When scrapper’s are feeling uninspired, unmotivated or simply just don’t feel that special something that moves us to sit down and almost effortlessly put together a layout, we tend to say our “mojo” is missing.

I don’t know exactly what “mojo” is … and in this case, our friends at Dictionary.com weren’t much help…

None of these definitions really fit, do they? Leave it scrapbookers to be so creative that we come up with our own definition of a word.

But even though I can’t clearly define mojo, I definitely know when it’s lacking in my own creative life. It’s when I actually have time to scrap and sit down to my computer only to find myself … empty. No ideas, no inspiration, no desire even to start a page. And I know that all of us go through periods of time when that spark is missing.

Most of us have found that if we’re patient enough, that spark eventually finds its way back to us. But I’ve also found that there are a handful of activities that help me speed the process and get the creative energy flowing again. So I thought I’d share what helps me in hopes it might help you, too….

1. Browse the galleries. It takes about 2.5 seconds for me to find a scrapbook layout I like in the many galleries I enjoy visiting around the Web. There is just a never-ending supply of ideas and talent waiting there to inspire us and you have only to look to find something that speaks to you. I have lots of favorite places to visit, but lately I’ve found the galleries at Sweet Shoppe Designs, Designer Digitals, Scrap Orchard, Peppermint Creative and Scrap Matters to be especially inspiring sources of the kind of “real life” scrapbooking I most enjoy.

2. Go shopping. Sometimes my scrapbook purchases are driven by a page I am doing, but more often than not, my pages are inspired by a great new kit I’ve discovered. I am constantly amazed at how product designers can create kit after beautiful kit without ever seeming to run out of new ideas or fun color combinations. And as you might have guessed, many of my favorite designers live in the same places as the galleries listed above. Pretty convenient, eh?

3. Do a little blog hopping. There is just something about peeking into the studios, homes and lives of other scrapbookers that makes me want to follow their example. Sometimes it’s seeing a cool mini-album that gets me going, other times it’s reading about their memory-keeping philosophy or seeing a collection of albums all lined up just so. The best part about blog-hopping is there is always a new or unfamiliar one around the corner just waiting to be discovered, as well as a growing list of reliable favorites. Among those I return to again and again are the blogs of Ali Edwards, Cathy Zielske, Jennifer Wilson, and Lain Ehmann.

4. Look through old photos. My main goal in scrapbooking is telling stories – my own and those of my family. And it doesn’t take long to start thinking of stories I’ve yet to share once I start looking back at family photos I haven’t seen in a while. Oftentimes, a page idea comes to me while I’m actually taking the photo … and it usually doesn’t take long for those ideas to resurface when I go back through those photos later on. And once the idea is back and the photo is at my fingertips, it’s not a big leap to having an urge to get it scrapped.

5. Take some new photos. Just as looking at older photos can get the creative juices flowing, so can taking new photos. In fact, I rarely take a photo anymore without at least thinking about ways it might work in a scrapbook page or looking for new angles that might help tell a story. Thanks to digital photography, it’s become extremely easy to jump on those ideas as soon as they come, and quite often, I’ll be scrapping a page within mere minutes of taking the photo that inspired it.

6. Write out a non-scrapping To Do list. There’s nothing like being unable to scrapbook that makes you want to do it! I’ve found that the more non-scrapping related work I have to do, the greater the drive to shove it all aside and play with a layout. Sometimes creating a list and making a little scrapping time my reward for completing it is all it takes to set the gears in motion again.

7. Find a challenge. Nearly every scrapbooking site hosts a variety of challenges with just about every kind of theme you can imagine. An idea or focus, a deadline, a little friendly competition and oftentimes a prize … that’s about all it takes sometimes to get you scrapping. Plus, they’re usually a lot of fun!

8. Pick up a good book. Books have been a consistent source of inspiration for me for as long as I can remember, in all areas of my life. Whether it’s home decorating, marketing ideas, menu planning or scrapbooking, I can usually rely on a good book to get the ideas flowing again. Favorites on my scrapping bookshelf right now include Life Artist by Ali Edwards, Real.Life.Scrapbooking. by Rebecca Cooper, Get It Scrapped! by Debbie Hodge, That’s Life by Nic Howard, Encyclopedia of An Ordinary Life by Amy Rosenthal, and We Dare You by Kristina Contes, Meghan Heath Dymock, Genevieve Simmonds and Lisa Fiin.

