Just take a look at this fun layout from Dream Team member Suzy Plantamura taken straight from page 82 of our September issue.

Here, Suzy used the saying “two peas in a pod” to jump-start her adorable layout about her daughter’s friendship with the family dog, Mayzie. Garden-themed product from Cosmo Cricket was a perfect choice for her fanciful layout!

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Upload Your Layouts to Win!

I know the sights and sounds of the fair have kicked your imagination into high gear! So it’s time to upload your fair-themed pages to the project gallery at Club CK with the tag “Blue-Ribbon Page” before September 30, 2010. (Learn how to upload your layouts here. Note: You will need to be logged in to upload; create your FREE account on Club CK here.) Then leave a comment below with the URL link to your layout posted in the Club CK gallery; for example, your comment could look like this: “My layout is posted here: http://clubcreatingkeepsakes.com/media/p/31086.aspx.” You could be one of the five random scrapbookers chosen to win a selection of products featured in our “Fair Days” article.

To see the products and to find more layout inspiration, check out the article on page 79 of the September 2010 issue of Creating Keepsakes!

Happy scrapping!

—Kim Jackson, senior editor

Hello scrappers! It’s that time of year again when school bells ring and kids bring out the textbooks. In case you were feeling left out of all the fun, here’s a little quiz for you grown-ups. Quiz guidelines: Read through the September 2010 issue of Creating Keespakes and find the answers to the questions below. E-mail your answers to the address below, and two lucky winners will receive the following products from Die Cuts with a View, K&Company, and KI Memories.

You may begin!

1. What’s the topic of this issue’s “Product Review”?

2. Name one tip taught in “Photo Field Trips.”

3. What’s the title of the first layout in “Tips & Tricks”?

4. Who designed the layouts in “Make the Most of Leftovers”?

5. What’s one back-to-school gift you can make with your scrapbook supplies, as seen in the “Back to School in Style” article?

6. Who created the layout on the cover? Hint: Check the Table of Contents.

7. Name one type of fair-themed product you can use on your layouts, as seen in the article by Kim Jackson.

8. How many layouts are there with 10 or more photos in this issue? Hint: Check the Index.

9. If you were to make a layout based on the theme of the “Seasonal Solutions” column, what would it be about?

10. How many photos can you fit on a layout using the sketch from “CK Sketches”?

E-mail your answers to ckblog@creatingkeepsakes.com by midnight MST on Monday, September 6, 2010. Be sure to put “September scavenger hunt” in the subject line. Remember to include your name in the e-mail. We’ll choose two winners by random drawing from the correct responses and post them on the Giveaways tab on or around Tuesday, September 7, 2010. Be sure to check the Giveaways tab; if your name is posted, follow the instructions so you can collect your prize.

Happy hunting!

—Dorathy Gilchrist, associate editor

Creative Photo Corner #1: Brad Meets Bling

Place a series of glitter-topped brads around your photo’s corner. Idea by Piradee Talvanna; Photo by Brittany Beattie. Appeared in the Creating Keepsakes magazine September 2010 issue.

Creative Photo Corner #2: Border Strip Meets Scissors

Cut small triangles from a scalloped border strip and adhere them as your photo corners. Idea and photo by Brittany Beattie. Appeared in the Creating Keepsakes magazine September 2010 issue.

Creative Photo Corner #3: Button Meets Ribbon

Fold a leftover ribbon scrap into a V, and add a coordinating button. Idea and photo by Megan Hoeppner. Appeared in the Creating Keepsakes magazine special issue Super-Fast Pages with 4×6 Photos, Volume 2.

These are just a few examples of fun and easy photo corners you can create with supplies you have on hand. Try dressing up your next scrapbook layout with handmade photo corners. Then share your creations at our online gallery. (You’ll need to create a free account in order to post.) After you post it, leave a comment with the URL of your page on this article, so other scrapbookers can easily find your creative photo-corner ideas.

Happy creating!

—Jennafer Martin, editor-in-chief

1. Give extra wallets to your children along with some of your excess scrapbooking supplies, and then let them create right along with you one afternoon. My oldest son Jackson had a great time making this layout about him and his baby brother, James.

2. Personalize a child’s favorite book, a new school notebook, or a binder with a recent wallet-size photo of him or her. This way, everyone can tell at a glance whom the item belongs to, which is a definite plus when you have multiple children with similar items.

3. Use wallet prints to make very simple, small chipboard albums. I made one for each member of my family using just wallet photos and triangles of patterned paper, and then I hung them from a mirror in my living room.

4. Use a wallet print to “date” a picture or writing sample from a child. I like to save a couple of drawings a year from each child, like this one where my two year old was convinced he’s been writing the letter A over and over. In the years to come, it’s going to be fun to see what he looked like at the time he drew this picture.

5. Use wallet prints to create a memory/matching game with people in the family. You can use either matching sets of wallet photos, as my sister Brittany Perkins did in this memory game for the cousins, or two different photos of the same person to make a match.

