Happy “What Matters” Monday to you, fellow ScrapMatters enthusiasts! Heather (hedderlee) here. One of my favorite pastimes as a young girl was hanging out at the local Hallmark store and perusing the boxed card section, and I poured over those cards for hours on end. Fast forward 20 years or so… I started digital scrapbooking last October, and I’ve been blissfully churning out my own designs similar to ones I saw during my Hallmark store wanderings! I have established myself as the resident family historian, with camera in tow to every single event, slowing down the internet connection due to all the downloading of digital products and freebies (hoard city), and having to buy more hard drive space to accomodate my insatiable need for more. It’s a happy illness!!!

There is a rather dark side to my newfound hobby – I am obsessed. I guess I really should have started out this post with right hand over heart, saying, “Hello, I’m Heather, and I’m a digi scrapbooking addict.” I have a rather all-or-none Type A+ personality, so I throw myself into what is set before me. But time-consuming addictions and being a wife, mother of two girls, and working don’t quite mesh well… at least I don’t juggle these roles well, leaving me a “master of none”. There have been moments (oh heck, days) when my five-year-old would tap me on the shoulder and tell me her stomach hurt because she needed to eat breakfast… I look over at the clock and it blinks accusingly at me: 11:30am. And the one-year-old’s diaper is so full that she’s at least ten pounds heavier. I know, I know. Before you call Child Protective Services on me, please know that I’ve been reevaluating my neglectful behaviors and am no longer doing them! I love my girls more than life itself. But then I’m left throwing wistful, furtive glances at my laptop, wishing I could immerse myself in Photoshop’s dreamy world… just one minute. Enter guilt, resentment, a general feeling of unfulfillment –

Dove Chocolate recently conducted a survey that found that 37 percent of women never make time to do anything special for themselves. That number increased to 46 percent for women with children. Yikes! Do we really need to completely deny ourselves to be good wives and mothers? Those numbers seem grim to me. Where can I find the happy land of Balance, where I dance with blithe joy, digi scrapping in one hand and my well-adjusted and well-fed family on the other?

I bet you’re yelling at your computer screen, “Heather, it really comes down to keeping things in perspective!” I think I’m figuring that out myself. Here’s a list of thoughts that have helped center me a bit:

Credits – Britt-ish Designs’ Dreams Do Come True Kit, Fonts: Century Gothic, 2Peas Stop Sign

1. Build scrapping into your schedule - Make an appointment with yourself and scrap as if it is a part of your daily work. I found this to be effective with exercising too.
2. Set a time limit and stick to it– I use the timer on my microwave. That way, when I tell my kids half an hour, they know I keep my word. And really, you can do a pretty good layout in that time. Or work in installments.
3. Be realistic about your life situation and work within its confines – I have two little children, and I want so much for them to be the best people God has meant for them to be. The first five years of a child’s life is crucial to optimum brain development, and it’s not the time for me to slack as a mother. Little kids will turn into teens, then adults that leave the house. Don’t want to miss any of it.
4. Don’t burn the midnight oil– The result of doing so? Illnesses, bags under the eyes, poor skin, mental fog, crabbiness, my ugly side rearing its huge head. You get the idea.
5. Involve the children; have them color next to you – Arm yourself with play dough and accessories, markers and coloring books, or even blocks so that your children feel a part of your life. My five-year-old loves Wedgits.
6. Spend some alone time to build up your hobby – Your family gets it: you’re happiest when you emerge with a layout from some mind melding time with the computer. Let them know you’ll need Saturday afternoon for x amount of hours. A happy mom is a happy family!
7. Print out your layouts so you can enjoy them every moment you get– My goal is to have them hang all about the house, like artwork.
8. Spend less time meandering the cyberwaves and scrap away– I can blog hop randomly until the cows come home. There goes precious time.
9. Concentrate on making memories, not just scrapping them– Boy, does this one speak volumes to me.
10. Be aware of all your life’s blessings– When I do, I’m more apt to strike a good balance with my day.

