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!
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.
This is part of a series about the scrapbooking booths I visited at CHA 2016. If you’d like to see all the posts in the series, click HERE.
Disclaimer about my photos: The lighting at CHA is HORRIBLE for amateur phototaking. It’s held in a dimly lit and huge exhibit hall with spotlights here and there. If you don’t use your flash, you get what I got. If you DO use your flash, you get glare from all the packaging not to mention disturbing the crowd of people in the booth. I wish I had better photos but I did the best I could with editing them. I hope you can at least get an idea of what the products are like! (95% taken with Nikon Coolpix P100 and 5% with iPhone 6+)
My first stop after checking in at the Craft and Hobby Association 2016 show was the MAMBI booth. They’re one of my favorite companies because of their fun colors, fabulous fonts, and everyday scrapbooking topics.
This was one of the outside display windows. Obviously, the Create 365 Happy Planners have been a BIG product for MAMBI this year!
Papercrafting, Embellishments, and MAMBI Makers, which are DIY projects like photo cubes and canvases.
I hope that pack with the star comes to Michaels ;)
The very nice Charon Thurman from MAMBI showed me around the booth. We got into a great discussion about the MAMBI planners. She said it’s been a huge seller for them. I was telling her how, in my online entrepreneur circles, it seems everyone is going back to using paper planners, even those of us who are considered techie and are on the computer all day. And that’s probably why …. ‘cuz we’re on the computer all day, LOL.
Charon said that planners make perfect sense for scrapbookers because we’re tactile people who like to interact with our surroundings. Well, actually, she said something really profound and beautiful along those lines and afterward I said, “I wish I’d been recording you because what you just said was AWESOME!” I totally see why they have Charon work the floor. She’s guuuuud.
This is an example of the add-ons they have like Wedding and this is Exercise. So you can extend the use of your planner beyond just work and home.
I opened the Wedding one on the left. I’m not planning a wedding (happily married for over 20 years) but pages like this made me see that it would be a fun place to memorialize all the details of your wedding (like what vendors you used). Maybe this is where I could finally slap down all the brochures and receipts I saved from our wedding too? Hmmm…
More planner goodies …
Me likee this washeeeee . . .
This punch caught my eye – would be great to have for inserting random pages, printables, etc.
And Charon was wearing one of these snazzy pen holders on her badge. The pink heart one is my fave.
See how it says $2.50? Scrapbook products are typically marked up 50% so this will probably retail for $4.99. On the one hand, you may think “50%!! We’re being robbed!” On the other hand, think about how many pen holders a scrapbook store has to sell just to pay the light bill each month. It’s a hard, hard biz, people.
Back to our scheduled programming. Here are some alphas.
You know how I’m always complaining about the scrapbooking industry having no love for us Silver Girls and that it’s always GOLD GOLD GOLD everywhere?
PROOF:
Five gold alphas and one stinkin’ silver one. The pain is real, yo’.
New Paper pads . . .
. . . with all the papers spread out and displayed here:
Say goodbye to the MAMBI booth – that’s it!
I took over 200 photos at CHA (in 5 hours, wow!). I couldn’t post close-ups of everything but if there are items you’d like a closer look at, please leave a Comment on this post and I’ll edit the photo(s) so you can see better :) Just another service provided by your friends at Scrapbook Obsession. Okay, well, it’s just me but I wanted to sound important.
As a working wife and mama, I never get my heart set on doing things that are just for fun. Like actually scrapbooking (not just writing about it), blogging (har har), or attending CHA in Anaheim each January. I was able to attend for the first time 2 years ago, then last year something else came up and I couldn’t go.
So it wasn’t until I was actually in the car at 6:30 am driving south for 4 hours that I let myself believe I was attending CHA! Trippy dude.
Just me, the open road, some jackrabbits, and Adele.
For part of the ride, I was in the middle of a military convoy, out in the middle of the lost hills. But I felt safe.
Signs, Signs, Everywhere There’s Signs
Do you believe in signs? I do. And 88 is one of my lucky numbers. Well, what should I see when I sat down at Carls Jr. for a quick bite (3 chicken taquitos, if you must know) before attacking 6 hours of scrapbook vendor booth stalking (SVBS):
Not only was my total $3.88 but my table number was 88. “I saw the sign. And it opened up my eyes. I saw the sign.” Anyhoo, it made me feel good about how the day would go.
And the taquitos were YUM so there’s that.
The Anaheim Convention Center is literally right next door to Disneyland so parking is, shall we say, challenging. And the parking entrance had changed since 2 years ago so I was LATE. I lost a precious 20 minutes on the show floor and I think only YOU can understand how upset I was.
So much for 88.
It’s Time for the Show
I parked, walked (what seemed like) a mile, checked in at the press counter, and got my free tote full of catalogs, the show catalog, and a schmancy lanyard!
