Monday Giveaway : Studio Calico

I just love how my my oldest son (in his eary twenties) sneaks behind my back to look at our family albums.

This is so fitting for me today. This weekend I was at a huge family reunion of 3-4 generations. I even got to meet Govenor Ritter from Colorado who is a cousin. There were lots of pictures and story sharing. I learned so much more about my family. We have this reunion every five years and would highly recommend for other families to do it. I now have a wonderful weekend to scrapbook about.
Marilyn

My favorite part is getting the stories told, either in photos or in words and usually a combination of both. My son, has enjoyed looking back at all these albums especially his school album.

Recently, in going through boxes of older photos, I realized the emotions these photos evoke in my son and myself as we remember both special and just funny occasions that have marked our lives. Scrapbooking them just makes it even better!

Hi Ali!
I was just reminded of what I have always loved so much about memory keeping - capturing all of those fun memories that might otherwise be forgotten. Two nights ago, while preparing for a family reunion the next day, my little girl remembered several years ago at the same reunion she got to play with a baby pig named Lucky. It was so neat that we were able to pull one of our many albums off the shelf and whithin minutes be surrounded by the pictures and documentation of the day's events. If I hadn't taken the time to preserve those thoughts and images several years ago, my daughter and I would have not been able to have such a fun mother/daughter moment. Sounds like another family moment that needs preserving??!!!
Take care Ali.

journaling is the most important to me right now....i am great at getting pictures but love it when i tell the story well..... and it is also the most difficult for me!

My favourite thing about memory keeping right now is that my focus has shifted from documenting the "big events" to recording the everyday moments. I find when I look at a picture of a crumb of time I can remember the smell, the feel, what I was thinking in that exact moment. I love it!

My favorite right now is that I just finished a Europe album this weekend. A huge effort that took me two months to complete and the trip was almost nine years ago. Showed it to the friend that was with me and we laughed all the way thru it. It is a hobby that brings us all back together in so many different aspects. Memories that will extend long after I am gone.

RE-LIVING THE MEMORY and feeling creative--that I am leaving a part of me behind is my favorite thing right now. Also, feeling like I have some "me" time.

I almost forgot what scrapbooking was about. Then I reflected back on each MOMENT (which is my word for the year) I have had this year. Living in the moment and remembering those every moments. We only live once and need to make our moments last long past our lifetime.

My favorite thing right now is giving up the idea things have to be in chronological order and focusing on authentic memories instead.

I have a couple of favorite things right now. I have 2 granddaughters age 1 1/2 and 2 1/2 and they love to see their pages. I am really into mini scrapbooks as gifts and love to see the smiles when they ar given.

Due to my age (& menopause) my memory is failing me more than I want, so I really see the need to get these memories recorded with pictures & journaling before I forget!!

My favorite thing right now is making lots of mini books. Some are for me, like the one I made documenting all my garage sale finds. I've also made many for gifts. There's just something about having mini-books around in a basket, being able to pick through them and find your favorite, then looking through it again!

I am excited to someday share my albums and photos and journals with my grandchildren and even great grandchildren.
I also love having all of these for family to look through now.
LOVE that.

Hello Ali, my favorite memory keeping at the moment is this monthly journal from creative cafe. With 3 boys, I get behind sometimes scrapping all the pictures but with my journal, I can capture the essence of our month together. And I enjoy the kids in their everyday activities

As a small child, picture-taking was not something my parents had a lot of time for, and what we did have was lost in the many moves we made. As a result, today, I don't have my mother's pictures (or the scrapbooks she kept) - just memories of them. Needless to say, my camera has become an extra appendage of my body! I take pictures everywhere I go, and document memories for my son and his family (including my adorable twin grandchildren). When the scrapbooking "craze" came along, boy was I (more than) ready. What a wonderful thing it is that I'm leaving so many great stories and pictures to be passed on to my family!

Right now, I love that I have chosen to do mini monthly albums for 2008. It has really helped my stay caught up with my pictures and has given me more time to create for myself and for my Etsy shop, where my goal is to create simple, affordable albums that people can buy so they to can save their memories even if they don't scrapbook.

hi, ali! your work always inspires me. i have been very sentimental this summer, going through old pictures and memories. i am creating a scrapbook of my school memories. we don't have children yet, but i want to preserve some of these memories now while i have the time, before i get busy with baby books and scrapbooks for our kids, and while i can still remember. my mom died when she was 34 and i was 2 and i wish she would have scrapbooked. i would love to know more about her school years, and then more about her twenties and thirties and what she was like back then. my dad has forgotten so much. i love the creative aspect of our hobby, but right now it is the memory preservation that i am enjoying so much. as i create these pages i feel like i am leaving a piece of my heart for others to appreciate, enjoy, and remember.

The creative outlet.
Got my fingers crossed!! : )