Naomi's Notables

My Zingz

2008-05-30T14:33:00.000-07:00

Check out Myzingz.com . It's a Fiskars product. As soon as I heard about them, I sent in my name and got some free ones in the mail for the kids. You can see what Evelyn did with hers. She zing'd her guitar hero guitar. Neat-o. what else can you zingz??

I'm here, just haven't been very active

2008-03-18T10:06:00.000-07:00

If you have been wondering where I have been, well, I'm here. I just have not been on the computer very much. I had carpal tunnel surgery on my right hand February 19. Still recovering and regaining the use of my hand again. I have had my scrap stuff out in the living room for over a week now. I have been going slowly. It's hard to use scissors! But I have done many layouts and also a few fun projects. I'll get them posted here soon. I'll be of work for a few more weeks and hoping to get a lot done.

Our April crop weekend is sold out! It went quickly this time. I'm so excited. I've been busy handling the registration and confirming rooms with the hotel and shopping. Now, I do love to shop for fun things.!

Happy crafting .............

CHA day 3

2008-02-15T22:25:00.000-08:00

Here I am at the Heidi Grace make & take booth. Day 3 making gum drop kabobs. Easy, fun and oh so yummy.

As promised, here are pictures from CHA. Lot's of pictures.
Day 3 was slower than the others as the show was starting to wind down. My make and take booth was not as busy as the previous days and this gave me time to browse around the other booths.
Once again my back pack was super heavy filled with all the magazines and catalogs I picked up wandering through the show. I was so exhausted on Tuesday, had not slept well the night before, and had a headache and sore throat. But I stuck it out and went anyways. I didn't want to miss a thing.
I sure hope I get a chance to do this again. Maybe Chicago in the Spring? Hmmmm. It's a thought. But for sure next February when it's back in Anaheim.
So, now for photos, and lots of them. My blog has not had many photos on it anyways. And they are not in any particular order.

Heidi Swapp
Heidi Swapp

Fiskateer group: Angela, Anita, Me, Tara, Amyre, Wendy Joe, Stephanie

Karen Foster Designs
Tara with her tush on a Kumfy cush
Me with my tush on a Kumfy cush
Tara and me sporting our Cricut shirts and we got a free cartridge
Tara at Heidi Swapp

My Fiskateer pride signed shirt
Mor shirts I picked up
Look at all this loot. And this is not even all of it
Fiskateer picuture. I missed it :(
Lot's of people everywhere!

Clear bags, bookcover with felting, cricut cartridge
I am Fiskateer # 1154
Signatures on my Fiskateer shirt
Nadia from Home Made Simple on TLC - my hero!
Mark Montano also on TLC. You can see him on Ten Years Younger

Tara and Brian at the Li'l Davis. Forgot the other gals name.
Fiskars goodies and my very handy and very used apron.
Fliers, catalogs, business cards and stuff I picked up.
Magaznies...and this is not even all of them
My picuture of me on my Komfy Cush. The printed our picture and gave us this cool page.

Fiskars
Fiskateer Amyre at the Fiskars punch booth
Michelle and Tara at the Li'l Davis make & take booth
oops, a duplicate picture. guess I was not paying attention

oops, another

Heidi Grace booth
Fiskars
Cloud 9 Design
Fiskars
And more Fiskars

CHA Day Deux

2008-02-15T22:24:00.001-08:00

Day 2 at CHA was another great day. I worked again in the Heidi Grace booth doing another make and take. This time a cute licorace goodie bag, using the Fiskars squeeze punch, HG rubons, paper and ribbon. So cute! I love licorice. I was so busy over there, I only got to taste 2 vines of licorice. Oh well. No celebrety sightings today, at least that I know of. But the fun gals from TX returned to my booth today. I met gals from the Netherlands, Sweeden, Mexico, France, London, Canada, New Zealand, Australia and of course all over the US. I met this great gal from PA who has a scrap store just outside Pittsburgh. Got her name and number and will call her when I get a chance to go to Pittsburgh with Tom. Hopefully she will join up as a Fiskateer.

CHA Anaheim Day 1

2008-02-15T22:22:00.000-08:00

Was just amazing! Tara and I headed up to Anaheim aroun 9am, got checked in and started walking through the convention center. Everything imaginable for crafts and hobbies - paint, fabric, wood, scrapbooking, jewelry making, tools, stamping, printers, and the list goes on and on. We visited so many booths and got so many freebies! My bag was bursting, and heavy. If we wore a Cricut t-shirt we got a free, yes free, cricut cartridge! Ok, I'll wear a shirt for a free cartridge. Got a few other t-shirts, magazines, plastic storage bags, can't even remember it all. I will have to dig through my stuff later on.We hit the Fiskars booth (without our Cricut shirts on) before our 1:00 shift started. We got our official Fiskateer shirts, aprons, tags and were prepped on how to man our stations. But first......I can not believe it........ We walked out of the room where we left our bags and got our shirts and who did I spy??? Mark from Ten Years Younger on TLC and Nadia one of the mavens on Home Made Simple! I love Homemade Simple! Sometimes I do watch Ten Years Younger during lunch. I got so giddy. I got both of them to sign my shirt and chatted for a few minutes.What nice people they are, to spend some time chatting with a huge fan that they don't even know. That just really made my day. I also hooked Nadia up with Stephanie, one of the lead Fiskateers. Might be seeing some Fiskars products on that show later on. My shift went by so fast. I was asked so many questions about the Heidi Grace product line. I had no idea how to answer but was able to refer the asker to the very knowledgeable Heidi Grace designers who were working the booth. By the end of my shift I sure learned a lot more than when I first got there. I also met people from Germany, Sweeden, Australia, China, Mexico and all ove the US. At my booth people could make these really cute treat holders. They were a big hit as many people were bringing them back home for their kids. By the end of the day, I was tired, hoarse, and my legs were sure aching. But I had so much fun!

