Pre-made Layouts by Distinctive Moments

Save time by purchasing Pre-made Page Layouts.

We offer generic and theme specific layouts. A personalized title may be added to the generic layouts at no extra cost.

The following sizes are available 8” x 8”, 81/2” x 11”, and 12” x 12”.

Buy one layout and get one half off when you purchase your pre-made layouts by August 22.

Five Money Savers

Below you’ll read about five money savers. Try one, some, or all and continue to use the savers that work best for you.

Use Your Scraps It is very rare for me to use all the products I purchase for my various products. I may only use half a piece of pattern paper or a foot of a yard of the ribbon I purchased. This process leaves me with tons of scraps (cardstock, paper, embellishments, ribbon etc.) at my disposal. All of the scraps that I save are futile unless I make use of them. The key to saving scraps is remembering that you have them and using them. I recommend coming up with a storage system that will encourage you to use your scraps often.

Make More Than One Card Often I make a card for a specific person or event. Usually if I’m making just one card I’ll have products leftover. Similar to using leftover scrapbook products when I scrapbook, I make several cards at the same time using the leftover products. This process actually saves money and time.

Cut Back on Embellishments I know embellishments add a lot to your layouts and cards but when you are using a lot of them they become quite expensive. A lot of times your embellishments are the bulk of your project cost. So I try to incorporate more generic (colored, non seasonal) embellishments in my projects. The generic embellishments can be used numerous project not just one. I still use seasonal embellishments, just not as frequently.

Scrap Out of Season Just like shopping for clothing, you can find some great deals when you purchase scrapbook products out of season. Usually the prices of seasonal products will be reduced shortly after the season (holiday, event, etc.) has past. This shouldn’t pose a problem for scrapbooking but it may for card making if you were planning to make cards in season. Many times I make cards for the next season with the reduced scrapbooking products I purchase. You can also just save the products for the next season. To save or use the scrapbook products is totally up to you.

Share Tools I know when you read the latest Creating Keepsakes or see a product demonstration at your local scrapbook store you just have to have the NEW tool that you saw. Let’s face it; many of the latest and greatest tools are not needed to fulfill the majority of your scrapbooking needs. A lot of times it’s not cost effective to purchase a tool that you are only going to use for a small percentage of your projects. A solution to this dilemma is sharing your tools. Get together with a friend or two that you normally scrapbook with and purchase the tool together. You could use the tool at your scrapbooking sessions and/or work out a usage schedule. This option would get you the NEW tool but not hurt your checking account as bad.

Journaling Tip ~ Document events soon after they occur

Often I don’t get a chance to scrapbook events immediately after they happen. Sometimes it can take me up to a year to scrapbook an event. So, to make sure I remember all the details of the event, I document the event in my journal as soon as possible. Sometimes, I include a layout sketch also. So now I can scrapbook the concert I went to in January 2006 without out a problem.

Journaling ~ The Basics ~ Part 1

Journaling is the most important aspect of scrapbooking. It separates a scrapbook from a photo album. By journaling in your scrapbook you are able to complete the story that your photos and memorabilia started. One is able to relay their thoughts and feelings through journaling.

When journaling, the basics (Who, What, When, Where, & Why) at the very least should be included. Basic journaling can often be captured with a Title and Captions.

Many scrapbookers tell detailed stories. This is a perfect way to encompass all the details of the event. But if the details and or space are limited, one can use bullet points, poetry, interviews, and hidden journaling to relay their thoughts and feelings.

Journaling can be handwritten, computer generated, or a combination. Although computer generated journaling may be neat in appearance, handwritten journaling adds a touch of the scrapbooker. Believe or not, future generations will treasure your handwriting. I recommend a combination of handwritten and computer generated journaling.

Finally, keeping some form of a journal is beneficial. One can easily record the details of various events and activities for future reference. A calendar, notepad, note cards, journal, or etc. could be used.

Hopefully this overview will get your journaling started on the right track. Be sure to stay tuned for future articles discussing this topic in greater detail.

