Baby Ultrasound Journaling

By: Vera Raposo

The instructions read: “Drink 800 ounces of water, then wait 45 minutes and don’t use the bathroom prior to your scheduled ultrasound. You must have a full bladder.” Say what?! First the baby is already kicking your bladder, and then you’re supposed to drink, drink, drink and then hold it? That must be some kind of sick joke.

Unfortunately it’s no joke. Any woman who has endured an ultrasound will tell you that’s the real deal. Apparently your innards need to be extended in order for the sonographer to better view your unborn baby. Notwithstanding the first time you see your little miracle moving, sucking her (or his) thumb and sometimes waving, you will forget all about the fact that your teeth are floating.

In fact, what you will be feeling and thinking is an indescribable experience. As soon as you get home, you will want to journal as much as you can remember: What were you initial impressions? Was it what you thought it would be like? Did seeing your baby somehow make you love your child even more than you thought possible? Even though you knew you were going to be a mom, did seeing your baby on the screen solidify that fact? Did you find out the gender? Did baby cooperate? Or was junior shy?

You will be given a couple of different photos documenting your child’s first film appearance. Don’t let your baby’s first promo pictures end up in a drawer. Put them in your Ultrasound Scrapbook. Depending on an array of variables, you may have more then one set of ultrasound pictures to add to your scrap book. If you have your first set taken at week 21, and then another ultrasound done at week 38 you’ll have an excellent comparison to show how much your baby is developing. Years later your child will love looking at his skeleton.

Try to wait long enough to put your latest ultrasound pictures into a scrap book before you show off the most recent installment in your pregnancy saga. Your coworkers will be more apt to give your photos more than simple a cursory glance.

Even if you create journal entries and a scrap book merely for your own benefit, you will be glad you did. Most mothers will tell you that they had a touch of “pregnancy brain” (aka forgetfulness). You want to make sure you don’t omit any chapters in this beautiful journey.

Article Source: http://www.scrapventurearticles.com

Vera Raposo is the Scrapper’s Business Coach. Sign up for her personal mailing list at www.VeraRaposo.com and get tips and resources to help all of your scrap ventures succeed.

“The advent of scanners, desktop publishing, page layout programs, and advanced printing options make it relatively easy to create professional-looking layouts in digital form. The internet allows scrapbookers to self-publish their work. Scrapbooks that exist completely in digital image form are referred to as “digital scrapbooks” or “computer scrapbooks.”^[22]

While some people prefer the physicality of the actual artifacts they paste onto the pages of books, the digital scrapbooking hobby has grown in popularity in recent years.^[23] Some of the advantages include a greater diversity of materials, less environmental impact, cost savings, the ability to share finished pages more readily on the internet, and the use of image editing software to experiment with manipulating page elements in multiple ways without making permanent adjustments.^[24] A traditional scrapbook layout may employ a background paper with a torn edge. While a physical page can only be torn once and never restored, a digital paper can be torn and untorn with ease, allowing the scrapbooker to try out different looks without wasting supplies. When you create a digital layout, you do it in much the same way that you would a traditional layout, in that you layer papers and elements on top of one another. Some web-based digital scrapbooks include a variety of wallpapers and backgrounds to help the users create a rich visual experience. Each paper, photo, or embellishment exists on its own layer in your document, and you can reposition them at your discretion.^[25]

Furthermore, digital scrapbooking is not limited to digital storage and display. Many digital scrappers print their finished layouts to be stored in scrapbook albums. Others have books professionally printed in hard bound books to be saved as keepsakes. Professional printing- and binding-services offer free software to create scrapbooks with professional layouts and individual layout capabilities. Because of the integrated design and order workflow, real hardcover bound books can be produced more cost effectively.

Early digital scrapbooks were created from digital photos uploaded to an external site. Over time, this moved to a model of downloading software onto your personal computer that will organize photos and help create the digital scrapbook on your machine. With the growth of Web 2.0 functionality, digital scrapbooking is going back online, to avoid the hassles of having to download and install PC software. The availability of cheap online storage (e.g., on Amazon’s S3 service), and the desire to leverage pre-uploaded online albums (e.g., on Yahoo’s Flickr) make it more convenient for users to directly compose their digital scrapbooks online. Print on demand fulfillment enables such digital scrapbooks to effectively supplant traditional scrapbooks.

