I don’t normally think in terms of “decorating my page,” or making it cute or pretty. Not that there is anything wrong with that. It just isn’t how I think when I scrapbook.

Instead, I tend to focus on my story. How can I express what I feel, think, or remember about this photo or experience?

I love to tell my story through symbolism and design. And to know how to do that, I usually work out my journaling in the beginning. That way I know what my story is.

Journal Before You Design

I don’t mean to make this a “rule.” It definitely isn’t imperative for great layouts. But it can help you know where to start when it comes to the colors, papers, and even the design concepts you choose to work with.

Here is the journaling for this layout, which I featured in Episode 9 of the Paperclipping Video Podcast:

You Swallowed Your Bitter Pill.

And I’m not just talking about the yellow pill you swallow morning and night, although that is a lot in and of itself.

I experience emotional overwhelm when I remember all the times you just can’t get it down; when I have to refill your glass for the second time and the disintegrating powder is all over your tongue, even your face and hands.

But you keep trying, sometimes until the pill is tiny and you finally swallow it. We cheer every time!

I am actually thinking of the bigger pill, though. The pill of Seizure Disorder.

Epilepsy.

When you began having seizures in June you were so brave. Test after test, your outlook on life is always optimistic.

Whenever I sit you down to prepare you for something difficult, you get excited about the new change and you squeal, “This is going to be great!”

And I just can’t believe it, although it happens every time.

I am so proud of you.

Color and Symbolism Are Great Story-Tellers

On the one hand, my journaling points me to the cold, dark place of seizures, multiple medical tests, and difficult pill-swallowing. Too much, in my opinion, for a little girl.

On the other hand, the journaling highlights Trinity’s positive attitude and unusual ability to find an exciting adventure in each new trial or change.

I chose a cold blue to reflect the difficult experience, and a warm yellow to communicate a bright outlook.

The patterned paper, with blossoms growing on an otherwise barren winter tree, reminded me of my daughter’s ability to be happy at dark moments.

Next time you begin to scrapbook a particularly emotional event, first think about the idea you want to communicate. Then look through your products for colors and symbols that can help tell that story for you.

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Your Bitter Pill
12 x 12 layout

Products used: Cardstock (Bazzill Basics Paper); Patterned paper (Basic Grey, Creative Imaginations, other source unknown); Stamps and ink (Stampin’ Up); Rub-on (K.I. Memories); Letter stickers and pen (Creative Memories); Staples.

Enjoy this week’s edition of Paperclipping, which has some design discussion and a product demonstration. Follow the link to see the web-page of the tool in the video.

This episode is in the archives. To learn how to access the archives, please visit the membership information page.

I’ll be back soon with photos of the layouts from this episode.

Yes, yes…this is the third post regarding this project. And I still can’t figure out what to call it. The Schoolwork Notebook? The School Project Book?

If you want to give me some input on how to refer to it, please leave a suggestion!

This project generated questions that I didn’t anticipate, so I’ll answer them here. If you have more questions, ask them in a comment and I’ll add them to this entry with my answers.

Q & A

Did you just start with a file folder?
Yes, I just started with a regular file folder and covered it.

How did you make the inner pages that you then layered all the stuff on?
I used 8.5 x 11 cardstock, punched three holes in it and the file folder, and used ribbon to tie it all together.

Except for Trinity’s little books in the back section, all of the pages are cardstock. All of the dividers are leftover pieces of transparency.

How big is the entire book?
The overall book is the size of that original file folder but it is pretty thick. It’s probably almost an inch thick.

Did you fold the cardstock in half and the holes are in the middle of the 8.5×11 page? As in the holes are at 5.5″ down the page, right? So is it a regular size file folder? I’m not seeing that. Or are the holes on the far left side of a piece of cardstock?
I looked back at the original photo and realized that because my vase in the background is oversized (it’s huge), the book looks deceivingly small.

