18 days 'til National Scrapbooking Day!

Anticipation is building for National Scrapbooking Day! We're relentless in our quest for a fantastic day. Naturally, we think that this event might need to be a gala that lasts all week! Or month. Or, why not throw all precautions to the wind and celebrate all year?

To review our party planning ideas, click here.

Here's even more ideas for a fun-filled, super-duper-scrappin' day:

• Whip together a couple of cards to send to others.

• Create lists! A list of future scrapbook ideas....a list of pictures you'd like to take...a list of supplies you'd like to acquire...the LIST goes on and on!

• Research the newest crafting tools out on the market

• Better yet—create your OWN tool, market it, and become rich and famous

• Find somebody who has never scrapbooked in their life and become their mentor! They'll never be able to thank you enough for the stress-relief you've given them!

• Hug a fellow crafter! That's right—doesn't it feel great to reach out to others who love the industry as much as you?

• Finally, we've said this before and we'll say it again! What's a holiday without a littler shop-o-roo? You're bound to find some INCREDIBLE deals at www.ohmycrafts.com!!

All right crafters....now get out there and start planning your fun day! This will be a day to remember!

P.S. Have you heard about the Oh My Crafts! Tax relief sale? You won't want to miss out on this! Instead of thanking Uncle Sam, you'll be thanking Uncle Oh My Crafts!

Message from Provo Craft concerning "Life's a Beach" mix-up

It has recently come to our attention that the artwork provided for the "Life is a Beach" Cricut cartridge doesn't match what is actually on the cartridge.  We apologize for the surprise or any confusion this may have caused.

Here is a small blurb from a spokesperson from Provo Craft, explaining the mix-up:

Provo Craft is always excited to see customers respond to our newest Cricut cartridges. We also understand that our Cricut users want to see the new cartridge images as soon as possible. We try to get our retailers these images as soon as we can, to get our Cricut users excited about the upcoming products. These sample images are generally created prior to the cartridges actual production.

During the development process, it is sometimes necessary for Provo Craft to make changes to the original pre-production artwork. Provo Craft does not guarantee any image will make the final cut on to a cartridge until the cartridge is actually completed and in production.

It has recently come to our attention that some Cricut users are upset that Provo Craft changed some of the artwork on "Life is a Beach." While Provo Craft strives to make sure that the most accurate information is available for users to make informed decisions about our products, Provo Craft reserves the right to make changes to artwork without any notification.

We try our best to keep the retail Web sites that publish images and information about Cricut cartridges up-to-date with the most current information as possible, but sometimes we are not always able to do so. Because of this, Cricut users should always refer to the Provo Craft Web site for the most recent and accurate information available.

We appreciate all your support of Provo Craft and its products.

—Provo Craft

It's just point and shoot, right?

Scrapbooking wouldn't be worth a whole lot if it weren't for the photos. Nice photography will automatically up the impressiveness of your pages, cards, calendars, etc. It isn't necessary to be a professional photographer, or to have a professional camera to take nice pictures. What is important is to practice some basic rules.  You've got to know the rules before you can break them.

First, good photographers are always trying to think outside of the box. Impressive pictures surely come from changing the perspective or view point of view.  Take a close up! Snap a few shots of interesting details. Or try capturing just a portion of something instead of the whole. Aim your lense up high, or down low. You'll be amazed with your own ability and the creative nature of your pictures as you start altering your viewpoint.

This perspective is run-of-the-mill boring:

Here's a much more interesting and compelling angle:

Next, get out of the habit of having your subjects in the center of the photo. In almost every art, centering is a sign of an amateur—and we are NOT amateurs, are we?  

The main focus of this picture is off to the left just a little. This photographer knows the rules—that focus points shouldn't be directly in the center.

Along with that, good photographers abide by the "rule of thirds." Basically, if you were to draw imaginary lines (both horizontally and vertically) that divided the picture into thirds, you would want your point of focus to be where those lines are.  Here's an example.

