Well moving on from some altercations here, today I was sent this link latte (via Artella membership) for a site that has supposedly the 8 Irresistable Principles of Fun. The site itself is called Get Unstuck and Get Going.

Watch this, it’s great. But more than anything, no matter what situation you happen to find yourself in at that time, the principles appear to be relevant.(Certainly, the  first two I’ve applied to the situation here on Scrapability today, and felt vastly more powerful for it).

If you watch all the way through (it’s long), you will get to a signup page for a weekly e-letter sent out promising some creativity splashes as well. Sounds fun… 

Principle 1 - Get focussed. Step 1 - Stop Hiding Who You Are. (sidenote from me - and don’t allow other people to make you stop being yourself no matter their opinions also). When it comes down to it - what do you stand for.

Principle 2 -  Get focussed. Start being intensely selfish. Um, actually that’s always a little difficult for me, but I doubt they really mean it, it’s more towards focussing on self-recognition and preservation for the sake of life.

Principle 6 - Use your Wisdom. Start Getting rid of some of that crap. Interestingly, the animation goes on about memories on this one.  

Memories - hmmmm. The business of the scrapbooker. Sometime ago I was reading a message board in America where some scrappers started to have an honest discussion about not scrapping some memories best left to rest. These were women who obviously and admittedly had pasts which involved family upsets, some domestic abuse, some sexual abuse - all of which still preyed heavily in their own lives. But a couple of people on that thread appeared to be affronted that some memories weren’t being scrapped. The fact that those women were on the boards, as survivors of such things suggested that they had in some ways, moved on from those experiences - and those other women suggested that in some small way, the past memories might like to be scrapped in Books of Me type layouts to explain themselves now.

I have no opinion on that particular matter, as my own memories are not as dark as that, and I have had a reasonably fortunate childhood. I also did not see the end of the discussion, so am unaware of where it might have ended for each individual. But one brave soul did respond to suggest she had scrapped several layouts about her dark memories, put them in an album, then set the album alight.

As scrapbookers, we dwell in the world of memories more than many others. I remember as a child spending hours going through boxes of old photographs and slides with my mother. The photos ranged in ages from the early 1920s through to the late 60s when I was born. They were since destroyed in a flood through the house, unfortunately. My mother was not a scrapbooker of course, and many if not most of the photographs were explained to me via her own memories. Some had names of long-forgotten family members marked in biro on the back of them. Others had no way of telling who was in them, unless my mother remembered clearly.

My mother was a woman who divorced her first husband in the 1950s (completely unheard of in conservative 1950s New Zealand) and remarried in her own fifties a second time in the 1960s, before adopting myself as a baby. Four years later, her new husband (my father) died of a brain tumour. In the 1970s as a young child, we lived in my mother’s local area, surrounded by her family. My father was sent to a hospice in Wellington, which was in the North Island, and a half hour aeroplane flight away at great expense. As far as I can tell, my mother and I visited my dying father for the few months of his hospice attendance only the once. I have no memory of him.

My mother’s first marriage had absolutely no photos. Or she had destroyed them. My father’s memories (until destroyed in that flood) were found in the form of one and one only photograph of himself. And a handkerchief with his name embroidered on it. For whatever reason unto herself, my mother already worked to principle 6 in the link I’ve given you. Sh got rid of bad memories, the physical evidence of such anyways.

Like many, I do have tales of some darkness in my own past - mine deals with some treatment of my young self as a child in the hands of particular close family members, and some minor abuses (stupid stuff like beng made to eat bread off the ground, and some racism towards my own part Maori ethnicity and non-family blood due to my adoption) - all of which explains some of my own areas of concern to this day, and how I don’t deal with rejection too well. And why I do not put up with offences of anything possibly racist, sexist or abusive in any form.

My mother obviously got rid of the crap out of her own life by destroying the evidence of it. She was a wonderful, brave and obstinate woman, and gave me a childhood and upbringing that I will never regret. And she never appeared to have any regrets about her own past either. That was her way of focussing for the now - and bringing up children on a widow’s benefit and then a full governmental pension.

When I scrapbook, I delve deep into my own being, to formalise how I want those particular memories, photographs and stories to appear for my daughter in the future. I audit myself and our lives in doing this. Some of that comes from darker memories from my own past, and I am aware of it. Perhaps the above link is not only to do with Principles for finding fun in life, but for life in life itself.  However, instead of throwing out memories, I adjust them and realise that they form part of my own essence and take on the world itself, and that is who I am. My way may be different from that of my mother’s but in many ways we are, of course, similar. For me, fun is found in my family life, and my creativity. The link above speaks of creativity also.

