:CHRISTMAS BOOK COUNTDOWN: A wonderful holiday tradition...

Kaitlin has always loved her books.

There are an endless number of Christmas, holiday and winter-themed books available on the market, so when I discovered an idea for a new tradition combining the holidays and books, I knew it would be a hit!

Why not read books to and/with your family as you count down the days until Christmas?

First, select the holiday books you want to read with your family. It's nice to get a variety of books - short, long, religious, humorous, etc.

It may not be cost-effective or practical to go out and buy an entire collection of Christmas-themed books right now, so start with what you have. That's what we did last year. I can't remember where I even saw the idea initially, but once I had, the holiday season was already underway. However, I was able to find 7 Christmas or winter-themed books just by going through Kaitlin's bookshelf, so we counted down the 7 days before Christmas.

Over the past year, I watched for good deals on more great titles at Amazon and this year we'll be able to count down the 24 days before Christmas.

I wrapped them all up on Friday and numbered them 1 - 24. Beginning tomorrow, Kaitlin will find the book for that day, unwrap it and we'll sit down for some quality time together while we read the story.

As we go along, I will be sharing the book of the day with you, too. Stay tuned for the first book tomorrow.

Once Christmas is over, the books will stay out in the basket for awhile to read and look through again, but when the tree comes down, the books will get packed away as well until next year.

I really look forward to growing this collection of books over the years so that we have a little variety each year. Someday, the collection will be a wonderful gift to pass on to Kaitlin when she has a child of her own.

:REVIEW: Modern Memory Keeper: A New Approach To Scrapbooking Your Family Legacy by Ronee Parsons [CONTEST CLOSED]

UPDATE: The two lucky winners have been announced! Check them out here.

I have quite a collection of old family photos that I've collected over the years and although I haven't gotten around to scrapping them yet (too busy trying to keep up with scrapping the life of my young daugther), I do certainly hope to start doing more heritage scrapping as the years go on.

That's why I initially took interest in Modern Memory Keeper: A New Approach To Scrapbooking Your Family Legacy by Ronee Parsons.

I was intrigued by the beautiful creation on the cover as well as the description the idea of moving away from the idea of 'having to' use vintage looking products to scrap your heritage photos.

The book focuses on what the author calls 'a modern approach' - a shift from chronological scrapping to recording your families stories, personalities and traditions in a way that inspires.

Included in the book are over 120 wonderfully creative pieces by 8 artists in addition to the author. Additional contributors include Karen Bowers, Erin Derkatz, Catherine Feegel-Enhardt, Lana Rappette, Crystal Jeffrey Rieger, Cindy Ellen Russell, Katrina Simeck, and Michele Skinner.

In six chapters, Parsons helps the reader by offering ideas of how to capture the history of a family beyond just names and dates.

Chapter 1 - Telling Your Family's Story
Includes tips on how to record the stories of your family through words and pictures.

Chapter 2 - Finding Your Family's Story
Parsons encourages talking to those closest to you, a little creative investigation, incorporating ephemera and more.

Chapter 3 - Saying it with Color
Heritage books don't have to all be predominantly brown. In this chapter, tips for using color theory, pattern and embellishments are offered to enhance the story.

Chapter 4 - Looking Your Best
Old photos often show some wear. Parsons offers suggestions for making your precious family photos look their best through traditional as well as computer techniques.

Chapter 5 - Composing a Great Page
This chapter includes perhaps one of the most important messages of the book: Just because you are working with old photos doesn't mean that you have to revert to 'old' design. By using modern design styles, one can bring new life to heritage photos.

Chapter 6 - Adding Finishing Touches
Now that you've finished some amazing pages and projects, this chapter outlines ideas for unique binding and presentation techniques to help you show off and share your hard work.

Included in the book are 16 'Creative Techniques' boxes which are full-page, step-by-step instructions for some of the more unique techniques featured within the book.

There are also 22 'Creative Sparks' which are more compact tips and technique ideas scattered throughout the book on a variety of topics.

