New Class Kit & be KIND and WIN an original handmade bag!!

Two BIG things today.... make sure you go all the way to the bottom of this post to see how you can win this handmade bag:

Here is my new on-line kit -

I need to tell you that I love this project so much it makes my heart hurt a little bit when I look at it. I feel like I need to put it into a safety deposit box, just in case!!

I love this project. I love that no matter what ever happens, I made myself sit down and write these five letters. Those will never be taken away, and from this day forward, my family will always have them. I am so proud to have done this, and so happy that I have told both girls, Neil, and my Dad the little things I need them to always know.

I also included a letter to my Mom.

I believe in Heaven, so I guess I have to believe that she was reading it over my shoulder as I typed it, and I sort of just needed to write certain things to her. Plus, my girls will always have this special note I wrote to my Mom. It just all makes me feel proud to be a scrapbooker. Like doing this one project makes everything I have ever done with scrapbooking worthwhile. I just have wanted to make this for so long....

OK, here are the details.....

In this kit (sold at Just Need It) you get just about everything you need to make an envelope album.
Basically for $48 you receive:
*5 pre-cut (on the AccutCut) envelopes made from Lucky Creative Cafe Paper
*two pre-cut chipboard covers with corners already rounded (thanks Marty!)
*two O-rings to bind it together
*One 12 x 12 awesome printed transperancy to trim and use to accent your project
*Five sheets of 12 x 12 lined papers to use to write out your letters (after you trim them down a bit so they fit in the envelopes) to either 5 different people you love or 5 different letters to one person
*A complete set of Danelle's awesome Impress-On rub-ons that will warm your heart and complete your pages in a way that really makes you feel happy - I am done, and I have TONS left to use on other things
*Lots of ribbons and trims to use on your o-rings
*A complete set of 3 full 12 x 12 sheets of two sizes of chipboard letters - you have SO MANY of these!
*Tags in various sizes and colors
* another sheet of paper to use to cover your LETTERS title on the front cover
All you need on your own is Adhesive, Stamps (or you can just use the chipboard letters that are included), your thoughts, and a few photos. THAT IS IT! Complete list of what is in this kit can be found here.
You can do this - I know you can. And, I PROMISE you that you will always be glad you created this for your family.
Here are a few more photos...

You can pick up your kit and then I will email you full instructions. I will also help you in ANYWAY that I can do make sure you MAKE THIS for your family. I am so excited to share this kit with you!!

OK, now - PLEASE try to win this awesome bag!

It is a long story, but Andrea from the Nomi Collection, the lady who makes these bags is SO NICE and she made a bag just for one of you!! She was kind to me and completely made my day with a surprise in the mail!! It may have been small to her, but it meant the world to me! All you have to do is share one little thing you can do to simply be kind to another person. This bag can be yours if you comment on this post simply listing an act of kindness (one you did, one you will do, one you wish someone would do for you....) and PLEASE include your email. And this awesome bag can be yours. I will have the girls do a random draw on Sunday! Not many of you ever post, so if you post - your chances are GREAT to win this! :)

I hope you make this project - and I am so excited that one of you will soon have this HAPPY BAG to carry around with you! Enjoy your week!

Mom & Me class 10 Things I Love About You

I am teaching a class for the Town of Schererville (Indiana) on Monday, December 15th from 6 - 7 PM at the Town Hall.   I am really looking forward to helping families create a meaningful holiday gift for someone they love. I really enjoyed my last Mom and Me class, and cannot wait for this one.  I love watching Moms and Kids create something together.

Here are a few photos:

You can sign up at the Town Hall - email me if you would like more information.

I love this book and I am so happy that Kalli already made this for Kaya for Christmas! I cannot wait for her to give it to KyKy - and how cool will this be in 20 years???  (or when they are 13 and 16 and fighting over clothes...  I will take this out and yell "YOU LOVED EACH OTHER AT ONE TIME!"  Yeah, that is me, always planning to have proof that at one point they really really loved each other!!  :)

Hope you have had a great weekend. I am having Mac problems, so posting is a struggle right now. I love when computers work, want to cry when they do not!!  Happy Veteran's Day. I am so grateful for everyone who works to protect every one of our freedoms.

