Scrapbooking Prompt: A New View

While on your summer travels, try to take a photo or two from a new angle. It's so easy to get caught up with posed photos of people, but don't forget the tiny details. In today's example, you'll see the photographer is sitting back allowing the viewer to see luggage, the tent and air mattress, and of course a beautiful view of the campsite. 

Recreate this image if you're planning a camping trip, but seek out other opportunities to capture your surroundings from a new point of view. Photograph your child or their room, including the door and entryway in your shot. Place your camera or phone inside the mailbox and use the self timer to take a photo of your family picking up the mail or peering inside. We can't wait to see what you capture!

See more memory keeping prompts here.

Scrapbook Prompt: Summer Treats

We have a passion for memories and want to document them all. Today's scrapbook idea is all about those yummy things we search out in the summer season. Go ahead, snap a photo of your family's favorite summer treat. Get a shot from above, hold it in front of a colorful background, or capture it plastered all over your child's face. Don't forget to journal the recipe if you make it, the place you get it from, or a fun story or bit of history.

Find more memory keeping prompts here.

Ideas For Memory Keeping: Taking Portraits

Hello Memory Keepers! Today's tip is a simple one that explores WHERE and WHEN to take portraits. 

Keep your eyes open for colored walls or buildings with unique textures. They make perfect backdrops for portraits. The photo below was a small piece of brick wall connected to a gas station. You never know when you'll find a great space. Simply move closer to grab the portrait or crop the surroundings out of the picture after taking. Alleys, older buildings, and industrial areas are other places to look.

We recommend taking that portrait on a cloudy day or an hour before sunset to avoid this face from your subject! Bright sunny days, while warm and delightful, create harsh shadows and squinty eyes. 

For all of our Document It ideas, click here. 

Photo Idea: Look Up

Grab photos of your favorite venue, unique lighting in your home, the weather, + more by simply looking up. Don't miss the small details. For additional scrapbooking and photo ideas, click here.

Scrapbook Idea: Finding The Christmas Tree

Do you put up your tree on a certain date each year? Visit the same tree farm? Don't miss an opportunity to scrapbook your family traditions. For more scrapbooking ideas, click here.

Scrapbook Idea: Documenting Home Remedies + Rituals

Tis the season for colds. While no one is a fan of illness, don't miss an opportunity to document the moments that make your family unique. 

• Special home remedy
• A specific blanket or spot on the couch that's comfort
• Movie or TV show you watch every time you're feeling under the weather
• A meal or food, like mom's homemade chicken soup

Document It: Technology

It seems like our phones, computers, and even televisions notify us daily about a new software update. Technology changes, and it changes fast. Children born this year may never hold a landline telephone in their hands. They may never experience the act of calling a friend and hearing a busy signal. How crazy is that? Knowing how fast devices and the way we use them change, we feel an urge to document these things. This morning we've gathered just a few ideas on how you can document the technology in your life.

1. What devices can be found in your home? Who do they belong to? How often are the used and what for? Snapping a photo or two and asking these questions is a great place to start.

2. Snap a picture of your computer, television, phone, or tablet while you're listening to music or a podcast, reading a book, or chatting with a friend. You'll document more than just technology - your interests. 

3. Generations before us would be amazed at the idea of video-chatting with someone in a different country with the touch of a button. While generations after us might be amazed at how slow and outdated this technology is. Document the devices and apps that you use daily and may take for granted.

4. Do you have an app that makes life easier? Include screenshots or photos of them. We have books, newspapers, calendars, recipes, budgets, cameras, and more in the palm of our hands. 

5. Similar to number four, document the apps or technology you're obsessed with. Certain games make their way into popular culture. Add the little piece of history into your family's album. 

6. Don't forget to journal the details. Did you work months to save enough money to purchase an electronic? Did you spend an entire week on your couch watching every cat video in YouTube? Did you get so excited over a smart TV that you kicked over the Christmas tree? Include your feelings on  and the stories associated with today's technology right along with the pictures. 

What memory will you make today? Document it. See more of our prompts here.

Document It: Bad Days

Here at Creations Galore, we're passionate about memory keeping. That means the good, the bad, and even the ugly. Our lives are composed of highs and lows. In our personal experience, we've grown more during those low periods of time. They have help shape us; therefore, we believe they sometimes need to be included in our albums. 

Here are three examples of how our Creative Genius, Nicole, documented a few of those days...

Flooding, broken shoes, a broken handbag, a smashed computer screen, a soaked phone. If anything, this reminded me that I'm human and every moment isn't always a pretty picture. Life is real. It comes with days you wish you could start over. But you make a cup of coffee and a breakfast sandwich, and get over it. 

