Frames create focus because they provide a visual cue to the viewer that something is “on display.”  With this in mind we can also use frames to draw attention to other key elements on our page.

Below are four ways that you can use frames in your scrapbook pages that have nothing to do with your photos!

1. Let frames help you highlight important information.

By framing a subtitle, date or other pertinent information on your page you can help provide context for your memories.  In my page “Feathered Friends” I’ve created a frame-inspired tag to draw attention to the location in which my photos were taken.

Feathered Friends | Supplies: Sketch from Simple Scrappers Premium Collection (May 2012)Field Notes Collection by SEI, Red and Navy Puff Alphas by SEI, Desert Springs Alpha Stickers by SEI, Masking Tape by 7Gypsies and leftover cork.

2. Use frames to zoom in on subtle details.

If you are afraid of losing subtle details in the mix of your design, try adding a frame around them to them stand out.  In “Willard Bay” I’ve placed a fun warped frame around this ever so faint sail boat doodle to keep it from getting lost on my page.

Willard Bay | Supplies: Wander ArtPlay Palette by Anna Aspnes, Special One ArtPlay Palette by Anna Aspnes, Adventure Art Play Palette by Anna Aspnes, Travel Word Mix by Anna Aspnes, Dripped Stains No. 6 by Anna Aspnes and Travel Americas No. 3 by Anna Aspnes.

3. Put your embellishments on display inside of frames. 

Framing embellishments on our scrapbook pages can help us to create focal accents within our designs, while showcasing beautiful handmade techniques and elements as miniature pieces of art.

After going to all the trouble of extracting these exquisite butterflies from a piece of patterned paper–with a not-so-sharp craft knife I might add–I wanted to make sure that these beauties stood out on my page, “Change.” So I framed them and went for a “gallery-style” effect–making them look like they were hung from my background paper.

Change | Supplies: Field Noted Collection by SEI (papers, embellishments, tags, etc.), Corrugate Cardboard Alpha by SEI and Tumble Dye Black by SEI

4. Showcase your design as a whole by framing it.

Utilizing a frame as a border can be a nice way to tie things together in your design and give your scrapbook page a finished look.

In “One Inspired Soul” I’ve used an enlarged digital frame to create a border for my page.  This particular frame adds to the elegant feel of this page while giving it a nice finished look.

One Inspired Soul | Supplies: Instinct by One Little Bird Designs and Flight Plan No. 6 by One Little Bird Designs

Do you have some creative ideas for alternative ways to use frames in your scrapbook pages?  I’d love to hear them in the comments below.

Have a Frame-Tastic Friday! 

I’ve started this challenge in the same spirit that I created my workshop Finding Your Inspiration Station–as a way to help scrapbookers to start taking all of the inspiration out there and begin channeling it in their pages!

Each week on Thursdays, I’ll post a new inspiration piece for you to interpret however you choose.  The inspiration will range from color inspiration to technique inspiration to product inspiration and more!  I will also post my own take on each inspiration piece and leave you with a few useful tips for working with inspiration in your scrapbook pages as well!

This challenge is for paper scrapbookers and digital scrapbookers alike and I would love it if you’d link us up to your creations in the comments.

So Welcome to The Inspiration Station…let’s have some fun!

Here is our first piece of inspiration:

Source

And here is my take on it:

Now you could have easily been inspired by the color scheme in the image above or the clean design or even the organic feel–but for me it was in fact the overall placement of things in this photo that inspired the design for my page “In the AM.”

In the A.M.| Supplies: Sketch Pad Papers by Sahlin Studio, Grandma's Dresser Papers and Elements by Sahlin Studio, A Wonderful Day Papers and Elements by Sahlin Studio, Key to My Heart Elements by Sahlin Studio, Foto Blendz Masks by Anna Aspnes, May 2012 Template A by Amy Kingsford.

Tips for Using An Inspiration Piece to Achieve Good Placement in Your Scrapbook Pages

Tip No. 1:  Consider The Big Picture

Consider how all of the parts of the inspiration piece are coming together to create what you are seeing as the final composition. 

