Just Be

The blog moved....

2007-07-13T10:12:00.001-05:00

... maybe temporarily, maybe permanently... I'm not sure yet... to here.

Two things...

2007-07-11T13:45:00.000-05:00

sometimes it sucks to be nice...

and

the justice system is messed up.

Thanks for letting me vent

New Basic Grey

2007-07-10T13:00:00.000-05:00

NEW Basic Grey just walked in the door. Hoping to get it out this afternoon. One day I will figure out how to use their stuff! One day...

CHA is just around the corner. Remember to check out the back of the shoppe from the 15th to the 31st.... we're piling up the tables with newly discounted items... gotta make room for the new stuff you know.

Edited to add:

Got the following up...
- new Basic Grey Indulge papers and die-cuts - new Gelly Roll Powder - restocked Heidi Swapp XL Ghost shapes and FINALLY received the Wings! - Heidi Swapp Ghost Clocks have been revamped. They are no longer "weathered"! - one new Daisy D paper (so lonely! but now reunited with it's friends who arrived a couple of weeks ago) - new Deja Views Summer line. Hot pinks, blue and lime! - new Imaginesce Bitty Blossoms - restocked some Heidi Swapp Clear Stamps. New corners. Frills now in. They'll be gone soon.
... and a couple more random things

Bad Blogger

2007-07-07T17:33:00.000-05:00

I've slacked in my blogging. Because of time... and mostly because of the fact that I never think I have anything interesting to share. But then you'd stop reading right?

So... let's see...

* missing So You Think You Can Dance. Glad it's back this next week.

* HOT HOT days here lately! Getting tired of the kids begging for the pool though.

* THE Stanley Cup sits in Winkler today! Woo hoo!

* Got 2 new light fixtures. You may know we have very little NEW in this house... all our current light fixtures are "antique" hand-me-downs.

* I badly want to get my CS2 up and running. Maybe next week. Anyone know of any good tutorials (especially on editing and color conversion)?

* This guy is a major shutterbug...

* I've been rearranging the kitchen. After 7 years, it's still not how it's supposed to be.

* Scrapping some.

* Making some really cute felt journals. Hoping to get them up on Etsy soon.

* New Basic Grey arriving this next week. Yummy.

* Wishing I were going to CHA at the end of July.

* Got my Kristina Contes kit. Yummy again.

* Waiting for Harry (Potter, that is)... Val... it's yours as soon as I'm done (if you want).

* Wanting to paint lately. Haven't done that in a few years.

* Been dreaming of the store lately. Expanding. Redecorating. Drives me nuts that finacially at this point I can't do it! Keep shopping people.... maybe in a year or two I'll be able to! My heart is there (more so than the online store). There's just something about connecting with people on a face to face basis.

* Rumor has it my cousin had her baby! Congrats Terill and Kevin!

... and that's about it. Very exciting I know! Have a great weekend!

June

2007-06-30T21:51:00.000-05:00

Busy with a ton of stuff. June is SUCH a write off. Field trips, picnics in the park, school swimming... so crazy. Times this all by two. Took tons of pics this month. Eventually I'll get to adding them to Flickr.

Kids are thrilled it's summer though. It'll be hard, but great all at the same time. We've made a "summer schedule" and hopefully we'll stick to it. Library on Tuesdays, picnic in the park on Tuesdays... two afternoons a week working... limited TV time... that kinda thing.

Just finished an online crop at MSS. Got a lot done.

... and some more (posted in Flickr and MSS). Okay... so not all of them were done today... but still.

Have a great long weekend.

Today...

2007-06-27T12:07:00.000-05:00

... I'm busy with this...

Still here...

2007-06-25T15:49:00.000-05:00

... just swamped (with normal, everyday stuff).
I'll share soon.

A new love

2007-06-18T10:56:00.000-05:00

LOVIN' Flickr right now!

SOOO many awesome photos (and photographers) out there. Totally wants to make me walk around all day with my camera!

I have the goal to get all my photos up there (for archival purposes), but for now I'm starting with March 07 (our Florida trip), work forward and then do my older stuff when I have time (I still have it on our external harddrive). I also some viewable to family only, so I have to get going on that too.

But for now I love it! Love it! I just need more time to play with it.

Camera... I love you.

2007-06-12T15:27:00.000-05:00

Busy. A good busy.

Found kitties. Played in the sprinkler (well. hose. actually)

And went back to the Thresherman's Museum on Sunday. Molly had gone there for her field trip the week before. I can't believe I'd never been there. Derek and I felt TOTALLY at home there. We actually have some of the same furniture and antiques in our home. A similar wood couch. Some little knick-knacky things. An old counter. Old signs. Such a history. Everything had a story. We always thought we were born at the wrong time. Don't get me wrong. I LOVE my electricity and running water... but they don't make things now like they used too.
And now I have an obscene amount of photos (I took 150 or so!). Here are some of my favs.

And, some that I so badly wanted to turn out didn't... so... guess that means we're going back.

FYI. We went on a Sunday afternoon (from 2pm till 5pm) and we were the only people there! Perfect.

P.S. Love, Elsie should be arriving by the weekend.

Edited to add: The photo of Derek and myself was taking by Molly. My 50mm lense doesn't zoom, so I told her were to stand and asked to just to take pictures. We did some posed ones, but the money-shot was a candid one.

A little obsessive?

2007-05-30T09:01:00.000-05:00

I listen to 103.1 most of the time. Good station. Lots of tunes. And they play this little bit as the odd commercial...
"I didn't believe you the first 20 times you said it... but it's starting to sink in".
I swore it was Marc Blucas (Riley from Buffy) and totally sounded like something from the show... but I wasn't 100% sure.
Now. Stuff like that drives me CRAZY. If I'm trying to place a voice... or a quote... or something and I can't remember where it's from, it bugs me all day!! And you know me and my "Vote Buffy" enthusiasm. If this was a Buffy quote it would totally rock that they were playing it on the radio!
So I started playing Buffy season 4 (where Riley first came on) while I scrapped. If it was from Buffy it'd be season 4 or the first half of season 5 most likely.
And there it was. Season 5 Episode 1 Buffy vs. Dracula. I couldn't believe it! You should've seen my face!!!
Ahh... the simple pleasures!
More quotes from the episode.

(And by the way, TV Guide (2004) voted Buffy one of the 50 best TV shows of all time). See... it's not just me! ;)

June kit sneak peek

2007-05-26T10:57:00.000-05:00

June kit sneak peek (just taken from my leftover stash from home). It's a good one!

And be sure to check the Winkler Times for MSS coupons!!!

TGIF

2007-05-25T22:13:00.001-05:00

... finally. I know it was a really short week because of Victoria Day on Monday, but the weekend can never come soon enough!

I'm expecting 7 or 8 boxes of stuff early this next week at the shoppe, so I'm taking this weekend to relax and catch up here at home.

Some random photos/stories from today:

Max has loved this cat (Snickers) since day one. She just had kittens a day or two ago, so now begins our annual summer kitty hunt.

Jack builds the most intricate little cities. Lets' see... on the beige towel in the upper right is a car show... the green towel on the bottom right is a field (but I'm told there's no tractors on it)... to the left of that is a junk yard (Cooter's junk yard from The Dukes of Hazzard no less)... to the left of that (and off the picture) are the cops... above that is a tunnel (made from larger trucks.... for some reason... and all the little vehicles are lined up to go through)... and to the right of that is another tunnel made with pillows.

Have a great weekend everyone. Look for the June newsletter and kits this coming week.

(And happy birthday to my sweetheart!)

Click! Take a pic!

2007-05-22T16:04:00.000-05:00

... yes... my kid's love Diego!

My goal for today was to work on my photos. I'm soo behind.

So I've gone through editing them. I still have to organize "April" and burn it to a disc, but it feels better now.

I want to upload them to Flickr as well... but I'm not sure... should I upload ALL my photos... just the edited ones? I want to use it for a storage solution... you know... along with having them on CD's.

And, since I was soo behind... here's a couple of my favs.

(Jack wanted me to JUST take a picture of his new General Lee... we're all about "the Dukes" lately... but I HAD to get him in there too).

And... some lilacs Jack brought me to put in my studio... including a lovely plastic container and some rocks!

I think there's still a couple of spots left in next Tuesday's class.
And, here's a peek of June's class (June 12th).

I was kinda wondering how it'd turn out, but I totally LOVE it. I'll post details on the MSS site shortly.

... and it's still raining (all day so far!) so I've got to pick up the kids.

Happy Tuesday everyone.

Sunday Bits

2007-05-21T00:30:00.000-05:00

Good day. Got a TON of cleaning done. Big stuff... under the stairs... moving furniture... the basement... and now a truck-load of garbage. I can see my dining room table now too! Feels good! Feels freeing!

Molly still reading like crazy.

Jack saving up for his bike. He's totally a saver by nature. Good kid.

We All Scream for Ice Cream

2007-05-14T13:50:00.000-05:00

We ended up in Grand Forks this weekend for our anniversary/Mother's Day. Only one day... but it was perfect!
Did some shopping, ate some ice cream (thanks for the tip Jenn), and swam. Lots of fun. The kids love just hanging out and I love that! Just being together and being us. Not planning a big event... just a quite Mother's Day with the people I love more than anything in the world. Just what we needed.

A little holiday always makes me feel ready for work.

Speaking of work....
- new Heidi Swapp ribbon
- new Daisy D's paper
- new Rhonna Farrer French Twist paper and rub-ons
- new KI Celebration papers and embellishments
- restocked Maya Road chipboard albums
... more on the way.

10 come and gone

2007-05-11T21:17:00.000-05:00

10 years ago (yesterday) I married my one and only... and I couldn't be happier!
Happy anniversary hon. I love you madly.

P.S. I'd post a picture, but I'd be banished and forced to live in exile for the rest of my days.

Let's Make a Deal

2007-05-09T14:05:00.000-05:00

One last post before "crazy mode".

Garage Sale
Thursday, May 10
10am - 7pm
150 Oak Bay

Kids clothes (Girls 0-7, Boys 0-3). (Some picked over from last year)
Adult clothes
Queen Bed (wood)
Twin Bed
Scrapbooking stuff (the sale table from the shoppe)
Movies
etc.

And... I have the garage sale items from SSD here... there is little to pick up... most everything sold. I'll tally up the money and pass it on to the sellers early next week.

New in the Shoppe:
- new K&Co. Classic and Amy Butler. I'm sooo in love!!!!!!!! I really don't know how long before I sell out!

It's the start of something...

2007-05-08T20:29:00.001-05:00

Saw this on Ali's blog. Totally excited about the idea of having "everything" in one place!!

Way more than normal

2007-05-07T12:06:00.000-05:00

This past Saturday was National Scrapbook Day. MSS hosted an online crop that day and I'm SOOO impressed with how much I accomplished!! Here's some...

And this one... and this one... and this one... and this one... and this one... (okay... 3 of those were from SSD... but still).

And for all you scrapper's out there, the challenges are going to remain posted till Saturday, May 12th. We'll draw for prizes after that. Just post your layouts in the gallery and link to them in the forum.

MSS newsletters will now be archived in blogger. You will not be receiving them via email. They'll be going out once a month (on the 1st) and will be full of new stuff!!!! Check them out here.

And it appears that, in fact, I have too much STUFF. Who would've thunk? So I'll be attempting a garage sale this week. Thursday 10am-7pm. Email me if you want details. Mostly clothes. Girls stuff newborn-7, boys newborn -3. Old Navy, GAP... that kinda stuff, a queen headboard and footboard (wood), movies, etc.

New Shoppe Talk Newsletter

2007-05-02T23:39:00.000-05:00

May newsletter now up.
Lots of good stuff.

Click here.

What do you think? It won't come to your inbox anymore, but they will be archived now.
Do you like the new content? (Still some tweeking to do there)

Puppy love

2007-05-01T22:19:00.000-05:00

A little guy desperately trying to avoid going to bed tonight...

"Mom... I don't love you when I'm sleeping. I love you when I'm walking."

And a little peek of our new puppy, Libby.

She's doing really well. Few "accidents", still whiny at night. The kids love her... and, so does Derek!! He gave her a bath and everything! We're going to enjoy her.

