Kiss and Tell Scrapbooking

#MasterfulScrapbookDesign & #Scraplifting Corrie Jones / Process & Finished Layout (updated)

That was the in progress layout & Here is the completed layout:

I'm on the Masterful Scrapbook Design chat now with Debbie Hodge & Corrie Jones & I scraplifted her Go! Go! Go! Go! Layout (you can see it here by clicking through to Corejones' blog).

Madonna wanna be title & journaling to come. 

Journaling Reads:  "It is so awesome to me that my girl loves Madonna just like I did.  She says her favorite song is Madonna's Like A Prayer - me too sister - Love, Your 80s Mommy 3/18/13."

The Story:  My daughter came to love Madonna all on her own and I was actually thrilled - I love Madonna too; and while her songs were a bit racy back in the 80s they seem a bit tamer now - but probably still too racy for my 9 year old - but she loves them and I just can't say no - and she looks adorable as a Madonna wannabe - this was her Halloween costume - that she created herself - hot rollered hair courtesy of yours truly. Awesome.

So I got to ask Corrie where to put the title - I had already started the journaling in the lower left and on the Masterful Scrapbook Design live chat she suggested that the title go right in the middle over the middle photo and overlapping a little onto the two other photos.  And presto!  Done!  Thanks Corrie - your pages in Masterful Scrapbook Design are amazing!

P.S. Of course I used my American Crafts Thickers from Two Peas!

 

Paperclipping Play Along: Finishing An Album: Adding A Motif to Scrapbook Pages for Consistency

I cut out houses from the Dear Lizzy "Fifth and Frolic" paper line by American Crafts and I've been adding them to old layouts in my Home Sweet Home Book. 

I know!  I never thought I would change old layouts but in the context of an entire scrapbook, it makes sense to tweak old layouts for a consistent feel of the entire book.  I love it and it is easy to do - just tuck a little something here or there - and presto - it looks like I planned it from the beginning!

My husband says the little tweaks don't make any difference to him, but they really do make me love this book more.

Paperclipping Roundtable #149: Forever Access Love (All About Online Scrapbooking Classes) & The After The Show Show by Katie Scott (now with printed notes)

Here's a Link to The Paperclipping Roundtable PRT #149 "Forever Access Love"  all about online scrapbooking classes:

The Paperclipping Roundtable #149: Forever Access Love

Here's a Link to My After The Show Show on Ustream all about my first experience on The Paperclipping Roundtable:

Video streaming by Ustream Here's a picture of me trying to get a picture of me ustreaming - it took a few takes:

P.S. If you can't watch ustream (or can't stand all my rambling), here were my notes for the show - thanks for the note Ruth!  Please note these are notes so there are lots of sentence fragments & bad punctuation etc.

_________________________________________________

KATIE SCOTT's Notes for the PRT #149: Online Scrapbook Classes

Name:

different from lawyer name; Kiss & Tell Scrapbooking (keep it simple / KtScott)

History:

scrapbooking forever, made little books when I was a kid, art classes, writing, business major, law, busy mom - scrapbooking perfect daily short amt of time solution for my need to be creative - someday I’ll paint & write novels but at this part of my life scrapbooking fits my needs

Pubs/Teams:

teacher and design team at Scrapbooking in Paradise,

one page in Simple Scrapbooks,

Article in First For Women (3.5 million readers) called"How Scrapbooking Saved My Marriage"

Ella Publishing friend,

& currently on design/creative teams for Get It Scrapped

& LLS Whim So Doodle - & main benefit for me on the teams is to get assignments (GIS) and get some discounted & free product (LLS) and connect w/ real life local scrapbookers

Classes:

I think the 1^st one I took was Stacy Julian’s b/cs I fell in love w/ her concept in The Big Picture & Simple Scrapbooks; taken BPC classes, shimelle class & videos, ella ebooks, and PAPERCLIPPING! And currently masterful scrapbook design & get it scrapped

I also really think of the PRT like a class b/cs I try to take an idea (one idea) from the show and implement it - like last week I did misting outside !

I did a blog post on my favorite online Classes sites & also 10 that I don’t use but I recommend.

 My Top Ten favorite Online Scrapbooking Classes and Tutorials are:

1. Debbie Hodge's Get It Scrapped: This is a free scrapbooking idea blog that is highly organized so you can find exactly what you you want to learn. I'm lucky enough to be on the creative team there right now!

2. Debbie Hodge's Masterful Scrapbook Design: Amazing ebooks, video tutorials, podcasts and interactions with the teachers on scrapbooking topics that both digital and paper scrapbookers will love. Plus lots of your favorite scrapbookers are teachers there: Celeste Smith, Lisa Dickinson, Paula Gilarde, Emily Pitts, Noell Hyman, Pattie Knox, Debbie Hodge, Tami Taylor, Amy Kingsford, Kim Watson, Leah Farquharson, Corrie Jones, Anna Aspnes, Amanda Jones, Dina Wakely, Lynnette Panacho, Summer Fullerton, Tiffany Tillman, Jana Morton, Audrey Neal, Kelly Purkey, Erin Bassett, Peppermint Granberg, Doris Sander, Michelle Clement, Wilna Furstenberg, Aly Dosdall, Vivian Masket, ... and there are actually dozens more!

3. Stacy Julian's Big Picture Classes: The original online scrapbook schoolhouse with so many of my favorite people from the old Simple Scrapbooks including Stacy Julian, Cathy Zielske, Ali Edwards, Angie Lucas, Wendy Smedley, ... and actually there are dozens more here too!

4. Noell Hyman's Paperclipping Roundtable Podcast: I love this podcast! I listen while I'm on the stepper, while I'm driving, and/or when I'm scrapbooking; when I'm scrapbooking it gives me the feeling of being at a crop without having to leave the house or share my scrap table space! Plus all of your favorite scrapbookers are talking about scrapbooking there - and its free! ... and there are dozens and dozens of guests so chances are your favorite scrapbookers are there.

5. Noell Hyman's Paperclipping Tutorials Membership: This is a paid for membership that runs 6 months at a time so it is a perfect way to jump start or re-start your scrapbooking mojo; the videos are professionally produced by Noell's "cameraman" who doubles as her husband. I love the videos because I can watch them on my iphone and Noell has a different and unique perspective so you can learn new ways to look at the same old things.

6. The Digi Show Podcast: This was a spin off of the Paperclipping Roundtable and while I'm not a digi-scrapbooker, I listen and look forward to it every week anyway. They often talk about general scrapbooking concepts and ideas; and when they talk very techie digi, I just listen and hope that someday it will sink in and I'll "get" how to or want to digi scrap.

7. Two Peas in a Bucket Classes and Events: This is a store but they offer so much in the way of free scrapbooking eductation that it should be on your radar. You can watch videos and take old and new classes, many of which are free. This year they have daily scrapbooking how-to videos that I am just loving - especially: The Adventures of Glitter Girl and Seeing Double (with Lisa Dickinson in particular).

8. Counterfeit Kit Challenge Blog: This is more of a challenge blog than an online scrapbooking class site but they have so much in the way of learning links and every month they encourage readers to create their own scrapbook kit with stuff from their scrapbook stash. It is a fun place to find new ideas and participate.

9. You Tube: You can find lots of scrapbooking tutorials for free on You Tube; word to the wise: You get what you pay for, but there are some amazing videos there too - especially those done by Shimelle Laine who also offers free and paid-for high quality and jam packed with content scrapbooking classes at her blog.

10. My Craft Channel offers free "shows" from scrapbookers like Heidi Swapp, Stacy Julian, Teresa Collins, and Amy Coon. They videos are about 10 minutes each and they are delightful.

Classes I recommend:

Those are just some of my favorites, there are probably hundreds of places to get online scrapbooking classes - yessiree, we have an active and vibrant subculture and we're proud! Here are 10 more links to sites that I recommend but don't currently use:

1. Jessica Sprague: Online classes and products for digital scrapbookers

2. Renee Pearson: Another source for online classes for digital scrapbooking and photography. And Renee is delightful in her "in person" classes, I took one in 2007 and loved it.

