Scribbles 'n Scraps

How come all the cutest stamps are created anywhere but here. Man those ladies are so talented. And these stamps are so difficult to get.

So cute! See what I mean?

Sugar Nellie
Magnolia Stamps

I love this darn thing. I found it at Michael’s for $19.95 and was able to use a 50% coupon to get it for half price! Yeehaw!

I am actually considering going back and getting another, because it holds so much stuff and I want to separate my CTMH supplies from my regular supplies. They come in a couple of different colors, and they are even really pretty on the inside. The ones in the picture above  have stripes, but mine has a really cool paisley print. These have been out awhile, so you probably have already seen them, but i just love them so much I thought I’d share for anyone who hasn’t.

You can read more about them here.

You guys, omg! I got my copy of Reflections today and wow, wow, wow!
Jeanette Lynton totally outdid herself once again. I absolutely love the beautiful full color layouts.

And if you are still sitting there thinking “But I already have the old version, do I need this?”
Okay, no you don’t NEED it, but you will want it. Why? Because while the diagrams are the same, the layouts are all new, using our latest and greatest and updated papers and they ROCK!! omg! Talk about serious inspiration.

The guy in brown handed me my package at 5:45pm and I have not put this gorgeous book down since. I just cannot stop looking at it, and feeling so incredibly inspired! Wow!!

Trust me, you WANT it!

I knew I was getting the package but I was unprepared for how fast it got here and for how generous the company was. First, I want to take a moment to thank Shannon over at YellowFence.com. You rock! What a completely generous company with the cutest, quality items out there for the scrapbooking apparel seekers. (like me!) Shannon you made me whole day and even my kids got excited, which I guess only proves its contagious.

Now, last week I mentioned that I had received an email from the Director of Marketing for YellowFence.com. She had seen an article I had written on cute scrapbooking apparel and had included their company and wanted to send me something.

Well, she sent me more than something.

Here is my box of goodies:

The brown thing on the left is the brown tote and looks like this.

< —– SO CUTE!!! It’s big and roomy and will be so much fun to take to crops! It is so cute and now each of my kids want one. (Expect an order Shannon, how can I not?)

It really has a lot of room to store things in, which I think is really cool. It’s not as small as some of the other competitor’s totes. I just love it. Plus it is just WAY cuter!

And then there was the hot pink (exact name is Sangria – uhm YUM!) t-shirt. I’m so in love. The t-shirt looks like what they are wearing in the picture, except it says:

Oh, and then at the bottom of the box, I found this absolutely adorable coffee mug. And if you read the post the other day you would see that it was the exact product I chose to illustrate the cute things the company offers. I wanted this! Well, I got it!!

I *heart* this coffee mug. I’m sitting here sipping coffee out of it this morning and loving life. Makes me feel all scrappy!

Thank you so much Shannon and everyone who works with or for Yellow Fence. If you have not checked out their cute stuff, go, go now. You will love everything. There are several styles of shirts, there are even things for babies and toddlers!

This company has totally gone above and beyond and just reminds me that awesome customer service is still a top priority for the best companies.

Sometimes as a freelance writer I get surprised by who is reading the articles I write. A few days ago I got a private message at a website I write for. It was totally unexpected. It was from the Director of Marketing at YellowFence.com – an awesome store selling scrapbooking apparel, amongst a handful of other cute scrapbooking gear!

Essentially she was letting me know she had found my article via her web analytics directing people to their site. She wanted to send me a thank you gift.

Wow! I wrote her back immediately first thanking her for taking the time to read the article, second for offering to send me something which was totally not necessary but very much appreciated.

This was her response:

Nicole,
Thanks so much for responding. I was hoping you didn’t think I was some type of stalker. I mailed you out a box of goodies today. I hope you enjoy them!

I know that I will be placing an order with Yellowfence.com just as soon as I get paid next! I love their stuff anyway, and I cannot wait to own more!

Apparently this:

is paired with this

and is at Costco right now for under $20.00. (Some have said $9.99, some have said $14.99)

I am totally there. Apparently there aren’t a selection of colors. It’s usually just one, but I’m going to get it. As long as its not orange or yellow it’s coming home!

Ok, so I am a real scrappin’ loser I guess because I never actually jumped on the personal cutting system bandwagon. In other words – I have been wanting the Cricut for a looooooong time. It’s on the top of my wish list currently, among a half dozen cartridges.

I just didn’t want any of the other systems for various reasons. I have eyed the Sizzix in the past, but couldn’t justify buying it then.

So tonight I was hanging on ebay checking out what kind of goodies I could find.

I saw the Cuttlebug and almost before I knew what I was doing, I had bid and bought. LOL

So soon I will be the proud owner of a cuddlebug and I am actually really excited. (before tonight I was so indifferent, I could have honestly cared less.)

I know my kids will use it and I know I will.

Now help me figure out what dies I need to get. I want to get a few alpha sets. Any opinions on which ones to get? I have mostly girls (four to be exact) and one boy. I scrap for all of course. But I definitely tend to do more girly pages.
I prefer shadowed letters but also like several of the non-shadowed letters I see.

I noticed on ebay that there were several that were being offered for under $30 for a set. Is this better than using a 50% coupon at M’s or J’s? I thought it might be, but figured I would ask my scrappin’ buddies.

Okay, I have another $100 leftover in my paypal account. Let’s see what else I can find tonight.

I am in the market for a new camera. Why? Just because I love photography so much that I want a digital SLR really, really bad. The extension of lenses and filters and so many new creative techniques to be had in digital photography has left me desperately dreaming of a brand new camera.

I do have a digital camera already, in fact I have two, but they are all automatic and although each is unique and one has some bells and whistles I love, I really would love the opportunity to add a few lenses and filters to my camera, and not have to use film to do it. I have a wonderful film camera which I use often enough, but I really love the ease of being able to delete the bad prints and only get what I truly want.

The film camera I use most often is my old trustworthy Pentax ZX5 with loads of lenses and filters to go along with it. My favorite lens by far, because of its ease of use and its range is my AF100mm-300mm lens.

The digital cameras I have are the Kodak EasyShare Z710, the Olympus D-580 and the Olympus SP-310. All great camera’s honestly, however I really only use the Kodak EasyShare because well…it’s easy! LOL

I just want the ability to play around with some lenses and filters and not be limited to using film and not being so limited by an automatic digital camera.

What exactly dream camera do I want? I’ve had my heart set on a Canon Rebel for a long time. They have come a long, long way since I first discovered them and wanted one.

The new Canon EOS Digital Rebel XTi is exactly what I want.

So I am curious, what camera do you have? What is your dream camera? What features do you have to have on your camera? Do you have a better suggestion than the Canon Rebel? I’d love to know more about your camera and what you love about it.

Ugh! I want it. I don’t need it, but I want it. The tempation is about to kill me, and I don’t quickly fall on the bandwagon to grab the purchase as soon as everyone else does. Thus the reason I do not own a Cricut at all. But I am getting the itch for this thing, and I really feel like I will use it. I really feel like it is an investment that I can make and with five kids, it should last a very, very long time.

But is it worth the tremendous cost?

I bid on one on Ebay about two weeks ago. I knew I wouldn’t win it because my maximum bid was only $100.00. I was prepared to lose and it was fine. It sold for $240 with $26 shipping. That is still cheaper than in all the stores. But is it worth just under $300 to own this thing? Should I continue resisting tempation?

My golden rule about having to use something once for every dollar spent is playing on my mind a lot. Will I use this thing 300 times? AND the problem is, I will need to purchase more cartridges – and that expense plays into the factor. Will I use that cartridge 50 times?

What’s a girl to do?

What would you do? Do you own one? If so, give me the low down! I really, really want one and my birthday is in 26 days. Convince me I need one, or convince me I don’t. I know if I want it bad enough, Mike will get it for me, he always does. He treats me like a queen, I am so lucky. I know this. Now, just help me make the right decision before I ask for it.