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All Moments Remembered

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A New (and yet old) Message Board Community: Scrap Sisters Studio

I wanted to apologize for being such a bad blogger of late but the reason is a good one. Ohhhhh, sit right back and you’ll hear a tale, a tale of a fateful….erm, message board?

You may have heard me mention, oh once or eleventy-billion times, that my message board home is a place called AMR, All Moments Remembered. It was a message board started by a sweet friend and online store owner named Stacey. At the time AMR began, I had been a fixture at the Creating Keepsakes Message Board (CKMB) for about a year or so. {Remember when I had all the CKMB girls’ blogs in my blog roll…until there were over 100 of them and I had to stop).

But, honestly, for all the fun friends and conversations I had there, it was such a HUGE place, that it never truly felt like home to me. I’m one of those gals that, if you and I are friends, I got ya back for life, sista. Don’t mess with my friends and we won’t have a problem. You know, like we did in the Old Country (I’m Italian, capice?). But I’ve only got so much love to go around, ya know? Ten-thousand “friends” on the CKMB is a lot to handle, even for someone like me, LOL!

Well, then God sent me Stacey. She joined CKMB with her little bubbly personality, enthusiasm for life, and love for scrapbooking. Like me, her dream was to open a scrapbook store. The difference between us was that I talked about it. She was actually gonna do it. We became fast friends, chatting on and off the CKMB board. She started a blog to promote her new online store which she called All Moments Remembered, and I loved reading each day what the developments were with her store, the excitement in her voice, and the positive outlook she had on everything.

Then came the day when Stacey got booted from CKMB. {This story is well-known folklore, so I’m not speaking out of school, k?}. The TOU at CKMB clearly said you could not have a business name as your message board name, nor anything in your message content or signature line that promoted another business. Because obviously, Creating Keepsakes is a business who wants to continue as such, and they want you to buy THEIR products, not some cute lady’s from Oregon who just started the best online scrap store in the world. Apparently, Stacey was *cough* unclear on those rules, or her glasses fogged up that day, or SOMETHING…because she changed her MB name from whatever it was (“scraphappy” or something like that) to “AllMomentsRemembered.”

Scandal. Just pure scandal.

So, CKMB powers-that-be sent her a nasty-gram and when she didn’t cease and desist, they booted her. In true Stacey spirit, what did she do? Oh, she just started her OWN message board, of course. And THAT, my friends, is how the All Moments Remembered Message Board was started. I signed up on the first day the AMR-MB was up, which was December 27, 2007. I was proud to be member #29. As of closing today, there were 826 members but I believe at times there were over 1,000 or more). Also, as of today, I was the #3 poster @ AMR, right behind those Chatty Cathy’s named JENNIFER/Jingle and ABBY/scrapbookfrenzy.

So, for almost 2 years now, I’ve been chatting pretty much daily with the AMR Girlz. I would never have thought you could be “true friends” with people you’ve never even met face-to-face, who live all over the country, most of whom you’ve never even spoken to. If you stop to think about it, it’s our computers, our technology, that is actually making the connection, so it’s kind of bizarre. The only way I know most of them is from words they’ve typed that I’m reading, kwim?

But I have to say, I love those gals and they are my TRUE, dear friends. AMR was a smaller board and it didn’t move that the speed of light, like CKMB, 2peas, or the Cricut board. Sometimes I get frustrated when I want to chat and no one is around. “I need some chat, people!” Sheesh. But I would trade “busy but impersonal” for “quieter but more meaningful” any day of the week.

Stacey really set the tone for that board to be encouraging, friendly, supportive, and fun. We joked, we laughed, we shared our work, and our scrap shopping finds. There was a Chit Chat board for discussing TV shows, family stuff, you name it. There was a Spiritual forum where we could ask for prayers, and where a special lady named MISTY/snowlady posted daily quotes from Scripture. And we can’t forget the Recipe forum, where you could share or request yummy recipes from your AMR friends.

Another cool thing Stacey did was to give us “Stacey names.” Under your message board name and above your avatar photo, sometime when you weren’t looking and maybe didn’t even notice for a while, Stacey would add a special name chosen just for you, based on her getting to know you over time and finding out what phrase really represented you, be it funny, sweet, or serious. For instance, MARILYN/Melonscraps was christened “Stickles Queen” for her amazing love of and collection of Stickles; ANGIE/craftyscrapr became “Miss Pretty Toes” because she loves the beach and her flip flops with painted toenails; and I was given the Stacey name “Director of Advertising.” Which was funny because some people may have thought it was an actual title I held with the AMR store, and that I was a paid employee, but nope, lol. I just loved AMR so much, I talked about it and steered people towards her store any time I could. Stacey was living my dream and I did whatever I could to support her.

