Web Site Is Up

Man, my head hurts from all the banging on the desktop I’ve been doing   Well, not really but it should be.

Check out my new website - Message In A Fold.

There are some glitches in it that I’ll be working to correct over the next couple days.  Not all pages have the “Back”, “Next”, “Home”, and “Top” buttons active.  Some pages just have the links but no buttons.

I’ve created this website for “Newbie’s” so most of the information will be stuff you already know…..Shelly, Lynn, Maureen, Jann, and Nancy.  I still have to add the “Inks” in the “Glossary” section and probably a few more things.  But I have to get the buttons working and find out where my “Join My Team” page went.  It bailed on me somewhere. Also, there are a couple of other pages that have bailed on me.  The buttons across the top for “Scrapbook Layouts” and “Creating Cards” you will get messages they don’t exist.

You can click around and check it out.  Let me know what you think.  I’m sure you will think of something I’ve missed so I can add it to my list.

I still have to take my Final Exam for this “Creating Web Pages” class.  Think I will do well on it.

Pati and I spent all morning going around to the two bead stores in town.  We hit Big Lots, Hobby Lobby, Tuesday Morning, and Michaels.  She finally found stuff she wants to work with for the items Maureen has “Commissioned To Be Created”   She’s off on her own now going back to Wal-Mart and maybe Micheals for a couple things she forgot to get.  Time for her to get out and wonder around our town unaided.

Joe and Les will be delivering in Romulus, Michigan tonight.  They picked up two car hauler tractor trailers on Wednesday in Fort Worth, Texas and are delivering them in Romulus.  They will fly out of Romulus tomorrow morning and be in Dallas, Texas , about 10 a.m. tomorrow, to do this all over again.  Joe would much rather be the pilot than a passenger (although he’s never driven one of those huge passenger planes) so he’s not looking forward to getting on the airplane.  As far as I know, this is Les’ first airplane ride so he is “Stoked” about flying.  God Speed to both of our men and prayers for their safety are ongoing.

Pati is excited.  She’ll get to see her ‘Sweetheart” tomorrow night before our “Road Warriors” get back on the road.  Both will be home in time for Christmas.  Joe has more turkey and dressing planned for the days feasting so he will be in the kitchen on Christmas day.  If Pati and Les will be here then, she will get to help him out in the kitchen if she wants to.

It is such a thrill listening to her talk about what she can do in jewelry making.  Some doors have banged open and others are ajar for her.  Wheels are spinning in her head and I get to watch it all happen.  Yippee Skippy!!

Everyone have a great weekend.  I’ll be spending mine catching up on all the emails I’ve neglected, new YouTube subscribers, and checking on Facebook to see how my Arizona daughter, Carissa, or as I call her “Little Mommy” is doing.  Plus getting my website fixed.

Right now….I have no plans on taking on that kind of a task again anytime soon in the near future.  I’m happy with what I’ve learned but what a chore that has been!!!  Satisfying?  Yes.  Difficult?  Yes.  Worth the $79 for the class?  Yes.  Would I recommend this class to anyone else?  Yes, I would.

Okay, off to get some adjustments made before I get really “googly eyed”.

What Day Is It?

Seriously.  I’m so lost.  I just talked with my California daughter and she had to tell me it was Thursday.

I’m losing my mind.  The train has derailed and the wheels are off the track!

I really need to take a closer look at my schedule and fine tune it.  I did really good on Monday.  Spent the whole day doing paperwork and slogging through the month of January.  It is nearly finished and ready for the storage bin.  A bank statement to go through and reconcile on the computer and that month will be totally done.  It felt so good to get that far.

Late Monday night I video taped the cutting directions of papers for cards I would be creating on Tuesday.  I think that is when the train wreck started to happen.  Tuesday I spent the day (after errands) creating Christmas cards and videoing the process for some “How To” items.  Later in the day, near evening I began the process of transferring the footage from my digital recorder to the computer.

The cutting directions were put up on YouTube.  Working until pretty late in the evening Tuesday night I had the card tutorials done.

Yesterday I had plans to take my neighbor’s daughter on a trip to an art gallery here in town.  Just the two of us.  I’ve thought about becoming a “Big Sister” for several years and have not done anything about it.  This young girl is seven, has a younger sister that follows her around everywhere and some friction is being noted.  The younger sister comes to visit me from time to time.  I don’t think it is my company she desires, or my old “granny” ways.  She wants to be here when my Cuckoo Clock goes off.  She is funny.  She’ll hang around and converse with me, all the while she darts from the kitchen to the living room and over to the cuckoo clock ever hopeful it will hurry up and come out.  When it does she is “outta here” and on her way back home.  Except to stop by the bag of candy I have on my freezer and take a piece before she exits the door.

The older sister would accompany her from time to time in the beginning but has refrained from doing so recently.  I can see the friction building between them and have personal knowledge of disliking a sister because of the perceived notion of favoritism.

Unfortunately, that trip has been put on hold until some time next week.  They have lost their grandmother recently and the entire household had been turned upside down from it.  The best I could do was send over some homemade Chicken Noodle soup when they returned home from all the funeral preparations and burial.

I did no paperwork yesterday.  It was spent getting videos uploaded to YouTube, a very time consuming process, and updating my other blog – Message In A Fold – with a card I’ve made and some information on a product I used on it.  When the videos were done uploading so I could link them in my blog it was pretty late last night when I finished.

Today, I’ve been redoing my website – Message In A Fold – and I still need to work on my Stampin’ Up! website.  What in the world have I been thinking?  I know that developing a business is challenging and time consuming, but seriously, I’m spending more time on this computer getting my business out on the internet.

I would appreciate any suggestions or input you might have on my website.  I’ve tried to strip it down to the bare essentials and be more reader/user friendly than the gibberish I’ve put up on it before.  Maybe I’ve stripped it down too far.

I’m trying to find the “happy medium” between TMI – too much information – and allowing a visitor to stop in and feel free to look around without feeling like they are being chased by a rabid sales person.

Well, I’m off to do some work on my Stampin’ Up! website now.

Drat…It’s Monday

I’m delaying the inevitable.  There are so many things I’d rather be doing than starting on my paperwork.  A trip to Hobby Lobby for some spritzer bottles would be one of the things I want to do.  Read a book and recline in my chair would be another.  Veg out in front of the television would also be a good way to spend the day.  Or, how about a nap.  They all sound good.

Discipline.  Doing what I don’t want to do but needs to be done.  Get started on a dreaded project and it will get done quicker.  The “Peter Principle” states that “The time alloted to do a task expands exponentially to fit the time frame” – or something like that.  What this means is that my three week job of sorting, sifting, shredding, filing and QuickBook entries can be done in the three weeks or drag on until December 31, 2010….whichever I allow it to do.

Sitting at this computer and working on this blog is another thing that will delay this project…but I want you all to feel sorry for me and see all the work I have to do

 

Picked up our mail

Our Postal workers deserve to be recognized for the extra work they do for us.  Most other Postal workers would send all the mail back to where it came from if the box is not emptied in a timely manner.

I so appreciate our Postal workers and try to give them a “goody” of some kind around the winter holidays.  This year I’ve got to figure out a good way to thank them for what they do.

Since we are hardly home during the year, they fill the box then remove it and bundle it and put it in a large packages box to hold for us until we get home to empty it.  This is today’s loot and both of the boxes are cleared out.  Hopefully they won’t grumble too much when they get to our mail this week.  It will be emptied on a daily basis now for a change.

 

Last foray to the mail box

The last time we were home and emptied the mail boxes, I went through and got the bills that need to be paid and took them with me.  What remains on the counter top are settlement sheets, bank statements, and general mail that does not need immediate attention.

I have a good case of the “piles” when I get home for the winter.  Nearly every flat surface has some kind of a pile on it that will need my attention at some point.

All the crap that comes in the mail drives me nuts.  Grocery store flyers that have expired, a little local newspaper that everyone gets in their box, politicians hawking their skills and wanting our votes are tucked in the box.  Plus Joe gets a lot of magazines.  Office supply catalogs clog up our box too.

 

IKEA bag

Trip envelopes

I sure wish this IKEA bag had more fun stuff in it than trip envelopes, settlement sheets, Corporate Lodging receipts, bank statements, grocery slips, electric bills, mortgage payments, Stampin’ Up! order invoices, and a myriad of other mail detritis that is part and parcel to my bookkeeping stuff.

Looks daunting.  My recliner and a good book is really beginning to look enticing right now.

 

Printed email receipts

Stuff I've put off

My well used printer has Corporate Lodging receipts printed out from my email account, receipts from Stampin’ Up! for my monthly website payments, and any payments made online during a bit of time at home, as well as any online bank transfer of money from one account to another.

Whoever said that the computer age would do away with paper clutter had to have been taking a few tokes from the wacky weed.  I have paper clutter up the wazoo.

 

My desk

I have paper piles on my desk that will need to be sorted out and cleared off before I can begin making my huge mess.  I have no place to write anything or to stack stuff for the computer entry process.

I think I might just turn the television on and watch some stuff that has been recorded while we were gone.  The new episodes of “Medium” or “Ace of Cakes” sound good about now.

Maybe I’ll hire someone to do all this for me.  No, then I would have to explain how I want it all done, sorted, filed, and entered.  Might as well just do it myself, it would go faster that way.  Anal control freak – me.

 

 

Previous years records

Filed neatly

Giving the task to someone else to do would deprive me of the satisfaction of knowing that everything is in the current years boxes and can be accessed easily.

All these boxes, I know I only need to keep the past seven years of records.  But to lift the lids on these and see everything properly done is satisfying to me.  Crazy lunatic I am but I know that all the mess I have in the piles and piles, bags, boxes, and flat surfaces will finally be reduced to a plastic bin.

Don’t pay much attention to the mess on our bed.  I’ve had to go through the suitcase and take out all my clothes and load it with Joe’s clothes.  Can’t have him pulling out a pair of my underwear instead of his when he changes clothes, now can we.  It would be funny, and might be good blog fodder

 

My trusty timer

If I’ve learned anything from Flylady, it is “You can do ANYTHING in 15 minutes”.  So…I’ll set the timer for 15 minutes and sort through the IKEA bag.  The next 15 minutes will be going through the bundled mail and shredding all the junk mail and throwing away all the flyers and newspapers that have expired.  The next 15 minutes will be to gather up all the settlement sheets and bank statements and getting them in date order.

Tomorrow, I’ll let you know of my progress, or lack of it.  Maybe making myself accountable with this blog and adding photos of my work in progress will keep me on task – or not.  I do have my “Carrot and Stick”.  Get some work done today and I can play in my craft room tomorrow

Hope you guys all enjoy a good week.  It will be windy here today and a bit chilly.  A good day to stay indoors and do some work.

Stamp That? blog

I’ve got it done….I think.  A separate blog for my Stampin’ Up! tutorials and sales pitches.

My first blog entry is here, so make a note (where ever you do that) to stop by and check on what I’m doing with Stampin’ Up! at http://www.messageinafold.wordpress.com

When I first became a demonstrator there were, and still are, hundreds of thousands of demonstrators.  Some of them have stirred things up with their overt practices of promoting non Stampin’ Up! items.

The literature I read given me by Stampin’ Up! declared that nearly all people that come to Stampin’ Up! have come from working in paper crafting and have items already in their homes they have used and love.  When the upset came last year it was because of quite a few demonstrators that, shall we say, played both sides against the middle – and had been for quite a long time.

There were blogs and videos all over the internet from demonstrators that would promote papers, punches, and other items from craft/hobby stores as well as their Stampin’ Up! products.  It got to the point that some of the demonstrators were bashing Stampin’ Up! products, or lack of product lines, and actively telling their audiences to go to such and such store or website to purchase a product.

I understand why Stampin’ Up! chose to take a stand as they did in this regard.  Demonstrators sales were being hurt by these other demonstrators.  Now, really, you and I both know that if you could purchase a 3/4 inch circle punch from your local craft store at $8.95 or purchase the same sized punch from Stampin’ Up! for $5.95 plus shipping and handling you would choose the craft/hobby store punch.  I would myself.  I can get the punch today, within the hour and begin using it that same day.  Not have to wait until a demonstrator put my order in and it be shipped, then wait for it to be delivered to my home.

The basic premise of Stampin’ Up! is a gathering of friends and like minded women to spend time together in a creative environment and learn a new technique, see a new product, and place an order for the convenience factor.  There are some people that have demanding jobs and family obligations that limit the time they can spend in a craft/hobby store so ordering in the comfort of their home or at a class is better for them.

My whole problem with the situation sprang from the fact that I had next to no Stampin’ Up! products to promote.  When I wanted to create something I have a plethora of papers, embellishments, and stuff to create anything I want, I just didn’t have the Stampin’ Up! products and I felt gagged and tied.  Feared that the Stampin’ Up! Police would be knocking at my door and take me to an overly brightly lit room and work me over with a rubber hose.  Now that won’t happen but I just did not feel right and I had a rebellious stripe a mile wide.

Over the past two years (nearly 2 years now) I’ve acquired quite a stash of products.  I’m at another wall though.  The papers I have in my stash  are out dated and are no longer sold.  Papers don’t matter though, it is the creative process and pushing the boundaries that inspire me.  I’ll use the older papers in my creations, purchase newer papers – so they can become obsolete – and go about my business.

Now, as if I don’t already have my nose in the computer or my iPhone enough, I’ve got two blogs to manage, a website to get updated later in October, four email accounts to keep track of and my crazy “Day Job”.  Oh, and I have another YouTube channel too.  It is “messageinafold” and will deal strictly with Stampin’ Up! stuff I’ve created.

A Book For Les

Inside pages

Joe and I have used sticky notes, small legal pads, letter size legal pads, scraps of paper, and just about all other forms of paper to keep track of our load numbers, the truck VIN numbers, name and address of the pick up point and delivery point, total miles of the trip, how much we get paid for the miles, and amounts of ComCheck advances from the companies we drive for.  Not to mention the state mileage notations when we enter each state, where we end our day and the mileage, and each weigh station we have to stop at for permits.

Joe spent a weekend in his office creating this form to contain all the information in one easy to get to place.  This is so much easier than flipping pages on a note pad to find where we made our last entry and tearing off the pages without destroying them in the process.

I’ve made books for both Joe and I for his really great pages.  I have to make one for Les to have and start him out right.

Regular cardboard from a box

The pages measure 4-1/4 x 7.  I have some cardboard box lids that I’ve lopped off from a box.  The sides are stored away for use on some other project.

The cardboard measures 4-3/4 x 7-1/2.  This will give a 1/4 inch reveal around the pages.

I’ve had to use my Tonic Studios guillotine trimmer to cut the cardboard.  This stuff is pretty thick and is a bit difficult to cut with my rotary trimmer or my sliding blade trimmer.

I had a bit of shifting while I cut through this cardboard but not so much that it made the pieces overly wonky.  You can use a good sturdy pair of scissors to cut the cardboard, just take care while cutting so you don’t bend the book back and front pieces.  Any bends or creases you make in the back or front will remain there and the strength will be iffy.  You can also use a craft knife or box cutter and a ruler.

K&Company Life's Journey paper

I had bought this paper from Michaels early this spring to use on the bulletin boards I made.  Looking through the pad I tried to find something that was masculine and appropriate for the book.

There are two papers in the pad that have the Canadian map and the US map on each page.  I cut them both up to have Canada on one cover and the US on another cover.

Les is going to be doing some traveling and I felt a map paper would be great for this application.  Besides, I don’t know him very well and what his likes and dislikes are so I stayed away from personal stuff.  Just safer to generalize .

Each of the two papers were cut at 5-3/4 x 8-1/2.  This is one inch larger around all sides of the cardboard.  Enough extra to pull up on the backside of each piece while making the covers.

If you have not made a book before, you can click on this link and it will take you to one of my posts long ago on making a journal from cardboard scrap.  As far as glue goes.  Any liquid white glue will work in this process.  I prefer Club Scrap’s Bookbinding glue when I do this kind of a project.  I have no idea if it can be ordered outside the US or not.  So, any liquid white glue will work.  Even Mod Podge will do the trick for adhering the paper to the cardboard.  It might not be as flexible as the bookbinding glue is but it will still work.

Inside cover pieces

The inside pieces, these will cover the cardboard on the inside after you have glued the outside covers in place.  These pieces measure 5-1/4 x 8.

In looking through the K&Company paper pad I  had to decide between pages with lots of addressed post cards, floral pages, and brightly colored papers.  These pages with really old newspaper advertisements I thought would be just the right thing.  Nothing too feminine and off the wall graphics.

Some of the ads have addresses in New York, and Chicago so I thought since he will be traveling to far flung places then this paper would fit well.  His first trip out will be from Oklahoma City to somewhere in Illinois.  I don’t have the details yet.

Line drawing map of the US

I purchased this stamp from Michaels in 2003 on one of my binges.  Got it home and thought “What the heck were you thinkin’?” .  It has been moved from one storage place to another.  I had not quite got myself to throw it out or sell it on eBay.

I’ve stamped it on some Whisper White card stock with Basic Black ink.  Not wanting to take the chance of the ink smearing, as most of the time happens with me, I put the heat tool to it for a bit to make sure the ink was dry before I did anything to it.

I used some Tattered Angels glimmer mists that I purchased from Roxyfur.  A yellow, green, and walnut were used in random places on the whisper white and then I used the heat tool on it to dry the glimmer mist.

Club Scrap stamp

This is a Club Scrap stamp from the Road Trip 2005 collection.

Les will be doing some traveling in a regular vehicle between jobs.  I don’t have a stamp with the semi truck so this will have to do.  He and Pati will have things to tell each other during the course of the day about their adventures so I felt this stamp was still appropriate.

Again, it is stamped on Whisper White card stock using Basic Black ink.  I heat set the ink once more so that I did not smear it.  After it was dry I cut out each of the tags and sprayed them with the Tattered Angels glimmer mists I used on the US map.

After spraying I used the heat tool to make sure the papers were dry.  I debated with myself about putting brads in the corners, writing on the tags, or doing anything other than the glimmer mists.  After about 20 minutes of thinking on this I gave up and just left them alone.

Hey, I won’t tell Les he has a book with glitter on it.  He’ll have to find out on his own.

Finished Front

The most trickiest part of making this book, other than what to do with the tags I just mentioned, was getting the holes lined up that I had made on the inside sheets and the covers I had done with the Bind It All.

Since I don’t use it very often then I forget how to make sure the covers and the inside pages are all lined up correctly.

The next problem is that I never remember which way to put in the binding wires.  I usually have to throw out one set I’ve made and closed before I get it right.  Even with the pictures they supply with the machine I still get it backwards.

As you can see, I drew lines on the US map.  Sort of travel points in a cross country journey.  They will get to see quite a few places on this map before the two weeks are up.

Inside cover and Les' name in the book

This is the inside of the front cover.  It finishes the piece nicely and makes it look more professional.

Joe created a cover page with Les’ name on it so he will have a personalized book that has been made especially for him.

Joe was so pleased with himself when he made his book pages and mine.  Each of them have our names in them so we don’t get them mixed up and fight over who’s book is who’s.  HA!  I made Joe’s red, since that is his favorite color, and I have a blueprint sort of print on the paper and some decorative tags that mention tools.  Mine is a dark blue with pillar motifs on it.

Now none of us can get them mixed up with each others and end up squabbling over them

Back inside cover

This is the back inside cover of Les’ book.

I’m pretty proud of how it came together.  It is sturdy and he can fold the book open all the way and turn it back on itself to write on only one side.

You know how that goes when you have a book that opens flat.  Trying to write on the left side if you are a “righty” makes you adjust the book in wonky ways to write in it.  Same goes for “lefties” when they try to write in books that don’t open out of the way.

That Bind It All and I need to become more familiar with each other.  More to the point, I need to use it more often so I know how it works with more confidence than I have right now.

Back of the book

And this is the back of the book with the other two tags glued on.  I put one of my Stampin’ Up! mailing labels on just in case someone asks “Where did you get that book?” and he can be an inadvertent advertiser

Should you consider making a book for yourself or for someone else, whether it is a journal, art journal, or a diary of sorts, you will need to consider how often the book will be used and how it will be handled.

I’ve used some pretty dense card stocks in these books.  They will be tossed up on dashboards, crammed in briefcases, shoved in purses, dropped many times, and will get wet from the rain and snow.

If you make one of these books and you are sure it will not be as abused as we treat ours you can use a thinner decorative paper.  Care will need to be taken when using thinner papers as you press down the corners of the top flaps and adhere to the inside of the book.  Your corners could tear with all the mashing, pushing, and rubbing you will be doing to get the wet glue to adhere to the cardboard.  Some papers get even less stable when a liquid glue is used and they tear easily.

This is a fun project to do and it can be personalized in so many ways.  Something beautiful can be created from trash cardboard.  With all the stuff going on about recycling and cutting down your carbon footprint you can be green and make others “green with envy” when they see what you have created out of junk cardboard.

Whole Lotta Scrap

Yesterday I did my very first interview.  Whole Lotta Scrap is a “Scrapbook and More” store located in Norman, Oklahoma where I live.

I found this store in March when I was out on errands.  A business located in the same shopping center is Budget Box and Bag where I purchase all of my boxing and mailing supplies to send out my creations to family.  Getting ready to enter the store – Budget Box and Bag – I happened to look down the sidewalk and I saw a sign that raised my pulse rate.  “Scrapbook”.  What?!!!  A scrapbook store in my own back yard, well practically.  I had to stop in there and see what this store held.

Having a lot of projects to prepare for and think about Michaels and Hobby Lobby were on my errand list for the day.  I was going to check this new place out first.

Whole Lotta Scrap, Norman, Oklahoma

Upon entering the store I heard women laughing and talking.  At the back of the store there is a short wall, guess it is called a “knee wall” in the construction lingo.  Beyond that wall voices were heard and laughter rang out.  There were several people wandering the racks of papers and delectable embellishment items.  Some came from behind the wall, selected an item and scurried back.  Most of the fun was happening behind that wall and I just had to come further in the store.

A call of “Welcome” reached me as the person at the register helped a couple customers while greeting me.  That was not out of the norm in my ventures into the local businesses here in town.  Most places acknowledge your presence, if only fleetingly.

As I walked around the store and looked at the displays of paper, tools, embellishments, and what not, I had an experience like no other.  EVER!!!  At one display I saw packs of metal, like aluminum.  When I reached to investigate the thickness of the metal a woman stood next to me and began telling me the things I could do with the product.  She was so knowledgeable about it I asked if she were a Rep for the company.  No, she was there at a crop and a customer of the store.  The same thing happened as I looked at papers on display, another customer of the store at the crop gave me pointers and tips about the product I was eying.

These women zoomed around the store, gathered in knots to discuss a product, separated and either went back behind the wall or further out in the store.  The place was like a bee hive of activity.  Laughter rang out from every corner of the store.  Conversation was carried out in bursts over the displays, across aisles, and some shouts were sent to the back of the store.  It was around 11 in the morning while all this was going on.

When I left the store with my purchases I knew I’d be back again.  And I have.  Several times.  During my subsequent visits, at different times of the day, I was greeted again by many women and welcomed in.  Voices and laughter coming from behind the wall, offers of help or suggestions were given by the store customers.  I had no idea which of the women owned the store but I began to feel that this was a place to be.

Whole Lotta Scrap

Through my ventures to the store I did finally meet the owner.  A wonderful woman, also named Leslie, that has helped me in many ways.  She searched her store to find sewing related items for me to complete my “Quilting Mini” for a friend of mine.  Leslie’s staff has helped me to find products and papers for my granddaughters “Friend Mini” and my son-in-law’s “Bulletin and Wipe Off Boards”.

Through my YouTube videos I have gained many friends.  One such friend suggested that I try to hit the scrapbook stores in my journeys and do a video to let people know what is out there.  On one of my visits to Whole Lotta Scrap I asked Leslie if she would like to be interviewed for my YouTube Channel.  She agreed and this is the result of that visit.

Check these videos out to see for yourself what fun this place is.  Whole Lotta Scrap Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3.

While you are searching around, check out their website.  Sign up to be on their mailing list, get information about upcoming classes and new products arriving.  At this point, right now, the website does not process orders but it is in the works.  If you need a product and can’t find it at your local craft store, give Whole Lotta Scrap a call at 405-310-3400 and if they have it they will ship it to you.

Product line full collections they carry are – My Little Yellow Bicycle and Bo Bunny.  And don’t forget Creative Imagination.

Whole Lotta Scrap – 526 West Main Street, Norman, Oklahoma 73069.  Traveling to Norman and want to be in on the fun?  Take I-35 (North or South)  to Exit 109, the East Main exit.  Proceed east on Main Street to Flood.  One block further east of Flood on Main is a traffic light, turn into the shopping center on your right (south side of the street) and tell them “The Other Leslie Sent You”.

Attended My First Meeting

My 15 minutes of fame

Having spent the last nine years on the road with my husband moving trucks across country, getting to know my neighbors has been a bit difficult.

Not being home long enough for any one time to get out and knock on doors I don’t know my community very well.

When I decided to get off the road and let my “passion” be my job I have found it to be a challenge.  Not impossible, just a challenge.

I’ve gone door to door in my immediate community armed with a brochure and tidbits of information all neatly tucked in the clear bags that hang from door knobs.  I’ve knocked on doors along my street and spoke with whomever answered the door.  I have encountered resistance in many forms.  Just plain “No”, an occasional “No thank you”, quite a few of “No speak English”, and I’ve had the occupant make a trek to the dumpster to deposit my literature where they thought it was best to be stored.

None of these things have stopped me from sharing my passion.  I changed tactics.  Distributing my business card to all I come in contact with at the grocery store, hair dresser, the cashier at stores I spend my money in, and even at my local craft/hobby store.  What eventually happens to my business card is anybodies guess, but I’m sure that someone will call me and say they got my name from my business card – someday.

Seeking to engage people in your business is not the easiest thing to do.  There are more “No’s” than there are “Yes’” and that is the norm.  Don’t give up on yourself.  Keep trying, shift things up a bit now and again.  If you believe in yourself and the products you offer then it will come.

I have been wanting to attend a meeting of other Stampin’ Up! Demonstrators in my local area but did not know of any that attended meetings.  I finally heard about a group meeting and I made sure I attended it.  It is always best to find a group of like minded people that share your same passion to bolster you during the times when you feel discouraged or are now asking yourself “What was I thinking?”

I do know that each woman I met today began the same way I have.  They  had a few friends and family members to help them out and they kept with it, kept trying to make one more contact.  Just because I have no family or friends where I live right now doesn’t mean that it will always be that way.  Meeting this group of women  has helped to bolster my resolve to hand out more business cards and knock on a few more doors.

During today’s meeting I learned of different ways to approach a problem.  Just because you have always done something a certain way doesn’t mean it has to always be that way.  Change is good, although we fight it.  Change should be embraced,  maybe not totally loved and welcomed but at least shake hands with change.  You never know who you are shaking hands with or talking to.

So, armed with some great information on what to take to Workshops, how to demonstrate at a Workshop, and seeing how to engage the people around you in what you are trying to sell was both enlightening and refreshing.

What I learned today, most of all, is that I am not a Stampin’ Up! Demonstrator just to sell paper, inks, and stamps.  I am a Demonstrator sharing my knowledge and passion to someone that wants to give their family and friends a unique item they have made by hand to celebrate the events in their loved ones lives.  The products sell themselves.  What you can do with the products is what I am selling.

So I am glad I found a group of women that share my passion and enthusiasm for paper crafting.  It hasn’t hurt that each of these women are Stampin’ Up! “Sisters”.

January 5, 2010 – FREE STUFF

I had to go to the Stampin’ Up! main website and do some scouting around.  I went to the Demonstrator area on the site and found the information I had been looking for.

The new stamp sets coming out by Stampin’ Up! will be available January 5.  Clear stamps.  I’m so excited about this.  To be accurate, the stamps are not clear, just the blocks.  The stamps are still the rubber everyone is used to but the blocks are clear acrylic.  They look to be hefty also.  Nooooo, no heavy hefty.  Good and thick so you can get your fingers on them and have good control of where you put the stamp.  Thick to allow pressure to be applied without the acrylic bending or bowing.

Now for the FREE STUFF.  There is a separate catalog that begins January 5 and runs through March 31, 2010.  All the items in the catalog will be in the regular catalog in 2011.  When this Sale-A-Bration is over the stamp sets, papers, and punches will go away into storage and not brought back out for purchase until the 2011 catalog comes out.

Soooo.  For every order placed online, at a workshop, or in a class that is $50 or more you get to have one item from the Sale-A-Bration catalog FREE.  Absolutely FREE.    You will get to have, in your hot little hands, a product that is not available until 2011.  The product you get from the Sale-A-Bration catalog is yours to play with all year long.

Just think about it.  You choose a product from the Sale-A-Bration catalog from your $50 order, make a few cards, gifts, scrapbook layouts, notes, or anything else.  Someone asks you where you got the punch or the stamp and you can reply from Stampin’ Up!.  When they ask how they can get one you will tell them, of course with a sad look on your face but laughter in your heart, “Sorry, you’ll have to wait until next year to get one”.

The Occasions Mini Catalog comes out on January 5th also and runs through April 30, 2010.  Brand new punch styles, more clear stamps, papers, epoxy brads, corduroy buttons, and lots of other stuff.  New vinyl wall art has been added to the Definitely Decorative line also.

So many ways to get new, never seen before, items and FREE STUFF with your $50 order.  Plus, beginning January 4th my brand new tutorials will be up in my website, Message In A Fold, to get you thinking about what you can do to prepare for all the upcoming events in your life in 2010.  So much happening and what a great time for it to happen.

Changes Are Coming – January 4, 2010

Filming of the projects for the first full week of January of 2010 are under way.

I am so excited by the new focus of Message In A Fold and what is going to be done, and what is happening already.

Stampin’ Up! will be coming out with clear stamp blocks.  That part I am truly excited about.  Not being much of a rubber stamper myself, using the wood block rubber stamps has kept me from really diving into the craft.  I’ve used the wood block rubber stamps made by other companies and just have not gotten excited about using them.

Stampin’ Up!’s stamps will continue to be the deep impression rubber with the foam attached that has been so successful.  The only difference will be the clear mounting blocks and the system they have of getting the stamp to adhere to the clear block.  Pure Genius.  The best part is the new stamp sets will be packaged in containers that are similar to DVD holders.  With limited storage space this is a big plus for me.

Those of you that absolutely love the wood block rubber stamps of Stampin’ Up! don’t have to worry.  You will still be able to purchase them and keep your beloved stamps.  Win Win for all of us.

Sale-A-Bration will begin soon.  This will be my first time of Sale-A-Bration so I’m trying to figure that one out at this time.  What it seems to be to me is added Hostess Benefits.  For an order of $150 you get to choose from the regular Level 1 Hostess items PLUS you get to order some awesome things from the Sale-A-Bration catalog also.  Such a deal, if I am understanding the process correctly.

For Message In A Fold and the exciting news going on here……well I’ll tell you that there is finally focus and some great things happening.  There will be video tutorials posted to the Message In A Fold website each week.  Not just one a week but 5 a week.

Monday – Scrapbook Monday – Layouts, mini albums, lunch bag albums, squash books, and more will be done on Mondays.

Tuesday – Tool Time Tuesday – We have all bought a trimmer, a punch, or some scissors and have them fail.  Or we’ve purchased a punch and used it one time only and now it sits making us feel guilty.  Tool Time Tuesday will be chock full of maintenance tips on our tools plus we’ll put those tools to use in ways to get them back out and used again.

Wednesday – Wet Wednesday – All things wet.  Glues, reinkers, stamp pads, water, and more will be dealt with.  I’m surprising myself by the many uses of all the “wet” stuff.  This should prove to be fun.

Thursday – Thrifty Thursday – We all have scraps that seem to pile up and don’t go away.  There are so many tips and tricks on the internet on what to do with the scraps from storing them to giving them away.  We will be dealing with those scraps and other paper problems on Thursday.

Friday – Friendship Friday – This will be a card and small gift day.  All of us have people in our lives with birthdays, anniversaries, births, weddings, and graduations (to name a few).  Most of the time we don’t have anything suitable when the event arrives or an idea of what to do so we go to the store and find something – anything – that will do.

Everything you will see in the tutorials will be available at my Stampin’ Up! website 24/7 with so easy online ordering.

So be looking for things to begin popping on Monday, January 4, 2010.  I look forward to hearing from you and seeing what you will be posting when you finish a project you’ve been trying to work on for a long time.

Heat Embossing

Today’s video tutorial is about Heat Embossing.  I had a special request from my daughter for it.   She is new to stamping and I want to make sure that she is armed with proper information when the time comes for her to try this technique.

I once was at her stage and did not have a clue what to do.  My frustration level with bad stamped images put me off stamping for quite a while.  In educating myself with all of the videos out there I learned what to do from my own mistakes.  Let me tell you, there were PLENTY of things that ended up in the trash.

I didn’t even know how to use a Heat Tool.  I learned, first hand, how hot that air is.  I had blisters on my left index finger from the Heat Tool and from touching the freshly heated embossing powder.  There is no where to go to get away from that hot stuff when it is on your fingers and burning.  Ooops, I forgot to mention that tidbit of information.

Persistence, practice, and a dose of “I’m going to figure this out one way or another” is what helped me learn how to stamp properly.  The same applied to Heat Embossing.  And like any good Mom it is my job to keep my child from harms way and make her attempts turn out correct – almost the first time.  I know she will have a learning curve to go through, who hasn’t had one, but it is my hope that it won’t take months for her to get it like it did me.  She’s a sharp cookie and I know she will do fine.

It is also my aim to help any of you that have experienced the let down when you see a stamped image go bad right before your eyes and don’t know why it has happened.

These items are available at my Stampin’ UP! website 24/7 for easy online ordering.

Heat Tool - Product #100005

The Heat Tool is hand held, plugs into a 110 outlet, the cord is approximately 4 feet long.  It is U/L Approved and comes with a 1 year Manufacturer’s Warranty on workmanship and defects.  360 watts of power and heats up to 572 degrees Fahrenheit (300 degrees Celsius).

Heat Tool Product #100005  Price is $29.95

Embossing Buddy - Product #103083

The Embossing Buddy is a MUST HAVE if you want a clean image after embossing.

This little package of special stuff eliminates static on your paper that causes embossing powder to cling, and it absorbs finger print oils that will also attract embossing powder and ruin your image.  It works on all kinds of papers and other surfaces you emboss on.

The little bag is 3″ x 1-1/2″ and comes in a ziplock pouch for storage.

Embossing Buddy Product #103083  Price is $5.95

Black Stampin' Emboss Powder - Product #109133

Black Stampin’ Emboss Powder comes in a 1/2 ounce container.  You may think that is not much, but it is quite a lot.

After you pour the embossing powder over your image and tap off the excess the remaining powder can be returned to the container for use at a later time.  This is true with any of the other colors of embossing powders that Stampin’ UP! sells.

Black Stampin’ Emboss Powder Product #109133 Price $4.75.

VersaMark Ink Pad - Product #102283

VersaMark Ink Pad is fantastic for Heat Embossing.  The ink stays wet longer to hold all the embossing powder until it is heat set.  There are many other uses for the VersaMark pad which I will show at a later time.

The VersaMark Pad is approximately 3-3/4″ x 2-1/2″.  A refill is also available if your current pad is getting dry.

VersaMark Pad Product #102283 Price $7.50

VersaMark Refill Product #102193 Price $3.95

Powder Pals (set of 3) - Product #102197

Powder Pals make the Heat Embossing technique a breeze.  There are two trays and a brush for cleanup.

The large tray measures “10 x 14″ x 1″, the small tray measures 6″ x 8″ x 1″.  Each tray has a 1/2″ funnel opening and a stopper to keep embossing powder or glitter from escaping all over your work area.

Powder Pals Product #102197 Price $19.95

Anyone who purchases $50.00 from my Stampin’ UP! website through October 31, 2009 will receive a FREE 1/2 ounce container of Silver Stampin’ Emboss Powder from me.   The Christmas cards you are planning to make this year will be beautiful with the addition of Silver Stampin’ Emboss Powder.