I’ve talked over the years about what a great experience this is: Layout a Day – this year known as “LOAD 216” (for February 2016).
I just realized from her e-mail that this will be the last LOAD Lain is leading!! {<- Yes, I just did that}.
More from Lain:
We’re kicking off February 1 (TOMORROW), and we’re scrapbooking a layout every day for the month of February.
Many of our LOADsters say that life is so busy, LOAD is the one time a year they can count on getting their scrap on. So if you’re ready to pick up the tape runner again, join us. You can save $15 if you register by midnight tonight – no coupon needed!
We’ll tackle one part of your scrapbooking area each week so that, by the time Spring comes, you’ll be ready to attack some layouts and projects. Would love to have you join us! I’m capping it at a small group because I really want to provide individualized attention. Spaces are running out and we start tomorrow!
So whether you’re ready to power through some layouts now with LOAD 216 or you need to get your space in order first with Simplify Your Scrapbook Space, you’re good to go.
Happy Sunday!
PS: I’m having an impromptu chat in the Scrapbook Obsession Secret Facebook Group this evening. If you’re not part of the group yet, we’d love to have you! Just sign up for my Free Newsletter in the top right sidebar and I’ll add you to the group pronto. Then we can chat tonight!
Pssst! Make sure and read all the way to the bottom for a discount that will make this a no-brainer AND a tip-off about a free event coming up. Just sayin’. . .
You’ve heard me talk about LOAD a time or 10 before. {If you’d like to see past entries, take a stroll up to the black banner and do a search on LOAD}. The time has come to “LOAD” again, LOL! For all the details on what LOAD214 is, please CLICK HERE. You’re not forced to sign up by clicking, I promise. It’s just where all the info is and if you choose to sign up, you’ll be in the right place :)
According to the organizer of all LOAD events, Lain Ehman:
What’s Waiting for You in February:
28 days of brand-new video prompts and lessons, guaranteed to bust you out of any scrapbooking rut, bring a smile to your face, and make your hair shine!
Exclusive message board for LOAD members only where you can connect and chat with the coolest scrappers on the Web!
Private gallery for our members where you share your daily creations, win prizes, and strut your stuff!
28 never-before-seen sample layouts!
Random surPRIZES, Hugh sightings, and fun for all!
SPACE IS LIMITED!
To Preserve the Intimate and
Personal Atmosphere of This Event,
Participation Is Capped!
For Only $50**, You Can Have the Time of Your Scrappy Life!
** KEEP READING for a DISCOUNT!
At the LOAD link, there’s also a FAQ page to answer any questions you might have {or I’m happy to answer them; I’ve done 3 LOAD’s now}. You have forever-access to the 28 video prompts, all the materials, Flickr gallery, and message board. So if February is a busy month for you, don’t sweat it. You don’t have to stick to the prompts – just do you own thang, chickie! And, yes, Project Life layouts, 8×8 layouts, any layout counts. Lain says, “I’m easy. If you think it’s a layout, I think it’s a layout.” If you get all 28 projects done and posted in February, you’re eligible for a very cool prize!
From participating in past LOADs, I can tell you this: They’re something special. In those 28 days, you bond with the group of ladies who are on the journey with you. You get to know each other through your layouts and the message board. Do you love getting comments on your layouts? You’ll get them with LOAD. Everyone is treated the same; there are no “stars” getting all the attention. Do you ever see layouts online and think, “They’re so detailed and mine aren’t” or “It’s pretty but SO not my style.” With LOAD, it’s just everyday scrappers like you posting their layouts and you WILL see many who scrapbook like you do.
That was one of my favorite things because my scrapbooking is very simple compared to those on Design Teams and even those who post to the Two Peas gallery. At LOAD, I felt normal. Well, as normal as I can be for a whacked out, crazy, scrapbooking obsessed, sarcastic, rabble-rousing enabler!
You know I love you, right? Just to prove how much, I’m going to share with you a most excellent discount code. If you CLICK HERE or the link above to sign up for LOAD214, the code “28DAYS” will give you almost 40% off the cost of LOAD. So instead of $50, it’s ONLY $31. For you buck-saving fans, that’s $1.10 per day {even at the full price of $50, it’s only $1.78 per day}. I defy you to say that’s not worth the money. Defy you, I say!!
