Technology

My previous post illicited so many comments that I thought I would write a post about it.

In years gone by, I was totally against digital scrapbooking, but then I refused to see 'Toy Story' when it first came out, because it was animated by computer and not in the traditional Disney style. I admit it I am a little slow to catch onto things. I now look at things like 'Lord of the Rings' and even better 'Avatar' and believe that those worlds just have to exist. The computer technology and CGI (I think that is what it is called) is so much more real than real, that it is impossible to believe that it just doesn't exist in our non-virtual world.

I am completely in love with technology. I couldn't exist without my laptop. It is just amazing and I know that I will be keeping it up to date. It is one of the first things I switch on in the morning and the last that I switch off at night. I check my emails every few hours, check out Facebook and do a little digital scrapbooking. I work on my uni stuff and just check out the times for a movie. I am hooked on technology.

Digital scrapbooking has me totally hooked. I can take a photo and within minutes have it scrapbooked and shared around the world. I have a running 2010 album that I am doing photos on a daily/weekly basis and it is going to be a detailed photo journal of my life. I guess this is part of my passion and it is so much quicker than waiting to get photos printed, then having to find the time and space to traditionally scrapbook them. The other amazing part is the ability to journal. I can insert a full page of text - yes it doesn't have my handwriting (something I was always big on), but if I really want that then I can scan in a written page. Now isn't this all cool.

So in our house we have 4 laptops and an older computer and at times we are all using them. We do however, ensure that we still all make time to be together for family chats in the lounge. Communication is the most important thing - I can communicate with family around the world via technology, but nothing beats our family evenings filled with laughter and joy.

CM & Facebook

I have been trying to figure out a way I could share my CM digital album pages on Vesta as well as Facebook, but it appears that there is no way to copy a single page and post it here, so if you want to see some recent family photos then check them out on Facebook.

I must admit that I haven't quite figured out how Facebook works. I keep checking it out, but there is often just links to games (Farmville) and Astrology charts and everyone adding a friend to their list. Does anyone every write anything for others to share???

My friend Darlene from Canada is really good posting things, so I get to check out what is happening in her world. I also follow her blog which I have enjoyed for over a year now. But, I just don't get the rest. I guess it is perhaps a generational thing for me.

Anyway I love CM digital albums as I am completely up to date with my 2010 photos, as I take them I download them onto the computer and create a page and update my monthly calendar. I am also working on all my 2008 photos which have been sitting in a drawer for over a year now. I guess for me traditional scrapbooking is a thing of the past and so is printing photographs. It took me a while to get into this form of scrapbooking and photography, but now I will never go back.

Well done CM for making it so easy.

Digital album

I thought I would share a couple of photos of my digital album of our trip to the USA.

I made a bit of a mess with the cover photo, not dropping it down low enough, with only one other tiny mistake, am blown away by the whole project.

I have used a combination of full photo backgrounds, black and even some fancy paper on other pages.

Digital albums

Yesterday I received my USA trip, digital album back from Creative Memories. I had submitted it on Thursday last week and it arrived within one week - fantastic. I am so pleased with it. After years of traditional scrapbooking, I thought that I would try a large 12x12 digital album of our trip to the USA and UK in July. I had such fun creating it online and the end product is wonderful.

Ivan sat last night and read every single page - his comment "This is so professional and beautiful, I much prefer it to the other albums." That was really nice to hear. In the long run, I think it will be more cost effective, save heaps of time and take up so much less space on the book shelves.

I am in the middle of the UK one now and find that I can create a couple of pages at a time and walk away, so that is great. There is no mess or fuss and the end result is fantastic. After years of anti-digital album talk from me, I am convinced.

Scrapbooking morning

It has been a wonderful morning. The children have the day off school, so I decided to spend the morning scrapbooking. I have been working on my Alice Springs album, as I am seeing my friend Michelle on Sunday afternoon and want to show it to her.

I only have a few pages to go, that is because I forgot to print about 10 photos, will do those tomorrow and then it will be completed. I am so glad as I now have another finished project.

So my achievement for today - 26 pages of journalling boxes and decorating.

Scrapbooking at last

My scrapbooking fell by the wayside last semester with my university commitments and it has been very hard to get motivated again. I have however, recently placed all my Alice Springs photos into a picfolio (slide-in) album and started doing the journalling boxes. I am up to page 20 in that and just doing a few at a time.

For my recent USA and UK trip I have decided to do a creative memories digital album, I am so enjoying the process and have just completed another 15 pages - total now up to 44 pages. It is looking wonderful and the process is easy and fun. I am slowly learning how the program works and experimenting with different layouts. It is much quicker than a traditional album, so heres hoping that it turns out well.

New Blogs

I have been surfing the Blogs today and found two wonderful new blogs. Amazingly, both are scrapbookers and one lovely lady is doing a 365 day project. It seems amazing that there are so many of us in the world that are documenting lives that we live on a daily basis.

