We Will Always Have Paris

Rubber Chicken Flea Market - Sunday, June 3rd - 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

I know I've been rather lax about updating the site lately.  It seems that (once again), I've managed to suck myself into a ginormous project that is sucking up all of my extra time.  If you haven't heard, Rubber Chicken Stamp Art in Gaithersburg, Maryland is having the mother of all craft Flea Markets this Sunday, June 3rd.  And I'm running it.  Man, I'm a sucker.

Over twenty vendors.

Stamps, papers, embellishments, tools, ribbons, fibers, organizational tools, and scrapbooking supplies.

So many Stampin' Up! sets that I lost count.

Suni (God bless you Suni) and I priced over $16,000 worth of merchandise today at deeply discounted prices.  Like, 1/4 of retail prices.  Like, the kind of prices that will make it worth your drive if you live anywhere near the metro-D.C. area.  Once we priced this stuff, we had to add it up.  And some of it is $0.10.  Imagine adding up that much stuff in ten cent increments.  Have I mentioned that I'm a sucker?

We'll be setting up the Flea Market in the Rubber Chicken parking lot bright and early on Sunday morning.  Shoppers can mob the tables at 9 a.m. and we'll be kicking everyone out at 2 p.m.  Pack a water bottle & lots of cash.

If you happen to hit the sale, please stop by and say "Hi!".  I'll be the one dazed from lack of sleep and muttering to myself in a corner.

This Week at AC Moore (May 30 - June 5, 2007)

This week's AC Moore ad offered quite a bit for paper crafters:

• The standard 40% off coupon.  Get yours by clicking here.
• 50% off all open stock memory paper.  Yup.  50% off.  That includes Basic Grey (the AC Moore in Frederick, MD just put out Blush, Phoebe, Urban Couture and some others...) and Bazzill (the AC Moore in Frederick also has Bazzill Bling by the sheet!) and Cosmo Cricket.  Yummy!
• Fiskars tools are 25% off.
• Purple Cows Two in One trimmer/laminator is only $49.99.

While you're there, take a look at all the new products.  They've really re-vamped the scrapbooking section.  They have the brand new All My Memories Tote-ally Cool Totes for less than the local scrapbook stores.  They also have the big EK Success circle cutter (great for the round Page Maps). 

The prices are low, the coupons are available and the products are brand spankin' new.  The local scrapbook stores are going to have a hard time competing.  It's actually a shame to see the big chain stores carrying the new products.  Please continue to support your local stores.  We need to keep them in business or we'll only be left with the chain stores.  Shop the chains for sales & coupon items only.  Spend your real money at Scrapbooks Plus, or Ashburn Family Scrapbooking, or Scrap Mania, or the handful of other stores still in business in our area.

Happy shopping!

Jo-Ann's Coupon (vailid through 6/6/07)

I'm always on the lookout for a printable coupon for Jo-Anns.  Just found one!  Click here for yours.

I'm off for a quick shopping trip....

New Class & Class Kit Available

In response to my students' earnest pleas for a class using the hot, hot, hot Lockhart stamps, I've developed a gift book (with four cards) featuring their fruit & veggie couture collection.  Take a look:

You can almost smell the fresh produce in this adorable Lockhart-themed gift book. Brimming with images of tomatoes, carrots, leeks and salad fixins' this book is the perfect gift for a friend, garden buff, neighbor or hostess.

In this class, we will make a book from a single sheet of paper, work on colored pencil techniques, and decorate the entire book with a summer veggie theme. Each class kit comes complete with seed packets and materials (including patterned paper I designed myself!) to make beautiful cards featuring the fruit & veggie couture line from Lockhart Rubber Stamps. It's so yummy looking, you'll want to take a bite!

June 16th at Rubber Chicken Stamp Art in Gaithersburg, MD.  Click here to sign up!

July 21st at Angela's Happy Stamper in Reston, VA.  Click here to sign up!

For those of you who are out-of-towners or can't make either of the dates, I'm offering the kit on-line.  The entire $28.00 kit comes ready to assemble. The only things you would need to have on hand are: adhesive, eyelet setting tools and colored pencils (I prefer Prismacolor).  Click here to order a kit or learn more!

Please feel free to e-mail me if you have questions!

