I am obsessed with scrapbooking and I know you are too! I think about it, talk about it, and do it any chance I get. I love to shop as much as I love to crop. My blog will have: product reviews, show reviews, scrapbook organization, my shopping finds, and just general scrapbook topics. There are so many scrap blogs out there where the author journals about their life and shares their pages. I wanted my blog to be a little different. Hope you enjoy!
Loving the NEW Noteworthy by Making Memories. Their site won’t let me copy the images, so HERE is the link. It’s better to look at it there anyway…just open each topic (like Paper, Glitter Die-cuts, etc) then hold your cursor over each item to see a larger picture of it. I’m loving the die cut and ledger style papers…just don’t seem to be able to get enough of those. Must have the journaling book…
and this is my total fave:
MAKING MEMORIES MINI ALBUM, NOTEWORTHY 8X8 PRINTED (Retails for $18)
While you’re there, check out the new Passport line HERE.
Lately I’ve had several readers point out to me that they weren’t able to read my blog because the bar along the right hand side was blocking some of the text. In some cases, it was blocking the photos too. Well, we can’t have that! I tried every single format offered by WordPress and this is the only one that seemed to solve the problem.
I like that it makes the blog entries the center of attention, and kind of minimizes everything along the right. But I hope that doesn’t make it too small for anyone to read. Then again, I’m on a laptop so all you PC’ers are probably fine, right? I’m not crazy about the black bar under the title and the way it crams all the categories in there, but whatever. I didn’t like the black-n-white color scheme at first, thought it was too Plain Jane. But it’s growing on me and I feel better about it since some of the AMR girls said they like it.
Do you like the new format? Leave me any “goods” or “bads” in Comments please. Peace out…
I may have bitten off more than I can chew…but, oh, is it delicious! I have so many scrap ‘thangs’ going on right now and there never seems to be enuf time to do them (ummmm, Erika, you could, like, get off the computer….). So! I have 2 sets of ATC CARDS to make for swaps over at the AMR MESSAGE BOARD. The first one is hostessed by MARTHA and it’s called Your Favorite Verse. So I’m making 14 ATC’s with my favorite Bible verse to exchange with the other ladies. I signed up for this some time ago, and I can’t tell you how many verses I’ve seen or thought of and gone, “Oh! That would be perfect for my ATCs!” and then I find another one I like too and another and another (have you noticed the Bible is FULL of good stuff?!). The deadline is 5/23/08 so I need to decide on a verse…and actually MAKE them, LOL! I think I have it down to 2 verses, one which is actually my favorite but I can’t think of a visual to go with it, kwim? Whereas the other one has the words “apple of my eye” in it, so I could clearly have a theme or a visual. What should I do?
The second ATC swap is hostessed by Jingle (she also ran the first/only other ATC swap I’ve ever done; I talked about it HERE and HERE). It’s called Drink It Up! and you “Choose your favorite soda, smoothie, coffee, tea, or cocktail and create your ATC’s all about it!” It won’t be any surprise to my AMR girlz that my Drink It Up ATC will somehow include StarCrack…er, um…I mean, STARBUCKS. I’m positively addicted to a certain fine drink at that establishment. You’d think with the price of gas and the fact that I”m about to be laid off my job, I would be able to quit those things but nah. Still hooked like a sad, sad junkie.
THEN…I have a new Scrap Pal on AMR who I’ve been getting to know through PM’s. Her name is Gay aka “Gaybow” and she’s a total sweetheart. We have a lot in common – Christian, trying to lose weight (well, I’m TRYING, she actually IS…), and we’re both scrappers who’re addicted to AMR. Part of being a Scrap Pal is sending each other little gifties on our birthdays, Easter, Christmas, and just whenever we see something that we know they’d like. We live on opposite ends of this fine country…you gotta love the internet. This is going to be fun!
Fourthly (yep, uh-huh, I was an English major and “fourthly” is an actual word). (Okay, just kidding, I made it up on the spot). FOURTHLY, I’m involved with a little sneaky surprise that we have going on at AMR to help out one of the message boarders. It’s a big secret, so keep yer trap shut about it! Got it?? Good. Now quit asking me! That’s all I’m gonna say about that.
(Is it just me, or is there a trend here??? AMR seems to be the culprit).
