Happy Halloween!

Wishing everyone a safe, candy-filled, and happy Halloween!

Coming November 1st...

I can hardly wait - coming November 1st is something fun, that we've never done before! Make sure you're signed up to receive our newsletter to be the first to know about it! Eeeeek! :)

Thankful Thursdays

Thursdays here already!! If you're new here, this is part of our Thankful Thursday series and we'd love for you to join in! Don't forget you can use the image above on your blog and post either your blog link to your thankful post, or what you're thankful for this week, in the comment section below!

I am thankful for:

BLANKETS: When one of our readers said she was thankful for blankets last week it made me realize how much I was, too! Especially with the colder temps and winter weather headed our way. Some of my blankets were made by special people and I wouldn't trade them in for the world! I love snuggling up with them and a cup of coffee!

THE PIONEER WOMEN: Yup, I am thankful for her! Along time ago, when I was little, I loved to cook. Somewhere along the way, I started to dread it and I'm not even sure why. Her blog has helped turn that dread into joy and now I love it again! She has such a simple way of doing things, the step-by-step photos are perfect and her humor keeps it interesting! Plus, EVERY recipe of hers, that I've made, turns out amazing!!

TRADITIONS: I am so thankful for the traditions our family has done over the years. As the holidays approach I've started thinking more and more about them. Making orange pomander balls with my grandma, Russian Tea with my mom, going for drives looking at Christmas lights with family and friends, Candlelight service at church - these are all the things that make the holidays so special to me and I am so thankful for them :)

Halloween recap!

We've had so much fun with Halloween over the years that we thought a fun little recap post would be perfect! Here's a look back from this year and last year at all the fun we've had with this holiday! This year, we just had digitals for Halloween - next year we will be back to printed tags!!
Halloween Mini Book by Kristin Hayne, using these digi/printable tags. Full instructions here.

Trick-or-Treat bag by Valerie Allen using this tag set. Click here to see the original blog post.

Cards, candy bar wrappers and more by Anna Jo. She used all our digitals to create this set. Click here for original blog post.

These fun boxes where made by Sheri for our Inspiration Gallery. She used this template to create these out of our digi papers and tags.
Halloween Pail by Emily Cheney - she used our Halloween papers and tags.

Yummy, yummy coconut cake! Original blog post here.
Spooky cupcake toppers - free download available here.

Witch hat's that hold little treats inside! Original blog post here, papers used are now available has digital downloads.

Fun banner by Jennifer Findlay using lots of our digitals. Original blog post here.

Halloween decor by Lisa Andrews, also using our digitals! Original blog post here.

Halloween Punched Tin Cans - original blog post here.

Trick-or-Treat banner that you can print out and create at home! Now available here.

Happy Halloween banner that you can print out and create at home! Now available here.

And, last but not least! Our Halloween Goodie Bags that can hold candy for your trick-or-treaters or even other stuff like popcorn! So much fun and super easy to make!

Design Team Call for January - June 2011!

It's already that time again! We are on the hunt for 8 people that love to scrapbook and that would like to work with our items for the first six months of 2011 (from January through June)!

You will be responsible for:
- 2 layouts and plus either one card, special tag or mini per month for our inspiration gallery
- Sending photos of your layouts, cards and tag to us by a certain date
- Participating in two of our new monthly blog tutorials/projects during your six month term (2 total)
- Each designer will be spotlighted during a special month! During your month we’ll need you to answer a short interview questionnaire and create a fun layout to go along with your spotlight
- Checking in and keeping up to date with our Google group
- Posting your creations on your blog and in other galleries around the web

You will receive:
- All your layouts, cards, tags and projects posted on our site and blog
- Tons of Elle’s Studio products to work with!
- A link on our blog to yours
- Ability to request items for projects you have in mind

To apply:
We have set up a special email account for collecting applications only. Please send the following to us in one email, to ellesstudio@gmail.com Applications are due by November 15th:
- Three images of three different layouts, cards or project(s) that best represent you and your style. Images must be no larger than 600 x 600 px.
- A short 300 word bio about you
- Link to your blog
- Link to any gallery you are currently posting to
- Include any current or past design team or publications
- Also, we are looking for some people that would like to incorporate our digital elements into their pages. If you are able to do this (download and print), please let us know when applying!

We will be announcing the Design Team members in late November! This team will be designing from January – June and then we’ll be putting another team together to finish off the year!

Please note: Overseas and international designers are welcomed to apply, too - Yes! We'd love to have people from all over the world design for us!

October Blog Challenge winner!

We had some great entries for our October Blog Challenge! Here are two banners below that were made with our Halloween Digitals! So fun!!

By Melanie:
By Eveline:
Thanks so much for playing along with us, ladies! We randomly drew Melanie as the winner! You've won a $25 gift certificate to our shop - please email us as soon as possible to claim your prize :)

Stay tuned for our November challenge - it's going to be a fun one!
xo, Elle

Halloween Punched Tin Cans!

