This is one of my favorite times of year: CHA Sneak Peek season! Right now in July 2013, we’re getting sneak peeks of all the new lines to be debuted at CHA-Summer 2013. It’s called “Create and Connect” and will be held in Las Vegas from July 22-25, 2013. The excitement builds, LOL!
I have a Page here on Scrapbook Obsession Blog that you may not have noticed before so I wanted to invite you to check it out: CHA SNEAK PEEKS {you can find it in the bar under the blog header}.
I just checked out the links to make sure they all work. I had to delete one – The Scrap Review – because they don’t seem to be a very active site anymore :(
ETA 07-09-13: Woot woot! The Scrap Review is back in the game! I’ve added them back to my CHA Sneak Peeks page. Thanks so much to Susan for the news!
I’ve also added some more links where you can find CHA sneak peek goodness. So please check out my CHA SNEAK PEEKS page!
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Okay, now that you’ve checked out all the peeks, what lines are you loving? Not feeling? Not sure about yet?
It’s that time of year to submit my annual Wish List to my own personal Santa Claus. I call him Scrapbook Santa, or Scrap Santa for short.
When I was a kid, I had a regular Santa like everyone else, who brought me toys and games, as long as I was a good girl all year. And you KNOW I was, LOL!
Then as a young woman, I graduated to Shoes and Clothes Santa, and in college, he became Textbook and Top Ramen Santa. Once I got married and started my family, I changed Santas once again and submitted my wish lists to Diapers and Baby Swings Santa.
Now we are a well-established family, and our basic needs are met through our hard work all year. The days of wanting to squeeze my size 9s into cute high heels are long gone, and I swore off Top Ramen the day I graduated from college.
Therefore, my Santa for the last several years has been Scrap Santa and I predict he will be the one I submit my lists to for quite some time. Probably until I start needing Metamucil and Depends Santa, right? That’s the plan, Stan! And here is my 2009 Wish List for Scrap Santa…
{Don’t worry, like all Santas, he understands if you slip in some unrelated requests. Santa is all about listening to anything and everything you want…your heart’s desire…your very most wished for things!}
#1 – KODAK EasyShare Z915 35mm digital camera in RED ($199; on sale right now for $159….hurry, Santa!)
Features: 10 MP, 10x zoom, 2.5″ inch screen, image stabilization, and panoramic stitch (I really enjoy the panoramic feature on my 35mm camera and would love to have it on my digi). It also has Best in Class click-to-capture speed so you don’t miss a shot. This is basically the new version of my current camera, which I adore, it’s just gotten old with a sticky dial, broken charging dock, etc.
This is similar to the camera I wanted to get on Black Friday at Target because, although it retails for $199, they had it on sale for $129 (a cool $70 savings!).
But I wasn’t near a Target or a computer on Black Friday. I did find someone who could run by my local Target and pick up the camera for me, so I called the store early that morning and they had already sold out. Color me sad :( But I would really, reeeeeeeeelly like the red one, Santa!
#2 – “Daisy Totes” by Creative Memories
“Daisy Wheeled Cart” $145
“Daisy Weekender” $60
“Daisy Project Tote” $32
and “Daisy Tool Caddy” $37 {Santa, I would like 2 of these please…one for all my stamps/inks and one for my loads of punches and other tools}
Here is just the Theme Set, Santa, so you know what you’re shopping for.
There are a bunch more pieces to it, though, so maybe you could take Scrappy Elf shopping with you. I think she’s familiar with this collection as I saw a “North Pole Misfits” layout she made with it (It’s on your blog AND your Facebook page, if you haven’t seen it yet, Santa…).
#5 – CREATIVE IMAGINATIONS “Creative Cafe” collection….yep all of it, even those cute binder rings. You know what a sucker I am for ledger paper and bright colors, right Santa? Here is a peek at the collection, but there is more so shop until you drop!
