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Take 12: July 2012

It's that time of the month again (NO, not THAT time of the month!) Okay, okay, tacky jokes aside, what I mean is that it's the time of the month when I share my Take 12 layout with you. I think I've mentioned in previous Take 12 posts that this is the first time that I've followed through on a project like this. I know we haven't completed a full year yet, but we're past the halfway mark; normally, I would've fallen off the wagon by this point.

There are a number of key things that keep this project running smoothly for me that I want to share with you. I hope you'll share your own thoughts and observations about Take 12 in the comments below.

• Journaling is a key part of each layout. Sometimes, all those little life bits and pieces start to look the same. The 12th of one month looks an awful lot like the 12th of another month. Where I distinguish these months from one another is through the perspective on my journaling. If you look at my July layout, the photos look like they could've been taken in May or February or October, for the most part. But my journaling makes it clear that this little snapshots are all part of our summer routine. Which leads me to my next point...

• This project is as flexible as I want (or NEED) it to be. One month, I was so sick on the 12th, I never made it out of bed. So instead, I made a note about that in my journaling and proceeded to take 12 photos on the 14th of the month instead. My friend Celeste has modified Take12 to fit her needs; she documents the second Saturday of every month. This helps ensure that there's variety from month to month. 

• I'm not doing Project Life.While it seems like everyone else is doing PL, I opted not to, so Take 12 is how I'm capturing a slice of daily life each month. I do know that if I were participating in Project Life, Take 12 as I'm currently doing it might feel like overkill -- after all, those "slice of life" photos are a large part of what PL is all about. My solution? Instead of documenting bits and pieces of my day, I'd choose to use the Bonus Projects in the Take 12 Guided Inspiration Kit from Ella Publishing. (For example, in January, the theme was "collections," which resulted in this layout, one of my absolute favorites). 

• I'm using the same products for all of my layouts. That's such a key part of the project for me. Otherwise, I know what would happen. The photos would stay on my camera or my phone because I'd spend too much time trying to figure out what papers and embellishments to use each month. And this way, if I choose to print them all together in one album, the pages will coordinate. Sticking with the same products helps create a sense of cohesion to the entire project that I really like. Here's a look at the products I use from my shop. (Links are after the image.)

(from l-r: Photo Templates, Photo Templates Vol. 2, 2012: The Kit, Life Blocks, 2012: The Templates, 12 of 12 Template)

 Are you playing along with Take 12 each month? There's a Flickr group where you can upload your photos and share your layouts. You can also follow along on the Ella Publishing blog; link your layouts to the Take 12 posts and you could win some great scrapbooking products from the sponsors each month.

Take 12: June 2012

Don't forget about my CT call -- you can find out all the details in this post. Can't wait to hear from you!

Have I mentioned how much I love this Take Twelve project? It really is so easy to complete -- here we are in June, almost halfway through, and I haven't fallen behind or quit yet. The key for me is how flexible this project is -- it's easy to substitute a different day or to add in pictures later. Here's a look at June 2012.

1. Loading up the Durango for our trip to Lexington/Springfield/Harrodsburg.

2. Breakfast on the road from Hardee's.

3. Road construction on the West Kentucky Parkway -- a really typical sight during the summer months.

4. Rupp Arena to pick up Cass.

5. After months of studying, Cass competed in the State FFA Sheep Impromptu contest.

6. St. Catharine College for Academic team camp -- or "nerd camp," as Cass calls it. (That's her walking along the sidewalk on the left side.)

7. Where Cami and I stayed for the night -- Shaker Village at Pleasant Hill.

8. Our room.

9. Cami checking out the view from the window.

10. Historica downtown Harrodsburg.

11. 20 questions with Cami while eating supper at Pizza Hut.

12. Shooing the ducks and geese out of the way so we could take a quick sunset drive along the grounds before heading to our room for the night.

 

Did you participate in Take 12 this month? Link me up to your photos or layouts -- I'd love to see them!

Take Twelve with Ella Publishing!

It's time once again to Take Twelve with Ella Publishing Co. If you've been playing along from the beginning, this makes month #6, which means that this project is at the midway mark. If you're using Twitter, make sure to include the hashtag #Take12 so we can follow along with your daily photos. Also, don't forget to share your photos and your layouts with us on the Ella Publishing Co. blog and the Take Twelve Flickr Pool. 

Speaking of the Ella Publishing Co. blog, if you've stopped by lately you'll see that there are two great new products availabe in their store: Real.Life.Photography by Rebecca Cooper, which is an excellent resource for those of us who might've stalled when it comes to capturing everyday moments for our Take Twelve or Project Life albums. There's also the Simple Fixes Action Set, which makes it easy to rescue photos with typical problems (like under- or overexposure). 

