Making Memories

Christy’s Scrap Space

Today for your viewing pleasure you get a real treat.  Here is a peak into Christy’s scrap space.

My office is one of my favorite rooms in our house. Probably because it's painted a very soothing aqua blue color which just relaxes me to be there. I also love my office furniture not only because it's functional but because my husband built most of it. He built me an "L" shaped desk.  On the right side the table top is only 24" wide (just wide enough to fit my computer, printers and office stuff). On  the left side I had him build it deeper to fit a 12" shelf (that sits at the back of the table)  plus another 18" of scrapbook space. It worked out perfectly! He built also built the bookcase on the right hand side of the room. Unfortunately in our old house our ceilings were 10' tall, but this house (which was built in the 70's) is only 8' high. So he ended up cutting off two of the bottom shelves to make it fit! He backed both the bookcase and the shelf with beadboard and then painted all of the furniture dark brown and sanded it down in places to give it a worn look. I am the kind of person who has to hide most of my scrapbooking stuff. Whether in baskets, boxes, or drawers I find it works best for me because I am not an organize person and this way I can just throw it in the drawer and close it! ( If you know me, I don't even fold my clothes, I just throw all my shirts right into the drawer.. is that bad?) 

Okay back to my room, on the right hand side of the room, is where my bookshelf is.  I  store my patterned paper, cardstock, and acrylic stamps in magazine holders (both 12x12 and 8x11) that I purchased from Ikea and Karen Foster Designs.  I also have a few baskets on this bookcase that houses my Making Memories foam stamps, mini books, and tools that I don't use very often (like my heat emboss gun, glue gun, die cut machines etc). On the top shelf I have photo boxes that house items like beads, fibers, thread, glitter etc. The bookcase is also home to my Albums filled with layouts.

Next to my bookshelf I have two tall furniture cabinets that I purchased at Target a few years ago. They were on clearance and at 30 bucks a pop were perfect for me (I am a very cheap person! LOL). They have 7 drawers in each of them that are 8"x15"13. These two pieces are reserved for my Making Memories product only. (Making Memories is great about sending us products to use for assignments.. YUM!) 

 

Each drawer holds things like rubons, stickers, chipboard, tags, buttons, brads and metals, tools and accessories (like the grommets, tag maker and punches), and least but not last all my Making Memories ribbons!  Next to my furniture drawers is a chair I found at a thrift store... I put rollers on the bottom so when guest come, they can roll around from space to space with me. I also use it to sit and read books, and magazines. 

Above my comfy chair, is the Making Memories MOS wall organizers to display my children’s artwork and favorite layouts/product on. 

The left side of my office is where the real work is done though. On the scrapbooking side of my "L" shaped desk, is where I keep the tools and products I use most. On the bottom shelf I found a fun basket with 6 slots in it that holds stuff like scissors, hole punches, stapler, adhesives, etc. I also have a couple of other baskets that hold my inks and other most used tools.  On The second shelf I keep all my non Making Memories ribbons in jars and a basket that holds all my Making Memories glitter. The top of the shelf was a perfect place for all my Making Memories paints, which I coordinate into rows by color. I also have pictures of my family above this space, which is great because it's where I scrap and spend most of my time looking.

I have a few other fun things in my office like my green two-teired basket which the lovely Keisha Campbell MADE ME BUY.. and I love!  It holds Making Memories storage bottles full of buttons and other fun products. By my office door I have a 3-tiered wire basket that stands about 5" tall, that I purchased at Tai Pan. It also holds Making Memories storage bottles full of flowers and all of my other flowers as well. I love using baskets for storage and my "assignment/project" basket is no acception. I purchased a wire file basket that holds 8x11 hanging file folders. Each time I have an assignment due for Making Memories or Scrapbooks Etc. BHG magazine, I gather my papers, pictures, and embellishments and put them in a folder until I am ready to work on it. I also use it to store layouts and projects I have finished before I mail them off. It's a great way to stay organized!

