Digital Scrapbooking 101 BLOG

Family Scrapbooking Ideas

Posted on July 21st, 2008 by admin.
Categories: Scrapbook Articles, Scrapbook Tips.

Time spent together can bring you closer to your kids.  Most families today are so caught up in the hustle and bustle of school, work and sporting events that they don’t always remember how important it is to just hang out and talk together.  We lead such busy lives that we sometimes lose sight of the fact that family is the most important thing in the world.  What better way to spend time as a family than learning to scrapbook and preserve precious childhood memories for future generations?  A family scrapbook can be an excellent project and it is fun for the whole family.  You spend quality time together being creative and reminiscing over photos.

Try dividing up the photos and pages and letting each family member create their own special pages with their own personalities.  Or try having each person make a page dedicated to every person in your family.  You will have special pages in many unique styles.  Even the little guys can glue photos on pages.

Another options is to work on each page together. Preserving your heritage can be so much fun and you can also pass on information about previous ancestors as you rediscover those old photos that have been in boxes for years.  Genealogy is the latest craze for generations today.  Everyone seems to want to know where he or she came from.  But, keeping a chronology of your own lives can be just as important for your own descendents.

Holidays, vacations and other special events will give you lasting joy and oh so many pages.  Give your kids the gift of lasting memories today.

Kathy Waddell

Last little note:

 

Do your TWITTER?

 

If so, you can keep up with what Kathy and I are up do off and on throughout the day by following www.twitter.com/scrapbooks

1 comment.

Family Recipe Scrapbook Tips

Posted on July 19th, 2008 by wwaddell.
Categories: Scrapbook Articles, Scrapbook Tips, Training.

It’s family reunion time again here in the United States and Canada.  I can just taste my mom’s peach pie already.  I can’t tell you how many times I’ve called my mom and said “mom I just have to have your recipe for your pie and home made ice-cream”. It’s been a slow accumulation of recipes over the years, but she relents each time I call for yet another recipe from her.

Many of the recipe’s are actually from my grandmother who passed them on before she passed away many years ago.  You know, I can still remember baking oatmeal raisin cookies with my grandmother even though it’s been almost 35 years now since I last had that chance.

Now that I have an adult son and daughter of my own my wife and I, who both love to cook, really wanted to pass the recipes on to both of them also. Many of these recipes they grew up on and now that they have kids of their own, are just beginning to request. My wife also has a recipe book from her grandmother on her dad’s side.  It’s too old and tattered now to use regularly, so it’s time it was restored and updated.

So many wonderful memories from the kitchen… so many more that I’ve lost in time.

I wish that the idea of a recipe scrapbook had been around when I was just a kid.

Recipe scrapbooks can be given to brothers, daughters, cousins, children or just about anyone. An 8.5×11 scrapbook works perfectly here in the US and Canada and can be printed on any standard printer. They are large enough to hold a 3×5 index card, a couple of photos and the journaled memories you create. You can also use an 8×8 scrapbook and have the recipes bound in a square format.

I think it’s a great mix to combine your photos and recipes. Digital scrapbook templates are perfect for this. For example, combine a group family photo from your reunion at the beginning of the album with a signature page from everyone in the photograph.  This is a great way to start off the album prior to the index page. If you’ve asked for recipes from all the family members in attendance, put a photo of the recipe submitter on that recipe page with the recipe on the opposite page.  I like to put a photo and a lined journaling page for memories on the left with the recipe, instructions and photo of the finished item or of the cooking fun on the right.

Here’s another great tip I picked up from my wife’s sister… help your reader out by having a shopping list at the bottom of each recipe or on the back of the recipe cards that you use. You might also want to consider putting the actual recipe on one scrapbook recipe book page and placing the shopping lists separately in the back or at the end of each section.

Note:  While using recipe cards is great so that you can remove them and take them right along to the market… my personal experience has shown that cards get lost from time to time.  They also add bulk to what is already a bulky cookbook scrapbook.  I’ve found that having the list printed at the bottom of each page makes it easy to copy down when needed and much easier to combine common ingredients for multiple dishes.

