A One Day Countdown to CONNECTION - and a Giveaway!

OK, so one day isn't much of a countdown. But we're still super excited to share our new kit, CONNECTION tonight at Midnight!

This kit is such a great mixture of paper from American Crafts' Amy Tangerine Line, Jillibean Soup's Sweet and Sour and Homemade Six Bean Collection and Crate Farmhouse. 

The idea? How do you stitch together a life you love? Where are the missing patches in your quilt? If you drop a stitch, does your fabric unravel or can you weave it anew?

And like a quilt, this beautiful, homey, comfortable kit has an incredible array of color that fits together just right. Mix and match patterns, tiny spools, vintage look journaling cards and kraft bits, zipper trim, stitched paper...there's so much to love!

And if you start or renew your six month subscription, you'll get these great bonuses (not to scale):

Prima's brand new Tiny Treasures Hearts Package
- one locket (imagine the possibilities) and one flat embellishment in a lovely antique finish

The hard to find and easy to love 'You're Golden' stitched fabric paper from Amy Tangerine.

And how about a chance to win?

Come to our website after midnight Pacific Time tonight and leave a comment on the forum post called 'the kit is live' on our message board. You'll be entered to win a full set of the papers from this kit - 12 double sided patterned papers in all, plus 4 sheets of coordinating American Crafts cardstock. In your comment, make sure to let us know what your favorite thing in the kit is. You have until November 4 and noon Pacific to enter to win.

It's a great way to try out what we do best for free! Make sure you wait until the kit goes live at Midnight.

See you then ~

Love,

Blog Hop and Giveaway…Join Us and Create Your Future at CRAFT!

Welcome to the First Stop on the
CRAFT: Creating Reflective Art for Transformation
Blog Hop!

This event is brought to you by our team at Scrapbooking from the Inside Out, the premier source for inspiration to explore your inner world. Six talented and well-known instructors will be leading creative and meaningful workshops using our generous sponsors’ latest and greatest products at this intimate, boutique event right on the beach in beautiful

Santa Monica, CA, November 11-13, 2011.

(We've had a couple of technical glitches in the hop...please scroll to the bottom of this post to make sure you grab all the links!)

You’ll spend a magical weekend focused on embracing who you truly are and gaining the skills, techniques and tools to use our craft to understand yourself more deeply on an ongoing basis.

Are you just beginning at this blog? Make sure you stop at all the blogs on the list so you don't miss all the project, venue and special event sneak peeks
and your chance to win one of six kits!

If you get lost, a list of all the stops on the hop is at the end of this post.

CRAFT:

Three full days of crafting, creativity and camaraderie for only $450

(three consecutive monthly payments of $150 each.)

Spots are still available for this unique, pampering and heart-expanding getaway.

Register now at the event blog HERE.

WHAT’S INCLUDED:

  • 6 emotion-focused, technique-teaching personal workshops ~ All CRAFTers participate in every class. No need to choose ~ they're ALL yours in CRAFT’s ocean-view,

beautifully styled, creative space

• 4 special Art and Soul experiences

• Scrumptious breakfasts and lunches from Hollywood hot spot Urth Caffe

~ Friday, Saturday and Sunday

• Sweets, treats and beverages all day long

• Transportation from The Ambrose to and from the Annenberg Beach House for all workshops and activities via the CRAFTy Cab

• Oodles of workshop supplies (you’ll just need to bring your basic tool kit – checklist to be provided later)

• A fabulous welcome gift, a CRAFTy tote filled with goodies,

valuable giveaways and fun prizes!

*Lots more details on girls’ night out dinners, airport transportation, location, hotel and event venue and more are available HERE.

For questions, comments and special requests, please email event coordinator

Paige Ramos here.

The Dates:

November 11-13, 2011

The Times:

Workshops from 9-5 each day, broken into two sessions.

WHY SHOULD YOU COME TO CRAFT?

