Blog Resources

Last week we talked about some New Year's resolutions. One I suggested was to start a blog to record the important happenings in your life. Blogging is a great way to stay connected with family and friends. It's also a great way to make new ones. I've made so many good friends through my blog and theirs.

I often get comments and questions on the appearance of my blog, so I thought I'd share some easy blog resources with you. The internet is an amazing tool! There are so many fun, and free, resources out there.

I've been designing my blog headers using digital scrapbooking methods in Photoshop Elements. I don't know a whole lot about it, and just kind of learn as I go. But this week, while searching on the internet, I found a really cool website, Scrapblog. It's basically a web-based scrapbooking program. It has tons of backgrounds, elements, fonts, stickers, etc. to create fun scrapbook pages, blog headers, cards, calendars, and more.

It allows you to either start with a blank page and build it yourself, or you can start with some of their predesigned templates. I was playing around with some of the Christmas templates and made eight layouts in under an hour. The ones below are a few of them:

I was hooked! I couldn't believe how easy it was. So then, I started creating new blog headers. The new look on this blog is one of them. Here's another one that will likely appear on my blog sometime in the spring:

I even made a desktop background for my computer:

Check it out! It's super fun and super easy. Oh, and did I mention it's FREE! Here's the link again: Scrapblog.

Another great, free, resource is The Cutest Blog on the Block. They have tons of free backgrounds you can add to your blog and other resources as well. I get all my backgrounds from them. You can check them out here. Their website includes many resources to teach you how to design your own blog elements. They also have a forum where you can ask questions.

I hope some of these ideas are helpful as you consider starting a new blog this year, or changing the design of one you've already established. I'm happy to help if you have any questions.

Return to the Neighborhood.

Altered Art: Picture Frames

Creating Altered Art picture frames is a great way to use up patterned scrapbook paper and miscellaneous embellishments leftover from other projects. The fabulous thing about altering your own frames is you can match your decor, or the theme of your picture.

The first thing you need to consider is the type of frame. Choose frames with a nice flat surface so it's easier to adhere the paper. I generally use wood frames, but you can use any type. If your frame has a slick surface, just rough it up with some sandpaper to create a more adhesive surface.

Follow these easy steps to cover your frame:

1) Place the paper patterned side down, then lay the frame face down on top of the paper. Trace around the frame opening and outside edges.

2) Use Scissors to cut frame shape from paper. It's better to leave a little extra paper. We'll use sandpaper later to trim it down.

3) Use a foam paintbrush to apply an even coat of Mod Podge to the front of the frame.

4) Place paper onto Mod Podged frame. Smooth away bubbles with fingers.

5) If necessary, trim the edges of paper as close as possible to the edge of the frame, then use sandpaper to sand the remaining rough or uneven edges.

6) With the foam brush, apply a thin layer of Mod Podge. Be sure to get along the edges of the paper.

7) If desired, you can paint the back and edges of the frame in a coordinating color.

8) Embellish the frame with ribbon, metal embellishments, flowers, stickers, rubons, stamps, etc. This is the fun part. Use your imagination!

The frame on the right was created by painting the frame white first and then cutting out small squares of coordinating papers and laying them in a pattern on the frame.

You can use these same techniques to cover any solid object. Covering wooden letters is a popular, fun way to decorate your child's room.

Use your imagination. You can create unique frames that make perfect gifts. It's even simple enough for children to do and makes a great Christmas gift for Grandpa & Grandma.

Return to the Neighborhood.

Software Basics

Digital scrapbooking can be done on a variety of software programs, from those designed for simple scrapbooking to full-blown professional graphics software. When selecting software it's important to keep in mind your own level of computer expertise.

Some of the most commonly used programs are:

-Photoshop
-Photoshop Elements
-Paint Shop Pro
-Digital Image Pro
-CorelDRAW
-FotoFusion
-Creating Keepsakes Scrapbook Designer Deluxe

There are basically two types of software available to digital scrapbookers.

