Looking for A Great Idea?

Are YOU tired of seeing the same old boring scrapbook pages - you know the ones with the kids mug staring straight into the camera! Give me a break!

Scrapbooking is all about creativity - are you REALLY as ho hum as all that? I think not. I think your family is active and fun and crazy - your photos need to reflect that - HOW?

Scrapbooking is all about expressing your creative side and producing a scrapbook full of memories for your family.

But all too often, scrapbook pages become boring. You run out of scrapbook ideas and great photos. Sometimes all you need is a new perspective - or angle on the subject.

Instead of all of taking all of your photos like portraits, try to take some photos from different angles. A good eye for a photo can be more important than your equipment.

Get lower than your subject, get higher, take photos from the side. My husband and I always take pictures of our feet in one of our travel photos...we have pictures of our feet on a ferry in the San Juan Islands. We have photos of our feet peeking out of the sand on the beach in Texas. We have snapshots of our sandaled feet Mexico on a crowded bus (lots of feet in this picture).

Close- up photos have greater impact than long distance ones unless you need to show people in context.

A shot from below can create an imposing impression and one from the side is more relaxed. A photo taken from above gives a sense of space.

Tilt the camera instead of holding it horizontal or vertical.

Take many photos of the same subject from different angles and then choose the best for your scrapbook. You will be surprised by the excitement you can create on your pages.

Just as every subject can be taken from different angles, so can every scrapbook page be thought of from different angles.

For example. The basic baby footprint page has a picture of the newborn and beside it, the precious baby footprints. But try to think of a unique angle on this page. What if you took those baby footprints and walked them all around the photo - making a frame. Another angle might be to take actual photos of the baby's feet to put along side of the footprints instead of the baby's face.

Try taking lying on the grass and have someone hold the baby on a piece of heavy plexiglass over you. It will look like the baby is floating with the sky as a background.

Angles.....

About the Author: Cindy Smart is the owner of Super Smart Scrapbooking Services, an online member only monthly scrapbooking service offering digital scrapbooks by professional artists for busy people. Are you too busy to scrapbook? Let us do it for you. For more information see www.supersmartscrapbooking.com

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How to Preserve a Baby Footprint in Plaster

A baby's footprint is such a precious thing to cherish. When you keep a print of a baby you can look at it for years and remember how tiny your child was at one time. When your son grows to have a size 13 shoe it is great to look at their tiny footprint from when they were small and reminisce.You can make a paperweight of your child's footprint and keep it forever. You can also use it since it is a paperweight which makes it useful to have around.To make a footprint paperweight you will need some quick drying clay and a margarine tub. You can buy some quick drying clay at a craft store and if you do not have a margarine tub you can improvise with something like a Cool Whip container. Any tub that is just big enough for your child's foot to fit in that is somewhat flexible will do.You can buy many colors of clay for this project since the quick drying clay comes in many different colors. Pick your child's favorite color to personalize the paperweight.Take the quick drying clay and place in into the bottom of the tub. Make sure it is thick enough to be sturdy but not too thick that it becomes a brick instead of a paperweight.Put some petroleum jelly on the youngster's foot so that the clay does not stick to the child's foot. Gently put the child's foot into the clay so that it makes a good print. If the print comes out crooked or sloppy you can smooth out the clay and try again but you have to be somewhat quick so the clay does not harden too much.After you have made a nice clean print of your child's foot in the clay let it harden. You can read the instructions that came with the clay to see how long it will take to harden. When it is hard take the tub and gently bend it away from the footprint until you have worked the clay with the footprint on it free from the tub.

You should have a beautiful paperweight footprint of your child's foot to keep as a keepsake and enjoy. If you wish you can paint the paperweight any color you wish or you can leave it the way it is. You can personalize the paperweight by painting the child's name and age on the paperweight.These paperweights make great gifts for grandparents, aunts and uncles. You can even make a paperweight print of your pets paw.

