MommyCoddle

Photobooks : A Great Place To Start

Thanks for the warm welcome yesterday and I loved hearing about all the ways you preserve your memories... even if it is in a rubber tub... a project for a rainy day [or two], right?!

Our random winner for the $20 gift certificate is Shawn Janelle

Congratulations! Please email katie at designerdigitals dot com with your email address!

Today I wanted to introduce you to Shutterfly Photobooks and one of my favorite projects!

I, like a lot of you, have photos scattered in boxes and tubs all over the place. I have 4 large, traditionally scrapped albums for my daughter but hundreds of photos [okay maybe thousands now that we have digital] that have not been scrapped and I wanted a simple compilation to see her growing into a teenager!

The answer was a photobook!

 

I created a year-by-year memories album to show how much she has grown and changed over the past years!

You can view the entire book in Shutterfly's Gallery

I used a layered template book and worked with just one kit, Alandia, from DesignerDigitals to help create a unified look throughout the book.

 

I also converted all but one of the photos on each page to a sepia so there would be less distraction. When laying out your pages you want it to be obvious what the focus image is on the page and make sure your journaling is easily read and converting the photos was a great, easy way to do that!

 

I absolutely love this book and think I'll be adding to it over the next few years and having it reprinted! And it will be a theme I will also be using for books for our granddaughters and my nephews! I figure if I get them going now, won't they make the most amazing presents for them when they are teenagers?!

I hope this inspires you to get started with some digital scrapbooking and photobooks!

And I have ONE 8x8 20-page Shutterfly Photobook to give away. Simply leave a comment about an album you would like to create! Leave comments by 12 noon EST July 31st for your chance to win!

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And now on to tackle a few of your questions!

deborah said...
Hi,
I am currently a traditional scrapbooker, but I'm interested in getting into the digital realm. My question or Katie is, what do I need to get started? (What programs, etc. do you suggest?)
Thanks for the chance to win!

How to get started? It can be easily accomplished with Photoshop Elements or any image editing program. Some are even so comfortable with Microsoft word that they simply scrap their memories in that program. But for the most versatility in your creative process I recommend working with Adobe Photoshop Elements which can be found for under $75. And then download a few freebies to get a feel for things before you pick put the products for your projects!

susan said...
I am looking forward to your posts on digital scrapbooking and learning more about the craft. I have a number of scrapbook "projects" that I have started, but need to complete (our wedding six years ago, Christmas memories, and my two year old's first year). I was thinking of preserving some memories by creating books on picaboo and other similar sites. Are these sites considered digital scrapbooking? It seems like the choices might be limited.

I would think you could refer to creating the books on-line for print is a form of digital scrapbooking. What we encourage at DesignerDigitals is more of the creative process in capturing the memories and displaying them. With the right products and software you can bring your memories to life in your pages so the way you were feeling about that moment can be felt by looking at your pages!

Sarah said...
Hi Katie,
I have tried to start paper scrapbooking a little but have so many boxes of photos I have mostly just gotten overwhelmed and stopped. I would love to learn about digital scrapbooking as I am much handier at a computer than with a scissors but don't really know where to start.

The best way to start is to select your photo[s] and select a background paper and start by arranging them on the page and adding your journaling. The more you do the more comfortable you'll feel. The you can add digital stamping [just like rubber stamping only more forgiving ;)], digital ribbons, digital page pebbles etc etc, whatever strikes your fancy to create a creative work of art! The great thing about digital... there's an undo key! And as long as you save your page layout into a new file and don't overwrite your photo file you can always go back and re-scrap the photo or change things around!

:)

Digital Scrapbooking 101

Hi Everyone!

Katie Pertiet here happy to be guest blogging for Molly this week! When Molly mentioned taking a break with a possible guest blogger I was happy to hop on and share my passions of digital scrapbooking and photography with you!

I've been working as a graphic designer for nearly 25 years now and have been involved with the scrapbooking industry for the past 5 years. I started as a traditional, paper scrapper taking pictures of every outing and event with my daughter as well as all the everyday moments too!  But working on my computer everyday led me over to explore digital scrapbooking and it didn't take long before I had shelved my paper supplies, no longer had daily messes to clean up and was completely hooked on digital scrapbooking and opened DesignerDigitals as an outlet to sell my digital scrapbooking products! Now I scrap more than ever before and am on a mission to document not only my daughter's childhood, but also my past and my ancestors. I want to have a record of where we have come form to pass down to future generations and to share with my cousins.

