Scrapbooking tips: Printing photos via Shutterfly, Snapfish

Of course, besides the materials in the last post, one of the things you have to have to make a scrapbook is actual photos to put in it.

With the advent of digital cameras, the way we get printed copies of photos has vastly changed. And while I miss being able to bring a disposable camera to CVS and the surprise of what I'd find when I got the prints back, the new way offers a lot more choices.

I tried the print-them-yourself way on various printers we've had at home over the years, but for some reason they just never seemed to come out right. Plus, when you get down to it, buying the ink and photo paper and maintaining the printer is more cost and hassle then ordering them online.

Many people also may go to places like CVS or Walmart to get theirs printed, at both places you can do it in store, which would be time consuming for me because I order dozens at a time. But for Walmart you can also download them onto the site and go pick them up from the store.

However, I choose to rely on websites where you can upload them, order them online and have them shipped straight to your door.

It can be costly to do this depending how many prints you get and how fast you want them, but I've always been pleased with what I got.

There are two sites I've tried out, Snapfish and Shutterfly.

Scrapbooking tips

Since I have blogged about scrapbooking so much and enjoy it so much, I decided I would maybe focus this blog even more on it. It's good to have some semblance of a theme I suppose.

I think the biggest pro about scrapbooking is being able to show off pictures in a better way then having someone just rifle through them prints or a Facebook album. A scrapbook organizes them and people spend more time looking at the photos and sharing in the memories. Plus, it's personally more fun to take a trip down memory lane with a scrapbook. Also, my grandmother used a photo album that uses a sticky substance to secure the photos, and years later they are now permanently attached to it. I used photo corners in my scrapbooks, so if I ever wanted to take a photo out, they aren't permanently attached.

On that note, here's some musts for you if you're considering starting a scrapbook:

Scrapbook for Grandma

Just a few days ago I finally started organizing a scrapbook for my grandmother of all her old pictures. It's going really well so far, I think.

I also made the best purchase I have in a while at Michael's yesterday. It's giraffe patterned, so of course I love it, but it's also extremely useful. It's a scrapbook supply holder. A big one. And anyone who knows me well knows how much I like to scrapbook and I have quite a LOT of supplies. I had previously been throwing them in a cardboard box. But now I have a rolling giraffe-pattered case with numerous pouches to hold everything. Plus, I had a 40% off coupon. I love Michael's.

And now for the first few scrapbook pages:






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Saturday's always Friday

I finished the scarf I started almost a year ago -- finally. But am happy with the way it turned out. It's sparkly black, purple and a light maroon. I obviously didn't think about it when I started, but it's somewhat Ravens colors, too. I'm just glad I finally finished it because now I can work on something new. I also taught myself the moss stitch, which is a lot nicer than the knit and purl, so I'll be using that on my new scarf. Great success.

The Phillies won last night, meaning we are not yet out of the running for the World Series! Great success!

I was invited to go tailgating with some good friends from college and to a PSU football game next Saturday ... but as usual I have to work. NOT great success. I'll admit it, I HATE HATE HATE working Saturdays in the fall. I didn't care so much in the summer and probably won't care very much in the winter when it's cold and there's nothing better to do. But during the fall, it sucks. I can't visit PSU, have to watch night games on the computer while getting all my work done. I can't go on trips or visit friends even though the weather is gorgeous. And since I am doing A1 Saturdays, it's going to be even harder for me to try and get days off. All I want is one trip to PSU and one more chance to scream and cheer in the stadium. Sigh.

Family Tree

Earlier this week I found out my grandmother had fallen and broken her hip. She had to go through surgery and will have a long recovery at her age. I was very sad to hear the news and it finally got me going on the scrapbook I promised to make for her of all her old photos.

I'm really enjoying this scrapbook, though it's much harder than the ones I have made for myself. When I scrapbook I very much like to keep it neat, ordered and simple. But the photos she has span a century and there's really no set way to organize them. I also don't know all of the people in the photos, though luckily she wrote names and sometimes dates on the backs (which is something I should remember to do with my photos.) It's so awesome going through them though. Photos from the mid-1900s of my grandma in beautiful old fashioned dresses and my grandfather (who I never met) in his uniform.