Herm…..let me think….anything else I’ve gotten myself involved in??? Oh yeah, I’m planning another crop for early June and I haven’t even fully unpacked from the May one yet. I have 2 cards to make and some scrappy things to mail out; as always, I’ll look to KELLIEANNIE for card inspiration. The girl has talent, and even her own CARD GROUPIES. Here are some recent samples of her work (I stole these images from Kelli’s blog, but they are watermarked so it’s okay).
CARDS by KELLIE CASLOW:
The biggest thang I have going is a scrapbook-related business venture (in addition to the 2 I already have) that I’m about 90% ready to unleash on the world. There have been many late nights working on that one. I’ll post about it here when it happens. My fellow Scrapbook Obsessed peeps are always the first to know!
Do you ever feel overwhelmed, or just super busy, with all the scrap projects you have going on? Would love to hear that I’m not alone…
Read all about it HERE and HERE. I’m THISCLOSE to stomping my feet, storming off to my room, and slamming the door. When I get myself together, I’ll wish her well…but for now, I’m pouting…
Why oh why must they tempt me so? I’m such a sucker for Autumn Leaves acrylic stamps. These are next on my list:
I love how you can use the top stamps to date your event, by circling the date and you can use the blank box for the year stamp or just write something cute in there. For the bottom ones, the possibilities are endless. You like?
The whole Girly Girl look isn’t my main style; however, I can’t help but love this new release from Basic Grey. It’s called Euphoric and, like Kelly Goree says on her blog, this paper was MADE for this little swimsuit!
LAYOUT by KELLY GOREE
Isn’t that paper pretty? I love the colors, so fresh and Spring-y. Please check out Kelly’s BLOG and the Basic Grey SITE for a lot more info about Euphoria, along with some other new BG products on the way. According to Kelli, your stores can start placing orders 5/12 and it will ship in June. This is one I’ll be on the lookout for! One great source I know all you “BG and Bazzill” girls like me depend on is EMBELLISH IT! and they are taking pre-orders. You can also see each of the individual papers on their site so click on over there.
Here are pics of my favorite items, but there are many more to see on Kelli’s blog or at Embellish It!:
Do you or your friends/family post photos or scrapbook pages online? On Flickr, on your blog(s), on message boards, anywhere? Than you could be affected by this issue, where anyone can poach your images and use them in advertising, etc WITHOUT YOUR KNOWLEDGE OR CONSENT. Not to mention, they won’t pay you for the privilege.
To find out the dirty details, read the 5/9/08 post on Claudine Hellmuth’s BLOG. Others are blogging about it too: TIM HOLTZ, KELLIANNIE and SCRAPPIN{JEWLZ}, It’s a topic for the message boards at CKMB and AMR (which is where I first heard about this; thanks Dee!). And the PPA (Professional Photographers Association) is getting involved (just Google PPA orphan act and you’ll get hits on several articles, etc).
Okay, this is a Soapbox Issue for me. THIS is why I don’t post personal photos online. I’ve been asked many times why I don’t post my own layouts or other work on my blog. Mainly the reason is that “it’s not about me,” it’s about scrapbooking. But also, it’s about not having my privacy invaded by no-good, blood-sucking, dirty lowlifes as those who will CONTINUE to steal images (it’s already happening now, these laws will just make it legal). Do you know what’s been going on with Flickr and their sister site, Orkut? Faceless online perverts have been “stealing” images of children and using them to advertise their sicko child porn websites, and God knows what else they do with photos of children in the privacy of their homes. Why anyone would try to make this kind of thing legal is WAY beyond me. I’m just baffled. Baffled, but not speechless, as you can see. Shouldn’t lawmakers be working on a bill to PROTECT the average person and their personal photography??
I hope you also feel strongly enough about this issue to at least read the story on Claudine’s blog, click on the link she so nicely provides, and write your governmental representatives. It’s just a quick form, all the verbage has been done for you. PLEASE make your voice heard. And if you have a blog or belong to message boards, you must spread the word. This affects too many of us scrapbookers and, if our numbers band together, we CAN make an impact. {Climbing down off soapbox}….
