I know I posted this video a couple years ago, but it's a classic and just darn fun to watch. From my favorite Nekromantix album, Return of the Loving Dead.
Happy Halloween!
Thursday, October 31, 2013
Wednesday, October 30, 2013
Six Word Story
On Sunday I shared a layout using a six word story as my journaling. In 2012 I wrote a bi-monthly article called girl + story for The Artisan Notebook. One of the articles I wrote was about using the concept of the six word story in scrapbooking. Here is that article, Six Word Story, from February 2012.
The world of digital scrapbooking is a-buzz with a desire and appetite for storytelling. I've made my share of layouts that are just for creative team responsibilities. I've made my share of pages that just decorate a photograph. The layouts that I hold most dear are the ones that tell a story, or the ones that capture an essential piece of my life. The word that describes these most cherished layouts: meaningful.
Right now digital scrapbookers want to bring meaning back to their layouts. Journaling tends to go right along with meaning in scrapbooking. But I realized several months ago that some of my favorite layouts, ones that hold a lot of meaning for me, actually have very little journaling. They do have a few choice words, though. I want to encourage you that you can create meaningful pages without lengthy paragraphs of text - it all depends on the amount of detail you want.
Last year I came across the concept of the Six Word Story. The legend (I don't know if it's true) is that Ernest Hemingway was challenged by colleagues to write a complete story using only six words, a task his friends thought impossible. But Hemingway met the challenge, and his six word story was: "For sale: baby shoes, never used." He called it his best work.
The idea that I can communicate a complete and meaningful story in only six words is empowering. I can handle six words. Here's a six word story I thought of yesterday while doing chores: "Dishwasher. They don't all fit. Endless." And this has been my story for the last three days: "Waiting for Wednesday. Preschool starts Wednesday."
Even though I have had the six word story in mind for many months as a journaling technique, I had yet to use it purposefully in my scrapbooking. So a few days ago I found some pictures of my son playing with Legos. The photos were cute, but there wasn't anything particularly special about them. I can't remember any details of what happened that day. My photos didn't focus on his creation, but it seemed to be one of the typical "robot spiders" that he usually builds. These are exactly the type of photos that might lead to a pretty page, but one that is lacking in significance. The fact that he plays with Legos is a detail worth documenting, but I wanted to go a little deeper than that.
After a little thought, with the six word story in mind, I realized that there was something special I could say about me, related to the photographs: I love to build and make things with my son, but I have a hard time with the playing that comes after the building ... I love building the little people a house, but making them walk and talk isn't my cup of tea. I put the six word story concept to work and came up with this: "He builds. I build. He plays. I try."
I know, my six word story has eight words, but the number is arbitrary. The idea still holds: I used just a few words to tell a big part of my story. My short-short story about building and playing doesn't give a lot of detail, but it conveys much of the emotion, struggle, and achievement I experience every day as a parent.
Now that I've put the six word story to use in my own scrapbooking, I see that it's not just a technique to help you put a few words down on the page. Purposely limiting yourself to a few words helps you choose those words judiciously. It helps you to focus on the emotion that is tied to the photographs. The six word story is not a tool for documenting a lot of details, but through it you can zero in on one detail.
For anyone who wants to keep strictly to documenting the facts, the six word story might not be a good fit for journaling. Being so short, it does leave much of the story untold. And being untold, there is room for interpretation. I personally love this aspect of it. I think this is where memory keeping meets art. My life's story is not just about what I did, but how I felt and what I thought, and I can convey those ideas without explaining them. I do want to record the special events and holidays, and I want to remember some of the everyday details that would otherwise be forgotten. But I also have an urge to see something bigger in the mundane details of my life and to share those insights with the rest of my community. The six word story plays right into this desire to make art - to reveal an idea or a feeling without spelling out each word.
The six word story is a very versatile tool. It can be a quick fix to get a few meaningful words down on the page, but it can also be your emotional magnifying glass and the medium through which you express your innermost thoughts. I hope you'll give it a try.
The world of digital scrapbooking is a-buzz with a desire and appetite for storytelling. I've made my share of layouts that are just for creative team responsibilities. I've made my share of pages that just decorate a photograph. The layouts that I hold most dear are the ones that tell a story, or the ones that capture an essential piece of my life. The word that describes these most cherished layouts: meaningful.
