I have been running, screaming from the thought of scrapping. I have always known, that like my passion for quilting, it would be an all-consuming obsession. But three weeks ago the occasion presented itself, like an unsolicited opportunity to drive in the Daytona 500, and it was time to strap in and pull the buckles tight.

My 17 year old son has achieved an outstanding accomplishment, and the only acknowledgment that will do is a memory book - one that will fill him with pride, and motivate him to stay the course and go on to even greater victories.

I needed to get up to speed - and FAST.

The first few layouts were easy. Flip through the photos from the last 15 months and select the best - the ones that highlight the special moments, the hard work, and the memorable activities. Add inspirational quotes that express the things we hope he has learned from and will remember, the lessons that will forever guide his future.

Then it happened. That one, single photo of a fun moment in time that was pure Thomas. And, nothing to go with it, the other shots stunk. I was stumped. Becca calls it Scraparalysis. I did what she advised. I simply took the big step and pushed through it. And, lickety-split, we have a winner! It is destined to become one of my favorites.

Click the "read more" link below to see how simple the digital technique was.

What do Magic Scraps, 7 gypsies, Goudy, Daisy D's, K and Co, Dannielle Johnson, Karen Russell, Creative Imaginations, Sweetwater, EK Success, Dibona and Artistic Expressions have in common? They have all produced fabulous clear plastic overlays for scrapbooking use.

Simple, fast, efficient, and awesome. Those are a few of the buzzwords in scrapbooking today. We want to use tools we have on hand and make fantastic pages. We want to speed up the pace a bit and still have a coordinated look to our albums.

Do you know you can get 12 photos on a 12x12 page? (See figure 1 above.) You can do it using the simple Coluzzle-brand cutting templates and swivel knife that you may already own!

Paint chips are all the new rage on the chats, layout sites and message boards. In some parts of the country, hardware stores are keeping them behind the counter now due to the scrapper's demand for them. It seems scrappers are depleting supplies for those who actually want paint chips for home repairs! Scrappers are using them on zippy personal layouts, greeting cards, colorful tag art, altered books and even on stunning page kits they sell on eBay!

Color My World With Love" layout by Rockester

Take a close look at these two pages. See something different? The added texture in the yellow 'Jen' title, the tag flower, and the oval windows on the 'John' page all have something in common. They are dimensional and they are made from scraps! I used a fill-in-behind-the-scenes type of technique to create them. This is similar to Iris folding in card making but there is NO FOLDING! Yeah! I love it when I can get the look of something complicated but streamline the work involved. Simpler and easier and faster is my motto! And this technique can be used for titles. tags, accents, borders or whatever your heart's delight. Let me show you how I created them. It is as easy as finding a cutout and snipping some scraps. For starters, you can practice on any outer negative from a die cut if you like.

Shake, Shake, SHAKE your B-----!!

Border that is! LOL And a word border to boot! Here is a new way to add journaling features to your page. Add words not only to the body of the page, but also to the triple level shaker box alongside it! Words do evoke moods. Let's use them to further the mood of the page and the message we want to project about that photo memory. Making a shaker box that includes more than just confetti, punchies or beads is a new technique. Better yet, I can use the concept over and over again with many assorted themes! Here is how I SHOOK up my pages and uniquely added some fall theme words to my page! It really brought the journaling message to life!! You can do it too with these step by step instructions.

Ever just get in a mood to use up your scraps and see what you can come up with? Well I did just that this week and boy do I love the results! I made TAGS! I love these accents and have used them before on layouts. This time, I wanted to incorporate several items that were lingering on my desk. Yes, I admit to having a sometimes messy SB desk! I had scraps of paper, stickers, snippets of fiber, and beads as well as some fancy paper clips and other doodads. These were leftovers from other projects. My paper scraps were not really big enough to save-- but too large to toss. If I could just think of something........AH HA! That is when I pulled out my ready made tags and my tag coluzzle and joined the TAG TEAM!

What better pastime than to scrapbook the summer hours away? Wouldn't you love to scrap and crop and paper piece summertime pages in a jiffy?

Here is a new way to use your hand lettering or computer fonts! This is a simple way to dress up some of those titles and fonts and give them a little sparkle. The procedure takes only about 5 to 10 minutes and it can help you create great page toppers or accent letters. I can't wait to share this simple technique with you!