Breaking news: Yet another scrapbooking company has sold to mega-company American Crafts!
Here is the blog post from American Crafts with the announcement.
From the post:
Jan, who started BoBunny at the urging of her sister, says she’s pleased that the BoBunny brand will continue with American Crafts.
“It’s bittersweet to say goodbye to the industry, the store owners and the friends that we’ve made over the years, ” says Jan. “But with me retiring, I wanted to make sure that crafters could continue to enjoy BoBunny for years to come. I have confidence that American Crafts will do a great job of making sure that happens.”
I for one am glad they sold to AC instead of closing down.
PS: Want a cute BoBunny image for your desktop? Here ya’ go. Enjoy!
Have you seen this trailer for the new movie “Trolls”? Yep, the main troll is a SCRAPBOOKER!!
You can see her fabulous 3-D scrapbook starting around 0:40. Super cute.
It’s actually got some really good people in it: Anna Kendrick, Justin Timberlake, Gwen Stefani, James Corden, Zooey Deschanel, and Russell Brand. The music will be great.
Is it wrong that a grown woman wants to go watch a PG-rated kids movie by herself? It just looks like a happy movie that I’d enjoy. Shhh, don’t tell anyone ;)
This book is only $1.99 for Kindle right now and it’s a #1 Best Seller. It’s called Five Quarters of the Orange by Joanne Harris.
The description caught my eye:
When Framboise Simon returns to a small village on the banks of the Loire, the locals do not recognize her as the daughter of the infamous woman they hold responsible for a tragedy during the German occupation years ago. But the past and present are inextricably entwined, particularly in a scrapbook of recipes and memories that Framboise has inherited from her mother. And soon Framboise will realize that the journal also contains the key to the tragedy that indelibly marked that summer of her ninth year. . . .
This author also wrote Chocolat which, while I didn’t read the book, was a movie I really enjoyed. The thing is, I don’t tend to like historical novels :/
And sometimes a book or movie description will mention a scrapbook, I buy it, then it’s mentioned one time in the whole work, LOL. Aggravatin’, I tell ya’! So I’m wondering if this book is actually “scrapbook-y” or are they just teasing me again?
Have any of you scrappy girls read this book who could give me a review please? (<- That is SO grammatically incorrect but I'm tiiired). I know it's only $1.99 and I should just chance it but my Kindle doth overflow with tons of bargain Kindle books and I'm trying to be more selective these days :)
So should I get it?
This being a scrapbooking site and all, it makes sense that I usually talk about one of my favorite places to online shop called Scrapbook Steals.
But I saw that one of their sister sites called She Steals had something you might also love, so I thought I’d share.
They have some awesome specials for Labor Day Weekend – over 30% off on MacBook Air latops (Saturday only) and iMac desktop computers (Sunday only).
In April, I bought a MacBook Air and shopped around a LOT (I’m a total bargain hunter). But Apple products are notoriously difficult to find discounts on. The best I was able to find was $100 off during a holiday sale at my local Apple store.
Here’s the pic I took of my new gorgeous baby when I bought her:
I’m absolutely in love. I had an ancient MacBook Pro 17 inch that was my workhorse for 10 years. But it had started overheating so I had to use a laptop desk with a fan, which made it even bulkier (for a laptop) than it already was. I hardly used it because of the hassle and was pretty much chained to the iMac in my office.
My new Air is soooo much lighter and portable (well, duh! AIR!) and I find myself using it constantly. I now work from the couch or bed, a coffee shop by the beach some days, and even take it on trips so I can write my book from the passenger seat. I blog from it, read the scrapbook boards, and cruise Pinterest for scrapbooking ideas.
The links below are my affiliate links but if you’d rather not use them, just type shesteals.com into your browser, no hard feelings ;)
That’s why I wanted to share the love and let you know about the MacBook Air sale today at SheSteals.com. My other computer is an iMac that I use daily for work – another amazing computer. Those are on sale Sunday so take a peek at SheSteals.com then if you’re interested.
I was absolutely floored yesterday when I read the news on Becky’s Facebook post and thought I must be misunderstanding. She’s been diagnosed with malignant melanoma :(
As I re-read her posts this morning, I noticed her references to sharing her story (sharing OUR stories) and spreading awareness so I want to aid in that by sharing here.
