Of course, we scrapbookers all know about the demise and downturn of scrapbooking magazines in the past few years. We’ve lost Simple Scrapbooks, DIGITAL SCRAPBOOKING, and MEMORY MAKERS. We’ve seen changes to the number of issues with SCRAPBOOKS ETC. and Creating Keepsakes.
For some down and dirty facts, check out this report about the 2009 scrapbook magazine industry … PART ONE, PART TWO, and PART THREE.
When I was at Michaels recently, I noticed that the papercrafting and cardmaking magazines don’t seem to be suffering the same fate. And what the hell is up with that?!?! As “our” magazines dwindle, theirs seem to be multiplying.
Keep in mind that even more magazines are hidden behind the ones that are showing. The magazine rack at Barnes and Noble looks similar.
Admittedly, I haven’t read through the 3 long “state of the industry” articles I linked to above. Maybe the answer is in there, but skimming them, I didn’t find it.
What do you think is going on? Do papercrafting and cardmaking have that many more participants than scrapbooking? Have they not yet hit the bubble and then downslide that the scrapbooking magazines did, but their time is coming? What do you make of this? I honestly can’t scrounge up a good explanation. Please ‘splain it to me, Lucy …
This is my favorite. I love the fun colors, the photo frame, and the flower accent. I’ll probably never buy it, though. I’m a train wreck with embellished albums. I tend to shove my scrapbooks back on the shelf without care, and would probably shave that pretty flower off in 2 seconds flat. But it’s a pretty album to admire on the Michael’s shelf …
Some more cute scrapbooks but I think I had seen all of these before except for the blue/yellow one on the left. I really like that one, too …
At first, I thought these “Spellbound” letters by MAKING MEMORIES were stickers. When I saw the price of $4.99, I was like WTH? But I picked them up and realized they’re actually chipboard … so the 5 bucks is actually a pretty good deal.
A Halloween page kit by K&Company. I was going to use my 40% off coupon to get this kit, then decided against it. It’s a 2-page layout but had blanks for only 4 photos. Sorry, Charlie, I can’t remember the last time I scrapped only 4 photos on a 2-pager. Especially Halloween, with all those cute costumes, jack o’lanterns, and candy bucket photos. Puh-lease.
Here are some small, medium, and large canvases by K and Company. I propped up the project flyer that shows a way to use the 12×12 canvas. Great project idea and I love the different sizes and colors. The price seems kind of steep to me but what do I know? I’ve never bought a canvas before. Can you buy these over in the Michaels art section or at an art shop for less? Scrapbooking companies are notorious for packaging some common thing as a “scrapbooking product” and then jacking the price up to high Heaven. And I gotta’ admit, I fall for it most of the time. But I’m onto this canvas fraud. Yessiree Bob …
Look at these cute black epoxy punctuation stickers by SANDYLION. Yep, half price, from $2.99 down to $1.49. I got some of these.
K&Co. embellishments. Some of these I’ve seen before but there are also some new ones. Aren’t those butterflies gorgeous?
Sorry for the shadowy, bottom shelf look but, hey, what can I say? They were on a shadowy bottom shelf! An album kit and shadow box kit by K&Co. More butterflies. They remind me of that gorgeous line by Melody Ross for GCD STUDIOS called “ARTSY URBAN“. Here is the entire BLOSSOMWOOD collection by Tim Coffey if you’re interested …
Speaking of butterflies and tricks by scrapbooking companies … why, yes, we WERE speaking of that … keep up, lady, keep up! Here are some butterflies that were not in the scrapbooking aisle; instead, they were over by the home decor. I’m not sure what their intended use is, but I thought they would look grand on scrapbooking layouts. Only $4.99 for up to 12 flutter-bys. You know that if they were packaged and displayed as a scrapbooking item, they would be at least 7 or 8 bucks. Sheesh.
Now on to some Clearance items:
This little boy album kit was originally $24.99, marked down to $9.99 ~ what a deal. There was a similar girl album kit, too, for the same price.
Ooh, blurry, sorry! I must have hiccupped when I took the photo or something. Mr. iPhone has no image stabilization whatsoever. Anyhow, “skins” for the GYPSY were on the Clearance already. I don’t remember seeing them prior to this. Is that the equivalent to “straight to video” when a movie isn’t that great? Gypsy skins, “straight to clearance!”
A whole endcap over by the party supplies was full of this black, lavender, and blue line by COLORBOK. It was all on sale at 2 for $1.
Lastly, all these cute packs of chipboard shapes were also over by the giftwrap. The chipboard is already white, which is nice, although it’s kind of thin. I was thinking some of these could make great mini-albums. Just punch a hole in 1 or 2 corners with your CROP-A-DILE and use some binder rings. Or you could make some fun kids projects with these.
See the large circle on the bottom right? Those are HATS! Idn’t that key-yoot!?!?
This star shape would make a darling mini album. I think with cardstock or patterned paper and photos adhered to each side, it would be sturdy enough.
Hope you enjoyed the Michaels tour. I’m usually in such a rush, I only have time to browse the scrapbooking section. But Saturday I had some time to kill while waiting for a movie to start. It was fun to cruise the entire store at my leisure.
Later this week, I’ll post pics of what I bought. Have you done any Michaels shopping lately?
