by Linda | Feb 12, 2014 | DIY printables, my creative journal
My first venture into the online digital world was when I was only 14 years old. I think it was a local library class that taught HTML, so I created my very first web page and declared my existence online. Do you remember those flashing marquees and gaudy web colors?
The online world has definitely changed since then. Don’t you think we are all so darn sophisticated these days? With just a few clicks, you can make yourself a beautiful blog. Although I know, ultimately it’s always easier said than done.
Lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about this blog and how to move forward. I know that we all curate what we post, more or less. But the more I planned, the more I felt it was too mapped out. There are a lot of tips and tricks out there about blogging successfully, but the heart of the matter is figuring out what blogging means to you personally.
I’ve been blogging since my teenagers years, on and off, from platform to platform and I must admit that ultimately, I write because I need to express my thoughts. Something about getting them out and published, as if I was chatting to a friend about my life. Now that I live abroad, more than ever I feel so detached at times and often miss the company of just hangin’ with my girls, you know?
I also like to create and experiment with DIY crafts and my design and illustration. And I’m not ashamed to admit that having an audience gives me motivation. Perhaps it’s simply the act of documentation that really does it, no matter how many or few people read this blog.
Finally, there’s this thing with community and being a part of a larger whole. I’ve always loved being online and involved in the digital sphere of life. Although commenting was much more common in the beginning days of blogging, now the conversation has simply moved to the various social media outlets. But I think it still all starts with the content on a blog.
So, I will continue to blog. I’m just readjusting my focus and ultimately going to get a bit more selfish about this space. I’m not a professionally blogger, so there’s no need to follow editorial rules or business tricks. That’s not what this space is for.
It’s definitely nice to have some clarity, even if there are still a lot of questions and fuzziness all around. A single point of clarity is something I can hold onto. In trying to unknot all the issues in my head regarding this blog, first I had to identify the issues. I’ve run into problems of trying to create content just for the sake of blogging, thus losing my passion. I’ve also run into censorship issues, wondering if I should share this or not that… whether it “fits” the focus of the blog or not. I’ve always had trouble keeping up with posts as well and being a new mom, time will only become more and more scarce.
My blog problems aren’t really that dramatic – many of us run into these issues every so often. I’m shifting my perspective and realizing they can be easily resolved. First, I must have my heart into this space, so I will blog only what I want to. There’s no need to fit into any kind of box… this is MY blog after all. Everything fits in the category of me (duh!). And the easiest way to keep up is to lower expectations and commit to a realistic schedule.
Sounds pretty straightforward and non-dramatic, huh? Should have realized all this sooner, I know.
All those words above lead me to my real point (see how I like to write?) – that I should be living more authentically and proudly. Enough of feeling inadequate or not up to par or outside the popular crowd. Who cares! There’s no need to make pretense and seem a certain way just for the blog. Living abroad in Italy is exciting and amazing, so I need to embrace it. And we can never do it all, but we can do a whole lot with the time we are given nevertheless.
So this blog is about documenting my sort of normal, yet not so normal wondrous life. From living as an expat in the beautiful Tuscan hills to designing and illustrating the cuteness that I adore to motherhood to DIY crafty goodness that just makes me happy!
Now, I feel so much better about moving forward and doing what’s real and true to my heart. Yay! The guiding principle is to remember that it’s about living my authentic life and making sure it’s something I can be proud of.
I’ve created a printable of inspirational hearts (since it’s Valentine week as well) to remind myself of these principles.
Feel free to download the PDF for your personal use.
I hope you are inspired to just be yourself and do what is best for you. Thanks for reading and sharing in my story. I really do appreciate the time you take to visit my blog.
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by Linda | May 1, 2013 | DIY printables
The Pixel and Paper Series highlights digital techniques and products for scrapbookers like you and me. I believe that everyone should consider digital elements to be a part of their scrapbooking toolbox, so let’s learn together what the possibilities are. Each week, I’ll be sharing the opinion of a real-life scrapbooker to reveal how they use digital in their scrapbooking. Each post will also offer a freebie download to help you get started on your pixel and paper journey. Enjoy!
