High School Prom Memories

The Watauga Valley Art League asked me to help them digitize their yearbooks. Little did I know how HUGE this project was going to be. I just finished their first one...1984. Scanning 12" x 12" pages on a personal document flatbed scanner (edge to edge 8.5" by just under 12")... not easy.

I was ready for the next book, now that I got it down to a system (sort of). Like any large project, I broke it down into manageable chunks. The plan is to scan 10 pages a day - that is about 4 scans per page - top, bottom, front and back. The next step is to piece the top and bottoms back together in an InDesign document. Anyway, today, as I finished scanning in the first 10 pages into the computer I remembered my own personal scanning project I have been trying to find the time to work on.

I have two large boxes of old photos and mementos that I have wanted to digitize for a while now. And I thought that it would be the perfect opportunity to at least get this started since I had the scanner hooked up to the laptop, and the software was working properly. (Sometimes I have issues with HP Scanning Solution Center software - I still never got it to work properly for high resolution 600dpi scans.) But that is a blog for another time. 

I had organized the original box-o-photos into "piles" according to either an event, or lump of time when the picture was taken. i.e. Trip to NYC 1989, or High School Years, College Years etc. I picked up the first rubber-banded stack  in the box. Prom 1987!

I scanned them in, and filed them on my external hard drive - just in case of computer crashes, I want them all backed up. But, as I went through them, trying to label them as something I would recognize, I realized that I had no idea who some of these people were.

Almost 30 years ago, these kids were my life, my support group, my peers. To an emotionally sensitive, introverted, teenage kid with a dysfunctional family life, they were everything.

Some of them I have kept in touch with over the years, some I have lost touch with, but through the "magic of Facebook" have reconnected, some I think about often, and others I don't remember much at all.

When these photos were taken, I thought that these people, my friends, would ALWAYS be a part of my life. No need to write their names on the back of the picture. Sadly, I wish I had.

I was planning to put these in a scrapbook, but, now I feel obligated to research yearbook photos for names before I can put my pages together.

Let this be a reminder. when you take photographs label who is in them with the date. Yes this goes for digital photos too. Today, most digital cameras will embed the date, time and sometimes the GPS coordinates (place), but that doesn't tell you who is in the picture. Also remember that sometimes this information can be removed when it is "fixed" in any editing software such as Photoshop or Elements.

For actual physical prints, just take a minute to jot the people's names down on the back. For digital photos, be sure to include them in the file name when coping them from your camera to your storage.

BTW if you would like to see all the pictures from today's Prom Pictures Scann...
Click here.

How To Price Your Original Art

Even though my blog is in the category of "Scrapbooking", many of you are, not only scrapbookers, but artists who use various mediums. So, I feel I should share...

Have you ever had your artwork displayed? or entered anything you created into an art show?

Moving several times in less than 4 years, I didn't have much time to unleash my creative spirit. But, last year, after we settled in to our new home, with no plans to move anytime soon, I finally put paint to canvas again. I have only done a handful of paintings so far this year, but it feels wonderfully liberating to be creating again.

Recently, I joined the local Art League in hopes of meeting like-minded creative people in our new town. Suddenly I am swept into this whirlwind of their annual summer art show. When I was told that one of the eligibility requirements was that art work submitted must have been completed in the last 2 years, I was actually relieved. It narrowed my choices to a small few.


I have no experience in any of this. It is all new and very exciting to me. I never "showed" my works. I have several dozen drawings and paintings but none of them were ever on display, other than in my home. (I am still a little nervous about what people will think of them, but I am really excited as well.) So, last week, I chose my two best pieces, and I submitted my entry paperwork for those two paintings into the show and into the judging contest.

Yesterday, I received a voice mail from Linda, the person in charge of the entry form paperwork. She said that she needed a selling price for my paintings! I am a graphic designer by day. I get paid by the hour or by the difficulty of the project. Painting (and scrapbooking) are hobbies. I do it because I love it. How do you put a price on that?

