A "Royal" Good Time

Katie and I just got back from the Scrapbook Royalty crop in LA to benefit the John Tracy Clinic. THAT was one long drive! But it was totally worth it!

Katie cropped and I volunteered to work the event to support Scrapbook Royalty; they organize and put on crops to help charities raise money for their worthy cause. No one is paid, everyone is a volunteer, and tons of companies and other groups sponsor events and donate awesome prizes, raffle items, and auction items. What's better than a crop where you are treated like royalty, gets tons of great goodies (edible and scrapable), can bid on one-of-a-kind handmade items from some of the BEST instructors and designers in the world, take FREE classes from those instructors and designers at the crop, and part of your money goes to charity?

So back to the crop to benefit John Tracy Clinic:

We learned alot about what John Tracy Clinic does for deaf and hearing impaired children and their families all over the world. The staff and leaders of John Tracy Clinic were there to answer questions, conduct tours, and also showed us a video about their organization. We learned so much about the work of John Tracy Clinic; that is a trademark of Scrapbook Royalty, to increase awareness in the community about charities and the issues they address.

Scrapbook Royalty had an awesome "embellishment bar" set up for croppers to buy unique embellishments and a portion of their purchases were donated to John Tracy Cilnic. Sweetpeas and Snapshots sponsored a mini store for croppers, run by Suzi Finer, a renowned artist in the art world. Suzi also taught a paper bag book class. Elena, the Scrapbook Royalty founder, taught a super fun mini album class where we learned to Mod Podge using mulberry paper. There was another class with two ladies who wrote an art journal book and were on "the View" show but I can't remember all the details--sorry!

The food was great, there were 60 silent auction items to bid on, tons of raffle prizes---just a fun time was had by all. If you are looking to crop, looking to have a great time, and to feel great about it, check out a Scrapbook Royalty crop. Events are happening all over Southern California and now SR is branching out across the United States.

The next couple local events are:

• July 28--Royal Treasure Hunt, San Diego Area
• Aug 25--Angel Crop, Inland Empire Area

I'll be teaching a class at the August 25th crop sponsored by Scrappin' Good Times so be sure to signup for that crop! I hope to see you at an event soon.

To Stamp or Not to Stamp--never mess up again!

If you're afraid of stamping directly onto a scrapbook page, this tip is for you! Never mess up your page again. I stamped directly onto the page on this layout. Here's how I did it:


I frequent scrapbook.com, a message board/forum for scrappers and a thread was started asking, "To stamp or not to stamp?". Myself and others left some comments and tips about the benefits of stamping but Gina, screenname "gg loves Matthew", left the most awesome tip EVER: http://www.scrapbook.com/forums/showtopic.php?tid/1425249/tp/1/

Here is the tip:

"Stamp on a transparency.....lay it on the layout where you think you want it...if you like the way it looks then just go for it and stamp right onto your layout...if not wipe off the transparency and you can use it again and again! (Just don't use STAZ ON ink for the trial because it will not wipe off!) Oh and be sure when laying the transparency on your layout keep the side you stamped on FACING UP so it will not mark your layout."

Can you believe how awesome this is?! You can always make sure your stamp will fit and you can save money by using the transparency over and over again. I just love it!

So I had to try it for myself. I did learn that on transparencies that you can print on, you want to use the glossy side that says "Do Not Print" so the ink doesn't stick. The ink kind of sticks to the printable side.

Here are the pics of my stamping on transparency to see if it fits the LO:

I stamped the transparency with the word I wanted:

This is the word on the transparency:

Then I positioned the word several places I thought I might like it on the page:


Good thing I used the transparency--"Dad" does not fit there!


After I found a the placement I liked best, I wiped off the transparency and stamped the word on the page.

Then I thought I'd want a journaling block in blue ink. So I stamped that on transparency and moved it around on the page:


I didn't like it there so I moved it to the opposite corner:


I decided I didn't like the blue and I didn't like the journal box so I left that off. If I had not used the transparency, I would have stamped the journal block and decided I didn't like it but then I would have been stuck with it since it was already stamped.

I love this technique!

What's going on today?

Well, it seems the internet decided to take a vacation! LOL My DSL was down the last few days so I have been gone, being creative with all the free time I have since I am not on my computer. I have been working on my classes, and I am sooo excited for the new classes for September and October! I limited myself to 3 classes for those two months but I knew that would not last--so I have added a 4th! It is very, very fun--a class for "Back 2 Skool" supplies! But you'll have to wait until August to get the full details at the class kickoff at Scrappin' Good Times. So don't miss that!

Speaking of SGT, today I was there doing a make-n-take. I was subbing for Cindy, who is on vacation this week. She sent an invite to all of her best customers and they came! They were all so nice and so sweet--I had a blast! Thank you to everyone who came.

If you didn't get a chance to come do the make-n-take today, there are extra kits available.

The other thing I have been up to is prepping for my "Little Star, Big Dreamer" class. The class is tomorrow and it is going to be soooooo fun! Xaver, Katie, Matt, and I have been covered with glitter as we have been cutting loads of sugarcoated cardstock diecuts for this adorable class. I also just finished up the add-on kits and they are super super cute! You can always just buy the add-on if you want to.

I added more spots to my "Our Little Monkey" class (session 2). SO make sure you don't miss it because this is the very last time you can get the "monkey" book.

AND I decided to change up my Girl Scout book class. The book is just so cute and many people like it but they don't have Girl Scouts. So if you want to take the class but don't need a Girl Scout book, then I'll make a deal with you.

I am making an alternate kit!!

You still get to make the book and the base colors will be brown, green, and blue but you can do a pet book, or travel or whatever and you'll get to learn how to make the magnet closure and everything. The ENTIRE book is handmade so you don't want to miss out on learning how to make your own! Just sign up for the class as usual. Then about a week before the class I will contact you to find out if you want Girl Scouts or the alternate kit.

Hope to see you soon--Jennifer

QK $250 Drawing!!

Don't miss out--it only takes a couple of minutes to play this game and register to win! Take the Cookie Cutter Challenge! This fun online game sets you racing against the clock as you make and bake cookies! Work your way up from Home Ec drop-out level to Bake-off Champion! (Caution: highly addictive substance.) Then enter to win $250 worth of QuicKutz products!
Just play the Cookie Cutter Challenge online game and complete the registration form after the first round to be eligible for the grand prize. Hurry! Contest ends August 31, 2007.

Exclusive "SGT Heart with Wings" Quickutz Die!

A group of Quickutz Gold Retailers (notated by a gold star by their name) has set out to release their own exclusive dies from Quickutz this summer! The dies are only available from those stores. Images have slowly been trickling about on message boards online.

Many people have been wondering which store is offering what has been referred to as the "Gypsy Heart" exclusive die from Quickutz! Here it is! It is the "SGT Heart with Wings" die from Scrappin' Good Times!



The image was designed by SGT's own Joy Campbell. The image is also on the "Queen of the Crop" shirts which Joy designed and are also available from SGT. They are super cute and a must have for any cropper!

The best part about the die is that all the pieces can be cut separately and used separately. If you want to do a page with the title "Wind Beneath My Wings", you can cut just the wings and they will stand alone. There are no notches cut in the "pieces" of the die. For some QK dies the pieces must be layered--on their own they don't resemble any part of the image or they look distorted (for example, the cupcake has a notch in it for the cherry and looks funny without it).

The die can be pre-ordered from Scrappin' Good Times. They are accepting payments through Paypal--all the details are HERE.

For information on the other dies available, check out this thread on the 2Peas board.