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CZ Design

Blog to Page

May 6, 2009

Blog to Page

IMG_2106

A long time ago, in a blogosphere not so far away, I dreamed that I would write on my blog, and that writing would turn into a scrapbook page.

Such great intentions.

There are so many stories I've shared on this blog since 2005. So many slices of my everyday life. Most of the stories have stayed within the confines of my Typepad account never to see the light of day on a piece of cardstock. And that's perfectly okay.

Blogging is a form of digital scrapbooking if you think about it. Stories and photos together is really all you need to qualify. Still, sometimes it's nice to pull it out of the cyber realm and into the real one.

Last weekend, with the glorious inspiration of National Scrapbooking Day at hand, I decided I wanted to pull some of the words I'd written about Aidan turning 13. Using some of the words from this entry, and photos from this one, I opened a new letter sized document in InDesign, and designed the following page:

Digital page

It looked so nice and neat sitting there on the screen, that I debated: do I now print out the pieces, cut them apart, and figure out what cardstock to put this on, or… do I just stay digital, and print it out as is?

Sometimes, the idea of adding an embellishment is too much to have to think about. I had everything I needed: the story, the photos, the design. File > Print. Done.

Once I printed the page out onto photo paper, I then trimmed roughly a quarter of an inch around the edges, mounted it onto a piece of kraft cardstock and called it complete.

OnethreeWeb 

It printed a bit richer than what you saw on screen, but the end result really made me happy. A story from the heart, brought to physical life with digital tools.

This makes me want to take more from the blog to the page. Definitely.

For those of you who blog, are you taking advantage of all the raw material you're creating?

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Comments

  1. Valerie says

    May 6, 2009 at 5:11 am

    Great page – I’m wondering what font you used in the journaling? I really like the look – very magazine-ey (yes, there probably is a proper word for that but I haven’t had my cofee yet this morning) :}

    Reply
  2. chris jenkins says

    May 6, 2009 at 5:45 am

    simple and perfect.

    Reply
  3. Susan Raihala says

    May 6, 2009 at 6:12 am

    You’re right: it’s a perfect page as is, no need to add a thing, though the kraft border is more scrapbooky–in a good way.
    😉

    My blog is all about the words (I post an essay each week), and I have intended to turn entries into scrapbook pages eventually. But I haven’t made a scrapbook page in about a year. (Not lazy, mind you, as I’ve made about 600 handstamped cards in that time,LOL!)

    You’re motivating me to redirect my attention and get back at it. Thanks!

    Reply
  4. Cheri says

    May 6, 2009 at 6:35 am

    It is DONE. And it’s so quintessentially YOU. Love it. Wouldn’t change a thing.

    Reply
  5. Kim K says

    May 6, 2009 at 6:38 am

    OK-Love this but have yet to jump into digital. I have a mac, and the new iwork software. Could I use the templates from “pages ’09” for pages like this? (I’m new to mac, so this could take time, but for this, I’m willing to learn!)

    Reply
  6. Audrey Reed says

    May 6, 2009 at 6:43 am

    Fabulously simple and wonderful layout! You are my inspiration … I’ve been blogging my 10 month old son’s monthly updates with exactly this intent. Now that you’ve proven it can be done I’m out of excuses. Thanks a lot. 😛

    Reply
  7. Cricket says

    May 6, 2009 at 7:31 am

    love this layout! I had given passing thoughts to using my blog for some scrapbook pages but now, for sure!!! Thanks for the inspiration!!

    smiles,

    Reply
  8. Beth says

    May 6, 2009 at 7:41 am

    I have allowed my blog to make me feel like I have “scrapbooked” through this year already, even though it is all on my blog in cyberland. I am hoping that some techie genius is going to offer a way to create a blog book so that I can have my blog turned into an actual scrapbook via some online miracle and then it be mailed to me in hardcopy beautification. Do you know of any such site that offers this?
    For sure, blogging has made me a much better scrapbook journal-er. Does that make sense? Love your page. Love your blog.

