{we are} storytellers

{a new chapter}

I'm about to begin a new chapter in my life.  One with a lot of adversity; one that is very challenging and one that is hopefully very rewarding to my family.  The company with which I've worked for six years (my husband, five) has been acquired by our top competitor and today is my last day, as we have been [happily] "separated."  I like the terms they use these days.  It sounds better than "canned"..."laid off"...etc...  We've had two months of incredible flexibility and have really enjoyed connecting as a family.  We have lived casually, relaxed and care-free.  And, we've documented our days through photographs - lots of storytelling material! 

Over the next few weeks, both of us will turn a page in our work and family lives.  We will work in arrangements we have never worked in before.  From now on, we will both work from home, where only I have before, because these companies are in different parts of the country.  We will work for different companies, which is foreign to us.  We met and fell in love while we were working at a previous company and we have continued worked for the same companies during our ten-year-long relationship.  We are coming from a leader in our industry and joining two smaller companies, in hopes of helping them grow their business, as we have with our current company.  Although it is exciting, it is equally as scary to start over. 

The one thing I hope we maintain, is this fun, flexible lifestyle that we enjoy so much.  Our new work arrangement does afford us an even more flexible life; however, I don't want to let the stress of such change into our lives.  And, I want to continue documenting the every day moments because they are so priceless.

With that, I wanted to encourage you not to get caught up in the hustle and bustle of everything moving so quickly outside of your family - but, to hold tight to the simple things and savor the every day moments that are precious to you. 

Here is a silly page I recently created to capture one of many silly moments in our family:

Click the image for the credits. 

And, as a reminder, this layout includes some products that will be out of print today.  Run to the store to check them out.  It is a great time to load up on some goodies at a great price.

Most importantly, enjoy your day today.
{storyteller} crissy

{You're A Child of the 80's If}

Sometimes I wonder what my great-grandparents thought of world events or even current events in our country at the time they were my age. It would have been the time that Theodore Roosevelt was in office as U.S. President, the time of Albert Einstein and his theories of relativity, Las Vegas was a mere dream, and the Wright Brothers were just discovering air flight.

Sometimes I remind myself I need to get out on paper and into scrapbook pages what I think of current politics and of pop culture.  I want future generations to know that I did have opinions on certain things, that I was aware of more than just what happened in my household. I'm out of practice though, also feeling a little bit shy as I normally keep my political views and similar opinions for private conversations among trusted family and friends.

Even though I'm feeling shy of sharing my current thoughts on politics, I can easily and enjoyably (if that is a word?) - share my memories of life in the 1980's. I turned 10 in 1980, and I graduated from high school in 1989 so some of my most formative years happened in that decade.

So much has happened since then that the 80's seem like a lifetime ago actually. I think talking about the 80's feels much safer with 20/20 hindsight is much easier than trying to scrap about pop-culture today. At least for me.

When I decided to work with Tiff Brady's Flashback - The 80's embellishments, all kinds of memories came flooding back.

I decided to create a hybrid mini-album to start capturing those memories in a permanent form. First, I googled "You're a Child of the 80's If..." to help me brainstorm which memories felt most important.  Read this list and see if you can help from laughing out loud.

You Might Be a Child of the 80's If...

