Behind the Art with Melissa {PLUS a GIVEAWAY!}

Happy Birthday!!!

Wait.

What?

Yes, you read that right. Happy Birthday to ME! I love celebrating my birthdays. I've reached a point where I'm trying not to get wrapped up in the number but, instead, celebrate the year previous and anticipate the goodness that is to come. Count my blessings and move forward in life. I think you could do the same! Right?

Sure you can!

Well, I'm not only here to share more about one of my pages BUT, I am sneaking in a GIVEAWAY! I like to give away things on my birthday. :)

Stay tuned at the bottom of this page for more about the giveaway. In the meantime, let's take a closer look at this page I made, using the January kit FORWARD.

When I think about Forward, I think about movement. Keepin' on keepin' on.

But... I think that it is okay to ponder the past too. For example, my page is documenting the thought of everything I have been through this past year - the good and the bad. The exciting and the painful. And I look at it all with optimistic eyes. Each moment of this past year was a learning opportunity. I grew, I was molded and can see the better within as I type this.

Some of the kit contents I pulled for this page were quite intentional. I used the paper that looks like darts because I like the idea of having a bullseye... a target for my future. Something to work towards this coming year and using what I have learned from the previous.

The wood because it reminds me of being raw and real. When you chop down a tree, the inside of the log reveals the trees age. I like the thought of wood symbolizing me revealing what is going on inside my head and heart. 

The mask because of the words. That's pretty literal.

And a heart because, honestly, we have to love ourselves in order to truly take care of ourselves. 

I'm so excited for this coming year! I'm excited to recall events, thoughts and feelings from 2014 and see how they relate to what is coming up. 

And with all this birthday excitement, I want to give you a gift.

The AUTHENTIC kit...

If you are not a subscriber yet nor someone who has checked out our kits, I want you to experience the amazing and liberating feeling that comes with creating from the inside out! 

This lovely gift will go to one lucky commenter who will celebrate my birthday with me! 

How to be eligible? 

I'm going to make it simple for you...

Simply leave a comment telling me one thing you are looking forward to this year. It can be anything. Make it short and sweet or tell me a story. Make sure to leave me a way to contact you (email) should you be the winner!

Bonus points for sharing this giveaway OR our current kit FORWARD on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest or Twitter. Just let me know in the comments that you did that and I'll add another little notch next to your name. 

The giveaway will close on Monday, January 12th, 9 p.m. PST, and the winner will be announced with my next Behind the Art post on Tuesday, January 13th. 

Last Stop on the SFTIO Communication Blog Hop!

Welcome to the last stop on the SFTIO Design Team blog hop!

It's been a great first few months with the addition of three wonderful designers, Diana Brodeur, Mary Jo Rhoda and Kate Vickers to the SFTIO team. Along with the talents of DT Coordinator Melissa Elsner, Nicole Martel and Jen Matott, we have assembled a group that has mad scrappy skills as well as the ability to connect the dots between emotion and design. I am loving having them aboard! Thanks, ladies!


I hope you've enjoyed the opportunity to see some of their work and get a little taste of what we do every day...inspire you to use our craft as a tool for self-discovery. It's changed my life for the better, I tell ya.

If you're starting here, or if you didn't do so before, please make sure to go back to the start of the hop HERE at Melissa's blog, jump from designer to designer and take a look at the manufacturer DTs and publications our team can boast. Although they're not boasting...I am!

In case you get lost:

BLOG HOP ORDER

Melissa

Mary Jo

Nicole

Diana

Jen

Kate

YOU ARE HERE -----> SFTIO Blog <----- YOU ARE HERE

Some of you have stumbled upon this blog and don't know that this is just part of the ONLY kit club that creates

• fresh, emotion-based kits that don't look alike month after month
• variety - instead of a whole pack of something you won't use up, just the right amount of each gorgeous embellishment
• NO tricky up-selling with sneaky add-ons

You can see our current and past kits at our website HERE, plus enjoy our FREE custom monthly inspiration page with not just DT layouts, but meaningful prompts and challenges to get you thinking, a music playlist tailored to each emotion, quotations, and a link to that month's emotion Pinterest Board. There's NOTHING else like it!

