My First Blog Hop and a Contest!

I read a lot of really cool blogs, including those of my Creative Team members. Many of these talented gals are on Design Teams for stamping companies or challenge blogs, or any number of creative/crafty places that hold regular blog hops. I must confess that I have never actually participated in a blog hop. However, I think it is a great way to get some inspiration and see some beautiful blogs!

Behold! You are witnessing the very first Kelleigh Ratzlaff Designs Creative Team Blog Hop! (Yes, its a long name, but then it is much better than “Michael Scott’s Dunder Mifflin Scranton Meredith Palmer Memorial Celebrity Rabies Awareness Pro-Am Fun Run Race For The Cure.” Anyone out there watch The Office?)

Anywho!

Here is my lovely contribution to the blog hop! I chose to create a project with my new favorite template, the Top-Heavy Box. The gals on my CT have joked about the name of the template, but the design is SO stinkin’ cute that I hope you can forgive me for such a hokey name.

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I love this orange ribbon! It was actually off of a vase of roses Mitch gave me for Valentines Day. Such pretty ribbon! And, the digital paper is from Artsy Papers One by Roben-Marie Designs (The Digichick). It was just begging me to print it! I also used Say it in Crystals by Prima, and a button from . . . maybe my black coat? I don’t remember.

top

I wanted to show you something! Check out how I “fasten” my projects. I used to use glue dots, but I have discovered velcro. I bought it in the craft section of Walmart. This stuff is see-through on the “hook” side and white on the “loop” side. It is perfect for little gifty projects like this where the package is a gift in itself! You can hardly see it!

inside

Okay, now onto the contest!!

Would you like to win a $10 Gift Certificate to Kelleigh Ratzlaff Designs? If so, go check out all of the Creative Team Member’s projects, leaving some love along the way, then head back over to THIS blog and leave a comment for me. Tell me which project you liked the best, or which project you can see yourself doing next.

Want another chance to win? Twitter about this blog hop and leave another comment on my blog! Facebook it, and leave another comment for another chance! I will pick a random winner by this Friday evening. The more comments you leave me, the better your chances of winning!
Okay, now go check out these amazingly creative ladies!!
Tracy
Julee
Julie
Juli
Christy
Dana
Sunghee

AND, don’t forget that ALL of my templates are 30% off this month! This is a great opportunity to stock up!!

FIVE New Releases! AND, 30% off!

It has been a HUGE week at The Digichick. We have a new look, new designers and about a bajillion new products. Everyone has unpacked their August Grab Bags, so if you are not the grab bag type, you can see everything individually. And, since we are nuts, a lot of designers are also releasing some brand new items! It is crazy. It is huge.

And me? Well, I said I was going to slow down. I told my creative team not to expect anything new from me for a few weeks . . . and then I got all inspired and created two brand new template sets!

FIRST, let me show you the items from my grab bag that are now released as individual products:

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And, the NEW releases! First up is a Cookie Wrap Template in two shapes. You just pop your cookies in a baggie and put this adorable wrapper on it and now it looks fancy! You can impress your son’s new teacher . . .
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Creative Team member Jen Tapler created these little samples for me. Aren’t they cute?! She’s so talented! Jen told me that my all-paper-all-the-time gals would probably like some pieces that are a teeny bit smaller than the actual template so they can glue them on the front (like she did in the boyish sample). So, I added those just for my paper-crazy customers! What you get: These two templates in layered psd, individual png and lines only pdf files. The pdf files come in 2-up versions (so you can create two wrappers at a time) and a sheet of fronts. Man, that is hard to explain. Basically, I didn’t want you to waste any paper, so I made it so that you could easily create two cookie wraps at a time. Nice, eh? (If you’ve purchased my templates before, you may have noticed that I do that A LOT for my sticky-fingered-friends who are not inclined to break out their digital stash!)

