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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?

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?

Memory Works: Simple Stories “Life Documented” … The Madness Has Begun!

OH. EM. GEE!

I feel like BECKY HIGGINS today! You know how everyone gets so excited over her scrapbook kits, like the school days one, and more recently, PROJECT LIFE??? Well, today is the day that the SIMPLE STORIES “Life Documented” line and accessories went on sale … 1-15-10 at 9am MST, to be exact.

Late lastnight, the CATALOG of Simple Stories items was released to consultants and boy is it purdy. It’s a .PDF file that I can e-mail to customers, and the whole line in is in there, including the much anticipated matching Prism cardstock, along with How To’s and samples. Very well done, I thought.

I was was up super late lastnight (too embarrassed to tell you HOW late….), getting all my ducks in a row with my pre-orders. I tallied down who had pre-ordered what, the amount due, and whether their Paypal payment had been received. I made sure my Memory Works WEBSITE was pulled up, that all my billing and address info was correct, and that I was logged in. Then I went to bed for a few hours (ahem…) and was up by 7am to be ready for the 8am (my time) launch.

Once the Simple Stories items were showing on my MW website, I placed my very own order for an album, kit, a Prism cardstock pack, and some page protector packs. I added extras of everything (except the album; oh, I got that cool Kiwi green color, btw!) so I have some stock to sell at my next crop. I hit Send and sang Hallelujah! Did a little happy dance. Whoo hoo, I GOT ME MINES!

Then I went to my e-mail … and felt like Becky :)

The order invoices starting coming in, right from the beginning! I checked each one to make sure the correct items were ordered that they had requested, then verified payment had been received, and hit “Order Fulfillment” on my MW website. Questions were coming in pretty regularly, and new orders that hadn’t been pre-paid, so I typed up Paypal invoices, sent them right off, received payment SO quickly (these girls are excited!…well, that or they had to leave for work, sheesh). More Order Fulfillments and lots of happy customers!

Yeah, I felt like about 1% of the stress that Becky Higgins must feel the day her new kits go on sale to the general public. Gah! It’s fun, exhilarating, exciting, and stressful, all rolled into one. I know I’ve gone on and on about this kit/line, and I thank you for your patience if you normally come here just to read sarcastic scrapbook commentary and see what’s in stock at Michaels, LOL! I’ll get back to that good stuff soon, I promise. In fact, I have a VERY good article coming up that you’re going to want to read. It applies to a scrapbook industry controversy, so should be interesting, eh?

Anyway, I’m so happy today is here, excited to keep selling Simple Stories products in the future, and SO appreciative of my lovely customers and understanding SBO readers who have been nothing but wonderful to me :) Hollah!

The best part is going to be seeing what people DO with this kit. I’ve seen (MW owner) Amber’s samples on the simple stories blog, and I know the MW Design Team got the kit a day or two early and are busy creating with it. But I really want to see what the everyday scrapper like me does with it, and hear their feedback. I hope it turns out to be a good solution for Project 365’ers, for busy moms who want to get some photos in an album BEFORE their kids are grown and gone, and for new scrappers who maybe have been intimidated by traditional scrapping and might feel like this is something they can do to get started.

Again, just feelin’ the love today. Thanks to all! Have a WONDERFUL day!

ETA 1-15-10: Holy cow, the Prism Cardstock Pack (it matches with Life Documented kit) has already sold out! I hope they’ll get more soon. You get (7) pieces of pebbled, 12×12 cardstock for $3.75 …

ETA 1-18-10: It’s back! The Prism cardstock that matches Simple Stories “Life Documented” is back in stock :)

Scrapbook Organization: Playing Catch Up

I spent most of the weekend working on my scrapbook room. Ugh! I know . . . AGAIN! I’m NOT considering this part of the whole MAKEOVER thing, just the clean-up to get back to where I left off. If you look back at those last “makeover” photos from 10-15-09, I haven’t really made much overall progress since then anyway.

What I did do, however, was perform a major backslide over the holidays. My scrap space became the activity center, the holiday gift-hiding and wrapping hub, and the dumping ground afterward for gifts to be put away, Christmas cards to sort and scrap, school and personal papers, etc. Everything had gotten WAY-HAY-HAY out of hand to the point that I couldn’t do ANYTHING on my desk or in my scrap space, much less scrapbook!

While the ONLINE CROP happened this weekend, I spent some time sorting, purging, putting away, and cleaning my space, taking breaks to chat with the Scrap Sisters and keep my enthusiasm going.

It’s now back to a decent level so I can scrapbook again (I have until Wednesday at midnight PST to complete some of those crop challenges!). Thought I’d share a few Before and After photos. The Before pix were taken Friday night so they’re dark, sorry. The Afters were taken Sunday afternoon.

LEFT SIDE OF DESK – BEFORE

LEFT SIDE OF DESK – AFTER

There’s my new Daisy tool caddy by Creative Memories. I moved all my acrylic stamps and inks from 2 Crop in Style flat packs into the tool caddy. What I realized is that … I need another one, LOL. I have my current stash in there, just barely, but my Secret Santa sent me a bunch more stamps for Christmas (they’re stacked under that pile of embellies, 5 full sets!). See all those punches and tools behind the tool caddy? I want to get one for those, too. I don’t like how they get dusty sitting out on my desk, even when they’re in heavy use … which admittedly, they haven’t been lately. The Cropper Hopper vertical file is for my newest acquisitions that I hope to scrap with soon. My Inspiration File, if you will. The rest is Secret Santa stuff that I left out on purpose. No, really! One of the crop challenges is to create a layout using products you received from Secret Santas. See, I wasn’t lying.

Yes! I can see my Basic Grey magnetic mats again! The envelope has some CTMH “My Acrylix” (empty) envelopes that I offered to RAK on the Scrap Sisters Studio message board; as it happens, my Scrap Pal was the first to speak up so they’re being mailed to her … along with a little gift that I forgot to include in her Christmas gift mailing.

RIGHT SIDE OF DESK – BEFORE

Oh lookie! Some books that are now neatly filed on my bookshelf, which I also reorganized this weekend. My Green Tangerines bag and stuff I bought there, Christmas card leftovers and stamps, etc.

RIGHT SIDE OF DESK – AFTER

All my most-used tools, stereo, RAK bag, and carousel I use to store Cricut stuff.

Cricut, Epson Picturemate printer, and I moved my little lamp over here. The paper, embellies, and envelopes are hand-me-downs from my mom (she’s the one who always gives me free scrap stuff she doesn’t want … I know, I’d be jealous if I were you, too). Anyway, I found the box they were in at the end of the day and that’s as far as they got :( Out of the box and onto my desk … for now.

COUCH/COFFEE TABLE – BEFORE

Yep, there’s really a couch and table under all that disgusting mess, I swear! CM photo storage boxes (like my fancy labels made out of sticky notes? i made new ones finally), an old printer I need to get rid of, and my basket of alphas. Also, 2 bins of past MEMORY WORKS kits that I need to either use or separate out and put away.

COUCH/COFFEE TABLE – AFTER

The kits are still there, and I stashed some things under the table, but at least I can see part of the couch and all of the table again, right? And there’s my new CROP BAGS. They make me happy :)

So, there’s what I did this weekend. How about you? Anything scrappy or organize-y? Or did you just watch football? Whatever you did, hope it was a great one.

Scrapbook Storage Boxes at Dollar Tree

ANDREA aka scrapcrazed at 2PEAS posted a thread about these cute storage boxes she found at DOLLAR TREE and she’s got the girls quite abuzz…

Aren’t they adorable? I think we could all find plenty of uses for these around our houses or in our scrap spaces. If you don’t have time to read through the whole thread, here’s a synopsis:

~ They measure “approx. 5.5″ wide, and 9.25″ long from front to back. And they are 5.25″ deep,” and are made out of plastic.

~ They reportedly come in “solids in white, pink, kiwi and light blue. The prints are the kiwi with the ovals and kind of a turquoise with squares. The prints are sort of retro.”

~ Some are having trouble getting the bottom snaps to line up. I don’t know if they are packaged up but if not, maybe try and make sure they snap together BEFORE you buy them. The Peas are saying something about Dollar Tree having a no return policy although you can exchange.

Let us know if you get any of these cuties, and how you’re going to use them!

Crop and Storage Bags: “Daisy Totes” by Creative Memories

As I wrote about HERE, the new set of crop bags by CREATIVE MEMORIES was on my wish list for Scrap Santa this Christmas. I’m happy to report that he must’ve judged me a good girl this year … because I got the bags! Nope, I’m not shizzlin’ you. I really did!

Okay, let’s cut the crap. I knew I was getting the bags, and Scrap Santa had nothing to do with it. I arranged the whole thing with my mom ahead of time.

Let’s face it … if you read my blog in 2009, you know that I had a questionably “naughty” year. I did a bunch of scrapbook industry rumor spreading. I ruthlessly enabled scrappers to spend money on products they probably didn’t technically “need,” though I may have convinced them otherwise. I even used curse words when it was deemed appropriate (and c’mon, you KNOW sometimes it’s appropriate!).

Needless to say, I wasn’t taking my chances with Scrap Santa on the crop bags. I wanted them too badly. And what does a Scrappy Girl do when she reeeeeeeeelly reeeeeeeelly wants something? She calls her Scrap Mama, of course. Hollah! I called my mom, who happens to scrapbook once a month with my sister-in-law … who happens to be a Creative Memories Consultant … who happens to have told me in the past that if I ever wanted to get CM crop bags through her, she would waive her 30% commission as her gift to me. {Don’t I have the best mama and sissie-in-law???}

So my mom ordered the crop bag set I wanted from my SIL and I got them when we took a road trip and visited my mom last week. First of all, can I tell you how EXCITED my husband was at the prospect of adding this huge set of bags to our already overloaded vehicle on our 5-day, 900-mile trip? I mean, he was SO excited! I think his exact words were, “Don’t tell me I have to fit all that crap in the truck.”

