In the upcoming November issue of ScrapBook inspirations we've got details about the Country Living Christmas Fair. Held 12-16 November at the Business Design Centre it's the ideal way to get a headstart on your Christmas shopping, or simply indulge in some of the yummy festive food and drink that's on offer. Get all the details about ticket prices at the Country Living website or why not enter our competition to win one of 12 pairs of tickets? Visit http://www.futurecomps.co.uk/sbk46/ to fill out the entry form. The competition closes 1st November. Good luck!

Are you struggling for Christmas gift ideas this year?

Then why not give someone the perfect pressie... a whole year of inspirations! A subscription to ScrapBook inspirations is just the thing for a friend looking for a new creative outlet. Get them hooked and you'll have someone who shares your passion - someone to ooh and ahh over the latest products with you, to crop with and who'll understand when you can't leave the house without a camera!

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Every issue I write a column in the news section of the magazine highlighting blogs we're enjoying. I like to include all sorts of blogs - not just scrapbooking ones and it's really fun to choose every month. Here are the blogs from the October issue:

* Eat breath sleep scrap – the name of Natalie Jubb’s blog says it all! We love Natalie’s style (above), check it out at eatbreathesleepscrap.blogspot.com

* Sandie Vincent’s gorgeous layouts have graced our pages from time to time so we were pleased to discover she also keeps a blog of her scrapbook projects. allscrappedout.blogspot.com

* American scrapbooker Wendy Anderson is one of the talented designers for Making Memories. Her layouts are packed with photos of her family and, as you’d expect a good amount of Making Memories’ goodies! You can take a peek into her scrapbooking world at wendysuegallery.blogspot.com

* Relive the 80s with these surreal downloadable paper robots, including Optimus Prime! www.paperrobots1999.com

Hello Elise! Glad we could help you achieve something in your to-do list! (You can see Elise's album in the August issue)

The October issue (45) of ScrapBook inspirations goes on sale Friday 19th September.

In this issue you'll find...

* Ideas you can count on
The Design Team come up with creative ways to use numbers on pages, including Mary Anne Walters' bingo card, the blank version of which can be downloaded here.

* Seasonal inspiration
Shirley Toogood makes her photos shine with a striking black and white colour scheme!

* Celebrate the unusual and unique
Thanks to Shimelle Laine we've got the first (but let's hope not the last) appearance of llamas in ScrapBook inspirations. Plus, don't miss The Spoon!

Plus all your favourites:
* The Sketch Collection - start your next layout today
* Your layouts about autumn and using digital supplies
* The latest products tried and tested
* Seriously tempting shopping ideas
* And so much more - phew!

The current readers gallery call closes tonight (monday)at midnight so don't dilly dally

We are looking for your original page designs for the following themes:

You! What has 2008 meant to you, or what does 2009 hold in store? This is the time to put yourself centre stage, because we want to see your 'Book of Me' pages!

Stamping - It's one of the oldest craft techniques around and deservedly one of the most popular. Show us your layouts with stamped effects ­any theme goes!

Email a digital image of your layout to me at our dedicated address sigallery@futurenet.co.uk. Remember to add your choice of theme to the subject line. All we ask is that your layouts are your own work and that you haven¹t submitted them to any other magazine. ScrapBook Inspirations does not accept layouts that have been published elsewhere, that are being considered for publication or have been entered in any competitions.

I'm off to San Francisco in a couple of weeks and I'm hoping to do a spot of scrapbook shopping while I'm out there. Can anyone recommend any craft or scrapbooking stores for me to visit? I won't have a car while I'm there, so it needs to be places I can get to by public transport. I've had a google around but not found that many places - so can you help? I promise to post photos of any purchases when I get home!

Every issue I write a column in the news section of the magazine highlighting blogs we're enjoying. I include all sorts of blogs - not just scrappy ones - and it's really fun to choose every month. Here are the blogs from the September issue:

Frugal photo tips Developing an interest in photography can be an expensive business, so that’s why we love the Frugal Fotog blog. It’s packed with tips and advice for taking stellar photos on a budget - including a quick-to-make tutu for fairy photos. Visit frugalfotog.blogspot.com to see for yourself.

We love this birdy mini book cover from skalovingeek.blogspot.com.

Ska-Loving Geek We love the name and we love her scrapping! Stephanie Peachey is a super-talented UK scrapbooker who posts photos of her projects (including the birdy mini book above, and layout below) and tempting pics of her latest crafty buys! Her blog can be found at skalovingeek.blogspot.com

A layout by Stephanie aka Ska-Loving Geek

Art journaling If you’re a fan of art journals or looking for some colourful inspiration (see image above) to get those words flowing, take a look at Dawn Sokol’s blog, d’Blogala. She shares pages from her own journals and interviews with other journal keepers. Go to dblogala.typepad.com for an inspiration boost!

Pink Candy Caroline Scattergood’s blog is a sweet as it sounds as she shares photos galore of her latest papery designs! She’s into scrapbooking, card making and ‘Off the page’ type projects. Visit bubblyfunk.typepad.com/pink_candy_by_caroline to see what she’s up to, or take a peek at our recent interview.

Make a Wordle! This addictive website wordle.net) can be used to make intricate word patterns (you simply add the words or use text from a website). Choose colours and a font, then print for a unique journaling idea.

If you've got a blog you'd like us to review drop me an email at scrapbookinspirations@futurenet.co.uk and let me know.

I love this idea for turning old record artwork into wall-mounted pockets. You can read the tutorial (with photos) over on Paper and Stitch. 12in record sleeves are of course perfect for scrapbooking papers (I spy American Crafts in the photo above!), but you could mix in some 7in pockets for scraps too.

[Via Craftzine]

My mum emailed me a link to a story on the Guardian website about Louis Armstrong's wonderful collages.

Throughout his life Louis decorated hundreds of tape boxes with photos, ephemera and notes - mostly adhered with sticky tape (def. not acid-free!). The Louis Armstrong website has a few images (including a small photo of his scrapbooks) as does the The Paris Review (I love the one with cut-out faces of the man himself).