Browse Tag For

scrapbook class

Showing: 1 - 7 of 7 Articles

Scrapbook Event Review: “Play All Day” by Embellish IT! Inc.

In early February 2015, I attended a very fun scrapbooking event called “Play All Day” put on by Shelby at Embellish IT! Inc. I wanted to give you a review and share my day :)

BACKGROUND

I’ve shopped at Embellish It over the years for scrapbook supplies. They carry a lot of products from 2 of my favorite brands: Basic Grey and Simple Stories, and lots of others, too. But the best thing they have are packs of Bazzill cardstock with colors selected to match specific scrapbook product lines. It’s pretty dang cool, especially for Bazzill snob like myself :P

For instance, THIS pack of Bazill . . .

. . . coordinates with THIS line, Carta Bella “Hello Again”

So, I’m on the mailing list for Embellish It and have heard about their “Play All Day” events for years – always wanted to go. I decided to finally pull the trigger when I saw an event that was only 3 hours from me (yes, I live in the boonies; NOTHING is held close by) and it was close to my mom’s birthday. She’s also a scrapbooker so I thought it would be a fun way to celebrate.

Wait! Was this one of those “Oh, look what I got you (for me)!” type of gifts? Hmmm… Anyhoo, we signed up with an Early Bird coupon code that saved us $9 off the $79 price, made our hotel reservation with a special rate at the event hotel ($99 at a Sheraton), . . . and had to wait for several months, LOL. But, yes, the day finally did arrive!

THE PLAN

A few days prior to the event, we got an e-mail detailing the day:

*9am – midnight*
This will be a FUN day of scrapbooking & we will keep things low key.
* The event will officially end at 9pm BUT we have the room reserved until
midnight. Those who wish to continue scrapping are welcome to do so at *no
additional cost*

*The schedule for the day will be:*
*9am- Doors open *(i always try to open the door a little early but it is
all dependent on the hotel)
*11-1: Class #1 Layouts* – 2 double-page layouts
*1pm: Italian Buffet Lunch*
*3-5pm: Class #2 Cards* – 8 cards w/embellishments

I was excited about the layout class since scrappin’ is what I do (as opposed to project classes like banners, home dec, etc. that I’m not as interested in). I’m not a cardmaker so that was ‘meh’ but I figured I could make my mom’s birthday card, LOL!

THE BIG DAY

On the day of the event, I woke up at 4:45am (so excited! couldn’t sleep!), left the house at 6:30 in pouring rain, got there around 9:30am, got unloaded and unpacked, changed into dry clothes, and met my mom in the event room by 10:30. So I was bummed to miss out on that 1 1/2 to 2 hours of scrapping time before the first class but oh well. My mom had already met and been chatting with the nice ladies at our table for 4 and the ones at the next table, who were all friends.

Okay, I’m going to confess right now that I don’t have any photos to share of the day. I did have my phone aka my BFF. I guess I just felt awkward taking pics in that close of an environment with a roomful of people I didn’t know. Sorry! I’ll do such a good job of providing vivid descriptions with my words that you won’t miss the photos, LOL.

Back to the event . . .

CROP SPACE

It was basically a ballroom or huge conference room and it was pretty full. Regarding the tables, I don’t know the measurements but there was plenty of room to scrap for the day, complete the class layouts, etc. If I were at a retreat, I’d probably want a little more room but it was fine for Play All Day.

SHOPPING AT THE EVENT

At the front of the event room, there were tables with lots of collection kits, Bazzill packs (!), page kits, mini album kits, card kits, etc. I didn’t have time to shop before the first class began at 11:00 but was able to later. That was actually by design because I didn’t bring any paper to scrap with, knowing that Shelby would have plenty of paper for sale. I bought 2 collection kits and a Bazzill kit.

WHAT I PACKED

This was the lightest I’d traveled to a scrapbooking event in quite a while! Only 2 bags and here is what I brought:

– Tool kit in flat pack with adhesives, photo cleaning cloth, erasers, Undu, etc.

– Tool tote with pens, scissors, stapler, and other tools

– Photos, about 15 from 3 events. I had just printed them the morning of the event, of course, ha!

– Paper trimmer, my trusty old Cutterpede that I’ve had for years (that’s why she’s not that pretty but I love her!).

Things I always keep in my crop bag:
– Ott lite & extension cord
– Extra blade and cutting pad for Cutterpede

THE FOOD

The Italian buffet lunch was delish. Iced tea and coffee were provided throughout the event (although the hot coffee ran out and wasn’t replaced in the evening, when I really needed it, lol). We just ate snacks the rest of the time. I was there to scrap, baby!

