monday in the marketplace ... amazing and inspirational finds in scrapland and beyond ... and a killer photo book deal!

Happy Labor Day y'all!

I'm late due to more labor than I had anticipated on the home front today! ARGH!

Well, even if you are not in the USA, I still wish you a Happy Labor Day as I don't think there is a single one of you out there that is not "laboring" in one way or another!

And speaking of laboring, we have another grandchild on the way ... like any day now! His name is Mylles and his mother thought it would be pretty cool if she found herself actually in "labor" during the Labor Day weekend! Not going to happen as it is now just after midnight, Tuesday morning!

Today, being Monday, marks my first segment of Monday in the Marketplace.  Please, just pretend it is still Monday! He, he ... *grin*

I'm not sure about the rest of you, but Mondays are, generally, slow-going for me. I am not quite sure as to why that is, it just is! So, I thought since I typically spend the greater part of my Monday cruising around Scrapland ... and beyond, looking to see what might catch my eye in the way of inspiration or a GOOD deal, that I would share it with y'all too!

You might be wondering if I'm being compensated in any way for anything or anybody that I promote here at Bon Scrapatit Designs during my excursions out-and-about Scrapland and the answer is "no"! This is something that I've long wished to do, but with my health issues the past year and then my travels, I just never could seem to get it going! All things for a purpose and the right time has presented itself for me to share with y'all some of the people, places and things that catch my eye!

The items I shall be sharing with you today have all actually just about fallen right into my lap! Or, should I say, I just happened to be in the right places at the right time! LOL!

I was on Facebook trying to catch up a bit and saw the image below, which had just been posted by Bunny Cates, owner of Digi Scrap Obsession (DSO), whom I had just featured here on Friday!

Bunny had asked Gaye Lambert of GS Creations to draw her a Goth girl and this is what she came up with! Isn't she just THE cutest thang? LOL!

I have long admired Gaye's artistic abilities and this sweet illustration, Morning Jinxy, just reaffirmed that admiration earlier this morning!

Gaye has put her newest commercial-use doodle on sale for $1.50 this week, which is 25% off the regular price.  Click HERE to be taken straight to this adorable drawing in Gaye's store at DSO.  This sweet little gal will add a little whimsy to your layouts, bring a smile to the recipient of a homemade greeting card or even make for a pretty cool wall hanging, don't you think? *smile*  She has definitely found her way into my heart and I shall be picking her up tomorrow! *wink*

My next find was also one that I stumbled upon after having made a purchase and going back to check something out over at Memory Scraps! A designer there, Lauraskathi (Kathrin Pfetzing), who creates some really GORGEOUS designs, is retiring from designing and has put several of her scrapkits on sale for ONLY $2.00!

*40 Years* includes 21 papers, 112 elements and 2 alphas in 10 different languages, each of which can be downloaded separately! WOW! This gorgeous scrapkit is filled with happy colors and chock-full of scrapping goodness!

*Summer Vacation* boasts of 31 papers, 122 elements and 1 full alpha! This scrapkit is also on sale for ONLY $2.00 and is sure to scrap many a trip to the beach, an island get-away, or a tropical vacation. This kit is very versatile and will make for lots of wonderful everyday moments to be beautifully preserved as well!  The lovely patterned papers and meticulously extracted embellishments will make your layouts shine!  I cannot wait to snag these two!

You will find Kathrin's store at Memory Scraps HERE and while you are there, check out the other kits she has on sale for $2.00! More shopping on my list tomorrow!

Over at Digital Scrap Cafe this month, their talented designers have put together A Little Something for us! It is an AMAZING September collaboration for the super low price of $5.99!

I love the muted Fall colors that will scrap a multitude of events. You will find 70 papers, 122 elements and 4 templates in this plethora of scrapping delights! I'm sure you'll agree with me on the nice blending of traditional scrapbooking elements and darling doodles and I simply cannot fail to mention the sweet stitches and pretty paper flowers!

If you'd like A Little Something for your scrapping stash, click HERE!