3. Lain Ehmann: True Scrap & Layout A Day "Load Challenge": If you've never tried scrapbooking everyday for one month, do it! It will speed up the way you scrap!

4. Donna Downey: She started at Simple Scrapbooks and has gone very artsy - lots of fun painting and art journal type classes here - I think they are on line and in North Carolina.

5. Creative Passion Classes: Online classes to fuel your passion for creativity.

6. Lynda.com: Learn how to use software programs and things on the internet and photography tips and a lot of tech information.

7. Ustream: You can find a wealth of free scrapbooking videos on ustream - the downside is that it gives you commercials before each video - but if you find some favorite teachers and follow them, it is a great resource.

8. Ranger U: All sorts of scrapbook technique videos.

9. Creating Keepsakes: There is a ton of information about scrapbooking here, but I find it a little difficult to nagivate - but it is worth the effort, the content is good - the web aspect of it could use a little streamlining.

10. Ali Edwards: December Daily, A Week In the Life, One Little World, and many more scrapbooking concepts and ideas with a mix of free and paid for classes.

 Keeping track of Oncline Scrapbooking Classes:

I really like that BPC does this for you, I’ve lots classes & ebooks I’ve taken else where. But I’m an in the moment kind of learner so I like to focus on my current class and I rarely go back - with the exception of listening to Stacy’s audio messages (like a podcast) on BPC

BPC Classes I’ve taken:

Lom / Photo Freedom; Design Your Life; 12 Design Challenges, and 12; I put a list of the classes on my blog - I think there were probably more than 30; some of which were the free big idea festivals & creative crops; I’ve also done the Ella Boot Camps & I think they are w/ bpc now & I loved them.

BPC CLASSES I WANT TO TAKE:

Self paced: (all are in the $10-15 range)

1. Organizing FUNdamentals / Wendy Smedley & Aly Dosdall

2. The Good Life / Amy Tangerine

3. Grateful Everyday / Mou Saha

4. Life As We Know It / Elizabeth Dillow

5. Cluster Embellishments / Nic Howard

6. Theme and Theme Again / Doris Sander

7. Me + You / Lisa Day

8. The Mirror Project / Donna Kert

9. Family History Simplified / Georganna Hall

10. The Kid Perspective / Deanna Lambson (free)

(Wish they would organize these listings or make them searchable by teacher or topic)

BPC Workshops I want to take:

Get Artsy Mou Saha 25-Apr-13 to 5-Jun-13 (6 Weeks) $34.00

Clean&Simple: The Workshop Cathy Zielske 4-Apr-13 to 26-Jun-13 (12 Weeks) $99

Organizing FUNdamentals Wendy Smedley & Aly Dosdall 21-Mar to1-May-13 (6 Weeks) $59.00 Get Great Photos with Any Camera Elisha Snow 11-Apr to 8-May-13 (4 Wks) $59.00

Ella ebooks I love:

Story Telling & Photo Freedom! & Secrets of Happy Scrapbookers/ Stacy Julian

Don’t Say Cheese & Real Life Photography / Rebecca Cooper

Scrapbooking the Everyday / Elizabeth Dillow

Journaling that Matters / Angie Lucas

8 is Enough / Studio Calico

Stretch Your Sketches / Donna Januzzi

(I would like to see Ella & BPC figure out a way to get the ebooks I purchased in the past on the BPC "MY classes" (& books)" screen - I’m sure they’re working on it, I’m not worried.

IN PERSON CLASSES:

I used to teach a ‘scrap your scraps" class at my LSS

I have taken in person classes from Donna Downey, Renee Pearson, Mou Saha, Kal Barteski, The Inspired Event, Stephanie Akerman,

but I don’t really take advantage of all the awesome scrapbookers who come to whim so doodle on a regular basis because its hard to get away from the family on the weekends but it is easier to get online: tim holtz, margie romney aslett, dina wakely, dianne reavely, etc.

On PRT #2 Donna Downey said how you have to go on a band tour - that you can just gloss over things on the internet - I think that’s true to a certain extent but I also think that you can find real and meaningful connections over the internet with people you have never met and will probably never meet in real life. And being in person with someone sometimes kills it (ie. Computer dating & then seeing them in real life - sometimes its probably better to keep it on line). I think it is still possible to build friendships and relationships on line. I have. I’ve met real life friends who I only met because I became friends w/ them online through scrapbooking.

other PODCASTS I love:

Digi Show & Debbie Hodge’s memory keeper’s life & amy coon used to do one called the paper life which I loved. Also The Nerdist (profanity alert); This American Life, & The Accident Creative & The Foolish Adventure.

School / Lifetime Learner:

I went to Eckerd College where they preached being a lifetime learner - that you should keep taking classes all of your life & in law I’m forced to do continuing legal education; but in my hobby of scrapbooking I like to take classes because the re-energize my hobby and get me interested again; they help me to see the same things in different ways.

Creativity Book by Jonah Leher:

I know he embellished a bit; but I think many of the concepts he was talking about were true - especially that you need to mix up the old stuff w/ the new stuff - so while I like to continuing to take just about anything that Stacy Julian puts out, I also like to try new things - like all those Garden Girls videos, or in the last year its been Masterful Scrapbook Design & there too I see familiar faces & new faces and I love that mix.  (see PRT episodes #119 & #103 for more thoughts on learning & creativity)

 Where to Hoard & Spend Your $ in Scrapbooking:

I’m as guilty as anyone else of having way too much in the way of scrapbooking supplies (10 Feet of Paper layout) and I should purge; but I am not all that attached to my stuff - living in Florida we have hurricane season every single year and every year we are faced with the possibility of losing all of our material things. So having things backed up on the internet or in the cloud (someday) is great; but really - if I lost all of my scrapbooking supplies - with the knowledge I’ve gained from Online Classes! I could start scrapbooking again without any supplies. If you want to blow your budget - stop buying more stuff - buy some creative energy and knowledge with the classes, for real - I should remember to take my own advice on this more often!

Plus the skills you gain through classes - esp. photography, writing, etc. won’t go out of style the next time CHA comes around & chevrons are no longer groovy (could you ever imagine a day? I can’t, but seriously - that day will come and chevrons will be has been - but your photography and writing skills will translate to the next trendy scrapbooking product thing).

Plus classes take up less space & will mean less clutter to have to learn to organize!

Improv class:

I realized that when I’m learning something new, going to a new place, meet a new person that I get more creative in all areas of my life - you need to keep learning in order to continue to be creative and interested over a long time.

Also this class made me think about life & scrapbooking in a whole new way & I went through a surge of creative energy & created more pages than ever before and faster before - and my coach and I actually wrote a book on the subject (we are both very impulsive creative types - so we really just need an editor to get the thing spell checked & uploaded - its on our list)

Loss of Mojo:

There’s an ebb and flow to creativity, that’s normal & I like to take breaks, but sometimes those breaks feel like the end and that’s when you need to do something to jumpstart your scrapbooking - unless you really want to quit it - which I don’t think most scrapbookers want to do - I know people like that and they always seem very sad about stopping - like they gave up to the excuses of I don’t have enough time, money, creativity, whatever - I don’t ever want to feel like that - I want to be a scrapbooker for the rest of my life and I know that it will change over time just like I will change over time - that’s the point right? I like to look at my old pages because they show where I was (one my my biggest regrets is pulling apart a magnetic scrapbook album I made of my semester in greece from 1989 - I wish I left that intact - acid and all.

Batch & Tackle -

Works great for parts of scrapbooking like doing all your painting or printing photos at once, but

Does not apply to classes - better to take fewer at a time & fully immerse yourself, just pick one or two at a time.

I like the workshops better b/cs others are taking them at the same time & I think you can learn a lot from other students & make friends & connections etc. on the workshop message boards.

If you just keep consuming informaiton & ideas & not apply them then its not useful - you need to apply what you learn for it to sink it and for it to keep you excited about scrapbooking.

