Archive for the ‘Scrapbooking Classes’ Category

What’s the secret to becoming a better scrapbooker?  The latest new scrapbook tool?  Trendy papers and embellishments?  A dedicated craft room in your home?

The secret is scrapbooking more!  The more layouts you create, the better scrapbooker you will become.  Creating more pages brings creativity, organization and speed to your scrapbooking skills.

Challenge yourself to scrapbook more often and let go perfection.  Spend some time aiming for quantity not masterpieces.  Every page does not need to be a 2-hour work of art.  The goal is to document your memories and tell the stories of your life.

Take the challenge to create a Layout A Day in February.  Layout a Day (LOAD) 212 is an online class taught by Lain Ehmann.  This class provides 29 daily prompts and videos to inspire you to create a layout a day for 29 days.  LOAD 212′s theme is Past Perfect : Looking Back to Look Forward.  There will also be a private online message board and gallery.

To find out more about LOAD 212: Looking Back to Look Forward, listen to Lain’s LOAD 212 introduction video.

Here’s to getting more pages done!

Photoshop Elements is the software program I use to edit my photos before printing, organize my digital photos, and create digital scrapbooking layouts.  Elements is a lot easier to use than the full Photoshop program (and much less expensive), but it can still take some time to learn how to get the most from it.  For a few years, I’ve been taking classes at JessicaSprague.com and ReneePearson.com to learn photo editing and digital scrapbooking.  I highly recommend both sites.  I only recently learned about Kim Klassen’s online classes.

Kim Klassen teaches a free Photoshop Elements course called, the Photoshop Skinny-Mini ECourse.  This online class begins on January 9th, so if you’re interested, sign up today.  It’s a 10-part, self-paced mini course that will teach you some of the basics of Photoshop Elements.  Remember, if you don’t have PSE yet, you can download a 30-day trial from the Adobe site (Kim provides the link.)

Even if you aren’t interested in this ecourse, please do take a few minutes to visit Kim’s blog.  You won’t want to miss her photography.  Her photos are amazing and so inspiring!  I signed up for her Beyond Layers class just because I fell in love with her blog and think reading inspiring emails from her will be a wonderful way to start my mornings in 2012.

Image via Wikipedia

Simple Scrapper is offering a free ecourse to help you find more time for scrapbooking in 2012.  5 Truths of Time Management is a 2-day ecourse on January 5th and 6th.   This course will teach you how to:

• Rid yourself of scrapbooking stress and guilt
• Find balance when you’re overextended
• Scrapbook in smaller amounts of time
• Banish procrastination and overwhelm forever
• Know exactly where to start when you scrap

Sign up is free at Simple Scrapper!

How are you planning to scrapbook 2012?

I’m taking the Ella Publishing Challenge : Take Twelve.

For each month on the 12th of the month, I’m planning to take 12 photos and create a layout.  By the end of 2012, I’ll have 12 layouts in an album documenting 2012.

This is an easy project that anyone can do on their own, but Ella Publishing is offering a Take Twelve Inspiration Kit to guide and inspire you throughout 2012.

This kit includes five complete products in one!

You’ll get:
12 monthly photo checklists
12 bonus project ideas
12-month mini-album idea
12 layout sketches by Donna Jannuzzi
54 printable journaling lists + .png files
24 printable titles + .png files
24 printable calendar accents + .png files

You can also purchase Take Twelve Digital Templates if you want to make this a super easy project and create your layouts digitally.

If you’re interested in the Take Twelve Inspiration Kit or the Take Twelve Templates, purchase them before December 24th for only $12.12 each (after 12/24 the kit is $20.12).

So how will you scrapbook 2012?

Wow, another free online scrapbooking class!  Design House Digital is offering their School of Design on their blog.  Here are the details:

Every single day in September, we’ll have new blog posts; informative, detailed, and FREE classes that will take your digital scrapbooking to the next level. Each subject will have a new post weekly, and at the end of the month you won’t believe how much you’ve learned! Our schedule is as follows:

• Thursdays – Journaling From the Heart with Jen Papadimitriou
• Fridays - Photography Tips and Tricks with Lori Pickens
• Saturdays – You and Your Camera with Allison Waken & Shannon Dombkowski
• Sundays– Standout Shadows with Gennifer Bursett
• Mondays – Design Theory with Tiffany Tillman
• Tuesdays – Blogging Secrets with Mary Shaw
• Wednesdays – Maximizing Templates with Renee Fink

Click here to see all the blog posts so far.

So far, the first week has been fantastic!  I really enjoyed the post on Standout Shadows and Tiffany’s Maximizing Templates.  For some great tips on photography and using your camera, don’t miss Fridays and Saturdays.

