Playing Catch-Up!

I have been so busy lately that I totally forgot about blogging. Actually, I didn't forget, time has a way of catching up to us and we soon forget to prioritize our responsibilities. The month of June crept by and before I knew it here comes July. Now here we are in August with school about to start! My daughter's birthday is on the 17th of August. What better way to catch up now than to celebrate her birthday! She has changed so much over the summer; new hair style, new clothes, back to school supplies, playing with friends, and becoming a more mature and responsible young lady.

Posting Challenge!

Any one who follows this blog and posts a comment to show off your work will receive a complimentary gift! Hurry, offer expires June 15, 2009! If you encourage someone else to follow this blog, they will receive a complimentary gift as well. Challenge runs through 12:00 a.m. June 1, 2009 to 12:00 a.m. June 15, 2009. Just simply post a comment showing what you have created using a kit, Smilebox, PhotoShop, etc. In your comment, please include the following:
Name
Address
Phone #
In the subject line include "Posting Challenge"! Thanks.

Free June Kit!

http://www.freedigitalscrapbooking.com/dowload/theme_kits/Girly_Girl.zip
Who doesn't love being a girl? Aren't we all girls just trapped in an adult body? I sometimes miss being a little girl. Life was simpler in youth. Enjoy the kit.

Cropping Mistakes

This is what the purpose of cropping really is!
When I began scrapbooking in late summer of 2004 because of sheer boredom on a rainy day, I made many beginner scrapbook blunders. When I cropped a photo, I thought you nibbled away at the picture till there was barely anything left of it. Zilch! Just a pair of eyeballs staring back of the person that once was. Well, thanks to many other avenues of learning; internet, video tutorials, books and magazines, I have learned to put my mistakes behind me and move forward. I have learned design elements from the pros and the not-so-pros. I now use photo editing software programs to enhance my photos for me. I now realize that unpleasant things in photos can be blurred, softened, or removed, and even covered up with chipboard pieces, stickers, and ribbons. Scrapbooking at first was intimidating but with a little help from others and applying tips and techniques, I have mastered some new skills and feel confident with my own style that has emerged. Crop does not mean whittle away at the photo; it means to enhance the photo! Don't make my mistakes.

Become an SDS Consultant!!!! I Am Recruiting!!!

I am currently recruiting scrapbook consultants!
This unique website will give you all the information you need: http://www.scrapboxstudios.com/affiliates/jrox.php?id=1203 or you can order scrapbook kits directly from me!

Starbucks Coffee and Scrapbooking

These jars can cost you up to 7.99 when filled with flowers, brads, beads, etc. But you don't have to spend a fortune on these items. As a Scrapbooker, you already know about trendy items and how not to fall into the trap of buying what you don't need. I love to drink Starbucks Coffee; I buy four each week at Walmart. Guess what! I save the jars for my scrapbook supplies just like in the photo above. So the next time you are about to throw out something you think is trash; think again! Think about how you can use it. Afterall, that's what makes us crafty crafters what we are.

Free Monthly Kit Download

Free Kit Download at http://www.freedigitalscrapbooking.com/dowload/theme_kits/908_Sweet_Sugar.zip

Smilebox Creation for National Scrapbooking Day 2009!

Free Scrapbook Class for National Scrapbooking Day!

http://www.jessicasprague-m3.com/downloads/Freebies/JSprague-FirstLayout.zip

National Scrapbooking Day!

Saturday is National Scrapbooking Day! I will be posting that day for some delicious scrapbook goodies!

High School

I graduated from high school in 1986. The 80s decade was a fun time to grow up. What I remember most about high school were the teachers who made a difference in my life and inspired me to be more than I could be. Mrs. Thurman, now deceased, was one of those teachers. Mrs. Thurman taught English and French; I studied French when I was in the 9th grade under her. In the 10th grade, I became her personal assistant, or teacher's aide. That was a fun and exciting time. I graded papers, made copies, and ran errands. Sometimes I just did my own homework. Mrs. Thurman always made learning fun and exciting. There is not a day goes by that I don't think of her in some small way. She really influenced me. This Smilebox creation was made with her in mind and the wonderful memories she has filled my heart and soul with. Wherever you may be Mrs. Thurman, thank you.

