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!

Scrapbooking Your Man

I know many people think that the men in our lives are just too hard to scrapbook for and about. They don't like pink. They don't like frills. They don't like flowers. They just aren't that much into scrapbooking.

Well, I just got done doing same pages for a client and they happen to be of her son. A teenager even! I thought I would share some pages and tell you my tips for scrapbooking those guys.

Sports pages are great because you can just use the team colors as a starting point. There are TONS of sports related embellishments out there now as well that make it easy to dress up a layout without making it too frilly. Here is an example:

I used the school's colors and mascot and even added some memorabilia. Not girly at all :)

Here is another idea for sports pages. I used more of a general color scheme here that would work for any sport and any team colors. I used basketball themed embellishments and basketball textured paper (so cool). I even made it personal by adding his jersey number.

Here is an example of how to scrapbook your man for any occasion. This is my boyfriend's 30th birthday present from me. I definitely wanted this page to stay manly and not turn into just another birthday layout. Here it is:

For this one I used guy colors and kept my embellishments to a minimum. I just got the basics across. The bottom smaller photo has hinges on it and opens to reveal my journaling. I wanted to keep it covered in case my boyfriend thought it was too corny to share :)

Tips for scrapbooking your man:

• Keep it simple...don't over do it or he will think it's too much.
• Keep the colors to a minimum and use greens, blues, grays, blacks, and other non-girly colors.
• Use general embellishments like eyelets, numbers, simple quotes, monograms, brads, etc
• Keep your patterned paper graphic. Lines, squares, checkered, some swirls, etc. The last thing you want to use is anything floral! Keep it graphic and it will speak manliness to your man :)
• Hide your journaling if it is a private matter. You know how guys are about sharing their feelings. They don't want you sharing yours about them on a layout either.
• Most of all...have fun creating a layout for your man :) Don't get too worked up over it being perfect. Guys are usually just happy you're thinking of them...even if it is on a scrapbook page :)

Cards...My Beginning

Scrapbooking is by far my favorite paper craft, but it all started with handmade greeting cards. I started making cards about 12 years ago. Rubber stamps are what started it all. And what an addiction it was to get new stamps. Luckily when I got started, my mom was the one buying the hundreds of dollars worth of supplies :) (Thanks Mom!)

I make all my own cards for birthdays, weddings, anniversaries, etc. I could never go to the store and buy a card ever again! I love the personal touch a handmade card provides. I always put something pretty on the envelope as well. That way the recipient knows they are getting something cute inside :)

I still use stamps on some of my cards, but I love to try all sorts of mediums. I use felt, paper flowers, stitching (hand and machine), brads, buttons, and much more. Anything fairly flat that will go through the mail easily. I like to personalize my cards too. I use the person's name or their favorite color to make it even more special. My sister-in-law's birthday is on St. Patty's Day, so she always gets a green card. Sometimes I use clovers and other times I just make sure to use green.

Here are some examples of cards I have made recently for my Etsy shop.

You can link to them here:

http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5556196

Hope everyone has a great day...spring is FINALLY here!!!

Where I Find Inspiration

Today I thought I would share will all of you one of the places I find a lot of my inspiration. It is a website called TwoPeasInABucket. It is filled with so many great resources! I love to browse the Member Gallery and see new creations by other "Peas." There is a digital section, photography section, stamping section, and of course...Shopping :) There is something for everyone! My username on twopeas is partyscrapper. I chose this name because it represents a lot of what I scrapbook in my own life. There are so many scrappers with kids, grand kids, husbands, etc. I, on the other hand, have none of these. I scrapbook about my boyfriend, my friends, my dog, etc. I wanted something that set me apart and showed my fun personality :) Check it out for yourself: http://twopeasinabucket.kaboose.com/ and let me know what you think!