Letting them see what you want them to see...

I'm sure we have all had the experience of getting a photo printed and discovering that there is something in the background that detracts from what would have been a really great shot.  Sometimes we can cut out or cut off the offending item, but sometimes we can't.  I want to share with you a really great technique that I have come across and now love to use when I am scrapbooking:  Print two copies of your photo, one in black & white and a second in color.  From the color copy cut out the part of the photo you want everyone to see and now attach that colored bit to the black and white photo.  If you look at my layout (fig 1) you probably didn't even notice that the background in the photo was different - now look at the detail (fig 2) There is a wine glass stem coming right out of Dom's face, but you probably didn't even notice it this way, and the very busy background has faded right away.  I also used pop dots to raise the colored portion from the photo slightly and I just love the effect.  Try this out the next time you have a great shot, but a lousy background!





fig 1

fig 2

Scrapbooking Has Changed the Way I Live My Life...

I know it sounds cliché, but scrapbooking really has changed the way I live my life.



In 2002, as I sat there looking at my first scrapbook page I knew something major had just happened to me, but little did I know how much my life was going to change! I thought I had finally found a venue to express myself in my own way, but like in real life, it wasn’t the end result that was the gift, it was the journey to get there… and there began the transformation to the woman I am today. Looking back, it was not a smooth or easy transition - I had doubts, I froze, I road blocked myself. I was paralyzed with self-doubt for one entire year after looking at some other people’s scrapbooking pages - silly I know! But I was insecure AND a perfectionist, a deadly combination. I would take days to complete one page; I could spend hours moving photos around one 12x12 piece of paper, agonizing over the placement; I couldn’t journal at all and when I did I HATED my writing; but as I kept at it my scrapbooking personality emerged and as it evolved so did I!  Now, seven years later I realize I live my life with a passion and joy that was missing before that. I take chances, I go with my instincts, I allow myself to be “good enough (not perfect), and I actually hear that little voice inside giving me ideas – you know, the one we usually drowned out because “that’s not what EVERYONE else is doing!”. And most importantly of all - I JUST DO IT, I let “me” emerge. It’s like all those little bits that make up “me” have finally come together into this one amazing, glittering “Scrapbook ME” and I am finally letting the world see me.  So I would like to pass on these five basic principals that can be applied to your scrapbooking pages or to your life… you choose!  I truly believe that embracing these five basic principles have changed me and I just LOVE the person I have become

Me & Jill "be yourself - everyone else is taken"!

Trust your instincts… if you like it, do it!

COMMIT… just make a decision and glue it down! (Thank You Jill H.! )

Don’t wait for the pretty pictures… embrace who you are and love yourself right now because 10 years from now you’ll love that photo of yourself!

Leave something behind…tell the story in your own writing and in your own words because one day someone will treasure not only the memory that you left them but also that little piece of you that you have left behind.

Push your boundaries & expand your horizons: try new things - don’t get caught up in the “same old comfortable way” but make yourself try something new – feel the fear, but do it anyway!

Basic Grey 2009 All About Me kit - altered

Joy vs. Happiness

I've been spending a lot of time lately thinking about "happiness", it seems to be one of those emotions that we all say we want, but we are almost embarrassed to feel too much of it unless we are very young or very old. (I guess I'm getting to the "very old" stage.) So this year I have been watching "happy people" and trying to see what that person is REALLY experiencing, and this is what I have determined: There is happiness, which in my mind is a kind of "one-time" thing associated with a particular moment or event - Crave cupcakes for a snack - a really good lunch with friends - walking into a Clean house - happy, happy moments, but like the cupcake, sweet on your tongue at the moment but then it's gone.

And then there is JOY... just watch a young person totally immersed in an experience, feeling every emotion and not caring what they look like, who is watching, if it is being done "right"... they are just enjoying every nuance of the experience at that moment - JOYFULLY! Now that's what I want ... a life I can live joyfully, because if you think about it you can experience every part of life joyfully: I can fight joyfully; I can be sad joyfully; I can experience all life has to offer me at that moment no matter what I look like, how much I weigh, who is watching-JOYFULLY! And I have also noticed that when you are joyful people around you react differently - they talk to you more, smile at you more and are NICER to you - and I think it is contagious - so the person who you made smile (because have you noticed that when you watch someone who is REALLY joyful you can't help but smile) may feel a little less grumpy or self-absorbed and they may smile at someone else, who will feel better about their day - and so on and so on! So I have been spending a lot of time this year just enjoying my experiences joyfully and OUT LOUD - no matter what I may look like and who may be watching (like playing Good Guys/Bad Witch at the park with my grandsons) - and if nothing else I have also been enjoying a lot more smiles and laughter all around me this year... You should try it, it is very uplifting!