One of my goals for 2010 is to complete Project 365. I started it this year. And then I got discouraged and finally gave up. Sad, I know, but the truth. And I’m hoping to do better this year. I don’t want to just DO Project 365. I want to ENJOY Project 365, be INSPIRED by Project 365, LOVE Project 365.

Here’s a little list of ideas I’ve come up with to help me stay motivated, so I thought I’d share them with you.

8 TIPS FOR PROJECT 365

1. Visual reminders — Keep your camera in a visible, easily accessible spot. Make little reminders to stick to your mirror or fridge or anywhere you frequent where you’ll see it.
2. Do Project 365 with a friend — Find a buddy so you can motivate each other.
3. Focus on everyday stuff — Waiting for that perfect picture? Don’t. Take photos of the everyday parts of your journey — the spilled milk, the tantrums, the silly smiles, the groceries, laundry, mowing the yard, etc.
4. Take your camera with you — Don’t leave it at home. If it’s too big or bulky, slip a small point-and-shoot into your purse or diaper bag.
5. Keep your camera battery charged — Rushing to take your picture a minute before midnight and then finding your battery is dead can be completely deflating.
6. Upload/organize your photos every few days — Last year I put all my pictures in a folder for the year. Then I’d look at the dates, and snag one from each day to throw into my Project 365 folder, so that when I went to scrapbook them, they were easy to find.
7. Choose now how you want to share your Project 365 — Maybe try a Project 365 blog where you post your pictures to share — add some text too, explaining the picture or telling a story. (Sites exist that will print your blog, so that’s something to think about.) Or create an album on your Facebook just for Project 365. Try printing the photos for a 365 brag book. Or, since you’re a digital scrapbooker, create layouts — 1 layout with 7 pictures, 2 pagers with 7 pictures, or maybe just your favorite picture from the week. If you do want to scrap each week, do yourself a favor and use templates — and don’t forget to do some journaling so the pictures mean something later. Whichever way you choose to document your project, pick something you’ll enjoy doing, so it doesn’t become a chore.
8. Make time to document your project — Daily is just not going to happen for me, but I know I could block out time on a Sunday, during nap time, to organize my pictures and scrapbook them. Or blog about them. Or upload them to Facebook.

I hope you’ve found this list helpful. Feel free to share your tips with me. If you’re looking for more ideas, check out Janet’s 4 Months and 11 Days … post on The Daily Digi.

Scrap Orchard will be closed Jan. 1 – Jan. 3 for some site maintenance, so we’re loading the new releases early. All Fresh Fruit is 20% off through January 7th, but you might want to snag some today to keep you busy while the site is down.

This fanciful kit is sure to help you scrap those happy memories of sticky fingers and sugar lips.

And a coordinating,  fun peppermint-striped alpha, previously part of a collab with Sir Scrapalot Designs called Lollipops & Gumdrops, now sold separately with a slight face-lift.

I released several new products for my half-off sale a couple of weeks ago, but since they missed a Fresh Fruit newsletter, I decided to include them as Fresh Fruit — so here’s another chance to grab them at a discount:

Want to win some $$ to my store? Here’s how:

• Play along in the Scraplift Challenge and you could win a $10 coupon to my store.
• Leave a comment on blog posts — one post is lucky this month, and everyone who posts a comment on that day will win a $7 coupon to my store
• Join my newsletter (or update your profile to include the Birthday Club) — I’ll draw one random subscriber after the new year to win a $20 coupon to my store
• Become a fan of SuzyQ Scraps — I’ll draw one random subscriber after the new year to win a $50 coupon to my store

All contests and challenges end 12/31/09 at 11:59 pm Eastern.

Join me tomorrow for another installment of Tips & Tricks from the Q! Have a fantastic day!

This week’s sneak peek is coming to you a little bit earlier than normal due to some maintenance that will take place later this week at Scrap Orchard. New Releases will be coming out on Wednesday instead of Friday! SuzyQ Scraps will be releasing 2 new products. I hope these sneak peeks will whet your appetite! One is an alpha and the other is a kit…both are SWEET!!

Can you believe December is almost over?  2010 is almost here!  To celebrate, I’ve made a little gift for you.  This desktop wallpaper was created using Suzy’s beautiful new Journey 365 Jumbo kit!  There are 3 different sizes in the download, so enjoy!

