pretty paper. true stories. {and scrapbooking classes with cupcakes.}

I’ve been carrying around this little tote bag recently that says ‘Happiness comes from within your heart, not your surroundings’. I carry it because I do believe it has some truth, and also because it is an lovely shade of aqua with a picture of girl in a polka-dot forest. Admittedly the picture may have a bit more weight than the saying. This has been bothering me.

I think I have figured it out though…if you are the type of person who likes to make stuff when you are happy, then the happiness comes from your heart at goes into your surroundings. That makes sense, right? Because recently I am feeling very happy but I also have a crazy need to (re)decorate my surroundings constantly. Sometimes physically. Many more times mentally. Because daydreaming is easier than moving the furniture.

Pictures of rooms shout moods to me—like this one shouts happy and this one shouts calm, though it does shout quietly. This one shouts ‘Please come make awesome cookies in here with the perfect colour of sprinkles’, but that’s an entirely different story.

If you like for rooms and arrangements of pretty things to shout at you, but in a good and polite and well-meaning way, you might like to download this lovely compilation of what inspires a variety of creative people. It’s in words and pictures and it’s ever so sweet. I found it thanks to Creature Comforts which I have found extra inspiring as of late. I think there’s plenty to see there that can influence creativity without moving the furniture. It’s the same way we move bits of ribbon and paper and ink around another piece of paper until we like it. Our rooms are much smaller, but then again, my back is pretty happy I lift stickers more often than I lift bookshelves. Yours will be too.

Inspiration is a funny thing—we know it is everywhere and yet when we need it most it can be nowhere. When I looked back at what I had planned for today’s little card, it reminded me of this ode by Pablo Neruda. So I found it online and read it and it gives me goosebumps, and yet it’s just about something normal and everyday. I am hit and miss with Neruda—some things I adore, others I don’t find so inspiring at all, but I think that’s because my everyday is not his everyday and that’s the beauty of it. Which leads us, in far too grand a way, to this little card:

Click for print-sized image.

I would really suggest trying this with an object that inspires you. Visually, like that chair I’ve still got stuck in my head. Physically, like how to this day I feel better after I drink purple grape juice. Maybe practical inspiration from an item that makes your day-to-day life easier or comfort inspiration like a grown-up version of your favourite teddy bear. Since the nice thing about inspiration is that once you find it, it keeps on giving for a little while more.

xlovesx

PS: That’s the woodgrain stamp you could maybe see in the package of the first sneak peek. Please be prepared that I will use this stamp far more than I should over the next year. I am half tempted to use it on the walls in my bathroom. Really.

PPS: For those who are having trouble printing the cards at 4×6, don’t just hit print from your browser. That will make it full page or bigger. Instead, save the image to your computer, then open it like a photo. Then click to print and say you want a 4×6 print, just like you would print a photograph. Obviously that can vary from program to program but you should be able to print it at a size that will work for you and not waste all your ink!

Comment [10]

My favourite word in the English language is cataclysmic. Not for its meaning, which is actually pretty sad and dire. But because it is so beautiful to say. Cataclysm is okay, but it isn’t nearly as fun as cataclysmic. For fifteen years, I have been finding ways to work cataclysmic into conversations just because I like to say it. And I am perfectly fine with that.

Unfortunately I was not very subtle when I started that effort. I was on my school’s debate team and I could find seven or eight cataclysmic things in every round, no matter which side of the argument we happened to be discussing. My debate partner happened to like the word linkage, and between us we could always find some linkage between the other team’s ideas for global change and one or two cataclysmic results that would shake the world for the worse. Better yet, we could say all this while keeping a very straight face. But today, if anyone says linkage, I will fall about laughing and be unable to explain this except to say ‘you had to be there’.

A few years later I realised I had a friend who would always order the focaccia, then quickly change her mind and order something else. It turned out she didn’t actually like focaccia. She just thought it was fun to say.

I’m guessing now that you’re either in our camp and you have a word or two that you love to say, or you’re ready to click your way out of here to some sane website where people do not like words for their mixture of clattering consonants. Fine, be that way. We will call you vagarious or crotchety in your absence. Not because we mean it. Just because it will be fun to say, clearly.

Actually, you needn’t worry if you don’t have a favourite word. You just need a word that will work for a particular photo or event. I chose content, which has a much better meaning than cataclysmic, even if content isn’t as fun to say. It’s also easier to spell.

Click for print-sized image, and remember to tell your printer to print 4×6 size, like a photo.

A couple of you have asked for a blank card so you can write on something that matches—so here is one of those!

Happy writing…you know, you could even do this with your one little word if you fancied it. (More info on that idea here, if you’re not familiar.

xlovesx

PS: all the red stamps on that layout are from one of my sets for Banana Frog. It’s called Circus Stories, and also has that polka-dotted journaling box I used on yesterday’s layouts. The letter stamp is also from BF, but from an existing alpha called Willing Race. I use that set all the time and it always looks great.

