A Matter of Memories

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A little comedy...
2008-05-26 01:21:00
Kaitlin was at Grandma & Grandpa Paulson's for a couple days, so Justin and I actually got to go out yesterday. This is a rare invent for sure...like Haley's Comet! :-)Sioux Falls was our destination for the day. We made it up there around lunchtime and Justin humored me while I did some scrapbook shopping at Hobby Lobby and Michael's. I then humored him during his pawn shop visits...he's always on the look out for some 'treasure'.Not too long ago, I got an email stating that I had won four tickets to Nitwits, a comedy club in Sioux Falls. Initially, I didn't think that we were going to be able to take advantage of them, but when the grandparents offered to keep Kaitlin longer, I thought we'd better take advantage of the opportunity to get out and actually do something together. We invited our friends Bill & Susan out to the show as well to fill the other two seats and it was great to see them...it's been too long.The main two comedians were Joe Tyler and Jimmie Rou...
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Photo Shoot: Red Wall
2008-05-23 02:30:00
I realized the other day that it's been a VERY LONG TIME since I've shared some 'photo shoot' type photos of Kaitlin...probably because the weather has just been so crappy for so long that it was keeping us inside and I just don't like indoor photos as much.However, a few weeks ago we braved a windy, chilly day and went out for a shoot. We went downtown and scoped out a few locations.This was my favorite...love the deep red brick.This was actually the very first shot of the shoot...guess she had to get her goofiness out of the way right off the back, so she could give me a few good smiles. Love it! Have a few more favorites from the outing I'll be sharing in separate posts. Stay tuned.
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Reader Question: Rule of Thirds
2008-05-21 01:46:00
I recently received a question from a reader in response to my 8 Tips to Better Photo Composition that I wanted to address.Jill - This is a great article! Thanks! I have one more question - it may be kind of silly, but how does the rule of thirds apply to close ups of people? I was trying to take a look at the witch photo to see how it would apply. I was also looking at the one of your little girl on the steps in the pink coat to see how it could apply here as well? Any help would be great! BeckyThanks for the great question, Becky!As for the first part of your question, it is still a good idea to implement the rule of thirds when taking close ups of people. The eyes are key to any good portrait, regardless if your subject is looking at the camera or not. Generally, the trick with portraits is to get the eyes on or slightly above the upper third line. So, in the witch photo referenced (below), I placed my daughter's beautiful little lashes near that upper third line. As for the sec...
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Another busy weekend...
2008-05-20 03:13:00
soccer gametransporting grass clippings to the dumpsweeping moppingkitchen cleaningcar cleaningfighting with Kaitlin to get her to pick up her toysscrapbooking - completed 3 pagesphoto editing & uploading to Shutterfly4 loads of laundrywalk (me)/bike ride (Kaitlin)2 fend-for-yourself lunches2 dinnerspot washingrun & empty the dishwasher3 games of Wahoo1 game of Uno1 movie (Bee Movie)And on with another busy week...
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Who's amazing? Me, I guess...
2008-05-17 03:16:00
This has been one busy week!Soccer game Tuesday, soccer picnic Wednesday, and school carnival last night. I took Kaitlin and she game home with way to many little goodies - including this cute little flower painted around her eye. She also won a recorder at one of the games and when we got home I was trying to show her how to play it covering and uncovering the holes. I played a scale and her jaw just dropped."Mom, that was AMAZING!"Didn't know playing a scale of the recorder would get me so much admiration.Even this morning she remembered it and said, "Mom...if we're all good today and we get to have sharing time, I'm going to get up there and tell everyone that my mom is AMAZING because she can play the flute."Wow, it's not everyday that a kid says their mom is amazing...even if it is just for playing a recorder.Then she said, "Mom, you knew that you had music in you," like she was just SO proud of me...not sure where that all came from, but it sure was funny! :-)Today I am ju...
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Soccer success...
2008-05-15 04:02:00
So Kaitlin finally got to play her first soccer game of the spring last night.After all the weather postponements, the coach said that we would play rain or shine. Well, the sun was definitely NOT shining and there was a brisk wind on top of about 40 degree weather...but at least it was raining...or snowing, for that matter.Let's just say it was a good thing that the kids were running around so much...it kept their body heat up, but not so much could be said for the parents watching from the sidelines. It was freezing. Despite the weather, it was a great game to watch. Since Kaitlin's coach from last fall decided not to coach this spring, she was switched to a new team, but that didn't phase her much. She makes friends so easily. There are seven total on her new team - 4 girls and 3 boys.Her team is the Jackrabbits and I think (in fact, I know) her team made more goals in this one game than her team made in all six games last fall.The second girl from the right has some mad talen...
