Most people get into business to make money, and I would not be totally honest if I did not include that in my reasons, but my number ONE reason for opening Scrappersaurus was to make a difference.. to be part of and spread the warmness of our human nature.
Two days ago an event took place at the store that re-affirmed my beliefs and warmed my heart. Although it was a tragic event that brought it forth, it filled the store with love, compassion, family, and celebration.
I received a phone call around 10:15am from a very heavily-accented Spanish lady who I will call Mrs S. She was making a memorial collage of her young son who passed away tragically the past weekend. She was quite upset as you can imagine and her thoughts were quite scattered. But, she did know that she wanted to make a large poster board sized collage of her son's pictures from birth through the most recent, to display at the ceremony.
She Googled us and thought that we could help. We were delighted to be able to help her, and she came in about an hour later with some of her family. She, her two sisters, and two gentlemen came in with her. She was toting a large poster board and two boxes of pictures. Their distress was so great, we felt so deeply for this family. She laid her pictures out and her family gathered around our crop tables.
We talked a while, Mrs. S. spoke fluent English, but the rest of her family spoke Spanish with just a few English words. Luckily I understand most Spanish and speak it quite well. The compassion of this family as they poured over all the wonderful snapshots of their beautiful baby boy (he was 24 when he died) was so heavy that you could feel it surrounding you in the store.
I introduced them to the Koyuko, our tool table, and shared some ideas I had to make their collage. They spent most of the day with us. Even Felix got involved with one of the husbands. That was funny watching Felix trying to communicate with the Spanish-speaking man. Felix has enough trouble with English! But they got along quite well. Felix showed him the Epson Scrapbook Central System and the man was in heaven! He scanned some of his favorite pictures, burned them to a CD, and even e-mailed them to family members living in El Salvador. I believe that everyone but Mrs. S and her husband were in from El Salvador for the funeral. They were quite impressed with our country, Felix's wireless internet, and his Crocs! He mentioned that he could not find good Crocs in El Salvador, so Felix gave him the website were we order ours from.
Sharing this family's time, although it was brought on by tragedy, was a most fullfilling day for all of us. They were so appreciative of our help and we so enjoyed working with them. Their collage was magnificent and they left very pleased with their project. And after all the hugs and handshakes goodbye, we had met and made some new friends.
There is light even in tragedy, and sharing that light with other compassionate human beings is why I have a scrapbook store.
Thank you for letting me share in your light,
Dee
Friday, November 30, 2007
Wednesday, November 28, 2007
It PAYS to read the fine print at Scrappersaurus
DOODLEBUG is IN THE HOUSE!!! We are swimming in sugar coated paper, chipboard and BRADS!!! We have the lily white, beetle black, swimming pool, cupcake, ... oh, what the heck, I think we have 'em all!!! Today I saw a rubber stamping blog entry that showed a most adorable card that had the beetle black sugar coated paper punched into snowflakes. Wicked! Here's the link to it: http://kraftinkimmieskorner.blogspot.com/2007/11/theres-no-people-like-snow-people.html. I guess there's just no limit to what you can do with this really beautiful paper. And the chipboard alphabets and brads take it a few steps further. Come get yours now before we run out!
Okay, we are now out of the Tag-Alongs! BUT, more is supposed to be shipping this week, so if you missed these first few, you can get it in the next batch. Pre-payment will assure you get one. Just call and tell us how many, and we'll take your pre-payment over the phone. When they come in, we'll call you and you can come get them. If you'd like them mailed to you, just let us know and we will add in the shipping charges with your pre-payment ($4.60 for Priority Mail).
NATURE'S GARDEN handmade paper. We got in such a big box of these papers that it literally took me all day to input! We have new, unique designs that we had custom-made, so you won't find them in any other store, anywhere. New designs include Beach/USA, Cabernet, Sweet Treats (candy canes!), Holiday (whimsical little Christmas trees), Snowflakes (left and right), Pink Paisleys, Baby Feet (boy and girl, left and right), and we also got in more of your favorites, like the Spa and Bubbles, and Pirate themes. We also now have paper packs of the handmade mulberry papers, in different color combinations--jewel tones, brights, and primary colors, as well as plain white, yellow, pink, and lilac. Handmade papers just seem to add a certain richness to whatever your project might be.
