Okay, first I’m gonna post pics I took at Michaels on Monday night. I got out of there pretty cheap ~ without a coupon, even ~ because they had all this 99 cent stuff.
I got the lavender velvet alphas, Halloween ribbon, chipboard travel stickers, and journaling stickers by MAKING MEMORIES …
Also got the cute baby journaling spiral book by Making Memories. Don’t ask me why those funny hats are down there. I have no freakin’ idea …
They had these large bundles of MAMBI stickers for $9.99 …
… and even larger bundles of Sandylion stickers for $19.99. I resisted both, so my only spending was the $5 worth of dollar items.
I had to laugh at this sign, now all kindsa’ crooked, STILL promising that Themed Scrapbook Collections are “coming soon,” yet the sign has been there SINCE MARCH 7th, which is a month ago. I think even the sign is getting tired of hanging there, and it’s trying to escape, one tie-down at a time, hee hee …
Here are some new Primas I hadn’t seen before. Or if I did, I don’t remember. And that happens sometimes. I have Mommy Brain so that’s my excuse.
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These photos are from about 2 weeks ago.
YES! I finally found the scrapbook t-shirts I’ve been LOOKING FOR.
I got the turquoise one that says “Certified Scrapaholic for Life” … yeah, that’s pretty accurate, I’d say. Used a 40% off coupon and got it for 6 buckeroonies. That’s cheaper than a screen printed shirt you’ll find anywhere else.
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I found this interesting … these albums were on clearance at my other Mike’s store but here they’re full price …
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Same with the Gypsy skins … full price here, on clearance at my other store.
I forgot to post pictures from THIS TRIP, so here they are …
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Iris clamshell case, on sale for 40% off. I use these to store projects so I can keep everything together, even the album I’m using. I try to buy 1 whenever they’re on that good of a sale.
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Recollections Christmas light glitter sticker borders, the Sandylion epoxy punctuation stickers I talked about, and an “I love my teacher” sticker to use on the school yearbook. I always give a shout out to the teachers on the pages I do for the yearbook.
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Finally, this awesome cool iron on transfer. I think it was about $6.50 and I used a 40% coupon on it. This manufacturer had some really neat designs, both Christian themed and non. I thought this was a pretty design and “inspired” like a scrapbooker is. I’m kind of nervous to use it for fear of messing it up. Have you used iron-ons? Please tell me it went well, LOL!
I took this photo of a neat KI MEMORIES paper stack way back on March 12, but I just saw this stack … it’s still in my Mike’s. Great price and cute, versatile, happy patterns … would be great with the spring and summer layouts we have coming up.
Okay, I think I’m caught up with all my Michaels updates. I shall sleep well tonight, because Scrapper Babes, you have been informed!
Troy left this comment lastnight on another post, and I wanted to make sure you saw it, so I got his permission to make it a separate blog entry. He said I was just looking for excuses not to write a blog entry, LOL.
Without further adieu…
Hello Scrapbook Princess!
Gosh my name pops up on this blog enough to make me feel like we are family! :-) I sure do appreciate the support you give me.
I have TWO scrapbook stories to share with you and your readers:
First of all, my crew knows how much I appreciate scrapbooking (No, I am not good at doing it, but LOVE to get scrapbooks as gifts!!)
So at the end of each year, they present me with a scrapbook of the previous season. I just got my season 3 scrapbook from the crew and it is AMAZING! They secretly gather stuff from each city I travel to in the show, take pics I never see them take, and then it all comes together in the scrapbook they gift to me. For me, it is an emotional journey flipping thru the pages (each weighing like a pound each!) and revisiting the extraordinary families and towns I have been blessed to meet and pass thru. When guests visit my home, the table in the livingroom has these magical scrapbooks proudly displayed, and everyone sits with them and flips slowly thru their memory-packed pages, asking questions with every page turn. it is such a great way to share my journey with others.
My second scrapbooking story just occured a couple of hours ago. As I type this, I am sitting in the Sky Club at LAX airport, having just taped another appearance on Bonnie Hunt Show. Off camera, she and I were talking about how much we love our tv crews, how they are like family, etc and she told me how so many people on the crew are scrapbookers that are capturing precious moments from the show, backstage experiences and candid shots of every loved crew member. Of course I share with her the story above about how my crew gifts me with scrapbooks and we both just sat and marveled at how much power is contained between the covers of a simple scrapbook. We agreed that if our offices or homes ever caught fire, our scrapbooks would be the first things we grabbed! (Other than family members and pets of course).
Remember, scrapbooks never forget anything! So ‘tell’ them everything important!
My best wishes and respect to all of you gifted scrapbookers, AKA the historians of our families.
troy
“The Locator”
{Sigh!} Do you see why I love him so?? Erm, I mean, LIKE him so …
I wrote back to Troy and told him that I’m also a HUGE fan of BONNIE HUNT‘s and I watch her show every day. She is one rockin’ chick. I love her sense of humor and she has great guests on her show. Did you know she used to be an oncology nurse? Gawd, anyone who can do THAT for a living deserves a special place in Heaven, imho. Anyhow, I really enjoyed the story Troy shared about how they both love scrapbooks and scrapbookers. For all the times we’ve been maligned and made fun of and HATED ON, hearing those nice thoughts from Troy and Bonnie erases all that bad juju from before, don’t you think?
I have to thank one of my favorite readers, “Jill T.”, who left this comment prior to Troy’s:
Not on topic BUT I watched “The Locator” for the first time last night. We don’t get the channel it is normally on but last night there was some special marathon thingy on the Style Network (which obviously we do get). I think I made it through 3 epis before falling asleep. After seeing the show and seeing him on Oprah, I understand your obsession! Neat show and he seems to be a really nice guy.