These waves break right in the center of two lines. This does not follow the rule of thirds.

In this picture, the waves are breaking right on the top horizontal line. This is a better usage of the rule of thirds.

Diagonal lines in pictures are considered more pleasing than a straight line. Here are some good examples of strong diagonal lines.

Next, always keep your lighting in mind. We suggest that a flash be used outdoors on most occasions. Also, it's important to know your camera's flash range.

This is, quite obviously, a bad example of lighting.

This is a better photo because the flash was used outdoors.

Okay, you're almost on your way to flawless photography. There are just a few more tips for taking pictures of people. We recommend getting close up and on the right level. If you're taking pictures of a little tike, become a little tike yourself.

This picture is not as impressive as it could be.

This photographer got on this little girl's level. This is a much better picture.

Finally, try action and candids out for size!  You'll love the result.  This will give you a wider variety of pictures to scrapbook with. And capturing a moment candidly will better portray the feelings and atmosphere of the events you're documenting.

The quote bank-Holidays

Holidays always bring plenty of pictures for scrapbooking. Plus, cards are important for friends and loved ones. But what words to put with them? Here's a collection of phrases and famous quotes for your holiday needs!

HOLIDAYS

We'll begin with Easter, since it's next in line:

Here comes Peter Cotton Tail hoppin' down the bunny trail

Hippity Hoppity

"He is not here, for he has risen" —Matthew 28:6

A regular ol' Bunny Foo Foo

Easter spells out beauty, the rare beauty of new life. —S.D. Gordon

For I remember it is Easter morn / And life and love and peace are all new born —Alice Freeman Palmer

Easter says you can put truth in a grave, but it won't stay there. —Clarence W. Hall

Easter is the demonstration of God that life is essentially spiritual and timeless. —Charles M. Crowe

For I remember it is Easter morn / And life and love and peace are all new born. —Alice Freeman Palmer

"Twas Easter Sunday. The full-blossomed trees / Filled all the air with fragrance and with joy. —Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Let the resurrection joy lift us from loneliness and weakness and despair to strength and beauty and happiness. —Floyd W. Tomkins

Our Lord has written the promise of the resurrection, not in books alone, but in every leaf in spring-time. —Martin Luther

Well pleaseth me the sweet time of Easter / That maketh the leaf and the flower come out —Bertran de Born

Easter tells us that life is to be interpreted not simply in terms of things but in terms of ideals —Charles M. Crowe

Bunnies are cuddly / The large and the small / But I like chocolate ones / The best of them all.

Earth's saddest day and gladdest day were just three days apart! —Susan Coolridge

Mothers/Fathers Day

A mother is a person to lean on, but a person to make leaning unnecessary. —Dorothy Canfield Fisher

Moms are like a box of chocolates. Good thing I didn't get a nut.

A mother is she who can take the place of all others but whose place no one else can take. —Cardinal Mermillod

The mother's heart is the child's schoolroom. —Henry Ward Beecher

He didn't tell me how to live; he lived, and let me watch him do it. —Clarence Budington Kelland

Small boys become big men through the influence of big men who care about small boys.

From great oaks, little acorns grow —Latin Proverb

(to view more quotes about mothers and fathers, see the FAMILY quote back

Fourth of July / America

Home of the free because of the brave

Freedom is not the right to do as you please, but the liberty to do as you ought.

One flag, one land, one heart, one hand, one nation evermore —Oliver Wendell Holmes

Bar-be-que (bar•bi•q) n.: You bought the groceries, washed the lettuce, chopped the tomatoes, diced the onions, marinated the meat and cleaned everything up, but he "made the dinner." —from a Women's Dictionary

Let freedom ring!

