Write. Click. Scrapbook.

Week with Jamie

Hi Write.Click.Scrapbook. friends, Jamie Waters here, hosting this week's blog posts. Bear with me as I am one of the newbies here! :) I wanted to share a little bit about me before I dive into a few of my layouts. I am a mother of 4 and I currently live in Southern California. I'm mostly a stay at home mom, but 4 years ago, my husband and I opened a wedding photography business together. My weekends are either spent on the soccer field with the kids (watching them of course!) or at a wedding. I love scrapbooking. I love everything that comes with it. The memory recording, the photos, the pretty supplies :) Here's a little walk through my scrapbooking history.... from the very start!

I believe this was my very first layout. Single photo, simple title, no journaling, lots of white space, monochromatic, black and white photo. 8 1/2x11. I started out at that size and when I felt I did about every design I could think of with that size, I moved on to 12x12. Do you remember those letter stickers? I bet I still have them. I looooved them!

Another early layout. Trend here: cardstock and pen. No journaling again. Like how the cardstock strips match his shirt exactly? I did :)  

Here's where I slowly started using embellishments, bits of greeting cards- still very clean and simple designs. I used a few conchos, filled with patterned paper... I was getting adventurous!:) Still no journaling except for the title, which was a song lyric, and a hand cut title! Wow, I actually miss doing that! There's some paper tearing action too :) Sigh, good ol' days!  

Again, a little adventurous with an embellishment. I hoarded so many of those bookplates! And Jolees! More font work and again, no journaling. I must have used all the font work I had in me in these first 6 months of scrapbooking because I don't think I've done it since! :)
Finally, my style is emerging... A big chunk of patterned paper, my own handwriting, mix of type- but not in form of a computer font. Neutral background paper but with bursts of color popping in.... this feels like me.  

And finally, a recent page of mine :) 12x12, lots of white space. Snippets of journaling words in my own handwriting, just little thoughts. A single photo, a mix of patterned paper, still some white space.
I am so honored to be hosting this week here at Write.Click.Scrapbook! With Valentine's Day around the corner, I'll be sharing some inspiration, sharing some lovely photos, asking to see your projects and more! Thanks for stopping by!

The train is about to leave the station and it's full steam ahead to the beach...

I hope you all enjoyed your stop over and are well rested and ready to get back to the tour. And thanks for the give away Ali, what a great "souvenir" from our trip (yes, that may be stretching the travel theme a little to far, but indulge me!)

Today we are heading to the coast (and there is plenty of coastline to be found around this island of ours) and we will take our colour inspiration from the "BEACH".

1. Inspiration Photo - East Coast of Australia

 

Australia boasts some of the world’s best beaches and the huge coastline stretches for nearly 37,000 km, which includes 11,011 beaches, more than any other nation. Most of Australia's cities and towns are situated on the coast, within a few kilometres of the ocean, which amounts to about 85% of Australia's population living within one hour's drive of the coastline. I am one of the lucky ones and have always lived about 5 minutes from the beach.

2. The Colour Board:

 

The colours of the beach are pale: creams, beiges, and yellows. This colour palette is calm and neutral and works well with many themes. 

3. The Layouts:

This photo was taken from a very brief photo shoot I did with my son Oscar when he turned 17 (and no, I can't believe that he will be "officially" an adult - 18 years old - towards the end of this year). When I say brief you must understand that this 17 year old would rather do chores than pose for photos, but he indulged me and I wanted to make a layout to celebrate.

The colours in this photo were very strong, so I decided that a neutral background would put all the focus on the photo (and those green eyes).

For this layout it was my photos that contained the beach colours from our colour board and I chose complimentary cardstock and patterned papers, keeping a large white border for needed white space.

4. Cultural Lesson:

"On the Beach" – a poem by Michael Williams

At dawn, bare footed, viewing as far as eyes can reach,

the water's edge advances and recedes along the beach. 

Before me I see a carpet of half-buried shells of sea-creatures,

tide washed and rippled in sodden sand along the beach. 

