My Blog List

Wednesday 16 January 2013

Your Story Matters Bloghop

Welcome welcome welcome to my little corner of cyberspace in beautiful sunny Singapore!!!!  Im thrilled to take part in this bloghop to celebrate the creation of Your Story Matters - which is now available for purchase and immediate download - there is even an introductory discount and I'll tell you how to make sure to get that, when you pick up your copy of the e-book before Monday 21st January 2013. So please read on and dont miss out!!!!

As a scrapbooker and genealogist I know that everybody's story matters to somebody, so I was thrilled to take part in this scrapbooking inspiration project recently, with some incredibly talented ladies in the ScrapHappy community (http://www.scraphappy.org/). The end result of this collaborative project is a fabulous book Your Story Matters with 55 amazing pages of scrapping inspiration brought together by Danielle Taylor and Lain Ehman.

I truly believe that everybody has a book inside of them, or at least one scrapbook album! I'm sad when I hear people say that there is nothing about their lives that people would find interesting or nothing they feel future generations would like to know about them! I would love to know what things I have inherited from my ancestors and would love to know more about them and their lives, and how different their lives were from mine - as a scrapbooker who wouldn't?

Although I scrapbook all the time and I love recording details of the places we visit and the things we do, like most scrappers, I sometimes I get scrappers block, and that's when I'll be looking at Your Story Matters because there is a ton of inspiration in there to wake up my scrapping mojo and get my scrapbooking back on track over and over again!

There are a whole host of themes and ideas beautifully and thoughtfully put together, and a fair number of pages that you might never have thought to scrap! My page was about a guilty pleasure - and it could so easily have been a page about chocolate, lie in's, or watching trashy TV, having a pedicure or buying shoes or handbags and I could probably fill an album or three with those guilty pleasures alone, but my greatest guilty pleasure is time out with my husband! We don't get a lot of time when we can slip away, take off somewhere lovely and just relax together - like many people life is hectic and busy - our family and three children live on the other side of the world - they come here or we visit as often as we can, my husband works long hours, there is always  something we feel we should be doing, and its rare that we get chance to have a couple of days away just the two of us - but just occasionally we do manage it and when we do its magic and we feel totally indulgent and spoilt - the ultimate guilty pleasure for us - so that's what I scrapped! I'm sure in time I'll get to the chocolate and handbag stories too! 

As well as the themes of the pages, I love the different styles the other contributors have used - Im going to be scraplifting page layouts and turning them into sketches for sure - there's plenty to keep my creative juices flowing, and of course throughout Lain challenges you to create your own take on the theme - in the way that only she can - dont miss your chance to  pick up a copy of Your Story Matters for only $5.00 USD before midnight on Monday!






Getting your copy of Your Story Matters couldnt be simpler - just head to http://www.layoutaday.com/ysmebook/ Go to the bottom of the page and add the book to your cart! The introductory price is $7.00 USD but if you hurry and purchase by 21 January you can pick up an extra special $2.00 USD discount by using the discount code HOP and updating your cart before checking out! 

Better still - leave a comment for your chance to pick up a copy ABSOLUTELY FREE!!! Three
 lucky people will be chosen from comments posted across the blogs taking part in the bloghop. All you have to do to have a chance of winning is to leave a comment to tell us which story you feel  its essential for every scrapbooker to document by 19th January. The winners will be announced on the layoutaday blog on Monday 21st January and must be claimed by Wednesday 23rd January? Oh and if you win the prize and you have already purchased - not a problem, Lain will simply refund your payment!

Thanks so much for visiting my blog - please feel free to come back anytime - or subscribe - you're always welcome here if you feel the need a little sunshine or inspiration! Dont forget to leave that comment to be in with a chance of your FREE copy of Your Story Matters - you can do it now in the comments section below, before you head off to see Heather!!! Good luck and thanks for stopping by!!!!

Just so you know where you've been, where you are and where you are going next..........

Lain Ehmann: http://layoutaday.com
Alison Charlton: http://scrappinginsingapore.blogspot.com/  You are here now!
Heather Dubarry:  noexcusescrapbooking.com  You are going to Heathers blog next!
Monica Bradford: http://scrapinspired.com/
Paivi Eerola: www.peonyandparakeet.com

49 comments:

  1. Didn't know there was a book coming out. I need to get back to my ScrapHappy family ... miss interacting with everyone. Thanks for a chance to win a copy of the book.

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  2. love your idea about guilty pleasures... mmm gets me thinking about something to scrap again.
    I really think it's essential that we scrap about ourselves and not just the subject of the photos

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    1. I'd love to see what you do - there might be guilty pleasures Im missing out on:) and I agree totally - we should scrap our own stories - whose going to tell them if we dont?

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  3. Excited to get a copy. I have 4 adorable children and have no trouble recording their lives. Mine, on the other hand, gets left behind. I would love to put together an album about mine and my husbands life before kids. That would be a fun one.

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    1. Lori - you are sooo right I hope you do do your album about your life before your beautiful children arrived - they wouldn't be here if you two didn't have a story would they?