Journaling

Most people who scrapbook today, especially the "scrapbook professionals" who have designer degrees will tell you that journaling is the most important part of a scrapbook layout. For me, journaling about myself has always been difficult. But what I tell my scrapbook students is to remember to at least state something about the layout from the heart. Just telling dates and whose in the photos means a lot to future generations of people who will look at your work. But, this is the year for me to include more of myself in my scrapbook pages. I do a lot of digital scrapbooking, but I want it easy and fuss-free. I like scrapbook programs but I do not like anything difficult to learn. I use Smilebox when I am in a hurry to make something. Sometimes I use PhotoShop Elements 4.0 or I use Scrapbook Flair (www.scrapbookflair.com). They have lots of background papers, embellishments and lots of other cool stuff to add to your pages. Next time you want fuss-free, easy and quick pages, check out some of what Scrapbook Flair or other websites have to offer. Lots of sites offer free kits. If you have any questions or comments or want to learn something new, send me a message and I will get back to you. Happy Scrappin! Don't forget to journal!

A Cute Video for Scrapbook Obsessionists

My Friend Sonja

I met a dear friend last year at church, Sonja. She and I developed a great friendship that has lasted for over a year. Recently, she left our church to pursue other areas of interest concerning her spirituality, but we are still friends regardless of where we attend church services. Sonja has been there for me through a lot and we have shared some happy times together. When I received my digital camera for Christmas, I began taking photos of things in my life that were important to me. While Sonja was teaching class, this photo was taken of her and the students. Thank you Sonja for your friendship. I hope it continues to grow and mature, to bloom into something very special for the both of us: true and lasting friendship.
Smilebox Creation: Spring Chick

Precious Moments

Okay, so you've seen all the commercials about all these women losing weight and managing somehow to keep it off. Well, the time has come for me to reveal the fact that I too have lost a few pounds. Unlike most of the ladies on television who are sane, I lost my mind as well. I was so ecstatic over losing just a few pounds that I had to clown around for my pictures. I could not remain calm and convince the entire world that what I did would somehow work for them too. I just wanted to shout out that I did it. Now, remember, it isn't everyday that I post layouts about myself. Feel honored. This was created in
Smilebox with the Circle of Love template.

My Sweet Baby

One of the reasons I got into scrapbooking was for the fun of it. But as I began doing this addictive hobby, I realized there was another reason to love it. I get to tell my story in the way I want to tell it. I have my own style, use my own words and pictures to convey what I want my future grandchildren to know about me. Another reason I scrapbook is for the here and now and to document important moments when they occur. I began scrapbooking because my daughter will want to know about me as well as events that happened in her life that she may forget about or not realize ever happened. Here is another design from Smilebox I created. When my daughter Elizabeth was little (she is now 12) she loved her pacifier. A cute story I tell her is when she was old enough to do without it I casually tossed it to the bottom of her toybox one day when she wasn't looking. Mommy told her it was lost but we would get another one. Well, that worked but she totally forgot about it. When she was about three, we decided to clean out the toybox and get rid of some toys she no longer played with. Much to my dismay and surprise, at the bottom of the toybox was the pacifier. "My paccey! she shouted. And with that, she plopped it into her mouth! Thank you Elizabeth for those joyous mommy moments!

When you get lemons.....SQUEEEEEZE!!!

