National Scrapbooking Day - May 3rd!

Saturday, May 3rd is National Scrapbooking Day and we're celebrating it!

Every order placed on Saturday, May 3rd at Elle's Studio will receive a special, limited edition "A little bit of this and that" eight tag paper pack! These sets are currently not available for sale and will include eight random and fun tags for your scrapbooking pages!
*Please note, this offer is only good for orders placed on Saturday, May 3rd 2008

Update: In case you missed it... We're extending our giveaway ONE MORE DAY!! Any orders placed on May 3rd and May 4th will receive the eight tag pack!!

Happy creating everyone!!
XO, Elle

Dare sponsor!

Hey everyone!

I just wanted to write a quick post to let everyone know we are sponsoring a dare over at http://www.nzdares.blogspot.com/ Make sure to check it out and participate if you want!! I'll be back in a little bit with a longer post :)

XO, Elle

Happy Saturday!!

Did you see it?! It went pretty quick and it was pure luck I even spotted it :) But... the Crazy Number tags made the Etsy front page today!! I was so excited and must admit, let out a little scream! This is the first time I've ever seen one of our items make it to the front page, here's a little screen cap:

Have you seen these?? These kits are on sale now at Q Tea, but hurry!! There are a limited number available, so you'll have to be quick!!

And... now for the two winners of the mini paper packs!! WOW, that post is definitely the record holder for the most comments!! Thank you everyone for participating!!

The two random winners are...........................
Ruby Claire @ April 16, 2008 6:32 PM
Greta @ April 18, 2008 4:26 PM
{Winners: email me your address so I can get your packages out asap! My email can be found on my profile page}

I hope you all enjoy the rest of the weekend!
XO, Elle

Blog party EXTENDED!!!

Hey everyone! I feel bad about the overseas and out of town people that missed out on the blog party :( And, the package from http://www.onegoodbumblebee.com came in the mail yesterday with the mini piles of paper... I thought we were getting two (which I already gave away) BUT when I opened the pack I found FOUR!!! Thank you so much Katey!

So guess what?? I have two more packs to give away :) And, I have to tell you - these are the cutest thing EVER!!!! Post a comment below to enter and I'll drawn two random names this Saturday :) Here's what they look like (in case you haven't seen them)

XO, Elle

8:00 Party wrap up!

EEK! Today was SO MUCH FUN!!! I want to give a huge thank you to everyone who made it possible and to everyone who passed the word along! I am in shock over the turn out - you guys are awesome!!! I will definitely do one of these again!!

Now for the grand prize winner!!! :) The random number generator picked #27 which is........
Cass said...
Wow! I love the new stuff Elle! It is just awesome. :D

Congrats Cass!!!!!! Send me your addy :)

Thank you everyone!! Love you all!!
XO, Elle

Guest Designer Rachel Denbow!!!

Check out these two layouts and super cute mini done by Rachel!! I love Rachel's style and her handwriting! So fun to look at and read - plus it adds such a personal touch to the projects! Rachel is so sweet and great to work with! I decided to do something new this time... An interview!! And, she totally agreed to do one so I have posted it below :)

An interview with Rachel!!

Blog Link: (personal blog) http://blingonmysewingmachine.blogspot.com
Flickr: http://flickr.com/photos/denbow/
Other link(s): http://www.scrapinstyletv.com/profile_4055.html http://redvelvetgirls.typepad.com/rvkc

When did you start scrapbooking? Who/how did you get interested in it?
I was doing art journals in 2002 when Elsie first asked me to try scrapbooking. I wasn't interested but she was persistent and I gave in. She gave me a big box of old product and I made my parents an album for their 25th anniversary! I slowly started to recognize my style and which products I worked best with and really became a regular scrapper at the end of 2007.

Do you try to record every moment or just special ones?
I usually just start with pictures that I love and work around them. Its not necessarily even a special moment but it documents the images that I want to remember. I have worked on albums that focused on important events, such as the six months of my son's life, and the engagement of good friends, but I tend to only work on what is a part of my life at that moment.

What is your favorite part about the creative process? I love being absorbed in the making process. The end product is always satisfying and its always great to know others enjoy your work, too.

What color combo do you love to use lately? I've been using the green, blue, brown combo or the green, pink combo on almost everything.

Where does most of your inspiration come from? I get a lot of inspiration from images on flickr. Most of the time I'm getting inspiration in the area of photography or fashion and it somehow triggers something in the crafty part of my brain and I get really motivated to produce something.

What is your most favorite thing in or about scrapbooking right now at this moment? I really enjoy the friends I've made online through scrapbooking blogs and networks. I think having a place to share your creative process and have the encouragement of others is really valuable in a person's life. As far as trends go, I love that more people are making mini albums.

Which Elle’s Studio product was your favorite to work with? The scalloped circle tags and the 'seen and noted' tags were great to mix together.

Any Elle’s Studio product a must have?
The woodgrain tags are my all time favorite!!!

