Since so many of you like to watch the recorded videos of Paperclipping Live, I decided to embed them right into the Paperclipping blog so you don’t have to go hunting for them.

Here is last night’s show, where we used a previous scrapbook page that was great for using scraps as a template for a new one.

Thank You, Thank You, Thank You!

Look at the surprise that came showed up in my mailbox this weekend! Thank you so much to Jennifer, Sally, Amanda, Kim, Cindy, Candi, Susan, Sandy, Maria, Samantha, and Tracy!

They participated in a circle journal group using the Get Together section of the Paperclipping Forum. When I first saw the package in my box I thought it was my scraps from the Scrap Swap. But when I opened it it was this beautiful box full of amazing 6×6 layouts. Each one is so beautiful and I love having a chance to get to know some of you a little better.

Now I remember reading something about them possibly sending their stuff to me but I totally forgot about it. Again, much appreciation to all of you! I means so much to me to have it.

Scrap Swap For Paperclipping Live

Speaking of scrap swaps, we’re having one! Terri Bradford, our moderator for the show, has begun a swap of scraps, which we will work on together during Paperclipping Live on July 29th.

Click here to read the details and sign up. Terri will close the circle on Friday, the 11th, so head right over there to participate.

This Week’s Topic

While summer is the time that those of us from Phoenix are staying indoors, I know most of the rest of you are outside enjoying the sun. This week we’ll focus on the OUTDOORS. From flowers (this week’s video tutorial) to tire swings, all posts this week will feature the outdoors. So will Tuesday night’s Paperclipping Live.

Follow-up From Last Week’s School Focus

Did anyone pull out their piles of stuff from the school year? Have you gotten to work on it? Before we walk away from that topic I wanted to answer another question from Karen:

How much of your children’s school work do you hang onto? I can’t believe how much paperwork/artwork my children (6 and 9) generate! I try to just hang onto pieces that represent original artwork or show the progression of mastering a skill. But I have to admit that I can silly about it at times and think, “Oh…even though this is a worksheet she brings home weekly, she wrote her NAME on it….Awwwwwwww.”

This is a struggle for all mothers, I’m sure. In addition to the original artwork, the original stories (or anything that reveals personality), I also save a few pieces of academic work that often comes as a worksheet. Especially in Kindergarten, there is a lot of progress from the beginning of the year to the end when it comes to that name in the upper right-hand corner.
Remember, though, you don’t have to keep the entire worksheet for that one part that holds significance.

Forcing yourself to fit one year of stuff into a manila file folder will help you whittle it all down. I spend an entire section of the Schoolwork Scrapbook Tutorial showing you how to pick and choose and make it fit, so if some of you feel like you need some help getting through the piles, click here. Which leads me to my next announcement…

Free Live Events For Owners Of The Schoolwork Scrapbook Tutorial

If you own the Schoolwork Scrapbook Tutorial, I will be inviting you via email to some live events over the internet. It will be like Paperclipping Live, except we will be working on our Schoolwork Scrapbooks.

This is your chance to get some extra motivation and some help from me because I will answer your questions through the chat board and over Skype. If you bought (or won) the tutorial, please watch for an email from me at the end of the week. If you do not yet have the tutorial but would like an invitation to the live event, please purchase it by Friday so that you can get on the guest list.

Last Week

It was a fun change of pace to have Liz and Jackie as call-in guests on Paperclipping Live last week. I know it was hard for you to see their projects in that little tiny corner window, but fortunately, they posted them on their own website, IllustratingStories.com and you can see them here.

Both techniques came from the book, Lifelines. They look really cool and really fun, so I’m excited to try them some time.

This Week

This coming Tuesday night I’ll be working on an acrylic album. The album will feature all those pictures I took when Liz and Jackie challenged their readers to take a photo an hour for a whole day.

If you’re interested in making a similar album, read about the challenge here so you can have your photos ready to work on during the show. I’m using a semi-clear album by Maya Road and I printed my photos in wallet-size.

Don’t forget: Paperclipping Live is Tuesday night at 6:30pm, PST.

If you’re unsure of the time zone difference, look for your city on this website and then compare it to my city, which is Phoenix.

