Full Circle Friday

I hope you all had a fun and safe Thanksgiving!

Windy City Scrapbooking was busy, busy this morning. However we still have a couple QuicKutz Silhouettes at the special sale price of $149.99 (regularly $369.99). This price is good for TODAY ONLY (Friday, November 28, 2008)! We are also offering 20% off your entire purchase for the rest of the day. And we have some of our albums on sale for just $12, again today only. Hurry if you have your eye on something special for yourself or a loved one!

Our sketch today is a display of 4-4x6 photos, one is trimmed down to 4x2. The title is split in half and runs across the top of the photos and then continues down the side. The split title is unified with an accent.

For my layout I decided to go festive and work with photos from last year's Lincoln Park Zoo's ZooLights. I took a minimalist approach and used only 1 piece of older paper by Scenic Route, glitter letter stickers by Me & My Big Ideas, a chipboard star by Heidi Swapp, stamps by Luxe and Maya Road, and finally the Uniball White pen.

I don't pull out my stamps for scrapbooking enough. I use them a lot for cards and other smaller projects but they are great for layouts too! I used the fun Luxe border stamps with a bright silver ink to outline my photo box. To make sure I didn't stamp on my photos I put down a piece of scrap paper that covered the photos and stamped away.

There are a great line up of stamping techniques that can be used on scrapbooking pages. To learn more about your stamping options take Acrylic Stamp Challenge at Windy City. In that class you will make 4 cards and 1 12x12 layout using different stamping techniques. There are dates coming up in 2009; check the website for more details.

Happy Thanksgiving..

We are wishing you a Happy Thanksgiving from the Windy City Scrapbooking Family. Just a reminder about our Day After Thanksgiving Sale. Check out the great deals...

Day After Thanksgiving!!!

We have lots in store for November 28th -- we open at 8 a.m. to get you the best in scrapbooking Chicago has to offer!!!

Early Bird specials:

8 a.m. - 9 a.m.: receive 40% off*!

9 a.m. - 10 a.m.: receive 30% off*!

10 a.m. - 11 a.m.: receive 25% off*!

11 a.m. - 7 p.m.: receive 20% off*!

Store Specials (throughout the day):

(No holds honored prior to the sale)

Albums: Select Albums $12

QuicKutz: All 4x4 (Revolution) Shapes

excluding September and November releases, and

Goosebumpz:SingleKutz: $5.99

DoubleKutz: $10.99

QuicKutz Revolution Tool Promo:$39.99

(regular price $149.99) while supplies last!

QuicKutz Silhouette$149.99

(regular price $369.99)

We only have a few at this price, so shop early!

*Discounts on non-sale IN-STOCK merchandise only. Not valid on previous purchases, sale prices, or special orders. No rain checks. Quantities are limited. No holds prior to Friday.ALL EARLY BIRD PURCHASES MUST BE COMPLETED BY 1 P.M. Other restrictions apply.

See you bright and early Friday morning. I will be eating a ton and getting some rest to help everyone out on Friday. Enjoy your turkey day.

:)Sesil

Tuesday Tips

Oh my! Thanksgiving is next week. Therefore, I wanted to find something to document all the things that I am thankful for this year. As Al mentioned there are some great classes online to help me with this idea.

Melodee Langworthy:
Melodee Langworthy is such a great inspiration on how to use the stamps that we have and how to incorporate them into our projects. She is also doing videos on how to complete the album. LOVE HER. I am working on mine right now it's not to late to start. Here is the link.
http://melodeelangworthy.typepad.com/candid_thoughts_/free_grateful_blog_class/

Teresa Collins:
Another thankful class is by Teresa Collins. Love the way she shows you some great ideas on how to use her product line. She has all the directions and wonderful pictures to make her Thankful album. Here is the link.
http://www.teresacollinsdesigns.com/t-copyright.aspx

As you may know, both of these classes were inspired by our very own Susan Dallas. Both Melodee and Teresa are good friends with us at Windy City Scrapbooking and we love what they have created. I would love to see some of the albums that you create from taking these classes. Please send pictures to classes@windycityscrapbooking.com and I would like to post what you have created on our blog.

So from our family to yours have a great Thanksgiving. I will see you in two weeks. I have to get my house presentable for Thanksgiving...so enjoy. I will have some great videos to share in December. Get ready for the holiday season it is just around the corner.
:)Sesil

Scrapping on Sundays...

Here is your SOS for this Sunday, November 16th, 2008

I want to start off by sending big "THANK YOUS" to everyone who stopped by this past Saturday for our Customer Appreciation Day. Customers enjoyed mini massages, mini makeovers, mini cupcakes and even had a visit from my 'mini mes' (Alex and Allegra were with me as I stopped in) along with sales, and an all around great time. This was one of the last events that our beloved Susan took the time to plan and I think she would have been very happy with how things turned out...her spirit was definitely there and always will be.
Please continue to keep her family and friends in your prayers...


