Creative Memories Digital 411 Blog

Create A Wonderfully Easy Baby Gift

I'm sure I'm not the only one who stumbles through baby registries trying to find that perfect gift. Although many are practical, I like to give gifts that are a little more personal and from the heart.

One of my girlfriends just had a baby and I wanted to do something fun for her nursery. I've seen similar ideas to this and knew it would be gorgeous in one of the Creative Memories Page Frames or even on a Photo Panel.

This is a super easy project for any level of digital scrapper. I used the new Nancy O'Dell Love Digital Kit since the pink color tones and flowers would go lovely in any baby girl's nursery. The Rugged Baby Boy Additions would be perfect for little boys. 

I used papers with more detail to fill the larger text and filled some of the smaller text areas with coordinating solid colors.

And here is the finished product! Who wouldn't love this hanging in their nursery?

For full instructions of this project, click here to visit the Creative Memories Project Center.

Happy Creating!

Scrapbook the everyday, not necessarily every day.

You've likely heard about the projects that folks have going on where they take a photo every day, and then scrapbook it. Some folks see it as a huge undertaking, but with the support of the Hope In Action 365 Project from Creative Memories and the Facebook communities - Hope in Action 365 and pixels2Pages' Day2Day - you can learn more about this type of project, connect with others who want to tackle it, and get inspired with ideas on how to get it done.

Not sure you're ready to jump in with both feet to tackle such a project? Don't write it off just yet. We've got lots of other options for you right here, regardless of how often you take photos, or how many you take. The one point I want to stress is that you don't have to worry about focusing on scrapping anything specific - even if it's not grand and spectacular, scrap that photo anyway. It's your everyday life, and it will be OH so fun to look back on one day.

All of these options will work for photos you've taken last year, many years ago, or even photos you have yet to take. Enjoy :)

Option 1:
You have handfuls of photos that are very event-specific, such as vacations. Consider this: choose groupings of photos from a certain block of time, and capture those events in a two-page spread (or expand into more pages, if necessary). For this spread, I chose my favorite photos I had taken each day on a six-day adventure to the Boundary Waters. I simply added a small strip of paper and a bit of journaling to describe the photo, and then dressed it up a tad bit with extra embellishment. This set of pages may be the only set I include for August of 2010, but I'm not sure yet. I haven't gone through all of my photos from that month to see if any other events warrant a spread. (FYI: Font used in this project is Pea Sassy Lucy).

You could include as few or many pages for a given month as you choose - just scrapbook to highlight the events you really cherish in this book. NOTE: This concept could also be followed for the scrapper who chooses to take that photo every day, too.

Here's another take on the same scenario where you may only have a handful of photos from a specific event in a given month - this one comes from Miss Donna Kendall. She chose the event to focus on, made sure to incorporate that date in the calendar grid, then added her photos and journaling to support those photos. Fun!

Option 2:
You have a handful of photos from a given month, they're beautiful, but they're rather random. And, you don't have a photo from every single day. NO worries! Gather up your favorites for that month, then add a calendar grid to your page and drag each photo into its corresponding day on the calendar. Add your absolutely favorite photo from the month onto the opposite page (full bleed-style) and drop down the opacity of it, then add a block of text that briefly outlines what each photo is about. (FYI: Font used in this project is also Pea Sassy Lucy).

Another spin on this option is to do the same type of thing, except take a photo of the same thing (maybe your new baby?! ;) several times a month (cuz let's face it, who has time to remember to take a photo EVERY day of that new babe!?) and plop those photos in on their corresponding days. They'll need no explanation! Work in some important dates on the calendar that were big "firsts", too, for some added fun. NOTE: the pages below were created using the Click and Fill A Year in Review (US|Canada) - if you've not yet discovered them, you must. They are a brilliant fit for this type of project.

Yet another spin on this same option, but drop in a few fun embellishments on the calendar for added fun! Thanks to Jodi Eisner for these fun pages!

Option 3:
You HAVE decided to take one photo every day, and you've made the commitment to drop the photos in as you get them taken. Here's Sue Philips' sample - she included one photo from each day and made some notes about the photos. Sweet and simple!

You'll also notice a sweet spin on this that Leanne Bailey added - drop in second, identical calendar grid on the facing page to drop in journaling about the day's photo. Brilliant!

