Now that my kiddos are back in school, I'm going to try and start blogging on a (slightly) more frequent basis.  I have a couple dozen projects that I've haven't shared yet.  Here's a project I did for Creating Keepsake's blog a few weeks ago.

Over the summer my family took a wonderful trip to Hawaii.  Because this was our first big family vacation, I went a little overboard with the picture-taking. I took hundreds of photos. Obviously I can't scrap them all, so I wanted to maximize the number of photos I can get on a single page.

One way to get a lot of photos on a page is to create a mini flip book on a layout. The beauty of this is that you can use standard full-size photos (i.e., 4″ x 6″ or 3″ x 5″). 

I got this fabulous flip book idea from a layout made by Joannie McBride in the Sept/Oct 2012 issue of Creating Keepsakes magazine.

I created a vertical stack of tabbed layers that can be lifted up to reveal the photo underneath.

My flip book has six layers. This is enough for six or seven photos, depending on whether you place a picture directly on the paper underneath the bottom tab. You could easily add more photo layers to your page by placing each layer closer together, and you can double the number of photographs by attaching a photo to both sides of each layer. Another variation is to create a horizontal flip book going across the page.

I hope you've been inspired to create your own flip book!

CK Special Issue Giveaway Winner!

So sorry for the delay in announcing the winner of the giveaway for Creating Keepsakes' new special issue: Better Digital Photos & Scrapbooking.  As always I used a random number generator to pick the winning commenter, and the winner is . . . Kait!!   

Congrats, Kait!  I will try and contact you to let you know you've won and to get your mailing address, or feel free to email me at the address on my sidebar.  

Another year older

Yep, I'm turning another year older today.  So far it's been a great birthday morning, with my husband and my girls spoiling me rotten.  They gave me quite a chuckle by waking me up all wearing Groucho Marx style fake glasses, noses and mustaches.  I'm so grateful for my wonderful and wacky family!

As I'm getting older, my birthday becomes less significant to me and I really like to keep the celebration low key.   Though I do milk my "my birthday week" (yes, birthday WEEK!) for all it's worth, and I get my hubby to do all sorts of nice things around the house.   He even -- *gasp* -- cleaned out the litter box last night and again this morning!  

I'm going out for a nice lunch and dinner later, then after dinner I get to have birthday cake from my very favorite bakery: Hansen's Cakes (seriously the BEST cake place in Los Angeles).  Yummo! Here's a birthday layout I made a few years ago.  The girls always help me blow out the candles on my cake.

Thank you for allowing me this somewhat self-indulgent post!

Creating Keepsakes' Better Digital Photos & Scrapbooking -- Blog Hop and GIVEAWAY

Creating Keepsakes' newest special issue is out! Better Digital Photos & Scrapbooking:

Increase your photography and photo-editing skills and discover new ideas for sharing your photos with the tips, tricks, and tutorials in Better Digital Photos & Scrapbooking, a special issue from Creating Keepsakes. Whether you're a traditional scrapbooker or prefer to create pages digitally, you'll love how this issue will help you better capture your family's stories. Whether you use a point-and-shoot, a DSLR, a cell phone camera or a mixture of these, you won't want to miss out on this essential photography and scrapbooking guide!

Here's a sneak peak at a photography tip I contributed to this special issue.  When taking portraits outdoors, try to avoid the harsh midday sunlight.  A great time to take outdoor portraits is just after sunrise or right before sunset.  To illustrate this point, I took photos of my daughter at different times of the day.  This first photo was taken in the early afternoon when the sun was shining brightly.  The sun caused my daughter to squint, and it also cast some shadows on her face.

This next photo was taken of my daughter in the same spot just after sunrise.  Her skin looks evenly toned and nicely lit.  You can see the beautiful color and detail of her eyes.

If you happen to be photographing your subject in the midday sun, there are some things you can do to minimize the negative effects of the harsh sun.  Try to find a partially shaded area where the sun's bright rays are blocked by a tree, a wall, etc.  Or position your subject so that the sun is shining down from the side of you both (rather than behind your subject or behind you).  This will avoid squinting and unflattering shadows.

Here's the link to the paper edition: Better Digital Photos & Scrapbooking - Paper Edition
Here's the link to the digital edition: Better Digital Photos & Scrapbooking - Digital Edition
And as always, I get to giveaway a copy of this special issue to one lucky blog reader!  To be entered to win, simply leave a comment here before the end of the day on Tuesday, September 11th.

For more chances to win a copy of the great special issue, be sure and visit the other blogs on this blog hop:

Autumn Baldwin - http://itsalwaysautumn.com
Joey Manwarren - http://everydayimagination.blogspot.com/
Laina Lamb - http://www.lifeonthelamb.blogspot.com/
Adele Beck http://dleebug.wordpress.com/ 
Erika Hayes http://www.thinkingthroughdesign.typepad.com
Jana Morton http://janamorton.blogspot.com/
Mou Saha http://collagecollagecollage.blogspot.com/
Gretchen McElveen http://www.gretchenmac.blogspot.com
Iris Uy http://www.irisbabaouy.typepad.com/
Ashley Harris (The Scrap Review) http://www.thescrapreview.com
Lain Ehmann http://www.layoutaday.com
Susan Mintmire http://www.designteamcalls.com
Patty Cieri http://thegreenhouseonthehill.blogspot.com/
Ashley Horton http://ashleyspaperdoll.blogspot.com/