Merry Christmas, Creating Histories & New Year's Cleaning of the Brain

Dear Scribblers


Sometimes you wonder where the time goes. I can't believe it's Christmas week already!


There has been a major change here in the home of the Crafty Scribe. We have a new member of the furry family.

Welcome Merlin!

He's been helping with the Christmas decorations, wrapping and of course card making! I've made over 70 cards this year, and now they are all posted along with all the parcels winging their way around the country to family and friends.


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There is some Crafty Scribe news too! 


I will be starting a new series called Scrapbooking & Journalling Your Own History


Every person in the world has their own story to tell, and I feel that it is important for you to record your own personal history. You can include your own family tree and genealogy, or just begin with your own birth or any other significant point in your journey. It's up to you.


I'll be beginning with supplies you require, and work all the way through to recording your past, and setting goals for your future.


I'll hope you will join me.


If you would like to get a head start. Have a warm drink - or something stronger, if you are old enough and are sensible about it! ;-) - and a mince pie, put your feet up and dream. 


Think about what areas of your past life you would like to record for your future. Are you going to include past family? Present family and friends? Are you going to go from birth? From school? From adulthood? Will you include photos? Draw? Writing only? How much details would you like to go into, and how you would like to capture these memories? Are you going to scrapbook? Journal? Art book? Mini book? A4 folder? Sketch book? Canvas panels? Artist trading cards? Film? Let your mind wander, bring forward the images of your life. 


When you know what you want, you could begin to collect your crafty items together, ready to be off and running into the new year. Don't worry if you don't know yet, I'll be offering up further tips in the first lesson.


Project for Today: Here's my take on New Year's Resolutions. I like to summarise the past year like this, as I feel it clears the air between the ears and allows new positive beginnings and fresh ideas to enter. 


I call this New Year's Cleaning of the Brain.


Christmas Eve is a good day to do this. Once all your presents are wrapped, and all the cards sent, and the shopping is completed. Take a moment for yourself, and write down (or draw) in a notebook, all those things (people included) you are grateful for, and all those experiences in 2009 you've really enjoyed. Then write down any sad or difficult situations, next to it, jot down what you learnt from it. Knowing what you know now, would you have dealt with it differently? How would you have changed it? This is called reframing - take the negative and turn it positive.


Once you've done this, leave it for a while. Enjoy the holidays, and when you are ready come back to your notebook. If you want to journal, scrap or art about what you've listed. 


Then write in your notebook, all those goals and aspirations you have for the coming year. Don't just write down resolutions, create a personal list of your future dreams. Make it as positive as possible, and write in the present. For example, instead of writing, "I won't smoke anymore." Write, "I do not smoke - I am healthy and my lungs are clear." Or "I am open to my dream job - I enjoy every day I go to work." Make your list as precise and detailed as possible.


Then create the journal, scrap, art page about this. If you complete this every year, you can see what you have accomplished from your resolution page to your review page. You'll be surprised how much more you will achieve if you put pen to page.


I would love to hear how you feel after creating your own pages, or any further ideas you would like to share.

Merry Scribing Christmas

from The Crafty Scribe!

Part Three - Harnessing Your Alternative Computer Programmes for use in Journalling and Scrapbooking.

Part Three - Harnessing Your Alternative Computer Programmes for use in Journalling and Scrapbooking.

Using Your Regular Word Processing Software in New Ways.

Dear Scribblers

Most computer users will have some sort of word processing software on their PC or Mac. Be it a bought package like: Microsoft Word or Apple iWorks - Pages, or using an open source programme such as: Open Office, AbiWord, or NeoOffice.

Have you thought about how you can use it for your journalling, or scrapbooking?

Of course, there is the obvious, using your programme as your diary. Open up a new document and off you type. If you do this, you can import pictures, even links, sound and video clips (if you are not going to print the pages out). However, think about how you will organise it. Will you set up a file named, for example: ‘2010’ and then have additional files inside with named for each month, and then start a new document for each day, or each week? Or inside your ‘2010’ file will you have documents named; ‘January’, ‘February’... etc, and write a whole month in one place? It depends on how much you are going to write. It’s important to be organised from the get-go.

That’s okay for a regular diary, but what about scrapbooking? What else can you do with your word processing programme?

Here’s a few ideas:

Make Your Own Word Art. Does your programme have the facility of fancy lettering? If you have Microsoft Word, you are way ahead with Word Art. But even if you don’t, choose a font that suits your layout, change the size, colour, emphasis, even rotate it, fade it, add a shadow or border. Make it your own. You can write out a title, the whole journalling section, or write a phrase/poem/’gobble-de-gook’ around a whole sheet as an individual backing paper. Then add it to your digital layout/page, or print it out on your chosen paper type and stick it on. If you need to add to your fonts, try: Dafont, 1001 free fonts, or one of my favourites, Iconian Fonts.

