Merry Christmas!

This was our hostess club layout for November, showing how much you can do with rub-ons. No stamping, no stickers; just a nice layout from our booklet, pretty paper (Pear & Partridge), and coordinating rub-ons.

My kids

This isn't necessarily scrapbooking-related. Or maybe it is. When I began scrapping 8 years ago, I began with my ultrasound pics from when I was carrying my son. At the time we began scrapping, he was a toddler. Right before that, I had his photo taken with Santa; I still have it on an early scrap page. In between, it's been hard to get those. He doesn't like to have his photo taken much, and when he did, my daughter was going through phases of incredible shyness. I don't think I have had a decent shot of the 2 of them with Santa since. Until today. The stars were aligned, and this happened.

But every time I see it, I marvel at how my son has grown. He'll be a teenager before I know it. Look at him, he's almost too big to sit on Santa's lap! When did this happen? How much longer will my little guy believe he is actually on the real Santa's lap?

I had to blog the photo, because it made me think of how I value my scrapbooks. It is a way of freezing time, albeit only in that book, so I can always look back on my pages and see the baby he used to be, when he is growing into a man before me.

Organize All the Things!

We have new organizers, and mine arrived yesterday. I love them! The small one is perfect for holding large, flat items like our color ready or felt alphabets, rub-ons, and Sparkles Flourishes. It stacks nicely atop the medium one, which I have not quite filled with bulk ribbons, ribbon rounds, paper flowers, mini medley assortments, and more. I love all the little dividers, but they're removable if you need more room in one spot. To make packing easier, I was able to fit both into a large tote from Thirty-One; I don't remember its name but it is the one you can receive as a hostess. With both bins in it I could zip the bag completely, but I will probably forego that in order to be able to add a few more things, like my CTMH stapler, our old embellishment case with all the craft jars, and our zippered accessories cases. Here are a couple of photos, including one with our black accessories case for scale. Contact me if you would like to order these or anything else!

Do you remember...

When you began scrapping? My 5 year old daughter is ready. She is very artistic, and I finally realized she is old enough to learn the basics. I'm excited, as you can tell: I just went a little crazy in the clearance section! I even got her a page kit! 

I'm a little nervous too. It's such a big part of my life, I hope she enjoys it as much as I do. I hope I'm patient with her. I hope she doesn't get better than me too quickly. :)

But it brought me back to my early days when I went on sticker and page kit binges. It was fun to do that again! Let's see what she creates!

'Tis The Season...

...to plan your holiday cards! This is what I did today: 5 each of 3 beautiful designs from our Pear & Partridge Workshop on the Go kit. $29.95 plus shipping etc. gets you all the papers and embellishments you need, plus card bases and envelopes, a cute stamp set, and instructions. I will be offering this as a workshop at my house in October and November, so check back or be sure you are on my email list for details!

Happy National Stamping Month!

OK, so it's tomorrow. Made anything lately? I only JUST received my copy of the September Constant Campaign, so my projects will have to wait. But, I also received the newest CTMH Cricut cartridge, Artiste, which comes with some adorable birthday stamps (among others). I can't wait to sit down and make a few more cards to keep on hand.



Make some time this month to have a few cards ready to go. We have a new Avonlea kit that makes it easy, but you can also take some blank card bases, pretty scraps in various sizes, and use your creativity to put some together. It beats rushing around at the last minute before work to find a colleague that perfect card, or before a child's birthday party to create something unique. Do it ahead of time, and have a box of cards all ready to sign!

We have so much going on in August!

If you're landing here from my newsletter, welcome! Here you can find photos of the lovely products you can get this month:

Tues August 14th: stop by my place for an Open House, anywhere from 6-10 pm. Come over after work, after dinner, or after the kids are in bed for an in-person preview of the new papers, some new stamps, new colors, and embellishments! And you can pick up your copy of the new Idea Book, if you haven't done so already. We'll have treats, drinks, a make and take, and a raffle, just for stopping by. You can earn extra raffle tickets by bringing someone who is not on my (or my co-host, Connie's) e-mail list, or by bringing an old papercrafting item you have never gotten around to using. I hope to see you!

