Have you ever noticed that music is part of every Celebration event in our lives!? Well for me it is. I love music! When it is our Birthday we sing the birthday song. When we rock a newborn baby we will sing to them. You know how long it took me to research and find just the perfect song to play when I danced with my son at his wedding?! The words had to be just perfect along with the music that went with the words that speak our heart song.

I have used music always in my layouts, to get the feel, the Tempo (fast-happiness, excitement, anger, slow-sadness, serenity.) the Mode (Major tonality:happiness, joy, Minor tonality: sadness.) Melody (Complementing harmonies: happiness, relaxation, serenity. Clashing harmonies: excitement, anger, unpleasantness.) Rhythm (Smooth/consistent rhythm: happiness, peace. Rough/irregular rhythm: amusement, uneasiness. Varied rhythm: joy.)
You can use the lyrics/word in a song to tell your story!

I have created this layout of my daughter’s 18th birthday using the song ‘Celebration’ by Kool & The Gang. Here are the lyrics.
Yahoo! This is your celebration
Yahoo! This is your celebration
Celebrate good times, come on! (Let’s celebrate)
Celebrate good times, come on! (Let’s celebrate)
There’s a party goin’ on right here
A celebration to last throughout the years
So bring your good times, and your laughter too
We gonna celebrate your party with you
Come on now
Celebration
Let’s all celebrate and have a good time
Celebration
We gonna celebrate and have a good time
It’s time to come together
It’s up to you, what’s your pleasure
Everyone around the world
Come on!
Yahoo! It’s a celebration
Yahoo!
(stop here)
Celebrate good times, come on!
It’s a celebration
Celebrate good times, come on!
Let’s celebrate
We’re gonna have a good time tonight
Let’s celebrate, it’s all right
We’re gonna have a good time tonight
Let’s celebrate, it’s all right
Baby
We’re gonna have a good time tonight (Celebration)
Let’s celebrate, it’s all right
We’re gonna have a good time tonight (Celebration)
Let’s celebrate, it’s all right
Yahoo!
Yahoo!
Celebrate good times, come on! (Let’s celebrate)
Celebrate good times, come on!
It’s a celebration!
Celebrate good times, come on! (Let’s celebrate)
Come on and celebrate, good times, tonight (Celebrate good times, come on!)
‘Cause everything’s gonna be all right
Let’s celebrate (Celebrate good times, come on)
(Let’s celebrate)

As you see I’ve used the lyrics for my journaling and then also the title. I’d love for you to join me in a challenge to use this song as part of your layout! Come see me here.

About the Author: I started paper scrapbooking in 2001, then in 2009ish I had an online friend who dared me to give digital a try. Wow! life changing in my busy day of being a stay at home mom to six children. In my free time I also love to visit antique malls for treasures, reading, meeting friends for tea and then my woman’s bible study group is a highlight of my week.

I LOVE summer time – the warm weather, the days of freedom, the lush landscape and summer blossoms and the bright colors all around. Ahh! Such an incredible time of year! Since I love it so much, I love having fun with my outdoor decor for celebrating all of the summer events – the last day of school, summer birthdays, Independence Day, BBQs, and just celebrating life and happiness. I have a particular fondness for banners and love to hang them outside. As a DIY kind of person, I make my own. This month’s Special Edition at The Digital Press was absolutely PERFECT for the vision I had for my summer banner. The colors, the elements, the joy of it all was right up my alley and I wasted no time getting to work on creating my summer banner and pinwheels (because what is summer decor without some colorful pinwheels?!). This is the project in progress….oh the goodness that is to come! 🙂

There are so many awesome things to choose from in the June Special Edition, but I limited myself to just a few to make it easy on me. I used Scotty Girl Designs Pocket Essentials flair and patterned papers as well as Kelleigh Ratzlaff Design’s Celebrate Summer kit. Since the Special Edition is a coordinated collection from all of the designers at The Digital Press, everything looks wonderful together!

To create this project, I first printed out the patterned papers and flairs on my printer and then used my Silhouette Cameo to cut out the flag shapes for the banner and the letters for my word to go on the banners – CELEBRATE. I also used the cameo to cut out the squares and cut lines for the pinwheels, however all of these things are easy enough to do by hand if you don’t have a cutting machine. A little tape runner for the banner, some hot glue for the pinwheels, and in less than a couple of hours the entire project was complete.

The celebrate banner and pinwheels are all set up and ready for some summer festivities!

A hot glue gun is a great tool for quickly getting the pinwheel corners to adhere to the center of the pinwheel. A craft dowel works well for the pinwheel stick. Fair warning: while fun for a display and kids to drool over, wasps and bees flock to the rock candy sticks!

The ribbon was easily applied with a tape runner and is really sturdy at keeping the banner together. I layered the patterned papers on solid white cardstock to add contrast and weight to the banner so it hangs better and will last.

I love the way it looks outside so I would say this project was a total success! Now it is time to sit back, relax, and celebrate all of the good things in life! 🙂

About the Author: Lori Pereyra is a member of the Creative Team here at The Digital Press. She is a stay at home mom to 4 children and loves capturing life…the good, the not so good, & the perfectly imperfect… and documents it all through photos, paper & pixels. She feels this is modern scrapbooking at it’s best!

I scrapbook to tell our stories & leave our legacy. Part of that legacy is letting generations to come know who we are – even me. So while I am not the most comfortable doing so, here is a page about what I like about me. I like that I am adventurous but also love a good lazy afternoon. I like that I am friendly & kind. I like that I am real & supportive. I like that I am silly & stern.

What do you like about yourself? Have you scrapped about it yet? If not, what are you waiting for?

And now come over to the forums to join us in the challenge!!

