THIS Makes me HAPPY!

As a scrapbook artist, I am a huge fan of Stacy Julian. She just seems so comfortable with who she is and what she believes in and I am always so inspired by her. If you are not familiar with Stacy Julian, I invite you to get to know her here. http://www.bigpictureclasses.com/stacyj.php 

You might know her as the founding editor of Simple Scrapbooks Magazine or the author of a couple of my all-time favorite books on scrapbooking - 'The Big Picture" and "Photo Freedom". I devoured these when I first discovered them and still turn to them as a fabulous resource for my scrapbooking systems. Currently, she is the founder of Big Picture Classes, an online educational site for scrapbookers and crafters. I have taken many classes from Big Picture, my favorite being her Library of Memories Classes. I love this class so much, I think I have taken it at least THREE times! LOL. Stacy started her career in the scrapbook industry with Close to My Heart as a consultant (formerly known as D.O.T.S.) and has been a favorite speaker many times at our annual conventions.  I was even invited by Stacy to help her in one of her presentations at our Close to My Heart Convention years ago. What a privilege and an honor that was! So, you see I have been a fan of Stacy's for many years, which leads me to my post today....

I am currently enrolled in 'The Big Idea Festival' at BigPictureScrapbooking.com. It is a free workshop of daily Big Ideas and Challenges that runs from September 4th - 17th, 2012. I was taking some time this afternoon to get caught up on the first few days of the workshop and I watched Stacy's video presentations for Day One of the Big Idea Festival. WOW! I was so inspired and this BIG IDEA just made me SO HAPPY! 

Stacy's 'Big Idea' is to:

Make someone's day!

Stacy goes on to say...

"The online world is an exciting place to work and hang out—with new advances in digital media and communication exploding at every turn. Many of these digital tools have established themselves permanently in our daily lives and routine-think email and Facebook. But the sheer volume of digital communication can be utterly overwhelming, driving attention deficit, dehumanization and diminishing returns on our efforts. It's crazy to me, that these super-convenient tools, celebrated for their ability to connect people, can actually have the opposite effect. This is why my big idea is very old-fashioned and requires only a pen and a piece of paper …"

Stacy's Big Idea is to create a 'Happy Mail Movement'. She has committed to sending a handmade card/note every single day for an entire year! What an awesome idea! Here's the best part... she is asking everyone to 'pay it forward'. So, if you get a handmade card from her, she is asking you to send a card/note on to someone else to make their day! Who doesn't love Happy Mail??? I know I do and as a scrapbooker and cardmaker, what a better way to use my talents and supplies and touch someone's life? 

SO, I'm going to take Stacy's Challenge and create my own Happy Mail Campaign! I am going to agree to the challenge and make and send a handwritten note/card to someone everyday for the next 365 days! If you receive a card or note from me, will you 'pay it forward' and send a handwritten note or letter to someone you care about or who might need some happy mail??? How long has it been since you sent/received a handwritten letter? It is truly becoming a lost art. As Stacy says, Let's rediscover the joy of sending and receiving handwritten communication. 

You don't have to wait to receive a card or note from me, take the challenge and start your own Happy Mail Movement within your own circle of influence! I'd love to hear about it if you do! 

If you'd like to watch Stacy's video presentation about the Happy Mail Movement, go to http://www.bigpictureclasses.com/  and sign up for The Big Idea Festival. Her video is archived under Day One! 

THIS makes me HAPPY! 

Cindy