Friday Focus On

TGIF!!

Friday means the weekend is here!
It also means a new Focus On over on the KI blog.
Today's focus is enlargements.

Perfect!

I have been wanting to do a layout about these shoes!

I printed the picture onto the top half of a sheet
of 8.5 x 11 photo paper.
Then I built the rest of the layout on top of the photo paper,
so I am totally calling this a hybrid layout!

Supplies: All KI Memories: Houndstooth 1 Sheer Delights, Festive Baubles patterned paper,

Flourish Tag Pad, School Days brads, Headline Black Alpha, Cookie Cutter Red Alpha,
Hearts Brick lace cardstock

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And check this out!
You can now get a bit of Kenner Road &
Kerry Lynn Yeary's genious
in the form of a couple of digital kits at 2peas!
It's a good thing I am working on my hybrid skills!
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Have a great weekend!
:)
gretchen

Fav{e}s

My favorite things about CHA

{besides the obvious deliciousness provided by some of my favorite companies like My Mind's Eye, KI Memories, Pink Paislee, My Little Shoebox, American Crafts, Cosmo Cricket, Little Yellow Bicycle & October Afternoon among others}

are these:

Running with B around Disney.

The opportunity to meet some real famous people.
{crafting is no joke people. Paris Hilton was at this thing last year. don't hate}

This is Kathy Ireland in case for some reason you do not recognize her.
I told her she was beautiful.
Oh how original I am!

Meeting up in real life with other
scrap-obsessed people that I call friends.
{insert pictures here...dangit i didn't take any!! shame, shame, shame on me!!}

And finding my single favorite product of the show!
{which NOBODY guessed correctly!}
I love, love, love these chipboard letters from Pink Paislee!
Yes, the fact that they come in red and houndstooth and have an already-weathered look totally sold me.
I will take 2 of each please!
:)
gretchen

Home sweet home

It was a short but sweet {and productive} trip to California.

We walked the floor for hours.

Saw lots and lots of fabulous new stuff.

Met some new friends and caught up with old ones.
Missed some others.
Did not take enough photos.

{bad scrapbooker, bad!}

Saw some famous people.

No, not them!

Her!

And her!

{whose new line with American Crafts is fabulous by the way!!}

Ran a couple of times in the pretty Cali sun.
{and almost literally ran over Jenni & Jared Bowlin!}
Jumped a fence trying to take a shortcut
to meet some people for dessert.
And trekked through some bushes too.
The cheesecake was worth it.
Did not get enough sleep.
We never do.
But do not regret it.
{even though i might tomorrow when i return to work}
Returned home safe & sound to a husband
who is understanding enough to let me go trouncing
around on my silly scrapbooking adventures.
And that is good stuff.

So tomorrow I will post my single favorite product of the show.

{i saw sooo much stuff that i like & that will be helping to put a dent in the ole wallet as soon as it arrives in stores, but i think i have narrowed it down to my single favorite product of the whole show}

Wanna make a guess as to what it is??

{if anybody gets it right i might have to send them a happy. but not this product of course. no way. i will be hoarding it thank you very much}

Brittney you are not allowed to guess.
Catch you tomorrow!
Going to try to catch up on some sleep.

:)

gretchen

Cards!

I've got a few cards up on the Kenner Road blog today.
Here's one of 'em...

But there are more here so check them out!
_______________________________
{i made them all with Kenner Road's January kit which is
sold out now but you can subscribe now & get February's kit for sure}
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I'm still in California.
Be home tomorrow!

Happy Monday!
:)
gretchen

Going back to Cali

This time this past Wednesday I was disappointed
I was not going to CHA.
This time on Thursday I was pumped that I was going.
There's nothing like a spontaneous trip across the country!!
I am looking forward to seeing so many people who I really only get to communicate with cyberly!
And I am excited about this and this and this and all this and this stuff and of course this and this!!
I will share my fav{e}s when I get back!
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In other news, want to help a girl out??
Brittney is trying to win a contest (aka cash flow).
Will you click on this link and help her get closer to winning??!
{don't worry, it is a safe site...i wouldn't do that to ya!}
She is trying to get to 2,000 hits!!
Thanks for helping!!
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Since this weekend will be all about scrapbooking for me,
I feel the need to share some stuff!