Patriotism: indulging in potato salad and sparklers

Halloween

A spooking we will go

A grandmother pretends she doesn't know who you are on Halloween —Erma Bombeck

Too cute to spook, but not too sweet to trick or treat

Ghoulies and ghosties and long leggety beasties and things that go bump in the night... —excerpt from a Scottish saying

Eat, drink, and be scary

There are nights when the wolves are silent and only the moon howls —George Carlin

Once in a young lifetime one should be allowed to have as much sweetness as one can possibly want and hold —Judith Olney

Hold on, man. We don't go anywhere with "scary," "spooky," "haunted," or "forbidden" in the title. —From Scooby-Doo

This Halloween the most popular mask is the Arnold Schwarzenegger mask. And the best part? With a mouth full of candy you will sound just like him —Conan O'Brien

Shadows of a thousand years rise again unseen / Voices whisper in the trees, "Tonish is Halloween!" —Dexter Kozen

If a man harbors any sort of fear, it makes him landlord to a ghost —Lloyd Douglas

I would rather sit on a pumpkin and have it all to myself than be crowded on a velvet cushion —Henry David Thoreau

There is nothing that gives more assurance than a mask —Colette

Thanksgiving

An optimist is a person who starts a new diet on Thanksgiving Day —Irv Kupcinet

What we're really talking about is a wonderful day set aside on the fourth Thursday of November when no one diets. I mean, why else would they call it Thanksgiving? —Erma Bombeck

Gobble 'til you wobble!

Thanksgiving, after all, is a word of action —W.J. Cameron

Thanksgiving Day comes, by statute, once a year; to the honest man it comes as frequently as the heart of gratitude will allow. —Edward Sandford Martin

As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them —John Fitzgerald Kennedy

Thanksgiving is an emotional holiday. People travel thousands of miles to be with people they only see once a year. And then discover once a year it way too often. —Johnny Carson

On Thanksgiving Day, all over America, families sit down to dinner at the same moment—halftime

We can only be said to be alive in those moments when our hearts are conscious of our treasures —Thornton Wilder

Forever on Thanksgiving Day / The heart will find the pathway home —Wilber D. Nesbit

Thanksgiving was never meant to be shut up in a single day —Robert Caspar Lintner

Thanksgiving is America's national chow-down feast, the one occasion each year when gluttony becomes a patriotic duty —Michael Dresser

A thankful heart is not only the greatest virtue, but the parent of all the other virtues —Cicero

Coexistence: what the farmer does with the turkey—until Thanksgiving. —Mike Connolly

Thanksgiving, man. Not a good day to be my pants. —Kevin James

Nothing is more honorable than a grateful heart —Seneca

O Lord that lends me life / Lend me a heart replete with thankfulness —William Shakespeare

Hem your blessings with thankfulness so they don't unravel.

The thing I'm most thankful for right now is elastic waistbands.

God gave you a gift of 86,400 seconds today. Have you used one to say "thank you?" —William A. Ward

Not what we say about our blessings, but how we use them, is the true measure of our thanksgiving —W.T. Purkiser

Christmas

I believe in Santa Clause

Christmas isn't a season. It's a feeling —Edna Ferber

Christmas is weird. What other time of year do you sit in front of a dead tree and eat candy out your socks? —Crabby Road

It is Christmas in the heart that puts Christmas in the air —W. T. Ellis

He who has not Christmas in his heart will never find it under a tree —Roy L. Smith

There has only been one Christmas—the rest are anniversaries —W. J. Cameron

Never worry about the size of your Christmas tree. In the eyes of children, they are all 30 feet tall —Larry Wilde, The Merry Book of Christmas

Let's be naughty and save Santa the trip —Gary Allen

The best of all gifts around any Christmas tree: the presence of a happy family all wrapped up in each other —Burton Hillis

Christmas is not a time nor a season, but a state of mind. To cherish peace and goodwill, to be plenteous in mercy, is to have the real spirit of Christmas —Calvin Coolidge

Christmas waves a magic wand over this world, and behold, everything is softer and more beautiful —Norman Vincent Peale

I will honor Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all year —Charles Dickens

I once bought my kids a set of batteries for Christmas with a note on it saying, toys not included. —Bernard Manning

About all you can do is dream of a white Christmas, for it seems like it always leaves most of us in the red.

