“There is no such thing as a worthless conversation, provided you know what to listen for.  And questions are the breath of life for a conversation.” ~ James Nathan Miller.

Hello everyone!  Jenelle here again with a little bit of journalling inspiration for you today.  I’m hoping my post will inspire you to think about the words in your life – the dialogues, conversations, quotes and funny sayings that often surround our days but can so easily be forgotten, let alone documented.

I’ve been setting myself some scrapping goals with the turn of this new year – I’m trying to become more organized and have a clearer purpose for the layouts I create and the particular memories I want to document.  I’m not usually a ‘linear’ scrapper (ok, I’m all over the place really!) but I am hoping to be more structured this year.

One of my first goals is to set myself a little scrapping tradition and every January from now on, I am going to record an interview with my two sons and turn it into a layout.  I think a gift of memories is a wonderful gift for any family member or friend, so I am hoping one day my boys enjoy reading these question and answer sessions I had with them.  I’ve started a Project Life type folder and will slip these layouts into my January section.  I will also be inserting my Project Scrap layouts for each month in my folder, like a ‘review of our month’ at the start of each section.

For the layouts I created this year, I simply grabbed my pen and paper and sat with each of my boys and asked away, scribbling down their answers!  They both thought this was pretty exciting, like they were a “movie star being interviewed or something!”  Anna had a great idea a while back that has always stuck with me and that is using the voice recorder on her i-Phone/Smart Phone to record funny sayings or conversations that she doesn’t want to forget.  I have also started doing this to document the funny things my kids say or their cute little conversations and it is so quick and easy and can be tranformed into a layout any time.  Simple. Quick. Documented.  That’s my new goal this year!

So what to ask?  Obviously your questions would be age appropriate, but here are a few of the questions I asked my boys:-

• What is your favourite colour?
• What is your favourite food?
• Who are your friends?
• What are you looking forward to this year?
• What is something you’re good at?
• What do you love most about your family members? (list individually)
• If you could be any animal, what would it be?  Why?
• What is your best memory?

Adding a current photograph is obviously a must and the boys may even like to draw a self-portrait that I could scan in or add to my scrapbook album alongside the interview layout.  The questions I ask them will obviously change as they get older, but I would like to keep some of them the same, to see how their answers change over time.

Here are the layouts I came up with for this year’s interviews.  Nick at 6 and Corey nearly 4 – their likes/dislikes/hobbies etc – all documented in interview format.  Most years I create a layout for them around their birthday where I journal about their milestones/achievements/likes/dislikes etc, so the journalling on these is now the actual interview, verbatim.

I also asked our very creative Shabby Artists if they’d like to play along and scrap some of the words/conversations/quips from their daily lives and from their family members.  Amazing what they have all come up with!  Words, words everywhere!  I love that we have all gone in different directions here.  Fabulous inspiration.

Kylie interviewed her nieces over their summer school holidays and I just love their responses alongside those fun summery elements and photos!  I hope you continue the tradition next year Kylie!

Kim has come up with a wonderful idea.  She’s documented her Grandmother’s thoughts and memories on becoming a Mother, a Grandmother and then a Great-Grandmother.  I just loved reading this journalling Kim.  What a treasure – those photos and your grandmother’s memories are so special.  Finally, Rosy has documented some of the funny sayings her two little ones come out with – kind of like a ‘toddler dictionary’ really!  I love it – how funny for them to look back on!  Thanks so much for sharing these with us ladies.  Of course, you can see the full layouts and credits in our Shabby Artist Gallery.

I hope my post today will have you noticing more and more the role that quotations and conversations play in your life and that you then make them a regular part of your memory keeping.  Maybe you could set a little scrapping tradition for yourself and follow it through every year?  I am relying on you all to keep me on top of my once-a-year interview, now that I have made it official!

Thanks for stopping by.  Be sure to check in tomorrow when Kylie shares our newest Easy-As-Pie Template Challenge with you.  Can you believe we’re up to number 20 already?!  Kylie will also be announcing the winner of Template Challenge 19, it might just be you!!  Until then, happy scrapping everyone!

JenelleInspiration, Uncategorized 8 Comments

Hello everyone!  This is Kim here today with a bit of scrapbooking inspiration.  It’s that time again… the beginning of another year.  I know the beginning of a year makes us think of all sorts of things, but for us as scrap bookers, it often means the beginning of scrap projects!  I don’t know if that makes you excited or intimidated or both!!  I do know that sometimes the thought of starting a big scrap project can be overwhelming and I get asked a lot by friends how I get “organized” to start a scrapbook.  Since these people know me and my obsession with taking pictures, I think what they mean is “How do you take the mountain of photos you have and make that into a scrapbook?”  I’m not sure I have a simple answer to that question, and really there are lots of ways people organize their photos and scrapbooks.  But I am going to share a few of my thoughts on scrapbooking with you and hopefully you can take some inspiration from these thoughts to help you get started in scrapping 2012 (or whatever project you are working on).  So here it is… my “top ten” list of scrapbook advice!