    Reply
  9. Judy in Huntsville[al] says

    May 6, 2009 at 7:47 am

    you know – i do… i love that my blog captures my feelings and not just events – and i ‘ve found my self going back through and earmarking the stories I want to scrap —

    Reply
  10. Jennifer Larson says

    May 6, 2009 at 8:23 am

    Terrific LO–I admire your strength in not adding anything. I don’t think I have the fortitude to resist adding a flower or two!

    Reply
  11. Julie says

    May 6, 2009 at 8:24 am

    LOVE that graphic look. Someone teach me In Design!!!

    Reply
  12. Sarah says

    May 6, 2009 at 8:30 am

    I’ve been wanting to do the same thing, but I don’t have any software to speak of, just word. But a friend of mine told me that I can dump my blog over at shutterfly and they’ll print the whole thing as a book. I’m going to research it. Its not my idea of a scrapbook, but at least my kids/grandkids will have something to read that’s truely M.E.

    Reply
  13. Sara Mangan says

    May 6, 2009 at 8:31 am

    I love this. I just made using one of your templates from your online class. I was able to journal so much. Thanks so much for sharing your pages with us.

    Blurb.com will turn your blog into a book. I use blogger and it just took al the info from my blog and put it in a book like format. Now I am going through adjusting the pictures and layouts and then I will print it. HTH

    Reply
  14. Julie Mitchell from Montréal, Canada says

    May 6, 2009 at 8:50 am

    Beautiful and very inspiring.

    Reply
  15. Nathalie (famille1999) says

    May 6, 2009 at 9:32 am

    Gorgeous page Cathy! I’ve been meaning to do the same ever since I started blogging but I have yet to do it. Your page might very well be the kick in the butt that I needed to turn one of my entry into a scrapbook page. Thanks! =)

    Reply
  16. Jodeen Buehler says

    May 6, 2009 at 9:39 am

    Its so nice to see a scrapbook page on your blog! I have both your books and love your work. I am using my blog to record my “journaling” and will download my blog to blurb at the end of the year into a book. I did the same last year and don’t have the guilt that I don’t have my 2008 pictures scrapbooked. I am then free to scrapbook as the whim hits me. Its been very gratifying. Thanks for sharing!

    Reply
  17. Mary Moisan says

    May 6, 2009 at 9:54 am

    I read your entry about updating your kids’ school albums and how easy and fast it is for you. Can you share your secret with me. My son is now 8 and I have done a petty good job of scrapbooking his life, but for some unknown reason whenever I sit down to work on his school pages, I hit a big blank wall. I have collected tons of school relates products, including Becky Higgins school KOTM kits and I still can’t get my act together. HELP!

    Reply
  18. kelli says

    May 6, 2009 at 10:01 am

    Love the page and the way it came about!
    I’m blogging, and have used a few things for scrapbooking. I find that the best thing is that when I blog, it’s dated, so if I forget when something happened I can look back and refresh my every failing memory!

    Reply
  19. Heather Hillary says

    May 6, 2009 at 10:04 am

    I go back to my blog CONSTANTLY to grab journaling for my scrapbook pages. It’s one of the main reasons I enjoy blogging.

    Reply
  20. Tobey Saniuk says

    May 6, 2009 at 10:11 am

    I love your page, Cathy! It turned out awesome.

    I find myself more and more going back to my blogs to get bits and pieces of journaling and now that you’ve done this, I think you’ve inspired me to do just the same thing for my daughter’s 9th birthday which happened last month.

    Reply
  21. ZoezMom says

    May 6, 2009 at 10:18 am

    I also started blogging with the hopes that the thoughts would later end up on a scrapbook page. For every layout, I always turn to the blog to see if I have a snipit of a story to go along with the photos – most of the time, I do. Most of the time, I’ll alter the journalling to change the view because my audience is different. The blog is written for far away family and friends and my pages are done for my daughter and to help me remember these early days.

    The blog is the here and now and helps me remember the little details that after a week or so, I’ve forgotten.

    Although, it’s getting a little time consuming as I keep several blogs for different audiences (scrap-related, daughter’s blog, my personal blog, a house blog for when we built a new home) I really need to combine them all.

