Good excuses and new adventures

Oh how I wish I were better/more consistent at blogging! It seems that months can go by without my knowledge. Father Time, you are a cruel master!

But I do have a good excuse this time.

Stock image courtesy of freedigitalphotos.net

No really, I do!

All of my time has been taken up with my new business venture called The Craft Mom. The Craft Mom is a website devoted to helping you find the best deals and coupons for all your crafting needs, along with local craft events, projects, and more!

Let me give you some background:

My wonderfully talented friend Julia Sandvoss is an absolute whiz at marketing. She is one of those people who can sell ice to Eskimos. She called me up one day and pitched an idea to me. It was an idea for a couponing-type website but for craft supplies. I saw the potential, we hammered out some details, and we were in business!

The Craft Mom has been growing by leaps and bounds since day 1. We are having so much fun with it, and I feel like I have found my niche in the craft industry.

But when in order to change and grow, we have to leave some things behind. Therefore, I have had to give up my old website Better Living Through Scrapbooking and all of my design team duties. Getting The Craft Mom off the ground has taken lots of time and lots of effort, so it's been hard to do much of anything else. I have barely done any crafting at all since we started. However, I am slowly getting back into crafting; I'm hoping to really get back into the swing of things in the new year.

So my goal for now is to share new creations or just a little note here at least once a week to let y'all know that I am still alive and still devoted to crafting. And I would love for you to stop by The Craft Mom (and check us out on Facebook too). We are working hard over there every single day!

Until next time...

April challenge reveal and announcement

Today is reveal day over at Better Living Through Scrapbooking!

The first challenge of April is a color challenge: PASTELS! I don't scrap with pastel colors very much, but I loved using soft pinks on this altered art piece I made.

I made this from a paper mache "L" that I found at Hobby Lobby. I covered it with scraps of paper from my stash using Mod Podge. I am really big on saving my scraps of paper and this project shows why. I didn't have to cut up a brand-new sheet of paper; I had plenty of scraps that were just the right size, and the collage feel of the different papers lent itself to the vintage vibe of the whole thing.

Materials used:
Paper -- Heidi Swapp, 7Gypsies, Marah Johnson for Creative Imaginations
Embellishments -- The Girls' Paperie, Prima, Making Memories, Heidi Grace, Heidi Swapp
Ink -- ColorSnap Colorbox Fluid Chalk Ink in "Chestnut Roan"
Adhesive -- Glue Arts, Mod Podge

Now for the big announcement...
I am taking over ownership of Better Living Through Scrapbooking! Beth, who has been the wonderful owner/administrator/DT member/DT coordinator, is a crazy busy girl. She has a busy job and is on several other design teams besides Better Scrap, so she is handing it over to yours truly! I am very excited about this opportunity and I can't wait to grow the site even more. The most exciting part going forward will be a new design team call in the very near future! I will be advertising the DT call here, on Facebook, and on some DT call sites so be on the lookout for that.

Please come play with us this month over at BLTS! Take part in our challenges and you could be in the drawing for our quarterly prize. We'd love to see you there!

Gorgeous mixed media frame

This weekend, I took a fabulous class at Altered Angel in Alpharetta, GA. The class was taught by my super-talented friend Jeremy Bright from Vertigo Graphic. This picture frame is ridiculously gorgeous!

This started as a plain wooden picture frame, but with the help of Quick Quotes Powder Puff Chalking Ink and Martha Stewart craft paint, it soon became a distressed beauty. Can you believe we got this look with no messy wood stain?

The silver flakes are Stampendous Mica Fragments. They are like big glitter, but more vintage-y looking and much less messy. I love the mercury glass look that it gives to the project. We applied it by layering the mica with good old Mod Podge.

I absolutely love this frame and I am so glad I had the opportunity to take this class. For more awesome mixed media crafts from Jeremy Bright and Ken Oliver, please check out Vertigo Graphic.

We have a winner!

Before I announce the winner of the giveaway (in conjunction with Debbie Does Creations), I just want to thank everyone who came by and began following my blog. I hope that I can entertain you and show you some cool scrap-related stuff. If it weren't for readers like you, this blog would serve no purpose. I would just have to sit around and talk to myself... oh wait, I already do that! Seriously though, I love growing my audience and I am glad that YOU are a part of it!

And now, without further ado, the winner (chosen by random.org) is... drumroll, please....

#117 DANA MCWILLIAMS!

Dana, I think Debbie has already sent you an email, but I will get in touch with you too for an address and such!

Design team reveal: Lucky girl!

Today's the day for the second challenge of March over on Better Living Through Scrapbooking!

This challenge is all about a person that you are lucky to have in your life. I have so many people in my life that I am lucky to have, including my husband, my parents, and my friends, but I am super-lucky to have met my wonderful friend Kerry. She and I get along famously and I love her. She is "wicked awesome"... and yes, she's from the Boston area, so she says "wicked"!

This layout was such a fun one to make. I got to use some of the super-duper, brand new, not even in stores yet paper from the "Wave Searcher" collection by Fancy Pants! It's the fun, summery plaid background paper (thanks to the wonderful people at Fancy Pants for letting me get my mitts on some of this paper!). I also got to use lots of little scraps of paper and ribbon. There's a reason why I don't throw those away; they are just begging to be used on a layout like this one!

Hop on over to Better Living Through Scrapbooking to see the design team's take on the challenge, then make your own and post it on the Facebook page! You could win the monthly prize!

It's giveaway day!

I am so excited to be a part of Debbie Does Creations "Five Days of Giveaways"! Debbie was my roommate in college and I could not love her more. I am so glad that she has embraced her crafty side and she is doing such great things over at her blog. I can't wait to see what new craftiness she comes up with in the future.

I am giving away sooo much cool stuff! Each and every product is straight from Winter CHA.

Included in the giveaway are the following products:

• A page kit from the "Swoon" collection from Little Yellow Bicycle -- This collection isn't even in stores yet!
• Cool embellishments from the "Swoon" collection from Little Yellow Bicycle
• A Maya Road chipboard mini-album
• Stickers and die-cuts from Pink Paislee's "Snow Day" collection
• An 8X8 paper pad from Graphic45's "Little Darlings" collection
• Die cut ornament tags from Glimpses by Signify Pink -- These can be used as scrapbooking embellishments or as cool Christmas gift tags!
• A Purple Cows CraftGreek PinIt stapler -- This thing is so cool! It is a decorative stapler that attaches these neat little metal pins anywhere on your project. Go look at the examples here!

So what are the requirements to enter? It's super simple. Just use this handy-dandy widget! You have to subscribe to Debbie Does Creations via email and you have to follow this site via Google Friend Connect. Then anything else you do (tweet about the giveaway, "like" Thanks for the Memories on Facebook, "like" Debbie Does Creations on Facebook, etc.) gets you an extra entry each! Just make sure you use the widget so you can be credited with each one.

I want to be your dealer...

... of scrapbook supplies that is!

I have been a Memory Works consultant for several years now and I love it. Unlike other "home party" scrapbook companies, Memory Works sells the latest and greatest scrapbook supplies like you would find in a local scrapbook store. We carry products from great companies like Basic Grey, My Mind's Eye, BoBunny, and more.

I would love to be your Memory Works consultant!  Want to host a party and earn free scrapbooking products? Want to order the latest scrapbooking products on the market? Please feel free to contact me any time! My personal Memory Works site can be found at

 http://lorriemccullers.memory-works.com

Challenge reveal day!

 

Today is challenge reveal day over at Better Living Through Scrapbooking!  

Our first challenge this month is a color challenge -- GREEN AND WHITE!

My 2-page layout is about our trip last year to Savannah, GA. Savannah is home to the country's 2nd largest St. Patrick's Day celebration and it shows: shamrocks painted on the streets, green water in the fountains, and brisk business at the Irish pubs! We were lucky to be there the weekend before St. Pat's, so we got to see the cool stuff, like step dancers and bagpipers, but without the crazy crowds.

We would love to see your green and white creations this month. Just make a layout, card, or home decor project featuring the green and white and post it to the Better Living Through Scrapbooking Facebook page by March 21. The creation with the most "likes" will be entered into our quarterly drawing for a prize!

(For my materials list, please see my post at Better Living Through Scrapbooking!)

Love this website!

My friend Debbie has started a fantastic blog called Debbie Does Creations and I love it! She makes some great home decor items, posts fantastic recipes, and keeps her eye out for coupons and sales on craft supplies. Go check her out and enjoy.

I am honored that she has asked me to guest post on her blog next month! Watch for details coming soon!

February design team project

Today is reveal day over at Better Living Through Scrapbooking! Come on by to get in on the fun!

Each month we have 2 challenges; the first challenge of the month is a color challenge and the second is a theme challenge. This month's theme challenge is "Obsession".

And what is the one thing that I am completely, totally, madly obsessed with?

Yep. Diet Coke. Oh you evil, delicious elixir. Click on the picture to read my journaling about just how much I love this stuff. Oh and for the record, I realized that the title on the layout was misspelled only after I uploaded the picture....

We'd love to see just what you are obsessed with! Come over to Better Living Through Scrapbooking and share your layout with us on Facebook. You will be entered to win our quarterly prize!

My first trip to CHA: Part 1 -- What is CHA?

So what is CHA?

I have had lots of non-crafting people ask me this over the past few weeks, ever since I began my barrage on Twitter and Facebook about it. So I thought I would break it down for y'all and tell you all about it.

CHA stands for the "Craft and Hobby Association" which is the name of the organization for craft industry professionals. To be a member of CHA, you have to work in the industry as a store owner, a manufacturer, a designer, etc.

CHA hosts two shows a year, one in winter and one in the summer. These shows are not consumer or retail shows; that means the shows are not like Scrapbook Expo or Crating Keepsakes Conventions. The CHA shows are not open to the public and the only buying/selling that goes there are wholesale orders from store owners. Craft companies use CHA shows as a place to debut their latest products.

Going to CHA has been a dream of mine for several years now. I would always read on Twitter and Facebook about all of the companies getting ready for CHA and would be so jealous! It always seemed like so much fun to be able to see all the cool new stuff before "the public" gets to see it. Well, this year, I had my chance. I was contacted by a wonderful company called Glue Arts to come work for them at CHA. I was ecstatic!

I knew it was going to be hard work. After all the show is 3 1/2 days of non-stop standing, walking, and talking to customers, but I was ready for the challenge... or so I thought. Wow. After about 3 hours on the FIRST DAY of the show, my feet were killing me. Cute shoes = rookie mistake.

But the awesome experience of being at the show more than made up for any physical discomfort. I met so many wonderful people, all of whom were fellow crafters. Just being in this huge place with so many people who share your passion was amazing. And seeing so many great products from my favorite companies was enough to send me into shock! I think I walked around with my mouth just hanging open for at least the first 2 days, gaping at all the cool craft goodies!

The CHA show was all I had hoped it would be and more. I must send a huge thank-you to Glue Arts for giving me this wonderful opportunity. I am forever in your debt!

Over the next few days, I will be posting pictures and my impressions of CHA so please come back to share my trip with me!