Which reminds me of a story….Remember that crazy scrapbook product frenzy, the THREADING WATERS punch by Fiskars? The first time I saw that thing, I knew it was going to be a hugely popular tool so I tipped Stacey off about it, and she had faith that I knew what I was talking about. So she right away ordered a whole bunch of them from Fiskars. And when they flew off the shelves at Michaels, Target, and all the online scrapbook stores, no one had them in stock anymore….except Stacey. For a while there, AMR was one of the only places you could buy that darn punch, and not on backorder, but actually get it right then. Stacey never forgot I had told her about it. She never tried to take credit for it or anything. She told everyone else, “Erika is the one who told me to get those!” And she sent me the most generous gift box of supplies from her store, just as a way to say thank you. Actually, that’s another thing Stacey was known for was being very generous in giving away her products as RAKS, crop prizes, and you always got extra items with your order, things she had handpicked for you, knowing what each of us liked. I don’t know how she did it, honestly.

Well, fast forward to the economic collapse last year, and long story short, the AMR online store eventually was closed. However, in the meantime, Stacey had realized her other dream of opening an actual brick-and-mortar store in her hometown. Over time, Stacey has had to move on from the AMR MB and the inmates have taken over the asylum, LOL! Stacey could no longer support the MB so several months ago, she offered to let members take it over, and DENISE/denisewalks stepped up to the plate. Denise has been running AMR since then, with a little bit of admin support from me, and lots of help from lots of other members. We’ve managed to keep AMR MB going and as fun and wonderful as it ever was.

But the time had come for a fresh start, where Denise and the loyal board members could be more in control of the mechanics of the board. Also, with Stacey no longer associated with the board, a new name for our gathering place was in order. A new domain name was procured by Denise (at her personal expense, but we’re going to find a creative way to make the board pay for itself and/or many generous members have offered to chip in so Denise doesn’t have to absorb the cost herself).

So today, October 27, 2009….Scrap Sisters Studio was born.

We had a Scrap Chat Hour tonight to kind of kick off the new site, and help get the word out to everyone that we’ve officially moved. I can’t think of a more perfect name for our board, because the ladies there are truly like family. Don’t get me wrong, we’re not perfect. Like any family in the world, we occasionally have scuffles and squabbles, hurt feelings and unspoken hurts, frustrations and unfairness. I mean, we’re women after all, LOL! But it always works itself out and the family bond is as tight as ever. New members are welcomed from Day One like they’ve been there the entire time.

It felt weird writing all those things above about the way AMR “was,” in the past tense. Because those things still apply to the way Scrap Sisters Studio “is” and “will always be.” It’s a warm, fun, friendly home away from home and even if they try to kick me out, I’m never leaving. Seriously. Don’t even try ‘cuz I grew up in The Hood and can kick serious ass.

Capice?

This post is just my way of memorializing AMR, Stacey’s store, everything that brought this group of sweet scrapbookers together and still bind them. I wanted to honor Stacey because it was her personality and efforts that set us up to be the way we are now. And for that, we owe her a debt of gratitude. {Stacey, if you’re out there, MWUH! Love ya, girl}.

And this post was a way to celebrate, and document on my own blog, this day being the start of something new and fun for me and my scrappy girlfriends.

We always welcome new members. HERE is where you would sign up. (ETA: When you register, you will NOT get an e-mail confirmation. Sorry, this new board doesn’t have that feature. We’re approving new members as quickly as we can, so please give it a little wait, then try to log in until it works :). We’ve got some fun plans for the Scrap Sisters Studio website as a whole, so this is going to be a great new adventure! Thank you for letting me talk about my buds…I {heart} them like sisters.

August Crop @ All Moments Remembered

Like I told ya’, there’s a fun online crop going on all weekend at my scrapbook message board home, ALL MOMENTS REMEMBERED.

As part of the crop, I took this photo and need to go post it over there. Please forgive very much the frizzy, windblown/flattened bangs and tired, “thank GAWD it’s Friday!” look on my face.

Photo 24

Are you wondering why I have to take a photo of myself for an online crop? Guess you’ll just have to come find out, won’t you?

Scrapbook Message Boards: Survey and a RAK

As you might know, I’m a big fan of chatting on scrapbook message boards. The ones I’m most active on TWO PEAS IN A BUCKET and ALL MOMENTS REMEMBERED. I was on the CREATING KEEPSAKES message board for a long time before these, although all their format changes caused me to leave when I had to log on every single time I wanted to post (ya know, that’s quite a lot!) and would never accept an avatar pic, which made me feel like a faceless troll, LOL!

So, I’m just wondering what message boards you all enjoy. Please leave me a comment telling me where you like to hang out. Include linkees please! Tell me what you like and don’t like about message boards (you don’t have to name names on the negative part if ya don’t want to…). What makes a good message board? Why are you a long time member of certain places? Tell me all about it. Don’t forget to leave a link to your blog or check back to see if you’ve won!

For everyone who leaves a comment on THIS here post by midnight PST on June 11, 2009…I will enter your name into random.org and pick the winner of a small RAK.

