Nutz about Stamping

We're Scrappin' in the RTP!

Did you know that Saturday is National Scrapbook Day and that people all over the US are getting together to scrapbook photos and preserve important memories? This day kicks off a fun month of scrapbooking for seasoned scrapbookers or a wonderful, fulfilling new hobby for other people.

There are so many different scrapbooks you can make and so many sizes to choose from. When I started scrapbooking, I created 12x12 albums. I tended to take and develop a lot of photos back then and wanted to be sure that I got my money's worth. So I would crop my photos and add as many as possible to each page. For friends and family, however, I created 8 1/2 x 11 scrapbooks as I wasn't adding as many photos and found the smaller size didn't take as long to finish. When Stampin' Up! came out with the 6x6 format, I created a really unique gift for my birthmother. I sent her a blank album as a Christmas gift one year. Then beginning in January, I sent her one 6x6 completed page each month featuring some brilliant moment in her grandson's life. Usually there was only one photo on each page and a bit of room for jounaling but that didn't matter to her. What really mattered was that she got this really neat package in the mail every month for a year that connected to her to family far away.

Now that the digital age has arrived, scrapbooking is so much easier and less expensive too. I can choose which photos I want to print and use. Most scrapbookers I know use their photos to determine the colors of cardstock and accessories they will use in their layouts, but not me! I love to create the layout first and then add my photos. I search the web for "scrap maps" which are generic layout ideas and when I find one I like, I create it using my favorite designer papers and coordinating cardstock. Or I look through scrapbooking magazines for samples I like and recreate those using what I have in stock. If the photos I want to use don't match the colors of my layout, I either don't worry about it or I have the photos printed in black and white.

I offer two scrapbook camps each month. Each class features designer papers and neat layout ideas. My customers follow my designed layouts and assemble their pages to either match my samples or they tweak a bit here and there to create their own masterpieces! Stay tuned for feature classes this month and for more articles about this passion of mine. If you want to receive a personal invite to my classes or camps, sign up for my newsletter using the sign-up box at the top of my blog.

Below is one of the layouts I created for my April scrapbook camp.

In Color Poll

I realized the other day that in three short months the six In Colors are going to retire forever. I have enjoyed these colors and explored each one and all of its color combinations with Stampin' Up!s regular 48 colors. Some of my favs are River Rock with Night of Navy, and Groovy Guava with Soft Sky (think Bali Breeze Designer paper - YUM!). When I think of these six colors retiring wayyyy too soon, I have a favorite that I will sorely miss. Do you? If so, take my poll on the right hand sidebar and let your favorite be known!

Birthday Stamp-a-Stack

Every quarter I add a Stamp-a-Stack class to my calendar of events. Yesterday I held a Birthday card Stamp-a-Stack at the request of one of my customers. Stampers assembled 15 birthday cards, 5 designs, three of each design. They also had fun stamping envelopes to match each card. Here are two cards from that class. The first one uses the Wild Wasabi special that Stampin' Up! is featuring until supplies last: 16 sheets, pre-cut, pre-scored for only $3.95. Watch for my Holiday Card Stamp-a-Stack class in July!

Relatives in Raleigh

I love when my step-mother comes from Canada for a visit. She has great color sense for interior decorating and is a whiz at creating beautiful outdoor spaces. The other day while I was painting the kitchen she snuck upstairs to my Stampin' Spot and had a go at making a card or two. I am glad she did because she chose a stamp set that I had forgotten all about yet it was a favorite of mine a year ago.