I Am Thankful

I Am Thankful

My blog has been quiet for a long time. The biggest reason, I suppose, is because I wanted to get all my thoughts together.  It's honestly taken me this long to do so.  Okay, here goes.

 This summer, I had two sad things happen.  At the end of June, my sweet grandma passed away.

 
While it wasn't completely unexpected (she was 97, after all),  it was still difficult to say goodbye to her. I'm grateful that she doesn't suffer anymore, but I will always miss her.  She was a loving wife, mother and grandmother, but she was also more than that.  I had the privilege of giving her eulogy, so I learned so many fun things about her.  Things she hadn't told  me before, such as she'd been a cheerleader in high school, a rodeo queen, a killer of rattle snakes, and more.  There were also other fun details I did know, such as she'd once crashed landed a plane, shot a bear, and didn't hesitate to speak her mind.  Grandma was one of my favorite people.  

Here's what makes me really sad.  The overwhelming craziness of the last four years and adopting our children drowned out some important things I should've been more cognizant of.  One of them is keeping in touch with and visiting some of my family members more frequently.  I wish we'd visited Grandma a bit more than we did.  We did see her some, but not as often as I wanted to.  I was trying to figure out how to put together a four generation photo shoot with her, but got sidetracked again and again, and forgot.  Then, she took a turn for the worst last spring, and never recovered.  Our last few visits with her ended up being in a nursing home where she wasn't always awake or aware of our presence.  I wished our last moments together had been at a different place and time.

About a month and a half later, my world was rocked again when one of my older brothers went into the hospital to undergo a routine surgery. I'd been notified that he'd come out of the operation and was recovering just fine.  The next morning, however, I my mom called to say that he was getting weaker, and he was going back to the operating table, but this time, his heart needed attention.  Just a couple of hours later, I was told to come down to the hospital and I should be prepared to say goodbye to my brother.  I was devastated, shocked, and distraught, to say the least. Seeing my brother unconscious and pale, watching my parents sob, and worrying about whether he'd make it through the night was a horrifying experience. But thankfully, God was watching out for him, and he recovered.  I rejoiced when he was conscious again and we could talk with each other. 


While he was recovering at home, different members of the family came to his house and helped with small things like taking him to appointments, helping with meals, and just keeping him company.  When it was my turn, I had a chance to apologize to him for being an absentee sister for the last four years and not being aware of some of his struggles.  We shed some tears,  had a good talk about some things that needed to be said, and I hope I'll do better now. 

So, if you've stuck with me thus far, I'm sure you're wondering what my point is.  Let me get to it now:  don't just scrapbook your relationships.  Get out there and make them better.  Say "I love you."  If you feel distant from a family member you should feel closer to, call or visit them. Remember that the blessing of family is a precious gift.  Life can change quickly, and you may lose the chance to be with someone you love or say something important.  

 I've been given two amazing blessings that I hope to make the most out of in 2011.  The first is that I was given a big box of my late grandma's pictures.  I've been charged with scanning them, making copies for my siblings, cousins, and other relatives.  While I'll still miss my grandma, working with her pictures will help me feel closer and more connected to her. It will also give me a chance to teach my own children about her and how much I loved her. Also, since my brother was given a second chance, I have opportunities to build my relationship with him, as well as my other family members.  For all this, I am thankful. 






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Digital Scrapbooking: Mythbusters

Digital Scrapbooking: Mythbusters

Hey everyone!  There's been another long gap in my blogging.  You know how it goes, right?  A busy summer, family functions, the end of school, etc.  Anyhoo...

 Recently, at one of the sites scrapbooking sites I frequent, there was a discussion pitting traditional, paper scrapping against digital scrapping. I enjoy the parts of the conversation where individuals explain why they like scrapping the way they do and what draws them to the method they've chosen to scrapbook.

The part of these types of discussions that I don't get, however, is when digital scrapbooking is said not to be scrapbooking at all. There's all sorts of misinformation about it that's perpetuated. I think so many folks misunderstand digital scrapbooking and why those who are enthusiastic about it love it.

