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Fun Storage for Stickles

I saw this over in THIS thread on 2PEAS: GLITTER STAIRS to store all your Stickles!

Looks like you can buy one HERE; price is $24.99 pre-order (regular price $29.99). I adore Stickles which, if you’re not familiar, is a very special type of glitter glue you can use in your scrapbooking and cardmaking. I find myself using them a lot on ATCs, too, where you have so little space to make an impact. {Stacey at All Moments Remembered carries them HERE for $1.99; my LSS charges $2.49!}. Stickles has a nice pointy tip so they come out in a fine line, and yet the consistency of the “glue” is such that it doesn’t goop up, you just get a nice clean line. HERE is a link to Stickles info on the manufacturers website including all the colors it comes in. I used Copper Stickles on my Christmas cards this year, to dot the star at the top of the Christmas tree. More people commented on that star…

Anyway, just thought I’d share in case you’re a Stickles Girl like me. I have my Stickles, about 10 or 12 now I guess, standing on my Making Memories embellishment shelf. I’ve been hearing about storing them upside down to avoid clogging but no problems here so far, so I think I’ll keep mine as is. But if you want to store yours upside-down, this is a cute way to do it.

ETA 01-13-09: Scrappysuzz, to answer the question you posed in Comments re: if you can get Stickles at Michaels…the answer is “kinda.” I’ve only found them at Mike’s once, and it was a special Christmas 3-pack with red, green, and gold for $5. I think I blogged about it several entries ago… and I seem to remember someone on 2peas said Mike’s would be carrying more 3-packs of Stickles in the future so everybody keep your eyes peeled, and let me know if you see them!

AMR Crop is in Full Swing

Come on over and join us! Info is in THIS post.

The crop started tonight, went from 6pm-12am PST; it’s now 11:30pm PST and there’s still some ladies over there chatting. Which is really impressive considering it’s 2:30am for those East Coast girls still going! Wow, SO much fun and crazy stuff going on @ AMR. All kinds of prizes being given away, challenges being posted by AMR “staff” and members, classes, and a HYBRID MINI ALBUM provided by KARLA DUDLEY. I invited JOANNA CAMPBELL SLAN – she wrote Paper, Scissors, Death (a scrapbooking mystery) – to visit the AMR message board, as she has in the past. She might come by tomorrow. Stacey posted all the new stuff that will be happening in 2009. I talked to my AMR Scrap Pal on the phone for over an hour during the crop. There is a Scrubby (Scrapbookers Hubby) who has joined us and is entering his work in the challenges. I’d tell you more but my eyes are blurry from staring at the screen. Just come over and check it out. AMR is the “friendliest message board anywhere online” {says so right here on SCRAP SCENE!}. So what have you got to lose? Just click on the Scrap Scene link and it will take you where you need to go. See you there! Look me up…I’m “journeyfan.”

Just because I want to make you smile….a Karla Dudley layout….Enjoy.

Please Join Us for a FABULOUS Celebration at AMR!!

You’ve probably heard me refer to “AMR” a bazillion times, and if you look at my Tag Cloud, you can see how often I mention “AMR” and “All Moments Remembered.” AMR started as an online scrapbook STORE run by my very-close-but-never-met-in-real-life friend, Stacey. Upon opening her online store, she added a BLOG and a MESSAGE BOARD, which I promptly joined. I knew if Stacey were runnin’ the joint, it was gonna’ be a par-tay! She’s just one of those fun, sweet, joyful people who is always enthusiastic and helpful to everyone. Well, the message board really took off, the online store was doing great, the members became great friends, and before you knew it, RAKs, challenges, scrap pals, NSBR (aka Chit Chat), flat scrappers, Scrap Chat Hours, layout sharing in the AMR Flickr gallery, and online crops were flying around like crazy.

Stacey’s next step was to realize her dream of opening an honest-to-God, brick and mortar store in her hometown in Oregon. There she is making the same kind of lifelong customers (she prefers to call them “friends”) as she has via the online store. Stacey offers popular classes, the latest greatest supplies, and is decorating and arranging her store in a welcoming style that reflects her friendly personality. Her “Message Board Girls” have provided layouts to decorate her B&M store with, and recently presented her with an 8×8 album (put together by NICOLE and hand delivered by Mylee) full of layouts from message board members about why we love Stacey and AMR.

