Okay - so this is sort of random - but I don't really have ANYTHING in particular that I'm wanting to blog about - so I apologize ahead of time!!!

First of all, Renee and I were talking yesterday about crop night, and how we never seem to have enough time to get anything done!!! I told her that I would enjoy cropping EVERY friday night if I didn't have to live with the guilt of being away from my family every Friday night.......thats when she said...."Our families are JUST going to HAVE to understand, that we cannot make ANYMORE "NEW" memories, until we scrapbook these "OLD"ones"!!! I thought that was a PERFECT analogy of what we're all going through!! (at least I hope I'm not alone!) Wouldn't you just LOVE to freeze time, just for ONE week - FREEZE everything but YOU!! You could spend that ENTIRE week - ALL ALONE - scrapbooking......ahhhhh, give me a minute.....ahhhhhh - ahhhhhhh - are you there in your mind with me!! A L L A L O N E!!!! ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!! Anyway - just thought I'd share that with you!!!

Also - since I mentioned Kords party - thought I'd share this photo from his party - we had a great time!!! For the third year in a ROW, went to pick up the cake and they spelled his name wrong.....I've learned NOT to let it spoil his day!! Then 30 minutes before the party is to begin.....the "Moon Walk" folks call.....they had a flat tire on their way to their first call that morning, pulled over and while changing the tire - were rear ended!! SOOOO, they were going to be a little late!! They showed up an hour after the party began!!! WITH NO EXTENSION chords!!! HELLO!?!? Are you serious!?! Here's Kord, getting ready to knock the candy out of "Donatelo" - the Ninja Turtle Pinata!!! (I didn't take a ton of pictures this year - I handed my camera off some and enjoyed the party for a change!!!) We played lots of water volleyball - I do recall the GIRLS "whooped" the BOYZ!!!

Kord got Guitar Hero for his birthday - I AM IN LOVE!! I don't think I'll get ANYTHING done this week!! It's SOOOO much fun!!! I totally am saving for a WII now!!! (is that how you spell it?!)

Got some great news.......several of our orders from the show, have shipped!!! HOORAY!!! AND, we FINALLY got our backorderd "Captain Jack Sparrow" in from Rusty Pickle...FINALLLY!!!

Lan, how did your weekend go with your crop gals?!? Mom said your scavenger hunt went well!! I'd like to hear more about your weekend if you get a minute!!!

Okay - until next time!!! Have a great Tuesday!

Okay - here are the pics that i promised earlier....we were SUPER busy today, but I did manage to get our acrylic "goodies" up!! I LOVE the way they look!!! There are lots more, even stars...I just don't have time to post all of them tonight!!

OH, and guess what came yesterday!!??! YEP!! Our 12x12 PRINTER!! Cannot WAIT to get this puppy up and running!!! (I asked the fed-ex mans permission before posting his photo!)

Okay - here's what I made Kord for his birthday!! Every year I make him an altered book of some sort....he LOVES them!!! So, this year, I had Renee help me make him this one!! And, if you're lovin' it......we're gonna have a class for you to make your very own!!! Renee has agreed to teach a monthly class called "Renees Fabulous Finds"....August 18th.....if you're interested - give us a call and we'll fill you in!!! Be looking for more info on the other attic girls classes!!! They've got some great ideas in the works!!!

Okay - added some more stuff to our clearance section - including some disney stuff!!! AND we've lowered the prices even MORE!!! Come out this weekend and see if theres anything you CANNOT live without!! I talked with three different vendors that I ordered from the show.....they are all shipping on MONDAY!!! YIIPPPEEEEE!!!

It's FRIDAY!!! ONE MORE DAY till the big "7"....Kords birthday party!! I finally finished his album....with a little help from a friend ;) !!! I will take pictures of it later on and post them for you......you're gonna love it - cuz we're gonna be having a class on it!!! Also we've been working on some cool new acrylic projects at the store that are going up in the store today also - I'll post those pictures as well!!!

BUT, the reason for the blog update.....i'm sending out an email later - but for all of you LOYAL blog readers.....we're marking our clearance section DOWN even LOWER!!! AND we're adding some new goodies to it as well!! So, get in THIS WEEKEND......once the new stuff starts rolling in...the clearance stuff will be the first to GO!!!

