Today is my husband’s birthday (happy birthday my love)!

It got me thinking about how we don’t take many photos together. This photo of us was taken around our 9th wedding anniversary in 2007.

Seriously, it’s been over 2 years since we took a photo together? Now, I don’t know about you but I think that is too long! I document the lives of our children with numerous photos, scrap pages and yearly calendars. And we have taken tons of family photos of the four of us…but what about those “Just Us” photos? Since 2007, I have lost 45lbs and I look better now than I have in years, so why do I not have a more recent photo with my husband? I don’t have an answer that doesn’t sound like an excuse so can I just say that I am on a mission to get a recent photo taken with my hubby and I mean SOON! The moments that matter are the ones shared with your loved ones, so don’t let those precious moments pass with your significant other, take the time to be photographed with them! I encourage you to take the time to get a photo with your beloved; sooner rather than later!

Happy Monday!
Hugs,
Jami (alansrock)

Worry.  Defined in The Free Dictionary as “to feel anxious, distressed or troubled”.  Yep, that’s me.  At almost any point in the day I have found something to worry about.  As I read the definition I also read that the original Old English word meant “to strangle”.   Do you feel that?  When the worry starts to get out of control do you feel the strangle part?  I am an internalizer so sometimes when I let the worry get out of hand I start to feel like I can’t breathe.  I feel the strangle. 

This past week I had one of those strangle moments and the next day it seemed that everywhere I went someone or something was speaking into my life about letting it go.  One of my favorite speakers, Jill Briscoe, was speaking on her struggle with worry.  She shared that one way she controls her worry now is to remember “once around Jericho” (referring to the story of Joshua in the Bible) and then you trust.  Meaning – give yourself one moment in the day to worry and then trust.  Then let it go.  Don’t let it consume your day.  Sometimes I spend so much time worrying over something that I waste huge amounts of time that could have been used to DO something about my worry.  Crazy, I know.

So, what do you worry about?  Maybe they are big worries.  Maybe it’s a lot of little things that when piled together seem overwhelming.  Family, children, money, health, politics.  Maybe even your scrapbooks!  I know we all self-impose time frames on our hobby.  We tend to critique ourselves mercilessly and even compare our weaknesses to other’s strengths and talents. 

What do you do to relieve the worry?  Exercise?  Gardening?  Music?  For many of us, it’s a creative outlet with scrapbooking.  I usually need focus and sometimes even something as simple as a verse or phrase will help me find that.  I’ve gathered several for you to choose from today.  Most of them you will recognize as common cliches, but I figure that cliches became cliches for a reason, right?!    So, here you are:

“Hakuna Matata”.  “Don’t worry be happy”.  Babysteps. ” Just do it”.  Take some action.  Smell the roses.  My mom’s favorite:  “We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it”.  She was also fond of “No use crying over spilled milk” and for my high school worries, “There are plenty of other fish in the sea”.  I always come back to Phillipians 4:6 which starts out, “Do not be anxious about anything”.   Leo Buscaglia said, “Worry never robs tomorrow of its sorrow, it only saps today of its joy.”

I hope you find joy today.  Joy in your families, joy in your work, and certainly joy in your scrapbooking! 

Amber (jeffsamber)

“How do you eat an elephant?”

One bite at a time.

I thought that it was time to revisit the topic of organizing our digi-files. If you’re anything like me, you probably take a lot of photos. Maybe even so many that you have a hard time managing them. You know that you have that photo of that special event… somewhere. Since you never got around to sorting, editing and filing it you have no clue as to where it is. And your pile of un-filed digi-pics is so overwhelming that it‘s turned into one big huge elephant. Sound familiar?

So, just how do you tackle that huge digi-mountain you‘ve created without going insane? One byte at a time. (heh heh)

Enter the Fly Lady. If you’ve never heard of her, please follow the link and see what she’s all about. In a nutshell, the FlyLady helps us learn how to “set up routines, get rid of your clutter, and put your home and life in order” since “you cannot organize clutter – you can only organize the things you love!” And the way you do it is in baby steps, a little bit at a time. My favorite FlyLady tip is the 27-fling boogie. You set aside fifteen minutes to declutter, going through your rooms and tossing 27 things that you don’t use or need anymore. And you can apply the same process to your e-pics, too.

