Friday, June 14, 2013

Attending Office Hours

     I've been very busy lately with creating layouts for Get It Scrapped, but I can't show those yet. You'll have to check back in a few weeks to see what I've come up with, but I will say, I love the layouts! Between Get It Scrapped's weekly articles, the design classes (there and at Masterful Scrapbook Design), the galleries, and their Pinterest boards, there is SO much inspiration to be found! Although I was a bit stressed out (there are some incredibly talented ladies on this creative team!), I have one month under my belt and feel a bit better now.
     Anyhow, despite the fact that I can't share my assignment layouts yet, I have also been attending most of the webinars and "office hours" that are included in Masterful Scrapbook Design's bimonthly seminars. This month's seminar was "Make It Mean" and focused on really adding meaning to a scrapbook page through journaling, of course, but also with the other elements on the page such as photos, embellishments, title, etc. -- making all aspects of the page support and enhance the overall message of the page to give it more meaning. (Click here to view more details) THESE. ARE. AWESOME! Besides getting to "hang out" with talented and knowledgeable ladies, it's so interesting to listen to the contributing designers and find out why they designed a layout in the way they did. And during Office Hours, anyone who wants to can share a layout to get helpful critiques, suggestions for improvement, help when they're stuck for ideas, or just to show what they've done. It's a no-stress, supportive environment, but if you want it to, it goes beyond just the "nice layout" comments; Debbie Hodge, the guest instructor(s), and the other attendees discuss not only what they like but why they like it (and knowing the 'why' helps to apply the same principles in the future!), and if you want (but only if you want) they'll also give suggestions for improvement. And the awesome thing is, they do it without forcing their particular style on anyone else; instead they give suggestions that work with any style.
     Can you tell that I'm hooked??? My favorite Office Hours so far took place yesterday. It featured the awesome Emily Pitts and Paula Gilarde - okay I'm partial to them since they taught the Guided Design Critique Workshops of which I was a part, but they are so good at explaining the what's and why's of what makes a great layout, and I've learned a ton from them. Despite some rare technical difficulties and an outburst from me (I was actually talking to my son about a deer in our backyard but didn't realize that my microphone had been turned on at just that second!) which hopefully was edited from the recording (insert embarrassed face!), it was an awesome session. They always have such helpful ideas for tweaking a good layout and making it great, and this session was no exception! I was able to share a layout of mine, which incidentally was inspired by an inspiration challenge on Paula's blog - a design and layout I've had in mind to do for several weeks and finally put together. Here's the original layout I shared, which I think was pretty good:



It went together very quickly and certainly told my story, but I knew it could use a few adjustments. Based on the critiques I received, here is the final layout - not much different, but definitely better. For instance, I love these Thickers from American Crafts that I used for the title, but they were a bit difficult to read; so I cut little slits in the e's, f, and g and now they are much more readable. (Just goes to show that you don't have to settle for exactly what you get in letters - they can be colored, cut, combined, and altered in lots of ways to make them fit your purpose.)


It often helps to have someone else look at it with fresh eyes. They'll point out things to change that I'll think, "Duh, why didn't I see that? - now it's so obvious!"

Click here to check out Get It Scrapped...you can even get a free e-book to get started and get a feel for what they have to offer! Also check out Masterful Scrapbook Design for the "Make It Mean" and other seminars - monthly, 6-month, and 12-month subscriptions, as well as back issues, are available.

Saturday, June 1, 2013

Get It Scrapped CT Blog Hop


Hello and welcome to the Get It Scrapped Creative Team Blog Hop!

 I am SOOO excited to announce that I will be joining the Get It Scrapped Creative Team beginning today, June 1st. This is my first creative team position, so I must admit that I'm a little nervous about the whole thing, but I'm also super excited! And I think that this is a great place to start. I love the Get It Scrapped/Masterful Scrapbook Design community because it feeds my desire to learn and grow. There is so much incredibly meaty information at these two websites and so many opportunities to receive feedback and constructive help.

For instance, do you struggle with how to include journaling on your scrapbook page? When it comes down to it, one of my main reasons for scrapbooking is to record stories and memories, so that requires journalling. I could just put it onto the page anywhere there's room, but I like it much better when it fits in with the overall design of the page. This article from Get It Scrapped, 5 Ways to Make Scrapbook Page Journaling A Dynamic Part of Your Visual Design, discusses making journaling a part of the page design, and it gives some awesome ideas and examples. I've tried to incorporate these ideas in all of my pages lately, and here's just one example:




(Yup, that's me when I was about 6 years old.) I also took inspiration from one of the Get It Scrapped Pinterest inspiration boards (Inspo: Covers Book & Magazines) and used this book cover as my starting point. Although the  book cover doesn't look much like the final layout, you can see hints of it in the vertical column of the poem and photo.


I'm also excited that I get to offer you a discount on the Typography issue from Masterful Scrapbook Design - how cool is that??

Save 60% off of the Masterful Scrapbook Design Issue – Typography

 



Join guest teachers Anna Aspnes, Paula Gilarde, Emily PItts, Lisa Dickinson, and Tiffany Tillman as they show how to
use type as focal point, embellishment, title, and backdrop, and give you ideas and how-tos for both paper and digital scrapbook pages. Learn from these designers who rock the typography on their own scrapbook pages.
 

Use coupon code giscttsmf60p to grab this issue for 60% off thru midnight ET June 3rd
***Just place the Typography issue of Masterful Scrapbook Design in your cart and apply the coupon code above.***


For more ideas and discounts from the Get It Scrapped Creative Team keep on hopping, using the links below!


 

Enjoy your weekend!!!