SHOPPING NOT AT THE EVENT

I wrote a post about my little shopping adventure HERE.

CLASSES & PRODUCT

Remember how I said I was kinda’ ‘meh’ about doing the card class? Well, I lucked out. Majorly. It turned out that Shelby had just received new kits to do a Simple Stories “Life Documented” mini album or planner. So she offered us the option to do that instead of the card kit and most of us took her up on that. Duh. The value was crazy. The entire event cost $70 and that Simple Stories kit had probably $50 worth of product in it.

There was also the layout class and I enjoyed both of them. Shelby walked around the room, gave instructions and encouragement, but it was pretty relaxed. There were great instructions you could follow at your own pace, too. I’ve been to some classes that are so stressful that they’re not even fun but this wasn’t like that.

THE HOSTESS

Shelby is a dynamo. She had the loud voice needed to keep us rowdy scrappers in line (ha), was very upbeat and fun over the course of a long day, was organized, and what I loved most – very open and flexible. She asked several times what WE wanted to do (when to eat, the room temp, okay to substitute the planner project for the cards, etc.). I also chatted with her one-on-one and found her lovely. We had some “mom talk” and it was nice. Speaking of which, she had the cutest helper EVER, her little blondie cutie pie son. What a great sport he was!

SUMMARY

I’d give it 10/10 stars. I can’t think of anything that went wrong or that I didn’t like. I mean it was over a month ago and I’m old so there’s a possibility I forgot something but, no, I don’t think so. I’m not THAT old! If you get the chance to attend a Play All Day event, I recommend it!

ETA 04-12-15: Miss Shelby stopped by to say hi. Check out the Comments!

Online Scrapbook Classes: True Scrap 6 Individual Classes On Sale Again

In case you missed THE FIRST ROUND, Lain Ehmann has put her popular “True Scrap 6” classes on sale again.

In short, the classes are $9.99 each on sale versus their regular price of $14.99, saving you 5 bucks per class. You can see all the classes available HERE.

From Lain:

Now through the end of January, you can save BIG on a huge
assortment of visual delights and inspiration from all NINE classes
from True Scrap 6.

If you aren’t sure what to start with, may I suggest these classes, for
only $9.99 each:

“Layering: Punch It, Roll It, Make It Yours” from Tracy Banks. The
inimitable Mercy Tiara, as she’s known to her legions of fans,
breaks down the layering process using die-cut and punched shapes.
Not only will she teach you the basics of creating lovely layers,
she’ll also have you breaking out those scores of punches and dies
you’ve been squirreling away!

“Saw This, Made That” from Kelli Crowe. Need someone to help
justify your Pinterest addiction? Kelli’s your gal! In this class,
she shares how she turns her tens of thousands (yeah, you read that
right) of pins into usable inspiration for her crafting.

“Capture Your Celebrations: Photographing Food, Family, and Fun”
from Katrina Kennedy. True Scrap mainstay KK is back with the
perfect photography class to aid your holiday photo-taking. In
easy-to-understand language, she’ll teach you the skills you need
to capture your holiday festivities.

Don’t forget to check out the other classes from instructors like
Noell Hyman, Donna Salazar, Nichol Magouirk, Layle Koncar, and more!

The sale goes through 01-31-15 but go shop right now before you forget :)

I haven’t been able to take any of the True Scrap classes this time around but I would always recommend anything by Layle Koncar. She’s with SIMPLE STORIES and her POCKET SCRAPPING 101 was my favorite class from another True Scrap I attended. I got to meet her at CHA last year and she’s SUPER nice and funny (in class, too!). You know me, I like a little humor mixed in with my scrapbooking, hollah!

You can check out the $9.99 classes HERE!

PS: I just got back from a 4-day scrapbooking retreat and will tell you about it in an upcoming post!

Online Scrapbook Classes: Another Scrapbooker is Coming to “CreativeLive” . . . Woot!

I have a confession: I’m addicted to the free online courses at “CreativeLive.com.” There, I said it. As a business owner + creative type, it’s like they made the place just for me.

The addiction began when I found the PROJECT LIFE course by one of my fave scrappers, BECKY HIGGINS. {I blogged about it HERE, HERE, and HERE}.

