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Howdy, folks! Rumor has it that Ella just might be having its first (and ONLY) sale of 2009!

Check your email for the latest!

What, you say you're not on our email list?? Well, then mosy over here and sign up. Pronto, pardner.

P.S. EDITED 11/27: The winner of our trivia contest with 8 correct answers was KristiG! Email us at comments@ellapublishing.com to claim your prize. We'll post answers later this week!

A couple of weeks ago, Lain posted an illuminating tutorial on this blog called "How to create 4 cards in 20 minutes and keep your sanity." Alert reader Hillary Chybinski tried the system and sent her adorable results in to our Submissions email. And as far as we can tell, insanity was successfully avoided. Wanna peek?



"Okay, these took me a little longer than 20 minutes," Hillary said, "but what a GREAT inspirational idea to use up some stash." (Speaking of using up your stash, check out Hillary's blog today for a fun Christmas album inspired by Stacy Julian.)

Have you been inspired by something you've read about in an Ella eBook, in our Scrapbook Ellaments eZine, or on this blog? Please, share your results with us by emailing pictures of your project to submissions@ellapublishing.com, with "Ella Inspirations" in the subject line. We'd love to feature your work on our blog or perhaps in our eZine. But, above all, it just really makes us happy to hear from you.

And don't forget that we have two open calls right now for our Scrapbook Ellaments January issue. Read all about them here, and then submit your layouts for a chance to be published—and receive a free eBook if you're chosen.

Have a great (and grateful) week!

We are now accepting submissions for our January Scrapbook Ellaments issue! When we're looking for layouts for our eZine, we'll always notify you here on the blog but also on our submissions page. Start thinking...the deadline for both of these calls is December 1!

Submit to: Sketches Article

Deadline: Tuesday, December 1, midnight EST

To help celebrate our upcoming sketches eBook in January, we'd love to feature your sketch-inspired layouts in Scrapbook Ellaments that month! Our article will focus on fun strategies for adapting a single-page sketch to a layout spread. So pick ONE of the two sketches you see above, and adapt it to a two-page layout design. Whether you flip the sketch and make your second page a mirror image of the first, rotate one page or the other, spread the existing design across two pages, or just copy the design from page one onto page two...we want to see your best ideas! (Digital pages and 8½ x 11 adaptations are welcome.)

Email your submissions to submissions@ellapublishing.com with "Sketches Article" in the subject line! Preference will be given to nicely photographed or scanned cards, so click here and scroll down to "Increase Your Chances" for guidelines. In the body of your email, please explain how you were inspired, and include a complete materials list, formatted like this: patterned paper (American Crafts) + letter stickers (BoBunny) + buttons (BasicGrey) + Tahoma font + 5 x 7 digital card by Shiloh Jolie-Pitt. Chosen designers will win a free Ella eBook of their choice.

Submit to: Ella Inspirations January

Deadline: December 1, midnight EST

Yes, we want to see your Ella Inspirations any time of year, but we especially want to see them right now! We'll be devoting our January Editors' Corner article to showcasing your projects—any layout, card, or other piece that was inspired by something you read or saw in Scrapbook Ellaments or in one of our eBooks.

Email your submissions to submissions@ellapublishing.com with "Ella Inspirations January" in the subject line! Preference will be given to nicely photographed or scanned cards, so click here and scroll down to "Increase Your Chances" for guidelines. In the body of your email, please explain how you were inspired, and include a complete materials list, formatted like this: patterned paper (American Crafts) + letter stickers (BoBunny) + buttons (BasicGrey) + Tahoma font + 5 x 7 digital card by Shiloh Jolie-Pitt. Chosen designers will win a free Ella eBook of their choice.

If you ever find yourself inspired by something you've seen in our Scrapbook Ellaments eZine or in one of our eBooks, we'd love to see it! Just email a picture of your creation to submissions@ellapublishing.com with "Ella Inspirations" in the subject line. Why? Because e-mails like these make us VERY happy, and we just might decide to feature your work on The Daily Trumpet!

Here are two recent Ella Inspirations we received that we've been dying to share with you.


Wendy Copley created this layout after being inspired by the "Remember Where You Came From" prompt in the 20 Simple Secrets of Happy Scrapbookers eBook (by Stacy Julian and Lain Ehmann). Wendy posted her adorable layout on her blog and emailed us the link. Visit Wendy's blog to read her hidden journaling and a few of her thoughts about this page.

What we love about this layout: the oversize state cut out behind her photos, the tomato-shaped pull tab, the bandana-patterned chipboard letters, and the thematic die-cuts that add the perfect touch to the page.




Emilie Ahern sent us this layout after reading the Quick & Creative Quizzes eBook by Wendy Smedley and Angie Lucas. She used "the last quiz" featured in the book on her page, along with four simple photos. Emilie is such a rockstar! She's a killer photographer, knitter, seamstress, cook, the works. Her awesome Freeze Happy cooking blog was just featured in The Village Voice! Read all about this breaking news on her crafty blog.

What we love about this page: it's bright, it's happy, it's the easiest journaling strategy under the sun, and it's meaningful. Taking a snapshot of your life "right now" is so invaluable. Imagine how much fun it will be to look back on this five years from now and compare the most recent list of "lasts."

