Ready for Ontario!

Well, I am sitting here in my hotel room, clicking away on my laptop, which is on a fabulous MyPlace laptop table thingie that sits over my lap. My friend and Krew member, Kathi, gave it to me this evening and I already love it. Thanks, woman!

As for the Ontario Expo, our booth is all set up! I have partnered with Vesta at Scrapbook Boulevard in Victorville this time, and we are doing two great make and takes! On one side of the booth, $4 you can use the Bind-it-All to punch and wire-bind a 4x4 Kits2Remember acrylic mini book. So, you get to play with the Bind-it-All and acrylic all in one sitting! And then, on the other end of the booth, you can create a cute 6 x 6 magnetic message board, complete with Kits2Remember metal panels, Prima flowers spritzed with Glimmer Mist and May Arts ribbon. Wow!

And speaking of Prima, we are delighted that we will have special guests from Prima stopping by the booth for some fun and surprises! Adam will be by and Friday and Prima Donna Salazar will be stopping by Saturday! Can't wait to see what they have in store for us!

K2R will also have some new kits available, including some of the class kits from the "Thanks" 6 x 6 acrylic album and "Today Is" perpetual interactive calendar classes. I also have a Halloween kit put together using Teresa Collin's 8 x 8 double-sided paper. All of these kits are in very limited supply, so be sure to stop by the booth early. It won't be tough to find us... we are are right in the front as you walk into the Expo hall!

I still have handful of seats available in my classes, the "Good and Girly" and "Boys 2 Men" 6 x 6 acrylic album classes. If you are interested in Acrylic and the Bind-it-All machine, these are classes for you! While preregistration is over, you can still purchase tickets at the event, while seats are left. Just stop by the info desk in the lobby.

I am looking forward to seeing my scrappy SoCal friends this weekend... be sure to stop by the booth to say hi! I've missed you guys!

As for earlier this week, I had two great classes ... my last two at stores in SoCal for 2008. :( Scrapbooking Heaven and Scrapbook Boulevard were kind enough to host me Tuesday and Wednesday evenings, respectively. The "students" all seemed to have fun and go home with new skills (and cute projects!). Several stores have already booked me for February when I am out in SoCal again, so be sure to watch this blog for details!

As a side note, my Sister-in-law, Jill is a part-time artist, so I "commissioned" her to create a dinosaur mural in my sons' play room, inspired by a "Think Big" metal sign with a dinosaur on it that I picked up for a song at a My Minds Eye expo booth in Utah earlier this year. Jill visited the boys in Florida this week and got to work. While I have not been home to enjoy it in its entirety, here is how it turned out according to the photos she sent me:


Awesome, isn't it? Great work, Jilly! And it looks like my 2 1/2-yaer-old, Xan, isn't too sure he wants to get that close to the T-Rex! LOL... So, if you live in the St. Louis area, and need a playroom mural, let me know and I will put you in touch with Jill... :D

The Scrappin' Table and Scrapbook Joe...

...Tonight I had my first of three classes in a row this week. I taught the interactive perpetual calendar project called "Today is..." to a lovely bunch of ladies, including my own K2R Design Krew member Erin! The class was at The Scrappin' Table in Placentia, where store owner Michelle is always friendly and on top of the latest and greatest scrappy trends. I always enjoy her store.

And Erin will be teaching her "Countdown to Christmas" metal project (the one on the K2R Krew blog) as a class at the Desert Scrappers Weekend Retreat in November. So, if you are planning to go to the Palm Desert, Calif., crop, you will definitely want to take her class!

My scrap bud Scrapbook Joe (of Strictly Scrapbooking Cerritos store fame) emailed me over photos of his latest K2R acrylic project - a gorgeously detailed Princess album. Truly, this is one man with some fabulous talent. Be sure to check out his site for more ...


Tomorrow night I will be in Westminster at Scrapbooking Heaven. Another fabulous pair of ladies and I am looking forward to see some familiar faces - and new ones - in the class!

Krew Kit #8 to ship Oct. 28!

I know many of you have been waiting to see the new Kits2Remember Design Krew's first Krew Kit, so here it is!