I think Troy must’ve Googled “Locator” and found my blog again, thanks to Jill leaving that comment. I sent Jill a big ol’ THANK YOU e-mail, LOL. She always leaves great comments here, so I owed her a big ol’ thank you anyway.
Just in case there is anyone left out there who hasn’t read about Troy and his amazing show, “The Locator,” I’ve written about them before a time or ten: HERE, HERE, HERE, and HERE. See why he feels like family??
The new season of THE LOCATOR is running right now, and there are past shows re-run all the time on WeTV so check ’em out. Again, I stress, bring the tissues. If you don’t cry at least once per episode, you are lacking a heart, my friend.
I don’t see Troy Dunn on the Bonnie Hunt show schedule yet, but keep an eye out for him there. I record her show every day and will try to give a heads up if I see when he’ll be on.
Thanks Jill! Thanks Troy!
I hope everyone has a meaningful Good Friday and a Blessed Easter …
Of course, we scrapbookers all know about the demise and downturn of scrapbooking magazines in the past few years. We’ve lost Simple Scrapbooks, DIGITAL SCRAPBOOKING, and MEMORY MAKERS. We’ve seen changes to the number of issues with SCRAPBOOKS ETC. and Creating Keepsakes.
For some down and dirty facts, check out this report about the 2009 scrapbook magazine industry … PART ONE, PART TWO, and PART THREE.
When I was at Michaels recently, I noticed that the papercrafting and cardmaking magazines don’t seem to be suffering the same fate. And what the hell is up with that?!?! As “our” magazines dwindle, theirs seem to be multiplying.
Keep in mind that even more magazines are hidden behind the ones that are showing. The magazine rack at Barnes and Noble looks similar.
Admittedly, I haven’t read through the 3 long “state of the industry” articles I linked to above. Maybe the answer is in there, but skimming them, I didn’t find it.
What do you think is going on? Do papercrafting and cardmaking have that many more participants than scrapbooking? Have they not yet hit the bubble and then downslide that the scrapbooking magazines did, but their time is coming? What do you make of this? I honestly can’t scrounge up a good explanation. Please ‘splain it to me, Lucy …
This is my favorite. I love the fun colors, the photo frame, and the flower accent. I’ll probably never buy it, though. I’m a train wreck with embellished albums. I tend to shove my scrapbooks back on the shelf without care, and would probably shave that pretty flower off in 2 seconds flat. But it’s a pretty album to admire on the Michael’s shelf …
Some more cute scrapbooks but I think I had seen all of these before except for the blue/yellow one on the left. I really like that one, too …
At first, I thought these “Spellbound” letters by MAKING MEMORIES were stickers. When I saw the price of $4.99, I was like WTH? But I picked them up and realized they’re actually chipboard … so the 5 bucks is actually a pretty good deal.
A Halloween page kit by K&Company. I was going to use my 40% off coupon to get this kit, then decided against it. It’s a 2-page layout but had blanks for only 4 photos. Sorry, Charlie, I can’t remember the last time I scrapped only 4 photos on a 2-pager. Especially Halloween, with all those cute costumes, jack o’lanterns, and candy bucket photos. Puh-lease.
Here are some small, medium, and large canvases by K and Company. I propped up the project flyer that shows a way to use the 12×12 canvas. Great project idea and I love the different sizes and colors. The price seems kind of steep to me but what do I know? I’ve never bought a canvas before. Can you buy these over in the Michaels art section or at an art shop for less? Scrapbooking companies are notorious for packaging some common thing as a “scrapbooking product” and then jacking the price up to high Heaven. And I gotta’ admit, I fall for it most of the time. But I’m onto this canvas fraud. Yessiree Bob …
Look at these cute black epoxy punctuation stickers by SANDYLION. Yep, half price, from $2.99 down to $1.49. I got some of these.
K&Co. embellishments. Some of these I’ve seen before but there are also some new ones. Aren’t those butterflies gorgeous?
Sorry for the shadowy, bottom shelf look but, hey, what can I say? They were on a shadowy bottom shelf! An album kit and shadow box kit by K&Co. More butterflies. They remind me of that gorgeous line by Melody Ross for GCD STUDIOS called “ARTSY URBAN“. Here is the entire BLOSSOMWOOD collection by Tim Coffey if you’re interested …
Speaking of butterflies and tricks by scrapbooking companies … why, yes, we WERE speaking of that … keep up, lady, keep up! Here are some butterflies that were not in the scrapbooking aisle; instead, they were over by the home decor. I’m not sure what their intended use is, but I thought they would look grand on scrapbooking layouts. Only $4.99 for up to 12 flutter-bys. You know that if they were packaged and displayed as a scrapbooking item, they would be at least 7 or 8 bucks. Sheesh.
Now on to some Clearance items:
This little boy album kit was originally $24.99, marked down to $9.99 ~ what a deal. There was a similar girl album kit, too, for the same price.
Ooh, blurry, sorry! I must have hiccupped when I took the photo or something. Mr. iPhone has no image stabilization whatsoever. Anyhow, “skins” for the GYPSY were on the Clearance already. I don’t remember seeing them prior to this. Is that the equivalent to “straight to video” when a movie isn’t that great? Gypsy skins, “straight to clearance!”
A whole endcap over by the party supplies was full of this black, lavender, and blue line by COLORBOK. It was all on sale at 2 for $1.
Lastly, all these cute packs of chipboard shapes were also over by the giftwrap. The chipboard is already white, which is nice, although it’s kind of thin. I was thinking some of these could make great mini-albums. Just punch a hole in 1 or 2 corners with your CROP-A-DILE and use some binder rings. Or you could make some fun kids projects with these.
See the large circle on the bottom right? Those are HATS! Idn’t that key-yoot!?!?