The last of my finds out in the marketplace today were outside of Scrapland, yet very closely connected! LOL!

There is an awesome and pretty popular CoffeeShop I've been to a few times over the past several months and I just found my way back over there today since my time away! The CoffeeShop that I am referring to is owned by a very talented and generous young lady, wife and mother of two, Rita!

I shall let you stroll on over there at your leisure and scour the premises for all that your eyes can take in during one visit.  I guarantee you'll be back over-and-over again to digest all that Rita has to offer in the way of photography tools via actions, tutorials and more and the best part is that they are all free!   Rita's newest action is PowderRoom After Dark and you can find it HERE ... for free!  Oh, and you may as well grab yourself a cup of coffee because you will want to sit at the CoffeeShop for a spell! LOL!

If y'all stop on over and download, please make sure to leave Rita some love and let her know that I recommended her!  Thank you!  I know that she will really appreciate it since she and her entire family are still recovering from mono and she is still bestowing her readers with amazing gifts!

And, isn't Rita's puppy just the cutest?  OMGosh!  I love those big blue eyes against her chocolate coat!

Last, and certainly not the least, is a quick blurb for a killer deal from Shutterfly and Groupon!

I found this via a tweet with the hastag #digiscrap attached and, of course, just had to check it out! Am I glad I followed my curiosity as I am now the proud owner of a coupon that I only paid $10.00 for, which will allow me to purchase an 8x8, hardcover photo book from Shutterfly (plus shipping and handling)!  WOOT, WOOT!

I've been wishing to create a photo book for some time now, but whenever I get an email for a special from Shutterfly, I never follow through because they simply do not give me ample time to be able to design one the way I wish to! Yes, I know I can create and then wait to print when a good sale comes along, however, seeing as how I've not completed one yet to see whether or not I will be happy with preserving my memories this way on a regular basis, this deal via Groupon is perfect and will give me until November 22, 2010 to get 'er done! ROFL!

Here is where I registered to become a member of Groupon (I even uploaded an avatar and contributed to the forum! Can you tell I was excited? LOL!) and then purchased the coupon for Today's Deal: $10 for a 20-page 8"x8" Hardcover Photo Book from Shutterfly!

I just checked and 1200 have already been sold and the deal ends at midnight tonight (Tuesday).  What a great deal for a baby album, birthday book, family reunion, vacation, etc. I'm SO excited to finally have the incentive to get moving on putting a book together!  ROFL! So, if I go missing for any length of time, y'all will know what I am up to! He, he ...

I wish you all an AMAZING day and I will be back, hopefully later today, with a little goody for you as well as a really genius cake recipe that has everyone going gaga over here!  I'll give you a hint.  There are only two ingredients used and it is moist and delicious!  I am not a cake connoisseur, but this just might change my mind!

If any of you think you know what the recipe is, please post below! ;)

monday in the marketplace ... amazing and inspirational finds in scrapland and beyond ... and a killer photo book deal!

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friday at the farmer's market, my new granddaughter, and a freebie!

Happy Friday and Happy Labor Day Weekend y'all!  Grab a drink of your choice and come sit with me for a spell ...

Welcome to Friday at the Farmer's Market! Hmm ... might you be wondering where I came up with that title? LOL! Yes, for those of you who may have seen my Twitter and/or Facebook statuses during my stay in Washington, it was influenced by my Saturday trips to the local Farmer's Market in Vancouver with my daughter, her family and friends! And then, our Friday drives up the hill to our local Farmer's Market in Angels Camp, California!

Friday usually finds me winding down from the week and, most likely, it finds you doing the same as we look towards whatever activities we have planned for the upcoming weekend or, perhaps, just a relaxing day at home with our beloved families.

There have been so many occasions where I've run across something while out-and-about in Scrapland (and beyond) that I've wanted to share, so I thought this would be a wonderful opportunity for me to do so.

I hope to bring you features and/or samplings (aka freebies) I find during my venturing out on Friday mornings!