I tell you all this so you can understand why I’m crazy about the place and about Miss Stacey. I think you’ll agree that a bunch of unrelated women wouldn’t go to those lengths of appreciation if Stacey hadn’t created such a warm, supportive, and inspirational place. Now, the biggest news is that All Moments Remembered online store is celebrating it’s ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY!! Here’s what’s going on to mark the occasion:

********** 1st Anniversary Crop! *************
Online crop on Friday Night and all day Saturday, January 9-10, 2009
Online classes
Scrapbooking/cardmaking challenges
Prizes!!

To provide more detail, I’ve copied information posted at AMR by ANNE MARIE, the Crop Hostess. For brevity sake, I’ve posted the times for Pacific Standard Time since that’s where I am, but if you click this LINK, you can see that AM, as we love to call her, has thoughtfully broken everything down for you by time zone. I’m also going to post just a tease of each class…you have to click the link {above} to see the rest of the details and a supply list so you can get ready.

CROP HOURS & CLASS SCHEDULE
Look for your time zone below, and make note of the crop hours and class times!

Pacific Time:
Friday
CROP HOURS: 6pm -12am
CLASS: “Inchie Card” by kellieannie (Kelli) – 7pm
Saturday
CROP HOURS: 9am-9pm
CLASS: “Mini Book” by tigardlilly (Laura) – 11am
CLASS: “Soot Stamping” by scrappysam (Samantha) – 4pm
CLASS: “2009 Goals Layout” by Anne Marie — 7pm

CLASSES & CLASS CHALLENGE DETAILS
* Each Class will be posted separately at the scheduled time. I will make each of the Class threads a “stickey” to make them easier to find.
* Each Class will include a challenge, and you will have until Thursday, Jan. 15 to submit your entry. Entries should be posted either directly or via a link in the Class thread.
* The Class leader will choose a name at random from the entries and post the winner in the Class thread on Friday, Jan. 16. The winner will be sent a special prize from All Moments Remembered.

MEMBER CHALLENGE DETAILS
* You can submit a challenge during the Crop Hours whenever you wish! Simply start a new thread with “CHALLENGE:” as the first word in the Subject.
* You do NOT have to offer a prize/RAK unless you want to. These challenges are about trying new things and simply having fun!
* Members should submit entries the same way, either posting the layout/project in the thread or a link by Thursday, Jan. 15
* If you start a Challenge thread, please make sure that you draw a winner at random from all the entries and announce that on Friday, Jan. 16

Important Crop Supply Note — If you DON’T have the supplies and can’t get them…. PLEASE DON’T SWEAT IT! Life is too short. Just jump right in and I’m sure between you, me, the class leader, and the other 500 women on this board we can think of all sorts of substitutions, LOL!

And here is a helpful TO DO list posted by Crop Hostess, Anne Marie:

Check Crop Supply List in January Crop Post
Check Crop Schedule for your time zone and figure out what hours you’re going to crop
Make a list of any supplies you need to buy or figure out substitutions for
Sort, edit & print pictures (Be sure to check your printer ink supply!)
Clean your scissors and make sure your cutter blades are sharp
Look through your personal stash and pull out some products (either new or old) that you’d like to use up
If you’ve never posted pictures in the AMR Gallery before, check the instructions post and practice uploading and posting a link or photo in the forum
Remind hubby/kids that Mommy is OFF DUTY during the crop!
Plan easy meal/snack foods and maybe a couple movies or games that you can leave out for hubby & the kiddos so they will leave you alone!

So, now you’re going to come crop with us, right?? If you’re not already an AMR member, you need to sign up beforehand for the message board in time for Stacey to approve you. Do it now! HERE is where you register. I really hope you can join us for the AMR One Year Anniversary Crop, and beyond. You will have a wonderful time over there, I promise. Cross my Cricut, hope to die!