Sneak Peak of Letter from Me class...

I am one link away from sending out my next newsletter....  but I am so excited about my next kit, I wanted to post a sneak peak of one of the greatest projects I have ever created.  Just looking at it makes my heart happy. Kits to create this project are limited and will be availble as soon as we can get a link to the cart posted (hopefully tomorrow or Monday). More details on this project coming soon...  but the basic idea is that you use this kit to write out 5 letters that you will NEVER be sorry that you wrote.

Good Stuff Album

OK, I could not sleep because I was outlining ways I could create this. So, I got up and made this first thing this morning....  and I love it. I already have GOOD STUFF in it from each of my family members!  I love that part most of all.

I just wanted you to see it. I will work more on outlining it over the weekend, and see if Marty can come up wtih a kit (I am using the Creative Cafe spiral album and Art Warehouse FRESH line) in case any of you want to go that route. The class will be FREE if you just sign up. I will get you a handout and give you a push to create your own little place to record your GOOD STUFF!

Email me (or just comment with your email address in the comments) if you want me to put you on the FREE class list. I am so excited about making this for my family. I hope you make one for yours, too.

We started our day today by each of us listing out just a few things that we consider to be GOOD STUFF.

Notice my little model helping me with my photos this morning!! :)

Happy Friday!

One extra "25 Things We Love About Summer" kit available for sale...

If you are looking for a quick and easy way to capture what you loved most about this past summer, maybe this kit could help you. It is prepped and ready to go....  all you need to do it be the first to email me and let me know you want it - then think about it and email me a list of your 25 favorite things about summer and I will prep that part and get the kit in the mail to you  next Tuesday. The kit cost is $50 for the album and everything you need to create the album (you just add photos and adhesive to stick it together) and add $10 if I need to ship it to you. I think I can take Pay Pal (you all know I am not internet savy with things like that). This album can EASILY be created in about 90 minutes total - and you will have it forever. I accidentally created one extra one and maybe that could be a very good thing for your family??  :)  Here are a few photos from the inside of my album... the outside of the album is really need with four REAL SHELLS under mesh on the cover - I have never seen anything like that.

If you are looking for a more in-depth look at your summer, and you want to add in a bit of your own creativity...  Marty still has a few ONE SUMMER kits in his cart I think.  That was my first on-line class, and I have loved that process. If you pick up that kit, he will let me know, and I will forward you all handouts for that class.  Go here to see some sample pages from this kit. One person in the class told me "My kids and I have LOVED this album. We work on it together all the time." Now that sure makes my heart feel happy!  

Can you believe this summer is winding down???  Ugh - that means soon, I will have to shovel snow. I love summer and always hate to see it end.

One Summer Class makes my heart feel happy

I am so far into this project and I LOVE IT! I really do. I hope those of you who picked up the kit are enjoying it, and USING it and LOVING it. I am really pleased with how it has come out. I have attached a few photos for you to see how it looks as it fills up with our summer memories....

If you are in the class and have not received the 2nd handout yet, please email me. It think as of today, I have emailed it to anyone who has ordered their class kit as of this week. You can still pick up this kit because Marty has a few left in the store. Go here to get your kit, and I will email you the handouts so you can begin this awesome project. I love it. I love just knowing that the girls will never forget this ONE SUMMER.

Hope you all have a day filled with sunshine.

KLSB

I love sticking things RIGHT to photos.....

Who knew?? All these years I avoided doing that, and now I love it. I am working on pages for my ONE SUMMER class, and I just stuck phrase stickers, rub-ons, cut out stamped pieces, and epoxy stickers right onto the photos! Man, it made me happy. I love this project. It is raw and real and just about our lives this summer. I feel peaceful that we will have this to look at when we are freezing here in the middle of winter. Summer rocks, and my girls enjoy it every day.

