Get It Scrapped!

“Beautifully Handmade” Series from Tania Willis now available

Debbie Hodge — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 18:13:39 +0000

Color and over-the-top handmade touches

are the hallmarks of the pages Tania Willis makes for her family and for manufacturers like Karen Foster Designs and Little Yellow Bicycle. Tania Willis is the author of several how-to books and has been teaching papercrafting in stores and in written tutorials for years. She knows how to inspire and teach crafters at all levels.

We’re offering three self-paced classes from Tania right now

Each is in a pdf file with over 100 pages of beautifully-illustrated how-tos and inspiration. These e-books/self-paced classes are great for printing and spiral binding at home or your local copy shop. Every one of them will become a go-to resource for you and your loved ones who want to keep their hands busy while making beautiful embellishments, cards, scrapbook projects, accessories, and more.

“Cards: Beautifully Handmade” is discounted 20% until next Wednesday, August 4th!

Click here—> and get all the details on these classes now.

Check out FULL DETAILS on these self-paced classes right now.

20% “bundle” discount
buy all 3 together
and save!

Scrapbook Page Sketch and Template Bundle: July 30 2010

Debbie Hodge — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 17:19:41 +0000

by Debbie Hodge

Here’s a new batch of coordinated scrapbook page sketches and free layered templates for digital scrapbooking. You can find a new sketch every Friday in the Get It Scrapped Sketch Gallery- and they’re also tucked in the “Sketches” Category here.

This week’s sketch/template bundle includes three one-pagers. Use them on their own or combine for an album. There are links below for the sketch with measurements and the free digital scrapbook page template.

The title fonts are:

28 Days Later (for the large white stamped-look part of the title) OR if you’re making a digital page check out Cathy Zielske’s Messy Slab Alpha

Prelude FLF (for the script) OR if you’re making a digital page check out Michelle’s Martin’s Jelly Alpha No 4

Get the files:

Download/Open PDF with sketches

Download zipped file with layered page templates

I made this layout with one of these sketches. It’s a digital page and all the supplies are from Designer Digitals: Newcastle Beach.

Double Up #2: 2-page layout ideas

Debbie Hodge — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 12:14:04 +0000

by Debbie Hodge

This column is all about understanding design strategies and approaches for two-page scrapbook layouts.

In each Double Up, I’ll share: a two-page layout (or even several!), design analysis of what makes this two-page design work, page sketch with measurements, and a layered template. (I’d love to feature readers’ pages in this column, contact me as soon as possible if you’re interested in getting Double Up #3 sketch ahead of time!)

Bubbles by Aaron at Sir Scrapalot Designs

Segment your layout in order to group photos from different parts of an event together. Aaron combine: white paper, cloud-patterned paper, and red-striped paper to define five areas. These 5 areas house photos, title, journaling, and even a little “white” space in the top right corner.

Crop related photos to the same height OR the same width and line them up to get order on your page and make your story clear. On this summer page, Melanie grouped activities photos together in the horizontal grouping and pool photos in the the vertical grouping. Her single small photo shows the child with an ear infection snuggling.

Summer Vacation by Melanie Kiser

Use common matting to reinforce which photos belong together. Barb matted each grouping on a narrow black mat that ties them together.

Everyone’s a Kid by Barb Hunt

Abut photo edges to create solid blocks of related photos that stand out against a patterned-paper background as Terry has done below.

Use horizontal lines to connect the two pages. Aaron did this above in “Bubbles” with his red-striped strips which divide areas AND draw the eye across the entire page. Terry used a string of pennants running horizontally across the two pages to accomplish this. While these lines break briefly, the eye will connect the two.

