Archive for the ‘Scrapbooking Tips’ Category

Image by Professor Bop via Flickr

A few Halloween quotes for your scrapbooking layouts:

“When witches go riding,
and black cats are seen,
the moon laughs and whispers,
’tis near Halloween.” Unknown

“Double, double toil and trouble;
Fire burn and cauldron bubble.” William Shakespeare

“Trick or Treat
Smell my feet
Give me something
good to eat” unknown

“Trick or Treat,
be real sweet,
give us tasty treats to eat.” unknown

“Bibbity, Bobbity, Boo.” Cinderella’s Fairy Godmother

“From ghoulies and ghosties
And long-leggedy beasties
And things that go bump in the night,
Good Lord, deliver us!” Traditional Scottish prayer

And a Few Halloween Scrapbooking Titles

It’s a Monster Mash
Chills and Thrills
Which Witch is Which?
Ghouls Just Want to Have Fun!
Spooktacular!
Bewitched

More quotes for your scrapbooking layouts

This summer I bought a Zutter Bind-It-All at a fantastic price at Scrapbook.com.  I love this little machine!  I not only created my own travel journal and summer mini book with this tool, I’m making gifts for friends and family.  Next on my list is designing a December Daily/Journal Your Christmas mini book before the holidays even get started.  Zutter Bind-It-All makes it so easy.

Basically, the Bind-It-All tool aligns and punches holes in everything from cardstock to chipboard.  The special binding wires come in different widths to accommodate a variety of projects.  You can bind completed pages or blank pages.  One of my favorite projects with this tool is to make my own blank notebooks.  I design a cover and stamp a few of the papers to create a unique notebook to take with me to meetings or just for taking notes at home.

Why am I telling you all about Zutter’s Bind-It-All today?  Scrapbook.com is running another special!  Today only you can get the Bind-It-All for over $18 less than retail and even $9 less than Amazon’s price.  That’s not all!  You also get the Idea Book (a $19.99 value) when you purchase the Bind-It-All tool.  Just add the Idea Book to your cart when you purchase the tool, and the Idea Book price will be deducted from your total. Remember this offer is only valid for today! So if you’ve been thinking about adding this tool to your scrapbooking supplies, today is the day!

Buy the Zutter Bind-It-All Today and Get The Idea Book as a Bonus!

Related articles

• Today’s a Great Day to Buy A Zutter Bind It All! (intoscrapbooking.com)

My Craft Channel launched this week.  If you are a scrapbooker, you will LOVE this site.  They have an amazing line up of shows with some of your favorite scrapbooking experts.  Here are a few of my favorite shows so far:

Teresa Collins
Books and Crafts with Ella Publishing
Embellish It Tip of the Day
Create to Remember with Heidi Swapp
I Heart Faces Photography Show
Photo Freedom with Stacy Julian

This week I loved Heidi Swapp’s show on how she creates mini books.  Ella Publishing gave some great tips on binding mini books and how to use lists to tell your story.  Teresa Collins created a fun A-Z book.  Each day you tune in to see that day’s scheduled videos.  You can watch past videos by clicking “Shows” on the navigation menu.

You also don’t want to miss their daily Featured Buy.  These are heavily discounted specials on different craft supplies.  My favorites from this week were Heidi Swapp’s Phantom scrapbooking supplies from Paislee Press and 12×12 clear stamp sets from Fancy Pants.  The Featured Buy is available for that day only.

Visit My Craft Channel and sign up for their free VIP Membership to stay up to date on their latest episodes.

Image by Rita H Cobbs via Flickr

What is the difference between scrapbooking and art journaling?  One basic difference between them is that scrapbooking is about documenting your memories and art journaling is about expressing your thoughts and feelings.  Many scrapbookers are starting to cross into art journaling as well as scrapbooking.

You might think that art journaling is just for artists, but many scrapbookers are discovering it’s a hobby for anyone.  Anything goes in art journaling, and because of that, scrapbookers of any skill level can try out this hobby just by using their existing scrapbooking supply stash.

