Sometimes it seems my scrapbooking gets in a rut. I’m doing the layouts just to get it done. Or I feel like all I’m doing is scrapping family celebrations (that’s the only time I remember to take pictures). Does that happen to you?

Well, if you want an inspiration to scrapbook with a purpose, read Angie Pedersen’s back story of her wonderful book, The Book of Me. If it doesn’t make you want to sit down and create a meaningful layout RIGHT NOW then clearly you need to rent Old Yeller to break out of your emotional block.

Thanks for sharing your story, Angie.

Angie at the Blog of Me posted that she has signed up for a Journal Your Christmas class put on by Shimelle Laine. While that sounds very interesting, the thought of adding even one more thing to my already overflowing Christmas season was just too much to consider for me.

Some of Shimelle’s other online classes look simply amazing though. I may have to take this class:

the it’s in the post: a mail art course covering faux postage, creative envelopes, deco books and odd items to surprise your postie. 15 daily lessons with weeklong breaks for real mail delivery. session three running from 10th january 2006.

Hhhhhmmmm. I have put “Take a class” on my wish list/resolution list for 2006….

Looking for more scrapbook time in the coming year? Me too. There is a great article by Rachel Thomae in the January 2006 issue of Creating Keepsakes on this exact topic. She shares strategies from six scrapbookers about how to create 52 pages this year. Sounds like the perfect mini album to me. My favorite part of the article is the list of 52 questions to get your mind flowing.

My top three are:

3. If you could have a free plane ticket to anywhere in the world, where would you go?
8. What’s your favorite color and what does it say about you?
49. If you could write your own fortune-cookie fortune, what would it say?

Not that was hard to pick a top three. If you read Rachel’s article what are your favorite three questions?

When my January issue of Creating Keepsakes arrived last week an ad caught my eye (well, lots of them did actually - it was a GREAT issue!). At Jo-Ann when you buy a 2006 Creating Keepsakes Calendar Kit you get a certificate for a 13 month subscription to Creating Keepsakes.

Thinking I could avoid the post-Thanksgiving shopping crowds I went to Joann.com to see if I could get the Calendar Kit there. No dice. It is sold out online.

So yesterday I went to my Jo-Ann store and grabbed up the Calendar Kit. Due to an eager store worker who had put out Sunday’s sale signs early - I even got mine at 40% off. That means for $17.99 I got a really cool calendar kit AND a 13 month subscription to CK! Yippee. How fun is that?!? The 40% off sale starts on November 27th!

Here’s what you’re looking for:

P.S. If there is anybody reading this who uses Word Press and knows how to make text wrap around the images I would LOVE to know. There has to be a way and I just can’t figure it out. Please comment or email me (address in the sidebar) if you know how.

Oh baby. Setting eyelets is so much fun. At that stamping party the other day Phoebe, the demonstrator, passed out the cutest little tags which we stamped, colored and matted with another larger tag. Then she got out the eyelet hammer. (I’m sure there is an official name for it, but in my head it will always be known as the eyelet hammer.)

As soon as we started doing eyelets the squeals of delight filled the room:

“I will never buy another pre-done tag again!”
“Oh this is SO cool.”
“Can I do another one?”

Frankly, the excitement in the room was similar to my childhood Kindergarten class on the day my teacher let us finger paint with chocolate pudding. Except this past weekend we weren’t licking the table … but that’s another story.

So, I did a quick investigaton and the eyelet hammer is actualy an eyelet setter - and evidentally there are at least three different sizes of eyelets. Isn’t it so fun to learn about new stuff like this? I’m gonna have to get me one of these:

Making Memories - Universal Eyelet Setter - $ 9.00 Set four different sizes of eyelets with this Making Memories Universal Eyelet Setter. With interchangeable tips you have the flexibility of choosing from 1/16?, 1/8? and 3/16? and a special cone tip.

