be AUDacious

what's going on: the weekend

If you haven't picked up the Softly Collaboration that I put together with the fabulously talented Robyn Meierotto, today is your last day to get it for 25% off. 

Robyn and I will be chatting at 2 pm CST in the DHD chat room, so make sure you stop by to visit. I'll be offering up a new set of paper-piecing templates for free to anyone who attends the chat; if you can't make it, you'll be able to purchase the templates in my shop on Thursday.

As this weekend's Featured Designer, I've got a number of great deals in my shop: 18 to be exact! That's right -- I've marked down 18 kits to just $1.00, plus I'm offering this template for free. All of my $1.00 kits are perfect for both your Project Life and your Take 12 projects. Here's a glimpse at the 2012 Digital Kit and Templates in use for my March 2012 layout:

Speaking of the Take12 project, Ella Publishing Co. has some GREAT deals going on right now, including a Lucky 3-Day Sale on selected items. But you've got to act fast if you want to take advantage of them.

 Also, if you haven't picked up your copy of the Stamping Secrets e-book, I've got a special code you can use to save 15% through March 31. Enter the code SECRETSTAMPER at checkout.

And lastly, you can save $5.00 on the cost of registration for Spring Training 2012 -- this is one event you won't want to miss!

 

and the giveaway goes to:

It's great to see how many of you are interested in Ella Publishing Co's newest e-book, Stamping Secrets. The best part? There will be many more opportunities to win this month, since each Ella Friend will be hosting a blog giveaway for a free copy during March. So if you didn't win this time around, keep your eyes peeled for another chance, coming soon. In the meantime, you can always head over to the shop and buy a copy for yourself (and if you win one of the giveaways, then Ella will just refund your purchase price -- it's a great deal any way you look at it!)

MaryBeth, email me at audneal at gmail dot com and I'll get your redemption code to you right away! Thanks again for everyone who entered!

new release: Tribal

Visit this post to find out more details about how to win Ella Publishing's newest release! Deadline is Friday at midnight CST.

I'm kicking off March with two new releases in my shop at Design House Digital: Tribal Papers and Tribal Elements. I love the geometric patterns, the kraft background, and the gold foil accents. I hope you will too. Both releases are 30% off today only, so stop by and pick them up. 

I want to remind you that you can follow me on Twitter -- just click on the Twitter badge to the right. You can also LIKE my Facebook page for Audacious Designs. I'd love it if you'd share any layouts you've made using my designs on my FB page. Who knows? You might win a gift certificate to my DHD shop.

stamping secrets: new ella e-book giveaway!

Stamping Secrets: 7 Sensational Stamp Sets Used 21 Ways

By stamping experts Nichol Magouirk, Ashley Cannon Newell, Lea Lawson, Nancy Burke, Robyn Werlich, Shari Carroll, and Shemaine Smith

Ready to make the most of your favorite stamps, and learn new tips and tricks along the way? 

In 28 packed pages, you'll enjoy 21 gorgeous projects, 35 expert stamping tips, 6 step-by-step written tutorials, and 20 minutes of exclusive video instruction—all for just $10.99.

We hand-picked seven sensational stampers and invited each of them to:

• choose a favorite stamp set from a favorite stamp company
• create three versatile projects using that set (scrapbook layouts, cards, and more)
• share their expert stamping tips, tricks, and tutorials with you!

With stamps from Stampin' Up!, Hero Arts, Technique Tuesday, PaperTrey Ink, Lawn Fawn, BasicGrey, and Unity, this eBook truly offers the best of the best. No matter your skill level, Stamping Secrets will put you on the path to stamping success!

LEAP DAY SPECIAL AND E-BOOK GIVEAWAY

For today only (Leap Day), you can purchase Stamping Secrets at a special introductory price of just $7.80 -- that's 29% off the regular price. Beginning tomorrow, you'll be able to grab it for $8.79 -- 20% off -- until March 7th, when it reverts back to the regular price of $10.99.