How to Resize Digital Photographs

In this post you’ll find some information I found on scaling digital photos.

How to Upsize Your Digital Photos Without Sacrificing Quality
In this article you’ll learn how to upsize your digital photos. This article talks a lot about resolution. Here is a tip to remember: use 300 dpi. You’ll learn more about this in the article.

Here is some information I gathered from my Google Search.

How to Resize Your Images - Smarter Ways
This article discusses digital cameras, online photo resizers, and software programs used to resize your photos.

How to Resize Photos for E-mail or Web: A Step-by-Step Tutorial
This is a step by step tutorial for resizing your photos in Photoshop Elements (PSE). It includes screen shots of PSE.

How-to: Resizing photos the easy way
This is a Youtube video that shows you how to resize a photo with an online photo resizer (webresizer.com) and a free photo resizer program (GIMP).

What program do you use to resize your photos?

PD4U Etsy Promotion

Distinctive Moments belongs to Paper Designs for You (PD4U), an Etsy Team. Staring tomorrow, September 19, 2008 we are having a promotion bag giveaway.

There will be two FREE promotion bags available sometime between Septmber 19 - October 24, 2008 in Distinctive Moments Etsy Shop. Thirteen other PD4U shops are also participating. Click here for more information on the promotion.

We have included bookmarks in the promotional bags. Below you’ll find sneak peek of our bookmarks.

Scrapbook Kits… another way to scrap

If you are looking to save time and some gas money, you should definitely consider purchasing scrapbook kits. Most of the kits include numerous papers and embellishments to complete several projects and layouts (save time by not having to coordinate your supplies and save gas by not having to drive all over town to coordinating elements.) Many of the kits also include instructions sheets for various projects. You can buy the kits as you need them or sign up for a subscription.

Some kit clubs are technique based. Each month you will learn a new technique. This would be great for scrapers who want to learn more about scrapbooking. Distinctive Moments will be offering a technique based Scrapaholix Club this Fall in Columbus, OH. Stay tuned for more information.


Below are a few Kit Clubs:

Lickety Split Scrapbooks
Lickety Split Scrapbooks offers both page kits and board book kits.

Memory Workshop
These kits are designed to make 6+ 12x12 pages. Memeory Workshop is a Canadian based business.

Serendipity Scrapbooks
Each month Serendipity Scrapbooks offers at least 3 types of kits to choose from.


So if you haven’t tried scrapbooking with a kit, why not try it today. If you have used kits in the past, what are some of you favorites?

Paper Bag Albums

Would you believe before I read How to Make a Paper Bag Scrapbook by Angela Vader, I had never made a paper bag album. My scrapbooking friends where shocked.

So take a look at my first paper bag album. I plan to use the album as an overview of my summer.

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Tips:

· I used four (4) paper bags. Five (5) paper bags were to bulky for me.
· I used a Crop-A-Dile to punch my binding holes.
· I used three (3) large eyelets (3/16") to bind my album. I tried the 1/8” eyelets but they couldn’t bind all the paper bags. You could also use small jump rings or ribbon.
· I designed my pages before I attached them to the album. (So the eyelets wouldn’t show though the bag.)
· I stamped journaling blocks to use for my journaling.
· I added cards with tabs for extra photos and journaling.

What are your favorite adhesives?

Here is a list of my favorite adhesives. I find myself using these the most of the adhesives I have.

1. Scotch ATG Gold Transfer Tape by 3M (Used with the Scotch ATG714 Adhesive Applicator). Great for large projects. One roll lasts an extremely long time.

2. Dot 'N' Roller Permanent by Kokuyo. This is great everyday adhesive. It’s easy to apply and refill.

3. Tape 'N' Roller Plus Permanent by Kokuyo. When I prefer a tape adhesive I often use this adhesive. It is extremely easy to refill.

4. 3-D Zots by Thermoweb. I when I need to add dimension to my cards I use Zots. Be careful when applying them, one of my customers calls them evil because she always gets her fingers stuck when using them.