The other day I was so busy with life. I was so busy that I almost allowed myself to get depressed, anxious, nervous, and all that other stuff that comes with busyness. I have been working diligently learning all the aspects of my new job; CPR and First Aide training, computer tests, and med training which is coming up this next week. Not to mention, the assignments at the University of Phoenix that I have to keep up with all week and make sure my participation is up to par. Well, before I let it get the best of me, I scrapbooked! I recently signed up with a kit-of-the-month club. When it arrived, I tore into it. Suddenly, those lemons that life seemed to be giving me turned into liquid gold! I can see myself now admiring the beautiful papers, gorgeous embellishments, and all the other imenities that came with the kit. I grabbed a box of photos that have been patiently waiting for me and got busy. Here are some of the ideas I came up with:
Bloom shows my daughter and nephew playing on the tractor pretending to work on the farm and All Girl shows my daughter and her friend petting horses. I am still working on the new digital camera I received for Christmas. Maybe one day I will master the technique of photography. So when life is about to hand you some lemons...well, you know what to do!

He the Man!

My great-nephew Gabriel is such a treat to be around. I love taking photos since I got my new camera for Christmas. Although he doesn't like to pause and get his picture taken, he did for me this one time. Gabriel's sister has not yet graced us with her birth (March 28th due date). In the meantime, he is our little man. He is so sweet and I absolutely adore him. I used PhotoShop Elements 4.0 to make this layout. If you want instructions, I can make a step by step tutorial on how to use PhotoShop Elements to design a layout similar to this.

Weddings

Brides are always beautiful and they are a great treat to make scrapbooks for. Before Christmas, I finally got my very procrastinating little sister to fork over her wedding photos. She didn't have to ask why. I made a beautiful scrapbook as a Christmas gift for her and her husband. My sister and I have about eighteen years between our ages; she is more like a daughter to me than a sister at times. Weddings are always a big event. For wedding scrapbooks, a clean design is usually recommended. Papers are often white, ivory, black, and lots of vellum is recommended. But if you go digital, Smilebox has several designs to choose from. All you have to do is find your photos you want to use and plop them onto the page. You can email your finished scrapbooks to friends and relatives, add music to them, blog them, and print them off from your computer. Smilebox takes a lot of the work out of digital scrapbooking for me. I highly recommend anyone who has not tried it to give it a shot. Other programs for scrapbooking are PhotoShop and PhotoShop Elements which are two more that I recommend, although there is a learning curve associated with these. You can also use Microsoft PowerPoint to make scrapbook pages. Microsoft has lots of clipart to use as embellishments. So if you are fortunate to get the opportunity to make a scrapbook as a wedding gift, Christmas gift, or just for yourself, remember to keep the layout clean, simple, and elegant. Less is more in terms of embellishments. Also, if using black and white, changing the photo to black and white is recommended as well. Good luck!

Scrapbooking About Hobbies

One thing I rarely do is scrapbook about myself. Its usually about family holidays, traditions, friends, and relatives. Rarely do I ever dedicate a page solely about me. One way to incorporate yourself into your scrapbooking, which most people fear (journaling about themselves), is to design layouts of you working on other hobbies. For these layouts, the focus is on me but also on my hobbies of knitting and crocheting. This way you incorporate yourself into the layout but the focus isn't entirely on you but focuses on characteristics about you. You can scrapbook about cooking, sewing, photography, whatever appeals to you. I think its important to scrapbook about yourself because those who come after you will be fascinated with your work, and want to get a personal glimpse of who you were as a person or individual; what you liked, what you disliked, etc. So try to incorporate yourself into your work without being the main focus, if you are uncomfortable talking about yourself. In these two layouts I discuss the fact that I had fun making projects for my soon-to-be great-niece who is to be born later this month. Have fun with it!

Twogether

I met my friend Heidi when we worked as daycare teachers. We hit it off immediately and have become very close. I think we have helped each other through some hard times by being there for one another, encouraging each other, and supporting one another along the way. Heidi and I are very good friends and I hope to remain her friend for a very long time to come. She has really been there for me and I dedicate this page to her. She makes me laugh, and I truly miss her when we are not together. Thanks Heidi for everything you have done for me and for being such a great friend to me.

What is the One Product I Must Have?

