DigiScrapChat

Archive for the ‘WFMW’ Category

If you are like me, you have TONS and TONS of pictures on your hard drive or saved on CD or DVD somewhere. Because we have digital cameras with huge memory cards we aren’t limited anymore in how many pictures we can take, so if getting one shot is good, getting fourteen is even better, right? (Ok, maybe that’s just me).

Anyway, I sometimes get overwhelmed with the amount of pictures I have yet to scrap. I’ll be honest and say that I am WAY, WAY behind on scrapbooking my family’s memories. In fact, my son’s 3rd birthday was over a month ago and I had not even LOOKED at the pictures until last night. (Ouch!) Before Martha was born last year, I averaged several layouts a week, sometimes upwards of 10 or more and then some. I’m not sure that I have completed 10 layouts SINCE she was born - at least not for my own family!

(Side note- that right there is the downside of being a scrapper-for-hire - other people’s memories get preserved first, because that helps pay the bills!)

And then there was the gift I wanted to make for Samuel’s teacher. I had put off finishing it until, well… um… yesterday. (Today, Wednesday, is the last day of school!) So of course I was frantically trying to pull together what I had envisioned in my mind, and had only half-heartedly started before… yesterday.

Thank goodness for template designers, and especially those who make multi-photo templates and clusters. I searched for about 15 minutes yesterday, and found some TERRIFIC multi-photo templates, one of which saved the day on my Teacher’s Gift. I also will be purchasing several more of these to help me catch-up and finish scrapbooking some of the more special memories (like birthdays!)

Here’s what I found:

From Kim Hill, a great set of multi-photo templates:

Also from Kim Hill, a fun set if poloroid clusters (she has more in her store!)

Melanie Cosomo has a super “grid-locked” two page template:

And look at this fun photo cluster by Nancy Comelab (and she has quite a few more in her shop, ALL so delicious!):

And this is the template I ended up using for Samuel’s teacher gift. I got it from Simply Yin’s blog

I adapted it quite a bit (copied and pasted pictures from the cluster so I had 20 photos in a BIG cluster), and I think it turned out terrific for my first try at “clustering with a TON of pictures!”

I re-sized it to 7×7 and so I could put a background to it and print an 8×10. I sent the picture to be printed through Walmart.com, then in an hour, picked it up and bought a frame while we were there, and voila - teacher gift done! (We also bought her some Skittles, because Samuel insisted the gift would not be complete without candy!)

So… templates… photo clusters… they TOTALLY work for me!

If you’d like more info about how to use templates, you can click on over to my FAQ page, which is loaded with digital scrapbooking resources.

And for a ton of other great ideas and tips to make life easier, visit Shannon at Rocks In My Dryer, for her Works For Me Wednesday post.

P.S. My sincerest apologies - I totally didn’t realize there was a theme for this week’s WFMW - I already had this post written, so I linked it up anyway. (Sorry Shannon!)

Ya’ll have heard of MyPicTales.com, right?

No? Oh, well, please sit back for a moment and fill you in!

Borrowing a description from their site, ” MyPicTales is one of a kind online photo book publishing company, offering various design services and products”.

In other words, you can make books, cards, calendars and more with their publishing system. And it’s easy. And affordable. And great quality!

If you are a digi-scrapper, you can upload/send your layouts to them to be made into a hard bound book (or soft cover if you prefer).

If you are not YET a digi-scrapper, you can download their software and use their backgrounds and templates and make a photo book. (Since I AM a digi-scrapper, I haven’t personally tried this option, but I have heard really, really, REALLY good things about it from people I trust).

And their prices? Did I mention affordable? Yes? Well, let me say it again. Their prices are super!

So, here comes the really fun part! A GIVEAWAY!

MyPicTales is offering a FREE PHOTO BOOK to one lucky random commenter. To enter the giveaway, you need to GO to MyPicTales.com and register. Then you need to COME BACK HERE, and leave a comment with the username you used to register. That gets you entered to win a FREE PHOTO BOOK!

Did you get that?

1. GO to MyPicTales.com and register.
2. COME BACK HERE and leave a comment, telling me the username you used to register.
3. We’ll pick a random winner from the folks that leave a comment.

So, what are you waiting for? Go check ‘em out. Register. Come back. Leave a comment!

And then get busy making photo books! Or cards! Or calendars! You know, you have plenty of time to get a Father’s Day project done, because MyPicTales has a really great turnaround time too.

MyPicTales.com - totally works for me!

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Read other Works For Me Wednesday posts HERE.

If you were here yesterday, you know it was Gotcha Day, and Samuel and I went out last night for some fun together, just him and me time. He was pretty excited to get going, and when I asked him what HE would like to do for Gotcha Day, of course his answer was MCDONALDS! (That’s his answer for everything! Except when he answers BURGER KING!)

I told him I had a MUCH better idea than McDonalds (at which he looked very skeptical), and then I started playing the guessing game with him. His next guess was Toys R Us (yep, that’s always the THIRD answer after MCDONALDS and BURGER KING). I told him my idea was even better than a hamburger or a store. Then he decided he wanted ice cream, and I said we could do that, but I had a FUN place to get it.

McDonalds, he asked?

Sigh.

We neared Boulder Highway, which is the street where Sam’s Town is located, which is where we almost always go to the movies. Of course he’s a smart boy and thank goodness he was wearing his seatbelt, because he jumped about a mile as he figured it out.

We’re going to the MOVIES?! Yes?! WOOHOO!

(And yes, I take my kids to Sam’s Town Hotel & Gambling Hall to see movies - don’t you? Oh wait, that’s just what happens in VEGAS!) (Moving on…)

Then began the litany of what movie we should see. Of course most of his suggestions are not actual movies playing in the theaters right now, but it was fun to hear. He was mostly disappointed that it’s TOO SOON to go see Indiana Jones. (You and your dad both, kiddo!)