Getting started with Digital Scrapbooking is not as intimidating as you may think! We have some great tips to get you started with Digital Scrapbooking, Your First Digital Layout using Photoshop or Elements.

I have a $20 gift certificate to DesignerDigitals.com to give away today to help you get started with digital scrapbooking. To be entered in the drawing, leave a comment about how you preserve your families memories!

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Hi Friends. Just popping in to say be sure to leave any questions you have for Katie about design, digital scrapbooking, photo editing, etc. in the comments and she'll do her best to answer them in her posts this week!

And thank you katie for a great giveaway! I'm telling you, all the elements with digital scrapbooking are about as addictive as fabric and yarn shopping!

broken

I was trying to figure out what it's called when you emerge from a blog break. Have you "breaked"? Are you "broken"? Either way, hello! I'm back. Sorry for the unannounced disappearance. I had been pondering a little blog break at the end of this summer and planned to make it more of a formal, announced kind of thing, but I suddenly found myself needing it sooner than later. And then of course the internet outages and storm-induced power outages made it all seem a little bit easier to slip away. So, I believe that I am back. Although you may find me a little quieter until we get back into the routines of Fall again.

I think it is good to take a break every now and then. To reevaluate why it is you blog, what exactly you want to blog about and to remember who it is you are blogging for. Next month will mark my fourth year of blogging, I still can't believe where it started and where I am now.

But while I was "breaking".....

**we ate the first watermelon and corn from our garden.

**I celebrated my 33rd birthday and felt overwhelmed by the love and attention. I received gifts in all forms--hugs and kisses and handwritten notes left on my bed, sentimental things I'll cherish, and things I never would have gotten for myself--(like time in a recording studio, to put together a CD.)

**I revisited an eastern shore auction with my mom and came home with a truckload of treasures and lots of funny stories.

**I started picking flowers from MY row in the garden.

**I discovered the *joys* of having house guests during a power outage.

**I took a daytrip to the beach and watched how each of my children experienced it differently--Emma: spent all her time mastering the waves. Mary: was done with sand and salt and ready to go home after 20 minutes. Elizabeth: didn't want to keep her bathing suit on and needed to go the bathroom every 10 minutes.

And today, I'm up to my ears in to-do lists. Why does one day without power feel like coming home after a week's vacation? And Emma and I are scrambling to get her fair entries ready for judging later this afternoon. There are photographs to print, cakes to bake and paintings to finish.

And while we spend the week doing all kinds of fair-type things, I'll be handing over the blogging reins to my cousin Katie Pertiet. She'll be doing a series the rest of this week on digital scrapbooking and basic photo editing. I even suspect she'll have some giveaways, too! I may be biased because she's my cousin, but Katie is one sweet, talented lady and she has so many wonderful ideas to share. I know you'll enjoy hearing what she has to share!

this weekend

a good visit with old friends

laundry on the line

first blooms in the garden

a new read-aloud before naps

dinners from our garden

shortbread

a gift of fresh goat cheese and marinated tomatoes

swimming

a bee sting

research

sunday dinner on the patio at the farm

a long walk up a dusty back road

"plates" for the play kitchen from the tree

sandpaper and mineral oil

singing at the piano

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winner of the Presto Bingo print:

Tammie:

oh gosh. its all adorable.
but that dandy lion is just out of this world.

Send me an email with your info and I'll pass it on! Congratulations!

Show & Tell : Presto Bingo

I am so excited to share today's Show & Tell with you because it comes from a local artist/blogger/design studio. I originally met Joyce when I stumbled upon her wonderful blog, KidBaltimore, which highlights her trips and travels around Baltimore with her children. She gives great insights into all kinds of activities, museums, events and points of interest in our area, as well as other fun and helpful projects and ideas. Right now her husband Dave is working plans for a treehouse and Joyce shares a recipe for a natural weed killer. Her blog also happens to have what is probably my favorite blog banner of all the blogs I read. :)

Not only does Joyce write at KidBaltimore, she and her husband run the Baltimore design studio SpurDesign . AND, they have a wonderful line of modern art prints for children in their shop Presto Bingo.

I asked Joyce to share a bit about Presto Bingo :

My husband, Dave Plunkert, and I have co-owned Spur Design, a Baltimore based design studio, since 1995. We work in a renovated industrial building that gives us enough room for messy art projects. Our three kids (ages 10, 4 and 4) frequently accompany us to work, which can be a little challenging, but is always inspiring.