Hey ya’ll! I’ve been out of town and not able to post, but I will soon, I promise! Don’t give up on me. To quote my muscle-bound Governor, “I”ll be BOCK.” Hope you’re having a great week :)
Squeee! I’m SO excited! The new scrapbook items from CHA Winter 2010 have been rolling in to my Memory Works WEBSITE. I’ve been posting about some of them but not all. Here is what we have so far:
AMERICAN CRAFTS including Dear Lizzy, new Thickers, awesome new adhesives, and our NEW line of AC CARDSTOCK! (see my post HERE for the Dear Lizzy)
BO BUNNY Mamarazzi, Sophie, Flower Child, Paradise, and Roughin It (See my post about Mamarazzi HERE and you KNOW I’m so stinkin’ excited about that one! I already have 2 of each item in my shopping cart … 1 for me, 1 to sell :)
COSMO CRICKET Garden Variety, Material Girl, Joyride, and Tiny Type alphas (I blogged about them HERE)
JENNI BOWLIN Vintage Buttons and Embellished Butterflies
MY LITTLE SHOEBOX Flying High, Away We Go, Just Add Butter, and All Aflutter (What a great company! They’re completely new to Memory Works and I’m loving all the bright, fun colors)
MY MINDS EYE Jack and Jill, Little Boy Blue, and Little Miss Muffet. We also have all the “Lush” lines … Black Lush, Red Lush, Pink Lush, Brown Lush, Blue Lush, and Green Lush.
TERESA COLLINS BeBe Boy, BeBe Girl, Mr. and Mrs., and Welcome Home
THREE BUGS IN A RUG Great Outdoors, Savannah, Little Chick, and Animal Stackers
*If an item says Out of Stock, that just means it hasn’t arrived in the warehouse yet but is on the way. Please try back soon. If you’re waiting on something specific, e-mail me { scrapbookobsession(at)gmail(dot)com } and I can notify you when it arrives. Most consultants don’t do that, but I DO because I respect your scrapbook jones like no one else does :)
Okay, all of THAT is exciting enough, right?!?! I mean, MAMARAZZI people! Remember when I hoped so badly that Memory Works would carry it and now they DO! I am SO going to find that class kit and make that adorable mini-album with it.
So today home office also released our new Spring 2010 catalog, like, WAY early! We usually don’t get them until late March/early April. I have .pdf downloads (they broke it up into 4 sections for faster download times) and will post those soon.
Better yet, you can order a REAL paper catalog from me and I’ll mail it to ya. {JINGLE, did those cupcakes catch your eye? They are throughout the cattie, LOL!}
Here’s what I’m gonna’ do … I’m going to order 10 catalogs today. They cost me $3 each, and to mail them out costs about $2-3 depending on how far they’re going. Honestly, it’s always been a big money loser for me because I spend about $5 per sent catalog. I just can’t afford to do that anymore, I’m sorry :( But if you would like a catalog (and believe me, you do ~ they are SO pretty in person!), please e-mail me { scrapbookobsession(at)gmail(dot)com } and let me know. I’ll invoice you $4 via Paypal and send it right out. Sound fair? That’s a great price for such a nice piece of eye candy, and way cheaper than those “other” direct sales companies charge, am I right?
Okay, so all this just totally made my day. Let me know if you’d like a catalog or for me to “scrap watch” any items for you. Also, you can order HERE any of the above fabulous new items, not to mention all the existing products we have :)
I’m very sad that QVC doesn’t do scrapbooking shows anymore. Very, VERY sad :( Okay, I had to get that off my chest first.
They do still have lots of SCRAPBOOKING ITEMS on their website, like THIS huge lot of COSMO CRICKET goodies. I remember seeing this as a TSV (Today’s Special Value) a long time ago. I wanted to get it back then because I lurve me some CC, although I passed. Ah, the memories! Watching the greatLISA BEARNSON do the presentation, showing us the fabulous projects we could make with it.
These days, you can find this same kit at TUESDAY MORNING. Instead of paying the retail cost of $48.50 plus $7.97 shipping, you can pick it up for a mere $14.99. There are two versions: pink and blue, plus a Christmas version. Some photos of the pink one are HERE.
I went to Tuesday Morning looking for this kit, because of course the Peas had been talking about it. I told myself that if and only if they had the blue version would I buy it. I searched the shelves high and low, pawing through their scrapbooking/craft section, and was unable to find it … at first. I did eventually find it and part of what took so long is that it comes in a brown cardboard box and I guess I was looking for something fancier, LOL. They only had one and guess what color it was??? UH HUH, it was blue. Suh-weet!
Here are some photos of mine:
If you’d like this Cosmo Cricket kit, too, I hope you’re able to find it at your Tuesday Morning! Or that you’ve beat me to it, and already have one ;-)
I know a lot of you have been looking for the new CHA RELEASES from BASIC GREY. Well, we now have 2 of the new lines in stock: “Green at Heart” and “Kioshi.” (^^^ Click on the Basic Grey link to buy some).
Here is a tease of the Green at Heart; these are just 3 of the products we carry:
THEME SET
STITCHED BRADS
PIECES
Here are 3 layouts of amazing inspiration from the crazy-talented KELLY GOREE (for Basic Grey).
I’m thinking this line is going to be great for all those Spring photos we have coming up. Seeing the warm orange, grassy green, and pretty pink makes me wish all this rain would go away (or snow for a lot of you, right?). I’m ready for some sunshine and flowers and the smell of fresh cut grass … ah, Spring!