So, my friends, I share my weakness with you in hopes that someone will benefit from my journey. I’d love to hear some ways you keep a good balance in your life – I’m still learning.

Hi,

Kate (Kateypie) here with a Sunday Spotlight for you. This week I’m focusing on a new member who is also a fellow New Zealander!

Meet Scrappinkiwi:

What is your main job/career?

I am an administrator for 5 crèches part time

Are you married/kids/pets?

I have been married for 12 years to a wonderful man and I have two lovely boys who are 8 and 6 years old.

Where do you call home?

Where ever my family is… is where my home is. But New Zealand is my home even though I was born in Bermuda.

What are your three favorite foods?

Sushi – I tell you I can not get enough of it.

Roast Beef – hmmm just the smell of it cooking does it for me.

Indian Food – because it is different.

What is your favorite flavor of ice cream?

Chocolate all the way. I don’t tend to go for anything else if there is chocolate there.

Do you prefer salty or sweet snacks?

Sweet snacks.

What is your favorite beverage?

V is my favorite at the moment but it isn’t good for me with all the caffeine.

What is your least favorite food?

Broccoli is my least favorite and can’t understand why anyone would like it ha ha ha.

PC or Mac?

PC

How long have you been digi-scrapping/How did you get into it?

I found out about digital scraping in 2004 and tried a couple of pages but was scared they looked silly so gave up for a while until I found that I couldn’t afford to do the paper scrapbooking. Now I am hooked and I really try to change my style but find I tend to go with the clean lines… but would love to be a little more eclectic with my layouts… I will one day

What program do you use to digi-scrap with?

I digi-scrap with Photoshop 7 and I must admit I got CS2 (think that is how you show it) but got annoyed because it couldn’t find anything so installed photoshop7 again… slack really but I will have to install it again and get up with the play.

What are your hobbies besides digi-scrapping?

I don’t know if you can call it a hobby but weight loss is a hobby at the moment with kickboxing and walking and trying my hardest to like exercise…

What is the most challenging part of scrapbooking for you?

Making my own designs is the hardest. I so want to do more and design things of my own but it is a little overwhelming and not sure where to start.

What would you like to learn to do (or do better) not related to scrapbooking?

Would like to learn how to be a Lifestyle coach but haven’t got the money to leave my job to be able to study.

What are your favorite books/authors?

Shopaholic by Sophie Kinsella.

It is the funniest book I have ever read.

What are your favorite movies?

Under the Tuscan Sun is my most favorite movie and I could watch it again and again. I really would love to go to Tuscany or Venice and soak up the culture.

What is your favorite quote?

“The secret of getting ahead is getting started”

What is one of your goals for 2008?

To spend more time with my family and cherish every moment of this time before they grow up. To enjoy this life with my husband as well because we have one life to live and we need to live it.

And here are some of my favourite layouts from Scrappinkiwi. As you can see, she has come a long way in all areas of her life and I think that is something to be admired.. also, the love she has for her family is evident in each layout.

Look at that! And she’s still going!

Love these layouts!

Hope everyone’s had a great weekend!

Hi Everyone, Shari here. I know Andrea is usually the talent behind our “Something Special Saturday” but the lucky girl is on a whirlwind trip to Europe so you are stuck with me today.  If you have been following the ScrapMatters forums  (and I certainly hope you have) you know that in the Everyday Chatter forum some of us have been chatting about the wonderfully funny things we sometimes catch our children saying. Today I want to share with you a conversation I had with my four year old last week. It’s not at all funny but is so touching that I just want to take this opportunity to share it with you. 

