It’s time to share the lucky winner of our SuzyQ Scraps Serendipity Kit …

Serendipity Kit by SuzyQ Scraps

We had 13 comments, which when plugged into the random number generator at random.org resulted in…

And our #3 commenter was…

Congratulations Laura! Please email me to claim your kit! And have a wonderful St. Patrick’s Day! Don’t forget to check out today’s Story Board … it’s filled with inspirational St. Patty’s Day pages!

Get the inside scoop, be the first to know about new product releases & get special discounts by subscribing to our new weekly newsletter, the Log Your Memory INSIDER. Delivered directly to your INBOX every Sunday afternoon.

Please share your thoughts in a comment below …

It’s definitely starting to feel like spring in my corner of the world … the snow is beginning to disappear, the sun shines a bit longer every day, my son just started tennis practice this week, my toddler has taken to shedding her clothing, and we’ve even had a couple days that allowed for an open window or two … at least for a few minutes.

So rather than hole up on the computer on this nice, bright day, I’m going to keep it short and sweet and share just a few quick notes before heading out to enjoy the fresh air…

First, congratulations to both Sarah (sarahbhb) and Valerie (ValerieP). These diligent gals provided the only entries to my little experiment last weekend, our Saturday Scavenger Hunt. For their efforts, I’ve decided that BOTH will win the prize … each gal gets her choice of any one downloadable book for FREE from our on-site store. To claim your prize, girls, just drop me a line and tell me which book you’d like & I’ll get you set up. And thanks for playing!

Next, be sure to take photos or collect memorabilia from your St. Patrick’s Day activities tomorrow and check out our special St. Patrick’s Day Story Board here on the blog. Then join us in the chat room on Thursday at 3 p.m. Mountain/5 p.m. Eastern for a special St. Patty’s Day Story Board Scraplift Challenge Chat.  We’ll be lifting a layout from the Story Board, plus we’ll have a goody or two from sponsor Jennifer Barrette of Jennifer Barrette Designs. Hope to see you there!

And finally… a reminder to leave a comment on yesterday’s blog post for your chance to win a free download of Guest Designer Suzy Iverson’s fantastic new digi-kit, Serendipity. Deadline to enter is midnight (Mountain) tonight, with the winner announced in tomorrow’s post.

Get the inside scoop, be the first to know about new product releases & get special discounts by subscribing to our new weekly newsletter, the Log Your Memory INSIDER. Delivered directly to your INBOX every Sunday afternoon.

Please share your thoughts in a comment below …

It’s been busy around here lately … have you been paying attention?

I thought we’d have a little fun today by sending everyone on a little scavenger hunt. Below you’ll find five snippets plucked from the Log Your Memory site, which includes the blog, the forum, the gallery and our on-site store. Find all five, then send me message through the Contact Us page with a description of exactly where you found each item. Do this before 10 a.m. (Mountain Time) on Monday, March 15th. (Hint: All of the items will be found in material posted within the past week or so.)

I’ll randomly choose one person from everyone who responds with all five correct answers and that person will be the lucky winner of a free download of your choice from our on-site store.

Good luck, happy hunting … and have a great weekend!

Get the inside scoop, be the first to know about new product releases & get special discounts by subscribing to our new weekly newsletter, the Log Your Memory INSIDER. Delivered directly to your INBOX every Sunday afternoon.

Please share your thoughts in a comment below …

Welcome to a new month at Log Your Memory, with lots of fun and inspiration to help you scrap your real life!

First of all, I’d like to express a huge thank you to February Calendar Girl Jen DeLorenzo (jend) and February Guest Designer Misty Cato. Both of these ladies shared a great deal of their time and talents with us last month, which was very much appreciated.

I’d also like to welcome our March Calendar Girl, Lydia Tarbox (ltarbox), and introduce this month’s Guest Designer, Suzy Iverson of SuzyQ Scraps.

You’ll learn more about these gals as the month continues, beginning tomorrow with a “real life” guest blog post from Lydia and Thursday with a fun challenge chat with Suzy, as well as a preview here on the blog of the fabulous new digi-kit Suzy created especially for Log Your Memory scrappers.

