Luck (or some variation) seems to be the word right now — and is most definitely the theme in a lot of digital scrapbook kits hitting the market, including one coming from me this Friday. But catching a leprechaun has nothing to do with luck — it’s about being cleverer than the leprechaun, so you can catch him and make him give you his pot of gold. If leprechauns actually existed, and I was actually clever enough to catch one and get his gold, this is what I would buy with it:

Kinda selfish, I know. But I’ve wanted a truck most of my life … and I’ve wanted a Chevy Silverado for over 10 years. So if I happened to capture a leprechaun and his stash of gold, I know I would use that unexpected cash to buy me one of these.

What about you? If you could catch a leprechaun and use that gold to buy anything you’ve really wanted, what would you buy?

Have a fun Saturday!

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I’ve only been married (almost) 4 years, but my understanding of love has grown in leaps and bounds in that short time. Mostly due to my wonderful sweet husband. He is so patient, so compassionate, so understanding, so forgiving, so loving … and sometimes I feel so undeserving of his unconditional love. He is the source, direct or indirect, of everything good in my life, and I am so thankful for him. So as we near the end of the month of love, I wanted to share with you some of what I’ve learned.

WHAT I’VE LEARNED ABOUT LOVE

1. Love is a choice.
2. Love takes work … a lot of work.
3. Love requires commitment.
4. Love is so worth it.

I am happier and my life is more complete when I am motivated by love. What have you learned about love?

Speaking of love — love for my fans and customers — I’m going to share a little tidbit with you that will be important Monday. Something totally fun is coming in March and I don’t want you to miss out … and I couldn’t wait until Monday. If you own one of Log Your Memory’s Logbooks, make sure you are registered for their Book Club.

I promise, I’ll have some more info about Log Your Memory for the Digi World Wednesday post. But in quick summary, the Memory Logbooks help you organize and “log” your memories to help you with your scrapbooking and memory perserving. The All-in-One Memory Logbook is a combination planner, idea book, journal, and sketchbook. The Real Life Challenges Memory Logbook is adapted from the All-in-One and includes journaling prompts to help you scrap real life. (This is the one I own.) You can also choose just the current month of the logbook if that suits your lifestyle better (probably a good option if you only want to buy one month … but you’ll get a sweeter deal if you purchase the All-in-One). Not sure which one? Compare your options.

So, if you don’t own one of their books, you may just want to wander over to Log Your Memory’s store and pick one up. Why? Well, it’s the only way to become a part of the Book Club, and you have to be part of the book club if you don’t want to miss out on an opportunity to maybe, just maybe, get this kit for free:

Kristin of Log Your Memory has been ever so kind and offered this fabulous coupon for you to save 20% off your purchase. (Note: This coupon is only valid at their on-site store, so it’s only valid on their download-able logbooks. If you absolutely prefer to buy the printed version, you can do so through their sister site, but this coupon won’t work there. Just so ya know.)

Now go share some love with someone! (And maybe pick up a logbook and register for the Book Club.) Enjoy your weekend!

Life is a journey, and I think most of us would agree that in some way, great or small (but usually small, at least for me), we are seeking to improve and become better than we are right now in this moment. That isn’t to say we can’t love ourselves for who we are RIGHT NOW — I may not be perfect, but I can reflect about me and come up with a list of things that I love about me. I can also list many more things I would like to change and improve upon. As I’ve mentioned before, my focus word for the year is SUNSHINE.

{Credits here}

Part of bringing sunshine into my life is making positive changes — actively CHOOSING sunshine in my life. I’ve set several goals for myself … some I hope to meet this year. Others will take much longer. As I’ve traveled on my personal journey in life, I have had (and continue to have) the privilege of interacting with some truly amazing people. I feel so blessed to have their influences in my life. Each possesses at least one quality that I admire and seek for in my own life. I thought I’d share a handful of those qualities with you –partly to remind myself of the goals I have set and to hold myself accountable, but also because maybe perhaps you’re seeking these qualities in your life too, and we can help each other.

