the possibilities are endless

having a good attitude

Remember this post about my struggles with the fall weather? Well so many of you did a spin off of what you liked about this time of year and it made me think of other things I enjoy about the fall.

and

when I was reading the latest Ella book, Happy Scrapbooker, inside was a layout done by Stacy Julian that listed summer memories, and it was a long list.(and a cute page)

So

I started jotting down my happy fall thoughts and made a layout

you know it-and it felt like summer for a little bit

Lain Ehmann did a  layout that illustrated the point that happiness doesn't come from stuff but it comes from people and I had to lift that concept.

My son Justin is one of those kids that attracts people, like a magnet. From the time he was old enough to ask for friends to come over and play, he always wanted someone to play with. He preferred playing with friends as a reward instead of getting new toys. The journaling talks about this part of his personality and how we tried to support it.

I appreciated how this book encouraged me to look at parts of my life differently. Now I want one of my readers to also have this chance...

So

Ella Publishing agreed to give one copy away. You have 24 hours to enter, leave a comment and answer the following question

??Has your reason for scrapbooking changed since you first started??

for example, when I started scrapbooking I wanted to make chronological albums of all my kids, now it is a way to share stories, document our daily lives, and be creative.

Contest ends Tuesday, Oct 27 @noon MST, the winner will be announced on Wednesday, along with the winner of the other contest.

Contest Closed

Enjoy!

ETM Kit Club layouts and a chance to win

Twizzlers wins this contest

(I prefer Red Vines myself)

Thanks for playing winner will be posted 10/28 by noon

A few months ago cute Kim Rose emailed me and asked me if I would be interested in doing some layouts for her kit club, and if I would like to offer my blog readers a chance to win one of her kits- and I said yes, and I got everything done on time. I know impressive.

The layouts came together very quickly and once again, I loved having the mix of paper and embellishments all put together for me. If you like this also, check out their kit club it is a great value.

In order to win a kit, you need to live in the US (sorry everyone else) and respond in the comments with an answer to the following question. The question is...

?

Do you prefer red vines or twizzlers? 

Contest ends 10/25/09 at midnight MST

winner will be randomly selected.

For a second chance to win an Express the Moment kit, visit Kim's blog. 

Enjoy!

road trip

I know you have been wondering where I am, well I am enjoying myself here in Cheyenne, Wyoming at the home of Elizabeth Dillow, scrapbooker and hostess extraordinaire. We have been scrapbooking, talking, eating, laughing, and talking some more. I have been reminded of how important it is to spend time with friends.

Take time to make plans to get together with a friend, it is so invigorating and validating, something we all need a healthy dose of before the cold weather sets in.

have a great week

update on my hair

kind of sounds vain doesn't it- but it really isn't

A few  friends and I are growing our hair out as a simple way to support those who suffer from cancer.

Angie

Megan

and here is the back of me- wow getting long girls, getting long

oh and check out this page I made as guest blogger over at CK

Scrapbook Round Up

These are turning out to be some of of my favorite posts to compose, maybe I should do it monthly? Let me know if that is a good idea--please

Lots going on in the scrapbooking industry that I think you will be interested in, mostly good.

Let's start with product stuff first

Welcome to the scrapbooking industry Carolyn Gavin- you may not recognize the name, but you will recognize her work. She designs the ecojot notebooks and now she has a product line with K and Company, and it is very bold and happy. A few of my favorite are below. 2peas has it for sale

These border punches from EK Success are innovative and easy to use.

It seems that I cannot keep these in my scrapbook stash, these simple shaped journaling cardstock stickers are so versatile to use on any type of scrapbook project. Great product Adorn It!

Scrapbook subscription kits seem to be going strong still, according to the awesome Scrapclub website, Paisleys and polkadots  is the newest kit club and one of the projects are featured in the image below, and it is quite fresh and cute.

For fun project ideas using the Glitz Halloween Hallow line, visit their blog. 

Bo Bunny has instructions for this cute altered project below.

Sadly Scenic Route is closing. I hope the best for Sarah Milne and her family. For those of you fans of Scenic Route, they are selling many of their products on their website at huge discounts.

Lain Ehmann is running her LOAD challenge for the month of October, check it out!!

cute Elizabeth Kartchner is teaching an online class that encourages you to journal and photograph you- looks fun. 