9. Seek out new experiences. My husband teases me about this, but one of the easiest ways to make me want to scrapbook is to force me out of the house to try something new with the family. Since I always have a camera with me, it doesn’t take long for me to start capturing this new experience … and of course, the natural next step is to want to scrap it. The shutter gets to clicking, the ideas start flowing and pretty soon I’m just itching to get back home to get it on a page.

10. Take a break. If all else fails, sometimes the best way to get that creative energy back is to just quit trying so hard to be creative. Take a break, shift focus for a while, start a project completely unrelated to scrapbooking, or just get some rest. Sometimes the best remedy for me is simply a really good night’s sleep.

So now it’s your turn. What tips & tricks have you discovered to regain your mojo after it’s gone missing?

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When it comes to scrapbooking, few things do more to keep the creative juices flowing than sharing our creations with others. After all, the reason most of us spend the time we do to create all of these pages and albums is to make sure our stories and experiences find an audience and a memory outside ourselves.

And one of the easiest and most fulfilling ways we share is by posting our layouts in our favorite online galleries.

Few things make me want to scrapbook more than the thought of sharing my layouts in the gallery. There’s just something about seeing that nice big image displayed alongside everyone else’s pages that makes me smile. And fueling that fire are the nice comments left by other scrapbookers in the hours and days that follow, validating me as a scrapbooker and helping me to feel that I have been seen, heard and maybe even understood.

As first a scrapbooker, and now also as the owner of an online scrapbook-related business, I have noticed there is an often unwritten etiquette to being a welcomed and valued member of the online scrapbooking community, particularly when it comes to site galleries. But I’ve also noticed that it sometimes takes a while before newcomers catch on to these commonly accepted and expected standards of gallery behavior.

So today I thought I’d take a few minutes to share what I’ve learned in hopes of helping fellow scrapbookers make the most of what the gallery experience has to offer.

When it comes to playing nice in our favorite online galleries, just think about the advice our mothers gave us …

1. Play by the rules. Every gallery has its own set of rules which you generally have to agree to in order to become a registered user with uploading and commenting privileges. The rules typically spell out what can and cannot be included in your image descriptions (such as whether you are allowed to link to outside stores and Web sites), file size requirements, daily upload limits, and whether you are allowed to post layouts created with products purchased outside that specific site’s store. Follow the rules out of respect for all of your fellow scrapbookers, as well as to avoid annoying the site administrator.

2. Give credit where credit is due. Product designers deserve to be acknowledged when you post a layout that includes their items, including templates as well as all papers, elements, alphas, fonts, etc.The same holds true when you “lift” the design of another scrapbooker or when your page is inspired by a particular book, Web challenge or other source. By providing such information you are not only showing your support and respect for these designers and authors, you are helping your fellow scrapbookers find new sources of inspiration and resources.

3. Do unto others… If you like to receive nice comments on the layouts you post (and who doesn’t?), then take a little time to return the favor in the galleries you frequent. It doesn’t take long for fellow scrapbookers to recognize “hit-and-run” posting, which nearly always means the layout is there just to sell a product or that the person is much more interested in receiving than in giving, neither of which will earn you much love from your fellow scrapbookers. This is especially true for galleries supported by specific stores, as opposed to the open galleries that are not connected with any one particular retailer.

4. If you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything at all. Most scrapbookers practice this art because they enjoy it, not because they’re looking to have their pages picked apart. Unless someone specifically asks for constructive criticism, it’s best to leave only positive, encouraging comments in the gallery. Even if they do suggest they are open to critiques, it’s wise to think twice before saying too much … and then only through a private message. The same holds true for typos and other little mistakes. No one likes to have their weaknesses pointed out in public.

5. Quality over quantity. When it comes to gallery comments, more is not necessarily better. If you’re going to take the time to leave a comment, say something that shows you actually looked at the layout and found something to appreciate. A handful of sincere messages is much more meaningful to the page artist than a big, long list of comments that look exactly the same as those on every other page in the gallery.

