Scrap with Ally

Drowning in Children's Art?

Now, I'm not a parent, but even I deal with stacks of children's art piling up around me....I am an aunt and I used to be a preschool teacher.  If you're dealing with this problem, check out this great article at BabyZone.com, filled with lots of great ideas.  I was able to contribute to the article (see page 2) and had a great time working with the author.  Enjoy!

And now, a peek...

...into the pages of my new book, The Complete Idiot's Guide to Altered Art Illustrated, released this past Tuesday.

I'm really excited about this book!  If you are a scrapbooker that wants to get into altered books & projects, this is the book for you.  If you are already trying out altered techniques but need an all-in-one guide, you'll find what you need.  This book is especially designed for those who already enjoy scrapbooking or other crafts, and wish to branch out into new directions.  You'll find complete step-by-step instructions for a variety of projects, which you can copy exactly or change up to meet your own artistic vision! 

In addition to my own work, this book includes fabulous art by a talented team of contributing artists, including:  Kate Schaefer, Alecia Ackerman Grimm, April Derrick, Belinda Spiwak, Carolyn Lontin, Cheryl Baase, Claudia Hafner, Diane DiTullio, Diane Keys, Jackie Baxted, Jennifer Kinton-Bailey, Julie Kelley, Julie Richards, Lynn Anne Cutler, Mandy Collins, Mandy Rentmeester-van Goeije, Michelle Van Etten, Nancy Baumiller, Rachael Giallongo, Robin Riley-Wright, Sandy Wisneski, and Wendy Malichio.

Here's a small peek at a few of the altered book pages & projects you'll find inside:

 

I hope that you all enjoy the new book!  Click here to order your own copy from Amazon.com, currently offering the best price online.  Or check your local bookstore--if they don't have it in stock, they should be able to order a copy for you.

Enjoy & happy creating!

Want to get published?

Okay, so first, let me start off by saying THANK YOU for all the great feedback on my new site & blog design.  I am so happy to finally have everything fully integrated into one, complete website, and I hope you've been enjoying it.

February 1st marks the first edition of my brand new scrapbooking & crafting newsletter.  I am so excited for you to get it, I hope it's a happy addition to your inbox!  Which brings me to...want to get published?

Each month, I'll be offering a small publication opportunity for scrapbookers on my site.  It's not a major print publication, but does offer some good exposure & publicity for the lucky artist!  As part of my monthly online newsletter, I'll be featuring a layout or two from my readers related to that month's theme.  As an incentive for those who submit their layouts, a prize (will vary each month) will be offered to the artist(s) featured.  Artists featured can also provide a link to their blog or website, getting a bit of free advertising.  Submitting layouts to my newsletter is non-exclusive, meaning that you can still submit your layout to other print or online publications, even if your project is chosen to be featured.

Sound good to you?  Great!  Here are the details for submitting for February's newsletter:

February is all about love!  I want to see your layouts and projects that celebrate your love for someone or something special in your life.  They can be Valentine's Day themed, general love themed, anything you want.  Feel free to think outside the box!  (Your layout does not have to be specially created for this call, previously created submissions are welcome.)

Published artists for February will receive a free spot in my upcoming online class, Scrap Your Happy.  Submissions are due Tuesday, January 30.

To submit your layout, simply post it online at your favorite scrapbooking website (or on your personal blog if you have one).  Then, send me an e-mail with your name, e-mail address, and a link to your layout(s).  (Layouts can also be sent as attachments if you prefer.)

When you send your submission, please make sure that you are signed up for my monthly newsletter.  One of the goals of my newsletter is to provide unique "members-only" contests & opportunities, so for that reason, submissions will only be accepted from subscribers.  Sign up for free by clicking here.

You may submit as many layouts as you want, but please only send one e-mail per person.

I can't wait to see what you create!

Happy to Announce...

...that I've been added as a Design Team member for Scrap Galaxy!  Scrap Galaxy is one of the newest, hottest scrapbooking sites on the web.  I am so excited about this site and what it has to offer.  Check it out now!

LOTS of more fun announcements coming soon regarding classes and more!  Last week brought lots of great news, and I'm excited to share it with you.  Stay tuned!

Today's The Day!

October 3, 2006 - Official release date of my brand new book!

SO excited to finally share it with all of you.  It has been such a journey--from the original layout calls to creating the album projects to writing the text to editing it all.....and now here it is.  This is the first EVER Idiot's Guide in full color, and I'm so excited about how it looks.  The layout team at Alpha Books did an amazing job!