NSD Crop Challenge @ AMR

Last weekend, the AMR MESSAGE BOARD had a member-hosted online crop. This was the only challenge I had time to participate in, by JULIE aka scrappin{jewlz}. Here is what the challenge was, as posted by Julie:

I have been doing some photography challenges, and have been inspired to look for new and interesting things to photograph. So I thought I would do a photo challenge. For this challenge you need to take (yes, NEW pictures) a photo of something that matches the description. You may post only one photo per section. Players will receive 1 point for each photo. The most creative photo for each description will receive a bonus point. The player with the most points will win a prize. In the event of a tie, the winner will be chosen randomly. To clarify, photos need to be taken since the challenge was posted. You will have until Wednesday at midnight PST to post your photos.

And here was my entry….

1. Something that makes you laugh

My dork dog Landry always makes me LAUGH. He is so happy and crazy with energy.

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2. Something pink

My favorite hoodie, a PINK one that says “Blessed not Lucky.” My mom got it for me because she said she knows that’s how I feel about my life…and she’s right!

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3. Something soft

My favorite blanket that I read my book with at night on the couch. It is the SOFTEST thing I have ever felt.

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4. Favorite activity other than papercrafting (ie no stamping, scrapping, cardmaking, atcs, altered stuff)

I guess you can tell by the fact my bookshelf is so heavy that it’s bowed, that other than scrapbooking, my favorite activity is reading…

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5. Your desk RIGHT NOW.

The usual state of my DESK – multiple projects going at once – 80th birthday mini album, Basic Grey 2009 calendar, and getting ready to do yearbook layout for the Father/Daughter dance

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6. Favorite music

My favorite MUSIC right now is anything that Pandora.com finds for me…I’m discovering so many new artists and the old ones I’ve always loved.

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7. Something outside

The view from my backyard – I love sitting OUTSIDE, looking and daydreaming…

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That was a fun challenge to do and it made me take photos of things I normally wouldn’t have. Some may seem like boring or unremarkable things, but they ARE part of my everyday life at this point and that is worth capturing, don’t you think?

The Slice by Making Memories: Now @ Michaels

Did you know that Michaels now carries THE SLICE? Yep, I saw it there myself. No, I’m really not making it up. It was NOT some mirage I conjured up, it was really there. Uh huh. Oddly, it was not with the scrapbooking section. A whole stand alone display was kind of near the front of the store near some home dec stuff and candles. I didn’t look too closely since I’m not shopping for one, but all the accessories and cards were there, too. I don’t know how their prices compare. And, no, of course you cannot use your coupons on anything with the word “Slice” in it. If Mike’s is selling it for the same price as everywhere else and you can’t use a coupon on it, I’d just as soon buy it from an LSS or online store. Just sayin’…

There was also a mess of new patterned papers, by the sheet, although the prices were totally RIDONCULOUS. I saw Basic Grey, Making Memories, We R Memory Keepers, SEI, Creative Imaginations, and others. The Peas are talking about it HERE. The papers are on sale this week so it’s a good time to check out the new ones. Then again, even with the discount, your LSS may have it cheaper. A great place to online shop is at my friend Stacey’s store, ALL MOMENTS REMEMBERED. She’s been getting in a lot of new stuff lately and if you don’t see what you’re looking for, just ask and she will do her darndest to get it for you. She has the cutest warehouse guys, too!

Speaking of MAKING MEMORIES, read HERE for some sad news about one of their most popular designer/instructors. I know it’s another sign of the times but that doesn’t make it any less depressing, does it?

The Slice by Making Memories: An Update

I’ve noticed from looking at my Blog Stats that a lot of readers come here by way of searching for information about the cool new tool by MAKING MEMORIES called THE SLICE. I haven’t blogged about it since April 2008, so my posts are a bit outdated, but if you’re interested, my first post is HERE. You can see it in it’s early form when it was still owned by Tinnus. This is what it looked like back then…what a different look, huh?

HERE is where I blogged about CHA-Winter 2008 and the Slice, with a couple demo videos, and the new look was revealed…

And HERE is a post from April 2008 with another demo video, and a release date of “Summer 2008.” Well, they ALMOST made that deadline, didn’t they? LOL

So, as requested by JANA in a comment on THIS post, I will attempt to post some updated info on The Slice. Okay, I’m off to explore internet land for some updates, BRB!
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Okay, lots of info on the MM website linked above, so definitely go check that out. Lovin’ the cool accessories they have for it already.

And here are some facts from their website, including MSRPs:

“SLICE OVERVIEW
– Industry’s first cordless, digital design cutter
– Weighs less than two pounds
– 5” x 5” design fits in palm of the hand
– Non-fed cutter permits cuts to be placed on any size media, with no advance preparation
– Design cards in four themes offer thousands of fonts and shapes that coordinate with Making Memories’ most popular scrapbook programs
– Clearly organized and intuitive buttons offer simple navigation
– Graphical interface screen illustrates design shape prior to cutting
– Cuts shapes in up to eight sizes ranging from ¼” to 4”, in ½” increments
– MSRP: $149.00

SLICE DESIGN CARD FEATURES
– Design cards expand the Slice’s shape offerings many times over, and are currently available in four themes including Basic Shapes I, Basic Shapes II, Basic Shapes III, Noteworthy and Animal Crackers.
– MSRP: $35.00
– Includes equivalent of thousands of design cuts including:
• Upper & lower case alphabets
• Monograms
• Numbers
• Scrolls
• Flourishes
• Photo Corners
• Journaling Spots
• Frames
• Flowers
• … and more