Let me set the stage…On Tuesday, March 17th a very dear friend of ours passed away. He was one of those guys you just can’t help but love. You know the type, always smiling, always looking for ways to help other people. Just a really great guy. He was only 45 years old and left behind a wonderful wife and four great kids. His youngest child, Cassidy, is the same age as my youngest, Grant. I tried to explain to Grant, who is four, how Cassidy’s daddy had stopped breathing and died and went to heaven so he wouldn’t be here with us or his family any more.  I told him what I believe to be true and that is that we will see our friend again some day and he will be with his family again but it won’t be for a very long time. I could tell he was upset by the news of his friend losing her daddy but I also knew he didn’t really understand the impact of what I was sharing with him.  It was two days later that I learned just how much a four year old really does understand. 

We were driving along the freeway and I could see Grant stretching, in his carseat, to try to see out the window. He was looking for the Target store and wasn’t able to see it. The trees were blocking his view. So our conversation went like this…

Grant:  They shouldn’t have put those trees there.

Me: Nobody put the trees there, they just grew there.

Grant: Well then they should cut them down, they are in my way.

Me: We don’t want them to cut them down. They already cut a whole bunch of trees down to make room for all those buildings and houses. We need to keep the trees because the trees put oxygen in the air and we need the oxygen in the air so we can breath.

Grant: Cassidy has trees. (at this point I am clueless as to where he is going with this conversation. In my mind I am simply envisioning the pretty flowering trees that grow in my friend’s front yard.)

Me:  Yes, Cassidy has beautiful trees in her yard.

Grant:  Well, Cassidy’s daddy needs to come back down and be by the trees.

Finally I understood what my dear four year old was thinking. How he put it all together that if Cassidy’s daddy would just stand by the trees he would have oxygen to breathe and he wouldn’t have to die.  It was one of those moments when you realize just how special the sweet spirits of our children really are. It was all so simple in his mind.

I just needed to share that with you and I appreciate you letting me do so. 

I was trying to come up with some cute freebie that had to do with trees but I’m really not very creative so I looked through my photos and found the following three that I turned into papers. I also posted a LO using one of the papers. The word art I used is also in the freebie.

I have a whole new outlook on trees, thanks to a smart four year old boy who taught me a little about life… and death. Now go hug your kids, your spouse, your mom, your best friend, heck go hug your dog. Just grab someone special and hold on tight because we just never know how long we will have the priviledge of living on this beautiful earth.

This first shot is a picture taken last summer when we visited Mt. Rainier.

This is a shot looking up through the snow capped trees in our backyard.

This is another shot from Mt. Rainier. Wish I could tell you what lake that is but I can’t remember the name. We hiked around it and had a picnic lunch. It was a beautiful day and a wonderful way for us to enjoy nature.

This is the LO I made using one of the papers and other pictures that were taken during our time spent at Mt. Rainier.

You can pick up your freebies here.

Thanks for reading. Now go hug somebody!!!

Hi everyone–Linz here. I was very organised and wrote my blog in plenty of time only to find today that I could not get into Word press to publish it. I have spent several hours trying to get my problems sorted so here finally is the Friday blog on what for me is now Saturday evening.

Well, this is my first blog effort & I have bravely offered to talk about taking family/group photos. Sometimes I think I have more experience with how Not to take family photos, judging by some of the results. For those of you that don’t know, I have 5 children of my own & when I met up with my husband he came with two of his own. So between us that is 7 children. That makes for a lot of people to get happy in a picture. I am not a professional photographer, but I am a passionate photographer.

When the children were small, I had a real yen for beautifully posed, angelic looking children photos, but in reality the ones that give me the most pleasure now, are the candid photos. Everyone having a laugh at something funny that happened. And of course for scrapbooking those pictures are perfect beause usually they go with a story.

I am a digital camera fan. I love digital photogaphy with a passion. In the old film days, I was lucky if I ever got a decent photo. I would pick up the photos from the developers and they would be disasters. So.. digital. We all have a camera. From Mike’s Canon EOS350D, down to Ben’s ‘came free with a watch’. And the reality is that everyone of us has taken good pictures with their camera, because it is mostly about opportunity. Opportunity and taking lots of shots. I really believe in taking lots and lots of shots. Why not? You aren’t wasting anything. The more shots you take the better the chance of a good one. When we are photographing the children, often Mike will stand in front and take photos and I will stand to the side and take more.