Lanyard. Lanyard. Lanyard. That’s going on my list of fun words to say, along with bubbly, specious, and helicopter (which one of my kids used to say as “heelio-co-bobter” and therefore how I actually say it now). Yes, out loud. Yes, in front of other people. Sheesh. They know what I mean.
Where I walked in to the show floor, I soon came across this cool chalkboard.
Take your time. Take it in. It’s magical.
I’m Just a Blogger
Attending CHA as media vs as a vendor, I always feel like I’m kind of tiptoeing around the ‘real’ attendees, the scrapbook stores. “No, it’s okay. I’m media.” “No worries. I’m just a blogger.”
I know the purpose of the vendors being at CHA is to get orders. It’s their bread and butter. The fact that they’re all so gracious, taking time to speak with me and letting me take so many photos is lovely. Not once in 2 CHAs has anyone made me feel “less than” and for that I’m grateful.
So that was getting to CHA. The first scrapbooking booth I stopped into was MAMBI. More on that next time :)
Just a belated update to THIS POST – my Joann.com sale order:
I don’t remember what date I received this but it arrived quickly and was packaged nicely. As always, everything is much nicer looking in person that it was online.
All of the turquoise in the border stickers is foiled and it’s SO pretty! The other MAMBI set has a lot of inlaid glitter (is that what you would call it?) where it’s like part of the sticker itself so it won’t flake off and make a mess of your projects. Love the font too. The colors in the Jillibean Soup papers are darker than I thought they’d be but still very nice.
Believe it or not, this planner is actually stepping out on the wild side for me. I’ve used the smaller version of this At-a-Glance planner (about 7 x 9″ vs 8 1/2 x 11″) for literally 10 years. I save them every year and use them to look up stuff – medical info, dates and journaling for scrapbooking, etc. – or to win an argument with my husband (oops, did I say that in my “out loud” voice?).
I just pull the old refill out and put in the new one; they’re slim and file away very nicely. Changing to a different size?!? Gasp! It’s like those of you who MUST have a row of matching albums on your shelf. It causes a bit of anxiety to change it up, am I right?
I have reasons for going practical over pretty. As much as I’d love to dress up a cute day planner with stickers and washi and pretty handwriting, it’s just not happening. I keep track of too much stuff in my planner:
– Travel and holiday plans
– Hub’s work schedule
– Dates for school stuff, sports, and community events
– Medical, dental, and other appointments for all of us
– All of my clients’ events and due dates (yes, I calendar 5-6 other people, LOL)
– Bloggy stuff
– Free business and scrappy webinars (I’m a junkie)
Not only do I need all that space I have in my current 7 x 9″ boring planner, for 2016 I’ve decided to “go bigger” because I need even more room! See the longer horizontal space for each day? I draw 2 vertical lines to make 3 boxes so I can visually separate personal, business, and webinars/e-learning. It’s getting pretty cluttered and I run out of room on some days. On the month-at-a-glance pages, I track our bills and budget. On the blank lines on the top right, I usually journal about something from that week (to scrapbook later).
You can see why those pretty scrapbook planners with all the fun extras wouldn’t work for me, huh? I did look at a lot of options before choosing this (boring) planner. Even if you don’t go scrapbook-y, there are some pretty awesome, cute, helpful planners out there now. I looked at many, including Elise Blaha Cripe’s Get to Work Book, the Passion Planner (tried out their free printables), the popular Erin Condren planner {did you know they carry these now at Staples?!}, and a bunch of other nice options on Amazon. I even bought and tried the Uncalendar. None of them had enough writing space :(
Lest you think I’m TOO super boring, I am going to bust out in a big way with my day planning in 2016.
Yeah, they’re erasable. So what? You got a problem with that? I’m a bit picky and just can’t do scratch-outs. Gotta’ be able to fully erase mistakes or changes and I hear these pens totally rock.
I don’t know if I’ll actually try to color code everything or just use, say, pink one week and blue the next. We shall see. Baby steps, people. Baby steps.
Tonight I had a 50% off 1 item coupon at Michaels; only thing I could find to buy were some clickable highlighters – pink, yellow, and orange. Hope to use those in my planner as well.
Thanks to Mr. Amazon Prime, my planner and pens got here in 3 days. I’m inordinately excited to play with them. Hmm, what shall I do first? Go through and add birthdays in lime OR bill due dates in turquoise?! Eeeee! (Goober).
I thought I was ordering a black planner but they sent me SILVER which I actually love! I may not use a cute scrappy planner but I’m proud of myself for stepping out of my box a teensy bit.
How about you? Do you use a fancy planner? A white board on the fridge? What’s up with you? I’d love to hear about it.