5. Glue Dots 3/16" Mini Dots by Glue Dots. Great for adhering embellishments.

6. Scotch Quick Dry Tacky Adhesive by 3M. Great for adhering embellishments.

7. Art Accentz Terrifically Tacky Tape by Provo Craft. I often use this adhesive when adhering ribbon and chipboard to my altered items. This is an extremely strong tape. I even used it to adhere a photo frame to the front of a scrapbook album.

8. Adhesive Pick-Up by Thermoweb. I use the pick-up to remove any excess adhesive.

What are your favorite adhesives?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I've also included a link to an article about vavious adhesives. Read it to learn a little more about scrapbooking adhesives.

Scrapbooking Adhesives - Stick To The Basics
By Christine Perry

Create Packages are now offered at our dM Crops

New to paper crafting, our Create Packages will be a perfect treat for you during our dM Crops. Our Create Packages allow you attend a dM Crop with no supplies (none at all) and walk out with a finished product. These packages will also be great for the veteran scrapbooker at the crop who wants to take a break form their current projects, try a different technique, and/or test different products and tools.

Below are descriptions of our dM Crop Create Packages:


Create a Card ~ Cost: $5
Includes materials to make four (4) cards: cardstock, pattern paper, embellishments, adhesive, and envelopes.

Pick:
Patterned paper scraps
Two (2) pieces of 8 ½ “ x 11” cardstock
Embellishments ($2 credit)

Included:
Envelopes
Adhesives
Tool Station
Stamping Station


Create a Layout ~ Cost: $5
Includes materials to make one (1) layout: cardstock, pattern paper, embellishments, adhesive, and dM photo development.

Pick:
Patterned paper scraps
Two (2) pieces of 12” x 12” cardstock
Embellishments ($2 credit)

Included:
dM photo development (3- 4” x 6” photos)
Adhesives
Tool Station
Stamping Station


Create a Gift ~ Cost: Varies
Includes materials to make one (1) altered item: cardstock, pattern paper, embellishments, and adhesive.

Pick:
Patterned paper and or cardstock scraps
Embellishments

Included:
Item to Alter
dM photo development (if applicable)
Adhesives
Tool Station
Stamping Station

Our next Crop will be held May 17, 2008.

How Can I Get More Pictures Per Page?

Below is a link to an article about placing more photographs on your scrapbook page.

How Can I Get More Pictures Per Page? By Ms. Demi


Many of the albums I design for my clients and my personal albums include numerous photos per layout. I continue to look for ways to maximize my layout space.

Something that works well for me is printing 2” x 3” and 3” x 4” (from a 4” x 6” photo collage) photos to use in my layouts. These sizes are small enough to add several photos to the layout and still have room for your journaling and title.


What tips do you have for adding more pictures per page?

March Distinctive Moments Crop

Distinctive Moments Crops
…scrap, shop & more

March 15, 2008
5pm to 11pm
Cost: $5.00

Only eight (8) spaces are available for the Crop. When you pre-register for the Crop by March 7, 2008, you will be entered into the drawing for the Mystery Hostess. You will also receive a FREE Handmade Card the day of the Crop.

Bring a friend and your next dM Crop is FREE. If you bring a guest who has never attended a dM Crop, you’ll receive a voucher for a Free Crop.


The following is provided:
Scrap
Workspace
Idea Station – magazines, samples & more
Stamping Station - stamps, ink, embossing powder, heat gun, & more
Tool Station – cutters, eyelet setters, punches & more
A Make & Take – This months make & take is a Thank You card

Shop
Shopping in the dM Store
Mystery Hostess (20% Off purchases during the crop)
Crop Specials

& More
Beverages and light snacks (Bring a dish to share for the potluck dinner)
Door prize


Email workshops@distinctivemoments.com or call 618.257.8922 to register for this dM Crop or for more information. dM Crop information can also be found at www.distinctivemoments.com.

