You're invited to a PAR-TAY!

On September 1, 2009 at 8:03 p.m. MST, ellapublishing.com made her official entrance into the world. This little bundle of joy began offering top-quality eBooks, a free monthly eZine, and tons (get it? TONS? She's an elephant?) of blogging and memory-keeping fun.

To celebrate, we're having a party here on The Daily Trumpet every single Monday in September. Stop by each week for your chance to win incredible prizes from Ella Publishing Co. and our birthday-party sponsors Shutterfly and Scrapbook.com. There are hundreds of dollars of great prizes up for grabs. Hope you can make it!

Is there anyone else out there who shares Ella's birthday? Speak up, birthday buddies!

** Psst! If you're on our mailing list, watch for a special email announcement to hit your inbox at exactly 8:03 p.m. MST tonight.

Hello all you Ella Fans out there! Would you like to become an official part of the Ella Publishing Co. family? We're now accepting applications for our second Ella Friends team! Part design team, part social-media ground crew, our Ella Friends team is an instrumental part of helping Ella spread the good news of scrapbooking far and wide.

We can't thank our group of inaugural Ella Friends enough for all they've done to help us through our first year in business. (Linda, Noel, Moon, Jodie, Monica, Tami, Katie, Katrina, and Barb, you've been the best!) Are you scrapper enough to follow in their footsteps?

(photo from Flickr Creative Commons, by epSos.de)

Answer our Ella Friend call! Here are the details...

What We're Looking For
Passionate scrapbookers who are active online, whether via blogs, online scrapbooking galleries, Facebook, Twitter, manufacturer design teams, and more.
Paper, hybrid, and digital scrapbookers. All creative types are welcome to apply!
Scrapbookers who offer a wide variety of styles, from simple to artsy
Scrapbookers from all over the world and from all walks of life
NOTE: Previous design-team experience not expected or required! We're looking to work with current influencers AND fresh new faces in the industry. This is not a popularity contest! And while we had nine Ella Friends last year, we are not limited to any specific number. We may choose eight, we may choose a dozen!

What You'll Do
Act as our marketing ground crew, helping us spread the Ella news via blogs, Facebook, Twitter, scrapbooking forums and galleries, and more!
Share ideas, insights, and anything else you'd like to share to help Ella grow and evolve.
Write articles, blog posts, and possibly even eBooks.
Support and participate in design challenges and product showcases on the Ella blog.
Offer feedback and guidance about Ella's upcoming editorial plans.

What You'll Get
Free advance copies of all new Ella eBooks.
Product packs from our sponsor manufacturers.
A profile on ellapublishing.com, with links back to your blog.
Opportunities to guest blog, write articles, and possibly even eBooks.
Opportunities to design pages and projects for articles, eBooks, blog posts, design challenges, and more.
Occasional "happy mail" from Angie and Wendy.

How to Enter
Send an email to submissions@ellapublishing.com with "Ella Friend Call" in the subject line by Monday, September 13, 2010. In that email, attach pictures of four layouts or projects that you feel illustrate your scrapbooking or paper-crafting style. And in the body of the email, please answer the following nine questions:

1. Why do you want to be an Ella Friend?
2. Why do you scrapbook and/or what are your scrapbooking goals?
3. What are your top three sources of scrapbooking inspiration? (Apart from Ella, of course!)
4. Where and how are you active online?
5. How many people are you able to reach with your online efforts? (Share number of Facebook or Twitter followers and/or blog traffic numbers.)
6. What design teams are you on now or in the past?
7. How would you describe your scrapbooking style or philosophy?
8. Please tell us where you live and with whom. (In other words, describe your family!) 
9. Give Ella one sincere compliment (insincere compliments are also welcome):

The new team will be announced on or around September 27, 2010.

I wanted to share with you some design ideas for creating a unique foundation on your page for your photos to reside.  It's a great way to begin a page because it gives your photos a "home"  and gives them a solid layer on which to build upon.  Obviously, a square of cardstock or patterned paper is the simplest way to create this base. I'm going to give you some out-of-the-box ideas using supplies you may not have thought of before.