6. Do a little more than is expected. While you certainly are not required to include the text of your journaling in your layout description, it sure does make it easier for your friends to really appreciate and enjoy your page if you do. This is particularly true if your journaling is lengthy or in a size that is difficult to read on a computer monitor.

7. No trespassing. If you are posting a page in a gallery owned by a site that sells scrapbooking products, it is generally a good idea to limit your posting to pages that are created mostly, if not entirely, with products purchased from that site. Some sites require this, but this is a good rule of thumb even for those sites that do not. The exception is a gallery that is truly an “open” gallery, in which case this will usually be made known in the site’s policies. Remember, it is often product sales that make it possible for a site’s gallery to exist. It’s poor form to make a habit of posting pages using products sold by that site’s competitors unless such a practice is specifically allowed on that site.

8. Say thank you. One of the best ways to show your support and appreciation for your favorite product designers is to share the pages you create using their products in the galleries where they reside. This is particularly true if you happened to obtain those products through a freebie post or giveaway on a site outside the designer’s regular venue … let those designers know you appreciate their generosity by letting others see their products in action. A nice little thank you note never hurts, either.

Have your own tips or advice on how to be a true gallery standout? I’d love for you to share them in a comment below…

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Welcome to Day 4 of our Countdown to 2010 … just two more days to go before we’re celebrating (and logging) the New Year!!!

"The Real Me" by Kristin Rutten

Today just happens to be my 40th birthday, the perfect excuse for a bit of reflection & self-evaluation. In fact, this whole year has been a bit like that for me as I decided at my last birthday to spend a little more time during this year documenting “me” as I approached this milestone. I started a scrapbook album specifically for that purpose, which I dubbed “Me: 39 and Counting!!!” I didn’t get quite as far on that album as I might have liked, but you can check out the pages that I did get completed in my personal scrapbook gallery here.

What does all this have to do with our Countdown to 2010? One of the first pages I created for my “me” album was a layout highlighting a practice started by my favorite scrapbooking role model, Ali Edwards. Ali chooses one word each year to help provide a little focus as she goes about her life. Check out her recent blog post and keep an eye on her blog for more on the topic in the next few days.

"Balance" by Kristin Rutten

I decided last year to give this a try and after a fair amount of thought, chose my word: BEGIN. You can read my blog post and check out the layout I created centered around that decision here. I found the whole concept to be very helpful, so I have now chosen a new word for 2010: BALANCE. I blogged about this choice as well, which you can take a peek at here. You might remember the layout above, which I created about my new word a few weeks ago. I blogged about it here on the site in this post.

If you haven’t participated in this little exercise before, I encourage you to give it a try this year. The process of choosing a word itself can be very helpful & enlightening … and once chosen, it’s a lot like having a little angel sitting on your shoulder as you go about your day, reminding you of what is really important to you. In the busy-ness of life, it can be easy to lose sight of that sometimes.

If you’ve chosen a word – or are thinking about doing so – I’d love for you to share it below in a comment!

Coming up in tomorrow’s Countdown to 2010: A Special Year-End Story Board

Click on “comment” below to share your thoughts…

Welcome to Day 3 of our Countdown to 2010 … just three more days to go before we’re celebrating (and logging) the New Year!!!

A popular way to document “real life” the past few years has been to take a photo every single day and then combine that photo with journaling in an album or scrapbook page. Many different terms have been associated with this idea … Project 365 and Photo-A-Day are among the most common.

I first heard about this concept mid-way through the year last year and immediately fell in love with the idea. I could have picked just about any day to start such a project, but it seemed only right to wait until the beginning of the year to initiate the project … and that time has finally arrived!

What I have not quite decided upon yet is just which direction I will take with this project, in part because there are just so many different options. So today I thought I would share some of the different ideas I’ve come across and encourage you to consider starting a project like this as well.

Photo Album + Journaling Approach Combine a simple photo album that provides slots for journaling cards.

Print File 2x2-20B 35mm Slide Preservers from Archivers USA

Pop in the photo, write or type out your journaling for the day, slip it into the album and you’re good to go! You could get a little more elaborate by combining different types of photo or negative sleeves in a three-ring album.

I’ve been considering using something like the 35 mm slide sleeve shown here, with cropped square photos and small journaling cards with or without embellishments alternated from pocket to pocket.

