New and Re-new

New things are always fun to look forward to. The reintroduction of previous things is also exciting. We recently moved our inventory which got me to thinking about things past and future. Like the return of the Blue Plate Special. We've had some awesome Blue Plate specials and after seeing some of the goodies from CHA I see the potential for a few more. The Blue Plate Special will show up most Wednesdays (like today) and will feature a goodie, or goodies, for a can't-resist price(s). Blue Plates are one-day only specials and are limited in quantity. When they're gone, they're gone. I usually send out a reminder card the day of, or the day before. Something new to look for is new place on the website to find all the current month's add-ons. Like for August you'll find a cardstock add-on and ribbon packs, along with a few other things that will coordinate with the monthly kits. August's add-ons can be found on the website, in an NEW easy to find section under "Current Month." In my organizing of the recently moved inventory, I unearthed patterned papers that couldn't be put into paper packs because they were odd numbered -- so look for those to be sold by the sheet at great prices, which means you get more of the papers you loved and save money. A scrapbooker's dream. I have some other things I'm mulling over, but I think this is a good place to start. So check out August's add-ons (there's still time to get them with your August kit shipment) and be watching for your Blue Plate notice.

Party On!

I was at Target yesterday, sort of killing time and looking for new sleepwear at the same time. Since I'm not big into treating myself (insert the obvious discussion of moms taking time for themselves) this shopping for something as simple as pajamas is a fairly big deal. Anyway, I was wandering around and came across the seasonal section which just a couple weeks ago was jammed with summer stuff; patio sets, patio lights, outdoor pottery, picnic sets and more. Now all that summer stuff is, well, stuffed into one aisle and marked for sale and the seasonal section is now brimming with school supplies, still in pristine condition with nothing pawed through and plenty of options to choose from. School supplies! Really? Already? No. Say it ain't so. I'm just getting into full sloth-mode. Sigh. Sooner, rather than later, I'll need to compile the kids' lists and make my way over there to begin the back-to-school process and I'll be just a small part of that mass migration. Like most summers, I get to the mid-way point and find there are things I had planned to do that I realize I haven't gotten around to -- and, if I'm honest, probably won't. Now that I'm on the downward side, I'm looking at shopping for clothes and even though my kids wear uniforms, they still need to be bought. At least there's no arguing about styles. We'll head out for supplies and new backpacks. And the end of our summer brings the majority of sports camps; soccer, basketball and volleyball. I guess it's the universe's way of easing me into the coming school year. But. . .it IS still summer. I still have pictures to scrapbook and kits that are calling my name. So I believe it's time to do just that. That difficult thing -- make time for me. Clear off a spot on my cluttered desk, haul out a kit and photos and Just Do It! However, I'm probably like a lot of scrapbookers and I need that little nudge, that challenge to get me moving. And if I can get my fellow scrapbooking neighbors, cyber neighbors, to join me we can keep each other motivated. I thinks it's time for a "Blog" Party. Like any rockin' Block Party, everyone chips in something. So that's what's needed now -- your best pot luck dish, also known as ideas for challenges to post to keep others moving along. Things maybe you struggle with using when you scrapbook, or colors you shy away from, or even your favorite items, sketches or places of inspiration. Simply post in the comment section your idea for a challenge, or even the full challenge and I'll turn it into a post with a complete-by date. As any good hostess, I'll provide extra goodies -- both to those who come up with a challenge that I select and post and those who participate (I'll draw from participants for a winner.)

So come on, let's party like it's the end of the summer. Bring your best dishes (ideas) and we'll get this party started.

Water Color Summer

We just wrapped up shipping for the July kits. Holy moly, there are quite a few hefty boxes waiting for pick-up -- it's going to be like Christmas for those of you who took advantage of the 4th of July sale last weekend. Enjoy your goodies. Even if you missed last weekend, there are still some great deals to be had. Just check out the Table Scraps area. It was yet another day with showers -- or heavy downpours, lightening and thunder. I like these "water colored" days, especially since I'm not a fan of the summer heat. Usually summer colors are bold and vibrant, but add a little water, like a rainstorm and you get watered down versions of those colors. Still energizing, just softer. Like the ones in the My Mind's Eye Breaking Free kit. These double-sided papers are beautiful -- softer versions of red, orange and teal, but still perfect for those summertime photos or vacation shots.