Dave and I have wanted to create more artwork for kids for a long time, and are currently pursuing some children's book ideas. PrestoBingo, our line of modern art prints, was inspired by our kids, and our love of modern design.  We wanted to create a line of artwork that both kids and grownups could enjoy. Dave's robots grew out of his childhood fascination with Japanese toy robots, and is mixed with his appreciation for Futurism. His alien series is more loose and whimsical and was drawn with bleach and black ink on colored paper. My animal series was no doubt influenced by our move out to the country, but I have always loved spending time outside playing in the dirt. They are digital collages, with hand painted and drawn elements mixed in. I also use snippets from nature, like leaf or bark textures to give them a more tactile quality.

All of the illustrations are reproduced on 100% cotton paper and are limited editions.

Joyce would like to offer one mommycoddle reader a matted, limited edition print from their PrestoBingo shop! So take a few moments to head over to Presto Bingo and look around. Let us know what catches your eye. Leave a comment, and I'll announce the random winner on Monday.

Thank you Joyce and Dave!

Happy Weekend, friends.

let the counting begin again

Last week, the girls and I stopped in at my aunt's farm for a quick visit. We were bringing her dinner, giving her a night off during her week of wedding prep for her son's wedding reception that would be held at their farm.

I'll have to bring her dinner more often.

When we drove home, the car doors barely shut. Though we only showed up with a casserole and bread, we came home with a quart of blueberries, two dozen eggs, a bale of straw, and five hens.

It felt like an episode straight out of the beverly hillbillies--chickens squawking, straw flying out the car windows, barefoot kids munching on blueberries, and the smell, oh we won't talk about the smell.....

So five new girls came to join little old Henny Penny. Who suddenly thinks she's top dog around here--and puts on quite a show when the food comes out. But I'm sure she'll settle down, eventually.

The new girls are a somewhat scrappy-looking bunch. Blondie back there was broody at her old digs, and took a lot of pecking while she guarded her "nest". The others lost a few feathers during their couple days in confinement, as they learned the ropes of their new digs.

And Elizabeth, the apparent self-proclaimed chicken farmer, always manages to keep things interesting.

On the second day of the chickens' arrival, when we were still keeping them penned so that they would settle into their new home--Elizabeth was found out in the chicken coop. We were getting ready to leave for dinner and when she came over from the coop, I assumed she was checking nesting boxes for eggs.

Little did I know, Miss Smartypants was opening the door and letting all the new hens have a premature taste of freedom. Catching them that evening, as dusk fell and fox-hour arrived was quite "interesting". There were brooms and hammers and possibly even a few four letter words involved....possibly.

The new girls still haven't learned the ropes of getting their picture taken. They didn't grow up in front of the lens, like Henny Penny. They don't know that when I cluck at them, they're supposed to pose and hold still. But since they're already giving us eggs, and we're counting again, I'll let it slide.

how does your garden grow?

I walked out to our garden last night, hoping to find that my children hadn't plucked every last squash from the vine. It had been a few days since I'd been out there and I was pleased to find that the garden was overflowing with sugar snap peas. I had no idea they were here already.

After all the rain this spring and early summer, our garden is beginning to look more jungle-like every day. My husband diligently weeds each weekend and here and there during the week nights. It's a never ending job.

This whole gardening experience has been a learning one. Most of our lessons coming in the form of garden layout. It is so important to plan. And we did. It's just that I came home with some plants to fill some holes in the rows, and some of those are beginning to take over. (I wouldn't recommend planting your white pumpkins next to your strawberry plants. Somebody might get a little choked out.)

I think one of my favorite parts of this whole process is seeing how much pleasure my children get from seeing things grow. It is this miraculous wonder that never ceases to amaze them. Though we've had to regulate some of the harvesting, I love looking out my window to see one of them wandering up and down the rows, bent over plants, watching and waiting for something to be ready. The waiting. The anticipation. The joy in the harvest are such valuable lessons.

And while Dan continues to refer to the garden as his garden, I am still anticipating the appearance of my colorful row of cutting flowers and pumpkins. And while he works to weed and maintain, soon all the responsibility will be mine, as things start piling up in the kitchen, waiting to be preserved, canned and frozen--just one more thing to learn.

