Month

February 2010

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Memory Works: “Dear Lizzy” by American Crafts

I haven’t heard excitement over a new line like this for a while. It’s called “Dear Lizzy” by American Crafts and it’s the talk of the message boards and blogs. So happy to find out that MEMORY WORKS now carries it!

Before we get down to that, let’s talk about ELIZABETH KARTCHNER, the designer of this new line. Let me lay it down for ya’ …

~ Elizabeth Kartchner is also know as Lizzy K.

~ She was CREATING KEEPSAKES magazine’s “Scrapbooker of the Year” in 2007.

~ She is a wonderful photographer, has an adorable and fun family, and one of the greatest blogs around (I linked it above).

~ In November 2009, her idea book came out; it’s called “52 MORE SCRAPBOOKING CHALLENGES” {a follow-up to “52 Scrapbooking Challenges” by Elsie Flannigan, both published by Creating Keepsakes … make sense?}. Here’s another LINK to it.

~ She partnered with AMERICAN CRAFTS on a scrapbooking line which was introduced at CHA-Winter 2010, and Lizzy has started a LIZZY K CRAFTS blog to keep us in the loop about it.

And honestly, could she BE any prettier? Funny and cute, too :)

HERE and HERE are looks at the line from when American Crafts showed their sneak peeks of it prior to CHA. I’ve been drooling over it ever since, and am thrilled that the time has come to buy some!

Here are a couple layouts showing what you can do with the Dear Lizzy line …

BY ELIZABETH KARTCHNER, from the American Crafts blog

BY ELIZABETH KARTCHNER, from the American Crafts blog

Do we all want that rose ribbon or what???

Shipments from this line are just coming in to Memory Works, and some items are not “in stock” yet on the website. However, I’m going to list them all in this post anyway because I’m sure everything will be here soon :) Besides, TOTAL EYE CANDY!

If you click on BUY IT, you’re not committed or anything, LOL! It just links you to the item on my MW website so you can see the price and if it’s in stock.

Dear Lizzy by American Crafts – Theme Set
BUY IT


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Dear Lizzy by American Crafts – Fabric Paper, “Apricot Afternoon”
BUY IT


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Dear Lizzy by American Crafts – Fabric Paper, “Garden Gala”
BUY IT


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Dear Lizzy by American Crafts – Clear Stamps, “Warble” large set
BUY IT


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Dear Lizzy by American Crafts – “Whistle” small set
BUY IT


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Dear Lizzy by American Crafts – Large Fabric Brads
BUY IT


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Dear Lizzy by American Crafts – Shiny Flair
BUY IT


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Dear Lizzy by American Crafts – Chirp Details
BUY IT


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Dear Lizzy by American Crafts – “Lovely” Ribbon
BUY IT


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Dear Lizzy by American Crafts – chipboard Thickers, “Bliss” accent in coffee
BUY IT


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Dear Lizzy by American Crafts – “Flutter” Dimensional Stickers
BUY IT


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Dear Lizzy by American Crafts – “Fancy” Phrase Stickers
BUY IT


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Dear Lizzy by American Crafts – “Pounce” Rub-On Phrases
BUY IT


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Dear Lizzy by American Crafts – “Fire” Thickers, Pink, Puffy
BUY IT


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Dear Lizzy by American Crafts – “Bliss” Thickers, Coffee, Glitter
BUY IT


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So, are you a fan of Elizabeth Kartchner’s? What do you think of her new line? Ya gonna buy* or “wish list” any of it? Here’s my Top 5:

1. Theme set … I need a little bit o’ all those papers.
2. “Lovely” ribbons … Got to have that rose ribbon fo’ sho’.
3, Thickers “Bliss” chipboard accents … Love that they are glittered.

Oh, and both sets of Thicker letters, of course, but those are a given, a staple, a ‘must have so why bother wish-listing it’ kind of item.

* Truly, NO pressure whatsoever to buy it from me {Go LSS! Go 2peas! I support them all!}, but if you’re planning to, don’t wait too long. I have a feeling it will sell out fast. If the listing says “Out of Stock,” it means we haven’t gotten it from the vendor yet. Once it’s sold out, the listing will disappear. Let me know if you have any questions: scrapbookobsession(at)gmail(dot)com K, bye!

Scrapbookers, Studios, and Stashes: We Are NOT Alone

I was in Michaels last weekend, looking for something coupon-worthy, and also looking for the April issue of SCRAPBOOK ETC. magazine, which the Peas had told me HERE is now available (bummer … most of the reviews are not favorable).

Darn if I couldn’t find SBE, but I did come across the gorgeous publication WHERE WOMEN CREATE. It’s a nice, thick, beautifully done magazine … well, more like a scrapbook idea book except that you get studio ideas instead of layout ideas.