Well,it’s obvious I’ve been majorly slacking in my 2peas Lurking Duties. This was all news to me, and I found it via Michelle’s BLOG. It’s not a magazine ensnared this time, but the Making Memories blog. The scoop is HERE, HERE, and HERE. Apparently, THIS is Jennifer’s blog but it wouldn’t allow me to enter (hmmm…shocking!). In searching her name, she seems to post comments to blogs using her real name. Anyway, sounds like MM said and did all the right things. I’m sorry this happened to them, as they are one of my favorite companies. I hope everything works out for the best. As for Ms. Shabro, don’t even get me started…For you, dear readers, I will bite my tongue. And in return, I will ask that you Don’t Shoot the Messenger…I’m just sharing the 4-1-1, for shizzle…
Are we tired of the scandals yet, ladies? What are your thoughts?
As you know, I held a crop and scrapbook garage sale. Both went very well. There were about 12 croppers each day (Friday and Saturday). There were 8 or 9 garage sale-ers and we all did very well, making between $50-$200 each – whoo hoo! It felt good to get rid of things we weren’t going to use, and were just cluttering up our spaces. We laughed about how we’d all just spend our profits on MORE scrapbook supplies, and called it “Redistribution.” And the shoppers got great deals, like a Creative Memories sticker binder for $5, a crop tote for $20, papers 5 for $1, etc. The crop went well too, with tons of socializing and, oh yeah, scrapbooking being done. As usual, I got very little done, only 4 pages but that was partly because I was busy doing other things and partly because I obsessed over the second 2-page layout. I just couldn’t get it to look “right” and when I finally told myself, “What the heck, just stick it down, you don’t have to love every layout,” it finally came together on it’s own. So there ya go… I hope you had a wonderful NSD…what did you do? Feel free to leave your blog link if you posted NSD pages completed…we’d love to see what you accomplished!
Just a quick post to catch you before you throw out your Sunday paper! I was perusing the Parade magazine insert, and found a Michaels 40% off coupon on page 15. It’s valid Sunday, May 4 through Saturday, May 10. Pretty cool, cuz there was also a great Mike’s ad with SO many things on sale AND a 40% off anything coupon AND a 50% off a Martha Stewart item coupon. My mom was visiting so we hit up Mike’s on the way to see Made of Honor yesterday (mmmm….Patrick Dempsey….Dr. McDreamy….rowrrr…). I got some (overpriced) MS chipboard letters I’d been eyeing for months with the 50%, and a pack of MAMBI die cut papers with the 40% coupon. Happy shopping!
Yes, it’s this weekend!! If you think I’m making this up, go to the National Scrapbook Day WEBSITE. See, nanner nanner, it’s a real holiday not just some delusional, triple latte induced brainstorm of the Scrapbook Obsessed. Sheesh…
They have listed some NSD events and resources. They also have NSD logo merchandise…this was my favorite – a dog tee shirt.
Are those the cutest pups ever?!? Are you going to put your pooch in a tee? Yep, me neither. If I approached Dallas with a “doggie tee shirt,” he would give me his withering look of disdain, you know, the same one he gives me when I tell him “Quit laying in the sun so much. Get a job, for Pete’s sake!” or “Hey, I’m tired, feed yourself tonight….and don’t give me the ‘I have no opposable thumb’ excuse, because it’s wearing thin.” So, you see, Dallas and I have established the kind of relationship that does NOT include the wearing of doggie tees just to make mommy proud.
Okay, back to NSD…As befitting a holiday of this magnitude, there are lots of scrappy happenings on TV and online. All of which I PERSONALLY will miss, because I’m holding a scrapbook event IRL. But you all just go on and have fun without me…I’m not bitter…really…
QVC has some scrappin shows on. Here’s the schedule for PACIFIC TIME…if you need a different one, click on the QVC link above and change it to your timezone.
Thursday, 10pm-midnight, Scrapbooking Day Celebration
Friday, 6-7am, Creating Keepsakes Magazine – Paper Crafting
Friday, 8-9am, Anna Griffin – Elegant Crafting
Friday, 2-3pm, Scrapbooking Day Celebration
Friday, 3-4pm, Creating Keepsakes Magazine – Paper Crafting
HSN appears to have absolutely nothing scrapbook-related going on. They sure missed the boat on that one. Don’t they know that the way scrappers celebrate any major holiday ~ especially one right after the first-of-the-month payday ~ is to SHOP??? But here’s their stupid LINK anyway, if you want to double-check their program guide. Or maybe you want to know when you can buy some hair extensions by Jessica Simpson, I don’t know, whatever blows your dress up…
Members from CKMB are doing a meetup IRL!! That is so cool…the deets are HERE and HERE. {Thanks for the 411, Michelle/Shelle’s 2 Girls!}. I just love when message boarders meet up in real life, don’t you?
