Oh. There's still scrapbooking? I forgot!

Right...so...it's been a little bit since I've blogged. Or scrapbooked for that matter. But I wanted to share some fun layouts I did a few weeks ago with my sis-in-law. I have two completely different subjects as I just needed to finish up my layouts from...ahem...2010ish?? Yowzers. Anyway, here are the two pages I did for a Picnic layout with my pals in St. Louis:

It was really fun. We were in City Park, in downtown STL, just enjoying a beautiful day. Kinda the relaxing moment we all dream about when life gets hectic. 

In addition to those pages on a fine summer day, I jumped ahead about 5 months to a GORGEOUS winter day, Christmas Eve! Andy and I went out on the town for the sole purpose of finding some pretty spots to take pics. :)

I used Crate Paper's "Snow Day" collection, and am absolutely in LOVE with the chipboard pieces. I kinda sneezed them on my layout, but I like it. It's fun.

I should probably blog more, shouldn't I? Well, I do have plans of some more layouts that need to be completed. Perhaps I'll get them done in the next YEAR or so, photo op them, upload them, and chat about them here. ;) 

One can dream!

Ooh, Goody! Another Contest!

I didn't realize I was this into contests...but...OK, I'll go with it!

You know I'm a HUGE fan of pagemaps.com, right? I print monthly sketches, I'm a blog follower, and I try to keep up with them on Facebook too. Just yesterday, I saw a post that I just had to share: Pagemaps Blog Sketch contest. There's a cute little prize pack from a company called Punky Sprouts, and all you have to do is create a layout based on the sketch, post it somewhere (like your blog!) and leave a comment with the link to it. How easy is that?

For whatever reason, the sketch spoke to me, and I was motivated to create a layout. Here's what I came up with:




I used Moxxie's Faith line, to continue with my Moxxie kick I've been on, and scrapped some pretty pictures of the local Episcopal Church I took a couple of years ago. I think I'll go ahead and enter the contest, posting the link to this blog post. I challenge each of YOU to enter too, and post the links on the Pagemaps blog and here too so we can all see what you did! It's fun to share, isn't it?

It's a contest!

I absolutely adore all the independent brick and mortar stores that I make a habit of visiting to get my scrappy supplies. However, every once in a while, I need something they don't have, or I'm not near a scrappy store. For those occasions, I turn to one of my FAVORITES: Create For Less. They carry a lot of stuff, and are reasonably priced. As a nice "green" touch, they recycle their boxes, so when shipping, I may get a box that originally shipped them some cleaning products or crafty supplies.

The other day, they sent me an email for a contest they're holding. It's a Craft Room Makeover Contest, and they're choosing two winners to receive a $100 gift card. One person will be chosen for the BEST craft room, and another for the WORST craft room. Where does yours fall?

I actually entered to win the best craft room, mostly because I had a picture of my space all nice and tidy from a couple of years ago...I'm letting you know this for two reasons:
1. Don't bother entering for the best room, because I plan on winning! (Just kidding, but if you do enter and win, I might be a teensy bit jealous.)
2. I was finally motivated to start cleaning and organizing my room again. It's been a pit since...oh...Christmas, I guess?!? I've had various stages of mess, but it hasn't been properly cleaned in 6 months. :(

Anyway, I wanted to let all 15 of my loyal followers know about the contest so they can enter! Here's the link to the contest page: Craft Room Makeover Contest.

What are you waiting for!?!? Enter already!

Droooooooool...I Love This!

OK, I admit, it's been a LONG time since I've been really, really excited about something new in the scrapbooking industry. Sure, I enjoy new paper lines as much as (or perhaps more than) the next gal, but I'm positively GIDDY over the new tool from We R Memory Keepers. It's called the Lucky 8 Punch, and MAN...does it do cool stuff! I'm going to give you the link to their website so you can check them all out, but in the meantime, here are a few of the punches:

It looks like the way these bad boys work is that you can cut the outer shape, the inner pattern, or combine and do BOTH, transforming a regular old, boring piece of cardstock into a decorative edged shaped cardstock! Obviously you could do it with patterned paper too! The possibilities have me drooling. (Almost literally.)
Uh, hello?! How many times am I itching for a round die cut?! This is fabulous! I can make it any size I want: 2 inches, 12 inches!!
Seriously elegant. Here's the linky to see them all: Lucky 8 punches

I'm so excited, and I just had to share. The last time I was this crazed was probably when I first saw the Cricut demoed. That brings about a question:

What was the last scrapbooking item that made you positively giddy? Think tools, paper lines, adhesives...whatever.

Leave a comment! I'd love to hear your favorites from the past!

Card Camp Close-Ups

Hello!

Have you heard about our Micheggy Card Camp coming up in June? Michelle James and I have teamed together (thus the name "Micheggy"...get it?) to bring you an incredible technique-based card camp! Card Camp will be on Saturday, June 18th OR Saturday, June 25th at The Craft Spot in Emmetsburg from 8 am - 5 pm. (We will break for lunch on your own from noon to 1 pm.) In the other 8 hours, we will teach you 8 different techniques, making 3 cards/projects per technique. Yes, that means you will leave with 24 cards/tags/projects and 8 new ideas for making your own at home!