I saw these punched cans that they did for a wedding and I thought how fun would it be to do something like this for Halloween? Well, I'm not going sugar coat it, it was hard! But, in the end, it turned out to have a cool look on our porch, so it might be worth it :) Probably easier to just carve the pumpkins, but if you're looking for a challenge and something different to do this year, then this is the craft for you!

Here's what you'll need:
Cans that have frozen water in them (fill all the way to the top and freeze overnight, the bottom will probably pop out, but you can just hammer it back in), hammer, a nail, a Sharpie, and spray paint.
Try to wipe some of the frozen frost on the outside away and draw your word or shape with the Sharpie.
Take the hammer and nail and start punching! Try to get the holes as close together as possible. It's super hard to punch on the bumpy surface and should probably only be done by an adult.
After they are punched, let the ice melt away and take them outside to paint. I painted the inside first, taping off the holes on the outside. Then I painted the outside, taping off the holes on the side. Warning: The holes will be SHARP!
And, here it is on the porch! Like my tricks or treats sign? I got clever this year and found some magic tricks at the dollar store! Some bags are filled with a magic trick for the "tricks" and some are filled with candy for the "treats"! Should be a fun surprise for the kids :) I used our hybrid Halloween bags!

Hope everyone has a fun and crafty weekend!
xo, Elle

Thankful Thursday

Thursdays here and there's so much to be thankful for! If you're new here, this is part of our Thankful Thursday series and we'd love for you to join in! Don't forget you can use the image above on your blog and post either your blog link to your thankful post, or what you're thankful for this week, in the comment section below!

I am thankful for:

TIME: Even though I'm still trying to find that "perfect" balance, I am so thankful for the time I get to spend between family, friends, creating and working.

OUR DESIGN TEAM: They are a source of constant inspiration and I'm so thankful for all the amazing projects and layouts they create. Every month they renew my inspiration and I feel so blessed by each one of them. The friendships I've gained with each one of them is also a huge bonus :) Love you!!

PUMPKIN PATCH: Visiting it this weekend was so much fun. I can't wait until next year when my nephew can walk around and pick one, or two, pumpkins out. And, the varieties they had were amazing - it's inspiring me grow my own next year :)

October's Inspiration Gallery is LIVE!

October's Inspiration Gallery is LIVE and it's pretty amazing!! Head over here to check it out, below is just a tiny sneak peek of what's in store:

By Valerie:By Sheri:
By Mel:
By Lisa:
By Jennifer:
By Ann-Marie
By Anne Jo:
By Amy:
There's LOTS more to see - don't miss it!! You can see the rest of the galleries here!

Inspiration Gallery Sneak Peek!

WOWOWOW! The upcoming Inspiration Gallery, that will be live tomorrow, is amazing and above is just a tiny sneak peek of all it's yummy-ness!!

The ladies have done it again and it all goes live tomorrow! Can't wait!!

Elle's Studio Holiday photo cards are here!

This design is available here

We are absolutely ecstatic to be able to offer photo cards for the holidays this year! This is something we've been wanting to do for a couple years now and our team up with JessicaSprague.com has made it possible!

The first two designs are for sale today for $1.99 each - more designs will be available soon! Also, with these cards, we've added a BONUS! There is an option to add on a Photographer License so any photographer can add their clients photos in, too!

This design is available here

We know it's a little early to be thinking about Christmas, but we couldn't resist! And, the best part is they are super easy to make - just add your family photo and name, then upload them to your favorite photo printing place! I tested a big batch at Walmart and when I picked them up I even received envelopes with them for no extra charge!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas :) and we are excited!!
xo, Elle

Halloween Coconut Layered Cake

Lately I've been obsessed with those amazing colored layered cakes that have been popping up on the internet! So, when our church was asking for people to donate cakes for the cake walk at our harvest festival I knew exactly what I wanted to make... but of course, it needed to be tested first :)

I wish I could be there when the family that wins the cake makes the first cut... at first glance you'd think it's just a normal cake with toasted coconut on top (I'm going through a MAJOR coconut faze).

But, after the first cut you realize there's a surprise inside!
Bright orange and brown layers! It's super simple to make - here's how I made it:

You'll need 1 box of yellow cake mix and 1 box of chocolate cake mix. For each mix you'll want to separate it into two 9 inch round cake pans and bake - so when you're done, you'll have four layers total. Before you bake the yellow cake mix, you'll need to add 2 oz of orange food coloring to it. Don't use the grocery store liquid kind, this will just water down your cake mix. You'll want to use the paste or gel kind you can get in the "professional" cake isle at the local craft store or online.

Once you have your 2 orange layers and 2 brown layers baked and cooled, you'll then want to slice off the tops of the cakes so you have even layers.

I then made the frosting you'll find here. BEST frosting ever!! For the frosting in-between the layers I added extra un-toasted coconut to the icing. This gave an amazing flavor and texture to the cake - although, it does make slicing the cake a little difficult!

