An Update, A Life Planner and A Filofax!

I know, I know.... It's been forever since I've blogged or designed for that matter. There have been lots of changes in my life and it's only now that I've had the desire to connect with the digital world again. I missed you all so much! I'm about to get back into designing and I hope to have some new goodies very soon for Christmas. I'm working on a super cute kit and I've got a few template packs and wordart packs on the way as well. I'm super excited about it all.

Well... You may have been wondering where I've been spending my time lately. OMG!!! I have found the most amazing group/community in the whole wide universe! Seriously! I have always used a planner of some sort to help with organizing my life. Either it's been a monthly calendar, a few scraps of paper with dates and to do lists on them, or a bound planner/agenda. I think I've tried them all. I even have a few Franklin Covey and Daytimer planners kicking around in my closet, somewhere. Since the kids started school this year in a new school, with new schedules and extracurricular activities, I knew that I needed to get our new lives organized and fast. How better to that than to get a new planner! I've been following Erin Condren's Life Planner system for a while now but never purchased one before. So, I ordered my very first and ever since I've been totally hooked on planning and organizing our lives.

For those of you who aren't familiar with Erin Condren, please check out her website at www.erincondren.com

She offers wire bound planners, calendars, address books, note pads, cards, labels, luggage, and the list goes on and on. And, the part that I loved about it was that you get to pick your own cover AND you get to have it personalized! Here's a pic of my Life Planner! I love her!

 

I've been using my LP for 6 weeks now and I've got to admit that it's really been helping with organizing my time. I've also been using it as a general journal as well. Jotting down little bits of my day. If you'd like to see a more detailed review of my Life Planner, check out my YouTube channel: HERE

So... Over the coming days, weeks, months, etc... I will be featuring lots of yummy new stuff on organizing, planners and yes... FILOFAX! As soon as I get some new design goodies ready, I'll let you know as well. 

Playing Catch Up

I don't know what part of the world you're living in, but where I am on the Eastern Coast of Canada, it's an absolutely beautiful winter day! When I look out my window, I see lots of fresh white snow and clear blue skies. It's a perfect day. :) I thought that it would be a good time today to post an update. I haven't been on here since December 1st and a lot has happened since then.

Where do I start? Well, the last I posted on here was about the December buffet SNOWBALL FIGHT. I hope you got a chance to snag some of those packs while they we're on sale. :)

I made a cute layout using my new template pack I LOVE TEMPLATES Pack 22 and papers and elements from SNOWBALL FIGHT. The kids were enjoying a snow day. They got to stay home from school and play outside. They loved it! When they got cold, we came inside and had some hot chocolate. It was yummy. :)

I was sick with a really bad influenza for most of December and part of January so I didn't get any designing done at all. :( I missed the buffet for January but I did get the chance to knock out a few packs for February's Buffet though. LISTEN TO YOUR HEART is all about the wonders of love. Very fitting for scrapping your Valentines Day memories. <3 p="">
All packs are on sale thru February 5th for only $1 each. Check out what I've got this week. And remember all items are linked to the store listing too. Easy access, right?

Totally cute, right! I thought you'd like them. :) Here's a layout I made using the templates and both the papers and elements from LISTEN TO YOUR HEART. It's an old picture of my Grandparents.

I also have 2 new template packs this week. I LOVE TEMPLATES Packs 22-23. Check them out.

So... You better snag these while they're on sale. :) And, just so you know... I'm going to be adding a new Facebook Freebie on the Inspired Designs Fan page very soon, so... if you haven't had a chance to snag OUR FAMILY STORY... you better do so soon. I'll be removing it this week. :)

SNOWBALL FIGHT: All new buffet at GS plus... DEAL OF THE DAY!

It's December 1st! That means a few things to me. First... It's only 25 days till Christmas Day! I'm so excited! I've almost got all of my Christmas presents bought and next week, the tree, lights and all the decorations are going up. :) Second... My hubby comes home from working out of province next week and he's going to home for a whole month! And thirdly... It's time for the GS Buffet and the amazing $1 bakesale! Our theme for the buffet this month is SNOWBALL FIGHT! I just loved the soft colors of this months palette and decided to stay in the green/blue/brown colors. I hope you like what I've created for you this month! As always, each pack is only $1.50 each, for one week only. You can snag them HERE. Or each image is also linked.

Aren't those just so cute! I can't wait to get some snowy pics this winter to use with this collection! And, don't forget to stop in and check out all the items in the Bake Sale this week. I've got some great templates in there for only $1 per pack. As well as lots of other items too.

I've been thinking about having a DEAL OF THE DAY this month. I'm going to choose 1 of my products and have it on sale for one day only for only $1! The first DEAL OF THE DAY is HOLIDAY MEMORIES! If you love it and just have to have it.... It's only available for today only! So you better snag it now! Now! NOW!

http://store.gingerscraps.net/HOLIDAY-MEMORIES-Kit-by-Inspired-Designs.html

WINNER: You're Not So Scary

Thanks to everyone who commented to win YOU'RE NOT SO SCARY! I asked my little guy Aiden to pick the winner. I gave him a number between 1-15 and he chose #5 because he's 5 years old! There were 15 comments 1 from me and one was a duplicate so...

The winner is:

NickisMom October 13, 2012 11:38 AM

Halloween is the best holiday to scrapbook! There are so many choices and options for creating the pages. I really love the way the stickers have been created to look like old style stickers with the white border. I love everything about this kit, and would LOVE to have it!!