At $14.95, it’s a bit rich for my blood considering it would be total eye candy for me, unlike a $15 idea book that I would actually use over and over. Anyhow, it comes out quarterly and I like to flip through it when I see it at Mike’s or BARNES AND NOBLE (they have the hardcover book of WWC, too!).

I’m always hoping to see a scrapbooker or at least a cardmaker and their studio featured, but so far I’ve come up empty. Hmmm … I wonder if they really haven’t chosen to profile a paper crafter, or if I’ve just missed it somehow. It’s entirely possible that I’ve missed it, which would be my fault since I’m too cheap to buy the magazine/book and “cheat” by flipping through it at the store. This issue did feature THE PAPER SOURCE, which is at least on the right track :)

Another thing I wish they would do is designate what type of artist each woman is, both in the Table of Contents and on the intro or title page to each artist. Again, if they DO do that and I’ve missed it, I apologize. But if I’m missing it every time, it can’t be that obvious, LOL! The cover gives the names of the artists inside and sometimes even the company they’re associated with, but just by a listing of names, I don’t know if any of them are scrapbookers/papercrafters. I mean, I’m pretty up on all the popular scrappers but I don’t know EVERYONE, sheesh.

One studio I flipped past was that of a knitter. I was stopped cold by a photo of her “Wall of Yarn.” It was all stacked by color in a large wall shelf, an Ikea EXPEDIT or similar. My first thought was, “But this magazine is about personal studios. Why do they have a photo of a store in here?” Then a second later, I realized, “Ah, that probably IS a personal studio!” But that lady had a shite-load of yarn!

Then I laughed so hard at myself (Bwahahaha! The other Mike’s customers were probably fittin’ to dial Mental Health for me … ), because I realized that that’s what people ~ non-scrappers, especially ~ must automatically think when they see MY scrap space. “Why does she have a scrapbook store in her house?” LOL Who could blame them? Instead of a Wall O’ Yarn, I have a Half Wall O’ Paper, a Bookcase O’ Idea Books, and Jars O’ Flowers, Ribbon, and Letters.

First, I was embarrassed. Oh. My Gosh. How embarrassing to realize that people who visit my home and peek into my office wonder why I have a scrapbook store. But then after I stopped internally blushing, I felt better. You know why? Because after flipping through Where Women Create all these times, I’ve seen some crazy, huge, awesome, expensive, fully-stocked, storelike studios of women who do all kinds of crafty and creative things … photography, art dolls, sewing, graphic arts, quilting, etc. And I realized something very comforting and very important.

We are not alone.

Scrapbookers aren’t the only ones so obsessed with supplies that it takes entire rooms to hold and organize them. We aren’t the only who live for Ikea and it’s plethora of crafty-friendly storage items. We aren’t the only women who find solace and comfort in our craft, who consider our creative spaces to be a haven, a place where we can go and truly be ourselves.

We are not alone. And that’s pretty great, isn’t it?

Aren’t we all so very blessed?

Troy Dunn on the “Oprah” Show TODAY!

Squeee!

I record Oprah every day, and watch the ones I like, delete the ones I don’t. But I’ll be watching today’s FO SHO! I have already gotten 3 e-mails letting me know that Mah Boy Troy will be on Oprah today (well, not like, physically sitting on her, but on her show. Geesh, do I really have to explain these things, people!)

I don’t know why people notify of me of these things. What? Do they think I’m obsessed with Troy Dunn or something? Cuz I’m not. See the title of the blog: “SCRAPBOOK Obsession.” Not “TROY Obsession.” I mean, I’ve only blogged about him, erm, (six) times. Is that a problem? Is that an obsession?

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Okay, well maybe they’ve got a point. Regardless. Or it it irregardless? Bah, I have an English degree and I still have to look that one up. Regardless! You should watch Troy Dunn on The Oprah Winfrey Show today. One of the e-mails I got is from a publicity company (yeah, they’re watching what you blog about, ladies…) and it said:
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Witness one desperate mother’s desperate search for the daughter she gave up 42 years ago. Then, meet “The Locator.” High-profile investigator Troy Dunn says he’s helped bring almost 40,000 people back together, including a terminally ill woman looking for her long lost father.
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See? Sounds good, huh? I hope you watch, whether you’re a Locator/Troy Dunn fan or not. Because after you watch and see his sweet smile and tallness and hear his soft voice and … oh wait, I mean … when you see the reunions he does, you’ll become a fan. He loves scrapbookers, btw. Go down to the Search box on the right side of my blog, enter Troy Dunn, and read my past entries on him. Good stuff, there.