SALE - SALE - SALE !!!
* ALL Disney papers and embellishments are 30% OFF!!!
* ALL Halloween papers and embellishments are 40% OFF!!! Come stock up with these great prices, and don't forget to buy some for your scrapping buddies, too!
Our Design Team is coming along quite nicely. We have people in Texas, Washington, D.C., and Tennessee, and will have a new team member joining us from Florida. These designers are fabulous, and their work is displayed in the store, as well as on the website gallery for you to see. We're still adding to the gallery, so check back often to see what's been added. One, in particular, was fantastic because she worked with a line that a lot of people shy away from because they are unsure of how to use it. She jumped right in and made two layouts, a card, and a book from this line. You may have seen it, the Basic Grey Obscure and Mellow collections. We'll be adding these to the website by this weekend so you can see how creatively these were done. Amazing. These pieces have to be seen in person, though, to be truly appreciated.
Another designer also worked with Basic Grey, both the Stella Ruby and Scarlet's Letter collections, and created some fantastic layouts and the most beautiful frame I have ever seen. It would be a lovely piece as home decor, and it is proudly displayed in our front window. We are putting together a class on this one and will let you know when the date is set for it. These, also, are displayed in the store as well as on the gallery. Check them out!
Our Christmas Peek-A-Book workshop was fantastic! It involved A LOT of very PRECISE cutting, and although a couple of the ladies were pulling their hair out, I think everybody left with a great finished book. We have pics of the class on the website.
UPCOMING CLASSES
Our next class will be a Christmas File Folder Pocket Book. The date is December 5th, and the price is only $10. Come see what you can do with a simple manila file folder. Once you learn how to make this mini book, I'm sure you'll go home and make dozens more to give as gifts. They can be used as greeting cards, greeting card money-holders, brag books, etc. The class will take probably only about an hour to an hour and a half, and it is for 6:30 PM. Please call ahead to reserve your spot. The sample is already on the website.
We will also be having a class on Saturday, December 8th at 11:30 AM. This one is going to be altered glass bottles using the Tim Holtz alcohol inks, in a Christmas theme. These would be perfect to give as gifts to somebody you want to give "just a little something" to, or for those hard-to-get-for people who seem to already have everything. A sample will be on the website by this weekend. The class will be only $15. Please call ahead to reserve your spot.
TIP OF THE DAY
For those of you who have the paper trimmers with the diamond-shaped blade (not the rotary blade), you might want to hang onto your blade after it has worn down. Simply take it out and reverse the direction it was sitting in your trimmer, and you'll be cutting with the opposite side of the blade tip. It is always strongly recommended by most manufacturers to pull the blade down toward you to cut--not push it from the bottom up, which could cause warping of the arm and a crooked cut. By the way... do you know how to tell when your blade needs to be replaced? It's simple, if the paper you are cutting has little fringe edges and not a completely clean cut, then it's time to get a new blade, or reverse it to cut with the other side. This tip does not work with a rotary cutter because you use the entire blade every time you cut, as the blade rolls along the paper to cut it.
Until next time, happy scrapping!
Dee
Okay, we are now out of the Tag-Alongs! BUT, more is supposed to be shipping this week, so if you missed these first few, you can get it in the next batch. Pre-payment will assure you get one. Just call and tell us how many, and we'll take your pre-payment over the phone. When they come in, we'll call you and you can come get them. If you'd like them mailed to you, just let us know and we will add in the shipping charges with your pre-payment ($4.60 for Priority Mail).
NATURE'S GARDEN handmade paper. We got in such a big box of these papers that it literally took me all day to input! We have new, unique designs that we had custom-made, so you won't find them in any other store, anywhere. New designs include Beach/USA, Cabernet, Sweet Treats (candy canes!), Holiday (whimsical little Christmas trees), Snowflakes (left and right), Pink Paisleys, Baby Feet (boy and girl, left and right), and we also got in more of your favorites, like the Spa and Bubbles, and Pirate themes. We also now have paper packs of the handmade mulberry papers, in different color combinations--jewel tones, brights, and primary colors, as well as plain white, yellow, pink, and lilac. Handmade papers just seem to add a certain richness to whatever your project might be.
