Although the mystical allure of bee hives, poison ivy and 95 degree bike trips have been my main source of nourishment and entertainment over the past few weeks... alas, it is not enough. The wilds of summer have swept me away quite a bit lately... about two months worth of lately, actually. But I can't help it anymore! I have to come back home, back to my scrapbooking life.

It's sort of sad, actually, that in the peak and hayday of summertime I am longing for the cool days of fall and the roaring fire of a freezing winter day... all so that I can wrap a blanket around myself and scrapbook for myself and scrapbook for other people. They say our days are far too short here in Minnesota, which is true on one hand... but on the other hand because there are so few, we pack so much into them that they cease being any fun sometimes.

Alas, it's nice to be back. Back to scrappin'. Back to bloggin'. It's nice to be home. Thanks for having me!

I must say! I have surprised even myself that spring has taken me away to the dark-side of non-scrapbooking-land! It's just been so easy to get carried away with all there is to do: yard work, taking long walks outside, the Survivor finale... ok, well, I could have scrapbooked during the Survivor finale. Instead I chose to sit there and be engaged in a silly show where I read an incorrect spoiler! So I thought the whole time that I knew that Danielle was going to win, and alas it was Aras! My favorite reality show author is actually Andy Denhart, who writes reality blurred and I highly recommend it!

I digress. In scrapbooking news, I must say, I am so much looking forward to this Friday night. My sister-in-law and I are having a scrap-a-thon just to ourselves. We're talking margaritas, quesadillas... maybe a little DDR (before the margaritas would probably be a good idea)... and then lots of pages to be done, my dear!

This brings me to my favorite product of the week. The PowerSort. It ROCKS.

It holds up to 2,400 5x7 photos! I have two of these puppies. And what I HAVE been doing this past week is getting a month's worth of 1995 Australia pictures sorted into this thing so I can get them scrapped this coming Friday night. I'll give you a "before and after" sense in my next entry. :)

This is a product that I would certainly utilize for anyone with bags of photographs or an unprotected hard drive full of .jpgs. If you have such a spectacle stashed away in your closet or computer, this is where I come in and save the day! Extensive Photo Organization is what I call it, and the cost will average $20/hour. I will consult with you about your organization and storage needs and provide an estimate at that time. This is one of the many services my personal scrapbooking service will offer you, and it ranks right up there with getting an album done. There is great reward in the satisfaction of having your photographs and memories organized, ready to put into albums and pass on for future generations to enjoy.

Yep, as unimaginative as it may sound, one of the rocking-est trends right now in scrapbooking is paper tearing...

Tearing your scrapbook paper is another way to add texture and dimension to your pages. This technique requires NO tools and is very easy to do. Rules for tearing: Tear toward you for a rough white edge. Tear away from you for a rough edge without the white. You can use water to draw the design to make tearing easier and use your thumb to make more intricate tears. For added dimension of your torn scrapbook paper, chalk the edges. You can roll the torn edges for an even more dimensional look. Uses for torn scrapbooking paper: Journal Blocks, Borders, Flowers, Mosaic with torn cardstock pieces, Water, Sand, Mountains, and Mats for photos.

I've used this technique in finished art as well as scrapbook layouts... it really isn't as difficult as it sounds (even for the perfectionist) and adds a fresh look to your pages.

Happy tearing!

Well, the photo really doesn't do Tom or Amy any justice... they're really much more photogenic than this... geez, I take much better pictures than this, too... but chalk it up to the unending, giddy child-without-a-leash-in-a-candy-store excitement of upgrading our computer/ ram/ memory/ short-term-WHATEVER to ONE WHOLE "GIG" - that's right, baby, ONE WHOLE "GIG"!

What does this mean, you ask? It means a personal scrapbooking service in Minneapolis has never been so fast. It means uploading images at lightening speed. It means copying photos or layouts to CD is a snap. Heck - it means being able to surf with like twelve windows open! Right now I happen to be surfing genealogy hot spots and scrap spreads of glaciers. Yes, glaciers. I have a prospective client who has challenged me to make the 500 pictures she has of glaciers look somehow different from one another... well, more to come on that.

Anyway, thanks to Tom and Amy once again for their assistance in bringing us into the 21st century computer world... :) even though Tom dropped the tower and we don't have a server in our basement... we're faring ok...

Ladies and Gentlemen! I must say - I am giddy with joy and excitement that Pass On The Memories is officially a NUMBER THREE on Google! I'm Googlized! We're Googlable! It's Googlalistic! CHECK IT OUT! Yeah, pretty cool.

So, in the hub-bub sharing my news yesterday, I may have also drummed up my first customers. As it turns out, it helps to actually TALK about your business in order to drum up customers. Who knew? :) I guess I was waiting until I felt somehow indoctrinated or blessed or given permission, but I think Google did that for me yesterday! Whoo hoo!