I am NOT obsessed! I am not, I am not, I am NOT! (Hee, okay, maybe a tad bit … )

A Truthful Look at Scrapbook Room Organization

I was reading THIS post on 2peas about acrylic stamps by STEPHANIE BARNARD. I sought out her blog ~ which has some awesome stamps, btw ~ and found THIS entry about her organizational “system” for small embellishments.

I had never heard of Stephanie (sorry, Home Girl!) nor been to her blog, so I was expecting the usual, “I’m so perfect. Don’t you wish you were me and had a perfectly perfect organized studio?” kind of thing. Which always serves to make me feel inferior and wishing I were a more perfectly perfect person. As if seeing photos of Jennifer Aniston all over the magazines hasn’t already damaged my self-esteem beyond repair. (She and I are somewhat the same age, yet she looks 25 and I look 55 … and fat).

Anyway, back to Stephanie’s video … She turned out the be quite the hoot! Very funny and self-deprecating and honest about the way she organizes. She said she has a sign in her office that says, “Organized People are Just Too Lazy to Look for It.” Hoo-rah and hallelujah!

(Found a similar one HERE and may just have to get it, LOL!)

So she has 2 sets of the fabulous 4×4 cube EXPEDIT shelves that I’ve been wanting since I was 10 (Oh shut UP! That wasn’t THAT long ago!). Mah girl Steph even has her tiny embellishments like brads and paperclips sorted into plastic cannisters, divided containters, and a cute set of spice jars. But don’t hate her … she’s NOT perfect!

Unlike her friend, her spice jars are not decorated. Her supplies aren’t organized the way she really wants them, as she still has to kind of search for the exact item she needs. Stephanie says in the video that she needs someone who lives near her in SoCal to come over and organize things even better, admitting that her system isn’t the be all and end all.

{PSSST! Stephanie! Hey, over here! I’m in California, not too very far north of you, and I would love to make a road trip to play in … erm, I mean … help further organize your studio. Not that I’m any expert and my own space is always a work in progress. But I take direction really well and I LURVE to sort and organize things. So … just sayin’ … }.

{“‘Cuz Ima pothole … Kayyyy …” Don’t know why that commercial just came to mind, but it did, LOL}.

So check out Stephanie’s fun video HERE. I’m pretty sure you’re going to like her. She is “one of us.” Then come back and tell me what you think, K?

Scrapbook Crop and Open House: A Report :)

As I told you about HERE, I had a Scrapbook Open House on Saturday. My friend who holds a monthly crop for several friends in her development’s clubhouse was kind enough to let me display all my SIMPLE STORIES merch and invite all my crop buddies and customers to come check it out.

The good news is: There were 6 of us at the crop for most of the day and I got to chat and have fun with my friends. Several customers stopped by and I was able to show them how Simple Stories works, along with some new MEMORY WORKS products I had in stock.

The bad, well okay, decent news: I sold a “moderate” amount of stuff, LOL! It wasn’t gangbusters like I had hoped, but I did sell enough to make me happy I’d done it. I think the best part was that, even for the customers who didn’t buy anything, I was able to show Simple Stories to them and every single customer seemed interested. Maybe it wasn’t in their budget for now, but hopefully it will be in the future.

Thanks for cheering me on. I know you were with me in spirit. I did have a fun day, and made some progress on my Project 365 album. I took my laptop and little Epson printer so I could try to get caught up. For my photos, I chose, edited, and printed them right there at the crop and then scrapped them (with the Simple Stories “Life Documented” kit and WRMK pocket page protectors). I didn’t do any journaling at the crop ‘cuz when I do, I tend to make mistakes. So now I’m only 1 week behind in photos and 2 weeks behind in journaling. Hey, if you knew all the stuff going on in my personal life right now, you’d be impressed, I swear! LOL :)

Overall, a fun and worthwhile day. Hope you had a scrap happy weekend, too.

Scrapbook Open House

I know that most scrapbook consultants have parties as the main way they get their products “out there.” Well, you know me, I have to be different, LOL! In my 3 years as a MEMORY WORKS Consultant (just had my 3-year anniversary on 2-6-10, yeah!), I’ve never officially had an MW party. Instead I prefer to have crops, where my products are for sale and customers can browse/purchase at their leisure, and now I’m having my second Scrapbook Open House.

The way an Open House works (and this is my own definition; it’s not something that Memory Works promotes as an option, per se) is that you find a customer who would like to be the hostess (they get hostess credit), decide your hours, send out flyers to your customers, offer some incentives for them to come by … and then PRAY that they do, LOL!

