be yourself: live with passion

Is it just my imagination?

Or is VALENTINE'S DAY becoming a season of celebration?

Yesterday, I stopped in the bakery next door to Scrapbooks, Etc. to pick up a sandwich on the run.  Much to my amazement, a good part of the bakery was filled with Valentine's goodies...butter cookies, thumbprints, macaroons, pink tinted popcorn balls and even white bread swirled with pink.

Now I know I've had an issue with calendar dates this month, but even I knew that Valentine's Day is a long way away...20 days from yesterday, to be exact.

I can understand peddling Valentine's cards and decor items...some of you are advance planners...unlike me, who used to make the Target run a day or two before Valentine's to pick up Ashley's little school cards.

But bakery goods?

Like they're going to keep for 20 days! 

Ahhhh, but there's a method to their madness, isn't there?  Pretty cookies and goodies sell.  Afterall, I bought some, didn't I?

I've resisted sampling any since I don't want them going to "waist", so to speak!  But this morning, I'm going to try one with my coffee...yum!

Have any of you given in to pretty goodie temptation like I did?

Hope you have a fabulous weekend...mine started this morning with a flood of emails in my inbox from people who got their kits in the mail yesterday.  So glad that you are liking them...I did too, but then, I'm not exactly unbiased, am I?  :))  Thanks for letting me know...it means so much.

getting back to normal...

...or about as normal as things can get around here.

The piles of Priority Mail boxes that filled the entryway, making it look like an entrance to an igloo...you know, the blocks that form the doorway...filled the back of our postal carrier's truck...that brought a huge smile to my face! 

We now have places to sit again. :)

Our recycling bin is filled with torn down product boxes.

My Epson photo printer died right in the middle of printing images for the kits...not a very convenient time, of course!  The message that came up was that the inner components had reached the end of their life...I guess I wore them out!  I'd been contemplating the purchase of a color laser printer and necessity had me breaking down and buying one this week.  I have to tell you, it's awesome.  My kit instructions were 13 pages long and it took so little time to print them compared to the photo printer.  That certainly worked out for the best!

And, I think I swept up the last of the feathers.  Who could have known that the vacuumed packed bags would have exploded, leaving feathers everywhere?   And they are definitely real feathers...they had my nose twitching a bit! :)

But, there's still a lot of stuff to put away and organize.

That being said, I thought I'd share the layout that was part of my February article in Memory Makers Magazine.  The article was about paper storage and the pix were taken in a rare moment of orderly organization.  Here's what my journaling said...and that says it all! "I wish I could say it always looks like this...but it doesn't!  Sometimes my buying habits far outpace my organizational habits...but I'm enjoying it!"  Oh, so true.

So, here's to normal living...at least for today.  This weekend, Christmas will finally come down.  That's progress...last year, it came down February 13th.  And, I'm working on my spinner class kits...AND, the creatologie kit for February.  Look for some sneak peeks next week.  So excited about the book structure and the colors!

And, last, but certainly NOT least, Happy Birthday to Vern today!

He is the love of my life and my soulmate and I wanted to wish him the best of days and a wonderful, blessed year ahead!

"Welcome to the Wingert Warehouse!"

This from Ashley yesterday as Vern and I were bringing in yet another delivery of stuff for the creatologie kits.

She's absolutely right.  It is looking a bit like a warehouse and I keep shifting boxes from room to room, depending on whether someone's coming to dinner or someone has to work in the office or someone needs to find the bed.  LOL!

I've decided not to get too stressed out about it though.  I believe that we have been placed on the earth for a purpose and have been uniquely gifted for that purpose.  Since I think that my purpose is to share creativity and inspiration, I will leave the sharing of a beautifully appointed and organized home to others! :)

My boxes were organized in piles...one for the class I just taught on Friday at Scrapbooks, Etc., one for the Scrapping Sampler on Saturday at SB, Etc., several of product on hold for my end of the month class (Spinning Your Story) and MANY for the creatologie kit for January.   There has been a fabulous response to the kits and there are only a handful of kits remaining...so, if you are thinking about ordering, now is probably a good time.  Kits will go out on Tuesday (since Monday is a holiday).

So, if you're in the neighborhood and need some scrapping products, stop on by...it's highly likely that the Wingert Warehouse will have what you want!

Spinning Your Story...

Here's the promised sneak peek of the 7 gypsies ATC spinner class that I'm teaching at Scrapbooks, Etc. on January 31st.

This was such a fun project to build...it's got lots of tiny details with each card resembling a mini layout...I didn't want to stop making cards!

The class is pretty full but there are a few openings so if you're interested, you may want to get signed up soon!

I also have a class on Friday this week...its the Totally Timeless: Classic Style class...with the theme being black and white (one of my favorite color combos).  I forgot to take pix of my teaser and one of the layouts before I took them to the store...sigh...they were pretty cool.

Just to let you know, I won't be making and selling any extra kits of the spinner class because I'll be teaching it again...at Momento Scrapbooking and Paper Arts in May and at Scrapbooks Plus in June...maybe after that.

Hope to see you either Friday or the 31st!

A WINNER HAS BEEN DRAWN...

...AND THE WHITE BOOK GOES TO:

VICKI!

who said:

Comment:
I have a few goals but the one thing that is an underlying theme in all of them to MOVE FORWARD... Get up off the couch and take a walk everyday is the one I am working on right now... even if its to the mailbox and back. (others incase your interested... work on my camera skills, clean the basement out, organize my scrapspace.... move forward!)

