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Happy Scrappin'

Masters Kit Club is ready for pick up

WOW-you're going to love these fast & easy papers for May Masters Kit Club. Add in the quick & easy Bazzill pleats (cardstock already pleated for you). LOVE how Noelle inked her pleats & shaped them on her page (We Love Snowballs) and Stephanie used hers (FAMILY) on her title & focal photo. Who can't use Bella Blvd. awesome Family papers-love the photos that Jody chose for her layout (You can Always Lean on Me)-fun, crazy & loving family pics!!!! Comforts of Home by Signify is a new line for the Memory Mania-love the banner Heather created with flowers (Laughter). Thanks Noelle-now I'm craving a sno-ball ha ha.

I hope everyone enjoyed their holiday-I sure did!!! I celebrated my 25th wedding anniversary--wow, it doesn't really feel like it could possibly be that long OR that I could possibly be that old to have a 25th anniversary ha ha. I was feeling a little bit silly (or stupid) and thought I'd slip on my wedding dress & parade into the living room about 7:30 last night. OK stop laughing!!!! It did make John's night & of course he was snapping pics with his iphone which of course, I threatened divorce if he showed one person ha ha. On a serious note, just putting the dress on I remembered how nervous, excited & hopeful we were at 7:30pm 25 years ago. Don't you sometimes wish you could have moved forward in time wrote yourself a letter (or just trusted God more). If so, I think my letter to my 22 year old self would have read: Don't be so nervous, but yes be excited & hopeful because the best is yet to be. See that cute guy standing next to you-you'll never believe it but when he gets a little gray-you will think he is 10 times more good looking than his 21 year old self. Your love grows deeper everytime he does something sweet around the house or takes time with our 2 beautiful sons. The way you think you love him right now is nothing compared to the love you will feel 25 years from now. Don't sweat it when things aren't perfect-where's the fun in that, trust GOD more, his plans for you are way better than what you think your dreams are. I am so excited & hopeful-I can hardly wait to see what's in store for the next 25 years!!!

2fer Tuesday: Buy1 diamond dew drops baggie-get one FREE

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Memorial Day Party? Decorate your cupcakes

Did you know that Memorial Day was originally called "Decoration Day" to commemorate the soldiers killed in the Civil War. Over the years, it has become a day to remember all U.S. men and woman killed or missing in action from all wars. And, since school is out-that's the history lesson for today ha ha.

We R Memory Keepers has the perfect papers (at MM) for you to dress up/decorate your Cupcakes for your memorial day gathering-come check it out!!!!! Don't forget to take lots of photos for your scrapbook pages - there are so many papers to choose from!!!

A special thanks to all those men and woman (and their families) for their courage and sacrifice that paved the way for our freedom. God bless USA!!!

This is a bit early, because on Memorial Day I will be celebrating my 25th anniversary with my hubby and NO COMPUTER!!! Enjoy & be safe!!!!

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Congratulations MMU Class of 2011!!!!

KUDOS to everyone for participating MMU since 2001-lots of people to thank!!!!
Thank you to the incredibly inspiring teachers-BEST in the country, 450 energetic students that have attending over the last 10 years!!!! As you know, i am deeply passionate about scrapbook education and I have enjoyed seeing to motivation, inspiration & creativity that has come from this awesome Memory Mania University-it has definitely been a dream come true. The memories I cherish most are: the friendships, the 1,000s of ideas the teachers have come up with & the many many compliments of the students for all of the ways they have learned & continue to learn & use past ideas!!!! I have sooo enjoyed every single class, weather teaching or taking them-thank you, thank you for making this dream come true.

Wacky Wednesday: 25% off Tim Holtz Paper Pad

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You've Come a Long Way baby . . .

Justin's 1st Birthday Party Invitation

June/July Issue just in

Cricut Birthdays Idea Book

Wow, I've been so impressed by all of the non-scrappers that know what a cricut is and those that use it regularly!!!!! Many for school bulletin boards, classroom, cake decorating and the latest is BIRTHDAYS!!. Cupcake toppers, banners, invitations, etc. we have seen some really cute creations!!!

