Scraps From My Heart

The Best of the Blogosphere Scrapbooking lists . Remember these lovely little boxes don’t show up in Google Reader, so if you can’t see them, click on over to my site and they will magically appear. (When you see the boxes, there is a small “read more” in the bottom, right hand corner… click it and you can see the list with pictures as a web page!) Thumbs Up! Scrapbooking Inspiration Scrapbooking Mini-Books Hybrid (or “Fusion”) Scrapbooking Ideas: Fun with Photoshop: Please remember that my site is powered by YOU. Please comment here if you’d like me to read your blog or if you have seen some amazing blog art that I’m missing! Thanks!

I’m still here! I’ve been working on finishing up a birthday gift for my little sister, who I can’t believe is going to be 11 next week! Where has the time gone? I’ve also been dealing with a lovely almost-stiff neck from cranking my head to the side while trying to talk on the phone and do something with both hands. I know better than to do that! Oops! Anyway, here are some pages I created last week with some of our vacation photos. I also used my own creations on these two pages. I’ve been working on putting together my own kit, and I thought I would try it out on some pages to see how I like using my own designs. And I have to say I like using them very much. I don’t have journaling on these pages yet. I’ve been working on the journaling part of it. The journaling will be added later. Note to self: do the journaling ASAP so you don’t forget things!

I’m still here! I’ve been working on finishing up a birthday gift for my little sister, who I can’t believe is going to be 11 next week! Where has the time gone? I’ve also been dealing with a lovely almost-stiff neck from cranking my head to the side while trying to talk on the phone and do something with both hands. I know better than to do that! Oops! Anyway, here are some pages I created last week with some of our vacation photos. I also used my own creations on these two pages. I’ve been working on putting together my own kit, and I thought I would try it out on some pages to see how I like using my own designs. And I have to say I like using them very much. I don’t have journaling on these pages yet. I’ve been working on the journaling part of it. The journaling will be added later. Note to self: do the journaling ASAP so you don’t forget things!

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After a much needed break, I’m going to try blogging on a regular basis again.? Wish me luck! Best of the Blogosphere lists. Remember these lovely little boxes don’t show up in Google Reader, so if you can’t see them, click on over to my site and they will magically appear. (When you see the boxes, there is a small “read more” in the bottom, right hand corner… click it and you can see the list with pictures as a web page!) The Shout Out List (my favorite CARDS OF THE WEEK): The cards and projects that earned some extra love and attention this week. The best of the best. You people ROCK MY WORLD Other Categories: Valentine: Love:? Flowers: Teacher: Card Sets: Wedding: Invitations: Friendship: Wrap it Up: Favors (Party favors…): Thank You: Birthday: Gift Ideas: Baby: Boxes: The Best of the Blogosphere : In my travels through Blogland, I discover a lot of projects, cards, scrapbook pages, tips, templates and tutorials that are all worth sharing. I want my friends to see the things out there that are special, inspirational, worth some extra notice. This list is everything I think is worth sharing… better read it… you could be on the list! Please remember that my site is powered by YOU. Please comment here if you’d like me to read your blog or if you have seen some amazing blog art that I’m missing! Thanks!