Set aside 15 minutes a day to begin sorting through your photographs. Start by removing the card from your camera(s) and getting them into your computer. Then it’s time for a quick sort. Look through the photos, keeping the good and flinging out the bad. Remove any that are out of focus, cropped wrong, duplicates, or that you just don’t like. Don’t spend a lot of time dwelling on a single photo – look, make a decision, and move on. That means no photo editing! You can edit all you want when it’s time to use or print the photo.

Next, place each photo in the proper file(s) so you’ll know how to find it later on. Which program should to use? It’s up to you. I use Memory Manager 3.0, where I can place the same photo into as many file folders as I wish, then retrieve what I need with the click of my mouse.

If you do this every day this week you will have spent one hour 45 minutes on the project, most likely more than you had done the week before. Keep it up and it will turn into 7 hours over 4 weeks, and so on. Every little bit counts when it comes to eating that elephant, and pretty soon it will be gone. Once completed you can then move onto more detailed filing and editing.  But just think of how good you will feel when it’s done. The key is to sort, toss and file. And make a promise to yourself to do this every time you upload new photos to your computer. You’ll be glad you did!

I just finished the book “The Wedding” by Nicholas Sparks. This book had me thinking how us moms put ourselves last for most everything. We’re the last ones to get ready when preparing for an outing, we buy new things for everyone but ourselves, etc, etc. It dawned on me that we get so caught up in our hobbies as a result. And if you are reading this then that main hobby is the same as mine…digi scrapping! Too often we focus our pages on the loved ones in our lives; we forget to scrap about ourselves. Just like in the book I mentioned above Jane is on the sidelines and doesn’t speak up for what she wants, so let’s not be a Jane and wait 30 years to be heard…let’s be in the limelight today, right now. So I challenge you to try and scrap more about YOU; because YOU are what makes this community at ScrapMatters.com so amazing…YOU matter!

Have a great week!
-Jami (alansrock)

Happy Monday everyone!!!

I’m new here to Scrap Matters & I LOVE it!!! I’m sure you’ll all agree that this place is a very relaxed, comforting environment.

When I signed up to post the What Matters post I had a pretty good idea about what to write. Then a week ago Sat. that all changed!

My wonderful hubby & a friend of his took our son to target practice. They go all the time & have a blast. I get a phone call a couple hours later from my husband saying that his friend was taking him to the ER! Hubby was having an irregular heartbeat & almost blacked out.

I meet them there & by then all was well. They kept him overnight for observation. I took our son (he’s 12) home to get some rest. Gavin (our son) was crying & I convinced him that I wouldn’t have left daddy if things weren’t good.

Sunday, the Dr.’s released him stating he had to come for a stress echo on Mon. We went & they saw that one of his valves wasn’t moving. They then wanted to send a camera into his veins to see what was going on. They thought it was just a spasm that could be taken care of with meds. We went on Wed. for this procedure.

The Dr. came to me & stated that one of my hubby’s arteries was blocked 100% & another 75-80% & he had to put in 2 stents. It was either that or open heart surgery which he didn’t want to do on a 39 year old man. We didn’t want it either.

They took him back several hours later to have the stents put in saying it would be 45 minutes.

I’ve known fear in my life. I’ve miscarried. I’ve taken Gavin to the ER when he wasn’t able to breath very well. Nothing could possibly prepare me for this. Praying that my husband, my best friend would be alright. Holding my son while he clings to me, crying that he doesn’t want his daddy to die & me telling him that daddy would be alright while praying that I’m not lying to him.

2 hours later the Dr. comes out & tells me that he almost gave up. He couldn’t get 1 of the stents in & was about to do open heart!! The Dr. then told me that he had to put 4 stents in my husbands heart!!! 2 in each artery.

My husband is physically fit. He works out & eats right. We were told that if he hadn’t kept fit he would have had a major heart attack & died instantly! As it was the left side of his heart made it’s own bypass by creating veins to feed the right side of his heart!

I know I’ve babbled on & on but this is what matters. Your family!!!

I don’t know what I would’ve done had I lost my husband. I came so close that it’s terrifying.

Stop everything that you’re doing & tell your significant other how much you love them!!! Hold them & make sure they know how much you care!

Leave the dirty dishes & clothes & play with your kids. Yes, even leave that unfinished scrapbook page! Without those that we love we won’t have anything to scrap anyway.

I did tell my hubby that he better not shy away from the camera. I will take his photo & even though he probably won’t like it, he’ll do it. Because he loves me!!!