This star shape would make a darling mini album. I think with cardstock or patterned paper and photos adhered to each side, it would be sturdy enough.
Hope you enjoyed the Michaels tour. I’m usually in such a rush, I only have time to browse the scrapbooking section. But Saturday I had some time to kill while waiting for a movie to start. It was fun to cruise the entire store at my leisure.
Later this week, I’ll post pics of what I bought. Have you done any Michaels shopping lately?
Squeee! I’m SO excited! The new scrapbook items from CHA Winter 2010 have been rolling in to my Memory Works WEBSITE. I’ve been posting about some of them but not all. Here is what we have so far:
AMERICAN CRAFTS including Dear Lizzy, new Thickers, awesome new adhesives, and our NEW line of AC CARDSTOCK! (see my post HERE for the Dear Lizzy)
BO BUNNY Mamarazzi, Sophie, Flower Child, Paradise, and Roughin It (See my post about Mamarazzi HERE and you KNOW I’m so stinkin’ excited about that one! I already have 2 of each item in my shopping cart … 1 for me, 1 to sell :)
COSMO CRICKET Garden Variety, Material Girl, Joyride, and Tiny Type alphas (I blogged about them HERE)
JENNI BOWLIN Vintage Buttons and Embellished Butterflies
MY LITTLE SHOEBOX Flying High, Away We Go, Just Add Butter, and All Aflutter (What a great company! They’re completely new to Memory Works and I’m loving all the bright, fun colors)
MY MINDS EYE Jack and Jill, Little Boy Blue, and Little Miss Muffet. We also have all the “Lush” lines … Black Lush, Red Lush, Pink Lush, Brown Lush, Blue Lush, and Green Lush.
TERESA COLLINS BeBe Boy, BeBe Girl, Mr. and Mrs., and Welcome Home
THREE BUGS IN A RUG Great Outdoors, Savannah, Little Chick, and Animal Stackers
*If an item says Out of Stock, that just means it hasn’t arrived in the warehouse yet but is on the way. Please try back soon. If you’re waiting on something specific, e-mail me { scrapbookobsession(at)gmail(dot)com } and I can notify you when it arrives. Most consultants don’t do that, but I DO because I respect your scrapbook jones like no one else does :)
Okay, all of THAT is exciting enough, right?!?! I mean, MAMARAZZI people! Remember when I hoped so badly that Memory Works would carry it and now they DO! I am SO going to find that class kit and make that adorable mini-album with it.
So today home office also released our new Spring 2010 catalog, like, WAY early! We usually don’t get them until late March/early April. I have .pdf downloads (they broke it up into 4 sections for faster download times) and will post those soon.
Better yet, you can order a REAL paper catalog from me and I’ll mail it to ya. {JINGLE, did those cupcakes catch your eye? They are throughout the cattie, LOL!}
Here’s what I’m gonna’ do … I’m going to order 10 catalogs today. They cost me $3 each, and to mail them out costs about $2-3 depending on how far they’re going. Honestly, it’s always been a big money loser for me because I spend about $5 per sent catalog. I just can’t afford to do that anymore, I’m sorry :( But if you would like a catalog (and believe me, you do ~ they are SO pretty in person!), please e-mail me { scrapbookobsession(at)gmail(dot)com } and let me know. I’ll invoice you $4 via Paypal and send it right out. Sound fair? That’s a great price for such a nice piece of eye candy, and way cheaper than those “other” direct sales companies charge, am I right?
Okay, so all this just totally made my day. Let me know if you’d like a catalog or for me to “scrap watch” any items for you. Also, you can order HERE any of the above fabulous new items, not to mention all the existing products we have :)
I’m very sad that QVC doesn’t do scrapbooking shows anymore. Very, VERY sad :( Okay, I had to get that off my chest first.
They do still have lots of SCRAPBOOKING ITEMS on their website, like THIS huge lot of COSMO CRICKET goodies. I remember seeing this as a TSV (Today’s Special Value) a long time ago. I wanted to get it back then because I lurve me some CC, although I passed. Ah, the memories! Watching the greatLISA BEARNSON do the presentation, showing us the fabulous projects we could make with it.
These days, you can find this same kit at TUESDAY MORNING. Instead of paying the retail cost of $48.50 plus $7.97 shipping, you can pick it up for a mere $14.99. There are two versions: pink and blue, plus a Christmas version. Some photos of the pink one are HERE.
I went to Tuesday Morning looking for this kit, because of course the Peas had been talking about it. I told myself that if and only if they had the blue version would I buy it. I searched the shelves high and low, pawing through their scrapbooking/craft section, and was unable to find it … at first. I did eventually find it and part of what took so long is that it comes in a brown cardboard box and I guess I was looking for something fancier, LOL. They only had one and guess what color it was??? UH HUH, it was blue. Suh-weet!
Here are some photos of mine:
If you’d like this Cosmo Cricket kit, too, I hope you’re able to find it at your Tuesday Morning! Or that you’ve beat me to it, and already have one ;-)
When I was at Michaels last week, I noticed this sign on one of the almost empty paper racks advertising “Themed Scrapbook Collections.”
I’m not sure what to make of it. About 6-8 months ago, I guess, both of the Mike’s I shop at introduced some new “theme” areas, including Travel, Baby Boy, and Baby Girl. Instead of grouping items by type (letters, papers, stickers, etc.) like they do throughout the rest of the scrapbook area, they pulled everything having to do with, say, travel, and displayed it all in one area. They even added some new travel items to the mix and did the same for baby boy and baby girl.
So, it this going to be more of that? I’m not sure. But inquiring minds want to know already! Bring it on, Mike’s.
