Quote of the Week

"You get the best out of others when you give the best of yourself."
~Harvey Firestone

Hi Tulsa

Lisa and I had such a great time in your beautiful city! We met some of the nicest scrapbookers around.

Lisa and Carolyn

We really enjoy the fun, creative people we met at the show. We loved the ladies with the funky glasses. What a fun way to spend time with your best friends, being silly, creative and shopping!

Paula (the lovely lady in the middle) won the door prize. Here she is with her friends (they call themselves The 3 Stooges). Congratulations Paula!!!

Thanks for the fun memories!

Carolyn

Teresa Collins

Thanks Teresa! Love the great jewelry. A girl can never have enough jewelry!

It was fun to get to know you at CKU. I was excited to have your table next to ours so I could check out all your fun albums! It was also nice to meet Jamie and see what she has done!
You are so full of energy and creativity!!! I’m so glad you love your Clip it Up’s! I love your products and hope to someday have some time to actually scrapbook again and use some of yours!!

Renee

Back to School Gift!!!

It’s that time of year! Time to send the kiddos back to school! Our daughter has the same teacher two years in a row and we just adore her! So I wanted to make her a little something special for the first day of school!

I decided to alter a tin lunch box and fill it with handmade thank you cards. Our teacher is so good at sending out thank you card when she gets donations or has volunteer help – I figured I could help her by making a few cards! I used Doodlebug patterned papers and accessories in school theme!

• Paper: Doodlebug Designs
• Cardstock: Bazzill, KI Memories & Core’dinations
• Stickers: Doodlebug Designs, Scenic Route
• Rub On: Making Memories
• Chipboard: Making Memories, Creative Café
• Ribbon: Craft Supply
• Brads: Doodlebug Designs
• Buttons: Doodlebug Designs

Some close ups of the cards

Danielle Holsapple

Quote of the Week

"Things that matter most must never be at the mercy of things that matter least."
~Goethe

Clip it Up on the East Coast

Last weekend I got the opportunity to go to the Creating Keepsakes Convention in Charlotte, North Carolina. I was so excited! I’m usually busy working in the office so I’m so glad Renee gave me a break from the office to go. Carolyn and I had a great time; we met some amazing people like Terri Hallman (the cute lady we blogged about on Monday).

We were also able to do some site seeing. We found some cool artwork and enjoyed all the greenery.

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We had a blast. Thanks to all those people who stopped by our booth. We love you and Happy Organizing!

This weekend Carolyn and her sister Lisa will be in Tulsa, OK. If you live near there stop by and say Hi!!!

.

Bobbi

Happy Halloween!

I know it seems to be a bit early for Halloween, but in reality it’s only a few months away and I think it’s a fine time to start my Halloween cards! Here’s a card and envelope I made using some yummilicious paper and stickers from Doodlebug Designs!

• Paper: Doodlebug Designs
• Cardstock: Bazzill· Sentiment: The Cutting Café
• Stickers: Doodlebug Designs
• Ribbon: Offray
• Button: Foof Fa La

So what do you think? Is it too early to begin preparing for Halloween or do you think my timing is just right? Personally, I think it’s a case of perfect timing! I’d love to see your Halloween cards and projects, so send me a link when you’re done creating so I can be inspired!

Blessings to you and yours!

Robyn

Quote of the Week

"There is less to fear from outside competition than from inside inefficiency, discourtesy, and bad service."
~unknown

Organize Hair Bows

For all the mom's out there who have daughters with lots of hairbows (which applies to most moms with girls). We have a way to help keep track and organize all those pretty bows and headbands. At the recent Creating Keepsakes convention in Charlotte, North Carolina we met a cute lady named Terri Hallman. She bought one of our new Clip it Up Swinging Wall Arms and she used it for her daughter's hairbows. She went home, set it up and sent us a picture. How cute is that?

"Here's how I used it in my daughter's bathroom! I love it and it works great! I have a lot of mom friends who I know that would love this for their daughter's bows also! Thanks for the wonderful product!" -Terri Hallman

Terri- Thanks for sending us that picture. Here's another idea using the Clip it Up to organize little girls shoes, bows and headbands. Renee made this for her granddaughter.

Remember...you use what you see!

Simply Renee Inc.

Organization Woes!

Clip-it up products have definitely been the answer to my organizational woes!! I've always tried pretty hard to be an organized scrapbooker but there were some things that I just couldn't figure out. For instance, I had this big basket full of stuff that was meant to hold "new items". It quickly became very overwhelming and was filling up faster than I was using stuff since I couldn’t easily see what was there.


