Scrapbook crop in the Ohio area

Woohoo!! I'm so excited -- there is a Scrapper's Dream Vacation event practically in my backyard! If you live within a few hours of the Cincinnati airport (which we all know is in KY), you should check this out! It's the 9th Annual Heartland SDV and will be held at the Holiday Inn Cincinnati Airport in Erlanger, KY. You pick a package based on how many days you want to crop and whether you want to stay at the hotel or not. This is a fantastic opportunity to enjoy one of these crops relatively close to home. Plus, you have until May 27, 2009 to pay for it. Using their website, you can even make payments so it isn't one big payment. How's that for convenience? We all know how hard it can be to come up with the money for one of these events but Nancy and her crew make it easy for you!

If you are further south, you should look into the 11th Annual Eastern Tennessee SDV. This one is held at the MeadowView Conference Resort & Convention Center. Last year it was absolutelybeautiful driving down through the mountains -- all the trees were in bloom and the weather was absolutely perfect! If you are interested in this one, you had better hurry -- final balances are due by March 2, 2009.

Okay, I'm going back to work restocking for the upcoming SDVs... ;) Hope to see you there!

Ronda

Magazine layouts

Okay, normally I don't post much in the way of opinions but I gotta confess...I'm really thinking about stopping my subscriptions to scrapbook magazines! The last one I received (and I'm not mentioning the name) was really a disappointment. I looked through the entire thing and I think 80% of the pages only had one picture on the page!! Now, I don't know about you, but I have a LOT of photos and if I only put one picture on a page, I would have hundreds of albums. I also have a problem with the amount of embellishments on the page. Last time I checked, scrapbooks were for preserving memories and that included photos. Some of the pages I barely noticed the picture -- there was too much "stuff" on the page that drew my eye away from the real reason for the page.

How about you? What do you think about the layouts that you see in the magazines? Do you think they are a little over the top or do you like a lot of embellishment on your pages? Let me know by leaving a comment! Who knows? Maybe you can convince me that there is a reason for all of the extra stuff.

Ronda

More new kits

Gosh, seems like this past weekend just flew by! My sister and I went to a "Crop Till You Drop" in West Lafayette, IN and had a blast! There were lots of wonderful people there and I managed to snag some new stamps on clearance from one of the other vendors which is always a bonus. Plus, we stayed with my friend Melissa and her family which was a lot of fun. I gotta tell you, if you are in that area and have a chance, you should definitely try to make it to one of these crops -- Melissa and her crew do a fantastic job. There was TONS of food and drink and best of all, you could crop as long as you wanted! Rumor has it, some die hards didn't leave until around 5am. ;) For only $30, it's a real bargain!

While I was at the crop, I managed to whip up three new layouts! Woohoo!! The Dad kit is one that I started many months ago and just couldn't seem to finish. I don't know about you, but I think it turned out great! I have to thank my friend Shannon for standing by me and helping me with this one, though. Although Shannon is only 9, she is already an accomplished scrapbooker with a great eye for color and layouts. Thank you, Shannon!

I also managed to finish up the Birthday Boy and Birthday Girl kits. These are a lot of fun to do -- no custom die cuts but they do have lots of bright colors. One of the fun elements in these layouts is the use of 3-D Dots to elevate the letters and some of the other stickers. This gives the layout dimension and keeps it from looking so flat. These kits include two different Doodlebug patterned papers and very bright colors of cardstock.

Got an idea for another new kit? Be sure to post it here and I'll see what I can do! Until the next time, happy scrapbooking!

Ronda

They're back...

Who's back? Why, the SBI Chef Kidz! And the What's Cookin' kit is now available again in the store! Woohoo!! For those who have never seen it, you had better run...not WALK...to the store and check it out. Last time we released it, it sold out in 2 days. :O This time I think we have enough to last for a few days but if not, I can cut more and ship them off to Teresa at Scrapbooker's Buzz to get more ready for kits. Not only that, but I am also getting ready to re-design the Chef Kidz Recipe Book kit and that will be available again as well.

Are you ready for more news about the Kidz? Well, Teresa and I are working on releasing a whole line of kits featuring the SBI Kidz! They aren't ready yet but they are on the cutting table and almost ready to be shipped to her for her magical finishing touch. Don't forget -- if the paper piecing Kidz aren't your style, check out her stamps when you visit her site. You can even pick up the Chef Kid stamp if that's more your style!

Until the next time...

Ronda

New Kits

Yeah! New year, new kits in the store!!

In case you haven't stopped in the store lately, we have a few new kits waiting for you. First is the Dinosaurs kit. This one is perfect for trips to the museum or just pictures of your little one playing with the dinosaurs or even reading about them in his or her favorite book. Or how about the Halloween pictures where they were dressed up as their favorite dinosaur?

Next up is the only pre-made page kit that I currently offer...the Woodland page kit. This is one of the first kits that I did and I recently found a stash of them so I decided to put them back up on the website. Featuring lots of mats for photos, it also has a journaling block and a small title block where you can write your own. Probably the best part is the rub-ons that are already applied to the page so no tools or know-how is required! All the photo mats are pre-cut to 4x6 so just add your photos and go!

School Days, school days...yep, we have a new School Days kit! This one has lots of primary colors but it also includes a pre-assembled apple with an adorable little bookworm popping out of it! It also has a large pre-assembled pencil paper piecing, lots of mats, and even a space for your favorite school child's 5x7 picture. Be sure to order yours today!


Our last new page kit, License 2 Drive, is for all of you who have a new driver in your household. It has large street signs, plenty of mats for pictures and even a transparency that is a black and white checkered pattern. With all of the street signs pre-assembled, it only leave adding the pictures and putting all the elements on the page for you to do. And as most of you know, all of the kits include full color pictures and easy to follow assembly directions.

Whew! Okay, that's it for all of the new kits so far but rest assured -- I have lots of new ones in store for you in the upcoming weeks so be watching!

Ronda