Shoppe Stuff:

New May kits are up. Spring Fever. You can find them here. Totally LOVED this kit... and especially this layout.

So much fun... so spring-y!

Thinking about doing the newsletter a little differently. Stay tuned for that.

Looking at setting the garage sale items from Super Scrap Day up at the Shoppe for National Scrapbook Day (this Saturday). Information on this will be in the newsletter.

New kits should be in the mail for subscribers this week.

New monthly project will be up this week too... offered as a kit, or as a class.

Happy Birthday Val

2007-04-29T17:16:00.000-05:00

Happy birthday....

... to a wonderful friend. Always supportive, always fun, always there. You have no idea how much you mean to me!

Lenses and Dorks

2007-04-24T21:02:00.000-05:00

I was determined to find a Canon 50mm 1.4 lense while we were in Florida. I'd researched them for a while. I contacted some scrapbooker/photographers who took the same kinds of photos I took (subjects at least) to see what they used. Jamie Waters, Karen Russell and Ali Edwards... unanimously the 5omm 1.4. And they rarely took it off. Great in low light (which is what I need in this house) and super sharp. I wanted a lense that would replace my cheapo kit lens.
So... in Florida... I couldn't find it. I went to a half dozen camera stores. No one had it. One offered to order me the new 1.2 lense for a mere $1600 US. Ummm.... no thanks. I was begining to think that it maybe wasn't as good a lense as I thought. With 3 days left I went back to Amazon and debated about ordering it and getting it sent to our condo. Would it arrive before we left for home? And then I saw they just shipped to the US. I took the gamble, selected next day shipping and crossed my fingers.
The next day, at 1oam it arrived.
I've had a while to play with it now. I LOVE it! So worth it! It's a fixed lense and I was worried that it would be very ackward having to use my feet if I wanted to zoom in! But it wasn't. It's actually quicker composing your shot, believe it or not. I'm totally in love.

Some shots from the weekend using the new lense.

And on a totally dorky note....

A couple of years ago sadness engulfed my TV viewing. After seven years, my Buffy The Vampire Slayer was ending it's run. I don't have to tell you how much I love that show... the writing, story arcs, continuity... etc. Anyhow... I'd heard that Joss Whedon (the creator/writer) of Buffy would be continuing the Buffy saga in comic book form... exactly from where season 7 left off. And then today in Winker Video I saw this...

Now... I'm not a comic book person... but it's Buffy. And they call it Season Eight! How cool is that. So, it's not the TV show, but it is written by Joss and it does continue from where the series ended. Buffy's there, Xander's there (eye patch and all), Dawn's there, Giles and Willow are mentioned. She mentions that "they" made three of her to protect her from people searching her out... and that one of her was partying it up in Rome and dating some guy named "the Immortal". In Angel Season 5 Spike and Angel found out Buffy was in Rome, partying and dating a guy named "the Immortal" and they almost headed out there... see... still continuity. Gotta love it!

Spike is also mentioned... well his and Buffy's relationship anyway.

I'll take what I can get.

Shoppe Talk:

Super Scrap Day is full. Starting prep work tomorrow. Goodie bags, door prizes, etc. Make and takes almost done. Challenges done. Photocopies to make. Snacks to pick up. Should be a busy next couple of days.

Many new CHA items recently added to the online store and already sold out. We'll accomodate all online orders as much as possible.

The boy likes the sandbox.

2007-04-23T23:02:00.000-05:00

Found a really cute pair of red sneakers for Max while we were grocery shopping today. Only $6. How could I not? Sat him in the shopping cart and took off the pair he was wearing... and proceeded to spill, what felt like, an entire sandbox from his shoe onto the floor.

Ahh... spring!

Feels like Saturday

2007-04-21T17:31:00.000-05:00

I'm taking the weekend off.
I put a ton of new stuff out at the shoppe this past week...
- new 7 gypsies albums , doorknobs, stickers
- new Autumn Leaves stamps
- new Crate paper, rub-ons, die-cuts and chipboard
... and stuff like that.

So today, the house got cleaned this morning (not heavy duty clean, but the fridge got cleared off, laundry put away, floors swept, counters and table wiped, piles put away), the toilet flooded downstairs, I helped Jack and Max build a railroad, helped Molly start a craft project (she quickly insisted on doing it herself, and then left 10 minuntes later. It still sits here), and I spent some time in my studio. Not feeling terribly inspired, but I had a project I had to get done. A mini book of Lola. With a new puppy coming I didn't want to push it aside and never get it done. I did love that dog after all. She was so sweet and gentle... totally just got to the "listening" stage. I miss her everyday!
So I did it. Tried to get some "old" supplies used up.
Basic Grey Matchbook album, Doodlebug stickers, Scrapworks stickers (which matched that lilac perfectly) and other odds and ends. I might add some more stuff later.

I know the pics are small. Sorry about that.

Have a good weekend everyone!

Vroom vroom

2007-04-18T21:59:00.000-05:00

So, big stuff happening here....

Jack learned how to ride bike himself. Starting by himself and everything! He learned really quick. He's quite the hot dogger though.... speeding around.

And Molly learned how to ride the dirtbike. She did really well, and asks to ride every night!

Summer's going to be a blast!

My contribution to the mid-month theme ~ "Sew What?"

(Can't really tell, but the photo is stitched to make a pocket for the tag).

And then these two others...

And a little sneak peek for the May kit ~ Spring Fever! (I love this kit by the way!!)
(I'm going to start posting kit stuff in here while I work on a webpage for the monthly kits)

(And a little shoppe update....
- there's only 2-3 spots left for Super Scrap Day - April 28th.
- 10 more boxes arrived. Hopefully I'll get them unpacked by then.)

Came and Went

2007-04-16T22:09:00.000-05:00

Long overdue Florida post.
Our highlights, in no particular order...

The fact that the States still has McDonald's Chicken Selects!

Stopping at the Home of Bigfoot on the way back home... which thrilled Derek beyond belief... especially when the guy working in the shop let him come in and take a look at the trucks they were working on.
The Specta-magic Parade at Disney. One of the "cast members" asked Molly to blow out the lights at show time. Very cool. They count down, blow and then all the lights in the park go out.
And then during the parade Snow White comes up to Jack and blows him a kiss. Yup. Ladies man.

Molly on all the roller coasters! Love it! This kid went on Thunder Mountain Railroad and Space Mountain with me! I've been waiting a long time for this!

The daily fireworks at Disney. Amazing and fabulous... and must add up to a gagillion dollars!

Another shot of Disney. Man do I hate crowds... but so worth it. Even if we got rained out in the afternoon.

Spending a day at Wet 'n Wild. Major highlight!

Universal Studios. They have this area in Toon Lagoon. Flip it 90 degrees. It's sideways, and you stand at the bottom of the rope, hold on, and when you flip the photo it looks like Marmaduke is taking you for the ride of your life!

Ripsaw Falls. Molly, Dad and I went. I loved it if only even for the fact that it was Fractured Fairytales... which I love! You go down two hills at the end and don't even get very wet... until you slowly go around the curve and then two jets of water shoot at you from the side and soak you.

Jack was totally into the Superheroes this year!

(Another good one was Jurassic Park's boat ride)

They were setting up for Ellen (in Orlando) at Universal. It was going to film the next day. Very cool to see how they do it all... especially for a TV junkie like me!

Run. 30 hours is a LONG time to drive!

Swimming at the pool at our condo. A great way to spend a lazy afternoon.

Seaworld. Max's favorite part of Florida... Shamu. Amazing. Amazing. Amazing.

One thing I remember about going to Seaworld as a kid was the mime at the Clyde and Seamore show. He's totally entertaining! Miming to people, how many in their party, ushering them in... and then leading them right out the side door. Miming that one guy should sit over there and then he proceeds to sit down with said guy's girlfriend. Making silly gestures behind people's backs. Totally worth the admission price alone!!

Molly got the chance to touch a dolphin. Major highlight for her.

Max was totally into the Seaworld map. He took it VERY seriously!

Race Rock. Our favorite restaurant there. First checking out the Bigfoot in the parking lot.

Later that week, when we went back, the door's were closed with a note that the new owners had different plans for the restaurant. Very disappointing.

Outlet shopping. 'Nuff said.

Visited Old Town almost every other day. Car parade. Shopping. Molly finally got to do the trampoline/bungee thing. I wish I could remember that guys name. He's awesome. He's a gymnast and SO good with the kids!

Making the best of our sleeping arrangements.

Mini golf. Kids did much better this year... in fact all three of them got a hole in one!

Hit the Flea Market again.

Every Wednesday is (free) hotdog and ice cream day at our condo.

And, so there you have it.

Florida vacation 07... came and went.

New

2007-04-12T17:19:00.000-05:00

Finally got internet up here at the shoppe again (but not at home).
Made a huge dent in boxes today.

Off the top of my head...
Fontwerks -- paper, rub-ons, new stamps
Heidi Swapp -- new Writer's Block pads, playing cards, stamps, large corners, XL ghost shapes, new masks and more. More tomorrow too!!
My Mind's Eye Signature Life -- paper, die-cuts, new transparency frames
7 Gypsies -- some new papers
Making Memories -- new brads, stickers, etc.
Scrapworks -- chipboard
Lil' Davis -- chipboard
Imaginesce -- more flowers
Bazzill -- new Bling colors
... still have to unpack the KI ink, new 7 Gypsies and more.

I'll get an official list up tomorrow.

Email

2007-04-11T14:24:00.000-05:00

My internet is down again. Long story short, it looks like it's the cable that goes to the satellite dish thingy (I'm SOO technologically inclined) ;) ... and of course this cable is buried.
As soon as it's nice enough to dig we'll unearth that bad boy.
I'm going to be bringing my laptop to the shoppe with me and using the internet there, but (of course) it's not working today either.
Anyhow... the point of this post is... if you need to get ahold of my, PMing me through the My Scrap Shoppe forums would be the best way.

And I really will post a Florida and store update ASAP. I haven't forgotten!

New in store:
- new Fontwerks (and restock).
Stamps, paper, rub-ons ($4.99!!)
In store now. Hopefully online this week.

Welcome home

2007-04-03T23:48:00.000-05:00

Okay... so not so glad to be back. What has it been? We've been home for a couple hours?

Found it strange that Lola wasn't around when we got home today, but figured she'd turn up.

Then we found out that someone drove her over yesterday.

Very sad. Still mostly in shock. Loved that dog. Only a year old. Don't know how/if we'll break it to the kids. They're still getting over Lucy.

Miss me?

2007-04-03T21:31:00.000-05:00

Back.
Spent the last two weeks in Florida, thus, my absent blogging. Just got back and settling in. Catching up on work/kit/store/newsletter stuff tomorrow... and then a better update.

Good to be back. Inspired and refreshed.

Melting

2007-03-10T16:51:00.000-06:00

Finally getting nice here. So nice, in fact, that Derek came home early from work! So just a quick post today.

I'm sooo happy I got some scrapping done this weekend. I was so worried I wouldn't get my April kit layouts done before we left. But I did. 3 layouts, one card, and then this layout "just for fun". I'm really enjoying exploring creative paper combinations... patterns and colors I normally wouldn't put together.

This coming week:

- new Scenic Route has arrived. It's still in boxes, and not all of it's here, but it's a start. (Note: Some of the Laurel line will be featured in an upcoming kit, so you won't see all of it out until then).
- new acrylic stamps from Fiskars. Just a simple alphabet, but so nice. Upper, lower and numbers in one package!
- restock of the American Crafts albums (some)
- and more idea books, Tinkering Ink, Basic Grey Precision Tool set and more.

I'll be putting these out throughout the week.

And remember, the online store will be closed on Friday for a couple weeks.

Have a good weekend everyone!

The white stuff

2007-03-08T09:50:00.000-06:00

Snow. Lots of it. Reading Jamie Waters' blog today. Spending a Monday on the beach. Mmmm.... nope. Snow. Cold. White. Heavy snow.

The kids love it though. They beg Derek everyday to take them on the snowmobile. He only has Sundays off, so if the weather's nice, that's what we do.

This boy LOVES a job. Make him do something. Anything. He loves having a goal!