Special thanks to the sweet & wonderful admins on the Creative Memories Go Digital Fan Page for contributing so many awesome ideas for me to share with you here, too. Be sure to pop over to the page for more ideas, inspiration and fun while you create these projects... and don't forget - all StoryBooks (US|Canada) are on sale now through Thursday, January 26 at midnight CT - this is the perfect time to create and order those books!

We'd all love to hear your thoughts and ideas on scrapping your everydays. See you on the Fan Page!

A sweet Valentine that won't rot their teeth

Valentine's Day is always loaded with sweet stuff - most of which will either be tossed in the trash not long after, make your love handles a little bigger or rot your teeth. How about a super sweet, sugar- and fat-free gift that sticks around all year? Here's a fun idea - create a 7x5 Softcover StoryBook for someone in your life that you love, and make it all about the 10 reasons you love them most. And, if you order your StoryBook (US|Canada) before midnight on January 26 at midnight CT, you'll save 20%!

To get started, choose 11 of your favorite photos of the loved one who'll be the lucky recipient of your book. Ideally, the photos will be of them doing something that you love, but it's not completely necessary. They can just be cute photos of them in general. One photo goes on the cover, the rest each go on one side of the two-page spreads throughout the book.

Next, start your project - I chose to start with a blank book, then went with full-bleed photos on one side of each spread with a reason and a few embellishments on the opposite spread. I used the Be My Valentine Digital Kit (US|Canada) to embellish my pages - I just added a paper for the background and used the embellishments and a little text to finish. The font I used is "A Little Pot". Below are a few sample spreads I created:

The cover:

And the inside spreads:

And, if you can't read the writing on each, for the 3rd reason, it says "You have the most adorable smile and it makes me happy to see it every day!". The 8th reason says "You still give me sweet little kisses on the cheek any time I want one!".

My super-digi friend Leanne Bailey also created some books for her kiddos too. Here are some sample spreads she created:

For Leanne's books, she also chose the Be My Valentine Digital Kit (US|Canada). The text on the first set of pages reads: "Reason number 9 that i think you are special is because you love wishing flowers and you believe that your wishes will always come true". The text on the second set of pages reads "Reason number 5 that I love you is because you are creative in your own special way. You take your time and always do your best". Journaling font is Pacifico and the number font is Budmo Jiggler.

Have fun! :)

It's a "Wrap"!

New Year's blessings to you all! Can you believe the holidays have passed and the New Year is well underway? A couple of days ago, I finally got around to cleaning up the last remaining items from the Holidays. Yes, it does take me awhile to get everything put away. My problem lies not only in finding where to put it all, but also deciding between what I can toss and what I can recycle. You see, much to my husband's chagrin, I hate to throw things away if there's any way to reuse it.

While picking up, I gathered a pile of little boxes. Perfect little boxes - a green box, a white box, a black velvet box - I just couldn't throw them away!  Who knows what they held, I can't remember.  Perhaps they held those cute earrings, or that pretty charm bracelet, or did it hold my new favorite coffee mug? Who knows! The one thing I know is they are perfect for something - why would I throw out a perfect box?  

While trying to find the ideal hiding spot so my husband wouldn't see them, an idea popped into my head. Not too long ago, I remember some boxes that caught my eye. The boxes were simply decorated. As I looked more closely, I figured out they had a holiday decorated sleeve that slid on and off. Simple, yet they looked great. That's it! I started to think how I could "dress up " my little boxes and use them in the months ahead. 

So, this is what I came up with. I'll call it a "wrap"!  It's a simple sleeve that slides on and off the boxes. It's decorated with just a little bit cute, but not too much. I think they are perfect for what I have in mind. There's one for a friend's birthday, an anniversary, a happy day wish, and two for something that might come up.

I printed them out on 12x12 paper, and they fit well on the small boxes I used. If I had a little bit bigger box, I think if I printed off two sheets and connected two "wraps", it would work well too. This was so easy. I rescued some boxes and now I don't have to hide them! Mission accomplished. Now...off to my next pile.

Smiles & Happy "Wrapping"! 

Debbie

     

“It’s a Wrap!”