Another family recipe scrapbook tip is to create a bit of history with your recipes. If adding recipe’s handed down for generations or from a family member that is no longer living, you may want to have the photo’s on the left, the recipe on the right page, and a bit more of history information on the author on a 3rd page with even more photographs.  Most scrapbooks are very expandable, especially the digital scrapbooks, so there is room for many pages in one album.

If needed, break the family recipe scrapbook into volumes by food type or sides of the family tree.

Almost all cookbooks have a measurement chart and conversion table in them, so when making a recipe scrapbook album, it’s a good idea to add this information to either the back or the front index.

Besides family reunions, recipe scrapbook albums are the perfect gift for a new bride, especially if the recipe’s comes from her husband’s side of the family with his favorite dishes he grew up with.

Whether the family recipe scrapbook is for you, for your family or for a new bride strugling to cook for her new husband.  The one ingredient that will make it worth it’s weight in gold are the memories you safely record inside.

About the author:

Wes is the proud Co-owner of the first and still largest digital scrapbook membership site on the internet today: www,PrincessCrafts.com. It was computer scrapbooking with his wife, Kathy’s, beautiful designs and Wes’ knowledge of technology that brought the whole family together. For “The Greatest Digital Scrapbook Gift… EVER”, visit www,ComputerScrapbookTraining.com.

1 comment.

How do titles affect your scrapbook layouts?

Posted on July 14th, 2008 by wwaddell.
Categories: Scrapbook Articles, Scrapbook Tips, Training.

Hi Fellow Digital Scrapbook Friend,

Question:  How do titles affect your scrapbook layouts?

How’s it going for you with creating your own digital scrapbook page layouts this week?

Did you remember you’re not trying to put every photo you have ever taken into your single scrapbook page layout? I know that it’s hard sometimes not to put lots of digital photos on a page… but remember, sometimes Less is really More!

You sometimes need to build your digital layouts around a single focal photo and then embellish it with just a couple of smaller supporting digital images if you like.

That brings us back to our original question…

How do our chosen titles affect our digital scrapbook page layouts?

Let’s look at it this way, we do our best to try and make our scrapbook page titles interesting so they’ll catch the reader’s attention.  Sometimes using a simple phrase that means something to us personally or evokes emotional memories can be a better option that just a plain descriptive title.

Let me give you a quick example.  If your child is always refers to his uncle Brian as UnCow Brain… then a title phrase like “Johnny and his UnCow Brain” might make a better choice for your scrapbook page layout rather than “Uncle Brian Takes Johnny Fishing.” That way whenever you, your family (including little Johnny) or future generations look at it in later years, it will immediately evoke all the memories of the time when John was a little boy of three.

If you put just a little extra thought into choosing the titles for your digital 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.

It’s because your scrapbook (digital or handscrapped) page layouts should always be more than just a bunch of photos placed on a page!

Page titles and phrases should always be a part of the scrapbook layout’s story and not just wasted space.
 
Happy Scrappin’

Kathy and Wes

www.EZScrapbookGuide.com

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Best Baby Scrapbook Tips On Scraping Baby’s Firsts

Posted on July 12th, 2008 by wwaddell.
Categories: Scrapbook Articles, Scrapbook Tips, Training.

People often begin to get the scrapbooking bug soon after their first child is born. That said, it’s not so usual that their first attempt at creating a scrapbook is by making a baby album or baby book scrapbook.

Having a child truly is one of the most important and memorable events in our lives. Your baby’s first year is a busy, wonderful and ever changing journey of discovery. It is chalked full of important memories and milestones…

It’s really no surprise then, as parents we naturally want to capture and record all those many emotional moments by preserving them in baby book scrapbooks or memory books. This is a great way to safely record and cherish those memories for years to come.

My favorite, yet timeless and extremely popular baby scrapbooking idea is to make an album that consists of baby’s ‘firsts’. This easy and flexible theme is especially simple for someone new to scrapbooking and is a great way to begin creating one of life’s most treasured baby book scrapbooks.