Krew Kit #8 is full of bright colors, butterfly images and flourish designs, making this a fabulous kit to scrap subjects like romance, girls' night out, gardening and more! Featuring seven double-sided papers from Sandylion's Rouge de Garance line, coordinating lace cardstock overlay, matching alpha stickers, butterfly-shaped mini-transparency, bling brads, rhinestones, a 6x6 UNdrilled Clear Scraps album, three yards of ribbon, coin envelopes and more. It's got a retail value of over $33! Project ideas will be posted to the K2R Krew blog this week, so be sure to stop by each day to see what new design the Krew has come up with for this kit. Matching clear stamps and rub-ons are also available and can be added on to your order.


Orders placed will be filled on a first-come, first served basis and shipped Oct. 28. Order yours today! We've got less than 20 of them now available!

I will also be at three SoCal stores this week teaching the "Today Is" wall calendar: The Scrappin' Table in Placentia, Scrapbooking Heaven in Westminster and Scrapbook Boulevard in Victorville. Log on to the K2R Calendar for details!

Sacramento Expo Day Two...

... I am exhausted, but wanted to get some photos up. A big thanks to my volunteers, of course: Kara, Amanda, Debbie, Stephanie and Lisa. You guys were awesome. And, of course, to my Mom, Nancy, who was a lifesaver at least five times a day. Here's a photo of Mom at her "station" - the cash register. And of Stephanie conducting the make and take.


A few quick ideas for you:
I have some of the new Teresa Colling bracket albums, both small and large. I used a pair of the small ones for a halloween album and a pair of large ones to make a magnetic message board.




Here are some new ornament ideas, too, created from acrylic and Grungeboard.


All of these products will be available at the Ontario Expo next weekend, and then on the K2R web site by the end of the month.

So, now, off to bed. G'night!

Sacramento Expo Day One ...

As they always do, today's Scrapbook Expo went by in a blur. Everyone here has been so kind and gracious, especially in the two classes I taught today. Everyone seemed to enjoy playing with the Bind-it-All and acrylic and our make and take table was almost always busy! And my volunteer Krew - I couldn't have done it without them! Today Monica, Inez, Casey, Gayle and Janet were awesome. I got so many compliments on how helpful and friendly they were. Thanks guys! We all managed to drop everything for about 45 seconds to get this quick photo.

I am looking for one more day in Sacramento tomorrow. Do you think the Govenator might stop by to scrap? Maria might appreciate a handmade gift this holiday season. :)

"Designing with the Divas..."

I am excited to announce that yours truly will be featured in the soon-to-be-published Diva Craft Lounge's idea book "Designing with the Divas!"

Some of you may be familiar with Diva Danielle and Rayme Royal's weekly Internet radio show. They've now brought together a couple dozen designers to create beautiful, innovative and elegant projects never before seen - or explained! The projects will come with photos, instructions and helpful hints so you can recreate them at home. The book will be available Dec. 1, cost $19.95, and will be available here online on the K2R website. Can't wait the long to get a sneak peek? How about a sneak sound bite? There will be a Diva Craft Lounge episode introducing this rare gem of a book (57 different project ideas! Wow!) on Nov. 12 at noon Pacific Time. Just log on to the Diva Craft Lounge web site to find out more!

Post to the K2R Message Board and win!

Who wants five 6 x 6 acrylic panels? How 'bout five 6 x 6 chipboard sheets? And five 6 x 6 metal panels? They could all be yours! One lucky poster will win it all by posting to the Kits2Remember message board between now and Friday, Oct. 24. The winning post will be chosen randomly and sent out the collection of Klear and Raw goods! Start posting now!

Relaxin' in Sac ...

My Mom and I drove up I-5 today, an eight hour trek north to Sacramento for the Scrapbook Expo here this weekend. Fortunately, it was an uneventful drive and I am now relaxing in my favorite fuzzy green socks, sipping flavored water. Before the whirlwind of the Expo entangles me, I did want to blog about a few things.

First off, I forgot to thank my Scrapfest volunteers in my last blog - oops! So, a huge thank you to Kathi, Andrea and Jenn. Without you guys it wouldn't have gone nearly as smooth. Thank you and see you all at the Ontario Expo!

K2R will also have some new, fun stuff at the booths in Sacramento and Ontario. There is the new Twiddleybitz line from Australia. Here are some photos of the K2R Krew's take on this acrylic and chipboard line:


You can see more on the Krew blog. I will also have some new stuff to be used with the metal, like magnetic Bazzill-covered frames. And I have dabbled in digital/hybrid scrapbooking by carrying a CD collection of paper and embellishments on CD, created by new designer Gina K. Here a sampling of her collection. I love the visual texture of the flowers and the heart-shaped virtual bling!

