National Scrapbooking Day Video and Challenge!

Happy National Scrapbooking Day!

Isn't it awesome that around the world, crafters just like us are celebrating with more than a bit of glee at having a valid reason to be making today... after all, it is a National holiday! And I've got a new EmbellishKits.com video to share- check out the new, 2015, May scrapbooking two double page layout kit!

If you've ever thought about hopping into a kit club, I can speak from experience that you will find oodles of goodies and inspiration, as well as technique tips, in each package that comes your way from EmbellishKits.com and embellishonline.com  I really enjoyed the direction these layouts took, but I still have some left overs I'll use to create a bonus project, so be sure to subscribe to the CraftWithAnna YouTube channel, and next week's share videos will show up in your watch list auto-matic-ally. "I AM" excited (can't believe I just used that adjective) to work up a project that turns the scrapbooking eye introspectively; my what I'm doing now mental list is turning into a tiny mind novella!

So how will I be spending a day that seems to have been custom-created just for me? Alas, as has happened in years gone by, I have booked myself for involvement in a no-less attention worthy cause; the Etta's Project auction in Lakewood, WA tonight. I first learned of the effervescent young Etta when I started working for the bank. One of my coworkers had a daughter who'd been a schoolmate of her's, and shared lots of stories about what a wonderful girl she was; how her smile would light up a room, how all of her friends loved to have her around because they felt so good in her presence. Unfortunately, I have only met this community outreach angel via word of mouth. While traveling on a Rotary trip through Boliva towards the end of high school, she was in a fatal bus accident that left her family and friends stunned and heartbroken. Her mom channeled some of that grief into doing god in Etta's name, created this organization, Etta's Projects, and in doing so built a legacy that does amazing works of good, all in Etta's name and spirit.

Etta has friends who continue to carry her energetic spirit into rural Bolivia, furnishing villagers there with skills such as nutrition management, small business loans, and most importantly in my Western eyes, compostable latrines. Tonight is one of their biggest fundraisers, and an event of this emotional significance has come to be one I look forward to almost before the night is over. I look forward to seeing what is out on the auction tables, sipping my custom, brother-blended Etta-tini, all while overseeing the check in and bid packet pick up process. I'm also looking forward to dishing on current events with my bestie who graciously volunteered her pleasant attitude and 10-key skills to work alongside me gathering credit card info.

So what will you be doing today? Might I plant the not-so-subtle suggestion that you try out this Scrapbooking Playlist? Or perhaps you need a stronger challenge: Pin or Instagram a project with the #CraftWithAnna and I'll enter your name into a drawing for a custom set of scrapbooking embellishments (one of my latest crafting endeavors in preparation for the two cruises I'm teaching on next year)!
1. Try testing out that "I Am..." journaling prompt to include a list of your currents; breakfast foods, wardrobe favorites, job responsibilities- whatever comes out of the pen or pencil, that's what you're using on your layout.
2. Create a page about a lost loved one... consider including details like, when you think of that person most often, surprising times you miss them, or even just about how much fun you had (or didn't have) when they were nearby. This could be a rather touchy subject, and frankly, we tend to over think projects like this, so take it right on into challenge number
3. Let it go. Just Do It. We are different, but same-same...same-same, but different! Whatever movie quote or commercial mantra you can latch on to, use it to create something. Heck, use it as a title for your page! Please, don't let fear of doing it right, or perfectly interfere any longer with expressing yourself in either of these areas through the magic of pretty paper and shiny bling- after all, it's a Holiday!

Hoping you know how not alone you are in your obsession to make your pictures into stories (that can be told long after you can remember the details), and for the scrap-God's sake, get a bit of your YouTube on!