We do still have some ONE SUMMER kits left.... we will keep them in the cart until they are gone. If you pick up the kit now, I will forward you the handouts. These kits include FOUR full sheets of Creative Cafe Spirit stickers that you can stick right onto your photos!! :) Remember, you can start this project anytime. Headed to CHA Summer in Chicago (I am driving). Will talk to you when I get back. Have fun and take (and print) lots of photos!

A few pages from my One Summer Album

Here are a few pages I did tonight and a few really early this morning.... I just wanted to show you guys how SIMPLE it is to just work towards getting something done. These photos are not perfect... I have a random mix of horizontal and vertical, I am using my good old messy handwriting and simply doing the best I can. And yet, when I close my album and open it back up and flip through it all, my heart swells with pride that I have this simple record of our everyday lives this ONE SUMMER. It is here, it is real, it is a work in progress. I shoot differently and think differently because I have all these amazing simple moments to capture in this little binder album. I hope you are thinking a few things...

1) that you should take and prints lots of photos from this summer

2) that anything you make is better than just surfing the internet and wishing you were scrapbooking or organizing your massive supply stacks on your workspace (yes, I have done all of these over and over!!!)

3) that you can commit to not making memory keeping any harder than it needs to be

You can all capture little moments before they are gone. Grab a notebook and a pen.... a summer kit like ONE SUMMER, a simple photo album.... anything that gets you scrapbooking, creating, journaling..... I know you will love anything you create. Have a memory filled weekend.

One Summer Kit Contents

This is how amazing this One Summer kit is when you open it all up. I am missing a couple of things, too - because I already used the samples I had in my album! I am so excited for all of you who ordered it to get it in the mail! Class One Handout coming to your inboxes today!

You can grab your kit here!

Enjoy your weekend!!

NEW 25 things we love about SUMMER workshop

If you are looking for a SUPER quick & easy way to capture some fun memories from this summer, this 25 things album kit is the kit for you....

This is a SIMPLE class for people who basically have no time to do anything this summer, but they want to have a cool memory to look back on! All you need to do is make a list of 25 of your favorite things about summer (ask your family to help you), take and PRINT 25 horizontal OR vertical photos that can represent the things you love about summer, and glue them in when your album kit arrives. That is it. If you wanted to add a little bit of journaling, 25 journaling cards are also included.... I am going to create your title page for you, send you 25 4.5" x 6.5" photo mattes in various colors, send you an unique Once Upon A Family 7.25 x 7.25 fold out style silk Summer Album, inlcude 25 journaling blocks and, if you email me your list of 25 things by July 28th, I will type out and include your 25 title bars - Is does NOT get any simpler than this.

This class is $50 plus $10 shipping if you are out of town. I can accept checks in the mail or PayPal. Email me at klsb@comcast.net if you want to take this class and I will email you back a paypal invoice. You could enhance this album anyway you want with your own supplies, or, you can simply stick in your photos, glue down your titles and mattes, add journaling if you want to, and BE DONE! I love being DONE with things.

I sure would love to look back on this from 1978 and see what my sister, brother, my parents and I loved about summers back then. I bet a lot of it would be the same, but how funny would those photos be 30 years later??

I am ordering album supplies to create these kits on July 18th. Please get me a check or paypal money by then so I can include your album on that order and begin creating your SIMPLE kit for you! This could even be a great gift for a non-scrapbooking friend!! If you are local, you can come to a workshop at my place on July 31 at 7 PM - just order your kit without shipping fees and let me know you will be there - I will have your kit ready for you that night. If you bring your printed photos, and get me your list ahead of time so I can print out and trim your titles, you can totally make this entire album in one hour!! :)

One Summer Class is in the cart now!

I just wanted to post here that I just sent out an email to anyone that commented or emailed me that they wanted to take this class... a few people commented and did not put their email in the comment. I tried to find those email address, but I failed (I am not great at computer stuff). So, Here is the email.... I hope if you commented that you find this here!

Have a happy week!

KLSB

--------------------------

Hi Everyone!!

First, THANK YOU for signing up to take this class. I am so excited about it, it makes my heart race. I truly think it will be an amazing family for your family to look back at one day.

