Wow! I ended up getting A LOT of comments on this post last week and it was so fun to read about all the classes you’ve taken at Big Picture Classes and all the ebooks you’ve tried at Ella Publishing. There was a wide range of answers varying from those who haven’t tried anything at either site, to many people who’ve taken dozens of online classes. One commenter said she had taken 92 classes at Big Picture - I bow down to her greatness!
Not everybody listed the classes/ebooks they’ve tried, but from the ones who mentioned their favorites, there were definitely a few that were consistent winners. I’m not going to link to each individual class because some of them aren’t available right now (and it would take me forever, lol!). You can find a list of what is currently available by visiting each website and searching for their classes, workshops, and ebooks. Both sites even have some free options!
YOUR BIG PICTURE FAVORITES:
- Ali Edwards was probably mentioned the most with her One Little Word, Yesterday + Today, and 31 Things.
- There were many who loved Stacy Julian’s Library of Memories (Photo Freedom) workshop and her Twelve class was also highly recommended.
- Cathy Zielske was another popular one with her 10 Tips for Better Tip, Design Your Life, and Move More Eat Well.
- I was happy to hear from many of you that my Power Scrapping workshop, Roundup Workshop, and Inspired by Color were among your favorites!
- Several from a variety of teachers that were mentioned: Get Great Photos With Any Camera by Elisha Snow, Giving Well series by Kolette Hall, Reclaiming My Time with Karen Grunberg, Me and My Shadow with Peppermint Granberg, When You Don't Have a Photo with Janet Phillips, The Mother LOAD with Lain Ehman, Kit-tastic May Flaum, Art That Happens to Be Your Life by Allison Tyler Jones, Design Challenges by Elizabeth Dillow, and Cut the Crazy out of Christmas by Georgana Hall and Debbie Raymond.
YOUR ELLA PUBLISHING FAVORITES:
- Double Page Design by Write Click Scrapbook
- UR2Cr8ive by Stacy Julian
- Stretch Your Sketches by Donna Jannuzzi
- Picture Perfect by Becky Novaceck, Elisha Snow & Kelly Noel
- Personal Heritage by Wendy Smedley and Aby Garvey
- List It series
Now that you shared your favorites, I’ll share mine. I’m going to list all the classes I’ve ever taken at Big Picture. I have enjoyed all of them in some way and obviously I was interested enough in them to sign up! With some of these classes, it’s been a few years since I looked at the materials so I’ve been taking some time to go through them and have found new inspiration. Be sure you revisit the classes and workshops you’ve taken in the past, they might mean even more to you now!
Classes/Workshops I’ve taken at BIG PICTURE:
- 10 Reasons Why by Kolette Hall
- 10 Summer Photos To Take Right NOW! by Lisa Damrosch
- A Week of Life Lists by Kelly Purkey
- Embrace Imperfection by Karen Grunberg
- Family History Simplified by Georgana Hall
- How Many is Five? by Elizabeth Dillow
- Introduction to Digital Memory Keeping by Lisa Cohen
- Just b: Guided Relaxations by Elizabeth Irvine
- Kid Perspective by Deanna Lambson
- Me and My Shadow by Peppermint Granberg
- Mini Memories by Stacy Julian
- No Excuses Journaling by Lain Ehmann
- ScrapHappy by Stacy Julian
- Start Here, by Stacy Julian
- Top Tips For Titles by Wendy Smedley (some of my layouts are in this one)
- When You Don't Have a Photo by Janet Phillips
- 31 Things by Ali Edwards
- Album of Awesome by Steph from the Daily Digi
- Big Idea Festival (2011)
- Big Idea Festival (2010)
- Colorful Summer by Stacy Julian
- Creative Crop (2011) – I was a guest instructor at this one
- Cut the Crazy out of Christmas (09) by Georgana Hall
- Design Your Life (2008) by Cathy Zielske
- Finding Photo Freedom (Alumni) by Stacy Julian
- i.Scrap by Stacy Julian
- Mastering Manual Mode (Feb 2011) by Elisha Snow
- Me: The Abridged Version (2009) by Cathy Zielske
- Write Now! (2011) by Amy Sorensen
- Yesterday & Today (2009) by Ali Edwards
- I’m signed up for the upcoming Project Real Life by Becky Higgins
Plus, I’ve taught 3 classes/workshops at Big Picture:
- Power Scrapping - Digi Style
- Roundup Your Memories
- Inspired by Color
Inspired by Color is still available for purchase. The other two are no longer available, but I’ve had multiple requests to bring them back. I’m not sure yet what I will do with them. We talked a bit in Episode 50 of The Digi Show podcast about why I couldn’t fit the workshop style teaching experience in with my current schedule. I promise to let you know if they become available again. The best way to keep on top of news like this is to sign up for my free newsletter!
My very favorite BPC class was definitely Ali Edwards’ Yesterday & Today. I also really liked her 31 Things class as well. I also highly recommend Stacy Julian’s Finding Photo Freedom. It’s hard to pick favorites because I’ve learned something wonderful from each class and instructor. I love being able to learn at my own pace!
Ebooks I’ve downloaded from ELLA PUBLISHING:
- Scrapbooking the Everyday
- Creative Ideas for Events & Holidays
- Journaling that Matters
- Super Sampler
I don’t have as much of a history with Ella, but I’ve been impressed with what I have seen so far. My favorite Ella ebook is Journaling That Matters – probably no surprise to anyone who knows how much I love journaling!
THE WINNERS:
Ok, we’ve all been waiting for it…the winners! I used random.org to pick 3 numbers and then found the comments to correspond to each number. #19, #59, #2.
#19 Andrea Ludlow will receive a coupon for this ebook from Ella Publishing. Andrea said ” Oh my goodness!!!! I have followed Ella for over two years and have downloaded the Essential Guide for Girls, UR2Cr8ive, Take Twelve and four of the List It! books. I have also chalked up over 40 classes in my classroom over at BPC since 2007. Both sites have made my scrapbooking endeavors so easy, so insightful and so fun!!! Wow, it looks as though I might be a bit addicted, huh? Thanks for offering a chance to win without using up the hard earned $$$!!”
#59 Jacqqellyn Bremer will receive a coupon for this ebook from Ella Publishing. Jacqqellyn said “Hi Katie, Thanks for the opportunity to win. I am going to save time and do this by memory. I have taken many, many classes (both live and self-paced) at BPC BUT I can tell you from memory the ones that have really benefited me: Finding Photo Flow, - Library of Memories, Power Scrapping!, Twelve, Yesterday and Today, Scrapbooking Your Faith, and am currently taking Ten Tips to Better Type. These classes are awesome! We certainly have so many resources available to us. My biggest challenge is to refrain from purchasing so I can get caught up!
I have taken one from Ella - and I am not sure if that was a paid class or a freebie - Creative quizzes and that has been really beneficial when I scrap yearly about the grandkids!
Thanks so much. By the way - I like your style and have purchased several of your templates. I find the examples posted with them done by the creator herself to be very useful!”
#2 Susan will receive a $25 gift certificate from me to use at Big Picture Classes. Susan said “Hey Katie,
I've taken One Little Word which I ended up not finishing but may eventually incorporate OLW into another year on my own; I've complete 31 Things by Ali Edwards and absolutely loved it. My plan is to take her 31 More Things when she comes out with it. I'm currently taking MMEW with Cathy Z. So good - and I've lost 20 pounds so far this year.”
I’ll be sending out the winning emails this morning. Congrats to the winners and thanks so much to everyone who entered! Also a big thanks to Big Picture Classes & Ella Publishing for bringing so much fun to the world of scrapbooking!
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