Sometimes you need to take a break from the learning - like summer vacation for regular school - you shouldn’t try to be learning all the time. Sometimes just let it simmer in your brain and then wait / or set up your learning like semesters.

Plus when you are a student you let go of your perfectionist tendencies & actually try something new & practice & that is awesome

PLUS if you travel and get stuck somewhere - if you have lots of online scrapbooking friends from your classes - then you’ll always have someone to call in an emergency no matter where you are in the world! For example - we are going on a cruise for spring break & I’ll be meeting up w/ Christy Strickler who lives in the Bahamas - I’ve also has an idea of "couch surfing" for scrapbookers - because you know these people would be nice & they’d probably let you work on your travel mini - someone should do that - do an across the country scrapbook couch surf - it would be a fun blog series & a cheap way for someone to travel :)

Your online scrapbooking friends can be all different - so it is a way to broaden your perspective - different politics, different religions, different family situations, different ages etc. but we all have this common bonder of scrapbooking so we all speak the same secret language

YOU CAN LEARN SO MUCH

From FOLLOWING your curiosities w/I the classes you take so that if you listen to a prt / go check out the guests blogs etc.

 YOU CAN FIND ME:

Get it Scrapped.com & kissandtellscrapbooking.com

- sometimes make you tube & ustream videos that are very amateur but describe my improv scrapbooking & the century scrapbook project

Glitter Girl & Seeing Double w/ Lisa Dickinson / I usually post a project to those video challenges

Links to Online Scrapbooking Classes and Tutorials

My Top Ten favorite Online Scrapbooking Classes and Tutorials are:

1. Debbie Hodge's Get It Scrapped: This is a free scrapbooking idea blog that is highly organized so you can find exactly what you you want to learn.  I'm lucky enough to be on the creative team there right now!

2. Debbie Hodge's Masterful Scrapbook Design:  Amazing ebooks, video tutorials, podcasts and interactions with the teachers on scrapbooking topics that both digital and paper scrapbookers will love.   Plus lots of your favorite scrapbookers are teachers there: Celeste Smith, Lisa Dickinson, Paula Gilarde, Emily Pitts, Noell Hyman, Pattie Knox, Debbie Hodge, Tami Taylor, Amy Kingsford, Kim Watson, Leah Farquharson, Corrie Jones, Anna Aspnes, Amanda Jones, Dina Wakely, Lynnette Panacho, Summer Fullerton, Tiffany Tillman, Jana Morton, Audrey Neal, Kelly Purkey, Erin Bassett, Peppermint Granberg, Doris Sander, Michelle Clement, Wilna Furstenberg, Aly Dosdall, Vivian Masket, ... and there are actually dozens more! 

3. Stacy Julian's Big Picture Classes:  The original online scrapbook schoolhouse with so many of my favorite people from the old Simple Scrapbooks including Stacy Julian, Cathy Zielske, Ali Edwards, Angie Lucas, Wendy Smedley, ... and actually there are dozens more here too!

4. Noell Hyman's Paperclipping Roundtable Podcast: I love this podcast!  I listen while I'm on the stepper, while I'm driving, and/or when I'm scrapbooking; when I'm scrapbooking it gives me the feeling of being at a crop without having to leave the house or share my scrap table space!  Plus all of your favorite scrapbookers are talking about scrapbooking there - and its free!  ... and there are dozens and dozens of guests so chances are your favorite scrapbookers are there.

5. Noell Hyman's Paperclipping Tutorials Membership:  This is a paid for membership that runs 6 months at a time so it is a perfect way to jump start or re-start your scrapbooking mojo; the videos are professionally produced by Noell's "cameraman" who doubles as her husband.   I love the videos because I can watch them on my iphone and Noell has a different and unique perspective so you can learn new ways to look at the same old things.

6. The Digi Show Podcast:  This was a spin off of the Paperclipping Roundtable and while I'm not a digi-scrapbooker, I listen and look forward to it every week anyway.  They often talk about general scrapbooking concepts and ideas; and when they talk very techie digi, I just listen and hope that someday it will sink in and I'll "get" how to or want to digi scrap.

7. Two Peas in a Bucket Classes and Events:  This is a store but they offer so much in the way of free scrapbooking eductation that it should be on your radar.  You can watch videos and take old and new classes, many of which are free.  This year they have daily scrapbooking how-to videos that I am just loving - especially:  The Adventures of Glitter Girl and Seeing Double (with Lisa Dickinson in particular).

8. Counterfeit Kit Challenge Blog:  This is more of a challenge blog than an online scrapbooking class site but they have so much in the way of learning links and every month they encourage readers to create their own scrapbook kit with stuff from their scrapbook stash.  It is a fun place to find new ideas and participate.

9. You Tube:  You can find lots of scrapbooking tutorials for free on You Tube; word to the wise:  You get what you pay for, but there are some amazing videos there too - especially those done by Shimelle Laine who also offers free and paid-for high quality and jam packed with content scrapbooking classes at her blog.

10. My Craft Channel  offers free "shows" from scrapbookers like Heidi Swapp, Stacy Julian, Teresa Collins, and Amy Coon.  They videos are about 10 minutes each and they are delightful.

Those are just some of my favorites, there are probably hundreds of places to get online scrapbooking classes - yessiree, we have an active and vibrant subculture and we're proud!  Here are 10 more links to sites that I recommend but don't currently use:

1. Jessica Sprague:  Online classes and products for digital scrapbookers

2. Renee Pearson: Another source for online classes for digital scrapbooking and photography.  And Renee is delightful in her "in person" classes, I took one in 2007 and loved it.

3. Lain Ehmann:  True Scrap & Layout A Day "Load Challenge":  If you've never tried scrapbooking everyday for one month, do it!  It will speed up the way you scrap!

4.  Donna Downey:  She started at Simple Scrapbooks and has gone very artsy - lots of fun painting and art journal type classes here - I think they are on line and in North Carolina.

5. Creative Passion Classes:  Online classes to fuel your passion for creativity.

6. Lynda.com:  Learn how to use software programs and things on the internet and photography tips and a lot of tech information.

7. Ustream: You can find a wealth of free scrapbooking videos on ustream - the downside is that it gives you commercials before each video - but if you find some favorite teachers and follow them, it is a great resource.

8. Ranger U:  All sorts of scrapbook technique videos.

9. Creating Keepsakes:  There is a ton of information about scrapbooking here, but I find it a little difficult to nagivate - but it is worth the effort, the content is good - the web aspect of it could use a little streamlining.

10. Ali Edwards: December Daily, A Week In the Life, One Little World, and many more scrapbooking concepts and ideas with a mix of free and paid for classes.

Have fun scrapbooking using inspiration from online scrapbooking classes and tutorials!

 

 

 

Paperclipping Roundtable: Link List for Photography Podcasts

I created a giant link link for the Paperclipping Roundtable Podcast.  You can find it by clicking here: Paperclipping Roundtable Episode Link List by Categories.

This Week's Paperclipping Roundtable is called PRT125: See The Light and it is all about photography.