If I had to criticize anything about this book, it would be that I felt the first two chapters seemed out of order (Finding Your Family's Story should come before Telling Your Family's Story). I also felt that the Finding Your Family's Story seemed a little too basic. Considering this is a book on which the focus is on scrapbooking one's family history, I would have liked to see a more complete and extensive section on ideas and techniques for gathering the stories.

MY RATING:
4 STARS

YOUR RATING:
??? I am always curious and open to hearing the opinions of others. If you own or have read this book, please feel free to share your opinion of it in the comments below.

WANT TO READ MORE OR PURCHASE?
Visit the Modern Memory Keeper: A New Approach To Scrapbooking Your Family Legacy page at Amazon.com. You can also read more of my reviews for other recommendations.

GIVEAWAY:
Another great giveaway for you ladies...except this time I have TWO FREE COPIES TO GIVE AWAY!! Simply leave your comment to this post in the following format:

FIRST & LAST NAME:
EMAIL:
ANSWER:

The question, you ask?
Have you scrapped any of your heritage photos yet? If not, what's holding you back?

Leave your comment by Monday, December 1, 11:59 PM (CST) in order to be considered to win a FREE copy of Modern Memory Keeper. I will announce and contact the random winner via email on Tuesday.

Upcoming Review:

Starting Points: Creating Meaningful Scrapbook Layouts From Whatever Inspires You
by Linda Harrison

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For more information on our photo books, please come here. We have a great selection of photo book samples you can view. If you want to make your own book, then custom photo books are the way to go.

:LIFE: The day after Thanksgiving...

No crazy sale shopping for me...just not my idea of fun.

Nope...Kaitlin and I stayed home today and got a start on our Christmas decorating.

:FOR SALE: Scrapbooking Idea Books, Mags and More!

Lots of goodies up for grabs in my eBay store just in time for Christmas.

If you're looking for some great deals on scrapbooking idea books, magazines, and more for another scrapper in your life (or yourself!), be sure to check them out. ALL STARTING BIDS ARE UNDER $3.00!!

:FIVE FAVES: Here comes winter...

As much as I wish it wasn't, winter is most definitely here. Well, at least in South Dakota it is.

Here are a few of my favorite winter themed products:

1) SEI - Alpine Frost Collection - Rub-On Designs
I haven't used a whole lot a SEI in the past, but I am really liking this new Alpine Frost line. I love the combination of the deep red, pale green, white and various shades of black. The papers that go along with the line also have some very interesting textures and finishes such as glitter, foal, shimmer and linen.

2) Fancy Pants Designs - Arctic Chill Collection - 12 x 12 Paper Kit
Even though I don't LOVE every line that FP puts out, they always seem to have at least one that I've got to have with every release. This time around, Arctic Chill is the one. I love the not-so-traditional colors incorporated into its wintry designs.

3) Deja Views - Little Yellow Bicycle - The Sharon Ann Christmas Magic Collection - Glittered Silk Snowflakes

Cute and delicate, these glittered little snowflakes would add the perfect touch to any winter layout or craft.

4) KI Memories - Festive Christmas Collection - 12 x 12 Lace Cardstock - Flurry Lipstick

Always the leader in die-cut designs, this sheet of pink snowflakes will be perfect for highlighting your winter princess.

5) Fiskars - High Density Pigment Ink - Why So Blue
I love to ink my pages...very few layouts escape inked edges. This wintry blue will be the perfect finishing touch for winter layouts.

READER RESPONSE:
What is your favorite winter-themed product or line on the market right now?

:LIFE: Feeling behind...

Do you ever feel like your a few steps behind where you should be and you just can't quite catch up? I'm there. As you can probably tell from my lack of posting recently.

Work is really picking up. It's the height of campus visit season and with the other counselors on the road most of the time, that leaves me to cover the prospective students visiting campus. Plus, I have my own students to help get registered for spring, so it's just an all around busy time.

This week I had a challenge due in the WeScrap forums (you can check it out here) and an article due for the WeScrap December newsletter and I was late on both. Good thing my fellow team members are willing to work with me...such great ladies at WeScrap.

I also had a MemoryWorks party this week. My sister was the hostess and it was the best party I've had so far in overall sales. It's ironic because initially she wasn't even sure she should have it because she didn't think anyone would buy anything...boy was she wrong! She sure was tickled about all the great free products she'll be receiving.