SALE - SALE - SALE !!!
* ALL Disney papers and embellishments are 30% OFF!!!
* ALL Halloween papers and embellishments are 40% OFF!!! Come stock up with these great prices, and don't forget to buy some for your scrapping buddies, too!
Our Design Team is coming along quite nicely. We have people in Texas, Washington, D.C., and Tennessee, and will have a new team member joining us from Florida. These designers are fabulous, and their work is displayed in the store, as well as on the website gallery for you to see. We're still adding to the gallery, so check back often to see what's been added. One, in particular, was fantastic because she worked with a line that a lot of people shy away from because they are unsure of how to use it. She jumped right in and made two layouts, a card, and a book from this line. You may have seen it, the Basic Grey Obscure and Mellow collections. We'll be adding these to the website by this weekend so you can see how creatively these were done. Amazing. These pieces have to be seen in person, though, to be truly appreciated.
Another designer also worked with Basic Grey, both the Stella Ruby and Scarlet's Letter collections, and created some fantastic layouts and the most beautiful frame I have ever seen. It would be a lovely piece as home decor, and it is proudly displayed in our front window. We are putting together a class on this one and will let you know when the date is set for it. These, also, are displayed in the store as well as on the gallery. Check them out!
Our Christmas Peek-A-Book workshop was fantastic! It involved A LOT of very PRECISE cutting, and although a couple of the ladies were pulling their hair out, I think everybody left with a great finished book. We have pics of the class on the website.
UPCOMING CLASSES
Our next class will be a Christmas File Folder Pocket Book. The date is December 5th, and the price is only $10. Come see what you can do with a simple manila file folder. Once you learn how to make this mini book, I'm sure you'll go home and make dozens more to give as gifts. They can be used as greeting cards, greeting card money-holders, brag books, etc. The class will take probably only about an hour to an hour and a half, and it is for 6:30 PM. Please call ahead to reserve your spot. The sample is already on the website.
We will also be having a class on Saturday, December 8th at 11:30 AM. This one is going to be altered glass bottles using the Tim Holtz alcohol inks, in a Christmas theme. These would be perfect to give as gifts to somebody you want to give "just a little something" to, or for those hard-to-get-for people who seem to already have everything. A sample will be on the website by this weekend. The class will be only $15. Please call ahead to reserve your spot.
TIP OF THE DAY
For those of you who have the paper trimmers with the diamond-shaped blade (not the rotary blade), you might want to hang onto your blade after it has worn down. Simply take it out and reverse the direction it was sitting in your trimmer, and you'll be cutting with the opposite side of the blade tip. It is always strongly recommended by most manufacturers to pull the blade down toward you to cut--not push it from the bottom up, which could cause warping of the arm and a crooked cut. By the way... do you know how to tell when your blade needs to be replaced? It's simple, if the paper you are cutting has little fringe edges and not a completely clean cut, then it's time to get a new blade, or reverse it to cut with the other side. This tip does not work with a rotary cutter because you use the entire blade every time you cut, as the blade rolls along the paper to cut it.
Until next time, happy scrapping!
Dee
Monday, November 26, 2007
We got in three orders today. You might want to take notice of these... some REALLY cool stuff!
MIMI Essential Tool Tote in Pink/Chocolate. This tote includes one 4” x 6” photo organizer, contrast stitching, durable 600 denier water resistant material, 12 pen & 6 scissor loops, circle cutter storage pocket, variety of micro mesh or clear pockets with hook & loop closures, extra long over-the-shoulder carry straps, luggage strap slides over wheeled tote handle for easy transport, unique locking wing system, storage pockets for magazines, idea books & templates, clear zippered embellishment pocket, built-in strap hangs from doorknob or tote handle, secure outer buckle closure. Overall dimensions are 15” x 4” x 13”.
Daisy D's Rub-On Tape in Zig Zag & Straight Stitch
Daisy D's "Holiday Arrows" and "Cheer" Rhinestone stickers (adorable Christmas tree!)