Yes, you could just challenge yourself to complete 28 layouts in February for no cost. But, c’mon, if you’re like me, it wouldn’t get done. You’d be sharing layouts with – yourself. You’d be chatting each day with – yourself. You’d have to inspire – yourself. You’d post your layouts in a gallery where you could see layouts by – you. You’d have to give prizes to – yourself. And – hey now! – then it’s not so free after all, is it?
Now ask yourself, “Self, do I want to join in with a bunch of other scrap-crazies and do LOAD214?” I’m sure your self would say, “Well, DUH! Of course, I . . . you . . . do.”
So get to steppin’, sis!
PS: Whether or not you want to be part of LOAD, you should definitely check out all of Lain’s FREE monthly scrapinars. Information on February’s scrapinar with a very popular teacher is right here. Hope to see you there!
As I’ve been posting and talking about signing up for LOAD 513 – aka Layout a Day May 2013 – I get this comment/question a lot:
“I want to do LOAD in May but that’s a reeeeaaallllyyyy busy month for me. What if I can’t join in much during the month but still want to be part of the fun?”
Well, the great news is you can still do this!
I took LOAD213 (this past February) and, as always seems to happen with me and online scrapbooking classes, after a week or so real life took over and I wasn’t able to complete all of the daily layouts (I got about half of them done and only because I had a retreat in February).
However, I still have access to a list of the daily prompts – with live links to the daily videos and transcripts. I can still look through the LOAD 213 gallery and be hugely inspired by all the layouts done by other 213 LOADees. And I can still read through the forums to see what challenges, questions, and insights came up for others.
It’s now April and I’m still using the LOAD 213 materials whenever I have time to sit down and scrap. Or even just dream about scrapping, like on the iPad at a sports practice, lol.
I wasn’t 100% sure I’d heard whether or not LOAD attendees have “forever access” to class content so I e-mailed to get a concrete answer, and here it is:
YES! They [attendees] have “forever access”. In fact, we send out a link to a master list with all the prompts, so it’s even one stop shopping when they are ready to tackle the challenges!
So there you go.
If the only thing holding you back from LOAD 513 is the fear that you can’t stay on top of it all month, please don’t let that be a worry. For any LOAD event you join, you have “forever access” to the content.
Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns about LOAD and I’ll address them. Hope to see you in May … even if just for a bit :)
In my LAST ENTRY, I talked about a $10 off discount for LOAD 513 – Layout a Day May 2013.
I could’ve sworn I put the code at the bottom but when I checked this morning it wasn’t there – so sorry! It’s now been added to yesterday’s post and here ya’ go:
*** $10 off LOAD513 registration with code “FNF” at checkout. Discount expires 4/10 at midnight ***
After attending my first LOAD event in February 2013 – see my post HERE – I’m a true believer. It’s the BEST online scrapbooking event I’ve ever attended. Well, okay, it’s tied for 1st place with TRUE SCRAP :P
I wasn’t able to keep up with blogging about LOAD 213 (Feb ’13) but I did get tons of layouts done that month. They are some of my favorite layouts I’ve ever done. I think it’s a combination of the prompts received from Lain and the supportive community who makes you feel like your ideas are valid and appreciated.
The gallery is EXTREMELY active so even if you’re like me and not able to physically do a layout every day, you can at least collapse on the couch at the end of every day and marvel at the layouts posted by other LOADers. Inspiration station, baby! And the message board was LOADs of fun, too (har har).
It’s time for LOAD again in May 2013 – so this one is called LOAD 513.
It runs during the entire month of May and here is what you get if you join:
31 days of brand-new video prompts and lessons, guaranteed to bust you out of any scrapbooking rut, bring a smile to your face, and make your hair shine!
Exclusive message board for LOAD members only where you can connect and chat with the coolest scrappers on the Web!
Private gallery for our members where you share your daily creations, win prizes, and strut your stuff!
31 never-before-seen sample layouts!
Random surPRIZES, Hugh* sightings, and fun for all!
*Lain may or may not have a serious thang for Hugh Jackman … See why?
Participation is capped for all LOADs and there are only 50 spots left for this one – it’s a very popular event. The most awesome thing is that I have a special deal for you: $10 off the $50 price. Do the math: That’s only $1.29 a day for all the goodness listed above.
