Welcome to the EllaFriends Happiness Tour 2009!

Okay, so there's really only one stop on our tour—right here at the Daily Trumpet—but we're planning to spread as many smiles as we possibly can before we pack up our trunks and go back to our scrap tables.

And speaking of smiles, did you know that SMILES is the longest word in the English language? True story. There's a MILE between the first and last letter. (Ba-dum-bum!)

I was going to have Ella entertain you with a fully choreographed rendition of You're Never Fully Dressed Without a Smile, but did you know elephants are really bad dancers? Yeah... they have two left feet (and two right ones, too!).

(I'm here all day, folks. Don't forget to tip your waitress.)

Now that I've got your cheek muscles warmed up, the EllaFriends would like to step up the smiles, boost the bliss, and drum up some delight with these fab layouts based on Ella's "I Love Your Smile" contest. Prepare to be inspired, charmed, and maybe even tickled!

patterned paper (Altered Ego by Paislee Press) + staples (Chasing the Sun by Paislee Press) + American Typewriter and Donny's Hand fonts • 12 x 12 digital layout by Noel Culbertson

Patterned paper, word art, heart border (Weeds & Wildflowers Design) + patterned paper (Lynn Grieveson, Percentage Wise) + CKAli's Hand font + digital page by Lain Ehmann

Patterned paper (BasicGrey) + letter stickers (Making Memories, Doodlebug Designs) + chipboard shape (Making Memories) + gems (Robin's Nest) + embroidery floss (unknown source) + 8½x11 layout by Barb Wong

papers from Embrace (Paislee Press + fei-fei's stuff at oscraps.com) + Courier (font) + photo and layout by jodie mcnally

Studio Calico Kit (Yearbook) + Pen (American Crafts Precision Pen) + Punch (Martha Stewart Double Scallop) + 6x12 layout by Monica McNeill

Background paper (Canson) + patterned paper (Cosmo Cricket, Studio Calico) + alphabet stickers (Jenni Bowlin) + brackets (American Crafts) + label sticker (Jenni Bowlin) + happy face token (Studio Calico) + pen (American Crafts) + 12x12 layout by Tami Morrison

And don’t forget to spread some smiles of your own today – if you see someone who doesn’t have one, give them one of yours. :)

It is with great pleasure that we introduce our latest set of co-authors, Stacy Julian and Lain Ehmann! Stacy and Lain have put together a smashing selection of scrap-your-way-happy tips in 20 Simple Secrets of Happy Scrapbookers, available only from Ella! We sat down with these two energetic ladies for a little chat.

Ella: We like to start off with an easy question. What did you have for breakfast today?

Stacy: The rest of Taft's Grape Nuts, "warm a double." We microwave Grape Nuts with milk and a double shot of vanilla creamer (so yummy), but Taft almost always prepares way more than he can eat.

Lain: Half a rosemary/olive oil bagel, toasted with peanut butter. I was celebrating!

Ella: You have good reason to celebrate! Your book is adorable. What do you want people to know about it?

Stacy: I think it will make them feel happy!

Lain: That wherever you are in your scrapping journey, and whatever kind of scrapbooker you are, you'll find some wisdom, fun, and inspiration. 

Ella: I think you're both in luck! So, When you scrapbook, what products do you HAVE to have?

Stacy: Obviously I need paper and adhesive -- basics like that. But I gravitate towards colorful embellishments that I can group together, like ribbon, buttons, brads, flowers, etc. I'm kind of addicted to American Crafts letter stickers and rub-ons. 

Lain: I'm also an American Crafts fan! I love their glitter brads. And speaking of glitter, give me a few bottles of Stickles and I'm good to go. That and a journaling pen and I'm all set.

Ella: Time for girl talk. Shopping! What's the last thing you bought online?

Stacy: I've started shopping for my girlfriends for Christmas. Each year I give them a few of my most favorite things. Without divulging details I can say that my last purchase was from Strano Designs (hint: Beautiful ribbon!).

Lain: I usually buy tons of books, but this month I'm on a no-book restriction -- I have too many. So the last thing I bought online was a digital scrapooking collection from Designer Digitals. 

Ella: You two are busy, with your fingers in lots of different colors of fingerpaints. How do you keep track of it all? Do you have to-do lists?

