Today is National Wear Red Day! Ella friends nationwide are donning red to raise awareness about heart disease, and we invite you to join us.

Put on a red dress, t-shirt, shoes, necklace, lipstick, or ribbon—we know you have that! Then share a photo with us through our linky party (details at the end of this post). One random party guest will receive a Color Mists prize pack from Studio Calico and a red dress pin from the American Heart Association.

Heart disease kills one American woman every minute.* Who will be next? Will it be you? Will it be someone you love? Fight back by warning the women in your life and taking action together. The American Heart Association makes it easy, just click here to tell 5 friends what you already know: heart disease kills, but we don’t have to be its victims.

Valentine’s Day is the perfect excuse to tell female friends and relatives you want them around for years to come. Share your love, appreciation, and admiration with one of these girly greeting cards, tags, or gifts from our Ella friends. Plus, download a free printable.

Card by Christa Paustenbaugh

Card by Jennifer Wilson

Card by Kelly VanDerMolen

Card by Grace Tolman

Card by Grace Tolman

Card by Grace Tolman

Tag by Shemaine Smith

Tag by Shemaine Smith

Jar of Hearts by Elizabeth Dillow

Free Printable by Audrey Neal [download available at end of post]

Show Us Your Red for a Chance to Win

To enter, upload a picture of yourself wearing red to your blog or any photo-sharing service; then link it up below by February 5. One random winner will be drawn from the entries below and announced the week of February 6.

* Statistics provided by the American Heart Association (AHA). To learn more about heart disease, risk factors, and prevention, visit the AHA at heart.org.

You love your family. You would do anything to keep them safe and healthy. What would they do without you? Probably, eat cereal for every meal, wear dirty t-shirts to school, and forget to wash behind their ears. But, seriously, what would they do if they lost you to a heart attack?

According to the American Heart Association:*
• Heart disease is the no. 1 killer of American women over age 20, claiming approximately 1 woman every minute.
• More women die of heart disease than the next five causes of death combined, including all forms of cancer. In fact, 1 in 3 American women dies of heart disease.
• 90% of women have one or more risk factors for developing heart disease.

Fortunately, you don’t have to be a statistic: 80% of cardiac events in women can be prevented by monitoring and managing risk factors through diet and exercise. Controllable risk factors include high cholesterol, high blood pressure, diabetes, obesity, physical inactivity, and smoking (learn more here).

You can make small lifestyle changes today that will significantly reduce your risk of heart disease. Start by setting one simple goal. Choose from the list below, or visit goredforwomen.org to find out how you can live heart healthy at any age.

Start now!
• Learn the warning signs of a heart attack, and watch this video about a supermom who takes care of everyone but herself.
• Research your family’s history of diabetes, stroke, high blood pressure, and heart disease/heart attack. Heredity can increase your risk for developing heart disease. The more you know, the more you can do to reduce your risk.
• Find your numbers: total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, HDL cholesterol, triglycerides, blood pressure, fasting glucose, height, weight, and waist in inches. Use these numbers to complete the Go Red Heart CheckUp. You manage what you measure, so start keeping a log.
• Try a new heart-healthy recipe, or adapt one of your own using heart-smart substitutions.
• Increase your physical activity: recruit a walking buddy, try an exercise band routine, enroll in a workout class, or go outside and play with your kids.

I asked Ella friends to share what they’re doing to become heart healthy and reduce their risk of heart disease. I was amazed and inspired by their commitment, and I hope you will be, too. If you’ve made changes—or plan to—leave a comment so we can cheer you on!

Album Pages by Kelly VanDerMolen [click for larger view]

Kelly started this album to document her experience training for a walking half-marathon.

Layout by Elizabeth Dillow [click for larger view]

Elizabeth designed this layout as a reminder of the risk factor she inherited and her reasons for keeping it in check.

Layout by Christa Paustenbaugh [click for larger view]

Christa and her husband started running for sport, but they keep running to set a good example for their children.

Layout by Melissa Gener [click for larger view]

Melissa, a doctor and mother of two, started a weight-loss program three years ago and has lost over 58 lbs. She will be running her first 5K in March.

Layout by Robyn Schaub [click for larger view]

After almost giving up, Robyn signed up for a weight-loss program at work and has lost almost 35 lbs. She feels healthier, happier, and more confident, and she's proud of the example she's setting for her girls.

Layout by Audrey Neal [click for larger view]

Audrey's layout reflects on her father's early passing and shares the motivation she feels to keep her heart strong so she'll be around to see her daughters grow up.

Journal by Grace Tolman [click for larger view]

Grace created this health journal to track her important numbers and keep track of her goals.

Tomorrow is National Wear Red Day! Help raise awareness about heart disease by dressing in red and inviting your family and friends to do the same. We’ll be celebrating with female-friendly love notes, a linky party (show off your favorite red apparel), and a giveaway from Studio Calico. So come back, and join the fun!

* Statistics provided by the American Heart Association (AHA). To learn more about heart disease, risk factors, and prevention, visit the AHA at heart.org.