Get Wet by Terry Billman

Download pdf of sketches with measurements – for 12×12 and 8.5×11

Download layered template – for 12×12 only

Scrapbooking {Summer} Themes Quickstart: Gardening Pages

Debbie Hodge — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 12:08:43 +0000

This series provides “starter” lists for making scrapbook pages on a particular subject. Each post includes a list of hallmark images and motifs associated with the theme as well as phrases and fonts that would well for titles or embellishments. Use these “starters” to jumpstart your creative process and come up with layout ideas.

Maybe one of these images or phrases will be perfect for your page. If not, it could spur thoughts of a story you want to tell or a photo you want to feature. It could be the source of a color scheme or just a way to get your creative juices flowing.

It’s all about the QUICKSTART — check it out and see where it takes you.

hallmark images/motifs of gardening

flowers, foliage, produce, fruits, vegetables
tools: trowel, shovel, watering can, shears, gloves, stakes, plow, hoe
seed packets
garden ball, bird bath, trellis, shed, bird house
straw hat
calendar, sun, thermometer
birds, butterflies, insects

Look for these images in your paper stash, your stamps, brushes or rubons. Or find a digital product or clip art or magazine photo you could transfer. The idea is to get the process started. These images came from iCLIPART.com (affiliate link) where I have a subscription that lets me download as many high resolution images as I want for a year.

phrases associated with gardening

Here are some phrases commonly used around gardening. Use them to make titles or embellishments or, again, to spur your ideas. I’ve shown a few of them rendered in fonts that would work well on a gardening pages – the name of each font is in black and white below the phrase – links to the fonts are in the next section.

everything is rosy
bring on the sun
busy as a bee
cream of the crop
cultivate
dig it
dirt rich
farm fresh
fat of the land
flower power
fresh as a daisy
garden goddess
God’s green earth
green thumb
growing season
harvest time
heirloom tomato
home-grown
ladybug love
life’s a garden
little sprout
make hay while the sun shines
master gardener
nurture
smell the roses
peace, love, garden
stake it up

fonts

Here are a few fonts you might like to use on gardening pages (these are all used in the phrase examples above). While most of them aren’t great for rendering a block of journaling, you could them for titles, embellishments or to emphasize selected words in the journaling.

layouts

And, finally, here are a few garden layouts to add one more bit of inspiration for your gardening pages.

Photo-op by Doris Sander for JBS Mercantile is all about enjoying the garden. Love how her son is taking in the flower with his eyes, his nose, and even his skin!

& Veggies by Debbie Hodge for DesignerDigitals shows my mom with her (always-impressive) vegetable garden. I embellished with a seed packet, an old clipping with a watering can, and glittery vines.

In the Yard by Amy LeJeune for DesignerDigitals is a collection of the plants in Amy’s garden and what they were looking like in spring. She used butterflies and flowers for embellishing.

Of Norma’s Garden by Merrilee Larsen for Designer Digitals, Merr says, “We are very fortunate to have wonderful friends living next door at the lake. One of Norma’s hobbies is gardening. It’s a casual garden with many little vintage touches placed amongst the flowers.” Merr featured these touches and embellished with birds, vines, and blossoms.

Scrapbook Page Sketch and Template: July 23, 2010

askings03 — Sat, 24 Jul 2010 18:54:32 +0000

Sketch #59 by Amy Kingsford

You can find a new sketch every Friday in the Get It Scrapped Sketch Gallery.

This week’s sketch is a super fun one that will hopefully inspire you to play around a bit with your mists, paints, or even your digital art journaling techniques. This one page sketch has plenty of room for journaling, and offers the perfect opportunity to use up a few of those paper strip scraps you have lying around!

Click on the links below to download, save or print the components of this week’s sketch.

Download pdf of sketch

Download layered template for use in photoshop

Download CK Summer Camp Font for FREE!

Don’t forget to upload your layouts to our Sketch Gallery so we can all see what you’re up to!

For those of you looking to learn more about digital art journaling techniques, check out our NEWEST ON-DEMAND CLASS offered by digi expert Pattie Knox, Digital Techniques for Art Journaling. Sign up before August 15th and receive $10 off! Don’t miss out on this great deal…this class is sure to be chocked full of awesome techniques!