Right now digital scrapbookers want to bring meaning back to their layouts. Journaling tends to go right along with meaning in scrapbooking. But I realized several months ago that some of my favorite layouts, ones that hold a lot of meaning for me, actually have very little journaling. They do have a few choice words, though. I want to encourage you that you can create meaningful pages without lengthy paragraphs of text - it all depends on the amount of detail you want.
Last year I came across the concept of the Six Word Story. The legend (I don't know if it's true) is that Ernest Hemingway was challenged by colleagues to write a complete story using only six words, a task his friends thought impossible. But Hemingway met the challenge, and his six word story was: "For sale: baby shoes, never used." He called it his best work.
The idea that I can communicate a complete and meaningful story in only six words is empowering. I can handle six words. Here's a six word story I thought of yesterday while doing chores: "Dishwasher. They don't all fit. Endless." And this has been my story for the last three days: "Waiting for Wednesday. Preschool starts Wednesday."
Even though I have had the six word story in mind for many months as a journaling technique, I had yet to use it purposefully in my scrapbooking. So a few days ago I found some pictures of my son playing with Legos. The photos were cute, but there wasn't anything particularly special about them. I can't remember any details of what happened that day. My photos didn't focus on his creation, but it seemed to be one of the typical "robot spiders" that he usually builds. These are exactly the type of photos that might lead to a pretty page, but one that is lacking in significance. The fact that he plays with Legos is a detail worth documenting, but I wanted to go a little deeper than that.
After a little thought, with the six word story in mind, I realized that there was something special I could say about me, related to the photographs: I love to build and make things with my son, but I have a hard time with the playing that comes after the building ... I love building the little people a house, but making them walk and talk isn't my cup of tea. I put the six word story concept to work and came up with this: "He builds. I build. He plays. I try."
 |
| Plain and Balance by Kitty Desigsn; Color Swatch Templates and Vintage Vogue Elements by Sahlin Studio; Life365 Hodge Podge 15 and Every(DAY} Life by Gina Marie Huff |
I know, my six word story has eight words, but the number is arbitrary. The idea still holds: I used just a few words to tell a big part of my story. My short-short story about building and playing doesn't give a lot of detail, but it conveys much of the emotion, struggle, and achievement I experience every day as a parent.
Now that I've put the six word story to use in my own scrapbooking, I see that it's not just a technique to help you put a few words down on the page. Purposely limiting yourself to a few words helps you choose those words judiciously. It helps you to focus on the emotion that is tied to the photographs. The six word story is not a tool for documenting a lot of details, but through it you can zero in on one detail.
For anyone who wants to keep strictly to documenting the facts, the six word story might not be a good fit for journaling. Being so short, it does leave much of the story untold. And being untold, there is room for interpretation. I personally love this aspect of it. I think this is where memory keeping meets art. My life's story is not just about what I did, but how I felt and what I thought, and I can convey those ideas without explaining them. I do want to record the special events and holidays, and I want to remember some of the everyday details that would otherwise be forgotten. But I also have an urge to see something bigger in the mundane details of my life and to share those insights with the rest of my community. The six word story plays right into this desire to make art - to reveal an idea or a feeling without spelling out each word.
The six word story is a very versatile tool. It can be a quick fix to get a few meaningful words down on the page, but it can also be your emotional magnifying glass and the medium through which you express your innermost thoughts. I hope you'll give it a try.
Sunday, October 27, 2013
1 Photo + Six Words
I recently blogged about how I'm getting bored of scrapping the same ol' activities year after year. Before Miller was in school I did a lot more moment scrapping. Those pages usually had just a single picture and a little journaling about parenthood or childhood. Lately I scrap out about outings, and I make a lot of double pages with lots of photos.
I thought I would try to mix moment scrapping back in. I was reminded of the article I wrote called Six Word Story for the Artisan Notebook in 2012. What I've decided to do is every once in a while I'll scrap a moment page with 1 photo and 6 words of journaling. Here is my first one.
This was a picture I took at a local art museum. There was bright light streaming through the windows, but I adjusted the exposure of the picture to correctly expose the shirt that the scientist is wearing. The windows are washed out, but I like the overall effect. Because I liked the photo so much, I wanted to do something with it. As I looked at it, I recalled that as soon as we got the the museum, the scientist headed straight over to the food shop and got some snacks. We all have our priorities.