I finally sold him on the idea of “allowing” me to bring my crop bags home with us when I pointed out that I could pack all of the smaller bags inside the largest bag. Not only that, but I could pack other stuff in there as well. Big selling point. Thus, my large new crop bag came home in the back of our truck, with the smaller bags inside of it, along with my Uggs, 6 beach towels, the airbed pump, and 5 DVDs.

“See, honey, crop bags are VERSATILE! And they have rolley wheels!” {Bah! If looks could kill, I’d be dead}.

Without further ado, let the clouds part and reveal … (harps playing) … my new crop bags!

First, we have the “Daisy Wheeled Cart” aka “The Mondo Huge-amic Size of a Small Car” bag

PHOTO FROM CM WEBSITE:

MY PHOTOS:

Big and Beautiful!

I adore how CM puts large outside pockets on their bags. The tiny little outside pockets on my Crop-in-Style tote drive me batty. What can you fit in there, a freakin’ dime? I want large pockets that I can actually fit, like, scrapping stuff in.

Here is the inside. It will be close, but I think I can fit my cropping stuff in there, hee hee :) I love the pink with black polka dots pattern, and that the interior is NOT black, which makes it easier to find things. Plus, it’s cute.

I like how the lining zips out so you can clean it. That’s the first time I’ve seen that feature in a crop bag.


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Next is the “Daisy Weekender”:

PHOTO FROM CM WEBSITE:

MY PHOTOS:

The top has double zippers like some suitcases, and opens up in a neat and different way. Everything should be easily accessible but not squished together at the top like a tote bag would do. This is one side …

…and this is the other…Cool pockets, huh?

Again, great external pockets and I like the curved flap detail.


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Here is the “Daisy Project Tote”:

CM WEBSITE PHOTO:

MY PHOTO:

Just your basic tote. Here is the inside. I like the cell phone pocket … will be a good place to keep my iPhone handy.


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And finally, the “Daisy Tool Caddy”:

CM PHOTO:

MY PHOTOS:

This bag comes packed flat and you put it together. Here are the pieces …

I put the divider in. I’m not sure what the extra pink square piece is for. Need to look more closely at the little flyer insert or online to see if it tells ya.

This is just a close-up showing you how the 2-pieces zip together.

Seriously, I didn’t post photos just to brag. I’m hoping that if someone is looking for info on these bags to decide if they want them or not, they will come across my post and at least see photos of the insides and make sure they like them.

Yeppers, those are my new crop bags! Eeeeeeeee! So excited! Can’t wait to use them for a crop. I might be going to a crop weekend in late January. If that falls through, I’m hoping to hold my own crop in early February. Wish me luck … I call tomorrow to try and reserve the crop space. And stay tuned for a future post when I fill them up and you can see how much scrap stuff I can fit in these suckers.

What was your favorite scrappy Christmas gift?

ETA 11/01/12: The photos I originally linked to on CM’s site were no longer valid. I updated them with current photos. I could not find the Daisy Tool Caddy on the CM website so I’m not sure if they still carry it. Photo above comes from another source :)

Friday Night Scrapbook Randoms #8

~ Project 365 for 2010 started today. I took some photos after midnight of our little New Years celebration, and also some photos on our walk today so I have about 8 photos to choose from. I’m going to start a Word document journal of my photos each day, then when it’s time to journal for my P365 scrapbook, I’ll just print it out or transfer it over in handwriting.

I found THIS blog via 2 peas tonight and she gave some good insight about not stressing on this project. I don’t want it to be a stressful thing, so any tips like that, I love.

We started a separate Project 365 forum at SCRAP SISTERS STUDIO, so that’s cool to have one place to gather all our posts, info, and inspiration. Whoever thinks of it first will start a daily thread in the main Scrap Chat forum, then I’ll move it over to the P365 forum once everyone has had a chance to read it. We don’t want it to be out of sight, out of mind. I ended up starting the thread for today and was happy to see all the responses of the ladies participating. I also responded to the first daily thread on 2peas. I think staying involved in those daily threads will help keep my Project 365 mojo going.

~ I wish I hadn’t been laid up in bed not feeling well most of today. I have so many new scrappy things to show you from Christmas and I need to take photos of them! Instead of taking photos to share with you, I chose to watch 8 back episodes in a row of Million Dollar Listing that have been sitting in my Tivo for months. {Okay, Chad, you can “love” your dog, just don’t “LLLLOOOVVVVEEEE” your dog. Crap, man, get a life!}

Anyway, once I got my lard ass out of bed, then took the kids and dog out on a long walk, it was too dark to get good photos. I will try again tomorrow. I got the crop bags I wanted (eeee!), my Basic Grey “vintage” order came in, and I got to shop at an actual LSS for the first time in probably 5 months. I’ll give you a review of that store and here’s a hint: It’s the “largest scrapbook store in California.” Ha! You’re jealous, huh? That’s okay, I would be jealous of me too.

~ 2 peas is having log-in issues and I’m getting mighty sick of it. I have to re-log in every time I go to post something. Grrrr. Maybe they will get it fixed on Monday, when everyone goes back to their normal life in the business world. If not, I may have to go to their home office in Wisconsin and bang their heads together like Larry and Curly.

~ I set a deadline to finish my scrapbook room MAKEOVER by 12-31-09 and *SHOCKING* I did not meet my deadline. Wow, that really surprises me, that I started a scrappy project and didn’t finish it when I said I would (insert eye roll here). Now that I’m feeling better, I’m hoping to finish it by my new deadline of Sunday, 1-3-10.

I would really love to have an organized space and clean desk to be able to get some major scrapping done in 2010, because my “number of layouts completed” for 2009 was pretty dismal. I don’t keep a tally but I would guess it’s in the 40-50 page range and that just bites. I would also like a clean slate to start Project 365 with for 2010 and feel like I can sit down on a weekly basis to insert my photos and journaling in the P365 album.

Did you have any scrappy deadlines set in 2009 or projects you were determined to finish that didn’t get done? C’mon, help a sister out! Make me feel like less of a loser, would ya?

Well, that’s all I got. Gonna make like a tree and leave…buh bye.

Memory Works: Simple Stories “Life Documented” Kit Update #3

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WOW.

The response to this new line and kit by MEMORY WORKS has been overwhelming! Which, as a Memory Works consultant, excites me to no end. It feels good when so many people have such a positive response to a product that the company YOU work for sells.

So I’ve decided to do regular update blog posts here about it. Here is UPDATE #1 and UPDATE #2 in case you missed them. They don’t have “Update” in the title because I didn’t realize when I wrote them that Simple Stories/Life Documented would be such a big honkin’ deal, LOL!

I’m also going to start sending out e-mail updates to anyone who would like to be on my address list. If you would like to be on my list and receive updates about Simple Stories “Life Documented”, please e-mail me: scrapbookobsession(at)gmail(dot)com. {I would prefer you didn’t leave your e-mail address in my blog Comments, as then your personal e-mail is out there for everyone on the web to see and you will be spammed to within an inch of your life. Believe me.}

I’ve been away from the computer for the last several days, so I haven’t been able to share all the Life Documented sneak peeks they’ve been posting on the Simple Stories BLOG, but here are some links so you can get all caught up:

REVEAL #1 (12-28-09) ~ Life Documented Kit, Journal Cards, and Quote Cards
REVEAL #2 (12-29-09) ~ We R Memory Keepers Albums, Page Protectors, and prices
REVEAL #3 (12-30-09) ~ Title Strips, Border Strips, and Page Elements
REVEAL #4 (12-31-09) ~ Journaling Mats, Quote Cards, and how they work with the Page Protectors

For this update, how about a What, Where, How kind of thing?

WHAT is Simple Stories “Life Documented” by Memory Works?

Let me scooch back a little and start at the beginning :) Memory Works is a direct sales scrapbooking company that has been around for 7 years. It is run by Amber and Kevin Crowell (husband and wife) from Utah, USA. Over the years, they have built a wonderful and successful business with consultants from all over the country selling the “latest and greatest” scrapbooking products direct to the customer. Until now, Memory Works has sold products made by other companies, such a My Minds Eye, Basic Grey, Pink Paislee, and Bo Bunny.

Beginning in January 2010, Memory Works will manufacture and sell their OWN product line called Simple Stories. The first release from this line is called “Life Documented” and it consists of paper (not digital*) scrapbooking elements, and it works perfectly with the We R Memory Keepers 12×12 D-ring albums and regular/pocket page protectors that Memory Works already carries. *The kit itself is paper but there will be a free digital element to it also.

WHEN will Simple Stories “Life Documented” items be available to purchase?

The We R Memory Keepers 12×12 D-ring albums and page protector packs are currently for sale through any Memory Works consultant. I notice that as of now, the Celery green color is out of stock, but other colors are available. My assumption is that the Celery color will be in stock when the kits are.

Speaking of which, the Simple Stories “Life Documented” kits are projected to be available for purchase in mid-January. MW does not believe in promising something until they have it in their hands, so they will not take orders until they actually have the product and know they can fulfill the orders. (My VERY OWN OPINION is that Memory Works trying to avoid a fiasco like Becky Higgins/Creating Keepsakes had with their Project 365 kits last year at this time….man, that got ugly!).