Designed by Debbie Parks

Instructions

Ingredients:

• Storybook Creator
• Holidazzle Digital Kit
• Holidazzle Digital Embellishments
• Holidazzle Digital Alpha set
• Digital Embellishments – Office Supplies Silver
• Variety of small boxes and/or envelopes

 Recipe:

    1. Create a 12” x 12” page. Create desired "wraps" on one page.

       It’s a Wrap #5 Blue Striped Snowflake (Bottom wrap)

1. Add Holidazzle Photo Mat 9 (2 pieced together). 
2. Add 3- Ribbons # 4 (top, bottom, and middle).  Place as shown. 
3. Add 1 Ribbon #6 (1), placing on top of ribbon in the middle.  Increase the size of the ribbon you are placing it on top of so that the dark edges show. 
4. Add 2 Holidazzle Blue White Circle Dots as shown. Apply light shadow. 
5. Add 4 Grey Blue Circle Dots.  Size and place over every other big snowflake on the ribbon as shown.  Use the arrange tab to align and properly space the dots.
6. To create the middle square piece, add the Office Supplies Silver Square Brad. Center and align.
7. To make metal snowflake, add Holidazzle Snowflake. With snowflake selected, under the “Cut & Fill” tab, choose wand.  Using default settings, click once just outside the snowflake. It should highlight around the snowflake. Click “erase the selected area”.  Likewise, using wand, click inside each circle. Again choose “erase selected area”.  With the snowflake selected, and still on “Cut & Fill” tab, select Gradient.  Choose the one you like (mine is silver & white, one is circular, the other a diagonal).  Apply heavy shadow.  Place on square brad and add Blue White Circle Dot. Trim excess ribbon. 

       It’s a Wrap #4 Happy Birthday

1. Add Holidazzle Present and Snowflake.
2. Create each text word separately using the Holidazzle Digital Alpha set. You should create “happy”, “birthday”, “m”, “y”, “dear”, and “friend”. Work vertically, placing one word one per line.  Align them, using the Arrange tab and first make them the same width, then center them.  The “y” will be bigger, tucking the dear underneath the “m”.  When it looks good, select all the words (make sure you have them all selected), then “Group” them.  Rotate sideways, and assemble with the other two embellishments.

       It’s a Wrap #3 Happy Day

1. Add Ribbon #5.
2. Add Snowflakes, one after the other to fill line.
3. Create “happy day” with the Holidazzle Digital Alpha set.  Copy and align as shown. 
4. Insert a straight 1 pt blue line and place as shown. Trim excess snowflakes on edge. 

       It’s a Wrap #2 Multi-Colored Striped Snowflake 

1. Add 2- Ribbon #5.
2. Add 1- Ribbon #2.  Place as shown. 
3. Add Snowflake, centering.
4. Add Red Pink Circle Epoxy as shown and apply shadow. 

       It’s a Wrap # 1 Happy Anniversary

1. Add 2- Ribbon #6. Place so that there is a ¼ " space between them.
2. Insert 2 dark grey 1 pt lines.  Place on the inside edge of the ribbons.
3. Insert a light grey 3 or 4 pt line in the center of the area between the ribbons. 
4. Create “Happy Anniversary” using the Holidazzle Digital Alpha Set. Select the text, and under the “Cut & Fill” tab, choose Gradient (one you like –mine is diagonal). Apply a heavy shadow.  Place in center and on the line. 
5. Now, referring back to Wrap # 5, select the metal looking centerpiece with the snowflake and the blue dot.  Under the “Arrange” tab, choose “Group”. Copy and paste once.  By sight, size the snowflake. When it looks good, copy and paste it 5 more times.  Place and align as shown.

Print the page.  Cut and separate the wraps. Remember this is good for small boxes (jewelry size or a little bigger.) Place the wrap around the box, getting an idea for the size. Ideally, you want one band, creased on each edge, and attached to itself (and not the box) on the bottom.  The wrap should “slide” over the edges of the box and fit snuggly.

 

 

Get that StoryBook ordered this weekend!

(pssst - sorry this blog post is so LONG.) You're probably like me - a major procrastinator. Great intentions... not a lot of follow-through. And, if you take a lot of photos and wish you could do something really grandios with them, here's your chance. Be a rockstar and finish a really great project at lightning speed. THIS WEEKEND. :) We've got things available to you like our Predesigned Pages and Click and Fill templates along with software options like auto-populate, you can most definitely create an entire book this weekend. YES, this weekend.

We're challenging you all to finish (or start AND finish) an entire storybook this weekend (or some weekend in your near future, if you're not available). Imagine how proud of yourself you'll be! Visit the Creative Memories Go Digital Fan Page for inspiration, encouragement, and to tell us what kind of book you'll be creating!

