Simple Scrapbooks

Fun at Winter CHA 2008, part two

We were SO happy when we found out that our Funnest Scrapbooker Ever (for 2007) winner was going to be AT THE SHOW, since she lives right in the neighborhood! (Thanks for the tip, Lain!) So we scurried to throw together our crowning ceremony, and here is how it went:

It was Lain's job to take Tamara to dinner and keep her distracted until the rest of us could arrive with the ice cream cake and the goodies (and some of us were rushing over from a business dinner with the ladies from Sweetwater Scrapbooking, and we got horribly lost, which was a hilarious adventure in and of itself). Stacy Julian joined them in Lain's hotel room to be our "inside man" and prep Tamara for our grand entry.

Meanwhile, Wendy, Jennafer, Megan and I waited patiently outside the hotel room door, waiting for Stacy to give the signal. We'd think we heard the signal so I'd raise the cake up and smile, Wendy would unfurl the sash, and Jennafer would lean forward and grin with her big bottle of bubbles, and then it would be a false alarm and we'd all dissolve into giggles and try to shush each other. This happened at least 8 times. It was a riot.

But hey, wouldn't you rather just see it all happen with your own eyes? Click here for the youtube video that Lain lovingly shot and compiled for us.
We were amazed that Tamara was so composed. Her acceptance speech sounds...rehearsed somehow. But it wasn't. We soon learned that this is a woman who can THINK ON HER FEET. Watch the video, but here are a few highlight pictures for your viewing pleasure.

 

What's with the jelly belly picture, you ask? Well Tamara and I discovered that we're Jelly Belly buddies. We were both picking out all of the popcorn and pear flavored candies from the plates that were supposed to be reserved for passersby. This is surely the foundation for a lasting friendship, wouldn't you think?

Fun at Winter CHA 2008, part one

Highlights from our visit to CHA Winter in sunny Anaheim, CA, starring Angie, Wendy, Rachel, Jennafer, and assorted board members and Simple Gals, part one:

•arriving early on Saturday to take a detour to Sweet Peas & Snapshots, an adorable boutiquey scrapbook store in L.A.
•finding out that it only costs $35 per page to hire a personal scrapbooker, and that the personal scrapbooker we met actual had to scrapbook one of her client’s nude pictures (only in Hollywood)
•eating at the most crowded In-n-Out Burger on the planet on Venice Blvd
•wondering how on earth this many people are able to afford houses like this
•being ignored and actually shushed by our waitress at a fancy Hollywood grill
•holding an actual OSCAR at a cool display above the Kodak Theater and giving fake acceptance speeches
•taking a scenic drive through L.A. up to Hollywood Blvd. to see Wicked with 8 fun Simple ladies. Wicked was amazing.
•later debating with Wendy whether we and the people we know are more like Elphaba or Galinda
•hanging out in Hollywood for a couple of hours with my team and realizing how lucky I am to love all of my colleagues so much
•being a lemming, being shoved onto a crowded bus, and probably being nearly kidnapped by imposter security guards on the way to see Wicked

For now, this will have to suffice. More fun highlights to come!

 

Seven posts from January 2007 in ONE Enormous Blog Post!

