Find Your Voice Link-Up

FIND YOUR VOICE BLOG LINK-UP!

Find Your Voice is only 1 week away! I'm SO excited for the workshop to start. I think we are going to have an incredible summer. Find out more information about Find Your Voice here.

Find Your Voice will be the grand opening even for my brand new site rukristin.com! Jeff and I are taking a couple days to re-focus and re-energize so that we can be totally ready for the Find Your Voice launch on June 24th!

This week I'd like to focus a bit on building the Find Your Voice community. I know we have lots of amazing people out there who are just as excited as I am and I would love for everyone to get to know each other a little better. If you haven't already joined the facebook group, do so today and share with all your friends!

facebook.com/groups/FindYourVoiceWorkshop/

I'd also like to share a link-up so that everyone can share their blogs and start to make new friends! If you are planning on playing along with Find Your Voice, please feel free to add your blog link below! (Thanks so much to Angie of Lariats and Lavender for the link-up idea!).

An InLinkz Link-up

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Find Your Voice Team Members

Find Your Voice Team Members

I am so excited to announce the names of all the amazing women who are going to be helping me out this summer. They are all incredibly talented, eager, and enthusiastic and will be a huge part in making this workshop and the Find Your Voice community a success. Please join me in welcoming them! 

Jessica Bree, Emily Dismukes, Molly Porter, Emily Hathcock, Lisa Wilkinson, Veronica Milan, Michelle Wear, Laura Kate Is Crafty, Jen Ritchie, Allie, Katie Stories, Shay Tibbs, DeeDee Catron, Megan Anderson, Nirupama KUmar, Eden Hensley, Margrethe Aas Johnsen, Jo, Kim Poplaski, Ruth Bonser, Fiona D'Elboux,, Alissa @Lifeonlakeland, Kristin Long, and Melissa Priest.

These women will be sharing their thoughts, feelings, and creative projects with us as we all work together this summer to find our voices. Thank you again to all of these great women!

Join us in the Facebook group today! 

Please spread the word by blogging, tweeting, and telling all your friends about this awesome workshop! Please feel free to use any of the images/text on the Find Your Voice blog posts. Just make sure to link back to the facebook group and rukristin.com!

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rukristin papercrafts new shop

The new shop is open! Jeff has been working super hard over the past few weeks to get the new shop ready and we're finally ready to share it with all of you. We did do a bunch of testing to make sure that everything runs smoothly, but the site is *brand new* so if you experience anything that seems out of the ordinary, please contact us and we'll figure it out ASAP.

rukristin.com/shop

New Shop Features:

• Easier navigation & search function
• Double the inventory & more on the way
• Shipping choices (First Class/Priority/International)
• Customer reviews
• Digital consignment -- look for new designers in the upcoming weeks! 

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Project Life Week 17

I'm sharing my week 17 Project Life spread over at the Persnickety Prints blog, along with some tips for a minimalist approach to Project Life this summer. 

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Find Your Voice FAQs

Introduction

This workshop is about finding your storytelling voice. You are an awesome person with amazing stories, so this summer we're going to work together to find the most genuine and authentic way for you to tell those stories. 

This workshop is for everyone! You definitely don't need to be a scrapbooker or paper-crafter to play along. We'll be telling stories through pictures, photographs, social media, prose, and more. The only thing you need is a willingness to become the author of your own story and the courage to step outside of your comfort zone. 

Overview

• Each Monday morning lessons will be made available on the rukristin blog, in the Find Your Voice facebook group and sent out through email to those who opt-in to email lessons. 
• Each week's lesson will include thoughts on several topics pertaining to the theme of the week, a coordinating worksheet, and several creative prompts. 
• There will be inspiration from contributing team members in each week's pdf as well more inspiration as in a follow up blog post each Wednesday. 
• This is a free class, so it will not cost you anything to participate. But, there are several ways that you can help support Find Your Voice. Hundreds of hours go into creating a workshop like this and Find Your Voice is proud to have some incredible sponsors as well as several great ways for you to show your support. For additional information on how to support Find Your Voice please scroll to the bottom of this page. 
• Community is Key! The best part of big workshops like Find Your Voice is the amazing community that forms online. Use the hashtag #FindYourVoice when chatting about the workshop on twitter, instagram, or any other social media sites, and share and get inspiration in the facebook group. 
• Look for the Find Your Voice schedule out early next week with Lesson Topics, Giveaways, Scheduled Chats and more!

