Wednesday, June 30, 2010

Sketches for Scrapbooking, volume 6, is now available at Scrapbook Generation and online at scrapbookgeneration.com!


The first shipment of the newest sketch book just arrived from the printer in time for us to share them with you on Thursday, July 1! We are all SO pleased with the cover, the back of the book, and everything inbetween. The coil binding looks really nice, and works well because we still wanted the books to lie flat while in use.

We've also made the book more user-friendly. Each sketch is now labeled with the number of photos used, and the sketches are organized in the book from smallest number of photos to largest. We can't wait for everyone to see them! I think you'll love them as much as we do.

Remaining spots in our fall retreats in Branson up for grabs starting July 1

After letting the people who attended this spring have the month of June to register, the remaining spots are available to anyone else who wants to attend, starting Thursday, July 1. The retreats are the weekends of Oct. 15-17 and Oct. 22-24 in Branson. To register, just stop by SG, or call us at 417-886-0440 to pay your $50 non-refundable deposit.

Tuesday, June 29, 2010

Super-Saver Scrapbooking sessions are this Saturday!



These are the three layouts we'll be making this Saturday in the Super-Saver Scrapbooking sessions at Scrapbook Generation. They feature papers and stickers from BoBunny's new "Block Party" collection. These papers are perfect for several themes, including Fourth of July, family picnics or cookouts, parties, and even family reunions. You'll get free cutting guides and three sketches. Your cost to make all three layouts? Only $9! (Can't attend? We'll be happy to make you a kit for $10.)

To sign up for one of the sessions at 10, 11:30, 1, or 2:30, just call us at 417-886-0440.

We've also had a huge response to our "Super Sketch" kits that we started a few months ago. For $20 a month, you get all the materials and sketches for our three Saturday activities: one Super-Saver session ($10), one Debbie Sanders sketch session ($5), and one Allison Davis sketch session ($5). For the $20 fee, you get materials and sketches for five layouts! The Super-Saver kits bill and ship around the 20th of each month. To sign up for the Super Sketch kit, just give us a call or order online at scrapbookgeneration.com. There's a link in the right sidebar.

Sunday, June 27, 2010

Fifth Scrap-a-Palooza rocks in so many ways!

I'm going to let these photos help me tell the story of the best mega-crop in the world...or at least in Springfield, Missouri! Scrap-a-Palooza is a joint effort of Scrapbook Generation and the Midwest Family Broadcast Group, and our summer event was the biggest ever.

The June Scrap-a-Palooza was a sold-out event with 250 scrapbookers attending! Remington's is the perfect place for a mega-crop...lots of room for all those scrapbooking supplies everyone brings, and lots of room for the huge store we set up on-site. We added new racks this year so that we were able to bring more products than ever before.



There were almost 60 new paper collections at Scrap-a-Palooza.

The line started forming at 6:45 in the morning for those who were intent on being the first to pick out their spot for the day.

There were four free mini-classes during the day, hosted and taught by Nikki Sivils of Nikki Sivils, Scrapbooker, and her local Design Team (leader Katrina Hunt, Karen Taylor, Laura Parks, and our own Stacey Atchley). At each of the four classes, 50 ladies were able to participate. The projects were so cute: Dan the Record Man card, Ellie's Day Out flower corsage, Will He Be the 1 treat bag, and stamped and layered flowers.


The three-flavor chocolate fountain available most of the day was a huge hit. So were the mid-afternoon sandwich snacks from Jimmy John's! Lunch and dinner from Dining by Design were tasty. (I especially loved the lemon pepper chicken and cranberry and cashew salad for dinner, with the best chocolate cake I've ever eaten.)

Stacey and her husband Jeremy kept the registers going all day long, and shopping is so much more pleasant now that we have two check-out centers available. Some people run a tab all day, others pay as they go. It's all fine with us!

Five times during the day, we call five people up to our area, and they try for a chance to win all the prizes we've managed to jam in our treasure chest. Even the "losers" win a prize from Scrapbook Generation. And we had additional prizes for three other lucky ladies, because the staff from Jillibean Soup called us up and asked if we wanted some door prizes from them! They sent three huge prize packages, and it was a wonderful addition to the event.

