Scrapbooking from the Soul Review

Saturday, August 24, 2013

[ETA: Giveaway closed, Winners announced here]

Wow, almost the end of summer. Time never ceases to amaze me, as it flies so quickly on by. 

Matt and I drove out to Austin in July to celebrate Tara's birthday. We floated the river in San Marcos; relaxed, laughed, nearly drowned (at least Tara did) and really just enjoyed the experience. 

I bought an old school water proof disposable camera to document our drifting and only just yesterday picked it up from the developer. (BTW, its so crazy to me that not very long ago, 1 hour film developing was the norm. Now you have to send them away!).  

It was fun to open up the package to see how the prints turned out. That was the awesomeness of film photography, you never actually knew what you were gonna get. Not all of the pictures were great, lots ended up blurry and hazy. But I love them anyway. They still captured that day and these memories.
On the surface, the page and photos are about the day we spent on the river. But the journaling was all about how this is life now, none of us are married or have kids. And how carefree and lacking in responsibility our lives are--which is lovely for now!

It's like that for all of us on this page. But we're each getting older. I'm sure one or all of us will take the plunge into marriage and parenthood eventually. But for now, I'm personally content with the life of a single (marital status) childless person.

The part of my life that includes marriage and babies may or may not be very far away in the future. And one day I imagine I'll look back at these pages and remember what life was like back before the husband and the kiddos.

Journaling Reads:
I love summer for its lazy carefree laid back vibe. I love the long summer nights. What feels like all kinds of time to just breath and relax. It's not going to be like this always. One of these days we'll all get married and start having babies. Not that life will be over then. But gone will be the days of minimal responsibility, of picking up and going wherever/whenever I please. For now, I relish this time. Still not married, no babies. Still carefree.

The journaling is a bit of a departure from my usual style. That's not to say that I've never made connections or done more introspective journaling before. But this was a totally different approach for me. And I have one person to thank for it, the incredible (not so edible) Jill Sprott.

Jill has long been a favorite scrapbooker of mine. Her pages are always gorgeous and full of masterful design. But I think the subjects she chooses and the connections she makes are what have always drawn me to her layouts. She transforms pretty portraits and still photographs, into poignant and meaningful visual stories due largely to her journaling. 

Let's face it, she has a bit of a leg up on all of us in this department, being a high school English teacher and all. So I try not to be too intimidated. But it's so hard to look at her pages not feel a connection to the lady herself. Her voice (she uses her words!) come across so brilliantly in each of her creations.
As if all of this isn't amazing enough, she sat down and created a class to help each of us achieve what she does so beautifully, meaningful journaling on gorgeously designed pages. The class is aptly named Scrapbooking from the Soul and is available at Two Peas for such an insanely low price. I bought it last week and was only able to dive in yesterday afternoon. Let me tell you, the first two lessons have me completely reconsidering the foundation of my entire scrapbooking process. That's how profound the class has been for me already!

Want another example of how awesomely talented Jill is? After watching the class videos and reading through the .pdf's I felt like I'd just had a conversation with her. As if she and I had sat down to chat (over a cup of tea I'd imagine =) about this thing called scrapbooking and how meaningful it can be.
I have to admit, Ms. Sprott has an insanely huge soft spot on my heart. She has been one of the best creative cheerleaders a girl could have asked for. She actually follows this blog! She even looks at my layouts. And if there's a comment on a post here, there's a 50/50 change Jill is the one to have left it. It's the little things, right? It takes her not so much time, but it always means so much to me, to read her sweet comments.

After reading through this post, I think its safe to say that I'm an avid Jill Sprott fan. And I'd love to honor this sweet lady with a giveaway. I believe so much in what she's taught me already, that I'd love to give away to two readers, access to her workshop.

To enter to win, please leave a comment below (with your 2Peas name). I'd love to hear which scrapbookers are super stars to you! I'm leaving this open through Saturday, 31 August at 11:59 CST and then I'll draw and announce two winners! Best of luck to you all! And even if you don't win, really consider taking the class. It will be worth each of those 1,200 pennies!

cheers & besos,

19 comments:

  1. Thanks for the opportunity... I've been on the fence about this class and you review was awesome. I'm inspired by the 2peas scrappers on a daily basis.

    rhiansmom

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  2. Wow.. this is such a cool layout idea.. I might have to scraplift..I love hearing about classes that are worth wile taking so I would love a chance to win :) I am forever in the twopeas sight but tend to gravitate more towards Paige Eveans and Wilna too name a couple.. I seriously have such a long list it is insane..lol

    My two peas user name is Bernii Miller

    Thanks so much x

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  3. I really like your review. I love Jill's videos on 2peas. Shimelle, both of the Jen's, Paige and nancy videos are always great. I love just looking through the gallery for inspiration too. Thanks for the chance to win! 2peas: iggyboo32

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  4. What a great layout!! It sounds like a wonderful class. I would love to win a spot. I am very inspired by Betsy Veldman. I would love to scrap with her (or sit and stare like a stalked...lol).