The file folder is a standard size folder;the kind you get at Office Max and put in a file cabinet. So the cardstock is actually 8 1/2 x 11. I didn’t fold it. I kept it true to size and punched three holes with a standard three-hold puncher on the far left side. So the book isn’t really a “mini.” It is the size of a magazine.

I love your Kindergarten folder! I am ready to work on my daughters huge pile of stuff. Do you mind sharing what font you used on the cover?
I used four different sets of letter stickers for the cover. The large stickers that say, “Kindergarten,” are Making Memories Velvet Alphabet Stickers, in Chocolate.

The black letters that say, “Trinity” and “Schoolwork” are from Creative Memories.

In the top left corner are the years, 2006 and 2007. On the tab of the original file folder (the right side on the back of the cover) is the word, “School.” Both these sets of block letters/numbers are from EK Success.

Do you have a tutorial on this project? I like step by step instructions and supply lists!
The most detailed description I have right now is in the first link at the bottom of this post, called “Overall Description of Book And Assembly.” It isn’t a step-by-step instruction, though.

Because of the interest in this project, I think I’ll make it Paperclipping’s first online class. I’d love some input on this, so I plan to post some of the ideas I am brainstorming and see what you think.

How do you decide what to keep - do you go through the school year stuff with each child?
Personally, I went through Trinity’s year of schoolwork by myself first. I picked out which academic papers showed what I wanted, such as her first time writing her name at school compared with her name at the end of the year.

When it came to artwork, I weeded just a few things out on my own, and then I had her come help me pick out her favorites. That is such a hard thing to do. I remind my kids that if we keep absolutely everything, we’ll be swimming in school work. They seem to understand that. And we did keep some things that just didn’t make it into the book.

What do you do with work that is bigger than 8-1/2 x 11 or 3D (stuff that can’t be cropped down to size)?
I do a few different things with projects like this. Once in a while my kids bring home massive poster-size stuff that I know will never make it past a few months because it’s too flimsy. We pin those up on the wall of their rooms until they fall apart, at which point we wish them a ceremonial-type “goodbye,” and send it to the trash. (Sob).

I have also set aside some extra-special large pieces to frame and put on the walls for longer term. My daughter has one gorgeous three-dimensional piece that I plan to frame without the glass.

Last, I want to buy a large box for each of my kids to hold their other large or three-dimensional things long-term. Growing up, I had what we called a “Baby Box” and it held our locks of hair, the many “books” we wrote, memorabilia from when we were babies, etc. Periodically, my mother let us get out our boxes and we dug through the treasures. It felt so special. I felt so special.

Links to the first two entries on this project:

Overall Description Of Book And Assembly
Page by Page Photos

What would you do if you realized you didn’t have any photos of yourself holding one of your children? This was my own discovery last week!

Of course, I have the required hospitals photos of me holding my youngest son, Aiden. But beyond that, it’s mainly the older kids holding him, or my husband holding him. I am only there in spirit; in other words, behind the camera.

Last week I was ready to scrap the “Hold-You” story I shared in a previous post. My four-year-old is small and I still hold him a lot. How could I not have any pictures to match my story?

It’s a dramatic example of something I already wanted to write about: photographing the relationships between different members of your family.

Following are 6 tips to help you capture and document each paired relationship within your own family.

1. Make sure you have photos for every possible pair within your family.

In high school I took a lot of drama classes. I wasn’t a very good actress, but I did learn some things. One was that any time a character entered the stage, there should be some sort of subtle demeanor-change in the characters that are already on.

This is because different people bring out different parts of our personalities.

Who I am with my son Blake is slightly different than who I am with my daughter Trinity. Trinity is slightly different when she is with Aiden than she is when she is with Blake.

Each pair is a unique dynamic to capture and celebrate.

2. Make sure you have photographs of yourself with each one of your children.

Someday when you are gone, your children have photos to remind them of their special relationship with you?

While we’re at it, make sure you photograph your spouse with each child as well. And not just once, but periodically as your child grows.

