April 10, 2018Create, Memory Keeping, organization

Secrets of a Title Page

Close To My HeartChelsea Gardens, scrapbooking, Stargazer, title, title page 5 Comments

We often talk about the meaty parts of scrapbooking here, from visual storytelling to journaling prompts and everything in between. Today, instead of what comes in between, let’s discuss the very beginning, or at least front, of a complete scrapbook album—the title page!

The title page of an album is that very first page you see when you flip open the cover. It is there to provide a quick visual summary of the stories and memories beautifully documented inside. Regardless of your scrapping style, the title page is something that we all have in common. Without it, our albums look and feel incomplete.

So you know you need a title page for your album. How do you start? The very first, and probably biggest, “secret” to a good title page, is to create it last. After the inside of your album is done, then is when you should begin to think about designing your title page. There are several reasons for this. Creating the title page last allows you to pull from visual elements and themes illustrated throughout your pages and layouts, including topics, color schemes, and designs.

Waiting until the end to make your title page will also allow you flexibility in your story telling. If you make a title page first, especially one that includes photos and journaling, you run the risk of not highlighting something that you add in later.

A title page can also work as a sort of “table of contents.” If you choose to go this route, use some of your extra photos to map out what someone can expect to see as they flip through your album. You can arrange them in order, number them, and add short blurbs, like in our example, or create a collage without any words.

Or you can create a title page without any photos. Add a title and journaling that corresponds with the photos you include on the following pages. If the “table of contents” approach isn’t your thing, a quick name referencing the topic of your album, like “Disney Vacation 2018” or “Grandma Gigi” or “My Favorite Things,” can also do the trick.

As you’re designing your title page, keep in mind that it is an extension of your album, your memories, and you. However you choose to make it, match the storytelling style you use inside, and most importantly make it your own.

Recipe

Make It from Your Heart Vol. 3: Pattern 17
B1539 My Acrylix® Pen Pal Alphabet Stamp Set, C1704 My Acrylix® Stargazer—Cardmaking Stamp Set, X7230B Chelsea Gardens Paper Packet, X7227B Make Waves Paper Packet, 1385 White Daisy Cardstock, X5967 Pacifica Cardstock, X5977 Crystal Blue Cardstock, X5968 Lagoon Cardstock, Z2895 Lagoon Exclusive Inks™ Stamp Pad, Z2817 Crystal Blue Exclusive Inks™ Stamp Pad, Z2841 Glacier Exclusive Inks™ Stamp Pad, Z2892 Pacifica Exclusive Inks™ Stamp Pad, Z3274 Clear Sparkles, Z1263 Bitty Sparkles, X7229C Stargazer Complements, Z1297 Edge Distresser, Z3167 Cricut® Artistry Collection, Sewing Machine

Cricut® Shapes:
Artistry
½” Shape <Halloween> (p. 43, #M417CCA)

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March 30, 2018Create, Memory Keeping, organization

How to Get Started on Memory Keeping When You’ve Never Done It Before

Close To My Heartcut above, Memory Keeping, pocket scrapbooking, scrapbooking, story, storytelling, workshops Your Way 2 Comments

When it comes to memory keeping, especially if you’ve never done it before, the biggest obstacle for most people is knowing where to get started. With moments happening and getting captured quicker than they can be documented, memory keeping can easily become an overwhelming task that, as the memories pile up, we tend to ignore and simply feel anxious and guilty about.

Today we’re going to alleviate some of those feelings and help you navigate through the heaps of memories you are making. It is never too late to tell your story, so let’s get started!

Why is memory keeping important to you?

The very first thing you need to consider before pulling out old photos or any scrapbooking supplies is what is memory keeping and why is it important to you? There is no right or wrong answer here, and everyone’s motivation will be different, but motivation it will be. Really think about the why of your memory keeping.

