Would you like to see YOUR layout in a Father's Day article in the June issue of Scrapbook Ellaments? To enter, email a scan or a photograph of your layout to submissions@ellapublishing.com with "Father's Day" in the subject line. In the body of your email, please include explanatory information about your layout: why you created it; whom it's about (your husband, your dad, etc.); and any interesting tips, tricks, or tidbits you'd like to share.

A layout by April's Scrapbook Ellaments cover designer, Stephanie Howell.

Please include a complete materials list, formatted like this: patterned paper (American Crafts) + letter stickers (BoBunny) + buttons (BasicGrey) + Tahoma font + 12 x 12 layout by Shiloh Jolie-Pitt (shiloh.blogspot.com) If you'd like us to link to your blog or website, make sure you include that in your materials list. Chosen designers will win a free Ella eBook!

Note: Layouts will be chosen partly based on the quality of the submitted photo or scan. Please click here and scroll down to "Tips for Photographing Your Layout" to make sure your submission meets our quality standards for online publication. We can't acknowledge every submission we receive, as much as we'd like to.

Just a few behind-the-scenes facts about our newest (and best?) eZine issue!



1. The winner of our cover contest was the lovely Keri Babbitt, who, we found out, happens to live just in the next city over from me! That was a first. She was able to drop off the layout right on my front porch, rather than having to mail it.

2. When we realized the eZine was going to go live on Cinco de Mayo (5-5-10), we just HAD to include a 5-related article. Hence, the Editor's Note. Incidentally 5 +5 =10. Not that it's relevant, but interesting to point out. How many dates are also addition problems?

3. In Mix & Match, two of the pattern pictures were photographed and sent in just exactly as you see them, and two were assembled digitally by me. (I learned some fun new shadow tricks in Photoshop in the process!) Can you guess which have natural shadows, and which have digital shadows? Okay, I'll give you one hint. Here's how one of the images came in:

4. I got a real kick out of this suspicious-looking puppy photo from Jody Wenke (in Paper Plus Pixels). Isn't that the most human expression you've ever seen on a dog? This pooch is thinking, "I don't know about you..."



5. Did you know there are now TWO ways to find out that the new eZine is live and ready to read? You can sign up for our mailing list, or you can "like" our brand new FaceBook page, where we'll post short synopses of each new article every month! You better do both, just to be safe.


We're moving to a PAGE instead of a GROUP, because it gives us so many more options for connecting with our readers in relevant, meaningful, and of course FUN ways. And we'll even bribe you with giveaways and free stuff, too; we're not above bribery.

So...will you Like us? Please? We just want to be Liked. Like Sally Field, we just want to be able to say, "You LIKE me. You really LIKE me!!!"

(p.s. We're not so sure we approve of the new "Like" button that replaced the old "Become a Fan" on FaceBook. If you don't Become a Fan, that doesn't feel personal, but not Liking someone, that's another story...)

This is the second part of our pairing up with  Design House Digital. They are a great resource for any range of experienced digital scrapbookers.

Design House Digital is a site dedicated to learning, creating, and sharing. This site is for all who want to preserve their memories and stories in meaningful ways. There are no pre-conceived notions of who you have to be or what your memories have to look like. Digital scrapbooking is more than just scrapbooking on a computer, it’s telling stories in any style you want those stories to be told. There are no boundaries here, only possibilities!

Ella friend, Jodie McNally made some projects using products from DHD. Hard to pick a favorite, I like them all.





credits: papers - textured cardstock by audrey neal at dhd; glitter alpha - glitz rainbow 2 by vicki stegall at oscraps.com; white alpha - signature alpha 2 by taylormade at oscraps.com; glitter - glitter drops by mary ann wise at dhd;font - pea heather's handwriting from kevinandamanda.com

Today's post is all about titles; crafting nifty and easy titles. A title is a must on a scrapbook page, and to work it needs to complement the layout, not overwhelm it. This can sometimes be a bit  tricky. View a few of the layouts with effective titles and let your brain incubate your own tricky title ideas.

Here are a few of my favorite layouts (all with cool title tricks) that I've seen from Text Tricks eBook co-author Sara Winnick:

Follow the shape of objects on your layout. Easy enough!


Here's a clean and appealing idea. Combine two fonts for your title! Cursive + Serif = Brilliant


Get your letters moving to add energy to the title. And using all lowercase letters gives it a playful and friendly feel.


Now, here are three title looks from Jody Wenke, which are all playful and provide support to the page's theme:

This is another combination of two fonts, which is adorable. That misplaced letter is catchy and cute, and it contradicts the word "seriously," just as Jody intended.


Using objects as letters is not always easy to do, but it is sure adorable when it works out! Keep an eye out for letter forms in the accents in your stash. (An "o" shape is super easy to find, but an "e"? That's quite an accomplishment!)


See? You can use just about anything that has a roundish shape in place of an "o"!

Now it's my turn! These ladies inspired me to get tricky with one of my titles.

I used an idea featured in the Ella text tricks freebie download. Check it out!
note: I repurposed this journaling from blog post onto a scrapbook page, which is a great way to capture your best blog ramblings.