I created this 2-page spread in just minutes. I used the Click and Fill A Year in Review Templates, along with the Serene Kit (available with the StoryBook 4.0 upgrade DVD (US|Canada) or on the Digital Top Pick (US|Canada) content selection). I dropped a photo into the left page and added a little paper to the embellishment in there, and then dropped some papers into the page on the right. EASY! By the way - isn't that THE cutest baby you've ever seen?  :)

 

For quick, beautiful books, you've got two options for a speedy finish: Predesigned Pages and Click and Fill Templates. What's the difference, you ask? Predesigned pages are a collection of pages already designed with papers, embellishments and photo openings all set for you. You simply add your photos and journaling to finish.

Click and Fill Templates are page layouts that are laid out for you, except they have no papers or embellishments adorning them. You simply fill shapes with papers you choose, add elements where you want, then plop in your photos and add your text. Also easy!

Stumped on what you may make a book about? We've got all kinds of fun themed templates ready for you to drop your photos into and finish your book. Check some of them out here:

Baby
Simply Fabulous Baby's First Year Predesigned Pages (US|Canada)

Click and Fill Year in Review (shown in storybook shot way above) (US|Canada)

Wedding
Black and White Predesigned Pages (US|Canada)

Or try Click and Fill Pages (US|Canada)

or any of our beautiful wedding digital artwork (US|Canada)

Vacation/Travel or Places I've Been
Wilderness Walk Predesigned Pages (US|Canada)


Rugged Outdoors Predesigned Pages (US|Canada)

Destinations Predesigned Pages (US|Canada)


Reminisce Travel Predesigned Pages (US|Canada)


Beach Vacation Predesigned Pages (US|Canada)

Recipe
Nancy O'Dell Recipe Predesigned Pages (US|Canada)

Modern Kitchen Predesigned Pages (US|Canada)


Sports
Try Click and Fill Pages (US|Canada)

With Sports Additions (US|Canada)



Graduation
I Hope Predesigned Pages (US|Canada)


Or try Click and Fill Pages (US|Canada)

with Black and White Graduation Additions (US|Canada)

SO... what kind of book will you be making this weekend then? :)

Dry Erase Boards are awesome, and easy to create!

I LOVE Pinterest. And Annette (my coworker with the stationery cards idea) passed along a super sweet idea she'd just run across on that site this morning (original idea from http://fussymonkeybiz.blogspot.com). Immediately I fell in love with it, and realized that the very same exact thing could be done with the Creative Memories Photo Panels (US|Canada). And the coolest part is - both the regular and metal photo panels can be used with dry erase markers. Perfect! IMPORTANT: you MUST use only a dry erase marker designed specifically for use with a dry erase board. Using any other type of marker will damage the photo panel.

You'll see in the photo over to the right (photo courtesy of fussymonkeybiz.blogspot.com) that there's been a sort of wooden frame built around these boards with some fun extra flair added, which is pretty sweet. But you could also just as easily hang photo panels directly on the wall in a straight line, or in a "six-pack" formation for an equally cool look.

You'll notice in this project, they are missing the Sunday board, but that's likely just due to the odd number of boards making it difficult to incorporate into a nice grid. I'd likely line up all seven of the boards, including Sunday, on my wall in a single straight horizontal line.

With Photo Panels available in 12x12, 8x8, 11x8.5 and 5x7 sizes, your menu board collection could be as big or small as your kitchen space allows. NOTE: the 12x12 photo panels come with a wall hanger on the back. The smaller sized panels have a stand for setting on a flat surface versus a hanger. Another option would be just to have one single panel with "Today's Menu" on it (as shown in last sample below), and write that day's menu on it. 

I 've created a set of panel designs shown below using the Nancy O'Dell Digital Recipe Kit (US|Canada). The font used is Pea Mel's In Between. They turned out pretty fun! And, now's the time to order these panels, because they're 25% off for either regular or metal through January 15 at midnight CT! 

           

Lastly, while recipe boards make super fun dry erase board ideas, I can think of loads of other ways these boards could be used: in a classroom as a teacher's board, add a calendar grid with no numbers or month name for your office, at home as a "to do" list or grocery list and more. How would you use a dry erase board? :)

Have a card party with your friends!

Hey, love to get together with friends for fun snacks, drinks and some catch up chatter? Also love to send fun greeting cards to others to make their trip to the mailbox fun again? Here's an idea from CM Go Digital Facebook Fan Page Admin Donna Kendall: invite a group of your digi friends to get together and create cards. Each person can create a fun card design, and you can then all collectively order them together. After the cards arrive, get together again and have a card swap - depending on how many folks have participated, you could end up with a whole box of various cards with all different designs! NOTE: to qualify for the incremental pricing breaks, cards must be ordered in 20-packs. 10-pack card orders do not qualify for these price breaks.

