Scrapbook Review

Fall Is My Favorite Time

2006-10-22T10:49:00.000-07:00

Fall is my favorite time of year, and I always seem to be more inspired to create fun layouts in fall. I'm working on a new kit that I am calling Indian Rose, because of the gorgeous hues of turquoise and rose that I'm using. The Berrys layout was created using it.

Beckett picked out his Halloween costume yesterday. I'm not sure he's going to take it off. Ever.

DeLiCiOuS Recipe Box or Photo Box

2006-10-19T13:04:00.000-07:00

I put a new recipe box on Etsy today. This one has more of a French feeling, and is absolutement delicious. www.scrapbooklab.etsy.com

This gorgeous 4 x 6 recipe box will look amazing on your kitchen counter as a work of art, and a functional place to store your favorite recipes!

OR

If you're not into cooking. Use this recipe box as a PHOTO BOX, storing your most delicious photos inside.

Also: The recipe box comes with 6 make ahead meal recipes from my upcoming book Lazy Day Gourmet, including: Moo Noodle Pie, Sunny Sarasota Chops, Heavenly Chicken and Dumplings, The Everything Tastes Better in a Puff Pastry Fish Biscuit Recipe, and Jive Turkey.

This is the perfect gift for the holidays, or as a way to pamper YOURSELF.

Frame Your Scrapbook!

2006-10-12T09:42:00.000-07:00

As a Scrapbook Evangalist, one of my passions is finding new ways to present scrapbook layouts as valid works of art. And as I was decorating my new house, I decided to take that concept and create a scrapbook gallery in the circulation hall. I wanted to make the scrapbook layouts blend in architecturally with the rest of the elements in our rambler cottage style house.

So, I went to my local Michael's, and found unfinished shadow box style memory frames, and got to work creating my gallery. I painted the inside panels black to create depth, and because Black is the New Black, as I have discussed before! And then I painted the frames white, using the same Super Hide white that all of the trim and baseboards are painted throughout the house.

Once the frames were dry and ready, I mounted a piece of store bought 12 x 12 scrapbook paper into each frame. I used the same background paper in each frame to give the gallery a consistent feel. And then I took some of my favorite digital scrapbook layouts, and had them printed at 11 x 11 at a local Kinko's type print shop. If you have your digital layouts printed at your local print shop, ask them to use a cardstock, and to print it on a Fiery or better printer. I prefer non-glossy. But that's a personal choice. The prints you'll get will look darker than they do on your computer monitor, so choose layouts that naturally have high contrast to print at a local printer. If you want prints that look EXACTLY like your layouts on your screen, then order from a PHOTO printer, such as Printroom.com.

I cut the 11 x 11 layouts so that there were no white borders, and then mounted them into the memory frames on top of the 12 x 12 background paper. Then, I measured, and hung the frames on the wall, gallery style.

I think it looks great, and it was an easy and inexpensive way to instantly increase my art collection!

Cookie Recipe Box- Scrapbook Style

2006-10-09T19:37:00.000-07:00

This is further experimentation into creating fun and interesting recipe boxes of different shapes and sizes with a scrapbooking flair. You'll notice that my ribbon concept EXPLODED. I kinda like it!

Two Worlds Collide- Digital & Paper Scrapbook Recipe Boxes

2006-10-02T16:31:00.000-07:00

I love projects that can easily and successfully combine digital and paper scrapbook techniques. While my recipe cards are all being designed digitally, I have decided to package them in a nice paper scrapping medium, and am creating recipe boxes. It's been challenging trying to work on them with a sick toddler in the house, but Beckett went back to school today, so I'm FREE... to create, that is.

Holy Bok Bok, Batman! Recipe Cards!

2006-09-20T21:18:00.001-07:00

I've fleshed out a recipe card concept, and am moving full steam ahead in production. I'll be offering at least 3 sets of recipe card with 5 recipes each, packaged for holiday gift giving goodness. One set will definitely be vegetarian. All will be delicious. Complete sets, packages and ready for shipping will be ready around October 1st. You'll be able to buy them at http://www.scrapbooklab.etsy.com. They will also be available during the 3WA Craft Fair in late October/early November.

Holy Bok Bok, Batman! Recipe Cards!

