About Memories & More

Page of the Week #52

We made it!  Maybe not in one year, but we have 52 pages of the week now!

I'll post directions later today.  We have 6 kits at the store, so get yours before they're gone!  And tonight is my last night as owner of About Memories and More (I'll still be around for another month though).  We'll be open til midnight, so come on by!  There's a Coupon Sense class from 4-5:30 pm and then Midnight Madness directly after that.  I'd love to see you!

**just a reminder that if you like the page of the weeks & you want to have copies of them from the website, you'll need to copy & paste them into a Word document (or whatever program you use) before 1/31/11.  The new owner has a brand spankin' new website & these won't be around past the end of the month.

A New Chapter

Well, we sent out the email.  It's official.  I have sold About Memories and More to Krista Randall.  Krista starts her tenure as owner on Saturday, 1/15/11.  I know...it's fast...but honestly, it doesn't seem so fast.  I've been in talks with her for a few months & today, well, it became official.  In case you don't get the emails, here's what we sent:

I am so excited to announce that About Memories and More has a new owner!  Effective Saturday, 1/15/11, the new owner will be Krista Randall.  She's so excited to be taking over the store and is full of wonderful & exciting plans!  

A few things you may like to know:

• I'll be the owner until the end of Midnight Madness on Friday, 1/14/11 (which there happen to be spots for...so sign up today!)
• We'll be closed for inventory on Saturday, Sunday & Monday (1/15-1/17/11).  If inventory is finished earlier, well, then we'll open earlier!  So keep your eyes on the website & Facebook pages!
• I'll be teaching the Collage painting class on Saturday, 1/22, so sign up today to reserve your spot!
• We'll be having Midnight Madness and an All Day Crop the weekend of 1/28 & 1/29.  Krista will be at a huge trade show and I'll be here working it.
• Once a month I'll be teaching the Year in Review class...check the calendar for more info!
• Krista is starting her own website and it will still be www.aboutmemoriesandmore.com.  If you are interested in the pages for the Page of the Week or the 30/30 Project, please make sure to copy & paste them into your word processing program prior to the end of the month.  Starting February 1st my blog will no longer be available.

I want to thank each and every one of you for your continued support over the past 9 plus years.  I have come to think of many of you as family and I will be sad to not see you all so often.  That said, I plan to be at as many Midnight Madnesses as I can....I have my own photos that need to be scrapped and I'm SO excited for that!  I'll be here thru Friday and I invite you to stop by the store to say hi, sign up for a class or just hang out for a bit.  Best wishes for a bright & happy future for all of us! 

Sincerely,

Kirsten (and Andi, too!)

Honestly, this is bittersweet for me.  I LOVE scrapbooking.  I LOVE About Memories and More.  I LOVE my customers.  But as you all know, sometimes life makes it necessary to make changes.  It just so happens that I'm making changes now.  It is truly scary...but exciting at the same time.  I'll be looking for a job for the first time in over 10 years.  I won't have my store to come to every day.  I won't get to see my mom everyday, well, unless I head on over to her house.  Everything about my life, my routines will be changing.  But one fabulous thing is that I'll be able to attend midnight madness.  I'll be able to attend crops.  I'll be able to work on my own things. 

I hope that you'll come by this week and say hi.  We're still open for business.  And we're still having classes.  I'll be working my last Midnight Madness this Friday.  Bridget & Sherry will be here.  We'd all love to see you!  So stop by or call the store at 928-526-9292 to reserve your spot! 

 (You can leave comments on the post if you'd like...they're just moderated to keep out the iffy links that people sometimes post.  Just type your comment & click post.  It won't give you a message or anything.  When I get it, I'll approve it.)

Edited to add:  I forgot to mention, Krista will be accepting all valid About Memories and More gift certificates & punch card coupons, so no worries!  You'll be taken care of.

Page of the Week #51

Here's what you need:

• one 12x12 print paper for the background
• one 4 1/4 x 6 1/4 and one 2 3/4 x 12 inch pieces of cardtock (the brown woodgrain) (pay attention to the grain of the wood & that it matches for all the pieces)
• scrap of the brown woodgrain for your letters
• flowers or flower punches
• cardstock for the flowers
• cardstock for the leaves
• lace border punch
• one 1x12 strip cardstock (for the lace border punch)
• 18 inches of brown twine
• brown ink
• one button
• four 2 1/4 x 2 1/4 photos
• one 4x6 horizontal photo

Here's what you do:

• lay the page out as shown
• before you adhere the brown woodgrain strip, wrap the twine around it three times & tie in a bow
• punch out your lace border & adhere to the left of the long wood grain strip
• punch, cut or die cut two of the same flower & one of a slightly different shape
• bend the leaves upward for dimension
• glue together, taking care to rotate the petals so they are not on top of each other
• add a button to the center
• fold the green leaf paper scrap in half
• freehand cut a leaf (like you do for hearts)
• fold the half leaf on the diagonal, creating "veins"
• unfold the leaves (make 3) and ink the edges to bring out their features
• cut out a title

We have kits available at the store.  They do not contain the letters for the page but do contain the paper to cut them.  You're welcome to use our classroom dies to do so.  The kits also contain the flowers & the leaves, pre-cut.  Get yours before they're gone!

Wednesday's Make-n-Take for $1

This Tim Holtz stamp seemed to be a fitting phrase for the new year.  Join us for our $1 make-n-take anytime Wednesday between 10:30 am and 4:30 pm.  We'll be embossing with American Crafts Zing embossing powder & using some fun tape & paper from Pink Paislee.  See you soon!

January Classes

 
Was getting some scrapbooking done one of your New Year's Resolutions?  It was mine!  Join us for one of our fun classes & some Midnight Madnesses to keep on track with your goals!

Midnight Madness:  4 pm to Midnight, Fridays, 1/7, 1/14, and 1/28 $12.  Midnight Madness is 8 hours to work on your projects.  We provide snacks & a 10% discount on your purchases that night.  Our classroom has two Accu-Cut die cut machines & a whole bunch of QuicKutz dies for you to use during your crop.  And staff is on hand to help you with any questions you may have.  It's a fun way to spend a Friday night...grab a girlfriend & come on down!

Wednesday Make-n-Takes for $1:  Offered each Wednesday between 10:30 am and 4:30 pm.  Projects change each week (we post them on the website & Facebook the night before)...sometimes cards, sometimes bookmarks, even treat boxes a time or two...but what doesn't change is their price...they're always just $1 each!

All Day Crops:  Saturday, 1/29, 8 am to 8 pm $28.  All Day Crops are 12 hours to work on your projects.  They are usually the last Saturday of each month.  We provide a make-n-take (typically a 12x12 page) that you can do that day or take with you to do at a later time.  We also provide lunch & snacks throughout the day.  Staff is on hand to help you with any questions you may have.  Combine a Midnight Madness with an All Day Crop & just imagine how much you can get done in 20 hours of cropping!

Valentine Card Classes with Mindy: Saturday, 1/8 Three different classes offered at 9 am, 11 am and 1 pm.  Each class is $15 or take all three for $30.  These are fast & easy cards...you'll get so many done in an hour it's amazing!

Year in Review:  Saturday, 1/8 10:30 am $25.  Each month we do a two page layout that reviews the previous month.  In January, we'll be using photos from December.  We just completed the 2010 in review class so this class is the start of the new year, even though it's using December photos.  Let me tell you how fantastic it is to have twelve completed layouts for the year!  Even if you don't do another layout all year, these say it all!  We hope you'll join us for this fun monthly class!

Basic Grey Page of the Month:  Saturday, 1/8 1:30 pm $25.  This is the 11th page in this series.  The free albums have arrived for those that are signed up for all 12 classes & I will pass them out on Saturday.  So exciting!  (The last class is in February).  We hope to continue this fun class program with Basic Grey starting in March.

Collage Painting:  Saturday, 1/22, 10:30 am to 1:30 pm (or whenever we're done) $25.  Learn how to create fun collages on canvas & add touches of paint to create something wonderful!  Everyones piece will be completely different.  Students will need to bring two canvas's of their choosing...flat or stapled...no larger than 12x16.  You should also bring any ephemera (little bits & baubles) & scraps of paper or interesting pieces you'd like to use in your collage.

We will be closed for inventory Saturday, January 15th through Monday, January 17th (reopening on Tuesday, January 18th).  We apologize for the inconvenience, but sadly, inventory must be counted sometime, so this is as good a time as any.