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A update on a little bit of everything...
2008-05-13 02:21:00
I've been a little silent on the everyday life side of things lately...not because nothings been going on, that's for sure.Things have been a little crazy at work and at home lately which doesn't leave a whole lot of time for anything else.FAMILY:When my grandma passed, that derailed me for a bit, I think. It just took me a while to get back in the groove of life.Two Sundays ago, we had an auction at my Grandparent's house. This had already been planned before Grandma passed and it had to get done. Although I didn't help out much Saturday, we were there bright and early on Sunday to get everything moved out of the house and prepared for the sale.My family snatched up quite a few sentimental items during the sale.Some happy news is that my sister and her fiance are buying my Grandparent's house here in town. They are already both working here and have been commuting every day, so it was about time that they found something here. It will be very nice to have them so close!KAITLI...
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REVIEW: The Designing with Recipe Book by Autumn Leaves
2008-05-10 03:11:00
If you're the type of person who loves to cook with recipes, I'll bet that you'll also love The Designing with Recipe Book by Autumn Leaves. It offers the ingredients and preparation instructions for a great layout EVERY time...no guess work involved here!The book contains 6 chapters based on the number of photos you wish to include in your entree (aka 'layout'):Chapter 1 - One Photo LayoutsChapter 2 - Two Photo LayoutsChapter 3 - Three Photo LayoutsChapter 4 - Four Photo LayoutsChapter 5 - Five Photo LayoutsI bet you caught the pattern there. :-) And for those of you that just love scrapping up a storm with a ton of ingrediants -Chapter 6 - Multi-Photo LayoutsIn the final chapter, there are layouts with as many as 15 photos!!Throughout each chapter, the examples come with four basic componants: a sketch of the layouta beautiful example from one of the 11 very talented scrap artists featured in this book (see list of artists below)details on any special techniques used on the s...
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Quotes to ponder...
2008-05-07 01:06:00
Harvey S. Firestone:"Accept no one's definition of your life, but define yourself."e.e. cummings:“We do not believe in ourselves until someone reveals that deep inside us is valuable, worth listening to, worthy of our trust, sacred to our touch. Once we believe in ourselves we can risk curiosity, wonder, spontaneous delight or any experience that reveals the human spirit.”Greta Garbo:"Every one of us lives this life just once; if we are honest, to live once is enough."
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REVIEW: Scrapbook Max! Digital Scrapbooking Software
2008-05-04 16:30:00
I was recently asked to review the digital scrapbooking software called "Scrapbook Max!" by Indigo Rose Software Design Corp.I am not a digital scrapbooker - hybrid certainly, but not digital. I have been collecting beautiful free digital kits from various online sources for a couple years now, but still haven't made the switch to pure digital.So, even though I'm not a digi scrapper, I am always interested in the software and technology and software available to scrapbookers. I wasn't sure what to expect of Scrapbook Max!, but was pleasantly surprised by its abilities.The installation was SUPER simple - just put in the CD and within a few minutes the software is installed and a short video tutorial gives you the basics of operation. This software is very user friendly - no big learning curve here.As I said before, I'm not a digi scrapper, but within 20 minutes of popping in the CD for installation, I had created this layout:The software comes with numerous pre-designed scrapbook...
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National Scrapbooking Day Challenge
2008-05-03 01:43:00
As with basically every other online scrapbooking community, there are big plans for National Scrapbooking Day (which is tomorrow, by the way...as if you didn't know) on the International Scrapbooking Association website - challenges, games, make-n-takes, prizes and more!! It all starts tonight, so stop on by.Here is the challenge that I posted for the event:Jill Marie's "N-S-D" Challenge Isn't it great that this wonderful hobby of ours has it's very own day?? In honor of that, I decided to present you with a challenge based off the National Scrapbooking Day acronym.Your challenge:Create a layout using numbers, products types, and product lines/brands that correspond with each letter of the acronym NSD. Confused??Here are some examples:N:Create a layout using the number Nine in the title.Create a layout using Nine buttons.Create a layout using the Narratives line by Karen Russell.S:Create a layout about your daughter's Sixteenth birthday.Create a layout using Staples.Create a la...

