Song of My Heart Stampers

Mother-Daughter Journals Class

We had the BEST time last night at the Mother-Daughter "MY Style" Class featuring the new This & That journaling product line from Stampin' Up. I honestly do not remember an event with quite the delightful atmosphere as this one. I always do my level best to make each class a home run, but this one took on a personality all its own. I think it must have been the uniqueness of the interactions between the moms and their girls. They were so delighted to be crafting together. I think for some of us it was the first time we had really viewed our offspring as a creative individual in their own right, apart from being our child. Does that make any sense? The first time we'd maybe explored the complete separateness of each other.

That may be a little deep considering I've not finished my coffee this morning... but anyway, I LOVE having a daughter and I LOVE crafting together, and I LOVE that I was able to have a little part in helping foster the special relationships between these lovely moms and daughters. We will definitely be doing more of these types of events in the future!

And it was just awesome to be able to reconnect with a couple of dear scrapbooking friends I used to see on a weekly basis. Life changes! But with this new type of "as it happens" smash-style books, it's a lot easier and less guilt-inducing to scrapbook now. I MAY be a little addicted to them, now that my first one is 95% finished!!

Natalie was so tickled to have discovered this trick. Her little hands have trouble with the flat punches, and she found that if you don't punch the butterfly out completely, you can get a cool look by raising the wings up from the still-connected paper. She told me to put this on my blog so she could be famous : )

We made a Glorious Mess, but it was SO FUN... look for more "junk journal" events in the near future! I'm thinking a recipe book class and a Praises & Prayers one. If you're interested in a private smash book class for you and your friends, I can do those, too, with any theme you'd like. zwolaneks@att.net

Lovin' my new Instax Mini instant camera... it's just like magic! Each attendee got a photo of themselves and their mom or daughter to put right into their album with washi tape. It was so fun to see how each person's journal began to take on their own personality.

25% off digital crafting special!

It's National Scrapbooking Month, and Stampin' Up is celebrating wih a big sale on digital papercrafting products for the scrapbooking lover! From now through midnight on June 15th, get 25% off on hundreds of downloads and professional print projects. It's the perfect time to finish up those albums, order those custom invites, and stock your My Digital Studio or other digital crafting software program with tons of cute new downloads and templates!

• Digital content on sale includes: ALL ensemble, calendar, photobook, and swatchbook digital content. Click here to view them in my online store.
• Print products on sale include: ALL photobooks, swatchbooks, cards, tags, individual pages, and calendars. Click here to view a PDF of the sale prices. 
• Click here to learn about our free, no-strings-attached 30-Day trial offer of the full My Digital Studio software, easily downloadable and simple to learn. 
• Interested in the possibilities? Visit mydigitalstudio.net to view customer galleries, check out the MDS designer blog, ask questions and become part of the digi-crafting community.

New smashbook-style scrapbooking class coming May 10th!

Have you seen Stampin’ Up’s new scrapbooking line called This & That? Whether you call them junk journals, squash albums, or wreck it books, you’ll love this quick and fun “anything goes” way of scrapping your life as it happens.

I’ve developed a mother-daughter class around the new line, which is on preview right now and will be featured in the new catalog in June. So on Friday, May 10th, which is Mother’s Day weekend and the perfect excuse to spend some time bonding, join us at from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. to create your own “My Style” smash books together.

Each mother-daughter team (or aunt and niece, sisters, grandma and granddaughter, or just plain friends, too!) will receive one bundle of This N That products, along with two journals. You can bring any small things you have cut out of magazines or snapped photos of that represent your personal style.

Be prepared to get SILLY as we SMASH and celebrate the unique relationships of the women in our lives and our own personal sense of style. It will be a "girls' night in" in the best sense of the tradition!

Cost for the evening is just $40 per 2 people. Age 8 & up only, please. RSVP by Apr. 24th. Natalie and I hope you can join us!

Washi Tape baby card

Here's the washi tape baby card I promised you, that somehow got missed being photographed with the others last week. I love the softness of this vintage-feeling card. You would think it would be the last place you'd use washi tape, yet somehow it works! I started with a Bashful Blue base, layered on some lace from the Artisan Embellishment kit, two torn pieces of Designer Series Papers (First Edition newsprint and Tea for Two) and a couple of ticket punches from the That's the Ticket stamp set, all held on with two of the This & That washi tape patterns. Two more embellishments from the Artisan kit ... a little snippet of Basic Gray taffeta ribbon ... and some Basic Gray marker speckles with the Color Spritzer Tool... and it's done!

TIP: Missed the memo? Wondering what is up with washi? Originating in Japan and primarily used for scrapbooking when it first hit the US market, cardmakers and even DIY home decorators have been all over this fun self-adhesive product. It's removeable and repositionable, easily tears with just your fingers, and imparts a ka-POW of color and pattern in a hurry. Click here to view my Pinterest board where I've been collecting ideas for the many, many uses for it. Click here to view it in my shopping website, and stay tuned for more patterns and colors in washi tape collections in the upcoming catalog!

Mother-Daughter "MyStyle" smash books journaling class!