Thanks for stopping by!
I thought I would try to mix moment scrapping back in. I was reminded of the article I wrote called Six Word Story for the Artisan Notebook in 2012. What I've decided to do is every once in a while I'll scrap a moment page with 1 photo and 6 words of journaling. Here is my first one.
This was a picture I took at a local art museum. There was bright light streaming through the windows, but I adjusted the exposure of the picture to correctly expose the shirt that the scientist is wearing. The windows are washed out, but I like the overall effect. Because I liked the photo so much, I wanted to do something with it. As I looked at it, I recalled that as soon as we got the the museum, the scientist headed straight over to the food shop and got some snacks. We all have our priorities.
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| Cardstock Essentials 3 by Karla Dudley; 25 Days of Summer Templates by Simply Tiffany Designs; Green Lights Ahead by Karla Dudley and Gennifer Bursett |
Thanks for stopping by!
Wednesday, October 23, 2013
October Fun Over The Years
There are a lot of fun activities to do in the fall - harvest festivals and pumpkin patches. I just scrapped our annual visits to some of our local pumpkin patches. It's a pretty set of pages, but I felt kinda "blah" scrapping it ... I've scrapped these same places and similar photographs for the last four years. I feel like I'm doing and scrapping the same thing over and over. I have a few ideas of how to remedy that, but in the mean time here are out visits to pumpkin patches over the last few years.
Thanks for stopping by!
2013
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| Recyclables 22 by Scrapping with Liz;Layers of Fall by Digital Design Essentials; Fresh Blooms by Kitschy Digitals; Art and Soul Freebie (lace) by Sahlin studio; CU Swirly Strings V5 by Chelle's Creations |
2012
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| Tiny 10 #12 Bundle, Everyday Essential Paper, and Kicking up the Leaves by Gina Marie Huff Blocks, Blocks Blocks Templates and Blocks Sample Template from Scrapping with Liz |
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| Up Close and Personal Templates and Double Album Templates 4 by Scrapping with Liz; Sweater Weather and Composition by One Little Bird; Epic by One Little Bird, Paislee Press and Biograffiti StraightLine Stitched White No. 2 by Anna Aspnes; Autumn Splendor by mle Card and Tracie Stroud |
2011
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| Simple & Sweet Album Templates II by Scrapping with Liz (I put three templates together to make the 2-pager) Everyday Essentials Papers, Sweet & Simple Life #4, #7, and Everyday Life #2 by Gina Marie Huff Gracious Gingham and The Way We Weren't 4 & 5 by Allison Pennington; Euphoria papers by creashens Woodgrain Stamp Set by Karen Lewis; The Alpha Files No. 4 by Krystal Hartley; CU flowers by Wendy Page |
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| Chopped Paper Templates by Scrapping with Liz; Kicking up the Leaves and Sweet & Simple Life #11 and #6 and #5 and Everyday Essential Papers by Gina Marie Huff; Fresh Blooms by Kitschy Digitals Vintage Vogue Elements by Sahlin Studio |
2010
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| Fall Fun Templates and Tiny Dot Borders by Scrapping with Liz; October word art by DeCrow Stitches by K Studio; Various papers/elements from several kits by Gina Marie Huff |
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| Layered Masks by Scrapping with Liz; Sweet & Simple Kit #10 and Funky Basics Cardstock by Gina Marie Huff |
Thanks for stopping by!
Sunday, October 20, 2013
Favorite Layouts from June 2013
This is the last post to catch up a year of scrapping. Here are the final favorites from June 2013.
This was our first day of summer vacation. And it was a hot one! I got a couple pictures of Miller playing in the splash pad and one awesome picture of a jumping spider on the table.
These are some pictures from when my mom, my sister and my niece came to visit. I love the asymmetry of the page, and the colors are lovely. I like all the wood prints. I accidentally dated it as 2012 instead of 2013.
And here is one extra page that I'm sneaking in. It was from that same family visit, but I actually just scrapped it a few weeks ago. The scientist had fun playing on the monkey bars at the school. And I love the expression on my sister's face in the background photo.
Thanks for stopping by!