I move, exploring, sodden sand oozing between my toes,

beyond me the wavelets breaking on the sand along the beach. 

Behind me, my wandering trail is blurred and indistinct,

as the water's edge advances and recedes along the beach. 

At mid-day, on the soft dry sand behind the water's edge,

undressed worshippers lie in the sun that beats down along the beach.

At night, the moon's reflection at the water's edge

resembles sea serpents playing in the wavelets along the beach.

This poem is simple, contemporary and perfectly captures the essence of the beach; I know it makes me want to bury my feet in the sand and chase the waves at the waters edge.

5. Australia 101:

First, we say lolly instead of candy and I have to tell you this lolly is a hard minty chewy treat that has been responsible for pulling out many a filling from people's teeth and my dentist is always warning me not to chew them. Like that is going to stop me. Ha! 

After living in London for a few years in the late 80s, I remember touching down at Sydney airport and buying a nice big bag of these at the duty free shop. Yes, I missed this classic Aussie treat.

So today you can head back to your stash and see if you can put together a buttery, pale layout inspired by the beach. We will be back on the road again tomorrow as we say goodbye to the beach and head off on our next colour adventure.

 

Back on the bus people, today we are headed to the rainforest...

Welcome back to the colour inspiration tour and I hope your creativity has been given a jolt by the vibrant colours of the outback.

Today we are heading a little further south to visit the "RAINFOREST"

1. Inspiration Photo - East Coast of Australia

Photo by Peter Jarver

Australian rainforests are located from the far north of Queensland to the far south of Tasmania. As the name suggests, rainforests grow in areas of high annual rainfall. Rainforests are categorised as tropical, subtropical or temperate, depending on their location and the amount of rainfall they receive (See the map from day 1). 

2. The colour board:

The colours represented by our rainforests are greens, greys and cool blues, and I will admit right up front that this is a colour palette that I love to work with.

3. The layouts:

This layout came about easily because the photos were primarily made up of all the wonderful shades of green that are found in the rainforest palette (just look at that lovely cool green water and let's try not to notice that my boys are jumping off very high rocks into the river and freaking out their mama!).

For my second layout I went with a lighter green palette to complement my photos from a scrap retreat, held in a vineyard. I pounced on the patterned paper when I saw the mix of green and teal but I deliberately chose non rainforestey (yes, I sort of made that a word) photos of the vineyard at the end of the season.

4. Cultural Lesson:

“Bellbirds” - a poem by Henry Kendall

By channels of coolness the echoes are calling, and down the dim gorges I hear the creek falling. 

It lives in the mountain where moss and the sedges, Touch with their beauty the banks and the ledges.

Through breaks of the cedar and sycamore bowers, Struggles the light that is love to the flowers;

And, softer than slumber, and sweeter than singing, The notes of the bell-birds are running and ringing. 

The silver-voiced bell birds, the darlings of daytime! They sing in September their songs of the May-time;

When shadows wax strong, and the thunder bolts hurtle, They hide with their fear in the leaves of the myrtle;

When rain and the sunbeams shine mingled together, They start up like fairies that follow fair weather;

And straightway the hues of their feathers unfolden, Are the green and the purple, the blue and the golden.

October, the maiden of bright yellow tresses, Loiters for love in these cool wildernesses;

Loiters, knee-deep, in the grasses, to listen, Where dripping rocks gleam and the leafy pools glisten:

Then is the time when the water-moons splendid, Break with their gold, and are scattered or blended

Over the creeks, till the woodlands have warning, Of songs of the bell-bird and wings of the Morning.

Welcome as waters unkissed by the summers, Are the voices of bell-birds to the thirsty far-comers.

When fiery December sets foot in the forest, And the need of the wayfarer presses the sorest,

Pent in the ridges for ever and ever, The bell-birds direct him to spring and to river,

With ring and with ripple, like runnels who torrents, Are toned by the pebbles and the leaves in the currents.