Digital scrapbooking has advanced to the point where digital scrapbook layouts may be made entirely online using Web-based software. Users upload their photos, create a digital scrapbook layout using a Web page and digital scrapbook graphics. The layout can then be downloaded as a low-resolution JPEG file for sharing on the Web or as a high-resolution JPEG file for printing.”

Informative huh?  This is a great resource for beginners and those tyring to figure out what this is all about. Thanks “Wiki”!

Last year our family tried out a new way to preserve Thanksgiving memories, and the result was truly a treasured keepsake.

A day or two before Thanksgiving, my daughter and I used a turkey rubber stamp to make place cards for all of our family members. We colored the place cards with colored pencils and wrote people’s names on them with a metallic gold pen.

We then cut up strips of paper to put into a small basket to distribute before Thanksgiving dinner. The day of Thanksgiving, after all of the guests had arrived, we handed out the slips of paper and asked everyone to write down something they were thankful for.

Now you should have seen the looks I got! Keep in mind that there were family members of all ages, from young teenagers to adults. Most of them looked at me like I was crazy (because this memory-making stuff is all new to them), but I told them they had to do it before they could eat.

So they all sat to write down what they were thankful for. Some came up with something very quickly, and others sat there perplexed and worried they were going to spell something wrong. Several didn’t write anything down at all.

The end result was a wide variety of very thoughtful answers. I put away the slips of paper, made sure to take some good family pictures (carving the turkey, eating dinner, visiting with each other, napping after dinner), and made sure to keep some of the place cards.

I don’t always get to my scrapbook pages immediately after an event like this. I do, however, make sure everything is in one place so that I can assemble my pages when I’m ready.

I later went to the store to buy some pre-cut Thanksgiving and fall images for my scrapbook pages, and then framed my pictures with some coordinating cardstock pieces. I then laid out two scrapbook pages with the photos, a couple of the turkey place cards, and most of the slips of paper people had written on. I tried to arrange a person’s slip of paper near their photo.

My finished project was by no means fancy or a work of art, but it will always be an irreplaceable treasured family keepsake.

Rachel Paxton is a freelance writer and mom of four. For scrapbooking, card making, gift-giving ideas, and more family memory-making activities, visit http://www.crafty-moms.com.

Article Source: http://www.wahm-articles.com

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By: Vera Raposo

The front page newspaper headline read: Little Billy Makes His Worldly Debut Wearing Only His Birthday Suit!

Proud parents would certainly agree that the birth of their baby should make the cover story of the New York Times! And as much as they’d be okay using a billboard on the side of the freeway as their birth announcement, odds are, the newspaper story will be confined to two lines in small print, buried on page 16; and the billboard will actually be a small, but beautiful, hand held birth announcement.

One of the first decisions new parents make is what to name their baby. Then they decide how they will decorate the nursery. The decisions don’t stop there: cloth or disposable, breast or bottle, which car seat, which baby monitor, do I need a diaper disposal, a baby monitor, wipe warmer, where do I register, which swing, which bouncy seat, which high chair, which preschool, which college, which major? Whoa, whoa, whoa… One step at a time; how about just deciding on what you’ll do for a birth announcement?

You could order them from a number of vendors. The hospital offers some pretty standard plain birth announcements. You could also Google “birth announcements” and you’ll get more decisions – many more decisions. Or you could assemble your own. Parents make scrap books of their trip to Disneyland; Grandmas artistically put together Baby Brag Books, so why not use those same talents to create a beautiful, one of a kind, Birth Announcement.

You should first decide which style you want to use. Will it be elegant with a watermark, frosted cover sheet and a bow? Or perhaps you’d prefer a more comical theme. Do you want fire trucks, baseballs, bunnies or angels? Or would you rather just have a solid color or pattern, so as not to distract from the pertinent data?

