I can't wait! Wendy Smedley and I have been working hard to pull everything together for Boot Camp 2011, as have our amazing fellow "Drill Instructors," Nichol Magouirk, Maggie Holmes, and Lisa Dickinson.
After watching and editing everyone's videos and downloads, I honestly feel SO inspired and I want to start creating things RIGHT NOW. Truly awesome stuff, and I really can't wait to share it all with you!
I hope you'll join us for the TOP military-themed video-centric scrapbook event of ALL TIME. (Sure, it's also the ONLY military-themed video-centric scrapbook event, but that doesn't make my previous sentence any less true.)
For the past several weeks, this blog had to take a backseat to, well, life in general.
Tragedy struck some close friends of ours when their 16-year-old daughter (a friend of Jeremy's) was killed in a car accident, along with her grandmother and step-grandfather. I've thought of little else for the last couple of weeks, and it has just seemed wrong (as it tends to do) that life was carrying on as normal for everyone else. But life has to carry on. That's the way of things. And it's good that it does, becuase it keeps our hands occupied while our hearts try to heal.
And in the meantime, Keira Jane figured out how to crawl, which means a whole new world for this first-time mama.
And Keira's boyfriend, Calvin, came into town (along with his mom) for the funeral. I was so grateful they stayed with us, since babies are the best distraction in the world, and I needed more than anything to talk about and process my grief with another close friend who knows and loves the family, too.
And I've had this nervous energy that won't go away and seems to require physical activity at all times. I've been cleaning my house non-stop, cooking for my family and others, tackling projects in my house left and right. (I'm not complaining about that part; I'm just going with it.)
Here's a mirror wall I started working on before Keira arrived, and which has taken a backseat until now. I made paper templates so I could figure out the arrangement I wanted, and I finished painting and decoupaging the frames. Now I just need to hang them. (Here's hoping that doesn't take another 10 months!)
And all the plans for Ella Publishing Co. that were put into place months ago had to march on, and really it's been good to keep busy.
First, I was a guest on Paperclipping Roundtable last week, and we covered a topic that was near and dear to my heart: personality types and how it affects your crafting! Another very welcome distraction, to discuss things I'm passionate about with people I love and respect. Some people loved the show, others didn't, but one thing's for certain—it drew out a lot of comments.
Second, we've had Digital Scrapbooking Month going on at Ella Publishing Co., which meant articles to edit and upload, a new eBook to edit and project-manage, and lots of stuff happening on the blog. You've got to check out the latest, by Liz Tamanaha, all about digital kits. It's got one of my favorite mini-albums I've seen in a long time.
And third, Wendy and I have been putting the pieces together for Ella's upcoming Boot Camp event (September 19-24). It's going to be so amazing. Click this link (or the banner below) to view the video Wendy and I finally managed to record yesterday, after weeks of trying to synch our schedules, complete with pink-camo hats and everything!
Well, that about brings us up to date. My new routine (now that the baby is mobile) is starting to take shape, and we're just adapting as each new milestone and event comes along.
And just like always, I'm experiencing great joys alongside great sadnesses, and the key is to try to keep it (and everything else) in balance. Some weeks, that's easier than others. But that's life.
No, I don't mean "Free Today" as a sentence, as in "Free Tibet." No, Today is not in captivity, as far as I know, but today there is something FREE that I think you'll like.
It's this cute digital garland. Aren't the colors just scrumptious? And can't you imagine how cute it would be on a scrapbook page background or (gasp!) on a card? Click on it to see it all nice and large.
To get it, just visit The Daily Trumpet today and follow the link to the digital freebie. (There's also a giveaway too!) This product is by Pretty Little Studio, and it just takes moments to download for your very own.
My creative partner in crime, Wendy, and I were invited to host our own show on the new and upcoming MyCraftChannel—an exciting new venture that features hosts from all corners of the blogosphere (scrapbooking, cooking, sewing, photography, mixed media, and more!).
The topic of our show combines two of our very favorite things in all the world: books and crafts. (We'll try to find a way to work in our other favorite things: cinnamon rolls and sugar cookies.)
And visit the MyCraftChannel blog for your chance to win a $349 Cricut machine TODAY!
Happy day! Exclamation points shall be used in abundance!
(p.s. If you didn't get the Ella email today about this, I'm sharing with you now the secret coupon code that will allow you to save $2 off of any eBook purchase at ellapublishing.com through Wednesday only. And the code is...CRAFTYTV. Enjoy!)
The first few weeks are always so disorienting. Where did all the time go? Why can I only accomplish 1/3 of what I was accomplishing in the winter and the spring? I don't think I'm spending that much more time in the great outdoors. But I'm certainly no longer the winter shut-in that I was just a few months ago.
Life marches on way too quickly with the vegetable gardening (haven't gotten around to any flowers!), editing and writing, parenting the 8-month-old and the 17-year-old, keeping the house, walking the baby and the dog, being in charge of the primary children in my congregation, planning a class for Big Picture Classes, and trying to keep up with Ella Publishing Co. while finding time to scrapbook, craft, and create. Busy, busy, busy, but good.
