A reminder to all you "Remember Me" Club gals: your album and first page kit will be ready to pick up Monday. (We still have materials for four more people, if you want to join now. We already have 50 people enrolled!)

New arrivals today include the following...
-- Doodlebug: Christmas papers and matching embellishments;
-- BoBunny: Christmas papers and matching embellishments;
-- Creative Imaginations: more items from the Bare Elements line, (including checkbook covers, board books, albums in boxes, small chipboard letter sets, giant chipboard letter sets, metal lunch tins, and more), Christmas papers (including some classy metallics) and embellishments, sports epoxy stickers and metal embellishments, baby stickers, pizza stickers, and a great travel group of papers and other goodies for London.

The steady stream of new goodies is still flowing at Scrapbook Generation. Today, we received a beautiful grouping from Autumn Leaves. This black, cream, and red collection would be perfect for sophisticated Valentine pages, or for a variety of other subjects. In addition to papers, there are matching epoxy brads, twill ribbon, and rub-ons. We also have two new overlays by Rhonna Farrer, and the new "Quote, Unquote 4" book featuring movie quotes.

Also new today, a great idea book by Scrapbooks, Etc. called "Let's Start Scrapbooking." It's a detailed look at supplies, organization, skills, and more.

The winner of Scrapbook Generation's December drawing for the Cricut die-cut system is Lynn Martin of Thayer! It was fun to call her today and tell her the good news. I'm glad we got to make someone's holidays a little brighter.

Thanks to all of you who had entered the drawing by attending classes and crops, and by making purchases and buying gift certificates. I may be jumping the gun a little bit, but this December looks like it's going to end up as our best since we have been in business. We love hearing from you how much you like our store, and we appreciate your purchases so much! For us little guys trying to compete in the world of Wal-Marts and Michaels and Hobby Lobbys, your continued support means the difference in being in business or not. I suspect the so-called Big Box stores could survive without you, but we definitely can't! Thank you so much for making 2006 a great year for us.

The Remember Me Club albums (from K & Company's great Hannah collection) arrived yesterday! So did the other goodies I'll need to put together the page kits for the club. You may pick up your albums and January page kits starting Jan. 1!

For those of you enrolled in the club, I want to let you know that I'll try to keep all the Hannah items (papers, embellishments, brads, stickers, etc.) in stock during the entire year of 2007, in case there are things you want to add to your pages beyond what is in the kits, or if you decide to make extra pages for your book.

We also replenished K & Company's Addison collection (the blue group). Both groups sold out quickly the first time around!

And new from K & Company, we received the Kazoo Kids collection, which can best be described as vintage/boyish/childhood/western/rocket and really, really cute. There are great papers, stickers, and chipboard letters.

For those last minute Christmas shoppers, and you know who you are, Scrapbook Generation will be open until midnight tonight (Friday), and open until 9 p.m. on Saturday. We are also going to be open Christmas Eve from noon until 5 p.m. This means you have a few more days to earn tickets in our Cricut die-cut system prize drawing, held Tuesday, Dec. 26.

For those of you with some time off over the holidays, we added a new crop to our schedule. There is a "Christmas Vacation Crop" on Thursday, Dec. 28, from 10 a.m. until 7 p.m. We already have a good number signed up, but there's always room for a few more!

I'm finally starting my Christmas shopping tonight; I've really procrastinated this year. Thankfully, the rest of you have been out shopping all this month -- it seems as if everyone in the world is either giving scrapbooking supplies for Christmas, or is making someone a scrapbook. We appreciate all the holiday business that Scrapbook Generation has been receiving, and especially the tremendous response to our new page and card kit clubs.

For those of you who are already thinking about the next holiday, we just received the new Valentine and pet collections from KI Memories today. There are papers, chipboard letters, chipboard shapes, stickers, rub-ons, and those cute ribbon sets. (For those of you who missed out on their previous holiday collections, we also re-stocked a few papers from Halloween, fall, Christmas, and winter collections.)

We did it! Scrapbook Generation's "Remember Me Club" just enrolled its 50th member! That was my secret goal all along, and I'm so excited about how much fun it's going to be for all those involved. I'm designing the January page kit right now, and can't wait for everyone to get started on their albums!

Just in case, I ordered enough albums and materials for 54 people, so if you still want to join, we can accomodate four more.

Thanks to all of you who are taking part. I hope you enjoy the mix I've come up with for page topics -- some will be serious, some fun, and all will reveal the real you!

On the horizon at Scrapbook Generation...
Sometime this week we are expecting the pet and Valentine's collections by KI Memories, some large chipboard words by Rusty Pickle, and "bling" cardstock by Bazzill.

I can't believe I'm blogging at midnight, but wanted to let you know we have a new shipment of Prima goodies at Scrapbook Generation. There are Bitty Bags (filled with an assortment of flower colors and sizes, and at a nice price), small daisies in tubes (in three great color combos), and huge single blooms with petals in a mixture of colors.

We also have a new supply of idea books, and received a huge shipment of embellishments including the new Chatterbox family stickers, new styles of the 7 Gypsies 97% Complete stickers, new sports rub-ons, and tons of travel, baby, sports, Christmas, and family goodies.

If you have the pink or green rolling totes and shoulder totes on your Christmas list, we have a new supply of those as well, plus both sizes of the Crop-in-Style black rolling totes.