8 Tips to Better Photo Composition
2008-05-02 01:30:00
The International Scrapbooking Association May Newsletter issue went was published today. Like last month, I contributed a photography article to the newsletter.8 Tips to Better Photo Composition A huge part of creating a successful scrapbook layout is the photos you choose to use on that page. That’s why photography has become a secondary hobby to most scrapbookers. Last month, I shared with you several tips to improve your photography skills by simply getting to know your camera. This month, we’ll focus on improving your shots through eight composition tricks.#1 - Use the Rule of ThirdsYou’ve probably heard of this principle in reference to designing a scrapbook page (and it’s a great one to follow), but the concept actually began with photography. Imagine a grid, like the one below, dividing your photo. The idea is to have the key elements of your photo off-center and on the lines or, even better, on the intersecting points of the grid…it makes for a much more visually a...

A successful class...
2008-05-01 03:42:00
Last night was the last session of my scrapbooking class...it went so quickly and it's a little bitter-sweet. The ladies in the class were wonderful and helping them all explore their creative side was SO much fun.Last Tuesday we discussed the color, the creative process, the various scrapbooking styles as well as ideas for titles and journaling. Last night the full focus was on photography...something now very near and dear to my heart! I had a lot of fun sharing with them some of my favorite tips in composition and lighting and they seemed really engaged in the presentation as well.Of course, lots of time for scrapping, too! It was really exciting for me to see them getting excited about certain concepts of design and other items that just 'clicked' with them and turn around and use those concepts in their creations. They all gave me some very positive feedback on the class and were wondering when I was going to teach another class. Hmmm...I'll have to put my thinking cap on. ...
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Scrapbooking challenge over at WeScrap
2008-04-29 00:29:00
Today was my day to post an April Challenge over at WeScrap:Did you know that today is Great Poetry Reading Day? To commemorate the day, I challenge you to create a layout commemorating your favorite poem or to use a poem as the journaling for a layout.Post them to the “Challenge Contest – April” gallery and title your project like this: “Your title – Jillmarie’s Poetry Challenge”. Be sure to link your creations here also so that we can admire them and I can be sure you receive appropriate points. Good luck and have FUN!!Due: May 2nd at 11:59 pm EST.Remember, you always get 2 scrap points for uploading to the gallery, here's your chance to earn a few extra!!Extra Scrap Points:1 point for completing the challenge, uploading and linking by due date2 points if you use create a visual triangle on your layout3 points if you compose your own original poem for use on your layoutYou can check it out here.Here is my example layout:I wrote the poem included on this layout after...
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A little about my Grandmother...Part 2
2008-04-26 17:10:00
After Emil and I Were Married:- We only had about 5 or 6 horses because we had a tractor to help with a lot of the work.- Sometimes, when I had to go out and do chores, I would have to leave the little ones in the house. I couldn’t leave them on the floor or they would get into something, so I would put them in the crib by the front window. Usually they were fine, but if they would look outside and see me working they would always start to cry. It was hard to get any chores done with so many little ones.- Saturday was always baking day. I would either make bread or kolaches. Sometimes on these days Emil would say, “Let’s go to town (Yankton), “ and we would pack up some egg salad sandwiches and go. When I was little 5 cents was a lot of money when you went to town. Everyone was always in a hurry to get the work done on those days so that we could go to town. Emil liked to go to the movies and I would take the children to visit my mother and father ...
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A little about my Grandmother...
2008-04-25 03:28:00
It's been a very busy past couple of days. Last night and today, we celebrated my grandmother's life.It was the first time in a very LONG time that all of her grandchildren were gathered in one place - 20 in all plus 1 in spirit. I was very nice to see all my cousins again. Since we're all so spread out, we don't get together as much as one would like. Between the 20 of us, we can account for 11 states.Several years ago, I completed a family history project for a college class. I visited with Grandma about her life again last year. I thought I'd share some of what she shared with me in her honor.My Story in My Wordsby Marcella (Vitek) PechousWhen I was a child:- I went to country school until I was in the third grade and then I went to the Catholic school in Tabor. In the mornings, my mother would get up, start the stove, and wake the children. Then she would go out to feed the horses, milk the cow and hitch up the mule. We rode to school in a covered, wooden buggy pulled by ou...
