How to Make a Dream Board Step 2

Last week I shared Step 1: Gather Supplies  
Today is Step 2: Write down your Dreams

You can start by looking through the pile of magazines and see what grabs your attention. Start cutting. Pinterest is the new Dream Board on steriods and I love the ideas there, but there is something very powerful about writing your Dreams down and also the physical process of cutting and taping your Dreams to a place where you will see them every day on something bigger than a 2.5"x3" phone screen. But if you are curious, I'll link my Pinterest Boards here.

So magazines and Pinterest are great places to stimulate your imagination and dreaming. I also provide a worksheet at my Dream Workshops that help in the process:

A supply of Slide-In Packs with inspiring quotes is another fun option

Use a sheet of paper to start brainstorming. Don't worry about time, money, skills or space at this point...just list what is important to you in this moment to be, do and/or have:

How to Make a Dream Board Step 1

Creating a Dream Board is a fun, inspiring project that will make a difference in living an intentional life. You have nothing to lose and everything to gain by getting in touch with your unique purpose through the power of a Dream Board.  

Step 1: Gather Supplies

At my Dream Workshops, I have a pile of magazines in the middle of the table.

You are also encouraged to use/bring:

photos

stickers

favorite quotes

travel brochures

catalogs

paint chip samples from the local hardware store

You can also search the internet for things that interest you and print out photos or quotes:

 ministries you want to support or be involved in

art that inspires you

places you want to travel to

people or communities or animals

or anything you want to impact for good

etc, etc, etc.

Creative Memories Mat Packs are perfect for using on a Dream Board

Some have inspiriting quotes and some have blank spaces for you to write your own dreams

For instance, this one could be used for your Dream Budget:

Lots of fun options to get the creative juices flowing....

Other supplies you will need:

a large Sheet of Cardstock

a pair of Scissors

double-sided Adhesive

If you want a less permanent Dream Board, I recommend using a Magnetic Display Board. You don't have to tape anything - just use the Magnets that come with the board (and you probably want to purchase an extra pack or two if you have lots of dreams)....this is the easiest because you can just pop your visuals up on your Dream Board magnetically and change them out quickly as inspiration hits.  

If you are a super planner/Goal Setter, you may prefer to track your goals on a monthly basis for:

Weight Loss

Fitness

Cleaning Schedule

Business Calls

Home Improvement

Meal Planning

Anything!

Excited yet? I love making these!! 
Gather your supplies and we will move on to Step 2 next week:

Ahni & Zoe business opportunity

In the next three months my company is looking for people who want to earn free product, make some extra money, earn an iPad mini and go on a girlfriend getaway to San Antonio. I would love for you to join my team of Consultants from all over the U.S.A. as we help launch this new company, Ahni & Zoe by Creative Memories.  The sky truly is the limit as we are starting fresh with a simple, fun product line and meaningful mission!

You can find out more information here on my website, under Join. No obligation. No pressure. Just see if it might be a fit for you or someone you know. Part-time or Full-time, we all get the same Enrollment Kit and we all decide how much we want to work. The more photo parties you do the more you earn. If you decide it's not for you, you can quit at any time without any obligation to continue.  

Everything in your Kit comes in a carry-all bag so you can show your products while you are out and about. This is a truly meaningful business as we help people get photos off their devices and into their lives!

Once you order your Enrollment Kit, you will have access to our Consultant-only website for training, recognition and support. You can also order your own products at a 30-40% discount! But better than that, you can start holding parties and earn your own products for FREE through our Fast Start rewards.

Our product line will grow as we grow. We are starting out small and going to be bigger and better than ever but we need your help to get the word out!  Referrals are always appreciated!

If you have any questions or would like to get credit for sending a referral my way, you may contact me at cmdonnalyn@frontier.com 

http://www.ahniandzoe.com/pws/donna/tabs/join.aspx

Creative Memories White Page Refills are Back!!

Ahni & Zoe by Creative Memories has heard you loud and clear!

Many Creative Memories customers were not able to stock up on plain Refill Pages during the Last Chance Offering. Many loyal Creative Memories customers have expressed a feeling of abandonment at the loss of plain page refills. Many of you have expressed your feelings and thoughts about this right here on this blog! I appreciate your patience during all of the changes.

Although these won't be in the new Ahni & Zoe Catalog and will not change the focus of Ahni & Zoe's mission (which is awesome by the way!!), the Plain Page Refills will be available to order through your Ahni & Zoe Consultant. (You can see them here on my personal website.) Hip, hip, hooray!!

So..."If nothing inspires you like a clean, blank space, then you found the right pages to add to your story. 12x12 photo safe sheets with Page Protectors included"  16 pages (32 sides) plus 16 Page Protectors, Photo-safe, Made in the U.S.A., $29.50

And if you already have pages, but need Page Protectors, they are also offering Page Protectors sold separately:  16 Page Protectors, Photo-safe, Made in the U.S.A., $10.50

This is such great news for so many of you who have been so sad to see a favorite product be discontinued. Personally, I am loving the new Ahni & Zoe Fast2Fabulous albums with pre-decorated pages and I encourage you to give them a try.

But if you prefer to be super creative and do your own thing, you can purchase a Fast2Fabulous Album Kit and a White Pages Bundle so you can add White Pages interspersed with the pre-decorated ones. 

Hip, Hip, Hooray and Happy Scrappin'!

Snow Day

Snowed in today...church was cancelled. So we watched Joel Osteen on TV. My Hero is outside shoveling and I decided to finish journaling our New York City album. I'm sitting by the fire with a warm cup of coffee, my Creative Memories black pen, and a stack of Page Protectors. 

Every time I finish journaling a page (using my travel journal to jog my memory), I slip on a Page Protector and call it Done! Feels good! 

