It took 17 pictures, and this is only PART of the new stuff that came in yesterday and today at Scrapbook Generation! Companies include BasicGrey, Creative Imaginations, Hot Off The Press, We R Memory Keepers, ANW Crestwood, and Petaloo. We still have stuff piled on the back tables that we're trying to figure out places for! And there's much more coming in Friday!

Just a reminder that we have a few spots available in a couple of the five "Super-Saver Scrapbooking" sessions Scrapbook Generation will be hosting this Saturday on National Scrapbooking Day.

Here's what to expect if you attend one of the Super-Saver sessions...
-- make three great double-page layouts for only $9 (must be pre-registered and pre-paid);
-- get your choice of themed cardstock stickers ($1.99-$2.99 value);
-- have a chance to win some of the items in our $50-worth of products give-aways EACH session!

And here's what to expect if you shop with us this Saturday...
-- spend $25 and get a special-edition Allison Davis page kit ($12.99 value) FREE!
-- spend any amount and choose 10 FREE die-cuts!
-- lots of sale items ranging from 20-70% off -- we're overflowing with new goodies!

Please join us! Call 417-886-0440 to register for Super-Saver sessions.

For all of you who attended one of Scrapbook Generation's two spring retreats in Branson, Friday, May 1 is the first day of registration for our two FALL retreats in Branson. The dates for the fall retreats are the weekends of October 16 and 23. You can call or stop by with the $50 non-refundable deposits starting Friday! On June 1, registration will open for any remaining spots.

My Mind's Eye is ready for purchase at Scrapbook Generation! The Breaking Free collection is a large group of summer-themed papers and embellishments, and the Pretty Please and Andrea Victoria collections (the last two photos) are smaller groups with accessory sheets. Enjoy!

Check out Allison's blog...she's now officially a designer for a digital scrapbooking company, in addition to all her other job titles! We're so proud of her! She'll also be teaching at FOUR of the Creating Keepsakes conventions this year: Tulsa, Kansas City, San Antonio, and Seattle.

By the time National Scrapbooking Day arrives next Saturday, May 2, Scrapbook Generation will have the largest and best selection of products in the almost five years since we've been open! I'm giving you an update today on all the stuff that's coming in this week, because it may get so crazy that I won't have time for much except some quick photos.

-- My Mind's Eye: everything new this awesome company has produced for this spring will arrive Tuesday, including the huge line called Breaking Free, plus two other collections called Pretty Please and Andrea Victoria.
-- Creative Imaginations: on Wednesday, we're getting 11 boxes weighing a total of 297 pounds! Themes include beach, Fourth of July and patriotic, general birthday, dance, cheerleading, swimming, England, Italy, Germany, Australia, Canada, Hawaii, Vegas, New York, Ireland, Mexico, Alaska, Florida, Washington D.C., boy birthday, girl birthday, autumn, dog, music, zoo, cowboy and cowgirl, baby boy, baby girl, summer and picnic, rock star, card games, antique and heritage, baking cookies, Shamu and dolphins, soccer, baseball, football, basketball, wedding, anniversary, family, Disney, cruise, drinks and wine, pizza, western, police, EMT, firefighter, Air Force, Navy, Army, Marines, veterans, Easter, and regular papers and die-cut papers for general use. Whew!

Sometime mid-week...
-- Petaloo: dozens of sets of both large and small flowers;
-- EK Success: the new "slim edger" border punches in four styles;
-- BasicGrey: the complete Wisteria and Lime Rickey collections;
-- Little Yellow Bicycle: the Baby Safari Boy and Baby Safari Girl collections of papers, die-cut papers, transparencies, fabric stickers, and much more;
-- Clearsnap: more Smooch accent ink;
-- Hot Off The Press: dozens of templates, including fold-it bows and swirls, giant fold-it cards, and more;
-- We R Memory Keepers: five colors of leather 3-ring binder 12x12 albums;
-- Eyelet Outlet: a variety of shaped brads, like giraffes, sunglasses, baby carriages, dog bones, and more;
-- ANW Crestwood: the Hat's Off graduation collection, and the coolest birthday collection (it includes three die-cut papers in the shape of a gift, party hat, and cupcake!);
-- Various vendors: totes in several new styles and colors.

We've also created a new space for mini-albums and the goodies you need to complete them. To the cute albums we already have, we're adding new ones by...
-- 7Gypsies (raw chipboard),
-- Bo Bunny (colored chipboard "edgy" albums and word albums),
-- BasicGrey (milk chocolate and dark chocolate albums in several styles),
-- KaiserCraft (MDF albums in the shapes of cupcakes, butterflies, cars, crowns, trains, skulls, and more),
-- Fancy Pants (all four shapes of the new "mixed media" albums that combine chipboard, acrylics, and more);
-- Various vendors (other shaped albums including a cowboy boot!).

To go with the mini-albums, we're re-stocking 14 colors of binding rings by KaiserCraft, and some add-ons by Tim Holtz, like muse tokens, adage tickets, swivel clasps, word keys, and more!

Thanks so much for your support as we keep getting closer to the milestone of being in business for five years! All of this new stuff pouring in the back door of Scrapbook Generation wouldn't be possible were it not for the constant purchases going out the front door by our awesome customers from both Springfield and the surrounding areas. Our wonderful online customers across the nation also get our heartfelt gratitude for all the kit club memberships and page kits and sketch books they purchase at scrapbookgeneration.com. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

I have lots to talk about today. We have several fun activities approaching at Scrapbook Generation, and the biggest of all is National Scrapbooking Day, which we will celebrate Saturday, May 2.

National Scrapbooking Day "Super-Saver" sessions and prizes
The top-of-the line My Mind's Eye papers and die-cuts shown above are part of the goodies we'll be using in our Super-Saver Scrapbooking free class sessions that day. Here are the other details...
-- You'll make THREE double-page layouts using the Penny Lane collection by My Mind's Eye. For your $9 materials fee, you'll get 6-7 sheets of cardstock, two double-sided patterned papers, two die-cut papers, three matching die-cut titles, and extras like buttons, jewels, and ribbon. You'll use our free cutting guides and sketches to re-create the three layouts on display. (Although three layouts sounds like a lot to get done in an hour and a half, you'll find that our simple, classic designs make that an easy task!)
-- You have the choice of five time slots -- 10, 11:30, 1, 2:30, and 4. Word to the wise...three of the times are within a person or two of capacity, and the others are filling up quickly as well.
-- To register, stop by SG or call 417-886-0440 and pre-pay the $9 fee.
-- BONUS: Everyone who attends one of the sessions gets their choice of themed cardstock stickers valued at $1.99-$2.99!
-- AND ANOTHER BONUS: In each of the five sessions, we'll be giving away over $50 in scrapbooking products by top manufacturers like Fancy Pants, My Mind's Eye, Pebbles, BasicGrey, Cloud 9 Design, and more! To be entered in the drawing, you have to be in attendance at one of the Super-Saver Scrapbooking sessions. (There wasn't room in the newsletter to include this info, so you are the first to know!)

Customer appreciation gifts...
-- Everyone who makes a purchase of at least $25 that day will receive a special-edition Allison Davis page kit, a $12.99 value. (Adults only, one per family please.) Allison is a Hall of Fame member, Dream Team member, and a contributing writer for Creating Keepsakes magazine!

And more free gifts...
While supplies last, when you make a purchase of any amount you may choose 10 free die-cuts from a selection of hundreds of topics. (Adults only, one set per family please.)

National Scrapbooking Day sale...
We're literally overflowing with new items, and many products will be marked down to make room for even more goodies. Watch for red stickers throughout the store signaling discounts of up to 70 percent on albums, mini-albums, papers, stickers, other embellishments, and more!

Changing the subject to sketch sessions...
-- This Saturday, April 25, we'll be celebrating the second birthday of our popular sketch sessions. For the Allison Davis sketch sessions, everyone who attends the sessions will receive 20% off the cost of their papers, and VIP Club members will add an extra 20% on top of their regular discount of 5-20% for their papers.
-- Everyone attending will receive a special-edition booklet of five exclusive Allison Davis sketches that will not be published in any of our sketch books.

Midnight Madness crop this Friday...
The crop is full, but we do have a waiting list, and sometimes people have to cancel at the last minute and we are able to go to the list.

Wow! This has been an awesome delivery day at Scrapbook Generation! The top two photos are the new Garden Grove collection by Scenic Route, and the next five photos are the 120 new papers (22 separate collections) from Dream Street Papers, a new company for us. At this point, we're having a difficult time trying to find places to put all the new stuff, and we have huge shipments arriving in less than a week from Creative Imaginations and My Mind's Eye!

Friday, all the colors of Smooch accent ink by Clearsnap will be arriving. It's a great new product that sold out before most of you even saw it, except as a photo on this blog. I ordered much more this time, in case it's hard to get again.

New today at Scrapbook Generation...
-- 13 new colors (almost all are limited editions) of Tattered Angels' Glimmer Mist. The photo doesn't show all of them, but the names of many of them make me hungry! Names like dreamsicle, lime twist, sherbet, cherry limeade, and lemon meringue. There's also cherry blossom, garden fairy, creme de chocolat, mimosa, sweet pea, hydrangea, dew drop, and riptide!
-- An awesome graduation group by Reminisce, with some flocked, foiled, and glittered papers and embellishments. The photo doesn't do the papers justice. There's a black glitter swirl paper that is one of the most beautiful papers I've ever seen!

On the way...
-- Creative Imaginations: the huge shipment I mentioned a few days ago should arrive Monday or Tuesday of next week;
-- Wednesday: Scenic Route and Dream Street Papers;
-- Friday (possibly): Smooch ink by Clearsnap -- finally(!) -- we sold out of what we had in two days, and haven't been able to re-stock -- it's been stuck in customs;
-- Soon: BasicGrey Wisteria and Lime Rickey.

As we gear up for National Scrapbook Day on May 2, the new products will just keep rolling in. I'll keep you updated with the latest info right here!

Karin and I have sticky, gooey, yummy BBQ sauce up to our knuckles right now! Charlie and Karon Rapp just brought us some chicken and ribs from their son's booth at the 10th annual Rock'n Ribs BBQ competition taking place just a few blocks away in the Bass Pro parking lot. His group won a prize last year, and they definitely get my vote today! Both meats were delicious, and such an unexpected treat. Since we opened almost five years ago, Karon has become a good friend, and she's moved up another notch today!

Great day yesterday at Scrapbook Generation, with arrivals from Fancy Pants and cherryArte! The top photo is the On a Whimsy collection by Fancy Pants, and the rest of the photos are the huge assortment of goodies from cherryArte. The cherryArte papers are double-sided, and I tried to show in the last photo that while the front side of the paper is usually a bold design, the back side is usually a smaller print or a stripe. So many possibilities!

Next product arrivals...
-- on Monday: lots of new limited edition Glimmer Mist colors, and the new and sparkly graduation collection by Reminisce;
-- on Wednesday: another new company for us -- Dream Street Papers! We're getting 120 papers from 22 different collections!
-- on Wednesday: the large Garden Grove collection from Scenic Route.
-- late next week or early the next week after: BasicGrey's Lime Rickey and Wisteria collections!

Activity info...
-- We still have a few spots left in our "Girly Girl" Super-Saver Scrapbooking sessions this Saturday. We'd love to have you join us. We're using awesome papers and embellishments from My Mind's Eye.
-- Scrap-A-Palooza registration is well underway. You can register by a link on our website, or go directly to star1051.fm. Register for Allison Davis classes at scrapbookgeneration.com.
-- Coming up April 25, the Allison Davis free sketch sessions second birthday celebration. Everyone gets 20% off their papers for the sketch session, and VIP Club members get an even bigger discount! Call us to register, or stop by SG.
-- You'll hear much more about this later, but we have tons of special activities, sales, give-aways, prizes, and more scheduled for National Scrapbooking Day, Saturday, May 2. The special "Super-Saver Scrapbooking" sessions are starting to fill up, especially the two morning classes. If you want to get in on all the fun, call or stop by soon to register.
-- And don't forget that Friday, May 1 is the first day that you can register for our October weekend retreats in Branson, if you attended one of the spring retreats. Others can register for any open spots starting June 1.

I had some of my dates right, and some wrong. New stuff that arrived at Scrapbook Generation today includes the On A Whimsy collection by Fancy Pants, and the huge assortment of papers, chipboard, die-cuts, and rub-ons by cherryArte! I think you'll love the bright papers from this company that is new for us.

It's Crate Paper time at Scrapbook Generation! All three of the new collections arrived this morning. There are letter sets, glitter borders, glitter die-cuts, double-sided papers, and cute-cute die-cut papers.

Arriving Thursday...over 60 papers and matching goodies from Cherry Arte;
Arriving Friday...the On a Whimsy collection by Fancy Pants;
Arriving sometime next week...nine new colors of Glimmer Mist and the new graduation collection by Reminisce, the Garden Grove collection by Scenic Route.
Arriving closer to the end of the month...everything My Mind's Eye, everything Doodlebug, both new BasicGrey groups, tons of Creative Imaginations stuff, and more, more, more! I'm ordering as fast as I can! When you come in for our National Scrapbooking Day festivities Saturday, May 2, prepare to have some super shopping fun!

Check out scrapbookgeneration.com sometime, and you'll find some new features Stacey has added for us.

-- There is Scrap-A-Palooza info, plus you can now register for the Allison Davis Scrap-A-Palooza classes online! She has three great layout classes, and in all three, in addition to making a great layout, you'll learn interesting techniques that you'll be able to use over and over again.

-- You can now purchase our "regular" page kits online! Our club kits have been online since the beginning, but after requests from our online customers all over the country, we've now added some of the kits from our "kit wall" that area scrapbookers have come to love. Just click on "shop online" and you'll find six of our newest kits available for purchase.

This Saturday, it's "Girly Girl," time at Scrapbook Generation! We have special-edition Super-Saver Scrapbooking sessions planned using papers and titles and journaling cards from the My Mind's Eye Penny Lane collection, and flowers by KaiserCraft -- all for $9!

We'll be making three double-page layouts using the goodies shown above. To register for the 10, 11:30, 1, or 2:30 sessions, just call us at 417-886-0440, or stop by SG, to pre-pay the $9 materials fee and choose your time slot. On Saturday, we'll provide a cutting guide, three classic sketches, and sample pages. You bring basic tools and then create three photo-ready double-page layouts in less than an hour and a half, all for under $10. We'd love to have you join us!

We've had such a great time at Scrapbook Generation today, celebrating the second birthday of our Saturday Sketch Sessions. Over 70 scrapbookers took part in our special sketch sessions today, and in addition to feasting on red velvet cake, coconut cake, german chocolate cake, and cookies, they each took home a special edition booklet of five double-page sketches I made just for this occasion!

Karin and I took a few minutes and came up with a list of all the communities that were represented today at the sketch sessions, and it shows that if you provide a service they want, people will drive just about any distance to reach you! At today's sketch sessions, we were thrilled to have scrapbookers from Springfield, Marshfield, Aurora, Nixa, Mt. Vernon, Rogersville, Stotts City, Republic, Willard, Sparta, Brookline, Ozark, Bolivar, Lebanon, Morrisville, Branson, Clinton, Oseola, Joplin, Ash Grove, Battlefield, Buffalo, Fair Grove, Strafford, and even Columbus, Kansas and Ash Flat, Arkansas!

Thanks for sharing the day with us, and thanks so much for continuing to love our sketches!

Here's a quick update on goodies we expect to arrive next week...
-- Fancy Pants: the On a Whimsy collection;
-- Crate Paper: all three new collections, including papers, glitter die-cuts, rub-ons, chipboard, and the coolest matching die-cut papers;
-- Scenic Route: the new Garden Grove collection;
-- Cherry Arte: this is a new company for us, and we'll be getting over 60 papers and matching goodies including rub-ons and die-cuts.

Later in April: all the new My Mind's Eye, all the new Doodlebug, and all the two new collections by BasicGrey. We're also expecting an absolutely huge shipment from Creative Imaginations for beach, travel, summer, birthday, Disney, western, baby boy, baby girl, family, wedding, autumn, Fourth of July, military, and much, much more!

The Crop-A-Dile Corner Chomper has arrived at Scrapbook Generation! This handy tool is a 2 in 1 corner rounder that cuts both 1/4" and 1/2" round corners and works beautifully on thick or thin projects. The Corner Chomper easily cuts through paper, cardstock, chipboard, leather, plastic, acrylic/poly, and more! Priced at $24.99, it's a great item to add to your tool chest.

We are the champions! As soon as the MVP sports collection arrived from We R Memory Keepers, I had been dying to make a page using all the goodies. The bold mix of colors is perfect for Mansfield's maroon, white and gold school colors (and for lots of other school color combinations as well) and it was just what I had been looking for to spark an interest in getting Stacey and Ali's sports photos, clippings, and memorabilia organized and in albums.

I used some of the foil accented papers, a journaling die-cut, a chipboard title, and an over-sized trophy eyelet (not visible in the above photo) to create a page about Stacey's senior year of volleyball, when her team won the championship of the Summit Conference Tournament. I've made a decision to keep the newspaper clippings separate from the photos by alternating pages. I think that will make creating the albums easier.

I had a great time making the page, and we'll see if I can have completed albums for them by birthdays or Christmas!

Happy Birthday to us!
Hope you can join us this Saturday as we celebrate the second birthday of our hugely popular "sketch sessions." When I came up with this idea two years ago, I wasn't sure how these classes would go over. And when I tried to explain my idea to the rest of the gang here at Scrapbook Generation, I still wasn't sure the whole concept would be a success, or that anybody but me would understand what I wanted to do. Anyway, that's all in the past, and our sketch sessions continue to be the most popular events we host at SG. In addition, we've sold thousands of copies of volumes one, two, and three of our sketch books to scrappers in the Springfield area and across the country! (Watch for volume four in July!)

To celebrate this milestone, we have special events planned for this Saturday.
-- Everyone who attends one of the sketch sessions gets 20% off the cost of their sketch session papers, and VIP Club members get to add an extra 20% on top of their regular discount of 5-20% off their sketch session papers.
-- We'll have birthday cake and other goodies for you.
-- Everyone who attends the sketch sessions receives a special-edition booklet of five exclusive sketches by Debbie Sanders. These sketches will never be published in any of our sketch books.
-- We'll be using the great Bo-Bunny papers pictured above, but like always, if these papers are not for you, you have the freedom to choose any other papers at SG you would like to use.
-- If you aren't already signed up, please do so quickly. The 10 and 11:30 sessions are already full, and there are just a handful of spots remaining in the 1 and 2:30 sessions.

Today, I'm taking some time to remember my dad, Charlie Rush. He died in his sleep 10 years ago yesterday. It was Easter morning when my mother called me and told me she couldn't wake him up. Although I knew instantly that he was gone, I raced to their house in my nightgown and robe in hopes that she was wrong. I was able to have a few minutes just sitting with him before the ambulance arrived and all the official activities of dealing with a death began.

As I've written before, he was a cigarette smoker all his life, and although he tried to quit every way imaginable, he was never able to overcome it. After his death, his doctor told us that Charlie had congestive heart failure. He had just decided to keep that information to himself, to spare us the concern and worry, I'm sure. I hope his shortened life can be a message to others, because I believe he would still be here with us today, were it not for the damage that smoking did to his body. I often think about all the wonderful times we could have had together over the past 10 years, and how sad it is that he missed the creation of Scrapbook Generation by his daughters, that he missed the weddings of his granddaughters, and that he missed the births of his two great-grandsons.

Many of you have seen this layout I made about him, because it's been on display here in the store since we opened. I wrote the journaling the night he died, April 4, 1999, and it was included on his funeral program. I wanted to share it with everyone today. How fortunate I was to have him as my father.

For Charlie, from Debbie
"On Sunday, my dad died. He was 71, so it doesn't seem right to say it isn't fair, but that's how I feel. I wanted him to be around forever, or at least a few more years. Maybe by then I would have been able to tell him all the things I never said out loud.

Like how it lifted my spirits just to know he was in the same building I was in. At church, all he had to do was cough 15 rows behind me and I'd know he was there without turning an inch.

Like how I was so proud that people in the community respected his business skills and his character.

Like how much I enjoyed hearing about his basketball glory days and how I wish I could have seen him play.

Like how much I appreciated his constant help and encouragement over the years.

Like how his approval meant everything to me, and how I hope that once in a while, in my crazy life, I made him proud of me.

Like how wonderful it is to not have one bad memory of him, but to have a mental storehouse of badminton games, hula hoops, sparklers, cookouts, and trips to the creek.

My family will miss many things about Charlie, including his wise advice, his even temper, and his good nature. We won't have anyone to tease about having "bug eyes" the next time we take pictures, or anyone to buy jigsaw puzzles for next Christmas, or anyone to laugh at when he says "hell's bells." We won't have the guy who loved playing golf, or who on Saturday, brought my mother a wildflower he found growing in the yard.

We didn't get to tell him goodbye. I never told him how I felt.

Charlie, you were the greatest."

I wanted to show you the complete assortment of papers and embellishments from the MVP collection by We R Memory Keepers. I absolutely love this line, and I'm going to try and actually make a couple of pages of Stacey and Ali's high school sports activities this week. There are so many great embellishments to match -- even flowers!

My picture is a bit dark, but I wanted you to get a sneak peek of the three double-page layouts we'll be making in the April Super-Saver Scrapbooking sessions at Scrapbook Generation this Saturday. Your cost -- only $9!

We'll be using six sheets of cardstock, three double-sided papers and one die-cut paper by My Mind's Eye, three die-cut titles by My Mind's Eye, and some ribbons, jewels, Kaiser flowers, and some punch-outs to complete our pages. With our cutting guides and three easy sketches to follow, you'll be able to make these cute pages in less than an hour and a half -- a great bargain for busy people!

The first two sessions, in the morning, are both full, and there are only five spots left between the 1 pm and 2:30 sessions. If you want to get in on the fun, just call 417-886-0440.

It's been a busy week at Scrapbook Generation with end-of-the-month club kit preparations, Scrap-a-Palooza details, and getting everything in line for the great activities we have coming up in April! Here are a few quick updates...

New products:
-- Bazzill: we just received the three new In Stitchz templates -- for teen boys, teen girls, and formal flourishes borders.
Arriving Friday afternoon:
-- Bazzill: new styles of the popular "Just the Edge" strips -- these sets include flourishes, and are completely different from the earlier sets;
-- We R Memory Keepers: more of the MVP sports collection, including brads, flowers, ribbons, rub-ons, and other matching goodies;
-- BoBunny: a new supply of the Edgy mini-albums which flew out of here last week when we got our first shipment.

Arriving next week:
-- We R Memory Keepers: the great new Crop-A-Dile Chomper, which easily adds perfectly rounded corners to paper, cardstock, chipboard, leather, acrylic/poly, and more -- it offers 1/4" and 1/2" corner options! We will be getting a limited supply this first time around, and if you want to make sure you don't get left out, you can call us and reserve one at 417-886-0440. The price is $24.99. There is also a carry case for $9.99.

Arriving later in April -- it's going to be a great month!
-- My Mind's Eye: all the new goodies this company is debuting this spring, including Breaking Free, Pretty Please, and Andrea Victoria -- (you'll absolutely love them!);
-- BasicGrey: the Wisteria and Lime Rickey collections are due to ship mid-month;
-- Doodlebug: six fantastic sparkly new collections will arrive near the end of the month;
-- Crate Paper: all the new goodies will arrive sometime this month -- let you know a ship date as soon as I have one;
-- Scenic Route: the Garden Grove collection, sometime soon!

Scrap-a-Palooza:
Remember that you do the registration for the event with the radio station, and the registration for the Allison Davis classes with us. We have Ali's classes available for viewing and purchasing at scrapbookgeneration.com. She has three awesome layouts you can choose from! You can also sign up for her classes by calling us or stopping by.

April Super-Saver Scrapbooking:
I've almost finished the three layouts for this Saturday, and I may give you a sneak peek later this afternoon. The papers are by My Mind's Eye. If you haven't signed up yet, the 10 and 11:30 sessions are full, and there are only a handful of spots left in the 1 pm and 2:30 pm sessions. To register, just call and pre-pay the $9 materials fee!