MemoryWorks has been on my brain a lot lately. I've been an independent consultant for MW for about a year now and basically broke even. I'd like to do just a little better than just break even, so have been brainstorming lately and have come up with several marketing and customer appreciation programs that I hope will help to boost sales in 2009. I've been spending a lot of evenings fleshing out these ideas so that I can announce them in December and officially launch on the first, so if you are one of my MW customers, stayed tuned...there are some exciting things to come.

I also had to go through my bookshelf...only so much space for my scrapbooking books, so it was time to thin them out again. I got a lot of the photos and information prepped today and hope to list them on Ebay sometime this week. If you're looking for some great gift items for the scrappers in your life (or yourself) for Christmas, you'll want to check out my Ebay store in a few days.

Anyway, I have to say that I'm really looking forward to the holiday breaks I have coming up. We have 2 1/2 days in the office this week and their going to be busy ones, but then I have a four day weekend to look forward to. Although it been crazy lately, I know I have a lot to be thankful for. Thanksgiving weekend is always extra special because that's when I usually put up the Christmas tree and a few other decorations to get in the holiday spirit.

Then we have three weeks in the office before 2 FULL WEEKS off for Christmas. I can't wait! You can bet there will be some serious scrappin' goin' on!

:QUOTES: According to Stevenson, Stoppard & Hanh

ADLAI E STEVENSON (about Elenor Roosevelt):

"Her glow has warmed the world."

THICH NHAT HANH:

"Sometimes your joy is the source of your smile, but sometimes your smile can be
the source of your joy."

TOM STOPPARD:

"If you carry your childhood with you, you never become older."

:GIVEAWAY WINNER: Capture the Portrait

Boy! Things have been so crazy the last few days that I almost forgot that I had to announce the winner of the free copy of Capture the Portrait: How to Create Great Digital Photos!!

Now that would have been terrible!! Especially for.............................

.................lucky commenter number 1. Congratulations, Margaret Pike!!

Sometimes I guess it pays to be the early bird (even though it was the random integer generator at Random.org that picked the number).

Stay tuned...another great giveaway coming soon!

:BOOKSHELF: The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

I recently finished reading The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini and LOVED it!

I usually read before going to bed and usually for only for a 1/2 hour or so, but there were seriously nights that I couldn't put this one down and would read for two hours or more.

The Kite Runner follows the story of two boys in Afghanistan, one the son of a wealthy business man and the other the son of their servant. They are inseparable - friends, so to speak - during their childhood and the relative stability of their country during the 1970's. Later, the turmoil of the country and Amir's disloyalty tears them apart.

The circumstances that lead to their separation haunt Amir even after he and his father flee to America and grows into adulthood.

Eventually, Amir's life takes a shocking twist as he is offered an opportunity to make amends in an unexpected way for the injustice that he inflicted upon his childhood friend .

There were many passages that literally made my jaw drop as I was reading because they were so moving...or visual...or both.

In many ways, this book read like a memoir...there were many times that I almost forgot that I was reading a work of fiction.

I don't read as much as I would like to anymore - at least not literature of this quality. Too much time reading scrapbooking mags and idea books, I guess. :-)

After reading this novel, though, I'm thirsting for another good read. Hey readers out there...what has been your latest stand out read?

:REVIEW & GIVEAWAY: Capture the Portrait: How to Create Great Digital Photos by Jenni Bidner

UPDATE: The lucky winner of this giveaway has been announced! Check it out here.

Like most scrapbookers, with this hobby of mine came a desire to improve my photography and I have read and reviewed several photography books in the past.

My most recent photography related read was Capture the Portrait: How to Create Great Digital Photos by Jenni Bidner.

Jenni is a professional photographer and the author or co-author of over 20 books on photography. Most of her books are related to animal photography, but the cover (yes...I can be a cover judger) and description of this book intrigued me, so I thought I would give it a read.

The book is divided into 10 distinct chapters.

Chapter 1 - Introduction
The very first chapter discussed something that I had never really thought much about before in that there really are many different types of portrait photos. She really tackles the question of "What is a portrait?" and discusses the different types and helps the reader to decipher which they prefer.

