Posts Tagged ‘lisa bearnson’

inspiration a la lisa

Thursday, June 14th, 2012

In case you don’t recognize this beauty, it’s Lisa Bearnson. She is the Founding Editor of Creating Keepsakes magazine, the premier publication dedicated to memory-keeping. I’ve known her for as long as I’ve been working in this industry – 15 years. She was the one that gave me my “big break” and took a leap of faith in hiring me way-back-when. We worked side-by-side on many projects, wrote a book together, traveled together, developed products together, and … more important than any of that, she is a dear friend to me. The Bearnsons are dear friends to our family.

Flash back: If you’re new-ish to my blog/brand, you might be interested in reading the blog post announcement from nearly 3 years ago when I announced that I was resigning from Creating Keepsakes. It’s a bit of a historical moment in my personal career, and of course Lisa has been an important part of the journey.

When our family was road-tripping a couple weeks ago, we were able to spend a little time with the Bearnsons. So thankful for that. While we were in their beautiful home, I snapped 3 pictures of 3 different home decor ideas that I wanted to share with you – and Lisa is happy to share a little insight on each of these.

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{ chairs }

I don’t know anyone else with chairs hanging on the wall. It’s quirky and original, but it’s more than that to Lisa’s family. She shares: “The chairs are a constant reminder of a talk a promiment leader (Ezra Taft Benson) of our church gave several years ago called “No Empty Chairs”. He said: God intended the family to be eternal. With all my soul, I testify to the truth of that declaration. May He bless us to strengthen our homes and lives of each family member so that in due time we can report to our Hevenly Father in His celestial home that we are all there – father, mother, sister, brother. Each chair is filled. We are all back home.

The chairs hang high on a wall and can be seen from both floors of our home. They represent each member of our family and remind us of two things: 1) A righteous home is within a “whispering distance of heaven”. We all want to be together in the next life having a grand feast together. We want “no empty chairs”. And 2) Dinner starts promptly at 6:00 pm in the Bearnson home and we want “no empty chairs”. If the kids are late, they have to eat sitting on their chair on the wall! (Just kidding.)”

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{ clock }

This DIY project is so much fun, isn’t it!?The 12 frames are just old frames Lisa collected from around the house, but a thrift shop is another great way to collect some for a very small cost.

Lisa’s friend makes photo clocks and yes – she is willing to sell the hands to anyone interested. Why do I have the feeling a few of you are interested? It sounds like they’re hard to find. And yes, they work. Her company is ForAllTimeClocks.com and the hands are around 10″ – 17″ in length and come in cream, black, gold, dark brown, and white. Contact angie@foralltimeclocks.com for more information.

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{ photo crate }

Lisa found this antique mail holder at a local antique shop. It’s a fun way to showcase current photos and easy to rotate and update.

Many thanks to Lisa for letting me share a few snippets from her home with my readers. She continues to inspire.

a not-so-ordinary day in the life

Monday, May 16th, 2011

I spent a whirlwind Friday zipping up to Salt Lake City for a television appearance. My alarm went off at 3:15 am and I was back at home, snuggling with my kids by 7:15 pm. Here are some glimpses of my not-so-ordinary day. As much as I love the everyday and the ordinary and the mundane … I for sure appreciate the fact that the “big stuff” in life very much plays a part in making up our life experience as well.

Friday was kind of “big stuff” for me. I haven’t done any tv anything since … I can’t remember, honestly. It’s been years. So my tummy was filled with butterflies. But my soul was filled with calm. I was participating in something that honored and celebrated motherhood. Anyone who reveres that sacred role has my attention. I felt grateful to have the opportunity to talk about motherhood and documenting life. Two of my greatest passions.

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Night before: Scrummaged through my closet and found something to wear. Shirt from Target, cardigan from DownEast Basics, belt is Wet Seal, skinny jeans are Cello Jeans, necklace was … umm … shoot. I totally can’t remember where I picked that up but I know it was while traveling. I just can’t remember where. For sure I texted pictures to my friend Jen for approval.

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Sky Harbor Airport in Phoenix. Applied my makeup, start to finish, just minutes before boarding the plane.

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Show time! This cutie girl right here? Michelle is Studio 5′s executive producer and she is sharp. Darling. Organized. Warm. Personable. And … the one who invited me to be a part of the show.

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A couple on-air shots, thanks to my cute family in the audience with cameras in hand the whole time. On the left, I’m part of a panel discussion about the “little things” that mothers do that go a long way, even if we don’t think they matter much at the time. On the right, I’m sharing some ideas on suggestions of things moms would want to keep for their kids. Great studio audience, by the way! Glad some of you could come!

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Darin and Brooke are the hosts of Studio 5. Genuinely kind people. Really. And I about died when I learned that Brooke is only 27 years old! She’s too cute for words and single. I’m just saying. Somebody set the girl up on some dates! She’s a catch!

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Some personal friends & family were able to carve a chunk of time from their day to be there. So super grateful for them and for others who sent me texts + emails showing their support.

1. Lori Whitlock! As in, my graphic designer behind our products. Yay!

2. Sydney, Jen, Morgan — friends from our years in Cleveland who now live in Utah.

3. Kevin (as in … you love him for answering your tech questions here on my blog) and Lauren, my sister-in-law. Love them. Yes, that’s an iPad in his hand.