I had to give her a number. So, I did some research. I found that there are many ways that artists price their work and it also depends on a number of factors. How popular is that artist, or that style, or medium, or subject matter? The easiest way I found was pricing paintings by square inch. Here is Maria Brophy's formula.

I figured in the cost of the new frames and the size (14 x 18), and they were oil paintings (oil paints and supplies are more expensive than other mediums). The final result for my two paintings were $550 each. I called Linda back and gave her my price. I also confirmed with her that I was in the price range of the other paintings that size. So, there you have it!

I have no experience in any of this. It is all new and very exciting to me. I never "showed" my works. I have several dozen drawings and paintings but none of them were ever on display, other than in my home. (I am still a little nervous about what people will think of them, but I am really excited as well.) So, last week, I chose my two best pieces, and I submitted my entry paperwork for those two paintings into the show and into the judging contest.

Yesterday, I received a voice mail from Linda, the person in charge of the entry form paperwork. She said that she needed a selling price for my paintings! I am a graphic designer by day. I get paid by the hour or by the difficulty of the project. Painting (and scrapbooking) are hobbies. I do it because I love it. How do you put a price on that?

I had to give her a number. So, I did some research. I found that there are many ways that artists price their work and it also depends on a number of factors. How popular is that artist, or that style, or medium, or subject matter? The easiest way I found was pricing paintings by square inch. Here is Maria Brophy's formula.

I figured in the cost of the new frames and the size (14 x 18), and they were oil paintings (oil paints and supplies are more expensive than other mediums). The final result for my two paintings were $550 each. I called Linda back and gave her my price. I also confirmed with her that I was in the price range of the other paintings that size. So, there you have it!


 (These images were taken before the frames. I will take a photo of the finished framed paintings once they come back from the frame shop.)

4 Handmade Cards

My latest project was not a scrapbook exactly, but some handmade cards. With the help of my Stampin' Up! rep Debra Foster-Brunst, I made these 4 cards. (Her card making group usually does 6, but, I only finished 4. So there are 2 more to come - eventually.)

Just Because made with ribbon and lace

This is a general, any occasion card.

I Lava You

Love You To The Moon

These are Valentine's Day cards, or an Anniversary cards.

Oh Happy Day

This one could be a masculine birthday card or a general happy occasion card.

All of them are blank inside, except for the "I lava you" which has a red word stamp inside that reads I love you.

If you would like to know how to make any of these, (or any of my projects for that matter) please let me know. I'd be happy to share.

Looking for a Dog Themed Album

Oh, no. I just received an e-mail from scrapbook-creations.com telling me that the dog scrap book I ordered is out of stock and discontinued. Heavy sigh!

I am having an awful time trying to find an 8"x 8" dog themed scrapbook album. (or 8.5"x8.5")

I don't really want a 12x12 or a 6x6. The 8x8 was just right. Not too big, and not too small. Big enough for larger photos, but small enough that I could print on my own Photojet printer at home on 8.5x11 photo paper instead of having to order 12x12 prints.

A long while ago, I had bought and started putting together 8x8 albums for my two cats, and our dog at the time. Since then, my oldest cat, a 16 year old diabetic fur ball, passed away. And 3 years after him, our sweet, Ariel followed. She was a Golden Retriever-Australian Shepard mix.

Keeping my albums of my animals all together, I really need to find an album for our new pup, Sephira, who is filling our home back up with love, and joy.

The old album's have long since lost their wrapping and the only identifying marks on them simply say "Made in China". I shopped at Michael's, Hobby-Lobby and Jo-Anne's. and searched all of Google. If you know where I can find something similar for our Sephira's album, please leave a comment. I'd love to hear from you.

PLEASE DROP A LINE IF YOU KNOW WHERE I CAN GET AN ALBUM SIMILAR TO THESE!!!!