:DAILY INSPIRATIONS: March 2009

I'm excited to announce AMOM's Daily Inspiration for March 2009.

First of all, because it's full of great prompts to spark your crafting creativity this month, but also because there is a new element to the program...PRIZES!

Did you hear the word ‘prizes’?

You sure did! For every layout you complete based on one of the challenge squares, you will earn one chance at a monthly prize. The prize will vary each month and will be announced in the same post as the new set of Daily Inspirations.

THE DETAILS & RULES:

• Layouts must be new and created for this challenge.
• Upload to your favorite online gallery and leave a link in the comments of the corresponding Daily Inspirations announcement post. A link back to AMOM's Daily Inspirations in your gallery posting would be greatly appreciated, although not required to win. If you do not upload to online galleries, you may email your entry to me at jillmarie7276@yahoo.com (images should be 100K or less, please).
• In comment link or email, please include your name, email and challenge square used for the entry.
• Entries are due by the 5th of the following month. For example, March entries are due by April 5th.
• Challenge squares may be combined onto one layout if you wish, but only one chance will be given per layout entry. The more challenge squares you complete, the more chances you have to win!
• A random drawing will be conducted to determine the monthly winner and will be notified by email as well as being announced on the blog.

THIS MONTH'S PRIZE:

Cosmo Cricket Get Happy Paper Crafting Kit:
This kit contains 2 of each paper in the collection, one strip tease, one journaling card sheet, two die-cut sheets (one alphabet and one shapes) and a Cosmo Cricket Studio inspirations sheet.

This is a great kit for a wide range of layout themes and projects!!

So, don't delay!

Download the FREE MARCH 2009 DAILY INSPIRATIONS now and start scrapping!!

:REVIEW: Digital Scrapbook Artist by Serif

While I am not primarily a digital scrapbooker myself, I have dabbled in it (and, of course, collected a mass of digital freebies over the years). So, when I was asked to review Digital Scrapbook Artist, I thought I might be able to offer an interesting perspective - especially for someone who was considering getting started with digital.

OFF THE BOX:
Serif Digital Scrapbook Artist is just what you've been waiting for - a way to combine your creativity with your passion for celebrating and treasuring life's special moments.

At last, novices and accomplished scrapbookers can easily create outstanding photorealistic results that look every bit as lifelike as traditional handcrafted scrapbooks.

Fun, Fast, Fabulous Results

• Suitable for all scrapbookers, novice to expert
• Create beautiful photorealistic pages
• Incredibly easy to use, fun and fast
• Unlimited creativity for unique designs
• Share with family and friends
• Everything you need in this box

It certainly sounds great and quickly discovered that the claims were well-founded once I started playing within the program a bit.

Within minutes, I created the following layout with one of the pre-designed templates provided within the software.


The software comes with a huge collection of digital papers, embellishments and more, so you can get started instantly creating your personally designed layouts from scratch with ease. However, what I really liked about the program was that it also allows you to upload any digital elements that you might already have on your computer. That way you can stay completely true to your own personal style while creating your digital pages.

I found the software extremely easy to navigate and was surprised by the level of customization available - you can change the color, size, orientation and more on basically ANY element on your page! Moving elements about your page requires a simple click and drag. You can also give your layouts a realistic texture with the wonderful drop shadow effects.

Also included with the software is a free membership at daisytrail.com which is a wonderful way to share your layouts with friends and family (with ONE CLICK) as well as share ideas and tips with other DSA users. You can also export your layouts into other formats (such as jpeg) if you like to share your layouts in other online galleries or on your blog.

If you are considering getting into digital scrapbooking, I would definitely recommend this program. For more information about Digital Scrapbook Artist, you can visit their website here.

:MEMORYWORKS EXPRESS: March 2009 Kit - "All-a-Flutter"

Our hearts are just quivering to introduce our 2009 March kit...Join in our flight of fancy with our "All-a-Flutter" kit!

Yummy colors like lime greens, oranges, and browns mixed with fabulously fun patterns and packed with oh-so-fun "birdie" elements, our March kit will have your creativity soaring...