Birthday parties have come a long way baby-I was pretty darn proud of myself 18 years ago with my little Peter Rabbit Book Invitation for Justin's first birthday party-it was hand-traced with a pencil & colored in with crayons by Dane and we were so proud!!!! Now today . . . just a few chirps from the cricut & voila!!! I can't wait to flip through this Birthday issue for many, many ideas (although, not sure if i can use anything for my 23 year old birthday coming up LOL)

Pardon my reminiscing . . . Justin was a HUGE Peter Rabbit fan-maybe because that was how his nursery was decorated and I read the books all of the time ha ha. Ok, so maybe his mom was a big Peter Rabbit fan. But before scrapbooks & putting all of creative energy into Memory Mania-I was obsessed with birthday parties--my really special memories are the ways we prepared for the parties (Dane, Justin, Mallory & Mrs. Judy) -really more fun than actual party!!!

Ok, so your laugh for today . . .

One of my first scrapbook layouts created 13 years ago!!!

For the Peter Rabbit Party we recreated the garden with a white fence and really large cut outs of vegetables & seed packets on sticks - I'm having to look a scrapbook page to remember all of the details-the game was finding the most hidden vegetables in the garden, etc. Its kind of hard to tell since i cut all of these pictures with scallop scissors-and check out the Mrs. Grossman stickers ha ha. OK, stop laughing, life was really tough before scrapbook stores.

AVAILABLE TODAY AT MM: Cricut Birthdays 2011 Idea Book. Over 130 pages of birthday inspiration, all created with your Cricut Machine. From parties, party decor, invitations, cards, favors, layouts and even Cricut Cake ideas! Packed with ideas for everyone! Cricut has your party covered, so get ready to celebrate.

Cricut tip: When trying to figure out which cartridge a specific shape is on - check this out: http://www.mycutsearch.com. FYI, MM now has "Cupcake" cricut cartridge for rent.

2fer Tuesday: Purchase 2 papers from generic paper section & get 2 free

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How to video for cool fabric Flowers

So flowers are ALL the rage right now!!! I posted a little funny about glubers Friday, but here is a cool video showing you how to REALLY use them to make some cool creations. Click here for Glubers utube video. Step by Step flowers with Cosmo Cricket & glubers. Pretty cool, huh.

Monday Madness: 20% off Zap Embossing gun

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Interesting Tips from Cosmo Cricket re: Glubers

Here's what Cosmo Cricket says about their new Glubers: By now you know that Glubers is a word. The projects you can create are simply amazing. Flowers, Flowers, and more Flowers.

We have this sneaking suspicion that as creative as you are, you will come up with some brilliant ideas. This was hilarious on Cosmo Cricket site so I had to share it:

#10- If your child has been really naughty, put them in the corner with a Gluber on their nose, and press them against the wall (caution- the timeout may become permanent)

#9- If you like talking on the phone, it could work as a hands free option

#8- It's more painful than waxing but more effective

#7-If you're a Klepto, just think you can pick up anything without leaving a finger print

#6- One pair can hold-up your strapless bra for many evenings of salsa dancing

#5- It can hold your coffee cup to your dashboard, But your going to need a really long straw

#4- Your husband will never lose the remote. It will be stuck to his hand permanently. Oh we forgot, it probably already is

#3- Convince your friends you can perform Circus balancing acts. For example, place a Gluber on the end of your chin, then place the handle of your Swiffer on your chin. You will be a huge hit with the kids in your neighborhood . To really impress, then adhere a Bowling ball to the other end of the Swiffer.

#2- If you accidentally cut your finger off with your paper trimmer, and it has been less than 5 minutes, simply re-adhere with a Gluber

#1- If it has been longer than 5 minutes, Don't worry, you can use a Gluber to keep your hospital gown closed.