I also had little jars holding groups of similar items that ended up just being stashed away, out of sight, because they had no proper place in my organization.



The ribbon organizer and the mini-clip it up were all that I needed to put these things into their place and then onto my scrapbook pages!

The 18” Ribbon Organizer
Not only does it hold more ribbon than I need to have, but it looks so cute hanging above my workspace! I love having my ribbon at my finger tips and viewable. Before I had my older ribbons stored in separate jars sorted by colors and my newer ribbon thrown in that basket because I didn’t want to forget that I had them, but that was very overwhelming which meant I wasn’t ever using my ribbon! I’ve put a mixture of new and old ribbons on my organizer and it makes me so happy to start using them again. Plus just having them displayed is very inspirational!


I hung my organizer kind of high on my wall so the stickers that came with it weren’t going to be of much use so high up there. But, I did want to be able to use them so I put them right on the surface of my desk and voila I had an instant measuring surface to cut my ribbon!


Mini Clip-it Up
Oh how I love this mini clip it up! The main items in my scrapbook space that I never knew how to organize now have a home. I love how much I can fit on this thing and how it’s all organized and right there for me to see.


I took the things that were in the jars and dumped them right into the clip-it up bags and hung them on there.


I love the soft clip grips for hanging rubons so they don't get accidentally rubbed off!


I love that it fits perfectly right in my Expedite bookshelf so I can see everything right in one spot.


Swinging Wall Arm
Another organizational problem I had was I was always making piles of projects and pages I wanted to work on, but then they’d get stashed away and forgotten about. I’m now using this swing arm to hang my project/page kits so they are always right there for me to see and actually do. I love that I can tuck it away when I don’t need it and simply swing it back out to work on a project!


Lisa Day
http://www.lisaday.typepad.com/

Quote of the Week

"It takes less time to do a thing right, than it does to explain why you did it wrong!"
~Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Walking Around CHA Summer

Sorry so slow to get my post for CHA done! When I’m gone for awhile, getting home is always crazy! There’s work that needs to be caught up on and also family (which is the most important thing)!

We decided this year not to display at CHA Summer because we went to the National Stationery Show in New York and we’re attending the International Quilt Show in Houston in Oct. So Carolyn and I put on our walking shoes and walked the show. I also invited a good friend of mine, Dean to come and walk the show with us. I need to do a new booth and I wanted his help so I wanted him to get a feel for what goes on at these shows.

Thanks Dean for all your help!

I have to say – it was so nice to have time to stop and visit with people and not have the stress of decorating a booth, being in an “extreme tired state” from all the preparations before the show, and having to stay in your own booth to talk to everyone. If you’ve never experienced getting ready for one of these big shows, trust me…it’s a ton of work!!!!

From the time we landed in Florida, everywhere we went, we ran into wonderful, nice, friendly people! That’s what I love about this industry! On our shuttle we were riding with four other women and a young couple. As we started talking, all of us were there for CHA except for the young couple. They probably thought, “oh no, were trapped in a van filled with crazy scrapbooking women!” as we talked about blogs, twitter, etc. What a great way to pass the time from the airport.

Karen Taylor (one of our shuttle friends) who was working the show for Spell Binders.

We stopped and visited with my friend Diane Schultz from Graphic 45. Not only is she incredibly talented, she is just the sweetest lady I know! It is fun to have some “creative” friends to bounce ideas off of and help each other out! Her products are so awesome and beautiful…just like Diane! We love displaying her products because everyone loves them! (gotta love the humidity when you have curly hair…bad hair days everyday)

This is Renee (great name) who designs for My Little Yellow Bicycle! LYB has been so generous with sending us product to display on our new products! Thanks for working with us to make our products look great! We love everything you’re doing!!!

We are excited to have 4 new designers for us this year. Two of them were at the show and we met to have lunch together and get to know each other in person! I had met Susan at one of the first shows I ever did, so it was fun to visit with her and hear about her crazy life with moving, etc. I love Susan because she is so fun and positive and is a hoot! Danielle, it was fun meeting you! Thanks for joining our crazy group and letting us get to know you better! Both of you do amazing work!

I also wanted to thank Jan and Don LaNoy from BoBunny who spent time talking to us about booth building and design. I appreciate their friendship and also the great products they’ve sent to us for our displays. I also appreciate Jan’s wisdom and advice she’s given me as I try and figure this business stuff out. Sorry – didn’t get a picture of their booth, but they were “hopping” busy at the show. With the great products they have – they deserve to be busy!

It was a smaller, slower show, but it also allowed you the opportunity to really look at the products and not feel like you had to rush in order to see everything. I feel like we made some new friends, connections and had a great time!