Daisy D's "Season Titles" & "Bring On the Cheer" Chipboard Words
Basic Grey "Fudge" Rub-Ons
Basic Grey "North Pole", "Winterland", & "Santa Baby" Acrylic Cling stamps
Restock of the Inkadinkado Personal Impressions Fleur-de-Lis Acrylic Cling stamps
Chatterbox Tag-Alongs (Cup & Scrap Bag Holder that clamps to your table)
Cricut Expressions 12x24 (SPECIAL SALE ON THIS ONE. PRICE SO LOW WE CAN'T PUT IT IN PRINT!)
We also have quite a library of the Cricut Cartridges for rental (3 days for $5), and we're getting more in every week. Titles include Beyond Birthdays, Locker Talk, Joys of the Season, BOTH Disney cartridges, Printing 101, Jasmine, Christmas Cheer, Animal Kingdom, Doodletype, Printing Press, and New Arrival.
Have you gotten your Christmas cards done yet? We have plenty of cardstock and Christmas-themed papers and embellishments to help you. Stop in and see what's new.
TIP OF THE DAY
When working with alcohol inks, it's hard not to get it on your hands unless you wear gloves. If you do, simply spritz some plain rubbing alcohol on the spot and wipe. Because the ink is alcohol-based, when you add more ink, it revitalizes and dilutes what's on you, and comes right off. You can also start over if you don't like how your project is coming out by doing the same thing. This only works for metals and acrylics, though, not the glossy paper! Have fun and don't forget to send me pics of what you've created. I'd be happy to post them on the website Gallery if you like.
Until next time, happy scrapping!
Dee
Friday, November 23, 2007
The crop is winding down and Queen is blaring on the CD player. These ladies just have too much fun! One of them brought Amaretto slushies (shhhh!) and I think everybody was feeling really good tonight! If you didn't make it to the crop tonight, well, you missed out on a really good time.
Emery and I are cooking up some new classes. One of them will be an entire 8x8 20-page album! The topic is still a secret, but as soon as all the kinks are worked out, I'll post it and let you know when you can sign up. We're going to have a lot of fun with this one. Emery's still doing all sorts of stuff with the alcohol inks, and I'm not sure what his final project will be, but he's gotten some really nice results with his "experiments".
We have two paper file boxes filled with Bazzill cardstock on sale at 50% off regular price (that makes it 25 cents a sheet!), along with other printed papers, some Basic Grey, etc.
We have a Gift Certificate special right now. If you purchase $50 in gift certificates, you receive a free $10 gift certificate for yourself or to give as another gift to someone else.
TIP OF THE DAY
DO NOT drink and scrap!!!
Have a great weekend guys!
Until next time, happy scrapping!
Dee
Emery and I are cooking up some new classes. One of them will be an entire 8x8 20-page album! The topic is still a secret, but as soon as all the kinks are worked out, I'll post it and let you know when you can sign up. We're going to have a lot of fun with this one. Emery's still doing all sorts of stuff with the alcohol inks, and I'm not sure what his final project will be, but he's gotten some really nice results with his "experiments".
We have two paper file boxes filled with Bazzill cardstock on sale at 50% off regular price (that makes it 25 cents a sheet!), along with other printed papers, some Basic Grey, etc.
We have a Gift Certificate special right now. If you purchase $50 in gift certificates, you receive a free $10 gift certificate for yourself or to give as another gift to someone else.
TIP OF THE DAY
DO NOT drink and scrap!!!
Have a great weekend guys!
Until next time, happy scrapping!
Dee
Monday, November 19, 2007
We got in the new Mini Scor-It tools. These are ideal for scoring perfect lines in just about any type of papercrafting project you can come up with. Click on the following link to see it in action: http://www.scorit.com/webisode.html. You might think you don't need a scoring tool, but after you watch this 12 minute video, you may just feel differently about that. The Scor-It not only scores, but it embosses straight lines on your papers, and the video shows you options for what you can do with those. In any case, it's a really cool product. Check it out.
We got in the new poster for ScrapFest! 2008, and they have a totally different, very cool logo. The poster is on the wall when you walk through the front door. It gives all the info about it, including dates, times, etc.
