One of the great things about digital cameras, of course, is the ability to click off a ton of sequential photos (and not have to worry about what to keep or what to pitch until later). This past weekend I must have been in a sequential, step-by-step, chronological kind of mood because I created two layouts using this type of photo. I couldn't guarantee that the layouts show the images in the order that they actually occurred, but no one needs to know that part.

The first documents a special day out with my nephew, Adam. At four, he's quite the conversationalist (and a bit animated while he's at it). The second is of my nephew Ivan. The journaling, about how we went to a bison festival and Ivan got $1 from his grandma to pick out four gourds) is hidden behind the dark strip of paper.


Until next time,
Christine

So I have been a designer with Memory Makers books for almost 2 months now and have finally entered the "Great Ocean" that is scrapbooking.
If you would have asked me 3 months ago what scrapbooking was to me, I would have answered "oh its that photo album that my aunt made for me when I was in the first grade." Well I could not have been more wrong.

(Baby Step 1)
As a graphic designer my eye is fixed to the composition of the layout, the use of layers and different forms of mixed media. So when we had our first craft day I was thinking to myself "watch out scrapbook world here I come" It was going to be sooooo easy and my work was going to be so good that the rest of my coworkers were going to carry me out on their shoulders chanting and yelling my name.....  Well lets just say its harder then it looks. My project was a disaster and to this day it has never been seen by anyone but me. I thought that because I was a designer and my eye is trained to see the small details in things it would be easy.  The thing is I found myself having a hard time letting go,  I wanted everything to be perfect and I wanted to be able to move things around like I do on my Trusty Mac.

(Baby Step 2)
So that brings us to Craft day number 2.  I was much more low key this time around but excited to redeem myself. This time I had knew what I was going to do, had done my homework ahead of time with my layout, and had all my different pieces of art. Like the first time I hit some snags with using the glue other elements, but decided to push through the problems and finished the piece.  I was so proud... Then I turned to look at what some of my fellow coworkers were doing, and lets just say mine was not even in the same league. I felt like a second grade art student in a high school art competition.  But as I thought about it, I realized it was not a competition it was about hanging out with my new friends and listening to Halloween music while we all worked on something fun. And just like that I understood what scrapbooking really was,  And like any second grader I was proud to show off my prized piece of work.... To my coworkers....My wife.....My parents... And now to everyone who reads the blog!

So keep an eye out for me as my baby steps start to grow.

Corrie

We've got a lot of perks working here at F+W...one of the coolest being all of the awesome products that get delivered here weekly. A few months back we decided that a "craft time" needed to be established so that we could all take a break from our responsibilites and just play for a little bit. Now, once month, we pack up all our gear and head to a conference room for some free for all craft time. Here's what went down at yesterdays get together:


I made some halloween cards for my nephews (you can kind of see them in the foreground of the left hand photo) and the rest of the team worked on misc. projects including a chipboard album, accordion album and a few layouts. Good times were had by all!

Today, a few of us are participating in a lunchtime knit-along hosted by one of the North Light Craft editors. I'll be attempting my first HAT project...so I'll keep you posted on how that goes.

Interested putting together your own craft/scrapbooking group? Click here for some tips on getting things started!

Eileen

Since I don’t seem to churn out the scrapbook pages quite fast enough, but I love collecting patterned paper, I try to find other uses for the paper besides creating layouts.

Last weekend, faced with rough wood shelves and a lack of shelf paper, I put on my thinking cap to come up with a way to line my closet shelves without making a run to Target. Then I remembered the pack of K&Company’s Amy Butler patterned paper I recently bought (just because it was cute).  Thirty-two double-sided sheets of pattered cardstock—what was I going to do with all that paper? Line my shelves, of course! A paint brush, some Mod Podge and about 10 minutes of time and I had a cute, new, brightly-hued shelf. (I don’t know that my new husband quite appreciated the girly patterns as much as I did...but he’s the one that put me in charge of decorating.) I’ll have to do the underside of the top shelf next weekend.

We all have tons of patterned paper waiting to be used.  What out-of-the-album projects do you do with yours?  Leave a comment and let me know! I always appreciate fresh ideas. Also check out these off-the-page holiday projects. 

Kristin

Before we leave the subject of Flip, Spin & Play, here’s what Memory Makers Master Greta Hammond had to say about things.

What is your favorite flip, spin, pull, etc. element to include on your layouts? What do you like about it?

It may not be fancy, but I love using a tabbed pull-out. You can hide an extra picture or journaling behind almost any part of your layout. It very simple but so efficient and with all the fun office tabs and fun pulls in the scrapbooking market, it's a great way to add a cool element to your page.

What was the biggest challenge you encountered as you were creating projects for this book?

I think the hardest part of crafting for this book was getting the elements to work like I had them envisioned in my head. I sometimes tend to oversimplify how things should work but then had to make modifications as I went along. It all worked out in the end but it may have taken a different route than originally planned!

What's your favorite project in the book (one of yours or someone else's)?

One of my favorites is Vicki Boutin's page called "Always". I love how the main picture opens up and the inside picture just pop off the page! Such a fun way to showcase the inside pictures.

Many of you have expressed interest in learning the steps to creating a pop-up card similar to the one I posted earlier this week. So, this morning, with the help of Kristin, I had a mini photo shoot in an attempt to share the easy steps with everyone: (things you'll need: ruler, pencil, scissors...and a bone folder would be handy, but not neccessary)

1. Fold a sheet of stiff paper in half. Measure and mark the halfway point along the folded crease, then draw a line from the folded crease to the center of the folded paper and cut it. (fig.1)

2. Fold the lower half of the sheet so that the folded crease and the edges meet exactly. Press firmly to crease the paper (fig. 2)

3. Draw a second line from halfway down the pop-up to halfway across to the right hand edge. Cut along this line, making sure you cut through all four layers of paper (fig. 3)

4. Crease as before, then unfold and open the card (fig. 4)

5. With the card opened, form mountain and valley creases (fig. 5)

*Steps taken from The Pop-Up Book by Paul Jackson*

When I made my card, I took it one step further and put one additional cut and crease in the paper, creating the third set of "steps". Once you get the basic steps down, try mixing up the placement of the cuts and folds. Just play and see what happens!

If you come with anything cool, leave me a comment with the link so I can check it out!

Eileen