And, with our tiered pricing structure, the more cards you order, the more you save! Plus, with everything on our Digital Center (US|Canada) site now 25% off, you'll save even more! What better time for an impromptu digi crop with some buddies?

Some themes to consider may be birthday, sympathy, congratulations, baby, wedding, graduation or just a generic card to send a hello to a friend :)  Here are a few samples to inspire you:

A wedding card:

This card created using Be My Valentine Digital Kit (US|Canada). Font used is Pea Whitney Rae.

A sympathy card:

This card created using Simply Beautiful Spring Additions (US|Canada). Font used is More Enchanted Prairie Dog. 

And a birthday card:

This card created using Rock Star Digital Kit (US|Canada). Font used is Pea Whitney Rae.

Join in the fun and see cards that other digi folks are creating over on the Creative Memories Go Digital Facebook Fan Page!

Fun Stationery Cards!

Just before Christmas, my coworker and friend Annette showed me some super adorable cards she'd created for a special little man in her life. They were stationery cards, personalized just for him with his photo and name on them. Here are the cards she created:

 

In case you're wondering, she used the Rugged Power Palette (US|Canada) to create the project, and the fonts used were A Little Pot and Biondi. I loved them so much, I had to copy her idea. I created my own stationery cards, so when I want to drop a quick, personal note to someone I can.  Here are the cards I created:

For these cards, I use the Be My Valentine Digital Kit (US|Canada) and Delight Overlays - Jewel Heritage (US|Canada). Fonts used were Century Gothic and Pea Whitney Rae.

To create the cards, in StoryBook Creator software simply create a 5x7 Landscape Flat Card and design both sides. 

I've also now started thinking about all the possibilities of these as sweet gifts. Teachers would love them as note cards to send home with the kiddos, business folks (such as direct selling consultants - hint hint! :) could use them as postcards or little inclusions in bags with product deliveries, moms and grammys would love these as cards to send hand written notes on, moms could use them to slip fun little love notes into kiddos' lunchboxes, etc. There are tons of ways they could be used!

Enjoy! :)

Get a jump start on the New Year!

My New Year’s resolution for 2012 is to make sure that my pictures get printed and preserved. No matter how it happens.

I am a bit design challenged, so easy peasie is exactly what I need. I am so excited to introduce a new set of Click and Fill pages that are right up my alley - the Click and Fill A Year in Review Digital Pages in both 12x12 and 11x8.5 sizes.  

I just got married last September and I haven’t done anything with the pictures yet. What if the artwork I use dates my pictures due to changing trends? Will I still like the layouts in 6 months? But then I found the Reflections of Life Digital Kit (also available as predesigned pages for the designed challenged like me) and I knew this timeless artwork was the one!

Not only am I going to use this kit to make a StoryBook of my wedding, I'm going to pair this beautiful artwork with the Click and Fill a Year in Review pages for 2012. After I add the papers and embellishments, I will pre-print the pages for the year, minus the photos. Throughout 2012, I'll simply print pictures, adhere them to the page prints and slip them into my album!

So instead of recapping the 2012 year about 5 years later (and forgetting bits and pieces), I'm going to ring in the new year by making sure that my 2012 pics don’t get neglected like my wedding pictures did.

Here are a couple of pages I have ready to go!

How do you plan on keeping up with your photos this year?

Best of luck to each of you on keeping your New Year’s resolution and have a fabulous 2012!

Jenni Johanix

 

A Bucket List for each year....what a great idea!

Happiest New Year Wishes to you all.

Make this your year to SHINE!

We all start out a new year with resolutions in which we may or may not keep. I'm guilty. I'm not very good at keeping them. So this year, instead of making resolutions, I'm creating a Bucket List for this year. 

When I started making my list, I thought about all the things, FUN things, I wanted to do this year.  This list is much more enjoyable to create!

Tips for creating your list:

1) make goals that are reasonable - you'll feel much better about reaching them then failing

2) make goals to better not only your life, but your family's as well

3) make goals that are fun and spontaneous

4) make goals to make you happy

5) make time for yourself

6) have fun with your Bucket List!  Only you can make it happen, Make it great!

Have a great year creating happy memories throughout!  Display your Bucket List proudly as a daily reminder...and smile...loving the life you live.

Happy Day!

Jill Klasen

To view the complete project instructions for this layout, view the Creative Memories Project Center here.