Try LEFTOVERS as your foundation:

These tags were made for journaling, but grouped together in a rectangle, they make a wonderful base for these photos of my daughter.  You could create similar base with patterned paper, but this set of die-cut tags were quick and easy because they were already cut and color coordinated!

supplies:  die cut tags (Collage Press) + metal photos corners (Making Memories) + scissors (Fiskars) + font (Typeslab Serif) + brads

Used alone, these perforated tickets could make a cute accent to your page.  But grouped together, they make a colorful and textural matte for my photos.  The rough edges of the perforations add a rustic feel that works well with the pumpkin patch scene and the wooden letters.

supplies:  tickets (SEI) + letters (K & COmpany) + flowers (MAking Memories) + font (Veteran Typewriter) + buttons

Hope you enjoyed this series as much as I. if you missed my previous weeks check them out .

Week 1 PAINT

Week 2 STAMPS

Week 3 PATTERNED PAPER STRIPS

To learn how to make layouts like ones shown here pick up a copy of Design Workshop for $5.99, authored by me, Lisa.

Week 3 winner is Lisa Kisch

As you may have noticed from the sudden infusion of PINK into our website, Ella's Essential Guide to Scrapbooking Girls is on sale now! (Don't worry, boy mamas, Ella's Essential Guide to Scrapbooking Boys goes on sale in September!)

To celebrate, we've decided to give some fun stuff away!

Leave us a comment telling us what kind of girl YOU are (girly girl, diva, tomboy, career woman, athlete, craft goddess, mama's girl, daddy's girl, fashionista, mama bear, etc.) and four random winners will win one of these amazing prizes:

A copy of Ella's Essential Guide to Scrapbooking Girls:

The "Perfectly Posh" collection from Imaginisce:

The "Flirty" collection from Bella Blvd:

The "Snugglebug" paper line from Little Yellow Bicycle:

You go, girls! (And by that I mean, comment.) I hope you win!

Hello.  My name is Kim Hughes and I am thrilled to be here today.  I have dabbled in so many artistic venues but the one that makes my heart swoon is card making.  What I love most is the freedom that I have with each mini creation.  Yes, the rules of three sometimes apply,  design certainly matters...but not always.  What ultimately matters in the end is that you have a piece of art that can easily make someone's day.  Pretty powerful stuff!

I love cards with playful elements that make me smile.  "Cluster Cards" have this effect on me.  It's nothing more than forming a collage with scrapbooking products.  You can take advantage of a stamp set that includes many coordinating images, a rub-on pack that works beautifully together, or collect many different products to create a focal point that is just so sweet.


Here is an example of a cluster that is centered and truly the focal image.  This is a playful look that you can achieve by mixing different textures and colors.  The dominant white Fleur de lis is calmed by the fresh elements that surrounds it.  Everything is aligned neatly but still has the look of a collage.  The kraft card base helps the colors pop, the subtle polka dot pattern lends to the "cute factor"


This card is so simple but says everything it needs to.  It would be so easy to over-do this card, just by adding embellishments and ribbon.  So, I simply stamped a hot air balloon and 3 clouds.  The color combination draws attention to each element and some tiny hand stitching is all the accent you need.  A hand written sentiment is simply said.  It's not "top heavy" because it's a scene that takes place in the sky and the colors are soft.  It becomes a warm card by stamping on grid paper and rounding the bottom 2 corners brings your eye back up to the top



When choosing rub-ons to create a collage from, make sure to have a

• larger focal image
• sentiment
• pattern
• supporting elements

(and be sure to keep the backing in tact so that you can play with the placement before committing to the card base)


Keep in mind that you are not tied to a certain look or pattern with rub-ons, simply cut off what you don't want to use.

I chose a textured, scalloped card stock to add interest.  This is a flat card that won't require extra postage when mailing.  You can easily add some bling to the dots, glitter to the bats or a few brads along the border.

Note this card has balance because the witch is pointing to the white space and the bats bring your eye back to the main event.

I hope that I have inspired you to break the rules a bit and just have fun creating.  This is a great way to use up random stickers and scraps as well.  Have fun!