This Week at AC Moore (May 23 - 29, 2007)

AC Moore is currently re-vamping their scrapbooking section and oh my holy cow does it look promising!  I was over at the AC Moore in Frederick, MD yesterday and they are putting out Basic Grey's newer lines and Bazzill BY THE SHEET!!  I'm a happy girl today!  Here are this week's deals:

• This week's 40% off coupon.  Get yours by clicking here.
• 40% off all open stock memory paper (um, did I just mention that they now sell Bazzill & Basic Grey by the sheet????)
• All Fiskars paper trimmers are 40% off.
• All Sizzix merchandise is 40% off.
• All Heidi Grace merchandise is 30% off.

Happy shopping!

Local Artist: Jennifer Sizemore - Scrapbooker Extraordinaire

I met Jennifer Sizemore, scrapbooker extraordinaire, at January's Scrap For A Cause.  She's one of those fantastic people that, when you meet her, you feel like you've known her for years.  She's easy-going, talented, and has the kind of dry wit that I appreciate.  A month ago, I featured Lisa Martinez as a local artist and I asked for suggestions for other "local artist" features.  A ton of people (starting with you Jennie Gift!) e-mailed me asking that I feature "Sizemore".  So... here's the scoop on the illustrious Miss Jennifer:

Jennifer, her husband (of, count them, 15 years!) Dave, her 8 year-old funny little boy Jacob, two cats and a dog live in Manassas, VA.  A full time Associate Director for a military association, she plans conferences and events around the country.  She has been keeping scrapbooks in some form since high school (which, by the way is in Punxsutawney, PA for all of you "Groundhog Day" fans!).  She even presented her husband (then her boyfriend) a whole album of their first year together on their second dating anniversary.  Back then she used brown paper pages and scotch tape, but eighteen years later, she still gets that album out to reminisce with him. 

"Paper crafting is my biggest obsession.  Creating layouts is my therapy after a long day at work.  It is my creative outlet, my means of recording our day to day lives, andy my gift to future generations.  I teach classes from time to time, and love to pass my obsession along to others."  Jennifer has been published in Paperkuts, Creating Keepsakes Idea Books, The Big Book of Little Accents, Memory Makers, Rubber Stamper, Paper Crafts, Pine Cone Press and Simple Scrapbooks. She has been on design teams for several online stores, Quickutz, and Lazar StudioWerx. She is currently on the Fiber Scraps design team.  She has a fantastic blog (where, I admit, I steal some of my ideas...) that you'll want to check out!

I asked Suni to come up with some interview questions.  Here they are, along with Jennifer's clever responses:

Do you still have any of your teenage journals? If so, have you scrapped any of the embarrassing things in them?

I am such a packrat for memorabilia, I even have notes that my friends and I passed back and forth in class. *ahem* I mean, in the halls. I hadn't thought about scrapping anything that OLD, and certainly not anything embarrassing... what a great idea! I'll add that to my to do list and get right on it.

What is your scrapping soundtrack?

I usually scrap with my iTunes going on my computer, which means classic rock, 80s pop, and country music. If Jacob is in the room, it is Spongebob and the Hamsterdance Song.

What do you think is or was the most annoying trend?

Oh, where do I even start with this one? I know "everything is okay, as long as you love it" yadda yadda yadda. But really, I cannot stand the look of the extreme freestyle stuff. I also don't like a crazy mix of fonts. Anything more than 2-3 on a layout, and I can hear my college advertising teacher lecturing us about proper typography.

Last craft/scrapping related daydream?

Let's see, I was stuck in a scrapbook store with Orlando Bloom (as Will Turner) and we were trying to figure out how to get the glue to adhere properly. Really, it was craft related.

If you were banned from buying anything but cardstock/adhesive what would you miss most?

Ribbon. I would stop scrapbooking if I had to do it without ribbon.

What is your most embarrassing lo?

Anything from the era of decorative scissors. I had them all and I was not afraid to use them.

Have you reworked any of your early lo's?

Remember when chalk was first introduced to scrappers? There was that book about how to enhance die cuts. Remember? Well, I bought it and some chalk and went to town on every die cut I had ever proudly pasted on a layout. The look much better now. ;)

Is there any scrapping splurge you regret?

All those Frances Meyer kits from MJ Designs. In my own defense, there wasn't much else to buy for scrappers back then.

If money was no object, what tool would you buy?

A Wacom tablet (http://www.wacom.com/graphire/) and someone to teach me how to use it.

If you see Jennifer around (and she's always around), go up & introduce yourself.  She's very open & friendly and you might just get inspired by her!!