So that is my scrapbook space! I forget to mention the one piece that brings my whole room together. I purchased the rug on my floor a few years ago at Shopko and used it in my living room. When we moved into this house, and painted my walls blue, I knew that this rug had a new home!  It has all the wonderful colors I love so much and just grounds my space and makes it feel welcoming! I am blessed to have a space that I can work and create in. To be honest I am a very messy scrapper, and although I appear organized, if you look closely you will find clutter in corners and paint, ink and glue dots on my scrapbooking desk.. but I love it. It makes the room feel "lived in". Thanks for letting me share apart of my scrapbooking life with you! I hope this inspires you to find new ways to organize your scrapbooking products!

Christy

Travel Challenge

Summer is HERE! And with the sun comes vacation time! This year we took an early trip to Vancouver to get American Visas (I am South African remember?) and decided to stay a few days and be tourists. It really was one of the most fun times we have ever had. Our youngest girl, Jana, came with us and I am not sure if she was in awe of Vancouver, or Vancouver in awe with her. She chatted to everyone she met, she shared her smiles readily and brightened a few people's dull days. Everybody knew it was her birthday and her attention was especially towards little children. So, when I got the new TRAVEL paper by Making Memories, I was itching to make some travel pages.

My challenge to you this week is to scrap those travel/vacation pictures! You don't need to scrap all 200 of them, but choose 3 that you feel represent the whole experience and use them. (oh and by the way, Jana is drinking hot chocolate in that picture, NOT coffee). I also used the fabulous journaling tags from the travel series. But in stead of writing on each of them, I created a little journaling block by placing them together and writing over all 3. Enjoy summer and the time with your family. Smile. Laugh out loud. Turn your face to the sun. Be grateful.

Please show me your pages by uploading them to the MM site.
Love and a kiss
Wilna

Who is Wendy Anderson? Well let's find out!

Today you get an open door invitation to get-to-know Wendy Anderson.  She was generous to share some things that you may or may not know about her.  So with that, take it away Wendy! 

• My name is Wendy Sue Anderson.  I was born and raised right here in Heber City, Utah. The the only time I lived away was while I was attending college at BYU in Provo…a mere 30minutes away from Heber.

• I’ve been married to my first high-school crush and very best friend Brad for almost 14 years.  We were married November 6, 1993.
• I am the proud mother of beautiful children – one daughter and three sons. 

• I started scrapbooking around 1996, shortly after earning my degree in accounting, and finding that I actually had time to do something besides study.
• Lucky for me, I was able to quit working for the accounting firm shortly after our first child, Meagan, was born in 1997 and become a stay-at-home Mom. 

• Scrapbooking took on a whole new life, and an increased level of importance when I became a mother.  I knew I wanted to document the life of our new child.  Along with the milestones and events, I knew I wanted to record our thoughts, feelings, and emotions.  It was then that I realized the importance of journaling - and it has remained the most important aspect of scrapbooking to me.
• I started designing for Making Memories in 2000, when Josh, our first son was just a baby – it’s crazy to think I’ve been with the company through all the changes over the last seven years. I feel lucky (and blessed) to have been able to work with some of the most talented people in the industry. 
• There have been many changes over the last seven years, in the industry, within Making Memories, and within my own family (we’ve added two more boys, Seth and Zach, to our family since I started designing for MM) and I feel incredibly blessed to be able to continue working with some wonderful people who design fabulous products!!
• My favorite snacks include chocolate (in any form), Coke (the real stuff…no diet for me, preferably with ice in a glass), and good old vanilla ice cream – but not all at once.

• I LOVE daisies – just planted some red and fuchsia daisies and I’m so excited to watch them grow this summer.
• I do enjoy a good book – I always feel so refreshed after I’ve immersed myself into another world through reading the words of a talented writer.
• I’m not much of a cook…but we get by.  I haven’t poisoned anyone yet, so that’s a good sign, right?

Okay, that’s probably more than you ever wanted to know about me…but if there is anything else you’re just dying to know, let me know and I’ll be happy to fill you in! :o)

Wendy

Getting to know Leah

 

Leah is one of the newest members of the Making Memories design team.  We are so excited to have her and wanted to introduce her to everyone.