Ella Publishing’s technical difficulties are good news for its customers!  Today the Ella site had shopping cart errors, and they’ve decided to not only extend the pre-registration deadline for Boot Camp 2011, but also offer their $10 gift certificates for $8 through 9/2 (hint: If you’ve been wanting to buy an Ella ebook, buy yourself a gift certificate and save!)

Here are the deals:

• You can still register for Boot Camp for $30 through 9/2. (Price goes up to $33 on 9/3.)
• All Digital Scrapbooking Month sale prices are good through 9/2.
• The coupon code 200CENTS actually doesn’t expire until 9/9/11, and it can be used on Boot Camp, any of our sale-priced digital products, or anything on our site (excluding gift certificates). Note: Only one coupon per customer. Cannot be combined with any other coupon code or gift certificate.
• All $10 Ella Gift Certificates are on sale for $8 until 9/2.

I’m waiting for Crystal Wilkerson’s new ebook, Inspired By, to be released in September. I’ll be buying a gift certificate for myself!

A few weeks ago, I purchased Ali Edwards’ Scrapbook on the Road class.  This is an online class that includes an instructional ebook in pdf format as well as video lessons and printable elements.  There are 2 main videos that describe Ali’s philosophy and process for creating a travel mini album.  The other videos show you techniques for preparing your album pages.  She also includes full photos of her album pages before she leaves for her trip and then photos of the pages of her completed album.

I love Ali’s scrapbooking style. For many years, I’ve been a huge fan of her blog, her books and her digital scrapbooking products.  This class is a great value just for the a couple  of hours of video instruction from Ali.  It’s only $14, which is becoming quite a bargain for an online scrapbooking class.  Am I the only who has noticed that the cost of classes seems to be going up?

I really loved this class.  I’m going on a 2-week vacation this summer, and the album I made following Ali’s model will be perfect for documenting this trip.  I made a couple of pages using each of the techniques in the videos and followed her overall style for preparing the mini album.  I already had many of the supplies she used, and I added a few other items from my stash to complete the pages.  The techniques for painting chipboard, using transparencies with fabric patterns and printable items were easy to follow and give a unique look to the foundation pages of the scrapbook.

My favorite part of Ali’s scrapbooking on the road process is collecting bits and pieces from the places you are visiting.  This is something I’ve always done, but having the scrapbook right there with me instead of coming home with a bag full of papers and brochures means I can work on the album as I travel.  I love having pages already prepared to capture my thoughts and feelings along the way.  I usually carry a small notebook with me, but I’m really excited to see how this process works for me.  I’m also planning to try her ideas for storytelling on the road and travel photography tips.

I highly recommend Ali’s Scrapbook on the Road class.  Even if you already know some of the techniques she teaches, watching her process from start to finish will certainly give you some ideas for your next travel scrapbook.  Just browsing through her completed album pages is pure inspiration!

Did you sign up for any online scrapbooking classes this spring?  I sure did!

Right now I’m taking May with May at Big Picture Scrapbooking.  It just started May 1st, but so far I’m really enjoying May’s enthusiastic teaching style.  One of the first things she did was take us on a video tour of her craft room.  It’s always fun to see how someone else organizes her space and supplies.  I’m in the process of reorganizing my space so this was definitely a great start to class for me.  She is also very active on the class forum. I believe registration is still open for this class.

Here’s a little update on a few of the other classes I enrolled in this spring.

Mouse Paper Scissors: Mom at JessicaSprague.com – I really hesitated on this one to the very last minute.  It was one of the more expensive classes I took, and I tend to do very little hybrid scrapbooking.  I couldn’t resist taking a class with both Jessica Sprague and Heidi Swapp though!  What a fantastic class it was!  I think I’m hooked on hybrid scrapbooking now.  I absolutely loved the mini book we made and will definitely be using this same book technique in future projects.  The paper from Bo Bunny is absolutely gorgeous too!  Because all the papers are downloads, you can use them again and again in both printable or digital forms.  I can’t wait to take another hybrid scrapbooking class with Jessica and Heidi.

Spring Training at Ella Publishing - This is an ongoing event at Ella Publishing, and we are into the second week.  Every day there is a new daily exercise and video.  I’ve especially enjoyed the photography tips.  Registration is still open and the price is now reduced to $30!  You still get access to all the videos and tips too!  They also offer some great coupons and specials from their sponsors each day.

Get Those Creative Juices Flowing with Amy Tangerine – This class was offered at Big Picture Classes.  It was a self-paced class, but I”m not seeing it on the currently offered classes right now.  I loved the mini book projects in this class.  What an awesome way to use up scraps in your stash! I made a couple of these books, and I even pulled out my sewing machine.  I’m just now starting to appreciate sewing and scrapbooking, but I’m still not patient with my machine.