The Gratitude Project: Scrapbooking Your Blessings

You hear about the bestest things on message boards, I tell ya.’ My AMR/CKMB buddy LEEA, posted at AMR about THE GRATITUDE PROJECT being run by BRENDA ARNALL. Now, you know I luv me some Brenda. She is a kind and talented lady. {If you’re not familiar, she does different things for CK including the Easy Patterns feature and book}. I do read her blog regularly, but hadn’t seen THIS entry yet til Leea pointed it out. So “Thanks Leea!!”. I read Brenda’s blog entry, then went to check out the Gratitude Project WEBSITE. Yeah, they have their own rockin’ website ~ a weekly message from Brenda, quotes, inspiration, a gallery, and a message board. It’s a beautiful website.

At first, I hesitated about doing the project and thought, “I don’t have time to commit to this, so I’ll just lurk over their and watch what everyone else does.” But at work all day today, I couldn’t get it off my mind. So I decided to jump right in! This project is close to my heart because I’m a Blessing Counter. I think as a kid, I took everything for granted. You know, the sun will shine, I will have a roof over my head, the ocean is beautiful, etc. But as an adult, especially after becoming a parent, especially after losing my dad and some other loved ones, it sank in over time that THIS LIFE IS NOT A GIVEN. I am blessed with each new day, and tomorrow it could all be gone. I could lose my health, my home, or our country could be bombed again. I began to look at life in a new way, and not take all these blessings for granted. I often point things out to my kids….”look at that amazing sunset, isn’t it cool how God designed the human body, savor that piece of chocolate while it melts in your mouth…” I don’t want them to waste the time I did being ungrateful. I hope they will come to appreciate life the same way I do.

I so look forward to doing this project. It will be NO problem finding 52 things I’m grateful for. Big things, little things, huge epiphanies, and little moments. I know it will increase my appreciation even more for all that my life is.

I hope you’ll think about doing this project. If you’d like more info, just go check out Brenda’s blog and the Gratitude Project website linked above. Hope to see you over there on the GP message board!

New Scrapbooking @ Target

The regular scrapping aisle at my Target pretty much bites. They had Thanksgiving things on Clearance but it was so overpriced and not cute to start with, I wasn’t even tempted. Nothing else was on sale that I could see.

HOWEVAH!! On an endcap with a hugamic $14.99 sign were the following new items:

Lots of cute letter stickers…would be nice to have so many in one set so as not to run out of E’s and A’s long before the rest of the alpha. And the embellie set looked nice…

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12×12 and 8×8 albums, and paper packs…

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Cute acrylic stamp sets….I LOVE the set on the top with the birds, butterflies, and flourishes. I’m on Stamp Probation so I didn’t get them. But if they go on Clearance someday, I can probably find a way to justify buying them. There were only a few sets…did they not stock many, or have they already been popular?

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Other than the 12×12 albums, I don’t find $14.99 to be any kind of screaming deal on these items. Such is life in today’s scrap industry I guess. But I miss those days when bargains were always to be had on scrapbook stuff at Target…

On another end cap, there were several of the KI Memories scrapbooking tins on Clearance, marked down to $17.48. I think originally they were $29.99, so what a great deal on Clearance.

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I use gingerbread jars like these in my scrap area to organize embellies, and people often ask where I got mine. Well, I found them on Craigslist; they were from a local candy store. Now anyone can get them…at Target! The price…yikes. I think I paid $30-40 for a whole mess of them.

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When I see things like this bed/bath/kitchen collection, I finally get what those pro scrappers mean in the magazines when they tell you that your scrapbooking can be inspired by other products. These color combos and the style of these items really caught my attention and made me want to start whipping out Spring pages using these colors for inspiration.

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And if I were rich like Oprah, I would SO buy that whole set and redo my bedroom and bathroom. Oh, and I did get the new Memory Makers at Target….mighty thin issue. So, have you bought anything scrappy at Target lately? Tell us about it…

Scrappers Doing More on the Computer

Interesting article I found HERE

“Data Watch: Scrapbooking shows path toward digital
According to the recently released PMA 2008 U.S. Consumer Scrapbook Report, 22 percent of U.S. households have completed scrapbook projects and an additional 9 percent of households have started but not finished a scrapbook project. Fourteen percent of households completed a scrapbook in the 12 month period ending April 2008, up from 12 percent who completed one in 2005. The percent of U.S. households interested in the digital components of scrapbooking has increased dramatically over the past couple of years, according to PMA Marketing Research.