Supply List

Below is the suggested supply list for the workshop. There are no required supplies but to get the most out of this workshop it would be best to gather some of the following supplies to try out various storytelling styles and techniques.  Each week’s creative prompts are written so that they can be done in a variety of different ways, using whatever supplies you’d like.  I strongly suggest picking up some supplies that you may have wanted to try, but have been scared to use. Our amazing community will help you through any bumps in the road or with any questions you might have.

Suggested Supply List

• Writing Tools (pens, markers, etc) & a Notebook. Check out a list of my favorites here: http://rukristin.blogspot.com/2013/02/im-pen-snob-you-should-be-too.html
• Camera & Photos (it might be helpful to print photos from stories you’re interested in telling — don’t worry if you are unsure, you can always go back later and print). I prefer to get my photos printed at Persnickety Prints, but if you're looking for a quick at home printer the Canon Selphy is a good choice. 
• A Project Binder to hold ideas, worksheets, and projects. (I’ll be using this Basic Grey mini-album)
• Basic Crafting Kit (scissors, adhesive, ink pads, etc)
• Crafting Supplies (paper, stickers, stamps, paint, ribbon, embellishments)
• Things that inspire you (images, quotes, or other pretty things)

If you’re looking for more specific product suggestions, check out the rukristin papercrafts shop for Find Your Voice featured products or shop additional suggested products through the Amazon.com Find Your Voice curated list.

Mix in several supplies that are outside of your comfort zone. Grab some paints, mix in some camera phone apps and use some new stamps. Pushing yourself creatively will help you find your inner storyteller.

How you can sign up for the workshop: 

There is no formal sign-up for the workshop. Lessons will be available on the blog for anyone to download until August 31st. Lessons will also be made available in the Find Your Voice facebook group and via email each week to those who opt-in. 

Join the Find Your Voice Facebook Group Here: facebook.com/groups/FindYourVoiceWorkshop/
Sign Up Here to Get Lessons Delivered to your Email Inbox: E-Mail Lessons to Me

How you can support Find Your Voice

The Find Your Voice summer storytelling workshop is provided free of charge to anyone who is interested in taking it. I'm only able to put together such a great workshop because of support from amazing sponsors and readers like you. If you enjoy Find Your Voice please support the workshop in whatever way you can. Here are a few suggestions. 

• Participate - Follow along with the lessons, engage in conversations on social media and in the facebook group, tell everyone you know about this awesome workshop. Share with your friends and help to build the community. The more people who are excited about Find Your Voice the more exciting things we can do in the future!
• Pick up Find Your Voice badges and images for your blog. Just right click to save. 
• Purchase Supplies at rukristin.com/shop - Sales from the shop help to pay for things like the server that runs our websites, the Find Your Voice exclusive products, and it helps me have the time to sit down and write quality content for you to enjoy. 
• Support Our Sponsors - Next week I'll be announcing some amazing sponsors who are generously providing some amazing giveaways for the Find Your Voice community! Please take the time to visit their websites, give them your business, and tell them that you appreciate their support for Find Your Voice. Let them know that I sent you over and that you think they're super cool. 
• Purchase Through Affiliate Links - the rukristin papercrafts shop is small, so if you find yourself in need of a bigger selection, you can support Find Your Voice by shopping through our affiliate links at Amazon.com, Two Peas in a Bucket, and Simon Says Stamp. Shopping through affiliate links never costs you any extra money, so its a very easy way to help support Find Your Voice
• Donate - If you'd like to donate to help support Find Your Voice and future workshops you can do so by clicking the button below. Donations are accepted through PayPal or any other clever way you'd like. 

FAQs

When does Find Your Voice Start?

• The Find Your Voice summer storytelling workshop starts on Monday, June 24th.

This sounds awesome! How can I help get the word out?

• Post about Find Your Voice on your blog and spread the word through social media sites like twitter, facebook, instagram, tumblr, reddit, message boards, and more. Please feel free to use any of the images or text on my blog to talk about the workshop. Make sure to provide a link back to my blog and the Find Your Voice facebook page. Leave a link in the comments here so I can come visit and say thanks!

Where is the Find Your Voice Facebook Group?

• https://www.facebook.com/groups/FindYourVoiceWorkshop/

How long are the lessons available for?