Love this picture. All the little freckles. Got this one when I opened the kitchen window and he tried to climb inside.

(I'm so lazy with getting photos off my camera. I so badly would like to sit down everyday and get them on the computer, edited and posted. But that doesn't happen. So I'm amazed these made it.)

On the store-front:

Spending lots of time there lately. Getting everything in order. Pricing. Packing orders. Some days it's all just too much! I'm so glad there's no school tomorrow and I can spend the day at home!

New...

- new 8.5x11 cardstock colors

- more Making Memories Anthology embellishments

- lots of new goodies added to the embellishment table

I'm expecting some more new stuff on Monday or Tuesday next week. Stay tuned for that.

The online store will be closed from March 13th till April 3rd. We're taking a well-deserved holiday. So, if you have an order to go through, make sure you get it in by this weekend.

As always, the MSS Girls can help you with most everything on the site. I'm hoping to have cooperative internet access while we're gone so I'm not totally out of the loop. Anyway... more details next week.

Let it snow... Count your Lucky Stars!

2007-03-01T10:35:00.000-06:00

It's that time... time for a new kit!

And here it is...

Lucky Stars - March 07 Red Star Monthly Kit
My favorite contribution...

And with this kit we're starting a subscription! Woohoo! Don't miss out! (And I'm working on the summer kits as we speak!)

And other new things for the 1st...

My turn for the Challenge: "I challenge you to use a large (min. 1" around) patterned paper mat on your page."

You can play along here.

So... that's it for Shoppe stuff today.
In other news... we're snowed in today. School's cancelled. Which on any other day would be fabulous! But on a day when the new kits are supposed to go out... not so great!

So we'll stay home today. Playing. Coloring. I'll work a bit (ordering for upcoming kits, entering online stuff, etc.) and pick up a hundred toys!

Smile! Have a great day!

And the CHA stuff starts rolling in...

2007-02-26T21:23:00.000-06:00

It's started. CHA stuff is arriving.

* Today...
- new American Crafts Mini Marks rub-ons, Thickers (chipboard and foam), ribbon, chipboard and a couple papers (more on the way)
- new Basic Grey rub-ons
- new BoBunny paper (gorgeous!), 9x9 albums and stickers
- new Luxe papers (so cool and original)
- new Rob and Bob papers (now double-sided!) and rub-ons
- new Making Memories Anthology albums, chipboard, paper, stickers, etc. And new Defined stickers!
- new Prima (I love the teeny tiny ones!)
... and more.

Also restocked the 7 Gypsies Naked and Observation stamps.

It's now in the shoppe on Main and I'll try to get it online this week.

* Also, Maya Road Chipboard is now available individually... even alphabets! Pick only the letters you need! We need to restock these, but there's a few left. Coaster albums, flowers, ABCs...

* Added the April class to the sidebar. Sign-up here.

Tuesday, April 17th ~ 6:30pm

$20 ($18 for Members)

This class is going to be so fun! And so perfect for Mother's Day! A 16x20 canvas! Really! Inspired by Ali Edwards. And you don't need to be familiar at ALL with canvas to complete this project. We'll supply the canvas, paper and paint... you bring your photos, adhesive and embellishments!

So, that's the update today.

Another online crop and tricky teeth

2007-02-24T19:38:00.000-06:00

Look who's teaching in Florida when we're going... Emily Falconbridge!
I tell yah... how cool would that be!

Spent today scrapping (in between refereeing, cleaning, laundry, playing "store" with the kiddos). MSS February online crop. Got these three done. Hoping to get one more done after the kids are in bed.

Today's my first day scanning since I got our new computer. And low and behold our scanning program's not on there. Which is fine... it's really old... but I was familiar with it. Now I have this new one (Arcsoft Photostudio 5) which is almost the same... but stitching is a pain! If anyone has any good (and FREE) program that automatically stitches, please pass it on!

And I'll be drawing for RAKs later in the week.

After freaking out all day long, Molly pulled out her own tooth. She was shocked at how easy it came out. I'd bugged her all day to let me do it, but she'd scream and run away (more acting than anything). She wanted to keep it in... she said she could do tricks with it. I guess when your tooth is sticking out horizontally it's a trick!

* And, by the way, the project in the new banner is the project for April!

New stuff

2007-02-22T11:37:00.000-06:00

New CHA stuff is trickling in.
- Lil' Davis Stripped Chipboard shapes
- new Dream Street papers
- new Hero Arts stamps
- new Basic Grey
... and more.

Lots more on the way.

Slowly getting them in the online store.
Also new...
- KI Mini Soup letters

And don't forget....
This weekend's our online crop!
Be there or be square! ;)

Florida 2006

2007-02-21T10:12:00.000-06:00

Almost a year ago we drove 30 hours (one way) to Florida. Our first trip there. And we had a blast. I took over 600 pictures those two weeks. I knew that our first trip there would result in tons of photos. As much as I would have liked to scrapbook them individually, I knew my only chance would be a simple theme album. Most of the work when into editing my photos. I had the plan already in my head. 4x6 photos for the left side of every "new" event. Then a collage of wallets everywhere else. I narrowed down my supplies and did the same thing (with a couple of variations) on every page. The actual "scrapbooking" part took only 5 hours! Some 40 pages later. It is one of our most looked at albums. And now I know that I have the basics of our first trip in this album. I won't have to take the same "firsts" pictures again, and can scrapbook them totally differently.
And future Florida photos will always be coming.

Supplies:

- 8x8 album (red)

- paper

- flowers

- journaling stamps

- alphabet stamps

March Schedule

2007-02-20T15:23:00.000-06:00

Here's what's up for March.

My mind was on Florida and my mojo was on a quick project...

Please bring you basic kit and sandpaper to class.

We'll be using Daisy D's, K&co and Foofala papers, KI and Fontwerks stamps and more.

And, as always...

Crop @ the Shoppe ~ Thursdays 7-10pm (although it looks like I won't be attending the ones in the last half of the month.

Monday

2007-02-19T10:04:00.000-06:00

Finally able to post my "Seeing Red" layout for February. Still have to get the printer and scanner hooked up, so hopefully this picture of it will do.

And, just a random picture from last week.

We love to color in this house!

Kit subscription info and March kit Sneak Peek ---> here.

Computer update

2007-02-18T19:26:00.000-06:00

New computer... check.
Internet access... check.
Email... hopefully next week.
Just letting you all know... if you're trying to get ahold of me via email... that should be up and running tomorrow hopefully.

Grrrr...

2007-02-14T17:05:00.000-06:00

Without internet here at home. Love technology when it works. Not so much when it doesn't!!

Just a quick post to say I'll respond to emails and get the new stuff up in the online store as soon as I can.
- KI Mini Soup
- new Lil' Davis chipboard and stamps
- new 7 Gypsies stickers
- new Basic Grey
- new Prima
- restocked adhesive and trimmers
- EK Circle Cutter
... and more

Happy Valentine's Day all!

Relax

2007-02-11T11:39:00.000-06:00

Relaxing at home today. Derek doesn't get Saturdays off (the weekends are the busiest at work for him), so we always hang out together on Sundays. Relaxing, movies, games... that kinda stuff.

Just sharing today.

Have a good Sunday everyone.

Elves

2007-02-07T11:01:00.000-06:00

Relishing the morning at home today. Seems like since the move I've been at the Shoppe all day, every day. So today I'm tending to the house. Laundry, cleaning off tables and desks, etc. I swear there's little elves living in my house who come out at night and mess up all my progress. Hrmph. Gotta get rid of those guys.

Anyhow.

Posted my February inspiration piece. A little late but it's posted. You can check it out here.

Also got my Valentine cards up. You can find those (and others from the DT) here.

Things have been crazy with the sale. I've got almost all the orders shipped and things are winding down. And in the midst of all this I've had so many people commenting on the kits and the stuff being posted on the site. It just makes me happy. Happy to know that what I'm doing is worth it. That people notice and appreciate it. That people are being inspired. So cool.

And I've always said we have the best gallery I've ever seen. Caliber work... all the time.

I had to reinstall my scanner today, so I've flooded the gallery a bit.

I'm usually happy with my pages. And have been for a while. It's not like there was anything missing. I love clustering the embellishments, using one photo, etc. but there's a lack of negative space that I like. So this last week I've been using 12x12 and one photo. So far I like it.

Work vs. Home

2007-02-02T13:17:00.000-06:00

Yes... I'm also ordering CHA KI/Elsie and Heidi Swapp... I just haven't got the preorder list yet. Fontwerks too.

Found out I have to work this weekend, so I'll probably only get my preorders in this next week. Trying to work the kit orders in there too! What fun!
So today I'm staying home. Trying to corral my laundry and clutter. Was hoping to scrap this afternoon since I haven't in a while and won't get to tomorrow.

I'm still working on online orders. Packing some tomorrow and then next week. All those that come through till the end of Saturday will be discounted with the sale prices, even though I will still be packing them next week.

Have a good weekend everyone!

A long long wind

2007-02-01T10:21:00.000-06:00

Found this blog through Ali's. A couple things resonated with me.

"You must give up perfection! Perfectionism only provokes fear and fear is what holds us back in pretty much every area of our lives."

Now, he was talking about photography... but really... how true. On so many levels. With life, art, scrapbooking, etc. After kids I learned to give up perfection in my daily life. The house won't always be clean. I will have piles of laundry on the floor. I will pick up toys everyday. I loose more things in one day than ever before. And I'm okay with that. I am. At the end of the day I have a wonderful life. The things I complain about (in the grand scheme of things) don't matter. I don't have a finished house. Our days are busy busy busy... rarely time for a break. The bills keep on coming. My truck is freezing cold in the mornings.

My kids draw on my floors more than they do on paper.

But, so what.

Does it matter?

No. Not really.

My family loves me. I love me. I love them. We have shelter and food. We treat each other with respect, kindness and love. We are us. We are complete... and completely happy. We have what we need.... not what society tries to tell us we need.

"Life is for living". See... you can learn something from Buffy.

And, one from from that same post.

"There's an old saying that goes something like "always remember you're unique... just like everyone else." It's true, so many people are out there trying so hard to be different that they end up looking the same. What I'm saying is, be yourself, and don't let fear hold you back. Forget all the rules you learned in school or from your mentors for a while and get out and shoot the way you've always wanted to shoot. Do something YOU like, not what you think your clients expect."

I relate this totally to scrapbooking (including the publishing world). I tell stories with paper and photos. For me. For my family. To remember. That is all. Simple as that.

Art is subjective. What's liked by one, is not by the other. I love my pages. My art. They are unique to me. A reflection of me. My art is unique to me. That is it's specialness.

Now, I intended just to post the quotes and link and, of course, this went on a bit long. Sorry.

And so... it's February 1st. That means new layouts in the Design Shoppe on MSS. These are using the February Kit - Truly, Madly Deeply. The kit will be out by tomorrow (hopefully). Check the Red Star blog for details.

Happy Thursday everyone.

On a shoppe note I'm placing CHA preorders from the following companies in the next few days.

- Crate

- Cosmo Cricket

- Lil' Davis

- American Crafts

- 7 Gypsies

- Fancy Pants
Let me know if you have any special requests.

Crazy

2007-01-30T17:10:00.000-06:00

Crazy.

Noon came. No one was at the shoppe. I thought all my hard work was for naught. Then WHACK! Craziness!
But I made it.

For those of you waiting for online orders I've started packaging those and will continue on tomorrow. You should get an email from me shortly. Lots of work when you have three little kiddies you need to be home for. Hours are short.

Spent the morning at Mom's morning. Especially enjoy hanging out with Heather.

And so here's a little catch-up:

- Computer crashed last week (that's why I was AWOL at the MSS crop). Fixed now. The good news is that I did scrap though. The layouts are posted below.

- Got a wireless router, so I can now use my computer in the studio without having the scanner and printer in here. Best $50 I've spent in a while

- Got an external harddrive. I've had one on order for a while, but of course it didn't arrive in time for the crashing party. Still have to put stuff on it though.
And Bryan (it was a 250 GB that I ordered... $20 more than a 160 GB)

- MSS sale runs till Saturday. Time to stock up.

