Category: Inspiration

February 7, 2015

Best Moments of 2014 Documented Hybrid ABC-Style

Good morning! Brenda Smith here, sharing with you how I documented the best moments of 2014 in We R Memory Keepers 4×4 album. I documented our entire year with 12×12 pocket pages already, but wanted something more accessible that could be kept out as a coffee table-type album.

The first thing I did was create an A-Z list of moments corresponding with each letter. Some were more of a stretch than others (like Xmas for X), but I eventually filled out my list. Next, I went very basic with the title page. I knew I wanted to use the January Special Edition products for the entire album because the colors were vibrant and happy, so I picked this beautiful floral paper from Sugarplum Paperie.

Next, since this album would obviously require several pages for the entire alphabet, I decided to create a simple yet visually appealing template for each page. I kept one page as a 4×4 protector with layered papers and one big photo and a few different elements and the other side as four 2×2 protectors with two smaller photos and two smaller pieces of paper with labels.

Obviously to work with the opposite sides of the page protectors used, I have to alternate the sides the 4×4 and 2x2s are on. I used some wooden veneer alphabet to denote the letter. I really enjoyed using papers from several different designers, including Crafty Mess papers from Mommyish.

I kept a 4×8 template in Photoshop for both layouts and simply clipped different papers, pictures, and word art to each new letter. This really sped up the process for me and I was able to finish this entire album in only two nights’ worth of work (which is really fast for me since I can be a slow scrapper). Also, isn’t that camera paper by Laura Passage so fun??

One of the things I’ve learned with all the mini albums I’ve made is to vary the placement of dimensional embellishments to make the pages lay evenly. In this album, I altered the placement of the wood veneer letters in order to have the pages stack on top of each other evenly.

I printed out each separate page as one layer on a 4×6 sheet of Canon Matte Photo Paper. I know there are some who prefer to print up each individual element and then layer on top of each other with glue, but I like to save time by shadowing in Photoshop and printing as a single layer.

The January Special Edition products were perfect for an album of this type because I had several papers and embellishments to choose from that already coordinated perfectly. Yet another time-saving element for me because it took the guesswork out of making sure everything matched perfectly.

One of the best things about this album (besides the small amount of time it took me to make) has been that it’s small enough for my kids to look through. They have both picked it up several times and reminisced over all the fun things we did last year. It makes my heart happy to see them remembering things so fondly.

I won’t bombard you with more pictures of this album as I’m sure you get the idea but will be posting them all in the gallery at some point. I hope I’ve encouraged you to try a similar style album and have given you a few ideas of how it can be done quickly.

About the Author: Brenda Smith is a mother of two littles and wife located in Southern California. When she is not scrapbooking, you can find her working full-time, trying to finish up her college degree with online classes, or sleeping because there are never enough hours in the day. Hybrid scrapping satisfies her addiction to technology and her addiction to paper and glue.

February 6, 2015

Pursue inspiration: meaningful words and meaningful photos

I for one am a word person. I love writing, and reading, and find myself so inspired by a good quote, poem, or some words of wisdom. Often the words we find ourselves drawn to or inspired by are also words that reveal a lot about who we are and what we’re going through at this particular moment in our lives. As memory keepers, that idea resonates so perfectly with the desire to capture photos that have particular meaning for a point time and seem to capture our lives at that time so well. With that in mind, today’s post is intended to encourage you to seek out some wordy inspiration, and even better, to use that inspiration in your scrapbooking to add meaning and remind you of a feeling or idea that went right along with that photo.

This year, as part of the note-taking in my diary that I intend to use to keep track of everything for my Project Life hybrid album, I’ve started noting down some inspirational words when I find them. There are any number of great places to find them, but some of my favorites are Pinterest and GoodReads.

