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.

It doesn’t matter where you live.  It doesn’t matter what you wear.  You don’t need to pack.  You won’t need a plane ticket, a hotel room or a rental car.  You won’t even need to leave your house!

True Scrap is back October 20-22!  You’ll get 17 instructors, virtual make-and-takes, tons of inspiration and fun, right to your computer!

These are just a few of the workshops that caught my eye! There are a total of 17 planned for the weekend.

Show Me the Money! A Dozen Ways to Make Money Scrapbooking
Lain Ehmann, author of Snippets: Mostly True Tales from the Lighter Side of Scrapbooking

Going Off the Grid: Creating layouts that are anything but square
Lisa Dickinson, Scrap Celeb

Ready, Set, Distress!
Nic Howard, author of That’s Life: Finding Scrapbook Inspiration in the Everyday

Phoning It In: Using cell phone photos effectively
Tami Morrison, Simple Scrapbook Magazine’s Funnest Scrapbooker Ever

Solutions for Small Scrapbook Spaces
Aby Garvey, Certified Professional Organizer

Photo Composition
Katrina Kennedy, of ScrapYour365

Stitch it. Dot it. Edge it.
May Flaum, of ScrapbookUpdate and Big Picture Classes

…Plus special guest interview with Cathy Zielske!

And you get forever access to the class recordings and chat transcripts.  Can you think of a better way to spend a weekend?

Sign up for True Scrap Today!

Image by Nico Kaiser via Flickr

It’s often been said that the best camera is the one you have with you, and for most of us that’s the camera on our phone.  Many photo tips that work for your point and shoot or digital SLR will work with your phone lens as well.  Yet, the camera on your phone poses a few unique shooting challenges.  PCWorld has a great article with tips and techniques especially for photos from your phone.

How to Take Better Photos With a Phone

I didn’t even know a tripod for a phone existed.  I really loved the tip on experimenting with angles too.  This is where the compact size of a camera phone has its advantages.  Lack of a long zoom is also a challenge.  The solution they give for that doesn’t cost a dime.

Did you know that at the upcoming True Scrap event one of the workshops will be Phoning It In: Using Cell Phone Photos Effectively? Tami Morrison  will reveal her favorite photo apps and printing pointers to help overcome the challenges of your phone’s lens. She’s also going to give  tips and techniques for scrapbooking your phone photos.  Watch this blog and your email tomorrow for more about True Scrap.

I printed out this Fall Photo Checklist from Simple As That.  I  keep it in my calendar as a reminder for my weekly planning and picture taking opportunities.  Simple As That has printable photo opportunities for Spring, Summer, Fall, Back to School and even a Holiday checklist.  You might want to print them all now and put them into your calendar or camera bag. Thank you for the great reference, Simple As That!

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!

Register for Boot Camp 2011

Wow, another free online scrapbooking class!  Design House Digital is offering their School of Design on their blog.  Here are the details:

Every single day in September, we’ll have new blog posts; informative, detailed, and FREE classes that will take your digital scrapbooking to the next level. Each subject will have a new post weekly, and at the end of the month you won’t believe how much you’ve learned! Our schedule is as follows:

• Thursdays – Journaling From the Heart with Jen Papadimitriou
• Fridays - Photography Tips and Tricks with Lori Pickens
• Saturdays – You and Your Camera with Allison Waken & Shannon Dombkowski
• Sundays– Standout Shadows with Gennifer Bursett
• Mondays – Design Theory with Tiffany Tillman
• Tuesdays – Blogging Secrets with Mary Shaw
• Wednesdays – Maximizing Templates with Renee Fink

Click here to see all the blog posts so far.

So far, the first week has been fantastic!  I really enjoyed the post on Standout Shadows and Tiffany’s Maximizing Templates.  For some great tips on photography and using your camera, don’t miss Fridays and Saturdays.

I love this Manual Photography Cheat Sheet designed by livinginthestills.  I have this printed in 4×6 to carry in my camera bag.  You can also order prints from Zazzle if you prefer.

Ella Publishing’s technical difficulties are good news for its customers!  Today the Ella site had shopping cart errors, and they’ve decided to not only extend the pre-registration deadline for Boot Camp 2011, but also offer their $10 gift certificates for $8 through 9/2 (hint: If you’ve been wanting to buy an Ella ebook, buy yourself a gift certificate and save!)

Here are the deals:

• You can still register for Boot Camp for $30 through 9/2. (Price goes up to $33 on 9/3.)
• All Digital Scrapbooking Month sale prices are good through 9/2.
• The coupon code 200CENTS actually doesn’t expire until 9/9/11, and it can be used on Boot Camp, any of our sale-priced digital products, or anything on our site (excluding gift certificates). Note: Only one coupon per customer. Cannot be combined with any other coupon code or gift certificate.
• All $10 Ella Gift Certificates are on sale for $8 until 9/2.

I’m waiting for Crystal Wilkerson’s new ebook, Inspired By, to be released in September. I’ll be buying a gift certificate for myself!