Tuesday, May 27, 2008

Disneyland Scrapbooking Tips

Wow - sorry to have been away for so long. Just finished up finals near the middle of the month and have been trying to relax a bit. Not that with a full time job, and two-kids there is really much of that to be had, but still, the dream is alive :)

Today I thought I would share a few scrapbooking tips from someone who used to LOVE to do vacation scrapbooks. I was not the scrapbooker in our family, but the exception to this rule was vacation scrapbooks. I LOVE reliving vacations, so really enjoy doing our vacation scrapbooks. That was before children, and before law school. Now - scrapbooking is a distant memory, but I dream I will return to it someday. I still often look at and do things as if I was going to scrapbook.

What do I do?
First - take pictures of signs that identify places - airport, hotel, attractions at Disneyland, restaurants..etc. That way, when you later go through photos, it is easy to put one of these photos in as a reference to where you were. These can end up in the title to a section or page of your scrapbook, or slideshow (I know many of you do slideshows!)

Next, pick up brochures, menus (The paper ones you get to keep - the restaurant workers will look at you funny if you try to keep the laminated ones!), business cards, ribbons from gifts, special labels from souvenirs, a fastpass, maps, etc... These are great for either "hard copy" scrapping - where you actually cut, trim and glue the objects into your scrapbook, or for scanning to be used digitally. These make unique elements, plus really help you remember what your trip was like. Sometimes you will not want to use the entire object, but maybe just the logo from it, or a section of it, or use it as a background to place photos on top of...it all depends on the object and your own personal style.

I find that the more of these kinds of special objects I fit into my scrapbook, the more uniquely "mine" it feels. Plus, it is a lot of fun to go through all of the things I collected a month or two after the trip. Our kids still love going through our box of things I collected from 2 years ago. (Something tells me THAT scrapbook is never gonna happen.) It's all about making and displaying your memories, so collect the things that might have meaning to you, no matter what odd looks you get from those around you!

Tuesday, May 6, 2008

Disneyland PhotoPass Share

This is a message from a friend (you know who you are -and thanks!) that some of you might find worthwhile!

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Oh my Goodness!

Next time you get to Disneyland you totally have to sign up! Basically, they have photographers all over the park that take your photo. They give you a little card with a code on it that you use at each photographer. In some places (the entrance gate, the partners statue and the castle) they can add a cute little graphic of Tinkerbell. At Haunted Mansion they can add 2 hitch hiking ghosts to the photo, and in California Adventure they can add Stitch busting out of the ground.

Anyway, you get all these photos taken and when you get home from the trip, you punch in your code numbers and then all your photos that were taken appear online! You can edit them all and add fun stamps to them with the date, etc or fun borders. If the photographer takes your photo with a character, you can even add their signature to the photo. They are wicked expensive though- a 5x7 is $12.95!! The other option is to order a CD of all the images, which is $100. Which really isn't that bad considering how much it is per photo.

But I didn't have the money for that, so over at www.disboards.com I joined in on a photopass share (I'm actually hosting my second one now!) and that person sets up an account, and people can join in. They add their card codes to that account, edit them all and everyone splits the cost of the CD. Then when the CD arrives, the person hosting it makes copies of the CD's and mails it to everyone. So I ended up only having to pay $10!

Anyway, the CD also includes the copyright release, so you are free to make as many copies as you want, etc.

Either way, it's something new about Disney that we learned about, and we're loving having all these fun photos!

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Seems like a great deal and lots of fun, even if you don't do the share. It seems that sometimes shares are harder to find than others.