The All Moments Remembered MESSAGE BOARD is hosting an online crop on Saturday 5/3 from 1-9pm PST (4-12am EST). Their new KIT is being revealed tomorrow 5/1 and the anticipation is killing everyone over there. I think PATTI might hurt someone if they don’t show her already! Here’s a sneak of the May kit:
I got these from Jadadog/Tracy’s BLOG, and you can find more peeks on the other DT’s blogs: LINDA, JENN, and DEBBIE. I’ve seen all the peeks and it looks like one super gorgeous kit. And the Design Team does such a fabulous job of showing you ways to use the kits, you just can’t lose.
I can’t believe I’m missing THIS of all the AMR crops, because one of my favoritest-ever designers will be coming by for a chat, AND she’s a guest designer for the May kit. Look what Stacey (AMR owner) wrote on her BLOG:
“Don’t forget National Scrapbook day is May 3rd. We will be having an online crop. Lots of challenges and wonderful prizes to give away. Christine Middlecamp will be joining us to chat and show off what she has designed with our May Kit.”
I mean, come on!! CHRISTINE MIDDLECAMP?!?!!?!? How unfair can life be? At least I can go to the message board on Sunday (when my event is over) and read all the posts. I just love that girl… Here’s the POST where she mentions the AMR crop.
As for me, I’m hosting another crop but this one is different so it’s been a lot more work. Instead of holding the 2-day crop at a hotel like I usually do, it’s at a large barn/clubhouse that a friend is “loaning” me, LOL. BUT…I have to set up the tables, chairs, tablecloths, extra lighting, etc by myself, in addition to my tables of Memory Works merch. And I provide snacks and drinks, although this place has a full kitchen so that part will be easier than the hotel which just has a sink and counter in the meeting room. Then to add even more…I’m including my first ever Scrapbook Garage Sale, where ladies can bring all their unwanted supplies and sell them at rock bottom prices. Seller happy, shopper happy…Erika happy!! It’s a win-win-win. Anything not sold is going to a great charity, and NOT back in to clutter up scrapbook spaces. It’s Friday and Saturday from 9am-9pm. Luckily, my mom will be here to help…and crop. Wish me luck! And what are YOUR plans for NSD?
I love SCRAPSCENE, I love SCRAPSCENE! (Yeppers, two links for the price of one). I get their daily e-mail, and they always point me to the best scrap happenings. Today I found the most coolest LSS via ScrapScene…By Design Scrapbook Boutique. Mind you, it’s in Houston so it’s not like I can visit in person. But it’s a beautiful store just to look at, and I can see why it’s such a success.HERE is the write-up and review of the store posted on ScrapScene. I love the image of the shoppers with their noses up against the glass. HERE is the owner Tracy’s blog.
Here are some photos of the store, so you can see what I’m drooling over…
I love the name and the whole concept of the store, combining a fabulous looking designer showroom with scrapbooking. Because, as you know, design and scrapbooking overlap in so many ways. The pink, black and white color scheme is brilliant and yummy.
I wish I could click together the heels of my ruby slippers (um, yes, I DO wear them around the house, as a matter of fact!) and end up inside this fabulous store in Houston, Texas. C’mon readers, wherever YOU are, let’s all click our heels and meet up there!
In case you needed another excuse to get to Michaels (other than the 50% off coupons and the Martha Stewart punches from my last post), they have some new things on the Designer Scrapbooking island. Mine was mostly empty, but there were random new things…I assume they’ll be filling in the blanks soon. If they don’t, I’ll have to have My People call Their People for a little convo. There were some new SEI embellies called Black Orchid and one other line. Very cute epoxy stickers and rub ons but I didn’t see any papers. Some cute new stuff by Amy Butler for K&Co. If you have a purse fetish, you’ll want to see the 3-D purse stickers, and there were also some pretty pretty rub-ons. It’s all packaged in kraft paper which is a cool and different look, and the rub-ons were cheap, I think only $1.99. On the end cap, there was a bunch of new Prima stuff….6×6 and 12×12 paper pads, and a variety of flowers. So all of you who’ve been hoping Mike’s would get Primas, the Scrapbook Fairy has granted your wish! There were 3 sizes…the little milk bottles, and 2 others. A variety of colors and they are very cute ones, some solid, some with the white or cream background and script writing on them. If I can find pics of all this stuff online, I’ll post them here later today. Have you been to Mike’s recently and seen anything new that I didn’t mention? If so, it’s your duty to enable us…so spill it.