Even better, I have a copy that I'm giving away to one random person. Just leave a comment on this blog post -- post about it on Facebook and Twitter for extra chances to win (just make sure you come back here and leave a comment with a link to your Tweet or FB status). I'll use random.org to draw a winner on Saturday. All comments must be recieved by midnight CST on Friday, March 2 to be eligible. 

(If you've already purchased a copy of the e-book, you can still enter the contest -- Ella Publishing Co. will just refund your purchase price.)

 

Celebrate Leap Year with these great sales!

To celebrate Leap Year, we're running an all-day sale at Design House Digital -- everything in the shop is 29% today only! In addition, today is the last day that you can grab our Daily Dollar Deals products. After today, everything reverts to its original price, so if you haven't grabbed these items, do it now!

 Ella Publishing Co. is having a Leap Day sale too, and they've got this great giveaway going on right now:

ONE lucky winner today (randomly drawn from the comments) will take home $150 worth of stamps, pictured here! All you have to do is leave a comment on the Ella blog telling us which of the pictured stamp sets is your favorite.

ONE additional lucky winner randomly drawn from the comments will receive the February SMAK Kit by Unity Stamp (value of $45). We'll ship free to winners with U.S. addresses. International winners will pay shipping. Deadline for comments is Wednesday, February 29. Winners announced March 1.

celebrating february

February is one of my favorite months at Design House Digital, because that's when we have our Daily Dollar Deals: every day, several brand new kits are released in the shop and for the entire month of February, they're only $1.00 each. Right now, I've got three Dollar Deal products available:

If you haven't grabbed any (or all) of these products yet, make sure you grab them before February is over, because once March blows in, they'll revert back to the original pricing! $1.00 is too good a deal to let pass you by!

Did you remember to take your 12 photos on February 12th for the Ella Publishing Co. Take 12 Scrapbook Challenge? I didn't focus on any particular theme this time around -- I just snapped what caught my eye. But when I sat down to upload the photos I'd taken to the Take 12 Flickr pool, I realized that almost every single one represented something that our family loves, in one way or another (heck, what woman doesn't love a photo of her husband vacuuming the floors, right?) How fitting for February!

If you're still looking for a way to scrap your Take 12 photos, I've got some products in my shop that make putting together coordinating pages really simple: the 2012 digital kit and the 2012 Photo Templates Vol.1 and Vol.2. Here's a look at the digital kit, as well as a peek at a new template (part of a set of 4) that will be releasing on Thursday.

I've been shooting all of my #Take12 photos with my iPhone 4s camera and then editing/sharing them in Instagram. I really LOVE the Lo-fi filter and use it on almost all of my photos.

DESIGN TIP: That sketchy/stampy black border is my favorite. It works great for scrapbooking these photos too, because you can easily erase the white edges, leaving you with just the stamped border, like I did in the layout above.

 

a new take on Take12

Are you gearing up for the February edition of Ella Publishing's Take 12 Scrapbooking Challenge? Your reminder email should arrive today (unless you haven't registered for it -- but it's not too late to do so!)

Challenge recap: It's simple. On the 12th of each month, take 12 photos during the course of your day. Use your fancy camera, your phone camera, whatever is handy. Hand your camera off to your husband, your daughter, your son, your best friend -- the more, the merrier! Of course, you aren't limited to just taking your photos on the 12th. If another day works for you, then go for it. Or use the concept as a way to summarize your entire month by pulling together 12 photos at the end of February. And don't worry if you are just getting started -- this is a project that is infinitely flexible! In fact, that flexibility is helped inspire my $Dollar Deal$ product at Design House Digital today.

These quickpages and templates use my Currently papers and elements and are perfect for layouts featuring 12 photos. The quickpages are simple to use -- just drop your photos in and print. Or you can add your own papers and elements to the template to truly personalize your layout just the way you want it. (Might I suggest using items from my 2012 product line: Lifeblocks, Photo Templates Vol 1, Photo Templates Vol 2, Digital Kit) Did I mention these templates/quickpages are just $1.00 through the whole month of February?