February is National Heart Month—as in, the human heart—and we’re celebrating with three days of heartfelt stories and projects leading up to National Wear Red Day on Friday, February 3. This is a day for women nationwide to band together in raising awareness about heart disease and making personal commitments to improve their own heart health.

The term “heart disease” describes a wide range of heart-related illnesses, including those that lead to cardiac arrest. Heart disease is our nation’s no. 1 killer, causing 40.6% of all deaths—nearly 2,200 Americans each day.*

Most of us know at least one person affected by heart disease, and some of us are fighting our own battles. I invited Ella friends coast-to-coast to share personal stories about heart disease and other heart-related illnesses. Their poignant layouts reminded me of my own reason for taking up the cause.

One year ago, my husband and I adopted Daphne, a baby girl with half a heart. She lived just 58 days, passing away shortly after her second heart surgery. The causes of congenital heart defects are unclear, so it’s impossible to know whether Daphne’s condition could have been avoided. But most types of adult-onset heart disease are preventable, and my time with Daphne taught me to cherish and fight for more time with those we love. We must start by taking care of our own hearts; then we must ask our loved ones to do the same.

I hope these layouts will inspire you to join the fight against heart disease. It’s not as hard as it sounds, and tomorrow I’ll show you how to get started. If you or someone you love has been affected by heart disease, please share your story in the comments. And if you’ve created a layout, don't forget to include a link.

Layout by Rachel Gainer [click for larger view]

Layout by Katrina Kennedy [click for larger view]

Layout by Audrey Neal [click for larger view]

Layout by Kelly VanDerMolen [click for larger view]

* Statistics provided by the American Heart Association (AHA). To learn more about heart disease, risk factors, and prevention, visit the AHA at heart.org.

I am just thrilled to be heading out to Anaheim this weekend to go to CHA. I love connecting with friends in the industry and seeing the new product releases + all the awesome booths. One other thing I enjoy is to look for emergin trends on the show floor. As part of my preparation I have been viewing the pre-release images and I see emerging trends. I am sharing my short list of what trends I will be looking for. Some of these are brand new, some are slowly growing. What trends do you see?

Patchwork

Handmade by Lily Bee

Game On, Websters Pages

She Art, Pink Paislee

Strawberries

Pretty Party, Crate Paper

Eye Charts (this is a huge home decor trend)

Maya Road

Subway Art

Be You, Fancy Pants

This list could keep going.

• airmail
• luggage Tags/tickets
• chevron pattern
• kite tails
• union flag
• mason jars.....

What do you see?? What do you want to see as a trend?

This week, we've been in the studio filming six new episodes for season two of our Books & Crafts show for mycraftchannel.com. Here are a few sneak peeks of what we've been up to this week—and what you can expect from season two!

Our Desktop Flip Frame episode (featuring quotes and pages torn from books). Super cute, and inspired by a Heidi Swapp project from her "Create to Remember" show on My Craft Channel.

Who wouldn't love to make a pillowcase monster? Another episode filmed this week.

And we even had a fabulous guest, Kari Sweeten from U-createcrafts.com, who shared five great ideas for making decorated library totes.

All this and more! You'll be the first to know when our new episodes are live.

And we hope that one day you'll get to glimpse the blooper reel. We had the WORST laughing fit while trying to record the "outro" for our last episode of the week. It's that inappropriately timed laughter that just escalates the more you try to stifle it.

I stumbled over the word "Books & Crafts," accidentally saying "craps," and then we giggled and guffawed like we were in Junior High for a solid minute or two. The poor cameraman was patient with us while we tried four more times. "Okay, okay, I can do this..." I'd say while laughing through my tears, and then I'd compose myself and start again, "Thanks for joining us for this week's episode of Books & ..." and Wendy would bust up again. And again. And again. And it's all. on. film.

This has to be my favorite Angie project from season one- I LOVED how hers turned out. She has them displayed on her piano and gets lots of comments about how cool they are. So what is my problem, I need to get some done!! In the meantime learn how to make some yourself.

Book Picks

I shared a book by contempory writer, Aimee Bender called An Invisible Sign of My Own. LOVED this book and I read it after I read another book written by Aimee, The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake, and I highly recommend both of these books. I found both stories to be quirky, emotional,a bit edgy, but definetly a unique read.

Angie choose, Theories of Everything: Selected, Collected, and Health-Inspected Cartoons, 1978-2006 , for her book pick and she says it is, “Total nerd humor. Found in the New Yorker. Kind of like Seinfeld, the jokes are about mundane, everyday life. Jokes about ‘nothing.’ Like there’s a poem to your toaster...”

*Disclaimer these links may contain affilate codes which may generate a few pennies for Ella, thanks

Wow- what a thrill to be a part of My Craft Channels first season. We are so excited to be filming season two this month. For now enjoy the episodes here on our blog over the next few days.

Stuff we couldn't show, and other random comments below.

Our book pick, the original Listography, has a super cool website and app with a place to compose your own lists plus all the additional Listography books. 

and a book I have not seen, but so want to, is the To-Do-List a book that has a collection of other peoples to do lists, what a cool idea. You can read other people's to do lists and learn more about what a to do list says about you on the book authors blog.