Often I sit, looking back to a childhood, Mixt with the sights and the sounds of the wildwood,

Longing for power and the sweetness to fashion, Lyrics with beats like the heart-beats of Passion; 

Songs interwoven of lights and of laughters, Borrowed from bell-birds in far forest-rafters;

So I might keep in the city and alleys, valleys , The beauty and strength of the deep mountain valleys:

Charming to slumber the pain of my losses, With glimpses of creeks and a vision of mosses.

I love this poem because my father, at 72, is still able to recite it - in a fake lilting high pitched voice - that always makes me laugh, because as a young boy he had a teacher that “insisted” his class memorise it. 

5. Australia 101:

OK, if you ever have the opportunity to try a Tim Tam then trust me...you want to take up the offer. Word on the street has it that there were open packs of Tim Tams at CHA and that maybe some WCS representatives could not help but be polite and accept this little chocolate treat. Ha!

So, to recap, we have moved from the earth colours of the outback to the cool colours of the rainforest. Tomorrow (Thursday) we will have a layover day for rest and recovery - OK, maybe because it's give away day - but that also gives you a little more time to play with everything "green" in your stash. And make sure you take a moment to follow the links people have posted of their colour inspired layouts, because there is some great work to enjoy.

And finally (yes, I promise I'm nearly done) after all the very nice comments about my scrap space, and in the spirit of full disclosure, I want you to know that it very often looks like this...

thank you for flying with us, please enjoy your stay in the Australian Outback...

Well we made it and I hope you are not too jet-lagged because we are going to be busy!

Each day as we visit a new area we will follow a simple plan (because when you don't have a lot of time in a new town, it's good to have a plan).

Each day we will include:

1. an inspiration photo
2. a colour board
3. a couple of layouts
4. a cultural lesson
5. Australia 101 (fun facts)

Alright, lets visit the "OUTBACK"

1. Inspiration Photo - Uluru - Central Australia

Photo by Leo Meier

The rich colours of oranges, reds and browns define outback Australia and represent the harsh conditions as well as the beauty of our deserts.

2. The colour board:

Sometimes a simple way to play around with colour is to create a colour board; no pressure as you are not using any of your supplies or photos. I used my stash of old magazines (and there were plenty of American ones among them!!) and just ripped out images that caught my eye. Don't over think this part, just look for your inspiration colours.

I cropped these pages and then took a sheet of white cardstock and played with the colours, referencing my inspiration photo regularly and finally glued it all down. Now I had something tangible to hang on my pin board so I had a point of reference when choosing cardstocks, patterned papers and photos to use in my layouts.

3. The Layouts:

sketch inspired by Cathy Zielske's Big Picture Scrapbooking class, Design Your Life

The colours in the photos contained a lot of browns and neutrals so I thought a kraft base would work best and the orange letters added a pop of colour.

These photos were from my 2008 trip to America. As soon as I saw my Grand Canyon photos I knew that the colours were universal and would work with my outback theme (you don't need photos of Australia to make this colour scheme work).

4. Cultural Lesson:

"My Country" - a poem by Dorothy McKellar

The love of field and coppice, of green and shaded lanes, 
Of ordered woods and gardens is running in your veins.
Strong love of grey-blue distance, brown streams and soft, dim skies-
I know but cannot share it, my love is otherwise.

I love a sunburnt country, a land of sweeping plains, 
Of ragged mountain ranges, of droughts and flooding rains. 
I love her far horizons, I love her jewel-sea,
 Her beauty and her terror- the wide brown land for me!

The stark white ring-barked forests, all tragic to the moon,
The sapphire-misted mountains, the hot gold hush of noon,
Green tangle of the brushes where lithe lianas coil,
And orchids deck the tree-tops, and ferns the warm dark soil.

Core of my heart, my country! Her pitiless blue sky, 
When, sick at heart, around us we see the cattle die -
 But then the grey clouds gather, and we can bless again, 
The drumming of an army, the steady soaking rain.

