Happy Holidays!

Christmas isn't over until the last gift is opened! So until I see my sister Kristen, it's not over!

I bought myself the Revolution for Christmas! Oh do I love it! I bought it early so I could make a couple of gifts.

I think I am in love!

I am still in the midst of making a few things. I have a couple of birthday's coming up and of course...I am going to get creative.

I am on a spending moratorium for the next few months...since I overspent the last 2!!

So, no extrenuous shopping for the next 3 so I can make up for it. That leaves me open for my birthday in April! By then I should have used up a lot of my stockpile!

All I want for Christmas...

I wish I could say this was all I wanted for Christmas. But this isn't. I don't really "want" for anything.

I am realizing as I get older and as my kids get older...I want only for them to have fond memories of the holidays. Most especially Christmas.

I think my oldest will have the most fond memories...his birthday is Christmas Eve...so we always celebrate it all month long.

He gets gifts galore and is definitelythrilled about it. It's difficult but so worth it!

Anyway, this post isn't about how we celebrate him but I wanted to post about this great tool. I went to Ever After in Carlsbad and tested it out. I fell in love at the first turn of the handle. It's so easy to use...and the letters are just perfectly cut.

I don't know about you but whenever I use my hand tool...I end up only cutting it half way or having to trim it up because I can't push the hand tool tight enough.

This solves the problem. Just turn the handle until it comes out the other side...and voila! It's done...PERFECT. I would love to own one someday...

Dear Santa...

I have been good this year...
Well, mostly...

*grin*

I hope you get a chance to get one! If so, can I come over and share?

New Toy! (Not what you think)

I have decided that I need more storage for all my crap. So, I can now see my floor clearly...YIPPEE!

I purchased open top file folder holders...from Target..they are on wheels and are silver...so I can put them away out of sight (out of mind) until I need them.

I entered a contest on Creating Keepsakes for the Scariest Scrap Space. I truly believe I have it in the bag but have yet to be notified of winning...I suppose that notification will be arriving very soon! (grin)

I did purchase a paper trimmer...it's from Making Memories...Precision Paper Trimmer it's called!

Oh my goodness I LOVE IT!!

Go and get yours soon! You will be in love too!

Where Are My &^%%$#&(!**?

Um, I still have not managed to pull my office together. It drives my poor husband crazy...but I dont give a shit.

Not that I don't care about my office, I just have so much stuff I cannot contain it any longer...yet I keep buying more. What the hell is the matter with me? I keep trying to justify it in some way...like "It could be worse...it could be heroin."

Well, this is sort of my heroin...I can't stop buying more scrapbook related stuff and it sure as hell doesn't help matters any that my own flesh and blood mother owns a freaking scrapbook store. Yep, she does and I love it...

I thought being the buyer for her company was going to help curb my insatiable collectors appetite but no.

Why can't I just freaking scrap?

My best friend Jenn can whip out awesome pages and never have opened the cover of an idea book...she just creates...she says she doesn't consider herself a scrapbooker...why? Because she doesn't have the toys I have. WHAT?!? I want to shake her back and forth...is there a such thing as Shaken Mommy Syndrome? You know, death by SMS? She makes the most awesome pages I have ever seen...ones that could rival any freaking idea in one of those stinking idea books...and yet she's not a scrapbooker? SHUH!

I love her...but sometimes I just want to smack her...in a good way...

I tried to tell her that she has created more pages in her short time not scrapbooking than I ever have in my many years scrapbooking...does that make any damned sense? What the hell is the matter with me? I obviously got some issues...

I need to find a collectors annonymous group or something...this shit is out of control.

Another Font Maniac

I visited BlogHer and found an addict just like me.

Click on the title to find out more. :)

EA's Garage Sale

The garage sale took place on 9/30/06 at EA in Carlsbad. I carted down 2 very very large boxes of goodies to sell...I made 80 bucks. The store $ I earned tallied 123 but I have to subtract my supplies (ziplock bags) and the price of the privies to sell...$10...so that leaves me with 80 bucks...minus my time to pack it up...well, I guess that leaves me in the negative....