Monday I had a class at Ever After's new location in Vista. Wow! Any of you heading over in preparation for the Survivor Crop this weekend are in for a treat! The store looks fabulous and they've been there only six weeks. I love the color (green!) and the black accents and classy fixtures and decorations make it a warm, fun place to walk in to. The students were sweet and seemed to have a good time. The only bummer was the nearby Camp Pendleton fire.

I saw it as I drove south on I-5 to the store, but one of the ladies signed up for the class couldn't come because her home was very close to the fire line. Yikes! I hope everything turned out OK! There are dozens of fires all over California right now, as "fire season" kicks off in a flurry. Best wishes to everyone affected.

Yesterday was errands and Expo prep day for me: Bank, lunch with colleagues, mani/pedi, make new samples for the booth (there is a message board using the metal and Teresa Collins bracket-shaped covers I think is a lot of fun), can't remember what else, to get ready for the Sacramento Expo. Oh, and I took some time to be mindlessly entertained by my (parents) tortoises.

"Parents" is in parentheses because these 45-pound reptiles were actually mine before I gave them up to my parents due to my many moves. They are Sulcata, or African Spur-Thigh, tortoises and I've had them since 2001 when I got them from the then-mayor of Yuma, AZ, who bred them. They were about the size of nectarines then. Now they are big enough for a toddler to ride. They keep trying to walk under the hose holder and get stuck, taking the hose holder with them as far as the connected hose will let them. Then you have to rescue the not-so-pint-sized bulldozers.


They are too strong for their own good, they think nothing of shoving small potted trees and barbecues out of their way, and have big appetites for fruits and veggies, especially for strawberries and tomatoes... anything red. So you have to watch your toes if they happened to have bright red toenails from a recent pedicure!

A sidenote: My DH called while I was blogging, and it reminded me to mention putting "ICE" in your cell phones. Of course, this has nothing to do with your freezer. These are "In Case of Emergency" numbers so that emergency personnel can contact your loved ones quickly if you are ever in trouble. For example, I have my husband's and parents' numbers programed into my phone with "ICE" before their names. Some of us have dozens, even hundreds, of numbers in our cell phonebooks and it may not be obvious who your closest relatives are. It's just a good idea, especially for your kids' phones.

And I'm on Facebook now and I am addicted to collecting Pieces of Flair. If you have no idea what I am talking about, donlt worry about it. You may be better off. To quote Juno, Facebook is a huge "timesuck." :)

I'm off to bed now, a long day ahead of me tomorrow, setting up the booth, so goodnight, and I look forward to seeing some of you at the Sacramento Scrapbook Expo!

Scrapfest and The Red Bee

Metal was all the rage at Scrapfest! At least it was in the K2R booth! The crop and scrapbook education event was hosted by Strictly Scrapbooking at the Long Beach Convention Center on Saturday. Not only did a couple dozen scrapbookers get their hands on metal during my class (we created a 5 x 7 album with the Bind-it-All and a magnetic message board), but, together with Vesta from Scrapbook Boulevard

in Victorville, we had a very popular 6 x 6 mini message board make and take.

Graphic 45 paper for the surface, May Arts ribbon and Prima flowers spritzed with different Fall shades of Glimmer Mist and topped off with Kaiser bling. Great gift for Fall!
Today I had class at The Red Bee. Saw some old friends, which was fun, I love catching up with everyone, and met some new scrappers - love that, too! I think everyone had a good time AND learned something, which is always my goal. And I love shopping at The Red Bee, anyway, so any excuse to head over works for me (if not my wallet!)


Next up, I am scheduled to teach at Ever After in Vista tomorrow night. Will I see you there?

Livin' it up in Long Beach ...

... well, not really, but I did have a lovely dinner at The Yardhouse with Vesta and Steve from Scrapbook Boulevard and, my head cashier, my Mom. If you have a chance to have a meal there, do. We each ordered something different and we each loved it. The margaritas weren't bad, either!

But, the real reason I am in Long Beach is for ScrapFest tomorrow.

I am teaching a class using metal and we'll complete two different projects, a message board and an album. It promises to be fun AND educational! Not only that, but I have partnered with Scrapbook Boulevard (a LSS in Victorville, CA) and we are mixing Glimmer Mist and metal for our make and take... you'll have to stop by and see the adorable mini message you can make for $5 ... and learn a lot about metal and Glimmer Mist as you create! If you are planning to come, just to shop and do the make and takes, be sure to download the free admission coupon located under the ScrapFest entry on the K2R calendar. And when you are on the calendar page, be sure to glance through the class schedule to see if you might be able to make it to my perpetual calendar class or acrylic albums class.


