I can’t believe it’s Wednesday again.  This brings such warm fuzzies to my heart, cause it means that it’s time to get our scrappy on and we get to see all of your amazing creations!  This week some of you know that Melodee, my better half at Scrapbook Steals, is on vacay!  I didn’t know how busy this week would be so I thought I’d turn to some back up help to provide this weeks sketch.  When I saw that today’s steal was the My Mind Eye Li’l Robots, I knew exactly who to call….our very own fantastic fan, Lisa Mack.

I have been dying to get my hands on Lil Robots since it was first released!  And what better way to use it than for a Mid-Week Mojo here at Scrapbook Steals?  Even more special, this is the first official page I have scrapbooked for my new little baby.  Are these little robots not the most darling little things you ever saw? Well, according to me, so is my little baby boy, so those two went together quite nicely!

For the sketch, I wanted to keep it simple with the one photo, and add in a few creative elements to allow you to show your own style as well! In my sketch outline, I used stars as the little embellishments, but on my layout I used a variety of the darling chipboard elements and brads that came with todays kit. However, wouldn’t it be darling to use butterflies, flowers, airplanes, or buzzy bees there as well?  I just might use this sketch again and participate in Mid Week Mojo myself (um, is that allowed?? lol).
I’m so glad I got to pitch in this week, and want to publicly thank Kristy and Melodee for allowing me the opportunity!  Now go create, ladies! I’m desperately excited to see what you come up with!

Thank you Lisa for doing such an amazing job with this weeks sketch!  I can’t wait to sit down and create for myself!

Now then…on to the other exciting Mid Week Mojo business….our random winner for Sketch #8 is Glenda Benson!

I positively love everything about this page, right down to the photos, the title and the cute little froggies!
Remember you have until next Monday, at midnight to post your creation to our Facebook Fan Page using Lisa’s awesome sketch.  Also lets use that share button!  If we can hit 100 shares by next week we will select TWO random winners!

As always, happy scrappin’!

Oh!  My!  Wow!  Yup girls.  That’s precisely how I feel about TODAY’S STEAL, the 7 Gypsies Mini Album Creation Kit.  You know, I have the *best* job ever.  Truly.  I do!    When Melodee brought me the 7G’s kit to photograph, I begged her to save it for a Friday so I could make a blog post showing only an ounce of the potential that this kit has.  I’m just wishing for more time in a day, cause I certainly have loads of other ideas to put to creation!

I have to tell you, I have *never* made an acrylic album before.  Quite frankly I was a little scared, but wanted to make one so that I could ease the worries of anyone that hasn’t made one before.  And do you know what?  It really wasn’t that hard to do!  Just a little envisioning what you want the final product to look like and you’re well on your way.

The beauty of an acrylic album is that you can see through the pages, which makes it so much fun for a display.  I decided that I would make a little mini-album for baby Owen, one of our wonderful Facebook Fans newest addition!  ( I hope Jana likes it!)  I printed out the photos to the appropriate size then worked from the back page to the front page, layering the photos and elements so that I would be happy with what I would see from the front when the album was all put together.

One thing to keep in mind while creating an acrylic album is that adhesive will show if you are sticking something down on one side of the page, and don’t have plans for anything on the other side.  So it ends up being a great idea to mirror photos or papers from one side of the page to the other.

Another delish addition to acrylic pages are RUBONS!  No adhesive mess to cover up and shows through to the other side!

I haven’t made a chipboard album in positively years.  In fact, I have never made an accordion style one so this was super fun for me.  I was inspired by the example on the back of the packaging and thought it would be fun to put a letter on each page, spelling out a word.  I am the photographer for my girls’ marching band (hooray band geeks!!!), and have soooooooooooooo many photos.  I thought it would be fun to work with some of my favorite photos from this season so far and try as I might, I couldn’t come up with a 6 letter word, so thankfully I found a flourish to finish off the final page!

I thought it would make a fun little keepsake to have the bandlets sign the back of the album to turn it into sort of an autograph book.

This would make such a great idea for a baby shower gift as well.  You could pre-make the album, leave spots for photos taken at the shower, then invite all of the guests to write pieces of advice on the back of the pages!

Now you may have noticed that today’s kit comes with a TON of jump rings.