Now I know that we all have photoshop and can magically fix our photos these days, but it is nice to start with something decent. So first up. Background. Let me show you what we consider to be our Best ever family photos.

The kids on their own

And then all of us

We love these photos. The background is interesting, but not in your face. There was spaces for people to stand in between the roots, and we choose neutral toned clothes to blend with the natural backdrop.

I might add, that we were standing in a small grove of trees on the edge of a busy main road and Mike took the pictures of all of us on timer. So it is a tribute to how well they can come up. People kept driving past tooting and waving, it was really funny. The children had all been bribed with dinner out at a restaurant if they cooperated, and yet look there in the front row and Ben is scowling…. no problem for photoshop mum…

Notice Ben has a smile now, and two more kids magically added to the photo.

So… summary.

Start with good background. I have way too many photos with backdrops of the washing basket, or the dishes on the sink. If you can try and coordinate clothing, it does seem to bring the photo together nicely. Bribe if necessary for a good mood. Remember fun is often better than posed. Seize the moments… I hate to sound negative, but often when we lose loved ones, we realise that it has been way too long since we took photos with them. Take lots and lots. Try different angles, down low, up high, from the side. And finally back them up really well!

Sorry for the late entry today.  I’ve been working hard all day and time just got away from me!  Oops.

Ok – its Theory Thursday and originally when we dreamed up this theme, we thought it would be fun to talk about trends in digital scrapping, put the spotlight on them, and show you what products we have at SM that are on trend!!

I’m sure Most of you have noticed this same trend that I have noticed . . .

BRACKET FRAMES AND MATS!

I didn’t know that this is what they were called at first, so for those of you who don’t know what a bracket frame is, let me enlighten you.  Bracket frames and mats get their name from the shape of its edges.  They are brackets!  Here are a few LOs that have popped up in the ScrapMatters gallery lately that are rockin’ a bracket frame!!  (all images are clickable for credits)

Jeni used a little bracket frame here to accentuate the center photo in her strip.  LOVE this idea and I LOVE this bracket frame.

Erica (ezane) posted this LO today with a very large bracket shaped mat.  I LOVE this LO and the big mat makes for a GREAT backdrop!!

Zakirah is totally into the bracket mats lately.  I’ve seen her post a few REALLY awesome LOs rockin’ the bracket frames and mats.  Here’s just ONE!!

Ok, one more fabulous example.  Wendy posted this cute LO using a bracket mat from Happy Scrap Girl’s “Taylor” kit.  Love it.

Bracket frames are A totally hot trend right now.  I’m seeing them more and more in templates, kits, EVERYWHERE.  I LOVE them!!  I know what you’re thinking, “Brittney!  Brittney!  What bracket frames and mats have you got at the ScrapMatters shop?”  Well, let me show you just a few places you can find ‘em!!

In my new “Don’t Hold Back” template pack you can find a great bracket mat and you can customize and use again and again!

A slightly differnent twist on this trend, Sunshine Digi Scraps’ kit “Just For You” includes bracket framed journaling cards.  I LOVE these!!!

The always on trend, Ellie Lash, has a cute bracket mat in her “Ladybug Picnic” kit.  Great for matting or journaling on!!

I mentioned it before, but Happy Scrap Girl has a bracket shaped frame in her “Taylor” kit AND two MORE brackety goodies in her “Taylor Add-On” FREEBIE.

So go grab some bracket mats and frames and give this trend a try.  I think you’ll get hooked like me!!

Have a happy rest of the day!  Sorry again for the late post!

xoxo,

HI! Krista here, with this week’s Tuesday Challenge (my first time hostessing – so wish me luck).