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A sad day...
2008-04-22 01:15:00
My grandmother passed away today...this is a picture of her and my grandpa on their wedding day over 70 years ago. I love this picture of them together.

My New "Hit Repeat" Song: Bleeding Love by Leona Lewis
2008-04-19 16:00:00
I realized that it's been a long time since a shared a favorite song. Here's one that I heard on the radio recently and LOVE!!Bleeding Love by Leona Lewis :Evidently Leona's been big in Europe for a couple years now (she's British), but is just now hitting the US by storm. Her bebut album, Spirit, was released in North America in April 2008 and debuted at number one in the US Billboard 200 chart. She is the first British artist to reach the top of the chart with a debut album.Enjoy!
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Quotes to ponder...
2008-04-18 01:13:00
Mary Anne Radmacher, author:“Live with intention. Walk to the edge. Listen hard. Practice wellness. Play with abandon. Laugh. Choose with no regret. Appreciate your friends. Continue to learn. Do what you love. Live as if this is all there is.”Langston Hughes:"Hold fast to dreams for if dreams die, life is a broken winged bird that cannot fly."Ella Jane Fitzgerald (1917-1996), jazz vocalist:“Just don't give up trying to do what you really want to do. Where there's love and inspiration, I don't think you can go wrong.”
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Teaching my first scrapbooking class...
2008-04-17 00:55:00
wasn't as scary as I thought it was going to be. Last night was my very first class over at RTEC and I can already tell that I'm going to be a little sad when the 3-night course is over.There are eight wonderful gals in the class and all of them are pretty new to the hobby of scrapbooking and they are just a ton of fun!!Last night, we covered some basics in the areas of 'Why scrapbook?', 'Tools', 'Organization', and 'Design'. I tried to show lots of own layouts as examples so that they could 'see' what I was talking about and even showed them pictures of my own scrapbooking space and how I organize my supplies...if you can call it organizing! :-)If I'm feeling really brave, I might even share some of those pictures here soon.The 'lecture' portion took about an hour and then we got to the FUN part...creating!! They got the Pebbles Make a Wish Kit as part of their class fee for the night and some used that to create their layouts and others used items they had brought t...
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April Card a Day Challenge at WeScrap
2008-04-14 03:35:00
Ally & Lucy are conduting a 'Card a Day' Challenge over at WeScrap for the month of April .Ally asked if I would create a sample for her beautiful sketch to post today and here's what I came up with:Products used: ALL American Crafts...

The Wakefield Mysteries
2008-04-13 01:11:00
Last Saturday, Kaitlin and I attended an outdoor theatre event. It was a very unique performance and the first of its kind every presented at the College where I work - it is called The Wakefield Mysteries.Basically, there were four different points along the College's main road where audience members could sit and the various scenes where performed on wagons that moved from point to point. There were 5 scenes and the production included over 90 cast and crew members.The first scene was Hail Mary in which God chooses Mary to be the mother of Jesus. Joseph didn't take the news so well, but he got over it. What a guy... Scene two was A Baby Raises a Ruckus, the traditional nativity scene. Scene three was Miracle and Revolt. Her Jesus bring Lazarus back to life. Here Pontius Pilate decides the fate of Jesus.Scene four, Torture and Crucifixion, was certainly the most moving scene...and graphic.In scene five, An Empty Tomb - Victory, Jesus rises again and reveals himself to his mother....

Five photography books on my Amazon wishlist...
2008-04-11 03:34:00
As a result of having a child and obtaining this obsession with scrapbooking, a natural result (at least I tell myself it's natural) is that I have a growing interest in improving my photography.I have read several photography-related books in the past couple of years, yet, somehow, my Amazon .com wishlist keeps getting longer instead of shorter!!Here are 5 photography books currently on my wishlist:Understanding Exposure: How to Shoot Great Photographs with a Film or Digital Camera by Bryan Peterson - Exposure is something I can definitely say that have do not really have a good handle on...I usually just let my camera choose, so I'd like to learn more and from what I've heard, this book is a great guide.Professional Children's Portrait Photography : Techniques and Images from Master Photographers by Lou Jacobs - "Blending advice with example images, this guidebook marshals the wisdom and experience of 15 seasoned professionals to present a comprehensive resource on one of the mo...
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Spring Special at ISA...