• You remember Don Johnson when he was "cool"
• You know who shot J.R
• You remember when Michael Jackson was actually considered something of a sex symbol
• You practice getting in and out of your car through the windows
• You owned at least one skinny leather tie.
• Your first Walkman weighed 10 pounds and was the size of a brick.
• You wore L.A. Gear tennis shoes.
• You know the meaning of Wax on/Wax Off
• You're always "in the mood for dancing"
• If you can "See Better" with sunglasses that have paint splattered all over the lenses.
• You wore lace gloves with the fingers cut off, bangle bracelets up to your elbows, bright red Reebok high tops and parachute pants to a school dance
• You need a shopping cart to carry your personal stereo with you.
• You remember what Michael Jackson looked like before the surgery.
• You go rollerskating every Friday night (not to skate, but to 'hang out')
• You still want to take Karate...(after you move to California)
• You watch NYPD Blue thinking, "Well, they're no Crockett and Tubbs, that's for sure".
• "Outrageous!" is the term to describe something neat and cool
• You think that Garbage Pail Kids are your children's worst enemy ou had a poster of Bo, Luke & Daisy Duke
• There was nothing to question about Bert n' Ernie living together
• The feeling in your thumb is only now just returning after holding down the Atari joystick to    control the racecar in Enduro Racer
• You went out and purchased the sound track for 'Miami Vice'
• You remember the magazines of song lyrics
• If you think Hulk Hogan is the best wrestler of all time. If the best non-slasher movie in your opinion is An American Werewolf In London.
• Two words: The Clapper.
• Six words: "This is your brain on drugs."
• You want to live in 'the Valley'.
• Ferris Bueller was your idol. Y
• ou watched 'Star Search' on a regular basis.
• You can sing all the words to "One Night in Bangkok" by Murray Head, and now you understand    that it is about chess.
• If you had an entire wardrobe of Esprit clothing (or coveted one.)
• If you know the words to the "Oscar Mayer" theme songs
• Your bangs are teased perfectly to 7 inches above the rest of your hair.
• Have multi-colored earrings that touch your shoulders
• Played Upwords, Boggle or Trivial Pursuit (the original) on a rainy afternoon
• You're still bitter that WHAM broke up
• You know whose phone number is 867-5309
• You drink Diet Coke because Max Headroom told you to
• You can feel St. Elmo's fire burnin' in you.
• You still wear a bandana tied around your leg and/or a ponytail off-center on the side of your    head.
• You have the tendency to turn up the collar of your polo shirts
• You never go out for a night on the town without frosted blue eyeshadow and feathered bangs
• Everything in your wardrobe is either pastel or fluorescent
• People are constantly gagging you with spoons.
• You know all the words to "I'm just a bill, sitting up on Capitol Hill" and "School House Rock."
• The phrase "Where's the beef?" still doubles you over with laughter.
• You still can't believe that Milli Vanilli was deceiving you all that time
• Every now and then, you blurt out: "Ooh noo, Mr. Bill!!!"
• You still watch things on Beta tapes
• You know who Martha Quinn is.
• You still carry your boom box on your shoulder
• You think David Hasselhoff was awesome in Knight Rider but sucks in "Boob Watch."
• You wanted to be "The Hulk" for halloween
• A piece of folded paper and two hands could tell your fortune.
• Knickers and leg warmers were cool
• If you remember Bruce Willis from Moonlighting, not Die Hard
• You had ringside seats for Luke and Laura's wedding
• You ever had a Dorothy Hammill haircut.
• You thought a Commodore 64 was the highest technology available
• When you saw luging at the Winter Olympics you poured water down your driveway and tried it    yourself.
• You want to be "Where Everybody Knows Your Name" 'A Different World' kicked butt Remember "Dancin' to a Big Mac at McDonalds!"
• You know who played Magnum P.I
• One Phrase, "The Plane, The Plane"
• You can name at least three members of the Brat Pack
• Still think banana clips were a godsend
• Still wear Wet n' Wild makeup
• If your idea of hi-tech toys is still the heat-sensitive color-changing sticker on Transformers
• You ever wanted to learn to play "Stairway to Heaven" on the guitar and choreographed "Dancing   Queen" by yourself in your room.
• You still wear your "Members Only" jacket.
• You still have a couple of those barettes made of woven ribbons.
• You had snap bracelets
• You remember when Pee-Wee wasn't a pervert.
• You had had five pairs of socks on at any given time
• You still think Donkey Kong can beat Mario up
• If you still have your scratch-n-sniff sticker collection
• If you ever used Lee Press-On Nails
• If you wear jelly shoes
• If you remember when you heard that drinking soda and eating Pop Rocks would make your    stomach explode
• You still play with that CASIO SK-1 Keyboard
• You're still hoping for a New Kids on the Block reunion tour
• You still argue over who was better: Tiffany or Debbie Gibson
• Every time you hear the "OH YEAH..." song you think of "Ferris Bueller's Day Off"
• You still watch tapes of Stingray, McGyver, and Airwolf

Here's my Hybrid Mini-Album that I made titled "I SURVIVED THE 80's" (scroll down for close-up views)"

To create this, I used Tiff Brady's Envelope Templates. I binded it with my Zutter Bind-It-All however you could use a metal ring if you prefer.  I picked out some of my most vivid memories and googled the images. Here are a few screenshots:

Inside each envelope, I will scan and print photos of my childhood during the 80's.  I also took a sheet of Creative Imaginations Narratives by Karen Russell journal tags, and wrote down the pop culture items that I felt most connected to.

