Archive for May, 2012

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our spotlight on JessicaSprague.com

Thursday, May 24th, 2012

{ slices of life }

Wondering what these 10 snapshots have in common? They’re all recent glimpses into my life at the moment. You can read my quick note/insight about each one in my Designer Spotlight on JessicaSprague.com right now.

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{ digital sale }

In celebration of this little spotlight they’re doing on me and my company, you can buy our Project Life digital elements at 10% off. That sale applies to ALL of the Project Life designs and elements. Check out the shop and you’ll see everything marked down for just this weekend. The sale goes through Sunday May 27.

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{ speed scrap }

Just to make things a little more fun, Kari from our team is hosting a Speed Scrap right now – this morning. Feel free to join in the fun! Not sure what that is? No worries. Everything is explained on that link.

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{ freebie for you }

One last thing to top it all off: We have a Project Life freebie to share! Maybe you won’t use this in a Project Life album – but perhaps you’d like it as a printable to put by your desk, on the fridge, or in a frame? We’ve got you covered. Click here for the free download. Kari designed these with our Project Life elements and it’s available in 5×7, 4×6, and rounded corner 3×4 filler cards for your Project Life album.

Many thanks to our friends – the team at JessicaSprague.com for spotlighting us today. So fun!

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Posted in products, scrapbooking, style & design | 17 Comments »

getting creative with scrapbook dividers

Tuesday, May 22nd, 2012

I think Scrapbook Dividers are to scrapbooks what those plastic dividers were to the Franklin Day Planner back when we all had something like that in our pre-digital era. Would it surprise you if I told you that what I wanted most for my 16th birthday was a Franklin Day Planner? There is not 1% of me that is kidding. I wanted one more than anything. You probably know that organization is something near and dear to my heart. It only makes sense in our scrapbooks, right?

Simply put – Scrapbook Dividers are a staple. They’re functional. They’re helpful when you want to quickly identify what’s in an album and where to find those pictures and pages you’re looking for. We offer these in the most simple form for two reasons:

1. They’re completely versatile and classic and can be used in any scrapbook of any style or theme.

2. They’re a blank slate for those who want to get creative.

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I personally use them in the most simple format. Those are Porter’s albums shown above – I simply use the label stickers and that’s it. A customer – Jill in Washington – has used them to label years worth of memories in these albums as well.

By the way, check out how Jill has gone back and rocked those photos from the past in such an awesomely condensed format. I love her use of Design F! She writes: I made these scrapbooks for my mom spanning 20 years of the childhood of myself and my brother. It took me about a week to organize all the photos (they were just stuffed in a box) and then a month to get them all into the albums. It would have been faster if it wasn’t for those pesky 3×5 photos!

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Back to the Scrapbook Dividers … For those of you who are anxious to dress those up – just imagine the possibilities. That’s exactly what MaryAnn Perry did with the Scrapbook Dividers in her family album. See more in this post on her blog.

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And this is what Aaron in Texas did with the Scrapbook Dividers.

Aaron writes: I decided to jazz mine up by stamping on them. To do this you need to use a solvent ink, like Staz-on. This kind of ink is for slick surfaces. You will also need some clear stamps and clear blocks. I like to keep some of the Staz-on remover and baby wipes handy, because if I make a mistake it can be used to wipe off the ink and start over.

I used some removable adhesive to sick the divider tab down to my work surface so it wouldn’t slide around. The trick to stamp on something slick is to go straight down and straight up with the stamp, this causes less sliding around for the stamp. Another trick is if your stamp pad is new and very juicy, let it air dry for just a few seconds so it will be less slippery when it get on the divider tab.

I like to add a monthly calender to each tab (using a retired CTMH stamp) and a sentiment. I think it would be great to stamp other things that would go with the a specifically themed book-like baby images or even wedding stamps for the 1st year of marriage.

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{ got ideas? }

If you have done something cool with your Scrapbook Dividers, we would love to see and possibly even share! Email your pictures to submissions@beckyhiggins.com or leave a comment here, with a link to the specific blog post where you’ve shown your Scrapbook Dividers put to good use!