Tips for Scrapbooking Birth Certificates

Do you what to add your little one’s birth certificate to his or her scrapbook, but don’t know the best way? Read Some Tips for Scrapbooking Birth Certificates by Christine Perry. You’ll find some great tips in this article.

I personally make copies of any important documents and include them in my scrapbooks. It depends on your personal preference.

Hand Drawn Journaling Panels by Katie Pertiet

Offered in our Etsy Shop is a set of Hand Drawn Journaling Panels by Katie Pertiet from Autom Leaves.






Price $10.99 (Retail Price $ 14.99)

These stamps are great additions to your scrapbook pages. I use them as journaling place holders.


We also have other supplies offered in our Supplies Section.

February dM Crop

Distinctive Moments Crops
…scrap, shop & more

February 16, 2008

5pm to 11pm
Cost: $5.00

The next dM Crop will be held February 16, 2008. Spaces are limited so be sure to reserve your space as soon as possible.

Although the Crop is scheduled for six (6) hours, you do not have to be present the entire time to reap the benefits of the crop. See you in February.

Click here for more information

As an added bonus this month, the 1st person to sign up for the February dM Crop will receive a FREE Scrapaholic Journaling Kit.

Email workshops@distinctivemoments.com or call 618.257.8922 to register for this dM Crop.

A Guide To Scrapbooking and Card Making Terms

If you want to learn or just brush up on Scrapbooking amd Card Making terms, you should definitely read this article. This article covers many items from Acetate to Scoring.

Read A Beginners Guide To Card Making Terms by Vicki Churchill to learn more.

Open House Make and Takes

Below are the Make & Takes you will make at Distinctive Moments 1st Annual Winter OPEN HOUSE! There will also be a Stampin’ Up representative present to offer free Make & Takes. We will also have attendance prizes, goodie bags, and refreshments.

The Open House will be held Saturday, January 19, 2008 1PM to 5PM

Email us at info@distinctivemoments.com for the location and directions.

Visit our website for more information on our Winter Open House.

Thank You Card

Scrapbook Page 6x6

Scrapbook Page 6x6

Scrapbook Page 6x6

December 07 dM Crop

Distinctive Moments Crops
...scrap, shop & more

December 15, 2007

5pm to 11pm
Cost: $5.00

Mark your calendar, the next dM Crop will be held December 15, 2007. This Crop is being held at the regularly scheduled time. Spaces are limited so be sure to reserve your space as soon as possible.

Although the Crop is scheduled for six (6) hours, you do not have to be present the entire time to reap the benefits of the crop. See you in December.

Click below to view the
December dM Crop Flyer with Specials

As an added bonus this month, the 1st person to sign up for the December Crop will receive a FREE Chipboard Kit.


Email workshops@distinctivemoments.com or call 618.257.8922 to register for this Crop.

Simply Scrapbooking – Choosing products for your scrapbook.

This year I began using a simplified color scheme in most of the scrapbooks I design for others and myself.

Here is my formula:
· 3 to 5 solid cardstocks
· 1 to 4 pattern papers
· 1 to 3 types of embellishments or techniques

By limiting the supplies you have to choose from, you can focus more of your time on designing your layout and completing your journaling. Using this formula, I now finish layouts at a faster rate. When supplies are limited to a few sheets of coordinating paper and embellishments your scrapbook tends to have a more uniform feel. This formula is perfect for themed books.

Currently, I arrange my paper choices in two formats: classic and fun. When using the classic format the same color cardstock is used as the background for all of the layouts. With this format the viewer knows what to expect each time the page is turned. Having this expectation the viewer can focus more on the photographs, memorabilia and journaling. The cardstock backgrounds are alternated from layout to layout using the fun format. This format tends to give the viewer a “surprise” each time a page is turned. The viewer would have to evaluate the whole layout because each layout seems different from the last.

Now you no longer have to worry about which shade of pink matches your shirt. :) And you can get a few more pages done.

This article is from the Distinctive Moments Summer 2007 Newsletter. Be sure join our mailing list so you can receive the dM News and other promotions in your email box.