Motivational Monday Sketch for Lots of Photos

Monday Motivational Sketches with Creatively CarolToday’s Motivational Monday Sketch will work great for lots of occasions but when I look at the sketch, I think this will work great for holiday photos. You can switch out the two 4 x 6 photos on the right and put a large focal point picture like the Christmas Tree or  Thanksgiving turkey and using the surrounding photo spots for the family that is at the event or the different decoration – you get the idea.

I encourage you to give this sketch of 11 photos a try and send me a picture of your layout so I can post it here. You -an also text it to 801-597-4896. You will be entered into my monthly drawing for a free stamp set when you send me your rendition of this scrapbooking sketch.

Did You Turn Back Your Clocks?

So much to do, So little timeThis article was first published by Readers Digest, but I found so much of it interesting I wanted to share it with you.  When you finish, leave me a comment and tell me if you think we should end daylight savings time or continue to adjust clocks twice a year.

Benjamin Franklin came up with the idea of Daylight Saving But it was a joke. In 1784, Franklin penned a satirical letter to the editor of the Journal of Paris outlining how many pounds of candle wax the city would save (64,050,000, according to his calculations) if only its clocks were better aligned with the rise and set of the sun. If residents had trouble adjusting, he also suggested the city ‘let cannon be fired in every street, to wake the sluggards effectually.’ Now that’s a wake-up call.

The idea wasn’t taken seriously until 1907
More than a century after Franklin’s letter, a British builder named William Willet became the champion of Daylight Saving, and lobbied Parliament to adjust the time in April and September in order to take full advantage of the day’s light. It is said the idea came to him after riding his horse one summer morning and noticing how many blinds were still down, which signaled to him the sunlight was going to waste.

Daylight Saving Time became law during World War I
Germany and several other European countries had already mandated DST as a way of reducing electricity and thereby saving coal for the war effort. Recent studies have called this line of thinking into question, with researchers crunching data to decide whether or not DST really does save energy.

Our changing clocks have led to a fair share of confusion
After World War II, America repealed its national law requiring states to institute DST. Some towns decided to stick with it and some didn’t, which ultimately resulted in chaos. One 35-mile bus ride from Mounsville, West Virginia to Steubenville, Ohio, took riders through seven different time changes. At one point, even the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota were on different clocks. In 1966, the Uniform Time Act standardized DST from the last Sunday in April to the last Sunday in October.

More sunlight equals more sales
As it turns out, when Americans have an extra hour of sunlight in the summer, we spend millions more on golf outings and barbecues. In 1986, when Congress changed DST from six months to seven, the golf industry said the extra month brought in $200 million in additional sales of golf clubs and greens fees. The barbecue industry said the extra month was worth $100 million in sales of grills and charcoal briquettes.

Candy makers also have a lot at stake
‘For 25 years, candy makers have wanted to get trick-or-treating covered by Daylight Saving, figuring that if children have an extra hour of daylight, they’ll collect more candy,’ Michael Downing, author of Spring Forward: The Annual Madness of Daylight Saving Time, said on NPR. During the 1985 hearings on DST, the candy lobby even went so far as to put candy pumpkins on the seat of every senator.

The number of accidents and heart attacks increases
Sleepyheads beware: A 2009 study found that Daylight Saving resulted in a whopping 5.7 percent increase in workplace injuries. Another study found that the number of heart attacks surge as much as 24 percent on the Monday following our spring forward into Daylight Saving Time.

But the rate of crime goes down
The U.S. Law Enforcement Assistance Administration found that crime has consistently dropped during DST by 10 percent top 13 percent.

Some states just have to be different
Because the federal government has no law requiring states to observe DST, Hawaii and Arizona are the exceptions to the Daylight-Saving rule. At one point, Colorado wanted to implement DST year-round, in order to save residents from the ‘aggravation of resetting their clocks.’ In Texas, Republican Rep. Dan Flynn, authored a bill to exempt his state from observing DST entirely, with part of his argument focusing on the effect it might have on the start time of NFL games. The Texas House of Representatives turned this one down.

Don’t expect everyone to be on time
In a 2010 study by Rasmussen Reports, 27 percent of respondents admitted they’d been an hour early or late at least once in their lives because they hadn’t changed their clocks correctly. Remember: It’s spring forward; fall back.