OK, some more pictures from CHA (Craft and Hobby Association)! Warning: self-indulgent personal stories to follow - read with caution. We got to go to a fabulous party hosted by SEI, one of our main sponsors on the Holidays with the Cricut blog. While there, we got to preview some of their newest lines and WOW, are they cute! We can’t wait to preview their new things for you - so keep an eye out! While we are in there, Tammy is wearing this black T-shirt that she had made up that says “Calendar Girls” on the back in rhinestones. Next thing you know, our contact at SEI comes running by and shouts at the top of her lungs, “OOOOOHHHHH! The Calendar Girls!!! I just love you guys!!”, gives us a quick hug, and darts away. It happened in like a 5 second span of time. Well, Tammy is beaming because she knows it was the shirt that made that happen. The shirt we all went to make but then Melanie and I balked at due to the cost. Um-hmm. That’s right….bad choice on our parts. So, with humble pie in my mouth, I say to Tammy, “That $%$@* shirt! You were right! We should have gotten them! Who would guess?” Tammy just starts laughing… Here’s my new friend Bryan - a man crafter of the finest quality! Melanie, Tammy and I were anxious to meet him as we’ve corresponded multiple times on the Cricut message board. He is absolutely HILARIOUS! The stuff he says is just priceless - I felt like I should take notes while he talked so I could be funnier. Some of my favorite phrases he introduced me to include: “Shut the front door!”, “That’s so 2000 and late….” and “Jesus…take the wheel” (from the song of the same name). We went out to dinner with him at Downtown Disney, watched fireworks and took some memorable cab rides with unusual drivers. In the photo above (L-> R): Tammy, Kimber McGray, me and Melanie A little backstory on this photo is needed. For starters, I had been watching/following Kimber McGray and her gorgeous work for YEARS over on 2peasinabucket.com. So, we walk into the Jillibean Soup booth and start talking to Jill (the Jill in Jillibean) and she calls Kimber over. So, like a fool, I start falling all over myself and saying things like, “Are you Kimber McGray?…..OMG! It’s Kimber McGray!!!! (insert squeal of delight at a loud volume) I’ve been following you for years on 2 peas and I just think you are amazing! Everything you make is just fabulous and gorgeous! I can’t believe I’m meeting you…can I get a picture with you? Here, stand next to me! I feel like a stalker (insert nervous laugh)” and more. She handled it so nicely and didn’t back away in horror. You may not know this but I am loud and when I met her I was practically screaming. Oh, it was a scene! So, the next day, we walk by the booth again and I’m sure she is going to hide behind the counter if she spots me. But she comes right up to me and asks to take a picture with me! SHUT THE FRONT DOOR! I couldn’t believe it! If you haven’t checked her work out, click HERE to head over to her blog. But really, you’ve already seen her stuff because she has been in magazines, BOOKS, on design teams, etc. - I guarantee you’ve seen her work! She’s all over the Cricut Card book - she’s amazing! OK, celebrity gushing over now… well, almost over…. This was a strange two-some to happen upon but we had to get a photo. Weird though that these two characters were together - I mean, aren’t they from really different movies? Beetlejuice and Shrek? Is it me? Anyway, they were good sports and Shrek was quite flirtatious so it was all fun! Leave a comment (if you’ve made it this far) and let me know if this was remotely interesting…I usually refrain from these types of posts but I figured that since it was Saturday, maybe I could put this in and it wouldn’t distract from the regular, serious content. Subscribe to Obsessed with Scrapbooking to learn more about ways to use the Cricut in your scrapbooking!

Winner(s)!! Surprise!!! I had such an amazing response to my giveaway that I decided to give away TWO things! FIRST PRIZE - You Pick One Cartridge from Hallmark Scrapbook - chosen from the Once Upon A Princess Post SECOND PRIZE - Deep Cut Blade and Housing for the Cricut - chosen from “How to Make a Pedestal Card” Post So, MDog and Sandy, please contact me at obsessedwithscrapbooking@gmail.com to get your prizes! You have two weeks to respond. Now, onto business… Today’s feature is about an online store that sells custom or premade scrapbook pages, for those times when well, you don’t have enough time. They even have premade scrapbooks, ready to go! My 2 Scrappy Chicks is comprised of two fabulous scrapbookers that I knew from the Recollections store in Texas. They are incredibly talented and have just the cutest designs! If you are needing some cute layouts, you should head over to their site. Check them out here: My 2 Scrappy Chicks Subscribe to Obsessed with Scrapbooking to learn more about ways to use the Cricut in your scrapbooking!