So, if you would like to order the albums and page protectors now, you can, or you can wait until the kit comes in and get everything at once. Totally up to you. Either way, I hope you will consider ordering from me (yeah, I have no shame…) and you would do so HERE. Instructions are HERE.

HOW does the Life Documented kit work and would it be a good fit for Project 365, Project 52, and the like?

The concept of Simple Stories is just that: SIMPLE. Take photos, get them in an album, embellish, journal, DONE. Sure, we scrapbookers are creative types, and we love to make more detailed and complicated layouts a lot of the time. But what if you’re super busy like me and find you don’t have the time to scrapbook that you used to? What if you took a big trip with lots of photos and are now daunted by the prospect of getting all those fab photos into one album, and getting it done, like, sometime this century?

Maybe your solution is Simple Stories. Take your 4×6 photos (no cropping necessary), slip them into divided page protectors like THESE from We R Memory Keepers, slip in some embellishment by way of nicely designed accents made from heavy cardstock, jot down some journaling on a predesigned card, and you’re done.

If you’re planning to do Project 365 in 2010 (or Project 52, Project 12, etc), you can see this will be perfect for these projects. The page protectors come in many different configurations, with different sized pockets, vertical and horizontal 4×6 photo slots, etc. so you can personalize it exactly how you like. Many of you have already purchased the PROJECT LIFE kit by Becky Higgins and that is awesome. Rock on, Project Life sistas! She gives you a lot of product for the price and her clean, simple style is very appealing. However, if the style of her kit doesn’t appeal to you, or you did her Project 365 last year and maybe want to try something with a different layout and look this year, check out Life Documented :)

WHERE can you order Simple Stories “Life Documented”?

You can order from any Memory Works Consultant. If she has her own website, you can order directly from there. If she doesn’t, you can tell the consultant what you want and she will place the order for you. My website is HERE. I take check and money order, but prefer Paypal as you will get your order quicker (since I don’t have to wait for payment in the mail before I can place your order).

No matter which consultant you order from, and where she and you are located, your order will ship from Memory Works in Utah. So it is NOT necessary to find a “consultant near you”, kwim?

Do you think a lot of your friends might like “Life Documented” or other Memory Works products? Want to earn a 20% commission on everything you sell and/or buy for yourself? Consider becoming a Memory Works CONSULTANT {starts as low as $20 sign-up!}. If you do sign up, I would love the free product credit I get if you put in my consultant number (wink).

WHY should I wait for Life Documented kit, when Project 365 starts tomorrow?

I have asked myself that same question, LOL! I’m going to do Project 365 for the first time in 2010 (HERE is where I agonized over the decision). Of course, I’m anxious to get started and afraid of falling behind. Waiting for 2 weeks into the new year before I can order Life Documented seems counterintuitive, right?

But I figure that once I receive “Life Documented”, it’s so super easy, I can get caught up in one scrapping session. Starting tomorrow on January 1, I’ll begin taking my daily photo and jotting some quick journaling about it in my dayplanner, notebook, or a Word document. {This is a practice I’ll keep up throughout the year}. Then when I get the kit, I’ll print out my 2 or 3 weeks of photos and pop them into the page protectors, copy over my journaling onto the pre-done journaling cards, add a few embellishments and accents, and I’m caught up. Piece a cake, I tell ya. So I’m not worried about it…

I like the “Life Documented” kit so much more than Becky’s that it’ll be worth the wait. Here are some pix so you can see how different they are:

A peek of PROJECT LIFE

A peek of LIFE DOCUMENTED

What I’ve been hearing on the message boards is that one kit or the other is “your style,” so it’s nice that there are 2 options we can all choose from, don’t you think? Yay, OPTIONS! We LOVE options!

ETA: I’ve been getting inquires from outside of the States, so I want to clarify that question. Standard shipping within the Continental US is $8.45 for up to an $87.99 purchase. For higher charges, there is also Rush shipping and shipping to APO/FPO, Alaska, Hawaii and US Territories. As of now, Memory Works does NOT ship outside of the US but, if you’re willing to pay the actual shipping costs, I can have any Memory Works products shipped to me in California, and I will ship them to you :)

So, I hope I’ve answered your questions about Simple Stories “Life Documented” by Memory Works. If I haven’t, please leave me a comment and I’ll answer in my next Update.

If you would like updates by e-mail, please e-mail me as explained above. And one last thing…

HAPPY SCRAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

Have a safe, fun, and fabulous night :) Our plan includes pizza, movies, a fire in the woodstove, board games, and staying home where it’s safe and warm. I know, just livin’ The Vida Loca over here, ain’t we? {I do plan to break out the Dirty Martinis at some point, so if you see me on the scrapbook message boards tonight and I’m not making much sense, I’m probably PUI…Posting Under the Influence…ha!}

Memory Works: Simple Stories “Life Documented” Official Reveal on 12-28-09

Okay, yesterday MEMORY WORKS posted more news about the Simple Stories “Life Documented” line ~ yahoo! I am SO using this for my PROJECT 365! And probably lots of other stuff, too! It is super great looking, the price sounds right, and I love all the features of it.

Merry Christmas from me to you: HERE YA GO.

I’m so stinkin’ excited! I love the celery green album and how the products match with it (although there will be other album colors to choose from, or you can use one you already have or buy elsewhere). Love that the price is only $16.99 for 180 pieces of scrappy goodness. Love that they have married this line with the We R Memory Keepers scrapbook albums and pocket page protectors, with all their various configurations.

{Here is one sneek…there are more over there…}

There are also answers to some of our Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)…

So go check out the Simple Stories SITE if you have a chance. You won’t be disappointed. And remember, they’re giving away a free kit every week until the launch if you post Simple Stories / Life Documented links or blinkies on blogs, Facebook, message boards, Twitter, etc. I’m going to enter each week and hope I win one :)
—–
On a different note…but I had to share… THIS Pea said there are Thickers for

    69 CENTS

at Tuesday Morning!!! Along with other scrappy stuff, and even more coming after Christmas. See, Scrap Santa is out there and he has your back. Let us know if you find any Thickers or other stuff at your Tuesday AM, k?

Scrapbook product salivating aside, I want to wish you a Very Merry Christmas. Please be safe, happy, and well. Enjoy your families and food and all of life’s blessings.

Scrapbook Mail, Scrapbook Shopping, and a Scrapbook Space

Yep, time is money, people, and there’s a lot to cover!

Scrapbook Mail:

I love, love, LOVE getting scrapbook mail, don’t you? There is no better mail than that. Well, maybe if someone wanted to send me a bunch of money, that would be my favorite mail, but somehow, I don’t see that happening.

Over at the SCRAPBOOK SISTERS STUDIO message board, I joined a Secret Santa Swap. Well actually two. For one, you were to send an envelope of handmade or inexpensive scrapbook goodies to 5 other Sisters, and in return you would receive 5 different envelopes back. Here are the first two packages I received ~ aren’t they great? ~ and the only ones I’ve taken photos of so far. I’ve received others too and it’s always to fun to get the mail these days!

For the other one, you were to send $20 worth of scrapbook goodies to a Sister you were secretly matched up with. We each posted Wish Lists including scrapbook stuff and non-SBR stuff, too. I sent off my package on Monday and received the one from my Secret Santa yesterday. I was so lucky to have SCRAPPY GIRL for my SS. LOOKIE LOOKIE at all the bad-ass shizzle she sent me!

Love all the Inque stuff, the LYB stuff, just LURVE IT ALL! She even got me my favorite Dr. Pepper lip smackers lip gloss :) Thank you, Scrappy Girl! You rock big time, Sista!

Scrapbook Shopping:

I’m hella’ overdue posting these shopping pics. I can see by the date on the photos that they are 2+ weeks old. Time has flown…seems like a few days ago, LOL. Anyway, here are some things I found at TUESDAY MORNING:

Remember the HEIDI SWAPP TOTE? Well, here is a new version of that. For 20 bucks, you get the Tote-ally Cool Tote filled with HEIDI SWAPP goodies.

Here is a close-up of the list so you can see exactly what the items are…

Some cute kits…

This was a kit that reminded me of the KI MEMORIES TINS that were at Target a while back. (Just to clarify, these ones are NOT KI Memories brand). Looks like a decent deal.

These “Thank You” stamps by EK SUCCESS have been around for quite awhile. I used to see them at an LSS that closed many moons ago. For only $5, they were hard to resist.

This was a huge pack of chipboard alphas for $8 by Memories Direct, that brand that’s often on HSN and they also have their own infomercials…at least they used to. Come to think of it, I haven’t seen one in a while. Maybe Cricut bought up all the allowable scrapbook infomercial time, LOL! Have you seen the CONSTANT Cricut informercials? Yikes.

And lastly, teeny tiny little totes by All My Memories, which I believe is now defunct. They’re sitting on a 12×12 paper pack so you can see how small they are.

Assuming these ADIRONDACK ink pads aren’t all dried out, I would call this the Find of the Day. Yum, look at all that ink!

Here are the items I purchased from Tuesday Morning that fine day:

Cheapie dot glue runners for stocking stuffers…

3 Vintage Pop Top Ink Pads ($1.49 each) and 1 Adirondack ink pad ($1.99). So 4 ink pads, a mere $6.50 (a $16-20 value). Yes, they really do smell as advertised …

Next was Michaels:

It looked like there were a few new scrapbook idea books …

Then Barnes and Noble with the Starbucks inside, where I got another one of those PEPPERMINT CRUNCH BARS I’ve been craving since the last time I was there a month prior. This is the ONLY Starbucks I’ve been to that has them … what up? Hollah! Oh my, they are melt-in-your-mouth heaven…

And lastly a couple of scrapbooking magazines. I’ve been reading through these for the past couple of weeks, and can honestly say I prefer the British “Scrapbook Inspirations” to CK. I think our American magazines (what, all 2 of them?) could take some tips from the Brits. Oh Frick on a Stick! I just went to Scrapbook Inspirations’ website so I could link to it, and found THIS. Crap, crap, crap. That was their last monthly issue. They will be doing something in new format quarterly starting February 2010. Sigh…..

