Day Six | Keep It Simple Scrapbooking Week

Welcome to day six of Keep It Simple Scrapbooking Week (KISS Week). Today we are welcoming Kim Chaffin and Elizabeth Heinz, both Ali Edwards Design Inc creative team members,  as they share their favorite tips to help document their stories. And since this week is all about getting back to basics, we've decided to put our entire basics collection on sale! From now till March 31, get 15% off the basics collection using the code BACKTOBASICS15. Enjoy!

Kim Chaffin // Including Other Voices

Hello everyone, and happy weekend! It’s Kim Chaffin, and I hope that you have been loving KISS Week as much as I have! I’m happy to be here on the final day to talk about bringing other voices into our journaling. 

Before I even get into that, I’d like to share a preliminary journaling tip that has made a world of difference for me. I suggest journaling at an entirely separate time from when you are actually creating your scrapbook page. I’ve often found myself stuck when trying to journal during the process of making a page. I believe that happens to a lot of people because we are accessing a different portion of our brains when we are being artsy and creating than the area we use when putting words together. In the past, it was  understood as right brain vs left brain, but recent research indicates that while things aren’t quite that simple, it is true that we access different areas of our brains to engage in different activities. The artsy portion of the brain is largely nonverbal. That’s why it can be hard to shift gears to write when you are in the midst of a creative zone. Things go so much smoother for me if I have my story down before I even start putting a page together.

Many of my stories come from or gain dimension by bringing in the voices of my loved ones. I love to do this because my scrapbook pages more authentically represent our family stories when I include everyone’s own words. There are many ways to bring in other voices, from documenting overheard conversations to interviewing a loved one. I want to share a favorite tip that I use often because it is so easy, and I am never disappointed. I ask a simple question of my family members, and I record their answers.

The layout above was a way of bringing together multiple impressions of a cross-country family road trip. I simply asked each family member, “What was your favorite part of the trip?”

I generally document their answers exactly as they give them to me. There are no wrong answers. I do not try to micro-manage or lead their responses in any way, because I want the answer to be truly theirs. In this case, I chose to add a photograph of each person’s favorite spot. The result is a page that incorporates a variety of perspectives.

Story Kits are great for prompting questions. And don’t be afraid to ask a question even when you think you know the answer. You may be surprised, or you may find that the person phrases the answer in a way that amuses you. For the following layout, spurred by the Morning Story Kit, I asked each family member whether they are a morning person, knowing full well that most in our family are hardcore night owls. Their answers made me laugh!

The final tip I’ll share is something that we have found to be relationship-enhancing in its own right. My husband and I purchased a couple’s journal for our last anniversary. The journal asks one question a day, and we answer it. We usually can’t wait to see what the other has written! There are many variations on this. Sibling journals, parent-child journals, and friend journals are several commonly available types. It’s easy to turn a journal response into a scrapbook page, with permission, of course. The words on the layout below come directly from a page in our couple’s journal.

I hope this post has you asking questions (and documenting answers)! Thank you so much for stopping by. Happy scrapbooking!

Elizabeth Heinz // Repetition as a Design Element

Hello friends, it’s Elizabeth.  I’m DELIGHTED to share the final design tip during KISS week.  If you’re familiar with my projects, I’m ALL about SIMPLE.  For me, that means REPETITION.  I repeat color, embellishments and/or words to provide CONSISTENCY.  I try to repeat in ODD numbers (usually three).  Here’s a few examples...

For my first example, I created a traditional 12x12 layout using the Storytelling Basics Collection (which is currently 15% off until March 31st in the shop).  For REPETITION, I used three tags to hold my photos.  On those photos, I REPEATED the same embellishment - an initial and asterisk.

I was inspired by Ali’s blog post “Love You Because” on February 12th so I used it as my story spark.  I REPEATED the digital sentiment as a title for my journaling on the three tags.  I also used the physical stamp to REPEAT the sentiment on the heart from one of the journal cards.

To finish, I REPEATED colors, including red, yellow and blue.

My second example is a 6x8 layout using the Cozy Story Kit.  For REPETITION, I used color and words.  After choosing the 4x6 quote card, I REPEATED the soft pink color in the center house and chipboard (“simply the best” sentiment) on the left-hand page.  I also REPEATED some form of the word COMFORT and COZY in three places.

My third example is an 8.5x11 layout using the Ups and Downs Collection.  For REPETITION, I used five circles (the small rainbow is the dot of the i) and color.  I intentionally REPEATED yellow, gray and black.

My fourth example is a 6x8 layout using the Just Write Subscription.  For repetition, I used three rectangular chipboard strips.  Can you say SIMPLE?

My fifth example is an 8.5x11 layout using the Transition Story Kit.  For repetition, I used circles, dimension, transparent word phrases, stars AND color.  To begin, I printed three photos and used a circle punch and foam squares to adhere them to both pages.  Next, I chose five transparent word phrases and added a chipboard star.  Finally, I used the yellow in my son’s t-shirt to use as a background for my journaling page.  

My sixth example is a 9x12 layout using the Roam Story Kit.  For REPETITION, I used three white acrylic pieces AND gold stars.

My final example is a 9x12 layout using the July 2020 digital STBM Kit.  For REPETITION, I used circles, transparent word stickers, stars and color.

This journal card inspired the REPETITION of color (blue and gray) and stars.

I HOPE that my design tip AND this series has provided something to MOTIVATE, something to ENCOURAGE, something to INSPIRE and something to REMIND you that it doesn’t need to be complicated.  

HAPPY crafting.  XO

We hope you enjoyed Kim and Elizabeth's tips. Find more inspiration from them both on instagram! Kim can be found at @kimdocumentslife and look for Elizabeth at @elizabethheinz. We hope you have enjoyed this series as much as we have. We'll be taking a break tomorrow, and we'll be back on Monday to share some great insights from our community, and more. We're also working on a summary of these blog posts that will be available as a free download. Check back Monday for more details. Have a wonderful weekend! Thank you for being here. 

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5 thoughts

  1. bookemper says…
    02/20/2021

    I have loved this week. I have scrap lifted some of the pages this week and have gotten more stories told. I love the hints in this post. Like Kim suggested, I have often used others voices, just asking "what was your favorite part of..." and using that in my layout. I know for one of my nephews, once he saw the first layout of him that I did, he freely told me his favorite parts of other trips we have taken together.

    Reply 0 Replies
  2. carolinerayman says…
    02/20/2021

    Great tips! I loved the couple's journal idea and just found one for my husband and me as well as one we can share with our kiddo! Thank you!

    Reply 0 Replies
  3. geordie281 says…
    02/20/2021

    The answers in that 'are you a morning person?' layout are hilarious! Love it all.

    Reply 0 Replies
  4. jackieajager says…
    02/20/2021

    This week has been so fun! Thanks for creating KISS-Week! Very talented creative team members! Also, I’m so grateful for the recent activity on the blog. It is SO refreshing for those of us who do NOT want to be on Facebook to see all the updates and awesome inspiration. Thanks Ali!

    Reply 0 Replies
  5. totteacher says…
    02/22/2021

    Love these! I especially love the “are you a morning person?” Page. What a great way to get other people’s stories (even mini ones!) into the books, and use up all those random little photos in my phone that are cute but don’t match a “”theme” or event. And this can be done over and over, asking different questions! Oooo the possibilities! Thank you Kim!

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