• The lessons will be available free of charge through August 31, 2013. After that they'll be removed from the blog and adapted to be a self-paced workshop available for $5. 

How can I get the most up-to-date information on Find Your Voice? 

• Follow me on twitter, facebook, and instagram for the latest Find Your Voice updates, giveaways, live chats and more. 

You suggested a Project Binder and the Basic Grey mini album you are selling is really cute. Is this too small to hold the worksheets, ideas and projects we will be working on? Is there paper available in this size for note taking? 

• The real answer is that it comes down to personal preference. I'm going with the binder because I really love mini-albums like that; and the binded aspect makes it easy to punch holes in any paper at all and add it to the album. The worksheets will be 8.5x11; so they would fit folded in half (I'll show a cool technique I used to use in college all the time for storing the worksheets in the album). With a hole punch and the page protectors included in the album you'll be able to store everything you work on for the workshop. 

Will we be working of projects that will need embellishments?

• All the projects that we'll be working on will be adaptable to your style (or however far out of your comfort zone you want to go). There's no specific embellishments that you need, but I'll be keeping some washi tape, stamps, and some die-cuts on my table with my album.

If you have any questions at all, leave them in the comments here or email me at rukristinpapercrafts@gmail.com and I'll do my best to answer them ASAP. 

PS - The New Summer 2013 Stamp Collection is now available exclusively at rukristin.com/shop!

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Summer Stamps are in the Shop!

The Summer 2013 Stamp Collection is now available in the rukristin papercrafts shop. Check out the new collection at our brand new shop with tons of great features including shipping choices, an easy-to-navigate system, and lots more product!

**Custom stamps are available please contact me for rates**

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Stamp Shop & Find Your Voice updates coming soon!

Stamp Shop and Find Your Voice updates will be available later today. Jeff and I have been up all night working on the new shop and the new website; we're super excited to share it with you later today! Click here to join the mailing list for the latest rukristin papercrafts news and shop discounts!

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June's Happy Mail Challenge

 

 Each Month rukristin papercrafts issues a Happy Mail Challenge. There are two ways to  participate in the challenge. First create a project with this month's theme and share the project with a link in the comments section of this post OR by uploading to instagram, tagging @rukristin and using the hashtag #HappyMailChallenge. 

Happy June!! In honor of Mini-Album month, this month's Happy Mail Challenge is to create and share a mini-album that tells a story!

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NYC Chipboard Envelope Binder Album

June is Mini-Album month. This month I'm sharing mini-albums from the last five years of my life as well as bringing you some of my favorite mini-albums from around the web. Look for challenges, giveaways, and more inspiration throughout the month of June. 

NYC Chipboard Envelope Binder Album

Construction: Binder with Chipboard & Envelope Pages

Number of Pages: 16 (NOT including front and back cover of binding)

Subject: Weekend in NYC (June 2009 -- it was our first weekend away together)

Date Made: August 2009

Notable Parts: We went to several shows and museums throughout the weekend and the envelope pages were great for holding ticket stubs, extra pictures, and other memorabilia.  

Materials Used: Maya Road binder album, lots of Fancy Pants paper and embellishments, doodlebug rub-on alphas

Thanks so much for stopping by! If you enjoyed this post, make sure to subscribe to this blog and follow me on twitter, instagram, and facebook for lots more inspiration!

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Baltimore Baseball Card Page Protector Mini-Album

June is Mini-Album month. This month I'm sharing mini-albums from the last five years of my life as well as bringing you some of my favorite mini-albums from around the web. Look for challenges, giveaways, and more inspiration throughout the month of June. 

Baltimore Baseball Card Page Protector Mini-Album

Construction: Cut Apart baseball card protector sheet binded with sticky fabric and brads. 

Number of Pages: 6 including front and back cover (each page has two pockets)

Subject: Fourth of July in Baltimore 2010 

Date Made: August 2010

Notable Parts: The entire album is made of a single sheet of plastic baseball card holders. I cut the last column off and stacked three sets on top of one another to create the book. I added patterned paper and embellishments throughout the book, which has a linear timeline. I added a tag in between two of the pages for additional photos and journaling. 

Materials Used: Baseball Card holder sheet, Maya Road clear tag, lots of older patterned papers, tiny pictures printed at home. 

Thanks so much for stopping by! If you enjoyed this post, make sure to subscribe to this blog and follow me on twitter, instagram, and facebook for lots more inspiration!

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