It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year!!!

Christmas is, by far, my favorite holiday and it has been ever since I can remember. I am getting ready to celebrate my 24th Christmas and I consider myself so lucky to have friends and family that enjoy this season as much as me and are as excited as I am to share the joys of the season.

I love baking cookies and my family is so indulgent of my "cookie days", a full day when the kitchen is out-of-bounds to anyone not willing to "pass me that teaspoon" or "check that batch in the oven, I think they're burning!". I usually have my baking days at my parent's house because it comes equipped with four fluffy vacuum cleaners, a.k.a. Otis, Prissy, Coco, and Danny!

Isn't Prissy the cutest thing ever?!

There's nothing better after a long day in the kitchen, than piling up a plate with all my sugary creations and sitting down with some hot tea and a great movie! My mom and I are addicted to movies from the 40's and 50's and would probably watch "White Christmas" and "It's A Wonderful Life" once a day if my dad and brother would let us. Since they like a little more variety in their movie-viewing, we like to break up the so-called monotony with "The Polar Express", "Scrooge, The Musical", and one of our newer favorites, "Black Adder's A Christmas Carol". (We searched for it for years! My mom finally found it on eBay, along with the adorable "A Wish For Wings That Work" which is a holiday tale with the cartoon characters, Opus and Bill.) My family is never in want of a good holiday movie... we actually have an entire DVD case devoted to them!

I think everyone here at the store is pretty excited about the holidays, too... especially since I have started bombarding them with my collection of Christmas music! If you need to hear some good Christmassy tunes, just stop in and you're bound be serenaded by Sinatra or Bing or even Tom Hanks! We have started decorating around here, too in order to supply you with endless inspiration!

Katie put this card together for our "Black Friday" Make 'n' Take!

We have a few fun events coming up this month for the holidays. This first is our fabulous "Santa's Workshop" which should be tons of fun! Get all your holiday shopping done in the Workshop and find all kinds of wonderful creations by local artisans! The Workshop will be open the whole month of December, so stop by and see what you can see!

We will also be having a photography day soon! (More info coming soon!) This will be the opportune time for you to get your Christmas portraits done for this year! We have a really amazing background planned, starting with this amazing sleigh...

That gorgeous thing is 101 years old and is just waiting to be decorated for the photo shoot! The Yates's have adopted it and re-finished it and aren't we glad! Stop by the store often to see what other holiday goodies we have in store for you! And don't forget to make the very best of the season!

Love, Stephanie!

Where I have been???

Hi all! Wow, has it been a whirlwind month for the Vanderbergs!

Addie had her third homecoming, just one more to go until she's off to college! She looked amazing and of course had a wonderful time with all of her friends!

We went camping where a pasture of poison ivy attacked my leg. Can you believe that??? This is Vandy drying off from the poison ivy scrub. I, of course, wasn't that lucky. I scrubbed and scrubbed, but still I managed to get a pretty healthy dose of the nasty weed. And fooey on clorox, it burned and it still didn't go away for a week and a half.When we got back from our adventureous camping trip I threw a bachelorette party and our son got married the following weekend!

This is Justin, the son, and his new bride Marianna talking to his sister in Mali! It was a beautiful event and I have to say, Pumpkin Squash Lasagna at the Winds Cafe in Yellows Springs is to die for ... only the month of October, so get in there before the month is over! And below is a picture of me and Vandy all dressed up. Remember me mentioning the poison ivy, well it doesn't feel any better when you have to put on a pair of nylons with your fancy dress! Needless to say, by 10:00pm I had a run in my stockings! Soooooo ........ enough of that ...

Now we are preparing for the Fall Retreat! Yippeeeeeeee ..... Can you believe it is only a couple weeks away! Do you have all your projects ready? Remember just like in girl scouts .. be prepared! We will be having special trips to the store for great retreat savings! Katie and I are also teaching two mini classes, an earlybird and nightowl on Saturday .. guess who is teaching the earlybird!!! Also, we will be making Tim Holtz necklaces for only $5! Addie had me make them for each of her BFF's for Christmas this year and they are so fun and cute!

AND for all you digi people, we finally got Prima's digi stuff in and Michelle will be teaching those classes in the upcoming months! So look for them .... I'll post a sample or two here in the next couple days! Until then .. happy scrapping! ~ Allison

Scrap Pink THANK YOU!