The All-a-Flutter Kit Includes:

Patterned Paper
{1} 12x12 Penny Lane Free Bird - "Passion" Swirly Bird (My Minds Eye)
{1} 12x12 Penny Lane Free Bird - "My Friend" Bonded (My Minds Eye)
{1} 12x12 Nonsense - Sing Song (We R Memory Keepers)
{1} 12x12 Nonsense - Bling Blang (We R Memory Keepers)
{1} 12x12 Off Beat - Casual (BasicGrey)
{1} 12x12 Off Beat - Nonchalant (BasicGrey)

Solid Cardstock
{1} 12x12 Butter Cream (Prism)
{1} 12x 12 Frosted Kiwi (Prism)
{1} 12x12 Papaya Puree Medium (Prism)
{1} 12x12 Blush Red Medium (Prism)

Embellishments
{1} 5x8 Penny Lane Free Bird "Love" - Die Cut Sheet (My Minds Eye)
{1} 4 x 3 Penny Lane Free Bird "Beauty" - Die Cut Shape (My Minds Eye)
{1} 3 x 7 Penny Lane Free Bird "Friend" - Transparency (My Minds Eye)
{1} 6x6 Flowers & Circle Shapes Raw Chipboard (Scenic Route)
{1} 6x12 Sheet Bon Bon Loopy Lous (Doodlebug Designs)
{1} 3 x 6 X-Large Orange Notes Tag - Creative Café (Creative Imaginations)
{1} Orange Puffy Felt Flower - Creative Café (Creative Imaginations)
{1} Lime Puffy Felt Flower - Creative Café (Creative Imaginations)
{3} Chocolate Felt Flower - Creative Café (Creative Imaginations)
{12} Off Beat Buttons - Assorted Colors & Sizes (BasicGrey)
{1} 2" Bird Clear Stamp - Rhonna Farrer (Autumn Leaves)
{1} Yard 5/8" Celery Dot Grosgrain Ribbon (May Arts)
{1} Yard 3/8" Stripped Ribbon (We R Memory Keepers)

Bonus Cards
{1} 5.5x8.5 Butter Cream (Prism)
{1} 5.5x8.5 Frosted Teal (Prism)
{1} 5.5x8.5 Frosted Kiwi (Prism)
{1} 5.5x8.5 Papaya Puree Medium (Prism)
{1} 5.5x8.5 Blush Red Medium (Prism)
{5} 5 3/4 x 4 3/8 Natural Envelopes

ALL FOR ONLY $29.95!! (plus $6.50 S&H)

If you are interested in subscribing to the MemoryWorks Express Kit Program, please contact me today for further details!

:FIVE FAVES: Everyone's a little bit Irish on St. Patrick's Day...

And there are certainly some fun items on the market to help scrap to your Irish hearts content!

1) Karen Foster Design - St Patrick's Day Collection - Pot O' Gold Cardstock Stickers

These cardstock stickers would make the perfect title or complimentary embellishment for any page.

2) Doodlebug Design - Limeade Potpourri 12 x 12 Paper Assortment

This green paper assortment has the perfect assortment of patterns, textures and even a little glitter to add to the magic.

3) Piggy Tales - Itsy Bitsy Spider Collection - Spider

While actually intended to be part of a Halloween theme, this Celtic looking pattern is perfect for a Irish theme as well.

4) Making Memories - Paperie Collection - Greenhouse Felt Clips

How 'bout that first clover-looking clip!? It, and all the others, are just adorable!

5) Core'dinations - Black Magic - 12 x 12 Color Core Cardstock - Voila

This color core cardstock could add just the little extra pizazz to your St. Patrick's Day layouts and projects.

:CHALLENGE: Mardi Gras Color Palette

My WeScrap iTeam Challenge for 2/23/09:

Mardi Gras starts tomorrow! I know that the first thing that I think of when I think of Mardi Gras is COLOR!

It is certainly a very 'colorful' celebration, but did you know that the official colors of Mardi Gras are purple, green and gold and each it meant to symbolize something? Purple is justice, green is faith and gold is power.

