So what do you scrap?

"So what do you scrap then?"

I had a fellow scrapbooker ask me this at a crop once.  This came right after I said that I was not married and had no children.

So you can only scrap if you are married and have kids?  Wow.  They didn't give me that memo at the very first Creative Memories party I went to.

That was many years ago.  Now I am married.  However, I still don't have kids. 

Guess what?  Someone said to me not too long ago, "I don't know how you do it.  If I didn't have kids, I'd have nothing to scrap!" 

Oh man.  I'm breaking all the scrapbooking rules here, aren't I?

I scrap my life.  Yep, my life.  I celebrate me.  The people that I love.  The things that are important to me.

I have a great husband and we have a blast together.  I scrap that.

I have awesome friends that I love to be around.  I scrap that.

I like some really cool things and go really cool places.  I scrap that.

I am a pretty awesome person.  I scrap that.

You don't have to be a certain thing to be a scrapper.  You don't have to be married, straight, have kids, be young, be old, whatever.  Just BE yourself... and go scrap that.

Why do I scrapbook?

I've been pondering this a lot lately.

I began thinking about it back in the spring.  I was lucky enough to take a class (in person!) from Jessica Sprague (see earlier post).  Then that evening, she delivered a key note speech in which she had us all to think about why we scrapbook. 

Here's what I have come up with so far:

I scrapbook because I want to celebrate my life.  I have a story to tell.

I want people to know that I was here.  That I mattered.  That I laughed, cried, loved, lost, triumphed, and failed. 

I want to give myself a chance to play and explore.  As adults, we don't get that chance very often. 

I want to have a safe place where I don't have to follow any rules.

I want to leave my legacy.

So tell me... why do you scrapbook?

FREE class by Jessica Sprague!

I just love Jessica Sprague.  I really do.  She is so sweet and really loves to bring digital scrapbooking to the masses.  At a scrap weekend I attended, she gave a speech about "Why I Scrapbook" that brought me and the whole room to tears.  She is all about helping you share your stories.  I bought Photoshop Elements 7 and am now doing more digi and hybrid scrapbooking because of her.

So imagine my giddiness when I saw on her site that she is doing a FREE CLASS!  Yes, you read that right, FREE!  This class is called "Holidays in Hand" and it's all about capturing the memories of the holidays.  Not a digi-scrapper?  NO PROBLEM!  This class is for everyone.

Yes, it says that the class runs from Nov. 16-23, but don't let that scare you.  You don't have to sign in and do stuff every day.  You can do it in your own time.  That's another good thing about Jessica's classes -- once you register on her site, the classes you take are yours forever so you can go back to them as many times as you need. 

Registration begins Nov. 2.  Go sign up... you won't be disappointed!

Actually made a Halloween layout!

I never make Halloween layouts.  In fact, I bought the paper and embellishments (all from Imaginisce... it's their really cute "Spooky Town" collection) with the intention of doing something totally different with it.  However, I took these pictures of my jack-o-lanterns yesterday and the pictures were just too cute not to scrap.

In other news, I found out today that I have been taken off the schedule for the month of November at my job.  This is not good, what with Christmas coming up as well as the added expense of some plumbing issues at my house.  Talk about scary... Halloween has nothing on me right now!

Digi-layout

One of my very first digi layouts!

Layouts!

Nemo and Friends layout

A layout from our 2006 visit to Epcot

Nothing to it but to do it!

I'm getting off my butt and making it happen, y'all. 

I'm applying to some design teams.

Do they pay anything?  No. 
Will it be fun?  I hope. 
Will it be able to help me share my love of scrapbooking with the world?  Definitely.

So wish me luck.  Let's see if I can make something happen!

Decline of the scrapbooking "business"

A new post over at Scrapbook Update got me thinking about scrapbooking and its "decline". 

Why do you think that the industry has seen a downturn?  Is it strictly due to the economy or are there other factors?

Besides the economy, I think that another reason for a decline in scrapbooking purchases has to do with saturation of the market.

Paper lines have all begun to look the same.  How many companies need to make paper with owls/woodland animals/cherries/birds on it? 

