6 Degrees

And the Big Winner is....

jess.scraps@yahoo.com

YIPPEEEEEEE!!!!

BIG CONGRATS TO JESS! 

She'll be receiving a big ole box from us with all of the product in this post.

PHEW!  Back home last night after a super long week in Chicago at CHA. 

We had a great show, lots of great responses for our new lines.  Now begins the fun part, shipping out all of the orders! 

We're shipping the new products beginning on July 31st, so keep your eyes peeled!

I'll be back tomorrow to post more about the show along with some pics.

EDITED TO ADD:

Looks like today is Jess' birthday!  How fun is that?!

All the Rest...

Fitting that the song on the radio while I type this is I Make You Crazy (or something like that) by Knarls Barkley (or something like that).  Once again Typepad is making me CRAZY trying to add these images.  So excuse the skeewompisness (bet you won't find that word in the dictionary). 

Here are the rest of our non-line related products we're releasing this week!

Clear Stamps 
3 new stamps (in addition to the Party Time stamp that coordinates with Surprise and the Elementary #'s stamp that coordinates with Appleton) and a set of Clear Acrylic Stamping Blocks.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Albums
4 new chipboard albums - Panoramic Window is 5" x10" with 2 cut-out window pages (5 total pages) and Scalloped Circle is 7" (5 total pages)

 

Chipboard Shapes
6 new 6x6 raw chipboard shapes

Alphabet Stickers
2 new styles, each availabe in 4 colors.  These stickers are awesome!  They're 6x9 and come in a tri-fold, you end up with between 175 and 250 stickers in each package!

Time for the BIG MACK DADDY GIVEAWAY!

Okey dokey, this one's BIG! 

I'll draw 1 name, just one.  The BIG winner will receive 1 of everything shown on this post!  That's $82 worth of brand new Scenic Route product, people!

Leave a comment on this post between now and end of day Friday the 18th.  I'll draw the big winner on Monday night when I get back from the show.

Good luck!

5 more Chicken Dinner Winners...

Here are the 5 lucky duck winners of the Sonoma Collections!

Libby
Sharmaine
Abby W.
Theresa
Michelle V.

Wahoo!  Big congrats lucky ladies!

I'll have our 3rd reveal loaded up here in just a few along with the BIG MACK DADDY GIVEAWAY! 

I need 15 more hours...

Sorry to delay things, but I need 15 more hours.  What the hell, as long as I'm asking, I could use more than 24 hours in a day for the next 2 days... I'm just saying.

Not like that will happen, so I'm asking for 15 more hours to post the winners and the REST of our new products we'll be releasing at CHA next weekend.  I'd say check back again tomorrow (Monday) around 11 am MT. 

Why do I need the extra 15 hours?  This morning we woke up bright and early for a 3.5 mile hike up a mountain.  Took us a bit longer than we planned, and we found ourselves running from the hike home for quick showers then to a big annual party on Nick's side of the family.  And we just got home.  And I am beat, beat, beat.

And I still have a bit more work tonight - last minute things to wrap up before I leave for CHA on Tuesday.

So bare with me 15 more hours.  The 3rd and final reveal tomorrow.  More good stuff.  And just you wait for this next round of giveaways, it promises to be the mack daddy of them all!

Surprise in Action!

Here are a few layouts I made for the show using our new Surprise line.

Little Sammy on his 1st bday back in 2001.  Look at those eyes crossed on the cake!

I just love the bright colors in this line.  They work so well for boy and girl layouts!

This is a photo of me on my 3rd birthday.  A LONG, LONG, LONG, LONG time ago.....  ;)   And now my friends, the secret is out.  I know you were all thinking that I was in my early twenties.  Right?  RIGHT?!

Sonoma!

Reveal #2 - Sonoma! 

Take a step back to the past with the sophisticated tones and soft florals of Sonoma.  Rich hues of burgundy, gold and olive combined with a touch of grey make the soothing palette of Sonoma perfect for any occasion.  This delightful line with coordinating stamps, buttons, die cuts, stickers and chipboard is perfect for capturing the memories of the ones you love. 

Sonoma is a full sized line - 12 double sided papers, 3 Scrap Strips, 3 Kraft papers, die cut arrows, die cut journaling labels, die cut alphabets, 2 themed chipboard embellishments, 2 themed sticker sheets, chipboard circles, date label stickers, a Collection  and buttons.  PHEW!  That's a lot of stuff!

Sonoma starts shipping at the end of this month, so keep your eyes peeled!

Click on any of the images for a larger view.  Please excuse the fact that the images aren't lined up all nice and neat - I hate that!  Typepad is causing me to pull my hairs out one by one by one right now.  Things are lined up all nice and neat in Typepad but when I save them they're all skeewompass.  So here's Sonoma in all of its skeewompass glory....  ;)

 

 

Here are some layouts Sarah did digitally using Sonoma

Did you know we name all of our lines after cities?  Any residents of Sonoma, California out there?  That's where the name for this new line comes from.  When Sarah and I were throwing out names, we both had Italian names in mind.  We were worried about the pronunciation (and can you imagine the street names?!  yikes!), so we went with the next closest thing, Northern California wine country.  Did you know we name the papers within each line after streets in the city the line is named after?  Yep.  Sonoma has fun paper names like Olive Ave, Napa Street and Madera Drive.

OK, all of you die hard regulars, you know what comes next - the giveaways!

Leave a comment on this post between now and midnight MT Saturday, July 12th.  On Sunday morning the 13th I'll draw the 5 radom lucky winners AND post one more round of new products.  

And with more products comes more giveaways....   Good luck!

Winner, Winner Chicken Dinner

OK, the prize isn't chicken dinner, it's Surprise instead (much better than a chicken dinner, don't you agree?)

Well, it was either 'Winner Winner Chicken Dinner' or 'Wayne's World. Wayne's World.  Party Time. Excellent'. 

Yah, so I opted for the chicken dinner reference instead.  Super.  Not only have I dated myself with the Wayne's World reference, but I have you cursing me for putting that song in your head.  Oh well.  I'd love to blame this nutiness on the pre-show prep, but no.  This is just me people, just me....

Alrighty then!  Time for some winners!  Big congrats to

Shannon B.

Jen L.

Veronica Melton

.tanya.

Heather S

YIPPEE!!!  These lucky ladies will each receive a Surprise Product Kit.

The rest of you 967 that didn't win, no worries!  Surprise starts shipping the last week of July.  AND I'll have another post up within the hour of another new line, Sonoma!  And with another post and another new line comes another round of giveaways.  Stay tuned!

Surprise!

(Giveaway closed!  I'll be drawing winners shortly.  Check back later today for the reveal of ANOTHER new Scenic Route line, Sonoma, as well another round of giveaways!)

Well, it's Tuesday.  And I said I had a 'surprise' to share on Tuesday. 

I leave for CHA 2 weeks from today.  I figure 2 weeks before the show is a good time to start sharing ONE of our releases for the show.

So, here's Surprise!

It’s party time with

Scenic Route

’s newest mini-line, Surprise.  Vibrant colors combined with whimsical, hand drawn candles, cakes, and party hats create the festive palette of Surprise.  This birthday themed mini-line with coordinating stamps, buttons, die cuts, stickers and chipboard is perfect for capturing your fun birthday memories!  

Surprise has 6 double-sided papers, buttons, chipboard, stickers, alphabet die cuts, die cut shapes, stamps and a Product Kit (shown left).

Click on any of the images for a larger view.

 

Did you know we name all of our lines after cities?  Any residents of Surprise, Arizona out there?  That's where the name Surprise comes from.  Did you know we name the papers witihn each line after streets in the city the line is named after?  Yep.  The papers in Surprise are Skyview Drive, Butterfield Drive, Young Street, Rainbow Road, & Sunny Lane.  Fitting that they have a Rainbow Road for us to name the colorful striped pattern, isn't it!

OK, all of you die hard regulars, you know what comes next - the giveaways!

Did you know Scenic Route is getting ready to celebrate the start of our 5th year in business?  How about we start with a Surprise Product Kit for 5 lucky winners!   

Leave a comment on this post between now and Tuesday, July 8th.  On Wednesday morning the 9th I'll draw the 5 random lucky winners AND post more new products.  

And with more products comes more giveaways....   Good luck!

The Hamster

Didn't know we had a hamster, did you?

Well, not really.  Not of the furry, 4 legged variety, at least.

Here he is, he may look familiar to you.   
The Hamster.

Sam the ham.

Sammy.

Hammy.

Samster.

The Hamster.

He's quite the joker.  Always messing around.

I was outside taking pictures of a few layouts and he decided he needed to be involved.

So here we go.

Sam modeling the new Scenic Route Appleton Die Cut Alphabet.

And no, I did not plan for the green in the die cuts to coordinate with the green on the shirt to coordinate with the green of the grass to coordinate with the green of the bushes, trees, flowers, plants, etc.

It just kind of worked out that way.

He came out after I'd already taken the picture of this layout, so no hamster antics on this one.
Although if you look closely at the picture ON the layout or here, you'll find the The Hamster (aka tattoo artist in training) antics. 

So there you have it.  A little Appleton, with a side of Hamster...

Travel Journal

I posted the start of this travel journal about a month ago.

Managed to complete about 85% of it while I was on my trip.

That was the goal.  Take something with me that was ready to go & just add stuff as I went along.

And that's what I did.

It's 7x 9 inches.  I wanted it to be a little more durable, so I cut apart a heavy plastic Cropper Hopper paper holder for the front and back covers.  The rings are 1 3/4 inches - plenty of room to expand as I went along and add what I needed. 

I tried to spend a few minutes every day adding to it.  That worked some days and not others, but overall I was pretty much able to get the important parts down - the words.

One of the things I focused on was using things I found while I was there.  Touristy things like brochures, maps, postcards, tickets, etc. 

The other thing - not take much else.  No decisions on which product to use where.  That made it easy!  I've learned the hard way that if I really want to scrap a trip, this is the only way I can do it, along the way.

Here's the majority of the rest of the book.  You'll see some blank pages and notes to myself throughout on what I want to add, including more photos - I haven't had much time since I've been home to wrap it up.  We're headed out of town for a few days over the 4th and I'm thinking of taking it with me to finish.

 

 

 

Studio Calico Layouts

Last night was the reveal of the July kits on the Studio Calico site.  Such fun kits!  The site was so busy at reveal time that I wasn't able to view the gallery with all of the design team layouts.  Next on my list of things to do this am, I can't wait to see what everyone did with the kits!  It's always so cool to see how people can take the same product and end up with layouts that look so different. 

Here are the layouts I made with the Via AirMail kit with a few other pieces thrown in.  (You can click on the  layouts if you want a bigger view).  Among other things, the kit included lots of goodies from Making Memories' new Passport line, so the timing of the kit was perfect for me!  Proud to say that I've now scrapped 4 layouts from my Europe trip.  4!  Yeah, still haven't scrapped any layouts from my Australia trip 2 summers ago, but that's another story...

Remember those travel books that I showed at the end of this post?  I cut up one of the pages in the Holland book that talked about the canals in Amsterdam.  Loved that!

Of course I had to do a layout about the red phone booths in England!  This kit included 3 really fun stamps that April and Scarlet had made exclusively for the kit.  I used part of one on the corner of the phone booth and another (a postmark stamp) as the 'o' in London.  Always a fan of Jenni Bowlin's products, especially her shaped papers!

If you know me or have followed my blog for a bit, you know I love flea markets!  On the first day in Amsterdam, Vicki took Mellie and I to a flea market called Albert Cuyp.  Lots of flowers, cheese, jewelry and other booths.  I used the Passport stickers to frame the photos.

Strayed from the travel theme on this one, although not entirely.  (But that's one of the fun things about this kit - it has travel products in it but they can be used for non travel related layouts).  The pictures of Sammy are from a few years ago when we were in Yellowstone.  I used a vintage action on them in Photoshop to make them look old.  Loved the chipboard frames and thought they would make fun frames for photos.  And those Scrapworks letter stickers screamed 'cowboy' to me!

Last but not least, the bicycles!  So, so, so many bicyles in Amsterdam, it's unbelievable.  EVERYONE rides their bikes around town.  It's a really neat thing to see.  I read something that said there are 400,000 bikes in Amsterdam and that up to 25% of them are stolen every year!  As a result, many of the bikes you see are 'beaters' - if you have a nice bike it has a better chance of being stolen.  Every once in a while you see some old bikes painted really fun, funky colors like the aqua and pink ones in this picture. 

Thanks so much to April and Scarlet for asking me to be their guest designer for July!  If you haven't checked out their kits yet, you really should.  They have a good thing going.

Y'all know that Scenic Route is my fave, but it sure is fun to have an excuse to mix in some other stuff every once in a while!

SO!  That's what's been keeping me busy since I've been home from Europe.  That and finishing my travel book (I'll share that tomorrow) and working on some Appleton layouts that I'll share next week AND getting ready for the big summer trade show next month, CHA!  Yikes, I can't believe it's in a few week!

Speaking of CHA, we have a few new lines coming out...  And that means some sneaks coming....  And that means some giveaways coming....

I'm thinking Tuesday just might be a good day for me to start sharing a surprise.  And yes, that was a little hint about one of our new lines.  Any guesses?

The Little St'ink'er

Hey, what do you know.  2 posts in one day!  Couldn't help it.  Seems that our budding Picasso did a little artwork last night.  I took some pics of him last night with his new artwork.  He asked if I was going to post them on my blog and then asked again tonight if I'd posted them yet, so here goes...

Check out those pen marks!  On his forehead, his face, his arm and his leg.  He said he was bored. 

Hello?  What posesses a 7 year old to write all over himself.  Even on the forehead. 

I guess it's better than the wall or the furniture.  Or is it?

Sammy.  Same child that drew on the wall when he was 2.  And blamed it on Nick.  And then blamed it on our cat.  At 2...

Gotta love him!

He spent a half hour in the tub scrubbing it off.

I was wrapping up some projects last night when the 'incident' occurred :)  Last month cute April at Studio Calico contacted me and asked if I would be their Guest Designer for their July kit.  Their kits are so yummy!  Scarlet and April sure have a knack for putting together a great mix of products in their kits.  Super fun!  And they have a fabulously talented design team - their gallery is a great place to spend an extra few minutes, if you have them, and are looking for inspiration.

Tomorrow night is the big reveal on the Studio Calico site when the July kits go up for sale and all of the layouts the design team makes are posted.  It sounds like those gals have quite the party on reveal nights, so if you're looking for something to do, you might check it out.  I'm going to bop over there for a bit.

I'll post the layouts on Saturday that I made using their July kit, Via Airmail; until then here are some peeks.

Inspiration Unlimited

OK, so funny to see the emails that I received based on the last sentence of my last post.  A few guessed I was pregnant.  Ahem, NO!    I'll be 40 in T minus 56 days and counting.  That's a big ole fat stinkin' NO.  No youngin's anywhere in my future.  PHEW!

Actually 2 bits of news to share.  I posted about my sister Laney a while back.  She posted this comment on my blog last night -

        "My Doc said today that the surgery was a success and I feel GREAT for the first time in years! Sorry          for getting personal on Layle's blog but so many of you regulars had such nice comments for me              after Layle blogged about my stroke and back surgery. Thanks to you all."

Seriously.  That is fantastic news.  You can't even imagine what that means to Laney and our family.  I couldn't be happier for her!  I wanted to thank everyone again that left comments here and sent me emails wishing her well.  I forwarded every one to her and she read them when she came home from the hospital; I know they meant a lot to her (and to me!), so thank you!

Okey dokey, on to more news -

  On October 3rd and 4th I'll be doing an event called Inspiration Unlimited along with my friends Teresa Collins and Janna Wilson!

"Need a break?  Looking for something to do with friends, that would include your favorite hobby?  How about some time away for you to be creative, be inspired, and to relax?  Check out what Inspiration Unlimited has planned for you!

Inspiration Unlimited is a scrapbook experience that you won’t want to miss! 

Inspiration Unlimited is a 2 day event filled from beginning to end with mini workshops from our teachers, make and takes sponsored by various scrap booking manufacturers including Teresa Collins Designs, Scenic Route and Fiskars, cropping and 3 wonderful classes taught by our wonderful teachers Teresa Collins, Janna Wilson and Layle Koncar.  The inspiration will be overflowing all weekend long!

Inspiration Unlimited
October 3rd and 4th, 2008
Sunset Station Station Hotel & Casino
1301 West Sunset Road
Henderson, NV  89014
(outside of Las Vegas, Nevada)
*free shuttle from airport to hotel 

Come join us for a weekend you won’t forget! 

So that's it, that's my exciting news.  Tons better than a baby, don't you think?!!  I just heard from Teresa that the event is now over half full in a little over a week.   If you're interested, check it out here.

If you have any questions about the event, let me know.  If I don't have the answers, I'll get them for you.  Ooh, you can't imagine the great things planned for this 2 day getaway!   Having lunch with Teresa later this week to firm up some details, so I'll have more fun info to share next week. 

Europe - Part 2

After spending 8 days in Amsterdam, I flew to Birmingham, England for the 2nd Scrap-A-Ganza.  We drove about an hour out of Birmingham to a charming little town called Stratford Upon Avon.  It's claim to fame is that it's William Shakespeare's birthplace.

This is the house where Shakespeare was born in 1564.  WOW, that's an OLD building.  That's one of the neatest things about traveling in Europe, everything is so old compared to the US.  The windows of this house were really neat, the panes looked so old.

I took quite a few pictures like this of the sidewalks in Stratford Upon Avon.  Many of the sidewalks in the town had funny sayings and quotes written on them.  This one was particularly fitting - the US dollar is really hurting against foreign currency these days.  Everything in England was pretty much twice the price of what it would be in the US.  OUCH!

  
 Of course, no trip to England would be complete without pictures of the red phonebooths!  Did you know theses are threatened with extinction?  With so many cellular phones in existence, there are predictions that their days are numbered.  

The Scrapaganza classes here were quite a bit smaller so I had the opportunity to connect more with the students.  If anyone is out there reading, I'm wildly waving hi!  Truth be told, the lack of language barrier in England made it easier, too :)  Of course, I forgot to take pictures in the classes, once again.  Bad Layle, BAD!  This event seemed to go off without a hitch!  Michelle from Scrapaganza worked her little tail off and it was noticed.  She also had some great helpers - Mariah and Patricia.  They always had the answers and were super!

On Sunday after classes, I hitched a ride into London with 3 of the students - Shari, Davinie and Pauline.  What a hoot these ladies were!  So kind of them to drive me all of the way in to London on their way home (way out of their way).  They were so nice, I felt like I had 3 moms taking care of me.  They even followed me into the hotel to make sure I got checked in ok and then we had a quick cup of coffee before they headed off.

I was scheduled to fly out of Heathrow on Monday at 3:20 and I was bound and determined to see London before I left, so we (me and my trusty sidekick, camera) jumped on the Tube (subway) bright and early Monday morning for a 45 minute ride into the city. 

One of these babies was my home for 2 hours as I did a whirlwind tour of downtown London.  Hyde Park, check.  Westminster Abbey, check.  Picadilly Circus, check.  Trafalgar Square, check. 
Big Ben, check.   Buckingham Palace, check.  (Bachelor fans - remember when Matt took Shayne to meet his parents and he took her on the giant ferris wheel thing?  That's it in the background!  hee hee!).  The timing even worked out as I found myself jumping off of the bus at 11:28 to catch the changing of the guard at Buckingam Palace at 11:30.  

Took this pic standing on the very tips of my toes, with my arms stretched as high as they would reach over my head with the camera pointing into oblivion, craning over the heads of people crammed against the gate.  This was the best shot of about 30 that I took.  Wonder what the guy in front of me would think if he knew I had 7 pictures of the thinning hair on the back of his head?  

(Note to self - next time give self more than 2 minutes if self thinks she wants to actually get a decent shot of the changing of the guard.  Very clearly the other 5429 people there gave themselves more than 2 minutes to get a good spot to see.) 

(Note to self part 2, next time make sure the back of self's hair looks good so that when self has a good spot in front of the gates and ends up in the pictures of the poor sap standing behind self, he'll be looking at his photos when he gets home and think to himself 'boy, I should have been there sooner if I wanted to get some good pictures, but hey, that girl in front of me sure had nice hair..) 

Hustled through Green Park on my way back to the Tube.  It was so cool, chairs just sitting there waiting to be sit on.  What a great way to spend your lunch break, just relaxing in the sun.

Phew.  London in 2 hours.  Yes my friends, it can be done!  Not recommended, but hey, if you only have a few hours, you can at least say you've been there and seen it and have the pictures to prove it ;)

And yes, I still made it to the airport 2 hours early! 

I went junking with a friend on Saturday and look at 2 of the treasures I found! 

These books are dated 1961.  They're part of a larger set, all about travels to different parts of the world.  The lady sold these to me for $.25 each - love bargains!

I'm just about done with my travel book from the trip.  I'll be cutting up different parts of these books (GASP!  yes, I like to cut apart old books to use in layouts and things, don't shoot me!) and using them in my travel book and in layouts from the trip.  I'll share the book on Friday when I have it finished.

I have some fun news I can't wait to share tomorrow!

4 Days Later...

Really.  I had the best intentions of posting on Friday, I really did.  But then life got in the way.  You know how that is.  Busy weekend with Nick and the kids, seeing friends and family and working on some layouts for an awesome kit club with the initials of SC...  More on that next week :)

I taught a few classes at the Memory Works retreat in Layton on Friday.  Darn good thing that everything was taken care of BEFORE I left for Europe.  Thanks so much to Amber and Kevin for inviting Scenic Route to participate in their 1st ever retreat.  I've taught at and attended quite a few different events in my time and I have to say theirs ranks right up there at the top.  So organized, they thought of every little detail from the darling nametags to decorations to fun goodies for the attendees and even a nice gift for all of the teachers that included a card signed by every attendee!   And the attendees were a fun bunch of women!  Awesome event you guys!  I'd post pictures, but I forgot to take them.  DARN IT!  I even put my camera on the table before class so it would remind me to take pics, and I still forgot.  Not the 1st time that happened over the last few weeks...

I had some time to go through my photos from Europe and edit a few.  So here are the 1st round of pics from Amsterdam -

Bikes, bikes and more bikes!  Everywhere you look in Amsterdam, you see bikes.  I read something that said there are over 400,000 bikes in Amsterdam.  Now that's a lot of bikes!  Even more interesting, more than 25% of them are stolen every year, so you see a lot of old junker bikes floating around. 

Amsterdam is built on a ring of canals.  Really pretty!  Vicki, Melodee and I took a boat tour of the canals one day, it was a great way to get a 'fish eye view' of the city.

No shortage of wooden shoes in Amsterdam!  Instead of bringing back the shoes (although they're sold in all different sizes, do people really buy them and wear them?!),  I brought back pictures of them instead.  

Since I spent most of the time in downtown Amsterdam, this is the  sole windmill I saw on the trip. Our host, Heidi from Scrapbook Mate, was kind enough to risk life and limb and pull us over the side of the freeway so I could take a few pictures! 

There were 2 places I was determined to see in Amsterdam - the Red Light District and the Anne Frank House.  I'll spare you the sordid details of the Red Light District, lets just say that everything you've read and heard about it is 100% true.  Just a seedy, seedy place.  If you ever find yourself in Amsterdam though you have to go just to see it and say that you've been there.

On a less seedy note, the Anne Frank house.  I was alone my last day in Amsterdam.  By that time I felt pretty comfortable making my way around the city, so I made myself a map and headed off on foot.  The tour was an incredible experience.  Walking through the building where Anne and 7 others spent 2 years in hiding was something that I can't put into words.  It was very emotional, but I'm so glad I did it.

I'd love to share photos of the Amsterdam Scrap-a-ganza, but I don't have any.  How does that happen?!  Once again, I had my camera with me in class and had every intention of taking photos in at least one of the 9 classes I taught, but nothing.  NOTHING!  Next time I teach I'm going to write a note on my hand to remind me.  And if you happen to be in one of my classes in the future, remind me!

I WILL post about the 2nd part of my trip in England tomorrow (I will, I will, I will).