Why do you take so many photos and videos with that fancy smart phone?
Who and what are you taking photos of?
Do you keep a journal? What do you write about?
Do you collect things because of their association with certain people or events?

Our current social climate is very instant and in the moment. You can take a photo, caption it, and quickly share it with friends across the world by posting to Facebook or Instagram. For some people, this is all the memory keeping they need. The downside is that if you only post to social media and never do anything else with those stories, you are only documenting your story in a format where it only lives for a moment. And then, what happens to your story?

The question again is: why is memory keeping important to you?

Sorting Through Memories

Once you’ve figured out why you want to preserve your memories, you can begin sorting through them and decide which ones to preserve. Chances are you’ve got a hard-drive, or perhaps several boxes, full of photos from the years past that you want to put into albums but just aren’t quite sure where to begin. If your photos aren’t organized, check out our post on How to Organize Years of Photos without Getting Overwhelmed for some great tips and ideas.

The truth is, not all of our moments carry the same weight, so not every single second of our lives is worth documenting. This is the step where you decide which memories you want to (and will!) preserve. And remember, it’s okay to let some things go!

Make a list of past stories and stories to come that you want to keep in an album. Some possible ideas may include:

Milestones in the life of a baby or child
Vacations/Trips
Holidays
Birthdays
Family
Sports/Events
A specific year

Choose a Format

Whatever you choose to preserve, choose to do it your way. Decide on a format of memory keeping that works best for you and your memories. If you’re new to the scrapbooking scene and the thought of memory keeping is overwhelming, we’ve got a few products for you to explore.

If you like the look of complete scrapbook albums but don’t think you have the time or know-how to make them happen for you, the Cut Above^® layout kits are a great solution! These kits come complete with pre-printed base pages, stickers, and die-cuts (cut paper shapes) ready to make coordinating 2-page scrapbook layouts. All you need to bring to the table, aside from your kit, is photos, adhesive, and a journaling pen!

The Story Begins layout kit shown above (also available for baby boys) is one of our many Cut Above^® scrapbooking options. This particular kit comes with enough materials to make 10 coordinating 2-page scrapbook layouts. That’s an entire baby book! And if you have more photos that you want to include than the kits allow for, you can add coordinating pages with Picture My Life™ cards and pocket scrapbooking Memory Protectors™. Always make the room to tell your whole story.

How to Get Started On Memory Keeping When You've Never Done It Before #ctmh #closetomyheart #memory #keeping #story ##telling #how #to #get #started #pocket #scrapbooking #pml #picture #my #life #cut #above #kit #workshop #your #way #wyw #diy #historian #document #history

Another option for the busy memory keeper in you are our Workshops Your Way^® scrapbooking kits.

With the help of easy-to-follow instructions, trimming tools, and adhesive, you can use any of our Workshop Your Way^® kits to create three coordinating scrapbook layouts. Unlike the Cut Above^® kits, in Workshops Your Way^® you trim your own paper and are given extras like, ribbons and sequins, to embellish your pages.

With these kits, we also show you how you can arrange additional photos and pocket cards in our innovative Pocket Plus™ Memory Protectors™.

The last example of memory keeping we’re going to share is with pocket scrapbooking in a smaller, Everyday Life™, album.

Maybe this type of memory keeping is more your style. Less patterned paper and more memorabilia turned into accents and pocket cards to enhance the memories of your experiences. Whether you’re cutting things up, attaching them on a pocket card, or creating a pocket for a group of items—there is no wrong way to tell your story.

Making the Time

This last part of the memory keeping process is the most crucial because without it memory keeping will not happen. You need to decide how much time you will invest into preserving your memories. If memory keeping isn’t already part of your routine, make the conscious decision to include it. (A half-an-hour a week is better than doing nothing at all.)

To be a successful memory keeper you must be honest with yourself about your creative habits. Take an approach that works for you and your memories, and that you will actually do. Once you get started you will find so much joy and satisfaction in knowing that your memories are safely documented and preserved.