Here’s a recent example I pinned to use later:

The next step though, is what to do with them. When you have that moment where you think “…so true!” – that’s worth preserving one way or another. Of course, there’s always just sharing it on FB, Instagram and Pinterest, but honestly I think it’s never been easier to add this kind of inspiration into your scrapbook pages, too. Here are a few ideas on how:

Pick a kit with a great message. I think you’re often drawn to a new kit or collection because of the words as much as the design and color scheme. A kit like this from the TDP store is packed full of ready-to-go inspiration, and includes word art that I can easily imagine would fit with the inspiration you could draw from an image. Imagine a gorgeous image of your little one wandering down a quiet road or path – add some superb word art from this kit and you’re adding a double layer of meaning.
Take a quote you like, and use it as the journalling on the page. Personally I love labels and little journal tags as design elements in kits, so this is a great way for me to use them, especially as I am not a big journaller otherwise. Here’s an example I’ve created using Love Is In The Air (new in the TDP store from Mommyish and Mari Koegelenberg on Feb 6). The quote is from Alan Moore, author of The Watchmen: “there’s a notion I’d like to see buried: the ordinary person. Ridiculous. There is no ordinary person.”
My third suggestion is great for pocket scrapbookers, but could be applied for traditional pages too. Journal cards are a great easy way to add some meaningful words. I’ve often seen card sets that have some really inspirational wording as well as great design, but even better, almost every set comes complete with several cards with space to add your own words. Take one of the quotes you sourced elsewhere, play with a font or two, and voila – a personalised, meaningful message. Here’s a quick example I put together using a journal card from the amazing TDP collab Winter Berries:

Make sure you check out our February challenge series in the forum that’s full of ideas for things you can pursue this month. If this has motivated you to scrap some inspiring words, our Pursue Inspiration challenge starts Feb 6.

Kathryn About the author: Kathryn Wilson shares her 1920s New Zealand home with her husband, a wauzer, and a cavoodle. She is a photographer, and both a digital and hybrid pocket scrapbooker, who has lots of DIY projects she should probably be working on right now.

February 3, 2015

Pursue Your Creativity With One Product

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There are so many ways to alter a digital product that can really extend the usefulness of your digi stash. There is usually more than one way to alter a product and, depending on your editing software and preferences, you can determine what alterations best suit your project. I’ve created two layouts, both using the same kit, “It Must Be Love”, and on each page I have used a paint element in three different ways. Let me share with you how I’ve altered the paint to use in different ways.

Here is a link to the kit I used. Amanda Yi Designs – It Must Be Love

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On my first page, I placed the paint under my photo, resizing it to just peek out from under my photo. The doily was just too cute to not want to use again so I decided to extract it from the paint layer. There are different ways to do this. Sometimes I will use the magic wand or lasso tool to extract from a layer but this time I found it faster to duplicate the paint layer, select the doily using the quick mask and then extract it from the layer. I resized it and placed it under the white flower. Thirdly, I used the quick edit again but this time I selected pink and red splats from the paint layer, duplicated them a few times and placed them scattered around the page.

Use whatever extraction method you prefer but if you want to try my method of extracting with quick mask in photoshop, duplicate the layer, select the quick mask icon, select a brush and paint over the area you wish to extract and then click the icon to turn off masking. You will now see marching ants. Hit “delete” and Ctrl + D to turn off the marching ants. Now you can move your selection as desired (shortcut key “V”).

Now I’m going to use the same paint layer three different ways on my next layout.
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I placed the paint just to the right of where I knew my photo would go. I wanted to use the large yellow circle as a frame for my photo so I duplicated the layer, chose the elliptical marquee tool and selected the outer edge of the yellow circle within the paint element. I used the shortcut keys Ctrl + Shift + I to select the area outside of the yellow circle which I didn’t need and hit the delete key. Now, using the same method, I created another circle with the marquee tool which I deleted to create a circle frame with an inner hollow area where my photo would show. I placed my photo behind the cutout frame and chose a shadow to add some depth to it. Thirdly, I used the paint to stamp along the edges, resizing and turning as I positioned the paint along the outer edge. To do this, on the paint layer, I used the shortcut key “V” (move), held down the ALT key and dragged and dropped the duplicated paint over the edge of the layout. I continued these steps, positioning the paint off the edge of the page, turning and resizing, and also recolored a few layers with a hue/sat adjustment layer.

