This is a guest post from team member Lauren Madsen.

One of our themes this month at Simple Scrapper is “life’s big events”. As I have pondered on this topic I have come to a conclusion: many of the big events in my own life that have determined who and where I am today have been actually been difficult trials.

There have been weddings, graduations, births, and holiday celebrations. At the same time there have been health problems, financial struggles, family problems and even deaths. I tend to get excited about scrapping the happy times, the moments when everything seems right with my world.

In the past year or so I have re-evaluated and decided that there are some important reasons for me to tackle the tough stuff in my scrapbook pages as well. Below are three reasons I want to share about why I now scrap ALL the big events.

1. It provides a more complete picture of life.

When I read the journals of my ancestors, I feel a strong connection with them as I read about their struggles. There is something empowering about knowing that not only did they go through trying times, but they made it through them. The good times make for wonderful reading experiences too, but my point is that I want to know what life was like and that includes the times when life was hard.

2. It allows me to acknowledge the trial and then move on.

I guess when it comes down to it, documenting the tough stuff is therapy for me. I am able to look back, reflect a while, and then face the future. Maybe this reason doesn’t ring true for everyone, but in my case the therapeutic aspect can’t be understated.

3. It creates an opportunity to share what I learned.

In the past few years life didn’t go as planned for my little family. I would bet that many of us come to a point where we ask ourselves, How did I get here? This wasn’t the plan.  The truth is the things that kept me from getting me where I wanted to go actually taught me lessons I wouldn’t have learned any other way. And as it turns out I am actually incredibly grateful for those tough times and the lessons learned. Sharing those lessons with my children and grandchildren seems like a good way to show that gratitude.

I think it’s important for me to point out that I don’t usually document the tough stuff right as it’s happening, or even right after for that matter. It takes some time for me to be in a place where I am emotionally ready. Almost two years went by before I was ready to document the events surrounding my second pregnancy and move. Sometimes distance and a little courage will make the difference. 

Editor’s Note: Have you shared Lauren’s experience of finding meaning and personal revelation from scrapbooking the tough stuff? Leave a comment sharing your perspective.

Layout Credits: April 2013 Simple Scrapper Premium Membership Template, My Sibling My Friend Kit by Jady Day Studio, Alpha from Storyteller Collab Kit by Scrap Orchard, Recycle Bin Alpha by Julie Billingsley Design

The post The Tough Stuff: 3 Reasons Why I Document Life’s Harder Moments appeared first on Simple Scrapper.

The Weekly Pep Talk is a video podcast series designed to help you find more time for scrapbooking and use it well. Learn more in our free guide.

In this week’s pep talk, I’m sharing a fundamental principle of finding time for absolutely anything. There’s no magic bullet, it comes down to priorities and choice. Subscribers may need to visit the website.

Your Weekly Pep Talk

Subscribe on YouTube to be notified about new videos.

It’s your turn to talk! What’s your biggest time dilemma? Leave a comment sharing your thoughts on stealing time. Is that something you really need to do more of?

The post WPT#16: Gotta Steal It to Find It (VIDEO) appeared first on Simple Scrapper.

This is a guest post from team leader Jean Manis.

Having just taken part in Jennifer’s Stash Bash event I’m in the process of reevaluating which paper scrapbooking supplies are essential, based on the direction my paper scrapbooking is headed.

It’s obvious that scrapbooking has changed markedly in the last couple of years, especially with the introduction of Becky Higgins’ Project Life product line. Layouts with journaling cards are abundant in online galleries. Instagram has re-introduced the appeal of the square photo. And smaller embellishments are “on trend,” equally at home on layouts and in page protector scrapbooking.

As I culled through my pattern papers and embellishments, to weed out what I knew I would not use and to use up supplies I still liked, I realized that I wanted supplies that felt “lighter” on my pages so that the photos and stories would be the main attraction. Heavily-themed pattern papers no longer seem to fit with the layouts I have in mind, nor do pre-made, themed embellishments.

I consider myself a hybrid scrapbooker. While I make both digital and paper layouts, no matter how the final page will be produced, I design the page and edit and crop my photos on my computer.

Let’s take a look at my essential scrapbooking supply categories with some current offerings in the marketplace:

Sketches/Templates

The Simple Scrapper Premium Membership provides five templates every month geared towards today’s memory keeping.

Patterned paper

I currently prefer 6” x 6” patterned paper pads. The scale of the papers works well for my designs. I like the variety of papers, the price point, and the smaller size for storage.

Echo Park ”A Perfect Summer” 6 x 6 Paper Pad

Printables for journaling cards and labels

I prefer to journal on my computer rather than write my journaling by hand. Printables are an affordable and convenient way to have a variety of elements that coordinate with patterned papers, and because they are digital, I can print out what I need when I need it.

