more baby pages

Wanted to share one of my very favorite "things" in our home now.



We took these pictures of our children's feet in 2002 (baby Porter), 2005 (baby Claire), and just barely (baby Crew).

And because I tend to be talking a LOT about babies this month ... it's only appropriate that I share a ton of baby layouts with you, right? The following are talented scrapbookers who have their hands on my baby kit and have been putting pages together with the product. Just click on their names to take you to their respective blogs. You will be inspired and motivated.

BLOGS

Mary MacAskill (9/28 post)

Mandy Douglass (9/26 post)

Elisha Snow (9/29 post)

Maggie Holmes (9/26 post)

Allison Kimball (9/30 post)

Candice Palmer (9/27 post)

Marnie Flores (9/29 post)

Elizabeth Kartchner (9/24 post)

Just added:

Tina Cockburn (9/30 post)

*Note that Tina put this kit to good use for her adopted daughter. Many of you have asked if this kit will work for adopted children and I say absolutely! Tina agrees, from personal experience, and you can read her thoughts on her blog.

weekend project

One of my favorite things ever, is doing projects around the house with David. Several projects have been on hold while I was pregnant (didn't feel so hot, I was always tired, and moving around was a bit more difficult).

So this weekend, we tackled the office. It was so great working with David, and it felt peachy to check this one off the list.



This is what we call the "cube wall". My Cropper Hopper cubes (they may be discontinued now, sorry) used to be configured like this: 6 wide & 4 tall. Inefficient use of space AND the top would just collect junk. Not pretty. So now it's 4 wide & 6 tall (a step stool is handy) and I have space for my red chair in the office again! Plus, we bolted every cube to each other and screwed the entire unit to the wall. These cubes aren't going anywhere.

baby pages

Well hello there. And Happy Weekend to you.

[ 3 baby kit winners ]

Congratulations to the lucky gals that will soon be receiving their happy mail!

1. Jen in Upper Darby, Pennsylvania
2. Nicole in Silverton, Oregon
3. Syeda in Schaumburg, Illinois

The 3 of you just need to drop an e-mail to Vivian at CK and she'll take care of you. [vgrothe@ckmedia.com] And by the way, this is the same fabulous Vivian who you should e-mail if you have a customer service issue or question. This goes for my baby kit, or ANY of the products from our Kit of the Month program.

[ baby pages ]

I'm working on some of Crew's pages and seriously loving the baby kit, which is making it all come together fast & oh so cute. (Shameless plug, I know. But seriously, I love it!) And because all the pieces are double-sided, here is a girl layout I've done for Claire's album -- her 3rd month.



And this shows you the layout inside Claire's album, complete with the journaling strip that goes with each month.



I also made some thank you cards with some of the kit pieces too. The kit contents go a long, long way.



[ check out more baby pages ]

Elizabeth Kartchner has been working up a little magic with her own baby's pictures. Click on her name to see those pages on her blog. I'll share more later.

[ discounted kits ]

Just so you know, most of the previous kits of the month are now on sale. BIG sale, actually. You see, we're moving to a new fulfillment house in Denver and rather than move the stuff from one warehouse to another, we're giving you a great opportunity to buy kits for way less. If I were you (since most of us like solution-based kits that make scrapbooking easier) ... I would check into this.

For example, my school expansion pack (originally $31.95) is now $22.36. It was already a great bargain. This is fantastic.

Visit www.lisabearnson.com/kotm.

want a FREE baby kit?

I'm giving 3 of the baby kits away. Just because.



Because I'm spending very little time working these days (new baby and all), please leave only your name, city, and state (winners do need to be living in the continental United States) and I will choose winners at random. I won't be reading comments & questions on this particular post because otherwise, I'll be spending too much time in front of my monitor reading through hundreds of comments. And I'd rather spend the time staring at Crew.

I'm sure you understand. : )

PS - The double-sided stamp in the baby kit gives you these images:

tour the baby album

And now ... let's walk through this baby album. I want to share the concept & organization with you so it all makes sense. Like I said, this kit is so much more than a collection of pretty stuff. I truly see this as a solution for those who want to preserve baby's first year without being totally overwhelmed in the process.



PS - Bummer that this clip had to be such low quality, but it's longer so I had to sacrifice video quality to include everything I wanted to say.

Oh - If you happen to be jumping on my blog for the first time (or it's been a while), please be sure to scroll through all of my posts on this page so you are all up-to-date on information regarding this baby kit.