Stacy: Oh YES! I have a weekly list for BPS and stacyjulian.com in small Russell+Hazel Mini notebooks , which I generally re-write every Monday. I am also using software called Things on my computer and phone to keep daily lists and project planning lists.

Lain: I'm a huge list-maker. I have an ongoing daily list in a mini-notebook I carry with me everywhere. Each day gets its own page, and I try not to add more tasks than fit on one page!

Ella: Finally, what's your must-visit Internet site?

Stacy: I visit bigpicturescrapbooking.com and now stacyjulian.com every day. And then there are sites like Shutterfly, flickr, and YouTube. And it seems like I'm always looking something up on apple.com. I follow several blogs, including Seth Godin, Todd Henry, and a new favorite, the Happy Self. Of course, I read scrapbooking blogs, too!

Lain: I'm in the middle of my Layout a Day challenge, so I'm visiting flickr off and on all day long to check in on what everyone's uploading. And I love Parenting Squad, where I write parenting humor. I also read tons of blogs, including the Happiness Project and ProBlogger. Lots of good stuff out there!

Ella: Well, with all you have going on, we're so happy you took the time to chat with us! 

Stacy: My pleasure!

Lain: It was fun being interviewed by a pachyderm!

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Get your copy of 20 Simple Secrets of Happy Scrapbookers now!

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This interview is only the first taste of the fun we have in store! Come back tomorrow to learn how you can win a basket of Stacy's and Lain's fave happy goodies!

So glad you all enjoyed our Creatively Green Product Showcase! We have some talented ladies onboard, I must say. :)

The treat jars seemed to be the big hit with our readers, but as many of you said, it's hard to choose!

As far as choosing goes, we've got a winner! Leora (username LHenkin) is the winner of our Creatively Green gift pack! Leora, email us at comments@ellapublishing.com with your full name and shipping address, and we'll forward you on to the good green people at Creatively Green.

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Now... you all weren't busy this weekend, were you? Why, you ask? Because you are going to want to drop everything and create a layout for our November page call... the catch is, it's due on (gasp) Monday. Yes, yes, we're trying to get caught up around here!  

In celebration of our latest eBook, 20 Simple Secrets of Happy Scrapbookers (launching next Tuesday, Oct. 20), we're asking you to create a happy page. It could be with your happy colors, with your favorite products, about something that makes you happy, or all of the above! Follow the guidelines for submitting on our submission page, and put "Happy" in the subject line. Don't forget, we'll need 'em by Monday at 12 noon Eastern time. 

Want to hear more about this new eBook? Let me tell you, it's a doozy! By none other than Stacy Julian and our very own Lain Ehmann, you KNOW it's going to be chockfull of fun, inspiration, and color. 

Later next week we'll be hosting a contest for a basket of some of Stacy's and Lain's fave happy items, so you'll want to make sure to come back to find out how to enter!

Here at Ella, we're all in favor of scrapping green. And if you can do that while still creating awesome projects, well, so much the better!

For today's Product Showcase, we've partnered with Creatively Green, the FIRST online store to specialize in eco-friendly scrapbooking and paper art supplies. How cool is that?

Creatively Green provided our talented Ella Friends with a sampling of their latest goodies, and just look what they created.

First off, from the talented Katrina Simeck. She says, "The Halloween Candy Shoppe Embellishment Kit was frightfully fun for these note cards. I wanted to highlight the glitter shapes, so I punched a circle in my patterned background to create a space for them. I added a corrugated punch, then layered the glittered embellishment on top. Simple & cute!" 

supplies: cardstock (Bazzill), patterned paper (American Crafts), corrugated punches, ribbon, and glittered shapes (Creatively Green), tools (Fiskars) 5" x 6" notecards by Katrina Simeck

 

Katrina also created this adorable monogrammed bookmark. "B is for BOOKS! Clay Artz Monograms are perfect for this handcrafted bookmark...so easy to put together. I created a tag-style bookmark from cardstock scraps (thinking green!), and punched the edges for extra detail. I then added a scrap of patterned paper, and adhered the Clay Artz monogram with glue dots. Ready to hit the books!"

supplies: cardstock (Bazzill), patterned paper (October Afternoon), Clay Artz Monogram (Creatively Green), tools (Fiskars) 3" x 8" bookmark by Katrina Simeck

