One Year Ago Today...

Lisa Bearnson called me to tell me I had won a spot in Creating Keepsakes' 2007 Hall of Fame (also known as "HOF"). I was stunned. Truly. I had had exactly six scrapbook layouts picked up for publication at that point (and had had zero layouts picked up by Creating Keepsakes, although certainly not for lack of trying!) and had entered the HOF contest more to hang out with friends who were also entering than to win. I almost gave up entering with one layout to go (I was trying to fit entering in around a major work deadline), but Emily, Heather, and Mary Kay all threatened me within an inch of my life and were instrumental in giving me the final push I needed to finish my entry. When I mailed my entry off I honestly thought I had the teeniest tiniest chance of winning an honorable mention and never for a moment thought I'd win one of the top spots. In fact, I still can't believe it, even with multiple copies of the The Scrapbook Hall of Fame, Volume 9 lying around my house!

So...to everyone who says it won't happen to them, or that they don't have the "right" equipment to achieve success in the world of scrapbooking, don't give up hope! I put together a HOF entry with photos taken on a five-year-old Nikon point-and-shoot digital camera, used Microsoft Office Picture Manager for photo editing, and printed all of my photos at home. I didn't - and still don't - own any version of Photoshop.

Here are photos of one of my entry pages (all four layouts pictured were published - three in the Hall of Fame book and one online), front and back:


This has really been an amazing year in so many ways. I have had the privilege of getting to know the other Hall of Famers online and have had the opportunity to meet many of them in person, as well as most of the Creating Keepsakes editors, at the summer and winter CHA trade shows.

I know the announcement of the 2008 Hall of Fame winners is still a couple of weeks away, so I want to wish all who entered (and are reading this) the best of luck!