#6 – Personalized laptop skin for my MacBook Pro 17 inch by “SCHTICKERS.COM“, something kind of like this….
…but with the Journey “Escape” logo instead, since that’s the first album of theirs I discovered and it changed my life….
OOH! Or Santa! Maybe the artwork from the “Trial by Fire” album, since it’s the last one Steve Perry sang on…yeah THAT would be kewl….
Then maybe you could get me an iPhone skin with the Escape logo….yeah, rock on!
#7 – Speaking of music, here are some CD’s I’d love to get in my stocking….
MICHAEL BUBLE’ “Crazy Love” $14 … oh, and coincidentally, tickets for his show near me go on sale December 11 … Would you look at that! That’s only a couple of days away! Just sayin’ …
#8 – KINDLE DX wireless reading device by Amazon $489
Santa, I know the economy has hit everyone, even you, so I would be willing to settle for the smaller Kindle. It’s ONLY $289! See, I’m willing to work with ya’…Oh, but will you also please include a couple hundy in Amazon dollars so I can download a bunch of books. I know the classics are free, but most other books cost 10 bucks each so, you know…
#9 – Scrapbooking tees and Hoodies…here are a few cute logos to give you an idea of what I have in mind…in pink, white, or light blue please…
“Inspire, Create, Live” by Two Chicks Designs
“Anyone Who’s Anyone Scrapbooks” by Zazzle.com
“iScrap” by Zazzle.com
#10 – One year supply of the essentials I really need to scrap with: Epson 4×6 matte photo paper, printer cartridges for Epson PictureMate PM260, Dr. Pepper lip smackers, Diet Coke, sunflower seeds, kraft Bazzill cardstock, and American crafts black Slick Writer in fine tip.
Okie doke, I think that should do it for this year, Scrap Santa! Thank you for considering my list. I’ll let you know if I think of anything else. For instance, I NEED a treadmill so I’ll be window shopping for those today {wink}…
I went to a crop Saturday, the one I talked about HERE. Only 4 of us ended up being able to go. I talked more than I cropped, and we stopped to eat twice (lunch/dinner) so I didn’t get much done. I completed 5 pages and started a 6th, and I was there from about 11:30 to 9. One thing I did different this time is that I promised myself I would get the journaling done AT the crop. I can’t tell you how many unfinished layouts are sitting on my desk from past crops, that were done, they “just need the journaling.” Ya’ got any of those on your desk? I mean, they’re, like, 30 minutes of effort away from being in a scrapbook for everyone to enjoy and yet…they’re on my desk. Why is journaling something I put off? I really do like to write, it’s not that. It’s like I lose my mojo to work on that layout once I leave the crop. But anyhow, that’s why I forced myself to journal these layouts and I’m glad I did. They are going straight into the album, baby!
Another new thing I tried was a technique that’s been around awhile but I’m always late to the party. I had a white Bazzill background, and I laid out the title of my layout with letter stickers (a block style of cardstock sticker alpha by American Crafts; $1 from Big Lots, LOL!). Then I went over the title in a circular motion with deep turquoise chalk ink by Martha Stewart (it’s just like the kind by COLORBOX). Then I removed the stickers and, voila! The white Bazzill showed through the turquoise ink and it looks rad. The only problem was some bleeding around about three of the letters, but it’s not that noticeable. At least, that’s what my sweet crop friends told me, LOL! I learned my lesson, though…make sure those suckers are stuck down pretty well before you rub the ink on. I like this technique so much, I used it again when I started that 6th layout. I used a different kind cardstock alpha sticker, made sure the letters were stuck down really good, and it came out great.
The Memory Works “party” part of it didn’t work out because, like me, everyone is broke, LOL! The hostess ordered some things and I’m going to split shipping with her and throw in something with her order. I can’t decide….the new Basic Grey ‘Junebug’ or ‘Lemonade’ (see them HERE and HERE), or Little Yellow Bicycle ‘Traveler’ (which I shared HERE). Tough decision. If you could get something from these lines, what would you get?