{Here's a less than awesome photo in low light with my purse point and shoot - but check out my awesome hair!}

Rather than going back into my complete link list post (and risk messing it up), I'm going to update with updated posts, so here is the PHOTOGRAPHY LIST UPDATE:

PAPERCLIPPING ROUNDTABLE ON PHOTOGRAPHY:

#26 Organize Your Photos

#59 Smart Phone Photos

#68 Taking Photos You'll Love

 #112 Photography Equipment

#125 See The Light

I'll also update the list of "other awesome scrapbookers" (and as a side note I got lazy halfway through making the list so there are lots and lots of awesome scrapbookers who aren't on this list!):

PAPERCLIPPING ROUNDTABLE EPISODES WITH OTHER AWESOME SCRAPBOOKERS:

#125 Katrina Kennedy & Tracey Clark & Karen Russell

#77 Karen Poirier-Brode

#87 Laine Ehmann #60 Lain Ehmann

#91 Elizabeth Dillow

#91 Stephanie Howell

#96 Cathy Zielske

#101 Steph from The Daily Digi

#105 Heidi Swapp

#108 Molly McCarthy

#73 Stephanie Medley-Rath #108 Stephanie Medley-Rath

#109 Dina Wakely

#103 Wilna Furstenberg

#113 Karen Grunberg #101 Karen Grunberg

#115 Jessica Sprague   #96 Jessica Sprague #88 Jessica Sprague

 #115 Monica McNeil

#116 Kristina Werner

 #117 Amy Tan #102 Amy Tan

#51 Liz Ness  #27 Kelly Purkey

If you'd like to pick up some cool camera gadgets or read about photography, please click through to one of the following affiliate links:

 

 

Paperclipping Roundtable: Link Lists for the Scrapbooking Podcast

I love the Paperclipping Roundtable and love to listen to the episodes while I'm scrapbooking.    I also love to listen to old episodes so I thought I'd create  some link lists according to how I like to listen to them or search for them (since the site is a little hard to navigate if you are looking for the older episodes and its hard to tell what the subject of the shows are because of the creative title):

PAPERCLIPPING ROUNDTABLE EPISODES WITH STACY JULIAN OR DEBBIE HODGE:

#1 Stacy Julian Zen Master of Scrapbooking

#4 The Chaotic Show

#7 The Process of Scrapbooking

#12 Heart on Fire Brain on Ice

#15 The Mini Book Show

#20 This is Stacy

#28 Poopy Stuff in our Backgrounds

#29 Oh The Trunk

#33 Uninterpreted Bits

#40 You Won't Be Interested In This Topic

#46 Hone Your Intuition

#47 Scrapbook the Commute and Lunch

#49 All Twelve Months

#52 Hook Drugs

#55 Almost Live from CHA

#58 You Forget

#60 Innovations in Scrapbooking

#63 Strangely Obsessed And Sick Group

#64 Long Projects Chronicled

#67 Library of Freedom

#73 Scrapworthy Lives

#76 Summer CHA 2011

#81 Organization on the Move

#84 So Cute Today

#92 The Two Page Layout Show

#100 CHA Baby

#102 I say Awesome and You Say Cute

#105 Categories of Amazingness

#107 Scrapbooking Teens

#111 In Ten Easy Steps

#119 Imagine

#121 Your Personal Style

 #123 The Confession Show

PAPERCLIPPING ROUNDTABLE EPISODES WITH ANGIE LUCAS OR WENDY SMEDLEY:

#4 The Chaotic Show

#7 The Process of Scrapbooking

#11 Viewer Mail

#17 Scrapbooker Know Thyself

#18 The Yin and Yang of Who I Am

#24 Hidden Journaling

#31 This Show Kicks A

#35 Memory Go Round

#41 I fought Sorting By Color

#42 Titles Don't Have to Stop Traffic

#48 If My Husband's Listening

#53 Getting It All Together

#57 The Closet Trendsetter

#66 Thinking Inside the Box

#71 For Big Scrapbooking Projects

#77 Masters of the Long Arm Extension

#79 The Personality Episode

#87 Questions, Lists and Prompts

#95 Before You Entered the Picture

#100 CHA Baby

#106 Scrapbook Procrastination

 #113 It Makes You Brave

 #123 The Confession Show

PAPERCLIPPING ROUNDTABLE EPISODES WITH ALI EDWARDS OR BECKY HIGGINS:

#3 Ali Edwards on Story

#6 How to Deal With All That Stuff

#16 Implanted Under Your Skin

#17 Scrapbooker Know Thyself

#19 How Vintage Are You?

#32 God Bless Ikea

#36 Go Outside

#45 Pile On Ali

#46 Hone Your Intuition

#49 All Twelve Months

#56 Breaking the Quote Rules

#68 Taking Photos You'll Love

#72 Working In the Scrapbooking Industry

#79 The Personality Episode

#89 Makes Me Want to Go Make Something

#97 Yes, Yes, and Yes.

#100 CHA Baby

#104 On Blogging and Scrapbooking

#119 Imagine

#124 The Things That Amaze You

PAPERCLIPPING ROUNDTABLE EPISOSES WITH MAY FLAUM OR TAMI MORRISON:

#22 Burnt Cookies

#24 Hidden Journaling

#61 Access Your Creativity

#76 Summer CHA 2011

#85 The Many Faces of Neutral

#92 The Two Page Layout Show

#95 Before You Entered the Picture

#105 Scrapbook Procrastination

#114 My Experience of Your Experience

#118 Not A Themey Person

#120 Not A Fan Of Neon

PAPERCLIPPING ROUNDTABLE EPISODES WITH SHIMELLE LAINE or CHRISTINE

URIAS:

#30 CHA Summer 2010

#38 A Metaphysical Bandwagon

#74 Polka Dots With Buddhist Temples

#80 The Glitter Queens

#81 Organization on the Move

#85 The Many Faces of Neutral

#90 Scrapbooking the 80s

#103 Too Precious to Scrapbook

#109 My Supplies are Talking To Me

#110 Clash of th Die Cutting Machines

#117 Take Your Scrapbooking To The Beach

PAPERCLIPPING ROUNTABLE EPISODES WITH ANNA CABRERA OR JULIE FEI-FAN BALZER:

#4 The Chaotic Show

#6 How To Deal With All That Stuff

#9 Does Size Matter?

#15 The Mini Book Show

#21 The Sum of Our Stories

#23 Design Teams

#25 Jen McGuire Gets Her Fix

#29 Oh The Trunk

#34 When They Get Hot They'll Black Out

#37 World's Worst Mom

#43 Different Scrapbook Styles

#44 Stories in Hand

#48 If My Husband's Listening

#51 Location Location Location

#52 Hook Drugs

#55 Almost Live from CHA

#59 Smart Phone Photos

#61 Access Your Creativity

#62 Not That Deep

#65 As You Wish

#69 Everything Could Use a Rhinestone

#72 Working in the Scrapbooking Industry

#80 The Glitter Queens

#84 So Cute Today

#88 I Scrap Dead People

#94 The Future of Scrapbooking

#99 A Page On Y'all

#107 Scrapbooking Teens

#114 My Experience of Your Experience

#116 How to Mail A Coconut 

PAPERCLIPPING ROUNDTABLE EPISODES WITH OTHER AWESOME SCRAPBOOKERS:

#77 Karen Poirier-Brode

#87 Laine Ehmann #60 Lain Ehmann

#91 Elizabeth Dillow

#91 Stephanie Howell

#96 Cathy Zielske

#101 Steph from The Daily Digi

#105 Heidi Swapp

#108 Molly McCarthy

#73 Stephanie Medley-Rath #108 Stephanie Medley-Rath

#109 Dina Wakely

#103 Wilna Furstenberg

#113 Karen Grunberg #101 Karen Grunberg

#115 Jessica Sprague   #96 Jessica Sprague #88 Jessica Sprague

 #115 Monica McNeil

#116 Kristina Werner

 #117 Amy Tan #102 Amy Tan

#51 Liz Ness

#27 Kelly Purkey

PAPERCLIPPING ROUNDTABLE CHA EPISODES & Scrapbook Industry & Trends:

#4 Live From CHA

#11 Viewer Mail

#16 Social Media and Scrapbooking

#23 Design Teams

#27 Plain Old Green

#30 CHA Summer 2010

#34 Question & Answers Episode

#50 The 50th Episode Celebration

#52 Hook Drugs

#55 Almost Live From CHA

#60 Innovations in Scrapbooking

#65 As You Wish

#72 Working in the Scrapbook Industry

#73 Scrapworthy Lives

#76 And I Might Be Wrong

#78 So Proud to be a Part of It

#83 The 6x6 Paper Pad Show

#94 The Future of Scrapbooking

#99 A Page On Y'All

 #100 CHA Baby

PAPERCLIPPING ROUNDTABLE ON PHOTOGRAPHY:

#26 Organize Your Photos

#59 Smart Phone Photos

#68 Taking Photos You'll Love

 #112 Photography Equipment

PAPERCLIPPING ROUNDTABLE ON JOURNALING AND STORY TELLING:

#3 Ali Edwards on Story

#21 The Sum of Our Stories

#24 Hidden Journaling

#32 Telling Family Stories

#44 Stories in Hand

#58 Techniques for Capturing Story

#87 Questions, Lists and Prompts

97 "Memory Keeping"

#101 Journaling vs. Embellishments

#104 On Blogging and Scrapbooking

#124: Telling Stories about Cultural Changes Over Time

PAPERCLIPPING ROUNDTABLE ON SCRAPBOOKING TECHNIQUES:

#2 Donna Downey The Artist

#8 Scrapbooking Tools

#19 How Vintage Are You?

