In the midst of a week that is so hectic I can hardly hear myself think, my Creating Keepsakes (Nov 2005) arrived. Finding a few minutes here and there to read it has saved my sanity. It also made me commit to myself to set aside some time next weekend for actually doing scrapbooking, not just reading about it.

This issue of CK seems to have an abundance of great ideas, new stuff being advertised and projects I feel compelled to put on my List of Projects. Here’s just a few of the things I saw:

Article by Becky Higgins - Create an Album Today (p.98)
She shares three small album ideas that are really cool. I like the one about doing an album all about your home. Taking photos of the stuff you really love, the stuff that drives you nuts, collections, etc. Great idea. Going on the Project List. I just love that towel photo for some reason.

Becky says, “Focus on the details For a fun project, make a small album to preserve those little details of home. Take close-up shots of any items you or your family consider significant. They could be the first painting you ever created, the quilt that Grandma made, or even the toys scattered in the family room.

Showcase the home details that mean the most. Don’t just pick the “pretty” details. Capture your family’s true environment and write a few sentences about each noteworthy item. Tell why the item is noteworthy.”

Create A Bag (ad on pg 41)
Looks like a cropping bag where you put together your internal components. How cool is that?

CD Labels for Scrapbookers (ad on pg 83)
This is one of those ideas that we should have seen coming and invented it ourselves. Karen Foster Design CD Sleeves and Labels. Apparently it is not good enough for us scrapbookers to just write on our digital photo collection CDs with a sharpie to label our photos. No, we want to have cool looking labels to put on there. Oh, we really do.

QuickKutz QuickStik (in article byTracy White, pg 128)
This handy “picker-upper” tool looks like a must have item to me! It will comes in so handy when doing alphabet cut outs.

That’s all I have time to share right now. Suffice it to say that scrapbooking - even thinking aobut it - clams me down. Does it do that to you too?

In honor of my mom’s 60th birthday today, here are some scrapbooking birthday quotes:

Birthdays are good for you. Statistics show that the people who have the most live the longest.
~Larry Lorenzoni

May you live all the days of your life.
~Jonathan Swift

The more candles the bigger the wish
~Author: unknown

Happy Birthday Mom!

To find more scrapbooking quotes:

Scrapbook.com - Quotes
ThinkExist.com

On a recent visit to the library, I checked out a book by Nick Kelsh called How to Photograph Your Life. What an amazing book. It is technical enough so that I learned some things (like f-stops and film ISO numbers) and conversational enough that I actually understood them.

Kelsh, a professional photographer, set out to create a book for the real-life photographers and took all the photos in the book with his wife’s non-professional camera. So I didn’t spend the whole time thinking about whether or not I could ever hope to take the kind of photos he was showing.

Throughout the book he covers specific types of photo shots a typical person might want to take and then gives tips. So when you want to take a picture at the beach the best thing to do is take it “between the afternoon nap and twilight.” To get a child’s birthday party go for a collection of close up portraits of the guests instead of all group activity shots. And when taking photos of a baby’s birth - go for the mother’s reaction. As he puts it, there is plenty of time to photograph the newborn, but “a mother meets her baby only once.”

This book is a keeper. Unfortunately, it is due back at the library today. I am going to buy it to have a copy for myself. If you want to take better photos for your scrapbooking, it would be well worth a trip to the library. I’ll let you know where I found it.

I am still struggling with organizing our almost 900 digital photos from our Alaska vacation. S far, we have gotten them off of my husband’s laptop and onto our computer hard drive and backed up onto CD. They are even sorted into the days of the vacation. But that is it. I am now stuck. How on Earth am I going to figure out which of this equivalent to 37 rolls of film should be printed? I may just stay stuck for a while. I’m not ready to scrapbook it yet anyway…

I did find a great article about this topic at ScrapsAhoy. It is by Jess Atkinson.

