Day 74 - October 27th - A New Day

Today is a fresh start. (As if every day) and I'll try not to hold myself to extremes. Right?  'Cause extremes only get you in trouble and make you not like things about yourself - and what's not to like! Yourself and everyone's self is beautiful.

It's all about choices - as is so many things in life. But it's the OVERALL choices and not about individual purchases.
For example... someone who is dieting, it's not about each bite but rather the overall picture of your health.   You can have the cookie, but just have one, not six or sixteen. Our bodies will tell us when they're not getting enough of something.  Will my brain tell me when I'm not getting enough shopping? Enough color? bling? flowers? or brads? (OK, so scrapping doesn't always associate well with weight loss.)

"Just jump back in the sadlle and giddy-up for another day." (I read this on another blog and thought is was so cute.)

So giddy-up horsey! I have to go look at my buttons again!

Day 73 - October 26th - The New Scrapbook Store

"When one door closes, another one opens."

When one scrapbook stores closes, another one opens. And so did the store in Greenfield, WI. It's adorable! I loved it. Tucked into a small strip mall the owners have done a great job in trying to get new lines in. Stuff like JilleBean, PaisleyPink, Tim Holtz, etc.  Some lines I've never heard of before. It was great to see new products organized well and decorated. Decorated;  having fabric tape stored in little drawers, extra Halloween decorations, using old fashion chest of drawers to hold distressing inks. Picnic baskets used to hold picnic and food embellishments.  Very cute - makes it warm and cozy and fun to shop.

But I know what you want to know - if I bought any thing. Some said that I shouldn't go there. That the temptation would be to much. That I would crack! Break! Take my credit card out. Well... you all know me too well.  How could I go to a new store and NOT buy ANYTHING?!  Five feet in the door and I picked up some adorable hot air balloon paper I'd ever seen! And I DON'T HAVE hot air balloon paper, but I got hot air balloon pictures! I HAD to get it.

And did I say I wouldn't buy anything for a year? Maybe I meant to say I wouldn't buy anything in the state of Illinois for a year.
And if I don't support my local scrapbook store - they'll close.
And these are new owners - they have to know that someone believes in them. And the only way to do that is to visit their store and buy something.
And, I only spent $20. That's all. Not a lot.  4 sheets of paper, some pink gems ( I was totally out of pink gems) 2 sheets of Halloween paper that totally fit the theme of last Saturdays party - complete with framed skeleton.  Rhinestone sandals and umbrella drink (a must have for the cruise album) And the cutest darn turquoise buttons I've ever seen from Bo-Bunny that screamed Bahamas! I HAD to have for my cruise album. I HAD to have them. So cute and in my "happy color". (Happy color: the color you would pick if you could only have one color to scrapbook with - no others - just this one color. That's your "happy color")
I couldn't wait a year - are you kidding! They'd be gone. 

And so... with my little bag, and a new store to visit on trips to Milwaukee, I headed home. Knowing that I'd have to answer to my blog. But you know what... the cute buttons -so worth it! They make me smile  :)

Day 70 - October 23rd, 2010 - "Project Runway"

Ever watch "Project Runway"?  Unknown clothes designers compete. Given challenges of using particular themes or materials, they are given a certain amount of time to complete the task, and then their outfit is judged, and some one is sent home. Pretty much the same formula that is being used on all of the competition shows these days.

What I like about project runway is "use of theme". How, when given a particular idea or material, they immediately come up with something that is truly runway worthy. Let alone sew everything. 

So I played "Project Runway".

I was given my assignment.  "Good morning Designer! Today you will be working on completing a small scrapbook based on the event, "Divine Inspiration sings the National Anthem at the Kane County Cougars game".  Completed in the "Finished In a Flash" scrapbooking style, you will have limited amounts of paper and emblishments to work from.  Good luck, and we'll see your scrapbook on the runway".

So I sat and thought about it, and came up with a color scheme that I thought that I would like.  It would be a 6x6 album.  Cougar colors are green and white, it's baseball so it has to have browns in it somewhere. 

"OK, Designer! You'll have 30 minutes and a budget of $0 dollars to go shopping at "Mood"."  "Mood" is a fashion warehouse in New York that houses mountains of material, wall of buttons and every other feather, fastener, or lace you can imagine.  My "Mood" is my scrapbook room, where it houses a mountain of paper, a wall of embellishment and every sticker, dazzle, or ribbon you may need.
It was 6:00am.  I had 30 minutes to complete the task of picking out all my supplies.  Ready. Go!

I pulled 4 sheets of pattern paper.  Papers with browns and blues, some with greens.   I pulled 5 sheets of co-ordinating cardstock.  I went to my scrapbook closet and pulled out the 6x6 binder album.  Refills... refills... I'll need more pages... where are those?
In the "Finished in Flash" style, you are limited to 50 embellishments.  Each brad, flower, or sticker counting as one item.  Every frame,  transparency, or paperclip is one.  I pulled brads, (one, two, thee four, five, six - who the heck counts brads!) some blue chip board pieces. Pulled out the "sports" folder and quickly flipped through to see what type of stickers I had with a baseball theme. (Talk about a limited selection!).  And finally, one letter sticker sheet.

"All right designers. Time is up!"; and I stuffed everything in a plastic sleeve and was ready to crop on Friday night.

With my limited supplies, and my trimmer I started work on my "masterpiece" entitled... Take Me Out to the Ballgame". Not original, but it fits. And I work diligently and quickly.  Not worrying that everything was just perfect, but "making it work" with the supplies that I had pulled.  No looking for the perfect paper, not worrying if the brad is the exact color match.  I got in there, got it down, got it pulled together.

And you know... by the end of the evening... it was just about runway worthy.  The cover wasn't done, and authors note was missing from the back, and it wasn't journaled, (Tony needs to help me with all of the guys names) but it was "finished". 
My "bonus" was that I had a $5 coupon from the crop that had to be used that night. So I got (I won't use the term "bought" because I didn't pay cash for it) were some Basic Grey tabs - that could stick out of the top of the book.

"One day you're in. And the next day, your out." I think I'm still in the game.


The unfinished cover...

Opening page... needs journalling on right side.

Sample interior page.. see the browns and greens used.

Just simple, fast, easy pages - just a small book to highlight the event. Love it!

Day 63 - October 16th - For a Purpose

It's different when you have a project in mind and need to shop for it, rather then just shopping - generic like shopping, with no purpose. Shopping because it's cute, colorful, or on sale- that's generic shopping.

 With the cruise supplies, I'll be going through my stash and trying to make it work. June, my cruising buddy said that we could "share" supplies. You all remember sharing. Growing up with the kids on your block, you'd share crayons and coloring books. Bicycles and jump ropes.  Growing up, we didn't have everything. We had everything we needed, but not everything and we did have more then most. So when you found a friend that had more Barbies, or more board games, or more charms, you'd go play there.
If someone is willing to share, take them up on it. It will make them feel good; people like to help. They wouldn't offer if they didn't want to.
And it's sometimes hard to except that help. We feel "bad" that we can't do it, or don't have it.  But you know, working with someone and sharing with them, makes things even better.  There is someone to laugh with, joke with, compare with, share with.
That beats going to the store by yourself any day.

Day 62 - October 15th - 60 days; feels like 600 days

So I'm trying. I'm trying really hard. With only three hundred days to go! (OMG!)

The supply list and instructions came for "The Ultimate Scrapbook Cruise"'s projects that we'll be doing on the ship. And wouldn't you know it, the three shades of ink pads that you need by Tim Holtz's distressing inks, I don't have. I know - hard to believe. I have some of them, but not the ones the instructor is asking for. I HAVE to have the right ones. The exact ones. (Don't I?) If not, I'll be an out cast in the class. The other scrappers will laugh at me. Like one of those slow motion dreams where everyone points and laughs. That when people look at the book they will say - "Oh my!  Look at that! She used "dirty paper" colored brown  ink, not the "vintage brown" she was suppose to! Ugh! How did she possibly think the book would come out beautiful!"  I know they will say that. So I have to get the EXACT colors; don't I?  I have a coupon. Does that help?
Don't I have to have the exact ones?

It's hard. Addiction is hard. I see now why people with really additions count the days.  Because each day is a struggle to stay on course.  You want it. You NEED it. You want to have that Bo-Bunny fall flower that is glowing orange within it's package.  You want the scary Halloween monsters that make you smile just looking at them. You want the latest stickles, embossing powders and stamps, paper, punches,  because you just took a card class and got to play with all of it. (Oh that "Hands On" stuff makes you want to take it all home. - They know what they are doing there.)

Picture Fall

Keeping myself busy. Staying out of stores and playing with my camera.  More photos from my Picture Fall class.

I call this one; "See it. Do it. Be inspired."

This one is called; "Orange"

This one is "morning Light"

And this one is "Preperation"

Day 59 - October 12th - A Dilema

One scrapbook store closes and a new one opens. The store in Wisconsin, the one I would stop at one my way home from Milwaukee closed.  "The Scrapbook Store" (no points given for originality to name) closed and someone purchased it. They are moving to a new location; still on the way home from Milwaukee.  Grand opening is scheduled for October 23rd. 

What am I going to do? How can I go to a Grand Opening and NOT buy anything. You might say, "just don't go." Just don't go! Just don't... I HAVE to go. I have to see it. I have to see what I might be missing.  If I go, and they still have all "old stuff", stuff from last season, then I know that I won't need to go on a regular basis. Not that I would go on a regular basis anyway, 'causes I'm not buying.  (Tony asked the other day, "You aren't still doing that no buying stuff are you?" You'd think he would have noticed the increase in our net worth. )
But I HAVE to go to know what they have.

But if they have something good.. how will I not buy it.  There might be a "sticker-jack". Similar to a "car-jack". I would force the women in front of me to buy my stickers. "Hey lady!" This is no scissors in my pocket. I got a gun. Buy these stickers and take them outside and no one gets hurt."
OR, could put the item on my Christmas wish lists, but by then it will probably all be gone.  "Thanks Santa. The new slippers are great but aren't the same as the coolest new Bo-Bunny papers, brads, and flowers."

I know I'm going to see the new store... the question will be.. can I resist the temptation.. stay tuned.

Day 55 - October 8th - Whose Got Time to Shop

I have got NO time to go shopping.  I don't even have time to put away the scrapbook stuff I bought in Utah! (And if you can't even put it away, how could you possibly buy more!? Well, I could and have. )  Why am I so busy..... well... I got two on-line scrapbooking classes going on at the same time.

I've got "Picture Fall", which has you take a specific topic of photo per day. For example, today is "keep is simple", which wants you to take a photo that involves light and the way that light plays on the object.  It's a photo a day, with a new topic and God help you if you fall behind. 
It can happen quickly. And if you do fall behind, you might end up being some type of crazed photographer; climbing trees to get the perfect red leaf, hanging from a fence to get the perfect shadow, asking any relative or friend to hold a pumpkin, candle, leaf, twig, to get a photo. "Here, drink out of this pumpkin mug - it will make a great picture.  Wait! I have to light it from underneath with a candle to get a warm light. Wait! Don't drink from it yet, I want to get the steam rising from the mug Wait! Which ISO setting was that?  OK drink. Wait! I want to get a chocolate mustache. Can you splash some of that boiling hot coco on your upper lip?"

And can I wrap or over lay this project with my regular "365 Project" which was a photo a day that started back in January?
Let's just say it started strong, but August and September... how about a photo every other day. Or weekly.  Does that work?
Maybe a "52 Project" next year.

The second class that I'm currently taking is "Book of Stories", which is a way to organize all the stories that you want to scrapbook.  From my vacations, to thoughts rattling around in my head, on post-its, in binders and journals, this class would help me get them organized.
And I have my stories ALL over.  I'm a big journal-er when it comes to scrapbooking. The pictures are nice, but they need to "talk".  In binders, on Evernote, in Word, on napkins with other memorabilia from that event; they are all over.   I need to get them organized in order to grab them to scrap them with the photos.  And I think my solution will be "Evernote", however, I need to set up a separate account for that, since I already have all my scrapbook ideas (quotes, layouts, card ideas) stored out there on an Evernote system.

On top of this, I have no birthday cards left.  I need to get my inventory with card making going again.  Holidays are coming; great gift idea for that hard to shop for person. Who doesn't find themselves finding out about a death, illness, birthday, friend that they want and or need to send a card to.  With the "holiday" package - they would have a cards ready to go. "Oh thank you (fill in the blank) for this wonderful card set. Now, I won't  have to send a card that I bought at the gas station because I had no time to go to Hallmark."
 I need to make some new ones.

Toss in work, groceries, exercising, family, gleaning, a massage (oh yeah - you think I'm giving that up?), and it makes for a full day.

And yes - I can control all of this. Drop a class, don't grocery shop (need to loose weight anyway),  and it would make things easier.
BUT, these are the things that make life fun and make me happy.  And more people should have more happy things in their life.

Day 51 - October 4th - Picture Fall

Today's photo assignment:

"...No matter what your morning might look like, find something, anything at all, that whispers the kind of quiet reassurance you need to ease yourself into your day today."

For me, it my coffee and my laptop. At 5am I get the coffee going, log on and check out my email and then anywhere from 4-7 different scrapbooking blogs and websites.  From Stacy Julian; scrapbooker extraordinaire, who has been my number one influence in scrapbooking, to "Write, Click, Scrapbook" a blog about journalling, photography and scrapping. I check them all out. Then at 5:30am, I'll go and actually start some form of scrappping.. cards, page layout, etc. and work on that for an hour. Who else do you know that gets to play with all their creative stuff before they start their work day?

Day 50 - October 3rd - What to Do When You Can't Shop

Well, if you can't shop, what will fill the time. Figure scrapbook shopping - that is at least an hour in the store. It takes that long to look at all the new stuff AND to go through the clearence items.  Which I always thought was a GREAT use of time.
That's gone now. That means I should have an extra hour to do something constructive. I thought shopping was constructive - helping the economy and all.

Anyway... I'm taking a photography class. I own the camera. And due to the glorious field of digital, no prints to buy if I don't want to. Oh, and prints don't count as a scrapbook purchase - kind of like adhesive, page protectors and toilet paper- it's a must have.

On line at "Big Picture Classes", June shared her "Picture Fall" class with me. (See - no purchase. That is what friendship is all about.)   Where every day you are given a topic regarding the fall season and you shoot a picture. After coming off a photography class in Sundance, I'm more familiar with my F-stops, my ISO and all the tini-tiny dials on my camera - which more like a mini-me computer, with all the stuff the camera can do.

Class started October 1st. Instead of shopping, I'm out taking photos for 30-45 minutes a day, coming in and downloading, and quickly editing to my favorite shot.

Here's what I got so far:
Day 1:  A Leaf

And of course there is always the second and third runner up:

Day 2 was: Your comfy spot. Where you relax and settle in and on those frosty evening, relax:

Ahhh...my nap time place. 

Day 3: Hidden beauty: It's easy to find beauty when it's full of color and life, but can you find beauty when it's been discarded, or the season is retracting.  Find beauty in something that someone else may pass by.

And, as always, I can never get it down to one. How about two.

And one more, 'cause I can't make up my mind.



Instead of shopping... I finding the beauty of the season. I guess it beats the fall clearance sale.



Day 49 - October 2nd - Lots to Work On

Although I'm not shopping anymore, I'm still collecting coupons like I am.  The Joann's flyer comes in the mail, I immediately turned to the back, clipped the coupons and put them in my purse. I didn't even look to see what was on sale. And I have no intentions of going there. But for some reason, I just had to keep the coupons.
Same with Archivers. The email came, I passed by the advertisement section, scrolled to the bottom and printed out the coupons.
They are in the purse too.
So I'm going through the motions as if I would be shopping.  Maybe this is like "phantom shopping". You know, when you loose a limb and they say you can still feel it.  I've lost my "shopping limb", but this way I still "feel it".

And I really don't have time to shop. 
Between the scrapbook classes I'm taking on line; one purchased prior to this "Scrapbook Weight Loss Program", and another shared by a friend (thanks June) I have emails to read and projects to attack.
 I've got a "Picture Fall" class where I shoot a different "fall" object every day. (First day; a leaf). So walking around and taking pictures - totally free and no cost. Yes, I can print my own photos.

My second class, "The Book of Stories" helps you to journal and get the stories you want to tell organized.  It's really a good exercise in journalling and seeing how you want your page structured. (Do you  start with photos, then the design, then the story? Or do you use a design first? (cause you saw a sketch, then photos, story. OR, do you have a story you want to tell, select your photos and then try to find a layout to fit it?)
I have all this information to get into the "scrap-top/lap top" and do several exercises.

On top of that - we have major scrapping projects... Sundance-548 photos to scale down,  Utah shopping spree (layout or two), Kane County Cougars baseball game (6x6 album), Mackinaw Island, and of course - Italy! (The monster of all scrapbooks! I SO need to develop a plan with that book!) Oh, and my "Photo a Day - 365 Project". I think I'm behind and only have photos in there up until June.)
So as you can see, I should be doing nothing but scrapping. No working, no eating. no shopping.

There is no time to shop here!