Fashion!: Bright Primary Colors

This entry is part 2 of 7 in the series Fashion!

Today, marks my first Fashion! post. Today’s trend is bright primary colors.

Here are a couple of bright primary (and pink) colors I found in the September 2011 issue of Vogue:


Here’s what I came up with:



Coming up with this layout was easy thanks to these photos I snapped last summer of my daughter helping with bright, colorful, veggies from my dad’s garden. I probably would have used the green paper even if it weren’t for this project. But because of this project, I wanted to be sure to include some other bright primary colors.



I had this piece of pattern paper that fit the bill and stamped my title using a royal blue ink. I had bought Inkadinkado Primary Pigment Ink especially for this project so that I could easily add some bright primary colors to any layout.



Do you ever use bright primary colors on your layouts? If yes, how? If no, why not? Join the conversation below by commenting!

Check out my Facebook page!
Stephanie

Share
Posted in Fashion! | Tagged | 4 Comments

The Winner of the Take Twelve Inspiration Kit

This entry is part 2 of 10 in the series Take Twelve

This was my first giveaway where entrants earned extra entries for joining me on on Twitter, Facebook, and Google+. That being said, I went through every comment and created a spreadsheet for each entry here and elsewhere. There were 25 entries total and random.org selected the number below:



The winner is Kim S with this comment:



Congratulations, Kim!
Stephanie

Share
Posted in Uncategorized, Giveaway, Take Twelve | Tagged , | 2 Comments

This Week on Scrapworthy Lives: January 14, 2012 Edition

Each Saturday, I provide a compilation of links from the week’s posts.

This Week:

One Year Ago:

Five Ways to support Scrapworthy Lives:

  1. Get a free copy of The Scrapworthy Lives Guide to Minimalist Scrapbooking and a sneak peak at The Scrapworthy Lives Guide to Market Research by subscribing to the Scrapworthy Lives newsletter.
  2. Subscribe by RSS.
  3. Connect with Scrapworthy Lives on Google+.
  4. Become a fan of Scrapworthy Lives on Facebook.
  5. Follow scrapworthy on Twitter.
  6. Buy my new e-book, The Scrapworthy Lives Guide to Market Research.

Stephanie

Share
Posted in This Week | Tagged | Comments Off on This Week on Scrapworthy Lives: January 14, 2012 Edition

Books &Blogs: The Photographer’s Bag O’ Tricks

This entry is part 41 of 45 in the series Books & Blogs Review

Every other Friday I review a book or blog related to scrapbooking.



Kelly Willette is a photographer and blogger. She has created these neat little downloadable photography posing guides. Today, I’m reviewing The Photographer’s Bag O’ Tricks: Games to Play to Encourage Smiles. The guide contains 20 tips labeled with the age that the tip works best. The tips are geared towards photographing kids aged 8 and under, with most of the tips for kids under 5.

What I Like:

  • I like the compact size. I can easily keep this in my camera bag without weighing my bag down too much.
  • I think the tips are especially useful for professional photographers who might not have much experience either photographing kids or being around kids.
  • Even if you already are experienced around kids, these tips will be useful for when your kid is more disagreeable with the camera. My kid used to always love to be photographed, but now–shocking I know–she has developed a mind of her own and is not always so agreeable.

What I Don’t Like:

  • Each tip is organized by age, but the ages are inconsistent. An idea might be for ages 2-4, 2-5, 2-6, or 2-7. Ok, I can organize all of these starting with age 2. But then, where do I place the idea for ages 3-5? I opted to organize based on the first age listed on each idea. I’m not really sure there is a better way to do this and it might not really be an issue when you are actually using the prompts, but it would have made organizing the prompts in the first place easier.

Overall, I like this posing guide. I think it is a good value for the money.

Scrapworthy Lives is on Twitter. Are you? Follow scrapworthy on Twitter.
Stephanie

Share
Posted in B&B Review | Tagged | Comments Off on Books &Blogs: The Photographer’s Bag O’ Tricks

I’m on Ella Publishing’s Take Twelve Team and a Giveaway!

