Angie Pedersen's The Blog of ME

How to Preserve Newspapers

In my various scrapbooking classes, I am often asked how to preserve newspaper.  I recently ran across this resource -- via Lifehacker, How to Preserve Newspapers using a solution of distilled water and Milk of Magnesia. 

According to a comment left on the WaywardPuppy blog, "Milk of magnesia is a solution of magnesium hydroxide, Mg(OH)2. Hydroxide neutralizes acid" in the original newsprint.  Huh!

When I want to use a newspaper article on a scrapbooking layout, I usually scan the piece, then print on acid-free paper.  That way I don't have any preservation/acid concerns, and I can resize the graphic to fit on my layout.

When I got married in 1993, I saved all the newspaper announcements and heat-laminated them.  Unfortunately, I now know that laminating is not an archivally-sound preservation solution for newsprint and other historical documents.  Basically what you're doing is sealing in all the acids and gases that lead to the deterioration of the paper.  So while the paper may not fall apart while encased in the plastic, you will still see the yellowing.  I have seen these effects myself with my wedding announcements, laminated 12 years ago.  You are better off de-acidifying the original document, or scanning and printing it.

Scrapbooking idea: Celebrate Discardia!

Via Lifehacker, via 43 Folders, via the originating Metagrrl... I bring you the holiday of Discardia.

Discardia is celebrated by getting rid of stuff and ideas you no longer need. It's about letting go, abdicating from obligation and guilt, being true to the self you are now. Discardia is the time to get rid of things that no longer add value to your life, shed bad habits, let go of emotional baggage and generally lighten your load.

Interesting holiday, hey?  Here's the thing to make it Book-of-Me-ish -- once you figure out what you need to let go of, what guilt you need to release...scrap it.  Scrap the material things you can/will/did throw out, as well as the internal clutter.  What is your baggage? 

This sounds like an Effer Challenge!  (or, at least, in the "Effer spirit")  Maybe if they notice this post, they'll take it on.  (I'll post more about the Effers in another entry.  They merit their own space.)

Related note: Cheryl Richardson's newsletter this week also discusses making space in your life.

Scrapbooking Idea: Stamp a Little Book of Me

I made this little book as a sample for Holly's LeaveMemories booth at CHA, and realized I hadn't shared it here.  So now I'm sharing it.

I did this using Holly's Book of Me (General) stamp sheet, some acrylic paint, black ink pad, and some fun KI Memories paper.  (It's soooo me!)  It turned out so fun and cute!  Such an easy project with these stamps: just stamp your title on a scrap of paper, ink the edges, journal a list, slap it in the book, and you're done!  This would be an easy, fun class for all you MeTeachers out there!

Here's what the stamp sheet looks like:

You can get a set of these stamps for yourself here.  They are so fun!

Go Scrap Yourself -- in a LUNCHBOX!

Another fabulous idea alert...
Katie (aka NathansMommy) has posted the neatest ALL ABOUT ME LUNCHBOX as an eBay auction.  Normally I don't post about auctions, but this is too neat not to mention.  Plus the topic is so very...well, ME!  ;)

Altering metal lunchboxes is the latest thing, so I was really excited to see a "Me" example of this hot trend.

If you click through to the auction, you'll see the contents. I love all her altered index cards -- they'll make such cute "pages" for this project.  This would be an easy way to display quick "Me" topics such as Favorite this or that, Top Ten this or that, or other list type topics.  My favorite list topic resource is the List Your Self series by Ilene Segalove.  Pair those topics with a cute altered lunchbox project, and you got yourself a very personal keepsake!

BTW/FWIW, I don't really know Katie -- I only just emailed her this morning for permission to post this.   I'm not trying to promote her auctions over anyone else's -- I just wanted to share this neat idea!  I'm dying to make one now!

self portrait tuesday

Via a blogroll link from CraftyPod, via 52projects.com...

Fabulous idea alert: self portrait tuesday.

