It was a busy weekend for our Sweet Talk Journaling Challenge, with several new layouts added to our challenge gallery in the past few days. We’ve now officially passed the half-way mark in our quest to complete 14 challenges & earn the special prize that comes with it.

So far, we’ve told our stories using lists, ABCs, conversations, fairy tales, compare/contrast, show & tell and letter-writing journaling methods. Now we’re going to use another favorite tactic that reminds me of my journalism days… the Q&A style interview.

Sweet Talk Journaling Challenge #8

An interview is little more than a series of questions and answers. This could take the form of a questionnaire, with pre-determined questions followed by corresponding answers. There are entire books filled with such questionnaires created especially for this purpose, which could be used to interview your child, partner, parent … or even completed by yourself. Some have even gone so far as to “interview” inanimate objects!

An interview doesn’t have to come from a ready-made questionnaire to qualify, however. A single question could suffice … or even a conversation that followed a question/answer type format. Your application of this challenge is completely up to you. You might even consider scrapbooking your answers to one of the Memory Logbook’s questionnaires, such as the monthly check-up or a holiday, birthday or celebration worksheet.

Let’s get started with a few interesting examples …

"Conversation with my Grandpas I Barely Knew" by alice @ My Scrapbook Art

"Exclusive Interview with Livia" by paperboutique @ My Scrapbook Art

"An Interview with My Dirty Dishes" by ~Julie~ @ My Scrapbook Art

"What's Real" by Myra @ Designer Digitals

The Rules:

1. Pick a topic and create a new scrapbook page that shares your story through an interview.
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 …

We’re approaching the half-way mark in our Sweet Talk Journaling Challenge and our challenge gallery is just bursting with fantastic examples of scrapbook journaling methods in action! If you haven’t done so already, be sure to check it out … it will definitely inspire you to jump in and join in the fun.

We’ve tackled five types of journaling so far – lists, ABCs, conversations, fairy tales, and compare/contrast. Next we’re going to go back to our elementary school days with a little show & tell.

Sweet Talk Journaling Challenge #6

For this challenge, we are going to combine several slightly different yet very similar approaches under the umbrella of “show & tell“. This includes how-to instructions, directions, recipes and similar approaches that aim to explain how something is done.

This could be serious or sarcastic, fact or fiction, even just plain silly. You could include lots of detail, such as step-by-step instructions, or keep it simple, maybe even just using a series of photos to guide us along. As long as you use some form of “show & tell” to share your story, you’re following along with this challenge.

Here are a few examples to get you started…

"How to Be {almost} 3" by Kristin Rutten @ Log Your Memory

"Washers" by sarahbhb @ My Scrapbook Art

"Recipe for Love" by MommaTrish @ Sweet Shoppe Designs

The Rules:

1. Pick a topic and create a new scrapbook page that shares your story by telling us how .
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 …

Our Sweet Talk Journaling Challenge moves right along today with yet another method of journaling to test out on your scrapbook pages.

If you haven’t completed the first four challenges yet – creating a list, using the ABCs, sharing a conversation and incorporating a fairy tale – don’t worry. You have until March 3rd to get all of your layouts posted and qualify for our special prize. Just keep scrapping right along and you’ll get there!

Today we’re going to work with a method that can be interpreted many ways…

Sweet Talk Journaling Challenge #5

To compare and contrast is really just showing how two or more things relate to one another, potentially including both their similarities and their differences.

On a scrapbook page, this could take several formats. For instance, you could share the pros and cons of a particular event, circumstance, behavior, relationship or feeling. Another angle would be to take a look at two or more time periods, such as a “then and now” type scenario or a “through the years” type of comparison. The timespan could be decades … or even just minutes. Or maybe your story illustrates two sides of the same coin, so to speak.

Here are a few great examples to help get you started…

"Just Me" by clmisener @ Weeds and Wildflowers

"100 Things" by neeceebee @ My Scrapbook Art

"Traveler" by Ali Edwards @ Designer Digitals

"Then and Now" by colleenstearns @ Designer Digitals

The Rules:

1. Pick a topic and create a new scrapbook page that uses the method of compare & contrast to tell 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

It’s time for our third installment in our month-long Sweet Talk Journaling Challenge. We’ve already tried our hand at list journaling and using the alphabet. Now it’s time to do a little talking … literally.