Good Monday to everyone!  It’s LoriBear here today to bring you the What Matters post this week.  I was trying to think of something really great for today and think I have done that.  Most times we are often focusing on ourselves and what matters most to us, this week however I am adding others to this equation because the payoff is great for both parties!

We have all heard the saying “It’s the little things that matter most” and this past weekend I was totally reminded of that.  I have been having a hard time personally for the last few weeks and am stating to feel the sun shine again and was much happier this weekend than I have been in awhile so I wanted to spread a little bit of that around!

We were at a fast food restaurant grabbing some grub.  The lady who was serving at the counter was being just berated by someone who had absolutely no manners what so ever and to be honest I felt really bad for her as she was pleasant and nice and actually kind of funny as she tried to use humor in a great way to break the tension with the ruse customer.  It unfortunately didn’t work and the man left very unhappy. By the time it was our turn I had watched this lady serve others with a smile and a really great attitude.  I thought in my opinion she needed a smile in return!  I told her I thought she was doing a really great job and was one of the most pleasant people I had seen in a fast food place in quite some time.  I was totally not prepared for reaction to this.  She actually teared up and told me that it was the nicest thing for me to say so because at the moment she was really not feeling so happy or appreciated.  I made her whole entire night just by saying thank you and praising her for a job that I myself would never want to do!  I felt elated inside to know that I had made such a good effect on this person.  After that I tried to make sure that I spread a smile and some thanks all weekend where ever I was and let the people who serve me everyday that I appreciate the work they did and that I was very thankful!  I felt like a million bucks and was elated that I was making others feel just as happy!  I remember working in the service field and how wonderful that feeling is…

So yes, The little things do MATTER most, not only just to us but to everyone around us as well!  Try it today, thank your neighborhood crossing guard for always watching out for the safety of your children, your store clerk for always serving you with kindness and a smile, there are many people in my life who I plan to thank a little more often.

The other night I was relaxing in a bubble bath, browsing through the December issue of Scrapbook TRENDS magazine.  The front cover features a layout with an adorable little girl obviously thrilled about Christmas.  The journaling reads something like “You are a believer.  I love to see the delight in your big brown eyes.”   I really didn’t take much note of it until I turned to page 12.  A page titled “Cover Story” where Stephanie Howell, the author of the cover layout had written:

“This past Christmas will be one I will remember for a long time for several reasons.  My husband was in Afghanistan and I was bound and determined to make the holiday very special for my girls.  Harper, being two, was really old enough to enjoy and anticipate Christmas.  She brought tears to my eyes on several different occasions during the holiday season.  The first time was when she saw Santa Claus and ran through the mall screaming “Santa!  It’s me!  Harper!  I love you!”  The second time was when I had the joy of witnessing her big brown eyes grow wide as she saw the Christmas tree at my parents’ home for the first time.  That is when I snapped these photos.  Watching her, I longed for the days when I believed. (I do still believe in the meaning of Christmas, but being an adult can be complicated.)  Oh to be two, and to purely believe with all of your heart – to feel the magic and the joy and to feel it with abandon.”

That is what matters.  The story. The story that should be part of that layout.

A while back, Kate shared this quote with us:

If you don’t journal, then you aren’t scrapbooking, you’re just showcasing a photo

Hmm….maybe I have a few too many “showcase a photo” layouts.

Shortly after I was married, my mother-in-law asked me to help her organize her photos. As we sorted through photos, I discovered a hospital newborn portrait. I could tell it was one of her two youngest sons, but when I asked her which one, she couldn’t tell either. In photos where the children were older, it was obvious. However, when we got to the photos of her husband’s aunts as young women, once again we couldn’t tell who was who. Remember you won’t always be around to show off your scrapbooks. Recording those stories, those details, is almost more important than preserving the photos.  Recording the stories is what matters.

If journaling on your layouts is intimidating, here are a couple of tips:

Check out this WMM blog post from Jen.  She has a short list of ideas to jump start your journaling.

Tell Me More (a journaling class) is starting today at ScrapMatters.  It’s not too late to join us.  You get this fabulous mega kit, 20 daily lessons, weekly freebies, access to a private class forum, and encouragement and support to make journaling a habit in your scrapbooking.  Sign up here. Oh,  and use this code to get $5 off: tellmemore_5

Remember to record the story.  It’s what matters.