Second, the ONE SUMMER class kit is in the cart NOW!!

This email is going to everyone who signed up via posting or email to get notice when the kit is available. Please go grab a kit as soon as you can. I am going to post about it as well because a few people forgot to include their email address in their comments! There are a few extras that Marty made to be sure we had enough. On Wednesday of next week (July 9) I will let the rest of the newsletter group know that there are some extras if they want to take it. That should give you plenty of time to go get one if you want it. I wanted to give you plenty of time to get in there and get yours before they are gone.

Third, please have a little patience with us this first class – we are NOT a powerhouse internet teaching company!! This is just an idea Danelle and I had to get you guys some fun projects to work on when we are not able to go out on the road teaching in stores or at events!! I am sure there are going to be a few kinks, and I apologize AHEAD OF TIME for those that might come up! J I hope to get a notice when each of you pick up your kit in the cart, and I will mail you out a PDF file of more class information. More on that later…. But just email me direct (klsb@comcast.net ) if you have any issues opening a file, did not get one about three days after ordering your kit, or anything like that. I am nervous about what might happen, but we had to start somewhere!! This is my very first on line class…. Ohhhh, I am so excited and nervous!

Fourth – take lots of photos. Print ones that you love. Horizontal or Vertical works. I just ordered some 5 x 7 prints to see how those look in this little album, and I will take photos of that for you as soon as I try to stick them in there. For now, print your photos 4 x 6 or mini prints. More details on that coming soon!

OK, do you have any questions??? If so, PLEASE let me know – if you have a question, I am sure a lot of you do. I will do the best I can to stay on top of everything with this class. I work in my dad’s office during the days, so it might be night until I can get a response to you….. just let me know what you need and I will try to get you an answer as soon as possible!!
THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU for wanting to take this class. You have all probably had more talented instructors, higher end instructors, and much more well-known instructors, but you have NEVER had a teacher more excited for you to capture your memories for your family. That I promise you. Teaching class like this for people all over it what I have dreamt about since my old CKU days!! J I could not be more excited to bring this class into your home for you to work on when it works for YOU!

Enjoy every moment as it comes. You just never know how much that moment could mean one day! J

Go get your kit here

If you do not already have them, here are a few more items I will be using in my album that you might want to grab…. You do not need these items – you have everything you need in the kit to make the ONE SUMMER album… I just wanted to get you links to other things I might use, too while you were ordering your kit!! J I cannot link directly to the item, but I think I can get you to the landing page, and you can scroll to find the item. Like I said…. We are not a powerhouse internet company!!

Impress –On Rub On Booklet ( I love these and use them a lot – I have not used them in my album yet, but I am pretty sure I will – I love this set most of all )
Id: 18268 Spirit Swatch Book

Clear Stamps by Danelle – These are the sets I think I will use the most – you can use any stamps you have, too. Just get what you love or use what you have. Do not feel pressure to make this at all exactly like mine – this is all about YOUR summer and what you love….. Don’t forget to get a clear block if you do not have like 5 of them already!! J

* Just Write – lined set (I use this set all the time in almost everything I make)
Id: CS6146 Just Write

A cool mini phrase set I use a lot
Id: CS6148 My Thoughts

Another mini phrase set that I use often
Id: CS6149 My World

A new, larger size of phrases that I really like – I just got it, so I have not used it yet, but I cannot wait!!
Id: CS6175 Happy Days

Self-Inkers by Danelle –

Round Good Stuff (if you only get one stamp, get this one – it rocks my world and I use it a ton)
Id: SI6103 Real Life

Rectangle Never Want to Forget (I love this stamp)
Id: Si6107 Don't forget

Danelle’s New foam stamps –
I have not used these yet because I just got them, but I love them and plan to!! They are a super size for me!! I cannot wait to use them in this project!
id: VS6157 Traditional Foam Alphabet Set

OK, have a super Sunday and I hope you had a nice holiday weekend. This kit can ship to you as soon as you order it – wow – that is so exciting to me. Thanks again for wanting to create this class for your family.

Kristi Sikora-Blankenship