I learned about another new thing upon checkout: Michaels is reinstating their Friday night crop nights. The flyer says …
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“Michaels crop nights, last Friday of the month*, 5pm-8:45pm. Do you and your friends need a place to get together and craft?
*Crop Nights will not be held in November & December and Michaels reserves the right to discontinue Crop Nights at any time.
Join us the last Friday of every month for Michaels crop night. Michaels provides the space and an assortment of tools.** The best part is that Michaels takes care of the cleanup.
**Available tools will vary. Please ask store associate at time of reservation about store-specific tools.
Reserve your spot today! Space is limited and must be reserved in advance. Reservations can be made by paying $5 or showing proof of $10 scrapbooking purchase in the last 30 days. Reservations are first come, first serve. Please see a Store Associate to reserve your spot to crop!”
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First, can I say … ? The dang flyer had several typos or just plain mistakes (I fixed them when I typed the wording above). They must’ve fired their flyer editor. Wow. Embarrassing.
Second, I’m glad to see the crop nights are back. I’m kind of confused … Are they having a crop night set up there every last Friday with a random group of people, or do you have to set it up yourself and bring your friends? Say you call them on Wednesday and you’d like to reserve your spot to crop Friday night … Is the crop happening and they’re taking other sign-ups, or is it more like your reserving the room for you and your friends?
Thirdly, why only 3.75 hours? That’s what most of the Peas said HERE and I have to agree. Hardly seems worth the time to pack up your stuff and drive there. Why not have it for longer? If they’re taking sign-ups (which I’m still confused about), they could do them in 4-hour slots like 1-5pm and 5-9pm. If you wanted to come for 8 hours, you take 2 slots so they don’t overbook the space. If you can only come after work in the evening, you sign up just for the 5-9pm slot. Better yet, why not do it on Saturdays? It’s almost like they want the idea to fail, don’t you think?
You know the scrapbooking T-shirts at Michaels that I mentioned HERE? Well, sounds like the stores are starting to get them in stock. Some of the Peas alreadyHAVE THEM. One Pea said she used her 40% coupon and got her tee for $6. That’s a great price for any kind of tee, much less a scrapbooking one. I hope I get the chance to go by Mike’s tomorrow …
I have a big, belated *THANK YOU* to say. Like, belated, since early February. My online friend ABBY sent me a box full of scrappy goodness! Just because she’s like that. It was like Christmas in February, I tell ya …
Here is the whole lot of it together. It’s okay to be jealous.
Remember when I blogged about the line by MELODY ROSS for GCD that was sold exclusively at SOME Michaels stores? Well, my Mike’s didn’t carry it and Abby’s did, so she sent me a buncha the 12×12 double-sided sheets! I know!
Here is one side. That large butterfly has black velvet flocking. It’s absolutely GORGE in person!
Here is the other side (the back side of all the above papers) …
Some pretty ribbons, cute chipboard flower embellies, a handmade “thank you” card, and a bunch of journaling cards, etc. by MY MINDS EYE.
Look at all the cute stuff she made me with her CUTTLEBUG and NESTIES! I don’t have either one, so I’m very grateful. She had slyly asked what my favorite colors were to scrap with, and she made exactly what I like :)
Thank you, Abby. Thank you! Thank you! Sorry it took me so long to say it :)
Do you have pals who send you fun surprises in the mail? When is the last time you surprised someone with scrappy mail to brighten their day? Well, actually, that would be ‘week’ or ‘month’, right? If you don’t have an online scrapbooking friend like this, a lot of the message boards will help you find one …
I was in Michaels last weekend, looking for something coupon-worthy, and also looking for the April issue ofSCRAPBOOK 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?
A couple of weekends ago, I went to “the big city” and shopped at the Michaels there. I posted photos of that trip HERE. This past weekend, I went to my Small Town Michaels closer to home ~ which usually is quite a ways behind the Big City store in getting new things ~ and was surprised to find they had a lot of new products the Big City store did not have. Yay for Small Town! (For once).
This was pretty interesting. It’s a paper stack like you usually see by K & COMPANY (this is from the cute new “handmade” line; yes, it’s in all lowercase) but this one was longer. It says, “Designer paper pad. Decorate your life with pattern. Perfect for large format die cut machines.” The front cover has photos of home dec projects, like using paper to cover trays and bookshelves. Very innovative, K! And your Company. All Ya’alls! Good job.
The next three photos are from a rack of new K&Co, and much of it was similar to what I posted in my last Mike’s entry. In this first photo, bottom row center, I think those wooden die cut shapes are new. They felt pretty sturdy, not flimsy at all. Another great, innovative idea by K. And her Co.
Also in the top photo, in the top right corner and partially cut off, is a pack of photo frames. They were in black and white with a kind of deckle edge and that “old fashioned” printing of random dates. It said something like “turn your modern photos into vintage looking photos.” Man, I’m really impressed with all these new ideas that the Company and K are coming up with!
Here’s yet another new idea by K&Co. It’s a postbound, pre-done album with an open spine and no page protectors. It’s also from the new “handmade” line, which is really growing on me now. This is the front cover …
… and a random page inside. As you can see, the pages are laid out in such a way that you would just plop your photos and journaling right in there and either be dunzo, or add some embellishment to fancy it up. I thought the papers and designs were soft and pretty, very useable.
Personally, it gives me the skeeves to think of scrapping something and then leaving it out in the open, unprotected like that. I mean, won’t my nekkid photos get fingerprints and schmutz all over them? It’s one reason I’ve never done a spiral-bound scrapbook and why I have a hard time with a lot of mini-books (so many with no protectors, ack!). Then I got to wondering if there were side-loading page protectors you could get to slide onto these pages when you’re done. Kind of like the THESE by CREATIVE MEMORIES.
