So I hinted that I had a bit of news and I’m so excited to share that I’m guesting with CatScrap as they celebrate their 4th “birthday!!  CatScrap has emerged as an amazing haven for truly unique products and warm community over the years and it has long been one of my most favorite places to get inspired and to just “be”.  I have loved scrapping with them and now I’m soooooooo excited to join them and celebrate with them as a guest designer!  I mean, we’re talking completely and giggly and giddily sooo gooped up on the gop!

And with all the fun comes three {fresh seeds}!!!  I’m so happy to share them with you today!

First is a fresh set in my Plant Your Story series of templates, created to really accentuate the stories behind the photos and our memory keeping. These templates emphasize journaling, while still affording you room to “play” and modify page to suit your personal scrapping sensibilities.Meet Plant Your Story Blocked v.2:

The “Blocked” series features journaling created in a design-mind way, where the blocks of journal space can easily become part of the design itself.

Next is Paper Garden v. 1.  As the name implies, these templates were created and inspired by my love of “playing with paper” in my own pages.  I love to use papers, sometimes almost as elements themselves, playing with shapes and layers and composition in all kinds of papery ways.

Annnnd speaking of shapes…I’m so excited to share a special and fun collaboration with sweet Katrina of Tiny Toes Designs.  We got together and created this fabulous set of templates that play with shapes and journaling in fresh and playful ways.  This is Taking Shape:

Right now, as part of the big birthday celebration, Plant Your Story Blocked v.2, Paper Garden v. 1, and Taking Shape are available for 30% off at CatScrap!

And there’s oodles of fun and sales/specials happening as part of the festivities.  So be sure to swing by the forums and get all the details (and freebies).

Check back tomorrow for some beautiful {blooming creativity}.  Hope you have a wonderful day!!

Hands Across the Gulf is now available at After Five Designs.  As I mentioned in yesterday’s teaser post this project has become something beautifully meaningful to all of us who have participated.  I am SO very grateful for the outpouring of support from the community and everyone who joined me in this endeavor.  We hope you love it as much as we do.  And I want to give sincere thanks in advance for your support of this cause.

And I have to say, as empirically as possible, I don’t think I’ve ever encountered such a beautiful collection of designs in a charity collaboration before.  I love the range of scrapping styles represented, I love the beautiful artistry and creativity expressed.  I love how GINORMOUS it is (and really, it’s huge.).  Here’s a peek at the main preview (there are many more detailed previews in the shoppe, so feel free to check those out as well):

And here’s a closer look the templates from me that you’ll find in the kit:

And I wanted to compile a few inspiration pages to share with you so you can get a closer look at the kit in action:

For more than 90 days, oil gushed into the Gulf of Mexico before the leak was finally “capped” in late July. It is estimated that approximately 4.9 million barrels (or 205.8 million gallons) of oil spilled into the waters. It has been one of the biggest environmental disasters in decades. Hundreds of miles of beaches, wetlands, and estuaries along the northern Gulf Coast have been impacted. The spill, though temporarily “capped”, continues to cause extensive damage to marine and wildlife habitats as well as the Gulf’s fishing and tourism industries. Families are without work and marine and land animals continue to suffer. And there are still many unknowns about the long term effects of the oil and of chemical disbursements used in attempts to curtail the flow and impact upon the regional coastline and waters.

Forty-five designers across the digital scrapbooking community have united with one shared cause: to raise awareness and to support recovery efforts for the environment and those impacted by this tragic disaster.

Participating designers include: Aja Abney, Amy Martin, Biograffiti, Boutique Cute Dolls, Createwings Designs, Deena Rutter, Designs by Cindy Schneider, Designs by Crystal Livesay, Dido Designs, Dunia Designs, Emily Merritt Designs, Fiddle Dee Dee Designs, Fizzy Pop Designs, FruitLoOp Sally Designs, Laurie Ann (Heaven’s Gate Designs), Holliewood Studios, Holly Designs, Holly Spring Designs, Jazzmin Designs, Jennifer Barrette Designs, Jacque Larsen, Juliana Kneipp Designs, Kay Miller Designs, Kaye Winiecki, Kitty Designs, Kristin Aagard Designs, Lauren Grier, Leora Sanford, Loreta Labarca, Micheline Martin, Nikki Beaudreau, Paislee Press, One Little Bird Designs, Sabrina Dupre, Sahlin Studio, Sarah Cornish of My 4 Hens Photography, Shabby Miss Jenn, Studio Basic Designs, Sugarplum Paperie, Tickled Pink Studios, Tiny Toes Designs, Tracie Stroud, Vera Lim, Vinnie Pearce, and zinnias and swallowtails.