For centuries men have kept an appointment with Christmas. Christmas means fellowship, feasting, giving and receiving, a time of good cheer, home. —W.J. Ronald Tucker

Even as an adult I find it difficult to sleep on Christmas Eve. Yuletide excitement is a potent caffiene, no matter your age. —Carrie Latet

Blessed is the season which engages the whole world in a conspiracy of love!

Christmas is not as much about opening our presents as opening our hearts —Janice Maeditere

Once again, we come to the Holiday Season, a deeply religious time that each of us observes, in his own way, by going to the mall of his choice.

Christmas begins about the first of December with an office party and ends when you finally realize what you've spent, around April fifteenth of the next year. —P.J. O'Rourke

New Years

New Years Day is every man's birthday —Charles Lamb

A good beginning makes a good ending —old proverb

The object of a new year is not that we should have a new year. It is that we should have a new soul. —G.K. Chesterton

Cheers to a new year and another chance for us to get it right —Oprah Winfrey

May all your troubles last as long as your New Year's resolutions —Joey Adams

He who breaks a resolution is a weakling / He who makes one is a fool —F.M. Knowles

Youth is when you're allowed to stay up late on New Year's Eve. Middle age is when you're forced to —Bill Vaughn

Many people look forward to the new year for a new start on old habits.

A New Year's resolution is something that goes in one year and out the other.

Cheers to a new year and another chance for us to get it right —Oprah Winfrey

One resolution I have made, and try always to keep, is this: To rise above the little things. —John Burroughs

It wouldn't be New Year's if I didn't have regrets —William Thomas

May all your troubles last as long as your New Year's resolutions —Joey Adams

I think in terms of the day's resolutions, not the year's —Henry Moore

Valentines Day

Loving is not just looking at each other, it's looking in the same direction —Antoine de Saint-Exupery

True love stories never have endings —Richard Bach

PRINCESS, HAVING HAD SUFFICIENT EXPERIENCE WITH PRINCES, SEEKS FROG

Gravitation is not responsible for people falling in love —Albert Einstein

Kisses are a better fate than wisdom —E.E. Cummings

We loved with a love that was more than love —Edgar Allan Poe

Are we not like two volumes of one book? —Marceline Desbordes-Valmore

Oh, if it be to choose and call thee mine, love, thou art every day my Valentine! —Thomas Hood

When love is not madness, it is not love —Pedro Calderon de la Barca

Many are the starrs I see, but in my eye no starr like thee —English saying

I don't understand why Cupid was chosen to represent Valentine's Day. When I think about romance, the last thing on my mind is a short, chubby toddler coming at me with a weapon.

Anyone can catch your eye, but it takes someone special to catch your heart.

Love is a smoke made with the fume of sighs —William Shakespeare

Take away love and our earth is a tomb —Robert Browning

Love is a game that two can play and both win —Eva Gabor

A man is not where he lives, but where he loves —Latin Proverb

The heart has its reasons that reason knows nothing of —Blaise Pascal

At the touch of love, everyone becomes a poet —Plato

What the world really needs is more love and less paper work —Pearl Bailey

St. Patrick's Day

Never iron a four-leaf clover, because you don't want to press your luck. —Daryl Stout

If a man who cannot count finds a four-leaf clover, is he lucky? —Stanislaw J. Lec

St. Patrick's Day is an enchanted time—a day to begin transforming winter's dreams into summer's magic. —Adrienne Cook

If you're lucky enough to be Irish, you're lucky enough! —Irish saying

A best friend is like a four leaf clover: hard to find and lucky to have.

Many an opportunity is lost because a man is out looking for four-leaf clovers.

Kiss me, I'm Irish!

There are only two kinds of people in the world, the Irish and those who wish they were. —Irish Saying

May St. Patrick guard you wherever you go, and guide you in whatever you do—and may his loving protection be a blessing to you always. —Irish Blessing