And once I'm done, I promise to be back with more crafting and Disney planning. I'm really looking forward to having more free time to dedicate to these things. Thanks for checking in, and I hope to see you back here in a a couple of weeks!
Saturday, September 3, 2011
Hiatus
Hello Friends! I wish I could say the blog is on hiatus because I'm going on vacation to Disney, or heading to a crafting retreat. Or, any number of cool, fun things. However, the truth is, the blog is on hiatus while I finish my last undergraduate semester ever. The next ten days or so will involved many long days and late nights finishing big projects and papers and assignments. So while I don't look forward to all of the work and struggle over the next week and a half, I'm so happy that I'll be done with school after this. At least for now. At least until I go back for my graduate degree.
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
Disney & Christmas & Card Making
Last week I talked about the trip the hubs and I booked for Walt Disney World in December. Sadly, the end-of-semester crush of group projects and big research papers and impending finals is putting a crimp in my trip planning. I did, however, get a chance to secure our attendance at the Candlelight Processional, a retelling of the Christmas story with a guest narrator (hello Neil Patrick Harris), a 50-piece orchestra, and a mass choir, all at the American Gardens Theater in Epcot. Hubs made the request to eat at Biergarten Restaurant, so I booked a Candlelight Dinner Package which includes our meal, seats for the Candlelight Processional, and reserved viewing for the IllumiNations: Reflections of Earth. I'm so happy that I was able to get this one thing booked. I cannot wait to be done with this semester and really throw myself into the trip planning and look into more unique Christmas experiences that only Disney can provide.
What else besides Disney could make me be anxious for Christmas? Oh, maybe designing and planning my Christmas cards for this year. So, I was hunting around on the internet a few weeks ago when I stumble upon the newest Tim Holtz stamps and I instantly fell in love with these beauties:
I am so in love with the retro look of these stamps. They're very reminiscent of that Christmas line from the now defunct Daisy D's. The line is so old, I can't find the name or a decent image on Google to share with you. sigh. But I digress: Back to the stamps; I couldn't wait. I couldn't resist. I did not hesitate. I immediately placed an order with Simon Says Stamp and the set arrived in the mail today. I'm thinking of pairing the stamps with either Crate Paper's new Christmas line, Peppermint:
Or, possible October Afternoon's line, Holiday Style. They just released this preview on their blog today!
So tell me, are you thinking about Christmas? When do you start making your Christmas cards?
Tuesday, August 16, 2011
A Hodgepodge of Disney and Scrapbooking or The Stuff this Blog is Made of!
I am so very happy to report that the hubs and I booked a trip to Walt Disney World for early December!
A.) It'll be the first time I've been to the World during the christmastime season since my love for Disney has developed. I so look forward to the amazing decorations done only the way that Disney can do it. And, can you just imagine the pictures I'm going to have to scrapbook!?! Disney/Christmas themed pictures! It's going to put a whole new twist on Disney Scrapbooking. I can't wait!
2.) It's been about a gazillion months (okay, maybe only seven) since I've been to Disney and I'm kinda suffering from some crazy Disney withdrawals. By the time we get there in December it will have been 11 months!! That's just far too long (and secretly I'm trying to figure out if I can make a quick weekend trip down in October. shh, don't tell anyone.)
In light of this wonderful news, I wanted to share some Disney information that I've discovered over the past few days. First, if you're a Annual Pass holder (like me) there are some amazing room discounts available right now up to 40% off. This ended up being the best option for us!
Don't despair though if you're not an AP holder, Disney is also running a promotion where they are offering the Disney Dining Plan free when you book a non-discounted room and ticket package for select arrival dates between October 2011 and March 2012. These are both great promotions that really make it worthwhile to stay on property and really plan an Disney vacation sure to loaded with some amazing memories.
While I could go on and on about the ins and outs of planning a vacation at the Walt Disney World Resort (and maybe I will in some future posts) right now I want to leave you with the simplest advice I can give: RESEARCH!
I'm continually amazed at how little guests know when they arrive at Disney considering the amount of information readily available on the internet. Two of my all time favorite sources for information are AllEars.net and the Dis Boards. I use these boards to flesh out my itinerary and get answers to questions I may have. I find the official Walt Disney World website cumbersome to navigate and only use it to book vacation elements and confirm information after I have researched on the other sites.
The first, AllEars.net is a great resource for planning every detail of your vacation. It offers information in a very organized way and is easy to navigate. You can find attendance records, current ticket prices and park hours, full resort information and restaurant information including menus updated regularly! This site is a wealth of knowledge that is necessary for the novice and acts as a trusty resource for the veteran.
The Dis Boards is also a great place to get real life information and experiences. This is a welcoming and friendly message board forum where you can get answers to many of the questions you may have about anything pertaining to Disney.
These two sites are my go-to resources when planning any of my Disney vacations. So, in the weeks and days leading up to our December trip, I'm going to be spending a majority of my time on these boards to plan an unforgettable Christmas trip to Disney. That is of course, when I'm not busy scrapbooking one of my other magical trips. Here's another layout from the 1st anniversary trip the hubs and I took in January 2009.
We've been talking about this for quite some time and now we're that much closer to making it a reality. This is very exciting for a couple of reasons:
2.) It's been about a gazillion months (okay, maybe only seven) since I've been to Disney and I'm kinda suffering from some crazy Disney withdrawals. By the time we get there in December it will have been 11 months!! That's just far too long (and secretly I'm trying to figure out if I can make a quick weekend trip down in October. shh, don't tell anyone.)
In light of this wonderful news, I wanted to share some Disney information that I've discovered over the past few days. First, if you're a Annual Pass holder (like me) there are some amazing room discounts available right now up to 40% off. This ended up being the best option for us!
Don't despair though if you're not an AP holder, Disney is also running a promotion where they are offering the Disney Dining Plan free when you book a non-discounted room and ticket package for select arrival dates between October 2011 and March 2012. These are both great promotions that really make it worthwhile to stay on property and really plan an Disney vacation sure to loaded with some amazing memories.
While I could go on and on about the ins and outs of planning a vacation at the Walt Disney World Resort (and maybe I will in some future posts) right now I want to leave you with the simplest advice I can give: RESEARCH!
I'm continually amazed at how little guests know when they arrive at Disney considering the amount of information readily available on the internet. Two of my all time favorite sources for information are AllEars.net and the Dis Boards. I use these boards to flesh out my itinerary and get answers to questions I may have. I find the official Walt Disney World website cumbersome to navigate and only use it to book vacation elements and confirm information after I have researched on the other sites.
The first, AllEars.net is a great resource for planning every detail of your vacation. It offers information in a very organized way and is easy to navigate. You can find attendance records, current ticket prices and park hours, full resort information and restaurant information including menus updated regularly! This site is a wealth of knowledge that is necessary for the novice and acts as a trusty resource for the veteran.
The Dis Boards is also a great place to get real life information and experiences. This is a welcoming and friendly message board forum where you can get answers to many of the questions you may have about anything pertaining to Disney.
These two sites are my go-to resources when planning any of my Disney vacations. So, in the weeks and days leading up to our December trip, I'm going to be spending a majority of my time on these boards to plan an unforgettable Christmas trip to Disney. That is of course, when I'm not busy scrapbooking one of my other magical trips. Here's another layout from the 1st anniversary trip the hubs and I took in January 2009.
What about you? Have you been to Walt Disney World before? Have you been there during the Christmas season? Share your favorite Disney Christmas memory!
Saturday, August 13, 2011
Winner!
Thank you to everyone who came by to comment on the last post. I enjoyed reading all of your comments and was a bit surprised to find that we all pretty much are loving the same things out of CHA this summer. Without further ado, the winner of the August More Patterned Paper add-on is: Pegg!
Pegg said: I love your picks! I have the same favorites. I'm also really looking forward to Crate Paper Random collection which everybody seems to love!
Congratulations Pegg. Please email me with your full name and address at mousepaperscissors@gmail.com so that I can get your prize sent out to you!
Tuesday, August 9, 2011
My CHA Picks
I have to admit that I dream of living the creative life. One where I get to scrapbook weekly and take classes and go to conventions and conferences. How sweet it would be to go just once to the big one: the Craft and Hobby Association Show!
The summer CHA show was last month was in Chicago. So close, yet so far away. I spent most of the time glued to twitter to keep up to date on all of the new goodies being debuted at the show. Not being there and getting all my information second hand makes it slightly difficult to put a list of favorites together, but I'm going to try anyhow! In no particular order, here are all of the yummy goodies that I just can't wait to get my hands on:
1. Amy Tangerine for American Crafts
First up is the new Amy Tangerine line. The fabulous Amy Tan has paired with American Crafts to bring us a fun, bright line of double-sided patterned papers, fabric 12x12 cardstock sheets, new Thickers, a cool mini-album, some mixed tape, and a ton of coordinating embellishments. I want the whole line, but I especially love the 12 x 12 fabric paper, Falling for You. The precious hearts remind me of a top I used to wear in elementary school.
I'm mostly coveting the new Mister Huey colors. All of them.
And finally, these nifty asterisk wood veneers!
I'm really digging the bright colors in Head over Heels and all of the office/ledger type prints in Memorandum. Another great thing about Lily bee are the coordinated alphabet sheets. Eight matching mini alphas to go with each line! I own two of their older sets and I LOVE the size of these cardstock stickers.
That's the round up of what I'm most excited about coming out of the Summer CHA show. Since you made it to the end, you've earned a chance at a giveaway! In a hazy midnight ordering frenzy, I ended up with two More Patterned Paper add-ons from the August Studio Calico kit Boardwalk. Therefore, I'm giving one of the paper packs away. This includes the patterned papers from Crate Paper designed exclusively for Studio Calico! I haven't opened the paper and I'll send it to you in it's original brown bag sealed with a trademark SC sticker round. Here's what the papers look like:
Leave a comment here letting me know what you're most looking forward to getting your hands on from the Summer CHA show and I will randomly select a winner. You have until 10:00 p.m. EST on this Friday, the 12th.
The summer CHA show was last month was in Chicago. So close, yet so far away. I spent most of the time glued to twitter to keep up to date on all of the new goodies being debuted at the show. Not being there and getting all my information second hand makes it slightly difficult to put a list of favorites together, but I'm going to try anyhow! In no particular order, here are all of the yummy goodies that I just can't wait to get my hands on:
1. Amy Tangerine for American Crafts
First up is the new Amy Tangerine line. The fabulous Amy Tan has paired with American Crafts to bring us a fun, bright line of double-sided patterned papers, fabric 12x12 cardstock sheets, new Thickers, a cool mini-album, some mixed tape, and a ton of coordinating embellishments. I want the whole line, but I especially love the 12 x 12 fabric paper, Falling for You. The precious hearts remind me of a top I used to wear in elementary school.
I also really, really want to get my hands on these amazing mixed tapes!
And finally, this super simple mini album...
2. Studio Calico
Next on my list is my current scrapbook crush, Studio Calico. This monthly kit club turned manufacturer has three new releases: Classic Calico, Autumn Press, and Memoir. I plan on trying to exercise restraint. Especially after I ended up with both of their previous lines, Countryside and State Fair. Anyhow, here's the full catalogue:
I'm mostly coveting the new Mister Huey colors. All of them.
The houndstooth and grid background stamps, as well as the I love books stamp set. These are actually the first retail stamps to be offered as part of the new collaboration with Hero Arts!
This pretty amazing ampersand mask!
And finally, these nifty asterisk wood veneers!
I'm going to be really, really selective about the paper so that I don't buy three of every sheet!
3. Lily bee Design
Lily bee Design has just recently shown up on my radar and boy do I love them! From what I can tell, they introduced four new lines:
That's the round up of what I'm most excited about coming out of the Summer CHA show. Since you made it to the end, you've earned a chance at a giveaway! In a hazy midnight ordering frenzy, I ended up with two More Patterned Paper add-ons from the August Studio Calico kit Boardwalk. Therefore, I'm giving one of the paper packs away. This includes the patterned papers from Crate Paper designed exclusively for Studio Calico! I haven't opened the paper and I'll send it to you in it's original brown bag sealed with a trademark SC sticker round. Here's what the papers look like:
Leave a comment here letting me know what you're most looking forward to getting your hands on from the Summer CHA show and I will randomly select a winner. You have until 10:00 p.m. EST on this Friday, the 12th.
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