It’s Tuesday, and you know what that means.  It’s time for a sneak peek of all new products from Suzy!  She’s bringing out a spacey, colorful kit, some new tags and more storyteller templates!

Hurry over to SUZYQ’S STORE on Friday to pick up these fantastic new products.  Want a chance to win one of this week’s new releases?  Leave a comment on this post and you’ll be entered into a drawing to win of the products!  Get even more entries when you share this post on your blog, Facebook, or Twitter.  But be sure to come back and share a link with us so we know where you posted it!  All comments must be posted by 9 PM Eastern on Thursday night.

Happy scrapping!

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about resolutions.  So often we set goals for ourselves in the beginning of the year (after all, it is a new year and a fresh start!) that we seem to forget by springtime.  Sometimes stress and life in general just force us to put thoughts of a fresh start on the back burner.

Reading through some of Suzy’s old posts, I stumbled upon this post about her word for the year — Sunshine.  Here’s just a snippet of what she wrote:

“Sunshine.  That is my “adopted” word for 2010….As I mentioned in yesterday’s post, sunshine brings the following words to my mind: cheerfulness, optimism, confidence, positivism, hope, and happiness. Sunshine is warm and bright and joyful. It’s like a hug from heaven. And I think that’s what I need right now — an embrace from above, some hope and optimism, some confidence, and definitely some cheerfulness. 2008 was dark. 2009 was chaotic. I want 2010 to be full of sunshine.”

Looking back on this post, I remember the power of her words then, but today they mean even more to me than that cold January day when I first read them.  The beginning of 2010 was kind of rough for me.  I faced a big disappointment that threatened to throw me off track.  In January, I resolved that I would start living a more healthy lifestyle.  I would eat healthy foods, exercise more often, and spend more time outside doing active things.  But sometimes life happens.  A professional disappointment almost caused me to cave on some of my goals.  But when I remembered my resolution, I knew I couldn’t let it.

Living a healthy life is not just about eating the right foods and running on a treadmill.  Like Suzy said, it’s about embracing life, choosing optimism.  Cleansing yourself of the stress in your life and letting it fall to the side.  I want to live a positive, healthy spiritual, emotional and physical lifestyle.

I write all that to encourage those of you out there who are trying to make changes in your life.  They may be big or small.  Maybe you feel like you won’t be able to follow through with some of your goals.  I’m here to tell you that you can!  Here is an idea that may help, something that I’ve done this year that has made a world of difference.  Instead of making one HUGE goal for the entire year, set smaller goals for each month that work toward that ultimate challenge.  Each month, as you conquer these goals, you’ll gain more confidence and feel more positive about the direction you’re heading in!

You know what else might help?  Create layouts each month to chart your progress, and by the end of they year you’ll have an album remind you of what you’ve accomplished!  And what better kit to use than Suzy’s gorgeous Sunshine kit, which just exudes positive energy!

I hope that today you find yourself encouraged!  I hope that you will stick to your goals and come out at the end of this year feeling fresh and renewed.

Share your goals with us if you’d like.  We’d love to hear them, and in turn offer any encouragement or advice that we can.

Hi everyone!  Meg here with this month’s challenge!

If there’s anything I’ve learned in this life, it’s that we all have our struggles.  What amazes me though is that so often we are ashamed to share them with others.  This is a shame, because if we did, we might learn something from one another, and help each other to conquer our struggles and fears.

That’s why this month we are asking you to scrap about a struggle in your life.  This can range from a bad habit to something you’ve been struggling with since your childhood.  Anything you feel comfortable with sharing, we would love to see what sort of layout you can come up with!

Here are your guidelines:

• Scrap a layout about something you struggle with.
• Focus on journaling in your layout – share at least 10 lines with us.
• Photos do not have to be included in your layout.
• Use predominantly dark or bold colors.
• Use a repetitive theme — same element throughout the layout, repetitive language in journaling, etc.

Prefer hybrid? Here’s the hybrid twist on the challenge:

• Create a journal for recording your feeling, struggles, and emotions. (Check out one of Suzy’s latest posts for a tutorial on how to create a hybrid notebook.)