You can always jump right to the website to purchase a kit, grab some inspiration, or chat on our message board by clicking the linked logo at the top of the right sidebar.

We have just a few COMMUNICATION kits left, so if you've been inspired by what you've seen, grab yours now. If you begin a value six month subscription with COMMUNICATION, you'll be guaranteed our next kit below, as well as TWO months of subscriber bonus gifts.

Finally, we've got a little peek of the August kit for you. ESCAPE is a beautiful mix of color, eclectic design and whimsy! How will you escape?

What's your favorite way to communicate on your LOs - words, pictures or design?

Tell us here in the comments between now and NINE p.m. PACIFIC TIME Sunday, July 29th.

One reader selected at random from comments on all the team posts will win this prize from our friends at Nikki Sivils, Scrapbooker: The Messages Collection Kit.

We'll announce the winner here on the SFTIO blog and Facebook on August 1st when the ESCAPE kit goes live for sale.

Join us and explore your inner world in a supportive, nurturing environment on our Message Board (just takes a moment to join), on our community's Facebook Page for special offers and tips and our TRULY unique monthly Inspiration Page.

We look forward to welcoming you.

The Dream Kit is Live

Our February kit, DREAM, is a delicate yet powerful combination of symbols, color and design that will have you exploring your waking daydreams and sleepy fantasies.

Express what you dream of, literally and figuratively with a great mixture of beautiful paper and embellishments from Glitz Dance in Sunshine, My Mind’s Eye Lost and Found 2, Glitz Vintage Blue and Prima Alla Prima.

Windows in resin and chipboard, sparkle filled buttons and Thickers, a pewter moon charm and lots of fluffy flowers will set your mind ablaze with future wishes while comforting you with softness.

Do you believe in the beauty of your dreams? Join us!

Click here to go to our website and get yours now...and until Midnight Pacific time February 2nd, start your subscription and we'll enter you in our Reveal Day giveaway...a huge pack of paper from Authentique!

Patterned Paper:

Glitz Dance in Sunshine Damask
Glitz Dance in Sunshine Raindrops
Glitz Dance in Sunshine Birds
Glitz Vintage Blue Floral
Glitz Vintage Blue Motif        
Glitz Vintage Blue Rose        
MME L&F2 Dream Stamped
MME L&F2 Everywhere Mirrors     
MME L&F2 Funday Today 
Prima Alla Prima Motif
Prima Alla Prima Ferrulle
Prima Alla Prima Chiaro

Embellishments:

AC Thickers Silver Reindeer 
Glitz Vintage Blue Tiny Alphas - Navy
Glitz Vintage Blue Epoxy Stickers, ½ sheet
Glitz Dance in Sunshine Whatnots, 3 pcs
Maya Road Transparencies Mini Ticket Strips White, 6 pcs
Global Solutions Pewter Charms, Moon
Maya Road Mini Chipboard Sets Windows, 4 pc
Prima Alla Prima Reflections, 2 pcs
Prima Resin Window Frame, 1 pc
Websters Vintage Sparklers Purple, 3 pcs
Ranger Inkessentials Tags Kraft  #8, 2 pcs
Ranger Inkessentials Tags Kraft  #5, 2 pcs
Prima Powder Puff Flower Collette, 1 pc
Prima Carlotta Flower  Blue Pearl, 1 pc

Color:

Ranger Jenni Bowlin Paint Dabber, Lavender Sachet
        

Cardstock:

American Crafts Orchid        
American Crafts Mustard      
American Crafts Storm
American Crafts Surf  

Contents may vary...

CHA Day 3 and the DREAM kit is live!

Some of our favorites from the last day of the show...what a wonderful time!

Echo Park:

Hambly Screen Prints:

and Teresa Collins:

Just wait until you see what we have in store!

Since our new kit is up, it's time to come on over to the website to see it up close, including our DT's gorgeous and layered-with-meaning work...make sure you get yours now!

Here's a sneak...you'll want to come over to our website for juicy photos!

Remember that all new and renewing 6 month memberships paid Feb 1 are entered to win a huge prize pack from Authentique!

We'll announce a winner for our countdown in a few days.

Also make sure you check out our day 1 and 2 CHA video! Layouts, collections, displays...and fun! 

Back to work...we've got kits to plan for you! See you soon!

CHA Day 2 and 2 Days Until The DREAM Kit

Fantastic day 2 at CHA...so much to report, but the hour is late!

Here were some of our faves today...

Basic Grey's Plumeria Line

Gunmetal Bloomers Trim from Webster's Pages

Pink Paislee's lovely Prarie Hill

 

Webster's new Clean and Simple Lines for each new collection...dream come true!

Fancy Pants 'Be You'. How very apropos.

 

Dyan Reavely's awesome signature line for Ranger...Dylusions! Fantastic rich color spray and much more...

We also had an amazing time with our friends at Creating Keepsakes Magazine - wonderful women who truly understand and value our mission! Stay tuned for upcoming BIG news on our joint future plans!

And as promised, we're counting down to the release of our newest kit, DREAM. Three days until we can share DREAM with you in all its delicate, deep and dreamy glory... Here's a second closeup of the DREAM kit...can you pick out the products in this sneak peek? Name three items by manufacturer and you'll be entered to win our February countdown giveaway...Tim Holtz' Wings and Crown Metal Embelishments, a recent subscriber bonus. Make sure to submit your guesses here in the comments today and on the posts for the next two days of the countdown and you can walk away with these goodies! This giveaway ends at Midnight Pacific time on the 31st.

What do you see?

And don't forget ANOTHER way to win...if you start a new subscription or renew your current one on the DREAM kit release date, February 1st, you'll be entered to win a a huge set of paper and embellishments from four collections courtesy of our friends at Authentique. Make sure to come back each day and go for the win!

Stay tuned for more tomorrow!

 

CHA Day One and Countdown to The DREAM kit

Hey everyone! Rachel here live from the Craft and Hobby Association Winter trade Show and Convention in lovely Anaheim. What a fun first day we've had meeting with old friends and new...and planning for what you'll see in our upcoming kits.

Tammy, Melissa, Sofia (our Teen Design Team Coordinator and SFTIO Executive Asssistant) and I had a fantastic time hanging with the lovely ladies and gentlemen at American Crafts, Lily Bee, Jillibean Soup, Maya Road, Crate Paper, October Afternoon, Authentique, Cosmo Cricket, Bella Blvd and many more...and we're only about a third of the way through our list! We can't wait for tomorrow! Here are some pics of the day and the things we loved most so far.

And as promised, we're counting down to the release of our newest kit, DREAM. Three days until we can share DREAM with you in all its delicate, deep and dreamy glory... Here's a closeup of the DREAM kit...can you pick out the products in this sneak peek? Name three items by manufacturer and you'll be entered to win our February countdown giveaway...Tim Holtz' Wings and Crown Metal Embelishments, a recent subscriber bonus. Make sure to submit your guesses here in the comments today and on the posts for the next two days of the countdown and you can walk away with these goodies! This giveaway ends at Midnight Pacific time on the 31st.

What do you see?

And ANOTHER way to win...if you start a new subscription or renew your current one on the DREAM kit release date, February 1st, you'll be entered to win a a huge set of paper and embellishments from four collections courtesy of our friends at Authentique. Make sure to come back each day and go for the win!

Stay tuned for more tomorrow!

Love,

Winner of the Individuality Kit and a Sneak Peek of DREAM

Just a quick drop-in to announce the winner of the Individuality kit...Random.org picked #9...


Barb S said...
This year my word is FLOURISH and it has several meanings for me. But mostly because I am a grandmother who has decided that it is never too late to flourish in a new way. I would love to see a kit designed around that theme. Two other important words for me are FOCUS and BELIEVE, and I want to explore all three of these in my scrapbooking this year. Thanks for your encouragement and telling us about the creative process you go through in developing the kits!

8:10 PM, January 19, 2012

Congrats Barb! Please email me at rachinla@aol.com with your snail mail address...

And as it's the 25th, here's a sneak peek of our next kit...

DREAM

Are you ready to delve into your innermost thoughts, closely held fantasies, nighttime wanderings and daytime musings?

Gorgeous, ethereal DREAM will be available Feb 1.

We'll be counting down to the kit reveal with giveaways and lots of fun...come on back and see!

And stay tuned for our updates from CHA next week...

Dreamily yours,

Rachel's Ramblings...On Individuality and How to Source Kits that Matter

Each year as we get ready for the Craft and Hobby Association winter show, also known as CHA, we start thinking about themes and concepts to share with our members in the coming months. For those of you new to the scrapbook world, CHA is the for-the-trade only show where manufacturers display their upcoming products and buyers (like us) make their decisions about what to bring to market as retailers.

For our SFTIO team in particular, ordering is not a matter of simply finding the prettiest and most innovative materials, but ones that tell a story in a cohesive way. We don't make definitive buying decisions at the show itself; we meet as a team after the show for three to four days and analyze our choices based on paper lines that caught our eye. We then look at the paper lines with an emotional bent - what paper lines fit together in color and mood? What do we feel when we see those papers? What can we imagine scrapbooking about with those supplies? Afterwards, we seek out brand new embellishments - alphas, unique media, great color, and of course, icons and symbols that evoke expression and truth.

I'm always amazed that we never seem to run out of ideas...we typically end the week of CHA with more themes than we can handle - and then need to narrow down from 9 or 10 potential themes to 6...always difficult as we get so attached to the ideas we've generated! They often find a home in the following six months.

So why am I rambling on about all this? It's because I am uber-proud of the amazing women who support me and help find you not just the best of the best, but the most meaningful. There are other good kits out there...but too often I find them looking the same month after month, with those retailers sticking to an aesthetic rather than going for something deeper.

I love what we stand for...and how each of our kits contains only the latest releases, matched with an artist's eye and a poet's heart.

Does it make sourcing kits harder? Yes! We can't just pick out our favorite lovelies and mix and match 'em whenever they arrive. But I'd never trade the fun, the discussion, the variety that makes each kit a unique creation that doesn't mirror the previous months' kit. Each one stands alone as a testament to INDIVIDUALITY! We promise to keep bringing you the best kits and the most meaning...never looking for the easy route, but the one that will help YOU create layouts that speak to your soul and leave you feeling fully expressed and free to create the future you wish for.

What emotions would you love to see in upcoming kits? Let us know here in comments and we'll pick a winner who will receive our current kit, INDIVIDUALITY...we'll have our giveaway open until Sunday 1-22 at noon Pacific.

 

Stick with us...we've got SO much more to share! Thanks for your business and support. Stand out...be you...don't be one of the crowd, express your INDIVIDUALITY and be a part of SFTIO!

Love,

Giveaway Winner!

Thank you everyone who participated in our Kit Launch giveaway this month!  Congratulations to Sugar, AKA Witchymama over in our community.  All she had to do to win was to share what is her favorite item from the Connection kit. Here's what she said:

"The little spools are my fav! and all the rich colors! actually... the whole thing is perfect!" 

Thanks for sharing your fav item(s) (and yea, we think the whole thing is perfect, too)!  For sharing you 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.  And they are ah-maze-ing, let me tell you!

Please make sure you go to the message boards and send Rachel a private message with your shipping details so you can get your goodies but quick.

Want another chance to win some fun scrappin' stash?  Join us in our Iron Scrapper challenge.  Keep reading, there will be more chances to win... I promise!

Connection is LIVE! Don't Miss Your Chance to Win!

We've just launched Connection, today and we're ready for you to jump on in and join us for another fantastic month at Inside Out.  If you missed yesterday's post, there's also a chance for a GIVEAWAY!

Quick like a bunny, hop on over to the community at Inside Out (you can join for FREE).  Leave a comment on the post called "The Kit is Live" for your chance to win!  You can find it in the section marked "It's All About the Kits" under this month's topic: Connection.

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 at Noon Pacific time to enter your comment to win.

Want to buy a complete kit now?  Click the image below...

C'mon back again soon... we have lots of great fun planned for this month.  And we want to Connect with you!