Ok, as they say on TV, don't try any of this at home. Anyway, its all in words of Cosmo-just thought i'd share a chuckle with you this morning!!!

$5 Friday: Tattered Angels Chalkboard ink or Glam Ink for $5

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BEST Disney Day Ever

DISNEY DAY with Minnie "Becky"
Saturday, May 21, 2011
Take Part 1 or Part II or BOTH-Join us for the day & complete 4 double page spreads

Part 1

Princesses 11am-1pm $20*plus kit $13.99

Part II

Character Craze 1:30-3:30pm $20**plus kit $13.99

Call today to register 225-744-2767

30% Thursday: K & Co Bride to Be Album Kit

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You're Invited . . . just 20 seats left

Checking in . . . (My favorite part)

Photo Ops

Winning great prizes

cropping the nite away

Ideas, ideas, and getting MORE ideas

We are so excited about the CCL XXI, can you believe its our 21st CCL-and many of you have attended each one. THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart for being such an avid, loyal Memory Mania fan. We know you have many choices and we thank you for choosing MM. So how many have YOU been to-tell us on facebook!!!!

If you haven't attended one yet-this is the perfect time-please join us-its a lot of good, clean, fun!!!!!

	HISTORY OF CAMP CROP-A-LOT
1	Camp Crop-A-Lot	July 27-28, 2001	Memory Mania
2	Camp Crop-A-Lot	November 16-17, 2001	Memory Mania
3	Camp Crop-A-Lot	March 22-23, 2002	Embassy Suites
4	Camp Crop-A-Lot	August 2-3, 2002	Embassy Suites
5	Camp Crop-A-Lot	March, 2003	Embassy Suites
6	Camp Crop-A-Lot	Jan 30-31, 2004	Lod Cook
7	Camp Crop-A-Lot	July 30-31, 2004	Lod Cook
8	Camp Crop-A-Lot	January 7-8, 2005	Holiday Inn Select
9	Camp Crop-A-Lot	July 29-30, 2005	Lod Cook
10	Camp Crop-A-Lot	January 6-7, 2006	Holiday Inn Select
11	Camp Crop-A-Lot	June 23-24, 2006	Holiday Inn Select
12	Camp Crop-A-Lot	January 5-6, 2007	Holiday Inn Select
13	Camp Crop-A-Lot	July, 2007	Holiday Inn Select
14	Camp Crop-A-Lot	Jan, 2008	Holiday Inn Select
15	Camp Crop-A-Lot	July, 2008	Holiday Inn Select
16	Camp Crop-A-Lot	January 17-18-2009	Crowne Plaza
17	Camp Crop-A-Lot	July 24-25, 2009	Crowne Plaza
18	Camp Crop-A-Lot	January 8-9-2010	Crowne Plaza
19	Camp Crop-A-Lot	July 17-18, 2010	Crowne Plaza
20	Camp Crop-A-Lot	January 7-8, 2011

What's Your Favorite Pattern Paper line?

Designed by Noelle Landry
Graphic 45 Le Cirque

Noelle has done it again! Some of us feel limited by whole sheets of patterned paper, but Noelle looks right past the print and makes it work WITH her photos! And who isn't ALWAYS looking for new ideas for ways to use ribbon? The pleated look works really well here, as well as the ribbon flags coming from beneath the photos on the left. What else could YOU use this printed paper for? There are LOADS of possibilities...

So what is your favorite pattern paper line?
For me, Echo Park has been a favorite this year-I have LOVED all that I see-especially their NEW generic prints (dots/stripes) in all of our favorite colors--can't wait to show you when it arrives tomorrow!!!

2fer Tuesday: Embellishment Baggies

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Ready for vacation?

