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 Wednesday, November 07, 2007
601 Extravaganza - More Than A Princess
Even if you're not the girliest girl around - there are still so many fun ways to create super cool "princess" pages. Here are a couple of my favorites from the 3rd chapter of 601 Great Scrapbooks Ideas: More than a Princess   I love the way Alison Lockett used colorful and energetic paper to create a daydreamy background on her layout Imaginative Child. And how the simple photo of Nicole Harper's daughter pushing her hair behind her ears inspired her to make the layout One of her Habits, depicting an everyday girly habit that only a parent might see. Don't forget to check out the book giveaway going on at the forum! A new winner will be announced tomorrow! Eileen
11/7/2007 5:01:08 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00) 
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CLOSED 601 Extravaganza-Day 3 Giveaway
It’s day number three of our 601 extravaganza! Don’t miss this exciting chance to win a free copy of 601 Great Scrapbook Ideas! Simply click here to be linked to our forum for full details on how to enter. For chapter three of 601 (More Than a Princess), I decided to create a Christmas layout with a photo of three of my favorite “princesses.” But a Christmas layout you ask? It’s only November! I admit princesses usually conjure up images of flirty and fun pages in pretty palettes of bubble gum pink and Cinderella blue. I adore those pages, too. But I’ve wanted to scrap this photo for quite some time, and I must shamelessly confess I love all things related to this season of the year. Everything from decorated sugar cookies to sparkling twinkle lights to the endless litany of Santa and Rudolph jingles played over and over (and over) again. (OK, maybe that last one can be a bit in excess, but all in all the holiday season rocks and I like to start celebrating early!)  But most importantly I wanted to create this memento for my dear friend Maria. As a fulltime nurse, wife, and mom to three adorable girls (and a rather large, but lovable, Doberman), I felt she deserved a little keepsake to house the photo she sent out in last year’s card. So my plan is to frame this 8.5" x 11" (22cm x 28cm) layout and give it to her when I go home to Wisconsin in December. And when she sends this year’s holiday photo, I’ll scrap that for next year and so on. And a new annual tradition will be born! In years to come, her family will be able to see the progression of the girls’ growth as well as note the change in clothing and hairstyles. As a child of the 80s, there’s nothing more fun than to look back at pictures of me with crimped hair, jelly sandals and stirrup pants. I’m sure Maria’s girls will enjoy the things that will distinguish their generation as well. This layout came together pretty easily with some festive patterned papers I had in my collection. I love the fusion of color and the twinkling sparkle from the glitter on the hand-cut circles, a few of which I mounted on foam adhesive for added dimension. I tucked the hidden journaling behind the famous opening line, which serves as my title, and is fastened with a brad to pivot for easy access to the story. The hidden journaling reads: Twas the night before Christmas….and three little princesses were dressed in their finest to pose for Maria and Darrell’s annual holiday portrait. This was the first Christmas with all three girls--Brianna (age 3), Ava (age 2) and Isabella (a mere 6 months) completed their little family. Just like three pretty little maids all lined up in a row, these princesses put the Magic in Christmas. ~Christmas 2006 Check out 601 Great Scrapbook Ideas for more inspiration on scrapping photos of the little princess(es) in your life. And don’t forget to leave a post on our forum with one of your layouts for a chance to win a free copy of 601. Amy
11/7/2007 1:28:11 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)
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601 Winner - Day 2
11/7/2007 11:34:36 AM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)
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Tuesday, November 06, 2007
601 Extravaganza—Day 2, Part 2
One of the great things about the Hard to Forget chapter in 601 Great Scrapbook Ideas is all of the layouts with many, many photos. Generally when you're doing a page on a vacation or a holiday or a wedding (see Kristin's layout in the post below), you're going to have a lot of pictures. Here are two of may favorite multi-photo layouts from Chapter 2: Hard to Forget.  I love the bright, vibrant colors in this layout by Mou Saha and that she used a lot of 4 x 6 photos (the size that I usually print). And, seriously, how cool is the coloring that she did around the journaling?  This layout by Heather Dewaelsche is full of all the sights of the fair. Her use of the large ferris wheel photo really pulls me in and makes me want to check out all the smaller images. Don't forget to post your own Hard to Forget layouts at the forum for your chance to win a copy of 601! Until next time, Christine
11/6/2007 5:08:10 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)
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CLOSED 601 - Day 2 Giveaway
Scroll to the bottom of this post for today's giveaway info. In meantime, check out my layout! With all the wedding photos I have, it was natural to choose to make a page related to 601 Great Scrapbook Ideas Chapter 2 (Hard to Forget). I wanted to include the gorgeous photos that my photographer friend Jennifer Disney took at the wedding, and also incorporate the fabric from the table runners we used at the reception. (And how apropos that today is my one-month anniversary!)  I compiled all the photos in Photoshop and printed them out on one sheet. Creating the rest of the layout was a bit of trial and error. I started by using a piece of the table runner fabric as my “patterned paper.” But when I added the photos to the fabric background my eyes were about to explode from too much to look at. So I started over. I decided plain cardstock would best allow for the photos shine. But I still wanted to include the fabric. After several failed creative attempts, I ended up gluing pieces of fabric to Heidi Swapp ghost letters and cutting it out with my tiny sewing scissors. I’m pretty happy with the end result. The journaling says (thanks to Eileen for the idea!): Five hydrangea bouquets Four blue silk ties Three manzanita trees Two lives joined together One heart Kristin ABOUT TODAY’S BOOK GIVEAWAY: Click here to go to the forum for the full details on how to enter. Good luck!