Thanks Rachel! You are awesome!! I'll keep the giveaway going (in the post below) until the 8:00 pm rap up post, so you can still enter to win by commenting in that post! And, make sure to tell Rachel how much she rocks :)

4:00 New products debut – with a giveaway!

New items for the shop are here!!! I'm so excited to debut these items and I've waited for what seems like forever for the coffee tags - those are especially my fav! We've also added some colored crazy number tags and a huge crazy number pack 1 - 31 - both of these items are avaiable now because of special requests by you guys! Also, we've got some neon colored candy shop tags and some pastels too! Lots of other fun stuff! Check them all out in the shop !

Winners from the 2:00 post are:

Mini Pile of paper winners: sara at 2:21 and scrapping4twins at 2:34

Kawaii Stash Set #1 winner: p to the a to the t to the t to the ya

Kawaii Stash Set #2 winner: bekka

{Email me your address and what you won as soon as possible! Email address is in my profile!}

Okay... are you READY??!! ANOTHER GIVEAWAY!!! Post a comment below to enter - the winner will get ONE of each of the new items pictured above! YEA!!!!

See you at 6:00 pm for the reveal of our guest designer - her pages are awesome!!!

2:00 shopping time & a giveaway!!

All girls love to shop right?! Well... I LOVE to shop online! It makes it so easy to find what you want and have it shipped right to your door - especially for me because for some reason when I go to the mall I can NEVER find what I want or am looking for and I get so frustrated!!

Here's some of my top favs:

Forever21.com - lots of clothes at cheap prices! Even the accessories and shoes are awesome here! This is my first stop when the budget is tight but I need something to wear! This dress is SO cute!!

Urban Outfitters - Stuff to wear, fun stuff for your home/apt. and some other random awesome things. Check these out:
Fred Flare - Awesome finds here, check out these adorable shoes!!

One Good Bumblebee - Great place with lots of goodies. I love shopping here and always have to force myself to leave before I max out my credit card because I want to buy it all!!
Shop Kawaii - I love all the kawaii characters! I have to admit - I collect them! After I buy them I always think "this is just to cute to use!!"

Little Odd Forest - Another great place with some great finds! This purse HAS to be the cutest!

Giveaway time!!
This time around there is going to be FOUR winners!!! Two people will each win there own pack of the mini piles of paper from http://www.onegoodbumblebee.com/ and...

Two people will each win one of the two featured sets below! I'm sharing some of my kawaii stash, so there are lots of goodies!

Set 1:

Set 2:To enter, post your favorite place to shop in the comments section below!! Good luck everyone! See you at 4:00 pm (pacific standard time) with new items debuting and the four winners of this giveaway will be announced!!

There will also be another giveaway then :) Can't wait!!
XO, Elle

12:00 Q & A

Thanks everyone who emailed me questions! I also just caught a couple of posted ones so I added those in too!! I tried to group the questions together so I didn't answer the same ones twice :)

What is in your ipod right now?
LOTS! My newest additions are Katie Herzig and Nicole Atkins

What is your day job?
I am a Graphic Designer

How long have you been into art and creating?
Ever since I was two! I’d play with playdoe and paint for hours. My mom was always awesome and allowed me to do all that messy stuff – she’s the greatest and always encouraging. I think that is why crafts and art play such a large role in my life still today.

How did you set up your Etsy shop?
Well… at first I was just a shopper on etsy, but then decided to take the plunge! I started out small – with a couple of items and added items gradually.

Do you work on your tags every day or do you set aside one whole day to fill orders, print, cut, etc? How hard is it to keep up with your Etsy shop?
When I get off work at my day job, I usually come home and work on tags (design/print/cut) or new ideas. I do have Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday nights reserved for filling orders and that has helped out tremendously! Once I got on a schedule and figured things out it hasn't been to hard to keep up. I do love staying up late, and those late hours have come in handy :)

What is YOUR favorite product?
That’s a hard one! In general it would be paper - I have WAY to much scrapbooking paper and usually have to buy two sheets of every paper for "just in case!" From my shop it would have to be the candyshop/lollipop tags, doodled heart tags, woodgrain tags, the chic journaling tags : )OH! And, I do have a couple of new favorites that are coming out soon!

Where do your ideas come from?
Well.. a lot come from everyday life, sometimes even if it’s something I want but cannot find to buy. I’m also a HUGE flickr fan and tend to “steal” other peoples flickr favorites!! HAHA! I love looking at others favorite photos and most of the time they become my favorites too!

Tell us something about you we don’t know!
Ummm… I have no idea!

What is your favorite tv show?
I have two! LOST and Ace of cakes are the best shows ever!!! I try not to watch too much TV because I usually don’t get anything done LOL! But, when those shows are on, I’m there!!

Favorite food?
Hmm… I'm really loving the new strawberry shredded wheaties!

Coffee or tea?
COFFEE!!! About 4 to 5 cups a day : ) Java junkie!!

Alright everyone - thanks for the awesome questions! So much fun!! I'll be back at 2:00 pm with my fav places to shop and FOUR different giveaways from the shops!!

10:00 projects & winner!