SLICE CUTTING CAPABILITIES
The Slice is designed to cut through media in varying thicknesses including:
– Textured paper
– Cardstock
– Vellum
– Textured cardstock
– Photos (up to .5mm thick)
– Vinyl
– And Acetate

SLICE KIT INCLUDES
– Slice Digital Design Cutter
– Basic Shapes I Digital Design Card
– A/C Power Adapter
– 6” x 6” Tempered Glass Mat
– Repositionable Adhesive”

And check out this LINK to the Slice idea gallery. Lots of wonderful projects that will definitely make you want to own a Slice. I’m warning you, don’t go there if you’re trying to resist this thing :) Here’s one example, a layout made with the Noteworthy design card:

** LAYOUT FROM MAKING MEMORIES WEBSITE **, designer unknown.

There is also some great info and ideas on the MM BLOG.

If you’re going to purchase a Slice, please consider buying it from my friend Stacey at ALL MOMENTS REMEMBERED. She isn’t doing many pre-order items anymore, because vendors haven’t been keeping their commitments which makes it hard on her (she HATES disappointing her customers). But she’s making an exception for the Slice and you can order it HERE. Stacey played with the Slice at CHA, and I’m sure she wouldn’t mind if you called or e-mailed her to hear firsthand what it’s like. All her contact info is on the AMR site linked above. While you’re at AMR, join the message board. I guarantee, you will not find a nicer, more welcoming group of ladies anywhere on the net. Plus you will eventually earn your “Stacey Name” and that’s an experience you don’t want to miss!

I’ve been debating for a long time whether I want to get The Slice or not. On the one hand, I already have a baby Cricut and about 5 cartridges. I’ve invested a nice bit of money in that so do I really need a whole new system? On the other hand, Making Memories is one of my favorite brands now and it would be so cool to cut out their exclusive designs. Also, I’d rather pack up this little thing for crops instead of my Cricut. Oh, who am I kidding, I’d probably take both! You just never know what you’re going to NEED to cut out, right? Well, MM couldn’t have timed it better…any other time of the year, I’d have to pass and just say, “I can’t afford it.” But with Christmas almost here, and me being such a good girl and all….

My ATC Cards and More Good Stuff

In my last POST, I told you about the ATC Swap I’m participating in as a member of the AMR MESSAGE BOARD. I promised to show you my first attempt at EVER making an ATC, so here goes…these are the ATC’s I created and will be mailing to Jingle tomorrow:

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I’m showing the front and back sides, and also that I made four or five variations of color combos. On the front they say “Journey” and then there is a “journey” definition stamp. The reason this represents ME is that, on every message board I’m on, even my e-mail address, my handle is always “journeyfan.” It has a triple meaning, but the easy one is that I’m a HUGE fan of the 70s/80s band Journey, and have been since junior high. Anyway, my ATC’s probably don’t look like much, but they really were a lot of work for some reason! Here are the steps I used to make them:

1. Cut all the kraft cardstock and patterned paper into 2.5″ x 3.5″ “cards” and used the scraps of PP to cut the little slivers that show behind the scallop punchout (the color in there is different than whatever color is on the back of the card).
2. Used my awesome new FISKARS THREADING WATER PUNCH to cut a scallop within each card (as opposed to scalloping an entire edge).
3. With acrylic stamps and chalk ink, stamped the word “journey” on the kraft cards. First I did the j-u-n-y letters, spaced apart, in one color (steel blue). Then I did the o,r and e separately in different colors (dark grey, green and purple).
4. Used an acrylic stamp and black chalk ink for the “journey” definition. It was part of a larger stamp, so I masked it with, what else?, masking tape! Wow, my first ever masking! I impressed myself! (Note: I’m barely a decent scrapbooker, and I’m NOT a stamper by any means).
5. Used acrylic stamps and silver ink to stamp a bird, then a journaling circle with black ink on the patterned paper cards.
6. Added the plastic flowers and either a glitter star brad or a “bling” to the center of each flower.
7. Adhered the little PP strips to the back side of the scallop punchout.
8. Adhered both sided of the card together, trying a variety of adhesive methods until I found one that worked, LOL.
9. Used a sanding block to sand the edges of the cards and make them blend together better, and to give a lightly distressed look.
10. Cut the ribbon into 2 inch pieces, punched the middle hole with the Cropadile to make it larger, threaded the ribbon through and stapled it.
11. Used white or black pens to write on the back: AMR “ATC Swap”, Erika, ‘journeyfan,’ Calif. USA, April 2008
12. Laid all the ATC’s out across my desk and “Stickled” them, to the best of my ability (which, seeing them after they dried, was not much ability…).

