Pre-LOAD213 - Scrap Happier Blog Hop

Hi everyone! Welcome to my little blog! Hopefully you are here for the Pre-LOAD213 Blog Hop and you have come from Heather's blog ... if not, head on back to her blog to start at the beginning. Although I suppose it doesn't really matter if you start from the beginning, middle or end, just as long as you're here and enjoy the Hop!

Some of my fellow Scrap Happy Sisters and I have decided to put on this Hop to get you in the mood for LOAD. Not familiar with LOAD? Well then, let me start by saying that LOAD stands for LayOut A Day and is run by our Scrap Happy Fearless Leader Lain Ehmann ... or should I say our Scrap Happy Super Hero Lain? :) (Little inside joke there!) She leads us through a month of creating one layout every day using (or not, whatever floats your boat) a different prompt each day. This will be my ... 5th (had to stop and think!) LOAD. I have had various degrees of "success" completing a full LOAD but I've ALWAYS had fun!

And that's what our theme is this time around ... indirectly. Check this out.

Isn't he a happy little guy? We are going to be Scrapping Happier next month!

How? Well, I'm glad you asked! When I said we will be creating one complete layout a day for 28 days some of you may have gasped and thought, how is that possible? I work full time, I have 6 kids, and a horse,  and a sick Auntie who I take daily meals to ... No worries Mate!

Insert gratuitous Hugh Jackman picture here.

(Another inside joke!)

There is NO PRESSURE to "finish". There are NO SCRAPBOOK POLICE patrolling the Flickr boards wondering where your layout for 2/13/13 is. There is NO WALL OF SHAME for those whose lives got "in the way" (gasp!) of scrapbooking (is that even possible?!) In short, THERE ARE NO RULES! 

Oh, I lied, there is one rule .... SCRAP HAPPY!

With that in mind, here are my top 5 tips on HOW TO SCRAP HAPPY DURING LOAD213.

1. Be prepared (see this post for my tips on getting prepped for LOAD). Short version, stock up on essentials.

2. Wake up every morning excited to watch a new video from Lain! Yay!! Is there a better way to greet the day than by hearing Lain's voice?

3. Don't forget to breathe. Once every few seconds should do the trick!

4. Put a small (or large, whatever makes you happier!) dish of your favourite candies next to your scrap table. If you need a pick me up, a shot of energy or just something that makes your tongue sing happy songs, then ingest one or two (handfuls) of the aforementioned candy and carry on scrapping.

5. DON'T PANIC! And if you are about to panic because your dog just ate the picture you were going to use that went perfectly with the prompt Lain gave and the piece of Authentique paper you smuggled home past your husband's watchful gaze, then STOP ... BREATHE ... and Google images of Hugh!

I hope I have got you to laugh today. Maybe while you're laughing you'll remember that in the end this is supposed to be an enjoyable hobby for us all. Don't take it or yourself too seriously and I know you will scrap happier!

Thanks for stopping by today. Now head on over to Dani's blog for some more ScrapHappier advice! If you're not signed up for LOAD yet (and why not, may I ask?!) you can go to Lain's site and see if there are any spots left. You won't be sorry!! See you in February!!

If you get lost along the way, here is a list of all the participants today. Have fun!!

