What better pastime than to scrapbook the summer hours away? Wouldn't you love to scrap and crop and paper piece summertime pages in a jiffy?

Here is a new way to use your hand lettering or computer fonts! This is a simple way to dress up some of those titles and fonts and give them a little sparkle. The procedure takes only about 5 to 10 minutes and it can help you create great page toppers or accent letters. I can't wait to share this simple technique with you!

My winter 2002 was brightened by viewing the Winter Olympic games in February. How about you? I watched them on television. But hundreds of thousands were actually there in person and I bet they took hundreds of photos each! Do you have an Olympic scrapbook page to complete? You may be one of those lucky ones who saw events in person. Or perhaps you just want to document the main heroes and heroines of the historic 2002 games for your albums?

Do you love paper? I do! I also hate to waste any part of those beautiful backgrounds or solid bits that are left over after I cut a mat, die cut, or punch shapes. If pieces are roughly over two inches square, I save them to make other things. One of my favorite is this crazy quilt page. Here are the easy steps to create one of your own!

MESSY OR NOT? Many scrapbookers who do wonderful work are 'messy'. Their pages are lovely. And if they are happy, I am happy for them. I love to look at great pages. I don't mind if their desks are stacked up as they work. But, honestly, from what I hear, there are very few 'messy' scrappers who feel happy with the amount of pages and albums they are getting done. I think a better term for them is BUSY scrappers!

"Oh Say does that Star-Spangled banner yet wave...
over the land of the free and the home of the brave...."
~Frances Scott Key, 1814, Star Spangled Banner

Happy New Year!