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Creative Memories Tip: Saving Page Template in StoryBook Creator Plus

I am so excited.  Creative Memories posted on their blog today about how to save individual .page files as templates so that you can share page templates with people.  If you have downloaded any of my recent template posts, you know it was not just a single file to download. 

With this new information, it should mean easier creation of template files.  Which is good for me, but even better for you!  That means I'll be posting more templates here in the future for you to use with StoryBook Creator Plus! (yay!)

Here's a template for you – just because I'm so happy about the new process! (just click on the link to download)

Templates - Page 011

And, here is a page I made with the template:

Family Album 2009 - Page 010

Note: The text boxes are in the template, they just don't show up on the JPG of the template for some reason.

Also, if you want the top right photo to have a rounded corner like mine does, you will need to flatten the image once you drop your photo in the frame. Then you can round the corners.

I must give credit for the inspiration, though, to Cathy Zielske's template on Designer Digitals. I love the clean lines she has in her designs! So, if you are not a StoryBook Creator Plus user, but you like this design, go get her template!

Oh, and if you like the paper and embellishments, it's all from DigiChick – Brown Eyed Girl.

Holidays in Hand

I'm participating in a free class offered by Jessica Sprague called Holidays in Hand.  It's about refocusing on what matters most during the holidays. I 've never taken a class of hers before, so I'm looking forward to seeing how things compare to other sites I've used. 

I'm also looking forward to doing some scrapbooking about the holidays this year. Usually, I am so busy with other things, I just take a hiatus from scrapbooking completely until after January 1st.  This means I have very few pictures from the past few years of Christmases.  I've been more focused on being "in the moment" than on taking pictures.  This is good, but I am noticing the gap in the family storybooks now.

So, I'm hoping this class will teach me how to balance both – being in the moment and capturing the family traditions that make this holiday season so special.

Our first assignment was to capture and document our holiday values and goals.  So, here's mine:

Values:

Family – Togetherness – Happiness – Gratitude – Fun – Friends – Faith

(the alliteration was purely coincidental, but I like it!)

Goals for this holiday season:

  • Focus on the celebration of Christ's birth, not on the commercialization of Christmas
  • Focus on spending time with friends and family, not racing from one event to the other
  • Focus on relationships, people, and making memories, not things
  • Try to spend 20-30 minutes a day capturing my thoughts and memories while they are fresh
  • Take more pictures
  • Less focus on PERFECT, more focus on GOOD ENOUGH

What about you?

Have you ever given any thought to your goals for a holiday?  Share them with me in the comments section. I'd love to see what yours are.

Sunday Scrappin’

Happy Sunday, y'all!

Check out my Sunday Scrappin' post over at The Lady at Home.  I'll see you back here tomorrow.

Until then, here's a picture of the view off my back deck.

IMGP1478

I love livin' in a tree house. (and where did the "g's" go off all my words? gracious. too much time with my southern belle friends this week)

Sunday Scrappin’

Happy Sunday, y'all!

Check out my Sunday Scrappin' post over at The Lady at Home.  I'll see you back here tomorrow.

Until then, here's a picture of the view off my back deck.

IMGP1478

I love livin' in a tree house. (and where did the "g's" go off all my words? gracious. too much time with my southern belle friends this week)

More of Me: The Abridged Version (part 2?)

I finally had a few minutes to sit down the other day and do some more work on my Me: The Abridged Version book.  I thought I'd share the pages with you. 

I'm still really enjoying this project. I just wish I had more uninterrupted time to work on it.  The writing requires a level of concentration that is not possible when your family is running around behind you.  I guess I'll have to pull some more late nights (like I did when I finished these pages) to get the book finished.

You can see, if you compare to my last post, that I haven't made to much progress. Fortunately, I have no deadline.  I am more interested in writing something that is meaningful and will capture the real "Me" than I am in getting finished. So, I will take my time and write when I can and not worry about it when I can't.

Anyway, without further ado:

I just added some more to this page. Thought it was vital to include documentation about my disregard for the avocado (ha!)

Me-The Abridged Version - Page 001

And one more:

Me-The Abridged Version - Page 004

Well, like I said, I haven't made much progress. But I'll keep plugging away and share with you when I make some more pages.

Puppy Love

I’m finding more and more inspiration for scrapbook pages in reading online blogs and looking at websites selling pre-made digital templates.  Because I’m not using PhotoShop, most of those templates are not much use to me. It is easier to make my own in StoryBook Creator than to figure out how to re-layer the many files that are sent with a downloaded template. (I’ve tried it on a few freebies and decided it was way more trouble than it’s worth)

What I have been doing, though, is much like what we do when we’re scrapbooking traditionally. (and I use this technique for both digital and traditional pages)  I simply “eyeball” the page and make my own version using rough estimates on what sizes the pictures are and where the embellishments are placed.  This challenge has been fun and I have been enjoying seeing if I can reproduce what I see online with some relative semblance of accuracy.

Here’s an example:  I saw this layout from Designer Digitals:

LT707240And decided to create this layout:

PuppyLove - Page 019You will notice I took some creative license with my design.  I didn’t add the dotted/stitched border.  I added an additional embellishment.  I had planned to put a background in there once I was finished, but then I decided I liked the clean look of the white page, so I left it.

I’ve been thinking about doing a page on Sydney for a while, and have been waiting for the right inspiration to hit.  Well, one look at that layout and I was ready to go.

Inspiration can come from many places.  You can be inspired by a picture, by an advertisement, by colors, fabrics, sunrises, etc.  The trick is to be open to the muse and either act on it right away or write your ideas down so that you can act later.

Puppy Love

I’m finding more and more inspiration for scrapbook pages in reading online blogs and looking at websites selling pre-made digital templates. 

Because I’m not using PhotoShop, most of those templates are not much use to me. It is easier to make my own in StoryBook Creator than to figure out how to re-layer the many files that are sent with a downloaded template. (I’ve tried it on a few freebies and decided it was way more trouble than it’s worth)

What I have been doing, though, is much like what we do when we’re scrapbooking traditionally. (and I use this technique for both digital and traditional pages)  I simply “eyeball” the page and make my own version using rough estimates on what sizes the pictures are and where the embellishments are placed.  This challenge has been fun and I have been enjoying seeing if I can reproduce what I see online with some relative semblance of accuracy. Here’s an example: 

I saw this layout from Designer Digitals:

LT707240

And decided to create this layout:

PuppyLove - Page 019

You will notice I took some creative license with my design.  I didn’t add the dotted/stitched border.  I added an additional embellishment.  I had planned to put a background in there once I was finished, but then I decided I liked the clean look of the white page, so I left it.

I’ve been thinking about doing a page on Sydney for a while, and have been waiting for the right inspiration to hit.  Well, one look at that layout and I was ready to go.

Inspiration can come from many places.  You can be inspired by a picture, by an advertisement, by colors, fabrics, sunrises, etc.  The trick is to be open to the muse and either act on it right away or write your ideas down so that you can act later.

These Hands

These Hands - Page 018

These Hands…


Are Strong and Tough
Yet Gentle and Loving
Work Hard and Rough
and Caress so Softly
Represent Making a Living
and Safety and Security
These Hands are Tough
… Yet Fragile.
We love these hands.

These Hands

These Hands - Page 018

These Hands…

Are Strong and Tough

Yet Gentle and Loving

Work Hard and Rough

and Caress so Softly

Represent Making a Living

and Safety and Security

These Hands are Tough

… Yet Fragile.

We love these hands.

Sunday Scrapping

Hi, everyone,

My Sunday Scrapbooking post is up at The Lady’s site. Please check it out and I’ll see you tomorrow!

Lois