Scrap-lifting for Inspiration

Welcome back to the Make it Monday Blog Hop!  You probably came here from Gina Zee who finished a tag she started last week.

During my most recent Layout a Day challenge, one of the prompts was to scrap-lift someone else’s layout.  You already know that I’m a big fan of sketches so this was a fun way for me to pick something to copy.  I looked at the list of my favorite layouts and found this one from Kim that was perfect for me to scrap-lift (used with permission).

 

I loved Kim’s use of white space and the doodled frame.  And I knew this would be easy for me to recreate digitally with Artisan.  Most of my layout used supplies from Captured by Studio Blagovesta to show off some of the selfies we took while on vacation last month.  It’s so easy to use the papers & embellishments from a single kit so I’m certain it all matches.  For the doodled frame and word art, I just re-colored it to match and tweaked the Opacity.  Here’s a quick video to show you how to do these in Artisan.

 

I’ve noticed that I pin a lot of this kind of inspiration on my Scrappy Inspiration and Scrappy Sketches boards on Pinterest – are you following me?

I wonder if you have ever scrap-lifted before.  Please share your experience in the comments.

Now go visit Melissa and see how she’s using the Project Life App to help her with a Week in the Life project – Happy Hopping!

 

In case you missed someone, here’s this week’s Make it Monday Blog Hop list:

GinaZee:    What did Gina do to fix last weeks tag?

Melissa is showing you how easy it is document a Week in the Life with the Project Life App.

Kristie shows how to create a background using a blended ink technique.

Alice Boll has a BRILLIANT trick for using a postcard on a layout.

Beth is sharing how her 30 days of thankful album is all ready to go.

Connie  is sharing cute lamb party goodies – they’re BAA-bulbous!

Jen is showing us 2nd part of a double-layout template for free!

 

 

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Digitizing your photos

I’m often asked about converting photos (and more!) into digital images.  Scanning has become so much easier, faster and cost effective over the past 5 years.  So many people are even scanning at home since the technology is easy and inexpensive.

I’ve just learned about a great class that will walk you through doing your own photo scanning project from start to finish and I’ve been given one seat to give away!  It’s called Breathe New Life into your Old Photos.  Mary will share with you her photo scanning projects and will walk you through doing your own project step by step.  Enter to win this class here.

Another option for scanning would be to have a third party handle the project for you.  I’m affiliated with Legacy Republic who scans photos, slides, home movies and photo albums.  They will transfer your memories onto a DVD as well as give you a private online account from which you can share your memories with friends and family.  I’ve had several of my old Creative Memories Albums as well as a few super 8 film reels transferred and I’ll tell you… it’s been so much fun re-living those memories!

So no matter which solution – it’s time to get those lost memories found.

 

 

 

My [Almost] December Daily

For the first time, I tried to take pictures each day last month.  I started off wonderfully, and then kind-of petered out.  About half way through the month, I decided I was doing an [almost] daily project.

I’m really a digi-scrapper so this project was challenging me to go back to my traditional roots.  Taking pictures, adding filters and posting to Facebook and Instagram were the easy parts for me.  Getting prints and creatively putting into a book was the challenge.

I signed up for three December specific classes (yes, I’m an overachiever).  Monica Bradford‘s Your December Inspired; The Scrapper on the Street‘s Insta-Christmas and Jennifer Wilson’s Holiday Storyteller.  They all off ered prompts to inspire pictures and stories.  I’ve saved all the prompts, used a few but organized my album in my own way.

First, I ordered the pictures from a phone app called PostalPix.  It was cool choosing pictures right from my phone and their prices were very good for the 4×4 pictures I wanted.  I like the quality – much better than home printing, for me.  I will admit that I felt like they took a long time to arrive – but I’m really spoiled by the speed of Persnickety Prints.

I used a Smash-Book for the first time.  I love this concept and thought that this project would be a good first attempt.  I ended up loving the size of the book, however since it wasn’t a holiday specific themed one, I covered most of the pages with holiday paper.  This has made the book quite thick and a bit hard to turn the pages.  Lesson learned.

Once I had all the pieces ready, it only took a couple of hours to assemble; journal; and then photograph.  I’ve surprised myself in getting it done so quickly in the New Year.

I will likely try this again at the end of this year.  How are you coming along with your December project?

 

Ahni & Zoe by Creative Memories

2016 update: Creative Memories is back!  Click here to shop.

Ani is a Hawaiian word meaning Beautiful.  Zoe is a Greek work meaning Life.  It was decided to add the ‘h’ to Ahni to aid in pronunciation.

Let me summarize the new, simpler product line.  For details, take a look at the catalog.

For Traditional Scrappers – there are two album lines.   Fast2Fab Albums include predesigned pages/themes where you can add your printed pictures.   Slide-in Albums are our version of pocket albums/pages.  There are also pre-cut paper packs to help enhance these albums.  The 12×12 Slide-in pages are a great replacement for Side Loading Sleeves.

For Digital Scrappers – there’s a new app called Inawink.  It’s currently available for iOS (iPhone and iPad) and a web version will be coming in the New Year.  This app will help you take, organize (with journaling), and print your pictures.   Oh, and we’ll be offering cloud storage!

For StoryBook Creator scrappers, I will continue to scrap this way.  I plan on becoming a Panstoira affiliate soon.  Ultimately we’ll have to buy and install Artisan but we can hold off on that for now.  I’ll keep you updated.

Previews of Ahni & Zoe start mid-November with the Grand Opening is scheduled for January.

I am looking for people to become hosts for our new quick stop and shop style parties and am currently scheduling Saturdays in December and January.  As a thank you to hosts, you’ll receive one item at half price and a discount for your other items depending on the sales of your party.

I also encourage you to consider becoming a consultant.  It’s always great to get in at the ground floor!   If nothing else, you could buy your supplies at a discount.  We’ve lowered the minimums to stay a consultant so it’s much more attractive now than ever.

Thank you so much for your patience through all of these changes.  I was uncertain about what CM would look like, but I’m feeling re-energized about everything.  As always, I’d love to answer your questions – just drop me a note or give me a call.