We hope you have a very Happy Thanksgiving this week, and invite you to join us for a potluck/leftover crop on this Friday. The Friday crop will begin at 10:00 AM and is free, but you must call ahead and reserve your spot. We want to make sure nobody is turned away for lack of seating! We already have a good number of people scheduled, and plan on having it kick off our Christmas special sales. We have more 99-cent grab bags, most with Christmas themes. You never know what Emery and Felix will cook up to put in those.
We now rent out Cricut cartridges, three days for $5.00. We're constantly adding to our library and already have a number of them in.
An old customer of mine came in today, Patty P., who was back in N.O. for the holidays. She showed me the most adorable little project she had done with her group of friends. I'm thinking of doing a class with it, and I think tomorrow I'll be working on it to see how I can get it to come out, myself. If you have any ideas for a class that you think others would be interested in, please e-mail me (privately if you like, to scrappersaurus@yahoo.com) and send me a digital photo of the finished project. I'm always looking for new ideas, and always open to suggestions.
TIP OF THE DAY
Let's talk about vellum. It's beautiful, elegant, and so darned difficult to work with sometimes that it makes you want to just pull your hair out. People come in all the time asking me what is the best adhesive to use with vellum and do you know what I tell them? Xyron. Xyron is the answer. Put your entire piece of vellum that you want to adhere to your mat or page through a Xyron sticker maker (they come in sizes from 1-1/2 inches to 9 inches wide) and that way there is no definition between where the adhesive begins and ends. The adhesive covers the entire back, and it comes out looking great. Of course, yes, you could always use a glue dot in an inconspicuous area of the vellum, behind writing or an image, but it doesn't always allow for you to place it where it will hold to the paper well. Plus, you could always use a brad or eyelet, or stitching, or even a photo corner. Don't let these issues keep you from using such a beautiful paper. Instead, try some of these options I've listed. If you know of any other methods, please e-mail me and let me know so I can try them out.
Until next time, happy scrapping, and HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!
Dee
We got in the new poster for ScrapFest! 2008, and they have a totally different, very cool logo. The poster is on the wall when you walk through the front door. It gives all the info about it, including dates, times, etc.
We hope you have a very Happy Thanksgiving this week, and invite you to join us for a potluck/leftover crop on this Friday. The Friday crop will begin at 10:00 AM and is free, but you must call ahead and reserve your spot. We want to make sure nobody is turned away for lack of seating! We already have a good number of people scheduled, and plan on having it kick off our Christmas special sales. We have more 99-cent grab bags, most with Christmas themes. You never know what Emery and Felix will cook up to put in those.
We now rent out Cricut cartridges, three days for $5.00. We're constantly adding to our library and already have a number of them in.
An old customer of mine came in today, Patty P., who was back in N.O. for the holidays. She showed me the most adorable little project she had done with her group of friends. I'm thinking of doing a class with it, and I think tomorrow I'll be working on it to see how I can get it to come out, myself. If you have any ideas for a class that you think others would be interested in, please e-mail me (privately if you like, to scrappersaurus@yahoo.com) and send me a digital photo of the finished project. I'm always looking for new ideas, and always open to suggestions.
TIP OF THE DAY
Let's talk about vellum. It's beautiful, elegant, and so darned difficult to work with sometimes that it makes you want to just pull your hair out. People come in all the time asking me what is the best adhesive to use with vellum and do you know what I tell them? Xyron. Xyron is the answer. Put your entire piece of vellum that you want to adhere to your mat or page through a Xyron sticker maker (they come in sizes from 1-1/2 inches to 9 inches wide) and that way there is no definition between where the adhesive begins and ends. The adhesive covers the entire back, and it comes out looking great. Of course, yes, you could always use a glue dot in an inconspicuous area of the vellum, behind writing or an image, but it doesn't always allow for you to place it where it will hold to the paper well. Plus, you could always use a brad or eyelet, or stitching, or even a photo corner. Don't let these issues keep you from using such a beautiful paper. Instead, try some of these options I've listed. If you know of any other methods, please e-mail me and let me know so I can try them out.
Until next time, happy scrapping, and HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!
Dee
Monday, November 12, 2007
PAGE CONTEST!!!