Like this simple card...

Supplies: Cardstock (Prism), Patterned paper (KI Memories), Epoxy alphas (KI Memories), Brads (KI Memories & American Crafts), Flowers (Making Memories, Prima)

And this layout that I never shared here...

Published in the November '09 Creating Keepsakes
Supplies: Patterned paper (KI Memories), Chipboard embellishments (Making Memories), Alphabet stickers (American Crafts, Making Memories), Brads (American Crafts), Journaling block rub-on (Hambly), Pen (American Crafts)

Thanks for looking!!
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Have a great weekend friends!
:)
gretchen

Giveaway winner

Random Integer Generator
Here are your random numbers:14
Timestamp: 2010-01-20 23:28:30 UTC

which means that the winner is:
HoweverAlthough said...
You must pick me! The "Lucky Me" design is perfect for scrapping about my dog, Clover!
January 19, 2010 11:52 AM

So CONGRATS Mandy!!

The Little Yellow Bicycle stuff is all yours!

{let me know if you want me to mail it to you or if you will be gracing us
with your presence in B'ham anytime soon!}
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And just for fun I made this layout for the sketch challenge
over on the My Mind's Eye blog.

{it ends tomorrow so play along if you want!}

Patterned papers, rub-ons (My Mind's Eye); Foam Thickers,
jeweled brads (American Crafts); Cardstock (Prism)
____________________________________________
Thanks for all the advice about my blog header.
I am still working on it!
:)
That's all I've got for now!
gretchen

Annoyed

OK I spent like 2 hours the other day making
a new header for this blog.
{i have not really meant to leave such a booooring header up there for so long}

It took me so long because my digi skills are lacking!
{which is unfortunate since there is about to be some great digi stuff up for sale at 2peas and I would like to play with it without it being an act of Congress!}

So anyway, I made this header which I really like.

{it is simple but cute, i think}

I am all excited that I made it all by myself and it's kind of cute!!

Then I go to add it.

ERROR!

I thought maybe it was a temporary little glitch with blogger so I tried for every hour on the hour that day to add it and I have tried & tried for the past couple of days too.

Nothing.

Still the same *#$!!#* error.

Blasted!

I have even posted on the blogger help forums
and have gotten no help.

So until I can figure out how to make it work {and if any of you smart people have any advice, spill it!}, I am just going to post it here.

Hrmph.
_____________________________
P.S. the giveaway in the post below is still going on.
I will pick a winner tomorrow night.

Lucky me! **GIVEAWAY CLOSED**

I was lucky enough to get my hands on some of the newest stuff from Little Yellow Bicycle.
LYB has several new, delicious lines coming out at CHA at the end of this month.
Need a rugged boy line? Check out Generation Z!
I absolutely adore the colors and soft patterns in Clothesline!!
And I get to play with the Lucky Me line!

This line is full of great greens & blues and I love it!

{Patterned paper, rub-ons, border sticker, jewels,
clover overlays: All Little Yellow Bicycle}

{Patterned paper, jewels, cardstock stickers,
journaling spot: All Little Yellow Bicycle}

{Patterned paper, ribbon, chipboard, rub-ons,
clover sticker: All Little Yellow Bicycle}

****
be back soon!
I'm being
published!!
****
{Patterned paper, border sticker, journaling spot,
clover overlay, cardstock stickers: All Little Yellow Bicycle}

So what do you think?
Like it?
Tell me what you think about this line and I will draw a winner in a couple of days & send somebody some of it!
{rumor has it that LYB has a few more lines also debuting at CHA, so be on the look out!}
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While we are talking new scrapbooking products, have you seen the KI and My Little Shoebox sneak peeks??
KI has a new Confetti Collection that is full of bright colors and fun patterns!
See more here.

My Little Shoebox has 6 fun new lines!

I see lots of reds, blues, and greens in these lines & I am pretty excited about that!
See more here.
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OK that's all I've got!
Happy Sunday!!
:)
gretchen

Kenner Road creations

The January gallery is up at Kenner Road.

