MY CAMERA IS MISSING IN ACTION!

Hi Everyone,

Memory Trends was nice this year. Before I get into the recap though I'm going to post a request.

MY CAMERA went MIA toward the end of the show. I'm not sure what happened to it and am holding to the hope that it somehow ended up left behind at a booth or fell onto the floor near someone and that they have found it and are trying to find WHO it belongs to.

The camera has precious images and videos on it. It contains my son's first Pine Wood Derby at Boy Scouts, (and him making his car - well actually tank) my husband teaching Martial Arts and I'm sure other images that I'm going to sorely wish to have in my scrapbook. It also has video and pictures from the show.

IF ANYONE has information, please please please email me at kristi@scrapbookdimensions.com I'm less upset about the loss of the physical camera than I am of the memories I will not be able to recapture.


I do want to say a special THANK YOU to LANE HILL from Lasting Impressions (http://www.lastingimpressions.com/) When he heard about my loss and the fact that the images I needed to write up about the show were gone, he graciously offered me one of his cameras to use during the last hours of the show to recapture as many of the images as I could. THANK YOU LANE for your kindness!


Okay, onto the show review.

I have to say, my favorite - favorite thing is this cool XSHOT! (http://www.xshotpix.com/) I know I keep talking about it but I use it all the time and I love being able to be in the pictures. A friend of mine was at the show and took this picture of me with Cricket and Cuddlebug, using my Xshot. YES - THAT IS MY MIA Camera :(

Me with CuddleBug & Cricut

Marge Lutz, Me and Laura Vaughn at the show

The show this year was extremely small. This has pro's and con's. I think the smaller size allowed those attending to spend more time in each booth and to really explore everything out there. I enjoyed the quality of the attendees and what they were offering.

There were some new companies that I liked.

Brindy's Backyard http://www.brindysbackyard.com/ is one. They offer acrylic books that are thicker than any I've seen on the market thus far, chipboard books, and so forth. They have these neat kits for puzzle books that contain everything you'd need to assemble the books (minus your pictures of course). I didn't see a lot of the stuff from the show on their website yet but I'm sure they'll get it up there soon.

Boulder Innovations http://www.bragonit.com/ have these great frames that are crafted from wood. They hold 8x8 images in them and are easy to craft and alter. I liked the quality of them and the variety of options. They have all different sizes that include 8x10's and 5x7's and they have a cool calendar and magnet board frame. Neat company. They do not sell directly to consumers though so you'll have to look for their products in stores like Roberts and perhaps your local scrapbook store. If you want to see them in your Local Scrapbook Store have them contact Scott at 435-491-0069 to set up a retail account.

The Scrap-O-Nizer was another manufacturer that caught my eye. Cindy Wyckoff spotted them at a scrapbooking expo in Salt Lake City, UT. She told me all about them. I was so surprised when I ran into their booth. I like their product. It is a great organizer for the scrapbooker, allowing you to keep tools and misc. bits in one place. It is ready for your creative touch and personalization. I love the various ways that they showed it embellished at the booth.

Glitz Designs http://www.glitzitnow.com/ was at Memory trends too. We had the opportunity to see them at Summer CHA but this was their first Memory Trends. I really like what they offer. Their CD's are full of designs that you can adjust the color on to fit whatever scheme you need. I love their mesh and frosting.... BLING ROCKS! It is so easy to use and can bend and conform to pretty much any shape. I love their ideas. They designs are completely ready for hybriding. They are running a contest right now for creative use of their journaling cards - check it out at http://www.glitzitnow.blogspot.com/

Creative Options have some really cool organizers and totes. They aren't brand new but I think this was their first Memory Trends. Anyhow, I am impressed with their tote and storage designs. They have a few that I'd like to use just as purses because they are so cute! They have a laptop tote that is pretty cool and has room to spare for a few things of paper, glue, etc. I like their products and hope to have time to take a more in depth look at all they offer.

Other companies that had items that I liked.

Lasting Impressions was demonstrating the Memory Mixer software. This software is really cool and I'm going to have the opportunity to play with it, so expect some further information in the near future. The one thing about Memory Mixer that stands out so far is how easy it is to use from the first click to the last. The directions and onscreen prompts are understandable and walk you through each step. I think for people that are just starting out with their digital images, this software really offers a lot of options. You can also mix video in with your layout pages and then burn it all to a CD for a slide-show -complete with music, narration, etc. It's pretty extensive in what it offers and yet extremely easy to use. I love easy!