Now for a little more about each of my top ten items. 

 Consider what the purpose of the scrapbook is:  What is it you are trying to capture and want to remember when you look back at your book?  For example, the baby books I have done for my children were meant to capture their first year in detail.  I wanted to include lots of little stats like what they weighed and when they first rolled over and what their first food was.  These books will be given to them when they are older so that hopefully when they have children and enjoy all those milestones, they can look back and see their own.  However, when I create my family yearbooks, I don’t include quite as many of those details.  Point is, think about what YOU want to show in your book, and let that help you decide what is important to be included.

 Set certain times to sort through pictures and pick what will go in your scrapbook:  This is one of the most important things I do myself to stay organized through a year of taking pictures.  Why?  Because our lives are busy and if you don’t set a goal for yourself and be intentional about it, it probably won’t happen.  (This is my experience at least!!)  For me, I stop at the end of each month and look at all the pictures I’ve taken.  I copy all the pictures I want to include in my scrapbook to a certain folder in my computer I’ve set up for this.  The folder can be deleted later when the scrapbook is done so you don’t have two copies of the same pictures.  But I find it helps me to have the pictures I want to scrap set aside in a certain place. 

 Keep a running list of layouts/pages you want in your book:  Once I have my folder of pictures for the month, I go ahead and organize them so I know what pages they will go on in my scrapbook.  Because I am a list person, I keep a list of the pages I still need to work on.  One good thing about this is that it helps me make sure there is not a single page layout that will not have another single page layout to print next to it.  In grouping my pictures, some things are easy.  If there’s a big event like a birthday, I know those all go together in a birthday layout.  Some things are harder and take a little more creativity to decide how to group them.  This is one of the things I have come to love about Project Scrap 2011.  I can take several of the “random” pictures from my month that I love and intentionally include them in my book with a journaling overview of our month.  I intend to keep doing this as we start up Project Scrap 2012… coming this Thursday!

 Be realistic about how much time you have to scrap: Let’s face it.  We love to scrap, but it’s not the most important thing in our lives.  So I think it’s important to be real about the amount of time we have.  Two things can help you be real about the time you have to scrap.  Number one, pick a reasonable number of pictures to scrap.  For me, I may take 200 photos each month, but I only have 50-75 that make the cut for my scrapbook!  There’s no way I can scrap every photo I take!  I say that just as an example.  Your number may be different than mine, but make a realistic decision about what you will have time to scrap.  Number two, remember that it’s OK to simplify the design of some of your pages.  You may not be able to create a masterpiece layout for all your pages in the time you have.  I very often do some “collage” style pages with simple design when I am getting behind on my scrapbook.  Although I love to spend a lot of time on a layout and think over every detail, I can’t do that in every page of every project.  It’s OK to simplify!  And I might add that there are great products in the Shoppe that can help you too.  Take a look at the piece-a-cake pages and easy-as-pie templates for some great ways to get layouts done more quickly.

 Write down things you want to remember as they happen: If you like to include journaling in your scrapbooks, it is helpful to record things as they happen.  There are a ton of ways to do this and different ways work for different people.  I would just encourage you to be intentional about doing it!

 Try not to get behind:  Let’s face it.  It can be hard not to get behind!  When I mentioned that I look at my pictures at the end of each month and figure out which I’m going to scrap and group them by pages, I would love to add, “Then I go ahead and scrap all of the layouts from that month.”  Sometimes that may happen.  Other times, it just can’t happen!  That’s why I like to do what I can to stay organized and keep a list of what I want to work on.  But I will say that I do attempt not to get too far behind.  It’s always my goal!!

 Research book printers and pick one before you start:  SP talked about this in her post to close Project Scrap 2011.  She had a lot of great advice, so I won’t repeat what she said here.  I do agree with her that it is best if possible to know what printer you will use before you begin a project and to follow their bleed and trim guidelines.  It will save you time and headache later.  One other comment I would add about book printers is that I find it helpful to know what their page limit is.  One popular book printer I have used works great when I am doing a shorter book, but will not work for my family yearbooks, which go over their 100-page limit.  You may not know how many pages your book will be at the start, but you don’t want to be surprised when you go to print and find there is a page limit.

