Meet Our Design Team Week - Say Hello to Rebecca Keppel!

In a former life I was a corporate attorney living in San Francisco. After my daughter was born, my husband and I decided to move our little family to Arizona. We are still adjusting to the extreme heat, but overall we love the family atmosphere here. In 2007 our little guy was born. They are now 5 and 1/2 and almost 4. I have been a stay at home mom for the last 5 and a half years. I started scrapbooking about the same time our daughter was born. What started as a way to create a baby album for my daughter turned into much more.

Although I have been "journaling" and taking tons of pictures my whole life, it wasn't until I saw scrapbooking as whole that everything clicked for me and the obsession began! Besides recording memories and playing with fun product, I love to learn new techniques and learn more about photography. My favorite way to add texture and dimension to my projects is by sewing (either hand or machine) because I love the homemade, unique touch it adds. Besides making layouts, I love cardmaking and making gifts for family and friends.

Thanks to Elle for letting me be a part of this amazing team and giving me a chance to showcase Elle's Studio's fabulous designs.

You can also visit Rebecca's blog, here.
What is your favorite color combo? I honestly don't think I have a favorite color combo. I think one of the fun things about scrapbooking is playing with colors that you don't interact with in your daily life. For example, I NEVER wear yellow, but I love scrapbooking with it because it is such a happy, hopeful color.

What are your go-to and must have scrapbooking products? Journaling cards--seriously, I like to hand write but I need a space to corral my handwriting so I use journaling cards on 90% of my layouts. I also use Thickers on EVERYTHING. And bakers twine and buttons.
Why did you start scrapbooking and how did you get started? Before we moved from San Francisco to the suburbs of Phoenix a friend told me that once you move out of the city you are required to scrapbook. She was kidding of course, but between moving to a place where we had neither family nor friends and becoming a stay at home mom after working 60+ hours a week I needed some type of outlet. I started with an album of my daughter's first year and went from the big box craft stores to finding several local scrapbook stores and finally to discovering the online scrapbooking community.

Who or what inspires you? I use Google Reader to follow tons of blogs from photographers, home decorators, manufacturers and other scrapbookers.

What is your favorite thing about scrapbooking? Definitely the creative outlet and the mind body connection. I love the connection between photography, writing, design and creating with my hands. Something about all those things together just makes me happy :)

Elle's Studio supplies used: XOXO Journaling Tag Stamp, Lovely Vintage Valentine Circle Tags, Lovely Vintage Valentine Journaling Tags, and Valentine Mix & Match Numbers.

Where do you scrapbook? I've moved my space around our house several times. Right now we have made the 4th bedroom into an office/scrapbook space/kids crafting/kids homework area and I love it. It is a space we can all share and enjoy and spend time together without having the T.V. on!

What is your favorite thing to listen to or watch while creating? With two kids 6 and under silence is pretty rare so when I am alone I generally like to hear NOTHING. But with my new space having my computer nearby I have listened to a CD on occasion. Lately I've been rediscovering Deee Lite's World Clique --so much fun and always puts me in a good mood.

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Thank you for sharing with us today, Rebecca! It was so much fun to learn more about you, see your scrap space and beautiful canvas project!

Now for some extra fun! We put together some special packages that we are giving away during our special week! Just leave a comment below and you'll be entered to win! Winners will be announced on February 8th!

Don't forget: We are celebrating our Design Team members from January 31st - February 7th! Keep checking back to meet our other design team members, enter the giveaways and more! Also, all orders placed in our shop during our special week will receive a free gift!

New digital/hybrid mini-album available just in time for Valentine's Day!

We are really excited to announce that we have just launched a new mini album project in our digital shop! We've designed this project to be very versatile. You can either print the pdf and photos separate OR work with the png/psd files we've included, putting the album together on the computer, then printing out your final product!

Here's what it would look like if you decided to just print the pdf file as is:
Then, simply cut out all your elements, along with your photos:
And piece it together! Feel free to grab some extra embellishments from your stash! We designed this album with basic colors so a lot of your items from your stash should coordinate perfectly!

Here's a little peek inside my album I put together for my nephew's Valentine's Day present! I tried to keep the journaling as simple as possible so that soon he'll be able to understand what it says and, even though he's a boy, I think Valentine's Day is the PERFECT (and probably only) excuse to use pink ;)
So simple and fun! It took only a couple hours from start to finish to cut everything out and put it together.

This album, along with a ton of other fun things for Valentine's Day, are now available at our digital shop!

A Sweet Valentine Tree!

My mom made this super sweet Valentine tree and I had to share it with you! She bought the pink tree at Michael's (local craft store) "after Christmas" sale. It's the perfect pink color and even lights up!

Then she found these little felt hearts at Michael's - they have a sticky back.
She peeled the backing off two matching hearts, looped twine and laid in on one side, along with some extra glue.
Then, she laid the matching heart on top!
Perfect little ornaments for the tree! Here's a closer look:
She also made a matching garland to hang on her window! Love how cute and little it is!
And, if all of this isn't cute enough, the tree has a matching tree skirt that she made! Eeeek!!
How amazing is that?! So much fun! I don't know what she'll do when Valentine's Day is over... maybe an Easter tree?!

Thanks for stopping by! Hope everyone has a fun and crafty weekend!
xo, Elle

p.s. Guess what?! This is our 600th post! Woohoooo!!

