Yeah, Write

The Joy of Job Transitions

Transitions never go the way they think they will. Sometimes they exceed our expectations, sometimes they fail to meet our expectations, sometimes our expectations are not even in the same universe as the reality we experience. 

Wait, that sounds exactly like the start of my last post! Because the last post was supposed to be about my career transitions, but it went in a different (but good) direction.

I've spent the last 10 years working in the scrapbooking and memory keeping industry. I have loved it. I've loved the personal growth, the motivation to tell my story in my own way, the rubbing of shoulders with my creative mentors, the lifelong friends I've made, and so much more. The industry has been an enormous gift in my life.

The Simple Scrapbooks team circa 2007 or so.

But at the same time, I've spent so much time developing and polishing other people's ideas that I haven't had as much time as I'd like to explore my own. I have put so much passion and energy into other brands that I've barely found the time to blog at all since, oh, 2012. 

After 5 years at Simple Scrapbooks magazine, I started my own little online publishing company with a friend, ellapublishing.com. Today, I've been slowly "unpublishing" the eBooks I painstakingly brainstormed, assigned, edited, and posted for sale from 2009 to 2012. As I've removed them from the site, in the order of their publication, I've been reliving that time in my life. It's been a wonderful walk down memory lane. I remember my first conversation with the uber talented photographer Rebecca Cooper about each of her three eBooks. I remember calling Donna Jannuzzi and spending an hour on the phone with her while driving through Wyoming with Wendy Smedley, at the end of our first of three treasured visits to Elizabeth Dillow in Cheyenne. 

A little peek at the bygone Ella Publishing Co. website that dominated 3 years of my life...

My first eBook for Ella Publishing Co., written with Wendy Smedley.

You see, I sold ellapublishing.com to Big Picture Classes in 2012. It was the best possible move for my company and for my little family. This incredible blessing came along at the perfect time—when Keira was still a baby. I poured about half of my heart and soul into my new role at Big Picture Classes (the bigger half was for being a new mama). I didn't want the BPC folks to regret purchasing my company even for a second. I wanted to make the biggest possible difference I could, to reward them for their faith in me. 

The BPC team mixed in with dozens of attendees at our January Play! event. I'm right behind Mickey, you can see little Keira looking down at Mickey suspiciously.

And then, just a few months ago, Big Picture Classes sold to Studio Calico. I don't think the transition has gone the way anyone expected to. I did everything in my power to influence what I could influence, and then it became necessary for me to accept what was out of my control. And while I may have stressed a bit more than strictly necessary, I do think it will be a good thing in the end. I have come to a place of personal peace, strength, energy, and excitement for the future. 

Through it all, it became very clear that I'm ready for a different path. I am still passionate about memory keeping, but I will no longer work in the memory-keeping industry in an official capacity for another brand, neither full-time (as I did for the first five years in the industry) nor part-time (as has been my life for the last five years). My creative and scrapbooking-related efforts can be poured into my own projects. 

I've been tapering off with BPC/Studio Calico since October, and my last day was December 31, 2014. I'm now a solo freelance writer and editor, taking on only the individual projects that interest me. And so far, I've been very lucky to be kept as busy as I want to be, writing behind-the-scenes for various brands you might recognize. 

Life is good.

For me, at least, these changes happened at the right time to put me in the right place to move on in the right way. And I have more time and energy to devote to my daughter, to maybe decorating those blank walls in my home, to completing a dozen half-finished scrapbook projects, to our hopes of welcoming another child into our family, and to my secret dream of becoming a children's author.

I might even have a bit more time to blog. :)

And the memorabilia stand alone

Let's take a quick foray into word-nerd land! (This adventure was inspired by my recent edit of an upcoming Ella eBook, Design Workshop by Lisa Dickinson, which covers the memorabilia topic in a very fun way.)

As you may know, "memorabilia" is always plural.

And when I need to refer to a single memento or souvenir in an article or other piece of writing, I usually get around it by saying "piece of memorabilia" or something similar. But there is a singular form of "memorabilia" as well, which is rarely used. And you're about to see why.

Memorabile | Hear it pronounced at Dictionary.com

As you will hear by clicking the link above and then clicking the sound symbol, this word is not pronounced "memoraBILE" in the manner of "bibiliophile" (one who loves books).

Instead, the emphasis is is on the middle syllable "ra," with the same vowel sound as "rat," while the last two syllables sound like the end of the word, "family."

