Simple Scrapbooks

Snippets Sees Bluffdale

Yeah, this is what I usually post when a new product arrives in the office. A dorky photo of me on my web cam smiling hugely and displaying said product, accompanied by a short little blurb along the lines of: "Yay, Snippets: Mostly True Tales from the Lighter Side of Scrapbooking is now in the office! Let the celebration begin!" But this time I'm taking it a little bit further. I took my little friend Snippets on a tour of the Bluffdale, Utah, office. Come along and see how Snippets enjoyed her visit!
First stop: Jen Wozab's office to relax in a bit of shade from the fluorescent overhead lights. The view's pretty nice from up here.

Enjoying a quick snooze on Carolyn Jolley's cell phone bean bag, and then having a chat with Pikachu. Snippets wishes SHE had an autographed mouse pad from Stacy Julian. (sniff!)

Paying a visit to the photo studio and, as usual, trying to steal the spotlight. Naughty, naughty Snippets! This is a PAPER CRAFTS photo shoot. You've already had your turn.

Trying out the view from Katie The Receptionist's desk. Hmm...Snippets kinda likes it around here.

Hanging out in the lobby, artfully arranged next to a bowl of decorative...pomegranates?

Being thoroughly enjoyed by Jen and Jennafer in the lobby (when they're supposed to be working!). Crazy old Snippets...always good for a laugh.

Being sniffed (or perhaps used as a very poor disguise?) by Jen and Jennafer. Hmm...I think they like what they smell!

Trying to arrange for top billing on the CKMedia building facade.

Sitting quietly on the lap of Porter Rockwell, Utah pioneer and gatekeeper of the CKMedia parking lot.

Enjoying a nice family portrait with Angie Lucas and Mr. Rockwell. Ahhh, it feels good to be loved.

Helping Angie wash dishes in the CKMedia break room. Yeah, it's a tough job. But someone's got to do it.

And that concludes Snippets' Big Adventure in Bluffdale. Now that you see just how much fun Snippets is to hang out with (and how helpful she is with household chores), you might want to join her all weekend long in her big debut: the online virtual release party at simplescrapbooksmag.com! Ciao!

Ladies and Gentleman, we have a NEW blog!

Simple Scrapbooks is pleased to announce that we have officially entered the 21st century, and we officially have a blog on an official blogging site. Officially. I can hardly contain my excitement. And yet I am refraining from overusing exclamation points. (Behold the restraint.) I will happily let my html skills sink into blissful oblivion as I embrace the glories of typepad.

The best part of this transition? You can now subscribe to this blog AND the Simple Studio Blog. Did you hear that? Subscribe. And we'll make it worth your while, if you know what I mean. Contests. Photos. Backstage happenings. Simple news and events. Funny stuff. Ideas and insights. Layouts. Tips. Project ideas. It'll all be right here for your reading pleasure!

Speaking of "reading pleasure," I have spent the better half of the day copying a plethora of past posts into the "archives" of this blog for your perusal. So feel free to browse through the 101 available posts from 2007 and 2008. You might want to revisit such memorable posts as: Stacy Week, the p-ness incident, the stick man, weirdo words,  and when ants attack. Or you might not. But just in case you do, it's all right here. (And it's ALL dated September 30, 2008, because that's when I transferred it all over. Good thing I told you that, or you might be thinking, "Wow, September 30 was an eventful day at Simple Scrapbooks magazine!" and "Wow, no one reads or comments on this blog!" I had no luck transferring the original comments into the archives.)

p.s. No, there was not a mistake in my blog title. I'm fairly certain that there's only one "gentleman" reading this blog, and he's probably my husband.

p.p.s. Want to spell a flickr word like the one above? Just go here and type something in the "spell" field. It's fun!

p.p.p.s. So, we might as well have a contest on the very first day at our new blog! Drop a little note to say "hi," and I'll pick three random winners to take home a cool prize package from the office.

Let the fun begin!

Another Jen!

Yes, we have added another Jen to our team! And we couldn't be more excited. Jen Wozab ("J.Wo") joined our over a month ago as our new Associate Editor, and I have yet to introduce her to you! (Bad, bad managing editor!) She's taking Rachel Gainer's position, who will be working part time from home. This is a photo of her at her inaugural team luncheon at the charming Thanksgiving Point restaurant, modeling with a dessert. Click "more" to see, that's right, MORE lovely photos of people posing with desserts.

p.s. Why call her "J.Wo"? Well, we already have:
Jennafer (our editor in chief Jennafer Martin)
Jen/Jenny (our former assistant editor Jenny Willden, now on the Digital Scrapbooking team)
Jenny (our ad rep Jenny Grothe)
Jenny (our copy editor Jenny Webb)

If you ever run out of Jennies (or accidentally misplace a Jenny) you certainly know where to look for an extra!

 

 

Jenny Willden

 

Jenny Hoeppner. I mean MEGAN! Megan Hoeppner. You can't blame me for getting confused.

 

Three more non-Jennys: Rachel, baby Shelby, and me

Yeehaw!

it's here, and it's fantastic!

p.s. check out my freaky short pinky! they're both like that, but they usually don't look quite so claw-like.

It's HERE!

The first-bound copies of our newest special issue, Mini Albums in an Evening, have just arrived. It's so fun to see all of my team's hard work in final form! And this is definitely a keeper.