Supplies:
card stock: Bazzill Basics
paper: October Afternoon
pearls, rose: Zva Creative
chipboard, stamps: American Crafts
scalloped border rub-on: Jenni Bowlin
rainbow border sticker: Doodlebug Design
ink: Papertrey Ink
floss: DMC
corner rounder: Fiskars
word sticker: Making Memories
pen: Sakura

about me:
I have been a card maker since 2004 and have truly enjoyed meeting the most wonderful people in the industry.  I am a Go-to Gal for Paper Crafts magazine, and I am the DT Coordinator for Zva Creative.  I design for Papertrey Ink, Provo Craft and Therm O Web adhesives.  I teach for Paper Crafts and at my local scrapbook store.  My hand written fonts can be found at ScrapNFonts.  I was a Stamp Illustrator in the past and may possibly dabble in stamp design once again someday.  I blog at least three times each week stop by and say hello.

Hey Ella Loves you are in for a treat today!
Your submissions have been keeping me mesmerized and this month was no exception.
We had some amazing submissions and I can't wait to share my crush list with you.

First off is Nicole Pomeroy, with her layout "Old Soul"; second is Keshet Starr, with her card "Tweet"; third is Mindy Miller, with her layout " My Lens"; next is Hera Frei, with her layout "Sleep Over"; and last-but not least-is Diane Herman, with her layout "My Sister".

I attention was immediately pulled to Nicole's layout, "Old Soul". Not only is her daughter adorable, but I love the branch she used and all the texture she created by stacking paper behind her photo! You can find more wonderful layouts by Nicole at:

I love-love-love Keshet's ingenuity of using an amazing new product for such an outside the box project. Rose flower ribbon for a birds nest-pure genius! It makes me want to pull out my new ribbon shipment and get started. You can find Keshet's amazing talents at her blog.

I was absolutely drawn to the super cute baby grin on Mindy's page. I love that she took a different journaling perspective and talked about why we take photos. Not just because we love to look at them, but because we are capturing memories. Well said...well said indeed! Mindy will continue to inspire you at her blog.

Hera, my dear, I LOVE that you took me up on my quirky challenge and knocked it out of the park. I love the twist that you threw in with writing it from his point of view, but through your eyes...that is exactly what this challenge was about perspective! You can find more layouts from Hera at her Studio Calico gallery.

Diane's page with her daughters was so heartfelt...how could I not love it? I was enamored with the letter from her 18 year old daughter to her 6 year old daughter. It doesn't get much more tear-jerker...isn't that a moment that all parents dream of? I love it Diane, thanks for giving a whole different perspective on scrapping. Thanks for sharing Diane.

Lastly ladies, I wanted to leave you with a super quick page I made for my perspective layout challenge. It's about a time not too long after my husband and I had gotten married when he and his dad decided to go hunting and they didn't come home when they were supposed to. To make a long story short, they were fine and a little shocked that we had called search and rescue. It was a long scary night...that now makes for a hilarious story and scrap booking page.

I hope you all enjoy this months Liz's Loves, and that they inspire you to get creative...you never know, next month you might see your name on my crush list!

Hugs!
Liz

.

I wanted to share with you some design ideas for creating a unique foundation on your page for your photos to reside.  It's a great way to begin a page because it gives your photos a "home"  and gives them a solid layer on which to build upon.  Obviously, a square of cardstock or patterned paper is the simplest way to create this base. I'm going to give you some out-of-the-box ideas using supplies you may not have thought of before.

Try PATTERNED PAPER STRIPS as your foundation:

To create a sense of motion on this page about my kids tubing, I used various widths of patterned paper staggered across the page.  It makes a visually interesting platform for the photos and gives the mostly-white photos a nice colored background to contrast against.

supplies:  patterned paper (Studio Calico, October Afternoon, Jenni Bowlin Studio, vintage) + stickers (Studio Calico) + pearl (Basic Grey) + flower

I could have used a square of kraft cardstock to matte my photos and journaling on this page, but by weaving several 1/2" strips together, I've added much more texture and interest to the foundation.  I purposely trimmed the edges unevenly to keep the base from feeling too blocky and square.

supplies:  patterned paper, journal card, stickers, label (Jenni Bowlin Studio) + flower (Prima) + button

Come back next week to see what other foundation ideas I share. if you missed my previous weeks check them out .