Scrapbook a Week at a Time Possibly the most popular approach, here a week’s worth of photos is combined with journaling in a single- or double-page scrapbook layout. There are TONS of digital templates available just for this purpose. Here are just a few examples of the different styles of layouts I’ve seen … you can find lots more in the Project 365 Gallery at Designer Digitals.

"365-47" by Jen D

"365 POTD Week 47" by Joey M

"Project 365" by Elena

"POTD 11-09" by roxygirl78

"Week of Nov 15-21" by zannella1108

Calendar Layout Start with a monthly calendar template and add your photos in each of the daily squares. You could add a few words to each photo or journaling along the sides of the calendar using the dates to tie everything together. Here’s a great example by Terry of how this might look with just the photos…

"November 2009" by MIDA78466 (aka Terry)

Blog or Photo Gallery Skip the scrapbooking and simply post a photo-a-day to your blog or other photo gallery, such as Flickr. For the latter, your photo caption  could serve as your journaling.

Other ideas to consider…

• Take your photo at the same time every day.
• Choose a theme for the year … or for each month … and take a photo based on that theme.
• Overwhelmed at the thought of taking a photo every day? Consider switching to a Photo-A-Week project.

If you have other ideas, I’d love to hear them! Feel free to share with a comment below…

Coming up in tomorrow’s Countdown to 2010: One Word for 2010

Click on “comment” below to share your thoughts…

Welcome to Day 2 of our Countdown to 2010 … just four more days to go before we’re celebrating (and logging) the New Year!!!

Before the New Year can arrive, there’s still some memory preserving to deal with for the present one. Take those holiday cards and letters, for example…

Even though it’s much easier than it used to be to keep in touch with family and friends now that there’s email and social applications like Facebook & Twitter, I still love getting the family photos, pretty cards & year-end “wrap-up” letters in the mail this time each year. And even though it always feels a bit overwhelming in the holiday hustle and bustle, I even enjoy putting a letter together from our own family. By the way, here’s ours from this year.

And of course, being a person who can’t throw anything away that 1) includes a photo or 2) might help preserve a memory, I was always wishing for a better way to save all of those wonderful greetings of the season.

For years, I pretty much just tossed the pile of cards & letters in a drawer with the thought that “someday” I would do something with them. But then finally about a year ago, I came up with a better solution, which I shared via my personal blog in this post.

A year later, I’m very glad I took the time to start this album. I’ve already enjoyed comparing this year’s photos and letters to those from last year and have found it much easier to keep track of who’s who and what’s what in the extended family by having everything all in one place.

Give it a try – or come up with your own variation. And if you have your own system already or have other ideas to share, please do so … we’d love to hear them!

One other bit of exciting news … you can now subscribe to the Log Your Memory daily blog updates on Kindle! Simple search for Log Your Memory from the Kindle Storefront to begin your free 14-day trial subscription!

Coming up in tomorrow’s Countdown to 2010: Photo-A-Day Ideas

Click on “comment” below to share your thoughts…

Another Christmas has now come and gone. Does it leave you feeling a bit sad? It does me … but not for long this year! We’ve got LOTS to look forward to at Log Your Memory, not the least of which is finally officially putting our full 2010 Memory Logbook to use!!!

To help keep the fun of the holidays alive right through until January 1st, today I’m kicking off our official Countdown to 2010! Starting today and for the next five days, I’ll share fun little ideas, projects, suggestions and other tidbits to help get you inspired & ready for a great year of memory keeping! And then the real fun begins January 1st with TWO fabulous prize announcements – the winner of our December Challenge $50 gift certificate and the winner of our Year-End “100 Things” Layout Challenge – plus details about two very exciting year-long “real life” scrapbooking projects!!!

How will YOU document “real life” in 2010?

A new year is a great time to consider beginning a year-long memory-keeping project. Many scrapbookers have taken the “photo-a-day” route … and I’ll share more about this option on Monday. But today, I’d like you to consider using a tool you very likely already utilize on a regular basis … your social networking accounts.

If you maintain a page on Facebook or an account on Twitter … or any number of other similar sites … you have at your disposal a fantastic tool for preserving your everyday life story. Cathy Zielske teaches a wonderful class for doing just that called Everyone Can Write a Little. I took the class last spring and I highly recommend it if you have the opportunity.