Sometimes album completion can be as simple as doing one step during an unexpected snow day. You don't have to get everything out and make a big deal project out of it. Just grab a pen and journal those pages you said you would get to "Some Day."

Happy Scrappin'

DL

Winning Silver and Gold at the ADDYs

Winning Silver and Gold...and the Olympics haven't even started! Ahni & Zoe just won two gold awards and one silver at the Central Minn. American Advertising Awards competition, affectionately known at the ADDYs. The ADDYs is the industry's largest and most comprehensive creative competition, with more than 40,000 entries competing at three different levels. The Ahni & Zoe website and Fall Catalog both won gold and the 'Beautiful Life' integrated campaign won silver. 

Congratulations Ahni & Zoe!

Are Ahni & Zoe albums photo-safe?

Are Ahni & Zoe Albums photo-safe?  Yes!!

This Tent Card came in my Consultant Kit:

"CAN'T BEAT OUR QUALITY

- Our products are acid-free, lignin-free and buffered
(a dash from Donna Lyn: lignin is a substance found in tree pulp and that's what turns pages brown; buffered is kind of like putting an antacid on the pages - it protects the album from being damaged by acidic memorabilia)

- Unlike most of our competitors, our products are cellulose nitrate and PVC free to keep your photos safer, longer. 
(a dash from Donna Lyn: PVC is a chemical that is great for pipes but not so great for photo albums - it's basically like putting your photos into a chemical sandwich, not good!)

- We've set our products safety standards higher than the law demands. It's something we're proud of - like the fact that we're made in the U.S.A."
(a dash from Donna Lyn:  Made in the U.S.A. with a little Danish on the side - the Tape Runner adhesive is made in Denmark)

My first Fast2Fab Album!

I wanted to share with you my first completed Fast2Fabulous Album! I'm sooo excited!! It was so fast - I completed most of it while watching the movie Elf. Then I added some journaling and Page Protectors. (Page Protectors come with the Album - they are large sheets of photo-safe plastic that slide over your pages to protect from finger prints and photo abrasion).

All of these pages came in the album looking just like this (this is the Sunshine Getaway that was available when F2F won the Most Innovative Product Award in 2013 -- I am just now using it!) -- all I had to do was tape my photos! I can't tell you how liberating this was for me and how satisfying to get our 25th Anniversary trip into an album now so that we can all relive those memories immediately of the amazing trip our family took in November.  This is a game-changer!  Just watch my piles of "albums I want to complete" disappear this year! Yes, yes, yes!!!!

You can completely stick your photos onto the spaces where photos go our you can "color outside the lines" by sticking your photos anywhere you want on the page - it still looks GREAT!!  And by "taping" I mean please, please you want to use photo-safe, permanent tape like Tape Runner.

Notice the 2 similar poses on the page above? My Jelly-in-the-Middle daughter recreated the above photo from when she was 8 years old (our last time in Hawaii in 2006). I found the original and added it to this album so we could see the comparison side-by-side of how much she's grown! Too cute!

Again, you can stick your photos exactly where they are "supposed" to go, or you can do your own thing. Either way your album is going to look FABULOUS!!  

Be sure to add some journaling with a photo-safe pen!

I even included a map which I taped to the back inside cover.  If I want, I can add Slide-in Pocket Pages for extra photos or memorabilia. You can also tape memorabilia directly onto the pages alongside your photos...the Page Protectors will protect them from contacting your photos and the buffered, lignin-free pages won't be damaged by memorabilia.

For all the money we spent on this 25th anniversary trip, it's only the memories that we get to keep. Having this completed photo album will give us tangible memories for years to come! We have passed it all around as everyone enjoys looking at it. Plus it's just our best photos so we don't have to wade through hundreds of pictures on a screen...we can relive all our best shots in a special, simple Fast2Fabulous album!   My Review of Ahni & Zoe: LOVE IT!!!!!!!

Sweet 16 goodie bags

We are getting ready for another Sweet 16 party around here! One of the highlights of the party will be a Candy Bar so yesterday Jelly and I worked on making Treat Bags for the guests to fill from the candy buffet.  First we started with plain bags from the local party store:

I also had some "Thank You" bag tags from Packaging Specialties: 

Next I gathered cut pieces of curling ribbon and my trusty Tape Runner double-sided adhesive:

Tape the tag onto the front of the bag. Loop a piece of curing ribbon through and use the Tape Runner to just tape the curling ribbon down flat onto the front of the bag:

Super simple but the shiny ribbon adds just enough glitz to jazz up the bag!

Next we inserted a Clear Cellane C bag as a liner inside each of the paper bags. You can get the Cellane bags from Packaging Specialties.   

So super cute and now the guests will have the opportunity to fill their own Goodie Bag to take home with them after the party!

BeautifulBrides.com

Instead of "love is sweet" - I will hang a sign "Sweet 16" or just center the two-tiered Cake in the middle of the table. The cake will say "Sweet 16" on the side. We won't have this much candy at our buffet...but we will stick to the turquoise, white, silver theme as much as possible. Can't wait!!

Classic and Complete Scrapbook Style

 The first weekend in January I went on a weekend getaway scrapbooking retreat! It was in an ideal location with the Columbia River as our backdrop.  

I decided to use a Creative Memories Scrapbook with plain Spargo Refill Pages.

My basic style is this:

Cut a 3.5 x 12 inch strip of patterned paper and tape it down on both edges of the 2 page spread.  

Then I typically use about 5 photos per page, placing my photos fairly close together so that I have room for a journaling area:

Here are some of my basic 5-photos-per pay Layouts:

Extremely simple, but DONE! COMPLETE! FINI!