Guest Posting: No Photos, No Problem

My friend Beth Solar over at ScrappingWonders.com asked me to do a guest post for her today!  I am so honored to be invited to share with Beth’s readers because she is has such an excellent site!  I certainly hope I can live up to what her readers are used to!  If you are reading this after the publishing date, here is the link to the specific post:  No Photos, No Problem.

pocket page layout no pictures

Use a pocket style page and fill with patterned paper, embellishments, and of course your story!

Jump over to find out some tips I shared on documenting some of your stories when you don’t have any photos!  I even give you an opposite tip about how to scrap a bunch of photos when you don’t have much in the way of stories!  Hey, that’s the way I like it — if there’s a problem I’m going to find a way to fix it and move on.

You should be sure to sign up for Beth’s emails while you are at her site.  I am NOT kidding, she has great tips!  I love her Tuesday phone app reviews.  I had no idea there were so many phone apps to do all kinds of things with your pictures from your phone.  Shoot, I don’t even do Instagram yet!  Now GO!  🙂

LOAD 213 Blog Hop

LOAD 213Welcome to my Artful Adventures post for the LOAD213 Blog Hop!  If you are following in order, you have come here from my talented friend Beth Soler’s Scrapping Wonders website.

Do you ever get together with others who share your love of a particular hobby?  If so, you know they can identify with your feelings of how wonderful you think your hobby is!  If scrapbooking is something you like to do, and you want to find some others who share that passion, then Lain Ehmann’s Layout-a-day (LOAD) February 2013 may be just for you!  The goal is to create at least one scrapbook page each day for a particular month, and this time it’s February. Does one page a day sound overwhelming?  It’s not — read on!

Along with the basic goal, each LOAD has a theme, daily prompts, and at least one sample layout for each day.  If the theme doesn’t particularly tickle your fancy, you can still participate — just get your pages done!  There have been LOAD months where I have completed a page day, and others that I ended up with my total number of pages for the month, but perhaps didn’t get them done on the 1 per day schedule.  I didn’t care — I still ended up with a pile of completed pages!  Yeah ME!

If you are afraid that you won’t be able to complete a page each day and have time for your day-to-day life, never fear! With a little planning, I’m sure you can do it.  We all handle it a little differently.  Some people may slack off on having a spic-n-span environment, some may use the crockpot for help with meals, some people have a stack of pictures they want to get put on pages and have their own theme…. You get the idea, it may be a little different than other months of your life, but it can be done!

This is one of my favorite layouts!  It is a 2 page layout at the end of LOAD212.  It is digital and has a mini version of all the other pages I had made during February 2012.

Artful Adventures Final 2 page layout for LOAD212

Whether you are a digital scrapper, traditional paper scrapper, or combination “hybrid” scrapper,

You Will Have Fun and Complete Scrapbook Pages!

There is a private Flickr group for the event.  You upload your completed page, and receive comments about how fabulous your page is, and how smart you were to think of doing that way!  Of course, you reciprocate the favor and pass on the love by commenting on other people’s layouts they share with the group.  Soon you will be pinching yourself to see if it is really true — your dream of having a whole bunch of scrapping friends really has come true!

Artful Adventures Progressive Page Sample

Progressive Scrapbook Page Technique

If you do paper layouts, be sure to have paper, pictures, adhesive and some embellishments for your pages.  If you’ve been scrapping for awhile, only buy adhesive.  USE the stuff you already have!  THAT is one of the benefits of LOAD — you can use up your stash. Sshhh….and then you’ll have a reason to get new stuff!  I won’t tell, if you don’t!

For digital pages, you may want to go through some of your pictures as a reminder of all the people who live in the digital world of your hard drives.   Stop holding them captive and let them get out onto some scrapbook page layouts. I don’t print digital pages at home, but if you do, you’ll want to be sure and have plenty of ink on hand for your printer!

If you sometimes feel stuck in getting a page together, you may want to try the “progressive” page technique.  I did a post on the technique last year, and you can find it here.

Artful Adventures Using Templates

Templates and Scraplifts

Also, remember that you can use templates, and by rotating or flipping them, you can really give a page a run for the money!  Here’s a few thoughts on using templates or doing some scraplifting.

If you aren’t signed up yet, click here to learn more and to see if there is still room and join us!

Stop by again, any time!  I enjoy comments and try to always reply!


Here is the list of the LOAD213 Blog Hop Participants and you’ll see where to hop to next!