We would like to extend a special THANK YOU to all our fabulous
customers for supporting Scrap Pink 2008 at live.love.scrap. We had
so much fun raising money for the Susan G. Komen foundation and
we couldn't have done it without you! We also want to thank all
the businesses that helped us out with their generous donations!
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City BBQ
Xenia Kroger
Fairborn Kroger
Fairborn Carry-Out Pizza Hut
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Scrap Pink 2008 was great success thanks to a wonderful
community coming together to give back! Thanks again!

"The great gift of human beings is that we have the power of empathy." ~Streep

Scrap Pink is in a little over one week and we are all so excited to play such a special part in the fight against breast cancer. Most of us here have had our lives touched by this horrible disease, whether through family or friends, and we know many of you have endured alongside mothers, sisters, daughters and friends. Because breast cancer effects so many, we want to allow for every opportunity we can to support wonderful organizations like Susan G. Koman for the Cure.

We still have a few spaces available for the Scrap Pink Crop. In addition to a fabulous day of scrapbooking and spending time together, a portion of each crop fee will be donated to Komen for the Cure. We will also be hosting a luminaria ceremony after dark to show support for the victims and survivors of this disease. (Crop is Saturday, September 27th from 10am-2am. Please call us if you have questions or want to sign up!)

If you want to contribute even more it's as easy as buying a raffle ticket! We were surprised with a very generous donation from the brand new Hilton Garden Inn in Beavercreek and we are raffling off this fabulous prize during Scrap Pink! Raffle tickets are only $1 each or get 6 for just $5! All proceeds will go to to Komen for the Cure! The winner will receive a one night stay in a romantic suite at the Hilton Garden Inn, champagne, chocolate-covered strawberries, and more! There is no limit to the number of ticket you may purchase and you do not have the be present to win! This is such a simple way to show your support for breast cancer research and treatment and you never know... you may be the winner! (Drawing will be held at 2pm on Saturday, September 27th. Winner will be notified immediately.)

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Breast cancer makes an impression on all of us in ways big and small. We can fight back just as hard. Scrap Pink gives us the opportunity to combine something we love with a cause we feel so strongly about. Let's take this chance to come together with our mothers, sisters, daughters and friends to enjoy our time together and lend our strength to the battle against breast cancer.

Glitter, Sparkle and Flirt

What is she talking about they wondered... Glitter, Sparkle and Flirt? What does that have to do with anything? Then they realized.... that is exactly what we did this weekend! Two full days of scrapping with beautiful paper, amazing projects and SEXY GUYS. We made our way through 5 cards, 2 pages and a mini album with GLITTER on our paper, SPARKLE in our eyes, and FLIRTING in the air! Remember, DON'T MISS any live.love.scrap events... you never know what we will have up our sleeve. Amazing ideas, Giveaways, Prizes, SOMETIMES EVEN GOOD-LOOKING MEN!

UPCOMING EVENTS:

SCRAPPINK September 27

FALL RETREAT November 7-9

A peek at our MY MINDS EYE project we completed

this weekend. We had such a great time, and the scrapping wasn't bad either!

There new line is amazing and it is moving quick. All the paper is complete with glitter accents and sweet patterns. The accessories are great too, they even have ink now to top it all off! Cover of the book, adorned with MY MINDS EYE die-cut and ADHESIVE glitter chipboard letter. ALREADY ADHESIVE!

VERY CUTE

I loved the way they layered the transparencies over each photo mat. All their Chipboard accents are adhesive too!

They also made clever little pockets through-out the book to hold cute tags and such. SPARKLE SPARKLE SPARKLE.

I LOVED these cards. We made these in the My Minds Eye class and they were just beautiful. Let me say, this paper is PERFECT for card makers. It is very thick and has a subtle touch of glitter, plus all the title pieces make a quick and easy card!

Again, I used the NEW My Minds eye paper line. It is moving fast so bop on in to get yours! The rubons and titles worked perfect for the look I was trying to achieve. (the bird is their rubon)

Also new in the store is the stamps pictured below. They are perfect for the traditional stamper and make wonderful cards. Each kit comes complete with the stamp, rhinestones and 5 Kraft cards and envelops. Our very own Terri Ginter designed this card ... she was amazed at how SIMPLE AND BEAUTIFUL it turned out.

There are lots to choose from, you'll love it. (perfect gift idea)

On an ending note: isn't he just adorable!

This is Nate's nephew Aiden (so i guess kinda mine too). We rarely get to spend time with them and I just couldn't help but take a million photos of him. We spent a week in Myrtle Beach and had a blast. I had to scrap him right away. Precious.