Two new arrivals at Scrapbook Generation today!

Karen Foster: papers and cardstock stickers in the following themes -- baby boy, baby girl, RV/vacation, New Year's Eve, Valentine's Day, boy, girl, heroes, aunts and uncles, cousins, and Prom/dance.

Daisy D's: the Modern Romance collection of papers, die cut frames, monogram letters, huge rub-ons, and the coolest journaling blocks ever! Modern Romance combines two of the hottest trends in scrapbooking -- meaningful journaling and the look of digital scrapbooking. The collection was designed to let us non-digital scrappers use traditional scrapbooking products and techniques to achieve the look and feel of digital. For the papers, Daisy D's applied elements of some of the current trends (birds, flourishes, brush treatments) and combined them with traditional bases of floral designs and vintage manuscript pages. The journaling tag sets are designed to make it easy to start writing. Answer the questions, fill in the blanks, and when you're warmed up, use the blank tags to write about what matters most. There's nothing like this collection on the market, and the giant rub-ons are out of this world!

"Remember Me" Club reminder:

The deadline to sign up for Scrapbook Generation's exclusive "Remember Me" Club is Friday, December 15.

We are having a great response so far, and we're getting close to my 'hoped-for" goal number for the group. The whole idea seems to have struck a chord with many of you. We have a group of four in a neighboring town who are going to get together once a month to work on their pages, and several mother-daughter combos who are each going to do "Remember Me" albums!

I've had this idea ever since we opened SG over two years ago, but felt like I needed to wait until we were more established and knew more of you on a personal basis. (And to be honest, I've already got ideas for volumes two and three!)

Here's everything you need to know about the club!

"Remember Me" Page and Album Club features the beautiful Hannah album, papers, and embellishments from K & Company (on the right side of the above photo). Here's how the club works.

-- You receive a kit each month with enough cardstock, papers, and embellishments to make a one- or two-page layout. (January, June, July and December are one-page, and the rest are two-pages.) The kit will include a photo of a suggested layout, the page topic, and a variety of ways to journal this topic. This project is simple and doable, with easy suggestions for success.

-- For example, in February the page topic is "things I love." You'll have several options for presenting your personal favorites.

-- To get started in style, the first page kit is free! In January, you will receive the Hannah album, a $29.99 value, plus the first page kit, all for just $29.99.

-- After that, the monthly page kits are $12.99. You must sign up for the entire year to participate in the club. (VIP Club discounts do not apply.)

-- To participate, you must enroll and pay the first month's fee ($29.99) by December 15. After that, the $12.99 payments are automatically billed to your credit card on the first of each month, beginning February 1.

-- Each month after you complete your assignment, just tuck the pages in the album, and watch the memories grow. You won't have to wonder if anyone will "Remember Me."

-- In July of 2007 and January of 2008, we'll host get-togethers at Scrapbook Generation so all of us can share what we've created.

Thursday, December 14 at 6 p.m.

Year of Memories Mini-Album with Allison Davis ($5)

Compact, coaster-sized folding album combines photos with memories from each month. Ideal gift to document a special relationship.

Wednesday, December 13 at 2 p.m.

Christmas Card with Gift Card Holder with Allison Davis ($5)

Accessorize a Christmas card with a cute pocket just the right size to tuck a gift card or cash inside.

Tuesday, December 12 at 2 and 6 p.m.

Christmas Mini-Tin with Marti Blattert ($7)

Holiday-themed photo-personal gift card holder embellished with Christmas ribbon and accents. Perfect for cash or gift cards.

-- December 11 at 6 p.m.
Family Questions Mini Album with Allison Davis ($8)
and
Accordion Album in a Tin with Allison Davis ($5)
(both classes are going to be held together because of the bad weather last week)

Family Questions: This 8-page album showcases six prized family photos and provides a space to answer six reflective questions. Great holiday gift.

Accordion Album: This six-page mini-album comes with a mathcing embellished tin, and is perfect for favorite family photos.

Thought I would give you a look at a recent class at Scrapbook Generation. We have a huge variety of classes still remaining in December and January, with many cute mini-albums, projects, cards, and scrapbook pages. Spaces are still available in all classes. To enroll, call 886-0440.

Gift baskets R us! Scrapbook Generation's gift basket department, Stacey, (also our shipping department and technology department!) has been busy putting together several special-order gift baskets. I wish I was receiving one of them!

If we can create a custom gift for you for the holidays, just let us know and we'll be happy to make whatever fits your budget.

Brookfield and Dollhouse, two new collections by K & Company, are out on the shelves and ready for purchase at Scrapbook Generation! Both groups have albums in two sizes, a selection of papers, matching chipboard alphabets, stickers, and rub-ons. Brookfield (a family-oriented collection in browns and golds) also has a mini-album kit, and Dollhouse (a girly-girl collection in yellows and pinks) also has chipboard shapes, glitter paper, and embossed paper.

Also, we have a great collection of SEI's box and bag album kits (great gifts), and a new supply of Heidi Swapp chipboard alphabets in several fonts in raw, white, black, brown, and orange.

BasicGrey is here! Blush is a new collection full of chocolates and pinks, and has matching tags, large monograms, and mini-monograms. Fruitcake is a new Christmas collection, and is BasicGrey's first double-sided paper. There are matching tags, large monograms, and mini-monograms. Dasher is another new Christmas collection, and blends with last year's Blitzen.