 What really sets CRAFT apart is unique mission of Scrapbooking from the Inside Out, kit club, inspiration source and online community. Thousands of participants all over the world have used SFTIO’s resources to explore their deepest emotions. They’ve lifted themselves and each other exploring Freedom, Gratitude, Anticipation and Wonder. They’ve faced their inner doubts and fears delving into Regret, Yearning, Loss and Vulnerability.

SFTIO’s trademarked and industry-exclusive approach to artistic motivation is the heart and soul of what makes us unique. Our monthly inspiration page with hand-selected music, stock photography, quotations and deep journaling prompts elevates scrapbooking to an expressive art form where members are guided to truly explore their inner worlds.
Click here for links to past Inspiration Pages to see more.

SFTIO raises the bar even more by providing challenges using the prompts that add a design twist, teaching members to use ‘visual journaling’ – powerful symbolism – to combine right and left brain expression. The result? Meaningful, rich, pages and projects that reflect all of who you are, Inside and Out.

CRAFT workshops will incorporate a variety of tested, proven multimedia inspiration tools combined with the special talents and techniques of a stellar teaching staff, supported by Art Therapist Rita Coufal, PhD and Artist/Therapist Joy Mauldin, PhD.

Growth is a journey…not a destination. And it’s a most personal one…only you know what you need out of this experience. In the intimate, supportive setting we've created for you, you’ll have the opportunity to practice being more and more yourself.

Our take on scrapbooking and creativity isn’t about a quick fix, or a set of ‘positive thinking’ reminders. It’s about a deeper approach, telling your truth – pretty or not, looking at both sides of the coin, and leaving our weekend together with the
creative skills and tools to be more fully expressed in your life.

THE INSTRUCTORS:

While you’ll be learning amazing techniques, styles, tips and techniques in every workshop, these are not cookie-cutter sessions – you’ll be challenged to dig deep, learn about yourself and personalize your project to reflect who you are and who you want to be.

American Crafts Design Team and Product Designer
Hambly Screen Prints Design Team

Mixed Media Designer
Copic Certified Designer

Creating Keepsakes Dream Team 2011
Lily Bee Design Team
Jillibean Soup Design Team

Copy/Creative Editor for Northridge Publishing
American Crafts Blog Hostess/Design Team

Founder and President,
Scrapbooking from the Inside Out

Creating Keepsakes Dream Team
2011 Prima Design Team

WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR? REGISTER NOW.

And now for a giveaway!

In celebration of CRAFT, SFTIO is giving away FIVE kits to FIVE lucky readers…make sure to leave a comment (before Noon Pacific Time on 9-15) on each blog you visit in the hop to increase your chances of winning. Tell us please, in your comment, what emotion you’d love to explore in your scrapbooking! Winners will be chosen from all blog comment entries and will be announced on 9-16 on the SFTIO blog.

For your next stop, make sure to check out Stacy Cohen's blog. Good luck and we hope to see you at CRAFT!


Hop List:

SFTIO: http://scrapbookingfromtheinsideout.blogspot.com
Stacy Cohen: http://stacycohen.blogspot.com/
Linda Barber: http://milesofpaper.blogspot.com/
Paige Ramos: http://thebumpyride.blogspot.com 
Amy Tan: http://amytangerine.blogspot.com/
Paige Evans: http://chrisandpaige.blogspot.com/
Tammy Onderdonk Klass: http://createdreamlive.blogspot.com/
Seven Gypsies: http://www.sevengypsies.blogspot.com/
Ly T. Le: http://www.lytlescrapper.com/
Melissa Elsner: http://theprofoundbrunette.blogspot.com
Jillibean Soup: http://www.jillibeansoup.typepad.com/
Rita Barakat: http://letsembellish.blogspot.com/
Kai Baldwin: http://www.enjoytheridetoday.blogspot.com/
CRAFT Blog: http://craftbeachretreat.blogspot.com/

FIVE and Counting!

FIVE days and counting until registration opens!

Happy Tuesday everyone - just five days until you can reserve your spot for CRAFT...I'm so, so excited to share our next big announcement regarding CRAFT Beach Retreat: Creating Reflective Art for Transformation...our sponsors!

