I go to crop last night. Get out of my car, open my hatch, and there is nothing in the car. No tool kit, no Big Otto (my rolling crop bag) no crate. I had taken them all out on Sunday when I had my car detailed and never put them back.
That means no cutter, no adhesive, nothing.
Good thing my projects were in a separate bag and I had those. I was still able to crop last night. The Christmas album I was working on already was completed - just add photos. But I had to buy adhesive. Bummer.
But the good part.... I did use all of the rest of Archivers tools and still got a lot of work done! So I wasn't going to buy anything... I HAD to buy it. I was desperate.
Adhesive : $7.99
P.S. Santa... more adhesive
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Monday, November 29, 2010
Day 116 - November 29th - Christmas is Coming
Christmas is coming! And what is Christmas without scrapbooking supplies!!! And remember - gifts (and gift cards)
do not count as purchases! They are gifts! Totally different. I didn't spend money on the item. Someone else did.
And are there things on my Dear Santa list. You betcha! I'm a scrapbooker. There are always things I want.
Dear Santa,
I've been a good girl this year. I've been adventurous, and generous, and everything-ous.
For Christmas this year I would like the "Tiny Attacher". No Santa, it's not a stapler. It's - a tiny attacher. It's got little itty bitty staples and they look darling on cards and tags since they are SO itty bitty. (Oh, and don't forget the replacment attacher please.)
A tool box to hold all my Tim Holtz supplies and glimmer mist. This would be my "messy" kit. When I want to start inking and spraying and blending and just getting down and dirty - all my blenders, inks, dabbers, mists and glam (yes Santa - there is such thing called Glam.) would be in one place. Santa, don't you know an organized scrapbooker is a productive scrapbooker.
I need another Cropper Hopper photo box. As you know Santa, I'm a "got to print my pictures" to see if I want to scrap them. Selecting them in the computer and only printing the ones I'll use on a layout, doesn't necessarily work for me. So I print them. But I need a new box for 2009/2010.
Tim Holtz set of 4 Christmas stamps. Oh Santa, these are so cute and you can do some many things with them. But for 4 stamps they are pricey - $30. I have a coupon for you Santa which would save $9. Then you could get me something else too.
More bling! I am going through the bling like crazy on cards and such. It adds just that little extra "push" to the project. I need bling in any and every color and size. Santa, you may want to send Mrs. Claus for the bling. It's kind of like jewelry.
And I need two big binders - you know, the honkin' 5-6 inchers. I need one to put by stamps in, and one for my card phrases. I've kinda out grew my books. Go figure. I little too much stuff? No - never to much. And Santa, they have to be in really fun colors. Black isn't fun.
That's it for now Santa. If I think of anything else, I'll send an email or a text.
Be safe and pet the reindeer for me.
KJ
do not count as purchases! They are gifts! Totally different. I didn't spend money on the item. Someone else did.
And are there things on my Dear Santa list. You betcha! I'm a scrapbooker. There are always things I want.
Dear Santa,
I've been a good girl this year. I've been adventurous, and generous, and everything-ous.
For Christmas this year I would like the "Tiny Attacher". No Santa, it's not a stapler. It's - a tiny attacher. It's got little itty bitty staples and they look darling on cards and tags since they are SO itty bitty. (Oh, and don't forget the replacment attacher please.)
A tool box to hold all my Tim Holtz supplies and glimmer mist. This would be my "messy" kit. When I want to start inking and spraying and blending and just getting down and dirty - all my blenders, inks, dabbers, mists and glam (yes Santa - there is such thing called Glam.) would be in one place. Santa, don't you know an organized scrapbooker is a productive scrapbooker.
I need another Cropper Hopper photo box. As you know Santa, I'm a "got to print my pictures" to see if I want to scrap them. Selecting them in the computer and only printing the ones I'll use on a layout, doesn't necessarily work for me. So I print them. But I need a new box for 2009/2010.
Tim Holtz set of 4 Christmas stamps. Oh Santa, these are so cute and you can do some many things with them. But for 4 stamps they are pricey - $30. I have a coupon for you Santa which would save $9. Then you could get me something else too.
More bling! I am going through the bling like crazy on cards and such. It adds just that little extra "push" to the project. I need bling in any and every color and size. Santa, you may want to send Mrs. Claus for the bling. It's kind of like jewelry.
And I need two big binders - you know, the honkin' 5-6 inchers. I need one to put by stamps in, and one for my card phrases. I've kinda out grew my books. Go figure. I little too much stuff? No - never to much. And Santa, they have to be in really fun colors. Black isn't fun.
That's it for now Santa. If I think of anything else, I'll send an email or a text.
Be safe and pet the reindeer for me.
KJ
Friday, November 26, 2010
Day 113 - November 26th - Michael's on Thanksgiving
And no - don't let the title fool you - we didn't go to a friend named Michael for Thanksgiving dinner. I actually went to Michael's on Thanksgiving evening. After the dinner, and the dishes I scooted over there at about 7:30pm. I HAD to. You got 30% off your entire purchase, including sale items.
Every cart in the store was being used. Even the squeaky one that some women was using that I could tell when she was in the Christmas section, then the scrapbooking section, then to floral and back to scrapbooking - how much stuff was she buying?????
You could not take your cart down the aisles because they were full! The aisles, not the cards. Don't you people go into a turkey coma? What are you doing shopping? And shopping for scrapbook stuff to boot!!!
I almost bought a pre light tree to replace the massive un-lit tree we currently have - however, I know how much Tony loves the massive tree... so I just couldn't bring myself to do it.
Michael's also had a ton of clearance items in the scrapbook department. After making my list of projects that I want to do in the up coming year, (I did that on Wed night for two hours) I decided to focus my attention on the completion of the projects rather then the collection of the supplies. So I tried to focus on gifts for others rather then myself. Very hard - 'cause scrapbooking is all about me!
But I did manage to buy presents for others (where details won't be mentioned her in case they read my blog) and the only thing I got was a 12x12 plastic organizer to hold my cruise project. The cardboard box I currently have wasn't working really well and starting to break down due to "traveling" I spent $4.00.
So I didn't do great, because I spent something, but I did a whole heck of a lot better then I use to.
And isn't that what we all should try to do... just a little bit better. :)
Every cart in the store was being used. Even the squeaky one that some women was using that I could tell when she was in the Christmas section, then the scrapbooking section, then to floral and back to scrapbooking - how much stuff was she buying?????
You could not take your cart down the aisles because they were full! The aisles, not the cards. Don't you people go into a turkey coma? What are you doing shopping? And shopping for scrapbook stuff to boot!!!
I almost bought a pre light tree to replace the massive un-lit tree we currently have - however, I know how much Tony loves the massive tree... so I just couldn't bring myself to do it.
Michael's also had a ton of clearance items in the scrapbook department. After making my list of projects that I want to do in the up coming year, (I did that on Wed night for two hours) I decided to focus my attention on the completion of the projects rather then the collection of the supplies. So I tried to focus on gifts for others rather then myself. Very hard - 'cause scrapbooking is all about me!
But I did manage to buy presents for others (where details won't be mentioned her in case they read my blog) and the only thing I got was a 12x12 plastic organizer to hold my cruise project. The cardboard box I currently have wasn't working really well and starting to break down due to "traveling" I spent $4.00.
So I didn't do great, because I spent something, but I did a whole heck of a lot better then I use to.
And isn't that what we all should try to do... just a little bit better. :)
Sunday, November 21, 2010
Day 98 - November 21st - I Made It Through
Yesterday, I took the Vintage Christmas Card class at Archivers. It's been a long time since a class was "challenging" and this one was. Lots of inking, embossing, stamping, dabbing, etc using the Tim Holtz distress inks and stamps. Four cards and a tag took 3 hours. (Which for all you non-scrappers, is a long time.) They turned out beautiful.
Things I learned... using the dabber with the inks to color the stamp. Yes, believe it or not, there are still things for me to learn. There are these little sticks, with dense cotton, almost a modified q-tip. Tap the ink... and then tap it off on the craft mat to lighten it up. What this does is that it will take a color such as "Tea Dye", a brown color and makes it a soft skin tone color.
Then there was the "grunge board" which we dry embossed, placing a pattern on it. Then we heat embossed it to make it look metallic. I've got a lot of the grunge board from a grunge board shopping spree back when it first came out. BEFORE, when I new product came out we (me) had to have it all. So I've changed just a little. :) Maybe.
I got to work at a table with my friend Sandy (who works at Archivers) and her sister Lisa. Both veteran scrappers/stampers. Which was good, because you had to move in this class and know what you were doing.
It was fun.. my fingers got inked and it's a good thing that when we went out with friends that night the lights were down low so no one could see my "dirty" hands. (Takes a little bit for the ink to come off.)
What I didn't do was buy anything. Not the dabbers, not a color of ink. Not the really cute Tim Holtz's Christmas stamps. (Which were SO cool.) None of the embossing powder. Nothing. BUT - what I do think I need to do is put together a stamping box from the supplies I DO have. Like they have at Archivers with all the supplies in a bin in the middle of the table. The embossing gun.. the inks, blenders, etc. All in one box. So when I go to ink and stamp, I'll have all my toys in one place. That would be fun.
January to-do list: Make up a "Archivers Stamping Kit" of my own. (I need to go find a box to put it in. Preferably clear plastic.)
(Pictures to follow later today.)
Things I learned... using the dabber with the inks to color the stamp. Yes, believe it or not, there are still things for me to learn. There are these little sticks, with dense cotton, almost a modified q-tip. Tap the ink... and then tap it off on the craft mat to lighten it up. What this does is that it will take a color such as "Tea Dye", a brown color and makes it a soft skin tone color.
Then there was the "grunge board" which we dry embossed, placing a pattern on it. Then we heat embossed it to make it look metallic. I've got a lot of the grunge board from a grunge board shopping spree back when it first came out. BEFORE, when I new product came out we (me) had to have it all. So I've changed just a little. :) Maybe.
I got to work at a table with my friend Sandy (who works at Archivers) and her sister Lisa. Both veteran scrappers/stampers. Which was good, because you had to move in this class and know what you were doing.
It was fun.. my fingers got inked and it's a good thing that when we went out with friends that night the lights were down low so no one could see my "dirty" hands. (Takes a little bit for the ink to come off.)
What I didn't do was buy anything. Not the dabbers, not a color of ink. Not the really cute Tim Holtz's Christmas stamps. (Which were SO cool.) None of the embossing powder. Nothing. BUT - what I do think I need to do is put together a stamping box from the supplies I DO have. Like they have at Archivers with all the supplies in a bin in the middle of the table. The embossing gun.. the inks, blenders, etc. All in one box. So when I go to ink and stamp, I'll have all my toys in one place. That would be fun.
January to-do list: Make up a "Archivers Stamping Kit" of my own. (I need to go find a box to put it in. Preferably clear plastic.)
(Pictures to follow later today.)
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
Day 94 - November 17th - There is even shopping on a ship!
Hi there! I know. It's been a long time since my last post. I'm so sorry. I missed you too.
The "Ultimate Scrapbook Cruise" was a lot of fun. Well, the scrapbooking part was, the over eating, over indulging, over drinking by a lot of the other passengers kind of turned me off, but hey - it kept the weight down.
We had 4 classes on the cruise ship:
Stacy Julian did an introspective book about yourself. You had to bring pictures from 2010 that helped illustrate statements such as... "I was, I once, I went, I love, I am, I wonder, I will, etc" Then you packed one piece of pattern paper, one card stock, and 5 embellishments. Yes, one brad is one embellishment. Then you picked out your "happy" color. (Happy color: Your favorite color that you love to scrapbook with and if it was the only color left on earth, it would be your favorite. Mine, hot aqua! Love that color.)
So the book turns out really cute because even though you have all these crazy patterns and embellishments that don't match on every page, the book has continuity because it has a strip of your happy color on the photo page and use you your happy color paint on the facing page. It really works.
Then we did a techniques album from Tattered Angels and Glimmer Mist. The owner and inventor of Glimmer Mist, Wendy taught us how to use the mist, glam, masks, stamps, etc with all of their product... 30 different things in a type of "recipe book" to keep. That class was 4 hours long! It was great!
Debby Schuh taught us a Christmas album so that we'd have some where to put all our holiday photos when we take them this year. Her "thing" is to use the page protectors in different ways... cut the sides, make a flap, put the page half in and half out of the page protector. Use different size page protectors in the album. Loved it! These ideas could easily carry over to any album I want to do. And really gives you a variety within the book.
And last.. there was the "Happy Thoughts" album taught by Heidi Swapp. Using 12 x 12 ink resistant paper, you would ink the paper and all the detail in the paper would be exposed. This gives you the option of making the paper what ever color you would like it to be.. if you are using reds, blues, or browns.. ink the paper in those color inks and it's yours! She also had different size page protectors in the book which gives it a lot of variety. And the book is to be a collection of your "Happy Thoughts", so when you are down on yourself.. take out your Happy Thoughts book and see all those things that make you smile!
So for the shopping... damn! I broke down. Wendy with Tattered Angels had all kinds of goodies on the boat with her. Stamps and masks and crepe paper, ribbon, mists, glam, chalkboard, etc. And with DEEP discounts.. 50% off retail, AND with one of a kind items that will never be carried in stores, or items being discontinued. Just go ahead and tell a scrapper that this item will never be available anywhere else... why not just tell a junkie that the crack is free!!! OMG! I HAD to have it. And I didn't care! It was one of kind!!! Screw the no shopping! I'm in the middle of the ocean buying scrapbooking stuff!!! What could be better? Vacation and scrapping - vanilla and chocolate, hot and cold - it all goes together. So I bought some of the coolest Caribbean stamps and crepe paper, and a brush, and some masks, and blank tags and what I'll do it use all this product to make my Cruise album. It's got palm trees, and fish, and tropical colors like aqua (my happy color), yellows, mangos, etc. I spent $58. Sorry. I just couldn't pass it up. Back to rehab.
Now I got to get my cruise photos ordered.
The "Ultimate Scrapbook Cruise" was a lot of fun. Well, the scrapbooking part was, the over eating, over indulging, over drinking by a lot of the other passengers kind of turned me off, but hey - it kept the weight down.
We had 4 classes on the cruise ship:
Stacy Julian did an introspective book about yourself. You had to bring pictures from 2010 that helped illustrate statements such as... "I was, I once, I went, I love, I am, I wonder, I will, etc" Then you packed one piece of pattern paper, one card stock, and 5 embellishments. Yes, one brad is one embellishment. Then you picked out your "happy" color. (Happy color: Your favorite color that you love to scrapbook with and if it was the only color left on earth, it would be your favorite. Mine, hot aqua! Love that color.)
So the book turns out really cute because even though you have all these crazy patterns and embellishments that don't match on every page, the book has continuity because it has a strip of your happy color on the photo page and use you your happy color paint on the facing page. It really works.
Then we did a techniques album from Tattered Angels and Glimmer Mist. The owner and inventor of Glimmer Mist, Wendy taught us how to use the mist, glam, masks, stamps, etc with all of their product... 30 different things in a type of "recipe book" to keep. That class was 4 hours long! It was great!
Debby Schuh taught us a Christmas album so that we'd have some where to put all our holiday photos when we take them this year. Her "thing" is to use the page protectors in different ways... cut the sides, make a flap, put the page half in and half out of the page protector. Use different size page protectors in the album. Loved it! These ideas could easily carry over to any album I want to do. And really gives you a variety within the book.
And last.. there was the "Happy Thoughts" album taught by Heidi Swapp. Using 12 x 12 ink resistant paper, you would ink the paper and all the detail in the paper would be exposed. This gives you the option of making the paper what ever color you would like it to be.. if you are using reds, blues, or browns.. ink the paper in those color inks and it's yours! She also had different size page protectors in the book which gives it a lot of variety. And the book is to be a collection of your "Happy Thoughts", so when you are down on yourself.. take out your Happy Thoughts book and see all those things that make you smile!
So for the shopping... damn! I broke down. Wendy with Tattered Angels had all kinds of goodies on the boat with her. Stamps and masks and crepe paper, ribbon, mists, glam, chalkboard, etc. And with DEEP discounts.. 50% off retail, AND with one of a kind items that will never be carried in stores, or items being discontinued. Just go ahead and tell a scrapper that this item will never be available anywhere else... why not just tell a junkie that the crack is free!!! OMG! I HAD to have it. And I didn't care! It was one of kind!!! Screw the no shopping! I'm in the middle of the ocean buying scrapbooking stuff!!! What could be better? Vacation and scrapping - vanilla and chocolate, hot and cold - it all goes together. So I bought some of the coolest Caribbean stamps and crepe paper, and a brush, and some masks, and blank tags and what I'll do it use all this product to make my Cruise album. It's got palm trees, and fish, and tropical colors like aqua (my happy color), yellows, mangos, etc. I spent $58. Sorry. I just couldn't pass it up. Back to rehab.
Now I got to get my cruise photos ordered.
Thursday, November 4, 2010
Day 81 - November 4th - It Really Isn't Any Easier
OK. Day 81. You would think by now it's easier. It's not. I still have to "put blinders on" when I walk through Archivers.
They have all their new Christmas stuff out and up. Even going to the bathroom there is "dangerous". I walked by one counter - just one - on the way to the bathroom. I stopped at the new "stacked chipboard" 3 dimensional reindeers, and santas smiled back at me from the package saying, "Buy me. Take me home. I'm better then that old crappy Christmas stuff you already own."
I moved along.
Not two steps away was the American Craft ribbon, all spooled up and in a row. All as yummy and enticing as candy. (No wonder kids go insane at the candy rack!) It had different Christmas colors; no longer just red and green - which is old and boring. These were aqua and red, yellow and lime. With "Christmas Cheer" and "Happy Christmas". I picked them up. I touched them. I rolled them over in my hand.
And put them back.
Keep moving.
Next was ScrapBook Trends books... one exclusively Christmas cards and the other holiday ideas. The were beautiful! The card ideas were great and could be converted into any type of card - birthday, get well, just for you. Great use of ribbon and scrapping supplies.
I SO wanted the book. I put it back.. I'll use the internet I guess for ideas. I still haven't finished the 365 cards a day book I bought last year. I only made it to January 5th.
Ahhhh. Not easy. Not easy at all. Even with all the OLD Christmas stuff I have, I SO wanted some new.
After vacation... I need to get back to scrapping. With the Picture Fall class and getting ready for my trip, I really haven't worked on cards or pages. I think one of the keys is, if I'm using my stuff, I don't want to buy any more because I realize how much I have. When I don't use it, I want new items to either inspire me or give me an "easy fix" to get going. (If I buy it new, I just have to grab photos to go with it. I don't have to search through my stuff.) Ahhhhh! There's an "Ah-ha Moment".
They have all their new Christmas stuff out and up. Even going to the bathroom there is "dangerous". I walked by one counter - just one - on the way to the bathroom. I stopped at the new "stacked chipboard" 3 dimensional reindeers, and santas smiled back at me from the package saying, "Buy me. Take me home. I'm better then that old crappy Christmas stuff you already own."
I moved along.
Not two steps away was the American Craft ribbon, all spooled up and in a row. All as yummy and enticing as candy. (No wonder kids go insane at the candy rack!) It had different Christmas colors; no longer just red and green - which is old and boring. These were aqua and red, yellow and lime. With "Christmas Cheer" and "Happy Christmas". I picked them up. I touched them. I rolled them over in my hand.
And put them back.
Keep moving.
Next was ScrapBook Trends books... one exclusively Christmas cards and the other holiday ideas. The were beautiful! The card ideas were great and could be converted into any type of card - birthday, get well, just for you. Great use of ribbon and scrapping supplies.
I SO wanted the book. I put it back.. I'll use the internet I guess for ideas. I still haven't finished the 365 cards a day book I bought last year. I only made it to January 5th.
Ahhhh. Not easy. Not easy at all. Even with all the OLD Christmas stuff I have, I SO wanted some new.
After vacation... I need to get back to scrapping. With the Picture Fall class and getting ready for my trip, I really haven't worked on cards or pages. I think one of the keys is, if I'm using my stuff, I don't want to buy any more because I realize how much I have. When I don't use it, I want new items to either inspire me or give me an "easy fix" to get going. (If I buy it new, I just have to grab photos to go with it. I don't have to search through my stuff.) Ahhhhh! There's an "Ah-ha Moment".
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
Day 79 - November 2 - I Can't Remeber the Last Time This Happened
Tony and I went on a road trip last weekend. We went to Straughn, IN. A little town just outside of Indianapolis; more towards the Ohio side of Indiana. What made this trip unique is that we didn't stop at a single scrapbook store. Not a one. I can't remember the last time we drove more then an hour in the car that I didn't have a detailed map listing the store, the store hours, what the store specializes in and if we have ever visited the store in the past.
Some times I'd give the store "Scissor Ratings". If it was a good store, it would get 3 scissors, if it was a great store is would get 5 scissors, and if it was really bad - a half of scissor.
Not this time. I can't remember the last time we didn't stop at a scrap store. We didn't even stop at a Michaels. Nothing! No Pages in Time, no Archiver in Indy, no Scrapbook Xanadu (although I don't think they are even open anymore.) Nothing. Not one sticker, sheet of paper or ribbon.
So you may be asking how did I hold up? Did I break out in a sweat as we rolled along 80/94. Did I start to shake when Sunday morning arrived and I didn't even look at a Michaels add in the paper. Nope - none of that. But what I did, (and have been doing) is putting myself behind my camera. For the entire month of October I was taking pictures of a particular subject every day. And I would average about 100 shots to get one good one.
I did the same sort of thing this weekend. Pictures of the turbo windmills, pictures of the dogs, pictures at the orchard. And you know... once you re-direct yourself... you really don't even think about what it is you might be missing. And, in truth, I'm not missing anything at all. I've already got it all! :)
So the road trip ended up just being that - a road trip. (And not the crazy - find the scrapbook store somewhere in the strip mall next to the White Hen just over the railroad tracks.)
Lots of thses in Indiana...
Some times I'd give the store "Scissor Ratings". If it was a good store, it would get 3 scissors, if it was a great store is would get 5 scissors, and if it was really bad - a half of scissor.
Not this time. I can't remember the last time we didn't stop at a scrap store. We didn't even stop at a Michaels. Nothing! No Pages in Time, no Archiver in Indy, no Scrapbook Xanadu (although I don't think they are even open anymore.) Nothing. Not one sticker, sheet of paper or ribbon.
So you may be asking how did I hold up? Did I break out in a sweat as we rolled along 80/94. Did I start to shake when Sunday morning arrived and I didn't even look at a Michaels add in the paper. Nope - none of that. But what I did, (and have been doing) is putting myself behind my camera. For the entire month of October I was taking pictures of a particular subject every day. And I would average about 100 shots to get one good one.
I did the same sort of thing this weekend. Pictures of the turbo windmills, pictures of the dogs, pictures at the orchard. And you know... once you re-direct yourself... you really don't even think about what it is you might be missing. And, in truth, I'm not missing anything at all. I've already got it all! :)
So the road trip ended up just being that - a road trip. (And not the crazy - find the scrapbook store somewhere in the strip mall next to the White Hen just over the railroad tracks.)
Lots of thses in Indiana...
And what is Halloween without a good cemetery shot.
And I went to the apple orchard and fed chickens for the very first time. (Don't laugh - I'm a "city girl" the only thing I know of chicken is McNuggets!)
Here is the goat!
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