No Time for Scrapbooking

Wow - Life has a way of taking over your time. First the move to Boise from Portland - which was a LOT of work - and then 9 days spent in California with my father-in-law cleaning and prepping his house for sale. I love HGTV and it was fun to play Sabrina Soto for a week. I can't come close to her skill level, but it was still fun to try - it was like going to a staging fantasy camp for a week.

Here are some before and after shots:

Upstairs Bedroom

This is where I spent a majority of my time. It was sort of a catch-all storage room and the remnants from when my father-in-law's other son lived there. We turned it into a proper bedroom.

Before:

and after:




We packed up everything and once it was empty, the other half of the work started. I painted the walls to make it look fresh.



Living room

Before:



and after:


We didn't do much to this room - mostly just removing a lot of furniture and knickknacks.

We removed all of the blue accents in the living room area to neutralize it and changed out the curtains to bring in more light. We removed a chaise lounge at the back and added a dedicated dining area and left some blue accents in the new dining area to help define it.

We also removed a few other pieces of furniture to open the area up. We took out the screen and moved the bar area into the family room. Finally, we removed a buffet table from behind the couch. Once we moved the couch back, it made the room feel larger.

Oh, I almost forgot - I painted the foyer from apple green to almond paste.



Downstairs Bath

Before:

and after:


So those are the most dramatic photos. I did a lot of other little things, too, like removing little things from the walls all over the house, changing out the art and shower curtain in the hall bath upstairs, painting the window sill in the smaller guest bedroom, and painting the kitchen ceiling (when Cyn passed away she was in mid-progress painting it from gray to yellow). We took a paint chip to Lowe's and though it wasn't big enough to match a color using their computer, we eye-matched it and got a perfect match.

Not only did I get to see my dad and some friends, I also got to see some wildlife while I was down there. A pack (actually, I just looked it up and technically it's called a "rafter") of turkeys lives in the neighborhood and every morning they comb the streets looking for bugs and food. Cyn always referred to them as a gang of hoodlums. They look so funny skulking around. And the cutest thing about it all is that a quail was born around the same time as some of them and adopted into the group. It looks so funny and out of place - this tiny little bird hanging out with these big huge birds - and it behaves just like them.



I am still not used to living in a MUCH smaller metropolitan area than Portland. I was a little surprised to find out there was only one direct flight per day from Sacramento to Boise. Then, when I got to the airport and saw this waiting for me, it was confirmed. I live in a very small place now. And I like that. I might not like tiny little prop planes, but I like the small town feel of my new city.

Yup, that's all the passengers out on the tarmac waiting for their carry-on bags. Since there is no real storage space above the seats, they offer what is called "a la cart", where they tag it with a green tag and store it in the belly of the plane kinda like a grey hound bus, which is sorta how the plane felt. And you board by going out onto the tarmac and climbing up the open door stairs. Yes, I live in a very small city now.

After I landed, we went straight from the airport to a small stamping expo (around 20 vendors) - hey, I know where my priorities lie! I got some patterned paper - 9 sheets for $0.35 each - and they're really cute. I think they're retired Stampin' Up paper. (I need more patterned paper like I need a hole in the head, but that didn't stop me.) I also got a couple of stamps and some older issues of Close to My Heart catalogues for $1 each. They have some really cute ideas in them and I can't wait to try them out.

So, now that I'm done moving and helping my FIL sell his house (hopefully soon!), it's time to get back to scrapping. I am two months behind on my club and I have a few projects that need to be finished. I can't wait! I haven't scrapped in almost two months!

Grateful

I am very grateful for my wonderful husband, who is just the most amazing man I've ever met. Look what came in the mail for me today:


I want to do my scrapbook room in light pink with lots of vintage & French accents. This will be perfect. I absolutely love it and think it is the cutest thing I've seen in a long, long time.

New ATG Gun

Okay, so the first time I saw it, I thought, "I want that."



But then I started digging around and found out that A) it's not industrial strength and B) I can make my gun pink just by getting a can of spray paint like these people did:


So as soon as I have a space to do it in, I will be painting my ATG gun (the best tape dispenser ever) a soft pink.

And then, who knows?

How to Annoy Your Customers

This is a lesson brought to you by Creating Keepsakes and Scrapbooks etc.

So how does a desperate company irritate its few remaining customers? Well, Creating Keepsakes (who filed for a reorg about a year ago due to financial difficulty) has decided the following would be a cute scam to pull over on their mailing list: Send out unsolicited DVDs charging those who do not mail them back $7.00 and enroll them in a club to get more for $7 a pop. I was appalled. I mean, really? Really? This is how you want to treat your mailing list and client base? Tragic.



While, Creating Keepsakes tactic is obnoxious and offensive, Scrapbooks etc.'s merely reeks of desperation. It's as if the executives sat around and said, "Hey, we need money. I have a brilliant idea. Let's send out renewal slips to those customers who have just received their second issue in a year long subscription." And another says, "Yes! That's a great idea!" And really, it isn't. I opened the thing and started thinking, "Oh, man. Did they mess up somewhere and think my subscription is ending soon?" Nope. It shows near my mailing address (highlighted in yellow) that, indeed, my subscription runs through to April of 2011. So why am I receiving a renewal notice telling me my subscription "is now up for renewal" in June of 2010? SO annoying.