The concept is fairly straightforward …  use your social networking “status updates” to record little pieces of information you want to remember about your daily life. Then transfer those updates to some sort of permanent memory-keeping device for future enjoyment.

If you’re not up for a full class (or don’t want to wait until it’s offered again) but this concept interests you, I’ve got another option ready for you in our bookstore. It’s a simple little book called Status: Updated and it will provide a place for you to permanently record your favorite daily status updates, with room for one update every day for an entire year!

Status: Updated is available in three versions – printed & coil-bound, print-your-own download, and eBook, which is writable right on your computer using the free Adobe Reader. You can check them all out by starting here in our on-line store.

Coming up in tomorrow’s Countdown to 2010: Saving Season’s Greetings

Click on “comment” below to share your thoughts…

Two weeks into our December Challenge, we’ve already got a basketful of contest entries from participants hoping to win our $50 gift certificate once the New Year rolls around!

If you haven’t been playing along, there’s still lots of time to join in on the fun as the contest will continue through the end of the month! In addition to having the chance to win a prize, this experience is proving to be a great springboard for scrapbook page topics.

To give you a little taste of the fun we’ve been having, here are a few of the tips, stories and other memories shared in response to the questions posed so far …

Holiday Traditions …

When my oldest DD was just a tiny baby I read about someone who bought 25 new Christmas story books every year. She would then wrap up the books and put them into a basket. Each night a child would pick a book, open it and then mom would read the book to the kids.  I loved this idea and started rounding up all of the Christmas Story books that I had. (Didn’t have money to buy 25 new books). Every year  I would try to find one or two new books to add to the collection. Of course the type and length of the books changed as the girls grew older.  Now that they are in high school and so very busy the tradition has gone away, but I really miss it. ~cole19

We have lots of traditions in our family….but one of the standouts for me is the Christmas Pudding. My Grandma always use to make the pudding with silver sixpences and thripences hidden inside. When Grandma was unable to do this, Aunty Dorothy took over. Her pudding was to die for!! With the passing of time the family Christmas became too large as the offspring mulitiplied…..sow we to don’t see this side of the family on Christmas day. ( Dorothy turns 80 in just a few weeks). So for many years now I have taken over the making of the pudding using Aunty Dorothy’s recipe and Grandmas old silver coins.  I guess it won’t be to long before I will be passing this recipe on to my own daughter along with her great grandmothers very old and treasured silver coins. Some traditions are definitely worth keeping!! ~pennyshilling

Tips for Managing Holiday Stress …

My goal for no stress is the focus…..when my focus is on Christ…the reason for Christmas…..the stress is gone…..when I allow the world to seep in ….as in too much busyness…then that’s where the stress comes in. So for me it is about focus…. ~mommato7

My favourite way to handle stress at this time of the year is to curl up on the couch with a cup of hot tea, with the lights on on the Christmas tree, in warm PJs and slippers, the fireplace is on, and I have a magazine in my hand. It works everytime! ~Lucia

… LISTS.   I try to start writing down gift ideas even the day after Christmas for the next Christmas! lol  I know that if I don’t write them down when I think of them, I’ll forget.  So, I have a running list going all year long of ideas for gifts, recipes to make, crafts to make, etc.   Also meal planning!   Just planning out a weeks worth of meals and getting groceries once a week for those meals relieves so much stress from my life, the other things don’t bother me as much.   Every night I hear, “What’s for dinner?” lol  Knowing every morning what’s for dinner that night is such a weight off of me, so I can focus on other things during the day and not have that burden hanging over my head all day on what to make that night.  ~Dianne

Remembering Childhood Wishlists …

The only thing that I wished for and still bring it up every year is how I wanted that Barbie head where you fix their hair and apply make-up? Never got it… and now that I have money for myself and could go out and get it, I still ask Mom for it… just for tradition sake… *grin*  Of course, my Mom just rolls her eyes. ~MamaBee

From age 9 to 17 I asked for a car at every gift-giving opportunity.  I figured the odds were in my favor if I asked often enough.    Grandma and Grandpa took pity on me in year 17 and kicked in a bit for a 2-door Tercel.  I loved that car!!  Otherwise, my Christmas lists changed year to year.  My mom is a great gift giver and hardly ever bought off my list anyway.  She was always one step ahead of me.  I know I did not ask for luggage when I was 15 (I REALLY wanted that car) but luggage was my gift that year and 14 years later it is still with me.  Sadly, the car is not.  Mom always knows best! ~SierraB6

