Alright! Our long-awaited day has arrived, and here is the official announcement for the new class at JessicaSprague.com! Are you ready!? Here it is!

Interested?

Yeah. I thought so. ;)

So here’s the backstory.

A few weeks ago, I was sitting down looking through my albums. They’re disorganized. They’re out of order. There are photography tags and shipping labels on the page protectors. Not user friendly at all. As I was flipping through the pages, I realized that I have spent a lot of time on the pages that are there. And I’m proud of them, don’t get me wrong. But there are so many other stories I have to tell, and want to tell. So many stories for which I didn’t have a picture, or the picture wasn’t good enough, or I ran out of time and went on to something else, or whatever other reason kept me from telling it.

I actually asked myself as I looked through my albums, “If I disappear tomorrow, and this is all there is, is that enough?” And I’ve been haunted by the answer to that question.

This experience was part of a process I’ve been going through this summer, while I’ve been working on other projects, traveling and teaching (photo editing, digital scrapbooking, etc). I’ve been realizing that for me, there needs to be a way to capture little stories that can either be made into scrapbook pages, or not. There needs to be a way to fill in those gaps for which there might not be a full-blown 2-page spread that took me 4 hours. But that is a story worth telling nonetheless.

For example, I’ve never told the story of how my beautiful bridesmaid and her fiance and my wedding photographer all gathered together at my wedding reception, produced guitars and a bongo drum, literally out of nowhere, and played us a set of love songs. A story worth telling? You better believe it. And this might otherwise go unscrapped, because of course I have no photos of it.

We all have stories like that. Everyone. And I’m here to tell you that what you have to say matters, whether it makes it onto a scrapbook page or not. Whether you took a picture of it or not.

So I began devising a system. For capturing the stuff that lives in between the Big Events that we tend to scrap more often. For recording the little things that make life rich and fulfilling and unique. I am really excited about it. I hope that this new system will give me a lot of freedom to spend time on the projects I want to spend time on, without stressing that stories are going untold otherwise. AND, most importantly, that it will gives me Stories in Hand when I am ready to pick a new project to work on.

So are you ready to gather some stories, so you can have them in hand?

In class, we will learn:

• Techniques for capturing memories from our own lives and from others
• Dozens of prompts for stories you might have forgotten
• A cool system for capturing the stories happening in your life right now, AND for listing the stories you have yet to tell
  
• Printable goodies that will make your “capture” system work, AND keep it cute! (you know we gotta keep it cute - there’s nothing in life that’s not better with a great design)
• “Next steps” video tutorials for turning your stories into pages
  
• Technologies you can use to help you gather your stories together with photos, video, your blog, or any other media you have that gives a peek into your life

Oh yeah, by the way, this class is COMPLETELY FREE.

All you need to do to register is follow the links that will appear here, on the home page at JessicaSprague.com, and in the email I’ll send to everyone on my newsletter list on October 20, and type in the code we’ll give you. You’ll be added to the class group and have FREE unlimited access to the class materials. Everyone who is interested will be IN. There is no class limit.

So, why? Why THIS class? And WHY FREE?

Partly it’s because I feel strongly about the concept here. I think starting from stories is a unique approach that is independent of the actual means we use to capture them (for example, I have a good friend who is WAY into video - you’ll be meeting him in a few months - and he has captured all his stories on film and DVD. Amazing.). I think that’s a powerful way to connect with other people and begin capturing, collecting, and sharing stories.

“There was this one time when I …” Doesn’t that sound awesome? I can’t wait! I LOVE stories. And I am anxious to work right alongside everyone in class to list and catalog some of my own stories that would otherwise have gone untold.

And the other part is this. I want you to see what the JessicaSprague.com learning experience is like. There’s never been a better opportunity to check out what the videos are like, to participate in a private class message board, and to have access to top-of-the-line class materials than the Stories in Hand class.

So consider this my invitation to you.

Come on in, and tell some stories. Make a cute project. Change your life.

Registration begins at midnight eastern on Monday, October 20. Links will go live, codes will go out, and you can register yourself for FREE!

And now, here’s the part where I need your help. Would you help me spread the word? Feel free to download the flyer above and post on your blog, send to friends and family, shoot it around the world! You don’t have to be a scrapbooker, just a person with stories to tell.

You can also grab this blog badge, perfectly sized to fit on your blog sidebar:

I think at the heart of it, we’re all storytellers. We feel the call, the responsibility, to record and remember, to savor and to save, and that’s what I hope this class will be about.

So tell me, are you in?:D

I have really enjoyed your guesses! HEHE!

And I am surprised how close some of you are. It is really cool to see what you’re hoping to see, too. That is another post, because I am sincerely interested in what you want to learn. How we can improve the menu of classes we offer, and fulfill our mission to help bring technology into the life-storytelling and memory keeping process.