More posts later!!

Hiya!! How is everyone?!?! We are finally gettng back to "normalcy" after the show....I, personally, haven't even completely unpacked yet!! I feel like I'm in FASTFORWARD and the world is moving in REWIND......do you get the visual picture I'm trying to show?!?! I haven't done laundry since before we left for KC, then went to Chicago....and now I'm running out of clothes to wear!!! Kords 7th birthday party is this weekend, and I always - ALWAYS - over "plan" things, making it harder on myself!! I STILL haven't been to the store for decorations, food, goodie bags, or even the CAKE!!! What kind of a mother am I?!?! And on top of all that - every year I have made him an altered book of some sort, with pictures from the last year - so I decided to have Renee help me make her "alpha" book for his...STILL haven't finished it yet!!! Then, I gave all of us girls at the store - aka "the attic DeSiGn TeAm" projects due by FRIDAY morning!! So, what the heck was I thinking?!?!! It's gonna be a long night!!! So, check back tomorrow - cuz I'm gonna have some pics from the store of our latest WINTER CHA releases!! You'll understand tomorrow!! PLUS, more SALE "gossip" for ya too!!! Have a great day!!

It's OFFICIAL!! Alicia Day is FAMOUS!!! So, here's the story:

"M"om and I are standing in the Clip It Up booth at CHA in Rosemont, Illinois....visiting with "Renee" - the founder of the company "Simply Renee" (they make Clip It Up!).....visiting with her about how much we LLLOOOVVEEE her product, and how friendly they are and how quick they're turn around time is!! You know the usual "schmoozing"! And I'm talking to her about our Cropper Hopper Organizational class that ALICIA teaches, and how she had to RE-write her outline to incorporate the Clip It Up into her curriculum.....all of a sudden Renee SMILES real big and says - does she post on 2peas?? (YES!) is she a cute lil' thing with short hair? (YES!!) She digs through her promo book, that is laminated, and shows me ALICIA's post that she has!!!! Alicia posted on 2peas, her love of the Clip It Up, and Renee got a hold of it and included it in her press packet!!! I took her picture holding it and also of the post!!! She remembered "lil ol'" alicia day and her post!!! CONGRATULATIONS!!!

And for those of you that took the organizational class yesterday - I want to hear from you - POST YOUR COMMENTS HERE!! We're trying to get Alicia to teach this class every 6 weeks - did you enjoy it - did it change your life FOREVER :) like I said it would!?!?! Let us hear from you!!!

So, the show floor is closed - the show is OVER!! And we are POOPED!! Ready to come home!! Ready to be with my kids and hubby!! Ready to eat a CHEAP meal!! At lunch today, we met up with some fellow scrapbook store owners from Missouri, and we went up to REFILL our SMALL drinks with DIET PEPSI.....$4.49!!! REFILLS!!! HOLY @*#&@)!!!! It's crazy here!!!this is our friend Sherri from Bolivar, Missouri....shes been open for ALMOST a year - LOVE her!! She's SUPA sweet!!!

We got some TINY shopping baskets!! They're SUP-A cute!! They fit down inside our big ones, but can also be used in our crop area!! Also - mom did it........she bought the Epson R1800 12x12 printer!! I CANNOT wait TO GET my HANDS on that THING!!! Which will be SUPER exciting to use with the "GLITZ" cd's that I BOUGHT for the store as well!!! Look out ladies - DIGITAL is coming - and WE ARE READY!! Mom took TONS of classes on it and is VERY excited to get started!!!

We're going to be auctioning off some cool finds from Crop*A*Ganza for local charities also!! I got some cool ganza donations while I was here!! Laurie and I have put together some FABULOUS page kit challenges from Heidi Grace!! It's getting closer and I'm starting to get excited!!!! Are you all ready!!!

just a lil inspiration for ya....LOvInG the buttons!! PS - I've ordered A TON of buttons as this show - they are all SHIPPING NOW!!! TONS AND TONS OF THEM!!! We could probably be known as the button store now and not the flower store anymore!?!?!

I CAN'T SLEEP!