Allison Davis plays a huge role in making Palooza unlike any other mega-crop. She does three demonstrations via the big screens. For one, she showed many ways to use the fun new product Memory Thread, for another, Shimmerz paint and Perfect Pearls pigment powders. My favorite is "Super Sketches," where she shows one of the sketches from our Sketches for Scrapbooking series, and five layouts she has created. It's so interesting to see her creative process as she tells us how she alters the sketches for different looks each time.

Allison also used the big-screen to teach everyone a free class, a 12x12 layout with supplies donated by SG.

Nikki Sivils, right, really helped make this Scrap-a-Palooza wonderful! She donated two huge door prizes, donated stickers and paper for the 250 goodie bags, and donated all the supplies and took care of the teaching staff for the free mini-classes. (This may have been why I enjoyed this Palooza so much...I had some down time while someone else was doing the free classes! Such a treat!)

I don't know if you can see from these photos, but the staff at Remington's has gone out of their way to make this a comfortable place for scrapbookers. Starting with the January event, we now have electrical outlets dropped down from the ceiling every few tables so that almost every cropper has access to electricity for their Cricuts and other items. And speaking of electricity, we had a brief (3-4 minutes) outage following the huge rainstorm that went through Springfield that afternoon. I knew it was a congenial, pleasant group when not one person complained when the lights went out...most people just kept right on working, and we all breathed a sigh of relief when the lights came back on quickly!

During the day, Allison taught three paid classes in a separate classroom area.

The Nikki Sivils, Scrapbooker group...DT member Laura Parks, DT member Karen Taylor, DT member Stacey Atchley, company owner and designer Nikki Sivils, DT leader Katrina Hunt, graphic designer Heather Schroeder.

With a crowd gathered round, Nikki Sivils teaches the Dan the Record Man card mini-class using papers inspired by her husband, Dan!

Katrina Hunt teaches the stamped and layered flower class, designed by Karen Taylor.

Stacey Atchley, Nikki Sivils, Heather Schroeder, and Laura Parks help with the Ellie's Day Out flower corsage mini-class.

The combined teams of Scrapbook Generation and Nikki Sivils, Scrapbooker, both Springfield success stories! Watch for us to collaborate again in a couple of weeks as SG hosts the world premiere of two of Nikki's latest collections. We'll be the first to showcase these groups that won't be seen outside of CHA in Chicago, except at Scrapbook Generation.


The Scrapbook Generation gals...Allison Davis, Stacey Atchley, myself, and Karin Vacha. Karin gets double duty on Palooza day. She helps get everyone seated, then heads over to SG to hold down the fort there. After the store closes for the day, she heads back to Remington's to join the rest of us. Can you believe that we have the store torn down and loaded up by 11:15? And I can't forget Jeremy, who is a huge help setting up the store on Friday and then breaking it down again at the end of the evening on Saturday.

We want to thank all of you for the continued support of our signature event, Scrap-a-Palooza. It's a huge undertaking, but we take great pride in bringing you the best the scrapbooking world has to offer. And we'll do it all again on Saturday, September 25! See you there.

Thursday, June 24, 2010

Scrap-a-Palooza schedule of events...

Thought you might want to see the agenda for Saturday's mega-fun mega-crop at Remington's. The one, the only, Scrap-a-Palooza! Remember that the doors open at 8:30 am. See you there!

10:30 am
• Free Mini-Class: “Dan the Record Man card” by the Nikki Sivils, Scrapbooker team (Nikki Sivils, Katrina Hunt, Karen Taylor, Laura Parks, Stacey Atchley, Heather Schroeder, Stephanie Saladino)

11 am
• Scrapbook Generation treasure chest drawing #1
• Nikki Sivils, Scrapbooker door prizes

11:30 am
• Free Big-Screen Demo: “Twist and Shout”
with Allison Davis, two-year member of the Creating Keepsakes magazine’s Dream Team; CK Hall of Fame member

Noon -- Lunch

1 pm
• Free Big-Screen Layout Class for Everyone: “So Special”
with Allison Davis
(Page materials donated by Scrapbook Generation)
• Scrapbook Generation treasure chest drawing #2