Materials Used: Bazzill kraft cardstock, My Minds Eye ‘Everyday Tango’ patterned paper, Color Box Cat’s Eye chalk inks in Night Sky queue (that I got from AMR Store), Autumn Leaves acrylic stamps ‘Hand Drawn Alphabet by Katie Pertiet’ and journaling circle ($1 stamp set from Target), 7 Gypsies clear stamp set from QVC, American Crafts plastic flowers, Making Memories glitter star brads, MAMBI bling from Michaels, ‘Frosted Lace’ Stickles from AMR Store, and random black/white gingham ribbon.

Overall, I guess I’m happy with them. You know how it is, there are such talented ladies on the board, that I hope I don’t embarrass myself! But they were fun to do, I tried some things I wouldn’t normally do (like masking a stamp), and it got me to break out the myriad of acrylic stamps I’ve collected and not used enough. Do you think they’re okay for a swap?

Oh! And if you are going to enter ATC World anytime soon, I thought I’d show you these items I saw in the AMR STORE that seem to be very popular among the Message Board Girlz:

7 GYPSIES ATC HOLDER

atc holder

And ATC TAG PACK:
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The best part is going to be seeing all the cards from the other girls when they come in the mail. I can’t wait! Thanks for reading about my “journey” into ATC’s (man, I’m so funny, I crack myself up!).

AMR Online Crop: Monochromatic Challenge

Here was the challenge from Joscie:
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My challenge is pretty simple:
I find that using a monochromatic color scheme can have a strong impact, so I challenge you to create a layout, card or project in a monochromatic color scheme. You may choose any color in all its values (tints and shades) plus white, black or kraft.

here is the layout i created in shades of brown…. it’s called those eyes.

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“THOSE EYES” layout by Joscie Cutchens
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I’ve always wanted to do a single-color layout but probably wouldn’t have done it without this challenge. Here’s mine:

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Materials: Bazzill cardstock; thickers-type letters from Dollar Tree/Miss Elizabeth; unknown ribbon; everything else from Heidi Grace kit I got at Tuesday Morning ($25 retail for $10).

I never do 2-photo layouts either, but these were 2 random photos I had taken in our front yard last summer & now they are scrapped!

AMR Online Crop: Acrylic Paint Challenge

This challenge was hosted by one of the MB’s favorite members, Sandy/tx-nana-scraps (who many of you know from CKMB and she’s also a big part of AMR):
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1) Hopefully you have used two different colors of acrylic paint on your cardstock, but what ever you have will be fine. [She let us know to do this ahead of time].

2) You will need to use at least three (3) pictures.

3) Use three (3) embellies of your choice.

4) Journaling: use four (4) journaling strips.

This is an option, not necessary, but it might be something to try if you haven’t done it before: write on at least one of your pictures using a pen or computer. The writing must be visible, not hidden. You can put a date, event, person’s name, a cute saying, etc. If you do this option, your name will go in the hat two times.

Post your LO to this thread by noon (eastern) tomorrow. I will randomly pick a winner and post the name on a new post titled “4pm challenge winner.”

This is my LO and I had fun making it, and I hope you do too. This is my DS in 1970. I used my MM Tag Maker to make one of my embellies, and I put a piece of the pp inside.

sandy

“UNCLE JIM” layout by Sandy (just realized I don’t know her last name, LOL!)
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I’ve used acrylic paint before but mainly for stamping, so that’s why I wanted to try this one. The night before, I painted a piece of dove gray cardstock with cranberry paint and silver glaze (Sandy said “anything goes” as far as the type of paint, even watercolor). As you can see, when it dried the paper curled up…now that was fun to scrap on! But I think it will flatten after some time in my album if I lay it flat for a week or so. Anyway, here’s my attempt:

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I ended up missing the contest deadline. I finished the last 2 challenges after dark and wanted to wait to take pictures of them til daylight. I went to bed around 2am, got up at “8:30” so I could post them by 9am my time (the deadline was 12pm EST). Then realized midstream that I’d forgotten about Daylight Savings lastnight!!! Oh well, the fun part for me was trying to meet the challenges and I’m so glad I did it! Thanks for reading, if you’re still here :)

AMR Online Crop: Warm Up Challenge

As I’ve been blabbing about for days, I’m participating in the AMR Online Crop this weekend. Well, here is the first challenge and it’s from Anne Marie, the Message Board Hostess:
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Let’s Get Started! Warm Up Exercise
To kick off our first hour, I like to do a “warm-up” exercise to get your creative juices going (no drawing for this one) … so to celebrate our awesome Design Team and welcome our two newest DT members Jenn and Debbie, I invite you to scraplift a layout from any Design Team member and post it here!

For your convenience, here are links to their Flickr Galleries!

Debbie (wyscrapper) https://www.flickr.com/photos/22929679@N08/
Heather https://www.flickr.com/photos/9095123@N08/
Jenn E. (nygirl) https://www.flickr.com/photos/22847178@N03/
Linda https://www.flickr.com/photos/14190425@N04/
Tracy (jadadog) https://www.flickr.com/photos/23096528@N07/

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I chose to scraplift a layout from one of the new DT members announced today, Jenn! Here is here inspiring layout:

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“GIVE THANKS” layout by Jenn Emch

And here is my try at it. I ended up copying her colors pretty closely (unintentionally!) because the papers from the Red, Cream and Black set from Autumn Leaves matched my photos so well. And I love to use kraft cardstock as a background.

