Time: dawdling, dabbling, distracting... DIGITAL!

I'm guilty of wasting time. Well... maybe not so much wasting it... but abusing it, if that is actually something a person can do with the obscure concept of time - because really... what is time? It's not tangible. It's invisible. It's just there, like ether, floating around the atmosphere. But yet, how we spend each day is dictated by the amount of time we allot to the activities we engage in. And therein lies my problem - I abuse my time because I dawdle and I putter and I become easily distracted, which is not to say that I don't have good intentions, because I do. I wake up with a full agenda, but it's a rare day when that agenda is ever the end result. And I blame that on too many interests. I'd like to say that I have too many obligations, but the truth is - I don't. The only obligations I have are in regard to John's medical appointments and treatments. And those do suck up my time. Additionally, they emotionally wear me out. But that's not the real problem. The problem is that I have a serious lack of direction, because, like I said - I am easily distracted and I have far too many interests.

This is something I'm struggling with because I am unwilling to give up anything. I enjoy my books. I love my yarn. I like playing on the computer. I have an on-going affair with television. I like to sew, and listen to music, and scrapbook, and write. These are the things that make me happy, and to give up any one of them would break my heart. And so in spite my lack of direction and organization, I continue muddle through, attempting to fit it all in on any given day.

Last year, I discovered digital scrapbooking. As a disclaimer, I will state that digital scrapbooking is not something I am good at. I look at the magazines and the on-line galleries, and I honestly laugh out loud at my efforts. But that doesn't stop me from dabbling in the digital because I have found that in spite of my lack of talent, I LOVE DIGITAL SCRAPBOOKING. And because I find such great pleasure in dabbling in the digital world, I am over the moon excited about my new toy - the digital photo frame.

When I received this gift, I was a wee bit insulted as I thought to myself, "what the heck am I supposed to do with this?"

I'd heard about these frames, but had not paid much attention to the hype because I thought they were for those who didn't know how to use Photoshop. Yep. That's what I thought. I figured that they were a way to display pictures for people who didn't know what else to do with their digital photos. And surely that wasn't for me, because (gasp) I am a digital scrapbooker, and I am above plopping my pictures in a frame. My pictures deserve better than that (or so I thought).

I was a snob. A digital scrapbooking snob. And I'm not even good! What was I thinking?

My husband, on the other hand, saw the bigger picture, because what he saw was not a frame where pictures were scrolled. No. He saw an album where the pages were turned and the artistic efforts could be displayed and enjoyed. What he realized, that I had not yet come to know, was that instead of sitting in an obscure and hidden file inside my laptop, the digital dabbling I so greatly enjoy now had a home - a home that is no longer hidden inside a little metal box. Brilliant! And I give him full credit for looking at things in a way I would have never thought of.

So here we go - a sampling of what I've been playing with.

The pictures are a bit blurry because I neglected to change my camera settings from macro to portrait. But the actual pictures on the digital screen are crystal clear - in fact, they make my weak attempts at digital scrapbooking look like artistic genius. And I like that. I like seeing all those dawdled hours right there on the screen. And every time I gaze at this frame, I am rewarded with knowing that my time has not been wasted at all. In fact, I'd go so far as to say my time has been well spent - and that's a good feeling for a person who admittedly wastes hours every day.

What started out as this:

becomes this:

And the bonus is that people actually LOOK at the pictures! My kids are amazed by what I've been doing with my time. They had no idea that I actually do something productive when I sit down and stare at my computer screen for hours on end. And they can't comprehend the fact that my attempts at digital scrapbooking are weak, at best. According to them, I am a wonderful digital scrapbooker. They don't care that my pages are not trendy or cutting edge. They don't care that I didn't come up with the design ideas on my own. All they know is that I took the time to showcase THEM, and in a teenager's world, that's all that really matters.

The specifics for the frame I have are as follows:

• Brand: Philips
• Model: 9FF2M4
• Size: 9 x 6.75 (actual frame); 6.5 x 4.5 (screen image)
• Interchangeable frames
• High pixel density
• Smart Album
• Memory-Card Manager
• Memory: A lot! I have 60 pictures only, plus 32 digital pages stored in my digital frame (the memory is now full)
• Cost: $259 (rebates available - final cost was under $200)
• Files: unlimited file folders can be programmed based upon how the user uploads the pictures from the computer to the frame - meaning the user can program the frame to scroll a specific grouping or subject at any given time. I have a pictures only folder, as well as a digital page folder. I could add a John folder and an Alyssa folder if I were to shuffle my pictures into separate files.

In order to create a digital page specifically for this frame, I set my canvas for 6.60" width by 4.40" height (678 x 438 pixels). Then I designed the page at 300 dpi. The next step in my adventures with framed digital scrapbooking will be to make a few pages at 200 dpi with the purpose of testing whether or not the clarity of the images is compromised on the digital screen. By using lower dpi, less memory will be required and I will be able to store even more pages in the frame.

In addition to creating digital scrapbook pages, I was able to upload some of the storyboards/collages that I have made for the blog. I like those - lots of pictures grouped together to tell a story. And they look good in the digital frame, which means the time I spend creating them is not wasted at all.

The bottom line is that a digital photo frame is a necessity for any digital scrapbooker. Not only does the frame become an album, but the frame also stores the pages that have been so lovingly created. And for someone like me who is not very timely with printing every single page I make, the digital frame becomes more than a place to showcase projects - it is the answer in how to do so.

More often than not, guilt takes over and I beat myself up knowing that I am a hopeless dawdler and I am a sucker for new toys. And yet, in this instance, all guilt has been removed. Who knew when I started to play with my pictures and dabble in digital that there would come a day when my kids would say thank you and my husband would find a way to support my distraction? It's a happy ending to a story I was ashamed to admit existed. And in the end, happy endings are the very best kind.

I've stepped away from the digital frame for a while, and this week I'm sewing... another thing I like to dabble in.

Comments

[pc smart]

i love that you took a basic product and made it something creative! i have a love/hate with digital...i can do it and yet i choose to get dirty instead. have not figured out why....

[Jennifer Stewart]

Oh how fun to see your digital pages over and over like that! What a wonderful idea to use the frame for pages. I love that. And Kelly, you are a wonderful scrapbooker, paper OR digital! :)

Love,
Jen

[Donna]

Can't comment on the digital as I'm unwilling to try, but - the dawdling? I can SOOOOOOOO... relate! The night before I have the best intentions, a list, things to write down, to do, etc. and by morning it's gone out of my head and whay I do remember I stall, dawdle, put off, etc. So don't worry, you are not the only one!

[rachel]

please tell us what digi software you use to scrap

[Kelly S.]

Don't sell yourself short. You do a beautiful job. I also love the way you describe your teens' reactions. Very well-stated. :-)

[slammie]

a woman of many talents!

[Barb]

I really, really want one of those. I just can't justify spending the $$$ when I also want a new 24-70L lens.....

Awesome Kelly!

[Steph]

Kelly, you are a wonderful digital scrapbooker. I love the way you have displayed your beautiful works of art. Makes me want one of those crazy, time sucking contraptions:)

[Heather at Grace303]

This is very impressive. I love how everything turned out.