Purchase Real.Life.Photography and the Simple Fixes Action Set in the same purchase and save 20% with code PHOTOFIX. And since both are currently only $9.99 each (introductory price! regularly $12.99 each), that means you'll save a total of $9 by purchasing them together now!

$ Deals and Take12

I've got a brand new kit on sale for just $1.00 today through Thursday in my shop at DHD; I LOVE this color scheme, and once I had a few items in place, the rest just came together easily. Love when that happens!

I finished my layout for my Take12 May photos. I'm really loving how this project is coming together -- I love that I can count on the girls and Chris to grab photos for me, particularly if the 12th is on a weekend, like it was this time around. Normally, our weekends mean that we are moving in opposite directions, one for each kid, so having four smartphones in the house means there's no shortage of pictures from multiple perspectives.

I'm sticking with my plan to use the templates and papers/embellishments from my 2012 line at DHD; I love the cohesiveness that it brings to the entire project. Here's a look at the first four months of the project, all together. Awesome, right?

Are you participating in Take Twelve? I'd love to see your layouts and pictures. You can load them up in our Flickr pool, and we've even got our own hashtag on Instagram and Twitter: it's #Take12, so join the conversation!

take 12: april

One of the things that I have learned about myself over the years is that I am very good about getting really excited about a project. I make lots of grand plans and get everything pulled together and jot down lists and buy supplies. I work feverishly on it for a month, two months, maybe even three.

And then real life starts creeping in. Travel for work. Conferences. Classes and grading papers and writing final exams. All-weekend soccer tournaments, multiple track meets. Laundry, dishes, yardwork. The girls get sick. I get sick. I get tired. I lose my motivation. 

While I'm really good in the initial idea and development stages, I'm not so good with the follow-through. I know this about myself, though, and I keep it in mind whenever I begin a project like Take 12. 

April ended up being one of those months. The 12th happened on a day when I was sick, followed by three days where I continued to be sick and both Chris (stomach bug) and Cami (strep) also got sick. (Cass took her turn earlier in the week). As a result, there wasn't a lot of documenting happening on the 12th. That's where the most important aspect of any project like this comes into play: FLEXIBILITY.

You have to be flexible. Because life happens, right? So you have to be willing to let go of some of the expectations and let go of perfection. You have to be willing to fudge it a bit. My 12 photos were actually taken over the course of four days, and I'M OKAY WITH THAT. I enjoy this project too much to let a minor bobble like this throw things off-track. After all, this (for me) is about documenting REAL LIFE. Here's a summary of my April Take 12:

Watering plants is something new for me. Before my grandparents passed away, I didn't own any houseplants. But now we have five (yes, FIVE! and they are all still ALIVE!). I've read that it's better to water in the mornings, so that's what I do.

This was Spring Break, which meant Cami got to watch a lot more TV than normal. (Plus, we were all sick, so there was a lot of lying-around-on-couches and watching crap TV with that as well). She loves our Roku because she can stream episode after episode after episode of cartoons like My Little Pony. I hate our Roku for the same reason.

Easy lunch -- frozen pizza. Make sure to cut out the BoxTops to send to Cami's school.

Planking: an internet sensation that's just now caught on in the Neal household.

I'm traveling to Mayfield every day right now, teaching a hybrid Blackboard course and doing some COMPASS/ACT prep with seniors. It's easiest just to pick up my car from Transportation at the beginning of the week and return it on Friday, rather than doing it daily.

Rat-snuggling. This happens frequently in our house. It is a strange thing, but Peanut Butter really does love to cuddle. He is most content sitting on the girls' chests or shoulders and grooming himself. 

The sun is up, which means I've got the blinds open, letting the daylight stream in and trying to banish some of the fug that a houseful of sickies creates.

Every day, I spend a couple of hours here -- reading and writing emails, blog posts, forum posts. Designing layouts, kits, advertisements. Grading papers, posting lessons, updating assignments. It's such a big part of everything that I do.

Working our way through a couple of Easter baskets. The chocolate bunnies have been de-eared. The Cadbury eggs are all gone. The Peeps are dwindling quickly.

Amoxycillan -- I am so proud of Cami for taking this nasty mess without fuss. She doesn't like it at all, but she doesn't fight us over it either. She knows that it is necessary. 

Strep throat looks like this. Grandmother quilt, couch pillows, and quiet time. She even took a couple of naps over the past few days -- she's feeling much better but even daily activities wear her out quicker.