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Materials: Bazzill cardstock; Red, Cream and Black PP and twill from Autumn Leaves; acrylic alpha from KI Memories; Martha Stewart journaling spot; Prima flower; Provo Craft flower brad.

That was fun! Now I’m at the computer doing my journaling for the next challenge. Come over to AMR and participate if you want. For every challenge, those who post their layouts by noon PST tomorrow have names drawn from a hat for a RAK…you never know, you could win! And Stacey gives the bestest RAK’s around. Hope to see you there…

Reminder: Online Crop Tomorrow at AMR

Just a reminder that tomorrow is the big online crop at ALL MOMENTS REMEMBERED. For all the 4-1-1, please go read THIS POST. I believe there will be a special forum but it’s not up yet so no link. Just go to their main site, click on Message Board and you’ll find it. Hope to see you there! Okay, gotta’ go, I have online crop homework. Sandy/Tx-nana-scraps said her challenge involves using 2 colors of paint on cardstock and both colors need to show behind the pictures. Off I go to paint. Damn, I’m happy it’s Friday! What a week. Enjoy your weekend and hope it’s scrappy. Peace out…

Online Crop at All Moments Remembered

Please save the date: Next Saturday, March 8 and here are the times:

2pm-Midnight (Eastern)
1 pm-11pm (Central)
12pm-10 pm (Mountain)
11 am-9 pm (Pacific)

The awesome message board at ALL MOMENTS REMEMBERED is hosting another online crop and I’m inviting you! Please come on over and play with us, whether you are already a member over there or not. You do need to be approved to join the MB by the owner Stacey, so you could do that sometime this week. If you think you might, leave a comment below so I can let Stacey know I sent ya’ and which MB name you’ll use. She gets a lot of spammers so it helps if she knows beforehand. Also, when you sign up you can tell her Erika/journeyfan sent you.

Okay, what is an online crop, you ask? It’s a pre-set time when a bunch of people are on the message board at the same time. There is usually a separate forum set up; if not, just go to the Scrapbook forum. Usually, board moderators and/or just everyday users host challenges for which there may or may not be a prize, also known as a RAK (comes from Random Act of Kindness). If the challenge needs any specific items you might not have on hand, the moderator usually lets you know so you can have it ready when the crop starts. Examples of challenges: “Do a layout that’s all black and white including the photo” or “Make a card that includes use of an acrylic stamp, Basic Grey paper, and scraps from your stash” or “Create a 12×12 layout about a loved one who has passed on, using a song quote.” You get the idea! Once the online crop starts, you’ll have a set amount of time to post your challenges, either in the message board gallery or directly into a post on the message board.

Now, specific to the AMR online crop next Saturday (here is the LINK to the thread about it), Anne Marie will be the official hostess and she will post the Warm-Up Challenge at 2pm EST (11am PST). Then each hour on the hour, a message boarder will post another challenge. These challenges were arranged ahead of time between Anne Marie and anyone on the message board who offered to help. Another reason to make sure you’re an AMR MB member ahead of time: There are already some “heads up, you will need this item” type of posts for the challenges. These are the ones posted so far:

* 2 colors Acrylic paints (any brand; will be used together on a lo)
* Brush (those 1″ foam brushes are great, but ANY brush will do)
* Plain or Kraft gift bag (any size)
* 1-2 black/white photos of yourself
* Clothing tag (gee, guess you’re all going to have to go out and buy a new outfit, LOL! — no, this can be cut off any existing garment)

Ladies are also posting questions they have about the crop, and kind of chiming in if they hope to “be there.” You know, in a virtual kind of way…

Here is what Anne Marie says about the Challenges Schedule: Non-competitive hourly challenges will be posted with RAKS for participating! A break has been scheduled during the crop … AND you can come in at ANY TIME during the crop and play ANY challenge! You will also have until NOON SUNDAY to post your submissions in the challenge threads. Winners in each challenge will be drawn at random.

Now, for non-competitive types like me (who aren’t very confident in their work “winning” anything), this is the cat’s meow. All I have to do is participate in one or two or all of the challenges ~ as many as I want or have time for ~ and I have as good a chance at winning as the next girl. And knowing Stacey’s generosity, the prizes will be most excellent. Sweet….

I’ve never participated in an online crop before, although I’ve come in after the fact and read through all the posts. (AMR, for example, plans to hold online crops once per month and CKMB has held several in the last year). They seem to generate all kinds of fun projects and, most importantly, COMPLETED LAYOUTS! So far, my Saturday is open and I really hope to participate in my first-ever online crop. Even if I only get to one or two of the challenges, I’ll feel I’ve accomplished something. On the day of the crop, THIS is where you will go!

So, c’mon, will you join us?? Have you participated in an online crop before and what was your experience like?

