Parting is such sweet sorrow! Today is my last day of blog hosting. This year LOST is in its final year, and I've watched since the pilot episode. I probably would have given up for pure confusion somewhere along the way, but one of my classmates from high school, Melinda Hsu Taylor, is a writer on the show, so I feel obligated to finish it out. I'm sure Melinda will tie it all together for us (I hope).

I am often heartbroken when a favorite tv series ends, like The Sopranos, Seinfeld, Six Feet Under, or my favorite show of all time: Northern Exposure. The end is so sad, I think, because it means that you won't get to have that special time with your favorite show anymore.

Fortunately for me, time has passed since the end of Northern Exposure, my husband has never seen the series, and modern technology has made it possible to watch just about any show anytime you want. We are planning to watch the full series of Northern Exposure over the summer, when all the current shows are over and sweeps months are gone and there is almost nothing to watch. We'll pick it up on hulu.com or on dvds. I think it will be like visiting with an old friend; it will probably remind me of what was going on in my life when I watched it the first go-round. I used Google's image search and Picassa's collage maker to make this page:



journaling: "Quite possibly my favorite show of all time. Quirky characters, northern small town life that I could completely identify with having grown up in a small town in Maine; big life questions seasoned with silly situations. I brought Mac to see snow for the first time this year & since Charlie has never seen this show we plan to watch the series on hulu in the summer this year. - Katie 2010."
 
I should have included in the journaling that after 22 years of living in Florida, I am finally starting to miss the snow. And that my Dad made me get my hunting license when I was 16 so he could have an extra spot in the Maine Moose Lottery, which he won two times. (Thankfully not under my name, which saved me from actually having to go moose hunting!) And that I have a long-time big, giant crush on John Corbett (also My Big Fat Greek Wedding & Sex in the City) who played Chris the radio DJ on the show. And that I met his girlfriend Bo Derek a few years ago at a Big Cat fundraiser. But that all didn't fit into the design I had in mind for the page.
 
I love working with a Theme and then creating a series of pages around that theme, because it allows me to come up with ideas I probably wouldn't have otherwise. It also helps me to connect with memories that I want to share. The Ella friends recently had an online conversation about how technology has changed over time, and that spurred so many emails and memories about the telephone. I think I could probably create at least seven layouts from the ideas and memories that conversation gave me.
 
Week 7 Challenge: Scrapbook your favorite TV show or movie. You could also do a top ten, but challenge yourself to choose just one. Or scrapbook about where you were when a big TV event occurred, like the death of Princess Diana or 911 or something else that we all saw on TV and instantly remember where we were. I'd love to see your pages! Please share.



Barb shares her talents with us by making a sketch for us.

(Post your finished layouts in this gallery at Scrapbook.com by next Thursday, and MAKE SURE you tag them "Ella TV challenge." We'll pick one random winner out of the gallery each week who will receive a free eBook. We'll also pick one random winner NEXT WEEK from all seven weeks of TV Challenges who will receive a $50 gift certificate to Scrapbook.com! To view other layouts that have been submitted for this series, just click here and type "Ella TV" in the search box.)

If you've been following along, every Friday on The Daily Trumpet, we've been talking about TV Theme inspired scrapbook layouts and the Process of Scrapbooking and what inspires you to start a scrapbooking layout. Guess which approach (photo, story, product, or design) I used on today's layout?



supplies: patterned paper (Sassafrass, Cosmo Cricket, K&Company) + font (Cambria).
 
journaling: "Wii - Mac - Allison - Nixon: Since we got the wii - these three are the best of friends and were thrilled when we decided to get a third game player thing; that television set is now called the "Wii TV!"
 
Here are your choices for the inspiration for this page:
1. Photo First Approach: The picture in the layout today I took by standing in front of the tv and taking the TV's view of my family as they were watching (or in this case playing). So how did I get the kids to smile when I was standing in front of the TV?!? I told them I wasn't going to move until they all smiled! It worked like a charm, and I had this adorable picture of my kids and their cousin!
 