4 Qualities I Admire

1. Balance — Have you ever known someone that just always seems to have it together? I don’t know quite how to describe it — it’s not just that their home is clean and orderly, or that they never forget a commitment, or that they seem to have time for everyone. They’re just … centered. Do you know what I mean? They just radiate balance and positive energy … and just by being near them you feel some of that rub off on you, that somehow just being with them has helped to straighten out some of the inner chaos you feel. Right now, I totally crave balance (maybe because my life sometimes feel so chaotic, which I suppose is normal with a 2-year-old, lol!) and I am actively working on some little things I can change to help me be more balanced. A few days in the last 2 weeks have, overall, felt more balanced, and let me tell you, I just basked in that beauty. Wow. I hope one day I will feel balanced more hours in the day (or even days in the week) than I feel chaotic.
2. Patience — Yes, patience is definitely a virtue. I have moments (rare, brief moments) of patience and I love the sense of control I feel in those moments. The rest of the time … well, let’s just say I don’t feel very virtuous, lol! I think a healthy dose of patience in my life could go a long way to strengthening my most important relationships. Becoming more patient helps us develop a greater love — for ourselves, our families, our friends … even perhaps those who are annoying or aggravating us.
3. Good listener — Anyone who knows me knows I jabber too much. I get caught up in the conversation and then it’s jabber jabber jabber … I catch myself doing it way too much. I would much rather be a listener than a talker — but not just a listener. A good listener. I want to be involved in the conversation — not jumping ahead or zoning out, but 100% there, listening and understanding. First, though, I think I better work on just keeping my mouth shut.
4. Self-Worth — I have known more than one person in my life who just seemed to know with every fiber of her being that she had value and was beautiful just as she was. I would like to reach a point where EVERY TIME I look in the mirror, my first thoughts (maybe even my only thoughts) are positive. I think increasing my own sense of self-worth will take me a long way on my journey to increase sunshine in my life. It’s one of the reasons I’m participating in the About Me challenges in Sweet Shoppe Designs’ monthly portfolios. I want to take time to reflect on me, scrapbook about me, learn about me.

And there you have it, just 4 of the many qualities I’d love to one day have. But I think for now, I’ll just stick with these. What qualities do you admire? What improvements are you making in your life? Do you love yourself more today than you did yesterday?

I’m playing along with SSD’s scrapping challenges this year — each month they post a portfolio and you get to decide which challenges you want to do to earn your points and a discount coupon. One of the ones I’m working on each month is for an About Me album. Here’s one of my layouts from last month:

Just for fun, I’m challenging each of you to make a list of 10 things you love about yourself. Write it down somewhere for keeps — maybe in a journal. Scrap it if you want. If you do scrap a layout, link me up. I’d love to see it! Happy Valentine’s Day! Remember to love yourself too!

Family — whether you’re a family of one, you have no kids or lots of kids, you consider your pets your kids, etc., etc., we’re all part of some sort of family. Mine right now consists of me, dh, and our 2-year-old son. (Not to mention the extended families we both have that provide us with so much love and support.)

My family defines me — yes, I’m a mom and a wife, but it’s so much more than that. My husband and my son define who I am as an individual. They help me refine qualities I already have and develop qualities I wish to have. They mostly bring out the best in me, but sometimes they bring out the worst in me. They are the smile on my face and the sparkles that light up my eyes. They are the laughter that erupts spontaneously. They are the tears (both sad and happy) that wet my face. I want to be a better person because of who they are and who they can be. They are my motivation, my support, my reward. They are everything to me. I’m right here, right now, because of them.

Why do I scrapbook? For my family. To preserve our memories — the times we’re together and the times we’re apart, the good times and the bad times, the silly times and the sad times. To share pieces of me with them. To tell them what I love about them. To show them I love them. Scrapbooking is my therapy, and I do it for myself as well, but at the end of the day, those pages wouldn’t matter as much to me if I didn’t have someone to share them with.

How does your family, however you define it, inspire your scrapbook layouts?