(This is the new October Afternoon paper.... LOVE IT)

Boys of Summer

Ladies!!! It is getting so close to FRIDAY!!! We received the new My Mind's Eye lines (Laundry .. snickering, Halloween and Christmas) this past weekend and it is FABULOUS!!!!!! I am not kidding, I can barely contain my excitement ... I really am just sharing this information rather quickly right now, so I can go into my studio and play play play!!! Below is a picture from our Annapolis trip (day two of the Buffett adventure in Maryland))

Oh and I also wanted to share this picture ... gotta love a man in uniform, but in this case, they looked very "boyish".

Okay, so off I go ... see you all FRIDAY!!!

The winner and our concert pics

Here I am at the Jimmy Buffett concert in Baltimore .... four hours before the show. It was HOT!! We had so much fun tailgating with the few other thousand Parrotheads! And the show was AMAZING!!!!! Once I learn how to download pictures from my camera phone I might be able to share a photo or two of the actual show! Jimmy Buffett was so genuine and fun and everything you hear about from Buffett fans!

Congrats Ruth! I bet that basket made your day! I hope you find lots of fun things to do in your basket and enjoy the vintage laundry basket as well!

August Challenge Winner!

Meet Ruth, our August Challenge winner! Ruth won a fabulous vintage basket full of all kinds of goodies, just for being an active live.love.scrapper! She was so excited and said she earned her winning ticket when she came in to crop for her birthday! So, Happy Belated Birthday, Ruth and Congratulations!

Getting Ready for The Labor Day Weekend Show and a drawing

Hello all! Well, we made it to Baltimore yesterday and now are preparing for our fun filled Jimmy Buffett concert this evening .... as you can see we brought plenty of goodies to wear and of course I will upload some pictures tomorrow to share our great adventure with you. Christy and Ben, our oldest and her husband, bought us Jimmy Buffett tickets for my birthday and Father's Day .. the only catch, we had to come see them in Baltimore! It was a great drive from Ohio (Addie gets to stay with Papaw and will receive the standard issue Buffett concert tshirt when we arrive home).

And back to store news ... I can't wait to get the call to see who the lucky winner is of the $500 basket!!! I am sure it will be enjoyed ... sorry I have to miss the festivities there! Keep coming back to the site to see the exciting things we are blogging just about every day and don't forget to sign up for the Boys of Summer crop next weekend! It is going to be amazing!!!!

Until tomorrow ..... Allison

Labor Day Weekend

The fourth person from the left is my mother. She had the most beautiful smile and genuine heart. She was dedicated to her family and her profession .. she was a RN and college professor in nursing and also was an officer in the USAF. And back in the 1960's .. that was really something! The reason I am sharing all of this is she was an amazing American .. true through and through .. as well as a strong believer in EQUAL rights, no matter gender, race, religion or anything else .... and well I think Labor Day is a great day to remember all she stood for and believed in .. and just how hard she worked ... as a wife, mother, sister, daughter, nurse, volunteer, teacher, and all the other caps she wore. (She did love the traditions of nursing. Here are a couple interesting websites about the nursing pinning and uniform ... http://www.hackley.org/about/history/nurses_cap.php and http://www.civilization.ca/hist/infirm/inint01e.html

Labor Day is a United States federal holiday observed on the first Monday in September. The holiday originated in 1882 as the Central Labor Union (of New York City) sought to create "a day off for the working man". Congress made Labor Day a federal holiday in 1894. Traditionally, Labor Day is celebrated by most Americans as the symbolic end of the summer.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Labor_Day
So anyway, I am not ready for the end of summer and I hope I didn't bore you with the links .. I think they are all very interesting ... and I am not ready for the end of summer! So with all of that being said, I am off to "a Labor Day Weekend show" (name the man that made that line famous .. can you sing along with me?) Have a great weekend everyone ... I hope to blog before I go, but just in case ... Allison!

Maya Road is in the House

I love these lil keychains from Maya Road!! They are made of chipboard and Maya Road also has a stamp set that matches them perfectly! I used a Technique Tuesday alphabet stamp set for the lettering and just look how cute they are! The actually TT stamps have words within the letter -- like G has genuine, gallant, girl, giggle, give, glorious within the letter. I also had a "Z is for" zebra chipboard card, but Vandy (my husband) swiped it up to send to our daughter in the PeaceCorp .. in Africa!!! I couldn't be upset with him, he obviously was showing good taste in his decision of selecting one of my new creations. (lol)

Katie has created a darlin cupcake book (another Maya Road product) out of the large cupcake mini book for an upcoming class in September which is adorable! You might want to check out the website and get registered for her class, it will fill up fast .... and speaking of filling up fast, can you believe the Boys of Summer will be here in two weeks? It is going to be a blast!!!! Get signed up before all the spaces are gone, this weekend won't last long! I am so jazzed about hanging out with these guys for a number of reasons. They are easy on the eyes for one (giggling). Secondly, they are so creative with the product that My Mind's Eye puts out and we are getting all new product early because we booked this amazing weekend for all of you! And last, but not least, I get to spend the weekend with my favorite livelovescrap ladies and that is always a treat for me! So, get registered so we can play together on the 5th and 6th of September!

