A Commitment Fulfilled

A few months ago I had an idea to  make a scrapbook layout based on a greeting card.  Some of the cards are called “Flip Flop” and others are called “Never Ending” because of the way the card opens and changes from one turn and flip to another.

I called my layout a “Gilley Layout”.  The incorrect spelling is because I did not do any research.  I know the military uses a camouflage suit to hide in the bushes, grass, trees, and other brush so they blend in with the environment.  I knew the suit had stuff that hung off from it and blew around in the breezes like grass and leaves do.  Only after I had the video posted to YouTube did I go find out how it is correctly spelled.  I have decided to keep it misspelled because it is not military related.  Okay, okay, I admit it.  I just didn’t want to go and change it.  To see this layout check out my YouTube video at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KSW1ekvFfNk

The scrapbook layout I created is four pages in one.  The exciting thing about it is the mechanical workings of the layout.  One could spend quite a few minutes playing with the page to just see all the ways it opens up.  Looking at the photos would be secondary for a while.  After the initial excitement went away then the person could look at all of the photos.

Another plus for this layout is that it holds a LOT of photos.  Just think of the possibilities!  A child’s soccer game.  The first page could show the entire team in their uniforms with the team’s name proudly displayed at the top.  Open the layout to the second page and highlights of the kicks and goals could be displayed.  There would also be room for head shots of the kids at the outer edges of the page.  Open the layout to the third page and the winning trophy, along with the exuberant team members, could be displayed prominently.  Then flip to the last page and there would be more photos of the team.  Maybe some of the kids playing in the rain and mud during the soccer season.

All of the different sports and athletics could be displayed in such a layout.  Softball, karate, gymnastics, golf, fishing, snowboarding, skiing, water skiing.  The list is endless that this “Gilley Layout” can be used to display treasured photos.  Let’s not forget the dance recitals, ballet productions, musical recitals, school plays, and proms.

Trips to theme parks, family reunions, weddings, or other happy occasions could be documented in my “Gilley Layout”.

Now, I am happy to say, the full instructions are up on YouTube.  Ready for you to be totally amazed and be overcome with the strong desire to create one yourself.

Do you need supplies?  I have the answer for you.  Click on this link:  http://www.leslieb.stampinup.net

Click on the button “Shop Now” and then click on one of categories to the left for paper, tools, or adhesives.  Find the items you want and click to add them to your cart.  If you are new to the website you will be asked to “Start An Account”.  Fill out the information requested for your billing, shipping, and payment options and you are done.  All that is needed next, besides waiting for the UPS person to arrive, is to get your photos chosen.

I simply can’t wait to see what you have done!!!  When you have your “Gilley Layout” completed send me a video of your amazing work, or take pictures and send them to my email address you will find in the “Contact” section of my website.

Show someone how special they are….

Leslie

Crafting For The Holidays

Where has this year gone?  Labor Day is here, next will be Halloween.

Have you gone into the stores lately?  As if we are not panicked enough and being spurred on to make those purchases for Christmas the store shelves and displays are already bursting with holiday items.

Colorful costumes for Halloween are hung on racks or stacked in brightly colored boxes with graphics that fairly scream from their perches as you walk past.  Talk about screaming at you, how about those mechanical gizmos that laugh and move as you walk past.  Unsuspecting shoppers do a bit of a dance, or whoop with fright, when those automated monsters sound off or move.  I admit it, I’ve been known to laugh as I watch the reactions of strangers when the aisle is quiet and they are intent on their shopping only to have something move at them or cackle.  It happened to me and boy did I feel foolish for jumping and whooping at the harmless object.

Through the past months I’ve concentrated on birthdays and anniversaries.  Not giving much thought to Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas.  Now there are blatant reminders of the upcoming events everywhere.  Fall colors of table linens, dishware, and Thanksgiving decorations are just around the aisle from the Halloween items.  There are whole rooms or sections of the stores displaying beautiful Christmas trees, shelves chock full of ornaments, and bins full of wrapping papers and bows.

I don’t know about you, but I’m beginning to feel a bit stressed.  Time is running out.  I don’t have a gift for this person or that person.  I’ve started making gifts for some family members and they are half finished on shelves in cupboards awaiting my attention.

To further complicate matters for me I am right in the middle of getting a new business started.  Time and pressure are my companions these days.

A few years ago there was a television commercial of a young mother with a headache.  While she massaged her head the telephone rang loudly, a toddler was crying from the highchair, the doorbell was ringing, older children were running through the house, pots were boiling over on the stove, and I don’t remember what else was going on.  I felt sorry for that young woman and the pressure she was under.

I don’t have a headache, but I do have a bunch of things clamoring for my attention.  I have my lists and I am getting things checked off one at a time.  Will I have everything done come October 1st when I’m ready to get this business going?  There is no telling but I will have a good start.

Watch for the Halloween cards and candy items coming the first week of October.  We’ll deal with Thanksgiving and Christmas next.  One holiday at a time…

Show someone how special they are….

Preparations Are Under Way

Beginning a home based business is a challenge.  Mary Kay Ashe, of Mary Kay Cosmetics, said “Plan your work, and work your plan”.  For me, easier said than done.

I have pieces of paper all over my desk.  Each piece of paper has a list of things I need to do, people and agencies to contact, ideas for my website, lists of photos and video to upload…..it just seems to keep growing.

I hear, and read, how easy it is to “Start Your Own Business From Home In Three Easy Steps”.  I’ve been self employed for 19 years and have not found any of it easy.  I am familiar with the process, which has not changed over the years – even with the advent of the Internet.

It used to be pretty simple.  You contact your local state agency to file for a business name then wait the specified amount of time to make sure the name you have chosen is not already in use.  This used to take about three business days.  Then the next agency to contact was for a sales tax license.  This process took a little longer because you had to wait for the license to come in the mail before you could actually begin doing business.  After these two steps were completed the next task was advertising your business.  Getting business cards made, literature created (if any), and then just hitting the streets or making telephone calls.  Within a week you could be in business.

In today’s business market you have to have a website if you want to reach a larger audience.  Finding the right website builder – if you are like me and have ZERO html knowledge – can be a bit daunting.  Just try it, do a Google search for website builders and see what you get – on the first page alone!

Once you have selected the “Host” site you choose to do business with the real challenge begins.  At least it was that way for me and I don’t think I’m the only one that has stared at the screen and muttered “Now what do I do!!!”.

Truthfully, I am so thankful for the people that know, and are familiar, with html stuff.  They have created some really exciting templates and have clicked their little fingers to the bone to make this task as easy as possible for people like me.  I am one of those people that glance at the instructions and see way too many words and steps to follow and just decide to wing it.  When things go awry, that is when I click on “Help”.

My husband has been instrumental in getting my website created.  He’s been my editor.  After he tells me what he doesn’t like about one of the pages and suffers through the whining and foot stomping (“Do you know how long it took me to put all that in and you want me to get rid of most of it!!”), I make the changes he suggests – with some muttering and quite a few pitiful heavy sighs.

This site is a work in progress.  My launch date is after October 1, 2009.  Just three more weeks and I will be done with my “Day Job” of OTR (Over The Road) truck driving and can dedicate my full time and attention to my passion.  Making videos on scrapbook layouts, card making, and hand made gifts.  The impetus of this had come from trying to teach my daughter, who lives in Arizona, how to create her own family history.  That is another story, for another day.

Thank you for stopping by.  I appreciate you visiting my site.

Leslie

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