In A Creative Bubble “Home” Journaling Cards

Stamp set (and ink)

Recently I’ve begun making stamped cards and now want to incorporate stamped images on my scrapbook pages. There are a wide variety of stamps available designed for Project Life and scrapbooking in general.

Technique Tuesday “Good Day” by Ali Edwards

Neutral backgrounds

I scrap both 8 ½” x 11” and 12” x 12” layouts. I like both white and kraft papers.

8 1/2 x 11 White Woodgrain Cardstock

Bazzill 12×12 Kraft Cardstock

Washi tape

Washi tape is an easy and colorful way to adhere page elements including photos and patterned papers.

Pebbles Basic Washi Tape

Alpha sets

I like having a combination of “Thickers” and smaller sticker alphabets on hand.

American Crafts Amy Tangerine Goodness Thickers

Basic Grey Blue 6X12 Micro Monogram Stickers

Simple Stories SNAP Studio Collection Cardstock Letter Stickers

Wood Veneer

Wood veneer embellishments provide dimension and texture without being too theme specific. Veneer can easily be painted, colored with dye ink or embossed with metallic powder, or simply used as is.

Studio Calico “Hearts & Arrows” Wood Veneer Shapes

Additional Resources

Want to read more about scrapbooking with essentials? You’ll find these previously published Simple Scrapper articles of interest:

• What I Made: 8.5×11 Kit Challenge
• 7 essential supplies for digital scrapbooking
• 6 more essential supplies for digital scrapbooking
• Essential supplies for digital scrapbooking

The post 8 Essential Supplies for Modern Paper Scrapbooking appeared first on Simple Scrapper.

The Weekly Pep Talk is a video podcast series designed to help you find more time for scrapbooking and use it well. Learn more in our free guide.

In this week’s pep talk, I’m sharing how 6×12 layouts can offer a much-needed creative boost when you’re in a scrapbooking rut and still want to keep it simple. Subscribers may need to visit the website to view the video.

Your Weekly Pep Talk

Subscribe on YouTube to be notified about new videos.

It’s your turn to talk! Have you ever made a 6×12 layout or one of a different non-standard size? Leave a comment sharing your experiences changing up your scrapbooking canvas.

The post WPT#15: When Size Really Does Matter (VIDEO) appeared first on Simple Scrapper.

I ran out of adhesive today. It must be a sign to do some relaxing. Thank goodness it’s Friday and a holiday weekend!

When this month is all said and done I will have made at least 26 layouts and shared one of two super-cool new things with you. (The other will come later in the summer!) To tide you over, a couple of smaller fun things will happen this coming Monday – a refreshed newsletter design and our new team announcement!

Until then, have a great weekend and Happy Mother’s Day. Oh, and I just placed the order with my publisher for Everyday Storyteller print books. If you want to be guaranteed a May ship date (perfect gift for moms!), you’ll want to shop this weekend.

The post Have a Wonderful Weekend appeared first on Simple Scrapper.

Congratulations to the winners of our blog hop giveaway! They’ve each received a one-month Premium Membership here at Simple Scrapper and will be contacted directly with claim instructions.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

In other news, today is the last day to apply for our call for new design team members. Click here for details.

The post Giveaway Winners appeared first on Simple Scrapper.

This is a guest post by team member Jess Forster.

When I became pregnant with my daughter Rowan in 2011, I knew that I wanted to document my journey to motherhood. Having a child is an incredibly momentous occasion and I wanted to create an album that reflected that ride. A year and a half later, I have 58 pocket pages and 12 layouts completed and a whole album worth of material to look back at and wonder, where did the time go? Whether you are having a baby, going on a life changing vacation or getting married, here are four tips to help you begin documenting big event layouts or albums.

1. Start with the end in mind. Big events often represent a significant times in our lives. As scrapbookers, we put pressure on ourselves to make the “perfect page” especially when it comes to meaningful occasions. This way of thinking can be totally overwhelming and a buzz kill when it comes to sitting down and creating a layout. When I started my pregnancy album, I realized I couldn’t document everything, so I asked myself, what were the three most important things I wanted to include in my album. I realized wanted to have my pictures of my growing belly, monthly updates about the baby’s progress and snapshots of our life as a couple preparing for a little one. This gave me a blueprint for creating my album and helped guide my creative process.

2. Make copies of all originals. Whether it’s your grandparents wedding photo from 50 years ago or an airplane ticket from your trip to Europe, storing your memories digitally, and in multiple locations, can help ease the pressure of scrapbooking a big event. Chances are you will have much more fun cutting up a picture of your childhood knowing that it isn’t the original or the only copy. In terms of memorabilia, try scanning it or taking a photo of the item and include it in your layout. For my pregnancy album I have all my monthly belly pictures on my laptop, as well as an external hard drive, on my blog and on facebook. It might be overkill, but I will never forgot / lose the evidence of how big I actually got.