These quickpages and templates also offer you another way to make the Take 12 Scrapbooking Challenge work for you. I'm always looking for ways to get my family more involved in my memorykeeping process. My oldest daughter has discovered Instagram and has been participating in a PhotoADay Challenge through the site. (Can I just add that I LOVE seeing her pictures each time she uploads them?) Since she's always got her camera phone with her, I asked her to document a regular day for me; to help her out, I gave her a list of verbs to use to help provide her with some photo ideas -- things like "wearing," "eating," "craving," "listening to," etc. I combined her photos with one of my quickpages for a snapshot of Cass at 15 that I simply adore looking at. 

NOTE: This particular quickpage in the kit is an 8.5x11 page. I turned it into a 12x12 page by simply placing the quickpage on top of a 12x12 sheet of digital paper, which I personalized a bit more by digitally coloring the 1's and 5's to represent her age. 

Remember, if you're participating in the Take 12 scrapbooking challenge, we've got a Flickr group where you can upload your photos. We're also using the hashtag #Take12 on social media sites. Don't forget to stop by the blog and check in -- each month you'll have a chance to win some great prizes too!

Sunday night catch-up session

That feels like what I've been doing all day long -- playing catch-up on all the things that I meant to do at the end of this week but didn't. I was out of town on Thursday and Friday, and I spent all day Saturday helping my mom and aunt begin the process of cleaning out my grandparents' house, as well as organizing my sister's craft room/spare bedroom. 

There are several things from this weekend that I want to remind you of.

I have a sweet little FREE printable that I created for Ella Publishing Co.'s celebration of National Wear Red Day last week. If you didn't visit during Day 1, Day 2, or Day 3, you really missed out on some great projects. 

The printable uses items from my Jar of Hearts element and paper pack at Design House Digital. Shemaine Smith created some gorgeous hybrid tags and a card with these printables; take a look.

Speaking of DHD, February brings back our Daily Dollar Deals. Every day during the month of February, we'll put a couple of new kits in the shop for just $1.00 and they'll stay at this price the entire month!

I introduced my first Dollar Deal product on Saturday: a set of word arts that coordinate perfectly with my 2012 product line (Photo Templates vol 1, Photo Templates vol 2, Digital Kit). You can use these for digital projects or print them out to use them in your Project Life albums. 

Finally, I'd like to announce the winners of my giveaway featuring flair badges from Shelley Haganman's fantastic Etsy shop: 

Dawn M., Jennifer, Anna, and Sue -- congratulations! The four of you will each win a set of Shelley's cute badges to use on your crafting projects. Send your mailing address to me at audneal at gmail dot com and I'll get those in the mail to you by the end of this week.

 

new products: celebrating love, all year long

Don't forget about the {a flair for buttons} giveaway going on; get the details at the end of this post!

I've got three new products up in the shop today. First up is a paper pack with a matching element pack, featuring hand-drawn images and a sweet color scheme. Jar of Hearts is perfect for celebrating love, all year long.

Here's a sweet layout from Jen P featuring my newest designs. (Isn't her little girl just adorable?)

Here's another great inspiration layout from Mandi; love how she used the page borders (tags and ribbons)!

I'm also releasing a flexible new set of date tags that I absolutely LOVE. There are so many ways to dress these up: you can clip papers or photos to the clipping mask along the top (the black bar), you can back the cutout letters with patterned paper, you can fill in the black bar, you can fill the cutout letter with color, you can change the black outline to another color...you get the picture.

Just a reminder that February is National Heart Month, and Ella Publishing Co. is celebrating with three days of heartfelt stories and projects leading up to National Wear Red Day on Friday, February 3. Yesterday, the team shared layouts and stories of how heart disease has impacted their lives or the lives of loved ones. Today's layouts focus on moving forward to a heart-healthier future. My layout talks about the struggles I have when it comes to meeting my health goals, as well as my incentive for being more diligent. 

credits: papers (Today boy'ish papers by Karla Dudley at Design House Digital), numbers and forever brush (Today brushes by Karla Dudley at Design House Digital), tape, stitches, and tag (Right Now elements by Karla Dudley at Design House Digital), dotted alpha (Dotty Alphas by Karla Dudley at Design House Digital), acrylic number 4 (Numbers Essentials 2 by Karla Dudley at Design House Digital), font is Century Gothic

Causes, Contests, & a Cool Giveaway

February is National Heart Month, and Ella Publishing Co. is celebrating with three days of heartfelt stories and projects leading up to National Wear Red Day on Friday, February 3. For the rest of the week (today, Thursday, and Friday), the Ella blog will be featuring stories and projects from team members who have been affected by heart disease. I encourage you to visit the blog and read the incredible stories that Rachel and our other team members have shared. 

