Digital Scrapbooking 101 BLOG

Scrapbook Training Mid Month News…

Posted on October 21st, 2009 by wwaddell.
Categories: Scrapbook Articles, Scrapbook Tips, Site Information, Training.

Hello Scrapbook Friend,

You are going to love this!

Before I get to all the new free digital scrapbook / stationery content, let me briefly cover all the new stuff Kathy has added to the members area AND the stuff you need to get now, before it GOES AWAY!

First, Kathy will be replacing the entire animal category for Soft Expressions and Printable Pastels. These will be replaced with totally new papers in our newer .png format. That starts happening the 1st of November, so get any of the old papers you want now

Next, Kathy is going to totally remove all the mini 4×6 pages starting 1 Nov, 2009.  They are in the old .gif format which no longer meets our high standards of quality artwork.  She'll replace them eventually, but that will be some time down the road.  Again, if you want any of the mini 4×6 card/scrapbook templates, get them now in your members area.

Lastly…

Kathy will be removing all the old gif landscapes papers at the end of the month along with all the Scrapbook of a Lifetime templates.  She will begin adding new high quality .png format landscape papers in their place for all our members.

Kathy has already removed the old .gif formatted alphabet sets and replaced them with the new high quality .png format.  Download your new Autumn and Halloween alphabets now in the Hi-Resolution Elements area of your members area.

Now, for all the new FREE Content News

       REALLY BIG NEWS:       

We are replacing all the FREE Computer Scrapbooking 101 Mini-Course Scrapbook Template Paper Downloads with the new High Quality .PNG formatted pages.  The only templates not replaced are the couple that are used in the course itself.  We'll get to updating the actual course and it's samples soon.

Look for then new and improved free scrapbook sample templates to be there by the 25th of October, 2009 at: www.ComputerScrapbookTraining.com.

Kathy has also just added:

• 3 New Summer Digital Stationery Downloads
• 5 New Artistic Digital Stationery Paper Downloads
• 5 New Floral Themed Stationery Digital Page Downloads

Get them now at: www.Free-Stationery.com

That's it for the middle of October.  I can't wait to tell you what's coming the end of the month.

Wes

www.PrincessCrafts.com

www.MyPrincessCrafts.com

www.TwastheNightScrapbook.com

 

 

 

1 comment.

Simple Ideas to Entertain the Kids this Summer (Part 2 of 2)

Posted on June 25th, 2009 by wwaddell.
Categories: Digital Photography, Scrapbook Articles, Scrapbook Tips, Training.

2 Simple Ideas to Entertain the Kids this Summer (Part 2 of 2)

By: Wes Waddell 

We left off in part 1 with setting up the Digital Mystery Game and providing some basic ground rules and courtesies as needed.  We then sent our little spies, detectives and reporters out into their world to gather the data and photo evidence for their first story.  Now, it’s time to put on the final touches and to finish up the stories.

Playing the editor:

Your job in the game is not to criticize or take control, but to guide the children in their stories.  Yes, the younger they are the more help they’ll need; at least at first. But, you’ll also find that with just a little guidance, it won’t be long and they’ll be almost completing each story on their own.

When they first come back, have them explain a little about what they seen, what is on their notes (make sure they take notes… it’s very important later) and how the story unfolds.  Make sure that they have a beginning, a middle (the content that matches the title you first gave them) and a finish or ending.

If any of the parts are missing or it doesn’t match the story title, then your guidance as the editor is needed.  Ask them questions that lead them to the answers themselves. Ask why a photo is important or what could be added to better tell the complete story.  It’ doesn’t have to be perfect, just complete and thought out to the best of their abilities. 

If you see them begin to get frustrated, take a snack break or give them a clue that helps them out. Above all, keep it fun or it won’t last long.  You’ll also see that their stories and their capabilities will grow as they do more and more of them.  You’ll find a healthy helping of praise for what they do will go a long way in motivating them to go farther and do more.

Now, if needed, send them back out to gather the rest of the photo evidence and story notes.

The Final Story:

The fun doesn’t stop when the photos are all taken.  Now it’s time for them to draft the storybook scrapbook and show off the stories in a newsletter or website.

No, you don’t have to be a computer wiz to make this work, but if you do know how to assemble a basic web site or to create an online newsletter or blog, then you can show mom & dad or grandma and grandpa what the kids have been up to.

If you don’t know how to put the storybook scrapbooks or newsletters online, then just print the photos on card stock or photo papers and cut them out.  Then just get out the glue sticks, colored markers and stickers and let them create the stories the old fashioned way… by hand. 

We even take the digital storybook scrapbooks and print them out sometimes and then paste them to a large poster board in newspaper fashion with large photos of the kids by their stories.  Frame it in a poster frame and you have some really treasured memories to hang on the wall.

Kids and computers go well together and kids these days are using computers in school as young as 6 years old.  You can use any word processing program or digital scrapbook program to insert the photos and add the story text to.  Many of them will allow you to save the finished stories as a web page or upload to a blog. My 10 year old granddaughter is able to help her 7 year old sister to create beautiful storybook pages with Microsoft PowerPoint and Word.  I showed them how a couple of times and now I only have to help print the final stories after I review them.

That’s it, how far you take the game is up to you.  Create a whole summer storybook scrapbook or just have a few wonderful pages to frame and hang on your walls.  It’s fun, it keeps them busy and the memories they create are preserved for years to come.