A few months ago, Kathreen Ricketson started taking self-portraits and posting them on her blog.  Several bloggers started to follow suit, so Kathreen developed the Self Portrait Tuesday project.  She has created a community where people share self-portraits, often based on themes and ideas she suggests.

Here's the thing -- all these people started taking pictures of themselves, and sharing them on their blogs, and no one seems to think they're self-centered!  They seem to have no problem with the concept of sharing themselves with others.  (Or if they do have problems with it, they do it anyway.) 

So if you ask someone to take a picture of you, or take one yourself, why are you any more self-centered than the people participating in this project??  Take some pictures and GO SCRAP YOURSELF!

About Self Portrait Tuesday
Current SPT Challenge (makes me think of that Heidi Swapp body parts layout from a while ago)

Artella's You*U Focus Groups

Via Scrapability: Artella's You*U Focus Groups.

For those who remain unaware, Artella runs a paid for You*U Class for people who want to build their businesses etc. It sounds like a very good course, but for me is too much of an outlet financially, plus I haven’t actually got an idea of a business or enterprise I’d like to start, lol. But what comes out of the classes is a bevy of new classes, e-courses, e-books, teleseminar programmes etc - on a varied range of subjects.

And those You*U graduates end their class by running it (either fully or partially) for a focus group, to allow them feedback on their course offerings or ideas. And twice a year Artella Founder, Marni, sends out an email to ask for focus group signups.

WHOA!  I checked out the focus group offerings....where have *I* been?  Some awesome stuff there!  Super, envelope-pushing content. I signed up for Karen Kuklinski's "8 Minute Marketing" group.  Very cool!  Be sure to check out all the group options.

I've thought about offering Book of Me "MeTeacher" certification for several years now -- putting something together and offering it to a core focus group would be a great way to go.  A solid way to work out the "bugs" first.  (Not that I teach "buggy" classes, mind you....)  Any takers?  ;)

FEEDBACK, PLEASE: My class at MemoryTrends

I'm putting together my handout for my class at MemoryTrends, "Scrapbooks that Sing with Soul".  We're going to be discussing ideas on how to "coach reluctant writers to journal and add meaning to their projects".  So what I need from you... What are your problems when it comes to journaling?  What are your roadblocks?  What do you need help moving through/past/around?  Or if you're an instructor, what are your students' problems?  What would you want to get out of a class with this description. 

It would really help me a lot if you would leave some feedback in the comments, or email me at angieATonescrappysite.com (replace the AT with an @).  Thanks so much!

Chat at Lifetime Moments

Just a heads up -- I just signed on to do a chat at LifetimeMoments.com on Sunday, Sept. 25th, as a part of their 3rd anniversary celebration crop.  My chat will take place on their message boards at 2pm Central/3pm Eastern.  It's an open chat, so we can discuss Book of Me stuff, Book of Us stuff, or whatever you might want to pick my brain about!  ;)

Hope to see you there!

Using Blogs to Market Scrapbooking Designers

Far Flung Craft has a very interesting post on Why Scrapbookers Need Blogs and the follow up, Blogs as a Scrapbook Marketing Tool.  Kudos to Kristy!  She provides excellent pointers for "scrapbookers who want to be published, or work as designers in the industry":

As I look for new design team members, or people that I want to give some free product too, for PR purposes, I look to who has a blog, who has a resume, or some other online presence. 2peas and the other galleries are ok... but they are not enough for the serious designer. I want to know more about the person, I want them to post work on their blog, so I can see, not one... not five projects, but a scope of work. Work that should and does evolve over time.

And basically, she suggests you put all of the above on a blog.  She makes some good points.

If you want to see other scrapbooking business applications of blogs, be sure to check out my article in the Oct/Nov issue of (trade magazine) Scrapbook Retailer, "Blogs: The Newest Powertool in Your Marketing Kit".  I'll also be posting some links here that will help further your business blogging endeavors.

Blog Crushes

Darren Rouse has been talking about "Blog Crushes" over at ProBlogger:

...I’m suggesting we make the next 7 days about naming our Blog Crushes.

