That's What It's All About!

Previously we discussed how to use scanned photos to create a digital scrapbook album which can be printed into a hard bound book. But what about the originals?

While it is true not everyone can have a copy, originals are still important documents. Be they newspaper clippings, photographs, certificates, drawings, or rationing stamps (got some of those!) the "real thing" will fade and disintegrate over time without proper care. The scans allow you to view the same information indefinitely, but there is something priceless about holding a document handled by others decades before.

Museums and historical archives have been using various techniques for years to preserve artifacts. While you may not be willing to go to the lengths taken to preserve, say, the Declaration of Independence, there are still great options available.

Archival Mist is a product carried in most scrapbooking stores. This spray is a fine, clear mist which coats any paper document and neutralizes the acid. I use it in my daily scrapbooks when I save items, such as a birthday card, not made specifically for scrapbooking.

Individual pockets, soldered from typical page protectors, can be created for any document you wish to protect, as well as handle. By making a pocket the size of a postcard sent home from a grandparents honeymoon trip and attaching it to the front of the scrapbook page you can see not just one side, but two. Proper pin-prick air holes continue to allow dangerous acids to escape from the postcard while the plastic protects it from fumbling fingers.

Most of us have saved snippets along the way. Whether it is your wedding announcement or a child's hospital band from birth, these artifacts will fade and fall apart. But at Designs of Mine, preserving memories is what we are all about!

Roots

A few months ago my Grandpa passed away. As my Grandma preceded him in death, with this event came the task of sorting through their personal belongings. And oh, what treasures we found.

Albums from the 50's, 60's, and 70's, newspaper clippings of births, deaths, and marriages, aging wedding invitations, and, best of all, boxes of photos in old folders, some dating back to the late 1800's.

In six file folder boxes (you know, the kind from the 60's) are the portrait images of my great-great grandparents, aunts, uncles, and other distant relations. As best as I can tell, the oldest is one of my grandpa's mother at about age 8. She is wearing a calico dress and pinafore, hair plaited in two braids, sitting with 40 or so other children in front of a school house. It may have been a two-room school, as the photo also contains two school masters, severe and demanding from the looks of it.

Also in the boxes are my Great-Grandma's collection of family history. I believe she started with her husband's family and traced back four generations to the Henrick family arriving in America from Alsace-Lorraine. It was fascinating reading, but even more interesting was her own paternal family tree, going back eleven generations to a family settling in the New World in the early 1700's. By the time the family tree arrives at the Revolutionary War, they are third generation Americans (or Britans. Whatever.).

And I cannot tell you how grateful I am. My family took the time to preserve their stories, their photos, their beliefs and faith, their history, and their records for me to see today.

What will you leave?

The Quest Continues

Happy Monday!

In our quest for simpler scrapbooks, last week we discussed not using every photo. But what if you really like them...

If you really like them-- scrap them! But just because you scrap them doesn't mean they need their own page. Here are some ideas for adding more photos to a single page or single spread (that's the two pages which face each other). The cost involved is minimal. To use these ideas your page will be classified as a level 3 (Check the website if you need clarification!), which does cost a bit more than the first two levels, but is still more bang for your buck than adding more pages!

First option: create a pocket behind the page. Add tabs to the tops of your photos and place them in the pocket. You can pull them out and look at them whenever you like!

Second option: choose wallet sized photos, or even use the index provided when you order pictures.

Third option: order a small album, such as an explosion or paper bag album to display lots of photos and still stay in budget. I did this for my son's first birthday and I love it!

Fourth: add photo pockets to your scrapbook. Simply slide 6 4x6 pictures next to a layout. This worked great for last year's Christmas pictures.

Until next time!

A Little Reminder

I posted this at Christmas, but as Easter is right around the corner, it bears repeating!

I wanted to post a few good reminders and tips!

First-- charge your batteries (or replace them) in the camera and camcorder. Nothing worse than a great event and a dead battery. (And yes, I know this from experience!)

Second-- take posed pictures in those cute Christmas -er, Easter--outfits early! It is easy to forget or plan to take them at the end of a get-together, but if you've got kids then I don't need to tell you-- the clothes will not look them same in an hour.

Also-- grab some shots of something a little different this year. I've been posting my holiday traditions, hoping to stir you to ideas of photos to take for yourself! So don't forget to snap a shot of your favorite ornament, the grand Christmas feast you created, or the reindeer slippers your toddler won't wear. (Make that Easter basket or darling gloves for a five year old)

And don't forget-- organize your photos as quickly as possible after the holiday season, especially if you have a digital camera and hundreds of photos. I like to organize by events, so I'll create a different folder for each of the family Christmases. You could organize by people featured in the photo or make files for each day or week.

New for this post I'll also add, take some with you in them! Figure out how to use your camera's timer or just had it to someone else for a while. Happy Easter!

Every Photo

Good morning Monday!

As promised, today I'll post the first in a series of ideas for making your scrapbook project more manageable. If you are like me (and millions of others!) you have enough pictures from your last trip to the park to create an entire scrapbook just for that occasion. And while trips to the park are fun, you probably don't need an album, nor do you wish to pay for one.

