Documenting the "Everyday" with Style

by Jacque Larsen

I LOVE to scrapbook but life is busy, so I just don't have much time. I have four children, ranging in ages from six to fifteen. My children are active, participating in dance, guitar lessons, football, basketball, swim team, track, not to mention afterschool homework, church and community projects. To keep up with all of those things, but still make time for scrapbooking, I have turned digital! Digital Scrapbooking has allowed me to document the everyday things and the once-in-a-lifetime moments in such a convenient way. I'm so glad that in 20, 30 or 40 years, I will have these pages at which my family can look back. I love that I will have helped them to remember the fun things that they did and all that they accomplished. It’s about the memories! In fact, my photos aren't perfect. Like most moms, I'm usually chasing my children around at the last minute trying to document their accomplishments. Lately, I have found that carrying around my DSLR has even become cumbersome and I've started using the camera on my iPhone. I've taken over 600 photos on my phone since February 2011. I'm amazed by the quality and by the moments I've captured that I would have otherwise missed. The wonderful thing about digital scrapbooking is the convenience of using a digital camera with those easily accessible digital kits. I can download pictures to my computer, without waiting for prints, and start scrapbooking immediately! Technology really IS amazing, isn't it? What do I scrapbook? If your children aren't inspiration enough or you need some ideas to start out with, here are a couple of my favorite topics:

Photo-a-Day:

Take a picture on each of the 365 days this year. Some pictures will illustrate bigger moments and some shots will be routine stuff in your life. It all adds up to complete the puzzle of your life RIGHT now. Add a quick sentence or two (or more) about the photo so you won't forget why and when you snapped that picture.

All About Me:

Whether you are scrapbooking about you, your child, or teenager, focus completely on what makes up that person’s life right at that moment. Include details such as: favorite thing to wear, favorite thing to eat, what they love, where they've gone, who they hang out with, where they work, why they do what they do. Tell about other favorites, their hobbies, their friends, their schoolwork. Snap pictures of them or just of their things. These are some of my most beloved pages. I try to do at least one of these for each of my kids every year.

Other ideas to scrapbook include:

• Family journal, have each person take responsibility for a layout or more. Use extended family too! Combine all finished pages in a book!
• Self-Portraits, on my said cell phone I couldn't count ALL the self portraits I have of my 15 year old daughter. They are so awesome and I love scrapbooking them!
• Scrapbook other all time favorite photos, of your children, your spouse, your best friend, the world around you, ANYTHING.
• Scrapbook about your home. Focus on every little detail of things that you love.
• Pregnancy & Baby's first year.
• Travel and vacations.
• Month by Month calendar type pages or give yourself Weekly or even Monthly Themes. You would be amazed at all the inspiration available on the internet. Have a look around!

Remember, like your photos, your pages don't have to be perfect. You just NEED to get that memory on paper (or a digital file, haha!). There are so many tutorials available to get you started. Use your photos to document the everyday. Don't be afraid to take that first step! I've included some sites that may be a huge help to getting you started if you are a beginner.

Here are some great tutorials and descriptions of what digital scrapbooking is and how to get started. There are so many talented designers, most of which I have the pleasure to work with. Some of them have posted very detail instructions and descriptions as to what digital scrapbooking is and how to get started.  Here are a couple of my favorites:

By Karah Fedricks:  -What is Digi-Scrapping?

http://blueflombingo.com/2011/what-is-digi-scrapping/

By Krista Sahlin:  -How to Start Digital Scrapbooking

http://sahlinstudio.blogspot.com/2010/12/how-to-start-digital-scrapbooking.html

Here are a few of my favorite basic products to share with those who have dabbled a bit in digital scrapbooking or those that are itching to get started, but aren't sure of what to purchase first.

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For me, it is so important to have certain basics to start with. Then after a few layouts you will quickly learn what your personal style is and can go from there. I think every scrapper, beginner to advanced, should have at least one of each of the following. The site www.the-lilypad.com , where I sell at, has put together an ESSENTIALS category for you and me. You can find it here. http://www.the-lilypad.com/store/home.php?cat=211 My essentials include a few nice alphas, every scrapper loves fonts, a pack or two of plain neutral or solid colored papers and some kind of adhesive (staples, tape stitching). Then you can start adding other fun elements, ribbons, buttons, doodles, tags, word art, etc. to your hearts content. Templates are also a great way for beginners to start scrapbooking.
The Lily Pad (TLP) {here} holds my favorite pages and galleries chalk FULL of ideas and challenges where I know I can go for constant inspiration and motivation to get my scrapping mojo moving!!

The TLP BLOG {here} also hosts many challenges and tutorials on HOW to do so many techniques that are great for us ALL to learn and know!

Here are some of my (not so perfect photos) shown in a few scrapbook pages I've created recently.

It is so fun to start a scrapbook page with a blank piece of paper that we work to mold and create into these masterpieces we call scrapbook pages.

 

 

 

If you ever have a question or need help getting started feel free to contact me jacque@larsenfamily.com, I will be happy to encourage you along on this amazing record keeping journey.

**COUPONS JUST FOR LVP READERS!!!**
I have created a coupon for Last Vegas Photographer readers, to use in MY TLP STORE {here}
ENJOY 50% OFF your purchase of $10 or MORE using code [LVPM_JLL].
AND
15% off STOREWIDE  if you use this code [4READERS]
Expires August 31, 2011.