When I first spotted this source of inspiration, I was taken with how all of the pieces worked together to create a clean, yet informal blocked design.

Tip No. 2 : Explore All of The Angles

Don’t be afraid to look at your inspiration piece from a new perspective.  Try rotating your image,  flipping it or moving things around to suit your needs.

To begin with I rotated the inspiration image 90 degrees clockwise in order to find the design that I ended up using in my own page.

Tip No. 3: Think In Basics

When studying your inspiration piece think about the shapes and lines that are present and aim to replicate them in your own design.

In my page, I’ve taken the rectangular shapes of the printed materials in the inspiration photo and substituted them for similar shaped and sized photos and tags. Then I’ve used a scattered array of paper strips to create the same basic shape achieved by the bundle of sticks.  And finally I’ve used the talk bubble and button at the top of my page to create a cluster similar in shape to the pine cone and feather.

Now you try…I can’t wait to see your interpretations!

This pack contains two single-page designs perfect for telling your stories about being a mom or great even for your everyday layouts as well! I’ve got sketches for you paper scrapbookers and templates for the digi scrappers–so click on the links below to download the format that will work best for you and get started!

Download May’s Sketches in pdf format

Download May’s Templates as psd files

And feel free to link us up to your pages inspired by this month’s sketches in the comments below–I can’t wait to see what you all come with!

Some of us call or spend time with our own mothers, while some of us take the time to pamper ourselves for a job well done.

This year I’m taking Mother’s Day to reflect back on both my triumphs and shortcomings as a mother.  To rememeber and cherish the delightful moments of motherhood that I have been blessed with, but also to consider how I might be a better mother to my two wonderful boys.

This morning I made the following layout–one mother’s manifesto so to speak.

A Mother's Manifesto | Supplies: Sun Fun ArtPlay Palette by Anna Aspnes, Blossom Art Play Palette by Anna Aspnes, Warm Glows No. 2 by Anna Aspnes, Imperfect by Kitty Designs.

The journaling reads:

I am a mother and this is my manifesto:

To kiss your knee promptly whenever you fall.

To read to you each night before bed.

To keep you warm and fed and safe.

To slay the monsters that live under your bed.

To support your dreams, your goals and your ambitions.

To be there routing you on at every recital, game and program.

To love every part of you for all eternity.

And here is a little Mother’s Day gift for all of you wonderful women out there:

A set of journalers that you can use to help you record what being a mother means to you–available in both PDF and PNG.

Download PNG file (for you digi gals)

Download PDF file (perfect for printing)

Happy Mother’s Day

In honor of  International Scrapbooking Day, I thought I might share a few of the reasons that I scrapbook for this Friday’s Five.

1.

I SCRAPBOOK…to tell the story of my family’s life together.

2.

I SCRAPBOOK…to revel in the growth and achievements of my children.

3.

I SCRAPBOOK…to express myself creatively through my story telling and my art.

4. 

I SCRAPBOOK…to leave behind a personal history for future generations.

5. 

I SCRAPBOOK…to share a piece of my life with others.

Supplies: Key to My Heart Elements and Papers by Sahlin Studio, Plastic Alpha by Sahlin Studio, Washi Tapes No. 2 by Sahlin Studio, Photobooth by Paislee Press, Big Wide World No. 1 by Anna Aspnes, Scissored Chevron Masks by Anna Aspnes, Scissored Hearts by Anna Aspnes, Ransom Alpha by Vicki Stegall, Template from Simple Scrapper's Premium Collection

Declare your reasons for scrapbooking in the comments below!

I

Below are a few ideas for using your smaller photos on your scrapbook pages in a way that makes them shine!

Frame your tiny photos with an over-sized title. 

In All Because Two People Fell In Love I paired a tiny photo and an over-sized title together on my page for impact.  The size discrepancy between the two key elements helps to emphasize how small and delicate my newborn son is, while bracketing the photo with my title insures that the photo doesn’t get lost on the page.