- Ordering new CHA stuff. So far Hero Arts, Basic Grey, Scenic Route. Now waiting for Fontwerks, Heidi Swapp, My Mind's Eye, 7 Gypsies, American Crafts and Elsie mostly.
If you have any product items you want please let me know. Otherwise I order blind.... well, I guess I order stuff I'm drawn too... which isn't really blind... but really really convenient for me!

- We are hot! Got an electric fireplace. Never liked them but found a chunky, plain one I adored. Brought it home! So awesome.

- The kids have been such troopers! Putting up with our nomadic life the last little while.

- Counting down to Florida. A month and a half to go.

- I'm shooting to get the February kits out for the weekend! You will LOVE them! Sneak peek here.
- Super Scrap Day is filling up! Awesome!

- Molly's losing teeth left and right.

(Eva... it's black!)

Grand Re-opening Sale Jan. 30-Feb. 3

2007-01-29T18:02:00.000-06:00

We're mostly done! We've stayed in the same building, but almost doubled our size! We're now 1350 sq ft of scrapping goodness.
We painted and rearranged and are nearly done. You can see pics of the store further down this blog.
In order to celebrate we're having a Grand Reopening Sale! Nearly everything is on sale.

The store is also open to online purchases. However, there's just far too many products to discount in the online store, and there likely will be an inaccuarcy in the quantities because of the "instore" sales. In order to receive your discounts with your online orders, please do the following when you order...

1. Place your order as usual. The prices you see are NOT the sale prices.
2. Proceed through check-out as usual.
3. Select "cash on pickup" as your payment.
4. You will be emailed and notified of any shortages and your total.
5. Payment can be made via Paypal or credit card.

Here's the details.

Sale dates:
Tuesday, January 30th (noon)
till
Saturday, February 3rd (10pm)
* we will consider extending the sale after the weekend.

Members receive an additional 5% off sale prices.

There will be surprise give aways throughout the sale.

All Christmas items - 30%+ off
All Albums and minibooks - 20% off
All punches majorly discounted
All idea books - 30% off
All totes - 30% off
All transparencies - 30% off
All vellum - 50% off

Major lines (embellishments and papers):
All 7 Gypsies - 15% off
All Basic Grey - 20% off
All Making Memories - 20% off
All Heidi Swapp - 20% off
All KI Memories - 30% off
All Scenic Route - 30% off
All Maya Road - 20% off
All Chatterbox - 45% off
All Fontwerks - 20% off (paper - 30% off)
All Scrapworks - 40% off
All Daisy D's - 25% off
All Doodlebug - 35% off
All Lil' Davis - 35% off
All American Crafts - 30% off

Other lines (embellishments and papers):
All Crate - 20% off
All Fancy Pants - 25% off
All Cherry Arte - 45% off
All Cosmo Cricket - 35% off
Selected My Mind's Eye (Bohemia, Magnolia, etc.) - 30% off
Selected All My Memories - 45% off
All Autumn Leaves (incl. MOD and Foofala) - 20-40% off (paper - 30% off)
All Melissa Frances - 20% off
All K&Company - 35% off
All Hero Arts - 30-40% off
All Pressed Petals - 30% off
All We R Memory Keepers - 30-50% off (paper - 40%)
All BoBunny - 50% off
Selected Creative Imaginations - 15-40% off (paper - 25%)
All EK Success - 15-30% off (paper - 30%)
All Junkitz - 35% off
All Cactus Pink - 50% off
All Rob & Bob - 40% off
All 3 Bugs in a Rug - 30-40% off (paper - 40%)
All Imaginesce - 40-50% off
All Queen & Co. - 35% off
All Prima - 30% off
All SEI - 40% off
All Pebbles - 40% off
All Carolee's - 40% off
All Deja Views - 40% off
All Memories Complete - 50% off
All Around the Block - 35% off
All Me and My Big Ideas - 25-50% off (paper - 50%)
All Karen Foster - 20-40% off (paper - 40%)

Additional papers:
Arctic Frog - 40% off
Chloe's Closet - 35% off
Christina Cole - 45% off
Flair designs - 40% off
Gin-X - 50% off
Mustard Moon - 40% off
Rusty Pickle - 40% off
Sassafrass - 50% off
Urban Lily - 35% off
Reminisce - 40% off

Thanks for all your support over the years!
Enjoy!

Spring Super Scrap Day

2007-01-25T13:37:00.000-06:00

The date has been selected for our Spring Super Scrap Day.

Join us for our annual Spring Super Scrap Day.
Scrapping, chatting, inspiration and more.
We don't host extravagant conventions. We prefer more relaxed events.
For this reason spots are limited. Sign up early to avoid disappointment.

Saturday, April 28, 2007
9am-9pm
Parkland School Multipurpose Room

$35 ($30 for Members)

Fee includes:
- 12 hours of scrapping time
- a minimum of 2 make & takes
- supper and snacks
- goodie bag
- door prizes
- shopping

Sign up here

(No sign-ups accepted after April 25th)

My boy and a Shoppe sneak peek

2007-01-24T09:47:00.000-06:00

Spent yesterday morning at the Mom's program at the MB Church.
The first year I taught it Max (age 1) played, but Jack (age 3) stayed with me. The next year they both stayed with me. This year I knew Jack (now 5) would play with the other kids. It's just like Kindergarten and he loves school. Max (now 3) plays all day... on his own, with Jack... whatever. So I thought I'd have no problems with him either. I was looking forward to a kid-free, teaching kind of a morning.

But that was not meant to be.

About a half-hour in they come to me and ask how long they should let Max cry. Max? Crying? Since when? This boy is totally happy 99.9% of the time. I went out into the hall, and sure enough... there he was... holding one of the "babysitters" hands and crying. I asked if they could put him in with Jack's group. That would help. But apparently they had tried that and it didn't work. What? Really?
So I spent the rest of the morning teaching with a child on my hip. My happy, happy boy. My little boy who just wanted his Mama to watch him play.

P.S. Molly took that photo. Isn't it awesome? She's totally digging her camera.

Shoppe news.

Almost done. Just a couple more layouts to hang and signs to paint. Thanks to my mom and Tracy for the help they gave. And a super big thanks to my dad.... who has given me so much... and who made this all possible.
Look for the super sale next week.

Here's a sneak peek of the shoppe...

The workroom wall.

The wall of paper.
The display table at the front... currently housing a selection of Valentine's goodies.

One side.
From the back.
From the front.
I hope to post a sneak peek of the February kit on the Red Star blog this week as well.

But for now this is it. Getting ready for the sale. A special newsletter will go out this weekend with all the details.

More shoppe stuff to come

2007-01-22T10:25:00.000-06:00

More to do this week.
Yes, it's painted. Almost everything is up on the walls (save for some Basic Grey and 7 Gypsies). Counters are moved and painted.
I'm hoping to hang my wire frame thing up today and paint "create" along the back wall. Next is "layouts" and projects on display and a disply table (if I can get Derek to bring it). The "decorating" part... that'll be fun.
Hoping to get all that done this week and have the sale next week.
The sale will be online as well (you'll just have to pick "cash on pickup" so I can calculate your discounts). More details to follow.

It's a little scary. It really feels like I have my OWN store now... even though I've had it for 4 years! LOL

At home. Painted my studio. Hoping to get that all organized for the online crop this weekend. Lots of cleaning to do here actually. Kinda slipped away from me last week with the store reno and all.

And... a wonderful woman is celebrating her birthday today. A woman who is kinder than any I've ever met... more generous... more loving and giving than anyone I know. A woman who will never read this because it requires a computer! LOL

Happy birthday Mom!
(P.S. It's an OLD picture (from 2005). I couldn't find the one I was looking for.)

Getting there

2007-01-18T09:15:00.000-06:00

Got farther than I thought.
Mom ended up finishing the painting, so yesterday was spent putting stuff up. The counters still aren't moved, so there's lots more space I'll be able to spread stuff into once that's done. Right now stuff is tight... but it's there. There's also a fresh coat of paint on the work tables which make a huge difference.
For now most major lines are on the walls (except for 7 Gypsies and Basic Grey).
Hopefully the counters will get moved this week and next week will be spent "getting pretty". Bringing in displays, hanging stuff up... you know... the fun stuff.
So for now... pardon the mess.
It will all be rewarded with an awesome sale!!!

But tonight is Thursday. That means scrapbooking! Guess I should go pack some stuff up. I also have a birthday party at the shoppe after 4 today, so I've got to get the studio up and running.

So far... adequate

2007-01-17T08:56:00.000-06:00

Okay.

So I'm nowing aiming for "adequate" by the weekend and "awesome" next week.

We're halfway done painting. Hopefully getting somethings up and organized today and the rest tomorrow afternoon.

Displays and the fun stuff will have to wait till next week.

One of my little helpers...

Mid-month and chaos

2007-01-15T16:58:00.000-06:00

Mid-month at the shoppe.

My contributions...
Theme - office supplies

Monthly Sketch

And the newsletter's been sent out. If you haven't got it let me know and I can forward it.

You may notice that there's no coupon in this issue.
That's because we'll be having a huge sale in the next week or two...

We've finally begun moving stuff at the shoppe.

We've got everything off the walls right now. We have a semi-plan. We go back and forth with it every 5 minutes. Right now it's still funny.
Tomorrow morning the slatwall will go up on the other side of the store and we'll paint after 4 (hopefully). Then setting stuff up.
So, if anyone's willing to help set-up, let me know. I'm hoping Wednesday.
Hoping to be "adequate" for Thursday (birthday party and crop) and "awesome" for the weekend.

And... because you know I'm obsessed...

24 was a Buffy-fest last night (and tonight I assume). - Eric Balfour (Jesse on Buffy Season One Episode One and Two - Xander and Willow's best friend) plays the skinny kid in charge of something at CTU (and notice that Nadine... also in charge of something... is Audrey from Vegas Vacation... man... they just keep getting younger and younger). - One of the guys from Beer Bad Season 4 - the mid-eastern Ahmed kid/tutor who's in on something - DB Woodside (Robin Wood Season Seven) - is President Wayne Palmer - David Fury (producer on Buffy) - producer on 24

You know how happy I was!

Brrrrrrrrrrrrr

2007-01-12T10:36:00.000-06:00

I can't believe there was school.

-40 degrees!
We slept in a bit. Thought for sure school would be cancelled. And school was... but not our division. We decided Derek would just bring Molly to school if they didn't cancel it last minute.
We got a phone call at 8:25am... Molly's bus was sitting on the highway 4 miles from town. (Her bus is usually here at 7:55am). They were sending a new bus and it would be running 25 minutes late. They were wondering if she'd be on the bus. Ummm... no. Really. That's why they cancel school when it's this cold... the buses can't even run. Apparently -41 is the cut-off. Well, I'm telling the icicles hanging off my nose that -40 is close enough.

And yay for Cindy (petes)! Baby girl #3 arrived this morning! Carys Tate. Enjoy her you guys.

2007-01-09T07:59:00.000-06:00

Three reasons to be thrilled this woman's blogging again...
1. Mario Bros. on regular Nintendo
2. The mullet
3. She's hilarious (just read her header. And refer to number 2.)

Working on my balance. Got some binders yesterday. Going to balance my home info/financial stuff this week. Starting with 07 of course. I'm not crazy enough to delve into 06!

Kids got back to school. No complaints from them... except that Molly "accidently" bit Jack's finger on the bus ride home (don't ask). Back to school... back to normal... or as normal as WE get. Now if that TV schedule would return we'd (I'd) be great!

Went through all my scraps yesterday. Tossed a ton! Feels good (man... I was holding on to ugly paper). Who knows... maybe I'll even scrap this week!

But I have been enjoying this...

4 boxes arrived yesterday. Not sure of all the contents... only had a chance to open a couple... but there was lots of new Maya Road in two of them!!

Oh... and Ms. Leigh commented on my blog... how super cool is that!!! ;)

This year's word...

2007-01-08T08:32:00.000-06:00

Ali's current challenge is to find a word to define 2007.
A word to work on... to inspire... to cause change... to remember....

My word is balance.

Big for this year. It's what I need.
To get ahold of things again.