This was our first day of summer vacation. And it was a hot one! I got a couple pictures of Miller playing in the splash pad and one awesome picture of a jumping spider on the table.
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| Penny Kit, Add On Alpha, Labels, Tags and Washi by creashens; Leaf from Be by creashens Cookies for Kids template by Jenn Barrette (I think) |
These are some pictures from when my mom, my sister and my niece came to visit. I love the asymmetry of the page, and the colors are lovely. I like all the wood prints. I accidentally dated it as 2012 instead of 2013.
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| June Challenge Template (freebie) by Scrapping with Liz For Like Ever Kit and Flairs; Torn Bits 5; and Moire 1 by creashens |
And here is one extra page that I'm sneaking in. It was from that same family visit, but I actually just scrapped it a few weeks ago. The scientist had fun playing on the monkey bars at the school. And I love the expression on my sister's face in the background photo.
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| September MIS Template by Scrapping with Liz; Little Calicos by Valorie Wibbens; Cleaning Bug Papers by Pink Reptiles Designs; The Wonders of Motherhood Elements by Little Butterfly Wings; Bountiful Buttons by Karah Fredricks; CU flower by Wendy Page; Glittler Paper by Two Shutter Sisters |
Thanks for stopping by!
Wednesday, October 16, 2013
Crafty for Halloween
Miller wants to be a squid for Halloween. I looked up some costume ideas on the internet, got a few ideas, and then headed over to the fabric store. I bought some felt (the whole thing cost about $5, and that was with my extreme overestimate of how much fabric I needed).
This has been the simplest costume yet for me. It's basically just a fancy pointy hat. He will wear either a red or black shirt (we'll see which looks better) and black pants, and the ensemble will be complete. It was his idea to make pockets at the end of the tentacles so he can slip his hands into it. Brilliant! Here is what it looks like so far.
Thanks for stopping by!
This has been the simplest costume yet for me. It's basically just a fancy pointy hat. He will wear either a red or black shirt (we'll see which looks better) and black pants, and the ensemble will be complete. It was his idea to make pockets at the end of the tentacles so he can slip his hands into it. Brilliant! Here is what it looks like so far.
Thanks for stopping by!
Sunday, October 13, 2013
Recent Layouts
I'm scrapping up a storm!
These are pictures from the last day of our little camping trip back in August. I was waiting for some awesome double page templates from Liz to scrap these pictures. These pictures were from Point Lobos State Natural Reserve.
A visit to the Monterey Bay Aquarium was the highlight of our trip.
Miller goes to a pediatric dentist, and every year they put on a free customer appreciation day with tons of bounce houses and water slides and pony rides and cotton candy. We finally went this year.
This is a page I put together for Miller's school portrait, but I was worried about copyright issues, so I replaced the picture with one I took.
These are pictures I took for photography class practice.
Thanks for stopping by!
These are pictures from the last day of our little camping trip back in August. I was waiting for some awesome double page templates from Liz to scrap these pictures. These pictures were from Point Lobos State Natural Reserve.
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| Bold Double Templates by Scrapping with Liz; Little Calicos by Valorie Wibbens; The Wonders of Motherhood Elements by Little Butterfly Wings; Messy Marvin Deconstructed by Amy Wolff; Cleaning Bug Papers by Pink Reptile Designs; How it Began Elements by One Little Bird; CU Satin Flowers 2 by Megan Turnridge |
A visit to the Monterey Bay Aquarium was the highlight of our trip.
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| Bold Double Templates by Scrapping with Liz; Little Calicos by Valorie Wibbens; The Wonders of Motherhood Elements by Little Butterfly Wings; Messy Marvin Deconstructed by Amy Wolff; CU Satin Flowers 2 by Megan Turnridge; Be Kit and You Sliders by creashens |
Miller goes to a pediatric dentist, and every year they put on a free customer appreciation day with tons of bounce houses and water slides and pony rides and cotton candy. We finally went this year.
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| Recyclables 25 by Scrapping with Liz Just Go With It Elements, Papers and Chevies; Lemon Squeezy cardstock and Be kit by creashens |
This is a page I put together for Miller's school portrait, but I was worried about copyright issues, so I replaced the picture with one I took.
