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!