I'm SOOO tired, but CANNOT sleep! So, I thought I'd blog!! I'm so excited about our choices that we've made this show!! It's VERY hard to decide WHAT to actually order at these shows!! Obviously - there's very little that you don't WANT!! But, the hardest part is the BUDGET first of all - MAN has THAT been hard this time!! But even harder is choosing what will be the "best" decision for the "most" people!!!! So, I hope you like my choices!! We should start seeing the first batch of shipments as early as NEXT week!!! But, these are just a few of the NEW lines that I picked up!! I'm SOOO proud of myself!! I had TWO goals for this show - and I have achieved BOTH of them, now I just hope they prove to be the RIGHT goals!!! We have one more day here in Chicago, and we're on the show floor till 4:oo - but then it's back HOME!! I cannot wait - I miss my "people!" (thats my hubby and kids btw!)

This company is not BRAND NEW - but they are new to US!! You are going to LOVE their paper!!! They are also releasing these adorable and FUN planners/journals!! (We're getting them!) They're out of Austraila........LOVE this company!!!

Not BRAND NEW either - about a year or so old - but very fresh, clean, refreshing papers!! Plus the gals are SUPER sweet and down to earth!! That helps alot!!! Ordered some "boy" paper from these ladies!

Hold onto your purses ladies!! These three gals "got it goin on"!! They're paper is so much FUN, but the biggest thing for these ladies right now - is that they offer their paper collections on CD!! So, you can buy the cd, and PRINT YOUR OWN PAPER!!! You laugh now - but lemme tell ya - digital is COMING!!! And we're gonna be READY!!!

Okay - I'm sure you've heard about SassaFrasLass....I have loved them for awhile - but haven't been able to find them anywhere - guess what - THEY'RE COMING TO THE ATTIC!!! I'm SUP-A excited!! LOVE THEIR PAPER!!!!

Just a lil CHA gossip - in case you hadn't heard - Heidi Grace.....just had her baby LAST CHA 2007 Winter show.....PREGNANT AGAIN!! Kids are going to be 12 months apart!! Let's all have a moment of silence and prayer for both here and heidi swapp!! They're going to need it!!

7 GYPSIES STAMPS!!!!!

We have added the 7 Gyspsies Stamps to the sale!!! 25% off!!! Mom and Steff are at the show finding amazing new product to replace some that we have carried!!!! So..... keep posted! We may just be adding MORE to our sale!!!!

What a DAY!! FUN FUN AND MORE FUN!! I cannot BELIEVE all the wonderful things that they are releasing at this show!!! I've placed some orders for some WONDERFUL stuff - that is shipping w/i the next TWO WEEKS!!! HIP HIP.....HOORAY!!! (I still think of jill when I say that!) :).....anyway - I don't want to tell you exactly what I've ordered until I'm for sure it's a "GO" - (if ya know what I mean)! But, you are gonna be HAPPY!!! I PROMISE!!!

I'm gonna download some of the photos from the show - I haven't altered them, so they might be a little blurry - and since our photosite gallery is no more - I can't download them all now. (I'm working on that - Photosite gallery is going out of business, so I'm working on another website!) Some great layouts to lift!!

NEW HEIDI Mini Masks!!!

NEW Heidi STAMPS!

NEW QUEEN & CO. RIBBON!

Summer, I'm finding some WONDERFUL stuff for your "All About Me" class (which we're taking votes from us attic gals on your submissions for names!) I personally like "Lets talk about ME!" But, we'll see, I might get outvoted!!!

I've picked up several new companies - both to US and new to this INDUSTRY!! I'm SUP-A excited (from the mouth of Sarah)!!!!

Mom and I made another small Melissa Francis album - and they have released TEN new open up albums like the stars and ovals that we already carry.....gettin ALL of them!!! The stars are on their way!!!!

This morning, I made an ENTIRE album with DCWV stacks!! They are coming out with two new lines - All Dressed Up and Rockstar!! SKULLS are ALL OVER THE PLACE HERE!?!?!?

Okay - for those of you LOYAL Basic Grey fans......bad news.....I'm NOT feeling it this time............please......understand!!! I'm just not feeling them this time........your opinions matter to me!! So, I hope you understand and can see it from a Retailer side.....maybe next time?!?!

Okay - that's just a little information for you from Chicago - more tomorrow!! My catalogs are calling to me!!!!