Will you make them the standard post card size? Or do you plan on using 8″ x 11″ paper and rolling it up like a scroll? Keep in mind ease of mailing when planning your birth announcement. You probably don’t want to pay extra postage for oversized pieces. You also don’t want them so intricate that they get damaged in the postal system.

Whether your birth announcement looks like a driver’s license, a wedding invitation or a store grand opening flyer – keep it simple. Simple can be beautiful and stylish and the free time you have to be elaborate isn’t as plentiful as it once was pre-baby. Or … you could stick with Plan A and send a press release to the editor of the New York Times – see how that works for ya!

Article Source: http://www.scrapventurearticles.com

Vera Raposo enjoys scrapbooking and is now sharing some of her best scrapbooking ideas, and interviewing some outstanding guests on her radio show www.ScrappersTalkRadio.com

By: Dawn Stegall

As a homeschooling mom of 4 girls, scrapbooking for kids has been on my mind alot lately. Let me back up a bit. My 4 year old was quietly playing one day with a roll of stickers. Afraid I was going to later find a bunch of stickers caught in the carpet, I asked her what she intended to do with them. She pondered for awhile and then said, “I am going to put them in a scrapbook. Mom, can I have my own scrapbook?” For some reason, this caught me by surprise, as I thought how wonderful of an experience this could be! So, I started thinking about it more and have come up with some tips and ideas to share with you on scrapbooking for kids.

First of all, I will admit, I am cheap! I wasn’t sure how excited I would be at the thought of my 4 year old and her sisters cutting up my beautiful papers and glueing everything down in sight! I immediately thought of our local dollar store. They have albums that would be perfect for showcasing their creations in for the time being. The dollar store also offers scrapbooking supplies in the form of kits, stickers and embellishments. We have a reward system in place, where the girls can earn a trip to the dollar store to purchase their own scrapbooking supplies to do with as they please. This alleviates the desire to “mess” with my stash while instilling a sense of responsiblity to earn thier reward!

Here are a few more “scrapbooking for kids” cost saving tips:

Have too many pictures to scrap? Let the kids scrap the leftovers.
When developing photos, get double prints. Let the kids scrap with the doubles.
When you complete a project, put the leftovers and unused scraps in a container for them to use. They can create their own embellishments with the scraps. You will be amazed at what they can create!
One thing I do want to mention, when you scrap for the first time with your children, be prepared to help and guide them. Don’t expect to get much done on your own pages until they start to get a feel for what they want to do and accomplish in their own scrapbooks. Now that they are ready to scrap, what should they scrap? Here are a few scrapbooking for kids layout ideas:

Have them scrap a page all about their favorite things at that particular age. (then repeat it for each year and see how their favorites have changed or stayed the same)
Have your kids scrap about their favorite activities or sporting events they are involved in. I’m sure you have plenty of photos!
Turn it into a learning experience and have them interview the subject of the photo. This would be great for older generations.
If there aren’t enough photos, have them draw pictures of people. Then watch how their drawings progress. Each one of my girls have a specific style of how they draw family members. It is interesting and fun to look at.
What about incorporating their artwork and creations? I am very blessed to get cards, pictures and artwork on an almost daily basis from my girls. But what do you do with all of them? Here are a few ideas:

Hang on the refrigerator for all to see. Then once the fridge is full, take a picture of your child in front of their artwork and scrap the photo. You can also incorporate their artwork into the layout.
Color copy and reduce the drawings/projects and use as photos in your layout or as embellishments.
Are you near the end of a roll of film? Use up those last couple of shots of your child’s artwork.
Use pocket pages to “hold” your child’s artwork.
Create a “brag” book and give to grandparents or other family members as a special gift!
Even though I can be anal at times, I still want to incorporate my girls work into my scrapbooks as well. Afterall, they aren’t really my scrapbooks but for all to enjoy! Here are a few “scrapbooking for kids” ideas:

Use child’s drawings as a background paper.
Use their creations as embellishments. You’ll be amazed at what they can create with some paper, scissors and adhesive!
Interview them. Ask them questions about the photo, layout, their mood. This would make for some awesome journaling!
I hope the above tips will give you some ideas on scrapbooking for kids!