All 3 items with tax (and free shipping) were only $11.26 total.
I did notice that Joann.com had a 50-cent markup on the retail price for both of the MAMBI items . . . interesting. But I got them on sale so nanner nanner!
I wanted the whole collection kit of the Jillibean – super cute mini alpha included . . .
. . . but that put me over my limit so I just got the paper pack.
I need WRMK albums and would’ve splurged on those but they only have like 5 colors and none of the ones I need. I hear they’re doing a re-packaging or something so everyone has very low stock on them right now :( But they may have the color(s) you need so check it out!
Yes, I’m the annoying shopper taking photos every time I’m in Michaels and I see something new ;) Problem is, I haven’t come home and shared these pics with you in a while – so here’s some catch-up.
I give you … “New” items I’ve seen at Michaels in March and April 2015:
Heidi Swapp and Recollections embellishments
A little more variety in our Project Life section
A bright and colorful new 12×12 paper pad by DCWV called “Chick Chat”
A bunch of blackboard stuff from Recollections
New 6×6 paper pads by My Minds Eye. These are always on endcaps in my store so you may have to look around to find them.
A cute little plastic shoebox with an “it’s raining” theme – and on clearance! This is the type of box I use for my Project Life card storage.
Kinda’ like the coughcoughBORINGcoughcough new crafts section at Target, Mike’s has some DIY stuff, basics in lots of colors
Cheapie bins of super cute enamel dots . . .
label stickers . . .
twine balls (heh) . . .
and mini doilies
New tags and things by Craft Smith – made of burlap, cork, metal, canvas, and denim
Project-Lifey card and embellishment kits. In my store, these are in the back by framing and there are matching 8.5 x 11 photo albums below them.
Super cute new MAMBI paper pad
WITH HEARTS!! <3
Love this pretty new K&Company postbound album – great colors and design
Some Spring-y new mini paper pads and die cut packs by Recollections
Tabbed index cards by Recollections, great for organizing photos or Project Life cards
Hey, I think someone asked me a long time ago where I got the scrapbook page display thingee in my office. I forgot to answer but when I saw these at Michaels, I remembered that I forgot. So sorry, whoever that was! Yep, I got it at Michaels and they still have ’em.
Over in the home deco section, there was also some cute new stuff –
So that’s what’s what at Michaels these days.
Further down in the same mall, there’s a Bev Mo (do you have these where you live? I call them “college students’ heaven” stores). I’m driving along and got a little bit twitterpated – CRAFT EVENT! – before I realized, “Duh. It’s Bev Mo. Must mean craft beer.” Bummer, dude. Really harshed my mellow.
So I went in, got some Grey Goose, and it was all good.
So I was on Amazon yesterday looking at one of THESE . . . hmmm, why would I need one? Something SBO Membership-related, perhaps? ;) Anyhow, while I was there, I looked around at scrapbook supplies and here are some fun things I found:
Wowza! What a pretty line! I hadn’t seen this before so I’m glad I browsed around a little bit. MME puts out so many lines, they can start to look same-same to me – but this one is unique and I love it!
There are other sets for the $2.20 price as well – if you ordered some other stuff, you could get all 4 sets for under $9 with free shipping:
I love the MAMBI cards for pocket page scrapping. They use such fun colors and fonts, all their stuff looks great together, and I can always find a saying that works with my photos.
If you don’t have this line yet, I recommend it. It has such a unique and pretty look to it, and it kinda’ forces you to do pages about YOU – something scrapbookers need to do more of :)
You know I LOVE ME SOME MAMBI! {HERE is how I store all those cute cards}. So I’d love love love to go to this warehouse sale. Although it IS in my home state of California, it’s a 4 1/2 hour drive :( So it’s on the calendar in pencil but I really doubt I’ll go. I shall however send out Happy MAMBI Shopping Vibes to all scrappy shoppers who get to <3
Speaking of MAMBI, they have an awesome BLOG and ONLINE SHOP so check ’em out. Super cute stuff . . . these have been added to my SCRAPBOOK WISH LIST on Pinterest.
As I mentioned in my LAST POST about my scrapbooking haul from Michaels, I’m starting a new project: a combination Gratitude and About Me journal and mini book.
From Michaels, I recently bought this gorgeous pink 6×8 album, along with the Weekly Planner and Journal Pages sets, by Project Life. I got them for either 40 or 50% off using sales and coupons.
Here’s the album with JUST the Journal Pages set inside and, as you can see, it’s chock full.
I had to put this page first in the album . . . SO PERFECT!
Obviously, I’ll have to pull out some of the Journal Pages to make room for some of the Weekly Planner pages, which is fine because they’re pretty generic, basically just lined or grid journal pages with differing amounts of space to write on.