The first open house I did was in November 2008. I had a fabulous make-n-take, a 12×12 2-page layout with MY MINDS EYE products, that was hugely popular. It was a class kit from Memory Works, so I didn’t even have to come up with the idea or put it together. The hostess provided cookies, hot cider, and such. Ladies stopped by, did the M&T while they chatted with scrappy friends and had a snack, or they just purchased the kit and took it home. It was a great success and lots of fun.

Now with a crop (which is what I do more often) you get reservations and payment ahead of time, so you know financially how you’re doing as you go along, how much food to provide, etc. But with an Open House, other than the few ladies who might RSVP on their own, you really don’t know how many will show up. So from my perspective as a consultant, that’s a wee bit aggravating … yet the nature of the beast, so that’s okay :)

For the customer, open houses are great because they are TOTALLY at your convenience. You can stop by when you have time, stay for as little or as long as you want, do a quick shop or relax and stay awhile, chat with your scrappy friends without having to lug all your stuff like you would to a crop, get to see new products, and touch base with your consultant.

And those are all the reasons I like to have an Open House once in a while. It’s truly a win-win-win, LOL. The hostess gets free stuff, customers have an easy event to attend, and I hopefully make my customers happy and sell some things. This time, I’m most excited about it because I get to show off SIMPLE STORIES in person. I’ve been selling lots of it online (thank you, my dear customers!), but this is the first time I’ll show it off in person.

I think my job will be pretty easy, as it really does sell itself. I do look forward to seeing that A-HA moment in ladies’ eyes when they see how easy and fast it is, how fun it is to work with, and what a solution it can be to some scrapping dilemmas they might be facing.

1. That feeling of being “behind” ~ We all have super busy periods in our lives, or you just lose your mojo to scrap. Then you feel like you’re so far behind. You’re still taking photos as you always have, but they’re stacking up (literally, or at least on your computer) and how will you ever catch up?

2. You took a family trip, remodeled your house, or had a new baby and the amount of photos you took is, well, kind of embarrassing really :) You want to show off all the amazing photos and not have to skip any of them, but if you do regular layouts for every photo, you’ll need at least 2 albums … and 2 weeks of home vacation just to have the time, LOL.

3. You’d like to do PROJECT 365, 52, or 12. You want to do a weekly GRATITUDE ALBUM. You’d like to do a Year in Review album with just the best pics from each month.

Yep, Simple Stories takes care of all of these Scrapper Issues :) I think that’s why so many people have purchased it and are excited about it. It’s just a bonus that the kit itself is so dang pretty and fun. Anyway, I look forward to seeing reactions in person and hope my IRL scrap friends like Simple Stories as much as I do (wait, is that even possible???).

My Scrapbook Open House tomorrow is being held at the clubhouse of a sweet scrappy friend. She hosts a group of friends for a monthly crop, which we love because it’s free, easy, and fun! You can actually go to the entire crop day without spending any money (nice when money is tight), if you bring your own munchies and drinks. And avoid the inevitable trips to Starbucks and Michaels, LOL.

Tomorrow happens to be the February date for our monthly ‘friends crop.’ Since she’ll have the clubhouse open anyway, she agreed to be the hostess for my Open House (LOVE her!). There are usually 4 to 6 of us cropping all day from 9am to 9pm; I’m not sure how many are expected this time. Then from 10am to 8pm, I’ll have my Memory Works area set up with products, some snacks/drinks, a quick make-n-take, and free gifts for those who stop by.

I’m kind of nervous that no one will come to the Open House. You just never know. I’ve stocked up on a bunch of Simple Stories PRODUCTS ~ kits, page protector packs, cardstock packs, and even an album.

I’ll have my album available to flip through and show samples of how you can use the kit, and the M&T is made from Simple Stories products. I have copies printed of the new SIMPLE STORIES IDEA GUIDE and CATALOG.

Please keep your fingers crossed that I make some sales Saturday!

I’m going to look on the bright side: Even if I don’t have many customers, I still get to scrapbook all day, right?

I Don’t Mean to Brag, I Don’t Mean to Boast …

But I’m like hot buttuh on ya breakfast toast!

Just a quick shameless brag post, if you’ll indulge me. HERE is where one my favorite blogs, CRAFT GOSSIP.COM, linked to my Eco Scrapbooking post :) It’s kind of surreal to click on a daily blog read and see your own name staring at you. Surreal and COOL!

And HERE is where Amber (the OWNER of Memory Works!) picked my blog as the first one to be showcased on the SIMPLE STORIES BLOG. Well, she could clearly see how obsessed I am about the whole Simple Stories thing, right? LOL Anyway, she said some very nice things about my blog and it made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. Here’s what she wrote:
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Blog Spotlight

It was so fun for us to scour all of the blogs and message boards – and we were seriously blown away with your blogs. There are some great bloggers out there and it was so fun for use to peek into our customers and consultant worlds. We are amazed everyday of how talented and inspirational you are. In fact, we were so inspired by what we saw that we’ll occasionally spotlight a few here on our Simple Stories blog!