Your scrapbooks MAY get you a FREE vacation, ha ha. Well, not really free, but when I'm ready to go on vacation and John is telling me all the reasons we should skip this year, I just leave a few of our vacation scrapbooks on the coffee table & go about my business. Soon, John is flipping through the pages of London, Cruises, Jamaica, Hawaii, Destin--and within a few days, he's remembered the many reasons we SHOULD go on vacation, and WHERE we go-works like a charm every time. I'm evil, I know, but a girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do, right? And right now, I gotta get to the beach

That's just the funny part, but I really love that I'm documenting our life. John used to think that my scrapbooking and picture taking was insane. But, when he saw just how quickly the boys were growing up, how much they changed, and how much we forget, he understood & became my biggest supporter. Sometimes if I'm not taking enough pics, he'll say "Take this for the scrapbook"-I'm really dying laughing inside!!! It wasn't that hard of a sale since I had created a scrapbook of John's "baseball years" when he graduated from high school-and can I tell you, if he glimpses that book-he'll look at it for hours-even now 28 years later. Its also pretty cool to see all of my scrapbooks rearranged on the coffee table & shelves after a visit from friends of the boys-I just LOVE that they can enjoy their "recent past" with their friends.

Remember, put your scrapbooks out in the open to be enjoyed by your family-it doesn't matter if its not complete-you will be motivated to finish when you see how much they are enjoying the memories!!! Also, a great tip is to jot down things they say when looking at the books-for journaling.

Monday Madness: $3 off kits (kit clubs excluded) today only!!

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Just 4 U Class - This is my FAVORITE class

Hey Scrappers,
This is one of my FAVORITE classes because it gives me a couple of "Outside MY box" layouts!!!! Deneen does an awesome job at customizing to your photos. In layout 1 (of 2) above-you email her one photo & she prints on canvas for the center of your layout-its SOOO cool. Then for Layout 2 (of 2), you email her 1-3 photos, and she chooses the paper & embellishments (using sketch on p. 40 of Masterpiece Book)-this is ALWAYS my favorite because its normally something i would not have thought to pull or put together and i always LOVE IT!!!! There is alot of prep & time needed for this class - so registration will close Friday-May 13th. Please email pictures or drop them off as soon as possible and latest is Friday-May 13th.

There are a few spots left-call today to register!! 225-744-2767

30% Thursday: All paper in the generic Section

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You're Invited!!!! Limited Spaces-registration closes soon

Hey Scrappers,
We don't want you to miss the CCL Weekend Scrapbook Retreat!!!! Its the last one at Crowne Plaza, Baton Rouge, LA!!! Please join us for lots of scrappin', girl time & just good ole' fun!!!

Click here for registration online or visit our store at 17424 Airline Highway, Suite 9, Prairieville, LA

Wacky Wednesday: $15 Masterpiece Book

Happy Scrappin'

Let's be WACKY today

Created by Stephanie Powers

There's just something powerful about BIG photos. You can get an 8x10 print in an hour for under $3.00, so take advantage and use more enlargements on your layouts! The wacky pics (the ones we think didn't come out) normally turn out to be my FAVORITE photos-the special ones I cherish. SO KUDOS to Steph for specifically capturing these times. When these guys are men (well, we know guys never grow up LOL), they are really going to cherish these funny times with friends-they may deny it-but betcha they keep these.

One down and one more to go-I finished my niece, Elaina's scrapbook & presented to her on Sunday for Mother's day-it was oh so cool to see everyone's responses, BUT her Dad stole the show-he sang a song to her-WOW talk about something to treasure forever-not a dry eye in the house. SO, 4 more layouts for Shelby's book-so I ran over to MM to pick up these papers that Steph used & I plan to scraplift this one tonight!!!!! Sorry I can't share my scraplifted page-his album is still a surprise.

So which page of the masters team has inspired you to scraplift? ...bring your photos in with you when you shop. Our girls are great at helping you pick the perfect papers and embellishments to complement your pictures . If you want to scraplift this layout, these products are available at Memory Mania on freestyle endcap.

