CHA Generosity and the Power of Giving

Wow... I am a little nervous. I was asked by Scrapbook Royalty's dear founder, Elena Etcheverry, to be a guest blogger!!! Please don't be disappointed since you don't know me, because I have plenty of exciting news to share!
First I should introduce myself. My name is Alane Davis and I am the Chair of the Duluth, MN affiliate of the Young Survival Coalition. "Huh?" you say. Well the Young Survival Coalition (YSC to it's friends) is the only international non-profit organization focused on the unique issues facing young women with breast cancer. (Okay, that's not the official mission statement, I shrunk it down so I didn't lose you.) But, you get the gist. I myself am a breast cancer survivor. I was diagnosed nine years ago at the age of 31. Like most of the women who are part of the YSC, I was mistakenly told that I was "too young for breast cancer". The YSC exists to educate the public that this is not true. The YSC also exists to provide various support, educational, outreach, and advocacy programs on behalf of young breast cancer survivors. Please, please, please check out the YSC at the website www.youngsurvival.org . Once you are there, pretty PLEASE sign up as a supporter. You will not be required to do anything. No money is exchanged. You will not be harassed with phone calls from annoying telemarketers. You will merely be adding your support to an organization that needs to throw its weight around to be noticed, and we can use the extra pounds!!!
Okay, enough of that stuff or Elena will seriously regret giving me the freedom to post on this blog! On to the good stuff: in order to raise money for our YSC affiliate, we are organizing a Crop for a Cure during October which is breast cancer awareness month. (For more info visit our Crop blog at http://duluthcrop4acure.blogspot.com . Scrapbook Royalty helped us put on our Crop last year and it was a huge success! This year Elena very generously sent me and three other volunteers to CHA, the Craft and Hobby Association Trade Show (for those of you who are not scrapaholics like myself and don't know the lingo). At CHA we represented Scrapbook Royalty and all of the fabulous work Elena does and we asked for donations for our Crop. We made a lot of awesome contacts, got very little sleep, and had the time of our lives. To a crafter, CHA is literally a wonderland of creative genius. All of the major manufacturers have booths that are like Broadway sets. They all have fabulous artwork made especially for CHA by their uber-creative design teams. The manufacturers are unveiling their newest products for all of the buyers so we definitely got the scoop on what's in store! Many of the manufacturers have make and takes and demonstrations going, and a lot of them are giving away free goodies! We tried our best not to get too greedy and stayed on task. (That's right, Elena, we only did a few make and takes, I promise!) The hardest part for us was seeing all of the new exciting stuff and not being able to buy it! If I didn't know the products would show up on our local store's shelves, being there would have been total torture!
Just a few of the highlights were: meeting Stacy Julian, meeting Ali Edwards, meeting the entire editorial board of Simple Scrapbooks magazine (!), and schmoozing with Tim Holtz. (Yes, that's right, I said, Tim Holtz!) We were absolutely stunned when after a loooong day of driving to our hotel we decided to go to the bar for a beer. Lo and behold, who was sitting at a table full of people having dinner? The grunge-board-distress ink-man himself! It was unbelievably cool!
We spoke to as many vendors as we could over the three days of the show. Many of them gave us donations to bring back with us, and many others gave us promises that they would send something afterwards. Here is a partial list of the companies that gave us products to bring home with us: 3M, Tim Holtz Ideaology, All My Memories, Alvin & Co., American Crafts, Around the Block, Basic Grey, Colorbok, Creative Options, Cropper Hopper, Die Cuts With A View, Doodlebug, Glue Dots, Glue Arts, Hambly, Imaginisce, Jenni Bowlin, Kaisercraft, Melissa Frances, Sculpey, Pentel of America, Queen & Co., Quick Quotes, Quik Kutz, Tattered Angels, Unity Stamp Co., and more! We were absolutely stunned by the generosity of all of these companies. By and large the people that we spoke with were kind, supportive, and eager to help. One company's representative went so far as to track us down in order to give us more donations! I still can't believe it!
After two and a half hours spent transporting the donations to the parking garage and loading them into an SUV and a minivan, we started the long trip home. It was a whirlwind experience full of tears, laughter, and wonderful connections. It was so very heartwarming to know that individuals throughout the country believe in what we are doing.
Thank you, Elena, for all of your hard work and for the opportunity to represent Scrapbook Royalty. It was a life altering experience: one that proves that one person can truly make a big difference.