Amy Kingsford is a Get It Scrapped! teacher as well as a happy wife and blessed mother from Northern Utah. She is a creative team member for digital designers ErinInk and Biograffiti and for the Crazy Daisy Kit Co. Check out her work on her blog, Scrappydoo.

Scrapbooking events: the “anatomy” of an event

Debbie Hodge — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 23:14:23 +0000

by Debbie Hodge

Are you like me when it comes to scrapbooking events? Do you take a large number of photos of celebrations, holidays, parties, and other big events? I think a reason for this is because one event can have so many aspects. Understanding those aspects–or what I call the event’s anatomy–will enable you to:

1) take photos,

2) gather memorabilia, and

3) record stories

SO THAT your pages present the event in a way that captures it in its entirety

What is the next big event going on in your life? A wedding? Family Reunion? Annual Summer Bash? Birthday party? Vacation? Consider these event pieces (or limbs, or maybe organs) and challenge yourself to incorporate many or even all of them into your album or series of pages.

the anatomy of an event

1) event preparations

When you scrapbook event preparations, you honor the efforts that go into entertaining others and you leave a great record for yourself and for future generations—and often the event preparations are as important as the event itself.

Be sure and take photos of preparations that have to do with food, favors, invitations, costumes, table —whatever it is you’re busy with before the event. Include memorabilia like grocery receipts, shopping lists, the guest list, and invitations.

Making the matzo balls before our Passover Seder is a many things: a lot of work, a challenge, a tradition. These photos capture the process, the ingredients, and even Isaac grimacing over his messy hands (and knowing Isaac as my family does, we understand that his willingness to get messy means this is really important).

When the boys were younger, we spent several weeks preparing and crafting for their birthday parties. I’m so glad I took photos back then, because, as they’ve gotten older and I’ve gotten other interests—we no longer make this kind of effort. For Joshua’s 7th birthday, we made foam swords, armor, a castle, and decorated goblets. While we’ve all lost interest in this kind of sustained effort, back then we LOVED it and I’m so glad to have this record.

This page might fall into preparations OR the moments/stories category below. It’s a page for me—that captures those minutes right before guests arrive and when they first arrive. When the stresses of getting ready are falling away and we are getting reacquainted with friends.

2) event decorations

Including decorations on your events page can serve many purposes, including: signaling the event subject; adding interesting context; conveying the era of the event; recording the personal style of the event-giver; and just showing “how we do it at our house”

My mom goes all out at Christmas, putting up SEVERAL trees. This page shows all of her trees during the Christmas of “ought-four.” Sometimes just a bit of the decorations will suffice. On “Kid’s Table,” I included shots of the centerpiece and favors on the plates. It reminds all of us of how it was and the little efforts we put into our entertaining.

Putting on a Seder is a big thing for me (I think partly because I’m not Jewish and am never sure if I’m doing things right). What those who’ve never prepared for a Seder might not know is that the setting of the table takes a good bit of preparation and care. I don’t get a photo of the Seder table every year, but I’m happy to have one every few years. It reminds me of the dishes I used, the flowers the boys arranged, and the Haggadahs from Neil’s uncle that we still use.

3) the people at the event

When looking at photos from an event several years in the past, seeing the people and and how they looked is often one of the first things we marvel over. “Look at my hair!” “I remember that shirt.” “Boy, he’s really grown up since then!” Take some time to make sure you include all –or as many as possible—of the participants in your photos and on your page.

The only Easter we’ve ever been with family was this one—when my brother and his family came to New Hampshire and shared their own brand of over-the-top Easter celebrating with us. It was definitely a special weekend. These photos show each of the kids alone and then a group shot of all of them.

This “Life Celebration” was the party our friend Joe chose years before his death in lieu of a funeral. I made every effort to take photos of all the people in attendance. This design let me pack in lots of portraits—most of them candid.

