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 Monday, December 17, 2007
Monday Morning
12/17/2007 9:32:34 AM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)  Good morning, everyone. I stumbled on this very inspiring blog a little late in the game, but I wanted to share the link with all of you anyway. 3191: A Year of Mornings is a blog maintained by two sisters who live 3,191 miles apart. Last January, these two sisters began taking a photograph every morning. They don't discuss the photos beforehand, and they showcase their morning observations on their blog. I love the simplicity of the photos and the beautiful way they capture each morning. This morning, I decided to take a photo of my own (see above). Committing to a project such as theirs is a wonderful way to take note of the beauty and art you can find in each day, sometimes in the smallest of details. This morning, take a few minutes to browse their gallery. Take note of their artful use of composition, color, etc. Then, take a look around you. I have a feeling you'll be inspired to pick up your camera to capture something beautiful. Have a lovely day, Katie
12/17/2007 9:32:34 AM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00) 
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Friday, December 14, 2007
Dreaming of a white Christmas ...
12/14/2007 12:24:03 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)  My cubicle is positioned next to a wall of windows and today I'm watching the sky for snow. The weather folks are predicting we'll get about six INCHES of the white stuff, which in Cincinnati is a lot! This weekend I'd like to drive a couple hours west to visit my daughter and son-in-law, but if the "blizzard" materializes that won't happen. Surfing the Web is one of my favorite pastimes. In the mornings at home I log onto my laptop, pour a cup of coffee and check in with some of my favorite people and their blogs. You never know what you might learn while surfing. For instance, on the MM Books blog I discovered what the hot color for 2008 is. Click over and see for yourself (it's not a color I expected!). And our Masters' blog is awesome--packed with creative ideas, step-by-step instructions for projects and just heartfelt sharing. Some of my personal favorite sites (outside the scrapbooking world) include messythrillinglife, the NY Times (especially the books section and Sunday wedding announcements), Elizabeth Gilbert's Eat, Pray, Love and Me&Ro jewelry. What are some of your favorites? Stay warm this weekend and scrap something cozy! Peace & love, Patty p.s. I'm lovin' my new hair!!
12/14/2007 12:24:03 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)
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Thursday, December 13, 2007
Is your world a Bizarre Bazaar?
12/13/2007 1:48:58 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00) In December the crafty souls who work here at F+W Publications (the publisher of Memory Makers magazine and books) share their talents and wares at a sale we call the Bizarre Bazaar. We’ve got musicians who sell CDs, artists who paint scarves, jewelry makers, knitters and more. We headed downstairs this morning to see all the goodies and to buy some handmade Christmas gifts! That’s Katie’s good friend Grace selling her books and cards (below, left), and Christy admiring knitted scarves (below, right).   Speaking of crafts, there’s a new link on the MM home page called The Craft Directory. Check it out if you’re looking for a scrapbooking/craft store near you, or if you’re trying to locate a specific product or manufacturer. Hope you’re staying warm and dry, and finding some time to put your own crafty skills to good use!
12/13/2007 1:48:58 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)
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Wednesday, December 12, 2007
We picked a winner in the B&W Challenge
12/12/2007 4:34:33 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00) Congratulations to TRICIAS -- the winner of our Black & White Challenge. Tricia wins a product-packed prize package from KI Memories!C'mon over to the forum to see all the entries. Peace and love, Patty
12/12/2007 4:34:33 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)
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My Secret Life as an Elf
12/12/2007 8:46:28 AM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00) By now, you've probably seen many of your friends and relatives morphed into elves thanks to elfyourself.com. Have you tried it yourself? It's super easy and fun. Here's me as an elf. I've got some moves I'd never attempt in real life!! Well, back to baking and shopping and wrapping and card writing ... important holiday activities all good elves partake in this time of year to make the season festive! Hope your holiday prep is going well and relatively stress-free! Best, Beth
12/12/2007 8:46:28 AM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)
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Tuesday, December 11, 2007
What's it doing in your part of the world?
12/11/2007 12:07:09 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00) In Cincinnati today it's almost 60 degrees—what's up with that?! Call it what you will, but the weather patterns are weird. We've had rain for days and days; the rivers and creeks are bursting their banks. Not complaining, but all this rain comes on the heels of a drought we sweltered through last summer. And the calendar says December 11th ... shouldn't it be snowing instead of raining? Anyway, I'm taking advantage of the mild weather and am going to walk over to the mall and pick up a Christmas gift. I've read there's an ice storm across the Midwest of the US. What's it doing in your part of the world? Peace and love, Patty
12/11/2007 12:07:09 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)
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Monday, December 10, 2007
Seasonal Projects
12/10/2007 3:58:31 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00) What are you hoping to capture this season? Holiday decorating? The first snow? Holiday shopping? Family traditions? (I have to admit that I haven’t created any seasonal pages yet, although I did design my own holiday cards this year. I've also been gathering materials and photos so that when I do have a few minutes to sit down and create, I'll have my materials and notes ready to go.) Post your projects in our Online Idea Gallery, and get inspired by others’ creativity, as well. Note: You can search for specific themes within the gallery by clicking on the "Theme" drop-down menu. Wishing you all a happy and inspired Monday, Katie
12/10/2007 3:58:31 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)
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Friday, December 07, 2007
Have you posted your Black-&-White layout for a chance to win?