I live in the Midwest and this winter has been down-right brutal. We are FINALLY seeing signs of spring, but it has been very slow in coming this year. So, I thought spring might need some encouragement to bloom in full. This week’s challenge is a recipe challenge…and we are making some spring! Even if you live in the Southern hemisphere, you can scrap those spring layouts now:) So please help out in coaxing some warmth my way and join in for ScrapMatters’ “Recipe for Spring” Challenge this week!

Credits: All from ScrapMatters
Flowers – Misschifis Scraps, 14 Felt Florals; Sparkle – Britt-ish Design, Dreams Do Come True Mega Kit; Grass – Dirty Feet Design, Springy Add-On; Bow Wrap – Britt-ish Design, Wrappiness; Background – Happy Scrap Girl Designs, Inspire Me – A Page Kit; Fonts: Title – Pea Lacy Chunky; Rules – Pea Kristy

You can use any products you like, following the recipe above (green, sparkle, bow, flower). Upload your finished layout by Monday 3/31/08 midnight PST with proper credits to the gallery and post a link in the challenge thread. Every participant will get a giftie sampler by Britt-ish Designs called “springtime for krista.” PLUS, one participant will win a blue ribbon prize of a $5 store credit for best recipe!

I look forward to seeing your spring layouts and some spring weather:)

Krista

—————————

To help get you started…here are some inspiring layouts from the ScrapMatters’ Creative Team:

First up Katie cooked up a wonderfully springy recipe! I love the airy feel and adorable subject matter! Notice her little bow in the corner is holding the frame in place. Her title and subtitle say so much…perfectly chosen!

Next is Amanda Kay’s gorgeous layout with a sparkly butterfly and colorful circle mattes! Notice how she framed the pictures the same to unify a multi-photo layout. The scallops are so pretty and fresh!

Next Wendy uses some color theory to cook up a surefire combination and an example of the 60-30-10 rule (see last Thursday’s Color Theory Post here). Look how it combines beautifully. Wish we had blossoms here!

Below Linz shows us some awesome pictures and journaling in a spring theme! Love the stitched borders and pretty photo mattes. Terrific title too! The sun behind the title is lovely and warm.

Next is Kate’s delicious layout! YUMMY. I love the cotton candy colors and gorgeous photo. Her title work and bejeweled bow wrap literally tie it all together with style. The white in the title and in the paint splotches draw more attention to the two frames.

Next is Zakirah’s. I love the softness and white space in contrast to the brighter highlights framing her picture to draw the eye that way! Total wow layout! I love the unexpected baubles in the corner…

Here is Jeni’s! LOVE the earthy colors here. This makes a super boy page. I notice the taupe is the same as the stripe in the shirt and trees. The kiss of white makes it have a real springy feel. I can nearly anticipate all the days of summer on the way for this little one to romp and play! Super!

And finally, Melanie’s pics from Easter!! Easter pics scrapped already? She is on the ball. What’s springier than Easter!? So cute!

So give it a try…let’s see what you dream up for a recipe for spring. Remember there is a treat for you just for trying:)

Hiya fellow Scrappers!  It’s me, Kristie- I wanted to talk to you a little bit about your layouts today.  I’ve noticed a trend in the digital scrapping world of single-page layouts and I’m here to say- Don’t give up on your double-pagers just yet!  I understand that single-page layouts are not only quicker, but it’s also nice not to have to worry about how your two pages flowing together.  Having said that, let me list a few of the pro’s I’ve found while two-page Digital Scrapbooking with a few examples from my own gallery.

Two-pagers:

-can look amazing and really stand out.

-allow you to fit more pictures into one layout- I usually have so many pictures from each of the events I’m scrapping  I really need both pages to fit them all in.