I also want to take out these divider pages and use the monthly ones from the Weekly Planner set. If this works out, I’ll have a similar set ready to go for next year, too.
So, back to the MAMBI Sticks from the other post . . . I’m going to use 1 or 2 of those on the cover of this new album. I’ll be handling this book a lot so I don’t want to make it too fancy.
I just love the watercolor look of that green one. It’s going to be hard to choose!
Then I’ll use the stickers from the medium-sized MAMBI set on the pages inside. I want them to be mostly journaling and, because the pages are so thick, I need to keep them flat as well. These stickers will be perfect. They make me happy just to look at them :)
I haven’t decided yet whether to include photo pocket pages in this album. I know there’ll be times when I’ll want to use a photo but, to save room, I *think* I’ll print any photos 2×3 or 3×4 and adhere them right to a page, then write the journaling around the photo.
The reason for this project: I have so many positives in my life right now. I feel like I’m at a point where things are becoming more and more clear – about what I want from life, how to be “a positive” in others’ lives, things I want to tell my kids, etc.
I’ve even started another blog with this new vision and I’m SO excited! If I stick with it long-term, I’ll share the link here ;) Hey, I realize my flaws and being The Queen of Unfinished Projects is one of them, including new blogs. Heh.
My new blog will include some scrapbooking and memory keeping but will mostly be writing – about things I think you’ll really identify with – along with photos and lots of other great stuff :) I’ve written drafts of five posts already and I’m having a blast!
I wrote a lot in school and majored in creative writing in college; I miss writing and expressing myself in that way (other than about scrapbooking, of course!). I was driving home the other day and in the space of 20 minutes, I’d written down NINE ideas for posts I wanted to write. Now THAT’S inspired!
I hope I follow through and am able to share it with you – wish me luck!
In MY LAST POST, I talked about my trip to an out-of-town Michaels – a GOOD Michaels – that I had so much fun shopping at. Now, it’s time to show you what I bought there.
Here’s the whole shebang.
I didn’t show these little MAMBI Sticks in the other post but ain’t they cute? I love these for Project Life and other pocket pages. They’re mostly flat but add a little bit of depth and lots of color. The little banners to their right by American Crafts will probably go in my PL as well. I love putting banners across the corner of a photo that has some white space. There’s a Heidi Swapp “Sunburst” stencil that I’ve wanted forever. {I could only get one and had to put the Hearts stencil back, boo hoo}. There’s the 2 chevron washi tapes from Recollections DIY; I also had pink but put it back. Like with the burlap embellishments in my last post, I’m hoping my Michaels will eventually get this washi and I’ll buy it with a coupon.
Here is the large MAMBI Sticks pack that I chose from the FIVE I wanted, LOL. I can’t find a name on it, unfortunately :( It has a lot of sayings about life, being positive, gratitude, etc.
Along with the medium-sized set of MAMBI Sticks in the top photo, far right, I’m going to use these on a project I’m starting. For that, you’ll have to read my next post. Yeah, I’m such a tease!
Because I went to a GOOD Michaels a few weeks ago while traveling and it was a-MAYZE-ing! They had all the stuff I hear other scrappers talking about online and wish-wish-WISHING! that mine did.
This cute project greeted me at the front table.
My store doesn’t even have this whole section called “Craft It” by Recollections. Some really cute stuff to DIY party favors, cards, scrapbooking, etc.
Look at those cute colored clothespins and straws!
I snagged two of these washi tapes!
Four new paper pads by Jolee’s – I’ve never seen paper by them, only embellishments. GO Jolee’s!
Even their Clearance stuff was better than at my Mike’s :P
I was tempted by this watercolor paper pad by Recollections but I still have tons of “COLOR WASH” by Heidi Swapp that needs to be used.
The “Sweet Tangerine” paper pad by DCWV was hard to pass up. I love all the orange.
I swear, “Hey Kid” by Pink Paislee has been on my wish list since I first saw it. But twice now I’ve seen it in person and failed to pull the trigger. I think I need to get just a few sheets and some embellishments, not the whole line. I just don’t love ALL of the papers.
And, oh yeah, all paper pads were 50% off so I expect you to really admire my strength in not buying any, LOL!
My Mike’s doesn’t have any of these cute burlap embellishments!
I had those mason jars and the letters in my hands . . . but they didn’t make the final cut :( I’m hoping my Mike’s will get them eventually and I can use coupons to get them later.
THIS Mike’s has almost a full aisle of paper pads! Does yours? Mine has about 1/3 of an aisle.
Look how high their paper racks go! Mine stop at about eyeball-level with about 1/3 as many racks. Hmph!
They even have a SCRAPBOOKING sign! Not at my store :(
This looks about the same as the Project Life section at my Mike’s.