Comment [23]

You know how I kept saying there was news about CHA (the big trade show for the craft industry, which is just a week away) but I couldn’t explain just yet? I think this might just explain it. This weekend I got to hold these in my actual hands and get all giddy because I designed them. Yep—that little set of five stamps is my own little collection from Banana Frog, and those five will be joined by a bunch more stamps plus Bev and I in booth 324 at CHA. That’s the new exhibitors section because it’s the big American launch for Banana Frog, and I must admit I am quite excited. I know it’s just five little sets but it’s a big deal for me and I hope someone out there likes them. So that’s the explaining, pretty much.

And since this is the week before CHA, you should now go to your favourite scrapbook store and tell them you want to buy these stamps! Well…it can’t hurt to ask, right? I’ll see if I can show you a few little peeks at the actual designs as we go this week…I’m sure you’ll be sick of me using them soon enough!

Never fear, we’ll get back to the journaling now. This exercise is short enough that it can fit in a little journaling box or you can extend it for lines and lines. It’s one that works well with a photo in mind, so it’s quick from rough draft in your notebook to final copy in your scrapbook. And give you a chance at winning one of those kid versus adult game shows too.

When I drafted out my ideas for twenty-nine journaling prompts, I didn’t intend to make them into an English lesson. Really I didn’t. I promise. But sometimes I found it just happened that way. So today we’re writing with prepositions. But it’s so much easier than that sounds, okay? It’s all just words. And in fact, prepositions are some of the easiest words to use—it’s just that sometime after the seventh grade we forget that they have a special name. That’s all.

Click for print-sized card.

Oh come on, you knew there would be at least one cupcake. There just might be several.

xlovesx

Comment [20]

A month into 2008, and this project is still going strong. This page is probably my favourite so far, but I can’t take any credit for the design. It is a little strange to lift projects, but these are pages just for my albums and most importantly, the process of using the inspiration from the calendar each day without reinventing the wheel has meant that pretty much every day I have a layout done by 8am. When I started, I hoped it would act like a little warm up in the mornings, and most days it does exactly that: after I put the calendar page away, I am in a groove to start working on other projects and I’m far less likely to find other things that ‘need’ my attention around the house. We’ll see if that’s a good thing or a bad one in the long run!

I just wanted to share this with you because it links to today’s journaling exercise. That photo of The Boy was taken during the holidays. He spends an awful lot of time and energy every year telling me that he is not a fan of the holidays. Too much stress, too much fuss, too much disappointment when life has to get back to normal. And I’m pretty much the opposite. So I just listen and say the necessary ‘yeah, yeah, yeah’ and go on with Christmas.

But then I get a picture like this and I have to think ‘yeah right’. This boy hates the holidays? Somehow I don’t think he’s totally accurate on that one.

Click for print-sized card.

The trick for today is that using someone else’s words to start your journaling can make it much easier to get on a roll. After you try it with the words of a friend or member of the family, you might be able to try something similar with a favourite quotation as a lead in to your own words on a related subject.

So today is your chance to find something you hear too often that makes you roll your eyes or otherwise think ‘yeah right’ or any other response that you would like to set straight for once and for all. Be it that you think secretly, someone really does enjoy the holidays or you want to put it right that there are various definitions for ‘clean room’ in your house and it’s only your definition that counts. Whatever it is, it’s time to set the record straight.

xlovesx

Comment [12]

If I am perfectly honest, I have no idea where the idea for titles on scrapbook pages came from. If you read a book, there’s just one title for the whole darn thing. Maybe there are chapter titles, but really the only thing that marks the pages is the page number. Yet somewhere along the line we decided to expand that tradition of writing something on the photo into a title for a page. Maybe that’s it, actually! It seems to make sense: some pages will have titles of names and possibly ages; others will have puns or something that sounded funny to us at the time and a few others will have something that sounds like a heartfelt note or the name of a song. The same stuff we used to write on the back of the pictures. Now that it’s on show, I wonder if those titles get stage fright.

Sometimes I think there are titles that wouldn’t have worked on the back of the photo that make the best scrapbook pages for telling your stories. One of those is ‘Let me tell you about…’ and it works because it leads you right into the journaling. There’s no way the journaling can be dismissed in your creative process if you’ve started with that title, because you’ve made a little promise and you need to keep it. You wouldn’t say ‘Let me tell you about the best shoe sale ever!’ to a friend and then keep it a secret. (If you would, then you must have realised that your friend has the same size feet and is likely to go buy all the shoes you wanted for yourself. There is no other excuse.)

