Pump Up Your Life with Scrapbook Pages of Certainty-Hobbies
Pump Up Your Life with Scrapbook Pages of Certainty
If you can voice enthusiastically that scrapbooking is your passion, could you say the same thing about how you feel towards yourself?Yes, can you tell others without turning all red in the face that you are passionate about yourself and about who you are?Are you thinking what a Weird remark to make to others? Could anyone ever be passionate about themselves?But why not?Do you really want to wait a lifetime for that someone to tell you that they're passionate about you, while you can't say the same thing about yourself?As scrapbookers, you might deliberately or unknowingly be consumed with the business of scrapbooking your kids' or your loved ones' lives. And all these time neglecting to do pages on yourself.Has too much time lapsed since you last sat down and scrapbooked about you?Do you find yourself brushing the task away with a mere, "Nay, what's there to scrapbook about me? It's more interesting to scrapbook about others."Do you really think so? Perhaps just think again.Through scrapbooking about yourself, you aren't depriving others of the chance to be in the scrapbooks. You are in truth missing out chances to validate yourself as a person. You are not giving yourself the opportunity to give voice to your thoughts and memories. You are also leaving the chance to build up scrapbook pages of certainty on the table.Did I hear you asking curiously, "What's scrapbook pages of certainty?"Well, for those of us who do spend time to scrapbook about ourselves, we'll feel a blissful sense of comfort. We become clearer on we've learned on hindsight. We start to own clarifying thoughts on our goals ahead. And we experience a growing certainty of who we are as a person, woman, worker, mother, nurturer, homemaker and other hats that we don on.You can do the same for yourself too.I urge you to not procrastinate on this important aspect of taking care of yourself. Instead, put others aside once in a while, and feed your inner desire for self-awareness and self-growth with scrapbook pages of certainty.Scrapbooking comes in many formats. You can choose to focus entirely on the photos with very limited words thrown in. Or you can be an advocate for strong and meaningful journaling.Whatever it is, when it comes to scrapbooking about you, I'll like to say that heartfelt journaling is crucial.Because by giving substance in the form of words to your thoughts, feelings and recollections about yourself, you are in a way reaffirming your sense of being. You're telling the universe, "Hey, this is who I am!"Occasionally, on my scrapbook pages, you'll see mainly journaling without a stitch of photo. And yet, some of these pages are among my most effective pages.So don't be afraid to give strength to your words and let them pour forth and land themselves naturally onto your scrapbook pages.Sometimes, certain themes might bog you down longer than others. Don't give up. The harder it is to scrapbook on a theme about yourself, the bigger will be the affirmation or breakthrough that you might experience.Do yourself a favor.Focus on scrapbooking all about yourself on some days. You'll be elated to uncover a growing sense of certainty of who you are, as you go about scrapbooking the scattered pieces of yourself and your memories."There is only one person who can write the story of your life, with all its foibles, follies, treasures and tears. That person is you."
- Kathleen AdamsNeed some inspirations or ideas that can spark up your session on scrapping about yourself? Look out for my "Scrapbooking Yourself as a Girl, Youth and Your College Days" and "Scrapbooking Yourself as a Mother, Homemaker, Worker and More".Happy scrapping!About the Author:
Fion Lim is the creator of Everything-About-Scrapbooking.com - Here's your how-to-guide to learning about scrapbooking. Find ideas for scrapbooking pages, tips, inspirations, articles and resources to quotes, poems and fonts right here.Feel free to use the this article provided it is published in its entirety, with the resource box and a "live" clickable link to: http://www.everything-about-scrapbooking.com
How to Use Textured Paper and Book Jacket Backgrounds to Give Your Scrapbook Dimension-Hobbies
How to Use Textured Paper and Book Jacket Backgrounds to Give Your Scrapbook Dimension
Textured paper can add extra dimension to your scrapbooking page. Textured paper can be used to highlight focus items on your scrapbook page. Textured paper can also be used as a backgrounds or border to give your page an interesting fresh look.Textured paper is available in a variety of textures and colors and is available in most craft and office supply stores.For an added personal touch and artist flair use a book jacket as a background. This scrapbook technique looks especially nice when the book jacket is the reader's favorite book or author, adding a wonderful personalized touch.Be aware, however, that the glossy coating on the book jacket creates an added challenge to sticking objects to this background. Alternative attachment methods include sewing and eyelets.One good way to add dimension to images is to use double stick foam tape. Double stick foam tape literally allows items to pop out at your reader adding realism to items. This technique is especially useful in children's art and educational scrapbooks.Simply, cut the foam tape into whatever shape and size you want. Then, attach to shape onto your scrapbook page. Double stick foam tape is available at most craft stores in various colors and thicknesses.Mia LaCron is the founder of 101-scrapbooking-tidbits.info - http://www.101-scrapbooking-tidbits.info - devoted to helping individuals record, store, and preserve their most cherished memories via the art of scrapbooking.