    -Kim

    Reply
  22. Leslie says

    May 6, 2009 at 10:47 am

    I use Blurb to have hardbound blog books printed. It’s not very scrappy, but it has the stories and the pictures, and that’s okay with me!

    Reply
  23. Cammy says

    May 6, 2009 at 11:26 am

    I am actually in the process of taking down an old blog and starting a new one. My husband didn’t want me to just delete the old stuff because he sees it as our story before we became three. I am printing the pages and then will have them bound. It is so interesting to read my own ramblings from four years ago.

    Reply
  24. Laura says

    May 6, 2009 at 11:57 am

    Yes!!! I have been amazed at how handy it is to have a blog to help document my pregnancy. And we also got 2 kittens recently, so I documented their first week on there too and am putting all of that info into a scrapbook. Taking stuff from my blog is one of my favorite things to do right now! So glad you posted this. 🙂

    Reply
  25. Joy M. says

    May 6, 2009 at 12:00 pm

    I don’t blog, but I can see how handy it can be to kick-starting your journaling. Wonderful LO, Cathy, and the journaling…well, it is as beautiful as your daughter.

    Reply
  26. Dena says

    May 6, 2009 at 12:45 pm

    That is really great. Your page is terrific! I don’t have a blog but wonder if I should start one.

    I just signed up for your class and am eager to start. Thanks.

    Reply
  27. alexa says

    May 6, 2009 at 1:21 pm

    Oh my. Just perfect. Perfectly perfect. Nothing else to say, really … Except – when is that Indesign class starting? Please?

    Reply
  28. Kathy F says

    May 6, 2009 at 1:37 pm

    I love it! 🙂 I mostly put finished pages/cards, etc on my blog. I should really think of doing something like this! 🙂

    Reply
  29. Sarah says

    May 6, 2009 at 2:00 pm

    For the past few nights, I have been copying and pasting text from my blog into an InDesign file, as well as grabbing the photo links. I was debating how to go about documenting all of them into a digital scrapbook of sorts. (Especially since I have taken almost NO TIME to scrapbook in ages!)

    With nearly 100 posts, it has been taking me A LONG, LONG TIME and I haven’t come up with a template that I adore yet.

    Thanks for the inspiration. Your blog/page looks great!

    Reply
  30. Sharon F. Oakland, CA says

    May 6, 2009 at 3:02 pm

    Love it! I am thinking of starting a blog but was wondering “why?” Now I know – to tell stories then get them documented with photos onto the page or minibook.
    thanks as always!

    Reply
  31. Cynthia says

    May 6, 2009 at 3:30 pm

    Ah I love this post, even enough to get off my silent blog learking behind:) So, true. You know what this is so true!!!!!!!!! All the wealth of material on blogs. Seriously if I had the time off. I would do pretty much a lay-out of each post. Your inspiring me to turn my blog subject matter into some tangible pages!!!! Oh and thank you for giving the ok for fabulous pages without embellishments. It is a constant struggle:)

    Reply
  32. kb says

    May 6, 2009 at 3:31 pm

    This is SO timely. I was just thinking about all of my blogger posts this morning. They’ve captured the last three years of my life, but I never get to enjoy them “post-post.” I am definitely going to find a way to bind an album (or two!) full of the blog posts so I can treasure them regularly. Thanks for your inspiration to help me follow through!!

    Reply
  33. Janie says

    May 6, 2009 at 3:50 pm

    It’s PERFECT. Thanks so much for the blog-to-scrapbook inspiration. I love my blog but have yet to do this – thanks for the gentle push.

    Reply
  34. Sev from france says

    May 6, 2009 at 3:50 pm

    hi Cathy
    I was a digital scrapper who turned traditional recently. Considering that I’m too busy to scrapbook, I’m really interested in your concept !
    Just need some time to write …a little 😉

    Reply
  35. Cassie says

    May 6, 2009 at 4:09 pm

    Love everything about the page you created!
    Thanks for sharing what paper you used as well:)

    Can you tell me what printer you’re using? I have a HP D5460 and so far I’m not as impressed as I hoped to be:(

    Thanks for sharing your creativity. It’s such an inspiration!