Only 4 More Days...

...to get your entries for Black White & Scrap All Over's Album Contest in!! Just email your entry to scrapbookryalty@yahoo.com and we'll put it up in the slideshow above. Please keep it in gif or jpeg format please. Why should you enter? Up for grabs are $50 gift cards form each store on the Black White & Scrap All Over tour!! And you can win more than one...winners will be announced in August. Thursday is the deadline so get your entry in now!

ConvenZioNE here we come!

This is an excerpt from Elena's blog:

My new position with ZNE- yep, I took on another job.

And… I am officially the new “We Care Coordinator” for ZNE. She wrote about me here! That means that I will be coordinating all of their philanthropic efforts and I will be reaching a whole new audience of altered artists! This is such a great opportunity for growing SBR and I am so happy that they asked me to do this.

I will be traveling to ConvenZioNE in Pleasanton, CA August 22nd-24th with Miss Vicky from Cut-it-up, Diva Danielle from Diva Craft Lounge Radio Show, Jackie B from The Art In You and Jan Mollet Evans crafter extraordinaire!

I'll be coordinating a silent auction on Saturday night to benefit A Place to Bark, and I'll also have a table during the vendor fair on Sunday that benefits Pink Sky Project.

ZNE Convenzione is a full event weekend with group meals, activities, workshops, and more. And here's the wonderful thing - when you register for the event, if you mention "SCRAPBOOK ROYALTY" on the registration form where it asks "How did you hear about ConvenZioNE?" then YOU will recieve a $10 refund back on the registration fees - AND Scrapbook Royalty will recieve a $25 donation too!

So check it out… There are some amazing artists that are going to be there. A couple of the ones I know from scrapbooking are Claudine Helmuth, I love love love her stuff, and Candice Carpenter, a local designer that I also admire very much. Hope you can come!

--- Elena

Kokuyo is Now a Sponsor!

Kokuyo is donating tape runners for the attendees of the Crop Out Autism on September 13, 2008! So don't miss out!! These are their brand new Tape N Roller Plus rollers that retail for about $10!

Happiness & Charity

Elena, Scrapbook Royalty's Founder, recently sent out an email asking for volunteers to help Scrapbook Royalty keep doing our charitable work through our love of scrapbooking and papercrafts. Last night, I was reading my trusty Reader's Digest in bed and happened upon an article about happiness (Pg 163 of the July 2008 issue). You can read the article online HERE.

The author found five things in life that can predict people's happiness. Source #4 = Charity.

Here are some excerpts from the story that I found particularly interesting:

"We’ve all heard that money doesn’t buy happiness, and that’s certainly true. But there is one way to get it: Give money away.

The evidence is clear that gifts to charitable organizations and other worthy causes bring substantial life satisfaction to the givers. If you want $50 in authentic happiness today, just donate it to a favorite charity.

People who give money to charity are 43 percent more likely than nongivers to say they’re very happy. Volunteers are 42 percent more likely to be very happy than nonvolunteers. It doesn’t matter whether the gifts of money go to churches or symphony orchestras; religious giving and secular giving leave people equally happy, and far happier than people who don’t give. Even donating blood, an especially personal kind of giving, improves our attitude.

In essence, the more people give, the happier they get."

How fitting?! Elena, myself, and the SBR committee, as well as anyone who volunteers and/or donates are really familiar with the joy we get from giving our time, money, and hearts to help others. It really is a source of happiness for us! If you want to know how to get happy by volunteering or giving, please leave a comment here or contact us through our website. And thanks again to everyone who has given and continues to give to help us help others. It's all about the charity here!

Pierce Family Crop Raises Over $4200!

The event was a huge success. The final totals are not in yet but so far we have raised about $4200 for the Pierce Family!

At the event we crowned 4 new Queens:

Queen of Sweets- Karen B. for her delicious homemade Cupcake Truffles! They were de-lish! and so cute!

Queen of Crafts- Jannell for her beautiful handmade bracelet and earrings.

