PersonalScrapper.com Quality Assurance....

We just wanted to show the challenge of cutting ribbon with our little Oscar. Everytime I cut ribbon, he loves to chase it. I guess he is just making sure I cut it perfectly :)

Paige is our April Guest Designer - WOOHOO!!

April is here with a fun and fantastic kit from Bo-Bunny. We will talk about the kit itself in an other post. But I wanted to introduce you to our guest designer for the month of April, PAIGE!

This was Paige's first time guest designing for us and she did an awesome job! We have all come to love Paige on the PersonalScrapper.com message board. She can always make us laugh! I have also had the privilege to scrap with Paige in her awesome scrap space! We have a lot of fun scrapping together and it has taught me that i can scrap during the day (as long as Ezra has a friend (or friends) to play with!

Here are her fabulous layouts followed by a bio from her:

Greetings! A very excited and honored Paige here!

A few weeks ago, Erica asked me if I would like to guest designer for Personal Scrapper's April kit. Like I would turn down THAT gig, right? :) I graciously said, "Heck YES I would love to be April's Guest
Designer!". Play with paper and goodies? Share my creations with
the friendly gang at PersonalScrapper.com?
Shoot, I'm game!

What she didn't tell me was that I would have to tell a little something about myself.
What?
Oh. Dang. Stuff like...
I eat turkey slices for breakfast?
Or...
I actually enjoy Phineas and Ferb or Scooby Doo more than my children?
Or...
I love to cook and considered going to school for it then decided 40k was too much money and I will just read some cookbooks instead and guinea-pig my family and friends?
Or...
I change clothes like 3 times a day?
Or...
I have a hang up about my dish cloths and my dish towels?
Or...
I think my house is haunted?
Or...
I only buy my coffee online?
Or...
I play Dungeons and Dragons with my nephews and my Eladrin name is The Wizard Fey-Reyna?
(Perhaps that might have been too much...)

I won't bore you with those details, but what I can tell you is that I have been scrapbooking for about 14 years. And? I love it. I just truly enjoy the hobby. Being able to play with such colors and textures and patterns... It is like candy, I tell you. Candy. I love the fact that I can transfer some of my own personality down onto
paper in a way that my family and I can enjoy. I wish I could put
something in here about getting published or winning some contest or something of the like, but I can't. :) I am just too lazy to jump
through all the hoops. I mean have you ever had to type up one of
those supply list things??? Lazy wins! I am so glad that with these kits I can just say something like " it's in the kit!".

I have also met some fantastic friends through scrapbooking. Bonus, right? While on a field trip with my daughter's pre-school last fall, I got to chatting with Carrie Postma. And it is because of her that I found the Personal Scrapper community. So you will have to take up any issues or complaints with her as it is her fault. Thanks Carrie! :) I am to this day so thankful you asked me about my camera and if I was a scrapbooker. I am also thankful for such a warm and welcoming group of people at Personal Scrapper. You all are fantastic and I cannot wait to see what everyone does with the April Kit!

Thanks so much, Erica, for this opportunity! It has been an absolute pleasure!

The fabulous March kit is now for sale!! It is an awesome kit! I will review it on the next post but first I want to introduce our AWESOME, COOL, AND FABULOUS guest designer! Many of you know who she is! She is has been a "face" that we all know at Scenic Route and published numerous times in all publications. Not only that but she is super sweet in person! I have got to meet her several times over the past few years at shows. She is very outgoing and a great person. It's........ LAYLE KONCAR!!!

Here is a little bio about her and the FIVE layouts she completed with the March kit!

Hi guys! Layle Koncar here. I've been scrapbooking in one form or another for the past 11+ years when my first son was born and jumped at the chance 3 years ago to take on scrapbooking as a real job! My scrap subjects are my 2 boys; since I don't have daughters to scrap, I like to get my pink, girly fix in by scrapping photos from my childhood. I've been teaching for the last 5 years and truly enjoy the travel and the connections with other scrapbookers that comes with it. My work has been published in Creating Keepsakes, Better Homes and Gardens Scrapbooks Etc., Memory Makers, Paper Crafts, Legacy, Scrapbook Trends, Paper Trends and Pinecone Press. I authored and contributed to the book Memory Art and am a regular contributor to Paper Crafts books and special issues. In addition to scrapbooking, I LOVE interior decorating, skiing, reading, traveling, shopping, going to flea markets and spending time with my hubby Nick and my 2 rambunctious boys Jack and Sam.

Wow - aren't those fabulous! Please post which one is your favorite!

I don't even know if I can pick a favorite.
Love the circles in the first one!
Love the picture of the boys in get happy!
The pant suit one is classic - love the titel and all the cute touches.
I love the tree in the bed one and the story behind that layout!
Love the mixture of papers, rubons, etc. in No Doubt.
Layle - You did a FABULOUS job! THANK YOU!!
Here is a link to her blog: http://laylekoncar.typepad.com/

WINTER CHA - ANAHEIM 2OO9

Its time to finally post about my CHA trip. If you don't know what CHA is, it is the biggest craft and hobby show of the year. It was in Anaheim this year. This was my 5th winter CHA, so I feel pretty seasoned. I have been to Atlanta, Las Vegas and Anaheim (for the past 3 years). It is so fun to get to see all of the new product and visit with friends in the industry!