Scrapbook Space:

My Scrap Sister ANGIE just added an amazing scrapbook space to her bedroom. She has such great style … I think you’ll really enjoy looking at it. Here is a sneak peek:

She’s having a scrapbook RAK and there are ways to get your name in the hat up to 5 times, so go play!

That’s all I got … Peace out.

More on Project 365 and Life Documented / Simple Stories by Memory Works

Okay, okay, okay! You all convinced me to take the plunge and actually commit to doing Project 365 next year. Sheesh. We’ve been talking about it on Scrap Sisters Studio HERE and have quite a little group going of scrappers who’re going to participate.

If you’re already an SSS member and are going to do P365, please come join us. And if you aren’t a member, Good God, why? You’re missing all the fun! So come join SCRAP SISTERS STUDIO and then be part of all the P365 fun over there. There is also a 2009 group that does daily posts on 2peas; I’m sure they’ll do it in 2010 also. Some people are going to do variations on 365, like a “52” weekly layout, or a “12” monthly layout. No matter how you slice it, join in on the message boards and help us all stay motivated with this project, okay?

The new year is only 9 days away, so we need to get moving and make some decisions. What size and type of album are you going to use? Will you do a full layout per day/week/month, or use the pocket page method shown in my last post? Which paper and embellies will you use ~ scraps, lines you already have on hand, Becky Higgins’ Project Life kit, or are you shopping for something? If you’re using the pocket page protectors, figure out which direction the slots go and make sure you’re taking your photos correctly (the correct mix of horizontal vs. vertical), or be aware that you’ll have some editing or cropping to do to your photos.

I’m waiting on the new line from MEMORY WORKS to use for my Project 365 album, which isn’t due out until mid-January, so I can’t concretely answer all of these questions myself. However, I’m paying attention to what other scrappers are doing and am getting some great ideas for my own album. Here is what I do know: I’m going to use the pocket pages method, and do a 2-page spread with 7 photos for each week. Using the sample in my last post, that would leave a slot for a title for the week, 4 slots to hold (7) 4×3 journaling cards and (1) 4×3 miscellaneous card or embellie.

The kit I plan to use is called “Life Documented” and it’s from the new Simple Stories system by Memory Works. I don’t know a ton about it, because they are being quite saucy about revealing sneak peeks little by little. But I’ve read through all the material on THIS site and here is my impression: It’s the perfect line for Project 365! LOL

Let me be more specific … There will be pre-cut journaling cards and embellishments in various sizes (12×6, 4×6, etc.) to slip into pocket page protectors of the same size. It’s a paper product, not digital, although free digital downloads will be available to enhance it. There is mention of a “catalog” so I’m assuming it won’t be one huge kit like Project Life, but separate elements you can purchase according to your own specific needs.

Here are some peeks of what it will look like:

I’m loving the colors and this is so totally my style. Hello!?!? Scallops, graph paper, and brackets? Hollah! I think the look is very versatile, and will go with pretty much any photo. I like the binder looking paper, the flourish swirls, all of it. No, I’m not just saying that because I’m a Memory Works consultant and it’s a Memory Works product. How dare! I think you know by now that I call it like I see it. If I think an MW product is fugly or stupid, I don’t mention it at all. That’s just how I roll.

Like any scrapbook company with a new product these days, Memory Works is hoping to use the power of the internet and social networking to get the word out about this new product. To that end, they are giving away ONE FREE KIT per week between 12/17/09 and 01/18/10 and you enter by spreading the word. Details are HERE. So if you’d like a chance at winning, or you just want to be nice and help me publicize this new kit (Seriously? Yeah, I was very cheeky there, wasn’t I?), please check it out and participate. If you like what you see, and think you could sell this and/or other MW products to your friends, talk to me about becoming a consultant. It’s basically a no-lose situation. (Ha ha, “situation.” Do you watch Jersey Shore on MTV? When Mike says, “Cuz that’s The Situation. If you’re a hater, I got a full-time job for you.” Oh, love it!)

They even have 4 cool blinkies for your blog or siggie line on message boards. Here is but one rockin’ blinkie:

Okay, MW commercial is over. I mainly wanted to share that I have in fact committed to doing Project 365 in 2010! Uh, why did I just break out in a cold sweat? I’m really counting on you guys to keep me on top of this thing. Don’t let me slide. Like people have said, you don’t HAVE to take a photo every day. You can fill in those slots with journaling, with a receipt from your trip to the grocery store or other ephemera of your life, or you can fill in with undated photos that you (if truth be told) took on a different day (Gasp! Wouldn’t that be like lying to myself and future generations?? Ha ha, just kidding. Crap, even I’m not THAT anal).

Hearing things like that takes the pressure off a bit. And that’s a good thing because I have enough pressure in my life without adding this on top of it. Do I take the Mercedes or the Escalade to Pilates today? Do we go to the opera or a Broadway show on Friday night? Should we send little Johnny to astronaut camp or Olympic skiing camp this summer? I mean, really, do I DESERVE any more pressure in my life? I think not.

Once January 1 arrives, I’ll start taking my daily photos and writing some quick journaling on my computer or in a journal. Then when I do have more information about Life Documented, and do have the actual “stuff” in my hands, I’ll start putting it all together. Ideally, it would be great to get the whole album kind of “pre-flighted” (is that just a military and law enforcement term?) with all the pocket pages, title cards, and journaling cards actually in place in the album. Then you just add the photos in as you print them, and write the journaling then too. I’ve heard this as a helpful hint from those who did P365 in 2009 and it sounds brilliant to me!

So, I hope you have decided to join me in Project 365 next year, but if you haven’t, I totally understand, girlfriend. Uh huh, yes I do….

Project 365 in 2010

Wow, that’s a lot of freakin’ numbers! Yeah, I’m thinking about doing Project 365 starting January 1 of next year.

If you’ve been living under a rock and aren’t already familiar, Project 365 is where you take a photo per day for an entire year (get it??? 365?? huh? huh?). Ostensibly, you then scrapbook those photos so that at the end of the year, you have photos and journaling from an entire year in your everyday life. Pretty dang cool.

I *think* this idea originated with Ali Edwards or Creating Keepsakes or Becky Higgins, or some combination thereof. Becky provided a PROJECT 365 KIT last year that you could purchase to simplify the process. It utilized those page protectors with slots in them and pre-done journaling boxes and accents which, along with your photo per day, you could just slip right in. Add some quick journaling each day or each week and you are dunzo. HERE is something from January 2009 by Becky, about all the reasons to do P365 … it’s a good overview of what the project entails and why it’s a cool idea. Plus, it will make you want to buy one of her kits, LOL. For 2010, she is selling the Project Life kit HERE.

Here is a sample from MAGGIE HOLMES using Becky’s kit from 2009:

This is such an all-encompassing project that a lot of participants started a blog separate from their regular scrapbooking blog to document their P365 photos. Some people see this as a great way to improve your photography, not just the skills used to take photos of such varied things but also opening your eyes to the everyday things that we wouldn’t think were “important enough” for a photo usually, but P365 gives you license to take their picture. For instance, maybe you take a photo of what you have for breakfast most days, your kids doing homework, or the gorgeous spring flower that just bloomed outside your window.

I avoided being sucked in to Project 365 last year, but my resolve is weakening. It has the potential to be a VERY time-consuming project, no? Not only do you have to remember to take a ding-dang photo every single day of your life for an entire year, but then you need to sit down and daily or at least weekly print out your photo(s), slap some journaling down, and make it all look cute.

However, I’ve been reading about Project 365 throughout the year here and there, kind of following how scrappers everywhere are accomplishing this daunting ~ yes, I said daunting…you gotta problem with that? ~ task, and they have made me feel like it’s doable. I think the divided page protectors are definitely the way to go. There is no way on Lisa Bearnson’s green earth that I’m going to scrapbook a full-on layout a day. Just ain’t happening. After the FIASCO with Becky’s P365 kits last year*, I’m not going there … don’t want to deal with that mess if I decide to do it for 2010. They are supposedly shipping Dec. 29th but we shall see. Just for the record, I’m not dissing on Becky … but I’ve not been a fan of CK Customer Service for years. Nicely put: They suck. So there.

*The link is to Becky’s blog archives for January 2009; scroll through and browse all the negativity to see what I’m calling “The Fiasco.” January 24 is a good one to read.

Besides, as happy happenstance would have it, the company I’m a consultant for {MEMORY WORKS} has announced their own products for the first time, coming out in January 2010. The first line will include items to do this type of “photo album scrapbooking” made so attractive and popular by the likes of STACY JULIAN and all those Project 365’ers out there. So there will be pre-cut journaling boxes and elements with corresponding divided page protectors to make scrapping a lot of photos about as easy as it gets.

As for the photo issue, now that I have my little Epson photo printer and can easily print photos at home, the obstacle of sending photos off to be printed in a timely manner is gone … I’ll just print them at home. Easy peasy. I doubt I would actually print out a photo every day, but I could certainly do it weekly … erm, at least I think I could.

So, I’m still on the fence about doing Project 365 in 2010. I’m kind of famous for … well, for lots of things actually, like the fact that Lou Diamond Phillips once brushed against me in a nightclub and that TROY DUNN is my homeboy … but what I meant to say was, I’m pretty famous for starting projects, being all gung-ho at the beginning, and then my life gets “too busy” and I let those commitments fall by the wayside.

