Cyber Monday happiness

Did anyone else get really good deals on scrapbooking products yesterday besides me? Well let me tell you, I made out like a bandit! Since opening my Etsy shop, I've been getting these emails, sometimes daily, about featured products for sale on Etsy. For those of you who do not know, Etsy is the "Ebay" for artists. Both to sell and to shop. Anyway, I said, let's take 20 minutes and see what there is to be had on Etsy today, Cyber Monday, the best Internet shopping day of the year. So I browsed at bit. I found a guy selling randome bags of ribbon for $4 each, and there were 50 one-YARD pieces in the bag. Since I am a ribbon junkee, this was right up my alley! I bought 3! Can't wait to get all my ribbon. Then, I found this woman who was selling pre-made tags in the "Tim Holtz style." I was ALL over those too. Lastly, I got a really nice assortment of sticker sheets from various manufacturers for dirt cheap. Like some sort of closeout maybe. Whatever the reason, I just can't believe my luck at shopping yesterday. When I was younger, I NEVER imagined my life would be spent shopping on the computer. Now I can't imagine life WITHOUT the Internet. So I ask you... what did you buy yesterday??

ALSO!

If you are a member on Facbook follow the link below to my fan page! And please hit the "like" button!:)

Check out my Etsy shop online!

As we fall into this busy holiday season, you can rely on ME to help make your seasonal scrapbooks more unique. On Monday, November 29th I will be realeasing 10 BRAND NEW double page Christmas layouts on my Etsy Shop. Just click the link below and start shopping right from your home!

Does YOUR Mojo ebb and flow??

Some days I've got it. Some days I don't. I'm talking about MOJO! This is the artistic talent that God grants you... yes, grants you, on a daily basis. Sometimes I can sit down and whip out several scrapbook pages without a problem. They look great and I'm pleased with them. But, there are days when you sit down to scrapbook and have a hard time figuring it out. A hard time making decisions. A hard time seeing problems you'd normally pick out quickly. Frustration mounts until you give up! Sound familiar?
So what do you do when the mojo is not flowing like you want? Get up and walk away from your work table. Go to another activity and come back 15 minutes later. Excersize. Get a cup of tea. Call a friend and laugh a little. Do yoga deep breathing. Anything that switches your mind off of the creative task at hand!
p.s. I sometimes turn on HSN or QVC and do a little retail therapy!!
Those are my tips on getting your mojo going again. Do ya know what I mean?

For some reason, BRADS are on my mind!!

That's right, I'm talking about brads. These little things are a scrapbooker's best and worst friend. That's right, good and bad. You ask, why? If you've ever used one to hold together two little flowers on top of each other, they're great. To accent a layout, great. But have you ever tried to poke one through a teensy weensie hole, and the sticks bent? Or, once you have gotten it into that little hole, you've turned your work over, only to NOT be able to spread the sticks at all? Frustrating! And what's up with the painted metal brads, anyway? The paint literally glues them together, making it really inpossible to get the sticks apart! And FORGET about the mini ones. I mean, I wear cheaters as it is, I don't want to break out a magnifying glass! Now let's talk about what you use to break the sticks apart when they won't split. I've tried a pin... too short and not strong enough. I have used the precious end of my precious tweezers... don't try this at home. You'll ruin them as I did! And I have tried something that was absolutely free... my nails. Now that I don't have my fake nails, I find thin, fine nails are good for a lot of things. But NOT for splitting those stupid brads apart! I know I am not the only one who has broken one or two nails doing just this! Argh.
One more complaint. Why can't they make those beautiful decorative brads FLAT? Sure the jewel looks really pretty, but make one that is as flat as paper, please.
Here's today's tip: you can change the color of brads. Just hold a brad with tweezers, and heat it up with your heat gun. Then dip it in embossing powder, any color, and voila! The powder melts on the hot brad and you do your little happy dance around the scrap table! And it looks really cool, too.
So there's my diatribe about brads. You know what I'm talking about?

One of my favorite tools... Pokey

What can I say? I have had a love affair with my metal paper piercer tool for about 7 years. It started when I used to scrapbook with a friend once a month. I would need the tool to poke holes in the paper - perhaps to put in a brad, perhaps to start a hole for a piece of ribbon or such. Where the heck was it?? Search under this paper, look under that pile... finally one time I just said "Pokey, oh Pokey! Where are you?" And I guess it stuck. It became a joke, perticularly when under the influence of my favorite scrapbooking beverage... wine.

And believe you me, Pokey is something to love. It doesn't talk back to me. It's strong, doesn't ever bend. Sure, one end is sharp. But I'm careful about that end and Pokey has never hurt me. Have I wanted to use it to hurt someone else? You bet!! But I'd never compromise the straight as an arrow metal stick. Wish there was a cover for Pokey, I'd sure buy it. Until then, I place it lovingly on my work table,  between the Exacto knife and bone folder. It looks good there. If I put it back there every time, I'd never have to ask where it is. What fun would that be? Ahhhh. I so love my Pokey.