#25 Jen McGuire on Techniques

#29 Technology in Scrapbooking

#31 Arts & Crafts

#33 Using Memorabilia in Scrapbooks

#43 Different Scrapbook Styles

#54 At Peace With Buckling

#69 Scrapbooking Embellishments

#75 I Don't Drip Either

#80 The Glitter Queens

#85 Using Neutrals in Scrapbooking

#89 Stamping on Scrapbooking Layouts

#98 Digital Scrapbooking

#110 Clash of the Die Cutting Machines

#116 Making Card with Scrapbooking Supplies

#122 Using Non-Scrapbook Items in Scrapbooking 

#120 Scrapbooking Colors and Trends

PAPERCLIPPING ROUNDTABLE ON MINI BOOKS & ALBUM STORAGE:

#15 The Mini Book Show

#45 How to Finish Mini Books

#57 Scrapbook Albums

#62 Art Journals

#64 Long Projects Chronicled

#67 Library of Freedom

#71 Big Scrapbooking Projects

#82 Making Unique Mini Books

#105 Categories of Amazingness

PAPERCLIPPING ROUNDTABLE ON TRAVEL AND VACATIONS:

#51 Location Location Location

#74 Polka Dots With Buddhist Temples

#117 Scrapbooking Outside and on Vacation

#118 Travel & Vacation Scrapbooking

PAPERCLIPPING ON HOLIDAYS AND CELEBRATIONS:

#39 Halloween Scrapbooking Ideas

#48 Holidays & Celebrations

PAPERCLIPPING ON SCHOOL PROJECTS  & PROJECT LIFE & Other Stages of Life:

#17 Becky Higgins on Project Life

#20 Chronological Scrapbooking

#28 Adopted Children

#37 School Scrapbooking

#47 Scrapbooking Work

#49 All Twelve Months

#77 Scrapbooking Your Spouse / Marriage

#84 Scrapbooking Your Parents or In-Laws

#88 Family History Scrapbooking

#90 Scrapbooking The 80s

#91 Scrapbooking The Military

#95 Scrapbooking Step Families, Divorce, and other Sensitive Family Situations

#96 Year Long Projects

#107 Scrapbooking Teens

#114 My Experience of Your Experience

 #115 Project Life - 6 Months Later

PAPERCLIPPING ROUNDTABLE ON SCRAPBOOKING ORGANIZATION:

#6 How To Deal With All That Stuff

#22 Unfinished Projects

#41 Sorting by Color

#53 Getting It All Together

#66 What to Bring to Scrapbooking Crops

#70 Shared Scrapbooking Spaces

#81 Organization on the Move

#102 Scrapbooking Systems

#108 Budgeting for Scrapbooking Supplies

 #111 Scrapbook Organization

PAPERCLIPPING ROUNDTABLE ON CREATIVITY:

#1 Stacy Julian Zen Master of Scrapbooking

#5 Why People Don't Scrapbook

#7 The Process of Scrapbooking

#12 Heart on Fire Brain on Ice

#14 Done is Better than Perfect

#18 Why You Scrapbook

#35 Memory Go Round

#36 Zen Habits for Scrapbookers

#38 A Metaphysical Bandwagon

#40 You Won't Be Interested In This Topic

#46 Hone Your Intuition

#56 Breaking the Quote Rules

#61 Access Your Creativity

#79 The Personality Episode

#93 A Vintage Scrapbook Story

#103 Too Precious to Scrapbook

#106 Scrapbook Procrastination

#113 Getting Beyond Creative Scrapbookers Block / The Blank Page

#119 Imagine - Book Review

#121 Your Personal Style

#123 Weaknesses and Struggles in Scrapbooking / Page Layouts

PAPERCLIPPING ROUNDTABLE ON SCRAPBOOK LAYOUTS:

#9 Scrapbook Page Size

#42 Scrapbook Titles

#63 Review of 4 Pages by 4 Scrapbookers

#86 Design Principals on Scrapbook Pages

#92 The Two Page Layout Show

#109 Review of 4 Scrapbook Layouts by 4 Scrapbookers

 

 

 

Hey Twelvers: DOZEN DAY Scrapbook Layouts Videos *** PLUS A Winner for the 200,000+ Blog Page Views!

SCRAPBOOKING LAYOUTS VIDEOS - PALOOOZA!

I got a comment from Rhonda who is a scrapbooker who is in the Big Picture Class with Stacy Julian. 

Kate, Your presence is requested on the TWELVE CHIT CHAT board to help us learn how to produce our own videos for class!!! Thx, Rhonda

Stacy makes videos called "Dozen Day" in which she shares the last 12 layouts she made and explains them, so the students in class want to do some too.  Here was my answer to Rhonda:

Hi Rhonda! OH Funny :) Ok.  I have videos on ustream which I film with a Microsoft web cam and I film the 10 minute videos for you tube on my husband's ipad. I have also used my iphone on the fly - like when I was skiing - to film and upload. I am not technically awesome by any stretch so when I have glitches I call in the computer man (aka my husband) to fix things. I'll check in to class now. P.S. I'm in my scrapbook room now and am torn between making a scrapbook page or an art journal page. I would love to combine those two worlds more.

And then I made my own Dozen Day Scrapbook Videos (scroll down or head over to You Tube through one of those links below).

PLEASE NOTE:  That I really tried to keep the videos under 10 minutes because my iPad condenses them to under 10 but I went over a bit so when I uploaded them I labeled them as  #1, #3, #5, #7, and #9 in case I had to add in supplements - I didn't - so they are labeled with ODD numbers only on You Tube but there is 5 (five) of them.

Video #1 (#1 on Youtube): {video link}

 

{video link for the tail end of #1 - start around 1:15 I think}

 

Video #2 (#3 on Youtube): {video link}

  

Video #3 (#5 on Youtube): { video link}

 

Video #4 (#7 on Youtube): { video link }

 

Video #5 (#9 on youtube): {video link}

 

 Want to make videos of your own and support this blog?  Click through to the affiliate link here - once you over at Amazon, if you make any purchases (so you don't have to buy the stuff below)  you can buy anything and means I'll get 4-6% and that goes to support this blog (which costs about $150.00 /yearr to typad - so it would be cool to have the blog at least support itself :)

  

This is the one I use fpr  ustream videos - and I thinkI paid $100+ at Best Buy, so it looks like Amazon is less expensive. I used the iPad for the videos up top.

And NOW FOR THE BIG (or 6x6 inch) PRIZE - dun daaa naaa naaah!  The WINNER OF THE POST for the 200,000 blog hits is

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Laura T. said...

Laura - please email me your address at katiescottscrapbooking@gmail.com and I'll send you some papers from the 6x6 kits I bought last weekend from Heidi Swapp / Sugar Chic; Heidi Swapp / No Limits; Amy Tangerine / Sketchbook; Crate Paper / Story Teller;  and some older Basic Grey / Basics White and Infuse and Offbeat and probably some other stuff too!

P.S. I don't work for any scrapbook companies so this is just stuff from my stash - but that I think you'll like. 

P.S. Hey scrapbooking companies - if you ever want to provide me some free stuff to give away on the blog... just email me or leave a comment!

Thanks for visiting my little space on the internet :)

Katie.

