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BLUEGRASS AUTHORS AND DESIGNERS
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In 2003 Linda LaTourelle was boxing and shipping copies of her self-published compilation, The Ultimate Guide to the Perfect Word, from the guest room of her home in Mayfield, Kentucky. That was the birth of Bluegrass Publishing. Since then, Bluegrass Publishing has grown into one of the leading publishers of collections of original and traditional verses, quotes and sayings in the scrapbooking industry. The success of Word led to the publication of The Ultimate Guide to the Perfect Card in February, 2004. In July of that year, Linda made her debut at the Association of Crafts and Creative Industry's convention with The Ultimate Guide to Celebrating Kids. She has continued that trend by releasing the elementary school edition, The Ultimate Guide to Celebrating Kids Vol.2 and an expanded edition of The Ultimate Guide to the Perfect Card in the summer of 2005. In addition to her own writing, Linda continues to seek out and publish some talented writers, poets and artists in, and out of, the crafting world. Order Here!
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Thena Smith is the reigning poet laureate of Bluegrass Publishing. To date, she has written numerous books of verse, each with a specific audience in mind. Thena's talent is to delve deep into the nuances of everyday life in order to bring a tear, a smile or a warm virtual hug to those who read and love her work. Many scrapbooks across the country would not be complete without at least one poem by Thena. Smith's poetry has been recognized world-wide and she is a contributing designer to the online magazine, 'PC Crafter'. Scrapbookers have come to know Thena through the online message boards, where they reach her by asking, "Where's Thena, I need a poem about..."
Buy Thena's Books Here!
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Misti Tracy is a fine arts graduate from Boise University, with a major in graphic design. Upon graduation, Misti set out to create a color idea book for the scrapbooking industry. After a year of creating, designing and redesigning, her finished product, Color Made Easy, was officially ready for pitching to publishers. Misti met Linda LaTourelle at the 2006 CHA show and a wonderful partnership ensued, resulting in this marvellously creative, educational and colorful book.
Buy "Color Made Easy!" Click Here!
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Jennifer Smith, a scrapbooker and the devoted mother of two sons, loves to create scrapbook layouts focusing on the talents of her two aspiring athletes. With so many sporting event photos, she noticed the titles of her pages began to sound redundant. In her search for inspiration, Smith found nothing solely sports related. She thought, "If I am looking for this, others who scrapbook may need it too."
Sporty Scrappin' Snappy Snippets that Score is Jennifer's first book. She hopes you will find it the winning solution to scrapbooking your family's memories of those gold-medal sporting events.
Buy "Sporty Scrappin!" Click Here!
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Tom Krause Since 2001, Tom Krause's reputation has continued to grow on the motivational speaking circuit. Tom currently presents for hundreds of clients nationwide and overseas. Standing ovations are the norm as audiences spontaneously react to Tom's inspiring performances.
Tom is the author of Touching Hearts-Teaching Greatness, and a contributing author to many books in the Chicken Soup for the Soul book series. His newest inspirational title, Teen's Guide to NOT Being Perfect, is now available from Bluegrass Publishing. CLICK TO ORDER!
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Adrienne Looman, at a young age became a passionate scrapbooker. What began as a simple hobby is now a huge part of her life with the publication of her first book--The Doodle Formula. Her artistic abilities and teaching styles have taken Adrienne on travels across the nation and abroad. As a designer she entered and won a variety of contests. In February, 2006 Adrienne discovered a new avenue to utilize her talents by designing for manufacturers, online stores and publications. "Doodle" your way to buy Adrienne's book. CLICK TO ORDER!
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The Duke and Diva--"Diva Craft Lounge" hosts of the original show for crafters heard 'round the world'.
Danielle "Diva" Forsgren is known to thousands throughout the US and around the world as "The Scrapbook Diva". It is hard to believe that it was only seven years ago that Danielle made her grand entrance into the scrapbooking industry. As people began to catch on to the cool concept behind Scrapbook Diva(R), her company took off and shows no signs of slowing down. In her "Diva-ish" style, Danielle introduced her own line of paper last year, this paper epitomizes Danielle's often heard statement, "Leopard is my favorite color"! With sparkle and pizzazz, donning her tiara, Ms. Diva's imagination will bring out the diva in all who have the pleasure of meeting her. Visit www.divacraftlounge.com to meet the original Diva extraordinaire!
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Rayme "The Duke" Sciaroni, crafter extraordinaire, finds hidden gems creating with a variety of mediums. Learning macrame as a youngster, Rayme's talents evolved to a string of crafting talents--from hooked rugs, to designing and knitting sweaters. The art of teaching origami seemed a natural progression to quilt design and creation. String, patterns and paper inspired a new talent in Rayme, who is now a renowned designer of imaginative greeting cards. As a man of many artistic talents, he also enjoys a burgeoning career as a celebrated musician and composer.
At a musical production in 2004, "The Duke" met "The Diva" creating an instant bond of crafting passions. As a result, the hour-long internet radio show was born, known world-wide as the "Diva Craft Lounge", this dazzling duo delights audiences with songs, sentiments, sensational silliness and shining sophistication. The topics are informative, imaginative and inspirational. With a plethora of designers from the crafting industry and the quick-wit and charm of Danielle and Rayme--the hosts reigns as royalty among their audience. To experience this unique and empowering craft show and learn more CLICK HERE!