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{ what about the designer dividers? }

I can sense the question coming from a mile away … Many of you want to know about the already-designed Month Dividers that we used to offer in the Project Life kits. YES – Based on popular demand, we are bringing those back. The date of arrival is unknown at this time. If I had to guess, I’d say they’ll probably be available by August. We have a set of 12 custom designer Month Dividers per Project Life Edition. I’ll be sure to share images of these when we have them so you can have a heads-up, but that might take several weeks because we’re so deep into the local production of Core Kits right now (and wrapping up the school year and … a lot of other things).

Posted in products, scrapbooking | 21 Comments »

BIG announcement about Project Life Core Kits

Thursday, May 17th, 2012

This post has been updated on May 19 with hopes that the video is working for everyone now since we had issues with the original posting.

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I have been practically bursting at the seams with excitement to share this news with you.

Watch the video and THEN … read on.

 If you have difficulty viewing the video here in my blog post, watch it on Vimeo HERE. 

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{ what’s new. what’s different. what’s better. }

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1. Instead of a chunky Core Kit box, it’s now going to be a flat box (approximately 12.25″ x 11.25″ x 1.75″), which is not only better for shipping, but so great for tucking in a drawer. Plus all the cards lay perfectly flat.

2. The plastic tray is super slick for so many reasons. This is packaging engineering at its finest.

3. Every part of the packaging is 100% recyclable.

4. You caught the whole Made in the U.S.A. part about this, right? That means we have more control over the whole process and the nitty-gritty details. The control freak side of us likes this, and the end result means a better quality product showing up at your front door.

5. Reprints of anything is sooo much faster here than overseas. So when we are running low on something, we’re talking weeks instead of months to get those orders rolling and delivered.

6. Please note that getting the ball rolling for U.S. manufacturing has taken a significant chunk of time upfront because of so much research that David and I had to do. There are so many more variables in the process than we realized could be possible. Hence the delays. But now that our projects are actually in the works, and we’ve learned sooooo much … the wait is almost over and we won’t have big sold-out gaps like that again.

7. We are reprinting all 5 editions of Project Life: Cobalt, Clementine, Amber, Turquoise, as well as the Original Edition which now has a real name: The Cherry Edition! Here is a glance of the Cherry (original) digital elements so you can see the overall style and colors:

8. The paper weight is the same, but the paper quality is better and the printing is awesome and the graphics are cleaner and brighter and detail shows up better. Overall much better quality.

9. Each Core Kit will now have 500 Journaling Cards and the back of every journaling card is a filler design. This allows for so much more versatility, instead of having separately printed filler design cards.

10. Each Core Kit will now have 40 Bi-fold Cards (used to have just 24).

11. Each title card will now have a vertical version printed on the back. Exact same art but flipped on its side. This is super exciting, making it completely flexible for you to have that title card be in the orientation of your choice, based on whatever Photo Pocket Page you want to use.

12. NOTE: It is very, very expensive to print stickers here, so we opted to eliminate the stickers that used to be included in the Core Kits. We’re looking into options for printing these elsewhere so that we can offer them as an add-on for those who may want them. More details forthcoming.

13. We’ve made many of the journaling cards versatile for either horizontal or vertical use so you can flip those cards any way you’d like!

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I think I’ve given you enough to chew on for now. Let us know what you think! Plus, if you have an opinion about stickers – knowing that they will not be INSIDE the Core Kits now, but rather a separate item – we’d love your thoughts on that. Do you love the day stickers? Number stickers? Arrow stickers? All of them?

If you are outside the U.S. and can’t view this video (because sometimes specific music causes videos to be blocked in other countries) … please let me know which country you’re in. I’ll see what I can do.

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{ Added Notes . May 19 }

14. So much feedback already – wow! I’m sorry about the video viewing issues. I posted the video and then was gone for 2 days and unable to trouble-shoot remotely. Hopefully the Vimeo video works. In the meantime, we appreciate all the feedback you’ve given us so far.

15. Timing: We expect all the Core Kits to be back on Amazon sometime in June. There are far too many variables to be able to predict which part of June. As we get closer and I have a better idea, I will gladly keep you in the loop. If you’re ever wondering about when to expect ANY product, check out our Products page and click on any product, which has a date with it. Anytime expected arrivals shift around, we update those on the website.

16. Pricing: As you know, U.S. manufacturing is more expensive. BUT … we have been working very hard to prevent raising the price of the Core Kits. This is part of the reason we’ve eliminated the stickers (including stickers would raise the price significantly – they’re that expensive – and by reading through your comments, we can see that most of you are A-OK with them being offered as a separate item so you can have that option). Back to pricing … we don’t have that 100% confirmed yet, but I think things are looking in your favor, U.S. customers. International customers, there is still a lot we’re figuring out but your local distributor should have pricing information soon as well.