So, as a former paper scrapper, current digital scrapper, and someone who is bound to do both in the future, I thought I'd chime in with my thoughts on the debate.  I hope to bust some of the more prevelant myths about digital scrapping.

Myth #1: Making Digital Layouts is not Scrapbooking.
The relevant thing (to me, at least) about scrapbooking is documenting memories through my pages through pictures and journaling. Wikipedia has a similar definition on their site about scrapbooking. It discusses both paper and digital scrapping. I think there are some who get stuck on the cutting and gluing part of the deal, and believe that if those methods aren't used to create a page, then it doesn't qualify as scrapbooking. I don't hold this view. If a person is documenting their memories on a page, then it doesn't matter if it's done through a Shutterfly book, created in Photoshop,  done with paper and glue, or by some other method. It all comes down to personal preference and what each scrapper prefers for themselves. I don't think it's necessary for everyone to do it the same way for it to be considered scrapbooking.

Myth #2: Digital Scrapbook Pages Are Never Printed or Become Part of an Album.
It is true for some digital scrappers that they don't print their pages. They enjoy their pages via their mobile phones, computers, or in a digital frame. That's great and what works for them. However, most digital scrappers that I know and talk with print their pages and put them in albums. Some choose to have them bound through great places like Shutterfly or Blurb, while others have individual pages printed at sites like Persnickety Prints, or Scrapbook Pictures. There are those, like myself, who have printers at home they use to print their layouts. I personally have done one Shutterfly book (with plans to do at least a few others), and have several of those cool American Crafts binders that I'm slowly filling with my printed pages.

Myth #3: Scrappers Cannot Put Their Own Handwriting on a Digital Page.
Lots of digital scrapbookers love using fonts on their pages. I'm no exception, and I fully admit to being a font junkie (which is fodder for a whole different post). Nonetheless, I still want my handwriting on at least some of my pages. I have a couple of ways that I get my writing on my layouts. My favorite way is to use my handy dandy pen tablet. The tablet I have is a few years older than the one you'll see in the following link, but it's similar enough. I use my Wacom Bamboo Fun.  Pen tablets allow scrappers to write on their digital pages.  Like any other tool, it takes a bit of practice, but it's so fun.  Here is a page I made about Izzy that includes my own handwriting:


The other method I employ is to use a font of my own handwriting.   This is nice when I don't have the time to hook up my tablet and need to crank out the journaling quickly.  This page about Elijah uses my handwriting font:



Myth #4:  Getting Pages Done Faster is the Main Reason People Switch to Digital Scrapping.  
I will say that digital scrapping is so much faster for me.  With no mess to clean,  and the ability to hit "save" and close my layouts while they are in progress, scrapbooking on my laptop is fast and slick.  While this is a huge perk, there are so many others.  There are things I can do on a digital page that would be really difficult or not possible with a paper page. Since it would be too hard to explain completely with words, I'll  post some of my pages as examples:

The effect of a grungy/artsy/painty-looking photo mask on a page (the photo of the cathedral is the one I'm talking about):



Selectively recoloring a photo without the mess of paint or pens:


The ability to match text color (and in this case, the stitching) exactly the same shade as my other embellishments.  I sampled the blue color from the strip of cardstock running down the vertical center of this page, and now it all matches wonderfully:


Brush files are the coolest thing ever.  They work pretty much the same way as a rubber stamp, but there's no way to mess them up.  When I stamp in the wrong place, I don't have to start my project over.  I just choose the "undo" command, and it's gone.  I can also stamp in any color and change the opacity of the brush.  For instance, in the page below, the tire treads are a brush.  I wanted the treads black, but when I originally stamped them on the page, they were way too dark.  I used my opacity slider and dialed it down to about 40% or so.  It looks so much better that way:


There are times when I need to an embellishment that I don't have in my stash.  When I was a paper scrapper, that meant a trip to the store.  I can go shopping at a digital scrapping site, but there are often times I can create simple items in Photoshop Elements.  On this page about Elijah, I created the blue brads and arrows, as well as the paper tear.  I did it without having to stop my projects in its tracks or leave home. They all complimented the premade goodies I used them with:



