The time warp of scrapbooking is always at least six months behind in my own personal world. In the spring I usually crop things from the previous fall/Christmas, in the fall I usually crop from the spring/summer before. It's a steady cycle that comes and goes and I have, in fact, been "all caught up" a couple of times in my scrapbooking career - wow, those were the good old days. :)

Here I have a couple of examples of pages from my boys' books. These are an example of one fall event and one spring page, grouping a bunch of happenings. You can see one is more formal, one is more whimsy - it wouldn't matter which. The important thing to remember is that it can be whatever you want it to be.





If I do say so myself, the great thing about hiring your scrapbooking out is that you really don't either a.) have to worry about such a timeline because you're going to drop them off anyway or b.) as soon as an event happens, you can make an appointment with your personal scrapbooking service (ME!) and get things turned around in a much more timely fashion.

Things to ponder! Happy Friday everyone!

I'm very much trying to post a banner ad on BlogExplosion and I'm having the most difficult time. It's very hard to pretend I'm something I'm not... and as much as I try to talk compu-speak, I really have no idea what I'm doing with this blogging business. Don't get me wrong - I love it, but don't really understand it.

So, my effort tonight is to post the image of the POTM banner to my blog so hopefully I can copy it into Photoshop and somehow size it down to these seemingly random dimensions that Rachel from BlogExplosion has emailed me.

And if this doesn't work, I'll call Mama Grouch.

Thanks for your patience!

Punches are tools used to punch shapes out of paper. They come in shapes of all sizes, from large circles to small flowers, alphabet letters to corner edgers and small borders. They sell for $5.00-$10.00 each. As a beginner, pick the most versatile shapes: large and small stars and circles. To use, simply slide the paper in the metal slit, then punch down, keeping your hand flat on the widest part of the punch. I’ve found that you can lubricate a stiff new punch by punching through wax paper. To sharpen a dull punch that’s been frequently used, punch through a piece of tin foil.

Find that sticking those small punches onto your paper is somewhat annoying? Try this scrapbook technique. Put a strip of photo tape on the paper (leave the tape backing on) before you punch out the shapes. Remove the backing and adhere the shapes to your page. If the tape makes the punches hard to push out, you can use a small block of wood to increase the pressure, or a power punch.

***************************************************************

The best part about hiring (or outsourcing) your scrapbook work done by a personal scrapbooking service, of course, is that you don't need to invest in all these tools. I've already done that for you. And part of the journey of PASS ON THE MEMORIES is to help you find out where you belong. If you're reading about punches and it conjures daydreams up in you that make you smile and sigh softly, well, then, you need to find a crop ASAP. If you are reading about punches and want to jump off a cliff, then hire me to do your album. You'll be hooked. Guaranteed.

Have a good night, everyone!

Just an idea for you “summer-disposable-camera” users! It’s a great time of year to use disposable cameras for many reasons: ease of portability, less worry about losing a valuable piece of equipment, not adding a weighty item to bike or backpack. And what I love about disposable cameras is that I can still capture memories without an LCD screen! It brings me back to basics of just yelling “cheese” and snapping whatever’s happening in front of me.

However, from personal experience I’ve found that it’s also easier to forget about the disposable camera on my adventures. I’m more busy doing whatever it is we’re doing that summer day (biking, swimming, hiking, camping), and I’m looking out for everyone’s safety and good cheer… along with wanting to preserve the memory on film. A couple of suggestions to make your memory-catching more successful out on the trail:

· Try to keep the camera in the same place while you’re on your outings. “The front pouch of the day pack”, or “The top drawer in the camper” is a lot easier to remember and give instructions for the kids to grab it.

· Affix an address label to the outside of your disposable camera. If it falls to the trail and another good-natured soul picks it up, at least you have a shot they’ll pop it in the mail to you.


From a child's point of view...

· Get disposable cameras for the kids. Averaging three bucks a piece, it’s cheap entertainment and a good tool for teaching about resources. When it’s used up, it’s used up… and my boys love going “click” just like Mommy!

The great news is that taking pictures on a disposable camera no longer equates not being able to use them! Now you can take the camera to any photo-finishing store and get only a CD with the images on it! No going back to paying $8 bucks to get half-wanted photos! I think the CD at Sam’s Club is $1.67, I bring it home, load it up to my software and viola! It’s almost like I’ve taken them on my digital myself!

The other easy, easy thing about disposables is that, if you choose, you can just drop them off with me and I’ll take care of everything for you! The miracle of a personal scrapbooking service! I take care of processing, selection and preservation of the memories! Of course, this goes for whatever media you take your pictures on, but especially easy for those 3-4 disposable-camera vacations where you’d like a special keepsake.

Keep it in mind!

Do you have trouble getting photos and memorabilia on straight when you use photo corners? Here is an idea or "scrapbooking technique" to make the job easier. Using an acid-free photo pencil, lightly draw on your page where you want the photo to go. It's best to use a contrasting color so you're not contoring your face to make out the line. Also, make the line just *inside* how your photo will lay (this way, you won't if you accidently draw too dark, you don't have to rearragne your entire layout - even though this is always a last-chance-possibility). Place your photo adhesive in opposite corners on the item, and place it on the page, using the pencil guide. Then apply photo mounts to the two remaining corners. And very important - don´t forget - if you are using lick and stick corners, always use a sponge not your saliva. Saliva is acidic.

I'll take a moment here to plug my favorite adhesive tool:

The CM Tape Runners come in "regular" as well as "mini" sizes. For my personal projects as well as any work I do for Pass On The Memories, I always use this acid-free adhesive. The other great thing about CM products is that they also have a line of splits: frosted, and I believe clear - that look practically invisible when placed on vellum.

These photo adhesives are quick, safe and easy to use. You would expect nothing less from your own personal scrapbooking service! You want the creative process to be where either you or I spend most of the time... sticking photos to a page shouldn't be difficult.