Happy Halloween!

Have a safe and happy Halloween, full of treats!

Don't forget to check back tomorrow to see if you were a winner in the Cricut roller bag and cartridges giveaway...   you can still enter up to midnight, PST - you may receive your best treat from my doorstep.  Y'all come back now!

Yours truly,

Julie :)

Tempus Fugit

They say time flies when you're having fun.  Well, here's a newsflash, it flies whether you're having fun or not especially when you don't want it to.  I have to say though that life is good.  It's just busy.....  I've been trying to catch up on some design work this week, but I am way behind and my "other" life is busy too - you know the one that cooks, cleans, does laundry, grocery shopping, etc.  I have some more product to put in my shop, but can't even find a few minutes to photograph it.  I'm also trying to put some storybooks together for my grandchildren.  I have a Unibind Photobook Creator and love being able to create my own books.  I have photos of taking the kids to the zoo, aquarium and circus and thought I could add text and create some fun story books that would be all about them.  Hopefully they'll be done in time for Christmas - 2010!  I'll share pictures of them when they're finished.

My son and his wife are arriving tomorrow to stay for a few days.  It's "homecoming" weekend, so it'll be another few days before I get back to "work".

Y'all come back now!

Yours truly,
Julie :)

Grand Opening!!

Remember about a week ago, I said I was going to open an Etsy shop?  Well after signing up and spending hours on wording, photos and a whole lot more, I have opened my shop - but not on Etsy.  I got to thinking - always a dangerous pastime, usually while I'm driving.  I really don't want to be in the "selling" business, but I have things that I can give away.  Unfortunately, there are charges involved in getting something from A (me) to B (you).  Therein lay my dilemma - I can give away the product, but it has to ship.  So, I had an awesomely bright idea and have opened my shop on my website.  There you'll find a photo of things I can send you.  Just click on the shop banner above and it will take you there.  Since shipping charges vary from state to state, each item will have a set fee - same for everyone and easy for me.  It will be loosely based on the size of those pre-paid boxes the USPS is advertising.  I will try to use the smallest box, but if I need a bigger one, I will add some "goodies".  You will definitely get more than your cost for shipping.   Hope you like the idea!

Here's a picture of the first kit for the Christmas Crafts projects.  It even includes things like scissors, glue, glitter paint, sponge brush, etc., and most of the pieces are pre-cut.

These are the projects again.  The instructions are here on my blog under PAGES in the sidebar.

Enjoy!

Yours truly,
Julie :)

Witching Hour!

Don't forget!   Midnight on October 31st is the last second to enter the drawing for the Cricut roller bag and cartridges!  Winners will be announced Monday, November 1st.  Good Luck!

Yours truly,

Julie :)

It's a Slippery Slope

Can you believe it's already October, the beginning of the busiest craft season of the year! During the next few weeks we'll be decorating for Halloween/Fall, if you haven't done so already, followed by Thanksgiving then Christmas (or any other holiday you may celebrate). It's definitely not too soon to start thinking about all the cool gifts and decorations you can make to amaze your friends and family.

My friend, and business partner, Jean, and I taught Christmas craft classes at the CHA Supershow this past summer in Chicago. Christmas in July is always a "stretch" for me, but October.... well that's another story. If I don't start now, nothing will get done. I have to admit though, that I live by the old adage, "if it weren't for the last minute, nothing would get done". Christmas is like birthdays, it comes every year whether we're ready or not, and each New Year I make a resolution to be more prepared - let's just say, I'm not the boy scout type.......

However, YOU may want to start early, so here are photos of the projects I designed for my Christmas Crafts class. All the supplies are easy to find at your local craft store and I will post a list of instructions on the Christmas Crafts page (see left column under pages). I also have some kits available, which I will post in my Etsy shop. The kits will include everything you need to create ALL of the projects, including things like glue! ETSY Shop!!!!!! Yes, I have an Etsy shop, but it's empty at the moment.........

You'll have to be patient with me, I still have to load everything to the shop. Once I've got it all figured out, I will announce the GRAND OPENING of Craft Lane Designs. Hopefully it will be up and running by the weekend. I have "Nana duty" thru mid October, so my time is a little limited at the mo; another reason I haven't posted for a week! My bad.............

Yours truly,
Julie :)

20% Off Everything Coupon for Michaels!

Here's a fantastic coupon from Michaels - your one stop, shop till you drop shop for arts & crafts! It's their Friends & Family coupon and here's a copy for you. Just click and drag onto your desktop, then print away! Valid Sep.30th - Oct 2nd; just in time for all your remaining Halloween purchases and more! (Restrictions apply.) Enjoy!

Yours truly,
Julie :)

Quick & Easy Embellishments!

I design a lot of shapes and images and use these to create quick and easy embellishments for my own scrapbook pages, cards and tags. Images can be imported into a Microsoft Word document, sized then printed onto almost any paper. I also print titles and even personalized paper ribbon. Check out the Projects, Tips & Techniques page for some ideas and I will even share some of my images with you on the Images page. Please note, these are copyrighted images for personal use only.