One Little Word with Ali Edwards - This is an ongoing class for 2011 at Big Picture Classes.  Registration is still open.  What’s not to love about a class taught by Ali?  She is always inspiring and uniquely creative.  This class offers monthly prompts to help you focus on your 2011 One Little Word (mine is Goodness).

Yes, I admit I’m addicted to online scrapbooking classes.  My husband travels a lot, and these classes are my treats while he’s away.   They keep me busy, teach me new techniques and introduce me to new scrapbooking friends.

I’ve also bought a couple of ebook/video classes that I’ll talk about in another post.

Definitely go check out what Big Picture Scrapbooking has to offer.  They have one of the biggest selections of scrapbooking classes online.   Also remember you can get a reduced price at Ella Publishing Co. presents Spring Training 2011.

Image by shimelle via Flickr

Did you miss the True Scrap event?  It’s not too late to have access to Ali Edwards Keynote Interview, all 12 classes and the virtual make and takes.  True Scrap has made available video replays of the entire 3-day event.

For $127 you’ll receive video replays of:

• Kickoff/Keynote Interview (Ali Edwards and Lain Ehmann)
• Touch Me!! All About Texture (Nic Howard)
• Going to Pieces: Simple Tips for Turning Paper Scraps into
• Cute Embellishments (Kelli Crowe)
• Creative Stash Diving (Shimelle Laine)
• Make and Take: Jenni Bowlin
• Make and Take: Polka Dot Whimsy
• Scrapbook Organization Your Way (Aby Garvey)
• From the Ground Up: Design Your Story (Noell Hyman)
• Expressive Photography: It’s in the Details (Tracey Clark)
• A Few of My Favorite Things (Stephanie Ackerman)
• Lights-Camera-Action! Action-based photography (Katrina Kennedy)
• Make and Take: Scrapbook Circle
• Make and Take: unKit
• Inspiration Files (Tami Morrison)
• Super Stamping Secrets (Jennifer McGuire)
• Die Cut Dress-Up (Erin Bassett)
• Pain-Free Journaling the EZ Way (Lain Ehmann)
• Make and Take: Studio Calico

*Each class lasts approximately 30 minutes; make-and-takes are approximately 15 minutes.

That’s over seven hours of instruction time, plus five virtual make-and-takes!
Your purchase also includes soon-to-be released audio Q&As with many of the instructors, as well as supply lists and resource guides.

Don’t Miss Your Last Chance for True Scrap!

Join Ella Publishing for a Spring Training Extravaganza!

April 25–May 7

12 exclusive video coaching sessions
4 expert coaches
12 hands-on training exercises
20 minutes a day
daily challenges, downloads, sponsor prizes, and more
=
1 amazing online event that includes a minimum of 240 minutes of scrapbooking fun

Price: $40

Save $8 now! Use code 8ELLA to register for $32 through April 15!

Get Ready to Learn About…

Expert lighting tricks for your photographs
Single-sentence journaling: four simple strategies
How to create a gorgeous stenciled page background
Adding inspiring tricks to your design toolbox
Paint and poetry: a tutorial you’ll never forget!
Creating photo-booth effects for your photographs
Distressing 101: paint, sanding, and beyond
Discovering and embracing YOUR signature scrapbooking style
How to “get the shot” that truly captures your subject’s personality
And MORE

Daily Giveaway Sponsors

Big Picture Classes
Little Yellow Bicycle
Jenni Bowlin
Nikki Sivils
And MORE

Learn from:

Angie Lucas, Your Journaling Coach
A word nerd at heart, Angie has been a professional writer and editor for 15+ years and a scrapbooker/journaler for as long as she can remember. The founder of ellapublishing.com, this girl definitely has a way with words.

Wendy Smedley, Your Inspiration Coach
Professional scrapbooker Wendy Smedley has written three best-selling books about scrapbooking and hundreds of inspiring articles for crafting magazines and websites. She currently spends her days keeping ellapublishing.com and bigpictureclasses.com both inspired and organized.

Kelly Willette, Your Photography Coach
A family photographer, photography teacher, blogger, designer, and writer, Kelly won Nickelodeon’s Parent’s Choice Award for Best Family Photographer in Norfolk in 2009—and she’s here to share her secrets with you.

Tammy Tutterow, Your Techniques Coach
From paper to fabrics to stamping, painting, and beading (and everything in between), there’s not a technique that Tammy hasn’t tried—and then blogged about it, taught it in a class, video-taped it, or had it published in a magazine. Get your hands dirty with Technique Tammy!

Remember :

Save $8 now! Use code 8ELLA to register for $32 through April 15!