By Donna Daniels

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How to Make an Easy Newborn Baby Gift - Create a Baby Fact Sheet

New parents are understandably very busy after the birth of their baby and may forget to save the newspaper on the day of baby's birth. How about giving them a one-page "baby fact sheet" that captures a snapshot of the current events on baby's birthday?Most baby books have a page that parents can fill in with highlights of the day, including popular books, music, movies, products, and more. You can create a sheet that will be personalized just for their child. It takes a little time surfing online to compile the facts, but the results will be fantastic and the parents will treasure your creation. Plus, the child will grow up and enjoy seeing what was hot at the time of his or her birth.Some ideas you can use plus suggested links to finding information include:Baby's full name and meaning. Baby Name Meanings at Make Way For BabyCity, County and State of birth.Day, date, and time of birth.Vital statistics including sex, height, weight, hair and eye color.Photos, or footprint.Names of parents, grandparents, Godparents, siblings.Explanation of how baby was named. Zodiac sign and small explanation of the temperament of baby born under that sign. Zodiac Sign Dates ChartBirthstone About BirthstonesMoon Phase. The Old Farmer's Almanac#1 Book, fiction, nonfiction. NY Times Best SellersTop Movie Blockbusters. Yahoo! MoviesDow Jones Industrial Average. Today's DJIA at CNNClothing Styles.Top Headlines, National and LocalFamous people born on this day. Infoplease Cultural or ethnic references special to your family.Anything else that would have special meaning to the family.Special quote that has meaning to you or the family. Baby Quotes at AllGreatQuotesTechnical TipsYou can insert photos into your Microsoft Word Document, PowerPoint, or other similar software program and then type in your text. Experiment with font styles. You can keep it simple or jazz it up.

One tip is to copy selections from the internet into your Notepad and then paste it into your document. That way, you won't be copying any colorful backgrounds or white text. Then you can use either your Format Painter Tool or Format Font to create a uniform font throughout your document. It takes a little bit of time and work to create a beautiful sheet, but it is worth it. You can then save and edit your template for any future births.Presenting Your GiftWhen you are finished, you can then print it out on archival paper. You could also frame it and present it as a gift. It could also be used as a baby announcement or as part of a baby announcement. It can go right into the baby book or scrapbook. Another idea is to email it to family. Your work will be appreciated and you will have given a one-of-a-kind present that your special baby will love in the future!
By Tracy McCoy

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Create Your Own Baby Footprint Wrapping Paper

I started creating this homemade wrapping paper when I was invited to a baby shower and I discovered at the last minute that all of the wrapping paper I had on-hand was Christmas themed. Since then, I've kept doing because it is so cute and everyone has really enjoyed receiving it. Begin with a piece of paper big enough to cover your gift. It can be tissue paper, freezer paper, or even a piece of plain white office paper in a pinch, if your gift is small enough. It doesn't have to be white. If you know the gender of the child or the color theme of the party you might want to use matching paper. You will also need a stamp pad or some craft paint.I like to use the traditional pink or blue colors for the paint if I know the gender of the child. If I don't know the gender, I'll typically use yellow or green. Begin by laying your paper out flat on your working surface. Open your stamp pad, or pour a puddle of the paint you are using on a paper plate. You might want to have some paper towels or handi-wipes nearby to clean up with, because you are going to get paint on both of your hands.Choose one hand to start with and curl it into a fist. Hold it out in front of you so that the side of your fist with the pinkie on it is down and the side with the thumb is pointing straight up. Keeping your hand in that position, lower your hand into your paint or onto your stamp pad. Lift your hand away and look at it to make sure that you have a thoroughly coated (but not too heavily coated!) layer of color on the bottom of your fist. Now take that fist and set it down carefully onto your paper. Lift it straight up when you are finished, and you should have a clear print that looks just like the question mark shaped curl of the bottom of a baby's foot. Your baby footprint won't have any toes, but that's alright because we will fix that later.You will alternate the process between your left and right hands, making the prints just far enough apart that it looks like the baby is walking across the paper, leaving tracks. It's easier to lift your hand off the paper without smearing it if you can use the fingers of the opposite hand to hold the paper still.