2008-04-09 01:14:00
I mentioned yesterday how much I am enjoying being a VIP Team member at International Scrapbooking Association and I read in the forums today that Jess is issuing a Spring Membership Special where you can join ISA for only $5!! That's 75% off the normal membership fees!As a member, you can stay up to date with all the contests & calls, enjoy downloads and receive discounts at participating retailers and more. For example, there is a contest running right now where you could win a Wishblade...I've been wanting one of those for a LONG time.They are also offering discounted rates for retailers, manufacturers, consultants, scrapbookers for hire and other scrapbooking related service providers.It would be a great time to join if you're interested. Join today and tell them 'jillmarie7276' sent you!!

How to Get the Most Out of Your Point and Shoot Camera
2008-04-08 01:04:00
My first article was published in the International Scrapbooking Association April Newsletter that went out the other day. It was pretty exciting for me to see it in print so I thought that I would share it here as well.How to Get the Most Out of Your Point and Shoot Camera I use a point-and-shoot camera. There…I said it. I’m not ashamed. I’ve gotten some darn good pictures out of my Canon S3IS over the past couple of years if I do say so myself (and, obviously, I do). Not to say that I’ll never upgrade to a DSLR (I’m actually saving my pennies now…), but if there is one thing I have learned aboutphotography in the last 6 years of scrapbooking, it’s that creating great photos has much more to do with technique then equipment.In this article, I plan to share 6 tips to help you get the most out of your point and shoot camera. #1 – Read the ManualNot the most engaging reading, I know. But honestly, you’ll never know how much your little point and shoot can really do if...

The Death of a Snowman
2008-04-06 17:55:00
He was once so happy...
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REVIEW: Paper + Pixels: Scrapbook Layouts by May Flaum and Audrey Neal
2008-04-04 20:48:00
Even though I do use my computer to edit my photos, type my journaling and create an custom embellishment now and then, I really still considered myself a 'traditional' paper scrapper.May Flaum and Audrey Neal 's Paper + Pixels: Scrapbook Layouts has really made me realize that I really am a hybrid scrapbooker.They define hybrid scrapbooking as:"...using your computer software (whether its a word processing program, photo editing software or a full-out graphic design program) to create some aspect of your page design."By this definition, there is no mistaking that I am, in fact, a hybrid scrapbooker!This book starts out with "Getting Started: Technology + Materials" so that you know what's needed if you're just getting started with adding hybrid elements to your layouts.From there, the book is divided into 4 parts:1) Photos2) Text3) Paper4) EmbellishmentsEach of these parts includes five lessons on how to incorporate hybrid techniques into your scrapbooking at a variety of level...
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Quote and a link...
2008-04-03 03:42:00
John Lubbock:"What we see depends mainly on what we look for."I really like this quote and it totally reminded me of a great post that I read on the Speak Up blog the other day: Pay Attention and Give a ShitThis blog focuses on issues of design and I've found a lot of things here that I've been inspired by and adapted for use in my scrapbooking.This point resonated with me on a much deeper level...it could be adapted to so many aspects of daily life.
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Mother Nature must be confused...
2008-04-02 02:05:00
She certainly seems to be having a hard time figuring out that it is supposed to be SPRING!! This is what we woke up to on the last day of March here in Yankton...out like a lion, I guess.There was one good thing that came from it...I got a call from my boss at about 7:30 a.m. to let me know that they had decided to close the College for the day and that the public school was closed as well, so Kaitlin and I both got the day off. The administrators must be just as plain SICK of winter, too, because Yankton virtually NEVER calls off school. It was the first time this winter. Justin called from work once he heard it on the radio to make sure we knew and suggested that perhaps he and Kaitlin could make a snowman when he got home from work.So, for the rest of the day, I heard, "Mom, is Dad home yet?" about every five minutes!The snow was definitely 'sticky' enough for snowman making. It was a super wet, heavy snow. The problem was that there had been NO snow on the ground the day befo...
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New items up for grabs in eBay store
2008-03-29 21:10:00
Just listed some recent scrapbooking back issues (Creating Keepsakes, Digital Scrapbooking, Memory Makers, Paper Crafts, Scrapbooks, etc., Scrapbook Trends, and Scrapbooking & Cards Today) as well as some Creating Keepsakes special issues and idea books in my eBay store...some really great inspiration at can't miss prices!! Check 'em out!My eBay Store
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