Things were pretty busy at the store today. I wanted to sit down and make some cards, but every time I finished with one customer, another came in. I love the busy holiday season. All these people coming in searching for treasures, and when I have what they need, it really tickles me.
The Christmas Peek-A-Book class is scheduled for Tuesday, November 27th at 6:30 PM. Its' cost is $30.00, and the list of supplies needed is on our website calendar. We only have two openings left, so if you were thinking of signing up for it, call NOW! The book is on display in the store, if you want to stop by and see exactly what we'll be making. I think it came out really nicely. It will be at least two hours long. There's a lot of precision cutting involved, but once everything is finally put together, it's so cute you can't help but love it! The Peek-A-Book has pullout sections on every page that you can put additional journaling or photos on, and is made of heavy chipboard. There are six pages, twelve surfaces to scrap on. Lots of room for a mini book!
This coming Saturday we will be making Christmas cards and tags. If you'd like to participate, please call and reserve your spot. Emery has been making the cutest things (of course!) for his cards, and we have a very good variety of Christmas papers in as well as LOTS of cardstock! We also have lots of ribbon, and plenty of Prima flowers. In particular, we have the ornaments filled with the glittered poinsettias and leaves.
You know, it seems like everybody just jumped from Halloween directly to Christmas, and Thanksgiving is now becoming a forgotten holiday. Let's remember what the Thanksgiving holiday was created for, and remember to take time often to show our gratitude to those we love and interact with on a daily basis. Or maybe not so daily. We all have problems, but we need to look at how blessed we are with how far our city has come since Katrina, and how much progress we ARE making. Personally, I am thankful that I was able to reopen my store again, and reconnect with many of the wonderful people I had met pre-Katrina. I am thankful for the friendships I have with so many, and the wonderful relationship I have with my husband and my son. I am thankful I am still alive this day to speak of these things. Yes, we all do have lots to be thankful for, even in the face of lingering issues from the hurricane.
To celebrate that thankfulness, I urge you to create a layout describing exactly what you are thankful for this year. We will have a PAGE CONTEST for "THINGS I AM THANKFUL FOR". It must be a two-page layout and it can be in any style you like. It MUST have journaling, although it does NOT have to have photographs. (Got that?) The layout will be judged according to the most heartfelt feelings evoked by the layout, as well as the overall composition of the page. The winner will get a $50.00 gift certificate at Scrappersaurus to jump start their holiday celebration. If you have any questions about this page contest, please call me at the store, at 504-301-1081. If you do not live in New Orleans you can still participate by submitting your layout via digital images in e-mail to scrappersaurus@yahoo.com, and if you win your $50 gift certificate can be used in our online store or for anything else that we carry in the store (ask if you don't see it on our website). Please make sure that when you drop off your layout for judging, that you have your full name and two phone numbers, along with your e-mail address and your postal mailing address. Contestants' entries will be displayed online and in the store until January 1st, 2008, at which time they will be returned. ENTRIES ARE DUE DECEMBER 1ST, 2007 BY 7:00 PM. I hope you will all participate, because you will all be winners when it comes to having something really meaningful in your books for this month. Best of luck to each of you.
TIP OF THE DAY
Do you use photo corners? What type? What size? What color? What purpose do they serve? Did you realize you could use photo corners to do many different things other than just hold a photo on a page? You could use a photo corner on a journaling block, on a photo or photo mat, and also on the page itself. Think of the corner as another chance to add that finishing touch to your layout. It doesn't have to be a triangle of paper. It could be a stamp, a sticker, an ID plate, a flower, a strip of vellum with a title or date on it, an anchor for a charm or several charms, a tag, a string of beads. You get the idea. Just something to help frame the photo, photo mat, or page. I used two of those huge photo corners that Heidi Swapp has to hold a brochure on a layout so it could be slipped out to be read. It was decorative and very useful. Be creative, take your time, and see what you can come up with.
Until next time, happy scrapping!
Dee
The Christmas Peek-A-Book class is scheduled for Tuesday, November 27th at 6:30 PM. Its' cost is $30.00, and the list of supplies needed is on our website calendar. We only have two openings left, so if you were thinking of signing up for it, call NOW! The book is on display in the store, if you want to stop by and see exactly what we'll be making. I think it came out really nicely. It will be at least two hours long. There's a lot of precision cutting involved, but once everything is finally put together, it's so cute you can't help but love it! The Peek-A-Book has pullout sections on every page that you can put additional journaling or photos on, and is made of heavy chipboard. There are six pages, twelve surfaces to scrap on. Lots of room for a mini book!
This coming Saturday we will be making Christmas cards and tags. If you'd like to participate, please call and reserve your spot. Emery has been making the cutest things (of course!) for his cards, and we have a very good variety of Christmas papers in as well as LOTS of cardstock! We also have lots of ribbon, and plenty of Prima flowers. In particular, we have the ornaments filled with the glittered poinsettias and leaves.
You know, it seems like everybody just jumped from Halloween directly to Christmas, and Thanksgiving is now becoming a forgotten holiday. Let's remember what the Thanksgiving holiday was created for, and remember to take time often to show our gratitude to those we love and interact with on a daily basis. Or maybe not so daily. We all have problems, but we need to look at how blessed we are with how far our city has come since Katrina, and how much progress we ARE making. Personally, I am thankful that I was able to reopen my store again, and reconnect with many of the wonderful people I had met pre-Katrina. I am thankful for the friendships I have with so many, and the wonderful relationship I have with my husband and my son. I am thankful I am still alive this day to speak of these things. Yes, we all do have lots to be thankful for, even in the face of lingering issues from the hurricane.
To celebrate that thankfulness, I urge you to create a layout describing exactly what you are thankful for this year. We will have a PAGE CONTEST for "THINGS I AM THANKFUL FOR". It must be a two-page layout and it can be in any style you like. It MUST have journaling, although it does NOT have to have photographs. (Got that?) The layout will be judged according to the most heartfelt feelings evoked by the layout, as well as the overall composition of the page. The winner will get a $50.00 gift certificate at Scrappersaurus to jump start their holiday celebration. If you have any questions about this page contest, please call me at the store, at 504-301-1081. If you do not live in New Orleans you can still participate by submitting your layout via digital images in e-mail to scrappersaurus@yahoo.com, and if you win your $50 gift certificate can be used in our online store or for anything else that we carry in the store (ask if you don't see it on our website). Please make sure that when you drop off your layout for judging, that you have your full name and two phone numbers, along with your e-mail address and your postal mailing address. Contestants' entries will be displayed online and in the store until January 1st, 2008, at which time they will be returned. ENTRIES ARE DUE DECEMBER 1ST, 2007 BY 7:00 PM. I hope you will all participate, because you will all be winners when it comes to having something really meaningful in your books for this month. Best of luck to each of you.
TIP OF THE DAY
Do you use photo corners? What type? What size? What color? What purpose do they serve? Did you realize you could use photo corners to do many different things other than just hold a photo on a page? You could use a photo corner on a journaling block, on a photo or photo mat, and also on the page itself. Think of the corner as another chance to add that finishing touch to your layout. It doesn't have to be a triangle of paper. It could be a stamp, a sticker, an ID plate, a flower, a strip of vellum with a title or date on it, an anchor for a charm or several charms, a tag, a string of beads. You get the idea. Just something to help frame the photo, photo mat, or page. I used two of those huge photo corners that Heidi Swapp has to hold a brochure on a layout so it could be slipped out to be read. It was decorative and very useful. Be creative, take your time, and see what you can come up with.
Until next time, happy scrapping!
Dee
Sunday, November 4, 2007
Okay, NOW I can blog about the Arccivo!!! Felix wanted to be the first to announce it's arrival, so I patiently waited to put it in the blog. But his time has come and gone, and now it's my turn. So here goes...