This entry is part 1 of 10 in the series Take Twelve

I’m on Ella Publishing’s Take Twelve Team!



Each month we are committing to taking 12 photos on the 12th of the month and then create a layout of those photos.

This is my first design team. I can’t believe I just wrote that. I’m on a design team. This is one of those things that if you told me ten (heck even two) years ago that I would by on a design team, I would have said you were nuts and that is not something I’m interested in doing. Oh, how things change.

I’m still not sure what my approach might be. I think I might use my iPhone. I work outside the home and have no interest in carrying my DSLR with me to and from work. I also have a lot of iPhone photo apps that I really want to try out and experiment with. I think that this project might be perfect for this experimenting.

I’m also not sure how Take Twelve will fit in with Project Life. I’ll probably just select one photo from the 12th to add to my layout for that week in Project Life.

You can enter to win a copy of the Take Twelve Guided Inspiration Kit.



There are several ways you can enter for your chance to win:

  1. Leave me a comment below. Tell how you might approach Take Twelve.
  2. Follow @scrapworthy on Twitter. Come back here and comment to let me know you follow me on Twitter for an additional chance to win.
  3. Like Scrapworthy Lives on Facebook. Come back here and comment to let me know you like me on Facebook for an additional chance to win.
  4. Follow me on Google+. Come back here and comment to let me know you like me on Google+ for an additional chance to win.

This giveaway will close at midnight Central Standard Time (Chicago, IL, USA) on Saturday, January 14, 2012.

If you can’t wait that long, you can purchase a copy of the Take Twelve Guided Inspiration Kit for 12% savings through January 12, 2012. If you purchase (or have already purchased the kit) and you win it, Ella Publishing will refund your purchase price.

I want to quickly thank Angie Lucas, Wendy Smedley, and Elizabeth Dillow for inviting me to join the Take 12 Team. I’m really excited to join in the fun!
Stephanie

Share
Posted in Take Twelve, Design Teams, Ella Publishing | Tagged , , | 43 Comments

Heritage Albums: Drawing Family Boundaries

This entry is part 34 of 86 in the series Scrapworthy Lives Results

Every other Wednesday, I write a post from my dissertation.

In the case of heritage albums, the scrapbooker is explicitly doing family, making decisions about who is family and who is not by who gets included and who gets excluded in this particular scrapbooking style. The role of family is very important in most scrapbooks because:

It helps you connect with people in your family; to connect with ancestors maybe you never met, to get to know them a little better and understand your family history; and, maybe if you had a grandparent who did things a certain way and you never knew that, but you do things that same way. It helps you relate to them [other family members].

Respondents discuss how they learn about deceased and living family members and come to know them better through scrapbooking. Though heritage albums may show most explicitly how scrapbookers are doing family, all scrapbooks serve as a device that communicates who belongs in the family and who does not.

Burgess, Enzle, and Morry (2000:628) observe that even strangers who are photographed together “expressed greater social identity and greater mutual affinity than did” strangers who are not photographed together. Simply placing people within the same photographic frame creates a bond between them. Scrapbooks can do the same thing. A family bond can be created by placing people within the same heritage album. These people may have never met in real life but by choosing to add a person to a heritage album, the scrapbooker is choosing to record a family relationship. Scrapbooking might not strengthen family bonds, but it certainly helps strengthen the boundaries between family and nonfamily.

How do you decide who is included in a heritage scrapbook? Join the conversation below.

Reference:

Burgess, Mark, Michael L. Enzle, and Marian Morry. 2000. “The Social Psychological Power of Photography: Can the Image-Freezing Machine Make Something of Nothing?” European Journal of Social Psychology 30(5):613-30.

Related Posts:

Did you know that you can subscribe by RSS?

Stephanie

Share
Posted in Dissertation, Findings, Family | Tagged | 2 Comments

Fashion!

This entry is part 1 of 7 in the series Fashion!