6. Make personalized “ability cards” for your children (think baseball cards or Pokemon cards). Use a wallet-size print to make a card for each—simply add a small label that details the child’s powers, points, or statistics. My son Carter can’t wait to use his very own “Carterrific” card next time he plays Pokemon with his friends.

“Orange You Cute?” by Jody Wenke, as seen in the September 2010 issue of Creating Keepsakes

But you don’t need to stop here—wallet prints work for all kinds of projects. I was inspired by this layout from Jody Wenke in the September 2010 issue of Creating Keepsakes to make a wall hanging for my son’s bedroom. Jody’s grid-like layout inspired me to steal a card sleeve from my son’s Pokemon collection. Wallet-size photos fit perfectly in card sleeves, which naturally break the full page into a clean grid.

“T” by Autumn Baldwin. Supplies: Patterned paper: Pebbles, Making Memories, and We R Memory Keepers; Ribbon: Berwick Offray; Rickrack: May Arts; Letters and tag: Making Memories; Punch: Fiskars Americas; Other: Adhesive, monogram, staples, and tab.

Using the card sleeve makes the page come together quickly because you don’t have to worry about the entire page design at once—you really have only to design one rectangle at a time. I used six photos from a recent photo shoot, leaving three more spots to fill.

I opened up my file of paper scraps and found papers that worked well with the pictures to fill my three extra spots. To quickly embellish the extra squares, I added other elements, such as translucent white tags, rickrack, a border punched from patterned paper, and a tab with the date on it. I finished with a sheer ribbon placed through the binder holes, and then I used binder clips to attach it to a square of lightweight pressboard I happened to have at home. It could be clipped to a clipboard just as easily. I can hang the clipboard on a couple of nails in my son’s room for him to enjoy. When he gets tired of it, I can use the pressboard for another project and add the card sleeve into one of my three-ring scrapbook binders.

This project was so easy, and it ended up looking so clean and organized that I think I’ll steal a few more card sleeves from my kids to use in my scrapbooks. It’s the perfect way to include lots of extra pictures from an event or multiple portraits from a photo shoot, as I did. It would also be a great way to store one wallet from each year’s school portraits to show progression over the years.

I hope you’ll give the wallet size a try the next time you’re printing out photos. I think you’ll love using them as much as I do. Have a great weekend!

—Autumn

P.S. Don’t miss Free Font Friday. This week, you can download the CK Carli font for free here.

Our first featured “CK & Me” guest is Telah Wrenn. She loved how Jamie lined up her 4″ x 6″ photos and rounded their corners. Didn’t Telah do an impressive job of taking Jamie’s lead and coming up with something completely different and completely fabulous? Nicely done, Telah!

Summer Mobley also found an aspect of Jamie’s photos unique. If you look closely at her layout, there are tiny holes poked in the corners of her images that act as unique photo corners. Summer adored this idea and incorporated it into her beautiful scrapbook page. She didn’t have a paper piercer, so she used an ice pick, creating slightly larger holes. Way to be resourceful, Summer!

As our talented “CK & Me” guests’ pages illustrate, you can take a page design and make it your own in so many ways. Have fun finding multiple inspiration points in your favorite layouts, and see just how many unique pages you can create from a single design.

Hey, while you’re at it, why not send one (or more) of those pages our way for possible inclusion in a future “CK & Me” spotlight. Not only will you receive a free Creating Keepsakes special issue, but you’ll also receive our brand new “CK & Me” button (shown here) to use on your blog, gallery, etc. Send your pages to letters@creatingkeepsakes.com with “CK & Me” in the subject line. Please include an image of your page and the issue and page number of the layout it was inspired by.

But wait, before you get to creating and submitting, we hope you’ll take a minute to congratulate this month’s featured scrapbookers on a job well done.

Cheers!
Megan Hoeppner, creative editor

Source: Amazon.com

—Megan Hoeppner (creative editor) and Lori Fairbanks (editor)

Hello to all of you happy scrappers! As part of our Creativity Heals campaign, this month we’re spotlighting two groups that are helping others through scrapbooking.

Have you ever wanted to scrapbook for charity or to donate supplies, but you haven’t known where to go or whom to donate to? Well, those days are over! Charity Scrapbook Buddies is a Facebook group that was set up to get the word out about crops and other scrapbook functions that help those in need. All you have to do to let others know about an event is to post a discussion thread detailing the event name, location, cost, and date. There may be an event happening soon near you. Check it out!

Another group scrapping to help those in need is Crops of Luv, a nonprofit organization founded to create scrapbooks for children who have been granted a wish from the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Arizona. You can help these children and their families remember their fun times by participating in a Crops of Luv crop or by donating items.  For example, check out the projects senior editor Kim Jackson made as part of an album the Creating Keepsakes team put together.

To learn what items are needed, check out this article or visit cropsofluv.org.