Poppy Hills is a company that offers a Kaleidoscope software that has more options than ones I've demo'd in the past - allowing you to export it in a number of ways as well as print to create 12x12 designs using a standard 8.5x11 printer.

Purple Cows were out in force. They have some neat digital content that goes with their products. This company is fun. I like their cutters and their lamination system. Very cool!

Tiliano Fresco has really awesome CHALKBOARD PAINT that they were displaying along with their Fresco tiles, Canvas transfer kits, marble and glass coaster kits, magnet kits and ornament kits. If you haven't checked this company out before you really need to do so! They offer a very cool product that can bring your scrapbooks to your walls in a lovely and creative way. Expect to hear more from me about this company too.

Hot Off The Press had a great display in their booths. I love that they have online digital content that they are EXCITED about. They have a great amount of products that are creative and fun to use. I like the variety they offer.

Tattered Angel was there with great energy. I just love their glimmering mist. In the booth there was a lot of stuff to oogle over. I love the combination of Tattered Angel's Glimmering Mist with product from Crafty Secrets. It's so cool and really works great on an array of scrapbook designs including heritage. I also ran into Vicki Chrisman who was demo'ing in the booth. She's so FUN!

Me & Vicki

Pine Cone Press has always had vision when it comes to hybrid. I love that they have so many creative products that are ready to be altered. I took some pictures of my favorites.

Marvy Uchida has some really cool pens out that caught my attention. The Puffy Velvet pens (like the one in my photo) are fun to use. You color in or draw with them onto your project and then, once dry, use a heat gun to turn the ink into a puffy, velvet texture. It's really cool and simple to do. I like the added dimension. They also have a really easy to use Glitter pen, the "Just Glitter" pens.

Zutter Innovative was at the show with their fabulous BIND-IT-ALL. This product, if you haven't heard, is REALLY awesome. (Allowing you to bind pretty much anything.) It is another one of those products that I think every scrapbooker should have. They debuted their tote for the bind-it-all, tool kit and the Bound 2 Bind book that is a great companion to the Bind-It-All and DreamKutz machine.

There were quite a few other booths I found fun hybridable products within... Pazzles has their awesome die-cut machine that hooks to your PC, Provo Craft had some cool Vinyl paper that can be used to decorate scrapbooks and your home, some really nice 'ready to embellish' craft items like purses, frames, etc, and of course the cuddlebug which I think my kids would love using. Rusty Pickle was out in force with their awesome papers and designs. There were a number of booths with really lovely Holiday paper lines. Be Blessed Scrapbooking had their gorgeous Watercolor paper collections out. Dezignz by Dezda had some rich and vibrant papers (new company), Creativity Inc, Pioneer, Quick-Kutz, Technique Tuesday, and American Crafts had their great product line-up available. Best Creation, Inc has some LOVELY glittered papers with beautiful designs that could almost be framed instead of scrapped (I had this thought for many of the companies out there!) Wow, I know I'm leaving out a bunch of stuff that I loved...

I was able to attend a breakfast with Shutterfly where they unveiled their new products and printing options. They will now offer single prints of layouts (like 12x12 and 8x8) They also have a great deal of products that you can customize with your designs.

I was also able to attend Stacy Julian's keynote address on Tuesday. That girl has so much energy! She gave a great address and touched on key points about the hobby and industry. I think everyone that attended enjoyed it.

I know I didn't cover everything but I definitely wanted to come and post before the show was too far behind (yes yes I know I'm guilty of that from Summer CHA... )

So my challenge for you, if you accept, find something in your home that you might not consider worth scrapbooking and find a way to scrap it (even if that means you scrap ON it!)

I hope to be back soon with more fun stuff, thoughts, etc. Be sure to check out Scrapbook Dimensions http://www.scrapbookdimensions.com/ Volume 1 Issue 4 is due out in October and it will be chalked full of great stuff!

Summer time..... Wow. The livin' hasn't been easy this summer. It has been busy, busy.