On this page about my first Mother's Day, I wanted to create a bracket-shaped border.  I'd see the punches in scrapbooking stores and like the look, but didn't have a digital element. Instead, I made one using the shape tool and a bracket symbol from one of the fonts on my computer.  You can see the result on the striped and solid pink papers around the photo:


On the layout about the beach, I was working on the title. When I first placed the black letters on the coral patterned paper, it wasn't "popping" enough and I thought the letters were getting lost in the pattern.  I decided to modify the text and make it look like letter stickers, which I liked much better:



I could go on and on about this.  There is not enough time or space to talk about all the coolness that is digital scrapping, but you get the idea.  The appeal of it goes far beyond the speed at which it can be done.

OK, I've been on my soapbox for long enough...:D I hope that this has shed some light on digital scrapbooking.  I also hope that those who choose to scrapbook using other methods will understand a little better why so many of us who do scrap this way really love it. 

What do you think about this whole issue?  How do you like to do your scrapbooking/memory keeping?

Thanks and enjoy your day!
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Long Time, No Blogging...

Long Time, No Blogging...

...sorry about that guys, but um, I have really good reasons why I was gone for so long. Here they are:

-Three sinus infections
-Two ear Infections
-Two cases of Pink Eye
-Doctor's appointments and filling prescriptions
-A crazy dosing schedule for all the antibiotics

All this was followed by:
-Three cases of 24-hour flu
-Lots of laundry
-easing three little sick bellies back onto normal eating
-Lots of disinfecting

The only one in my household who completely escaped all of this was my oldest child, and the rest of us got socked with at least some of the above...ack!

OK, so now that my family has come through all of that, I finally have a couple of seconds to breathe and actually get some scrapping done!

The last month and-a-half hasn't been all bad. I have had the fun opportunity to work on the creative team for Kerry Stewart. I've admired Kerry's skills as a digital scrapper for well over a year now, and she has also started designing digital kits for Two Peas. You can see her cool line of products here.

Here are some pages and a card I've done recently using her kits:








And, something really cool that's happened is that a couple of these pages (Mother's Day and Supa Star) have been featured in the Digital Scrapbooking Newsletter at Two Peas recently.  It's nice to know that my pages are getting a little bit of notice...woo hoo!

Thanks again for taking a peek.  I promise I'll be back posting much sooner than the last time!
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Fun News and My Latest Pages

Fun News and My Latest Pages

Holy cow! January and February were crazy busy months for our household. Lots of birthdays and more going on around here. I'm back on the blogging bandwagon now and ready to go!

By now, a majority of you who read my blog already know this, but I'm going to share it again anyway. Back in January, I was lucky enough to earn a spot on the Creative Team for Jen Martakis. She is one of the fabulous Garden Girls over at Two Peas, and is also one of their digital designers. Click here to see her digital scrapbooking kits. They rock!

Below are some of the pages (and a card thrown in for good measure) I made using her awesome products:
















The follow layouts are ones I've done recently for Heather T., who has recently taken a designer gig over at The Digi Chick. I used her "Owl Play," "Stitched 4," and "Darling" kits to create these pages.

See that cool, loopy cursive font I used on the title for the "Owl Love You Forever" page? It's one of my faves right now, and if you are a font junkie like me, you can pick it up over at dafont.com. It's called Clementine Sketch and lucky for you, it's a free download...yippee!





These final two layouts are first "Twelve of Twelve" pages for the new year. I'm doing a two-page format this year to see how I like it. While I really enjoyed doing the one-pagers last year, I felt a little limited with the picture size. It's been nice to have a bit more of breathing room for my photos.






Enjoy your day!
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Event Scrapping Made Easier

Event Scrapping Made Easier



The two pages above are some of my favorite from the last year. They highlight pictures taken at a family reunion with my husband's side of the family. I love seeing the kids playing with their cousins and remembering the good time we spent with everyone there.

Most scrappers I know have definite feelings about event layouts. These are the pages like the ones above --- they highlight birthdays, family reunions, get-togethers or trips, holiday parties, weddings or other religious celebrations, bridal or baby showers, and so on. When I broach topic of event scrapping, some of my friends and peers cringe at the thought of it, and there are those who avoid it all together. Other folks really like pages on the important gatherings or milestones, but don't know how to create pages they like without going crazy.