Now obviously, the 80's provide so much fruitful content for you to pick from. I could easily expand this page to 20 envelopes or more.  With the Zutter Bind-It-All, you can buy various size coils if you want a larger album.

This is definitely a project I will return to again, and add to over time. It is definitely a wonderful pleasure to take that walk down memory lane.

My Supply List:
**Digital**

Envelope Template: Tiff Brady's Envelope Templates

Embellishments: Tiff Brady's Flashback- The 80's

Papers: Amy Hutchinson's May Blossom Fizz

Photos: Internet

Font: Insaniburger  (burger king font)

Felt embellishment border used for presentation: Tiff Brady's Felty Frames and Craft Trims

**Physical**

Binding: Zutter Bind-It-All

Journal Tags: Karen Russell's Narratives for Creative Imaginations

Pen: Stampin' Up

I hope you are inspired to scrap the 80's the way you remember them. If you do, please come back and link me to it!!!!

by {storyteller} Julie Ann Shahin

{laugh}

I saw this great layout by Valorie in the gallery using Kathryn Wilsons designs and fell in love.  I love the smiles and the wonderful feeling it creates.  It also reminded me of something.

I'm not sure how it is at your house during the time between say approximately 3-5pm, but everyone in my house seem to lose control.  They cry, fuss, argue, whine, complain, etc.  It can be quite overwhelming especially since we have 4 kids (all girls).    Talk about D-R-A-M-A!!  Add that on top of the day to day stress.  Oh BOY!  It seems as if I'm hanging on the edge!

But, something different happened the other day.  As I walked in the house, each of them were huddled around the computer laughing out loud as hard as they could.  Me, being the 'paranoid Mom',  walks over to take a look.  They were watching a cute video of a baby laughing, which in turn caused them to laugh.  What do they say?  Laughter is contagious.  I believe so!

There's nothing like laughter to brighten your day.  Especially children's!

Laughter can help you remember not to lose sight of what is really important.  To feel and to love. If you need help to regain your focus (like me)...

...maybe try watching a funny movie with those you love,

 

keep a favorite funny picture or video on your computer,

or snuggle up and read a great book that puts a smile on everyones face.  This is one of our favorites.

   

Remember, the memory of laughing is as wonderful as laughing itself.  Have fun, laugh, and create memories to scrap so that you can smile and laugh every time you remember!

{storyteller} kris

did you know?

about the education gallery at wst?  this is where out storytellers share tips and techniques that help you make your layouts look great!  i want to encourage everyone to go and take a look and then try a new technique.  i tried audrey neal's idea for selective coloring and busy backgrounds.  my background was really busy since the photo was taken at an outdoor restaurant.  here is what i came up with:

see credits in the gallery here.  now it's your turn!

{Birthday}

Today's my birthday. My 32nd birthday. It's interesting to think of myself in my 30s. Weird. I've grown SO much since I was 21. As I was driving around town doing errands today, I thought about some of the experiences I've had, and some of the mistakes I've made. I realized that these experiences and mistakes have made me who I am today. And I wouldn't give them up for anything. I'm thankful for the opportunity to live life full out. "God bless the broken road..."

Ok...That's all I got today. Sometimes birthdays can be a drag. Sometimes it sucks to think of becoming a year older. On your next birthday, take the time to remember all the twists and turns your life has made, and be thankful for every second.

{storyteller} Angela S.

{storytime}

Happy Hump Day!

Just wanted to quickly show off some "WOW" layouts that knocked my socks off this week. Sometimes it's hard to pick, because there are literally dozens that are just shouting for spotlight.

Here's my favorites:

{storyteller} kelly

{no page turner tuesday this week...}

Come on in from the heat...stop on by and pick up some "cool" goodies. (good thing i didn't try a career in joke writing - lol!)

take care!
{storyteller} deann

{welcome audrey neal}

We are beyond excited to welcome the fabulously talented Audrey Neal to our team. Audrey will be contributing to our new {wst} education department (stay tune for more details in the coming days). For those that may not be familiar with Audrey (hard to believe, but just in case) she is one extremely talented woman! Not only is she an exceptional storyteller, she designs both digital and paper products, as well as the co-author of the popular book, Paper + Pixels: Scrapbook Layouts. For more details, I'll let you check out her blog.

