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 Saturday, November 24, 2007
Pieces of My Thanksgiving
11/24/2007 11:31:33 AM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)  I've been having a wonderful Thanksgiving and Thanksgiving weekend with my family. We've been sharing many delicious dishes, watching movies, catching up, relaxing and just generally enjoying each other's company. I am grateful for all of these simple pleasures shared with loved ones.
Yesterday, my sister and I spent hours scrapbooking at the dining room table. It was the perfect time to just play with our supplies and chat. Below, you can see a peek of one of the pages I created about one of my good friends from high school and college. And to the right of that is my fantastic sister.   Enjoy the rest of your weekend, everyone. —Katie
11/24/2007 11:31:33 AM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00) 
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Nothing Like a Long Weekend ...
11/24/2007 10:04:17 AM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00) Love that it's only just Saturday morning and there's still pretty much a full weekend ahead. We've spent our holiday weekend kicking back ... went to see The Bee Movie, had Thanksgiving at my sister's house, assembled 3 puzzles, had lunch with my parents, started an "Our House" scrapbook (will share soon) and watched old movies on TCM. Granted, there are leaves to rake, clothes to wash, rooms to clean, Thanksgiving decorations to take down, library books to get and groceries to gather, but there's still all of Saturday and Sunday ahead of me. No rush; it will all get done with time to spare. For now, we're going to cuddle back up on the couch and hang out before the UK football and basketball games today. Hope you're having a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend filled with just the right amount of work and play. Best, Beth
11/24/2007 10:04:17 AM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)
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Friday, November 23, 2007
Did you venture out on Black Friday?
11/23/2007 10:22:03 AM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00) Yes, I've been known to be out there among the shopoholics at those wild hours between midnight and 6:00 a.m. just to get the perfect gift at an astoundingly low price. Often I was getting something for Megan (my daughter) and would feel all smug and super-mom like because I found the must-have item on her list on sale for nearly half the original price. But this year it's been different. Maybe it's because surviving chemo and cancer have given me a new perspective on what are the most important gifts. (They're not the ones we can buy.) Or maybe it's because Megan said to me, "Mom, there's nothing I really need. And the things I want are things James and I are going to have to work toward getting ... like a home." Need, she said, not want. The times they are a changin'. This year we're all a little more serious but a whole lot more happy. (But those years when we had less stuff and yearned for something special under the tree on Christmas morning -- and then that something special was there! -- were magical.) I'm having lunch today with my big sis at Ohio's oldest inn -- the Golden Lamb -- where the likes of Charles Dickens and past presidents have dined and slept. It's snow flurrying and we'll walk around the quaint town of Lebanon. I'm as happy as a shopoholic at 4:00 a.m. at a blue light special  . Hope your post-Thanksgiving day is a good one. Peace and love, Patty
11/23/2007 10:22:03 AM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)
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Wednesday, November 21, 2007
Do you see what I see ... ?
11/21/2007 9:46:08 AM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)  Perhaps you thought I was going to skip Thanksgiving (what with that Christmas-carol teaser), but fear not! I love Thanksgiving best of all the holidays throughout the year, and so after I spend a half day here at the office I'm ready for four and a half days away. It's a ghost town here at the Memory Makers offices (THAT'S what I see ... a whole lot of empty seats). The rest of my team is already traveling home or starting the baking preparations for tomorrow's feast. A few of the MM Books folks are here, but it's very quiet today. Tomorrow I'll be hanging with my sister and brother-in-law, watching football and eating dinner. My daughter and her husband are cooking for friends who have to work over the holiday (bless their hearts! makes not seeing them understandable). Then the rest of the weekend I hope to spend walking in the woods at a nature preserve nearby, reading The Whispering Season and relaxing. Wishing you all a safe and happy Thanksgiving. Peace and love to you and yours, Patty
11/21/2007 9:46:08 AM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)
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Tuesday, November 20, 2007
Quick Thanksgiving Table Decoration
11/20/2007 10:15:44 AM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00) Holly shared this adorable, super-easy way to add a little bit of nature to your Thanksgiving table without spending a dime: - Gather some autumn leaves, the more colorful the better.
- Grab a leaf punch or two out of supply stash.
- Line up the vein of a leaf with the center of the tool and punch.
- Scatter the leaves on your tablecloth or affix them to place cards.
  Hope you and yours have a blessed, happy Thanksgiving! Best, Beth
home decor
11/20/2007 10:15:44 AM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)
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Monday, November 19, 2007
Ways to Give Back This Season
11/19/2007 11:23:41 AM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)
 Thanksgiving is only a few days away, and I'm eagerly anticipating homecooked meals and quality time spent with family and friends. (What's your favorite Thanksgiving side dish? I love the stuffing and the pumpkin pie—with lots of whipped cream—best. Mmmmm.) In addition to delicious daydreams of Thanksgiving dishes, holiday shopping
also is not far from my mind (in fact, I started a bit
yesterday). This year, you can show your support for children with special needs through your love of scrapbooking and get a jump start on your holiday shopping. Visit The Bubel/Aiken Foundation’s Scrapping 4 Inclusion Café Press Store and purchase one of their scrapbook-inspired items, such as their 2008 inspirational calendar. All proceeds from the sale of items in the store will go directly to The Bubel/Aiken Foundation. Another way you can help: Purchase a subscription to Memory Makers magazine here. Thirty percent of the proceeds for each paid subscription will go directly to The Bubel/Aiken Foundation courtsey of scrapping4inclusion.com. And you'll get 18 issues for the 1-year low price of $16.96 plus $3 for shipping and handling. Plus, we'll send you 99 Best Secrets for Scrapbooking Success upon payment. In this inspiring guide, you'll find helpful hints on everything from page layouts to photo preservation. Wishing you all a wonderful Thanksgiving, Katie
11/19/2007 11:23:41 AM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)
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Thursday, November 15, 2007
Scrapbooking Wherever We Go
11/15/2007 11:32:31 AM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00) Last night we gathered at Christy's new apartment to have dinner and put together gift boxes in conjunction with Operation Christmas Child through samaritanspurse.org. It was an after-hours, non-work related opportunity for us to give Christmas gifts to kids overseas who may not have much come Christmas morning.    (left to right above: Christy, Katie, GinaMarie, Patty -- Beth was with us in spirit and she did her box with her daughter Mei-Lin at home) What does this have to do with scrapbooking? Well, it's during times like these that the memories we want to keep are created. There's a layout in the making in the photos I took. I mean, I AM a Memory Maker . What are you doing during this season of thanksgiving and giving? How are you showing your gratitude? What are you doing that will create memories you want to keep? Come to the forum and tell me what you're up to. Perhaps it's something for a neighbor on your street, a friend at school, a relative across the country or a stranger on the other side of the globe. Whatever it is, good for you! We're blessed with so much in our lives and when we give it away, it comes back to us even stronger. Gotta love karma! Peace and love to you and yours, Patty
11/15/2007 11:32:31 AM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)
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Tuesday, November 13, 2007
November/December Best Story Contest
11/13/2007 5:20:47 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00) Enter our November/December Best Story Contest!
Tell us the most creative way you’ve used your scrapbooking skills to make a personalized gift.
The author of the winning response will receive a prize package from
Pioneer Photo Albums, Inc., including a 12x12 Deluxe Fabric Ribbon
Snapload Scrapbook and Snapload Retrofit Kit. Also included: an 8x8
Expressions Sewn Travel Scrapbook, a Digital CD Photo Album, scrapbook
refills, an Extra Strong Embellishment Glue Stick and assorted
scrapbooking adhesives and accessories. The winning response will be
published in the May 2008 issue of Memory Makers
magazine. Please limit your response to 100 words or fewer. To be
eligible for the giveaway, we must receive your answer by December 30.
Please e-mail your response to editorial@memorymakersmagazine.com with
the subject “Your Best Story-Nov/Dec,” or mail your response to Memory Makers,
Your Best Story-Nov/Dec; 4700 E. Galbraith Road, Cincinnati, OH 45236.
Please include your name, address, phone number and e-mail address.
Entries will not be returned. All entries may be edited for length and
clarity and are eligible for publication in either Memory Makers magazine or on the Memory Makers Web site: memorymakersmagazine.com.
By entering, you grant Memory Makers
the permission to print your entry in whole or in part. You represent
that you have not copied the content from any commercial source.
Official employees of F+W Publications, all manufacturers, and Memory
Makers Masters past and current are not eligible to win. No purchase
necessary.