Good luck to all of you SOON TO BE ORGANIZED CROPPERS TOMORROW!! This class will make you a better cropper!!!! Have fun!!!

*** SALE ***

The sale is underway... We are MOVING things around....Big Shock! ;) We have all of the sale product in one area! COME CHECK IT OUT!!!

NOTE: We are NOT getting rid of the Xyron Machines and Refills. The sale only includes the XYRON RUNNERS & REFILLS!!! The X, 250, 500, 510 & 900 will still be available, and are not included on the sale!

SEE YOU SOON!!!!!!

Okay - so, as I promised.....this newsletter postcard is going out tonight!!! BUT, you loyal BLOG READERS get to KNOW it first!!!! Beginning tomorrow morning - here's whats going on sale - stock up while you can!!!

THEY MUST GO!!! So, get in while you can and stock up!!!!

~* ALL of our Cricut Cartridges are discounted!!~* ALL Basic Grey products IN STOCK are discounted!!

~* ALL CR Lazers MUST go - they are ALL 1/2 off!!!!

~* WeRMemory Keepers Snaps and Eyelets MUST GO!!! OUR ENTIRE STOCK is Discounted!!

~* HAMBLY........let's get it movin!!!!!! ALL Hambly overlays and Rub On's are discounted!!

~* Cuttlebug Dies......ALL of our INSTOCK dies have been discounted!!

~* ADHESIVE!! ALL of our Fiskars and XYRON adhesive has GOTTA GO!! (we're bringing in a NEW adhesive to us!)

~* Cosmo Cricut "Dutch Girl" Paper and Embellishments are discounted!

(some of the above items ARE being Discontinued in our store - so get these products at these amazing deals while you can!)

**reminder..no other coupons can be used on sale items, and no punches will be given on your Scrap*Funattic card.

Happy THURSDAY!! ONE more day till the show floor opens up and we will be there BRIGHT and early - we have a 7:00am class before hand - so we'll be READ-I!!! This morning was SO MUCH FUN!! We took our first class....Daisy D's 1-2-3!! It was this adorable Maya Road arrow album that we made from Daisy D's new HALLOWEEN LINE!! And we got to use the NEW rub on STITCHING!! FUN FUN!! GETTIN US SOME OF THOSE!! I just "heart" me some daisy d's - (From the words of someone else I know!) But, thought I'd include a picture for you to see!!! Look at ALL this stuff that they gave us!! They are definitely one of my more favorite companies to work with!!!

But even more fun, we got to meet up with our good friend Sheri Beersman!! We met her last September at Memory Trends!! She's from Boliver Missouri, and has a store there (the scrapbook nook)- she has ELSIE's BFF as one of her instructors - LUCKY DOG!! Although, I think our instructors are pretty HOT TO TROT as well!!!! Anyway - we took the class with her and got to catch up!! It's so funny how all of us "retailers" are in a class!! NONE of us LISTEN!! We are HORRIBLE students!! I'm sure these Manufacturers are like "SHUT UP AND LISTEN"!!! But, we had a blast!! Mom and I didn't finish ours, so we'll work on that tonight after our last class - Melissa Francis "Open Up"!! Using the NEW open up albums - don't worry - I'll be checking on those star albums we are MISSING!!!

Mom got to "live it up" a little!!! She was in HEAVEN, they have a "Hummel" MUSEUM in the CONVENTION center!! SHE IS IN HE-AV-EN!!!!!!

Show floor opens up tomorrow - CANNOT WAIT!!! I'll post more later!!

Here's a photo of the show floor in progress!!!! Renee, I got a picture of the wall of RIBBON - just for you!!!!

And NO I am NOT using my Cannon Rebel - but boy do I miss it!!!

Okay - so we FINALLY made it to Chicago!! Took us FOREVER to find the SHUTTLE to the hotel.....finally made it to the hotel.....then mom tried to break into someone's room!!!! HILARIOUS! ! Had to be here to understand!!! Anyway - going out - looking for a nice place to eat some dinner, and a good glass of wine!!! Wanted to hear your thoughts on these three new lines:::::::::

This is where we've been getting most of our sneak peeks for the new releases.........chek them out!!! http://www.lifetimemoments.com/

What do you think about this line?? (I'm feeling Alicia LOVING this one, could be wrong - but maybe!)
http://www.bampop.com/

Melissa Kelly - guess what I found: (chatterbox!)
http://mb.lifetimemoments.com/viewtopic.php?t=149616

http://mb.lifetimemoments.com/viewtopic.php?t=149564 Autumn Leaves

http://mb.lifetimemoments.com/viewtopic.php?t=149601 October Afternoon?!?!?