As for me, I arrived at JFK yesterday and watched closely as we drove an hour into a totally other state! I grew up in Idaho, you’ll remember, and driving an hour in any direction only ended you up in the middle of someone’s farm or in the middle of the mountains. We DID live about 2 1/2 hours from Jackson Hole, Wyoming, but seriously? To be able to take a day trip to like 7 other states is mind-boggling to me. And to live in one state and work in another? Crazy.

I taught a class at Momento in Milford, CT last night, and it was great. It’s SO MUCH FUN to introduce scrapbookers to the power of including some computer tricks into their scrapping process. It was awesome to meet Anne, who is a “Beta Girl” from way back in my very first online class from last year - thanks Anne! :D It’s great to be there with beginners, too - to see the light go on as things start to come together, to make them promise that they will always do their own black-and-white photo conversion from now on, and never let Wal-mart do it for them again, and most importantly, to see the confidence level go up. It is awesome. I love how empowring the experience of learning Photoshop can be.

Today I am teaching an Introduction to Photoshop class at the Creative Photography Retreat here in Stamford, and I’m looking forward to more of the same goodness (on a MUCH larger scale - this class might be HUGE, but it’ll be ok), meeting some scrapbookers, and starting the par-tay that is a CK event. :D I’ll let you know how it goes… Then some photo editing action on Friday and Saturday (EIGHT 90-minute classes over two days! Whew!), and then we’re off to NYC, I can’t wait!

So.

I am REALLY excited for the big announcement tomorrow. I think it’ll be huge!

Ready for another hint?

Let’s see.. we already know:

• This class is for ALL skill levels - even non-scrappers!
• But (and this will be veddy veddy interesting) it’s perfect even if you’re a seasoned digital scrapbooker
  
• This class is a perfect opportunity, if you haven’t taken a class at JessicaSprague.com, to come check the place out
• This class includes printable goodness

• capture
• catalog
• past & present
• everyone welcome

p.s. Keep guessing in the post from yesterday - let’s increase the prizes to 7, just to keep it interesting! And just so you know, there were some very close guesses!

Have an awesome day!

But this week, I’m feeling so good. 

Sneakie Peek

I feel SO good, in fact, that I wanted to give you a sneakie peek of what’s coming in the Big Announcement on Friday:

That’s all there is for now! Hehe. But at least you know which week to set aside in your schedule, right? And now we can let the debate rage about what exactly all the other stuff is in this picture. Can you guess it? Shall I give a prize to the first 3 people who DO guess it? Yes. I will!

Okay, here are a couple more hints on the brand new class:

• This class is for ALL skill levels - even non-scrappers!
• But (and this will be veddy veddy interesting) it’s perfect even if you’re a seasoned digital scrapbooker
  
• This class is a perfect opportunity, if you haven’t taken a class at JessicaSprague.com, to come check the place out
• This class includes printable goodness

Oh yeah! Shoes!

I will post a pic of my own as soon as I can - Fluevog is going to have a hard time topping the complete and utter perfection that is the Zaza (which, if you read on their web site, was actually part of their Open Source Shoe project - so awesome). Seriously, though. They are comfy enough to stand in all day (just like all the ones in this series), and cool enough to get compliments on them every time I wear them. Oh, and the GREEN! And three buttons! Holy cow, man. Per.Fec.Tion. I truly think I don’t need to buy another pair of shoes as long as I live.

But who am I kidding, right? Seriously.

I am going along fine, and then I fall into a work related (ahem.. big secret project) hole for a few days. Sorry about that. The good news? I’m 90% done. I feel like I weigh about 1000 pounds less than I did last week.

In reality, I probably weigh 10 MORE pounds than I did when I started this project, what with all the hours spent chewing nameless and unnoticed calories at my computer while I worked. With the occasional real meal with actual silverware thrown in to remind me what eating is supposed to be like. And the severe deficit of real exercise, aside from tickle wars and chasing kids up the ladder of the playset (which is no small thing, but I’m just sayin’ - it ain’t no 30 minutes on a treadmill).

I just need to say, I am REALLY GLAD to have reached this point. The finishing-up-loose-end-tying point, rather than the oh-crap-the-mountain-is-HOW-high? point. Which is where I was 2 weeks ago.

Also, it’s fall.

It’s roughly the same temperature outside as September was, but there’s something different in the air. A certain goldenness to the light. We’ve been spending more time outside. Lighting the firepit every Friday and inviting everyone who wants to, to come by for a marshmallow or two.

Last Friday, we even tried roasting pineapple chunks over the firepit.

Smoky.

Wouldn’t really recommend.

But it was so awesome to swap stories and let the wood smoke permeate our clothes. Life is just BETTER when there’s a fire going, don’t you think?

For me, blogging is a habit that it’s easy to fall out of. It’s easy to start navel-staring, to open the blog and sit at the empty screen and that little voice in my head that has defeated me too many times starts saying, you don’t have anything to say.