2006-09-20T21:18:00.000-07:00

Black is the New Black

2006-09-09T16:19:00.000-07:00

With all of the doodling, handwriting, and inking going on in the scrapbook world right now, I'm happy to report that Black is the New Black! I have found myself jumping aboard, and embracing the style with much enthusiasm. When my grandchildren look back at my 2006 scrapbook, they'll refer to it as "Grandamme's Dark Ages".

Last year, I went through my "Pink Period", and perhaps next year will be "The Year of the Earth Tone". But for now, I'm cranking up the AC/DC and freestylin' with the Sharpie. I outlined every single damn element in the K & Company mini book in black, and today as I was working on my new upcoming collections for autumn, I found myself tuning the Lightness on my Hue/Saturation dial down to nearly nothing.

If these layouts get any darker, we'll have to bust out the black light, and call it a party!

How have you been using black in your layouts or designs these days?

Wayang Golek

2006-09-06T09:44:00.000-07:00

I am currently taking orders for custom scrapbooks for the Christmas season. Give your friends and family a completely unique gift this holiday season! All you have to do is send over digital photos, and I will create a completley unique scrapbook, complete with journaling!

Click here to see samples of my scrapbook layouts!

As your project is being built, you will be able to view the progress of your pages, make comments, give feedback, and watch as your completely custom scrapbook is put together. Your complete scrapbook will be shipped to your door within 2-4 weeks of your order.

A 25% deposit is required upfront, and the remainder will be collected upon your final approval, and before shipping. Shipping costs will be added to the final billing. PayPal only, please. If you cannot pay via PayPal, please e-mail me to arrange a money order payment.

ORDER NOW! Since each scrapbook is completely custom, I will stop taking orders sometime in October.

The following packages are currently available for Christmas 2006:

12 x 12 Complete Custom Scrapbook - Includes hard cover top loading scrapbook, 10 custom designed scrapbook layouts, and professional studio quality photo prints of your 10 pages. This is a full sized scrapbook, and would make the ultimate new mom or grandparent's Christmas gift. The entire scrapbook will be shipped to you, fully assembled and ready to give as a gift or to proudly display in your home.

The Buy Now button below will charge you $75 for the deposit, and place your order.

Price: $300 + shipping.
Additional Copies of Scrapbook: $70 + shipping
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8 x 8 Complete Custom Scrapbook- Includes a hard cover top loading scrapbook (size 8" x 8"), 10 custom designed scrapbook layouts, and professional studio quality photo prints of your 10 pages. This is a smaller sized scrapbook, around the size of an oversized mousepad, and is just as charming as the full size option. The entire scrapbook will be shipped to you, fully assembled and ready to go!

The Buy Now button will charge you $50 for the deposit, and place your order.

Price: $200 + shipping.
Additional Copies of Scrapbook: $50 + shipping
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Custom Mini Book- The charming mini book is a paper scrapbook, which uses 6-8 photos, and usually revolves around a theme or event. It is a perfect and affordable gift! Give one to your best friend with photos of your life together. Give one to your lover as a way to say, "I love you." Make one to have as a keepsake of your baby's first birthday. The possibilities are endless. The mini book includes a small 5 x 5 ish scrapbook, all paper elements, stickers, ribbons, embellishments, etc, and prints of your photos for use in the book. This is my only paper scrapbook option! Pick this one if you've just GOT to have that handmade look! See example mini book here.

Price: $85* + shipping.
*Price may vary, depending on the materials you choose. But this is a very close estimate.
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If you have any questions, or would like to discuss your project with me personally, please e-mail beth at this domain, or login to chat with me via Instant Messenger screenname bedaberry. Thanks! And I look forward to working with you!

SATISFACTION GUARANTEED!

K & Company Mini Book Finale

2006-09-01T07:33:00.000-07:00

Total time to complete the Mini Book: Right around 4 hours. Keep in mind that I am primarily a digital scrapper, so a well seasoned paper scrapper might be able to do it in less time.

The mini book is complete, and has been wrapped with an orange ribbon, and is ready to be delivered to my best friend, Evita. I spent a total of around 4 hours, and less than $20 to create this little book, Advice For Lovers.

Here are the final two layouts, and a photo of the finished cover.

Be Silly. Be Happy. Click to enlarge.