I think it’s fitting that our first blog spotlight is that of Erika. I first tumbled on Erika’s blog as we had been receiving a large amount of hits from Scrapbook Obsession to our Simple Stories website and blog. Of course, I was curious to see what website this was as the hits just kept coming (and still do.) I was amazed – not only does she have highly fascinating, humorous posts she is a die-hard Simple Stories fan. Of course – that won me over J I loved how she shared her enthusiasm with her readers and even offered a pre-order option to her customers. LOVE that she puts herself out there and represents MemoryWorks in a positive, friendly and helpful way. LOVE that she’s a passionate scrapbooker and love that she doesn’t take life too seriously. So thanks Erika for brightening our day! (And Erika – don’t be surprised if you find a little goodie in your next MemoryWorks order…)
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Eeee! Did she say GOODIE???? Okay, I’m in Stalk the UPS Man mode, fer shure. {Gah, just for the legal record, I’m totally kidding about the “stalking.” It’s just a term we obsessed scrapbookers use to describe the way we jump up to peek out the window blind every time someone so much as coughs outside … when we’re expecting a scrappy package. No need to call the cops. There’s nothing to see here}.

Okay, now back to the music …

I said a hip hop the hippie to tha hippie the hip hip a hop
And ya don’t stop a rockin to the bang bang boogie
Say up jump the boogie to the rhythm of the boogety beat
Skippity we bopp we rock a scooby doo
A guess what America we love you
Cuz you rock & you roll with a so much soul
A you could rock till you 101 years old

Anyone know what song that’s from? If you do, you have my utmost respect. Hollah!

New at Michaels: My Minds Eye, DCWV, K&Co., Prima, and More

A couple of weekends ago, I went to “the big city” and shopped at the Michaels there. I posted photos of that trip HERE. This past weekend, I went to my Small Town Michaels closer to home ~ which usually is quite a ways behind the Big City store in getting new things ~ and was surprised to find they had a lot of new products the Big City store did not have. Yay for Small Town! (For once).

This was pretty interesting. It’s a paper stack like you usually see by K & COMPANY (this is from the cute new “handmade” line; yes, it’s in all lowercase) but this one was longer. It says, “Designer paper pad. Decorate your life with pattern. Perfect for large format die cut machines.” The front cover has photos of home dec projects, like using paper to cover trays and bookshelves. Very innovative, K! And your Company. All Ya’alls! Good job.

The next three photos are from a rack of new K&Co, and much of it was similar to what I posted in my last Mike’s entry. In this first photo, bottom row center, I think those wooden die cut shapes are new. They felt pretty sturdy, not flimsy at all. Another great, innovative idea by K. And her Co.

Also in the top photo, in the top right corner and partially cut off, is a pack of photo frames. They were in black and white with a kind of deckle edge and that “old fashioned” printing of random dates. It said something like “turn your modern photos into vintage looking photos.” Man, I’m really impressed with all these new ideas that the Company and K are coming up with!

Here’s yet another new idea by K&Co. It’s a postbound, pre-done album with an open spine and no page protectors. It’s also from the new “handmade” line, which is really growing on me now. This is the front cover …

… and a random page inside. As you can see, the pages are laid out in such a way that you would just plop your photos and journaling right in there and either be dunzo, or add some embellishment to fancy it up. I thought the papers and designs were soft and pretty, very useable.

Personally, it gives me the skeeves to think of scrapping something and then leaving it out in the open, unprotected like that. I mean, won’t my nekkid photos get fingerprints and schmutz all over them? It’s one reason I’ve never done a spiral-bound scrapbook and why I have a hard time with a lot of mini-books (so many with no protectors, ack!). Then I got to wondering if there were side-loading page protectors you could get to slide onto these pages when you’re done. Kind of like the THESE by CREATIVE MEMORIES.

Here is a racka new stacks, mainly by K&Co.

A close-up of the Silhouettes from the “handmade” line (yes, AGAIN!). These were different than your average doily-type papers in that only half of each sheet is die cut. I was really wanting these …

SHIMELLE posted some great photos from CHA-W of the “handmade” line on her blog HERE.

Here another racka stacks. These are from Die Cuts With a View (aka DCWV). Lots of cute stuff here.

A closer look at the DCWV stack called “At Home” and it’s matching cardstock stack. This line really caught my eye. The colors and designs are very fresh, I thought.

DCWV stack called “Hittin’ the Books.”

“Songbird” by DCWV; super cute, fun colors, birdhouses, flowers, cheerful, and happy. These papers would make great cards.