Supplies: Sketch from Simple Scrapper’s Premium Collection (May 2011), Studio Calico Handmade Kit, Tumble Dry Mist (Black) by SEI, Brenda Walton’s Flora and Fauna Collection by K Company, paper tape by 7 Gypsies, assorted brads and buttons.

Use small photos to fill the sections of a grid.

In Bath Buddies I knew I wanted to use small photos of my two boys taking their first bath together in an effort to capture the event as a whole rather than the details– if you know what I mean  This grid foundation offered me the perfect opportunity to mix my small photos with vibrant patterned papers and themed elements for a super fun bath page!

Supplies: Template from Simple Scrapper's Premium Collection, Wild Weekend Paper Pack by Lynn Grieveson, Fieldtrip by Krista Sahlin, Little Farmers Paper Pack by Katie Pertiet, Santa's Elf ArtPlay Palette by Anna Aspnes, Fall Mix No. 1 by Anna Aspnes, Flight by Kitty Desgns and Fun Bath by Kitty Designs

Repeat a single small photo for impact.

In “Our Nature Nerd” I’ve  repeated this small photo of my son in a photo strip that runs vertically down my page.  This repetition of a single photo (which happens to be one of my all-time favorites) reminds viewers that it is the most important part of my page.

Supplies: Template from Simple Scrapper's Premium Collection, Blue Skies Ahead by Jenn Barrette, Love and Grace Alpha by Kate Hadfield, Brackets No. 1 by Anna Aspnes, Adventure Art Play Palette by Anna Aspnes and Sun Fun Art Play Palette by Anna Aspnes, Forget Me Not Art Play Palette by Anna Aspnes

Present several small photos as a collection.

In My Daily Dose of Funny I have used several small photos –many of them cell phone photos or less than stellar shots–of my son doing what he does best, SILLY!  I’ve also paired the photos with snippets from my favorite comic strip.  The grouping of the images and the shared size gives these seemingly unrelated images the feeling of being a collection.

Supplies: Magic Sketch 5 by Kitty Designs, Flight by Kitty Designs, Precocious Papers by Sahlin Studio, Kitschy Kitchen Alpha by Sahlin Studio, Epic Collab by OLB, Paislee Press and Biografitti, Love and Grace Alpha by Kate Hadfield

Pair your small photo with ample white space.

In I {Heart} You I’ve paired this tiny photo with a WHOLE LOT of white space.  This isolates my single focal cluster on the page–ultimately giving the eye no other choice but to find this adorable photo of my son.

Supplies: And Then There Was You Collab by Biograffiti and Taylormade Designs, Inspire Me Sketches by Kitty Designs and Ten Things Brush Set by Anna Aspnes

Hang small photos from an eye-catching banner.

In Always Exploring I’ve drawn attention to this series of small photos by creating this great focal banner in which I could hang them across my page.  The sky patterned background makes for the perfect backdrop for my photo banner while reinforcing my page’s theme.

Supplies: Cosmo Cricket's Happy Camper, Tiny Alphas by Cosmo Cricket, Thicker Alpha, Crocheted and Foam Flowers by Prima, Brads by My Minds Eye, Silk Flower, Twine, Clothespins and Tongue Depresser

Now that you’ve got a few ideas to get you started, get out there and show us how you can use small photos in big ways in your own scrapbook page designs!

Ann D.

Congrats Ann!  You are the lucky winner of an advanced copy of Everyday Storyteller!  I will forward your information to Jennifer at Simple Scrapper and she will be in touch with you shortly with all of the details.

And thank you to the rest of you for your participation and your enthusiasm about this project!

Remember there is plenty more fun to be had this Friday at the Everyday Storyteller Launch Party–with over $700 worth the prizes donated from sponsors!  So sign up now for your VIP invitation and I’ll see you Friday May 4th at 8:30PM CDT.