After you have all the layers stacked, with frosting in-between each layer, you are ready to frost the entire cake! Add some extra toasted coconut to the top for decoration and chill it in the fridge a couple hours before serving.

And, just a warning, it's addicting!! Coconut fans, you'll go nuts of this one! Also, it's amazing what homemade frosting does to store bought cake mixes! You couldn't even tell the cake wasn't from scratch! Yummy!!! Maybe I'll be doing the churches cake walk, lol!

Thankful Thursday!

I had so much fun visiting everyone's blog last week and reading about what others are thankful for! Thank you all so much for participating in this project with me :) Can't wait to see what everyone's thankful for this week!

Don't forget to post what your thankful for on your blog (feel free to use the image above) and post the link in our comment section or you can just post what you're thankful for, directly in our comment section below :)

I am thankful for:

GOD: I feel beyond blessed to know that He is always there for me. That He has made a plan for me and knows more about myself than I do. I take comfort in knowing that I shouldn't have to worry or stress about things when He is in control. I'm so thankful for the life He has given me and the people He has surrounded me with.

BEING AN AUNT: I feel so thankful that I get to watch this little guy grow up. I'm so lucky that I live close to him and get to see him multiple times a week. Right now he's really starting to smile/giggle and doing a ton of "baby talk". It's absolutely adorable.

THE STRANGER WHO HELPED THE MAN ACROSS THE STREET: You are amazing. You got out of your car to help the elderly man who was frozen in fear, in the middle of a really busy intersection. You jumped out of your car and ran over to him, stopped the crazy drivers who where swerving around him and helped him to the other side. I wish more people where like you in this world :)

October blog challenge reminder!

Just wanted to remind everyone about our October blog challenge that challenges you to use our Halloween digitals! Check out all the details here.

Here's a quick peek at what our design team members made to inspire you!

By Anna Jo:
By Valerie:
Don't forget there's a $25 gift certificate prize and it's due by October 25th!

Where can you donate your scrapbook supplies?

The other day while I was cleaning my scrap room, I set aside a large Priority Mail flat rate box and filled it with supplies I knew I wouldn't be using anymore. There's no since keeping these items if there's someone else that can use them!

I'm sending these items, plus some Elle's Studio tags, to Camp To Belong. Our local news station featured this camp in the summer and it really touched me. This camp reunites siblings that have been placed in separate foster homes or other out-of-home care. During this special time, these kids get to see their sisters and brothers, some it's their first time for the year! They get to do all the things typical siblings get to do everyday together like eat breakfast together, share bedtime stories, eat meals, etc. They also get to celebrate their birthdays and other holidays together and during their time... they get to... put together scrapbooks! Scrapbooks that capture their time together and hold all their memories of that special week.

They have locations all over the US and even in Australia! It's an amazing organization and I was so excited to be able to donate scrapbook supplies to them, knowing how meaningful their scrapbooks they create there would be to them. I can't imagine!

They currently are in need of: scissors (regular and shaped), shaped punches, stickers and embellishments. The albums they work with are from Creating Memories and are 8 x 8 albums, with sleeves - so nice of them!! If you want to donate some supplies, you can either go to their website or contact Deb (Deb is Washington's Co-Director).

Designer Spotlight: Lisa Andrews

Hi, I'm Lisa Andrews and I have been married to my amazing husband for over 13 years and have 3 children ages 6, 8 and 10. When I'm not busy scrapbooking I enjoy going to the gym, browsing around Target, traveling, spending time with friends and baking brownies!

I started scrapbooking over 10 years ago. Like so many, I was inspired to start scrapbooking after the birth of our first daughter.

I own Scrapbook Circle, a monthly kit club, and really love getting to share my love of Scrapbooking with others.

Scrapbooking is such a wonderful way to celebrate life and I feel blessed to be able to preserve our family memories through this fantastic hobby!

What is your current favorite color combo?
Blue and Yellow

What is your favorite scrapbooking supply?
Patterned Paper. There are so many things that can be created out of paper. And of course, I have a love of journaling tags too!
Why do you scrapbook and how did you get started?
I started organizing my photos in scrapbooks when I was in college, but I did it with very little patterned paper or embellishments. Once my first daughter was born 10 years ago, I really got into scrapbooking and started collecting and using lots of paper and supplies.

I scrapbook for a couple of reasons. One is to preserve our family memories. I love it when my kids look through our albums and they remember good times that we have had together. I also scrapbook because I love the creative outlet and enjoy having quiet creative time.
Who inspires you?
So many different people inspire me in scrapbooking. I love looking at ideas on blogs, online galleries and in magazine.

What is your favorite thing about scrapbooking?
I love that I get to connect with so many people who I have met through this hobby. Knowing people who love the same thing I do is exciting.

Thank you so much for sharing with us today, Lisa! It was great getting to know more about you! You're project looks so fun and, that scrapbook room looks amazing! We feel so honored to have you as a member of our design team!