Not hard to imagine, with all that talent, why we are so thrilled to have Audrey joining us!?! And it just gets better - Each Thursday, Audrey will take over the blog and bring you a brand new series full of {inspirational} and {education} - Writer's Notebook. Scroll down to the June 22 entry, and you'll get a sample of what is to come from this extraordinaire artist.

We are also working on some other great educational offerings to help you tell the best story possible. We'll keep you posted!

Again, welcome Audrey - we are so pleased to have you with us.

take care!
{storyteller} deann

{word} association

Although I started scrapbooking as a way to record family memories, I have to admit that I'm a sucker for all the gorgeous page kits and elements on the market. Word association is a technique that I use to gain inspiration and page ideas from the digital items I purchase, so that the focus stays on my stories and not on the products. I'll walk you through the process using one of my own pages, and then I'll give you an easy exercise that'll help you use the technique for your layouts.

I started with this great kit by Emily Powers called Dandelion Wine. That just happens to be the title of my favorite novel by one of my favorite authors, Ray Bradbury. Immediately, my mind made that connection. The novel is about a young boy who is poised on the edge of adolescence, as the last magical summer of childhood stretches out before him. This in turn made me think of my own daughter, Cassidy, who is 11 and poised on that same brink herself. I wanted a page that encouraged her to hang on to childhood a little longer, and to not be in such a hurry to grow up. So now I had a general theme -- I just needed to gather specifics. I really wanted a quote from the novel to use on the page, but I was traveling out of town so I didn't have the novel handy. All the quotes from the novel that I could find online didn't really fit the message I wanted to share, so I turned to a list of other quotes by the author. That's where I found the one I used on my page. As luck would have it, I also had a photo of Cass blowing dandelions on my computer, so I combined all of these elements for a page that I can't wait to share with her.

That's word association -- simply following the connections that your mind makes among different elements and ideas and concepts. Here's how to try it yourself. All you need is a pencil and paper and the digital kit/element of your choice.

1. Begin with the name of the digital kit you want to use, and write it at the top of your page. If you'd rather focus on a particular element of the kit, that's fine too. Just put its name at the top of your paper.

2. Below that, simply begin listing all the words and images that come to mind when you think of that kit's name. Don't stop to evaluate them at this point -- just list whatever comes to mind. Spend about 10 minutes on this stage. You'll want a list of 20 or so associations.

3. Read back through your list and circle the three words or images that you feel most strongly drawn to.

4. Now, repeat step 2 with each of these three images. This time around, you want to start focusing on connections to your own memories, your own stories, your own family members. This is where you move the process from a general image-focused list more in the direction of a list of possible page topics and ideas.

5. At this point, you should have quite a list of potential stories to tell. All you need to do is start matching up photos and deciding which one to tell first.

Again, there's no right or wrong here -- feel free to write down whatever comes to mind. The key here is not to censor these ideas before you get them down on paper and make the connections. 

{storyteller} audrey

The Story of My Garden

Sometimes I'm not sure where I find the time, but I do have another hobby... gardening.  It's about being creative, getting my hands dirty, being surrounded by the beauty of nature and sometimes getting a good workout, too.  I even enjoy weeding!! 

Every year I create a garden journal.  It's a great place to jot down the location of plants, when they bloom, what kind of maintenence they need, etc.  I also try to journal in a way that shows the personality of my garden- including descriptions of how it makes me feel and how my kids interact with it, for example.  Almost like a child's scrapbook, the journal documents the growth and change of my garden- its story. 
In the past I've just used a plain notebook, but this year I was inspired to do something more.  I also wanted it to be a bit more organized.

Here's my journal:

The journal is based on Tiff's Envelope Templates.  They form the dividers for the sections of my journal and also hold plant tags and seed packets- thing I might need to reference later.  I lined the inside of the envelopes with clear self-adhesive vinyl before assembling to protect the pages from any dirt or moisture that might still be on the tags.  Self-adhesive Velcro tabs keep the envelope flaps closed and allow me to open and close them repeatedly. I used the main part of the envelope template to size the cover and journaling pages.

I filled each section with blank journaling pages and also created a quickpage so I can quickly print pages with photos.  Because it's bound with binder rings, I can easily add more pages as I need them.

{we are} storytellers credits:
Envelope Templates by Tiff Brady
inbe{tween} by Emily Powers & Nikki Beaudreau
Treetop Sunrise by Emily Powers
Label It! Alpha by Two Sisters Designs

{storyteller} jennifer