4) event activities

For many events, activities are what it’s all about. Selecting and grouping activities photos logically goes a long way toward really telling the story of your event on the page. Each grouping may get its own page (as on the next three layouts below) or it may get its own section on the page as on “Durham Day.”

Cooking is a major activity at many holidays, and this page captures the cooks in action AND the food on a recent Thanksgiving.

Ah, the table! Actually, what I should say is: Ah, the table that my mother sets! :) So much good eating and good times happen around this table. Here I’ve collected several photos over several years from celebrations with my family.

While some activities happen every time a holiday rolls around, it’s still fun to capture them. As my boys get older, their approach to playing driedel (and their enthusiasm for it) changes. Here’s a year when the stakes were very high: chocolate coins!

“Durham Day” collects photos from thoughout the day at an annual community celebration. I’ve photographed peole getting their food, firemen and town councilors cooking, the entertainment, friends, landscapes, and candids. The result is an overview of the activities on one two-page spread.

5) event moments & stories

Within events, there are important moments that deserve to be highlighted. For example, I always scrap the Lee Fair, but on the year that my son won a trophy in the tractor pull, I did an additional page that told about this win and his reaction. Other stories to capture may have to do with actual “on-stage” conversations and occurrences OR with what you’re thinking in your mind as the event progresses.

This page tells the story of a tradition—a tradition my kids have of hiding their gifts to Neil and me in the piano bench. This is also a tradition of us making sure we never lift the lid on that bench until AFTER the holiday.

Here’s the extra page from our Lee Fair celebration of 2006 – it documents Isaac’s reaction to having (finally) won a trophy in the pedal tractor pull.

This page tells the story of my musings about entertaining and includes a conversation I had in the midst of hosting a party–a conversation that helped me put my anxieties to rest.

6) when the event is over

I find it REALLY hard to get this kind of after-the-event shot, since it’s usually late and we’re tired and there’s cleaning to do. Try, though, to capture the sense of what goes on after an event.

Oh, Dishes! I treasure this layout of me and our messy kitchen after a Passover. Why? Hmmmmm. Maybe because it’s evidence of how much effort I expend on this holiday and, thus, of my love for my family.

So . . . what event are you scrapbooking next? And can you see yourself including several of these parts of an event’s anatomy?

Double Up #1: 2-Page Layout Ideas

Debbie Hodge — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 14:58:17 +0000

by Debbie Hodge

Double Up is a new regular column at Get It Scrapped. In each Double Up, I will share:

a two-page layout
design analysis of what makes this two-page design work
sketch
layered template

(I’d love to feature readers’ pages in this column, contact me if you’re interested in getting a sketch ahead of time!)

Check out how the following are implemented on “Have A Heart” and then try these strategies for your two-page layout designs:

Create an inner canvas custom-sized to your photo grouping. The pink-matted canvas here has the exact size and proportions my photos need. It sits solidily across both pages, uniting them and making clear that the entire layout is one rectangle rather than two side-by-side squares.
Draw the eye into your canvas with white space. Leaving planned, empty space around your page’s content reduces clutter and makes it easier to look at and understand.
Use a grid to organize cropped 4×6 photos. Fill in the empty spots with patterned paper cut to fit.
Use a variety of horizontal lines to lead the eye across both pages. Here, the zigzag stitching at top and bottom are the most obvious lines. Just as important and effective is the broken line that begins with the strip between the large photo and title and ends beneath the journaling. Because these two partial lines use the same colors, ribbon, and papers, the eye jumps across the gap from left to right.
Imply an outline of the inner canvas with papers, stitching, and embellishments outside of it. Leaving parts of this outline incomplete makes the page more energetic as the viewer’s eye mentally completes the shape.
Save time by printing 8×10 blocks that need only edge trimming and mounting. In “Have A Heart,” the two photos on the left and the title are all one unit. Paper strips layered over the break between the two photos make them look like separate pieces, and drop shadows and texture added to the title give it dimension.
Balance the visual weight of each page. The large photo carries the same visual weight as the group of smaller photos.