Today we spent the day as a family at Whipsnade Zoo. We were incredibly gifted by luck in being able to view bears which hid for many other people, and having a trunk-to-tail train of mother and baby elephants walked down the road right in front of us. Just as it was beginning to get too hot for all of us to bear walking around the vast roads of the park, clouds covered the intense rays. Traffic only delayed us for an hour getting there, thanks to some bad sign-posting from our direction, but we made up for it going home. We were indeed blessed today for many reasons.  Today reminded me and my hubbie of the many many other zoos we have visited worldwide (it’s one of those “things we do”), the differences and the same-nesses. I don’t have photographs or layouts of many of them, but the memories still exist on a rudimentary level. Perhaps Singapore Zoo sometimes is mixed up with Amsterdamn, and Wellington with Melbourne, but the feelings and happiness still exist. But then I remember the associations with my own Melbourne Zoo visit which aren’t quite the kind of memories I particularly want to hold onto. That visit was years ago, but the surrounding memories are not nice. I don’t want to dump them, however - because they are part of me. And part of how I now make sure that any visit to the zoo for myself and family is full of happiness. Just like today. My krap has not been thrown out completely - just used to form working approaches to fun and happiness for me and my family now.

How fun is that? 

Jen Strange, whom I consider one of the most decent heartfelt scrappers in this world I have had the pleasure of some contact with (yeah, I know - you’re reading this, Jen, and giggling), has a very thought provoking article up at A Cherry on Top entitled, “Sometimes it IS just about the pictures”

This is a must-read. Go now. Read.

What got me was Jen’s renditions of some tales about her mother, and then her father. I agree whole-heartedly withwhat she is saying - I think I might be able to find a quote or five hundred on this very blog about how sometimes I think the actual photographs are forgotten. Hands up - me too! (More on that one below…). But what I want to do is push this out even further and include more than photographs.

Her mother can’t understand why it might not be about the photos. She certainly wouldn’t get on very well with me then, to be honest. Jen’s Mom and I would clash bigtime. Recently I’ve forgotten to even take photos. Although I’ve got two decent digital cameras, both of which went on holiday with me this last week, I returned with the sum total of just under fifty photographs taken during the entire week. But that’s enough photo fodder to create several layouts to tell the story of the holiday itself, and of several other things as well (not necessarily associated with any kind of vacation itself, as can be seen in my first layout using holiday snaps all about a wish or two for my daughter).

Yes, I know my admittance above is blasphemy for many digital scrappers who return with hundreds of digital pics just because it’s so easy to take and store them - but let’s not go down those roads as yet. Let’s move onto Jen’s father. Jen paints this picture of doing several albums full of layouts and presenting them to her father for Christmas. He sounds a tough cookie - one of those infuriating people who make gift-giving quite stressful at times, because he doesn’t want anything. But he did like those layouts. Thank god for that - memories are often the most valuable item to gift, don’t you think - no one can dispute them or return them to the shop with a receipt after Boxing Day.

Jen’s Father story is similar to many of my own. I gift layouts and memories to my inlaws most Christmases. Except for last Christmas - because getting any decent photographs of their grandchildren during the year from relevant parents just became too much of a joyless task for myself. I could tell their disappointment however, when they saw their presents that year did not include something 12 x 12 inch sized. No photos - whether decorated nicely or not - and they suddenly had a year without the expected memories. That was a story unto itself.

And that’s my point.  

Jen is right. It’s about the creativity sometimes. And the photographs.

Jen’s mother is right. Jen’s father is right. It’s about the photographs.

Sometimes.

And I am right. It’s about the story. Always.

What many people perhaps don’t understand - and understanding this won’t change their world in any way at all anyway - is that telling the story is not necessarily, as Jen’s mom may suggest, done with words, or journaling.

The story can be told simply with photographs. Or the colour or pattern chosen as the background. Or one simple embellishment. Or with no photographs at all. Or with some who, what, where type journaling, or a simple list of emotional words. Even the selection of a photograph to scrap is a story. Give the same three photos, scrapbook papers and elements and journaling text to three different scrappers, and you’ll have three completely layouts presented to yourself. That’s three different stories.

Whereas many people consider story telling to be of the written denotion (the lead-on from this might well be the consideration that we perhaps “author” our own memories by subjugating our own feelings, considerations or ideas into the layout anyway - which partially could make it a fantasy - right?) I think it’s more than that. Don’t tell Jen’s Mom - but even in the way that she chooses one photograph and leaves the rest in the photo development packet, then she is telling the story in her own way. Even if she thinks (quite correctly) that it’s just about the photographs. She’s still telling the story. Each album we create will show future generations the snapshots of today, and a little of the written stories also. But fundamentally, they will tell a behind the scenes story of the person who created them in the first place - us. We are the photograph enhancers. We are the story-makers.

We all are.  

It’s been an interesting time whilst I’ve been off sunning myself in Menorca. Several new design stores have “come out” in the Promos4Digis adverts, one has a grand opening, and another is still keying up for some new designers come the end of the month.

Divine Digital Opening 1st July

With Royanna Fritschsmann returning to Divine Digital, the last week has seen several divine ads towards the Divine Digital store opening. With such a Divine name, the theme was rife with sky shots, one of my favourite being this one below -

Scrapbook Graphics Studio Girls 30th June

The other much awaited unveiling is that of the 10 designers or Studio Girls opening up at Maya’s Scrapbook Graphics. Maya has been sending out some incredibly interesting little adverts herself for this. My favourite is profiled below. Simply because - it features cake.

