Enjoy, and have a beautiful day!

Go see YOUR FREE GIFT

You see, my dear sweet oldest daughter started middle school this year.  I’m finding that many mothers would agree that the transition to middle school, especially for girls, can be a stressful one.  Out of the respect of my daughter, I will spare you any details.  I should say that it hasn’t been horribly awful…just stressful.

Near the beginning of the school year – I’m not sure if it was before or after the first day – I discovered that Julia had pulled out some of her scrapbooks.  She was spending a lot of time looking at the first three years of her life (which happens to be three full albums).  She even asked me to sit and look at them with her.  And let me tell you, when a pre-teen asks their mom to spend time with them, that is PRICELESS.

While we were looking at the books, I had the pleasure of hearing my daughter say things like, “Oh, I remember that!”, and “I look like such a happy baby.”, and “That is so funny!”  Each time she looked at her albums she had a twinkle in her eye and often a smile on her face. 

So now I know the answer to my question, “Is scrapbooking really worth it?”  The answer is, “Absolutely!”

Here’s wishing you time to reflect on all of those wonderful memories you have made (and scrapbooked),

Leslie

Right here in our quiet little town of Van Meter, we have an awesome massage therapist.  Her name is Shelly James, and I just received my first massage from her on Sunday.  It was a treat!

If the idea of a massage brings a smile to your face, you could do one of three things:

1. Have Shelly come to the Craft Cottage to give you (and your friends) a chair massage.
2. Schedule a 30 minute massage with Shelly at her house (it’s only 3 blocks away).
3. Schedule a 60 minute massage with Shelly at her house.  It did, and it was wonderful!

You can contact Shelly by phone 515-681-2124 or by e-mail. ShellysMassage4U@aol.com

She’s not only a talented massage therapist, she’s just a great person to know.

Enjoy!

Leslie

I’m a huge fan of Melody Ross.  I fell in love with her vintage-style (and humorous) embellishments this past fall.  When I started searching the web for more of her products, I discovered that she does ONLINE workshops.  I just completed one of her 6-weeks on-lines courses.  Not knowing what to expect, I’m glad to report that it was GREAT!

I now have a whole new love of paint and Mod Pog.  I’ve also discovered that we all have an artist inside of us, and that it’s a very good thing to let it out once in a while – maybe even as often as you can.

Check out Melody’s Brave Girls Camp site when you have a chance.  It’s good stuff.

Hope you have a chance to add some color to your life this week!

All the best to you – Leslie

I don’t remember the stick part of the packet being the tastiest.  After all, it’s just meant to transport the colored sugary good stuff to your mouth.  But my kid decided to eat that part first.  He then proceeded to eat the pixie-stick-type candy with his fingers.

You may think, “That must have been some good green candy“, or you may think, “He looks like he’s transforming into the Incredible Hulk“.  But I swear to you – the original candy was blue!  Crazy.

So here’ wishing you two things this week:

1. Some unexpected color in your life, and

2. A “blast-from-the-past” memory that makes you smile.

Blessings this week to you and yours!

Leslie

My first-grader spent most of her trick-or-treat travels holding hands with two of her best buddies. (Can you give me an “awwwwwww” right now?)

Sometimes we cling to our friends because we need someone to help us overcome the fear we have in our venture. But sometimes we hold our friends close to us because we just want to share the fun. I am absolutely certain that the latter was the reason that the three amigos banded together on beggers night.

THAT, my friend, is why I scrapbook. Not to get the perfect picture, or to apply elaborate embelishments. I scrapbook to try and capture the love that my children are experiencing in the every-day moments of their lives. Precious. Simply precious.

Have a great day…make it even greater by reaching out and holding a friends’ hand.
Enjoy!
Leslie

So when you find out someone you love is going through something like that, what do you do?  You pay more attention to the opportunities to help.

The same week that my niece was diagnosed with breast cancer, I met two gals at the CKC who have a some great ideas on how to raise money for cancer research.  And of course, one of the ideas is related to scrapbooking.  Love it!