As for those of you outside Southern California, we have plenty of fun metal ideas right here! Have you visited the K2R Design Krew blog lately? Seriously, check it out. There are FIVE new metal ideas on there this week, like Trace's fabulous magnetic calendar shown above, as well as a chance to win a RAK of metal panels... you don't want to miss out!

One cannot live by scrappin' alone...

... so, I was really excited when I found out that one of my favorite comedians, Christopher Titus, was performing live at the Irvine Improv just a few hours after my plane touched down in SoCal. Since Rodney is in Pensacola, and he is usually my comedy club date, I dragged my Mom to the comedy club, instead. She was a good sport about the whole thing, I even heard her laugh a few times.

Since Rodney likes Titus as much as I do, I called home to ask him if he would like a CD or autograph or something. Rodney's favorite bit that Titus does is when the comedian talks about falling into a bonfire as a teenager. So, Rodney's response:

"Can you get him to sign a can of lighter fluid?"

I wasn't sure if lighter fluid would be allowed into the Improv, so, not wanting to get caught with a "weapon of mass destruction" and kicked out, I said,

"No. How about a 2 x 4?" Deal.

So, after the hilarious show, I stood in line to buy a CD and meet Titus, trying to hang on to my foot-long 2 x 4 as inconspicuously as possible. Titus was also a good sport, graciously signing the 2 x 4 with a slight laugh. (Side note: Titus was great with his fans, taking the time to shake hands, hear stories and chat... you have to respect a guy who apprciates his fans. BTW, if you're a fan, he is working on a new TV show and movie.)

Mom took this maniacal picture of me with the funnyman, just before he signed the 2 x 4 piece of "bonfire" wood. Nice photo of him, not so much of ME! Very fun, spontaneous night ... now, since I am on central time in a Pacific time zone world at the moment, the bed is calling!

Metal Mania, RAKs, Scrappin' in SoCal and more!

Have you checked out the K2R Krew Blog lately? If you haven't, you're missing out... the Krew has arranged it so there will be something new nearly every day, starting with this lovely magnetic Christmas countdown message board created by Erin. Check out the Krew blog for details on how she created this cute and clever project!

And while you're on the Krew blog, be sure to post - someone is going to be the lucky recipient of metal panels ... could it be you who wins this week's RAK? You can't win if you don't post!

I hop on a plane tomorrow and head out to Southern California for a whirlwind three weeks of scrappiness. So excited! While I'll miss the boys, DH and pets, I am SOOO looking forward to being with "my people" - crazy fellow scrappers like me! For a full list of events and stores where I will be, please visit the K2R calendar. That's also where you can download the free entrance coupon for ScrapFest in Long Beach this Saturday. I hope to see you there!

RAK winner, a tour of Gallatin and some not-so-desert scrappers...

Random.org picked number 6, so comment number 6 to my post from last week, giving away my last calendar journal kit, was made by Kathi L.! You go girl!

So, onwards about Tennessee. Last night, I met Desert Scrappers owner Laura Miller and her family at a Sake Bar and Grill called Ru San, in downtown Nashville. I was surprised that this was the restaurant of choice (no steakhouse?sushi in Nashville?), but I went with it. It was delicious... I took the recommendation of Laura's cousin, Shelley, and got something called the American something-or-other (can't remember now). When it arrived I was more than slightly amused at the leaning tower of sushi on my plate, so I just HAD to take photo to show you...

Today I took a brief tour of Gallatin, as I made my way to a scrapbook store in the next town over, Hendersonville, called Timeless Reflections. Cute store, a tad bit small, but she had all sorts of the latest scrap goodies. A group of croppers even went there twice today because they couldn't resist the temptation!

Gallatin is a rural suburb of Nashville. That may sound like an oxymoron (i.e. jumbo shrimp), but this is truly a great way to describe the area. As the middle class headed out to escape the city, housing tracts and apartment complexes were built next to and directly across the street from small dairy farms, centuries-old buildings and large fields of crops. While Gallatin has all of the necessary suburban shops and restaurants (Sonic, Wal-mart, Arby's, Publix grocery), there are still a number of country charms mixed in, here are just a few:





The weather was gorgeous... a high of about 74 and a night low of around 46, which is a bit chillier than what I am used to these days.