2. Story First Approach: I wanted to tell a story about my kids and how they are becoming so close to their cousin. Lately Nixon has been coming over to play the Wii with my kids and we've had several play dates that look just like this! I also wanted to tell the story about how one of our television is no longer used as a tv but as a Wii playing station.
 
3. Product First Approach: This Sassafrass patterned paper reminded me so much of the Wii SuperMario games that my kids play that I just had to use it on a layout! I love to cut out images from products that my kids have (like this Mario image from a package insert).  I had to cut this one out with kid scissors, because the good scissors in my scrapbooking space seem to have legs, and they walk all over the house all by themselves. Imagine that!
 
4. Design First Approach: Wendy Smedley had a blog post after CHA about a trend she liked that included 8 1/2 x 11 layouts with everything down the center of the page; I've been making layouts like this ever since I saw her trend-spotting blog post!
 
Leave a comment with your guess about what approach I used to make this page!
 
Week 6 Challenge:  Make a scrapbook layout using the approach you use the least often. For example, if you are a story-first scrapbooker, try picking out a new product you've been wanting to use and start there first. Or if you are a photo-first girl, try picking a design you like and then finding the photos to fit into the design of the page. Please share your pages with us and let us know whether you found this exercise frustrating or refreshing!


Thanks Barb for another great sketch!

(Post your finished layouts in this gallery at Scrapbook.com by next Thursday, and MAKE SURE you tag them "Ella TV challenge." We'll pick one random winner out of the gallery each week who will receive a free eBook. We'll also pick one random winner at the end of the 7 weeks who will receive a $50 gift certificate to Scrapbook.com! To view other layouts that have been submitted for this series, just click here and type "Ella TV" in the search box.)

As you've been playing along with making TV Theme inspired scrapbook layouts, have you noticed what type of approach you are using when starting a page—story, photo, product or design? (Read the discussion from Week 1  to refresh your memory.) Please let us know what approach to scrapbooking you usually use and what type you use if you have a challenge to respond to. Are they the same or different?
 
This next layout was picture first. I had these great photos of my kids at the library, and I wanted to use them on a page right now because I just got them back from my photo printer. My challenge was how to incorporate pictures of my kids reading into the TV Theme? The TV Theme gave me my journaling inspiration:


 
supplies: patterned paper (Die Cuts With a View) + cardstock + letters (Cosmo Cricket).
 
Journaling: "It makes me so very happy that with all the dvds + tivo + wii + computers that the two of you are growing up with, that an afternoon at the library with good old-fashioned books can be so attention grabbing and fun for the two of you. - Mommy 2/10"
 
Week 5 Challenge: Create a page about how you feel about the amount of time or the types of shows you or your children are watching. Please share your layouts so we can all take a look!


Barb created a sketch for us, thanks Barb!

(Post your finished layouts in this gallery at Scrapbook.com by next Thursday, and MAKE SURE you tag them "Ella TV challenge." We'll pick one random winner out of the gallery each week who will receive a free eBook. We'll also pick one random winner at the end of the 7 weeks who will receive a $50 gift certificate to Scrapbook.com! To view other layouts that have been submitted for this series, just click here and type "Ella TV" in the search box.)

We interrupt Ella's TV themed scrapbooking pages for a commercial break!


 
Even with TIVO and DVR, we all still watch commercials now and then, right? We all have our favorites and the ones we can't stand to watch. A couple weeks ago, I was telling my daughter about that Wendy's commerical from the '80s "Where's The Beef." I found it on youtube.com and showed it to her; you can find just about any commercial you can think of on youtube.com!
 
My kids LOVE the Geico commercials. I can see the appeal, but my job as a personal-injury attorney puts me at odds with the well-spoken, funny, and cute little gecko. Regardless, I couldn't resist taking pictures of my kids at the Gulfport, Florida Gecko Fest with their Geico masks on. Too funny!




Barb made us a sketch!

supplies: cardstock + letters (Martha Stewart).
 
Journaling: "My kids love the Geico commercials + were thrilled to wear the Gecko masks. *My job gives me a love/hate relationship with Geico."
 