Page of the Week #50

Here's what you need:

• one 12x12 cardstock for the base (cajun)
• one 6x12 print paper (the beige...the white strip is the back of the bar code & we kept it on)
• one 3x3 and one 1 3/4 x 5 print paper out of the same beige paper
• one 2x2 and one 3x12 peice print paper (red with dots)
• one 2 1/4 x 2 1/4 and one 1 1/4 x 4 1/2 piece cardstock (green)
• two 3x3, one 4 1/4 x 6 1/4, and one 1/8 x 12 piece shimmery white paper (it's the back of snowflake paper)  save the scrap for your lettering
• one 13 inch piece of felt or ribbon
• black journaling pen

Here's what you do:

• layout the page as shown and adhere
  
  • the small photos are 1/2 an inch from the right side of the page and 1/2 inch between them
  • the small photos are 1 1/2 inches from the top of the page
  • the big photo is 1 1/8 inches from the left side of the page
  • the big photo is 4 inches from the top of the page
• we cut our letters out of QuicKutz Spicy Chicken
• adhere the ribbon or felt & trim off the edges flush with your page

Kits are available at the store.  They include the paper to cut the letters for your title.  You're welcome to use our classroom set of Spicy Chicken letters.  Get yours before they're gone!

A Year's Worth of Photos

(that's a venti cup...)

Actually I have more.  But this is what I have printed.  It's about 700.  iPhoto is telling me that I've taken 3813 photos this year.  Some of those are duplicates.  I had this nagging feeling that I needed to back up the photos on my laptop (some are duplicates, some are not with my home computer).  So I backed them up & the very next day my hard drive crashed.  Good thing for that feeling!  If you haven't backed up your photos or printed them in a while, why not do that this weekend?  What a great way to start the new year!

It is with great sadness that I sent my camera off to Nikon for repairs Monday.  You see, it was not focusing properly (here's hoping they don't tell me it's in my head!).  That poor camera has taken a bazillon photos (there are over 16,000 in my iPhoto!) and has been dropped more times than I'd care to admit.  So the photo of my photos & my tea cup above are from my back up camera...which apparently needs to be replaced.  Wow is that photo bad!  What is your go-to back up camera (or regular camera, for that matter)?  I bought my mom a Cannon Sure Shot last year & she loves it...what about you?

One last thing on photos.  I tried out three photo processors in the past month to see who I liked the best.  I used scrapbookpictures.com, shutterfly.com & winkflash.com.  Below are my feelings about all of them:

• www.scrapbookpictures.com:  Still my favorite place for processing.  It's easy to upload a ton of photos & I like their online storage.  The prints are beautiful!  I almost always get 4x6 matte finish prints.  At .14 cents a print they're not the cheapest out there, but their quaility is outstanding.  An added bonus are all the cool sizes that they do.  2x2 to 12x12 (there might be bigger but I didn't look).
• www.shutterfly.com:  I wanted to like them, I really did.  I had the store's Santa photos printed there, as well as my Christmas cards.  When they came in, they looked dingy...kinda brownish tinted.  (I also had the same photos printed at scrapbookpicutures for comparison & theirs were beautiful.)  The regular 4x6 matte prints are .15 cents a print at shutterfly.  As for my Christmas cards, they were expensive ($1.18 a card), off color & many of them had streaks through the words, like the print heads needed to be changed.  I probably won't use them again.
• www.winkflash.com:  I ordered some prints recently that were just .06 cents a print, which is a phenomenal deal.  The prints were really nice & I like their matte finish the best of all three processors.  My issue with winkflash is that the uploader was slow & I couldn't set it to upload more than about 50 photos without it wanting to crash.  Now, you saw that I had 3800 photos in 2011.  I don't have time to worry about the uploader crashing.  Not even for .06 cents a print.  Will I try them again?  Absolutely.  But not when I have a large order.

 

We're open!

Thursday 12/30:  10 am to 4 pm

Friday 12/31:  10 am to 4 pm

Saturday 1/1/11:  10 am to 6 pm

We're having a crop on Friday & Saturday ($10 per day).  We'd love for you to join us!  Stop by or call the store at 928-526-9292 to reserve your spot.  Make sure to check out our We R Memory Keepers Sale...it's ends Tuesday!  We totally understand if you don't want to brave the snow, so you can phone in your orders or email us.  Please do not send credit card info in an email.  We'll call you to get it.

Thoughts...

I don't know why, but this post by Elsie Flannigan really struck home today.  It's a post about setting goals.  Writing them on paper.  And not complaing that you're too busy to accomplish any of it.  We're ALL busy.  Each & every one of us.  It's actually a big pet peeve of mine when people complain that they are far busier than anyone else in the universe.  Really?  Don't even get me started. 

It's also the time of year when Ali Edwards asks you to think about one word that will be your mantra for the year.  Her post here sums up her word & encourages others to add to the list.  It might help you decide what your word should be just reading the comments.  Choosing just one word to predict your future year is pretty powerful.  It's something to ponder & consider.  I'm still thinking about mine.  I have several in the running. 