Once I made it back to the hotel, I was back to work. I completed 20 pages, created Kolette Hall's "Good Book" album from Creative Escape and finished a "Crop for the Cure" album created by Basic Grey's Kelly Goree, which was a class I took at Gigi's Scrapbookin' and more a few weeks ago. I love that feeling of accomplishment!

More than 30 of us are cropping this weekend at the Desert Scrappers Weekend Retreat (no desert here, though...). Organizer Laura Miller even got four pages done in between "working."

Her cousin, Shelley, who lives in White House (not THE, but a town north of Nashville), was a lot of fun, but very much the perfectionist at scrapbooking ... she completed one layout the entire day! But. I will give her a break, she IS working on her honeymoon album...

My roomie, Christine, is a delight and we share names (my middle name is Christine) and a love of collecting Basic Grey, but not using it. Hey! We're saving it for something special... we just don't know what that is yet!

But there were several moments of hard-working silence while everyone diligently created their scrappy masterpieces. Here is my workspace about an hour before I came up to my room.

Two coupons for upcoming events!

Greetings from Gallatin, Tennessee! I drove up here from Pensacola for the Desert Scrappers retreat, which starts tomorrow. The fall foliage is starting to turn here and the maples (I think they are maples, could be wrong there) already have some shades of red to them. Love it. After living in perpetually sunny areas like SoCal, southern Arizona and now Florida, I really appreciate it when I get to see actual seasons "change."

As promised I have some coupons for those of you planning to attend California events this month. First off, if you go to the K2R calendar, you will find a link to a PDF coupon for FREE admission to shop at ScrapFest Oct. 11 in Long Beach. So, pile all your scrappy friends in the car and come on over... it doesn't cost anything to "window shop" if you can handle the temptation! And I wish you the best of luck with THAT...

Then, for anyone going to the Sacramento and Ontario Scrapbook Expos later this month, I have a coupon for free stuff at those, as well. I just love free stuff, don't you?

Anyway, off to bed. I drove for about 7 hours today (stopped for awhile at Scrap Etc., in Birmingham ... they had a whole wall of not-very-old-stuff for 50 percent off! Score! BTW, they recently moved, and Google does not have the correct address. It's 4524 Southlake Pkwy, Hoover, Alabama, 35244), my contact dried out and I am tired... so, more about the great state of Tennessee and the Desert Scrappers retreat later!

Off to Tennessee!

I am off to Tennessee tomorrow, to the Desert Scrappers Weekend Retreat near Nashville. I am looking forward to cropping, as well as meeting some new people. Check out more about this event on the retreat blog. I have only driven through Tennessee briefly on my way from Illinois to Pensacola this summer, so I am looking forward to driving up through the middle of Alabama to The Volunteer State. I printed off some locations of scrapbook stores along the way, so, depending on how my 8-hour drive goes, I might stop by one or two. Oh, and I will download a book on tape to my iPod and make sure my gas tank is full before I hit the Tennessee border, I hear they are still having fuel shortage issues and would rather not get caught up in that mess. What a bummer for them!

Also, anyone in SoCal might like the sound of this: If you just want to shop at the Long Beach ScrapFest next weekend (Oct. 11), there will soon be a coupon for FREE admission! This does not include any crops, classes, gifts or raffles, but I know that a lot of the vendors are bringing their new Summer CHA merchandise to show off and sell, so it might be worth the trip to the Long Beach Convention Center. If you do come, be sure to stop by the K2R and say, "Hi!" I will have a link to the coupon ASAP, so check back later this week.

As for new K2R goodies, there are a few. Some new acrylic items include maple leaves, the words Love and Hope, and - I am really excited about this - a door hanger! I haven't even had a chance to play with my samples, yet, that's how new these items are! Be sure to look for them at the K2R booth starting this weekend in Tennessee and then they will be up on the K2R online store by the the first week of November.

And, of course, we have lots of Fall and Holiday stuff. We've brought back the acrylic shapes for ornaments, diecut acrylic album covers for layered looks will be available soon and so much more... watch for these project ideas.




The metal has been a HUGE hit, as papercrafters realize all the great possibilities with magnetic message boards, home decor and albums. More project ideas for metal will also be hitting the website soon.

Alright now off to pack ... anyone else spend more time packing their scrap stuff than clothes for these weekend retreats?