Here’s a sample layout from QT Sherly

{Credits Here}

And a sample notebook from SuzyQ using No Monsters Allowed:

You have until April 30th at 11:59 PM EST to enter your layout or journal.   Simply leave us a comment with a link to your creation. And remember, everyone who participates will receive a 25% off coupon to SuzyQ Scraps’ store … and one winner will receive a $10 coupon.

Happy scrapping!

P.S. Suzy is out of town this week, so she’ll be choosing the winner from last month’s challenge when she gets back.

Hi everyone!  Meg here to remind you about this month’s challenge.

Earlier this month we challenged you to scrap what makes you happy.  Here’s a lovely example from Ellie:

Need more details?  Check out the original post for what to include in your layout.  There’s even a hybrid twist in this one, so the possibilities are endless!

Remember, if you participate, we’ll send you a 25% off coupon for Suzy’s store, and one lucky winner will receive a $10 coupon to her store!

We look forward to seeing your creations.  Happy scrapping everyone!

Meg here with a spotlight on one of our QT’s, Mel!

Mel took the time to answer some of my questions:

1. Your screen name? KSCroppyChick
2. Are you married/have children/pets? I have been married to Tod for almost 14 years, we have 3 kids; 10 yo Quentin, 7 yo Tyler, and 4 yo Teanna. We also have a shih tzu named Nitro
3. Where is home for you? A small town outside of Wichita, Kansas; now, though thanks to my husband’s job; there have been several little Kansas towns that have been home in the last 14 years.
4. Snacks…Salty or Sweet? Depends on my mood, activity, or cravings, usually chocolate, gummy bears, pretzels, or dill pickle sunflower seeds when scrapping!
5. Beverage of choice? Diet Pepsi with Vanilla, Diet, Dr. Pepper, or Iced Tea usually, sometimes I am boring and go for water!!
6. PC or Mac? PC, I want to be a Mac Girl, but compromise means I am a PC Girl!
7. How long have you been digi-scrapping? I started digi scrapping about 5 years ago. After keeping scrapbooks all my life, and loving playing with paper; I swore that I wouldn’t go digi, I resisted it for a while, but here I am.
8. How did you get in to digi-scrapping? I was on the design team of a paper scrapping site, and during an event at the site, we had a digi challenge. I created my first layout then. I wasn’t very  impressed and didn’t do another layout for months. About a year later, my mother in law asked me to create a gift album for her mom, I decided that with the time constraints I had, it would make more sense to do it digitally. 5 years later, I do more digital layouts than paper layouts.
9. What is your favorite Suzy Q Scraps kit? I can’t really say that I have a favorite kit; if I had to pick, I would say that it would be the Journey 365 because of the versatility. Of the themed kits, I would probably say Roughin’ It since my family spends many summer hours at the lake!
10. Do you have any other hobbies besides digi-scrapping (are there other hobbies)? When I am not scrapping (either digitally or paper), I enjoy cooking and baking, reading, photography, camping, hanging out with friends, spending time with my family. Most of the activities still have some scrapping thoughts attached since I am always taking pictures!
11. What is the most challenging part of scrapbooking for you? Stopping and going to bed at night! I scrap throughout the day when time and kids allow, but in the evening I scrap while Tod watches TV and I don’t usually want to stop, I tend to stay up WAY too late!!
12. What are your favorite movies/TV shows? I am not a huge TV and movie watcher, but my can’t miss TV includes True Blood and American Idol. My favorite movies are mostly older than me; Gone With The Wind, The Wizard Of Oz, and Grease are among my favorites. I also enjoy a good chick flick, or 80′s flick when the movie mood strikes!
13. What is something unique about you? Honestly I can’t think of anything, how sad is that? I was raised hanging out on my grandparent’s dairy farm and at their bait shop and fish ponds. Girly girl that I am, I can clean a fish and milk a cow with the best of them!

Here are some of Mel’s layouts.  Aren’t they amazing?  Click each image to see layout credits.

In honor of Mel’s awesome layouts, Suzy has created a free template inspired by her So Sweet layout.  Click the image or link below to download!

DOWNLOAD TEMPLATE FREEBIE

The possibilities are endless with this template, as shown by the QT’s!

Have fun with your new template everyone, and thank you for the inspiration, Mel!

It’s Thursday, and you know what that means!  I’m here with a sneak peek of Suzy’s latest kit!