“You have Malignant Melanoma.” These are the words I heard earlier this week. Melanoma? Hmmm. Skin cancer? Ew. Cancer? Oh man. Okay. // We all have stories and I have always encouraged you to record your stories. Not all of our stories are meant to be shared, but I’ll be sharing this one.
In my state of self-awareness I found it interesting that I was documenting (taking pictures + scrapbooking) when I was clearly stressed. Why was I doing that? I believe I was sub-conscientiously [sic] searching for comfort. I find comfort in documenting our stories. In some way, my mind was more at ease. That is until he opened that door and sat in front of me and said, “It’s Malignant Melanoma”.
I admire Becky’s courage and forthrightness in sharing her story. She’s received hundreds of comments on each post, many declaring they’ll head to the dermatologist for a check-up because of her. So her wish to raise awareness is already being fulfilled.
I don’t know much about malignant melanoma but I’m sure Becky, as she continues to share her story, is going to teach me. I’m wishing her love and sending prayers as this strong and true woman faces her challenge.
You know I love to post about “scrapbooking in the media” – whether it be a book, movie, TV show, etc.
Well, this one’s a bit of a stretch because it’s not about scrapbooking specifically but this Friday, Hallmark Movies and Mysteries channel will broadcast “The Memory Book.”
So set your DVR for Friday, July 22, 2016 at noon PST:
Budding photographer Chloe (Meghan Ory) comes from a family of failed romances. At a local flea market, she stumbles upon an old photo album from the 1970s, chronicling the ideal romance of a happy couple (Art Hindle and Adrienne Barbeau). Unable to find her own “true love,” she sets out to find the couple in the album and prove that true love exists. Along the way, she meets Gabe Sinclair (Luke Macfarlane), a mysterious, but charming bartender, who seizes the opportunity to join Chloe’s mission and soon finds himself falling in love with her.
Photo album, scrapbook, close enough, right?
To read more of the description, go to the Hallmark website HERE.
I’m all set to record “The Memory Book.” On DISH, it’s Channel 187 HMM. So how’s about you record it too, then we can come back here and dish about it afterward?
Good, it’s a date! See you soon :)
PS: If you miss it, looks like it’ll run again on Thursday, August 11, 2016.
Well, this is fun! MAMBI is selling a Happy Planner kit at 16 select Costco’s.
It’s hard to see because the photo they provided is so small but it looks like there’s an 18-month Happy Planner, 5 rolls of washi tape, 3 pens, some pocket page inserts, 2 little paper pad inserts, etc. MAMBI says, “If all goes well, we are hoping for a chainwide set in the near future.”
To see a list of stores, check out their post on the MAMBI blog. If “your” Costco is carrying these kits, I think it’s your duty as a scrapbooker to go buy one, take photos, and tell us about it. C’mon, I would do it for you!
PS: I still haven’t decided if I’m keeping mine. Does Michaels have a so-many-days return policy?
ETA 06-15-16: Thanks Abby! HERE is an Instagram slideshow of the contents. You get a lot for that price – wow!
As you saw in my last post, I recently bought the MAMBI Happy Planner at Michaels (reg. $34.99 minus 30% off coupon = $24.49). It’s the 8.5 x 11 version, not the more popular smaller one that you’ve probably been seeing everywhere.
Not only are the binder discs my favorite color but they also have my favorite shape: HEARTS!
The front and back covers are soft but laminated and very sturdy. The inner pages are about the weight of your average scrapbook paper, not thin like cheap paper but not thick like Bazzill or Carta Bella. This planner goes for 18 months, from July 2016 to December 2017. Guess I have about a month to decide if I’m going to keep her ;)
The first 2 pages are 2016 and 2017 year at a glance, then starts the 18 monthly sections. Here are a few of those intro pages, where you see a variety of designs on the right, from quotes to very designed pages to very open ones like the first one, where you can have a ball decorating or journaling. I really like the “Currently” section for each month, since that’s something I always mean to scrapbook or track but then never do. Here, it’s right in the day planner – can’t forget it.