Here is summa that Kioshi (this is just a portion of what we carry):
THEME SET
CANVAS TAGS
POISIES DOILIES
Kioshi makes me think of winter to spring, calm, zen, relax, and unwind. It’s got that Asian vibe, but not so much so that you can’t use it for just about anything. I love the soft color combo on this one. Ultra pretty … Here’s 3 more amazing layouts by Kelly Goree (for Basic Grey) …
Oh my. Kelly is SO scary talented, it amazes me. Year after year, she creates layouts that make you just want to gobble up that BASIC GREY. They are very lucky to have her. Thanks for all the inspiration, Kelly!
Again, if you’d like to purchase some Green at Heart or Kioshi, click HERE to link to my Memory Works website and order away! If you have any questions, e-mail me @ scrapbookobsession(at)gmail(dot)com.
When I was at Michaels last week, I noticed this sign on one of the almost empty paper racks advertising “Themed Scrapbook Collections.”
I’m not sure what to make of it. About 6-8 months ago, I guess, both of the Mike’s I shop at introduced some new “theme” areas, including Travel, Baby Boy, and Baby Girl. Instead of grouping items by type (letters, papers, stickers, etc.) like they do throughout the rest of the scrapbook area, they pulled everything having to do with, say, travel, and displayed it all in one area. They even added some new travel items to the mix and did the same for baby boy and baby girl.
So, it this going to be more of that? I’m not sure. But inquiring minds want to know already! Bring it on, Mike’s.
I learned about another new thing upon checkout: Michaels is reinstating their Friday night crop nights. The flyer says …
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“Michaels crop nights, last Friday of the month*, 5pm-8:45pm. Do you and your friends need a place to get together and craft?
*Crop Nights will not be held in November & December and Michaels reserves the right to discontinue Crop Nights at any time.
Join us the last Friday of every month for Michaels crop night. Michaels provides the space and an assortment of tools.** The best part is that Michaels takes care of the cleanup.
**Available tools will vary. Please ask store associate at time of reservation about store-specific tools.
Reserve your spot today! Space is limited and must be reserved in advance. Reservations can be made by paying $5 or showing proof of $10 scrapbooking purchase in the last 30 days. Reservations are first come, first serve. Please see a Store Associate to reserve your spot to crop!”
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First, can I say … ? The dang flyer had several typos or just plain mistakes (I fixed them when I typed the wording above). They must’ve fired their flyer editor. Wow. Embarrassing.
Second, I’m glad to see the crop nights are back. I’m kind of confused … Are they having a crop night set up there every last Friday with a random group of people, or do you have to set it up yourself and bring your friends? Say you call them on Wednesday and you’d like to reserve your spot to crop Friday night … Is the crop happening and they’re taking other sign-ups, or is it more like your reserving the room for you and your friends?
Thirdly, why only 3.75 hours? That’s what most of the Peas said HERE and I have to agree. Hardly seems worth the time to pack up your stuff and drive there. Why not have it for longer? If they’re taking sign-ups (which I’m still confused about), they could do them in 4-hour slots like 1-5pm and 5-9pm. If you wanted to come for 8 hours, you take 2 slots so they don’t overbook the space. If you can only come after work in the evening, you sign up just for the 5-9pm slot. Better yet, why not do it on Saturdays? It’s almost like they want the idea to fail, don’t you think?
You know the scrapbooking T-shirts at Michaels that I mentioned HERE? Well, sounds like the stores are starting to get them in stock. Some of the Peas alreadyHAVE THEM. One Pea said she used her 40% coupon and got her tee for $6. That’s a great price for any kind of tee, much less a scrapbooking one. I hope I get the chance to go by Mike’s tomorrow …
Just got an e-mail from Michaels (yes, we have a SPECIAL relationship and he e-mails me directly …). They are now carrying scrapbook tees for $9.99. It said: “New! Dress for your next crop event in style and make it a weekend to remember. Our Recollections™ scrap T-shirts are 100% cotton and come in pink, turquoise and black. Sizes M–XXL. *$12.49 in Alaska.”
That just made my day! I love to wear scrappy tees and have picked up a few over the years at Scrapbook EXPOS. Alas, the ones I have are well-worn and should be replaced. Sweet! Unfortunately, I couldn’t find these tees on the Michaels’ website to see if there are other designs.
I wonder if they’ll take coupons on them? Have you seen these at your Michaels? What styles were there ~ just the three shown, or were there others?
PS: This week’s ad also shows Cricut Solutions cartridges for $14.99 … another YIPPEE!
Check out this REVIEW of a new crafty novel; not scrapbooking per se, but still sounds very interesting, yeah? At the bottom of the article are 2 links that will tell you about scrapbooking novels. HERE is a link to another scrapbook novel and if you scroll down to the “Customers who bought this item also bought” section, you’ll see tons more.
I’m so happy to see the addition of all these scrapbooking novels and mysteries over the years. They combine my 2 favorite hobbies: reading and scrapbooking. In fact, I didn’t realize until I did that search on AMAZON that there were quite so many!
I’ve read all the LAURA CHILDS mysteries, with the exception of Tragic Magic …
but I think that’s it. Crikey! I have some major reading to do!
Do you ever read scrapbook-related novels? Why or why not? Which ones have you read, or would like to read?
I wonder if there’s an online book club or group for scrapbook novels. Hmmm … if there isn’t, someone should start one. I would love to have one place to purchase these books to read, then have a message board or chat room to discuss them. ‘Cuz I don’t know anyone in my ‘real life’ that would be caught dead reading a scrapbook novel, LOL! Anyway, just another one of my brilliant ideas (hardy har har …)
Speaking of PINK PAISLEE, have you seen their new online scrapbooking magazine? It’s HERE. Lot’s of great eye candy, for shizzle. I definitely prefer to read my scrap mags in hard copy, but this one is so colorful, it would kill my printer, so I can’t even print it out (black and white just wouldn’t do it justice either).