Heather Dubarry: http://noexcusescrapbooking.com

Alison Day: http://adayinthelifeor5.blogspot.com/

Danielle Taylor: http://scrapperonthestreet.com

Alison Charlton: http://scrappinginsingapore.blogspot.com/

Christy Strickler: http://myscrapbookevolution.blogspot.com/

Lynnette Nagle: http://sassyscrapper2010.blogspot.com/

Julie Shepler: www.sheplerfamily.com

Joy McHargue: http://www.studiowowjoy.com/

Kelli Panique: http://scrapbookgirl71.com/

Cathy Holiday: pikespeakscrapper.blogspot.com

Leslie Smith: http://lcsmithsaved-outofthemire.blogspot.com/

Lori Martin: http://Www.chaosandcraziness.com/ 

Connie Hanks: http://ClickyChickCreates.wordpress.com

Betsye Erazo: betsyerose.blogspot.com

Marcia Fortunato: mfortunato.blogspot.com

Regina Huminski: http://ginabeth1.blogspot.com/

Beth Soler: http://www.scrappingwonders.com

Kristie Sloan: http://kristiesloan.com/blog/

Danielle Hunter: http://ecoscrapbook.blogspot.com/

Katrina Forman: http://k84mansramblings.blogspot.com

Jessica Baldwin: www.inkyaddict.com

Cheryl McCain: http://cherylmccainphotography.com

Briel Schmitz: http://scrappingwindow.blogspot.com/

Marygail Mello: www.marygailscorner.blogspot.com

Oh, and if you liked the tone of this blog post, or you just want to know why I keep showing you pictures of Hugh Jackman, you may like being a part of our ScrapHappy community. We are pretty much like this 24/7 on the message boards. Funny, irreverent, sassy and extremely helpful!

See you on the message boards!

Your Story Matters: Winners of the Blog Hop

Congratulations to the three winners of our “Your Story Matters” blog hop! We had hundreds of entries, but these three random winners were chosen to receive a FREE copy of “Your Story Matters:”

Lori Horvatt! (from SassyScrapper)

Candyj! (from Ecoscrapbook)

Angel! (from ScrappinginSingapore)

If you are one of our lucky winners, please email support (at) layoutaday (dot) com to claim your prize by Wendesday, Jan. 23.

Didn’t win? You can still sweep up a copy of this most excellent idea book here.

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. 

Lain Ehmann: http://layoutaday.com

Leslie Smith: http://lcsmithsaved-outofthemire.blogspot.com/

Alison Charlton: http://scrappinginsingapore.blogspot.com/

Heather Dubarry:  noexcusescrapbooking.com

Danielle Hunter: http://ecoscrapbook.blogspot.com

Cathy Holiday: http://pikespeakscrapper.blogspot.com/

Monica Bradford: http://scrapinspired.com/

Alison Day:  http://adayinthelifeor5.blogspot.ca/

Paivi Eerola: www.peonyandparakeet.com

Lynnette Nagle: sassyscrapper2010.blogspot.com

Kelli Panique: http://scrapbookgirl71.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!!

ScrapHappy Pre-LOAD Blog Hop

Welcome to the ScrapHappy Pre-LOAD Blog Hop!! I'm so glad you're here. You should have arrived here from Heather H's site but if not, why not start at the beginning and work your way back to me! If you get lost there is a list at the bottom of this post to set you straight.

Today we are sharing our words of wisdom (well, others may have wisdom, I pretty much just have words!!) about the LOAD (LayOut A Day) process and what we typically do to get ready. If you are not a member of ScrapHappy I'm sorry but you will not be able to participate in October's LOAD as it is only for ScrapHappy members. If you're interested in finding out about ScrapHappy please follow the link and listen to the message from our Fearless Leader Lain Ehmann.

Okay, so you're interested in participating in LOAD are you? Awesome! It is so much fun!! I have participated in some degree or other in 3 previous LOADs - May 2011, Feb 2012 and May 2012. You can see my layouts in my Flickr Gallery and there is a slide show in my side bar of my LOAD212 layouts you can watch. In May 2011 my husband and I took a week long trip away without the kids so LOAD got interrupted and then in May 2012 we all went to Disneyland so my participation was a bit hit and miss that month too. But I loved getting the daily prompts from Lain and checking out what the other LOADsters were adding to the gallery. I am pretty determined to get 31 layouts done this October though!! I'd like to be able to take more pictures like these ones.

This is the stack of layouts I created during LOAD212. Isn't it awesome?! SOOOO satisfying! Here are 29 stories that are now recorded thanks to Lain's prompts!

So, what can I tell you to help you prepare to create a stack like this of your own? Here are my 5 tips for a successful LOAD.

1 - Make the Commitment. This may sound silly. You may be thinking, "but I already committed when I signed up!" which is true but you really need to make it official. Tell yourself and those around you that you will be making a layout a day for 31 days and there are no ifs, ands or buts about it! :) Get your head 100% in the game. If you for one second allow the "well, it's just one day, I'll catch up tomorrow" attitude to creep in you won't make it. Now, before I go all Drill Sergeant on you, it is totally okay to only do 30 layouts this month. Or 3 for that matter!! But if you want to do all 31 then you need to make sure it happens in your head first. Now I'm sounding like a coach "visualize the finish line people!"