Here is a racka new stacks, mainly by K&Co.
A close-up of the Silhouettes from the “handmade” line (yes, AGAIN!). These were different than your average doily-type papers in that only half of each sheet is die cut. I was really wanting these …
SHIMELLE posted some great photos from CHA-W of the “handmade” line on her blog HERE.
Here another racka stacks. These are from Die Cuts With a View (aka DCWV). Lots of cute stuff here.
A closer look at the DCWV stack called “At Home” and it’s matching cardstock stack. This line really caught my eye. The colors and designs are very fresh, I thought.
DCWV stack called “Hittin’ the Books.”
“Songbird” by DCWV; super cute, fun colors, birdhouses, flowers, cheerful, and happy. These papers would make great cards.
Here’s the “Family Connections” stack by DCWV, with family tree pages and great heritage looks.
I almost hate to show this one, the “Vintage Collage Stack” by DCWV, because my Scrap Sisters ANGIE and ABBY might feel like they MUST have it, and you know how I hate to enable (wink).
Wow, another innovative product in my opinion. Wait until you see these papers. They don’t have a repeating pattern, but something totally different. Awesome DCWV!
I think this was called transparency film, and here were the two designs to choose from. I’m not sure how to use them, or why they come in a tube. Maybe someone can enlighten me … please?
Here are some gorgeous trims by Prima ~ black lace and flower petals, 4 choices of colors. So, so pretty …
More new Prima flowers …
In my last Mike’s post, I showed you this:
Well, here is some more of the “Home” line by MY MINDS EYE. The 12×12 stack is very thick and I think every single page had glitter on it. The 6×6 stack in the middle had some pages with glitter and some without (ETA 2-8-10: I stand corrected. I looked at this pad again and every sheet indeed has glitter on it. Some of it’s very subtle and I missed it the first time I flipped through in the store, sorry!). The smaller 4×6 mat stacks had no glitter. No matter though … all versions are absolutely gorgeous.
I don’t know how MME does it but they have a way with color, how they combine specific shades, and give it a distressed or worn out look but not so distressed that it looks grungy. Instead, it just looks soft and approachable. {Jeez, what am I writing, an ad for Match.com? “Soft and approachable?” Yes, I DO love paper. I love it a lot. Much like you love your mom and your dog and your iPod; that is how much I LOVE paper. If I weren’t already married, I would most likely be in a committed relationship with it}.
So, you want to know what I got, right? Because I’m not made of stone. I can’t just go in there, see all this scrumptious new stuff, and not buy anything, right? If loving scrap supplies is wrong, I don’t wanna be right!
I got the K&Co. road trip chipboard stickers from this earlier photo:
I used a 50% off coupon and, from the photo posted earlier, I got the 6×6 MME “Home” glitter pad. {Wait, “glitter pad”??? WTH is that? Something Tinker Bell uses for her monthlies? Bwahahahahaha!}
I also got packs of orange and green Primas like these. Why yes, I do already have them but I was getting a second set for a, um … “friend.” Yeah, that’s the ticket. For a “friend.” J/K, I really was getting them for an online friend who’s local Mike’s doesn’t carry these Primas. I owed her a big time favor so I was happy to find them!
I explained to the cashier that I was buying them for a friend who lived elsewhere but her Mike’s didn’t carry the Primas. I asked if I could ring them up separately and use another 50% coupon … and she said yes! I know that kind of thing is hit or miss with Mike’s employees, but I lucked out today :)
So that’s the latest and greatest at Michaels. Have you seen the new stuff? What’s on your wish list or what have you already bought? What I meant to ask was, What has already jumped in your cart when you weren’t looking and then you didn’t have the heart to tell it to get out? It’s okay, you can tell me …
Ah, “clearance” … One of the most beautiful words in the English language. When I walked into Michaels last weekend, and was on the way to the scrapbook aisle, I ran right into a display of scrapbook CLEARANCE.
There were paper packs by K&Co. and Making Memories, …
… paper pads by GCD, and SEI.
There was this huge pack of 12×12 specialty papers by Prima … super pretty and romantic. If you have a wedding to scrap, I would check this one out!
Then over to the “Designer Showcase” or whatever the hell they call that “new scrapbooking stuff” section these days. Here are pics of all 4 sides of it:
Look at that lovely bling!
Bling titles this time, and lots of new Soft Spoken.
Some new My Minds Eye chipboard and vinyl. Wait, did I say vinyl? Yep, I did. How cool. You can use it on your walls OR your scrapbook pages.
Here’s a close-up of the MME “Home” journaling chipboard. The colors are really pretty in person.
Here’s a lotta new K & Company goodness.
Here are some items I’ll be back for with coupons in the future. It pained me to leave “my” things at the store, but I already had a few items and had to call it quits. For now. Are those cupcakes and sweets on the bottom right to DIE for??? Oh. My. Gah! And the branches that look real, and the cute little flowers with bling in the center??? Can you see the red car and cute blue trailer it’s towing in the travel set?
After Michaels, I went to Costco. I tell myself not to even bother looking for SBR stuff there anymore because they never have anything … or anything good. But I can never resist checking anyway, and this time I at least found a Purple Cow 2 in 1 paper trimmer. Is that a good price? I don’t know. I’ve been happy ~ infatuated really ~ with my Cutterpede trimmer for so long now, I’ve never even so much as glanced at another trimmer. When I’m happy, I’m loyal :)
Here are two reads I picked up at Barnes and Noble:
The latest from CK, Scrapbooking Tips & Tricks. Lots of organizational items in here. It’s thin, but I still think worth the $6 cover price.
Blogging for Bliss book ($15) by TARA FREY, a mucho successful craft blogger. HERE is Tara’s blog entry about her book. I skimmed through it once so far and I LOVE this book! Highly recommend it to anyone who wants to make the most of their craft-related blog.