What Are You Crafting Today?

not just for Christmas Paper
CTMH City Sidewalks Paper Pack

I love Saturdays… my husband has college football on the television and I am upstairs and working on the project for my Nov 30th workshop. I am making a Countdown to Christmas block calendar with our City Sidewalks paper from the Holiday Expressions Catalog. These papers are so versatile, yes they work great for Christmas but the other papers will work well for so may other pages. I will be using this paper pack all month to show you the variety of ways they can be used.

The blue and white paper with dots can be used for anything including baby boys or anyone that loves the Glacier color.

While the red crosshatch pattern is the perfect background for your Christmas cards, since it is a primary color it works great for young children’s birthday and the backside is a word search page!  If you start searching for words you will find snowflakes, city sidewalks, Rudolph and more but still a great background paper for anytime of year.

And while I would probably use the red chains paper for Christmas the reverse is dots in a chain of Peacock and Lagoon which are both blues on a Willow green background – another good paper for kids that like primary colors.

I think my personal favorite of these papers is the Peacock background with trees of Willow green, Glacier blue and Whisper grey. I love the contrast of these colors and will keep them in mind for their own scrapbook layout in the future.

I need to get back to creating this Countdown to Christmas project, but check my Facebook page later today to see the finished product.

 

68% of Women are Lonely, Are You?

Do you miss a place to scrapbook with others?Since the birth of social media, we are a much lonelier people. You may have hundreds of friends on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, but while you watch your friends post about their lives, kids and such, we no longer “have time” to get together and it is causing more adult women to feel very alone.   In the case of new mothers, it also increases feelings of isolation as their activities now have to be worked about the baby’s schedule.

Now, if you use to go to scrapbook stores and use their craft room you have seen store after store close and now there is nowhere to go scrapbook with other like minded people.  I know how hard it is to scrapbook at home, alone. There is usually no space, and full of interruptions so much so that you decide it won’t work and give it up. This is why I have converted my basement into the “Creatively Carol Craft Room”.

The Craft Room seats 12-14 people with plenty of space to scrapbook, create cards or your favorite craft.  If you don’t currently scrapbook or make cards I am offering two introductory classes to introduce you to the craft and a semi-free monthly crop (bring $10 in canned food for the food bank).  There will be three monthly clubs, one will simply be a buying club where you spend a minimum of $25 a month with a 6 month commitment and receive $25 in your choice of papers, stamps and more.  There will also be a monthly scrapbook layout and a card class. You will find more information on these programs on my webpage Creatively Carol  in the next few days.

I am also offering a NapTime Open Crop.  There is a room of the classroom where children can take a nap and a room for babies as well. Your children will be within earshot in case they need you, but hopefully this will allow you to meet others and get in some much needed craft time. There is even a space where you can leave your project layed out in a box lid so it is just as you leave it the next time you come to play. There is a large TV in the kid’s space with a variety of cartoons etc for their entertainment.

So whether you want some time to yourself to craft with others or need to bring the kids so you can get that time to craft, there is a time for you!

You will also find the craft room stocked with papercrafting tools, a die-cut machine, a computer and printer for printing journaling as well as cardstock, printed papers and embellishments for sale.

Please share this post on your facebook page so others will know there is a place to go to scrapbook. Sign up for my mailing list to receive free projects and news of what is happening at the Creatively Carol Craft Room

Cutting Custom SVG Files

Learn to draw your own SVG filesDo you have a Cricut or a Silhouette?  If you are like me you don’t like to have your cutting be limited to a cartridge or things extra you have to buy. When I started with Close to my Heart we didn’t have any connection to a cutting machine.  When the Cricut first came out I bought one and a few cartridges to go with it.  Then Close to my Heart came out with a couple of font discs with fonts to match our stamp sets so you could type your journaling and have them match. I bought a Silhouette and sold my little Cricut.  Discs came out twice and a couple years later Close to my Heart announced they were going to produce exclusive Cricut Cartridges to go with certain stamp sets. I resisted for 2 years, then bought the Cricut Expressions.  Long story short… I now have a Cricut Expressions 2, Cricut Explore Air and a Silhouette!   Some days I think how ridiculous this sounds but I kept the Expressions so my customers here in Utah can use the Close to my Heart cartridges when here in Creatively Carol’s Craft Room.

I don’t like being limited but also don’t want to spend any more money on cartridges and designs than I have to, so I began researching programs to create my own .svg  patterns. The clear choice was Adobe Illustrator but I didn’t want to pay again for another program, after all, I didn’t now if I would even like doing it.