I'm sure there's a lot of stories behind every photo -- though I actually don't know many of them.

In the end, I decided to not be so worried about categories and themes for pages with this scrapbook. I think the photos tell enough that it won't matter.

I'll start sharing some of the pages on this blog soon!

Also, "Laverne and Shirely" just came on TV. Sweet. I haven't seen this show since I was in middle school.

All the news that's fit to .... design

Last week, as I blogged about, I starting designing the Carroll County Times front page. I was pretty stoked for it, because what newspaper/journalism lover would not want to put together the front page of a newspaper?

I decided I wouldn't get too crazy or creative for the first few weeks so I wouldn't get behind deadline and would have time to learn how to put it all together. But last night I was given a slight challenge. There was a story on a court hearing with direct links to Westminster, and a sidebar (extra story) to go with it. I couldn't recall any A1s that I had seen of the CCTs in the past that had two stories on one topic -- at least that both needed to go on the front page.

But I'm pretty happy with what I came up with and how it turned out. I even got compliments from two of the reporters, so that made me feel pretty good about it. I really love designing the front pages. I'm better when the design is more formulaic but can still be tweaked. It's harder for me to get creative when there's a blank palette. That's the problem I think I'm having with the Synergy section, but that's another story.

I'm excited to do a lot more A1s and try different designs and extra elements (like cut outs).

I don't know how to get my pages to show up on here, because it won't upload PDFs.

But you can see my most recent A1 (and most of my other pages) here:
http://www.scribd.com/doc/38915425/10-07-2010-A1-Snyder-v-Phelps

It's the most wonderful time of the year! (besides Christmas)

Postseason baseball begins tonight! Wooooooo!!! I'm really excited the Phillies are in the playoffs again and looking pretty good. I would put down predictions here if I did that sort of thing, but I don't really follow the other teams so I don't know their strengths and weaknesses. But all that matters to me is how the Phils do ... and I'm thinking they're going to make it to the World Series with the lineup they have and not to mention Roy Halladay. :swoon:

The first game is tonight at 5:07, but sadly I won't be able to get drunk or watch it with other adoring fans in the Collegian office. But I'll put the GameDay tracker up on my computer and check the score when I have a chance. (which, sadly, will be less often since it's another A1 night)

But it's only the first game of many I expect to be watching where the Phils take the field in their red and white.

Let the games begin!!!

Free suprise, books, Meg Ryan

About a month ago, my iPod stopped syncronizing with iTunes. It would upload about 200 songs and then freeze. It was a travesty. Two weeks ago I brought it to the Apple store (the most crowded and annoying place in the world) they guy cleaned it out and I thought it was fixed. No luck. So I took it back today and got a replacement... fo' free!!! I was ecstatic. I thought I'd have to pay at least $130 for the replacement, and possibly even more when I was told today it was out of warranty. But since I was told it was in warranty last time I went and since the salesperson was happy/impressed I was reading a REAL book while waiting, she traded it in for my old one at no cost. I'm a pretty lucky duck.

That also go me thinking ... she was impressed I was reading a real book while waiting? What have you done to the world technology!? Am I the only one who always throws a book in her purse in case I have a free moment or need to wait for something? Maybe I'm an anomaly. But I don't really see people out in public reading books much. Maybe it's because I'm just not seeing it, or maybe technology really is taking over so much that people don't even grab a paperback and head to the nearest bench or coffee shop to enjoy it. I think that's really sad, if it's true. I was also asked by a different employee if the book was for school, I said it was for pleasure. He seemed surprised. Is reading a dying art?

But now, I'm having a Meg Ryan night. I love her, so much. I haven't seen all the movies she has been in, but "You've Got Mail" and "When Harry Met Sally" are two of my favorites. Sure they're your cliche romantic comedies. But they're also classy, witty and not too formulaic. I've heard some rumors about her not being able to land acting gigs and getting some pretty unflattering plastic surgery, but I'll always adore her in many of the great movies she starred in between the late '80s and '90s.