How long have you been scrapbooking and what got you into it? - I started scrapbooking soon after my son Alex was born. A neighbor of mine was a Creative Memories consultant and she convinced me to give it a try. I was hesitant at first because I never considered myself artistic, but I immediately fell in love with this hobby. I liked that it gave me a creative outlet and that I was able to display all the photos of my new baby, instead of keeping the pictures in a box. Then once I discovered that through scrapbooking I can share and document my thoughts, feelings, family history and family values for my children, I was completely hooked. It’s been nine years since that first scrapbook page, and I love scrapbooking more today than ever.

What is your favorite MM's product?  - This is a tough question. I love it all – I really do! If I had to choose, I think my favorites are the papers in the MM Kids Ethan and Sam lines. I love these simple color schemes and patterns. In fact, all the papers and embellishments in the MM Kids collection are so fun to work with. Another fave of mine is the MM label holders – they’re a staple for me and I use them all the time. I also can’t get enough of the Fresh Anthology papers, buttons, ribbon, and trim – MM always has the cutest stuff!

What are the top 3 places that you have visited?  - My parents really enjoyed taking the whole family to visit different countries, so I’ve been fortunate to travel overseas several times. My favorite places overseas were Tahiti, Paris, and Geneva, Switzerland. I want to take my family to different countries as well. In July, we’re going to Japan! I hope to see Australia one day too.

What do you listen to when you scrapbook?

Sheryl Crowe

Norah Jones

Corrine Bailey Rae

Laura Jensen

Earth, Wind and Fire

What was your reaction when you became part of the MM design team? - I couldn’t believe it! I received an email from Gail saying that she would like to add me to the team, and I was soooo excited – I must have read her email ten times! The first person I told was my husband because he knows how much I love working with MM. He was and is very happy for me. I walked around that entire week with a big goofy smile on my face. I am absolutely thrilled to be a part of this amazing team and this awesome company!

What is your favorite technique right now for scrapbooking? - Sewing. I have a feeling this will always be my favorite technique.

When you get in a creative rut, what do you do to get inspiration? - I usually look through my scrapbook albums because nothing inspires me more than seeing pictures of my children. I also see colors, compositions, and ideas that have worked for me in the past, and I sometimes use those as starting points for a new page. I also get tons of inspiration from reading Scrapbooks etc. and MM’s idea books. It really is a blessing for me to work with companies that inspire me.

What does your design surroundings look like? - I have a modest scrapbook room, not very big, and built on a small budget, but I love scrapbooking in that room because it’s filled with colors and simple things that inspire me. Hanging on my walls are a few of my favorite scrapbook pages and three large pegboards holding tools and supplies on hooks. Sitting on shelves are framed pictures of friends and favorite quotes. Also on the shelves are colored photo boxes and fabric-lined baskets filled with embellishments. My scrapbook table is a small wooden table with a spinning caddy sitting on one corner.

Tell us about your family. - I have two little boys – Alex and Andrew. My husband’s name is Robert and we’ve been married for 14 years. I met my husband in graduate school. We’re both chemists: Robert is a formulations chemist and I am a medicinal chemist. Even though we’re both scientists, we rarely talk about science at home. You’re more likely to find us talking about our children, chess, or what’s on T.V. this weekend.

What is your favorite single possession? - I think my favorite possession is my laptop. I love that I can take it from my scrapbook room to the kitchen to Starbucks and get work done almost anywhere. With it, I can work for different companies and still be at home with my children.

Hillary's Married!

CONGRATULATIONS to Hillary who got married last week.  Before her big day, we all got together to have a wedding shower for her. We forgot to take a picture of all the yummy food that was served, so you will have to close your eyes and imagine the following.  Let’s start with yummy cupcakes topped with lots of butter frosting and coconut.  As you move across the table you will see (imagine) chocolate and marshmallow brownies, spicy pecans, ice cream cookie cakes, and lots and lots more to fill your sweet tooth.  For the health food junkies (a.k.a. Gail) we had fresh fruit of every kind.  And, let’s not forget our sherbet ice cream slush to sip on.  If you are not hungry after reading that, start over from the top and read it again. 