(We did this fun exercise at the retreat I went to in Oregon last year.  Jennifer is just about the nicest person you'll ever meet.)

Have you set goals for the coming year?  Have you picked a word for 2011?  What is important to you?  What would make you happy?  If you could have anything in the world, what would it be? 

(any of Liz's words would be fantastic)

I'd like to challenge you to think about these things & actually write them down.  Then take a self portrait on Saturday (1/1/11) and make a scrapbook page.  Use that paper you've been hoarding for just the right photo.  Use your favorite embellishments.  I don't care if they match you photo or not.  Make it black & white & then it won't matter.  Let go of the excuses.  Hell, use the Sunday funnies if you don't have something handy.  It doesn't matter.  You can put it in your album, frame it & put it on your wall, or just tuck it away to add to & edit. 

Come to think of it, I have a great big frame that I purchased from a thrift store & spray painted that I think I'll hang over my computer & fill with my word & what I want in 2011.  Since that thought just popped into my head, I'll have to post a photo later.

Stocking up for the new year!

If you've been to About Memories and More you know how passionate I am about my We R Memory Keepers albums.  And if you're new to us, you can read all about how they have saved my sanity here.  Since January is all about stocking up, cleaning up, organizing & making a fresh start for the new year, I'd like to have a special We R Memory Keepers sale. 

Buy 2 or more of any We R Memory Keepers 12x12 Ring album & we'll take 25% off your order!  Add page protectors or We R Memory Keeper tools to your order & you can have the 25% discount off them, too!  I have a current stock list for them so we won't let you order an album or page protectors that they don't have in stock...what a great way to stock up on our favorite albums!  (click here to see the colors they offer in leather...you'll have to navigate around their site to see the linen albums & the tools)

 

Here are the details:  prepayment is required (great way to use your gift certificates!), albums, protectors & tools will be ordered on Wednesday, January 5th & should be in the following week.  Sale may not be combined with any other discount or coupon.  This sale is valid 12/29/10 thru 1/4/11.

Wednesday's Make-n-Take for $1

Snow or not, we're doing our make-n-take today...so stop on by!

We'll be here til 4 pm making this fun little card.  Everyone's will be different, which just adds to the fun!  Make 1...make 10.  They're just $1 each!  And when you're here, you'll want to check out the 75% off clearance area!

Family Gatherings

I have to say, this was the best Christmas ever!  It had nothing to do with presents...they were light, which was actually refreshing!  It was all about family, which honestly, is how it should be.

We always spend Christmas Eve with my husband's side of the family (which I love!).   It's our tradition to have Mexican food with them...except for the year that Barb wanted to have Chinese food & my husband wouldn't talk to her...won't try that again!  We were supposed to play games but spent too much time talking and laughing.  I did get a couple of cute photos of my nephews...

Sean

Ryan

Logan

Ben

I actually get really shy when it comes to taking photos.  I have so many I want to take, but I just, um, don't.  That's why there are so few.  And it's not just with Don's side...it's with mine too.  That's why I take so many photos of the kids.  They're easy & they don't mind.

On the way home, we drove around looking at Christmas lights.  Look who we saw...

Christmas morning was very low key (Kendall slept til 9:30!).  There are 3 photos of me...so I got to pick from bad, bad & bad (it appears my camera is having difficulty focusing...time to send it in to Nikon for repairs, it seems).

I received my favorite treat...dark chocolate salt caramels from Brookside.

and my favorite tub treat from Fizz Bathshop...

Who looks that cute on Christmas morning?

Christmas night was spent at my brother's house.  We brought over Just Dance 2 & had a blast!  The food was excellent & the company was fabulous (there were 22 of us!)

AJ has become quite the poser...and very photogenic!

Ray's become quite the cheeseball...

Bob & my mom.

A lovely time was had by all!

After Holidays Clearance Sale!

Too many episodes of Clean House have got the better of us this weekend & that's GREAT news for you!  This week we're putting all sorts of things on sale...50% to 75% off!

• Handmade books, frames, exploding boxes & MORE
• Select Christmas items
• Handmade holiday cards
• 75% off the entire clearance area!
• Heck, there's even a 1960's typewriter!
• And there's more...you'll have to check back often to see what we're adding to the sale...you just never know what you'll find there!

Page of the Week #49

All I gotta say is I hope we don't see snow like last year for a long, long time!