Then you have companies like Hambly Studios... pretty, high-quality products that are different, but too "far out" for most scrapbookers to use.  How many things can you use chandeliers and vintage bird cages on?

Then we have a million tools that all do the same thing.  Corner chompers, paper gators, round-it-all... whatever you call it, it's still a corner rounder.  Just because you color something pink and give it a cute name doesn't make it "new and impoved".

My personal vote for scrapbooking's "jump the shark" moment (and if you don't know what jumping the shark is, look here)?  Fiskars Rock Paper Trimmer. 

So tell me what you think.  Do you think that the scrapbooking business is dead?

I'm a guest blogger!

Go check out Nancy Nally's wonderful blog Scrapbook Update.  Her blog covers the "business side" of the craft/scrapbooking industry.  Today's post is by none other than ME!!! 

Thanks to Nancy for gving me the opportunity to blog for her!!!!

Guest blogger

Ok, kids, keep you fingers crossed for me.  I just sent Nancy Nally a message about being a guest blogger on Scrapbook Update.  I love that site so I would love to do that!!!!

2 really cute websites

Came across two websites today... one is for vinyl wall art and the other for acrylic stamps.

I don't need wall art so much, but it's their car decals that I want!!!

And how adorable are these stamps?

Not scrap related in any way....

... but I just had to share this!  I've been laughing at this for three days now on Facebook!

T-Pain and Autotune Obama

Stacy Julian's new blog

Stacy Julian, former Simple Scrapbooks editor, has a new website!

I love Stacy Julian!  Her book, Photo Freedom, has helped me to get over the idea that every single photo that I have ever taken must be put into a scrapbook.  

So go check out her new site and blog... the bright colors alone will cheer you up!

Directions for the folded paper basket

I've had some people ask me how to make the folded paper basket that was the KI Memories make and take from ScrapFest. 

I warn you now, however... I suck at writing directions.  The spatial part of my brain and the verbal part of my brain have only met in passing and are by no means close friends.  So if you think that a lobotomized monkey could write the directions better, you are so right.


1.  Take 1 12" X 12" piece of cardstock or patterned paper (the heavier weight, the better).  If you want the inside of your basket to be pretty as well, use a paper that has a pattern on both sides or attach another piece of patterned paper to the backside.

2.  Tri-fold the paper length-wise, making a crease at 4" and at 8".  Then rotate the paper and tri-fold again.  This will leave you with 9 visible "squares" on your paper. 

3.  Take 1 corner "square" and fold it so diagonally so that the two outside corners of your "square" meet.

4.  Repeat for the remaining three corners.

5.  Now flatten the paper back out to a flat 12" X 12".  Turn the paper over and add embellishments to the unfolded areas.  These will be the sides of the basket.

6.  Finally refold the corners so that they all meet in the middle.  Hole punch a hole in each and run a ribbon through.

Now you can use the basket to hold yummy goodies!!!!

Does any of that make sense?  If not, that's why I included the pictures.  If you still can't get it, then get a kid to help you.  They can always figure this stuff out faster than I can.


And how tacky is it that the best surface I had available to take pictures on was a folding chair?  That is a sure sign that I need to clean off my scrap table!

Being frisked... scrapper style!

Yep, that's me getting frisked at the Atlanta airport on my way to ScrapFest.  I had emptied my pockets and taken off my shoes like a good little passenger, but I set the machine off twice so the guard gives out the call for "female pat-down assistance" and I have to step into the little glass cubicle of shame.

Enter the TSA lady.

She begins our exchange by saying, "Do you KNOW why you set off the machine today?"  Um, no.  I'm just as surprised as you are, to be honest.  So then the fun begins with both "THE WAND" and the physical pat-down.  The physical pat-down includes having to roll down the waistband of my jeans (huh?) and standing like, well, like you see above.

Now of course all of this strikes me as very funny.  The situation is kind of absurd and I have a nervous laugh response anyway (anyone who knows me knows that I laugh at terribly inappropriate times, like when people are CHOKING, but I digress).  So what happens?  I am laughing... THE WHOLE TIME!  Needless to say, the TSA lady is not amused and probably thinks that I am deranged as well as being a suspicious character. 

