My life...just not on the road I expected (but it's still dang good).

Coming back to scrapbooking.

I haven't scrapbooked a single layout for myself (meaning a layout that was not on a deadline for a project, marketing or some other purpose) in well over a year.

I've got my own office/scrapbooking room in the new, old house now and the vast majority of my energies have gone to working on it as opposed to working on any other room in the house.

As I've spent countless hours organizing my metal brads from my plastic brads from my fabric brads, my letter stickers from my letter rub-ons from my chipboard letters and my cardstock frames from my transparent frames from my epoxy frames and my metal frames, I've had this nagging question in the back of my mind...

What if I set up the scrapbook room of my dreams and realize that I don't like to scrapbook anymore?

Seriously, this question has plagued me.

I worried that I might find it boring, or cheesy or worse yet; find that I didn't know how to scrapbook anymore.

But last night (before and after watching a movie and eating vanilla icecream and fresh, out-of-the-oven Ghirardelli double-chocolate brownies with Josh Downs), I scrapbooked.

I turned on the radio and scrapbooked until after midnight and it made me happy.  A quiet, middle-of-the-night, just-for-me kind of happiness that I haven't felt in a long time.

It reminded me that scrapbooking is good.

It's no masterpiece.  It's simple (but I'm finding that I like 'simple' right now).  It's on white, textured cardstock (as is every layout I've done in the last few years because I like white, textured cardstock).  It's got strips of ribbon and other borders (as does every layout I've done in the last few years because I like strips of ribbon and other borders).  And it's got crystals because I like those too.

The main photo is attached to a mini-album I made out of white cardstock that I'll fill with more pictures from that trip once I get them ordered from the lab.  I still use www.scrapbookpictures.com (have used them for probably nine years now and still love them).

It's really not much of a variation from the layouts I used to do because I'm like that...I find something I love and then stick with it like a dog to a bone until I'm utterly sick of it.

And my scrapbook room is 90% done so I think I'll post some pictures of it tomorrow.  I think it's really cool (since it is my scrapbook dream room and all).

This & that.

Ran across this layout today and it made me want to scrapbook (but there's not enough minutes in this particular day for me to even consider scrapbooking).

I hope you can read the text okay - it's from the Interactive Scrapbooking class CD.

On to other stuff...

1. Josh and I got married at the Ashland Springs Hotel (we did it on a weekday to save money) and had most of our pictures taken at Lithia Park in Ashland.

2. Scrapbook Lounge has a cool make & take video using some of my products on a desk organizer.

3. I'll be in in Westbrook, CT Friday and Saturday of next week at the Scrapbook Clubhouse (860 399 4443) teaching Interactive Scrapbooking, 10 Reasons (a brand spankin new class) and The Photographers' One Day Workshop.  I think there's still a couple spots left.  The Photographers' One Day Workshop at Right at Home scrapbooking in Attleboro, MA is sold out though (and I don't think she's taking anymore people on the waiting list - sorry).

4. I'm incredibly behind on emails right now - sorry if I owe you one.

5. Lots of emails about where in the world to find the Flitter Butterfly stamp set that I designed for FontWerks.  Looks like you can find them here and here.

6. Lots of emails about when I'll have the new kit (10 Reasons) ready to ship...I'm working on it, but I'm too afraid to commit to a date yet!

7. Oh, and I'm doing a chat tomorrow night at 9pm EST over at A Million Memories (they also have my newest Narratives CHAW 08 release in stock).

If you've posted a question recently and I missed it, feel free to post it again in today's comments and I'll try to get to it.

Have a great day!

24 layouts.

I have scrapbooked less in 2007 than I have in any year since I started scrapbooking seven years ago.

24 layouts.

And not one of them was "just because"...they were all done with a specific purpose in mind (a class, a magazine, etc.).

That stinks.

Did this one awhile back to show as a sample layout in one of my classes.

Thanks goodness I teach classes, or I would never get any scrapbooking done.

It's been a long time.

It's been a long time since  I posted a layout.

The problem is, I've only done 17 layouts this whole year (which seems crazy to me since my career is in the scrapbooking industry).

 

Off-subject.

Yesterday when I pulled up to get my morning decaf Mocha Big Train from Copper Barrel, Annie hollered "Traaaaavis" (that's the Copper Barrel barista boy's name).

