Fun Times in Los Angeles!

We arrived in LA on Wednesday afternoon and it has been non-stop fun and work ever since!  But, this kind of work just makes me a happy girl.  There are so many amazing new products and designs out in the market today and I am itching to get back to my art loft to start creating!  But let me give you a quick recap so far:

Day 1:

We arrived in the afternoon and after finding our condo and going grocery shopping, we ventured to the Santa Monica Pier:

The sunset:

The pier:

The girl:

The machine:

The wheel:

Day 2:

Started off in the Los Angeles Garment District looking for fabric for Brenna's comforter ---- imagine about 40 shops in a 3 block area that all look like this:

Then we ventured to the city of Orange to do some antique shopping and eat at our favorite BBQ restaurant.  We had a little bit of mayhem....

But then we topped it off with a cupcake ---- even a happy birthday to me cupcake! (thanks, Ms. Sherry!)

Day 3:

We had a full day of classes --- Marah Johnson, Jenni Bowlin, and many other fabulous teachers.  I don't have anyfun pics of class day --- but I have some fun projects to share and I learned some fun new techniques!

Day 4: 

The first day of CHA and it is chaos on the floor.  So many people and some many things --- and let me tell you.... not enough time.  It was go go go from 7am till 9pm and I don't have any pictures to show for it!  But I do have my favorite paper line to share with you:

Ahh....Crate Paper.  You have my heart.  This is my favorite paper line of the show, the Toy Box Collection.  Look at these fun chipboard shapes:

This was kind of fun....seeing my stuff up in the booths:

Night all......

Disappearance

I fell off the face of the earth, were you worried?  Actually, I have just been crazy busy creating assignments for the new products being released for CHA next week!  The Winter Craft & Hobby Association Trade Show starts this Saturday in LA!  I head out of town on Wednesday morning with my buddies for a week of warmer weather --- well, I'm hopeful!  I could use a little dose of Vitamin D. 

Wouldn't you know that 2 days before I am scheduled to leave, I would start to have credit card issues.  ---Skip the following if you don't want to listen to my ranting----

We pay everything by Visa --- and pay it off every month.  I have NEVER had any issues until last night.  I was balancing the checkbook and paying bills before I leave and the card kept getting declined.  I went online and my account looked fine.  I let it go -- thinking it was Sunday night and there might be a glitch or something.  I got back online this morning and was able to pay that bill just fine.  I thought all was well.  Then David called me and said he was declined at the gas station this morning -- twice!  So, I call the Bank of America.  Turns out that my account (and supposedly 800,000 others) were compormised by a website last week and they are issuing us new cards - and closing our old ones.  They didn't contact us to tell us because there were too many of us!  WTF?  I blew a fuse and started telling the poor little gal on the other end of the phone what I thought about that!  With all the technology --- they couldn't send and email - a text - or even place a note on my online account to tell me to give them a call?  They just shut off the cards --- without ANY explanation at all!  I am furious!  She said that we should have been able to continue using them at MOST places ---- um....that doesn't work for me!  Then I explained that I am leaving town and just what am I suppose to do for a credit card?  To her credit, she solved that problem for me and is FEDEXing me new cards overnight and I should have them tomorrow.  After this little fiasco --- I am pretty sure I'm changing credit card companies. 

Okay RANT over --- you can come back to my happy place.

Scrappin Sports and More has some fun new papers out and I want to leave you with a layout I created for their booth at the show:

Animal Crackers!

I loved animal crackers when I was little ---- do you remember those cute little boxes with the handle that they came in?  I think the box was more fun than eating the cookies!  They still bring a smile on my face when I see them in the store!  I remember going to the circus too - so many fun sights and sounds and even a few smells!

So I was thrilled to find out that Imaginisce has a brand new line out full of all those fun memories!  Of course it's called Animal Crackers! 

It's time for the release party and you can find so many wonderful projects from the designers over on the Imaginisce blog this week!  Cards yesterday, layouts today and who knows what tomorrow!  Of course we are having giveaways too! 

I have a couple projects to share with you that I did for the release - a couple of cards:

and a layout:



Monkey Adventures

Reminisce is sneak peeking their new lines this week on their blog and you can enter for a chance to win!  First up is Monkey Adventures --- a fun, playful new line that was perfect for my boys!

Make sure to head on over to their blog everyday for a new sneak and a chance to win!

Winter Crop!

Ahhh.....what could be better than a reason to hang out in my scrap room and crop?  Well, that's what my plans are next weekend!  A Walk Down Memory Lane is having a "Baby, it's Cold Outside" winter crop and it is bound to be a weekend full of warm fuzzy challenges and games ----and PRIZES!

The details:

We will be starting on Jan 21st posting challenges and all weekend the DT will be posting games. You have till the 23rd to upload your creations.

We will have RAK's to give a way and one person will win a prize from AWDML by random drawing.

So the more you do , the more enteries you get for the prize!



10 Things You Don't Know About Me!

What do you think they are?  Some of you may already know them or at least some of them, in fact, maybe you should think of what they might be BEFORE you head on over to the Imaginisce Blog.  That's where my list is.....over on the Imaginisce Blog because this is the week we are introducing all the 2011 Design Team Members and today is my turn!  Of course, there is a give-away involved!  There always is with Imaginisce, they are soooooo generous!  So start here or start there, it doesn't matter, just be sure to leave a comment on both blogs for a chance to win! 

Aren't those polaroid photos fun?  Lori is very creative and I love the way she is introducing all of us!  Imaginisce is an amazing company and I am beyond blessed to be designing with them for another term --- the new goodies that they are about to release are AMAZING!  Make sure to check back next week for our release party for the new ANIMAL CRACKERS line --- it is so much fun!

But, today I want to reminisce a little bit and share with you some of my favorite 2010 Imaginisce creations:

Scooter's Vacation:

Birthday Bash:

Love & Cherish:

Dino Roar:

Can't wait for another fun year!



Announcements!

Here are a couple public service announcements for all you scrappers out there!

** Scrapbook News and Review online magazine is having their first ever public call for staffers!  You can find all the information necessary to apply on their front page by following the tab on the top right of the screen.  This link will also get you there! The folks over at SNR are a great bunch and tons of fun to work for.  Make sure you read all the application instructions well and make sure to sign up in the forums so we all can get to know you! 

** Best Creations has so many great lines releasing soon!  You will find some amazing giveaways this week over on the blog --- believe me, you want EVERY new line!  Today they are previewing the new St Patrick's Day papers ---- yummy!  Here is a sneak of a layout I completed - more to come!

Winner - Winner - Winner!

Well, winnerssssss - multiple winners to be exact!  The winners of the Imaginisce week of blog hops have been announced over on the blog - head on over there to see if you are a lucky winner!

Now, for my little giveaway -- I had 192 comments (so amazing, thank you everyone!) -- I used the Random Number generator and the computer tell me that:

Random Integer Generator

Here are your random numbers:

143 

Timestamp: 2011-01-08 22:45:29 UTC

My lucky winner is comment number 143 ---- Sandra with this comment:

Sandra said...

more family fun - day before school returned!
love this line!
Sandra ltb

January 3, 2011 5:32 PM

If that is you, send me an email at theholmescrew@comcast.net and leave me your address!

Thanks so much to everyone that left me a comment and became a follower! 

I will leave you with a few new designs using the fabulous new Little Boy line from Echo Park which you can find over at A Walk Down Memory Lane:

Please ignore the horrible lighting -- we have had some terrible weather here in the PNW and the lighting is throwing me! 

 

Best Creations Design Team!

First off -- let me say a huge thank you to all you comment leavers!  You just blew me away yesterday --- there is currently 176 comments on my post!  Wowzers, that is so exciting for me!  Remember to look on the Imaginsce blog on Friday for the winners of the i-top prizes and check back here on Saturday for the winner of my giveaway!

On to something else that is very exciting!  The new Best Creations Design Team was just announced and I am honored to be back on the team for another term.  Joining me are some amazing designers that I am thrilled to be working with.  Talk about inspiring!  You will want to add all their blogs to your blog reader for sure:

USA Team

Julie Walton- California

Nancy Burke-Idaho

Kim Holmes- Washington State

Debbie Sherman- Wyoming

Sarah Mullanix- Indiana

Nicole Wise- Maine

Liz Chidester- Utah

Kim Arledge- Texas

Brittny Lejeune- California

International Team

Alicia Barry- Australia

Tracey Taylor- Canada

Petra Offrell- Sweden

Katarina Damm- Norway

Jona Saavedra- Philippians

Karen Thind- Canada

Irit Shalom- Israel

Tina McDonald- Canada

Jodi Wilton- Canada

Card Team

Emily Branch- California

Karen Taylor- Missouri 

Sandy Ang- Singapore

Monthly Guest Designers

Amarilys Doria

Mireille Divjak (Pula)

Stacey Rodriguez

Shannon Morgan

Just look at this new Valentine Line that is in stores now - ummmm, Yes, PLEASE!

Congratulations ladies --- let's have some fun!

162 Followers!

Oh my gosh, I love you guys!  Let me take this moment to tell you how much I appreciate all of you!  162 followers --- never in my wildest dreams would I have imagined that.  Hehehehe -- I'm just giddy.  In fact, let me show you how much I appreciate you with just a little give away!  I have some fun Imaginisce Garden Party goodies in my stash that I am going to share with one lucky comment leaver! 

So become a follower and leave me a comment and share with me something fun about yourself so I can get to know you!  I will take comments until next Sunday night, the 9th at midnight PST.  But wait, there is more!

The new Imaginisce team is featuring the amazing i-top tool all this week and this is day number one!  Make sure to start over on the Imaginisce Blog and do a little mini hop today and every day this week.  You will have chances all week to win the i-top and it's accessories! 

My example for you today is a birthday card for a special 8 year old!  When she is finished with the card she can pop off the i-top snaps and use them on the hair clips!

So, in addition to my little giveaway, every one who leaves me a comment today will also be in the drawing for an i-top and accessories!  The winner of this drawing will be announced Friday on the Imaginisce Blog.  Be sure to check back every day for the different blog hops because one lucky winner will win the entire i-top collection and be our Grand Prize Winner! You will find the list of blog stops posted every morning this week on the Imaginisce blog.

Next up on today's blog hop is the Liz Qualman blog -- go see what she has in store for you!

Manufacturer of the Month!

The Manufacturer of the Month for January is a new favorite of mine!  Echo Park Paper Co. has only been around for about 6 months, but they have won the hearts of the scrapbooking community in a big way!  They release a new set of papers and stickers every month and so far there hasn't been one that has disappointed me!  So, I was thrilled to hear that we were going to feature them this month over at A Walk Down Memory Lane!  That means that all their product is going to be 25% off all month long! 

I had such a great time creating my samples for you!  I worked with the "Life is Good" line --- but all the lines are fantastic!

I also created some fun cards to go along with my layouts - you can find them in the gallery over at the store!

A New Month - A New Year - A New Challenge!

Happy New Year!  I'm not one to make resolutions because I really think that if something is worth doing, it is worth doing now, not waiting till a New Year.  But....with that said.... there are a few things that I am going to start doing and a few things I am going to stop doing.  Here is my list for documentation sake:

- I am going to become a Krazy Coupon Lady.  I have always been a sale shopper, but nothing compared to this.  So, starting next week, I will have a new title:  Kim - the Krazy Coupon Lady follower!  So for any of my local buddies who throw away your coupons out of the Sunday Paper ---- don't!  Save them for me and give me a call.  I will gladly come pick them up!

- I am going to do my best to live within my budget.  From now on - thanks to the first item on my list - I will stick to the spending money alloted us in the weekly budget.  So that the end of the year I just might have the money in my savings account that my annual budget tells me I should have!

- I am going to spend more time having fun with my family.  This means the little things.  Movie time, game time, lego time (if I have to) and just basically giving them more of me.

- I am going to start budgeting my time better so that I can do the above item!  This means that if it's not on my schedule or easily added, I won't be doing it!

- I am going to focus on making sure that I do my best work EVERY time I sit down to create. 

- I am going to take time to hang with my friends! hehehe - this is something that I already do, but it needs to be on my list to be sure I continue!  I love my girlfriends and they just make me smile!

*******************************

Okay, enough about me!  You are probably here looking for the new Imaginisce Challenge!  We have a brand new design team and we are going to switch up the monthly challenge just a bit!  This month the challenge is all about repurposing items that we already have in our stash!  You can find all the details of the challenge and prize on the Imaginisce Blog, but first let me share with you my project!

I started with some old notebooks that I found at the local thrift store:

and added some of my favorite scraps of Imaginisce papers! 

The one on the left is the perfect travel companion to keep in my purse!  The Scooter's Vacation line is still my favorite travel line ever!  I think I will take it with me to LA at the end of the month to document all my adventures!  And you know that I will have quite a few at CHA this year between traveling with the Groves and working with Lori at the Imaginisce Booth, who knows what is going to happen! 

The one on the right is going to sit on my scrappin' desk to keep track of all my ideas and assignments!  The new spring line, Garden Party, is super sweet! 

How this works:  Leave me a comment here on this post and you will be entered into the prize drawing.  Visit all the participating designer's blog and leave them comments for additional chances to win.  You will find a list of those who are participating on the Imaginisce Blog today!  In addition, if you play along with the challenge and upload your repurposed item you will have a chance to win an even bigger prize at the end of the month!