But what makes it ever funnier?  The fact that Kerry is there taking pictures of the whole thing.  Only a scrapbooker would think to take pictures of this event.  I was so proud of her for doing this for me since I figured that if I yelled out, "Hey Kerry, take some pictures for the scrapbook", I would have been escorted out of the cubicle of shame into a much more sinister room where cameras are discouraged.

So that's how our trip began.  Ten minutes into our trip and we were already causing a scene.  It was great.

Oh yeah, and the thing that was setting off the metal detector?  The underwire in my bra.  I kid you not.

And I won't even get into the frisking I got at the Minneapolis/St. Paul airport.  Let's just say that I though that TSA lady owed me at least dinner after it was over.

OK, so the pictures are upside-down. So sue me... I'm tired. Anyhoo, this is the project from Teresa Collins Designs using the "Friendship" collection. It was put together using the DreamKutz and Bind-It-All machines as well as the acrylic BIA covers from Zutter.

Our favorite projects of the weekend were the notebooks from Reminisce. Their products from their "Halloween Collection 2009", "Autumn Forest", and "Christmastime" collections made plain spiral-bound notebooks into the cutest notebooks ever!

A photo pocket tag from The Paper Company (TPC) Studio using their "Time to Travel" collection (they also have some directions for other cute mini projects on their site).

A super-fun little project from KI Memories... a Halloween goody "basket" made from a single sheet of 12X12 paper and embellished with their cute epoxy Halloween stickers and ribbon!

12X12 layout from Me and My Big Ideas... very cute!

Card from Making Memories using the Slice machine and their "Wedding" collection Blossoms

A fun card from Imaginisce featuring their "Let's Roll" collection (great for boy pages!) and using their new I-Top Brad Maker. The brad maker was easier to use than I expected and you can make brads from paper, fabric, pictures, etc!

Great gift card holder/birthday card from Karen Foster Designs. The ribbon is attached to a "slider" (made from a small piece of paper and a brad -- how clever!) that holds the gift card!

A really cute baby card from Hambly Studios made from a transparency! The envelope looks like a fancy lined envelope, but it's really just got a piece of patterned paper attached to the inside!

Card from Doodlebug Design featuring their Crushed Velvet brads and
Chunky Sugar Coating glitter.

"Hey Pumpkin" card from Cosmo Cricket

"Smile" card from Cosmo Cricket

"You Melt My Heart" card from Cosmo Cricket

Butterfly card from Me and My Big Ideas using their "Soft Spoken" embellishments

Christmas accordian mini-album from BoBunny, made from 1 sheet of 12X12 paper!

BoBunny's Halloween accordian mini-album

12X12 layout from Creativity Inc. using Stampology inks,

Autumn Leaves papers, and Scrap Metal embellishment.

Card from American Crafts using their Zing! embossing powder and Flair embellishment

Set of 3 Basic Grey cards featuring the new "Indian Summer" line of products

ScrapFest 2009 make and takes

My friend Kerry and I though that people may want to see some pictures of the various make-and-take projects offered this year at ScrapFest so I'll be posting pics of everything that we did.

Some vendors had one project all weekend, while others had a different project each day. All of the projects took about 6 minutes or less and are super-easy to recreate at home! Happy crafting!

And lots of love and kudos to Kerry for providing the pictures! I'm too lazy to take them, plus the deer on my Reminisce notebook project had an unfortunate accident in which he lost his butt).

$10 coupon from Lettering Delights

Just a heads up to all those who love cool fonts:

Lettering Delights is running a promo right now -- become their fan on Facebook and you get a coupon code for $10 off any of their products!

They have wonderful fonts, graphics, and printables that are all very inexpensive anyway, but then $10 off makes it even better!

Once you are a fan, the code can be found on their Facebook page (or "wall").

This offer expires September 30 so you have to hurry!

Another new template

As proud as I was of the last template I had here on my blog (since I actually installed it without putting my foot through the monitor AND I put my own text and pictures in the header!), I have to admit it was a little... well, busy. "Busy" as in "Sweet Jesus, my eyes. MY EYES!"