Thought I'd take a break from my standard weekly project to take a minute to show you a few projects and pages from my new book, as well as give a shout out to all of my contributing artists.  I had an amazing team of ladies contribute to this book, and I couldn't have done it without them!  Rachael Giallongo, Michelle Van Etten, Angie Hagist, Alecia Ackerman Grimm, Alexis Hardy, and Leah Blanco Williams all joined me as part of a special circle journal project.  Additional art appears from these amazingly talented women (listed in no particular order):  Monica Schoenemann, Shaniqua Young, Julie Norton, Shelley Burkett, Lorna Palumbo, Tracy Austin, Pam Callaghan, Kim Brown, Amanda Bohall, Tanya-Marie Pocino, Alison Lidell, Heidi M. Deck, Teresa Olier, Kate Schaefer, Becky Lynn Teichmiller, Julie Ann Stella, Debbie Hodge, April Derrick, Amy Alvis, Kris Ortale, Sheredian Vickers, Kay Rogers, Linda Harrison, Andrea Steed, Kathi Rerek, Michelle Maret, Sue Rhinehart, Kelly Edgerton, Heather Taylor, Marie Cox, and Moon Ko.  THANKS GALS!!

In addition to the work of all your favorite scrapbookers, I'd like to give you a sneak peek of what else you'll find inside the pages of The Complete Idiot's Guide to Scrapbook Projects Illustrated:

Enjoy!!

Check back next week for more fun projects, and maybe even a fun giveaway! :)

Cover Art

Now available for your viewing pleasure...

Pre-orders can be made at Amazon.com now! Enjoy! :)

Announcing...

...my next book!

I've just inked out the details for my next book, The Complete Idiot's Guide to Altered Art. Creating altered art is yet another passion of mine, so I'm super excited about this book. Click here for details on submitting your work for consideration in the book.

Next up, I've added a contest to the site! Sign up for my newsletter & be entered to win a free signed copy of my first book, The Complete Idiot's Guide to Scrapbook Projects, when it's released this October.

For those artists whose work I am still holding onto for CIG Scrapbook Projects, expect your originals to be returned in about a month or two. Thanks again for sharing your work with me! I couldn't have done it without your fantastic submissions.

Thanks again to all of you who have been supporting my books so well. I can't wait to see your altered projects!

-Allyson

I Feel like a Real Author today.

I was browsing Amazon.com this morning and discovered that my book is now available for pre-order. Something about seeing my name, my book's title, and release information all on that page really struck me. I did it. I really did it.

It's so strange, this journey of writing a book. It went from "I'm thinking about writing a book" to "I'm going to write a book" to "I'm writing a book" to "I finished my book." But now there's this weird new stage. I wrote a book. Whoa.

I did it. You can too. Check out this fun book: You Can Do It. More great reads now available in my online store.

Life is so good.

Fun Updates

My book is done! I can hardly believe it. It's all been edited and is back at the publisher. The next time I see it will be when all of the layout work is done. It's very exciting to me, and I think you guys will really like the final results.

SEI and CherryArte have recently added layouts of mine to their online manufacturer galleries. How fun is that? I love the new collections from both of these companies, be sure to check them out!

I recently finished up Stacy Julian's "U R2 Creative" class at BigPictureScrapbooking.com. I had so much fun, and would like to highly recommend BPS classes to anyone who hasn't tried one out yet. Stacy has a $5 class coming up, a great way to try one out! We made several different projects throughout the course of the class, my favorite was the Creativity Fun Book, an art & play journal of sorts. You can see this project in Stacy's book The Big Picture towards the end, but we dived into it in much further detail. What a blast. You can see my book's cover online, I've posted in the Outrageous Daisy gallery here. (The contents are just for me!)

Even though my book is done, I'm still staying quite busy! I've got several "just for me" projects I'm working on finishing up, as they had to sit on the back burner while I was working on my book. I have tons of great new classes coming up at Memories on Fifth as well as some fun articles for Scrapjazz. And when I'm not working on that stuff, I'm working on my website, getting ready for CKU, prepping the outline for my next book (it's already time to begin thinking about that!), and did I mention I'm planning a wedding?

That's all for now!

Enjoy life and happy scrapping,
Ally

That's All Folks!

Thanks Ladies!!

I got what I needed & acceptance letters have just been sent out. Thanks to all who participated at the last minute! I had a company who had previously said it was okay to feature their products change their mind, and it just threw a real kink in things!!

But we're back on track now. I'm so looking forward to sharing my book with all of you!! :)

-Allyson