I can sit here at my computer in Australia and connect with lives in the USA and in Canada and daily watch things happening in the lives of strangers, who through their blogs will become 'friends' even if they never know that I am getting to know them.

I love this amazing medium and often think that our current generation is going to be the 'Golden Age of memories'; of information about everyday life. The legacy that we leave behind, will be the daily little things, things that are missing from the major 'historical' text books of our time. The world will know us, by the things we share and talk about through our blogs.

Like my Blissings project the idea of 365 posts, that share what is happening in your life on a daily basis is wonderful.

A cool, rainy Saturday

Last night we had friends over for supper and they only left at 11.15pm! We are both getting far to old to stay up so late and today are finding that we are all just enjoying a relaxing day, except for poor Elizabeth who is working.

I have managed to get some more scrapbooking done. I am working on Christmas 2008 photos and also my Blissings album, which is now up to date for January 2009. It is a lovely project and I am looking forward to looking back at the end of the year.

Our garden is flourishing again after a week of intermittent showers, keeping it lovely and cool as well.

Christmas Workshop

We had our last Christmas CM workshop of the year at the local RSL club yesterday. Mom and I settled quickly into our pages, note the tidy space before we started, I did not take one later in the day - too busy enjoying my pages. I managed 14 pages and finally completed the last few photos of 2006. Yes, I know that I am behind the times! My final number of pages for the year 439 pages plus a storybook album.

In 2009 I am going to focus on finishing all of 2007 and 2008 photos - my official goal! I have completed Jan - March 2007, plus our massive USA/Canada trip of August 2007, but still have oodles and oodles of photos to do.

I also have two other major projects for 2009 and that is a Primary School Graduation album for Sarah of her school life up until now and for Matthew both his Primary and Middle School albums. This year I will need to have my camera with me often at school events as Matthew takes up his role of Middle School Captain. So I guess I had better start planning.

For all my CM partners, thank you for this wonderful year, for your support and encouragement and for all the fun we have shared.

Scrapbook workshops

Today was our monthly scrapbook workshop. Mom and Judith joined me for the day. There were 6 consultants and 6 customers so it was a rather small gathering, but at least everyone had a chance to work on their albums. Mom and I completed 18 pages each! My biggest success was completing our trip to the Barrier Reef. Not our whole Port Douglas trip yet, still have our day at the Daintree to do and my sunrise beach photos, so another couple of days work. Mom is working on photos from her childhood that she has taken from slides that she scanned. It is a wonderful trip down memory lane for her.

My friend Judith is fantastically creative and is doing her husbands 'Variety Bash' photos. She creates the most beautiful pages, including cutting out letters from the PJ material that she made his pyjamas from. Little pockets to keep souvenirs and amazing pages that leave you sighing and wishing for her talent. The downside however, from my own point of view, is that she only completed 4 pages - too slow for me. Still we have great fun with her and she is happy to join Mom and I for a glass of wine at lunchtime! The afternoons are a lot noisier as a result.

We are known as the noisy/busy table, but we love our scrapbooking and I think it shows!

Hope you all have a great week.

Beverly

Memory Albums

I am a scrapbooker and memory album creator. I went to my first Creative memories class in early 2000 and in February signed up as a consultant. I loved the concept and was soon addicted to creating my photo albums. I developed the most wonderful group of friends, Michelle, Annette and Susan and we met on a regular basis. I discovered that I loved the social therapy of a women's group where we could work on a craft and chat and solve the world's problems, as well as creating wonderful memory albums.

My first major project was my wedding album and I still treasure it today. I sometimes think that I would do it differently now, but if I contemplate changing it I just can't.

With our move to the USA I had to resign from CM but soon found a group in the USA and signed up again. I wanted my product at cost. Over the next three years scrapbooking filled my life. I saw so many beautiful things and had the chance to photograph and experience a lifetime full of wonders.

Our return to Australia left me again without access to Creative Memories, but I found another consultant and rejoined. This time it has been harder to create the wonderful groups that I have experienced in the past. I have neither the inclination or time to 'work the business', so with my good friends, remain a hobbyist. I do miss the social side of workshops and the inspiration from other people, but I have a lovely craft area and often you will find me working on one of my albums. I am also blessed with my 'page challenge group' - our online group who help each other keep inspired to work on our albums. Thank you Michelle, Mom, Tracey and Margaret.

Today I was thinking about all the memories that I have preserved. I am the proud owner of 61 completed traditional albums and 1 digital album that I made for Sarah. I have also created a few albums as gifts and these have travelled far over the sea. I figure that I have completed around 3700 pages in total with an average of 5 photos per pages. That is a grand total of 18500 photos in 8 years - about 2300 per year - WOW!!!!

The best part of all of this is the amazing memories that I have accumulated and the friends that I have collected along the way. I will continue scrapbooking and creating memory albums for my family. I hope that you will also find the time to save your memories, traditional albums, digital albums or even just slipping them into a picfolio album so that one day you will look back and relive your magic moments.