CHA report

SIKE!

(that word totally needs to be cool again)

Sorry, I am being a little slow with the CHA report.

Tomorrow, for real!

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But I want to at least tell you who wins a box of KI Memories goodies from me.

Thank you to everybody who commented over on the KI blog about the new products!

I just got a box of them and they are even better in real life!

And

the

winner

is

Michelle!

Michelle said...
Wow, I love it ALL!! Although, I think my favorite is the juicy summer. But, then again, I'm a sucker for fruit paper :)
January 24, 2009 11:27 AM

So email me, Michelle, at gretchenmcelveen@yahoo.com with your address and I will get some stuff out to you by Monday!

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Speaking of KI, I just posted these cards in the KI gallery.

The rest of the team is uploading their projects for the month today also so check it out-their work is fabulous always!

(Supplies: KI Memories Bloom patterned papers, Scripty stickers, chipboard shapes, & brads and a piece of green patterned paper from the Festive collection)

TGIF!!
gretchen

It was a corduroy kind of day

I have this pair of brown corduroy pants that I wear to work.

I wash them, hang them to dry, and they are ready to wear.

No ironing needed.

They are my only work pants that need no ironing.

I make sure they are always clean.

I mean, they get washed the minute I am done wearing them.

And I save them for those days when I am running late or when I need to hit the snooze button just 1 more time.

Today was one of those days.

Roughly 3 hours of sleep and no milk in the fridge for my daily Carnation Instant Breakfast means it was a corduroy day all the way.

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But I made it successfully through the day and zero patients were harmed in the process.

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I will do a more thorough CHA post tomorrow but I can share some pics at least now.

So Lucy celebrated a birthday (21 I am pretty sure) while we were in California.

We skipped out of the show a little early and ventured to Disneyland so she could get in for free!

YAY!
Happy birthday Lucy!

Lucy claims not to be a big Disney fan at all.

But I think Brittney and I might be changing her mind.

Yep, that makes Brittney and I in Disneyworld at the beginning of January and then across the country in Disneyland at the end of the month!

Gosh, life is so tough, isn't it?!

Funny, huh!??!

I like how no one is with me.

Poor B is both Dopey and Beast.

Ha!

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I must go to bed.

I cannot wear the corduroys 2 days in a row.

I will draw a KI winner tomorrow!

good night!
gretchen

checking in

Just checking in from Las Vegas.

Yes, I realize that CHA was in Anaheim but we have a layover in Vegas.

Our flight out of Anaheim was cancelled so they moved us to a later flight and then our Vegas flight has been connected.

We are scheduled to arrive in Birmingham at 2:00 AM.

Lovely.

I will be glad to be back in Alabama.

I feel sorry for my patients tomorrow.

:)

I will do a more interesting post tomorrow after I wake up from a long nap.

Lucy, Brittney, and I had a great time and Lucy has lots of fun things planned for Scrap Etc. and Scripts.

And we went to Disneyland.

Good times.

More interesting post tomorrow.

:)

gretchen

KI Sneaky peeks!

Check them out on the KI Blog.

niiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiice!!!!

What do you think??

If you comment there and then comment here that you commented there (did you get all that??), I will draw a name and send you some fun KI goodies when I get back from CHA.

Oh crap! CHA! I have got to pack!

:)

My fav(e) 8 of 2008

Jumping on the bandwagon here.

Posting my favorite layouts of 2008.

Man, I love scrapbooking!

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In no particular order...

#1.

Because reflection makes it really fun to scrapbook.

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#2.

Because she is so cute & I like that there is no picture on the left page.

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#3.

Because my brothers are the coolest.

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#4.

Because this was my first layout published in CK & it is fun.

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#5.

Because I love the fun pictures & the way the title turned out.

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#6.

Because this one was fun to make and it is all true.

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#7.

Because I love these girls.

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#8.

Just because.