Queen of Silent Auctions- Karen N. for being extremely generous with her bidding!

and Queen of Philanthropy went to Candice McLean for coming to us to help her put on this amazing event.

Special thanks to Ever After Scrapbooks for letting us use their crop area and for donating a percent of the entire day's sales!

We will be hosting the Silent Auction at Ever After's Survivor Crop this year! It is going to be so fun! We have a couple more seats at our table if you want to join us!

Crop This SATURDAY -- Don't Miss Out!

On July 12th, 10 AM TILL 10 PM we will be hosting the Invisible Children Crop, taking place in Redondo Beach, CA, to benefit the Invisible Children organization.

In the spring of 2003, three young filmmakers traveled to Africa in search of a story. What started out as a filmmaking adventure transformed into much more when these boys from Southern California discovered a tragedy that disgusted and inspired them, a tragedy where children are both the weapons and the victims. Please don't miss this opportunity to be a part of bettering the quality of life for the children of Uganda. For your registration fee you will also get a copy of the Rough Cut DVD ($20.00 value).

The minimum donation has been lowered to $50!!

WE STILL HAVE ROOM AND THE PRIZES AND AUCTIONS ARE AMAZING! If YOU CANNOT ATTEND ALL DAY, AT LEAST STOP BY IN THE MORNING TO CHECK OUT THE AUCTIONS WHICH ARE OPEN TO THE PUBLIC! PLACE YOUR BIDS TO SUPPORT THIS VERY WORTHY CAUSE!

For more information about this event and to participate, please click on this link.

Crop Out Autism!

To raise money for autism research, Diva Danielle Forsgren of Diva Craft Lounge Radio has formed Team Diva, which will participate in “Walk Now for Autism". Join Scrapbook Royalty along with Diva Danielle of the Diva Craft Lounge Radio Show and Jan Mullet-Evans of Pentel for a fabulous event to raise money for Autism Speaks, an organization who's goal it is to change the future for all who struggle with autism spectrum disorders. Taking place on September 13 in Escondido, CA is sure to be fabulous and fun!

Crop Out Autism Early Sign up Bonus!
The first 25 people to sign up by July 31st will receive a set of 3 Pentel Arts’ Outline Markers! Retail Value $12. You must pay for event within 10 days to qualify for the bonus.

Sign up for this event by clicking on this link!

Who Won This Fabulous Page Kit?

Jean E.

won this All Moments Remembered kit!! Congrats and enjoy this gorgeous kit! Thank you so much to everyone who support the Tyree family by participating in this raffle!!

Winner of the Big Shot is....

Debby S!!!

You've just won a brand new pink and Black Sizzix Big Shot in our raffle for charity!! Congratualtions!! And thanks for supporting our efforts to help the Tyree Family!

And The Winners Are...

Congratulations to These Raffle Winners!!

Suzzette Johnson- The Loft

Becky Parsons-Its About Time...Scrapbooks & More

Allison Hollywood- A Page in Time

Marie Cartmill- Auntie Amy's Scrap & Stamp

Jennifer Priest- Now and Then Scrapbooks

During our Black, White, and Scrap All Over event charity-minded scrappers traveled to scrapbook stores Murrieta, Menifee, and Riverside, CA. At each store they earned a raffle ticket for coming to the store, for each $10 purchase they made during the month, and for completing a "Black & White" themed make n take in the store. Each store then assembled an awesome gift basket of scrapping goodies to raffle off. Auntie Amy's, the bouns store, raffled off a $100 gift certificate!

Congrats again ladies and have fun with your wonderful gifts! And also, Scrapbook Royalty thanks each of the stores for their generous contributions to our charity and for making our Black White and Scrap All Over event a success!

P.S. Check out the albums scrappers created during the event in the slideshow above. During July we're holding an album decorating contest in which each store is giving a $50 gift certificate to each winner, one winner per store!!

Four Chances to WIN BIG (and support charity at the same time)

There are some great raffles going on right now and the first one is free!

Two of these raffles were supposed to end today, but since we're a bit late getting this email out, Elena will draw tomorrow afternoon so you have one extra day to get your answers in and buy tickets!