Here’s the “Family Connections” stack by DCWV, with family tree pages and great heritage looks.

I almost hate to show this one, the “Vintage Collage Stack” by DCWV, because my Scrap Sisters ANGIE and ABBY might feel like they MUST have it, and you know how I hate to enable (wink).

Wow, another innovative product in my opinion. Wait until you see these papers. They don’t have a repeating pattern, but something totally different. Awesome DCWV!

I think this was called transparency film, and here were the two designs to choose from. I’m not sure how to use them, or why they come in a tube. Maybe someone can enlighten me … please?

Here are some gorgeous trims by Prima ~ black lace and flower petals, 4 choices of colors. So, so pretty …

More new Prima flowers …

In my last Mike’s post, I showed you this:

Well, here is some more of the “Home” line by MY MINDS EYE. The 12×12 stack is very thick and I think every single page had glitter on it. The 6×6 stack in the middle had some pages with glitter and some without (ETA 2-8-10: I stand corrected. I looked at this pad again and every sheet indeed has glitter on it. Some of it’s very subtle and I missed it the first time I flipped through in the store, sorry!). The smaller 4×6 mat stacks had no glitter. No matter though … all versions are absolutely gorgeous.

I don’t know how MME does it but they have a way with color, how they combine specific shades, and give it a distressed or worn out look but not so distressed that it looks grungy. Instead, it just looks soft and approachable. {Jeez, what am I writing, an ad for Match.com? “Soft and approachable?” Yes, I DO love paper. I love it a lot. Much like you love your mom and your dog and your iPod; that is how much I LOVE paper. If I weren’t already married, I would most likely be in a committed relationship with it}.

So, you want to know what I got, right? Because I’m not made of stone. I can’t just go in there, see all this scrumptious new stuff, and not buy anything, right? If loving scrap supplies is wrong, I don’t wanna be right!

I got the K&Co. road trip chipboard stickers from this earlier photo:

I used a 50% off coupon and, from the photo posted earlier, I got the 6×6 MME “Home” glitter pad. {Wait, “glitter pad”??? WTH is that? Something Tinker Bell uses for her monthlies? Bwahahahahaha!}

I also got packs of orange and green Primas like these. Why yes, I do already have them but I was getting a second set for a, um … “friend.” Yeah, that’s the ticket. For a “friend.” J/K, I really was getting them for an online friend who’s local Mike’s doesn’t carry these Primas. I owed her a big time favor so I was happy to find them!

I explained to the cashier that I was buying them for a friend who lived elsewhere but her Mike’s didn’t carry the Primas. I asked if I could ring them up separately and use another 50% coupon … and she said yes! I know that kind of thing is hit or miss with Mike’s employees, but I lucked out today :)

So that’s the latest and greatest at Michaels. Have you seen the new stuff? What’s on your wish list or what have you already bought? What I meant to ask was, What has already jumped in your cart when you weren’t looking and then you didn’t have the heart to tell it to get out? It’s okay, you can tell me …

Memory Works: New Cosmo Cricket … Garden Variety, Material Girl, Joy Ride, and Tiny Type Alphas

I can’t believe we already have it! Memory Works has the new Cosmo Cricket lines from CHA-Winter (just last month!). You can see them all HERE and place an order if you like. I take Paypal or check/money order; sorry, US orders only.

As many of you know who ordered Simple Stories recently, Memory Works has great customer service ~ your order is shipped within 1-2 business days of payment confirmation. Not to mention that I will be your consultant and I’ll treat you like a queen! The Scrapbooking Queen that you are.

Okay, get ready, ‘cuz I’m going to tease you with some previews of the Cosmo Cricket we have …

“GARDEN VARIETY” Theme Set

“GARDEN VARIETY” Cardstock Stickers

We also have the Elements, Chipboard, and Buttons. Cardmakers will be happy to know we have the “GARDEN VARIETY” 6×6 Mini Deck!

Oh! And these cool Paul Bunyan chipboard letters, that are so fun and different …

Now onto another line …

“MATERIAL GIRL” Theme Set

“MATERIAL GIRL” Cardstock Stickers

“MATERIAL GIRL” Journaling Cards

We also have the “Material Girl” Chipboard, Buttons, 6×6 Mini Deck, and the Flour Sack chipboard letters … oh, so cute!

The third line we have is called “Joy Ride” …

“JOY RIDE” THEME SET

Here are the “JOY RIDE” ELEMENTS

We also have the Cardstock Stickers, Buttons, 6×6 Mini Deck, Chipboard, and one of my picks, these “Blue Line” chipboard letters

Last but not least, we have the TINY TYPE ALPHAS in Red, Blue, Brown, Green, Black, and Cream.