So, your challenge is to use the following Mardi Gras color palette (from COLOURlovers) on a layout.

WeScrap member or not, I hope you have fun with this challenge!

:PHOTOS: Striped hoodie sweater...

Kaitlin got this colorfully-striped hoodie for Christmas and we had fun taking a few shots down by what used to be the old train depot in town.

As she gets older, she really is getting to be quite the little poser. I give her very little direction at all and find that it's usually better if I just let her do her own thing.

Go figure!

I don't have any specific plans for these yet, but looking forward to scrapping these pics for sure!

:QUIZ: What kind of organizer are you?

This quiz is currently available at the Creating Keepsakes website right now and I gave it a shot.

Usually, quizzes like this don't excite me much as the results generally aren't very accurate (IMO), but this one pegged me pretty well, I think. My results put me right in the middle of the pack under a "Good Enough" type organizer which as described as such:

• You have a good handle on organization and a system that, for the most part, works for you. You don’t mind seeing your products out, but you can file items away confidently—knowing you’ll easily be able to find them when you need them. You like your space nice and tidy, so you clean up as you go because you’d rather spend your time scrapbooking than straightening up.
• You have a logical and functional organization system where each category of product has an assigned space.
• You have a few older items that you still like and that coordinate with your newer products. You give away the other “older” products three or four times a year.
• Your space is immediately recognizable as a scrap area. Scrapbooking products are neatly stored in a visible way.
• You are most like the following Creating Keepsakes editors, writers and Dream Team members: Kim Blackinton, Allison Davis, Maurianne Dunn, Ali Edwards, Maggie Holmes, Elizabeth Kartchner, Jana Lillie, Jennafer Martin, Joannie McBride, Kelly Noel, Amanda Probst, Candice Stringham, Jackie Stringham and Tiffany Tillman.

Take the quiz...it's short, easy and fun.

READER RESPONSE:
What are your results? Do you think it an accurate description of your organizational style?

:LIFE: An anonymous gift...

A MYSTERIOUS CARD:
Last Friday I came home from work to find a card in my mailbox addressed to me without a return address, postmark or other indication of who it was from.

I opened it to find a card with this biblical quote on the front:

"Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see."
Hebrews 11:1

Inside the card was a Wells Fargo gift card for $173.00, but no signature(s).

I was baffled to say the least!

The whole weekend, I kept looking at the envelope and card for some type of clue and pondered who would do such a selfless and generous thing.

SOME BACKGROUND:
My husband's company has been on mandatory shut down since mid-December...another casualty of the current state of the economy. There were layoffs right around Christmas (yeah...it wasn't a very merry Christmas for many). Thankfully, he was not a part of that group so he technically still has a job, but due to the shut down, he hasn't been working at it (or, therefore, earning a regular income) for over two months now.

Even now, we have no idea when, or if, he will be going back to work for this particular company.

It is a frustrating situation for my husband and I financially and emotionally, but we are managing right now with some creative budgeting -a few less 'extras', a few more store brands and coupons at the store, and I'm doing my best to avoid the little girls clothing departments like the plague. Kaitlin really doesn't need any new clothes right now anyway...at least until summer hits! :-)

BACK TO THE CARD:
So, I knew it had to be someone local (since it must of been hand delivered) and knew of our situation.

I had a few ideas, but still just overwhelmed by this mysterious offering of generosity.

We had Monday off of work due to President's Day, so on Tuesday, I decided that I would just off-handedly ask my boss if she would happen to know anything about this mysterious act of kindness.

She started to say ‘no’, but her face gave her away. I can’t fault her for not being a very good liar…

Although she did say she didn’t act alone (I had suspected that my other coworkers had been involved), she wouldn’t offer me any further details as she said the others wished to be anonymous.

So, I wrote a letter of appreciation and gratitude and will rely on my boss to make sure that it reaches those it should as I couldn’t let such a gesture go completely unrecognized...which is also why I am relating this story here.

I can’t quite put into words what it meant to me that they would even think to do such a thing!