ETA: Okay, I’ve been scouting. Apparently, SEI Black Orchid is a big secret because even their own website doesn’t show any….shhhhhh…it’s a sekwet. Okay, quick rant…if you’re a scrapbook company, you NEED to put pics of ANYTHING you have in circulation on your website immediately. No excuses. We are not patient people. We must blog and message board about it ASAP. No pictures, no dice! I promise you…you will sell more if you post pictures we can oogle. End of rant.
Everybody say HAYYYYYY-AYYYYYY, cuz I do believe we have another Scrapbook Item Frenzy on our hands!! Thanks to LORI RN (who doesn’t appear to have a blog I can linkya to…shame), I hear that there are these cute new border punches in the Martha Stewart section at Michaels. The photos were provided by Lori, and if you click on the heading of each one, it takes you to the Martha Stewart site. There are photos there too, but Lori’s are way better because you can actually see how the paper looks after you punch it. According to the Martha Stewart WEBSITE, each punch retails for $14.99. I don’t know about you, but I’ve got (3) of the Mike’s 50% coupons burning a hole in my wallet. Hrrrmmmm…(doing mental necessity vs. available cash calculations inside obsessed scrapper’s head)….$14.99 minus 50% off times 3 would be….PERFECT!
There are 5 punches altogether, so here are the other 2 from the Martha site, as Miss Lori does not have pics of the last 2…yet (something tells me she’ll be heading back to a certain craft store soon…).
Another shout out to LORI RN for posting these punches, and taking those fab pictures of them, on both CKMB and 2PEAS. You are one wicked enabler, my dear (God luv ya!).
I have to say, Lori did a good shoppin’ job b/c I don’t like the last 2 punches anywhere near as much as the first 3. So what’s the verdict, ladies??? Will I be knocking you down in the aisle when I go to Mike’s, determined to grab those first 3 punches, get them to the register, slam down my 50%, and say BAM! like Emeril?!?! Or ya gonna pass on these punches?
As always, the lovely ladies on the AMR MESSAGE BOARD provide me with such thought-provoking moments. My friend NICOLE posted THIS today, regarding a blogger friend of hers (also named Nicole) who recently suffered the loss of a pre-term child. Please go read this lady’s POST on Driving With the Brakes On blog, but I warn you it’s very detailed and you will be crying by the end of it.
Reading this true story of a family’s suffering at the loss a child reminded me of something I meant to do long ago. A very nice lady named Diana asked if I would review her product on my blog, and she sent me a free sample of it. Diana runs the company JustACloudAway.com, where she sells scrapbook kits for those who would like to memorialize their Angel Babies. So I pulled it from one of the many piles on my desk (LOL) – it was still there because I always MEANT to do the review, I promise Diana! So, better late than never, here it is, a review:
The kit I received is called “Classic Baby” Scrapbook Kit and it retails for $15; you can order it HERE. It includes (2) 12×12 sheets of very thick stock, with gorgeous photo-realistic backdrops where one could showcase their “Certificate of Love” and any other photos, memories, ultrasounds, or journaling. The photos are very soft, pretty, and “Heavenly,” with flowers, blue sky, clouds, and green hills. In the cover letter Diana sent with the kit, she says, “Because many parents do not have photographs of their children, each kit contains exclusive designs of angels, clouds, butterflies and Heaven to symbolize hope.” She also says they can be used for “a variety of creative crafts, including scrapbooking, journaling and creating keepsakes such as shadow boxes and framed pictures.” I agree, I think both of these sheets with the included embellishments would be lovely in 12×12 frames, or maybe in shadow boxes where the parent could include meaningful 3-D memorabilia like baby shoes, or a private letter to the child. What I like most about the kit is it’s not super-specific and can be used to the exact liking of the parent. The items are very nice quality.
