This is it.

Today is the final day in Scrapbook Generation's original building.
I tend to get sentimental about places as well as people, and we've definitely created lots of memories in this place. Some have been hilarious, others have been touching, but they all are cherished. Thank you so much for your part in making SG's six years here so successful. It's been a wonderful time for us!

Don't forget that at 7 pm tonight, we'll be turning off the lights and closing the doors here for the final time. We'll re-open Tuesday morning at 10 am in the new building.

Today might be a good day to get signed up for the Super-Saver sessions on Saturday, Jan. 8, part of the hoopla that will be going on for our Nikki Sivils, Scrapbooker World Premiere Day. (The 10 am session is almost full.) We'll have lots of other fun going on, including free mini-classes, door prizes, free page kits with a $25 purchase, and our spectacular snack buffet!

Again, thanks so much for the support and encouragement you've given us the past six years, and the ability to make this change with confidence. From the four of us -- myself, Karin, Stacey and Allison -- thanks, and we'll see you soon!

Scrap-a-Palooza is January 22...

It's time to start thinking about January's Scrap-a-Palooza. We always promise you that we'll have at least 40-50 new paper collections at this mega-fun mega-crop, and we've surpassed our goal again this time. Currently, we have over 60 new collections just waiting for your shopping pleasure, and we'll probably add more before the event takes place.

Here are the 61 collections that we will debut at the January 22 Scrap-a-Palooza.

• Ta-Da Studios (a new company for us!)

Curly Q; Okee Dokee; Ring Around the Posy; Daddy 'O; Whirly Gig; Abode A la Mode; Festivus; Jock Jams; A Little R & R; Bountiful Blooms; The Big Top; Jolly Holly Days

• Making Memories

Paper Reverie Noir; Paper Reverie Sienne; Paper Reverie Brun Antique;
Paper Reverie Metallique

• KaiserCraft

Homemade; Candy Lane; Secret Bird; Prairie Lane; English Rose; Seaside

• Bella Blvd

Lovey; Socialite

• My Mind's Eye

State of the Heart

• BoBunny

Crazy Love; Crush

• American Crafts

City Park; Love

• Pebbles

Cats and Dogs

• Imaginisce

Enchanted; Dino Roar

• Scribble Scrabble

Bric-a-Brac; Haley; Nana's Trunk; Sweet N' Sour; Sweet Shoppe

• Creative Imaginations

Great Outdoors; Lego City Transportation; Harry Potter

• BasicGrey

Hopscotch; Oliver; Olivia

• Echo Park

Wintertime; Little Boy

• Glitz

Hoopla; Scarlett

• October Afternoon

Modern Homemaker; Campfire; Seaside

• Jillibean Soup

Pasta Fagioli; Old World Cabbage Stew

• Cosmo Cricket

Circa 1934

• Fancy Pants

Hot Chocolate; Lilac House

• Karen Foster

Grandma and Grandpa

• Paper Loft

Serendipity

• Scrappin' Sports

Sports Head On

• Pink Paislee

Sweetness

• Reminisce

Space Buddies; Cutopia

• SEI

Kris Kringle

Collections that we've re-ordered especially for Palooza shoppers...

• My Mind's Eye

Fine and Dandy (both boy and girl)

• Jillibean Soup

Christmas Chestnut Soup

• Imaginisce

Cottage Christmas

• Little Yellow Bicycle

Christmas Delight

Collections that will go out in the new store in January, 
and will also be at Palooza...

• BoBunny

Winter Frost

• We R Memory Keepers

Merry January; Be My Valentine; Family Keepsakes

• Graphic 45

Once Upon a Springtime

• Pebbles

New Arrival Boy; New Arrival Girl

• Creative Imaginations

Lullaby Girl; Lullaby Boy

• Nikki Sivils, Scrapbooker

Sugar Cookie; Something for Everyone; It's Raining, It's Pouring; Max and Mollie

If you haven't already registered for Scrap-a-Palooza, don't delay. This mega-crop for 250 has sold out all six times we've hosted it with radio station Star 92.9, and it's filling fast this time around as well. For detailed information and photos, check out the page at right titled "Scrap-a-Palooza mega-crop." To register, click here and you'll go directly to the radio station's sign-up page.

Two more days!

It's getting down to the last few hours of the original Scrapbook Generation! We've seen lots of familiar faces this week as we all count down the minutes until the time SG's first location closes for good. The store has been full the past couple of days with shoppers, but we still have plenty of sale items, and we keep adding things to the sale tables.

Three more days...

We had a great sale day Monday, but the sale tables are still full of items we don't want to move! Here are some of the brands represented with goodies you'll find marked down 25-75% at SG today, Wednesday, and Thursday.
• Maya Road
• Prima
• Doodlebug
• The Girls' Paperie
• Fancy Pants
• BasicGrey
• BoBunny
• My Mind's Eye
• KI Memories
• October Afternoon
• Pebbles
• My Little Shoebox
• Pink Paislee
• We R Memory Keepers
• Creative Imaginations
• Melissa Frances
• Paper Loft
• EK Success
• Reminisce
• Jenni Bowlin
and more!

Four more days...

Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas. We had such a fun time watching Drew and Jackson play with their new toys -- that's my favorite part of the day and I feel so fortunate to be able to share that with them!

I can't believe that we only have four days left in our "old" building. Lots of great memories there of fun and friends, but we're so excited about the move. If you're into nostalgia, stop by this week and take a look around!

Reminder: Big moving sale after Christmas!

The more you buy, the less we have to move!
Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday the week after Christmas, stop by Scrapbook Generation for our moving sale. We'll have lots and lots of miscellaneous papers and embellishments and other items marked down from 25-75%.

Thursday, December 30 will be the last day you can shop at our current location. We'll be closed Friday-Monday, then re-open Tuesday, January 4 in our new location.

New! Introducing the Studio G Reward Card...

Just a few minutes ago, we hosted the last class in our current classroom. The next time a group meets for a Scrapbook Generation class, it will be in our spacious-wonderful-awesome-spectacular new enclosed classroom in our new building. Because it's such a great space, we've decided to give the area its own name -- Studio G!

We also have a new promotion for the new year. 
It's called the Studio G Reward Card. 

Here are the basics of the program.
• The first time you attend a Saturday free class in 2011, you'll receive the Studio G Reward Card.
• For every Saturday free class (Super-Saver, Debbie sketch, or Allison sketch) you attend, we'll punch your card one time.
• You'll have a chance to earn bonus punches at special activities throughout the year.
• It's all about attending! We define attending as participating in the class by working on your project in Studio G. Picking up a kit does not count. Your card will be punched following your participation in the class.
• The responsibility for keeping the Studio G Reward Card is all yours. If the card is lost or misplaced, we'll give you a new card, but any punches you had received will be lost as well.
• You must present the reward card to be punched on the day of the Saturday activity. We will not give punches at any other day or time.

Here are the reward possibilities.
• When you've accumulated 15 punches, choose a $12.99 or $14.99 Scrapbook Generation page kit from our kit wall. (We're working on having all new kits in the new store!)
• If you want to go for 25 punches, you can choose a $20 gift card.
• For 20-50 punches, choose from an array of items. (When we're in the new building, we'll set up a display of other goodies that you can redeem your punch card for.)

Here's your first chance to earn bonus punches!
• Attend one of the Nikki Sivils, Scrapbooker World Premiere Day's special Super-Saver Scrapbooking sessions on Saturday, Jan. 8 and we'll start you off with FIVE punches! Choose from sessions at 10, 12.30, or 2:30. The fee to make the three double-page layouts for this Super-Saver is only $9. Just give us a call at 417-886-0440 to sign up.

Designers Challenge Club's November projects...
This month, club members worked with a Christmas collection from Fancy Pants, including several clear acetate glitter accents. As you can see, they came up with some creative projects! Next month, you'll be seeing projects using The Paper Company's "So Delish" collection of food-oriented papers, including some fabric "paper."

If you've always wanted to join Designers Challenge, now's the time! We're always accepting new members to try out the $15 monthly packet and come up with their own original designs to share with the rest of the group.

Projects by Designers Challenge member Kathy Casella...

 Projects by Designers Challenge member Annetta Svagera...

 Project by Designers Challenge member Karen Neely...

 Projects by Designers Challenge member Crystal Moody...

 Projects by Designers Challenge Club member Diana Iverson...

 Projects by Designers Challenge member Diane Schnake...

 Project by Designers Challenge member Charlie Meeks...

Project by Designers Challenge member Janice Owers...

 Projects by Designers Challenge member Christa Allgood...

Check out Candy Colwell's first class at SG!

Candy has created a gorgeous project for her first outing at Scrapbook Generation! This trinket box is fit for a queen, and definitely something to cherish on its own. This whimsical guy is decked out in a party hat, which features a Tim Holtz rosette and some Valentine bling. As you can expect with Candy, this class will be filled with techniques you can use over and over on other projects.

Join Candy, a talented crafter who loves art in all forms, for this creative journey. In her own words, "Taking something brand new and making it look old fascinates me. I love to incorporate different elements and mixed media in my pieces." Candy is well-known to scrapbookers in the Springfield area. She previously taught classes at Forever Memories in Ozark, which was such a welcoming store that the friendships formed there have continued to flourish.

Candy is much-sought-after as a teacher. She's recently taught classes at For Keeps Sakes in St. Louis. We're thrilled to add her to our list of talented teachers.

Vintage Valentine Trinket Box
• Thursday, January 13 at 10 am
• Instructor: Candy Colwell
• Fee: $25

Join us for Allison Davis sketch sessions this Saturday!

We hope you can join us Saturday and make this elegant layout at the Allison Davis free sketch sessions. The sessions are held at 10, 11:30, 1, and 2:30. Your cost to make this layout will be about $4, and you'll also receive a free computer sketch of the design that you can use over and over. As always, if these papers don't work for you, simply choose and pay for others at SG. To pre-register, just give us a call at 417-886-0440.

Can't attend but would like a kit? We would be happy to fix one for you. The fee is $5 and is due when the kit request is made.

Special note to Super Sketch Club members: Yes, the materials for this layout will be included with your December kit!

It's always such a relief!

Volume seven of Sketches for Scrapbooking went to the printer last week, and today, we happily sent volume two of Sketches for Cardmaking on its way as well. Both new books should be available for purchase after the first of the year. We can't wait for you to see them!

Don't forget about Scrap-a-Palooza!

I know that most of us are focused on Christmas activities at this time of year, but I want to remind you that Scrap-a-Palooza takes place Saturday, January 22, and registration has been pretty heavy for all the other activities we're all involved in right now.

I just talked to Chris Louzader at the radio station, and we have less spots available right now that we did at a similar time last year! We're been fielding lots of phone calls about registering for the event, and those are usually from people who haven't attended before, so it seems as if the interest is high and that many "new" people will be attending.

And even though the SG gang is dreaming of the new building we'll be moving into in just a couple of weeks, we've also been busy getting ready for Palooza. Some of you have seen the huge piles of boxes back in our classroom area. Those boxes hold part of the Palooza loot we'll be sharing with you on Jan. 22 -- we already have over 50 new paper collections on hand that will debut at Palooza, and we're not through yet! Soon, I'll share the list of all the new collections -- it's an awesome list!

Click here to go directly to the Star 92.9 website where you can register for Scrap-a-Palooza.

Designers Challenge Club party...

It's time for a few treats! The Designers Challenge Club will be meeting at 6 Thursday evening to share the projects they have created from the November packet. I can't wait to see what everyone has made with the Fancy Pants Christmas collection and some glittery accents.

We'll also be having some holiday treats. We'll bring some goodies to share, and if a few of you could also bring a snack to share, we can call it a party!

A few more details about moving to our new location...

After we've talked more about the time necessary to move everything to the new building, we have decided that we'll need more time than I had indicated in a post a few days ago. Here is the latest schedule:

• Friday, December 31 (New Year's Eve) -- closed
• Saturday, January 1 (New Year's Day) -- closed
• Monday, January 3  -- closed

• Tuesday, January 4 -- Re-open in the new building! (Your January club kits will be available to pick up on this day, rather than on the first of the month as usual. We hope you'll forgive us this one time!)

...and a great moving sale after Christmas!

There are lots of miscellaneous papers and embellishments that we don't want to move to the new building, so we're going to offer them to you at great prices! Monday, Dec. 27 through Thursday, Dec. 30, we'll have several tables full of items marked down 25% -75%.

Debbie Sanders free sketch sessions this Saturday...

We hope you can join us Saturday and make this colorful Christmas layout at the Debbie Sanders free sketch sessions. The sessions are held at 10, 11:30, 1, and 2:30. Your cost to make this layout will be about $4, and you'll also receive a free computer sketch of the design that you can use over and over. As always, if these papers don't work for you, simply choose and pay for others at SG. To pre-register, just give us a call at 417-886-0440.

Can't attend but would like a kit? We would be happy to fix one for you. The fee is $5 and is due when the kit request is made.

Special note to Super Sketch Club members: Yes, the materials for this layout will be included with your December kit!

BasicGrey Christmas mini-album class Thursday...

This is the first mini-album class we've offered using designs by BasicGrey, and we're really impressed with the amount of product that is included for each person!

In addition to the chipboard album, you also receive a 12x12 sheet of element stickers, a 6x12 sheet of letter stickers, a full 6x6 paper pad, a package of four canvas tags, and a pack of eight metal clips. Allison has made the model, and she said there are tons of items left over to use on other projects.

We'd love to have you join us for the class Thursday evening at 6 pm. If you can't attend but would like a kit, you'll get great directions and photos. Class spots and kits are both limited at this point! Fee for either is $25. Just give us a call at 417-886-0440 to sign up.

A few details about moving to our new location...

We were able to get in the building next door for about 45 minutes last week! We measured walls, floor space, and just generally tried to figure out a plan of action. To put it simply, it's overwhelming! We're in the process of deciding what new fixtures we'll need, and what areas we'll need to remodel and paint.

Right now, the church doesn't plan to be out of the building until Friday, December 31. If that remains the case, we will physically move the store on Saturday, January 1 and Sunday, January 2. We'll be open Monday, January 3 in the new building, but don't expect it to be pretty! The entire process of adding new fixtures, decorating, and other finishing touches will have to come over the next few weeks.

As you can imagine, this is an exciting time for us. I just wanted to make sure that you know that the new location will be a "work in progress" for quite some time!

Seven more new Christmas collections!

When I walked around the store Monday morning, I realized that the sixty-jillion Christmas groups that had arrived since August were almost gone. So the elves and I scurried around and by Friday, we have seven new collections that should help the take care of the problem of Christmas goodies flying off the shelves around here!

Pink Paislee's Father Christmas, below...

Cosmo Cricket's Mitten Weather, below...

The Paper Company's Christmas Village, below...

 The Paper Company's Holly Jolly, below...

 Moxxie's Joys of the Season, below...

 KaiserCraft's 'Tis the Season and Be Merry collections, below...

It's looking a lot like Christmas around here!

At our sixth birthday party, hundreds of you tried out the Photobook Creator by Unibind during the free mini-classes with Ken Oliver. Lots of you pre-ordered the machine, too. Our shipment has arrived! We have plenty of the machines for both the pre-orders and for those of you who have been thinking about it since you saw it in action! We also stocked up on covers to be used with the machine, including 12x12, 8.5x11 (landscape style with an opening in the cover for a photo), 8x8, and 6x4. We also have Unibind photo paper and "talking paper," which is a 10-second recording device that you can attach to your creation! The machines are affordable at $99.99, and the covers range from $5.99 to $11.99.

We also just received a huge shipment of album kits that make great Christmas gifts! The last photo shows a small portion of the over 100 new albums (12x12 and 8x8) that just arrived.

Photos of all December classes are posted here!

This is a world record for us, I think! All the December class models are completed, and photos are posted in the main portion of the blog, and also gathered in one spot on the right sidebar. Check out "December 2010 class photos" to see everything in one place!

Allison Davis class for December...BasicGrey 'Jovial' mini-album!

This Christmas project is offered two times this month:
• Monday, December 6 at 2 pm
• Thursday, December 9 at 6 pm
Join BasicGrey sketch artist Allison Davis and make a Christmas mini-album with canvas tags, metal clips, letter stickers and more from BasicGrey!
• Instructor: Allison Davis
• Fee: $25

'Graphic 45 Vintage Charm' Tammy Roberts' class for December...

This nostalgic project is offered two times this month:
• Tuesday, December 7 at 6 pm
• Tuesday, December 14 at 10 am
Join Graphic 45 Design Team member Tammy Roberts and make a vintage Christmas stocking that looks like the real thing. This furry, glittery concoction will brighten your home for the holidays, or make a great gift!
• Instructor: Tammy Roberts
• Fee: $15

Great article in ScrapStreet magazine!

There's a long article, complete with examples of beautiful layouts, about Allison's blog in the latest issue of ScrapStreet magazine. The article is an interview with Allison, who explains how her sketch blog and sketch talents have developed over the years. Another great thing about the article is that it features a specific sketch and six layouts from some talented scrapbookers. They include Allison, her sister Stacey Atchley, Springfield gals Katrina Hunt and Christina Hoffman, plus Carolyn Wolff and Melissa Elsner.

Click here to read the article.

Announcing the Scrapbook Generation Publishing Creative Team!

Congratulations to...
Tammy Tutterow
Amy Roller
Christina Hoffman
Mireille Divjak
Carolyn Wolff
Christy Arthur
Melissa Elsner
Katrina Hunt
Noey Hunt
Shari Thurman
Jill Sarginson
Jennifer Larson
Suzanna Lee

To check out the work of these talented ladies, you can go to Allison's blog (link on right sidebar) to view their blogs and galleries. This creative team will be working closely with Allison to make the new SG Publishing sketch site a super resource for inspiration of all kinds. The new site, which will go live on January 1, is called Sketch Support. You'll find all kinds of sketch creativity soon at sketchsupport.com. (Naturally, we planned to do this right in the middle of the move to the new location on purpose!)

Also, thanks so much to everyone who entered the search for the SG Creative Team. With over 60 entries, it was incredibly difficult to narrow the field down to a manageable number. Anyone who thinks that choosing people based on something as subjective as scrapbooking is an easy task can have my job next time!

Retreat registration underway...

The phone has been going crazy this morning! We've already signed up people for almost one-third of the 80 spots in our two weekend retreats. You can choose from March 11-13 or March 18-20. Just don't wait too late to get registered!

New website up soon!

If you go to scrapbookgeneration.com and don't find us, don't be alarmed! The old website is gone, and we're waiting for the new one to go live. We've been told that it will take 24-48 hours for the new one to show up.

Creative Cards class for December...
• Wednesday, December 8 at 2 or 6 pm
Make three Christmas cards embellished with Girls Paperie items, also use alcohol inks to colorize metal snowflakes!
• Instructor: Stacey Atchley
• Fee: $10

Join us for BasicGrey Jovial Christmas Cards 'play date' classes this month!
• Thursday, December 2 (set your own start time!)
• Wednesday, December 15 (set your own start time!)
Make eight cards embellished with chipboard, die-cuts, stickers, and rub-ons! Includes envelopes.
• This is being offered as a new type of class. We're partnering with BasicGrey for what we're calling "play date" classes. These classes feature BasicGrey project kits that include photos and easy-to-follow directions. "Play date" classes don't have an official instructor or a set time period. You are free to set your own class time and length!
• What we do: Make the models for the class, have them on display in the classroom, and have a staff member ready and willing to help you with any questions.
• What you do:  Register and pre-pay the $15 fee. Arrive any time after 10 am, alone or with a few buddies, to work on the projects at your own pace. (Class time is over at regular store closing times.)
• Are kits available? Yes!

Join us for BasicGrey 2011 calendar 'play date' classes this month!
• Friday, December 10 (set your own start time!)
• Saturday, December 11 (set your own start time!)
Make a gorgeous 8x8 calendar filled with photos, chipboard, die-cuts, stickers, and rub-ons!
• This is being offered as a new type of class. We're partnering with BasicGrey for what we're calling "play date" classes. These classes feature BasicGrey project kits that include photos and easy-to-follow directions. "Play date" classes don't have an official instructor or a set time period. You are free to set your own class time and length!
• What we do: Make the model for the class, have it on display in the classroom, and have a staff member ready and willing to help you with any questions.
• What you do:  Register and pre-pay the $25 fee. Arrive any time after 10 am, alone or with a few buddies, to work on the projects at your own pace. (Class time is over at regular store closing times.)
• Are kits available? Yes!

Karin made the model for this class, and the real thing is absolutely beautiful. I've never made a calendar like this before, but I think I may need to make one of these! Karin will be at SG both of the class days and will be happy to help you with any questions you may have, as well as offer helpful hints.

This class will work better if you have the photos with you. You can see some of the pages in the pictures below, but I'm going to list all the orientations of the photos for each month so you can have your pictures with you. Karin also recommends bringing several photos to choose from for each month, because some may coordinate better with the titles than others.
All photos are standard size.
• Vertical 4x6 photos: January, February, June, August, September, and November.
• Horizontal 6x4 photos: March, April, May, July, October, and December.