2fer Tuesday: School section paper BOGO

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SALE - the early bird gets the worm

Above is the April, 2011 Masters Kit Club Design Team layouts debuting Crate Paper Portrait and Bazzill Grandma's Feather Bed Collections. I always love the variety of designs by the design team.-don't you just love seeing what 3 people can do with the exact same papers?

Saturday, May 7th is NATIONAL SCRAPBOOK DAY!!!! Memory Mania would like to thank you for your continued support over the last 12 years!!! We are offering this awesome sale on Saturday-hint-the early bird gets the worm-HAPPY SCRAPBOOK DAY!!

To qualify for the savings-any purchases checked out during these times - get the specified savings!!

9:30-10:00 35% off
10-10:30 30%
10:30-12 25%
12-2:00 20%
2- 4:00 15%

Enjoy!!!

$5 Friday: Specialty ribbon 3 yds/$5
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Have you seen all of the PLEATS?

WOW-one of the new HOT embellishments this year is PLEATS. We've seen several companies variation of pleats-our picks are the Satin Pleated Ribbon & the Bazzill Perfectly Pleated.

If you love the look of pleated paper but would rather pull your hair out than score, fold, and crease over and over again – this product is for you. Cut any size or width you like. Show the thread or don’t. Pleats are sewn down on one side with matching thread. Measures 1.5″ x 12″ with 1/2″ pleats. Four strips per package. Choose from six colors: Fussy, Kiwi, Phoenix, Pinecone, Lily White and Blackbird.


30% Thursday: Pet Section
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Need a Mother's Day Idea ?

YES, YES, YOU do deserve a break!!!
You know your hubby and kids will be scrambling around all week trying to decide what to get you for Mother's Day...Make it easy on them! Tell them all you want is a cropping weekend at CCL!!!

A mother's work is never done...house, dinner, kids, and husband all competing for your attention...you NEVER seem to have an UNINTERRUPTED minute!! Well, at CCL, you'll have 2,220 UNINTERRUPTED MINUTES to visit with your friends, make new ones, and crop your little heart out!!

WHY make them guess? You'll end up with flowers that'll die or ANOTHER mug that says "World's Greatest Mom"!!! They'll LOVE you for giving them a hint... Tell them to come to Memory Mania and pay your way to CCL!!!! Then you'll ALL be happy Sunday!!

Happy Mother's Day!!

Wacky Wednesday: 25% off Home/Family Section
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Cinco de Mayo

Fiesta Amigos designed by Jody Sorey

Thinking OUTSIDE the BOX can be tough for us at times...Do you ever look at products like this and think, "I can't use this; I don't have pictures from Mexico!" Check out the precious pictures Jody took of her girls a few years ago with the sombreros; she hadn't thought about scrapbooking them in years, but when she saw this paper, it motivated her to dig through her storage album to scrap them--pretty exciting since she hadn't looked at these photos in a while. We just love how Jody pushes the boundaries with themed products like this! We also love how she cut the large bracket and used it in two different places instead of thinking it has to be used as is. How can YOU push yourself outside of YOUR box this week? If you want to lift this layout, we have all the products handy for you, so just come by and ask!

ALSO, Cinco de Mayo is this week - take some pics of you and your friends eating Mexican food and drinking margaritas! These products would be PERFECT!!

2fer Tuesday: Paper in Teen Section - BOGO

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MORE New stuff

We R Memory Keepers

Little Yellow Bicycle

NEW Satin pleated ribbon

Good morning scrappers!!!! I hope you had a fabulous weekend!!!! WOW, I had a great time scrapbooking with my buddies-trying to finish my graduation albums for my niece & nephew. I'm pretty excited about it now as one is finished and only 3 layouts shy of completing the 2nd one. NOW i just can't wait to share with them & their families-what a great gift!!!

I hope the new products above will motivate you to set aside some scrappin' time for yourself-it sure is "just what the doctor ordered"--relaxing & fun, not to mention visiting with friends-priceless!!!