–Chelle

Brenda here with your “what matters monday” post.  I apologize that I don’t have anything fun for you today.  I had great plans but as things usually go, my two little loves are very sick.    I guess all of my inspiration is in the pile of tissues somewhere and there is no way I am digging through that. 

Through all of this I have re-discovered what matters to me.  With all of my responsibilities and hobbies, my children are always the most important.  Sometimes I get wrapped up in the mundane things of my life and I forget to stop (or at least slow down a little) and really see them for who they really are.  My sweet and spicy little crew. My only challenge to you is that you slow down a little today in order to take a closer look at “what matters” to you.

Just a little inspiration for you before I have to go wipe noses (again).

click the images for credits

by littlemuffin06

by neety

Hello Everyone!

Krista (sahlink) here to bring you What Matters Monday.   When I thought about what I was going to write about today, I just had to take a look at the title for inspiration… what REALLY matters.  Of course, most of us will say family and friends, right?  That is initially why we do what we do…  Staying up endless hours, finishing that LAST layout or fixing the color on a photo.  Our goal is to create beautiful pages that document how much we LOVE our family and friends.   About our lives, or perhaps a reminder of a happy time. We document to tell a story and to leave a message.  Of course, some of us scrap because we MUST! The comforting glow of the computer screen as we buy a new kit or post a great LO in the gallery is almost as addicting as chocolate!   But I digress!!!

After we are done creating, usually all of these stories are stored in a photo album.   Hopefully, they are not still sitting helpless in your hard drive!  But, have you thought about incorporating it more into your life or into your home? Why not hang some of your favorite layouts on your living room wall?  In your bedroom?  The office?  Heck, why not spruce up the bathroom while you’re at it (you’ve probably already got some cute ‘kid in the tub’ pics already!).

I recently did a layout that I found I wanted to look at ALL the time.  Or at least I wanted to see it more than just in a book.  It turned out so beautifully and I thought… this could top any piece of art in an art gallery (although a mother’s love for her children can often be quite biased!).  I believe that these pages and pictures should be showcased like the art that they are.

Here’s my layouts in jpeg format:

1) Different Options for Printing
I looked into numerous different options.  What do I do?   Print and frame the picture, enlarge and have it backed with tag board.  There are so many options that are available to do nowadays.   What I ended up choosing was to turn my layout into a canvas print.   I have to admit I was a little nervous.  How is it going to turn out, are the colors going to be true?

2) Choosing a Company
As you can imagine, there are hundreds of different companies that do all forms of printing.   When I was doing my research there were a few things that I was looking for.  What size of print are they capable of printing? I make 12 x 12 layouts, which is not a ‘regular’ size for printing companies.  How thick was the frame going to be? I specifically wanted the profile of the frame to be as minimal as possible.  What is the cost? As everyone, I would like the least amount of cost for good quality.   On average, I found to print a 12 x 12 canvas picture to be around $60.   Does the company offer any guarantee? If so, what was it? My main concerns were…what if the colors don’t turn out?  what if the image doesn’t wrap around the frame correctly?   These are some of the questions to ask a printing company prior to ordering.

The company I decided to go with was http://arttecprints.com/.   I asked my list of questions (listed above) and was thrilled with all of their answers.  They were able to print a 12 x 12 canvas from photo (which was a custom size), on a gallery wrapped frame (which has a thickness of .75 inch), and get this…. for only $29 plus shipping.  Yes, I was VERY skeptical that it wouldn’t turn out because they were so cheap.   But they told me that it was fully guaranteed, which eased my fears.  They were also able to keep my entire image on the top and mirror the sides, so I didn’t have to change my layout at all!   And being the skeptic that I am, I was still a bit worried that the picture would indeed be fully on top.  But they emailed me a preview (within an hour of ordering) of exactly how it would print.

Picture of emailed preview:

It took about 10 business days to receive my order.  It turned out so beautifully.  I couldn’t wait to put my creation up on the wall!!  I think my kids were even more excited to find out they were “featured” on our wall!  Here are some photos of how it came out:

I hope this edition of ‘What Matters Monday’ will inspire you to do something special with your layouts.  You are all truly talented, artistic ladies… and your work deserves more than just 2 hours of appreciation on an internet gallery!  Create your own permanent gallery in your home…   Now, get to work!!

Krista (sahlink)