Okay - I'm off to dinner, will check back later - can you believe how often we've been posting - OH, and YES there WILL be a sale - and YES she DID know about it - it's just WAY TOO easy for MOM to be a MOM !!!!

More on that later on!!!

Alicia - mom and I lovvvvve your hair!! Makes me wanna stop growing mine!!!!

Steff

Sales?????!!!!!???

What sales? I know nothing about THIS !! What....do you think I don't READ this blog?

MOM

Wednesday is FINALLY here, and it's time to leave for Chicago!! As I type this - it's before 8:00 am, and I'm at the store - NO MAKEUP trying to finish up some last minute things before the store opens.....finish my workout, pack my suitcase, shower - dress, spend some time with my kids, finish kord's birthday invitations - mail them, eat something sometime - and get to the airport TWO hours before our flight leaves at 2:30!!! HOLY COW, how is that going to happen!??! So, not much time to blog - but I promised I would really try to blog daily - cuz I really want more people to check things out here, and that way I don't have to send out 5 newsletters a month!!!

So, special person that I met with yesterday!?!? Are you wondering?! Brynn called last night and asked and I'd TOTALLY forgotten that I'd mentioned that in the previous blog......Okay - so we've been talking about doing an "All About Me" class here at the "attic"!?!!! And I found the perfect person to teach it!!! Summer Crook has decided to join our instructor team!! I'm so excited!! Her "style" is so fresh,trendy - yet very traditional all at the same time!! You're gonna love her!! I'll get more bio information from her over the next couple of weeks, but be looking for more information on that class - coming PROBABLY early September!! I don't want to rush it - with summer (the season!) in full swing - we'll probably start it after school gears back up!!! So, be ready for that - I am SOOOO excited for this class!!!

Okay - so far the feedback I got on Basic Grey is good - which surprises me cuz I DO NOT like them!??!! Alicia - your thoughts?!?!? Speaking of Alicia - your class is FULL once again!! Thank goodness!!! Everythings ready to go - and I found an entire FULL box of Clip it Ups, so no worries there!!! Renee is your right hand "woMAN" on Saturday - she's got everything ready for you!!!

Okay - I'm off, I'll get back to you with more photos and comments from CHICAGO!!!!

PS - we're having some SURPRISE sales while we're gone - be the FIRST to hear about them.....here!!!!

Peace!

Okay - so I'm asking for ya'll's opinion!!!!! BASIC GREY - OPINION?!?! Have you seen their new releases...what about Daisy D's.....these are IMPORTANT decisions that I'm making here people?!?! HELPME OUT!!!

Here's your inspiration for the day!!!

Maple Memories, retreat house in McPherson, KS!!! We received this information and were asked to post it on our website and blog - so here ya go!! I'd LOVE LOVE LOVE to do this some weekend!!!! Any takers?!?!?! Visit their website for more info!!! Coming Soon to McPherson, Kansas....Maple Memories Craft House. Our craft house is designed to give you a place to relax, unwind, and accomplish those things you never seem to have the time or space to do at home. We offer spacious workrooms and comfortable accomodations for groups interested in a scrapbooking, quilting, beading, stamping or other crafting retreat. Grab your friends and enjoy some scrapping, chatting, shopping, and much needed "girl time"! More information can be found at www.maplememories.com Please feel free to contact me with any questions. Our advertising is just going out, and dates are expected to fill up quickly! Don't miss out on this great opportunity! We hope to see you soon at Maple Memories! Early Bird Special - Reserve a weekend (4 p.m. FRI through noon SUN) in 2007 and get a free night on either end (THURS OR SUN).

http://maplememories.com/default.aspx

Okay!!! FINALLY!!! Work day is over, dinner is finished, laundry is (almost) finished!!! And now I can FINALLY sit down and FOCUS on this blog!!! I've been DYING to tell more about my trip to kc!!! First of all - the family had a GREAT time!! It was perfect!! We were "footloose" and "fancy free"!!! It was so nice to just "BE" with the kids and Rocky - and just be "US"!! I highly recommend that you take more time to do things like that!! It really brings things back into clear focus when you focus on your kids and husband, and where you really began...does that make sense?!?! But, I'm very lucky - Rocky was VERY patient with me and helped me to find all the stores that we visited and he even sat with the kids in the CAR for most of the time!!! I'm very lucky!!! Thank you honey!!!

