Welcome to the blog celebration of the Big Idea Festival.  Each day, from August 15^th – 26^th, we will highlight a participating teacher and giveaway BPC goodies here on the blog. And you won’t want to miss what the teacher has provided in the FREE classroom, you can still register here.

Today's participating teacher is May Flaum learn about her below

FIVE things I do everyday, without fail:

• tell my family I love them
  
• drink a cup of coffee
  
• dance and sing with my daughters
  
• indulge in something sweet
  
• check my e-mail

Enter the Echo Park  product giveaway inside the classroom (you can still register here)

Class Giveaway: Double Take

About the Class: Double page scrapbook layouts are a great way to create a more cohesive looking album, include more photos and stories in your layouts and still have plenty of room left over for creative fun! What could be better than getting a whole class packed with two-page layouts? We're doubling the fun with not just one, but two of our fabulous teachers, and they are teaming up for a BPC class like never before!

How to Enter: Leave a comment on the blog and tell us if you create mostly single page or double page layouts. Giveaway closes 8/20 at 9:00 am PST.

***Giveaway winners for Days 1-4***

Day 1  Linz

Day 2 SDscrap

Day 3 Heather K

Day 4 Carabecca

Day 5 Giveaway Winner is 3peasepod

Giveaway winners for days 9-12 will be announced 8/27

Welcome to the blog celebration of the Big Idea Festival.  Each day, from August 15^th – 26^th, we will highlight a participating teacher and giveaway BPC goodies here on the blog. And you won’t want to miss what the teacher has provided in the FREE classroom, you can still register here.

Today's participating teacher is Wendy Smedley read more about her below

BPC: What do you believe in?
WMS: I believe in living with intention. I believe that we all face huge challenges that, in the end, make us better people. I believe that we all have something to offer this world. I believe in sharing wholeheartedly.

BPC: If you could take only one thing before you left the planet, what would you take?
WMS: My family, if I could. I would take my scrapbooks; or at least my photos.

Be sure to enter the Crate Paper  product giveaway inside the classroom (you can still register here)

Class Giveaway: TopTitles + Bonus class kit!!

About the Class: Most scrapbookers find themselves running out of ideas for formatting titles…just how many original ideas are there for using letter stickers, anyway? In this new self-paced class you will get step-by-step instructions for three layouts with terrific title techniques that you can incorporate into your technique toolbox immediately! And if that isn't enough, you'll also get ideas for making your titles pop.

How to Enter: Leave a comment below sharing your favorite title technique . Giveaway closes 8/19 at 9:00 am PST

Giveaway winner is Carabecca and she shares,

"My favorite title technique is to use combos of small + large letters - I love long titles."

Welcome to the blog celebration of the Big Idea Festival.  Each day, from August 15^th – 26^th, we will highlight a participating teacher and giveaway BPC goodies here on the blog. And you won’t want to miss what the teacher has provided in the FREE classroom, you can still register here.

Today's participating teacher is Peppermint Granberg, read snippets from her bio below

i think … every technical gadget is the coolest thing I have ever seen, right until the next technical gadget comes out.

i wonder … if other people talk to themselves throughout the day nearly as much as I do?

i wish … I had the same metabolism now as I did in my twenties – or my teens, for that matter.

i save … all of the spare buttons that come on my clothing, but not in one assigned space or anything, that would make way too much sense – I just shove them in my jewelry box, in drawers, in random containers around the house. I can’t throw out a perfectly good button, that’s just crazy talk.

Make sure and enter the Cosmo Cricket  product giveaway inside the classroom (you can still register here)

Class Giveaway: Me and My Shadow

About the Class: Drop shadowing is one of the most talked about topics in the digital scrapbooking community. As a digital product designer and scrapbooker, Peppermint Granberg has been asked to share her “drop shadowing secret” over and over again, but her answer is always this: there is no one secret to drop shadowing. Instead, it’s a combination of tools and settings that are available in Photoshop; you simply have to become comfortable enough with them to release their potential.

How to Enter:  Leave a comment below sharing your top digital technique. Giveaway closes 8/18 at 9:00 am PST

Giveaway winner is Heather K and she shares,

"I like adding all of my photos, papers, and elements together in a psd file when I have a couple of minutes - then later open the file and I'm ready to scrap!"

Welcome to the blog celebration of the Big Idea Festival.  Each day, from August 15^th – 26^th, we will highlight a participating teacher and giveaway BPC goodies here on the blog. And you won’t want to miss what the teacher has provided in the FREE classroom, you can still register here.

Today's participating teacher is Tami Morrison, read snippets from her bio below

i can't imagine …a house in which every room is clean at the same time

i believe …creativity is a muscle that must be exercised regularly

i promise …to keep an open mind

i love …my crazy life

Make sure and enter the Bella Blvd  product giveaway inside the classroom (you can still register here)

Class Giveaway: Mo-mints class and bonus kit

About the Class: Got a MO-MINT? Treat yourself to a refreshingly simple (and calorie-free) mint tin scrapbook that fits in your purse or pocket!

How to Enter:  Leave a comment below sharing your favorite mini album project. Giveaway closes 8/17 at 9:00 am PSTand text for BPC giveaway

Giveaway Winner is SDscrap and she shares,

"I love the cupcake shaped mini album I made my daughter for her 21st birthday with a photo from each year. She loved it and her college friends had fun seeing her as she grew up. Love the mint tin album idea."

Welcome to the blog celebration of the Big Idea Festival.  Each day, from August 15^th – 26^th, we will highlight a participating teacher and giveaway BPC goodies here on the blog. And you won’t want to miss what the teacher has provided in the FREE classroom, you can still register here.