I found it interesting that the large majority of craft bloggers featured use Typepad. Hmmm… I’ve been considering switching over there from WordPress, and this just adds another reason.
You may recognize this from the ‘Clearance table at Michaels’ photos. Yep, I couldn’t resist a pack of 12 speciality papers marked down from $10 to $2. Some of them are adhesive backed and will be fun to use in my Cricut. The glittery ones are gorgeous, too.
Got all 3 pieces Mike’s had of My Minds Eye “Home” in the pink set. Really, really pretty and only cost $2-$4 each for nice, thick chipboard. You can’t tell from the photo, but the frames one has 3 frames in it.
Here’s the MME chipboard journaling only, “Home” in blue. And some stinkin’ cute epoxy donut stickers by Recollections. They were only $1 and yet they INCLUDED sprinkles! Can you believe that? (“Bad cop. No donut.” Bwahahaha, my favorite bumper sticker EVER!).
And lastly, 2 packs of Prima flowers in Honeydew and Mango. They were $4 each but I used a 40% off coupon on one of the packs. They coordinate really well with Simple Stories “Life Documented,” as I’d hoped, and are the perfect size for my Project 365.
I’m still feeling guilty for buying something at Michaels for full price. I mean, what’s the point of that? Oh well.
One last thing: Here is a photo a friend posted of 2 of the new K&Co. ephemera chipboard packs she purchased, so you can have a closer look-see. Really cute and what a great value, especially if you use coupons like she did :)
Tune in again tomorrow for more shopping news: Tuesday Morning and Ross.
What are your latest shopping finds? Have I enabled you with any of mine?
I didn’t get one, but took some pics for ya’ when I was at Walmart the other day …
At my WM, they were on an endcap as you entered the crafting area. Each one looked like it had different contents, and it was hard to see exactly what was in there. They were shrink wrapped but I saw some Best Occasions and Autumn Leaves stuff. It was too much a leap of faith for me to buy one, but maybe you’ll be willing to take a chance?
THIS Pea bought one and was so happy with it, she went back for another. She posted this photo:
She’s right, that idea book alone sold for $20, so there’s your value. As it happens, I already have that book and tons of AUTUMN LEAVES stamps (including the ones pictured), so it’s probably good I didn’t get one of these scrapbook packs at Walmart. But wanted to share in case you “need” one …
I think it’s a brilliant idea: Package up a bunch of the scrapbooking supplies they’ve had forever, sell them at a great price, and get them outta the store … hopefully to make room for some new things … because it’s been a really long time since new stuff, at least at my Walmart.
Stay tuned: I have lots more scrap-shopping pictures to post from my weekend, but I had to work tonight so this is all I got to. But there will be more … oh yes, there will be more …
The SIMPLE STORIES “Life Documented” kit by MEMORY WORKS went on sale Friday, January 15, 2010 at 9am MST … and I ordered mine 1/15/10 at 9:01 MST :) I know, I know, I lagged for a whole minute! Here is what I ordered:
And the kiwi green WRMK 12×12 D-RING ALBUM ($30.00), which comes with (10) regular 12×12 page protectors
I received my package of goodies exactly one week later (the following Friday). Usually I get MW orders within 4-5 days but, understandably, it took longer this time because they were swamped with orders. That weekend, I set about getting started with my Simple Stories kit, which I’m using to complete my PROJECT 365 for 2010.
The kit is so detailed and nice-looking, that you can definitely “keep it simple” and use nothing but what comes in the kit, by cutting the cardstock elements apart, printing out and using the digital elements, etc. and just slipping them right into the page protector slots. Adding your photos and journaling would be the rest of the process, and you’d be DUNZO! Whoo hoo, love the simplicity and quickness of that.
But after seeing Simple Stories page samples from the Memory Works design team and guest designer BRENDA HURD, I decided to go a little more elaborate with mine. I really liked how they added flowers, ribbon, stamping, and other embellishments to dress it up and have a little fun with it.
So I went digging through my stash and began gathering things that I could use. I found lots of matching flowers and ribbons (Why, yes, I DO know that I have a ribbon issue! I’m on Step 7 of 12. I’ve humbly asked God to remove this shortcoming. I’m waiting to hear back) …
I decided to use one of the patterned, double-sided cardstock sheets to open my Project 365 album, with the title page/front page using one side, and then turning the page to an Introduction page on the left. {It has a bunch of personal info on it and with the nasty spammers I get on the blog, I can’t share the whole thing here, sorry … }. Here’s the bottom right of the Intro page, where I used a file tab sticker and alpha letters from the SS kit, and some light green glitter chipboard letters I had (thanks SSS SECRET SANTA!).
I printed out my photos and started popping them into the slots, along with strips, embellishment, and journaling cards from the kit. I also used one of the transparencies here, to give special honor to the photo of receiving my long-awaited Simple Stories shipment!
On the first page, I used the January month card. There’s a card for every month, which I love.
I kept the cover sheet from the kit and slipped it in a page protector, for when I take my Project 365 album {which will be my demo album} to Memory Works parties and crops.
I’m not sure why I took a photo of my WRMK album. I think because I’m in love with it and want to marry it …
I got all my P365 photos printed up to that point, which was the end of Week 3, and got them in the page protectors where I liked them. Some of the photos didn’t fit effortlessly into the slotted pages so rather than fight or force, I decided to make a front and back 12×12 layout using some of the Prism cardstock as a background.
At that point, I had a better feel for the colors and style of the kit, and went shopping in my stash again for things I could use to dress it up. I found chipboard numbers, journaling items, metal frames, and all kinds of bling. Hmmm … I’m getting so much stuff, I need a container of some kind to hold them on my desk. Shouldn’t be a problem, as I’m the Queen of Rubbermaid storage containers, LOL.