-get you caught up more quickly.  I guess this pro lends itself to the last one, but when I first switched from paper to digital scrapping, I was two years behind.  By utilizing two-page spreads I was able to catch up more quickly- I spent ½ the time I would have otherwise trying to figure out which beautiful kit I would use for each page.

-creates a more spacious look, one-pagers are gorgeous, but once again- if you have a lot of pictures they can look a little cramped.

-give you an opportunity to more fully utilize all of those wonderful embellishments we love from our digital scrapkits. 

-really allow you to fully carry out a theme or idea-

-Look so amazing when bound in a book next to each other.

But what about all of those wonderful  1-page template freebies you’ve been picking up here and there online?  Simple!  Go ahead and use the template as is for your first page, and flip it horizontally making a mirror image for the second, or try it just rotating 90 degrees, etc.

Have I convinced you?  Yes?  No?  Maybe this will be the clincher- I’ve made a 2-page freebie template from one of my own layouts for you to play with and rediscover your inner double-pager diva! 

(Click here to download your template)

I’d love to see what you do with the templates, so please make sure to post your layouts at ScrapMatters.com for us all to drool over!

Kristie

Credits for layouts posted:

Layout #1:  Lil’ Brudder kit by Britt-ish Designs

Layout #2:  Flea Market kit by Raspberry Road Designs
                   Sketch ideas from Candi Gershon

Layout #3:  Merry and Bright Kit by Ellie Lash

Layout #4: Paper: Private TMR Kit from Scrapped Treasures by Teresa
                    Elements: Scrappy Blue Stones’ Love Letter Kit

Layout #5: Surprise Party Kit by Sunshine Digi Scraps
                  Glitzy Flora by Britt-ish Designs

Hello and happy Sunday, everyone! Zakirah here with Sunday Spotlight. This is my first time writing for the team blog and I’m very excited! For this week’s spotlight, I’d like you to meet Sya (syapotter).

She’s a really talented scrapper and I find her layouts very inspiring. One of the things that I admire about her is that she’s really good in journaling. I also love the way she compose her pages.

As a little Sunday inspiration, I’ve picked some of her layouts that I really love. I have to tell you that it’s hard to choose which to pick because all of them are gorgeous! But I managed to pick five to be featured and here they are:

To see more of her pages, you can have a visit at her gallery.

So let’s get to know her better!

What is your main job/career?
Teaching at a local private university, where I studied for my degree. The subjects I’m teaching are mainly English Language and Writing Skills.

Are you married/kids/pets?
Not married, no kids, no pets, but I do have a niece and a nephew that I love to death though.

Where do you call home?
Selangor, Malaysia.

What are your three favorite foods?
Pepperoni pizza, spaghetti bolognese and anything that my mom cooks.

What is your favorite flavor of ice cream?
Cookies & Cream wins hands down!

Do you prefer salty or sweet snacks?
Sweet but sometimes I do prefer the salty sweet kind.

What is your favorite beverage?
Vanilla Coke, with ice.

What is your least favorite food?
Vegetables. LOL..

PC or Mac?
PC

How long have you been digi-scrapping and how did you get into it?
I started doing it digi in June 2007 but before that I had been a paper scrapper. Back in those days, there were no (or at least limited) supplies available in Malaysia so my progress was very, very slow. Then one day, I was surfing the net and stumbled upon digital scrapping and found out that I could design my layouts using freebies, which was great cos I don’t have to fork out any money at all. Starting from there, I have never looked back and never will.

What program do you use to digi-scrap with?
PS7

What are your hobbies besides digi-scrapping?
Reading. I own over 300 books, some of which I kept on reading over and over again.

What is the most challenging part of scrapbooking for you?
Using elements. I love the look of white space and limited use of elements but there are times when I looked at other people’s layouts and the way they use lots of elements on their page makes me so jealous. I wish I could do that.

What would you like to learn to do (or do better) not related to scrapbooking?
I would love to teach better. LOL…

What are your favorite books/authors?
That would have to be J.K Rowling’s Harry Potter series. I grew up with the series and will continue to grow with it..