I had the pleasure of attending Summer CHA in Chicago and boy was it great! There are so many wonderful products out there that are coming forward for the hybrid & digital scrapbooker.





I wanted to share a few of my favorites with you as well as some pictures! The show was so much fun and of course I can't go anywhere without my camera! Also, if you'd like to see some things we featured, check out the videos at our website. http://www.scrapbookdimensions.com/ ... I'm even in a few.




My # 1 FAVORITE product wasn't actually found at CHA! *GASP!* It was found before CHA at a convention for photographers. The product is called the Xshot and it is a hand held pod that attaches to the base of point & shoot cameras... I've used it on my Sony Cybershot and Canon Cybershot (older camera) and it works with both of them. I took my little Cybershot to CHA since it fits in my pocket :). The arm extends over 3 feet allowing you to capture a group of people or even of just yourself. It is super easy to use. Go to http://www.xshotpix.com/ to see a picture of it.... this is a product that I would say is worth more than its weight in gold. It fits in my purse when it is collapsed and can be ready in a moments notice. I no longer find myself OUTSIDE the pictures! (well, that's not always a good thing! hah) Instead I can be in the photo too, which I love when we're doing family shots or when the kids want to go on an outing and I don't have someone else to snap a picture. The price makes it a perfect stocking stuffer, perfect baby shower gift, teenager on a road trip splurge, etc. It's an AWESOME product. The picture above, of me and some of the magazine staff, was taken with the Xshot :) Isn't it cooL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


Okay, products I saw that I really thought were great.


Glitz Designs - This company has CD's of designs that you can alter to fit any color scheme and to top it off they have some great bling and accessories. Really cute staff and I think a product with huge potential for the hybrid market. Loved meeting them. We'll have a video interview on our website soon... you can check it out at http://www.scrapbookdimensions.com/ Then go to the CHA Video tab and look for Glitz.



Tinkering Ink, of course, is a favorite of mine. I like the paper style and that they offer it on CD. While the price is higher than what most digital scrapbookers will pay, I think that for hybrid, it's a great investment. (especially since you can mix designs on the CD with their papers!) I also love their lotion... you can use it while you scrap... it won't leave an icky residue behind.

There were a bunch of really great chipboard albums/boardbooks from numerous companies.

Piggy Tales has a really cool Hide & Seek flap book which is just itching to be decorate. I also love their barn doors... Their papers are cute too... Really fresh and fun company :)

Dove's Of the East has an amazing Japan line that came out. Really gorgeous colors. I'm looking forward to playing with it.


Karen Fosters, Carolee's Creations, Technique Tuesday, Me & My Big Ideas and so many other companies have come out with a number of creative, multi-use items. Their new products are worth checking out.

As for themes... swirls, vintage, lace, and grunge all seemed to be major players across the show floor.

CHA's theme was "Summer of Love." They had a fun event Saturday night. Austin Powers made an appearance, there was dancing, face painting, groovy music and so much more... of course, armed with my camera I snapped a few blackmail photos :)





It was a fun event. I enjoyed dancing a bit and of course I had to get my face painted... it's the kid in me!




After the show closed Sunday a few of the gals and I went into downtown Chicago. We hit the Magnificent Mile, the Navy Pier and the Park. I loved it. I loved the change in scenery. Neat city, I must say. And I found out that there is a McFadden's of Chicago... next time I'm in town I will DEFINITELY be hitting that spot!

The thing I liked most about downtown was this fountain.... it was SO cool. I had to play in the water a bit but more than anything I enjoyed getting some neat photographs of it.




I need to dig through some more pictures and I'll be back to post more of my favorites!

PHOTOGRAPHY CHALLENGE -
Incorporate a uniquely posed photograph into your layout. Post your layout in our gallery at http://www.scrapbookdimensions.com/ and then email me or send me a PM and I'll check it out.

Have you read your copy of Scrapbook Dimensions Magazine cover to cover? What did you think about it? Head over to http://www.scrapbookdimensions.com/ and join our FORUM. We'd love to hear your feedback on our magazine. Suggestions, ideas and so forth will always be considered and reviewed. We appreciate our loyal readers and their love of hybrid scrapbooking!




Has the hybrid bug bit you yet? If not, you are missing out. Hybrid scrapbooking turns the emerging field of Digital Scrapbooking into a TOOL for every scrapbooker out there. From simple photo manipulation to Extreme graphic designs like photo montages, etc. can all be achieved with the variety of photo editing software out there.