Since then, I’ve ‘taken’ about 5 other courses and frequently check their upcoming schedule to see what looks interesting. I’d heard from LAIN EHMANN, another of my fave scrapbookers, that she was in talks with CreativeLive . . . and I’ve been waiting patiently to see if she posted more about that. She hasn’t, unless I missed it.

But what should I see today on CreativeLive but THIS!!

Scrapbooking is a powerful way to preserve memories, but the process can often feel like a time-consuming chore, rather than a chance to tell your unique story. If you’re unsure where to start or held back by your inner perfectionist, this two-day course will teach you everything you need to know about creating scrapbooks that fully, creatively document your authentic life.

Scrapbooking expert Lain Ehmann will help you understand how to focus on storytelling rather than perfection when you scrapbook. Lain will cover ways to discover your own motivations for memory-keeping and match those motivations with the scrapbooking process that works for you. You’ll learn about creating beautiful, meaningful layouts that you and your family will cherish. Lain will also cover alternative methods of scrapbooking — from working with pre-made kits to preserving memories digitally and much more. By the end of this class, you’ll love your layouts – and your memories – more.

If you’re not familiar with Lain Ehmann yet, she does lots of cool online scrapbooking events, chats, and classes.

The next thing coming up is TRUE STAMP 2014. I’m not a stamper so I haven’t signed up for it but I’ve done MANY of her other classes and events like TRUE SCRAP 4, TRUE SCRAP 5, TRUE SCRAP POCKET PAGES, and 2 or 3 of her LOAD events (that stands for Layout A Day; it’s like a monthly challenge to get you scrappin’ with support of a big group). I’ve blogged about LOAD a bunch HERE because I love them so :)

Anyhow, just wanted to let you know that Lain is coming to CreativeLive and you should RSVP now so you can watch it and participate in the chat for FREE! Once they do their original events, they’re replayed a few times – then you have to pay to access them. Hope to see you there!

And I wanted to say a huge CONGRATULATIONS to both Becky and Lain. In addition to being simple scrappers, gorgeous, and SO nice, they’re both businesswomen I look up to. Getting booked on CreativeLive is a wonderful step for their businesses. I admire the guts it takes to stand up there and talk about our hobby for 2-3 full days. It’s just awesome!

PS: Are you brave, too? Why don’t you try and get into Lain’s live studio audience? Oh, how I wish I could (dang work!). HERE is where you sign up. PLEASE let me know if you get in!

Online Scrapbook Class: The MEGA Kind! TRUE SCRAP 5

I’ve never been a huge fan of Autumn. The green that I love turns orange and red, the kids are gone all day at school {yes, for me that’s a downside, lol}, and the weather turns chilly. I’ve always been more of a Spring and Summer girl.

But lately October has become one of my favorite months of the year. Wanna’ know why? ‘Cuz it’s TRUE SCRAP time in the hizzy, fer shizzle!!!

And October 11-12, 2013 is time for TRUE SCRAP 5. {If you’re signing up right away, make sure to use the discount code at the end of this article!}

Have you attended a True Scrap event yet? I’ve done 2 and if YOU haven’t … well, Sis, you are missing out. What is True Scrap 5? Here’s a description from the organizer herself, Lain Ehmann:

True Scrap is the galaxy’s ONLY online, live virtual paper crafting event. With inspiration brought right to your desktop, there’s no need to change out of your PJs because you’re logging on, right from home!

All your favorite people and things right in one place. Learn new skills while getting a new take on old favorites! And speaking of old favorites… you’re going to notice many familiar True Scrap instructors as well as some newcomers. Old or new, they’re sure to inspire with a passion for crafting. Can’t wait for you to join us!

And here is what’s included:

Inspiration and Education from 15 A-list instructors…
Five virtual project make-and-takes…
Pre-Event PJ Party…
Virtual goodie bag…
All for one low price…
All from YOUR computer!

Now that your brain is tick-tick-ticking, thinking, wondering if this is something you should do, let me tell about the classes/instructors and your answer will certainly be YES.

BLADOW!