Sweet Talk Journaling Challenge #3

For this challenge, tell your story through the use of a conversation. It could be the dialogue between you and another person, a discussion you overheard, or even an exchange between your kids and their imaginary playmates.

If you’ve been using your Memory Logbook to keep track of little tidbits like this, you may have something written down that could be developed into a great scrapbook page. And if you don’t already have something in mind, spend a day or two paying extra attention to what’s going on around you. Chances are good you’ll pick up on at least one conversation that could help tell a story about your real life. You could even make up a conversation to help illustrate what might be a typical situation in your world.

To help get the creative juices flowing, take a peek at these great examples of the “conversation” style of journaling in practice …

"You Make Me Laugh" by aneal @ My Scrapbook Art

"Grandma, flamingos can!" by digigrandma @ Designer Digitals

"I Wonder if There Really is a Santa?" by mymalloryboys @ Designer Digitals

"Ice Cream and Bananas" by Aino @ Designer Digitals

The Rules:

1. Pick a topic and create a new scrapbook page that incorporates a conversation to tell 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

Please share your comments through our community forum…

The Sweet Talk Journaling Challenge is in full swing, with several great examples of list journaling already filling up the Challenge #1 Gallery Album. It’s not too late to post a layout for the first challenge, but for those who are ready, let’s move on to our next type of journaling…

Sweet Talk Journaling Challenge #2

For this challenge, use the individual letters of the alphabet in some way to organize and tell your story. This is really a variation on list journaling, but with a more specific structure.

There are a few different ways you could approach this. The most common is shown in the examples below, with each letter of the entire alphabet representing a word that begins with that letter. In the first, the letters begin words that describe this adorable little girl. The second uses the alphabet and associated words to represent a favorite travel game, which actually involves finding objects that start with each letter.

"ABCs of You" by Jana Morton @ Designer Digitals

"ABC Game" by mymalloryboys @ Designer Digitals

Another variation would be to highlight only certain letters, such as those that spell out a name or perhaps your title, and then create sentences or phrases that begin with each letter. Or perhaps you’d like to make it even simpler and incorporate just your initials or monogram into your layout and story.

Your interpretation of the theme is entirely up to you. As long as individual letters of the alphabet help tell your story in some way, your layout will fit right in with this challenge!

The Rules:

1. Pick a topic and create a new scrapbook page that incorporates the use of individual letters of the alphabet to tell 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

Remember, if you earn all 14 Sweet Talk points, you’ll get this little goodie in the mail…

Please share your comments through our community forum…

February is the month of love … and you’re going to LOVE all the great stuff we have in store for you!

Sweet Talk Journaling Challenge

Today we kick off a special month-long scrapbooking challenge at Log Your Memory focused entirely on journaling your real life stories. Through the Sweet Talk Journaling Challenge, we will explore 14 great journaling methods guaranteed to get the creative juices flowing and your favorite stories told, plus inspiring examples of those methods being used in layouts from our own gallery as well as throughout the online scrapbooking community.

To add to the fun and excitement, those who play along and create, then post, a scrapbook page using the journaling methods presented will earn a special “Sweet Talker” award heart for each method used, which will appear in your profile and signature.

There will be 14 awards/points in all (plus the Bonus Award already earned by those who participated in our BlogCast). And for those who really make that extra effort and earn all 14 points … the title “Sweet Talker” and this very special prize.

Wouldn’t it be fun to dress up your Memory Logbook with this fun set of gel pens bearing the Log Your Memory logo? Our BlogCasters have already earned their first point (which means they could earn the prize even if they miss one of the layout pages) … but it’s not too late to take part in the BlogCast yourself. Simply visit this page today and help spread the word. But hurry … this opportunity won’t last much longer!

A special thanks to designer Terry Maruca, creator of the conversation hearts used to create the Sweet Talker awards. Speaking of those hearts, you can get a set for yourself to use in your personal scrapbooking from Terry’s store at Scrapbook Bytes. She’s even provided a special coupon code to give Log Your Memory readers 40% off on either the Conversation Hearts set (coupon code: TM-VHEART-WORDS) or the Alpha & Numbers Heart set (coupon code: TM-VHEART-ALPHA). Both coupons expire February 28, 2010.