Congrats, Vicki!

Email me your address and I'll send out the book to you.

Thanks to every one who participated and good luck on achieving your goals!

speaking of white...

Ashley spent last week up in Idaho visiting with my parents and my brother, sister-in-law and nephews.  She saw lots of white...said that she took over 100 pix of white stuff (you can tell that she's a Zonie girl who doesn't see much of it!)...I asked her for a CD of the photos...for another white book, of course!

Here are a few:

Ashley tried to make "bunny ears" on this guy but her cousins thought he looked more like a devil!

I think Ash has a great eye...love what she took!

It's been great reading all of your honest and well thought out comments for what you want to accomplish in '08!  Here's something that I want to see happen this year.  I have a half dozen boxes stacked up in one of our offices...they are filled with papers...things that have been in a pile and needed to get cleaned up immediately because company was coming.  So, they were shoved in a box and stuck in the corner.   Apparently they aren't all that important since I've not gone into any of them since I put them there.  I just need to take some time and sort through, throw away, file, etc...just make some concrete decisions as to what I really need.

Anyway, looking forward to picking a name tomorrow.

giveaway!

It's a new year...it's the end of a long week...it's definitely a good time for me to do a giveaway.

I'm going to give away one of my white book samples...the book that I taught at Scrap Gala in Moncton, NB in November.  It's a finished book...all you need to do is add your photos and some extra frou-frou if you want.

I thought everyone would be tired of reading about, hearing about and seeing the white book.  Apparently not.

There's hardly a day that goes by without an email in my inbox from someone wanting to know if I have extra kits or if I'm going to teach the white book class again.  I don't have extra kits...and I am going to teach it again.  It was suggested that maybe I do an ongoing white book class...changing out product and techniques...kind of make it a series.  I love that idea (thanks, Valerie!) so look for one for summer and a new one for the holidays.

In the meantime, here's your opportunity to win a completed one.

All you have to do is to leave me a comment about something you want to accomplish this year.  Doesn't have to be big...doesn't have to be earth shattering...doesn't have to win you the Nobel Peace Prize.  My thinking is that I'd rather tell myself I'm going to do one small thing and actually accomplish it than to tell myself I'm going to do 5 really huge things and end up not getting any of them done.

I'll leave this open until Tuesday at noon and then will just randomly draw a name.

As always...thanks for reading, for your sweet and thoughtful comments and emails and just for being you!

another 2008 venture...

2008 is going to be a busy year.

Something that I'm doing this year that I forgot to mention in my 2008 recap post is a monthly article for Memory Makers Magazine called "Getting Started".  It's a short article that's designed for beginners and covers a different topic each month that may benefit someone who is just getting started in scrapbooking.  I'm also doing a layout which either serves as an illustration of the topic or as in January's issue, which deals with basic tools, uses just the tools about which I wrote.

When Memory Makers first asked me to do this, I was a little taken back and definitely a little unsure about taking on this assignment.  I've never really taught classes for beginners; most class attendees know their way around supplies and product and just want a bigger challenge.

I was really glad I accepted the challenge.  It's forced me to think back to when I first got started and it's helped me with some brand new people who have taken recent classes at Scrapbooks-Etc.  Plus, it's helped me focus on what is a necessity and what is a luxury...like most of you (I'm guessing), I'm a product collector and tend to buy way more than I need. :))

So, if you know anyone who's just getting started, you can clip out the one page...it's actually styled to be clipped out...and share the info with them.

And, if you have any good tips that you'd like to see passed on to beginners, please feel free to share! 

there's a new girl in town...

...and she's moved into our home.

Earlier this week, I received a call from Tena to let me know that her mom, Darlene, had found a dress form at auction and was I interested.  Was I interested?  Ummmm....I think that would be a definite YES!

I think it was about two years ago that Tena asked her mom to put a dress form on the list for me.  Tena's folks love to go to auctions, estate sales, garage sales, etc. and are champion shoppers. 

I can't believe she remembered after two years.  Amazing, really.

I don't know the date or the circa on this girl...all I know is that she is in good condition, is a small size, doesn't smell like smoke or mildew, and was an incredible bargain.  SOLD TO A NEW ADDRESS!

So...I need to name her (especially seeing how she has "borrowed" some of my jewelry and seeing how I introduced her to Ashley and Elizabeth as their new adopted "sister" :)) tee hee).

I was thinking about Ella or Emma.  Any thoughts or suggestions?

On a different note, just wanted to let you know that the January creatologie kit is posted and the PayPal storefront has been created...sort of.  :)  What's supposed to take a few seconds has taken up a good part of my day.  It kind of reminds me of home improvement projects that I've done...5 minutes to do the project but 5 hours to find the tools, buy the tools I'm missing, return the wrong tools...you get the picture.

Hopefully, it'll work.  If not, just email me and we'll work through it together...and forgive me for just not being a super 'puter whiz...definitely not my specialty.

January is all about home, family and friends...our nests!  I started planning out this project back in November and since then, I've seen all sorts of magazine and newspaper articles about our "nests".  Maybe it's a little like buying a new vehicle and then seeing hundreds of either the same vehicle or the same color!

There are more pix on my creatologie blog...hope that we can do some creating together.

Hope you have a great weekend!