3. Photograph each of your children with their grandparents.

I am fortunate to have in-laws who devote a day every year to each of their 14 grandchildren, to spend time with them one-on-one. My desire to document those days in our scrapbooks made me realize I need one-on-one photos with the grandparents and each of my children.

Even if I never scrapbooked those “dates” they have together, my children will treasure a photo of themselves with Nana and Grandpa.

And by the way, don’t forget about photos of yourself and your spouse with each of your parents!

4. Take advantage of extended family gatherings to capture relationships.

Think beyond the event or the holiday. For many years, when our family got together I only photographed my kids taking part in the festivities. Now I try harder to capture relationships, as well.

These photos tell their own story, separate from the event in which they take place. You don’t have to include these pictures with all the other ones from that specific event. Separate them. Let them tell their own stories.

The photo in the layout at the top is from one of our geo-caching adventures. I will not be putting that layout with the others from that event, though. It is going into an album about us and who we are.

5. Crop new photos out of old ones to get the relationship you need.

Sometimes I want to scrapbook a topic about two members of our family, and to my shock and horror, I cannot find a photo of those two people together at the age that I want. Of course, that is always a wake up to pull out my camera.

But when scrapbook page is calling and I don’t want to wait until I can print up new photos, I have a Plan B. I find a picture where those two people are together in a group, I make a duplicate version of that photo, and then I crop a new photo of just the two people I need.

The result is two completely different photographs!

A New Purpose

Look through your pictures. Have you taken photos of each pair within your family? Writing this article, I realized that I definitely have not. I’ll be making use of my camera over the next little while with the particular goal of capturing more of the one-on-one relationships that make up who we are as a family.

Would you like to join me?

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Daddy’s Girl: 8 1/2 x 11 layout.

Michelle at Scrapability.com tagged me as a Rockin’ Girl Blogger. Well, that’s pretty cool.

It means I get to choose some different female bloggers that I think rock as well. This makes me a bit crazy. I don’t like to leave people out. I am basing my choices on the amount of creative content they post to their blog, and on variety of styles (between each other).

My choices are for the Rockin’ Girl Blogger are:

1. Dina Wakley of Ponderings for her raw, honest, and artistic approach to scrapbooking and visual journaling.

2. Mandy Collins of Pearl Maple for her fascinating collage, vintage pieces,and altered items.

3. Maria of MyGreenMint who learned of scrapbooking when she got a new ipod and found my podcast. Her layouts don’t look like the work of someone who just discovered scrapbooking. I think back to how simple this hobby was when I first started 11 years ago and wonder if it’s difficult for people to jump in now, when things are much more complicated. Maria participates in lots of challenges and always has lots of colorful pieces to show off on her blog.

4. Liz Ness for her graphic-styled digital scrapbooking, for the digi-kits she designs and gives out for free, and for her story-telling, which always triggers memories of my own.

5. Lisa Congdon of Art +Craft who is not a scrapbooker but a collage artist. Both her art and her story inspire me.

Sometimes a scrapbook page has something different that reaches out and grabs your attention. Danielle Quarmby’s Day Dreaming layout did that to me. I found it while browsing the 2 Peas In A Bucket gallery this week.

It turns out, if you’re an Aussie, you may have seen it. When I contacted Danielle to ask permission to feature it on Paperclipping, she informed me that this layout was part of an article she wrote for an Australian scrapbooking magazine.

Normally I wouldn’t reprint a layout that I knew a magazine featured first, but since there are so many of us non-Aussie’s who might never get a chance to enjoy it, I decided to post it anyway.

The “Echo” Technique

Danielle sent me a copy of the article she wrote for Scrapbook Creations Magazine. In it she explains the concept behind “Day Dreaming,” which she calls the Echo Technique.

The idea is to think of the layout as an artistic echo of an element in your photo. In other words, you want to create a visual echo of the photo featured in the layout, using the page around it.