My store has a section like this of random MAMBI, card sentiments, older K&Co, etc. but it’s not as filled in, has maybe about 1/2 as much product.
Found these cute new letter stickers in 3 colors.
Here’s a close-up so you can see . . . they’re made of a textured fabric and are slightly distressed on the edges.
And here is where I thought I’d died and gone to Heaven! MAMBI MAMBI MAMBI!! Man, their stuff is so bright, cheery, and uplifting. They can turn anyone’s frown upside-down, ha!
I knew I had to get some of these MAMBI Sticks but at $8 a package, I had to make a choice . . . or maybe two ;) So I looked at the backs to see what was in each package. I just love the sayings they use, the pretty fonts, and the great colors.
Love these letters – kraft with polka dots!
Uh-oh, found another set of MAMBI Sticks I like. This is getting ever harder to choose!
They had all the MAMBI Pocket Pages stuff which I’ve bought out . . . ahem, has mostly been phased out at my Michaels.
My store now has the Instax Mini 8 camera, mini albums, and supplies – a better selection actually – but this Mike’s had them 2-3 weeks earlier.
NOTE: These cameras are only about $60-70 on Amazon with free shipping (depending on the color you choose) at my link above. At Michaels, they retail (if I remember right) for $119. Even with a coupon, Amazon is cheaper. And some Michaels stores are not accepting coupons for them. Just a shopping tip!
Here are the 8.5 x 11 “Hot Buy” paper pads I heard about online but couldn’t find at my Mike’s.
This Amy Tangerine one with all the cameras was super tempting!
And, finally, some new embellishments from AMERICAN CRAFTS, aka the Monopoly winners at the game of Scrapbooking (did you get that? huh?). Something in this photo came home with me.
Those plastic letters on the bottom look like some I bought from Crate Paper “The Pier”
line a while back and I know I paid a lot more than $3.99 for them! I wonder if the quality and amount are similar?
If you want to see what I bought, stay tuned . . . you’ll see in my next post!
I hope those of you with a GOOD Mike’s nearby realize how lucky you are. You’re probably the same ones with a Hobby Lobby and a great Joann nearby too, aren’t ya’?? Jeez, I’m really jealous of you. I don’t even have those stores, no LSS, just a (BAD) Michaels. Waaahh!
So, which camp do you fall in? Do you have a GOOD Mike’s like this one that gets all the good, new stuff early on and has hoards of scrapbooking supplies? Or are you like me with a BAD Mike’s that gets new products much later, if at all, and in smaller quantities?
Soooo . . . confession time! Are you a Scrapoholic? Are you in recovery . . . or driving to the store?
Tell us something weird, funny, or crazy your “scrapbook obsession” has made you do. I mean, it’s an ADDICTION so you’re clearly not in control and can’t be blamed for your actions. {That’s my story and I’m stickin’ to it}.
– I had to buy a third plastic shoebox because my PROJECT LIFE, MAMBI, and SN@P! card sets have outgrown THIS storage . . .
– I take selfies at the beach {while pretending I’m taking ocean photos} because that’s the only way to get myself in the scrapbook . . .
– I have one of my jobs solely to have a budget for buying scrapbook supplies and printing photos . . .
There are lots more but I’ll leave it at that :)
Okay, don’t leave me hangin’ out here alone. Your turn!
YES! I got to go to CHA* for the first time!!! And it was absolutely amazing! Scrapbook Bucket List item checked off! I could only go for one day (Saturday) but I’m so grateful even for that. It’s like Rome or Disneyland – there is NO possible way to see and do everything you want to in one day. So I ran around like a scrappy chicken with my head cut off and crammed as much as I could into 7 hours.
*Are you wondering what the hay CHA is? Check THIS out.
There was so much greatness packed into those 7 hours that I can’t put it all in one blog post. I’ll do a series over the next week or two and that way I can be more detailed (maybe TOO detailed but humor me, LOL!) Simple Stories and Basic Grey might take 2 posts each. We’ll see how it goes. But I want to share the experience with you of being a total geeky newb in the Emerald City. I must say, Oz was extremely welcoming :) And no flying monkeys. BONUS!
Pinch me. I still kind of can’t believe it. OUCH! Jeez, I didn’t mean ACTUALLY pinch me. It was a figure of speech. Sheesh. That’s okay, it didn’t hurt that much. Between CHA yesterday and the Golden Globes and The Bachelor tonight, I’m in heaven anyway. I still love you <3
For an idea of what’s to come, below are some of the booths I went to and people I met.
