A favorite holiday tradition when I was growing up was the creating of the Christmas wish list. As soon as the Sears, JCPenney and Montgomery Wards “Wish Book” catalogs started arriving in our mailbox, my brother, sister and I would steal every possible moment poring over the pages and marking the many, many items we had hopes of finding under the tree on Christmas morning.

In addition to circling items, folding down catalog corners and stuffing the books with sticky notes and paper bookmarks, mom always had another way for us to share our lists and that was a big sheet of paper on the refrigerator. She usually would decorate it up with some kind of holiday theme and create a box for each of us where we could list our wishes for all to see. For some reason … which still happens to this day … my list was always the longest. I guess you could call that greedy, but I prefer to think of it as offering many “options.” LOL.

Regardless, my choice for today’s Layout of the Week immediately reminded me of this favorite part of the holidays.

"Top 10 Wishlists" by eryn

I love everything about “Top 10 Wishlists” by Eryn, from the fun clustered tags with the kids’ wish list items to those big, happy, smiling faces. The whole page is fun and whimsical and somewhat non-traditional for a holiday page. I also enjoyed reading the lists, especially since there are some fun activities, like “go on an adventure parachuting” and “play golf with Daddy” mixed among the toys and other desired items.

You will find this page in our gallery, but this one is located in a very special category. Eryn is one of our Calendar Girls and she created this page in response to one of the weekly challenges posed in our December 2009 edition of the Memory Logbook. This page is posted in the Sample Layouts gallery for that book and only registered Book Club members are able to access that gallery. Anyone who purchases any of the Memory Logbooks and then registers for our Book Club gains access, so be sure to check into that option if you haven’t done so already.

If you haven’t picked up (or downloaded) a logbook yet, now is a great time to do so. December is just around the corner and we are anxious to get the ball rolling and start logging our memories in our logbooks. We are still offering our special deal … if you purchase the downloadable version of the Memory Logbook 2010 directly from our on-site store, you will receive the December 2009 edition for free. Of course, print versions of both books are also available in our Lulu bookstore.

As long as we’re talking about wish lists, be sure to check back tomorrow when we’ll be offering a fun way for you to share your Log Your Memory wish lists with friends and family. We will also be announcing a new product in our bookstore that has been requested by several new friends & fans of Log Your Memory. And then on December 5th, we’ll be announcing yet another fun list-related product, as well as a month-long scrapbooking challenge.

I don’t know about you, but it almost makes me WISH it was December already!

Click on “comment” below to share your thoughts…

… and counting!

It’s hard to believe but the Log Your Memory site has already been live for four weeks! It’s been a great first month and I’m looking forward to kicking off the New Year with lots of new friends!

A few highlights from the first four weeks …

• We’ve welcomed more than 250 new members to the site, plus several guests that haven’t taken that final step and registered yet.

• The Scrapbooker’s All-In-One Memory Logbook is now available from three locations – you can purchase all three versions in our Lulu bookstore HERE. (Be sure to use current coupon code: GREATBOOK to get 10% off). The perfect-bound version is also now listed on Amazon.com. And the Print-It-Yourself downloadable PDF version is now available directly through our Web site HERE.

• The Memory Logbook will be making an appearance at its first trade show this weekend at the Creating Keepsakes Convention in Seattle, thanks to our new friends at Dixie Pieces.

• We have more than 70 members on our Facebook Fan Site.

• We have already given away FOUR FREE copies of the Memory Logbook to lucky winners at ScrapScene and participants in our Grand Opening SPOOKtacular… with more to be given away this month at various locations around the Web. (Pssst…. Fans of Ali Edwards take note… be sure you don’t miss this weekend’s giveaway post!!)

• We’ve introduced the first two members of our first Creative Team … with 10 more to be announced in the next few weeks.

• We are almost a week into our first online workshop and the participants are busy creating some amazingly meaningful gifts for their loved ones. Here’s what one participant had to say this morning …

I want to thank you for a wonderful class. I’m having a blast and have decided to work in parallel for a calendar for my husband too!!! And one for my 2 year old, dated for year 2020, so she can know how I’ve been influenced by her until now.  This is a wonderful opportunity to document life!!! Thanks again!

It’s not too late to join them if you don’t mind playing just a bit of catch up…

• We’ve featured almost 50 amazing & inspiring examples of “real life” scrapbook pages found in galleries around the Web in our weekly Wednesday Story Board feature.

• Members have shared almost 400 beautiful scrapbook pages and left more than 750 comments in our Layout Gallery, including this cool “likes & dislikes” page by interstitchal.

"Likes/Hates" by interstitchal

It’s wonderful to see so many new friends that embrace the “real life” philosophy of scrapbooking. Here’s to a great first month … and we’re looking forward to many more!!!

It’s time already to wrap up our Grand Opening SPOOKtacular! These last three days have just flown by … and thanks to all of YOU, it really has been a lot of fun! I hope you feel the same way…

Here are a few little tidbits to give you a better picture of what’s been going on this weekend…

• Every participant has had the opportunity to download 238 MB of scrapbooking freebies.

• At last count, more than 80 new members have registered in our Community Forum since the celebration began … and the number keeps growing.

• We have given away 3 Memory Logbooks, 1 mousepad, 6 magnets and 4 free passes to our first online workshop – The Gift of the Year: 2010.

• We’ve welcomed several new Book Club members & workshop participants.

• Scrappers have been busy creating pages for our two layout challenges … you can see their creations HERE and HERE.