I love the way Danielle’s daughter glows from all that black depth; and that the rainbow on her shirt is the one thing with color, connecting the photo with the rest of the layout.

Notice how the white scratch-marks on the photo background not only pull your attention to the photo, they also lead the eye back-and-forth from the girl to the title and rainbow. They even emphasize the direction of her eyes, which seem to be looking directly at that rainbow.

Here is a little more from Danielle’s article:

First I digitally edited the photo, making everything else in the image black and white to highlight the features I was echoing. For the title I simply hand-wrote on white cardstock and cut around the edge. To make the rainbow echo, I combined pieces of ribbon, paper frills and hand-cut patterned paper, putting it together with staples and tape. I carefully placed the rainbow on the layout to draw the eye across and up the page. The placement also gives the illusion that Sienna is looking at the rainbow from within the photo.

To see more of Danielle’s layouts, follow this link to her gallery on 2 Peas.

Did you know that lines communicate emotional states? We think they’re just lines. We’re not even conscious of it, but by nature, humans get certain feelings from different types of lines.

Combining Horizontals With Verticals

In architecture, we combine horizontal beams with vertical ones to construct houses and buildings. The more beams we connect, the more stable will be our structure and the less likely gravity will pull it all down.

It’s fascinating to learn that humans project this natural understanding in art. When we see a horizontal line combined with a vertical one, we get a sense of stability, reliability, and safety. It’s unconscious. But it’s there.

Not only does this concept work to “anchor” your elements to your page, it can also communicate a sense of stability as part of the story of your layout.

The Story Of My Layout

The photo you see above is of my mother and father-in-law. This is my favorite picture of them and I wanted to use it to create a layout that expresses how much I appreciate who they are in my life; what amazing grandparents they are to my children; how wonderful I feel to see them so happy together.

When you consider that my in-laws are a pillar in my family life, doesn’t it make sense to design a layout that expresses that solidarity and stability?

Design That Communicates Stability

On my layout, the dominant horizontal line of patterned papers contains the photo and the title. The softer vertical line of curvy brackets seems to hold it in place. Putting the brackets in pairs like I did not only creates a linear design element, but also gives some spots for journaling.

Increase Your Vocabulary

The vertical/horizontal line combination is more vocabulary for your visual language; an additional way to tell your story.

Do you have to make conscious decisions like this while you are putting together your layouts? Not if it conflicts with your creative nature. Many times design principles come naturally because they are a part of human nature.

The key to making that happen is to think about the message and tone you want to communicate before you start your page. When you do that, the visual language we call Design will very often flow on its own.

Do you remember this book I demonstrated for my daughter’s kindergarten schoolwork and art? I had a some requests to see the details inside the book.

I finally got around to photographing each page and uploading it as a set to Flickr. I also added explanations to each photo.

As a side note, I originally uploaded a few of the photos out of order and I mentioned it in a comment. When you view the set, they are all in order, so please don’t be confused!

If you did not read the original post, which explains the concept (and also shows some photos), you may want to read it first before viewing the entire set.

I’d love to hear from any of you (and see photos!) who may have decided to make a similar book for your children!

With all the recent Paperclipping episodes involving circles, I decided it was time to demonstrate my very favorite circle cutter.

It’s a great cutting system, and it has a reasonable price.

This episode is in the archives. To learn how to access the archives, please visit the membership information page.

Look at the arrows that Lara Neves created on her layout using brads and photo corners!

Isn’t that the cutest?

If you’ve ever bought photo corners, then you are sure to have extras you’ll never get around to using.

How about drawing attention to something by pointing to it with a photo corner turned arrow?

By varying the colors of the brads, Lara gave her arrows a sense of movement in the direction they are pointing.

Plus, you can’t get over Lara’s journaling, paired with her daughter’s irresistible (but not irresistible enough to get her way) pout.

Here is what her journaling says:

Any parent can identify with this journaling. And someday, Chloe will get it too.