So I have come to a somewhat painful decision in realizing that Project 365 is not for me. I hate admitting when I can’t do something … but I’m just not finding the motivation to take a meaningful picture every day. BUT, I don’t want to entirely give up on the idea. So I’ve decided to adapt it to fit my current needs and abilities. (I think we forget sometimes that modifying is an important part of goal setting. Sometimes we set a goal and soon realize it was “too lofty” and not really what we can do, or maybe even want to do. But instead of giving up on the goal entirely, we just need to adjust it so that it better fits our abilities and deep desires.)

This is what I’m doing instead: taking 1 picture each week that helps me document my focus on my word for the year, SUNSHINE. I want to take pictures of the things that bring me sunshine, that help me feel positive and happy. And I also want to take pictures of the obstacles that spring up in my path to Sunshine — the things or moments that pull me away from the sunshine. I hope that at the end of the year I’ll be able to look back and see an upward/forward progression in my life … and that I’ll have a visual reminder of what’s important to me and things I struggle with, but mostly importantly, proof that I can do it, that I can change, that I can BE the change. Perhaps this project will also help me to stay focused on SUNSHINE … you know, a weekly reminder to be looking for the sunshine so I can take a picture of it, or to recognize an obstacle that’s hindering my sunshine.

If you’re still going strong with Project 365, kudos to you! I’m so proud of you (and somewhat envious, lol — but maybe Project 365 will find a place in my life another year). If you’ve fallen off the P365 wagon, maybe try adjusting the project to meet your lifestyle, your abilities, your needs and wants. Perhaps it’d be better to take 1 picture a week instead of every day — or maybe even just one picture a month. Maybe focus your project on your word for the year, or build around a goal you’ve set for yourself. Just don’t give up entirely, k? Find a way to document this year and YOU in a way that feels good to you.

I had the immense pleasure this last week of working with some very talented designers in creating this charity collab kit for Haiti.

This beautiful kit is available at Scrap Orchard and includes 114 papers, 356 elements, 3 alphabets, 6 page templates and 1 hybrid template and  16- 12 in. x 12 in. .png quick pages. You can buy the bundle, or purchase just the kit, or just the quick pages. Only available for a limited time!

One Love — The Kit
One Love — The Quick Pages
One Love — The Bundle

From the product description at Scrap Orchard:

“‘One love refers to the universal love and respect expressed by all people for all people, regardless of race, creed, or color.’

“Forty-eight designers from around the community have joined together to bring you this incredible kit with the common purpose of raising funds for Haitian aid and relief.  Our theme, “One Love”, symbolizes not only our heartfelt effort to help the people of Haiti, but also encompasses the diverse styles of all the designers involved in this project.  This kit represents the diversity of our community and shows that even though we are all different, when we come together the result is truly spectacular.

The profits from the sale of this kit will be donated to the Clinton Bush Haiti Fund.  We chose the Clinton Bush Haiti Fund not only because it embodies the spirit of One Love, but also because 100% of the donations will go to the relief and recovery efforts in Haiti and because they are working to provide both immediate relief and long-term support to the earthquake survivors.”

And here’s a list of all 48 designers (alphabetized!) that contributed to the kit, plus a list of the gals who made the quick pages.

Amanda Heimann Designs
Amy Sumrall
AnnaBV Designs
Cindy Schneider
Dani Alencar
DeCrow Designs
Designs by Julie Bullock
Elegant WordArt by Bethany
et designs
Faith True Originals
Fizzy Pop Designs
FruitLoOp Sally
Holly Designs
Irene Alexeeva
Jady Day Studio
Jennifer Barrette
July Designs
Karina Designs
Kasia
Kristin Aagard
Kristin Cronin-Barrow
Krystal Hartley
Lauren Grier
Lauren Reid
LCC by Amy Stoffel
Lyndsay Riches
Mag Designs
Megan Turnidge
Melissa Bennett
Miss Tiina
MK-Designs
mle Card
NewlifeDreams
Palvinka Designs
Penny Springmann
Pixel Geek Designs
Sabrina Dupre
Scrapping With Liz
Silversword71
Studio Flergs
Studio Tangie
Susan Robinson Designs
SuzyQ Scraps
Tracey Howard
Tracie Stroud
Vera Lim
Wild Dandelion Designs
Ziggle Designs