But anyway, ignore me and just enjoy the magazine, will ya?
I have a big, belated *THANK YOU* to say. Like, belated, since early February. My online friend ABBY sent me a box full of scrappy goodness! Just because she’s like that. It was like Christmas in February, I tell ya …
Here is the whole lot of it together. It’s okay to be jealous.
Remember when I blogged about the line by MELODY ROSS for GCD that was sold exclusively at SOME Michaels stores? Well, my Mike’s didn’t carry it and Abby’s did, so she sent me a buncha the 12×12 double-sided sheets! I know!
Here is one side. That large butterfly has black velvet flocking. It’s absolutely GORGE in person!
Here is the other side (the back side of all the above papers) …
Some pretty ribbons, cute chipboard flower embellies, a handmade “thank you” card, and a bunch of journaling cards, etc. by MY MINDS EYE.
Look at all the cute stuff she made me with her CUTTLEBUG and NESTIES! I don’t have either one, so I’m very grateful. She had slyly asked what my favorite colors were to scrap with, and she made exactly what I like :)
Thank you, Abby. Thank you! Thank you! Sorry it took me so long to say it :)
Do you have pals who send you fun surprises in the mail? When is the last time you surprised someone with scrappy mail to brighten their day? Well, actually, that would be ‘week’ or ‘month’, right? If you don’t have an online scrapbooking friend like this, a lot of the message boards will help you find one …
Whoo hoo! Just got an e-mail from Memory Works saying that all the American Crafts “Dear Lizzy” papers have arrived. See my last blog entry for more details and all the eye candy …
I haven’t heard excitement over a new line like this for a while. It’s called “Dear Lizzy” by American Crafts and it’s the talk of the message boards and blogs. So happy to find out that MEMORY WORKS now carries it!
Before we get down to that, let’s talk about ELIZABETH KARTCHNER, the designer of this new line. Let me lay it down for ya’ …
~ Elizabeth Kartchner is also know as Lizzy K.
~ She was CREATING KEEPSAKES magazine’s “Scrapbooker of the Year” in 2007.
~ She is a wonderful photographer, has an adorable and fun family, and one of the greatest blogs around (I linked it above).
~ In November 2009, her idea book came out; it’s called “52 MORE SCRAPBOOKING CHALLENGES” {a follow-up to “52 Scrapbooking Challenges” by Elsie Flannigan, both published by Creating Keepsakes … make sense?}. Here’s another LINK to it.
~ She partnered with AMERICAN CRAFTS on a scrapbooking line which was introduced at CHA-Winter 2010, and Lizzy has started a LIZZY K CRAFTS blog to keep us in the loop about it.
And honestly, could she BE any prettier? Funny and cute, too :)
HERE and HERE are looks at the line from when American Crafts showed their sneak peeks of it prior to CHA. I’ve been drooling over it ever since, and am thrilled that the time has come to buy some!
Here are a couple layouts showing what you can do with the Dear Lizzy line …
BY ELIZABETH KARTCHNER, from the American Crafts blog
BY ELIZABETH KARTCHNER, from the American Crafts blog
Do we all want that rose ribbon or what???
Shipments from this line are just coming in to Memory Works, and some items are not “in stock” yet on the website. However, I’m going to list them all in this post anyway because I’m sure everything will be here soon :) Besides, TOTAL EYE CANDY!
If you click on BUY IT, you’re not committed or anything, LOL! It just links you to the item on my MW website so you can see the price and if it’s in stock.
Dear Lizzy by American Crafts – Fabric Paper, “Apricot Afternoon” BUY IT
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Dear Lizzy by American Crafts – Fabric Paper, “Garden Gala” BUY IT
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Dear Lizzy by American Crafts – Clear Stamps, “Warble” large set BUY IT
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Dear Lizzy by American Crafts – “Whistle” small set BUY IT
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Dear Lizzy by American Crafts – Large Fabric Brads BUY IT
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Dear Lizzy by American Crafts – Shiny Flair BUY IT
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Dear Lizzy by American Crafts – Chirp Details BUY IT
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Dear Lizzy by American Crafts – “Lovely” Ribbon BUY IT
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Dear Lizzy by American Crafts – chipboard Thickers, “Bliss” accent in coffee BUY IT
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Dear Lizzy by American Crafts – “Flutter” Dimensional Stickers BUY IT
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Dear Lizzy by American Crafts – “Fancy” Phrase Stickers BUY IT
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Dear Lizzy by American Crafts – “Pounce” Rub-On Phrases BUY IT
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Dear Lizzy by American Crafts – “Fire” Thickers, Pink, Puffy BUY IT
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Dear Lizzy by American Crafts – “Bliss” Thickers, Coffee, Glitter BUY IT
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So, are you a fan of Elizabeth Kartchner’s? What do you think of her new line? Ya gonna buy* or “wish list” any of it? Here’s my Top 5:
1. Theme set … I need a little bit o’ all those papers.
2. “Lovely” ribbons … Got to have that rose ribbon fo’ sho’.
3, Thickers “Bliss” chipboard accents … Love that they are glittered.
Oh, and both sets of Thicker letters, of course, but those are a given, a staple, a ‘must have so why bother wish-listing it’ kind of item.