Introducing… Lisa Truesdell
I have heard and seen the work of Lisa before, but was truly introduced to her through Two Peas In A Bucket and most recently bought her e-courses there as well. I love to watch her videos and check out her projects for inspiration, so definitely wanted to hear her take on the digital versus paper divide in scrapbooking. She blogs as gluestickgirl and shares a lot about her process, from traditional scrapbooking to project life.
Lisa says:
I am very much a tactile scrapper, so I like to find ways that I can bring the digital side into the physical world. One of my favorite digital products are printable journaling cards and accents – I love that I can buy a set & print them out no matter what time of day it is. Total instant gratification. I’ve also had a lot of fun recently experimenting with photoshop brushes of stamp designs – they’re a great way to add a little something to a photo before you print it. And let’s not forget the Silhouette Cameo. Being able to create a title or a fun accent from any font or image that I have on my
computer is just too cool.
Instant Gratification
I think Lisa hits on a beautiful point regarding digital tools – it’s nearly always instant gratification! When you need something, you can quickly check online, download and print – wahlah! Pretty cool huh? There’s also the matter of multiple uses given the nature of digital products. In a sense, the possibilities are endless.
I know that Lisa often uses digital frames and digital journaling cards for her photo printing and project life scrapping. You can see great examples of her scrapping style that is very tactile and paper – even though she uses digital tools as well.
via Lisa’s blog
I hope you have enjoyed the entire Pixel and Paper Series as I wind it down with this post today. Ultimately, digital is simply another tool and perhaps one day we will no longer segment ourselves as a digital or paper scrapbooker.
We are simply all memory keepers who care about documenting our lives and sharing.
Whether it be with old fashioned pen and paper or with the latest social media technologies – the important thing to remember is to open yourself up to possibilities and have fun along!
by Linda | Apr 24, 2013 | DIY printables
The Pixel and Paper Series highlights digital techniques and products for scrapbookers like you and me. I believe that everyone should consider digital elements to be a part of their scrapbooking toolbox, so let’s learn together what the possibilities are. Each week, I’ll be sharing the opinion of a real-life scrapbooker to reveal how they use digital in their scrapbooking. Each post will also offer a freebie download to help you get started on your pixel and paper journey. Enjoy!
Introducing… Kelly Purkey
Kelly is a graphic designer and scrapbooker who inspires through her website by sharing her documentations of life – from travel to good eats to designs and of course, scrapbooking projects. I really love her modern style and love to model her use of typography and fonts in her projects.
Kelly says:
I think that paper scrapbookers can definitely use digital tools to add in their scrapbooks! I frequently use Photoshop to add text to my photos before printing. I’m a huge typography nerd so I love this ability to add cool fonts and words right onto my photos. It ends up saving me time (in not searching for letter stickers that I want to use) and money on supplies.
Typography Design Using Fonts
With all the fonts available to us these days, paid and free, there are so many possibilities to spice up our scrapbooking projects. I love how Kelly uses digital lettering on her photos – a very easy to add titling, captioning – that little something to your imagery.
via Kelly’s blog
It’s no surprise that her stamp designs also include beautiful word art pieces, great for cardmaking and scrapbooking. I totally love how they can be used as titles or embellishment in your projects.
via Kelly’s blog
Try It For Yourself
Inspired by Kelly’s work and mention of typography, I’ve created this digital word art sentiment for you to play with. Use them in digital scrapbooking, alter them digitally and print them out for your paper projects as well. What ideas do you have? Enjoy!
Download BTP_TypographySampler
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by Linda | Apr 19, 2013 | DIY printables
The Pixel and Paper Series highlights digital techniques and products for scrapbookers like you and me. I believe that everyone should consider digital elements to be a part of their scrapbooking toolbox, so let’s learn together what the possibilities are. Each week, I’ll be sharing the opinion of a real-life scrapbooker to reveal how they use digital in their scrapbooking. Each post will also offer a freebie download to help you get started on your pixel and paper journey. Enjoy!