Here are our classes for this week

Holiday Tags on Monday at 6pm with Jen
Beyond the Basics on Tuesday at 6:30pm with me
Basics on Thursday at 12pm with Sesil
Birthday Rolodex at 6:45pm with Michaelene
Invitations and more on Friday at 6pm with Sesil
Home Mini Book next Sunday at 12pm with Jen
Holiday Planner next Sunday at 2:30pm with me
You may call us to reserve your spots in class or stop in to register
Our December calendar of classes will be posted very soon on our website

Speaking of classes, I wanted to share with you a Gratitude album blog class that Melodee Langworthy is hosting on her blog...the album was inspired by Susan...you may go to her blog site at http://www.melodeelangworthy.typepad.com/
Teresa Collins has also posted on her blog directions to her Gratitude album that was inspired by Susan as well(you have to scroll down to the November 6th & 7th post) http://teresacollins.typepad.com/
Both of these directions are FREE...I do plan on doing both and I would love for to share what you made once you get the directions.
Supplies for both projects are available at Windy City Scrapbooking

This Saturday, November 22nd will be the last crop of the year at Windy City. It is an ALL DAY crop for $35 and we will provide lunch and dinner along with giveaways and raffles...not sure if all the spots are taken so make sure to call us if you want a spot.

Turkey Bucks started today at Windy City Scrapbooking. For every $25 (pre-tax) you spend, you will earn a turkey buck that can be used on a future purchase and do not forget, you will also be earning your loyalty points from your purchases from now until the end of the year.

Wacky Wednesday for this week is 40% off all of LUXE acrylic stamps...I can not wait for this as I have had my eye on a couple of them

We are also having a HUGE SALE on Quickutz dies whereas alot of our 2x2 and 4x4 dies are 40% off and so are some of the alphabets...the Revolution is also still on promotion for 39.99 so make sure to stop in or give us a call for all of your Quickutz needs

Do not forget to check out our website at http://windycityscrapbooking.com/ and do not hesitate to call us if you have any questions, comments, or concerns.

As we approach the Holiday Season, do not forget that Windy City Scrapbooking has alot to offer to meet your holiday needs...from card making and gift giving, we have it. You may stop in and create a WISH LIST for a loved one to come in and shop for you or you may come in and shop off of a loved one's WISH LIST...and we are more than willing to assist you.
Keep in mind that we also have gift certificates available as well

TTFN
Alraynita

Full Circle Friday

Well I am back from my recent travels and adjusted back to normal life again. Though it can be a big effort I do try to make scrapbooking part of my normal everyday life. A recent way I have been making that happen is scrapbooking with my 4-yo daughter. She is very interested in scrapbooking! After our Disney vacation I got her an 8x8 scrapbook of her own to work on. She chose her own papers, some stickers, chipboard and other embellishments. Because she is only 4, I do help her trim photos and apply the adhesive but the page design and product selection I leave up to her. Even if I make some suggestions, she makes the final decision. It is so cool to see her take ownership for this project and care so much about it. So onto my proud mommy bragging, here are a few of Ella's Disney scrapbook pages:

This holiday season try making some gifts with your children... a card for their teacher, a mini album for the grandparents, a frame for dad's desk. There are many great ways to include the kids and they will have a great time too! If you are having trouble coming up with kid-friendly ideas, just ask the staff at Windy City Scrapbooking to point you in the right direction.

Ok, now onto the sketch! The November guest designer sketch didn't happen last week but there is no reason to waste a perfectly good sketch. Plus I had to stick to my challenge of starting my Disney photos. This one is a 2-page layout, 8.5 x 11. There is one focal photo and journaling on the first page and then a series of smaller photos on the second page. You will see I chose to change some of those smaller photos to blank space and embellishments.

Because my photos were pretty busy and intense, I went with a plain white cardstock background with a few bursts of color. I love the new flocked dot paper from Doodlebug and they were perfect for my design. The flocked alphabet stickers are also by Doodlebug (they come in glitter too!). The EK Disney themed embellishments are perfect for our vacation memories as the characters were the main focus of our trip. The new Technique Tuesday stamps designed by Ali Edwards are really fun and versatile, I just had to find a way to use them on my layout. The last embellishment I used was a sticker we collected from the Magic Kingdom while waiting in a line. They give away a ton of stickers there. Some the kids plastered on their shirts but I was able to hide a couple for the scrapbook.

Using memorabilia from a vacation is a great way to add a personal touch to your pages. Every vacation I take I designate a plastic bag as the "paper bag". I pick up brochures, ticket stubs, receipts, etc throughout and put them in the paper bag for safe keeping. When back home I pull out the bag while I scrapbook to incorporate the goodies into my pages. Try the paper bag on your next trip!