Cards For A Mom With Cancer

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Wilna Furstenburg is a well known scrapbooker; you’ve seen her work in CK as a Hall of Famer, in Memory Makers, lots of places. She has a dear friend with cancer and is asking for a simple favor in exchange for a chance to win a large RAK. We’re talking about it on the message boards at AMR and CKMB. Please help out if you can! I just wanted to help Wilna spread the word. This is from her POST, dated 2-19-08:

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~`
I have a friend, Lois. She is 40 years old and have cancer. She is in pain and needs positive, uplifting people to remind her continually to live and that life is worth living. She has an amazing husband and four beautiful kids. The doctors are not giving her long to live, but I believe that God is the author of life. And I know you believe that too.

WHAT?
If you want to be entered into this awesome draw (and if anyone want to contribute prizes, big or small, please email me) then this is what you are going to do: take 10 minutes of your time and create a card for Lois. A card that speaks of life and laughter, of fun and flowers. A word of encouragement, maybe your favorite scripture. Take a picture of it and upload it HERE {on Wilna’s blog} for all to see. Then you post it to her. I visit her every day and I will make a list of all the cards she gets and I will let her draw names out of a hat for winners. The deadline for all the cards to reach her in Canada is March 20th. So, if you want to play (and I hope every single person that reads this will) make her a card, and post it. THAT’s how simple it will be.

Please email me: wilna71@gmail.com if you want to participate. I will email you her address. Those who are willing to add this little he{ART} flower to your blog to help me get the word out, will be in my good books for life. You can just right click the image and save it to your computer and add it to a side bar. Please link THIS post to it.

I am going to drive you nuts. I love this girl with all my heart. I just want the best for her. AND I KNOW AMAZING PEOPLE like you, who can contribute to her life. I am calling all my friends from America, Australia, Poland, Holland, Canada, India and SOUTH AFRICA and the whole world to play. Most of all I hope that you would do it to give back. To remember that you have something to be grateful for. Come on girls, email me. Make those cards. Imagine her smile and tears and amazement that people care. Imagine that. I will report it all back to you. I promise.

I have not said a word to her. It’s for you to surprise her.
PLEASE say yes!
Love
Wilna
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I think we’ve all had someone in our family who has dealt with cancer. My heart hurts with how unfair this is :( “There but for the grace of God go I…” Please send a card, spread the word, help a friend do what she can to help. Be a positive force. Bring a smile to the face of a mommy faced with leaving her children. Create positive thoughts in her heart, that allow her body to fight the cancer. Thank you :)

From the Card Queen…

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Isn’t this a gorgeous card? Well, the quality of the photo is my fault, but the card itself is lovely. It arrived in the mail the other day from KELLIANNIE whom I know from CKMB and the AMR message board. Her title, in fact, at AMR is “Queen Card Designer” and she constantly inspires us with her beautiful card designs. Miss Kelli has even posted a card-making TUTORIAL on her blog to help us neophytes who can’t design our way out of a paper bag (um, that would be ME, by the way!). I think she could sell these babies and make a nice scrapbook budget, don’t you?

Here is an awesome layout from Kelli, that was part of her non-HOF entry, LOL. Isn’t she a cutie?:

kelli layout

She even has really cool music on her blog (another DMB fan, yahoo!) so go check it out; it’s called YARD SALE KIND OF LUCK. And THANK YOU FOR THE CARD, KELLI! You made my day :)

Are You Ready For Some…Scrapbook Shoppin’???

Yeah, yeah, we know it’s Superbowl weekend! Only thing I like about it is it keeps DH busy so I can crop and shop. Here’s some things I’ll be checking out…

Home Shopping Network (HSN) has several scrapbooking shows coming up. Check HERE for HSN program listings and make sure to adjust for your time zone.

QVC also has a bunch of shows coming up, and the big TSV (Today’s Special Value) will knock your socks off. It’s a 9,000+ piece (yes, I said NINE THOUSAND), papercrafting extravaganza by one of our favorite companies, COSMO CRICKET. HERE is one link shared by CKMB’er and expert QVC shopper, Gladys/Oreosmom. Lisa Bearnson talks about upcoming show items HERE and HERE. And the program guide is HERE. Sorry, I’ve been out of the loop on this huge CC thing on QVC but go to any of the message boards and they’re talking about it if you need the scoop. Looks like it has multiple shipments…

My favorite scrapbooking shop-site, ALL MOMENTS REMEMBERED, is having 2 big events this weekend. Today is the big reveal of their first monthly kit (February 2008), which sold out in record time, and sight-unseen no less! Stacey, Heather, and the AMR ladies promise lots of MESSAGE BOARD fun, RAK’s, challenges, etc.

And in a sure case of “the inmates taking over the asylum,” AMR Message Boarders themselves will be hosting a Superbowl Crop on the message board this Sunday. Check out both events ~ I promise you’ll have a great time!

As for me, I’m a total nutcase and have chosen to hold my Superbowl Widows Crop this weekend even though I had (minor) surgery last Tuesday night. Yeah, I’m certifiable alright. So my Tivo will be working overtime this weekend, and I’ll be checking in at AMR with every spare moment.

