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!

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.

Something Special is Coming Tomorrow…

Posted by Aaron aka Sir Scrapalot on Apr 14, 2011 | View Comments

I’ve been working hard on something for you guys, and it’s going to make it’s debut tomorrow.  Instead of a traditional “Sneak Peek” I thought I’d show you some inspiration and what I put together using it.  Let me preface this by saying, Selena Gomez (Alex Russo as Keira calls her) is HUGE in my house.  My girls love absolutely EVERYTHING she does.  This song is really good, though.  I find it stuck in my head all the time, and it’s a great message.  And, it’s my inspiration this week.

Now that you’ve seen my inspiration, I wanted to show you what I put together with the kit.  A huge thanks to Zinnias and Swallowtails for the awesome template.

Check back tomorrow to see just what I have up my sleeve!

My Favorite Android Apps

Posted by Aaron aka Sir Scrapalot on Apr 13, 2011 | View Comments

I got my Android phone last summer, and I remember how angry I was when I heard that Verizon would be offering the iPhone in 6 short months.  I had wanted an iPhone for ages, and now I had just passed up my chance to get one.  Funny thing is, by the time the iPhone from Verizon came out, I was in love with my Android.  I’ve seen a lot of blog posts about “favorite iPhone apps,” but today, I wanted to put together a list of my favorite Android apps.  I’ve linked them all to the Amazon App Store or the Android Market for easy purchasing.

Angry Birds – is there anyone that isn’t into Angry Birds at this point?  The best time waster, and most obsessive game I have…if you don’t have it yet, get it now.

Google Reader – I live by my Google Reader on my computer, and I love being able to have it with me on the go.  It’s great for when I’m at school or between meetings.

HootSuite – another staple on my laptop, having HootSuite with me on the go lets me check my Twitter, Facebook, and Fan Page all in one app with ease.

Double Twist – Double Twist syncs with my iTunes and lets me take my music on the go with me.  Great for playing the music in the car!

Ebay – I have started really using Ebay again, as I’ve started collecting Disney Vinylmation Figures.  The Ebay app keeps me on top of the items I am bidding on, and lets me know right away when I’ve been outbid.

Swype – Swype turns my Android keyboard into a super cool and easy key board that I can use by dragging my fingers to the letters of the word I want to spell.  I didn’t think I’d like it, but I’ll tell you…I don’t like when I have to actually type.  Maybe they can make a Swype keyboard for my laptop?

Touch Calendar – Until Google releases a Google Calendar app, Touch Calendar is the next best thing.  I love how it syncs and operates.

Taskos – same with this..until Google releases a Tasks app, Taskos does the job.  My favorite feature, when I put calling someone as a task, I can link up their phone number to call right from the list.

Where’s My Droid? – How many times have you lost your phone when it’s on vibrate?  Your automatic response is to call it, but it’s on vibrate and you may never hear it.  With this app, you can text Where’s My Droid to your phone, and it will turn sound back on, and start ringing.  Winning.

A Day in the Life of Sir Scrapalot

Posted by Aaron aka Sir Scrapalot on Apr 12, 2011 | View Comments

I write a lot about time management, mainly because it’s one of my greatest struggles.  Juggling a young family, a full time career, and Sir Scrapalot Designs is hardly easy, and I am always looking for ways to save time and get things done in a more efficient manner.  Often times, like today, I don’t get to sit down and engage in the internet until early evening, and spend a good amount of time playing catch up.  Ever wonder what my typical day looks like?  Today I’m going to share with you one day out of my crazy life.

• 5:00 am – Up and on the treadmill.  This is something that I’ve really just started doing again, but it’s getting my day off to a great start.
• 5:30 am – Showering and getting dressed for the day.
• 6:00 am –  Breakfast, a quick email check to delete or deal with anything that can be done quickly.  If I’m lucky, I get a chance to scan     my Google Reader and see what’s going on.
• 6:30 am – Help get everyone else ready to leave, get things together for the day, make coffees for my wife and I.
• 7:00 am – Departure.  We all load into the car, and head down to drop me off at school.
• 7:15 am – At school (what a commute!).  I check my mail, and then head to my room to get it set up for the day before my friends arrive.
• 7:30 am – Morning Meeting in my classroom (actually, this is just my friends gathering to chat and get ready for the day)
• 8:00 am – School Starts – My first class starts at 8:15, and my second class starts at 9:30.
• 10:45 am – Prep and planning period.  This is usually for meetings, time to work with my grade level co-teachers, or plan upcoming lessons.
• 12:00 pm – Lunch.  Another meeting in my room, during which my friends and I all try to talk, eat lunch, and check our phones for messages.
• 12:20 pm – Third Class begins.  Yup, you read that right.  I have a 20 minute lunch.  It’s not so bad since I have prep and planning right before, but the other teachers truly have 20 minutes to eat.  And that’s on a good day.
• 1:40 pm – Last class of the day.
• 2:52 pm – Dismissal.  Otherwise known as “my favorite time of day.”
• 3:00 pm – Office Hours, Extra Help, and After School.  If it’s a down day, I have a little time to check in on the internet and see what’s going on.
• 4:30 pm – Leave School.  Run to the grocery store, and return home to get dinner started.
• 5:15 pm – Dinner.  Discussions about what happened during our days, what we’re looking forward to tomorrow, and general conversation.
• 5:45 pm – Family Time.  Watching TV Shows, going for a walk, playing Barbies…whatever else the little ladies want me to do.  I also do the things that I’ll need to get done for the morning like ironing and packing my bag.  Occasionally, I get a little time to catch the news or start hopping online.
• 7:00 pm – Online Time begins.  The girls are usually in bed, and I can get started with the stuff that I need to get done.  Some nights, I am great about this time, and I’m really productive.  Other times, I sit here starting at the same websites, getting absolutely nothing done.
• 8:00 pm – TV/Online Time.  I have a few shows that I watch religiously, so usually around 8:00 is when I watch them and work, or I leave the computer and just watch TV.
• 9:00 pm – Back to the computer to wrap up whatever I’ve been working on for the night.  I usually try to get the things that I need to get done the following day together, and do another round of checking in before I head off to bed.
• 10:00 pm – Bed.  I usually read a little bit before bed, but if I’m really tired, the reading is usually short lived.  After that it’s lights out, and sleep until the next day starts again!

One thing I want to work on is making my night time online time more productive.  In a day, this is usually the only extended time I have online, so I need to make sure I am really making use of it.  While this is important, I also want to make sure I am taking time to do the things I want to do, like watching TV shows, and not spending all my time working.  And so, the battle rages on…maybe one day I’ll learn how to balance my time and get stuff done!

What does your day look like?  Let us know in the comments!