CHALLENGE # 4


PHOTOS


Pictures are one of the most important pieces in our scrapbook pages. This challenge I'd like to see different ways in which you have incorporated digital techniques into hybrid layouts. Maybe you've created a photo montage or you've done photo tinting. Perhaps you've printed your picture on your background paper... each time you use your photo, try to think of a creative way to mix it up in your page.



Send me a link (kristi (at) scrapbookdimensions.com) or post a comment here and I"ll come by and check it out.








Last post I told you about some really cool photo organizers that I purchased from Costco. I have finally put them to use. I was able to put about 1 apple box (Tupperware tub) worth of pictures in one of them (they hold over 2000 pictures!) I also included the negatives in with the pictures and labeled each section with the month, year, etc.

This picture shows you what the main compartment looks like filled. The plastic holders come with the kit, you have to fold them together... it's easy to do. My 4 year old helped me put them together. She actually thought it was fun! hah. So I let her. I did have to help her bend them a little but once I'd prepped each one she could assemble it.




The back compartment is shallow but has an envelope that will hold larger images like 12x12's etc.



My only complaint is that those awful over sized pictures (11x14's etc) don't' fit in it. Not that I really "want" to hold onto them but I just don't' want to ditch them until I've scrapped that time frame. I have a plastic folder I purchased a few years ago to hold paintings, posters, etc that I can keep them in, so it's all good.

For the Retail of about $27, these containers are great. I now have almost all my pictures in chronological order. Wow!

I've been on this transparency kick with my scrapbooks lately. I love them. You can do so much with a transparency LOL. If you use them, send me an email :) I'd love to see how you create with them!

Until the next post! Keep up the good work and Tell a friend about Scrapbook Dimensions Magazine http://www.scrapbookdimensions.com/

May is here. Yes I know today is May 3rd and I'm a little behind, but it is MAY!!!!!! Oh my goodness. Where has 2007 gone? We are almost half way through the year.

Today I headed over to Scrapbook Dimensions website www.scrapbookdimensions.com and downloaded the FREE wallpaper that is offered there. This month Doris Castle generously donated her talent to create us a beautiful May theme.

I love the free wallpapers. To use them, simply open the wallpaper up in a software program like Photoshop, Photoshop elements, Digital Image Pro/Suite, Photo Impact, Paint Shop Pro, etc. The three white areas are intended for your own photographs. Simply place them on the layer behind the wallpaper and they will show through... don't worry, it isn't as confusing as it sounds.

If you have trouble head over to http://scrapbookdimensions.com/SMForums/index.php, join the forums and you can ask your questions there... You will have lots of people willing to help you out, don't sweat it!

I've been busy organizing photographs... the ones from ages ago that I have yet to scrap... and I mentioned before that I came across some great photo organizers at Costco, made by Cropper Hopper. When they are filled I will snap a few pictures and show you just how amazing they are... ESPECIALLY since Costco had them for about $27- a peice! LOVE THE DEALS!!!!!!!!!!!

Hope you are having fun with some of the challenges posted. Come back soon!

Another long break between posts! Yikes. Between children, the magazine and a series of unforunate colds and illnesses things have been rather hectic in our household. While I do hope to make blogging a more consistant thing it is currently lower on the list of "to-do's!"

Scrapbook Dimensions Magazine is really coming along. The first Print Issue has been sent out and will be in everyone's hot little hands soon (if you don't have it already!) It is so cool to see this magazine develope from the ground up... From the designing to getting articles together, etc... I have a whole new appreciation for the publication industry and the work that goes into creating magazines! wow. If you would like to see Scrapbook Dimensions Magazine on your hometown newsstands please stop in and chat with your local market or scrapbook store and send them over to www.scrapbookdimensions.com for more information on how they can carry the magazine.

It is so neat though to see the magazine in my hands. Looking at the pages and reading each article made me realize that the magazine is so user friendly and really geared to help both the traditional and digital scrapbooker as they start merging their talents together. The limitlessness of what you can do is really blossoming and as everyone starts looking at it more objectively I believe that the term 'hybrid' scrapbooker will become very commonplace in the industry.