What are your favorite movies?
My all time fave is A Walk to Remember.

What is your favorite quote?
“Listen to your heart. It whispers, so listen carefully.” – from Land Before Time.

What is one of your goals for 2008?
To scrap at least 250 layouts before year end. I am now close to 90 layouts. Woohoo!!

Thanks Sya for sharing with us a little bit about yourself!

And since I’m really inspired by her layouts, I made some templates so that I can scraplift them, LOL! You can download them by clicking on the previews:

Hope you love the templates and enjoy your weekend!

Happy Saturday everyone! Andrea here with some more scrapping goodness. Lots of fun things happening at ScrapMatters this week–the gallery continues to amaze me with the quality of LOs people share–so much inspiration! The blog articles that the team writes have just been excellent lately. I am just so thankful for the great team that I have been blessed to work with here at SM. And I am also thankful for everyone who takes the time to participate in our site–whether it be leaving a comment, posting in the forums and/or gallery. You are appreciated–you matter to us! Happy Easter from the team at ScrapMatters–hope you enjoy this little freebie!

Click on the picture to go to the shop and place it in your basket.

Have any of you ever had the dilemma of shopping for a new camera? Ugh. Seriously, how do you choose when there are SO many great cameras out there? Today I’m gonna look back at my search and explore why I finally decided on my FABO Canon G9!

To be quite honest, I just wanted a camera with a great macro setting (or the ability to take EXTREMELY close shots) so I could finally get the tiny toe shots of my little babies. I’d always seen such adorable pictures and I wanted to be able to recreate them myself. So that was a must on my list. I was also interested in the optical zoom. I wanted a big one! I had learned that the optical zoom was the true zoom, and that all digital zoom does is make the pixels bigger, so not such a great thing. So I was looking for macro and optical zoom. (In the back of my mind was also the megapixels. Although not top of my list, because after 5 or 6, it’s all just frosting! After all, I wasn’t planning to make any poster size prints!)

My next concern was price. How much camera did I want, or need, and how much was I willing to pay for it? I’m NO WHERE near a professional, so I almost automatically decided against a Digital SLR. It is not only WAY too much camera for what I’m comfortable with, but it was also a HUGE jump in price. So I ruled out spending a lot of time looking at them. Now I knew what type of camera I was looking for.

Where to from there? My brother. He’s a photographer so I went to him for suggestions on what to look for in a camera. One of the first things he mentioned was the size of the sensor. Um, what? That’s what I said. Apparently the sensor is where the image is captured within the camera (or something along those lines) and I learned that it is one of the most important things to look for when you want a good photo. So the larger the sensor size, the better! So I jotted that down on my list.

He also mentioned shutter speed and focus range. Great! I have a list of all of the things I’m looking for, but what do I do with it? How do I make a good comparison of all these different things? Impossible you say? Nope. And I didn’t even have to go to a million different sites and write down all this info for a million different cameras. There is a site he told me about that does all the work for you! Yippee!! The website is www.dpreview.com.

I was able to click on a bunch of different cameras and the site “compared” them for me! It included all the specifications I was looking for and a million more that I hadn’t even thought about. For me it was a great tool to narrow down my choice. It was also a great way to read all the customer reviews. It’s so helpful to hear from people who have actually USED the cameras you’re considering.

In the end I decided on the Canon G9 because it had the best of what I was looking for, and a price I could live with. And I have to say, I adore it! It really is one of the best cameras I’ve owned (of course, it’s just a point and shoot, but for capturing those crazy moments with my kids, it’s been fantastic!).

So if you are faced with replacing a camera, make sure you take the time to really look into all the options that are out there. You might be surprised about what you find (or don’t find) in the camera you thought you wanted. You may even find out everything you want is in a camera that is less expensive! So happy hunting… for cameras and eggs! Happy Easter everyone!!