Happy Scrappin'

Wrapping up our week discussion on Photo Organization

Sorry, blogpost delayed as I was caught up reading about the royal wedding on yahoo. ha ha Did any of you get up at 4am to watch? So cool seeing all of the beautiful places we visited a few years ago in London.

To reiterate a few points from Stacy Julian's book,The Big Picture

* USE your photos to make connections,

*CLOSE YOUR EYES, OPEN BRAIN, REMOVE “CAUGHT UP” from your mind;

*ENJOY NOW, LIVE NOW, JOT DOWN YOUR MEMORIES, and scrap in small increments on more regular basis;

* It’s scary, but chronological is NOT the only way to scrapbook;

*USE YOUR PHOTOS to tell a MORE compelling and meaningful story of the life of you & your family.

*Organize, Prioritize and Celebrate the happiest moments in your life.

I did find this helpful. If you have decades of photos to organize-this is some great advice:

* Rent a chick flick

* Bought some Cal's brownies

*Gather all photos in one place

Get your photo box, WHILE WATCHING CHICK FLICK:

* Photos in packets - label season/year i.e, Winter, 2007, Spring 2007, (put aside until later)

* Loose photos – 3 steps:

sort all by 1) decade in photo box, 2) then take one decade & sort by year; 3) then take & sort by season

NOW, decide which photos you wish to scrapbook & put 2-3 in one pocket of 3 up album, so that one page of 3 up album are photos to use on a double page layout. THIS makes it so easy to flip quickly through book to pull the ones you need. Also, since you have already edited photos for the layout-your layout comes together quickly.

NOTE: as you are reviewing photos-when you see a FAVORITE PHOTO-pull it for some of those connections pages we talked about. Most times you have more photos than you can fit on a layout- so here is where it was helpful to pull photos that didn't necessarily fit into the EVENT page & pull for personality or connection pages.

THEN it fills so good to be able to decide which album does it slide into: US, People we Love, Places, etc.

Hope this helps-so go rent your movie, pick up the brownies AND sort away AND PRINT!!!!!

Have an awesome weekend!!

$5 Friday: 5 yards of regular ribbon ON ROLLS for $5

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Summarizing Photo Organization

Summarizing this system

· Trust yourself to customize the system to work for you – I sort my digital photos by month/year-i do like my 3 up albums by season/year.

· If you have years of unorganized photos, setting up storage albums will take LOTS of time, but its time well spent. Once you’ve organized them, maintaining them is quite easy.

· Trust the System- you may not scrapbook all of these photos in storage album-it’s a working filing system; after 2 years, review, if not going to scrapbook, them move LOVINGLY to cold storage and scrapbook some more recent pictures with fresher memories with your perspective now.

· You’re in charge. You get to decide how & when to carry it out.

· Yes, you are filling these albums to EVENTUALLY empty them-sort of like your pantry, you can’t cook with it, if its not in your pantry AND going to the store (or sorting through pictures) wastes your time to cook (create). SO, you should only put pictures in the album that you feel is worth your creative efforts. IF NOT, throw away or if you can’t do that, put it in cold storage.

· Don’t overplan. You and your scrapbook interests change over time. Scrapbook what you are inspired to create, NOT what comes next. Don’t pin yourself down to doing an 8x8 for each vacation & putting 1 page in things we do, etc. something else may occur to you to be more meaningful.

· Here’s the deal: You won’t scrapbook photos you don’t see. Use & add to your storage album “to be scrapbooked photos”. Print your digital pics that you may use on a page; you know WHERE they go now, so sort, print & store.

· Don’t sweat the small stuff – live, make memories and be happy now. Perfection is WAY over-rated.

· HAVE FUN!!!! Scrapbooking is FUN, it’s a hobby, not a chore. Take it all in, I love the colors, the pretty papers and embellishments to help me tell a story. Enjoy the process, don’t make it a means to an end or a to do list.