Balance between "me" time and "us" time.
Balance between "work" and "home".
Between all our needs.... all five of us.
Balance between what I "want" and what I "need".
A balance of priorities.

It can all work.

Not even maybe changing balances but being conscience of them. A balance of each part of my life.... not choosing between two.

Being aware.

A balance for me.
A balance for us.

(and Ms. Ali commented on my blog... how cool is that!?!)

Mom's Morning Out

2007-01-06T15:33:00.000-06:00

Mom's Morning Out

@ the MB Church

with Marcy Penner

from My Scrap Shoppe

Registration ~ Tuesday, January 9th ~ 9:15 - 11:15am

Classes start January 23rd ~ 9:15 - 11:15am

*Spaces are limited. Sign up early!

PAPER ART AND SCRAPBOOKING CLASSES

Class Structure:

Project One: Altered Canvas

Project Two: Star Mini Book
Remaining Classes: Scrapbooking
*Please bring your "Basic Kit" to every class. This includes a trimmer, scissors, pencil, eraser, ruler, pen and adhesive

Class Fee: $10
Includes the following:
- canvas (Project One)
- bottlecap (Project One)
- chipboard (Project Two)
- "Words to Live by" sheet (Project Two)
- instruction for both projects
- supplies available for purchase (during the project classes the supplies available will be specific for those projects)
- assistance in choosing items for your projects (if arranged ahead of time)

CLASS DESCRIPTIONS:

Project One: Altered Canvas

We will be creating a unique altered 9x7 canvas in this class. A perfect way to get your pages out of your albums and on display. You can choose to create one just like the sample, or get creative and add your own embellishments. This project works great with scraps and bits of product you may have lying around. Feel free to bring embellishments you'd like to include (like rub-ons) or substitutions from your stash for the items marked "optional".The following is a supply list IF you're interested in creating a canvas like the sample.

This item is on display at the shoppe, so I'll get an image up ASAP.

You will need to bring:

- 9x7 canvas (supplied)
- modge podge (or a white craft/school glue if you decide not to use a final protective coat on your canvas)
- foam brush (for applying modge podge)
- emery board
- one 4x6 photo (horizontal or vertical)
- one (or two) large flower. I used a large Heidi Swapp flower (optional)
- bottlecap (supplied)
- hammer (if using the bottlecap as a center for the flower)
- one piece of patterned paper (or more). I suggest a thicker paper, like Basic Grey
- chipboard letters. I used Heidi Swapp Chipboard letters (optional)
- ribbon or lace (optional)
- "bling"/gems (optional)
- scrap paper or embellishments for bottlecap
- your "Basic Kit"

Project Two:

"Words to Live By" Star Mini Book

In this class we'll be making a unique album that looks as good open as it does closed.

You will need to bring:
- cardstock
- 2 sheets of 1 color (2 - color C) and 3 sheets each of two different colors (3 – color A and 3 – color B) for a total of 8 sheets
- ribbon
- patterned paper
- 4 coordinating sheets
- small flower (I used a Heidi Swapp flower)
- large brad (I used a Karen Foster Biggie Brad)
- push pad/cork board and paper piercer (optional)
- printout including title and proverbs (supplied)
- chipboard (2 pieces 6x4” each) (supplied)
- bone folder/stylus (optional)
- bulldog clips or paper clips (optional)
- your "Basic Kit"

Scrapbooking portion:

Upon completion of the two projects, the rest of the time will be devoted to scrapbooking. Bring your pages and supplies and come create!

** If you are a beginning scrapbooker OR new to "modern" scrapbooking I encourage you to take one of our "101" classes to make the most of your time at Mom's Morning Out. See our website (www.myscrapshoppe.com) for our class schedule.

If you have any questions you can contact me at marcy@myscrapshoppe.com or 362-4697. Feel free to stop by My Scrap Shoppe at 262 Main st. for your supplies or for assistance in assembling your kits for the projects.

You'll find other classes of note on our class calendar... Wednesday, January 17th - 6:30pm ~ "Remember 2006" Altered Board Book Tuesday, February 6th - 6:30pm ~ Altered "Love" Frame "101" Classes every month

Refreshed and rarin' to go

2007-01-06T12:59:00.000-06:00

Had a great time in Grand Forks. It's amazing how many people from town you'll see at the C'mon Inn!!! Too funny! A nice relaxing "weekend"...

- had a great visit with an old friend from school
- lots of swimming
- lots of shopping... but it was all on sale and all very needed. I swear the kids all went through another growth spurt! I hate it when their pants are more than an inch off the floor!
- had a TiVO debacle (of course right before we were leaving which totally ruined that afternoon)... and found the Angel DVDs for $19.99 there... but because of the "incident" I just left them there. Grrrrr... Hope I can find them somewhere else.
- found a Diego "Rescue Pack" for Max (which he loves) and a Mater "Brand new" for Jack (which he loves as well).

Got home and rushed to the shoppe to get out the kits.

You can check them out here.

This was a spur of the moment trip. Derek told me at supper the day before we left. Had to make arrangements to send my printer off to be repaired, make arrangements for Thursday night crop, for the kits, for helping Dad "move" at the store.... spur of the moment just doesn't work for me. But it's all good. The newsletter is out as well. Now just to get the February kits off to the girls and I'm good.

And I finally got this frame done. I got it for Christmas. It's probably 4 feet tall or so. I previously had printed out black and white copies of some of my favorite pictures from 2006, so I put those in the 4x6 spots and altered the others (inspired by Ali's canvas).

I really like it. We have nothing in our bedroom (for decor anyway), so this is hung in between our two tall and narrow windows! Looks really pretty there! I smile everytime I walk past it!

Have a great weekend all!!!!!

I forgot...

2006-12-30T10:08:00.000-06:00

I forgot what day Monday was... January 1st!!

So the shoppe will be closed that day for inventory. Any volunteers would be appreciated (note: we aren't recording anything for the site this year!)

January 1st. 2007.

Already.

Lots happened this last year.

We took our first family trip to Florida.

Jack started Kindergarten.

Molly started grade 2.

And then the everyday stuff. Not so eventful but just as memorable (if not more so).

Shaking booties. Wrestling. Family movie nights. Swimming. Building elaborate train tracks. Sleepovers. Lots of crafts. Riding bike. Lost teeth. Going for walks/rides down the driveway and across fields. Collecting rocks. Being together.

I wouldn't be at all disappointed if 2007 turned out exactly the same.

And a quick share...

Happy New Year everyone!!

February schedule is up

2006-12-29T15:06:00.000-06:00

Added a new class to the February schedule. I love it!

An altered frame.

Tuesday, February 6th - 6:30 pm
"We'll be altering a frame in this class using your choice of patterned paper, Narratives stickers, Heidi Swapp flowers and Maya Road chipboard. Please bring your basic kit (including glue dots and an emery board). " $15 ($13 for Members)

The rest of the schedule is up on the calendar and in the forum.

Also adding a sneak peek of the January kit to the Red Star blog. Check it out here.

I'm doing the scrapbooking/papercrafts classes at the MB Church's Mom's Morning Out again this year. We're going to approach it a little differently this year. We have two projects planned... a squash album and a star book. If we're done ahead of schedule then we'll either select another project or devote the rest of the time to scrapbooking. Registration is on January 9th 9:15am-11:15am. Should be fun. I think class size will be smaller this year also, so if you're interested I encourage you go earlier.

And now I have to go. Jack is sick and throwing up, so laundry is calling.

Surviving Christmas

2006-12-28T11:35:00.000-06:00

Another Christmas has come and gone. You wait for them so long and then they're here and gone in a flash!
All the kids remembered their "thank you"'s this year. We didn't do a ton of small gifts this year. I'm just going to end up picking them all up off the floor everyday anyway! But, so it goes.

Winding down from Christmas now. What a job. I really don't feel like doing anything, but work is beckoning! Two new boxes arrived yesterday. I'll try to get those out in the Shoppe on Main by the weekend and in the online store shortly after.

Finished the project for February. An altered frame perfect for Valentine's. I'll get the picture taken and the date selected by this weekend.

Added some new stuff to the online store. More today.

And I haven't scrapped in about a month. I did my Florida album (which I'll share soon), but no layouts just because!
So I'll share my first attempt at getting my mojo back as soon as I can find that darn bar. It's just totally gone. Guess Blogger really wants to switch me to Beta!!
Here's the link for now.

(And my camera bag has been shipped! Yippee!)

Friday, December 22

2006-12-22T19:24:00.000-06:00

Caught up with product in-store... (including new Making Memories Decor, Making Memories Kraft line, lots of Maya Road...)

Here's what's new online...
- Fancy Pants Clair De Lune paper, tags, flowers and rub-ons
- Fancy Pants Biggest Big Board (Dreamer and Freestyle) and rub-ons
- Restocked Fontwerks Note stamp
- Bohemia Kits (Christmas and Believe). I LOVE LOVE LOVE these.
- Cosmo Cricket Wonderland rub-ons (and cigar box instore)
- KI Pet Shop stickers and paper (more on the way)
- Daisy D's Modern Romance papers and tags. LOVE these too!
- American Crafts Thickers (more to be added online)

I've got a few more invoices to enter, but this is it for today.

Merry Christmas all!

(and where in the world did my bar on the top go??? To add photos, bold things, etc??)

Check it out....

2006-12-20T15:31:00.000-06:00

Tara's stolen my blog theme!! LOL!!
http://tarawhitney.typepad.com/

That boy is a changin'

2006-12-18T14:04:00.000-06:00

So much happening right now...

Christmas concerts
Christmas gatherings
Jack turning 5. So much has changed for that boy. Or rather in him, I guess. Ever since starting Kindergarten. He's so social now. Playing with kids he just met and talking to adults. It's really amazing! He seems so confident and happy. A pure joy lately.

Big plans for the monthly kits... including a new name and more goodies starting in 07.
Big plans for the shoppe in 07 too. Our Main st. shoppe anyway. Will involve closing shoppe for a couple days, but trust me... will be well worth it.

Busy here this week.
Working with the Febuary kit and having trouble narrowing it down, so it may be huge!!! Right now it's sitting at $40 retail! Yummy.
More stuff to price.

Just Arrived:
- restock of the Autumn Leaves stamps (journaling, doodled tags, flourishes and more)
- restock of the Heidi Swapp Block Alphabet stickers
- restock of the KI Cookie Cutter ABC stickers and Joyful bobbins
- restock of Foofala Buttons
- restock of Basic Grey Fruticake papers and collection kits
- restock of Heidi Swapp Acrylic block
- Heidi Swapp Brown 9x9 Spiral Album
- some new Chatterbox holiday papers
- restock of American Crafts brads (large and mini)
- Heidi Swapp Stickers. Love these. Most a copies of the tags she put out a couple trade shows ago! And so inexpensive... only 0.49 each!
- Heidi Swapp Bling Accents
- new Autumn Leaves Messy Date Stamp
- Heidi Swapp Lime Exclamation
- restock Lil' Davis Snow Glitter Chipboard ABC

Next Online Crop is January 26th and 27th. Check here for details.

If I don't post again before Christmas, I wish you all a happy holiday!

New (instore)

2006-12-13T17:55:00.000-06:00

I'm falling behind. And since most sales are instore I'm just going to post what's new. If my days become longer in the next little while I'll post these online too.

- Fancy Pants Clair De Lune paper ($1.75), flowers ($12.49) and rub-ons ($6.99)
- new Fancy Pants Biggest Chipboard ($19.99)
- Fontwerks Notes stamp restocked ($6.99)
- Bohemia Christmas and Winter kits ($13.49) ~ paper, die-cuts and monograms!!
- Making Memories Kraft paper packs ($16.99) and stickers ($5.49)
- Tsukineko Versafine ink pads ($11.99)
- Heidi Swapp Chipboard Newsprint Letters in brown restocked ($5.29)
- Making Memories Gathered Grosgrain ribbon ($2.49/yd)
- Chatterbox Valentine paper ($0.85) and Love Card Kit ($12.99)
- My Mind's Eye Magnolia papers ($1.15) and rub-ons ($1.99). Coordinating embellishments are available online and instore.
- new Mod papers ($0.85)
- We R Memory Keepers Die-cut Monograms ($2.75) and Dip-Sticks ($5.49)
- Prima Big Box Blooms ($11.99)
- Making Memories Ready to Glitter Stickers ($5.49) and Shimmer Kits ($12.99)
- Simple Scrapbooks "Better Photos for Your Scrapbooks" book ($9.99)

I'm going to work on getting these in the online store this week and the next. There are a few items I've been able to add but the remainder will get done in the next bit. (Christmas concert week here).