The solution? Get it out of your head that you need to scrapbook every photo! I've done this, quite happily I might add, for clients. But it is NOT NECESSARY! Instead, focus on your memory. Instead of choosing 24 pictures from the weekend at Grandma's, choose four of your favorite. Maybe one of the whole family, one of being in the backyard, and one on an outing, and another that is just adorable. When you see this one finished page you will be able to remember your trip just as well as if you had asked for six pages to hold each photo. Request a journaling block for your page and write a few notes to further capture the memories.

So what do you do with the rest of the pictures? Many of you use digital cameras, so store them on the computer (don't forget to back them up) and click through any time you like. My husband still prefers to look at the photos in an album, so I slip the extras into a simple book. Combined with the story told in the scrapbook, we can remember what was special about these photos and enjoy them there as well.

I hope that gets some wheels churning! See you next Monday!

Stress Free!

Bring me your shoebox full of photos, sure, sure. You've got four boxes. And some albums. It would take dozens of scrapbooks just to hold them all. Where would you begin?

As this seems to be a common hang-up on the way to organized scrapbook bliss, I've decided to run a series of suggestions for stress-free photos. My website provides the steps to having your scrapbook created for you, but this will be more about making the task manageable and afforadable.

So if you're interested, tune in each Monday! See you then!

Variety

I love scrapbooks because they allow you to enjoy the pictures you've taken, instead of sitting around where no one ever sees them. Fortunatly, there are a lot of ways to share your pics! Picturetrail.com happens to be another favorite of mine. I can load my pics, create a slideshow, and post to my website, blog, or just about anywhere on the net.

So check it out and enjoy!

So You Know

The most common response to hearing about this company is: "Oh, it would take me years to sort through all the pictures I have!"

But that, my friends, is the whole point.

I want you to have your photos, displayed in such a way that you can enjoy them, with the least amount of work possible. That is why I will sort your stuff.

Yes, that's right. I will go through your shoe boxes, photo albums, even Rubbermaid tubs, and compile a scrapbook from the ground up. I am doing it right now. I have a photo box filled with unlabeled pictures. Judging from the haircuts, picture clues and occasional note on the back, I am creating a 30 page album.

So don't let that deter you!

For example

This morning I took some time and worked with a couple of photos of my own the way we discussed yesterday. (Nothing like practicing what you preach!) Here is my favorite!

Old photo:

New photo:

By cropping close and changing the color tones I have a brand new picture! One that's perfect for the inside of the card I'll make for my husband.

Ready or Not

The other day I went shopping for groceries. Already the stores are filled with pink and red harts, boxes of chocolate, and flowery cards. I am still recovering from Christmas!

However, if you plan to share your love with any hand-made item, now is definitely the time to begin. Coming soon will be a post with ideas for creating a card for your husband, children or any loved one, but today lets talk about one of my favorite subjects-- pictures!

Planning photos to take now will allow you time to create just the right set-up, as well as develop the film and still have time to make a card. But do you want just any old photo?

Think of things that make your relationship special, funny, memorable, personal, etc. Then decide on the best way to capture them. Grab a shot of a book you and your child enjoy reading together, the restaurant where hubby took you on your first date, you get the idea. Set up a tri-pod or get someone to take some of the two of you together. Choose a high resolution setting so you can crop. That will allow you to create an up-close picture of just your hands or a kiss. Or choose the humorous route. One of my favorite photos is of my husband standing in front of his truck with me pulling is arm, trying to get him away from it. (He didn't budge.)

It's not cheating to browse through the card aisle and get some ideas. You can even swipe a saying, if you can give credit.

Anyway, its something to think about. Valentine's Day will be here soon, ready or not!

Organization

If you're like me, you are probably still in the whole "working on my New Year's Resolutions" phase. Most Americans have quit working on them by Valentine's Day, but that is still four whole weeks away.

So, helpful person that I like to be, I'm posting tips for organizing your memories.

This funny looking page protector is actually 12"x12". It fits in your typical scrapbook. And it is the greatest way to quickly add charm to your memories.

For example, I have about a million Christmas photos. (Possibly a few less...) So, I can create a scrapbook page that showcases four or five of those photos and add that to my album. But what to do with the other 995,000? You could continue to create more pages, adding them three, or four at a time to a HUGE Christmas album. Or, you could place them in one of these fancy holders and insert next to the page you made. Viola! 12 pictures added to your scrapbook with no effort at all!

Or, if you'd like, you can "upgrade" using this spectacular page protector. Add a tag to a photo before you put slide it into a slot. Use one 4 x 6 space for your journaling. Staple a ribbon to the outside or add a few brads for interest. So much creativity... so little time!

So good luck with all that organizing! Now that I'm done with my scrapbooks I've got time to tackle the kitchen cabinets.

Or take a nap...

Its Not as Hard as You Think

Photos are so fun! But cameras can be so... intimidating! Most of us just turn the button to "auto" and hope for good results. Recently I've been on a mission to figure mine out, and here's what I've learned so far.

For these I used the "child" setting on my camera. Its designated by a little boy with a cap and most cameras have a similar setting. (You can get similar results with the sports setting as well.) Just turn the knob at the top-- I promise it won't bite!

I got the background to blur by standing a bit further back and then zooming in. Its harder to do with a point and shoot camera, but you can get some good results. And take a LOT of shots. With digi cameras you can do this, no sweat. Then delete all the... rough ones and just share your best!

So get to shooting (and don't forget to send me the pictures!)