2 pm
• Paid Class: “Never Enough” layout with Allison Davis

2:30 pm
• Free Mini-Class: “Will He Be The 1 treat bag” by the Nikki Sivils, Scrapbooker team

3:30 pm
• Free Big-Screen Demo: “Shimmer and Shine” with Allison Davis
• Scrapbook Generation treasure chest drawing #3
• Jillibean Soup door prizes drawing

4 pm
Paid Class: “Forever With You” layout with Allison Davis

4:30 pm
• Free Mini-Class: “Ellie’s Day Out flower corsage” by the Nikki Sivils, Scrapbooker team

6 pm -- Dinner

7 pm
• Free Big-Screen Demo: “Super Sketches” with Allison Davis
• Scrapbook Generation treasure chest drawing #4
• Nikki Sivils, Scrapbooker door prizes drawing

7:30 pm
• Paid Class: “Some Things Never Change” layout with Allison Davis

8 pm
• Free Mini-Class: “Fabulous Flowers” by the Nikki Sivils, Scrapbooker team

9 pm
• Deadline to turn in entries for Scrapbook Generation sketch layout contest and page layout contest
• Scrapbook Generation treasure chest drawing #5

9:30 pm
• Layout contest winners announced, prizes awarded
BoBunny new 'Block Party' papers to be used in next Super-Saver Scrapbooking sessions...

I want to give you a heads-up on the fun papers we'll be using for the Super-Saver Scrapbooking sessions on Saturday, July 3. I've chosen the bright red, blue and green papers from BoBunny's new Block Party collection. We'll also be using one of the sticker sheets, with themes of family and summer activities. If you attend the activity, your materials fee for the free class is $9. To sign up, just give us a call at 417-886-0440.

Just as soon as I have the three layouts completed, I'll post them here. I know that the holiday weekend will be a busy time for some of you, so if you can't attend, you can always request a kit ($10).

And getting way ahead of myself, the papers we'll use for August are from Crate Paper, and have a manly and/or travel theme. I try to include some papers that lean to the masculine side every once in a while!

Wednesday, June 23, 2010

Nikki Sivils, Scrapbooker and Jillibean Soup donate Palooza door prizes!

The prizes for Scrap-A-Palooza just keep growing. In addition to all the prizes donated by Nikki Sivils, Scrapbooker, and all the stuff we'll be giving away, there's more!

A representative from Jillibean Soup called Monday and said that Palooza sounds like an awesome event -- would we like some of their products to give away Saturday? Didn't take me long to say yes! Can't wait to see what they send. And we'll have two of their newest collections at Palooza for you to check out!

Monday, June 21, 2010

A very special sneak peek!


I've been so anxiously awaiting the time when we could show you the revised-revised cover for our Sketches for Scrapbooking series. As we went further into the process of professional printing for the books, we decided that our first redo wasn't what we wanted. Stacey has been working on this project the past few weeks, and I love the results.

This is what the cover of volume six will look like. Get ready for July 1, when the books go on sale!

The other volumes will follow the same format, and will each feature a different color and a different layout by Allison from a sketch in the book.

We're working hard to get the other five volumes revised and to the printer in time for all six volumes to debut at CHA in Chicago in late July. This is a huge project for us! Thanks so much for your encouragement and support as we prepare to introduce Scrapbook Generation Publishing to the world!

Sunday, June 20, 2010

Surprise contests here and on Facebook!

All we can think about right now is Saturday's Scrap-A-Palooza at Remington's, so we decided it was time for a couple of Palooza-related contests. You have two chances to win, since we're offering two contests -- one here, and one on our Facebook fan page. Leave a comment by midnight Friday in one or both places for the chance to win prize packages valued at $50 each.

The SG blog question...
Why would you recommend Scrap-A-Palooza to a friend?

To enter the other contest, follow this link: SG on Facebook.

Saturday, June 19, 2010

Welcome super-talented Tammy Roberts to the SG teaching staff!


We are thrilled to announce that local gal Tammy Roberts is joining the teaching staff at Scrapbook Generation. We've known Tammy since SG opened six years ago, but had never seen her work until recently. And wow, were we impressed!

Tammy has recently been chosen for the Graphic 45 Design Team, which is an enormous honor, and she has also had a beautiful layout published in Creating Keepsakes magazine's April/May issue.

The four layouts in the photos above are examples of her work. I hope you can stop by and see them in person. I'll have to admit that I've stood in front of them and just stared! It takes a long time to see all the detail work she has done...your eye keeps traveling around and around the page finding more special features.

We haven't worked out any details yet, but Tammy is excited about partnering with SG to bring you a style that is completely different from that of myself, Allison, and Stacey. We hope to have her on the schedule by August or September, and I think her classes will be an awesome addition to what we offer here.
Lots of new products have arrived...

Take a look at the fun new products that we've received in the past couple of weeks.

• From Maya Road, lots of stick pins, fabric flowers, clear stamps, kraft envelopes, chipboard albums, and that hard-to-get Maya Mist.
• From Tattered Angels, just about every product they make, including chipboard accents, screens, clear stamps (already sold out of all of them once and this is our second batch!), and (not shown) a ton of new Glimmer Mist colors.
• From Imaginisce, the Love and Cherish collection for all those June weddings.

And I'll give you a heads-up on a new fall collection that we've already ordered. The new Halloween line from Graphic 45 will arrive at Scrapbook Generation very soon!









Friday, June 18, 2010

More fun details about Scrap-A-Palooza!

We're doing something a little different at the June 26 Scrap-A-Palooza. We've added four free mini-classes by the great group of gals representing Nikki Sivils, Scrapbooker, a successful and trendy scrapbooking company based right here in Springfield, as most of you know.

Nikki and her local Design Team (team leader Katrina Hunt, Karen Taylor, Laura Parks, and Stacey Atchley) plus her graphic designer, Heather Schroeder, and good friend Stephanie Saladino from Illinois, will be at Palooza, making it bigger and better in many ways!

First, this talented group will be hosting four free mini-classes during the event. They all sound so cute! We'll be treated to "Dan the Record Man card," "Will He Be the 1 treat bag," "Ellie's Day Out flower corsage," and pretty paper flowers made from several of Nikki's collections.

Next, Nikki will be giving away several door prizes during the day, and last, she has donated some wonderful items for the goodie bags. All in all, she's been very generous in helping make the summer Scrap-A-Palooza something really special.
Allison Davis sketch session on Saturday, June 19

I intended to get this preview on the blog earlier this week, but I was otherwise occupied. Had my two favorite guys at my house so they could go to Vacation Bible School. Drew and Jackson had a great time. Apparently Grandma is the only one who is worn out! It was so much fun to live again in the world of red Kool-Aid, melty ice cream cones, splashy wading pools, and constant hugs and kisses.

The layout above is Allison's latest design for her Saturday sketch classes. The papers we chose come from the Garden Variety collection by Cosmo Cricket. We'll be making this layout on Saturday, at a cost of about $4. If you aren't already signed up, please consider joining us at one of the sessions at 10, 11:30, 1, or 2:30. Just give us a call at 417-886-0440 to sign up.
Fourth of July layout class with Allison

Allison has a Fourth of July layout coming up next month that I wanted you to see. The project uses the Starlight collection by Pink Paislee, and has handstitched and bejeweled fireworks! The class is offered on Thursday, July 8 at 6 pm and Monday, July 12 at 2 pm. The fee is $15. Just call 417-886-0440 if you want to sign up.

Thursday, June 17, 2010

Palooza will feature 56 new paper collections!

Today seems like a good day to let you know a few more details about the rapidly approaching Scrap-A-Palooza on June 26.

We have been ordering like crazy, because we always promise that we'll have 40-50 new paper collections for you to shop from. This time, we've surpassed that. At this point there will be 56 new collections that haven't been sold at SG yet, plus 11 lines that have been so popular that we've re-ordered just for Palooza. Here's the list as of today.

Basic Grey: Cappella; Basics White; Basics Manila;
Best Creations: Surf's Up; Back 2 School;
Cosmo Cricket: Delovely;
Creative Imaginations: Birthday Bliss; Cowboy; Cowgirl; It's A Zoo; Beach Days; Be A Man; Happy Hour;
• Donna Salazar: Memory Mosaics;
Dream Street Papers: Cookies and Cream; Everyday Celebrations; Fresh; Fun and Games; Lullaby; Merry and Bright; MJ; Nature's Poetry; Quilted Garden; Simply Stated; Wonderland;
Echo Park: Sweet Summertime (this is a new company and its first collection!);
Fancy Pants: Wishful Thinking;
Girls' Paperie: On Holiday;
Imaginisce: Scooter's Vacation; Splash Dance;
Jillibean Soup: Chicken Noodle; New England Chowder;
K & Company: Happy Birthday To U;
KaiserCraft: Tea at Elsie's; Utopia; Hey Birdie; Jungle Bug; LeChateau; Konstrukt; Peachy Keen; Devonshire; La-Di-Da; Shaken Not Stirred;
Karen Foster: Doctor Visit; Kids Ancestry; Love to Scrapbook; Reunion;
• Little Yellow Bicycle: Boardwalk;
Nikki Sivils, Scrapbooker: Bella Blue and Oscar Too; Will He B The 1;
Paper Loft: Morning Rain;
Pebbles: Lil' Miss; Lil' Buddy;
Reminisce: The Wild; Barnyard Buddies; Stars and Stripes.

Many other new collections have been so popular at SG that we're re-ordering the entire lines to have at Scrap-A-Palooza.
My Mind's Eye: Meadowlark; all four of the So Sophie groups;
BoBunny: Block Party; Sun Kissed; Petal Pushers; Peacock Lane;
Fancy Pants: Like Father Like Son;
• BasicGrey: Max and Whiskers;
• Pink Paislee: Starlight.

We'll also be bringing a complete collection of inks, paints, spritzs, embellishments, flowers, jewels, chipboard, templates, tools, adhesives, ribbons, stickers, totes, organizers, and just about anything you would need to make a scrapbook page or card.

You'll only find this kind of over-the-top shopping experience at a Scrapbook Generation mega-crop. And I have more Palooza surprises to tell you about in the next few days!

Just had a message from Chris Louzader at the radio station, and she wanted me to let everyone know that there are still about 25 spots left in Scrap-A-Palooza. The shopping cart on their registration page has had a glitch and has been telling people that the event was sold out. Not just yet! I'll keep you posted on the numbers.

Monday, June 14, 2010

Scrap-A-Palooza is going to be a sell-out for sure! Just got the latest numbers from Chris Louzader at the radio station, and we only have about 30 spots left before we hit the magic number of 250. I'll be telling you more specifics about the June 26 event later this week, but I wanted to be sure to give you a quick update on numbers.

Saturday, June 12, 2010

Guest teacher Tammy Tutterow rocks at Scrapbook Generation!


We had a festive weekend at Scrapbook Generation, thanks to guest teacher Tammy Tutterow! The top photo is Karin, me, Tammy, Shirley Hall (Tammy's mother), and Deanna Goodwin (Tammy's sister). Tammy's classes last night and today were overflowing, and many people dropped by for the free classes and learned how to make something special from simple die-cut cardstock flowers.

We've already made plans for Tammy to come back for more classes, hopefully three times a year. As a certified/endorsed educator for Prima, Tattered Angels, Bazzill, and Graphic 45, her knowledge of new, cutting edge techniques is enormous. We look forward to working out a date with her for her fall "visit" to SG!

Friday, June 11, 2010

It's a full house for guest teacher Tammy Tutterow's "Count It All Joy" mini-album class tonight at Scrapbook Generation. Tammy has shown the ladies all kinds of fun techniques with Tattered Angels products like Glimmer Mist, glimmer screens, clear stamps, and so much more. We'll do it all again Saturday morning with her "LeRomantique" mini-album class! Just wish our classroom area was a little bigger.

Remember that you can stop by SG between 1 and 4 pm on Saturday and learn how to make a beautiful 3-D flower from the new Bazzill "flower pot" die-cut cardstock flowers. See you then!

Thursday, June 10, 2010

One of the ladies who signed up for Tammy Tutterow's Friday night class is now unable to attend and will be getting a kit instead. This means that we can now enroll one more person in the Count It All Joy mini-album class. If you are interested, just call 417-886-0440 as quickly as possible.
Allison Davis classes at Scrap-A-Palooza June 26



The three layouts shown today are the Allison Davis classes at the June 26 Scrap-A-Palooza. From the top, the class names are "Some Things Never Change," "Forever With You," and "Never Enough." Each class is priced at $15. You'll learn some new techniques and use new products with each layout!

To register for one or all of these classes, just call us at 417-886-0440.

Wednesday, June 09, 2010

Thanks to all of you who have been registering for one of Scrapbook Generation's two retreats this fall in Branson. I wanted to update you and let you know that the second weekend, October 22-24, is filling the quickest.

Tuesday, June 08, 2010

Here is the sneak peek at the layout we'll be making this Saturday in the Debbie Sanders sketch sessions. (I got tired of calling myself "basic," so I changed the name with the most recent newsletter!) Your cost for this layout will be around $5, and that includes the title. (When we use My Mind's Eye papers, we're starting to give you the choice to also purchase the title.) If you want to add your own title, the cost will be closer to $4.

If you want to sign up to make this layout and receive the free computer sketch that you can use over and over, just give us a call at 417-886-0440. We have sessions at 10, 11:30, 1, and 2:30.
Several things to remind you about today.

1. This is Sketches Week on the Allison Davis blog. She's already shared two great layouts using an SG sketch, and starting this month, top scrapbooking companies are sponsoring giveaways. For June, Nikki Sivils, Scrapbooker has provided a great prize package. Follow the link at right to check out Sketches Week.

2. Both of the Tammy Tutterow vintage mini-album classes for this weekend are sold out. For those of you who made the cut, the suggested supplies you'll need are the following: craft mat (like Ranger, Tattered Angels, or Bazzill), scissors, paper trimmer, bone folder, paper piercer, wet and dry adhesives, double-sided tape, pop dots, distress ink, stapler.

3. Even if you were unable to take one of Tammy Tutterow's classes, you can still benefit from her paper-crafting skills this Saturday from 1-4 during free mini-classes. She is going to show us how to take flat, die-cut cardstock flowers by Bazzill and transform them into the most awesome, fluffy, 3-D creations you've ever seen! No appointment necessary...just stop by our mini-class table and learn from an expert. You'll leave with a gorgeous flower that can be used in lots of ways.

4. We love to multi-task! We'll still have our regular Debbie Sanders sketch sessions going on Saturday in addition to Tammy's classes. Luckily, we have two classroom areas to work with! (I'll post a photo later today of the page we'll be making. It features some My Mind's Eye paper I've been anxious to play with!

5. Scrap-A-Palooza is getting bigger by the day. I talked to Chris Louzader from the radio station, and there are only about 50 of the 250 spots left! We have almost 55 new paper collections that you haven't seen yet just waiting for this fun mega-crop. To reserve your spot, just follow the link at the top of the page.

Saturday, June 05, 2010


I'm taking a quick break from scrapbooking news to tell you about the new venture for scrapper dudes Don and Jeremy (so-named because they are gracious enough to help us out during Scrap-a-Palooza!). Jeremy, Stacey's husband, has worked in the construction field for some time, and Don, my husband, is a retired school administrator. After going to school this spring and becoming certified building analysts, they have just started a new business in the Springfield area -- EnergyWise home energy audits. You may have heard their commercials on several radio stations recently. Yes, Stacey and I are married to the "Wise Guys!"

They come to your home, conduct an energy audit of all areas using specialized tools, give you a computerized breakdown of the specific areas where your home isn't energy efficient, and make suggestions for improvement. You can learn how to save money on monthly utility bills, but the best part is that you can get a tax break of several thousand dollars for participating in the audit.

They have a great website that explains everything in detail, including the pricing. Click on EnergyWise to see if this service can help you save some cash!
As promised, here are photos of the four new BoBunny collections. They're bright, colorful, cute, and just plain old fun!



 
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