Week 4 Challenge: Make a layout inspired by a commercial or print ad, or choose a title that's a pun on a popular advertising catchphrase, or incorporate the words "brought to you by" or  some other familiar adverstising lingo. 

Thanks Barb for the sketch!



(Post your finished layouts in this gallery at Scrapbook.com by next Thursday, and MAKE SURE you tag them "Ella TV challenge." We'll pick one random winner out of the gallery each week who will receive a free eBook. We'll also pick one random winner at the end of the 7 weeks who will receive a $50 gift certificate to Scrapbook.com! To view other layouts that have been submitted for this series, just click here and type "Ella TV" in the search box.)

eBook giveaways awarded to the three below

Week 1 Smbradford

Week 2 Goldnuggt

Week 3 ToodyMouse

Thanks for playing along.

Hello Ella Readers!

Here we go again! ("Mamma Mia. Here we go again. My my, how can I resist you?" I bet you are singing it now right?!) Well, let's just say that my daughter could not resist the Mamma Mia movie and, as a result, I've had ABBA's greatest hits in my head for years! We have seen it countless times (including three times in the theater). And now that we have it on DVD, it is her absolute favorite, and she asks to see it before bed or when she's home for a sick day from school. It's her feel-good chick-flick movie. We've all got one of those right?



supplies: patterned paper (a kit from Walmart); letters (QuicKutz Studio); font (Cambria).
 
journaling: "We went to this movie on a Mother-Daughter "Date Night" & then we took Grandma to see it for her birthday, and Ally kept beggin me to see it again. So we did see this one three times at the movies; Miss Allison was so thrilled when it came out on DVD! I betcha we've seen this at least 100 times!"

Week 3 Challenge: Make a page about a movie or tv show that you've seen lots and lots of times. It could be a holiday movie or one that you watch a special time or when you're feeling a certain way—or even one that is just on VH1 or the E! Channel that they just keep playing over and over, and you find yourself sucked in again and again. Show us what you watch over and over and over.


Once again Barb has made a sketch for this challenge- thanks Barb!

(Post your finished layouts in this gallery at Scrapbook.com by next Thursday, and MAKE SURE you tag them "Ella TV challenge." We'll pick one random winner out of the gallery each week who will receive a free eBook. We'll also pick one random winner at the end of the 7 weeks who will receive a $50 gift certificate to Scrapbook.com! To view other layouts that have been submitted for this series, just click here and type "Ella TV" in the search box.)

Stay in touch with us and sign up for our newsletter

It's Week Two of the "TV Theme" for scrapbooking inspiration at the Ella Daily Trumpet! (Check out last week's post to see what I'm up to.)
 
Remember the tv shows you watched as a kid? I bet you can remember certain episodes completely and clearly, and maybe even be able to quote a few lines. I loved Captain Kangaroo, Sesame Street, and later, The Flintstones and Bugs Bunny.

I tried really hard to get my kids to love Sesame Street like I did, but they opted for Barney, Dora, and Thomas the Tank Engine. Different times, different shows. (Speaking of different, my kids have probably never heard that old familiar line "What you talkin' bout Willis!" from Different Strokes!) So, this picture of my son reading the Pebbles Flintstones cereal box at breakfast struck me, because he has probably never watched an episode of the The Flintstones. I even showed him the picture and asked him what The Flintstones were about and he said "I think there is a kid named Bam Bam," but he confirmed that he'd never seen the show. This was my inspiration for today's layout:


supplies: cardstock & patterned paper (K&Company, Die Cuts With A View, KI Memories); letters (QuicKutz Studio).
 
journaling: "I watched The Flintstones almost every day of my childhood. You just know them as yummy cereal."
 
Barb created a sketch based on the layout above for your use in this week's challenge.

Yabba-Dabba-Do, Your Challenge for Week 2: Create a page about a favorite TV show from your childhood or one of your children's favorites! Or compare the shows you watched when you were a kid to the ones your kids watch now. Or compare your childhood favorites to your partner's childhood favorites. Please share your layouts with us - we'd love to take a look!