Wed August 15th: our celebration of National Stamping Month in September begins a little early with the "It's Your Day" DOUBLE D-size stamp set! You can get this set for just $5 with a $35 purchase, and includes all these images:

This runs through the end of September, and is good on any purchases placed online, at my Open House, a hostess club/workshop get-together, in-person Gatherings and catalog parties. If you'd like to host a Gathering or catalog party, just let me know! It's an easy way to earn free products, and if your sales reach $250 you can even earn our brand-new Cricut Artiste Collection for 50% off (or any of the hostess bundles, or any single item in the catalog, of course!)

Thursday August 16th: if you can't make Open House tomorrow, stop by my open Hostess Club/Workshop night. Take home a 2-page layout, learn a new technique, all for just placing a $25 order from the new catalog. For this event, just e-mail or call me by Thursday morning to let me know you're coming.

Through the end of August: you can still earn the beautiful damask tote by signing up as a Consultant this month. 

***And a quick note: if you were previously on the Crop N Time website or newsletter, please note they have recently changed their website to www.cropntime.NET, and they're asking you to please re-enroll in the monthly newsletter so you can keep up to date on all their upcoming events! The next one: September 22nd. I'll be there, will you?

That's all until September 1st; I hope to see you or hear from you in the meantime! Please don't hesitate to call, text, e-mail, or stop by my blog for more information about anything I've mentioned here.

Happy Scrapping!

--
Kerrie Conwell-Strong

Close To My Heart

Treasure boxes

These were the teacher gifts for the end of the year. Roxie paper, archival black ink, fun stamps, and our magnetic closure card boxes. I made 8 of these; once I had the papers cut, it only took me about 20 min to complete each. Let me know if you would like to make these yourself!

Super Day

It's another Crop N Time event! Let's see how many layouts I can get done today. This first one is the Superhero workshop on the go kit; if you like it, let me know and we can do it! Besides the great paper and stamp set, the kit also includes the Comic badge buttons and star dimensional elements to add texture to your pages. The nerd in me loves the periodic table of the elements papers. And the primary colors are fantastic for summer playtime photos.

Baby Shower

Forgive the glare on the photos, this layout is with the Dotty For You paper pack, some color ready garden shapes, Foundry pin clips, brads, and Just Blooms paper shapes flowers. Layout from Pagemaps, of course! You can get this paper pack all month; check out my website for details!

Happy Easter!

This cute little bag was made with the Cricut Art Philosophy cartridge, Lucy paper, Hooray Bouquet stamp set and Bling buttons. Like it?

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Pinterest, Copyright, and My Blog

It's the dreaded "I'm sorry I haven't posted in so long" blog post. Somewhere online I remember seeing someone's montage of this line (Google it, you'll see how cliched it is) so I try not to use it. But, here's the reason for the gap in posting:

A couple of months ago there was a fracas involving a blogger who posted photos of a project she did, said photos made it to Pinterest, and a well-known craft store removed her watermark and used her photo on their Facebook page.

Now, I'm not so arrogant as to worry this would happen to me. I love my own projects, and I know you view my pages for inspiration and may like to see what's going on, but I don't really think any of my images will be going 'viral' on Pinterest anytime soon.

But.... it did get me thinking that it might not be a bad idea to protect myself, and my family (who appear in the majority of my layouts). So for now I'm disabling Pinning on the blog, and I apologize for the inconvenience. Some of you (most of you?) may never have noticed. Others may be annoyed. I do request that if you really would like me to re-enable it, please let me know! If there's a need for it, I will go the other route and watermark my images and let you pin them. But I won't know there's a need for it unless you tell me, so please leave comments or e-mail me at kerriestrong@gmail.com. Once I figure out an easy way to watermark (or get a really good camera) I will re-enable.

And with that, I can get back to posting from my phone, which is apparently the only way I can do it regularly. :) Meanwhile, I will be updating with some new CTMH stuff, and doing some catching up with the layouts I've already done.

Thanks for taking the time to read this, and Happy Scrapping!
Kerrie

The Empire Strikes Back

My boy.

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My Gelish Mani

Because you are all dying to know! Ok, I needed a pic for Sunday. Almost two weeks, lots of scrapping, some swimming, cleaning, and no chips!

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Let It Snow

A little sneak peek of the workshop I'm offering at my house this Tuesday night, the 31st, 7pm! Stop on by. :)

Wonderland workshop on the go kit, modified ago I can offer a less expensive version. Snowflake stamps, sparkles, Crystal Blue ink, foundry pins, large Friendship alpha, and some cute techniques. Come on over!

