May | 2007 | Scraps of Mind

Start dusting off your virtual visiting clothes

May 30, 2007 at 10:16 am | Posted in Scrapbooking | 11 Comments

OK Blappers…or is that Scroggers?

We’re heading up to the end of May and the culmination of the Scrapbook Challenge – scrapbook layout about you.

Hurry up and get your layouts posted and join in. Don’t forget you don’t have to make a special layout just for this challenge unless you want to. You can use any layout about yourself that you have previously done. What! You’ve never scrapped a layout about You?? Shame on you! Now’s the time to remedy that situation.

Remember the rules are simple.

Post a layout about any aspect of you that you like on your blog by 31st May, and
Link it back to this blog (because I’m trying to monitor the pings)
And don’t forget, this is not a competition. There is no judging. I figure there’s plenty of other challenges out there to cater for your competitive streak, if you have one.

I’ll publish a list of links on my blog on 2nd June (by my blog calendar) to make sure that I don’t accidentally cut somebody’s May a bit short. Here in Oz we get to check out each day earlier than most of you (Kiwis excepted) and if it looks any good we pass it on to the rest of you.

When the list is published we all put on our best bib and tucker and get out there and visit each other, sharing some love on each others blogs and hopefully learning a little bit more about everyone. Catching up with some old friends and maybe making some new ones.

I’ve all ready bought a new bib for the occasion, but I’m having a bit of trouble finding a store that can sell me a tucker.

Artist Trading Cards

May 28, 2007 at 10:15 am | Posted in ATCs, Life, Scrapbooking | 14 Comments

In recent weeks I have started to become interested in ATCs (Artist Trading Cards).

These are miniature artworks created on 2 ½ X 3 ½ inch card or playing cards. They are not supposed to be sold but are traded with other artists for works of their own. The original concept began in Zurich, Switzerland by a performing artist named M.Vanci Stirenmann in 1997. He created a collection of ATCs for display in his bookstore. On the last day of the display he gave one of his cards away to each person who could offer him one of their own in return. Since then thousands of people have started creating these miniature originals and trading them at trading sessions, through the mail or via Internet ATC swap groups.

I find the concept of swapping my work with other people a fun and exciting thing and because the only constraint on ATCs is the size, they are created in a multitude of different media so your collection doesn’t need to just contain pieces similar to those you make yourself. You may have spotted the word ‘collection’ in that last sentence. Those that have been reading this blog for a while will know what a sucker for collecting stuff I am. And this is too good an opportunity not to combine my love for collecting with my love for scrapbooking.

Another motivation for me is to try some experimenting with paints and stamps etc. which I never do on my layouts. To help me get out of my comfort zone a bit. Having said that, the very first ATC I created was one which was a hybrid of digi and paper scrapping (see right). Firmly and squarely in the middle of my comfort zone. I’m actually happy with how it turned out but I felt that for me it was a bit ‘safe’ as digi and hybrid are what I mostly do. Whereas pulling together random non-digital elements into a cohesive layout I find far more challenging.

So I’ve begun pushing myself to do this and I find I’m really enjoying it. And I’m pleased with the results too. If you’re interested in seeing some of my creations check out my ATC Gallery on Flickr.

I’d be very interested to know if any of you already make your own ATCs. Particularly if you like mine and would like to trade. And for those who haven’t tried it have a look and see if it presses your buttons. What do you think? Are you interested?

Words to Live by

May 26, 2007 at 11:07 am | Posted in Quotes | 3 Comments

Photograph:

a picture painted by the Sun

without instruction in art.

Susan Sontag

The fine line between Craft and Art

May 24, 2007 at 10:10 am | Posted in Art & Craft, Scrapbooking | 6 Comments

I have always been interested in crafts of one kind or another. In the past I was right into cross-stitch and embroidery and now I am absorbed in papercrafts: scrapbooking, cardmaking and just starting to dabble in artist trading cards.

So I’ve always appreciated the wonderful things that crafting people make and pondered the fine line that often exists between craft and art.

A perfect example of this fine line would be my friend Doreen’s dolls. Doreen designs and makes incredible fantasy dolls. They put me in mind of the kind of models that come out of the Hansen Workshop (eg. The Dark Crystal).

Check out this post on ThatchSpace about Doreen’s dolls with some great pictures of Olaf, her latest award-winning creation. In Thatch’s words

“saying Doreen makes dolls is like saying Tolkien writes books”

If you’re as impressed as I was, leave her some love. She refuses to believe she’s as good as she is.

PS: Don’t forget to upload your Layout of You onto your blog before the end of the month and link to Scraps of Mind. It can be about any aspect of you that you want. No rules. No judging. Just friendship and fun.

Link up your Blog

May 22, 2007 at 10:10 am | Posted in Blogging | 9 Comments

There is so much blogging info out there that many people don’t have time to delve down into the archives of your blog and experience many of the other fine things you have written. That’s a great pity. And there is something you can do about it.

