...that Sunday was my scrapping anniversary! I scrapped my first page on May 5, 2004. A friend of mine was leaving Malaysia and gave me all her scrapping magazines (I was a wannabe paper scrapper then). I was flipping through them and saw an article on digi scrapping. I was in AWE. I don't totally remember what happened at that point. I know I did a lot of reading online, most at Scrapbook-Bytes, and KNEW I wanted to do this. And for the first (and probably only time in my life), I was PATIENT with the process. Rather than jump right in, I took it slow. I bought Photoshop Elements for Dummies and learned the program before I learned to scrap. That is sooooo unlike me. I really don't know WHY I decided to do it that way, but probably once a week I find myself being thankful that I FIRST learned how to use my program. And I still use that Dummies book on a regular basis to look up stuff. Anyway, so I learned about the program and then I followed a tutorial on making your first page. Like many people, I started with a SHABBY PRINCESS kit. This was the result...
It wasn't very good, but for a first try, really not too bad. So fast forward a year. My scrapping anniversary coincidentally fell on National Scrapbooking Day. So last year I did two things to celebrate: 1) I redid my first LO and 2) I did a LO about scrapping and how it all started.
The redone LO:
And the scrapping LO (2 pager)
This is the most interesting part of this LO:
At that point I didn't even know what a template was. I had no idea that I would start making them and selling them. I had no idea of all the wonderful people I would meet through my business or how fulfilling it would be. I had no idea that I would win a big contest (the Photoshop Elements Scrappy Awards) or that I would be published in all the major scrapping magazines. It's been a wild year -- I can't wait to see what the next year brings!
My style has changed and grown a lot over the last two years. I used to consider myself rather eclectic -- thus the username I used to use, "ALittleEclectic." And while I would still consider myself eclectic in my style, I feel I have found some things that are really "me" when it comes to scrapping. I lean towards clean lines but I can't leave them clean. I need a little cardboard, or paint, or something to spruce things up a bit. I almost always start with ONE background piece of paper. I am just now starting to learn to combine papers more. I like the focus to be on my photos and my journaling is really important to me. I look for new ways to tell old stories. I am totally fine with not having a title on my page. I am also totally fine with a unique title that makes someone want to read further. I like my papers and elements to support the theme of the photo and journaling, not take away from it. I want to draw in the eye of the looker/reader so I work to have my photos and elements placed in such a way that the eye naturally falls where I want it to. Sometimes I want the eye to first fall on the photo. Other times I want the eye to be drawn to the title so they will want to know what the heck I am talking about. I am not a big font user. I stick to the same 5 or 6 fonts: Century Gothic, Mom's Typewriter, SP Wonderful Wendy, Susie's Hand, Batik, and CK Cursive. Title work is my biggest weakness (not the title itself but rather, how it is displayed). I almost always (and when I don't it is because I forget) date my LO's and put at least an initial to with the photos. I know that Mommy amnesia may set in and I want to know who is in the picture. I scrap my mood...sometimes light and fun and happy, sometimes deep and thoughtful. My paper and element choices always reflect the mood I am in when I scrap. My style is just me.
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Okay, before I go. Some of the scanned photos...
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Okay, I am out of here. Going swimming with the fam and I am LATE! LOL!
GREAT photos, Janet! I am so going to have my mom get one of those boxes and fill it with photos of my childhood. Sometimes it kind of bums me out that I already scrapped my college photos, because I would really love to play with some of those. But when I used my negatives to have some reprinted and put on disc while we were home, they were grainy and poor quality. :(
Isn't it fun to see how far you've come in this scrapping world? Not only are you a great template and page maker, but you are a great writer!
Posted by: Kellie | May 10, 2007 at 05:03 AM
great photos! You are so lucky to have the old ones! I need to find me some vintage pics, too! :)
Posted by: Rona | May 10, 2007 at 07:44 PM
I loved reading about how your scrapping style has changed. I find that I do 2 of those things too on almost every layout and for the same reason...the date and an initial. I always think that maybe 30 years later someone will be looking at the pictures and not recognize someone and that the initial will help. Who knows, LOL, but that's what I do too.
Posted by: Laura | May 10, 2007 at 09:31 PM