1. Layout Programs - Creating Keepsakes Scrapbook Designer Deluxe is an example of this type of program. Layout programs allow you to easily assemble pre-made graphics, photos, and journaling for quick scrapbook layouts. Many layout programs do not meet the criteria that digital scrapbookers need. Either they don't support the file type you would like to use, they are not capable of high quality printing, or they only let you use pre-made graphics rather than design your own. These programs are a great way to start when you're a beginner. You can learn some simple techniques and add to them later on.

2. Photo Editing Programs - Photoshop and Photoshop Elements are examples of this type of program. These are more powerful programs for editing photos and they work well for creating your own digital elements, but the learning curve is much higher. Google's Picasa is a great, free program to edit photos as well.

Most digitial cameras come with some sort of photo editing software. These are a good beginning tool, but once you become a serious digital scrapbooker you will likely want a photo editing program which allows you to design your own paper, arrange photos in creative ways, create layers, add embellishments, and other unique page elements.

It can be overwhelming, but there are lots of great tutorials on the internet and most of the software programs have free trial versions so you can try them out before you buy. When you are just starting out, don't feel like you have to buy an expensive program that does way more than you'll need it to do.

I just wanted to give a quick overview and will talk in more detail about features of individual programs in future blogs. I hope you have a great conference weekend and be sure to create some memories you'll want to scrapbook.

Return to the Neighborhood.

Back-to-Basics: Cropping

I thought occasionally I'd blog about some scrapbooking basics. Lots of you are experienced scrappers, but I know there are a few beginners out there as well. Hopefully even the experienced scrappers can glean something from the information I share. And as always, I'm open to any suggestions, tips, or techniques you've picked up and would like to share.

Trimming your photographs is one of the first things that most scrapbookers are taught. At first, it seems difficult to do. Cut my pictures? You've got to be kidding. But, we do this for several reasons. The first of which is that allows you to fit more pictures on the page. It can also create a focal point for your page and removes distracting or unnecessary background images.

When I first started scrapbooking, back in the early '90s the trend was to crop your photos into unique shapes; circles and ovals were the most popular, but it wasn't unusual to see hexagons, hearts, and even stars. The current trend is focused less on the shape of your photograph and more on the quality of the photo. Close-up photos are very popular. You can achieve this look by cropping them closely even if the original photography wasn't close-up. It is especially easy to do this with digital photos. You can crop and enlarge them on the computer before you ever print them.

Tip: This may be personal preference, but when cropping photos, avoid using decorative scissors. The fancy edge draws your eye away from the photo and becomes distracting. Instead, use the decorative scissors to cut mats for your photos from complimentary colors of cardstock. This allows you to still have the decorative edge, without taking away from the photo itself.

When cropping photos, show only the most important parts of the picture. There are several different cropping techniques you can use. You can use scrapbook templates, silhouetting--cutting around the main subject, or bumping part of the picture out beyond the “frame”. Feet, hands, hats, balloons, are ideal. You are limited only by your imagination. Remember, to not overuse unique cropping techniques. They stand out and you don't want them to become common throughout your scrapbook or they lose their appeal.

Cropping effects are a great scrapbooking technique to add character and personality to a page. However, try not to go overboard. It is easy to fall victim to wanting new and exciting effects on every page. Remember you want to get your pictures into a safe album with journaling--not waiting in boxes for years while you cut paper into intricate shapes for every single shot!

Terrific Titles

A title defines the mood of your scrapbook layout. Because of its prominent placement on the page, it should be given serious consideration.

Before you start putting pictures onto the pages of your scrapbook take some time and decide which titles you will be using. You can also add in captions, poems and sayings to add even more personality to your scrapbook. The titles and other words you add create the theme of the scrapbook.

The title can be as simple as a date or word for an event. However you can convey the mood of your page and tell part of the story by using creative titles. To get an idea, here are some examples:

New Baby

Love at First Sight

Fresh from Heaven

We've only just Begun

Bath Time

Bubble Trouble

Makin' a Splash

Squeeky Clean

Birthday

Born to Party

Ready, Set, Blow!