Hopefully you are already categorising your posts with meaningful categories that make it easier for your readers and yourself to navigate through your archive of posts. But why not take it one step further and reference previous posts in your current articles and link back to them? You can see how I’ve done this at the beginning of this paragraph by linking the relevant text back to my earlier post, Blogging 101.

This gives your readers the option of accessing some of your previous masterpieces easily and adds support to your current article.

Bonus tip: If your blog platform gives you the option to ‘Open link in another window’ (WordPress does but I’m not sure about Blogger and Typepad) always select that one. This way if your reader goes off on a bit of a surfing tangent they don’t have to try to navigate back through multiple screens to get back to your original post.

Another linking technique I have started using is putting a small list of related posts at the bottom of each article (see below). If a reader is interested in your current post then there’s a good chance they might be interested in reading others on a similar theme or in the same category. By presenting this to them at the end of reading your post they are more likely to feel like clicking on one than if they had to go to the relevant category to find one.

I’ve found that since I started using these two techniques a lot more people have accessed my earlier posts (which of course makes me feel very good) giving them a new lease of life.

Ultimately it’s about finding ways to make it easier for your readers to read your stuff. And for me at least, that’s what it’s all about. Hope you found this useful.

My contribution to the Scrapbook Challenge – Scrapbook a layout of you

May 20, 2007 at 10:15 am | Posted in Scrapbook Layouts, Scrapbooking | 19 Comments

Well since I set all of you The Challenge, it seems only fair that I take it up too.

The journalling for this layout is from a post I did last year and I used Andrea’s Waiting for Summer kit, because since this is a layout about me I thought I should use a kit which has been dedicated to me (I’m still so buzzed about that Andrea). Hope you enjoy it.

Scrapbook Challenge - Living in the Selfish Years

There’s been quite a lot of interest in The Challenge and quite a few people have already posted their layouts and pinged me. The great thing is that the participants are spread around a number of different scrapbooking communities so when I publish the Visitor List there should be quite a few new scrappers’ blogs for everyone to visit.

There’s still time to get on board. Remember you have until the end of May to post a layout about yourself on your blog (it can be a new one or one you prepared earlier). But you must post a link to this post in your own post. I’m monitoring the pings for a later post on blogging.

At the beginning of June I’ll post a Visitors List and we can all get out there and share the love.

Words to Live by

May 18, 2007 at 10:14 am | Posted in Quotes | 2 Comments

Live in the sunshine,

swim in the sea,

drink the wild air.

Ralph Waldo Emerson

Drifter – Ian Bland’s first solo album

May 16, 2007 at 10:41 am | Posted in Music | 4 Comments

Last September I wrote a post about Ian Bland’s gig at the Greyhound Hotel in Melbourne. Well Ian has finally released his first solo album titled Drifter.
My friend Thatch wrote a great backstory on Thatch Space about the journey to this album’s release. I recommend you hop over and read it because it’s very funny.

But finally Drifter has been let loose on the world, supported by its own website. And beneath the really cool album cover (courtesy of JoolsWeb) is a seriously cool bunch of songs.

Not sure how I would describe Ian’s style; sort of Aussie Country/Blues I guess. But he writes wonderfully evocative lyrics and his distinctive gravely voice delivers them with the deep meaning they deserve.

The site provides the lyrics to all the songs on the album with samples of each. And if the title track Drifter, doesn’t bring a lump to your throat then nothing will. I’m a card carrying city slicker but this song makes me feel so connected with the people on the land.

Another personal fave is Kilcunda Wind. A more upbeat song but once again, Ian’s distinctive strong lyric telling the story.

So if a good country album with a collection of strong lyrical ballads appeals to you then you’ll love this album. Go sample it and let me know what you think. Oh, and don’t forget to let Ian know too by leaving a comment or an order.

Scrapbook Challenge – scrapbook layout about you

May 14, 2007 at 10:15 am | Posted in Scrapbooking | 41 Comments

Many of us struggle to scrapbook about ourselves. I’ll be the first to put up my hand and own up to this ‘failing’. Hey I’m only just starting to deal with tolerating (some) photos of myself. So here’s a challenge to all scrapbookers out there:

Post a layout about yourself on your blog and link it back to this post.

It’s important that you post the link to this post in your own post (I hope that makes sense) because I’m trying out a little tracking experiment. If you do this I should recieve an automatic notification that you have ‘pinged’ me. This will be the subject of a future blogging tips post.

At the end of May I will post a list of links to all your layouts so everyone can go and ‘visit you’.

This has a double bonus because not only will you be challenged to start scrapping about yourself, but as a scrapbook blogging community we can get to know each other a little better and maybe put a face to the name.

There’s no real rules about what perspective you want your layout to take, but if you have any questions then please post a comment. Chances are that other people will be wondering the same thing so don’t be shy to ask. Remember there are no dumb questions…only dumb answers.

Everyone’s welcome to join in. And we might get to meet some new scrappin’ tragics along the way.

So are you up for it? Let me know. And then let’s go do it.