Heather Dubarry: http://noexcusescrapbooking.com
Alison Day: http://adayinthelifeor5.blogspot.com/
Danielle Taylor: http://scrapperonthestreet.com
Alison Charlton: http://scrappinginsingapore.blogspot.com/
Christy Strickler: http://myscrapbookevolution.blogspot.com/
Lynnette Nagle: http://sassyscrapper2010.blogspot.com/
Julie Shepler: www.sheplerfamily.com
Joy McHargue: http://www.studiowowjoy.com/
Kelli Panique: http://scrapbookgirl71.com/
Cathy Holiday: pikespeakscrapper.blogspot.com
Leslie Smith: http://lcsmithsaved-outofthemire.blogspot.com/
Lori Martin: http://www.chaosandcraziness.com/   
Connie Hanks: http://ClickyChickCreates.wordpress.com
Betsye Erazo: betsyerose.blogspot.com
Marcia Fortunato: mfortunato.blogspot.com
Regina Huminski: http://ginabeth1.blogspot.com/
Beth Soler: http://www.scrappingwonders.com
You are here:  Kristie Sloan’s Artful Adventures: https://kristiesloan.com/blog/
Next:  Danielle Hunter: http://ecoscrapbook.blogspot.com/
Katrina Forman: http://k84mansramblings.blogspot.com
Jessica Baldwin: www.inkyaddict.com
Cheryl McCain: http://cherylmccainphotography.com
Briel Schmitz: http://scrappingwindow.blogspot.com/

Want to Scrapbook Happier?

LOAD 213

Do you feel like the happiness has left your scrapbooking experience?

Does is seem like you don’t have time to scrapbook?

Do you lack inspiration to scrapbook?

Then Layout A Day 213 could be just what you need!

 

Watch and listen as Lain Ehmann describes LOAD 213 and find out how this might be just the thing for you!  I’ll be there during February, and I hope you will join us!

 

Click for More Info 
 

 Check out Gretchen Rubin’s Happiness Project Books!

  

Artful Adventure: ScrapAhead Winter Snowman Scene

Sometimes it is just fun to create a background layout without the fuss of trying to get it all done. For some reason, when I scrapbook, it’s all about getting a page complete.  On the other hand, when I am creating something in a more artful manner, I find it more relaxing and fun!

Artful Adventures Wintery Snow Scene

This method of scrapbooking is no exception.  In fact, I enjoy creating the basis of the page so much, I have a secret stash of pages that have backgrounds and no pictures yet!  Okay, I’m not suggesting that YOU create a bunch of scrapbook pages with no pictures, (because I’ve already done that) but you can make some pages for things you know happen every year.  By that I mean, seasons, holidays, birthdays, you get the idea!

Artful Adventures ScrapAhead SnowmanThis winter scene with a snowman was just the thing to use for a wintery day with family playing outdoors.  These pictures were taken a number of years ago, and every time I ran across them I knew they should go on a fun page like this.

Notice how the bottom snow drift “border” are not solidly adhered to the page.  When you ScrapAhead you want to allow places you can tuck photos in, because you don’t really know how many photos you may have, or how you may want to lay them out.

Artful Adventures Snowdrifts

Here’s a quick rundown on this page creation:

  • Snowdrift border is made from white paper with torn edges, and then edges inked in blue
  • Blue background paper is randomly stamped with a snowflake stamp and white ink.
  • Top “Winter” title is made from punched white circles with letters stamped in blue ink.
  • Bottom “Wonder” title is made of blue paper die cut letters.
  • The snowman is made of white circles, and scraps of paper used for his hat, eyes, nose, buttons, etc.
  • A piece of ribbon was used for his scarf.
Always feel free to share your work on our Artful Adventures Facebook Group page!  

Art Journal Calendar, Scrapbook Style

Happy New Year!

January Calendar Artful Adventures

 Oh my goodness, it’s the new year and I hope you all had enjoyable days during the holidays!  Recently, I was invited to join in on a challenge I hadn’t heard of before – making an art journal calendar for the year.  Wait, don’t run off before I tell you about it!  You may want to try something like this.

Basically, you create your own calendar in an artsy way, and then just jot down something each day!  That’s about all the journaling some of us may do!  It’s even more than some of us do now!  Some people create theirs with 1.5 inch squares, but this one was made with 2″ squares since the pages were large and could accomodate that size.  Plus, I’m not sure I can get anything written in something smaller than that!

Since many of you scrapbook, I wanted to give you an idea of how to do this, scrapbook style!

Artful Adventures Art Journal Calendar_January

Here’s a basic run down on how my January 2013 was created:

  • I did this as a double page spread, using 12×12 inch paper.
  • I first used several die cut snowflakes and and inked over the background using 3 colors of ink.
  • The bottom was masked off with torn paper, moving it around to ink over the edges and to make my snow drifts.
  • Snowflakes were then stamped.
  • Squares were cut from a decorative paper and adhered.
  • Tiny strips of paper were cut and the days of week hand written and adhered.
  • Journal blocks were outlined in black to give a little more definition.
  • Die cut letters were made for “January” and “2013”
  • White pen was used to make some icicles on the edges of some the journal squares.
  • White die cut snowflakes were added in a few places.
  • Glitter glue was added to snowflakes, snow drifts and a lot of other places for added sparkle!

I just finished mine today, but I know a couple of things I’ll write for yesterday.  Don’t be put off from doing this, just because you didn’t get it ready by January 1st!  There are plenty of days to come, and it could be a fun thing to have and look back at.  Just think, 12 layouts to sum up a year!  What fun to look back on.

If you end up making something, please come over and share it with us over at the Artful Adventures FaceBook Group!