Counting Down ’til Christmas …

I made the memory advent as suggested by Stacy Julian on her website in late November.  A standard small photo album with 18 pictures (couldn’t find a 24 page album) from Christmases past (one for each day).  Each day I’m writing about what memories that pic sparks for me.  I’m finding it a lovely thing to do although my DH and DS aren’t into it at all and think I’m a bit strange! When DS was little we had a advent calendars with little windows for each day from 1 December until 24 December when the biggest one would be opened. I remember these from my own childhood too (perhaps that’s why I’m enjoying the memory advent so much – it’s taking me back to being a kid again and anticipating the big day to come. ~margotmacg

We always had some type of advent calendar when the kids were little.  Then one year I found an ornament that actually let the kids flip a little number over which counted down to Christmas Day.  Even though my kids are all grown now, that little advent calendar still gets “front and center” on the Christmas Tree and they still flip the little numbers over whenever one of them comes by the house.  Doesn’t matter that I have had a really fancy wooden advent calendar … it usually sits untouched … they love this inexpensive little ornament. ~digitaldebi

Check out our December Challenge forum for more of these wonderful tidbits, including favorite recipes, the real vs. artificial Christmas tree debate, favorite holiday movies, various ways we handle gift-giving and the sending of holiday greetings, just to name a few … and be sure to add your own so I can add your name to our prize drawing basket!

Click on “comment” below to share your thoughts…

For the first time in a long time, I finally took a break Saturday from the Web & books & all things related to this site and just simply scrapbooked. It felt good … a little bit of scrap-therapy goes a long way. So for today’s Sunday Inspiration, I thought I’d share a page I put together…

Balance. Yep, this is my new word for 2010. Last year’s word was “begin” . . . and well, I definitely did that, at least in terms of scrapbooking. Finally made the leap from just calling myself a scrapbooker to really doing it on a consistent basis. But I’ve always had this problem with finding & keeping some sort of balance in my life. And as a result, I’m a key candidate for burnout.

"Balance" by Kristin Rutten

I’m not really sure why I am this way . . . maybe it’s just that I get very passionate about things I really love and as a result, have little time . . . patience . . . interest in much else. And I tend to focus exclusively on whatever that thing is for days, weeks, even months on end.  Unfortunately, this is to the nearly total neglect of all else in my life. And that is just not a healthy way to live, both figuratively and literally.

And now that I have finally found my, for lack of better word, “calling” in life . . . my new Log Your Memory venture . . . I really want to find a way to find that balance so that it is something I can sustain for a very long time. And so that I don’t totally miss out on and neglect the rest of my life in the process.

It’s not hard to see signs of this problem of mine. For instance, that wonderful birthday gift from my hubby last year – that elliptical machine in the corner – has not been touched in at least, um, several months. Well, not by me anyway. Danica thinks it makes a great climbing toy. And my kitchen? Possibly the ugliest kitchen in Lewistown. I have lots of ideas for re-doing it . . . and if I really wanted to, I could probably find the time and money to do it. But there it sits . . .  ugly as ever, complete with gross, burned, peeling linoleum stuff  on the counters, disgusting flowery contact paper on the dirty walls and that hideous peachy colored paint from decades ago.

And then there’s the laundry. I got it clean . . . I’m not quite that pathetic . . . but that dang pile sat on the dining room table for at least four days before I moved it up to our bedroom floor, where it sat for another week or two. But in the meantime, I sold lots of books, welcomed tons of new members to my Web site and put together a couple new books. All worthy items . . . just no balance in my day.

And sleep? What’s that? Haven’t been to bed as a “reasonable” hour in at least two months. Not one single time.  The girls get a fair amount of attention still, out of necessity. One can only handle so much whining & crying before succumbing to those needs. And the boys, well, they are with their dad this semester so I do manage to stop and try to “be” with them when they’re here. But that’s about the extent of my current balancing ability, much to my very patient and supportive husband’s chagrin. And I am the first to acknowledge, this needs to change.