In order to avoid accidentally wiping paint from the second hand while you are helping the first hand lift up, you may want to do all of one hand first, clean up, and then do all of the other hand. Just be sure to leave enough space between the first set to be able to fill in the opposite side. Once you have all of the foot shapes in place you will go back and add the toes. Dip each of your fingertips and your thumb in your paint or on your stamp pad, then one at a time press each them one of them down in order from thumb, index finger, middle finger, ring finger, and pinkie, so that they are in spaces that you would expect the big toe, second toe, middle toe, and so on. Your five fingers will make five toe prints. Do this for each of your prints making sure that your are putting your left hand fingers on the left foot prints, and the right hand fingers on the right foot prints. (If you accidentally put the wrong fingers with the print it will give the impression that the big toe is on the wrong side.) Give your paper a chance to dry completely and then you are ready to wrap up your gift. This is a cute and personalized project that new moms-to-be and new dads-to-be will appreciate the effort that you have put into.Please click on the author's name (above the article) to read more of her work on Associated Content.

By Susan300

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Baby Handprint and Footprint Crafts

Did you just welcome home a new little one? Share those cute little hands and feet with loved ones far away by creating some crafts that showcase prints of your baby's hands and feet. Here are a few ideas:Create a brag card. You'll need heavy cardstock or matting, ink, a photo of your new baby. Place the cardstock or matting so that the longer sides are at the top and bottom (horizontal layout). Adhere the photo in the center. Cover a foot with ink and make a print on one side of the picture. Cover one hand in ink and make a print on the other side of the photo. Use a nice pen and write the name of your child on top of the picture and put the date underneath the picture. Put imprints of baby's hands and feet on items that certain family members would use often. For example if your mom loves to cook put prints on an apron, if your father-in-law likes reading make him a bookmark with a print of your child's foot on it. Just be sure to use paint that is child safe and will wash off easily. Make ornaments out of handprints or footprints. Be sure to put the date on them and they will bring back fond memories every time they are brought out to be placed on the tree. You can make simple ornaments by putting a print on cardstock cutting around the print then attaching a ribbon loop to hang the ornament. You could also get the plastic clear ornaments that can have items put inside them and put a cut out print inside. Put hand and footprints on a small plain gift bag. Put pictures, a brag book, maybe even a DVD of video of your child inside to create a special gift.

Use a stepping stone kit to make an imprint of your child's hands and feet. They are perfect for nearly anyone, whether they garden or not. Paint a canvas in a solid color, use a darker hue of that same color to make prints of your child's hands and feet. Attach a ribbon in the darker color to the top of the canvas and tie a bow. These are simple to create and look great hanging in a nursery. Smaller versions of this same project are perfect for grandparents to hang on the fridge, just add a magnet to the back of the bow and top part of the canvas.

By Rebecca Hayes

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5 Great Ideas For Your Baby Footprint Stamp

Scrapbooking is growing in popularity, and with scrapbooking comes stamps. Whether you have a rubber stamp or you make your stamps yourself out of potatoes, there are many more ways to use baby footprint stamps other than just in a scrapbook.Here are five fun baby footprint stamp ideas that will take your stamps out of your scrapbooks and into more and more creative projects.Table cloth:Take a plain table cloth and dress it up with a baby footprint stamp. You can do the whole table cloth n a systematic pattern or very abstract. You could also do one in each color, or where each place setting will go.Name Cards:This is a great way to use the baby footprint stamp. Get a small piece of construction paper, in a light color. Add your stamp to one side and then put the person who will be sitting there right next to it. This will keep your seating arrangements right on target with a cute look.T-shirt:Using child safe ink add a baby footprint stamp to a t shirt for a very personal gift. This would be great for mother's or father's day or even granparent's day. You can add a thoughtful sentiment with fabric pens. Make sure to run a dry iron over your inked footprint to set the ink so it won't wash out in the wash.Apron:Whether it's for dad at the grill, or mom in the kitchen a personalized baby footprint will make any apron a pleasure to wear. This would be another great opportunity to add a sentiment for the person who will be wearing it. You can make these gifts very personal and unique. Again, remember to use a dry iron over your ink to set it in.Invitations:

You can use your baby footprint stamp on your invitations, or even on the back of the envelope. Whether you want to make your own or use a kit this is a fun idea, and will set the mood for your event.As you can see your baby footprint stamp has a whole lot more uses than just creating adorable baby pages in your scrapbook. You can use it to design gifts, or create an adorable baby footrprint theme for a baby shower or even for a little one's first birthday. It's a lot of fun to take your scrapbooking stamps and use them for out of the box ideas.

By Jackie Lee

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