Wedding

From Here to Eternity

I'm Yours

There of tons of resources on the internet for title ideas. Check out The Perfect Title.

If you put just a little extra thought into choosing the titles for your scrapbook layouts, they then become a true part of the story you're telling and not just large words at the top of the page. So think about the event your scrapbook layout is celebrating. And then think again. Look beyond the obvious.

Once you've decided on the perfect title, find a creative way to use it. It doesn't always have to be placed across the top of the page. Below are a few ideas:

-Stretch a long title across a two-page spread.
-Place the title beneath the pictures at the bottom of your page.
-For smaller titles, position your words directly above your journaling on the same block.
-Highlight some of the words in your journaling or quote and let that stand as your title.
-Turn things around! Vertical titles offer a wonderful change of pace.
-Place the letters in your title so that they overlap onto a photograph.
-Run your words across the middle of the page.
-Add a title to one side of a thick photo mat.
-Pick up any magazine or newspaper and flip through it for more title placement inspiration.

Return to the Neighborhood.

Paper Bag Albums

Paper bag albums are fun and easy to make. They make great gifts and are a fun way to use your duplicate pictures. One fun thing about them is that the bag opening creates a pocket where you can place journaling cards, and memorabilia such as tickets stubs, notes, etc. The pocket is also the perfect size for a photo CD.

You can use any size paper bag, but my favorite are just standard size lunch bags. When folded, they create an album that is approximately 6x6 inches.

Step by Step Instructions:

1) Take 3-5 paper bags and lay them on top of each other alternating ends.

2) Fold the bags in half and crease to create a book. Notice how the open ends create a pocket? Punch three to five holes along the spine. It is easiest to place the holes at measured points and punch through one folded bag at a time.

4) Decorate the pages using patterned paper, cardstock, photos, stickers, stitching, staples, buttons, fibers and any other embellishments you like.

5) Create coordinating tags to place inside the bags open ends for a nice extra touch. Add a ribbon or paper pull tag to pull the page out of the bag opening.

Like any scrapbook, paper bag albums can follow any theme. They are particularly great when you want to scrap one event. Ideas for album themes: Baby’s first Christmas, animals/pets, trips, All about Me, Grandma’s/Grandpa’s brag book, summer camp, holidays, vacations, etc. No matter how you decorate them, paper bag albums make great gift items and are one more creative and unexpected way to use your scrapbooking materials.

REMEMBER, PAPER BAGS ARE NOT ACID FREE, SO BE SURE TO USE DUPLICATE COPIES OF PHOTOS!

Return to the Neighborhood.

First Day of School Photo Tips

I can hardly believe it's the last week before the kids go back to school. I'm always happy when they get out for the summer, but by this time of the year, I'm happy for them to return to school.

Don't forget the fun photo opportunity that the first day back to school creates. I'm going to share some easy tips with you to make your photos the best they can be.

There's only one "first day of school" each year for every child, so taking a photo that accurately captures this historic event is important. For years to come, both parent and child will look back on that "first day of school photo" with a sense of pride and accomplishment. Without a doubt, parents will want to do a great job of recording this important event on film.

But because the first day of school can create anxiety for both students and parents, Ron Nichols, author of "Picture-Taking for Moms and Dads," shares some tips for creating cherished keepsakes on film without creating unnecessary stress.

Tip 1: Camera, film and a photographic plan should be integrated into that planning. (You don’t want to be scrambling for camera and film as you rush your child out the door to catch the bus.) Hurried activities tend to add stress, so the more prepared and relaxed the parent, the more prepared and relaxed the child.

Tip 2: Be sensitive to your child’s emotions and needs. Preparing your child for both the first day of school, AND the first day of school photo is important. The additional stress of taking a photo before heading off to school might prove a bit taxing for your child. You might wish talk about the “first day of school photo” as a tradition with your child.