Here are some of the programs the New York Film Academy posted as alternatives to the Adobe Illustrator program.

  1. SVG-Edit  (any browser)
    • This can be used on any modern web browser. SVG-Edit is an editing suite that deals solely in SVG (scalable vector graphics) Six Free Alternatives to Adobe Illustrator which may sound like a restriction but is actually quite useful given the versatility of the format. If you’re scared of getting into SVG editing, you’re missing out, and this will break you in gently. Being a web browser platform also sounds limiting, but again, the speed at which it operates as a result is often superior to desktop counterparts.
  2. Inkscape  (Windows and Linux)
    • As with SVG-Edit, Inkscape is also geared towards those who want to work primarily in the SVG format. Featuring both a clean and intuitive user interface, but packed with advanced futures (such as alpha blending, object cloning and very accurate bitmap tracing), Inkscape comes as a highly recommended free alternative to Adobe Illustrator.
  3. Affinity Designer – for MAC
    • Affinity is a full rasterizing controls, layer management, multiple file format support, infinite zooming and every vector drawing tool you could ever hope for…Affinity Designer could quite possibly become a true illustrator killer. At the moment it’s only available to MAC users as a trial version for free. The full version comes with a price tag of $49.99 with free upgrades for two years, but the free trial is still a remarkably functional and worth a shot if you’re looking for a free editor. It’s even worth it just to play with the infinite zoom function (yes, infinite).
  4. GIMP – All browsers
    • This program works on all platforms, GIMP is an acronym for GNU Image Manipulation Program.  GIMP is more of a substitution for Adobe Photoshop Elements rather than Illustrator since it’s vector options are limited but what it can do in terms of image manipulation is second to none. Entirely free, open source, and loved by thousands (which have formed a very active online community since its release).
      • Personally, I found GIMP confusing and downloaded the trial of Adobe Photoshop Elements 15. Last night I received the Costco sales for this next month, and they are offering $40 off so you can buy Elements for $39.99. I will be purchasing this program.
  5. OpenOffice Draw – Windows, Linux and MAC
    • While Apache’s flagship vector illustrator looks a little outdated these days, that’s purely a cosmetic concern. Its still packed with features and is especially geared towards diagram and object manipulation. It also comes with the very handy feature of being able to create Flash (.swf) files from your document.
  6. Serif DrawPlus – Windows
    • The started edition of Serif’s DrawPlus is aimed towards the amateur illustrator given that A) it’s free software, and B) it’s very much scaled-down version of the fuller release, but don’t let that put you off. It’s not limited in any way, there’s no pressure to shell out for the professional edition DrawPlus16, and it does a good job of emulating its heavy weight cousins.

The New York Film Academy says “you might find you need to use a combination of the above free alternatives to Adobe Illustrator to get the job done, but for many people it’ll be worth the cash it saves and you may even find a new favorite.

I will give these a try and let you know my opinion of the offerings, but hopefully in the meantime these may help you create your own cutting designs.

 

Capturing the Moments with your Phone

Taking great cell phone picturesI ran across this article in my monthly Costco magazine written by Marc Saltzburg and wanted to share it with you.

THE BEST CAMERA, as they say, is the one you have with you.

Oh sure, your digital-SLR-toting friends might get their lanyards all tied in a knot about you hoist­ing your iPhone or Android device. But smartphone cameras have some advantages when it comes to editing and sharing your work. To help you get more out of your summer “phone-ography:’ consider the following tips and tricks.

Turn the phone sideways. Unless you’re taking a picture of the Empire State Building, use the hori­zontal (“landscape”) orientation when taking a photo, as it will look much better on a computer or television later on (that is, no vertical black bars on each side of the photo). Besides, a landscape photo is better for group shots and scenery, as it gets more into the frame. Speaking of scenery, play around with your phone’s panoramic mode for ultra-wide photos.

Get up close and personal. Don’t be shy. Unless it’s a large, growling dog, there’s no reason to be 5 feet away from your subject. Fill the whole frame with your subjects. Going in closer also means you can capture more facial detail, such as light freckling, a charm­ing dimple or soft, pale blues of the iris. Don’t use your phone’s digital zoom, as it might make your photo look pixelated- get closer yourself. Play around with how close is too close, though, as that “macro” shot of a flower petal might look blurry when you look at it later on.