So that’s how things went on my first Simple Stories outing. Obviously, now that I’ve got the basic layout of my pages in place, it’s time to USE some of that fine stashness I’ve gathered.
I’ve never done Project 365 and I’ve never scrapbooked this way, with the divided page protectors. This is going to be a fun and growing experience for me and my scrapbooking, and I’m really looking forward to it.
I came across THIS article and cool blog about green crafting, and realized I’ve never written about the subject of “green” scrapbooking. So I thought I’d share some resources, ideas, and articles I found. I have to go against Kermit the Frog here and say, “It IS easy being green.” (Oh man, that was SO bad, I can’t believe I wrote it … ugh… LOL).
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Here’s an online store called CREATIVELY GREEN. They carry eco-friendly crafting supplies, including 100% recycled textured cardstock that just might be a good option for this BAZZILL girl … hmmm …
HERE are some great tips on green scrapbooking by ALI EDWARDS.
THIS is kinda’ neat … an online store called TROPICAL SCRAPBOOKING has a whole page on their site listing the things they’re doing as a company to be green. Now that’s a good kinda’ business to support! Bravo to them :)
HERE is an article from SCRAPBOOK UPDATE that has a list of major scrapbook manufacturers who have gone green. Check out the links down at the bottom and in the comments section, too.
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Apparently, this is a heavily covered topic ‘cuz I found loads of links about it. If you’re interested in reading more, just Google “green scrapbooking” and see what you can find!
I have to admit this is not a topic I’ve thought or done a lot about (don’t shoot me, JINGLE!). But I’m generally a frugal/practical person, so I don’t go out of my way to be wasteful and have always done things like saving my paper scraps for other uses (cards, journaling spots, Cricut letters). I also save and re-use most of the packaging and boxes from my MEMORY WORKS orders, and I’ve been known to cut designs (like cute hearts or something) from scrapbook packaging and use it on my pages.
The one thing I refuse to do under pressure of being green is converting to digital scrapbooking. Ain’t. Gonna. Happen. But now that I see it in writing, I guess I’m doing pretty good with my scrappy green-ness and will just keep doing what I’m doing. I should also make an effort to consciously BE a green scrapper and see what else I can do better.
Is green scrapbooking important to you? Have you changed any scrapping habits or purchasing in an effort to be more green? Or is it not even on your scrappy radar?
Green at Heart
Kioshi
Cappella
Max & Whiskers
Sugar Rush
Origins
Basics
Release dates, as far as I can tell, are:
Sugar Rush and Origins ~ Already available (MEMORY WORKS has them HERE)
Green at Heart and Kioshi ~ Shipping very soon
Basics, Cappella, and Max & Whiskers ~ Shipping in April 2010
It figures that the 2 lines that I like the best ~ Basics and Cappella ~ are available last :( I’m really liking Basics with all the graph and lined papers. Cappella is sure pretty and I love the colors. The only one I really don’t care for is Origins and I finally figured out why, now that I’ve seen the entire line together in the catalog … it’s the emerald green … which actually happens to be one of my favorite colors, it just doesn’t mix well here for me.
THIS is where the Peas are talking about it. Like with every new line by every company, there are lovers and haters, and some that just say “meh.”
If you’re looking for layouts and inspiration for these new lines, check out blogs by KELLY GOREE, LAYLE KONCAR, and the January BG NEWSLETTER.
For all you fellow BG LUVAHS out there … did you know there’s a Basic Grey Challenges BLOG? Check it, home slice!
What do you think of the Basic Grey new releases? Do you have any Origins or Sugar Rush yet? Do you plan to buy any of the remaining lines?
As you probably know by now (LOL!), I’m a consultant for MEMORY WORKS, and SIMPLE STORIESis their hot new product (the very 1st product of their own!). It’s been very popular with scrappers doing PROJECT 365, or those who just want to get some fast scrapping done … while keeping it cute and stylish :) I have an online friend who wants to use this kit to get a quick scrapbook done for her 2009 family album, as she was busy with kids and craziness, and didn’t get many of her photos scrapped.
Anyway, I placed this order ~ which was #1 of 2 ~ the second that Simple Stories products went live on my Memory Works website last Friday (1-15-10). Memory Works said to expect a longer shipping time than usual because this was so popular and they have a small staff. Usually my orders ship to me within 1 business day; they said to allow 4-7 business days for Simple Stories, and that was accurate since it shipped on Day 5 and arrived here on Day 7.
As you can see, I ordered my own stuff and a bunch of extras to sell at my next crop and to friends. (I’m already holding a few things, wink). There’s my gorgeous Kiwi green album by We R Memory Keepers, the Simple Stories kits, coordinating cardstock packs, and 2 kinds of page protector packs.
My 2nd order is due here Monday … more of the same. I decided to get extras with the profits I made from the first round of selling (it sold VERY well!). Like they say, a good businesswoman reinvests her profits in her business :) I heard … and it may just be a rumor … that this could be the only run of this version of “Life Documented” kits. I mean, Memory Works will probably issue future Simple Stories kits along these same lines that coordinate and everything, but I like THIS particular kit so much, I wanted to get lots of extras while I could. You know, once they’re gone, they’re gone, kind of a thang.
I’ll be playing with Simple Stories all weekend, getting my Project 365 all caught up (Weeks 1 through 3). I’ll post close-ups of the kit contents themselves, probably on Monday because I have a very busy weekend.
Did you order Simple Stories? Didja get it yet? What do you think?