—Dorathy Gilchrist, associate editor

The base of this cute number was created with a silk flower from Bella Blvd. Isn’t this a great way to put your flower accents to new use? Just think of the fair-ribbon accents that can be in bloom with this approach!

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Laura punched several circles from various pieces of cardstock and patterned paper to assemble the ribbon base on this accent. You can put your nesting dies and punches to amazing use with this idea. Try combining several types of paper for added texture and style.

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See more of Laura’s stunning fair ribbons, complete with supply lists, on the Creating Keepsakes website.

New and different scrapbooking accents are always fun to explore, and we hope the fair-ribbon look is one you’ll try on for size the next time you’re looking for a fun, creative twist. What kinds of pages would you use this kind of accent on? And what kinds of accents would you use to create your ribbons? We’re always excited by your ideas and would love to hear your thoughts on this winner of a subject—just leave a comment below.

Cheers!
Megan Hoeppner, creative editor

10 Back-to-School Photo Ideas

Hello, fine readers! Becky Higgins here, stopping by my old stomping ground to say hello and share some ideas. After 12 great years with Creating Keepsakes, I spread my wings and started my own company last fall. You can see what I’m up to here. I even have a cool free download to make a personal yearbook  with your child and his class this school year. In the meantime, I’m pleased to be visiting here as a guest blogger on CK’s corner of the web.

Let’s talk about going back to school, shall we?

You may currently be preparing your child(ren) for a new school year. Or perhaps the year has already begun. Whether it’s tears or joy for you, you share a lot in common with other moms on the “big day.” I think a lot of moms put too much pressure on themselves to capture every detail of that first day of school. We know it’s a big deal. Our kids know it’s a big deal. But sometimes we just make it into something bigger than it needs to be.

Let me ask you something: Do you think your child loves the camera being pointed at her for 20 minutes on that first day of school? Or do you think she’d appreciate more of your direct eye contact and genuine conversation as you talk with her about the anticipation and concerns and excitement of the day?

Moms, relax. When you are calm, your kiddos are more likely to feel calm. The morning is busy as you get the backpack ready and the hair done and the breakfast made. You don’t need to put more expectations on your shoulders. And you certainly don’t want to rush your child on her first day when nerves are already high.

A kind suggestion: Snap a couple quick pictures on the actual first day. The other back-to-school pictures can follow in the days and even weeks to follow. After all, it’s still the same season.

I’m sharing some pictures with the hope that you’ll find the wheels in your head turning regarding some pictures you may want to take. You’ll notice that I’m not necessarily emphasizing the traditional first-day-of-school shots. And I certainly don’t recommend trying to cram it all in the first day.

The following photos illustrate more of a child’s day-to-day routine as she gets back into school. Think about the habits, traditions, and routines in your own home and how they’re affected by a new school year. Taking pictures of those things—the details—is storytelling at its best.

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1. Can you catch the kids as they’re waking up? Just let in a little sunshine with your camera already in hand.

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2. Snap a photo of what’s for breakfast on a typical morning or for a special occasion like the first day of school.

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3. Try to capture your kids doing their morning chores—or any time of the day, for that matter.

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4. The backpack. Of course, the backpack! It’s not likely that your child will hang on to this forever, so photograph it. It’s a part of the everyday.

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5. Get a snapshot of some of the supplies for the school year. Tip: This would be best to take before it all treks to school, ideally not on the first day of school.

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6. What accessories travel with your child to school? In Arizona, we don’t leave the house without an ice-filled water bottle in the backpacks.

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7. What is your child’s mode of transportation to and from school? Try to capture the walk, bike ride, car ride, or time getting on or off the bus.

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8. If you volunteer in your child’s classroom, bring along the camera to snap a few pictures of the room and surroundings the kids see every day at school. Be sure to ask the teacher for permission.

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9. After-school snacks are another part of a little student’s routine. What do you eat? What are the top picks for a snack these days?

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10. Try to capture your little student focusing on any sort of schoolwork at home such as writing a paper, working at the computer, drawing or coloring, studying with the nose buried in a text book—anything.

—Becky

P.S. Don’t miss Free Font Friday. This week, you can download the CK Good Dog font for free here.

One of my favorite ideas in this issue is using crackle paint to give the edges on your layouts a fun, distressed look. Iris Uy does this on her layout, “Remember This,” as seen on page 56 of Scrapbooking Tips & Tricks: Tools & Techniques.

This technique is so easy to do—even I mastered it! To add colorful texture to your next project, simply follow these three steps:

1. Tear a piece of heavy cardstock. Don’t worry if it’s not perfect. In this case, the messier the better!

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2. Apply crackle paint along the torn edge by evenly rubbing the edge with a brush.

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3. Let the paint dry, causing cracks to appear.

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And voilà! You have a great, eye-catching element for your scrapbook page!

Happy summer and future scrapping!

—Jorgan Staker, intern

P.S. Several new page calls have been posted for an upcoming issue of Creating Keepsakes magazine. For your chance to be published in the magazine, check out the new calls here.