Scrapbook & Cards Today Blog: Start with a story in mind....with Marnie!

Welcome back! Thank you for your kind comments on Monday. I hope you had a chance to think about some stories that you hadn't yet captured. And I am wondering if you had the same thing happen to you that happened to me when I went looking for accompanying photos. Did you get lost in your memories and photos? I did. Happily.

As I tried to complete the challenge with you, I learned a few things along the way. Here they are.

1. Start with a story in mind, and then go find a photo, if there is one
Having decided to create a layout about my Nigel and his 7 year love affair with Batman, I went looking for a photo of Nigel holding Batman. Where, and when are irrelevant as it is not important to this particular story.

(11 x 8.5) materials: patterned papers (Creativity by Crystal, My & My Brother, paper pack 1) + fonts (Bebas, Century Gothic)

2. If you can't think of a story, just start clicking or leafing through old photos. When you find one you love, stop, drop, and scrapbook.

To get the photo for the Halloween layout, I had to break out the old external hard drive. The one that houses 2004 through 2007. I opened the first folder and saw this photo. Not only did it steal my breath away, but it captured my attention which means, it deserves a page in scrapbookland.

(11 x 8.5) materials: patterned paper (Paislee Press, Delovely) + title, parenthesis & ribbon (Paislee Press, Delovely) + Photo frame (Paislee Press, Fancy That) + fonts (1942 Report, Century Gothic)

And please remember that not every story needs a long telling. Short, sweet, poignant, and fact-filled can work, too.

(11x 8.5) materials: patterned paper, arrow, title letter stickers (Creativity by Crystal, July 2009 collection) + font (Century Gothic)

3. Allow your purpose to be fluid.

Standing next to a bunch of toothless first graders in the bus line, I thought about how Nigel was toothless for so long. While I was hunting for a photo of Nigel and his missing front teeth, I found a whole series of photos of Nigel at six. As I looked at the pictures, I realized I wasn't thinking about Nigel's teeth, at all. Rather, I couldn't believe how young he looked, what a little boy he was. Though at the time, I rarely treated him like one. So I skipped the tooth journaling (though I will record it someday) and opted for the honesty journaling instead. (You know, the kind where we have to admit things about ourselves. And not just how great the day was.) These thoughts are important as they are real and mine. It is just as okay to create layouts that record reactions, thoughts, and emotions, as it is to create layouts with traditional stories.

(8.5 x 11) materials: font (calibri)

4. Writer's block and no photos are no longer problems.

Do you sometimes not record your own childhood as you don't know where to begin? or because you have no photos? I share your concerns. Here are a couple of tricks I have to help.

a. Pick a topic and then just record your memories. Much like my Halloween layout. If you struggle to define a topic, look to the other layouts you are making. Did you create a first day of school layout for your child? Stop drop and scrapbook your memories about the first day of school. If you don't have a photos, use your paper and embellishments to help tell the story.

b. Don't try to do it all at once. At Write. Click. Scrapbook., we have giveaways every Thursday. To be considered, you only need to leave a comment answering a quick question. Each week we try to ask a question that can translate in a starting point for a page. Here are some of our questions/prompts:

tell us about your favorite fancy pants
tell us a camp experience, song, activity, or loathing
share a fun/outlandish/never-to-be-forgotten vacation memory
have you a favorite summer footwear?
tell us your favorite calendar day, and why
have you a fond teenage memory
share with us a favorite author/book/reading memory
If you play along, by the end of the year, you will have 52 layouts about you. (Which for some of you is 52 more than you started out with. teehee!) And all it takes is one memory a week. Totally doable.

Thank you, again, for spending some time with me. If you finish a layout, leave me a link. Please visit us at Write. Click. Scrapbook. often. And stop my blog anytime. Happy scrapping!

~ Marnie Flores

A very special thank you to Marnie for two amazing posts about telling your story ~ in so many ways! Today, find some time to drop and scrapbook a story that has not yet been told. But even before you do that, be sure to add Write.Click.Scrapbook. to your list of favourite sites to visit. I cannot even begin to tell you how inspiring that site is - you MUST visit it yourself. I go there everyday.

~ Catherine

What is going on tomorrow you ask? Funny stories to tell all about this fall issue! Call it a "behind the scenes" look at the inner workings :) And, Friday we have a fantastic prize to giveaway and then a few more sleeps and it is World Cardmaking Day! Join us right here on Saturday for 13 fabulous cards from some amazing designers. Oh and of course, 13 fabulous PageMaps sketches!