Pitfalls

· Don’t over plan the next 5 years! Life happens & plans change, don’t set yourself up for disappointment

· “Life is crazy and the craziness is the fun part; life happens, let it”. Stacy Julian

· Sifting through boxes of photos robs you of your scrapbook time-so having them organized ALLOWS you to scrapbook them.

· Photo storage allows your family to view pictures now & you can jot journaling notes as they look at them.

So do you think you're up for this project? Feel free to email me with any questions & change it to fit YOUR needs.

Sources:
Big Picture Scrapbooking by Stacy Julian,
Simple Scrapbooks, May June 2007

30% Thursday: Easter Section

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Scrapbook Weekend Retreat in Baton Rouge, LA

You are invited to join us to CCL Summer, Baton Rouge, LA July 29-30, 2011
Click here to register today!!

Wacky Wednesday: 35% off Cricut Embossing Items

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More on Photo Organization

Storage Options:

· Cropper Hopper Photo Box-Step 1: Organize photos by decade into the sections of a photo box. This is my personal favorite as it holds 2000 photos. The dividers make it easy to being sorting & continue to use it for cold storage. It made it easier to then take each decade & break it down chronologically by year-season.

· Pioneer 3-up Photo Album-Step 2: Transfer photos that you plan to scrapbook into 3 up Album. Group these by double page spread into 1-2 sleeves in storage album labeled by the season, year. Extras are tossed remain in the Cropper Hopper Photo Box. Other brands I’ve bought, haven’t held up-Pioneer makes the best 3 up album. Seeing them at a glance will help you when you are flipping through pictures for inspiration.

· 2 drawer index card file; Great to file non-event photos into categories (much like tagging in the digital world), people, places & things in your life that do not fall into theme pages, or those photos that you want to scrapbook about personality, feelings and behind the scenes stories.

This next suggestion may a little outside of your box-but think about it a bit-this turned out to be some of my favorite layouts!!! Remember these are just photo organization suggestions, take what you like & leave the rest. I chose to only do people for the category drawers.

Category Drawers: Its easy to get focused on scrappin’ the “events” in our life because they happen so often (holidays, first day of school, birthday and there are enough to keep you croppin’ until the cows come home, B UT don’t forget the little moments in life are sometimes your kids want to know the most about. My mom did take those little moment pictures but I want to know what we were doing, what was she doing when we did that, how it made her feel to see us imitating her motherly chores, etc.

· Looking through your storage albums, pull pictures that don’t fall into events, your favorite photos, personality photos, etc.

· “Pull pictures that have a CONNECTION between generations, locations & events that aren’t bound by geography or chronology that captures the richness of your life and the people, places & things in it.” Stacy Julian.

Scrapbook Layout Storage: I chose Maude Asbury Albums -they hold 30-40 pages depending on depth-not recommended more than 3".

o Black Album - US (John, Tammy, Dane, Justin)

o Red Album - People we love (Mom, Dad, sisters, brothers, extended family, friends, other people you admire)

o Blue Album - Places we Go (travel, vacation or any other destination & place that’s part of personal story)

o Green Album - Things we Do (things we love, collect, spend money & time on, activities, traditions, accomplishments

Pitfalls

· Don’t over plan the next 5 years! Life happens & plans change, don’t set yourself up for disappointment

· “Life is crazy and the craziness is the fun part; life happens, let it”. Stacy Julian

· Sifting through boxes of photos robs you of your scrapbook time.

Photo storage allows your family to view pictures now & you can jot journaling notes as they look at them. Its easy to do-set the photos near the sofa & you can sort while watching TV & visiting with family. Break it down into small segments- 1 hour a day or more if you are having fun!!!

I hope this helps & motivates you to print & organize your photos!!