And after 31 days, how would it feel to have 31 layouts?!?!? I mean, that’s an entire album. A satisfying stack. A titling tower of layouts!
I’m a ScrapHappy.org member so I get all LOADs for free – I will be there! If I were you, I’d just go sign up for LOAD 513 right now. Because if you don’t, the end of April and them May 1st is going to be here, everyone will be talking about LOAD, you’ll get really jazzed about joining in … and it will be full.
Every LOAD has a theme. For the February session, it was ScrapHappy. This time it’s “Get a Clue! Investigating the Mysteries of Your Life.” Sounds like fun. I can’t wait to get started!
Speaking of which, there is no special prep you have to do for LOAD – no specific products to buy or pre-work to do. It would help to start May 1 with a clean desk and join the message board and gallery as soon as you sign up for LOAD. The message board actually gets hopping before the event starts. But that’s it! So if you need to make a big dent in your stash, LOAD is perfect for you. {Or if you need an excuse to scrapbook shop, we’ll encourage you there as well … bwahahahaha!}
It’s late Saturday night and I wanted to give a little update on my LOAD experience so far. It’s technically still Day 2 (02-02-13) but being on the West Coast, I receive the prompt for the next day at 9pm the night before (does that make sense?). Which is really nice because I can start working on the layout before I go to bed or at least start thinking about it.
Tangent: Okay, is this just me or are there others of you Scrapbook Obsessed who do this too? When I go to bed, my mind is usually still going a mile a minute – “Pay the electric bill tomorrow, buy dog food, don’t forget to call the water softener guy, when is that report due?, blah blah blah.” So oftentimes to calm myself down and relax so I can sleep, I’ll start thinking about scrapbooking – a layout I want to do, a new way to organize my Project Life cards, what I want to buy first from the new CHA stuff, what am I going to pack for the retreat? – that kind of thing. Works every time, baby! A few minutes later . . . ZZZZZZ Please tell me you do that too!
So back to LOAD . . . I now have 3 prompts . . . 2 layouts almost done . . . and 1 prompt I’m still kind of stumped by (if you’re a LOAD-ster, I’m sure you know which one I’m talking about, lol). I was waiting to see if the prompts would fit the overall concept I had for this class and so far they DO match so I’m going with it: I’ll be doing layouts for a Book of Me. Have you heard of these?
It’s basically where you – the one who always scrapbooks about everyone else in your life – actually scrapbook about yourself. Novel idea, eh? Because your family and your kids want to know about you too, silly! What makes you tick? What is your daily life like? How about that childhood? Hopes and dreams? Favorite things? So that’s what I’ll be scrapping with my LOAD layouts. If I get all 28 layouts done, I could have a full BOM album done at the end of the month – wouldn’t that be Rock Star-ish of me? Cue screaming fans.
And I did – thanks to some very helpful comments here and in the LOAD forum, including an answer straight from Lain herself – decide that it’s fine if I blog about LOAD, the prompts, and the layouts I make from them. And I have to say . . . the Ladies of LOAD are a pleasure to be around. Everyone in the forum is kind, helpful, excited, and passionate about scrapbooking. I couldn’t ask for a better group to be a part of.
So that’s where I’m at with LOAD. I can’t promise when I’ll post prompts and layouts – maybe a weekly round-up? Sometimes fitting in blogging is really hard, and I want to make getting layouts done this month the priority. But I’ll do my best!
Even though it’s only 10pm my time on 01-31-13, on the East Coast it’s past midnight. So the official start to my month-long adventure with LOAD has begun and I got my first prompt!
{If you’re wondering what LOAD is, please READ THIS}.
I’m not really sure how to blog about LOAD. It’s a paid class and I want the creator Lain to make a living. She puts a LOT of work into this. Today for instance we received an 8-minute video with a 3-page transcript and a very thought-provoking prompt. Not to mention all the other stuff that goes into LOAD.
So I don’t want to share the specific prompt, do I? {I don’t know that I’ll be sharing my layouts online anyway so that’s not a concern}. I’ll have to see how other LOAD’ers are handling blogging about the class content.
But I will say this: The first prompt is amazing! One that really makes you think, makes you take the first step out of that box you may be in. If it keeps up like this, I can tell ya’ I’m going to LOVE me some LOAD!