I’m super excited to introduce Stampin’ Up’s new scrapbooking line called This & That. Whether you call them junk journals, squash albums, or wreck it books, you’ll love this quick and fun “anything goes” way of scrapping your life as it happens.

I’ve developed a mother-daughter class around the new line, which is on preview right now and will be featured in the new catalog in June. So on Friday, May 10th, which is Mother’s Day weekend and the perfect excuse to spend some time bonding, join us at from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. to create your own “My Style” smash books together.

Each mother-daughter team (or aunt and niece, sisters, grandma and granddaughter, or just plain friends, too!) will receive one bundle of This N That products, along with two journals. You can bring any small things you have cut out of magazines or snapped photos of that represent your personal style.

Be prepared to get SILLY as we SMASH and celebrate the unique relationships of the women in our lives and our own personal sense of style. It will be a "girls' night in" in the best sense of the tradition!

Cost for the evening is just $40 per 2 people. Age 8 & up only, please. RSVP by Apr. 24th. Natalie and I hope you can join us!

 

"This & That" scrapbooking in the real world

I seriously squeaked when I saw this new product  in our early demonstrator-only sneak peek last week! Smash books, wreck it albums, junk journals--whatever you call them, this "new old" trend in scrapbooking is super fun and perfectly suits the random way modern life comes at you, as it happens. Traditional scrapping doesn't work anymore for thousands of busy people, yet we still all want a way to preserve our memories, hang onto precious photos, and manage all the little bits of memorablia that we love to keep but don't really have a good place for.

Enter the This & That line from Stampin' Up... the perfect combo of journalling notebook and scrapbook. It's a return to scrapbooking the way it first came about--tucking ticket stubs, random photos, pressed flowers and yellowing programs into a book to look through and reminisce over later. Maybe a few handwritten notes here and there.

But in a marvelouly modern twist, and with the addition of rotary stamps, washi tape, and other clever new accessories, this type of scrapbooking has been reinvented for inspiration journals, art sketches, brag books, prayer journals, and much more!

The possibilities are totally amazing! Here's 40 quick ideas I've thought of for a This & That book:

1. my favorite quotes
2. the kids' funny faces
3. places we've lived
4. our family recipes
5. my personal style
6. new year's resolutions
7. places I want to go
8. my dream house has...
9. all about us
10. and baby makes three
11. Instagram photos
12. my top ten movies
13. if I had a million dollars
14. my pregnancy story
15. color combos to try
16. my weight loss journey
17. prayer & praises
18. my BFF and me
19. how we met
20. cold nose, warm heart
21. when I was a kid
22. a day in the life
23. random facts about me
24. the story of your adoption
25. on turning 40
26. how I learned to ______
27. books I love
28. paint swatches I'm considering
29. 10 things I love about you
30. songs that make me smile
31. before and after
32. I love being a girly girl
33. four generations
34. my favorite stores
35. learning to drive
36. what my shoes say about me
37. dreaming of my garden
38. when we were dating
39. three wishes
40. 20 things you don't know about me

Stop feeling stressed out because you can't keep up with scrapbooking the way you used to. There's enough in life to feel guilty about without holding yourself to an unrealistic standard of something that was supposed to be a fun hobby and somewhere along the way turned into a chore. Smash books might be the answer--simply scrapping  your messy and wonderful life as it happens.... click here to go to my online shopping site and see the This & That line and other fabulous, simple kits that take the guilt out and put a healthy dose of fun back in.

Airmailed Package scrapbook page

Today is a great day even if it is STILL stinkin' cold outside and 'supposedly' spring... because I'm leaving for the "Creative Escape" Scrapbooking Weekend in just a few hours! I am so tickled about the projects for this event, all made with the Sent With Love March-April special offer from Stampin' Up. It is as cute as a bug! You can see two more posts about this product suite here: Passport Themed and Special Delivery Themed

This scrapbook page looks like a beat-up airmail package from some exotic location! I started by crumpling 12x12 Crumb Cake cardstock all around the edges, smoothing it out, then wiping the Crumb Cake ink pad over the crumpled parts to pick up the lines and creases. Then I spritzed it with water to soften the ink edges and set it aside to dry as I trimmed out the scrapbooking elements from the Sent With Love Designer Series papers. The knotted hemp twine added the perfect finishing touch!

Today's also a great day for a totally different reason. Yesterday, thanks to my fabulous customer friends, I put in the order that earned me a free Getaway Weekend for Two in San Diego this next September! Whoo hoo for Stampin' Up, eh??? They sure know how to make a girl feel rewarded and appreciated. Now, my ultimate goal is to earn 10,000 more points and trade in the Getaway Weekend for the Grand Vacation in spring 2014... I have my sights set on taking my kids to see the ocean and that Royal Carribean cruise would be a splendid opportunity. But it feels great to have earned the Getaway--and it is all thanks to YOU.

I know you have lots of choices out there when it comes to your papercrafting dollars, and I want you to know your business is APPRECIATED. But your friendship is PRICELESS. Thank you for encouraging me!