SDU taster session

After reading about the SDU (Scrapbook Design & You) Taster Session on the ICHF website Furrypig, Choccy & myself decided to book tickets.

The blurb read:

Have you ever fancied having a go at scrapbooking, but not sure where to start? Do you consider it too time-consuming or complicated? Are you frightened of spoiling photos or creating your own style? Would you love to leave a beautiful book of memories for future generations?

If you have answered yes to any or all of the above, then why not try our SDU taster session? Scrapbook Design and You (SDU) is a foundation course from EK Success in scrapbook design which takes you right back to the basics. Suitable for beginners, through to experienced scrapbookers… come and join us and discover how you can create a beautiful heirloom to pass through the family. PLUS each student will receive a £10.00 voucher, redeemable against the value of a full SDU programme at stores holding SDU classes (full details available in class).

PLEASE BRING: three photographs, one of a person, one of a holiday and one of an event."

Queue ideas of scrapping a nice page, picking up tips, possibly a freebie, we can all hope!
Oh no, was basically an £8 advert that we had to pay for the honour to watch!!!

Ok, maybe thats a little harsh, we did pick up a few tips, we kept each other giggling, but it wasnt what we expected or wanted. & to be told we dont need our much loved patterned papers :O shocking!!!!

We were told (in my own words) our scrapbook needs to tell people something for it to last through generations. If you give your scrapbook page to your great, great, great grandchild on their 21st birthday would they know what it was showing them without it needing to be explained to them. The writing needs to say what the picture doesnt, this is explained more in tip 4.

Tip one, match your first mount with whatever you want to show up about the photo the most, e.g. if you want a brides face to be the first thing your drawn to in a photo match the first mount with her skin tone. If its her ruby red lips you want to draw attention to mount on a matching ruby red.

Tip two, mount your main photo on 3 layers, this makes it pop out more, other photos/writing etc can be mounted on 2 layers.

Tip three, write your journal first, not literally write your diary, but whats going on in the photo, or what isnt. This way you know how much space is needed for this.

Tip four, make a note of your senses linked to the photo, i.e, what memories of smells, taste, touch, sight & sound does it bring up. Furrypig also made the valid comment that it can also include emotions.

Tip 5, partition your page so its obvious what writing is linked to which photo, the end of one colour, & the start of another can be made so it goes through a photo & writing to link it

Tip 6, Use the background colours, stickers etc to set the mood, but not wash out the photo. Such as if its a seaside picture you can use pale blues to represent water, but also a little orange/yellow etc to warm the page up & give the feeling of a sunny day.

Any more tips you can think of Furry, Choccy?

Heres one of the photos I took with me, I call it Daddy Domestic

The women running the course chose 1 or 2 of out photos & wrote down questions to prompt us. Heres the ones they asked about this one & my answers:

Who is he? Ryan, my other half.

Who is the baby? Kai, our youngest, only a few days old

Is it summertime? Yup

Are you on holiday? No

Whose garden is he in? Mine (its mine, not his as he's rarely in it)

Does he always do the washing? No way!

Does he like doing it? Not doing the washing, but enjoys having the baby so close

Where was Mummy? I was lying on the sofa due to bein just out of hospital. I had very bad preclampsia & was rushed to hospital, within 48 hours I was induced to have Kai. During a very fast labour I lost a lot of blood, & afterwards my blood pressure stayed high. Fter I was finely released Ry helped out a lot more in the house so I could rest.

One of the women said that the story about what wasnt in the photo made the photo even more special but unless I made a note of it on the page in generations to come they'd never know.

If the course had been £5 or under I wouldnt have minded, but £8 was a tad steep for what we learnt. We did receive a £10 voucher off SDU courses - they arent widely advertised in the uk, online anyway, but cost £175 for a 6 session course. I know I'll enjoy scrapbooking but I would much prefer to ask the talented Pink lady Mel & spend that money on a robo whatsit, lol