In the case of Project 365, I don’t want that to happen. If I start it, I wanna finish it. And I honestly don’t know if I have it in me to do that. With 2009 coming to an end, there is a lot of talk on scrapbook blogs and message boards among those scrappers who did P365 this year. I’m hearing a lot of “Yeah, it was a cool project but it was SO hard to keep up on,” and “I was really excited to do it but I dropped out in February; it was just too much work.”

I don’t know. I’m confuzzled. Is there a support group for people like me?

I think it would be very cool to have a completely done 2010 album at this time next year. What an awesome thing for my family to look back on, a year of our everyday life captured in one place … the good, the bad, and the ugly. And believe you me, there is LOTS of ugly! Dirty dishes, a mentally-challenged dog, unmade beds … the horror! But I think doing this project would at least keep me in semi-scrapping mode throughout the year, whereas currently I only seem to scrap when I go to crops. P365 would force me to at least be taking some pics and jotting a few details down on a regular basis. And a reason to Scrap Shop! {Yeah, like I NEED a reason??} Project 365 would give me an excuse to buy the cute new Memory Works products, and it would give me a way to display them for customers.

One good idea I heard is to start NOW putting photo ideas in your dayplanner. Then you’re not struggling every day for what to take a photo of. HERE is a cool list provided by CK of 365 things to take photos of.

So, yeah, there are lots of positives to this project and that’s why I’m seriously considering participating in 2010. I think I’ve about 70% convinced myself, but the other 30% is being a real bee-yotch about the whole thing (“You’re too busy, you’ll never keep up.” “You never stick with anything long enough to complete it.” “Focus on your regular scrapping, dummy.” You know, bitchy stuff like that.).

So tell me, did you do Project 365 in 2009? Do you plan to in 2010? Why or why not? If you’re going to participate, HOW are you going to do it? Tell me, tell me …

Scrapbook Santa Wish List 2009

It’s that time of year to submit my annual Wish List to my own personal Santa Claus. I call him Scrapbook Santa, or Scrap Santa for short.

When I was a kid, I had a regular Santa like everyone else, who brought me toys and games, as long as I was a good girl all year. And you KNOW I was, LOL!

Then as a young woman, I graduated to Shoes and Clothes Santa, and in college, he became Textbook and Top Ramen Santa. Once I got married and started my family, I changed Santas once again and submitted my wish lists to Diapers and Baby Swings Santa.

Now we are a well-established family, and our basic needs are met through our hard work all year. The days of wanting to squeeze my size 9s into cute high heels are long gone, and I swore off Top Ramen the day I graduated from college.

Therefore, my Santa for the last several years has been Scrap Santa and I predict he will be the one I submit my lists to for quite some time. Probably until I start needing Metamucil and Depends Santa, right? That’s the plan, Stan! And here is my 2009 Wish List for Scrap Santa…

{Don’t worry, like all Santas, he understands if you slip in some unrelated requests. Santa is all about listening to anything and everything you want…your heart’s desire…your very most wished for things!}

#1 – KODAK EasyShare Z915 35mm digital camera in RED ($199; on sale right now for $159….hurry, Santa!)

Features: 10 MP, 10x zoom, 2.5″ inch screen, image stabilization, and panoramic stitch (I really enjoy the panoramic feature on my 35mm camera and would love to have it on my digi). It also has Best in Class click-to-capture speed so you don’t miss a shot. This is basically the new version of my current camera, which I adore, it’s just gotten old with a sticky dial, broken charging dock, etc.

This is similar to the camera I wanted to get on Black Friday at Target because, although it retails for $199, they had it on sale for $129 (a cool $70 savings!).

But I wasn’t near a Target or a computer on Black Friday. I did find someone who could run by my local Target and pick up the camera for me, so I called the store early that morning and they had already sold out. Color me sad :( But I would really, reeeeeeeeelly like the red one, Santa!

#2 – “Daisy Totes” by Creative Memories

“Daisy Wheeled Cart” $145

“Daisy Weekender” $60

“Daisy Project Tote” $32

and “Daisy Tool Caddy” $37 {Santa, I would like 2 of these please…one for all my stamps/inks and one for my loads of punches and other tools}

#3 – PINK PAISLEEMistletoe & Co.” …yes, the entire collection, please…

Here is just the Theme Set, Santa, so you know what you’re shopping for.

There are a bunch more pieces to it, though, so maybe you could take Scrappy Elf shopping with you. I think she’s familiar with this collection as I saw a “North Pole Misfits” layout she made with it (It’s on your blog AND your Facebook page, if you haven’t seen it yet, Santa…).

#4 – LITTLE YELLOW BICYCLE “25 Days of Christmas” journal tablet $4

#5 – CREATIVE IMAGINATIONS “Creative Cafe” collection….yep all of it, even those cute binder rings. You know what a sucker I am for ledger paper and bright colors, right Santa? Here is a peek at the collection, but there is more so shop until you drop!

#6 – Personalized laptop skin for my MacBook Pro 17 inch by “SCHTICKERS.COM“, something kind of like this….

…but with the Journey “Escape” logo instead, since that’s the first album of theirs I discovered and it changed my life….

OOH! Or Santa! Maybe the artwork from the “Trial by Fire” album, since it’s the last one Steve Perry sang on…yeah THAT would be kewl….

Then maybe you could get me an iPhone skin with the Escape logo….yeah, rock on!

#7 – Speaking of music, here are some CD’s I’d love to get in my stocking….

MICHAEL BUBLE’ “Crazy Love” $14 … oh, and coincidentally, tickets for his show near me go on sale December 11 … Would you look at that! That’s only a couple of days away! Just sayin’ …

Joshua Radin “Simple Times” $11.25

Lily Allen “Alright Still” $11.99

#8 – KINDLE DX wireless reading device by Amazon $489

Santa, I know the economy has hit everyone, even you, so I would be willing to settle for the smaller Kindle. It’s ONLY $289! See, I’m willing to work with ya’…Oh, but will you also please include a couple hundy in Amazon dollars so I can download a bunch of books. I know the classics are free, but most other books cost 10 bucks each so, you know…

#9 – Scrapbooking tees and Hoodies…here are a few cute logos to give you an idea of what I have in mind…in pink, white, or light blue please…

“Inspire, Create, Live” by Two Chicks Designs

“Anyone Who’s Anyone Scrapbooks” by Zazzle.com

“iScrap” by Zazzle.com

#10 – One year supply of the essentials I really need to scrap with: Epson 4×6 matte photo paper, printer cartridges for Epson PictureMate PM260, Dr. Pepper lip smackers, Diet Coke, sunflower seeds, kraft Bazzill cardstock, and American crafts black Slick Writer in fine tip.

Okie doke, I think that should do it for this year, Scrap Santa! Thank you for considering my list. I’ll let you know if I think of anything else. For instance, I NEED a treadmill so I’ll be window shopping for those today {wink}…

Have a Merry ~Scrappy~ Christmas!!

Donny Downey’s Scrapbook Studio Makeover

My Scrap Sister ANGIE posted THIS link on the message board today…it’s a detailed look at the recent scrapbook/craft room makeover done by famous scrapper, DONNA DOWNEY.

Donna has been the subject of CONTROVERSY recently, but I’m not even gonna go there…that’s a post for another day. A day filled with lots of chocolate cake washed down with dirty martinis. I just don’t have the strength right now…Go ahead, read that 2peas thread, and then the link within the thread and you’ll see what I mean. I just can’t go there without being quite fortified with chocolate and vodka.

Okay, well!

Let’s just talk about her room makeover, shall we? If you’re not a DD fan ~ or say you’re even an official Hater ~ just pretend I’m talking about, ummmmm, my “friend” Dee Dee’s room, okay? Will that make it possible for you to be objective, to enjoy the room for what it is? Hope so. If not, go have some cake and a ‘tini, come back, and try again. See, doesn’t cake and a ‘tini make everything better? Yeah, Mama knows….

So.

Here is what DD’s scrap room used to look like:

And here is what it looks like now:

Quite a change, yes?

HERE is a whole series of photos of her old room, the makeover process, and the final product. What I would do if I were you (and I know you’re very glad that I’m NOT) is I would page back through all those photos and look at them in order. They will make a lot more sense that way, I promise.

As you can see, DD already had an amazing creative space, one we would all consider ourselves lucky to have. I have written many times of my love of and coveting of the Ikea EXPEDIT, especially those big honkin’ ones she had. I get slap happy just thinking about how organized I could be with all those cubes, wonderful cubes!

So I was already supremely jealous of the girl. I loved the French doors, the green shade on the walls, the large table space in the middle of the room, and all the wonderful organization. Then she goes and becomes a RUNNER, which is so amazing and inspirational to me. I see people like DD make a commitment like this, and it makes me believe I could actually do it, too. THEN she goes and re-does her room into a pretty close replica of my dream scrapbook room.

I am envious of her to say the least. Especially envious of anyone who can spend $4,500 (plus a new computer) on re-doing a perfectly good craft studio right now, at the same time I’m eating Top Ramen for lunch and working three jobs. Jealous, jealous, jealous…I’m not even gonna lie.

Back to her new room…I encourage you to watch the great video she posted to get the scoop straight from Donna….emmmm…I mean “DD.”