I was most impressed when I went to the Just A Cloud Away WEBSITE. Diana has created a very welcoming and serene site that is full of information for grieving parents. Parents can purchase a Scrapbook Kit, a Memory Garden Tip Sheet, or a Remembrance Idea Sheet to help create their keepsake. Her LOVE TALK BLOG is updated frequently and has helpful posts for everyone, including “Grieving Parents-What Not to Say” and tips and photos for creating a memorial garden (I notice on the About page that Diana is a Professional Landscape Designer). Here she is working with the scrapbook kit:
The website has tons of information, resources and links for grieving parents and those dealing with infertility. Whether you have Angel Babies in your life, or know someone who does, I encourage you to check out the website….just click on the icon below.
Just a Cloud Away, Inc. provides Remembrance Kits, Memory Garden Tutorials, Healing Crafts and Sympathy Gifts/Ideas for bereaved families of pregnancy and infant loss.
If you haven’t “Gone Vertical” yet, you really should. Once you go vertical, you will never go back, LOL. I became a convert after buying my first Cropper Hopper Vertical Paper Holder a couple years ago. I now have, oh gosh, don’t make me count! Let’s just say “several,” okay? I use them for my own papers, and also to hold and display the scrapbook products I sell at crops. They make it so easy to rifle through and find what you’re looking for without crumpling the edges of your papers. It’s also much easier to organize and put away your papers this way, than with horizontal storage where you have to page your way down the stack to where you want to be, and either it shove it in there or remove the top of the stack and replace it when you’re done. Ok, there, have I sold you?
Thanks to wakeski/Trish from the CKMB MESSAGE BOARD, I can tell you about a great deal on the CH vertical holders right now. Follow THIS LINK to Joanns.com to find these babies at the great price of only $3.59 each (regularly $5.99). The MB girls tell me you can choose either free shipping or 10% off your order, whichever saves you the most money. But I put one in a cart and it showed regular shipping of $6.95. Maybe there’s a promo code I need?
ETA 4/21/08: Thanks to Miss Yu, and in case you don’t see the info she left in Comments, here are the codes:
“Just wanted to let you & your readers know; the promo codes for the Joann.com sale are as follows:
10% off your whole order: EGC118
Free shipping on orders over $25: EBC118
Both codes are good through 4/27/08.
Cheers!
Miss Yu”
If you’re still on the fence, read the reviews (scroll down from the earlier link I gave ya’) from all the happy customers at Joann’s. It’s rare to find a product with only positive reviews. Well, okay, there was one negative review but it sounds to me like she didn’t have them assembled right; she complained about tabs and seams ripping the papers and nothing like that has ever happened to me. Possibly she didn’t tuck the tabs in properly?
Here are some photos I found of CH Vertical Storage in use.
DISCLAIMER: THESE ARE NOT MY HOLDERS, JUST PICS I FOUND ONLINE.
Photo by CollageChic
From article by Tracy Eller on about.com
One tip: When you go to label the front of the holders, you may get frustrated that labels don’t stick, especially those hard plastic labels by Dymo. I’ve found that making labels with any kind of P-Touch label maker stick perfectly. I make them a little bit longer than the width of the front so I can wrap the ends of the label around the sides by about a 1/2 inch. All mine have been labeled this way and have never come “unstuck,” even when I carry them back and forth from crops, although the labels do remove easily if you want to re-label them.
So tell me, have you Gone Vertical or any plans to do so?
Our tax return arrived so it was my duty to stimulate the poor economy by shopping, right? First stop was Staples on my way to work. I have SO been wanting/needing an external hard drive so I can get my plethora of photos off my laptop. They take up so much space. I found the one with the largest memory — 1 TB! — and was happy to see the price. An older buried price tag showed $329, the newer tag said $289, then with a sale and rebate it was $229 (online right now it’s showing $253; yeah, I got a deal!). So I got it for $100 off! Sweet. I verified on the box that it will work with a Mac but if it doesn’t, they said I have some time to return it even if it’s opened. Isn’t it pretty?
Not SBR, but I also had to get a fax machine for home, which I’d been putting off because I thought they cost a lot, and I already have a printer/scan/copier so I was wondering where in the HAY-ELL I was going to fit another machine on my desk. Well, I really needed one because the online faxing I’ve been using hasn’t been reliable and I need to get faxes for work so I bit the bullet. And found one at Staples, a tiny little cheap-o Brother fax machine for $60 … with a $40 rebate. So just a $20 expenditure..I can live with that.