Use the light around you. Avoid using the flash wherever possible; instead, try to use the light that’s accessible, whether it’s overhead  lighting while indoors or, preferably, the sun outside. Cloudy days are great for photos, as they diffuse the sun.

If the sun is out, be sure your back-and not your subject’s-is to the sun or the subject will look like a blacked-out silhouette. The hour before and after sunset creates gorgeous light for photos.

Be a human tripod. If you can help it, don’t hold your phone at arm’s length when taking photos. You’ll probably shake the phone more than you think, which could result in blurry images. Instead, turn yourself into a human tripod by holding the camera with both hands and pulling your arms into

your chest or stomach. You might look a little silly, but you’ll see the difference with your sturdier grip. Position for composition. Instead of placing your subjects in the center of the frame all the time, move them to the left or right to make your photos instantly more powerful and beautiful. Better yet, go in on an angle to add extra energy to the shot. Also, try to match the height of the subject, such as by kneeling on the ground to snap a picture of a toddler, to ensure you’re at eye level instead of angling up or down.

Have fun with filters. Phone cameras usually include filters as part of the software, but there are numerous apps that can help you easily edit and share photos and videos. Some automatically tweak your shots for better color and brightness. Apps like Instagram can add fun filters, such as a sepia finish or a retro ’70s look. Snapchat adds fun animated effects to your pies. Literally thousands of apps are available, for all platforms, so experiment away.

Back up, back up, back up. There’s nothing worse than losing your smartphone and never hav­ing backed up all those photos on it. There are many ways to back them up. One is to plug your phone into your PC or Mac every night to charge it up, and check off the option to back up everything onto the hard drive.

Another option is to take advantage of a free password-protected “cloud” service like OneDrive, Dropbox, iCloud, Google Drive or Google Photos­ and have it upload all of your phone’s photos when­ ever you snap them. To save cellular data, you can select to upload only over Wi-Fi.

Finally, some USB thumb drives are wireless and let you back up photos and videos from a phone. It’s worth safeguarding your memories.

I hope you have enjoyed this article and will try out some of the techniques talked about. Please leave a comment below and tell me what you struggle with.

 

Get Your Coloring Fix with Yuletide Joy

Happy October!  While our minds are on scary things like costumes and candy it is also time to start thinking about those handmade cards and gifts for Christmas.  I know, I said the “C” word, but I would say it now, than have you regret it later.

Christmas Coloring Stamp
Yuletide Joy Stamp Set

Yuletide Joy is October 2016 Stamp of the Month. For 30 days only, you can see this stamp set up close and even purchase this stamp set for either $17.95 or $5.00 by clicking here.

Check out my Facebook Page for the artwork done with this beautiful stamp set. I look forward to sharing more with you through out the month.

Leave me a comment below and tell me if you like to make Christmas Cards and if you are planning to this year.

Christmas Holidays are Around the Corner

Don't Miss the 12 weeks of Christmas Projects
How to make a handmade Christmas card Christmas gift with special bags, tags and wraps.

You can see it in almost every store you walk into, Christmas is just around the corner. Actually there is just over 12 weeks left before Christmas. October 5th starts my annual 12 Weeks of Christmas gift to you. This is only available to people ON MY MAILING LIST.  That is right, if you are not on my mailing list you will not get these weekly e-mails with Christmas cards, Christmas gifts, and bags, tags and wraps.  Every e-mail comes with a project and the directions to create it for yourself.

Do you have friends that like to craft? Now is the time to tell them about this so they can receive their own e-mails. This e-mail series would easily cost you $180 but if you are on my mailing list you receive it for free!

To sign up for my mailing list click here.

What type of scrapbook tape should I use?

Answering all your creative questionsWhat type of scrapbook tape should I use?
Brand new to scrapbooking. I want to make one for my SO. I don’t need it repositionable but I do need it to stick for 10+ years. Clear/cello tape fails eventually. I Thanks!

Hi Chuck,

Please don’t use cello tape on your scrapbooks, it has acid in it and can damage your pictures. My favorite is Bonding Memories Glue by Close to my Heart. It is both repositionable and permanent. I know you said you don’t care about it being repositionable but it can really help as you put your pictures in to be able to adjust them. The nice thing about Bonding Memories Glue is that the adhesion all depends on how long you let it dry before applying. This way you always have the choice and it comes it two sizes too. I prefer the smaller “pen” as it is easier for me to control. Premium Scrapbook Adhesive both permanent and respositionable

I am happy to assist you in your scrapbook if you need more help. You can visit my website for great ideas as well. I hope this helps, let me know if I can help you with anything further.