Things I love best about the room:

– Cute red Ikea bookshelf…the color, the way it makes great use of the corner, the different style of it
– The eclectic glass knobs on the drawers, keeping all that white furniture from being too industrial
– The color of the walls….that pretty blue is my dream scrapbook room color, so light and fun and inspiring
– All that counter space and closed storage space, under the counters and inside the island
– The accent colors, i.e. the whole color scheme of the room; that’s what I would’ve picked my own self
– All the fun art and deco things that make it her own and a special place she wants to create in every day

I just adore this room and ~ controversies aside ~ wanted to share it with you and see what you think. Are you loving it as much as I am? If not, what would your “dream scrapbook room” look like? Feel free to post links to photos, or just describe it to us :)

I’m just here with my chocolate cake and dirty martinis, and all the time in the world…

Diary of a Scrapbook Room Makeover: Part Three

If you need to get caught up on my diary, here are the entries so far:

PROLOGUE
PART ONE
PART TWO
QUESTIONS ANSWERED
PHOTOS HELD HOSTAGE, DAY 3

And now it’s time for Part Three! Yeah, like, FINALLY! Most of these photos were taken on October 5, which is 10 days ago. This is pretty much what my room still looks like today (10/15/09), other than a few little changes. As always, I apologize for the quality of my photos. My nice digi camera is out of commission because the charger doesn’t work and until the Money Fairy makes a drop at our house, I can’t afford to buy a new one, or a new camera. Thus…I have for you iPhone pictures!

So this is as you look into the room from the dining room doorway. Kids’ homework/crafting table in front, my scrap desk behind that, coffee table and couch back by the window, and the junk corner in the very back left.

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Here is my “cube wall,” which are Store in Style cubes with mostly Cropper Hopper vertical storage of paper/embellishments, and jars with ribbons, chipboard letters, etc. In other words, if there is a fire, this is the stuff I’m grabbing. Yep, one by one, cube by cube. Not. Kidding. What’s that? Oh, of COURSE I’d grab my kids and hubby first! Sheesh.

On the left, the white bin has office supplies I need to find a new home for; they came out of a cupboard in the L-shaped desk. The bag and cardboard box are things I brought home from my office when I was allowed to start working from home. That was in April 2009. Nope. Not unpacked yet. This is one example of things that were dumped in my scrap area and I was too busy to do anything with them at the time, so they just cluttered the place up. Don’t judge. It won’t take long to put the stuff away, I would just rather sort and put away scrappy supplies than work manuals, paperclips, baby wipes, and boxes of tea, wouldn’t you? Procrastinators Unite!….Tomorrow.

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Here’s the oak cabinet that used to hold a TV, VCR, old school Atari games, and kids’ DVDs/games; now it’s a resting place for my grossly overpacked SCRAPRACK. I have always had a big crush on my Scrap Rack, and it’s insane ability to sort my scrapbook supplies by theme. But I have abused Scrap Rack. I have overfilled Scrap Rack. Now I hardly ever touch Scrap Rack and we miss each other. I flipped through it a bit tonight and it was embarisken. I have some reeeeeeaaaally old things in there that need to be purged in a big way. Like Creative Memories stickers circa 2001, some Mrs. Grossman’s border stickers, and various shape die cuts from Paper Pizzazz.

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Note to scrappers who began after 2007: You are lucky. By the time you started scrapping, most of the products being put out there have been pretty designer-ish and awesome. But prior to that, especially late 1990s/early 2000s? There was some pretty rough stuff out there. You would cringe. So if you don’t know what “Mrs. Grossman’s” or “Paper Pizzazz” means, no worries. You didn’t miss a thing. Trust me.

Here is the new and improved bookshelf #4! It used to be toys from top to bottom. Now the toys have been moved into the new playroom, freeing up space for kids’ crafts. There is coloring, drawing, painting, scratch art, activity books, puzzle books, foam stamps, crayons, acrylic paints, markers, and brushes. Wait, what? That all sounds fun! Do I REALLY have to share with my kids? Hee.

It was fun but sad to purge the coloring and activity books, seeing things my kids had drawn and colored when they were much younger (yeah, it had been awhile since this stuff had been gone through). But I gave the old color books to a friend who’s going to use them in her Sunday school classes so that made me happy and they were easier to let go. I have tons of art and schoolwork from my kids, so in the scheme of things, they had to go. In return, clear and organized shelves – yahoo!

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Here is the homework/craft table. See the clear mat in the middle? I got 2 of those at a craft store years ago and they were a smart purchase; the other one is on my scrap desk under my BG mats. They’re great for protecting your table from permanent damage, portable for moving to other tables or counters, and easy to clean. The clear mat was about 1.5 inches too long when I laid it horizontally across the table like this, so I cut the excess off. Guess what I used? My Basic Grey Magnetic Mat. How many times have I said I love that thing?!?! I lined the clear mat up on the BG mat grid, put the metal ruler over it, and sliced down the clear mat with a craft knife. It didn’t go all the way through so I flipped it over and cut in the same place and Voila! Then I used my Creative Memories Corner Rounder to make the 2 new corners match with the existing rounded ones. I was pretty darn proud of myself because that’s about as handyman as I get, LOL! Ideally, I would like this same kind of mat but large enough to cover the entire table. Then again, it’s an old banged up table so I’m not gonna stress on it.

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Here’s a top view of the newly cleaned up, cleaned out, organized, and labeled craft carousel. As you scrappers know, this is actually a Making Memories DESKTOP CAROUSEL, intended for scrapbook supplies. I tried to use it as such when I first got it, but it never worked for me. The main problem is that I need to keep my most-used tools in something portable for taking to crops. Even if I used it for least-used tools, the footprint is so big, that it takes up a lot of desk room once you leave it a wide berth to spin around. It really needs to be in the middle of a table or desk, and while my scrap area doesn’t allow for that, it does work perfectly on the homework/craft table, doesn’t it?

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The carousel had been on our dining room table for about the last year or so which has been Homework Central. It had crayon marks, broken erasers, pencil shavings, you name it. It was looking pretty beat up and fugly, and was not organized whatsoever. So I took everything out of it, turned it upside down over the trash to get the gookies out, and Windexed it within an inch of its life. Then I lovingly organized and labeled each section. Oh, and I spent about 30 minutes one night hand sharpening all of those regular and colored pencils. Now that was good fun.

See, lookie! Look at my labels! They totally rock, huh? Pencil sharpeners, little tapes, mini gel pens….

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Staplers and big tape, scissors, and all that other fun stuff…

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The husband and children have been instructed in the proper care of my baby. My baby has been labeled so there are no excuses. If they eff it up, there will be hell to pay. And I mean it! Don’t mess with me, I’m the mommy! And you know our family motto: (Say it with me now!) “If Mommy ain’t happy, ain’t nobody happy….” See? Simple.

Okay, here are the 3 measly shelves I have restricted my books to. I know, it’s riDONKulous but something had to give. Scrap supplies or books? Scrap supplies or books? Hmmmm….SCRAP SUPPLIES! But clearly, my bookies need to be organized, alphabetized, and color coded. By Dewey Decimal System. Yet another project in the wings.

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Here in the Corner of Shame #1 are 3 boxes that need to go in the attic (“oh, dear??? honeybuns??? love of my life??? would you please do me an itsy bitsy little favor wavor?? thanks, hun!”). Cuz I don’t do attics. Did you know there are, like, SPIDERS up there?!? And it’s hot. Very hot. In other words, not happening. {Please revert to the family motto listed above…}.

The wire cube and panels sitting on top used to be under my desk; I used them to hide…erm, I mean….STORE a multitude of things. Like Christmas and birthday gifts, a family quilt, my sugar-free cookie stash…you know, that kind of thing. I don’t know if I’ll use them in my scrap room again. If not, they would make great toy storage for the new play room. If you want some of these cubes, you can get them at Target or Costco. Not the most sturdy storage, but they do work and the price warms the cockles of my ever-lovin’, bargain-huntin’ heart.

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Here is the front side of my big L-shaped desk. I had 3 of these 12×12 Sterlite containers before; they were on my bookshelves. When I moved the couch away from the front of my desk, I realized *gasp* people would be able to see all the crap I keep under there and also my fat heifer thighs. I decided, “No, this just will not do.” When I realized how perfectly these Sterlite drawers fit, I bought 3 more sets and killed 2 birds with 1 stone: lots more storage room and Fat Heifer Thigh View Blockage. A good purchase, don’t you think? {And I got them on sale for $9 instead of $12 each, hehe}.

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That big blue navy thing is my Crop In Style XXL aka Old Faithful. That thing has been jammed full of supplies, crammed into my Honda trunk, and rolled over bumpy hotel entranceways to more crops than I can count. She will be retired this Christmas when I get a new set of crop bags from DH and mi madre.

This clear container is under the homework/craft table. It’s all organized and has scrappy hand-me-downs for the kids to scrapbook with. We make handmade cards a lot, too. My entire extended family and friends could totally be lying to me, but they all say they love our personally designed cards with custom artwork and handwritten messages. And if they ARE lying? Screw ’em.

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Here’s the couch, so exciting. Ugly, old throw pillow. Oh, remind me to talk about pillows later. And now you can see the reason my scrap room looks a might bit better than it did last time you were here (see PART TWO, link at top of post). It’s because I stuck a bunch of ugly junk behind the couch. I’m calling it the “I’ll Deal With You Later” pile. It’s mostly old family memorabilia and photos that need to be sorted. It’s such a huge project, I can’t even fathom it right now. So I’m (partially) hiding it. It’s out of the way so I can continue making progress with my room….but it’s like the great white shark under the water while you blissfully swim in the ocean. You might be having fun up top, but you now it’s down there stalking you. Damn shark.

