Scrapbooking

Teacher Appreciation Week is coming, and we here at Out of Office are grateful for the teachers we had and those who are inspiring young minds now. To that end, we’ve pulled together some of our favorite projects for teacher appreciation gifts. We hope one of these ideas will be the perfect fit to honor your child’s special teacher for a year of fun and learning. And keep a look out for another great project coming your way next week from guest blogger Patricia! ...read more

Today I’ve got a fun technique to share for making personalized ornaments that double as gift tags for those special people in your life. This is a technique (acrylic medium transfers) that is a simple (and non-toxic!) way to transfer photocopied images to a wood surface.   ...read more

Holidays bring up many special memories from the year and seasons past. I enjoy looking at photos during the holidays to remember those times with family. Unfortunately, with each year that passes the details of the memories seem to fade. This holiday I used old family photos to create photo napkin holders and photo candles as a fun way to share memories and enhance the décor of our holiday dinner table. ...read more

Guest blogger Kayt Schaefer is a manager of program implementation with FedEx Office and has worked with the company for 16 years. Kayt and her husband are dedicated supporters of their local major league soccer team. In her spare time, Kayt also enjoys fly-fishing and, of course, researching her family history.

You know the old adage that you can fix anything with duct tape? I feel the same way about lamination – everything is better once it’s encased in plastic. Think about it: you want to keep that priceless finger painting from getting torn? Laminate it. Need to preserve an old photo? Laminate it. Want to write on something, but still be able to reuse it down the line? You guessed it…laminate it! This attitude has even earned me a nickname among my fellow Out of Office bloggers – Leah the Laminator.  ...read more

Remember being a kid and the excitement you’d feel right before your family left for a vacation? It wasn’t just the anticipation of your destination, but the possibility of seeing so many new things from your backseat window along the way. For me, that excitement typically faded about an hour into our trip. By that time I was fidgety, a little car sick and definitely disappointed by the lack of exotic sites (which were, of course, right outside our city limits).

Guest blogger Katie Nasche is a communications advisor for FedEx Office. Katie is a busy mom of two girls, and in her spare time, she enjoys baking and scrapbooking. Today, Katie shares with us some fun ideas for a holiday-themed scrapbook.

Last year, my family began a fun tradition of exchanging Christmas memories. It came about because we transitioned from purchasing gifts for each other individually to a white elephant exchange. I didn’t want to lose the sentiment that came with choosing just the right gift for each of my family and friends.

Summer is officially here! That’s right, today marks the first day of the season. Bring on the barbeques, swimming pools and baseball games.

By now, school has closed for the summer or is just about to, and you’ve likely removed many of the papers and classroom projects that once adorned the refrigerator. Quite often, all those report cards, art projects, certificates and tests you saved throughout the year end up turning yellow or gathering dust in a file folder or box somewhere. Why not collect them in one place and make something that will save room while preserving memories of an A+ book report or fabulous finger painting?

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Guest Blogger Stephanie Buttrill is an account supervisor at Ketchum, the public relations agency for FedEx Office. She was married in April 2009, and has had some great ideas for the Out of Office Wedding Series based on her own wedding planning adventures! We loved Stephanie’s guest book idea and asked her to share it with our readers. 

All the weddings I’ve ever been to (which admittedly are few at my ripe old age of 27!) have featured some kind of guest sign-in book on a table by the entrance. I suppose the bride imagines this book full of signatures will serve as a record of sorts, reminding her years from now just who made it to her big day…and how good their penmanship is. I wanted a reminder too, but figured there had to be a better way to do it.

As an avid scrapbooker in my scant free time, I thought: why not combine the scrapbook model with the traditional guest book? In my version of the book, the pages are split evenly between photos and messages from guests, which are tucked inside small envelopes I found in my wedding colors.   

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I may not be a parent myself, but I love my godchildren like nothing else. And one of my favorite things to do when visiting them is reading together before bedtime. Granted, 2 year old Gracie hasn’t quite gotten into the ritual yet, but Blake and I have been reading books together for years.

With that in mind, I thought I’d share a quick and easy project idea. I’m talking about making personalized bookmarks! This is great as a craft project for kids on a rainy day or you can make them as stuffers for stockings and gift baskets around the holidays. Hint: Easter is just around the corner! ...read more