Tip 3: Decide where and when would be the most appropriate time to take the photo. If your child’s going off to school on the bus, waiting at the bus stop might be a great place to start. Or perhaps you might even wish to take the photo in front of your house on your way to the bus stop. If you’re picking your child up after school, you might want to take the photo in front of the school. (This can even work out better because the anxiety of over the first day of school will have subsided by then.)

Tip 4: Make it a tradition. The first day of school is a great time to chronicle (photographically) the growth of your child. One day (which will come sooner than you think) you’ll probably take a photo of your child heading off to the first day of college.

Tip 5: Don’t forget to photograph the younger children who may not be going off to school. A picture of a younger brother or sister along with the “first-day-of-school subject” could yield some wonderful images.

Tip 6: Keep shooting throughout the year. Throughout the year, you’ll have multiple opportunities to get wonderful photographs of your child’s school-related activities. Remember to get close, use natural light when you can, AND enjoy every moment with your child! They will be off to college before you know it.

I found these tips helpful, and I hope you did too. If you take some fun back-to-school pictues and create a scrapbooking layout, be sure to send it to me and I'll post it on my blog. Have a great week getting ready for school!

Return to the Neighborhood!

Album Size & Type

Scrapbooking albums come in all shapes and sizes. There is no one specific album size that is "best" to use, but here are some tips on the various sizes and types available:

Paper is readily available in the 12x12 size. It's a good size to fit pictures and other memorabilia on the pages without too much crowding. You can also buy ready-to-make pages kits in the 12x12 size.

If you want a smaller size book, there are many available such as 8x8 and 6x6 albums. These sizes are great for children to start with because the pages are small and easy to fill. The 8 1/2 x 11 size is becoming almost obsolete. The industry is steering away from it and going to the square sizes instead.

There are several questions you should contemplate before making an album purchase:
-Will I be able to find this style of album and page protectors when I need to purchase replacements or additional albums?
-Is the album trendy? Will I still like the design years from now?
-Will the album fit the number of pages I have?
-Can I afford the other components (page protectors, posts, etc.) needed to complete the album?
-Is the album durable, reliable, and easy to use?

There are three basic types of albums:

Post-bound Album
A post-bound album uses 2 or 3 metal posts to tightly hold pages in page protectors between a front and back cover. The posts eliminate any gutter. This means that facing layouts butt together at the center margin making them easier to look at and create designs that span two pages. These albums will accommodate both top loading and side loading page protectors. Longer posts can be purchased to allow more pages to be added.

The disadvantage of post-bound albums is that to add or remove a page, the album must be disassembled, and all or most of the pages taken out to insert or retrieve the page you want to move. Often you will need to buy page protectors from the same manufacturer as the album, because each manufacturer places the posts in a slightly different place.

Three-Ring Album

A three-ring album uses clamp-style metal rings, attached to the spine on the inside cover, to hold pages in page protectors in the album. These are basically just a standard three ring binder like you used in school. These albums usually do not come with sheet protectors, which will need to be purchased separately. A major advantage to these albums is that pages can be added and removed easier than other types of albums.

Strap/Hinge Album

A strap or hinge album uses 2-3 narrow, sturdy nylon straps that slip through "staples" to anchor pages between the front and back covers. These generally have special pages inserted that are white or black sturdy cardstock with a reinforced edge. They do not come with plastic sheet protectors, but they can be purchased separately to safeguard your finished pages.

With this type of album, your layouts are permanently attached to the page, so page planning is imperative. Because of this, these pages are not interchangeable with any other type of album.

Ultimately, your album choice will be based on personal preference. I have used all three types of albums and there are distinct advantages to each one. Personally, rather than how the albums function, I base my album choice on what the cover looks like and if it fits the personality of the pages I'll put inside.

Join the Neighborhood Newsletter . . . Subscriptions are free and joining is easy. Just by signing up and maintaining your subscription to receive the yourLDSneighborhood.com newsletter, you become eligible for our "Thank You" prizes. Our dozens of giveaways range from a trip for two to China, to iPods® (each with a $50 gift certificate for LDS music), cruises, and more.

