mike, max, and i spent friday in newnan. we played "catch up christmas" with another extension of my family. it was the usual meet at a restaurant (i hate o'charleys, btw), banter over drinks, take forever to order, although we do order early for the little ones, then linger for no important reasons. well, i do. my baby sister is always the first to rush away for some other engagement she has always planned knowing our event was on the calendar. so we are left with mama which naturally leads us into shopping mode. i was glad for the time we spent together regardless of time restraints.

once we were back in columbus i rushed about the house changing into pj's and making sure i had everything in my suv i knew i wouldn't use for the evening's event... that being the scrapbook shoppe yearly pajama party!

the shoppe was packed and loud and happy. how cheryl manages to make so many happy never ceases to amaze me. the food was galore, the games hysterical, and the chatter never stopped. some managed to actually create while others moved about. i, like everyone else, had lugged in all of my "scrapments" with good intentions, yet counting on nothing but a good time. and that i had.

the party ended with breakfast at IHOP with each of us going our separate ways having full bellys and looking for our warm beds.

i'm still amazed with what women will talk about even while they're scrapping. and i was right. i didn't accomplish a thing. well, i'll rephrase. laughter.

today (saturday) i was suppose to take a really cute card class with sandy. when it comes to card making she is the woman! these are the cards for valentine's day. however, i woke up with a horrid ear ache and had to go back to bed. what a disappointment! but, i have the sweetest husband. mike called the shoppe for me and asked cheryl (the really talented owner) to have a kit put together for me. so now i will be playing catch up! but that's ok. i have several things already gathered together and in progress to make sure my special valentines get delivered.

last nite (friday) was crop nite. you've heard "...stays in vegas!"? well, lets just say what happens on crop nite in the shoppe stays in the shoppe!!!

the polkadots have got to go....

its friday and that means its CROP NITE! its time to start making those special valentines and the scrapbook shoppe has the cutest idea for a little treat basket. i can't wait to get to work on them. they are the perfect thing and can be made in no time, well, basically. and, although, i seem to have plenty of paper to use for this project i know that new papers have arrived at the shoppe! so its the end of january and i should have plenty of time to get my pages done for mike from max and i. i may have mentioned before that i do scrapbook pages instead of cards now when it comes to mike. its a challenge but i have faced it head on and i've enjoyed making these special "for daddy" and "husband" pages. i just had a thought... do i have the right scrapbook to keep them in, just for him? not that he would notice that part but it would be nice to have his own book for these special "card" pages. hmmmm. well, no doubt i will find what i need for that. and, now that i have my "scrap room" set up in my home i can just about put my fingers on whatever i need without all the digging and hunting around! of course kudos to my friends who helped me turn "the black hole" into my "scrap room" in just one day! hey, its girls nite out but it starts at 10am and goes til midnite! ta ta for now!

i'm pretending i don't see the polkadots...

today was what seemed a very long day. however, i was able to make a quick trip to the shoppe. i have lost a very special pen; it was a gift. the pen was one of those you can take apart and put whatever you want to show thru the barrel. believe it or not mine was white with green polkadots and had my initial in the middle. i must have lost it at the hospital while visiting my grandmother. so, that is why i was at the shoppe. thankfully cheryl had the pens and was holding one for me to pick up today. now i have to make a decision on just what i want on the inside!

i've really missed being at the shoppe. but, thankfully i am on the email list so i can keep up with all her goodies as they arive! you should see the awesome topiary she made for a sweet valentine. and the card to go with it is perfect. both cheryl and sandy have blogs and are listed on my page. to see their beautiful hand made gifts and cards you should follow their wonderful blogs!

the polkadots are still here...

got to the card class (late as usual) but i got there! sandy's a great teacher and i'm great at taking my time;) the cards are cute and sweet, for us girls anyway. we actually made cards for the guys too. pretty neat.

as sandy moved on to take a "page" class from shelley i was still taking my time working on my cards. ok, so they're a bit simple looking but i did make them. and i enjoyed doing so. the only reason i sat and finished the cards then rather than later is because i let the "page" class go for once. i missed taking the class tho. but i will be there for the valentine pages shelley has come up with.

i enjoy putting my albums together. it finally clicked with me that i don't have to have a picture(s) to work around. i was able to put together two albums within two weeks prior to christmas. one with pictures spanning over 25 years and another for someone special for their own special pictures. i don't know if its just a fluke or if i've really gotten a clue about this fabulous art.

it helps, i believe, if you have teachers, friends, and a bit of interest, in a setting that surrounds you with any and all possibilities. its a fun place. a happy place. a couple of months ago there was a poll on the scrap shoppe blog. the majority voted scrapbooking to be a therapeutic. (and i'm sitting here watching tokyo drift). one of my true passions... driving fast. oops;)

now if i can just get the polkadots off this page, today!