We now have the Arccivo (pronounced AR-CHEE-VO) which is like a tote/portfiolio made specifically for scrapbookers so they can have a 3-foot wide, nonskid surface to work on, that can be folded up and taken to a crop or moved to another area without disturbing the layout's placement. How, you might ask? It has two large magnetic sheets that cover either side of the work surface, and which hold everything in place, even if you shake it! It is PERFECT for those of you who have to do your papercrafting on the dining room table and have to then move it to serve meals. Working on the Arccivo allows you to keep everything safely in place and totally portable. It even has a zipper closing, for extra safety. It will fit your layout (even dimensional layouts) and up to 50 sheets of cardstock. So that means you can carry everything you need all in this one tote and not have to lug around those larger totes you've been taking to crops. It comes in four colors, Blu (a light blue), Blossom (a gorgeous deep pink), Southern Clay (a reddish, orange clay color), and Honeydew (a kiwi-green). Come by and check it out for yourself. I'm sure you'll be impressed and want one for yourself!
I'll be having a Basic Scrapbooking class this Thursday, and still have a couple seats open. If you feel like you've just been collecting supplies and never really knew where to start, this class is for you. I'll be teaching you about what is archivally safe to use, what is considered not archivally safe, and how to use items that are considered archivally unsafe (because you can, if you follow these simple rules). I'll have lots of tools out for you to learn how to use, so you can make an informed decision on which tools to actually purchase. I'll also teach you what you absolutely have GOT to have to begin, and then take you through an actual layout. All this in just 2 1/2 hours!
TIP OF THE DAY
Have you heard of the Rule of Thirds? Basically it involves dividing your scrapbooking pages into thirds, for better visual interest. This is an easy formula to use to keep your layouts 'balanced'. No, you do not have to draw lines and actually divide the page up, but what it means is that your photo should take up one-third or two-thirds of the page, then you would have next to it one-third or two-thirds of the page as a journaling block or embellishment area. The Rule of Thirds goes for horizontal as well as vertical on the page. To learn more about this, click on this link (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rule_of_thirds) and just substitute "photography" with "scrapbooking". If you want even more info on it, just type RULE OF THIRDS into your browser, and several different sites will pop up with more info. Isn't it fun to learn new things about scrapbooking?!
Until next time, happy scrapping!
Dee
We now have the Arccivo (pronounced AR-CHEE-VO) which is like a tote/portfiolio made specifically for scrapbookers so they can have a 3-foot wide, nonskid surface to work on, that can be folded up and taken to a crop or moved to another area without disturbing the layout's placement. How, you might ask? It has two large magnetic sheets that cover either side of the work surface, and which hold everything in place, even if you shake it! It is PERFECT for those of you who have to do your papercrafting on the dining room table and have to then move it to serve meals. Working on the Arccivo allows you to keep everything safely in place and totally portable. It even has a zipper closing, for extra safety. It will fit your layout (even dimensional layouts) and up to 50 sheets of cardstock. So that means you can carry everything you need all in this one tote and not have to lug around those larger totes you've been taking to crops. It comes in four colors, Blu (a light blue), Blossom (a gorgeous deep pink), Southern Clay (a reddish, orange clay color), and Honeydew (a kiwi-green). Come by and check it out for yourself. I'm sure you'll be impressed and want one for yourself!
I'll be having a Basic Scrapbooking class this Thursday, and still have a couple seats open. If you feel like you've just been collecting supplies and never really knew where to start, this class is for you. I'll be teaching you about what is archivally safe to use, what is considered not archivally safe, and how to use items that are considered archivally unsafe (because you can, if you follow these simple rules). I'll have lots of tools out for you to learn how to use, so you can make an informed decision on which tools to actually purchase. I'll also teach you what you absolutely have GOT to have to begin, and then take you through an actual layout. All this in just 2 1/2 hours!
TIP OF THE DAY
Have you heard of the Rule of Thirds? Basically it involves dividing your scrapbooking pages into thirds, for better visual interest. This is an easy formula to use to keep your layouts 'balanced'. No, you do not have to draw lines and actually divide the page up, but what it means is that your photo should take up one-third or two-thirds of the page, then you would have next to it one-third or two-thirds of the page as a journaling block or embellishment area. The Rule of Thirds goes for horizontal as well as vertical on the page. To learn more about this, click on this link (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rule_of_thirds) and just substitute "photography" with "scrapbooking". If you want even more info on it, just type RULE OF THIRDS into your browser, and several different sites will pop up with more info. Isn't it fun to learn new things about scrapbooking?!
Until next time, happy scrapping!
Dee
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