Very...PINteresting...

Have you heard of Pinterest?  I had heard about it, but hadn't done anything about it...It sounded like work.  I didn't quite see the value in it, to be truthful.  Then Michelle started getting Pinteresting, and I thought maybe I should give it a try.  Apparently, you have to be invited by a current member to become a member, so Michelle used one of her precious 5 invitations to invite me.  That was Thursday.  By Saturday, I had pinned about 100 different pins, on 8 different boards.  I was HOOKED.  We are now going to employ the "Choose your own adventure" style blog.  If you haven't heard of Pinterest, or aren't very familiar with it and want to know more, keep reading.  If you're a Pinterest veteran, and you just want to see what we've posted and stuff, skip two paragraphs ahead.  :)

Pinterest has an "about" page that includes the following info:


"Pinterest lets you organize and share all the beautiful things you find on the web. People use pinboards to plan their weddings, decorate their homes, and organize their favorite recipes.
Best of all, you can browse pinboards created by other people. Browsing pinboards is a fun way to discover new things and get inspiration from people who share your interests."

People who may find Pinterest interesting are people who search the Internet for...well...anything, really.  Crafts, cars, fashion, recipes, projects, home decor, organization, design, weddings, etc.  It is a place where you can have your own page, and simply copy and paste the pics so you can reference them later.  Pinterest automatically refers you back to the original post so you can find it again.  You can search other people's boards to see what they find interesting, and other people can see yours.  What a way to connect with random people!

Now that we're all up to speed, here is a link to Michelle's Pinterest page:  http://pinterest.com/micheggy/ and Peggy's is at: http://pinterest.com/peggystolley/  (By the way, I'm not 100% sure how these links will work if you're not a Pinterest member.  Let me know if you have problems...

We would LOVE for you to follow our Pins, and in return, we want to see what you're up to!  Leave a comment with a link to your Pinterest page, if you like, and we'll be sure to follow!  If you're NOT a member and would like to be, leave us a comment with your email.  We have 4 invitations left we'd be willing to share!

Just in case the links don't work, I don't want you all to be totally bummed, so I'll show you a few pics from our boards.  First of all, from Peggy's board, is a Micheggy picture if there ever was one!  Take a look:

IT'S SO PINK AND GREEN!  This is from Peggy's board, "pretty color combos."  It stood out as Micheggy, so that's what it's labeled.  From Michelle's board we have:

 

PUMPKIN BOWLING!!! Oh, it was too funny not to post, and we both thought that it was worth sharing...

I'll leave off with a few other favorites we have.  Please come find us on Pinterest, and let us know how to find you.  Too much fun!!

 Butterfly cupcakes, anyone??

 Christmas lights, scrapbook paper, and Dixie cups.  Adorable!

 No way.  YES way!  A hollowed out pumpkin half as a cooler.  Love it!

Whooooo's going to visit us on our Pinterest pages?  See you there!

-Peggy

 

Must...Keep...Organizing!!!

Hello!! I'm still here!! I'm sure you all thought (Michelle included) that this blog was going to have to change names to just "Mich." I'm sorry I've been out of touch, but things got pretty darn busy before CHA, and have just settled down enough for me to take some time to BLOG!

One thing you should all know about me, is I have an extreme love for organizing my scrappy things. I think it's probably just as fun, if not more fun, as the actual process of scrapbooking. I like looking at my organized space the way some people like looking at their albums: An object of beauty, memories, and accomplishment. :)

This past weekend, I found myself meandering through a craft store, looking at all the fun items on the shelves, but as usual, I gravitated toward the organizational aisle. There, on the shelf, right at eye level, was THE solution to a MAJOR problem that has plagued me since their introduction to the scrappy world: How to organize my flowers.

This innocent looking box, labeled, "Photo Organizer," did not know how its life was about to change, and how there wasn't a prayer in the world that it would ever hold a photo. No, this little treasure was FAR too valuable for something as trivial as the pictures I scrapbook. It was meant to house my dear collection of flowers.

Here's what I did:


This is the photo case, by Iris. It's a large case, about 14x12, with 16 individual cases inside, just a bit bigger than 4x6 each.



The cases inside were obviously intended to hold themes of 4x6 photos, but they were capable of so much more!!



