We lost one....

One of our apprentices has gone... See HERE!! :(

Well done for even reaching the apprentice selections... and we are sorry to see you go!

Challenge 2 is up for voting - so make sure your fav doesn't get the boot!! (BTW I voted JLS just for a change... and Tom on strictly ;)

Voting COUNTDOWN

The Scrapbook Apprentice voting kicks off in 24 hours HERE!

Challenge 1 entries for all 12 candidates are posted for you to prowl through... and ultimately 12 will become 11 after you have had your say (and the final board have theirs!)

Practise your democratic right... or was that the US elections?!! This surely must be a close second ;)

The Apprentices... ANNOUNCED!!

TODAY is the official day to announce our lucky 12 Scrapbook Apprentices! See HERE for full details on each successful candidate...

We had tonnes of entries, and each candidate was selected not only from the samples of work submitted... but from the CV application. Inside issue 2 of Creativity Life we give our reasons for each selection - and announce the challenge schedule. This is when you start taking part! We are not looking for the polished article... but for the candidate who shows the most potential as a paid designer!

Let the games begin ;)

Becks xx

Anyone notice...?

I only posted 11 initials!
Tsk... last one added ;)
Happy guessing.
Becks xxx

Scrapbook Apprentice... teaser (and *new* Christmas from Upsy Daisy)

Spotted: Upsy Daisy have launched 2 new collections for Christmas. The first is Hot Chocolate and it is a playful, colorful winter line with lots of great patterns that give a new twist to your creations. The second line is titled Spirit and it is a classic line using brown, cranberry, and green for the colors. There are papers with angels and trains and they all have an elegant seasonal feel to them.


Just a wee teaser...

We have the intials of our 12 candidates:

CG, CJ, DC, EW, JC, KC, LL, LF, MM, SG, TG, SC

The full details (full resume and layouts submitted to make it through...) will all be posted on the Creativity Life BLOG on November 1st. This is going to be a tough competition ;)

Scrapbook Apprentice D-DAY

Decision Day.

Deadline Day has passed. It ended with a massive flurry of entries piling into my inbox, and so much to choose from!! I think you are going to be surprised by who and how we have whittled down all the hundreds of entries to just a mere 12... as I am not looking for the finished article! That is the whole point of an apprentice - I want a blank canvas, almost. Someone who has something that you can't quite put your finger on...

So the BIG UNVEIL will be on November 1st - inside the magazine, and also online (www.creativitylife.com/www.creativitylifemag.blogspot.com) We will post ALL the layouts and CV for each successful candidate... and then the real hard work begins.

Challenges will arrive each month, and YOU get a voice in WHO STAYS... and WHO GOES! Each month we lose one candidate, and it will all be online for you to participate in ;)

...the search continues!

Eye Spy...

Oh my word...

I have just signed off some stella stuff from a new supplier for 2009. They are actually *long time* mates of mine, and are creating some brilliant booty for our January Promotion, under the Papermania banner. You are sooooo gunna love 'em (if I tell you there are 12 to collect and you will so be drooling over them all... is that too much info too soon?) Sneaks will follow in December - but before then I get shot!

Some days I *love* my job (there are other days when I just like - not love - like it...) I am getting excited as I have a few trips planned for later in the year (all in the name of bringing you fashion forward gadgets and goodies...) We also have a new partner from another longstanding company I have worked with - details to be announced in Jan!!

Other industry gossip (not really news until it is confirmed) but it looks like the company I started and left last year (ScrapGenie) may not be long for this world. It is always sad to see the industry lose a competitor, because competition means choice for the consumer. I am sure with a tough global market that this will not be the only company to feel the pinch... and the face of scrapbooking (even in the US) is changing!!

On a positive note, Creativity Life has just signed up with a new publisher - so we are moving the furniture... next issue is a blinder! Scrapbook Apprentice is hotting up; and some contestants have already been short listed - so don't miss out on the opportunity to get PAID for doing what you love!! You have to be IN IT TO WIN IT ;)

I *need* your photos!

We are hot on the heels of issue 1, working on the covershot for Creativity Life numero duo. (I am seriously jumping up and down with glee since bezzy mate Holly McCaig said issue 1 was wicked... How mind blowingly *hip* would it be to get her in the mag?!!) SORRY - I digress...! Still a little "star struck" ;)

Anyways, I NEED you to submit your best Christmas shots, as I am currently searching for my front cover gal (or boy, family, dog, cat... or Christmas tree ;) Send your high res photos to me HERE and the winning shot will be credited, and the featured finished cover layout sent to you (all the hard work is done by us, and you can sit back and relish at least one great layout without labour!)

DEADLINE: September 1st... so get submitting!

Small Print:
We will contact the winning photographer via email and include it on our cover for issue 2.
By submitting your photo, you are allowing us to use it in print and promotional activity, and your photo must be your own artwork.
The winner will receive a complete layout and a free issue of their featured cover shot.

We are also teaming up with CANON in issue 2 to bring you a pretty special competition... so watch this space!

Want to be our next Scrapbook Apprentice and be PAID to design? Enter our comp today and fight for your chance to be put through your paces!!

The search for our Scrapbook Apprentice begins...

We are launching the toughest scrapbook challenge yet, as we hunt for 12 aspiring designer/writers to compete for a chance to win a 12-month paid design role working with scrapbook entrepreneur Becks Fagg and the Creativity! Life team.

If you think you have what it takes to compete in the cutthroat world of craft, and you are able to create beautiful designs to deadline, then you could be one of our 12 possible candidates. Each issue we will put you through your paces, assigning design tasks under strict criteria where you will work with products from leading brands BasicGrey, Doodlebug Design, We R Memory Keepers, Clearsnap, Papermania and more… all supplied for free!

At the end of each task, our candidates will be whittled down, through a combined online public vote, and final boardroom cut. The chance to be paid to scrap, as well as to have free supplies for a full year is the ultimate ‘You’re hired!’ package.

So if you think you have what it takes, then apply today! Simply send US pictures of five of your layouts that show a wide range of your design work, preferably using the brands that you’ll be
working with during the tasks, plus a 150-word description on why YOU are the perfect Scrapbook Apprentice!

The search begins...