PS: You can still join LOAD yourself, ya know? RIGHT HERE. At this point, you won’t even have missed anything :)
Only 8 more days . . . only 20 spots left . . . time to sign up!
What is LOAD? Yeah, I’ve been hearing about “load” for years and never really paid attention, honestly. I knew it stood for Layout a Day and that you complete 28 layouts in a month. But that’s about where my knowledge stopped.
Eventually, through other classes I took with the creator Lain Ehmann – most notably TRUE SCRAP 4 – I learned more about what LOAD/Layout a Day really is, how it works, and how amazing it is. And now I’M JACKED, PEOPLE!!! I can’t wait for February to get here!
I thought I’d tell YOU about LOAD213 (the 213 stands for February 2013) and see if you’d like to join me :)
28 days of brand-new video prompts and lessons, guaranteed to bust you out of any scrapbooking rut, bring a smile to your face, and make your hair shine!
Exclusive message board for LOAD members only where you can connect and chat with the coolest scrappers on the Web!
Private gallery for our members where you share your daily creations, win prizes, and strut your stuff!
Insiders-only interview with Gretchen Rubin, best-selling author of The Happiness Project. Listen as she shares her secrets on living a happier life (and why scrapbookers have a jumpstart on the ordinary people)
Random surPRIZES, Hugh sightings, and fun for all!
SPACE IS LIMITED!
To Preserve the Intimate and Personal Atmosphere of This Event,
Participation Is Capped!
PRIZES!?!?! Did she say PRIZES? I’m so there.
If you want to learn even more, check out THIS QUICK VIDEO by Lain. Her enthusiasm is infectious.
I’ve already joined the gallery and message board. The other attendees are posting and prepping. Again, the excitement is infectious.
When you read the reviews and endorsements HERE from past “LOAD’ers” (ha), it really makes you want to take part. {Scroll down a bit to see them}. I mean, in reality . . . I work full-time, have kids, activities, bizzy bizzy life. Am I really going to complete an ACTUAL layout a day? I don’t know. I’m realistic and thinking not.
But like one of the reviews said, the daily prompt is a quick and motivating way to start your day. Go create your layout right then and there. See what you can accomplish, right? I figure even if I get only 10 layouts done (hmm . . . there are 8 weekend days in there and maybe I’ll get lucky on 2 weekdays, lol), that’s 10 more than I probably would’ve done otherwise.
And PROJECT LIFE layouts COUNT! So I’m golden there :) Those of you who can get 28 layouts down, my hat’s off to you. I’m sure you’ll inspire me and maybe I actually CAN do it. Who knows?
Also I’m a sucker for forums and galleries. I totally {heart} talking to other scrappers day-to-day in a community of support. Everyone’s in the same boat and, from what I already know about Lain’s SCRAPHAPPY* community that I also belong to, it is truly “the nicest group of scrapbookers on the internet.”
*By the way, because I’m a member of SCRAPHAPPY.org, I didn’t even have to pay for LOAD – members attend all LOAD’s for freeeeee!!! That was one of the things that sold me to join in the first place.
So check out all the information about LOAD and think about joining us. But don’t think too long. Lain caps enrollment and the last I heard, there were only 20 spots left. Hope to see you there!
If you have any questions about LOAD, please post below in Comments :)
Have you seen this trailer for the new movie “Trolls”? Yep, the main troll is a SCRAPBOOKER!!
You can see her fabulous 3-D scrapbook starting around 0:40. Super cute.
It’s actually got some really good people in it: Anna Kendrick, Justin Timberlake, Gwen Stefani, James Corden, Zooey Deschanel, and Russell Brand. The music will be great.
Is it wrong that a grown woman wants to go watch a PG-rated kids movie by herself? It just looks like a happy movie that I’d enjoy. Shhh, don’t tell anyone ;)
This being a scrapbooking site and all, it makes sense that I usually talk about one of my favorite places to online shop called Scrapbook Steals.
But I saw that one of their sister sites called She Steals had something you might also love, so I thought I’d share.
They have some awesome specials for Labor Day Weekend – over 30% off on MacBook Air latops (Saturday only) and iMac desktop computers (Sunday only).