Here's an additional tip: Print a selection of the Halloween images onto adhesive ink jet transparency paper then adhere to the outside of a glass candle holder, or glass cylinder. They make great table decorations! You can also print onto ink jet fabric then iron onto a T-Shirt or apron! There are so many ways you can be creative! Enjoy! Y'all come back now!

Yours truly,
Julie :)

Newsletter

I am the editor/designer of a new newsletter. It goes "live" today at the Memory Keeping Collection website. Each month I'll be bringing you scrapbooking and papercrafting tips, plus information on any new offerings from Ashton Drake Galleries. You'll also notice that they're having a drawing for a new Cricut. All you have to do is to go to their Facebook page and "like" them to qualify.

I'm also having a drawing for the month of October! It's for a Cricut roller bag with 3 Cricut cartridges! Plus I have two additional sets of 4 cartridges each to give away.

Blog "followers" will be automatically entered, so sign up here, or leave me a comment on why you like to use the Cricut for papercrafting. The winner will be announced on NOVEMBER 1st.

Y'all come back now.............

Yours truly,
Julie :)

ScrapFest - Last Day!

This was such a great event! Thanks to all of you who joined us for MITIs over the past 3 days. Everyone seemed to really enjoy the projects and had a lot of fun! Jean created the projects for Mark Richards, the company who manufactures the Sticker Pearls and Crystals - bling is definitely a girl's best friend whether she's a crafter or not.

Everyone loved the paper we used for the cards. It was donated by Basic Grey, Little Yellow Bicycle and SEI. The SEI, shell glitter paper seemed to be everyone's favorite. Unfortunately, it was a summer shipment and Archiver's quickly sold out. It's possible that it's still available from an online store. I sent SEI a message last night thru Facebook to ask if it's still available and where, so I'll let you know if I hear anything.

It was such a treat to meet everyone - I had a great time. Hopefully I'll get to join you again next year! In the meantime, keep checking back for projects, giveaways, more tips and techniques both here and on Jean's blog, "Just Crafty Me".

Hopefully everyone was able to sample many of the other MITIs around the Mall in spite of the long lines. There were so many great vendors who participated this year including EK Success Brands, Prima, Karen Foster Designs, Graphic 45 (I just LOVE their product line), Doodlebugs, Little Yellow Bicycle, Making Memories and more!

Now here's what's coming up here over the next few weeks:

1) Giveaways • A rolling bag for your Cricut, including 3 Cricut cartridges, plus 2 additional sets of 4 Cricut cartridges each.
2) Newsletter • I'm writing a monthly newsletter at the Memory Keeping Collection website. This will go live on September 23rd. They are also having a drawing for the new Cricut! Check their site for details.
3) Quick & Easy Cardmaking • Make 3 cards from one, 12" x 12" sheet of cardstock!

Over 2,000 MITI projects were made in our booth over the past 3 days! That was quite a crafting marathon. Needless to say Jean, Pat and I are a bit on the tired side, so it's time to kick back and put our feet up. Y'all come back now!

Yours truly,
Julie

ScrapFest!

Wondering why today's post is listed as being posted on Friday, September 17th when it's Saturday, September 18th. Have we crossed into the twilight zone I wonder....... Tomorrow is Sunday, September 19th and I'll be posting a wrap up of the show. Photos and notes from the first 2 days are below. Enjoy! Ya'll come back now............

Yours truly - albeit a bit confusedly,
Julie :)

ScrapFest - Day 2! Saturday, September 18th

900 MITIs yesterday and about 700 today..... how fun! Lots of ladies who stopped by yesterday came back today to make a second project with us. We really had fun... and THAT is the name of the game. We really LOVE what we do and I think everyone enjoyed being creative with us.

We even tried to make waiting in line fun. We showed episodes from the new series of Scrapbook Memories on a laptop - until the battery gave out - shared ideas, tips, techniques and stories and read lots of T-Shirt slogans!

Thanks Archiver's for such a great event! Ya'll come back now.......

Yours truly,
Julie :)

ScrapFest! Friday, September 17th

Today is the first of 3 days of ScrapFest at the Mall of America in Minneapolis, sponsored by Archiver's stores. I hadn't been to ScrapFest for quite a few years, so it was great to see how busy it still is. Hundreds of people lined up around vendor booths for the MITIs and registered for workshops and demos by some of the industry's most popular manufacturers.

The lines snaked up and down the hallways of the Mall of America where the wait for some of the MITIs was up to 90 minutes.

This is a great event for friends who come for a weekend getaway and mothers and daughters who share their love of scrapbooking and crafts.

My friend, and business partner, Jean (Just Crafty Me) plans and designs the MITI projects for Mark Richards, the company responsible for fabulous bling! We provided about 900 MITIs between 9am & 5pm, just today and we still have 2 days to go!

Check back tomorrow for even more updates! Ya'll come back now..........

Yours truly,
Julie :)