AND, check out this Match Box Template!
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Dana Gustafson made the MOST adorable samples with this template! Oh, and I have to tell you about Dana. Did you know that she doesn’t own Photoshop? She doesn’t have a clue. She does ALL of her creative team work using Microsoft Word. Huh? I really don’t know how she does it, but Dana actually uses Word to open and create with digital papers. She actually MADE the patterned paper you see in this sample with Word. My brain just exploded. Take a second and digest that. How in the world does she do it? (Now, I’m clueless.) What I’m telling you is this: You don’t need digital scrapbooking software to use my templates. If you have a computer and a printer, you can use my templates. You don’t even have to get all fancy-schmancy with Microsoft Word! Just open up the pdf version and print it out. Easy-peasy!

SO, hop on over to MY SHOP at The Digichick to check out the new look and do a little shopping! Everything in the entire store (EVERYTHING!!) is 30% off right now. You don’t want to miss it!

Site update at The Digichick, a SALE, a giveaway and MORE!!

2009-09-01_1615I’m so excited to see the new look at The Digichick! It’s VERY different from other online stores in the digital community, which is SO much fun! It’s still being tweaked, but the work in progress is still very beautiful! Go check it out!

AND, while you are there, it’s time to go shopping! Everything in the store is 30% off! Including ALL of my templates. Every. Last. One. Seriously, you need to stock up!!

OH, and there is a little giveaway going on here in THIS thread, plus a little sneak peek at my new releases. Click it. You know you wanna.

Finally, I’m working on a painting project! I think I need another 3 coats, and I have to wait 24 hours between coats . . . but I might just fudge and show you what I’m working on! I need my big, strong husband’s help to hang it, though. Maybe I can get him to hang the item tonight and then I can show you pictures tomorrow. Eeek! You are going to LOVE it. Well, I love it, so you have to, also. At the very least, you will be thrilled to see what I bought for ONE dollar at a garage sale. $1. Yep. Eeeek!! Come back tomorrow to check it out!

A Dinosaur Party!

Check out this amazing new collaboration between Elise Hansen and Kelleigh Ratzlaff available at The Digichick!!

It’s a Dinosaur Birthday!

Your little guy will be thrilled when he sees the birthday treats we have in store for his special day! A dinosaur birthday hat, a party favor bag, a cupcake pick AND a cool dinosaur invitation and thank you! Everything is ready to personalize and print!

The invitation and thank you are both designed to fit inside a standard sized envelope, so no hunting around for a special size. And, EVERYTHING is designed to be printed on your standard printer on 8.5×11 paper or uploaded to your favorite photo processor.

Man, I wish I had this party pack when my son had his dino party!
You lucky mamas!

And, when the party is over, you can scrap your memories with the matching kit!! It’s a perfectly coordinated birthday!

Need a little help? Then hold onto your seats because we have an AWESOME free with purchase mini album created by Tracy, and a brag book mini created by Rosanne! Purchase the Full Party Pack and get your albums for FREE! (We’ll send you the links!) This offer is good for the first two weeks only, so if you have a dino party coming up, then grab the Party Pack ASAP!

(all images are linked!)

A Butterfly Birthday

I’m SO excited to show you guys the new collaboration project I’ve been working on with Elise Hansen available at The Digichick!

It’s a Butterfly Birthday!

Your little girl will be thrilled when she sees the birthday treats we have in store for her special day! A butterfly birthday hat, a pretty party favor bag, a cupcake pick AND a pretty butterfly invitation and thank you! Everything is ready to personalize and print!

The invitation and thank you are both designed to fit inside a standard sized envelope, so no hunting around for a special size. And, EVERYTHING is designed to be printed on your standard printer on 8.5×11 paper or uploaded to your favorite photo processor.

And, when the party is over, you can scrap your memories with the matching kit!! It’s a perfectly coordinated birthday!

Need a little help? Then hold onto your seats because we have an AWESOME free with purchase mini album created by Tracy, and a brag book mini created by Rosanne! Purchase the Full Party Pack and get your albums for FREE! (We’ll send you the links!) This offer is good for the first two weeks only, so if you have a butterfly party coming up, then grab the Party Pack ASAP!

(all images are linked!)

The Top Heavy Box (another peek at the August Grab Bag!)