Article Source: http://www.scrapventurearticles.com

Dawn Stegall is a homeschooling mom of 4 girls and owns www.FaithfullyYours.net a site dedicated to scrapbooking your faith!

That seems to be a standard theme among new memory keepers.  Believe it or not there are 1000’s and 1000’s of people who have never attempted the memory keeping process.  99% want to, but most just “don’t know where to begin”.

I have a few tips and a little advice for the aspiring memory/story/photo keeper.

1. Start with the NOW.  Do not go back and do your life history, yet.  That is the past and it was stay the past.  But the longer you keep forgetting about the “now” the more past you’ll have to catch up with.
2. Keep it Simple!  Start with a simple story, one simple memory, one simple and small event.  Maybe a first birthday, 10th Anniversary, dance recital, etc.  Stick with a “one-even” type of project.
3. If it’s your kid’s event or your spouse was involved in the memory, get them involved.  Let your family help you with the story and journaling.  Everyone has a different side to the story and everyone deserve to be heard.  This takes pressure off of you and let’s everyone share the responsibility, not to mention a great evening around the dinner table.
4. Only use products that are easy to use, for beginners, or help you organize and write your stories.  By going out and purchasing all kinds of “stuff” you’re still not getting your memories preserved.  The process of putting your memories together is not all about buying “stuff”.  It’s just “stuff” until it’s in a finished book.  Cherish Bound offers Story Starters that help you organize and write your stories and memories in order, with detail, and in themes.
5. Look into going digital.  By going digital and doing the storybook styles you eliminate the need for tools and products you may not use, no mess and no printing!  This can save you 100’s of dollars and hours and hours of time.

My area of expertise is keeping it simple, going digital, and writing and publishing your families stories.  There are so many simple ways to preserve your memories and stories.  By keeping it simple you’ll find a place to begin and you’ll begin accomplishing the rewarding task of memory keeping one story at a time.

By: Vera Raposo

Generation scrapbooking is a wonderful way for different generations of your family to bond and share your family history. Spend some time to get everyone in the family involved in creating scrapbooks. Not only will you share pictures and stories, it will be a wonderful bonding experience as well.

Scrapbook For Your Child
Start a scrapbook for your child and get him or her involved in creating the pages. You can create a new book each year together with your child. Include artwork, homework as well as current pictures of your child and friends. Ask your child to help in creating layouts, choosing embellishments and adding descriptive titles and text. Depending on your child’s age, you may even want to let her do most of the scrapbooking and writing with a little assistance from your of course. You’ll be surprised how much you will learn about your child’s life outside of your home. The two of you will get to spend some quality time together and create a memento to remember it for years to come.

Scrapbook Your Family History
Record your family history in a scrapbook. Put your family’s story on paper for future generations. Create a special generation scrapbook that tells the story of your own childhood, teenage years, or how you and your spouse met. When your children are grown, they will appreciate being able to get a glimpse of what your life was like back then. Keep adding to the scrapbook over the years and get everyone in the family involved in deciding what should be added. You will create a book that everyone in the family will cherish and pass on for years, maybe even generations to come.

Share Old Photo Albums
Go through old photo albums that have been in your family for decades. Spend some time with older family members to look through these albums. You will gain an appreciation for your family history and the life your family members lived long before you were born. You may also want to discuss options to preserve these old pictures.
If you would like to incorporate some of these pictures in your current scrapbooks, have copies made, or scan the pictures in your computer, edit them and then print. You can correct faded color and even some small tears and nicks with modern photo editing software. Plus you will have a digital version of the picture that will last long after the original photo deteriorates.

Grab that fabulous scrapbook that you bought months ago and saved for a special occasion and start generation scrapbooking today about yourself and your family. You will enjoy the process of creating that special book just as much as being able to share it with family members once it is finished.