    Reply
  36. Melissa Blair says

    May 6, 2009 at 6:36 pm

    I love this idea. I have been checking out the books on Blurb. I was wondering if you have heard of this site or have any experience with them. The books seem really nice. http://www.blurb.com

    Reply
  37. robin says

    May 6, 2009 at 7:58 pm

    I cut and paste from my blog to my pages quite often. Especially when I’m scrapping something that happened awhile ago. I know if I blog about events as they happen, I’ll have a record for later on when I need to remember.

    Reply
  38. Nancy C. from Wilmington, NC says

    May 6, 2009 at 11:01 pm

    Cathy, you have the coolest kids, but when the DNA is there, what can you expect? I have a feeling you may sprout a bit more gray hair with Cole than you will with Aidan even though she is going to be a real beauty. Just post Dan as the greeter on the front porch with a shotgun made out of Legos. That should take care of those dates Dad wants to put a bit of fear into!(Insert eyeroll here if she reads your blog)

    Reply
  39. ~M~ says

    May 6, 2009 at 11:42 pm

    I never translate directly from blog to scrapbook page. But! I do use the the blog to sort of hold my initial thoughts and impressions of an event, and factual details, so I can refer later when creating a page. If I put pictures up, I put them in a natural progression. I don’t focus on one photo at a time like you do (yes I consider this page to be a one photo page because of the way the data is organized) so I need to design the storytelling progression in advance. it helps me decide which photos to print and use.

    Very nice page! I love InDesign.

    Reply
  40. molly says

    May 7, 2009 at 8:50 am

    perfect!

    I get so tired of hearing people remark how scrapbooking is product-focused. That it has a negative connotation for the results being overly embellished. I was once of that mindset myself.

    I’m a believer in this, kathy. This is the heart of it, and let’s face it who has the time or money to sustain the rest on a continual basis.

    I adore this page.

    Reply
  41. Janie says

    May 7, 2009 at 9:08 am

    I like the photos and stories without having to add ambellishments, and ended up turning my blog into a book using Blurb. It came out wonderfully, and was exactly what I wanted.

    Reply
  42. Ann Grounds says

    May 7, 2009 at 9:21 am

    I blog but my writing sucks. So, no, I haven’t created a page yet. And that’s why I’m in your Class at bigpicturescrapbooking.com. For some reason I thought it started today and I was so bummed when I checked my email and didn’t see one from you! I thought that your forgot about me but a quick check at the site, I found out that I was a week early. I bet you can tell that I am excited about the class.

    Reply
  43. April says

    May 7, 2009 at 11:02 am

    I love it. I’m going to have to take you up on the challenge to find some scrapbook-worthy stuff in my blog. Thanks for the idea!

    Reply
  44. Dalon says

    May 7, 2009 at 11:06 am

    YES!!! I actually got the idea to scrap stuff from my blog from the SS edition of “quick and easy photo albums” – what a fantastic idea!!! All I need to do (like you describe) is come up with which way to do it. (I downloaded one year already, so do I just print it professionally and have it bound? Do I just print some of the entries with a few pics? Lots of pics but LOTS of options too!!) Thanks so much for this reminder!!!!!!!!

    Reply
  45. Rhona says

    May 8, 2009 at 4:23 am

    I love this page – especially the photos, Aiden is growing into a beautiful young woman. I have a daughter who will be 13 in September (my baby!!) but she doesn’t like me taking her photo at the moment :o( Maybe that’ll change when she turns 13???

    Reply
  46. JoLynn says

    May 8, 2009 at 12:55 pm

    WOW! I will be scraplifting this. Love the layout. You always take such fabulous photos of your kids. You need to do a photo class for BPS. I would be there in a heartbeat.

    Reply
  47. kixvix says

    May 10, 2009 at 8:17 am

    Good example of the saying, “sometimes, less is more.”

    Cheers!

    Reply
  48. Tracy says

    May 14, 2009 at 6:07 am

    good choice! I think that embellishing it with anything ‘real life’ would have destroyed the feel – it is very ‘magaziney’ as someone mentioned before, which I like – clean lines. Your daughter is a stunner and seems very photogenic…… loved her mothers day letter to you 🙂

    Reply

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