I’ve also been eyeing this for a while…THE COTTAGE Theme Set by Scrap Within Reach, which is a company that’s new to me and I have nothing of theirs yet. I’m curious what the quality is like/what it’s like in person. I love the colors and it seems a very versatile set to work with. And the price is good ~ you get six 12×12 sheets of double-sided patterned cardstock paper for $5.75, so less than a dollar a sheet for double-sided cardstock PP…not bad.
11.75×5.75 paper tablet designed to work with the chipboard album.
I have to admit, I’m kind of a collector of travel-themed papers. I’ve scrapped some long trips (12 days in Europe, 8 days in northwest US, etc.), and have a few more on the Scrap To Do list. I’m always on the lookout for cool travel papers and I really like this line. The colors are bright but distressed (did that even make sense?), and the color combo will go with just about any travel photos. No, I promise I won’t dress my family in navy polos and orange jackets on our next trip! Really, I won’t (wink). Nah, this line will match the photos on it’s own.
I think my favorite item is the Journaling Tablet. Yeah, you know me, a sucker for journaling spots…. And I love the paper shaped like a highway sign, with the journaling lines.
HERE is a link to their website gallery with some great inspiration ~ projects using the LYB Traveler line…
What do you think of this new line, “Traveler” by Little Yellow Bicycle?
I was lucky enough to have the day off due to a State holiday…Columbus Day. Since I now work M-F 8 to 5, it was nice to have a weekday for errands. Went to get some labs done, met with our financial guy, met with the school principal, etc. Of course, I needed some retail therapy after all that! Got my 2 new scrap mags at Barnes & Noble…
I heard the November issue of Scrapbooks Etc is out but I haven’t been able to find it yet. Anyway, I’ve skimmed through the CK so far and it looks REALLY good! I’m so happy to see that BRENDA ARNALL is back with some EASY PATTERNS. This time, she incorporates some of those fun journaling stamps…of which I have more than plenty, and other great journaling ideas. HERE are the free downloads from the article (as of 10-13-08, they aren’t working but it says to keep trying back). LIZZY K talks about where you can turn your blog into a book, which is something I’d already planned to do, so I was happy to find a $10 discount code for CK readers! My girl NOEL is featured in an article on kids Thanksgiving projects. And there’s a fun scrap space featured that is geared towards having your friends in to scrap with you. I’m such a sucker for those Scrap Space features. I could read an entire book with nothing but ‘real people’ scrap spaces, couldn’t you?
After B&N was the craft store I sometimes call my LSS…cuz they are pretty cool and get some recent stuff, unlike Mike’s. I got a few sheets of Bazzill, and this paper from Little Yellow Bicycle’s ‘Frightful’ collection. It’s meant to be Halloween paper, but I’m just going to use it on some boy pages. I think it’ll look great with a bright shade of blue or teal.
I only have around 25 sets of acrylic stamps and obviously need more, so I also got these (They were $25, but only $15 with my coupon):
Won’t they be fun to color in with marker or colored pencil?? I swear, half of the appeal of scrapbooking is that I can play and doodle and be artsy-craftsy like when I was a kid. So please don’t pee in my Wheaties and tell me I didn’t need these stamps, k? They are part of my regression therapy, part of my ‘live like there’s no tomorrow’, part of my ‘recapturing my youth.’ You support that, don’t you?
Lastly, I went to Mike’s and used a 50% off coupon to get another Jetmax 3-drawer cube (remember, I’m STOCKING UP). I threw in 2 sheets of Bazzill ‘cuz I’ve heard at some stores they’re including Bazzill in the 4 for $1 sale (which applies to 59 cent sheets and Bazzill is 69 cents, but some are doing it anyway). Well, the butthuggers at the Mike’s I went to charged me full price for them so I’m glad I only grabbed two.
Okay, fess up, what scrappy goods have you bought lately? And whatya think of the latest CK?