Not only are they great for binding together albums, but I *love* them for organizing my scrapbooking supplies.  I went to IKEA and bought some truly inexpensive towel racks in the kitchen section, along with the hanging hooks.  I like to organize my supplies by ‘category’, so I put everything similar on a ring, then hang them from the hook!   I often crop away from home, and like the ease of grabbing the full ring of supplies, rather than having to unclip and re-clip something individually.

This method makes it super easy to flip through similar items and then hang them back up for easy reach!

Today’s kit also comes with a bunch of envelope pockets.  I truly wish I would have had more time to use them as I had ideas for, but I was able to make a card which you could easily include a gift card in the pocket.

Other great ideas to use envelope pockets are:

* Pocket Mini Album

* Journaling pocket on layout (I even have one sketched out!)

* Pocket to hold extra photos on a layout (Would be great for Christmas photos, for those so-so shots that you don’t want to scrap!)

* Create a ‘memory’ game for kids

Truly, the ideas are endless!

Thank you 7 Gypsies for such a fun kit to work with!

Enjoy, and happy scrappin’!

Are you ready for this weeks sketch?  I know I’ve said it like a gazillion times before (yeah….I know…that’s a lot), but I LOOOOOOOOOOVE how much fun you girls are having with the sketches each week!  I LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOVE looking on the Facebook Fan Page and seeing all of your inspiring creations.  More than once I’ve let out a gasp, (in a good way), or a giggle, or an ooooooh and ahhhhhhh, and my kids tell me that I must be looking at layouts again.  Yeah.  They know me.  They know me well.

I wasn’t quite sure what I wanted to do for this weeks sketch and as I was perusing through my photos, I came across these photos of my Sarah, that I haven’t scrapped, and then I knew immediately that these photos would be perfect for this weeks sketch.

I built the sketch based around the photos, because I had a hard time choosing just one of them.  Her facial expressions are priceless, and totally her.

I also wanted to be sure that I had a good amount of space to tell the incredible story behind these photos.  Even though I thought I had left quite enough space, I actually had to shrink the font, cause there was so much to be said.  I just wanted to make sure that this moment was documented so that when Sarah has teenagers of her own, they can see what an inspiration their mother was at their age.

Now I have to tell you that I was more than delighted when I found out that today’s steal was going to be Prima Flower Kits.  In fact I dare say that my heart skipped a beat when I saw all of the glorious blossoms to choose from.  I suppose on this layout I got a tad carried away with the pretty flowers and included pieces from 3 of the different kits offered.

I have to tell you though, the white kit?  It’s the BOMB!  I really, *really* wanted some purple flowers to sort of tie in the whole color scheme of the layout and it was as if I was struck by a lightning bolt from the heavens above when I realized I could take the white flowers and….drum roll….INK THEM!  YESSSSSSS!  Custom flowers….perfect for whatever you’re creating!

In fact the flower customizing fun didn’t end there.  I couldn’t resist and had to make a card for my hunny and had to customize 2 of the white flowers to match the papers that I was working with.  Sure it’s a little fru-fru- with the flowers, but hey, at least he was thought of, right?

I know that you are also waiting on pins and needles for the winner of mojo #6 .  Thanks to Random.Org, this weeks winner of a little scrappy goodness is Maria-Anne Murray!  **hooray Maria-Anne!**

Her layout is one of the ones that elicited a giggle from me and I actually made my girls come and look.

I positively love how she is so theme oriented on the layout right down to the journaling in a swirl!

Maria-Anne, be sure to send us your address to orders@scrapbooksteals.com and we will get a little something sent out to you!

For the rest of you, I hope you have fun with this weeks sketch.  I can’t wait to see what you come up with.  Remember, you have until next Monday at midnight to get your lovely creations posted on our Facebook Fan Page to be eligible for our drawing, and to make it even more exciting, if we can spread the word enough about the mojo’s and get our share buttons at the top of the post to 100 by next Tuesday night, we will pick a bonus winner for some scrappy goods! Spread the word and as always………….happy scrappin’!

Our designer Emily M. who makes our websites look so darling just had her little girl, Ruby. To welcome little Ruby into the Steal Network family, we threw her a surprise shower complete with decorations, cupcakes, favors, games and a room full of adoring fans. We have some fun ideas for some incredibly cute cupcake and favor bag toppers, tissue paper flowers for the baby shower decor, and a fun BabySteals word search game.