(Post your finished layouts in this gallery at Scrapbook.com by next Thursday, and MAKE SURE you tag them "Ella TV challenge." We'll pick one random winner out of the gallery each week who will receive a free eBook. We'll also pick one random winner at the end of the 7 weeks who will receive a $50 gift certificate to Scrapbook.com! To view other layouts that have been submitted for this series, just click here and type "Ella TV" in the search box.)

Stay in touch with us and sign up for our newsletter.

Hello Ella Blog Readers!
 
Its Katie Scott and every Friday for the next 7 weeks, we are going to be talking TV. Why? Well, last month was sweeps month, so chances are that between the Winter Olympics and all the new shows on primetime, then your TV has probably been on more than usual! (At least it has been in my family.)

How does TV relate to scrapbooking? It doesn't, except that the monitor in my scrapbooking room doubles as a computer screen and as a television (thanks honey), and that I find that if I've got a theme, it makes it easier for me to scrapbook more quickly. And as I thought about TV last month, I was inspired to creative and quick pages that I might not have otherwise thought of making.
 
Let Me Explain: If you are an Ella fan, then you are probably familiar with Wendy Smedley and her book with Aby Garvey "The Organized & Inspired Scrapbooker" (which is unfortunately sold out). This book is pure eye candy; but the most interesting part of the book for me was "Chapter 3: Approach," which explores how most scrapbookers fall into four categories when it comes to starting a layout: 1. Story First; 2. Photos First; 3. Supplies First; and 4. Design First. (Tip: for an excellent discussion of the Process of Scrapbooking, take a listen to Paperclipping Episode #7, where Angie Lucas and other scrapbookers discuss how they approach scrapbooking.)
 
Ok, back to the point: I am usually a "Story First" or "Photos First" type of scrapbooker, which means that I either (1) have an idea for a page then go about finding pictures and scrapbooking supplies to support my story or (2) I sift through my photos and come up with an idea and then go about finding the scrapbooking supplies to complete the page. By choosing a theme first (like TV), then I can think about stories associated with that theme or find photos that fit into the theme. I find I think up layouts and execute them more quickly. I completed the 7 layouts you will see in this series of blog posts in ONE AFTERNOON using this Theme Approach!
 
My first page was a combination of the story-first and photos-first approaches. Story First: I knew I wanted to do a page about a TV show that my family is currently enjoying, and we like to watch Survivor, The Simpons, and American Idol as a family. Photos First: Then I flipped through my photos and found some photos of my son playing the American Idol home game. Based on that, I picked American Idol for the page. (But if I would have found pictures of our many kayak trips to an uninhabited island near our house, then I probably would have done a Survivor-themed page. And if I found pictures from our last trip to Universal Studios it would have been The Simpons.)



Journaling reads: "I'm pretty sure our family has seen every episode - its good clean fun & there isn't much of that on tv now days. We even bought the at home game. The funniest thing was that Mac went straight into AC/DC (thanks to our old "Manny" Gino) and Allison sang 'This Little Light of Mine' (thanks to Church School). "

Supplies: patterned paper (American Crafts); American Idol graphic printed from a google image search; letters (QuicKutz Studio); font (Calibri).
 
Ella friend, Barb Wong made this sketch to go along with the layout, Thanks Barb!!


Your first Ella challenge, should you choose to accept it, is to play along and create one TV-themed layouts every week for the next 7 weeks. Create your first layout about or inspired by a tv show that you or your family is currently enjoying. I can't wait to see what you create!

(Post your finished layouts in this gallery at Scrapbook.com by next Thursday, and MAKE SURE you tag them "Ella TV challenge." We'll pick one random winner out of the gallery each week who will receive a free eBook. We'll also pick one random winner at the end of the 7 weeks who will receive a $50 gift certificate to Scrapbook.com! To view other layouts that have been submitted for this series, just click here and type "Ella TV" in the search box.)

Stay in touch with us and sign up for our newsletter.