Chapter 2 - Photo Fundamentals
This chapter covers topics such as how to hold the camera, digital file format, image quality, and white balance.

Chapter 3 - Portrait Basics
There are several 'rules' that come into play when taking portrait images. In this chapter, Jenni discusses many of those rules and also discusses when to break the rules - my favorite part.

Chapter 4 - Composition
In this chapter, Jenni covers tips for composing your portraits. This is probably one of my favorite areas of photography and one of the things that has most improved the end result of my photographs.

Chapter 5 - Light & Portraits
Any half-way serious shooter knows that light is key to any good photo and this chapter helps you know what to look for and what to avoid when it comes to lighting your photos.

Chapter 6 - Flash & Portraits
Although natural light is generally preferred, flash does have a place in some portrait situations and Jenni give some great tips on when and how to use flash to your best advantage.

Chapter 7 - Portrait Styles
Jenni revisits the topic of the various portrait styles that she touched upon in the introduction. In this chapter, she goes into much more detail in term of how to achieve the style you're working for whether it be a candid portrait, a complete set up or something in between.

Chapter 8 - Posing
Posing can be one of the most difficult parts of portrait photography for many photographers as what looks natural doesn't always feel natural to the subject of your photo. Jenni offers some great advice on posing to get natural looking shots.

Chapter 9 - D-SLR Tips
Although all of the tips and topics in this book can be applied to a point and shoot, this chapter focuses on some specific advice concerning lenses and setting that can help you get the shot you want with an D-SLR.

Chapter 10 - Processing Software
The shoot doesn't end when you click the shutter. This chapter covers over a dozen ways that you can improve your photos after the download.

This book is easy to read and has tons of wonderful portraits throughout which are great inspiration for your own photo shoots. In many places there are also examples of 'good' and 'bad' photos side by sides which really helps the reader to understand the effect of the techniques being discussed.

If you're looking for a book with in-depth technical camera language, this isn't it. It's easy to read and has useful information that you can begin using immediately to help improve your portrait photography.

MY RATING:
4.5 STARS!!

YOUR RATING:
??? I am always curious and open to hearing the opinions of others. If you own or have read this book, please feel free to share your opinion of it in the comments below.

WANT TO READ MORE OR PURCHASE?
Visit the Capture the Portrait: How to Create Great Digital Photos page at Amazon.com. You can also read more of my reviews for other recommendations.

GIVEAWAY:
Another great giveaway for you ladies!! Simply leave your comment to this post in the following format:

FULL NAME:
EMAIL:
ANSWER:

The question, you ask? What is the one thing you struggle with most when it comes to photography?

Leave your comment by Monday, November 17th, 11:59 PM (CST) in order to be considered to win a FREE copy of Capture the Portrait. I will announce and contact the random winner via email on Tuesday.

Upcoming Review:
Modern Memory Keeper: A New Approach To Scrapbooking Your Family Legacy
by Ronee Parsons

:LIFE: Dentist office humore...

The anesthetic did finally wear off...but here it is over 24 hours later and my jaw is still a little sore.

"Can you open just a little wider," the dentist kept asking and so I'd try.

He 'humphed' with a smile on his face. "Don't let anyone ever tell you that you've got a big mouth because you sure don't."

The hygienist smiled and said, "We kind of like big mouths around here."

I guess I'm not part of the club.

:LIFE: The good and the bad...

The good is that I had a couple extra days off work this week because Kaitlin didn't have school.

I took full advantage and did some scrapping...more than I've done in the past three months combined. I completed 9 layouts and am very pleased with how some of them turned out.

I definitely feeling 'back in the groove' and look forward to completing more layouts in the weeks to come.

The bad (sort of) is that I had to visit the dentist's office today and it required quite a lot of numbing up...I don't think I'll be having supper tonight because I still can't drink without holding my lips closed.

Don't laugh...it's not funny. Okay...you're right...it is funny.

I wonder just how long it's going to take for this stuff to wear off!

:QUOTES: Dreams according to Disney, Thoreau and Bisset

WALT DISNEY:

"All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them."

