Where's The Bling!

Take A Look At My New Scraproom!

2011-01-10T16:30:00.000-05:00

I am almost finished with my new scraproom, at least to the point I can post pics. I still need to do some fine tuning, make labels and purchase some more cropperhoopper vertical storage and the most tedious part will be wrapping my ribbon around those little scrapbook thingies. That should take me ages given the fact that I have so much ribbon.

Without further ado, "Welcome to my new Scraproom"

Pic 1: As you walk into my room there is a narrow wall and you can see 2 chandeliers I put on the wall. There is a ribbon going up the wall to appear like a cord. You cannot see it but I put crystal bling on the chandeliers.

Pic 2: This is my stamping and die cut table.

Pic 3: My fabulous Christmas gift "The Vagabond" My new favourite toy!

Pic4: This is my stamping station. This is the IKEA flip top table, it is just great, as you can see I store all my stamps in there, it is hard to see but it goes back quite a ways and holds a lot of stuff. I weeded through my stamps last year and got rid of the ones on blocks. Tammy suggested I put my small stamps in a CD case. All my glitter, inkers etc (everything pertaining to stamping and embossing is in my |Making Memories cabinet above the stamping/diecutting desk.

Pic 5: Closeup of inside of flip table.

Pic 6: This is looking toward the opposite side of the room. I have a saying on the top of the doors. You will see a close up of it in the next pic. Behind the doors is the big air exchanger, not much room to store anything.

Pic 7: These are my priorities in life.

Pic 8: This is the opposite side of the room. I have my 4 decorative boxes stacked up and they hold my 7 Gypsy, Teressa Collins and Tim Holtz goodies.

Pic 9: Sorry, the colour isn't very good. This cube is beside my workdesk. It is so nice to be able to print without having to go into another room. I have my radio (an absolute must for me when I scrapbook) in one of the sections and also my photo papers etc. in another. Don't you just love the iron decorative dress and my blingy clock!

Pic 10: This is my work desk. I just love it. It is so nice to be able to just roll from the desk to the stamping/diecutting table. I have kept a cube empty beside my paper towels to put my cutter and tote in.

Pic 11: This is the expedit cube system from IKEA. It is just perfect for me. Each cube holds a ton of stuff. I purchased the Martha Stewart canvas totes on sale and they fit in there perfectly. Lots of storage space.

Pic 12: I just love my turquoise bows on my totes. You know me I just could not leave them plain.

Pic 13: Another pic of storage cubes. My scrap magazines are in the bottom cubes.

Pic 14: I put some of my finished albums on the top shelf for decoration.

Pic 15: Another chandelier I put on the end of my storage cubes and there is a shelf displaying a couple of mini albums and the Nest project we did with "Debbie Schuh" hanging under the shelf.

Pic 16: This cube holds all of my mini paper stacks with 8 x 8 cardstock along with old dictionary book for tearing. I could not believe it all fit. It is so nice to have everything alike gathered in the same place.

Pic 17: This blew my mind when Tammy and I were finished. I had a clear shoe bag holding my bling. Once we took it all out of the packaging it all fit in this one basked. Amazing!! It is unbelievable how much room packaging takes up.

Pic 18: This has never happened since the day I started scrapbooking. All my cardstock is sorted and in one place. I even have a section for patterned card stock.

Pic 19: Now this was a pain in the butt. Tammy and I removed all the brads and dodads, buttons etc from the cards and they are all sorted in 8 bins. My thumb and finger are still sore from all that. When Tammy left on the third day I had 2 full green garbage bags full of packaging.

Pic 20: This tote holds all my Tim Holtz dies and folders. The cuttlebug ones are in a separate container behind that one. As Tammy says "All like things together".

Pic 21: I decided to sort my paper mainly by manufacturer and then have a miscellaneous section. I purchased a couple of cropper hopper vertical storage systems for my paper and they work well. I just have to wait until my budget allows and buy more.

Pic 22: I couldn't resist adding in this pic. It is on the shelf above my work desk. It is my buddy Nancy and I having 2 big martini's (my glass is as big as Nancy's, I guess this was a glare when I took the pic, the original is just fine). This was just before we arrived in Buffalo for CKC last May and Sharon said "You are not driving, I am" We arrived safe and sound with Sharon driving as Nancy and I giggled all the way and even during registration.

I hope I haven't bored you too much. I wish the pics could have turned out a little better, but I didn't have time to photoshop them. I truly want to thank Tammy for her amazing organizational skills. She showed me things that I did not think were possible. I never saw anyone able to put so many things in a small space and work so amazingly fast. If any of you are considering revamping or reorganizing you scraproom, I highly recommend hiring Tammy. It was the best money I ever spent. I am now organized and don't have to look in 10 different places for one item.

Now the challenge is to keep it that way!!!!!!!!

Sorry for the missing words on Scraproom post

2011-01-08T18:24:00.000-05:00

Hello everyone, I apologize for the missing letters at the end of each line of my scraproom post. I do not know what is happening, but I am sure you can get the jist of it. My other post went just fine. If anyone knows why it did this could you please let me know.

Thanks

Scraproom!

2011-01-08T12:53:00.083-05:00

Well, after over 5 years of chaos I decided to do something about my scraproom. I decided to devote the month of December to do a major overhaul of my room including furniture. It was just so overwhelming that I hired Tammy from the Scrapbox to get me organized. Let me tell you it was the best money I ever spent. Tammy is absolutely amazing, her organizational skills are outstanding. She is a whirling dervish. It took us 3 complete days to get to the point where I am now. I am almost finished and putting the final touches on things. I thought you might like to see the before and I will post the after tomorrow night. Have a great weekend.

Happy New Year Everyone!

2011-01-07T10:14:00.000-05:00

No , you are not imagining things, it is little old me updating my blog. I did a lot of reflecting the month of December and it all started with my decision to do a December daily album this year. It made me really stop and think. The main thing that I realized was that I did way too much last year. I went back to work 3 days a week and that was great! I really liked the job and especially the people (I am actually starting back there next week until June). The whole point of it was extra dollars for scrapping etc. I over did it and went to CKC in Buffalo, Creative Escapes in Arizona and Donna Downey in Syracuse. Although I had a fabulous time I realize now it was too much for me. I have decided on one out of town scrapping event only this year and that will be Donna Downey's "Inspired Workshop" in North Carolilna. It will be great because I will also get to visit my American cousins in Charlotte.

My word for this year is "present' to be in the present and enjoy the present. I spend too much time thinking about what I am going to do next and that has to stop. It is going be very hard, but I am going to try.

I was in Peterborough, Mississauga and Brampton (both my older grandsons were in a hockey tournament) during the hollidays and below is a pic of my family. All of my grandchildren together in the same room, which very rarely happens due to one family living in Ohio and the other in Peterborough.

Please note that I am in the process of revamping my blog and it is a work in progress.

I'm Back!

2010-01-27T12:23:00.004-05:00

Yes, I am still amongst the living. My friends have been giving me a hard time that I have not posted in a few weeks. What can I say, I have gone back to work for awhile. I don't like it but it is a means to an end. We are going on a cruise in April with friends of ours. I finish my contract the end of March and we leave on 10 April. I am sure I will be taking a bazillion of pics! I have missed cropping so much that I went to the Scrapbox last week for the coffee crop. I was so happy to be there. I did not realize how much I miss Jenn and all my scrappin buddies. The first thing I did when I entered the store was a big inhale to fully appreciate all the scrapbook smells. I was starting to get really concerned as my "Mojo" just wasn't there. I think the saying "use it or lose it" is very true (in my case anyway). The next day my "Mojo" was back. YIPEE!!! I had so much fun playing. I had chip tiles spread out all over and lots of bottles of glimmer mist, went through almost an entire roll of paper towels and was covered in glimmer mist and gold zing embossing powder. It felt like I was in bling heaven, what fun I had!!!! I had been wanting to try this neat technique I saw on the TA blog. I just loved the way it turned out. I made a really neat and different album with TA embossed Chip tiles. I will post a pic later this week when I have finished putting the ribbons and glitz on. Speaking of having fun, have you gone over to Debbie Schuh's blog yet to see the 3 projects that we will be making at Jenn's event in May. All I can say is I CAN HARDLY WAIT!! Go take a look, you will have to lift your jaw up off the keyboard after you have seen them. Absolutely fantastic! The photo tray is truly awesome!. I will add her blog link at the side and go take a look. Click on her upcoming classes and you will see all three of them. It is going to be a busy and expensive time for me in April and May (which is why I am doing a contract). Cruise in April, Debbie Schuh event the end of April and then Buffalo later in May. Thanks for reading my update and I will post on the weekend.

I'm So Excited!!

2009-12-28T17:54:00.003-05:00

I am so excited, I can hardly wait! My family from Ohio should be here around 9:00 pm. My grandson is playing in the Bell hockey tournament, so I will be at hockey arenas for the next few days. They live so far away that I cherish every moment they are here. I am looking forward to having fun, fun, fun!!!! Lots of food, laughter and hugs.

I just finished this canvas and I really like the way it turned out. Lots of 3-D and pretty little charms and beads hanging from a little pin. Ignore the glare in the pic, I was in a hurry when I took the pic to post. This is a birthday present for my daughter-in-law Julie who is in the pic. YEP! that is my Ohio family.

Hope everyone had a Merry Christmas!

A Christmas Card!

2009-12-13T11:42:00.008-05:00

Yikes, I am behind in my blogging. Going back to work has certainly had an effect on my life lately. I am settling in at the office, I guess it is like riding a bike you never forget, the basics are all there, different places just do it differently. I, like everyone else is busy preparing for Christmas even though there is just hubby and I. My son and family will be here on the 28th. My grandson Andrew is playing in the big Minor Hockey Tournament held here in Ottawa every year. They will be here for 5 days. My other son and family will come in from out of town for a day during that time. I will be attending a lot of hockey games. I am looking forward to seeing everyone and having lots of fun! I am posting one of my 2 Christmas cards that I am sending out this year (hope to get that done today). I will post the second one shortly.

The picture definitely does not do this card justice. The sliegh was embossed in Zing Copper glitz embossing powder and is really sparkly. I used copper shimmer paper and embossed it using the cuttlebug and added a cute copper tree brad.

Thanks for looking!

I survived!

2009-11-29T14:27:00.005-05:00

Well, I survived Black Friday. We had a great time, got a ton of bargains. One of my favourite stores Kohls did not dissapoint. This is my favourite store for kids clothes. We made it for the earlybird specials, which meant 60% off plus another 15% if you have a Kohl's account. Therfore there was a whopping 75% off everything I purchased. I got my grandchildren's Christmas presents mainly clothes, a couple of sweathers for myself, and some cute costume jewellery all 75% off. You gotta luv it!!!!! We had to wait in line to clear Canada customs for about 15 minutes (not too bad) but when we went in to declare our items, there were about 100 people but it went quite smoothly. We paid no duty just the amount declared converted to CDN $ and paid the pst and GST on that amount. (no taxes on the kid's clothes) WHAT A DAY!!!!

Can you believe it, the only scrapbook item I purchased was a gorgeous Martha Stewart punch.

I start my 3 month contract tomorrow morning (thought it was a 2 month) and I will be taking OC transpo for the first time since 1978.

Will update again soon.

Black Friday!

2009-11-26T21:04:00.004-05:00

Well, I'm off to the good ol US of A tomorrow for all the Black Friday deals. I know you probably think we are crazy. Hubby and I have done this a few times and sometimes wonder about our sanity, but we have fun or we would not go. We take turns standing in line, so it is not too bad.

On another front I start work on a 2 month assignment on Monday. I am excited about it as I get to meet new people and the position is almost the same as my job before I retired. Think of all the extra scrapbook goodies that I can buy!!!!!!!!

A Fun Weekend!

2009-11-23T17:42:00.005-05:00

What a weekend! The craft show was a great success for me, a big thank you to all my friends for stopping by to say Hi! and wish me well. Now that is it over I can get back to working on my heritage album and start planning my Las Vegas album, you can bet there will be a lot of bling in that baby! Yesterday was a very long but great day. My scrapping buddies and I took an all day workshop from Jossee at Scrap en Masse. We left home at 8:00 am and returned home around 7:00 pm. We made the most gorgeous cards, they are like lilttle albums, very intricate and time consuming, but well worth the effort. In the afternoon we made a vintage mail box, which I must say was my favourite. I have do some final touches and then I will post pics. I hope everyone had a great weekend.

A Quick note

2009-11-18T12:31:00.008-05:00

I have been a bit behind on my blogging duties, but with good reason. I am now ready for the show on Saturday (just taking a break from pricing and packing all of my goodies). I have been called by the Agency to go on 2 interviews, one of them sounds really great. It is only for 6 weeks which is what I am looking for, the other one is for 4 months, Yikes, that is too long. As long as it will help feed my scrapbooking habit I will be a happy camper. I just finished these canvases last night and thought you might to take a look!

This 8 x 8 canvas would look great on a mantle!

12 x 12 canvas. This definitely does not show the glitz and glam of this canvas. The pointesettia is beautiful, it is a gorgeous copper and bronze colour. Lots of bling!!

This a 6 x6 version of the large canvas. It would look great sitting on a mantle or an end table.

This is a 5 x 7 pic frame, note the metal vintage utensils on the side! How cute are those!

Whirlwind Days!

2009-11-11T16:31:00.007-05:00

Yikes! Where do all the hours in the day go? I have been super busy. I'll start with the weekend, what fun! Congratulations to Jenn at the Scrapbox for putting on a great 2nd Anniversary Crop, great fun, lots of fantastic funny people, great food, (especially the homemade pea soup, thanks Ghislaine). The prizes were really good as were the deals and the make and takes.
I am still working quite hard getting ready for this 1 day show on the 21st of November. It is really difficult to plan as I decided to go back to work and do some short term contracts (have to support this expensive hobby that I have!!!!!) I could get a call anytime to go for a contract so I need to get everything ready for this show asap just in case. Tomorrow off for my annual medical and then back home to make some canvases. The pics are a couple of Christmas picture frames and a journal/notebook. I hope to post more pics in a couple of days.

This and That

2009-11-04T12:28:00.008-05:00

Hope you had a great weekend!

I used to do craft shows for many years and stopped a few years ago, but what do I know! A friend of mine convinced me to enter a one day craft show in a couple of weeks and so here I go again. I am just about finished getting things made. I will be selling vintage boxes (I am finished making them, thank goodness, they are getting to me); picture frames, some multimedia canvases, journals, gift certificate stocking holders, etc, etc, etc.

Yesterday was my regular crop day with 2 of my friends, as usual I had a great time. This is one great advantage of being retired! What fun! Tomorrow I am going to a big craft show, I have not been to one of these for a few years. It will be interesting to see what is new and improved. I find that usually there is not a lot of paper crafting other than cards.

Here are some pics of picture frames and yes, more memory boxes!

Have a great day!

I like to buy wooden 4 x 6 picture frames and cover and embellish them, but they are getting very hard to find. The box is 3 1/ by 4 1/2 and about 3 in . deep. I only had 2 of them, wish I had more.

This memory box is quite large and would hold a lot of photos, old jewelery etc.

I thought this paper was appropriate, it says"Time Flies" I had not trimmed the lace when I took this pic, so it now looks much better.

I love the romantic look as you can see with this journal/notebook. I love using tulle with ribbons and trinkets hanging from the tulle. I put tulle on the picture frame as well.

BOO!!

2009-10-30T15:06:00.002-04:00

Happy Halloween everyone!! Here is a really cute layout I did at the Scrap en Masse Megacrop. Hope you like it. Have a fun and safe Halloween!

Don't you just love these little wiggly eyes!

It's Monday!

2009-10-26T10:19:00.009-04:00

Well, a much better Monday than last week. I think I have finally beaten this bug that is going around. As promised here are a few pics of what I have done lately. I have to get my but in gear as I am getting behind. I am going to try to get some of my UFO's finished this week. I need to keep my nose to the grindstone, but it is so easy for me to get distracted!!!!!!

I think these are really cute and were very easy to make. My family loves to get either gift certificates or $$$ for Christmas. These are about 10 in. long. I am going to put coloured tissue in the stockings peeking out the top and then place the gift card and envelope sticking out the top along with the tissue paper. I think it is a great presentation and better than handing someone an envelope. They are decorated with 2 bells on the side and I pinned a little sparkly snowflake on the band. I used lace for the band on the angel stocking and red felt on the Santa one. Don't you just love the vintage look!

Another vintagae memory box, the post card on the top of the box is a Melissa Frances postcard kit I bought at the CKC convention in Buffalo last May.

Vintage Memory Box

2009-10-24T20:38:00.007-04:00

Sorry I haven't posted in a few days, I was fighting a nasty cold all week and spent most of my time snoozing on the sofa, but all is well now. I had a fun day today, I did a canvas class today at my LSS with "Diva Steph" We made 2 canvases in Christmas / Winter theme. It was a blast!! I felt like I was back in Kindergarten squishing modge podge around the canvas with my hands. What fun! Should have them finished in a day or so, have to get a couple of 5 x 7's printed. I love doing altered projects so this was right up my alley. As promised here are some pics of the vintage memory box I made at the mega crop last weekend. The pics really do not do it justice, it is much prettier when you see it in person.

I have to take pics of a few other things I made there and will post them tomorrow.

OOPS! The vines on the top are bent all out of shape, forgot to fan them out. The buttons are really pretty they are the American Craft buttons that have a beautiful sheen and sparkle to them, too bad they don't show up on the pic.

SEM Mega Crop

2009-10-19T12:52:00.002-04:00

OMG! what a crop. I attended the Scrap en Masse mega crop in Alfred on Saturday with 7 of my scrapping buddies. Let me tell you, this is one event to make sure you attend next year. Jossee and her staff did an amazing job. There were 100 plus scrappers and everything went smoothly. She had over $3,000. in terrific prizes and wouldn't you know it my friend Linda won 3 prizes. There was plenty of room for each scrapper. She held 3 different classes during the crop and they were all full. I took the Halloween layout using my mind's eye papers and it is a hoot! I will finish it up tomorrow and take a pic. She had part of her store at the crop and had some great items. I just loved the SEI Christmas paper line and she had some really different PRIMA flowers. I was a good girl and hardly spent any money. The food was amazing, I think I gained a few pounds. All in all I had a great time but I am sooooooo tired! I will post pics in a couple of days of what I accomplished at the crop.

........my two front teeth!

2009-10-13T20:21:00.004-04:00

I just had to share this adorable pic of my precious grandson and my DIL. He lost his 2 front teeth on Thanksgiving weekend. I guess Aidan will sing "All I want for Christmas is my 2 front teeth". You can bet I will be scrapping this page in the very near future.

Happy Turkey Day!

2009-10-11T16:58:00.003-04:00

I want to wish all my scrappin buddies a very Happy Thanksgiving! We are laying low, even though it is just Randy and I here a nice plump turkey is cooking in the oven. I just love turkey and pumkin pie! I better go put on loose pants!!!!!

Will post a couple of Christmas goodies that I am finishing up. Hope to post them tomorrow or Tuesday.

Busy Busy!

2009-10-07T09:27:00.018-04:00

I was reminded yesterday by a good friend of mine that I had not posted in a few days. Yikes! where do the days go. So here we go! Last weekend went to a 2 day crop at my LSS. As usual had a lot of fun. I actually completed 2 altered albums and started on some Christmas card/tags. Yesterday went to my scrappin buddy Linda's for a scrapbook afternoon and got a lot done. Today no playing for me, I have errands to run, turkey to buy, extra groceries for Thanksgiving weekend and of course a quick stop at the scrapbook store.

Here are some pics!

Enjoy!

Gals scrappin!

Scrappin Pal Nancy aka "Hello Kitty"

What happens at the crop stays at the crop!!!!

The above pics are of a really girly mini album made of Webster Pages Carte Postale 6 x 6 papers and a memory box to match. As you can tell I just love making little boxes to match the mini albums.

The pics below are of a little book I made to put those special family recipes in that are tried and true.

Look at the adorable small brass fork and knife. My friend Nancy picked those up for me when she was travelling. I am very fortunate that my core of scrappin pals are so great, we tend to do this for each other quite often.

The above pics are of the little Christmas album I made last week. They are also made from Webster Pages line. The pics just do not do it any justice, it is really beautiful in real.

Thanks for looking!

Finally a short post

2009-09-30T08:37:00.005-04:00

Hubby asked me if there was a pic of us on my blog. Yikes! I had to say no. He is so supportive of me in my scrapbooking and being at crops on a regular basis that I just had to post. This pic was taken at a wedding in May.

What a Weekend!

2009-09-28T11:48:00.011-04:00

What a great weekend I had! The scrapbook garage sale was definitely a success, I sold just about everything I brought with me. It was a lot of fun. Saturday night we had dinner with friends and went to see "The Informant" It was a different type of movie but I would recommend to see it. Sunday was a typical rainy fall day. I was tired and just cuddled up on the sofa and watched movies.

"Shabby Chic Album"

This album was a class taught by Stephanie, the album was totally designed by Steph. I just love the look of this Shabby Chic style. This was the album that got me hooked on glimmer mist. I was not sure what pictures I was going to put in the album then realized that these pics of my Mom when she was young were just perfect. The first pic is of my Mom and I when I was about 8. The rest are all of her at school and with friends and her sisters. Sorry for the number of pics, but I wanted my family members to get a good look.

It's Friday

2009-09-25T11:13:00.006-04:00

Even though I am retired I still love Fridays, it usually means calling out for pizza and watching a movie. Tomorrow will be busy, Scrapbook garage sale and then meeting friends for a light dinner and going to the movies to see "The Informant". Not much time for scrapping, hoping for a few hours on Sunday morning.

I am working on a heritage album of my Mother's family. The G45 paper line (I just love these papers) is perfect to do this with. This layout is of my Grandfather, who was Captain of a ferry boat, crossing the St. Lawrence River between Prescott, Ontario and Ogdensburg, New York from the 1940's until the late 1950's when the service was terminated and a bridge was built. He was an absolute sweetie!

Have a great Weekend!

Another Rainy Day

2009-09-23T11:32:00.024-04:00

Well, another rainy day, still sorting through my stash. I have now filled 3 boxes of stuff. Boy, there sure will be some good bargains at the sale on Saturday!

Thought you might enjoy this pic of the boss of our house making sure I am working hard!

Our precious little "LULU"

Sorting through my stash

2009-09-22T11:08:00.019-04:00

It is a rainy day here in Canada's capital, I am busy sorting through my stash getting ready for a "Scrapbook Garage Sale" at my LSS on Saturday. I participated in one last year and it is amazing how much I sold. I have tons on stamps that I am selling, they seem to go really well, plus paper, page kits and on and on. This time I am going to use the proceeds from the sale to take more classes instead of bringing more "stuff" in to the house. YIKES!!!! it is really scary seeing the amount of stuff we have.

While taking breaks during the day I thought I would start posting previous projects and layouts that I have made during the last while.

I just love G45 papers! There are so nostalgic and I love the era they represent 1930's to 1950's. This is a decorative "Paris" themed box, you can put trinkets or souvenirs of your trip to Paris or set it on a display shelf.

A close up of the box top. I just love using tulle, hanging beads and other little trinkets hanging from the bow.

When I saw these G45 papers I could not resist making a photo box for myself. I covered a wooden hinged box and I use it to store old family photos. I love the mini pom-pom fringe around the lid.

Close up of the top of the photo box.

My Weekend

2009-09-21T15:43:00.009-04:00

The weekend is over, it was busy but fun. On Friday and Saturday went to the Scrapbox (my LSS) to the monthly 2 day coffee crop. It was a beautiful weekend weather wise and there were not as many scrappers as usual, so we could spread out, yeah!!! I really like the new Websters pages "Carte Postale" line and used them to make a very "girlie" round memory box, it turned out great, with lots of pearls, stick pins, tulle bow and chandelier beads. I also made a "girlie" mini album with the same paper. I found a Bo Bunny naked binder in my stash and my little bean went into creative overdrive. I wanted the album to be very feminine and also to use the same paper that matched the memory box. I love to play with glimmer mist so needless to say it 'glimmers'. I plan to put some of my wedding pics in it. I will post pics soon as I haven't finished embellishing the pages. Hope to finish it later this week.

Here is the layout we did with Stephanie last week, I really like the way it turned out. This is the first of two layouts we will be doing. A lot of techniques were used, we glimmer misted the background, modpodged small dictionary page, sanded it and then used crackle paint over it. Lots of fun. This layout was perfect for this pic of my Mom and her sister taken in Florida many years ago. They have both passed so this layout is very special to me.

Scrapping at Home vs. Crops/Retreats

2009-09-17T08:53:00.003-04:00

I stumbled on this article and thought it was worth posting. I know my non-scrapbooking friends just don't understand why I spend time at crops (Joyce - are you listening!) and this article says it all. I being a true extrovert have no trouble attending crops and retreats. The article was written by a lady in Marietta, Georgia

The Scrapbook Retreat
Many people say they only crop at home and have a mountain of reasons for not going to crops or retreats. I understand this reluctance. I was a nervous wreck before my first retreat a few years ago. I didn't know what to bring, I only knew one other girl (of 14) going, I couldn't envision what it would be like. Well, I had a great time and have been to 4 more since then, plus many 1-night crops.
I just returned home from my most recent 3-day scrapbook retreat to the North Georgia mountains. I am not yet fully recovered :) I'm tired, but I feel content. My preschooler's constant chattiness is more enjoyable today than it was last week.
When I talked to my non-scrapper sister-in-law before the retreat, she asked skeptically, "So...what do y'all do? Do you just ....sit there?....and work...?"
As I gushed to my husband about how much fun we'd had, he was dumbfounded at my inability to explain exactly WHAT had been so fun or WHY I'd enjoyed it so much.
There were 8 of us at the retreat coming from a variety of backgrounds. Our ages ranged from early 30's to mid 50's. We were full time professionals and stay-at-home moms -- grandmothers and mothers. Our group represented different religious views & we originated from different parts of the country. And we all agreed that if you aren't a scrapper, you just don't get it!
You stop telling people that you're going on a scrapbook retreat, and instead you say you're going on a women's retreat or that you're simply going 'out of town.' (That way we can avoid "the look" that implies, "Oh, I didn't realize she was one of THOSE" or '"Must be NICE to be able to get away for something as frivolous as scrapbooking.")
We had debates about Thickers versus die cut letters, the merits of the Slice versus the Cricut, and big box craft store coupon policies. Our discussion of rub-ons had us laughing at what our husbands would probably *think* we were discussing :) We argued about whether or not Pierce Brosnan is "hot" and who is the yuckiest contestant on Big Brother. We compared stories about our kids & embarassing haricut stories from our pasts. By the 3rd night of the retreat, we were positively slap-happy & giggling like preteens at just about everything, funny or not. Several of us had sore ribs on Sunday from laughing so hard!
Yes, to answer my sister-in-law, we do "just" sit there & work. But it is so much more than that. Yes, I probably would get more pages done if I devoted that many hours to scrapbooking at home alone (which would never happen.) But I would miss out on the laughs, tips, bonding, advice, the perfect oversized eyelet to match my paper, and friendship :)
So, if you are a non-scrapper, well, I guess you aren't reading this! If you are a scrapper who has never been to a crop or who feels reluctant to attend one by yourself, you are missing out! Try one! Some are even free.

What I've been up to

2009-09-16T08:45:00.013-04:00

Well, I think I am slowly getting the hang of this blogging business, although I am sure there will still be glitches along the way. I want to thank my scrapping pal "Kataroo" aka Katie for all the help with the finishing touches on my blog. Katie is sooo creative and sooo much fun. Please visit her blog to see her fabulous creations. I still have to get the picture posting and resizing fine tuned, but I am sure that will come with time. I had a busy but fun weekend, went to a wedding on Saturday and spent all day Sunday at a fantastic workshop creating a "Tim Holtz" inspired canvas. It was a great time, 3 of my scrapping pals took the course as well. I just love using Tim Holtz products and I learned so many new techniques. I was so tired on Monday, I just vegged out, but it sure was worth it. I am posting a pic of a layout class I took with the extremely talented and absolutely sweetest person "Stephanie the Scrapbook Diva." Love you Steph.

The left hand page of the layout is my stepdaughter Krista taken at her wedding in June and my beautfiful grandchildren.

I really like to embellish pages, it is my favourite part of any scrapbooking. I love to use crystal lacquer it just make parts of the page "pop".

This is the right hand side of the layout, on the left side is my son Jeff with his beautiful wife Julie and on the right is my son Jason with his beautiful wife Kate.

Here are a few pics of the Canvas class I did on Sunday. We started with a white blank canvas and built from there, a long process (all day from beginning to end) but well worth it. I learned so much. I love the handle on the top of the canvas, the depth of the canvas is 3 inches so it really stands out, the pic does not do the canvas justice, you really have to see it in person. It is going on the wall of my hubby's office.

Well, that is it for today, I have a lot of errands to run today and I have a class with "Diva Steph" tonight.

Welcome to My Little Corner of the World

2009-09-08T13:38:00.011-04:00

Here we go, my very first post. I have had many of my friends and scrap buddies enquire if I had a blog as they expressed interest in seeing my scrapbook projects. I had been thinking about it for quite a while and recent knee surgery limited my activities so I figured the time was right to tackle it. It definitely is a work in progress and there will be quite a few minor changes along the way until I get it all figured out.

A little about my personal life. I am married to a wonderful guy who supports me in my scrapbook addiction. I have two grown sons and two beautiful daughter-in-laws, A really great stepdaughter Krista and her hubby Jesse. I am blessed with 4 grandchildren who truly are the light of my life. Justin, Andrew, Aidan and Emma, I love you very much!