Although the monetary gift certainly will be helpful to us, our spirits are even more lifted by the thoughtfulness and caring behind the gift, and for that Justin & I are so grateful.

I am so thankful to have such wonderful people in my life!

:POLL RESULTS: A (mostly) healthy relationship with journaling...

As part of my recent book review and giveaway for Your Words, Your Story by Michele Skinner last week, I ran a poll on the following question:

What is your relationship with journaling on your scrapbook pages?

According to the results, most of us have a pretty healthy relationship with journaling on our pages.


Still there are definitely a few out there that struggle with journaling as just over 23% admitted to having a bunch of unfinished layouts lying around.

However, it is heartening the see that 37% always include some type of journaling, whether it's their starting point or it makes its way onto the page a little further along in the creative process.

I thought I'd share a few of my favorite comments from that post as well.

Joanne:
"Journaling is the weakest part of my scrapbooking. I haven't found my "voice" yet. Maybe its because I can't imagine who would want to read my pages besides myself."

Joanne, I think you would be surprised at how many would be interested in what you have to share through your journaling.

Janna:
"I always journal something on every page. In the last couple of years, I try to hand write my words. I think handwriting is important on layouts. I have stopped trying to make everything so perfect. I do want my pages to be pretty, but more than that, I want them to be done and have words to go with the photos."

I'm right there with you, Janna. I have just recently started to hand write more of my journaling. Not only is it important to the process, but it can also be a lot faster than messing with formatting on your computer - especially if your journaling is short and sweet. It did take me a while to get over thinking that my handwriting wasn't 'pretty enough', but I got there and I'm glad I did.

Teresa:
"Jill, this book looks like an absolute must have for me. I voted "sometimes" in the poll, but know that I want to be journaling much, much more, as to me the journaling is the story and the memories in my own words, so if I am not telling the story with my journaling then I am not actually serving the purpose that I want to in order to pass these on to my children and grandchildren...hope that makes sense."

So true, Teresa! Part of what got me so into scrapbooking early on is that I thought it would be SO COOL to have more photos and stories to look back on for parents and grandparents (even myself as I don't really have many 'solid' memories of my early childhood). I LOVE knowing that my daughter will have one heck of a record of her life to look back on and share with her future children, etc.

Thanks for sharing everyone and keep on journaling.

If you're still struggling, I simply can't recommend Your Words, Your Story by Michele Skinner enough. Be sure to check it out!

:PRESIDENT'S DAY: I think FDR might have been a scrapper...

Well...maybe not, but he did say this so he must have been a smart man.

"Happiness lies in the joy of achievement and the thrill of creative effort."

~ Franklin D. Roosevelt

In honor of President's Day and FDR's wisdom, I shall be scrapping today...

Considering Obama is faced with a sadly similar state of the union as FDR, hopefully he can call on his unique creativity to bring the US back to where it belongs.

Happy President's Day!

:LAYOUT: Birthday boy...

This layout celebrates my nephew's 5th birthday and is featured on page 80 of the March/April issue of Memory Makers magazine.

This is a great configuration for fitting three full-sized 4x6 photos on one layout.

By swiping the felt letters with black ink, it helped them to coordinate better with the grungy look of these papers by Fancy Pants Designs. The free-handed dots and lines that border the page also add to the grungy, boyish theme.


Supplies:
Cardstock - Prism
Patterned Paper, Rub ons – Fancy Pants
Felt Letter Stickers - Making Memories
Ink – Colorbox
Pen – Zig, American Crafts
Circle Punch - Marvy
Adhesive – Duck

:QUOTES: ...on LOVE according to Gerard, cummings & Hawkeye

Just in case your doing any scrapping or crafting this weekend and would be in need of a few 'lovey' quotes, here's a few of my favorites:

Rosemonde Gerard:
"For you see, each day I love you more. Today more than yesterday and less than tomorrow."

e.e. cummings:
"kisses are a better fate than wisdom."

M*A*S*H - Hawkeye:
"Without love, what are we worth? Eighty-nine cents! Eighty-nine cents worth of chemicals walking around lonely."

Happy Valentine's Day...