editorial note: here is a big group post containing lots of posts from January 2007! The comments aren't clickable or visible...this just shows how many comments were made to each post. Just a little blast from the past, folks! Now THAT'S Funny We're in the final round of judging for our Funnest Scrapbooker Ever (for 2007) Contest, first announced in our Scrapbook Play issue. And no, staff editor Rachel is NOT the winner. She's just trying on the goods. But take a closer look at those goods.   The sash says "Funniest Scrapbook Ever," a far cry from what we wrote on the order form. Needless to say, we're having the sashes reprinted. We can't have The Funnest Scrapbooker Ever and her two attendants walking around looking like fools, can we? And just for the record, the tiara Rachel is wearing is just a prop. The real tiara, which is also fake, looks much more real than this fake one. (You weren't expecting actual diamonds, I hope.) We're hoping to crown our winner by the end of next week, and the rest of the reading public will get to meet her in our May/June issue! Here's hoping the new sashes arrive on time. Comments (15)   Photo Freedom Goes To... I asked my trusty friend Rachel Gainer to pick two random numbers between 1 and 238. And she chose #61 and #172. So I counted down through the comments and stopped at... #61 aka MO Scrapper aka Kyla in Missouri #172 aka kissyj aka Christine in Utah Congrats ladies! Two signed books are on the way. And may I say that by the sound of your comments, you ALL need some serious help! Wow. And so do I. (But at least I don't have 37,000 photos or 10 children. That would put me right over the edge. I admire your stamina!) I can personally attest to the fact that the ideas in this book DO work! As I edited and proofread this book, I definitely learned a ton of helpful tricks that I'm using today. Stacy's words pop into my head all the time as I browse through my photos and sit down to scrapbook. I'm a believer. Hopefully you will be too. Comments (4)  Win This I have in my little hands a very small handful of ADVANCE COPIES of Stacy Julian's latest book, Photo Freedom: A Big Picture approach to organizing and scrapbooking your photographs. Wanna win one? Just leave me a comment here (make sure your username is listed) that mentions your biggest photo organization challenge (just because I'm curious), and I'll pick TWO random winners who will receive an autographed, advance copy of Stacy's book. (The winners will get their copies LONG before anyone else has it in their hands! The main shipment isn't due to arrive for another couple of weeks.) Can't stand the suspense? Just order your own preorder copy. Our online team is holding a contest whereby a total of FIVE people who place a preorder will get their copy for free. So reserve yours today! Click here for fun sneak peeks from Stacy's book, a new one each day for the next 10 days, and here to preorder. Click here to congratulate Stacy herself.  Comments (240) Snow Day Surprise, we woke up to 12 inches of light, fluffy, powdery snow this morning. I wouldn't have wanted to brave the drifts to drive to work, even if the office wasn't closed for Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. Ruby the Wonder Dog had to tromp through chest-deep snow to go to the bathroom. Man, it would be a great day to hit the slopes! But I'm going to be busy lying around the house, doing as little as possible. Anyone have any big plans for MLKJR day? Jan. 21, 2008 | Comments (6)   And Now for the Solution Thanks for all the helpful advice! I ended up carefully pulling off the white backing, totally mangling the patterned paper in the process. But, as you all predicted, the orange frame covered up all the mess! Thanks ladies. There's nothing like scrapbooking by committee. Here's how it looks now, and there's no danger of the orange frame popping off, thanks to Making Memories liquid glue.   Comments (4) Ever Done This? I didn't realize this cute chipboard frame by Love, Elsie was self-adhesive. So I applied plenty of liquid adhesive and slapped it onto my layout. (Yep that's me, age 8, the tall girl in the purple Cabbage Patch nightgown.) Well, what I really adhered was the adhesive BACKING, and it's permanent. Yet the chipboard peels off free and easy. Short of resorting to the magic of Un-Du (which I don't have on hand), any advice from ya'll about what to do? :-)   Comments (14)   Kicking off the New Year with a Contest! Well, it looks like it's back to real life again, which is no easy task after two luxurious 5-day weekends right in a row. The holidays were wonderful this year! I slept in almost every day, watched a movie-a-day, baked some stuff just for fun, went to the gym so I could EAT the stuff I baked, played Rock Band with the husband and the teenager, finished craft projects I started months ago, made four scrapbook layouts, did a bit of shopping and hardly any returning. Hope yours was wonderful too! Good luck getting back into the swing of things! To help you out, I'd like to kick off the new year with a little contest. You see, I'm woefully behind on my "Jan/Feb Behind the Scenes" post (it is coming, I promise), so I thought I'd do a little teaser contest in advance of the "Behind the Scenes" post. Hunt down the following three objects in your Jan/Feb issue and correctly tell me what page number each is on. I'll draw five random winners (to win, your page numbers must be correct) and send out the prizes! Tell me the page numbers where I can find: a cowboy hat a comb over a chocolate-covered strawberry Have fun! Winners. That WAS fun. Thanks everyone! The lucky randomly-drawn winners are: scarlett79 Karen F. Leanne S. ~Steph~ kristenb Awesome prizes are coming! January 2, 2008 | Comments (40)

