Monthly Archives: March 2013

No Photos? No Problem!

No Photos? No Problem!

Sometimes, we have stories we want to tell, and we can’t find a photo that goes with the story. Either we can’t find the photo, because it’s mixed in with other photos (a photo organization problem we’ll tackle another time), or we just don’t have a photo of the event in question.

That’s no reason not to tell the story you want to tell, however. There are lots of ways to get your story told without a photo.

If you have memorabilia, but no photo, you can let that be the focus of the page. Postcards, pieces of maps, event tickets, hotel room cards, receipts, are all great ways to illustrate your story, even if you have no photos.

If you’ve got no photo and no memorabilia, you can still make a page. You can describe the photos you would use, if you had them. You can tell the story, and use stickers, stamps, and paper to embellish the story. You can use other people’s words.

Do you remember this page, from when I was talking about patterned paper?

Using that lovely, huge design

Using that lovely, huge design

Did you notice that it had no photos, but still told the story I wanted it to tell? By quoting my mother and grandmother, their presence and personality are definitely showcased on this page, even without photos of them.

You can make a photo-less page. Grab some paper, and write down a story you’ve been dying to tell, but haven’t found the photos for. Tell your story!

I’ll show you more examples of pages without photos later this week. You’ll have lots of inspiration to help you create a photo-less page.

Product Inspiration: Buttons

Product Inspiration: Buttons

As a scrapbooker, you probably love your supplies, right? Shopping at your local scrapbook store (LSS for those who like to abbreviate everything) is a treat and an inspiration overload. So many fun and beautiful products! How do you choose what to buy? And once you get it home, what do you do with it?

Use it!

That seems obvious, doesn’t it? True, but there are so many scrapbookers who save the product they love for that special, perfect project. Don’t be that person! Use it, get it out of your stash, and make room for more inspiring stuff.

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One of the things I’ve been working on using and getting out of my stash is buttons. I gladly share my buttons with my sons when they’re feeling crafty (they make a great 100 days object to bring in for school) and am always looking for innovative ways to add them to a page. There are only so many times you can use a button as a flower center.

The big jar used to be full. I am making progress, don’t you think? The small jar holds buttons my youngest bought for himself. The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree!

 

One of the most fun things you can do with buttons is to use them to create shapes on the page. I’ve seen people make pages with stars, and hearts, and spirals, all made with buttons. I was particularly inspired by this page from katieplus4 and made my own version.

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What would you make to use up your button stash? My friend GeeZee has more ideas over at Messtaken Identity. Her blog is full of fun ideas for recycling, reusing, and repurposing all sorts of materials into craft projects.

Check out her ideas, and then make something. Use those buttons! Stop saving them and get them out of your stash. And then show me what you made!