Time...Time... Here Time!

When I owned my scrapbook store you don't know how many times I heard, "I would love to do all this crafting, but I just don't have time." After, I don't know, the first 50 times I started replying, "It is just like anything else. If you want to do it, you have to make the time." Isn't that true for any hobby? If you want to bake, quilt, or even exercise you have to carve out some time in your day, week or month to do it. It takes discipline and determination, but it can be done.
Every year I would have moms of high school seniors who needed to get their child's entire life in an album and they had two weeks until the big graduation party. They would come in as much as they could and use my tools and work and work. Most of them got it done. I was very proud of them. But, had they worked on the album regularly over the years they would have been done in plenty of time and less stressed. Not many of us are wired to do this. And I am one of these people. I am the worst procrastinator ever. But, I am getting better. I am not scrapbooking every day by any means, but I do get something done every week or two. And, for me that is good.
I have started taking some online digital classes (I will got into that in a different post) but they have helped me actually sit down and finish a page. Plus I am learning something new and I love that.
So, here is your homework. Take out your calendar and make an appointment with yourself to sit and craft or do whatever it is you like to do. Give yourself at least an hour or two. You will be glad you did. Then, just like going to the salon, make your next appointment while you are still crafting. Then you be more likely to keep with it. For those of you who are members of The Craft Spot, Project Night can be your appointment each month. You will get 6 hours to work. If you do not have a place to go like that, then set up a crafting night or day or weekend with some of your crafting friends. You will all have a great time.
I would love to see some of your pages, cards, quilts or whatever you get done. You can email me at mishi464@gmail.com with photos!
Happy crafting!

The Bank of Peggy!

I can't believe I am going to admit this to ALL nine followers of our blog...but I am a terrible saver of money. I don't know what is wrong with me but I can tell you that my dad is the same way. So it must be genetic and I have inherited this terrible trait. I don't think my brother or sister have it so I am the lucky one. But for as long as I can remember, I just can't do it. So, I have trusted my money to the institution I call my "Peggy Bank". Genius right? Whenever I get a little extra (which doesn't happen very often) I give it to Peggy and she keeps it safe.
Right now I am saving for Adobe Creative Suite (CS5) Design Premium. It is very expensive. So, I told Peggy this is what I want so I need to save for it. She takes this very seriously and told me that if I want this program I need to have a class to learn it as well so I couldn't have the money until I had enough for both. I agreed!
Well, one of my favorite Digital Scrapbooking websites, jessicasprague.com is having a sale and the Adobe Illustrator class in 20% off. I was pretty excited but did not know if I should go ahead and purchase the class and let it sit on my computer until I have the program or wait and hopefully it will go on sale again later. Which it usually does. Anyway, I emailed Peggy, forwarded her the website and said, "What do you think? Should I purchase this class while it is on sale?" Here is the response I received back.

Dear Ms James,
Iam writing to you in regards to your savings account (account #0001) at Peggy Bank. We recently received a request for withdrawal for an item that was not specified as your item you were saving for when you opened the account.
You chose to bank with Peggy Bank because of our strict rules and guidelines for accessing your money. We do not believe in penalizing our customers, but we do take the job of protecting your savings very seriously. The item you specified you were saving for was Creative Suite. You are well on your way to having enough to purchase that item.
For that reason, we are offically denying your request for withdrawal for purchase of the online class, Adobe Illustrator.

Kindest regards,

Peggy

Bank President

What a great friend. I was laughing the first time I read it and am still laughing now as I post it on the blog. I asked about interest and apparently Peggy Bank doesn't give interest. But, as the president told me, they don't penalize either. So there you have it! I guess I am still on course for Adobe Illustrator CS5 and since I won't be able to purchase it without a class, I will, someday be learning new design techniques to pass onto you. Won't that be great? Until then, we will continue learning Photoshop Elements. I love it as well.

I am not sure how many customers Peggy Bank wants, but if you have a genetic disorder like me, call one of your friends to help you out. I am sure they would be more than happy to ablige.

Michelle

What's That In Yer Sleeve?

Ha ha!!

As usual, when Micheggy starts talking, some new plan is developed, from concept to construction, and in this case...action! We must just hit each other at the right time, in the right mood, to take on new and exciting endeavors. This one was Michelle's idea. Wait...I shouldn't say that. If we become millionaires in the future, she might sue me for my half. Nah... :)

Here's what went down...

Michelle called Peggy, and while whining about the crummy weather, inserted a seed of an idea that Peggy thought was fantastic! Michelle was out the door, coming to Peggy's house, (after stopping at Fareway to get groceries for dinner that night) so they could discuss it. Believe it or not, both of us brought out a bottle of opened wine, to "finish off" while we devised our plan. :)

Anyway...

We can't give you ALL the details of our plan, but we can tell you this. You are about to see many more posts on our Micheggy blog. We are going to work at publishing regular posts for our readers, focusing on scrapbooking, cardmaking, papercrafting, and the fun between friends.

What we want as a result at this point is quite simple. We want to interact with our followers. We want you to comment, and we want to comment back. :) We want to gather even MORE readers, so please recommend us to your scrappy friends.

To start off our project, what kind of things do you most like reading about on a scrappy type blog? Friendship stories? Techniques? Project ideas? Contests? New products? What draws you to read a blog post? Which blogs do you follow and why?

Use this as your chance to help us develop the scrapbooking powerhouse that IS... Micheggy. Then get ready....because the fun is about to begin!! (Insert maniacal laugh here.)

