Trying Out Ahni & Zoe Albums

Letting go of the traditional scrapbooking method of starting with a blank page has been difficult for me, as I've been making albums since my sophomore year of high school.  So I was a little nervous when I tackled my first Ahni & Zoe Fast2Fab album last month. However, I resolved to fully embrace the new method of completing albums...

Once I opened my "Tangerine, Plum, and Then Some" album, I realized that pre-printed pages help immensely with the design process. It was nice to already have the basic layout done. After I completed a few pages, I was addicted... 

Sample page from a A&Z "Fast2Fab" album.
Looks pretty simple, right?

What a difference a few pictures makes!
I even went "outside the lines" on the bottom with two photos...
Gotta love that you can still add a little creative touch to these pages.

Along with Fast2Fab albums, Ahni & Zoe has also developed a new "Slide-In" album (similar to CM's "PicFolio albums).  Pocket pages come in vertical and horizontal packs, and just like the name implies, photos simply slide in the pockets... no adhesive required!  One of our workshop participants decided to showcase her pictures in a Slide-In album, complemented nicely with "Tangerine, Plum, and Then Some" slide-in packs. These double-sided 4x6 fillers are the perfect way to finish a page!

The simplicity (and joy) of completed album pages!

Hope this post inspires you to think about what photos you have that can now make their way into albums... I'm definitely excited to finish my Fast2Fab album, and I already have plans to begin a Slide-In album.  Stay tuned for updates!

A Retirement Party Album

Last year, I helped my good friend and her family celebrate her father's retirement by designing the invitation, journal cards, and favor labels.  I was also asked to complete an album, incorporating pictures from the party as well as the journal cards that guests filled out.  Although it has taken me a year to tackle this project (my album making skills are a little rusty), once I started, I was able to complete it within a week!


So most of my projects start off like this...

Thankfully, pages always seem to come together with a little inspriation.

 

I finally incorporated slide loading pages and CD pocket into an album... fun!


Putting together this album realized how much I miss this... Looking forward to my next album project!  What will it be?  Not sure, but I'm excited to use the new Fast to Fabulous albums to keep the process simple and fast!  

Awesome Album Sale

It's back!  Creative Memories is kicking off 2013 with another album sale. From now until January 21, save 20% on traditional albums and pages, PicFolios, Quick Albums, and hardcover Storybooks (or product credits).  And if you place an order before January 8, you'll save 30%. This will be the best sale of 2013, so take advantage of it now!

Just Can't Wait Sale

This is the year for sales from Creative Memories!  From June 12-25, enjoy 25% off the following products:

• Albums
• Quick Albums
• PicFolio® Albums
• Hardcover StoryBooks
• Hardcover Personalized StoryBooks and product credits
• You Create It Custom Albums and product credits
• StoryBook options for additional pages and lay-flat pages

Summer is the perfect time to get started on your next project! Yay!

The Great Journaling Adventure

Yes, it's the dreaded j-word in scrapbooking... journaling.  It tends to strike fear in those new to the craft, but journaling is the most important part of album making.  I, of course, love to put it off until the bitter end.  This can be a little challenging when you're working with pictures from 8 year ago... Such was the case I as I began my great journaling adventure, chronicling my year in Japan: Part I in a massive 12x12 album.

To help with motivation and to get me psyched for the task ahead, I treated myself to the new dual tip CM pens. I love the fresh new colors and the stylish case!

One of the challenges of journaling is that it can be a long process... It takes me time to not only remember and compose the basic facts from my pictures, but I also like to add interesting tidbits and fun facts.  My memory doesn't always serve me correctly, so I am constantly looking up places and people to ensure correct spelling.  My workspace will often look something like this...

A little scary, huh?  I can assure you that the finished product is always worth the effort!  Here are some of my completed pages from this album.

For most of my pages, I don't caption/journal for each photo.  I've been finding that it's faster to write a summary on a Storybox journaling box, one of the most practical items that CM makes!  So here's a peek of a journaling box up close from my "SEL HI English Camp" page...   

Hope this inspires you to start working on all of your journaling projects!  My favorite part of the album making process is slipping on the page protector after all the writing is done... Who doesn't love a finished page?  Now it's on to Japan: Part II...  

Recipe Album Workshop

It was a crafty Thanksgiving weekend, as I continued to put the finishing touches on more craft fair items (more details in my next post).  Just wanted to update you on the details of our next workshop...

What: Recipe Album Workshop, featuring your recipes!

When: Sunday, December 11 from 1 to 4 pm

Where: Nishida Residence in Aiea

Cost: $30 (includes 4x6 PicFolio album)

How you can participate: Email me two (2) recipes from two different categories: main dish, salad/vegetables/sides, desserts, or miscellaneous. On the day of the workshop, we'll have one of your recipes printed out for you on a pre-made digital card and the other recipe will be typed up, ready for you to decorate. There will tons of paper and tools for you to choose from to create your design. You'll duplicate your design as many times as there are participants, and then we'll swap at the end. We are hoping create a book with 24 different recipes, mixing both digital and traditional scrapbooking!

RSVP: email me two recipes by Friday, December 2

Click here to get a peek at the Nancy O'Dell Recipe artwork.  Love the bold, contemporary color palette and the cute kitchen/cooking embellishements!

Finishing Up Projects

Whoa!  It's been another long break from bloggin'.  August and September were busy months at KCS, but I managed to finish two main projects.  Jodi's Bridal Shower album was completed thanks to the quick and easy 8x8 I Thee Wed Kit.  Sorry, no pictures because they were accidently erased from my camera.  Bummer!

Nikki's Graduation Album was my next big project, as I compiled nearly 50 or so messages (thank you Storybox journal boxes!) with pictures from her grad party.  This would celebrate her high school graduation and send her off to college with well wishes from all her friends and family... my favorite type of album to put together!  I kept it simple by using the primary colors of the Cheerful Power Palette.

Here's the setup at Nikki's grad party.

Gotta always have directions!

Sometimes the hardest part about these projects is getting people to participate. 
Kids are usually up for the challenge tho'.

Once I got all the pictures from Nikki's family, it was a bit of a puzzle to pull together colors and match picture to message into a cohesive layout.

But the end product is always rewarding.  Congratulations, Nikki!