4. I literally wouldn’t be where I am without these people. My parents, of course. Yay that they just happened to be in Utah! And that’s Lisa Bearnson there in the middle — familiar to many of you. She was the one who believed in my talent and took a risk at hiring a 21-year-old who was just crazy-passionate about scrapbooking. Because of her, I was led to many professional opportunities that I never, ever dreamed would be a part of my life. I was tickled pink that she could come.

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Aaaannnd we’re back on-board.

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Goodbye beautiful Salt Lake City, with your snow-capped mountains in May.

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Hello again, beautiful Grand Canyon that I love to fly over.

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As I found myself staring out the window like I always do on a flight, I held the iPhone out in front of me to snap a picture. Why? Because this is so me. I am such a sucker for arial views. I find it completely fascinating to see lakes and rivers and mountains and farms and little towns and big cities … from straight above. It always makes me feel and think very reflectively. I always have a renewed sense of appreciation for God’s creations.

And so for that reason, this picture says a lot about me.

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I encourage you to do something similar. Get yourself in your documenting of life. You are, after all, a part of your life. And your life — ordinary or extraordinary as it may seem right now — is completely worth documenting.

thursday things to know

Thursday, September 9th, 2010

1. The randomly selected winner of Pascale’s e-book is … Cathy in Calgary, Alberta (Canada)! Cathy, shoot an email to pascale.w@sbcglobal.net to claim your prize.

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2. Have you heard? My friend (and once upon a time, my original boss in this scrapbooking industry) Lisa Bearnson launched her new site at lisabearnson.com. She has a cool contest on her blog that ends tomorrow, Friday. You could win a free photo book or a Silhouette machine. Go check it out. (And … go Lisa with your newest adventure!)

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3. I have yet another giveaway for this week! Laura Vanderbeek is giving away a seat in her brand-new online class, Photo Preserves : Digitize & Restore Old Photos.

If you have a bunch of old photos that are just decaying and you want to learn how to preserve, digitize, and restore those images, this class is right up your ally. All of the class info can be found here. Early registration ends September 15th, which means you can take advantage of the $10 off (almost 30% off) for early registration discount.

Plus — The instructor for this class, Laura Vanderbeek, is fantastic. A super talented photographer and life documenter and mom, designer, and … actually, she’s a cancer survivor too … I’m sure you’ll just adore Laura as I do. Her personal blog is here. Her photography blog is here. Her official website is here.

Have questions for Laura? Email her at laurav@reneepearson.com

To have a chance at winning a free seat in Laura’s class, leave your first name, city, and state or country. This giveaway has a short turn-around. I will announce a randomly selected winner tomorrow – Friday.

silhouette

Friday, May 28th, 2010

Many of you know what a Silhouette is.

Want one for free? Lisa Bearnson is giving away one for free on her blog right now. Go check it out and leave a comment on her blog (not mine) for a chance to win.   : )

Q&A: Thursday

Thursday, October 22nd, 2009

I had such good intentions of posting yesterday but the day ended up being busier than I anticipated. (Hmmm … Seems like every day is like that, isn’t it?) Anyway, some of you somehow knew it was my birthday. Thank you so much for the happy wishes. The highlight of my day was just hanging out with my little family and being thoroughly entertained with a little someone who was completely thrilled with himself:

On to more of your questions …

Q: Burning question: Are you and Lisa B sisters? Do you have family in the business?

A: For some reason, I’ve heard this question many times over the years. Lisa Bearnson and I are dear friends. She was the one who gave me my first real job in the scrapbooking industry so many years ago. Love her to pieces. But no, we’re not related.

Q: Are you going to leave your recipes on your blog? I love them! I don’t want to lose them!

A: The recipes are there to stay. Enjoy. : )

Q: Where do babies come from? Okay, seriously, my question is – Do you look so put together and cute every day? Where is your favorite place to shop for clothes/accessories? I want to “Becky” my wardrobe!

A: When a man and a woman love each other very much … I love your sense of humor. And I love how this question seriously made me chuckle. This clearly comes from someone who does NOT see me every day. If a ponytail, t-shirt, and comfortable shorts constitutes looking “put together and cute” then I have scored big time. I’m just laughing because I’m the girl who needed a friend to go shopping with me yesterday to find a little ensemble for something. I’m the girl who, several years ago, had my closet raided by a few friends who gave me a “what not to wear” makeover. I’m not kidding. I’m flattered by the question, but not sure that you should be taking advice from me on fashion.

Q: Will you be adding more Word documents for the school albums?

A: Yes. I have fallen behind on a few things but will get to that soon.

Q:I know you love Costco, and I’m going to join soon. One reason I want to join is to print 12×12 scrapbook pages. Do you ever do this?

A: Yes. I haven’t scrapbooked in quite a while (besides keeping up with my Project 365), but I’ve dabbled in making a few 100% digital pages and printing them (12×12) at Costco. Very happy with the results. And totally plan on doing more like that when I hopefully get back into my groove with the kids’ books here soon.

Q: What is your favorite movie?

A: Not sure if I could nail-down my all-time favorite, but I’ll tell you that my current favorite is Sound of Music. I sing the songs with my kids daily.