* Truly, NO pressure whatsoever to buy it from me {Go LSS! Go 2peas! I support them all!}, but if you’re planning to, don’t wait too long. I have a feeling it will sell out fast. If the listing says “Out of Stock,” it means we haven’t gotten it from the vendor yet. Once it’s sold out, the listing will disappear. Let me know if you have any questions: scrapbookobsession(at)gmail(dot)com K, bye!
I was in Michaels last weekend, looking for something coupon-worthy, and also looking for the April issue ofSCRAPBOOK ETC. magazine, which the Peas had told me HERE is now available (bummer … most of the reviews are not favorable).
Darn if I couldn’t find SBE, but I did come across the gorgeous publication WHERE WOMEN CREATE. It’s a nice, thick, beautifully done magazine … well, more like a scrapbook idea book except that you get studio ideas instead of layout ideas.
At $14.95, it’s a bit rich for my blood considering it would be total eye candy for me, unlike a $15 idea book that I would actually use over and over. Anyhow, it comes out quarterly and I like to flip through it when I see it at Mike’s or BARNES AND NOBLE (they have the hardcover book of WWC, too!).
I’m always hoping to see a scrapbooker or at least a cardmaker and their studio featured, but so far I’ve come up empty. Hmmm … I wonder if they really haven’t chosen to profile a paper crafter, or if I’ve just missed it somehow. It’s entirely possible that I’ve missed it, which would be my fault since I’m too cheap to buy the magazine/book and “cheat” by flipping through it at the store. This issue did feature THE PAPER SOURCE, which is at least on the right track :)
Another thing I wish they would do is designate what type of artist each woman is, both in the Table of Contents and on the intro or title page to each artist. Again, if they DO do that and I’ve missed it, I apologize. But if I’m missing it every time, it can’t be that obvious, LOL! The cover gives the names of the artists inside and sometimes even the company they’re associated with, but just by a listing of names, I don’t know if any of them are scrapbookers/papercrafters. I mean, I’m pretty up on all the popular scrappers but I don’t know EVERYONE, sheesh.
One studio I flipped past was that of a knitter. I was stopped cold by a photo of her “Wall of Yarn.” It was all stacked by color in a large wall shelf, an Ikea EXPEDIT or similar. My first thought was, “But this magazine is about personal studios. Why do they have a photo of a store in here?” Then a second later, I realized, “Ah, that probably IS a personal studio!” But that lady had a shite-load of yarn!
Then I laughed so hard at myself (Bwahahaha! The other Mike’s customers were probably fittin’ to dial Mental Health for me … ), because I realized that that’s what people ~ non-scrappers, especially ~ must automatically think when they see MY scrap space. “Why does she have a scrapbook store in her house?” LOL Who could blame them? Instead of a Wall O’ Yarn, I have a Half Wall O’ Paper, a Bookcase O’ Idea Books, and Jars O’ Flowers, Ribbon, and Letters.
First, I was embarrassed. Oh. My Gosh. How embarrassing to realize that people who visit my home and peek into my office wonder why I have a scrapbook store. But then after I stopped internally blushing, I felt better. You know why? Because after flipping through Where Women Create all these times, I’ve seen some crazy, huge, awesome, expensive, fully-stocked, storelike studios of women who do all kinds of crafty and creative things … photography, art dolls, sewing, graphic arts, quilting, etc. And I realized something very comforting and very important.
We are not alone.
Scrapbookers aren’t the only ones so obsessed with supplies that it takes entire rooms to hold and organize them. We aren’t the only who live for Ikea and it’s plethora of crafty-friendly storage items. We aren’t the only women who find solace and comfort in our craft, who consider our creative spaces to be a haven, a place where we can go and truly be ourselves.
We are not alone. And that’s pretty great, isn’t it?
I record Oprah every day, and watch the ones I like, delete the ones I don’t. But I’ll be watching today’s FO SHO! I have already gotten 3 e-mails letting me know that Mah Boy Troy will be on Oprah today (well, not like, physically sitting on her, but on her show. Geesh, do I really have to explain these things, people!)
I don’t know why people notify of me of these things. What? Do they think I’m obsessed with Troy Dunn or something? Cuz I’m not. See the title of the blog: “SCRAPBOOK Obsession.” Not “TROY Obsession.” I mean, I’ve only blogged about him, erm, (six) times. Is that a problem? Is that an obsession?
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Okay, well maybe they’ve got a point. Regardless. Or it it irregardless? Bah, I have an English degree and I still have to look that one up. Regardless! You should watch Troy Dunn on The Oprah Winfrey Show today. One of the e-mails I got is from a publicity company (yeah, they’re watching what you blog about, ladies…) and it said:
—— Witness one desperate mother’s desperate search for the daughter she gave up 42 years ago. Then, meet “The Locator.” High-profile investigator Troy Dunn says he’s helped bring almost 40,000 people back together, including a terminally ill woman looking for her long lost father.
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See? Sounds good, huh? I hope you watch, whether you’re a Locator/Troy Dunn fan or not. Because after you watch and see his sweet smile and tallness and hear his soft voice and … oh wait, I mean … when you see the reunions he does, you’ll become a fan. He loves scrapbookers, btw. Go down to the Search box on the right side of my blog, enter Troy Dunn, and read my past entries on him. Good stuff, there.
I am NOT obsessed! I am not, I am not, I am NOT! (Hee, okay, maybe a tad bit … )
I was reading THIS post on 2peas about acrylic stamps by STEPHANIE BARNARD. I sought out her blog ~ which has some awesome stamps, btw ~ and found THIS entry about her organizational “system” for small embellishments.