This kind of baby album usually consists of a scrapbook arranged in chronological order (pregnancy to first birthday) with individual page layouts showing babies special and notable moments in life.

You can buy premade baby photo albums, journals and baby book scrapbooks, but I’ve found that in 100% of the cases that there are pages for things baby doesn’t do and missing pages for things your child will do. That said, my very best recommendation is to create your own using kits or digital scrapbook membership sites that make it easy for you to create the perfect baby book scrapbook that is custom to your child’s book of ‘firsts’.

New babies, especially first child or grandchild, are so photogenic it’s hard to resist capturing all the big and little things that make up their day-to-day lives. Not that the other children that come along aren’t just as precious, you just have more time when you are only taking care of one…

In any case, I have no doubt that you will have lots of digital pictures to sort through – so here’s a small list of ‘firsts’ to give you some ideas for organizing your photos:

• – first photo… usually the sonogram from the Dr’s office
  – first bottle/breast feeding
  – daddies first diaper change (a real favorite of mine)
  – dressed in grandma’s first outfit (don’t forget outfits handed down from your childhood)
  – first trip home from the hospital
  – first late night rocking chair ride
  – first smiles/laughs
  – first bath
  – first walk/trip
  – first baby food
  – first tooth
  – first time with your pets
  – first time drinking from an open cup
  – first time feeding themselves
  – first time crawling
  – first time walking with the furniture or your dog
  – baby’s first steps/walking on their own
  – first hair cut
  – all the first holidays
  – first birthday cake!

Unlike premade baby books and baby albums, you’ll be able to add a more interest to your custom or digital baby book scrapbook album by varying the themes and layouts. As and example: make some events into double page (side-by-side) spreads; such as coming home from the hospital or their first bath-time, which always presents an opportunity for some great digital photos!

You are also going to want to give your pages a little personal touch by adding some memorabilia, using a pocket envelope or sealed page to your layouts – add things like the birth announcement or maybe a lock of hair from their first hair cut.

Just be careful here as sharp edges, thick items and many chemicals that are part of life can not only damage, but over time can actually destroy your baby book. Instant photographs, such as a Poloroid, have chemicals that will leak and ruin your baby books and albums. Be sure and scan elements such as this and add them digitally to your page layouts.

Just as a note, you can also create your new baby book scrapbook album as a digital scrapbook and have it made into a real hardbound book that can be passed on to your child when they finally move away.

Now then, if you are new to scrapbooks and you’re unsure about starting out on your first new baby scrapbook album then a good choice would be to buy yourself a baby scrapbook kit or to join a digital scrapbook membership site.

The kits contain almost everything you will need to begin scrapbooking (with a set number of pages) and are a good shortcut to creating simple layouts that you can still be proud of. Digital scrapbook membership sites will have hundreds of page options and you can customize them for absolutely any occasion or event. Add to that the fact that you can have them printed as real hardbound books and you can see why digital baby books have become the #1 method for creating baby book scrapbooks world wide.

One other item of note about digital scrapbook pages, they are perfect to have printed on photo papers and placed in frames on the walls. Much more interesting than just plain photo’s with no stories to tell.

Go on… give it a try. Make yourself a baby book scrapbook album to save, enjoy and relive all those incredible memories. You’ll find it’s much more than just a scrapbook – it will really will become a treasured family keepsake that you’ll pass on for generations to come. My kids will soon be passing theirs on to my grandchildren…

What memories will you preserve?

About the author:

Wes and his wife own and operate multiple digital scrapbook membership sites, including: BabyScraps.com Membership offers so much more than just scrapbook templates, it’s help when you need it and a friendly push to keep you on track. Visit MyPrincessCrafts.com for details on all our Scrapbook membership sites.

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PERSONALIZED PHOTO CALENDARS

Posted on July 8th, 2008 by admin.
Categories: Digital Photography, Scrapbook Articles, Scrapbook Tips, Training.