First: (free)

Go to www.ScrapbookRoyalty.com and click on the link to watch our television debut! Then email the answer to the following trivia question: " What is Elena's favorite quote from The Donald?" to info@scrapbookroyalty.com and we will enter you to win an assortment of goodies from Bazzill!

Second:

We are raffling off a Pink and Black Big Shot $90 value and a Kit from All Moments Remembered $42 value. Tickets are $5 each or 5 for $20 (buy 4 get one free!!)
100% of the money we raise through this raffle will be donated to the Tyree family in the form of a gift card to Albertson's. Click here to buy tickets

Third:

If you participated in the Black White and Scrap all over Event, today was the last day to visit stores. Hopefully you were able to make it. We got tons of emails from participants who has a great time! Tomorrow the stores will draw for their raffle and we will post the winners on the website and blog. Then you have till the end of July to complete your mini book by adding your own flair, photos, and one more color if you like. Please email us up to 10 photos of your book. Please do not send us full sized files. 640x480 is ideal. If you are scanning, check your settings, if you are taking photos, set your size to 0.3 mega pixels. The photos are being posted on the blog and the first week of August, the stores will each be choosing a winner to receive a $50 gift card. You can win more than once!

Fourth: (free)

Go to our blog and read some great summer tips from MommyDocs.com a website with Practical Pediatric informaition for Moms by Moms (and Doctors). Leave us a comment and we will choose someone to win a cool beach bag with sunscreen, bug spray and more! (contest ends July 31st)

Summer Safety Giveaway

We are teaming up with MommyDocs.com to bring you these important summer safety tips. MommyDocs.com is a website with Practical Pediatric informaition for Moms by Moms (and Doctors). If you leave us a comment here, we will choose someone to win a cool beach bag with sunscreen, bug spray and more! (contest ends July 31st)

• Have a Sun Protection Strategy: The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends sunscreen with a minimum Sun Protection Factor (SPF) of 15. Look for products that provide "broad spectrum" coverage to protect against both UVA and UVB rays. Use this sunscreen routine with your child--daily application 30 minutes before going outside and reapplication every 2 hours (or sooner if swimming, toweling off, or sweating). Creating a routine will establish good habits for the future. In addition, don't forget a wide brim hat, sunglasses with 99-100% UVA/UVB protection, and sun protective clothing.
• Keep Pests off Your Little One: In the summer, many insects can bite or sting your child. For pesky mosquitoes and ticks, consider a DEET containing insect repellant. Apply sparingly to exposed skin (avoid backs of hands and around the eyes and mouth) and/or to clothing once a day. As the percentage of DEET goes up, the duration of action increases. To prevent unnecessary exposure, always use the lowest percentage that will last for the planned length of time spent outdoors. Never go above 30% or use on children under 2 months old.
  
• Keep the Pool Cool and Clean: Small yard pools provide a great way for kids to have fun and cool down when the temperature rises, but they can also harbor germs, such as bacteria. To keep the pool free from unwanted "swimmers," after each use disinfect it with bleach by cleaning with a solution of ¾ cup regular bleach to one gallon of water, then rinse well and dry thoroughly. Safety must: Always supervise children regardless of age when they are around any water; whether it's a bucket, a small backyard plastic pool, or the local community pool.
• High Heat Means Hydrate: Excessive heat exposure may cause your child to experience a heat-related illness such as heat cramps, heat exhaustion, or even heat stroke. How to prevent this: take breaks in the shade, avoid playing outside during peak sun exposure hours, and drink, drink, drink! Make sure your child is taking in plenty of fluids before he become thirsty.
• Rid Rashes and Relieve Itchies: Running through the yard in bare feet, taking a nature walk on a trail, and picnicing in the park are some of the joys of warmer weather. But all of this outdoor activity can expose your child to a host of plants including those which cause poison ivy, poison oak or poison sumac. If an allergic reaction occurs, ask the pediatrician about an oral antihistamine and/or a topical skin care product such as a steroid cream or calamine. If the rash is extensive, looks infected, or is not getting better, call your doctor right away.

All safety tips can also be found on MommyDocs.com.