:GIVEAWAY WINNER: Your Words, Your Story by Michele Skinner

"Journaling is almost ALWAYS the LAST thing I do...I am not good at expressing things in words, not good at story telling...I have soo many pages in my son's books that are done all except for the big empty spots where journaling goes. LOL!"

The author of this comment - Stephanie - is the lucky recipient of one free copy of Your Words, Your Story: Add Meaningful Journaling To Your Layouts!!

Congratulations, Stephanie!! I have no doubt that this book will be of great use to you in getting those pages finished - journaling and all!

If you didn't win this time, don't dismay...I have some other great giveaways coming soon. Idea books, of course, but I also have some great product giveaways coming soon including some awesome paper kits from Cosmo Cricket and Making Memories.

Stay tuned!

:CRAFTING: Love Pills...

With Valentine's Day only a couple days away, I thought I would share a little altered project that I made this year for Kaitlin to give to her grandparents (so, Grandmas and Pappas...please ask surprised when she gives these to you because I know you're probably going to see them here first...)

Anyway, when we recently emptied a Parmesan shaker, I thought it might be a neat thing to alter and came up with this:

Supplies:

• Parmesan container
• 12 oz. bag of M&M's
• Patterned papers of choice (I used My Mind's Eye.)
• 10 in. of lace or ribbon (I used Rusty Pickle.)
• Punches - 2.5 in. scallop oval, 2 in. oval, 1 in. circle
• Trimmer - scallop blade
• Ink - Colorbox
• Brads - Doodlebug
• Corner Rounder - Marvy
• Font - Journaling Font
• Adhesive - tape runner, foam dots

Instructions:

1. Cut your large piece of patterned paper to fit your container. For my container (it is the Great Value Brand from Walmart), I cut my paper to 10 in. x 4.5 in. You may want to measure your container if you are using a different brand or size. I used my scalloped edge blade on my trimmer on the top and bottom edges to add extra detail.
2. Ink edges and adhere to your container.
3. Cut your narrow band to wrap around the center. I cut mine to 10 in. x 1.5 in. Again, I used my scalloped edge blade on the top and bottom.
4. Ink edges and adhere to your container.
5. Print desired title, poem and cap labels on cardstock. If you'd like to save time and download mine for printing, you can do so here.
6. Punch out title using 2 in. oval punch. Ink edges.
7. Punch out 2.5 in. scalloped oval from coordinating cardstock or patterned paper. Ink edges.
8. Adhere title oval to scalloped oval.
9. Add decorative brad to title ovals.
10. Adhere to container as desired using dimensional adhesive. I centered mine along the top edge of the narrow band.
11. Trim poem, round the corners and ink edges. Adhere to container.
12. Punch out cap labels using 1 in" circle punch. Due to the smaller surface are on the 'sprinkle' tab, I slightly trimmed one side of the circle so that it would fit properly.
13. Ink edges and adhere tabs to the appropriate sides of the cap.
14. Adhere ribbon around the outside edge of the cap.

This was a fun and easy project that I think turned out really cute. Although I used mini m&m's for my containers, there are probably candies that would also work well. The main issue is finding ones that are small enough to fit through the 'sprinkle' side. Regular m&m's are too large. Red Hots would work well, I think, and might even be better considering the holiday.

Again, if you'd like to use my title, poem and labels to make your own "Love Pills" container in time for Valentine's Day, you can download them here.

If you do make one, I'd love to see your version of the craft. Come back and leave a link!

:REVIEW & GIVEAWAY: Your Words, Your Story by Michele Skinner [CONTEST CLOSED]

There was one thing that was instantly obvious to me about Your Words, Your Story: Add Meaningful Journaling To Your Layouts by Michele Skinner - there are A LOT of words in this book!!

And why wouldn't there be? It is about journaling after all.

It definitely took me a little longer to finish this book as compared to other scrapbooking idea books as not only was there generally more editorial content by the author, but it was also easy to see that specific care was taken to make sure that the journaling of EACH AND EVERY LAYOUT IN THIS BOOK was readable!