Quick Page Artists

Amanda (PhotoCowGirl)
Ann (Nzingha)
Bec (Bec)
Cheryl (GoneWithTheWind)
Jenn (Jennamy82)
Jennifer (GrahamLikeTheCracker)
Lilja (Liljatr)

Banner
Graffiti Chicks

Please help us help Haiti!

Hi SuzyQ fans! Just a little snippet from me today. I’ve added a new feature to the site: Resources. It’s still a work in progress, but hopefully over the next few weeks I’ll have it more complete, and looking a bit prettier.

What will you find in the Resources section?

Digital Scrapbooking

What Is Digital Scrapbooking? And Why Would I Want to Switch?
Terminology
Programs
Printing Layouts
Tutorials
Recommended Sites for Free Tutorials
Other Learning Resources
Project 365 (more info coming soon!)

Hybrid Scrapbooking

(still a work in progress, so most of this information isn’t available yet, lol)
What Is Hybrid Scrapbooking? And Why Would I Want to Do It?
Terminology
Tutorials

I’m super excited to be able to provide a resource for digital scrapbookers visiting my site, so they can find more information and possibly answers to the questions they have.

So, what do you think? I’d love your feedback, questions, and/or suggestions — feel free to leave a comment, or send me an email using the Contact tab above.

Have a fantastic weekend!

Just a little snippet from me, reminding you about Twitter (and Facebook) Tag, a new game coming soon! Kami said it much better than I can, so I’m just going to quote her, lol:

“We’re going to be starting a new game this year! The Orchard Girls will be playing Twitter & Facebook Tag. You never know when it’s going to start and what you’re going to get, but you’ll definitely want to be signed up so you don’t miss out on the fun!

“So how does this work? You sign up for all our Twitter and/or Facebook Accounts (you don’t have to sign up for both). We’ll start handing out coupons and freebies from other Orchard Girls– we won’t be handing them out for ourselves! So you have to sign up for all the accounts, because there’s no telling which designer will be handing out coupons or free”bees” from your favorite designer!!

“Then sit back and wait for the game to start! We will definitely be starting a new game on January 15 and you will definitely NOT want to miss out on the gorgeous free kit we’ll be giving away!!!”

So mark your calendars for January 15th, and go fan and follow all the Orchard girls!

It is the beginning of a new year, which seems like a fitting time to set new goals and find focus in my life. I’ve picked my word for 2010: SUNSHINE — to me, that word embodies cheerfulness, optimism, confidence, positivism, hope, and happiness, all things I’m striving for this year. I’m working on Project 365. I plan to scrap more this year. I used to scrap 30 or more layouts in a month. I’m setting a goal to scrap 120 layouts this year (which reminds me, I need to find a fun tracker).

Anyway, along with the beginning of a new year and setting goals, it seems like a good time to get organized. I decided that I wanted to post a few snippets today on organizing, when I stumbled across this blog in my reader (I’ve been way behind, lol): Organizing Your Way.

And guess what I read on the post for January 2010? 31 Days of Organizing for a Better 2010.

Perfect! Exactly what I need, and I hope you’ll find it useful too! I love that the posts are organized into a list. And they’re relatively short posts — they empower you with advice and then leave you time to get that organizing started!

Yesterday’s tip: Declutter. Today’s tip: Create a Budget. Tomorrow’s tip? You’ll have to follow their blog to find out.

Before I leave you, I just want to share one tip I have on organizing: DON’T try to tackle it all at once. If your life is anything close to chaotic, like mine is right now with a rambunctious 2-year-old, it helps to set aside a few minutes a day for a specific organizing job.

If you have any tips on organizing you’d like to share, I’d love to hear them. Have a great Saturday!