I think it’s best to describe what they do by showing you a direct quote from their website:

“…In January of 2010 my sister, mom and I decided to support a cause and committed to raising money for a disease that unfortunately touches so many of us, breast cancer. We signed up for the Charlotte, NC Avon Walk for Breast Cancer in October when we will lace up our walking shoes and walk 39.5 miles over the course of two days. In order to hit the pavement we each must raise a minimum of $1800.00! To help us get there the proceeds of X’s & O’s sales will go to our fundraising efforts.”

The photos in this posting are pictures of the scrap bags that they sell for only $20 + shipping.  They are beautiful, good-sized, well-made fabric bags.  Ya can’t put yer chewed gum in ‘em, but you can fit quite a bit of “scrap garbage” created by your scrapbooking, quilting, or general crafting. 

Please check out their website, and feel good about making a purchase that will support a good cause.

Blessings to your day, and best wishes for good health to you and your family,

Leslie

Remember that song? (Here I go again, showing my age.)  Well friend, I used that title because I want your feedback on how I can best go about thanking YOU.

I’m preparing a “thank you” program for Craft Cottage guests, as well as those who refer guests to the Craft Cottage. 

Knowing that, don’t you think that it would be cool to be a part of choosing your own thank-you gift?!

Here are some suggestions that have already been made.  Tell me if you think they are “hot”, “cold”, or “lukewarm”:

 - $20 credit to the referring person for each referral that books a weekend

 - $10 discount for each returning guest

 - Book any weekend 2 or months in advance and get a $10 discount per guest.

So there you go – those are suggestions that have been made.  Please please please let me know if that is something YOU would like as a guest, and if you have any other suggestions.  Because if my guests are happy, then I’m happy.

Have a happy day!

Blessings to you,

Leslie

Here are my church-goin’, music lovin’, scrapbook makin’ buddies: AnnaMarie and Dianna. 

Do I look tired or what?

That was before I had a chance to go shopping. 

My friend, Susan, showed up later in the day.  She likes to have me pick out her scrapbook supplies.  FUN FUN FUN!

So here’s a photo of what I look like after I’ve had a chance to go shopping:

Now that’s better.  Nothing like spending someone else’s money to get the adrenaline going!

I still need to go through my bag(s) of goodie(s) so that I can share more product information with you.  That darn full-time job and those darn kids just get in the way of my scrapbooking sometimes.

I hope you know I’m kidding.

Love my kids…really do enjoy my job…better stop before I dig a deeper hole.

Have a wonderful week, and enjoy the blessings along the way!

Leslie

P.S. I didn’t have my camera with me with I saw That Scrappy Girl.  You should check out her site.  She rocks.

The scrapbooking world is sometimes a small and cozy place, because just as I sat down in one of my classes, I looked over to see two friends from a church that I used to attend.  I grabbed a seat next to them, got caught up on what’s going on in their life, and made a few cards while we had good conversation.

Throughout the day I ran into SEVERAL people I knew.  It was a day of scrapbooking and seeing old friends.  It doesn’t get much better than that.

I do have to share a couple of COOL COOL COOL items that were at the convention:

Post-It has come out with scrapbook paper.  The ENTIRE back of the paper is the same adhesive as you have on post-it notes.  It’s fabulous for making cut-outs that you think will be difficult when it comes to applying adhesive.

I’m in love with the new GCD Melody Ross HOMESPUN COLLECTION.  It crosses grandma’s classy style with a modern woman’s sense of humor. WAY fun.

At least 2 of my friends bought “The Freeze Frame”.  It’s a clear sticky sheet that lets you pick up all of your scrapbook pieces off your page at once – put all your adhesive on at once – then put everything down in the same original spot.  If I hadn’t already gone over budget, I would have gotten one too!

Now I need a little time to go through all the goodies I brought home with me.  You can be assured that I’ll be telling you about MORE great products and sights to check out. 

Blessings to your day!

Leslie