If you are a Craft Spot member, this just got better: The cost for members is $45, and the cost for non-members is $50. That means, if you are a member, the average cost per card is only $1.88, and non-members' average cost is $2.08. Not too bad, eh?

The techniques we will be covering are:

Glimmer Mist

Punches

Ribbon

Folding

Flocking

Textures

Digital

Flowers

We hope to show you some new and exciting ways to use these products on your projects. I think everyone will learn a few new things for sure!

Michelle sent out an email for The Craft Spot, highlighting some of the cards and techniques. We thought it would be fun to create a blog hop for you to get more information, so I started here! I am going to give you some more detail about the Glimmer Misting class!

Let's start with what Glimmer Mists are, just in case you're not sure. Glimmer Mists are a product made by Tattered Angels. It is a water based spray that has tiny particles of glitter in it, so when you spray it on, adds a shimmery effect. They can be used on a wide variety of surfaces to achieve different results. Here are the 3 cards we are making in this class, where we will use 8 different misting techniques!




Do you see the pretty orangeish-pink color on the left side? That's done using Glimmer Mists! We are also using a product called Smooch Inks on this card to give it a little more shimmer-oomph!


This card is probably my favorite of the 3 we are making in this class. I used 3 different colors of mists in 4 different ways! It's really pretty, and rather vintage-looking, which is not my usual style. (Uh-oh! Do I feel a new style coming on? Perhaps...)


This third card uses two more techniques for the Glimmer Mists. See that orangeish-pink color again? Ah, wait til you see WHY it matches the first card! It's a cool bit of information!


That's all I have for you today, but I'm thinking there will be some more info coming to you shortly on one of the following blogs:

Micheggy
Everyday Life

I can't wait to read your thoughts on these, and your anticipations of the rest! Please leave a comment. You know, there might actually be a prize at Micheggy Card Camp for one random commenter...Just sayin'.

Peggy

Beginner Cricut Class

About a year and a half ago, I sat down with my Cricut Expression machine, its owner's manual, and lots of scrap paper and learned every single function it has to offer. Then, I organized this information into an outline and then further into a class to help YOU all understand the capabilities of your Cricut Expression. I am now redesigning the class to incorporate one adorable layout!

If you'd like to take this class, I'm offering it on Monday April 18th, from 5-7 pm at The Craft Spot at K. Jackson & Co. The cost is $20, and you'll need to bring your Expression machine, mat, blade, and preferably the Plantin Schoolbook cartridge. If you don't have this cartridge, please bring one that is a plain font with some diecut shapes.

We will go through every function on the machine, practicing and learning, and using our cuts to make a layout. You will leave with an immense amount of knowledge, a "cheat sheet" handout to help you remember, and a 12x12 layout to use in your scrapbook!

To register for the class, you can email me at peggy@flourishscrapbookingsales.com, call me at (712) 298-0105, or call K. Jackson & Co. at (712) 852-8806. Space in the class is limited to 10, and your spot is not reserved until payment has been received.

For a Good Cause

I know most of you have probably already heard me refer to my training for the MS Challenge Walk in June. If you have, skip to the next paragraph, if you haven't, here's a short ditty about it! I am walking 50 miles in 3 days to raise awareness and funds for the National MS Society. As a whole, this is a worthwhile and meaningful effort, but it goes beyond that. I'm walking for my long-time friend, Bernie Poeppe-Merrill, who in July of 2006 was diagnosed with MS.

Now that we're all caught up, I'd like to remind you about my upcoming charity crop on April 30th. This will be held at the VFW in Emmetsburg, IA from 10am-10pm, and the cost is $50. 100% of the fee will go directly to the MS Society as part of my fundraising. I am required to raise at least $1000, so hopefully, this will be a huge step toward that goal. (or a bunch of little ones as the case may be...)

The crop itself will be fun, of course! Michelle is helping me with it, so it will be up to our usual high standard for a crop; fun, games, goody bags, prizes, etc. The added benefit is that YOU can feel good knowing you gave a donation for a good cause. (and it's tax deductible...win-win!)

Important note: Because 100% of the fee is being donated, snacks, beverages, and meals will not be provided. You can bring in yummies, order in with your pals, or run out to grab a quick bite. Subway, Dairy Queen, and A&W are within walking distance.

If you're ready to register, I've made it super-easy! Just click on this link
http://main.nationalmssociety.org/site/TR/Challenge/MOSChallengeWalkEvents?px=3324132&pg=personal&fr_id=15091

which takes you directly to my homepage on the National MS webpage, and click on "donate to Peggy." If you make a donation of at least $50 in your own name, you are officially registered for the crop! How easy is that?

If you'd like to mail me a check to register, you can do that too. Write a check of at least $50, payable to "National MS Society" and put "Peggy Stolley" in the memo section of the check. Send them to:

Peggy Stolley
1609 10th St
Emmetsburg, IA 50536

If you include a note with your phone # and email address, I'll send you a quick message to let you know you're registered...and that way if I need to get ahold of you for any reason, I'll have your info.

I should add that if you can't come, you can still click on the above link and make a donation. Every little bit helps. :) Thanks!

I hope people can come! I promise to make it fun!!