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December 5, 2017Create, Memory Keeping

A Keepsake to Last Through the Years

Close To My Heartalbum, calendar, DIY, kit, Memory Keeping, scrapbooking 5 Comments

As 2017 comes to a close, we have a holiday treat designed to last you through the coming year and more!

This Through the Year customizable photo calendar comes wrapped together in a kit containing everything you need to make one of your very own!

Easy-to-follow instructions included in the kit will guide you in creating each of the 12 beautiful calendar pages you see below.

Calendars make great gifts, so in addition to making one for yourself, consider making a second one to give as a gift, or even giving the kit to someone you know who will love the chance to be crafty! Whatever you choose to do with this kit, you will not be disappointed with the result!

Take a closer look at some of the beautiful details you’ll add to your pages using the custom gold glitter die-cuts, glitter gems, Complements, and papers included in this unique kit.

Our November Stamp of the Month, Through the Year, makes the perfect companion for this project, too.

If you didn’t get this limited-time stamp set last month, you can still get it by choosing the calendar kit that includes it! And, in case you did get the November Stamp of the Month, we also have this kit available without the stamp set.

What makes the Through the Year calendar extra special is that the pages are designed to be cut at the spiral binding and then put into Memory Protectors™ inside an album. This way, when you’re through with the calendar, the beautiful pages you’ve relied on through the year will last through the years to come!

What a beautiful way to put some of your most favorite memories on display and later preserve them! Make one of these Through the Year calendars for yourself or as a gift this Christmas!

Recipe

Through the Year Calendar and Album
CC1344 Through the Year Calendar Kit, S1711 My Acrylix^® Through the Year Stamp Set (comes included in CC1344S), Z2826 Heather Exclusive Inks™ Stamp Pad, Z2060 Thin 3-D Foam Tape, Z5202 My Legacy™ D-ring Album—Brown, 4110 Memory Protectors™ Top Load

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August 22, 2017Create, Memory Keeping

Basic Cricut® Shapes for Backgrounds

Close To My Heartbackground, basic, circle, cricut, design, heart, page, scrapbook, scrapbooking, shape, space 12 Comments

Looking for a way to spice up your scrapbook pages? We’ve got just the thing! All you need is a Cricut® machine and a little imagination for this technique.

First, find a basic Cricut® shape that you like: square, heart, diamond, etc. Next, cut out the shape over and over again on a piece of solid cardstock (we recommend using Cricut Design Space™ so you can more easily control where the shapes cut). Remove the shapes from the piece of cardstock, and then back the empty spaces with different pieces of patterned paper. As you can see from the example above, we repeated paper patterns across the shapes to add a sense of continuity to the page.

If you don’t have Cricut Design Space™, you can still get this effect by cutting multiple versions of the same image, but you could also cut the shapes out of patterned paper and attach them to a piece of cardstock. There are lots of different spins on this technique!

For example…

…try backing the shapes with photos! It’s a lot easier than trying to cut your photos on a Cricut® machine because you can slide them around behind the cardstock until they are framed just the way you like.

Another spin on this technique is to change up the size of your shapes. Smaller shapes give you a lot more little shape windows to work with. This page also shows how much you can play around with dimension as well.

First, we backed some of the empty spaces with patterned paper and left others empty. Next, we used 3-D foam tape to attach the White Daisy cardstock piece with all of our heart shapes cut out of it. The Bashful background shows through the empty hearts and creates a bit of a shadow. To finish off the look, we took some of the hearts that were cut out and embossed them with gold powder. We then used them to “fill in” a few of the heart-shaped windows with more 3-D foam tape to make them really pop. See how many possibilities there are when you start playing around with your Cricut® shapes?

