Ever do something sometimes and think “oh wait I should have done . . .” and then its too late! There is no turning back, it is what it is! Well after I finalized my tinyprints order Friday, I didn’t feel that way, but with the follow up phone calls/emails if I had felt that way I would have had plenty of opportunity to fix something I would have wanted changed. By Friday evening I received not only a phone call but a follow up email about my order. I was given some advice on using different wording for my postcards and was informed that the image I sent wasn’t clear. I was so impressed by the response of customer service, it was really nice to hear a voice on the other end of the phone. After we went back and forth, I was sent another email where I had to ok the changes on each card (for front and back) before the order was to be processed. That was Tuesday, by Friday I received my box of goodies!





Look at these party invitations! My son was so excited! He’s been planning his birthday party since we had his sisters 2nd birthday this past summer. His Star Wars theme is going to be equipped with Yoda Sodas, Death Star pizzas, and Jedi training! I’m so glad we found these invitations, it made this part (and the thank you part) of the party planning process less stressful.



With the post cards and ornaments, I embellished a plain brown gift bag with the postcards, tied the handles with yarn, and topped it off with the ornament cards! Oh I only wished I had a gift for myself to wrap it in this unique bag!
(Photos on the postcard and photo ornament by Sara McManus Photography - www.saramcmanusphotography.com)

Anybody on facebook notice the ads on the right hand side? I keep finding myself clicking on the Tiny Prints ad and going to their site to check out their adorable cards. Guess what? I was recently given the opportunity to create cards from their website and I couldn’t be more excited!

I took about an hour (a very enjoyable hour I might add) to look through all of their products, from photo cards (worthy of framing), greeting cards (for any occasion imaginable), photo gifts, Pop up and flip greeting cards (so unique), holiday coloring cards, holiday newsletter inserts and even personalized birthday cards. While looking around you can click on the little folder to the bottom right of each card and add it to "My Picks". It will be placed in a tray along the bottom of your page so you can compare your favorites to one another. The ideas are endless, and this is what I created.

Every year I give my loved ones handmade ornaments with photos of my kids on them to adorn the top of their presents. Each one of my family and friends look forward to receiving them year after year. Can you believe Tiny Prints makes photo ornaments? I had a hard time deciding which one, and decided on this one. (Note that this card was designed by Kate Beckinsale for the Epidermolysis Bullosa Medical Research Foundation.)

It took me all of 5 minutes, between uploading, personalizing and checking out. Don’t get me wrong, its not that I don’t enjoy putting the time into creating ornaments every year, but this really did take away some unnecessary stress this holiday season. What I also chose to do was create a collage postcard to embellish brown gift bags. What a perfect way to further personalized my gifts along with the ornament cards on top. This was the template that I used.



Next I created birthday invitations with matching thank you notes for my son’s 6th birthday party. His theme is star wars and sure enough tiny prints had a layout that was perfect for me to use.



One thing I wished I had ordered were their photo birthday cards. Why look for the perfect card for each and every person on your birthday list. Give them a one of a kind card fully equipped with your photos and personalized sentiment inside. Have 30 birthdays you celebrate a year? Buy 30 of these cards and BAM – your birthday card list is complete. – I LOVE how you can even personalize the back with sweet words and a small photo. Oh well, next time I'm adding those to my shopping cart.


















Look for my next post where I’ll be showing off my personalized goodies and what I did with them!

Happy Turkey Day

We want to wish you and yours a safe and happy Thanksgiving holiday.
Here are some coloring pages to keep the little ones occupied at the kiddie table and some additional turkey day fun. We can't wait to see what this holiday inspires you on your next card making or scrapbook project!

What inspires you?

So I'm trying to figure out what inspires fellow scrappers to to scrap the pages they do. Is it a particular photo you have, the season, a title name, a new paper line you found at the store, or seeing another layout? I think whatever way you organize your thoughts prior to scrapbooking tells alot through the page you create. For example if you are driven by a particular photo, it will take center stage on your page and you may tend to spend more time on the photo than on any other part of the page. Yes? No? I was inspired by a title called "Death by Candycorn" and I immediately thought of a photo I took of my kids with candycorn teeth! Here is a photo of the page I came up with! What does this layout say for my inspiration? I'd like to know what inspires you - make sure to leave your commments here.

THIS WEDNESDAY: Catch the debut of the LIVE, call-in, internet radio show, CREATIVE MOJO with MARK LIPINSKI, at 2:00-4:00 pm central on www.toginet.com. IT'S FREE!! First guest - Eric Maisel author of Coaching the Artist Within and Fearless Creating!

Scrapbooking & Beyond Fall 2010 issue

This issue of Scrapbooking & Beyond features a basketful of great Fall layouts, albums, and ideas. If you're sending kids back to college or have family members or friends living in distant parts of the country, you might want to check out "Postcards from Home." For those of you who are travel savvy (or who would like to be), our collection of Destination layouts offers some super ideas on preserving your vacation memories. There's even a special Travel Tin project (perfect for storing your photos), and several album ideas. Pick up the latest issue today!

Rainy Day Activity

Ok, so it didn't rain today. I was really hoping it would because I promised my son and niece a fun little art project. So we pretended. Here is a picture my niece drew












I pinned it to a doubled piece of off-white fabric and sewed around the outside edges (the picture here is actually my son's drawing). Then turned it right side out and had the kids stuff them. Then added clothes and in my sons case a collar (since he felt when all was said and done the doll he drew looked more like a dog) and there you have it!



Two proud kiddos! Ok so what does this have to do with scrapbooking? Nothing really. But this picture would make for a cute card :)!