Trying to keep up with the amount of bedding needing to be washed this weekend has almost worn our poor washer out. Trying to contain the germs from three different illnesses at the same time has worn me out as well. 

catching up with Ella Publishing

There's so much great stuff going on with Ella Publishing right now, so I wanted to share a quick catch-up post with you! About a month ago, Angie contacted me and wanted to know if I was interested in trying out a skin care line that had been in touch with them. I said sure, even though I normally don't have much of a skin care routine. But developing better habits centering on taking care of myself is one of the things I'm trying to work on, so this seemed like a great chance to get started.

Muvazi sent a trial run of products and I started working them into my developing skin-care routine. As I stated on Ella's blog, the products are easy-to-use and so far, they seem to be working. My skin is hydrated, my forehead frowning wrinkle is less conspicuous (I don't think it will ever disappear), and I'm well on my way to having an established skin care routine -- one step closer to taking better care of myself (and creating a good example for my girls on the importance of doing the same thing.)

Angie challenged us to create a layout about ourselves as part of the blog feature, which caused me all kinds of anxiety. I snapped a quick shot with my iPhone, and to be honest, it isn't that bad. I think I'm learning to be less critical of myself. It doesn't hurt that I have two daughters and a husband who constantly let me know that they think I'm beautiful and smart and funny and loved and all those other good things. I just have to continue to learn to believe those things about myself, too.

credits: template and kit from This Week collaboration by Karla Dudley and Tiffany Tillman at Design House Digital, alphabet from Karla Dudley's Digi Essentials 6 at Design House Digital

Muvazi is generously sponsoring some giveaways on the Ella blog, too: If you'd like to try the Muvazi line yourself, we have a KILLER deal for you. Use the codePAMPERYOURSELF to save $80 off the kit (includes cleanser, serum, moisturizer, and eye cream) AND get free shipping. It's priced at $149 and you get it for just $69. No kidding! And there's a 30-day money-back guarantee, too, so if it doesn't work for you, there's no risk. And come back tomorrow for your chance to win the kit for FREE!

Speaking of shaping up, have you registered for SPRING TRAINING yet? Right now is the perfect time to enroll in for this fun event. I mean, just look at the lineup: great coaches, informational videos, creative exercises, organizational tips, live chats, bonus downloads and tons of prizes -- and all designed to fit into your busy schedule! What are you waiting for? Sign up now!

Ella's newest e-book is out, and it's perfect for booklovers, craftlovers, and thriftstore-lovers alike! Book Crafting features layouts and projects you can complete by repurposing old books, as well as a ton of prompts just perfect for starting your own reading journal. 

Don't forget to #Take12 tomorrow -- join us as we take 12 photos on the 12th of April as part of our year-long series Take Twelve 2012! Just finding out about this great project? Here's everything you need to know!

Use coupon code TAKE12APR on Thursday, April 12 only, to save 12 percent on any TWO items*—including the Take Twelve Guided Inspiration Kit and the Take Twelve Templates. And here's a hint, it will work on Spring Training, too!

*One coupon per person. Cannot be combined with other coupon codes or gift certificates. Excludes gift certificates.

 

Ella Publishing's newest e-book: book crafting

Looking for fun things to do with old books? Look no further! Inspired by their Books & Crafts weekly web show, Angie Lucas and Wendy Smedley teamed up with three crafty contributors to bring you an eBook jam-packed with book crafting ideas—one of today's hottest trends.

You'll enjoy 38 brilliant crafts with old books (from pencil boxes and picture frames to canvas art and book journals), plus direct links to four Books & Crafts videos that explore four of the book craft ideas in depth.

On top of that, you'll also get 5 fabulous layout ideas about books and reading, plus 76 pages of List It! for Book Lovers printable journaling cards! The List It! section includes lists, quizzes, and reading log pages that you can print directly in either a scalloped or square shape, in either black or brown. And if you want to customize them further, your purchase includes the associated PNG files as well!

MY OPINION: There was so much great inspiration in this e-book. I am constantly finding great old books -- one of our favorite places, as I've mentioned before, is McKay's Used Books in Nashville. I'm always having to convince myself not to bring home more books since we already have more than we can store, but these projects have given me so many ideas. I really loved the variety of projects, particularly the vintage desk set (see below) and the repurposed notebooks.