Okay - so first stop - Topeka!! We stopped at Scrapbooks, Etc.!!! I was SO excited about this store, for several reasons!! First, we hadn't planned on going through Topeka, so that was a SURPRISE!! But, we work with the ladies that own Scrapbooks, Etc. and have NEVER met them!!! Scrapbooks, Etc. does all of our custom die cuts for our schools, and other misc. items!! They were SUPER sweet, and even there for me to meet!! I was SUP-A excited!! They had a Tic-Tac-Toe game for the kids and that kept them busy long enough for me to REALLY scope out the store!!! I got some KILLER die cuts!! PERFECT for our vacation!! Worlds of Fun, Oceans of Fun, Great Wolf Lodge and Cabela's die cuts!! HOW COOL IS THAT!! They have a GREAT selection of product - and an awesome sale corner!! I HIGHLY recommend this store!! It's GREAT when you go to a store that's got great "stuff" - but even NICER people!!!!

So, that was Monday!! Then on Tuesday - we were at Great Wolf all day long, so I got up early and headed to one of my ALL TIME FAVORITE stores.....2Scrappy Sisters!!! Mom and I visited this store before we opened our store....and they were MORE than nice to us! The girl that "manages" the store (not sure if that's her actual title, but she SHOULD be if she's not!), is Allie....she is SO knowlegeable, and SO helpful and friendly!!! She was there again Tuesday!! I spent TWO HOURS in that store!! TWO HOURS!!! (did I mention that I was also shopping for mom, sarah, kristy, kelly and renee?!) so, I spent a lot of time on the phone with the girls!!! They had a LOT of "goodies" that I hadn't seen before - LOTS of great ideas for CHA!!! But it was SO nice to be treated so friendly and just to be left alone to shop!! ! I LOVE TO SHOP!!! I REALLY would love to have their Crop AREA!! It's the entire size of our SECOND addition in our store!! Wouldn't that be AWESOME!!!! But, they've got some great things going there - I highly recommend this store as well!!!!

Okay - so then, Wednesday.....We spent the entire day at Worlds of Fun....the kids and Rocky had a BLAST!!! But, I was (secretly) counting down till 7:00 - when we were leaving, cuz Archivers was open TILL 9:00!!! So, we drove to Archivers!! Got there at about 8:15pm - Rocky got the kids some dinner while I shopped!! It was in a Kick *#(( mall!!! I love Archivers!!! It's just nice to go into a Scrapbook WAREHOUSE!! Got lots and lots of great stuff there!!! The ladies were great, that work there and very helpful!! Picked up some great ideas for Albums to maybe carry in the store there!! But, at about 9:00 I was hurrying and the ladies told me not to worry - they were fine with me still there!! I FINALLY was ready to check out at 9:15 - and it took her TWENTY minutes to RING ME UP!!! While I'm standing there, Hayden had to go to the bathroom - so we didn't get out of there till AFTER 9:45!! I'm sure they were CUSSING me!!! But, they told me about two other stores in the area!! So, that was nice!!!

We get up on Thursday and had told the kids we would spend the day at Oceans of Fun, AFTER mommy got to shop at some more stores!! So, we drove right down the road from where we were staying to The Scrapbook Workshoppe!!! It was a very cute store - and it was PACKED!!! She had lots and lots and LOTS of stuff for sale per individual piece!?!? Liked that!!! Got some things there that I had NEVER seen or even HEARD of there!! Liked that store too!! It helped that there was a photo of the Owner with Heidi Swapp on the register!!!! That was NICE!!! They had some really nice kits that I purchased with one of my favorite companies - JUNKITZ!!! They had some great designers in their store!!!

