Balzer Designs

Day 25: What's your favorite Christmas memory?

Hybrid layout here. I'm having a lot of fun with these lately!

Merry Christmas!

Day 24: Do you leave cookies and milk for Santa?

I kind of threw a whole lot of stuff together for this one. I'm experimenting with layering and using up all these fabulous things I have hoarded over the years. I realize it's super busy, but it was definitely fun to make! (The black border is for viewing only.)

On a side note, this is my blogging anniversary. One year ago today, I started this blog! I can hardly believe that it has only/already been a year! I think I'm going to order a Blog Book. There is this site called, Blurb, which is a self-publishing site, but it has this cool thing where it will automatically slurp your blog and plonk it into a book. So, you can have a real life copy of all your ramblings and photos and such. It sounds really awesome and the prices seem reasonable. So, I might try it. One year in my life and such.

Thanks for stopping by!

Day 23: Do You Bake Christmas Cookies?

This was a very fun layout to make. I just used what was sitting on my desk! Lots of doodling too!

So, over at Craft Critique, I was asked to list five blogs that people should be introduced to for inspiration. Here is the list:

The Effer Dares
The effer girls have a fresh, funky scrapbooking style and the journaling and subjects are always super real. Past challenges have included everything from, "Naughty Girls Need _____ Too" to"Create a layout using office supplies." Look for lots of freestyle fun and new challenges every other week!

Creativity{unbound}
Such a fantastic blog! It's full of reviews, ideas, and instructions. The blog has five creative girls who each post at least once a week, so there's always lots to see! The two most recent posts are a review of "Scrapbook Play" and a piece of metal art posted as inspiration.

The Quilting Arts Magazine Blog
This is a relatively new read for me. I enjoy getting a bit of a backstage peek into the magazine. There are giveaways and sneak peeks into both Quilting Arts and Cloth Paper Scissors as well as calls for publication. Tons of eye candy too! You don't need to be a sewing enthusiast to enjoy this blog!

Multi Photo Scrapbooking Blog
I'm a big fan of eye candy and this blog showcases layouts featuring more than three photos. Tenika, the woman who runs the blog, showcases a wide range of styles and so you're sure to find something to suit your fancy!

Scrapbook Dimensions - The Scrapbook Dimensions blog is fantastic! If you're at all interested in hybrid scrapbooking, you must visit this site! There are easy to follow tutorials (even for newbies), organization tips, and lots of pictures. A word of warning, this blog is formatted slightly differently from the blogger and typepad blogs we're used to, but it's easy to figure out. And well worth it too!

Thanks for stopping by!

Ten Tempting Treats and Day 22

Just a few days before Christmas and if you haven't already bought your Christmas gifts, here are ten tempting treats I wrote about for Craft Critique...

ON MY WISH LIST

1. Color Laser Printer

I don't have any particular brand in mind. But, I would love to have a color laser printer! Not only because it's more economical in the long run (especially now that I've gotten into hybrid scrapbooking), but because there are so many crafty things (like image transfers) that require toner based prints. I did a quick google search so that I could get you a price and I found that the HP Color Laser Jet 2600n was rated the best of the budget laser printers at a cost of only $399. Other laser printers go for $600-$1600.

2. 7gypsies ATC Holder

I am still kicking myself for not buying this when I saw it. I thought, "I don't need this. Walk away. Walk away." And, I did! Amazing willpower, but several months later, I'm still longing for it! If you see one, spend the $29.99 and have yourself some fun! When I find one, I'm going to buy it and make a card every week for a year! At the end of the year, I'll have a fabulous collection of art!

3. Subscription to Cloth Paper Scissors!

I keep buying it at the bookstore. I can't stay away. This magazine blends sewing and quilting and scrapbooking and altered arts! It's the coolest magazine ever! For $32.95 you get a one-year subscription (6 issues) delivered to your door!

