It has become easier than ever to record videos to share online. From being entertained to educated, just within scrapbooking, there is a video for every mood. In this post, I wanted to share two videos I came across today. (If you can’t see the videos, visit this post.)

If you want to be inspired…

If you enjoyed this video, make sure you leave a comment for Katie on her guest post at Kanelstrand.

If you want to be motivated…

Even if you’re not using the Project Life system, Becky’s step-by-step approach will work for almost any big scrapbooking project!

Have you seen any awesome scrapbooking videos recently?

You’ve cleared your calendar for some “creative time” only to discover that your creative “mojo” has disappeared. You had a million ideas running around your brain earlier, thus the clearing of the calendar, and then “poof” – gone. Sound familiar?

It isn’t uncommon to find one’s creative thoughts evaporate into thin air. Or to have the ideas that seemed brilliant in your mind fizzle when you start to put the pieces together.

So what can you do? Here are 5 ideas to regain your mojo, or at the very least be productive with your time while it’s gone.

1. Do something else related to the creative effort, that isn’t the creative part.

For the scrapbooker/paper crafter, you could scan non-digital photos, put away a stash of scrapbooking supplies, cull through your supplies and let go of products that haven’t been used in over a year.

2. Be willing to abandon the original idea.

For example, you’ve been working with a set of three photos for a scrapbook layout. Consider it possible that those three images might not work together, revisit your photos from that event or activity, and modify your original set.

3. Be more daring with your ideas and let go of your right-side brain.

For example, rather than move the photo just three nudges to the left, move it all the way to the left. Turn the paper 180 degrees and see the layout from a different perspective.

4. Walk away for the day.

Sometimes it isn’t worth it to do anything creative. Let your brain work on the idea in the background while you get on with your day. Carry a notebook with you so that when an idea hits you, you’ll be ready to capture it before you forget it.

5. Play with your supplies.

Rather than focusing on the end result, play with your products. For example, you want to make a card, but have no ideas. Pick up a stamp set and stamp it in different colors on different papers.

Elizabeth Gilbert, author of Eat, Pray, Love, discusses nurturing creativity in this TED talk. I was especially interested in her description of author Ruth Stone’s creative process at the 10:20 mark.

Next month, in our second exclusive Scrap Habits course, premium members will create an easy, inspirational brag book designed to rekindle your love affair with memory keeping.

Each month here at Simple Scrapper, we will host a new scrapbook challenge with tons of inspiration from our team to get you started!

Last week, we featured our team using thirteen different ways to tweak your templates. As a recap, here are the methods:

1. Shrink it
2. Add more photos
3. Get rid of some photos
4. Turn it on its head
5. Spin it one way
6. Tilt it
7. Make a card
8. Double it
9. Cut it in half
10. Make it another size
11. Flip it
12. Create something entirely different
13. Stretch it out

Challenge Instructions

To participate in the challenge, choose a sketch or template from any designer (including our own) and twist it using one of the thirteen methods above. Upload your digital or paper layout to any public gallery and use the linky embedded in this post to officially enter the challenge.

Challenge Prize

One random challenge participant who enters by 9:59pm CST on Friday, February 24 will be selected to win a $15 print credit from Persnickety Prints.

Persnickety Prints is our choice for mail order printing. In case you don’t want to wait, Persnickety is having an excellent President’s Day sale. Get all 8×8 prints for just $0.79 with the code “honestabe”!

Winter is the time of promise because there is so little to do, or because you can now and then permit yourself the luxury of thinking so.
- Stanley Crawford

Weekly Recap

• Emily turned 6 months old this week, so we had our big monthly photo shoot. She is getting so wiggly and curious. Smiling for the camera is not as much of a priority as sucking on her own toes.
• Both layouts I’ve made this past week are in a holding patterned until revealed at their final destinations, but I have been scrapping. Here’s a tiny sneak peek:

What did you do this week? Share your recap in the comments.

Weekend Reading

• Ideas for Using Chevron Prints from Get it Scrapped
• 10 Ways to Find your Organizing Mojo from Simplify 101
• Story Shapes Us from Making this Home
• Getting More Organized is Not the Goal from Small Notebook

and because it’s winter here in North America, we all need some of these:

• Mason Jar Self-Buttering Biscuits from Big Red Kitchen

Every Friday at Simple Scrapper you are invited to join us for reflection on our memory keeping activities as well as our ongoing tradition of  sharing simple tips, tutorials and inspiring ideas from around the web.

