Miss Priss' Birthday

Chere, our fellow scrap Diva reached her 51st birthday milestone last week. Four of the five Divas gathered for our usual Scrap Club and to celebrate Priss' birthday. Pam, our fifth Diva and resident baker was absent from Scrap Club so she may spend a long weekend visiting family. But that didn't stop her from baking a Princess cake and Court for Chere. Now that's a true friend! Our scrap challenge this month was to make a mini album using our newest AccuCut album die. I was completely devoid of ideas. My initial thought was to make an album of all my nature photos but after two false starts, I finally landed on an idea I liked. I will post photos of my album when I get it finished. Next month's challenge is cards.

Here are a few photos of Chere's birthday celebration. We love you Priss!

Scrap Etc. 2008

5 months of anticipation
4 great friends
3 days away from home
2 stops along the way to Nashville for scrap supplies
1 FABULOUS event!

After months of planning and expectancy, the day came at last when we made our way to Nashville for Scrap Etc. 2008 (click here for a photo slideshow). Our Ford Expedition was packed nearly to the top with rolling suitcases, camera bags, snacks, and scraparatus. With two off-road diversions for yet more scrap supplies and lunch, we made it to the Gaylord Opryland Hotel with time to spare. Thursday night was the opening ceremony and a sneak peak at our instructors for the next two days. Friday morning came early as we eagerly made our way to the Tennessee Ballroom for a day of scrapping, bonding, and instruction. We shared our excitement with 600 other attendees, all women (go figure! men are scrap wimps). We were on excitement overload as we tore into our scrap kits and whipped out our arsenal of scrap tools and adhesive. It doesn't get better than this! We scrapped from early morning to night, stopping only an hour for lunch and dinner, making calls to home, and shopping at the Scrap Etc. store (3 times!). From the time we handed the car keys to the valet attendant to the day we returned home, we never so much as stepped foot outside. There was no time! Gosh we had fun...

Chere, Judy, Jamie and I eagerly anticipate our next travel event together... Creative Photography Retreat. My life would be so empty without these amazing woman in it. I've written about them in earlier posts, but it bears repeating that these ladies mean the world to me. I can't wait until we travel together again to Connecticut in the fall. In the meantime, I look forward to our Scrap Club get-togethers on the first Sunday of every month. Woo-hoo! Scrap Club is just two weeks away!

Happy Birthday, Judy!

Judy, our Scrap Club Diva and friend, is having a birthday later this month. Because Scrap Club meets on the first Sunday of the month, we celebrated Judy's birthday a bit early. We had a girlie tea (without the tea) consisting of pasta salad, cucumber sandwiches, fresh fruit, chicken basil salad, and other yummy goodies. The grande finale was dessert. Our fellow Diva, Pam, is an accomplished baker and decorator of cakes. There are definite perks to having a friend like Pam. She made a beautiful cake in the shape of a ladies hat and delicate coordinating cookies. Yeah, we girls know how to eat and have fun! Check out additional Scrap Club photos here.

Scrap Club Field Trip

In spite of 2/5ths of the Scrap Club members being sick, and 1/5th in Mississippi on a trip with other friends (how could she choose gambling over us??) , our field trip was sooooooo much fun! A little cough and a one-hour drive wasn't going to keep Pam and me from going to a scrapbook store. And not just any scrapbook store...Archiver's. Say it all together now... oooooo... awwwww. We bow to the Queen of All Scrapbook Stores. When are we going again??

Creative Photography Retreat

Serious bummer! My allotment of vacation - 15 days - is already planned for 2008. Most is consumed in small blocks for the Scrap Etc. event in Nashville (April 17-19), the Creative Photography Event in Stamford CT (October 8-11), and a tentative family Disney trip over Thanksgiving. The remaining days are onsies and twosies throughout the year. There is no room to spare; however, I think I have everything covered. As mentioned in a previous post, the Scrap Club ladies are getting serious about perfecting their photography skills this year. We are attending a two-day educational event that has several top photographers from around the country already on board. Auto mode will become a thing of the past. If you are interested in viewing the event segments, click here.

Scrap Club

On the first Sunday of each month, we meet. We engage in serious scrapping, girl time, eating, and having a rip-roaring estrogen-filled time. Five of us - Chere, Judy, Jamie, Pam and me - bond for six glorious hours. Once in a while, Pete will venture into the lioness' den at great risk and peril. After much heckling, he will slink away to some far away corner of the house to lick his bruised ego. NO BOYS ALLOWED!

Calm before the storm

Thanks for the suggestion, Deb!

Boys and girls, this is what happens when you drink alcohol...

and sniff glue

Alone, each can have embarassing consequences.

Combined, they make you think you can sing like a pop star...

and forget that your microphone is a glue stick.

You go, girl!

************

This proves that we really do accomplish something...

Scrap Etc. Event

I have wonderful friends... three fabulous, generous, fun-loving, scrap buddies. They are Chere, Judy, and Jamie (not only is she my daughter, but she is my BFF). The four of us are going to Scrap Etc. in Nashville, Tennessee April 17-19, and to Connecticut in October (more on this later). Chere and I went together to the first Scrap Etc. event in Birmingham two years ago. All I can say is the girl is crazy! As for the four of us being friends, we click. We are the perfect balance. Chere is the quintisenntial southern belle... beautiful inside and out. Judy is level headed, unflappable and classic. Jamie, the youngest, is the mother of two toddlers who, for reasons I can't understand, prefers to hang out with the Golden Girls rather than women her own age. Lucky us! As for me, I would go to the ends of the earth for any one of these ladies. I am truly blessed!

Check out the Scrap Etc. event here... http://scrapetc.net/event_2008/

Chere ensures her place as first in line at Scrap Etc. '06

Scrap Sanctuary: Part Deux

As addicted as I am to Confessions of A Pioneer Woman and her love of Marlboro Man, I am equally obsessed about my scrap room. In particular, organizing my growing scrap collection. I obsess about everything being in its proper place. I love to pass the time arranging and rearranging in the peace and quiet of my room. No, I don't need to get a life. My life is pretty full already, thank-you-very-much. My scrap room is my sanctuary. It's my favorite place to relax, unwind, and strip away the stress of my day, much like peeling layers from an onion. Ahhhh... there's no testosterone here. You'd have to visit Pete's Man Room to get the low down on tool organization. While you are there, he will gladly pontificate on his hunter/gatherer theory. But that's another story... when you have a spare hour or two...

Magpie organization for storing my QuicKutz alphabets

My inspiration... my family

Stamp storage has never been easier -- my Clip-It-Up organizer

Making Memories makes the best acrylic paint -- aren't the colors yummy?

Partial punch inventory

Another use for Clip-It-Up -- embellishments

You gotta love paper!

My New Scrap Room

We have no furniture in our living room, no window treatments in several rooms, many projects are incomplete or in progress...but my scrap room is 99% complete. Pete willingly (okay, there was a teensy weensy bit of arm twisting) contributed to the scrap room completion by building a base unit for the paper towers, installing peg board, and building stamp shelves, and base unit beneath the shelves. I have only to paint the ceiling in the "ante room" and...voila! it'll be all done! Thanks honey...I owe you BIG time. It looks sooooo pretty!

This room is one-half of the original area. Originally it was long and narrow with a lot of unusable space. Pete convinced me to build a wall separating the room into two spaces -- one half is my scrap room, the other is the TV room. I now have two adjacent scrap rooms -- the inner most room houses the computer, printers and supplies; the outer room for the table and work areas.