Tips - Organizing Vacation Photos

Picture the scene. You’ve returned from vacation. You’ve unloaded the car, unpacked a little, maybe thrown the laundry down by the washer, and found the most important souvenirs of your trip-the ten rolls of film you’ve managed to shoot over your five day vacation (a reality for many of us, I’m sure!).

This is my typical after the vacation routine. Read on to find out how I deal with organizing the tons of photos I inevitably end up with.

Read all her tips here.

A blog about blogging that I read all the time, ProBlogger, has created a discussion about who your “blog crush” is. Basically it is a way to give some online admiration to a fellow blogger who you really admire. Sounds good to me. And as a side note it pretty funny to see all the guy bloggers trying not to say which of their buddies they have a “crush” on. =:)

Despite trying to narrow my crush down to just one, I just have to name three cool, dynamic women I am listing as my blog crushes:

Angie Pedersen, The Blog of ME
Angie’s quest to get us all to scrap about OURSELVES is near and dear to my heart. But what I love about her blogging is that she does it with gusto. She does it like a real pro, finding great stuff, linking well and making comments that enrich my day just reading her blog. This post about her scrapbooking purse made me want one. When she said, “Fortunately I have a date with my husband tonight, so I get to take out my new purse and show it off. (neener)” it made me want to know her.

Shai Coggins, ShaiCoggins
First of all, Shai’s cool name is so crush-worthy. Then the fact that she is a writer, artist, published author, professional blogger, podcaster, online instructor, consultant, publisher, wife, and mum with a Masters Degree in Applied Psychology and still has time to challenge the rest of us to post 1000 blog entries just makes me want to BE her. (Oh, and she is a scrapbooker too - in her SPARE TIME!)

Carolyn Wheeler, CropChic
I love that Carolyn works on a wide variety of projects and posts them in her gallery with you-can-do-it instructions that make me feel like I really CAN do it. It is like having a cheerleader friend right in the room with you. Plus her post on how she loves die cuts endeared me to her early on.

So, there are my blog crushes. Which bloggers do you admire? Whose blog do you read - no matter what?

Oh how FUN!

If you are up for some cropping at home this weekend and also want some group interaction - check out The Scrapbook School’s Online Scrapping Party. You register at the online forum and check in during the weekend. You can win prizes, participate in challenges and get feedback. All the fun of a weekend crop without lugging around all your stuff.

Sounds cool to me. I will be able to check in on Sunday only. On Saturday I am in the Denver Memory Walk 2005 to benefit Alzheimer’s Association with a Creative Memories team.

Let’s CROP!

Saw a fun quiz over at AddictedtoScrapbooking.com that tells you if you are “officially” addicted to this craft. I’m happy to report that I am safe from addiction, but am a certifiable Scrap Nut.

The quiz is cute. What’s your score?

I love my paper! In fact, if I could only use one thing on a scrapbook page besides my photos, it would be PAPER. (Wonder why I buy all those stickers then?) Anyway, I really want to get it organized so my scrapping goes faster and easier.

Found a great article about organizing your 12 x 12 paper by Rebecca Ludens at About.com. My favorite is this one:

It looks great for at-home storage and also portable. Since I sometimes crop here and often at my mom’s, the portability factor is huge for me.

I highly suggest checking out the whole article as Rebecca shares some really great ideas for organizing your paper. Lots of other pictures and practical suggestions.

Thanks to Michelle at Scrapability I think I now understand digital scrapbooking. I love her scrap rants and think she has some of the coolest stuff at her blog, so I check in regularly for her scrap musings. Anyway her post yesterday about the digital scrapbooking kits that are benefiting Katrina survivors was great.

She showed several kits available from several sources. All are really cool and a great way to donate money. Get some fun stuff and donate at the same time. Leave it to scrapbookers to come up with this great idea =:)

One of the sites she showed a kit from - Scrapbook-Elements.com - has a very informative home page that lays out the whole concept of digital scrapbooking including:

The Advantages of Digital Scrapping
How Do I Get These Digital Elements?
Now That I’ve Got Them, What Do I Do With Them?
Ready to Go…Now Where Do I Start?
First Layout Completed…Now What?