Since I retired from digital product design, I have joined many creative teams for other designers. I have enjoyed creating with their products, and supporting the business of designers I believe in.

Recently, I had to step down from a few teams. It wasn’t because I didn’t like their products anymore, or because anything “bad” had happened. Meeting the requirements for all of my teams just wasn’t fitting into my scrapbooking flow.

So just what is flow? It’s hard to explain, really. I think the best way to explain it is that flow is when you can accomplish all you want to accomplish without it being a huge challenge.

When something doesn’t fit the natural order of how you go about getting things done, it’s not part of your flow. Your flow is getting done the things that feel natural or automatic.

How do you find your flow?

It’s easier to look for the things that don’t fit. Are there commitments that you regularly forget to complete? Those tasks aren’t part of your flow. Are there things that you put off doing in favor of doing other tasks? The ones you put off aren’t part of your flow. If you have to really work hard to fit something in your schedule, it probably isn’t part of your flow.

So take a minute, and think about the tasks you have committed to. Do any of them fit into the categories above? If they do, you should probably start eliminating them from your to do list. Sure, it’s difficult to say “I just can’t complete that task any longer” but in the long run you’ll be doing yourself a favor.

When your to do list is filled with tasks that fit your scrapbooking flow it will be easier and more enjoyable to get them done. You will find more time to devote to the things that are part of your flow.

As my mother often told me, “It’s better to be great at a few things, than to be just OK at a lot of things.”

Making these decisions is a pretty big task. I put it off for a long time. Today, I challenge you to take a look at your commitments and really think about what fits into your flow.

How can knowing your scrapbooking flow help you?

Aaron Morris shares his time management tips each month here at Simple Scrapper and on an ongoing basis at his Sir Scrapalot website.

Quick, say that title 5 times fast! Templates or sketches are one of my favorite ways to get started telling a story. I find that anything that gets rid of a decision that I have to make while scrapping helps me accomplish more.

With a template, the design is started for you so you can focus on photos, product selections, and most importantly the story. That is until you realize that templates are not really set in stone. You can easily use them as a jumping off point for creating a very different looking page than the original design!

I asked the Simple Scrapper Creative Team to help me out and they put together loads of creative ways to change up templates.

1. Shrink It

Aimee Maddern used a template from January 2012 and shrunk the main area down. Once it was smaller, she moved it to the right quite a bit. This is a great technique if you are a scrapper that likes smaller photos and/or more white space on your pages. (To shrink the main area in Photoshop, simply select the layers (leave the background) in the layer palette and click on Edit – Transform. While holding down the shift key, drag the corners to the size you like.)

Supplies

2. Add More Photos

Krista Wells added more photos to this template from April 2011. Krista used the spaces that were already marked as photos and broke them up into collages. You could also use a piece designated for patterned paper or journaling and fill it with a photo. Or use the space that two photos take up and use three!

Supplies

3. Get Rid of Some Photos

Amy Kingsford reduced the number of photos on this template from January 2012 by adding elements in place of the photos. You could also just merge two spaces into one space OR delete the photos all together!

Supplies

4. Turn It On Its Head

Brianna Marshall chose a template from July 2011 and the entire layout  180 degrees, basically upside down! (In Photoshop, select Image > > Image Rotation > 180 degrees.)

Supplies

5. Spin It One Way

Ronnie Crowley rotated this template from February 2011 90 degrees clockwise. Remember you can do this either way. After you rotate, you might want to rotate the title or journaling back and place it in a different spot on the page. (In Photoshop, select Image > Image Rotation 90 degrees. Then use Edit>Transform to rotate the text layers back.)

Supplies

6. Tilt It

Mandy Ross tilted the main area on this template from March 2011. Tilting elements is an art, you really down want to go too far one way or the other! (In Photoshop, select the layers you wish to tilt, then Edit > Free Transform. Hover with your mouse at one of the corners, you’ll see a curved arrow. Then move your mouse, to turn the layers.)

Supplies

7. Make a Card

Michele Holcomb created a card from a May 2011 layout sketch. What a creative way to use a sketch!

Supplies

8. Double It

Jennie McGarvey created a double page layout from two January 2011 single page sketches. You could also take one single sketch and stretch it out across two pages. Or even take a single page sketch and flip it to use as a second page!