This Week at AC Moore

There are some decent deals at AC Moore this week!  Take a look:

• The standard 40% off coupon is a 50% off coupon this week!  Click here to get yours.
• Xyron refills are 40% off.  Time to stock up...
• Rub-ons are 30% off.  This includes the new American Crafts!
• All Cuttlebug products are 40% off.
• Die Cuts With A View card/envelope sets are $4 each (regularly $5.99).
• Lasting Impressions brass stencils (brand new!) are $4.99 (regularly $6.99).

Happy shopping!

Storage For Your Scraps

I'm not one of those people who keeps every single scrap of paper left over from a project, but I do have my share of "leftovers".  What's a girl to do with all of that scrap paper??

I'm a huge fan of the Cropper Hopper vertical paper storage system.  I store all of my 12" x 12" and 8 1/2" x 11" cardstock and patterned paper in their paper holders.  You can find the 12" x 12" holders at AC Moore and Michaels (use your coupons!!) and the 8.5" x 11" can be found at Ashburn Family Scrapbooking, Recollections and Scrapbooks Plus.

To keep my scraps organized, I've used a 12" x 12" Cropper Hopper paper holder to hold the cardstock scraps.  Within that paper holder, I also have a paper pouch to hold my patterned paper scraps.  They are organized by color theme (one for red, one for orange, etc.).  Each paper holder is neatly labeled with a metal rimmed circle tag with the appropriate color in the center.

This is a fantastic way to get yourself organized to make cards.  Use your scraps!  I just pick a color, pull out the paper holder and I have both cardstock scraps and matching patterned paper scraps.  I'm much more motivated to make a bunch of cards if I don't have to go digging for papers AND I'm using my scraps!

On the topic of getting organized, I'd like to give a huge shout out to my friend (and local scrapbooker) Amy Mowbray.  Amy was just selected to be a contributor to the new Organize Magazine.  Click here to read all about it!!

Pretty Little Things

I'm here to profess my love for Sally Jean Alexander.  After seeing her work in the back of a Mary Engelbreit Home Companion years ago, I bought a whimsy stick and a monogram .   I've worn them proudy for years (and had a ton of compliments on them!).  Now that I've finally met her, I'm just bowled over by how simply amazing she is.  She's a brilliant artist and an generous teacher to boot.  I want to be Sally Jean when I grow up. 

This past Christmas, my hubby bought me a spot in Sally Jean's House of Style class at Art & Soul.  The retreat was last weekend and I was beyond excited to run away from home.  I was able to drive down to Hampton, VA (without the typical Elmo/Wiggles soundtrack that my daughter requires) BY MYSELF and check into a hotel BY MYSELF and enjoy plenty of creative time BY MYSELF.  No diapers.  No whining.  No Sesame Street. 

Sally Jean was a wonderful teacher.  She was so open about how she creates her whimsical collage pieces and her charms.  She took us step by step through the whole process, giving us little tips on achieving that "Sally Jean" look.  She didn't try to hide any trade secrets.  She gave us the names of her glass, solder and ephemera resources.  I couldn't believe how willing she was to teach us how to duplicate her look. 

The class project is to die for.  A simple one story house made from thirteen collaged pieces which are placed between glass panes before being soldered together.  This is my little cottage (I apologize for the blurriness - trying to take a non-flash photo of a glass project is a bit more difficult than I thought):

The picture above the fireplace actually hangs in my real bedroom.  The hands belong to me & my hubby.  The picture was taken on our wedding day and it is one of my all time favorites.

I ran out of time to make the furniture, but as soon as I have a spare moment...

I'm desperately trying to get Sally Jean out to our area to teach a weekend retreat.  Interested??

This Week at AC Moore (May 9 - 15, 2007)

I'm back from Art & Soul (pictures to follow soon, I promise!) and I'm scrambling to get ready for this Saturday's Big Top Book.  There are a couple of spots available, so come join me in re-living your childhood through the circus.  I'd love to have you in class!

This week's AC Moore ad arrived this morning.  Here are this week's deals for paper crafters:

• A 40% off coupon!  Click here to get yours.
• 50% off all open stock memory paper.
• Me & My Big Ideas Soft Spoken embellishments are $1 off.
• Glue dots are only $2.99. 
• K & Company scrapbooks are 30% off.
• American Crafts ribbon narrows are 2 for $3 (regularly $1.99 each).
• JetMax organization cubes are half off!
• Scrapbook solutions storage is on sale as well.

That's about it.  Nothing terribly exciting.  Spend your money at your locally owned scrapbook or rubber stamp store instead!  Happy shopping!