Lessons from the Scrapbook Page

Today we have a special guest...

Today we have a guest on Lessons from the Scrapbook Page. It's my friend and fabulous author, Camy Tang. She's celebrating the release of the second book in the Sushi Series: Only Uni. Another fantastic read.

Here's Camy talking about her creativity...

I love scrapbooking and making cards. At first I got into scrapbooking because a friend of mine is a Creative Memories hostess, and it was fun making albums with my pictures. Problem is, I have way too many pictures from years and years ago, and not enough recent pictures. And it got boring doing albums of my old pictures when I don’t even have recent pictures of my husband.

Then my friend Sharon Hinck introduced me to stamping and cardmaking. It’s the same type of crafty thing I like about scrapbooking, but the projects are different. I can use them or give them away as gifts, which is the kind of practical thing I like more than picture albums, since I don’t look at my pictures very often and don’t have kids to pass them down to.

There’s also something about rubber stamps that brings out the kid in me. When I use the Creative Memories stuff, it’s mostly stickers and cut outs, which are fun, but there’s just something about stamps and ink! Some first grader inside me comes out and goes to town as soon as I get my stamps out!
What I like about both scrapbooking and card making is that I can either be creative while I’m doing it, or not. I can be patient and detail oriented, or not. I don’t have to be one or the other every time I start work.

Completing a Scrapbook Circle Journal

Do you remember that journal I started months and months ago? You can see some of the other pages I created here and here. Well, it's finally complete and I got it back from the other participants. Absolutely amazing! If you've never participated in a circle journal, you should. It's an amazing adventure.

So I thought I'd share some of my final layouts for the journal...

Tune in tomorrow for a Real Women Scrap TV interview with Lance Anderson, co-owner of Rusty Pickle. He was one of my favorite interviews from earlier this year and I can't wait to share it with you! The paper I used for my layout above is from Pashmina by Rusty Pickle.

technorati tags: scrapbooking, circle-journal, lance-anderson, rusty-pickle

Let's Get Loud With Camy Tang

It's gonna get loud in here today because we have Camy Tang in the house. If you don't know Camy, she's the loud Asian chick who writes loud Asian chick lit (her description, not mine!). Camy and I met at a writing conference in the Santa Cruz mountains and have been friends ever since. With blogging and writing in common, what else would you expect?

So Camy is coming near the end of her month long blog tour for the release of her Sushi Series books and she's generously agreed to stop by and chat with us.

Welcome Camy! Are you ready for this? I've got some questions that will hopefully make you think and share your deepest darkest secrets with us...

Who introduced you to writing and how has it changed with time?

My mother, who was a high school English teacher. She's been my biggest supporter.

My writing style has definitely changed with the times, from the omniscient viewpoint that was popular a couple decades ago to the more commonly used deep third person point of view that I use today. These days, I try to keep up with the publishing market and understand writing trends.

Yay! Gotta love those English teachers. You've got three books coming out over the next year. What inspires you to create each story and character?

The characters always come to me first. I flesh them out as much as I can, and the plot ends up coming out of their fears and flaws. I often brainstorm with friends to get a general idea of the character, and then run from there.

Who is your favorite character from the Sushi Series?

I admit (this is like saying which of your children you like the best!) I like Venus best, possibly because she's so ballsy and I wish I could be like that.

Can't wait to meet her! This next question is for all those aspiring writers out there. Do you ever hit writing blocks and what do you do to overcome them?

Pictage Partner Conference Recap

I can't believe how quickly the days and weeks pass when I'm traveling. There is so much to do, so many people to see, and not enough sleep to go around. The great thing is that we've been able to connect with some old friends, make some new friends, and learn a lot. I'm a big believer and huge fan of lifelong learning. In fact, we were listening to the 4-Hour Work Week on audio in the car on the long drive down. Spending two days being able to attend seminars taught by the most famous and celebrated photographers in the country is pretty darn cool!

Ironically, I had my cheap point and shoot camera with me and not my DSLR, so my pictures are not great. In fact, it was such a pain taking photos that I really only took a few. From the long shutter delay to waiting for the flash to charge, I realize how spoiled I am with my camera. If you haven't ever used a DSLR, you don't know what you're missing. The difference is really night and day.

Here are some fun shots. Hope you enjoy them. We've got our CSI (Cinematic Studios Inc) team there in full force, T-shirts and all. We also had our new 42" Plasma screen to display our videos. Very slick. Enjoy the photos and look for more recaps very soon.

Rockin' Girl Bloggers Are Here

What a week! I was tagged by four Rockin' Girls as their choice for the next Rockin' Girl Blogger.

First tag came from Angie Pedersen, my scrappy marketing friend and writer. She wrote...