We used circles and hearts for our artwork, but what Cricut® shapes would you try with this technique? Tell us in the comments below! 🙂

Recipes

12″ x 12″ Sweet Moments Page
B1539 My Acrylix® Pen Pal Alphabet, Z3353 Basics Fundamental Paper Packet, Z3350 Whimsy Fundamental Paper Packet, 1385 White Daisy Cardstock, X5953 Charcoal Cardstock, X5941 Bashful Cardstock, Z2825 Mink Exclusive Inks™ Stamp Pad, Z3355 Happy Moments Complements, Z3369 Bashful Pearls, Z3381 Gold Heart Clips, Z3342 3-D Foam Dots, Z3132 Watercolor Paints, Z3188 Paintbrush Set, Z1979 Marvy® Uchida® LePen™ Journaling Pen, Z3290 Cricut® Flower Market Digital Collection

Cricut® Shapes:
Flower Market
2 ½” Background <C> (cut 7, p. 33, #MD70813)

12″ x 12″ This Is the Life Page
Z3351 Adventure Fundamental Paper Packet, Z3350 Whimsy Fundamental Paper Packet, Z3352 Enchantment Fundamental Paper Packet, X5941 Bashful Cardstock, 1385 White Daisy Cardstock, X5968 Lagoon Cardstock, Z3355 Happy Moments Complements, Z3371 Gold Pearls, Z3387 Cricut® You Are Here Digital Collection, Sewing Machine, Pen

Cricut® Shapes:
You Are Here
3½” Title (cut 8, p. 18, #M282C87A)
3½” Title <Seas> (p. 40, #M27F84BF)
3 ½” Shift+Title <Seas> (p. 40,#M27F84BF)

12″ x 12″ Together Page
Z3353 Basics Fundamental Paper Packet, X5941 Bashful Cardstock, 1385 White Daisy Cardstock, X5953 Charcoal Cardstock, Z891 VersaMark™ Ink Pad, Z3364 Basics Ribbon Pack, Z555 Craft Heater, Z2066 Ranger™ Princess Gold Embossing Powder, Z4034 Thin Cuts—Together, Z3342 3-D Foam Dots, Z3290 Cricut® Flower Market Digital Collection, Die-cutting Machine

Cricut® Shapes:
Flower Market
2 ½” Background <C> (cut 90, p. 33, #MD70813)*
*Grouped onto a 11″ x 11″ square and welded in Cricut Design Space™

Numbers starting with #M specify the image number in Cricut Design Space™

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July 25, 2017Learn

How to Organize Years of Photos without Getting Overwhelmed

Close To My Heartalbum, by, digital, divider, getting, how, organize, organizer, overwhelmed, photo, photos, progress, scrapbooking, step, tip, trick, without, work, years 29 Comments

When it comes to scrapbooking, one of the biggest hold-ups for people is feeling overwhelmed with organizing their photos. If you have years of photos piled up on your computer or photos spread between multiple devices, it can be easy to put off preserving your memories. The longer you wait to organize your photos, the more overwhelming it will become—so now is the time to start!

Because we believe in the importance of memory keeping, we want to help make the task easier, so today we’re going to walk you step-by-step through how to efficiently organize your digital photos for scrapbooking. It’s a process that may take some time, but which will be well worth it when your memories are all in order!

To give you an added incentive for getting started, we’ve teamed up with Persnickety Prints to get you a discount code for printing your photos so you can catch up AND save money! Continue reading for more details. 🙂

Step One: Consolidate Your Digital Photos

Upload all of your digital photos to one location on your computer. We recommend using a photo managing system, like Google Photos or iPhotos, to easily transfer photos from your phone onto your computer. If you haven’t transferred them already, go through the photos on your phone, your camera, and upload them all to this one location.

Step Two: Eliminate Unwanted Photos

Once you have all of your photos in one place, go through and eliminate any that aren’t worth keeping: repeats, photos with a blurry finger covering half the lens, photos of your to-do lists, etc.