So, other than that there are 4 December kits left.
American Crafts albums are on the way. So is new MOD stuff. New Lil' Davis stuff should be shipping soon too. Chipboard and acrylic stamps! Yummy!

Busy busy here. Haven't scrapbooked in a few weeks. Can't wait till things slow down and I can actually crank out a page or two. Also hoping to catch up on my Christmas Journal (and post).

New Basic Grey

2006-12-11T11:53:00.000-06:00

New Basic Grey

- Blush - collection pack, papers, matchbook kit, mini monograms, tags
- Undressed Holiday Chipboard
- Fruitcake Star Ornament kit

...more to add yet.

New stuff and new class

2006-12-08T11:13:00.000-06:00

New Magnolia papers, Bohemia Christmas kits, Basic Grey Blush and more has arrived. I'll be slowly putting them out instore an online over the next week. Slowly... not by choice... but it's December and things are crazy!

December Kits are almost gone. I think there are only 4 left (or so)! Wow!! Hope you guys are enjoying them.

Computer/printer disasters around here all week... hopefully cleared up soon. Would really help.

Posted the January class. I really love this one. An altered board book to "Remember 2006". Beautiful papers and cool 7 Gypsies stuff! What could be better! My tip... bring black and white photos. They look awesome!

Here's the descriptions:

January Schedule

Altered Board Book Description:

Wednesday, January 17th - 6:30pm
Cost: $23 ($20 for Members)

You'll be remembering 2006 all year long with this beautiful mini album. We'll be altering a board book with Basic Grey and 7 Gypsies products. Each page features a photo, the month, and room for recording the events/moments of that month. Top it off with paint, metal and a unique magnetic closure, this album is sure to be treasured. Please bring your basic kit (including a strong glue AND glue dots), an X-acto knife and cutting mat, and 12 photos to class.

Tis' the Season... to buy a new kit!

2006-12-02T13:01:00.000-06:00

The December kits are available. Loads of Cosmo Cricket Wonderland papers, tags, journaling cards and more. Although themed for Christmas they're easily adaptable for other themes as well... plus they're double-sided!! And I love the color combo of the cardstock!!! Specifically Barkley and Camoflague!!! Yummy.

Here's what I did with the kit.

You can find the instructions for these layouts (as well as the layouts of the other MSS Girls) here.

Holiday Hoopla Open House Gift Idea that were on display are posted here. There are a few that I don't have posted yet, and lots are still on display at the shoppe.

Hoping to get the December newsletter out this weekend.

And here at home... a messy basement, playing Geotracks, gearing up for gatherings...

(and I'm going to start Shimelle's Christmas Journal again this year. A smaller size though... 6x6. Maybe that's more doable. Today is day 2 so I better get cracking. Plus I have to finish Arla's CJ this weekend!)

Thursday Tidbits

2006-11-30T14:26:00.000-06:00

Note: Dora love has now turned to Diego love!

And... we now accept Mastercard and Visa at the store! Yippee!

December kits are out. I'll post a pic and upload them to the site tomorrow.

There's still room in Tuesday's class.

Anne linked this to the site the other day. I thought it was absolutely hilarious (mostly inaccurate) but hilarious none the less!!

Buffy/Angel watch:
- Owen (season 1 episode 3? - Never Kill a Boy on the First Date) plays Roger on Jericho

... and by the way... what's with all these fall finales (Prison Break and Jericho)??? Very annoying!

Jack has been his frustrated little self lately. Mad when his pants don't go over his boots, mad when his sock seams don't line up just right, mad when his skipants don't cooperate, mad when his jeans are in the wash (cause he ONLY wears jeans)... basically mad when things don't work. And mad means lots of whining and crying on the floor. Trying to learn to relax and ask for help if he needs it. I'm blaming it on the weather... ;)

New Scenic Route Rockland and Crate

2006-11-29T11:08:00.000-06:00

Got out the snowmobile last night. It's a ritual for the first snowfall. Blazing trails through our farm/woods. Lots of fun. We definately have to make a point of doing this a lot this winter... at least more than last year. Of course it was 8:00 pm so I didn't get any pictures. Next time.

Making a dent in the online entries... most notably...

- Scenic Route Rockland - paper and chipboard
- Crate paper (Crate Avenue and Holly Days) - paper, die-cuts and stickers
- Melissa Frances - home decor, tabs, chipboard and stickers

More tomorrow.

We also now have the large Tonic Guillotine Trimmer ($69.99) in stock. It's not in the online shoppe because shipping on this will be insane.
We also had a great chat with Ali Edwards last night. If you missed it you can read it here. Loved how Ali organizes her thoughts with a "Story" document on the computer. I'll have to try that. Writing in a journal just hasn't worked for me. I just ramble. So we'll see if I actually do this, and if it helps.

Couple more things to do, work-wise, and then a relaxing evening at home. Maybe finish up Christmas shopping.
Think I've planned out my January class too, so I'll pull some paper for that today as well.

Okay. Have a great hump-day.

P.S. Buffy-watch. You know I love this...

Regulars:
Forrest (season 4) is currently DL on Heroes
Gage/Wentworth Miller (season 2 episode 22 Go Fish) is currently on Prison Break

Guests, possibly regulars (people I just happen to catch for a second):
Jonathon/Danny Strong (seasons 1, 2, 3, 5, 7) was on Gilmore Girls last night
Jasmine/Gina Torres (Angel season 4?) was on StandOff last night (just caught the intro)

I'm also looking at ordering in some more American Crafts albums (12x12, 8.5x11, 8x8, 6x6) in different colors. There's a link in the Everything Scrapbooking section of the site. If you have any suggestions please let me know.

Ali day

2006-11-28T08:39:00.000-06:00

Today is the day we chat with Ali Edwards online! One of the most creative and inspiring women I know. Join us online at 9pm CST today in the online chat forum.

Added a little to the online store yesterday. More today (namely new Lil' Davis and Heidi Swapp).

(Bad pic, but funny kids)

Flood

2006-11-27T09:42:00.000-06:00

It flooded today.

It flooded in the MSS gallery today. I'm sorry. But I knew the MSS Girls would be kicking me out in a couple of days, so I thought better know then later. I really need to get into the habit of posting after I finish a layout... not doing a weeks worth at a time.

Anywho....

Look for some new stuff in the online store this week. That's my goal. Trying to catch up. But not today. Today I need to clean house and get some other stuff done. Prison Break finale and Heroes tonight too. Priorities you know!! ;)

But yah, I'm currently about 3 boxes behind at the shoppe. And I need to get the December kits out by Friday, so it'll be a busy week.

Here at home we started our Christmas shopping! I can't stand it! All the people! Not moving! Standing, standing. Blocking the aisles. (Of course they're looking too and I don't expect them to walk through quickly). I've got 3 kids with me and not a lot of time. It makes me very tense and anxious.... but of course we were in the city. I'm going to do the rest of it here in town which will be MUCH more enjoyable. But... made a dent in the kids gifts. We're not doing much. They have so much already, plus they get gifts from 2 sets of grandparents and one set of great-grandparents... so there'll be enough!
Made a quick stop at Old Navy and got some clothes for Derek. We're not "dress-up" people, so we got him some jeans and a button down shirt with some logo shirts for layering... oh... and a nice parka too! Half price!!
And we found Molly a solid black long-sleeved shirt for the GORGEOUS dress Val (and Cindy) found for Molly!
Top it off with supper at Montana's and it was a good day.
Man that one-day weekend is short.

And here's the flood...

My first stacked layout. Grand Forks haunts.

Finding little towns along the way.

(from SSD). Love these pics. My boys. Watching out for each other. And... lovin' the Heidi Swapp bling!

At least once or twice a week... "How long have you been here?"

Jack's first day of Kindergarten. First time with the distressed embossing powders too. Fun. Looks like sandpaper.

Old picture. Story still true to this day. Why can't boys play without making that sound?

Molly's smile.... where her lips disappear.

And... learning how to have fun.

I really have to get in the habit of posting right after I complete a layout! Oh well.

I gave up submitting for 2006 (as you may know if you read this blog). And, as irony would have it, I got an email last week from Canadian Scrapbookers for a layout I have submitted prior to that. Of course. And, so, once 2007 starts, maybe I'll start submitting again. So you'll be able to find my layout along with Jen's in the Spring issue.

And don't forget... Ali's stopping by the site tomorrow!!!

Water

2006-11-23T10:43:00.000-06:00

It's finally happening!!! After 6 years of hauling water we are getting hooked up to "town" water!!!! Imagine my boys' excitement when the backhoe showed up. Hours of entertainment!

and then we are told that the water meters are on backorder till January! What?????? How are water meters on backorder?????

And other glimpses of home this last week and a half...

Making Christmas cards...

Fun kids....

Jack drawing and drawing and drawing...

Awesome country sunsets....

Molly reading up a storm...

School kids helping move books from the old library to the new one (reminds me of moving 6000 movies from the old video store at 334 Main to our current one at 262 Main. That was awesome! Running down the block with movies in a shopping cart... bringing them to the new store and going back for more!). Molly helped move books on a Wednesday morning.

And some shoppe stuff:

- getting ready for the Holiday Hoopla. Baking is done. Gift samples are done. Discount jar is done. Now to set up at the store and price some late arrivals (Crate and Scenic Route).

- new stuff in the online store (lots of new stuff... most notably Magnolia frames, die-cuts, etc. Paper is on the way).

- next week is a normal week for me, so I should be getting a lot more in the computer. Tonic trimmers are coming, as is Melissa Frances, Runway totes, new Making Memories and more.

AND DON'T FORGET.... WE HAVE GIFT CERTIFICATES IN $5, $10 AND $25 AMOUNTS. START DROPPING HINTS!!

And in case I don't post in the next couple of days... don't forget to join us online on Tuesday, November28th at 9pm CST for an online chat with Ali Edwards!!

OH... I have a blog???

2006-11-21T11:32:00.000-06:00

Just popping in for a little update....

Shoppe stuff ~

- Super Scrap Day was a lot of fun! Thanks to Val, Anita, Jen and Leigh and everyone who brought snacks or helped set-up! Looking forward to the next one.

- Don't forget... Holiday Hoopla on Saturday from 10am - 2pm. FREE Make and Take, snacks, draws, "pick your discount" and holiday gift ideas on display.

- The mid-month newsletter went out today...
Monthly theme - Yesterday
Sketch (from Liz)
Challenge (from Jen)
Project - CD Ornaments (from Leigh)

- Scenic Route Rockland is on the way.

- Bought a tree for the store! Haven't had one in a couple of years! Decorated with ornaments and tags made by YOU guys!

- Realizing that I don't have to say YES to everything.

Other stuff ~

- need to get those Christmas gifts made/bought. It's crunch-time.

- need to get Molly a Christmas "outfit" soon. The one I bought is a little big, and we start our gatherings in a week and a half!

- had some good parent-teacher interviews. Expected what I got from Molly's. Confidence issues with Math. Surprised by Jack's. I didn't know what to expect... he is ONLY 4. But he's super-high up there with his language recognition!! Second or third in his class. We just need to work on those ABCs.

- we need to clean out our storage room so the "water guys" can hook us up to water tomorrow morning. No more hauling!!

- other than that... the same-old same-old. Laundry, cleaning, etc. Realizing that things will slow down... but not for a bit.

New KI Joyful and Alpine

2006-11-11T15:10:00.000-06:00

Got a bit up today...

KI Memories Joyful Collection
KI Memories Alpine Collection
Paper, ribbon, epoxy, chipboard, stickers and more. Right now I have everything under "Patterned paper and Collections". It just takes too much time to copy all the individual items into subcategories (ie. "stickers"), so for now you'll find them all together.
New Autumn Leaves Clear Stamps - quantities are low, but they're already on reorder.
American Crafts Greenhouse Flowers - went up a week ago. These are in the large size... I have a few of the mediums and smalls to add yet.
Restocked some American Crafts Trademark Rub-ons
Bazzill Bitty Blossoms
... that's it for now. I'll see what else I can get up this next week, but I have a busy week (teaching a class in Manitou and getting ready for Super Scrap Day on Saturday).