And a kit just isn't a kit without its embellishments. So to these lovely papers we add a length of polka-dot ribbon, some cute little blooms with rhinestone centers, a great summer tag, a summer ticket and some mini brads -- in none other than swimming pool blue.

With your kit on the way, are you ready to play? Have your photos picked, or even in mind? No? Well, you've still got a couple days until that little red and blue box appears on your porch step.

Front Porch Thoughts

It's 10 pm. The sky is clear - the almost full moon has either already been up and back down or it hasn't risen yet, so you can see a fair amount of stars for "city folk." The baby is down, and has been for an hour and a half. The three older kids are up watching "The Parent Trap" but really should be getting ready for bed. But it's Sunday and it's summer, so I let them be. I'm sitting on my front porch, relaxing in an Adirondack chair that my husband built listening to the bugs chirp and the splashing of water from our fountain. And FINALLY, finally, enjoying some dry, cool Colorado summer air. If it weren't for the faint noise of cars in the distance, well and the lights on in the house across the street, I could envision myself out in the country, with a babbling brook and the peaceful stillness around me right now. This is one of those perfect moments for me. It's moments like these that I see captured and using with the October Afternoon Cherry Hill line -- they have that vintage feel that is so hot right now. These peaceful, simple moments. Pictures of my son fishing with his father. My daughter baking her favorite brownies. My middle son showing his baby brother picture books out on the front yard. Family and friends gathering for a "just because" night of food and fun. Cherry Hill evokes those down-home, back-to-basics, simplified life kind of photos. These double-sided papers are just delicious and I see so many options on what to do with them I can't decide which way to go.

Added to the papers are a bunch of lovely accents: puffy ones, sticker ones, floral ones, felt ones, title ones, journaling ones and buttons ones (both regular and chipboard with vintage prints). Makes my fingers itch to play with it all.

Look for your own simple-moment photos to pair up with your set of October Afternoon papers.

Patriotic (or not) Pages

Do you ever have those days where you get absolutely nothing done, but when you look back at the "why" nothing got done, you find you didn't do anything that occupied your day? Well, I've had several of those days in a row. I'm not seeming to accomplish anything, yet when I look at what's filling my days so much, nothing seems to be taking up my time. (shrug) What's a mom to do? How about scrapbook? Sometimes when we can't seem to get anything else accomplished creating a layout or two sure makes it feels like we did something. So, on one of these nothing-done days I had my youngest sister call to see if I wanted to scrapbook. I said "yes!" and I completed my first layout in 18 months. This Jenni Bowlin kit had been calling to me since we first put it together. So when I finally sat down to scrapbook this was my go to kit. I knew I wanted to scrapbook some 4th of July photos from a few years ago when we attended a really big backyard party and then went to the local fireworks show. These papers seemed perfect for the occasion. The obvious reason is the great red, white and blue color scheme. But the papers, while not your typical patriotic designs, had that backyard-small town-quaint feeling to them that would work well with the photos I had in mind.

The embellies that were paired with these papers are super fun and with the exception of the Bingo Card, they are, like the papers, usable with any event you want to scrapbook because they aren't patriotic in theme. So you've got the Bingo Card (which, really, could be used on any layout), the clear journaling card (got your Slick Writer?), a length of twill, some red rhinestones (totally sparkly) and a couple blooms . . . see, perfect for just about anything, including 4th of July.

This kit would also be great for any picnic or BBQ, not just those on the 4th, baseball or softball games and the bright color scheme would look great with winter activities.

So if you've had a done-nothing day, or you've been on a scrapbooking hiatus, take your cue from this kit, or any of the July kits that are just calling to you and get something accomplished.