 Don’t forget the simple moments:  It’s sometimes the everyday pictures and moments that will mean the most, so make a point to capture those too!

 Stick to your style:  I admit that I forget this sometimes myself.  There is a lot of GREAT inspiration shared on blogs and galleries, especially our Shabby Shoppe gallery.  And you should use that to inspire you.  But you should not feel that your layouts need to look like everyone else’s.  Make them your own!  Create layouts that will make you proud because they come from your creativity.  And related to this, I would encourage you if you are new to scrapbooking not to become discouraged if you can’t do everything you’d like to from the very beginning.  Trust me, if you could see my first digital scrapbook, you would see how simple I started out!  But you know what?  It still records that year of my family’s life and I am glad I have it.  So feel good about what you create!! 

  And last but not least… Have FUN!!  That’s what it’s about, right??

I hope there’s something I’ve shared today that helps as you get started with your next scrap project.  I know many of you are getting ready for Project Scrap 2012, which SP will kick off here on the blog this Thursday!  It really is a great way to know that you are not alone in scrapping your year.  There will be beautiful (FREE!) templates given away each month and lots of inspiration along the way.  I can’t wait!!

But before then, stop by tomorrow for another fantastic post by the very talented Beckie.  I always look forward to those!  Have a great day!!

KimInspiration, Tips and Tricks, Uncategorized 14 Comments

Hello everyone!  This is Kim here with my first post of 2012, so I’m bringing you a 2012-themed inspiration post!  Each year Pantone names a “color of the year”, and this year’s color is… TANGERINE TANGO!  I decided a while ago that it would be fun to create some scrapbook inspiration with the 2012 color, but when I actually saw what the color is, I wondered if I could pull it off.  I’m not quite sure that an orange is my color, but I decided to take on the challenge!  And I found that it was a challenge because it’s such a bold color in a hue that a lot of us probably don’t use all this time.  But it was fun to be stretched in a creative way.  So without further ado, here is Tangerine Tango…

 At first glance, you may wonder whether you should call this color a red or an orange.  Pantone calls the color a “vivacious and appealing reddish orange”.  For me, I’m going to say it’s in between red and orange!  The first two things that come to my mind are days where the temperature is over 100 degrees Fahrenheit (we have a lot of them in the summer where I live!) and something spicy to eat (I do love spicy food!)   To find out what Pantone has to say about Tangerine Tango, look here. 

Now how do I take this color and turn it into scrapbook inspiration?  I decided it would be fun to figure out how this color can be versatile enough to use all year.  So I’ve created a layout for each season based on a color palette that includes Tangerine Tango.   I’ll show you all the layouts, but first a couple of “disclaimers”!  You may notice that I did a lot of recoloring of elements in these layouts.  There are tons of great red and orange elements in SP’s kits (and when you visit the Shoppe be sure to check out the Shabby Citrus kit!), and I was able to change the hues slightly to match my desired tangerine color.  Some other colors were also changed to go with my color palettes.  Also, if you visit the Pantone website, you might notice that they list a few different versions of this color. For this post I have used the values of R:226, G:67, B:37 as my tangerine.

 OK, let’s get started with winter, since that’s the season I’m in right now.  Here is my winter swatch and layout, where I used tangerine to give a “pop” of color against the cooler winter tones.  I used mostly the Brrrr! and Whisper kits, which are two of my go-to kits for winter layouts.

How about a taste of spring?  For this layout, I mixed tangerine with a couple of greens since spring is when everything outside turns green.  And I wanted to see how a little pink and purple would work as accents.  I wasn’t sure when I started with the color palette, but I like the result.  Although I used a number of kits in this layout, the Sprout kit was especially helpful with its stem of leaves, rosette, and sparkle swirls. 

Next comes summer, which for me is all about hot days and lots of time in the water.  You’ll be able to tell that inspired me with this color palette!  Tangerine was a great color to make a hot weather layout.  And I like the way the sun from Bounce looks shining behind the clouds from Giggle Box.

And last but not least, we finish the year with fall. I’m sure many of you who get lovely fall colors outside could make beautiful fall layouts with this color palette.  For my layout, I decided my little guy would make a good subject while I let the color palette remind me of what a true fall landscape would look like!  A few leaves from the Autumn Medley kit finish off the fall theme.

That wraps up our year of Tangerine Tango inspiration!  I hope you’ve found something here that inspires you to give this color a try… all year through!  And since we always love to see what you create, we hope you’ll stop by our gallery and upload your layouts.  I’ll be posting all four of these layouts there too.