Check out some beautiful inspiration from the creative team!

Now to the really fun part!  Do you want a chance to win this kit?  That’s right, you can win Suzy’s newest kit simply by leaving a comment on this post, sharing your favorite way to travel with us.  Is it by plane or by car?  Or maybe you’re a bike person.  We’d love to hear from you!

Want more chances to win? Share this post on your blog, Facebook, or Twitter, then come back here and leave another comment letting us know where you shared it.  All comments must be posted by 9 pm Eastern tonight!

Even if you’re not today’s lucky winner, remember to stop by Suzy’s store tomorrow to pick up this new release for 20% off.

Enjoy!

Meg here with the reminder that TODAY is the LAST day to grab THE DIGI FILES #12, which features Suzy’s fabulous kit, Sunshine.

Here’s some beautiful inspiration from the QTs:

The best part is that with a payment of just $5, you get this kit, and six more kits from some great designers!   That’s SEVEN kits for less than the retail value of ONE kit!

Make sure that while you’re there picking up this fantastic deal, you take the time to read a little more about Suzy, in a feature post they wrote about her!

Enjoy your goodies!

It’s Thursday, so you know what that means!  Here’s a sneak peek of Suzy’s newest kit, a fun collab with Jady Day Studio, which will be in the Scrap Orchard store tomorrow!

Isn’t it adorable? How’d you like to win it? Share with me an experience you or a loved one has had with either a sickness or an injury — your comment will enter you into a drawing to win this kit. Want another chance? Share this post on your blog, Facebook, or Twitter and then come back and tell me where you shared it and you’ll be entered in again. And how about one more chance? Go over to Jady Day Studio’s blog and leave a comment, ’cause she’s giving one away too! Comments must be posted by 9 pm EST. Thanks!

Happy Thursday!

Meg here with a color challenge!  I’m in the middle of an office renovation at home, and I’m working with some wonderful warm tones that I just had to share!   Here’s your palette:

Here’s just one kit from Suzy’s wonderful designs that you could use:

Here’s a simple layout I made with Thankful Hearts, and a few elements from Heavenly Peace:

The prize is a $10 coupon to SuzyQ Scraps’ store. You don’t have to use SuzyQ products on your layout, but we love it when you do. You have until 11:59 pm EST on February 28th to submit your layout!

Happy scrapping, everyone!

In the wake of what has happened in Haiti, I’ve been thinking a lot lately about purpose.  Whether you believe in a higher power or not, I think we all can agree in the power of doing good for others.  48 designers came together and made a gorgeous kit.  Now to some, that might not mean much, but to the people of Haiti, who will benefit from the proceeds of this kit, I’m sure it means the world.

This crisis has gotten a lot of attention in the media, but lately as I’ve been watching and reading coverage, I can’t help but think that there are people who are going through tough times every day.  This doesn’t minimize our attention to the plight of those in Haiti, but it helps us to become more aware of our world and our place in it.

Today I want to encourage you to start looking for ways to help others.  Whether its a financial, spiritual, emotional or basic need, if you’re in the position to help someone, do it!  Get involved with local charities and foundations.  Participate in events that raise awareness for causes that matter to you.  Help someone load groceries into a car.  Hug the people you love.

Helping others is contagious.  When you do it, others will want to help too.  Get your family and your kids involved.  And when you start on the local level, it will naturally spread, and you’ll want to spread some good to people across the world.

If you feel compelled to give to Haiti, do it.  Whether its a monetary donation or a care package, I guarantee you that the people on the receiving end will be forever grateful.  Every quarter, every dollar helps, and more importantly their spirits will be uplifted when they know that we are standing with them.

Purchasing the One Love kit is a fantastic start.  The profits from the sale of this kit will be donated to the Clinton Bush Haiti Fund.   The bonus is that you will have a beautiful kit (and I mean spectacular, these designers have outdone themselves!) but the reward is that you will have done something to help others.  Here are some examples of gorgeous pages that people have posted in the Scrap Orchard gallery, embodying this united spirit.

The journaling on this one by Nzingha really moved me.

Check out this gorgeous page from Ola.  What a beautiful message!

And this great one by Eressea, which features a fantastic song by TobyMac.  Check out the lyrics and credits for the page here.