CK Winner and Merry Christmas

I am excited to announce that Ann Marie is the winner of CK's Fast and Fresh Scrapbook Albums.

Congratulations Ann Marie!  Please email me at janamortondigital@gmail.com and we will get that issue of CK to you as shortly.

I just want to shift gears here a bit.  My heart continues to ache for everybody who has been directly effected by the tragedy in Connecticut.  I cannot even express my sorrow.  I have just felt so numb since this happened and the tears have certainly flowed freely over the course of the last week.  I look at Amelia my six year old and my heart hurts for those precious families who have lost their sweet babies as well as the amazing heroines who sacrificed their lives for their children.  The little things just don't seem all that important any more.

During this most blessed season, let us remember what a gift life is and to cherish the moments that we get to share together.  I want to wish each of you and your families a Merry Christmas!  Let us rejoice in the gift of baby Jesus.  God Bless You!

Creating Keepsakes - Fast & Fresh Scrapbooks

I am excited to tell you that Creating Keepsakes Fast and Fresh Scrapbooks Special Issue is being released today.  I just received my copy in the mail the other day and I was totally inspired.  It is filled with great ideas for completing all different types of albums.  I know these ideas will come in handy as the new year approaches and as I think about what projects I want to complete in 2013.

You can pick up a paper edition here or the digital issue here.

There is also a Sneak Peak that can be found here.

I know you will enjoy this issue.   Creating Keepsakes is celebrating the release of this issue with a blog hop.  I'm excited to tell you that I have one free copy of this issue to give away.  Please leave me a comment telling me what type of album you would most like to complete and you will be entered into a random drawing that will occur on Sunday, December 23rd.  

Make sure you stop by my other friends at Creating Keepsakes for additional chances to win a free copy.

Gretchen McElveen

Stacy Cohen

Autumn Baldwin

Kim Watson

Jing-Jing Nickel

Laina Lamb

Thanks for stopping by!

Teacher Gift Idea

One of my favorite things to do this time of year is make personalized gifts.  If you have been following my blog, last year I created a coffee tumbler for my father-in-law using a page that I had created.  You can find that post here with the instructions.

This year I decided to use this same technique to make tumblers for the kids teachers.  When I created the one for my father-in-law last year, I was only able to find the tumblers at Starbucks. This year I was thrilled to find them at Target.

I wanted to include my children in this project.  My girls love to create art and I love seeing what they create.    Amelia drew a picture of her teacher who we love dearly.

I had her use permanent markers so the colors were very vivid.  I thought she did such an awesome job.  I frequently scan my children's artwork and love to do creative things with it.  Here is the image that we created for her teacher.

All products are from Designer Digitals.

When you purchase the tumbler, there is an insert that you can pullout and scan in.  I then used the magnetic lasso tool in Photoshop to create the size and template for this image before adding products.

I printed them on photo paper so the colors would be brighter and I was thrilled with how they turned out.  I filled them with Hershey Kisses.  The girls were so excited to take these to school today.  I hope their teachers liked them.  It sure was a fun project to work on together. These make great gifts for anybody.

Thanks for stopping by!

Jana's Jumpstarts - December

There is a new Jana's Jumpstarts up on the Creative Passion blog.  

I hope you play along and share your holiday traditions!

Creating Keepsakes January/February 2013

The January/February 2013 issue of Creating Keepsakes is now on sale and I'm so excited about this issue. This issue is loaded with fun and inspiring ideas.  You can check out this post for more information including the sneak peek.

I created this layout that is featured in this issue.

All products are from Designer Digitals.

I'm over on the Creating Keepsakes Blog today with a post and a free template.  You might want to check it out!

Thanks for stopping by.  Have a great day!

Days of December

I apparently took a blogging vacation and wasn't even aware of it.  Life has been crazy busy here.  Ellie's birthday is this week and we celebrated with a slumber party over the weekend.  It went really well but there always seem to be so much to do.  

We received over a foot of snow this weekend which was perfect for the slumber party.  It was so beautiful and the kids have had an absolute blast playing in the snow.  It is starting to feel like Christmas around here and I LOVE it.  I'm continuing to enjoy creating my Christmas album.  It is such a great snapshot of our lives right now with the mix of "normal days" and holiday activities. 

I hope you are enjoying the days of December.  My shopping is almost done, the fireplace is constantly going, the trees are covered in white, the slumber party is over and I'm looking forward to the next few weeks ahead.   Life is good!

CK Winner - Baby and Toddlers Special Issue

We have a winner of the Creating Keepsakes Baby and Toddler Special Issue.  

Congratulations to Mary Lou!!!  You are going to enjoy this issue.  Please email me at janamortondigital@gmail.com and we will be happy to get this issue to you.  

