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Fresh Seeds | Plant Your Story: Journaled {volume three}, Plant Your Story: Titled {volume one}, and Sage page designs

One of my most favorite things to do is to play with design in my scrapbooking while still keeping the focus on The Story.  And so I find myself inspired by layers and play-with-paper and balance and journal spots working together seamlessly in one design.  And it’s that kind of spirit that lives in this week’s new releases.

Meet Plant Your Story: Journaled {volume three}:

Plant Your Story: Journaled {volume three}

This follow-up set of “journaled” templates focuses on the use of journal cards beyond the horizons of typical Project Life or pocket scrapbooking compositions.  I love journal cards even though I don’t typically scrap in pocket-scrapbooking ways. Still I love to use them to include journaling in my pages or to layer or to add interest in my designs using “filler” journal cards.

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Also new this week is Plant Your Story: Titled {volume one}.  I find myself drawn to pages with strong title work and yet it is a facet of my own memory keeping that I sometimes neglect.  I find myself playing with titles and title work more often and with more “gusto” when I have a design that incorporates a title seamlessly.  These page designs were designed in the spirit of embracing “titling in design”.

sgleason_pysjtitled1_preview

 

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And finally.  Fresh this week are the Sage page designs.  The Sage templates are designed in the spirit of play with paper, love for balance and clean lines in design, and the every day moment.

sgleason_sage_preview

 

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All is available at The Lilypad for 20% off through Sunday September 22, 2013.  Subscribers to The Garden Report receive an additional 10% savings.

Here is some beautiful inspiration with this week’s fresh releases.

pysjournaled3inspiration

 

pysjournaled3inspiration4

 

pysjournaled3inspiration5

pysjournaled3inspiration2

pysjournaled3inspiration6

pysjournaled3inspiration3

pystitledinspiration

pystitledinspiration2

pystitledinspiration4

pystitledinspiration3

sageinspiration3

sageinspiration4

sageinspiration

sageinspiration5

sageinspiration2

 

As always I looove to see your stories and art too, so please feel free to share with me anytime.  Really!  Just shoot me a mail through the contact form or share them on my Facebook page.

I so hope you have a beautiful weekend full of memory making (and keeping too!).

 

Fresh Seeds | Coconut Tree

I’ve always been drawn to stories of hoping and dreaming.  There is something so empowering about a person daring to believe in things, in others and in themselves.  I think it’s brave.  I think it’s bold.  I think it’s authentic. And so full of…color.  And those things shine BIG in this beautiful collection.

Coconut Trees have long been associated with tropical environments, beaches, islands and other places that people find themselves wandering away to in daydreams.  It’s the quintessential dreamy tree.  And so Coconut Tree seemed the botanical name choice for a kit about Dreams and Hopes and celebrating stories of imagination, following dreams and living boldly.  Coconut Tree features vibrant colors, hope{full} words, and a sense of happy.  It was unveiled as part of The Digi Files in July and now it’s come home to The Lilypad.

Meet Coconut Tree:

Coconut Tree

 

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Coconut Tree is available at The Lilypad for 20% off through Sunday September 22, 2013.  Subscribers to The Garden Report receive an additional 10% savings.

Here is some amazing Coconut Tree inspiration, showcasing just how versatile this kit is.  There are pocket scrapbook pages, project pages, girl centric pages, boy centric pages, artistic pages and every last one of them is full of WOW:

Coconut Tree inspiration

Coconut Tree inspiration

Coconut Tree inspiration

Coconut Tree inspiration

Coconut Tree inspiration

Coconut Tree inspiration

Coconut Tree inspiration

Coconut Tree inspiration

Coconut Tree inspiration

Coconut Tree inspiration

Coconut Tree inspiration

Coconut Tree inspiration

Coconut Tree inspiration

Coconut Tree inspiration

Coconut Tree inspiration

Coconut Tree inspiration

Coconut Tree inspiration

 

And I’m happy to share a fresh free download.  The Coconut cards coordinate with Coconut tree beautifully but can also be used in any pocket scrapbooking pages or other layouts.

Coconut Cards {free download}

 

As always I looove to see your stories and art too, so please feel free to share with me anytime.  Really!  Just shoot me a mail through the contact form or share them on my Facebook page.

Here’s to a wonderful weekend full of Hoping and Dreaming and Going Forward.  Happy scrapping, friends!

National Scrapbooking Day 2013 :: The Happenings

Happy Happy Scrappy Day weekend!

I hope everyone is enjoying all the wonderful happenings all across our scrapbooking community!  I’m looking forward to scrapping a little this weekend and spending some time soaking up inspiration in the galleries!  And hopefully I can squeeze in a little extra fun and shopping too!

Here’s Everything You Need To Know about what’s happening for Plant Your Story this weekend (all images are linked).

30% Storewide  Savings NSD 2013

2013 NSD Savings Guide -- Plant Your Story

BYOC May 2013 30% off for NSD

Digi Scrap Parade FB Hop May 2013

Win Seeds of the Month NSD weekend

Pick Your Prize and Win NSD 2013

4th Annual NSD Grab Bag May 2013

Fun in the Forums at The Lilypad

Pin it to Win It NSD 2013

 

Hope you have a very happy weekend!

