Wednesday, September 29, 2010

My LSS Re-opened. Yeah!! And I visited the other LSS in town.


Yes, Green Tangerines has opened. I'm very excited about that. What made me even more excited was this picture taken at the crop there this weekend. I've not lost a lot of weight but what I have lost is apparent! Always like it when my pictures look better. My left arm and shoulder have that obvious droop from my neck problem. I need to work on posture to make that less apparent.
Scrapbooking this weekend was fun! My friend Ana, poor girl, smashed and bruised her finger in her car door; otherwise, all went well.
I got  a lot done even though I did take time to check out the store and made ample time for eating and chatting. I made sure to change up my activities.
Green Tangerines has opened in the same spot as before. This is good and bad. Good because it is easy to find. Bad because it is more of a drive than I'd like from the house. In some ways, taking Amtrak to Scrapbook Territory in Berkeley seems easier! Maybe it's the glass of wine on the train and not needing to drive that helps the most there!
I digress (my usual style dear blog readers, my apologies). Green Tangerines have kept the displays that have that contemporary luxurious look with the height about 5 feet tall and light wood finish. Aisles are clearly marked and wide enough to move around easily. Designer lines are near the front of the store. Many lines are already in and stocked. Basic Grey, Bo Bunny, My Mind's Eye, Creative Imaginations, etc.
Flowers, bling and specialty papers are up fron also. On the left of the store (as you enter) are seasonal lines in front and behind that the beginnings of a very extensive altered art collection. Behind those are the classrooms, as in the past.
On the right are albums both post bound and ring bound - a wonderful assortment and so colorful - just like a candy store. Kits and magazines as well as their die cut machine are up front too.
Behind that on the right is a section with stamp pads, ribbon and card supplies.
At the rear are the cardstocks by type and color, Thickers of all sorts, and more ribbon.
In the center are tools and more themed lines such as travel, wedding, children, and various activities.
Washrooms, kitchen area and staff/storage mark the back.
Not all product lines are in yet and I'm eagerly awaiting a number of these items; though, the merchandise already in is the hot stuff from the latest CHA.
The advantage of a store re-opening is the ability to start fresh (goes with their motto "Where scrapbooking is made fresh") while knowing their customers well. Having that experience should be a significant factor in their success. We also hope for an improving economy - but do not get me started on politics. Living in a broken state like California one longs for honesty and a reality check; and, national politics - oh boy! We need some real plain speaking and fresh NEW ideas there!
Let me get back to the fun stuff of scrapbooking and Green Tangerines. I know that folk have been unhappy with customer service at GT in the past. This weekend the staff were spead a little thin with the crop going on but everyone seemed cheerful and ready to help.
Nice to have a LSS again.
Now, today I needed to take Joe to school. Beverly's Unique Scrapbook Store is just a few miles south of City College so I thought I'd drop in. It's a similar distance from my home than GT and smaller. I've not had the occasion to visit before. It's very similar to a lot of scrapbook stores I have visited across the country. Quite well stocked. New lines of Basic Grey and an assortment of other new merchandise and a considerable amount of older and familiar products and tools. So, if you cannot find a certain embellishment or older product you might wish to try this store. Some stamp and card supplies but the emphasis is clearly scrapbooking. Aisles are narrow but the store is bright and cheerful and there is a large scrapbooking area in the back with large tables and hard chairs. Not very busy while I was there but it appears there is regular traffic. One can get very personalized help. Classes and discounts for class attendees are available. While it is not as direct a drive as GT for me, I'm glad i visited and discovered what this store in the south part of town has to offer.

Tuesday, September 14, 2010

September is National Sewing Month

"Sew", I had to get going on my Carol Wingert Creatologie French Marketplace Album. The cover looks like a tote bag and required a lot of hand and machine work. It's very cute though (maybe, I should have said "sew" cute, LOL!).
There's a lot of work in this. I may not finish it for a while but it really is beautifully designed. Carol's kits are very expensive but not for what you get. I like them because of her enormous creativitity and the fact that I can learn a lot from putting the album together. I'm sure all my mistakes will make it uniquely mine, too!!
Actually, the cover went together very well and her instructions made it very step by step.
I have been scrapping more pages for May Flaum's Use Your Stash class. I like May's classes because they really give me a kick start in creating. May is just fun, too! Had a lot of fun last weekend with May and Jen and several other Fiskateer friends. Me new folk too. I've not been very creative since back at home. I pushed myself too much. Still did do a little since. Had fun with the page I'm including here. This Club Scrap kit is not my favorite - very hard to use but I like how this LO went together.
Enuff said, I'm behind on a lot of tidying up (Ugh!) and must get to it!

Saturday, September 4, 2010

Taking May Flaum's Use Your Stash Class at BPS

I was just looking at the message board at the class and started checking out my classmates blogs. They are awesome. Great photography, dedicated frequent entries, interesting projects. Alas, poor blog readers, I fear you do not get such wonders from me, LOL! You may see more projects this month. May, as always, is a very inspirational teacher and does get folk to be more productive. I'm a slow scrapper but I did get the LO that I've photographed for this post done. Now, it was to have been a PRE-class LO. I prefer to think of it as a DONE LAYOUT, LOL!

It is hard to think of summer winding to a close. We have had a very pleasant summer here in Sacramento. Not too many very hot (100F or more) days this season.
Love the work that was done on my pool. Water is so clear and it's nice to have warm water to play in.
The back yard is one of the nicest things about our property. Maybe next summer we will entertain more since it is perfect for parties.
Well, back to cleaning the house and making plans for the fall.

What About Stamps? Charity?

Yes, I know. You are going to tell me that you are SURE that Kaiser Craft has stamp sets for all their collections AND you did not see them on my posts. That's because I already had set them aside. They are fantastic! Here's a look. I finally got a photo taken.

Yes, getting things organized somewhat around this place and may have some time and some enegy to create stuff. I know it's going to take a while to make my adjustments to retirement and physical limitations. Nonetheless, it is hard. I'm getting there. I really am making some progress on the stuff I just threw in a pile for the past 5 years. I can understand how folk may become hoarders. They are overwhelmed and depressed and then anxiety sets in because they know there's important stuff there but they are still too overwhelmed to do anything about it. I'm glad I never got to that point. Though there is a lot here and some days I do feel too overwhelmed.
I'm not worrying too much about all the scrap stuff. There are so many folk who need more of an intervention than I, LOL!!! I am purging some and thinking of the Social Services Life Books volunteer social workers for my donations. Noell Hyman has info on this worthy cause at her Paperclipping website. http://www.paperclipping.com/2010/04/30/insd-lifebooks-donation-drive-weigh-in/#comments
Also info on contacting social services about how you can help is here http://charityguide.org/volunteer/fewhours/foster-care.htm

Wednesday, September 1, 2010

Did I tell you I love Kaiser Craft?

While at the CHA Consumer Supershow I got very involved in the silent auction. I managed to win Kaiser Craft's entire new line. I guess you now know that I love this company. Not exclusively though. But, they are definitely in my top ten faves. These collections may put them at the top of the list though. Aren't the papers and embellies wonderful? If I can only get this place cleared of clutter so I can work on creating something. I wish I was up to doing it all 'cause these lines are calling my name!

Hippy Girl
Secret Bird Society
Up, Up and Away
Lush

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