Scrapbooks can be impressive craft pieces but take time and practice to make the traditional way. The emerging role of digital technology in scrapbooking may be the catalyst for speeding up the process and expanding the popularity of scrapbooks beyond the dedicated niche to mainstream photo customers. Digital options may even be the tool to attract more young people to the market. Nineteen percent of active scrapbooking households used the computer for some elements of their scrapbook project in 2005. This more than tripled in the year ending April 2008, with a whopping 68 percent of scrapbookers using the computer for some elements of their scrapbook project.

    Only one percent of households completed the entire project using the computer in the 12 month period ending April 2008, down from 5 percent in 2005.

While 55 percent of households plan to keep their computer use the same, more than 40 percent of households cited they plan to increase computer usage in their scrapbook projects. Only 4 percent plan to decrease computer use.

The most popular reason for using computers in scrapbooking was for printing digital photos, cited by 47 percent of active scrapbooking households. Thirty-four percent used the computer to improve the quality of photos and 30 percent use it for the designing of pages.

    Other reasons for using the computer that were mentioned were to print other materials and to visit forums and blogs.

Twenty-two percent had other reasons for using the computer as well. ” [Emphasis mine].

As is common with the news media, it seems to me they attached a misleading headline to this article. They grabbed our attention by making it sound like digi-scrapping is slowly taking over our industry, probably knowing it’s a “controversial” and interesting topic to scrapbookers today. At least I find it very intriguing! I’m old school, hard core, paper and Herma tab girl all the way. So when someone waves that digi flag in front of me, I’m hooked. I was ready to be depressed by this article, figuring it would tell me how “everyone” is going digital with their scrapbooking and soon “no one” will be doing paper scrapping. Is that what you supposed after reading the headline?

Well, as you can see by taking a closer look, including reading the 2 sentences I highlighted, that’s not what the fine print says at all. In fact, if I’m reading this right, digi-scrapping itself is actually DOWN: “Only one percent of households completed the entire project using the computer in the 12 month period ending April 2008, down from 5 percent in 2005.” Almost half of those using their computer for “scrapping” are actually using it for printing photos. Well now, that’s a bit different, isn’t it? Of course that activity has gone up as most of us have voluntarily or practically been forced to switch to a digital camera.

I’m not sure how to interpret this statement: “30 percent use it for the designing of pages.” So, of those who cited using their computer for scrapping, 30% of them (mind you, NOT 30% of ALL scrappers) used the computer to design part of the page but obviously not all of the page, since there was a separate category for that (the one percent of households who completed the ENTIRE project using the computer). What did those 30% do exactly….write journaling, print out song lyrics, print a digi-element or journaling box, print a transparency?? Again, not exactly showing the “strong path towards digital” I had expected from the headline.

After reading this article, what are your thoughts?

Please Meet Landry!

The source of much future scrapbooking….idn’t he cute???

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He’s a 2-month-old Border Collie/McNab that we picked out on Christmas Eve, and picked up today. The whole family is swooning in love with him….

ETA: I’ll post better pics of him soon, I was just so eager to show him off. He’s sleeping in a dark corner right now…..shhhh….it’s the first time he’s stopped all day. But I’ll get a face-on picture tomorrow and post it!

Scrapbook Shopping 2 Days Before Christmas

It’s been a while since I did my shopping rounds down in the Big City, but I had to hit Costco yesterday so there was my excuse, LOL!

First we drove the 45 minutes to my nearest LSS, which I was SO looking forward to. I hadn’t been in months and was going to treat myself to a tiny shopping spree. I also wanted to see what their latest and greatest, most popular items are because ~ other than Cricuts ~ I haven’t been hearing much chatter on the MB’s these days on what the hot item is that everyone wants. However, we were greeted with a note on the door saying they were closed through 12/27 due to a family emergency. Shizzle! Major disappointment. I was so pathetic, I stood there with my nose pressed to the window trying to see the What’s New section right up front, and it looked like mostly the K&Co. Christmas stuff that I had already seen most of at Michaels. The Bazzill racks were so close, I could almost reach out and touch all that yumminess…except for that darn locked door in the way! To get things back in perspective, I took the kids to a park in that town I’d been wanting to check out. The family of an old friend of mine that passed away last year put a beautiful memorial to him there, with a stone bench, a tree, and a plaque that told of his life. He was an amazing man and I’m glad I got to be there, sit on the bench, and say a little prayer to him. The kids had a blast playing and got out some energy to prepare for our long shopping adventures ahead, LOL!