    Bdhardy on 2 peas

    Thanks for the chance!

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  5. Jamie, you made my day! Thank you so much for such a wonderful review. I so love the approach you took to this layout! Merging the journaling with the title block was an awesome idea. Your words definitely show that you are, in fact, a soul scrapper. :)

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  6. "I love summer for its lazy carefree laid back vibe. I love the long summer nights. What feels like all kinds of time to just breath and relax. It's not going to be like this always. One of these days we'll all get married and start having babies. Not that life will be over then. But gone will be the days of minimal responsibility, of picking up and going wherever/whenever I please. For now, I relish this time. Still not married, no babies. Still carefree."

    I love your journaling! It gave me a chuckle! As we all through life cycles, we yearn again for the lazy, carefree, laid back vibe in our recliners. We love the long summer days where we can sit on the porch and watch our grandchildren lick popsicles as moon travels higher in the sky. We watch our grandchildren catch fireflies in glass jars. Then, we give them a hug and a kiss goodbye.

    The next day, we find our lazy, carefree, laid back vibe as we sit by the pool on a cruise to a place we've never traveled. Our days of having babies are over. Now, we can breathe and relax as our waiter brings us our favorite beverage. Sigh! We can breathe........

    Thank you for your wonderful journaling and fantastic review of Jill's class! Soul scrapping is a great idea!

    Cindy
    2 Peas Name: FLCindy

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  7. Awesome! I love her style too.

    Not only is your journaling amazing but your handwriting is pretty cool too :)

    Thanks for the chance!

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  8. I'm a big fan of Jill and her gorgeous pages. Her class is definitely on my wishlist. Thanks so much for the opportunity to win a seat. My 2P's name is cathie_reed

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  9. I love all the GG and for different reasons. Some are my style and some are not. But I love to see the artist in each GG and how it comes out on their pages. Thank you for the chance to win Jill's class. I am Jersey Girl Anne at 2 peas.

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  10. Thank you for the great review of Jill's class. It sounds like something I would really love. I think all pages need journaling. Thanks for an opportunity to win a spot. I am nylene.

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  11. Thanks for the review and the chance to win a spot in Jill's class! I've mostly followed Shimelle, so she's been a big scrapbook inspiration for me. I recently purchased Wilna's Art Class and just absolutely love her style! Since both Shimelle and Wilna teach mostly the stylistic and design aspects of scrapbooking, I'm thinking a journaling-centered class is next on my list of classes to take.

    My 2peas name is anitatina

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  12. You are so awesome to offer up this chance. I have been eyeing Jill's class but haven't taken the plunge. I know I should since getting the stories down is the whole reason I scrap and I like to make the journaling the highlight whenever I can. I'm inspired by all of the GGs but the ones my 10 yo & I make sure to never miss are: Lisa, Wilna, Shimelle and Jen G.
    My 2p's name: MoniL

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  13. What a lovely review and I would absolutely love to take this class. I really enjoy the thought of telling stories for my future kids and grandkids. I don't just scrapbook for myself; I scrapbook for my future. I would love to have the opportunity to learn more *and thanks for giving someone that!

    2peas name: saraaah

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  14. Great review. Thank you so much for offering this chance to win a spot in Jill's class!

    My 2peas name: itsallscrap2me

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  15. Great review! I also love Jill's layouts and ideas. I get so much inspiration from her and so many of the garden girls. I also love Shimelle and Nancy D. Oh and I can't forget about Lisa D. and Jen G. Love them all. Thanks so much for a chance to win the class. 2Peas name is AnissaScraps.

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  16. Sounds awesome!
    perfect to get me out if the slump I've been in, wanting my pages to be more meaningful. thanks for the chance to win & for this post. ~ kirbage (on 2peas)
    oh, I'm inspired by Shimelle, Stephanie Howell, Ali E - & now Jill!

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  17. I like your colorful layout :)
    I really don't have a FAVORITE Garden Girl, as I am not too creative and tend to scraplifter and learn something from everyone. Thank you for the chance to win this workshop. I am thenancyrd at 2Peas.

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  18. Great LO. I just returned to scrapping after a 7+ year hiatus. Now I have a sweet daughter I want to preserve memories for so journaling is now more of my focus. I'm GnomeHome on 2Peas

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  19. What a cool layout! Wish I had documented more times like this. Thanks for the review of Jill's class and the chance to win a spot!

    2peas. Mplsbetty

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