And share your secret with fools like us. Click to enlarge

I really only ran into one snag in the Mini Book & The 25 cent glitter glue pen project. The front and back covers of the book (including the inside) is slick coated, so the beautiful glue pen I had done on the inside cover wound up flaking off into perfect little circles on my desk the first time I opened the book up to give it a final inspection.

The glitter glue pen likes good old cardstock or non-slick paper. Note to self.

Technique: I also decided that the elements in general looked flat and didn't POP as much as I wanted them to, so I used a regular felt tip pen, and outlined almost everything in the mini book. And I created some handwritten doodles to give it a more personal touch, and to fill in some of the blank spaces in the layout.

Overall, I would give the products I used in this mini book 4 Stars- Loved it! I especially liked the 3D tags that were created to fit neatly on the tabs of the book. And the cool Brenda Walton 3D flower and butterfly embellishments wound up being my favorite pieces in the whole project to work with.

Products Used:
K & Company Mini Book- Meadow
Sharon Soneff Alpha Stickers- Sonnet
Kelly Panacci- Cardstock Flowered Sticker Alphas
Brenda Walton- Emma Collection Flower and Butterfly Stickers.

K & Company Mini Book Continued

2006-08-30T18:10:00.000-07:00

I continued to torture the glitter glue pen today, and forged ahead with the creation of the K & Company Mini Book. I have to say that after this experience, I am a big fan of the mini book, and let me tell you why.

First of all, I've always felt like paper scrapbooking limited my style. The alphabet sets were always slightly or extremely smaller than I would have liked, and having done a lot of digital scrapbooking, I am extremely spoiled by being able to resize letters to their proper HUGE status in my layouts. I strongly use what I call my Wonky Letters (TM) style, which consists of me taking gigantic letters, and aligning them on my layouts like a set of crooked teeth. "First letter tilts to the left, next letter tilts to the right, third letter tilts to the left and drops down an eigth of an inch...", etc. My Wonky Letters (TM) style works wonders in the mini book format. This was a pleasant surprise.

Creating a mini book has also forced me to do something that I've always been terrified to do. I have been stretched creatively, and forced to cut photographs with scissors. Cutting up my photographs was probably the number one barrier of entry between me and the wonderful world of scrapbooking, and definitely the reason I chose to dive into digital instead of paper scrapping. When you're creating a digital scrapbook, you simply crop, resize, and save the original version of your photo on a nice hard drive that gets back up nightly to an external back up drive. Cutting a photo? It's like asking me to cut the fingernails of a two day old baby. What if I screw up? Somebody might get seriously injured! I might chop off an arm, or a head!

I had to throw caution to the wind and cut those photos because they were too big to fit on the mini book format. I feel like I've been liberated! I even cut one of the pictures in HALF, and used it in the center of a two page layout. It was like walking on the moon!

Something that I have noticed about the mini book is that my pages are warping. I am not sure if it is the glue stick I'm using, or because the paper is thicker than normal, but the pages are buckling inside. It must be the glue stick. I'm using Scotch Scrapbooker's glue with 2 Way Applicator. Fancy, I know! I don't think I'll be able to do my normal "Three Days with Shakespeare" scrapbook pressing routine where I place the book underneath my college edition of the complete works of William Shakespeare for 3 days, in which anything under its crusing weight comes out flatter than a flapjack. I have a good many 3D elements in the book. But I'll give The Bard a shot, and see if it flattens up before I give it away on Friday.

If you have any advice for a poor warped Scrapbook Evangalist, please post a comment. I like my scrapbooks a little shabby, a little junky, a little bit rock and roll. I've been told that I have a tendency to pile it on a little thick... but never in reference to a scrapbook!

K & Company Mini Book & The 25 Cent Glitter Pen

2006-08-29T20:58:00.000-07:00

Today I started a K & Company Mini Book. I combined it with a set of Brenda Walton 3 dimensional flower stickers, and various alpha packs. You know I can't resist mixing it up. While I was out shopping today for a dinner party, I wound up wandering down the craft aisle at Target. Luckily, Target's craft aisle leaves a lot to be desired, so I was not tempted to empty the entire contents of the aisle into my shopping cart. But I did manage to walk out with a couple of 25 cent glitter glue pens.

I've never experimented with the glitter glue pen. Tonight all of that changed. The K & Company mini scrapbook kit comes with a variety of lovely papers, alphabets, tags, stickers, and other scrapbook goodness. It's turned out to be a perfect marriage with my 25 cent glitter glue pen.