If you recently took or are planning a trip to Disney be sure to check out Angie's new class "Doing Disney". In the class you will complete a 2-page layout featuring Disney themed pattern paper and stickers. The class will also discuss an organizing principle for scrapbooking an entire trip to Disney World. This class is coming in January and is not to be missed by Disney vacationers!

Tuesday Tip *Tim Holtz Masks*

Hey bloggers, I am not sure if you have seen this video from Tim Hotlz on how to use his new masks. We have them at the store so come by and try these great techniques yourself. Enjoy the video.



See you on Saturday for Customer Appreciation Day.

Scrapping On Sundays

Hello Everyone...

I know it has been a long time since I have done Scrapping On Sundays...so good to be back.

I first want to personally thank each and everyone of our blog readers for all of the prayers, hugs, and love that you have sent our way here at Windy City Scrapbooking....it has been difficult for us, and just knowing that we have such a good support system from all of you makes it a little easier and for that...I thank you. Susan touched all of our lives in a very special way, and she will never be forgotten...I am not saying goodbye to her as I will continue to talk to her everyday as I have always done since I have known her...we will see each other again...




Things have been busy at Windy City as always...
For classes this week, Melissa is doing her Acrylic Stamp Challenge... For those of you who are looking to do more and learn more about acrylic stamps... Here is your chance!
I will be teaching Basics this week so if you know anyone who is looking to get into scrapbooking, have them give us a call to sign up themselves up... Keep in mind, our Basic classes are FREE.
Sesil will be teaching her Get Digi class (featuring Adobe Photoshop CS)... so for all of you who wanted to start to learn more about Digital Scrapbooking... Call and sign up for this class!!! If you are using Adobe Photoshop Elements, Melissa's version of Get Digi will be offered again soon. We will have Crop Night this Friday and there is still space available... Jen and I will be your hostesses for the evening.

On Saturday, November 15th, Windy City Scrapbooking will be hosting a "CUSTOMER APPRECIATION DAY" and will be celebrating YOU... our CUSTOMERS. The day will be filled with projects, make and takes, massages, makeovers and much more. Make sure you check our blog and our website as we will post more about the event in the days to come and also check out http://www.cropscene.com/ for more information.

As far as new product that has arrived at our store... Let me see...
We have the new ALI EDWARDS acrylic stamps that were posted on her blog a few weeks ago...
We also have the 7 Gypsies new monogram self inking stampers, new acrylic stamps and more ATC goodies. We have Creative Imaginations Lego papers and embellishments, Crate Paper Prudence and Lemon Grass collections... both are great for doing fall pages. Chatterbox has surprised us with their new "Together" collection which has cute papers, embellishments and storage boxes that are flocked with flourishes. Speaking of flocked... Doodlebug came out with flocked polka dotted paper called La-Di-Dot papers in a wide range of colors.
We also received the Tim Holtz Distressed Stickles...which happened to be one of my favorite new items from the past week.

Now you know...I do not have photos so make sure to stop and see the new items as things always look better in person. Also when you stop in, if you have any stories that you would like to share of your Susan encounters with her son, Evan, take the time to write them down in our special memorial area. We will be putting a scrapbook together for her son Evan of all of our memories of her


Have a great week everone
TTFN
Alraynita

A request from the family of Susan Dallas...

Susan touched many lives during her time. As a request from her family we were wanting to gather all the funny and touching stories you have of Susan. We will be putting together a scrapbook of all the stories and it will be given to Evan, so he will be able to know how funny, caring and a wonderful friend Susan was to each and every one of us. Just post a comment to this entry or if you would like to write something in your own handwriting just drop it by the store.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the American Heart Association or the American Cancer Society. Alternatively, funds may be donated in support of Susan’s young son, Evan Dallas. Checks can be made payable to Evan Dallas and dropped off at the store or mailed to the store. If you are local, and plan on attending the memorial service a request is to bring can goods to help out with the church's Thanksgiving Basket/Project Share.

Thank you again for all the loving support. Keep Susan's family in your thoughts and prayers.

Our beloved friend Susan

It is with great sadness and many tears that I post this message on our blog. Our good friend and store manager, Susan, has passed away. For all of you that know her, she was the best mother, the best wife, and the best friend you could ever have. She was the most genuine person you could ever come across -- she told it like it is and she took great care of everyone she cared about! She affected people with her beautiful smile and her great laugh. And boy could she get herself into a pickle -- you've read about some of those here on the blog (and how her face would turn bright red!!!). We are going to miss Susan to no end here at WCS. Please take a moment to leave a message for her family here on the blog and we will forward them to her family for you.

There will be a memorial gathering to share the wonderful life of Susan this Friday, November 7th from 6 to 9 p.m. with a short service during the evening at North Suburban Evangelical Free Church (northsub.com).Please feel free to come to the memorial gathering anytime between 6 to 9 p.m. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the American Cancer Society and the American Heart Association in the memory of Susan Dallas.

Please keep Susan's family in your thoughts and prayers. Thank you! We love you, Susan!