Scrappy...Friday!

Well, I really should be eating lunch right now, but I'm a little full from sampling the cinnamon buns I made this morning:) Which just goes to show you the blessing/curse of twitter: thanks to Jenni's photos of her cinnamon buns earlier this week, I couldn't help but whip up my own batch!

So instead of eating nourishing food, I bring you a new layout!

I created this for Donna Jannuzzi's Stretch your Sketches series on the Ella blog! Check out the blog regularly to see more sketches and interpretations!

Here's the original sketch:

And here's what I did with it:

I switched out several of the photos for patterned paper blocks, and added little embellishments. Papers + embellishments are from the Lawn Party Studio Calico kit! The photos are from an impomptu dance party I staged with S and my sister, Riki, in order to practice my shutter speed skills:) As you can see, they were very enthusiastic participants!

I hope you're all having a wonderful, happy Friday! I'm running off to finish my 12,465 item long to do list (as is the case on all Fridays--luckily one of the items is "buy donuts"! Ha!)

And since I'm always looking for more dessert ideas (May that continue for the rest of my life--amen.) can YOU tell me your favorite dessert?

(Oh, and PS--make sure to come here on Wednesday for a fabulous giveaway!)

WCS August gallery--no photos!

The August gallery is up at Write.Click.Scrapbook, and the theme was a bit of a toughie--no photos!

I kind of "cheated" and used this house shaped packaging from Crate Paper's Neighborhood trim as a focal point instead of a photo.

For this layout, I wrote about my experience of moving around and looking for home.

If you can't read the journaling, it says this: As a kid, I lived in Israel, Hong Kong, Hawaii and Ohio. As an adult, in Michigan, Philly, and New Jersey. After growing up all over the place, I badly want to put down roots in one spot and stay there. Which puts a lot of pressure on the "where to live” decision!

We’re hoping Elizabeth will be “home” for the long run.

And if you check the layout in the gallery, you can also learn Fun Facts about me and the rest of the WCS team!

Make sure you stop by the gallery and see what everyone has created!

Question--Where is home for YOU? Is it a temporary spot, or a long-term home for you?

The Creative Journey continues!

Happy Monday, everyone! Thanks for coming back to read more about creative journeys with me. Today's guest is the funny and talented Christa Pastenbaugh! I loved reading what she had to say.

I started actual scrapbooking (i.e. beyond collages!) when I was invited to my first Creative Memories party back in 1998. I went as a way to get to know fellow Marine Corps wives, and I'm so glad I did! I scrapbooked off and on until I had Ella (baby #2) and bought Cathy Zielske’s first book, Clean and Simple. After that, I was a changed scrapper!

I joined a kit club and saw what the designers were doing with the product and was very intrigued. I loved how they looked at paper and embellishments a little differently and I wanted to venture down that road as well. It was around that time that I began subscribing to scrapbook magazines as well and looked, really looked at what was being published. So, after many, many, many submissions over many, many months, and many, many, many rejections I finally got a layout picked up in November 2009, with of all magazines--Scrapbooks, Etc! I couldn’t believe it. That seemed to get the ball rolling and I started getting submission requests regularly from Scrapbook Trends, Creating Keepsakes and more from Scrapbooks, Etc. too. And I am forever grateful for each and every one of those.

Even after getting work published on a semi-regular basis, I still go through “dry” spells if you will. For example, I’m in one right now. I have had less than a handful of requests over the last few months, but that’s how things go in this industry I think. Things ebb and flow, but I don’t stop submitting. One of the difficult pieces for me is that I’m not technique-y and often fall into the trap of thinking that I have nothing to offer. I always have to remind myself that I have my stories to offer and if that isn’t enough, then so be it. I create for me and this is just a nice side effect from it!

Christa also had some great advice for people who are trying to submit:

I don’t feel like I’m one who is overly qualified to give advice on getting published and making a name for yourself in the industry, but here goes. Keep submitting. I know, people hear this all the time, but you never know exactly what the editors are looking for at any given time for an article. Layouts I think are great go without ever getting picked up, while others that I nearly don’t submit sometimes do get picked up--you just never know! I also submit the same layout several times because what might not work for one article, may work for one another month.

And submit a lot. When a call is for a subject area where I have several layouts that fit then I submit them all. That can mean 3-5 for one specific call.

I don’t make layouts for a call unless it is a subject/event I would scrap anyway. It takes the fun out of it! A lot of times calls get the ball rolling for me. For example, since I’m not an event scrapper holiday photos sit forever, but when a call comes out then I dig them out because I do want them documented and this is the kick in the hiney I need!