Yesterday my friend Reni invited me to a Stampin Up party. Up until now I have been able to resist the temptation to give stamping a try. Well, I caved in and my worst fears about stamping were realized - I LOVED it!

The stamps are so cute and the colors of the stamps are simply amazing. Oh how fun. I could think of a thousand things to do with stamps on my layouts. Naturally, since I haven’t announced here on the blog that I’ve recently won the lottery (which I haven’t) I had to decide which few stamps and supplies I would get.

Now that was hard. Their catalog is HUGE and full of page after page of awesome stamps, papers and cards. Thank goodness the prices are very reasonable. [Their acid-free, lignin-free paper prices are frankly amazing!] I decided to get some pre-cut cards, tags and pockets, four different colored stamp pads and a set of 4 border stamps, pictured here:

I figured I could use these for a wide variety of uses and figured they would be a good foundation set of stamps.

I guess it is safe to say that I am now officially a stamper too =:) Thanks, Reni! See ya at the next crop.

So last night at the Girl Scout leader training when we were going over the leader motto it occurred to me that there are several mottos, creeds, prayers, vows and pledges I have made in my lifetime that mean a great deal to me. What a perfect section for my Book of Me scrapbook.

Even though I was right in the middle of learning how to be a better, more inspired and organized leader of my Girl Scout troop I jotted down some notes of the important vows I want to include in my next scrapbooking project - my book of ME!

1. My wedding vows
2. The Delta Zeta Sorority Creed
3. Pledge of Allegiance
4. Lord’s Prayer
5. Girl Scout Leader motto

The Delta Zeta Creed

To the world,
I promise temperance and insight and courage,
To crusade for justice,
To seek the truth and defend it always:
To those whom my life may touch in slight measure,
May I give graciously
Of what is mine;
To my friends,
Understanding and appreciation;
To those closer ones,
Love that is ever steadfast;
To my mind,
Growth;
To myself,
Faith
That I may walk truly
In the light of the Flame.

–– Dorothy Mumford Williams, Alpha Zeta (1939)

In my album I will include this creed that touched my heart during rush 20 years ago and to this day stirs my soul and makes me want to be a better person.

Oh I just cannot wait to dive into this album. It is going to be so much fun.

In honor of this being my 100th post on ScrappinCabinet I am posting my list of 100 Scrapbooking Things I Want to Do:

1. Start my Book of Me album.
2. Finish my Book of Me album.
3. Get my photos organized. (Oh, that’s a BIG one!)
4. Attend at least one scrapbooking major event.
5. Get 100 visitors per day to ScrappinCabinet.
6. Then get 200 visitors per day… (and so on…)
7. Create 1000 posts here. (I’m 1/10 there already=:)
8. Do my Friends album.
9. Get my digital photos organized.
10. Get a Memorabilia Book from Cropper Hopper and see if it really works.

11. Try out the Pages By Design system before I buy it.
12. Create my Seasons albums (Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter)
13. Figure out what to do with all my scrapbooking magazines.
14. Find a replacement adhesive I like as much as I used to like CM photo splits.
15. Use more patterned paper.
16. Take Angie Pedersen to lunch.
17. Add my daughter’s voice to an album.
18. Try out that new Xyron personal cutting system.
19. Do #18 and still love all our Sizzix alphabets!
20. Get our Alaska Cruise into an album (do #9 first!)

21. Write a press release about ScrappinCabinet and get it out.
22. Post more photos here on my blog.
23. Despite my skepticism that I will like it, do a paper bag album.
24. See a DIY Network Scrapbooking show to see if I should upgrade my satellite package to get it all the time.
25. Buy scrapbooking stuff from QVC.

{Geez, I should have done this post in honor of my 25th post - not 100th!}

26. Alter a sarabinder book.
27. Journal about all my favorite Christmas ornaments.
28. Journal using computer fonts at least once - without getting addicted and giving up hand journaling.
29. Attend a scrapbooking industry trade show.
30. Get caught up with my daughter’s school album.