Article Source: http://www.scrapventurearticles.com

Vera Raposo has been scrapbooking since her oldest child was 5. With tons of scrapbooking tips and ideas, Vera is now sharing some of her best scrapbooking ideas on her radio show at www.ScrappersTalkRadio.com.

By: Vera Raposo

Unless someone has experienced the entire adoption process firsthand, no one can truly appreciate what is involved in this long haul. Some couples know right from the start that they will adopt. Others however don’t begin the application process until after years of disappointment. Either way, the end result – a beautiful child – makes the journey all worthwhile.

The gift of a loving family is an immeasurable reward to treasure; but can you think of a more precious material gift to give you child than the entire “birth process” documented in the form of a scrapbook? Once he/she is old enough to appreciate it, this scrap book will be examined time and time again. Start with a heart-felt letter of how much you deeply desired to grow your family; write about the anticipation and the prayers as you waited, and waited some more.

Detail accounts of the application process, the background check, and the home visit. Mark your shopping trips for bedroom furniture and a new wardrobe with photos of the occasions. If it’s an international adoption, do a section in your scrapbook on the country of origin. You may want to celebrate the heritage of your child so add thorough detail about the birth country.

An adoption scrapbook is similar to a baby brag book, only it reflects more on the journey, not the end result. It is much like a pregnancy scrapbook. You want to include milestones, victories and disappointments. Any parent of adult children knows the timeline from diapers to graduation goes far too quickly. And while you are convinced you’ll remember every detail about the adoption process, the truth is you simply can’t remember it all.

The homecoming will be the most memorable event in the entire adoption process. The day you’ve been waiting for – in many cases, waiting for years, will finally come to fruition. It will be a banner celebration – marked by friends and family, balloons and signage and most of all – lots of joy. Be sure to capture this joyous occasion with countless photos. Not that I needed to tell any proud parent to remember to take photos!

The welcome home celebration will be the final chapter to your Adoption Scrapbook. What may have started out as anticipation filled frustration will be completed with pure bliss. Memorialize this event!

Article Source: http://www.scrapventurearticles.com

Vera Raposo is the Scrapper’s Business Coach. Sign up for her personal mailing list at www.VeraRaposo.com and get tips and resources to help all of your scrap ventures succeed.

There’s no question that our memories and stories need to be preserved, but we have to be realistic about how this can happen successfully, affordably and efficiently. We have to remember the basics first.  What is the real reason behind all this scrapbooking?  Why did we get into this in the first place?  Or in some cases why are you thinking about diving in to it?  It’s the memories.  The stories.  The people.  The pictures.  Those are the basics of scrapbooking.

Technology has evolved just as the world has, yet some people still resist the amazing tools and opportunities it offers.  Technology has brought “digital scrapbooking” into almost every home in some form or another.  By turning to the basics of technology you are able to downsize the masses and piles of product that are over flowing guest bedrooms, closets and kitchen tables, save money, and become apart of trends that are changing the face of scrapbooking.

Prioritizing your memories is a must.  Number one, you must start with the NOW!  What’s in the past….well, it’s in the past and you can go back at anytime and do the past.  But the present is right now and that’s where you need to start…or restart.  No need to rush and do your 16 year old’s baby book.  Start with the now.  Start with the fresh stories that are in everyone’s mind.  There are plenty of tools out there to help you recapture the past at a later date.  And Number two, work efficiently.  Scheduling time to working on your memory keeping is a must, but more importantly you realize that you can’t do it alone.  Bring your family on board.  Let them help you tell their side of the story.  Their version is just as important as yours.  More often than not the only version of the story is mom’s.

Going back to the basics of memory keeping is a guarantee for success.  We do have a duty to our families, ourselves and the generations that will follow behind.  This “hobby” is supposed to be enjoyable and bring happiness to us and those we love.  So get back to the basics of why you scrapbook, find things that work for you and get your family involved.

Check back in on the 2nd and 4th Monday of month to get tid-bits of information about digital scrapbooking, transitioning from paper to technology, and how journaling, traditions, and family are all apart of the memory keeping process.