“Project Miscellany: Playing with Paints, Paper, Stamps, Stitches and More”
with STEPHANIE ACKERMAN

“You Can’t Do That… Or Can You? Playing with Photos”
with TRACY BANKS {aka the famous Mercy Tiara from Youtube}

“Greatest Hits: The Music of Your Life”
with MONICA BRADFORD {did you see the scrapbook Youtube for “Call Me, Maybe”? That’s Monica, lol}

“Double the Pleasure, Double the Fun: Creating Two-Page Layouts”
with JENNIFER GALLACHER {Two Peas Garden Girl}

“Memory-Keeping with Stamps, Dies, and Punches – Oh My!”
with BEV KRAMLICH GREY {from Technique Tuesday}

“From Your Phone to Your Wall: Using Instagram Photos for Canvas Art”
with STEPHANIE HAMEN {from My Craft Channel and Fiskars}

“Design Your Story with Bits and Pieces”
with NOELL HYMAN {aka host of scrapbooking podcast Paperclipping Roundtable}

“The Art of the Everyday: As Seen Through Your Camera Lens”
with KATRINA KENNEDY

“Pick a Card, Any Card: Using 3×4 and 4×6 Cards on Your Pages”
with LAYLE KONCAR {from my favorite company Simple Stories}

“Stamp It Up a Notch”
with NICHOL MAGOUIRK{Simples Stories “Life Documented” design team member}

“From Pixels to Paper and Back”
with TRACI REED and LAIN EHMANN

“Ribbons and Bows”
with WINDY ROBINSON

“Four Stencils, Four Ways”
with DORIS SANDER

“The Simple Things: A Creative Journal”
with HEIDI SWAPP {yes, I mean THAT Heidi Swapp!}

“Memory Minutes: Documenting Your Stories in Bite-Sized Chunks”
with TAMMY TUTEROW

Man, that took a long time to look up 15 blogs, copy/paste their links, and share their photos. Phew! You guys owe me big time.

Anyhow … Registration for this one-of-a-kind event opened today: Tuesday, August 20, 2013.

And you’re going to love me because, if you send me bag of Starbucks medium roast coffee OR a signed photo of Patrick Dempsey, I’m going to give YOU a discount code for True Scrap 5!! Deal? Deal!

Just kiddin’ … no coffee or McDreamy bribery needed … I’m going to give it to you anyway. Here are the deets:

Regular registration is $197 but MY readers can use the code LUCKY50 to save $50 through 9/30/13

EXTRA BONUS: To encourage quick action, receive a complete set of replays from “True Scrap Young At Heart” valued at $97 – FREE to anyone who registers before 8/31! That’s 5 classes and 2 virtual make and takes, from instructors like former CK Hall-of-Famer CD MUCKOSKY, TRACI REED, and STEPHANIE ACKERMAN!

So there you go!

If you sign up by 09/30/13, use code LUCKY50 at checkout to save $50.
If you sign up by 08/31/13*, use code LUCKY50 at checkout to save $50 AND get “True Scrap Young at Heart” $97 class for free

*Psst! I would pick this one. Just sayin’ …

If you’re still undecided, check out all the class descriptions, the sponsor {aka Prize Patrol!}, the Pajama Party, and all the other fun stuff RIGHT HERE – True Scrap 5 Info!

Sorry for such a long post! If you’re still here, “Brava!” to you, my scrappy friend. I know it’s a chunk of change to spend (don’t forget to use my discount code!) but I’m telling you it’s worth it. If you have ANY questions about True Scrap 5, let me know and I’ll get ’em answered.

Toodles.

LOAD213: Layout a Day Starts Today!

Even though it’s only 10pm my time on 01-31-13, on the East Coast it’s past midnight. So the official start to my month-long adventure with LOAD has begun and I got my first prompt!

{If you’re wondering what LOAD is, please READ THIS}.

I’m not really sure how to blog about LOAD. It’s a paid class and I want the creator Lain to make a living. She puts a LOT of work into this. Today for instance we received an 8-minute video with a 3-page transcript and a very thought-provoking prompt. Not to mention all the other stuff that goes into LOAD.

So I don’t want to share the specific prompt, do I? {I don’t know that I’ll be sharing my layouts online anyway so that’s not a concern}. I’ll have to see how other LOAD’ers are handling blogging about the class content.

But I will say this: The first prompt is amazing! One that really makes you think, makes you take the first step out of that box you may be in. If it keeps up like this, I can tell ya’ I’m going to LOVE me some LOAD!

PS: You can still join LOAD yourself, ya know? RIGHT HERE. At this point, you won’t even have missed anything :)

Online Scrapbook Classes: “True Scrap 4” Classes Available for Individual Purchase as of 12-17-12!!

Back in October 2012, I talked about how excited I was to take part in my first live “True Scrap” online scrapbooking event.  I posted about HERE, HERE, and HERE.  And HERE is what started my love affair with True Scrap . . . an individual class I took from True Scrap 3 by Shimelle Laine called “The Perfect Collection” . . . still hands down the most useful scrapbook class I’ve ever taken.