Download pdf of sketches with measurements – for 12×12 and 8.5×11

Download layered template – for 12×12 only

4 Creative Cutting Techniques for Your Scrapbook Pages

Debbie Hodge — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 13:39:05 +0000

by Michelle Houghton

Michelle’s class Oodles of Doodles starts this Monday, July 19th! It’s full of specific how-tos for embellishing pages with your own hand-drawn touches.

Grab some spare prints of your photos, patterned paper with design you love, a good craft knife, cutting mat, and a great pair of scissors–and get ready to do a little cutting. I’ve got how-tos and ideas for cutting your papers and photos for cool effects on your scrapbook pages.

supplies

craft knife

Make sure your craft knife or X-Acto blade fits your hand as well as it can. Detailed cutting takes pressure which is hard on the hands. There are many nice knives made these days that are easier on your fingers than others. Most importantly, however, is to make sure you have a sharp blade. Almost all craft knives have disposable blades, and if you have not changed yours recently—or if you didn’t know it could be changed—now is the time to do it! You will be amazed at how quickly a blade wears down and how much easier it is to cut with a fresh blade!

cutting mat

You will need a mat to cut on top of. If you do not have one yet, look for a self-healing mat, which can be used over and over and not get all lumpy-bumpy from your cuts. The size of your mat is personal preference. I like my 12” x 12” mat because I do not have to continually adjust my project to stay on top of it. Smaller ones work just fine for most projects.

scissors

I have two pairs of scissors. I have standard Fiskars paper sheers that have blades about 4” long. For most of the cutting I will be talking about in this lesson, however, I use a smaller pair of Honey Bee micro scissors by EK Success. I procrastinated buying these. I didn’t get why everyone had them! I cut everything with my X-Acto for years, and, as my hands become more and tired, I knew I had to try something different. I love the control and the detail I can get with these little scissors. I cut as much as I can with them, and then I only get my X-Acto knife out for tight corners and interior shapes.

1) adding paper to chipboard alphas and embellishments

This basic technique might be one that a lot of you are already using, but it’s always fun to see how someone else does things and learn any of their tricks that make the cutting easier or different looking.

I love chipboard. It seems I say that a lot. I think I just love scrapping! I love chipboard though. I love the dimension it adds to the page, and I love the variety of shapes and styles that are available. I buy both naked and covered chipboard and use them both regularly.

If my chipboard is naked, however, there is the dilemma of what to dress it up in. Should I go for some ink, paint, or leave it bare? For today let’s look at dressing it up with paper.

Pick out chipboard and paper to cover it with.
I frequently ink or paint the edges of my chipboard to jazz it up a little bit. It doesn’t matter if you cover onto the front or the back, the paper will cover the front and no one will see the back.
Do a double check to determine which side needs to face up on both your chipboard and your paper. Nothing ruins a day like gluing your chipboard to the side of paper you want facing up! I use a tacky glue and smooth it across the entire top of my chipboard. I then adhere the chipboard to the back of the patterned paper, adding pressure for a few seconds so it gets a nice even bond. Now you need to let it dry. Yes, I know, patience required.
Using your scissors start cutting around your chipboard. Move your chipboard not your scissors. For the most part your scissors should stay pointing straight out from you while you move the chipboard into them. Make slow, continuous cuts—especially around the curves.
When you cannot reach any more with your scissors get out your X-Acto blade and cutting mat. Watch the hand that is holding the chipboard steady and be sure you are not cutting directly toward it. Cutting often takes pressure, and, if you slip, it’s better not to slip in the direction of your fingers. (Speaking from experience.) Go through and get all of your corner and interior shapes with your blade. Cut the corners from the peak out in both directions to get the cleanest cuts. Think of it in terms of making two cuts instead of trying to curve your blade into and back out of a tight corner. Start the blade in the corner and pull it out and away from the corner. Then go back into the corner and pull out to the other direction.
To finish, I use a file or sandpaper to smooth over the edges of the paper, rounding it over the chipboard. It cleans up the edge and makes it look like you bought it this way.