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TGIF!!

gretchen

This is my voice

Because I have no real voice today.

It is gone but I have a nice sore throat in its place.

Excellent.

Typing is much easier on the ole vocal cords.

I think I can feel them throbbing in my ears.

Know any good remedies?

Hot tea...got it. OTC cold meds...got 'em. Orange juice...drinking it but would rather Dr. Pepper.

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I cannot be sick.

I have no time for this.
Nor do I want to take any days off work for this.

I am going to CHA in a few days.

And it would be down right wrong to breath germs on perfectly good scrapping supplies.

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OK I have another "good" layout for you.

This is another one I found while sorting through/organizing picture files on my 'puter.

This one is for Brittney (who is also a bit under the weather today).

She was the brains and muscle behind BamaSCRAPblast-the single event that threw me head first into this hobby and officially made me a full-fledged scrapbooking nerd.

**Disclaimer: Please note the date on the layout...2005. That was several years ago.**

Chuckle.

happy hump day.

gretchen

For your entertainment

For all you scrapbookers out there, was there any one thing that really sold you on the hobby?

Or was there anything that helped define you as a scrapbooker?

For me it was this magazine/idea book.

This was my first idea book purchase ever.

And I developed a major scrapbooking crush on Becky Higgins.

(But who doesn't have one, right?!)

I think I have used every sketch in this magazine at least one time.

It might have been the best $14.95 I have ever spent.

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So for your entertainment I thought I would share just a few of the layouts I made based on sketches from this book.

(Really, I was organizing pictures on my computer earlier and came across these old layouts of mine. I was entertained by them so I thought I would give you a chuckle also)

**Disclaimer: These layouts are well over 4 years old. Handle with care.**
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Let's see, here's Lee playing in a baseball league.

I loved those Making Memories foam stamps that are used for the title here. I think I used them on every layout for a year. Seriously.

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Rockin' the Dymo here!

I loved these Making Memories rub-ons too.


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See, I knew my card-holder layout was not original!
Becky is smarter than me.


I see that my love for brads has withstood the test of time.
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OK this one is getting a little bit better.
It is from my cute sister-in-law's lingerie shower.

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But to redeem myself, here are a few relatively recent ones that I submitted to CK.
If only they could see into my heart and know how much I love these sketches, they might finally publish one of mine.

I still have that original Sketches book.

And the 2nd one.

Stop laughing at me.

Have a great night.

gretchen

5 for 5...count it!

Is it possible?

4 days. 4 posts.

Crazy.

So what are the chances I could post every day for 1 entire week?

Hmmm.

Then I risk yall finding out how uneventful my life really is.

But I will try it.

It will be a challenge for myself.

1 post everyday for a week.

I started Friday 1/16.

And I will post everyday until Friday 1/23.

That will actually be a total of 8 posts in a row.

Contain your excitement people.

This could be fun.

Or really boring.

You be the judge.

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Speaking of challenges, I just posted this layout in the KI Gallery based on this challenge by the fabulous Jamie Waters.

Yeah, yeah, that is the same picture I used on a layout in a post from a couple days ago.

But that layout is going to CHA with My Little Shoebox and I need one for keeps.

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See you tomorrow...hopefully.

gretchen

"For I know the plans I have for you;" declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you; plans for a hope and a future."

Jeremiah 29:11

Random...

...and playing a little catch up here.

Please excuse the rambling about to ensue.

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Did you see that another teacher has been added to this year's Scrap Etc. event line up??

It is the fabulous Melodee Langworthy!

You can learn more about the event here.

Or just ask me & I will tell ya what I know!

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The super sweet Lisa Tanner bestowed this honor upon me a couple weeks ago.

Thanks, Lisa!