Learn about our amazing monthly, quarterly, and annual giveaways by clicking here.

Return to the Neighborhood.

Scrapbooking Bargains Online

Let's face it. Scrapbooking can be expensive. If you consider the paper at $1.00 per sheet, stickers approximately $2.00 per sheet, and embellishments at $3.00-$5.00 per package, you can easily spend $10.00 to complete one scrapbook page. And that's not even considering the tools required.

Luckily, we have the internet. There are tons of scrapbooking bargains to be found online. The first place to look is eBay. Okay, so I may be a little prejudiced since I have a scrapbooking store on eBay (Kim's ScrapShack). But there are a lot of other vendors besides myself who sell products at great prices. Just do a search for scrapbooking and thousands of items will come up. Your best bet is to skip the auctions and just scroll down to the bottom of the page and buy directly from Ebay stores. You can buy items now at bargain prices, without having to wait for an auction to end.

You can also find great prices at most scrapbooking sites on the internet. Most sites have a clearance or sale link you can follow to find great deals. Below are a few of my favorites:

Dollar Scrapbooking
Creative Express
Two Peas in a Bucket
Keeping Memories Alive
Scrapbooking Warehouse
Scrap 'N Save

You can also find many more scrapbooking websites at the Scrapbooking Top 50 website. Be sure to look for a sale or clearance link at any site you go to. You'll be amazed at what you can find. There are often name brand products listed at 75% off the retail price.

Your memories are definitely worth preserving. But they don't have to cost a fortune!

Join the Neighborhood Newsletter . . . Subscriptions are free and joining is easy. Just by signing up and maintaining your subscription to receive the yourLDSneighborhood.com newsletter, you become eligible for our "Thank You" prizes. Our dozens of giveaways range from a trip for two to China, to iPods® (each with a $50 gift certificate for LDS music), cruises, and more.

Learn about our amazing monthly, quarterly, and annual giveaways by clicking here.

Return to the Neighborhood.

Scrapbooking Playground

Would you like to have your own scrapbooking website? A place to upload layouts for family members and friends to see online? I recently learned about a fun website that allows you to do just that. ScrapWow offers a fun, innovative way to create your own website.

After creating a website for his newborn daughter, Nick Romer, founder of ScrapWow, shared it with family and friends. Many thought it was remarkable and asked how they could create their own website for posting photos. Nick combined what he knew from his experience in the craft industry and launched ScrapWow.com, the ground-breaking result of sharing photos online with a scrapbook look and feel.

ScrapWow quickly evolved into a vision of "a playground for scrapbookers." Appealing to a large community of digital scrapbookers, the cutting edge technology at ScrapWow.com offers the community of online and offline scrapbookers a place to share their creations and photos. It provides them with a virtual creative room with everything you need to scrapbook online.

To the beginners, Nick believes that the ease and creativity of the site will pave the way to their growth into full-fledged digital scrapbooking. For the experienced digital scrapbooker, ScrapWow offers unparalleled creative options and technology, plus a lot of free stuff!

Setting up your online digital scrapbook is easy. No programming or html knowledge is required. They have a variety of professionally designed scrapbook themes to choose from, which can be easily changed with a click of the mouse.

Your website can include multiple scrapbooks. It also has a news journal where you can keep visitors up to date on happenings in your life. It even includes a guest book so visitors can leave comments. If you'd like to see a sample site, visit here.

In addition to your own personal website, ScrapWow members also have access to free monthly digital scrapbook kits with simple to follow tutorials, a starter kit with coordinated pages and embellishments, interactive eBooks with sketches and sample layouts, sayings and phrases to express sentiments for any occasion, and manufacturers coupons.

See what people are saying about ScrapWow:

"A BIG gap in my life has been living so far away from my family. Having my own scrapbook website helps to fill this gap . . . and the void sometimes in our hearts from missing each other so much. This site is a gift to my family and they love it because they can 'keep in touch' with me at their leisure."