Do you have a crush on another blogger? I don’t mean an actual crush - rather is there a blog or blogger out there that you really admire? Maybe you’re too scared to let them know or are afraid that your admiration is unrequited?

• you like the way they blog
• you find yourself logging onto their blog every day (sometimes more) and staring at their design or drooling over their way with words
• their RSS feed is at the top of your list
• you leave more comments on their blog than you write posts on your own
• you let them know about posts you’ve written in the hope that one day they’ll notice you
• you dream about that elusive spot on their blog roll that you’d love to fill
• every second post you do is about them or their blog

I wasn't really going to participate in this exercise -- I have 107 feeds on my Bloglines account, so it'd be hard to pick!  But then, I got crushed! 

Angie Pedersen, The Blog of ME
Angie’s quest to get us all to scrap about OURSELVES is near and dear to my heart. But what I love about her blogging is that she does it with gusto. She does it like a real pro, finding great stuff, linking well and making comments that enrich my day just reading her blog. This post about her scrapbooking purse made me want one. When she said, “Fortunately I have a date with my husband tonight, so I get to take out my new purse and show it off. (neener)” it made me want to know her.

Kim, I'm so touched!  You must have known today would be a good day to read such nice comments!  ;)

So I guess now I gotta pick some crushes.  Maybe my doing so will point out some blogs you haven't heard about, so it will be a resource.  I'll try to keep my comments short. 

Blogs I never fail to read:

Gina at Lifehacker -- "Don't live to geek; geek to live."  LOVE IT.  High-post blog with tons of great tips about everything under the sun.  Recent posts I've liked: Imagination Prompt Generator, 20 Ways to Say NO, and Make a Poster-sized Photo Collage.

Darren at ProBlogger -- anyone making Six Figures blogging deserves some crushing!  His 31 Days to Building a Better Blog is also crush-worthy.

Andy Wibbels -- blog "evangelist" who selflessly shares tons of blogging/marketing ideas.  And I think he looks a lot like Harry Connick Jr, so it's nice visiting his blog just to see his cutie face.  ;)  Good posts: How to Photoshop Yourself Pretty, Blog Carnivals, and 40 Questions about Blogging.

Joan Stewart -- "The Publicity Hound" -- I don't know if I would call her a blog "crush".  It's really more about her newsletter.  I've been getting it for probably over a year, and it's jam-packed with publicity content.  Great stuff.

Ken Leebow -- love the links he shares.

Heather/Dooce -- CRACK me up.  This is the woman, you might remember, who writes about poop.  Love her pictures of her dog, too.

For my completely "inappropriate" humor needs: Overheard in New York (frequent language warnings)
And slightly less "inappropriate", but still often stinkin' funny: Overheard in the Office

Mridu Khullar -- awesome freelance writing tips and resources.  Her "introduction letter" idea has already proved successful for me.

Wendi Speciale -- this woman is so real. I feel such calm, and hope, and blessings when I read her blog.  Plus, the added benefit of laughing my butt off at her "this could only happen to me" stories.  ( I mean, really -- where else can you read something like this: "Well, Terminix moms are freaking out, and this one here, yes, I, somehow manage to SPRAY MYSELF IN THE EYE with the BUG KILLER."   A Jeep and a grill are also involved.  I about peed my pants.)

Carrie Colbert -- she is just too cute, and I love the sparkling personality that comes through in her posts.  I loved the story of her engagement.

And of course my blogging friend Michelle at Scrapability.  She's who I turned to when I considered starting a blog, and she's who I turn to for honest reviews of products and scrap-community situations.  I love her insightful and introspective posts and, unless I'm reeeeally busy, I read every word.

I also read all of Kim's posts -- I really liked her post of Dr. DeClutter's ideas for dealing with kids' artwork and her list of must-remember's for back to school.

See?  This is why I wasn't going to start on this blog crush thing!  :)  Too many to choose from.  Maybe I should have broken it up into several posts?  Or maybe I'll make another post somewhere down the line, and describe/crush on other bloggers I didn't mention this time.