{Cupcake Toppers}

These cupcake toppers are too cute and add so much personality to these sugary treats. The best part is they serve as both dessert and decor, especially if they are displayed on a pretty tiered platter or cupcake stand.

To make these simply use die cut circles and decorate to your ♥ heart’s content with stamps, buttons, stickers, cut-outs, rhinestones, glitter letters or any other embellishments you can think up! Feel free to make these as simple or complicated you want. Of course with Kristy Lee, being the rock star she is, made a dozen of these, each with a different design including toppers spelling Ruby’s name in glitter letters. She never ceases to amaze me with her creativity! Once the toppers are all decorated, attach the backs to extra long toothpicks using clear tape and insert into the cupcakes.

{Baby Shower Favors}

Favor bag toppers are super easy and make your treats look even more special. Choose whatever treats you want and get ready to dress them up fancy!

Start by measuring the width of zip top plastic bags and cut your cardstock accordingly. Fold these in half and embellish with your personalized flair. These are fun and easy to personalize by using message printed on your home computer (like “Welcome Ruby”). Fill plastic bags with something like mints, candy, homemade treats or cookies, seal the bag and attach on both sides with a piece of double-sided tape.

{Baby Shower Decor}

You may have made these in grade school, but they really are so beautiful and whimsical as a decoration. Hang from the ceiling or attach to banisters or a chandelier for a pretty baby shower decoration. To make these take 8 sheets of tissue paper stacked on top of each other and cut in half. With all 16 sheets stacked, fold accordion style in 1-inch sections. To make the petals cut each end with a rounded edge with one or two bumps depending on the look you want. Tie the center together with wire or string, then carefully open the pieces of tissue paper opening the right and left sides toward the center to look like a flower.

{Baby Shower Word Search}

Any new mom that is not already obsessed with BabySteals.com soon will be after they see all the stuff we offer from this game. This is the official BabySteals.com word search! Just download, print and play! Give everyone a time limit and whoever gets the most words wins!

To see more on the baby shower for little miss Ruby visit the BabySteals blog or check out the pictures on the Babysteals Facebook page.

Three words for ya…… OH.  MY.  WORD!  Wait.  Let’s make it three more…..I.  AM.  TIRED!  Do you know why?  Because TODAY’S FANCY PANTS HALLOWEEN steal is frighteningly fun to work with.  Let me tell ya a little about my night last night.  I had a GREAT time going to the new warehouse, which was a first for me, since I’m a work from home employee….pretty fancy digs the StealNetwork has!  It was so much fun to participate in the SOS video chat but by the time I got home, got the kidlets into bed, cleaned up the kitchen because the 2 older kidlets failed to clean up before heading out to marching band practice (grrr), and got settled into my crafty room it was almost 11:00.  Now here is where the trouble lies.  Today’s kit is SO much fun to work with that I was honestly up this morning until 2AM!  Then of course short peep #5 has to wake his handsome little head at 6 AM, so it was really more of a nap last night.  Hee hee.  But I’m tellin’ ya.  It was alllllllllllllllll worth it!

First I started out creating a layout for our wonderful Facebook Fan and friend, Melissa Dehne.

Now I really shouldn’t apologize, because I always do that, ya know….like when you have guests over for dinner and you pre-apologize for something that went wrong?  My husband is always telling me not to, cause likely no one will notice, but here it is…..the photos printed wonky.  Well, at least the sweet little witch.  Oops!  I went to re-print and you guessed it!  Out of ink!  So Melissa isn’t really a poor composer of photos, it’s my printing mistake!  Hee hee!

I really adore how this layout turned out and I hope she does too!  And for those of you steal addicts, I used pieces of 6 different steals, plus pieces from one that is in the works!  I think so often we forget what we have in our stashes, so it’s fun to get organized and work things together!  On this layout I have, of course, the delicious Fancy Pants paper kit, plus buttons from today, the Fancy Pants bulk ribbons, ribbon and black shiny paper from the American Crafts Teen Kit, Thickers from who knows what steal, the delightful Pebbles Chips Flourish, Doodlebug Buttons (LOOOOOOOOOVE them!) and a few other odds and ends!  Today’s kit just is so fantastic because the colors just jive so perfectly with so many things.  (Did I just say jive?  Egads…time for a nap!)