Have a SUPER scrappin’ weekend, everyone! Let us know what your plans are, what you’re gonna buy or, afterwards, what didja’ get??? Please do tell…inquiring minds want to know.

7 More Random Things…

I’ve been tagged by Janine/dahulagirl on HER BLOG. Think I’ve done this one a few times so I’ll try to think of 7 original random things, LOL…

Here are the rules which must be posted on your blog if you are tagged:
1. Link to your tagger and post these rules.
2. Share 7 facts about yourself: some random, some weird.
3. Tag 7 people at the end of your post and list their names (linking to them).
4. Let them know they’ve been tagged by leaving a comment at their blogs.

Here’s 7 facts about me:

1. My childhood nickname was Rickie (get it, for Erika?). My BFF in 5th grade thought of it, and she still calls me that.

2. One of my favorite snacks is Wheat Thins with cream cheese and salsa. But you have to use Philadelphia cream cheese and Southwestern medium salsa from Albertson’s.

3. I am VERY calm in emergencies. Scary calm.

4. One time when I was a dispatcher, I took a 911 call from a guy who said he was on the side of the freeway watching a man get run over by speeding cars….and over…and over…and over. He was yelling, “OH!” and gorily describing each hit to me as we rushed officers to his (supposed) location. He turned out to be 5150, and there was no road pizza. I will never forget that call.

5. I’ve always wanted to own a horse. Maybe I will someday.

6. My favorite color ever since I was little has been green.

7. I love Double Stuff Oreos dipped in ice cold nonfat milk.

I’m tagging 7 AMR girlz:

Stacey, owner of All Moments Remembered store
Heather, Design Team Honcho
Anne Marie, Message Board Hostess with the Mostess
kelliannie, MB member (Check out this Start to Finish Card Tutorial on her blog!)
cutepumpkin/Elizabeth, MB member who just won a RAK from Stacey
RibbonJunkie/Candace, MB member who just went to Archivers for the very first time!
nygirl/Jen, MB member who is a warped scrapper like me

October Afternoon Scrapbooking Line

So I’m over at my “other” 2nd home ~ All Moments Remembered message board ~ and I see THIS THREAD about Stacey’s favorite new company, October Afternoon. I found THEIR WEBSITE (which is new and still in the production stages) and was first off impressed with their design team. There are some names I recognize as very talented and I can’t wait to see what they do with this yummy product. Then I clicked on those PDF’s to see what they got! Yowza, you’re gonna’ love it too (although, unlike HEATHER, I’m not an owl fan, LOL).

PAPERS

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oa2

oa3

oa4

oa5

oa6

DIE CUTS

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RUB-ONS(just a sampling, there are lots more)

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oa11

oa12

oa13

oa14

CLEAR STAMPS (just a sample, there are lots more)

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oa16

oa16

I like the distressed edges on the papers, the warm colors, and how they have the same versions of the rub-ons in both brown and white (or espresso and cream or whatever). Since I have an ongoing Book of Me, these products are just what I need. It’s like they read my mind or something!

Stacey at ALL MOMENTS REMEMBERED online store is in the process of adding this to her site. So when ya want some (and I know you will!), go see Stacey for the best customer service and friendliest help you will find anywhere. And tell her I sent you {tee hee}…

So Much Fun Yesterday @ AMR :)

I was only able to spend a little time over there, as I had two jobs due yesterday and today. But it was sure fun, and I can tell it’s a place I’m going to like. Here’s the gist:

~ Fun and VERY friendly message board that had a lot of participation. Stacey, Heather, all of them are some of the nicest ladies you will meet. And Stacey (the owner) wants it to be a friendly, helpful MB…and she’ll boot ya if you’re a Hater. So please come join in over there. I would say that ~ especially if you’re intimidated by the HUGE boards like CKMB and 2Peas ~ you can jump in now on this smaller board, where everyone is chatty and friendly, and become comfortable. Pretty soon you’ll be an old-timer with a huge post count, see?

~ Lots of great new products and Stacey is constantly adding things. She said she can get basically ANY product you want, just ask. I mean, that’s some pretty great customer service.

~ A new Gallery to post your work in. This isn’t my bag, but I know a lot of you like to have your pages, cards and altered items seen. So become one of the first, get your Gallery entries in NOW before it gets all crowded-like.

For me, it just feels good to support a small company that’s getting off the ground. Stacey is a wife and mom, just like many of us, who started this business to be able to spend more time with her family, while helping us with our scrapbooking needs, and creating a fun community where we can all hang out. So come over to AMR and join us anytime. My bet is you will get a personal “Welcome” from Stacey, Heather, or a Design Team member.

PS: I won two RAK’s!! Totally sweet (in a Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure kind of way). A paper pack and an AMM caddy! I’ll post pics when I receive them. I’m also awaiting my first-ever order from AMR. Will show you pics of that too when it gets here :)

PSS: Heather has asked if I want to host some Happy Hours! Totally kewl. Will let you know if that works out (and you’d BETTER be there or else).

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