Journaling-Using Poems and Quotes

Journaling can be one of the hardest things about scrapbooking. Sometimes you just don't know what to say. Sometimes you can't remember exactly what happened. Sometimes the photo is not from a specific event that you have details for. What ever it is that is making it hard to journal about your photos, you can easily solve this problem :)

Poems and quotes are a great way to get your feelings down on the page. Sometimes someone else can say it better than you...so let them. Anytime I am stumped for words, I look to these for help.

Here is an example of a page using a poem:

This is a page I made for a friend. I left a blank space for her to add her own words, but if she chose to add an embellishment to the white box instead, she would still have words to go with her page that match her feelings.

And here is a page I made using a quote as my journaling:

The quote reads "Enjoy the little things for one day you may look back and realize they were the big things." This is a picture of my mom, grandma, and myself out to lunch. Not a big deal, but this is a picture I will cherish forever. I could not have put better words to this photo than the quote does :)

So next time you are in need of some journaling help...look to poems and quotes. There are so many choices out there that you will never be at a loss for journaling again. Here is a great place to get you started on your search: http://twopeasinabucket.kaboose.com/peasoup.asp You can look up poems and quotes by theme and even add your own.

Here's to Happy Scrapping :) Edi

Hybrid Scrapping

By most definitions I am a traditional scrapper with paper, scissors, and adhesive. But there are times when I like to try a little digi scrapping. I am venturing more and more into the hybrid style of scrapping. I could never go totally digi, but there are so many advantages to using your computer to scrapbook.

I was lucky enough to win Jessica Sprague's new book, Computer Tips for Scrapbooking 2 from her blog. Check it out here: http://spraguelab.squarespace.com/ She has a great newsletter you can sign up for called Photoshop Friday which gives great tips for digi stuff and sometimes even freebies :) I just loved her first bookand I can't wait to dive into this one! She gives such detailed instructions with photos for almost every step.

I have learned to do so many cool things with my computer that adds to my traditional scrapping. I edit photos all the time to fit the design of my page. I print odd sizes that I wouldn't be able to have printed at a lab. I do almost all of my journaling on the computer. I print tons of paper from digi kits. The thing I love about digi papers is that you never run out. If you need another sheet, you just print one :)

Here is an example of a layout I did using a few digi techniques. The black paper I made myself using Adobe Photoshop Elements. I colored the background black and added white text to it. The words are song titles by Big and Rich and Gretchen Wilson...what better way to get custom paper! I printed the title using my computer and added brads around it. I also printed the silver paper from a digi kit. And of course my journaling is computer generated :) Lots of digi techniques here, but still a traditional page in the end. That's what hybrid is all about...the best of both worlds!

If you ever get a chance you should try hybrid scrapping. There are so many free kits on the Internet that you can play around with to get you started. But be warned...freebie kits can be addicting...you may need an extra hard drive just to store you digi kits!!! I might know someone this happened to :)

Vegas Baby!!!

I just got back from Vegas and loved every minute of it! My boyfriend and I went for my birthday, which was on Monday. Happy Birthday to ME!!! The big 2-5. Okay, not that big of a deal, but I'm the kind of person who makes a big deal out of every birthday. It's my special day, right :)

We walked up and down the strip going in and out of every hotel and casino we found. It was so fun to see everything. I think my favorite was the Mirage. The tigers and dolphins were so neat and the pool area was to die for...wish we would have stayed there!

It was sunny and in the 80s the entire time we were there!!! And the palm trees were just gorgeous!

We found this awesome bar that had 2 for 1 drinks and free beer pong. We didn't partake in the pong, but enjoyed watching everyone else play. We went back there twice and had a blast both times. The bartenders were such fun and everyone just had such a good time in there. If you are ever in Vegas...check out the Rockhouse Bar...and have a beer for me :) Check out the cool mohawk on this guy!

And of course, I had to have my picture taken with Elvis!!! It wouldn't be Vegas without him :)

I hope I get to go back again soon. We were only there for three days and they just flew by. I wanted so badly to see downtown, but that will have to wait until next time.

I have over 200 photos to go through now and get in my scrapbook. I even found this awesome Vegas scrapbook out there...just had to have it :) Can't wait to get working on it!!

FEATURE: StormyDesigns

As a member of the EtsyBloggers Street Team, I am going to start featuring one of our members each month as part of our team event. This is our first feature, and I would like to introduce a great member who has done a lot for the team. Stormy is a very active member of the team and is co-organizer of the Blog Carnival. I have chosen four of my favorite items from her Etsy shop:




You can see these items for sale in her shop: http://stormydesigns.etsy.com/
Also check out her blog: http://stormydesigns.blogspot.com/
and her website: http://stormydesigns.biz/

There are so many wonderful items to choose from, but my favorites are the jewelry...and at such great prices :) I hope you will give Stormy a look and let me know what you think!