Found this cute survey while I was blurfing (aka blog surfing), and thought I would fill it out, maybe use it on an All About Me layout. I copied the survey from LISA WARREN, who got it from CASSIE.
ABC’s of me
A – Age: Wouldn’t you like to know?
B – Bed size: A Select Comfort King
C – Chore you hate: Putting anything away … dishes, laundry, scrap supplies
D – Dog’s name: Landry Timber
E – Essential “start your day” item: COFFEE. Duh.
F – Favorite color: Muted teal … the color of Pacific Ocean water … just to give you a visual, since there technically is no Crayola name for my color
G – Gold or Silver: Silver. Other than my wedding/engagement rings, I don’t wear gold anymore.
H – Height: 5’7″
I – Instruments you play(ed): Zero. Zip. Zilch.
J – Job title: Medical Transcriptionist and Scrapbook Consultant to the Stars!
K – Kid(s): Yep, I’ve got me some.
M – Mum’s name: Um, I call her “Mom.” Again … DUH.
N – Nicknames: Recka.
O – Overnight hospital stay other than childbirth: Gallbladder-ectomy
P – Pet Peeve: Um, you might want to sit down and get comfortable for this. I have a list …
Q – Quote from a movie: “One question: do you need… someone, or do you need me?… Forget it, I don’t really care.” Lloyd Dobler in SAY ANYTHING
R – Right- or left-handed: Right, because Left is Wrong (had to throw that in there, cuz DH is a Lefty)
S – Siblings: Yes, but it doesn’t matter ‘cuz my mom loves ME best.
T – Time you wake up: Approximately 3 minutes before I have to be somewhere. Give or take.
U- Underwear: That is SO nunya, I can’t even believe you asked.
V – Vegetable you dislike: Hominy. Only kidding. I just like to say that word. “Hominy, hominy, hominy.” (Is that even a vegetable?)
W – Ways you drink your coffee: In my pajamas, at crops, in the car, alone or with people, on airplanes, at sporting events, while walking my dog, …
X-rays you’ve had: Teeth, gall bladder
Y – Yummy food you make: Enchilada casserole, mushroom chicken, Tollhouse cookies, teeter totter casserole, and tacos. Oh! And are martinis food? Cuz if so, then I make yummy of those, too.
Z – Zoo favorite : Flamingos
Now it’s your turn. Post the ABC of YOU in comments, or link us to your blog. C’mon, you know you want to!
The first one was for the Bracket Challenge by CHRIS aka Chrispea. She provided this sketch …
… and here is my layout:
It will be perfect for my BOOK OF ME album. Just wanted to capture the little material things that are making mama happy right now.
The second layout I did was based on my own 2-Page, Multi-Photo layout challenge. I included some inspiration layouts for my challenge, including this one by LISA WARREN which I found on the GOT SKETCH? blog …
****** ^^^^^^ THIS IS LISA’S LAYOUT, NOT MINE ^^^^^^ ******
I scraplifted Lisa’s layout and here is what I came up with:
I smudged charcoal grey chalk ink on these letters to go along with the dirt/digging theme, and this is also to show that there’s actually yellow in that patterned paper in case you were wondering why in the heck did I use YELLOW letters, LOL …
And the journaling which I’m not happy with … used a transparency and the ink smudged (even though I used the right kind of pen) and I couldn’t find a good way to adhere it totally flat without glue showing through.
Lisa’s layout is way cuter than mine because she has a cute girlie AND a cute dog, while I only have uh … dog. Nah, really, hers is cuter because she has more talent in her right pinky than I have in my whole body. So thank you for sharing the inspiration, Lisa! You RAWK.
And thank you to all the Scrap Sisters who participated in my challenge. I sent all 11 of ’em a little prize in the mail. Nothing big, just a small “thank you.” Here’s a photo when I was getting the prizes ready to send:
So, that was the first time I’ve scrapped in months. It felt really good. I even cleaned up when I was done. {I know, I can be annoying like that sometimes}. But seriously, I want to keep scrapbooking when I can carve out the time, so I need my space to be ready.
This question was posed by Carole aka carole2k at my message board home, SCRAP SISTERS STUDIO, and boy was it fun to hear THE ANSWERS. Here was mine:
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Books ~ Have to check the book aisle every time I’m in Target or Walmart. One of my favorite chillaxin’ things to do is go to Barnes and Noble, grab a Starbucks, and stroll the aisles. I usually find about 20 books I’d like to buy but have to limit it to 1 (or sometimes none, depending on my budget ). I love books!
Even if I get a Kindle or other e-reader, I’ll still need my bookstore days…It’s like being in a scrapbook store. I love the smell, the atmosphere, being with other people who love books (or scrap supplies, lol), and being able to hold things in my hands.
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Then I posted a picture to prove it:
I organized this bookshelf two weekends ago and it felt really good. I go through it about once a year to get rid of some books and alphabetize the ones I’ve added over time. Not only do I buy a book or two a month on my “book days,” but sometimes people leave their old books up at our post office and they’re free for the taking. Our own little version of PAPERBACK SWAP, but with no shipping charges and instant gratification, LOL! I leave my unwanted books up there, too.
There must be a local woman with the same taste in books as me because I often find titles I’ve been wanting to read … I walk up and there they are! I hope she’s gotten some of my books in return :) For instance, I’ve been wanting to read FIREFLY LANE but it’s a big novel (496 pages) and costs $15 new so I keep passing on it. But I got it for free from the post office the other day, yeah!
Turns out, this is a terrific thing to cover in my PROJECT 365 album, so one or two photos of my books will be my picture(s) of the day. {If you have more than one photo you’d like to share for a day, just print 2 photos in 2×3 or 4 photos on a contact sheet}.
So, I was brave enough to post about my other big weakness. Now it’s your turn … Do tell!