Are you inspired? We'd love to see YOUR "Ella inspirations" too!

If you're like us, you love a good mini-album. They're easy to create, fun to look at, and a great way to use up all your odds and ends -- as well as the perfect place to experiment with new techniques and products. Board books are a great starting place for mini-albums, as they're already sturdy, bound, and ready for action.

Today's Product Showcase is sponsored by the maker of some of the highest-quality board books we've found: Board Book Albums!

The blank books come in a variety of base colors (which means you can get right to decorating and embellishing if you don't want to paint or cover the background). And each page is pre-cut with a slot for photos - complete with built-in page protectors! That means these books are ideal for little hands with sticky fingers. :)

Our Ella Friends went to board book town and came back with some gorgeous projects. First up, from Noel Culbertson. She covered the plain pages with patterned paper and added lots of bling and flowers for a sophisticated look:




Supplies: patterned paper and cardstock stickers (Glitz Designs) + letter stickers (American Crafts) + flowers (Prima and Tattered Angels) + rhinestone Brad (Stampin Up) + rhinestone flourish (Prima)  + boardbook project by Noel Culbertson

Next, Monica McNeill created a completely different look with the same book. Her use of a subtle color scheme is perfect for that cute little baby! She says, "The white Take Your Pix Board Book Album was perfect for a set of pictures I took of my now 5 year old son when he was only 8 months. I had struggled using them before because there were too many full size pictures for even a two page layout. The 4x6 slots allowed me to easily drop in my pictures and coordinating cardstock.  I wanted to keep the book primarily white to set a clean canvas for my black & white pictures.  I loved that I didn't have to add much to this album, and it showcases these special pictures perfectly."

Because it's just "that time of year," I thought I'd share a few tips on quick card-making. (Note: this is more for one-off cards than for mass-produced holiday cards. If you want some helpful hints on creating your holiday cards, please read Celeste Smith's awesome article, Quick Christmas Cards.)

Stick with me here... follow along, step by step, and you too can amaze your friends and wow your enemies with four hand-crafted cards in twenty minutes!

Step One: 3 Minutes: Gather Your Supplies


(2) sheets 12x12 cardstock
(1) sheet coordinating patterned paper (scraps are fine... you'll see two sheets in the photo because I wasn't sure which I was going to use yet)
Assorted embellishments
Basics: trimmer, adhesive, glue dots, etc.

Step Two: 1 Minute: Trim

Cut each sheet of 12x12 cardstock to 8.5 x 11, and then in half to 5.5 x 4.25 (this is standard card size). SAVE THE SCRAPS.

Step Three: 2 Minutes: Choose a Format
I like to peruse online galleries and sites like Card Positioning Systems to find a good template. This is also a great time to leaf through any magazines or idea books you've created or purchased. Warning: DO NOT GET SIDETRACKED! Find the first "do-able" design and go with it. The point here is speed, not perfection. :) Also, remember that these cards are not all going to the same person, so you can repeat the card design.

Here is the one I chose (from CPS):


This was designed by Tami Mayberry.

Step Four: 1 Minute: Fold Cards.

I like to vary the edging a little, trimming some with my pinking shears, rounding the corners on others. But you could easily leave them all the same (and save yourself, oh, 30 seconds!)

Step Five: 3 Minutes: Trim Elements.
This is where it's really easy to get lost in the possibilities. DON'T SUCCUMB TO TEMPTATION! Stay the course. For instance, I decided to do three horizontal orientation cards and one vertical, so I trimmed three scraps of patterned paper (or cardstock) to 5.5", and one to 4.25" (actually a tad less because I trimmed the edge).

Then I cut four coordinating squares, at 1.5 x 1.5". Don't worry -- you'll have time to embellish in a later step.

Step Six: 2 Minute: Adhere Basic Elements.

Go to it. Don't measure unless you'll freak if I tell you that you can't. See how I varied the placement of the elements a tad? You can mix it up or stay true to the original design.

Step Seven: 10 Minutes: Embellish!

Now you've got a full ten minutes to play! Pull out that stash of odds and ends you have lying around your scrap space, get your inks and stamps, whatever. But remember: You have an average of 2.5 minutes per card, that's it! (Note: My cards are purposely blank for the Scrappers Give Thanks challenge. This is where you'd add sentiments with stamps, stickers, or rub-ons.) I could go absolutely nuts at this stage, but I specifically kept it simple. I would say I spent maybe five minutes digging through my stash and adding a few rub-ons and some really cute Details dimensional stickers from American Crafts.

Step Eight: With Any Leftover Time: Admire Your Handiwork!
Aren't you proud of yourself? I'm proud of you!

Do you have any card-making tips? Do tell!

We thought you might be interested in hearing how some of the magic here at Ella takes place. After all, Angie is in Utah (where our graphic designer, programmer, photographer, and copy editor also all live), Lain's in Boston, and Cathy Z. (our book designer) is in Minnesota. Our authors are all over North America (we're open to non-continental authors, too!). And our customers are world-wide!

It's not easy! We spend a lot of time on the computer, on our iPhones, and on Skype for L-O-N-G conference calls! It looks something like this:



(Except we're not back to back, two feet apart!)

Anyway, we're glad for the wonders of modern technology that allow us to communicate and bring our products to you!