: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?