Sources: Stacy Julian Big Picture Scrapbooking & Photo Freedom

2fer Tuesday: All generic paper section

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Photo Organization, Next Step

PHOTO TRIAGE

1. Organize – Organize by decade; revisit & reorganize further into season, year , ie., Fall, 2007, Winter, 2007, etc. (get family to help sort into seasons). The photo box is best tool for this. Do this about 30 minutes per day while watching TV, watching the kids play, etc.

2. Organize Digital Photos TOO – Make digital files by season & year & drag your photos into those folders.

3. Prioritize – Which photos would I like to scrapbook?

4. Admit – These are the photos I will make time to scrapbook; File these photos in storage album for easy access when inspired to scrap them.

5. Categorize – Choose pictures that don’t fall into events; Personality pictures.

6. Cold Storage – for all photos that I don’t intend to scrapbook, keep in the photo box with dividers season, year for easy access if needed for another purpose or called up to scrapbook later. If it’s not a good picture-throw it out if you can (this can be hard).

7. BACKUP – Backup your digital photos on external hard drive, DVD or CD’s by season, year. Store negatives away from your home. another good backup source is online developing-Walmart.com; shutterfly.com or scrapbookpictures.com

YOU CAN DO THIS!!!!!! The goal is to scrapbook memories, not just events of our lives.

NOTE: FREE YOURSELF FROM “BEING CAUGHT UP”-it’s a dirty word that brings with it lots of stress & frustration and inhibits you from scrappin’. Scrap from your heart instead of from a calendar.

Wouldn’t you want quality over quantity layouts.

Sources: Big Picture Scrapbooking & Photo Freedom

Monday Madness: Select MM Kits $10.99

Happy Scrappin'

Let's talk about PHOTOS

So you KNOW I'm a huge Stacy Julian fan--her books are no longer in print, but here's a little excerpt:

The Big Picture

n USE your photos to make connections,

n CLOSE YOUR EYES, OPEN BRAIN, REMOVE “CAUGHT UP” from your mind;

n ENJOY NOW, LIVE NOW, JOT DOWN YOUR MEMORIES, and scrap in small increments on more regular basis;

n It’s scary, but chronological is NOT the only way to scrapbook;

n USE YOUR PHOTOS to tell a MORE compelling and meaningful story of the life of you & your family.

n Organize, Prioritize and Celebrate the happiest moments in your life.

You know what makes scrappin' easy? ORGANIZED, PRINTED photos!!!! I know that many struggle with this, so we're going to start that project together next week-check back on the blog & I'll help you get started. Here's what you can do before then 1) UPLOAD and print pics 2) Get some of these awesome Pioneer Photo Albums for organizing (the picture above is where my photos live until they find their way into the scrapbook). Memory Mania has a good supply of these albums so stop in this weekend & check them out.

$5 Friday: Basic Grey Paper-8 for $5

Happy Easter to all of you!!!! Stealing this sweet sentiment from Valine: Hope you have lots of picture-taking moments!!!! LOVE IT!!!!

Happy Scrappin'

What's your favorite adhesive?

This is mine-the Tombo Permanent Adhesive Dispenser. I like the small size of it--fits perfectly in my small hand as I go to town-I've always been partial to the dispensers. Only a small amount of film of glue is needed & the dispenser applies it quickly and cleanly. The applicator tip cleanly cuts adhesive and ensures a smooth application. The hinged cap protects tip of applicator when not in use and the refills are inexpensive. And, of course, its acid-free glue is ACMI Certified. There are many tombo or mono adhesive dispensers-but this particular one is my favorite. And I thought i would absolutely die when the herma dotto was discontinued-but WOW-this one is so much better than that one ever was. I've tried all of them and this is the one that gets my vote. A general note on all glue dispensers-the dispensers should be pitched after about 10 refills as glue gradually builds up in the wheels inside-save the frustration & purchase a new dispenser about every 10 refills. Hope this helps.

30% Thursday: All paper & stickers in the Fishing/Hunting Section

Happy Scrappin'