Do you use lists in your scrapbooking? life? do you save them?? I think I should make a layout out of old lists...

Don't forget our List-It! products, Angie does a review of them below.

Happy list making!!

Disclaimer**and when I can figure it out, I try to add Ella's amazon affiliate links so a few cents of your purchase, if you make one, may go to Ella.

Happy January 19, everyone! Can you believe it's been a week since we all embarked on the Take Twelve photography challenge? Each month on the 19th I'll feature some completed Take Twelve layouts from our team and draw names of lucky recipients of the month's giveaway.

Speaking of the monthly giveaway... you'll find the link submission information at the end of each 12th-of-the-month post (see January's here); from now on, we'll extend the entry deadline to midnight EST on the evening of the 18th. That's an extra day to turn those twelve photos into something magical (a blog post, a layout, or whatever your heart desires!). We also encourage you to continue adding your photos and layouts to the Ella Publishing Co. 2012 Take Twelve Project Flickr Group (whew! Say that five times fast!) all month long—we'll feature a few photos/layouts here at The Daily Trumpet on February 12!

Let's get to it, shall we?

I decided to use one of Donna Jannuzzi's fantastic sketches from the Take Twelve Guided Inspiration Kit for my photos—while I'm going to make an honest effort to use some of the less linear sketches she created, I couldn't resist beginning with the clean lines of this one. My photos weren't all landscape orientation; I just resized and cropped them so they'd fit the sketch measurements. I added a few simple details (including that super-fun letterpress camera I cut out of a card—there are four more on the card so I might use a different one next month!) and summarized my notes that I wrote up for my blog on January 12.

Next up: Take Twelve Team member Margie Scarpignato. I wanted to include her digital layout today to prove a point: you can fit in twelve photos and a layout even if you're really, really busy. Margie did—on a flight with her boys from California to China. Amazing!! She simply focused on one event (albeit a GIANT event for most of us) and snapped away. Her journaling takes the form of a descriptive list—not complicated at all.

I absolutely loved the spin Take Twelve Team member Van Nguyen put on her twelve photos: her resolution for 2012 is to work on finding balance in her life, so she's going to use her involvement with the Take Twelve Project to check in with how that's going. Whether you approach your photos in a random, haphazard way (ahem—like me, this month) or in a reflective way as Van did, you're still on your way to capturing 144 unique memories through your camera's lens. Make this project your own!

Take Twelve Team member Angela Gutshall's page is bright and happy—and the perfect blend of order (square photos) and whimsy (embellishments). She lopped her List-It in half (printed from the Take Twelve Guided Inspiration Kit) for a unique look that saves space and provides balance.

Last up for today is team member Monica Bradford. Look familiar? Look closely—we used the same sketch to create our layouts! The beauty of sketches is that they are infinitely customizable; no two layouts based on the same sketch will ever turn out exactly alike. Our layouts are both focused on the everyday moments that occurred on January 12, but she took an hourly approach to capturing them.

Want even more ideas? Be sure to visit the following Take Twelve Team members' blogs to see how they approached the challenge!

Valerie

Jennie

Stephanie

Aliza

Lisa D.

Check out some great ideas from some of our staff and Ella Friends, too:

Bobbi-Jo

Christa

Missy

Angie

Now... how about that giveaway? Up for grabs: a seat in Cathy Zielske's Ten Tips for Better Type and a seat in May Flaum's The Curious Scrapbooker's Field Guide. Thanks to Big Picture Classes for their generous sponsorship of this month's Take Twelve Project giveaway!

[drumroll please][the accidental latecomers to the link party were included in the integer spread]

Congratulations to #11 (Fay) and #35 (Michelle Evans). We'll have our people contact your people very soon to work out the details!

Thanks to everyone who participated this month. And for those of you who haven't jumped in yet... it's not too late!

Yeah, January is half over, but that doesn't mean there isn't still time to get organized with an AWESOME 2012 customizable photo planner! 

You can win one of FOUR planners I'm giving away on my personal blog, angielucas.com.

Here's my customized cover for 2012:

And there are lots more pics where that came from. Click here to enter to win!

It’s that time of year again, when the Craft and Hobby Association holds their winter show for industry professionals, and Ella will be there staying up to date all the latest buzz.

I’ve been watching the sneak peeks closely over at Scrapbook Update, and I already have a few early favorites that I can’t wait to check out in person. Here are just a few things I’m eager to scope out:

1. New goodies from Jenni Bowlin Studios, particularly the chalkboard easel and the hexagon stickers.

2. Buttercup by Lily Bee

I’ve only seen a teensy peek of this line, but the colors sing to me (they are, after all, Ella colors!), and I can’t wait to see the rest!

3. Button Market from Bella Blvd

I’m a sucker for fun buttons! Here are a couple of my must-haves from the new Bella Blvd button collection:

Interested in knowing what all the upcoming trends will be? Check out my personal blog, Noodle Soup, for some early predictions.

Which of the new releases are you most excited about? Let us know in the comments!