Recently, I was discussing scrapbooking to a very new beginner; someone who has never delved in scrapbooking, period. She asked, "What is the one product that you cannot live without?" I thought about that for a moment or two. For me, I use a lot of products on traditional scrapbook pages that most don't even consider. So, Archival Mist by Krylon (spray paint manufacturer) is the one thing that must go on my scrapbook layouts! Since I am not sure of the acidity levels in these embellishments I use, spraying them with Archival Mist helps protect my photos which are the most important thing on a scrapbook layout, in additon to journaling. Journaling and photos go hand in hand. Journaling tells the who, what, when, where, how, and why of a photo. These are the most important aspects of a scrapbook layout. Forget about decorating papers and designing them the way scrapbook designers do. They have years of knowledge in design layout. The most important thing for a beginner is to use what you have. But make sure that what you use is acid-free and lignin free and if you are not sure, use Archival Mist!

This is the typical mesh I would save to use on a scrapbook layout. Of course, I would mist it with Archival Mist before adhering it to my page. I save all kinds of things to put on my pages. Mesh is great for masculine pages.

Today, Yesterday, and Tomorrow

I can remember getting up on Saturday mornings to go to town with my mother. My father was self-employed and was usually working on some job; he laid asphalt for a living. I can remember picking up our neighbor, Marilan, and she would sometimes tag along with us. She made the trip to town not so monotonous. We always had fun with her. You know, remembering the good ole days is such sweet sorrow and a great delight at the same time. I can remember when times were much simpler than they are today. Time went by very slow in those days. I grew up in the 70's; disco, bell-bottom jeans, paisley tops, butterflies, and the smiley face on every notebook that I carried to school. My friends and I would laugh at stupid stuff, I watched Scooby-Doo on television and I loved Archie and the gang. Growing up in the 80's was somewhat tough on me. Times began to slowly change in that era. I still had fun, but I had to grow up during this time. My boyfriends began to break up with me one by one and I thought I would never be able to find the right guy to fall in love with. School got tougher and I had a new baby sister my senior year of high school. But today, the job market is bleek to say the least and people are having really hard times. Many people are losing their jobs and having to lose their homes is really devastating. There doesn't seem to be much good in store for tomorrow as it seems a little bleek as well. But we can always scrapbook. Scrapbooking is my favorite past-time hobby along with knitting and crocheting. I'm much better at scrapbooking my memories though. Today, I emptied up a tea box and I had a brainstorm. I measured the sides, top, and bottom of the box. I then took some of my favorite papers and cut them out according to the measurements. I used chocolate brown and pink with some blue and brown floral papers and taped these to the box. I then took chocolate brown ribbon and taped it around the front, sides, and back of the box. I took a floral punch and made about 10-12 flowers and used glue dots for dimension when adding them to the ribbon on the front, sides, and back of the box. I capped it off with some swirl embellishments and letters. I plan on using it to keep loose pieces and scraps that I can use at a later time. I also use empty oatmeal containers, pringles cans, and any other sturdy piece that I can decorate and make my own. So when times get hard, craftershave to know their stuff. Remember to scrapbook for today, yesterday, and those who will look at your scrapbooks tomorrow.

Smilebox Calendar!

Make a Smilebox calendar

Digital Scrapbooking with Smilebox

A fun way for me to get the most out of digital scrapbooking is by using Smilebox. Smilebox makes it easy for me to use my photos in a creative way because Smilebox has already created the scrapbook layout for me! All I have to do is supply the photo. Here, my cousin Emily celebrates her first professional modeling photos. Emily is a natural beauty and that is what is great about using Smilebox. You don't have to know a lot about digital scrapbooking, no difficult software programs to learn such as PhotoShop, and no learning curve! Just simply select your photo and design template and follow the easy instructions. Smilebox even allows you to use music on your layouts! So the next time you are stuck and don't know what to do, give Smilebox the opportunity to get your creative juices flowing in the right direction. Get those projects started!