Congratulation NICKISMOM. Please send me a message at inspireddesignsbycrystal@gmail.com to claim your prize!

Inspired Designs... Featured Designer at Paper and Pixels!

Have you had a chance to check out Paper and Pixels yet? Well... you don't know what you've been missing. It's a super cute online magazine dedicated to scrapping and paper crafts and for the month of October...

INSPIRED DESIGNS is the Featured Designer! Yay! 

 There's a little write up in there all about me and there's a cute FREEBIE in there too! One of my best selling and popular kits is A WORK IN PROGRESS and I've created an add-on exclusively for magazine subscribers this month. Here's a little preview of the FREEBIE!

To snag your very own copy of this months edition, go to http://papersandpixels.com/.

YOU'RE NOT SO SCARY!!! Win it for FREE!

If you're anything like me, you're starting to get things ready for Halloween! Last week I got all of my treats to give the Trick or Treat'rs. I'm going to do them up in little bags and the kids are making toppers for them. I saw some really cute toppers on Pinterest that I'd love to try. I have a new kit this week that is going to be just perfect when making them! I'll have to post a few pictures of the completed toppers for you all to see. :)

The kids have a Halloween party at school on Halloween Day so I'm also making up individual "pumpkin" cupcakes for them to give their classmates. I'm making the cupcakes using my favorite orange spice cupcake recipe. The icing is a whipped cream icing and it's so yummy! I'll be tinting it orange and then using black licorice for the pumpkin eyes and mouth. To get them to school safely, I'll be using clear plastic cups. Just put the cupcake in the cup, wrap in cellophane, then tie with black ribbon! So simple and so cute! Another Pinterest idea. :)

If you haven't done so... Check out Pinterest and you'll find all kinds of cute stuff that you can incorporate into your own Halloween festivities.

Well... Enough of all that! lol. I mentioned that I had a new kit for Halloween! It's been a long time coming and I think it's absolutely adorable! YOU'RE NOT SO SCARY is the perfect kit for scrapping all about your favorite Halloween moments. It's on sale this week for $3.75! That's an amazing deal. Check it out!

Included in this kit are: 15 textured and patterned papers, 5 solid papers, 1 bat, 2 bookplates, 2 bows,
1 broom, 5 buttons, 3 flairs (with shadows) 5 flowers, 7 frames, 2 ghosts, 5 journal tags, 1 lace, 3 pumpkins, 4 ribbons, 1 skull, 1 spider, 1 spider web, 5 glossy stars, 1 string, 1 swirl, 2 tombstones, 1 witch,
7 wordstrips.

And... Here's a few layouts that I scrapped using pictures from my kids Halloween 2010. I'm a little behind on my scrapping and I'm trying to catch up. :)

 This layout was created using Template 1 from I LOVE TEMPLATES: Pack 18. 

This layout was created using Template 3 from I LOVE TEMPLATES: Pack 18.

 This layout was created using Template 2 from AWAY WE GO (July Buffet).

I really love how these layouts have turned out! I try to use my own kits and templates as much as possible when making layouts for my kids. I think it's very important that in years to come when they're looking at their printed scrapbooks that I can tell them that I designed them. :) 

So... Do you think this kit is super cute? Would you like your very own copy for FREE!!! Well... I'll be choosing 1 lucky blog reader to win YOU'RE NOT SO SCARY! All you have to do is leave a comment in this post and Monday, October 15th a winner will be chosen! Good Luck!

FALL FESTIVAL: All New at GS this week

I say this every month but I'll say it again... I can't believe that it's October and that another month is gone! This year is flying by so fast I can hardly believe it. The kids are all settled into their school routines and they're loving every minute of it. :) I'm really enjoying having my alone time in the morning too. I've been on a cleaning/organizing kick these past few weeks and I'm slowly getting through the house. I started in what we call our "junk room". It's our 4th bedroom that we use for storage. It needs to be organized at least once a month because the kids just won't stay out of there. lol. I've got a million of those big Rubbermaid totes that I store all the important stuff in and then a whole bunch of boxes and bags of junk. I'm trying to get through it one bag/box at a time and throwing away what isn't needed. I've also donated a few garbage bags full of kids clothes to friends so they can use it for their kids. Reduce, reuse, and recycle... right! I finished the living room and the dining room a few days ago and it looks great. Next up... The kitchen cabinets! I've desperately got to organize my pots and pans. I also need to streamline my plastic containers too. I'm missing so many covers and I just know they're hiding in there somewhere! Once that's all done, I'd love to get some painting done before Christmas. The living room and dining room is now one big room since we removed a wall and that needs to be plastered and painted too. Then, I need to paint the kitchen and mudroom. So mush to do and only a few months left in this year to do it!

I don't know if I've mentioned it before, but Fall is my favorite time of the year. I LOVE FALL!!! I love the way the leaves change color. I love the cool, crisp air. I love being able to take a walk with the dog and not be eaten by mosquitoes! I have to get the kids dressed up in their fall clothes and get them outside this weekend for a photoshoot. I try to have one each fall. I have so many pictures from other years that I need to get scrapped and now, I have the perfect kit to use for some of those layouts! It's named FALL FESTIVAL and it's all new for the GingerScraps Buffet this month! I've got 9 coordinating packs all priced at $1.50 each and if I don't mind saying so... They're awesome! Check out the previews and then hurry on over to my store to snag yours today. The buffet only lasts until October 5th!

*** All Items Linked***

Here's a little inspiration from my amazing Creative Team! I am so in love with this collection and I think that the Ladies have captured the beauty and versatility of this collection perfectly. :)