11/6/2007 8:48:50 AM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)
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601- Day 1 Giveaway Winner!
And the winner is… Maureen (username: Mozer). Check out all of Monday's entries...and check out the forum to enter today’s giveaway! Kristin
11/6/2007 8:35:34 AM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)
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Monday, November 05, 2007
601 Extravaganza - Day 1 CLOSED
 Well, it’s finally here folks… 601 Great Scrapbook Ideas is scheduled to arrive in our warehouse this week. It’s been a LOOOONG awaited arrival (for both our staff and the book's hundreds of contributors). To celebrate we’re having 601 Extravaganza all week long. Instead of one book giveaway – we’re having 5. That’s right, 5! We’ll be giving away a copy of the book each day this week. We’ll post Monday’s winner on Tuesday morning, and so on throughout the week, with Friday’s winner being announced Monday morning. Want to enter? Go to the MM Books forum for giveaway details. (Look for the thread “601 Extravaganza – Day 1”) Also, check back often for posts of some of our favorite layouts from each chapter. Get your layouts ready folks - it's time for 601 Extravaganza!! Eileen
11/5/2007 10:19:07 AM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)
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Friday, November 02, 2007
Inspired from Show It Off!
So...the book Show It Off! is SUPER cool...really great ideas and
fun projects throughout all the chapters! Be sure to look for it on
shelves in March–awesome!
I was on the lookout for a container to put my daughter's pacifiers in
(the zip lock baggies weren't cuttin' it) and came up with a neat idea
(at least I think so). I was inspired by Tiffany Tillman's
(one of our contributing artists–so creative) paper mache box from the
book (you'll have to purchase the book to see what all the hype is
about). Other great artists' in the book include Nic Howard and Vicki Boutin (only to name a couple–so many artists contributed to Show It Off!). I had a ton of cool patterned paper and some sticker letters
that worked well together, so I decided to take an empty similac can,
clean it out, and make it "scrappy." I think it turned out kinda
cute...but that's just me. What do you think? I think I'm going to make
a pacifier can for my sister's little one in the near future (she's due
May 20th).
Have a great weekend,
Kelly   
11/2/2007 5:38:18 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)
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A thing for sequential photos
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
11/2/2007 3:18:42 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)
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Wednesday, October 31, 2007
Scrapbook world here I come.... One baby step at a time
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
10/31/2007 2:45:17 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)
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Tuesday, October 30, 2007
Halloween Costumes - Mini Album
Every year, tons of craft products come out that are heavily themed on a holiday…Halloween being no exception. And while I love all the products I see, I usually lack inspiration for making something all about the holiday. This year though, a super-cute spider-webby album caught my eye and it was too cute to pass up. So, I challenged myself to think of a creative project for it. The result: an album recording my nephew Jack’s Halloween costumes over the years. I even put some decorations on the unfinished pages so that in the future, my sister just has to add the photo! (Who’s the best aunt around?!) I like the way the title letters turned out – bold with a hint of spooky. How do you record the Halloween moments for the children (or adults) in your life? Eileen Album (Making Memories); decorative tapes (Martha Stewart); title letters (Heidi Swapp); circle stickers ( Elle's Studio)
10/30/2007 3:09:08 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)
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Fun blog
Whenever I need a little pick-me-up during the day, I pop into see what Gala Darling is up to. She's a a young Australian woman with a blog—totally non-scrapbooking—that just makes me happy. She talks about fashion, gives advice on everything from romance to creating your own blog, and really just encourages readers to be happy. I got the link from Jessica Sprague's blog. Check out Gala when you get a chance and let me know what you think. (Although she signs off each entry with "Super-love & cupcakes" so how could you not love her.) Until next time, Christine
10/30/2007 9:50:34 AM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)
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