I got a tour of these booths, met some wonderful people, and got you some good intel: BASIC GREY – Talked to one of the owners, Rachel Brenchley, and briefly met Kelly Purkey SIMPLE STORIES – Met the owners Kevin and Amber Crowell, and Jodi, Sue, and Layle Koncar ECHO PARK / CARTA BELLA – Met Andrea Smith WEBSTER’S PAGES – Met Allison Kreft and Shimelle PROJECT LIFE – Met Becky Higgins CHICKANIDDY CRAFTS – Met Heidi Sonboul’s husband MAMBI (Me and My Big Ideas) – Met Shelby Strichard
As you can see, I’m a Paper Girl. If you’re looking for inks and stamps and tools, I’m not your gal. I mean, all that stuff is awesome but I had to prioritize so I went for my first love: PAPER!!! I’m a confessed PAPER SNIFFER from way back, remember? I’ve always been open with you about that. Don’t hate.
I also got to meet Nancy Nalley from SCRAPBOOK UPDATE and we had a quick fun convo at the end of the day. I hope I remembered to mention every person and booth I visited. If not, I’ll include them later, swear!
Overall, I will say that my photos will not be the best you’ll see out there (camera problems so most are iPhone photos). I didn’t take a TON of project photos because I know each manufacturer posts those on their blog, etc. My focus will be on telling you the story of the day, how amazing and fun it was to be there, the conversations I had with some of my favorite companies, what I’ll do differently next time, and hopefully some insider information that you won’t hear anywhere else. The posts will be LONG. I’m verbose. Deal with it.
I did offer those I interviewed the chance to do a run-through of our exchange before I post it. I don’t have the greatest memory and I’d feel HORRIBLE if I misquoted someone. I also don’t want to share any details they’d rather keep under wraps for now, or anything too personal. They are businesses, just real people making a living, and I totally respect that. But if there’s a delay in posting anything, that’ll be why – just wanted you to know ☺
So please come back to read more about my adventures at CHA 2014. If you want to make sure and not miss a post, you can sign up for updates in the top right corner. That way, you get an e-mail every time I post.
In the meantime, if you’re Jonesing for CHA product and project photos, I encourage you to check out all the vendor blog links in my Blogroll on the lower right. If you go to their blogs, you can usually find a link to their Pinterest, Instagram, and Facebook where they’re sharing photos from CHA and/or products debuting at CHA. Also, in my post above, anything that’s bolded is a link to their blog or website.
Another way to see amazing pics from the floor of CHA is check out Melissa Stinson/Scrappy Jedi’s FLICKR FEED. She has a nice camera and her CHA photos are wicked good. I was hoping to meet Melissa @ CHA but never saw her, dangit! I’ve followed her blog for years and am a big fan.
Sorry no pretty pictures this time. I’m still downloading and editing them – I took almost 500 total. In 7 hours. Yikes. Excessive much?
Went to Ms today and found some new goodies! Maggie Holmes and Dear Lizzy full kit, those mini albums, 3 – kits that goes with (journal, agenda, recipe), page protectors and some of those small card kits.
She was kind enough to take photos, not just one trip but two! Some of them are on her blog above but I also wanted to share them here in a larger size . . . gotta’ see the detail, right!?!?! LOL
I’m a bit confused as to what exactly is being sold at Michaels. She mentions MH and DL full kits (referring to the 2 Core Kit boxes on the bottom, I assume?). I knew there were new MH and DL (and Amy Tan) *mini* kits coming out but not Core Kits. Besides, this would be rather early as Becky says RIGHT HERE that they’ll be introduced at CHA in mid-January.
Although I also see the BRAND NEW Project Life 6×8 albums and pages Becky showed on her blog HERE and those are supposed to be intro’d at CHA as well. So the Core Kits must be new ones I missed hearing about? Hmmm . . .
I also think I spy a bunch of Project Life Themed Cards. I think I’ve already grabbed all of those that I want, but I’m still excited to see them at Michaels as mine hasn’t carried those yet.
So off I went to Mike’s today with my 50% off coupon in search of this Motherlode of PL Goodness. Do you think I found any?
Of COURSE not!
Supposedly, they’re on an end cap in the scrapbooking section. For once, I did have some time to stroll around the whole store but couldn’t find them anywhere, not even a bare end cap possibly waiting for them.
Color me sad :(
Oh well, I hope they show up at my Mike’s eventually or that I can find an excuse . . . ahem, that I can check the “good” Mike’s some time soon because I “need” to go to Costco ;)
What I did find at Michaels was an island full of Valentine’s Day stuff. It’s not usually a holiday I buy many scrap supplies for but there were some REALLY cute things!
Disclaimer: Very busy store + everyone watching me = rushed blurry photos. Sorry!
See those cute enamel heart stickers ^^^^ in the top middle of the photo? Got me summa’ them. Hearts are a staple – any time of year.
On the “Valentine Island” there was also some new MAMBI stuff that looked geared toward card making but I can see it for scrapbooking too!