(sorry for the delayed response)

So I am to answer these questions with ONE-word answers.
1. Where is your cell phone? desk
2. Where is your significant other? Trey's
3. Your hair color? brown
4. Your mother? Mississippi
5. Your father? wise

6. Your favorite thing? Lee

7. Your dream last night? none
8. Your dream/goal? travel
9. The room you're in? quiet
10. Your hobby? scrapping
11. Your fear? snakes
12. Where do you want to be in six years? content
13. Where were you last night? here
14. What you're not? perfect
15. One of your wish list items? shoes
16. Where you grew up? Mississippi

17. The last thing you did? grocery
18. What are you wearing? jacket

19. Your TV? on
20. Your pet? hyper
21. Your computer? Dell

22. Your mood? lazy

23. Missing someone? sure
24. Your car? dirty
25. Something you're not wearing? hat
26. Favorite store? GAP
27. Your Summer? hot
28. Love someone? sure
29. Your favorite color? red
30. When is the last time you laughed? today
31. Last time you cried? Sunday
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I finished up that last My Little Shoebox layout I was working on.

This line is so cute!

No, no, she does not actually belong to me.

I just told her momma I would make her a couple of layouts if I can use her picture.

Ain't she a cutie!?

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Alright, that's all I've got.

3 posts in 3 days...nice.

Don't get used to it.

Have a great week!
gretchen

Back to scrappy things

Well it has been way too long since I have had an all night scrapapalooza at my house.

So with a new box of My Little Shoebox goodies and no long run to worry about in the morning, I scrapped until my heart's content last night.

The one problem when I do this is that I end up doing alot of the same things on all my layouts.

You will note these trends on these projects: kraft paper, brads, & typed strip journaling (of course, this is kind of all my layouts these days. ha!).

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So I got the new Wonderful line from My Little Shoebox to work with for CHA.

(but I got blue glitter alphas instead of the pink ones pictured here.)________________________________________________________________

And here is some stuff I made during my all night scrapapalooza.

These little kiddos belong to a friend that I work with.

She lets me borrow her kids.

I get to practice using my camera.

She gets an occasional good picture.

It is a good trade and they make for cute layouts.

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Here is a simple little journal.

I cut chipboard with an Accucut die to make the cover for the journal and then covered it with patterned paper.

I cut unlined paper to fit the inside (bc I can never find unlined journals!), then punched holes through the cover & pages, & added binder rings.

I dug through the ole stash to find some eyelets to make a little closure on the tabs on the side.

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And a couple of quick cards:



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And more layouts.

This is Lee & I on our anniversary trip to Gatlinburg.

Yeah, yeah, the title + journaling is a bit cheesey but I couldn't resist!

Note to self: scarves are not friendly on the ole double chin.

Awwww, it's Katie and I.

I've still got 1 more layout in the works but I finally ran out of creative juices in the wee hours of the morning and had to call it a night.

Check out the My Little Shoebox blog for more projects with the other new lines by the rest of the design team.

I think you will like what you see!

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Have a great weekend!

gretchen

26.2...been there, run that

And I live to tell about it...again.

When I committed to do this again I made 3 goals:

1) Train harder and be better prepared than last year.

2) Finish in under 5 hours.

3) Make sure that this year's pictures are much better than last year's. This is a big one. As a scrapbooker it really hurts my layouts when I look like death in each and every picture. I just can't have that.

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Going into the marathon I had accomplished my first goal. I was much better prepared this time. Sure, I could have been even better prepared, but I had put in the time and put in the miles so I was ready for this one.

This is Brittney and I before the start.

It is roughly 4:30 AM in this picture so back off with any snide comments!

The next few hours would be telling as to whether or not I would accomplish my other 2 goals.

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Lee did a great job of trekking around all over Disney to cheer us on and snap some photos.
This is the first one he got of us at ~9 miles into it as we ran through the Ticket & Transportation Center on our way to Magic Kingdom.

So far so good on the pictures.
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Yep, he carried it the entire way.

