Registration for my new workshop, Me: the Abridged Version, opens tomorrow, July 1st, at 10 a.m. P.D.T. Cost of the four-week workshop is $35 and the first 50 people to register will receive a fun Happy Mail package from Big Picture Scrapbooking. There is no class size limit to this workshop, so if you're not ready to sign up just yet, no worries, you have the rest of the summer to decide.
The workshop runs from Sept. 3 to Sept. 30. The class details and supply lists are up now. Feel free to take a peek!
We'll be making a 28-page album that's all about my new favorite subject: you. Okay, so I may not know you per se, but the idea of women (and men) taking time to tell their own stories is one of my very favorite scrapbooking subjects.
This class was inspired by a class I taught at Creating Keepsakes University in 2006 called, "Encyclopedia of an Ordinary Life" based on the amazing memoir of the same name by the delightful and talented and wickedly wry Amy Krouse Rosenthal. That year, 150 women took my class, and each time our two days in class were finished, I seriously thought to myself: every person should have this experience.
Why? Because we don't tell our stories. Okay… maybe some of you do, but the majority of time we spend scrapbooking is to make certain we get everyone else's story down. It's somehow seen as moderately selfish or narcissistic to just focus on ourselves. (And sadly, it's like that in our culture as well… woman take care of everything else before they take care of themselves.)
This workshop is designed to let you focus on you, and all of the random things from a to z that make up who you are and what matters. From the really profound to the seemingly insignificant, and everything in between, it's a chance to tell stories from your unique life.
You'll do a lot of brainstorming and writing, and then we'll do a lot of digital step-by-step instruction to build this truly hybrid album project. You can read more about the computer/software requirements by reading the class description and supply list.
I spent all of May creating my album for this workshop, and I can honestly tell you that if this were the only type of scrapbook I ever did again, you'd hear no complaints for me. None. Just simple stories and photos that capture a slice from my life right here in 2009.
My sweet One-Three is also presently working on her own Abridged Version. This would be such a cool class for mothers and older daughters to do together. I can't wait to see what Aidan comes up with and can't help but think what an amazing record of time it will be for her to look back on. All I have from when I was 13 are angst-ridden boy crazy diaries. But there I go, reminiscing on the good old days again…
If you have any specific class questions that aren't answered by the registration info, feel free to post here.
I will point out that I'm also providing fully layered digital templates of the album project for you fully digital scrapbookers, and for those of you who do not have Photoshop Elements or Photoshop, you can use Microsoft Word templates to format your writing, and I'll provide PDFs for all other class content. Further, for my European students, I'll be providing all templates to work with A4 sheet sizes.
Here's to telling your story!
P.S. One more thing: tomorrow, i'm going to be futzing with my blog. It's time for a change so if you see things shifting and moving, it's not you. Really. It's me.
My favorite red thing is the gift of life - blood! Have been a blood donor for years, and love the idea of helping someone in need. Favorite blue - the sky in all of its hues...white being the clouds that fill it. Feeling poetic today!
—posted by Pat.
Pat, Email me to claim your prize! Thanks everyone, and have a safe and happy holiday weekend!
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