Customize your Birthday Banner!

Quick note: We've been getting a ton of emails this morning regarding how to customize the Birthday Banner with your child's name and I wanted to let you know that it's possible! Wooohooo!!!
You'll want to use our Banner Letter Kits that are available in coordinating colors: Dark pink, light pink and brown. Just print out the letters you need, in the colors your want. Then go back to your Birthday Banner Kit and print extra papers to put them on!

And, we also have the Birthday Banner and Bags for boys, too! Along with coordinating letters in brown and blue.

So fun everyone is enjoying these banner projects! I'll be making Valentine banner along with a new special project this weekend :) Can't wait!
xo, Elle

One Buck Wednesday at JessicaSprague.com

It's Wednesday so that means that it's One Buck Wednesday at JessicaSprague.com and we have two items up for $1 today only!

Here's a peek at what's $1 today: Our Birthday Goodie Bags! It's a printable pdf file, print as many as you need in the designs you want! Cut, fold and glue to create cute goodie bags. Perfect for party treats!

Second $1 item is our Happy Birthday banner that coordinates with our goodie bags! This is also a printable pdf file. Mix and match the color or letters with papers and add some candles, too!

We also have two new releases that came out on Monday!
Our XOXO Valentines are perfect for the kids to take to school and hand out to their friends!

And, our XOXO Valentine Papers (a retired design from last year, plus a few new bonus papers) are perfect for your love themed layouts!

Next week we have a super fun Valentine themed mini book coming out that is super easy to put together and makes a perfect gift for that special someone :) Can't wait!

Thanks for stopping by!
xo, Elle

"Meet our Design Team" week!

Mark your calendars for eight days of wonderful inspiration, fun q&a's, peeks inside amazing scraprooms and giveaways, too! We are going to have a blast as we get to know each member of our Design Team while they inspire us with projects for Valentine's day - I can't wait! And, it all starts next Monday :)

January Inspiration Galleries are LIVE!

We are so, SO excited! The January Inspiration Gallery is LIVE!! The ladies have a ton of inspiration for you using a lot of our newest products, plus some of the older ones. It's an incredible mix! Here's a little peek:

By Mindy:
By Melissa:
By Mandie:
By Lisa:
By Jennifer:
By Gail:
By Rebecca:

By Lori:Check out the complete galleries and see even more amazing projects at the Inspiration Gallery!
Thanks so much, ladies, for making such amazing projects!!

Inspiration Gallery Sneak Peek!

We are so excited for the Inspiration Gallery launch tomorrow, that we had to show you a little sneak peek today! The creations our design team has made with the new items are AMAZING!!

Make sure you check back tomorrow to see the full reveal!
xo, Elle

Scrapbook Etc. Feature of our Valentine Bags!

We are so excited and thankful to be featured in Scrapbook Etc.'s latest magazine! When they emailed me for more info on our Valentine Treat Bags, I had no idea how big of a feature it would be... so when I opened the magazine and saw this:
Well... I just about died! Thanks sooo much, Scrapbook Etc! Words cannot express how grateful and excited we feel!

The Valentine Treat Bags they featured are available as a digital download. Just download the pdf, print, cut and adhere to create fun bags to hold special treats! You can also scale the pdf file, before printing, to create different sized bags. And, since it's a pdf file, you can print out as many as you need!

We also have a banner and lollipop tags available as a digital download/hybrid project!

Free Valentine Tag + Recipe Card Download!

Just in case you missed this free download we did last year - we wanted to highlight it today! It's the perfect way to spice up a sweet treat for someone special on Valentine's Day!
Just download the free pdf below, and print out as many as you need! You can even include the recipe, of your sweet treats, to add an extra special homemade touch to your gift!
Use a fancy corner punch on the corner of the tag to add some extra flair!
Just click here to download the pdf file. Please click "Save" when prompted.
You must have Adobe Reader to open this file, if you do not have Adobe Reader, you can download it for free, here. If you are having problems downloading or opening, please make sure you have the latest updates for Adobe Reader.

Valentine Photo Holder!

I stopped by my mom and dad's last night and noticed she had put up her Valentine Photo Holder and added some of our new papers and tags to the photos! I told her I had to put it on the blog because it was such a great idea!
She used our Vintage Valentine Tiny Tags, and two of our Owl Love You Forever 8 x 8 papers: All My Heart and Lovely Hearts.

So fun! Thanks for the great idea, Mom!!
xo, Elle

p.s. the photos are of my little nephew! He's growing up so fast and is such a cutie pie!!

Thankful Thursday

Hello Thursday!! We did a Thankful Thursday post every Thursday in October and November and the other day I realized how much I missed them. So, I thought today we would revisit them! And, we'd love for you to join in! 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:

SNOW: We don't get a ton of it and when we do, it's almost like a holiday! Things shut down and people go home from work early. It's always fun to watch the snow fall while working on a craft project and drinking hot cocoa. Although the most recent snowfall barely lasted a day, it was beautiful!

NEW YEAR: I am so thankful for the new year. It's a fun start to new beginnings and new goals. A time to reflect on the year that has past and look forward to the year that is ahead. I'm so excited for 2011.

SCARVES: I love having something wrapped around my neck with the chill in the air. Plus, it's almost like having a blanket with you all day :)