I had never heard of Stephanie (sorry, Home Girl!) nor been to her blog, so I was expecting the usual, “I’m so perfect. Don’t you wish you were me and had a perfectly perfect organized studio?” kind of thing. Which always serves to make me feel inferior and wishing I were a more perfectly perfect person. As if seeing photos of Jennifer Aniston all over the magazines hasn’t already damaged my self-esteem beyond repair. (She and I are somewhat the same age, yet she looks 25 and I look 55 … and fat).
Anyway, back to Stephanie’s video … She turned out the be quite the hoot! Very funny and self-deprecating and honest about the way she organizes. She said she has a sign in her office that says, “Organized People are Just Too Lazy to Look for It.” Hoo-rah and hallelujah!
(Found a similar one HERE and may just have to get it, LOL!)
So she has 2 sets of the fabulous 4×4 cube EXPEDIT shelves that I’ve been wanting since I was 10 (Oh shut UP! That wasn’t THAT long ago!). Mah girl Steph even has her tiny embellishments like brads and paperclips sorted into plastic cannisters, divided containters, and a cute set of spice jars. But don’t hate her … she’s NOT perfect!
Unlike her friend, her spice jars are not decorated. Her supplies aren’t organized the way she really wants them, as she still has to kind of search for the exact item she needs. Stephanie says in the video that she needs someone who lives near her in SoCal to come over and organize things even better, admitting that her system isn’t the be all and end all.
{PSSST! Stephanie! Hey, over here! I’m in California, not too very far north of you, and I would love to make a road trip to play in … erm, I mean … help further organize your studio. Not that I’m any expert and my own space is always a work in progress. But I take direction really well and I LURVE to sort and organize things. So … just sayin’ … }.
{“‘Cuz Ima pothole … Kayyyy …” Don’t know why that commercial just came to mind, but it did, LOL}.
So check out Stephanie’s fun video HERE. I’m pretty sure you’re going to like her. She is “one of us.” Then come back and tell me what you think, K?
As I told you about HERE, I had a Scrapbook Open House on Saturday. My friend who holds a monthly crop for several friends in her development’s clubhouse was kind enough to let me display all my SIMPLE STORIES merch and invite all my crop buddies and customers to come check it out.
The good news is: There were 6 of us at the crop for most of the day and I got to chat and have fun with my friends. Several customers stopped by and I was able to show them how Simple Stories works, along with some new MEMORY WORKS products I had in stock.
The bad, well okay, decent news: I sold a “moderate” amount of stuff, LOL! It wasn’t gangbusters like I had hoped, but I did sell enough to make me happy I’d done it. I think the best part was that, even for the customers who didn’t buy anything, I was able to show Simple Stories to them and every single customer seemed interested. Maybe it wasn’t in their budget for now, but hopefully it will be in the future.
Thanks for cheering me on. I know you were with me in spirit. I did have a fun day, and made some progress on my Project 365 album. I took my laptop and little Epson printer so I could try to get caught up. For my photos, I chose, edited, and printed them right there at the crop and then scrapped them (with the Simple Stories “Life Documented” kit and WRMK pocket page protectors). I didn’t do any journaling at the crop ‘cuz when I do, I tend to make mistakes. So now I’m only 1 week behind in photos and 2 weeks behind in journaling. Hey, if you knew all the stuff going on in my personal life right now, you’d be impressed, I swear! LOL :)
Overall, a fun and worthwhile day. Hope you had a scrap happy weekend, too.
I know that most scrapbook consultants have parties as the main way they get their products “out there.” Well, you know me, I have to be different, LOL! In my 3 years as a MEMORY WORKS Consultant (just had my 3-year anniversary on 2-6-10, yeah!), I’ve never officially had an MW party. Instead I prefer to have crops, where my products are for sale and customers can browse/purchase at their leisure, and now I’m having my second Scrapbook Open House.
The way an Open House works (and this is my own definition; it’s not something that Memory Works promotes as an option, per se) is that you find a customer who would like to be the hostess (they get hostess credit), decide your hours, send out flyers to your customers, offer some incentives for them to come by … and then PRAY that they do, LOL!
The first open house I did was in November 2008. I had a fabulous make-n-take, a 12×12 2-page layout with MY MINDS EYE products, that was hugely popular. It was a class kit from Memory Works, so I didn’t even have to come up with the idea or put it together. The hostess provided cookies, hot cider, and such. Ladies stopped by, did the M&T while they chatted with scrappy friends and had a snack, or they just purchased the kit and took it home. It was a great success and lots of fun.
Now with a crop (which is what I do more often) you get reservations and payment ahead of time, so you know financially how you’re doing as you go along, how much food to provide, etc. But with an Open House, other than the few ladies who might RSVP on their own, you really don’t know how many will show up. So from my perspective as a consultant, that’s a wee bit aggravating … yet the nature of the beast, so that’s okay :)
For the customer, open houses are great because they are TOTALLY at your convenience. You can stop by when you have time, stay for as little or as long as you want, do a quick shop or relax and stay awhile, chat with your scrappy friends without having to lug all your stuff like you would to a crop, get to see new products, and touch base with your consultant.
And those are all the reasons I like to have an Open House once in a while. It’s truly a win-win-win, LOL. The hostess gets free stuff, customers have an easy event to attend, and I hopefully make my customers happy and sell some things. This time, I’m most excited about it because I get to show off SIMPLE STORIES in person. I’ve been selling lots of it online (thank you, my dear customers!), but this is the first time I’ll show it off in person.