Help Your Kids Keep a Journal

I wanted to share with you some thoughts after receiving an e-mail from a friend about their weekend. Here is an excerpt –

Keeping memories foreverOn Saturday, my family attended the annual Gleason Gras.  Gleason Gras is a charity event supporting former New Orleans Saints Safety, Steve Gleason, who was diagnosed with ALS six years ago.  (That’s a picture of John and Steve from Saturday)
 
Drew Brees, quarterback for the Saints, is a teammate of Steve’s, and a big supporter of the cause.  
 
At some point, he was throwing footballs to the attendees.  He saw John waving his hands for a pass… threw a perfect spiral in his direction… and John caught it!
 
My son caught a pass from a Superbowl Champion quarterback (and his NFL hero)!
 
It’s a memory he will have for the rest of his life, but here’s the thing…who will tell John’s children or grandchildren. What if John looses his memory, this moment in his life with ‘his hero” ? 
There is a very easy way to catch those memories for future generations with minimal effort. It’s called Pocket Scrapbooking!  All you have to do is slide your picture in the protector and have your child journal a line or two about the event.  Here are a couple of the journal cards to give you an idea of how easy it is to just get your child to do a couple sentences for the Picture my Life Scrapbooking.
 oh-deer-journaling-cards

9/11 Fifteen Years Later

I don’t want to post old images of the twin towers or re-live that day through pictures, I am sure that the news will do plenty of that today – like we could EVER forget it.

I want to share one current bit of trivia – however not trivial at all.

Survivor of 9/11 The 9/11 Survivor Tree at the 9/11 Memorial in NYC: the little tree was found damaged and burned at Ground Zero. It was removed from the site and nursed back to health, then returned to the memorial later on. It now thrives as a tribute to healing, growth, and restoration

Have you take time to record where you were on this day in history?  In 50 or 60 years it will not be prominent on ever channel of the news like so many moments in history… Pearl Harbor, Vietnam War, the day the depression started. Kids will have to learn about it in school. Wouldn’t it be nice to be able to make it a more meaningful lesson since they only need look at your scrapbook to know where you were, your thoughts and feelings about that day?  I am challenging you to create that layout this week. I haven’t done it either, so I will complete the challenge with you.

Tomorrow is Motivational Monday and I will post a sketch geared toward the 2 page layout I will create. I will share it with you later in the week.

What do you think? Don’t wait until you can no longer remember. Please leave a comment below and share other days in our life history that should be remembered.  My prayers go out to all the families affected by this terrible act May you be comforted this 15th anniversary of the 9-11 attack.

A Little Kindness Goes a Long Way

October is National Stamping Month and Close to my Heart have a wonderful promotion for you.  Here is a little video:

I know what you are thinking… but this kit comes with pre-printed bases and all the pieces are already cut for you so even if you think you can’t…think again!  I will even do a video to show you how easy it is.  I know you can do this, but it is only available for the month of September so don’t wait.

Visit my website to get your own Create Kindness card kit. The kit comes with everything you need to create a set of 24 adorable cards, including 8 exclusive stamp sets, a block, the ink, pre-printed card bases ( you can even order extra of these)! Even the circles are already cut out for you.

Top everything off at a 15% discount over the retail price at $46.95.  You’re thinking you don’t need the ink or the block, but look how this breaks down if you buy everything separately.

24 card bases, circles and envelopes                         $9.95

2″ x 2″ Acrylic Block                                                     $6.95

Ink Pad                                                                            $2.50 (if you could buy it)

Mini-Stamp Box                                                            $12.95

For a total of   $55.95   now take away the block and ink and you are still paying $46.50! Toss in an alcoholic marker for $5.95 and you qualify for the Blessed Beyond Measure for just $5.

Now you have saved yourself $19.99 and received 27 stamps, 24 bases, envelopes and circles, a 2″ x 2″ acrylic block, an archival black ink pad, and a nice box to keep things in!  An excellent deal for sure and just think of the smiles you can bring to your friends and family!

Here’s the link for the entire Creating Kindness Card Kit.  Create a little more kindness in the world, because kindness changes everything.