After each monthly intro page, there’s a month-at-a-glance page with room for notes; in my current day planner, I used the monthly pages for bill tracking and budgeting and would keep doing that in the Happy Planner.
Then there are 4 or 5 of these week-at-a-glance pages, depending on how long the month is. I like that each day is sectioned into 3 boxes. You could use that for morning, afternoon, and evening. I’m thinking of using it for personal, work, and blogging/e-learning.
My hold-up is that I have large handwriting and this might be too cramped for me. Dang :( I’m not a “planner girl” who does this for fun and creativity. I use my day planner FOR REALS. Like, it gets down and dirty, people. Family events, business deadlines, client launches, sports schedules, and more.
So anyway, that goes on for 18 months in the same format. There’s nothing extra in this planner except for a blank page at the very back for more notes.
It is quite hefty so I understand why there’s not more included, yet I want to add more pages to make it useful for me. I didn’t see any extra pages at Michaels that I could buy separately. When I got home, I checked online and nada. Lots of extra pages on the MAMBI site HERE but they’re all for the smaller sized Happy Planner.
So I did what any Scrapbook Obsessed girl would do. I Tweeted MAMBI:
@ScrapbookObsess: I just got the 8.5×11 Happy Planner. What can I use with it? Everything seems made for the smaller size. Punch, extra pages?
@mambitweets: All the CLASSIC sized accessories work inside the BIG planner, and NOTE: a bigger punch is coming. :)
@ScrapbookObsess: ETA on the bigger punch? I’d like full size pages so I’ll make my own or look for free printables. Thanks!
@mambitweets: No exact date as of now, but once we know, we’ll be sure to share! <3
So that’s another strike against keeping this planner, at least for now. My plan was to insert pages for notes, keeping track of blog and work goals, exercise and diet, and projects. Yes, it’s already bulky but because of the snazzy binder disc system, I can take out pages I am not currently using or am done with to thin it out.
Overall, I think the 8.5 x 11 Happy Planner by MAMBI is well-made, cute, and functional for the basics of life. It would be my dream planner if:
The week-at-a-glance pages had the days laid out horizontally instead of vertically so there was more room for my big handwriting
There were extra pages available to supplement what comes with the planner and/or …
A punch were available so I could make my own extra pages or utilize free printables
So I’m undecided for now if this is the planner for me. I may end up returning this one, then trying again in January when hopefully the larger punch is available. Thanks for reading!
Did you see my last post about a recent trip to Michaels? It was the first time I’d shopped there in a while so of course I had to do some damage.
Here’s a photo I took in the store while “in progress” of shopping. I thought it was funny that I had a color theme going :)
I ended up putting the washi tape back for another time because I found the MAMBI Happy Planners on an island in the back of the store. Here’s what I actually came home with (you can’t see it but the teal-colored Iris bin is still under there, lol):
The 12×12 Recollections album was too pretty to pass up. I love sea blue, watercolor, and chevrons. I scrapbook these days using D-ring albums by WRMK so I really didn’t “need” this album … but I wanted it. Ha! Now I need an excuse to do a theme album. Hmmm, beach photos maybe? Only $3.99.
All the Heidi Swapp “Insta” products were 40% off. I got these super cute clear stickers. I love these because you can put them right onto your photos, on the outside of your pocket page protector, or on your layout. When you take them off the sticker sheet, the colored parts are more transparent than you’d think by looking at them (which I like).
The Iris cases were not on sale and I’ve only bought clear ones so far because I like the consistency of look in my scrapbook room. But again – couldn’t pass up that pretty color. My “30% off every regular priced item” coupon was applied.
The MAMBI Happy Planners were not on sale either – bummer. And this large 8.5 x 11 size isn’t cheap: $34.99. At least the 30% off coupon helped. I’ll be looking online to see if I can get some add-on pages. This planner goes from July 2016-December 2017 so I have a little time to “get organized.” Eh? See what I did there?
Changing gears, here’s just a pic of some cute stuff in the dollar bins at Target:
I didn’t get anything but thought you might like to see some of what’s there.
