Last New Release Ever! A Collab with Ruby Lane

Posted by Aaron aka Sir Scrapalot on Apr 22, 2011 | View Comments

Well, for my very last kit, I have a collab I’ve been working on with Ruby Lane over at FPD.  It’s not part of the Retirement Sale, but you should check it out as it’s super fun!!

Here are some layouts my incredible CT girls did, for the very last time!

Also, don’t forget most of my store is still on sale for 60% off!!  Make sure you check that out before all of those products say goodbye for good!

Making Motion – A Book Review

Posted by Aaron aka Sir Scrapalot on Apr 21, 2011 | View Comments

I was excited when I got my copy of Tara Gentile’s ebook Making Motion: 7 Steps for Doing More With Your Creative Life (affiliate link).  It’s a great book about taking your creative life and moving it into the forefront of everything you do.  The book talks a lot about moving past that initial starting point and getting started.  Tara has been a leader in the education and empowerment of DIY and creative entrepreneurs with her website taragentile.com and thecreativeempire.net.

I was looking forward to reading her thoughts on getting moving, and I was not disappointed.  There are many ideas in the book that I put into place just minutes after reading them.  I especially liked how Tara talked about your creative desires may very well be part of your essential needs, and we may just be ignoring them.  The 7 steps outlined in the book really guide the reader through the process of identifying your needs, making them into goals, and then taking action to realize those goals.  Part practical, part inspirational this ebook definitely got me thinking about where I stood creatively, and how that could fit into my essential needs.  It also gave me the much needed push to get some things in motion and start realizing my goals.  I recommend this book for any of us out there that are trying to really build a business around our creative outlets, however, it’s got great ideas on how to get yourself moving and creative for everyone.

Today at Simple Scrapper

Posted by Aaron aka Sir Scrapalot on Apr 20, 2011 | View Comments

Did you catch my post at Simple Scrapper today?  It’s all about budgeting your time and scheduling your week.  I’m experimenting with some new ideas, and would love to share them with you.  If you haven’t checked out the blog post, please head over to Simple Scrapper to see it!

9 Chrome Extensions to Keep You WINNING!

Posted by Aaron aka Sir Scrapalot on Apr 19, 2011 | View Comments

Google Chrome is arguably the best browser out there right now.  I switched to Chrome as my main browser a little over a year ago, and can’t even imagine going back.  When I have to use IE or Firefox for something, I feel Fred Flintstone, powering the car with my own two feet.  It wasn’t until recently that I really started to explore the world of Google Chrome Extensions, and what they could do for my browsing experience.  Here are the 9 Chrome Extensions that are keeping me WINNING!

1. Google Calendar (by Google) – I love having access to my calendar right in my address bar.  Plus, on certain pages where there are events, you can add the event automatically to your calendar.
2. Google Tasks – Basic and neat, again I love having access to my task list on any page I may be on.  It’s easy to add tasks, mark them as done, and sort them.  It’s become an essential part of my workflow.
3. New Tab to Tasks – Sets it up so that when you open a new tab, the default page is your tasks list.  Great way to keep those tasks in front of your eyes all the time!
4. Mail Checker Plus for Google Mail – Alerts you to when you have new mail in your inbox, lets you read the new mail, delete it, archive it, in fact, you can perform most basic email tasks right from the email pop up.  This saves me from constantly checking my email page.
5. RSS Subscription Extension (By Google) – This extension automatically detects when you are on a page with a feed you could follow, and the button pops up so that you can easily subscribe to the feed.  Awesome.
6. Tab Menu – Have you ever noticed, that when you have a lot of tabs open, they shrink down and you can’t read what they are to find the one you need?  Tab Menu takes care of that by showing all of your open tabs in a drop down menu.
7. Calculator – Ok, so this one is just because I’m lazy.  I love having a calculator right in my address bar though…it’s so much easier than having to find it in the start menu.
8. Awesome Screenshot: Capture and Annotate – I’ve used a lot of different screenshot programs, but this one is awesome in that you can annotate your screenshot right there.  It’s great for sharing on the fly, or for preparing screenshots for tutorials and blog posts.
9. Stay Focused – With Stay Focused, you can limit the amount of time you spend on time wasting websites, and this extension will actually block you out of them when your time is up.  I love this for sites like Pinterest, because I could literally spend a whole day there.

Are you using Chrome Extensions to enhance your web experience?  What ones do you rely on?  Let us know in the comments below!

An Important Announcement: I’m Retiring

Posted by Aaron aka Sir Scrapalot on Apr 18, 2011 | View Comments

I bet you’re surprised.  It’s kind of weird for me to write it, but to be honest, I’ve thought about writing it for a while now.  I’ve made the decision to retire from designing.  As of April 30th, my designs will no longer be available anywhere.  It’s all going.

You might be wondering why.  Well there are a few reasons, but they all circle around the same idea.  When I looked back on the last year, I saw many successes that excited me.  Over the last year Sir Scrapalot Designs has gained almost 2,000 Facebook Fans.  I’ve been given the opportunity to teach for Masterful Scrapbook Design, guest post at both The Daily Digi and Simple Scrapper, and participate in The Digi Show podcast not once, but three times.  Through Facebook and Twitter, I’ve been able to connect with so many other digi people…some who I never thought I’d know (um..like Katie Pertiet!).  I’ve expanded the blog to include topics that people are interested in like social media, time management, and digi scrapping.  When I looked back at the last year…these were the things that stood out to me as successes.  Notice anything missing?  I did.  It was designing.  The truth is, designing had become one of my least favorite things to do.  At times, I just felt that my heart wasn’t in it anymore.  I needed change.

So change I will.  This marks the end of my design career, but not the end of Sir Scrapalot.  I will still be blogging, scrapping, and even teaching.  Some incredible opportunities have come my way, even since I started telling people of my decision earlier today.  I am so very excited to be able to share with you the things that I’ve got coming up.  Keep your eye out for a new website, and a new Fan Page very soon.

What would a retirement be without a retirement sale?  To say thank you, I’ve set up a pretty sweet retirement sale.  Remember, this is the end of the road for these products.  If you see something you like, grab it before it’s too late.

I could not have made it the past 3+ years without the support, friendship, and loyalty of the entire digi community.  I am grateful everyday that I have “fans” who want to hear what I have to say.  While some things are going to change, Sir Scrapalot will still be here to help every scrapbooker “shop. learn. connect. grow” like always.  I hope that you’ll come along for this new adventure with me.