-Lisa, Port Charlotte, FL

"I've been looking for something like this ever since getting started in digital scrapbooking because I have hundreds of digiscrap pages on my computer that only I get to see. Thank you. I love, love, love it!"

-Sandy, Gurnee, IL

"WOW says it all! I love this site. The free monthly kits alone are worth the subscription."

-Kimberly, Huntsville, NC

Join the Neighborhood Newsletter . . . Subscriptions are free and joining is easy. Just by signing up and maintaining your subscription to receive the yourLDSneighborhood.com newsletter, you become eligible for our "Thank You" prizes. Our dozens of giveaways range from a trip for two to China, to iPods® (each with a $50 gift certificate for LDS music), cruises, and more.

Learn about our amazing monthly, quarterly, and annual giveaways by clicking here.

Return to the Neighborhood.

Handmade Cards for all Occasions

I think it's sad that because of advanced technology, the handwritten word, has pretty much gone by the wayside. Because of email it is rare to receive a handwritten letter in the mail anymore. You can even send greeting cards by email now.

There is something sentimental about receiving a letter or card that has the personal touch of being handwritten. One of my favorite things to do with my scrapbooking supplies is to make handmade cards. I suppose, because it's something creative I can do without having to take a lot of time.

I've included a few simple instructions and ideas below (along with lots of sample pictures) to get you started creating cards of your own:

1) Choose your paper. I love to use double-sided cardstock that has a different pattern on each side. When you fold the paper to make a card, there is a different pattern inside the card. If you don't have double-sided cardstock, gluing on other pieces of coordinating paper creates a nice layering effect.

2) Fold your paper in half, making a deep crease. You can run a pencil or other hard object along the fold to crease it, but be careful, some paper will crack. There are also other fun, unique ways to fold your paper other than in half. A gate-fold is one of my favorite. You can also fold up the bottom half of the paper and fasten the sides, creating a pocket to put a note in.

3) If you plan on using an envelope, make sure the paper is cut slightly smaller, so the finished product will fit inside. A fun effect is to use scraps of paper, or stickers that match the card and create an embellishment for the outside of the envelope as well.

4) Decide how much text you want to use. Often a title of some sort looks nice on the outside. You can handwrite it, use alphabet stickers, stamps, or print it on your computer and glue it on or fasten with brads, staples, or ribbon. There are also tons of fun rub-on titles available with common sayings such as Thank You, Happy Birthday, and You're Invited.

5) Be creative. There are tons of fun things you can use to embellish your card: ribbon, brads, paper flowers, staples, stickers, etc.

6) After you have created the outside of your card, don't forget the most important part--the message inside.

Nothing quite says I love you like receiving something that has been handmade. I love receiving cards and always add them to my scrapbook pages. I've got entire birthday pages designed around cards my children have received. And besides that, creating cards is a great way to get your feet wet if you are new to scrapbooking and a good way to use up all those leftover scraps.

**All the cards pictured here were made using Pebbles, Inc. products.

Join the Neighborhood Newsletter . . . Subscriptions are free and joining is easy. Just by signing up and maintaining your subscription to receive the yourLDSneighborhood.com newsletter, you become eligible for our "Thank You" prizes. Our dozens of giveaways range from a trip for two to China, to iPods® (each with a $50 gift certificate for LDS music), cruises, and more.

Learn about our amazing monthly, quarterly, and annual giveaways by clicking here.

Return to the Neighborhood.

Digital Freebie's

I'm in the middle of moving and I’m going through withdrawals without internet access. I’m at my parents today using their SLOOOWWW . . . dial-up connection, so my blog today isn’t going to be long.

With the advent of digital scrapbooking there are lots of places on the internet where you can get free digital layouts and products.

Digifree – The digital scrapbooking freebie search engine uses an automated system to search blogs for digital scrapbooking freebies and then posts them (with images) for all to see and download. What a great way to find free layouts and embellishments - no wonder this site is Top 50 Scrapbooking Blogs number one site! Check it out. You'll be amazed at all the fun free things you'll find.