Starting Your Own Scrapbook Club-Hobbies
Starting Your Own Scrapbook Club
Before I discovered the world of scrapbooking, I was inexplicably drawn to my local office supply store. I loved to stand in an aisle surrounded by the different colors of copy paper. And the pens!At the time, I thought this was really strange. (So did my family). And then I discovered that there are a lot of people who share this fascination. I realized that there is an entire industry that caters to my obsession with patterned paper and coordinating embellishments.Then I discovered that these people also form clubs where they get together, share ideas, and eat chocolate. What could be better?Scrapbooking clubs are the quilting bees of the modern era. When you join ? or form ? a scrapbook group, you create a regular time to meet with creative, loving, and family-centered friends.Carving out a regular time to meet is an ideal way to create and maintain these meaningful friendships. Plus, as everyone gets together to work with family photographs and poignant memories, conversations tend to be deep and meaningful, too.You can start your own scrapbooking club by asking yourself these questions:--> How often do you want to meet?
How frequently do you want to hold group meetings (or crops)? Weekly, twice-monthly, monthly?It's best to get a consensus from group members as to which day works best, as well as which time of day. Will you need child care ? and how many people will be pitching in for the sitter? How many people do you want in your scrapbook club?The group dynamic varies greatly if you have 12 people, versus 30 or more. Decide in advance how many people you think will comprise an ideal group. Do you want an intimate gathering of friends ? or the energy of a larger collaboration?--> Where do you want to host the crop?
You can start out at your home, if you have the space. Or you can ask if the scrapbookers in your club would like to rotate houses.For larger groups, consider churches, community centers, or conference rooms. Often churches and businesses will be very receptive to providing space for this type of gathering. Scrapbooking is a fun, family-oriented activity, which places of worship and community centers generally
love to embrace.--> Do you want to charge membership dues?
If you have to pay for your scrapbooking space, you'll probably want to recoup those costs. If you are going to provide instruction (or food or a babysitter) - simply charge reasonable dues from each member to cover your costs. Many scrapbookers are accustomed to paying for this
type of scrap space.--> What will you serve?
You can serve food - or not. I like to keep things really simple. I have a simple basket of cold Evian bottles - which I stock up on when there's a sale.The best foods to serve don't leave anything behind, so stay away from anything that would make it necessary for guests to wash their hands with each bite. If you're going to serve finger food, use toothpicks. And ? for the chocolate fix - M&Ms are wonderful because they really do
melt in your mouth and not in your hand.--> How structured would you like your meetings to be?
Some scrapbooking clubs will invite Instructors to teach a variety of more advanced techniques. Check with your local scrapbooking store and direct sales consultants to see which classes might be available.Tip: You ? or one of your club members ? might want to consider becoming a consultant yourself in order to supply the group with product and training in the latest techniques (direct sales consulants often receive this training from their teams and from the company themselves,
ie. http://www.momscape.com/scrapbooking/business.htm ) Then you can earn a profit and the club can earn and share the free hostess rewards. Free scrapbooking goodies for all! Or you can schedule your crop around a monthly scrapbooking club kit, ie.: http://www.momscape.com/scrapbooking/scrapbook-club It's fun to see the different projects that each club member comes up with, using the same supplies. Plus, some monthly club kits(like the one cited above) come with idea sheets and an artist/designer gallery of club creations.--> What is the best way to set up the meeting space?
Make sure the lighting is adequate and that each guest has enough table space. You can set everyone up on your dining room table, or ? if you have the space, create a more elaborate configuration. One idea I found on the Two Peas in a Bucket (http://www.twopeasinabucket.com) message board is to create a square from 2 8-foot tables and 2 6-foot tables. This configuration will comfortably accommodate 8 scrapbookers.It's fun to have some community tools on one table, too. I have the basics: trimmers, Coluzzle, Silent Eyelet Setter, a mini sewing machine, etc.I also like to bring a selection of my favorite idea books and scrapbooking magazines, especially those that feature seasonal project ideas.And place a small gift bag or paper lunch sack in the center of each table for little scraps. This goes a long way in helping to keep each workspace organized and clutter-free. You can also set a relaxing (or energizing) mood with your choice of soft background music.--> How will you find club members?
If you don't already have a group of scrapbooking friends (or you want to find more), simply announce your group in the community.Word of mouth is the best way to do this. Ask your scrapbooking friends to bring their scrapbooking friends to the club meetings.You can also post flyers and announcements on community bulletin boards in libraries, grocery stores, community centers, etc.Check to see if your local newspaper will run a free ad in the Community Notes section before each scheduled crop. For example: "Free Scrapbooking Crop. All levels of experience welcome. Instructor/designer on hand to answer questions and provide instruction. Come have fun and meet new friends. Time and location. Your contact info."You can also send email invites to all your friends. Evite.com (http://www.evite.com) is a great tool for keeping track of invitees. Simply pitch your crop night as a "girls' night out" (or "mom's night out") where you'll get important things done (and it never hurts to let
them know you'll have chocolate on hand.)Have a great time meeting new scrapbooking friends and inspiring one another to complete cards, layouts, and gifts-from-the-heart in your new scrapbooking club.About the author:
Susie Cortright is the founder of Momscape's Scrapbooking Playground. Subscribe to her free twice-monthly scrapbooking newsletter, featuring best-of-the-net design ideas, advanced techniques, and money-saving specials on supplies ? here: http://www.momscape.com/scrapbooking