My First Blog Give-AwayTime's UP - We have a WINNER!

UPDATE: We have a winner. Thanks so much for all who commented. Even those of you who said you had more than enough...or that you weren't ready to start...or that you didn't want to enter because you'd feel guilty about auctioning it all off on ebay. And then...somehow this contest got posted on the "Red Hot Sweepstakes" message board. I am sooo very curious as to how it got there in the first place! But I hope those of you that came from there might come back again to visit. I promise to have more give aways. I still have more scrapbook stuff to give away. And in honor of well behaved Krissy, I might just do a Disney themed contest.

So...without further ado, the winner is TALISMAN. You all need to go and check out her site. She has some hilarious stories about being a chemist...and a homeschooling mom...and has a son that knows how to stab himself in the back of the neck with a pencil. And very soon she'll be posting pictures of scrapbooking 10 years of pictures that are currently in boxes.

The past few Sundays I have delivered unto you a sermon. About things I am very passionate about. About taking photos...and making sure that you document your stories. I really thought I was preachin' to the choir. That as bloggers, we are writers...and photographers. But then I discovered that a lot of you do keep up with your family albums...but you needed encouragement. Encouragement to keep doing what you are doing...encouragement to get back on track...and encouragement to get started in the first place.

I was a Creative Memories consultant for almost 9 years. And part of being a consultant was to have inventory on hand. And when I retired...I still had inventory on my shelves. And today...I still have some of that inventory on my shelves. Because I am too lazy to put it all on ebay I have decided to share the wealth...and offer the ultimate encouragement...FREE supplies!

Here is what one lucky winner will get:

Denim 12x12 album with 15 white pages:

A set of 8 pens - four fine tip, four round tip in an organizer case (also an incentive gift...never available for sale):
Organizer box for your photos (this was never for sale either - I think it was a hostess incentive gift), adhesive, corner rounder:

Short Cuts paper packs (these are great for adding just a splash of color to your pages)

ABC letters for titles:Decorative stuff (stickers, die cuts, and embellishments): And I will include extras specific to the winner - so, if your kids play football, I have football things to include; if you have a new baby, I have scrapbook themed things for that as well. And if your baby isn't anywhere near "new," but you never made a baby album...I can hook ya up!

So...How do you win? All you need to do is post a comment and let me know what you are going to do with your prize. Are you going to keep it and add it to your stash? Are you going to finally start? Are you going to give it as a gift? Are you going to sell it on ebay because you'll never ever start that project? Wait...don't tell me that last one. Make up something. Anything.

The legalese: contest is open to anyone in the 48 states (My husband tells me I am too cheap to mail elsewhere); one entry per person (feel free to come back and comment - ya'll know I like chatting - but just one comment will count); contest is open until noon (Eastern time), May 20th...and winner will be posted by 8pm on that same day. Good luck!

Preachin' the Message: Sermon on the Shoebox

Thank you so much for allowing me to indulge in a sermon last weekend. I so hoped that I would inspire you to get your photos out of shoeboxes (or hard drives) and into albums. And what happened? You all inspired me! It was so great to read about all of you already working on your albums…and writing down your stories. And to know that some of you might have even been inspired to start is gratifying to say the least. And the request to keep up the nudges was all the encouragement I needed to get back up on my soapbox for yet another sermon.

There are a lot of sources if you need some creative inspiration. There are places that can show you all sorts of design layouts; sticker arrangements; pop up pages; pages with stamps; and so, so much more. Trust me…I am not that source. What I would like to do is to encourage you to document your photos. Because, your photos are the heart of your albums…and your words are the soul…

Here are some of my pages with a whole lotta soul:

Top five reasons given for not journaling:
I don't like my handwriting
I don't know what to say.
I am worried about proper grammar and punctuation
I don't feel comfortable adding words that will take away from the decor of my page.
I can't remember the exact dates or events.

"The palest ink is better than the poorest memory."

Journaling is hard for most of us. Maybe not so much for those of us that blog. Because we are the type that take pictures to go with our crazy stories. Or maybe that is just me. But, journaling does become difficult for me when I am behind on my pictures. Did those pictures of the raccoons in our garage happen before or after the Disney trip? Did Claire go to the beach with us last year, or two years ago? What year was that Easter picture taken?!