Also new this month, we’re adding several challenge chats to the calendar, beginning today with our new series created especially for our Book Club members. We’ve also scheduled several other chats open to all registered members of our site.

Here’s a roundup of this month’s challenge chats … be sure to mark them on your calendar so you can join us!

Get the inside scoop, be the first to know about new product releases & get special discounts by subscribing to our new weekly newsletter, the Log Your Memory INSIDER. Delivered directly to your INBOX every Sunday afternoon.

Please share your thoughts in a comment below …

Today we bring you our final installment in our month-long Sweet Talk Journaling Challenge. I hope you’ve enjoyed doing these challenges as much as I’ve enjoyed sharing them with you…

To recap, this month we’ve tackled lists, ABC, conversations, fairy tales, compare & contrast, show & tell, letter, interview, stream of consciousness, by the numbers, diagram, play-by-play commentary, and repetition forms of journaling. In our final challenge, we have the chance to apply a bit of organization and structure to one or more of these methods.

Sweet Talk Journaling Challenge #14

Several of the journaling methods we’ve described lend themselves to a chart format. In essence, a chart is simply a way of organizing your information. It is especially helpful when you have multiple categories, such as the characteristics of several family members or a series of stories to share on a single page.

One of the most common uses of a chart format is to incorporate multiple lists into a page. Other options could include groupings of images, comments, descriptions or whatever else you need to tell your story.

The fun thing about scrapbooking with a chart (as opposed to creating a chart for your child’s science project) is the opportunity to be creative with your choice of category labels and style of presentation for each section of information.

Here are some wonderful examples of pages which incorporate a chart-like format to help organize their stories…

"What They Taught Me" by Amy L @ Designer Digitals

"Vancouver Olympic Favorites" by gchristyng @ Sweet Shoppe Designs

"Project 2010" by jend

The Rules:

1. Pick a topic and create a new scrapbook page that shares your story through the use of a chart.
2. Post that page in this album in our Sweet Talk Journaling Challenge Gallery. The deadline for all Sweet Talk Challenge Layouts is midnight (MTN) on Wednesday, March 31st, 2010.
3. Visit this thread in our Community Forum and link us up to your layout.
4. Once your link is verified, the above Sweet Talk award will appear in your profile and in your signature.
5. Keep an eye on this page to track our Log Your Memory Sweet Talkers!
6. You can also download and print this handy PDF to help track your challenge layouts and points earned.

Looking for a quick & easy way to find the links to all of the different Sweet Talk Journaling Challenges? It’s right here!

Get the inside scoop, be the first to know about new product releases & get special discounts by subscribing to our new weekly newsletter, the Log Your Memory INSIDER. Delivered directly to your INBOX every Sunday afternoon.

Please share your thoughts in a comment below …

We’ve nearly reached the end of February and that means we have just a couple more installments of our Sweet Talk Journaling Challenge. Today we’ll play around with a little technique that I think you’ll want to repeat once you get the hang of it…

Sweet Talk Journaling Challenge #13

They say there’s no sense re-inventing the wheel when someone before you has already created a great solution to your problem. The same holds true for today’s journaling technique … once you figure out a great way to start a sentence or phrase, you simply need to repeat yourself as many times as necessary to get your story told. The same concept could apply to a design element or the way you use photos, embellishments or other images.

For instance, check out the following layout I created last spring…

"Why I Scrapbook" by Kristin Rutten @ Log Your Memory

You’ll notice every line begins with the same phrase … “I scrapbook because…” This provides an easy jumping off point for the journaling that helps make this more than just a list, but far easier to compose and read than a full paragraph. The repeated words, particularly when they are set apart through the use of color, font, size, elements or other techniques, also help lead your eye through the page and pull it all together with a unifying theme.

Instead of starting every sentence with the same word or phrase, you could try repeating a single word throughout your story. Or perhaps you’d like to end every sentence with the same thought or phrase. You could even take a more abstract approach and simply use a repeating type of sentence, such as a string of questions, or a repeating design element, such as a particular color or embellishment.