Folding Technique Class from Micheggy Card Camp

I hope you have been following the other two blogs and have seen all of the pictures of the wonderful techniques that Peggy and I will be teaching at Micheggy Card Camp on June 18 or June 25 at The Craft Spot in Emmetsburg. If not, here are the links so you can check them out. Plus you will want to keep on checking because we are posting more cards every so often up to the event.

Everyday Life

Flourish Scrapbooker

But, for this blog post I am posting the pictures of my Folding Technique. Two of these cards can be used for a gift or a gift card holder. They are really fun. I hope you like them.

This uses four folded circles and ties together to make a really fun display. You could insert pictures for a special touch. It is shown folded in the last picture.

This card has three areas for stamping, personal notes, picture or a gift card or three! Who wouldn't love that? I mean really.

This one is just really fun! It would be adorable as a Christmas card and uses half of a circle.

You can learn these folding techniques by signing up for the Micheggy Card Camp. The camp will be offered on Sat., June 18th OR Sat., June 25 from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm. The cost is $45 for members and $50 for non-members. Lunch will be from noon - 1:00 (on your own).

We have decided to offer each individual techinque as a class by itself if you cannot make the entire day. But the entire day is a great deal. This one is offered from 8:00 - 9:00 am on Sat. June 18 or Sat. June 25. Each hour-long technique will be $10. All of the techniques offered will be as follows:

8 - 9 am- Folding Techniques (Michelle)

9-10am- Flower Techniques (Peggy)

10-11am Ribbon Techniques (Michelle)

11-noon Glimmer Misting Techniques (Peggy)

Noon-1pm Lunch (on your own)

1-2pm Digital Card Techniques (Michelle)

2-3pm Punching Techniques (Peggy)

3-4pm Flocking Techniques (Michelle)

4-5pm Texture Techniques (Peggy)

So you can choose the techniques you want to learn or come to all. We are really excited and want to have a lot of people there learning. So, stop by K. Jackson & Co where The Craft Spot is located and drop off a check or mail it to 2117 Main Street, Emmetsburg, IA 50536.

If you have questions, please call Michelle at 712-480-2320 or Peggy at 712-298-0105.

We want to hear from you. Please leave a comment! Don't forget that you can fine The Craft Spot on Facebook too. Please "like" us!

http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Craft-Spot/187118434671908?ref=ts

Thanks everyone!

Michelle

Card Camp Close-Ups, Round 2

Last week I posted on my other blog, Flourish Scrapbooker, some pictures and a description of the Glimmer Misting class Micheggy is offering at their Card Camp, June 18th OR June 25th. Today, on this blog, I'm posting pictures and descriptions of the Flower Techniques card class.

I searched long and hard to come up with 3 fresh flower-making techniques that you haven't done before. (I hope!) Here they are:


This first "Just Because" card is made using 5 felt petals that we sew together to make the flower. The middle is then adorned with a tile from Technique Tuesday, inked with Quick Quotes inks. The sewing is easy, I promise. We do a little extra technique to make it puff up a bit. I took a closer-up picture below:

See how it's kinda gathered in the middle? It's easy!


Next, we're going to make a cute gift tag with a very ornate flower. (This one might challenge you a bit.) It took me two tries to get it right, but it was SO worth it in the end. Another closer-up picture below:

Twelve petals make up this flower, which got its pattern from a bit of stamping.



Our final card uses even MORE fabric to make the layered flower in the middle. You won't believe the technique needed to make this little friend. It's extremely simple, but I'd never heard of it before now.

Well, that gives you the details of 2 of the 8 classes we are offering at Card Camp. Be sure to keep an eye on all of the following blogs to see updates when they're made available:

Flourish Scrapbooker
Everyday Life

and of course, this one...Micheggy!

Card Camp is at The Craft Spot in Emmetsburg from 8-5 on Saturday, June 18th or June 25th. (You get a 1 hour break for lunch on your own.) The cost is $50 for non-members of The Craft Spot, and $45 for members. (If you sign up to be a member before signing up for Card Camp, you get the price break.) You will leave with a total of 24 new projects and techniques, so it's quite the good deal.

As of now, we have 2 signed up, and would like to have at least 10. Please sign up ASAP! You can do so by stopping by K. Jackson & Co. and delivering your payment, or you can contact Michelle at (712) 480-2320, or Peggy at (712) 298-0105 to arrange your payment. We look forward to seeing you there!

Here It Is! The Info You Want!

Let's see, tell you more, you say? Well, here's the scoop: We are offering our first ever Micheggy Card Camp!

Card camp will run from 8am-12, take an hour for you to get some lunch, and pick up again from 1-5pm. During those 8 hours of classes, we will teach you 8 different techniques, completing 3 cards for each technique. By the end of the day, you will have 24 different cards, each using a technique that you can incorporate into your card making!

We are still working out the finer details, but we've also decided to offer it on two different dates, just in case you couldn't make one of them: June 18th and June 25th. We will be holding it at The Craft Spot in Emmetsburg, so we have to limit signups. As soon as we set the price and get a few samples made, we'll be ready to take registrations.

We are very excited about this, and think you will be too. We are really focusing on teaching some new skills that you don't already know, so you can leave with lots of ideas to inspire you to create more on your own. We will be sending you more information soon...very, very soon!

So...what do you think? Are you excited?!

Hint, Hint!

I thought it was time to update our teaser and give you a smidge more information. Micheggy will be meeting tomorrow to discuss this latest adventure for our friends, the cardmakers. I can't tell you too much at this time, but I can say this: Save the date! June 18th, all day. Tell your friends as this is one of those I-don't-want-to-miss-this kind of days. :)

So, does this bring to mind any new guesses? Have we narrowed it down enough for you to give you an inkling of an idea? We will post more by the end of the week, and you can look for more information in your email from Michelle that will come by the end of the month.

:D