5 Common Reasons for Scrapbooker's Block and 5 Easy Ways to Solve It and Get Scrapping!

 

Scrapbookers, Imagine This:  You just received your print order, several envelopes of your latest and greatest pictures, and you now have a new and exciting stack of awesome photos just waiting to be scrapbooked!  There's the birthday party photos, photos from your last vacation, and some really adorable photos of your 8 year old.   You are all excited to scrapbook them!  You rearrange some things on your to do list and you somehow find 3 hours of uninteruppted scrapbooking time.  You put your photos in your photo organization system.   You get out your adhesives, scalloped edged scissors  and that new pack of embellishments shown at the last CHA.   Ready!  Set!  And Nothing.  Instead of "Go!" you are at at dead end STOP!  You stare at the dreaded blank page and then it hits you:  The Dreaded Scrapbooker's Block.  

Have you ever been hit with scrapbooker's block?  If you are a kid, chances are you haven't and you can stop reading and go play now!  But if you are a scrapbooker who is over the age of 18, then you might know what I'm talking about.  If you haven't experienced scrapbooker's block or perhaps you just need a definition for this frustrating condition, here's how wikipedia defines this common scrapbooker's ailment {please note I took some liberties with the "writer's block" definition and adapted it for our concern "scrapbooker's block"}:  

    "Scrapbooker's Block is a condition, primarily associated with scrapbooking as a hobby in     which the creative goddess loses the ability to produce new layouts.  The condition varies widely     in intensity. It can be trivial, a temporary difficulty in choosing how many photos should go onto     a particular layout or which embellishments to use for a visual triangle on the page to tie it all     together.  At the other extreme, some "blocked" scrapbookers have been unable to work for years     on end, and have been known to continue to buy supplies despite the complete stop of production     of scrapbooking layouts or mini books.  It can manifest as the affected scrapbooker viewing her     work as inferior or unsuitable, when in fact it could be the opposite. Scrapbooker's block is a     common affliction that most memory keepers will experience at one time or another, it is "an     inability to begin or continue scrapbooking for reasons other than lack of basic skill or     commitment".  

Who's been there?  I know I have, more than once.  Can I get an "Amen" scrapbooking sisters?

Scrapbooker's block can be caused by these five common problems:

1. Lack of Inspriation:  Oh sure there are dozens of inspiring projects on Pinterest and over at Two Peas, but nothing really "speaks" to you and your creativity just isn't sparked by anything - not even a glittery fire lit with hot-off-the-CHA-floor-patterned-paper by scrapbooking LOAD Coach Lain Ehmann herself.;

2. Over Awareness of the Audience:  Whether your audience is your own family or your online scrapbooking friends, you cant' seem to make anything because you keep thinking about what so-and-so will think of your completed scrapbook project so you just don't start or complete anything.;

3. External Circumstances like stress or health issues of the scrapbooker.  This will happen to all of us at one time or another.;

4. Sophmore Syndrome: Intimidation from a previous success.  Maybe you had a layout published in a magazine or recognized on an online scrapbooking gallery and now you are afraid to make another layout because you don't think it will be as awesome as the last layout.; or

5.  Perhaps the most dreaded of all "Trying to be Perfect":  You can't seem to do anything at all for fear that it might not be perfect and you'll ruin your photos, your supplies, or your own ego.

 Let's check in with wikipedia again and see what they say about the brain on scrapbooker's block {again I'll take some liberties and re-phrase to make it crafty}:

    "Scrapbooker's Block is more than just a mentality. Under stress, a human brain will "shift     control from the cerebral cortex to the limbic system". The limbic system is associated with the     instinctual processes, such as "fight or flight" response. Because the person is primarily thinking     in instinctual (learned) behaviors, creative processes are hindered. The person is often unaware     of the change, which may lead them to believe they are creatively "blocked"."

So enough of the problem, chances are you are just as familiar as I am with the causes or stresses of scrapbooker's block; what you really want to know is just how do you cure scrapbooker's block?

1. Take a Scrapbooking Class or Listen in on a Scrapbooking Group Discussion.

A few years ago I took Lain Ehmann's LayOut A Day (LOAD) Challenge and the exercise of making a scrapbook layout everyday for a month helped me get to a place where I could scrapbook no matter what; I think the key factor in this system is the short deadline. 

While I have been scrapbooking for well over a decade, I still take an occasional scrapbooking class to keep things fresh.  My favorite place to take online scrapbooking classes is Big Picture Classes.  I'm currently taking Stacy Julian's Twelve Class and Elizabeth Dillow's Twelve Challenges Class.

My favorite "Scrapbooking Discussion Group" otherwise known as a "podcast" is The Paperclipping Roundtable Podcast.   The Paperclipping Roundtable "airs" on itunes every week and is about an hour, topics include scrapbook organization, the process of scrapbooking, and scrapbooking tools and tricks.  Listening in always gets me in the mood to do some scrapbooking.

2. Keep a Scrapbooking Ideas Journal.

Whether you keep your ideas in a plain notebook, a fancy and embellished journal, or on your iphone; writing things down helps.  Even if you never go back to the list, the act of having written down an idea helps to keep it and grow it in your mind.  Depending on your personality, you may love or hate lists; but either way, try writing down ideas for a month and see if your ability to overcome scrapbooker's block improves.  My bet is that it will.

Pinterest is also a great place to keep ideas.  Major warning:  Pinterest is also a major time waster and can result in feelings of insecurity and inferiority since there are amazing ideas and photos there; so use Pinterest with caution.

3. Do some Free-Scrapbooking.

My husband often tells the story about how he was a bad student until he learned the trick of "getting ready" to do homework.  He'd tell himself that he was just "getting ready" to do some homework, he'd get his books and pencils, a snack, and sit at the desk; he didn't pressure himself to actually do anything, but, he says, once he was all set up and sitting there he'd do the homework.  Try that with your scrapbooking, get some photos out; get out some paper; don't pressure yourself to make anything but if you get even an inkling of inspiration, jump on it and go with whatever gave you that spark. 

Another idea is to make a card,  or a page in an ongoing mini book with a standard structure, or just to start doodling or punching or free hand cutting some patterened paper.  Just start moving and your brain will follow.

4. Just Do It.  Make a Page even if it is Not Perfect, especially if it is not perfect!  In fact, make an Imperfect Page! 

Take your worst, blurriest photo and the ugliest piece of paper you can find.  Make a page.  Just do it.  Once that's out of your system, you'll at least have done something.  The fact that its not awesome will give you the confidence to make the next one a bit better because it couldn't be any worse.  Just try it. 

In the alternative, set your kitchen timer for 15 mintues, and don't spend any time thinking, just do this:  1. Open your photo file and pick one without looking (1 minute).   2. Then pick a neutral colored cardstock, don't spend more than (30 seconds) picking.  3. Pick some letters, give yourself a minute.  4. Paste all that together (2 minutes).  5. Write something on the page - draw four or five lines and just start writing.  (5 minutes tops) .  6.  You are 8.5 minutes in and you can call it done if you like, but if you wish, pick a few embellishments and stick them down in a visual triangle (5 minutes tops). 

5. Find a Positive Place to Share Your Scrapbooking Work.

If you've been scrapbooking for any length of time, chances are your family has lost the level of excitement for your scrapbooking layouts that maybe they had in the beginning.  You need scrapbooking friends for this job my friend.

Feedback can be awesome, find a place where you can find some friendly scrapbookers who are at a similar scrapbooking skill level and share your work.  You can set up a flickr group or join in a variety of many, many scrapbooking communities online.  Or pick a few friends to be your viewing buddies. 

***

Want to hear me read this essay?  Check this out:

 

 I hope that this article has been helpful or at least a bit entertaining.  Please leave a comment to share your most common cause of scrapbookers' block and your favorite solution.

If you'd like to learn more about "scrapbooker's block" or even "writer's block", check out these affiliate links:

 

 

 

 

Old School & Modern Wedding Scrapbooking

This Scrapbooking Video is about my old school magnetic scrapbook wedding scrapbook and my modern scrapbook albums and photo books.  It is in response to Noell Hymann's Paperclipping Roundtable #103 "Too Precious to Scrapbook" and the connection between what kind of scrapbooker you are in relation to how you planned your wedding. 

