LOTS of good stuff today… Video + more…

Welcome.

I am really excited about today’s post.  A few weeks ago, Ali Edwards asked me to be the first special guest in a new series she is doing.  I love my Ali, so I was happy to play along.  (Note: Before you continue reading, go read her post first HERE, in case you haven’t already.  Then continue reading this post, as it contains added information.)

I told Ali about how I scrapbook.  I actually have two ways of scrapbooking: the “practical way” and the “playful way.”  First up?  The “practical…”

Yep, this is how I scrapbook my events and basic memories.  Here is my “practical” process:

• At the end of the month, I edit/crop my photos to 5×7 (mostly) and/or 4×6.  I order doubles online at Costco.  I prefer larger photos and never crop these smaller than 4×6.  Why?  Because when I look at my mom’s awesome scrapbooks from when she was little, the photos are so tiny.  I want to make sure people can really enjoy these in the days to come.
• I adhere photos on 12×12 black cardstock. I then type up my journaling on the computer and print it on white cardstock.  This is the only other thing added to the pages.  No title.  No embellishing.  Fast and easy, and the kids can help.  And the focus is 100% on the photos and the memories. 
• I store these pages in order in 12×12, 3-ring binders.  All the family members pages are mixed together.  Afterall, we are family.
• I keep the doubles of the photos.  I use favorite ones for my “playful scrapbooking” and send the extras to family or friends.  Sometimes I give some to Colin to play with.  He loves to carry them around and show the whole world.

Easy, fast and no pressure.  And that is exactly why I started doing this.  My memories are recorded, checking off a big to-do on my life’s list.  This frees my mind and heart to have some fun with my hobby. 

This brings us to my “playful” side of scrapbooking.  Ah, yes, this is my favorite.  This is where I focus having fun and enjoying the hobby.  For me, this means:

• I use my favorite photos, often enlarged.  I often will throw in extra photos, sometimes even tiny ones.
• I love love love to play with new techniques.  That is where almost all of my joy lies.  On almost every page, I include at least one technique, often with stamping.
• I also like to use up product in creative ways.  For me, product is a big part of the fun of scrapbooking.

So, on Ali’s site, I shared an example of some pages from a “playful” album I recently started.  It features favorite quotes from my son – which he is known for. 🙂  This is the perfect example of “playful” scrapbooking for me.  Since I am not really good at design, I decided to keep the basic design the same on all the pages.  And since I am not great at writing, I kept the journaling simple.  But since I love techniques, I made sure that there is at least one area on each page where I can try something new.

Here are my example pages and video.  (For a closer look, just click on them.  For supplies, visit Ali’s blog.)

Now, I know this wouldn’t work for everyone.  But this is what is best for me.  Maybe this will inspire some of you to find a way to make scrapbooking 100% fun and 0% stressful. 🙂

Moving on…

I also thought I would mention that I have a HUGE class coming up at twopeasinabucket.com starting on June 15th called Thinking Inking.  It is 9 weeks long, with three projects and videos a week.  Yep – 27 videos in all.  I will be teaching countless techniques for stamping, inking and painting.  It will be such fun.  And, of course – lots of prizes.  If you are interested, be sure to keep a look out here for  links, or over at the 2peas education board.

Thanks for stopping by.  I will be back tomorrow with some more shares.  Have a good one.

[ETA: If you are interested in more of my videos, please click HERE.  This will give you links to the three places I create videos for: 2Peas, Hero Arts and JenniferMcGuireInk.  You can easily subscribe and be notified anytime a video is added.

Also, if you are interested in a Hero Arts giveaway, check out Jana’s blog HERE.  Many of you know this is a favorite stamp of mine!  Good luck.]