People, people, people. Dealing with death and helping a loved one cope is hard. How do you scrapbook THAT?! I added a quick snapshot from an important dinner, some hidden journaling, and a quote that perfectly described the moment. That sentiment from Elise Blaha Cripe explains that overwhelming feeling while still expressing an important message: We press on.

Do you remember when that happened?! Oh man, that was rough. If Aaron Rodgers participated in Project Life, it would look just like this. His bad day was my bad day. In our house, we live and breath football. Sundays are devoted to naps, food, and Lambeau Field. Naturally, the high and lows of our passion end up documented.

Now it's your turn. Don't always pass up the less than perfect moments in your life. Use scrapbooking as a way to not only preserve memories, but to help heal and vent. 

Document This: Scenes of Home

We love memory keeping and find it our responsibility to encourage you to document both the large and small moments in life. Sometimes we can be so focused on taking photos of the exciting events that we look over the daily items that make up our lives. That leads us to today's prompt. 

How often do you document the simple pieces of your home? We've gathered a few examples for you today, as well as some questions and ideas to help you record your story. 

• What are your favorite parts of your home?
• Photograph your dinnerware in the cupboards or displayed on the kitchen table.
• Where does your family eat breakfast, lunch, or dinner?
• Take a picture of your nightstand, bookshelf, or desk.
• Do you have an antique, piece of furniture, or other item that tells a story?
• What makes your home unique?
• Photograph the front door, your street sign, or mailbox.
• How do you use your home? Does the dog curl up next to the same window each day? Do you always relax in the same chair? Does your child have to use a stool to reach the sink?

Now that you've taken the pictures, it's time to print them out and get them into an album. Create a mini album of your house, construct a one or two page layout, or add pictures randomly to your pocket scrapbooking or Project Life spreads. Tell your story. 

You can see all of the Document It posts here.

Document This: Lessons in Parenting

When we stumbled upon this pocket scrapbooking spread from Studio Calico Community Member bckueser, our hearts skipped a beat. She wrote her down her thoughts on parenting, as well as what she's learned from her kids. What a great journaling prompt!

We love, love, loooove it! Have you made any layouts documenting your personal journey through parenting? 

Document This: Your Makeup Bag

Good Morning, Paper Crafters! It's Nicole here, starting a new series on the Creations Galore Blog called, Document This. In this series we'll be sharing journaling prompts, picture suggestions, and scrapbook ideas that go beyond the traditional items we seem to always document, such as birthdays and holidays.

I constantly ask myself, "What would any future grandchildren like to know about me at my current age?" or "What do I want to know more about my grandparents?" Some of the everyday items that seem so mundane, when documented, can turn into important, cherished stories. One example, make up. I can remember the Avon Lady coming to my grandmothers house. As a child, I'd look through the magazines sitting by her side. I wish I had a picture of just one of those moments. Which leads me to this first prompt... Your Makeup Bag.

Go ahead, open it up, spread out the contents, and photograph it. Maybe you don't wear a lot of make up, take a picture of your moisturizer. Take a selfie in the bathroom mirror. Or use a self timer to photograph where you get ready. Just think of how the packaging and products might change over the years. You never know how precious that photo will be to someone years from now.

I opened up my makeup bag and spread it onto a piece of white cardstock near a window with nice natural light. Consider doing this on your vanity, bathroom counter, or any other place that helps tell your story. I first took a close up photo. This would be a great photo for describing my morning routine; however, I wanted to highlight each product I used. So I arranged all of the contents of my bag to fit onto the 12x12 piece of cardstock, switched my camera to landscape mode, and took a photo from above. Here's the result after cropping the photo:

Because I really wanted to document what each piece was, I added numbers to the picture with Photoshop. If you don't have Photoshop, consider stamping or writing directly onto the photo or using an online editing software like PicMonkey. Here's how the photo looked after adding the numbers:

So cute! This photo can now be printed and scrapped. I am a pocket scrapbooker and wanted to include it in my Project Life album. I printed the photo 6x6, planning to put it into a 6x8 page protector that fits into any 3 ring album. Next I documented each number, describing the item by brand and color. I sized the journaling to fit in a 2x6 block and added it below the photo. I could have wrote far more than just the product details, like how I don't use a powder or concealer, how I overcame my oily skin, or how I'm self conscious about going without lipstick, but I chose to keep it simple for this prompt. In the future I'll take a photo of myself getting ready for the day and journal about those quirks at that time. 

I added a pretty piece of patterned paper into the page protector as well and inserted it into Week Seven of my Project Life Album. Here's a look at it all together: 

This prompt isn't just for those that pocket scrapbook! Turn it into a traditional scrapbook layout or an art journal page. We hope you're inspired to document the contents of your make up bag or your daily routine and would love to see how you use this prompt. Leave us a link in the comments below or post a photo to our Facebook page!