I started out using the glitter glue pen to create simple curved lines off of the Brenda Walton flower stickers. Behold the glitter glue pen madness that soon took over my pages. I think I have found a new signature scrapbook supply that screams Beth Berry, Scrapbook Evangalist!

Enjoy. You've been warned. Glitter glue at your own risk.

Click image to see all sizes.

Digital Scrapbook Technique- The Big Picture

2006-08-28T11:55:00.000-07:00

Scrapbook 15 Minute Quickie!

If you're trying to add new dimension to your digital scrapbooks, one of the fastest and easiest ways to create complex effects is to take advantage of the hundreds of Photoshop Actions that are available for download on the web.

I used The Big Picture Action from PanosFX to create this photo collage effect for a quick layout.

Click to Enlarge

How to Do It:

1. Visit www.panosfx.com, and click Free Downloads.

2. Download The Big Picture Action, and save it to your computer.

3. Extract the ZIP file, and make a note of where the Action file is on your computer.

4. Open Photoshop. Click Window, and open your Actions Window.

5. Click the small right arrow on the far upper right corner of the Actions Window, and click Load Actions.

6. Browse your computer and install The Big Picture Action you just downloaded.

7. Open the photo you want to apply the action to in Photoshop. From the Actions window, run the action by clicking The Big Picture action directly underneath the PanosFX copyright information.

8. Once you have clicked The Big Picture action, click the RUN button to execute the action. The run button looks like the play button on your DVD player or remote control. It is circled in orange in this example.

The Big Picture action will automatically take your picture and create a 25 photo collage, and create individual layers that you can manipulate to futher customize the effect. The layout I created used the action straight out of the box with no alteration.

Once you have run the action, you can drag the Layer Group onto your digital scrapbook layout. I added a black layer underneath to make the photos pop. I then added some inked edges to my paper, a nice fat Circus Ornate type treated title, and a simple pair of angel wings (another Photoshop brush I downloaded from the Internet somewhere along the way!), and the year 2005.

I think this would make a nice title page to a scrapbook full of Beckett's 2005 memories.

I hope you found this digital scrapbook technique to be helpful and informative. If you use The Big Picture action in your layouts, send a link! I'd love to see your work!

To find more actions, go to Google, and type in Photoshop Actions. Or visit the Studio Exchange at Adobe.com

Tags: digital scrapbook techniques, digital scrapbook idea, digital scrapbook layouts, digital scrapbooks, Photoshop Actions

Formula for Scrapping Kid's Birthday Parties

2006-08-27T15:40:00.000-07:00

When I am shooting pictures at a birthday party I try to think ahead about the creation of a future digital scrapbook layout. I use the following easy to remember formula to make sure I get all of the shots I'll need to create a compelling double page spread that documents the celebration.

It's as easy as spelling B I R T H D A Y

B- Birthday Child
I like to take a few individual shots of the birthday child, and always use these as the central photos in the birthday party layouts.

I- Ice Cream & Cake
Include a picture of the cake, and if you can capture it, it's always nice to have a shot of the birthday child blowing out the candles.

R- Recreation
While the kids are playing party games, or jumping in the inflatable jump castle, walk around and shoot action shots! Even if some of them turn out blurry or slightly out of focus, you're bound to capture a handful of great shots.

T- Theme
Focus on the theme of the party. If it is a cowboy themed party, make sure you take pictures of all of the guests in their cowboy hats, or take pictures of the cowboy hankerchief goodie bags. Take a few shots that help document the theme of the party.

H- Happy Kids!
Don't be afraid to ask groups of kids to gather together and say CHEESE! Most of the time, the kids love to ham it up in front of the camera (especially if you let them see the photos on your camera screen after you take the shot!). So, round them up in small groups and get some close ups of their happy smiling party faces.

D- Dad & Mom
Try to get a picture of dad and mom together. And if you can manage to get one of Dad, mom, and the birthday child...even better! Often mom and dad are running around the party and when they get the photos back from the party, you'd never know they were even there! The child will appreciate the scrapbook later in life even more if mom and dad are included in the layout.

A- Attendees
When the kids sit down to eat cake, go around the table and ask each one of them to smile while you take their picture. I try to include a picture of every child at the party in all of my birthday party layouts. Using different conventions, such as a photo contact sheet or a stacked polaroid effect can pack a lot of pictures into a small space on a layout.