In April, I bought a MacBook Air and shopped around a LOT (I’m a total bargain hunter). But Apple products are notoriously difficult to find discounts on. The best I was able to find was $100 off during a holiday sale at my local Apple store.
Here’s the pic I took of my new gorgeous baby when I bought her:
I’m absolutely in love. I had an ancient MacBook Pro 17 inch that was my workhorse for 10 years. But it had started overheating so I had to use a laptop desk with a fan, which made it even bulkier (for a laptop) than it already was. I hardly used it because of the hassle and was pretty much chained to the iMac in my office.
My new Air is soooo much lighter and portable (well, duh! AIR!) and I find myself using it constantly. I now work from the couch or bed, a coffee shop by the beach some days, and even take it on trips so I can write my book from the passenger seat. I blog from it, read the scrapbook boards, and cruise Pinterest for scrapbooking ideas.
The links below are my affiliate links but if you’d rather not use them, just type shesteals.com into your browser, no hard feelings ;)
That’s why I wanted to share the love and let you know about the MacBook Air sale today at SheSteals.com. My other computer is an iMac that I use daily for work – another amazing computer. Those are on sale Sunday so take a peek at SheSteals.com then if you’re interested.
From Jennifer: ” In New Rules, and with the free companion workbook, you’ll gain insight into customizing your own rules of memory keeping in the modern world.”
It’s only 60 pages long so I’d definitely pick it up while it’s FREE. You can get it here.
I just downloaded it to my Kindle but keep in mind that you don’t need a Kindle to read Kindle books. Just download the free Kindle app onto your phone, tablet, or computer and VOILA! You’re readin’ a Kindle book without a Kindle. I’m impressed ;)
Would love to hear your thoughts on “The New Rules of Scrapbooking” if you get a chance to read it!
As you saw in my last post, I recently bought the MAMBI Happy Planner at Michaels (reg. $34.99 minus 30% off coupon = $24.49). It’s the 8.5 x 11 version, not the more popular smaller one that you’ve probably been seeing everywhere.
Not only are the binder discs my favorite color but they also have my favorite shape: HEARTS!
The front and back covers are soft but laminated and very sturdy. The inner pages are about the weight of your average scrapbook paper, not thin like cheap paper but not thick like Bazzill or Carta Bella. This planner goes for 18 months, from July 2016 to December 2017. Guess I have about a month to decide if I’m going to keep her ;)
The first 2 pages are 2016 and 2017 year at a glance, then starts the 18 monthly sections. Here are a few of those intro pages, where you see a variety of designs on the right, from quotes to very designed pages to very open ones like the first one, where you can have a ball decorating or journaling. I really like the “Currently” section for each month, since that’s something I always mean to scrapbook or track but then never do. Here, it’s right in the day planner – can’t forget it.
After each monthly intro page, there’s a month-at-a-glance page with room for notes; in my current day planner, I used the monthly pages for bill tracking and budgeting and would keep doing that in the Happy Planner.
Then there are 4 or 5 of these week-at-a-glance pages, depending on how long the month is. I like that each day is sectioned into 3 boxes. You could use that for morning, afternoon, and evening. I’m thinking of using it for personal, work, and blogging/e-learning.
My hold-up is that I have large handwriting and this might be too cramped for me. Dang :( I’m not a “planner girl” who does this for fun and creativity. I use my day planner FOR REALS. Like, it gets down and dirty, people. Family events, business deadlines, client launches, sports schedules, and more.
So anyway, that goes on for 18 months in the same format. There’s nothing extra in this planner except for a blank page at the very back for more notes.
It is quite hefty so I understand why there’s not more included, yet I want to add more pages to make it useful for me. I didn’t see any extra pages at Michaels that I could buy separately. When I got home, I checked online and nada. Lots of extra pages on the MAMBI site HERE but they’re all for the smaller sized Happy Planner.
So I did what any Scrapbook Obsessed girl would do. I Tweeted MAMBI:
@ScrapbookObsess: I just got the 8.5×11 Happy Planner. What can I use with it? Everything seems made for the smaller size. Punch, extra pages?
@mambitweets: All the CLASSIC sized accessories work inside the BIG planner, and NOTE: a bigger punch is coming. :)
@ScrapbookObsess: ETA on the bigger punch? I’d like full size pages so I’ll make my own or look for free printables. Thanks!