 

Click here for a link to the Ella Publishing ezine article I wrote about scrapbooking your marriage and relationship based on Stacy Julian & Lain Ehmann's ebook Simple Secrets of Happy Scrapbookers and my adaptation of David Niven's book about Happy Relationships.

Click here for a link to Noel Hyman & Nancy Nally's podcast Paperclipping Roundtable PRT #103: Too Precious to Scrapbook relating wedding planning and scrapbooking.

If you wish to support this blog, check out these affiliate links which are related to products I mentioned in the video:

The Hunger Games Scrapbooking Challenge Day 3: District 11

Hello Scrapbooking Friends & Hunger Games Fans:

Welcome to Day 3 of The Hunger Games Scrapbooking Challenge on Kiss and Tell Scrapbooking, today we are visiting District 11:

 

The Hunger Games:  Today we are visiting Rue's District 11 Agriculture.  Rue reminded  Katniss Everdeen of her little sister, they relaxed together in the woods and Katniss sang to Rue as she tragically died.  We are going to use this part of the story as a jumping off point for themes for possible scrapbooking layouts or projects; think of them as story prompts.  Our themes for today are agriculture; siblings; relaxing in the great outdoors; and music.  Here are some (previously created) pages I made in each of these theme categories:

1. DISTRICT 11 AGRICULTURE:  Themes could include growing a garden, layouts about flowers or trees, tree climbing, nature, etc.

2. KATNISS & RUE:  The SIBLING CONNECTION:  Katniss Everdeen was the older sister and wanted to protect her little sister Primrose from having to participate in The Hunger Games; Katniss volunteers to take her place as tribute and once in the games, finds a connection to Rue from District 11 since she reminds Katniss of her little sister.   Pages in this theme could include actual siblings or friends who seem like siblings:

Here's another page that I made about my sister and on the backside in the page protector I keep letters from her and her son:

3. REST AND RELAXATION IN THE GREAT OUTDOORS:  I picked some camping layouts and a layout about relaxing in our backyard hammock with a Story People quote that I love:

4. MUSIC:  This is the title page for my Music Section of my Library of Memories Scrapbooking Albums and several of the filler pages. 

P.S. Check out Taylor Swift's song from The Hunger Games and Ben Fold's song Rockin the Suburbs - I highly recommend both.

Want to play along?

1. Please leave a comment with a link to your layout.

2. Join the Facebook Event:  The Hunger Games Scrapbooking Challenge Facebook Event Page

3. Join the Flickr Group: The Hunger Games Scrapbooking Challenge.

4. If you wish to support this blog and have more fun with scrapbooking and The Hunger Games, check out these affiliate links:

 

 

Making Scrapbooking Videos & Systems & Top Ten Ways to Systematize Your Creative Process.

This week's Paperclipping Roundtable Podcast is about SYSTEMS.  I love the concept of systems and creating systems to solve problems that come up again and again.  Lately I've been making scrapbooking videos and I definately need to work on my systems associated with that process and I'm working on that, for example, I need to work on my system of making them shorter!

Here are some great resources for creating systems for your creative process:

1. Creativity Tools - Start Here!

2. How To Plan and Manage Creative Teams.

3. The Dynamics of Creativity

4. How to Systematize Your Creative Writing

5. Systems are Great, But Systems Don't Solve Everything in the Creative Process

6. Why You Should Learn a Productivity System.

7. Zen To Done: The Ultimate Simple Productivity System

8. Why Creatives need a Productivity System.

9. Creatica: A Model to Systematize Creativity's Stimuli

10. Unlocking Your Creative Genius Potential with Mind Mapping

Want to read more and support this blog?  Check out these books about systems on Amazon:

 

 

Improv Scrapbooking: How to Use the Principles of Improvisational Comedy to Become a Better More Authentic and Prolific Scrapbooker; Plus: SNL Mini Book & Being PRESENT in your Scrapbooking Process and Scrapbooking Videos!

Improv Scrapbooking:

I took an intro to Improvisational Comedy class last summer with Toby Martini and while taking the six week class, I had a spark of creativity that went beyond the class, learning the principles of improvisational comedy didn't necessarily make me funny, but it gave me a new way to think about my creative process and applying these principles to my process of scrapbooking has been a revolution for me.  I am more prolific than ever, in October I made 40 layouts in 7 days and last month I made 60 layouts.  Making a million scrapbook layouts is not the goal. Being more present and authentic in my creative process and product is.  Telling better stories is the goal.  Spending less time on stuff that doesn't matter  is the goal.  Spending more time on what makes my heart and soul sing is the goal.  I'm there and I want to share.

In Improvisational Comedy, one of the first principles you learn is to be present.  To listen to what your scene partner is saying and to respond to that, not to be thinking about what you are going to say next, but to be listening and then just opening your mouth and saying whatever pops into your head.  Improv Business Consultant Marcia McGilley of Limelight Presentations says  "I've also been a stage actor in plays, infomercials and 'improv' comedy shows. Improv is short for 'improvisational.' That's a fancy word which means thinking on your feet. No scripts or lines to memorize, you just say whatever pops into your head in a given situation. Improv was great training for real-life situations in business and consulting. I know how valuable it is as one of your communication skills." 

This principle of being present, listening and saying whatever pops into your head can be applied to the process of scrapbooking.  Think of what that little voice in your head is saying or what is on your mind or heart right now.  What has you worried or excited  or experiencing any heightened emotion right now.  Listen.  It is there.  Scrapbook about that.  Don't pre-plan it.  Don't write it down in a list of things to scrapbook later.  Just scrapbook it right now with what you have available to you right now.  Even if that means it won't be as awesome as you think it would be / could be with better photos, better embellishments, or better more thought out writing.  Chuck all that planning out the window.  Remember the Nike ads?  Just do it. Right Now.  You have 15 minutes to spill your guts on the page.  Don't edit.  Be real.  Say it (write it down) before you think much about it.  Don't worry about grammar.  Don't worry about anything that you think it should be, just go with what it is, what is in you that wants to get out.  Listen.   Listen and then Go! 