Join the Neighborhood Newsletter . . . Subscriptions are free and joining is easy. Just by signing up and maintaining your subscription to receive the yourLDSneighborhood.com newsletter, you become eligible for our "Thank You" prizes. Our dozens of giveaways range from a trip for two to China, to iPods® (each with a $50 gift certificate for LDS music), cruises, and more.

Learn about our amazing monthly, quarterly, and annual giveaways by clicking here.

Return to the Neighborhood.

Scrapbook Blogger

What is a mommy blogger?

A mommy blogger is a small part of the blogging world that consists of moms who blog about their children. Some mother’s blog about daily activities, and others only record major milestones in their children’s lives. Other mommy blogs cover a variety of subjects, including their children. The blogs are as varied and unique as the women who write them. But they are all an amazing look into the life of being a mother.

So, why do women blog about their children? It is essentially an online journal of their children’s lives. It’s a great place for friends and relatives to read about the happenings in your family. And it gives your children something to look back on. It’s always fun for children to read about themselves.

There is a fun new product I just discovered tailored perfectly to this group of bloggers. It is called Scrapbook Blogger. It’s a new and innovative way to turn your blog into a printed scrapbook to keep forever.
Scrapbook blogger was created by Ashley Cuttino. Ashley began blogging about her life and her experiences as a new mom right before the birth of her first child. As a new mom, Ashley quickly realized that despite her best intentions to create a traditional scrapbook of her child's growth and development, she simply did not have the time, inclination or creativity required for such a project. Then the realization came that she had already created a scrapbook for her daughter with pictures and stories that was much better than anything she could recreate with paper and scissors—her blog.

Ashley said, “Once my girls were born it became very important to me to preserve my memories of them for the future. My mother passed away very suddenly at the age of 50 before I was married or had any children. I would give anything to be able to read about my mom’s thoughts on motherhood and see the memories of my childhood. Everyday I have questions about motherhood that I would love to ask her. To have a scrapbook that had her thoughts and memories that I could look back on now would be priceless!”
Ashley made the decision to find a way to print and bind her blog into a hard copy, coffee table style book. The software program that was developed allows a blogger to download all or part of a blog and then add backgrounds to each post to give the book a true scrapbook feeling. Hence, Scrapbook Blogger was born and now Ashley is leaving a legacy for her own children. They will be able to see what they were like as children, and what she was like as their mother.

I hope you’ll check it out. It’s an amazing idea and is so simple to use, anyone can do it. I can’t wait to have enough blog posts to print my own.

Return to the Neighborhood.

Digital by Design

I would venture a guess that most of you use a digital camera. I would also guess you probably have piles of pictures taken before the digital age. Earlier this week, I talked about physical storage systems for all of those pictures.

Physically storing your pictures in a safe way to preserve their archival qualities is important, but it is still sometimes difficult to search through pictures and find the exact one you need. I have recently been scanning all of my photographs and looking for a program to store and sort them.

I’ve been using photobucket, which is a good online storage system. But, I recently found something better, an exciting product that does much more than store and organize your pictures. Life Story Productions has an exciting software program called Heritage Collector. I recently interviewed Marlo Schuldt from Life Story Productions and he showed me tons of examples of the program’s capabilities and told me many amazing family history stories which I wish I had the room to tell, but suffice it to say, you won’t be disappointed.

Heritage Collector is an all-inclusive program that allows you to scan and store your photos in a unique collection file system. Now in seconds, you can find any picture you’re looking for. You can search by subject, theme, name, practically anything you can imagine. The exciting part is that you can store much more than photos. Heritage Collector will also help you store sound, video, and text files. The unique way your files are stored in collections makes it easy to organize all your family history materials in one place.