Bottom line: We’ll keep you informed as we get closer. Please know that we’re in the business of making scrapbooking more affordable for everyone. This hobby is about your pictures and your memories – not the products. You shouldn’t have to break the bank and spend endless amounts of money in order to have beautiful albums.

17. Yes – First + Last Page Cards are still included – absolutely.

 

Posted in products, scrapbooking | 605 Comments »

not just any giveaway.

Wednesday, May 16th, 2012

Be sure to read this through in its entirety. This is not just any ol’ giveaway. Your heart will be warmed.

Photo by Ali Edwards

You guys know that one thing (of many) that Ali Edwards and I have in common is our passion for documenting the everyday – and helping others feel inspired to do the same. She has such a gift for writing and recording and photographing … and inspiring those who read her blog or take her classes to be better about those things for themselves.

Ali is about to start a new online class on Big Picture Classes that will inspire you to write your stories and document your everyday life with more depth. The class is called 31 Things and it begins tomorrow – Thursday.

So check this out. I got this email from Angela in Indiana this week:

I am enrolled in Ali Edwards’ 31 Things Big Picture Class. I am a 36-year-old wife and mother of 8 kiddos. I am currently homeschooling four of the children. We are pulled in lots of different directions, together and individually. So Project Life has been wonderful in fulfilling my need to simplify my scrapbooking/memory keeping. 

Also, I see that it is super important to preserve my normal, everyday life stories, as well as our family’s. I am completely intrigued by the upcoming 31 Things class. It is going to inspire me to get my stories on paper. My children and grandchildren will be thankful for that. I could go on and on.

Angela goes on to say that it crossed her mind that someone else might really love to take Ali’s class but perhaps they don’t have the extra means right now for one reason or another. She would like to pay for someone else’s spot in the class. Actually – she would like to pay for TWO spots.

Seriously? That’s what they call paying it forward. This is genuine generosity at its finest. I am so thankful to Angela for reaching out this way, and so thankful that she asked me to host the giveaway on my blog.

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So – let’s do it! Our friend Angela is giving away two seats in Ali’s class (you can read more about what it is and what it isn’t – HERE on Ali’s blog). If you would like a chance to win – either for yourself or for someone else – please leave a quick comment with your first name, city, and state or country. And be sure to check back later today or tomorrow to see if you’re a winner!

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*** WINNERS ANNOUNCED ***

Added tonight: Congratulations to Beth P. in Lake Orion, Michigan and Louise in Cambridge, England (who wants this for her sister). Ladies, please send an email to brandi@beckyhiggins.com to claim those seats in Ali’s class! And thank you again, Angela, for inspiring all of us with your generous offer.

 

Posted in giving | 936 Comments »

creative team inspiration: may edition

Monday, May 14th, 2012

As usual with the monthly offering of inspiration from our fabulous Creative Team, I will share just one little piece from each of their respective Project Life albums. And then – whenever and wherever you want to see more – just click on the person’s name and it will take you to their blog where they each share more details, more information, more pages, more examples of how they’re using Project Life as a memory-keeping system in their homes.

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Ali Edwards

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Cathy Zielske

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Deb Duty

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Jennifer Woodbury

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Jessica Sprague

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Lindsay Teague Moreno

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Liz Tamanaha

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Marcy Penner

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MaryAnn Perry

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Michelle Wooderson

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Monica McNeill

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Sheri Horton

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Posted in photography, products | 8 Comments »

live video chat this morning.

Monday, May 14th, 2012

Hi friends. This morning I’ll be doing a live video chat via Big Picture Classes – assuming I do things right technically on my end, that is.  ; )

If you’re available to join us at 9:00am Pacific Time – I’d love to see you there! Some of you might know that I’m going to be teaching an online class in the last quarter of 2012. I’m in the early stages of developing content for my premier 12-week class called Project Real Life, where I hope to provide plenty of inspiration for cultivating a good life and recording it. Stacy Julian’s vision is for me to share bits of my own life. Between Stacy and her team and myself, we have ideas floating around, a vision of what this will look like, and we’ve had some great brainstorming.