For more text and title ideas, check out our affordable $4.99 eBook (by Margaret Scarbrough and Sara Winnick), or check out Ella's Text Trick freebie download, which has tons of fun and crazy ideas for titles.

Thanks to Katie for such a fun challenge. Really unique content ideas and some good tips were shared throughout this seven week challenge. The layouts created were unique, just like the challenges were. Giveaways shared below.

Weekly eBook awarded to:

Week 1 Smbradford

Week 2 Goldnuggt

Week 3  ToodyMouse

Week 4 Smbradford

Week 5 goldnuggt

Week 6 Scrapperann

Week 7 Millerkimberlyann

Thanks one and all!!
and now...
the grand giveaway goes to
Agata Dag

Next time you are planning scrapbook pages consider the list and sketches below.

TV Topics

* Follow Katie's lead and scrapbook directly about a favorite TV show.
* Compare your current family or the family you grew up in to a famous TV family (the Huxtables, the Bradys, the Bundys)
* Create a page showcasing the movies you loved as a kid, compared with the movies your kids love most
* Create a page listing the movies you've watched over and over again (Dirty Dancing? Pride & Prejudice? UP?)
* Document a chronological list of your favorite shows from different eras of your life (from The Andy Griffith Show to The Office)
* Scrapbook about a recent night out to the movies. Who went, what did you see, what snacks did you buy, what did the total bill come to?

Seven sketches that Ella friend Barb Wong made based on Katie's layouts















Until we start up another challenge...

Hope all you awesome Ella readers have exciting plans for this holiday. We are recommending you stop by and visit some of our friends in the industry and check out what they are doing.

Make sure and check out these awesome National Scrapbook day happenings.

Creating Keepsakes magazine

Studio Calico

jessicasprague.com

Big Picture Scrapbooking

Scrapbook.com

2Peas.com

Designer Digitals

AND, to help inspire you as you attend an online or in-person event for National Scrapbook Day, Ella is offering you a special deal this weekend only. Buy two eBooks (a minimum purchase of $10.98), and get a third eBook (up to $5.99 value) for FREE! Place all three of your chosen eBooks in your cart, and use the code MAYFIRST at checkout to redeem. Offer expires May 2 at midnight PST, so hurry! Shop now.

Be back later today with the TV challenge grand prize winner!

Today we have paired up with a digital scrapbooking company, Design House Digital, to inform you and get you all excited about everything that digital has to offer.

Design House Digital is a site dedicated to learning, creating, and sharing. This site is for all who want to preserve their memories and stories in meaningful ways. There are no pre-conceived notions of who you have to be or what your memories have to look like. Digital scrapbooking is more than just scrapbooking on a computer, it’s telling stories in any style you want those stories to be told. There are no boundaries here, only possibilities!

Ella friend, Noel Culbertson created three projects. Aren't they adorable?!



This layout used the  Authentic Kit.


Noel couldn't resist the name and style of the Daisy Jane Kits, which have a fun retro flair.



And for her last layout, she used the Vanity Fair Kit, and she's thrilled with the results.


Noel's take on the site, "I found the selection of papers at Design House Digital to be fantastically varied, with loads that fit 'my style.' The site was easy to navigate, with a classy layout. I did wish that there were a few more embellishment options for each kit...hopefully there will be in the future! Additional options aside, I enjoyed playing with the wonderful designs from the seriously talented designers."

For some useful digital information worth your time check these out
digi terms
how to download a digital kit
creating a digi layout
freebies

Come back next Wednesday for more from Design House Digital!

{ discovery no.18 } don’t forget to have fun

“Regularly having fun is one of the five central factors in leading a satisfied life. Individuals who spend time just having fun are 20 percent more likely to feel happy on a daily basis and 36 percent more likely to feel comfortable with their age and stage in life.”



This layout is based (and the text above is from) on secret #18 from the eBook, 20 Simple Secrets of Happy Scrapbookers. It seems easy enough, have fun, but for some of us task driven women this can be a challenge. I know it is for me. So how do we have fun? If this question is hard to answer for yourself, then you, like me, need to figure it out and make time for it!

a few things I do for fun

• listen to favorite podcasts like the Moth and Wiretap
• visit with friends at the neighborhood pool
• visit my favorite funny blogs
• play games with the kids
• camp and enjoy nature
• complete decorating projects
• scrapbook, of course
• hang out with friends
• chat with friends
• reminisce with my family
• go to movies with my man
• go on shopping adventures with friends
• walk through beautiful gardens

Make a list of what you do for fun, then photograph some of those items and make a layout. Simple really, remember it is important to document yourself.

Supplies: letter stickers (AMerican Crafts) + border stickers and flower (Sassafras Lass) + + sticker (Little Yellow Bicycle) + Tuffy font

You still have a chance to enter to win a $50 gift certificate from scrapbook.com!

As described (and demonstrated) in the previous blog post, just create a single layout inspired by a favorite movie or television show, and upload it to this gallery at Scrapbook.com by Thursday, April 29, and MAKE SURE you tag it "Ella TV challenge"!



Here are a few page ideas:
We'll pick one random winner out of the gallery this week who will receive a free eBook. We'll also pick one random winner from all seven weeks of Katie Scott's TV Challenges (including this week's entries) 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.)

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.)