I also got the MAMBI Sticks arrows and the Soft Spoken Hi, Hello stickers. Sooooo cute!
And just in time for all those New Years resolutions to get organized, all of Mike’s storage is 50% off – this is just one of many aisles of organizational goodness.
I do need more Iris 12×12 containers but didn’t get any today. With my 50% off coupon, I got the 3 sticker sets for less than $8. What a nice pick-me-up indulgence after the madness of Christmas and doing so much cooking, cleaning, and “stuff” for others. That and a Starbucks vanilla skinny latte’ and I feel *almost* redeemed. Hope you’ve been able to give yourself a little reward, too :)
Please report any new Project Life sightings at YOUR Michaels! And if you can clear up my confusion about what Core Kits those are Photo #5 above, I’d really appreciate it!
What I’ve been doing is buying partial kits, trading cards, and selling cards. I think the only kit I still have all the cards for is Baby and that’s because I’m going to use it for multiple baby books. Oh, and I have all of Wellington and Wedding but those are mini kits.
The large and small boxes that Project Life come in are very nice but they’re not a very efficient use of space, especially when you only own 1/4 or 1/3 of the larger kits. So I decided to throw away all the PL boxes and come up with a new storage system.
Requirements:
1. Easily accessible
Opening one lid is fine but I don’t wanna’ be opening cases inside of cases and I need to be able to flip through the cards.
2. Something I can label
I need to SEE the names not just SEE the cards. I’m weird like that.
3. Something I can keep on my desk
Another thing I didn’t like about keeping the cards in the original PL box was that they were too big to keep on my desk, so I had to go over to the bookshelf to get them every time I worked on my Project Life or a PL-type album.
One idea I’d thought about replicating was from LAYLE KONCAR at SIMPLE STORIES. She used one of those old cassette holders (in case you are disgustingly young, cassettes were music-playing things before iPods came along). She tilted it up and it’s genius how you can see all your cards so well with this system.
Alas, it didn’t meet requirements 2. and 3. above :(
I got this wild hair late Friday night so no time to go shopping for a storage system. I perused my stash and decided to use some plastic shoe boxes I got from Target awhile back. They were holding handmade cards I’ve received over the years and various mini albums, mostly made at CKU and such. So those things were dumped out and I need to find a new home for them now. Which is a pain.
But totally worth it because look how great my new Project Life card storage came out! All my PL cards are in there except Wellington which is on my desk as I’m currently working with it.
As you can see, the box on the left is for Project Life cards and on the right is for Sn@p!, MAMBI, free printables, and misc. cards like those calendar cards from ELLE’S STUDIO. I used lined Project Life 4×6 blank cards to create the dividers, along with washi tapes and my Brother label maker. No, I’m not super creative but it got the job done.
I’m so happy that all my Project Life, Sn@p!, MAMBI (can you say “Addicted!”???), and free printable cards are all in one place! Well, two places but you know what I mean. They sit to the right of my chair at my L-shaped desk. A divided tray with all my other Project Life-y type stuff sits to the left – washi, 6×6 pads, WRMK small pads, corner rounder, arrow punch, date stamps, ink, stickers, etc.
It gets very dusty in my scraproom so I love that this is covered storage. When I’m actively using them, I can slip the shoebox lids right underneath the boxes so they don’t take up extra room or flop backward covering other things like the PL boxes do. And when I’m not using them, they seal on the boxes tightly and keep the dust out.
Plus I {heart} hearts SO much! They just make me happy and I’m glad they’re now sitting so close to me at my desk instead of way across the room on that ol’ bookshelf like before. Now we can get to know each other better, maybe go out for a drink, play Scrabble, you know, that kind of thing.
So there’s my latest version of scrapbook storage for all those Project Life-type cards. What do you think? How are yours stored? I would love to hear!
In November (or should I type Novemeber? ha!) of 2012, I started a blog post with a list and images of scrapbook typos and errors.
This paper from Basic Grey started it all, and it really is a motherlode of errors:
I had no idea at the time that 7 months later I would still be adding to the list and that it would have grown to 34+ PRODUCTS with typos or errors, some with multiple errors on one product!
And that’s not even counting the typos mentioned that I haven’t been able to find images for yet, like the MAMBI cards. {Apparently, there are even more errors than the ones they corrected in their blog post}.
I can’t thank you enough – the Commenters on my blog and the crazy girls at Two Peas – for continuing to share errors y’all find. {Side note: I just learned from a Southern gal that I’ve been typing that wrong all these years; it’s “y’all” not “ya’ll” like I thought. Dur. See? Even perfect people like me make mistakes! :P}.
I spent 2 hours today updating the typos and errors post, adding new products and adding more errors to products already listed. For example, 1 October Afternoon sticker sheet has 3 errors found (so far … wink).
