A Little Help from My Friends

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

The digi world is a funny place.  Where else would you form such strong friendships with someone you’ve never actually met?  Where else could you feel pain for someone you have never even spoken to?  The wonders of the internet allow us to grow close to each other, creating strong bonds and supportive friendships, even though we may not be geographically close.  That’s pretty amazing.

I can’t tell you when I “met” La.  I know it was a while back, and I know it was because she wanted to check on me about something.  I can tell you that we quickly became friendly, and before I knew it, we were talking often on Yahoo!  It was still early in my designing career, and I remember having tons of questions.  La never hesitated to answer the questions I had, to share ideas, to help me make my products better.  More than once a kit preview got changed because La was sure it wasn’t showing off the kit the best.  She had become a friend, and a mentor.  I learned how to doodled in Illustrator from her, she taught me how to make full and useful kits, and she challenged me to always try to be better.  As all friendships do, ours has changed over time.  However, I am always thankful to know that I have a friend out there and a mentor that was always willing to help.

Now, La needs our help.  La is a single mother, and designing is her only income.  Recently, she has been hospitalized with some serious health problems leaving her unable to do a lot, including design.  I believe that the strength of our community is so powerful, that we can help La get through this difficult time.  La has helped me so much over the years, that today I am asking you to help me help her.

This past weekend, a fundraising kit was released at Sweet Shoppe Designs to benefit La.  I purchased it almost immediately, it’s truly a stunning collection of designs from designers who want to help their friend.  Unfortunately, I was unable to participate, but today I want to share this kit with you in hopes that it will inspire you to help La as well.

Here’s a layout I did with the kit:

The kit will only be available until the end of April, so please take a minute and consider purchasing it.  You’ll be helping a friend of mine, as well as making a difference in the life of someone who truly needs us right now.

Who Says – New from Sir Scrapalot Designs

Posted by Aaron aka Sir Scrapalot on Apr 15, 2011 | View Comments

I started out making this kit with a whole other theme in mind.  However, as it came together, I started to notice how girly, but powerful it was.  Soft and strong at the same time…slowly, the new Selena Gomez song “Who Says” became the theme of the kit.  This may be due to the look and feel of the kit, or the sheer fact that I have two girls who would listen to that song on repeat if they could.  Whatever the case may be, I give you “Who Says.”

My team was SO excited to have a new kit to work with, they really went above and beyond with this one.  I even scrapped with it!  Check out our layouts.

As always, “Who Says” is 20% off this weekend!  Make sure you check it out!

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!