Danielle and Rayme have collaborated with famous designers, from across the country, to bring their first craft how-to book to print - Designing With The Divas, Artsy projects to insprire the groovy and creative Diva in you! Order "Designing With the Divas"! CLICK HERE!
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Sarah Hodsdon, a woman of many hats, is grateful for the amazing blessings bestowed upon her... from family and friends to inspiration and talent, her energy abounds and inspires. With a love of crafting and a heart for people, teaching was a natural way to share her passions. Sarah is a published artist and teacher on many levels, who has celebrated the honor of being recognized as a commissioned designer, as well. With designs gracing magazine covers or anonymously representing industry leaders behind the scenes, her talent is as inspirational as her personality is delightful. At a pinnacle in her career, Sarah is one of a chosen few featured on a new DVD project with the celebrated Carol Duvall. Bubbly, brainy, and bent on crafting for generations to come, Sarah brings a breath of fresh creativity to the crafting world. Bluegrass Publishing has the privilege of bringing her unique and fun style to print, in an original series--Isn't That Crafty!--with the first book coming soon.
WHO IS SARAH HODSDON? Click here to find out more...
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Julie McGuffee has been professionally involved in the arts and crafts industry for over 15 years. She has made guest appearances on many popular TV shows and currently hosts Scrapbook Memories, airing on PBS stations and the Family Net channel across the United States. She has authored over 50 "How-to" books on a variety of subjects, including decorative painting, seashell art, silk ribbon embroidery and jewelry making. In her creative transparencies, Mrs. McGuffee includes her own beautiful photographs accompanied by her witty sayings. These gorgeous creations will allow you to add life, color and dimension to any project!
Buy Julie's Transparencies! CLICK HERE!
Born to rhyme, Carla Birnberg revealed glimpses of her future writer-self in the published pages of her youth. Birnberg created and distributed a wholly self-written neighborhood newspaper. This humorous missive was carefully mimeographed and distributed through the community, often to the chagrin of her much written and rhymed about family. A writer for the 'Austin American Statesman', her credits now range from the interactive serial Twisted Tales of Time Travel to Miss Information and personas such as Barry the Bat and Spindle & the Bean. Twisted Tales of Time Travel won the Lituracy Ide award in 2005. As a new mother, Birnberg's sing-song approach to life soon took another twist. Recognizing the generational responsibility of religious education, she set out to capture the lessons of her childhood... and she knew they should rhyme. The sesult was The Whole Megillah, Mitzvahs, Matzo Balls & Everything in Between. At Last! Jewish crafters have a wonderful resource!
Buy "The Whole Megillah"! Click Here!
Lynne Carey is a life-long crafter and artisan. Her personalized gift products are carried in flower and gift shops across the USA. Lynne launched her first Internet store, www.thecraftykitten.bizhosting.com in 2000. She got her writing career off to an unusual start by writing poetry for sympathy gifts, plaques and tributes for the military. This passion led her to work with Thena Smith on their collaboration, Letters to Heaven.
Buy "Letters to Heaven"! Click Here!
Wendi Sue is actually the collaborative name for two long-time friends, Bonnie Sue Germer and Wendy Dahl. Their first book, What Can I Say? The Scrapbook Way, is a blueprint for instant journaling that helps crafters and scrappers easily express life with ready-to-use poetry. Artfully designed, these original poems will add a finishing touch to any paper or digital creation.
Buy "What Can I Say?" Click Here!
Sharon Hammond has been a designer for Bluegrass Publishing for the last year and has attended various tradeshows. Many of you will recognize her as the lady with the wonderful smile, happy countenance and big camera! Her love of community and family is evident in her scrapbooking designs. Sharon finds joy in her faith, her family and her friends and it is her desire to share this joy with others through her digital designs. Her work has appeared in 'Creative Digital Scrapbooking', 'Katherine Murray', 'Simple Scrapbook's Scrapbook Shortcuts' and the soon to be released 'Layout Blueprints'. Her work has been used to showcase various Bluegrass books on the 'Shop at Home' network. Watch for her unique digital designs and elements in many upcoming Bluegrass products. We are blessed to have Sharon as part of the Bluegrass family.
Look at her Digi Kits HERE!
DiAnne Meadows King has co-authored 'Ring the Changes' and written two children's books: 'Maggie' and 'Hezekiah's'. Although this is her fourth book, 'Ripples From Living Water, Memories to Feed the Soul' is her first book written for adults. DiAnne received a Bachelor of Science and Master's degrees from Murray State University, located in Murray Kentucky and has endorsements in Kindergarten and Teacher Resource training. she holds certification in writing for children and teens from the Institute of Children's Literature in Redding, Connecticut. One of her greatest interest however, is Bible literacy. DiAnne lives on the family farm and enjoys spending time with family, photographing wildlife and substitute teaching in local elementary schools. She taught for many years in the McCracken Country School System and since retiring has found a new enjoyment in traveling and writing. DiAnne is grounded by Bible study and fueled by Christian fellowship. She and her husband attend Trace Creek Baptist Church in Graves County, Kentucky.
Check out her latest book HERE!