DigiScrap Parade May 2013 :: That’s Life

The DigiScrap Parade is a fresh “hopping” experience for scrapbookers and storytellers wherein they can “hop” about a series of blogs or Facebook pages to gather pieces to a coordinating collection to scrap their memories.  It is meant to be a sampling of products from wonderful designers in the community, offered quarterly.  I was happy to be a part of the inaugural hop (which is at once GINORMOUS and very beautiful).  For more information and for all the links to the hop, please stop by the DigiScrap Parade website.

Here’s my contribution to That’s Life:

DigiScrap Parade That's Life by Sara Gleason

 

 

My contribution can be found on my Facebook page and you’ll be able to hop into the mix easily from there.  Happy Scrapping!

Goofy For Quotes

I’ve long held a fondness for quotations and lyrics.  They are like little bite-size nuggets of inspiration or wisdom or sarcastic fun.  I think I love them so much because of their easy resonance.  That quality of “aha”: that quality that has me smiling the moment I read it or nodding my head or feeling nostalgic.

I find many times that someone else has voiced  (and far better than I ever could) precisely what it is I may have been feeling or thinking.  Other times, a quote or lyric holds a general tone or mood for something I believe or love or hope for.  Or it is the “posterized” version of a more complex idea: short and sweet and to the point.

Quotes and lyrics have a unique way of striking a chord, getting to the point, and moving our heart in just a few short sentences.   In a universal kind of way.

I used to reflect on lyrics and quotes quite a lot.  I even had a blog tag “goofy for quotes” because I was a) that geeky and b) that inspired by the brief nuggets of truth.

Recently I’ve been finding a renewed and refreshed love for quotations and snippets while browsing and pinning on Pinterest.  So many fabulous quotes have been shared and every time I come across one that gives me that resonating “aha” feeling, I pin it so I can come back to it later. And I’ve been cataloging and art journaling some of my most favorite quotes and snippets in one of my SMASH books.

And I wanted to encourage you to embrace the Goofy For Quotes.  Because it’s that feeling, the “aha” resonance, the inner “yes!” or “word.” that our heart speaks when we see or hear a quote that moves us to remember it, that plants seeds for some amazing storytelling to be harvested later.

Listen to that resonating echo.  Why does that particular quote or lyric strike a chord in you?  That feeling is there for a reason.  It’s there because it relates to you or speaks your heart or challenges you.  And when we let ourselves think about it beneath the surface, there is a bit of our story there.

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You you can use a quote or lyric in a simple way that communicates “these brief words express exactly how I feel about a person”.   As I did in this (very old) page when I scrapped a snippet of the song “You are My Sunshine”:

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Maybe the snippet speaks a truth you want to share with someone you love.  A “scrapable, teachable moment”, if you will.

As was the case when I scrapped this quote from Albert Einstein.  I wanted to share with Bugga what I believe is true and what Einstein stated in the perfect little “nugget”: “There are only two ways to life your life. One as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.”:

everything-is-a-miracle

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Or maybe the words of a quote or song speak to our heart and reflect deeper hopes.  I had taken this photo on a bad day…a day that was full of bad news and worries. But I just love this photo of Bugga. And looking at it reminds me that, no matter the challenges we may face, we are so blessed. And that’s what the journaling is about. It’s about my wish for bugga..that she will always seek and find the silver linings and the blessings. I also included lyrics from one of my favorite inspirational songs. And the page became a kind of prayer for my daughter:

 journaling reads:    I love this photo of you. It’s moments like these where in an instant I am reminded of God’s grace and His majesty and all the beautiful ways He has blessed our lives. It can be easy to fall away into the world and find yourself a little too focused on worldly worries, wants, and preoccupations. I hope that you are presented with moments like these when the world gets in the way. Moments that remind you of what is most important. Moments that remind you that God loves you very much and that you are blessed. This song is my wish for you, my love.

Give me one pure and holy passion. Give me one magnificent obsession. Give me one glorious ambition for my life. To know and follow hard after you. Give me one pure and holy passion. Give me one magnificent obsession. Give me one glorious ambition for my life. To know and follow hard after you. To know and follow hard after you. To grow as your disciple in your truth. Because the world is empty pale and cold compared to knowing you my Lord. Lead me on and I will run after you. Lead me on and I will run after you.

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Sometimes quotes or lyrics or verses inspire us to challenge ourselves or live it more in our lives.

I was scrapping my “life verse” in this page..akin to a One Word, this was meant to be my compass for the year(s):

verse: Whatever is true, whatever is noble,whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable, if anything is excellent & praiseworthy, dwell on these things. Philippians 4:8

journaling reads: I’ve always had a struggle with worry with focusing a little too much on the worst
case scenario. I suppose it’s a self protection thing. But I’ve made a commitment to myself
and more importantly to God, to dwell not on that which is worrisome, but that which is beautiful. This is my “life verse”. My reminder to count blessings, give thanks, have faith and be God centered.

faith.family.fellowship.nature.learning.creating.G od’s provision all the good things

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But that “aha” feeling…it’s there because you’re feeling inspired to share something.  A bit of you, a bit of your story.  So I hope to encourage you with a simple, heart-led prompt series of shared quotes here on the blog.  In the mean time, go and reflect on the words that resonate in you.  Share them here if you are so inspired!   ♥

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