Holly Jolly

We all got new scarves! Thank you very much to sexy knitter Lain Ehmann...isn't she fabulous? (Although I do think Lain is plenty sexy, I was referring to her status as a card-carrying member of the Sexy Knitters Club. At least I didn't call her a yarn harlot, although I happen to know she's also a fan of the original Yarn Harlot, Stephanie Pearl-McPhee.)

 

The Christmas goodies are starting to roll in... THANKS a bunch to baker and cookie-tin-decorator extraordinaire Kelly Jeppson! (Also a great feature writer and contributor to the magazine.) Homemade sugar cookies and chocolate-peppermint candy cookies in an adorable package...bring on the holiday weight gain!

Quick poll: what holiday treat do you find it impossible to avoid? For me, it's the sugar cookies. Fudge I can take or leave. Peanut brittle is hardly a temptation. Egg Nog is just not worth 220 calories per half cup. But sugar cookies...mmmm.

Grungeboard vs. Chipboard

If chipboard and grungeboard got in a fight, who'd win? Can you tell I have a 13-year-old boy at home? I've had many a debate about whether a ninja or a pirate is tougher (obviously a ninja), or Spider-Man vs. Superman (duh, Spider-Man). But on the grungeboard vs. chipboard debate, we'll let you be the judge.

If you don't remember my previous post about grungeboard, a new product from Tim Holtz for Advantus, I'll refresh your memory: it's like chipboard but it's bendy and flexible and it feels "kinda suedy," as one person put it, or "like whale blubber," as Lain Ehmann eloquently pointed out.

Well, for this month's "product playground" meeting, miss Wendy Smedley had us playing with chipboard and grungeboard to see what we think. And the meeting was extra fun since Lain is in town visiting. Anyway, here's what we found out!

 

The "A" on the left is a pre-embossed grungeboard letter. The "A" on the right is a flat chipboard letter. I sprayed both with Walnut Ink by Tsukineko, and as you can see by the puddles beneath the letters, I used twice as much ink on the chipboard and still didn't get as vibrant of a result. The verdict: chipboard is more absorbent than grungeboard.

 

 

On this example, the grungeboard is on the left and the chipboard is on the right. Both were colored using the same exact glitter pen. The verdict: both look cool...depends on which shade you like better! Grungeboard is kinda grey, while chipboard tends to lean to the brown side. Probably affects the color.

 

As proven here, both grungeboard (left) and chipboard (right) can be embossed using the Provo Craft Cuttlebug. The verdict: embossable!

 

We took those embossed shapes and covered them in yellow chalk. (By "we" I mean "me.") The verdict: they're both chalkable! Grungeboard appears to be a bit more vibrant.

 

Again, a grungeboard piece (left) and chipboard piece (right) embossed using the Provo Craft Cuttlebug. The verdict: again, both are embossable! The chipboard appears to have a deeper impression.

 

I took those embossed shapes and sprayed them both with Glimmer Mist from Tattered Angels. The verdict: grungeboard is a bit more vibrant.

 

There's no competitive matchup here. These are both grungeboard. The one on the left was inked with three colors of inkpads; the one on the right was colored with Stampin' Up watercolor crayons. Both were sprayed with clear Glimmer Mist. Fun!

 

Again, not a competitive matchup. This is just Jennafer and Carolyn playing around with some products.

Finally, the Photos

A total of 244 emails from nice Simple Scrapbooks readers! (Thanks everyone!!!)

 

A sparkly garland and m&ms in my favorite colors! (We've been munching on them for a week, and the red ones are going faster, so I chow down on the blue ones to keep the bowls even and aesthetically pleasing. What a nerd.)

 

 

A decorated door...