Week 1 PAINT

Week 2 STAMPS

To learn how to make layouts like ones shown here pick up a copy of Design Workshop for $5.99, authored by me, Lisa.

week 2 winner is goldnuggt

Today's product showcase is brought to you by Nikki Sivils Scrapbooker.

This company is known for it's contemporary color palette and original designs as well as their textured embeliishments. See what some of our Ella friends have created using new product lines from Nikki Sivils.

Moon Ko is up first and she played with the Something for Everyone line and some burlap buttons

"I used Something for Everyone Cardstock Stickers to create the journaling blocks and die cut  one of the patterned papers for the title. Loved the burlap buttons and added those to a chipboard heart as well."

Now time for the prolific and talented Barb Wong. Her designs used the My Friend Birdie line and cool cord brads

"I created my layout using products from Nikki Sivil's My Friend Birdie line. I cut the blue and yellow patterned paper into a shape inspired by a newspaper ad, and I also cut the pennant banner from a sheet of patterned paper. I loved the fun colour scheme of the line... it complimented my photos perfectly. I used the label and alphabet stickers to help me tell my story, and I finished off with three corduroy covered brads. I arranged them to mimic the balloons in the photos. I love that the colours match the papers perfectly! 

Tami Morrison layers a variety of papers together to create the layout below and she used the burlap buttons also.

"My favorite product from this line is the adorable burlap buttons, which I used to embellish a vellum bubble. I loved the wide variety of label sticker options and stacked several together to create a layered journaling block."
 

Read more about the company and their reasons for starting it here. Stay in touch with them via their blog and check out the fantastic designs in their gallery.

Every now and then, we like to take a moment to recap all the AMAZING and fun ways to keep up with Ella every day. (Keep reading for a chance to win Ella's complete library of eBooks and/or to get a $3 coupon!)

Here we are, Wendy and Angie, in a photo Designer Travis took for our newest eBook, Time to Scrapbook! 9 busy women share 27 tips for fitting it in, just $4.99. Do you have your copy yet?

Here's How to Keep Up With Ella:
(Elephants are notoriously slow. It's really not that hard.)

1. Sign up for our Free Newsletter. We're not pests, really. And you'll get to find out about all the new eBook releases (and the free eZine) right in your inbox. So convenient!

2. Join our Facebook Page. Just click on over and "Like" us and you'll get to hear in-the-moment news, deals, exclusive offers, and funny stuff. We like funny.

3. Follow us on Twitter. Yes, we have been known to tweet every now and then. (Everybody does it!)

4. Read our Blog. Okay, you're already doing that one. Check.

5. Check out our Free eZine. It's free. And it's an eZine. And it's full of fabulous ideas.

6. Shop for eBooks. So lovely, so affordable, so educational. And one of them is FREE.

Why these reminders, you ask? Because we've got a group of visitors joining us today from the U-CreateCrafts blog and Write.Click.Scrapbook. Welcome friends!

Regular readers, if you click over to the U-CreateCrafts blog and/or Write.Click.Scrapbook. and read the Ella spotlight posts, you'll discover the clue to a secret coupon code that's embedded somewhere in THIS post. Go there, read clue, come back here, find coupon code. It's that easy! And that coupon code will get you $3 off any eBook purchase (expires 8/27/2010). Who doesn't love a good scavenger hunt?!? (Also, we're giving away 10 eBooks on Write.Click.Scrapbook. today, and we're giving away our entire library of eBooks on the U-CreateCrafts blog! That's a total value of $77.87. So head on over to both blogs and comment.)

Well, that does it for us. Keep an eye out next week for our upcoming eBook release, Ella's Essential Guide to Scrapbooking Girls. If you're signed up for the newsletter, you'll find out FIRST.

Hugs and kisses!

~Angie and Wendy