Crops2Remember April 208 Crop

2008-02-07T08:55:00.001-08:00

It's that time again........time to register for our April 2008 weekend crop. April 18, 19, 20 at the Staybridge Suites in Lake Forest. Check out the website for all the details:
www.crops2remember.com
Email me at naomicrops2remember@yahoo.com if you have any questions or want to register.
We are filling up fast and hope to fill the 2 conference rooms this time. We have a lot of returning scrappers and some newbies as well.
As always, we will have tons of prizes, a layout contest, good food and drink, 3 days of scrapping and a wonderful good time! We are also starting to book our guests who will demo product, offer make and take classes and of course have goodies to give away too.
See you there and happy scrapping my friends.

I am a Certified Fiskars Demonstrator!

2008-01-07T23:06:00.000-08:00

I did it! I am a Certified Fiskars Demonstrator. Have my official name badge, certificate and training manual. Wow!

I have been wanting to put the creative part of me to work for a long time. I found it through the Fiskateers. What a wonderful group of women these are. All around the world, women can get together on one awesome site and share their love for crafting. Does not have to be scrapbooking. Some sew, quilt, bead, make cards, stamp, you name it. These folks love crafting. Like me.

When I heard of the demonstrator training I jumped on board right away. My friend Tara also jumped on board, probably right before me as she is pretty quick.

We met Stephanie and Anita and Cheryl, one of the lead Fiskateers joined us. We met other Fiskateers local to our area as well as some soon to be Fiskateers. So much fun! We also got to win fun prizes. I love winning prizes. I won a fun clear stamp set.

Tara and I are also going to be demonstrators for Fiskars at CHA in February. CHA is in Anaheim and not too far from home. I have always wanted to go to CHA and I have always wanted to work at it or an Expo. Now I have my chance.

Now that this door has opened for me, I have to find fun ways to put this to use. I already have some plans churning around in my head. If anyone needs a Fiskars demonstrator, I am the gal for you.

We got to play with all the fun punches, border punches, embossing tools, cutters, drills, and have yummy Fiskar colored snacks.
Me and Tara taking a break to pose for a picture.

Happy New Year!

2007-12-31T17:59:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year everyone. Here's to a scrappy, crafty, healthy and fun New Year and warm blessings for 2008.

Lot's have been going on in my crafty life that doesn't really involve crafts. But now that I have a few free moments at the end of this year I get to post some things I have worked on and some things I have have done. Are you ready? Well, let's go..........

A cute Holiday album we made at our November crop

Tara, Susan and me at the November crop at the Red Bee

This is a canvas I made for my dad for his birthday. This one is of the grandkids and me and my brother when we were kids. The second one is still a work in progress

A lay out from our trip last November ('06) to San Louis Obispo for Evelyn's Mission project

Pismo Beach and Santa Barbara on the way home from San Louis Obispo

Remembering familyHorseback riding
Knott's Berry Farm
This is a card organizer I made by altering an expandable organizer bought at Staples
Cards and organizer I made at a Lasting Impressions class. I am hooked! Evelyn took the class with ne and did quite an awesome job on her cards and organizer too.

Altered paper clips, large clips, tin box and frames I made for teachers gifts.

Altered Family hanging frame for teachers gifts.

Altered frame for a friend

Inside of a Friends mini book made from a kit. Thought this would be a good gift Evelyn could give to one of her friends for a birthday present.

My 2008 work calendar. Have to make it fun.
My new ribbon organizer. I can see it all!
Altered wine journal for a friend
Altered journal for my dad.
My Christmas organizing box, made from a kit. Maybe this will help me get through Christmas a little easier.

Well, looks like that is just about it. For now at least. Hope to get some good quality scrap time in before we get busy with the next round of sports. Have a lot of catching up to do. Last few times I scrapped I worked on projects and making gifts. I sure could use another weekend here too. Can't wait for our April weekend crop!

Time for dinner and spending the evening playing games and hanging with the family. My favorite thing to do on New Years Eve. Maybe (hopefully) the kids will let me play some games on our new Wii.

Again, Happy New Years :)

Anybody home???

2007-11-12T15:13:00.000-08:00

Yes, I know it..... I have been neglectful. But if you read my other blog, you will know I have no time. Oh, wait, plenty of time, but not for scrapping and fun projects. I have done some things, have taken a fun class and actually just went to a fun scrap day. That one, I helped plan. Oh, I know I have also been tagged a few times.

So my friends and my trusty blog.........I have not forgotten you. I promise I will post, reply to my tag and keep up this blog, at least for awhile.

If you have been wondering where I have been......I've been a busy mom wearing many hats: Football mom, Soccer mom, Horse mom, homework mom, carpool mom and the list goes on...... It's been busy since early August with football, then soccer, then school starting which brings on carpool and homework and school projects. Oh, and I have a full time job. No I am not being sarcastic. Not in my nature, just a little punchy now as I am still a bit overwhelmed.

But I did have a great time on Saturday at our C2R first day crop at the Red Bee in Tustin. What a great store and a great bunch of folks who work there and who own the store. And what a great group of gals who came to crop. :) I can't wait to go back to a scrap night there, even if it is a little drive. I unpacked my stuff and left it in the garage. Tom is out of town this week so I figured since we no longer have football practice, only soccer, I can spend some time putting things away where they belong and organizing my closet a little better. I did clean out my office closet yesterday. Looking nice!! Photo op? maybe.

Well, my scrappy friends, I must sign off. Almost time for the kids to be home and me to be homework/snack mom. I am hoping to squeeze in a quick (yeah right) trip to the mall too.

I got to scrap last night

2007-08-18T07:30:00.000-07:00

Oh yea, uh huh, I got to scrap last night.
It was getting late, close to 8, and I was home all alone. So, I decided to drag it all out into the living room and set up there. I got 4 pages done. 2 almost done. I am leaving it up so I can continue tonight. Oh yea, uh huh! Have so many pages to post.
Time to get ready for the first football scrimmage today. Big day for Greg. He is still asleep. shhh. Hope he sleeps till 8 or later. Gonna be a hot one here today!

My mess

2007-08-16T12:00:00.001-07:00

It always seems that no matter what type of organizers I get and what I do, it is just never right. Stuff all over the place and contstant rummaging around to find what i need. I don't have a crafts room or even a small corner to put my stuff in. So, it's shoved in my closet and the office closet. Oh, office, that sounds like a good place for stuff. Well, no, not really. This is where I work all day at my job. Tom' stuff is in her as well as a desk for the kids computer. It's a small room and very overlly crowded. It's also the place where stuff is dumped unitl it finds a home.

So, after my fun Crops2Remember weekend early August, I left all my stuff out with the hopes of organizing and purging. I have already purged so much! So, anyways, last weekend I decided to give it my best organizing and consolodating. I did it too. I broke down and bought a vintage suitcase from Angels Scrapbook Garden. And got another XL tote from Michaels (yeah for 40% coupons!) Still have to put the tote to good use as I just got it yesterday.

What a mess! How did I ever get all this stuff?
I got this at Target. It has paint, brushers, ink stamps, distressing ink, adehsives, tools, etc... Even some stamps fit on the other side.
The organizer behind the blue box is great for goodies and it is all labeled too!
Now, this is much better. See my cute vintage black and pink suitcase? Well, it's stuffed full of a few projects I really want to finish up.
Now, at my scrap weekend, everyone had Stickles. Glittery glue. And what girl does not like glitter and a little bling bling in her scrap books. So, I went to my favorite shopping mall (ebay) and found a gal that sells in quantities. Got 1o of my choice. Even got these pretty flowers from her. I like the containers and wall hanger too and want to hang it up on my wall. But what wall? Maybe when I get a scrap corner :)

My new XL tote is not pictured here. But, the gree/blue collapsable rolling box will be transferred into the tote. I am hoping I will be able to stack it on top of the other tote and roll them around together. Ok, now I really need another scrap night/weekend. I am all orgaznied and ready to go! I have so many projects I need to finish up too. OH, that reminds me, need to order even more pictures too.

Oh happy scrap day!

Freckle Friends Sale

2007-08-09T23:02:00.001-07:00

Oh, hurry, check out www.frecklefriends.com for their great sale. Super personalized service too. I ordered this morning and picked up my order this evening. How is that for service. they are like 2 minutes from me. Love it!!
what did I get..... bling for a bling swap at www.fiskateers.com I have so much fun on that site. check me out, #1154. Some new acrylic stamps, glue dots (I ran out over the weekend) and other stuff I just have to have.
So, this morning I also placed an ebay order for some stickles and some flowers, I got the flowers just because I love the cute jars they come in and the cute wall hanger that comes with them. Thought I could hang them in the kitchen or in my sewing corner. I really need to sew! Miss my machine.
OK, enough rambling for tonight.
Happy shopping!!

Some fun places to shop on line

2007-08-01T10:24:00.001-07:00

Some fun places I like to shop on line:

http://www.frecklefriends.com/ (they are right in my neighborhood!)

http://www.mpaperie.com/ (also close by)

http://www.creativexpress.com/ (get on their mailing list for great sales - even on Cricut cartridges)

And a fun place to hang out and meet fellow scrappers and crafters from all over the world http://www.fiskateers.com/ (I am #1154 :) )

Busy getting ready for our Crops2Remember weekend. It's this weekend, Aug 3-5. I'm so excited. I am so far behind and need to do a lot of catching up here! Have so many projects to finish as well. Yikes, where do I begin. And I ordered 125 pictures from our Florida vacation. Help!!!!!!!!!!!

Happy scrapping.

2007-07-06T22:25:00.000-07:00

Finally got in some scrap time last weekend. Enjoyed a nice evening at Angels scrapping the night away.

Here is a few layouts I did. Have to put some finishing touches on a few more and hope to finish up those tomorrow :)

Way of the Cross - Good Friday in Silverado Canyon.

Family times and Birthdays

La Brea Tar Pits

I'm tyring to be thrifty and using things I have from my own never ending stash o' stuff. Seems to be working out and it's fun too to find different ways to use things.

Now I want a scrap room like this

2007-06-07T09:52:00.000-07:00

Hello everybody! It's Stacey….
Do you have your bags packed? I hope so, because I can't wait to head out on our Journey! I have left my scrap space and am heading to the airport to meet you…
Simply login to your account, and click on the "Enter Classroom" button to get started on the first part of our Travel Album.
Let's go!
http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?t=tiue9acab.0.fsnnbrbab.ze6g7qbab.17955&ts=S0255&p=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.bigpicturescrapbooking.comCopyright 2007 Big Picture Scrapbooking. All Rights Reserved.

I am taking another online class from Big Picture Scrapbooking. (click on the link) Can't wait to start. Got all the week one hand outs and ideas printed out. Hope to find some time this weekend to get started. Oh, like I need another project.

Blue Moon 5-31-07

2007-05-31T11:14:00.000-07:00

A friend of mine sent this to me in an email...... check it out

May 31st marks the first blue moon since 2004.

The next won't occur until December 2009.

So for everyone who only do things once in a blue moon, now’s the time.

Click on the link below to learn more about the “Blue Moon”

http://scienceworld.wolfram.com/astronomy/BlueMoon.html

Here's what it says:

When two full moons occur in any calendar month, the second is called a blue moon. The term (in its modern usage) therefore has nothing to do with the Moon's actually color. A blue moon occurs about once in 2.5 years on average. A blue moon can occur in January and the following March if there is no full moon at all in February, as is the case in the years 1999, 2018, and 2037.
There are several other meanings ascribed to the term "blue moon" (the most common being "a very uncommon event"), but the one given here seems first to have appeared in The Maine Farmers' Almanac of 1937. The phrase "blue moon" has been around for several hundred years, but its meaning has changed a few times. The earliest use of "blue moon" meant an obvious absurdity which everyone knew never happened. However, the moon does occasionally turn blue as a result of smoke from forest fires or particles from a volcanic eruption. Since these blue-looking moons were rare but did happen from time to time, the phrase "once in a blue moon" was coined, meaning that an event is unusual, but can happen occasionally (Kibbey). "Blue moon" has also been used as a symbol of sadness and loneliness. That appears to have a history of its own among musicians and songwriters (Kibbey).
The following table lists all blue moons from 1990 to 2010 for dates in universal time. Note that because the full moon occurs at different times (and therefore potentially on different calendar days and in different calendar months) in different time zones, the occurrence of blue moons is time zone (and daylight saving time) dependent. For example, a blue moon occurs on May 31, 2007 in the Eastern Daylight Time zone, but on June 30, 2007 in universal time. Blue moons cannot occur in February, since the Moon's synodic period is 29.531 days, but February is 29 days at its longest (during a leap year).

I'm not neglecting you, promise

2007-05-30T22:08:00.000-07:00

I know it's been awhile since I have posted here. :( Busy getting through the end of the school year, baseball, and just whatever life tosses at me. Everytime I think I have some time to scrap, something else comes up. Well, hopefully that will change this weekend and I can complete a project I really want to get to and also do some scrapping.
Last weekend I did organize most of my pictures. Have to do some shopping too. Oh what fun! I love to shop..... especially for fun stuff.
My secret project that I was working on was entered into a contest. Well, I didn't win, but that's ok. First scrap type of contest I have entered into. The project was something I would have done anyways, regardless of the contest and winning some cash. I don't have it back yet, looks like June. But it may get published anyways, so I am told. Yippee!! My first time. I will for sure share when I am done. Hint.......it has something to do with base ball.

Got pictures?

2007-05-21T21:28:00.000-07:00

I do. 236 to be exact. Found a nice box from Snapfish filled with pictures sitting on my front porch today. Now just need to find the time to sit down to scrap. Baseball has a lull for about 1 1/2 weeks until the TOC. School is out June 2. Hmmm, maybe I can get away one Saturday and spend the day at Angels scrapping. Hope so.
I am still trying to put things away from the last weekend. Yikes, I just don't have the room. Need a larger closet, or hey, a craft room would be great!

Crops2Remember weekend pictures

2007-05-15T16:18:00.000-07:00

Well, it's been awhile since I have posted on here, but life has been keeping me very busy.
But let me tell you, our Crops2Remember weekend was great! I enjoyed every minute of it - enjoyed meeting new friends, scrapping and just having a super time.
I know I already posted about it but here are some pictures. I spent Sunday uploading 236 pictures to Snapfish. Have a lot of scrapping to do when I get them back. When is the next weekend, oh yea, August. Is it August yet?

The room started off clean

Red Buggy loaded to capacity
Check out all the goodies!
Evelyn and my mom brought dinner over Friday night
Jessica, Stephanie (MAMBI), Nan and Me
our yummy cake

too much black frosting for you young lady
Zutter robe winner Rebecca and Lori with Nan
You call this scrapping?
Julie, Fiskateer Cheryl, Krystal

Jessica, Cheryl, me, Nan

Scrap gals busy at work
Contest winners Julia, Elena, Michele
Queen of the Crop - Julia
Carole, me and Lori
Nan, Beth (Heritage Makers) and Me

I really need to get some scrapping done - hopefully one of these weekends. Will have layouts galore to post (I hope).

Have fun!!

Race for the Cure

2007-05-15T14:31:00.000-07:00

This will be the 3rd year since I participated in the Race for the Cure on the Bagley Bunch team with my dear friend Michele.
The team began when in 2004 Michele's mother fought and won her battle with breast cancer. It was a devastating time, but with the love and support of the Susan G. Komen foundation (and friends and family!) Barbara made it through, as well as Michele's Step-Mom Marilyn who continues to fight, and is still CANCER FREE!!!Our team is made up of family and friends and it just wouldn't be the same without you! :)
Last year I did the 1 mile Family Fun walk with Evelyn and we had such a great time. Evelyn could see first hand what a difference people can make in the fight against this horrible disease. This year I signed up for the co-ed 5K run/walk. Evelyn has shown an interest in running so her and I will train for the 5K run.
You may sign up for whatever race or walk you'd like (or sleep in!)....BUT your contribution to our team matters and we need you!!Registration is open....won't you sign up and join my family on the "Bagley Bunch" Team #413!?
https://www.kintera.org/faf/login/teamPageEdit.asp?ievent=227667&lis=0&kntae227667=CED3450D88F54B4789D111FBA15FF809&page=view
If you are unable to join our team, but would like to offer a donation and support our efforts....THANK YOU and GOD BLESS YOU! You may donate by clicking on the link below.
https://www.kintera.org/faf/donorReg/donorPledge.asp?ievent=227667&lis=1&kntae227667=B5472681CCC84A3ABFA6A292950D0E8F&supId=87371498

WOW, What a weekend!

2007-05-02T11:50:00.000-07:00

I had the best weekend last weekend. It was our first Crops2Remember scrap weekend. We have a wonderful group of ladies from all over So. Cal. I enjoyed every moment of the weekend. I was exhausted but it sure was worth it. I really enjoyed meeting each and every person at the weekend. You ladies are great!
We had some guests come to the weekend also Stephanie from Me and My Big Ideas, Fiskateer Cheryl, Beth from Heritage Makers and Debbie from Freckle Friends.
I managed to get a lot of pages done too in between chatting and getting food ready and raffle drawings.
I can't wait till our August weekend and to start planning future weekends.
Thanks ladies for your wonderful support and making this such a memorable weekend.
And also a special thank you to Jessica, Nan and Michele. We all worked together as a team to get this from an idea to details on a pink piece of scratch paper to a successful weekend.

I am working on a secret project

2007-04-16T21:52:00.000-07:00

Yes, I am. I have decided to make a project to enter into a contest at Angels Scrapbook Garden. My LSS. http://www.angelsscrapbookgarden.com/. I sure wish I could post a picture here but can't till the contest is over. It involves the Bind it All (http://www.binditall.com/). I had a long chat with Lisa today about the project. I am now convinced to enter. Thank you Lisa! Maybe I will get to work on my second idea too.
I went to the scrap night on Friday night. I got there at 5, rather than 6 to start work on my project. I had it safely tucked away before the 6:00 crowd got there.
But I am happy to say, I did start 2 projects at Angels. I finished them at home as I needed my Cricut to cut the letters. I will download the photos and post them here in a few days. Need to mail them off to the recipients.
I also got started on another lay out. Adventure Princesses. Its' a fun one! I didn't get to finish as I was too busy chatting with Lanetta and Judy and also TJ and her group of fun gals.
Oh, and I got a crop-a-dile. What fun! Now it is easy to set eyelets and to punch holes in cd's and other stuff. Used my Michaels coupon for a great deal. I have so many eyelets and brads that I have not been using as they are hard to set. But this tool sure makes it easy to set them. I made some fun flowers on Sunday.
Ok, I know I am rambling and said I was calling it a night. Good night everyone!!

Crops2Remember

2007-04-16T21:35:00.000-07:00

I am so excited! Our Crops2Remember first crop is just around the corner. April 27 - 29 here in Lake Forest, CA. Oh my. I remember when Michele, Jessica and I first jotted down our ideas on that piece of scrap paper in January. Wow, and here we are about to launch our first weekend crop.
We met on Saturday and boy oh boy, have we got tons of great stuff! Just a few finishing touches and it's ready to go. I won't post any pictures of the goodies yet, will just have to wait till the weekend is over.
We have some local vendors coming to our crop too. Me and My Big Ideas is coming on Friday night. Check them out at www.meandmybigideas.com . Our own Fiskateer Cheryl is coming on Saturday, www.fiskateers.com (I am #1154 and got my engraved scissors today! ~ Thanks you Fiskars).
Back to MAMBI (Me and My Big Ideas). I knew they were local and am so excited to meet Stephanie. I used to use their kids stickers in my books when the kids were younger. I could always find the perfect blond boys and girls. I still use their product to this day.
Fiskateers, love that site. I am on it way too much. But there are so many great ladies there. Love the message board and am in my second swap. I have gotten so many ideas from the site too. I can't wait to meet Cheryl who is stopping by on Saturday! I am also enjoying my Big Picture Scrapbooking online class with May.
Now, back to our weekend. Did I say I am excited?? Well, I am. There are ladies coming from all over and I am so excited to meet them all. My mom is bringing dinner by on Friday night. She is excited too. I will have Tom bring the kids by one day so the kids can actually get an idea for what I do when I am away at a scrap weekend. I am glad it is close by so I will still be able to get to Greg's baseball game Saturday night.
Well, I am calling it a night. I am tired.

Happy Easter!

2007-04-07T21:11:00.001-07:00

I want to wish you and your families all a Happy Easter. :) May you all enjoy your day with your families and friends. The kids don't like to dye eggs anymore, boring, so they say. But we did fill plastic eggs for the egg hunt tomorrow. Now that is more fun. Here are our pretty eggs.

But I also thought I would try some eggs like Julie, oops, Martha did. Well, mine didn't turn out like Julie's (thankfully!) or Martha's (figures). Here they are, but I wouldn't eat them! The brownish ones were boiled in coffee and then I let them sit for awhile to get darker. The kinda reddish ones, with the flakes on them, were boiled in chili flakes. I am not the cook like Julie and Martha, so tried the next best thing I had, chili flakes rather than chili powder. Didn't work very well. Lastly, the pink ones were boiled in water mixed with a powdered energy drink. Thought it might turn out pink since that is the color when mixed with water. Nope. But I put in some red food coloring and let the eggs soak.

So, my take on all this, by the Paas egg coloring kit, or better yet, the colored eggs from the store, or even better, fill the brightly colored plastic eggs with jelly beans and other yummy candy.

Once again ~ Wishing you a wonderful Easter from the Murphy's.

Big Picture Scrapbooking, class starts today

2007-04-05T10:22:00.000-07:00

Today is the day! The first day of May's online class at Big Picture Scrapbooking. As soon as the kids and Tom were out the door, I got on my email and found an email from May. :) Follow the link to open the class room door for the first session of Everyday Treasures. Oh fun.......I'm excited. I need to get some scrapping done. What neat layouts she has done. And the things she uses. I won't give away any secrets until the very end. You may still be able to sign up for the class. The links to the site and the class are in the posts before this one.
So, my treasure hunt begins. Ayy mateys! The possibilities are endless.
I am going to a crop at Angels on Friday, April 13 and hope to have a good stash of stuff to use then. Maybe for Easter pictures.....hmmmmm could work, creative juices are flowing, well, a little bit (I am tired today and having a hard time thinking)
I also have a super idea for the Angels Bind it All contest. Check out http://www.angelsscrapbookgarden.com/. But I'm not giving away my idea until it is done!!
Happy Easter everyone. May we all remember the real meaning of Easter!

Big PIcture Scrapbooking

2007-03-31T09:14:00.000-07:00

Here is some info from a recent email. Click the link and it takes you right to May's class. The class starts soon so better register now if you are interested.

As scrapbookers, we want to preserve the details of our lives on our pages. What better way to do that is there than to include the actual memorabilia from our daily lives - whether the cupcake wrapper from a birthday party, the weekly shopping list, or a scrap of a favorite shirt that's falling apart? Join May Flaum for a new workshop at Big Picture Scrapbooking to learn how to make beautiful and inexpensive embellishments and accents from everyday items. Soon, you will go on a treasure hunt in your home, finding wonderful bits of memorabilia to include on your pages! May will inspire us to make our pages unique and special with saved treasure!
Learn more and register at www.bigpicturescrapbooking.com !

My first online scrap class

2007-03-29T20:44:00.000-07:00

I am really enjoying the Fiskateer website. Spend too much time on it sometimes, but I love checking out the message board and the blogs and all the cool ideas. Fiskateer May has an online scrap class on Big Picture Scrapbooking (https://www.bigpicturescrapbooking.com/). On the website home page, click classes, then on that page click on workshops to find this class and the description. You can also click on give it a try for more classes. There are also some free classes you can download once you register.
This one is Everyday Treasures by May Flaum. Starts April 5 and is 4 weeks, through May 2. You get instructions to down load each week. This class is about using unusual items, like a clothing tag, ticket stub, stuff like that. Thought it would be fun and interesting. I love finding ways to use everyday things to put on my layouts and always looking for new and fun ideas.
So, will let you know how the class goes and be sure to post my layout. Sounds like a lot of fun and I can't wait to give it a try.
Hope the link works if you want to check out the site. Fun :)
Happy scrapping!!! ~

2007-03-18T13:58:00.000-07:00

I went to Angels on Friday night for a St. Patty's day crop, 6 pm to 2 am. Had a great time chatting with Lanetta and Jessica. Lanetta and I got our yummy nachos from Baja Fresh too. Yumm - O!

I finished Evelyn's baby book! Finally. It has taken years and I finally got serious about it last year. My next project is to organize Greg's so I can get that done for him. He keeps asking to see his book.

I also got several layouts done too. And I won 2 raffle drawings. I hardly ever win so I was very excited!

Here are a few layouts. I will also post them on my Fiskateer site.

Annie (2007)

Pumpkin Patch (1997)

Halloween (1997)

Cousins (1997)

Mission and Dino report (2006)

Cute altered boxes

2007-03-01T13:32:00.000-08:00

Last Friday night I went to Angels for a much needed scrap night. I really didn't scrap but finished up some projects and organized my pictures for the next scrap night. It's great to be organized again. Evelyn came along with me for awhile and I helped her out with some of her pages. She loves to scrap too:)

I made some more boxes which are perfect for gifts. The boxes are from Michael's, painted, a vintage sticker and button glued on and some decorative ribbon. Wa-la! Done in no time.

Here is Evy getting ready to scrap.

Completed boxes.

Altered Tin

2007-02-19T22:01:00.000-08:00

I did find some time this afternoon to make this tin. Took less than 10 minutes. I got the tin at Michael's, stuck on the vintage label by Melissa Frances (got at Expo), tied on the ribbon and sanded the edges and the top for a more rustic look. It will make a nice birthday gift - adding some sweets and a gift card.

I started making some wood boxes but didn't get to finish. Will finish up another day and post those.

Bind it All

2007-02-19T21:49:00.000-08:00

Have to admit, I have had my Bind it All for several weeks and only have taken it out of the box to admire it and show it to my neighbors. Well, the other night I finally put it to use. I got a cool idea book at the expo (www.fiberscraps.com). I cut the spine of the idea book and bound it with the bind it all. I have other idea books that I bought already like this. They are easier to flip through the pages and to keep the page you want to use open.

So, this was my first attempt using the Bind it All. I did put the spine in backwards. Dah. Had to take it apart and do it all over again. Yep, might help to read the directions Bullseye. I tried to salvage part of the used binding wire and was able to do so.
Here is me and my Bind it All. Evelyn took this picture. She is a photographer in training!

I know I said I would post links to my favorites at the Expo. Be patient as I will. Hectic day today with kids at home and 3 friends over and trying to work. AHHHH. But it was a fun day:) My kids have great friends :)

Scrap Expo

2007-02-17T19:41:00.000-08:00

What a day! And my back is screaming at me! Michele and I headed to the Expo bright and early this morning to show off our new fashionable C2R shirts, set out fliers and hand out fliers to new friends we met. We saw Jessica and Nan busy at work in the Zutter booth doing demos with the Bind it All and Dream Kuts. (http://www.zutterzisters.com/, http://www.binditall.com/)

We cruised through the first building and headed on over to the second building where we caught up with our great friends from A to Z Scrapbooking (http://www.atozscrapbooking.com/), Vivian, Steve and Mom and Dad.

We also had plenty of time to walk around and admire all the new products and get tons of great ideas for our own books. I have a stack of biz cards, postcards, you name it, to check out on line. I will post them all later. I also finally got to see in person the Cosmo Cricket line. Love it! I have seen this on a web site and wanted to see it in person.

When I left the Expo I headed to Michael's to get some supplies for some gift ideas. Then had some rare quiet time at home before Greg got back. Greg was hanging out with Grandma Shirley today. Tom and Evelyn are in Big Bear with the Adventure Princesses. I got to admire my new purchases and think of the oh so many possibilities. Can't wait till next Friday - going to Angels for a long over due scrap night.

The Expo goes through Sunday so there is still one more day to get there. Go early and enjoy the day browsing and chatting.

Movie time now, I promised Greg we would have a movie night tonight.

Check back Sunday or Monday for all the links I mentioned.

I am Fiskateer # 1154

2007-02-16T13:54:00.000-08:00

I finally joined the Fiskarteers and proudly display #1154. Check it out at www.fiskateers.com . Also a cool site http://www.fiskarscrafts.com/ .

If you are going to be at the Expo in Costa Mesa this weekend, make sure to stop by the Bind it All booth to see Jessica and Nan at the booth. You can become a Zutter Zister too at http://www.zutterzisters.com/. Michele and I will be cruising around on Saturday to promote our April Crops2Remember fun and exciting scrap weekend. Look for are very stylish C2R shirts. We look hot! Croppin' in the OC? Yes, you need to be. Don't forget to save http://www.crops2remember.com/ in your favorites.

Looking for a place to buy the Bind it All or Dream Kuts without going to the Expo? Go to Angels Scrapbook Garden in Mission Viejo. Check them out on line at http://www.angelsscrapbookgarden.com/

I know, a lot of plugs here. Why not! This is my site to share my stuff with you.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Just want to say thanks

2007-02-12T22:01:00.000-08:00

I just want to say THANK You to everyone who is expressing interest in our C2R weekend crop in April. It has been so much fun planning such an event. I love planning things. :) I am looking forward to spending the weekend with my friends and making new friends.
And, if you can not make this weekend, we do plan on hosting more this year. Those dates will be published later.
Keep checking the blog, www.crops2remember.blogspot.com and the website, www.crops2remember.com for more information as it becomes available.
The Scrapbook Expo is this weekend, Feb 16, 17, 18, in Costa Mesa. If you have not been, oh, you should go. So many stores, vendors and just fun stuff. It is a great experience.
Be sure to check out the Angels and Zutter booths for demos with the Bind it All and Dream Kutz. Jessica and Nan, other members of our Fab Four, will be at these booths.
If you are there on Saturday, look for Michele and I in our new C2R shirts handing out flyers.
See you all soon :)

Why didn't I think of that!

2007-02-12T13:53:00.000-08:00

The other morning I was surfing through different web sites getting ideas for our weekend. I looked through a lot of photo galleries too. I saw a few that really caught my eye.

I know when I am cropping, doesn't matter if it is for the evening or over several days, my crop space is quite cluttered. Trying to keep everything I might need on my table, the current layout I am working on, my drink, snack and whatever else happens to land on the table just doesn't give me very much room to work. I am always looking for great storage ideas and time saving ideas.

Then I saw a photo of this........ well it wasn't quite like this, but you can get the idea.

What you see here are 2 expandable collapsible shelves. Yep, they sit right on top of each other. What a great way to free up space on your table. You can keep your tools, stamps, paint, ink, pictures, whatever, right in reach and not taking up too much space on your table. (no, this is not my scrap table, just my kitchen table where I was trying to re-create a scrap are without digging in to my scrap totes for supplies)

I got these shelves at WalMart. They are the medium size and are right around $6 each. There is a large size and a smaller size. I also found them at Target. They are in the area where the kitchen stuff is, like drawer organizers, dish racks, storage shelves.

This is my table when I was on a scrap cruise with Michele on October. I would have a lot more room with the shelves!! Oh, and the picture of me on my blog is also from the cruise, dinner on our first night.

Happy Scrapping!!

Crops2Remember

2007-02-08T11:20:00.000-08:00

Here is out C2R Logo! Cool!

Our email blast has gone out. We have sign ups!

Don't miss out on this fabulous weekend.

All the weekend details are on the website www.crops2remember.com.

I am so excited about this! Could not sleep at all last night as I was busy planning things and making mental notes of things.

Is it April yet??? I need to be croppin' in the OC!

Crops2Remember is live

2007-02-06T07:58:00.000-08:00

Exciting news........Crops2Remember is live. Check out the website at www.crops2remember.com. Click on the Crops2Remember link at the right of my blog to go directly to our blog. Get details about our weekend crop in April. Give me a call or send me an email to sign up. My email is naomicrops2remember@yahoo.com.

Just a few tips

2007-02-05T20:03:00.000-08:00

I just wanted to post a few tips that are time savers that I like to use. These tips help me get my pages done quicker and saves time at the crop rather than having to organize there.

Before I go to a crop, I like to have my pictures all organized. I match up paper, embellishments, ribbon and whatever else I can think of with the pictures. It does not hurt to throw in extras for just in case. The large zip loc bags work great to hold a layout or several. You can label them by month or event or whatever. This is easy to do in front of the TV at night.

Keep one of these bags on hand at the crop to put in the paper and extra embellishments you don't use. It makes it easier to put things away later. I never seem to get them put back when I am scrapping.

I also keep a journal of what I want to accomplish. This is nothing fancy. A few years ago my neighbor gave me a great journal as a gift. It is now my scrap journal. I keep it hand on my desk. When I think of an idea, or a layout, I jot it down. I write in the date of the future crop I am going to be at and list the pages I have ready to go. When I am done, check them off the list. I stick extra pictures on the pages in my journal too. It also comes in handy for keeping track of all those neat scrap sites out there.

Also with my journal, I can keep track of how many pages I got done and who I was scrapping with. I also like to write notes to myself or my goal for a crop.

I mostly print my own pictures. When I am behind I will use a photo site, like Snapfish or Shutterfly. I like them both. Buy a prepaid package and the pictures are cheaper. I have also heard raves about Costco and Walmart one hour photo. Easy to upload pix to and pick up later. I have used Yahoo too, which makes it easy to pick up pictures at Target when I need them right away.

Happy scrapping everyone. Scrappin' in the OC? You should be. Be sure to check out Crops2Remember.

Some of my layouts

2007-02-05T19:37:00.000-08:00

I wanted to post some of my early layouts and some more recent layouts. Lately I have been working on my daughter Evelyn's baby book. It was in the old, what I call peel and stick, photo album. I had been carrying it to crops for years and working on it in bits and pieces. However, last summer I got serious and am determined to finish. I have about 2 more layouts to go.

This is the way I used to scrap. White paper with some color and as many pictures as I could fit on the page. I still take a lot of pictures and like to put a lot of pictures on the page, but have parred it down a bit.

These are some of my more recent layouts. I used the Cricut on some for the titles and extras.

I still like lots of color, but now use color in the background paper and page embellishments.

I have a book for each of my kids, it has their birthdays and special events. Evelyn's now starts with her baby showers. Greg's baby pictures are the next big project. I also have 2 Christmas albums; a school album for both Evelyn and Greg; several vacation albums; an album of our house showing the condition it was when we bought it and through the remodel; an album of our informal wedding pictures and honeymoon; and one or 2 albums for each year beginning with 1998. I also have my own album with photos from my teenage years, high school and some college ;an album for Tom; have done albums for my parents and Tom's parents and many many mini albums.

Future big projects are: Greg's album (he keeps asking to see his); Scotland vacation album; Europe vacation album; and about 6 very dusty childhood albums. Plus the every day stuff (I am current through summer of 2006).

So, I think I have plenty to keep me busy through retirement, whenever that will be :) But I love to scrap. It is my outlet. I can be having the worst day but when I sit down to scrap, I can forget my day and get lost in my pictures and ideas.

I don't have any layouts posted on other websites or entered in contests. That is a goal for another day. My kids and husband love to look through the albums. Whenever we have company over, I conveniently place a scrap book on the coffee table ready for viewing. One day when Tom was home all alone, he said that he went through all the scrapbooks I had done. :) That is my grand prize, just knowing that my family loves to look at my scrap books, well, their scrapbooks, over and over.

Love my Cricut!

2007-02-02T08:24:00.000-08:00

I kept hearing so much talk about the Cricut. So, I heard about a great deal and snatched one up. Evelyn was with me and she picked out a few font cartridges too. Timing was good too as Evelyn was making a photo book for her Mission Report. We set up the Cricut, read the directions, and it was so easy to get started. Evelyn can work it all on her own. She made the titles and some captions inside the photo book.

I took the Cricut with me on a scrapbooking weekend last month and used it all the time too. Making titles, shapes, cute flowers, you name it. I have had the Cricut for a little more than a month and have not encountered any problems. I sure hope they offer a computer connection soon.

Happy Friday!!

Frames and Boxes

2007-02-01T15:47:00.000-08:00

For Christmas I made a lot of frames and wood boxes for gifts. The kids gave them to their teachers. We filled the boxes with goodies. A quick and easy gift to make in bulk and keep on hand when you need a quick gift. Also a great way to use extra paper and embellishments.

Mini Baseball Albums

2007-01-31T13:23:00.000-08:00

I love to make mini albums. They make a perfect gift too. My kids are both in sports and making a mini book of a baseball or soccer season is a fun and easy way to capture the best moments of the games, and share the hundred's of photos that I take each season.

These are 2 books I made for the professional sports photos that are taken each baseball season. Very easy to make. And, with the new Bind it All, even easier to bind now. Check out the link for the Bind it All.

This one shows the great action shots!

Welcome to my Blog

2007-01-31T08:23:00.000-08:00

Hello and welcome to my blog. This blog will be used to post my favorite scrap pages, craft projects and fun stuff I find to post. Of course I had to post a picture of my favorite subject to scrap, my kids.

This is a picture of a project I learned in a class taught by Jessica. What a great idea for those cd's that you can't use or are too scratched to play. I made these for Christmas gifts for my parents, brother and of course one for home.