Click here for more information and to purchase the kit.

what's in the baby kit

First of all, thank you so much for your warm messages to me and my family about Crew. We're all doing great. And since Crew is sleeping at the moment, I better move on. : )

I am sooo excited to be able to really show you the baby kit! Watch this, and I will walk you through all the pieces and parts so you know exactly what to expect when you receive yours.



Important to note: There is not an album in this kit. The album that you choose for your baby's scrapbook is entirely up to you. Choose the color/style/brand that suits your needs. For our kids' albums and our family albums, I love the leather ones from We R Memory Keepers.

Also worth noting: New moms can be overwhelmed. Whether you're picking up this kit for your own child (or children) or this will be a gift for someone who is expecting, I want to simplify the process for you, the scrapbooker, to preserve your baby's first year in a beautiful, but not-so-overwhelming way. This is even a great gift for the non-scrapbooker or newbie, because it's already thought-out for them.

(More on that tomorrow. Be sure to check back for the next video clip which will explain more about the concept and organization of this kit. And I'll show you how I've already organized Crew's entire first-year album with this kit ... and he's not even a week old!).

That said, you can absolutely keep your baby album super simple ... OR ... if you love the creativity aspect, there is PLENTY of fun extras in this kit to make it all happen and make it all coordinate.

In case you missed it before, this is the link to the KOTM site where you can order the Baby kit.

he's here!

This week we welcomed Crew David into our little family and we couldn't be happier. Crew and I are both doing great and all went well. David and I are so happy to be back home with the kids after our short time at the hospital. Watching Porter & Claire get acquainted with their new brother is priceless.

baby kit 411

[ FAQ ]

Q: When can I order this?
A: Today! We have begun taking pre-orders now so head over here.

Q: How much is it?
A: $44.95. Serious bargain.

Q: When will it begin shipping?
A: October 10th.

Q: Can you ship internationally?
A: Yes!

Q: Will I have a chance at finding a Golden Ticket in the baby kit(s) I order?
A: Absolutely. More details on this on the KOTM site.

Q: The picture of the kit shows a whole lot of pink and I think this is too feminine for the baby boy album I want to make. Can you explain how this works for both boys & girls?
A: The product is reversible! I can't wait for you to see how this all "works" when I have a chance to post a video clip.

Q: Who do I contact with questions about the product or KOTM customer service-related questions?
A: Vivian will take care of you. [ vgrothe@ckmedia.com ]


[ DIGITAL VERSION OF THIS BABY ALBUM ]

And ... hold on. I'm not done yet. (Do I sound like an infomercial?) I have another product that has just been released and is available to you right now. I teamed up with Shutterfly and created a guided photo book version that uses the same design elements. By the way, major kudos to Lori, the fantastic designer that I've worked with on ALL my KOTM projects, and this Shutterfly photo book. Love her.

So It's a digital baby scrapbook that you can create online at Shutterfly! Similar look & design, but 100% digital.

Click here to go straight to the baby photo book on Shutterfly.

Click here for an online article I wrote that explains more about the album. I walk you through the photo book project, layout by layout, sharing tips and insights to help you along.

thank you for your patience

You guys have asked great questions about the baby kit and I'm still so excited to share more details & information about the kit. Thanks for checking in. I will be in touch again when we have a few more details ironed out. Thank you for your patience as I'm juggling this with preparations for our baby's arrival.

Stay tuned.

Oh - I will explain one thing real quick: Yes, the kit is great for boy OR girl because the elements (cardstock, bookplates, etc.) are all double-sided. So even though the picture of the kit contents looks "heavy on the pink", rest assured that every pink thing you see has blue on the other side. This will all make more sense when I can show you the kit. Working on that.

oh, baby ... you want this kit!

A little bit more information for you to think about over the weekend ...

[ WHAT'S IN THE KIT ]

All this stuff is what you get! Want to see details? That's coming soon. But click on the picture for a larger view.



[ BOY OR GIRL? ]

Both! You'll see what I mean when I show you more soon. In the meantime, just know that even if you are pregnant and don't know what you're having, or you want to get this as a gift for someone who doesn't know what they're having ... you'll be all set. Yay for that.

[ A LITTLE BACKGROUND ]

Remember when I did the original school kit earlier this year? I wanted to keep Porter's school stuff organized well in his scrapbooks and nothing "out there" met my needs or had the look I wanted. So I developed that kit out of necessity, knowing that thousands of other moms were faced with the same challenge.

As I approach the birth of our third child, I have been facing another challenge: Creating and "keeping up" with his baby album as we start taking hundreds of pictures and collecting tons of memorabilia. I love the albums I've created for Porter & Claire, but I'm busier these days with "mom-ness" and know that keeping up with all the kids' albums the way I want to will be increasingly difficult from a time standpoint.