Word to the wise...these won't last long. Several faithful blog readers have already made quite a dent in what we ordered!

We also received a shipment from K & Company today that I didn't have time to get out. That will be my project first thing tomorrow morning. There are great albums, new papers, cool embellishments, and more nifty chipboard sets to match everything.

BasicGrey will be here Monday! Delivery was supposed to take place Friday, but the weather last week has most deliveries running behind schedule.

Scrapbook Generation will have the complete collections of Dasher, Fruitcake (both Christmas), and Blush. We will also have BasicGrey's new Christmas chipboard shapes.

Our UPS guy is usually here by 2 p.m., so please give us until 3 p.m. to have it out on the shelves. If we have things done earlier than that, I'll post a message here.

If you received Scrapbook Generation's December/January newsletter, then you have read about the Generation Page Kit Club and the Generation Card Kit Club. (You can also read about both clubs on our website, scrapbookgeneration.com).

The page kit club provides a monthly holiday, season, or theme oriented two-page layout, with pre-cut designer papers, ribbons, embellishments, and a full-color photo and directions. You have the option to pick the kit up at Scrapbook Generation for $12.99, or to have it mailed to you for $12.99 plus shipping. (For $22.99, you can join the page kit AND card kit clubs.) When you join the club, your credit card will automatically be billed the first of each month, and you can discontinue at any time.

These exclusive designs will only be available to Generation Club members. The layout and card kits will not be sold at Scrapbook Generation, or in individual form.

Here is a sneak peek at the January page kit! If you're interested, call 417-886-0440 to sign up, or stop by Scrapbook Generation.

Here is what I did on my snow vacation! I made two new Sweet and Simple kits for Scrapbook Generation. One is Halloween, and the other is fall. My goal is to have a couple of Christmas and winter kits ready by Monday.

If you've never purchased a Sweet and Simple page kit, they're a great deal, priced at $9.99. All the cutting is done for you. You get to do the fun part!

While I was snowed in at home, Karin was at Scrapbook Generation yesterday receiving some great shipments. Here are the new arrivals...

-- Deluxe Designs: a new supply of the 26 styles of Plain Janes chipboard shapes;

-- BoBunny: a new wedding and prom paper and sticker collection, done in black and white and creams, plus a Valentine/love collection; also, Bare Naked binders (yes, that's the real name!)

-- Fancy Pants: a new supply of the Biggest Board chipboard shapes, the Bigger Board chipboard shapes, and three paper collections (they will remind you of BasicGrey, and are double-sided for extra versatility.)

These past few days have shown me that whether events are happy or sad depends a great deal on your perspective. During my 32 years in education, I had counted the words "snow day" as two of the most glorious in the whole English language. A day off of school was nothing short of fantastic, especially when my girls were little.

Now that I'm involved in a business, those words don't quite do it for me anymore! Scrapbook Generation had a "snow day" Thursday, and that meant we lost a day's revenue. So while I did enjoy the day at home, I didn't really, really, really enjoy it like I would have in the past. The weather also caused some problems with classes and crops.

Here are some weather-related updates to our schedule.

-- The November 30 Christmas Gift Lunch Pail class has been rescheduled for Thursday, December 7, and those interested can still sign up.
-- Anyone signed up for the December 1 Midnight Madness can transfer the fee to any other event they choose.
-- The Holiday Gift Extravanganza scheduled for Saturday, December 2 had been rescheduled for Saturday, December 9. We still have room for more participants.
-- The Santa's Wish List Mini-Album class will still be held Sunday, December 3 at 2 p.m. We still have room for anyone wanting to enroll.

Photos of all those class projects are shown on our website, scrapbookgeneration.com.

Scrapbook Generation will be open tonight (Saturday) until 9 p.m., and is open tomorrow (Sunday) from noon through 5 p.m.

Win a Cricut:

Want to win a Cricut? Who doesn't!

Scrapbook Generation is giving everyone in this area the chance to win one of the cool new electronic die-cutting machines, which has a list price of $299. The competition started this past Saturday, and ends on Christmas Eve. We'll draw the lucky winner the day after Christmas. Here's how you earn Cricut tickets...

-- ONE TICKET for every 12x12 album (of any brand) you purchase

-- ONE TICKET for every Scrapbook Generation page kit you purchase

-- TWO TICKETS for every $25 in merchandise you purchase

-- TWO TICKETS for every $25 in gift certificates you purchase

-- THREE TICKETS for every class you attend in December

-- THREE TICKETS for every crop you attend in December

-- TEN TICKETS for enrolling in the Generation Page Kit Club or Card Kit Club (check out scrapbookgeneration.com for details on this great new club!)

Come join the fun! And if you want more of a sure thing, we'll be happy to order a Cricut for you, at 20% off the list price!

Holiday Gift Extravaganza:

Scrapbook Generation has a set of five classes that are grouped together this Saturday, Dec. 2. The classes, taught by five of our Design Team members, include Christmas Mini-Tin, Monogram Cards Set, Ornament Mini-Album, Christmas Gift Tags, and Accordion Album in a Tin. The package price is $35, and includes lunch, snacks, and drinks, plus some surprise bonus projects. To see the projects, check out our website, scrapbookgeneration.com

New Products:

As promised, we received a shipment of Urban Chic albums from All My Memories today. We have the 6x6 and 8x8 albums in all six colors (red, green, black, brown, pink, and blue), and the 12x12 in everything except brown. We also have a new supply of the All My Memories totes, and just received a limited supply of the 12x12 blank calendars from Karen Foster.