I separated out my gigantic mess of flowers by color, sorted them into 16 different groups, and placed them in the cases. Finally, with my favorite scrapbooking tool, the label maker, I labeled each inner case with the content's name/color.



Each inner case can be pulled out and opened to get to the goods inside!



Isn't that easy-breezy? I was so excited I could hardly stand it! My flowers are now beautifully organized and accessible, and I hope to use them shortly to make some pretty page for my scrapbook!

Embellish Coloring Challenge

I saw this fun contest today at Embellish magazine while surfing different blogs and thought it would be a great card contest to enter. I don't think you have to make a card for it but I was working on my cards for class and the colors worked well for the challenge so I thought I would take a stab at it. Here is my entry. The cards need to be within the color palette and include coloring.



I used Basic Grey "sweet threads" spring tote paper (both sides) for the fringe piece and the pink piece on top of it and Bazzill Basics swiss dot for the background piece.

The stamps are:
Flower - Hero Arts
Birthday Blessings and the swirl - Technique Tuesday

I chose to use watercolor paints from Hero Arts on my flower. I had not colored in a long time and I really had fun. Enjoy!

Michelle

Yesterday!

Okay, yesterday I was in Omaha, NE. Peggy and I had been to a great scrapbook store while we were there about a year and a half ago so I thought I would find them and pay them another visit. Who doesn't love a great scrapbook store?...Hello! I couldn't even remember the name of the place (cuz I am old) but I knew Peggy would. And, of course not only did she know the name, but she knew the street name too. What a gal! So, I entered it into my "very" smartphone and it drew me a little map from right where I was sitting. AAAAAmazing! (I am still trying to figure out how a fax machine works)

I made it and it was so wonderful. It is called Yesterday's Scrapbook Store. You can "like" them on facebook here if you want.

The gal working was so nice and we had a nice chat the entire time I was shopping. They were having a crop that night and the work area was decorated for the store manager's birthday. That is what I love about the independent scrapbook stores. The customers that usually came in the morning were coming in later so they could wish her a happy birthday. So lovely!

I am a digital scrapbooker now but I still make cards and teach card classes. So of course I purchased paper, some great ribbon, more stickles, (cuz you always need bling) and some really fun cardstock buttons that look great with the paper.

They had lots of inventory and the Moxxie products were lining the top shelves of about every theme. Yay! You know how much Peggy and I love Moxxie. And they had a new line of papers and elements that I had never seen before, "Authentique". It was so fun. They had four lines but I purchased just a couple from the "Glowing" line which is Halloween themed. I have a friend, Barb, who is soo into Halloween and I always teach a Halloween Card Class, plus Peggy and I are going to teach a Micheggy Mini class that will include all things Halloween, so I knew I was justified purchasing some of this great paper and fun little elements.

I had such a great experience at this store so I encourage anyone who is driving through the Omaha, NE area to check them out. You will not be disappointed.

What products do you purchase when you shop at scrapbook stores? Do you look for things that you are working on or know you will be working on? Or, do you just purchase what you like knowing you will use it sometime? I would love to know.

Happy shopping!
Michelle

Two sided papers from Authentique

"

Authentique "Glowing line" elements

Kaisercraft Cupcakes with Bazzill solid TCP party hats (2 sided) with Bo Bunny Stripes. The last picture is 2 sided Bo Bunny with Jenny Bowlin chipboard buttons.

The Color Room

I think I have mentioned this website before but it is called The Color Room. It is really quite fun. They post a new color palette and a layout sketch each week and you design something using the palette, then upload a picture of your design to the website. It is a great place to get inspiration. I know that Peggy has used the site a lot for color ideas. This is the palette for this week.




I have to admit that this was not my favorite color palette but I found some pictures of Ian when he was two visiting Pismo Beach. Here are my layouts. These were done digitally on Photoshop Elements 7. I used the colors to make my own papers and elements. I didn't really use the sketch this time. But I sort of liked the sun element so I put that in. It was actually quite fun.



You should check out this site and all of the layouts that have been posted. They are really great. Some of them are a little "over the top" for me. I obviously like clean lines and pretty simple design. They are beautiful, don't get me wrong. Just different taste than mine.

If you are not a digital scrapper, you can post pictures of traditional pages as well. Check out this blog. I love the page she made of her son's (well, I think it is her son) first guitar. Awesome!

Enjoy!
Michelle