Hands Across the Gulf is our heartsong for this cause. This gorgeous kit representing the varied styles of the scrapping community, is positively overflowing with beautiful papers, unique elements, templates and Photoshop actions. All told, designers have contributed more than 100 papers and 200 elements, 2 full alphas, 20 templates, and 4 PS actions to Hands Across the Gulf.

Available for sale for one month only, 100% of the proceeds from this kit will be donated to the National Wildlife Federation and to the United Way’s Gulf Recovery Fund.

After the sales period we will donate all proceeds from the sales to these organizations and we will share a receipt of our donation here at After Five Designs on our blog, forum and in our newsletter.

Thank you in advance for your support in this cause that is so near to our hearts.

As some of you may know, our family has called the Gulf Coast “home” for many years now.  And we love it so. It is beautiful. It is vibrant. We take our daughter to the beach, we hear the sounds of the waves crashing on the sugar white sands, we smell the air. We get to see dolphins at play, view all manner of beautiful sea birds and sea life, we are blessed to eat some amazing seafood. We have enjoyed the shade of the majestic live oak trees, we have appreciated the vitality and beauty of the wetlands. We get to enjoy the people who live here. They are warm and genuine and kind and totally full of life.

When the Deepwater Horizon disaster happened on April 20, we could not have imagined the heartsickness that would follow. For more than 90 days, oil gushed into the Gulf of Mexico before the leak was finally “capped” in late July.  It is estimated that approximately 4.9 million barrels (or 205.8 million gallons) of oil spilled into the waters.  It has been one of the biggest environmental disasters in decades.   Hundreds of miles of beaches, wetlands, and estuaries along the northern Gulf Coast have been impacted.  The spill, though temporarily “capped”, continues to cause extensive damage to marine and wildlife habitats as well as the Gulf’s fishing and tourism industries. Families are without work and marine and land animals continue to suffer.  And there are still many unknowns about the long term effects of the oil and of chemical disbursements used in attempts to curtail the flow and impact upon the regional coastline and waters.

And so I just ached.  And I felt it on my heart to try to do something, any some small something to try to help raise awareness and support for the region.

I got together some of my most dear and favorite artists in the community who shared the same tug on their hearts for this disaster. In the works for six weeks now, Hands Across the Gulf is our heartsong for this cause.   And it arrives tomorrow Sunday 15 August.

Forty-five designers across the digital scrapbooking community have united with one shared cause:  to raise awareness and to support recovery efforts for the environment and those impacted by this tragic disaster.

Participating designers include:  Aja Abney, Amy Martin, Biograffiti, Boutique Cute Dolls, Createwings Designs, Deena Rutter, Designs by Cindy Schneider, Designs by Crystal Livesay, Dido Designs, Dunia Designs, Emily Merritt Designs, Fiddle Dee Dee Designs, Fizzy Pop Designs, FruitLoOp Sally Designs, Laurie Ann (Heaven’s Gate Designs), Holliewood Studios, Holly Designs, Holly Spring Designs, Jazzmin Designs, Jennifer Barrette Designs, Jacque Larsen, Juliana Kneipp Designs, Kay Miller Designs, Kaye Winiecki, Kitty Designs, Kristin Aagard Designs, Lauren Grier, Leora Sanford, Loreta Labarca, Micheline Martin, Nikki Beaudreau, Paislee Press, One Little Bird Designs, Sabrina Dupre, Sahlin Studio, Sarah Cornish of My 4 Hens Photography, Shabby Miss Jenn, Studio Basic Designs, Sugarplum Paperie, Tickled Pink Studios, Tiny Toes Designs, Tracie Stroud, Vera Lim, Vinnie Pearce, and zinnias and swallowtails.

This gorgeous kit representing the varied styles of the scrapping community, is positively overflowing with beautiful papers, unique elements, templates and Photoshop actions.  All told, designers have contributed more than 100 papers and 200 elements,  2 full alphas, 18 templates, and 4 PS actions to Hands Across the Gulf.

Available for sale for one month only, 100% of the proceeds from this kit will be donated to the National Wildlife Federation and to the United Way’s Gulf Recovery Fund.

Hands Across the Gulf arrives Sunday 15 August 2010 at After Five Designs.