Now you know that I’m a journaling junkie.  I failed to ask Melissa for a journaling blurb, so that is where the journaling notebook die cuts came in super handy!  I simply added a journaling die cut, and when Melissa gets her layout, she will be able to add the journaling that she wants! 

After making the layout I had to get busy with my original idea for this kit, which was to make bag toppers for candy!  I was a little delighted for my crafty purpose, yet kind of disturbed that I actually found Halloween candy in the store.  Yeah.  It’s only August people!  LOL! These little goody bags came together so quickly and were SO much fun to make.  Such a fantastic way to use up scraps as well as make something that will be really fun for my big girls, that don’t clean kitchens, to give their special friends….since sadly they have reached that age where they are just too old to be out trick or treating!

After that, even though I was in danger of turning into a pumpkin, as it was welllllllllllllllllll past midnight, I wanted to make some cards.  Again, such a perfect way to use up scraps along with some of the super fun stickers and embellishments from the kit!

Thank you Fancy Pants, for such a delightful crafting binge.  Now if Ican get Fancy Pants Dan to babysit my kids so I can nap today?  ::Nice::  Well, nice thought anyway.

Oh and one more thing!  Did you notice our new Facebook / Twitter share buttons?  If we can get the share button totals to reach 100 by next Wednesday, we will give out a little bonus ‘something’ on our Mid Week Mojo post!

Have a great weekend!  Happy Scrappin!

Hello everyone!  How are you?!?!?!  I don’t know about you but this week has been another insane one.  Wait a minute.  That’s seeming to be EVERY week for me.  However, today I send 3 of my 5 off to school and have one more week with my little guy before he heads out to Kindergarten.  Wow.  Where has the time gone?  I’m hoping that with 4 of the 5 soon in school I will be a little more productive and get to spend just a little more time scrapping!

Let’s start this week off with announcing the winner of last weeks Mojo challenge.  Marisa Torp is our random winner of last weeks sketch.  I adore this page.  I love the photos of her little one celebrating with cake.  Mmmmmmmm….cake.  I also absolutely love how she ran the strip of ribbon THROUGH the heart on the bottom of the left hand page.  SO pretty!  Thanks for sharing your talents with us on our Facebook Fan Page, Marisa!  Every day it’s such a treat to see what pops up.

This weeks sketch honestly didn’t turn out like I had envisioned.  Then again, does it ever?  I’m sure we all have a page every now and again that just doesn’t sit right, and I hate to say it, this is one of them!  Isn’t it great to know that even after 15 years of scrapbooking I still struggle with final results!  Hee hee!  The good news is, that I’m sure you girls are going to positively RAWK this sketch.

This weeks sketch is actually quite simple.  A nice fit for 2 photos and a little bit of journaling.

I have wanted to do a layout for quite some time about the bizarre rage of Silly Bandz.  It seems like overnight they popped up and now everyone is wearing them!  Truth be told, even our awesome shipper Dan wears them, cause his 9 year old is keeping tabs on his ‘kewlness’.  I haven’t yet adorned myself with them, but now I have preserved the memory.  Honestly I don’t get them, but then again, I’m sure my mother didn’t get the fact that I had to wear 3 or 4 Swatch watches at the same time on the same arm.  (Yeah.  I don’t get that now either).  Or 2 pairs of socks, different colors, layered and pushed down.  (Egads, almost vomiting on that one).

Overall I am happy with this layout and the little piece of fashion history which is now preserved for my girls.  I even have to sort of pat myself on the back for this layout, since I actually used my own handwriting to journal.  I truly am *not* in love with my handwriting so I almost always computer journal, however, the lined paper sort of begged for handwriting, and it’s also nice every now and again to throw a little more of ‘the person behind the page’ onto a layout.

I seriously can’t wait to see what you all come up with.  This sketch could be adapted for just about any purpose. Make sure you have your layouts uploaded to our Facebook Fan Page by next Monday at midnight to be qualified for our random drawing!

Last but not least, we have some serious business to discuss!  The winner of  lasts Fridays blog giveaway….remember that little Martha Stewart Goody Box that was filled with some odds and ends from my scrappy stash?