Maybe I get too much coffee.

And last night, Coley was sitting on my lap, reading The Cat in the Hat, while I was on the computer.

I was reading this (thanks, Christine for the post and thanks, Paola for the link) when Cole stopped reading his book to show me the "really cool new thing he learned to do with his fingers" (popping his knuckles).

After laughing and telling Cole how much popping knuckles grosses me out (which made him pop a few more), I went back to reading.

The very next sentence I read was the part where she wrote "Because God sees".

Which just seemed so perfectly timed in my life (thanks, God for the perfect timing) that my eyes started to well up and when I laid my head on Coley's shoulder, he said "I love you like crazy, Mom."

I love you like crazy too Coley.

And late last night after all the kids went to bed, we put Ross in charge of the house while Josh and I went out for a while (something we never get the chance to do).

It's amazing what a couple of hours of conversation, with no kids and no work can do.

Something I've been working on.

Trying to wrap up my Scrapbooking Outside the Box class so that I can (hopefully) have kits ready to mail out in early January.

I always try to do a bunch of layouts/projects to show students and this is one of them.

That one little tooth of Annie's sticking out on the bottom just makes me smile.

5 chocolate chip cookies, 2 glasses of milk and and 1 night of scrapbooking.  It's like therapy.

Quoted some of my favorite song lyrics:

Take all my fret.  Take all my fear.  All that I have...I'm leaving here.

My first layout.

February 2001...

I made my first layout (and what a beauty she is).

I remember that Jill & I were pretty excited when we found that "buddies" die-cut with the matching bugs.

Cole's the chubby one.

This & That.

1.  I took my Photo Embellishment and Advanced Transparency kits off my blog, so they won't be available anymore (sorry).  If you are really, really, really needing one, email me (karencrussell@charter.net) and I'll see if I can't pull enough supplies together to make a couple extra kits.

2.  For whatever reason, Josh decided that it would be a good idea to change the sound on his alarm clock - so I woke up at 4:30 am to the sound of screaming monkeys in an Amazon rainforest (and then again at 4:15 because he never actually gets up when the alarm goes off - he just hits the snooze button a time or two).

3.  I forgot to pick Coley up at the bus-stop again yesterday (only this time, they actually let him off the bus and he walked home - I ran to the door after hearing the doorbell ring 5 times in a row, wondering who in the world is rude enough to ring my doorbell like that?).

4.  I should have my new class schedule posted by the end of the week (meant to have it up last week, but it just didn't happen).

5.  I just finished up the projects for my next class (It's called "Scrapbooking Outside the Box - named after a really great store I taught at in Bend, OR) and they turned out super-cool (I'll post some pictures just as soon as the kits are ready to go - probably in early January).

6.  I really don't want to work out this morning.

7.  Annie is sick again (poor little sweet-pea).

8.  I promise to see what Creative Imaginations thinks about making some more scalloped edged border stickers.

9.  Did this layout the other night (I hadn't scrapbooked in forever).  Kind of embarrassed to post it because it is a little on the "giddy high-school girl crush" side...so mock me if you feel so inclined.  It's from that song "Love is Alive" by the Judds - I heard it the other day (hadn't heard it in years) and was so crazy about the part of the song that says "love is a man and he's mine".

So there you go...the title to my "giddy high-school girl crush" layout.

 

The winner(s).

So what are the odds that out of 561 people who left comments, that someone who lives just 3 hours away from me would win?  Funny.

Congrats Denise T. (I emailed you).

Here's her comment:

I was so disappointed that I couldn't take your class while you were in Albany, OR.  I had a previous commitment to teach our monthly bible study which is followed by scrapbooking time.  Thanks for sharing your talents.  Denise T.

And so I decided to give away 2 prizes instead of 1 to give you "non-West Coast" gals a chance too.  Sarah J. (I have no idea where she is from) picked up the second prize (I emailed you too).

Here's her comment:

Sign me up for the drawing...Sarah J.

Thanks everyone for taking the time to leave a comment - I read every single one of them.  Fun for me to hear from so many of you.

Will definitely do something like this again.

And...I stumbled across this layout the other day which gave me a good laugh (Coley and Courtney goofing off - and a big ole' scratch on Courtney's nose because Cole threw a stick at her).  Can't remember if I ever posted this one.  But even if I did - it just cracks me up.