Need some ideas for sentence starters? Try…

• It makes me {crazy, happy, furious, etc…} when …
• I wish …
• If only I could …
• Love is …
• How many times have I …
• I’ll never forget …
• I {love, hate, hope, etc…}
• What happened to …

Here’s one more example to help get your creative juices flowing…

"Me Right Now" by jesshunt @ Designer Digitals

The Rules:

1. Pick a topic and create a new scrapbook page that shares your story through repetition.
2. Post that page in this album in our Sweet Talk Journaling Challenge Gallery. The deadline for all Sweet Talk Challenge Layouts is midnight (MTN) on Wednesday, March 31st, 2010.
3. Visit this thread in our Community Forum and link us up to your layout.
4. Once your link is verified, the above Sweet Talk award will appear in your profile and in your signature.
5. Keep an eye on this page to track our Log Your Memory Sweet Talkers!
6. Watch for our final Sweet Talk Journaling Challenge topic … make sure you don’t miss a post by subscribing to our Blog!

Looking for a quick & easy way to find the links to all of the different Sweet Talk Journaling Challenges? It’s right here!

Get the inside scoop, be the first to know about new product releases & get special discounts by subscribing to our new weekly newsletter, the Log Your Memory INSIDER. Delivered directly to your INBOX every Sunday afternoon.

Please share your thoughts in a comment below …

Our Sweet Talk Journaling Challenge continues today with a journaling method that can really help you tell the behind-the-scenes details of the stories you scrapbook.

Sweet Talk Journaling Challenge #12

Your challenge today is to tell your story through play-by-play commentary. On the surface, this is simply telling the story of what is happening in whatever photos you choose. But done well, it can be so much more. A great play-by-play page will share details that aren’t obvious in the photos, such as what you were thinking or how you were feeling during a particular string of events, or perhaps the background information leading up to that particular scene.

Think about what makes a great sports commentary … if the announcer simply told you what was happening in front of your eyes, you’d quickly get bored. It’s the little extras added in to that monologue – the inside information - that make it worth listening to.

As you are planning your journaling, think about the photo, event or story you want to share. Ask yourself … if I were sharing this story with a good friend or close relative, what details would I include? What is it about this particular story that makes me want to both remember and share it? If someone looked at this photo or event through my eyes, what would they see and how would they feel? The answers to these questions should help you decide how to approach your writing.

Here are some examples of play-by-play commentary in action …

"TR{Y}ATHLON" by Kimbe @ Designer Digitals

"In An Instant" by Christy @ My Scrapbook Art

"My 3 Little Monkeys" by LolaLovesLife @ My Scrapbook Art

Remember, you now have until midnight (Mountain Time) on Wednesday, March 31st to complete & post your pages and qualify for our Sweet Talker prize.

The Rules:

1. Pick a topic and create a new scrapbook page that shares your story through play-by-play commentary.
2. Post that page in this album in our Sweet Talk Journaling Challenge Gallery. The deadline for all Sweet Talk Challenge Layouts is midnight (MTN) on Wednesday, March 31st, 2010.
3. Visit this thread in our Community Forum and link us up to your layout.
4. Once your link is verified, the above Sweet Talk award will appear in your profile and in your signature.
5. Keep an eye on this page to track our Log Your Memory Sweet Talkers!
6. Watch for the next Sweet Talk Journaling Challenge topic … make sure you don’t miss a post by subscribing to our Blog!

Get the inside scoop, be the first to know about new product releases & get special discounts by subscribing to our new weekly newsletter, the Log Your Memory INSIDER. Delivered directly to your INBOX every Sunday afternoon.

Please share your thoughts in a comment below …

Today marks the beginning of the last scheduled week in our Sweet Talk Journaling Challenge. When I started this series, I made a deal with myself … I would play along with the challenges and make sure that I wasn’t asking anyone to do something I couldn’t do myself in order to earn our special Sweet Talker prize.