11/13/2007 5:20:47 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)
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Monday, November 12, 2007
Welcoming Winter
11/12/2007 9:49:46 AM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)  Yesterday, I decided to play with our free digital download kit by Corina Nielsen. Journaling reads: When Starbucks starts serving Cinnamon Dolce Lattes, I know the holiday season is on its way. Story behind the page: The Cinnamon Dolce Latte has long been a favorite of mine. For the past few years, it has warmed me during the winter months—from long college lectures to cold, dark, snowy mornings at work. About a week ago, I stopped in at the local Starbucks and noticed that this tasty treat was back on the menu board. As the littlest things often do, it brought back many memories. And because Starbucks starts serving this drink as the holiday season approaches, its appearance got me thinking about Thanksgiving, snow, holiday shopping, catching up with old friends, etc. Supplies: Digital kit ( Corina Nielsen, sponsored by FxFoto) Image-editing software ( Adobe, Picnik.com) Have you created anything using our free digital kit? Post your creations here. We can't wait to see your artwork. * * *
And on a completely different note, over the weekend, I stumbled upon a collection of e-mails a group of high-school girlfriends and I wrote throughout college. I'd love to make an album using some of my favorites (it's a wonderful way to read about what was happening during my four years in school). If you have any creative suggestions for this e-mail album, I'd love to hear them! I hope your Monday is filled with warmth and happiness. All the best, Katie
11/12/2007 9:49:46 AM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)
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Friday, November 09, 2007
Love All, Serve All ... the Hard Rock Cafe philosophy
11/9/2007 1:26:14 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)  Happy Friday, y'all! In the spirit of gratitude, and because I'm just darn glad to be alive, I offered to organize a company-wide Thanksgiving potluck for later this month. The company is graciously providing the main course and we employees will provide the rest of the feast. (It feels great to do something that everyone will appreciate.) I was reminded of the Hard Rock Cafe's slogan—Love All, Serve All—a couple weeks ago when I visited the Hard Rock in Indianapolis. And being part of the scrapbooking team here at MM, the sign-up sheet I created had to be scrappy. I know you can't see the details, but that's our sign-up sheet above. I just posted it yesterday morning and it's practically full of names of people willing (and eager!) to take part. There's a little bit of everything: patterned paper, ribbon, bling, chipboard bursts. That's it from me for this week. Must get back to editing the March/April issue. Wishing you laughter, love and a peaceful weekend, Patty
11/9/2007 1:26:14 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)
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Thursday, November 08, 2007
'Tis the Season...already?
11/8/2007 1:06:48 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)  I was reminded this morning that Christmas is only 47 days away! Now before panic sets in with all of the things you need to do before this holiday season, let me share with you something I’m going to do differently this year. First I need to let you in on a little secret: I always get frustrated when I am shopping for Christmas cards. I can never really find a card that says exactly what I want to say. And when I’m buying them in bulk to send out to my friends and family, I want them to have a personalized touch. Last year, I attempted to make all of my cards. I was very ambitious and  started a few, but never finished the entire batch and therefore I didn’t send them out! I was recently on the Shutterfly Web site and found they not only had really cute new Christmas card designs that you can personalize, they also have an option for creating your own. They come in different sizes, and as you can see, I had fun playing with both of the options. Just think about ordering cards that already say exactly what you want to so you don’t even have to write a thing! They are a perfect solution, and if you start now, it will be one less thing on your list before Christmas arrives in 47 days! Okay, I’ll stop saying that because it’s stressing me out too! Create something. Inspire everyone. GinaMarie Supplies for Digital Card: Scrapartist.com: all digital paper designed by Aja Abney (My Wish for You collection) and all digital elements designed by Sarah Batdorf and Angie Briggs (Whimsy Style collection). Edited picture at picnik.comCompiled the entire card in Photoshop Elements.
11/8/2007 1:06:48 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)
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Wednesday, November 07, 2007
Baby Love
11/7/2007 1:41:46 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00) Just a quick, simple page I made at our Memory Makers craft time a week or two ago. The cute subject is my perfectly sweet niece, Audrey. Spent some time this weekend with her (oh, yeah, and her parents, too, who these days are Audrey's "support staff"), and she's the smiling-est, happiest baby I've ever seen. Now, I know I'm biased, but I'm not kidding!   supplies: Flowers, patterned paper ( Making Memories); Pen ( EK Success); Misc.: adhesive, ribbon Best, Beth
11/7/2007 1:41:46 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)
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