Hillary got lots of great presents.  Hillary and her new husband are big campers so they will enjoy relaxing in their new tent along with their portable stove and a remote control lantern (who knew that such a thing even existed)?  She also got some board games and lots of treat to go along with that, cash, kitchen stuff, crock pots, etc., etc., etc.

   

We are all so excited for her and her new adventure in life.  Hillary and Caleb enjoy the sunny beaches in Mexico. 

Inspired by Everyday Things

Okay, so maybe a Diet Pepsi isn't a daily occurrence for you, but for me, it is what gets me through the day! I see this can every day. That simple curved half circle is unmistakable as the Pepsi shape - you immediately know what it is. So for fun I thought I would use it in a layout. Not a layout about my obsession with the soft drink, but as a simple embellishment...pretty obvious but still a fun exercise in creativity. Other things that can be inspired from this can?

-The color scheme - great for patriotic and summer looks

-The italic, bold writing on an angle. Even the subtle bubbles can inspire.

So, what everyday thing will inspire you today? Post your version to the gallery and inspire the rest of us!

Joey

Ribbon Flower Challenge

Today’s challenge comes from a MM employee – Megan from our customer service department.  She created a great page, so I wanted to feature it on the MM blog.

If you haven’t already started playing with our Funky Vintage collection, now is a great time to start.  The challenge today is to create ribbon flowers.  It’s so easy to do.  Megan used ribbon from the Funky Vintage Lizzie collection.  Ribbon that has a tassel or a little dimension works the best for these flowers. 

HOW TO: 

1. Use a fine black pen to free-hand flower stems and lines on your layout
2. Cut various 1” strips of ribbon
3. Use a Glue-Dot to adhere one end of the ribbon to the page
4. Wrap the other end of the ribbon around to meet the first end that has been adhered to the page with a Glue-Dot

That’s it, now you have a ribbon flower.  Give this fun technique a try.  Experiment with different color and various types of ribbon.  Remember to have fun.  Upload your project to the MM idea gallery when you are done.

ENJOY!

CKU-Anaheim FUN!!!

Last week Jodi, Gail and I had the privilege of attending CKU in Anaheim. We all had a blast.  Day one was make-and-takes.  We taught people how to use the Tag Maker rims as an embellishment on an adorable 6" x 6" page AND everyone who came to our table got a Runway Wristlet. 

On Friday and Saturday Gail taught our album track.  Everyone had a chance to use our Fresh Anthology program, complete with a 9" x 9" leather scallop album.  We played with MM's Shimmer and had a blast from the past with Aqua Net (remember using that)?  At night we played our version of Deal or No Deal.  The winner happened to make a great choice and she won a Roller FULL of MM product.  We were all pretty ecstatic after that happened.

Here are a few photos of the many people we met.  If you attended CKU, we had fun being with you.  If you took photos, email them to me so we can post them also.  Email me at blog@makingmemories.com

Someone is having a birthday......

Join me in singing HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Wilna!  Wilna is the winner of the first MM Idol contest.  She has amazing talent and is as nice and kind as you can possibly imagine.  She is a great contribution to our design team and we love her.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY WILNA! 

Jodi and Jodi’s Trip to Holland for Scrapaganza

It was the first time the two Jodi's from Making Memories traveled together for a teaching event...and two Jodi's means double the trouble!  We ventured to the land of Holland for a great event called Scrapaganza.  It is a consumer event put on by one of our distributors called Scrapbook Mate.  The event offers full days of classes and make-n-takes and people came from the Netherlands and many countries around Europe. 

We started the event with a class of Friday night and could not help but be infected by the contagious enthusiasm these ladies and even a few men brought with them.  We had a delightful time together learning new scrapbooking techniques and sharing our stories.

At these events we always get the opportunity to meet teachers from all over.  This time we really got to know some crazy ladies from the UK.  I say crazy because we fit right in with them.  We had a brilliant time learning new English sayings and even learned some fun new games such as Pass the Parcel.  We want to thank Scrapbook Mate for a great event, the wonderful students we met at the event and the other teachers who were totally 'awesome'!