Changes at Digitals

Digitals has revamped and added new services for customers. Of most importance to me (at least) is the fact that the gallery is now open to all designer usage. This means anyone using any elements by designers not necessarily working from Digitals can now upload layouts to the gallery. Many digital consignment stores have a closed gallery - you can only upload layouts created using elements bought from that store itself. Perhaps with more open galleries like this one, we will one day stop seeing the multiple uploads of layouts created from creative team members to fill a quota for their designers, and more open sharing of layouts for the sake of the design, without restrictions to designer usage.

Additionally the tutorial section at Digital Scrapbook Pages is expanding also.

Another Absolutely Fabulous Designer Searches for a Creative Team

JoDe Lawrence, often known as Digital Bits, who has until recently sold through her own store at Altered Scrapping, is now selling at Scrapbook Bytes also (great choice!). Digital Bits is one of my own favourite designers (amongst many, I must add), and she is now advertising for “some kind of creative team”. This is one of the ones I may have been tempted to go for personally, if I could find the time to give to it properly. She is looking for eclectic scrappers (my kitchen sink approach may be precisely what she’s after), and once you’ve sent in some things (below) you might well be lucky enough to celebrate JoDe’s *UN*style just like me. Mail your submissions into digitalbits@ALTEREDscrapping.com

• A 600x600 pixel layout you consider your finest work to date and ‘why.’
• Links to your galleries, minimum of 2.
• A brief list of your favorite digital scrapbook designers [ don’t you dare include me.]

The New Guys

These ones were new to me, having just started to advertise through promo4digis. Lots of new boutiques and designers recently - it must be summer.

• Sweet Shoppe Designs took on five new designers - Melany Violette, Amy Bleser, Angela Barton, Amanda Rockwell and Lauren Grier. Their designs will appear instore from 1st July.
  
• The Scrap Habit is a new store (on me!) with designers Alma Townsend and Misty Cato.
  
• Polka Dot Potato - is a new web business for digitals, owned by Ashley Smith, and her hubbie Ben. Ashley might be better known to paper-based scrappers as the owner of a company called Magic Scraps, which in 2004 was acquired by Advantus and has only this week been announced as being discontinued  (via Angie Pedersen’s Scrapbook Industry News Blog). Magic Scraps was the first company out there doing metal tags with the first embossing tool for scrapbookers. The Magic Scraps glass pebbles were another innovative product. I’m sure Ashley’s inroads into digital scrapbooking will be equally interesting. The Polka Dot Potato store has ten digital designers.
  

Disc Talk Radio

The Digital Scrapbooking Talk Radio website is this week onto Edition 4, but it is the Edition 2 and 3 which I have missed. Being a brand new IPOD owner (my birthday was a vry. gd. one, as Bridget Jones may have diarised), I am downloading them as I go from the archives available online.. Scrapability is meant to briefly be mentioned in the 2nd Edition, which discusses blogging. And the third edition has an interesting episode entitled “So What is Digital Scrapbooking Anyway?” This is by Alicia Bull, who is a project manager for Disc Talk Radio, as well as being on design teams within the industry. Alicia is about to, according to the DTR blurb, open up her own digital store also this summer called Digital Mod Designs.

You can choose to listen online from the archive links, or go to the blog for direct downloads of the MP3s. Subscribe to the blog itself, to be notified of new editions each week.

Scrapability’s Scrap Blog of the Week - Midweek Award -

Sandra B and her entry on Scrapper’s Spaces.

I have been busy updating the scrapblog list here this week, a mammoth effort in itself. But what makes it enjoyable is the discoveries I make along the way, of some thoughtful content on new blogs to me. Tonight I discovered one particular blog entry which appealed to my sense of reality and I therefore decided to link you into it here.

Sandra links you into firstly an amazing scrapbook space put up at 2Peas, secondly into the Dove Campaign for Real Beauty, and then calls for a Campaign for Real Scrappers. She asks us to show people pictures of the real scrapper’s spaces - walk-in closets, dining room tables - or mine is a fully fledged room nearly unused now, whilst I scrap on an Ikea Computer Desk or a laptop on my knees. Have a read of Sandra’s entry - let’s see a Campaign for Real Scrappers, cellulite and all.

 

The first of my June 2006 holiday snapshots, created to the theme to suit a challenge from the scrapblog of the week - Everyone is Speshal.  I was wondering how on earth to scrap these particular snapshots, which don’t fit into any particular theme.

Journaling:

Sometimes I wish that you were more like your father. Other times I wish that you were more like your mother. Then I am reminded that you are, in fact, 2 wishes in 1.

Credits: 

• Fonts: Brush Script MT, Black Widow, Century Gothic, Karen Hunt Funky Doodles
• Alphas - Transparent alpha by Karen Hunt (coloured in with a below-layer application of airbrushing) ;Surpise Inside Alpha by Carrie Stephens
  
• Arrows, frames - simple techniques in Paintshop Pro.