Blessed Beyond Measure

Gratitude Faithful Blessed StampsBlessed Beyond Measure is a beautiful stamp set as you can see by thiClose to my Heart Stamp of the Months artwork. You can see the outline of the leaves that can be cut with the Cricut® Artbooking collection (Z3196).   I love the sayings in this stamp set and having them being individual stamps makes them interchangeable. Why not add some depth by embossing the leaves before stamping them. Watch my Facebook page for more artwork through out the month.

Spend $50 and get this Stamp of the Month set for just $5. Each month you can purchase a new D-size stamp set, available for one month only, for just $5. When you place an order of $50 or more in Close To My Heart products, you qualify for this special Stamp of the Month pricing.

S1609, set of 19. Recommended Blocks:
1″ × 1″ (Y1000)
1″ × 3½” (Y1002)
2″ × 2″ (Y1003)
2″ × 3½” (Y1009)

You can order your own set here.

 

 

I Survived Another Year at the Utah County Fair!

The Utah CouContact me if interested in the 2017 Fairnty Fair happens every year, the third week-end in August. I have 4 days of pure craziness trying to make everyone happy, and today I don’t have the think in “fair mode”. I am the Vendor Coordinator for the Utah County Fair and I try very hard to make this event a success for all the vendors that have chosen to join us.

While we did not have a carnival this year ( I contracted with a local carnival provider and they went under in April) I do believe it was another successful year.

Look for your Motivational Monday Sketch to be posted a bit later today.

Scrapbooking from a Husband’s View

Scrapbooking article for husbandsHere is a great story for the men in your life that do not understand your scrapbooking/cardmaking obsession. I think it was published many years ago in a scrapbook magazine…

Crack! “What was that?” screamed my wife, Kathy. I looked down to see the scrapbooking mess scattered all over the floor. Then I shook my head. Just my luck-out of all the places in the house, Kathy had decided to pile her things right in my
predetermined path. Didn’t she remember that I always head to the kitchen at night for a glass of milk? That I never turn on the light because I’ve walked that path so many times? Hmm. Kathy’s new “obstacle course” of scrap booking supplies has changed my life. Now I must turn on the light for survival.

Survival: The word may seem a little extreme, but so is my wife’s fury when I accidentally break one of her scrapbooking tools or set something on a page in process. I’ve learned through experience that adaptation is the key to survival when you have a scrapbooking spouse. Here’s how to live-and love- through the entire process.
BARGAIN- YOU’LL BOTH BENEFIT
Bargaining is a great way to show support. You simply allow your scrapbooker to purchase the supplies she says she needs. You make deals where both of you benefit. For example, Kathy and I have a deal that for every dollar she spends toward scrapbooking, I can put a dollar toward my hobby. I’ve already earned enough to buy a new hard drive for my computer! This technique creates a “win-win” situation and prevents confrontations about scrapbooking costs.

LEARN THE LINGO
If you want to impress your scrapbooker, learn the lingo. Here are a few basic definitions-worded with the non-scrapbooker in mind-to get you started:

  • Acid: Bad, Bad, Bad (but actually refers to an abundance of hydrogen ions)
  • Acrylic Stamps:  Like Rubber Stamps except you can see through them
    Archival: Lasts forever
  • Cardstock: A heavier weight paper used often for bases – usually solid colors
  • Close to my Heart: the premier scrapbooking company  (gift certificates available thru www.CreativelyCarol.com)
    Creative lettering: Making letters fancy
  • Creatively Carol : The scrapbook lady who can help you pick things out for your wife. [email protected]
    Cropping: Cutting out unnecessary parts of pictures
  • Cricut:  Not a bug, but a cutting machine to make stuff
  • Rubber Stamps: Have images on red rubber, can see through, hard to get straight
  • Silhouette: another cutting machine
  • Journaling: Writing descriptions to go along with photos

By learning the lingo you move up the evolutionary scale. You become a more attractive and educated mate.

TRY IT YOURSELF
Ever wondered how your wife can spend so much time on a page? Try it yourself. Create a page or two (see Figure 1), but be prepared for a dose of humility. Scrapbooking is a difficult task that takes time and talent. You’ll be much
more inclined to give lots of praise.

PRAISE, PRAISE, PRAISE

When your wife finishes a scrapbook page, praise specific things about it. This shows that you are actually looking at the page and noticing details. This is also a great time to practice the lingo

Warning

It is best NOT to ask why the page or card too so long to make…

Ladies, this is a great time of year to send this to your husbands. Start your wish list, and give him my information so I can call him and help him with your Christmas Gifts!