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Wednesday, January 16, 2013

Your Story Matters Blog Hop

I am SOOOO excited! Today I can make the official announcement that I have been published!!! Eeek!

Last summer several of us from ScrapHappy (an online social group started by Lain Ehmann for her devoted LOAD and True Scrap fans) got together to create a "cook book" of scrapping prompts. It was intended as a free downloadable ebook for new members to the ScrapHappy family, but Lain decided that it was so awesome (and we were so talented) that it should be made available to the masses. 

Okay, I may be putting words in her mouth there a little bit! :)

Today is the day that this little bad boy goes live!! 


To celebrate, some of the contributors are hosting a Blog Hop. If you've been following along then you arrived here from Monica Bradford's site. If you stumbled across this because you're a regular reader of mine and you want to start at the beginning please go to Lain's Layout A Day site. (If you are looking for the Mini Album project for Practical Scrappers - go here.

This book was prompted by Lain's recent loss of her Mother after a battle with dementia  She realized, as she watched her Mother forget her own stories, that she wanted to help others capture theirs now. Before they faded or were lost to the sands of time. I think we often take for granted that we have tons of time to learn and hear about how Mom met Dad, or why they live where they do, or what Mom's average day looked like. As someone who lost their own parents at a young age I can relate to the need to capture the stories now. It is my main driving force as to why I have embraced this hobby so whole heartedly. I have half remembered stories from my childhood, a box of slides, a few precious letters and lots of blanks. The blanks will probably always remain blank and that makes me sad. I don't want to leave any blanks for MY children! I plan on living a very long time and retaining my memory until the day I die (that's not too much to ask, is it?) but just in case, I want to leave a legacy of stories for my children and grandchildren to enjoy. The pretty paper and embellishments is purely a happy byproduct!!

Anyway, those of us who wanted to help Lain by documenting some of our memories were assigned different topics. My first layout talks about why Moulin Rouge is my favourite movie.  (And not just because it stars Ewan McGregor  ... singing!) This layout is not the most embellished of all my layouts but it tells the story of my husband and my first date. Dinner and a movie seemed innocent enough at the time but before I knew it I was in love and planning a wedding. The picture was taken on our honeymoon in Paris at ... of course ... the Moulin Rouge!

Lots of layers, lots of red and I had fun created the windmill vanes out of scraps plus some doodling. 

 My second layout was about what I wished I'd learned at 18. Oh, there were a lot of things I could have talked about for that one!! The one I chose was that I wished I could have told 18 year old me that I truly love to run. Injuries suffered when I was 14 have now led to arthritis in my knees (left one in particular) that put the kybosh on my running career after the birth of Christine. Funny how you don't quite realize how much you love to do something (even though it's hard and you think it sucks when you're in the middle of long training run!) until you can't do it any more.

The large painted butterfly hides more journaling which talks about my weight/fitness struggles since finding out about the arthritis.

So what do you think? Want to see more? 

The book is available for purchase at the incredibly low introductory price of $7.00 US from Lain's site. Please click on the photo at the top of this post to be taken right there. It is an electronic download so you can instantly see all the wonderful layouts and stories inside.

But WAIT ...

Would you like a discount? 
Okay. Just for you! 
Use the coupon code HOP and receive $2 off. This coupon is good until midnight on 1/21/13. 

AND we will be giving away THREE copies of the book from comments made on ALL blogs (in other words, we will select three winners across all blogs). Please leave a comment about what story you feel is critical for every scrapbooker to document. Contest will close 1/19 and winners will be announced on the Layoutaday blog (http://www.layoutaday.com) on Monday, January 21. Prizes must be claimed by Wednesday, January 23. If you purchase a copy (taking advantage of the limited time coupon code of course!) and then win a copy, you will be fully reimbursed so you've nothing to lose!

Now hop on and enjoy what Paivi has to say. If you get lost along the way, here is the order of participants. 

Paivi Eerola: www.peonyandparakeet.com
Danielle Taylor: http://scrapperonthestreet.com

One last thing. I just wanted to say a big thank you to Lain for believing in us, her "little people", for pushing us and for promoting us. Yes, you will see some "bigger" names as you go through this hop, but you'll also see average scrapbookers like myself who are really just doing this for fun. We're not professional (although we may dream of one day calling ourselves "professional scrapbookers") but having our little pieces of life and art out there for the general public to see and critique is so unbelievably awesome. So, thank you Lain! You rock!!