2) pop-up photos

Many of us started scrapbooking this way many moons ago, chopping into our precious photos, cutting them into shapes, using decorative scissors to round the edges, and cutting out the people and places we were capturing on film. Of course, most of us did not have digital photos then and are regretting cutting into our precious prints. (This is me regretting, not necessarily you. I’m pretending I’m not the only one, so play along.)

In the meantime, the scrapping world has gone in the opposite direction. Many of us are barely cropping photos let alone cutting into them with an X-Acto. Gasp! Today we are going to learn two fun techniques for cutting photos. If you’re worried at all about cutting into a shot, make sure it is one that can be replaced. I think you’ll find the results fun and worthwhile.

You need two copies of the exact same photo. Print two yourself or order a duplicate when you order prints–they must be identical.
Choose which portion of your shot you are going to pop up. Typically this will be the main subject–perhaps a person, flower, or your pet Fife. Begin cutting tightly around your subject with small scissors. We want to cut as closely to the image as possible. You might cut off the flyaway hair or a wrinkle in the clothing. Just get as close as you can and go slow!
Remember when cutting a detailed item like this to hold your scissors steady in your right hand pointing away from you, and then hold your photo in your left, moving and turning it into your scissors. Keep nice slow even pressure going on your scissors so they keep cutting as you turn your image. You will find you have a lot more control this way.
When you have gotten everything you can with your scissors, go back in with your X-Acto knife. Get the details, and get the interior spaces that need to be cut out. Remember to start from the corners and work out.
Use several pop dots to back your newly cut image and place it carefully right above the exact same image on the second photo. It will look like your person, flower, or Fife is jumping right out of the shot.

Another option is to use a single print and just pop the cut-out portion right off the layout. Use steps 2 and 3 and then attach it to your page.

3) creative collage for a photo series

In this technique I use several photos that I am trying to blend or merge together. If I was better on the computer I am sure there are many ways I could do this in Photoshop, but I am not, so I work with my hard copies.

Find 2 or more photos you would like to overlap. Successful ones usually have similar backgrounds or groups of people or panoramic landscapes: they flow together in some way.
Figure out how you want to overlap your photos. Lay them out and start shuffling them around on the page. Make sure they are going to fit on your layout and make sense.
One by one start cutting into the photos to be trimmed. There might be several at the bottom level that do not get touched. Start at the top layer and work your way down cutting away the portions you want to eliminate from your photos. Use the same cutting method as above working from the bigger chunks with your scissors and then into the details and interior cuts with your X-Acto.
If the rest of your layout is ready to go adhere your images to your page. Don’t forget to start with the bottom layer first and work your way up.

4) cutting patterned paper

The other thing I love to cut into is patterned paper. I love patterned paper that has big swirls or patterns on it but then sometimes have a hard time covering it up with my photos.

My solution is to cut out the portion of the paper that I like and layer it over parts of my photos. There really is not a whole lot of “how to” here. We have talked about how to do intricate cutting with your scissors and X-Actos so here are two examples of cutting into patterned paper and layering it over elements on my page.

On the layout “The Girls,” I only wanted a small portion of my page to lift over my images so I used my X-Acto to cut around the branches and flower on the one side of the tree. I backed my paper with cardstock so you wouldn’t see a hole underneath the raised branches and then I used pop dots to lift the branch and blossoms up and over the ring.