Well, as I’m sure many of you can agree, it turns out that it’s a bit overwhelming to try to get 14 challenges done in just 28 days. A handful of participants are close, but I don’t think there is anyone – myself included – that is totally caught up right now.

So here’s the deal … I’m still going to do all 14 challenges myself.  And I’m going to save the prizes for others who do the same. But I’m going to extend the deadline for completing and posting your pages. Rather than the original March 3rd deadline, you now have until midnight (Mountain Time) on Wednesday, March 31st to complete & post your pages and qualify for our Sweet Talker prize.

I will stick to the original schedule for introducing the final handful of challenges, which means it’s time today to share our next journaling method to help you get your “real life” scrapbooked.

Are you ready?

Today’s journaling method is one of my absolute favorites, though I must admit – it wasn’t until I started working on my page for this challenge that I’ve ever actually completed one. I could probably fill an entire album, however, with the pages planned in my head. Anytime I catch my kids or my husband doing something that is just so characteristically THEM, I try to snap a photo so I can create one of these pages.

Sweet Talk Journaling Challenge #11

Your challenge today is to tell your story through the use of a diagram, reminiscent of the type of thing you’d see in a high school biology book. The basic format is fairly straightforward – an image with labels and pointers describing the features of that image. Though simplistic, this could apply to just about any object or scene that shares details you want to remember about that particular subject.

If the textbook approach doesn’t appeal to you, use your imagination … just about anything could serve as a pointer, there are all kinds of labels that would work, and there is no limit to the creativity you could apply to the actual wording or choice of subject.

To help get you started, here is one of my favorite examples of using a diagram to tell a story …

"Trey Deconstructed" by R. Steinbeck @ Designer Digitals

If you’d like to see another example before getting started, check out the page I posted in the challenge gallery.

The Rules:

1. Pick a topic and create a new scrapbook page uses uses a diagram to share your story.
2. Post that page in this album in our Sweet Talk Journaling Challenge Gallery. The deadline for all Sweet Talk Challenge Layouts is midnight (MTN) on Wednesday, March 31st, 2010.
3. Visit this thread in our Community Forum and link us up to your layout.
4. Once your link is verified, the above Sweet Talk award will appear in your profile and in your signature.
5. Keep an eye on this page to track our Log Your Memory Sweet Talkers!
6. Watch for the next Sweet Talk Journaling Challenge topic … make sure you don’t miss a post by subscribing to our Blog!

Subscribe in a Reader
Subscribe by Email
Subscribe by Kindle

Get the inside scoop, be the first to know about new product releases & get special discounts by subscribing to our new weekly newsletter, the Log Your Memory INSIDER. Delivered directly to your INBOX every Sunday afternoon.

Please share your thoughts in a comment below …

If there’s one thing I’ve discovered putting together our Sweet Talk Journaling Challenge, it’s how much fun it is to see how many different ways scrapbookers can interpret and use each one of the 14 journaling methods presented.

So far we’ve tackled nine different types of journaling … 1. lists, 2. ABC, 3. conversational, 4. fairy tale, 5. compare/contrast, 6. show & tell, 7. letter, 8. interview and 9. stream of consciousness methods. And in case you haven’t figured it out already, our 10th method is all about how our lives add up.

Sweet Talk Journaling Challenge #10

You don’t have to be a mathematician to notice just how often numbers play a role in our real life. In fact, you’d be hard-pressed to find a part of life where you could NOT apply numbers in some way. So today’s challenge is to share your story through the use of those numbers. The easy way out is to simply create a numbered list. That’s fine, if that’s what you’d like to do. But consider the many other ways you could use numbers to tell your story.

Just for starters, think about how much you spend on groceries in a month. Or how many days it’s been since you started that exercise program, quit smoking or gave up carbs. Do you have a lucky number? Are you counting down to a special occasion? How do all the little details of your life add up right now? Do you have someone you can count on? Do you ever have to count to 10 to regain composure? Can you name the last 5 books you read?

You get the idea. But in case you could use a little more inspiration, check out this page I put together last spring that uses numbers to paint the picture of one typical month in my life.