But mostly – I want to hear from YOU. I want to know what you want out of the class, and even perhaps some specific ideas of what you’d like to see – related to Project Life or not at all.

And that’s why we’re having the live chat this morning. I will happily gather your ideas and suggestions and even answer some of your questions. We’ll see how much we can cram into 45 minutes.

If you are already a member of the Project Life Community at Big Picture Classes:
Simply login to your account at Big Picture Classes, and enter the Project Life Community classroom, and click on the “Chat” page to view the live feed.

If you’re NOT a member of the Project Life Community:
It’s completely free to join!
Create an account at Big Picture Classes (http://www.bigpictureclasses.com/register.php).
Once you’ve created an account you can enroll in the Project Life Community (http://www.bigpictureclasses.com/projectlife.php).
Once you are a member of the Community, simply login to your account at Big Picture Classes, and enter the Project Life Community classroom, and click on the “Chat” page to view the live feed.

Hope to see you there!

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Coming up later today: The monthly Creative Team post where I’ll share snippets of Project Life inspiration from at least a dozen women who are documenting life and inspiring others to do so too. Be prepared to be inspired.

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Added later in the day: Missed the live video chat? No problem. Here you go! Just skip the first 4 minutes – seriously. Unless you find it fascinating to watch me talking on the phone with Kayce as we work through technical issues.  : )

Posted in Q&A | 28 Comments »

feedback friday

Friday, May 11th, 2012

{ winners }

Happy to announce some winners from the giveaway I announced on Tuesday. The randomly-selected customer to receive the American Crafts paper trimmer is Helen Yu! Helen – email elizabethg@americancrafts.com and she’ll hook you up.

The following (5) winners were also randomly selected to win some 6×12 Page Protectors and Design E Photo Pocket Pages, which I featured in my most recent video.

Tamara Hamilton

Gary Storer

Connie Cook

Emily Sweeney

Lisa Beavers

You guys can email your shipping information to kari@beckyhiggins.com and she’ll get the goods sent your way immediately. Congrats + Enjoy!

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{ your questions }

Love the sketch! What colored pencils do you use? The colors look so vibrant – I love them!

They’re called Prismacolor by Sanford, and you can find them HERE on Amazon. These are the colored pencils I’ve used since Mrs. Winkles introduced me to them in my High School art class. Prismacolors were also my sidekick for those beloved years of creative lettering. Anyone remember this little artifact? It’s my very first published book from 1999. Good times.

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Becky! You have GOT to do something for me. Well, for all of us. Please fix your blog so that when we click on one of your links it opens in a new tab and does NOT take us away from yours. Most of the time, when I’m reading along, I really want to click on that link and see what you’re referring to but I want to finish what I’m reading at your blog first. Or finish catching up on the last week’s worth of your posts. Or whatever. The point is – don’t make us leave you!

You know, I’ve been blogging for 5 years and I’m always learning something new. Thanks for pointing this out! I didn’t realize that my links were sometimes opening a new tab, and sometimes not. And now I know the trick and will definitely be aware of that moving forward. Go on. Test all the links in this post. I dare you.  ; )

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You mentioned in your Getting Organized with Kids’ Stuff video that you scan in a lot of their artwork and then print it. Can you share what you have for a scanner and printer? Thank you!

I answered this same question HERE a couple months ago and it’s a question that comes up once in a while. I certainly don’t expect that everyone reads everything I post … but here’s a little blog tip: If you ever wonder if I’ve shared about a product or topic or anything … just plug it in the search field at right and you’ll probably find out pretty quickly.

For your convenience, this short answer is … I use THIS ONE to scan most art, as well as pretty much any other papers & photos that need to be scanned.

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Why are 12×12 albums so popular? Isn’t it difficult to fit them on shelves? I love all the space and the square shape of the 12×12 albums but the 8.5 x 11 fit better. Am I missing something? If anyone can give me tips on where to display the bigger albums, I’d love to switch – thanks!

Great question, actually. I asked myself that for a long time, as I did 8.5×11 for the the first 7 years of my scrapbooking. I ended up switching to 12×12 because I loved fitting more onto a 2-page layout. But I’ve done about every other size scrapbook as well.

After 18 years in this hobby, trust me – I put a lot of thought into the size of the Project Life system before I jumped into developing an entire product line. The 12×12 page size makes perfect sense for the configuration of 4×6 prints. As you know, 4×6 is the ultimate standard size photo print. Simply put: It works. As for tips on displaying the larger 12×12 albums, I hear the IKEA Expedit shelving works well and I’ve also shared a picture of the Cropper Hopper cubes that I personally use (click HERE if you missed that post).