Core of my heart, my country! Land of the rainbow gold,
 For flood and fire and famine she pays us back threefold.
Over the thirsty paddocks, watch, after many days, 
The filmy veil of greenness that thickens as we gaze. An opal-hearted country, a wilful, lavish land -
 All you who have not loved her, you will not understand -
 Though earth holds many splendours, wherever I may die,
 I know to what brown country my homing thoughts will fly.

This poem is a very famous Australian poem. The first verse is often left out because of the evocative opening to the second verse. I can not hear or recite this poem without a lump forming in my throat.

5. Australia 101:

I know, I know, an obvious choice! Most non-Australians (OK, the rest of the world) recoil in horror at their first tentative taste of vegemite, but this yeasty, tar like spread is a staple of most Aussie pantries. The trick is not to spread it on to thick!

Phew...are you worn out from todays adventures? Now go look in your stash and see if you can pull some photos or papers that take you to the outback and then  scrap an "outback layout". Don't forget to share your work with us.

See you tomorrow...we are heading south!

Grab your passports because we're headed "down under" on a colour inspiration tour...

Hi, I'm Jody and welcome to the first day of February. To kick off the month, and my blog hosting week, we will be broadcasting live from Down Under as we take a colour tour of Australia. So pack your bags (cardstock & adhesive, check, photos, check) and grab your passport.

 

Each day we will visit a new region rich with colour and inspiration, and then we will use this inspiration to break out of a colour rut that we can sometimes find ourselves in (well I know I sometimes get stuck using the same colour combinations over and over). Don’t worry; there will be something for everyone as we travel the length and breadth of this continent.

 

Each day we will start with an inspiration photo, followed by a colour board (that will show you that these colours are all around us, no matter where we live), a couple of layouts and some fun facts about our great southern land. It’s going to be fun, colourful, educational (don’t groan, there will be no tests!) and by the end of the week I’m hoping that you will feel invigorated, inspired and googling “cheap flights to Australia."

There WILL be spelling issues; those that are cultural and those that flow unchecked from my brain. It just seems easier to apologise up front! 

There will also most likely be situations that I like to call “lost in translation” moments. I might say something this week that makes you go “huh!” and before you start laughing hysterically or get upset, all you need to do is ask for a further explanation and I will do my best to avoid an international incident! Are we good? 

And one more housekeeping issue; when you’re all awake, I’m asleep and vice versa. I will reply to enquires as soon as I am able and I know the WCS girls have my back if I am M.I.A (sleep, work, wrangling boys - I have 2).

Now before I finish for today… a little bit about me. Like scrapbookers everywhere I have a stash that could last me " a little while", and I am working hard to “scrap my stash” like so many others out there. 

I work full-time so my scrapbooking is squeezed in when I can (usually late at night on the weekend). I live in a very small house so a dedicated craft room was out of the question, so my solution was to put a repurposed school desk behind the lounge for me to work at. This way I am with my family and I have the best view of the television (always a plus for all the DVDs I watch as I work). 

I sit there behind the lounge!

And see, I have the best view of the TV (the computer is just off to the left).

I hog most of the storage cupboards in the dining room, but it is organised and neat (well most of the time!) This is also where I keep my albums.  

It looks neat because I don't have the room to be messy! 

And then you see the reality...yes, I have to share with the Dyson and my husbands "guitar stuff."

Ok. It’s going to be all good. Aussie, Aussie, Aussie, oi, oi, oi.

Birds Do It, Bees Do It...

...even your favorite Write.Click.Scrapbook. ladies do it! Scraplift, that is!

Hard as it may be to believe, even the "professionals" run out of ideas at times. The jiggy juice runs low, the mojo takes a vacay, and we're left with a deadline and a blank piece of 12x12 cardstock in front of us!

Now, I would NEVER suggest that any designer submit a project for publication that relies heavily on someone else's design. After all, our readers and audiences are expecting fresh content. But inspiration can come from the smallest page element -- the combination of two patterned papers, for instance, or the angle of a photo. The spark of creativity is ignited, and we're off!