So now you have learned six ways to use one product. I hope this inspires you to experiment and look at your digi products in a new light, thinking of different ways to use them.

I hope this inspires you to create! Head on over to the Challenge Board and join in! Pursue Your Creativeness With One Product Challenge

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Rae Clevett is part of the Creative Team at The Digital Press. She lives on the west coast of BC with her hubby and Taz, their labradoodle. As a photographer and avid digital scrapbooker, most days she is either behind the camera or scrapping some of her personal photos. There is usually a cup of coffee on her desk and some chocolate treats, as she is a chocolate addict. Her laptop sits next to her computer so she can watch tv or movies. Taz usually lies on the floor beside her, playing with his toys. It’s a pretty sweet set-up, comfy and casual.

February 2, 2015

Pursue Your Beloved

Hi everyone! It’s the start of a new month, and that means a new crop of challenges in the forums here at The Digital Press. Each month we create a series of blog posts and challenges that correspond with one word. This month, we chose the word PURSUE.

Pursue could mean many different things and we would love to have you join us as we “pursue” different aspects through our scrapbooking.

With Valentine’s Day coming up, this is a great time to focus on our loved ones. If you have a spouse or partner, it’s likely that you don’t communicate things you love and appreciate about that person every single day. Personally, although not a writer by nature, I find it easiest to communicate those thoughts to my Beloved through the written word.

Here are a few journaling prompts you can use to jumpstart your own love letter:
– Use an endearing name (i.e. Beloved, Darling, etc.).
– List qualities you love about your Beloved and tell them why you love those qualities.
– Write about things your Beloved does for you that often get overlooked in the hustle and bustle of life (but you still really appreciate).
– Record the story and relive the memories from when you first started your relationship with your Beloved, and write about how things are different and better today.
– Write about your hopes and dreams for your future together.

And one final tip: be sincere and leave the humour to a minimum for this letter. Really dig deep and write from the heart!

So, now it’s your turn – I’m hosting a challenge over on the forums at The Digital Press and I hope you will come play along! Check it out at The Drawing Board: Challenges. See you there!

Amy H. About the Author: Amy is a wife and mom to three from Ontario, Canada. She’s always been interested in scrapbooking, but didn’t try digiscrapping until 2008 when she received PSE for her birthday. By then she had 1 year old twins and a baby, so the thought of just playing for 10 minutes, hitting save and walking away with no mess was extremely appealing! She’s been hooked ever since. She loves being the memory keeper in the family, loves taking photos, loves telling the stories. She’s also excited to know that these memories are recorded for her grandchildren to enjoy someday!

February 1, 2015

Pursue What You Love This February

We hope you are enjoying our inspirational posts and challenges here at The Digital Press! I’m here today to introduce our word for February and give you a taste of what’s to come!

February is usually overshadowed by one little holiday on it’s calendar. But instead of just focusing on romance and chocolate all month long (not that there’s anything wrong with either one of those—yum!), we kinda liked the word “pursue” for this month.

Pursue can mean many things…

pursue

via Pinterest: (1) (2) (3) (4)

From pursuing what you love to pursuing the one that you love… there’s a lot out there to pursue! What are going to be your personal goals for this month?

We have some amazing and inspirational posts coming your way right here on the blog. You will also find new challenges on the forums to spark your creativity and help you to make pages you really love!

You’ll find all the details of our challenge system laid out for you here: Everything You Need to Know about Challenges

Our new month of challenges starts tomorrow. We hope you’ll join us then!