I think my job will be pretty easy, as it really does sell itself. I do look forward to seeing that A-HA moment in ladies’ eyes when they see how easy and fast it is, how fun it is to work with, and what a solution it can be to some scrapping dilemmas they might be facing.
1. That feeling of being “behind” ~ We all have super busy periods in our lives, or you just lose your mojo to scrap. Then you feel like you’re so far behind. You’re still taking photos as you always have, but they’re stacking up (literally, or at least on your computer) and how will you ever catch up?
2. You took a family trip, remodeled your house, or had a new baby and the amount of photos you took is, well, kind of embarrassing really :) You want to show off all the amazing photos and not have to skip any of them, but if you do regular layouts for every photo, you’ll need at least 2 albums … and 2 weeks of home vacation just to have the time, LOL.
3. You’d like to do PROJECT 365, 52, or 12. You want to do a weekly GRATITUDE ALBUM. You’d like to do a Year in Review album with just the best pics from each month.
Yep, Simple Stories takes care of all of these Scrapper Issues :) I think that’s why so many people have purchased it and are excited about it. It’s just a bonus that the kit itself is so dang pretty and fun. Anyway, I look forward to seeing reactions in person and hope my IRL scrap friends like Simple Stories as much as I do (wait, is that even possible???).
My Scrapbook Open House tomorrow is being held at the clubhouse of a sweet scrappy friend. She hosts a group of friends for a monthly crop, which we love because it’s free, easy, and fun! You can actually go to the entire crop day without spending any money (nice when money is tight), if you bring your own munchies and drinks. And avoid the inevitable trips to Starbucks and Michaels, LOL.
Tomorrow happens to be the February date for our monthly ‘friends crop.’ Since she’ll have the clubhouse open anyway, she agreed to be the hostess for my Open House (LOVE her!). There are usually 4 to 6 of us cropping all day from 9am to 9pm; I’m not sure how many are expected this time. Then from 10am to 8pm, I’ll have my Memory Works area set up with products, some snacks/drinks, a quick make-n-take, and free gifts for those who stop by.
I’m kind of nervous that no one will come to the Open House. You just never know. I’ve stocked up on a bunch of Simple Stories PRODUCTS ~ kits, page protector packs, cardstock packs, and even an album.
I’ll have my album available to flip through and show samples of how you can use the kit, and the M&T is made from Simple Stories products. I have copies printed of the new SIMPLE STORIES IDEA GUIDE and CATALOG.
Please keep your fingers crossed that I make some sales Saturday!
I’m going to look on the bright side: Even if I don’t have many customers, I still get to scrapbook all day, right?
Just a quick shameless brag post, if you’ll indulge me. HERE is where one my favorite blogs, CRAFT GOSSIP.COM, linked to my Eco Scrapbooking post :) It’s kind of surreal to click on a daily blog read and see your own name staring at you. Surreal and COOL!
And HERE is where Amber (the OWNER of Memory Works!) picked my blog as the first one to be showcased on the SIMPLE STORIES BLOG. Well, she could clearly see how obsessed I am about the whole Simple Stories thing, right? LOL Anyway, she said some very nice things about my blog and it made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. Here’s what she wrote:
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Blog Spotlight
It was so fun for us to scour all of the blogs and message boards – and we were seriously blown away with your blogs. There are some great bloggers out there and it was so fun for use to peek into our customers and consultant worlds. We are amazed everyday of how talented and inspirational you are. In fact, we were so inspired by what we saw that we’ll occasionally spotlight a few here on our Simple Stories blog!
I think it’s fitting that our first blog spotlight is that of Erika. I first tumbled on Erika’s blog as we had been receiving a large amount of hits from Scrapbook Obsession to our Simple Stories website and blog. Of course, I was curious to see what website this was as the hits just kept coming (and still do.) I was amazed – not only does she have highly fascinating, humorous posts she is a die-hard Simple Stories fan. Of course – that won me over J I loved how she shared her enthusiasm with her readers and even offered a pre-order option to her customers. LOVE that she puts herself out there and represents MemoryWorks in a positive, friendly and helpful way. LOVE that she’s a passionate scrapbooker and love that she doesn’t take life too seriously. So thanks Erika for brightening our day! (And Erika – don’t be surprised if you find a little goodie in your next MemoryWorks order…)
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Eeee! Did she say GOODIE???? Okay, I’m in Stalk the UPS Man mode, fer shure. {Gah, just for the legal record, I’m totally kidding about the “stalking.” It’s just a term we obsessed scrapbookers use to describe the way we jump up to peek out the window blind every time someone so much as coughs outside … when we’re expecting a scrappy package. No need to call the cops. There’s nothing to see here}.
Okay, now back to the music …
I said a hip hop the hippie to tha hippie the hip hip a hop
And ya don’t stop a rockin to the bang bang boogie
Say up jump the boogie to the rhythm of the boogety beat
Skippity we bopp we rock a scooby doo
A guess what America we love you
Cuz you rock & you roll with a so much soul
A you could rock till you 101 years old
Anyone know what song that’s from? If you do, you have my utmost respect. Hollah!
A couple of weekends ago, I went to “the big city” and shopped at the Michaels there. I posted photos of that trip HERE. This past weekend, I went to my Small Town Michaels closer to home ~ which usually is quite a ways behind the Big City store in getting new things ~ and was surprised to find they had a lot of new products the Big City store did not have. Yay for Small Town! (For once).
