If you want to produce a family picture without all the hassels, why not create a layout using recent miniature photos of everyone in your family.  There are so many ways you could complete such a project and the creative possibilities are endless.  It would be interesting to do one every couple of years…hassel free.

Don’t forget – if you end up with an especially beautiful masterpiece – you can always frame it and hang it on the wall.   No wrangling required!

Cheers and Happy Scrapbooking,

Val at Paperhills

Enjoy!

Happy Scrapbooking everyone,

Val at Paperhills

We’ve just added another Heritage Scrapbooking Tag Set to our large inventory for traditional or digital scrapbooking.

One of 3 coordinated tags in the Set

Many of you enjoy hybrid scrapbooking – and these tags offer something for both styles.  Print them or save to your computer for your digital layouts. The color and quality are always the best.

Hope you will enjoy!

Cheers and Happy Scrapbooking!

Val at Paperhills

I love scrapbooking because it is a creative outlet – just one more way in which to express myself artisticly.  The heritage aspect of scrapbooking also makes it appealing to me.  But most of all, I like to create.  I love choosing the photos and then comes my idea for the layout.  Often it is more like a mosaic that develops as I go along.  I don’t always know where it will end up, but I love the journey. The finished product at the end is just the icing on the cake!

Being artistic gives me a desire to explore and experiment with scrapbooking techniques which are outside the box.

One technique I like to use is painting and decorating my pages with texture medium or crackle paint

Texture medium can be found in most craft stores, or art stores and can be colored with acrylic paint then brushed easily on to your layouts. Create landscapes, or use die cuts to create patterns in the medium. It dries for a permanent finish. Once you start playing with this technique you will come up with more and more ways to use it.

For Heritage Scrapbooking, you can create Decades of Distress in one simple step! Distress Crackle Paint is a unique one-step paint that cracks as it dries. With a convenient, built-in applicator brush, add instant aging to all your layouts. Easy-to-use, one-step crackle paint – comes in many great colors too!

Ranger Ink – Tim Holtz – Distress Crackle Paint – Antique Linen
Scrapbook.com

Don’t forget this technique can also be used with Cardmaking or other craft projects.

Cheers and Happy Scrapbooking,

Val at Paperhills

So here’s a challenge for you.  Document some of the interesting and unique ways that you are different than someone in your family too – for example interests, hobbies, beliefs, lifestyle choices, careers, etc.  Try putting together a layout that shows the contrasts as well as the similarities…this will give your story a whole new dimension and make it a little more surprising.

Cheers and Happy Scrapbooking!

Val at Paperhills

Paperhills Military Tag

It is helpful to remember the types of information you will want to keep a record of.  Along with pictures, uniforms and medals there are the human tales of military life and experiences.  Keep records of dates, training, battles, news from home, living conditions, weather and above all remember to include the emotional and human aspects of the military life of your family and friends.  This is what will make all the difference between a record and a story that really explains the significance of the military experience.

Cheers and Happy Scrapbooking!

Val at Paperhills

This is my grand-daughter and this will be her first Christmas…as you can see we’ve been busy clicking photos of everything!  Your camera is your best friend…never miss an opportunity.   It doesn’t take much to create a masterpiece of Christmas color.  Check out our Christmas Scrapbooking Tags – they’ll give a great boost to your layouts.

Happy Scrapbooking!

Val at Paperhills

Here’s an idea for creating a gift of Christmas Past.  This mini album is colorful and just the perfect size to tell your story in pictures. I particularly love the scalloped paper edges.

Bo Bunny Press – St. Nick Collection – Edgy Album Class Kit – Holly Jolly Christmas
Scrapbook.com

You could include a series of childhood Christmas photos, and tell the stories associated with them. There are many things you could include, for example your favourite presents and Christmas recipes…the sky’s the limit. Remember to make copies of your originals and use them for giving. Never touch your originals, especially in the case of vintage photos.

Cheers and Happy Scrapbooking!
Val at Paperhills

Try these ideas for scrapbooking your collections:

1.  Photograph your items or collections.  These can be sorted into groups and set onto colored backgrounds.  The photos can then be arranged to form numerous layouts using color co-ordinated papers.  You might want to create mini albums for each collection.

2.  Heirlooms can be placed into display cases, then photographed and transferred to scrapbooking layouts along with a written history of the pieces.  An example of this would be military medals, uniforms, etc.

Using these methods will help you in keeping your records all together without using the bulky or heavy objects themselves – a great family record.

I collect antiques, and sometimes wonder who used those objects and what kind of people they were. My home is filled with a mixture of old and new. I surround myself with the things I love the most, as we all do, but the dearest to me are the objects once owned by my mother, father and grandparents. Those pieces connect me to them so that I never forget.

Do you have objects in your home that stir old and beloved memories when you use them or look at them? These things are obviously important to your life or you would not keep them. Why not document these special objects by scrapbooking pictures of these items.  Share their story too. It would make a wonderful diary for future generations of your family .

Cheers and Happy Scrapbooking!
Val at Paperhills