On “We Love to Read,” I cut around the floral image to the right and layered it on top of several elements on the page. Notice that unlike the technique of cutting out photos, this is much looser cutting. I am not trying to go right up along the edges of the image. I also cut out the large butterfly at the upper left hand side of the layout from the same sheet of patterned paper. Again, I popped it up, lifting it over several elements on the page. I inked the edges on both the butterfly and the floral print to define their edges before adhering them to the page.

Michelle Houghton is a teacher at Get It Scrapped as well as a busy wife and mother of two beautiful girls in Iowa. In her life before motherhood Michelle was an art teacher and loves continuing to share her art through scrapbooking techniques. This next year you will be able to see her work at Scrapbooking.com and in Memory Makers Big Idea Book. You can check out her doings on her blog Scrapweaver. AND . . . be sure you’re on our mailing list so you get first notice of her upcoming classes. Oodles of Doodles starts July 19th and is a great lead-in to Michelle’s fall class, “Handwriting for Scrapbook Pages,” and an as-yet-to-be-named Copics class.

Scrapbook Page Sketch and Template Bundle: July 16, 2010

Debbie Hodge — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 03:23:18 +0000

by Debbie Hodge

Download/Open PDF with sketches

Download zipped file with layered page templates

Here’s a layout I made with one of the sketches. Click on it to see it in my DesignerDigitals gallery with detailed supply list.

The Get It Scrapped Project #7: Scrapbooking Collections

TamiTaylor — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 22:58:51 +0000

by Tami Taylor

This is the 7th installment of a project in which Tami embarks upon a year-long quest (inspired by the Julie/Julia Project) to use the Get It Scrapped! book and website to get scrapbooking done). Tami Taylor is a busy mom, teacher at Get It Scrapped! and the owner of Scrap This Kit! This month Tami’s focus is on Chapter 4 of Get It Scrapped: Get Collections Scrapped.

I would say that scrapbooking collections of photos is my favorite thing to do, but I imagine someone going back through posts I’ve made here or in the forums to find every time I’ve said something is my favorite. I guess I should stop saying it and stick with the fact that sharing anything is my favorite. I love this venue of art. Scrapbooking allows us to share a part of a person or subject that is intimate to us, or to convey to the viewer that we too know something about the subject that they know.

This is why I love collections. I love sharing some intricate detail about a person that the viewer doesn’t know.

Journaling: Amanda taught Zach this funny face when he wasn't even two. I didn't realize how much he makes it until I was sorting photos one day.

The layout above was a pleasant bonus to organizing my photos back in January at the onset of this project. As I reorganized my digital photos and learned more about tagging photos in Photo Shop Elements, I was able to pull up all photos of Zach. This face immediately stood out. Now I see so many collections in my photos. This month I challenge you to take some time and go through your photos and find your collections. Look for:

Family Traits. Do certain family members share the same eyes, nose or hands?
Similar expressions. Does everyone give the same scowl or cheeky smile?
Similar physical attributes. Do you have pictures of people sleeping, sitting or standing in the same position?
Fashion. Does everyone make their own fashion statement? Are there shared favorites or perhaps hand-me-downs each child was stuck wearing?
Landscapes. Do you have several pictures of the same little cabin you vacation in every summer?
Milestones. Do you have a picture of everyone’s first steps or everyone’s high school graduation?
Collections. Do you have a collection of photos of your collections? Purses, decor, coins, et. al?
Time. Do you have photos from each year of a person’s life or a period of their life?
Repetition. Does a certain activity get photographed repeatedly, whether it’s a holiday or dad snoozing in a chair?
Love & hugs. Do you have a collection pictures of people together? Husband and wife, brothers, best friends?

Once you start thinking in terms of collections you’ll start seeing them more and more in your photos. Even now as I write this I am thinking of that last one and a collection of photos I have of my eldest son who went through a period where to get a photograph taken he would put his arm around the nearest person. It is definitely in my pile of collections and this month I will Get It Scrapped!

When you’ve found your collections come share them or the layouts you create with them in the forums or in the gallery.