We all have that voice, right? It’s not just “Jessica hearing voices again?” That voice that critiques and criticizes and makes judgment calls on our self-worth. That voice that it is so absolutely necessary to silence if we’re ever to produce anything creative or close to heart.

And you know, I find that when I think less and do more, just DO, in trust of myself and my ability, the voice goes quiet. And that applies to blogging, and to photography, and to scrapbooking, and to every creative pursuit. 

And of course, every now and then, the voice wins. When I’m weakened through tiredness and I was looking for excuses anyway, the voice sounds completely rational, right? You don’t have anything to say anyway. 

Of course, procrastination is inherent in my nature and something that I have to fight against all the time, so maybe this is the voice of my laziness coming through? :P

How many times have you heard The Little Voice when you are trying to create? What do you do to silence it?

Also:

I have been listening to Pandora for awhile now, but they recently implemented specific stations, and I’m currently rockin to the Brazilian station. Happy, mellow, guitar-infused. Awesome. :D And the Portuguese is like its own music on top of the music. Oh, and I just learned they have an app for my iPhone! Yeah!

What do you listen to or watch while you’re scrapping?

And did you have a good weekend? Any fire-roasted pineapple or similar .. ahem.. experiments?

Oh, and there are prizes! Head to her blog to leave a comment and get a chance to win. :D

or follow them on Facebook, or on Twitter

They have hit Nebraska now! Say hello if they pass by your house! :D

We go eat at the Subway

Rowen:

• ham and cheese with nothing on it - woe be unto the person who puts ickies like mayonnaise or tomatoes or (*gasp*) pickles on anything you put in front of Rowen to eat…
  
• yogurt - strawberry
  
• juice box - fruit punch
  

• ham and cheese with only olives and lettuce - that’s right! Olives. Lettuce.
  
• yogurt - also strawberry
• chocolate milk

So after the lunch date, I was squealing about how CUTE Rowen’s new hair is (a little stacked in the back, short bangs) and she asked me to take a picture of her cute new hair. You WANT me to take a picture of you? Clearly I am slacking in my motherly and scrapbookerly responsibility to shove the camera in your face so often you take one look and run the other way…

So of course I immediately said yes. She started regretting it about 20 photos in. ;) But she’s beautiful. What can I say except I’m completely smitten? She has evolved into an outgoing, loving, independent, beautiful 4.5 year old right before my eyes.

Can you believe this big girl? I mean, look at that face!

When I went to pick her up from preschool today, she ran over to me with several leaves in her hands and said, “Look mama! I found some signs of fall!” Then she collected more from the yard:

And then Elliott and I played a chasing game, where I would pretend to be walking away from him while he climbed up the playhouse and slid down the slide, and then he’d come RAAAAR chasing after me and I would run and scream (and snap pictures):

  until he caught me. 

And p.s. for the mamas who have small ones that can grab you around the backs of your knees - this “pose” is awesome. Let them snuggle on your legs and then point your camera down, and say, “Look up at me!” and when they do - snap it. ;) I have probably 6 amazing pictures from various times in Ele’s life that are this same view from above.

And I was reminded today that I need more running and chasing and picking up leaves in my life. And I’m glad I had the camera on the kitchen counter (even if it’s gone unused for more than a week - I know - it’s BAD), so I could head out with the kids to capture the newly shorn locks and some daily, ordinary cuteness. :D

So do you have a hair-cutting ritual? Or other “going-out” rituals you do with your kids?

Out of the 161 responses received before 9 p.m. Friday, I have two winners, generated from Random.org. :D

143: Lindsan

99: JenaRN

Send me your addresses, ladies, and I’ll get the books out to you! You’ll love these books from PerAnnum.

2009 6x8 Adaptable Planner:

MyBook Adaptable Journal 6x8

Thank you to everyone for your comments. I think that Lindsan and Jena are representative of what so many said, and it was awesome to read! 

Don’t forget that I’ll be announcing a brand new class on October 10. Stay tuned. It’s gonna rock. :D

Remember how I was talking about the stories the other day?

I have a couple of stories for you. ;)

The first one is the tale of a girl who loved telling the stories of her life with Photoshop and pictures and ribbon and chipboard and words. And she loved teaching OTHER people Photoshop, too. She wrote a couple of magazines, that had some awesome BONUS online content.

But then! The company she worked for changed web sites. Everything got wonky, and the girl was bombarded (seriously) by emails from loyal readers wondering WHAT.THE.HECK happened to their free downloads already? Where were the video tutorials that she had lovingly and painstakingly handcrafted for EACH and EVERY month of 2008?

http://abc123.sewnews.com/content/viewissue/86/45

The girl realized that although slightly funky, this address works, which is the most important thing anyway, and thanks to Ana, they all lived happily ever after. 

Oh wait! One more thing!

The September 2008 video tutorial and free scalloped circle download is a lot of fun! I’m just sayin…