Making Memories

GUESS WHO IS HAVING A BIRTHDAY?

Join me in sending birthday wishes to Wendy Anderson.  We hope this day is full of fun, presents and a yummy birthday cake!

   

"Who I Met" Travel Challenge

Like so many experiences while traveling, meeting new people must be one of the best things! My mom and dad visited us from South Africa in October last year. This was the first time my mom traveled anywhere overseas and what an experience it was for them. They met so many new people and what fascinated them was that people are so much the same right around the globe. They ate turkey for the first time and even saw a white Christmas.  So "I am dreaming of a white Christmas" is a dream for them that came true. My parents also met a few people of their age and they LOVED talking to them hearing stories from long gone. And of course they enjoyed their grand children! I am sure of all the people they met the little people was their favorite!

This week my challenge to you is to create a page for your travel album about the people you have met on your vacations.

Wilna

Idea Gallery Spotlight

We get submissions to our idea gallery from all over the world. Today we thought we would spotlight a submission from Anne Jo Lexander who is from Norway. 

Anne used MM's Funky Vintage collection and Tag Maker Rims to create this beautiful page.  What a simple and fun way to frame multiple photos on this project.  To top the page off she used some additional embellishments like flocked ephemera, fabulous flowers and clears to add that extra bit of dazzle. 

For more great ideas, visit our consumer idea gallery.  If you have a fabulous project that you want the rest of the world to see, don't forget to upload it to our idea gallery.

Beach Purse

I got an email from Shanna Vineyard the other day.  She was excited to share her beach album that she created using MM's new tropical travel program.  Take a look at her project for today's inspiration.

 

Signage Inspiration

 

Signs are one of the most recognizable forms of communication around. Whenever I see a new one, I notice it right away, just like I did with this new sign I saw at Walmart. A couple of things really drew my eye...first the colors. I love black with pink (or black with any color really!) so this was a favorite right away. Second, the letters. Now, these kept me looking for a few minutes. I love how they are overlayed but carved out too - with a border in between. My first question - how can I do that on a scrapbook page?

I found a super easy way to create these same type of letters using stickers as shown on "Sunny" - a layout of my youngest daughter playing in the water.

1. Decide on the word you want to do and select some stickers that look good. I used these awsome MM stickers that have several sizes and font types all included. I like to take each sticker and lightly stick it on the edge of my table as I work.

2. Lay the first letter slightly over the second letter - or, if it looks better for the second letter to overlay the first, do it that way - and stick together.

3. Using a small, precise pair of scissors, trim around the overlaying letter. On curved letters, it helps to trim a little bit more, on straight letters, that's all you need to do.

4. Now, move on to the next letter and do the same until the word is finished and ready to stick to your layout or project!

I've shared with you, now you share with me - show all of us your creations using this fun technique by adding your version to the MM idea gallery!

Joey

6" x 9" Album

I was recently asked to make a mini album using the new Funky Vintage Flocked Chipboard mini albums and I have to admit that I LOVE them!  The 6" x 9" size is a fun new take on your typical mini album. I've been doing 6" x 6" albums for years now, but those extra 3 inches gives you that little extra room to work with, without being too overwhelmed.  The album itself has a super wide spine allowing lots of room for bulkier pages.  I love that I could decorate the chipboard cover, yet it has the fun flocked spine to give you a head start and add in interesting texture to the cover.  I simply added some pattern paper, painted jigsaw, a frame, and some fun Funky Vintage embellishments to complete my cover. 

My album is titles "Faces of my Days."  I made this to hold all the faces of my daycare kids that are in my life right now.  The 6" x 9" pages were the perfect size to make this easy and simple, and the 2-ring binder style album makes it easy to add as may kids that I want over the years.  I used papers, embellishments, and paints from the Funky Vintage collection to assemble this album.

Pick up one of these fun new mini books next time you're out or buy them here.  I think you will find that the 6" x 9" page size will work great for so many projects...not too big or too small.  Make sure and let us know what you come up with by uploading your designs to the MM Idea Gallery.  Happy creating!

