The Big Announcment!

Well hello all my fellow SO members! It's a great day here! We took our kids to the circus last night and it was SO much fun! I would go again in a heart beat. Not sure if I had more fun or the kids. laugh.

The new DT was revealed yesterday if you didn't already know. It was seriously the hardest decision I have ever had to make - I think more so than what I would name my children. lol
I just want to publically thank the "old" DT for all that they have done to make SO what it is. I seriously could have not done it without them. They took the transition of new owners in stride and embrassed me as the new owner. They were great to go along with my new ideas and run with them. Words CAN NOT express how TRUELY Grateful I am to them. Thank you SO much ladies here is the retiring DT at the end of June:

Jennifer French

Brandi Pitts

Brandy Cumberland

Suzanne Wikstrom

Please take a few minutes to thank the retiring DT! Let them know how much you will miss them.

I am excited to work with these new ladies. I can't wait to see what kind of ideas they come up with.

Returning for another term:

Abbie Torroll

Trish Harwick

Ronda Simpson

the new Ladies

Anna Buis

Lindsay Gannon

Jodi Wilton

Sarah Eclavea

Hope you all stick around to see what the new DT has in store for you!

LOTW-Mette

For layout of the week I chose this layout by Mette. There is so much I like about this layout...the white space, the distressed look, and the use of embellishments. (it is cutting off some of the layout, so click on layout to see the whole thing)

Be sure to visit the messageboard on Wednesday to find out who is on the new DT!!

Journaling Made Easy!

Journaling….

For many, it is the most difficult part of scrapping… it is the reason I have so many unfinished pages sitting in the corner… they are waiting for the perfect story, written in perfect words… Yet, journaling is probably one of the most important parts of the page! The story of our lives, isn’t that what we are trying to tell? Seems that it should be easy since “we” are the ones living it, right?

Well, today I am hoping to be able to help you make journaling a little less painful and a lot more fun! (and to decrease your backlog of unfinished, need to be journaled, pages!)

Next to scrapping, I truly enjoy reading, which oftentimes leads me on expeditions to the bookstore to find a new story to occupy my average life. On my most recent trip to the bookstore I found a journaler’s treasure trove in the “self-help” and kid’s sections.

The first - journaling gem I ran into is, “My Listography” by Lisa Nola. I have two similar books called “List Yourself” and “More List Yourself” by Ilene Segalove but I picked it up anyway because it has a ton of fun lists, for example: List all the Cities you have been to, List the pets you’ve had and their names, List 10 Wishes you want to come true, List your favorite places to go in your hometown… and the “list” goes on and on (pun intended). Whether you use the list prompt and the list itself as the journaling or as a springboard for pages or narrative journaling, this book is sure to help you get started journaling your story!

While browsing further I came across, “The Book of Us” by David and Kate Marshall. It is a journal-style book with prompts about your relationship. It is listed chronologically beginning with “Before I Met you my Love Life Was…”, through “Starting out” and “The Middle Years” and ending with “The Later Years”. I have been wanting to document my husband and I’s relationship, but I am usually at a loss of what exactly I want to remember. This book is really stirring up my creativity which I am sure will lead to a beautifully journaled album later on!

In the kid’s section I found a series of “American Girl” quiz books, one in particular, “The Family Quiz Book” caught my eye, as I am always trying unsuccessfully to document our personalities and lives as a family. It is full of quizzes which compare and contrast, describe and zero in on the true personalities of your family members… and it is fun to boot! I have already given a couple of the quizzes to my kids and I am excited to turn them into great pages! Well, I hope my bookstore finds will help you as much as they have helped me! Having trouble journaling? These books can all help! - Just head to your local bookstore and pick one up!

Photography Challenge

I'm so excited to bring you the photography challenge this month!!!
I don't know about you ladies, but the summer has been so fast-paced!! I was really
expecting things to slow down when school was out, but we are still just as busy! So needless to say, with "busy-ness" comes stress!! One of the things that I LOVE to do when I need a break, is go to the gym! It is a time that I can do something that is good for me, and I can de-stress all at the same time.

So, my challenge for you, is to snap a photo of something that helps you get through your day! Something brings you relief or happiness, when everything around you seems so chaotic!! Whether it is a pet, a resturant, your favorite beverage...etc.

I chose to snap a photo of the outside of the gym where I workout! I decided not to take it in to take pictures! LOL! I didn't want to be the crazy lady that was escorted from the building because she was taking photos of people working out! LOL!

But anyway, hopefully you get my point! I know it's not that interesting to see the outside of a building, but it's just something to get you thinking "outside of the box", so to speak!
I would LOVE to see your photos, just upload them HERE , in the Photography section on the SO Message Boards! I'll start a thread! Can't wait to see yours!

~Ronda :)

Honoring the Men in our Life Challenge

This challenge comes from Guest Designer Jodi (luvalotmum) Perfect for Father's Day coming up on Sunday. Don't forget to take a picture of your husband, dad, brother, uncle or grandpa!

Flipping through my pages of my scrapbook albums, I realized I didn’t have a single layout dedicated to my husband. I probably speak for the majority of us : we always seem to be scrapping our kids , special occasions, and holidays. Since Father’s Day falls in the month of June, my challenge for you this month, is to create a layout solely about your husband, father, grandfather, uncle, brother… etc… Here are some jump start questions to help you gain some inspiration:
1. Something special your husband has done for you.
2. What your husband means to you.
3. What kind of father is he? What does he do? Anything special between your kids and him?
4. The “jobs” your husband/father does in your family
5. A special moment that you will never forget between you and your husband.
I got the idea for this challenge, when my son was having surgery . I remember looking over at my husband, and seeing him looking at my son… it was a very touching moment seeing him look at my son that way. So what does a scrapper do? I snuck my camera out of purse, and took his picture. I used that picture in the following layout and all the wonderful and not so wonderful “jobs” my husband does. Have fun with this challenge, and I can’t wait to see what you create! Be sure to link it up in the gallery! Here is the layout that I created for this challenge:

LOTW 6-13 ...flcropper (Naureen)

I chose this 2 page layout by flcropper (Naureen)! For one, I love the fact that she had bright, vibrant primary colors in the pictures and how she used the BG papers to compliment them. She also made the layout so fun by using circles..brings the fun from the photos out onto the layout.
congrats!

Brandi's June Kit Reveal & a Little Challenge

I really love the colors in this kit. They were perfect for this page of Drew on her horse.

It also matched this photo perfectly!

I altered the flower from the kit to match my layout a little better.


I used the Grungeboard piece as a base for this wall hanging. I dry brushed a bit of white paint on it allowing the natural Grungeboard to show through. I created the flower with the book paper & used a brad to hold all the layers together. I wanted the butterflies to appear as if they were flying so I only adhered them at the center. I added a piece of blue lace for the hanger.



My challenge to you is a super simple one! Create a card (or cards) using ONLY the scraps you've cut up while making your layouts.

On the card below I used the orange strip of cardstock that I cut off of my "Ride'em Cowgirl" layout. The red strip was leftover from the background of my 2nd layout and the flower pieces were leftover from my wall hanging. By using only what was already cut I still have plenty of "un-chopped" papers to use on future layouts and I don't have a pile of paper scraps that I need to find a home for!