Before I share my Friday Farmer's Market finds, I would love to share a video clip with you that my daughter, Joan just recently emailed to me. And what makes this particular video clip so special? You will see two portraits highlighted by photographer extraordinaire, Erin Tole, of my new granddaughter, Katelyn Rose! *big grin*

Erin came to the house when Baby Kate was just six days old! Erin specializes in newborn photography and as I learned, the younger the better due to babies being much more limber when fresh from the womb, which is why they are able to achieve some of the most incredibly adorable poses I've ever seen from babies!  So reminds me of many a photograph made popular by world-renowned photographer, Anne Geddes!

Erin was recently featured on a local television station out of Portland, OR, KOIN-TV and without further ado, I introduce you to Erin Tole and to my precious new granddaughter, Katelyn Rose. Katelyn was born on July 15th at 7:27 pm, weighing in at 6 pounds, 9 ounces and measuring 19-1/4 inches in height! Yup, a little peanut just like her mommy was! *sigh* P.S. I still owe you snap shots and those shall be forthcoming!

The image of the baby on (or in) the wood stump outdoors (an indoor prop!) followed by the black and white of baby in Daddy's arms are both of Katelyn Rose. The sweet little baby boy seen unveiled during the interview is the son of one of the anchor men at KOIN-TV. How special for him too!

Video courtesy of KOIN TV - Local 6 (Portland, OR):

Newborn Photography

See Erin's amazing work here: Erin Tole Photography (Portland, OR - Vancouver, WA)

If you would be interested in viewing more images taken of Katelyn Rose by Erin Tole, check out her blog post devoted specifically to the photo shoot at my daughter and son-in-law's home here: Words Cannot Describe 

Well, after leaving the virtual photography booth at the Farmer's Market this morning, I came across another virtual booth offering up an AMAZING digital scrapbooking service by long-time (since 2004) business woman, blogger, hybrid crafter, graphic designer, digital designer (and the list goes on ...) AND owner of Digi Scrap Obssession, Bunny Cates! 

I happened across Bunny's brand new Digital Scrapbooking Business Career Coaching service at DSO, while checking out some VERY cool Jolly Pirate Templates 4 by GS Creations! (Being an incredible deal at only $1.88, I am linking you straight to them here, as I am not sure how long they are on sale for and they might be off-sale by my Monday in the Marketplace post! There are also three additional sets on sale for $2.44, all of which are CU-friendly!)

Ms. Bunny is offering up a jam-packed hour of her time, on a person-to-person basis by way of Skype (worldwide) or telephone (USA only), in which she will answer ANY business related questions that you might have whether you are an established digital designer, store owner or someone contemplating a new business either as a digital designer or store owner and who is in need of some expertise within the field of Digital Scrapbooking.  And, YES, I am going to purchase an hour of her time in the very near future as I begin to progress toward putting my boutique together!  $23.00 (currently 23% off of the regular price of $29.95) is well worth the investment from someone well-established and successful in the Digital Scrapbooking industry, believe me!

I can also give Bunny Cates a personal recommendation!  I was blessed to have had a few one-on-one conversations with her a year ago when I was in the process of joining DSO as a digital designer, but had to back out due to health issues and computer issues at the time.  Nonetheless, Bunny gave me a wealth of important information most people do not possess when first pursuing a business in the digital scrapbooking industry.  I have forgotten a few of those important factors and I look forward to doing business with Bunny to make sure I have a good understanding of the necessary information I need to keep my future store safe online and out of the reach of hackers!  You might think this is not important, but it most definitely is.  I have seen a handful of well-established sites completely incapacitated due to malicious acts of hacking in recent months. There are ways to protect ourselves from this happening y'all and Bunny can help us along without missing a beat!

I would like to interject one more important aspect of having a successful career as a digital scrapbooking designer and/or store owner, and that is adherence to "Industry Standards".  Those close to me know that I have questioned whatever happened to them many times as I began to see many new designers and stores cropping up several years ago that were not following any standards whatsoever. So, how does one stop such madness? Uhm, we can't actually, however, we can become educated as to what is and what is not acceptable in the digital scrapbooking industry and learn to make wise choices as with any other type of product we purchase for ourselves and our families.