Now, all I need is to get Adobe Photoshop, learn it and I’m all set. I think I am going to love this!

I’ll keep you posted on this. If you’re a digital scrapper I’d love to hear about it. Do you still do “regular” scrapbooks too? “Cuz I love having my hands on the paper, doing the cutting, pasting and all that too. But I can see that some things will just be fun to do digitally.

Since I mentioned starting my Book of Me album, Angie Pedersen threw down a challenge to me at her blog. I know it is not an actual layout, but I answered her quiz about me…

If you want to do it too, go grab the list of questions at her blog and let us both know where you put your answers.

Full Name:
Kimberlee E.R. Dushinski
Nicknames:
Auntie Yikes
Hometown:
Tabernash, Colorado
Croutons or Bacon Bits:
Croutons
Favorite Salad Dressing:
Blue Cheese
Best online friends:
Angie Pedersen
Carolyn Wheeler
Who is the friend you have had the longest?
My sister, Julie
Todd Wilson, known since Kindergarten
One pillow or two?
More
Pets:
Currently, a black bear hamster. But we need a dog!
Favorite Type of Music:
Rock and Roll
What are you listening to right now?
Nothing. The house is quiet.
Hobbies:
Scrapbooking, reading, hiking
Favorite car:
My 1997 Jeep Grand Cherokee
Dream Car:
My 1997 Jeep Grand Cherokee with better gas mileage
Type of Car you drive now:
My 1997 Jeep Grand Cherokee
Words or Phrases you overuse:
Not sure, can someone tell me?
Favorite Food:
Vietnamese egg rolls
What did you eat last night?
PB & J sandwich
Spouse or significant other:
Ken
Piercing or tattoos?
Just my ears!
Most romantic thing that ever happened to you:
On our first date my husband Ken showed up with three roses for me.
Do you get along with your parents:
Yes!
Favorite town to chill in:
Georgetown, Colorado
Favorite Ice Cream:
Hagen Daaz - vanilla, strawberry or chocolate depending on my mood
Favorite Soft Drink:
Coca-Cola - NOT diet!
Favorite alcoholic drink (if applicable):
Budweiser in a bottle
What’s your bed time?
10 pm, but I stay up late reading
Adidas, Nike, or Reebok:
None, I hate tennis shoes. Have an off brand.
Favorite Perfume/Cologne:
NONE. It gives me a headache.
Favorite Song EVER:
Freebird
Favorite Website:
That’s just too hard. Google.com
Least Favorite Subject in School:
P.E.
Favorite Sport to Watch:
Don’t really care for sports unless someone I know is playing. Baseball is nice on a summer day.
Most humiliating moment:
I have blocked them all out. =:)
Loudest person you know:
My husband sneezing.
Craziest person you know (or silliest):
My dad.
Favorite Holiday:
4th of July
What do you look for in a “significant other”?
Honesty and a good sense of humor
Things I’ve learned from life:
Life is not fair.
My beliefs rule my world.
Love conquers all.
Favorite number:
28
Favorite color:
Country blue
Hugs or kisses?
HUGS
Chocolate or vanilla?
Twist
When was the last time you cried?
A few weeks ago.
What is under your bed?
A body pillow and some dust bunnies.
What are you afraid of losing?
My mental capacity.
Plain, buttered or salted popcorn?
Butter and salt.
Number of keys on your key ring?
Too many. At least a dozen.
How many years at your current job?
17
Favorite day of the week?
Saturday
What did you do for your last birthday?
Out to dinner and a movie with my husband, daughter and mom.
How many provinces/states have you lived in?
One - Colorado
How many cities have you lived in?
One - Tabernash does not count as a city and now I live in Denver.
What do you collect?
Americana stuff
Greatest experience in your lifetime:
Life itself.
Why are you here on earth?
To go through the lessons I need to so I can move on to other lessons.
Windows/Macintosh/Unix/Linux:
Windows
Favorite Quote:
“Go for it. Get ‘em!”, by my dad