Gracie & The Boys

Okay, i must say. I love her! She was soooo close to being in my studio at home, but I knew she needed everyone to love her too! We plan to start "dressing" her with fun ideas soon, so stop by and check us out. P.S... I even named her Gracie. Thats how much I adore her!So, where do "THE BOYS" come into play? HERE. They come to PLAY HERE at live.love.scrap! Hooray. What i mean is.... "The Boys of My Minds Eye" are coming to live.love.scrap on September 5 & 6! They are flying all the way from Utah just to see our store and teach classes! They will be teaching classes and cropping with us the whole time! The cost is only $99 and that includes all three of your classes (card class, layout & mini album) PLUS all your cropping for Friday and Saturday and LUNCH on Saturday! Sign up quick!

Just out... My "sprinkled with fun" cupcake mini album. Check it out at the store, I think you'll LOVE it. Perfect for a gift or to scrap your favorite birthday celebration. Cost $24

These just arrived. SOOOO awesome Maya Road stamps... get them while they last! Plus, check out below what you can do with these little guys. Also available are Zoo chipboard pieces that coordinate with the stamps perfectly for only $1.29

So cute!

These are a NEW obsession of mine. I LOVE these sweet little flowers. Cost is only $2 for a sweet little bunch. perfect for cards, layouts, home decor and more! Check out below how many projects I used them with.

LOVE this little book. They are sweet storybooks from Fancy Pants. I may have alreay spoken of these, but I had to share again. Yay! ( notice little flowers! wink wink)

I loved this idea from the last show. A designer in the Jenni Bowlin booth had used the tickets as "tabs" to turn the page. I of course had to do it as well! You can use any little find for a page tab!

Cute October Afternoon paper coming soon! I even used the little flowers on this "winter page". Get them while they are here, cause once they are gone... we may not be able to find them again!

Check out all the delicious NEW ribbon/trim that has arrived. So many wonderful textures.... new velvet, awesome silks. LOVE it.

PICTURED BELOW = MOUTH WATERING SILK RIBBON

I thought I would leave you with this final note. I have been adding a little crown to almost everyone lately. Everyone looks a little better with some FANCY dont you agree?

Yellow Springs Sunshine

Sunflowers on Route 68! I just love them and wanted to share a little of my sunshine with you this morning! I know it is early, but I am on my way to livelovescrap to see all the new Ranger products that came in yesterday! I am so excited about busting out some new supplies and experimenting with some totally cool techniques! I will be sure to post them tomorrow, so be sure to check back in or stop by the store to see what's brand spanking new!! Have a wonderful sunflowery day! - Allison

My Studio Makeover

I am so excited about my studio ya'll!

A couple weeks ago I was suffering from creativeblahiness (like that word? lol) and it got so bad, I just shut my studio door. I whined (I know you can't believe I would whine, but I did). I whined enough that Katie and Kathy came over to "organize" me and rid me of the creativeblahiness. Well, I went from whining to crying because we "cleaned". If you have ever reorganized with Katie and Kathy, one has a trash pile, the other has a goodwill pile and I of course have a "BUT I NEED THAT, maybe not today, but someday" studio. So a shopping spree later (for my wallcovering), about 4 economy TRASH bags and 6 hours ... voila ... a beautiful studio for me to be inspired in!!

And I now never want to leave it. I didn't work right away, it took me about three days of sheer admiration, just walking in, looking around and smiling. I even did a few princess twirls just for giggles ... I still can't believe it's MY beautiful studio. This must be how those people feel on HGTV when Vern Yip does a makeover! It's true what they say ... organization and a clean workspace makes you so much more productive, not to mention the inspiration!

I have brought in some of my latest creations, stop in the store and check them out ... as well as take a gander at the NEW Maya Road shipment that just went out today!! We have some very cool things coming in from the show, I don't want you to miss them!!!

Happy cropping!