So that’s why this is my word for 2010. Making “begin” my word and focus in 2009 seemed to work wonders. Here’s to hoping choosing balance will have the same effect in 2010!!!

Click on “comment” below to share your thoughts…

When I came across not just one, but three pages in our Layout Gallery the other day that all shared a theme I relate to so well, I just knew I had to share them together like this.

So if you’re at all like me … and Aly … and Jenn … and Heather … and find that your virtual friends are as big a part of your life as those you have “in real life”  … and if you occasionally feel a bit strange about that or have friends or family members who don’t really understand this … you’ll appreciate these wonderful pages and take solace in knowing you are definitely not alone.

"Cooler Online" by ali321

"Goofy Funny Silly Zany" by hguenthe

"More Than Just Scrapbooking" by JennBarrette

Though miles may lie between us, we’re never far apart, for friendship doesn’t count the miles, it’s measured by the heart.

~ Rozina Hasham

• Catch your first glimpse of our 2010 Creative Team … the Calendar Girls!
• Learn the ins & outs of making a very special album for a very special someone in your life.
• Get inspired through amazing examples of “real life” scrapbooking on our Wednesday Story Board!
• Check out this week’s Layout of the Week from our on-site gallery.
• Take a peek at what’s new in our Gift Shop & find out how we can help you drop a few hints before the holidays!

With our Grand Opening SPOOKtacular coming up in just a few short days, I was inspired to share a few more details today about all of the fun in store for everyone who attends. This is just the beginning…

It’s a mystery…

… guest, that is. You definitely don’t want to miss our Mystery Chat at 7 p.m. Pacific Time on Thursday, October 29th in the Log Your Memory Member Chat Room. (Need help converting that to your time zone? Check HERE.) Participants will attempt to guess the secret identity of our mystery guest through a series of questions that can be answered with a simple YES, NO, or MAYBE. The first person to guess will win a fabulous PRIZE, plus there will be a special FREEBIE download for everyone who plays along. Mark your calendars now … you don’t want to miss this !!

Speaking of FREEBIES …

… What’s better than 225 LBs of chocolate? That’s right … more than 225 MBs of downloadable scrapbooking goodies will be given away during our three-day Grand Opening event to every single person who participates, not to mention the generous PRIZES that will be awarded to our various contest & challenge winners. You must be present and participate in each event to get access to the FREEBIE of the moment, so plan to come early, stay late & have lots of fun!!!

A special thanks…

… to our fabulous SPONSORS who have so generously provided all of those amazing FREEBIES I just mentioned. These folks have gone above and beyond the call to make our Grand Opening truly SPOOKtacular … I hope you will take a few minutes to visit each of them personally and show your support and appreciation. You’ll probably see most, if not all, of them hanging out with us during the big event. Be sure to help make them feel welcome, won’t you?!? Here’s the list:

Sweet Shoppe Designs

Peppermint Creative

Jen Allyson ~ The Project Girl

Julie It Is

Kris Meyers Designs

Shelleyrae Designs

Sahlin Studio

That’s just the beginning…

… of the fun in store, but you’ll have to wait just a bit longer for the rest of the details. After all, would you rather have me sitting here writing about it… or getting the final arrangements in order? Watch this BLOG for more juicy details as our big event approaches…

But before I go…

… just a couple quick reminders. First, if you haven’t done so already, be sure you enter our Grand Opening Kickoff Contest! The deadline is Saturday, October 31st. It’s a three-step entry process, so make sure you complete all of the requirements for your chance to win a free copy of the Scrapbooker’s All-In-One Memory Logbook in the format of your choice. Not sure if I have your completed entry? Check the list at the bottom of the post HERE.

Also, the deadline to submit an application to be on our 2010 Creative Team is quickly approaching. November 2nd is the cutoff date for the current call. Find out more about the opportunity & expectations, as well as how to apply, HERE.

Finally, be sure you take a look at our first online workshop - The Gift of the Year: 2010. During this workshop, you will create a very special calendar for a very special someone. This is the kind of gift that really makes an impression and will be appreciated long after the holidays are over. Plus, you’ll have tons of fun in the process … and it’ll get you busy scrapping “real life” style while we all wait for January and the chance to put our Memory Logbooks to good use! Find out more about the workshop and/or register HERE.