The latest from Guest Designer Jen Cairns ...

Wow! It’s happened! 2011 is over – and 2012 has begun! What a year it has been too. I don’t know how your last 12 months have been – ours have been “interesting”. We’ve moved to a new country, started new jobs, and done the regular stuff too. See, life isn’t just about the big moments, it’s about the routine ones too – and stopping long enough to enjoy those moments is important. I realize this especially as, once again, I didn’t complete the digi scrap projects I had planned for Christmas gifts, as once again I felt like life was spent dashing from one thing to the next. I am determined that this year, I will stop every now and then to capture the memories we make every day. But more about that in justa minute.First things first, today is the first day of the Blog Train Blog. But wait you say, you just had one last month! Yes, we did, but we’re starting a new one today as well! I hope you enjoy it:If you’ve been following the train you’ve come from: Designs by Angel http://scrappingwithangel.blogspot.comNext stop: designs by krista http://designsbykrista.net/blog/Complete list: http://www.blogtrainblog.blogspot.comNow on to the very very exciting stuff!Okay – announcement #1 – I’m having a big sale at all my stores all month long! Yeppers – 40% off all January – this is because I’m one of the Funky Playground Designs January Playgroup designers! And I only thought it fair to share the discount with everyone!So, starting right now, all my stores (exc. collabs) are 40% off!Personal Store | Funky Playground Designs | Digi Scraps Drive In | The Studio (CU) | The Studio (PU)But it wouldn’t be right to have “just a sale” – there need to be new goodies and treats too, right?! Of course! And I’ve got them for you!First of all is the January Playgroup releases! We chose to go with a family theme – after all most of us scrap about our family – whether you define family as biologically related, living under one roof, living under many roofs, friends, and fur babies – they all count. Family is so important to all of us and we wanted to help you scrap your family moments. These kits are exclusive to Funky Playground Designs for the month of January.Quality Time Kit (includes free-with-purchase freebies from all four of the Playgroup Designers):Quality Time Add on Alphas:Quality Time Add on Papers:Quality Time Add on Wordy Bits:Quality Time Bundle (includes free-with-purchase freebies from all four of the Playgroup Designers):Next up, is a P52 Collection. I have decided to close my old forum (Digi Scrap School) because I wanted to focus more on an ongoing project for the whole of 2012! And so, I have created a forum for us called “The Journey”. Each week, you will be provided with a journaling prompt to help you thoughtfully scrap your way through 2012. Please note, using my products is not required, however, each month’s Collection will be perfectly suited to scrap your way through the project and will help you having a coordinating project at the end of the year. The palettes for all the Collection will work together so that you can mix and match pieces through the year as new collections are released. For every layout you complete keeping in line with the prompt and using my products (any products, not just the specific Collection), you will receive an entry into a draw at the end of each month; at the end of each month, there will be 2 $10 coupon winners.Each month, the Collection will be released as a grab bag for the first week, and then as a bundle, and the individual parts after the first week, still at a great price. This month, you can grab all 5 products for just $5 – but only until Thursday, 5PM EST. After that the grab bag will be deactivated.So – in other words – you do not want to miss out!Here is the Grab Bag preview:Personal Store | Funky Playground Designs | The Studio | Digi Scraps Drive InAnd here is a closer look at each portion:And here is a link to The Journey forum where you can find this week’s journaling prompt: THE JOURNEY FORUMLast but definitely not least, because of the family time that took up the last part of December, I’ve decided not to unpack my December Template Grab Bag until this Thursday, so if you didn’t grab it yet, now is your final time!Personal Store | Funky Playground Designs | The Studio – PU | The Studio – CU | Digi Scraps Drive InI look forward to traveling through 2012 with you all – and hope you participate with me in this journey!

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