If you are scrapping for your own purposes exclusively -- for your personal scrapbooks, for instance -- scraplift away with abandon! But as I mentioned the other day, if you are posting your creations in a public forum (like a gallery or on a public blog), please do the courtesy of mentioning the source of your creation. Likely, your "liftee" will be honored to have inspired you!

Speaking of inspiration, I asked some more of the WCS team to share pages they'd lifted from each other (we're just one big happy family around here!). Here's what we came up with.

First, from the talented Cheryl Overton, who found inspiration in this layout of darling Candice Palmer:

 

(I told you she was adorable!). 

Now, here's Cheryl's take on it:

 

If you saw these two layouts several pages apart in a magazine, I bet you'd never notice they were the same design! The different subject matter, the varying color schemes, and the color photo vs. the B/W photo on the original are all ways Cheryl made Candice's original design "her own." 

Next, Melanie Louette found inspiration from Elizabeth Dillow. This layout is from Elizabeth's wonderfully inspiring book, "The Scrapbooker's Almanac:"

Melanie created this:

 

Once more, these pages are so different that the uninformed would never pick up on their shared origins! But you, Gentle WCS Reader, now know the truth. 

The moral of this story? Scraplifting can be pure imitation, and that's fine! But it also can be the first step in creating art of your own. Don't knock it or write it off as "cheating." After all, all those magazines, galleries, and blogs (including this one!) are out there to HELP you. Use them. Enjoy them. And Scrap Happy!
 

Banishing Perfectionism

So, several of you mentioned that you face the demon called PERFECTIONISM. I think this goes hand-in-hand with product overload. It goes something like this:

Because you HAVE 1000 buttons, you think you HAVE to find "the perfect one" to use on any given layout. You know it's there, in the stash, if you could just find it. Or maybe a brad would be better. You have a few hundred of those... or perhaps you should try a silk flower? Or an epoxy sticker? Or some staples... or some ribbon... and that's just for the embellishments! You go through the same thing for the letter stickers (red looks good -- but maybe orangey-red would be better... or maybe you should stamp it... or cut it out on your Cricut... but what font should you use? And what size???). And for the photos. And for the patterned paper. On and on it goes, and the next thing you know, it's 1 AM and you haven't even selected your cardstock yet!

I will tell you right now: NO ONE CARES IF YOUR SCRAPBOOK PAGES ARE PERFECT. In fact, there's no such thing as "perfect." There's "done" and "not done." And I know which one I want!

So how can scraplifting help you with this particular onus? By helping you narrow your field of vision. Once you pick a design to follow, you know how many different patterned papers you need, how many buttons, how many photos, etc. (NOTE: In general, I encourage people to adjust scraplifts to their tastes, but if you are suffering from perfectionitis, you may want to stick with the design as-is. As soon as you start messing with it, you'll fall into the same trap all over again!)

Still need convincing? To show you how easy and versatile scraplifting is, I asked two of my fave Write.Click.Scrapbook. sistahs to help me out.

First, the incomparable Emily Pitts lifted a page by Kendra McCracken. Here's Kendra's:

 

And here's what Emily did with it:

 

I love how she converted the 12x12 to an 8 1/2x11. And the different background paper gives the page a totally different look, even though she used many of the same basic design elements and title. Emily says, "It was SO fast and easy. Scraplifting takes all the thought out of designing. I needed that this week!" 

Next, the oh-so-talented Jody Wenke lifted another one of my fave scrappers -- herself!

The original:

 
And the lift, with the exact same title:

 

What a great way to track time and show the changes! In this case, Jody was showcasing the difference between the time when her daughter was diagnosed with cancer, and now that it's a year that she's been cancer free. 

Yesterday's assignment was to pick a design to lift. Today, get cracking! Don't let yourself be bogged down in choices. Pick the first photo, paper, etc., that matches the design and goes with your other page elements. Don't forget your new mantra: "There is only done and not done -- perfection doesn't exist." Upload your results to our WCS flickr gallery, and tag it as "scraplift." Can't wait to see what you've done!