Tip: Moving forward, make it a habit to do a Daily Delete—every day, go through the photos on your phone (or camera if you took pictures on it that day) and delete any of these types of photos. It will take you two seconds and save you tons of time down the road. You’ll be able to skip step two entirely in the future!

Another tip: Use the time traveling home from a vacation to do your deleting. That way when you get home, you’ll have already eliminated all the photos from your trip you don’t want to keep. Plus, it’s a fun way to relive those memories again while you’re heading home.

Step Three: Organize Your Digital Photos

In your photo managing system, create folders for each month and year. Then place the corresponding photos in these folders.

Step Four: Back Up Your Digital Photos

Back up all the photos in your photo managing system onto a CD or external hard drive. You can also look into online options, such as iCloud, Dropbox, or Google Drive.

Step Five: Create To-Print Folders

Once you have organized your photos in your photo managing system, you’re ready to start thinking about scrapbooking them—woohoo! Even though all the photos you have left are photos you have deemed worth keeping, you may not want to scrapbook all of them. A great way to figure out which photos you want to scrapbook is to copy and paste a given folder onto your desktop. Then go through and delete any photos you don’t want to print. You can also edit any of the photos you’re going to print if you want to take that extra step.

Step Six: Upload & Print Photos

Once you’ve gone through all the photos on your desktop folder, you’re ready to print! We recommend creating a table, like the one below, to track each folder’s progress. When you have printed your photos, you can delete the desktop folder you created (remember, you’ve already saved these photos elsewhere!).

Tip: Choose one day every month to do a print run. Some months you may be able to afford printing more photos than other months, but get in the habit of printing your photos on the same day each month.

PHOTO DISCOUNT: Now is a great time to catch up on printing your photos because Persnickety Prints has been kind enough to create a discount code for our readers! Use this discount code to save 20% on your entire order: CTMH20

This code expires August 30, cannot be combined with other discount codes, and is limited to one use per customer.

Step Seven: Organize Printed Photos

Option 1: Use our large organizers and tabbed dividers to organize your printed photos.

You can organize your photos by date, person, event…whatever you want! Think about the album you want to create with the photos, and organize them that way.

Option 2: Create a work-in-progress album. Use one of our D-ring albums and divided Memory Protectors™ to separate out all the photos you’ll want for an album. You can group like photos together so you know how to plan your layouts.

And that’s it! The next step is to start scrapbooking away! If the idea of scrapbooking itself overwhelms you, a great place to start is with our Workshops Your Way® scrapbooking kits. You can also talk to your Independent Consultant (or find one online!) to help you know where to start.

We hope this post helped you feel empowered to start organizing your photos for scrapbooking. We know that when you take that leap of faith, you’ll find so much joy and satisfaction in preserving your family’s memories and stories.

Have additional tips for organizing and printing your photos for scrapbooking? Share them in the comments below!

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June 13, 2017Learn, Memory Keeping

3 Ideas for Scrapbook Cover Pages

Close To My Heartcover, engagement, Family, graduation, idea, keeping, memory, page, scrapbook, scrapbooking, vacation, wedding 9 Comments

Every scrapbook album needs a front cover page and a back cover page…but sometimes it’s hard to know how to summarize your album! After all, you only have two pages, one at the front and one at the back, to explain what the entire album holds!

If cover pages have you stumped, don’t worry—we’ve got you covered! 😉 Here are three fail-proof ideas for creating amazing cover pages!

In Great Shape

Attach a large shape to the center of your base page. Then position your title and photos over this shape. Even if you have multiple photos (we have five here!), your page will still feel like a cover page because the large shape in the background creates a central focus. Pretty neat trick, right? 🙂

Easy As 1-2-3!

Simply attach three photos horizontally across the center of your page. Then add your title directly above or below these photos. Three is the key here! It’s a balanced number that draws the eye in.

Keep It Simple, Silly!

When all else fails, find a photo that sums up your album, and center it on your page along with a prominent title.