Scrapbooking and art journaling share a lot of the same supplies, and in fact, both can be done in a hybrid form or completely digital.  Scrapbooking supplies tend to stay to archival, acid-free products to preserve the layouts for as long as possible and to avoid any damage to photographs.  With art journaling, you can use any type of media you wish.  In that way, art journaling supplies may be cheaper than scrapbooking supplies. Both hobbies are a form of self-expression using a variety of mixed media.

For a scrapbookers, an art journal can be a place to experiment with different types of products and techniques.  You can choose to exercise your collaging skills or painting techniques.  You can try out new color combinations or lettering styles for your journaling.  Art journaling is a great way to learn, practice and master new styles and techniques.

Many of the tools for scrapbooking can also be used for art journaling.  You may eventually want to invest in additional tools as you discover new art journaling techniques that you want to try.  However, all that is really needed to art journal is paper and pen.  How far you go with mixed media is entirely up to you.

Where do you go to learn art journaling?  YouTube is full of art journaling videos.  Just search for ones that appeal to you and then subscribe to that channel to be notified of any new videos added by that person.  You can also find online art journaling classes.  My favorite art journaling teacher is Dina Wakley, and you can find her online classes at Get It Scrapped.  I’ll be posting reviews of her Art Journaling 101, 102 and 103 classes very soon!

Give art journaling a try.  It’s a fun form of creative self-expression that will enhance your scrapbooking skills as well!

Image by lars hammar via Flickr

The internet is a great place to learn traditional, digital and hybrid scrapbooking.  Recently, I’ve found some fantastic scrapbooking tutorials available.  Here are a few of my favorites:

Chevron Background Tutorial at October Afternoon
October Afternoon shows you how to make a lovely Chevron pattern for your scrapbooking layouts.

2 Ways to Make a Coin Envelope Mini Book
Balzer Designs gives you directions for 2 different ways to make a mini book out of coin envelopes.

Patterned Paper Tutorial
I’m always looking for new ways to use patterned paper.  I love these tips from Kwerner Design.

Shadows in Digital Scrapbooking Tutorial
Shadows are what make your digital scrapbooking layouts look more realistic.  This tutorial from Write.Click.Scrapbook explains shadows using shadow styles in Photoshop Elements.

A Magic Touch for Photos
Beautiful and easy effect in Photoshop Elements for your photos from Scrappers Guide.  There’s even a pdf download to print the tutorial.

Just for Fun:  I love these ideas for unique Guest Books from C.R.A.F.T.  Have your guests sign Jenga pieces or rocks?

Enjoy!

Simple Scrapper is offering a free ebook called The Simple Guide to Holiday Memory Keeping.  I downloaded this 20-page workbook, and I love the tips she offers for simple memory keeping during the holidays.  This 20-page workbook will give you tips on:

1. Photographing the Holidays
2. Christmas Journaling
3. Time Management Tips
4. And Many More Scrapbooking Tips!

To receive your copy, you need to sign up for the Simple Scrapper newsletter, and you’ll find the download link in your first email.  Don’t just let this ebook sit on your hard drive.  It’s a quick read and full of helpful tips to make your holiday season memorable.

Even though I love to write, journaling on my scrapbook pages is one of the hardest steps in designing a layout for me. I want to get the wording just right, and I still need to consider how it will look on my page. Ella Publishing just released a new ebook called “Journaling That Matters: Simple Strategies for Finding the Right Words” by Angie Lucus and Kelly Jeppson. I love Ella ebooks. They are always written by top names in the scrapbooking community and are packed with practical tips to improve your scrapbooking. Here is what they have to say about Journaling That Matters:

“Journaling is hard. Even for professional writers, deciding what to say on a layout can be truly challenging, let alone figuring out how to make it authentic, creative, and meaningful. But struggle no more, because help is on the way!

Journaling that Matters is packed with 51 easy tips to help you write from the heart without breaking a sweat. You’ll love the expert advice, inspirational layouts, practical tips, and timeless suggestions that are suitable for writers of all levels—from the most experienced journalers to the most insecure. Kelly, Angie, and their eight talented contributors will help you unlock important stories and tell them with confidence.” ~ Ella Publishing

Don’t forget to check out Ella’s other scrapbooking ebooks.  A few of my favorites are UR2 Cre8ive and Design Workshop.  Ella’s ebook are easy to print out too!  I have a nice binder full of them beside my scrapbooking table.