The Secret Weapon

Thank you all so much for your fabulous questions, concerns, and comments yesterday. I think we covered the gamut from perfectionism, to journaling, to design worries, to product overload, to cranky bosses. While I can't help much with the cranky boss (though I did offer to write a "Please excuse so-and-so" note), I think I can help with a lot of the other concerns!

Here's my secret weapon: Scraplifting.

Now, to some, scraplifting is akin to cheating on your Algebra test or entering the Betty Crocker Cook-off with someone else's recipe. Not so! Simply put, scraplifting is simply using other designers' layouts to give you a headstart on your own page. You can lift just the design, take only the title or journaling, use their embellishment placement or photo idea, or just use it as a springboard.(NOTE: Later this week, I'll be talking more about scraplifting etiquette, but let me say right now that if you are posting a page you "lifted" to a public gallery, common courtesy requires that you give credit where credit is due. A simple "Inspired by..." is sufficient.)

Scraplifting can help you:

• Learn about basic design rules as you learn from "the masters"
• Improve your photography as you learn what works and what doesn't
• Scrapbook more quickly as you're starting from a framework instead of from scratch
• Become more familiar with your own style as you earmark pages and layouts that resonate with you
• Capture more memories as you get ideas from other scrapbookers
• Get out of a scrapbooking rut as you challenge yourself to stretch in new ways
• Overcome product overload as you limit yourself before you even start a new layout
• Generate new ideas for journaling as you get inspiration from others
• Give you whiter teeth, fresher breath, and spot-free dishes!

Today I'm going to show you some of my personal fave layouts, with the pages that inspired them. You'll see how I adapted another designer's page for my own photos or purposes. Tomorrow I'll share some pages from other WCS designers, and then on Friday we'll talk more in depth about scraplifting etiquette. Finally, on Saturday, I'll showcase some of YOUR pages that you're going to post to our WCS flickr group with the tag "scraplift."

Lift #1: Design

The inspiration piece from Elsie Flannigan's 52 Scrapbook Challenges (one of my favorite books!):

... And my lift:

 

I knew I wanted to do a page about some random facts about me, so I was leafing through my various idea books for a design that could handle a LOT of journaling. Elsie's was perfect! For this page, I took the design but nothing else. Different topic, different execution (you'll NEVER catch me watercoloring a page!), different photo.

Lift #2: Design

The inspiration piece, from Betsy Veldman, published in BHG Scrapbooks Etc., April '08:

 

...And my adaptation:

  

I loved Betsy's four-column design the second I saw it, and tucked it away in one of my many (!!) inspiration binders. When it was time to do a multi-photo page about my brother's family, I was leafing through said binder, and Betsy's design grabbed me. I even mimicked her curlique patterned paper with hand-stitching (one of the few pages I've hand-stitched -- I had the time to do so because the design was taken care of!).

Lift #3: Design

The inspiration piece, from the darling and oh-so-talented Celeste Smith:

And my take on it:

 

Sorry, that scan is definitely sub-par, but you get the picture (wink, wink). I had a single photo of my little gal, and when I saw Celeste's page I knew it was a match made in heaven. I even hand-threaded the buttons (again, I had oodles of time left once the design was set!).

As you can see, these were all DESIGN lifts. For me, that's what I mostly need help with. But I could just as easily have taken the topic, the photo angle, the title... any element of the page where I was stuck. I'll show you a few other adaptations later this week.

Some people say that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. Me? I think it's the shortest distance between you and a completed scrapbook page! Now you're going to start on your own scraplifts, because I wanna see what you got goin'! 

Your assignment -- depending on your personal "stuck" point (journaling, titles, design, etc.) flip through the Write.Click.Scrapbook. gallery, or one of your oodles of idea books, and pick a page you'd like to lift. Don't spend a ton of time on this -- just go with the first page that "speaks" to you! Then start looking through your photos for appropriate shots. Tomorrow we'll talk more about product selection and how to combat product overwhelm.