Materials Used:
Bloom and Grow by Mari Koegelenberg & Mommyish Kit and Journaling Cards
Champagne Gold Alphabet by by Wildheart Designs
Stitched Grid Templates Vol 1 by Scotty Girl Designs

About the Author: Krista Lund is a mom of 3, married to her High School Sweetheart living in SF Bay Area. Some of her favorite things are brownies, chips n dip, taking pictures and documenting her family’s story.

I’ve been married for ten years now. We’ve been together for almost fourteen years. And some days, it feels like much, much, MUCH longer. Hahahaha. There are days/weeks/months when we get so wrapped up in daily life and all of the little dramas that go on with family and friends, we end up not focusing on romance or even putting effort on our relationship. We coast. And we get crabby. And distant. And tired. There are times I feel like we must be the only couple in existence who don’t focus on romance. But I know that isn’t true. I think everyone goes through it at some point. My husband has never been a big romantic. That is just who he is. I would like to be romantic. But lately it is hard to try to whip up a mood of romance when life is crazy and/or the attitude isn’t reciprocated.

So celebrate romance… where does that come in?

• I believe that if you shift your focus, you shift your energy. That energy, in turn, attracts similar energy. I’m sure there is some sort of physics lesson I could point to so I could prove my theory, but I never took physics in school, so you’ll just have to trust me.
• A few months back, I started a Love and Romance board on Pinterest. When I feel like our relationship is in auto mode and we’re losing focus on each other, I skim through the board and find romantic images, quotes, or date ideas. That little nudge shifts my attitude, and I feel like celebrating romance. Catching glimpses of romance, puts it into my mind, and I feel like I shouldn’t take our relationship for granted. Start a Pinterest board or a mood board in your home where you can focus on all things romantic.
• Obviously another way to celebrate romance is to take a picture of you and your sweetheart. Scrap a page about it and add some heartfelt journaling. Celebrate your love. Celebrate your romance. Celebrate your story. Print it out (or do a hybrid page) and put it in a prominent place where you can see it on a regular basis.
• Check out Miss Tiina’s planner. She has a great section for planning/organizing and scheduling date nights. Yet another way to focus on/celebrate romance.
• Get a blank journal (or start a hybrid project like this) and write notes to each other, passing it back and forth. Celebrate your relationship. Ask questions in your journal or document special moments.
• Use a pocket scrapping model to create a mini album about your relationship. If you don’t have all of the photos you need, go back and do some of the activities over, taking photos. Or use stock photos or fun quotes in place of pictures.
• Spend just a few minutes a day, holding hands with your sweetie. Even if you are pressed for time, sitting together and focusing on each other for even a couple of minutes, can make a big difference.

Now it is your turn.

How do you celebrate romance?

Jump over to the forum and check out the challenge.

About the Author: Kimberlee is a lover not a fighter; a stay-at-home gran, a poet, and a lifelong learner. She grooves on saturated colors, Tuesday dance parties, optimism, glitter and sunshine. She colors outside the lines.  She is a dreamer. She is a collector of moments.  She is all about the story.  Kimberlee completed her MFA in Creative Writing and is currently working toward a M.Ed. in Instructional Design.

A few days earlier Barbara wrote a post here about celebrating the little, everyday moments in life. My idea was something similar to begin with but then as I sat thinking, I could see certain patterns in what I document and what probably gets missed. My type A brain couldn’t help putting bullets down!

• The big, standout events  – yes of course!
• The little moments inconspicuous in their omnipresence – yes depending on what pictures I might have
• A snapshot of time – interviews with my kids – yes or just writing them a letter – yes

So what’s left???!!you might ask and a little idea started forming in my head which I thought I will share here.

If I look at our lives there seem to be themes of daily life that run like an undercurrent. There is no obvious reason to celebrate these or indeed take much note. But maybe, just maybe, there is something in there to explore. Those unmistakably scraps that so define who we are, what we do, what we like and don’t like and how the days go generally. I realised I often didn’t have photos for these nor do these necessarily have a start and end date. Without such prompts, they would never get on to my “scrap-list” But there are many ways around it and I now make a point to challenge myself to take more pictures, put my thoughts down and tell my story, my way.

Take for example my elder one’s inclination to art. She draws every day, without fail!  My house is bursting with stuff. I do want to capture it without going overboard. So I picked a little piece of art that is so her and used it to tell a story about what she likes and her personality.

In the same vein, my younger is obsessed with sunglasses, she can put one or two or tens at the same time and look at herself in the mirror giggling away! 🙂

My other example is the ritual my mom and my little one have almost every day. They make jigsaw puzzles – sometimes first thing in the morning, sometimes just before bed and almost all other times in between. I tell you they are obsessed!!! – having races to see who finishes first. LOL!

And I just want to leave with you another person who’s played a really, really important part in our lives. She is 6 years old, snorts and is a champion puddle jumper. She is a British sensation and goes by the name of Peppa Pig!!! I’m not sure we have outgrown the phase yet but I couldn’t help but document an ode to Peppa.

So next time, you are busy making pages and racing to get it all done, STOP! take a breath and think about what’s getting missed. I’m sure you’ll be able to glean out some little gems 🙂 Challenge yourself to put these down and if you need some practice, the monthly challenge I’m hosting here just does that!

About the author: Shivani Sohal is a donner of many alter-egos. A finance professional by day in busy London, she morphs into a seemingly normal mum of two in the evenings and weekends. She is constantly found with her fingers in too many pies and juggling the metaphorical balls. That is living on the edge for her; aided by the two ankle biters and a darling hubby who define the warm and mushy for her. She is ferociously dedicated to memory keeping – almost immune to any nay-sayers (or equally disruptive crying children or annoying house fires!!!);keeping her head down and forging ahead at all times.