@mambitweets: No exact date as of now, but once we know, we’ll be sure to share! <3
So that’s another strike against keeping this planner, at least for now. My plan was to insert pages for notes, keeping track of blog and work goals, exercise and diet, and projects. Yes, it’s already bulky but because of the snazzy binder disc system, I can take out pages I am not currently using or am done with to thin it out.
Overall, I think the 8.5 x 11 Happy Planner by MAMBI is well-made, cute, and functional for the basics of life. It would be my dream planner if:
The week-at-a-glance pages had the days laid out horizontally instead of vertically so there was more room for my big handwriting
There were extra pages available to supplement what comes with the planner and/or …
A punch were available so I could make my own extra pages or utilize free printables
So I’m undecided for now if this is the planner for me. I may end up returning this one, then trying again in January when hopefully the larger punch is available. Thanks for reading!
Did you see my last post about a recent trip to Michaels? It was the first time I’d shopped there in a while so of course I had to do some damage.
Here’s a photo I took in the store while “in progress” of shopping. I thought it was funny that I had a color theme going :)
I ended up putting the washi tape back for another time because I found the MAMBI Happy Planners on an island in the back of the store. Here’s what I actually came home with (you can’t see it but the teal-colored Iris bin is still under there, lol):
The 12×12 Recollections album was too pretty to pass up. I love sea blue, watercolor, and chevrons. I scrapbook these days using D-ring albums by WRMK so I really didn’t “need” this album … but I wanted it. Ha! Now I need an excuse to do a theme album. Hmmm, beach photos maybe? Only $3.99.
All the Heidi Swapp “Insta” products were 40% off. I got these super cute clear stickers. I love these because you can put them right onto your photos, on the outside of your pocket page protector, or on your layout. When you take them off the sticker sheet, the colored parts are more transparent than you’d think by looking at them (which I like).
The Iris cases were not on sale and I’ve only bought clear ones so far because I like the consistency of look in my scrapbook room. But again – couldn’t pass up that pretty color. My “30% off every regular priced item” coupon was applied.
The MAMBI Happy Planners were not on sale either – bummer. And this large 8.5 x 11 size isn’t cheap: $34.99. At least the 30% off coupon helped. I’ll be looking online to see if I can get some add-on pages. This planner goes from July 2016-December 2017 so I have a little time to “get organized.” Eh? See what I did there?
Changing gears, here’s just a pic of some cute stuff in the dollar bins at Target:
I didn’t get anything but thought you might like to see some of what’s there.
As a total side note, I got these pretty binders recently for my home office. The two multi-colored ones on the left were from Walmart. I can’t remember the price but I think they were under $5 each. The periwinkle blue binder and write-on page dividers were from Staples. My fab photography skeelz cut off the tabs on the right but you can see on the insert sheet that they have a half-pocket and are cute colors like lavendar, yellow, and green.
Are you sitting down? Because what I have to tell you is going to drop you if you’re standing:
I haven’t been to Michaels in over a month.
Say whuuut?! I know. What is this world coming to? Better question: How are they staying in business without me?
I finally made it over there because I’d heard tell that some of the items I wanted from CHA were spotted.
Because it’s been so long, I’ll give you a little tour of my Michaels, how some of the layout has changed, and what new things I saw.
The first endcap to the scrapbook section seems to always have Heidi Swapp stuff and this time was no exception. The Instax cameras have been around for a while, of course, but some of the HS “Insta” stuff was new. I saw those square albums at CHA (see my post HERE). I talked about that cute ocean Instax album HERE.
Everything was 40% off. Can you guess which item I snagged? Hint: It’s not one of the things I already mentioned.
The 12×12 paper pad section in my Mike’s has always been pretty small, maybe 1/4 of one side of an aisle. (I’ve been in another store where paper pads took up one whole side of an aisle and I was so jealous!). These 4 pads looked new – but none were my taste, so I was safe there. Phew!
This arrangement is fairly recent. From Left to Right, it used to be Martha Stewart for the first 3 or 4 panels, then the washi tapes. Now the washi has been moved to where Martha was and all this DIY party favor / papercrafting stuff sorted by color for the rest of the space. I have nothing against basics (there’s some cute washi and clothespins in there!) and was never much of an MS fan so this change is fine with me. I say that like Michaels Corporate gives a flock what I think, LOL.