Holy July 4th Sale, Batman!

We are so excited to bring this sale to you; we don't know where to begin. Shoot we have just a couple more little things to do, but we just couldn't wait any longer to bring you great savings and wonderful deals. Our July 4th Blowout starts today and runs through Monday, July 6th. Where do we start? How about here -- in Table Scraps which has been updated with all sorts of goodies. Start off with past kits, paper packs and TV Dinners where we have savings for you up to 40%. You'll find embellishment packs share the same great savings on things you love: alphabets, buttons, transparencies, frames, bling and so much more. The smokin' hot $1 spot is loaded with some items saving you up to 50%. As if great these savings weren't incentive enough -- we've got some super sweet deals in our One Day Only category. We've added some freebies to select items in there. Like buy some We R Memory Keeper layered tags and get a pack of matching paper FREE! Or a FREE Slick Writer with the purchase of select Maya Road Office Sheers. Those aren't the only deals like that in there -- there's more! Grab Bags of alphabets, journaling cards and rub-ons, a mini album or two; we give you the products, all they need is your imagination. Items in our One Day Only section are limited in quantity and once they are gone, they're gone. Items with "freebies" are marked as such in the description. But wait - there's even more! Everyone who shops this weekend will receive a return reward coupon (via email) to come back and shop some more and save an additional 20%. Those with purchases over $35 will receive a free gift with purchase. AND FINALLY . . .We're having a little contest and all you have to do is shop this weekend. The winner will be the shopper with the highest cumulative ticket(s) total and that lucky scrapper will receive one more goodie tucked in with her shipment. Sale runs through Monday, July 6th.* So come shop today and then come back tomorrow to pick up a little bit more! *Deadline for ticket sales in Monday, July 6th at 11:59 pm (MDT). Due to this sale, billing of our autoshipments and shipping we may not be able to notify our winner in advance of her shipment.

Road Trip!

My family was the king of road trips -- having five kids, flying was too expensive, so we hit the open road almost every summer. We've been coast to coast and north to south. At the time, getting there was sooo not half the fun; five kids in a hot, no a/c van (not a mini van - a van. No it wasn't even a conversion van!) for what seemed like weeks on end, with a father who thought stopping on the roadside to view some American oddity was fun and siblings who were bored 50 miles out of Denver. How my mother didn't leap from the moving car, I have no idea. However, as adults, reliving the "getting there" part can have us laughing so hard at the shared memories it can bring us to tears. The "getting there" stories rival our destination memories. Like tormenting a younger sister by freezing her Raggedy Ann doll and then telling her we threw it out the window. Or "surfing" in the back of the van - hanging off the seat belts which were flung over the back of the seats --- clearly this was before seat belt laws. Taking a head count to be sure everyone was in, only to pull out of the driveway and see a sister standing in the window. Ah, yes, those were the good old days. This was before we had scrapbooks, pictures yes, but there were no words to go with them, just our memories. So, this month's Little Yellow Bicycle line, Fresh Print Traveler, is just the ticket to document your vacation stories -- pictures and words. Regardless of whether you drive, fly, hike, bike or boat to your destination, these double-sided papers are going to make a perfect backdrop for your stories. The colors are crisp and the patterns are easy to work with. The map paper is really cool because it's heat embossed and sort of glossy.

Fun vacation photos need equally fun embellishments to help you tell your story. We've got just the ticket: a large clear film strip (these were bigger than I expected - 12" long), a fabric tag, a wild card, metal dog tag, rhinestone circles, summer title, length satin ribbon and some mini brads. Everything you need to map, mark and make your layouts complete.

Now, just because there is a map and some travel related items, don't think this kit can only document a vacation trip. Let it help you tell about your cross-country move, or moves if you do so on a regular basis, taking a child off to college, even heritage photos of how your family came to be where they are. There's enough paper in here to do non-travel layouts that just show off your simple summer themes.

Enjoy the ride with this kit and make sure you include those roadside stops.