Days of December

I'm beginning to plug away on my Christmas album that runs from Thanksgiving to Christmas Day.  I'm so glad that I prepared everything in advance and that my simple format allows me to complete these in no time.  Here are a few of the pages that I've created for my album.

All products from Designer Digitals.

As I've been doing this project, I have noticed that my format has been pretty consistent over the last three years.  It would be fun to put all of these pages together in one album at the end of five years if I decide  to stick with the same system.  I like this system so much because it is so easy and I can stay caught up.

Thanks for all of the wonderful wishes regarding Creating Keepsakes announcement.  Your support and enthusiasm mean so much to me.  I hope you had a great weekend!

Creating Keepsakes 2013 Dream Team

I have some exciting news to share with you today.  Over the last couple of years, I have been SO fortunate to have had a number of my layouts published by Creating Keepsakes magazine.  This summer I was approached by their editorial team and asked if I would be on their 2013 Dream Team.  If you were anywhere near Minnesota, I am quite certain you heard the screams and I will admit there were tears ( I had to explain to my children why I had tears in my eyes when I was SO happy and excited).   I've had to keep it to myself since then and let me tell you that hasn't been easy.  The announcement can be found here.

I have subscribed to Creating Keepsakes since the very beginning.  Whenever I would go to the mailbox and Creating Keepsakes would be there, I couldn't wait to go through it.   I have been a huge fan for all of these years and that excitement when I discover it in my mailbox is still the same.  I find so much inspiration in each issue.  When I found the courage to submit a layout myself and it was chosen for publication....well...it was a dream come true to see one of my pages in a magazine that I have loved for so many years.  I cannot even put this into words.  It has been truly amazing to work with all of the people who are affiliated with Creating Keepsakes.  I cannot believe that my name is on the list with so many talented, creative and very inspiring people.

2013 Creating Keepsakes Contributing Writers

Autumn Baldwin

Deana Boise

2013 Creating Keepsakes Dream Team Members

Gretchen McElveen

Jing-Jing Nickel

Jana Morton

Kim Watson

Laina Lamb

Maggie Holmes

Piradee Talvanna

Stacy Cohen

It has been so fun to be involved on this level and I'm so excited for you to see what Creating Keepsakes has in store for 2013.  I am so grateful to God as well as everybody at Creating Keepsakes for this amazing opportunity to share my passion and work with others.  I would also like to take this time to thank Katie and Randy Pertiet, all of the wonderful designers and all of my dear friends at Designer Digitals, and the fabulous community at Creative Passion. Your words of encouragement, support, inspiration, and friendship have meant the world to me.

Life is good....very, very good!!!!

Scrapbooking Babies and Toddlers

Creating Keepsakes just released their special issue Scrapbooking Babies and Toddlers.   This issue is packed with fabulous designs and inspiration.

You can get a sneak peek of this issue here.  There is also extra online content here.

I was excited to have a layout in this issue.  I created this page for my dear friends who asked me to take some photos of their beautiful baby girl.

All products are from Designer Digitals.

Creating Keepsakes is sponsoring a blog hop to celebrate the release of this great issue and I'm excited to be a part of it.  As part of the blog hop, Creating Keepsakes is giving me one issue to give away to my blog readers.  Please leave me a comment telling me what you are looking forward to during the holiday season and on Tuesday, December 4th, I will select a random winner.

I would also like to encourage you to check out these blogs for more chances to win!

Joey Manwarren
Kim Watson
Laina Lamb
Laura Vegas
Mou Saha
Piradee Talvanna
Stacy Cohen
Autumn Baldwin
Deena Boese
Gretchen McElveen

Thanks for stopping by and remember to leave me a comment for a chance to win this fabulous issue!

Days of December Begin

Yes, I know it is technically not December but I've started my Days of December project.  We've had a busy couple of days and I've had to do a few extra pages because I didn't want to miss anything special.    Here is a peek at my start to this project. Once again, I am keeping it very simple so that I can stay caught up.

All products are from Designer Digitals.

Thanks for stopping by!

Black Friday Sale

Creative Passion is hosting a sale this weekend.  All self-paced classes are marked down 15% using the coupon code 15BLKFRI.  Creative Passion has a wonderful array of classes to fit your creative needs.  You can find all of the self-paced courses here.

If you are new to digital scrapbooking, Pattie Knox has a whole series of fabulous classes to get you started.  My class Blueprints: The Angles of Photoshop just went on sale as a self-paced course.  It includes four recordings that will allow you to bring dimension to your page.

Thanks for stopping by and have a great weekend!

