Search Results for: blog change the way you scrapbook

Spice Up Your Halloween Story

When it comes down to it, a scrapbook layout is really an adventure in storytelling. Photos, embellishments, memorabilia, captions and journaling all help recount a special memory and preserve it for years to come. With Halloween just around the corner, now is the time to start strategizing holiday layouts. Consider how you want to tell the tale of your All Hallows’ Eve festivities. For example, if you want to put an emphasis on photos rather than write out lengthy journaling blocks, consider spicing up the shots by taking them from unique angles. Experiment with some extreme close ups and or … Continue reading →

Finishing Up Summer Scrapbooking

When it comes to seasonal scrapbooking, I am always a day late and a dollar short. It took me years to figure out that I am not a daily scrapper. No matter how hard I try to channel Martha Stewart or Rosie O’Donnell, I am simply unable to spend 20 minutes a day keeping on top of layouts. Now, I own my procrastinating tendencies. However, taking responsibly for my shortcomings doesn’t change my situation. I’m still as late as ever when it comes to finishing memory albums. For instance, as we sit just a week shy from the official start … Continue reading →

Scrapbook the Snips and Giggles

Next week, my soon-to-be third grader will visit the salon to get her annual back-to-school haircut. Nothing drastic; the hair stylist will simply clean-up her existing bob. I’m not anticipating any tears, though you never know with my scissors-fearing kid. This is a child, who has never once felt the sting of a wayward clipper, blade or stylist’s fingernail, but freaks out whenever we enter a hair salon. It’s been this way for years; however, she’s gotten a lot better in the last 18 months. Still, if you look through old scrapbooks documenting my daughter’s visits to get her hair … Continue reading →

Scrapbook Layouts as Gifts

Earlier this summer I attended a wedding for one of my former TV news co-workers. He and his wife got married in a lovely ceremony on the shores of Lake Michigan. It was a touching vow exchange, though, I was equally impressed by the gifts the couple received from the bride’s crafty friends. Each of the gals from her weekly book group got together to design individual scrapbook layouts for the newlyweds’ wedding memory album. While this is not an entirely novel idea, what made their layouts stand-out (to me, anyway) was the fact that they all included the same … Continue reading →

Summer Concert Scrapbooks

Country music may reign supreme deep in the heart of Texas, but here in Northern Wisconsin people are quite fond of boot scootin’ too. In fact, the Dairy State is home to one of the premier country music and camping festivals in the nation, Country USA. My country music-loving neighbor just returned from the multi-day concert which featured the likes of Sugarland, Keith Urban and The Band Perry. She ended up renting a VIP RV with a bunch of friends rather than camp in a tent. Judging by all of the photos she shared with me, she and her pals … Continue reading →

Reunion Layout Ideas

There’s more than one way to spice up family or class reunion scrapbook layouts. Rather than stick with traditional page designs which embrace standard techniques, consider branching out with whimsical approaches. For example, a fun way to document family history is to do so by displaying photos from different decades. Collect pictures of your family members from the 1940s, 50s, 60s and 70s to create a comical timeline that captures how they looked and acted through the years. While a picture may speak a thousand words, it may be even funnier to add personal anecdotes from loved ones featured in … Continue reading →

Seasonal Scrapbook Savers

Unless you are purchasing a gift for a fellow crafter or you absolutely have to have a holiday-themed memory album complete by Sunday, I would avoid purchasing Christmas-themed scrapbooking embellishments in the next 48 hours. Rather, if you wait until next week, you will be able to score great deals at post-holiday sales. There is no shortage of holiday-themed scrapbooking supplies on the market right now. However, these products can often be very expensive. If you’re a frugal scrapbooked, you’ll wait to stock up on seasonal goods when they go on sale. You can stretch your scrapbooking dollar even further … Continue reading →

Scrapbooking Seasonal Smiles

Mom, can I have a dog for Christmas? No, you’ll be getting turkey like everyone else. What did Adam say on the day before Christmas? It’s Christmas, Eve. What do you get if Santa goes down the chimney when a fire is lit? A Crisp Cringle What do snowmen eat for breakfast? Snowflakes Thank you. Thank you. I’ll be here all week. Nothing sets off a hearty round of ho, ho, hos than a silly seasonal riddle or two. During the height of the holidays, Christmas-themed jokes are not reserved solely for the kiddos to swap in the backseat of … Continue reading →

Off-to-College Scrapbook

Tens of thousands of college coeds head back to school this weekend and my neighbor’s granddaughter is one of them. Kara is beginning her freshman year at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and in addition to hauling bedding, clothing and school supplies, she’ll be taking an extra- special item with her as she begins her foray to higher education. My neighbor just put the finishing touches on an Off-to-College-themed scrapbook filled with photos of Kara’s family members and friends. The memory album’s pages also include unique embellishments and special mementos that complement the photos taken at milestone events. To make the … Continue reading →

Blended Families and Your Family Tree

When we think of genealogy and the family tree, we may think of a neatly organized chart with lines connecting parents to children and so forth. Many modern families’ kinship relations do not fit neatly within a standard pedigree chart, though. With divorces, remarriages, adoptions, and many other things, the definition of “family” depends largely upon who you ask. What, then, is a genealogist to do? Most genealogy software wants us to enter our data into the traditional categories and display them in the traditional ways. How do we adjust the concept of the family tree to include people to … Continue reading →