Scrapbooking Your Single Years Giveaway!

I"m very excited to announce the new ebook from Ella Publishing, Scrapbooking Your Single Years by Stephanie Baxter, has been released! Wahoo! I am thrilled to be one of the contributors. I am in such great company. This is the first time I've been published, so I am incredibly excited.

I've had a chance to look at the book and it's fantastic. It's full of awesome layouts and tons of ideas. My mind is already spinning with additional layouts I'd like to make.

Ella has been so kind and has given me TWO copies to giveaway. All you have to do is leave a comment on this post. You can double your chances by becoming a new follower of my blog and you can leave an additional comment indicating you're a new follower.

ETA: Be sure to either leave your email address in your comment or come back for the announcement to see if you won. Otherwise I won't be able to find you!

The giveaway will close at 10 p.m. CST next Wednesday, June 29 and I'll announce the winner on Thursday morning!

If you can't wait to get your hands on the book, you can purchase the book here, Scrapbooking Your Single Life.

Good luck and enjoy!

Summer Bucket List

Since I'm still looking for a new job, I knew my summer bucket list would
need to be primarily free activities. Surprisingly, the list came together really
quickly. I can't wait to get started!

//See an amazing firework display.

//Spend an entire day outside.

//Play lots of tennis.

//Have a water fight.

//Eat Smores

//Go to the arboretum (at least once!)

//See a movie at the drive-in.

//Eat as locally as I can. (The farmer's market is one of my favorite parts of summer.)

//Go to a Twins game.

//Attend free outdoor concerts. (There's one every week in a nearby park. Score!)

//Take a blanket, find a place away from city lights and enjoy the starlight.

//Visit another city in MN I've never been to before. (Still deciding where.)

What is on your summer bucket list?

See more of my lists here.

Ten on Tuesday

1| My nieces and I had a fun time at our sleepover. The tradition is to get Punch pizza (delicious) and then watch a movie. They always inhale their food, so inevitably they start the movie before I'm finished.  They chose Spirited Away. A slightly strange but neat film about a little girl who finds herself in a new, different world with spirits and monsters and she needs to find her way home. It won Best Animated Feature at the Oscars a couple of years ago.

2| Kal Barteski, a talented artist and blogger, recently launched a new project called Link with Love. The project stems from Kal finding out that one of her graphic art pieces was being sold without her knowledge. Instead of curling up in a ball of indecision and anger she started this awesome project to encourage all of us to remember how important it is to link back to the creator when we're on twitter, pinterest, tumblr, blogging, etc. Remember to give credit where credit is due. Respect the work of your fellow artists. I'm in full support of this idea. You can read more here.

3| Today marks the official start of summer. I'll be celebrating with an ice cream cone.

4| I finished reading Ann Patchett's new book, State of Wonder. Run, don't walk, to your nearest bookstore or library and get it. It's excellent. It's been added to my top 10 favorite books.

5| I'm looking forward to having dinner with a couple of friends tonight. It's always fun to reconnect and enjoy a good meal. I had hoped we could eat on the patio, but the torrential downpour we're having today will probably get in the way.

6| I'm still experiencing some whiplash pain from the car accident I was in last week. It got better and now it's bad again. I really, really hope this doesn't turn chronic. I'm looking into exercises that might alleviate the pain.

7| I'd really like to see this exhibition at the Walker Art Center. I love that I live in a city that has such interesting things to see and do.

8| When I was in Archiver's this weekend I saw a beautiful new line of product called Authentique. I love the colors and patterns of all the lines. Great little alphas too. I'm a sucker for alphas. Their site isn't up yet, but you can see a few pictures here.

9| Ali posted about this site Dear Photograph. If you love photography, you should definitely check it out. It's a very cool site where people take a picture of a picture from the past in the present. My mind is spinning with ideas of what pictures I could use to do this.

10| Loving this quote:

Every great dream begins with a dreamer. 

Always remember you have within you the strength, the patience, 

and the passion to reach for the stars, to change the world.--Harriet Tubman

Fun News!

I have some very fun news to share with you on this fine Friday.

THE BACKSTORY| Back in January, I was named the 8 is Enough contest winner on the Ella Publishing blog. I was thrilled! Such a fun honor. Then a couple of months later, I got an email from Angie Lucas saying they were impressed with my work and she wondered if I'd be interested in creating a layout for one of their upcoming ebooks, Scrapbooking Your Single Years. Um, yes! Of course! (Imagine me jumping up and down in glee.)

BACK TO TODAY| The ebook comes out next week and I'm so excited. (More jumping up and down in glee.) I'm in the same book with many incredibly talented women whom I greatly admire. (I'm pinching myself in disbelief.) I'm also so thankful to Angie for giving me this opportunity. You can read more about what's in the book here. I hope you'll check it out. 

Be sure to come back next week. I'll have one to giveaway!

Have a most lovely weekend. I will definitely be celebrating!  

A Lovely Night

I realized I haven't shared this layout here on my blog yet. I entered it into an American Crafts Facebook Challenge. The challenge was to use the barcode strips on the bottom of their papers. They now have a pattern on one side of the barcode, so you don't have to waste any of the paper. What a great idea! I used three strips to create a base on my page, as well as a little pennant banner in the left corner.

JOURNALING| Sitting on the patio chatting about the yard and all the new flowers. Everything blooming. Snacking on cheese and crackers and sipping on wine. Preparing dinner with farmer's market finds. Talking genealogy. A colorful, tasty dessert with a hot cup of tea. An evening walk around the neighborhood. A truly lovely night. May 2011.

I'm very excited about a new line of product that American Crafts announced in partnership with Amy Tan, whose work I love. I can't wait to get my hands on it later this summer/fall! You can check out a sneak peek here.

Home

I'm home from a few days watching my niece and nephew while my brother and sister-in-law had a long weekend getaway. There was lots of reading on the porch in the morning sun, my nephew teaching me Origami, playing with Pretty Ponies, walks around the block keeping track of how many and what kind of birds we saw, playing tag at the park, picnic lunches in the backyard and running from one activity to the next. Summer has arrived and I'm very glad. Unfortunately, there was also cleaning up some throw up and a car accident on the way to the airport. Thankfully, my nephew recovered quickly. I've been icing my neck and back and popping the Advil (for whiplash) and will probably have to visit a doctor for something stronger. No fun.

It's good to be home. My to do list has grown. Looking at it is making me hyperventilate a little bit. I'm taking a few deep, cleansing breaths and will tackle each item one by one.

I miss the little ones. Already looking forward to seeing them in a couple months.

Have a wonderful Wednesday.

Glimpse

On the grocery list|Blueberries. Obsessed with them lately. 
On the TV|Nothing. Not watching much these days. 
On the nightstand| State of Wonder, by Ann Patchett. I'm devouring it. Love her writing. 
On the scrap table| May's overview page. 
On the movie list| Larry Crowne. Oh, how I love Tom Hanks and Julia Roberts. 
On the dinner plate| Boca burger stacked with red onion and leafy greens and some fried potatoes.