Happy Friday post-CHA friends! I’m back from my adventure after doing pretty much nothing but editing photos and Facebooking all day yesterday. Talk about a zero energy day! True confession: after literally not being able to get to sleep until after 4:45 AM the night I got home because I had so many ideas running through my head, I didn’t even get out of my jammie pies on Thursday whatsoever. I’m hoping to be recovered from the brain drain today, but I’m takin’ it slow. Friends, we had an absolute b-l-a-s-t at CHA this year starting with the Consumer SuperShow on Friday and ending with a mad dash to see as many products as possible before our flight home on Wednesday afternoon. And even though the very reason we go to CHA is to see what’s new so we can bring you the freshest content possible in the pages of Paper Crafts magazine , it’s also very much, and perhaps even more importantly, all about the people we get to meet and greet along the way. I don’t recall a time when we’ve had the occasion to meet so many brand new friends as we did this year: …and it’s always so wonderful to see the people who live inside my heart as the years go by: It’s an absolute thrill to get to rub elbows (or cheeks!) with the geniuses behind the products we all love so much: …and we know that the connections that run between the members of our team are rare, strong, and deep: But perhaps the newest and most wonderful thing of all was that I got to share it all with you for the first time ever on the Moxie Fab World Fan Page on Facebook . As we walked the floor together in a virtual world of instant photographic bliss, you and I, I really did feel like you were with me. Your reactions and comments made the experience so much more special–for everyone on the Paper Crafts team. In fact, we found ourselves gathering over the warm glow of my iPhone screen each time I stopped to post wondering who would think what of whatever it was I was offering up next. So thanks to all of you who “liked” or commented during the 6 days we were gone. You made the experience all the more richer, and I’m honored to have had the opportunity to get to know each one of you better at CHA as well: Let’s do it again in Chicago, shall we? Well, I’d better skeedaddle, Moxie Fabbers! I’ve got loads to prepare for CHA Week next week where I’ll be showing you as much moxie fab goodness from the show as you can possibly STAND! I’ll have one more must-see product from CHA Summer for Moxie Monday and then the moxie fab parade will begin! Oh–and I will have a new Tuesday Trigger for you, so be sure and get them loaded up before then! Have a moxie fab weekend, friends. I’m secretly hoping for it to go by really fast so we can get to the yummies that much faster! Chomping at the bit, ~Cath PS I’d like to say a big “thank you” to my pals Brandy and Kelly for helping me out with the posting this week. I couldn’t have done it without you, you chic chicas! You’re the moxie fabbiest of them all!

Every couple of weeks Little Dreamer has a challenge. This time it’s a journaling challenge. I love these kinds of challenges! Check out the blog for more information about winning a $5 gift certificate for the store! { credits } Journaling can be quite intimidating at times, but it doesn’t have to be. Ever since I was 13 years old (or so) I have kept a journal. Journaling has helped me so much throughout the years. I love to scrapbook, but sometimes I focus so much on the pictures that I forget about journaling. So what I do is challenge myself to journal first and add the pictures later. There are even times when I don’t add pictures. I look at scrapbooking as a book for others to read. What do I want them to know about me? I want them to see more than pictures of me. I want them to know me, the real me, raw and real. I also like to look at some pictures I would like to scrapbook and I journal about them first. I don’t even worry about what font or font size I will use. I just write to my heart’s content. Sometimes it’s only a few words. Sometimes it’s several paragraphs. We also have the freedom not to journal. Maybe there’s just one word added to a page. The most important thing is to portray what the pictures or memory speaks to your heart.

Every couple of weeks Little Dreamer has a challenge. This time it’s a journaling challenge. I love these kinds of challenges! Check out the blog for more information about winning a $5 gift certificate for the store! { credits } Journaling can be quite intimidating at times, but it doesn’t have to be. Ever since I was 13 years old (or so) I have kept a journal. Journaling has helped me so much throughout the years. I love to scrapbook, but sometimes I focus so much on the pictures that I forget about journaling. So what I do is challenge myself to journal first and add the pictures later. There are even times when I don’t add pictures. I look at scrapbooking as a book for others to read. What do I want them to know about me? I want them to see more than pictures of me. I want them to know me, the real me, raw and real. I also like to look at some pictures I would like to scrapbook and I journal about them first. I don’t even worry about what font or font size I will use. I just write to my heart’s content. Sometimes it’s only a few words. Sometimes it’s several paragraphs. We also have the freedom not to journal. Maybe there’s just one word added to a page. The most important thing is to portray what the pictures or memory speaks to your heart.