Scrapbook Storytelling E-Zine

Fall 2007

"Because a memory a day keeps the blues far away."

Advance Praise for Paper, Scissors, Dead: A Kiki Lowenstein Scrapbooking Mystery by Joanna Campbell Slan
Announcing our winners
Journaling Technique-Strikes Me Funny
Make a Map Album
My NEW Website
Just in Time for Halloween: A Magical Contest!

Joanna Campbell Slan's debut novel Paper, Scissors, Dead is a rare gem--it combines well-drawn characters that'll make you laugh and cry with a plot that keeps you up reading long after bedtime. Creative scrapbooking tips are woven expertly throughout! If you're looking for a great read and characters and setting you want to come back to again and again, look no further. Slan's destined for great things, and I'm pleased to be one of the lucky ones who can say, 'I read her before she was famous."

Jess Lourey, author of Knee High by the Fourth of July

Announcing our winners...

Karen C. of Arroyo Grande, California won our Books for the Beach Contest
Winners of My Life Letters Contest were: Sonja A. of West Columbia SC, Diane of Cedar Rapids IA, and Diane of Modesto CA
Thanks to everyone who entered! See the new contest at the end of this ezine. You could win FIVE terrific books.

Journaling Technique-Strikes Me Funny

We could all use a good laugh on a daily basis. I've been told that laughter is internal jogging and even burns calories. To keep myself sane, I have a file full of funny emails folks send me. I look at them when I'm blue.

But the best laughter is the laughter that comes unexpectedly. Since these chuckles are unanticipated, they easily slip away.

Last week I went into hysterics-the good kind!

To stop me from grinding my teeth at night, I've had a bite-splint for years. Recently, I decided to replace it. The dental assistant snapped the new plastic piece onto my upper teeth to check the fit-and couldn't get it off! I'm not kidding. She grunted and struggled and pulled and pulled.

The dentist called encouragement from the next chair over. "Press just on one side."

She did. But the splint didn't move.

The hygienist tried and tried, but she couldn't get the splint to budge. At one point, she had most of her fingers in my mouth. I imagined her bracing her foot against the chair as she paused to get a better vantage point. She was trying valiantly to act professionally, but I could tell she was a bit...uh...concerned.

Somehow the situation struck me as funny. I burst into giggles. I laughed so hard tears rolled from my eyes. My laughter proved contagious and caused patients up and down the aisles to break into their own gales of giggles. All dental work came to a stop because our mouths were giggling with joy.

Finally the hygienist managed to pop the thing free. She apologized profusely for the inconvenience, but I was happy. I needed the laugh.

What has made you laugh lately? Have you journaled it?

Make a Map Album

I saw this idea in ScrapBook Inspirations, the UK magazine. It's a nifty way to create a small but stylish memory book. I made mine in one evening.

Click to enlarge

Cut eleven 6" x 6" squares of paper. Two of these will be front and back on one panel. You will wind up with nine panels all together.
Cut nine 5" x 5" squares of paper. Round the corners. (Rounded corners were less likely to get bent.) These will be glued inside your panels and help hold down the ribbons that bind the album together.
Cut two 6" x 6" pieces of chipboard or heavy card. I used the backs of pads of paper. Round those corners. These will stiffen your front and back cover panels.
Ink the edges of the chipboard/heavy card.
Glue 6" x 6" paper to the back and front of your chipboard pieces. You've essentially made a sandwich for two panels. This gives you a stronger, more sturdy book.
Lay out your nine 6" x 6" squares in three rows of three. The two sandwich pieces must be side by side in an outside row.

Regular Squares are S
Chipboard Sandwiches are C

S  S  C
S  S  C
S  S  S
Cut twelve pieces of ribbon 16" long each.
Tape the ribbon to the squares, keeping the distance between the squares equal. I left 1/2" all around my squares. (Tip: At first use regular tape and tape your ribbons down lightly. Then, when it's just the way you want, use a heavy tape, like packing tape. But be sure to keep the tape 1" inside the outside margins or it will show when you get to step #9.)
Glue the 5" x 5" paper on top of the 6" x 6" squares, sandwiching the ribbons between.
Click to enlarge
Decorate your panels. Remember that you can also decorate the flip side of all your panels, and two of them (the ones with chipboard) will be covers. Here's how the open version looks.
To close the album, fold the far left row of three into the next row to the right. Fold the resulting outside left row in again. Fold the bottom two squares up.
I added a strap with Velcro behind the buckle to keep the album closed.

My NEW Website

I've been busy creating a new website to promote my fiction. I thought remodeling our kitchen was a crazy sort of mayhem, but deciding what goes on an author website was nearly as confusing. I did-and do-feel very strongly that my site had to be one-of-a-kind. It needed to represent both me and the entire Kiki Lowenstein Scrapbooking Mystery Series, starting with Paper, Scissors, Dead which will be available September 2008.

Did I succeed?

You be the judge. Go to www.joannacampbellslan.com I'd appreciate your feedback. Go to the Contact area, and tell me what you think.

Just in Time for Halloween: A Magical Contest!

The Prize: You can win a full set of the Shirley Damsgaard's Ophelia and Abby books. Witch Way to Murder, Charmed to Death, The Trouble with Witches, Witch Hunt, The Witch is Dead.

To read more about these fantastic books go to www.shirleydamsgaard.com/39.html

(By the way, be sure to read the acknowledgements in Witch Hunt. Shirley says a special thank you to me!)

Shirley will even autograph them to you! Plus, she'll send you a set of her wonderful folk wisdom magnets, and bookmarks-although I bet you won't be able to put her books down!

How to Win: When you visit www.joannacampbellslan.com be sure to sign up for our email list. I'm collecting email addresses and zip codes.

Why? I've invested in a new contact management system. If I'm visiting your area, I'd like to meet you. By collecting your zip code, I can send you an invitation.

Deadline: I will choose contest winners from the email addresses entered between now and October 31, 2007.

Have a safe and fun Halloween and Fall

-- Joanna

Stuff You Might Need to Know

Like the ideas here? You'll love our books. Click on my store to see the complete line of our books.

Comments? Contact Joanna at joannaslan@aol.com. We love to hear what you think and what you'd like to read more about. We like questions, too, but give us a while to answer them, okay?