Second Time Around

My garden angel ... Good morning ladies! It's Allison here .. for the second time this morning. I had all of these new pictures uploaded and the most eloquent text until, you guessed it, my silly computer talked back to me! Imagine my frustration! So, one more try for good measure as my mother use to say to all of us! The angel is a gift from one of my favorite aunts in Mississippi -- Aunt Ronda .. and she says "fill your garden with (oops I can't read it, be right back) "fill your garden with the beauty of flowers and the songs of birds" .. the angel is on this really cool potting bench (I am holding that photo back) that my husband bought for me out on route 68. Below is another corner of my potting bench with the succulents Kathy, Katie and I picked up on one of our trips to a little market in Springfield. They are so cute!!!

And speaking of song birds ... I finally spotted the little woodland creature that has been hammering away in our backyard all summer. I ventured out to water my poor dehydrated flowers since our little town seems to not be in the path of any rain this month and heard Woody pounding away. It was quite easy to spot him, as my darling husband had our maple trees butchered (let's not go there this morning either).

He has a friend that came out to play with him too, but he was moving way to fast for me to snap a picture, especially before 7am!
And here is the final picture this morning .. a look at one of our once well manicured flowerbeds. What I want you to really notice is the pink and green plant on either side of the white butterfly bush. It is called a mole bean plant or castor bean. Highly poisonous they say, however I have no intentions of boiling up and chowing down on the beans it is producing. The tale goes that farmers and gardeners use to grow these plants and pop a few beans in the mole holes to take care of the pesty little things. I just think they are lovely with beautiful fall color!

Well ladies, that is it for me this morning! I hope you all have a fabulous day and we'll talk soon!

Oh yes, she replied. Anything can be a hat.

Yes. Anything can be a hat when you need it to be. Allison whipped out a great idea just in the nick of time and we proceeded to wear a Fiskars tote as a rain shield! CHA = INSPIRATION. What a blast. It is amazing how a short 5 hour drive can turn into a LONG 10 hour adventure with 6 snack crazy/ shopping frenzy ladies. (Sherri & Carol not pictured) The six of us had a great time though and brought back so many ideas to share!

(Layout by Prima Designer)
Digital World here we come. Prima has done it again. They have stunned us with this great new "Hybrid" product. The above pictured layout is completed using a new digital CD that is designed to coordinate with real embellishments. This will take your breathe away. Call the store to sign up with Michelle, she will be walking you through the digital world starting this Fall with her "Digital Series Classes" It is the perfect way to combine the best of both worlds... traditional scrapping and the breathtaking digital too!

Sneak peak at my new birthday banner. I Love fabric and these banners are so fun to create. ( I purchased this one from MODA, but think if the possibilities with paper and fabric) Create your own for your next family celebration.

(Project by Jenni Bowlin Designer)

I thought I would share a few snapshots of some beautiful and inspiring projects from the show. Enjoy.

(project by Maya Road Designer)

Coming Soon. Cutest Ever Owl mini albums.

The price is right, I think they are available for between $2-$3! Owls are all the rage right now.

( Project by Pink Paislee Designer)

Think of all the adorable paper pumpkins you could make to set the mood for Halloween around your home! You better get started!

(project by Pink Paislee Designer)

I can easily say this may have been my favorite display at the entire show. This is how acrylic albums can look! Soooo cute.

More pics of acrylic album. This is the BRAND new line from Pink Paislee.

Arriving any moment at live.love.scrap

Try an acrylic album today. You will love it.

Jenni Bowlin. She truly inspires me. I spent alot of time ooohing and aaahing at her booth. I think she shares my love for vintage glass glitter. ITS BACK by the way. Vintage Glass Glitter is back at live.love.scrap.

( Project by Pink Paislee Designer)
Another super cute owl project. The paper should be arriving soon!

(Project by Maya Road Designer)

I love the way she used the glass glitter on this adorable door hanging. I think this is exactly what my door at home needs....

(Project by Cosmo Cricket Designer)

This new line from Cosmo Cricket called "jack's world" really caught my attention. It had a very vintage appeal to it. Perfect for you next school themed project!

(Project by October Afternoon Designer)

Deer, birds, owls... you see them everywhere. Yet, I still cant get enough!

The October Afternoon lines are OF COURSE too cute. Stop by live.love.scrap to get a peek of some layouts completed with the new paper.... expected top arrive any day.

(Project by Crate Paper Designer)

Crate Paper has all new lines shipping soon too. Check out their website for sneak peeks.

www.cratepaper.com

I want to leave you with this sweet shot of the cutest ever collage birds from Jenni Bowlin's booth. Go on and gather inspiration, look for vintage finds that make you smile.