Simple Stories and Scrapaholics

Hi, just wanted to drop in and let you in on a couple of things.

Simple Stories now has an idea guide by Brenda Hurd available. Check out the cute ways you can showcase your monthly pictures. They were also featured on KSL Studio 5. You can watch the video here to see more on how this system works.

I received my kit about a month ago but haven't started to play with it yet. All I can say is the papers are more of a cardstock quality and it's all so very pretty. Can't wait to start playing with it.

I also wanted to post about the new forum, Scrapaholics, I set up for scrappers addicted to their craft and addicted to shopping for their craft. A group of us QVC scrappers have already signed up and are sharing our ideas and sales or deals we find. Everyone is welcome, so please join us if you want in on some great crafty savings.

No project to share this time, but I'm working on it. Until next time...Have a good one!

Happy Holidays!

Wow! I've been gone for a while. Where does the time go?! I can't believe it's been several months since my last post. I hope you're still out there. Maybe one of my resolutions for next year will be to keep up with my blog. There will be some changes coming so stay tuned.

Anyway, I mailed out my Christmas cards this week. This year I decided to seek inspiration from other bloggers and artists to keep things fairly simple. Thanks to Christmas With the Cricut, the Pink Stamper and My Creative Classroom for these card inspirations. I had fun playing with my Cricut to create them.

I also embossed all the cards but that was hard to capture in the photos. And the envelopes were made by cutting out some cricut snowflakes and laying them on top of the envelope then spraying with Glimmer Mists. Quick and cute.

The other thing I wanted to mention is Simple Stories by MemoryWorks. Remember Project 365? Well that was a bit much for me to keep up with. I am about 3 months behind! So I will not be doing it again.

Now, that won't happen with Simple Stories because you decide what stories to tell and it's quick and easy. I also noticed from the sneak peaks that there's a bit more embellishments so you can still satisfy that need to be creative. I'm excited to see this product line launch. And you can watch their cool video teaser here.

And if you haven't done so visit their website to purchase the latest and greatest scrapbooking products from Fancy Pants, Pink Paislee, MME, Creative Imaginations and many more. Just remember to enter my consultant ID (see side bar) when you register on their site.

Well, I hope everyone has a great holiday season and I'll catch you in 2010!

HOF Grateful Page Kit & Magazines Going Extinct?

Hello, first off I want to post a picture of the Grateful Page Kit by Denise Pauly that was missing from the CK Hall of Fame Kit instructions purchased through QVC. I was able to get an emailed picture from CK and thought I'd share it with those who need it. Hope this helps.

Anyway, the state of the economy is hurting another industry I love. Magazines are disappearing from newstands and that includes a lot of the scrapbooking and craft publications. I came across this interesting article yesterday and it really hit home.

Ever since I could remember, I've loved magazines. There was even a time in my life where I wanted to work for one. I love the glossy pages, the designs, the portability and the beautiful pictures that come along with magazines. I've always loved to read books but there was something about magazines that made me want to read them more often.


Now, I find out that CK Media is in real trouble. So, I'm worried whether Creating Keepsakes will disappear along with Simple Scrapbooks.

Creating Keepsakes was the pioneer of scrapbooking magazines and we still count on them for the latest and greatest in scrapbooking trends. What will the industry look like if they are no longer around?

Will we have to depend on the internet for all of our information? If so, we won't know what's really on trend because the internet is full of scrapbooking blogs and sites that have their own personal style. Manufacturers will be playing the guessing game when they create new products. LSS's and larger craft stores won't know what the scrapper really wants.

I guess we'll have to hope and pray some can survive these harsh economic times. I would sure hate to see the magazine industry disappear.

I don't have anything scrappy to post this time, haven't really been in a crafty mood lately. Maybe next time.

Hello....Are you still there?

I know I've been a terrible blogger lately but I hope you are still hanging on with me. This isn't the only site I neglect. My Myspace page hasn't been updated in months and my new Facebook account will be lucky if I visit once a week. You see, I think this is too much to keep up with. Why are we so hung up on the latest and next best thing and why do we need so many avenues in which to communicate? Really. We have several email accounts, a home phone, cell phones with text messaging, myspace, facebook, blogs, dating sites and even twitter! Geez! Does anyone have a life beyond the cyber world? Just saying...

Anyway, now that I'm off my soapbox, I'm here to share what I've been working on the last few weeks. When I'm not seeking employment and taking care of life in general, I am creating.

I hope you enjoy these.


First up is my Month of Gratitude album. This was a Simple Scrapbooks project where you can download the journaling cards from their website. I did it for December and this is how I chose to decorate it. Rubons are from 3birds, American Crafts and the Paper Studio (Hobby Lobby). Other embellies are from 3 Birds. Here are the highlights:

My second project is an acrylic album. I just love the Fancy Pants Valentine papers and cards and Elle's Studio Valentine birdie labels. The acrylic embellies are American Crafts and the felt embellies are 3Birds, rubons, stickers and chipboard are 3Birds, and other misc paper, silver hearts and ribbon. I put together the flower embellishments with several punches and embellies.

Also, wanted to share a couple of fun pictures of the punchies I've been collecting from my scraps. I can't believe how much I have already. I love all the colors.

I am also working on Project 365 but have fallen behind since I haven't ordered any more picture prints in a while. This is something I will be doing this weekend for sure and I will post some of those pages soon too.

Still here...

Well, inauguration day is upon us and no doubt most of us (that didn't go to D.C.) will be glued to the tv screen all day today. This is definitely an historic event that I never imagined I would see during my lifetime. Mr. President Obama, please live up to your promises and do us proud. I also wanted to share a few pics for my Scrapbooking Project 365. Yes I have been taking pictures regularly and I just ordered a bunch from Artscow.com so I will be putting my pages together soon.

Lunch with Michelle and Adriana.

Giving Xena her weekly bath.

At Smoqued with Emily.

And homemade guacamole, yum!


Here's also a couple of pages I created with Inspired Blueprints sketches 6 & 7. The pictures didn't come out so clear but you get the idea.

Also, some bad news for fellow scrapbookers. Simple Scrapbooks Magazine will no longer publish after their May/June issue. Visit their blog to view the announcement. I am so upset about this cause I am mostly a simple scrapper and I really enjoyed the projects in their magazine. It's so sad to see good businesses die because of the state of our economy.

I have not been able to visit blogs regularly these last couple of weeks, but rest assured I will be visiting you all again soon. I'm a blog addict so leave me your blog info and I will stop by and visit soon.

Well, that's all I have for today. I've been cleaning out some of my scrapbooking stash and I will post a giveaway soon, so stay tuned.

Trick or Treat

I went to a kid's Halloween Party last Friday and had Greg take this stupid picture of me looking silly. I didn't really wear a costume but I dressed silly and had a little fun with my makeup even though the picture doesn't do it justice.



These are the moments to remember. Everyday stuff. I love how cool Xena looked in the rear view mirror of our truck while we waited for Greg to get out of the video store so I had to snap a few pics.

And, on that note... In the Nov/Dec issue of Simple Scrapbooks was a great idea for a gratitude journal. You can download the journaling cards here www.simplescrapbooksmag.com . Anyway, you take a picture everyday for a month of something your grateful for , then you write about it on the journaling card. Put in a small 4x6 album with the photo on one side and the journaling card on the other and boom instant album and gratitude journal. I'm going to try to do this for November and December.

Have a happy and safe Halloween!