My Favorite Albums

When I first starting flirting with scrapbooking (keep in mind it took me 2-1/2 years to finish my first album!) I was just happy to chronicle the first couple years of my marriage. I was a newlywed and we did a lot of traveling/vacationing and I actually had time to put together a "family" album. This consisted of the aforementioned vacations, arrivals of new nieces and nephews and weddings - lots of lots of weddings... those are the things that ruled our lives in our mid-twenties!

Then we had kids and I worked a lot harder to find time to work on my albums because I had grand plans... Besides Baby albums and Family albums, I started several others. I now have 9 albums that I'm continuously working on and although I love them all, I thought I'd share a couple of my favorites. Maybe this will give you an idea of a new album to start or a gift to give.

My Christmas Album - One of the reasons I love this one is it really is a family history. I start each "year" with our Christmas letter and picture, which details what we did over the course of the year, the girls' milestones, jobs we've had and funny stories. I follow this with several pages of Christmas pictures, which is a good reminder of church pageants, Christmas mornings, trips to see zoo lights and Christmas parties. Then, my favorite part, I crop and mount all the pictures I receive in Christmas cards from friends and family. I love going through it year by year and seeing how people have changed and families have grown. I can usually fit 3-4 Christmases in one album.

My "Sisters" Album - Okay, I can't really take credit for this one, I stole the idea from a friend (Thanks, Karen!). I have all these cute candid shots of my girls that don't really have a place in any other album for them. There's not really a "theme" to them, so they don't necessarily go in a family album or in one of their own personal albums. Just funny shots of them around the house or maybe a day when they were dressed up cute. I put them in a very simple album, with only quotes from a sister book to accent the page. I love it because it gives me a place to put these pictures and show their special relationship.

Of course I love all my albums, maybe on another posting I'll let you know about the other ones that I'm working on - and the 4 or 5 that I hope to start someday! I'd love for you to share your comments and let my readers know about your favorite album or one that you aspire to start. What about a gift you've given or received?

Welcome to Croppin' With Katie

I'm excited to start my blog - a casual way for me to write about my own scrapbooks, share ideas and introduce new products to those interested in this every popular hobby - scrapbooking.

A blog seemed appropriate... they seem to be everywhere these days! And, having a BA in Mass Communications, I'm always trying to keep up to date on the latest and greatest ways to communicate! I make it a habit to check a few blogs regularly (my husband's, a cousin's, a dear friend from college who lives in Austrailia) and I occasionally just surf around and read random ones. As you read mine, you may learn something or you may pick up a hobby that you never thought would interest you, or that you'd have the time for.

A little about me - what most of you who are checking this already know. I have been scrapbooking for 8 years, three of those have also been spent selling scrapbooking supplies as an Independent Consultant for Creative Memories. I love this job, as it allows me to spend time with my family and also to help people, while continuing to do one of the most relaxing and rewarding projects I can think of... preserving my family history and memories.

That was confirmed this morning when my daughters were begging me to look at their albums. They spent the rest of the afternoon looking for toys around the house that they had forgotten about - gifts they now recall getting by looking at Christmases and Birthdays from years past. Cute... okay frustrating spending all day looking for toys that had either been put away, given to someone else or sold at garage sales... but satisfying knowing that my girls can pour over these albums for hours and spark memories and conversations.

So go ahead and bookmark this site and check often... I'll try to post at least weekly, if not more!