My idea had been to take him to see Horton Hears a Who, but apparently it’s not playing anymore at that theater, even though it was listed. So, we settled for “Nim’s Island”.

I thought it might appeal in an “almost Indiana Jones, at least it has lots of adventure” kind of way. And it mostly did, although I was really… really…really glad that it was just us and one other person in the theater.

Because my child? He talks. He talks a LOT. Asks questions every three minutes seconds. And he bounces. And jumps. And reacts to LOUD sounds.

And he spills the popcorn. That really is the most distressing issue we must work on with him. Really.

Anyway, we watched the movie. And we enjoyed it, except for the spilled popcorn. And it was almost over when the reel (or whatever it is) broke and the movie stopped for a minute and then it came back on, but the sound didn’t. That was fun. We watched the last VERY IMPORTANT minutes of the movie with no sound, and I got up a tad annoyed.

Which netted me a set of two free tickets for my displeasure. But we had to wait for someone in some far away office to send the tickets to the front desk (which eventually came through a drive-in-bank deely-hopper-special-tube system. Who knew they used those at the movie theaters too?!)

While we waited, Samuel discussed movies with the teenager who was taking tickets at the front door. The guy was kind and patient with him, and he didn’t fall over laughing when Samuel said…

“Yeah, I really need to see that new Panda movie. He’s got moves… and so do I. I need to see HIS moves. Cause.. I’ve got MOVES!”

Ok, so it’s probably a LOT funnier to me, because there were actual MOVES to accompany the “I’ve got MOVES” part of his declaration. He doesn’t yet realize that his moves are slightly dangerous, but not in a “martial arts being done right” kind of way, but rather in an “arms flailing-feet kicking-we better move away from the person having a seizure” kind of way. But that’s ok, because he’s six. And his moves? I know they will improve in time.

All in all, it was a very COOL Gotcha Day experience, and Samuel declared that we should ALWAYS go to the movies for Gotcha Day. It works for me!

Oh, and my WFMW tip for the day? Never be afraid to express your displeasure (IN A NICE WAY) if something goes wrong at the movies. They were MORE than happy to give us rain checks (which are free passes) when I said I wasn’t very happy to have missed the end of the movie. This is something I’ve learned over time - most places, movie theater or not, are happy to accommodate so you will come back. So, stand up for yourself, BE POLITE, ask nicely. It will likely work for you too.

I like to collect digital scrapbook supplies, and at one time I had over 100 gig of stuff on my external hard-driveS (yes, I have two of them - do you think that’s a sign that I’m addicted?). Granted, that 100 gig counted my layouts folder… but still! That’s a lot of digital scrapbooking stuff.

I recently re-organized my supplies, mostly because I didn’t want to mix my “scrap for hire friendly” and NON scrap for hire friendly products. When I want to create a layout for someone, it’s a lot easier if I have ONE master folder with all the “friendly” “usage allowed” products in that one spot.

And none of that really has anything to do with my original thought for this post, so I’ll move on…

My idea for this post is to show you some fun things I’ve seen around lately that I think would make great additions to YOUR hard-drive digital scrapbook stash. And quite honestly, I think these items would make great additions to my stash as well since these are products I haven’t actually purchased yet but WANT to purchase.

So really, this is an ITTWWFMW post, or in other words, “I THINK This Would Work For Me Wednesday” post. I’m guessing the ITTWWFMW probably isn’t gonna catch on, cause it’s really hard to type, but I’m sticking with it for today and now I’m moving on again… to actually LIST the items already!

Here goes, check these out, and if you buy something, let me know what you think! (Images are linked of course, so you can click on over to purchase if/when you feel the NEED).

First up, two items by Lynn Grieveson. Aren’t these fresh and pretty? I want those brushes to decorate all my girly, sweet layouts! And the papers? Yummy!!

Next, check out Songbird Avenue’s April kit. This month’s kit benefits ProLiteracy Worldwide, so not only will you be contributing to your digi-stash, you’ll be helping someone learn to read!

And, I’m showing this next one because I really think we all could use just a LITTLE more sunshine in our lives, right? (Well, we have plenty of sunshine here in Las Vegas, but I know a lot of you have been without it for awhile during what ya’ll call “winter”.) Anyway, this is a collab kit made by the Sunshine Studio Gals.

They’ve put together some really fun extras with this kit, so be sure those out too!

You know, I could go on and on with tons of products that you really, really NEED, but I’ll just list ONE more for today (gotta leave something for tomorrow, right?)

Well, this isn’t just ONE thing… it’s a whole lotta things. It’s a mega collection called Coffee House Friends by ChereKaye, and it’s inspired by the characters from the tv show “Friends”. You can get this whole collection together, OR you can get each kit separately.

So, what are YOU going to buy today? And what works for YOU?

Technorati Tags: wfmw, works for me wednesday, digital scrapbook

So, have ya’ll heard of WFMW?  It’s a great little (haha) blog carnival run by Shannon of RocksInMyDryer.net.  Every week, hundreds (literally) of gals (maybe some guys too) post links to their blogs where they’ve written a “Works For Me Wednesday” tip.  There is a HUGE variety in the kinds of tips folks post, and I figured we may as well add Digi-Scrappin’ to the mix!

Of course, this week Shannon suggested that we all post “the best of the best” of our WFMW posts.  However, since I’ve only written ONE post here at DigiScrapChat that linked to WMFW, it’s kind of hard to pick a “best of the best”.  Oh well!  Here is the link to last week’s post about a “Happily Ever After” Brag Book Quick Page set.  (They are adorable - you’ll want to click over and see, I promise!)

And I’ll be back NEXT week, with a NEW digi-scrap WFMW post.