I was honored to be asked by Rachel to tell my story; as those of you who've known me for a while know, my dad died of a heart attack at age 44 almost 12 years ago. Each year, in May, I've commemorated this loss with a post here on the blog. Most of those posts end up on scrapbook layouts so that I can keep them, and Rachel's invitation gave me the opportunity to tell the story I posted on the 10-year anniversary of his death. 

To read my story, you can visit the original blog post; the journaling was pulled directly from here.

Credits: papers and elements: LoveLoveLove digital papers and elements by Robyn Meierotto (Design House Digital); frames: Pinned by Audrey Neal (Design House Digital); font: Olivetti Type2

This week, Design House Digital has a SUPER event for you… in celebration of the Super Bowl we have some fun and games of our own – scrappy style!  Here’s what is going on Sunday, January 29th – Monday, February 6th:

• 25% off Everything In the Shop

• Super Bowl-inspired Challenges

• Hosted Chats on Super Bowl Sunday (all times in MST):

Saturday, February 4th
12 PM – Jen Allyson
1 PM – Karen Funk
2 PM – Karla Dudley
3 PM – Shannon Hegarty
4 PM – Erica Coombs

Sunday, February 5th
12 PM – Robyn Meierotto
1 PM – Allison Waken
2 PM – Katherine Hansen
3 PM – Sarah Schmutz
4 PM – Gennifer Bursett

• The Super Gallery Bowl Prizes:

Play along all week long in our Super Bowl-inspired challenges, and you could win a $5 gift certificate to DHD. In addition, one Super Gallery Bowl Grand Prize Winner will receive Photoshop Elements 10! This winner will be chosen from all qualifying* layouts submitted to the Super Gallery Bowl challenges this week. That’s right… the more challenges you complete, the better your chances to win!

*Qualifying layouts must contain 100% DHD product and be inspired by the challenge. Upload layouts to the Super Gallery Bowl 2012 Gallery for entry in the grand prize drawing, and post a link to your layout in the individual challenge threads to be entered for the gift certificate prizes. Layouts must be submitted by 11:59PM MST on February 6th.

I couldn't resist the change to play along with a layout of my own. If you follow college basketball, you might have heard about a small western Kentucky school that's making big headlines: my alma mater (and current place of employment) Murray State University is currently the only undefeated D1 team in the country! That's right! It's an amazing time to be a Racer, that's for sure!

credits: circle tab, white papers, date strip (Jen Allyson, Up to Date Part 1, Design House Digital); gray paper, chevron paper, button, banner and brad (Gennifer Bursett, Up to Date Part 2, Design House Digital);  photo cluster template (Audrey Neal, 2012: Photo Templates Vol. 2, Design House Digital); alphabet -- recolored (Gennifer Bursett, Favorite Things 2, Design House Digital); paint splatters (Gennifer Bursett, Toolbox: Mists, Vol. 7, Design House Digital)

Shelley Haganman has an awesome Etsy store where she sells flair buttons, which are perfect for all kinds of scrapbooking and crafting projects. She's got so many great designs! 

I'm especially excited about her two recent additions, both of which use some elements from my Just My Type digital collection. Shelley was kind enough to send me a couple of sets for a fun little giveaway here on the blog.

I'm giving away 2 blue sets and 2 yellow sets, so that's 4 winners! Just leave a comment here on the blog to enter. For additional chances to win, tweet about the giveaway and post about it on your Facebook page. Just come back here with a link to your tweet and status update. The giveaway ends at midnight CST on Friday. I'll use random.org to select the winners on Saturday.