Editors' Picks: Best of 2009

Here’s the challenge. Take your entire stack of 2009 Creating Keepsakes magazines and narrow down all the happy content to the following four “bests”:

* Best Feature (for any reason that works for you)

* Best Organization Tip (yes, you can choose only one)

* Best Technique (broad, I know)

* Best Layout (no, you can’t have a 16-way tie)

It’s a tough task, isn’t it? Well, it’s just what I asked my fellow CK editors to do. And after much page flipping, I’m happy to share the responses from Brittany Beattie (online senior editor), Dorathy Gilchrist (associate editor), Joannie McBride (assistant editor), Kim Jackson (senior editor), and myself. Ready for the results? Okay, here we go!

Best Feature
Each issue, we offer 6-10 features (not to mention the 18 columns, which we didn’t include in the mix for voting). Times that number by 12 issues, and you have a big decision to make. The votes are in, and (in no particular order) our top features—rated strictly on personal opinion—are as follows:

• Brittany: “A Day in Your Life” (by Lisa Bearnson, May ’09, pg. 63)
• Dorathy: “Scrapbookers Making a Difference” (by Joannie McBride, Feb. ’09, pg. 89)
• Joannie: “Flights of Fancy” (by Beth Opel, Apr. ’09, pg. 79)
• Kim: “The 10 Most Important Pages Missing from Your Album” (by Brittany Beattie, Oct. ’09, pg. 85)
• Megan: “Festive Techniques for Trimming the Trees” (by Brittany Beattie, Dec. ’09, pg. 59)

"A Day in Your Life": Brittany's pick for best feature of 2009

Best Organization Tip
Getting organized is a common goal around here. These are the tips that really tickled our tidy bone:

• Brittany: Organize ribbon spools by hanging them on the wall (as seen in “Creative Spaces” by Megan Hoeppner, June ’09, pg. 34)
• Dorathy: Create a brad book (as seen in “Tips & Tricks” by Megan Hoeppner, Sept. ’09, pg. 114)
• Joannie: Let your scrap space evolve with your scrapbooking needs (as seen in “Creative Spaces” by Mou Saha, Oct. ’09, pg. 50)
• Megan: Category cleanup: set your timer for 15 minutes and choose a product category as a focus of your organization efforts (as seen in “In Just 15 Minutes” by Lori Fairbanks, Nov. ’09, pg. 77)

Store brads in a brad book: Dorathy's pick for best organization idea of 2009

Best Technique
At heart, we’re all technique geeks, which made this challenge an extra-fun one! Here are our top picks:

• Brittany: Create glitter pillows with a transparency sheet and a sewing machine (as seen on the “Sweet Slumber” layout by Elizabeth Kartchner, 52 More Scrapbooking Challenges, pg. 134)
• Dorathy: Create a stained-glass look with alcohol inks and a transparency sheet (as seen on the “Leaf Samples” card by Irene Tan, May ’09, pg. 112)
• Joannie: Add glitter to self-adhesive products (as seen on the “Big Sister” layout by Ria Mojica, Feb. ’09, pg. 97)
• Kim: Create a chalked background using mesh as the template (as seen on the “Fantasy Land” layout by Megan Hoeppner, Sept. ’09, pg. 79)
• Megan:  Create tissue-paper flowers (as seen on the “Balance” layout by Steph Caskey-Devlin, July ’09, pg. 107)

Make flowers from tissue paper: Megan's pick for best technique of 2009

Best Layout
I’m starting to feel like an announcer at an awards show. And the “Best Layout” vote goes to . . .

• Brittany: “Drew’s View” (by Allison Davis, May ’09, pg. 83)
  “I love the idea of scrapbooking photos taken by children—it’s a wonderful change of perspective that adds great insight into our scrapbooks. What an incredible addition this layout will be to Drew’s album!” —Brittany Beattie
• Dorathy: “Signs of Summer” (by Kim Watson, July ’09, pg. 24)
  “I love how bright and colorful the layout is without being overbearing. The layout offers a great color scheme to go with the summer photos. I also like how it has room for seven pictures.” —Dorathy Gilchrist
• Joannie: “The Hat That Grandma Made” (by Shelley Aldrich, Sept. ’09, pg. 64)
  “I love that Shelley has photos of not only her daughter in the hat but the grandmother holding the daughter wearing the hat as well—it’s a great connection. Plus, the whimsical feel of the page appeals to me.” —Joannie McBride
• Kim: “Yindi and Unky Tobz” (by Emily Falconbridge, Jan. ’09, pg. 79)
  “The pure energy of this design caught my eye immediately! I adore the modern look Emily created by combining red and yellow patterns and red ink splashes with the old-fashioned typeface in the journaling.” —Kim Jackson
• Megan: “Homemade Pie” (by Joscelyne Cutchens, Nov. ’09, pg. 85)
  “What’s not to love about this layout? The pie looks delicious, the photos are vivid, the color scheme is a real eye catcher, and it’s loaded with awesome techniques!” —Megan Hoeppner

"The Hat That Grandma Made": Joannie's pick for best layout of 2009

So, do you agree with our selections? We’d love to have you join us in this challenge. Tell us what has really stuck with you from our 2009 lineup. Let’s compare notes.

Going over these results was a wonderful reminder of the amazing year we had. Now, bring on 2010!

Cheers!
–Megan Hoeppner, creative editor