After work, I went by Dollar Tree cuz it’s the time of year we need to buy new pool noodles. I also got 4 Garage Sale signs to advertise my Scrapbook Garage Sale on May 2/3. They had nothing new in the scrappy aisle except for some 12×12 papers that weren’t my taste. I check there once in a while because that’s where I got my whole stack of fake Thickers. Silly me, I gave more than half of my stack away as crop door prizes and now I find that I use them all the time myself, so I wish I had more! But, no, no Fake Thickers at DT this time :(
Next was Michaels even though I didn’t (GASP!) have a coupon this week. Did I miss the ad on Sunday, or was there no coupon issued? Bah! Anyway, I wanted to see if they had any of the most recent studio g acrylic stamps aka Mikes stamps. Don’t ask me what number this set is, because I’ve lost complete track, there are so many. But here’s a pic of the ones I found:
Sorry about the shadow (that’s me!) but my camera just died and I couldn’t retake like I wanted (oopsie)…
I also have no idea if I got the whole set. I need to find a listing of them again with photos of all the stamps. The stamps say www.hamptonart.com on the back so I’m going to try the website. If not, I’m sure someone has posted them to CKMB or 2peas.
ETA 4/19/08: I knew my CKMB ladies would come through! Thanks to KPax331/~Katie~, I see that I’m missing 4 of the stamps and they are from Series 11. HERE is the post she directed me to.
Not SBR again, but I found some very cool “How to Draw” books for kids that show step by step how to draw animals and monsters. A very cool gift for a very cool kid I know. And now when DH sees the Mike’s receipt, I can just say, “Oh, I went there for a birthday gift.” Mmm-hmmm…don’t try and pretend you don’t pull that one too!
Onward to Target so check out the scrapbook sec….er, um…for more birthday shopping. I did get some great deals on toys but that’s not what you want to hear about, I know! My Tarjay is notoriously behind the curve on getting new things so I wasn’t feeling hopeful. But they did finally put out some of the new Making Memories Noteworthy, 5th Avenue and Animal Crackers that everyone has been talking about. They had almost the entire 5th Avenue line this time, but I only got the Clear Tags and Shapes. I already have most of the line from ALL MOMENTS REMEMBERED online store; it was part of their monthly kit which you can sign up for HERE. Target also had some Disney Jolee’s I hadn’t seen before, so I got the castle one. I was happy to find a pack of MM Noteworthy. I already have many of their papers but I hadn’t seen the felt flowers, die cut shapes or flower stickers. It was $8…not a screamin good price but doable considering you get 2 of the shaped papers, and some embellies along with the regular 12×12 paper. One thing I noticed at my Target is the majority of kits they had that were newer lines were in 8×8. Wazzup with that noise? I know its cool to have once in a while, but don’t most of us still scrap the majority of the time in 12×12? I was bummed to see that. Finally, they had some of the POP CULTURE line from KI MEMORIES. I already have some random papers and the alpha, so I just got the Gel Candy epoxy stickers. They had a Pop Culture theme set but I added up the cost of each of the pieces (isn’t it sad that I know how much everything costs individually??), and it wasn’t a good deal. If I remember right, the pack cost $9.99 and the items individually would’ve been $9-10 anyway. There were a few papers I wouldn’t use so it wouldn’t be a bargain for me. Besides, I’m always disappointed when a big box like Target can’t offer a price that AT LEAST beats what I’d pay at the LSS for separate items. I mean, c’mon! I thought you guys had “buying power” and “bought in bulk” and would “save us money.” I thought that in exchange for you guys putting all of our LSS’s out of business and taking away our buying freedom, you were supposed to give us great prices on the FEW new items you do actually carry. Pony up, dudes…
Speaking of good deals, I did find some cute things in the Dollar Spot…a paper pack with soft pretty colors called Wedding. It includes printed, foiled and embossed papers, $1 for 8 sheets of 12×12 so not bad. And a line of embellies called Vacation that were really cute and bright and versatile, so I got the epoxy letters, epoxy stickers, and glitter tags.