4. Zoom Lens for my Canon Digital Rebel

I want a zoom lens so that I can take great photos from far away! I've poked around on the internet and I think that the one I want is the EF70-200mm f/4L IS USM Telephoto Zoom Lens. The European Imaging and Sound Association (EISA) named the EF70-200mm f/4L IS USM the "Best European Professional Lens of the Year 2007-2008." I can't find MSRP for it as it's not currently sold through the Canon website, but it seems to be selling for between $1000-$1200. (It is a wish list, right?) This lens has image stabilization, which is an amazing idea! You can take great action shots without a tripod!

5. Clip it Up!

I have been intrigued with the Clip it Up! since it came out. It just seems like the most genius system! Everything is out where you can see it and easy to grab! The thing that keeps me from buying is the size. I just don't know where I'd put it in my tiny room. But, people who have it, love it and say that it has revolutionized (pun intended) their scrapbooking! The top tier retails for $35. The base is $60.

I LOVE MY:

1. Wacom Tablet

I'm obsessed! It is too cool to be able to draw anything you want on the computer! And the control for photo editing is so much better than a mouse! (Or the scrolly pad that I have on this laptop!) It has changed my mind about digital and hybrid scrapbooking. With a Wacom tablet you can make scrapbook pages full of handwriting and doodling and homemade goodness! Buy one for $329! Wacom has also come out with a slightly lower-tech tablet called, Bamboo, which you can get for the amazing price of $79!

2. Curvy Cutter by EK Success

This is the best circle cutter I have every used! And I love that you can get a true 12x12 circle (by using the outside of the template). It's easy to use and the blade stays sharp forever. You can buy the circle templates for $17.99 and the cutting tool for $14.99. It has to be used with a glass mat, which you can either buy or do what I do: use the glass from a picture frame!

3. Angelina Film Sampler

This is a relatively new product by Textiva. Their website doesn't have almost anything on it, but you can buy a sampler pack (like the one shown) for about $7 at other sites. It is really, really cool stuff! First of all, it bonds to itself. So can create pockets - place anything: glitter, confetti, photos, etc. between two sheets and iron. Also, it will mold to the shape of whatever it is on when ironed -- so if you put a rubber stamp under it -- the impression will stay! Way cool! Definitely the most magical $7 you'll ever spend!

4. Epson Expression 10000XL

This is an amazing scanner! Totally overpriced at $2500, but it scans my 12x12 lumpy, bumpy layouts in one swoop and the color is spot on! I love it! It has saved me so many times! It also scans negatives and all sorts of other stuff! The quality is excellent for scanning film photos too!

5. ATG by 3M

I absolutely refused to consider this HUGE adhesive gun for the longest time. But, now that I have one, I can safely say that I'm never going back. It's super economical and the adhesive sticks like nothing I've every experienced before. I highly recommend it! Be warned: one type of the tape is acid-free and the other is not. Be sure to buy the acid free kind! It's listed as $49.95, but I found it here for $36.62.

And, here is today's layout for my 25 Days Until Christmas Album (What's the most important thing that you must do each Christmas season?):

Off topic, There's a nice little RAK going on at this blog.  Leave a comment on her blog to win!

And, a discount code for Just Let Me Scrapbook: Sensational 30% Off Sale! Stock up for after Christmas! Use the code CMAS30 for a 30% discount through Monday, Dec. 24! Be sure to tell them Julie sent you!

Thanks for stopping by!

Three

Three things to share today:

1. December 21st layout for my "25 Days Until Christmas" album.

Do you have a family get-together during the holidays with extended family?

2. I'm planning on doing the 365 day photo challenge in 2008.

I'm always complaining that I don't have any photos.  Well, this should fix that.  The assignment is to take one photo every day for a year.

From Photojojo:

People will often say that their whole lives flashed before their eyes after they experienced a traumatic event. Perhaps it’s a bit morbid, but we think that sounds pretty incredible.