This was pretty interesting. It’s a paper stack like you usually see by K & COMPANY (this is from the cute new “handmade” line; yes, it’s in all lowercase) but this one was longer. It says, “Designer paper pad. Decorate your life with pattern. Perfect for large format die cut machines.” The front cover has photos of home dec projects, like using paper to cover trays and bookshelves. Very innovative, K! And your Company. All Ya’alls! Good job.
The next three photos are from a rack of new K&Co, and much of it was similar to what I posted in my last Mike’s entry. In this first photo, bottom row center, I think those wooden die cut shapes are new. They felt pretty sturdy, not flimsy at all. Another great, innovative idea by K. And her Co.
Also in the top photo, in the top right corner and partially cut off, is a pack of photo frames. They were in black and white with a kind of deckle edge and that “old fashioned” printing of random dates. It said something like “turn your modern photos into vintage looking photos.” Man, I’m really impressed with all these new ideas that the Company and K are coming up with!
Here’s yet another new idea by K&Co. It’s a postbound, pre-done album with an open spine and no page protectors. It’s also from the new “handmade” line, which is really growing on me now. This is the front cover …
… and a random page inside. As you can see, the pages are laid out in such a way that you would just plop your photos and journaling right in there and either be dunzo, or add some embellishment to fancy it up. I thought the papers and designs were soft and pretty, very useable.
Personally, it gives me the skeeves to think of scrapping something and then leaving it out in the open, unprotected like that. I mean, won’t my nekkid photos get fingerprints and schmutz all over them? It’s one reason I’ve never done a spiral-bound scrapbook and why I have a hard time with a lot of mini-books (so many with no protectors, ack!). Then I got to wondering if there were side-loading page protectors you could get to slide onto these pages when you’re done. Kind of like the THESE by CREATIVE MEMORIES.
Here is a racka new stacks, mainly by K&Co.
A close-up of the Silhouettes from the “handmade” line (yes, AGAIN!). These were different than your average doily-type papers in that only half of each sheet is die cut. I was really wanting these …
SHIMELLE posted some great photos from CHA-W of the “handmade” line on her blog HERE.
Here another racka stacks. These are from Die Cuts With a View (aka DCWV). Lots of cute stuff here.
A closer look at the DCWV stack called “At Home” and it’s matching cardstock stack. This line really caught my eye. The colors and designs are very fresh, I thought.
DCWV stack called “Hittin’ the Books.”
“Songbird” by DCWV; super cute, fun colors, birdhouses, flowers, cheerful, and happy. These papers would make great cards.
Here’s the “Family Connections” stack by DCWV, with family tree pages and great heritage looks.
I almost hate to show this one, the “Vintage Collage Stack” by DCWV, because my Scrap Sisters ANGIE and ABBY might feel like they MUST have it, and you know how I hate to enable (wink).
Wow, another innovative product in my opinion. Wait until you see these papers. They don’t have a repeating pattern, but something totally different. Awesome DCWV!
I think this was called transparency film, and here were the two designs to choose from. I’m not sure how to use them, or why they come in a tube. Maybe someone can enlighten me … please?
Here are some gorgeous trims by Prima ~ black lace and flower petals, 4 choices of colors. So, so pretty …
More new Prima flowers …
In my last Mike’s post, I showed you this:
Well, here is some more of the “Home” line by MY MINDS EYE. The 12×12 stack is very thick and I think every single page had glitter on it. The 6×6 stack in the middle had some pages with glitter and some without (ETA 2-8-10: I stand corrected. I looked at this pad again and every sheet indeed has glitter on it. Some of it’s very subtle and I missed it the first time I flipped through in the store, sorry!). The smaller 4×6 mat stacks had no glitter. No matter though … all versions are absolutely gorgeous.
I don’t know how MME does it but they have a way with color, how they combine specific shades, and give it a distressed or worn out look but not so distressed that it looks grungy. Instead, it just looks soft and approachable. {Jeez, what am I writing, an ad for Match.com? “Soft and approachable?” Yes, I DO love paper. I love it a lot. Much like you love your mom and your dog and your iPod; that is how much I LOVE paper. If I weren’t already married, I would most likely be in a committed relationship with it}.
So, you want to know what I got, right? Because I’m not made of stone. I can’t just go in there, see all this scrumptious new stuff, and not buy anything, right? If loving scrap supplies is wrong, I don’t wanna be right!
I got the K&Co. road trip chipboard stickers from this earlier photo:
I used a 50% off coupon and, from the photo posted earlier, I got the 6×6 MME “Home” glitter pad. {Wait, “glitter pad”??? WTH is that? Something Tinker Bell uses for her monthlies? Bwahahahahaha!}
I also got packs of orange and green Primas like these. Why yes, I do already have them but I was getting a second set for a, um … “friend.” Yeah, that’s the ticket. For a “friend.” J/K, I really was getting them for an online friend who’s local Mike’s doesn’t carry these Primas. I owed her a big time favor so I was happy to find them!
I explained to the cashier that I was buying them for a friend who lived elsewhere but her Mike’s didn’t carry the Primas. I asked if I could ring them up separately and use another 50% coupon … and she said yes! I know that kind of thing is hit or miss with Mike’s employees, but I lucked out today :)
So that’s the latest and greatest at Michaels. Have you seen the new stuff? What’s on your wish list or what have you already bought? What I meant to ask was, What has already jumped in your cart when you weren’t looking and then you didn’t have the heart to tell it to get out? It’s okay, you can tell me …