After the Scrapbook Workshoppe - we drove up the way to "Captured Memories". It was a larger store!! Nice! The man that was working was very informative and helpful with all of the requests of the kids and me!! They had some really cool RIBBON!!! I'm a ribbon sleeze!!!

Then, the kids got to go to Oceans of Fun and had loads of fun there, got lots of fun, sun, and water!!!

Friday morning we got up - got around and headed "home" around 10:00ish!! We stopped by the Paperie Place.....this was a really nice, quaint store! The owner was working, her name was Ann - she was SUPER nice to me!! So many times when we go to stores, it's hard to decide whether or not to tell them that we own a store of our own, because so many owners get very defensive and almost rude at times!!! So, when I go in - I never know if I'm going to "talk" with the owner or not -but she was SUPER nice!!! It was nice! It was nice to just be able to ask questions and get honest opinions about the "business" side of it!! I really did enjoy this store - she's really sweet, has a great mind for the business and seems to have an excellent relationship with her customers!! We're "stealing" some of her ideas that she has in her store....you'll see more of that in weeks to come!!! I HIGHLY recommend the Paperie Place!

After the Paperie Place, we headed to "All About Scrapbooking"! It was a nice store as well!! They had a very nice selection of products as well!!! Actually purchased some of the lines, I hope to "pick up" at CHA!!! They had shopping carts JUST LIKE OURS!!! They had lots of Rusty Pickle and Junkitz as well!!!

So, all in all - I had a GREAT time!! Visiting other stores is SO nice!! Whether we get to talk with the owners or not - it's just nice to get to shop as a regular consumer again, but also to see what else is out there!! I don't want to get in the "rut" of having the same lines, and the same ol' same ol' - so it's nice to see what other stores are carrying!!!

Renee and I spent most of the day planning out our itenerary for CHA!! Mom and I have over 80 booths that we definitely are going to visit - three meetings scheduled and 15 seminars and classes to take!!! FUN FUN!!! The show IS fun, to network and catch up with fellow store owners that you've met in the past, and see the LATEST and GREATEST trends and releases, but it's REALLY hard work!!! So, wish us well!!!! I PROMISE to blog - EVERY NIGHT about the fun stuff we're learning and seeing!!! Stay posted to the blog for SALES while we're gone!! We have a few things up our sleeves!!!

Also - Karen Chamberlin is planning to open her NEW scrapbook store "Scrappin Time" THIS WEEK!!! I will post that on here, to keep you informed!! Best of luck to Karen, and we wish her the best!!! She is opening her store in Derby!!!!

Okay - so this is your question - you can post your comments here on our blog: what do you think of the new Basic Grey Releases!??! What about the new Daisy D's Releases?!! Your opinion is VERY important to us!!!

Peace out - thanks for reading my NOVEL!!! Here are some photos of the kiddos on vacation!!

ps - I'm meeting tomorrow with someone special - who you'll hear more about later this week - that's all I can say!! ( I CANNOT KEEP A SECRET!) :)

Happy Monday!!! I have SOOOOO many things that I want to blog about - but just not enough time - so I've decided that I will just post this little blog now and get back to the good stuff later on this afternoon!!

Went to KC last week with the family for a getaway!! Had a blast!!! Went to SIX scrapbook stores - I'll post the stores and the great things I found later on!!!

Mom and I are getting our laundry caught up - bags packed and in boxes cleared out so that we can leave for Chicago on Wednesday!! There are SO many things that I want so badly - but have been put on a STRICT BUDGET!! YUCK!!!! So, wish me luck with that!!!

Oh - we had a cancellation in the Cropper Hopper class - so if you were one of MANY that were disappointed that it was full - nows your chance! But, you'd better call NOW!!

Oh, came across this photo today while uploading 1,055 pictures from our week long vacation!! ( I KNOW!) and just HAD to post it!!! It's from Renee's birthday party crop!! We had a blast!! She insisted that we ALL wear PINK, bring a PINK snack, and then we all got her PINK gifts!! This was a PINK beach towel that she was wearing as a cape and FLYING around the room!!! FUN FUN!!! I'll have to post more from that party later!! We really did have fun!!

Okay - I just wanted to let you all know that I haven't forgotten about the blog - I have lots to say and I'll be back later on this afternoon!!!