We are fortunate to have wonderful relationships with some of the biggest names in the paper crafts industry through our kit club, Scrapbooking from the Inside Out. They have been incredibly supportive of our mission - to empower women and girls to be fully expressed through our craft.

So without further ado, I present our sponsors for CRAFT!




Creating Keepsakes is an incredible partner. As the premiere publication in our industry, they set the bar for excellence in scrapbook inspiration, artistic diversity and creating community through their Club CK online forums and gallery. I personally want to thank Editor-in-Chief Jennafer Martin for her encouragement and investment in our collaborative efforts. CK is a perfect sponsor as we're lucky to have not one but two Dream Team members as part of the CRAFT teaching staff - Linda Barber and Stacy Cohen. Our event will include special gifts, giveaways and more courtesy of our friends at Creating Keepsakes. Thanks, ladies!





We've been working with American Crafts for three years - their clean and crisp designs, game-changing Thickers and innovative embellishments make them an industry leader and their supplies are featured prominently in every single kit we create. Once again, we are fortunate to have two members of the American Crafts design team to share their inspiration with you at CRAFT: Amy Tan and Paige Evans, who also serves as AC's Studio Blog Hostess. Even more exciting? Today's announcement that Amy has created her very first branded line of Scrapbook products under the American Crafts label! We'll have access to her design talents on both sides of the table - we'll be using her brand new products and combining them with her super style. Thanks, American Crafts for being such a great partner!





What can I say about Prima? No one creates more intricate and beautiful products, be it flowers, bling, trim, or paper. And no one creates as many new items each season! We're always amazed at the range of choices offered by Prima, and by the talent of their International Design Team and instructors. The aforementioned Stacy Cohen is one of those fabulous designers and will be teaching us some great techniques using Prima products in innovative and meaningful ways. Many thanks to Prima's Lead Educator Sharon Laakkonen, and the Prima sales team, for all their support of our program!

We're expecting to add at least two more sponsors on the coming days, and we look forward to sharing the good news soon...

In the meantime, have we whet your appetite? A-List instructors creating emotion-based, personal projects; beautiful materials from amazing sponsors...and much, much more to be announced between now and Saturday when we open registration! Stay tuned!

SIX and Counting!

SIX!

Are you ready to find yourself here?

As we count down to our registration opening on June 18th,
here’s your first look at the details of
CRAFT: Creating Reflective Art for Transformation!

Six days left until you can sign up of one of the
24 spots we have available for our premiere boutique event.

We have a lineup of incredible instructors that you’ll love…teaching six full length classes over three days of peaceful, meaningful time for YOU.
No need to pick your favorites, everyone takes every class
in our small intimate group setting overlooking the Pacific.

We’ll be offering three scrapbook page based projects, one canvas project,
a journal project and a special mixed-media project.
Every class will focus on emotion, and will be totally personalized and customizable to your specific life circumstances, needs, challenges and where you want to grow.

While you’ll be learning amazing techniques, styles, tips and techniques in every class,
these are not cookie-cutter sessions –
you’ll be challenged to dig deep, learn about yourself and
tailor your project to reflect who you are and who you want to be.

In alphabetical order…

Creating Keepsakes Dream Team 2011
Lily Bee Design Team
Jillibean Soup Design Team



Creating Keepsakes Dream Team 2011
Prima Design Team



Copy/Creative Editor for Northridge Publishing
American Crafts Blog Hostess/Design Team



Mixed Media Designer
Copic Certified Designer



American Crafts Design Team
American Crafts Product Designer
Hambly Screen Prints Design Team



Detailed bios to follow with samples of their work!

I’ll be joining them in integrating the emotion piece into our projects, and will be leading our closing session on how to use the tools we’ve practiced together in an ongoing way in your crafting and life.

Creator, Scrapbooking from the Inside Out

Six more days until registration opens…stay tuned for our daily announcements!

Tuesday...we'll be announcing our SPONSORS!