Introducing… Steph from the Daily Digi
Steph is the owner of TheDailyDigi.com, host of TheDigiShow.com and most recently started up CapturingMagic.me. She’s been in the industry of scrapbooking for a long time and she defines “digital scrapbooking” as anything using technology to document memories. I love all the information she shares, from tips to techniques to picks and reviews. It’s all about inspiration and motivation to document life. I had to ask her about the digital versus paper divide…
Steph says:
My definition of digital scrapbooking is different than most. I define digital scrapbooking as any kind of memory keeping that involves a digital or technology element. Blogging, Facebook, Flickr, Instagram, Twitter, typing, smart phone photos, etc. If you are grabbing journaling or photos off Facebook to include on a layout, then you are a digital scrapbooker! If you are using your smartphone photos, then you are a digital scrapbooker. The lines that used to pervasively divide the digital scrapbooker from the traditional scrapbooker really started blurring about 3 years ago. Those lines continue to blur as technology becomes more and more part of our everyday life; something that we rely on. As these methods of memory keeping are becoming a standard, using Photoshop to add text to a photo to print and put on a traditional paper page, becomes less intimidating. Figuring out how to use that super cute font with my electronic cutter seems like a doable task.
Some of the tools and techniques that digital scrapbookers often use, are looks that traditional scrappers want as well. Fun filters on photos; adding frames, borders, or words to a photo before printing. Adding personalized text to a journaling card. Using a journaling card that was created digitally because you can adjust the colors to coordinate with everything else, but not have to run out or wait for something to be shipped.
The brilliant thing about all of the choices and options is that there are SO MANY OPTIONS! None of them are right or wrong; only what works best for YOU! What makes your memory-keeping-heart, sing the most is what you need to do, because in the end, it’s only the memories that matter!
It’s All About Options
I love Steph’s point of view, especially her broad definition of what digital scrapbooking can be. With all the choices out there, I think that many of us might be scrapbooking without knowing it. These days with social media, we are all capturing and archiving our lives in one way or another. Why not take the next step to recognize this and share it? Because I know that one of the most rewarding parts of scrapbooking is sharing the memories with friends and family… you can relive the beautiful moments together.
For a mountain load of inspiration and scrapbooking goodness, do check out TheDailyDigi.com, TheDigiShow.com and CapturingMagic.me by Steph. I’m sure you’ll gather inspiration information and be on your way memory keeping with technology!
Try It For Yourself
I thought it would be fun to create some designs that are social media inspired, given the fact that we all document a part of our lives through social media streams. I hope you will find the imagery fun to use in your scrapbooking, online and offline!
Download BTP_SocialMediaSampler
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by Linda | Mar 25, 2013 | DIY printables, my creative journal
Sometimes I want to scrap a photo and don’t have much to journal… it’s just a feeling, you know? That’s why this design – the smallest things take up the most space in my heart – sort of says it all. It’s probably easy to gush about my kids, but it’s not always something I want to write out. Our beautiful little boy… it was enough with the word art, clean and simple design. I created the word art as a free printable the smallest things take up the most space in my heart and made a scrapbook page with it.
It might seem like such a plain layout to so many scrappers out there, but I like it just the way it is. I was tempted to write something in the blank white space, just because… but realized that there’s no need to add more. We scrapbook for ourselves, so why force it to look a certain way or be more complete or specifically designed? In the end, it’s not what matters the most, right?
I thought it would be nice to share this word art I created as a free printable as well. It’s a free image download, you can click on the color version or black and white version to use for your personal uses – I hope that it helps you to scrap and create something fun.
Click on images to get the full-sized versions
Enjoy! If you like my design printables be sure to sign up for my email newsletter for more freebies and the latest updates!