Next, we went to the Big City Michaels which is better than the one I usually go to. Yes, they were packed (did you see this POST about how the craft industry is actually doing better during the recession?). As I had heard on 2peas, they had a ton of their PP on clearance but I didn’t see anything I wanted, but doesn’t “major clearance on patterned paper” = “new patterned paper is coming”?? Yeah! I ended up with a white Staz On ink pad to get with my 50% off coupon (score!), and a paper doll kit for one of my nieces for 25% off. I was disappointed again…I figured this Mike’s would have the BG Sugared and Archaic that my regular Mike’s hasn’t carried, but no luck. I kept grabbing the Bazzill Christmas pack to use my coupon on but then put it back…You know how much I {heart} Bazzill but my 3 vertical paper holders just got full to the brim with Bazzill and Prism, so I really need to use some up before I buy more (did I just say that?). I don’t have a ton of money right now anyway, so it was best to just get the ink pad for less money. I hate being responsible and, as you will see, that was nothing compared to the willpower challenge I would face later. PS: They give you a 50% off coupon with your receipt.

Next, I checked the Dollar Store but they had nada. Back in the Day, they would often have something good ~ remember the fake Thickers, and the fake MME Soft Spokens? Lately, nothing, but I can’t seem to give up checking every so often. Next door to them is Tuesday Morning, which is so hit and miss, sometimes I feel like, “Why bother?” But this time was definitely a hit. They had tons of 12×12 postbound albums; I can’t remember the brand name but they all had themes on the front like a Santa, sports, or whatevs. There were letter sticker packs and metal photo corner packs. Then the light shone down from the heavens and illuminated not just a huge pack of KI Memories 12×12 papers, but a huge-r pack of Heidi Swapp 12×12 papers. The KI Memories pack, similar to the way American Crafts packages their paper packs, had the bottom right corner open so you could flip through and glimpse all of the papers. There was a nice mixture of patterns and even some with rounded corners. But I had to pass on it, because some of the papers I already have from the LAST KI Memories stack I bought. But if you love KI, the price was great so go check it out. Now, resisting the HS stack was much harder because I hardly have any of her papers. Samples of all the papers were shown on the back – there were stripes, solids, plaids, stars, and some of those cool travel/map papers she does. I carried that thing around like a newborn baby for quite a while but, alas, left the store without it. I need more PP like I need a hole in the head. My resolution for 2009, now that I have my scrap area (mostly) organized, is to START SCRAPPING more! Use up some of what I have so I can stop passing up sweet Heidi Swapp paper deals. Anwhizzle, there were also chipboard alpha sets and some cute ribbon, but those weren’t worth standing in the long lines for so I put them back. I’m sorry I don’t remember the exact prices on the KI and HS pack but I want to say $8.99 and $9.99 and it was a ton of paper.

Finally, to Costco where I saw the famous huge paper pack they’ve been talking about at 2peas. It comes in it’s own accordian holder and the papers are thick, good quality. There’s even an instant rebate right now, so you should definitely go check it out if you have a chance. If I remember right, it’s normally $29 with a $10 rebate making it only $19.

They had another one of those huge “no name brand” kits with all kinds of paper, embellies, and an 8×8 album. You could do a cool album project with that with your eyes closed. No choices or shopping, it’s all right there for ya’. They had the 2-pack of 12×12 albums but they were, like, ribbed silk (?) texture which I don’t care for. With my kids, they’d get dirty and ripped. I like the faux leather ones better and hope they come back soon. I also wish my Costco would sell the page protectors that go with these albums (brand is Memory Stor). They’re great quality and I’ve ordered them a couple times but I prefer instant gratification. Besides, if I buy it in a store I can sneak it inside whereas anything that is shipped, I have to explain/justify to DH and who wants to waste time doing that? (TOTALLY kidding, Honey! I show you EVerything I buy…yep, I do). And remember those cute gift tags at Costco that were all the rage last year? (CKMB girls, say heyyyyyyy…) They had a new set; still perfect for embellishing Christmas cards. Again, I left empty handed.