And last week, I found time to be on The Paperclipping Roundtable (thanks to my in-laws watching the baby upstairs while I chatted with Noell, Nancy, and the gang from the basement). Another fun episode! Topic: how to tackle big, huge projects. Title: For Big Scrapbooking Projects (and Grocery Shopping) Check out the collective group album mentioned on the show, which my family made for my grandfather, in this past blog post. And there's also one for grandma!
Here's a little layout I made using the List It! printable journaling lists! Super cute, easy, and fun. And then Jovie the Destructor promptly ate this layout, so I had to remake it. That's why you'll notice a slightly different version of the page showing up in this video, which you MUST watch if you'd like a glimpse of little Keira Jane waving at the end.
You know how sometimes everything your life stacks up all at once, and you just go into "survival mode," moving from one task to the next as quickly as you can? Trying desperately not to let yourself get overwhelmed, because wonderful things are happening, and you don't want the details to get lost in a blur of busy-ness?
That's been my life lately. But for wonderful reasons.
Photo above by Elisha Snow. Bonnet and dress handmade by my mom. I can't wait to see the rest of the pictures!
1. On Saturday, April 23, we scheduled Keira Jane's baby blessing (the LDS version of a christening) and temple sealing (the spiritual version of "finalizing her adoption," to follow the legal finalization from a couple of weeks ago).
2. Hence, my sister's family was in town from California.
3. And my brother's family was in town from Arizona.
4. And my grandparents were in town from Idaho.
5. We also scheduled extended family portraits (with the fabulous Elisha Snow), since all 23 of us were together for the first time in a long time. Two parents, six children, and 11.5 grandchildren.
In said family photo, I finally understood the concept of being more concerned with how one's children look (binkie out, blanket out of the way, boogers out of nose) than oneself.
6. I coordinated a family potluck luncheon after the blessing, with 40-50 people expected to attend. My mom's famous potato salad and homemade mustard. My mother-in-law's famous ham. My sister-in-law's famous orange cake. My sister's famous cheesecake pudding. Costco's famous rolls. And the green lime slush I was so fond of from childhood.
7. I tried to set aside as much time as possible from Thursday through today to spend time with family and friends. Meals, walks, drives, shopping excursions, Easter-egg hunts, and simply time spent together.
8. Keira got her first fever and her first ear infection the day before the family was set to arrive. She was not a happy girl, but she was sweet and calm and cuddly nonetheless. And she was in a wonderful mood all day Saturday, which was a huge blessing. She'd only been on her antibiotic for one day.
9. Naturally, it was Easter the following day. No eggs were boiled or dyed at my house, but Easter baskets did manage to get filled and set out the next morning. (16-year-old boys still do care about these things, as much as they might pretend to be too grown up.)
10. In my work life, I've been madly preparing for Ella Publishing Co.'s very first online event, Spring Training 2011, which launched yesterday. It's been a huge undertaking, but Wendy and I have been having a ball!
In hindsight, I might have scheduled things a little bit differently. But I can't complain. Saturday could not have been more perfect, and Easter Sunday was a lovely respite from the mania of the previous week.
And Spring Training is going along swimmingly. We're having a blast! And since I've certainly neglected the journaling and writing topic here on my blog recently (I can't resist talking and talking about my baby girl!), you can get your word-nerd fill in three extremely useful and meaningful journaling lessons from me. I have to say, these feature some of my best writing tips ever.
p.s. How could I have forgotten? I also ran a half marathon the Saturday before. I'll post about that later this week! Probably. Right now, I need a nap.
Once again, I came home from the Craft & Hobby Association tradeshow with more than just a few paper packs and a notebook full of inspiring ideas. I've also got a nasty cold. But on the bright side, it's not Swine Flu, as was the case after CHA Summer 2009.
FRIENDS
This year, my six-day trip was half family reunion and half scrapbooker reunion. I spend half of each day walking the show floor with my fellow Ella peeps, meeting up with longtime industry friends:
A blurry photo of the Ella crew: Tami Morrison, me, Brenda Johnston, Wendy Smedley, and Jennifer Larson. (Keshet Shenkar had not yet arrived.)
Emily Pitts, Keshet Shenkar, Aly Dosdall, Stacy Julian, Wendy Smedley, Keira Jane, and me.
Linda Barber, a former Ella Friend and current CK Dream Team member, and me.
FAMILY
I spent the other half of the time hanging out with my sister and her three kids, who live in nearby Orange, as well as my sister-in-law and her four kids, who drove over from Arizona for the weekend: A first-thing-in-the-morning shot of seven of the eight cousins who ran around my sister's house for three days straight.
All on their own, Haylee and Breanna decided to set up a schedule of Keira time, to keep things fair. They set the timer and traded off every 7 minutes.
The only lingering issue with the schedule was when Keira timed her feedings, "Well you got to feed her last time, so this time it's my turn!"