Here is an example of what I mean by Listening to What Your Heart is Telling You, Being Present, and Being Improv about how you respond to that in a scrapbooking kind of way:  (Hey - ppssst - blog reader - You can skip over this part or skim it - as I am a bit "improv" in my description - in other words, I am long winded - I'll highlight some important stuff).    Today is Valentine's Day, I intended to make a scrapbook page about Valentine's Day or at least the theme of love.  I started the page yesterday in anticipation of today being Valentine's Day - check yesterday's posts for the videos in which I made that and other projects.  But, this morning  when I woke up, I was thinking about Saturday Night Live and about the Grammy's Music Award Show, about Whitney Houston's death and about how Paul McCartney did the last number at the Grammy's; about how music and certain songs can instantly take us to a time and place and bring back memories; and about how the show Saturday Night Live also does that for me.  When I see or think about an SNL sketch, I am also reminded of the time in my life when I first saw it.  For example, the Coneheads and Gilda Radner bring me back to the 70s when I used to spend Saturday Nights at my Grandma's house watching the Barbara Mandrell Show, Love Boat and Fantasy Island, and then if I was still awake and Grandma would let us, we'd watch some Saturday Night Live, I don't remember it too specifically, but I knew it was cool.  In the 80s I can remember my friends in AP Calculus Class (my most hated class), imitating Dana Carvey as the Church Lady - "Now isn't THAT special?"  In college I used to spend the weekends with friends who were married with very young kids and we loved Kevin Nealon "I'll Pump (clap) You Up" and Mike Meyers in Wayne's World  - I'm pretty sure Dana Carvey was in both of those sketches too (without googling it  I think I'm getting his name right).  When I first met my husband and we were dating, we'd often watch SNL after dates and that one night in August 1997 or 1998(?) when we turned to NBC at approximately 11:43  (so we knew SNL had started and we were on the right channel) and we were horrified that they were trying to do a sketch about Princess Diana being in a car accident and then slowly realizing it wasn't SNL, it was real.  And now, my kids and I love Andy Samberg and his SNL shorts like Lazer Cats and Space Olympics.  The show has been a constant in my life.  It is like an old friend who knew me way back when.  I am reminded of the different people I watched the show with depending on the sketch and when it aired.  There are Deep Thoughts, like the ones Jack Handy used to do (miss those):  1. How powerful it was when Paul Simon sang The Boxer with the FDNY behind him right after 9/11 - I still get a little teary just thinking about how deep the emotion was at that moment; 2. How tender Chris Farley was when he did the awkward interview of Paul McCartney and he asked about whether it was true when McCartney sang "The love you take is equal to the love you make" and how Paul McCartney closed last weekend's Grammy Awards with that line and how the Beatles and Rolling Stones and U2 and Madonna have been musical constants  and all have been on SNL (well at least members of the Beatles have been on the show).  Music and this long running show of Saturday Night Live have been a constant in my life as I was born in the 70s and that show started in 1975 when my parents got divorced and that show has been the backdrop to my Saturday nights for as long as I can remember.  If I never scrapbooked about something as random as seemingly random as Saturday Night Live, my story would be incomplete; but more importantly, if today, when I took time to scrapbook, if I didn't scrapbook about Saturday Night Live because it was on my heart and mind, whatever else I did would have been forced and not as real, it would not make an impression on me; whereas if I scrapbook what I am passionate about right now, chances are in 20 years when I look back at that page, I'll be taken back to today and that page will be a better memory trigger for me of time and place, like when you hear an old song, than if I hadn't been present and listened and then scrapbooked using these improv principles.  Improv will make the memories more authentic and real.  There will be more of me in what I create.  I think this goes beyond scrapbooking; improvisational comedy principles can be applied to any creative process.

 Here are 3.5 videos that you can find on YouTube about the process of applying improvisational comedy principles to scrapbooking and my actual process:

1. Watch as I use improvisational comedy principles in my scrapbooking creative process:

 

I use the principles of improvisational comedy for my video making too - I just press record and talk, there is no preparation and I say what is on my heart and mind, I am in the present moment, not thinking about the next thing I'm going to say - this is improv - it isn't always funny or interesting - but it is real and the more real you are, the better it is in an improv way.

1.5 Here's my improv fix for the 20 minute video that wouldn't upload to YouTube - This is The Middle (which is also a great show by the way)  - I tried to get it to a point where there isn't too much overlap - but it is not perfect - it is improv!  And just ask Seth Godin about how he feels about shipping when it is not completely perfect - I'm pretty sure he'd say ship it. So here's the fix:

 

2. Here is part 2: (Darn it! There is a gap between #1 and #2 so I'm going to upload a 1.5 to bridge the gap).

 

3. SNL Mini Book Cover & Applying the Improv Concept of Using What You Have and Getting It Done Now:

 

If you are interested in learning more about applying the concepts from improvisational comedy to scrapbooking or to any other part of your creative process, please leave a comment and/or email me.  I am working on some projects that will expand on this concept and I need some guinea pigs. 

Meantime, if you wish to support my blog through the Amazon Affiliate Program, you can check out these books and Paul McCartney's new album, Kisses on the Bottom (which sounds like an improv concept of "taking it the wrong way") that dropped today:

Sing it Paul:  "And in the end, the love you take, is equal to the love you make. " 

I think you you can substitute the word love for memory keeping or the creative process; in other words, what you get out of your scrapbooking or memory keeping hobby is what you put in to it - so put good stuff in OK? 

December Daily - Day 4

December Daily - Day 4:  Today was all about cleaning the house to get ready for a party that we are  having on Saturday, so I thought I was pretty clever with the title.

Here's my daily video showing me working on Project Life & December Daily & talking about random scrapbooking things, these videos are probably good for someone who likes to have an imaginary friend in their scrapbooking room - an imaginary friend who rambles on and on - think of me like a person at the table in a virtual crop but I won't hog your desk space.  Enjoy.

 

 

December Daily: 12/2/11 & Improvisational Comedy as applied to Scrapbooking & Whacking Fiskars Border Punches

December Daily - Day 2:

and more and more pages in December Daily and we're only on December 2nd:

I made some ustream videos while working on Project Life and December Daily - these videos are not how to videos and they are not, probably, particularly interesting.  However, if you enjoy background noise chatter about scrapbooking while you are scrapbooking, then you just might dig them.

Project Life & Time to Get Back on the Weight Loss Wagon:

 

December Daily - Day 2 - Part I:

 

December Daily - Day 2 - Part II - and how the concepts of improvisational comedy can help you find your flow in scrapbooking and any creative process:

 

P.S. My son listened to that last video and got a huge kick out of me whacking the Fiskars Border Punches - he giggled for 15 minutes - which sort of proves my point about being fully committed is what makes you funny  and the mistakes are what make you funny in improvisational comedy or awesome in scrapbooking - its the imperfections that are the awesome part.

Here are some links to some of the supplies and resources I used in these videos:

 

Show & Tell Time: Project Life & Twelve in 2012 Class

I made a couple u-stream videos about my Project Life Albums and my pre-class assignment for the BPC class 12:

PROJECT LIFE - HOME MADE ALBUM VS. BECKY HIGGINS KIT:

 

After making this video, I actually had my husband sign me up for the Amazon Affiliate Program,  I want to share what I love on this blog and if Amazon could reward me for that - great - but I will only recommend things I really love, sound good?  Good.

This is what I use and recommend for Project Life:

1. The Core Kit - the journaling cards are more than worth the price - I was reluctant to get them but I think they are awesome and I think that in 2012 will be successful at keeping up with Project Life because of these journaling cards.  I bought the Amber Core Kit, but I have been seriously tempted to get the Turquoise Core Kit; and I am excited about the Clementine Core Kit which should be available soon.  I think that if you love this system and can afford it, getting more than one kit would be fun since the cards could be used in other projects; however, if you are trying to be a bit more frugal like me, then I'd recommend just picking one - there will still be more than enough to use in this project and have some left over for other projects.

2. The Page Protectors - sure you could do Project Life without them, but the journaling cards and the page protectors make the whole system lightyears easier than trying to make them on your own - trust me I tried last year and I can now say that the Project Life system really works, even though I'm only a recent convert - I am really in love with how easy it is.  I bought the Page Protectors in Style A - the 60 pack and I also bought the multi Page Protector pack in 60; I'm tempted to buy another 60 of Style A since they often go out of stock and they are in stock right now.  I think that if you wanted the bare minimum, I'd recommend getting the 60 pack of Style A or the smaller pack if you just wanted to try them out to be sure you liked them before committing to 60 of them - although I love them and 60 pages will take you though the entire 2012 year, so I recommend the 60 pack.

If you want other page protector configurations, I have also bought these and like them very much - although for Project Life, I recommend starting with Design A and then branching out to these other types of page protectors - and I am including the standard 12x12 C-Lines that I've been buying for years and I think are the most economical:

3. A 3 ringed 12x12 scrapbook album - I have several different types and these are the ones I like and use:

One item from each of the above 1-3 should be sufficient to get you off to a successful start in 2012 with Project Life.  When I ordered my items they took less than a week to arrive, but I ordered before Christmas season so I don't know if the holidays effect shipping time.  I am seriously considering ordering another pack of the page protectors style A since the multi-pack page protectors are currently out of stock and the 60 set of style A is seriously useful.

PRE-CLASS ASSIGNMENT DIVIDER BIN FOR THE 12 CLASS BY STACY JULIAN AT BIG PICTURE CLASSES:

 

I bought a bin at the craft store for my pre-class assignment for Stacy Julian's 12 class at BPC, I couldn't find the exact one on Amazon but this locker style bin is very similar to the one I have and very cute - especially the little locker label thing: