End of an Era...

So sorry I haven't been around - yet again - but as usual there has been a lot of bed-time/kid-time/parent-time involved.  I have had moments of scrappiness, but alas getting photos of these layouts is actually harder than creating them.
I hope everyone has received their cards by now (and thanks so much Cynthia for the lovely thank you).  So sorry (yet again) for the delay as there was a total breakdown around our household that involved my having to come home quickly one day and relying on someone else to get the job done. (thank you Ruth for the heads up that prompted my going out to mom's car (which I am never ever in) to find the forgotten packages).
So on to it.  There will be no layouts today as this is a little heads up for those of you who haven't heard the big news... TwoPeasinaBucket is closing.  Now to tell you honestly, I have one and a half regrets about this:
1/2 regret is that I was all pumped to purchase some of the exclusive embellishments come first of the month.
One very BIG regret is that our girl Shimelle works for 2Ps - and they are the sponsor/venue for Glitter Girl.  I am so hoping that Shimelle is okay through all of this, especially with the new little one on board.  I am happy that she has found a designing home with American Crafts (can't wait for that line to come out next month!!!!), but also hope that she maintains control of Glitter Girl so that we may continue to reference past installments as well as continues to bring us more of our sparkly friend in the future.  In the meantime, I really wish she would update her class access so that I can figure out if there's anything I missed and didn't mean to - namely, the one in January!

TwoPeas has been around 15 years and it was the first place I went when I was able to make a major scrapping purchase again after the dark days.  It is also the only place my mom knows to shop for my gifts.  But I must admit that I definitely saw this coming after the first of this year.  It was around February I think that my orders started to take over a week to ship vs the usual 3-day turnaround from order placement to receipt.  Then the customer service 'ticket' was abandoned in lieu of sending emails (and Matt was sooooo awesome about answering any and every question!!!).  Then when I emailed for 3-months straight about a defective Dear Lizzy wood piece that I had received and never ever even once heard back from them - nothing.  (Interjection:  Please see * below) And then just to top all my hate off, no warning... no warning whatsoever.  I was on the site a few days ago looking up if they had those SC hearts back in yet and not a signal.  Then today an email with the news arrives (stamped June 25, 2014 at 1:09 pm) and, whoa!!! the Message Boards are missing.  (Guess they didn't want to see all that booing and hissing!.. or maybe let anyone know what the future held for our video series that we watch every.single.day. on YouTube!) Oh, Oh, Oh... and those 'exclusive' embellies that I had in my cart a week ago - gone!!!!!!!!!!!!! Every lousy flair and coffee cup wood veneer... gone!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So, though my heart is heavy for our girl Shimelle, it is with a big "GOOD RIDDANCE!" that I say goodbye to Two Peas in a Bucket.  Makes me proud to be a "Cherry".

Now... after I've gotten all that off my chest, let me just say that at the same time I am very sad to see 2Ps leave.  After Archives and Creative Memories, it's just frightening that another one has bitten the dust.  I want to think that the reason is because of divorce or some other more personal reason rather than just low sales in which case I am sorry for those involved.  However, the facts of our poor customer service and the way in which they have 'closed the doors' may say a lot about why sales had diminished if that were the case.  I hope so.  I am terrified that the days may come when I still have an overpowering urge to cut up pretty paper and glue down darling diecuts just to find that there are no more available.

*Oh and as for that interjection:  One more reason that American Crafts remains my favorite all-around company.  They have the most awesome customer service ever.  And while they couldn't fix my bad piece of wood, they made up for my total headache with an entire set of wood veneers from the line of my choice - promptly.  God love Jenna with whom I carried on an email conversation at least 1-2 times per day for over a week and was uber sweet all the time!

Okay, now that I've spouted off, I'll bid you goodbye for today. Let me know if you didn't receive the cards yet as that would just be crazy at this point.  I will be back later showing off some scrappiness as I went to doctor yesterday and received another injection that seems to be allowing me to sit up for a couple of hours a day and I have the best help in with my folks.

I hope everyone is oh so well and scrappy and having a beautiful (and cool if possible) summer.

Stay Safe and Scrap On!

“The inner fire is the most important thing mankind possesses.” - Edith Sodergan

A Case for Hoarding...

Oh such a dirty word!!!! Yet, I freely admit my guilt!  I have things in my 'stash' that range in age from one-month to 15-years old! Why??? I am always asking myself that question, and the answer is so very hard to explain.  Some things I believe will make their way back into fashion (think vellum, corrugated paper, slides - but truly you can just laugh out loud here); mostly I just can't bear to throw anything away that I so lovingly purchased at any time during this 15 year party.

I consider anything 3-years or older as part of my hoarding.  We've discussed stash before - I have a stash of wood, flair, etc. that is probably larger than I will use before they too go out of fashion.  But it won't matter, as this post is about to illustrate.  Honestly, I don't feel anything ever goes out of fashion in my scrap supplies... I don't believe in fashionable when it comes to nearly anything (as my closet can attest too!).  Fads, yes.  But if you really, really loved anything once, you probably still do in some way.  Oh my, I digress.

So in my never-ending quest to use my supplies (mostly so I have room for new stuff!), I have made it an issue to think back to my hoarding stash before going to my new things whenever I make a layout this year.  Of course, this isn't always going to work.  But for sure, I have more than enough accumulated 'holiday' embellishments that it's worth a shot!

However, before I get on to the examples, I want to just mention a few things.  I have completed about 40-50 layouts since the beginning of the year.  No, I don't plan on bombarding you all at one time with these atrocities.  Rather I plan to show a few examples along the way to illustrate a point.  So sometimes you may see a layout more than once, please just go with it.   Okay... on to a few layouts showing how I've been finding and using my immense hoard:

On this layout I used those lovely snowflake rhinestones that I've had for at least 7 years, the Martha Stewart snowflake punch I've probably had just as long, as well as my vellum paper and some little pearlescent white paint I've had for 10 years or more.  Yet they all look lovely with the Crate Paper and 2Ps items, eh?!

You'd be surprised at how old some of these elements are - for instance the black thickers are several years old.  The heart flair is at least 3-4 years old (the other is a button from a jeweler that I've had about 8-years).  Then there's that Anna Griffin laser-cut XOXOXO paper that I have used almost every Valentines day for years and years.  Oh and lest I forget, the lips brad that poses as the dot over the i... that brad is at least 12-14 years old. Whew!

This layout is one I stole from Shimelle - putting everything practically straight on one side to showcase a lovely paper - and wow! do I love this Maggie Holmes paper!  While many of the embellishments are new (Crate Paper and Flea Market), its the hearts themselves that classify as hoarded - all American Crafts foam and vellum and from a 3+ year-old package.

Last layout today!  It was a total surprise when I remembered that I had that gold 'foiled' paper that makes up the scallops... I've had that 8.5x11 paper for 10+ years.  Then I found the large crown die (actually a CuttleKids set) that I bought at almost the same time I got my Cuttlebug (6-7 years) so used the small crown EKS punch (purchased in a set with a heart on clearance) to create all of those out of some glitter paper.  WooHoo... actual uses for those things I got and then threw in the drawer!  Everything else on this page (except letters of course) is Maggie Holmes to include the Project Life cards (left blank for GiGi to document).  

So needless to say, I've very proud of using my hoarded supplies... which now actually makes them 'stash'.   I hope not everyone is as bad as I am, but if you are or just keep things for a little longer than the '6-months' rule, hope this encourages you to pull them out and put them on layouts.  Well, at least to have absolutely '0' guilt over hoarding/stashing all those purchases... they probably could come in very handy!

Also, just noticed this upon previewing the post... All these layouts use Project Life cards! Oh, I know, you're thinking, "Not that 'Warm Me Up' one".  Well actually that's one-half of a 2-page layout that you'll be seeing soon (remember I told you some would reappear later).

Okay, now go get scrappy!

Stay Safe and Scrap On!

P.S.  While I appreciate the great comments, I only received 2 addresses via my email - really you guys don't want a freebie?  

“A rock pile ceases to be a rock pile the moment a single man contemplates it, bearing within him the image of a cathedral.” - Antoine de Saint-Exupery

Obsessions...No.1

For many months, even before my hiatus in the winter, I have been more than slightly obsessed with Title/Journaling cards.  At first it was merely the cut-apart sheets that came with each collection.  But lately my obsession has moved on to include Project Life cards.  And noooooo, I'm not a Project Lifer!

Sometime in the winter, I had obtained some divided page protectors (I believe it was in response to a Shimelle weekend challenge that I was unable to fulfull).  Other than transferring and completing a page that was half-done with an 8.5x11 protector that came from somewhere in the office (?????), these protectors sat on my desk for some months.  Then, quite a while before any of the 2013 Christmas photos made it to my desk, I used a few to complete last years layouts - specifically 2-page layouts.  At that time I mostly used cut-up 12x12 paper with a few 3x4s from cut-apart sheets.  It was really quite fun and I promise that you will see these in the near future - but as that's not what this post is about, let's move on.

My obsession with cut-apart sheets grew... then, alas, manufacturers started creating Project Life cards that coordinated with their more popular paper lines.  And so, I took the plunge and purchased a few (DL Polka-Dot Party & MH Flea Market were purchased at Hobby Lobby while the DL Daydreamer was ordered online).  They are awesome and once I used a few, I was surely obsessed (you'll see my first layout later, but as this post is not about that - well, etc.).  These 'mini-kits' come in a lovely little box like this:

While shopping the Project Life section at Hobby Lobby, I found these even smaller packages of Project Life cards:

and guess what???? many of them coordinate with other paper lines... i.e. the 'Winter' mini-kit matches the Crate Paper's Bundled Up, the 'Love' kit matches Crate Paper's Fourteen, the 'Celebration' kit matches Crate Paper's Party Day, etc.!!!  Oh, heavenly!  Most of these mini-kits come with two each 3x4 cards/1-2 each of 4x6.  Of course the boxed versions have a few more cards than the other packages.  These are the perfect size for me, I like 2 of each card as I really don't want that many redundant cards in my album.  Also, if I screw up on the patterned side of a card (have done that already) I can just cut a new one from a 6x6 pad.

So, even though I love some of the themes/colors of the large Project Life kits, I just cannot buy one as they usually contain several of each card - even with my obsession, this is totally too much for just me!!!

Now, on to the main point of this post.  I recently purchased a WeRMemoryKeepers kit of 3x4 & 4x6 cards at a very good sale price.  It is of the "Capture" line.  Once I had opened it, I found that, even though a relatively small looking kit, it had several of each card - many more than my 'two' rule.  So here's the deal, I have a few sets of 3x4/4x6 cards I would like to give away rather than just letting them sit here in a box somewhere.  Therefore, if you would like a set of these, send your name and address to me at: tjthenonna@gmail.com.  (Even if you're across the pond, still go for it if you're interested.)  It's first come, first serve of course as there are only a few sets each of which consists of approximately 63 cards - 2 ea of 24-3x4 and 1 ea of 15-4x6.  As each card is different on the front and back, they are really very versatile.

Okay, that's it for today.  It's really cold here in Florida today after a night of severe thunderstorms and flash floods, so I'm going to wrap up and put on a movie.  I hope everyone else is super crafty.

Stay Safe and Scrap On!

“One must still have chaos in oneself to be able to give birth to a dancing star.” - Friedrich Neitzsche

Life Scrapped...

This isn't about a great technique, new paper, and especially not about actually getting a good photo of my layout.  This is about scrapping life... something I just can't stress enough - at least once in a while.

Even if you don't have anyone you think will ever be interested in your stories, there may come a time when you are.   Not everyone has a wealth of memories and certainly the older we get the less we remember.  It seems everyday I lose more of my own memories.  I don't know if it's caused by age (though I hope at 52 that's not an issue), my illness or stress - probably a combination of everything.  But whatever the cause, I am constantly reminded how I don't remember so much... and it makes me so very very sad.  I hope this never happens to anyone, but it can.  This is one of the reasons that I scrapbook the kids so much; why there are annual albums of the main events and layouts of just everyday stuff... not just for them but because I can't remember much of anyone's childhood.

It is because of this that I grab whatever memories I can.  When I came across this photo, it reminded me of so many things that happened in 1987.  Such a horrid year - nights in the ER in horrible pain, a hysterectomy at the age of 25, and four months later finding the lump in my breast.  But there were sweet and funny moments as well - my daughter getting up at 6am to set up the Monopoly board and then waiting hours for me to get around to playing, Thanksgiving at my grandmother's house with the entire family, all my aunts gathering in my grandma's tiny kitchen just feet away from the men folk to feel my breast, my step-dad talking me into reconciling with my dad when I wasn't about it at all.  I felt that it was imperative, for my own sake, to get everything down while I remembered it.  Also, I may stumble upon other photos that were taken that year, but this is the one that reminds me of everything.

This is an original photo which I am oh so happy to use and get out of the boxes; but I did scan it - and may use it again if a story calls for such a photo.  Plus, it's the first layout since getting back to my desk that I've really mixed it up with the paper lines - I used Crate Paper DIY Shop, Maggie Holmes Flea Market, Dear Lizzy Polka Dot Party, MME Find Your Wings and October Afternoon Woodlands Park... most of which came from my scrap basket!!! I also mixed it up with the embellishments and stamped on the layout!!  This is definitely a WooHoo layout all the way around.  But what makes it one of my favorite layouts definitely isn't because of any of that - it certainly isn't the prettiest layout I've ever put in an album... it's one of my favorite layouts because every time I look through my album I will see that little 8-year old girl with her Monopoly board.

I hope everyone is well and remembering to grab those glimpses every chance they get.

Stay Safe and Scrap On!

“The lyf so short, the craft so long to lerne.” - Geoffrey Chaucer

A few things...

that I've scrapped lately.  I must say that I love paper!  I love that sometimes, when your mojo just hasn't kicked in, you can rely on paper to do some of the work for you - even those paper that don't have a little theme in the corner or anything can really just make the layout.  For instance, this paper by Glitz:

While I added a few items around the photo, the paper is the major embellishment - and helps tell the story of this fun night.

The great energy of this Bella Blvd paper layered on the Glitz paper is another example of paper reinforcing the energy and excitement of that day,

I'm not positive where this paper is from - Dear Lizzy or Amy Tangerine - but I have to say that I love papers that with specific designs in the corner.  While some people like to use the papers and coverup or cut away the embellished areas, my thought is to work with these papers.  I mean, sometimes we buy whole collections because we love these special papers, so why fight it once we get our hands on them.

Yes, I bought that MME kit for Christmas - but then I turned around and used last years MME!!! That glittery chevron is from the new collection, but I still love last years better.

This is a 2-page layout... not to be confused with a 'double-page' layout.  I have definitely taken a few hints from www.shimelle.com on how to handle this worrisome issue of needing two-pages to tell the story.  I'll even have more to show when I can get the photos right.  But I've practically given up on 'double-page' layouts... I'm not good at it so whats the point?

Okay, that's all for today.  I'm rather in down-and-out, so am doing what I can, when I can.  I hope everyone out there is feeling well and scrappy.

Stay Safe and Scrap On!

P.S.  Sorry if you find wierd stuff in this post, Blogger is acting really weird and not letting me highlight anything or go into a paragraph.  Also, sorry about the really fuzzy photo - I promise I'll try better in the future but didn't know this was so bad until I had finished this post.  And... you will notice my scrap table in the background of some of these photos... I'm just going to have to be happy doing the best I can right now - again, I will try harder in future to get crisp, square photos of layouts.  Thanks for your patience during this time.

"life beats down and crushes the soul and art reminds you that you have one" - Stella Adler

A Discussion on Paper...

I listen to - well, watch - a lot of discussion on paper.  There seems to be a huge trend on only buying paper piecemeal... buying one or two sheets from a collection and then only one or two sheets per pattern.  As a magnanimous paper-hoarder, I think this is great... for some people.  This is just not who I am.  While I do buy a sheet or two from a collection to see how I like it, I'm really a collection type of gal; and, often, if I absolutely love a couple of sheets from a collection, I will repeatedly kick my own butt until I can get the complete collection into my hot little hands.  But that's not really what I want to talk about - well, not entirely.
I want to talk about what drives you to buy certain papers.  Is there really a thought process behind the purchase other than "OMG, I think I love it!"?  We all know that I do regularly fall in love with collections of papers:  Dear Lizzy 5th & Frolic, Dear Lizzy Lucky Charm, Maggie Holmes, Basic Grey Hey You, MME Find Your Wings & Fly, etc.  And while those are not the only papers you see in my albums, you do see quite a lot of each.  And I am so okay with that!!!  I buy paper I like it (most of the time) and if I LOVE it, I buy a lot of it.
For anyone who doesn't know, at any one time I may be working on several albums concurrently:

• The Annual Family Album (none ever finished because I'm never caught up!)
• GiGi's Annual Album (ditto above)
• GiGi's BFF Album
• The Me Album (General)
• The Me Album (Child)
• The Family Album (General) (Kids rarely included)
• My Bro's Album
• GiGi's General Album (anything extraneous to the her Annual Album)
• Kids General Album (anything extraneous to the Family Annual Album)
• Heritage Album
• Misc Albums (Vacation, Christmas, whatever)

(And no, nothing is ever caught up because sometimes I just don't feel like doing anything at all, or I don't have the photos for what I do really want to work on.) The point of that little list is to show that I can absolutely have 5 sheets of the same paper and be perfectly content.  Not only may I have more than one layout in an album with the paper showing (but never in the exact same way), but I may have the sheets spread across many albums.
But also, I find that if I buy a paper collection without any mind to what it's use will be, it's use will find itself when I get it on my desk.  I have a few examples of this:

• October Afternoon:  I love almost all OA papers.  But rather by accident I have found that OA lends itself very well to older photos - not only the creaminess of the papers, but the patterns as well.  I still don't buy OA for the specific purpose of older photos (I do use them elsewhere as well) but I know I can never go wrong with the line.
• MME Find Your Wings...:  Has there ever been lovelier paper?  While I haven't put a lot of it in the 2013 Annual Album (?), it is certainly spread across all the rest of them - everything from heritage photos, to current photos of the kids.  And I have no doubt that it will find a place somewhere in my 2014 album (more on that later).
• DL Lucky Charm, Maggie Holmes, Basic Grey: It's everywhere.  Each spreads across my Annual Album, our Road Trip album, the GiGi's album, and the Family Album.  And if I find any place else, I certainly won't hesitate to use these papers again and again.
• Echo Park Here & Now, Bella Blvd Snapshots:  Now here's where things gets specific.  Even though I bought these papers for no other reason than that I absolutely love them and feel happy looking at them, once home they found a very specific place indeed: GiGi's albums. While I could absolutely use them for anything, they are perfect for her personality and lifestyle.  So they are used almost exclusively for her.

Another thing I want to mention is our own personal paper style.  We hear all the time about our personal design style: finding that style, integrating that style on sketches, working within our style. But I think we may have personal paper styles as well.  While flipping through my favorite papers doesn't reveal my style automatically, there are a few things I have noticed:

• I like very clean paper: I am not big into the watercolor trend.  I don't mind playing with some paper with mists, etc., but when paper gets too 'artsy', I'm just not going to jump into a complete collection. (more on this later!!!)
• I like intense colors:  Whether they're pastels, muteds or vibrants I like my papers colors to be intense on the page.
• I like great big florals:  You know, the MH Flea Market paper, OA's Cabbage Roses - I love any and all florals like this... so if I've missed any, point them out quick.

Quandaries & Notes:

• Hmmm...Distressed Papers.  While I rather love Maggie Holmes distressed papers, I don't really care for MME's - go figure! So don't skip looking at something just because you don't think you'll like it.
• Beware: Just because you love one or two paper lines by a company, doesn't mean you'll love them all: While I love DL 5th... & Lucky..., don't really like Polka Dot Party at all (and unfortunately have the whole collection - thank God I like the peripherals).  While I didn't really love any Amy Tangerine lines, I found several papers in Cut & Paste that I adore. The list goes on and on...
• There truly are differences between single patterned paper and paper pads.  Single sheets are more of a cardstock grade therefore the colors are more intense.  If you have a pad and really, really like a paper, consider buying a few extra singles - you can't go wrong.
• What you love and your style don't always go hand-in-hand.  For Christmas (one exception to the don't buy with specific purpose rule), I purchased a MME kit.  It is utterly exquisite - I do absolutely love looking at this paper. However, I don't really want to scrap with it... it doesn't really reflect the feel of my photos - or rather how I feel about my photos.  Actually, for Christmas I prefer less, pretty but not as elegant as this paper feels.  So here I sit with a stack of photos and beautiful paper and can't quite put them together for my Album. But I am sure I will find a place for this paper... probably next week.
• If you love it, a new paper will usually fit right into your private hoard.  If you can't find the fit right away, use it with more of it's same collection.  Once you've set it aside for a little bit, you will start thinking of endless combinations and places to use it.
• Paper is timeless...in my book anyway.  I might get tired of a paper, but I cannot ever imagine thinking that a certain paper is out-of-style.  So I have no qualms using last years papers this year or putting this years papers in my 2011 Album.  If you love it, it will always be in style.

These are snapshots of how, if you love a paper, it will find it's place - you just need to pay a little attention - whether it be for one subject matter or 10.  But then maybe, just maybe, it's our sub-conscience that chooses the papers we love... maybe we love certain papers because we love certain photos and we just don't realize it right away.

Hope all had a Happy Valentines Day!

Stay Safe and Scrap On!

“Don't be satisfied with stories, how things have gone with others. Unfold your own myth.” - Rumi

I Am Truly Sorry...

that I haven't wished you a Happy Christmas or Happy New Year... that I haven't even said whether or not I was alive.  It's been so long and so wrong.  You see, I didn't just lose my mojo, I lost my way.  So many things changed so suddenly that I was completely overwhelmed is the only way I know to explain it.  And so my happy place became an abandoned place that merely was another area in this house to hold clutter.

It should be noted that along with my MS, I am a manic depressive - an untreated depressive.  I found a long time ago that scrapbooking became a source of therapy for me... the act of submersing myself in the craft kept me from becoming submersed in despair.  And believe me, stress exacerbates not only the MS but the depression as well.  So, the unending chaos as well as the dependence on me as the healthiest adult in the family has been extremely stressful, i.e., both the MS and the depression have kicked in.  It seems that I call upon unrealized resources within myself to do everything from spending 12 hours in the ER with my daughter to taking mom & dad to doctor appointments an hour away to picking up the grandkids from school who are sick or have missed the bus.  And then I retreat to bed until the next need arises.

Oh don't get me wrong, I have had some good days - Friday night football games & shopping trips with the kids.  But not only have I only completed 3 layouts since September, but all the craziness culminated into a Christmas that almost wasn't.  I mean Santa was coming, but even a week before Christmas there was no tree.  There were never cookies baked, no traditional sausage balls for Christmas morning, no Secret Santa... not even a Christmas dinner.  I feel terrible about all of this because I feel like I cheated my family- but my Christmas Spirit was totally not home this year.  And even though my mom has thanked me several times for pulling Christmas together, I vow there will never again be another Christmas like this... the stress and depression beget more stress and depression.

So dear blonds, I am trying to come back.  Unfortunately it feels kind of like trying to come up from the bottom of a black lake.  I not only have mental and physical adversity to overcome, I have material ones as well:  the charger for my laptop went out at some point (using GiGi's now), I still need new glasses (using mom's now) and I have no data on my phone to read email (trying to figure that out now).  But I do have determination.  I've never been shy about saying how I feel except when it is actually something for myself - I'm going to rectify that and just say that I have to have some time.  Today I started trying to catch up on months and months of blogs starting with Shimelle; and not only am I so happy about her glad news, I am delighted that she has classes that I can take in the near future.  I'm going to try to get through about 40 Glitter Girl videos and place my first supply order since August.  And soon I will be reading your blogs as well.  All of this is bound to rekindle at least a flicker of light and help me find my path.

I hope that you will stick around a while longer.  I hope you have been productive and crafty.  And I sincerely hope that each of you is well and had the happiest holidays.

Stay Safe and Scrap On!

"Art enables us to find ourselves and lose ourselves at the same time." - Thomas Merton