Jenny and I arrived on Saturday. Since we got there a little early, we got the opportunity to go to downtown Disney for some dinner and drinks. After that we also went to an SEI preview of their new products. We had a fun cab ride with some other Oregon business owners :).

Sunday, Monday and Tuesday we stayed at the convention all day. It felt like we went from one side to another all day long!!! We actually got evacuated on Monday because of a small oven fire. It was a little hectic!

So, here are some things I liked. Some things work for our kits and some don't but I still liked a lot of what I saw!!

PaperTrunk - OK, so I am a little biased since I am great friends with the owner BUT her 2 new lines are awesome!!! I will be using both of them for add-on kits. You don't want to miss them!

FancyPants - Again, their papers were GORGEOUS! They were cute online but even better in person!!

Little Yellow Bicycle - They have 2 of the cutest baby lines I have seen in years!! I didn't order any of those but if I got enough requests, I may be game to do some baby lines. They also had 2 other lines I really liked but won't be available for a few months.

My Minds Eye - Loved all there new papers. They have now added die-cut papers which I always love! They have a knack of beautiful colors and textures.

Making Memories - Lots of fun embellies and die-cut papers. Unfortunately their stuff comes out over the next 4 months so it makes it hard to plan for.

7Gypsies - Had a beautiful line that would be perfect for the fall.

Bazzill - Has some really cute new embossed cardstocks

BoBunny - I really liked a lot of their lines. I can see myself scrapbooking with their product.

WeRMemory Keepers - Of course I loved Tiffany's line - in fact we are the FIRST company to have it this month! They are a company that does a lot of fabulous lines!!! I love that they change it up!

Basic Grey Lime Rickey - I love the color scheme for this line but the patterns by themselves were a little funky. I still don't know how I feel about this one.

One line that I think is funny that I liked is one by DCWV. It is an ourdoorsy one with even a skunk on a page. I can imagine a lot of camping layouts!

I was going to mention some of the things I DID not like at the show but decided against it. I don't need to rip on people's product - especially when I know much hard work it is to run a business.

I found some newer embellishment companies that we will use over the next few months. Lots of fun little details!!

While we were there we got to hang out with Carrie, Megan, Jess, and Corinne. We got to do dinner with the girls!

Jenny is a great travel partner. We have a ton of fun together and love to do spur of the moment things, like twilight Disneyland. With 2 adults, it is amazing how fast you can get from one place to the next and go on the big rides! Lots of fun!!! We definitely took pictures this year on our disney experience.

While I was gone, my hubby and great friend Carmen did an awesome job of taking care of the kiddos :) I am so lucky to have them!

Layle Koncar is going to guest design for us for March - WOOHOO!!! You will recognize this girly from Scenic Route. BY THE WAY - Scenic Route did announce a new line and it is very cute!!!!

BY THE WAY...... I won a Making Memories Slice!!!! I already have one so guess what???? I am going to do a BIG PROMOTION AND CONTEST on PERSONALSCRAPPER.COM to give this baby away to someone else. Stay tuned for more details...... Value ($150)

MEL - OUR SURVIVOR WINNER AND GUEST DESIGNER

Mel was our guest designer for January. She has been a member for years! Last year Leah put on the biggest contest PersonalScrapper has ever had, SURVIVOR. These contestants worked very hard and did a huge number of layouts!!! Mel was our WINNER!!!

I have got to meet Mel on several occasions. She is super sweet! Not only is she a talented scrapbooker but she is the mother of 5!!! She is a great inspiration and I am glad to call her my friend! Here are the layouts she created with the January kit.

Thanks Mel!!! You did fantastic!

JANUARY MONTHLY CHALLENGES....

Here are our challenges for this month to help you get your scrapping going:

1. 2008 - Do a layout(s) recapping 2008. This could even be a layout displaying your favorite photos, events, etc. of 2008.

2. WINTER - Scrapbook a winter layout. Whether your winter consists of snow or sun, we want to see your winter :)

3. SNOWFLAKES - Use snowflakes in your layout. They can be the chipboard from the kit, punches, stickers or even paper! You can get creative and make the snowflakes be something else such as flowers, etc.

4. HOBBY MONTH - January is National Hobby Month. Create a layout about one or more of your hobbies or they can be about someone else's hobbies (your kids, parents, husband, etc.)

I have posted separate threads for each challenge in the Personalscrapper forums/contests section and we will randomly choose 4 winners on January 31. If you are a winner and you used a PersonalScrapper kit in your layout, you win some extra January goodies too. You can enter as many layouts as you want, as long as they fit in the category.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!! JANUARY KIT IS UP!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!! Wow 2009 already! I remember when I was a kid and the year 2000 sounded like some kind of space age year!

We are here with a brand new kit with some GORGEOUS paper! This is another set that you will have a hard time choosing which paper to use! Here are a few of my personal layouts. I will post more details later but I have some kits to get ready!!

(PS - our message board was down for 2 days but is back up and running) Come say hello!