Anyway, here’s a pic of my haul for the day…
Oh! What was that?!?! You’re asking if that’s a FISKARS THREADING WATER PUNCH in my swag photo?? Why, yes, that does seem to be what it is. I am apparently one of the lucky few to find one of these sizzlin hots at Target. The rumor is that each store gets one at a time, so when one sells, they order and wait for another. I was happy to take their “one” off their hands, as I have a friend who’s been craving one ever since she saw mine (I posted about it HERE). So I’m sorry, I know you want my punch, but please don’t send me chocolate or scrap supplies trying to bribe me into sending it your way…well, second thought…send the chocolate. I’ll think about it and get back to you…
Yep, for all the ups and downs and critiques of Creating Keepsakes magazine, it’s still my favorite and the one I most look forward to each month. This month held a special treat…upon opening to the first page, you’ll see an add for Marcella by K at Target. The ad shows off MbyK’s new line called “Lemon Drop.”
{I’m leaving a space here for a picture of the Lemon Drop line, which I can’t find online quite yet. If anyone sees this line anywhere, please direct me towards it. The pic in the ad makes it look very cool!}
And the best part is a Target coupon for $2 off a “Marcella by K scrapbook album.” It’s good through 7-10-08 but hop to shoppin’ now while you’re thinking about it! Besides, raise your hand if you think any of these cute Lemon Drop albums will even be left on the shelves by 7-10-08…yeah, I don’t think so either.
ETA 4/19/08: Went by my Tarjay lastnight and no sign of any Lemon Drop goodness. I will persist!
Since we’re talking coupons, also check out CK May 2008, page 31 for this from ADDICTED TO SCRAPBOOKING.COM: “Order now and receive a FREE GIFT of your choice, with any purchase of $25 or more. Enter promo code: SBAMPCK. Offer good through 5/20/08. Search ‘free gifts’ to choose yours!”
Check out page 34 for some free downloads for recipe card templates. Okay, well that’s as far as I got in my new issue of CK lastnight before falling asleep. If I find more goodies, I’ll be sure to share them with y’alls…Have a great super day!
As you know, I only hang with the Rich and Famous of the Scrap World. For instance, just last week I had lunch with ALI, TIM, LISA, and ELIZABETH (actually, I call her Liz because we’re tight like that). And yesterday I met up with BECKY and KARLA at the salon for mani/pedis. So it’s no surprise that my friend from the AMR MESSAGE BOARD, Jenn, would be featured on Teresa’s blog. Heck, if I remember right, I was the one who introduced them at a cocktail party in the Hamptons last summer (sheesh…can you tell I watch too much of Real Housewives of NYC on Bravo?). So anyways, Jenn is a mondo-talented scrapbooker on STACEY’s DESIGN TEAM and we always oogle and aahh over her work. We’re so proud “one of our own” had a layout featured on Teresa Collins’ blog. Do you like how I’ve made a large portion of this toot about ME and US on AMR? It’s really about Jenn ~~ that girl rocks! Congrats times 20, Miss Jenn! You deserve the recognition and I adore your layout (and all your work, for that matter). Thanks for all the inspiration you constantly provide!
Now, for this next toot….to quote country singer Toby Keith, “I want to talk about ME!”. Totally kidding, my peeps. I really want to brag about another online scrapper friend, EILEEN (known on CKMB as CKReader). She recently wrote the nicest post on her blog about my blog (see it HERE). She doesn’t know how much she TOTALLY made my day, my week, my month, my year! I just thought it was so kind of her to write what she did, and I hope you will all become regulars on her blog because she’s wicked funny. I mean, did you dig the part about her dating the late 70’s musician who jammed the Journey tunes? Good, good stuff. And she seems to have quite the sense of humor about living in “the sandpit,” which I imagine takes quite a woman! So, Eileen, a big honkin hue-MONGO thank you from me to you!
Coming in Summer 2008, according to the video. I’m still not sure if I NEED it. I mean, fer shizzle, I WANT it! But do I really need it? Prolly not. The things that are winning me over: It’s way more portable than my Cricut and would be so much easier to carry to crops. I like that you can plop it down on any size paper and not mess with lining it up precisely in the upper right corner of the Cricut mat and then pray the paper sticks down and the edge doesn’t get all snarled up in the blade. And I like that it has alphas and shapes that coordinate with the Making Memories lines that I love so much, like Noteworthy. I know I’ll be a fan of MM product lines to come and I imagine they will keep making compatible discs for The Slice to match. Why oh why must they keep coming up with products like this?!?! It’s a scrappin’ tragedy, I tell ya…