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My running buddy

I love that my kids are interested in running, even if that interest only lasts two blocks. I'm happy to run a little slower at first, for the company. I just drop her off back at the house when she is done and finish with Pat Benatar to keep me company. :)

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In a Class of Your Own

Typeset paper and canvas  Stickease, chipboard shapes. I distressed all the edges with black ink, and the layout is an oldie but a goodie, from Cherish. I love these canvas shapes, and plan to get some more before the paper it's retired.

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Dancing Queen

This was yesterday's photo of the day, my little ballerina.

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Scrapping Snacks

What munchies or beverages do you absolutely need to scrap? I think wine is essential. This one is Cupcake Shiraz, courtesy of a friend.

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Family layout

Dreamin paper and Stickease, mocha Opaques, buttons. Layout from Reflections. Last layout for this trip! :(

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Come Dancing

Secret paper (I love this one, can you tell?), sparkle flourishes, buttons and lace flowers are secret, lace trim by Spare Parts, title is from Love Life, and there is a Decor Journaling spot.

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True Happiness

Another Pagemaps layout with the secret paper and matching Stickease, some cocoa ribbon and a CTMH pewter ribbon slide. I also used a number of blingy brads by Spare Parts. Oh, I used the Cricut Art Philosophy cartridge to cut a full page medallion.

17 pages in two days; I suppose 1:15 is time for bed. My goal for tomorrow (today) will be to get to 20 for the weekend.

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My favorite memory

It's a wedding album, I am allowed to be mushy! Die cut papers from K and Company, journaling spot made by me with craft store stamps, another by Stampin' Up!, secret stickers, Opaque Pearls.

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Happily Ever After

This is a layout from Magic that I've ben wanting to try forever. Bliss paper and Stickease, more Opaque Pearls, and a Top Coats Framed In overlay.

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Remember this moment

More paper I can't tell you about yet, lots of flowers-some CTMH, some not. Flourishes and journaling spot from You and Me kit, sketch from the Pagemaps book.

I'm not making as much progress as I have in previous years at this crop, but I think my pages are much more intricate. 12 down; I think I should at least make it through the wedding, if not the vacation beforehand.

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So cold!

Quick layout using Bliss scraps, a K and Company diecut, some of our flowers and brads and a homemade journaling spot.

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Scenes from a wedding

I liked the whimsy of this Pagemap, with the chipboard circles and tilted photos and papers. Bliss again, and Olde World alpha. And lots of bling.

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Remember this day

Bliss paper, Stickease, Villa irresistibles, lots of Opaque Pearls in Licorice, Mocha and white Bitty Pearls. Stamps are Love Life and one from the craft store. Layout from Pagemaps.

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Family....together we have it all

I can't tell you what paper or stamp set this is, check back in a week. :) Sketch from Pagemaps book.

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Simple family photo page

I didn't even bother with a title. Stitched background page by K and Company, one extra flourish embellishment, a little journaling to identify who is who, and done. I wish they could all be this easy.

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Cherish

We are off to a slow start, thanks to a lovely but long dinner. Then, I didn't set the pressure high enough so I had to punch out the title. That was fun! :) However, here are the first two pages: family photos taken the day of my brother's wedding. The layout is from the Sweetheart workshop on the go, modified with the new title and embellishments.

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Attempting to pack for a scrap weekend

It's not going well. It is so hard to not bring all my stuff!

The good news is, I will have plenty of blog fodder and photos to share as the weekend progresses.

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What did I do today?

I got my nails done (trying Gelish for the first time) and later scrapbooked with the girls. This photo caught both. :)

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My son, at the library

He likes to make new friends at the library, playing with the dollhouse and trains. A great way to spend a day off from school!

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Toy Story cupcakes

We are at a birthday party today and I couldn't resist taking a photo of these Jessie cowgirl hat and alien cupcakes. So cute!

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Team Time with the Salt City Scrappers

Team meeting! I will come back and link to everyone's blogs, but here we all are, working on secret stuff from the new catalog!

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Sous Chef in training

Our daughter has recently taken an interest in helping us cook, particularly in helping Daddy do various things with meat. I love seeing her grow up! And, I hate seeing her grow up.

I'm alternating between my phone camera and my point and shoot. I should stick with the cell, so much easier for the photoblogging!

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My Girls

Getting a late start, but I'm trying for a photo a day. Here is a typical moment on scrap night, sharing a laugh about the kids.

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