 

My own street sign and a very nice note. (Thanks Carolyn!)

 

A decorated office, complete with balloons. (Thanks Rachel!)

 

A decorated office, complete with HANDMADE paper lanterns. (Thanks Wendy!)

 

A cinnamon cake, my favorite! (Thanks Jenny W.)

 

New office supplies!

 

A hand-crocheted scarf and handmade cards. (Thanks Jennafer!)

 

A present every hour, on the hour. (Thanks Wendy!)

 

A team lunch. (Thanks everyone!)

 

A box of chocolates. (Thanks Marin!)

 

A piece of delectable chocolate pie, with strawberry topping. (Thanks Karen!)

 

Another view of Wendy's darling lanterns!

 

A surprise visit from Melanie Kirry of QuicKutz, who brought me the new "A" monogram die set! Love this girl!

 

A series of 15 bad photos with Melanie that really started to try our patience, as you can see here.

 

And this is the best we got from the session...notice how Melanie is holding "m&ms" and Angie is holding "A's". Very clever.

 

A framed (and autographed) collage of all the covers I've worked on over the years!

Now, back to work!

WOW. WOW. WOW.

I don't know what else to say. Wow. I work with the most amazing, generous, incredible, thoughtful, and creative women evah!!! And all of you... I'm speechless. Thanks to Stacy's blog and Cathy's blog, I received 210 individual emails in my inbox, saying incredibly nice things about me and my team and our magazine. (I've read 135 of them so far, and I'm still reading!) I left the office last night just walking on air, feeling so buoyed up and supported. I don't know, I guess getting 210 emails (and 35 blog comments and a cake) that say "I appreciate you," well, it makes you feel appreciated. Funny how that works.

I love this industry, I love Simple Scrapbooks readers, I LOVE my team! The love and support has just carried me through a 9-hour and very harrowing handoff-to-design meeting for Donna Downey's latest book, which I'm just emerging from. If it wasn't 6:53 on a Friday night, and if I didn't have a hot date for with my husband tonight (Thai food, anyone?), I would stay and post all the fun pictures from "Angie Day." But I'm tired. Happy and tired. So I'll share on Monday. But let me say again, thanks. I've said it before, and I'll say it again: Simple Scrapbooks readers are the most genuine, real, authentic, and just plain NICE people in the world. Lots of love and appreciation is coming right back at ya!

 

(Apparently, I'm not really as speechless as I first thought. :-)

It's Angie Appreciation Day!

We interrupt this regularly scheduled blog post to bring you a special message....

It's Angie Appreciation Day!

If you haven't guessed, it isn't Angie writing this. Usually she posts on this blog to give you all the behind-the-scenes action here at Simple, but today we hijacked the blog.

Why? Because Angie would never toot her own horn. So we'll toot for her.

Angie is the glue that holds the Simple issues together, and we're taking some time to tell her how much we appreciate her today. Angie has worked on 21 issues and books, helped keep the schedules flowing and the run-on sentences minimal, and troubleshooted all kinds of emergencies, big and small. Her dedication to excellence helps every issue and book that leaves our office have nothing but the best of our efforts in it, and she inspires us all with her dedication to you, our readers.

Aside from all of that, Angie is HILARIOUS. She's a lot of fun and she makes us laugh, which is especially important when the stress is high and the deadlines are nigh.

In short, Angie is pretty darn fabulous. And we wanted her to know that.

So we planned this special day to tell her. Aside from this blog post, we've planned lots of special things to help her know how much we value her, including:

 

sending letters, cards, and e-cards

making phone calls and videos to sing her praises

updated her office with cool accessories

decorated her office with balloons and signs and such

a special team lunch, complete with cake in her honor and

created a special poster with the covers of all the issues she's worked on through the years

We hope these things will help her feel, in some small way, all of our heartfelt love and appreciation.

Feel free to comment here to let Angie know you appreciate her too. Then you can experience the magic of the day we've dedicated especially to her!

Happy Angie Appreciation Day!
The Simple team