Leah's Desktop Dictionary

vBlog No. 25

In today's video, Johanna and I chat with a new friend, Rachel Kaufman. I met Rachel at the Craft and Hobby Association convention in January, and I was interested in her ideas for scrapbooking. When she told me that she was going to launch a new website in July, I invited her to drop by my scrapbook room and tell us all about it. Thanks for dropping by Rachel!

Bookmark This
Rachel's website Scrapbooking from the Inside Out looks like a fun place to hang out, make new friends and be inspired to create meaningful pages. Here's the link: scrapbookingfromtheinsideout.com.

Our best prize yet
Be sure to check out vBlog No. 24 for a chance at winning an Epson Picturemate!

vBlog No. 24

Hey, guess what? We're giving away a GREAT prize!! It was given to us by Epson (thanks Epson!). Johanna, Donna and I use Epson printers and we just love them. I'll let you watch the video to see the cool prize.

Bookmark This
Today's Bookmark This is epsoncreativezone.com. It's full of fun projects that you can download and they are all FREE! The projects are also easy to do. It's a great website!

To enter into the drawing
1. Download and create any project at epsoncreativezone.com - some take just minutes to complete.
2. Take a picture and post it online: on your blog, an online gallery, anywhere you like.
3. Post a link to your project under this video by July 31st. We can't wait to see your projects!

We'll randomly pick a winner in early August.

I've got to run now. I'm still swamped with work but I'll post again real soon.

vBlog No. 23

Here's a new video. Today, Donna, Johanna, and I talk about what we each bring to a crop. Sorry, I don't have time to write more in this post; I have a ton of work to get done. I'll try to write more next time. Until then, have a wonderful week. God bless!

P.S. The winner of Johanna's Recipe mini album kit in vBlog No. 22 is Suz Gray. Congrats Suz! Email me your address and we'll ship your kit right away.

vBlog No. 22

Today's video is about mini books. Mine is a simple little spiral notebook used for jotting down ideas and sketches. The mini book and handle are made by 7Gypsies. I'll put some of these in the shop soon.

Here's Johanna's clever datebook:

 

Here are Donna's cool mini books:

Win a prize
We love reading your comments! If you'd like to enter a random drawing to win Johanna's Recipe Potholder mini album kit, just leave a comment under this post by next Friday, June 13th. We'll draw a winner and ship that kit to anywhere in the world. 

LifetimeTV online videos
I wanted to tell you that my first video for LifetimeTV is up on mylifetime.com. It's the first of a series called "Crafted". The projects that I share on these videos are geared toward beginners, but the projects are fun, and I think even advanced scrapbookers will enjoy making these. There are 4 other Lifetime designers that have new videos with cool projects, so you might want to check it out.

It just so happens (purely coincidence) that my first video on Lifetime is about mini books. What I like about the mini books that I made for Lifetime is that they are constructed out of patterned cardstock - no binder rings, no wire, no ribbon, no staples are needed to construct the book. The mini books are quick and easy to make plus inexpesive because the book itself is just cardstock and adhesive. Cardstock mini books like these might make a nice school or Girlscout project.

You can find the written instructions for all 3 books here. There's also an opportunity to win the projects that I (and the other Lifetime designers) made. If you're interested, here's the page to check it out: Crafted Summer Sweepstakes.

Girlfriends Scrapbooking Weekend
in Las Vegas!
Grab your calendar and save these dates: Friday and Saturday, August 1st and 2nd. Johanna, Donna, Wendy and I will be holding a GFW in Las Vegas at Magestic Memories. We'll all have new projects to teach, including a "progressive" class where all 4 of us teach together - that will be fun! It will be similiar to our first GFW with goodie bags, tons of prizes, 6 classes, food, page contest plus two days of cropping and make-n-takes! If you're interested in coming, call (702) 256-1160 to reserve a spot. If you live in Southern California and are interested in carpooling to Vegas, just let us know.

Have a great day! God bless!

vBlog No. 21

Hi everyone! Johanna and Donna came over on Sunday, and while all our children played together, we did a little videotaping. In this week's video, we each talk about a few of our favorite tools. I hope you enjoy the video, we'll have another video up next week.

Here's the page that I showed in the video. The white border on the left of the page was punched using the Stampin' Up border punch. This page was made awhile ago for On Assignment (Scrapbooks etc. Feb '08).

What I've been up to
A couple weeks ago, I was a guest designer for Kits & Pieces, a scrapbook kit club and online store. They sent me their May "Happy Days" kit (thanks Rosy!) and I made the page and items below using that kit.

There was a lot of product in the kit; I figure I used less than half so far. The mini bag and the little spiral notebook with the handle are not part of the kit, but I covered them with the papers and embellishments that came in the kit. I'll show you how to make the little notebook in another video and I may put a couple of them in the shop too.

I also have some fun news to share. About a month ago, I spent a few days with Bungalow 3 Productions and filmed 5 paper crafting webisodes for LifetimeTV. The series will be called "Crafted" and the first webisode will be online at mylifetime.com in June. 