Nope, I don’t have a new release this week, but I DO have a little bit of creative eye candy for you! I’ve been working a lot on some fun collabs lately. This one is going to be available as part of a charity collaboration with Miss Tiina and a slew of big name designers at the beginning of September. I’ll link you up when it goes in her store!

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I used the Fancy Bag template (small version), the Top Heavy Box (large) which is part of my Grab Bag, and the Triangle Tube (small).

Don’t you just love that Top Heavy Box? Wanna see more? Check out what Julee posted on her blog today! SO pretty!

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And, Tracy made this one! I love the bright colors!!

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Look what Dana did with this same template! SO creative. (She also made a card to go along with it that has been picked up for publication by Cards Magazine! Yay, Dana!!)

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Julie created this adorable gift and leads you through the steps in her post at The Hybrid Chick.

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And, I just love Jacinda’s project!! She made the box in both sizes and added handles! CUTE.

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You can pick up the Top Heavy Box and TWO other hybrid templates for a super-low price as part of the August Grab Bag! After that, I’ll be splitting them up and adding them to my store at full price. Don’t miss out!

Hate Grab Bags? Check it out:

THREE new releases! Check it out!

The truth is that I had only planned to release two new freestyle albums (previously only available at Jen Wilson Designs), but my Creative Team members whined and begged for some pencil holders, and you know you have to keep your CT happy!

Introducing The Boy Freestyle Album Template Set. You saw my little tutorial about putting this one together, so you know how EASY it is to create a gorgeous mini album using standard 4×6 photo paper and some “found” chipboard. Try it out!

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Do you have a little princess? Then The Princess Freestyle Album Template Set is for you!

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And, finally, the one my Creative Team gals begged for, The Pencil Box Collection. Check out the Headline post for some gorgeous projects my gals created this week (as soon as I can get it up there)! Apparently they LOVED my Pencil Box Collection!

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They are all 20% off today, so grab ’em while they’re hot! (Click on the previews to be taken to my store!)

Visit My Peeps!

I’m trying something new to generate traffic to my blog and my shop, and I’m super excited about it! You see, I have to figure out where to put my advertising dollars. It’s kind of difficult to determine where to market. I’m in the digital scrapbooking industry, however my templates REALLY appeal to papercrafters. Unfortunately, I can’t even begin to afford the advertising prices at some of the big papercrafting sites that I adore. So, I’m trying to break into the blogger advertiser thing. You know how you sometimes see little blinkies and ads on people’s blogs? Well, I’ve found the BEST blogs by clicking on those ads, and oftentimes they lead me to super cool shops (like etsy shops!). You could waste spend some serious time clicking around on blogs. Talk about inspiration!!

I recently joined Chic Chicks, a group of women (mostly moms) who have blogs or stores and are trying to bring in a little extra money for their families. It’s a really great group of women, and I’ve had a lot of fun clicking on the little links in the widget on my sidebar. Again, you could spend tons of time! Go ahead to visit my peeps! (Especially Today’s Creative Blog {I heart this blog and have been subscribed for months!}, Skip To My Lou {Hello! You are gonna die when you see her creativity!}, Tip Junkie {She actually blogged about one of my templates last week! I about peed my pants!}, and The Secret Is In The Sauce {Which, I admit, is new to me. However I’m gonna need to spend some time over there, because it looks like a really cool site!}.

If you want to promote me a little, you can wear my cool little blinkin’ ad that I just put up on my sidebar on YOUR blog! I’m SO excited that I (capital I) created that little thing! So, if you are interested, just right click and grab the code! (Copy image location, then link to this blog!)

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Also, feel free to blog about me, ESPECIALLY if you use one of my templates on a project. Every once in a while I Google myself and I find some super cool projects using my templates on people’s blogs, and I wonder why they didn’t show me. Sad. I LOVE to see your projects. It makes my DAY. It really does! AND, if you show off your project on your blog, you might as well link to my blog and shop. Just sayin’. I might just send you a little RAK for your good deed! (If you link to my blog, then I will be able to see it in my blog stats, so I can find you easily!)

And, as always, thank you faithful readers (Hi Mom!) for making me feel good by reading my stuff and buying my stuff and stuff like that. Love you guys!