We're pleased to have author extraordinaire Joanna Campbell Slan share her best advice for beginning and keeping a journaling practice, journaling prompts, and writing inspiration and resources.

Joanna knows what she's talking about, as she's the author of seven technique books on scrapbooking, as well as the Kiki Lowenstein Mystery Series featuring ace scrapbooker Kiki Lowenstein. Paper, Scissors, Death, the first book in the series, was an Agatha Award finalist for Best First Novel. Cut, Crop & Die is the newly released second book in the series. 

Today's article is about inspiration. Check back tomorrow for 42 journaling prompts and additional resources!

Happy Friday, friends! We have a fun giveaway to kick off your weekend!

We're giving away SIX copies of the new movie New in Town starring Renée Zellweger and Harry Connick, Jr. The film follows a successful Miami businesswoman (Zellweger) who adjusts to her new life in a tiny and cold Minnesota town. (Scrapbooking also plays a role in this warm-hearted flick!)

For details and to enter, click here.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Katie

Happy Tuesday, readers! Was your Memorial Day full of fun activities, relaxing and catching some sun? Even if you don’t have any photos to show for it, you can still scrap a meaningful page about the weekend.

The first rule breaker in Cut Loose (by Crystal Jeffrey Rieger) is that a great scrapbook page doesn't always need a title, photo and journaling. Case in point (Crystal's layout from the book):


Supplies: Cardstock, patterned paper (My Mind's Eye, Paper Salon, Sassafras Lass, Scrapbour); chipboard letters (CherryArte, Heidi Swapp); die-cuts (My Mind's Eye); doiles, label (Dollarstore); stamp (Class Act); claim check, clock accent (Paper Valise)

This rule breaker is such relief to me, since I love documenting memories but never seem to have any photos (bad printer + lazy photographer = no photos). So, when I came across this gorgeous layout—sans photos—by crafter and blogger Tara Anderson, I was completely smitten.



This next lovely layout includes an absolutely beautiful photo, but works well without a title. And the photo could easily be swapped for a magazine clipping on a similar layout.
 


Call them layouts, collages, art journal pages, it doesn’t really matter. These pages record Tara's thoughts in a beautiful, artistic way, which is completely encouraging and inspiring to me. What do you think?

For 29 more scrapping rule breakers, check out Cut Loose. To expand your creative horizons and explore the world of art journaling and collage check out Journal Bliss, Journal Revolution, Taking Flight and The Art of Personal Imagery.

~Kristin

Make your plans now to attend the Great American Scrapbook Convention in Chantilly, Virginia—June 26 and 27, and you'll find a long list of things to do related to your favorite pastime. Each day is packed with activities from morning to far into the evening, so you can plan a full day whether you're an early bird or a night owl. 

Choose from more than 75 hands-on workshops Friday and Saturday designed for scrapbookers of all styles and all skill levels. You'll never find this many scrapbooking pros in one place, so plan NOW to try something new! Experiment with new scrapbooking tools and techniques, or just have fun creating. Learn from experts in the field including designers, authors and Memory Makers Masters. But hurry! Registration closes at 1 p.m. EST Tuesday, May 26!

And don’t forget the cropping and shopping. Crop Thursday to get into the scrapbooking mode. Then, hit the show floor on Friday and Saturday to shop 'til you drop. Evening cropping parties Friday and Saturday are a great way to relax and unwind while experimenting with the techniques, ideas and products you've collected during the day.

Plan a two-day getaway to reconnect with friends, learn new skills, recharge your batteries and get inspired by the creativity of thousands of other scrapbookers!

Our Memory Makers team recently has been experimenting with collage, thanks in large part to the inspiration we’re getting from our Mixed Media columns. Christy, Katie and I have basically bought out all the on-sale 5x5 canvases at our local art supply store just around the corner!

Mei-Lin and I took a little time this weekend to make our own artwork. While she was creating a freehand “M” painting for her room, I took a more analytical approach and happily painted, punched and pasted patterned paper onto canvas. We both liked the result so much that she created her own, too. Hers is the first, and mine is the second, below.

Here’s how I made mine, and Mei-Lin followed the same process:

1. Paint the edges of the canvas and let dry.
2. Create 16 paper squares with a 1 1/4-inch square punch.
3. Apply matte medium to the top of the canvas.
4. Place the 16 paper squares in the desired patterned, 4 to a row.
5. Brush over the collage with matte medium and let dry.

supplies: 1 1/4-inch square punch (Creative Memories) • 1 piece textured cardstock (Bazzill) • 15 patterned paper scraps (K & Co.) • Adhesive (Claudine Hellmuth Matte Medium, Ranger) • Paint (Ranger) • Misc.: 5x5 canvas, paintbrush

We're going to hang these in her room, and voila! Simple homemade artwork. We're going to make more with different patterned paper for some friends and as an end-of-school year gift for Mei-Lin's teacher.

Best,
Beth

Scrapbook Secrets author Kimber McGray is with us to share some info about herself and about her new book. Want to meet Kimber in person? She's doing a book signing in the Indianapolis area! (Check out her blog for more info.)



Q+A with Kimber McGray

If you could only use one scrapbooking tool besides scissors and a glue stick, what would it be?
My paper trimmer. I can't cut a straight line with scissors. I can barely cut a straight line with the trimmer. 
 
Do you enjoy other crafts besides scrapbooking?
I have ventured into cardmaking and stamping. It made sense to me to use up a lot of the scraps I have laying around from my layouts. I also like to knit, crochet and do counted crossstitch.

Tell us a secret about yourself.
I organize everything by color in my closet. Also, short sleeves are all together as are long sleeves. So, yes, my scrap supplies are organized by color and by type.
 
Are your completed layouts organized in albums or stacked in boxes?
Busted! I've been scrapping for four years. I would say I have two years in albums and two years stacked and in a large plastic tub.

What was most exciting about the process of working on a book?
I was most excited to see the “behind the scenes” at the photo shoot. It was neat just to see how that all came together. The least enjoyable was, of course, the paperwork. :)
 
What do you hope readers will get out of Scrapbook Secrets?
What I hope the readers get out the book is two-fold: learn a new tip or how to use a specific tool and also gain some inspiration from the projects. We worked really hard to make sure the projects in the book spanned all different types of work—simple, clean, fancy; one-page, two-page; 12x12, 8.5x11, cards; etc. 

Stay tuned for Part 2 of the Q+A tomorrow.

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For an exclusive sneak peek from the book, click here. To learn more about Scrapbook Secrets click here. And click here to buy the book.

~Kristin