2 - Stock Up on Basic Supplies. In  my world, this means adhesive, card stock and letter stickers because that is what I use on every single layout. I never have to stock up on patterned paper because I frankly have too much of that! Whatever else you use all the time, make sure you have enough to last the month. there is nothing more frustrating than having to run to you LSS mid-layout because you ran out of your favourite colour mist! I have learned to stock up on adhesive whenever my LSS has a sale. They have a 40% sale 3 or 4 times a year so I buy in bulk on those occasions. Everyone has their favourite adhesive - I use Be Creative Tape (in both 12mm and 5mm size) to stick my larger pieces of paper down, Scrapbook Adhesives E-Z Runner tape for smaller bits and pieces and whatever glue dots are available for everything else. Oh, and for popping things off the page I LOVE my Stampin' Up Dimensionals but admit to being almost out of them right now so will be using some other Dollar Store variety this LOAD!

Here's a look at my current stash of adhesive ...

This is where they live (yes, I label stuff!)

This is my stash - the Be Creative tape is at the back.

And this is my drawer for my glue dots, pop dots and rolls of tape currently in use. 

3 - Prep Your Photos. This may mean printing off a stack of photos that you want to scrap (if you have a specific project in mind this is a great way to go) but if you want to follow along with the prompts where ever they may take you then this may mean familiarizing yourself with your photos so you can quickly and easily find ones to match the prompts. I like to follow the prompts. I find it can take me to places I never imagined going and telling stories I never thought I'd tell. Hard stories. Funny stories. Crazy stories. It doesn't seem to matter what the story, I always feel a HUGE sense of accomplishment once it is told! Take 30 minutes to scroll through your digital photos or flip through your already printed ones sometime over the next 4 days. You'll be so glad you did!

4. Prep Your Space. Do you have a dedicated scrap room? Do you pull out your supplies and sit at the dining room table every time you want to make a layout? Either way, tidy that space so it is ready for action! If you can, leave out your basic supplies for the entire month so making your layouts will be easy every day. If you have a dedicated scrap space, why not pull out a piece of your favourite neutral card stock and lay it on your scrapping table in preparation. You may not end up using it for prompt #1 but the fact that it's there will spur you to action when the time is right! I am lucky and share a little home office with my husband and his computer (although I would really like to boot him out!!) This is what I hope to get my desk to look like by the 30th!! ( I will NOT be showing you what it looks like right now!!)

Well, something like this anyway. The wicker basket is no longer on my desk but everything else is there still. 

5. Have Fun!  Remember why you got into this scrapbooking thing in the first place? Was it to feel pressure to create beautiful, perfect layouts or was it to be creative, document your stories in a beautiful way and to have fun doing it? I'm going to guess the latter! If you find yourself getting stressed about finishing a layout, don't panic! Walk away. Take a break. Have a cup of tea. I promise you, the layout will still be there when your head is cleared and you can finish it then. If this means you don't get a layout done on Day 17, then you don't get a layout done on Day 17. No worries! 

All right ScrapHappy Sisters. Feeling motivated? Ready? Got the juices going? Keep on hopping for more wonderful words of wisdom from Cathy H!

Lynnette http://sassyscrapper2010.blogspot.com
Leslie http://lcsmithsaved-outofthemire.blogspot.com
Katrina http://k84mansramblings.blogspot.com
Kelli P. www.scrapbookgirl71.com
---YOU ARE HERE --- Alison D. http://adayinthelifeor5.blogspot.ca
--- GO HERE NEXT --- Cathy H. http://pikespeakscrapper.blogspot.com
Dani www.acoffeeaddict.com
Heather H. http://heathazscrapz.blogspot.com
Alison C. http://scrappinginsingapore.blogspot.com
Heather D. http://heathersdragonsden.blogspot.com
Danielle H. http://ecoscrapbook.blogspot.com

See you on the message boards!!

LOAD Day2 - No Photo Challenge

No photos? What do you mean, no photos? This is a scrapbook challenge, right?

Sigh ... the things I do for Lain ...

I've also been (mostly) participating in Ella Publishing's Spring Training event and the challenge today was to do some misting with masks - hence the lattice patterns on my paper. The tags were part of a tag swap I did with some of my fellow ScrapHappy members. I came across them in my search for inspiration for a photo-less layout for LOAD. The rest of it came together really quickly after that.

 

That's all for now. Thanks for stopping by.