Y- Yourself
Don't forget to have someone at the party take a picture of YOU to include in the layout. So often, we find ourselves behind the camera, and it's nice to see the artist make a cameo appearance in their own scrapbook every now and then.

Hot New Digital Products

2006-08-26T06:55:00.000-07:00

With the metric ton of new digital products being released weekly at digital scrapbook sites around the web, the task of weeding through and finding the hottest new kits out there can be a full time job. Here a few shining stars...

To the left, you see Angie Brigg's new digital scrapbook kit Gypsy Boots, being sold exclusively at ScrapGirls.

It includes 16 colorful, slightly distressed papers, 3 sheets of fun, felt flowers, butterflies, dragonflies. You also get ribbon and ric rak and other fun embellishments. And best of all, you also get 3 different types of alpha.

I am a big alpha fan, so this kit looks right up my alley. I love the bright colors and attitude of this fun new kit.

Designer Digitals artist Katie Pertiet has done it again with her new Little Indians Kit. The kit reminds me of books I used to flip through over and over in the big downtown library when I was a kid. It has a wonderfully nostalgic feel, without being outdated.

The neutral color scheme is also perfect to use for scrapbook layouts featuring boys or girls.

Since I am a big fan of mixing and matching the kits in my library, I see a lot of pieces in this kit that I know I'll wind up using again and again, including the typewriter key alphas, the photo frames, and the stitches.

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A New Favorite!
Could I love designer Lie Fhung's work any MORE?
I don't think it's possible!

Fhung is an artist with such an amazing eye for detail that literally every time I drop something she's designed onto a layout, I break into a smile.

You really have to see the detail in her Syrin Seamstress Kit to believe it. Ripped fabric strips, stitching that rambles across the page, and a variety of stick pins with shadowing that will blow your mind.

Fhung is such an incredible artist, and is relatively new to the scene. I see a very bright future for her site Ztampf.com, and I'm on the edge of my seat to see what she is cooking up next!

Dog Ears- Memory Makers Sept 2006 PART ONE

2006-08-25T18:25:00.000-07:00

The September 2006 edition of Memory Makers Magazine was a dog ears delight. In fact, I didn't get past the Chatterbox ad inside the front cover without making my first dog ear.

Page 1- Chatterbox has introduced Chatterbox Fonts Volume 3: Fonts, Dingbats, & Doodles. The ad cleverly displays the fonts included on the CD, and I think this one is going to be a must have for my growing font collection. There are a handful of nice handwritten journaling fonts, as well as a couple of nice fat title style fonts, with both grungy and elegant varieties.

The doodles and dingbats included on the CD are creative and fresh, and I can see myself using them not only to embellish pages, but also to potentially create patterns for papers and tags for my personal stash of homemade digitals.

The ad says look for it in your favorite scrapbooking/craft store today, so I complied. As soon as I had finished the magazine, I drove to my local Michael's to try to find the collection. But of course they didn't have it. Neither did my Hobby Lobby. The craft stores in this town need to get with it, and PRONTO!

But never fear, that's why the Internet is here, right? Well, actually, I looked all over the Internet too, and could not find this CD volume in any online stores yet. Oh, Chatterbox, why do you tease us so? The collection is not even available on the Chatterbox site as far as I could tell.

The font CD can be snatched up on the Chatterbox site. Click here to find it!

Tags: Chatterbox, fonts, scrapbook fonts, scrapbooking fonts, scrapbook journaling

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Page 13- Deja Views Plum, Blue, and Blue Raspberry and Chocolate Brown Fresh Print (R) grouping is an irresistable scrapbook layout color combination. I love it! They have complete instructions for creating this scrapbook page, and a list of all of the scrapbook materials you'll need on their Projects Page.

Mmmm... so chocolatey! I want to dip my keyboard in this one!