And check this guy out!
It's Spartan Guy!
And he is fully garbed in his helmet, arm guards, and cape while carrying a sword...for 26.2 miles.
What you cannot see is that he is also wearing boots-not Nikes, but knee high boots.
Impressive, I must say (and also quite nutty).

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I am not trying to bite anyone here.

This is just the best smile I could muster at ~24-25 miles with burning thighs and achy feet.

At least I don't quite look like death, however.

So I am going to go with #3 goal accomplished: much better pics this time around!

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And with a finishing time of 4:49:27 I accomplished that 2nd goal also.

Sweet.

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We don't look too bad after running all over Disney, do we?!?!

And there was still enough energy left in the tank to play a little.
(well, after lots of food & Gatorade, a long shower, and a nap that is!)

So when is the next one??!!

gretchen

Sneaks

(WARNING: Ignore this post if you happen to not be a scrapbooker. This is all meaningless to you.)

Ah, one of my favorite times of the year...the debut of new scrapping goodness!

I've got some sneak peeks of the new My Little Shoebox lines.

I love how these double-sided papers always have a "busy" pattern on one side and a more subtle pattern on the other side.

Check out the fun die cut paper!There are new colors for the tiny alpha stickers!

This next one is just too cute:

There are the tiny alphas as well as chipboard and glitter alphas! The papers are now cardstock weight and I love that!

I've got the Wonderful line in my hands right now with a couple of layouts in progress.

I will post when I get the OK!

TGIF!!

gretchen

Moving on

OK now that we have established that I am not a speller, let's move on to more interesting and important things.

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On Saturday I leave to go to the happiest place on earth.
On Sunday Brittney and I (and B's husband but he will be way ahead of us!) will be running around that happiest place on earth.

B said she heard it was called the "26 Most Magical Miles on Earth".

However, if you look closely you will see an ugly hairpin turn along miles 20-21.

Yeah, that area=NOT so magical!!!!!!!!

But then not long after that, we will be hit MGM (it will always be MGM to me) and then Epcot...much better and definitely magical!!!!

The most magical place of all=finish line, baby!

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In scrappy news, if you are around Birmingham on Saturday, Jan 24th, you must check out Katie's Use your Scraps class.

It is from 10-12:00 noon and it is only $10.

You will make 3 12x12 layouts and 2 cards.

(I stole these sneak peeks from Katie's blog)

I saw a few of the projects that Katie made for the class and I tell ya-she can rock the scraps like no other!!!!

Be sure you check it out if you can!

Contact Katie at katie@scrapetc.com if you have questions.

Call the store at (205) 985-9323 to sign up!

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Speaking of Katie...she tagged me with this little quiz.

I can only answer each question with one word.

Here goes:
1. Where is your cell phone? charging

2. Where is your significant other? work

3. Your hair color? brown
4. Your mother? creative
5. Your father? wise
6. Your favorite thing? Lee
7. Your dream last night? running
8. Your dream/goal? success
9. The room you're in? bedroom
10. Your hobby? scrapping
11. Your fear? snakes
12. Where do you want to be in six years? content
13. Where were you last night? Habeneros (sp??)
14. What you're not? patient
15. One of your wish list items? car
16. Where you grew up? Mississippi
17. The last thing you did? work
18. What are you wearing? sweater
19. Your TV? "Friends"

20. Your pet? Shada
21. Your computer? Dell
22. Your mood? tired
23. Missing someone? yeah
24. Your car? ghetto
25. Something you're not wearing? watch
26. Favorite store? scrapbooking
27. Your Summer? fine
28. Love someone? yes
29. Your favorite color? red
30. When is the last time you laughed? today
31. Last time you cried? Christmas

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And in one more piece of scrappy news...to redeem myself after the terrible misspelling, I made another layout using The Scrapbooker's Creativity Kit.

I posted this over on the MMM blog also but thought I would share it here and brag about all the correctly spelled words on this one.

(my word was "escape" and my colors were blue & green)
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Happy hump day!

gretchen