 

A Project We All Can Do

Remember when I said at the beginning of the week that there were some projects from Jeffrey Yamaguchi's 52 Projects that I probably wouldn't do? Project #8—make a poster—was on that list. Here is the description of Project #8:

Make a poster. It can be sized however you want, but 8.5 X 11 is easiest to copy and post. In terms of what should be on your poster, that’s wide open. The poster can be political, it can promote something you need to get the word out about, it can feature your art, or it can just be something that looks cool and is totally nonsensical. Anything. Once your poster is done, post it all over. You can post it all over a room, an office, a building, a school, a campus, a town, a city, a state, a nation, the world.

When I read the book, I couldn't imagine why in the world I would want to make a poster and then circulate it. I've since changed my mind, and today I hope I can convince you, too. Bear with me while I explain:

I read yesterday that since Tuesday's catastrophic earthquake in Haiti, the American Red Cross alone has received $8 million dollars in donations from cell phone users texting to the special number the U.S. State Department set up. That's $4 million more than the Red Cross received using this method for all of 2009. People want to help.

For the last few years my sister has organized a group of scrapbookers to make a calendar available for sale on Cafe Press. The 2009 theme required each participant to highlight a particular cause; we donated the proceeds from the sale of the calendars to charity. I chose to feature the organization Nothing But Nets, because it was the first international cause we introduced our oldest daughter to when she was four. As the page says, all kids can understand mosquitoes.

 

If you were to run this through a copy machine, it would look a lot like a poster, wouldn't it?

Like all of you, I've watched news coverage all week with a sense of frustration that there isn't more I could do beyond donating money. It occurred to me yesterday, though, that scrapbookers can do something more. We can complete Project #8. We have the tools, the design sense, the ability to convey a message on paper with simple design techniques. I sat down at the computer to see if I could create a poster in ten minutes that could be copied and tacked up on the bulletin boards you see everywhere you go—the library, the grocery store, the hallways at Panera and Starbucks that are usually covered with apartment rentals, for sale signs, and foreign language chat group meetings.

It was so easy I made three more:

This took ten minutes. I'll print out a handful at different sizes and stick a few pins and some tape in my purse when I'm out during the next week. Feel free to swipe mine to print and distribute where you live, too. If you design your own poster, you can make it say anything you want. The end result is the same: you'll be raising awareness and reminding people that this is an ongoing tragedy that we can't turn away from.

Here at Write. Click. Scrapbook, the disaster is personal. Our own Tina Cockburn and her husband Chris adopted their oldest child from Haiti, and have witnessed firsthand the challenges this country faced even before the earthquake. Together, we can do something more, however small.

Thanks for reading this week!

give.away.day. featuring STUDIO CALICO

It is truly our/your lucky day. for 

is back! And for our

today we are featuring their very own Home Front line.

Look at see what our very own Beth and Elizabeth did with this great line.

 

With a new Studio Calico release coming round the corner, we are happy to be able to offer you a sampling of the Home Front line before it has all been scooped up. Don't the layout possibilities seem so endless with those yummy papers and embellishments that represent what we wear and where we live? And the fabrips have my curiosity piqued like none other! And don't forget to visit the Studio Calico gallery and blog if you need additional inspiration!

If you would like to be considered for today's giveaway leave us a comment telling us your solution for beating the cold chill of winter (I like to curl up by the fire, or on the heat register/vent, with a cup of wassail and a big thick lambie blanket). Or for those of you on the other side of the globe, tell us how you beat the heat (really can't imagine having to beat the heat right now... oooh, please may I come visit you all?).

Two last, but not least, items. No, you don't have to be a Studio Calico subscriber to buy the Home Front line. (But, really, why wouldn't you want to be?). Home Front is available at your local retail store, or try here! And finally, don't forget it is your responsibility to check back to see if you are the lucky number!