Remember to register for Skype (it’s free) if you’d like to call into the show to ask a question or share something cool.

It’s a wonderful experience to find your own style (more on that to come, I promise!). Shopping for product gets easier because you have a better idea of what you like and use well, and what you don’t. But if we don’t continue to expand and evolve in small ways, the way our lives do, we may find ourselves in a rut. The same things no longer excite us and we don’t feel challenged.

This is why there needs to be some give-and-take. As you come to know what is totally you-you-you, allow yourself to really delve into that you-ness. But periodically, notice what someone else is doing differently and see if you can adopt a little bit of that them-ness, infusing it into your own style.

Last week on Paperclipping Live, Dedra and I took inspiration from another layout, taking just a couple of the elements we liked and making them our own. For Paperclipping Live this week, Dedra and I will do a Style Exchange, Part Two. But this time, we’re taking inspiration from each other.

The Challenge

I picked out some products that are totally me–earthy, bohemian, full of patterns and color variation–and that I think are totally not Dedra (for the most part):

And Dedra did the same for me:

The challenge is to take these products, perhaps mix them with a few more from our own stashes (Dedra promised me she wouldn’t paint over my patterned paper!), and try to make them into a layout that is truly our own.

Curious to see how it turns out? Join us for Paperclipping Live on Tuesday, June 3 at 6:30pm PST and watch us go to work.

If you’re unsure of the time zone difference, look for your city on this website and then compare it to my city, which is Phoenix.

Remember to register for Skype (it’s free) if you’d like to call into the show to ask a question or share something cool.

Do you have a bare album waiting for you to dress it up? Do you want to cover it while I cover mine?

Join me on Tuesday night for Paperclipping Live and we’ll do it together. You’ll have the example of the album you see above, as well as the one I’ll be covering during the live show.

What you’ll need:

Bare Album (American Crafts Modern or BoBunny both make them)
Patterned paper (one full sheet, plus scraps if desired)
Title (Choose between letter stickers, stamped letters, pre-made titles, etc.)
Focal point item (examples are an over-sized flower, a frame, a metal plate; on the album above I used a ceramic tile piece which also serves as my title; an attractive title can also be the focal point).
Coordinating embellishments (rub-on’s, stickers, stamps, chipboard items, ribbons, flowers, etc).
Optional: Paint, gesso, gel medium.
Sandpaper
PVA adhesive (or whatever you prefer to adhere the patterned paper to the cover; many like Modpodge)
Scissors
Pencil
Brayer or rolling pin

Be here Tuesday night (or Wednesday if you’re in the Australian side of the world) at 6:30 PST. If you’re unsure of the time zone difference, look for your city on this website and then compare it to my city, which is Phoenix.

Register for free at Skype if you’d like to call in with a question. If you have a video camera on your computer you can call toward the end of the show (we’ll go until 8) to show us your cover.

Below are seven different challenges for National Scrapbook Day. You do not have to do all of them. I wanted to offer a variety of options so you can choose the ones that best suit you. The more you do, the better your chances of winning. You may repeat the same challenge.

You do not have to be present at the live event to participate in the challenges. I will give out some prizes during the live event to those who are present in the chat. I will award other prizes on the blog on Sunday based on the challenges below.

For each layout or project you upload to flickr, which you must base on one of the following challenges, you will be entered in a drawing for prizes. You have until the end of Saturday to upload your layouts. In the description, please tell us which challenge you used. I will choose randomly from these layouts for the final drawings.

Please do not enter layouts you completed before reading this entry. It’s okay to finish a layout or project you already started as long as you implement one of these challenges.

Challenges:

1. Create a layout or other project using a principle from any one of the Paperclipping Video Tutorials (links are at the right). Upload your layout to flickr. In the description, please share which video you used and how.

2. Recycle an item from your life by incorporating it into the design of your layout. Upload your layout to flickr and tell us what the item is in your description.

3. Begin a mini-book. Choose the photos and a theme. Gather papers, then embellishments, that reflect the theme. Put it all in a pile and photograph it. Upload your photo to flickr and in the description tell us how the products reflect the theme of the mini-book you will be putting together.