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  4. I love your statement about everybody's story matters to somebody! That is so true! It's even the little things that we learn about someone that makes it special to know all we can about the special people in our lives!

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    1. Thanks Kristie! I agree with you totally about the little things! They matter so much don't they?

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  5. I think so many of us spend time scrapping the story of others that we forget to tell our own story. Now that my children are in their 20's, they have lots of questions about my college life and other experiences. I'm looking forward to sharing stories about my life in college 30 yrs ago.

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    1. I think its because we know our own story so well, and its with us all the time! Yet we want to hold on to each moment we have with those we love! Hope you share those college LO's with us!

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  6. Love how you narrowed down which guilty pleasure is your most important/ indulgent ;)

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  7. That is so sweet! Your guilty pleasure is spending time with your husband! If he hasn't already, he must read this post!

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  8. I so agree with you that everyone has a story to tell and no one should feel their story is unimportant or boring. You are an amazing asset to the ScrapHappy family I'm so lucky to have gotten to know and interact with you during this project.

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    1. Thanks so much Dani - you are so inspirational! Thanks for all your hard work, encouragement and support! You rock!

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  9. I commented on Lain's post that my own story and the story of my children's young years are especially important to document, since no one else know the details like I do.

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  10. I love the guilty pleasure prompt. I think many of us would have a hard time narrowing it down to one. I think everyday life of me and my children is most important along with my hopes, dreams, and fears.

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    1. Yes it was pretty hard! I did think about doing a list of several of them but it made me look a bit hedonistic - lol! I love the way Lain gets us thinking outside the box and scrapping things we maybe wouldnt think of!!!

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  11. My story (or "your" story) as a child, teen, young married, young mother. I haven't told those stories and they are important.

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    1. I hope you get your stories scrapped! Would love to see what you do!

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  12. I relate to the "no one wants to hear MY boring life story" I think this would be a great boost to doing my own story
    Thanks for the chance to win

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    1. Oh I hope you do tell your stories - and Im sure they are going to be interesting!!! Ive never met a scrapbooker who hasnt got a ton of good stories in them!!!

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  13. I didn't know you were a genealogist! Honoured to be a part of this with you - love your guilty pleasure! My husband and I don't get too much time to ourselves either ... maybe when the kids get older!

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    1. Im only an amateur genealogist - Ive been working on my family history for about 15 years - but its my other great passion - I love trying to solve the mysteries my ancestors left, and enjoy discovering their stories too!

      I loved being part of this with you - its been amazing!

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  14. All the things that touch you are important! I just get overwhelmed wanting to put them down!

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    1. PS if you are a facebook fan you could leave a vote for me on a LO I made recently https://www.facebook.com/persnicketyprints?sk=app_451684954848385&app_data=view-vote%2Cfor-169349

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    2. Me too!!! I did try to find your LO but couldnt - which gallery is it in?

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  15. You are so right that everyone has a book (or scrapbook) in them! We really do all have a story to tell! Love ya, Alison!

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  16. I agree with you! As boring and unglamorous my life is, I still want to remember the things I or my family did.

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    1. One day those everyday memories will make us smile or laugh - even if its because those things arent part of our lives anymore - One day Im going to scrapbook my ironing pile - just because I always seem to have one!!!!!

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  17. Congrats on being published! Doesn't it feel great?! :)

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  18. Hmmm for me right now the most important thing to scrap about is the everyday life. Even the mundane routines. Because things change every minute and even the tiniest things are worth remembering :)

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  19. As I scrap more and more, I'm realizing the value of journalling. Sure, I remember who is in the photo, where it was taken, and how I was feeling at the time.... but that's NOW. I might not remember a year or two down the road, and someone else looking at my album would have no clue. So I'm making an effort to journal on every page.

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    1. Thats great Dana! I journal a lot, but I often hide my journalling in a pocket or on a tag or a flap because I dont like my handwriting - but I know how special its been for me to see the hand of my ancestors and hope that my descendants feel the same when they see my writing!

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  20. The important thing for me right now is to include journaling on each page I do. I believe that feelings and emotions should be journaled too wherever possible too.

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  21. I posted this on Leslie's blog too..
    I think a critical story for every scrapbooker would have to be any story/event that was a life'defining'
    moment and the life changeing result because of it..in fact- I need to document some of these myself.
    Thanks for the nudge!

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  22. I believe every scrapper should scrap something that they are passionate about! If you don't have a passion???? Ask God for it! He will surely give you one and it may just be HIM! Many blessings and congrats on being published.

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  23. It is fun to document the big events of our life. But I feel that it is the small things that make life rich. So a day in your life, that's what I want to hear about! And remember, journal, journal, journal!! Thanks for the opportunity

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  24. Congrats on being published. That is awesome!!

    I think that it is important to scrap things that mean the most to you for sure! That means a lot to me.

    Thank you for the chance to win this great book!!

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Thanks so much for stopping by and for taking the time to comment! I cant tell you how much I appreciate it!