As a total side note, I got these pretty binders recently for my home office. The two multi-colored ones on the left were from Walmart. I can’t remember the price but I think they were under $5 each. The periwinkle blue binder and write-on page dividers were from Staples. My fab photography skeelz cut off the tabs on the right but you can see on the insert sheet that they have a half-pocket and are cute colors like lavendar, yellow, and green.
Are you sitting down? Because what I have to tell you is going to drop you if you’re standing:
I haven’t been to Michaels in over a month.
Say whuuut?! I know. What is this world coming to? Better question: How are they staying in business without me?
I finally made it over there because I’d heard tell that some of the items I wanted from CHA were spotted.
Because it’s been so long, I’ll give you a little tour of my Michaels, how some of the layout has changed, and what new things I saw.
The first endcap to the scrapbook section seems to always have Heidi Swapp stuff and this time was no exception. The Instax cameras have been around for a while, of course, but some of the HS “Insta” stuff was new. I saw those square albums at CHA (see my post HERE). I talked about that cute ocean Instax album HERE.
Everything was 40% off. Can you guess which item I snagged? Hint: It’s not one of the things I already mentioned.
The 12×12 paper pad section in my Mike’s has always been pretty small, maybe 1/4 of one side of an aisle. (I’ve been in another store where paper pads took up one whole side of an aisle and I was so jealous!). These 4 pads looked new – but none were my taste, so I was safe there. Phew!
This arrangement is fairly recent. From Left to Right, it used to be Martha Stewart for the first 3 or 4 panels, then the washi tapes. Now the washi has been moved to where Martha was and all this DIY party favor / papercrafting stuff sorted by color for the rest of the space. I have nothing against basics (there’s some cute washi and clothespins in there!) and was never much of an MS fan so this change is fine with me. I say that like Michaels Corporate gives a flock what I think, LOL.
Some of the famous washi tape sets are here on the bottom – so pretty! But I think I like the row above even better. Got my eye on that green set ;)
The Project Life section looked mostly the same. I think there are some new smaller sets on the top right since I was last here but none were up my alley. Again, phew!
Some cute new Studio G stamps on the side of an end cap. I just got rid of a bunch of “dollar stamps” in my last purge so I had to resist these and the page flags weren’t tempting. Not a color scheme I would use. Dodgin’ bullets, people!
So that’s where all the Martha Stewart went? An end cap by Project Life. Looked like it was all on clearance.
Another new item to my store were these Mambi Makers items, like the ones I saw at CHA. My scrapbooking criminal history contains a long record of buying project kits like these and then never making anything with them. Must. Resist.
More Instax including the “mini 8” which I hadn’t heard of before. And more Heidi Swapp.
This whole section used to be wood-mounted stamps and Tim Holtz, grungy stuff. I NEVER shop from this section so whatever. MORE Heidi Swapp! I wish they’d consolidate all her stuff into one place, for scrapbook sakes! Jeez.
Oh, you have GOT to be kidding me!! MOOOOORE Heidi Swapp stuff on another end cap. Can we just change the name from “Michaels” to “Heidi’s” and call it a day? Everyone complains that Recollections is taking over Mike’s but I beg to differ.
This is now one whole side of an aisle of stickers by topic. Rad. It used to have a section of alpha stickers smack in the middle but they’ve been moved to the other side. Having all the embellishment stickers in one place makes me breathe easier. Ahhhh…. Ease and flow, ease and flow. Much better. And, yes, since you’re thinking it anyway, I’ll confirm that all the canned goods in my pantry have the label facing out. :P
New (to me) tiny washi rolls on the side of an end cap. Washi roll, washi roll, washi roll. Hee hee, that’s fun to say!
Here are the aforementioned alpha stickers. I have a lifetime supply of Thickers but even if I didn’t, I wouldn’t buy them from Michaels. Their buyer has a glitter addiction and I don’t do glitter. If I can help it. Sometimes glitter attacks and you have no choice, am I right?
Wowser, 12×12 albums on an end cap for only $3.99. I just purged a ton of postbound albums from my stash so it would be crazy to buy any more. Wellll, call me CRAZY! (Hangs head in shame …. mumbles “I’ll tell you about it later.”)