And on the homefront...
decorating a bit for Christmas today. I love it but I don't have much stuff... I'm not a "winter-scene" little nick-nack type of gal... so this consisted of wreaths on the doors, garland along the stair railing, two glittery twine trees, a red blanket on the couch and a "joy" word hung on the wall. We get a real tree, so we'll be waiting a bit for that.
And now... I need to clean my studio.... making Christmas cards tomorrow.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Edited to add:
Cleaned my studio and found these that needed uploading...

And then these three that blogger doesn't want to post (and I'm not wanting to switch to FireFox right now)...

New Kitty Meet Old Kitty
2 Generations
Vintage Love

Making Memories Holiday Collection

2006-11-09T17:07:00.000-06:00

... is now in our "Shoppe on Main" and the online store.

This is the winter kit. Yummy!

- Page kits

- Ribbon

- Glitter Rub-ons and Stickers

- Metal Frames

- Tags

- Epoxy Stickers (words and alphabets)

- Ephemera Stickers

- Alphabet Stickers

- Brads

The KI Memories Alpine and Joyful Collections, the new Creative Imaginations Bare Elements, the new Autumn Leaves stamps and the Designing With 2007 Calendar are in the "Shoppe on Main" and I hope to add them to the online store tomorrow (or Saturday at the latest).

2006-11-08T17:36:00.000-06:00

Super busy. Basically living at the shoppe this week! Unpacking, teaching, ordering, planning.... it never ends.

Keep forgetting my KI and Making Memories invoice at home, but the new holiday stuff will be up by or on the weekend.

Added this bag today...

Love it! Orange ones are on the way.

* And we're one step closer to taking credit cards in our Main street location! Stay tuned.

And now... home... to decorate for Christmas and an awesome TV night!

2006-11-06T12:33:00.000-06:00

Some MSS updates...

Holiday Hoopla Open House

November 25th ~ 10am - 2pm

Come celebrate our 4th anniversary with...

- a FREE Make and Take
- "pull your discount"
- snacks
- draws
- and more!

Holiday gift ideas will be on display as well

* November kits are now available.

And a big thanks to Leigh for helping me assemble this month's kits!!

* December Class --

Tuesday, December 5th - 6:30pm
Altered Paint Can and Journal (perfect for holiday gift-giving!)
$17 ($15 for Members)

View the description by clicking the "take a class" link in the sidebar.

Happy (belated) Halloween

2006-11-03T11:59:00.000-06:00

Living in the country... Halloween's a little bit of a hassle. But well worth it.

I have to bring Jack to Kindergarten at 1:00 and then I just stay in town all afternoon, because to go back home and then back to town at 3:30 doesn't pay. So we planned our costumes a couple of days before. We make our costumes. Not MAKE as in sew... but MAKE as in compile existing items into a costume. This year Molly wanted to be a witch, Jack wanted to be a cowboy (surprise) and Max (who's 3) wanted to be Burt Reynolds from Smokey and the Bandit. Really.

So we got our stuff ready. My aunt was going to face paint Molly and Max (a mustache for Max).
Sent the Molly to school. Sewed up some "treat bags". Bought a velvet witch hat at Walmart (the only item we bought) and brought all their costumes to town. Dropped Jack off at school.

Meanwhile Max takes it to start playing "kitty" all day.

After school they got changed and went to get their faces painted.
Max now went from Bandit, to a kitty, to a policeman. I wasn't prepared for that many changes, so basically Max went costume-less... no mustache... just a car and a star painted on his cheek!
Molly got some spiderwebs and spiders on her face and Jack got a sheriff star and a house (don't ask me why... I don't know) on his hand.

It was so terribly cold. We just drove to family and friends. But they had SO much fun! Wanting to visit all their friends houses. Lots of fun... but short. Bedtime creeps up so fast!

Note: Jack has a rope ("lasso") but no horse. He wanted to be the kind of cowboy "that's from Texas and drives a Peterbilt"!!!

Happy Accidents

2006-10-30T08:54:00.000-06:00

(I miss my granny)

She was the kindest women I've ever known... never thinking of herself... just others.
AND...
She was an amazing artist! Oils mostly. We used to sit in her living room and watch Bob Ross paint on TV. Such an interesting guy... the neatest voice... almost like he's singing.
Anyway, one of Bob Ross's things was putting happy trees everywhere.
And that made me think of this... "There's no mistakes... just happy accidents". Now I can't remember if this was from him as well, or from my high school art teacher (I'm thinking the latter). Regardless, it stuck with me.

When I'm teaching scrapbooking I always stress this. When people are too scared to try something because it might "wreck" something they've done. That it's usually fixable. You might make a mistake and actually LIKE it!!And you will never get "good enough" that you stop making mistakes!
Case in point...
I was working on Ali's Challenge #5... "i am creative". I decided that I have a ton of chipboard that I'm saving for this "masterpiece" but I need to use it. The layout was done and then I decided to run some dots up the curve. So I did... and hated it. My solution... use rhinestone brads to cover the dots. Much better.

So even after 6 years of scrapbooking... I still create "happy accidents".

And I posted this for the December 5th class... an altered paint can and journal (perfect for teacher gifts)! Sign up for the class or the kit.

The MSS blog is updated with new stuff... I'll try to get the rest up this week.

Just sharing

2006-10-28T20:20:00.000-05:00

Sick with a cold, feeling blah, kids running amuck... so this is all there'll be today.
I know you're all terribly disappointed!! LOL

Have a good rest of the weekend!

Play by Play

2006-10-24T09:41:00.000-05:00

Play-by-play the last couple of days...

- Love seeing Buffy-esque stuff on TV. From cast (Wentworth Miller on Prison Break, Nicole Bilderback on Heroes) to story lines (Heroes - the cop who has powers to hear people's thoughts... enjoying it at first, and then all the voices just keep coming... Buffy Earshot Season 3). Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.
And, Val, yes, I will milk that for all it's worth!

- Finished the beadboard in the kitchen. Finally moved the furniture back against the wall. It's been in the middle of the kitchen for two weeks.

- went to my parents on Sunday for my dad's birthday. Jodie came out which is always nice!

- 58 emails this morning. One was Ali's AEzine, one an email from a fellow LSS owner, the rest... spam.

- realized most of my pictures have horrible shadows.

But hey... I still think they're pretty cute!

- Keep getting prompts from Shimelle's "You Think You Know Me" class. Well I think I know I should start one day! Darn procrastination.

- made beanbags with Molly. What else are you going to do with three bags of popcorn kernels that are 3 years old??

- Decorated my bag. (A little restless energy).

- Added some racks to the shop. Not new and fancy, but they work. Now I'm just waiting on some for more paper!

- Lots to do at the store. Classes, kits, orders... oh man... have to order today. Guess I should get to that!

Happy Tuesday all.

VOTE

2006-10-21T17:16:00.000-05:00

It's almost time. Time to have your say. Time to vote.
Remember this man when the time comes (Oct. 25). He is a wonderful father, grandfather, husband. He is kind and thoughtful and he listens. He cares. His father was a town councilor, as was his grandfather. He optimistic and funny and considerate. He loves this town... lived here his whole life. He would be great! Heck... he IS great!

VOTE RANDY RIETZE FOR CITY COUNCILOR ON OCTOBER 25TH!

And back on this end...

Every one was sick here last week. Of the five of us, only Derek escaped the wrath of the flu. Man... I hate that. I'm so behind on laundry now. Everyone will at least have clean sheets now though! LOL

Taking a break from the publishing part of the world. I need to. Takes me away from where I want to be... from WHO I want to be. I'll stick with the product and the shoppe and teaching. Other than that my time is for them and my pages are for them (and me!)

So, that said...

... a little scrappin' done this weekend (here)

This one was for the "Glue-B-Gone" challenge. Yup... no adhesive used here! Just stitching, staples and brads.
... and this one for the "Paperpalooza" challenge. Grab 6 papers and make 'em work.
The little stamp on the bottom and the lines on the top left are Fontwerks.
... and a couple of others you can see here.

The amazing shrinking to-do list

2006-10-14T18:14:00.000-05:00

Believe it or not, the to-do list is shrinking! Along with tackling the usual stuff ... laundry, sweeping, being mommy... I'm making a little dent.

- plan Super Scrap Day (make and takes, etc.)
- get ready for Bible Camp event (goodie bags, display, etc.)
- get ready for Manitou class (in November)
- complete 2 circle journals (by the end of October) ~ one down, one to go

This is for Bryan's Technique circle journal. Long overdue. I loved Ashley Calder's pocket technique in the October 2006 Scrapbook Answers... but I didn't have the burning tool she used, so I used my sewing machine. I swear, if that machine ever stitches through fabric I'll be so suprised!!!

- finish holiday cards for online site (by the end of October) ~ one down, a few more to go
- finish tags for Christmas Tag Swap (by Nov. 15) ~ check
- teach two more classes this month
- start Shimelle's class ("You Think you Know Me")
- get December class ready
- order this week (remember to order more for December kit) ~ check
- get that sign done for the shoppe
- finish photo swap layout (by SSD) ~ check
- start Christmas gifts (and cards)

And now, some tidying up, and then off to meet Jen!

Today's MSS spammer count - 3

TGIF (& Ali Challenge #3)

2006-10-13T09:28:00.000-05:00

Day before yesterday.... Jack told me that a girl in school said she hated him. Now... this is a boy who's so shy and timid... wouldn't hurt a fly. But what killed me most was how nonchalant he was about it. We would tell him that maybe she was having a bad day and didn't mean it, or if she did it was wrong and he should ask his teacher how to handle a situation like that. He just shrugged it off... "No. She just hates me." So sad. It's not OKAY for people to say that. I debated about what to do about it. This is Kindergarten. I decided to wait to see what would happen the next day. And what happened? "She was my friend today!" LOL Which is great! Cause he loves school (most of the time). Especially playing in the house.... 'cause there's cowboy boots there you know!

Looking forward to a nice weekend. Not at the shoppe, just at home. I have to take a MAJOR look at my (scrapbooking) to-do list...

- plan Super Scrap Day (make and takes, etc.)
- get ready for Bible Camp event (goodie bags, display, etc.)
- get ready for Manitou class (in November)
- complete 2 circle journals (by the end of October)
- finish holiday cards for online site (by the end of October)
- finish tags for Christmas Tag Swap (by Nov. 15)
- teach one more class this month
- start Shimelle's class ("You Think you Know Me")
- get December class ready
- order this week (remember to order more for December kit)
- get that sign done for the shoppe
- finish photo swap layout (by SSD)
- start Christmas gifts (and cards)

... and I'm sure there's more... but I'll start with this. I'm going to try to copy the list and check them off as I go....

And Ali's challenge from her AEzine.

This week your challenge is to create a layout that tells the story of your relationship with photos and/or your camera.
Consider the following questions:
What is your personal photo-taking process? What are your strengths in regards to taking photos?What do you want to change about your process? Which photos that you have taken are your favorites? Why? What makes those photos your favorite?
If you don't have time to create a layout this week I would encourage you to simply think about how you take photos. Write down a photo goal for yourself this week and do something about it over the next seven days.

Of course I read it once and didn't refer to it 5 days later when I actually did my layout, so I didn't answer ANY of those questions. But... that's just the kind of rogue scrappin' rebel I am! LOL!

Today's MSS spammer count... 3

Happy Thursday?

2006-10-12T10:48:00.000-05:00

Feeling glum about the whole industry today. I'll get over it... just the usual issues...
- magazines "creating" celebrities with all their contests.
- people who are obsessed with "celebrity" blogs. I love Ali... but I'm pretty sure if she'd tell us what brand of garbage bag she uses they'd sell out. Not her fault. "Our" fault. Really! I love Ali... love her art, her perspective and outlook, and her as a person... totally inspiring! My #1 fav! I just think WE are silly sometimes... the way we act.
- my own personal lack of publishing, although I'm pretty sure I don't suck.
- magazines publishing the same stuff (some even scraplifted from previous issues).
- getting sucked into the whole "recognition and affirmation" thing that comes along with submitting. Really... why do I care if 6 people I've never met like my layout???