Title: CREATING PERSONALIZED PHOTO CALENDARS

Author: Valerie Goettsch

About Photo Calendars:

Photo Calendars are 12-month, wall-hanging calendars that you can create using your own digital photos and captions. [It's like scrapbooking your wall for a year...] As you customize your own photo calendar, you can start the calendar on whatever month and year you wish. Most photo calendars are printed on white heavy-weight glossy card stock that you can write on, and they are spiral-bound in the middle.

[Don't let that stop you though... they can also be printed on standard card stock.  Doing so gives your photo's a textured matt finish look.]

Creating Personalized Photo Calendars:

Most online digital photo printing services, such as Shutterfly (my favorite), Snapfish and Ofoto.com, offer custom photo calendars. The process of creating personalized photo calendars usually involves:

1. Picking a starting month and year for your calendar
2. Selecting a page design from a variety of photo calendar templates
3. Choosing your photos from those you have uploaded to the photo service’s website and selecting which photo you want for a specific month
4. Writing brief photo captions to accompany each page of your photo calendar (usually optional)
5. Adding a cover photo for your personalized photo calendar
6. Placing your photo calendar order with the web site [You can also create your own using FREE  digital scrapbook software.]

Templates for Personalized Photo Calendars:

Most photo printing services like Shutterfly and Snapfish offer a selection of photo calendar templates to choose from. There are also several software programs [Even FREE Digital Scrapbook Software] that include free photo calendar templates. FotoFinish offers several photo calendar templates with its FotoFinish Suite software version, and you can download a variety of additional free photo calendar templates from its website. Adobe Photoshop Album and Jasc Paint Shop [Now Corel PSP] Photo Album 5 Deluxe also feature photo calendar templates.

[Get The Greatest FREE Digital Scrapbook Gift... EVER! and learn to use FREE Software to create your photo calendars with]

Printing Photo Calendars:

If you design your custom photo calendar using an online photo service, to print it simply add your photo calendar to your online shopping account and check out. You’ll have your printed photo calendar in a few days. The average cost is about $25 per calendar. If you are using your own [FREE] software to create your photo calendar, you can print your calendar pages using your own color printer and have your pages spiral bound into a calendar at a local copy store.  [They also sell spiral calendar blank page kits]

[Personally, I just use a thumb tack to hold them on the wall or cork board.]

Customized Photo Calendars Make Great Gifts:

Custom photo calendars make terrific gifts, whether for birthdays, Mother’s Day, Fathers Day, Weddings… etc. Got an avid golfer in the family?  What about custom golf photo calendars featuring photos of your golfer teeing off or putting? Sometimes it is hard to come up with a good gift idea for elderly parents or grandparents. A photo calendar with pictures of your children makes a great gift that grandma and grandpa will enjoy anew each time they turn over a new month. Don’t have kids? What about 12 months of your favorite pet photos or [or photos from the cruise you just took]? The ideas are endless.

About the author:

Valerie Goettsch publishes the digital photography website http://www.digitalphotos101.com featuring reviews of photo editing and album software and digital photo printing services.

[Comments] – Added comments by Wes Waddell.

Happy Scrappin’

Kathy and Wes

www.EZScrapbookGuide.com
www.MyPrincessCrafts.com

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7 comments.

Scrapbook Downloads Weekly…

Posted on July 8th, 2008 by wwaddell.
Categories: Site Information.

Hi Digital Scrapbook friend,

Kathy has 3 new Patriotic Backgrounds and digital stationeries ready for you this week.  They are FREE with no signups as always.  Just head on over to www.Free-Stationery.com to get them now.  You’ll find them in the Holiday Index under Patriotic pages.

Check back later today… if you don’t already see the new Scrapbook Training article above.  It will be there soon as well.

Also of note, Kathy has also just added 6 new sets of Deco Charms to our Hi-Res Elements Memebers Area at: www.PC-ScrapbookElements.com

Happy Scrappin’

Kathy & Wes

www.EZScrapbookGuide.com

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