So ... I was, again, looking for a solution. How could I still create a beautiful album for the new babe without feeling completely overwhelmed? Yep - create a kit myself! And, again, share it with all of you. Even if you don't have a baby, you just may be motivated to scrapbook the pictures of your older children or create an album for your niece or nephew. And, of course, most of us know someone having a baby. What a great gift, right!?

[ HOW TO ORDER ]

Stay tuned. You'll want to check back here on Monday for more information, including pricing and when to order. And I have a couple surprises up my sleeve too. So excited!

If you have a question about the kit, leave that in the comments now and I'll do my best to cover it on Monday.

thursday

First item of business today: If you're going to make the Pretzel Hugs, I highly recommend putting them in the refrigerator to cool before eating (or delivering). Don't know why I didn't try this earlier, but now I'll always do it this way.

Onto other business (the part you really want to know): Winners of the school expansion kit! Woo-hoo for these 5 lucky & random winners who will soon be getting happy mail!

1. Karen C. from Aberdeen, South Dakota
2. Kerstina from Germany
3. Misty from Edgewood, New Mexico
4. Sarah from Central Point, Oregon
5. Michelle from Nazareth, Pennsylvania

Ladies, e-mail your snail mail address to me (bhiggins@ckmedia.com) and we're sending each of you a school expansion kit. Enjoy!

Some of you missed my school expansion kit so if you're feeling like you've missed out, you haven't. Still available. Click here and you'll see "previous kits" on the right. If you're feeling like you're in the dark, you're not. Go to my 7.2.08 post and the video clip will show you what you want to see. Plus, scroll up & down on that July page and you'll see a lot of samples using the expansion kit.

Some of you also asked about hanging those pumpkins. See my 12.7.07 post where you can see where it all began and I also explain how I did it. So easy.

PS - Just realized this is my 200th post. Cool.

kotm teaser & becky totes

Okay, so let's get to my new KOTM (that's kit of the month, for those of you who are just joining in) ...

Here's a hint. It has something to do with ...



Hard to figure out my hints, I know. REAL tricky. So YES -- you guessed it -- it's a baby kit! And just in time, don't you think? I am so excited to share this with you and to use it myself for the new babe who will be joining our family around the time that you guys can begin placing your orders. SO SOON.

So stay tuned. I'll stop teasing and start sharing pictures & information this week.

In the meantime, the fabulous Karlee Fuchs (with the "few" sound, not "fuh" ... don't mess it up!) and I put our heads together and came up with a "Becky Tote". The kind of bag I could use for so many things, including carting around my kids' stuff when I need to. Big enough for books & folders. And lots of pockets so I don't have to dig to the bottom of the bag. And handles long enough to go over my shoulder. Things like that.

Karlee has pulled off yet another beautiful creation and wants to share it with everyone. So you can head over to her website any time and order a Becky Tote (choice of 4 colors). Here are a couple.







Or even a Becky Purse (smaller version of the bag). You can get an idea for size with my little hand model holding this one.



PS to the locals: There are a couple of craft shows coming up where Karlee will be there selling her stuff. You can plan yourself a girls day out and sneak away for a couple hours. One is Sept. 13-14 (Briar Patch) and the other is Sept. 27-28 (Posie Patch). I think they're both in the north valley (of Phoenix).

I went to one of these shows last year with Karolyn (a BF) and that's where we first met Karlee (see 12.17.07 post) and discovered her amazing talent. And her amazing story. Her daughter, Claire, has PKS and Karlee works so hard to be the best mom ever (a particularly demanding but rewarding role for her) while at the same time, feeding her creative spirit through sewing, sewing, sewing. I'm so glad she's sharing her talent with everyone! Head on over to her website and support Karlee! And remember ... Christmas isn't that far away (wink).

faking fall

Where we live, Fall isn't a "real" season. But when it comes to seasons, it's always been my favorite. So I have to fake it around here. The good news is that our temperatures in the Phoenix area for this week are looking like they're around 100 and even a little below, so it IS cooling down a little. There is hope that "Fall" is really coming.

But since it'll be a while before I have my windows open to let cool breezes in (that's what Winter is for) ... I am bringing Fall inside our home. It motivates me and makes me happy.



So the Fall decor is up (found these at Michael's and they're hanging in the kitchen), the Gold Canyon Pumpkin Pie candle is burning, and we even made a treat yesterday (per Porter's request) to share with friends today - Pretzel Hugs.