And it rocks!

Here are my contributions...

This is me & Lee on our annual trip to Gatlinburg for our anniversary.

Patterned paper (Pink Paislee, Sassafras); Chipboard alphas (American Crafts)

I was organizing pictures on our computer this weekend (a terrible task, btw!)
and stumbled upon this picture that I forgot I had.
It is significant mostly because it is the only picture I have with our dog & it is probably the only picture she will ever let me take with her.

So it had to be scrapped!
Patterned paper (Pink Paislee, Sassafras); Chipboard alphas (Pink Paislee); Flower stickers (Sassafras); Button (Basic Grey)

10 miles to start off this year!
{which is significant because it means that I am
now so lame on New Year's Eve that I
feel well enough the next morning to run 10 miles.
oh how times have changed}

______________________
***

UH OH!!

It's a goner!
Because it is being published!!
***
______________________

Patterned paper (Sassafras); Chipboard alphas (American Crafts); Star stickers (Sassafras); Button (Basic Grey)

These Thickers might be my single favorite scrapbooking product of the moment!!
Here's a little funny layout about our dog that I have been meaning to scrap.
The colors in this kit were perfect for these pics!

Patterned paper (Pink Paislee, Sassafras); Chipboard alphas (American Crafts); Heart sticker (Sassafras); Buttons (Basic Grey); Stamp (Kenner Road exclusive); Ribbon (vintage)

Be sure to check out all the awesome stuff in the Kenner Road gallery!
And keep up with the blog where there will be all kinds of projects
in the next few weeks with this month's kit.
:)
gretchen

Featured

Cool!
I have a card featured on the Scrapbook and Cards Today blog.
{and how appropriate since it is so bloomin' cold around here!}

Supplies: Cardstock (Die Cuts with a View), Patterned paper (KI Memories), Alphabet stickers (KI Memories), Lace cardstock (KI Memories), Bling (Heidi Swapp and Kaiser)
Thanks for looking!!
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The January Kenner Road kit goes on sale tonight.

Come chat with us tonight (9:00 or 10:00 CST-i have serious time-zone-figuring-out issues!), see the new gallery, & get your kit while it's available!
{btw, i loooove this kit very much!}

Hey, tomorrow is Friday!
YAY!!
:)
gretchen

pssssst

I've been playing with my January Kenner Road kit.

It might be my most-favorite kit ever!
{and let me go on the record and say that i do not say that every month
or about every kit i get my hands on}

The colors in this one are delicious.
And there is a ton of great variety in the papers!

Sassafras, Pink Paislee, Basic Grey, rad new Thickers,
Prima flowers, cool exclusive Kenner Road stamps, and more!
Please join us tomorrow at 10 pm CST for the gallery reveal.
There will be a live chat going on then also.

Just click the link at the top of the home page on the Kenner Road site for the chat.
{there will be giveways for sure! good ones too.}
And then kits will be available at 11 pm CST.

yesssssssss!!
:)
gretchen

Challenge time!

It's my turn to put up a challenge on the KI blog.

My challenge is a pretty simple one: Scrap some pictures
or an event you have been putting off. Play catch up!

I don't know about you but I have many, many pictures from
this past year that I have not even touched.
And there are some pictures that I have just plain been avoiding
for awhile and I cannot get motivated to scrap them.
So my challenge to you this week is a selfish one
because it is a challenge I needed for myself!
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I scrapped my pictures from the Disney marathon that happened a year ago!
{since they ran the 2010 marathon yesterday I figured I should go ahead & scrap my 2009 pics!}
I am not exactly sure why I had been avoiding these pictures.
I printed them months ago but for some reason never got around to scrapping them.
But I finally did it! I got them on a layout and now I can move on!

Here is the layout I made from the 2008 marathon.
I wanted my 2009 layout to follow a similar design.
{sadly there will be no 2010 layout obviously because i wimped out}

Print out those pictures that you really need to get scrapped
& just do it!
Get it done!
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FYI: There is a chance for you to win some KI goodies
if you go and leave a comment on this post.
__________________________________________
I hope you had a great Monday!
I had jury duty.
And I have to go back tomorrow.
{shhhh...i find it very interesting...don't tell anyone}

:)
gretchen

Windchill = 9 degrees

Actual temperature = 26 degrees

The sun never came out from behind the clouds.