Supplies

9. Cut It in Half

Jean Manis created a single page layout from a January 2012 double page spread.  This is an amazing way to get more out of your templates. Each double template is two single pages! (To crop the page in Photoshop, simple select the Crop tool from the tool palette then change the sizing on the top toolbar to 12 inches by 12 inches and 300 dpi. Drag your mouse over the left or right side of the page until the whole side is selected, then hit enter.)

Supplies

10. Make it Another Size

Jess Forster changed the size  of this July 2011 12×12 template to 8.5×11. (To change the size in Photoshop, first resize the template using Image > Image Size to 11 inches x 11 inches. Then create a New Canvas (File > New) sized. 8.5 inches by 11 inches with 300 dpi. Then go back to the template, select all of the layers except the background, and drag them onto the new canvas. At this point, you may resize the layers using Edit > Free Transform.)

Supplies

11. Flip It

Julie Kelly flipped this December 2011 double page sketch horizontally. It’s a mirror image of the original! (In Photoshop, select Image > Image Rotation > Flip Canvas Horizontally. You will need to flip back your text and title layers using Edit > Transform.)

Supplies

12. Create Something Entirely Different

Margrethe Johnsen created a page that was inspired by this sketch from January 2012. It still has the feel of the original, but it still very different!

Supplies

13. Stretch it Out

I stretched the main area to the edges of this April 2011 template out to the edges of the page. This is a great tactic for scrappers who love large photos! (In Photoshop, select the layers you wish to stretch in the layers palette. Then select Edit > Free Transform. While holding down the shift key, drag the corners until the size is where you want it.)

Supplies

So next time, you get started with a template, give one of these ideas a shot. Not only can this help you fit your photos to the template, but you’ll be getting a lot more bang for your buck using the template a variety of ways for different looks!

The versatile sketch templates featured in this post are just a small selection of those available with the Premium Membership. Each month, five new page designs are added to the library of exclusive members-only downloads.

This is a guest post from digital product designer Chelle Ludwinski.

I love stories. I believe that the stories of our lives are the most important part of memory keeping. But as scrapbookers, sometimes we get bogged down in the story telling and struggle with adding journaling to our layouts.

One simple way to overcome this obstacle is to use words that have already been written.

Use an email or blog post.

My sister took a few minutes to explain how her morning had gone in an email. Her words were perfect for the journaling on this layout.

Use a letter.

When I was in college my Dad wrote a few letters to me. I only used an excerpt, but it was a splendid story for this layout of me as a child on the farm.

Use a brochure or pamphlet.

The summaries in our Colonial Williamsburg program were ideal for the journaling on this layout from our trip. (The brochure got lost on the way home from your vacation? Try the venue’s website or even Wikipedia)

Use someone else’s words.

For this layout, I rescued my daughter’s English assignment from the garbage. I love how well her description of the event punctuates this memory from her marching band season.

The next time you are perplexed with telling the story, take a moment to consider if you have “words that have already been written.”

Hi, I’m Chelle. I believe that we all have an intrinsic need to create. I fill that need by creating fun digital products to help you preserve your precious memories.

At Chelle’s Creations I share scrapbooking tips, tutorials, & freebies. Add my blog to your reader or subscribe to my newsletter. As a wife & mother of seven I know how busy life can be. My goal is to make it easy & fun for you to CREATE.

Yesterday, I provided a glimpse into my baby book, explaining how I used a hybrid of techniques to document my pregnancy and daughter’s birth. As she is nearly six months old (time flies!), I am excited to put the finishing touches on the album very soon.

That 5.5×8.5 album is just one facet of how I am keeping our memories of Emily. I prefer to avoid huge, overwhelming projects that are difficult to maintain. Instead, I like to create pages and projects that tell specific stories while I rely on shortcuts to make it easier. In this article, I will share two more ways I am scrapbooking my baby and the specific stress-free solutions I use.

1. Single Page Stories

Shortcuts: sketches & templates, One Line A Day journal

Over the past year I have done a lot of album projects, mini books and fun crafty projects. I kind of got away from my roots in creating individual scrapbook layouts. As part of my commitment this year to create 80 pages, I’m scrapping some of the more meaningful stories of my daughter using templates from the premium membership. Having a page design ready to go means a lot of the work has already been done for me.

