It's in the Bag

Just finished up my weekend at New England Scrapbook and managed to pick up a few goodies for myself, including a few new Sizzix die cuts.

So with my new blog I decided that I needed a weekly challenge. I find that I think a lot of working on a new project, but I don't always follow through. Why not challenge myself to use items from my stash and then post pictures on my blog with what I've created. Hmmm . . . how long will this last?

Since the newest items in my stash are the die cuts I picked up this weekend, I decided the time was right for a little Sizzix challenge. So I grabbed some supplies and went to work . . .

• Sizzix Bigz Bag Die w/handles
• Sizzix Party Set
• Sizzix Decorate Label Set
• Cardstock - 1 full sheet and some other scraps of varying colors
• Pattern Paper - just enough for a couple of 3 x 3 scraps
• Ribbon Scraps
• Stickles

I managed to create my first bag, which is a little birthday version. But I have plans . . . big plans . . . for a few more. Well, alright, maybe not big plans. But I'm going to make a few more before the week is out, and I'll post them. How exciting.

The weekend was busy. The Scrapbook Summit and the croppers that we had made for some great conversation this weekend. I was also happy to learn that the November Kit of the Month is selling well! Since I designed it, there is always this little bit of fear that it will still be on the shelves next Thanksgiving. But it doesn't look like that will be the case (she wipes the sweat from her brow and says, "Phew!"

Stay tuned for more bags and future challenges. I've already got my eyes set on my challenge for next week. If anyone has an idea for what I should do, send it my way.

Until then . . . go create!

I can be Jell-o!

As if I need one more new thing!

As if I need another reason to be at my computer!

So anyway, I'm at work this morning at my second job which is New England Scrapbook Company in Canton, and my friend Christy got me thinking about the fact that I don't have a blog. I think all the creative people have blogs. So I saw her looking at blogs and finding all these really creative ideas and photos on scrapbooking, and I thought . . . hmmm . . . maybe I need a blog.

As if I'm not creative without a blog. Well, sometimes I don't feel very creative. But I realize that all of the really cool creative people have blogs.

I always think about that line in "My Best Friend's Wedding" when "Julianne" (played by Julia Roberts) and "Kimmy" (played by Cameron Diaz) are discussing what Kimmy's future fiancè needs. I guess he was a "Jell-o" kind of guy, and Julianne thinks that Kimmy is Crème Brûlée. Julianne says, "Crème Brûlée can never be Jell-O. YOU could never be Jell-O." And then Kimmy says, in a whiny little voice . . . "I can be Jell-o."

The Crème Brûlée of scrapbooking is when you have so much stuff that you can't figure out how to be creative anymore. You spend more time buying supplies and thinking about them then actually doing anything. The Jell-o of scrapbooking is when your "stuff" and your "creativity" all come together. It all gels!

I've got a blog now. What this means is that when I have no creative flow going and when I spend more time organizing my supplies than scrapbooking . . . when I'm so bogged down with which die cuts to use, what patterned paper to start with, which way to cut the paper, which way to layout the title, I now have the simple solution. I just step over to the computer and remind myself that I now have this creative blog. I'm creative now.

I can be Jell-o!