Journaling That Matters

I’m disappointed that I’m not doing a Week in the Life with Ali Edwards this week.  Since my husband is one of the travelers stuck in Europe right now, it’s not a normal week for us.  I want him to be part of the album so I’m hoping to do it next week.

Everyone is talking “A Week in the Life” on their blogs.  Why is a Week in the Life with Ali Edwards so popular?  I have a few ideas.

1. Ali Edwards – it isn’t just the project. It’s her creativity.  Her approach to scrapbooking is so creative and inspiring.  The chance to follow along with her on a project is a unique learning opportunity.

2. Everyday Life – this project is about documenting your daily life, not just the special events or milestones. It’s about finding the special moments in the ordinary parts of your life.

3. Simplicity – Your A Week in the Life album can be a simple as you want it to be.  It doesn’t have any set rules for the end product.  You can keep it simple or embellish it all you want.

4. A Snapshot of Today – Ali Edwards mentions wishing she had one of these albums from her grandparents.  How cool will it be to see the things that made up your everyday life when you look at your album a couple of decades from now.

5. One Week – A project for a week is so much easier to manage than a 365 album or even a monthly scrapbook album.  Anyone can manage this project for 7 days.

A Week in the Life is an album theme that is easy to make your own.  If you haven’t considered it, take time to look at Ali’s blog for her suggestions.  The best part is that you can do this any week of the year, so I’m not really missing out.  I’m just going to be 7 days late thanks to some volcanic ash.

This week I’ve read some great spring scrapbooking ideas on scrapbook blogs and websites.  Here are a few of my favorites.  I hope they inspire you to create some spring scrapbooking layouts this week.

12 Springtime Moments to Scrap from Simple Scrapper.  This is one of my daily must-read blogs.  She always has great ideas for scrapbooking.  This post is just like the title says – 12 ideas for springtime moments to scrap.  I love number 12 – spending the tax refund check!

Dear Lizzy Fabric Flower Video at American Crafts Studio.  This video will show you how to  make flowers for your layouts with the new Dear Lizzy Fabric Paper.  So pretty!

Spring Quotations and Printable Word Art for Scrapbook Pages from Get It Scrapped.  Here you’ll find a nice list of beautiful spring quotes for your spring scrapbooking layouts.  You’ll also find downloads for spring word art in 3 different formats that you can use for traditional or digital scrapbooking layouts.

Spring Scrapbook Layout Ideas from Scrapbooks Etc.  Find inspiration in over 30 spring scrapbook layout ideas.

Spring is finally here! When you live in a harsh winter climate like I do, spring is big news! If cleaning out your scrapbooking supplies is part of your spring cleaning, here are some simple tips to get you started.

Take Inventory
Go through all of your supplies. Look through all the bins, jars, drawers and cabinets holding your scrapbook materials.  As you look through them decide what you should keep, sell, donate or toss.

Organize Your Stash
For those items you want to keep, evaluate whether your current organization method is working.  Can you easily find what you are looking for?  If not, invest in a few new storage organizers.

Selling Supplies
You loved that page kit with the cute kittens on it at one time, but 3 years later you know it’s never going to make it onto one of your layouts.  Still, someone may love that kit.  For items that are still in the packaging and in new condition, try selling them on ebay, craigs list, a garage sale, or in a scrapbooking forum.  Scrapbooking supplies often sell well in lots.

Donate Items
For items that may not quite be in new condition, consider donating them.  Girls scouts, seniors centers, schools and daycare centers would love to have those supplies for their papercrafting projects.

Letting Go
Now for those items that you should toss.  It’s hard to throw things away, but seriously, those stickers you’ve been collecting since the beginning of your scrapbooking days are faded and no longer have any stick to them.  Throw them away.  Scraps of cardstocks that are now crumpled and faded should also go in the trash.  Yes, maybe you could come up with some creative way of using them, but will you?

Cleaning out your supplies will give you some much needed space in your scrapbooking area.  What will you do with that empty space?  Sounds like a good reason to go shopping to me!