So I have gone back to my old tried and true blog template. Simple and much easier on the old peepers. Thanks to suckmylolly.com who provided it!

Scenic Route closing!

Why, Scenic Route, why?!

I bought your products religiously. Your die-cut arrows are to die for. Your papers are always so cute and versatile. I was cleaning up my paper explosion... I mean, paper stash... just today and saw some of your papers and thought, "How cute is that?"

Now you go and tell me you are CLOSING?! Say it ain't so.

Break ups are just too hard.

ScrapFest 2009

THE GOOD:

1. Location -- The Mall of America is unbelieveable! Over 500 stores AND an amusement park inside? Sign me up! While walking around that behemoth got old by Sunday, it really was a great place for Scrapfest.

2. The vendors/make-and-takes -- There was a great selection of vendors at ScrapFest. My favorites, Basic Grey and Cosmo Cricket, were right next to each other and their make and takes were so cute and quick. Also big props to Reminisce... those ladies had it going on! Their make and take notebook was by far the cutest project there and they were so well-organized.

3. The Archiver's staff -- I never saw anyone who worked for Archiver's without a smile on their face the whole weekend. Whether in the store, at the Savings Spot, or helping out with a class, these ladies were on top of their game the entire time. Great job, y'all!

4. The classes -- My friend Kerry and I took 6 classes and they were all great! We especially liked the Basic Grey card class lead by Layle Koncar. But the most awesome "woo hoo moment" was by far when, at the end of our Fiskars class, Stephenie Purl Hamen gave away ALL of the Fiskars punches, stamps, and stamp presses we had used (because it was the last class of the weekend and she didn't want to cart all that stuff back with her)! I sure love me some swag!

THE BAD:

1. The location of some classes/vendor booths -- I felt really sorry for Kelly Purkey from American Crafts. The class we took from her was in the "Sears Court" and it was LOUD! Even with a microphone, we had trouble hearing her (but she and her class were awesome). Also the ladies from Moxxie were right beside the Rainforest Cafe... the loud "thunderstorm" every 15 minutes really is annoying after a while (however, their flower project was BEYOND ADORABLE!).

2. The crops -- We heard that the crops were great but we didn't sign up for any b/c they were quite expensive. However, we heard that all the attendees (except for the crop sponsored by Sizzix) got lots of swag so I guess it evens out.

3. The class length -- Each class only lasted 45 minutes. That is definitely NOT long enough.

4. The lines at the booths -- The longest that we waited in line for anything was about 45 minutes. However, we heard that at one point, the line for the Little Yellow Bicycle booth was approaching a THREE HOUR wait time. Um, no. No 1 page layout, no matter how cute or free, is worth that.


THE UGLY:

1. Back to back classes -- Only having 15 minutes to walk from class to class really sucked, especially when your class was on the mythical 4th floor. No one told us that you had to take an elevator (not escalator) to the 4th floor. We were beginning to think that it was like Platform 9 3/4 and that we would have to run through a wall to get there (if you don't get that reference, read Harry Potter!).

2. Running out of make-and-takes -- The Little Yellow Bicycle booth proved to be one of the most popular, so much so that on Thursday they ran out of the super-cute layout they were doing. They replaced it with a Halloween banner. Yuck... which leads me to #3.

3. Halloween -- I do not have kids so Halloween lines of product do nothing for me. And you can't tell me that even people with kids have enough Halloween pictures to consitute soooo much Halloween stuff. It seemed like tons of the make-and-takes were Halloween-related. I'll bet that the "Halloween-is-Satan's-holiday" people were freaking out everywhere they looked.

RESULTS:

In all, I LOVED ScrapFest! I loved it so much so that I am planning on going again next year, Lord willing. While the Minnesota accent grated on my nerves after a minute ("Can I put that in a BEG for ya?"), the whole experience was great.

Now if I can just get a job with a crafting company so that I can be working there next year......

Totally revamping the blog!

I know it has been ages since I posted anything, but I was tired of the old blog and wanted something totally new. I'm in the process of doing a complete make-over of the blog so bear with me!