I feel like my niche is journaling and scrapbooking the out of the ordinary. I tell the story behind the photos and use lots of journaling on my pages. I also try to look at photos outside of what is physically going on in them. I go with my gut and scrap how I feel about them.

Here's a layout that shows off Christa's beautiful style: (And if I can editorialize, I absolutely adore Christa's use of color. You have to check out the layouts on her blog!)

I currently LIVE in the DC suburbs in Northern Virginia. I've been married to my college sweetheart for 13 years who keeps us moving with his career in the Marine Corps. We have lived on each coast several times with more moves in sight! We have 2 beautiful and drama filled daughters, Maya and Ella. I work part time as a school social worker in a large high school and I absolutely love it! I can't imagine doing anything else, but also love that it's part time!

My style has definitely evolved over the years and my main focus is and always has been the story behind the photos. I love to focus on what isn't seen in the photos, including our personalities and quirks. I love to journal and like to make space to get as much in as possible!

I currently design for Pebbles, Inc., Creative Memories, Ormolu and Write.Click.Scrapbook. I have been published in Creating Keepsakes, Scrapbooks, Etc., Scrapbook Trends, Scrapbook and Cards Today and several idea boohttp://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3891972351431603536ks. I am grateful for all that comes my way!

I chose this layout to feature not because I love the design (which I do), but because of the story behind it. I’m a story girl and this one is one I’m so glad I documented. My husband and I got engaged at the Capitol Building in Washington, DC and it holds a special place for us. I created this for the sketch class at Two Peas in a Bucket and I love the large photo from the sketch and thought the photo of the Capitol was perfect. I want my girls to know this story about us and how we came to be our family!

Thank you, Christa! Learn more about her on her beautiful blog, right here:)

And a question for you--what have YOU found to be the most helpful advice for getting into the scrapbook industry?

Elle's Studio July Layouts!

I'm so excited to be able to share my July Elle's Studio layouts with you!

For my first layout, I pulled out the February Studio Calico kit, Candy Shoppe--loved that one!

As you can see, I received a stuffed hippo for Valentine's Day last year. Luckily, I think stuffed hippos are fairly romantic:)

On this layout, I used lots of Handmade Layers, included my most favorite date/place strips! Love those!

For my second layout, I tried something that makes me inordinately proud of myself. I used my Smash date stamp to stamp on the blank pennants! (Next stop: Harvard. Ha!)

This layout is about the delights of spending time with a good friend--we had a wonderful, connected weekend together and I didn't want to forget it anytime soon.

To top off my gallery, I whipped up a little "welcome tag":

I give out welcome baskets to new families in our community, so this tag was both fun to make AND will be handy when I give out new baskets today! I used more Handmade Layers and pennants on this little puppy--love all the color combos you can get out of this line!

And since I always love new ideas, what is YOUR favorite non-layout project to create?

Creative Journey blog series--Stephanie Howell!

Happy Monday, everyone, and welcome back to the Creative Journey blog series! I'm so excited to introduce today's guest--she's talented, funny, and has some great insights on the industry.

Without further ado, here's Stephanie Howell!


I asked Stephanie some questions about her journey in scrapbooking and here's what she had to say:

I started scrapbooking when I was pregnant with my oldest daughter, Harper, so about 6 years ago. I attended a Close to My Heart party and decided I wanted to try. Then I picked up a CK magazine and I couldn't believe all of the fun ways that women were scrapbooking. It lit a creative fire in me!

About a year later, I decided to try out for a team. I had been lurking at the Two Peas in a Bucket Pub board, and I thought it sounded fun. The idea of being sent products to use just sounded interesting. What a way to get me out of my comfort zone, to encourage creativity! I tried for several online shops and manufacturers and had no luck. A friend of mine suggested trying for a small online community design team. So I did, and I got the spot. It was the perfect way to break into the industry. I learned about deadlines, a team dynamic, etc.

As the years passed, I started trying for more teams and submitting to magazines. I tried for several big manufacturers, kit clubs, websites.....and man, I experienced a lot of rejection! I remember applying for the Scrapologie kit club and the Scrap in Style site and not getting either and being pretty upset. Then I realized that was silly. I promised myself that the moment that scrapbooking made me feel bad about myself? Well, then I wouldn't do it anymore. The purpose of this hobby for me is that it makes me HAPPY.

So I stopped being so hard on myself and had fun. And in hindsight, I'm glad those gigs didn't work out. They wouldn't have been a good fit for me.

After submitting for about a year, Scrapbook Trends picked me up. They've been wonderful to me and I recommend them to any new submitter. They are fabulous. It took me about four years to get into Creating Keepsakes and Scrapbooks, Etc.