So, an anticlimactic day for me, as the thing I was looking most forward to was the LSS shopping. And even though I couldn’t afford to buy much, I sure enjoy the scrapbook window shopping, don’t you?

Speaking of Mike’s, my Partner in Shopping Crime, Abby, told me this today:

“Mike’s has all the Basic Grey Sugared and Archaic (except the 12×12 Archaic paper) for 40% off on clearance! Oh, and the Falala MM line is on sale, well, most of it is. I got the rubon roller, some BG sugared fibers and some falala canvas letters.” My stupid Mike’s (both of them) don’t have any of this stuff but yours might, so get sum summa’ that clearance goodness now! You have a 50% off coupon you need to use anyway, so go!

Is the Recession GOOD for Scrapbooking?

Check out THIS article called, “For Craft Sales, Recession is a Help” from the New York Times. It talks about how, despite the horrible economy and slumping sales in other retail areas, that spending at craft stores, Etsy, and the like has actually gone up. I was so happy to read this because I thought I was crazy to think the same thing; every time I go into Michaels in the past couple months, it’s packed! I always leave there shaking my head, saying, “So much for the recession.” Now, this article explains it. Their theory is that, 1. With less to spend, people are making Christmas gifts this year that are more cost effective, 2., People enjoy the stress release of making handmade things, and appreciate receiving them over “big box” items as well, and 3. That we are starting to prefer good old ‘Made in the USA’ products after all the recent problems with items imported from China. Needless to say, I loved this article! It’s all about some of my favorite things: crafts/scrapbooking, supporting American small and large business owners, and the value of handcrafted items.

HERE is a link to the discussion on 2peas….

What are your thoughts on the article?

QVC Scrapbooking 12-31-08

I’m very happy to correct my statement in THIS post where I said there didn’t seem to be any more QVC Scrapbooking shows scheduled for 2008. Yay, I was wrong-o! As I browsed the January CK, I saw a cardstock insert advertising their show on 12-31-08 at midnight EST. So, see, I was almost right, LOL! The ad shows some Shutterfly goodies and a free calendar that I’m personally not interested in, but here’s the LINK if ya are.

While I was over nosing around at QVC.com, I found THIS link to a message board discussion about whether David Venable will be co-hosting with LISA BEARNSON on the 12/31 show. HERE is a link to the QVC program schedule for December 31, including the following times for “Creating Keepsakes Paper Crafting”:

12am to 1am
3am to 4am
3pm to 4pm

*These times are EST; please adjust for your time zone. They give a pretty generic description but all these slots say they are Lisa Bearnson, so coolio. The only mention I could find on LIsa’s blog was from her 12/9/08 entry: “P.S.S. I’m getting ready for a big QVC day on December 31st. Shutterfly and Creating Keepsakes have teamed up for some amazing projects. Stay tuned again for more information on these products.” By the way, if you want a handy reminder of these shows, you can go to their Program Guide and follow the instructions to have reminders sent to your e-mail. Yeah, they got our back.

This is from the “Look Who’s Scrapbooking” QVC blog:

“Scrapbooking in 2009
Dec 22, 2008
Hello Scrappers!

We know you’re getting ready for the holidays and looking forward to the New Year. It’s the perfect time to get organized…and buy more scrapbook supplies! So be sure to tune in on December 31 for three hours of Creating Keepsakes and an exciting Today’s Special Value® item. There’s plenty more to come in 2009 — new trends, brands, and one-hour designer shows. We’ll have some new exciting launches, too, so make sure you check our program guides and the website for more details. And be sure to share your thoughts on our message boards as well! Tell us what new finds you’re loving in the market so we can scope it out at the upcoming CHA tradeshow in February 2009.