I don’t usually buy loose 12×12 paper at Michaels either but I took a peek. The white Recollections papers were the only ones that looked new to me.
So that takes care of the 3 scrapbooking aisles. Now for the “islands” (I think they’re called) in the back of the store. Here are all the items from the Recollections line of planners and supplies.
These are way too small for me but I love the varitey of colors and add-ons.
If I had a dime for every time I said this lately, I’d be on a scrapbook cruise and taking you with me!
Another island had all the pastel watercolor-y stuff called Made By Me by Recollections …
But the piece de la …. peace della … best flippin’ part were all these Happy Planners and accessories from MAMBI! Yep, I saw all this stuff at CHA and I’m excited it’s finally here to buy. Good timing too because this version is an 18-month planner starting in July – so it’ll carry you through the end of 2017. Yep, I just did math there. Not bad for an English major.
The smaller version of The Happy Planner above is also too small for me and I don’t like the gold discs.
However: This is the 8.5 x 11 version. I think I’m in love. Um, “Journey” AND a heart and teal blue (my favorite color) discs? SOLD! I don’t know if I even need this but SOLD!
I’ll show you what I walked out of the store with next time.
What was that you asked? Did I PAY first? Um, yeah. I know shoplifting is a problem at Michaels and that they won’t even chase or report you if you take their stuff but sure, I paid. Like I’d miss a chance to use sales and coupons? Yeah, right.
I came across this video and thought I’d share it with y’all.
HERE is the entire line on the Heidi Swapp website – cute stuff!
On the one hand, the photos seem really tiny so I wonder how much you can capture in that amount of space, photographically speaking.
But I love the idea of having that little printer handy on trips and events, printing right there from my phone, and putting them in an album or hanging them on that cute arrow right over your desk.
My 3 favorites from the “InstaLife” line by Heidi Swapp:
As Becky talked about HERE, she’s going to be presenting Project Life on HSN for the first time. Lisa Bearnson always presented PL in the past but she’s no longer with HSN.
Per BeckyHiggins.com:
I’ll be showcasing products at 3 different times on May 4. All times are Eastern Time and subject to change. ***We’ll update the schedule via social media if/when we hear of any changes.
12:00 AM – Value Kits and Photo Overlays
11:00 AM – Core Kits
4:00 PM – Value Kits
Set your DVRs so you don’t miss it! And if you’re in the PST like me, note that the first presentation is actually Tuesday night May 3 at 9pm :)
On the website, none of the Project Life sets are doing much for me. But I fully expect Becky to sell me on them in her presentation on HSN :)
There are other HSN Scrapbooking shows too, of course, like Anna Griffin, We R Memory Keepers, etc. You can see all the programs and times on the HSN Program Guide. Enjoy!
ETA 05-03-16: WRMK will be featuring the Craft Armoire!
Well, the E-Bay’ers are going to be ticked. You know, the ones who saw the frenzy for these tapes that were sold in such small quantities at Michaels, so they’re selling for 3 to 4 times retail. Yeah, those ones.
Because I heard online that Michaels stores will finally be getting more of these tapes, perhaps due to customer requests!
If you’re wondering what I’m talking about, it’s these (clickable links):
Shout out to Scrapaddict702 for sharing this photo! (She’s redsonic20 on IG; go check her out). I couldn’t find one online because the images on the Michaels site (see links above) weren’t shareable and all the ones from Etsy and Ebay listings had expired or weren’t good quality. Sorry, I couldn’t find a photo of the ombre ones but you can see them in the 2nd link to Michaels.com above.
These retail for $12.99 and of course with our handy-dandy 40% off coupon, that brings the price down to less than $8.00. While looking for photos to post, I saw them selling on E-Bay for $50!
I’m going to blame the Planner Girls for those wack-a-doodle prices because Scrapbookers simply don’t get “obsessive” enough to pay that much for supplies! I mean, really (eye roll).
(And I’m totally kidding, by the way. I’ve done way stranger things than pay $50 for $13 washi tape in my day. Believe you me).
So keep an eye on your Michaels if you were hoping to buy these Color Splash washi tubes. They’re on their way back soon!
