Wednesday, January 30, 2008

Write it on Wednesday - What’s in a name?

What’s in a name?

Juliet: in Romeo and Juliet:

Tis but thy name that is my enemy;
Thou art thyself, though not a Montague.
What's Montague? it is not hand, nor foot,
Nor arm, nor face, nor any other part
Belonging to a man. O, be some other name!
What's in a name? that which we call a rose
By any other name would smell as sweet;
So Romeo would, were he not Romeo call'd,
Retain that dear perfection which he owes
Without that title. Romeo, doff thy name,
And for that name which is no part of thee
Take all myself.

A US couple in 2001 who tried to find a corporate sponsor for their baby son failed to find a bidder. Jason Black and Frances Schroeder used eBay and Yahoo! to auction the name of their third child. They were aiming for at least $500,000 so they could name their little boy Cisco, Microsoft, Intel, or whatever. But time ran out. Under New York State law, the deadline to put a first name on the boy's birth certificate came and went without a substantial offer. So instead, his parents decided to simply call him - Zane.

If you think about it, there are probably many stories about names. And not just people’s names, but names of houses, boats, pets…

What’s the story behind that name? What happened when someone got the name wrong? What name do you like best?

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Wednesday, January 23, 2008

Write it on Wednesday - Journalling pens

Most people have a favourite pen that they like to use for journalling with.

I'm a bit fickle, personally, I'm always looking for a really good pen and I change my allegiance often.

Here are some of the pens I've used myself and been recommended:

Sharpie pens
Zig writer (I have a blue one of these and as it has two different widths it's really useful)
Gel pens are often popular
Sakura gel pens - I've had some great Sakura pens including a white one, glaze one, glitter ones, etc., but they seem variable as to how smoothly they run and how long they last.
Fountain pen - if you're not fussed about using ordinary ink, a lot of people enjoy using a favourite (often old) fountain pen for journalling - perhaps best where you're journalling on a separate piece of paper such as a journalling block, rather than all over the layout
Uniball signo - white particularly recommended

So - the challenge for today - doesn't matter what you write (did I say that??), but have a go at writing with the pens that yo have to hand. Try out a title, a saying, some journalling. Get the feel of the pens you have. You might surprise yourself!

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Saturday, January 19, 2008

Scrapbooks in Order: Organizing your scrap supplies

It must be the new year – the scrap blogs are awash with organisational tips.

I’m certainly up for re-organising my scrap supplies. My ribbons have overflowed their current storage and I either have to use up some of them (nooo!!!) or find a different way to store them. Plus I have so much stash I can’t use it effectively any more.

Here are some links to organising scrap supplies:

MM Blog: organizing your embellishments http://makingmemories.typepad.com/makingmemories/2008/01/organizing-yo-1.html

MM Blog: how do you stay organized – with 700 tips from readers in the comments!
http://makingmemories.typepad.com/makingmemories/2008/01/how-do-you-stay.html

How to Organize Your Scrapbook Room!
http://kadordea.blogspot.com/2008/01/how-to-organize-your-scrapbook-room.html

Ribbon storage
http://scrapbookobsession.wordpress.com/2008/01/01/scrapbook-organization-more-on-ribbon-storage/

You’re not alone…
http://scrapbookobsession.wordpress.com/2007/12/18/scrapbook-organization-my-spaceagain/

Free planner downloads from Creating Keepsakes
http://www.creatingkeepsakes.com/mag/index.ihtml?issue=January+2008

General organisation tips
http://robindiniphotography.blogspot.com/2008/01/time-to-organize.html

Wednesday, January 16, 2008

Write it on Wednesday - Printed quotes

I don't often use printed quotations - I find they're rather expensive when I can find quotations really easily on the Web and print them onto whatever paper matches my layout - but there's no doubt that the latter method takes longer. In this case, I had a lovely picture of my children which I wanted to scrap for their grandmother's album, and I turned to the printed quotes that came in QVC pack a few months ago. I knew the pack had a strong theme of family and selected three different elements, a transparent quotation sticker, a title and a couple of stickers. The quote:

"Life's aspirations come in the guise of children"

...summed up my feelings so that I didn't have to write my own journalling. A good quote can do that.

Often a good quotation can be the start of a layout, or it may start you off on your own journalling (I'm sure I've said this before!). Or, like this, it can be just exactly what you need, on its own.
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Wednesday, January 9, 2008

Write it on Wednesday - How do I love thee?

How do I love thee?
Let me count the ways...
Christina Rossetti

Think of someone one you love: set down the reasons why you love them, the things about them that you love. Count the ways... here are some prompts to get you started.

I love the way you...
I love it when you...
My favourite part of your face is...
Your smile makes me ...
I love your ...
You're a great husband because ...
I'm so glad you ...

(Posted early because I'm busy this week)
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Thursday, January 3, 2008

Titles for summer holiday Los

I know it's an odd time of year to be thinking of it, but I've been thinking up some summer and holiday themes titles for layouts:

  • Just add water
  • Splash!
  • Water, water, everywhere
  • Sun, sea and sand
  • An English Summer
  • Beachcomber
  • The Shell Seekers
  • Splish Splash
  • Life’s a beach
  • Seaside frolics
  • Beach babes
  • Beach boys

Wednesday, January 2, 2008

Write it on Wednesday - Why do you like this photo?


It's not often I scrap the same photo twice, but I did this one. Last thing on Christmas Day I decided to create an 8x8 album for my mother-in-law who was staying with us. I managed to finish it by the time she left on the 29th. OK, I printed out 6 copies of recent 12x12 layouts, but I also needed 14 new layouts.

I thought the subjects of the photo looked cute, so the first time I scrapped it I used a pun and called it "Ferret touching" - very touching - OK, OK, a bad pun!


This time I looked at the photo and thought again about why I liked it. Because my son has a right soppy look on his face! And I still thought they BOTH look cute!


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