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| I Love Alphabet and 3 Minutes Kit and Felt Up 1 by creashens September Facebook Free Template by Scrapping with Liz |
These are pictures I took for photography class practice.
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| Nature's Painting and Nature's Kraft by Etc. by Danyale; September Challenge Template by Scrapping with Liz |
Thanks for stopping by!
Wednesday, October 9, 2013
The hummingbirds are gone
Over the last few weeks I have seen just a couple of hummingbirds, and the ones I have seen have not been feeding at my feeder. I guess they all migrated.
I really enjoyed the hummingbirds this year. I came to recognize some of their calls and even could tell the purpose of different sounds.
"Click ... Click ... Click" said as a hummingbird approaches a feeder means: Any other birds out here object to me taking a drink?
"Click ... Click ... Click" said by a hummingbird sitting in a tree means: That feeder is mine. If there's anybody else out there, just stay away.
"THRUMMMMMMM" said by a hummingbird as it swoops toward another means: Hey YOU! Get away from MY feeder!"
There was one sound, though, that I never understood. It was usually made by a lone (as far as I could tell) hummingbird just hanging out in the tree. I describe the sound as a cute version of fingernails on a chalk board, if you can believe such a sound exists. I guess that sound just meant: Here I am hanging out in the tree. Just minding my own business.
I continuously saw new behavior as the weeks passed. I read that hummingbirds will defend their territory. I definitely saw that. Except for one occasion, I only ever saw one hummingbird feed at a time. But I have also seen pictures of feeders with a bird feeding at each spot. One time I saw two birds approach the feeder and dive at each other ... but neither one flew off. They swooped again, and again neither one flew off. And then they both flew closer to the feeder, and both fed at the same time. I almost got a picture of it, but the darn lens cap intervened.
I look forward to the spring and summer when I might get to enjoy the hummingbirds again. Here is one of the last pictures I took. Come back next hear, hummingbirds!
I really enjoyed the hummingbirds this year. I came to recognize some of their calls and even could tell the purpose of different sounds.
"Click ... Click ... Click" said as a hummingbird approaches a feeder means: Any other birds out here object to me taking a drink?
"Click ... Click ... Click" said by a hummingbird sitting in a tree means: That feeder is mine. If there's anybody else out there, just stay away.
"THRUMMMMMMM" said by a hummingbird as it swoops toward another means: Hey YOU! Get away from MY feeder!"
There was one sound, though, that I never understood. It was usually made by a lone (as far as I could tell) hummingbird just hanging out in the tree. I describe the sound as a cute version of fingernails on a chalk board, if you can believe such a sound exists. I guess that sound just meant: Here I am hanging out in the tree. Just minding my own business.
I continuously saw new behavior as the weeks passed. I read that hummingbirds will defend their territory. I definitely saw that. Except for one occasion, I only ever saw one hummingbird feed at a time. But I have also seen pictures of feeders with a bird feeding at each spot. One time I saw two birds approach the feeder and dive at each other ... but neither one flew off. They swooped again, and again neither one flew off. And then they both flew closer to the feeder, and both fed at the same time. I almost got a picture of it, but the darn lens cap intervened.
I look forward to the spring and summer when I might get to enjoy the hummingbirds again. Here is one of the last pictures I took. Come back next hear, hummingbirds!
Sunday, October 6, 2013
Favorite Layouts from May 2013
I'm closing in on catching up a full year of scrapping. Here are the favorites from May. In May we had a family camping trip, and I really loved the album I made, but since I already shared that album, I decided not to use any of those as my "favorites" for this post.
First up is this adorable drawing of a whale. I loved how the Bit Worn clipping mask gave such depth to the page.
And this is my niece on her birthday. I love the colors of the page. These were some of the first pictures I took with my new camera.
Thanks for stopping by!
First up is this adorable drawing of a whale. I loved how the Bit Worn clipping mask gave such depth to the page.
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| Double Monthly Challenge Templates 4 by Scrapping with Liz; Whale of a Tale Kit, and Foxy by creashens Spring Fling Collab by creashens and Robyn Meierotto; Machine Stitching by Julie Bullock A Bit Worn No. 2 by Valorie Wibbens |
And this is my niece on her birthday. I love the colors of the page. These were some of the first pictures I took with my new camera.