Some of the famous washi tape sets are here on the bottom – so pretty! But I think I like the row above even better. Got my eye on that green set ;)
The Project Life section looked mostly the same. I think there are some new smaller sets on the top right since I was last here but none were up my alley. Again, phew!
Some cute new Studio G stamps on the side of an end cap. I just got rid of a bunch of “dollar stamps” in my last purge so I had to resist these and the page flags weren’t tempting. Not a color scheme I would use. Dodgin’ bullets, people!
So that’s where all the Martha Stewart went? An end cap by Project Life. Looked like it was all on clearance.
Another new item to my store were these Mambi Makers items, like the ones I saw at CHA. My scrapbooking criminal history contains a long record of buying project kits like these and then never making anything with them. Must. Resist.
More Instax including the “mini 8” which I hadn’t heard of before. And more Heidi Swapp.
This whole section used to be wood-mounted stamps and Tim Holtz, grungy stuff. I NEVER shop from this section so whatever. MORE Heidi Swapp! I wish they’d consolidate all her stuff into one place, for scrapbook sakes! Jeez.
Oh, you have GOT to be kidding me!! MOOOOORE Heidi Swapp stuff on another end cap. Can we just change the name from “Michaels” to “Heidi’s” and call it a day? Everyone complains that Recollections is taking over Mike’s but I beg to differ.
This is now one whole side of an aisle of stickers by topic. Rad. It used to have a section of alpha stickers smack in the middle but they’ve been moved to the other side. Having all the embellishment stickers in one place makes me breathe easier. Ahhhh…. Ease and flow, ease and flow. Much better. And, yes, since you’re thinking it anyway, I’ll confirm that all the canned goods in my pantry have the label facing out. :P
New (to me) tiny washi rolls on the side of an end cap. Washi roll, washi roll, washi roll. Hee hee, that’s fun to say!
Here are the aforementioned alpha stickers. I have a lifetime supply of Thickers but even if I didn’t, I wouldn’t buy them from Michaels. Their buyer has a glitter addiction and I don’t do glitter. If I can help it. Sometimes glitter attacks and you have no choice, am I right?
Wowser, 12×12 albums on an end cap for only $3.99. I just purged a ton of postbound albums from my stash so it would be crazy to buy any more. Wellll, call me CRAZY! (Hangs head in shame …. mumbles “I’ll tell you about it later.”)
I don’t usually buy loose 12×12 paper at Michaels either but I took a peek. The white Recollections papers were the only ones that looked new to me.
So that takes care of the 3 scrapbooking aisles. Now for the “islands” (I think they’re called) in the back of the store. Here are all the items from the Recollections line of planners and supplies.
These are way too small for me but I love the varitey of colors and add-ons.
If I had a dime for every time I said this lately, I’d be on a scrapbook cruise and taking you with me!
Another island had all the pastel watercolor-y stuff called Made By Me by Recollections …
But the piece de la …. peace della … best flippin’ part were all these Happy Planners and accessories from MAMBI! Yep, I saw all this stuff at CHA and I’m excited it’s finally here to buy. Good timing too because this version is an 18-month planner starting in July – so it’ll carry you through the end of 2017. Yep, I just did math there. Not bad for an English major.
The smaller version of The Happy Planner above is also too small for me and I don’t like the gold discs.
However: This is the 8.5 x 11 version. I think I’m in love. Um, “Journey” AND a heart and teal blue (my favorite color) discs? SOLD! I don’t know if I even need this but SOLD!
I’ll show you what I walked out of the store with next time.
What was that you asked? Did I PAY first? Um, yeah. I know shoplifting is a problem at Michaels and that they won’t even chase or report you if you take their stuff but sure, I paid. Like I’d miss a chance to use sales and coupons? Yeah, right.
I came across this video and thought I’d share it with y’all.
HERE is the entire line on the Heidi Swapp website – cute stuff!
On the one hand, the photos seem really tiny so I wonder how much you can capture in that amount of space, photographically speaking.
But I love the idea of having that little printer handy on trips and events, printing right there from my phone, and putting them in an album or hanging them on that cute arrow right over your desk.
My 3 favorites from the “InstaLife” line by Heidi Swapp:
