Whoa!

Bad, bad blogger. Just got back from Scrap Camp and I managed to finish 41 layouts...now, 29 of those were 6x6 pages for my kids' summer mini albums, but since they took the better part of my first day and a half of camp, I'm counting them as full pages! I will have photos soon...just so dang wiped by the late nights at camp...still catching up on sleep...and the Boy has decided No More Pull-Ups at night, which means LOTS of interrupted sleep and LAUNDRY :( Yeah, that's not going so well. YAWN. Okay, just wanted to let you know that I'm alive and will be updating (better) soon.

Hey Kelly, this one's for you...

Seems my favorite crop organizer and all-around best scrapbooker buddy, Kelly, has been looking for a new post since...umm...February? Sorry, but LOAD 2011 kept me busy. I did manage to complete a layout a day in the month of February (plus 1), and I'm hoping to participate again in May. In the meantime, I need to give a little love and attention to my much-neglected scrappy blog.

Here are the layouts I did last Friday at Kelly's house. I wish we were having a church crop tomorrow, but I can't stay to close up (at midnight), since what kept my daughter home from school 3 days this week is now attacking my system. You know it's serious when you cancel the EXTREMELY RARE babysitter you had for tonight's Supper Club Adult's Night Out (dinner! in a restaurant! with adult conversation! no kids!! Heaven...) because you'd like to crawl under the covers with the 5 year-old bottle of prescription cough medicine you just found in the back of your medicine cabinet.

Heaven forbid a medical doctor would give me a new prescription. They don't seem to be into that these days, unless you have a fever. Thanks to these new-fangled thermometers, you can't do that old "hold it to the lightbulb while the nurse is out trick," a la E.T. In the meantime, I will be organizing 4-hour doses until what I have is gone. Which should be around 10p tonight.

Onward...

This one was based on a sketch from BHG's Scrapbook Etc. Page Planner (published in 2008, I believe). I pulled this specialty issue out near the end of LOAD, and just keep finding inspiration from it. Which is pretty funny, considering I haven't used it since I bought it. Lain's "Kill Maybe" philosophy was an eye-opener.

This one turned out to be SO FUN to do. It certainly didn't start out that way! I was trying to print out 2"x3" photos at home, and my printer nozzles were clogged. I was nearly out of color ink, and -sure enough- by the time I did a few maintenance runs, I was completely out of color ink :( (doncha just love how that works?!)

I quickly threw my photos on a DVD and went to the CVS near Kelly's house after dinner out together. Apparently various smaller prints on a single sheet are under the "collage" option on Kodak Print Makers. I did not have the patience to figure that out (the picture maker at my local pharmacy is pretty upfront about how to put 4 different 2x3 prints on one 4x6 sheet. I'm spoiled!) and went with 4"x6" prints of my faves.

So, I ended up with larger (and fewer) photos than planned for both layouts, and had to get creative with my own "sketch" on this last one. I had fun going through my color-organized papers (wave of thanks to Stacy Julian for that idea) for various blues, borrowed a perfect background cardstock sheet from Kelly (thanks!...you need a blog too, ya know?), and took off running with layers & sparkles and everything nice to put this last one together.

Here's my whole LOAD 211 set...have a trick for making new sets, since I don't have a "pro" account at Flickr anymore (I need to take care of that, BTW...) Seems I can set up a set through the flickr app on my iPod Touch (score!), then I can go to flickr.com and add individual photos to the new set. Twenty-nine LOs, in all...I had extra inspiration on day 5, it seems.

I'm editing photos while the cough syrup lasts...hopefully I will feel good enough tomorrow (and dd will go to her half-day of school tomorrow, to give me a break...alas, no such luck with the preschooler) to get a little more scrapping in...with HOME PRINTED photos.

Until then, hoarding my cough syrup...

Hunkering down...

Two things are supposed to happen this week: a big snowstorm, and the start of the L.O.A.D. (LayOut A Day) challenge at ScrapHappy. Yes, I finally decided to "pay-to-play" since I've been struggling to find a scrap/sharing "home" for more than a year now, without much luck.

Actually, I did pay-to-play at the Digital Scrapbook Artisian Guild this past year. While I enjoyed the online magazine, their digital designs weren't really my style. You can upload any product there now, but I found it to be a very quiet group, and there are no traditional paper layouts there at all (which makes sense, given the name)! I've let that subscription lapse.

I did recently sign up for Masterful Scrapbook Design through Get It Scrapped...and I really enjoy the lessons (when I take time to read through them...) There is a $10 monthly fee for the lessons, webisodes, chats, gallery, etc. etc. and so far it has been worth it. I need to take better advantage of it, though. My big roadblock is that I have to clear my IE cookies for it to work in IE. Since I have so many websites I've joined (with varying user names and passwords), I hate to clear all that info. As a result, I have to log in to MSD through Google Chrome...and again, I have to think of it in order to get it done.

In the meantime, I have been doing quite a bit of paper layouts...I had total fun working at home this past Friday and really let my creativity flow!

This one I did at a church crop with my local scrapping friends a few weeks ago. I really wanted to use one of two woodgrain papers I had (green, from SIStv, or brown, by Hambly), but both were too busy for my large photos. I ended up weaving them together and putting them at the bottom...a look I really love! Michelle gave me a Maya Road tree top & trunk she wasn't going to use, and I misted the heck out of them, then decorated the tree with pearl "apples" for fun. I really like how this one turned out!

This is one of the two I did this past Friday. It's an old photo (December 2009!) but I found a layout to lift from Gundrun's blog and took off with it. I especially love the subtle subtitle along the left side...it's what I imagine Ben is saying every time I look at this photo! Best of all, I used textured paper (on the right) that I've had since 2003 -- yay, me!

I did this one late on Friday, and feel like the bling is too much. I used Lain's End of the Month Inspiration photo, and my new fringe scissors (thanks, Becky!), though, and these pictures are scrapped (score one for me)! I love that I found another use for the ribbon I HAD to have this past spring...American Craft's rose ribbon. Only now I'm almost out ;)

Massive Update...knittin & scrappin fool

So, last weekend was the much-anticipated F52's weekend, hosted by the lovely Debbie with her amazing kitchen and many comfy rooms. I had offered my house at one point but it might have been crowded (and, getting rid of hubs & kiddoodles for the weekend tricky at best).

I started knitting little gifties for each and every one back in August (dishcloths, with handmade soap from a friend), but my near-Waterloo was The Bag. Seems last year's bag (felted) for Tresha went over so well, the organizer (that would be you, Kelly!) somehow...hmm...managed to end up with me as her Secret Elf this year. I had been wanting to make this record bag from Funky Knits (record = 12", scrapbook crap = 12"...coincidence?!) and here was my chance.

Little did I know I'd be knitting in the handle just one. day. before I was to get together with everyone. And hand it off to my mom with seconds to spare Thursday night so that she could (generously offered to) put in a lining. Since the yarn could not be felted, it needed something to hold it together. Mom even put in pockets! Mom rocks.

Found the perfect batik lining on Thursday, too...after stopping at the knit shop to get the last 4 yards of yarn (!) needed to finish up the handle. Queen of Last-Minute Finishing, that's me!

Here were the knitted goodies I gave to each lady, done in her fave colors. It pays to be my friend ;)

And here are the 4 LOs (6 pages, if you count like my buddies. I like how my scrap buddies count)...PAPER layouts, I might add...that I finished over the weekend.

From May: Vintage Vroom...Ben in the pedal cars at Greenfield Village, while we were waiting for our ride on Thomas.

Shop Class, also from May 2010 - same trip...Tess making tiny brass candlesticks at the Armington & Sims machine shop replica at Greenfield Village...finally using the Graphic 45 papers I've been hoarding ;)

From waaaay back in December, 2009 (!): A visit from our friends and their son, who hooked up on DS with Tess, while Ben pretended with his new "Leapster DS" ;)

And my one double-pager, about the awesome Creative Play program organized by Kelly at her church in Chelsea. I miss Creative Play! And MOPS. But not enough to have any. more. babies. thankyouverymuch.

We were all pretty good Friday night, got to bed by 11:30p (amateur), but I stayed up far too late on Saturday watching Toy Story 3 (until 3a!) , and woke up Sunday feeling under the weather. Even brunch at Gandy Dancer didn't perk me up. A birthday party for one of Ben's preschool buddies at Chuck E. Cheese's that afternoon sure as HELL didn't make me feel any better, so I'm late in posting all the goodness. Had to assist at the co-op yesterday, luckily I was feeling okay enough to go and not sneeze or cough on any little ones. Peace out.

New shoes...

...and an old, OLD pair. Just got a new pair of "keds" (they aren't really keds, but that's what I think of them as...so keds they are!) and had to document them alongside the pair I wore through hs and college...yes, I've saved them all these years, because my friend (and Kappa Delta sister) Kate Genter drew some of her fabulous artwork all over them! How could I give them up?!

And how fun, TAAFOMFT is having a "scrap your favorite shoes" 1st Anniversary contest with...wait for it...over 25 prize packages for those who enter. Serendipity!

The one thing that has kept me from buying a new pair for over 20 years, is that pregnancy has really changed my feet (among...ahem...many other body parts. heh). My old pair were a size 9 U.S., the new ones? Size 10 (yikes. mostly for the width...these new ones make a great flopping sound because they are actually a smidge big...and that's how I like them!) Then, there were Crocs...but I haven't been able to find the dark purple pair I'd like this summer. More serendipity...because what is more appropriate for summer wear than a nice crisp new pair of white shoes?

Great Lakes Mega Meet -- video!

Okay, let's see how this goes...sorry for the length, I wanted to get it uploaded tonight.

Please don't laugh at how I say "album"...I try not to honk like a Midwesterner when I say it (and I blame years of reading Mitch Albom's sports column in the Detroit Free Press for my pronounciation of the word! Dang him.)

Also, I apologize if I mispronounce "Copic" (markers). Let me know if I'm saying it right.

Man, I had fun today!!

Friday again!!!

I haven't been with my scrappin peeps in a month (!) so I am really looking forward to cropping tonight. We have a local mom (who doesn't scrapbook, but) who sells scrapping supplies she picks up from foreclosure auctions, and she will be there tonight. Mostly DCWV stacks, but I used many of those at scrap camp and they really made getting LOs done quick! I love being able to support a struggling single mom as well as getting a deal. She used to do a lot of flea markets but if you can believe it, the booth costs have gotten too much for her to do them! As Ben likes to say, "what the heck?!"


I've been scrapping a little bit, even though I haven't been to a crop in a while. Studio Calico has had some good challenges lately...although I never saw a winner from the scraplift challenge. I probably missed it while on vacation. I worked on this last Friday at home but didn't get it posted in time, so you get to see it first! ;)

The challenge was to print or stamp on masking tape...I used second-generation stamping on the word "softy" to lighten up the subtitle. I just added the sewing this afternoon, that's why I didn't get it posted for the challenge. It's about a silly little game Ben likes to play, where he makes fists (mean hands) and I hold my hands flat (nice hands). They "run away" and "cry" and he immediately wants to give them a hug. He's a real sweetie.

I posted this one on my fb profile while on vacation (gotta love digi scrapping). Still love this, especially that YELLOW! Ben often talks about our "Florida home" and says he misses it. Pretty funny, considering how tight quarters were and that we were only there for a week!

Just finished this one today (another one you'll see here first!) I have held off on Designer Digital's weekly Thursday sales (30% off select products) but when I saw this kit, I had to have it for our Florida pictures.

The journal block and letters for Venice are from other kits, but all the rest is from Katie's Alandia Tropics kit. One of their instructors, Pattie Knox, is teaching a digital art journal techniques class (!) starting April 5th; her product instructions have always been extremely helpful (and often free with her products, like her 2010 Calendar templates), so I'm looking forward to her class. I haven't done any more prompts from A Year in the Life of an Art Journal (my bad), partly because I don't often have time to get out those messy materials with a three year-old around (!!) so digi art journaling will be much more accessible for me!

"Spring" Break

sea turtle exhibit at Mote Aquarium, Sarasota, FL

Wow. That's all I have to say. And maybe "sorry." Yes, definitely "sorry." Moving on...


I have my hormonal issues under control...that was a harrowing experience. Also, the mammogram revealed a cyst, (I heard Arnold in my head: "it's not a tooomur..."), which gave me relief. Right now I'm in Florida for a few more days, the rain has stopped (24 hours, overnight Thursday and most of the day Friday), and I really miss blogging.


I love having my laptop along on vacation. I started a digi LO before we left and was able to finish it up in Florida. My sweet-cheeked boy is quite the camera poser. I have to do a "matching" LO for the girl or else she'll have Issues.

I have also been enjoying my Studio Calico kits...and only once was "bad" enough to look and and order an add-on...those get expensive! Whoa. Now when I go to a crop I just take my kits and work with them exclusively. There is a LOT of stuff in each kit, and they seem to match across months. Very cool. I picked up their Anthology line from a local vendor and had fun with it at my last crop:

My March kit arrived the day we left; a neighbor took it in for safekeeping. Something else to look forward to when I return home!

Thanks for hanging in there with me. I won't make promises, but I will make resolutions...to try and update more often. ;)

Exhausted but satisfied

As usual, I took a TON of sCRAPping "stuff" with me to our F52's weekend (my first as a group member) and only used a handful of things...mostly my Studio Calico kits. Now that I've discovered Maya mists, I am going to spray them on pretty much every. background. True to what I've been hearing from friends, they are the better mist...they dry quickly (even the metallic ones) and don't soak the paper until it warps out of control. LOVE them, will be adding a color or two to every order until I have. them. all.

Tresha loved her felted bag; I feel I was given the hardest person to please as I kind of hazing/"pass this test" for the group, and I was told by a couple of members that I passed with flying colors. My secret elf got me a cool pink Dymo label maker; it has three font wheels but I will pretty much be keeping the cursive one in. Gorgeous! Oh, I made a nametag for Tess (who can never find anything personalized with her name -- "I'm going to write the company!" is her constant battle cry) but forgot to give it to her. On teal tape, no less, her "new favorite color" this year.

Here's proof that Maya is better than Glimmer: I went to use my gold Glimmer mist (finally) on this next LO and the pump would. not. work. Not after running it under hot water, not in another mist; I had to swap the pump with one from another color (that one worked). Also, the gold completely curled my paper; I put a piece of solid cardstock behind it to smooth it out. Frustrating.

I love that I was able to get EIGHT photos on this LO. I really spent a long time behind my front door screen waiting for the perfect shot, and still got quite a few decent ones. Had to outline the Studio Calico ampersand stamp with black ink but I like the look.

Two problems after the weekend: I'm utterly exhausted after two 2:30a bedtimes (wimp!) and I lost my car keys...that turned yesterday's return home into a whole ordeal that I'd rather forget (although I can't, because I still don't have my car keys! I feel like I've lost a couple of fingers, so weird!!) Our hostess had to drive me to my house to get the spare, then drive me back to her house to use it. I'm super-paranoid about my key now; I am constantly checking the pocket where it resides, it's like having a (hopefully) temporary case of severe OCD.

I just had a mocha, sitting at Foggy Bottom with my laptop while Ben is in preschool...thank God for this small break and a chance to write.

Shufflin into the new year

My first day "off," as I jokingly call those days when both kids are in school, and I spent the morning on the phone with Apple support getting iTunes to recognize the selections I'd put on my mom's new shuffle. I have the music she wanted, but no podcasts, not sure what's up with that...I've wasted enough time today and perhaps I'll wait a few days before dealing with it again. Yesterday, partially out of frustration and partially to get something else done, I never turned on my laptop. Shocker! There is an off button.

While I am waiting for my January Studio Calico kit (and the one add-on I'll probably ever order, given the state of my craft budget as I go into 2010), I played with the December kit I received early last week. I think I joined the right kit club...there is some seriously fun stuff in that kit, and I worked on a 2-page year end wrap-up layout that is still sitting on my scrap desk. It requires that I go through each month in last year's diaries, take notes on the highlights, and stop to edit those before I write them down. I got through March yesterday and hope to work on the next three months today. That's one of my new year's goals...to always have something to work on out on my scrap desk. So far so good.

It was refreshing to see that we did, as a family, have some interesting winter activities last year. Lots of playdates for Tess. An outing to the Hands on Museum for both kids with their dad. A visit to the Bounce Zone. Pom-pom and cheerleading at the basketball games (Ben really enjoyed watching basketball...made the whole experience more fun for me, since he was fascinated and I didn't have to chase after him in our high school's very high bleachers...)

This year, so far, I am trying to write in my diary about halfway through each day (still have to do that today...) and read an entry each day from Simple Abundance...yes, about 15 years behind the trend, but it has a message I need right now, namely, what should I do with the rest of my life? As Ben starts school and plays well on his own, I have more and more time to myself, and I need to find a way to fill it.

I'm not sure we'll do MOPS next year...and I'm Publicity chair (this is my last term). I have no successor picked out (our numbers dropped by half this year, two of my best contenders left the group). Church is begging for Sunday school teachers, I already turned them down once, acted as a sub once, HATED it (more power to teachers...I have no patience for it), now they are asking again and I know I must firmly turn them down (again).

I thought this might be the year I finally make a habit of writing fiction daily, but so far that hasn't materialized. I'm waiting until Ben is in school at least half a day every day. A cop-out, but that's all I have energy for.

The job market is so poor, so bare, who knows what I'll find to do when it's time to go back to work. I will have been out of the biz -- any biz -- for 8 years by then. So I feel I need to start thinking about what I love to do (NOT teaching, sorry) and what I might do that would bring in a paycheck. At least I have the luxury of time, for now. Perhaps that it just an illusion. Something could happen tomorrow that forces me into the job market, and that luxury will be gone. Hopefully Borders is hiring.

Wow, this is not where I expected this entry to go today. I guess I really am shuffling into not only the new year, but the rest of my life. Now I have to keep up my committment of writing halfway through the day, and finishing up that knitted/felted bag I was talking about earlier...I have to gift it on Friday!

Still haven't found...what I'm looking for

credits: Owlie Loves You from Shabby Pickle Designs, Cafeina brushes by deviantArt, label by Kate Teague for 2peas, staple from jayedid Designs. Font: MV Boli

Some of you may know my past with U2; briefly, I went to Ireland for a study abroad program in 1988 and hung out in front of their Windmill Lane studios, wrote on their fan wall, and watch Larry Mullen zoom out and past us on his motorcycle. I was a fan before I went over, a huge fan, in fact my mother claimed I was going to Ireland just to chase the band (only partially true...the only study abroad programs at Wayne State University were Germany, or Ireland, and I don't speak German). Despite his personality flaws, I still think Bono is one of the best rock singers ever.

Today is a quicky entry; I had this done late last night (11:30p) but soon turned in, I couldn't wait until midnight to post this here but I did get it to Marit so I have two LOs on her entry for today (oh that darn time difference between the Netherlands, and the States). Egor has budget issues with my craft spending that we have to go over (joy) (not) and I need to get to the grocery store before my sister arrives and we head to a kid-friendly party later.

I have no New Year's resolutions, I never do, so I can't promise that I will scrap every day, or post every day, but that would certainly be a dream resolution of mine. Also writing fiction every day, and getting outside to walk, damn the weather. But...baby steps, baby steps.

Have a SAFE NYE...see you on the flip side!

New places to scrap...

Headed to the library late this afternoon, after running to Knit A Round to pick up some more yarn for a felting project (more on that later), depositing some checks from Christmas, and stopping for gas. Again. Somehow I have become the family filler-upper. Eeerk. Either that or I have really bad luck choosing which car to take. Just two days ago, I was stuck with the station wagon, and Egor informed me that (a) it had no gas and (b) oh by the way, it was out of windshield fluid. And it was snowing. Double errk.

Anyway, this morning I went through the Top 2000 list first thing, and actually had several choices. I have always wanted to use lyrics from John Mayer's Daughters, though, and took this chance to do so.

credits: Ruby Rhynne designs: freebie Boho kit, full kit no longer available but plenty of other beautiful kits are!

I had most of it done before I headed to the library, but while there I went through Cassie Jones' lesson on distressing fonts from Designer Digitals for the title letters. I'm (almost) sure the library has Wi-Fi (I still giggle when I think of my mom's recent confusion over Wi-Fi and Wii) but I didn't have the patience to figure it out. I had Ben with me, so I had to pay attention. Somewhat.

My first Studio Calico kit (December's) came yesterday, and I have an idea...but no time to do more than print out a collage of photos for it. Pretty soon my January kit will be here, and I'll have even MORE new stuff to work with.

Back to my felting project. I'm working on a bag...based on the clutch(es) I made for Creative Escape...I couldn't find the instructions to save my life, but having made 6 or 7 of them, I decided to wing it and just cast on. Well, given how felting shrinks (by about a third, I hear), I have to add quite a bit of depth to this one to get it to work. So I knit to the end of one of my skeins, only to realize I'd need QUITE a bit more to finish this up.

Now that I have that extra yarn, I'm hoping to finish it and have photos in the next week or so. Well, by January 7th, for sure, because the weekend of the 8th is my first-ever F52s retreat...F for Fridays, 52 for the number of Fridays in a year, that is how many Fridays we scrapbooked when Scrapbook Memories was still opened...I just became a member of this local scrapbooking group, so I wanted to make a gift that would make an impression for the gal whose Secret Elf I am...did you follow that?

Top Ten

My biggest challenge with scrapbooking this year was catching up with my attempt at Project 365 in 2008. I was so busy uploading my daily photos to Flickr (so sad...I hardly EVER go there anymore) and I had SO MANY photos to scrap, that I got behind early on and couldn't keep up, even though I quit 365 in October 2008.

Once I knew I was going to Scrap Camp {{shudder}} I started saving LOs to do there. Most of my work through the year was either catching up with 2008 or trying various challenges to get my mojo going (having a backlog of 220+ photos was quite the load on my scrapping mind all. year. long.) So when I present my Top Ten layouts for 2009, don't be surprised to see a lot of 2008 subject matter and odd bits of info about me. That's just how I was rolling in 2009...

One thing I did a lot of this year was use sketches and scraplift. This was a lift of a LO from CK magazine; the circles were originally buttons. Watch that rainbow paper; it crops (haha) up on a LOT of my LOs this year...

Let me just say...THICKERS. Yeah, I have quite a collection now. And I have become quite fearless of my handwriting, although I still think it sucks and I could do a better job with some pre-planning. Only all that pre-planning of my journaling tends to suck the life out of my writing.

This kimono one got me Jeanette's pick of the week over at SIStv in April and a $20 GC to their boutique. It's not my favorite because it won, it's a favorite because it was LOTS of fun to work on! One thing I'm going to miss is Scrap in Style collection kits...sniff.

This was from a scraplift challenge over at SIStv. I like mine better than the original. Just sayin' ;P

This was one I did after raiding the SIStv boutique at SISiversary in late June. I am not yet tired of October Afternoon! The photo was also one of the first that I altered (made it "vintage") after I got PSE7 for Mother's Day.


















Retro Modern was the first kit I purchased from SIStv, early in the year. I really held my breath because it was so not me. But I ended up having a lot of fun with it. I love that I chronicled our (hub's and my) mutual love of Big Bang Theory. Another one that was just plain fun to do!


















AGAIN with the rainbow paper! This was the first challenge over at Kiddie Lit; the Wizard of Oz is one of my favorite books. I love that I had some old blue gingham paper that I managed to dig up and use on this LO! ;) This was also the first LO where I reeeeeeaaally distressed the outer edges of my LO. I need to scrap about my first house some more...this is the only photo I've scrapped of my first house; I need to do more...I bought it myself and lived there six years, after all!

















This was a handwriting challenge at Creative Type. I cannot for the life of me remember where I came up with the spiral journalling strip; I know it took me three tries to cut it right! I think the spiral was inspired by my handwriting analysis. Oh, and I used more ancient supplies...the letter stickers are circa 2000 or so!
















A color challenge from A Few of my Favorite Things. I keep saying "I don't do collage," but I sure as heck had fun slapping down everything orange in my stash!

















Back to simplicity. And lots of stash-raiding. I hope to never buy another tennis embellishment ever. again. LOL. And again with the PSE7 artistry...this time a sepia-toned photo, where everyone was orginally wearing really clashing colors.

Pretty eclectic, huh? I was really scattered, style-wise, this year. I think perhaps that IS my style...all over the place. I love a great variety of color (ahem...not just orange...) and the challenges I participated in really helped me raid my stash and use what I had...which I had to do after the SIStv boutique closed down.

Don't get me wrong, I love my LSSs (although 3 of them closed this year...and one re-opened) and try to crop at one once a month or so (more now that my mom is back in town).

I miss our Friday night group at Scrapbook Memories, although she never had new stock, because her crops were only $5. I have to choke at paying $12-$15 now (Scrappy Chic and Scrapbook Zone prices), especially considering I can't get there before 7p, and so the bonus of dinner is lost on me. I could make it a bit earlier to Scrap Tales, but they haven't done Friday night crops since they re-opened :(

I did subscribe to Studio Calico kits starting this month; they have new and unique treasures that I grew to love in the Scrap in Style kits. A lot of buddies from SIStv are there on the message boards; it's so nice to see familiar names and faces! I hope to keep searching for and growing my "style" in 2010, whatever it may be. That's about it for scrapbooking resolutions.