These layouts were done with Creative Memories Story Book Creator. Even though its Vollyball I used their Primary Basketball package to create the layouts.

I saw this layout My Girl by Jacq and have to admit I squealed with delight! I rushed right over to type up this blog post.  Just look:

Then I began my search for how did she make this?

I am so buying this, and making layouts for Grandparents! How cool are these!

~never lose your joy

Anne of Alamo

Back in June I began to tell about a book I am working on for a friend.  I’d really liked a book of quotes I had seen, and decided to create a book with friendship photos and either facts about the photo or a quote to embellish the page.  Other projects soon took precedence, and I kinda forgot about my book.  I did complete a few more pages!

Taleweaver allows you to drag your photo over one page and a part of the other — you’ll have a visual of how the page will look!  These are pages 10 and 11 of my book; only a few more to go (since most of my pages are doubles).  As I work on the remaining pages, I’ll write about my process and create some screen shots to display Taleweaver in use.

As Ever,
Pam

My son has been playing hockey for 7 years, two years of which were hockey school, then for the past 5 years he has been a full-time goalie…..this year he is 10 and for the first time he is playing out this season, and he is doing so well that he usually plays centre!!! On January 15th I am proud to say my little goalie got his first Hat Trick!!! Way to go Cam!

Not all scrapbookers are young with preschool children; it might surprise you that I was creating web pages when the World Wide Web was an infant!  I worked at a corporate technical library and learned to create newsletters using desktop publishing software.  Soon I had my own computer and was creating Christmas letters and pages of scanned photos to tell my story.

My first online web pages were about quilting.  Through drawing quilt blocks for websites, I learned my software and its capabilities.  But I was also scanning photos (with a handheld scanner) and putting together “newsletters” and genealogy information — my early pages had primitive scanned elements to enhance my stories.  Eventually I found a magazine — then I found a website — the digital scrapbooking world!  Many of my early pages were created with desktop publishing or greeting card software.

I still love those pages, but have transcended several times to different styles.  I never did paper scrapbooking pages, I have always been digital.  Many of my photos are scanned (pre-digital photos), and my styles vary from simple photo pages enhanced with some journaling and an element or two — to pages heavily filled with backgrounds and elements.  Study the process and the galleries of “what others have done” to find your favorite style.

Each of us has an idea of what we want to see in a page — and each page can shout to us a different idea.  There is no “right” or “wrong” if you like it.  You might want to study balance — to create a page that focuses on the photos, but also leads to the journaling.  There are many factors — color contrast, element placement, and balance.  The wonderful aspect of digital is that you can move things around — several times (or more) until you get the look and feel you want for your page.

There came a day when I wanted to have my pages printed (I didn’t like the output from my printer).  I found MyPicTales — and I sent an order.  I was more than delighted with the results!!  The rest is history — I only trust MyPicTales with prints of my pages.

Have a question?  Post it and one of us will certainly answer.  Tell your story (as you want it told).  Trust MyPicTales to print it!  Download the Taleweaver software to assist you in creating your pages, your books, your calendars — your story!  Yum!  Candy.  Eye candy — stuff to make you (and future generations) delight in the photos and the stories told.  Get busy!  Create!

Not all pages are created about family — some tell about an instance in our lives.  This page is one I created to tell about an historic event in my life.

As Ever,
Pam

These are the final layouts of my kids Christmas party, they show the out door bar and the bonfire we had going. It was an amaziang night for everyone. The reindeer beer is very fun to make and for a kids version you can use root beer bottles.

NPR-National Public Radio has a series called Story Corp, it is is an independent nonprofit organization whose mission is to provide Americans of all backgrounds and beliefs with the opportunity to record, share, and preserve the stories of our lives. Sounds like scrapbooking LIVE to me!  We have the opportunity to digitally record, share and preserve our stories.  NPR records them live as the spoken voice, but we make pages and pages that turn into books.

The Story Corp website is full of ideas of questions to ask to make your own book. Go thru these questions and you will have a book dedicated to a set person or even yourself.  Imagine the delight to give this to someone, or to share with your children and grandchildren. This is a virtual treasure trove of ideas for a book. I am inspired to make so many pages just from these questions.

There are many places all over digiland that have the same type prompts going on also, and the encouragement to get a book done to tell your story.

Scrapbook Graphics has this Snapshots happening on their blog:

Now this is a year long project, but can you imagine how exciting it will be to read this, years down the line. make your own Time Capsule for today, and then tomorrow’s generation will enjoy it then.

A lot of people have a hard time finding photos for a time capsule or story page, and I went to

One Story Down for inspiration for the Photoless page. Lauren is a master at giving inspiration and her team is beyond all in talent to help you with getting your story on a page.

Here are some pages that may help you:

Week One - Project 365+1 by cstaff

This is using a way cool template and just bullet statements on the photos, this is a cool book to look at with a friend and relive the memories as you turn the pages:

Then this one,

PL-Week 2 by 4noisyboys

Has way more journaling and could be a read alone.

These are just little pokes and prods to help you want to make pages to print and have bound for years to come! I am addicted to these books and the happiness they bring.

~never lose your joy

Anne of Alamo

Omigosh, we had so many beautiful poinsettias at the flower shop, with many left over. The care centers didn’t want them, and I simply could not let them die, so I brought them home to see if I can keep them growing. I’ve used a Libby Weifenbach template with the January Digital Scrapbook Artisan Guild kit, New Beginnings.  The kit is fun and versatile check it out here.

As Ever,
Pam

This is post #3 of 4 about my kids Christmas party. The girls looked so amazing, it look like there was a prom goin on in my house!!

Journaling!! Run away, run away!  The nemesis, or Kryptonite of a many scrappers. I think many people think there must be no misspelled words, no grammatical errors and must be entertaining or it isn’t going on the page.  What we have to remember is who is our audience?  Mine is my family.  I put a photo of one of my girls sticking her tongue out and write, “Abby being silly, again.”

That is it.

She reads it outloud and laughs and says, “Did you see this goofy picture of me?” while parading the book around to others, “It says I am being silly, hahaha, again.”

That is it.

Now, I love to look at a page with hundreds of layers, shadows to die for and composition that makes you go, OH MY, OH MY!! but……………………………

How about a picture and a text box?

That is it?

I am seeing the P365(actually 366 this year) pop up all over and I have caught the bug! Not as much to take a picture a day, but to scrap a page weekly of what we did.  The photos on your computer are nice, but a page just of a few pictures from the same day, even without words can start a memory going. Pop a picture if we have them, and write something, anything or just a big ol’ title like Dailydwelling over at The Digi Chick did:

That is it!

Now for those who twitch and need more words, no worries, it is all good, the same artist;daily dwelling, has a coordinating page to add to the book:

The point I am trying to bring across is that you don’t have to have a novel for each photo, you can if you want, it is YOUR book, YOUR memory and if YOU don’t do it, there  will be stories to grasp for with out pictures, and forgotten and…….

That is it!

never lose your joy

anne of alamo