So to start February, pick something that could finish the sentence ‘Let me tell you about…’. Don’t use a name, but a label (if you want to feel like English class, we’re talking about pronouns—words that take the place of nouns—but I promise there will be no test about that stuff here) so if you want to write about your daughter, you would start with the title ‘Let me tell you about this girl’. Take a second to get those last two words right because they are going to form the repetitive part of our journaling.

That’s the little (not-so) hidden message in today’s exercise: throughout the month we’re going to look for little tricks that can help your journaling be polished and stylish. Today’s little trick is repetition: the journaling can have five or more sentences, but they will all start with the same words and have a few other things in common too.

Each day’s exercise can be read on your screen or printed out onto a 4×6 index card if you prefer something tangible. I love my notebooks for writing in, but I often wish I could (easily) print things onto index cards instead of full sheets of plain paper. I think really, I love this idea, as I would be much happier in any meeting with a stack of index cards, a bulldog clip and a few colours of pens than a Blackberry. So it’s just a little something I’d like to try—we’ll see what you think. Just remember you’ll need to click on the day’s exercise card in order to get it at the full print size, okay?

Click for print-size image of the exercise

Each day, feel free to share a link in the comments if you’ve written your journaling on your blog or made a page as a result of the exercise or if you found something that just fits the theme. Or just comment to say what you’ll be writing about—nothing like pledging a little commitment to help you do something you’ve been meaning to do, right? Or take a picture of your notebook and pen and share that! I never tire of the feeling of a fresh new notebook and pen. It’s a beautiful thing.

Happy writing!

xlovesx

Comment [27]

I am convinced that people who write tests for a living are a special kind of people. Basically because I don’t know anyone who admits to liking tests. And having written a few for my classes, I found it to be torture. Even classes that kept me up at night with their…level of challenge, shall we say…didn’t make me relish writing a test. Not in any small way.

But I am convinced there are a few nice test writers out there. Like the person who decided that the written test for your Kansas driving license should be ten multiple choice questions as well as open book. (Actually I worry that person may be a bit too nice for the job.) And the person who decided to put those practice questions at the beginning of standardised tests. I always felt a little better after having one answer confirmed before I started. Not a lot better, but a little better. After all, it was still a test.

Now February is definitely not a test. Nope. Totally for fun. Maybe a bit of a learning experience. But definitely no tests at any time. But…there’s still room for a practice question, right?

So for those who didn’t see the lead in to the February journaling project, here it is:

• * * * * * * * reprinted from ScrapBook Inspirations – February 2008

  Looking back at old photos can be fascinating – be they ‘old’ photos that reveal scary 1980s haircuts or old photos in a Victorian sense. Of course there’s one big difference: there’s a fair chance the person with the scary hair in 1982 can still tell you a little something about that hair, the outfit and the other people in the picture. The Victorian photo? No chance. That is why I think journaling is at the heart of scrapbooking…if only because you want to defend your scariest haircuts a few generations down the line!

  I’ve seen many a scrapbooker shy away from journaling over the years, and I have to admit things are getting better! It makes me excited to see layouts that do more than label names, places and dates. Fewer and fewer scrapbookers are leaving their journaling at ‘We had so much fun at the park!’ and adding a bit more detail to complement the photos with an actual story. But now what we hear at ScrapBook Inspirations is ‘I want to journal…I’m just not sure where to start!’

  My best suggestion is to start with a notebook. Get something small in a style you like and a nice pen. This is the easy part – scrapbookers usually enjoy buying new stationery! With a small set, you can keep it in your handbag and be ready for ideas to hit. Don’t worry about the pressure of filling the notebook – I have some great ideas to get you going. Here’s a favourite:

  Start a new page and number 1 to 9. In each of those spaces, write down something you love. They can range from your spouse to your favourite soup! Once you’ve made the list, go back and add some description to each one. A bonus if you can play with alliteration—adding words that start with the same sound. So you might have ‘sunsets’ on your list, and transform it to ‘shimmering summer sunsets’. Once you’ve added a little something to each word, you’re ready to turn your list into some fabulous sentences. Just fill in these blanks with the phrases on your list:
  I love _____, _____ and _____.
  I love _____, _____ and _____.
  I love _____, _____ and _____,
  but I can’t stand ______________.
  Add something you don’t like to the last blank for a punchy element of contrast.

  Once you’ve finished the exercise, you’re ready to start a scrapbook page. Find photos that fit what you’ve journaled and enjoy your crafty process with paper and embellishments. When it’s time to add your journaling, it’s ready in your notebook to be copied out or printed on your chosen paper. Hey presto – a well-journaled layout to give someone else a better idea of what’s going on in your photos…or a balanced explanation of the strange hairstyles of the late twentieth century!

• * * * * * * *

And oh my goodness, I actually write things like ‘hey presto’. I’m not sure which is funnier: the pigtails or the presto.

Something to get you started, and give you an idea of what’s to come. 29 days, 29 ways to write it down.

