Lessons from the Scrapbook Page

I want to be 40!

Never thought I'd write that or even think that, but it's true. And here's why...

Pond's has partnered with the big screen remake of Mamma Mia!, starring Meryl Streep and coming to theaters this summer. (I love Meryl Streep.) Women 40 and older are invited to form a singing trio to perform their own take on the classics "Mamma Mia" or "Dancing Queen" and submit videos of their performances via the Pond's website, which also houses music and lyrics you can download to rehearse.

It's like American Idol for grown ups, but designed for amateur karaoke enthusiasts who just love the music from Mamma Mia! Add two friends and a digital camera recorder, and you're in business! The winners of the contest will win a lavish trip to London to live the life of three Dynamos at the world premiere of Mamma Mia!

The deadline for submissions is April 30th. That doesn't give you much time, but if you've got a Mac, it should be easy. You could record it in Photo Booth, edit it in iMovie and publish it in iDVD. With a lavish trip to London, it's definitely worth it!

Check out the Pond's site for more information. They have a video trailer, links to download songs from the movie, and tips for making a great video. This is your chance to shine!

A New Car in 2008

5 Minutes for Mom has raised the bar and is now giving away a NEW CAR...for your preschooler.

Today they are offering this car from their online store, Pedal Cars and Retro Collectibles. It's one of their favorite pedal cars. This AMF '65 Mustang Pedal Car is completely authentic and has been re-manufactured in 2005 using the original AMF tooling. All you have to do to sign up is visit their blog and leave a comment on the post. Good luck!

The Big Apple

Okay, I'm late again, but I really do have a good excuse reason. Here's the scoop. Last week I posted the silver Apple logo and asked everyone to guess the significance. I loved all of your answers and at least one person guessed it right.

The "real" significance of the logo is that I am now working full-time at Apple Inc. at their corporate headquarters. How cool is that? I've been there since the beginning of December and I can honestly say that every day just gets better. Cool people. Creative teams. Fantastic products.

It is a huge transition for me to go from independent business coach, speaker, and author to corporate America, but if you gotta go, Apple is the way to do it! Truly my position was tailor-made for my skills and experience. I feel tremendously blessed to be where I am right now.

So what does that mean for the future? Well, Real Women Scrap isn't going anywhere. My books are still available online and in bookstores. Real Women Scrap Packs are available at local scrapbook stores and online. Stay tuned for a huge sale coming up this weekend, just in time for the holidays! Real Women Scrap TV will continue through Season 2.

What will change? Blog postings and speaking engagements will obviously not be as frequent. Other than that, I'm going to take the last two weeks of 2007 to figure the rest out. I always think it's good to take a step back, re-evaluate your path, and chart your future course. So that's what I'm going to do. When we return in January, I'll have a clear vision about the next steps for all the dreams and wishes I've got running around in my head and heart.

Now is a good time for you to think about that too! Take a day or half day if you can and just get away to think, plan, dream and prepare. Analyze the past year. Reflect on what went well, what could have been handled differently, and successes that you had. Envision 2008 and what you'd like to see happen, attitudes you'd like to see changed, and challenges you'd like to overcome.

Most people don't ever take time to think about or write down their goals. Be different. Stand apart from the rest. Think about your goals and make the time to write them down (or type them up). Then, put them in front of you. Make a small version to put in your wallet. If you do, you'll be surprised at how your brain gets on board to help you achieve what you're thinking and dreaming about. Give it a try. It works for me!

So, now you know my story. Thanks for playing along with my guessing game last week. The winner of the drawing is Jennifer. Congratulations Jennifer. You win a Real Women Scrap T-shirt, book, and button.

Happy Holidays!

Creative Options Big Bag Giveaway Winners

First...I'll be revealing the winner and announcement from the Monday Guessing Game later today, so check back in!

And now, the winners of last week's Real Women Scrap TV Creative Options bag giveaway are...drumroll please...

Monday Guessing Game & Giveaway

It's a brisk December morning and time for a little game to warm up those minds! Can you guess the significance of the image below? Post your ideas in the comments below and I'll choose one commenter randomly to win a Real Women Scrap T-shirt, book, journal, and button! No fair playing if you already know the answer!!! You know who you are!

Thoughts, anyone? Be creative. I'll pick the winner and share the answer with you on Friday.