HENRY DAVID THOREAU (1817-1862; philosopher, writer, naturalist):

“Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you’ve
imagined.”

JOSIE BISSET (1970; television actress):

“Dreams come in a size too big so that we may grow into them.”

:LIFE: Yes, We Can...

It's been a busy week and I didn't get a chance to say anything about my thoughts on the results of our recent election.

I watched the coverage almost all night Tuesday evening. I watched McCain accept his defeat and I stayed up to watch our new President-elect stake his claim...and I couldn't be happier.

There is just something about Barack Obama that makes me feel like I just witnessed the election of 'the' historically positive and innovation president of my generation - my generation's JFK. And I know I'm not the only one that feels this way.

I might be the last person to have seen this considering it's had almost 13 million hits on YouTube, but I just ran across it today and that I would share in case there are one or two others out there that somehow managed to miss it.

:GIVEAWAY WINNER: Get It Scrapped! by Debbie Hodge

And we have a winner!

I had 35 eligible comments submitted for this drawing for a free copy of Get It Scrapped!: Organize, Visualize, Create by Debbie Hodge and the Random Integer Generator at Random.org chose our lucky winner!

Laura Parker got lucky this time, but don't despair if it wasn't you this time. Christmas is drawing near, so if you liked my review, you can certainly add Get It Scrapped! to your wish list or buy yourself an early Christmas present!

Stay tuned...the next review and book giveaway is only about two weeks away!!

:FIVE FAVES: Hold onto fall...

We've been blessed with some beautiful weather lately, but I'm afraid that it's going to be ending much too soon.

I don't know about you, but I'm trying to hold onto fall as long as I can! Looking at all the great fall products on the market right now seems to help...

Here are five of my favorite fall products/lines:

1) Sassafras Lass
This is a manufacturer that I've never used personally, but I'm loving this particular collection. It's called Woodland Whimsy and this particular sheet of 12x12 paper is called Rose Thicket. It's just such a rich and beautiful color!

2) Making Memories
The MM 3-ring albums are officially my favorite. I just completed replacing ALL my old, mismatched album with the black Noteworthy albums. This new brown one with the beautifully embossed vines and leaves sure is stunning!

3) Fancy Pants
A consistent favorite of mine, Fancy Pants held it's place in my heart with their All Fall collection. Beautiful paper designs, rich colors and their signature high-quality embellishments to match!

4) Crate Paper

As much as I love the vivid colors of FP's All Fall Collection, there is certainly something about the subdued colors of this sweet Lemon Grass collection that is very appealing.

5) American Crafts
These thickers are not only orange which is the perfect fall color, but they are also fabric so they add the ideal texture for your fall layouts.

READER RESPONSE:
What are your favorite fall products on the market right now?

:LIFE: We're just doing what we do...

It occurred to me recently that I've hardly posted a thing as to what we've been up to lately in the Paulson household...not that many of you are probably all that interested, but all the same, here's some random stuff that we've been up to.

**My husband and I both voted for the very first time today! I am pretty excited about this (and kind of shocked that I'm so excited about this). I've never really cared about politics before. Early on because I didn't know or want to know much about it. More recently because I was fed up with those in charge and the things that were happening. I can't wait to watch all the coverage tonight and am praying that adult America will choose as wisely as Kaitlin's Kindergarten class did in their mock election yesterday. (Obama won by a landslide with only two of her classmates voting for McCain...way to go, kids!!)

**Justin has been cutting, cutting, cutting. We have been blessed with some beautiful fall weather here and he has been taking full advantage to help get his parents set up with wood for the winter as well as enough to heat our garage and probably some to sell as well. Quite the little lumberjack he's been lately...haven't seen much of him at all, but at least he won't have to go out when the weather's not so wonderful...and I think that's coming soon (like this weekend!).

**We had Kaitlin's Kindergarten Parent-Teacher Conference last Thursday. Academically she's doing wonderful - at or above all the standards discussed by her teacher. This is wonderful and we are quite proud of her, of course. Her issue, however, seems to be that she's quite the little talker (no surprise here) and it's affecting her ability to work with others and follow instructions basically because she doesn't HEAR the instructions because she's always talking! :-) As a parent, how do we help to curb this when we're obviously not there?? Any suggestions??