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| June Free Template by Scrapping with Liz; Stencils No. 4, Fabulous Alpha, Sugar Sugar kit and Be kit by creashens Cardstock Essentials No. 3 and Number Essentials 1 by Karla Dudley |
Thanks for stopping by!
Wednesday, October 2, 2013
Movies
Here are a few movies we watched this summer that surprised me in a good way. We've watched all of these movies multiple times. And I'd gladly watch them all again.
First, Oz The Great and Powerful.
This movie gives us a story of how the Wizard of Oz came to be the Wizard and how the Wicked Witch became wicked. I thought this movie was fairly faithful to the spirit of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum and also faithful to the visual themes of the old original movie.
My favorite scene in Oz The Great and Powerful is when the Wizard begins to describe his plan to confront the witches, and he says, "Prestidigitation!" with theatrical flair. He's so sexy when he does that. Do you know what the word prestidigitation means? The scientist did. (I did not.) (But I do now.)
Next, The Muppets.
I do not remember being a fan of The Muppet Show when I was a kid. It was too zany for me. But now that I'm a grown up, it's just zany enough. This is a great, funny movie with lots of heart. It tells the story of how Walter, a lone and lonely muppet, travels to Los Angeles and gets the ol' Muppet gang back together. I love the main opening song and dance number; I love Kermit; I love the villians' maniacal laughter; and I love Walter's whistling. I love it all. Except the Swedish Chef.
Finally, Journey 2 - The Mysterious Island.
This one was the biggest surprise of all because I had very low expectations. This is a fantasy adventure with a little bit of geek thrown in. It tells the story of a group of people trying to get off a crazy and mysterious island. There was a previous movie called Journey to the Center of the Earth, which has the same boy character. I liked Journey 2 better. Besides having a common character, the two movies completely stand alone.
I thought Journey 2 had great characters and pretty good acting. It was funny. There is one scene in this movie ... I'll call it the peck pump scene. The first time I saw it, I was dumbfounded. Other characters throw berries at The Rock's chest and he bounces them off them with great force. The character Shawn is clearly as dumbfounded as you the viewer are, and that's what makes this scene great. The peck pump is bizarre, but it grows on you. It's a fun movie.
Now, I just have to come back to Muppets again. I've always been fascinated with them - both the "regular" muppets and the Sesame Street muppets. For instance, how are their faces so smooth? Is it foam or is there fabric stretched over the surface? How do they walk and dance right along next to the people, covering all kinds of distance? How does Kermit blow out a flame? I'm sure these questions fascinate you as much as they do me, just as I'm sure the scientist knows some of the answers. I'll leave you with a little bit of Muppet goodness.
First, Oz The Great and Powerful.
My favorite scene in Oz The Great and Powerful is when the Wizard begins to describe his plan to confront the witches, and he says, "Prestidigitation!" with theatrical flair. He's so sexy when he does that. Do you know what the word prestidigitation means? The scientist did. (I did not.) (But I do now.)
Next, The Muppets.
I do not remember being a fan of The Muppet Show when I was a kid. It was too zany for me. But now that I'm a grown up, it's just zany enough. This is a great, funny movie with lots of heart. It tells the story of how Walter, a lone and lonely muppet, travels to Los Angeles and gets the ol' Muppet gang back together. I love the main opening song and dance number; I love Kermit; I love the villians' maniacal laughter; and I love Walter's whistling. I love it all. Except the Swedish Chef.
Finally, Journey 2 - The Mysterious Island.
I thought Journey 2 had great characters and pretty good acting. It was funny. There is one scene in this movie ... I'll call it the peck pump scene. The first time I saw it, I was dumbfounded. Other characters throw berries at The Rock's chest and he bounces them off them with great force. The character Shawn is clearly as dumbfounded as you the viewer are, and that's what makes this scene great. The peck pump is bizarre, but it grows on you. It's a fun movie.
Now, I just have to come back to Muppets again. I've always been fascinated with them - both the "regular" muppets and the Sesame Street muppets. For instance, how are their faces so smooth? Is it foam or is there fabric stretched over the surface? How do they walk and dance right along next to the people, covering all kinds of distance? How does Kermit blow out a flame? I'm sure these questions fascinate you as much as they do me, just as I'm sure the scientist knows some of the answers. I'll leave you with a little bit of Muppet goodness.
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