So if you haven’t read the post yet, or haven’t read it in a while, please go check it out HERE. You’ll laugh your head off … or cry … as the case may be.
And keep those errors coming! I’m sure there will be more :)
A sports season recently came to an end and, for being team mom, I was lucky enough to receive a beautiful card, a bottle of wine, and a Michaels $25 gift card. However did they know that I would enjoy a Mike’s spending spree!?!?
{Uh, maybe because I was the only obsessive picture taker all season who would drift away in the middle of conversations saying, “‘Scuse me I gotta’ get this shot …”}
So I drank the bottle of wine and went to Michaels.
JUST kidding! Sheesh. Give me a little credit. My Gawd.
.
.
.
I shopped first THEN drank the bottle of wine. Duh.
It was nice to go to Michaels for once when I wasn’t trying to pinch my pennies so hard they screamed for mercy. I felt kind of like the Real Housewife of Scrapbook County, leisurely strolling the aisles in my Jimmy Choos (okay, Reef flip-flops), carrying my Birkin bag (okay, Target $20 purse), with my long blonde straw-like hair extensions flowing behind me (okay, that part is true).
But I really did feel kinda’ reckless, like I could have a little bit of fun – instead of my usual M/O of finding one item to use my 40% coupon for and leaving within 5 minutes.
So here is my Michaels scrapbook haul – and despite being Real-Housewife-Rich, I did get some great deals anyway:
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GCD and Sticko alphas, both really cute for kid pages. Both styles were on sale for $1.49/pack.
I feel compelled to buy 2 of every alpha now because I’m so tired of running out of S, T, and vowels before I’m done with a pack.
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Okay, I admit I’m obsessed with these MAMBI pocket page cards. It’s only gotten worse since I wrote THIS POST. Many of my aforementioned “one item with a coupon” Mike’s trips have been to get these packs. But I’m done now. I officially have every single pack that I want. I think. Yeah. I’m pretty sure. Maybe.
NO REALLY. I’M DONE. FER SHURE. LIKE.
So they retail for $4.99 a pack. The sign said 50% off so I grabbed the remaining 3 packs I wanted to complete my ‘set’ for $7.50 instead of $15 … SCORE! However, when I got to the register and asked to make sure they rang up for $2.50 each, I was informed that what the sign ACTUALLY said was “Buy 1, get 1 50% off.” Uh der. Make that $12.50 total, oops. Oh well, I’m a Real Housewife, what do I care?
I thought about returning one and using a coupon on it later. But then I figured I’ll just keep it and not have to worry about remembering what pack I still need, etc. Done. See? I really mean it. {I think}.
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Thickers chipboard alpha in a cute map print
I was able to ring these up separately with a 40% off coupon so they were $3.23. Here’s what’s funny. I noticed when I was taking the photo that they are in the totally wrong package! Did you catch that? Weird. Whatevs. That doesn’t make me love them any less.
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To round up the scrappy portion of my haul …
Bazzill kraft cardstock – On sale for 47 cents a sheet x 10 sheets = $4.70. In retrospect, since I was Real Housewives rich, I should’ve gotten more. I lurve kraft cardstock. I used it a lot for my base pages. It’s like a good pair of jeans – it goes with everything.
Then from the home dec section, I got a yummy candle and cute vase with fake flowers for my home office/scrap room.
These blue-y greens are my absolute favorite colors and the bottle/vase is so “me”. Not in a Real Housewife sort of way but in my poor country girl kind of way. The flowers have bling in the center of each one but I may need to thin them out a bit, do you think? The candle is Ocean scented.
Vase $3.99 on sale
Candle $3.99 on sale
Flowers $6.99 minus 40% coupon = $4.19
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Grand total $48.10
Minus gift card $25.00
Total paid $30.10
I was on a shopping high for quite a while from this trip! And I’ve already volunteered to be Team Mom again next season ;)
What are your latest Michaels finds? Or if you’re brave enough to share, what did you spend on your last scrapbook haul? Really you can tell us! Real Housewives never tell …
. . . hmmm, why would I need one? Something SBO Membership-related, perhaps? ;) Anyhow, while I was there, I looked around at scrapbook supplies and here are some fun things I found:
$5.99 with free shipping on orders over $35
$11.98 with free shipping over $35
$6.80 with free shipping on orders over $35
only $2.20 as an Add-On item over $25 or free ship over $35
$19.99 with free shipping over $35
has been on my wish list since I first saw it. But twice now I’ve seen it in person and failed to pull the trigger. I think I need to get just a few sheets and some embellishments, not the whole line. I just don’t love ALL of the papers.
, mini albums, and supplies – a better selection actually – but this Mike’s had them 2-3 weeks earlier. 
, MAMBI, and SN@P! card sets have outgrown 