As I’ve mentioned before here, I love to write but I’ve never gotten into the habit of regular journaling. This year I’ve committed to changing that for myself by writing in my One Line a Day journal. I had seen five year and ten year journals for a while now, but a new and very affordable version on Amazon (discovered via Ali Edwards and her 52 Creative Lifts series) made this a good choice for me in 2012 (to 2017!). I started January 1 but plan to go back to my daughter’s birth date and fill in stories from email, saved IMs and social media status updates.

Often there is a specific story I want to tell (more than a specific photo to scrap) and having these dated details is helpful for matching up the story with a photo from the same time period. I am really enjoying getting back to basics in my scrapbooking and am looking forward to continue my exploration of paper this year.

2. Monthly Hybrid Album

Shortcuts: Divided page protectors, journaling with Gmail, printable journal cards (download below)

I’ve been slowly building this album as I have had time. In it, I am coupling a photo from each month with a hybrid journal card written in the form of a letter. Right now I’m taking photos of Emily on her birthday each month, but I imagine as she gets older this album will evolve into highlighting one photo of her plus one story about “right now” in her life.

I am using 8×8 divided page protectors from We R Memory Keepers to hold my photo and journaling card. This is definitely a work-in-progress. I want to add in embellishments to the small pockets on the left (2″x4″), but I have not yet determined how I want to do that. If you have an idea, I would love if you left a comment for me.

I’m looking forward to sharing more of this album here on the Simple Scrapper blog as it grows over time. I love how I can insert photos and cards as I print them, easily seeing where I still need to do some work.

Free Download
Use this print-ready 4×6 journal card template to customize your own cards with digital papers and your story. Built-in bleed area and trim lines (instructions included) will ensure that your words don’t get cut off.

Download the template

Six months ago I shared how I was documenting my pregnancy with 5.5×8.5 digital pages (including a free template set) and Instagram photos. I’m excited to finally share a few more pages capturing those special 40 weeks and some lessons from that experience.

Scrapbooking Pregnancy

Like most of my memory keeping, I was not rigid with taking photos on a certain schedule but simply when the mood struck. I captured my growing belly as well as the little things around me, foods especially, that were changing as my life did.

I will admit, I did a lot of the journaling in several bursts each trimester. I felt that it helped to gain a holistic view on “life right now” without getting bogged down by a particularly good or bad day. Despite very swollen feet/ankles and simple huge-ness, I had a relatively easy pregnancy.

Overall, I appreciated the simple unified design; it made the final assembly quick and easy. Persnickety Prints trimmed the pages to 5.5×8.5 for me and I adhered them back to back before punching holes. I was so glad to have this portion 98% complete before I went into labor.

Scrapbooking Baby

I knew mid-summer that the baby book portion of my album would be in paper. There was an amazing Studio Calico kit just perfect for this project. In a fit of nesting (scrapbooker-style) on the eve of my due date, I stayed up all night constructing the album foundation (minus the baby, of course).

With the foundation 100% ready to go, it only took a little effort in September to fill in the major details of my daughter’s birth and just minutes each week to keep it up to date. I am so thrilled to finally reveal this project to premium members.

The Simple Scrapper Premium Membership offers skills and shortcuts to make scrapbooking easier and more fun. Sign up today to download a fully illustrated project guide and digital template set for your own baby book. It’s never too late to get started!

“Simplicity is making the journey of this life with just baggage enough.”

Weekly Recap

• Last weekend I stayed up way too late scrapping, which I had not done in forever. (I’ve been scrapping a lot in the morning.) The result was this page featured in Tuesday’s feature article.
• This week I released a brand new collection for our premium membership: five original sketch templates, twelve page prompts for meaningful scrapbooking about marriage and a huge baby book project class that includes a 14 page template set.
• My Valentine’s Day card that I mentioned last Friday was featured on Ella Publishing’s blog Friday for National Wear Red Day.

What did you do this week? Share your recap in the comments.

Weekend Reading

• What Type of Scrapbooker Are You? from Aaron Morris
• 5 Ways to Get Creatively Blocked from Spring: Inspiration in Bloom
• Why Can’t I Be More Like Her? from Motherhood Your Way
• Kill Inner Clutter Before It Kills You from Be More with Less
• Be Happy with a Solution-Focused Mindset from Abundance Blog

Every Friday at Simple Scrapper you are invited to join us for reflection on our memory keeping activities as well as our ongoing tradition of  sharing simple tips, tutorials and inspiring ideas from around the web.