Documenting the Holidays

As the holidays approach, I have been getting my "ducks in a row" for documenting the special moments of our lives.  The holidays here are pretty hectic and I think most people can relate but I love the excitement of it all.  Each year I create an album that spans from Thanksgiving until Christmas Day.  I love to bring my albums out this time of year and have them on our coffee table so we can all enjoy them.

Here are the links for my last two albums if you are interested in taking a peek.
Christmas 2010
Christmas 2011

I have come up with a system that works for me and the key to it is keeping it simple and being organized    I know how busy this time of year gets so I plan ahead.  I will once again have a large photo fill the page on the left and a small grouping of photos on the right.  I prepare the basics of the pages ahead of time to save time each day.  I don't like getting behind so I need an easy system that will work.

My 2012 pages will be formatted similar to this.  I used a few photos from last year to make sure that it works.  I'm so excited about starting this project for the fourth year.  I can look back on our years and really enjoy these special memories that we have created.

I have already created my basic pages for the right side of the spread.  They all look similar to this.

I am using the following as the base of my pages and then I always add a few embellishments on each page.

Background Paper: Lynn Grieveson's Blackett Paper Pack
PhotoCluster Templates: Katie Pertiet's Days of December No. 7 A & B
Brushwork: Katie Pertiet Red Layered Templates
Date Tags: I created them using Ali Edwards 31 Days Circle Set

Each day during this season, I drag on the photo clusters depending on how many photos that I have, add my photos, journaling and simple embellishments.  It is easy and it works for me.  I do not like to fall behind so it is very important for me to be organized up front.

I know that some people like to document specific themes for the holidays which is wonderful.  It can be whatever type of system works for you.  I like to focus on the day to day because then I get some of the everyday photos in addition to the holiday ones.  I like to look back and see what the focus of our days were.

If you haven't documented the holidays before, I encourage you to give it a try.  It really doesn't have to be time-consuming if you have a plan and you stick to  it.   I'm so grateful for these albums that immediately take  me back in time.

Last Call - Blending and Beyond Booster Workshop

I'm getting so excited for my Blending and Beyond Booster Workshop that is next week.   My Blending and Beyond class contains six recordings and we had so many people ask for more layouts that we decided to extend it for anybody who has taken Blending and Beyond.  I will be demonstrating three new layouts.  Two of the layouts will be demonstrated during live webinars (recording available after) and one layout has been prerecorded.

This is the layout that I will be demonstrating on Sunday, November 25th at 8:00 pm Eastern time.

This is the layout that I will be demonstrating on Wednesday, November 28th at 2:30 pm Eastern time.

All products are from Designer Digitals.

The last layout has been prerecorded and I'm going to keep that one a surprise.  In addition to blending and blending modes,  I will be talking about building clusters, product enhancements, creating and using negative space, brushwork, creative uses for masks, and building layers.  I'm really excited about this workshop and hope you can join us if you have taken Blending and Beyond.  You can register here.   The forum is already open so if you have already registered, please head on over and introduce yourself.

Heritage Album

As many of you may know I recently created a heritage album in conjunction with my class Generations.  The class was this fall and I had so many wonderful people in there that shared my passion for preserving our family history.  My finished album came in the mail last week and I just had to share some of it with you.   Putting this album together was a journey to say the least.  I have been researching our family tree for about ten years.  I am very passionate about sharing these people and their stories with our children.  Family is so important and though they have never met most of the people in this album, their lives are a tapestry of the lives, choices, hardships, and values that these individuals reflect.  I feel like by dusting off their photos and sharing their stories, I am giving them new life so their story lives on.  There is something so special about that and I am thrilled that my children and their children will be aware of their roots.

When I started this album, I was planning on having it printed at Paper Kiwi.  At the completion of the album, I discovered that the album was 265 pages.  It was HUGE so in the end I decided to have it printed at Blurb.  Blurb is known for creating large albums.  It came in the mail last week and I was giddy.  The quality of the album blew me away.  The colors on the page where so perfect and I couldn't have been more pleased.  My Capture 2012 will be another huge album and I am really looking forward to having Blurb print it now.

Putting together a heritage album is no small task but I am so glad that it is finished.  I am having three copies printed for each of my children.  It feels so great to know they will have all of this information together in one place to pass on to future generations.

I have been asked about my Generations class.  I know I will offer it again in the future but don't know exactly when yet.  I know there are a lot of people from class who are working diligently on their albums and I hope they continue to plug away.  It is SO worth it!

Mid-November Pages

I hope you had a good weekend.  We experienced a huge temperature drop over night.  Saturday was 60 degrees and on Sunday it was 32 degrees with a bit of snow.  It is crazy how it can change so quickly.  I haven't posted any pages for awhile so I thought I would share some from this fall.  

All products are from Designer Digitals.

Thanks for stopping by and have a great day!