Sincerely,
QVC Buyers”

Since I’m on the West Coast, I’ll probably watch all the shows live but I’m gonna’ set up my Tivo now just in case. I hope they have some good stuff and not just all the Shutterfly biz. I’m sorry, but to me, “photobooking” is not “scrapbooking” and I think it’s bad for the industry. But that’s just me, LOL!…Do you plan to watch?

Did I Really Just Pass Up a Chance to Crop? And Stickles at Michaels…

Okay, the plan today was this: I was going to crop with friends from 9am (or whenever I could get my lazy ayshe out of bed) until 5pm. The family would come steal me away from the crop at some point to get our tree, then I would return to the crop, they would come home and get the tree put up in the stand, and we would all decorate it tonight. Sounds good, yeah? I got up at 8am, had some breakfast, did dishes, then went over to my scrap area to pack some goods to take cropping. I figured it would be a “Papercrafting” day instead of scrapbooking, and I started stacking up my K&Co ornament kit, the new Christmas STICKLES pack I got from Mike’s (red, green, and yellow!), and then gathered things to make my Christmas cards….{No, Miss Smarty Pants, I’m-so-organized-my-cards-went-out-last-week, I HAVEN’T done mine yet!}. Okay, so then it’s time to get my XXL out of the corner to pack everything in. It’s under 2 other crop bags, and to get to it, I needed to clmb over a stack of scrap crap. As I’m doing all this, I’m thinking about what else I NEED to accomplish this weekend because, seriously, time is running out…Christmas is only 12 freakin’ days away, people! Let’s see…decorate the tree, write our Christmas letter, make those cards and ornaments (for gifts), make peppermint bark, help child with Poland cultural presentation, clean the house, laundry, pay bills, finish major transcribing project that’s due by Sunday night, wrap presents, RSVP to neighbor’s open house, make appetizer, make hotel reservations for the weekend after Christmas, call my mom with the info….crap, I’ll just stop there because it became painfully obvious as I tried to figure out how to climb around the pile of scrap stuff to reach my XXL….that there was no way in St. Nicholas that I was going scrapbooking today.

Yeah, I just love the holidays, don’t you? Have you had to put off fun scrappy plans to attend to the Joys of the Season?

Btw, here is a pic of the Stickles pack I got at Mike’s (picture from Jen at the creative juices flowin blog)…I think it was $4.99, which was a deal for me because my LSS sells them for $2.49 each is which totally ridonculous. So it’s like I got one bottle for free! LOL

It’s Christmastime in Scrappy Land!

Hey, did you notice it’s snowing on my blog. I just really {heart} WordPress.

Okay, let’s start with a shopping report, because there haven’t been enough of those lately. Tonight I went to Michaels and used my 40% off coupon on a really snazzy 5-up photo album by Recollections. Sorry, I coudn’t find a photo of it anywhere online. It was back with the frames and photo albums, not with the scrapbooks. It’s my latest idea for storing extras of “already scrapped” photos and bad shots that I can’t seem to throw away. Each page has some vertical and some horizontal. I figure whatever slots I don’t have photos for on each page (does that make sense?), I’ll slip in some paper and do journaling or a title. Or just some decoration. I have to keep it flat, though, as I doubt this album would be able to handle lots of embellies. If you’d like a photo of it, leave me a comment and I’ll take a pic of mine. I’m going to start collecting these with future Mike’s coupons. I think they’re normally $25, but worth it, with a simple, classy looking cover and the plastic protecting cover that I love…

I also got a kit by K&Company, which was on sale for 30% off. It’s a paper pad with embellies attached (bling!) to make ornaments, which I’m going to give as gifts. And I’m sure keep some too. Every year, I make an ornament for each child so this year’s will be made from this kit. Again, couldn’t find a pic to post for ya’ ~ SAH-REE!