It's all good though. I already went shopping this morning, I picked up a couple of the things that didn't sell and left the rest to donate...I took back a new post bound 8 x 10 scrapbook...and a brand new craft bag...both I thought for sure would have sold...but didn't.

I sold my Fiskars Rotary Cutter with new blades...for 45 bucks...and a couple of books that were nearly new...and some page kits that were pretty much...well, old...shoot I purchased them at the original EA store...or shouls I say...the second one...when they moved from Elohim in Oceanside to EA in Firemoutain (still Oceanside)...they still had the OLD SKUs on them...

You know you have a really bad habit when your style "changes" before you can even get a style...if that makes any sense.

New Scrapbooker Syndrome...NSS for short. Read up on it in a future post.

Font Fanatic - Font Freak - Freaking NUTS for FONTS!

You name it- that's me. I have too many fonts actually but cannot bear to give up a single one.

I have so many it takes me FOREVER to decide which one to use...

Yah, I know, I think there's a name for it, OCD.

Check out this place, it is my favorite place to get fonts.

I just can't get enough

Creative fonts and alphabets for scrapbooks and cards - LetteringDelights.com

Creative Sketches

Do you have borrowed creative bones?
I know I do.

Sure, I can create stuff, but it's not my own ideas...I have lifted them from somewhere.

CK provides me with constant inspiration for my scrapbooking.

Creating Keepsakes Submit Your Ideas

Becky Higgins' sketches are so easy to follow and easily modified to fit your needs and of course she loves to be scraplifted.

If you have something good to share, CK loves to see it!

Decoupage

I have a large desk in my home office. I purchased it years ago for a song from Kaiser. They sold off their old furniture and I benefitted from it (Thanks Mom!)

My husband has painfully moved this beast from Fullerton to Oceanside, Oceanside to LA, LA to Oceanside, Oceanside to San Marcos... It is a BEAST! It's huge and is just exceptionally heavy.

Instead of having my step-dad make a counter top for me, I decided to use what I have. Once I use what I have efficienctly, then I will see if I truly need a counter top or is it just a "want". Since I decided this I wanted to do something to the desk to make it more inviting...something more Shabby Chic instead of just shabby.

Decoupage seemed to be the best answer...I used a gel medium form Golden...and tomorrow I will stipple a tinted glaze on it (blue tinted) and then put a sealer on it. Then, polyurethane the drawer faces to make it durable.

I have to say, I am thrilled with the results so far. I will share photos as soon as I locate my camera. I was dragging my feet about it not sure how to get started...once I did....I was unstoppable! I completed 5 drawer fronts in about an hour...and I am just thrilled with it.

Check back soon for photos. :)

Michellene

I am a scrapbooking momma!

You know, I don't know about you but I have become a collector. Oh shoot, become would imply that this is new to me....well it's not.

I believe I may have a compulsive disorder that doesn't allow me to move forward with something until everything that leads up to the actual act of scrapbooking is perfect. Does that make sense?

We moved into our new home last May (2005) and with it I have my own home office/scrapbook room. It's a good size room. I have yet to actually scrap a page in it.

Why? Well, I keep putting up obstacles for myself and my creativity by making these excuses in my head...oh I need this or I need that. It has more to do with not being able to find anything in it.

So, the last 2 weeks I have sorted and purged...there is still much more to go...

I have taken the first baby steps though towards getting the scrapbook room together. I have a designated work space and designated scrap space. I have tons of storage and actually placed shelves on the wall all by myself! I have many stamps and stamp pads for scrapping that I have purchased several old (vintage) spice racks to use...I want to paint them white and shabby-chic-ify them before I put them up though. See what I mean?

I have some other things too to put on the wall to store the frequently used items...or in my case...what I THINK I might use frequently since I haven't made time to use it.

Pathetic isn't it?

HELP!