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Will Project Life ever be available in another size besides 12×12?

I’d like that very much.

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Any idea when the baby version of Project Life will be out?? First baby due in September and I absolutely want to start using Project Life right off the bat.

Congratulations on your pending arrival! I haven’t shared much about this yet, but believe me – behind the scenes, there has been a LOT of baby talk around here (not personally, mind you, but product-related). Soon I will be able to share SO much more, but I completely want you using Project Life for your baby. We have been working so hard to develop THE perfect kit for that first year album, and that’s what we’re going to deliver. Lucky for you, the Baby Editions should be delivered in time for your delivery! In other words, we definitely expect the arrival before September.

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Has anyone used more than one Core Kit in an album? Right now I am using Amber but I am loving the Clementine Edition, too. I am thinking about ordering Clementine when it becomes available and using it as well. Would it be crazy or seem unorganized to use both Amber and Clementine in the same album?

No rules. Make it yours. Do what feels right and keeps it fun for you!

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I am so confused how to do something for our family with everyone in it, yet how to make something for my kids individually too. I am at a position where I am procrastinating because I’m paralyzed from the ‘Where to begin’?

You’re in good company of folks who feel paralyzed in getting started with scrapbooking. Project Life is designed to simplify the process. We’ve taken so much of the guesswork out of it for you. As for getting started … if you’ve never done scrapbooking, I recommend just sticking with one album instead of feeling like you need to do one for each child. You might be inclined to do that later, but start with one for now. Perhaps it’s a family album with pictures that include all family members and various events.

Layout from Deb Duty‘s Project Life album.

My favorite part of this idea is getting the family involved in taking pictures and writing on the little Journaling Cards. Super easy. Anyone can do it. And what a fun collaborative project!

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How do you recommend I get started? Currently a CM Picfolio cropper and really want to get going with your great albums.

I have no idea what a “CM Picfolio cropper” is … but I’m thrilled to know that you’re interested in a simpler way to document life. This is what we recommend. Stick with the basics. Everything else is fun to add, but this really is all you need:

As you may know, all of the Core Kits are currently sold out but being reprinted and made available again soon. We were really hoping to make it possible by the end of this month but it will be sometime next month before we see these. Next week I should have a full update on why everyone should be pretty stoked about these reprinted Core Kits. Stay tuned.

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Will you be stocking the metal bookplates that are on the spines of the newest albums on their own, so that we can put them onto our older albums? Or is that maybe a We R Memory Keepers product?

No, we don’t have plans to offer that. They just come built into our Binders (as shown), identical to the other WRMK binders. I don’t believe WRMK offers that bookplate as a separate item.

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Will there be new core kit designs for 2013, like Cobalt and Clementine were released for 2012?

Absolutely. In fact, we have two new designers already in the early stages of this design work now. I can’t leak the information quite yet, but you know we aim to please. And I think you guys are going to be very, very pleased with the 2013 editions. But – it’s only May! Way too early to even think about that. In the meantime, we have PLENTY of products we’re releasing and re-releasing between now and then.

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I’m interested in doing a Project Life album dedicated to my wedding. Do you have any suggestions for me?

Encourage me to hurry up already with a Wedding Edition … like I don’t have much else going on.  ; )  In the meantime, choose the Project Life Edition that best suits your wedding style when those become available next month, and slip those pictures into an album – simple! Just like any other scrapbook, but it’s focused on this one event/occasion/theme.

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As I was taking my photo each day I found myself wondering if I needed to take a vertical or horizontal picture, because it wouldn’t work to take horizontal one day, vertical the next, and so on, because the sheet protectors aren’t like that. How is everyone dealing with this?

Short answer: We love Design G for getting horizontal + vertical pictures onto one page! Easy breezy.

Page in Jennifer Woodbury‘s Project Life album. Notice the page at right with both horizontal and vertical pictures. This is Design G and it’s 10×12 instead of the full 12×12 size.

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Are you still doing 12 x 12 albums for your kids or is your digital project life taking place of those albums now?

Yes, I am doing actual, physical, 12×12 albums for each of our 3 kids. I share more about this in the currently featured video on my Videos page.