Here's what you need:

• one 12x12 sheet teal swiss dot backround cardstock
• one 4 1/4 x 6 1/4 cardstock mat (lime green) plus scrap to cut the date out
• one 5 1/2 x 8 1/2 print paper (glittery snow)
• one 6x9 print paper (shimmery dots)
• two 1/2 x 12 inch strips print paper (shimmery stripes) plus one 2 inch square to make photo corners
• one 12 inch piece of ribbon
• two 12 inch pieces of white twine
• two buttons
• three 4x4 photos
• one 4x6 horizontal photo

Here's what you do:

• layout the page as shown and adhere (note that the print papers at the top are flush with the upper right hand side of the page)
• for the ribbon:  tie one loose knot three inches from the end.  Skip one inch & tie another loose knot.  Skip one more inch & tie another lose knot (three knots in all)
• glue the ribbon under the top striped strip about 1 1/2 inches from the left side so that there's three inches from the stripe strip to the first knot
• center a button between the knots
• punch 4 holes with a thumbtack through the button
• thread twine through the bottom hole of button through the bottom of the button & the paper, then through the top hole & up through the other over the ribbon.  Tie a bow.
• see Andi if you don't get what I just typed
• repeat all that with the second button (really, it's easier than it seems)
• add your title

Kits are available at the store.  They do not include the letters, but they do include enough paper to cut your own.  Get yours before they're gone!

On the twenty-fifth day of Christmas...

Wishing you & yours a very...

On the twenty-fourth day of Christmas...

Can you believe that Christmas is tomorrow?  And I bet you're thinking you'd still like to make a handmade gift for someone...maybe your boyfriend...your sister...your mom...grandma.  And you're thinking there's no way you have time to make a gift now.  You DO have time to make a gift...in no time at all!

We call these little books "Joy" books.  Mainly because the first book I made was called "Little things that bring me Joy".

All you need for a typical "Joy" book is three sheets of double sided paper, four sheets of one color of cardstock & twelve photos.  Oh, an a bottle of Art Institute Glue.  The glue is important...very important.  Glue stick just doesn't do the job. 

We sell kits to make these books & they include a bottle of glue.  But I'll give you a quick run down on how to make them. This book makes one, twelve page book. 

• cut the cardstock into 4x12 strips (you will have 12 pieces if you use 4 sheets of cardstock)
• cut your double sided prints into 4x6 rectangles (the same size as your photos) which will give you 18 pieces
• fold the 4x12 strips in half and crease on the spine
• with a folded piece facing you, take your Art Institute Glue and run a thin (and I mean THIN) bead of glue approximately 1/2 inch around the border of the half folded cardstock
• with the spine down, match the glued side to another folded piece with the spine down & adhere
• repeat with the remaining pages
• you'll end up with a "board book" that fans all in the same direction
• take the 4x6 print papers & spread them out through the book
• once you've arranged them, adhere them to the left page of the book
• a little tip:  fold the book page slightly up so the 4x6 paper doesn't extend past the crease
• now add your photos on the right side of the book
• use a big corner rounder (such as a zutter or corner chomper) on all of the pages...the two outer edges
• you'll have six pieces of print paper left.  one is for the front cover, one for the back cover & one for the spine.  the other three pieces I cut into one inch strips & use them to embellish the pages

This is the most copied project we've ever made.  We started them in December 2007.  And I just don't see them stopping!  We even sell kits.  It's easy, it's fast & best of all, people LOVE them!

On the twenty-third day of Christmas...

Why not package up small gifts into clear celophane bags?  Tie them with a pretty bow & add a handmade tag.  It's quick.  It's easy.  And it's appreciated!

On the twenty-second day of Christmas...

Why not give a handmade gift that someone else hand made?  These stockings were knit by local artist Galina Franz.  She's the one who made the fabulous pine needle baskets that we have at the store.

Mindy Fisher made tons of handmade gifts that we have for sale at the store...and they are really reasonably priced!  The "home" blocks are just fun.  And so are the frames she made...

And that's not all!  Mindy also made these cute little tubs filled with treats...

Wednesday's Make-n-Take for $1

Stop on by between 10:30 am and 4:00 pm to make this cute little snowflake tag/ornament.  It's just $1!

On the twenty-first day of Christmas

We're getting down to the wire...Christmas is just 5 days away!  So this week, the projects will get a little less handmade...a little more, shall we say, easy?

Gift certificates are always a welcome addition to my stocking!  I love to give them, too!  You can get them in any amount that you want & we'll put it in a cute little envelope, tied with ribbon.  Can it get any easier than that?