That’s right this digital idea book filled with resourceful ideas to aid modern-day scrapbookers in capturing their memories goes on sale May 4th at 10 PM CDT!

But you have a chance to win a copy before it goes on sale by leaving a comment below!

All those who post a comment below before 11:59 PM CDT tonight will be entered into a random drawing to win their very own “advanced” digital copy! 

But that’s not all…

In Everyday Storyteller I’ve shared some fun ideas to help you dust off your old stencils and start putting them to use in your pages.  But in the meantime I’ve got a bonus tip for you so that you can start having fun with stencils in your scrapbook pages today!

Repurpose your leftover sheets of chipboard alphas/accents and pair them with your favorite mediums to add dynamic backgrounds, titles and accents to your scrapbook pages.

You can turn these…

into this:

For more great bonus tips and additional chances to win your advance copy of Everyday Storyteller: 33 Practical Ideas From Real World Scrapbookers visit the other contributors’ blogs listed below!

Cheryl Ashcraft
Anna Aspnes
Katie Clemons
Elise Blaha
Paula Gilarde
Sara Gleason
Michelle Hernandez
Debbie Hodge
Katrina Kennedy
<< YOU ARE HERE Amy Kingsford YOU ARE HERE >>
Cindy Liebel
Crystal Livesay
Robyn Meierotto
CD Muckosky
Nancy Nally
Christine Newman
Ashli Oliver
Amanda Padgett
Renee Pearson
Lynnette Penacho
Elle Price
Heather Prins
Traci Reed
Lauren Reid
Amber Ries
Kristin Rutten
Betsy Sammarco
Jenn Smith-Sloane
Jessica Sprague
Melissa Stinson
Amy Tan
Tiffany Tillman
Jennifer Wilson

And don’t forget to sign up for a VIP invitation to the Everyday Storyteller Launch Party at 8:30pm CDT on Friday, May 4. There will be more than $600 in prizes given away from sponsors–so you won’t want to miss out!

I’ll see you there!

I’m not saying it was always easy but it was certainly worth the effort.  I’ve never been so inspired to scrapbook–in fact I’ve completed 10 layouts in the last week–each of them capturing new and exciting memories!

Before I move on with my recap of  my 2012 Week In The Life, here is a quick look at our weekend:

The Things I Learned From Week In The Life 2012

Do your homework!  All of the posts that I read from others sharing their experience from previous years really prepared me for making it through my first Week In The Life Project.  You can read my own observations and tips by checking out the Week In the Life category of my blog.

Keep a camera and notebook handy–ALWAYS.  You never know when a priceless memory is about to show itself, but you can be ready with your camera and journal in hand, this is why I kept my camera and a small steno pad with me in my purse–then all that was left to remember was to bring my purse–which my husband will tell you is not as simple as it sounds

Make sure to charge your camera battery each night.  This sort of goes without saying, but you’d be surprised with all of the excitement and goings on of the day how quickly we forget about something so simple…and no one likes to have their battery die in the middle of that perfect shot!  The good news is it usually only has to happen once!

Recap at the end of each day.  At the end of each go through your photos and stories that you have recorded  from each day and consider the highlights of your day, the things that you are thankful for in your life and record any last thoughts or reflections to be included in your Week In The Life album or pages.

Don’t forget to live life while you’re recording it!  It can be difficult to balance living life and recording it at times but my best advice is that if it ever comes down to a choice between being in the moment and capturing it–choose being in the moment EVERY TIME!  Most of our everyday life moments we will have multiple opportunities to capture,  but if not I promise it will have been more meaningful to have experienced it then it will be for you to have merely photographed it.

Thanks for joining me on my Week In The Life Journey!

Our family is sort of backwards from the rest of civilization…as everyone else is gearing up for a fun weekend, our week is winding down as my husband heads back to work.

Here’s a look at our final weekday before the new work week begins.

Thanks for stopping by!  Join me Monday for a look at our weekend and my “Week In The Life Recap”.

Have a Great Weekend!