Laura

 

Travel Album- "What I Saw"

I love summer vacations- big ones, little ones, weekend ones...even ones that only last for a few minutes in a sun filled backyard. There are so many beautiful things to see in the summer time- especially in Western Washington State, where I live.

I think because I don't have children, I naturally take a lot of scenic photos of our excursions- and I am glad that I do. It's great to look back and remember how yellow the grass is at your favorite campsite, or how misty the ocean can get in the morning...not only does it highlight so many happy memories, it also helps refresh your memory when packing for a second visit.

I made this page with a few more of the photos I have from a quick road/surf trip to Neah Bay last August. Neah (Nee-ah) Bay is the Northwestern most tip of the United States, and is situated on the Macaw Indian Reservation. It is also a hotspot for Washington State Surfers. I admit that camping sooooo close to the wide open Pacific Oceanwas a little unnerving at night, (I was fearing a sudden Tsunami, much like kids fear the monster in the closet) but during the day, the views and weather were beautiful enough for me to want to stay forever.

Looking for beautiful scenery to take photos of is one of the things I look most forward to when getting ready for a vacation. Do you have scenic photos that you haven't scrapped? If so, why don't you join us in filling up your album with pages highlighting the various things you saw on your last vacation, and share your pages with us in the Making Memories Idea Gallery.

Jennifer Pebbles

 

Click. Send. And WIN!

We've just launched an exciting contest that could win you a great prize package.  Between today and August 17 (midnight, MST), we're asking our blog and newsletter readers to send an invitation to friends and family, encouraging them to sign up for our monthly newsletter. Then - the FIVE readers who sign up the most subscribers by will receive a fantastic goodie basket filled with Making Memories products that are just now shipping to stores.

Subscribing is oh-so-easy. Visit the Making Memories home page and click on "Sign Up for Our Newsletter."  And here's the key: Make sure to tell your friends to put your name in the box marked "Who Referred You?" and we'll be able to credit you with that subscription! We truly appreciate your help. Good luck ... and look for the winners' names to be posted the week of August 20!

Named After...........

What do you get when you mix ledger patterns, lacey flowers, loopy stripes, knockout solids and die-cut edges?  You get our {Note}worthy collection of open stock papers, leather-spined binder albums, multi-layered stickers, embellishment jars, boxed collections and so much more!  These striking ledger designs dressed in three vibrant color families, Ava, Audrey and Hillary are definitely deserving of attention!  We are beyond excited about the way this line turned out and even more excited to get busy creating with it.  My sister is also thrilled because she just had her first baby in May (this is my first niece...yeah!).  We knew for many months before her birth that she would be naming her Avah, so we decided to name one of the collections after her!  However, we dropped the "h" to have a more common spelling for the line - Ava.  We love to name all of our collections after people we know and love.  So here's to my beautiful, sweet little niece! 

Jayme

Photo Tip from Wilna

With digital photos a lot of the tips and tricks happen "backstage" with programs like Photoshop. I want to show you a very simple way to blur a part of your picture while having a very sharp focus on another part. I use Adobe Photoshop Elements. You can use this link to get a free 30 day trial of PSE.
To get the blur effect, we will be using layers which is GREAT to work with.

1. Open your picture.
2. Go to layer (on the top bar)  and make a duplicate layer by selecting duplicate layer. On the right hand side, you will se 2 little blocks each with your picture in them.
3. Go to filters and select Gaussian blur... you can determine how much you want it to blur by adjusting the slide button.
4. Then using your ERASER (on the left hand tool bar) , you erase the parts you want to sharpen /the parts you want to have in focus.
( It's just like having 2 layers. The bottom one is the normal picture and the top one is the blurred one. Now you take away from the blurred one and the bottom one "shines" through!)
5. Go to layer again and click Flatten image

and VIOLA!!! You have a picture that is blurred with a subject in focus.

I hope this is simple enough. If you have any questions, please leave me a comment here and I will check back often and asnwer them in the comment section

Happy picture taking!
Wilna
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