Tags: scrapbook layouts, deja views, scrapbook materials, scrapbook papers, scrapbook kits, scrapbook ideas.
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Page 18: Okay, rarely does a scrapbook magazine make me cry. But the layout and story about the My Biggest Challenge Giveaway winner caused me to burst into tears on a flight between Atlanta and Minneapolis. Winner, Vicki Maloney, from Milwaulkee created a beautiful layout of her beautiful daughter who was killed in a car accident last July. She said it took her over 6 months to be able to even create scrapbook layouts again after the loss, and the page she created is just simple and precious. You'll just have to flip to page 18 to see it. So sweet. And again, I'm verklempt.
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Page 22: Dog earred to remind me to check out the Penelope's Potpourri scrapbook collection from s-e-i. The collection uses large tulips in combinations of hot pink, blues, and greens to create a very feminine and playful aesthetic.

I think this would be perfect for my niece's birthday party scrapbook.

I'm also on the hunt for a digital kit that has similar tones. So, if you know of one, please comment on this post! Or design one, pretty please.

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Page 26: Michelle Minken's layout honoring her parent's 35th wedding anniversary, and inspired by a vintage handkerchief is just lovely lovely. It is a great little article about finding inspiration in your immediate surroundings. I think we should all challenge ourselves as artists to create beautiful surroundings that inspire us daily.

I think I have figured out what my New Year's Resolution is going to be this year!

K & Company's Frippery Jewelry Kit

2006-08-25T06:27:00.000-07:00

For months I have been eager to try putting together one of K & Company's Frippery Jewelry Kits. Since first seeing an ad for them in Creating Keepsakes magazine, I have been checking my local craft stores to see if they would start stocking the kits. My local Hobby Lobby didn't carry them, and I didn't see them at my local Michael's. So, imagine my suprise when I found that my local fabric store had a nice variety in stock, tucked away in their crafting supply section.

I was instantly attracted to the color combinations and designs of the Katie collection. And decided to make a pair of earrings, and a charm necklace. This was my first attempt at any sort of jewelry making, so I was glad to see that the kit came with everything I'd need to complete my jewelry except a pair of pliers, and wire cutters.

I thought to myself, "No problem! I'm sure I've got those hidden somewhere in the kitchen junk drawer.", and I headed home to start on the project. I was so excited to see the kit that I actually opened it in the parking lot, while sitting in my 100 degree car on a hot August afternoon in the South. I'm crafty, but I'm not always very bright.

The necklace kit includes 6 metal charms- 3 square and 3 circles. They are nice and heavy, and have decorative edges, and really gorgeous K & Company designed "K" designs embossed on the back of each charm. I think this is a really nice touch since the charms look great even if they get flipped over while you're wearing the piece.

Also included are 7 different paper designs, conveniently printed on sticker paper, so all you have to do is pick the design you want, the shape you want (circle or square), and stick the sticker onto the metal charm. Then you can top it with the included clear plastic dome stickers of the same shape to create a magnified version of the paper design, and a very clean and polished looking charm.

I enthusiastically started sticking papers onto charms, and creating my masterpiece. I knew I wanted to spell out the word "Lucky", and since I had also purchased the earring kit, I dipped into the stash of letters and papers in that kit as well to mix it up a bit. There are plenty of supplies in each kit to give you a lot of variation, but I can't ever play by the rules, so mixing the kits was a natural choice for me.

After I had gotten all of my charms together, and looking the way I wanted, I set about assembling the necklace. Now, maybe it's me, but I don't find jewelry making all that simple. My hands always feel too big and clumsy, and I easily get flustered. Especially since I coudln't find that set of pliers and wire cutters I was so sure were in the kitchen junk drawer!

I highly recommend splurging and getting the Tiny Tool Kit. You'll thank yourself during assembly. Or at least having a really nice pair of needle nose pliers on hand. Essential! Essential!

You can also purchase little punches that will let you punch out pictures in the perfect size and shape of the charms if you want.

The kit comes with lovely green pearlesque beads for you to add to embellish your piece. Since I prefer my jewelry to be a little more dangly, I cannabalized another necklace, and combined it with the provided beads to create my own gypsy version of the necklace and earring set.

Here I am, modeling my new jewels.

Overall, I think this is a GREAT product, and I am very happy with the way my jewelry turned out. While they are on sale at my local fabric store, I am planning to go pick up the Phoebe set as well. Same idea. Different color scheme.

I think the jewelry is of good quality, and that I will get a lot of wear out of it. In fact, I've worn it everyday since I finished the pieces!

So, this product gets FIVE STARS for creativity, quality, and fun. It's a great keepsake, and would make a fabulous gift, either as a kit or as a finished piece of jewelry.