DOWNLOAD HERE

I hope you all enjoy the desktop!  Have a safe and happy new year!

Christmas is just around the corner. I’ll be leaving tomorrow with my little family to join my extended family for the rest of the week. So I decided to take some time off from blogging — we’ll resume our regular blogging schedule on Sunday.

But before I go, I promised to announce winner’s from last week’s contests!

Challenge Winner: lulutoo
Scavenger Hunt Winner: Lorry
Gallery Hunt Winner: joy

I’ll be sending your coupons shortly. Thanks so much to everyone for playing along in our games and partying with us during my celebrations.

I hope you have a wonderful holiday season. Be safe! See you back here on the blog on Sunday.

Hi everyone!  Meg here with a spotlight on Ellie, our Creative Team Lead!

Check out what Ellie had to say…

1. Your screen name? Ellie80

2. Are you married/have children/pets? Married for 6 years with two children, Caitlyn who is 3 & Zach who is 2. The only pets we have are some tropical fish

3. Where is home for you? I live in a small town called Bexhill which is on the south east coast of England in the UK.

4. Snacks…Salty or Sweet? Definitely sweet!

5. Beverage of choice? Orange squash – I’m not keen on tea or coffee. The only hot drink I like is hot chocolate YUM!

6. PC or Mac? PC although I must admit I’m curious about trying out a Mac

7. How long have you been digi-scrapping? since Jan 08

8. How did you get in to digi-scrapping? I had a brief go at paper scrapping when I was pregnant with Zach, but in the end it was a question of space & either my scrapping space or his cot. I didn’t think anymore of scrapping what with a newborn but when things settled down a bit something lead me to do a search on Google and I discovered the world of digi scrapping!

9. What is your favorite Suzy Q Scraps kit? Hmmmm…tough question! I’ve been with SuzyQ since she held her first CT Call – she’s produced some awesome stuff but I think right at this moment my favourite has to be Bundle of Boy.

10. Do you have any other hobbies besides digi-scrapping (are there other hobbies)? lol I absolutely LOVE to read. I’m another Twilight fan but I also like books by James Patterson (he’s my favourite auther) & Jill Mansell who is another Brit. I also loved the Harry Potter series. As for other hobbies I also like playing computer games on our Wii & my PC (The Sims 3 is my fave at the moment)

11. What is the most challenging part of scrapbooking for you? The most challenging part of scrapping for me is knowing where to start on a layout for example the positioning of photos etc – that’s why I like templates so much! Other times though if I’ve really got my creative mojo flowing it’ll all just come together nicely & I’ll be much happier with the end result knowing that it was all my own work.

12. What are your favorite movies/TV shows? I love all the disney films except the ‘2 movies’ which I hardly find to be as good as the originals. My fave tv shows are all the CSI series, Lie To Me & also Bones (David Boreanaz – YUMMM!!!)

13. What is something unique about you? This’ll probably freak you out but I can’t think of anything else at the moment lol – I had the start of an extra finger when I was born on my left hand next to my little finger. It didn’t have any bone in it (hence the start of) so it got tied off & now I just have a little lump which hurts like mad if I accidentally knock it or catch it!

And here is a layout that Ellie has made that is her personal favorite:

CLICK FOR CREDITS

And  I took the liberty of selecting two of my personal favorites from Ellie’s gallery!

CLICK FOR CREDITS

CLICK FOR CREDITS

Thanks Ellie!  You’re an inspiration to all of us!

Most people will be celebrating some type of holiday soon, if the haven’t done so already. It seems that December is a busy month for many with Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Festivus, and others. Many of these celebrations are centered on gift giving, and I for one, think it’s gotten too commercialized. I’d like to talk a little about giving without having to fight the mall crowds & spending a fortune.

I think the best gifts are those that come from the heart. They can be bought in a store, and there is nothing wrong with that, but taking the time to make something can be much more fulfilling for both parties. My family and friends love the things I make for them, and they are very affordable for me to make too! I get a warm fuzzy feeling knowing that whatever I make will be a treasured keepsake! I’ve given homemade, handcrafted gifts for a long time, and this year will be no exception. Let me show you a few of the things I’m giving this year.

First up, Name Frames!

