Bon Scrapatit Designs: Grandchildren

Product used: Doodled Arrow RubOn and Word Art

from *Spring Sun and Easter Fun Add-on*

by Bon Scrapatit Designs

Happy Monday y'all!

As promised, I'm back with a little add-on to *Spring Sun and Easter Fun*! (checking pulse and in shock that I'm here ... I am actually here!)

Know what? I love my peeps! Yup. That would be y'all! *sigh*

A special thank you to my darling granddaughter, Kate (and her mommy) for the use of her sweet little peep loving self this past Easter. *big smile*

I have not attempted anything hybrid in quite some time and thought printing out the journal cards I've included in the add-on to be a great place to start for a couple of reasons, the most important of which is to make sure that you are getting quality product! *squee*

As declared in my TOU, everything I design is created and saved at 300 ppi (pixels-per-inch) for superior quality printing. I printed the six journal cards on White Card Stock (110 lb weight) by Georgia-Pacific. I'm a little embarrassed to admit just how long I've had this, barely, used package! I can guarantee you that I shall be using it much more often now! *yay*

While I am not officially taking part in Becky Higgins, Project Life, I love the genius behind it and with the sensation the 3X4 journal/fill-in cards have made across Scrapland, I have thought of many uses for these little gems aside from slipping them into photo sleeves:

Gift Card (punch a hole through the top and attach to a gift bag or wrapped package with Baker's Twine, ribbon or string)
Thank You Card (tuck inside of a purchased or homemade small envelope to mail, hand deliver or place inside of your mailbox to let your mail carrier know what wonderful service they are providing :)
Memo/Fancy To-Do List (I'm going to be using mine for this during the month of May! I already have them cut and stacked on my desk and they look so purdy ;)
Dinner Place Cards (conversation starters, share one of your recipes on the back, unleash your creative genius ;)
Love Notes (slip one into your hubby's pocket before he leaves for work or into your children's lunch boxes for an extra dose of love and/or encouragement)
Inspirational Refrigerator Magnets (print your favorite quote, scripture or motivational message, laminate and use a peel-and-stick magnet or glue one onto the back. Decorate to your heart's content and give a few as gifts!)
Coupons/Rewards (an extra hug, a foot massage, back rub, extra treat, extra points toward a prize, one less chore, a car wash, solo shopping trip with Mom, a mani-pedi, not to mention multiple uses for homeschooling families :)

I'm sure that y'all have many other fabulous ideas in mind too! I'd love to hear them. *smile*

Journal Cards are printed out and ready to cut!

Above, you see the journal cards after they have been cut with my

Fiskars 12-inch Cutter. I was not happy with the job done, but then

I've not used the cutter for quite a long time and even though the

blade cartridge was new when last used, it had some serious

issues. Come to think of it, my cutter has never cut decent straight

lines. There has always been a bit of a curve/jag on one end. Now, I'm

not sure whether the cutter itself has an uneven spot or if I need to

chalk it up to operator error! *Ha, ha* Anyhoo, they are sweet
nonetheless and I shall definitely have fun using them! I'd love to
know what your recommendations are for a good quality cutter.

A quick reminder that the May Blog Train departs tomorrow, May 1st! My post should come through about the same time as this one today. Hope you enjoy the download!

Have a fabulous week scrapping and making new memories everyone!

Sorry, this link has expired. Will be adding to my shop soon. Thank you for taking the time to stop by!

Bon Scrapatit!

Enjoy and remember, it is scrap-happy hour 24/7 in Scrapland!

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!