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{ your feedback }

Lisa wrote: You know you’re onto something good when your husband says “Glad someone thought of a system for scrapbooking that is economical, organized, and really makes sense!”

Jen wrote: I love your home Becky, I love the style, the colors and the little touches you have done! Thank you for not only inspiring me to document our family’s story with PL, but thank you for inspiring me to paint my walls and getting house projects done!

Marcia wrote: Received my cardstock last night…ordered one of each package; LOVE IT!!! I have already made two layouts using the coordinating cardstock….LOVE IT…and it was soooooo inexpensive!!!

Becky wrote: And…….reason 5,242 that I adore Project Life. Was in tears as I got ready to throw away my toddler’s favorite footie pajamas. {they are worn to threads}. Then I thought….why not cut out his favorite dinosaur on the pj’s….stick it in a Photo Pocket Page and journal about them! Hurrray. Becky you saved me from a mini emotional meltdown this morning. Now I will keep a little piece of them preserved!

Britney wrote: In one week we are moving overseas for 6 months.  All I am taking with me is Project Life! I am very nervous about not having hoards of paper, stickers and embellishments around me. However, I am so thankful and happy that I do have Project Life and I can continue to record our history that way!

 

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Posted in Q&A | 31 Comments »

check your shopping cart.

Thursday, May 10th, 2012

Special note for our customers on Amazon!

So many of you took advantage of our 50% OFF cardstock sale this week. Smart move.

But here’s the thing: I can see on the back end of our Amazon sales that there are hundreds of cardstock packs sitting in shopping carts, that aren’t actually purchased yet. If I change the $3.99 price back to $7.99 and then you check out, you will have missed out completely on that 50% sale. If you thought you were getting the 50% OFF, I want you to get the 50% OFF.

So here’s what I’m going to do: I’m leaving the 50% OFF price in tact through Friday.

To-do: Check your Amazon shopping cart.

If you have Project Life cardstock in your shopping cart, go ahead and check out now. Otherwise you’ll go to check out in a few days or a few weeks – and you’ll be paying the regular $7.99 price per pack of 24. Make sense? I’m just watching out for our customers.

Those of you who missed the sale, or who want to take advantage of getting more Project Life cardstock? We’ll call this your lucky day. It’s all 50% off for anyone and everyone through Friday night. But be sure to actually check out. Simply putting it in your shopping cart doesn’t guarantee the sale price.

PS – The 6 winners randomly selected from recent cardstock purchases? That window has closed and we’ll announce the winners tomorrow in my Feedback Friday post. Be sure to check back to see if you won!

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Posted in products | 5 Comments »

new video

Tuesday, May 8th, 2012

Come hang out with me for a few minutes as I share with you 3 of my favorite ways to use 12×12 Cardstock. I’m not aiming to inspire you in creativity. I’m hoping to inspire you in SIMPLICITY. It’s the simple ideas that help us to reach our goals faster and, in this case – knock out some scrapbooking in record time.

Faster scrapbooking = more time to really live life.

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Right now all of our Project Life 12×12 Cardstock (featured in the video) is a whopping 50% OFF for National Scrapbooking Day. This is the time to stock up. The sale goes through tomorrow – Wednesday – and applies only to U.S. sales on Amazon.com.

We have already sold out of Amber + Turquoise Collections, but there is some remaining inventory for the Cobalt Collection + the Clementine Collection. They’re regularly $7.99 for a 24-pack but right now they are marked down to $3.99 for a 24-pack. Holy smoking awesome deal. No need to enter a special code. The discount is already applied.

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Just to sweeten the 50% OFF deal even more, we’re adding a little more fun to this current promotion. Did you like that American Crafts paper trimmer I used in the video? Anyone who purchases any of our Project Life 12×12 Cardstock between now and Wednesday night at midnight PST will have a chance to win that paper trimmer for FREE. We will randomly select an Amazon customer and announce that winner here on Friday – so be sure to check back.

The Cutup Trimmer is easily portable; variety of blades to choose from; no need to worry about cutting yourself with the cartridges concealing the entire blade; cartridges are super easy to interchange; the cutting area is 13 inches, making it easy to cut 12×12 paper without removing the extra strip. Very nice.

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We won’t just be choosing just one random customer to win during this promotion. We’re also going to choose 5 additional customers to receive the plastics I featured in the video! That is, Design E Photo Pocket Pages + the 6×12 Page Protectors. Each of the 5 winners will receive BOTH packages!