This is often not the case in many idea books. The focus is put on the 'eye-candy' aspect and not on the actual words on the page and it is often way to small to read.

In this book, Skinner gives us the best of both worlds - eye-candy and wonderful stories - and I read every single one!

Throughout the book, Skinner places a lot of emphasis on finding our authentic voice and using it in our journaling. She defines authentic voice as "the voice we use when we are being 100% ourselves, without fear or reservation."

The book is broken out into two parts - each with five sections.

PART ONE: Your Words: Find Them!

• Using Your Own Words
• Inform vs. Observe
• Get Some Help From Others
• Just Do It
• Overcoming Obstacles

Part One focuses on ways to find existing examples of our authentic voice and follow that lead in future journaling. It also recognizes that it is key to be able to recognize and use outside inspirations (such as quotes, song lyrics, etc.) as jumping off points for our own journaling.

Skinner also offers tips for how to recording journaling even when we are away from the scrap table and reminds us to stop putting so much pressure on ourselves to perfect.

PART TWO: Your Story: Use It!

• Emotion
• The Long & the Short of It
• The Anit-Paragraph
• Terminal Audience
• Genre

Part two offers ideas for going beyond the narrative, using journaling as a design element, emoting emotion and more through a variety of journaling techniques.

There are two quotes included in this chapter that I would like to share with you as I feel that they give a really good glimpse at the 'flavor' of the section:

"Whatever you choose to do with your words, remember that you are the author of your own story. What you decide to write and how you decide to write it are completely up to you. Just write; that's all I ask."

"The point of journaling is to tell your story. The fun of journaling is to play with those stories any way you see fit."

ALSO INCLUDED: 10 Problem Solved pages
Each of these pages present a journaling-related problem or question that many scrapbookers may face. Skinner addresses the problem with helpful techniques and guidance to solve the question along with a layout example.

Now, as I said, there are a lot of words in this book.

However, don't think for a minute that it's short on examples! There are 122 layouts featured on the pages of this book by Skinner herself as well as 7 other well-known and talented scrapbook artists including Catherine Feegel-Erhardt, Nisa Finn, Nicole Harper, Crystal Jeffery Rieger, Katrina Simek, Sandra Stephens, and Sue Thomas.

In the end, I think EVERY scrapbooker has something they could take away from this book. Whether journaling is already a key component of your scrapbooking or you've been a little standoffish, I would encourage you to check out this book!

WANT TO READ MORE OR PURCHASE?
Visit the Your Words, Your Story page at Amazon.com. You can also read more of my reviews for other recommendations.

GIVEAWAY:
I have one copy of Your Words, Your Story to give away to one lucky reader!!

To enter, submit your vote in the poll below and then leave a comment sharing a little more about your relationship with journaling along with the following information so that I can contact you if you win! (US residents only please...international shipping is just a little too steep for my budget right now.)

FIRST:
EMAIL:
SHARE:

Take the poll:

Leave your comment by Thursday, February 12th, 2009, 11:59 PM (CST) in order to be considered to win. I will announce and contact the random winner via email on Friday.

Upcoming Review & Giveaway:
When Life Gives You Lemons: Turning Sour Photos Into Sweet Scrapbook Layouts by Sherry Steveson.

:LINKS: Some sweet ideas for Valentine's Day

With Valentine's Day drawing near, there are all kinds of fun freebies, downloads and project ideas out there, so I thought I'd share a few of the favorite ones that I have found online recently.

*Perfect for cardmaking and other crafts...here's some super-cute 'love-notes' courtesy of Creating Keepsakes ready to download and print!

*Keep your mate quessing with this adorable Valentine's Day Wheel. Print, assemble and you've got a fun little gift.

*You won't be playing poker with this deck, but it can make some sweet valentines!!

*27 easy-to-make valentines...you sure to find a design you love for every person on your list.

*How about some sweet photo opp ideas for those upcoming Valentine's Day layouts? Check out this search for 'valentine' in Veer's extensive photo archives.

*We used to use a version of this for passing notes in high school, but marthastewart.com shares a tutorial for making an antique valentine...what a neat way to include some hidden journaling on a layout.