I will definitely be stocking up on these. I’ve always loved the similar alphas by Making Memories but I actually like this font better, plus you get those extra little stickers at the bottom. Besides, they’re only $1.50 each so why not?

MEMORY WORKS also has the new Three Bugs in a Rug that you can see HERE. We have Great Outdoors, Savannah, Little Chick, and Animal Stackers.

I’m always happy to answer your questions … just give me a shout at scrapbookobsession(at)gmail(dot)com.

Scrapbook Shopping Report: Michaels, Costco, and Barnes and Noble

Ah, “clearance” … One of the most beautiful words in the English language. When I walked into Michaels last weekend, and was on the way to the scrapbook aisle, I ran right into a display of scrapbook CLEARANCE.

There were paper packs by K&Co. and Making Memories, …

… paper pads by GCD, and SEI.

There was this huge pack of 12×12 specialty papers by Prima … super pretty and romantic. If you have a wedding to scrap, I would check this one out!

Then over to the “Designer Showcase” or whatever the hell they call that “new scrapbooking stuff” section these days. Here are pics of all 4 sides of it:

Look at that lovely bling!

Bling titles this time, and lots of new Soft Spoken.

Some new My Minds Eye chipboard and vinyl. Wait, did I say vinyl? Yep, I did. How cool. You can use it on your walls OR your scrapbook pages.

Here’s a close-up of the MME “Home” journaling chipboard. The colors are really pretty in person.

Here’s a lotta new K & Company goodness.

Here are some items I’ll be back for with coupons in the future. It pained me to leave “my” things at the store, but I already had a few items and had to call it quits. For now. Are those cupcakes and sweets on the bottom right to DIE for??? Oh. My. Gah! And the branches that look real, and the cute little flowers with bling in the center??? Can you see the red car and cute blue trailer it’s towing in the travel set?

After Michaels, I went to Costco. I tell myself not to even bother looking for SBR stuff there anymore because they never have anything … or anything good. But I can never resist checking anyway, and this time I at least found a Purple Cow 2 in 1 paper trimmer. Is that a good price? I don’t know. I’ve been happy ~ infatuated really ~ with my Cutterpede trimmer for so long now, I’ve never even so much as glanced at another trimmer. When I’m happy, I’m loyal :)

Here are two reads I picked up at Barnes and Noble:

The latest from CK, Scrapbooking Tips & Tricks. Lots of organizational items in here. It’s thin, but I still think worth the $6 cover price.

Blogging for Bliss book ($15) by TARA FREY, a mucho successful craft blogger. HERE is Tara’s blog entry about her book. I skimmed through it once so far and I LOVE this book! Highly recommend it to anyone who wants to make the most of their craft-related blog.

I found it interesting that the large majority of craft bloggers featured use Typepad. Hmmm… I’ve been considering switching over there from WordPress, and this just adds another reason.

You may recognize this from the ‘Clearance table at Michaels’ photos. Yep, I couldn’t resist a pack of 12 speciality papers marked down from $10 to $2. Some of them are adhesive backed and will be fun to use in my Cricut. The glittery ones are gorgeous, too.

Got all 3 pieces Mike’s had of My Minds Eye “Home” in the pink set. Really, really pretty and only cost $2-$4 each for nice, thick chipboard. You can’t tell from the photo, but the frames one has 3 frames in it.

Here’s the MME chipboard journaling only, “Home” in blue. And some stinkin’ cute epoxy donut stickers by Recollections. They were only $1 and yet they INCLUDED sprinkles! Can you believe that? (“Bad cop. No donut.” Bwahahaha, my favorite bumper sticker EVER!).

And lastly, 2 packs of Prima flowers in Honeydew and Mango. They were $4 each but I used a 40% off coupon on one of the packs. They coordinate really well with Simple Stories “Life Documented,” as I’d hoped, and are the perfect size for my Project 365.

I’m still feeling guilty for buying something at Michaels for full price. I mean, what’s the point of that? Oh well.

One last thing: Here is a photo a friend posted of 2 of the new K&Co. ephemera chipboard packs she purchased, so you can have a closer look-see. Really cute and what a great value, especially if you use coupons like she did :)

Tune in again tomorrow for more shopping news: Tuesday Morning and Ross.

What are your latest shopping finds? Have I enabled you with any of mine?

Grab Bag Scrapbook Pack at Walmart

I didn’t get one, but took some pics for ya’ when I was at Walmart the other day …

At my WM, they were on an endcap as you entered the crafting area. Each one looked like it had different contents, and it was hard to see exactly what was in there. They were shrink wrapped but I saw some Best Occasions and Autumn Leaves stuff. It was too much a leap of faith for me to buy one, but maybe you’ll be willing to take a chance?