I really appreciate Carolyn for all her help with the shows and being not only my favorite baby sister, but a great friend to travel with! Thanks!!! Enjoying the outdoors while waiting for our food after a long day of walking!

I took this picture of Carolyn at the airport. On one of our trips to Chicago, we found these great lightweight suitcases and really regretted not getting them. Well, we later found them and ordered one for each of us. They are sooo cute! They are black with white polka-dots, so they are easy to spot in the luggage turnstiles and people stop us and ask where we got them all the time. Because there are always things we need to throw in at the last minute, our bags are usually heavy (and I’m getting really good at just making it under the 50 lbs. barely)! I found these really cute luggage tags that are pink and white polka-dots with the saying, “Packing light is so last year!” That’s what Carolyn is holding in the picture, I know you can’t really read it, but Carolyn looks darling and you can see our cute bags!

Thanks for letting me share and I’m sorry I’m slow, but I’ve found life is an adventure, and some paths take us longer than others and I feel like I’m going down several all at once, and trying to get them to all merge is a challenge! I guess that’s what makes it an adventure!!!

Renee

Attn: Card Designers - Perfect solution to display cards

When I sell my handmade greeting cards to stores, they ask what displayer works well with my cards. In the past, I’ve recommended acrylic displayers which can showcase 16 card designs. Unfortunately, not every retailer has room for a 17” high and 17” wide displayer that has to sit flat against a wall.


And since I’m offering more than 16 card designs, the displayer wasn’t ideal for HopscotchArt either.

Then the Mini Clip it Up came to the rescue, and also made spinning it and shopping for cards way more fun! It’s loaded with all my cards, gift enclosures, fridge magnets in organza bags and bags of blank cards for gifts. And it only takes up a 12” diameter on any card table or small round decorative table. My retailers are going to love it. (displayed with an Upper Tier)


My cards are protected in biodegradable sleeves, so I’ve used Clip Grips to ensure they’ll be no clip marks. The Clip Grip will easily wrap around two cards allowing me to clip two of the same design on one clip. One faces left and one faces right, so as the unit spins, the cards are visible from both angles. Hanging my organza bags was easy by using just the bare clip. They even grip the heavy duty fridge magnets in bags. I was surprised that the heavy magnets didn’t make the Clip it Up lop-sided, but no matter how I turn it, it’s perfectly straight and level.


As I teach my craft workshops, I can’t wait to share these products with my students. Everyone will be surprised how light-weight they are and how easy to assemble!

Thanks, Renee, for inventing such brilliant products!

Renee Reese
http://www.hopscotchart.com/

Sites & Sounds

This summer was a very busy summer for the Lush family. We moved from Colorado to Washington DC. On the way we visited many places including New York where family lives. George and I were able to go into New York City and see a Broadway show. I was able to get so many great pictures and could not wait to get my scrap room set up to do a page.

The thing I love about scrapbooking is the many different ways you can show pictures. One very large picture if it is a special one or a couple photos of an event or multiple photos if you have a lot of pictures and cannot decide which ones to us. On this layout, I had so many pictures, I simply could not decide which ones I wanted to use, so I decided to print a few in different sizes and ended up using nine photos. I used one 5x7, 3 ID photo sized and 5 index photo sized.


I did not want to overwhelm the page with a lot of patterned paper or embellishments, because the photo's themselves were so busy (have you ever been to New York? Wow, that is one busy place :) So I used a stark white background. I matted my large picture on black then used a punch I found when I was unpacking my scrappy stuff. I don't think I have seen that punch in years, but it fit perfect for the city feel I wanted to do. I then cut a Creative Imaginations circle sticker in half and used the halves on either ends to break up the page. Used the negative pieces from the punch to place black squares under the sticker squares, which I thought gave just enough color to the page to make the photos pop. Then I added the yellow title and brads because honestly, you cannot go to NYC without noticing how many YELLOW cabs there are there.

Anyway, if you ever get the chance to go to New York City, I say take that opportunity. Wonderful photo ops for sure and just think of the scrapbook pages you can make when you get back. Take care and see you next month!
.
Sus
http://www.wannaslushy.typepad.com/my_weblog/

Our Facebook winner is...

Judy Williams from Jacksonville Florida!!! Congratulations Judy. We're sending her a free Clip it Up Swinging Wall Arm. Join us on facebook and you may win too. Periodically we'll have a drawing and select 1 facebook fan to receive a free Clip it Up product.

Quote of the Week

"If you don't like something, change it. If you can't change it, change your attitude. DON'T COMPLAIN!"
~Maya Angelou