The magazine is offering gift subscriptions. If you'd like to buy one for a friend or relative simply go to www.scrapbookdimensions.com/shoppe/ I love gifting people with creative magazines and I'm sure you are going to LOVE the April/May issue! I can't wait to hear what people have to say about it.

(thank you Julie Ann)

As a note for those of you keeping up, anytime to complete a challenge I offer here please email me (kristi (AT) scrapbookdimensions (DOT) com) and give me a link to where I can see what you've created. As this blog grows, I will also be offering other incentives... so don't hesitate to keep me up to date on what you're creating!

Challenge # 3

Focus on Photos

From the daily pictures to the seated portraits... Pictures play an important role in EVERY scrapbook. So this challenge is all about the pictures. I'd like to see how you can creatively use your photographs.

For the digitally minded - maybe create a photomontage and then print it in a 5x7 or 4x6 and put it into a traditional layout.

For the traditionally minded -try printing your pictures onto the background paper of your design, using them as an accent rather than a main photo.

If you come up with some creative ways to use your photos in a hybrid layout please send me a link! I'd love to come see what you've made and keep in mind that you can submit your layouts to Scrapbook Dimensions Magazine as well!

Happy Hybriding!

Scrapbook Dimensions is running a special right now - subscribe and you will get a $25- value digital kit that, along with the papers and embellishments, includes 5 card templates, 5 video tutorials and 5 quick cards. It's a fantastic deal ! Go to www.scrapbookdimensions.com to sign up. Keep in mind that there is also an online forum that goes with the magazine so if you have questions or worries, you can just ask!


I went to Costco recently after a tip from one of my Students and found some really great photo storage boxes. I'll photograph them later and post more about them then... but the price was AWESOME. (In my opinion at least LOL)

My 2nd Challenge for you :

This next challenge is to encouarge you to work toward using a new technique.

Digital scrapbookers. This time- Print out a digital layout that has some empty space around the edges. Take it down to the local craft store/scrapbook store and find some ink that matches your color scheme. Purchase this ink and use it to ink the edges of your layouts. (Similar to adding a digital overlay to the edges of your page, just hands on and dirty this time!)

Paper Scrapbookers. This time- Before using your background paper OR an accent paper (if you don't have a wide-format printer you can use an accent paper or before scrapping your picture... Go online and download a free embellishment. Whatever you like. It can be an edge overlay (which when printed can look like inking), a quote with flourishes, a digital brad, etc. Take that item and print it onto your paper or even onto your photos :)

If you'd like come back here and post a comment with a link to the page and I'll go check it out!

Finally a post!

Yes it is true. It has been over a month since I last had a moment to blog but I thought I'd sit down tonight and at least get started again!

Scrapbook Dimensions Magazine is coming along swimmingly! I just love all the interest from people who are ready to or all ready hybrid scrapbooking. Of course the "hybrid" scrapbooker can also be called the Tradigi Scrapbooker or my personal LOL fav - the biscraptual. This past week I had an opportunity to head out to PMA here in Las Vegas and I think I coined a new "type" of hybrid... the metroscraptutal man. LOL I met several guys at PMA that scrapbook and are interested in the concept of hybriding and during our conversations I said that they were our new demographic... the metro-scrapper making them a metroscraptual. So.... if we start hearing this term around the scrapworld you can say you officially know who coined it!~

THE FIRST CHALLENGE

So I wanted to challenge you all to start focusing more on a hybrid approach to scrapbooking. If you are already a digital scrapbooker I want you to look at your pages and think about items (that may be digital like brads, stickers, alphas, etc) that you could use from the traditional standpoint and if you are a traditional scrapbooker I'd like to encourage you to look on your computer and see what software programs you have. If you don't have photo editing software like Microsoft Digital Image Suite (formerly known as Microsoft Digital Image Pro), Adobe Photoshop Elements or Adobe Photoshop CS / CS 2 etc, Paint Shop Pro or Photo Impact, google the programs online and download a free trial version. This will give you an opportunity to test drive the program before actually purchasing it.

As you start looking into the variety of options out there you will find that hybriding is so much fun and has so many simple applications. You may already be hybriding and not even know it!

I'll be back soon (honest sooner than 1 month!) to post a new challenge and just general chatter.