Hey there! This is Amy Sorensen for Big Picture Scrapbooking, and I'm here to tell you about my newest class, called Textuality. I'm going to start by making a bold statement about my scrapbooking philosophy: I think stories are the heart of our scrapbooks. It's a bold statement because almost every scrapbooker I know loves buying and (usually!) using paper and ribbon and stamps and chipboard and cardstock everything else you can find at your LSS. Admit it: every once in awhile, you've caught yourself swooning in front of a display of new product. I have too. We scrapbook partly because we love all the stuff associated with our craft.

Honestly, I'm there with you. I love scrapping supplies. But I love words even more. I confess that when I look at a scrapbooking magazine, I spend more time reading the journaling of complete strangers than I do studying layout designs or clever embellishments. But that's just me. In my non-scrapping life, I'm a word person, too. I work at a library and I spend lots of time reading. I love writing, too. Whether it's poems or an essay or even the novel I've recently took a stab at writing, I find myself thinking about sentences and metaphor and words a lot. A lot! A few other things you should know about me, and how I scrap, so you'll know what to expect from this Textuality class. First off: I use words all the time, and not just in my journaling. I think they're the best accent around. And secondly: I am an equal-opportunity lover of scrapping supplies. This means that I am not afraid to mix the alphabet stickers that the UPS man dropped off yesterday with a stamp set I bought five years ago. In my mind, the idea of "in" or "out" techniques or supplies just doesn't mesh—I like finding new ways to use any and all of my supplies. Especially when it comes to anything that has to do with the alphabet.

Because really, when you stop to think about it, the alphabet is a fairly consistent thing. It's not as old as, say, flowers or the stars, but you can trace its origin all the way back to the ancient Egyptians. I don't think it's going out of style any time soon. And that leads to another equally bold statement: I think words, letterforms, the alphabet, or text in any shape is the perfect accent to any layout. And that's what Textuality is all about: using text on your layouts in purposeful and exciting and new ways. You'll learn how to break out of the same-old same-old journaling box that's plunked down where ever you can squish it onto your layout. But it's not just journaling. Titles, products, quotes, text as embellishment, text papers, alphabet stamps, fonts, letter stickers—whatever takes the shape of any letter of the alphabet, we'll discuss, we'll use in new ways. You'll fall in love with the alphabet all over again. You'll be intrigued by all the ways you can use text in your layouts. You might even never again be stuck in the dreaded "how should I embellish this layout?" slump. Because there are always, always words. And as the class progresses, you'll learn how to use them in ways that'll make your layouts sparkle.

If you've taken a class from me before, you should know: this isn't a journaling class. It's not about how to write your journaling. Instead, it's about how to make that journaling you've sweated over as visually appealing as it is well-written. It's about words as art in the least-metaphoric sense possible. If you love words, or if the sight of your favorite letter makes you weak in the knees; if you're looking for a new approach to your designs or if you've got drawers bulging with alphabet rubons and chipboard letters and want to really use your stash, then this is the class for you. I hope you'll join me. I can't wait to get started!