Okay … are you ready to earn a Sweet Talk award? Here’s your first challenge …

Sweet Talk Journaling Challenge #1

Perhaps one of the most basic of journaling techniques, the list is also one of the easiest and most versatile. The concept is simple – create a list that provides the details of the story you are trying to tell. The presentation, however, is limited only by your imagination. Lists can be linear or scattered; numbered, bulleted, or arranged alphabetically or chronologically; short, long, or somewhere in between. A list can even be just a series of single words.

To get you thinking, here are some examples of great scrapbooking pages using the list style of journaling…

elena.right.now by Elena @ Designer Digitals

"2010 Inspiration" by sbg3396 @ My Scrapbook Art

"Me Facts" by zakirahzakaria @ Sweet Shoppe Designs

The Rules:

1. Pick a topic and create a new scrapbook page that incorporates the use of a list to tell 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 31, 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

A Big Thanks …

… to Calendar Girl Heather Guenther & Guest Designer Julie Klaus! With the end of January, we must say thank you to lead Calendar Girl Heather Guenther and bid a fond farewell and thanks to January Guest Designer Julie Klaus of Julie Marie Designs. Both have enriched our site greatly over the past month and we appreciate their effort and contributions!

Be sure to visit tomorrow, where we’ll share a special guest post from February Calendar Girl Jen DeLorenzo, plus introduce Misty Cato, our February Guest Designer … and give you a little free taste of her sweet designs!

Please share your comments through our community forum…

Lost jobs. Shattered dreams. Poor health. Self-doubt. The search for balance. Battles with depression. Weight issues. The unique challenges of parenting … or being unable to parent.

This week’s Logbook challenge question was a tough one: “What has been your biggest challenge or most frequent struggle?” But that didn’t stop our Book Club members from putting together a gallery full of insightful and powerful layouts, making it rather difficult to choose just one for our featured Layout of the Week.

But I did find myself repeatedly returning to one particular page because of it’s intensely honest journaling and beautiful design.

“It’s every girl’s dream,” writes alien21xx. “Why can’t it be mine?” Read on…

"Yes..." by alien21xx

It’s something I’ve constantly asked myself when I started having serious relationships: Am I really ready for this? Do I even want it? The honest answer is “I don’t know.”  And I know that Jay won’t be too happy with it. We’ve talked about it as if we’re fait accompli once his legal issues on his previous marriage are resolved, but honestly, I don’t know if I could get over myself enough to be able to say yes. Even though, technically, I have said yes. I feel that I have too many doubts about myself. And it’ll be hard to explain it to him when he finally pops the question. How do you say “It’s not you, it’s me” without turning the one you love away?

Tough stuff. It takes courage to admit to yourself when your feelings don’t match what most would expect of you, even more to not only put it on paper but share it so publicly. And as if the journaling wasn’t enough, this talented gal pulled it all together with a perfectly blended photo, elegantly personal handwriting and a touch of sparkle.

Congratulations to alien21xx for creating this week’s featured layout! She will receive 10 bonus points through our Real Deal Book Club Rewards Program. If you haven’t done so already, I encourage you to check out the other layouts in the Week #2 challenge gallery. There’s a whole lot of heart and soul there waiting for you.

After a couple of weeks of rather intense challenges, we’re all looking forward to our Week #3 challenge that’s on a much lighter “note”. We’ll kick it off Monday with a special guest post featuring a Q&A-style interview with this month’s Guest Designer, Julie Klaus of Julie Marie Designs. We’ll also reveal Julie’s full version of her fabulous “Color of Music” kit, with an opportunity for one lucky blog reader to win the entire kit absolutely free! You don’t want to miss it…

While you’re waiting, be sure to stop by tomorrow and check out the new additions to our on-site store! Let’s just say a couple wishes might have been granted this week…

Click on “comment” below to share your thoughts…

With Christmas now less than a week away, I know it may be a little challenging to think beyond the holiday. But if you’re starting to plan your New Year, we have two exciting opportunities I want to be sure you pencil in on your calendar …

Real Life in 2010: A Collab Project

I am very excited to be almost ready to announce a unique opportunity for a limited number of scrapbookers. The details will have to wait just a bit longer, but you will definitely want to keep an eye out for this one! Let’s just say it will involve a year-long workshop, “real life” scrapbooking themes, the opportunity to get published in a very special book, and lots of fun & friendship! Want to be the first to know when the details are released and applications become available? Drop me a line via the Contact Us page and I’ll make sure you’re on my “first-to-know” early announcement email list!