It just doesn’t get any better than that!

Wes Waddell

www.PrincessCrafts.com
www.TwastheNightScrapbook.com

1 comment.

2 Simple Ideas to Entertain the Kids this Summer

Posted on May 31st, 2009 by wwaddell.
Categories: Digital Photography, Scrapbook Articles, Training.

2 Simple Ideas to Entertain the Kids this Summer (Part 1 of 2)

By: Wes Waddell

 

“School’s Out for The Summer” as the classic KISS song goes.  These words begin causing stress for many a parent weeks before the actual event takes place.

 

Why?

 

Because every parent knows that within days… sometime hours, the dreaded whine begins: “Mommy, I’m bored… there’s nothing to do!”, “I don’t want to go outside, there’s no one to play with!”  The historic echo’s still ring within the walls at our house, even now after the kids are grown and on their own.

 

The good news is that I’ve found a new way to keep my grandkids entertained for not just hours, but for days and even weeks during the summer, and no, it’s not sending them to grandma and grampa’s house!  I’ve taken an old page from my grandmother’s bag of fun and turned it into a new technology children’s game.

 

We call it “The Digital Mystery”

 

Appropriate for kids ages 6 and up… especially good for “Tweens” and young “Teens.”

 

No! you can’t get it in stores…  at least not yet

 

All you need is a cheap digital camera, a small notebook with pencil and a few minutes of your time creating story lines.  I’ll explain the story lines in just a minute; first let’s talk about the equipment.

 

I said cheap digital camera for a reason.  Kids are sometimes hard on things… I know that’s nothing new to you.  But the younger they are the harder it is for them to take care of things and to keep track of them.  So, depending on age, just pick one up that you can get in almost any chain store these days. Your only requirement is that it needs to hold at least 36 to 40 images in its memory so you aren’t bothered every few minutes downloading them to a computer. Of course older kids will be able to do this themselves.

 

The notebook and pencil can be anything from pocket size to a school notebook. They’ll be using it to take small notes on what they see in each photo they take. Younger children will need more room to write and older kids will want something that can fit in their pocket or camera case. If you use a larger notebook, consider putting it in a small backpack or shoulder bag for them to carry it in… don’t forget to put their names on it!

 

Now, on to your small part in the game.

 

The object of the game is to tell a story using digital photographs and notes or comments for each picture.  Your part is to come up with a few story titles for them to start with.  Here’s a few things to consider when you start listing the mystery story titles:

 

1. The younger the child, the smaller the area they have to explore. You may want them to stay in the back yard or on your block.  If you live in an apartment complex, you may need them to stay in a play area or inside the building itself.  So, you wouldn’t want mystery titles such as “What the neighbors did today” if you want them to stay in the back yard. You might want titles such as “Bugs of the 123 Willow St. House” or “What Else Lives at 654 Bluebird Lane.” My 6 year old granddaughter loves “What My Teddy Bear Did Today.”
2. Your titles need to hint at some kind of mystery or puzzle that needs to be solved. You want the kids to have a definite purpose with the photos and story and not be able to just take random pictures of just any old thing.  You want them to think (age appropriate) and take some time… preferably a lot of it; in coming up with the final story. Tweens and Teens love to play the part of the detective or spy. Give them titles like: “What Changed in the Neighborhood Today?” or “Who Worked on Our Block?” One of my 10 year old granddaughter’s favorites is “Wildlife of Our Street.”
3. While you don’t want them peeping in windows or invading the privacy of siblings or others, you do want to nurture their natural curiosity and imaginations.  Depending on the child, you may need to set some basic ground rules and consequences for breaking the rules.  The bottom line is that you want them to have fun, but at the same time you want them to be courteous to others.

 

Getting Started:

 

It’s best if you begin planning a few days before school’s out.  Having 8 to 10 Mystery titles (per child) all ready to go before you need them will make your life much easier and ensure that they have plenty to keep them busy.

 

One quick note:  This also works really well for vacations and day trips too.

 

Here’s how we play it at our house:

 

I set up a storyboard using a piece of white poster board.  I have a column for each of the grandkids with their name at the top of the column.  Below I have rows about a ruler wide all the way down the page.  Under each name I have a story title for each child that is different and age appropriate. 

 

After every 5 stories, there’s a prize that they earn for getting to that point.  I never have more than 5 stories listed at any time for each child as I keep that part of my mystery as to what comes next and what the next prize will be.  After they finish one story, I add a new one to their column so that they always have five listed and one prize they are working towards.

 

Depending on how long they will be staying with us, I try and make the last prize a really special one that I know they will cherish.  Last summer we took them to a water park at the end of the week.  This summer, since they are a bit older… we are looking at getting them new digital cameras now that they know how to use them and take care of them.

 

Next, I’m the editor for a fictional news site.  I have final say over all completed stories (just like in the real world) and I get to send them back out to fix any parts of their story that I find missing.  This serves the purpose of both, keeping them busy longer, and at the same time teaching them to complete the whole story with quality (age appropriate again) work with complete thoughts.

 

That’s it! Off they go to start their first story and you are free to do what needs to get done around the house… even if that’s to relax or take a nap

 

In part two, we show you how to keep them busy by actually creating the story on the computer using the photos and notes they take here.

 

Until then…

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