*Need a little something for your sweetheart? How give him a stack of these customizable love coupons courtesy of Shabby Chic Crafts.

*How about some more love coupons? (Better Homes & Gardens)

READERS:

If you've run across other great finds for Valentine's, I do hope you will share a link with us in the comments below.

:CRAFTING: Custom chocolate bars for Valentine's Day...

In addition to some scrapping, I also got some Valentine crafts done - including these little gifts for Kaitlin's teachers and after-school daycare ladies. The little wrapped bars are the ones that will go with her classmates valentine's.

These are super-simple to make and so they are perfect for a busy mom like me.

Supplies:

• 4.25 oz Hershey bar
• Patterned papers of choice (I used My Mind's Eye & Basic Grey) cut to 6.5 in. x 8 in.
• Embellishments of choice (I used MME die-cuts, Doodlebug brads and stickers)
• Optional extras that I used: Colorbox ink, Fiskars trimmer w/ scallop-edge blade, Calibri and Porcelain fonts

:CHALLENGE: WeScrap Love Fest '09 - It's All About the Hearts Challenge

My third challenge of the weekend for WeScrap's Love Fest '09 online crop:

A long-standing icon of Valentine's Day, hearts tend to be a common embellishment on layouts of many topics. Your challenge is to include hearts of three different mediums on one layout (of any theme desired).

So, for example, you might have a heart punched from patterned paper, a chipboard heart and a rub on heart. The examples I gave here are pretty basic. Really, the possibilities are endless, so stretch your imagination and so us some unique hearts!!

Here's a quick card I made as a sample:

The card itself has embossed hearts on it. Then I used a glittered heart sticker and heart shaped brads to embellish the card. I did cover the inside cover of the card with the same PP that is behind the sticker heart on the front to hide all the brad prongs.

Supplies:
Embossed Card - DCWV
Patterned Paper - My Mind's Eye
Sticker - Doodlebug
Brads - Making Memories, Doodlebug
Ink - Colorbox

RAK ANNOUNCEMENT:
Do you like the card?? I will draw a random name from all those that participate in this challenge and I will send the winner my sample card. It is blank on the inside, so you can personalize it to whomever and however you wish!!

Now, go have some fun with creating with hearts!! Get creative!

_____________________________________________

See the challenge post in the WeScrap forum for all the crop rules and deadlines.

:CHALLENGE: WeScrap Love Fest '09 - Love Letter Challenge

My second challenge of the weekend for WeScrap's Love Fest '09 online crop:

When was the last time you wrote a love letter?? Well, it is the season of love, so...

...my second challenge for WeScrap's Love Fest crop is to write and include a love letter on a layout.

It might be long, it might be short. It might be out there for all to see (and read) and hidden in a creative way. It might be to your husband or your child (or your morning cup of Starbucks). It's all up to you.

_______________________________________________

Check out the challenge post in the WeScrap forum for official rules and deadlines.

:CHALLENGE: WeScrap Love Fest '09 - Valentine's Photo Challenge

My first challenge of the weekend for WeScrap's Love Fest '09 online crop:

Most of our layouts start with photos, right? And most of us could use a little encouragement to stretch our photography skills, right?

Well, we'll certainly need some fun photos for the lovely Valentine's Day layouts we'll be making, so...

...my first challenge for you is to submit photos to the WeScrap Love Fest gallery for at least 5 of the following word prompts.

Clearly some words lend themselves to more literal interpretations, while others are more abstract - some could go either way.

However you decide to capture the word in the form of a photo...just be creative!

• HEART
• LOVE
• RED
• HUGS
• ROSE
• CHOCOLATE
• SWEET
• CANDY
• FOURTEEN
• KISS

_______________________________________________

For official rules & instructions on how to earn a ballot towards the prize drawings for this challenge, see my forum post.

Be sure to check out WeScrap forums and gallery this weekend...it'll be a fun place for sure. In addition to the challenges and game I will be posted over the next couple of days, there are 10 other Inspiration Team members posting all kinds of inspiring and fun challenges, games and make-n-takes throughout the weekend!!