Credits

3. Rely on good design. With so many decisions to make about what pictures to use and what to details to include in your journaling, why not look to the experts to help guide you. Knowing that I that I didn’t have a lot of time to complete this album, I decided to limit my supplies. In addition to using a specific color scheme through out my entire album, I also relied heavily on templates to guide my scrapping process. There are so many to choose from including the ones that you can find in the Simple Scrapper membership. A year a have later, I still love that I used a Sepetmber 2011 Simple Scrapper template five times in my album!

4. When in doubt, have fun! Don’t forget that the non scrapbookers of the world don’t care if you used old Amy Tangerine products or non archival ink on your page. When you hear your inner critic, take a break and remember it doesn’t have to be so complicated! I still need to scrap Rowan’s birth story but haven’t been inspired. I don’t feel guilty about this because I know I will get to it some day. I look forward to the moment I create that layout and will wait until I am in the right frame of mind.

Editor’s Note: We all have a few big event projects on the backburner. Leave a comment and share one project you’d like to tackle this year.

Learn a step-by-step approach for tackling big projects in this month’s Focus lesson, available with your new premium membership.

The post Scrapbooking Big Events: Three Tips for Starting a Layout or Album appeared first on Simple Scrapper.

Each month, our Simple Scrapper team works with the Premium Membership sketch templates and Story Starter prompts to showcase their quality and versatility for paper and digital scrapbookers. Members receive new downloads each month and access to our full creative library.

My Layouts

This was a bit of an artsy month for me as I needed the creative escape while finishing Everyday Storyteller 2. I was also apparently really into white, sequins, and misting.

Giveaway

Use the Rafflecopter widget below to enter a giveaway for a one month trial membership at Simple Scrapper. There are three ways to enter and three winners will be selected. To be eligible, you must enter by 11:59pm CDT on Wednesday, May 8.
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Simple Scrapper << You are here
Lisa Corbin-Polak
Ronnie Crowley
Margrethe Aas Johnsen
Amy Kingsford
Samantha Landay
Pam Lozano
Aimee Maddern
Jean Manis
Van Nguyen
Melissa Priest
Mandy Ross
Celeste Smith
Sara Strickland

Love Sketches & Templates?

The Premium Membership at Simple Scrapper provides skills and shortcuts to help you simplify and find more meaning in your memory keeping. Each month members receive a new collection of sketch templates and Story Starters, story-focused prompts for pages and projects.

Want to work with our collections for FREE? Simple Scrapper is having a call for new team members.

The post Team Blog Hop: Win a May Premium Membership appeared first on Simple Scrapper.

The Weekly Pep Talk is a video podcast series designed to help you find more time for scrapbooking and use it well. Learn more in our free guide.

In this week’s pep talk, I’m encouraging you to step out of your comfort zone and move into the connection zone to find more energy and excitement about your scrapbooking. Subscribers may need to visit the website to view the video.

Your Weekly Pep Talk

Subscribe on YouTube to be notified about new videos.

Mentioned in this Episode

• Stay Really Motivated to Scrap
• Call for New Team Members

It’s your turn to talk! Do you ever hold back or resist a fun opportunity out of fear of rejection? Leave a comment sharing your thoughts.

The post WPT#14: Step into the Connection Zone (VIDEO) appeared first on Simple Scrapper.

I‘m excited to announce a call for additional 2013 Simple Scrapper team members! Simple Scrapper creative team members are an essential and valued part of our family. They work with sketch templates and page prompts and contribute to the blog on topics related to our mission of scrapbooking productivity.

Team members receive a free premium membership, including full access to our creative library and invitation to our 2013 core program: Focus. Here are some examples of past sketch templates that are typical of the Simple Scrapper design style.

Our Ideal Team Member

• Values storytelling and meaningful memory keeping
• Is a paper or digital scrapbooker (either or both)
• Enjoys working with sketches or templates and story prompts
• Can commit to 2-3 layouts per month & 1 blog post per term
• Loves the Simple Scrapper brand and is excited to help promote it
• Is eager to contribute to our community of simple scrapbookers
• Can commit to a 6 month term

How to Apply

I’d love to have you apply to be a team member! Please send an email to help@simplescrapper.com with the subject line “Team Call” by 11:59pm CDT Thursday, May 9, 2013 and include the following information:

1. Links to three of your best pages created within the past 6 months
2. Link to where we can find more of your work (gallery, Flickr)
3. List and URLs of where you are active online (blog, social media etc.)

The post Call for New Team Members appeared first on Simple Scrapper.