Crop this Saturday + Crop to benefit Invisible Children

On July 12th, we will be hosting the Invisible Children Crop, taking place in Redondo Beach, CA, to benefit the Invisible Children organization.

n the spring of 2003, three young filmmakers traveled to Africa in search of a story. What started out as a filmmaking adventure transformed into much more when these boys from Southern California discovered a tragedy that disgusted and inspired them, a tragedy where children are both the weapons and the victims. Please don't miss this opportunity to be a part of bettering the quality of life for the children of Uganda. For your registration fee you will also get a copy of the Rough Cut DVD ($20.00 value).

For more information about this event and to participate, please click on this link.

Help a military family and do a Leah Fung Make and Take!

On June 28th we will be hosting the Pierce Family Crop, sponsored by and taking place at Ever After Scrapbooks in Carlsbad. YOU DO NOT NEED TO BE A REGISTERED PARTICIPANT TO HELP! JOIN US FOR THE MAKE AND TAKE AND SILENT AUCTION. WE WILL BE ENDING THE AUCTIONS IN GROUP FROM 1 PM TILL 5PM. Gunne Sargent Troy Pierce USMC Ret. served his country and the US Marine Corps for 22 years with his lovely wife Jana always by his side. Upon his retirement from the Corps, Troy began experiencing severe symptoms of a digestive disorder. Eight agonizing months later, Troy was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. He immediately underwent surgery to remove a malignant tumor and than began a long regime of chemotherapy and radiation. After two years of fighting pancreatic cancer, Troy passed away on April 7, 2008. We would like to help the Pierce family, especially Jana, with the costly medical expenses that she is now burdened with. Any contribution you can offer to help the family is graciously appreciated. Don't miss these special appearances... The fabulous Emily Falconbridge will be at the event with a very special painting demo from 10 to 11 She will be making a canvas that she will be donating for us to auction off! Leah Fung will be doing a make n' take from 2 to 3 for a small donation with Making Memories product. She is limited in the number of kits she has to stop by early and sign up! While you are there, check out the silent auctions that are open to the public. We will also be raffling off a Canvas by Ali Edwards (click here to see photos of the canvas on our blog...scroll down) AND the one and only Candice McLean will be offering the following Freedom Banner class! All this while you help a Military family in need. Register now! To register and to sign up for this event, please click on this link.

Scrapbook Royalty Committee Hits the Road!

Several weeks ago, almost all of the Scrapbook Royalty committee members, along with a few committee-members-to-be, went on a road trip to all the stores participanting in the Black White & Scrap event! We had a wonderful time. Elena, Rachel, Lori, Birgitte, Debbie, Gloria, Julie, Liz, little ones Isabella, Emily and Lexi and myself all piled into two SUVs to make the trip! There were no wrong turns this time, but lots of chit chatter along the way, and of course, a couple of Starbucks stops! All of us dressed in, you guessed it, black & white! Except for me, I cheated a little, but I promise that my pants were almost black! We followed almost the same route as last time. We started at It's About Time, then went to A Page In Time where we covered ourselves in glitter from the make n' take and also browsed through all the wonderful Petaloo selection, then headed to Auntie Amy's and admired all the wonderful things to make "altered art". We then went to The Loft, Scrapbooks & More, and finished off our trip at Now & Then. We were all very tired at the end of the day, but managed to keep the giggles going! It's not too late to participate!! There are ten whole days left in June, which means ten days to make it to the stores. All stores are offering crop passes and also will give raffle tickets just for showing up! You have to be a registered participant, however... you can still sign up by clicking here! If you've already gotten your make n' takes from all the stores, we'd love to see pictures of your book! In fact, each store will choose one book as their favorite! In order to participate, add ONE color to your book, decorate it as you wish, and send us pictures to info@ScrapbookRoyalty.com. We will announce the winner shortly after the end of Black White & Scrap. We also would love to hear tales and see pictures from your Black White & Scrap adventures! Send them to us at info@ScrapbookRoyalty.com. If you didn't receive your crop pass at a certain store, you can simply call that store to sign up for a crop and mention that you were part of Black White & Scrap. Unfortunately Scrapbooks & More is now closed! If you did not get the chance to pick up your make n' take from Scrapbooks & More, The Loft will be holding them for you. If you have already gone to The Loft and will be unable to return to pick it up, please send us an email to let us know and we will have it sent to you. For more general info about the event, please visit our webpage. Thank you for participating!! ------Melanie