Use Your Software as A Mini-Photo Editor. Import your photo, and drop a text box on it to add your journalling or title right onto it. Add a border to the photo. Increase the photo to page size, and reduce transparency to make your own background. Rotate the photo. Layer photos on photos. Use multiple photos on one page to make a grid-syle layout. Adjust the image, depending on the options available. I find I use my Pages programme, more than I use my photo editing software.

Create Your Own Matt and Layering Shapes. Many programmes contain shapes which you can resize, and re-colour. Or remove any colour to give an out-line, then print it out onto your chosen papers or card, ready for you to cut out and use. You can even add photos, then recreate all your matting and layering together. Or make your own journalling box, complete with your writing. 

Using Templates and Clip-art: Most word processing programmes have a selection of templates or clip-art/copyright-free photos available for use. Spend some time looking at your templates and pictures. Do they give you inspiration for a scrapbooking layout? Can you use them as a basis for your pages and diaries? To give you some idea of how you can work with them, take a glance at my blog header. This is made up of pieces from a number of templates in iWorks Pages.

Project of the Day: Open up your word processing software now, choose a template you’ve never used, and see how you can incorporate it into your layout, or diary page.

I hope this has you looking at your software with different eyes. I’m sure that you will be able to come up with other ideas too. If you have any hints or tips you would like to share, please add them to the comments.

Happy Scribing!

Confessions of The Crafty Scribe

Dear Scribblers

Sad confessions here from the Crafty Scribe. Ill health has lead to a drop in output. In other words, I haven’t been writing, or crafting, or even journalling for the last week.

I’m about 17,000 words down on NaNoWriMo! But am I going to give up? No way! Even if I don’t make the deadline on 30 November, I’ll carry on until the novel is complete, and I’ll let you know when I’ve finished.

I hope all you NaNoWriMo’ers are doing better than me. So tell me, please write in the comment on how many words you’ve reached. Have any of you finished yet? I’d love to hear your experiences.

So my project for today, is to get myself motivated again, and start writing, and here’s your Project of The Day: Unmotivated? Not written or crafted for a while? What do you do to focus? What gets your inspiration fizzing? Write a paragraph, or list, in your diary, or start a scrapbook layout based on your thoughts. You never know where it will lead.

Happy Scribing!

The Crafty Scribe Communiqué - Too Many Contests

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Dear Scribblers

I have a confession... I’ve not been writing every day for NaNoWriMo. I know. I know. I’m hanging my head in shame. Although, I am at a healthy 16909 words now, but at this point I should be nearer the 21,500 stage. I have some making up to do.

There has been a good reason for the lax in ‘novel word-smithing’. I made a last minute decision to enter Scrapbook Magazine’s Scrapbooker of the Year competition. Very last minute, the entries must arrive by Monday 16 November, and at the 11th hour, 3 scrapbooking layouts are now, hopefully, racing up to Cheshire.

The contest required that you completed 3 different layouts, based on any theme. There’s points for techniques, originality and overall appeal. The winner gets a bumper pack of crafty goodies, and become a member of the magazines design team. This is the first time I’ve ever entered a scrapping competition, so my hope aren’t high, but you can’t win it, unless you have a go. Wish me luck!

On a journalling note, I used a hand written tag on one page, a block of digital text on another, and just a quote on the last. Once the winners are announced, I’ll post photos of my entries here on my blog.

It’s been a crazy rush, but fun, and I feel I’ve accomplished something. Let’s hope I get the same feeling and finish my novel by 30 November! I should be back on track next week.

Project of the Day - Search your magazines or the web, and find a competition you can enter. Give it a go, you never know, you just might win!

Happy Scribing!

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The Crafty Scribe Communiqué - NaNoWriMo Day 5

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Dear Scribblers

NaNoWriMo word count - 9081! WooHoo!

Happy Scribing!

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The Crafty Scribe Communiqué - NaNoWriMo Day 4

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Dear Scribblers

NaNoWriMo word count - 7500 to date. Chipped away a little bit more at that goal of 50,000 words by 30 November.

Happy Scribing!

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The Crafty Scribe Communique - NaNoWriMo Updated Word Count

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Dear Scribblers

Keeping you updated with my NaNoWriMo word count keeps me honest, and makes sure I’m putting finger pads to keyboards.

So my total word count to date is: 5864! I’m on track.

It’s still not too late to join in. If you do, please let me know.

Happy Scribing!

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Coming Soon - Part Three of Harnessing Your Alternative Computer Programmes for use in Journalling and Scrapbooking - Using Your Regular Word Processing Software in New Ways.