I also got some cinnamon-scented pinecones because I love how they make my house all smelly! I came right home and put them in 3 crystal bowls distributed around the great room area. Mmmmm!! And I got 4 bags of chocolate melts, because they were on a good sale. We’re going to make our traditional PEPPERMINT BARK with the recipe I coulda’ sworn I got last year from BECKY HIGGINS blog. But now I can’t find it on her blog, so I’ll refer you to a sweet CKMB’er, LIZ aka HicksChick, who also has it HERE. We made 2 versions, with Oreos and without. I thought I would like the Oreo version better but just to warn you, it is SUPER sweet. I could take about 2 bites and be done. Hey, wait! That’s a good thing! Last year, we used boring old white chocolate melts but this year, they had RED and GREEN. Totally cool! Here’s a pic of Liz’s peppermint bark so you can start drooling now…then go buy the stuff to make it, you won’t be sorry…{Hi Liz!!!}

Then I went to Target. Yawn. Their scrapbooking aisle has gotten so boring. Nothing was on clearance, and what they call “Sale Items” are, like, 30 cents off the regular price. I do want one or five of THESE KI Memories card and scrapbooking kits. Here’s the Christmas Cardmaking Tin:

And my favorite of the scrapbooking tins, Birthday:

I hope they don’t sell them all, and then put them on Clearance near or after the holidays.

Okay, what else is going on? I got the most recent Scrapbooks Etc and am really enjoying it. I hear a lot of scrappers saying on the message boards that SBE has replaced CK as their favorite scrap mag. I’m not quite there yet, but I get what they’re sayin’. Now the January CK is out and getting rave reviews at 2PEAS. I seeked…sought…sooked…oh, whatever!…but did not find it tonight on my shopping jaunt. Bummer, dude. But I did get the Jan/Feb issue of Simple Scrapbooks. Can’t wait til bedtime when I can browse through it.

I found a very cool LINK where you can download a list of all the Cricut cartridges released to date.

Well, that’s it for now. Back to work! Hope you’re having a wonderful Christmas season and maybe getting to scrap a little? Yeah, me neither but making Christmas cards and ornaments and gifts for soldiers is so much fun this time of year. “Buon Natale e Felice Anno Nuovo!” {Did I get that right, Anne Marie?}

Wish List for Scrapbook Santa

First off, I’m so sorry for not writing as often as I used to. I think you all know I went back to work full-time in September, as I’ve bitched and moaned about it quite a lot. Well, on top of that, I’m taking on additional transcription work from home in the evenings. So, I’m here at the computer, still lurking my favorite message boards, posting here and there when I can take a little “me break” but for the most part….working. I will try to find a solution to this annoying problem soon, so I can start paying more attention to my baby, little miss Scrapbook Obsession. I constantly have ideas percolating in my head that I want to write about/tell you about and it’s so frustrating not to have the time to post!

Okay, now, I was just curious what all you Scrappy Ladies were asking Scrap Santa for this year? If you’re like me, your everyday scrap spending has had to take a cut recently so holidays are your new best friends. Bring on Christmas and birthdays, yee haw! So I’ll show you mine if you show me yours…hehe…
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Dear Scrap Santa,

If you bring me any or all of the following items this Christmas, I promise to be nicer to people buy coffee for the person behind me at Starbucks walk old ladies across the street donate blood oh crap, I’m not gonna’ lie, Santa. I’ll be the same ol’ girl I’ve always been. But I would really like these items anyway.

All my love,
~Erika

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A HOME ACCENTS cartridge for my baby bug (Cricut machine)

Look, Santa, at all the cool shapes it will do. I can make my own cool wallies and not have to pay those exorbitant prices the stores charge.

Huge slab of CORE’DINATIONS CARDSTOCK ….it’s got a colored core in a coordinating color. I haven’t gotten to play with any yet, and do you really think that’s fair, Santa? Yeah, me either….

Anything from THIS website, Basic Grey. Seriously, anything. Anything at all. HERE is my favorite collection they ever did; if you can find anymore Motifica on this green earth, I will take it. Oh, and Bazzill sheets to match, please….

Any PINK PAISLEE goodies would be most appreciated. I have some Vintage Moon pieces that I got in a kit, and I love it. But must. have. more. For instance, me likey this. Me likey a lot….

And subscriptions to all the scrapbooking magazines, since I can no longer use my Mike’s coupon on them: Creating Keepsakes, Memory Makers, and Scrapbooks Etc. Pretty pleeeeeese….

Okay, I will force myself to stop there. Even though I also want some Nestabilities and a Cuttlebug. But it’s your turn. What is on YOUR list for Scrap Santa this year?

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