27 comments:

  1. I STILL love that moulin rouge page. That windmill is sooooo cool!

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  2. I love the way you added your own creative touches, the windmill and butterfly - fantastic!

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  3. What a special scrapper you are- I love your style. Colors are fun, and your whimsical papers are da bomb. TFS and congrats.

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  4. Both of your layouts are lovely and I love how you used the area under the butterfly for more journaling. I am so going to make a layout about what I wish I knew at the age of 18.

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  5. You can put words in my mouth any time! :)

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  6. So glad to have you as part of this project and hop! Thank you for all the inspiration and encouragement!

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  7. Congratulations on getting published! Lain is awesome! I commented on Lain’s post that my own story and the story of my children’s young years are especially important to document, since no one else knows the details like I do.

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  8. Great layouts. I think many people list their favorites, but not the "why" behind them. Great job! I also thinly it is important to share our dreams,fears and hopes...at all ages. These will be important to our kids and beyond.

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  9. I'll try anonymous and sign my name - don't have the other accounts (well Google on my phone, not on the computer).

    I love your layout and the way it prompts a new way to look at things. Not sure I can remember all the way back to 18!
    Thanks for sharing and giving us a chance to win the book.
    Libby Wiers

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  10. I'm not really sure what story I think is the most critical to tell. I think that every story we tell is important and I hope that when I'm gone someone can learn something about our family from the scrapbooks that I've documented.
    Julie

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  11. Two great LO's thanks so much for sharing with us!

    All the things that touch you are important! I just get overwhelmed wanting to put them down!

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  12. Great LO"s thanks so much for sharing!

    PS if you are a facebook fan you could leave a vote for me on a LO I made recently https://www.facebook.com/persnicketyprints?sk=app_451684954848385&app_data=view-vote%2Cfor-169349

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  13. I love your pages, Alison! I admire the way you did a fun memory and one that I imagine was a little tougher to put down. Congrats on being published! It's such an awesome achievement!

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  14. I love your windmill layout! :)
    Yup I think it's good that we not only scrap about the good times but also our bad. Honest and real

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  15. I love your last paragraph about the little people. We rock in our own little way. And as far as I see it, we are pretty professional, too! Congrats!

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  16. Congrats on your layouts! This is such a great concept to get out there. My mom is in the middle stages of Alzheimer's so I get where this is coming from. She is only 67 and I never thought we wouldn't have the time...she's here but SHE is not here. My mom, my confidant, my friend that I loved to hang with. I hate that I didn't ask more and spend more time listening while I could. There are good days though and I appreciate those and will spend more time asking those questions while I can. Scrapping them would be so good for my siblings and my children.

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  17. I'd say the story most critical to scrap about would be your story--who you are and why, who influenced you in your life, why you scrapbook. No one else can tell it.

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  18. I wish I knew a whole bunch when I wasw 18 that I know now but that isn't how life goes! LOL
    Thanks for the thoughts to ponder for a future layout

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  19. Alison as always your pages are fab, and you are so right to acknowledge Lain for her belief and support in us - I am so happy to have been part of this project with you!

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  20. Favorite movie...I could TOTALLY do a layout about that!
    If other scrappers are like me, they document everyone ELSE'S life and not their own. I think it's important to do a page listing little-known facts about YOU. I did that once, and even good friends were surprised by some of the things I put down. I still love that page, and I did that two years ago.

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  21. The important thing for me right now is to include journaling on each page I do. I believe that feelings and emotions should be journaled too wherever possible too. That way I can tell the story of myself too.

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  22. I believe every scrapper should scrap something that they are passionate about! If you don’t have a passion???? Ask God for it! He will surely give you one and it may just be HIM! Many blessings and congrats on being published.

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  23. Everyday life needs to be documented! And remember to always journal! Thanks for the opportunity!

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  24. Great layouts! And congrats to you all.
    I am anxious to purchase this e-book
    and get inspired.
    You know this 'defining moments' that sometimes
    sneak in our lives and sometimes really change
    our outlook- those are something I feel we nee
    to document.

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  25. Alison, congrats on being published!! That is awesome!! I love your layouts, too!!

    I love scrapping those special moments that tell stories from the heart. As I hop along, I find myself saying different things that are important to me as a scrapper.

    Thanks so much for this opportunity,

    Renee

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  26. Well, Alison, I think that you do a wonderful job of scrapbooking - though I know nothing about it. I appreciate the way you are documenting the events of yours and the girls' childhood, and knowing your story, I understand why.
    Just keep going - and congrats on being published.










    that you wanted them to have

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