… so I get a tad obsessive.  Jeez.  Didya’ notice the name of my blog by chance?

Anyway, that experience did not go as planned sadly.  I ended up having to be out of town that weekend.  I’d already registered for the event, of course, but figured at least I could watch the classes “live” from my iPhone while we were driving or I had down time on the trip.

Howevah!  That didn’t work either.  For whatever reason, I couldn’t watch on my iPhone either.  Shooks.  So I was out of luck.  When I got home from the trip, real life took over . . . as it has a tendency to do . . . and I kind of skimmed through some classes but didn’t really “take” them, iykwim.  I never wrote the class reviews I promised either (bad baaad blogger!!).

But with the fact that “TRUE SCRAP 4” individual classes are now – as of today 12/17/12 – available for individual purchase, it has spurred me to finally sit down and take the classes.  I’ll be providing reviews in the coming days to hopefully help you in deciding if you’d like to take any of the classes.

There is one reason to NOT wait for my reviews and just sign up already:  The regular price on these classes is $12.95, but from 12/17-12/25, purchasers can save $3 a class and only pay $9.95 per class!! Merry Christmas to you, am I right!?!

That is a great deal any way you slice it.  So sign up now.  Signs up later.  Whatevs.  Just sign up.

Here are some things to know about “TRUE SCRAP 4” individual classes

1.  They are a total of 1 hour long, including before and after chat sessions with Lain (True Scrap organizer) and the instructors.  Here are the 15 instructors, at least several that I’m sure you’ll recognize:

Julie Fei-Fan Balzer
Erin Bassett
Monica Bradford
Kelli Crowe
Laura Denison
Jennifer Gallacher
Nic Howard
Noell Hyman
Katrina Kennedy
Nichol Magouirk
Gretchen Schmidt
Katrina Simeck
Jessica Sprague
Heidi Swapp
Jennifer Wilson

2.  When you sign up through any of my links, you’ll receive a pretty quick e-mail straight from Lain with a link to your class(es).

3.  You have the option to just watch the class video, or to watch it as if you were there “live” with all of the before and after audio and the chat to accompany it.

4.  There is also a link to the chat transcript, and oftentimes a class handout (less note-taking, yee haw!) with links and other helpful things; this varies from class to class and not all classes have handouts.

So I’ve taken my first class and am off to finish writing my review of it – stay tuned!

Online Scrapbook Classes: Instructors for “True Scrap 4” Have Been Announced!

And I think you’re going to be as excited as I am. There’s a buncha’ good ones!

I just found about about the True Scrap events recently {do ya’ every feel like … “Well, where the heck have *I* been?!?!” That would be me}. I had already missed True Scrap 1 and 2 but was able to take some a la carte TS3 classes this summer and WOWZA. Very impressive. Very fun. Very cool.

HERE is my review of my favorite class which was presented by Shimelle Laine. At some time after the live True Scrap events are done, the individual classes become available for separate purchase. This is a great way to check them out and see if they’re for you … which they will be, I promise.

But now I want the interactive, 2-day, hundreds of scrappers converging online at once, entire amazing experience. I’m going to sign up for “True Scrap 4” and get the whole bomb diggity. Fo’ sho’.

And, yay, it’s getting closer!!! October 19-20, 2012. CLICK HERE TO SEE A QUICK FUN VIDEO ABOUT “TRUE SCRAP 4” !! You can also sign up there for advanced notices, discounts, etc.

Every True Scrap event has a theme and this time it’s super heroes. It’s so cute how she put little masks on all the instructors. And in a Full Circle Scrapbook Moment, it reminds me of the super fun Glitter Girl series that Shimelle does.

True Scrap 4: It’s already in my day planner. The work decks will be cleared and no other plans made. A little mini vacation, some “me time” if you will. {And you KNOW I will!}

As the True Scrap site says:

Not sure what this whole True Scrap thing is? Well, it’s the galaxy’s ONLY live, virtual scrapbooking event! Produced by yours truly, it encompasses two days and almost 20 hours of non-stop scrapbooking and paper crafting fun. Classes, make-and-takes, goodie bags, a PJ party… all from the comfort of your own home, all with 300 or so of your best scrappy buddies!

So check it out. The instructors looks great. I’m getting so excited and will be posting more about “TRUE SCRAP 4” so stay tuned!

Which of the instructors would you MOST love to take a class with (because they are all great)?

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...