And a few embarrassing haircuts along the way. Maybe you’ll share yours.

To make me feel better.

xlovesx

ETA: Now that February has finished, here’s an index of the whole month of Write it Down prompts so you can find them any time.
01.02.08: Let me tell you about
02.02.08: Setting the record straight
03.02.08: Parts of speech
04.02.08: The word is (and also a blank card)
05.02.08: Not because
06.02.08: Dear Sally
07.02.08: Checking it thrice
08.02.08: Overhead
09.02.08: Retrocake
10.02.08: Grey can be beautiful too
11.02.08: Pressed pages
12.02.08: Round and round
13.02.08: Also on index cards
14.02.08: In which I talk way too much about teaching English
15.02.08: Pinecones and kitty cats
16.02.08: In response
17.02.08: Chalk, paint & shoes
18.02.08: Control
19.02.08: Mapped disagreement
20.02.08: For the love of thin mints
21.02.08: Now with space for brainstorming
22.02.08: Girl Power
23.02.08: She made me do it
24.02.08: Who’s there?
25.02.08: Planning for travel
26.02.08: Predicting things
27.02.08: Bad girl bumpers
28.02.08: Really I know how to spell ‘you’
29.02.08: Progress review

Enjoy!

Comment [18]

Somewhere along the lines of teaching the stick-and-go philosophy, I have managed to rewrite Will Smith into ‘getting sticky with it’, and let me tell you that is just plain wrong. But as those annoying refrains do, it is stuck in my head now. Na-na-na-na-na-na-na. (If you do not know this song, don’t feel out of touch. Feel grateful. The rest of you: you now feel my pain.)

If you can manage to put that aside, you might be interested in this, which takes a step-by-step look at stick-and-go scrapbooking.

Things that are inspiring me right now:
...this quilt in progress
...this project between two friends
...this artist’s process
...this girl’s style
...this chair.

The last one being one of those long-running obsessions that sits at the back of your brain saying ‘you really love this’ for a long time until you can’t stand it anymore and everything you see reminds you of it. So now I am contemplating how to put that chair on our wedding list. In blue, perhaps. But maybe that’s a crazy idea.

Much creative energy to you and yours.

xlovesx

Comment [5]

As a teenager, I had a friend called Melissa who lived just around the corner from my top-rate job at the Dairy Queen. Her parents would host fabulous parties in the summer, with everyone coming by for something for the barbecue. The kind of party where you knew hardly anyone there but you still felt perfectly at ease. The kind of party that would end far too late for you to get home at a sensible hour, so you would just know you would end up crashing on the floor. Which in this case was very good because Melissa also had MTV and an amazing collection of Lisa Frank stickers. So cleaning up a little after the party was totally acceptable as it was rewarded by writing the cutest pen pal letters in the universe while watching Kennedy host Alternative Nation and squirming when they would show Joe’s Apartment. But also I think those parties were the first place I learned to cook anything outside the confines of the kitchens of my immediate family or, indeed, the Dairy Queen.

I can’t remember who taught us how to make these, but I distinctly remember that mystery person was cooking something else at the table while giving us instructions at the stove: boil this, heat that, add some of that. It was crazy-cooking, I tell you. The kind of cooking that required no measuring spoons. I didn’t know what hit me.

But they were yummy. So I made them at home a few days later and everyone there agreed they where yummy. For a while they were that dish I was expected to make when we would have guests, and I must admit I have always thought it was pretty cool when people start to hope you’ll make something. (The Boy’s dad makes this rice in the summer and I go into mourning when it is too cold to have it any more…so if it’s a summer event and there’s not the rice…oh goodness, there will be disappointment. I just hope he is cool with that, because it is certainly meant as a compliment.)

I haven’t made them in ages, but when I read this I was taken right back to Melissa’s kitchen, so I went to get some little potatoes and try them again. They are still yummy. And they are actually even better reheated the next day, so perfect to have a few for dinner one day and a few for breakfast the next. And so easy:

*Wash small potatoes.

*Boil in skins until just soft.

*Heat a tablespoon of oil in a pan.

*Add the boiled potatoes (still in skins) and move around until coated in oil.

*Add salt, pepper and a handful of poppy seeds.

*Smoosh around in the pan until everything starts to go just a bit brown and crisp around the edges, then at that moment, stir in a spoonful of butter and mix around until all melted and absorbed.

*Eat.

And since I am still being a little nostalgic about France, it’s acceptable to pair it with this French-ish omelette (which I stupidly broke, so it is not very pretty). It is French because a) it is an omelette b) it contains a bit of Roquefort and c) it contains herbs de provence, which Ariel gave to us when she was living in Paris and I have used at least once a week ever since and still have plenty to go. Anyway, it was an ugly omelette but it tasted just like it did at the top of the mountain. Except it also had potatoes.

Comment [9]