**It was also our 9th wedding anniversary last Thursday...we didn't really do anything special because we were too busy with PTC's, attending a Halloween party for the community at the College and carving pumpkins. It was a full evening.

**Halloween was a success...

**It was Justin's 33rd birthday on Saturday. Again, nothing special. He was cutting wood all day and I cleaned all day...exciting stuff, I tell you!

**I have this coming Monday and Tuesday off and since I cleaned and did laundry for most of this weekend, I'm hoping to make this long weekend into a scrapbooking marathon of sorts! Have tons of pictures to scrap and more to order. After of few months a hardly even touching my supplies, I'm ready to get back in the groove!!

:REVIEW & GIVEAWAY: Get it Scrapped: Organize, Visualize, Create by Debbie Hodge

UPDATE: The lucky winner has been announced! Check it out here.

Get It Scrapped!: Organize, Visualize, Create by Debbie Hodge is a book that addresses the issue of how to create a effective system for organizing your photos and how to analyze the photos to determine how to create memorable layouts.

Debbie Hodge is a regular contributor to Memory Makers Magazine, but has also had work featured in Scrapbooks Etc, Creating Keepsakes, Simple Scrapbooks, Scrapbook Trends and several idea books.

For this book, she included to work of three other very talented scrapbook artist including Kim Kesti, Betsy Veldman and Sharyn Tormanen.

The book includes seven chapters:

Chapter 1 - Get Organized
This chapter includes great tips for storing and organizing your photos - either digitally or in print form - which is the key ti being an efficient scrapper.

Chapter 2 - Get Events Scrapped
Obviously, this chapter focuses on the big events of life like birthdays, holidays, weddings, etc. which generally get the most attention from the average scrapper. The chapter also has some wonderful tip for constructing layouts based on the number of photos you wish to scrap - 1, 2, several or many.

Chapter 3 - Get Everyday Life Scrapped
Everyday life scrapping can be a challenge for some and in this chapter Hodge offers advice on how to organize your these types of photos - especially those that don't lend themselves to chronological order - so that you can more easily find themes to build layout on.

Chapter 4 - Get Collections Scrapped
In one way or another, collections are a part of every one's life. Tips are offered for collecting photos for these types of layouts as they are often related photos taken at different times. They can be literal collections (such as shoes, dolls, model cars, etc.) or figurative collections (such as a grouping of photos taken of a particular person or group of people taken over time).

Chapter 5 - Get Moments Scrapped
Perhaps one of my favorite things to scrap, Debbie describes the 'moments' as being able to identify your 'stunners' or best photos and using them to visually express your deepest sentiments through your layouts.

Chapter 6 - Get Yourself Scrapped
Perhaps the hardest one for me (as well as many other scrappers, I'm sure) to achieve, Debbie offers ideas for themes to cover that will record the essence of you and that your loved ones will cherish.

Chapter 7 - Get Your World Scrapped
Again, Debbie offers easy way to approach the task of recording your world and documenting the significance of the things, people and events that shape your life and those of your loved ones.

Within the book, there is a one-page spotlight on each of the contributors that addresses how they handle the task highlighted in the chapter in which their spotlight appears.

If you like the book and want even more, Debbie also has a website where she offers online classes based on the topics of the book as well as others. The current offerings include Art Journaling 101, Scrap Your Travel & Vacation, and Sweet Treats Fall.

MY RATING:
5 STARS!!

YOUR RATING:
??? I am always curious and open to hearing the opinions of others. If you own or have read this book, please feel free to share your opinion of it in the comments below.

WANT TO READ MORE OR PURCHASE?
Visit the Get It Scrapped!: Organize, Visualize, Create page at Amazon.com. You can also read more of my reviews for other recommendations.

GIVEAWAY:
Another giveaway for you ladies!! Simply leave your FULL NAME AND EMAIL in a comment to this post by Wednesday, November 5th, 11:59 PM (CST) in order to be considered to win a FREE copy of Get It Scrapped! I will announce and contact the random winner via email on Thursday.

Upcoming Review:
Capture the Portrait: How to Create Great Digital Photos

by Jenni Bidner