These are pretty easy to make. All you need is some nice paper, a few embellishments (ribbon is my favorite!), and a frame. I get cheap ones for a few dollars at Wal-Mart! The example above is one I actually made for myself, but I have given several of these and they are always a hit. This one hangs above a doorway in my kitchen (if you’re wondering, Funk is my last name). Usually I just use the recipients first name. Cut out their name, decorate and you’re done!

The next gift is a new one for me this year. I found these great travel coffee cup mugs at Target that allow you to insert your own picture. The Custom Photo Mug is made by Aladdin and comes in both 16 oz. and 8 oz. size. I chose the 16 oz. size, and they were only $9.99. I used my digital scrapbooking skills and made my own little mini-scrapbook pages to put inside. For this one I used SuzyQ Scraps kit Thankful Hearts:

The last handmade gift I’ll share is the old standby: mini-albums! These are my go-to gift for my parents because they love to get little “brag books” filled with pictures of my son. There are so many ways to make them and I’m sure you already have your favorite way. I found this recently for $5.00 at my local Big Lots, and quickly grabbed several:

I’ll be using these this year, and maybe next! I love that they come in little boxes. So cute! I’m always on the look-out for new ideas for handmade gifts to give. Please leave me a comment letting me know what you’re making this year, or things that you’ve made in previous years. If you don’t make gifts, have you gotten one that you really appreciated? I’d love to hear about it, and remember each comment this month gives you a chance to win a $10 gift certificate to Suzy’s Store!!

Happy Holidays,

Christmas comes but once a year … and so does a sale this great! Save 50% off all my designs TODAY ONLY (except collabs, which will be next week sometime). I’ve added a TON of new goodies to the store — check yesterday’s post for some of them. Here are the rest!

Journey 365 — a must-have everyday kit, great for scrapping just about anything, including your Project 365 or Project 52! A fun mix of kraft and colors that you’ll be coming back to again and again … and again!

How about a closer look at all that yummy goodness?

And how about some yummy eye candy alpha?

And last, but certainly not least, another addition to the Storytellers Templates:

Yay for a whole page of new products in my store — just in time for my biggest sale of the year! So go on, splurge a little. It is Christmas, ya know! Happy shopping!

Oh, and don’t forget to snag this gorgeous 2-page template created by Amber just for you!

Download Design-iversary Freebie #6.

Have a fabulous weekend!

Well what a jam-packed post I have for you today!!! I have so much to show you so here goes! First up some new digital scrapbooking goods that are available exclusively at SuzyQ Scraps store at Scrap Orchard. These are 20% off until 24th Dec.

First up is a re-release of a collab with Sara Amarie – Desert Sunset…

Here’s some inspiration from the QT’s…

Next up are some cardstocks for your stash…

And finally SuzyQ has some more fabulous stitches! So that’s all the new goodies for this week! Next  I have a little game for you which won’t take up too much time – I promise! Go to SuzyQ Scraps Gallery and… The game runs until 11:59pm Sunday 20th December.  The winner will be announced on Tuesday

And FINALLY here’s you’re freebie!!Just click on the link to download – this will only be available for 24 hours so grab it while you can!

***DOWNLOAD EXPIRED***

And one final thing – don’t forget we have another comment contest running this month – if you leave a comment on the ‘lucky day’ you could win a $7 coupon to SuzyQ’s store!

Thanks for reading & Happy Christmas,

Hi there, I’m Meg, a new member of Suzy’s blog team.  I’m ecstatic to bring you TONS of goodies here in my first post, including a sneak peek, scavenger hunt and fabulous freebie!

Suzy’s done it again with more great kits!  Here’s a small peek!  The first kit will be available tomorrow while the second kit will appear in the store on Saturday, just in time for Suzy’s sale!

This brings us to our scavenger hunt!  Since we’re so close to Christmas, I’ve chosen some Christmas songs (some traditional and some not so much!) to use as clues.   Find the kit in Suzy’s store that corresponds with each song, and shoot me an email with the answers for a chance to win a $10 gift card to Suzy’s store!

And since you’ve been so patient and have read through this whole post, here’s your freebie, brought to you in celebration of Suzy’s birthday and Design-iversary!

*** Download Expired *** If you missed them, you can pick them up 12/19 in my store for 1/2 price!

Aren’t these stitches awesome?  Enjoy your freebie, and don’t forget to participate in our scavenger hunt so you’ll have a chance to win more of Suzy’s amazing products!