Right now, I'm on three teams, but my main priority is still having fun. If I stop having fun, I will no longer do the team thing. Life's too short:)

Stephanie also shared some tips for industry hopefuls:

It's all about sticking with it. I submitted for years to certain publications. YEARS!!! There's no reason that not being picked up for a few months should be enough to make you quit. That always baffles me. It takes persistence!

Have FUN with it. If you are doing something you love, authentically love...well good things come out of that. I blog because it is my sanity. And i LOVE it. And the fact that good things have come out of that??? That's just icing on the cake that's already pretty sweet.

Another great tip is that when you are looking at magazine calls, be original. If there is a call for "Mother's Day" layouts, submit a layout about "a mother's heart"- how you feel about being a mother - instead of a standard mother's day call. Or if there is a "summer" call, submit a layout about snow cones. Do you see where I'm going here? Do something different! Also, good photography and cropping of your layouts is a MUST!

Here's one of Stephanie's recent favorite layouts:

Growing up with a ridiculously artistic mother, Stephanie tried and abandoned many crafts in frustration before she finally stumbled onto scrapbooking and fell in love. She made a few scrapbooks (in the loosest sense of the term) when she was in college, but truly became obsessed when she was pregnant with her first daughter. Scrapbooking is her therapy and has gotten her through seven of her husband’s overseas deployments.

Stephanie has been published in Creating Keepsakes, Simple Scrapbooks, Scrapbook and Cards Today, Scrapbooks Etc., Memory Makers and Scrapbook Trends magazines. She designs for Studio Calico, Sassafras, and Jenni Bowlin Studio.
Stephanie lives in Savannah and is married to Jimmy, who is a Major in the army. She is also a stay-at-home mom to Harper Elizabeth (5yrs), Sadie Caroline (3yrs), and twin baby girls, Lucy Claire and Catherine (Cate) Bennett (6 months old). In her spare time, she loves blogging, antiquing, taking zumba, and watching reality tv (her dirty little secret). She dreams of learning to sew, embroider, knit, quilt, and cook (well). But most of all, she loves just being together as a family, and she relishes those moments…as they are few and far between.

In Memory

I wasn't going to post tonight, but I just found out some terrible news and I can't help but write it out--as it still hasn't hit me yet.

This beautiful, funny, talented woman, Chris Hertel, lost her battle with breast cancer and passed away several days ago. I didn't know Chris well, but her thoughtful and clever comments on this blog always made me laugh and spread a little bit of sunshine. Even from our brief interactions, I can tell what a beautiful person she was.

She will be so very missed. Things just aren't the same without her.

CHA Fun and a WINNER!

Hi everyone! Sorry for that loooong hiatus. Between running around like a crazy person at CHA, having a little tiramisu emergency yesterday, and racing against the clock to make 8 challahs today, things have been a little--er--disorganized.

I have some fun CHA stuff to show you, but before I get to that, we have a winner for the Ella Scrap your Single Years giveaway!

The random.org number was 13, and the winner is VERA!

___

Vera said...

I'm still single ;) so being able to get up and go at the drop of a hat is wonderful!

____

Yay Vera! Shoot me an email at keshet.starr@gmail.com and I'll sort you out:)

Now back to what you REALLY want to know about. . . . . .CHA!

This was a fun, fun trip. I was looking at scrappy stuff and hanging out with scrappy folk until past midnight just about every night, which is normally way past my bedtime, but it was so much fun I couldn't resist! Looking forward to lots of sleep and recuperation this coming weekend:)

The week started with a delicious dinner with friends:

(Special thanks to Jenni's husband Todd for driving us everywhere!) Check out Jenni's blog for more photos of the dinner and the meaning of our new vocabulary word, "poshers":)

There were so many fun things made out of paper to see at the show:

And lots of gorgeous tablescapes:

The Smash booth had this fun photo prop! I want one for home!

Not to mention these UBER-attractive glasses..... (ooh la la, right??)

SO many great new supplies out, like these Pebbles clothespins:

And can you believe this fun embroidery in the Amy Tan booth?

I had fun running into Nik at the Studio Calico booth!

Lots of pretty floral paper--YUM!

And as an end to the day, drinks with Elle (of Elle's Studio!), Jenny, Jenni, Linda and Cindy!

Whew! Quite a random little mishmash, huh?

And just to add to the random--the Elle's Studio July Inspiration Gallery is up, so go check it out! I'll be back to share my projects soon!

Tell me--What's YOUR favorite part of traveling??