My Scrap Happy Project has come to a close. I’m a bit sad. I enjoyed reading The Happiness Project, applying the concepts to scrapbooking, and hosting a blog hop based on the content.

It is time for a new project. Of course, I am participating in other projects: Project Life, One Little Word, 10 on the Tenth, and the Color Combo Blog Hop.

I really wanted to adapt another book to scrapbooking but had difficulty finding something that worked as well as The Happiness Project. I’ve had a few suggestions and will gladly take more. I may use one of these suggestions in the future. Right now, it’s just not the right time for the suggestions I have received.

A few months ago as I was thinking about what would come next after I wrapped up The Happiness Project, I was browsing through the magazines while I was getting my oil changed and stumbled upon the September issue of Vogue. I’ve always loved fashion and fashion magazines despite all the problems with them being sexist, superficial, encouraging unrealistic expectations, and so on. I don’t actually subscribe to any fashion magazines anymore but remember fondly getting the September issue of Seventeen as a teen. I love the September issue of fashion magazines. They are deliciously thick and full of inspiration. Though, I’m not what you would really call fashionable or super-into name brands, I do enjoy thinking about the possibilities. And the possibilities of the September issue of Vogue include adapting the latest fashion trends to scrapbooking.

I had to go on Amazon and get a used copy of the September issue of Vogue as it was no longer available at the newsstand by the time this idea came to me. (I will be subscribing sometime before September so the 2012 issue will arrive at my door.)

And remember how I splurged on scrapbooking quite a bit in November? Well, it was in the name of this project. I spent roughly, $125 on adding some items to my stash to fully explore this challenge. I needed a few bright paints and inks, geometric templates, and animal print stamps, among other items.

Throughout 2012, I plan to share with you how I am adapting fashion trends to scrapbooking. I’m excited about this particular challenge. Would you like to join me? If there is enough interest, I’ll host a monthly blog hop on this topic. I will email you the trend and you will get to incorporate the trend right along with me. Email me at stephaniemedleyrath at gmail dot com if you would like to join in the Fashion! Blog Hop.

In the meantime, here is a little parting music from Glee.

Click here if the video doesn’t play here. I am having difficulties getting youtube to agree with me.

I’ve also started a Pinterest board devoted to fashion trends I’d like to incorporate into my scrapbooking. You can follow it and all my other boards here.
Stephanie

Share
Posted in Fashion! | Tagged | 6 Comments

This Week on Scrapworthy Lives: January 7, 2012 Edition

Each Saturday, I provide a compilation of links from the week’s posts.

This Week:

One Year Ago:

Five Ways to support Scrapworthy Lives:

  1. Get a free copy of The Scrapworthy Lives Guide to Minimalist Scrapbooking and a sneak peak at The Scrapworthy Lives Guide to Market Research by subscribing to the Scrapworthy Lives newsletter.
  2. Subscribe by RSS.
  3. Connect with Scrapworthy Lives on Google+.
  4. Become a fan of Scrapworthy Lives on Facebook.
  5. Follow scrapworthy on Twitter.
  6. Buy my new e-book, The Scrapworthy Lives Guide to Market Research.

Stephanie

Share
Posted in This Week | Tagged | 2 Comments

My December Scrapbooking Expenses

This entry is part 28 of 37 in the series Minimalist Scrapbooking

Every other Friday, I write a post about Minimalist Scrapbooking. And, once a month, I share what I spent on scrapbooking in the previous month.

In December, I spent $78.60, much less than the $352.68 I spent in November. This brings my monthly average down to $112.76.