When Taylor McKnight started taking a photo a day on January 1st, 2004, he never imagined the project would not only serve as a way to remember a year, but also help him understand what was important to him in his life.

Whether it was his relationships, his career, or his fashion sense, recording a photo a day for a whole year left him with a rich visual history of his life. And it made him a better photographer to boot!

Now that he’s in the middle of doing it for a second time, we asked Taylor to write about it for us. Read on for our tutorial on how and why to create your own daily photographic history.

Why do it?

Taking a photo a day is a big undertaking with big payoffs. Here are just a few reasons why you should consider doing it:

• Imagine being able to look back at any day of your year and recall what you did, who you met, what you learned… (Often we find it hard to remember what we did just yesterday or even last night, let alone a whole year ago!)
• Your year-long photo album will be an amazing way to document your travels and accomplishments, your haircuts and relationships. Time moves surprisingly fast.
• Taking a photo a day will make you a better photographer. Using your camera every day will help you learn its limits. You will get better at composing your shots, you’ll start to care about lighting, and you’ll become more creative with your photography when you’re forced to come up with something new every single day.

Tips on How to Do It

Here are six tips on how to create your own Project 365:

1. Bring Your Camera Everywhere
   Yes, everywhere. Get in the habit. Grocery stores, restaurants, parties, work, and school. Going to a movie theatre? Snap a pic of the flick with your phone–there are photo-ops everywhere. If you have one of those tiny tiny cameras, you have no excuse not to have it in your pocket all the time. And if you don’t? Camera phones are a great substitute.
2. Make Posting Easy
   You can install blog software like Movable Type or Wordpress on your own site and create an entry for each photo, but for true ease of use, try a photo sharing site. Flickr will let you post a week’s worth of photos in 2 minutes flat, and fotolog and Photoblog.com are geared toward a photo-a-day workflow. Making it fast and easy means you’re much more likely to do it.
3. Vary Your Themes
   Try to capture the day’s events in a single photo. Perform photographic experiments. Take a photo of someone new you meet, something you ate for the first time, or something you just learned how to do. Take a photo of something that made you smile. And don’t forget to take a photo of yourself at least once a month so you can remember how you’ve changed, too.
4. Tell a Story
   Use your blog entry, or your photo description, to explain what’s going on in each day’s photograph. How good did that dinner taste? What made you want to take a photo of that stranger? It’ll help you remember down the road, and it gives friends following along a better appreciation of why you took the photo you did. You don’t need to write a lot, just enough to add some color.
5. Don’t Stop, No Matter What
   This is perhaps the most important tip of all. You will get tired of taking a photo every single day. Some days, you will consider giving up. Don’t. The end result is worth the effort. Remind yourself why you wanted to do it in first place.

   There will be times you’ll think there’s nothing interesting left to take a photo of, and times you’ll think you didn’t do anything exciting enough to take a photo of. There’s always a great photo to be made.

   Get out of the house and take a walk. Or stay inside and look around. Take a photo of something important to you. Take a photo of the inside of your house so you can see how your taste has changed over the years. Take a photo of anything, just don’t stop.

   N.B. It helps if you’ve told your friends about the project and asked them to follow along. Their encouragement will keep you going!

6. Post early, post often
   Plan on going through and posting your photos at least once a week so you don’t get backlogged and feel overwhelmed. Ideally, post every day or two. Again, spend the time up front to make sure it’s quick and easy to post. It’ll make all the difference.

I'm excited about this project! I'm going to do it a little bit differently then is suggested. I plan to print my photo each day and I've got an album ready and waiting with a tiny bit of scratch space to write any comments I want to. I also plan to post most of my photos to an album on this blog. I just don't have the brain power to run a separate photo blog, plus who knows, I may not want to share every single photo.

3. Class at Heart in Hands Scraps You can download instructions for this adorable mini (3" square) transparent album here. Thanks for stopping by!