Cool contest
Speaking of LifetimeTV, they have a great contest going on right now, and I think all of you should give it a try. The contest is Extreme Decorating for July 4th. The finalists win $500 and the grand prize winner gets $1000 plus an awesome gas grill (your husband will love that!). I really think scrapbookers could win it all so grab your scrapbook supplies and use your scrapbook know-how to create festive 4th of July decor. The deadline is June 15th.

My plans for the next few months
Thankfully, my Summer isn't too busy. I'm still doing work for Scrapbooks etc. and Making Memories plus I'm still doing my research which is going well.

I'm teaching a Rolodex class at Once upon a Time in Corona, CA on Saturday morning, May 31st. There might be some spots left so here's the phone number if you're interested in taking the class: (951) 372-8214. I'm not traveling anywhere in June (yay!) but I'm spending a few days in Chicago for CHA in July. After that, I'll spend a few days in Vegas for the Girfriends Weekend in early August, and I'm heading to Palm Harbor, Florida in September. If you're interested in the Girfriends Weekend or my class in Florida, let me know.

Okay, that's it for now. Take care!

vBlog No. 20

This week, Johanna shows us her recipe mini album, and we talk about the importance of scrapbooking our recipes and those handed down from past generations. I hope you enjoy the video. We'll be back with a new video in 2 weeks.

Thanks everyone for your comments and for sharing your off-the-page projects with us last week. We loved them and were so inspired by you! Everyone who left a comment was entered into a random drawing for a prize, and those who posted their projects had their names entered 4 times. It turns out the winner of last week's vBlog prize was someone who linked us a project. The winner is Jennalee and she posted this cute pencil project. Speaking of the word "cute", Donna and I said "cute" six times in the video, LOL! Jenna, please email me your address and I'll get your box of Prima, Three Bugs in a Rug, Autumn Leaves and American Crafts goodies in the mail.

Have a great week, everyone!

vBlog No. 19

Hi everyone! Today's video is about scrapbooking "off the page". Johanna, Donna and I used ribbon, brads, flowers, and other scrapbook supplies to decorate hats and flip flops. It's not a very instructional video; we're just having fun scrapbooking. Here are a few pictures of what we made.

Johanna's hard hat

Leah's flip flops

Donna's flip flops

Donna painted her planner after she left the corporate life.

We're giving away a prize
Post a comment under this video by next Friday, May 9th, and you're entered into a random drawing. The prize is: a bottle of Prima flowers, a Making Memories flocking and foil kit plus other fun scrapbook products from Three Bugs in a Rug, Autumn Leaves and American Crafts! If you post a link to an "off-the page" project that you made, your name is entered 4 times!

From the Heart
Donna has organized a charity event called "From the Heart" and it will be hosted at the Red Bee in Tustin, CA on Saturday, May 31st. It's going to be a wonderful event and lots of fun! I'll be there doing make-n-takes around 2:30 so I hope you can come to the event. For more info about the event, check out Donna's blog. I hope to see you there!

Fiskars TV
I have a new video at Fiskars TV where I show how to make this flip album and simple frames using acrylic signs. To drill the holes, I use the Fiskars craft drill which works like a charm. You can buy the acrylic signs at Staples and Office Depot. If you can't find them or if you want them pre-drilled, let me know, and I'll put a few in the shop.

I'm teaching a class in Corona, CA
On Saturday, May 31st, 10:30 a.m., I'll be teaching my address/birthday reminder Rolodex, and as part of the class, I'll also teach my paper roll frame. If you're interested in taking the class, it will be at Once upon a Time in Corona, CA. Here's the phone number: (951) 372-8214.

Enjoy the weekend! God bless! 

 

vBlog No. 18

Click on the video above first then click on the video below for the second part

Donna, Johanna and I decided to create All About Me pages, and in today's video, we share them with you. We had fun making ours and we encourage you to make at least one page all about you.

My page is mostly digital. I used a very user-friendly scrapbook software called Scrapbook Factory Deluxe so it took about 30 minutes to make the page - most of the time was spent thinking about and typing the journaling.

I loved Donna's and Johanna's pages. Donna's was made using product from Prima. Behind the frame she tucked in 3 journal tags.

Johanna used Around the Block and some fun quotes. In the video, both Johanna and Donna have some fun news to share regarding Prima and Around the Block.

Bookmark this
Today's scrapbook website that we recommend is bhgscrapbooksetc.com. They have videos, blogs, contests and lots of great ideas and inspiration. There's also a page at Scrapbooks etc. that features my column On Assignment. Here's the link to the On Assignment page.

Win this prize
This week, I'm hosting a Designer Challenge on the Scrapbooks etc. website. It's part of Scrap-a-faire. If you create a page using large patterned die-cut paper (details are on the Designer Challenge page), and post your page in the Designer Challenge Gallery by this Sunday night, April 27th, you are entered into a random drawing to win these beautiful papers and embellishments from Making Memories. Speaking of Making Memories, they have a brand new website, so check it out: makingmemories.com.

How about another prize?
I'm hosting a chat at Scrapbooks etc. this Saturday, April 26th at 11 a.m. CST. Please drop by if you can. I'll be giving away another great prize! I'll try to persuade Donna, Johanna, Wendy and others to come chat with us too. Here's the Scrap-a-faire chat schedule, click on my name and it should take you directly to the chat after you log in.

Have a great weekend, everyone!  God bless!