• We’ve completed three fun Halloween-related polls. Check out the results of the today’s voting HERE.

I hope you’ll take a few minutes to browse the Community Forum & the Layout Gallery … there’s lot of very entertaining & inspirational material there to read & see. Pages like this, for example…

"Love My Siblings" by ltarbox

and this…

"An Angel and a Shark" by pennynoel

I promised you one last treat before wrapping up the weekend … and HERE it is. This little goodie is compliments of sponsor Kris Myers Design and although it is the last of the treats we’re giving out this weekend, I think you’ll agree it was worth the wait. Kris was even nice enough to share this layout to jump-start your creativity…

Please be sure to take a few minutes and leave a nice thank you to Kris for providing this fun freebie. You can do that HERE.

I would also love for you to take a few minutes to leave me some feedback about this weekend’s celebration & the site overall. My goal is to make this a place that busy scrapbookers of all ages, locations, backgrounds & experience levels really enjoy and want to visit often… your feedback – both positive and otherwise – will help me do that. Feel free to leave me a comment HERE or if you prefer, via the Contact Us page.

One last little reminder … Don’t forget to set your clocks BACK one hour at midnight tonight for Daylight Savings Time!

And …. Happy Halloween!!!

Ready for some new “real life” inspiration? Check out these great examples I found in our neighboring galleries this past week …

"Special Moments Together" by Nzingha

“Special moments don’t occur only on special occasions…”  I couldn’t have said it better myself, which is why I wanted to share “Special Moments Together” by Nzingha. It’s such a pretty reminder of the importance of capturing everyday moments in addition to the more obvious “big” ones.

"Favorite Place" by kresta

“Favorite Place” by kresta is another great example of documenting the little things that make life special. A great photo, a short paragraph and a very appealing, simple design is all it took to save this memory for a lifetime.

"Love" by bexy

The gorgeous colors & beautiful black and white photo drew me in to “Love” by bexy. Her journaling to her daughter in which she describes how becoming a mother made her feel “whole” was the icing on the cake. Love this page.

"me: defined" by sahlink

I can relate to so many things in “me: defined” by sahlink. I love that she described so many of her characteristics, interests and feelings on this page, including her insecurities and weaknesses. I love that she let the kids take the photos and I can totally relate to normally being the person behind the camera. I just really like this page … and wanted to keep it around to remind me that I’d like to do one similar for myself some day.

"Sky's the Limit" by sahlink

I wouldn’t normally include two layouts by the same designer in one Story Board, but I just couldn’t pass up the chance to share this other layout by sahlink. “Sky’s the Limit” is the story of how her daughter worked so hard for a goal and accomplished it, but it’s also a story of how mom felt throughout the process and her own advice & wishes for her daughter. Someday when her daughter has kids of her own, this kind of insight will surely be especially meaningful for them all.

"Art Gallery" by Karah

“Art Gallery” by Karah is a clever telling of a very creative little guy who invited his family in for a showing of his artwork. I love how mom captured the artwork within this layout, as well as the story. Everything about the design is simply perfect – from the framing to the extraction of her son to the clever way she makes you feel you are actually standing in the room. Love it.

"Superwoman" by LauraLiz

What mom hasn’t felt the intense need to be “Superwoman” for her family, yet had to eventually admit that it’s an unrealistic expectation? LauraLiz describes her feelings very well in this wonderfully designed page – and provides a great example of a pretty layout that very effectively tells an important story, even without a single photo.

"Busy Boy" by jenniferfox

Kids everywhere would be jealous to see “Busy Boy” by jenniferfox, the tale of a mom missing the one-on-one time with her now very busy school-aged son so much that they played hooky for a day and did a ton of fun bonding. Though I doubt this little guy will forget the day anytime soon, this page will always remind him. Plus, the journaling shares mom’s view of the day in a way that will likely give him a new perspective on parenting later on.

"Read Me a Story" by QuiltyMom

I had to giggle reading the conversation-style journaling on “Read Me a Story” by QuiltyMom because it reminds me of similar situations in my own home. Love how the way she wrote this sounds so much like what she probably hears on a regular basis… someday when the kids are grown, this will really help recapture the feeling and essence of this time in their lives.

"Girls' Rules" by rmcabana

This layout by rmcabana just jumped out at me because it’s so playful & cute. I like that she captures such an ordinary, everyday occurrence as a child wanting to play by her own rules in such great style. “Girls’ Rules” definitely landed in my “to scrap-lift someday” file.

"Tea Time" by interstitchal

Interstitchal’s “Tea Time” is another great slice of everyday life. There’s not really any journaling and just one photo, yet the page tells a lot about a piece of this person’s life. I’m a huge fan of brown & pink together, too, not to mention skeleton keys and all things girly, so the design alone of this page made it an immediate favorite of mine.

"Because You're Worth It" by jorgies5

This page by jorgies5 earned an immediate soft spot in my heart when I read the journaling about how even though mom knew another pregnancy would probably be difficult, the end result was so worth it. With four kids of my own and my own battles with less than delightful months being pregnant, I feel exactly the same way … and would do it all over again in a heartbeat for the great family I have today. That jorgies5 put it all down on paper for her child makes it that much more special, not to mention it’s just a beautiful layout!

That’s it for this week! And that means the next time we visit, our Grand Opening SPOOKtacular will have officially begun! If you didn’t catch yesterday’s post, be sure to go back and read it. There’s tons of fun planned for the next three days … you don’t want to miss it!

Today’s Story Board brought to you by …

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