A while back, I clicked on a link that a fellow scrapbooker shared. It was a video by KIWI LANE scrapbooking called, “Married to a Scrapbooker, Volume 1.”
I was enjoying the video, LOL’ing at the scrapbooker humor and then, right after the narrator’s wife engages in paper sniffing, something really crazy caught my eye.
Um, the photo of his wife’s scrapbook paper stash? “That’s MY SCRAPBOOK ROOM!” I yelled at my computer screen. My darling iPhone was sitting nearby, my raised voice got the attention of Siri – who was pretty pissed that I woke her – and it was hard to focus for a minute there as she tried to help me.
I thought maybe I was imagining things so I backed up the video and, yep, there it was . . . Say wha’????
So please check out the video and you’ll see my Store in Style cubes and paper stash at 1:34.
HERE’s a link to the video on YouTube if you’re not seeing it embedded here.
Houston, We Have a Problem
Isn’t that crazy?! I’d never been contacted by Kiwi Lane requesting to use the photo or even letting me know they were planning to use it. I figured it must’ve been grabbed from a very old blog post of mine because the cubes haven’t looked all messy like that for years ;)
*All images in this post are courtesy of the Kiwi Lane blog
I know some people feel “if it’s on the internet, anyone can use it.” But, in fact, anything posted on a blog has an automatic copyright and can only be used with express permission of the blogger. Plus it’s just good karma to ask if you can “borrow” a photo and offer to link to the source, especially if you’re a business using it to sell something or promote your business.
So I reached out to Kiwi Lane to see what was going on. The CEO wrote back and couldn’t have been nicer. Apparently, there was a rush to get the video online (it’s the first in a series). Their video person did grab the photo from the interwebs and the owners didn’t have time to vet the video properly before it was posted.
I really try in life NOT to go from 0 to 60 without asking some questions first. So I was very happy that, as I suspected, it was an honest mistake and they admitted it immediately. {I’ve heard of so many similar scenarios where this wasn’t the case}.
A Happy Ending
Kiwi Lane offered to either give me credit in the video commentary section on YouTube or remove the photo – my choice. They also offered me a $25 gift certificate to their website as a way of making up for the mistake. I decided that sounded pretty happy-making :) I didn’t want them to have to go to the trouble of editing the video.
The photo credit with a link to my site was done right away, and the coupon code was also provided. I asked if it was transferable because I wanted to do …. A GIVEAWAY ON MY BLOG!!! She said they’d be happy to ALSO send a Kiwi Lane paper kit or provide another $25 coupon code for the giveaway.
So I told her the plan was I’d use the original $25 code to order some of their products and do a review, and use the other for a blog giveaway. Don’t you just love happy endings?
Now let’s get this GIVEAWAY PARTY STARTED!
To enter, just leave a comment on this blog post. Please tell me which one of Kiwi Lane’s products you’d like me to review OR what you’d buy if you won the $25 prize {or both, if you’re feeling ambitious today}.
Deadline is Saturday, April 30 at midnight PST. Good luck!
Please share this blog post on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, and with your scrapbooking friends. There are share buttons down below that make it really easy. Thanks peeps!
…. which company would it be and what job would you do?
I saw this question posted on a message board and decided to turn it into a blog post ‘cuz it’s so fun!
Which Company? Decisions, Decisions
I’d want to work for Simple Stories. I’ve met the owners and a few of the crew; they are the NICEST people! From seeing them interact at CHA, I can tell they have a fun time at work!
The co-owner Amber Crowell is the main designer and she’s so creative. I’d love to just be around and watch her design process from start to finish.
Also, when I read her story, I see how much we have in common. I think if we worked together, we’d be besties in no time :) Not to replace her current bestie, of course – just to add another one ME!
#TotalDreamJob
As for the job itself, I’d want to be assistant to Director of Marketing Layle Koncar, helping with their social media, marketing, and outreach. I have so many ideas for their blog and social channels! It would be a blast to have that job.
You might also occasionally find me in the warehouse sniffing all that glorious paper! Erm, I mean “doing social media product research” … yep! Uh-huh. That’s what I meant to say.
Okay, you’re turn! Please leave your answer by clicking the word Comments under the title to this post :)
As Becky talked about 