I've been working on a reading journal for a while, and the List It! topics in this e-book are great prompts to include in my journal. (You can find my original post here, with a follow-up post here and a freebie to download here.) In fact, I used one of the prompts as a starting point for this layout, about one of the books that impacted my love for reading when I was in elementary school.

credits: April Foundations Template #8 by Crystal Livesay (Live Your Stories); Tell Me a Story collaboration kit (One Story Down)

Right now you can get Book Crafting for an introductory price of $10.99; if you love books and crafting, then this e-book offers you both at a great price!

w.c.s giveaway + spring training 2012

My friend Celeste contacted me a few weeks ago and asked if I'd be interested in doing a giveaway in conjunction with a project she was completing for the write.click.scrapbook blog. (If you aren't familiar with w.c.s., it's a great resource for scrappers and one of my favorite sites for inspiration and instruction). Of course, I said YES -- and I'm so glad I did. Celeste has put together an amazing mini-album that combines some great digital supplies with the February Studio Calico kit. Go leave a comment and you can win a set of my iCONIC Banners! 

This is just a reminder that if you haven't taken advantage of Ella's March coupon for their Stamping Secrets e-book, you are running out of time. Between now and 3/31, you can save 15% off the regular price by using the code SECRETSTAMPER at checkout. The book is a great deal, and the techniques inside are applicable not just to cards and scrapbook pages, but also for home decor. There are also plenty of great techniques that can be replicated using digital supplies. There are also four videos available as part of the e-book, which is a great way to learn a new technique for you hands-on learners.

Speaking of video instruction, you'll want to go ahead and sign up for Ella's Spring Training 2012 event while you are grabbing your copy of Stamping Secrets.  If you register between now and April 1, you'll save $5.00 off the full price of $44.99. This event is one you definitely don't want to miss -- it's FILLED with so much, including coaching videos, exercises, chats, challenges, giveaways and more!

 

 

upcoming: this weekend

Just a few announcements for the weekend, before I log off and finish out my Spring Break weekend as unplugged as I can get.

My Count Your Memories collab with Erica Coombs is 25% off through the weekend. We're also chatting at 4 pm CST on Sunday at the DHD Chat Room -- freebies will be involved. Come hang out for an hour or so!

Speaking of freebies, I've got a couple of card freebies for you on this blog post. Just click on the link and when the image opens up, right click and save it. It's just a .jpg file, so you can print straight from that image, no fancy programs required. 

Everything in my shop will be 25% off this weekend, so if you've been eyeballing something, now's a great chance to get it at a discounted price. I've got some free and $1.00 kits available as well: Tribal elements is free, and Orange Crush, Jar of Hearts Papers, and Small Talk Bubbles are all $1.00 through Sunday night.

One last thing: I've got a new article up on Ella Publishing's e-zine, Scrapbook Ellaments, about using your favorite TYPES of books for scrapbooking design inspiration. I guest posted there almost two years ago on a similar topic, so it was fun to revisit the idea of using books for inspiration. I hope you'll give it a read and let me know what you think. 

Now, I'm off to finish up some laundry and dishes, take the recycling to the drop-off center, and grade a handful of essays. I'm taking Cass to see The Hunger Games this weekend, and I've got two novels I'd like to finish before Spring Break is over. Have a great weekend, and I'll see you at the chat on Sunday!

THANKFUL THURSDAY

One of my favorite authors, Charles de Lint, has a running theme in novels about the concept of coincidence, and how coincidence really isn't coincidence but evidence of some greater power at work in the world. (I can't find the specific novel where he talks about this, or I'd provide you with a passage, because his words do the idea much more justice than mine do.)

I like this concept, though, and I love when I see examples of ideas and concepts converging in my own life. Like today. For the past few days, Ella Publishing has been promoting THANKFUL THURSDAY, an idea that I really love (I also love those gorgeous cards they've been showing!) And today, when I headed over to One Story Down, I see that the feature post is about Gratitude.

image via Paper & Glam

I have lots to be thankful for, but today I want to say a big thank you to all of you who read my blog and buy my digital designs and comment on my photos and layouts, who offer your friendship and kind words to me, even though we've never met in real life. I am so lucky to be able to do the things I love to do, and all of you are the main reason why this is possible. Life is good, y'all, life is good, and you are the ones who help make it so. So thank you. THANK YOU.

Here's a simple printable freebie for you. These are two 4x6 card fronts, designed using my Softly Part Two collab with Robyn Meierotto. All you have to do is click on "view this photo," and then right-click to save the image. Print to a sheet of white cardstock or photo paper, trim to size and adhere to a 4x6 card. Easy. So go ahead -- download and start a circle of gratitude by sending out a THANK YOU card to someone who deserves it today.

View this photo