Did everyone have a HAPPY 4th!??! We sure did, despite the rain!! (I LOVE rain, but this is getting to be a little ridiculous, you think?!?!) We had a "small" get together at mom and dads this year - as we usually do, but smaller!! It was nice to just SIT around and BE in the moment!!! We swam, drank Mojitos and had a BLAST!!! Our day was complete with Watermelon, and PINK smoke bombs, as well as DANCING in the RAIN!!!

But, I wanted to blog about something that has been replaying in my mind over and over again!!! Summer Crook, a fellow scrapbooker and friend of Scrap*Funattic, came by with some of her personal albums for us to look over, and one of them was an "All About ME" album!!! It was soooooooooo neat!!! I have one, but not as extensive as she does. Well, it has started a trend at the store Renee is going to start one of her own, and so is Sarah. But, we were talking with some other "gals" about these albums, and someone said that they didn't understand why anyone would want to scrapbook about themselves?!?!?! Why anyone would want to take the time to document their favorite color, or what they did in an average week, or what they did and didn't like about themselves.....................................................so this has got me thinking.........WHY WOULDNT you?????????????????? If something were to happen to me today.....my kids are so young, would they remember what I looked like without photos? Would they recognize my handwriting? Would they be able to answer questions about me to their friends at school? Sure, now, if you ask my boys what my favorite color is - they'd say PINK!!! But, would they REMEMBER that if I weren't here????? Soooooooo, I guess what I'm trying to say here, is it's NOT SELFISH of you to do an "all about me" album - about yourself!!! We do it for our kids.....we do it for our husbands, for our pets - everytime we scrapbook - don't we??? We're leaving our "mark" so to speak by scrapbooking every day moments!! You don't have to scrapbook JUST about your vacations, or birthdays and Christmas. If we (Scrap*Funattic) started a MONTHLY all about me class - would their be interest there?????? If you were "forced" (so to speak!) to take a class, and look into YOURSELF, would you do it????? I'm anxious to hear back from ya'll!!!

Now, for those of you who are new to this "blogging" stuff......you can post your comments here, they'll be viewed by all - and you'll have to "sign up" to Blogger - but it's free!!! If you'd rather just email me at the store - you can do that as well!!! scrapfunattic@cox.net OR you can go to http://www.scrapfunattic.com/ and click on "contact us" and send me an email that way!!

Just something to think about!!! I'm taking a personal class taught by Alicia Day - a week in MY life - and I'm anxious to start that! It'll be interesting to look back in a year and see what I did in an average week!!!!

Until next time!!! Have a good one!!!

~steff

The guilt that "not blogging" leaves me is almost OVERWHELMING!!! As if I needed ANYTHING more to pile on my plate to feel guilty about!!! BUT, I have decided that just because I don't think something is "blog" worthy - doesn't mean you would feel that way....right?!?! So, I've decided to blog anyway!! Even if its boring, so to speak!! So, I hope you'll just continue to check in with "us" - or me (!!) and read my boring, guilty blogging!!

OKay - so we're (mom and I) are gearing up for the CHA summer show in Chicago, IL......we leave on July 18th....the girls here at the store have given me a list as long as EACH of THEIR arms of things that they're interested in!! Soooooooo, here we go!! I want to Scrap*Funattic to be more "YOUR" store!! I want us to be the scrapbook store YOU go to for things you don't find at "Michaels", "Hobby Lobby", or other LSS (local scrapbook stores).......so, those of you that have stalked the web sites and your favorite companies new releases - TELL ME WHAT you're looking for!! TELL ME what you're "diggin" right now!! I can't promise that I will be "bringin it home with me", but I want feedback from YOU!! So, this is your chance, this is YOUR opportunity to voice your opinion!!! I want some feedback!!!! Now, here's the catch......b/c the comments that you post here are made available to the public, I'd prefer that you email me personally.....so that way we can keep it on the "DL" (downlow!) ....aren't you diggin all these abbreviations that I'm teaching you!!! So, email me at scrapfunattic@cox.net and put "Steffanie" in the subject line.

Okay - I have more to say - and more pictures to post - but I'll save that for tomorrow!!!

DON'T FORGET THAT WE ARE CLOSED ON THE 4th!! ENJOY YOUR DAY!!!!