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It’s actually been really nice having that coffee table there. Just in the last month or so since I put it there, it’s been used for: Jetmax cube assembly, homework, hubby doing paperwork, a foot stool for kids reading on the couch, a game of table hockey, and a nice big area for me to sort and organize scrap supplies. Unfortunately, it’s also been used to lie on, stand on, and hide under. Hey, nothing’s perfect.

Here is Corner of Shame #2 aka Big Daddy Shame. I think I’ve told you already what most of it is. The two blue bins are monthly kits I used to get from MEMORY WORKS EXPRESS. I’ve always kept them together as a kit but I think I’m going to separate them out. I’m not sure…what do you do with kits? Keep them together or mix the items in with the rest of your stash?

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There’s also a wide format Epson printer that I spent boo coo bucks on a few years ago, and never used. I’m a horrible person. I won’t bore you with all the details. I have my reasons. But, yeah, now I need to get rid of it. Sell it? E-waste it? Goodwilll? I dunno. Of course, I would prefer to sell it, even for just $100 or something (I paid over $300 and used it maybe 20 times). But to prove to a buyer that it works, I’d need to spend about $100 on printer cartridges and I just don’t know if it’s worth it. Would it even sell? Bah.

Above the Corner of Shame #2 is my MM Embellishment Shelf. It’s pretty well organized but I now have THIS to install somewhere once it’s painted and cleaned up, so I’m still figuring out what goes where and whether to move this shelf.

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This photo is probably hard to figure out, because I was focusing on the scene outside the window. It’s the view into my backyard, the view I see when I sit at my scrap desk. Our backyard has a pretty pool and a gorgeous view, but this dog pen thingee is ruining everything! Must go. Will go soon. We borrowed it from our neighbors when we got LANDRY, who didn’t care to stay in the big dog pen on the side of the house. This kennel is a pain in the arse to return to our neighbors, as all four adults need to take a corner and walk it through a gate and across an acre of their property. But I need to make that happen, don’t I? And those atrociously dirty windows! Disgraceful. When is that window cleaner girl going to do her friggin’ job?!! Oh, wait. That would be ME, wouldn’t it? There is only a little overhang over all three of my scrapbook room windows/slider (no patio cover) and also no grass out there, just dirt, concrete, and gravel. So especially when it rains like it just did, the windows get very dirty, the screens very dusty, and it’s hard to keep up on them. But I must. What a waste of a wonderful view.

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Here is the Epicenter of Erika’s Craftivity. Chair, Basic Grey mats, Cutterpede trimmer, flat pack with most-used tools, Ott lite, little tote with scissors and pens, and the main requirement for scrapping, Diet Coke. There’s a single Cropper Hopper vertical file that I was thinking of keeping on my desk as a place to keep projects in progress and/or new purchases until I put them away. Now I have another idea for where to put recent purchases, but I like the projects in progress holder idea. I tend to be a “stacker,” with various piles on my desk. 12×12 piles take up a lot of desk space; at least getting them vertical would save some room.

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Also, I put my little bookshelf stereo here. I didn’t think I would, but I really miss having the television in here, just for the white noise if nothing else. So I was compelled to hook up my stereo and play some K-Life and the college radio station also has awesome music. I don’t do well with total silence. It makes me spun up. Eeeeeee!!!!

Here’s the left side of my desk. Blue flat packs full of acrylic stamps and inks, shopping bag with some RAK stuff in it, Ziploc with a scrappy project, white holder for Prima flower jars and skittles, black tote for punches and Xyron “X”, and Amy Butler tote for cards and RAKs to and from scrappy friends. I’ve been slowly cleaning that out, putting stamps and other gifts away. I need a good storage system for or project to make with all those handmade cards that I cherish…maybe bind them into a mini book or something.

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Here is the view if I’m standing in front of the couch. Standing ON the coffee table??? Who, ME??? Nah, I would never do that. As you can see, I haven’t sorted through those idea books and magazines yet. In fact, I think the pile has grown larger as I come across more of them. Yes, it’s a sickness. And I don’t care.

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Just don’t look under the desk. Move along. There’s nothing to see here….

So that’s a tour of my scrapbook room and how the makeover has been coming along. I’m so happy you’re on this journey with me. Yes, it’s embarrassing to share my major clutter issues and extreme scrapbook supply hoarding. But, oh well, you still seem to like me.

I’m learning so much as I go along; basic scrappy storage things and even things about myself that are deeper and more telling than one would expect from a mere room makeover. Like I’ve learned that I’m happy with how much I cherish my memories and all the “things” that go with it. Yet I don’t have to keep it all. And just because I spent money on something doesn’t mean I have to be guilted into keeping it forever. Selling it or giving it away can bring happiness to someone else, like Sunday school kids, so that’s a good thing.

Please keep checking in with me and cheer on my progress so I follow through and don’t give up. And don’t forget about my 500,000 hits blog candy because we’re coming up on the end….at 499,413 as I post this entry. Good luck!

Product Review: Jetmax 3-Drawer Scrapbook Storage Cubes

In my last POST about all the new Jetmax storage items at Michaels, I mentioned that I had a hard time putting one of their 3-drawer storage cubes together…so much so, that I was dreading putting the remaining two cubes together. EILEEN on AMR just asked for storage cube advice in a thread over there, and this was my answer so I figured I’d post it here, too. I also have some storage cube recommendations.

Of the Jetmax brand, all I have are the 3-drawer cubes and the problem I had is the “wood” is so thin, that if you don’t get the teeny screws for the drawer sides in there exactly straight the first time, you never will (believe me, I tried). So then I had to really push super hard on the screwdriver to get them to go in. Mind you, I had to use the teeny screwdriver so there’s nothing to pad your hand while you’re cranking down on it either. You could use a cordless screwdriver of course, but ours doesn’t have a tip that small. There were 4 screws per drawer so I went through this struggle 12 times. Then I went to slide the drawers into the cube (which was also a pain to assemble), and they wouldn’t slide in until the screws were COMPLETELY flush with the sides of the drawers or even recessed a bit. More cranking on the tiny screwdriver and by that time my hand was already bruised.

All that said….maybe I’m the only dummy in America who wouldn’t just go buy a tiny cordless screwdriver head for this one project, LOL! It also takes 2 sets of hands to assemble the cubes themselves, holding the sides perfectly perpendicular to each other while screwing in the tiny screws while you can’t brace it against anything to accept the pressure. Does that make sense? I’m sure some would find these things easy to assemble, but I sure didn’t….

The Store in Style brand is wonderful and uses a much easier cam lock system. You can literally put together the cube itself in 5 minutes. They’re also sturdier and larger, but more expensive. I don’t know if Joann’s or anyone carries them where you could use a coupon. I got them with coupons “back in the day” when Mike’s carried Store in Style.

You might also look into ITSO plastic storage at Target. The cubes take no assembly per se, other than sticking little pegs in each corner (if you want to stack them) to bind them to each other. They have all kinds of drawers, baskets, shelves, and such and you can really customize it. I have 3 of those ~ just the plain cubes ~ that I stack my CM Power Sort Boxes in. If I had known about Itso before I invested in the Store in Style, I probably would’ve done my whole wall in Itso. It’s cheaper and more flexible with the configurations you can do. Here are some Itso REVIEWS; two of them are from scrappers!

Anyway, there’s some more info and photos of all 3 types of cubes HEREand at the bottom of THIS post. If you’re in the market for scrappy storage, I hope that helps ya!

Ribbon Storage by Cropper Hopper

I saw THIS entry by my bloggy friend, Susan. It’s a wonderful way to store ribbon. My favorite features are that it’s so compact considering how much ribbon is stored, and also that it’s flat and, like she said, you can throw a card or few of ribbon in with your crop stuff or whatever project you’re working on.

HERE’s a “ribbon addict” who started out with her ribbons on a card system like Susan’s, who then switched to a more casual approach. That’s kind of what I did. I used to wind my ribbon around cards like Susan’s, but smaller, and keep them in an embellishment case. But as time went by and I bought and used more ribbon, I got tired of winding and unwinding. It ended up being a hassle. My cards were also too small, I realized too late, and would get lots of creases in them. {That’s another thing I like about Susan’s approach; with the larger cards, I’ll bet the ribbon creases a lot less}. Anyhow, I tend to always be in a hurry to get things done, and a bit lazy to boot, so I also switched to a more “casual” kind of ribbon storage. I keep them in jars now, just loose and crazy.

Honestly, I think my ribbon thanks me….

Diary of a Scrapbook Room Makeover: Photos Held Hostage, Day 3

I usually love my iPhone dearly. It has changed my life for the better. It’s pretty. It fits perfectly in the palm of my hand. It has all the tools I need to get through the day.

But right now, I wanna’ kick it to the curb. (Hollah!)

My iPhone won’t sync to my computer. Hasn’t for 3 days now. Why is that a problem and why should you care?? Because, my scrappy friends, Mr. iPhone holds photos of:

– The progress I made last weekend on my scrapbook makeover PROJECT.
– New scrappy stuff at Target.
– New scrappy stuff at Michaels.

THAT. Is why you should care. You feeling me now? Good. We can suffer together.

I have tried all the fixes. The last time this happened, it was right after a software upgrade. I did all the fixes and nothing worked. After a day or two, it worked again. Apparently, iPhones are like women…don’t tell them when to do something. They’ll decide their DAMN selves, thankyouverymuch!

But it’s been threeeeeee daaaaayyyyssss…..How much longer must I wait? How much more can I take??? (Sing it with me! “No, you can’t hurry love…).

Yes, I DO love my iPhone. But right now? Not so much….