For a chance to win the trimmer or the plastics, you don’t need to leave a comment here. We’ll check out Amazon purchases between now and Wednesday night at midnight PST and randomly choose winners that way.

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Keep it simple. Creative doesn’t have to = time-consuming.

 Hope my video is a sweet reminder of this principle.

 

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Posted in products, scrapbooking | 40 Comments »

even kids can do this.

Monday, May 7th, 2012

You know one of my favorite things about Project Life? It’s so stinking easy that even kids can do this. In honor of National Scrapbooking Day, I asked my kids if they were interested in doing their first Project Life layout. Porter (9) was more interested in drawing superheros and creating his own new language. Totally cool with that. Totally cool with kids expressing their creativity in the way that keeps them motivated and inspired.

Claire (6), on the other hand, was totally game for this. Several weeks ago she took the camera into the backyard and took pictures. A lot of pictures – of anything and everything that was interesting to her. I printed those pictures and invited her to choose her 7 favorites. She also chose her title card and journaling cards from the Clementine Core Kit … and she was all set.

Porter helped her with spelling on some cards, and she was on her own for others. I’m not worried about consistency. I just wanted her to have fun and feel great about the fact that she was scrapbooking! She not only took the pictures completely by herself but she loved how easy it was to place the photos & cards in the pockets.

Claire is six years old. She can do this. Kids can do this! Start ‘em young.  : )

As for the context of this layout (and any others that she makes, or our boys eventually make) … I am just placing this in her scrapbook in the Kindergarten section, since she did this as a Kindergartner. For our kids’ albums I don’t separate school stuff and the rest of their childhood. It’s all part of life and it’s all part of their story and I put it all together in chronological order. That’s how I roll. If you want to learn more about my system, check out the currently featured video on our Videos page.

And by the way, I’m going to answer a question that I bet has popped into some of your minds, especially since I mentioned that I hope my boys will want to do some scrapboking at some point. This is not a girls-only hobby. And yet – most products would indicate so. Am I right? Even most of our Project Life editions are pretty feminine. So here’s the deal: YES – We are developing a Project Life edition that you will absolutely be able to hand over to the guys in your life (those that have an interest in doing something with their pictures without all the frill and fluff). Can I hear an AMEN! for that?

…..

Speaking of kids – I received a touching email from Katherine in Colorado – age 14:

Dear Becky,

I’m here today to spread the word about something that’s truly amazing. That thing is my hobby, my expression, my passion, my life. People ask me from time to time which things I would save if my house was on fire. My answer is always the same: my childhood doll “Baby”, and childhood blanket “Blankie”, and my scrapbooks.

Scrapbooking is a revolutionary, brilliant method of preserving and forever cherishing your beautiful memories in a way that is practical and allows you to look back on that spectacular thing called life whenever your heart desires. Whether you glance at last summer’s entries for a few minutes before running out the door in the morning, or spend three hours with your family looking back on the past ten years of your lives one night, you are doing something to bring back the days of old, as well as inspire your children to ask questions and even one day record their lives as effectively as you have.

It’s been said that pictures are worth a thousand words. Then how much is a picture with words worth? In my opinion, it’s worth every minute that you spend putting it all together, because for every minute you spend making a scrapbook, you get the rest of your life and your kids’ lives to enjoy it.

Project Life makes it all so easy, so clean and fast, and so fun. Everything is clean-cut and ready, decked out with cute designs and colors. I just wanted to write this to express my feelings of thanks to Becky Higgins, thanks that I owe her for creating such a magnificent product that, in my opinion, is the largest step toward simplicity that the scrapbooking society has taken since double-sided tape – and also, for truly changing me as a person.

I now realize that I only have one life and that I must live it to the fullest. I now hug and kiss each member of my family, telling them that I love them, before they go anywhere, because I never know if they’ll come back. I am honestly grateful for every breath I take and every day that I wake up on this lovely earth. Becky opened my eyes to so much more than initial appearances, to what lies behind those seemingly insignificant moments in my existence.

Life is a one-time deal, so work hard to make it the very best that you can. Take too many pictures, laugh too often, and love too much. Thanks Becky.

…..

Um, pass the tissue. Katherine, you are a remarkable young woman. Thank you for inspiring us.

 

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