Thrilled and inspired about scrapping though... that's a plus! Flipping the bird to submitting. (Pardon my French)

And I'm loving "non-celebrity" work lately... ala Kristina Contes, Heather Burch, Jill Hornby, Amber Skolnick, etc. Totally gets me inspired!

I'm leaving you with a little piece of my home...

September in review

2006-10-07T14:07:00.000-05:00

Ali's challenge #2:

I put this one off for quite a while! I somehow misplaced my bottle of ink for my printer... last I saw it it was in my bag... so I couldn't print off any wallet sized pictures... which was my plan. So I only had this one that I could crop. Darn, if I don't excel and photo composition and therefore can't crop my photos in farther! LOL!

So anyway... I did it.

You can see more interpretations here.

And I'm still scrapping (I love Saturdays!) so they'll be more to share later.

Edited to add one more layout!

Happy Thanksgiving!

2006-10-06T22:52:00.000-05:00

... to all of my fellow Canadians... Happy Thanksgiving!

Molly had a playdate today and Derek took Jack after school till it was time for Molly to come home (and save me a second trip to town), so I had 1pm - 8pm just me and Max. He played, we played, I scrapped! So nice!!! He is sooo good entertaining himself. Sometimes I just sit there watching him play... the conversations he has with himself! So cute!
This weekend will be busy with gatherings, so it feels really nice!

So... these are my accomplishments...

OLD pictures (summer 2004)... Molly at the petting zoo. Brushed paint along the edges. Stacked the Heidi Swapp journaling spots (which I love). Not happy with the title... but oh well.

Really happy with this one. I seem to really enjoy those ones that I DON'T think about. This one took probably all of 15 minutes. I tend to over-think stuff... trying to get things perfect. And if I throw that out the window... get just my basic photo placement down... I'm so much happier with it.
By the way... those are the pictures from the September online crop.

And then this one... which for some reason isn't loading. Started this one on Thursday at the crop... and in true Marcy-style... finished it at home!

(I just realize I already posted today!!! Hee hee! Past my bedtime!)

Too funny

2006-10-06T14:31:00.000-05:00

Okay... I hijacked this from Jen's blog... thought it was too funny!!!!!

YOUR ROCK STAR NAME: (first pet and current street name)Angel Road 18N (okay... this one doesn't work for me... Let's go with my last one... Angel Ninth)
YOUR MOVIE STAR NAME: (grandfather or grandmother on your mom's side, your favorite candy)Lena Caramilk
YOUR "FLY GIRL/GUY" NAME: (first initial of first name, first two or three letters of your middle name)m-car
YOUR DETECTIVE NAME: (favorite color, favorite animal)red cat
YOUR SOAP OPERA NAME: (middle name, city where you were born)carmel winkler
YOUR STAR WARS NAME: (the first 3 letters of your last name, first 2 letters of your first name, first 2 letters of mom's maiden name and first 3 letters of the town you grew up in)penma wiwin
SUPERHERO NAME: (your favorite color, favorite drink) red coke

Okay... so Jen's were a lot funnier, but still...

Saturday ramblings

2006-09-30T18:56:00.000-05:00

So... I'm looking for these baskets....

I saw this on Liz Eaton's blog and thought that was just so cool!!! Taking the suctions off and hanging them off the wall of my scrapbook room... or even by the computer and using them to sort mail... whatever... I could think of a TON of uses for them! And anyway... IKEA has them for $3 or $4 so I thought done deal!! Well, we don't have an IKEA here... or nearby for that matter... so I decided to look around town here.
Walmart.
Canadian Tire.
Rona.
dollar store.
... nothing...
and then I found them at the Superstore! Super excited... until I looked at the price tag!!! $14!! Seriously!!
Totally bummed me out.
Guess I'll have to keep looking.

Worked today. 10-5. Feet are killing me!
Put out some new stuff (see the MSS blog).

And... some stuff to share...

No funny stories here. Just sampling the baked goods (pre-oven).

Max is fascinated by the fact that under your eyelids it's red. To him that's blood. So he'll go around all day, pulling his eyelid down at random and tell you he has "bud" in his eye.

And... same kid... 2 years earlier...

Everytime we'd play Hey Ya in the truck he'd start bouncing around! Everytime. We'd play it just to see him do that! I had always known that I wanted to use this sheet of music paper from Daisy D's on this page, but the picutre weren't that great so I kept putting it off and putting it off. Finally did it this last week.

Post #2...

2006-09-27T20:40:00.000-05:00

Two posts in one day! It's all Ali's fault!! LOL!

Really wanted to complete Ali's minibook challenge... haven't done a mini book in over a year! I really have a hard time 1. picking topics. I feel all my "special" thoughts and topics should be on scrapbook pages... I have a hard time feeling that my mini books are special too.... and 2. using products in mini books. Again... my mini books aren't special enough to warrant using all the product I'm hording.
I'm aware that this makes no sense. I'm working on it.

So here it is.

Live from the farm

2006-09-27T10:04:00.000-05:00

Okay... saw this on Kristina's blog and had to share it here... so funny... seriously!
I don't know which is funnier... the artist and the experiment ... or if you actually came across this in real life! Really!!

Tried to take fall pics yesterday. Too windy at our first location, and the second location had bad lighting... but this is what we got...

And then Jack got these...

He was telling us where to pose and everything! He LOVES being behind the camera! (And yah... we'll retake those fall pictures!)

Updated the MSS Blog with a sneek peek of the October kit. Check out the link in the sidebar.

Wanting to do Ali's Mini Book challenge. Hopefully today.

Happy humpday all!

Designing with Color

2006-09-26T12:03:00.000-05:00

And so... I climb out from under a pile of laundry to share this...
a new Autumn Leaves Designing with Blog... the Color Blog.
Challenge one is up. (As if there aren't enough challenges out there already!)
But of course... the best ones are found on MSS!!!

Back to work.

Playing catch-up

2006-09-23T17:36:00.000-05:00

Still getting over a cold. Bleech. Knocked me out all week. Hard being a mommy and sick at the same time. Still sluggish, but getting better.

Lots to share... most from the online crop last weekend...

Challenge for this one... journal on a photo.

Challenge for this one... try something you've always wanted to try, but haven't. For me that was the wings. Also painted them with the Lil' Davis Glitter Glaze.

Made with the MSS September kit. Challenge for this... use pink on a boy page.

Answered Leigh's challenge - use only patterned paper.

Challenge for this one... use bling on your page!

Challenge for this one... bring back the dry-embossing.

Fun challenge here. Inspired by The Anywhere Studio... I had a jar filled with words. I randomly drew names for participants and they created a layout with those words. Great for jump-starting creativity. I drew "wonder".

Challenge for this one (a KI reject)... use stars on your page.

And... then... just for fun...

So in reality, I did the last two during the crop... the other's were done prior, in preparation for the crop. (Not as impressive now!!)

Of course...

2006-09-16T14:38:00.000-05:00

Why did I even kid myself into thinking I'd get any scrapbooking done today!!!

Big Day #2

2006-09-14T09:35:00.000-05:00

Jack had his first day of Kindergarten on Tuesday.
Wasn't sure what to expect (from him)... but we got his shoes on and he went right to sit down and read books.
He couldn't stop talking about his afternoon when we got home. Quite a change from Molly, who you have to press for details. Loving the cars, the house center (cause there's cowboy boots in there!), and the sand table. His second day is today... wonder what he'll pick today. He is also the helper today (bringing snack) and he has show and tell. I'll be so happy if he stands up there and actually talks!!

Started my circle journal for a local group here. Letting myself PLAY in it.

Taught a class on tuesday (fun!).

Got October project kits assembled and pics taken.

Other than that, not much here. Work. Waking up so early (Molly's on the bus at 7:50am) my evenings are so short. Not much scrapping time anymore. Sad.

But tomorrow's the online crop at MSS!!! So hopefully that'll change this weekend.

Come for scrapping, chatting, challenges, make and takes, RAKS, games and more!

And, if you haven't checked out the MSS post....
Super Scrap Day is November 18th!!!

Big Day #1

2006-09-06T08:34:00.000-05:00

Grade 2. We've waited for it all summer, and now it's here.
Woke up early (bus comes at 8:00am)... didn't know if we could do it, but we did.
Her she was this morning...

That girl's going to spend a total of 2 hours on the bus today! Yikes. Packed a coloring book, Barbie and some licorice.
Good luck sweetie!

And, since we're sharing our spaces on the MSS boards, here's mine.

(one day I will have window trim... not that you can even SEE my window....)

(... oh and a finished ceiling and closet trim...) Trimmer, photos and basket of scraps are in the closet. Embellishments in baskets in the cabinet. Sewing machine on the counter (the basement stairs are under the bump-out beneath, so it's wasted space). One paper rack for patterned paper. "Larger" brands (KI, Chatterbox, Basic Grey) are in the baskets on the bench beside. Old table sticks out from the ledge. Usually that white tray on the island is on there to give me more room. Molly likes to work here.

What my perspective looks like. Piece of glass for a cutting board. I also keep a piece of chipboard under that's 12x12 with a 8.5x11 box drawn on it. I plan my layouts on here... see what size I'm going to do. On the far wall... wood shelf from Superstore, wood "tool chest" from Costco (drawers for alterable items, embellishements (in jars), chipboard, buttons/brads, more embellishments, stamps, etc.), wood shelf with slots (for stickers/rub-ons divided into manufacturer), and another wood shelf from Superstore with baskets for 7 gypsies, lil' davis, envelopes, and ribbon ribbon ribbon. Off to the right (off the picture) is my 14" TV on a swiveling plate-thing from IKEA and an old milk carrying with jars for brushes, pens, scissors, etc. Below this island is plastic drawer units for adhesive, small scraps, note pads, etc.

Now, chances are this will change in a month.... and these pictures were taken in mid-August, so it's definately not this clean now.

Happy Birthday Max!

2006-09-04T15:19:00.000-05:00

First of all... most importantly... my baby's 3 today!
My little Max! I can't believe it! I love that he still is a mama's boy... loves to stroke my hair and pull my ponytail... but when will that end. Hopefully not quite yet. I'm not ready for that! He's is such a joy! The kid toys were made for. So content and willing (just a slight temper peeking through at this point). I don't know what I'd do without him.

Other than that, I'm was in a "mad-at-the-industry" mood this weekend, so I've got lots to share...

This (Party Girls) is the second page of a two-page spread, but I couldn't figure out how to blur the faces of the people on the first page, so I left it off.

My answer to the MSML challenge #4 on the MSS site (sorry, too lazy for links today).

Love layering those Heidi Swapp journaling blocks.

A record of my day back in July 2006.

My lovely sister.
And, now I should get to planning a birthday party and getting some stuff priced.

Rejection... gotta love it.

2006-09-01T23:26:00.000-05:00

KI Memories top 25 were announced today.
It's not that I thought I even had a chance, but the day came and I thought... you know... why not? It could happen. I imagine no one thinks it will be them.

But alas, no call. My phone never ran so much during the day! Drove me nuts... minor heartattacks throughout the day. And then the phone call in the evening...
"Hello... Marcia Penner?".
"Yes."
"This is Capital One..."
Crap.

Therefore solidifying my theory that I am unpublishable. (I had one published on a Scrapbook Answers disc and another was "supposed" to be in the February Paperkuts... which I still haven't had returned to me either!). I try to take it as a compliment. That I'm a little different. Not what the general public wants to see... but it still sucks. It sucks when you have such a passion for something and then the world tells you to stop doing it.

(I know I'm exagerating and that there are some of you out there who think I rock...)

I had a great theme.... at least I thought. An open-ended album entitled "Just be...". Each page was a quality I wanted my kids to attain. Curious, adventurous, silly, affectionate, etc. And it's no secret I love the KI.
And the wacky thing is they didn't pick Jen either! What a bizarre world! ;)
So here's one of my favs...

I'll post some more later (right now my scanner's not hooked up).