12/7/2007 10:19:45 AM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)  The Black-&-White Challenge will be coming to an end Tues, Dec. 11
at midnight so don't miss your opportunity to win a cool black and
white KI Memories prize package! Post your layout in the forum for a
chance to win. I know that life might be a bit busy with Christmas just
around the corner, but who can pass up an opportunity to win amazing
scrapbooking supplies? The layout I created for this challenge
was also a tribute to one of my favorite stores: Ikea. For those of you
that have experienced Ikea ... isn't it fun? And if you never have you
should hunt down the nearest store :) While I was at home for
Thanksgiving my family and I took a trip to the nearest Ikea in Canton,
Michigan to celebrate my sister's birthday (since we both absolutely
love the store). We spent a few hours just wandering around and
pointing out all of the things we liked. There were not any big
purchases made, but we all had such a great time together! I'm counting
down the days when Ikea will soon be only minutes away from me here in
Cincy...ahh inspirational bliss at my fingertips! Post your Black-&-White challenges here, and show us your true colors! Create something. Inspire everyone. GinaMarie Supplies and Techniques:
I created the black and white background by scanning one of the pages
from Ikea's 2008 magazine. I changed it into grayscale, and added the
difference layer to give it that reverse x-ray effect. The pic was
taken by my sister and I saturated the color a bit to make it pop.
Brads: Michelle Coleman's Free Digital Kit Frosted (I changed the hue/saturation.)
Journaling circle: Sande Kreiger's Free Digital Kit Embrace Life
Digital Scrapbooking
12/7/2007 10:19:45 AM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)
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Wednesday, December 05, 2007
We hear you! More multi-photo layout ideas.
12/5/2007 11:47:58 AM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00) We got a letter today from a reader who said she wants more ideas for 2-pg layouts that will allow her to include lots and lots of photos on her scrapbook pages. We know there's a trend branching back toward pages full of pictures of one event, and we want to share as many ideas as we can with you and other readers who want these kinds of ideas. The January 2008 issue debuts our Take 2 column by Debbie Hodge that features one 2-pg layout with tips on how and why that design works. But Debbie Hodge has a blog full of MORE great 2-pg, multi-photo layout ideas. Click here to see more. She's got a few that are holiday-themed as well as other topics and 1-pg, multi-photo pages. If you've got a 2-pg layout with multiple photos you'd like to share with other readers, post it in the forum under the Take 2 thread. We can't wait to see your ideas! Peace and love, Patty
12/5/2007 11:47:58 AM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)
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Monday, December 03, 2007
What's a Master's Challenge?
12/3/2007 11:34:14 AM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00) Beginning with the January 2008 issue of MM, you’ll find a Master’s Challenge inside every issue (where you’ll find it will vary by page number in each issue).
Here's how it works:
In each issue, one of the Masters will publish a challenge and her
layout in response to her own challenge. Then, you get to respond with
your own layouts. The Master who issued the challenge will visit the
forum thread and provide feedback on all the layouts posted. Fear
not—the feedback will be offered with the kindest of intentions to
applaud a job well done, to offer suggestions for different ways to
achieve a certain technique or to provide helpful tips for future
projects.
Here's the link to where you can post your responses to the January challenge. The January issue is on sale now, if you're not a subscriber, at your favorite bookseller or online. Or click here if you want to become a subscriber and get your issues before they hit the newsstand! Peace and love, Patty p.s. For those of you who got socked with the winter storms this weekend, I hope you're safe and warm. And perhaps you got a chance to scrap on your snow day?!
12/3/2007 11:34:14 AM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)
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Saturday, December 01, 2007
Happy December 1st
12/1/2007 4:05:10 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00) Just stopping by to wish all of you a delightful first day of December. After running some errands and picking up groceries, I'm back inside and getting ready to decorate my home for the holidays. It's gray and cold outside (with rain in the forecast), so I'm looking forward to an evening of holiday music and decorating. After the decorating is complete, I'll make pizza and curl up on the couch to watch a few favorite holiday movies. What are your plans for today/this evening? Decorating? Shopping? In other news, I received some very exciting mail today: handmade journaling spots from Every Jot and Tittle. I LOVE journaling accessories, so I can't wait to use these. Perhaps I'll have some time to play tomorrow afternoon.  What are your favorite ways to add journaling to your pages? Have a lovely rest of the weekend. Katie
12/1/2007 4:05:10 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)
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Friday, November 30, 2007
Are you our winner?
11/30/2007 7:40:57 AM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00) I'm blogging in the comfort of my jammies this morning with my Christmas tree aglow, my kitten (Boo) in her usual spot lying across my left arm as I try to type, and my one decadent cup of coffee at hand. This end-of-year time gets busy on every level -- at work we're wrapping up projects for this year and forecasting what's to come for 2008, and at home I'm making gift lists, organizing cookie exchanges and anticipating all the joy that Christmas brings. So I'm taking this quiet, early-morning moment to chat with y'all. (Thanks for joining me for coffee this a.m.!) We issued a creativity challenge on Tuesday 11/27 (scroll down to read all the details) and we already have a couple great entries in the forum. TOTALSCRAPPER posted an Andy-Warhol inspired layout entitled Catitudes (Boo loves it!) and LSHORTS posted Moonlight Kisses (adorable!). Someone is going to win a prize package from KI Memories worth more than $80, so take some time out of your own busy schedule and create a response to our black-&-white challenge. You deserve some fun, too, as you're balancing the demands of life. CLARIFICATION for the challenge: Within your 8.5x11 layout there may be one 5x7 area of color or colored/patterned paper. I'll leave you with this quote: When the power of love overcomes the love of power the world will know peace.
~Jimi Hendrix peace and love, patty
11/30/2007 7:40:57 AM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)
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