In the category of workin' the multimedia angle, I say that Tasra Dawson is a Rockin' Girl Blogger.  She has a weekly vidcast that shows no signs of fading, which is a real accomplishment.  She also loads the videos to a social sharing site, for extra viral Web 2.0 juice.

Next, I got a tag from Michelle @ Scrapability. She made my day with her post...

Tasra Dawson - Real Women Scrap author and next year she’s doing a Big Picture Scrapbooking class which I’m definitely signing up for. Check out the blog for more on Real Women Scrap TV, some wonderful layouts, and her triathalon photos.

And then, Janice and Susan from 5 MInutes for Mom had this to say...

Tasra Dawson - Tasra is a new columnist here at 5 Minutes for Mom and we are so thrilled that she has fit writing Scrap It Real for us into her very busy schedule. Thanks Tasra - you rock!

Finally, before I had a chance to get this post up, I was so thrilled to hear from Alicia Bull...

Tasra is amazing. Her blog is a space of life inspiration. Her words offer an insight into the world of a woman that has taken her scrapping and modeled her life around the same components of a good page, ie: balance, beauty etc. She is involved in so many amazing projects and does them with meaning. I think Tasra has her head on straight and is doing life right. Way to go Tasra!

Now I get to give some Rockin' Girl love out to five bloggers that rock in my world and pass this award on to them. There are TOO many and many of them already have the award! I'm going to take a couple days to narrow down the field...think you might qualify? Leave me a note in the comments and I'll check out your blog. Make sure to tell me why you think you're a Rockin' Girl Blogger!

technorati tags: Rockin_Girl_Blogger, Angie_Pedersen, Michele@Scrapability, 5MinutesForMom, Alicia_Bull, blogging, scrapbooking

Love For Parker Costs Less Than a Latte

Melody Sanders from Slurping Life contacted me about giving a donation to her Love For Parker campaign. If you haven't read about Parker's challenged life, you can find out more in an interview at Top Blog Mag. The little one (and his parents) have had a rough go of it, so I was happy to offer a Real Women Scrap Pack to the prizes and make a donation through PayPal. The great thing about a PayPal donation is that you aren't charged a fee.

You can see the full list of goodies at Slurping Life. There are some AMAZING prizes! You can enter to win with a small donation (requested minimum is just $2...less than a latte). Let's see if we can brighten little Parker's life with some extra love from the blogosphere. As a mom, I couldn't resist. I hope you feel the same way.

technorati tags: Melody_Sanders, Love_for_Parker, Top_Blog_Mag, Slurping_Life, Real_Women_Scrap, PayPal

Link Love For Great Posts

If you're a blogger, you've signed up for Technorati, right? And you ping them every time you post? That's how people can find you and you can find people talking about you. After every post I write, I hop on over to ping Technorati and take a look at what people are saying by clicking on the Authority button for my blog. Then I get to see what people are saying about me, my blog, and my book. It's fun to read people's unbiased reactions, especially when you've never met or even read their blog...you gotta try it for yourself!

Since I found some new reviews, was introduced to some great bloggers, and inspired by some of the things I found, I thought I'd share them with you...and thank those bloggers by giving them a little link love.

And the fabulous bloggers are...

What Do People Want? by Michele at Scrapability

Real Women Scrap by The Scrapping Studio

The Who's Who of Scrapbooking by Scrap Scene

Organization Carnival by Craft Critique

Hope you enjoy these great blogs. If I missed a recent post that you wrote that mentioned my blog, let me know and I'll add you to the list. Remember to get signed up at Technorati. If you're already registered, you can add my blog to your Favorites by clicking the button below.

Blogging Chicks Are Here To Stay

If you haven't visited the blogging chicks carnival for a while, stop on by today. There are some fun links to fellow bloggers. If you're a chick and a blogger who hasn't joined the community, you can be part of the fun every week by joining the blogroll!

The Amazing Shrinking Mom

Great title, isn't it? I met many new friends and authors at Mount Hermon Writers Conference earlier this year. Mel, the Amazing Shrinking Mom, was one of them. She's a blogger for Club Mom and writes about her journey with weight loss. Her before and after photos are truly amazing!

This week she is pleading for your votes, so I thought I'd help her out. She's entered a Fruity Cheerios photo contest at Modern Mom and is a finalist. You can vote twice: today and tomorrow and then it's over. Visit Modern Mom Photo Contest and scroll down to Melodee H. to click her photo. No registering or entering necessary. Just one click away from $500 for Melodee. Can you help out a fellow mom?

technorati tags: Amazing_Shrinking_Mom, Club_Mom, Fruity_Cheerios, Photo_Contest, Modern_Mom, Blogging

Don't Lose the Memories

If a picture is worth a thousand words, I've got nearly half a million from the Memories Scrapbooking Expo in New Jersey. Take a look behind the scenes from set up to the Colossal Crop. Maybe we'll see you in Orlando in November or Ohio in March 2008.