I'd love to hear how your gardening adventures are going this year. What are you growing? harvesting? What worked, what didn't? Dan is already drooling over the new fall catalog that came in yesterday's mail.

the weekend

Yesterday afternoon our house was silent except for the humming of the fans. Every single member of the family fell sound asleep for Sunday naps. Very long, deep Sunday naps.

It had been a big weekend--my cousin's wedding and reception at their farm, lots of family in town, and the beginnings of going through some of my grandparents' things. There were many moments where I felt like I was moving through time in slow-motion, puffy-eyed and exhausted by emotion and other moments of belly-aching laughter and sweetness that I never want to forget.

I think that's a sign of a well-lived weekend.

I've got more things to share with you including some new additions to our growing animal kingdom--if I can just get them to get over their shyness in front of the camera. But for now, I think I'll spend the rest of the day in recovery mode--reclaiming the house and tackling a much neglected mountain of laundry.

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Chronicle Books winners:

Little Oink :  Ericka

Oh, Little Oink looks so cute! I've been checking out all of the "let's clean up" books from the library that I can find...it's not a favorite chore of my 2 year olds. Or mine really! And Secrets of Simplicity, someone PLEASE tell me what they are! Where are they hiding?

Horse Crazy :  Meghan

Always love books! I like the looks of Horse Crazy :)

Secrets of Simplicity : Shannon

My daughter is crazy for horse books and is just beginning to truely develop the love of reading and I am much in need of a little simplicity. Thanks for sharing!

Winners: Please send me an email with your mailing information and I'll pass it on to Chronicle Books.

Show & Tell : Good reads from Chronicle Books

I have three great new books to share with you this morning, from Chronicle Books.

Amy Krouse Rosenthal and Jen Corace have teamed up again to create another amazing tale called, Little Oink It is the story of a tidy little pig who loves to clean. But his parents remind him that as a pig, he must learn to make a proper mess.

Amy and Jen are also the creative talents behind Little Pea and Little Hoot, and Little Oink follows right in line with these best-loved books. My children request a reading from these stories so often that I have them committed to memory.

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When I was an elementary school teacher, I remember how helpful it was to find a series of books that my students latched on to. It was a sure-fire way to encourage a reluctant reader and it gave others something to look forward to. I have a feeling that this new series from Chronicle Books, Horse Crazy , by Alison Lester, will be such a series for many children. The books are about two best friends, Bonnie and Samantha who live in a small town in the Australian bush and are crazy about horses. The books are sweet and fun and Emma has then tucked away in a drawer beside her bed--waiting for the day she can dive into them with a little more ease.

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The last book I want to share with you is called, Secrets of Simplicity : Learn to Live Better With Less, by Mary Carlomagno. The book is helpful resource that guides you through the journey of simplifying your life and bringing you to a healthier, more meaningful place. Secrets of Simplicity is a practical, interactive guide, but it also strives to get to the heart of the matter as to why our lives (and our closets) are overflowing with too many things. It is a book to move through slowly, taking in the ideas and wisdom that it offers.

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And thanks to Chronicle Books, I have one copy of each of these titles to share with you. Leave a comment and I'll pick three winners (one for each title) on Monday.

Happy Weekend, friends.

powerless

We've had two days of storms that left us in long stretches without electricity. Perfectly timed to disturb afternoon naps, keep my children up too late, and wake my children way too early. You'd probably think that someone like me would welcome the chance to rough-it, to get in touch with my inner pioneer. But this time, I just wasn't in the mood.

I think grumpy, tired, impossible children elevated my lack of patience. (Though I always think it is one of those which came first, the chicken or the egg? kinds of questions. Which came first the grumpy mama or the grumpy children?)

I tried to think of Melissa, who just went through six days without power. She says she's still recovering.

We lost a large branch from our Polonia tree and our Ash tree split in half, neatly falling between another large tree and an outbuilding. It was as if someone just laid it down between the two. For now, it makes for an amazing (tick infested) tree house. And in a few months, it will make for great firewood.

I'll be back tomorrow with another fun review and giveaway from Chronicle Books. In the meantime, I hope you'll take a moment to check out my new sponsors for July. There's some good stuff in that side bar!

Welcome July Sponsors!

The Pajama Squid

roPa

The Polka Dot Cottage

Lisa Leonard

Designer Digitals

Chronicle Books (who's having a great sale on Craft Books right now!)