One fun spin on this approach is to center your photo but then place the title on the left side of your page, either vertically or horizontally!

Overall, the secret to creating a strong cover page is to draw the eye in to a central point with your pictures and title. If you keep that in mind, then you’re off to a great start!

And while you’re working on your cover pages, be sure to grab some albums because they’re on a great sale! For the month of June, you can buy one album and then get a second one at half price!

What album are you currently working on? Tell us in the comments below! 🙂

Recipes

12″ x 12″ The Woods Page
B1484 My Acrylix® Jennifer’s Hand Stamp Set, D1702 My Acrylix® Capture This Stamp Set, X7221B Prickly Pear Paper Packet, Z3254 Enchantment Fundamentals Paper Packet, 1385 White Daisy Cardstock, X5789 Sea Glass Cardstock, X5788 Raspberry Cardstock, Z2848 Sapphire Exclusive Inks™ Stamp Pad, X7221C Prickly Pear Complements, Z3324 Prickly Pear Sequins, Z3132 Watercolor Paints, Z3188 Paintbrush Set, Z3167 Cricut® Artistry Collection, Sewing Machine, Thread

Cricut® Shapes:
Artistry
1 1/4″ “Woods”

12″ x 12″ Let’s Go Back Page
B1484 My Acrylix® Jennifer’s Hand Stamp Set, X7221B Prickly Pear Paper Packet, Z3254 Enchantment Fundamentals Paper Packet, 1385 White Daisy Cardstock, X5789 Sea Glass Cardstock, X7221C Prickly Pear Complements, Z3167 Cricut® Artistry Collection

Cricut® Shapes:
Artistry
1″ “Let’s Back”

12″ x 12″ Dallin & Sarah Page
X7221 Prickly Pear Paper Packet, Z3254 Enchantment Fundamentals Paper Packet, X7219B Little Dreamer Paper Packet, 1385 White Daisy Cardstock, X5788 Raspberry Cardstock, X7221C Prickly Pear Complements, Z3314 Black & White Dots, Z3167 Cricut® Artistry Collection, Sewing Machine, Thread

Cricut® Shapes:
Artistry
1 1/4″ “Dallin & Sarah 2017”

12″ x 12″ Hello World Page
B1484 My Acrylix® Jennifer’s Hand Stamp Set, X7221B Prickly Pear Paper Packet, X7219B Little Dreamer Paper Packet, Z3263 Uptown Fundamentals Paper Packet, 1385 White Daisy Cardstock, X5788 Raspberry Cardstock, X5763 Smoothie Cardstock, X7221C Prickly Pear Complements, Z3257 Thin Cuts—Love, Z3167 Cricut® Artistry Collection, Sewing Machine, Thread

Cricut® Shapes:
Artistry
1/2″, 3/4″, 1″, 1 1/4″, 1 1/2″, and 1 3/4″ Icon-1 <k> (cut 5 of each, p. 28)
1 1/2″ “Class of 2017”

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June 6, 2017Learn, Memory Keeping

Looking for a Great Scrapbook Album? We’ve Got You Covered!

Close To My Heartalbum, buy, divided, flaps, flip, free, get, june, legacy, memory, my, one, plus, pocket, protectors, scrapbooking, special 28 Comments

Here at Close To My Heart, we’re serious about helping you preserve your memories with style. That’s why, throughout the month of June, you can buy one My Legacy™ album and get a second one at 50% off! For those of you who are new to Close To My Heart or who would just like to learn a little bit more about our unique scrapbook albums, this is the post for you! We’re going to cover all our bases today and tell you everything about our albums—and some of the awesome products we have to go with them!

Close To My Heart scrapbook albums #ctmh #closetomyheart #scrapbook #album #memorykeeping

Post-bound Album

We have two different styles of My Legacy™ albums. The photos above show our post-bound style. This style minimizes the gap in between your pages, so your scrapbook album looks professionally bound. The ends of the posts are hidden by the binding, and they feature easy-to-use handles for twisting open the posts and adding pages.