Paper Crafts magazine is running the World Card Making day this Saturday, read about it here and here

Scrapbookers that are inspiring me lately are these two ladies-

Jody Wenke and 2peas dianaj1012

a few layouts from these two talented ladies

from Jody

(love her creative titles)

from Diana

enjoy!

layout inspired by Stephanie Howell

I saved this layout by Stephanie and have been wanting to lift it for awhile and I finally did- I love how it turned out. 

my version

In the original layout I was drawn to the excellent use of white space, pleasing combination of patterns and scale, as well as the minimal asymmetrical embellishing.

Thanks for sharing your talent Stephanie!

oh and by the way, I cannot get enough of the Sassafras Blossoms, such great colors!

introducing my first every ebook

wohoo! Happy dancing and moving going on (trust me you don't want to see) 

I got to work with my dear friend Angie on this project and I am very proud of how everything turned out.
Well I am sure it has something to do with the talent behind the scenes

anyway, this is something that is so worth the money. See what else is going on at the Ella blog today.

Using the best quiz from the book and the printables made by Cathy I created these two pages and they were so much fun I want to do an entire album dedicated to the best quizzes.

The best life lesson learned

"Never Give Up"

My best subject in school

"Language Arts"

It is going to be a good week

Oh yeah, I have heard the 2009 summer song so many times I even am even writing the lyrics as blog titles.

Anyway- hope everyone had a fantastic long weekend, we cleaned out our garage on Saturday, not fun but very necessary. Kent and I have taken off for a few days to Bear Lake and it feels weird to be away from home, from the kids, from the noises of our house. I am sure I will relax and enjoy it, but for now I am a bit anxious. I have tons of scrapbooking to do, lots of movies to watch, and or course books to read.

(speaking of books, I am really enjoy this collection of short stories called The Friend Who Got Away: Twenty Women's True Life Tales of Friendships that Blew Up, Burned Out or Faded Away by Jenny Offill, Elissa Schappell)

 

(thanks Ann and Michael for the recommendation)

Speaking of books, I am very excited to be blogging this week about Ella. Visit the site to see what it is all about. Check out their new ezine (that is where the posted layouts are from) and if you comment on the their blog today, you are entered to win a super cool printer from Epson.

A few of my favorite layouts from this months' ezine

the cover is full of summer happiness

great article about text and titles

 

and yes for some reason a photo of me is in 3 of the 4 layouts in this quiz article by Angie (more on our project tomorrow)

and if you haven't yet discovered fabric goodness go to a local quilt or fabric store. They have the new product releases from May quilt market and you are sure to be inspired.

I recently picked up some fabric line called Bubblegum Basics for a project that I will share with you tomorrow.

 

 

I still want to pick up the Sweetwater fabric before it is all gone

and I think this happy camper fabric line from  American Jane would be perfect to make something to brighten up our trailer.

 

 

 

Enjoy!

Scrapbook round up

Online buzz has quieted down a bit with  summer ending and the CHA-S show over. Wanted to share a few bits of scrapbook goodness with you all.

1. Free class at BPS called Take August off, Summer Fun, this is your chance to try out the BPS classroom format and get inspiration from some talented ladies. (myself included)

2. Angie Lucas and Lain Ehmann are launching a new online business for scrapbookers called, Ella Publishing. Sign up to be on their mailing list to find our more about their scrapbook offerings. more to come about this new company

3. Beth Proudfoot has been hosting the write,click,scrapbook blog this week and I am such a huge fan of hers. Check out her idea for a quick mini album without photos. Such talent!

4. Wondering about all these new border punches you have seen and if you should invest in them? Paula Gilarde of the Scrap Review did a great job reviewing these.

5. What the heck- another event hosted by scrapbook personalities, and this one is in Utah? Cool- check out what these ladies have been up to. 

6.Those of you with an iphone or touch can use the new scrap app from Better Homes and Gardens to scrapbook- I am so jealous- and must get an iphone for Christmas.

Enjoy everyone

not my usual layout style

 

and I loved the way it turned out. Using a sketch from Inspired Blueprints, I created this

layout, and I have to tell you that I normally don't layer pattern paper the way it was

illustrated in the sketch, but I really really really like the way it turned out! It was fun to try

something new and I felt invigorated. What about you? Feel like you are in a design rut, pick a

sketch that doesn't fit your normal style and give it a go.

Up next I would like to try

 

Enjoy!