Not too much in the way of crafting right now. Too busy getting ready for the 25th. I am attempting to make some socks as a Christmas gift, but it works with three different colors and I am just not a three-color-sock person. I do have all of my cards sent out. Here is a version of one of our Christmas cards.

That's it for now. Once this Christmas rush is over I'll be ready to scrapbook those holiday pix!

Big Box Stores? Your choice, but really.....

This is my real job. I can't call it a nine-to-five job, or my forty-hours-a-week job. This is my part time job. It's one I've had for eleven years. It's a paint store. It is a locally, family owned paint store. In fact, it is my family. We are not Home Depot, nor would we ever, ever strive to be. Our philosophy is simple: We care. We don't have fancy decorations, top of the line sales equipment, no orange aprons for us, but if you've been in the store more than once or twice, we can usually remember you. More than likely I will remember what you painted and what color of paint you got. We've color matched everything from a weed to a pair of underwear.

As more and more big box stores move in, we feel the crunch. In these hard times with the economy being what it is, we feel it even harder. People complain about the bad service they receive at these big box stores, yet they continue to go there. Why? Our prices are competetive, our salespeople are knowledgeable. I have seen so many small stores close recently. At what price? Remember pharmacies that actually remembered you? Remember the butcher at the grocery store who was a real man (or woman) that gave you a piece of bologna when you were a kid? If this trend of the big stores monopolizing the market continues, soon our only option will be the big box stores. We will become just a number to them. You can choose. Take a stand and choose to shop small - at small stores, that is. This holiday season remember the little guys. The locally owned shops are going to get my business this year. Take a stand. Or take a number.

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I've learned to never just pick out a color and mixing up the paint without that customer seeing it first. A customer came in this week asking me to help him pick out a "tan" color. I was thinking of something like these:

He landed up picking this as his tan:

Quite a difference!

Christmas Time's a'coming!

I've got more pictures to post, but wanted to update my blog with this picture. I've been busy making Christmas cards, and these are the latest. I'll post then when they are all done, but need to get our family pictures taken first - that happens on Tuesday.

Today my daughter showed me these shoes she made. I love them! It's these kinds of things that make me glad that although my mind may be cluttered and chaotic, there is just enough creativity in it that I can pass on to my children. Of course, having a craft room full of fun things like ribbon and glitter never hurts either!

Reno Cropapalooza 2008

What an awesome time we had at the Cropapalooza! It was held last weekend at Lawlor Events Center in Reno. I arrived around 8:30 on Saturday morning to help set up a little. Then classes kept me busy until later in the afternoon. For some reason I wasn't planning on being so busy that day, but I loved it. I took classes from Technique Tuesday, Fiskars, and Bazzill. In the Technique Tuesday class we worked with the Tile Toppers, made a 12x12 page and a card. In the Fiskars class we made a 12x12 page layout using the Ultra ShapeXpress. We got to use Bazzill's In Stitch'z products in their class, making a 12x12 page and a card. Now I know what to do with that prepunched Bazzill paper. These teachers did such a wonderful job. That's the thing I really love about classes - getting to sample all of these products and try out new ideas. Good for them, of course I want one of everything!
Just the classes would have been good enough for me, but they also offered make and takes. In addition to make and takes being offered by these three companies, Crate Paper also had a make and take for us to do.

All good things must come to an end, so Sunday I packed up my stuff and came back down to real life. I hadn't seen my family much all weekend so it was good to spend the afternoon/evening with them.

I left Cropapalooza with an armful of projects and free goodies. I saw old friends, met new friends and realized that for me, scrapbooking is therapy. Unfortunately, it doesn't cure the common cold, which is what I now have.

I'll leave you with pictures of the most fun I've had in a while. Enjoy!

Showing off our pages that Mary from Technique Tuesday taught us

Amy and I with Joey from Bazzill paper

Showing off Bazzill's make and take

Angela Daniels from Fiskars (Fiskateer #9!)

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Two-sided photo frame (a covered canvas board - cute idea!) from the Fiskars class

Another Fiskars project - we used the Ultra Shape Xpress 5ool 5o cut the waves

Tami, you rock! - Shut the front door!

I love making these buttons. Too bad I jammed up the machine.

Pieces of Flair

Heidi, I mean Angela Witch. She made this costume, isn't it too cute?!

Goodies from Fiskars

Making my recipe swap pages. I almost have them finished. I used the idea from the Bazzill make and take project

Table B - my table

Kathy and Crissy - a HUGE part of Cropapalooza. We love you two!

Amy and Lisa showing off their "What Would Tonna Do" button. Don't even ask me.

Ok, after scrapbooking for two days, you get a little loopy

The tenth already, where does the time go? Today was a scrapbook club get-together. We played with Diamond Glaze. These are two of the projects we worked on. The punches leaves are filled with Diamond Glaze, let dry, then put in the freezer for about five minutes or so. Then when they are taken out and still cold, crack them to give them an aged look, or in this case, to give the leaves veins. Very cool, and looks even better on a larger leaf.

My favorite time of the year is fast approaching. I even played Christmas music yesterday, much to the chagrin of my family. At least I kept it limited to the craft room and not the whole house. A little secret: If your family hates Christmas music when it's not December, play it and see how fast they scatter. A great way to get some crafting done! Made a couple of cards yesterday using the Missy B Designs sets. Love these stamps. They come on a sheet of rubber ready to mount, and I finally got around to mounting on the cushiony stuff.