Nicole About the Author: Nicole Seitler is a designer here at The Digital Press, creating kits under the name Sugarplum Paperie. In her free time, she loves to to work on her Project Life album, knit or craft with her kids. But she doesn’t have much free time, since she’s also a stay-at-home homeschoolin’ momma of four. Her life may be a little crazy, but she wouldn’t want it any other way!

January 28, 2015

Focus on the Good within the Bad

So often when we scrapbook, we show off the fun photos, we tell the favorite memories and we share all the good things in our lives. This is great and a large part of why we love this hobby.

But what about the bad days, the hard times and the moments when we just want to walk away from it all? Do they deserve their moment in the spotlight? Is it our job as the family storyteller to brush away the bad, hide it in the corners or the back rooms and hope that no one goes in? Is it our job to ONLY roll out the good, the wonderful, and the beautiful moments and put them on display to show what a wonderful life we have?

I want to encourage you to memorialize the bad. Don’t brush it aside. Don’t pretend it never happened and most certainly don’t let guilt convince you that your hard days aren’t worth the telling. It doesn’t mean your pages have to be full of negative things, but be honest. Tell the real story of your family. Let it be a little raw. Let it cost you some tears in the telling. Pour out your heart into your pages and see what happens to your albums. Mix in the difficult memories with the good, sprinkle your books with a healthy dose of realness and watch your story come alive.

Remember, life happens. Life with all the pain, the beauty, the joy and the tears is worth being remembered.

Here are THREE tips to help you scrap the bad and still want to share your story with others!

LIST IT

Sit down and write out a list of the things you didn’t like about today or the holidays or the summer, etc. Get it out! Make that list and give yourself permission to be brutally honest about the things you hated in that moment. This will serve two purposes.

It allows you to get it out. You don’t have to let those negative thoughts or feelings stay hidden and fester. Write it down, get it out and move on.
It gives you perspective. If you see it written down in black and white, it is easier to then pair it with the good. You can’t appreciate the good, unless you’ve experienced the bad!

USE STILL PHOTOS

It probably wasn’t possible, in the moment, to capture photos of everything going on. That doesn’t mean you are lost! I remember one of the many messes that Sam made, he had taken a brand new bottle of dish soap and poured it all over the kitchen and living room floors. That was some mess to clean up! The linloleum was bad enough with bubbles multiplying with every drop of water, but can you even imagine the carpet? It was awful. I was not in the mood to capture the moment with photos. But after the fact, I could take a still photo of some dish soap and a picture of my clean living room and talk about what happened when the two came together. In this way, no memory is ever too late to be told. Think back to any experience and think of 2-3 photos that would best sum up how you felt or what happened. Take the photos and scrap them while sharing the memory.

TELL THE STORY

Write out the experience as if you were a fly on the wall telling the events. Write it all out. Even if the moment was bad, chances are with time and distance, the story can have a little humor. Wait until you are able to look back and laugh a little (even if you are cringing too) and describe it. Give as many details as you can remember and put it all out there! By telling the story one detail at a time, it distances you but gives the reader a chance to connect. The nice thing about bad memories is that we all have them! We’ve all had the cringe worthy experiences that we hope no one ever knows about. When one person is daring enough to share theirs, we feel an immediate connection that we are not alone!

Life Happens. Life is not easy. Don’t get so caught up in documenting the wonderful that you forget the difficult. It is all part of your story and deserves a chance to be told. And as I read recently:

“Never blame any day in your life.

Good days give you happiness.

Bad days give you experience.

Worst days give you a lesson.”

So cherish your happiness, ponder your experiences and learn from your lessons! And in the meantime, check out my challenge HERE in the forum!

About the Author: Ramona Brown is a storyteller and graphic/web designer. She loves finding the stories in the every day and sharing them with others. She believes that everyone should “Scrap Your Story” and find purpose and meaning in doing it. Her best stories come from life with her six kids and the adventures they take her on daily! You can read more of her stories on her blog.