Here’s what I bought:

  • I spent $8.20 at my local scrapbook store. I bought two sheets of Christmas pattern paper and wire cutters for my cinch.
  • I signed up for Stamp Carving 101 at Balzer Designs for $30. I’m not much of a stamper but am intrigued by the idea of carving my own stamps. I did have to buy a couple of supplies for the class, but got those from Santa so they are not included in my expenses.
  • I also signed up for One Little Word at Big Picture Classes. I was on the fence about this one but decided I’d check it out this year. I spent $32.40 (using a 10 percent off coupon) on the class. I am not planning on buying any supplies for the class but adapting the supplies I already own to the class content.
  • I spent about $8 at Hobby Lobby on paintbrushes. I’ve been using paint quite a bit more and needed to add some variety to my paint brush stash and replace a couple of brushes that have seen better days.

Overall, I did bring my spending down considerably compared to November. I spent quite a bit on classes this month, which means I most likely will not be signing up for any more classes for a few months.

In 2012, I’ve decided to start the year out with a budget of $60 a month for scrapbooking, which is $720 for the year. I spent $1014.86 from April to December of 2011. (I only started keeping track in April. I don’t believe I spent that much the first three months of the year, but I can’t remember). So, I am looking at reducing my scrapbook spending by around 30 percent. I will continue including the costs of photo printing in my scrapbook budget. Reducing my spending by 30 percent will be tough because I would like to replace my broken photo printer at some point this year. So that will be about $150. I’d love a Silhouette, but that probably won’t happen with this budget. I don’t want one bad enough to increase my budget. I’m still not sure I would use it enough to justify the cost, which is why I am not going to buy or budget for one at this point.

Guess what? I’m not the only one out there blogging about how much they spend on scrapbooking! Sara at 1200 Some Miles has started doing the same thing.

Do you have any big scrapbooking splurges planned in 2012? Comment below!

Related posts:

Want a free copy of The Scrapworthy Lives Guide to Minimalist Scrapbooking? Sign up for the newsletter and it is yours!
Stephanie

Share
Posted in Minimalist Scrapbooking | Tagged | 7 Comments

Scrapbook Ideas for Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Chinese New Year, and Other January Holidays

This entry is part 5 of 9 in the series The Scrapworthy Lives Guide to Market Research

Every other Wednesday, I write a business post for the scrapbook industry based on The Scrapworthy Lives Guide to Market Research. Today’s discussion is about niche markets and should be of interest to both scrapbookers and industry workers.

Have you used The Ultimate Holiday App from Hallmark? It is free and an awesome tool for scrapbook inspiration and bare bones information about holidays you might not know much about.

If you are a scrapbooker, you might look up a date to see what is commemorated on the date to add to your scrapbook. I’d actually like to do more of this. If I have a random photo and not much to say about it, then I might talk about a holiday that is occurring on the date the photo was taken. I might even be inspired to go take a photo of something to commemorate the holiday.

If you are an industry worker, you can use this information to help your customers scrapbook holidays that might be important to them even if your knowledge of the holiday is limited. I just scrolled through the holidays that happen in January for ideas. Then I went to the Internet to find some more information on a few of the holidays to get you started. Some of the holidays are quite obvious and others are obscure and a bit of a stretch to really call holidays. What is really important for industry workers to take away from this post is that you do not have to have scrapbook-themed product in order to help your customers scrapbook these holidays. You can help customers scrapbook without themed-product if you know a little bit about the holiday they are commemorating.

New Year’s Day (January 1)
General Information
Quotes
Layout Ideas

Martin Luther King, Jr. (January 16)
General information
Quotes

National Handwriting Day (January 23)
General Information
Quotes

Chinese New Year (January 23)
2012 is the year of the Dragon
General Information
Quotes

Bubble Wrap Appreciation Day (January 31)
General Information
I could not find very many quotes about bubble wrap. My guess is that you won’t be creating a layout so much about bubble wrap, but actually using bubble wrap on your layout in some way like here or here.

Inspire Your Heart Create Art (January 31)
General Information
Quotes

What January holidays do you celebrate and scrapbook? Comment below.

You can read more about niche markets in the scrapbook industry in The Scrapworthy Lives Guide to Market Research.

Stephanie

Share
Posted in Niche Markets, Scrapworthy Lives Products, The Scrapworthy Lives Guide to Market Research, Holidays | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments