Congratulations to Michelle Dorland, the winner of our August blog comment contest. For lack of a more technologically advanced way of picking the winner, Karin drew the number "3" out of a box, and Michelle wrote the third comment! Michelle will receive the prize package shown above, which includes over $50 of products, including a 12x12 set of Fancy Pants chipboard, a set of clear stamps by locally-owned Nikki Sivils Scrapbooker, and some matching papers, chipboard embellishments, and glitter embellishments by KI Memories.

We had lots of fun with this contest, and enjoyed reading all the comments you provided. Thanks so much for entering. Don't miss the September blog contest, which starts September 9.

Also, today is the day that we're changing things around a bit here at the store, making room for an area dedicated to all things vintage. As soon as we get things "beautified," I'll post some pictures. There will be a huge amount of new items to fill this new vintage area, including Tim Holtz goodies!

Scrap-a-Palooza news! There are only 9 spots left! We have 191 people registered, and the event is going to be a sell-out again!

New goodies! Pieces of the seventh new BoBunny collection came at different times and so we were holding it back until it was complete. It's a beautiful combination of creamy yellows, blues, and browns, and you'll love the innovative twist that BoBunny has given the die-cut papers.

Scrapbook Generation also has lots of new chipboard albums, chipboard shapes, and sheer shapes by Maya Road. Actually, this order came in on Thursday, and everything is selling so quickly that as soon as I finish blogging, I'm placing another order!

And don't forget the August blog contest! Go to the August 23 post and leave an answer to our random contest question. You may win a $50 prize package! The winner will be announced on Monday. And even if you don't want to enter, take the time to read the comments that have already been left...it's fun to read about what others are scrapbooking, and how they feel about their projects.

As we gear up for Scrap-a-Palooza, the shipments of new goodies are starting to increase! The following orders are already on the way to us:
-- Maya Road -- arrived today! (chipboard shapes, acrylic shapes, and lots of cute mini-albums);
-- Graphic 45 (these papers have been selling so quickly at Scrapbook Generation that we've already re-ordered all three of the new collections so that the Palooza shoppers won't miss out);
-- SEI (a beautiful new fall collection with some unique die-cut papers and more);
-- Best Creations (four or five new glitter paper collections, plus more colors of their great solid glitter paper that doesn't shed and works in Cricut machines);
-- My Little Shoebox (several collections, plus some mini-alphabet stickers and - my favorite - glittery epoxy-like letter stickers);
-- Reminisce (a huge amount of new collections, including jungle, Halloween and Christmas, all with glitter, flocking, and more fun touches)
-- Sassafras Lass (a new collection in their unique and playful style);
-- K & Company (a fall-palette collection of papers and embellishments);
-- Flair (new Christmas and Halloween collections).

Don't forget to enter our August blog contest by going to the August 23 post and leaving a comment answering the question. Reading your answers has been lots of fun! Someone is going to win a $50 prize package!

Numbers for Scrap-a-Palooza are awesome! We already have over 175 people signed up and it isn't even September! This one is definitely going to sell out early. Hope you can join us...don't wait too late!

Thanks for all the great answers to our August blog contest. You have almost a week left to leave your comment and be entered in the drawing for a $50 prize package. See the previous post and answer the question for a chance to win.

Welcome to Scrapbook Generation's August blog contest! From now until midnight on Sunday, August 30, leave a comment on the following question, and you'll be entered in a random drawing to win a prize package valued at $50. We'll announce the winner on Monday, August 31.

Here's the August question...
What was the topic of the most recent page you scrapbooked, and what is your favorite thing about the page?

Updates on events...
-- We're really excited about the new Tim Holtz Techniques series of classes that Allison will be teaching. The response to the first class has been phenomenal, even before the class samples have been displayed. The classes are Sept. 1 and 3, and there will be many more to come! To sign up for the September classes, give us a call.
-- The September Super-Saver Scrapbooking sessions on Saturday, Sept. 5 (enough S's for you?) are going to be autumn-themed and awesome! We're going to be using Scenic Route papers, and I got a great deal on some fall rub-ons to use for the titles, and we're passing that deal on to you. You'll be getting a huge value for your $9! Again, call us to sign up and make three beautiful double-page layouts for only $9.
-- Monday, September 7, drop by for our Labor Day sale featuring 20% off all Scrapbook Generation page kits. The first 50 people to spend at least $25 get a $12.99 Halloween page kit featuring My Mind's Eye papers!
-- Designers Challenge Club will meet for the first time on Thursday, Sept. 17. Please sign up as quickly as possible so that I know how many people to order materials for. To read a complete description of this fun new club that will meet once a month, see the blog post on July 25.

Updates on products...
-- We're working to create a new vintage/heritage section at Scrapbook Generation. In addition to offering a complete selection of Graphic 45 papers and die-cuts, we're adding vintage papers and embellishments from Webster's Pages, embellishments from Crafty Secrets and 7Gypsies, and a huge selection of Ranger and Tim Holtz products including tools, inks, paints, and embellishments. Watch for this new area dedicated to all things vintage to be launched within the next week.
-- Many shipments will be arriving within the next three weeks, as we gear up for Scrap-a-Palooza. Watch for Crate Paper, Reminisce, SEI, Crafters Workshop, Best Creations, BasicGrey, Three Bugs in a Rug, Pink Paislee, Maya Road, Tattered Angels, KI Memories, Sassafras Lass, Cosmo Cricket, Making Memories, Nikki Sivils: Scrapbooker, and much, much more. Some things will go directly out on the floor at SG, but others will be held and will debut at Scrap-a-Palooza on Saturday, Sept. 12!

Our first convention is over...and it won't be the last! We're exhausted, but thrilled, after Scrapbook Generation's first venture into the world of Creating Keepsakes' conventions. We were busy up until the last moment printing and binding sketch books and packing kits, arriving in Tulsa about 6 pm on Thursday. We had to have the booth set up by 10 pm, but Stacey was so well-organized that we didn't have a problem. She had set up the booth in the store on Wednesday, planned where everything was going to go, and packed everything in numbered and labeled boxes. I was impressed! We were also lucky to have her husband Jeremy's help in doing the heavy lifting! We did catch him talking to some of the ladies and trying to take credit for making all the scrapbook pages hanging up in our booth, but other than that, he was a great cashier and convention employee!

Our booth was the smallest size (10x10) and we quickly discovered that we will want larger booths at future conventions so that people can move around more freely and so that we can bring more things to sell (on Monday, I'll be trying to expand our booth size for our October CKC in Kansas City!). We were located across from the Tattered Angels booth (selling Glimmer Mist and more), which was an extremely busy place. Allison has struck up a friendship with Liz who works there and teaches classes for them, and Liz gave Ali a private lesson in all the latest things you can do with Glimmer Mist, their stencils, stamps, and more. Allison will be sharing these techniques later at Scrap-a-Palooza and here at SG!

We tried to get photos of the gals we knew who stopped by our booth, but if I missed you, my apologies! It was so nice to see "hometown" faces in the sea of strangers. We were also in constant contact with Karin, who was holding down the fort at SG. It was fun to call her and tell her how things were going! And I'm pretty sure she was glad we were in another state and she wasn't having to sort buttons or cut ribbon or pack kits!

Our kits and sketch books were very well received at the CK Vendor Faire! I didn't know what to expect, but we were thrilled with how well our booth did. It was a great deal of work, especially the past six weeks, but it was a great experience for us. Several of the "experienced" vendors like the gals at Tattered Angels and Technique Tuesday shared information with us about how to maximize our results and make set-up and tear-down easier. Watch for us to add more conventions in 2010, although we have to work around our three Scrap-a-Paloozas and our four Branson retreats, which are already booked.

We didn't see much of Allison, because she taught 11 sessions of three different classes, with about 60 ladies per session! It was fun for me to watch people recognize her! Lots of the people who stopped by our booth were huge fans of her work, and they were so excited about the sketch books and being able to create her pages with such ease.

Anyway, thanks for all your good wishes and support! Now it's time to get ready for Scrap-a-Palooza!

A quick post to let you know that in the last eight days, Scrap-a-Palooza has gone wild! Over 50 people registered in the past week, so we have less than 50 spots to fill with three weeks remaining before the Sept. 12 mega-crop. The radio advertising starts tomorrow, and that tends to speed up the registration process. Just a word to the wise, this one is filling up much earlier than the previous two events.

We're headed out the door to Tulsa. Late, of course! Wish us luck!

"Sketches for Cardmaking" by Stacey Atchley is now available! It's an awesome book! It contains 40 detailed sketches for cards of all sizes, and each sketch includes dimensions of all page elements, plus ways to vary the sketch, plus embellishment ideas.

Stacey and Ali and I leave for Tulsa and the Creating Keepsakes convention on Thursday! Karin will stay here, keeping Scrapbook Generation going strong!

The delivery gods were good to us today! Scrapbook Generation now has the complete new fall lines by both Graphic 45 and BoBunny.

Graphic 45 has three awesome collections, called Domestic Goddess, Renaissance Faire, and Christmas Past. If you are a vintage fan, you'll love these papers and matching die-cuts.

BoBunny brings style to Halloween, autumn, Christmas, and general themes. We have buttons, rub-ons, stickers, and even nicely-priced sets of clear stamps. Also, BoBunny has added die-cut papers to match their collections this time around, and they have added a different twist to what is quickly becoming a scrapbooking staple.

Scrapbook Generation is proud to announce the August edition of Allison's Creative Kitchen, by our own Allison Davis. Allison has created a two-page layout using a variety of fun products, and we've gathered them here so you can duplicate her page. She's written a "recipe" card that provides all the information you need to make the page, and for the extra this month, she's designed her own stitching templates! 

Switching topics...

On another subject, I wanted to personally thank all of you who have been so supportive and encouraging about our venture into the world of Creating Keepsakes' conventions. We leave for Tulsa Thursday, and I'm both excited about it and ready for it to be over. So many of you have shared with us your belief that we'll do really well as a vendor, and others of you have even offered to help us pack kits and do other jobs. While I wouldn't wish this amount of preparation on anyone else, it has certainly been a blessing to us that so many of you have reached out with the offer of a helping hand.

For all you back-to-schoolers, Scrapbook Generation just received a huge assortment of new school papers and embellishments from a variety of companies.

Product update: 

BoBunny is a definite for Monday.  

CKC - Tulsa update:

Allison did a post on her blog recently about our "scrapbook factory," as her sister Stacey has dubbed our work of the past few weeks. Ali talked about all the kits and sketch books we are producing to sell at the Creating Keepsakes Convention in Tulsa, and I wanted to share one of the comments. This is from Sharon in California...

"I have to say that I find your pages to be such a breath of fresh air! I have been using the Sketches #4 book constantly since it arrived and have ordered the previous three. I've been scrapping for years but had gotten into a rut lately. The fact that I can eliminate one step from my scrapping (the part where I sit and ponder a layout design!) has enabled me to scrap like a mad woman in the last few weeks! Thanks for putting in all the long hard hours at the Scrap Factory for us!!"

Scrap-a-Palooza #3 is just around the corner! Just talked to Chris Louzader from Midwest Family Broadcasting, and the September 12 mega-crop for 200 is more than halfway full. That's great news, and a reminder to those of you who intend to go that you need to get registered while there is still room.

And there's more great news! Lawrence Photo will be at Scrap-a-Palooza with photo machines so that you can print your photos on-site. They'll also be giving away free prints to everyone, enough to create a layout, and giving away other prizes as well. This service will be a super compliment to the features that Scrapbook Generation and the radio station already provide!

To register for Scrap-a-Palooza, follow the link in the right sidebar on this page. To register for classes at the event, follow the same link.

We're still in the middle of the craziness of trying to get everything ready for our first-ever participation in the Vendor Faire at the Creating Keepsakes Convention in Tulsa. We have just over a week to finish printing and binding books and completing over 60 new page kits! Stacey and Allison and Karin and I have all been working as hard as we can, and we hope it pays off! We know we'll see lots of our "regulars" there, and it will be fun to see people we know in the sea of all the 2,000 scrapbookers who are expected to attend!

Here's a quick update on products that will be arriving soon...
-- Graphic 45: all three new collections are shipping today and should arrive by Friday!
-- Reminisce: all seven new collections are shipping Wednesday and might arrive by Friday.
-- BoBunny: all seven new collections are supposed to ship this week and might arrive by Friday.

Other orders from some of your favorite companies will be arriving weekly, and we've added two new ones: Webster's Pages (awesome vintage collections) and My Little Shoebox (bright and colorful, with some great sparkly alphabet sets.)

The latest arrivals at Scrapbook Generation are school-themed and baby-themed. The top photo shows the Henry's Brilliance school collection by Nikki Sivils: Scrapbooker. The line includes matching owl-shaped chipboard albums, cut-out sheets, clear stamps, and more! The bottom two photos are the new baby collections by Creative Imaginations: Zach and Zoe. In addition to die-cut papers, there are foam glitter letters, a glitter word mini-album, rub-ons, and journaling cards.

A big congratulations goes out from Scrapbook Generation to Nikki Sivils and her husband Dan for a hugely successful first showing at the CHA (Craft and Hobby Association) summer show in Orlando a few days ago. Nikki was in yesterday and we were able to hear first-hand about how well her new company, Nikki Sivils: Scrapbooker, did in its inaugural exhibit. Her company took in tons of orders, and she's already busy designing the collections for the January show!

We've followed this story with lots of interest, especially the CHA booth decor, because Stacey and Allison and I made cards and layouts and home decor items for Nikki's booth. We worked with the Halloween, Christmas, and Valentine's Day lines, and had a great time creating the projects. However, Nikki said that some people were a little confused to see Drew's picture on layouts that didn't have Allison's name on them. She had to explain that it was a mother-and-two-daughters group!

You'll be seeing the three groups I mentioned a little later in the year. They aren't available for shipping just yet. However, we do have Nikki's school collection, which is called Henry's Brilliance. I'll post photos later today!

We have some great classes coming up at Scrapbook Generation! Stacey has a Creative Cards class tonight, featuring three wedding themed cards (0nly two are shown in the top photo). The cost is $10. If you can't make it tonight, the class is also offered at 2 pm on Tuesday, Aug. 18.

Allison has designed a cute and useful school mini-album that covers each grade from kindergarten through the senior year. It features a unique technique for the cover, then there are individual double-page spreads for each grade, and some extra pages for other photos. For each grade, there is an area to record the student's favorite teacher, favorite subject, least favorite subject, best friend, favorite food, favorite color, and best memory of the year. The class is $20, and is offered twice: Monday, Aug. 10 at 2 pm, and Tuesday, Aug. 25 at 6 pm (this is listed incorrectly in the newsletter as 2 pm).

My Mind's Eye is here! Seven gorgeous new collections, and the first of many shipments of new products that will be arriving at Scrapbook Generation over the next few days and weeks!

From the top...

-- Abbey Road, the typical MME assortment of papers, titles, and die-cut accessories;

-- Abbey Road's extras include chipboard accents, really cute brads, and ribbon sets;

-- Ooh La La, in color groups "for her" and "for him," have double-sided papers and matching die-cut sheets;

-- Two Halloween groups, named The Spider's Web and Boo! To You, have double-sided papers, die-cut sheets, sticker borders, brads, and ribbons;

-- Two Christmas groups, named The Merry Days of Christmas and Colorful Christmas, also have double-sided papers, die-cut sheets, sticker borders, brads, and ribbons.

This is unusual for me, but I have the project completed for the free Saturday Seminar on August 8! We'll be making this purse-shaped card, and learning how to use the slim edger border punches by EK Success. There are over a dozen styles of edge choices, and the punches are easy to use once you've learned a few tricks.

If you want to join us and make this totally free project, just call or stop by to pre-register. The time choices are 10, 11:30, 1, or 2:30.