than adequately teach the technique.

However, I have a tutorial for you that will help you make tissue paper flowers that are unique and extra-gorgeous. Have you ever tried to tie-dye tissue paper? I have, and it’s fun and addicting. Want to learn how?

Watch:

Tie-dye tissue paper can be used for so many things. I used one piece to make a tissue paper flower for a vase, and another piece to make a flower to add to a barrette. I used the scraps from those two flowers to make a page. You could use it for gift wrapping, or modge podge it onto glassware. There are lots of creative options!

My friend Gee Zee over at Messtaken Identity has a present for one of you lucky readers. Just sign up on my email list (top right of the page) by May 13th, and you’ll be entered for a free one-month membership to her Upcycling club. That includes any and all Chat and Learn Live! videos and tutorials for the month of June. (If you decide you want a kit to play with at home during the chat, it’s just $6, and can be ordered at Messtaken Identity.) I’ll announce the winner on May 14th!

Add any questions you have down below! Thanks so much for visiting! The next stop on your hop is Dawn at Faithfully Yours.

To see the whole range of creative inspiration, please visit each site listed below. There’s sure to be lots of fun things suitable for Mother’s Day. Note: If you joined us somewhere along the way, please start at (Layout a Day) so you don’t miss a thing !

Lain at Layout a Day

Debbie at Scrap Me Quick Designs

Monica at Scrap Inspired

Melissa at Digital Scrapbooking HQ

Pam at Keeping Life Creative

Diane at Capadia Designs

Beth at Scrapping Wonders

Kelli at Use It Scrapbooking!

Jen at Jen Wright Designs

Suzy at Suzy Q Scraps

Alice at Scrapbook Wonderland

Gee Zee at Messtaken Identity