4. Words aren’t the only way to tell a story. Make a layout that uses something visual to help tell your story on a layout. Upload your layout to flickr and share with us what visual element you used on your page to communicate an idea or emotion.

5. Use your wonderful scraps. Make a layout that uses at least 3 different scraps of patterned paper. Upload the layout to flickr.

6. Design a layout in this order:
a. Choose the photos.
b. Write journaling on some scrap paper or make notes of the emotion or tone.
c. If you have more than one photo, choose a focal point photo (unless it’s a collage where all photos are equal).
d. Decide approximate photo placement. (Don’t freak out here…you’re free to change your mind at any time).
e. Based on where you think you’ll place your photo, choose paper size and pick your background paper.
f. Choose other papers with colors and/or patterns that remind you of the tone of your layout’s story.
g. Design your layout with the photos, papers, journaling, title. Tape everything down.
h. Add your embellishments last.

7. Design a layout where you cluster at least three embellishments around a title, a photo, or a line.

I will come back tomorrow with a link to the new Paperclipping Flickr Group. You can see the schedule for the three different live events here.

To celebrate our amazing hobby, we’ll have challenges and prizes on National Scrapbook Day during three different sessions of Paperclipping Live, Saturday, May 3rd.

Please join us at any of these times:

8:30 -10:30am

1:00-3:00pm

7:00-8:30pm

If you’re unsure of the time zone difference, look for your city on this website and then compare it to my city, which is Phoenix.

Remember to register for Skype (it’s free) if you’d like to call into the show to ask a question or share something cool.

I hope you’ll prepare to spend the day scrapbooking with others of the Paperclipping audience and me. During the week before our celebration, I will announce some of the challenges so you can get a head start.

I am preparing a Paperclipping Flickr Page so you will be able to upload your layouts and projects and participate in the challenges. I can’t wait to party with you!

Yes, we do have a video podcast that is just about ready for release. It is a free episode available to everyone–and it’s a good one. We hope to post it tonight, so be sure to come back.

Don’t forget Paperclipping Live tomorrow night (Tuesday) at 6:30pm PST. I will be taking calls through Skype, so be sure to register at skype.com (it’s free) if you’ve had a question you wanted me to answer or have something cool to share with the Paperclipping audience. Calls may be video or audio. Contact me during the live show with my skype username, “noellhyman.”

I will also cover the front of the board book we worked on last week.

I have a backlog of emails with questions I have not answered. I’ll look through those today and will answer them either tomorrow night during Paperclipping Live, or in a blog posting later this week. If you have been waiting for a response from me, be sure to attend tomorrow night’s event or watch the recording later, just in case.

Today was all about the yellow paint on my walls. Such a happy color. Tomorrow will be all about the red shelving unit! I can’t wait!

Tomorrow is all about something else, too. We’re trying something new for Paperclipping Live tomorrow night: I’m going to take a couple of calls to answer questions.

I’m having trouble keeping up with emails and questions, so if I haven’t gotten back to you on something you asked me, Tuesday night will be a great time to ask me again! I’ll let you know during the show when we’ll start the calls.

You need to have Skype to call in, so if you don’t already have a skype account, you can get one for free at www.skype.com.

I should be able to take both video and audio calls. If you have a video camera on your computer, please us it. My skype username is noellhyman. That is all you need to be able to call me from your computer.

Remember it’s tomorrow night (Tuesday) 6:30pm PST.

If you’re unsure of the time difference, look for your city on this website and then compare it to my city, which is Phoenix.

I was so enthralled with the page I was putting together last week that I forgot to give out a free download to my Schoolwork Scrapbook tutorial. Looks like I need to give out two free ones this evening to make up for it.

Tonight I hope to finish the 4-page layout of my girlfriend and I being super (over-the-top?) silly. Come along as I talk through my process. It’s so helpful to see how someone else goes from a group of pictures to a completed layout.

Plus, you may be one of the winners tonight!

* * *

We’re live tonight at 6:30pm PST. Join us and chat by clicking here.

If you’re unsure of the time difference, look for your city on this website and then compare it to my city, which is Phoenix.