Starting July 8, this issue will be available at your local scrapbook store, at your grocery-store or bookstore newsstand, and here on our website of course. Start saving your nickels and dimes...it's just $6.99. Or, leave me a comment (with your username listed) on any topic you wish, and I'll draw ONE winner to get one of my precious first-bound copies. These are in short supply until the big shipment arrives, and the winner will have one in her hot little hands before anyone else on the planet (besides me of course)! Comment away.

p.s. Loved your comments on that last post! Funny stuff. Glad we're not alone having a list of "phonetically displeasing" words...and thanks for adding the term "phonetically displeasing" to my vocabulary.

p.p.s. Keep watch... "Behind the Scenes" for July/August is coming this week!

Meet Shelby!

Meet Shelby Kate Gainer, the newest addition to the Simple Scrapbooks family! Our editor extraordinaire, Rachel Gainer, has been working on the adoption process for several months. And just a couple of weeks ago, she got a surprise phone call from her agency that basically said, "Hi. One of our birth moms has selected you and your husband to be the parents of her little girl, and the little girl was born yesterday, and you can take her home tomorrow!"

So, Rachel had to make a very sudden departure to go care for her sweet new daughter. Shelby has visited the office twice, and she is such a delight! We're considering making her our permanent mascot.

Hopefully this very happy news explains why I'm a bit behind on my bloggin'. You see, Rachel gets a LOT done around here, and we've been trying to temporarily fill her shoes (NOT an easy task) until she returns, and the bloggin' was the first thing to go. But trust me, I've got lots more fun stuff to report. (Nothing THIS fun, of course, because what could possibly top sweet little Shelby?) But anyway, stay tuned. We should be able to rejoin our regularly scheduled programming soon!

 

Look how LITTLE she is? Just 6 lbs. 4 oz. at birth. And two weeks later, already up to 6 lbs. 12 oz! And isn't Rachel positively glowing? Motherhood looks good on her.

 

 

 

Just Arrived!

Donna Downey's new books: Fabric Scrapbooking and a photos-first approach to Designing Layouts. They're shipping now! And guess what else? Her previous three titles are now 20 percent off on our website, to help celebrate the release of these books. If you have the first three, you definitely need the last two--they're truly her best yet. If you don't have the first three, it's time to stock up!

 

A Message from Jenny to Stacy

The first time I met Stacy, soon after I began working for Simple Scrapbooks, she greeted me with a huge hug like I was her long lost friend. She also took the time to talk to me and to learn more about me, even though she had little free time to do so.

This friendly gesture made me feel welcome and it is something that I think makes Stacy stand out from the crowd. What also impresses me about Stacy is her generosity. I remember being surprised (and excited) last Christmas when a mysterious box from Little Miss Matched arrived on my doorstep. I opened it up and inside were three zany, mismatched socks in my favorite colors, pink and green. I had no idea where these socks came from until I saw Stacy’s name in very small type on the packing receipt. I couldn’t believe she had thought to send a gift to me, someone she’d only met once!

Now when I wear these socks, I always think of Stacy’s kindness and her love for what she calls “happy colors.” Some of Stacy’s happy colors are lime green, robin’s egg blue, and yellow. My happy colors are hot pink, green, and tangerine orange. I love bring surrounded by these colors and all of them make me smile.

~Jenny Willden, Assistant Editor

A Message from Megan to Stacy

Stacy Julian and I first met in 2004. I was a young kid, fresh out of college, working my first “real” job in the PR department at Stampin’ Up! Part of my responsibilities there included working with magazine editors, and this naturally included our dear Stacy. Did I mention how young I was? I feel this fact is worth repeating, as it says a lot about Stacy’s character. Allow me to explain.

One time, shortly after my PR career began, I ran into Stacy on the show floor at a busy CHA event. Despite the fact that we had only spoken a few times, and despite the fact that she was clearly on her way to see someone else, AND despite the fact that she had an entourage of about 10 with her, despite all of this, I still felt it necessary to stop her, introduce myself, and shake her hand. (See what I mean about being green?) I expected nothing more than a handshake in return, but I got so much more than that. She stopped everything she was doing and took time to sit down with me, completely on the fly, introduce me to some of her peeps, and ask me how I was doing. Me. A little fresh-out-of-college nobody. I’ll never forget this CHA moment. It’s because of supportive people like Stacy, who saw potential in me long before I knew it was there, that I’m fortunate enough to be a senior editor with Simple today.

Thank you, Stacy. You’re a class act!

A Message from Carolyn to Stacy

I met Stacy Julian in 2002 when I was still a receptionist for our company. Right away, I knew Stacy was different from everyone else I’d ever met. For one thing, she always smiled and said “Hello” as if she really meant it, and as if she really knew who I was. And her energy! I’ve always said that if I just had half the energy Stacy has, I’d be a millionaire today. Stacy has inspired me to be a better person, to take a look at life in a new way, to never compromise my beliefs, and to make and eat lots of brownies with my family just because. These are just a few of the things Stacy has taught me just by pure example.

One of my favorite memories of Stacy is from when we were at a tradeshow. After a long day on the show floor, we went back to our rooms to change into comfy pjs before figuring out the next day’s plan. When we got back together, we found that we were wearing very similar pajamas – each from Costco! Stacy and I are as different as night and day, but we definitely have one thing in common – good taste!

I’ll carry Stacy’s enthusiasm, awesome ideas, and happiness with me every day. I wish her all the happiness in the world, and all of the best “5 to 9s” and “9 to 5s” she can handle.

I don't have any pictures of just me and Stacy, but we have a tendency to stand next to each other in group shots!