I can understand where the frustration comes in. When we are snapping photos at a party or doing group pictures after church, they often have to be taken on the spot with almost no preparation. Time constraints, poor lighting, lack of an interesting backdrop, squirmy subjects and other variables often get in the way of getting that "perfect shot."

I love posed pictures, and believe they have their place. However, the candids taken at get-togethers and celebrations are some of the ones I look at and love the most. I recently glanced through a mini-album I did of family vacation a few years back. I burst out laughing at pictures of my younger brother and me,the goofy faces we were making, and the silly antics that resulted while we were supposed to be stacking firewood (the photo on the lower page is the one I'm referring to):



I had a little epiphany of sorts when I realized that if I chose not to scrap these photos because they weren't "perfect," the richness of my life wouldn't captured in my pages. I would miss the silly grins, the impromptu games, special moments during meals, and all of the other great things I captured on camera without planning ahead. These very imperfect, non-posed pictures often taken in crappy lighting conditions have turned out to be some of my favorites.

Now, of course, I'd like to become a better photographer, and have all of my photos look better overall, but in the meantime, there is a way to work with the imperfect ones I want to scrap.

I decided to tackle a set of my own event photos that have been dogging me ever since we adopted the kids. I have a set of about 70 or so photos from one of the baby showers (or, I guess it would be more apt to term it a "family shower", since we got four kids at once) that was held in our honor. A couple of ladies from my church group threw my family a wonderful shower on a hot evening in July. Honestly, on that day, I was so stressed, overwhelmed, and exhausted that I didn't get the shots that I usually do when there's a party. I didn't get any photos of the food or gift tables, and in fact, I took no pictures at all. Trace took some, and there were also multiple frames snapped by party guests who were helping us out, since we were trying to keep track of the kids and open gifts at the same time.

The outdoor lighting was hard to work around. We either had bright, bright sunlight, or we had dark shade created from the umbrellas and canopies that were set up to keep everyone cool. The kids were so overstimulated and wired that most of our pictures of them show them wandering the yard. All of the snapshots of me are either from the back or side.

Even with all these factors in the mix, I was thankful that so many moments were captured from that wonderful evening. I knew that a cute scrapbook page could come together if I gave it a try. Here's the end result (click on the layout to see a bigger view of it):



These are the steps I took to get this page done without getting overwhelmed:

1 - Narrow things down. First thing I always do when I'm staring down a large group of pictures is get rid of the ones that are not salvageable. If the powers of Photoshop cannot transform them, then they have to go. The ones that are too dark, incredibly overexposed, or taken by mistake get the ax. From there, I chose the ones that were my favorites, and then went with those that could be cropped down to show people, objects, or something else that helped tell the story I wanted to convey.

2 - Use photo editing software to make improvements. Because of the lighting problems I mentioned earlier, most of the pictures needed some sort of small fix. In Photoshop Elements, I either adjusted the brightness of the photos, pushed the color if it was too blue, too green, etc. And, in a couple of cases, I also added a warming filter to improve they way they looked.

3 - Crop and group photos. I used part of a digital template to provide a framework for the photos. Anytime I feel daunted by a page, I pick a template and work the rest of my page around it. I then popped the pictures into the photo masks to force them into the spaces I wanted them in. See this entry on using templates if you want to learn how they work.

4 - Keep paper and embellishments simple. With so many photos, I wanted them to take center stage, but I also didn't want the page to be just about snapshots and all white space. I used a few well chosen embellishments and two coordinating papers. It gives my page a unified and fun look without being too busy.

5 - Do at least some journaling. I personally never have trouble writing on my pages (I struggle with cutting out some of my journaling instead of coming up with it). However, if writing isn't your thing, just jot down the basic facts so that you'll remember why the event meant so much to you.

So, now that you've read my take on event pages, what do you think? Do you like event pages or loathe them? Have you scrapped any lately?

Thanks again for stopping in...:)
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