31. Be a better journaler in my scrapbooks.
32. Create a Family History album that shows my genealogy research.
33. Interview my grandma about her life and write down her stories.
34. Interview my husband’s grandma about her life and write down her stories too.
35. Finish this list of 100 things…
36. Make more gift albums.
37. Design a USA album documenting my love for our country.
38. Build a Reading album – log the books I read and what I think of them.
39. Produce a My Goals album to inspire me.
40. Use yarn in a layout.

41. Use ribbon in a layout.
42. Watch someone else use walnut ink in a layout.
43. Create a layout of my favorite song lyrics.
44. Create a layout of my favorite movie quotes.
45. Create a layout of the reasons I Love Nancy Drew.
46. Create a layout of Phone Calls that Changed My Life.
47. Create a layout of TV Moments I Can’t Forget.
48. Create a layout of Blogs I Read Every Day
49. Try a monthly scrapbook club.
50. Be a Design Team member at least once.

51. Go on a blinkie downloading binge and scrapbook all that I find worthy of saving.
52. Journal about what I believe about life and make my Believe page.
53. Take a class on digital photography.
54. Do one layout with the one giant picture theme.
55. Scraplift from a magazine.
56. Get rid of all the colors of paper I know I will never use.
57. Give them to my daughter so when I change my mind I know where they are.
58. Finish that purple Tribute album I got at my first hotel suite crop.
59. Download a ton of fonts.
60. Use the aforementioned fonts.

61. Make a year’s worth of birthday cards for family and friends.
62. Get my albums embossed on the covers.
63. Get a replacement piece for the missing spine of our honeymoon album.
64. Have a Make a Tag day and make a bazillion tags to use.
65. Do the layout from the big snow storm of 2003 where we got 3 feet of snow.
66. Ditch work one day and scrapbook all day.
67. Ask my friends to share things about themselves for my Friends album.
68-99. TBD
100. Think of 32 more Scrapbooking Things I Want to Do and come back later to fill them in. =:)

What are the top 3 scrapbooking things you want to do?

Rarely do I want to attend a scrapbooking event. I pass by the ads in magazines for events as easily as I would skip over football tickets. Nothing ever catches my eye. For some reason, the event I saw Angie Pedersen post about here, Etcetera is something that looks so cool I wish I could go.

Etcetera (the event) is in April in Birmingham, Alabama. Two days filled with instruction, time to crop - and SHOP - and all things scrapbook related. Oooh, ooh, I want to go. We’ll see…

A recent post here at ScrappinCabinet about regular vs designer scrapbookers has got me thinking about scrapbook styles. I’ve gone on a mission to find out more about this thing called style.

An excerpt from Scrapbook.com’s book A Scrapbooker’s Guide 1 (E-Book) - Scrapbooking Fundamentals shares this:

Knowing your own style is important. It will help you conserve time, money and energy for scrapbooking. By clarifying your personal tastes, you focus on what you want to accomplish in your layouts, and avoid distractions created by the fads, hype, and promotions–all part of the scrapbooking industry. In short, by knowing what you want and the things you like to work with, you scrapbook your way.

LeNae Gerig has a great article called Finding A Scrapbooking Style. My favorite part is near the end when she says:

Scrapbooking is also a fashion, and you’ll see new papers, embellishments and styles come and go. Don’t feel locked into a certain style. Scrapbooking lets you play and experiment with the latest trends and colors—and it’s a lot cheaper than buying a new wardrobe or painting your living room a new color!

Scrapbook Memories has a Scrapper Personality Quiz.

The bottom line is that I can’t find a single description that describes me. And I think that’s a good thing. My scrapbooking is just for me and not something I do to fit into a crowd. Guess my parents got that lesson through to me about not jumping off a cliff just because my friends do. (Although in all fairness none of my friends have ever cliff jumped!)