ETA 10-08-09: Okay, I tried again late lastnight and it worked! I have all my photos downloaded now. I have a zillion other things to do but will get those entries up as soon as I can :)

Diary of a Scrapbook Room Makeover: Your Questions Answered

Since I started writing my scrapbook room makeover posts, some of you lovely readers have been asking questions about certain items. I wanted to catch up on answering those, if you don’t mind. Or even if you do….bwaha!

From the FIRST POST, “Diary of a Scrapbook Room Makeover: A Prologue”…

JUDY asked:

“My first question for your organizational knowledge is this: What are you going to do with your stickles? I can’t decide how I want to organize mine. I know they should be upside down, but I also like them in a container that I can just grab and go when I get ready to go somewhere else and crop. So, do you have any suggestions for that?”

Answer: Ever since I started collecting Stickles (yes, you are not allowed to own just one Stickle….if you buy one, you will soon find yourself needing more, and before you know it, you have a Gang of Stickles….I currently have 15 bottles)….Okay, so, ever since I started collecting them, Judy, I’ve been keeping them lined up in anal-retentive, ROYGBIV color order on my Making Memories Embellishment Shelf. This is an older photo, from when I only had 7 Stickles, but you get the idea:

I did hear at some point that it’s best to store them upside down to avoid the applicator clogging but, since clogging hasn’t been a problem for me, I totally ignored that suggestion. It reminds of those pesky exercise tips you see bandied about. I mean, exercise??? Doesn’t apply to me, so why would I take note??? But in the interest of helping out my Stickles Sista, Judy, I went and found a couple ideas for ya…

Here’s an economical route from SHAYLA’S CREATIONS. Looks simple, and it’s pretty to boot.

Tons of great Stickles Upside Down Storage ideas here at OBSESSED WITH SCRAPBOOKING. Now, even though the names of our blogs are similar, we are NOT sisters. But I do love her. She shows people who have more Stickles than I do, which makes me feel not so ashamed. I think my favorite idea is the mini-lunchbox, although then your pretty Stickles are hidden away and their bottled sparkliness cannot add extra shine and glimmer to your day each time you glance their way.

At the bottom of her post, you’ll see where TIM HOLTZ says it’s fine to store them either way, but if you store your Stickles upside down, they may glurb out when you open them. {Glurb is not an official word, if you were to ask Merriam-Webster, but it seriously should be. Are you with me? Let’s start a petition!}. So, it’s sort of like the G.D. ketchup that G.D. glurbs out because I store it upside down in the refrigerator because that’s how the bottle is made and I’m just following directions. Yep, your Stickles’ll be just like the G.D. ketchup. Just sayin’….

Judy, I’m sure I’ve answered your question and about 50 others by now, right? So moving on….

Here is a question from my THIRD POST, “Diary of a Scrapbook Room Makeover, Part Two”:

Jkaye asks: “very interested in your JETMAX cubes- do you like them? And are they heavy- as in too heavy to stack on a Rubbermaid like table? I might have to stick with my rubbermaid 3-drawer containers as for the weight is okay for now..I am sure the Jetmax ones would be much heavier..”

Answer: First, let me clarify (see photos below). The stack of cubes I have along the wall (there are 10 cubes plus a half cube) are the heavier duty cubes called Store in Style. As for the Jetmax cubes, which are lighter weight and can be found at Target and Michaels, I own 3 of the 3-drawer cubes. However, I’ve only assembled one and haven’t stored anything in it yet. So I’m not an expert on the Jetmax cubes, but they are definitely lighter and smaller than the Store in Style cubes. I did a weight comparison test of the Jetmax cubes and the Sterlite (like Rubbermaid) 3-drawer containers with the 12×12 drawers. I actually weighed them on a scale. The Jetmax 3-drawer cube weighed 15 pounds, and the Sterlite 3-drawer container weighed 5 pounds. So, Jkaye, I’m not sure if putting the Jetmax cubes on your table would be do-able. But definitely do not plan on putting the Store in Style cubes on a tabletop. They are MUCH heavier then the Sterlite containers.

STORE IN STYLE CUBE (3-drawer)

JETMAX CUBE (3-drawer)

STERLITE 12×12 CONTAINER (3-drawer)

On that same post, YvetteDownUnder {who has a cute, funky, phresh scrap studio} said: “Can I ask you about the Powersort boxes? What dimensions are they? You guys in the US have an abundance of cube options, but we are more limited here in Oz, so I wonder if they would fit in an Ikea Expedit? Most of my photos of now scrapped in albums :) and I need to downsize those that aren’t from multiple photo boxes. I am tempted by the Power Sort, but not yet 100% sold on it. So fitting it into my storage could sway things.”

Answer: To answer this question, I thought I’d pop my azz right over to CreativeMemories.com and find the dimensions of the Power Sort Box for Miss Yvette. But, no, they aren’t listed on the website. Isn’t that a little weird? I mean, how many potential buyers have NOT boughten them (no, “boughten” is not an official word either, but seriously, if we can make “blog” and “snorkel” and “obfuscate” real words, can we not make “boughten” official? It sounds much cooler than any of those other words. Man, someone needs to have a talk with those dictionary people!). Okay, so how many people have not boughten those Power Sort boxes because they didn’t want to commit without knowing the dimensions?? Oh, I get it! That’s their way of forcing you to speak with a Creative Memories Consultant! Ah, yes, mystery solved.

Since I can’t find the dimensions online ~ and as much as my CMC would luuurrve a phone call from me at 2am ~ I decided to get out of my comfy recliner, put my laptop aside, pause “TMZ” on the Tivo, and go measure my Power Sort Box myself. No, really, Yvette, it’s alright. Don’t feel badly. It wasn’t THAT much trouble. Really. (Man, am I making you sorry you ever asked this question? LOL!). So the measurements of the Power Sort Box are: 14.75″ x 13″ x 5.5″. I don’t know if that works with the Expedit but I hope so. They are crack-a-lackin’. I love how they hold so many photos, are archival safe, and you can pull the little holders out to rearrange how they are in the box, to take a chunk of photos to a crop, or just to your desk to scrapbook.

Okay, I think I got all your wonderful questions answered. Thanks for asking, and I hope my answers were helpful. No worries, the smart-assidness was no extra charge. See, “smart-assidness”….yet ANOTHER unofficial word that should be official! For shizzle….

Friday Night Scrap Randoms #4

So the latest scrapbooking industry news is thatAMERICAN CRAFTS purchased PEBBLES INC.! You can read about it HERE on the Pebbles Inc. blog and HERE is a link to the announcement on the American Crafts BLOG. Here is an excerpt from the AC blog entry:
——–
We’re excited to announce the acquisition of Pebbles, an amazing scrapbooking brand that we’re certain will be a great compliment to the American Crafts product lines. Pebbles will remain a separate brand under the American Crafts umbrella. We will continue to offer their current products and plan to introduce new products over time. And the core of Pebbles design team will join us to ensure a continuation of their fun, fresh style.

Pebbles was created in 2001 as an extension of the Pebbles in my Pocket retail stores that are located in Utah. They make simple, cute, and easy-to-use products, including patterned paper, craft chalk and stencils, decorative Chips chipboard shapes, self-adhesive Candy Dots, themed die cuts, ribbon and more.
——-
This sounds like a good fit to me. Their product styles are very similar – think bright, cheerful, fun, and the opposite of shabby chic. I wish both companies luck for a smooth transition and much success in the future :)

Speaking of cheerful and fun, did you know Stacy Julian has a new WEBSITE?!? She re-named her blog from “Altogether Too Happy,” (which I’ve always loved because of the little story that goes with it), to “Playful. Productive. Present.” The new website also has her personal music playlists, her teaching/speaking schedule, something neat called “Sprinkles,” an A to Z list of her favorite products, etc. It’s really fun and colorful, just like Stacy herself. You really should check it out :)

If you’re wondering if I got the SHELF, I won’t know until this Sunday. The lady who’s selling it on Craigslist lives about 50 minutes from me. It happens that I’m going to her town on Sunday for an event, so if she still has the stamp shelf by then, I’ll buy it! I’ve just decided that if it’s meant to be mine, it will be. If not, I’ll know it made some other stamper or scrapper as happy as it would’ve made me :)

My-favorite-band-of-all-time-ever-since-I-was little ~JOURNEY~ was supposed to be on OPRAH today. The theme of the show was to be “Don’t Stop Believin;” with the band performing that song. I think the focus was to be the inspiring story of their “new” lead singer, Arnel Pineda. {Some of the Peas have no love for Journey without Steve Perry, and have dubbed the current version, “(un)Journey” LOL! However, my motto is, “Journey without Steve is better than no Journey at all.”} Anyhow, Journey was rescheduled for next week (Oct. 5) and the rumor is that it was because Oprah had more Olympics stuff to do. I mean, really, Oprah??? I love ya, but you need to get your priorities straight. Olympics more important than JOURNEY???? Pish. I’ve lost loads of respect for you, girlfriend…. Oh, and Chicago did NOT get the Olympics after all. Coincidence? I THINK NOT.

Speaking of Journey, this is interesting….Thursday night at the Farmer’s Market in a California town, there was a FLASH MOB of people walking through the streets singing, you guessed it, “Don’t Stop Believin’.” The story is HERE. Super cool. I keep hearing that song on my favorite new show, GLEE, too. It’s all making this Journey Girl very, very happy :)

I’m hoping to get more work done on my scrapbook room MAKEOVER this weekend. We’ll be running around all weekend, and I need to work some overtime at some point, but I really need to get back in there and make some progress! Thanks for all the great comments, questions, and encouragement you’ve been leaving for me. I’ll try to do a post answering questions soon. Do you have any scrapbooking plans this weekend?

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