Drumroll Please...We've Got Some Prizes Here

It's been an amazing month and End of Summer Blog-Abration. I feel prepared and ready to head into Fall and back to school. How about you? If you were here in person, I'd ask us all to applaud our generous sponsors and great participants...80 in all! What a great group.

Here are the details:

1. Winners were chosen by random drawing on Random.org.
2. Prizes were awarded in the order they were listed on the site. With so many prizes and entries, it's virtually impossible to ensure that every prize is an exact match to your liking. If the prize isn't a good fit, please feel free to "re-gift" or share with someone else who might enjoy it more.
3. Only one prize per person.
4. Winners are listed next to the title of their prize. You should receive a note from the person sponsoring your prize to arrange shipping. If you haven't heard from them in the next day or two, please feel free to contact them or me.

Now the reward for your time and participation...lots of prizes to hand out.
HERE ARE THE WINNERS....

The Christa Taylor Shopping Spree Winner Is...

This has been an amazing month with the contest sponsorship from Christa Taylor. I know many people expressed their excitement and thanks to Christa for the modest and chic clothing line she has created. Here are some of the comments:

I absolutely love everything I chose; so many wonderful designs to choose from. I want to say a big "thank you" to the founder. I was so glad to see a line of modest clothing like this. —Rebekah

This was so much fun.. Even if I don't win, it was fun choosing up to $150 of clothes. After contest, I will visit sight again. Thanks so much. —To Know Him

Love the site, cute outfits! What a refreshing thing to see other young women that are standing against the tide and choosing Modesty!! —Heather C.

SPECIAL THANKS
Christa wanted to add a personal note of thanks and sneak peek of her Fall line to all of you as well:

What a privilege it is to witness your enthusiasm and encouragement! I am so blessed and refreshed; it makes me want to strive for excellence all the more. Thank you for sharing in this journey. I hope you all enjoy the sneak peak at our fall line, these are just the very tip of the iceberg. Our team is continually getting stronger and are looking forward to delivering a fantastic line for you all. Enjoy! - As ever, Christa

Keep reading to find out the lucky winner....

The Comment That Won It All

Last week I announced that one commenter on Episode 15 of Real Women Scrap TV would win a FREE T-shirt. We've got the same contest happening this week too! If you weren't chosen this time, tune in again and leave a comment.

And the winner is....Monica. This was her comment about last week's show.

I bought some 10 cent notebooks for back to school for the kids. I think I will snag one and decorate it with my scrapbook stuff. I will attempt to do this assignment. It sounds great!

Way to go Monica. We can all find those 10 cent notebooks and experiment with them. Congrats! Maybe we'll start doing this every week!

New Prize Announcement for the Blogabration

We've had a few late entries added to the prizes for the End of Summer Blog-Abration. If you haven't signed up yet, you have TWO MORE DAYS! Tell your friends and join the fun. There are loads of goodies to be had.

NEW PRIZE #1
Kelley Clayton, has offered a gift set from Cookie Lee Jewelry worth $60.00. You can see all of her fabulous jewelry on her website. Kelley is a wonderful woman I worked with at the Mother's Club Bazaar earlier this year.

NEW PRIZE #2
Sarah Hodsdon, artiste-extraordinaire, has generously added a personalized tea set to the list of prizes. This set will be created especially for you in whatever theme your heart desires. If you haven't seen Sarah's art, you'll want to check it out. She designs for too many companies to count and has her art published in nearly every creative magazine around.

Remind your friends and blog readers to ENTER TODAY. Time is running out, but the prizes aren't. If you need instructions for entering, read this post.

Good luck!

technorati tags: sarah_hodsdon, altered_art, cookie_lee, Blog-Abration, blog, contest, freebies

Win a Basket of Books and an 8GB iPod Nano

It's finally here...Camy Tang's new book and huge new contest that will last from now until October 31st, 2007! She is giving away THREE baskets of books AND an 8 GB iPod Nano!

1st place winner will receive a copy of Sushi for One?, a basket of books by other Christian authors, and an 8 GB iPod Nano.

2nd and 3rd place winner will receive a copy of Sushi for One?, a basket of books by other Christian authors, and a 1 GB iPod Shuffle.

20 Honorable Mentions will each receive a copy of Sushi for One? and a $10 Amazon gift certificate.

Join her newsletter, enter her contest and have a chance to win books and ipods! And don't forget to tell her I referred you! Enter Now.

technorati tags: Camy_Tang, Sushi_for_One, Blog, Giveaway, Contest, Free_iPod