D-ring Album

Here’s our other style: D-ring! These albums are a great fit for those who want to be able to add pages quickly and easily. Some people like to use D-ring albums for storing their pages until they finish an album’s worth, and then they move all the pages into a post-bound album for permanent storage—and with our buy-one-get-one-half-off sale, it’s a great time to try this approach!

Above are all the colors that are currently available in the post-bound style.

And here are all the colors that are currently available in the D-ring style.

Now the best part of any scrapbook album is what you keep inside, of course. 🙂 And since we know the memories you want to preserve are precious, we offer high-quality top-load and side-load Memory Protectors™ to keep them safe. We also have some specialty Memory Protectors that can add a lot of variety to your layouts.

Up first are our divided Memory Protectors for pocket scrapbooking. We have five different styles to choose from—you can check them all out here. These make great additions to your layouts, like you can see above, or you can create an entire pocket scrapbooking album. We recommend using our D-ring album style with these Memory Protectors.

While we’re on the topic of divided Memory Protectors, we have to mention our Pocket Plus™ Memory Protectors. These only cover part of a page, so they are great for adding a few additional photos to your layouts. You can see how they really enhance a traditional layout in the before and after pictures above. For more information about these protectors and for tips on how to design you layouts to incorporate them, check out this blog post.

We also have Flip Flaps™, which are little individual pockets that come with an adhesive strip. You can attach them to both your pocket or traditional scrapbooking layouts. These come in a variety of sizes and create fun, interactive elements on your pages. For more information about these protectors and for tips on how to use them, check out this blog post.

A few other noteworthy accessories….These are our spine expanders. When you have layouts with lots of dimension in a post-bound album, you can get an album that looks like this: <. That’s because the part of your protector that holds your page onto the post is thinner than your dimensional page. Placing spine expanders between the pages of your album helps to even out the space so that your album will look more like this: =. It’s a quick fix that makes a world of a difference!

For post-bound albums with fewer pages, we recommend these 1″ posts. These posts will slim down the spine and allow your pages to be held more snugly between the covers of your album.

Finally, add an identifier to the spine of your album with one of our label holders. These fit both album styles and are a great way to distinguish your albums from one another—especially if you have a lot together on a shelf!

Do you see what we mean about taking memory keeping seriously? 🙂 We want to give you lots of options for preserving your memories! If you have any more questions about our albums, please leave a comment below. We’re happy to answer any questions you may have!

GIVEAWAY!!!!!!

Want to win a bunch of products to fill your albums with? Then listen up! We are giving 3 lucky winners the following:

1 Fundamentals paper packet of your choice
1 Fundamentals Complements pack of your choice
1 Fundamentals ribbon pack of your choice
1 value pack of Memory Protectors of your choice (top-load or side-load!)

How do you enter to win this awesome prize? Simply subscribe to our blog! To do so, click on the blue “Subscribe to list” button on the right-hand side of the page. That’s it! If you are already subscribed to our blog, you’re already entered to win!

The contest will run for 48 hours, and we will contact the winners via email.

Good luck! 🙂
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May 25, 2017Create, Memory Keeping

Free Scrapbook Pattern for National Scrapbooking Month

Close To My Heartbeautifully, doggie, free, layout, live, Month, moon, National, pattern, scrapbook, scrapbooking 11 Comments

What better way to wrap up National Scrapbooking Month than to give our readers a free scrapbook pattern? 🙂

This pattern originally debuted with our Moon Doggie papers, but we decided to pair it with our National Scrapbooking Month Live Beautifully paper packet and stamp set—and we love the finished look! It goes to show how scrapbook patterns are truly timeless.