:SPONSPOR: Get It Scrapped!

Back in November, I posted a book review for Get It Scrapped! by Debbie Hodge. If you read it, you know that I LOVED the book.

I also briefly mentioned that Debbie has a website as well under the same name and I am proud to announce that Get It Scrapped! is now a featured sponsor of the AMOM blog. You can see the ad in the right sidebar under Featured Sponsors.

The online version of Get It Scrapped! is certainly thriving!

Through the website, there are online scrapbook classes for paper and digital scrapbookers from a variety of very talented scrapbookers with lots of support available (especially for those that have never taken an online class before).

They have three courses starting this month:

• Product Pizzazz 101 with Doris Sander - Feb 9 - Mar 5
• Beginning Photo Editing with Lynn Weber - Feb 16 - Feb 27
• Art Journaling 102 with Dina Wakley - Feb 24 - Mar 13

You can find more information on each on their website. I encourage you to check out Get It Scrapped! They even have class samples that you can try for free before registering for a full-fledged course.

Now you have no excuse not to 'get it scrapped'!!

WOULD YOU LIKE MORE INFORMATION ABOUT BECOMING A SPONSOR OF THE AMOM BLOG? If so, please contact me and I would be happy to provide you with further details.

:GIVEAWAY WINNER: Free one-year WeScrap Membership...

CONGRATULATIONS to Susan Frazier (aka 'scribble')!! Susan is the winner of a free one-year membership to WeScrap just in time for the upcoming online crop - Love Fest '09!

Although I couldn't give out endless memberships, I certainly hope to see you all over at WeScrap this weekend.

The challenges, games, make-n-takes and PRIZES start Friday and run all weekend long...you won't want to miss it!

:LAYOUT: making valentines...

Just in time for Valentine's Day, the February issue of Scrapbook Trends is out with plenty of inspiration for lovely layouts and cards.


I was honored to have this layout featured in the Valentine's Day section.

Last year, Kaitlin's Junior Kindergarten teacher was a sweetheart and sent home a copy of each of her classmates picture, so it made preparing Valentine's super simple! It was also a great way to preserve how she wrote her own name at that time.

Supplies:
Adhesive – Duck
Cardstock – Bazzill
Patterned Paper – My Mind’s Eye
Letter & Heart Stickers – Making Memories
Rub ons – Basic Grey
Ribbon - Offray
Ink – Colorbox
Pen – Zig

:QUOTES: on winter...

Well, it looks like Punxsutawney Phil has predicted that we have another 6 weeks of winter.

Whether you consider that a gift or something to be endured is a matter of personal opinion! :-)

If you downloaded the February edition of Daily Inspirations, you may have noticed that one of the question prompts was on this very topic.

So, if you'll be creating a layout to record this piece of your personal opinion, here's a few quotes you might be able to use in your design.

Quotes for those that say, "I couldn't be happier with another six weeks of winter!":

• "There is a privacy about it which no other season gives you.... In spring, summer and fall people sort of have an open season on each other; only in the winter, in the country, can you have longer, quiet stretches when you can savor belonging to yourself."
  ~Ruth Stout
• "When there's snow on the ground, I like to pretend I'm walking on clouds."
  ~Takayuki Ikkaku, Arisa Hosaka and Toshihiro Kawabata, Animal Crossing: Wild World, 2005
• "Winter is the time for comfort, for good food and warmth, for the touch of a friendly hand and for a talk beside the fire: it is the time for home."
  ~Dame Edith Sitwell

Quotes for those that say, "I was ready for warmer weather the day after Christmas!":

• "Winter either bites with its teeth or lashes with its tail."
  ~Proverb
• "A lot of people like snow. I find it to be an unnecessary freezing of water."
  ~Carl Reiner
• "Time for the weather report. It's cold out folks. Bone-crushing cold. The kind of cold which will wrench the spirit out of a young man, or forge it into steel."
  ~Diane Frolov and Andrew Schneider, Northern Exposure, Lost and Found, 1992

STAY WARM!