THIS Pea bought one and was so happy with it, she went back for another. She posted this photo:

She’s right, that idea book alone sold for $20, so there’s your value. As it happens, I already have that book and tons of AUTUMN LEAVES stamps (including the ones pictured), so it’s probably good I didn’t get one of these scrapbook packs at Walmart. But wanted to share in case you “need” one …

I think it’s a brilliant idea: Package up a bunch of the scrapbooking supplies they’ve had forever, sell them at a great price, and get them outta the store … hopefully to make room for some new things … because it’s been a really long time since new stuff, at least at my Walmart.

Stay tuned: I have lots more scrap-shopping pictures to post from my weekend, but I had to work tonight so this is all I got to. But there will be more … oh yes, there will be more …

Simple Stories “Life Documented” and Getting Started

The SIMPLE STORIES “Life Documented” kit by MEMORY WORKS went on sale Friday, January 15, 2010 at 9am MST … and I ordered mine 1/15/10 at 9:01 MST :) I know, I know, I lagged for a whole minute! Here is what I ordered:

The Simple Stories “Life Documented” KIT ($16.99)

Prism CARDSTOCK PACK with colors that match the Life Documented kit ($3.75)

We R Memory Keepers (WRMK) page protectors, in 3 configurations …

MULTI-PACK(10 for $5.50)

VERTICAL 4×6 slots only (10 for $5.50)

HORIZONTAL 4×6 slots only (25 for $11.50)

And the kiwi green WRMK 12×12 D-RING ALBUM ($30.00), which comes with (10) regular 12×12 page protectors

I received my package of goodies exactly one week later (the following Friday). Usually I get MW orders within 4-5 days but, understandably, it took longer this time because they were swamped with orders. That weekend, I set about getting started with my Simple Stories kit, which I’m using to complete my PROJECT 365 for 2010.

The kit is so detailed and nice-looking, that you can definitely “keep it simple” and use nothing but what comes in the kit, by cutting the cardstock elements apart, printing out and using the digital elements, etc. and just slipping them right into the page protector slots. Adding your photos and journaling would be the rest of the process, and you’d be DUNZO! Whoo hoo, love the simplicity and quickness of that.

But after seeing Simple Stories page samples from the Memory Works design team and guest designer BRENDA HURD, I decided to go a little more elaborate with mine. I really liked how they added flowers, ribbon, stamping, and other embellishments to dress it up and have a little fun with it.

So I went digging through my stash and began gathering things that I could use. I found lots of matching flowers and ribbons (Why, yes, I DO know that I have a ribbon issue! I’m on Step 7 of 12. I’ve humbly asked God to remove this shortcoming. I’m waiting to hear back) …

I decided to use one of the patterned, double-sided cardstock sheets to open my Project 365 album, with the title page/front page using one side, and then turning the page to an Introduction page on the left. {It has a bunch of personal info on it and with the nasty spammers I get on the blog, I can’t share the whole thing here, sorry … }. Here’s the bottom right of the Intro page, where I used a file tab sticker and alpha letters from the SS kit, and some light green glitter chipboard letters I had (thanks SSS SECRET SANTA!).

I printed out my photos and started popping them into the slots, along with strips, embellishment, and journaling cards from the kit. I also used one of the transparencies here, to give special honor to the photo of receiving my long-awaited Simple Stories shipment!

On the first page, I used the January month card. There’s a card for every month, which I love.

I kept the cover sheet from the kit and slipped it in a page protector, for when I take my Project 365 album {which will be my demo album} to Memory Works parties and crops.

I’m not sure why I took a photo of my WRMK album. I think because I’m in love with it and want to marry it …

I got all my P365 photos printed up to that point, which was the end of Week 3, and got them in the page protectors where I liked them. Some of the photos didn’t fit effortlessly into the slotted pages so rather than fight or force, I decided to make a front and back 12×12 layout using some of the Prism cardstock as a background.

At that point, I had a better feel for the colors and style of the kit, and went shopping in my stash again for things I could use to dress it up. I found chipboard numbers, journaling items, metal frames, and all kinds of bling. Hmmm … I’m getting so much stuff, I need a container of some kind to hold them on my desk. Shouldn’t be a problem, as I’m the Queen of Rubbermaid storage containers, LOL.

So that’s how things went on my first Simple Stories outing. Obviously, now that I’ve got the basic layout of my pages in place, it’s time to USE some of that fine stashness I’ve gathered.

I’ve never done Project 365 and I’ve never scrapbooked this way, with the divided page protectors. This is going to be a fun and growing experience for me and my scrapbooking, and I’m really looking forward to it.

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