Let me share a great technique which has helped me keep up with my journaling. What I do is to sit down at the computer as soon as possible after an event and write whatever comes to mind about that event. I just add all the entries to the same document. Then, after I have done several album pages of photos and I am ready to journal, I print out everything I've written that pertains to those pages and use it as my guide. This method has helped me capture more of the meaningful details, and more of the emotion of the event, than I previously had been doing. I may revise or add to what I've written as I transfer those thoughts into my albums. I can either copy my journaling into my album, or if I am pressed for space, I can change it to a fun font, and just print it right out on inkjet paper, trim to fit, and mount that in my album.

Your albums:
-are powerful
-dignify and honor those you love
-communicate with your loved ones at a distance
-celebrate and validate your lives
-help you remember the life around the photo
-capture the quiet glory of ordinary moments
-lift us all to an emotional place

Without journaling, the above results are a mere fraction of what they could be. I hope you'll consider your album's heart and soul as you work on your pages. (Can I hear an “amen?”)

Preachin' the Message

I was a Creative Memories consultant for almost 9 years. I taught people how to organize their photos and put them into beautiful scrapbooks. But for me, scrapbooking is so much more than that. And if you will allow me this indulgence, I am going to get up on my soap box and preach. Perhaps I am preaching to the choir…but it never hurts to hear the message again.

Where are your pictures? Maybe a bigger question to ask is where are your mother’s pictures? Are they in a shoebox? Perhaps thrown into a jumble in a shopping bag along with various sorts of memorabilia? Or if you are fully entrenched in the 21st century, your pictures might be in the new version of a shoebox – your computer’s hard drive.

Now some of you might actually have your photos in albums. And then there will be those of you that put your photos in decorative scrapbook albums. But, are the stories that go along with those pictures written down? What about the basics – the names, dates, places and simple details that you thought you would never forget?

Now, what is a sermon without some quotes from the scriptures? In Psalms 78:2-4 it says: “I will utter dark sayings from of old, things that we have heard and known, that our fathers have told us. We will not hide them from their children, but tell the coming generation…” Also, in Proverbs 3:3 – “do not forget my teaching…write it down on the tablet of your heart.”

By journaling your photos, you will leave footprints for your family…influencing the future by passing down values, convictions, and heritage. By journaling your photos you will save and savor fragile, fleeting memories for yourself and “the now,” AND preserve it for future generations. By journaling your photos, you will pass down a rich heritage…preserving your voice and life message. By journaling your photos, you will record a passing era and lifestyle and will leave an entertaining document for those you love.

Some people say that they do not scrapbook because they don’t have time. Or that it’s too expensive. Or they aren’t into crafts. Well, let me be the first to say that scrapbooking doesn’t have to be time consuming, expensive or crafty (because I don’t do crafts. At all). I make works of heart, not works of art. I don’t do fancy pages…but I work to capture forever the memories…the stories…the things my children said that made me laugh till I cried. For me, scrapbooks don’t have to be elaborate…but they do need to be meaningful. Let me show you a few pages:

(the above is probably the "fanciest" type of page that I do. Most of my pages look like this: Nothing but words and pictures)
And here is one that is a work in progress - no words yet - it is incomplete in so many ways (and I do NOT mean that it needs any decoration!):

Written personal expression offers depth, poignancy and humor missed in visual images. Placing your precious memories in albums, complete with journaling, offers you a way to appreciate your past NOW and experience joy by sharing your legacy TOMORROW. Memory is such a fragile and unreliable thing…and our minds tend to be cluttered and temperamental. Making an album to celebrate your life, your heritage, or your family is one of the most meaningful and lasting things that you can do.

Russian poet Yevgeny Yevtushenko wrote “in any man who dies, there dies with him his first snow…his first kiss…his first fight.” And Alex Haley wrote: “when an old person dies, it is like a library burning.” Write down your stories and leave a legacy that will last lifetimes. (amen)