Perhaps this gem of a word should be spelled like so:
memorabily
or
memorabalee

Go ahead, say it out loud a few times. It's like a little party for your mouth.

But really, it just sounds like you're mispronouncing "memorably."

Now, I'll use it in a sentence:
"Place your favorite memorabile on your mantel so you'll always remember the riotous time you had in South Dakota last summer."

Nah, I think I'll stick with "souvenir."

Awesome Gift Album for a New Mom

Hi friends. Today, I'd like to share a project with you that is one of my favorite gifts for a new mom! It's a simple, month-at-a-glance, fill-in-the-blanks album that covers baby's first year.

This is the fifth gift album I've created that follows this same basic formula, and every new mom I've given one to has absolutely loved it. It doesn't replace a traditional baby book; it simply gives an overwhelmed new mother a quick and easy place to display one favorite photo per month. This particular album was the easiest I've created so far, thanks to a series of coordinating stickers (click here, here, and here) printed with useful phrases and icons that Susan from SRM Press sent me. (Thanks, Susan!) The clear phrase stickers ("Welcome Little One" and "Watch Me Grow") were especially helpful, as they'll match any color palette. With the cover and title page you see above, I've established the theme of the album and the basic color approach that I'll follow on the remaining pages.

In the first few pages of the album, I give the recipient a place to show off the baby's first photo; to record a few facts about the birth; and to put mom, dad, and the rest of the family in the spotlight for a moment. I've included photos here just for reference; the actual album I gave to my friend didn't feature any photos of my cute niece Jensyn. But as you can see, I do provide a few hints and pencil guidelines so the mom—especially a non-scrapbooking mom—knows where to put the photos. And if the mom isn't a scrapbooker, I always include adhesive and an archival pen in the gift bag with the album. (Note: if you'd like to use this exact quiz for a baby album of your own, download the .pdf at the end of this post!)

There are six more pages in between the above picture and the below picture, but they follow the same color pattern as the images above.

The Baby's First Year stickers baby made the month-by-month pages especially easy.  For past albums, I've combined number stickers with handwriting or I've printed my own custom tags on the computer. But here, I just chose a sticker from the sheet, dropped it on a complementary background, and assembled the page! To speed up the process, I followed a rotating pattern with my pages, as follows: yellow strip with green square, then green strip with pink square, then pink strip with yellow square. Repeat. For some albums I'll include a note on the 1-Month page that says, "Take a picture with the baby once a month with the same object, so your album shows how quickly baby grows."


And then, depending on how many page protectors are left in the album I purchased, I may include an extra page or two at the end of the book. Some might say "happy family," "big girl," "big boy," or something as simple as "love."

Album supplies: flip-style 5 x 7 album (Making Memories) + patterned papers (Melissa Frances, KI Memories, and Making Memories) + slimline flower border punch (EK Success) + scribble flower stickers (Heidi Swapp) + white letter stickers (American Crafts) + scalloped heart punch (Fiskars) + all other stickers (SRM Press)

See, how simple that was? The next time you're stuck thinking of the perfect gift for an expectant mother in your life, try this sweet album approach.

Lucas out.

p.s. Below is that Baby Stats Quiz I promised. To download, just click on the image for a larger view, then right-click the image and Save As. If you find that it saved you a lot of time deciding what to say on a page, then you definitely need to pick up a copy of Quick & Creative Quizzes.

Yes Milk Can!

Would you believe that the very next day, Tami Morrison went back to that same grocery store and spotted THIS? (Or did she put it there herself? You decide.)

That Tami sure knows how to make a girl laugh. This is the funniest thing to happen to me all week! (And it's only Tuesday.) 

Also, I must respond to Connie Carpenter Macko's comment on my last post:
When can we stop attributing that quote to President Obama and give it back to Bob the Builder where it rightfully belongs? I mean seriously - I love the man and what he stands for and will defend him to the end... but can you say credit where credit is due?! (LOL)

You're totally right, Connie. I'm not going anywhere near the Nobel Peace Prize debacle, but one thing is certain: Obama doesn't deserve credit for everything. (Let's just be thankful he never claimed to invent the Internet.) But Connie, I must admit that I'm a tiny bit suspicious of how vehemently you're defending Bob the Builder. I mean, Connie Carpenter...Bob the Builder...perhaps there's more going on here than meets the eye? (wink, wink)

Thanks for joining me in some nerdy grammar fun!

~Angie