Download Pattern

Download the pattern above, and then create your own layout. Though the photo sizes on this pattern are not standard, you could easily replace the 5 ½” x 8″ photo on the left page with a matted 5″ x 7″. For the 4″ x 2 ½” photos on the right page, it is easy to trim ½” off of a 4″ x 3″ to fit the space.

Remember, our Live Beautifully paper packet and stamp set are only available until the end of the month, so grab them while you can!

For even more timeless patterns, check out our collection of affordable how-to pattern books, many of which are only available until the end of July. We know you’ll love them!

Recipe

12″ x 12″ Dream Layout
Moon Doggie Pattern
CC1212C My Acrylix® Live Beautifully Stamp Set, CC1212B Live Beautifully Paper Packet, 1385 White Daisy Cardstock, Z2805 Black Exclusive Inks™ Stamp Pad, Z2844 Pixie Exclusive Inks™ Stamp Pad, Z2835 New England Ivy Exclusive Inks™ Stamp Pad, Z3312 Gold Glitter Gems, Z3095 Whisper Thick Twine, Z1979 Marvy® Uchida® LePen™ Journaling Pen

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May 18, 2017Memory Keeping

Heritage Scrapbooking with Live Beautifully

Close To My Heartbeautifully, Family, genealogy, heritage, history, keeping, live, memory, Month, National, scrapbook, scrapbooking, vintage 6 Comments

At the heart of scrapbooking is the idea of preserving memories and telling stories in a meaningful way that will last. Scrapbooks are a great way to preserve your family’s history and be artistic at the same time.

Our Live Beautifully paper packet, which is only available this month as part of National Scrapbooking Month, features vintage-inspired designs that are perfect for heritage scrapbooking.

The beautiful flowers on this page were trimmed right out of one of the Live Beautifully papers. To really make them pop, we curled up the edges and attached them using 3-D foam tape. They look like they’re blooming right off the page!

This page also shows how the All About the Gold Fundamentals make a great companion to your Live Beautifully papers. They are 12″ x 12″ clear overlays with gold foil designs; on this page we used the diagonal stripes design. These overlays work really well with the gold foil accents featured in the Live Beautifully paper packet.

And while we’re talking about gold, let’s not overlook gold glitter paper! We used it to mat our photos here, and we love the results! Gold glitter paper looks really elegant with sepia or black and white photos. We finished the page off with some gold foil accents from the Springtime Complements, including the title.

Which additional products do you like to use with the Live Beautifully paper packet for your heritage scrapbooking? Tell us in the comments below!

Recipes

12″ x 12″ A Moment in Time Page
CC1212B Live Beautifully Paper Packet, 1385 White Daisy Cardstock, 1386 Black Cardstock, Z3238 Gold Glitter Paper, Z3216 White Twine, Z3285 Cricut® Flower Market Collection

Cricut® Shapes:
¾” “A MOMENT IN TIME”

12″ x 12″ Grandma & Grandpa Great Page
E1035 My Acrylix® Bistro Script Stamp Set, CC1212B Live Beautifully Paper Packet, Z3246 All About the Gold Fundamentals, 1385 White Daisy Cardstock, Z2805 Black Exclusive Inks™ Stamp Pad, Z3274 Clear Sparkles, Z1263 Bitty Sparkles, Z1151 3-D Foam Tape

12″ x 12″ My Favorite Page
CC1212B Live Beautifully Paper Packet, Z3238 Gold Glitter Paper, Z3307 Springtime Complements, Z1151 3-D Foam Tape

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Why is memory keeping important to you?

Sorting Through Memories

Choose a Format

Making the Time

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Step One: Consolidate Your Digital Photos

Step Two: Eliminate Unwanted Photos

Step Three: Organize Your Digital Photos

Step Four: Back Up Your Digital Photos

Step Five: Create To-Print Folders

Step Six: Upload & Print Photos

Step Seven: Organize Printed Photos

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In Great Shape

Easy As 1-2-3!

Keep It Simple, Silly!

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GIVEAWAY!!!!!!

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