"Typical Month" by Kristin Rutten @ Log Your Memory

And here are a few other examples to help bring out the mathematician in you … (I know she’s in there!) …

"A Few Little Things" by JALong @ Designer Digitals

"27 Random Facts for my 27th Birthday" by renee82 @ My Scrapbook Art

"1+2" by t_a_l_i @ Oscraps

The Rules:

1. Pick a topic and create a new scrapbook page uses numbers to share your story.
2. Post that page in this album in our Sweet Talk Journaling Challenge Gallery. The deadline for all Sweet Talk Challenge Layouts is midnight (MTN) on Wednesday, March 3, 2010.
3. Visit this thread in our Community Forum and link us up to your layout.
4. Once your link is verified, the above Sweet Talk award will appear in your profile and in your signature.
5. Keep an eye on this page to track our Log Your Memory Sweet Talkers!
6. Watch for the next Sweet Talk Journaling Challenge topic … make sure you don’t miss a post by subscribing to our Blog!

Subscribe in a Reader
Subscribe by Email
Subscribe by Kindle

Get the inside scoop, be the first to know about new product releases & get special discounts by subscribing to our new weekly newsletter, the Log Your Memory INSIDER. Delivered directly to your INBOX every Sunday afternoon.

Please share your thoughts in a comment below …

With a goal of 14 challenges in 28 days, there’s no time to waste! So ready or not, today we move on with yet another Sweet Talk Journaling Challenge topic.

Today we’re going to tackle a method that’s a bit less commonly used, but when executed well, really gets to the heart of “real life” scrapbooking. It’s something I refer to as “stream of consciousness” journaling, or freewriting. In simpler terms, it’s just sharing what’s running through your mind at a particular time or place.

Sweet Talk Journaling Challenge #9

If your goal is authentic storytelling, stream of consciousness journaling can really fit the bill. In its most basic form, this type of journaling is simply sharing what you were really thinking during a given situation or time period. Probably the easiest way to start is to choose a photo of an event and journal about what you were thinking about at the time that event took place.

Sounds easy, but if you find yourself in the habit of always painting a rosy picture, this may be a bit more challenging for you – and probably a great exercise in creating a more accurate picture of your real life. Another challenge is truly capturing your thoughts, particularly if you’re like me and those thoughts tend to jump all over the place and come faster than would seem possible to accurately record.

To give you an idea of what I’m talking about, check out this page I created a while back after a long drive home from a meeting…

"What Was I Thinking?" by Kristin Rutten @ Log Your Memory

The stream of consciousness journaling method works especially well for special occasions and milestone achievements, such as gazing into your newborn’s eyes for the first time, watching your child graduate from high school or sitting on the sidelines during the championship game.

But it can also be a great way to document the more difficult parts of life, such as what you were thinking and feeling while sitting beside a hospital bed or dealing with a relationship gone awry.

Here are a few more examples to help get you thinking …

"Thankful" by beehive50 @ Designer Digitals

"Seven Dull Thoughts" by Bush Girl @ DigiShopTalk

"Art Journal 2 {thoughts}" by digigrandma @ Designer Digitals

The Rules:

1. Pick a topic and create a new scrapbook page that tells your story by sharing your thoughts.
2. Post that page in this album in our Sweet Talk Journaling Challenge Gallery. The deadline for all Sweet Talk Challenge Layouts is midnight (MTN) on Wednesday, March 3, 2010.
3. Visit this thread in our Community Forum and link us up to your layout.
4. Once your link is verified, the above Sweet Talk award will appear in your profile and in your signature.
5. Keep an eye on this page to track our Log Your Memory Sweet Talkers!
6. Watch for the next Sweet Talk Journaling Challenge topic … make sure you don’t miss a post by subscribing to our Blog!

Subscribe in a Reader
Subscribe by Email
Subscribe by Kindle

Get the inside scoop, be the first to know about new product releases & get special discounts by subscribing to our new weekly newsletter, the Log Your Memory INSIDER. Delivered directly to your INBOX every Sunday afternoon.

Please share your thoughts in a comment below …