And since Fall puts me in a good mood, I am giving away 5 of my school expansion kits! So many of you that got this have expressed your enthusiasm for this kit and I'm so glad it's helping you and getting you excited about doing all sorts of pages and projects ... school-related and not. That makes me happy too.

Leave a comment with your first name, city, and state. Simple as that. As usual, when I do give-aways, I'll choose some random winners in a couple days and those 5 people will soon be receiving happy mail!

MotherShip

As we're counting down the days until the little babe joins our family, I thought I'd share something baby-related with you. Several girlfriends just gave me an unforgettable gift ... a diaper bag. But not just any diaper bag.

It's the MotherShip.



Cute name for a diaper bag, wouldn't you say? Anyway, it's incredibly durable and incredibly cool and I'm so stoked about it, so if you're in the market for something like this ... check it out here. You can see all sorts of cool stuff that Fleurville offers while you're there and click on MotherShip to see all of its features and patterns.

And some of you will remember my friend, Karlee Fuchs, right? The super fabulously talented Karlee has spoiled me with a homemade (of course) diaper bag and mini boppy and all sorts of fun stuff for Baby. You just may be wanting her to make some stuff for you. And she will! So I'm going to be sharing those a little later because you must know of her latest & greatest.

PS - Check out the simple side dish in my Recipes section. Maybe it'll compliment one of your meals this week.

links

I recently received a little package in the mail that had some t-shirts for the kids in it. A random surprise.



Thank you, Yellow Fence, for the thoughtful gesture. I checked out their website and saw more of what they offer. Cute. You can click here to see more from Yellow Fence.

I'm going to share a few more links with you today. Each is totally unrelated to the next. But just a few sites to check out.

A friend from college recently shared her new blog with me and let's just say ... I salivate looking at it. You see, she focuses on mostly parenting, reading, and food (that's where the salivation comes in). She also happens to be a talented photographer and I particularly love her food photography ... and the recipes, of course. I just wish she was a little closer to share a few bites with me since I'm not as energetic in the kitchen these days. This is Jaime Richardson's blog.

My school expansion kit is still available. When you go to the KOTM site, you'll notice the new September kit right away. And if you look along the right side, you'll see previous kits. There it is. Just click on it. Yes - I have a kit coming out this month also, and I'll soon be telling you all about it.

Some of you have probably heard of the young (and, by the way, gorgeous) couple in Mesa, AZ that were recently in a private plane crash. They are both in for a long recovery with severe burns, but thankfully they survived. They have four very young children. This is Stephanie's blog and this one is following their recovery. You can read about their story, see links to news coverage, and learn more about how you can help. I am certainly praying for their family.

snapshot of me

So have you gotten your September issue of CK?



I have an article titled "Snapshot of Me" (pp. 87 - 92) and I wanted to point something out. For three years I taught a class at CKU with this title, and in the class my students created an album all about themselves. Many of you were in my class (hi to you!).

By the way, this is a good time to follow-up with a question for those of you in my class: Did you finish your album?? : )

In the article, I share several pages from inside my personal album. The journaling blocks in my album were designed specifically for this album and my class. And lots of people in my classes asked me how they could get more of those journaling prompt blocks for their friend, mom, sister-in-law, etc. And all I could say was, "I'm sorry. You just get them for being in my class."

Until now.

We're giving you access to download all of these for FREE and print them yourself (on white cardstock). The link? Click here.

By the way, the specific KI Memories product line that I used in my album is called "My Girl". Clicking here will take you to a link on their website, showing those products.

I'm so happy to share this with you, as I feel that this album is certainly one you should have in your collection.

seriously!

I know. Seriously. It's been a loooong time since I've posted. Where the heck have I been?

A. Bombarded with deadlines for another book
B. Had the baby early
C. Decided to retire completely and bring everything to a halt
D. None of the above

Know what? It's D. I have two words for you: technical difficulties. Is that lame, or what? Yes, it's lame. I have been trying to post for a few weeks now, and ... I'll spare you from the boring details ... anyway, I'm sorry it's been so long! We have so much to catch up on. I couldn't even post a little message to tell you that I was trying to work through technical blog stuff. : (

So I'm here. I'm alive. I didn't quit my work. I'm still pregnant. Very pregnant. Waddling-around-pregnant. And I'm NOT working on another book right now. But I do have a new kit coming out this month (and another one NEXT month too!) that I think many of you will be very excited about. Can't wait to tell you about it!

In an effort to do all this catching up I want to do, check back here daily, because that's about how often I'll post before Baby is expected to arrive in the next couple of weeks.