The gals in Marti Blattert's advent calendar class tonight really created some great projects. After I saw how cute they turned out, I kicked myself for working when I could have been back in the classroom area playing! Marti's enthusiasm for scrapbooking is contagious, and when you're around her, you can't help but feel good about yourself and about this hobby/addiction.

Thanks to all of you who attended our Day-After-Thanksgiving sale. If you want to read about what the day was like, check out Allison's blog (there's a link on this blog).

New goodies we are expecting this week or early next week: a new supply of the Plain Janes chipboard shapes by Deluxe Designs; three new paper collections and Christmas chipboard shapes by BasicGrey; new collections from BoBunny; a new supply of Urban Chic albums in all colors and sizes by All My Memories; three paper collections and Biggest Chipboard shapes by Fancy Pants; chipboard letters by Heidi Swapp; more pink and green totes by Making Memories; more albums in a bag and box by SEI.

Several new goodies have arrived just in time for holiday shopping, and Scrapbook Generation's big sale on Friday! Don't forget that the doors open at 7 a.m., and the first 100 customers get a free $9.99 page kit.

Here's what's new...

Chatterbox: Five styles of Doodle Genie, a great tool for drawing, shading, or like some of us plan to do, use as stitching templates. They arrived yesterday, and have been selling like crazy!

Karen Foster: The cute set of calendar papers for each month of the year that you've seen advertised in all the magazines.

Making Memories: We've added the stylish pink and green rolling totes and shoulder totes. (If you don't get here early enough on Friday to snag one of these, we'll be happy to provide rain checks for those of you who would like to place an order. We'll honor the 30% off deal we're offering all day Friday, and it will only take about a week to get the totes here. All we ask it that you pay half of the cost up front.)

Prima: An absolutely huge supply of flowers in tins, flowers in cans, flowers in boxes, ribbon sets, and embellishment sets containing matching buttons, ribbon, chipboard letters, and flowers. You'll want to have one of each, and they'll make great gifts!

Assorted brands: We've stocked up on storage items and totes for the holiday season. Especially cute..."Junk Bags" by Tim Holtz for Junkitz. We also have a new supply of those great storage containers by ArtBin.

Hope to see you Friday!

We can always tell that fall has arrived when the Friday night Midnight Madness crops at Scrapbook Generation start filling to capacity after the lazy days of summer! With 19 happy scrapbookers, we almost had a full house last night. It was good to see lots of familiar faces back again!

Today, I'm posting a photo of our latest arrivals, the set of papers and matching embellishments from SEI, and fall and Christmas groups from Flair. I've lost track of how many Christmas collections have already come and gone this season, but I'm definitely going with Flair for my Christmas pages. Their reds and greens and tans are a perfect match with my family room, where most of my Christmas pictures will be taken.

Quick updates on several items of interest for Scrapbook Generation customers...

-- Don't forget our Day-After-Thanksgiving sale. The doors will open at 7 a.m., and the first 100 customers will get a Scrapbook Generation page kit, a $9.99 value, FREE! Our all-day specials are 30% off any one item, no coupon needed, pre-cut ribbons and fibers are 4 for $1 (regularly 39 cents per yard), and all adhesives, buy one, get one at half price. Last year, we had a line all the way back to the parking lot, just like the "big guys!" Come join us for some great bargains.

-- The deadline to sign up for our March 2-4 retreat in Branson is Wednesday, Nov. 29. A non-refundable $50 deposit is due when you sign up. Call 417-886-0440, or stop by the store. To see what people at the last retreat had to say, read an earlier post.

-- Newsletters will be mailed Monday, so you should receive them before Thanksgiving. We have an absolutely awesome class schedule for December and January, with over 3o new classes.

-- There is a special Holiday Gift Extravaganza scheduled for Saturday, Dec. 2 from 10 a.m. - 6 p.m. Five Scrapbook Generation Design Team members have joined forces to create five classes that will ease your holiday stress. In addition to the classes, lunch, holiday snacks, and drinks will be provided, plus a few holiday surprises. Enrollment is limited to 16 people, and the day-long package costs $35. The classes include Christmas Mini-Tin with Marti Blattert, Monogram Cards Set with Amy Estes, Ornament Mini-Album with Laura Parks, Christmas Gift Tags with Candy Conner, and Accordion Album in a Tin with Allison Davis. (For complete descriptions, check our website after Monday.)

-- We're having an unbelievable response to our "Remember Me" Page and Album Club. I've talked about the club in an earlier post, and it is also explained in detail in the newsletter going out Monday. It seems as if almost everyone we talk to about the club, and the concept of creating an album about yourself, wants to join the group! I think the idea of committing to spending some time capturing your own memories, without feeling rushed or pressured, appeals to us all. And actually, because of your suggestions, we plan to have a party in July of 2007, not just in January of 2008, so that we can all share our progress toward this worthy goal! (If you want to see pictures of the album and papers we'll be using, there is a link on the home page of our website, scrapbookgeneration.com).

Just returned home late last night from a lengthy stay in Little Rock. Sometime I'll write about what it was like to watch my aunt Marsue (my mother's twin) die from cancer on the tenth floor of a hospital while my cousin Monica (her daughter) was paralyzed from the neck down and being cared for on the first floor. My cousin was sticken first, and my aunt was diagnosed while there caring for her. It's an almost unbelievably sad situation.

At the end, neither was well enough to be able to visit the other. My other cousin, Leslie, who owns a cross stitch and framing business in Bolivar, has spent 53 days there, never leaving the hospital, running back and forth between her mother and her sister. My mother and I were there the past eight days, trying to help as much as we could.

While we were there, we met an incredible group of women who are Monica's friends from her church and her work for the Arkansas Baptist Convention. They have organized committees to take care of every need, down to lawn mowing, mail gathering, and "hospital sitting." Over the days we were there, they were so sweet and kind that I found myself wishing they were my friends as well. For days, they were with us every step of the way, holding us up both physically and spiritually. They were truly representative of the strength and power of Godly women.

While I was gone, Karin and Stacey and Allison did a great job keeping everything else going here at Scrapbook Generation. I'm actually not sure they need me at all!

To update you just a little, we did receive a great assortment of albums from Pioneer. There are several solid color albums with a photo opening on the cover, as well as new silk albums in great jewel tone colors.

There is also a new collection of papers and matching tags and letters from SEI. The papers are combinations of aqua, tan, black, rust and gray, and are perfect for boyish or manly scrapbook pages.

Just returned from Scrapbook Generation's weekend "safari" retreat in Eureka Springs. With 23 scrapbookers, it was a smaller retreat than our group of 47 at Branson about a month ago, but that didn't diminish the fun and fellowship. In addition to Missouri gals, the states of Illinois and Kansas were well-represented! We just need to pick up a few Arkansas scrapbookers!

The weather was beautiful, and the convention facility at Inn of the Ozarks in historic Eureka Springs was wonderful. We were in such a large room that the ladies each had an 8-foot table to work/play at! Our meals were served in a separate banquet room, and we also had a separate, spacious classroom. Karin had baked lots of goodies for snacks, and our Saturday night chocolate buffet continues to be a hit! We gave away over $1,250 of scrapbooking supplies as prizes, and just generally had a super time.

Here are some of the written comments we received...

"Really great experience. Lots of work space and prizes! Great snacks. I learned a lot and got some great ideas from others. I will definitely be back."

"What a wonderful weekend. I wouldn't change a thing. The classes were great."

"Accomodations and food were great. Loved the table space for each person. Thank you for a wonderful weekend."

"Good classes. Good work area. Good food. Good group. Great prizes. Great weekend overall."

"Food was delicious -- meals and snacks and drinks. Prizes were wonderful and generous. The store provided a nice variety of items for purchase. I will definitely recommend your retreats and be back myself."

"Thanks for a wonderful retreat! I love the location, room, motel, and weather! Big kudos for the 'pizza box' prizes! Great fun! Snacks and bag-of-treats are yummy."

"This was my first retreat and it was awesome."

"I had nothing but a good time! I also learned a lot."

"I thought the whole thing was great. I wish I could stay longer. You guys did a wonderful job. The prizes are awesome."

"I thought everything was very well done and organized. It's been a fun and enjoyable weekend. Your set-up was excellent. Thanks so much for your hard work, which is what really made it so great."

"I thought it was wonderful. I'm so glad I came!"

"It is wonderful to be able to have lunch and dinner together as a group away from our work space. It was great fun to get to know everyone! Good job, ladies! I had a ball!"

"I loved the retreat. The dips and brownies were a hit. The theme was carried out well with everything. The space was far and above what I expected."

"Accomodations and food were wonderful. Great gifts."

"I thought the retreat was very organized, and all the details were well thought out. The snacks were delicious. I'll definitely do it again."

"I will definitely plan to attend another one."

"There was plenty to eat. Yum, yum! The 'pizza boxes' were great."

"The organization of the retreat was wonderful. The workspace provided was great!"

"Wonderful job - wonderful time. Table space great - store available and classes are much more than I expected -- overall super!"

"Wonderful weekend! Well organized, lots of great food and inspiration!"

"Great location. Great facility. Awesome food and snacks. Fabulous traveling store. Excellent prizes."

As soon as the photos are processed, we'll try to post them both on this blog and on scrapbookgeneration.com.

Reminder: The deadline to sign up for Scrapbook Generation's spring retreats is November 29. The Branson retreat at Lodge of the Ozarks is the weekend of March 2, and the Eureka Springs retreat at Inn of the Ozarks is the weekend of March 9. We are limiting the enrollment at each site to 50 people, so that we can provide a quality experience, with a spacious cropping area for each person attending. Since we are limiting enrollment, that means that the retreats may fill up before the deadline, so please register early.

To register, stop by Scrapbook Generation (or call 417-886-0440) and pay a $50 non-refundable deposit. The total payment is due by the end of January.

Prices are $285 per person for one person in a hotel room, $245 per person for two in a hotel room, $235 per person for three in a hotel room, and $225 per person for four in a hotel room. Price includes all meals, snacks, and drinks, and lodging. Classes are optional and are a small additional fee.

"Remember Me" Page and Album Club

Scrapbook Generation is proud to announce the start of an exclusive club for those of us who scrapbook pages and pages about others, but seldom take the time to chronicle our own lives, thoughts, relationships, and dreams. Please read on to find out how you can take part...

Remember Me
Page and Album Club Information

Your scrapbooks are full of your kids, family, friends, and pets.
Now it's time to turn the attention to yourself!
Let's create an album just about you.

Let Scrapbook Generation do the planning and design work.
Once a month, you add special photos and deepest thoughts.
At the end of 2007, you'll have a completed album.
Just about you.

Scrapbook Generation's "Remember Me" Page and Album Club features K & Company's beautiful 20-page Hannah album, papers, and embellishments, with page designs and journaling topics created by Debbie Sanders, a Creating Keepsakes award-winning scrapbook designer. Here's how the club works.

-- You receive a kit each month with enough cardstock, papers, ribbon, and embellishments to make a one- or two-page layout (January, June, July, and December are one-page, the rest are two-page.) The kit will include a photo of a suggested layout, the page topic, and a variety of easy ways to journal this topic. This project is simple and doable, with easy suggestions for success. All you have to do is create one layout each month, and at the end of the year you'll have a beautiful scrapbook that highlights you!

-- For example, in February, the two-page spread will be about "things I love." You'll have the option to present your feelings in categories (family, movies, food, books, music, sounds, nature...etc.) or in random order.

-- To get started in style, the first page kit is free! In January, you will receive the Hannah album, a $29.99 value, plus the first page kit, all for just $29.99. After that, the monthly page kits are $12.99. (You must sign up for the entire year to participate in the club.) You can enroll in person or by phone (417-886-0440).

-- To participate, you must enroll and pay the first month's fee ($29.99) by December 15. After that, the $12.99 payments are automatically billed to your credit card on the first of each month, beginning February 1. You may either pick your kit up at Scrapbook Generation, or have it shipped to your home (shipping costs will apply.)

-- Each month after you complete your assignment, just tuck the pages in the album, and watch the memories grow. You won't have to wonder if anyone will "Remember Me." You'll have created a priceless gift for those who know you, and for future generations.

-- In January of 2008, we'll host a get-together at Scrapbook Generation so that all of us can share what we have created.

"Not only am I going to complete an album about myself, I'm going to encourage my mother to enroll in the club and work on an album about herself." -- Debbie Sanders, "Remember Me" designer

-- PS. Still having trouble loading pics on blogger. For a photo of the album, papers, and some of the embellishments, please see our website, scrapbookgeneration.com.

The gang at Scrapbook Generation is busy getting ready for retreat #2 this weekend, and this time we're heading for Eureka Springs. For some reason, everything is much easier the second time around!

Saturday, we had great fun with the group that took part in our all-day Halloween theme crop. There were lots of pages created and plenty of laughter shared.

Today, Karin taught a class for kids from the Springfield Boys and Girls Club. She helped them make Halloween treat bags, and mini-albums with a fall theme. This is the second time the group has participated in a class at Scrapbook Generation. We're always open to helping out community groups when we can.

I'm still having trouble getting photos on the blog, so to check out November class projects, please see our new website, scrapbookgeneration.com. Stacey has worked really hard getting us online, and I love the way everything looks, and how informative the site is. Our online kits sales is not quite ready to go, but that will come soon. We're just working out some shipping details. Our shipping department (Stacey!) tells me we are close to the finish line!

We're also working on the class and crop schedule for December and January, and have a few surprises for you. I'm also putting the final touches on a couple of year-long projects I hope many of you will be interested in for 2007.

This week, we're expecting some beautiful silk-covered albums from Pioneer! I'll let you know as soon as they arrive.

Karin and I were gone for two days to visit relatives who are hospitalized in Little Rock, and when we returned last night, we discovered that leaving Stacey and Ali in charge can be a good thing. They have the store filled with new stuff! Here's what's new...

Imaginisce: A new company that you'll fall in love with. We chose the Exotic East collection, which has jewel-toned papers, and jewels to match. There are also metal filligrees, metal plates to slide ribbons through, and just a wonderful assortment of coordinating items, including brads, ribbons, and charms.

All My Memories: The new Uptown Chic albums are updated in a rich red, charcoal, and bisque. We have both sizes, 12x12 and 8x8.

Doodlebug: One of the cutest things we saw at the Chicago show this summer was this company's new Paper Frills. We have all 12 colors of these 12x12 borders die-cut in intricate shapes, including rows of flowers. (Also have a new shipment of the matching alphabet sets.)

Creative Imaginations: What a great idea! The new Bare Elements line is made up of plain white items perfect for home decor, and easy to personalize with just about anything you can think of. We have six styles of Christmas ornaments, actual wood blocks, gift card holders, door hangers, triptyches (a three-sided free-standing item perfect for a picture display), 12x12 frames, two styles of purses (square and clutch), and wood words which can be used as letters and as the negative shape left after the letters are removed (love, family, baby, and travel).

Daisy D's: We have four cute projects ready for the making, including a chipboard purse, a mini-album, and an envelope set.

We've also added the entire alphabet in 7" tall wood letters by Plaid, and have a new stock of chalk inks, storage items, pens, circle cutters, punches, and more.

Can't get blogger to accept photos this morning. I'll try again this afternoon!

We have photos of two more of the upcoming November classes. Candy Conner will be teaching a Christmas Gift Lunch Pail (for boy or girl) on Thursday, Nov. 30 at 6 p.m. The boy lunch pail is shown (cars not included in class), and we'll post the girl one later.

Allison Davis will be teaching a Memories Journal mini-class ($5 cost) on Tuesday, Nov. 14.

At this point, the new stuff is coming in to Scrapbook Generation faster than we can find places to put it! Since the goodies on the new wall haven't even been there more than a couple of days, we had to look around for more room for today's great shipment from Creative Imaginations.

There are several themes, including baby boy and baby girl, little boys, princesses (complete with glitter paper), pizza parties, Disney, and even a heritage/love grouping with scalloped paper. In addition to patterned papers, there are epoxy stickers, cardstock stickers, and all kinds of fun stuff.

We also received our first ever shipment from Maya Road. There are nine different flower-shaped ribbon slider sets, each with a unique color combination. The tins they are packaged in are too cute for words!

And don't tell, but next week we're expecting that fantastic Far East collection from new company Imaginisce you've been seeing advertised in all the magazines.

You know that it's fall when you wake up in the morning and there are turkeys in your yard! All you city gals won't be able to relate, but my life in the country includes watching whatever wildlife happens to stroll by.

I've seen groundhogs, skunks, rabbits (though not as many as when I lived in town), quail, coyotes, porcupines, racoons, and armadillos. Deer we see several times a week, but I'll have to admit that the two huge turkeys today were pretty cool. They must have been a matched set, and I assumed the smaller one was a female. Every once in a while, the larger one would ruffle up his tail feathers for the traditional turkey pose. They circled the house for quite some time, and it was fun watching them.

Anyway, I have the day off tomorrow, and I'm going to get out some autumn photos and make some scrapbook pages. Like many of you, I don't get to do that as often as I would like. This Friday, we have plans to take Andrew to the pumpkin patch, and I can't wait...I'll really have plenty of pics to work with then!

Fun week at Scrapbook Generation...we've had new stuff from Daisy D's, Bo-Bunny, KI Memories, and SugarTree, to name a few.

Daisy D's has three Christmas and winter collections that are just filled with nostalgia. Beautiful papers are accented by matching monogram letters, phrases, ribbon flowers, tags, and more.

Bo-Bunny, as always, has cute papers and matching stickers. The groups we have include father, mother, fall, pink dog, and family/friends. A couple of the groups have matching ribbons.

KI Memories Christmas and winter collections just came in today, and I think KI is really on a roll! Their papers are outstanding, but when you add in two matching ribbon sets for each season, the cool lab kits with sparkle brads, sequins, and more, and chipboard shapes and letters, you have a really awesome package.

SugarTree has us all set for what I was talking about earlier-- turkeys! We have quite a collection now of hunting and fishing papers, plus new sports papers in basketball, baseball, football, karate, running, volleyball, bowling, and more.

Design Team member Jane Hunt takes her turn at center stage today, as we introduce you, in-depth in their own words, to each of Scrapbook Generation's talented group. (FYI, Jane was the winner of both of the "people's choice" (all those attending voted on the winners) contest categories -- best overall and designer's challenge -- at our recent Branson retreat.

Design Team Member #4: Jane Hunt
Occupation: small business owner (Designs + Printing); bookkeeper for her husband's surveying business; promotes a weekend crop twice annually at Lake Ozark, MO; teaches classes in her home crop room
Spouse: married 35 years to Michael
Children: Amie (stepdaughter) 37, Jason 33, Jami 29, Butch 26 (also 6 grandchildren -- Shelby and Tyler, 14-year old twins; Ashton 13, Avery 12, Logan 2, and Molly 1)
Hobbies other than scrapbooking: all types of crafts, gardening, home decorating, photography

-- How long have you been scrapbooking? Six years.

-- When and where do you usually scrapbook? Even though I have a large scrapbook room, I generally scrapbook in the evening in front of the TV. My husband enjoys me being close by.

-- How many pages do you complete in an average month? I average 6-10 pages per month. Not exactly a marathon scrapper!

-- Describe your scrapbooking style. Not really sure there is a name, I like to go strictly by my photos to design a page. I would have to say I like clean pages, not too much clutter. I like to coordiante colors, textures, and prints. For the most part I like variety which is what you get when you design around your photos.

-- What do you enjoy most about scrapbooking? The creating is what interested me at first, then I realized the necessity. Once I "retired" from the craft show circuit I needed to allow my creative juices to escape, and this seemed to be the best way to do that. It became apparent rather quickly that I was doing something for myself and more importantly for my family.

-- Have you been published? Yes, but not for scrapbooking. I've been a designer of three publications for Leisure Arts.

--Why did being on the Design Team at Scrapbook Generation appeal to you? Mainly because I love a challenge. I also feel that by being on the design team I will keep in touch with the trends and new products available.

-- Why is Scrapbook Generation your favorite scrapbook store? I enjoy going into Scrapbook Generation for several reasons. It has a bright, cheery and spacious atmosphere, there are plenty of items to choose from but not overwhelming or mindboggling, and the layouts on display are great sources of inspiration.

Bo-Bunny is here! Don't have time to take a photo, but wanted to let you know that we have several groupings, including Halloween, fall, father, mother, family and friends, and pink dogs. There are beautiful papers and stickers, and the fall and dog groups have matching ribbon sets.

Also, more of the K & Company Hannah and Addison collections came in today. The Hannah albums are very elegant, and there is a file folder kit that is absolutely too cute for words. In addition, five more colors of glitter letters came in -- now there is red, blue, silver, gold, pink, and green. If you love glitter, you'll love these sets!

For those of you who love hand-stitching on your scrapbook pages, Scrapbook Generation just received a new shipment of all the stitching templates by Timeless Touches. We also have a good supply of cork boards and paper piercers. From simple borders to elaborate scroll patterns, and from alphabet sets to flower designs, Timeless Touches templates make stitching a breeze!

K & Company's newest two lines arrived at Scrapbook Generation today! The Addison and Hannah collections are absolutely beautiful. Hannah is done in corals, pinks, and champagne; and Addison is all about blues, teals, and greens.

What is especially great about these collections is the matching items: covered chipboard letters embellished with pearls and glitter, fabric-covered brads embellished with pearls, glitter letters, as well as the usual K & Company rub-ons, grand adhesions, and stickers. The matching albums are awesome, as well!

Two of the items I expect to be re-ordering quickly, because I know they won't stay around here long. The Addison collection has a spiral album kit complete with everything to make the book, and the Hannah collection has a photo cube kit that is equally as cute.

For the sports-minded, we also received a collection of sports papers and stickers from Rocky Mountain Scrapbooks. There are papers for volleyball, basketball, baseball, and football, plus cardstock stickers for volleyball, basketball, and baseball.

Thanks for such a great response to Scrapbook Generation's new class schedule for October and November. Many of you are calling to sign up for four and five classes at a time, but the gal who signed up for 14 at once has the rest of you beat!

I've been really impressed with the creative classes our Design Team has come up with, and it's equally impressive to see that you are responding to their projects with such enthusiasm.

Next week has five unique classes coming up. Two are almost sold out, and the rest have a few spots left if you are interested. Photos of all these classes are shown in earlier posts.

Monday at 6 p.m. -- He Said/She Said minibook with Laura Parks (Laura has designed a book that can be read frontwards and backwards! "His" comments and "her" comments are separate, but very together! It would be cool to keep for yourself, or give to your favorite couple.)

Tuesday at 2 p.m. -- Hey You All Occasion cards with Allison Davis (You'll be making not just one, but two oversized cards in the shape of a flower.)

Thursday at 6 p.m. -- Sending Cheer card with Allison Davis (This huge folding card will make anyone smile, it's so bright and "cheer"ful.)

Saturday at 10 a.m. -- Scrapbooking 101 with Marti Blattert (Marti is the perfect teacher for a beginning scrapbooking class. She's enthusiastic about the subject, and takes the time to help her students become acquainted with basic supplies, techniques, design ideas, and journaling.)

Saturday at 2 p.m. -- Mommy and Me Trick or Treat Basket with Amy Estes (This is an absolutely "too cute" project. An ordinary paper bucket is transformed with KI Memories Halloween papers, and ribbons to match. A great way for a mom (or aunt or grandmother) and child to spend a Saturday afternoon.)

On the following Monday at 6 p.m., Candy Conner has a cute School Days Picture Frame class and you actually make two frames. Candy is an elementary school principal, and she combines love of education with the love of scrapbooking in fine style. This project will work well with current school photos, and also has a vintage look that would blend well with photos from school days past.

I'll have to admit that I especially like it when Allison teaches a class -- I get to go to grandson Drew's house and babysit for a few hours. While Mom is teaching, we play with toys, read books, eat fish sticks, and give lots of hugs and kisses. I look forward to it all week, and this week I get two shifts!

Happy birthday to us! Just wanted to remind everyone that Scrapbook Generation is celebrating its second anniversary this weekend with a great sale -- 20% off everything in the store! Shop Friday from 10 a.m. until midnight, and Saturday from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m.

The Scrapbook Generation retreat at Branson used a Safari theme. We're already thinking of new ideas for the March retreats.

Photos of Scrapbook Generation's first weekend retreat in Branson should tell the rest of the story...read yesterday's comments from scrapbookers who attended in order to hear the "real deal" about the fun we all had!

For all you who wanted the recipe for the snack mix we served at one of the late-night snack buffets -- here it is. My family loves it, and it is a Christmas tradition at our house.

Orange Spice Snack Mix
1 package (6 ounces) Bugles original flavor snacks
1 can (12 ounces) mixed nuts
2 egg whites
2 tablespoons orange juice
1 and 1/3 cups sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 cup dried cherries

Heat oven to 275 degrees. Grease or spray jelly roll pan 15 and 1/2 x 10 and 1/2 x 1 inch.
Mix snacks and nuts in large bowl.
Beat egg whites, orange juice, sugar and cinnamon in small bowl, using wire whisk or hand beater, until foamy.
Pour over snack mixture; stir until evenly coated.
Spread in pan.
Bake uncovered 35 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes.
Stir in cherries. Bake uncovered 10-15 minutes or unti light brown and crisp.
Cool completely. Store in airtight container.
Makes about 10 cups of snack mix.