I was reminded of a story I had not thought about in a very long time, by a prompt from this month’s LOAD (Layout a Day) challenge from the online Scrap Happy group. That is not an uncommon thing to happen, but for this story I really didn’t have anything that I felt would work. In the time before digital photography and cell phone cameras, there are many stories that we may remember, but don’t have even a single photo. So what do you do? Let me look into my crystal ball and tell you.

Crystal ball potential!

You might use a search and find an image you could use, by just using a screen shot, and cropping it as needed. Yes, there may or may not be legal implications, but all I am doing is putting it on a scrapbook page. Now, I draw the line at finding a scrapbook kit and doing a screen shot, or any other digital art meant to be used as such. Digital designers depend on our business, and in my opinion that is just stealing out of their pockets.On the other hand, I feel differently about using an image that nobody is trying to sell. This story was about my dad making a “crystal” ball from a light fixture. I thought I would use a photo of that type of light and doctor it up. I did find the exact type of light I was looking for on one of the big home improvement store’s site.  I decided to google to find a small digital kit I could download, and found several. I chose to purchase one from Amy Joy Studios, an Etsy seller, which gives me full rights to print and use, or just use on my digi scrapbook page. The main image on this page was from the kit.

The story of a humble light fixture becoming a crystal ball.

In the end, I only used the one image for my page. The real treasure to me is the memory and preserving the story. Adding some fun elements to page is a plus. Even if all I did was write the story down, it is a memory saved. Don’t let a non existent photo keep you from telling a story.

Cheers to YOUR Photo Adventures,