 Whether it be purchasing digital designs to scrap our precious memories with or commercial-use items to make our own designs to use or sell, we can prevent a lot of disappointment on our part by educating ourselves as to what is quality product and what is not. This is an area that Bunny ensures DSO stands behind in that each piece submitted by a designer goes through quality assurance (QC) and will not be passed on to you (or me!), the consumer, unless it meets industry standards in numerous areas.

There is nothing more heartbreaking to me then to have spent hours, or more, on a project only to find that an item I am using is missing pixels, blurred, distorted, improperly shadowed or shadowed when it should not be, jagged on the edges, beveled incorrectly and/or light sources coming from multiple directions or contains stray pixels, etc. Some of you may shake your head and think not much of it all, but when you go to print pages or spend extra monies on creating photo books, I assure you, it will show and you will be disappointed!

On behalf of designers and store owners, I will say this, no one is perfect and mistakes are made and you will know those who genuinely care about their customer service in how they respond to your concerns about a particular designer and/or product.  In my honest opinion, a reputable designer/store will have the issue taken care of as quickly as is humanly possible.  That is simply good customer service, which means the world to a consumer and it will keep them coming back.

I would like to thank Bunny personally (you ROCK lady!) for allowing me to feature her new Digital Scrapbooking Business Career Coaching (follow link for details) service on my very first Friday at the Farmer's Market segment and I hope that y'all will join me again on Monday, when I shall debut Monday Morning in the Marketplace, which will focus on my wanderings around Scrapland on Monday mornings as I prepare myself to focus on my week ahead and, if the need be, find some inspiration!  Mondays shall generally focus on new products and sales.  I may even toss a found freebie or two into the mix on occasion!

You all surely deserve a goody for hanging out with me this long! It is an embellished frame to coordinate with my contribution to the Fall Carnival - September Blog Train. Grab it below before leaving!

I hope you are enjoying the Fall Carnival Blog Train and wish you all a safe and fun Labor Day Weekend!

Keep on scrapping and above all, scrap happy! :D

P.S. A sincere thank you to those who have not been afraid to leave comments on my new Disqus commenting widget! As you will find, I have replied to each comment thus far, minus a few new ones which I shall reply to once I hit the publish button on this post!  If you have any questions or comments regarding this post, please leave them beneath this post and I shall reply to each one just as soon as I spot them! Thanks SO much - MWAH!

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD EMBELLISHED FRAME

friday at the farmer's market, my new granddaughter, and a freebie!

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the september blog train has departed ... toot, toot!

As the end of summer draws near for those of us on this side of the equator, the September Blog Train begins making it's way throughout Scrapland today bringing about a Fall Carnival of color to help us scrap our memories with some very cool designs by 100+ designers!

You should have found your way here from geniaBean scraps

Here is a preview of what the September Blog Train has on board:



WOO HOO! Get ready to do some serious scrapping y'all! There are a plethora of delicious scrapping goodies ready for the downloading when you meet and greet the September Blog Train at each station! I do believe my EHD will have quite a tummy ache when all is said and done! ROFL! Hmm ... this actually reminds me that I am in need of a new one anyhow as this baby is nearly filled to capacity! EEEKS!

Your next stop will be at Designs by Angel

If you get lost along the way, you can catch up with everyone here on The Blog Train Blog!

Reminder:  Give the train a full 24 hours to hitch everyone up as we have designers from all around the globe and in different time zones!

The Blog Train Blog is a fabulous way for y'all to get to know some new designers.  While stopped at each station, take a peek at what each designer is up to and bookmark their blog and/or site for future reference if you find them to your liking!

All aboard and until we meet again ...

Love and hugs,

Linda XOXO

My contribution and also the debut of my new preview packaging, so it looks just a wee bit different than it does in the slide show! *wink*

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD FALL CARNIVAL

the september blog train has departed ... toot, toot!

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