Ella Friend Monica McNeill was overflowing with crafty ideas! She started with treat jars. "I recycled two jelly jars to make treat jars for my son's teachers. The glitter accents in the Halloween Fun Candy Shoppe Embellishment kit were easy to punch with my Crop-A-Dile & added such a cute touch. The variety of ribbons in the kit allowed for a coordinated but unique look," Monica says. 

supplies: Jelly Jars + Cardstock (Stampin' Up!) + Apron Lace Border Punch (Fiskars) + Frightful Collection Stamp Set (Little Yellow Bicycle) + Versamark Dazzle + Embossing Powder + Adirondack Dabber + Ribbon (Creatively Green) + Glitter Bat (Creatively Green) + Glitter Pumpkin (Creatively Green) + Sparkles (Creatively Green) + Candy Corn + Treat Jars by Monica McNeill

And then she created a super-cute layout that makes us giggle. "I loved the rich colors in the Clay Artz flowers and they complimented the hues in this picture of my son. This is one of my favorite pictues so I wanted to keep my layout focused on the picture. The flowers helped me add a bit of color and interest," Monica explains.

Supplies: Cardstock + Clay Flowers (Creatively Green) + Traveling Typewriter Font (Dafont) + Patterned Paper (Imaginisce) + Rub-On (Basic Grey) + Date Stamp + Apron Lace Border Punch (Fiskars) + Upper Crest Border Punch (Fiskars) + Scallop Sentiment Border Punch (Fiskars) + 8.5x11 Layout by Monica McNeill 

Next up, our digi girl Jodie McNally stepped away from the computer to create these cute projects, a door sign made with the help of her little girl, Lily:

and a goodie bag tag:

"I tried to keep with the whole 'Creatively Green' theme and recycle some items for use on the Boo to you! sign," says Jodie. "I used a piece from a packing box and covered it with a little scrap of my nephew's birthday wrapping paper.  All of the other pieces are from the Happy Halloween kit I got from Creatively Green.  Lily drew faces on the little clay pieces with a Sharpie. I stuck it all together with some two-sided foam tape I had lying around the house. The goody bag is for Lily's class.  We got the bags at Wal-Mart and the little tag is made from all Creatively Green stuff."

Angie Lucas is our next featured designer. She created a fun layout for her annual Christmas card album. "Using the cute Christmas clay accents from Creatively Green, I decorated a 7 x 7 mini scrapbook page that features my family Christmas card from 2007. This goes in an album I created a couple of years ago using manila envelopes. I put my family's Christmas card on the outside of the manila envelope and slip the favorite cards that I received that year into the envelope for safe keeping. The clay accents were perfect for this because they're slightly flexible and lightweight, so they'll stay put even when this album is handled!" Angie says.

Supplies: clay accents (Creatively Green) + patterned paper (Bella Blvd) + decorative border (Bazzill) + circle punch (Fiskars) + 7 x 7 layout by Angie Lucas

As if that weren't enough, she then turned her boundless creativity to cards... Angie says, "I created two greeting cards that were inspired by the Creatively Green "Music of the Night" accent pack. I found that the easiest way to adhere the clay accents (the glittery music note and heart) are with thin Glue Dots. The cards were fun and easy to create, and I can't wait to find a reason to give them away!" 

Take Note card

Supplies: glittery music note, silver ribbon (Creatively Green) + tiny letter stickers (Making Memories) + patterned paper + cardstock + scallop scissors + circle punch (Fiskars) + 4 1/4 x 5 1/2 card by Angie Lucas

Keys to my Heart card

Supplies: cardstock + piano keys brad, glittery heart (Creatively Green) + patterned paper + scalloped heart punch (Fiskars) + letter stickers (Sweetwater) + 4 1/4 x 5 1/2 card by Angie Lucas

Last but NEVER least, our adorable Katie Scott enlisted the help of her little one, Allison, to help out with the creation of some seasonal goodies. This Halloween layout was definitely a joint effort, Katie says! " Allison colored the transparencies with Sharpies, and she actually did the placement of the items in the lime green rectangle - including the circles. I was going to just put the four circles in a line but she insisted on adding the sparkly pumpkin in there. I think it's very cute." Cute, indeed!

For this November gratitude mini-book, Katie added the seasonal embellishments for an eye-catching tag.

Now, do you feel inspired to craft green? If so, we've got a deal for you! Comment on this post telling us your favorite project(s) listed here, and you will be entered to win a pack of Creatively Green goodies! You have until Friday morning, so go to it!