There were snow flurries throughout the race.
The water & Gatorade at the water stations

along the course was more like drinking a slush.

I think I ran an entire mile with my hands in my pockets because I could not feel my pinkies despite wearing gloves.

We were wearing many, many layers of clothing.
And did not regret a single layer.
{even though Dad's battery-powered heated vest might have been a bit much}
Yet these 2 had a ball.

And I was glad to finish with all feeling still in my fingers & toes.

I think she is ready to do another one regardless of the elements.

And Dad is looking forward to buying more running gear
and gadgets to keep him warm.

Congrats to Mom & Dad on their first 1/2 marathon!
(Mississippi Blues Marathon & Half Marathon in Jackson, MS)

How was your Saturday??
I hope it was at least a bit warmer than mine!
:)
gretchen

I realized something as I was sending out a few Christmas cards over the holidays.

I need a better system for keeping up with addresses.

My tear-off-the-return-address-labels-and-store-them-in-an-envelope method
is not very efficient.

And the store-the-addresses-in-your-cell-phone method
is just too high-tech for me.

So I just decided to make my own address book.
****

IT IS NOT HERE

BECAUSE

IT IS BEING

PUBLISHED!!

BE BACK SOON
****

I used my December kit from Kenner Road to make it & I have a little tutorial up on the Kenner Road blog today to show you how.

Check it out!

:)

gretchen

Project 365

It might be a long year if this is what it takes
to get a good picture everyday.

{and this was only on 1/2/10}
:)
gretchen

Playing catch up

While recovering from the holidays this past weekend
I realized that there are several projects
I have made but have not yet shared here.

So I am playing catch up today!
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Here's a layout I made with the Sky's the Limit line from My Little Shoebox.
That's my Grams with all her boys!

**BE BACK SOON**
I AM BEING PUBLISHED

**YESSSSSSSSS**

Here are a couple of cards also made with some fun My Little Shoebox stuff.
_______________________
**BE BACK SOON**
I AM BEING PUBLISHED

**YESSSSSSSSS**
_______________________
I used some cool Shimmerz to paint the chipboard letters on this card.
In November (see how behind I am), My Little Shoebox
teamed up with Shimmerz (paints) & Clear Scraps (album).
Here is what I made with the shiny, glittery paints and
the chipboard album I got to play with!



{sorry, my pics don't really do the paints justice}

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Christmas for most of the world may be over.

But Christmas for scrapbookers is just around the corner!
And My Little Shoebox has sneak peeks of their
new lines coming out at CHA up on their blog.

Check it out!
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Thank you for all the ribbon storage ideas!
If you have more ideas, keep 'em coming!
________________________________________
OK I think that makes me officially caught up.

Happy Monday!
:)
gretchen

New Year's Resolution #1

Clean up this ribbon disaster I have on my hands!

It's a good thing I've got a whole year to work on it!

Anybody got any good ribbon storage ideas
that won't cost me an arm & a leg?
Would love to hear it!
:)

gretchen

2009 in pictures

January
The happiest 26.2 miles on earth!

February

Craft-n-Camp

I love my friends!

March

Lee had our yard lookin' good and full of fresh veggies & herbs!

April
Looky looky who moved back to the South!
May
Daddy Bill passed away.
But the Misners were all together for the first time in a long time
{well minus Josh & D's kiddos}. June
Scrap in Style Live event
I did a good amount of teaching this year. July
Gulf Shores with Brad & Erica and deep sea fishing for the guys!

August

New Orleans for David's 30th birthday!

September

Vegas baby! with Katie and Brian. October

13.1 miles in MS with my favorite bandits!

November

Met Sarah Palin! December

In Gatlinburg

Happy anniversary baby...got you on my mi-ind!

It was a great year!
I am looking forward to the potential of 2010!
:)
gretchen