Alright, rant over. Back to scrapping. So much more pleasant than opening the mail.

P.S. I just had to add that I love that Scrapbooks etc. thinks my name is Marlene. Awesome.

Winner, Winner, Chicken Dinner

I can't believe I actually won a blog giveaway. I am very stoked! Thanks, Generations Crafting!

Creating Keepsakes Convention - Portland

So this post is long overdue, but I still want to make a record of my amazing time at the convention. I volunteered for the Friday evening shift and signed my husband up to volunteer, as well. (Yes, I am super lucky to have such a great guy.) We arrived, found the volunteer sign-in table and were assigned to different rooms. We parted to go to our respective assignments. I was a little nervous as I had never volunteered and wasn't sure what was expected of me. But there was nothing to be worried about. I had a blast and as it turns out, very little was expected of me. I took tickets, passed out kits, walked around with a completed sample of the project, and helped clean up when the class was over. Easy, peasy.

The first class I was in was run by Awesome Albums and the project was a cute little acrylic album. Here are some pics:













The instructor was friendly and nice, but a little disorganized and she didn't have very clear instructions (no measurements included). It also irked some of the class participants that there were no photos in the instructions. Apparently, she'd had a less-than-stellar class earlier in the day where people actually walked out. Ouch. That class lasted about an hour and then I went out to the volunteer desk to get my next assignment.

The volunteer organizer sent me back to the same room for the next class, which was run by Angela from the Button Farm. She sells amazing kits with awesome full-color instructions. She was extremely organized and did an amazing job. She even had a Power Point presentation with photos showing each step. About half-way through, I thought to myself, "This is what every class experience should look like." Everyone was having a great time. Everyone was impressed with her. Her project was another acrylic album made using Basic Grey products. It was absolutely adorable and I picked up some nifty techniques I was able to use in the Blue's Clues album posted below this post. Here are some pics:
























The other volunteer that worked with me was super sweet. She was there with her sister, and her sister ended up in the same room as my husband. We were able to direct them to a restaurant afterward.

I had an amazing time, but boy was I pooped. My feet hurt from standing for four hours, but it was well worth it and I can't wait to volunteer again.

The next day, we went to the exhibitor hall, which was not what I was expecting, but was wonderful just the same. I was expecting more vendors of scrapbook products like Prima, Graphic 45, My Mind's Eye, etc. There were a couple of manufacturers represented, like Technique Tuesday and Queen & Co, but for the most part, the exhibitors were made up of small business people selling kits, premade pages, secondary products (i.e. stamps that go with Nestibilities), and retired brand name products for $1. I was there mainly to see the layouts used to advertise each seller's products and there was a plethora of them so I was in hog heaven. It was fabulous! It was like going to a scrapbooking museum. I had been warned by some of the other convention participants that you weren't allowed to take photos and I could understand why. I wouldn't want someone stealing my layout design and making it using other products purchased elsewhere. But, boy I wished I could have preserved them somehow for future reference. They were amazing!!! Maybe next time, I'll sketch them out while Spencer waits in the food court area. I had so much fun looking at all of them, but I was a little overwhelmed by the crowds. The aisles were jam packed. Twice, Spencer was recognized from the previous day's classes and the women gushed about how wonderful he was as an assistant. "Oh, you're so lucky. He was so great!" Don't I know it. I've got a keeper. He is wonderful. But, where was the love for Marieke?

After going through the convention we went out to the Creating Keepsakes booth which was near the volunteer sign-in and spent our gift certificates, which was very fun. I have to say I was a little disappointed by the lack of selection (there were about 10 products to choose from) but was very happy with what I ended up with. I found it interesting they didn't allow you to purchase a subscription with your gift certificate. Oh, well. I got some neat things to try out. See below to view pics of what I ended up with.

My Convention Haul

Here are pics of everything I got. Volunteering for 8 hours really pays. Some were freebies from the instructors (shhhh...they're not supposed to give anything to the volunteers), some were giveaways from the vendors and the rest was purchased with our gift certificates.

FREEBIES FROM INSTRUCTORS & VENDORS





1. Making Memories Slice Apron
2. Acrylic Album
3. Recipe Cards, Prima Flowers, Fabric-Covered Brads, Brown Buttons, A Large Blue Button and Making Memories Ribbon
4. Laser-Cut Sample (Perfect for a card front, I think) They are about 6 x 6 in measurement.





BOOKS







A SCRAPBOOK ALBUM KIT WITH INSTRUCTIONS, RUB-ONS, & STAMPS













EXTRA LARGE FOAM STAMPS FOR USE WITH ACRYLIC PAINT







I was surprised by how large these were. You can kinda get a sense of their size in first photo which shows a hand and arm in the pic. The ones in the photograph directly above are 12 inches long to be used as borders. I'm looking forward to trying these out.