More Halloween Inspiration

 When a holiday comes around, we often have a list of pictures we want to take. For Halloween, that means we typically capture the costume, the pumpkin carving, trick or treating and candy sorting. In the last Halloween post, we talked about including your background in the story and documenting the weather. Experimenting with titles is another way to make recurring events more interesting.

Today, on the JBS Mercantile Inspiration blog, I wrote about using the things kids says to help guide both your product choices and the creation of your title. You can literally jot down something your child says to you and use that as a title. You can also use symbols to make a more interesting title.

Warning: Tiny Vampire...Anyone With a Camera will get the Stink Eye by Christy Strickler Supplies| Cardstock: Colorbok; Patterned Paper, Jewels: Glitz Designs; Ink: Hero Arts; Letters: Heidi Swapp, Basic Grey; Wood Veneer: Studio Calico; Based on a scraplift skecth of Emily Pitts for Masterful Scrapbook Design's Tension Seminar

Look for items that can be substituted for words within the title. These symbols make the title more interesting. Playing around with the symbols will likely cause you to come up with a more interesting title than just using the photos alone. This title is much more exciting than something like Neon Vampire Teeth.

Explore both symbolism and voice when considering what you want to use for a title. Look at the actions of the people in the photograph to determine what symbols might work for your title. If you didn't jot down something your subject said, chances are that you know them well enough to think of a phrase they may well have used.

Additional Resources

Tension

Click here to view more details

Related articles

• The Things Kids Say
• When A Photo Series Is the Best Storytelling Approach
• Start Your Scrapbook Layout with a Block Foundation
• Get It Scrapped: Coming Full Circle with Gelatos
• Hybrid Halloween | Halloween Die Cut Garland

Happy Halloween!

It's just past midnight which means it's officially Halloween in my region! It's one of my favorite holidays! Every year it seems I take the same photos. After looking through a few sets, I have come to realize there are hidden messages within the pictures.

Did Somebody Say Candy? by Christy Strickler Supplies Patterned Paper: Basic Grey; Stickers, Die Cuts, Chipboard: Basic Grey, Elle's Studio; Buttons: Queen and Co.; Other: sequins, cardstock: Submitted to the Scraphappy.org Inspiration Challenge for October 2013

There is nothing like a pile of candy to sort out on Halloween. In the excitement, it may be difficult to capture a shot with the perfect background. That's ok. Those hidden items in the back help tell part of the story. These photos were taken just prior to a big move. There is a lot of empty space and some moving boxes in the background.

Roasted Pumpkin Seeds by Christy Strickler| Supplies Patterned Paper,Stickers,Die Cuts, Letters: Basig Grey; Enamel Dots: Freckled Fawn; Other: Doily, Flair, Tape, Journal Card; Based on a sketch from SimpleScrapper.com; 

 My husband and son are eating roasted pumpkin seeds in our driveway. Not only does this capture a Halloween tradition, it also gives a hint about the weather that day. It was so hot, that my son was able to run through the sprinklers while I roasted the pumpkins indoors. While this photo doesn't capture a family moment in front of a perfectly decorated mantel, it does tell a lot about what it was like where we lived.





All month long, I have been inspired to create Halloween and Fall themed layouts using the October JBS Mercantile kits. I have especially fallen in love with the Basic Grey Persimmon collection which was a predominant part of the kits. If you are looking for a way to be inspired for Halloween or Fall, try creating a kit based around a specific collection of products. Write down an traditions your family has or look through words or phrases within the kit to spark journal prompts and titles. Items in the background or the day's weather may also become important parts of this year's story. What hidden messages can be found in your Halloween photos?

Additional Resources

Get Inspired by A Product Line- a challenge from Document Life Workshop
Holidays and Seasons: Everyday is Halloween Pinterest Board

Related articles

• Happy Halloween Mini-Album from Karine!
• Hybrid Halloween | Halloween Die Cut Garland
• imperfection on display: halloween mantel
• Everyday can be Halloween!
• Get It Scrapped: Comic Book Love

Painted Out

  About a year or so ago, I would have never considered painting on a scrapbook page. Paint has become  a staple product in my arsenal of tools. I was glad to have it when I pulled out some Halloween photos from a carnival we had taken my son to. I always struggle with photographing him at carnivals. There are just so many people around. It seems like strangers always get into the shots. When I do come around to scrapping pages from events like these, I often find myself trying to come up with ways to hide the unwanted people in the background. Sometimes I use embellishments. Other times, journaling on strips of paper does the trick. For this page, I chose to use paint.

Frosted Designs Sketch #31
Basic Grey papers
DMC floss, white acrylic paint
Glimmer mist in black magic and tiger lily
K and company border stickers
Prima black ribbon
Cosmor Cricket tiny type alphas
glossy accents
 Marcella K large black alphas

 I just started the photography class at big Picture. So maybe the next time I take my son to a carnival, I will know some tricks to take better photos in crowds. Meanwhile, I have photos of the less than perfect nature from past years. I guess it's a good thing that I like paint!