Log Your Memory Yearbook Challenge

This is another exciting year-long event with an opportunity to get published, but this one will be open to all scrapbookers and will feature a prize-winner for EVERY SINGLE DAY of 2010, with an extra-special prize-winner every single month! Yep, you read that correctly! So brush up on your “real life” scrapping skills & stay tuned … the fun will kick off January 1st, with more details to be provided during the last week of this month as part of our “Countdown to 2010″ series of blog posts.

And don’t forget our current challenges …

• December Challenge – Participate in our daily holiday-related question in our special December Challenge forum and have a chance each time you play at winning our $50 gift certificate to be given away January 1st. Details in this post…
• Year-End “100 Things” Layout Challenge – Sum up 2009 in a scrapbook page featuring a list of 100 things and have a chance at winning a free print copy of List My Life. Details in this post.

Click on “comment” below to share your thoughts…

Ever received a gift that meant far more to you than its monetary value? The story behind that gift is perfect scrapbooking material.

This was the case for today’s Layout of the Week – “The Truck” by Calendar Girl Alyson Hall. Check out the story and you’ll see what I mean …

"The Truck" by aly321

Casey is such a hard person to buy gifts for. He loves to be able to just get exactly what he wants, without anyone else worrying about it. This year for Christmas his sister found an old Tonka truck on eBay that was just like the one he had as a kid. He used to play with it for hours, and called the horses that came with it “Pones.” It was the perfect present. I was so excited for Christmas morning. As he opened the gift, tears came to his eyes as he remembered his childhood. He loved the gift. He kept it on a high shelf for a while, but then decided he wanted his kids to enjoy it as much as he had. Now it is his son’s favorite toy, and he loves to play with the “Pones” just like his daddy did.

Now THAT is the spirit of Christmas.

Aly’s page was inspired by this week’s Weekly Challenge in the December 2009 version of the Memory Logbook. Though this week’s prompt was “The five gifts that have meant the most to me so far in life…”, you can see that Aly took her own spin on the question, which is exactly what the Logbook was designed for.

Book Club members can find Aly’s page in the Logbook Sample Layout Gallery inside this week’s Challenge album, as well as several other wonderful examples created by our Calendar Girls. I invite all of you who are following along with the Logbook and creating challenge-based pages yourself to upload your layouts to that album so we can all enjoy and comment on them. It’s amazing how much inspiration can be found both by viewing the other pages in the album and sharing your own. There are no deadlines involved in the Logbook Weekly Challenges, so feel free to post your pages for each week at any time as you complete them. I would love to feature YOUR page as our next Layout of the Week!

And if you are not following along in the Logbook, now’s a great time to start! You can find the December Logbook, as well as the 2010 full Logbook and individual monthly versions, in our on-site store. {Pssst…. Use coupon code HUMBUG and get 10% off your purchase!}

Click on “comment” below to share your thoughts…

The time has come to reveal our entries for the Cover Girl Contest!

Those who accepted last month’s challenge of creating a unique cover for the print-it-yourself editions of the Memory Logbook did a wonderful job … now it’s up to YOU to help us decide which cover is the favorite. The designer with the cover receiving the most votes will become our first “Cover Girl” and will be featured as such here on our blog within the next couple weeks … PLUS … that lucky gal will get to choose one item from the Log Your Memory Gift Shop for FREE as her reward!

Check out the entries below and get a closer look by clicking on each one, which will take you to our contest Layout Gallery. Once you’ve picked your favorite, head on over to the contest challenge forum and cast your vote. You have until midnight (MTN) on Friday, December 11th to make your choice, with our winner announced a week from today right here on the Log Your Memory blog!

Thank you to our participants for entering this challenge … and good luck!!!

Entry #1

Entry #2

Entry #3

Entry #4

Entry #5

One last note before you go … Don’t forget to participate in today’s December Challenge question for your chance to win a $50 gift certificate!

Click on “comment” below to share your thoughts…