Acrylic Reborn

Acrylic Reborn

Autumn Leaves Scrapbooking

The first day of fall is known as the autumnal equinox, when the day and night are of equal length. After the first day of this season has passed, the days are shorter and the nighttime longer. Depending on where you live, there may also be the time change, falling back an hour. Traditionally, fall is known as a time of looking inward, taking stock, giving thanks for the harvest and preparing for a time of dreaming about tomorrow. Let this be a time of showing these reflections in your autumn scrapbooking pages.

For those of us who use Facebook, you may be familiar with a game called Farmville. It's rather addicting. I have learned some terminology in the game. I like the way someone once equated the changes people go through with the seasons. This season is a time when your past experiences are allowed to take seed, are renewed into wisdom, and reborn. The fall season is one of planting and harvesting, but also one where the land may be fallow - unplanted or inactive. This can be true for the lives of people as well.

Harvest autumn festivals are celebrated all over the world. In Greece, a festival is celebrated to harvest grapes for wine. Still today exists Oktoberfest, which begins the last week of September and is a time of much feasting and making merry. In China, autumn is celebrated on the night of the Harvest Moon, and is a festival of honoring family unity.

Have you considered scrapbooking about your favorite recipes? Create a recipe scrapbook. Take time preparing your food. Are others helping you in the process? That's great. Catch some of these moments on film and include them alongside the recipe or menu plan.

For my family, one year, after dinner, we all carved pumpkins on the weekend preceding Halloween. Many changes had occurred with all of us up to that point. Halloween has always been my mother's favorite celebration and I was happy for her that year so many kids trick-or-treated at their door.

Have you ever wondered about how to use those autumn scrapbooking stickers? How about a keepsake box? Well, one day, about a week before my youngest niece was born, as has been the tradition with me, I would make something for the newborn as a welcoming gift. So, I went about making a keepsake box for Penny. The materials were one unfinished box in the shape of a chest, acrylic paints, a pack of scrapbook papers, pennies, of course, and some dimensional stickers. All of these materials together held the richness of the fall season for my October born niece.

You can use your scrapbooking skills for any number of crafts to celebrate the fall season. Some ideas are autumn leaf sun-catchers, Halloween paper decorations, garland of fall leaves, and pumpkin tags. Make your fall family get-together particularly special by making personalized invitations, table decorations, gifts, photo frames and autumn scrapbooking quotes on greeting cards. Choose from coordinating seasonal patterned pages and use to make several one-of-kind projects limited only by imagination.

Speaking of imagination or inspiration, here are some idea sparkers that should help trigger some of your own:

o An Indian summer of warmth, falling leaves of green, orange, red, and yellow.
o First day of school, books, new clothes, walking home, homework.
o Santa Ana winds, the turbines spinning on the roof.
o Pumpkin patches, scarecrows, children in costume trick-or-treating before the sun goes down.
o Turkey dinners, vanilla candles, family get-togethers.
o Visiting Grandpa; Grandparents Day.
o A child's artwork on the refrigerator.
o Lunch-time: Aluminum pales, sharing or trading sweet snacks.
o The playground with swings and monkey-bars.
o The colors of amber and topaz.
o Jumping into freshly raked leaf piles.
o As a child, awaking from a nap and sitting on the ground outside in the warmth of the sun, allowing the warm dirt sift through my hands.

Some other books that are good for inspiration for the autumn season and crafting are "The Pumpkin Patch Parable" by Liz Curtis Higgs, illustrated by Nancy Munger, as well as "Hello, Harvest Moon," written by Ralph Fletcher, and illustrated by Kate Kiesler.

More craft oriented books for consideration are "More than a Page: 200 Projects and the Pages that Inspired Them" by Memory Makers (Paperback, Apr 28, 2006); "The Scrapbooking Journey: A Hands-on-Guide to Spiritual Discovery" by Cory Richardson-Lauve (Paperback, Mar 2007), and finally, "Scrapbooking Plus! More Than Just Paper (Create and Treasure) by Kathleen Greco and Nick Greco (Paperback - July 2004).

Sharon Olvera is passionate about all things scrapbooking and feels strongly that family memories are very important and worth preserving properly. She started scrapbooking in the year 2000, beginning with family photos of her much loved nieces and nephews. She believes one of the most important things in life is to remember and be remembered and that is, in part, what scrapbooking is about.

Find out more at http://www.scrapbookingideasinspired.com.

About the Author

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