That’s it for today, but don’t forget to stop by tomorrow when Kylie will announce the THREE winners of our Here We Go A-Caroling Recipe Challenge.  Thank you to all who joined us in the challenge and entered your layouts.  You’ve done a fabulous job!

KimInspiration, Uncategorized 17 Comments

Hello everyone!  Kim here and I am happy to be “hosting” our next scrapbooking recipe challenge!  As our blog is about to go on a little “holiday vacation” (more on that from Kylie tomorrow), we thought it would be fun to leave you with a challenge to inspire you to scrap while we’re gone.  I hope you will join along with me and the rest of the team!

So what is this challenge all about, you ask?  It is inspired by one of my favorite things… music!  I am a singer and music lover and for me, music is always a part of my holiday celebrations.  So are you ready??  Because here we go a-caroling!!

If you choose to sing along with us, you will have a chance to win one of THREE $10 gift cards to the Shabby Shoppe!  You have three weeks to scrap your layouts.  To be eligible to win, you must post your layout in the Shabby Shoppe Blog Challenge Gallery AND post a comment here on this blog post with a link to your layout.  All entries must be posted by midnight (US Eastern Time) on Sunday, January 8th.  We will announce the winners on January 11th.  Please keep in mind that all layouts must contain at least 75% SP products (purchased or free) and follow the recipe below.  Ready to get started?

(Recipe card made with Made from Scratch recipe card template no.4, Sugarplum Dreams kit and Sugarplum Additions, and glitter scatter from Sandbox Additions. Fonts used are Print Clearly and Amelie.)

~*~ Here is a little more explanation than what’s on the recipe card ~*~

• Use a carol to inspire – This is intentionally open to your interpretation.  I would love to see how a song can inspire YOU in creating a layout!  And if you don’t want to use a holiday carol, it’s OK to pick another kind of song to get the inspiration going. We just want to see you scrap!
• Strike a chord – Use any 3 patterned papers that you think coordinate
• Make sure there’s harmony – Use your favorite fasteners or find those fun fasteners that you may not have used yet – examples: staples, ribbon, bows, buttons, stitching, metal fasteners – but be sure and use 2 different kinds
• Repeat the chorus – Choose any element that you’re using in the layout and use that element several times (or more!)
• Don’t forget the lyrics – Add journaling to tell the story of your layout
• Ad libitum – Finish off the layout with any additional papers and elements you want

And here is what I’ve created with the recipe!

I can think of several ways I could use carol inspiration in a layout, but this is one I like to use often… making a line from a song the title of my layout.  And “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” was PERFECT for this layout, as he really was rockin’ around the tree last Christmas!  I used a mix of holiday kits, but I must say that I especially love those ornaments from Twas the Night.  I fell in love with those ornaments three years ago when I bought this kit – my FIRST digital kit ever!  I find new ways to reuse it all the time as it coordaintes well with many SP kits.

Can’t wait to see what you create!  Be sure and stop by the blog tomorrow as Kylie sends us off on vacation with a few special treats.  But from me and the rest of the team, hope you all have a happy holiday and we’ll see you in 2012!

KimChallenges, Inspiration, Uncategorized 14 Comments

Hello Shabby Shoppe readers!  This is Rosy dropping in for a little inspiration post!

With the holidays here, I’ve been thinking about all of the fun family traditions and more specifically the food traditions!  Chocolate covered pretzels, party mix and lots of cookies are some of the things that go along with this season in our house, but food traditions are not only at Christmas time.

Every family is different in the foods they like and eat over and over again.

Does your family bake a special kind of Christmas cookie?  Do you have sour kraut on New Year’s Eve?  Do you eat pizza every Saturday?  Do you have a special recipe that’s been passed down through your family?  Those are the kinds of things that I want to document in my scrapbook pages!  My family’s habits may change in the coming years and I want to be able to look back and remember how we did things today.

Here are a few scrappable food traditions that I thought of to spark your ideas for what YOUR family’s special little traditions might be.

• a special food combo (like pickles with pizza :)
• a special family recipe
• favorite holiday treats
• your special holiday meal
• a favorite restaurant
• your child’s favorite meal
• a common weekly menu

With these things going through my mind I created a page to document my family’s Sunday afternoon popcorn tradition.

…and a more seasonal page about our favorite Christmas cookie.

Thanks for stopping by…and we’ll see you back here on Monday with Layout of the Week!  Have a wonderful weekend! :)

RosyInspiration, Uncategorized 2 Comments