For example, let’s say you create a collection named Grandpa Smith. In the collection you can place photos of Grandpa you have scanned from original photographs or imported directly from your digital camera. You can also put in Microsoft Word documents you have created detailing stories about significant events in Grandpa’s life. But, it doesn’t end there. You can include sound files you’ve recorded of Grandpa telling stories in his own voice. You can use these to create talking photos, so that when you mouse over a photo you will hear the story about the photo in the subject’s own voice. You can also include video clips, scanned family group sheets, journal entries, maps—pretty much anything you can imagine. You can even add GPS coordinates to locate the places in your pictures.

The program also includes a unique hot spot feature. When you mouse over the people in a photo, a hot spot will pop up which tells you the name of the person, dates, or any other information you want to enter.
Having all of these items together and accessible in one place allows you to create a tangible family history to share with your loved ones by quickly and easily making mixed media slide shows, as well as self running CD’s and DVD’s.

Heritage Collector is the equivalent of at least ten programs. So, rather than using one program to import your pictures, another to edit them, another to save and organize them, another to save text files, and one for video and sound, another to create slide shows and still another to burn CD’s and DVD’s, Heritage Collector includes all this and allows you to do it all from one program, saving you a lot of time and money in the process.

So, what if you aren’t into family history? The program works for scrapbooking as well. Just the sorting and storage features alone are amazing, but the program also has a unique scrapbook module which allows you to just drag and drop your photos into scrapbook pages. You can also use it to create your own background paper.

What is the purpose of a scrapbook anyway? It is to preserve your memories and tell a story that will have an emotional impact. With Heritage Collector, this has never been easier. Check it out. I know you’ll love it!

To learn more about the product and read a fun newsletter visit http://www.heritagecollector.com/.

Return to the neighborhood.

The Digital Evolution

The art of memory making is as old as time. There is evidence of scrapbooks clear back to the 1500’s. Since the early 1990’s scrapbooking has exploded in America and is now the number one hobby. As long as people have been clipping and saving mementos, the industry has been dedicated to providing the essential tools of the trade, including scissors, adhesives, markers, paper, and stickers. But the recent surge in digital scrapbooking is changing all that.

Due to the information age, there has been a natural evolution from ‘traditional’ scrapbooking to digital. It started out by scrappers using the computer to enhance their photos. They would remove red-eye, crop out the background, and adjust the color of their pictures. The computer can be used to create elements that are printed out and attached to your traditional scrapbook page. Journaling is often printed on the computer because you can create fun effects with all the fonts and colors that are available. These things eventually led to scrapbookers experimenting with creating entire page layouts.

Using digital, or scanned pictures, and photo-editing software, you can create stunning pages entirely on the computer. One of the benefits of creating your pages digitally is that you can share them with friends and family, no matter where they live. Grandma and Grandpa can see the grandkids' latest adventures with the click of the mouse.

Not only that, but digital scrapbooking can be less costly than traditional scrapbooking. Traditional embellishments, which can cost $2-$5 a piece, quickly make the price of each scrapbook page unaffordable for many consumers. The internet has made digital scrapbooking elements available for a very low cost. And once you purchase them, they can be used over and over again. There are also tons of freebies out there. Most of the digital scrapbooking websites have free paper, embellishments, and even entire layouts that can be downloaded. Just do a google search for digital scrapbooking and you’ll be amazed at what you find.

Scrapbookers find that going digital solves several problems. For one, they no longer have to devote a room—off limits to children—to store the die cutters, scissors, paper, stickers, etc. It’s nice to be able to just sit down at the computer when you have a few spare minutes and work on your scrapbooks without having to haul out all of the supplies.

Another benefit is that if you make a mistake, you can just delete it and start over. You have not wasted expensive supplies or ruined priceless photos. Also, once a layout is created you can print it as many times as you want and in any size you need.

Sometimes the creators of traditional scrapbooks are afraid for people to handle them too much because of potential damage. This kind of negates the purpose for which they were created—to be shared and enjoyed by others. Digital scrapbooking solves this problem. A digital version, whether stored online, on a CD, or printed, can be shared without worrying about damaging the original.

If you decide to go digital, please don’t forget to print your layouts. There is nothing quite as exciting as finding a dog-eared album hiding in the attic.

Return to the Neighborhood!