First, have you seen nanibird.com? These adorable birds are available for download and make an awesome paper project. So fun to watch them come together and so cute!! They looks so cute on my "bark" bird house! LOL!

Now... for the second project... Turn a canvas into a picture memory board! I can never seem to find the correct color combo or size when I'm looking to buy one. And, I wanted to get one for my mom, for Mother's Day and fill it with photos - but I couldn't find one that would match with her decor! So... I made one! It's really simple and easy, too! Here's the steps:
You'll need paint, ribbon, brads and a canvas board. Be prepared to give the board around 3 to 4 coats of paint if you are going with a darker color!

Paint the board :)
Now, this is the hardest part! I wish I had some sort of mathematical way of figuring it out - but I don't :( So... Lay the ribbons down to match the pattern above. You'll want to criss cross the ribbons.

At each ribbon criss cross, take an exacto knife and punch through both ribbons and the canvas.Insert brads!

Turn over and flatten the brads out.Last, you have to deal with those ribbon ends. I planned just to glue them down on the back side. I recommend using a hot glue gun for this step!

And, you're done! Add photos, maybe even some scrapbooking embellishments and TA DA!! It's finished!! The brads really add a lot to the project, too! I chose the ones with rhinestones in them to give them extra shine and sparkle! I hope my Mom loves her present!!

Oh! And, if you haven't seen this project - you MUST go check it out NOW!! Danielle Thompson made these and she has an awesome and detailed tutorial at her blog.

WOW! Thank you everyone for joining the party!! This is so much fun!!!! I'm going to go look at each of your favorite sites now - can't wait to see them all!!

The winner from the last post - by random number is...............

Laurie said...
Here is my favorite!http://www.allthingscupcake.com/:D

Please pick out any three items from the shop and email me your choices with you address!

ALSO! Now is the time to start emailing in your questions for me for the Q & A at 12:00 noon! You can ask me any question you'd like. I'll answer as many as possible but can't guarantee I'll answer them all... My email address can be found in my profile page :)

Let the party begin!!

1. Mini Steamed Cakes 碗糕粿, 2. Orange Cream Cupcakes, 3. DSC_0004, 4. Shades of Yellow and Coffee, 5. cupcake on mac [i], 6. rainbow and cupcake cupcakes, 7. Happy Valentine's Day, 8. cupcake closer, 9. cupcake swap, BEFORE photo, 10. Miššión ÅççömþÏíšheD, 11. trader joe's cupcake: vanilla, 12. Chocolate Cupcakes with White, Pink and Green Vanilla Buttercream, 13. Stack of Molten Chocolate Cakes and Blue, 14. red velvet, 15. more yumminess, 16. A gesture



Grab a cupcake and a cup of coffee and join us ... because the fun is just beginning!! We are going to start off with a list of fun and inspirational non-scrapbooking blogs that I love to visit all the time! By non-scrapbooking I mean that these people aren't really into scrapbooking, but still relate to design.


Here's a list of a few of my favs:
COLOURlovers

On the Dot Creations

poppytalk

Cuteable

decor8

Oh Joy!

Design*Sponge

Treat & Treasures

Lily and Tulip

Posie Gets Cozy

HELLOmynameisHeather

shimandsons

swallowfield

Kitty Genius

Obsessive Consumption

N.E.E.T Magazine

WOW - I think I'll end there! Check them out ... you never know what ideas they'll inspire in you!


Now for the giveaway!!! Post your FAV non-scrapbooking blog in the comments section to enter, the winner will get to pick THREE items from the shop!



See you at 10:00 am when I'll announce the winner AND be posting some fun projects!!

XO, Elle

You're invited to...

All day long on Saturday, April 12th!

There will be lots of fun things going on all day long! I'm so excited I can hardly wait! Make sure to invite all your friends!! Here's a peak at the schedule :) (all times are in Pacific Standard Time!)

8:00 am Fun beings with a giveaway! And, some of my favorite inspirational blogs!

10:00 am Winners announced and TWO fun projects! – Plus you can post/email questions that I will answer at 12:00

12:00 Q & A {Any questions from you, answered by me!}

2:00 pm My favorite places to shop! Plus, a giveaway from two of the places!

4:00 pm New products debut – with a giveaway! Someone is going to win one of each new item!!

6:00 pm Guest design revealed, with a short interview!

8:00 pm The party raps up and the winner from the 4:00 post is announced!

March's Flickr gallery winner!

Lots of fun and colorful entries this month!! Huge thanks to everyone who participated!! We have two winners this month and they are................

theresaK1 and heyhoewarren!! Awesome job you two!! Head on over to the shop and pick out an item - email me your choice and address and I'll get them out asap! The April contest is on now! Upload your layouts using any Elle's Studio product to our flickr group and we'll be choosing another winner(s) next month! Can't wait :)

Hope everyone is having an awesome weekend!
Happy creating!
XO, Elle

P.S. Have you heard the rumor?? Something about a blog party next weekend? The people on the newsletter heard about it first! More details coming soon :) It's gonna rock!