Cousin Gillian: "Can I hold baby Keira? Can I hold baby Keira? CanIholdbabyKeiraCanIholdbabyKeiraCanIholdbabyKeira?" followed by "Oh, her's so little! Her's so cute! Look at her's tiny fingers!"
Cousin Townes, just 8 months older than Keira but twice her size. It's a good thing he's a gentle giant, because he was mighty interested in this little peanut.
There's a reason Townes is sometimes known as "Townes-zilla."
INSPIRATION
Of course the other half of the fun is drooling over the latest and greatest in scrapbooking trends and supplies. We've got lots of highlight posts planned over on the Ella Blog for the next week or so, so be sure to stop by. In the meantime, here are just a few of my personal favorites: I adore the Daily Junque paper line from Pink Paislee and House of Three. I want to bathe my entire home in this color palette. (That central paper might look black, but it's actually navy.)
This n That from Lily Bee was another favorite. Elegant, bright, retro, gorgeous!
Cosmo Cricket's Glubers (which are "uber" glue circles that come in 2-inch, 2.5-inch, and 3-inch sizes) make it possible to create gorgeous flowers in minutes--minus the glue-gun burns that usually come with this territory!
The Sophisticates by Stephanie line is a collection of universal patterns and products in eleven mouth-watering colors. It's what made this layout possible, which may be one of my favorite layouts I've ever seen in person.
For the Record by Echo Park Paper is among my favorites, too. It was also Stacy Julian's pick for the "almost live from CHA" episode of the Paperclipping Roundtable. (My baby needed me, so I couldn't make the recording session.)
And I must say that the Smash Book from EK Success definitely lives up to all the hype. It's one of those why-hasn't-anyone-thought-of-that-yet ideas, executed brilliantly. And it has a perfect name.
BABY ON BOARD
We also found time for Miss Keira Jane to make her CHA debut: The Moby wrap was a lifesaver. I can harness her in there a dozen different ways, depending on whether she was in the mood to interact with people. She was quite the charmer, grinning her little cheeks off whenever she'd get attention from someone new.
Here she meets Stacy Julian, an adoptive mama herself, for the first time. Wendy was Keira's talent agent, using texting technology to make sure she got face time with a handful of her biggest fans.
After a while, the attention was just too much. Not to worry, Keira, there's a wrap for that. (Hee hee.)
There's more to share. There always is. And I'm bursting with ideas for layouts I want to create right this minute. But this girl needs some Nyquil and the comforts of her own bed. Keira nodded off hours ago, and it's time for her sniffly mama to follow suit.
I completed the layout before I knew we'd been selected to be adoptive parents, and that makes it all the more meaningful to me. If I'd created it after Keira Jane came home, it would be a very different layout, if it ever got created at all. I LOVE that I have this perspective recorded. I'd tell you the whole story behind the layout, but I think I'd rather make you buy the eBook! :)
I teamed up with my old college pal, Kelly Jeppson, to write this eBook. (Not that either of us are old, mind you.) Kelly teaches writing at the local community college. I've been a professional writer and editor for the past 12 years. We also worked together at Simple Scrapbooks magazine (me as an editor, she as a contributing writer). We're both crafting fiends (although she's much better with a sewing machine than I am). In a nutshell, we could barely contain our glee when we had the idea to team up on an scrapbooking eBook. We haven't worked this closely together since our tutoring days in the Writing Center at Utah State University. Here we are impersonating faculty at a nerd banquet, er, Top Prof Event in 1998:
Anyway, back to the eBook. In this, our masterpiece, we offer simple starters to help you journal with confidence. We help you dig deeper and find stories that you can't believe you haven't recorded yet. We help you play with format, so you can take truly creative angles with your writing (a love note to your GPS? narrating the thoughts of your precious pooch?). And we help you unlock the magic of journaling in lists.
Here's a layout the lovely Barb Wong created, inspired by two of the prompts in Journaling that Matters:
The prompts were: "Say it in a single sentence (or two)", and "Write a thank you note to an inanimate object." And of course, the point is to direct the note to an object that reveals something about yourself or your life right now.
I didn't even have to beg Barb to make a layout inspired by this eBook, she was inspired all on her own to make this page and send it to me.
Homegrown cinderella pumpkin (with baby in the background).
Dinner in a Pumpkin, a Lucas family tradition since 2005. (I've tried several recipes over the years, and this one is our favorite.) And we love sweet & salty pumpkin seeds, too.
Scrappy friends who come over for a mid-week potluck. (From left: Aly Dosdall and Faith, Wendy Smedley, Ali Monson holding Keira, Elisha Snow, Rachel Gainer and Shelby, Kelly Jeppson and Gabe.)
Fun party favors brought by Kelly Jeppson. (Don't you want to be the sort of person who always remembers to bring homemade treats to any gathering? That's Kelly for ya.)
One more shot of Keira bug because I simply couldn't resist.
Speaking of Halloween treats, you should know that Ella Publishing Co. is having a Halloween sale! Use code ELLAWEEN at checkout before midnight on October 31, 2010, to receive 31 percent off of any (or all) of the following ten eBooks:
