In the Moment: Then and Now Challenge and SALE

When we celebrated NSD a couple of weeks ago, it happened to be my birthday too!

I created this to explore what I had learned in the previous year, taking stock as we often do on milestone days.

May Kit: In the Moment Challenge #2: What do you know now that you wish you knew way back when, but couldn't have known without the passage of time? How has the turning of the calendar page made you more aware or alive? For a design twist, try using a unique calendar image in your art.

Let's see what you create!

Now how about a special offer for our blog followers?

Start a subscription with the In the Moment kit and your $35 kit is just $25 for the first month. Whaa? Plus add a prior sale kit (find them on our previous kits page) for just $20 instead of $25.

Place your order and we'll refund you the discount! Offer valid until Sunday 5-17-15 at 11:59 pm PDT!

Wishing you a creative and meaningful weekend...

What's your INTENTION? Our Newest Kit is LIVE!

What will you MAKE HAPPEN in 2014? Set your INTENTION with our latest kit - bright, shimmery and bold!

Features My Mind's Eye Cut and Paste, Glitz Free Spirit and Hazel and Ruby's Chalk it Up.

Great journaling and title cards, a chalk pen, clips and enamel shapes, plus photo themed overlays, 6 different alphas, and what is bound to be your favorite stencil ever from Ronda Palazzari.

It's already inside you...what are you waiting for?

It's Time.

 

 

 

Click Here to buy.

More Pics of the ENCHANTMENT Kit

We're still experiencing some technical difficulties on our website, so here are some lovely looks at the August ENCHANTMENT kit:

Subscribe Now:

Monthly Price Including Shipping

US : $48.95 USD - monthly Canada First Class : $53.95 USD - monthly Overseas First Class : $60.95 USD - monthly

Buy a Single Kit: Monthly Price including Shipping

US $52.95 USD Canada $57.95 USD Overseas First Class: $64.95 USD

Looking for a Little Enchantment

Hello!  Welcome to the wonderful month of August.  We will be exploring Enchantment this month.  We also need a little Enchantment over at our site, as we are experiencing technical difficulties in updating the information for our new kit.  So... send your glitter, sparklies, butterflies, daisies and any other enchantments our way so that we can get things running smoothly again.

In the meantime... check out the ENCHANTMENT KIT!!

Although the buy now button above does not work at the moment (keep sending your fairy dust), you are able to purchase a kit by viewing yesterday's post and using the button to purchase a kit from there.

Okay, to start out our exploration of enchantment, let's look at a few synonyms and expand our understanding of enchantment, shall we?

click to enlarge

 Is there a synonym that pops out at you?  Please share your favorite in the comments!

Happy Fifth Anniversary! Here Are YOUR Gifts!

Thank you for your business! We are grateful for your support and participation. 

We're celebrating five years of being with you as you Explore Your Inner World!

It's truly humbling to have been invited into your crafting and your hearts! Our team is so proud of the work we've done. We've grown, changed and recreated ourselves right along with you.

What are your favorite emotions and kits over the last five years? Come check out our FB page and tell us for a chance to win an SFTIO eco-friendly craft bag!

DISCOUNT KITS and NO ADDITIONAL SHIPPING? 

That's right! Our special offer for Inside Out's FIFTH ANNIVERSARY Celebration: Start a subscription with our CONFIDENCE kit and add one or more prior emotion-based kits (valued at $45) for only $25 each, with no added shipping charge! We love our customers and members! Just our way of saying THANKS for making us feel CONFIDENT about our mission.


Don't Forget to Add Your $25 Anniversary Kits with Free Shipping...
Click on Previous Kits on our site under Buy Now to See Them All

Please submit your subscription order first and then your additional kit purchases in a second order. We'll combine them and ship them together! You must be a new or current subscriber to get this offer. If not, we'll bill you for shipping on the previous kits you purchase. Offer expires July 5, 2013 at 11:59 PM PDT. Enjoy!

Buy the CONFIDENCE Kit!

"Be strong, be you, be true! CONFIDENCE will help you explore the things that hold you back from creating the life you dream of, and help you express your inner warrior."

That was our introduction to the 2008 CONFIDENCE kit. Today, CONFIDENCE seems more nuanced, doesn't it?

Who is the woman you are today and how did you become that woman?

Explore it with great PP from Simple Stories 24/7 and Basic Grey's Hipster collections. Jillions of Journaling cards (also perfect for Project Life), wood veneer and chipboard shapes full of fun images and phrases, ephemera from Fancy Pants and vintage look lick and stick stamps help you make this kit, and your stories of confidence (or your search for it) your own.

With Polaroid and cork board imagery, you'll find a spot for all your Instagram and other day to day photos of your brave life!

Kit Details

PP:
Basic Grey Hipster Neato
Basic Grey Hipster Midtown      
Basic Grey Hipster Jive   
Basic Grey Hipster Vintage         
Simple Stories 24/7 Snapshots     
Simple Stories 24/7 Today
Simple Stories 24/7  Good Stuff  
Simple Stories 24/7  Everyday      
Simple Stories 24/7  4x6 Journaling Card Elements         
Simple Stories 24/7  Border and Title Strip Elements
Alpha  American Crafts          Thickers           Charm - Oatmeal      
Alpha  Simple Stories 24/7     Expressions Cardstock Sticker        

Embellishments:
Basic Grey Hipster Vintage Stamps, 1 sheet
Elle's Studio Day to Day Lil' Snippets, 1 sheet
Fancy Pants Swagger Ephemera, 8-10 pcs
Simple Stories 24/7 Snap Diecut Pages, 3 cards
Basic Grey Hipster Printed Chipboard Shapes, 5-6 pcs
Basic Grey Hipster Wood Veneer Die Cuts, 5-6 pcs
Simple Stories 24/7 Journal Card Elements, full sheet        
Petaloo Expressions White, 3-4 pcs

Color:
Ranger Dylusions Cherry Pie Spray Ink  

Technique:
Maya Road Singleton Stamps Instant Photo Frame

Cardstock:
American Crafts Vanilla
American Crafts Caramel        
American Crafts Bayou
American Crafts Crawfish      
American Crafts Oregano 

Much Love and Gratitude...

The TRANSFORMATION Kit is LIVE! Are you ready for a change?

Ready for a change? Join us this month with the TRANSFORMATION kit and shift your perspective from the Inside Out. 

Glitz Uncharted Waters, Cosmo Cricket Summer Love and Basic Grey Knee Highs are filled with variegated color, ombre design and delicate-to bold motion that perfectly captures the spirit of change that lives in your heart and mind. We've included some of our best symbolism ever. Crate Paper's super-hot Photo Overlays let you TRANSFORM your photos on the fly, Julie Balzer's Celtic Circle Template celebrates the seasons and transitions of the life cycle, smooth AND textured white cardstock to create contrast and Dyan Reaveley's Dylusions spray ink in Calypso Teal to add life and depth to your musings.

Images include Jenni Bowlin's limited edition silver feather rubons to float on the currents leading to your future, layerable translucent alphas to spell out your plans with precisely the level of certainty you wish, plus anchors to steady you, ocean waves to propel you forward and film leader countdown paper to measure your progress. Amy Tan's Yes Please wood veneer and die cut bits, Glitz transparencies and some alterable (transforming) flowers round out a truly meaningful kit that will help you set your sights and set sail toward the new and improved you.

Click here to go to our buy page and get yours!

KIT DETAILS

PATTERNED PAPER: 
Basic Grey Knee Highs Kissing Tag
Basic Grey Knee Highs Jump Rope 
Basic Grey Knee Highs Ring Pop 
Basic Grey Knee Highs Hopscotch 
Cosmo Cricket Summer Love Drive In 
Cosmo Cricket Summer Love Sno-Cone 
Cosmo Cricket Summer Love Water Park 
Glitz Uncharted Waters Waves 
Glitz Uncharted Waters Anchors 
Glitz Uncharted Waters Scallop 

EMBELLISHMENTS: 
American Crafts Remarks Transparent Amelia Alphas 
American Crafts Thickers Kenzie Alphas  Crate Paper DIY Shop Photo Overlays 3 pcs 
Fancy Pants Artist Edition Quote Stencil - Dream/Journey 1 pc 
Glitz Uncharted Waters Peekaboos 2-3 pcs 
Jenni Bowlin Rubons Silver Limited Edition Feathers 
American Crafts Amy Tangerine Yes Please Wood Veneer - Smile 3 pcs 
American Crafts Amy Tangerine Yes Please Bits Die Cut Shapes – Create 6 pcs 
Glitz Uncharted Waters Bits and Pieces 3-4 pcs Petaloo Color Me Crazy Canvas Flowers 1-2 pcs 

COLOR: 
Ranger Dylusions by Dyan Reaveley Calypso Teal 

CARDSTOCK: 
American Crafts Sunflower 
American Crafts White 
American Crafts Black 
American Crafts Geranium 
American Crafts White (Smooth) 

TECHNIQUE: 
Crafter's Workshop Template - Celtic Circle - 6x6

June's Sneak Peek: TRANSFORMATION

Available June 1:

The TRANSFORMATION Kit.

Glitz Uncharted Waters, Cosmo Cricket Summer Love and Basic Grey Knee Highs!

Wood veneer, Maggie Holmes super-hot Photo Overlays, Julie Balzer's Celtic Circle Template, Tim Holtz Distress Paint and SO much more.

Bright, bold and your perfect platform for change.

Are you ready for the new and improved you?

Join us and BE the change you wish to see in the world. 

It's never too late.

 

Weekend Warmup: Let Me Ask You a Question

One of the key elements of the type of scrapbooking/art journaling/creative expression we foster at SFTIO is THE QUESTION. 

Think of it this way...if I told you we were going to spend the month making art about CURIOSITY, would you know where to start? It's hard to jump in and get going. Even asking yourself the question, "what am I curious about" might leave you with more confusion than crafting. It's too open ended.

In comes THE QUESTION.

Some call them prompts. Or journaling starters. Or challenges. I call them the place where the rubber meets the road. 

Every month I prepare a list of questions that I'd like to answer - things that are on my mind. Hmmm...maybe that's not exactly right. They're the questions I want to answer and the ones I fear answering. That's where the good stuff is...

'The cave you fear to enter holds the treasure you seek' - Joseph Campbell

Here's a prompt from this month's CURIOSITY Inspiration Page that's especially touchy for me...which is why I NEED to answer it.

I don't want to know: Are there things that you'd rather stay in the dark about - where you might be curious but are afraid of what you might learn? Did curiosity really kill the cat...can you (or have you been) too curious and gotten in trouble? Perhaps a little internet snooping...anyone? Be honest...

There are some people in my life, past and present, about whom it would be better for me to avoid 'studying'. I'm not proud of it, but I've been guilty of making my own life more difficult by prying into areas where I'd really do better with less information.

In our Facebook/Twitter/Google/Instagram world it's WAY TOO easy to learn things that should be private...and that in the end do nothing but cause us to relive past wounds, feel bad about ourselves or create unflattering comparisons that injure us.

So why have I done those things? Have you? I bet...I've yet to meet someone who hasn't looked up an old flame, or a nemesis. 

Perhaps if I spend some time creating a LO about exactly WHY I have let myself get pulled into old stories and what-ifs, I'll be less inclined to do it in the future. Perhaps I can anchor the idea that my life, as it is, is exactly as it should be. Perhaps. No promises. :)

Want to join me on my quest for honest expression? It's my mission in life to inspire you to do so, and in doing so, to free you to be the most authentic YOU. 

Do it on your own, with us on our Message Board or best of all, with our CURIOSITY kit. We've just got a couple left...and this kit (featuring Allison Kreft's Composition and Color line for Webster's Pages and Cosmo Cricket's Sweet Disposition among other fresh and fabulous finds) will give you the perfect color, design and symbolism to tell your story. Grab it HERE.

There are 4 more deep questions to answer on the CURIOSITY Inspiration Page...and many more in your heart that I haven't thought of. Share them with us here on the blog or on our boards, and I hope you spend some time this weekend exploring what you're most CURIOUS about.

Warmly, 

Is There Such a Thing as 'Luck'?

Happy Friday friends! It's been a busy week here by the beach at SFTIO HQ as we received (almost) the last of our shipments from Winter CHA orders. Our DT is about to begin work on the May and June kits and these kits are full of gorgeous paper lines and unique embellishments - I'm personally really excited to get my creative hands on them!

I hope you're loving the behind the scenes look shared this week on the blog into symbolism and design of the layouts and art journal spreads created by our DT with the April FORTUNE kit. I'm always amazed at how our designers are able to create their own interpretations of the symbols we include in the kits. There's always something new to discover.

Yesterday, Kai shared with us a cloud of synonyms and offered some thoughts on her favorites. One of the definitions that jumped right out at me is luck. As I get ready to post this month's challenges, I've been thinking...is there such a thing as luck, or is what we call luck actually the residue of hard work.

The use of the word 'luck' sounds to me to be an expression of things, good or bad, being somewhat out of our control or beyond our ability to make an impact.

Am I lucky if I get a great job, or did I work to create the circumstances that led me to it? If I find the love of my life, is it because I'm lucky, or because I put myself in situations where I was likely to encounter people with similar values?

And of course all of this begs a larger question - is what we call luck actually what comes our way by design from a higher power?

Random...impacted by my actions...or destined...

I don't know for sure. Maybe it's some of all three.

As I've grown and changed as a person, I've increased how much responsibility I want to take for my own circumstances. Generally, I don't want to believe that life is a series of random events...so I vacillate between seeing life as the direct outcome of my choices and it being a series of blessings and challenges - brought to me by whatever force binds us together.

I want to believe that there's a purpose and a meaning in all of what life brings me. There are just too many magical, connected and mysterious events in our lives for me to believe it's all a roll of the dice. And I want to have an impact on those events by making the choices that feel authentic to my soul.

So let the chips fall where they may...as long as they're my chips and they were given to me by a loving power that wants the best for me.

Enjoy the coming weekend and the FORTUNE kits that are zipping their way across the globe to your doorsteps. Our deep and meaningful challenges begin next week!

I look forward to welcoming you soon...

What-if-itis

photo courtesy of stock.xchng

Do you suffer from What-if-itis?  That's where you have a moment (long or short) and you think about a previous experience and your mind starts to question... What if.... 

...what if I had said that snappy comeback to that bully instead of walking away, head hanging?

...what if I had made the decision to get on the Barenaked Ladies tour bus?

...what if I hadn't moved to Ohio?

...what if I had continued on in acting?

...what if {insert your own thoughts here}

I have gotten better at not suffering from what-if-itis.  In the past, though, I had been afflicted by this disease often.

What's changed?  Well, I'd like to believe that as I've grown older, I've become more willing to take the Risks.  Risking my heart in the past has often brought about so much pain.  But I have learned it also brought about great and fantastic rewards.  Today, making the risk in order to potentially reap those rewards is happening more and more often.

In the past, I have also over-analyzed all of the possible outcomes of a decision for any given circumstance, and typically a single perceived negative outcome would have 100 times more power than 10 perceived positive outcomes.  Taking the risk in these circumstances more often than not reaps positive results, rather than negative. 

And I love learning that.  What-if-itis is slowly becoming a disease of my past.  I'm more and more likely to risk my heart and risk making a choice to do something, rather than run from it out of fear of a negative result. 


By the way... I've also answered a lot of those what-if-itis wonderings...

I DID talk confront a bully and it was very empowering and has made me much less tolerant of that behavior today.

If I hadn't moved to Ohio, I never would have met my husband and kids, or the fabulous friends I have surrounding me today.

If I hadn't given up on acting, I probably never would have begun scrapbooking and art-ing.  And I love that part of my life so very much!

And getting on the Barenaked Ladies tour bus?  I really did have that opportunity, oh-so many years ago.  Not taking that risk is still something I have the what-if-itis about.  But if the chance were to come along again, I'm pretty sure I'd make the same decision, so it doesn't matter anyway.

So overall, I believe that Risk = a happier Kai. 

Although, I still don't think I'll be jumping out of an airplane any day soon. 

How about you?  Do you suffer from what-if-itis?  Have you begun to knock that disease out of your life?  Join us and celebrate RISK today!

February Kit is live...RISK

We're not afraid of looking at the big picture, sharing our truth and putting it down on paper. Our unique blend of stylish, meaning-filled materials and our patented prompt-based approach to the inner journey will inspire you to be the real YOU. Click here to go to this month's inspiration page!

Here are some sneak of our DT layouts...full views by clicking above!

Patterned Paper

Crate Paper On Trend Haute
Crate Paper On Trend Style
Crate Paper On Trend Modish          
Crate Paper On Trend Swanky         
Crate Paper On Trend Craze 
Crate Paper On Trend Sensation       
Echo Park For the Record 2: Tailored Bouquet       
Echo Park For the Record 2: Tailored Handwritten 
Echo Park For the Record 2: Tailored Damask        
Echo Park For the Record 2: Tailored Borders

Embellishments

American Crafts Thickers Roster Mistable Alphas
Jillibean Soup Alphabeans Blended Black Alphas   
Basic Grey Lucille Titles Stickers     
Cosmo Cricket Elements Brads – Natural, 3 pcs
Glitz Cashmere Dame Crepe Trim 1/3 package
Glitz Yours Truly Peek a Boos 4 pcs
My Mind's Eye The Sweetest Thing – Tangerine Hello - Title
Prima Banda Yellow, 1 pc
Prima Metal Trinkets Typo Zippers, 2 pcs

Cardstock

American Crafts Cardstock Straw 
American Crafts Cardstock Black
American Crafts Cardstock Pacific
American Crafts Cardstock Lollipop
American Crafts Cardstock Goldfish

Technique

Julie Balzer Designs The Crafter's Workshop 6" Pattern Strips Mask

Color

Ranger Adirondack Paint Dabbers - Stream