Today's participating teacher is Amy Tangerine. Get to know her.

i think … a little smile goes a long way.

i wonder … where the time goes.

i wish … for happiness.

i save … a lot.

i always … try to do the right thing.

i can't imagine … a life without happy memories.

Make sure you enter the American Crafts product giveaway inside the classroom. (you can still register here)

Class Giveaway:The Good Life

About the Class: Do you find yourself daydreaming about creating amazing projects, but feel like you never have the time? If so, join Amy Tan in The Good Life where she'll share tons of creative tips and tricks for infusing creativity into the everyday. Whether you're looking to make projects for publication or profit, or just for the sake of creating, this workshop will help you find the time for what you love.

How to Enter: Leave a comment below sharing what projects you are most excited to create. Giveaway closes 8/16 at 9:00 am PST

GIVEAWAY CLOSED

Giveaway winner is Linz and she says...

"I want to discover myself through scrapbooking. I've done that a few times now - I want more. I want to get energized with creative crafts - it really works I think!"

Yes we  have been busy, of course you aren't surprised, well we hope we you will enjoy these offerings and new teachers. Check out the classes and please welcome the teachers to our community.

Welcome Aly Dosdall to Big Picture Classes, her new class is called Doable DIY Decor.

About the class

"Do you ever wish that you could frame your favorite patterned paper and hang it on your wall? To be able to adore it throughout your day, rather than keep it hidden in your scrapbooks? Well, good news! You can use your scrapbook supplies to create beautiful and doable home décor projects to display and enjoy every day."

Say hello to Aaron Morris (yes he is male) his class is Digital Clustering.

About the class

"Have you ever looked at someone else’s layout and thought, “If only I could create nice clusters like that? When I try to do it, it looks like the elements are just thrown on the page!”  Element clustering is one of the most popular digital techniques right now, however many people find it a struggle to place individual decorative elements “just right.”

Welcome Elizabeth Irvine to Big Picture Classes, her new (well new last month :) class is called Just B.

About the class

Would you like to gain more clarity, feel more energy and experience more peace-- every day? Can you dedicate fifteen minutes to a guided relaxation podcast? If you can commit to do this, through this class, you will learn how to:

• create more energy
• feel more peace
• tap into creativity you didn’t even know existed

 Thanks for stopping by!

Have you checked out the student sharing gallery recently? I love that along with great layouts (our students have always created beautiful layouts!) we're now seeing a lot of beautiful images due to all the fabulous photograpy classes we have on the site! I recently noticed this image by Lori Kelly and thought it was an image worth sharing with you!

Here's what Lori had to say about this image, and Tracey Clark's BPC classes:

This is my nephew (age 2). I was thrilled to have captured the moment of pure bliss and curiosity, as he gazes out in the pasture of our home to see the cow grazing. It's just so sweet to watch a young child be so amazed by such a simple act. It's these moments that I absolutely love capturing, just the simplicity of a moment, that tells a story.

I have had such a wonderful time taking Tracey Clark's Classes, as they have inspired me to notice my surroundings and capture the moments of magic through the lens. Opportunity is all around us. Capturing that perfect photo of the day is...actually something I'm in search of always. The prompts that Tracey posts, are amazing as they really open your mind up to creativity. I ABSOLUTELY LOVE that about Tracey and her Picture Insipration Classes as well as Picture Spring, Summer, Fall, and Picture the Holidays!! I Enjoy having so much Fun to look forward to every single day.Thank You Big Picture Classes !!

Thank you Lori!

Tracey Clark's 4Expert class, The Art of Composition, is open for registration now. Registration is limited, so don't miss out!

Lily Bee design is our featured partner and I am going to share an awesome design tip using their projects as illustrations.

We are all in love with punched shapes and other small bits of product that add color and style to our projects. I LOVE double sided patterned paper that has large scale patterns on one side and small scale patterns on the other side. Lily Bee does this in many of their collections and it makes the paper so versatile and easy to use.

papers from the This and That collection

When you are working with tiny add-ons (such as punches)  it works to have small scaled patterns. Well... let me show you what I mean. These are close-ups of the punched shapes shown in layouts below, see how nicely the small scaled papers work?

Now some ideas for placing these colorful add-ons.

Bring me Joy by Cindy Liebel illustrates how you can layer tiny shapes in a grid. Love the mix of colors.

Laughter by Linda Barber uses a grid design also, but uses a mixture of shapes to create this sophisticated layout.

 Kim Arnold creates a splash of color with her vertical sprinkling line of heart shapes on this Happiness layout.

Next is Bowties a layout created by Virginia Tillery. This layout incorporates another punched shape grid and uses the same circle shape while varying the paper and adding dimensional adhesive to some circles to add interest and of course dimension.

Their you have it- when adding shapes to your layouts consider these lessons learned from Lily Bee.

1. layer differed sized shapes
2. combine a mixture of shapes
3. place in a vertical line
4. add dimensional adhesive

more check out their blog.

and... make sure you are registered for our FREE 2011 Big Idea Festival, the fun starts on Monday!!

I know it might sound odd, but make your bed. I mean, really make your bed. Put on your favorite sheets, that beautiful comforter, and all those cute throw pillows. Take a few minutes to tidy up your entire bedroom and put away any clutter. Tonight, when you go to bed you’ll feel like you’ve walked into a sanctuary – a beautiful, restful place for you to lay your head for the night.

Do you want to learn how to make this cute shirt?

Do you want to find a way to make scrapbooking fun again!? Not to mention looking at scrapbooking in a new light?

This Good Life is a 4-week workshop with Amy Tan, also known as Amy Tangerine! This class has something for everyone: crafting, sewing, fashion, scrapbooking. I promise you don't want to miss this class. I've already made my 3-year old a cute camera shirt and if I can do it, I promise you that you can!

Come join Amy for The Good Life! Registration is open now!