Well, our Random.Org winner for that is Elizabeth K.  Here is her comment:

Elizabeth K August 21st, 2010 at 12:38 pm – #9485

These are SO cute! I just “discovered” scrapbook steals and kid steals…I’ve been a baby steals follower for a long time. You box of treats is lovely!

So there you have it!  Elizabeth and Marisa, if you’d be so kind as to send your address to us at orders@scrapbooksteals.com, we will be happy to ship you out your prizes!

Until next time……happy, happy scrappin’!

Oh my goodness….I <3 today’s steal.  I kid you not.  Here it is almost midnight, (so a mere 9 hours before this steal goes live), and I actually had to force myself to STOP making these Martha Stewart gift boxes.  As I would finish one, I would get the idea for another, and start creating again!  The simple  fact that I will be a super grouchy momma if I don’t get enough sleep, is what actually begged me to stop creating.  So while you may not be thanking me, that I didn’t complete the rest of my ideas, my children do.  :0)

I love how versatile these gift boxes are.  Of course our domestic goddess Martha Stewart really knows how to rock the treat world.  I love that the kit includes 3 recipes which are the delectable looking items featured on the front of the box.  I can only imagine how fun these would be to give out to friends and neighbors during the Holidays filled with yumm-o treats.

I couldn’t resist stopping with treats.  As soon as I saw this kit, my mind went into hyper-drive and I started coming up with all sorts ways to use the boxes for little gifts.

A lot of us have school either in session or right around the corner.  I thought it would be so much fun for my daughter to take her new teacher a small goody box filled with some of the essentials that teachers are always hoping for….hand sanatizer, pens, erasers, scissors, etc.  It may not be a lot, but every little bit helps, and what a great way for my daughter to ‘break the ice’ with her new teacher!

Then I thought again of my daughter.  I don’t know about you, but I swear that there is a creature that lives in our washer and gobbles up one sock at a time.  Either that or they are all shoved under the beds, and well, I’m not about to risk my life looking for them.  I thought it would make a fun little gift to give my girly a box of new socks so that her feet will be happily dressed for at least 6 days this school year!  :0)

After that box I was dying to try some stamping on one of them to decorate the outside.  It was SO.  MUCH.  FUN!  I am sooooooooooo not a stamper, and envy those that do it so well, but wowee did I have fun making this cute lil’ number.  I even had to make a trip to the store to find some happy candies to put inside of it.  Wouldn’t you love to give this to a friend that is in need of a little pick me up?  It took me all of 5 minutes to create it too!  EASY PEASY!

Next I really wanted to dress one of these beauties up.  I added some bling around the oval opening and then put one of Martha’s awesome border punches to work to make a fun decoration for the top.  Add some ribbon and a little thank you tag, and fill it with Almond Joy Pieces (YUM!!! Except I ate wayyyyyyyyyyyy too many so close to midnight!) and you have a fantastic favor for a bridal party or for the hostess of a shower!

Last but not least I couldn’t resist decorating a box, ‘ just because’, and filling it with some random odds and ends from my scrapbook room.  And do you know what?  This gift is for YOU!  Well, for one of you anyway.  I want to share my stash with you and seriously couldn’t ask for a cuter way to send it all along!  All you need to do is leave me  a comment on this post no later than Monday the 23rd…at midnight, which is well…..almost exactly 96 hours from when I am writing this, and I will pick one random winner to share my scrappy goodness with!

Hope your weekend is spectacular!  Be sure to pop by our Facebook Fan page and see all of the amazing Mid Week Mojos that are popping up!  As for me…..I’m goin’ to bed!  Night!

Please help us win Start-Up Nation’s Leading Mom in Business for 2010. As we read your comments of love and adoration for our three sites, BabySteals, KidSteals, and ScrapbookSteals, we are truly humbled and motivated to be the best company out there for our amazingly loyal and devoted fans. Last year the Steal Network was fourteenth in the nation. This year with your help we could make it even higher!

Steal Network is the home of three deal of the day websites built especially for women: BabySteals.com, Kidsteals.com and ScrapbookSteals.com. Each boutique store features one deal each day for a fraction of the retail price—50-80% off. The item is revealed every morning at 9am MST and is available only until it sells out. The company started with BabySteals.com, which launched in April 2008, and was the first deal of the day website to exclusively offer quality baby and maternity products. ScrapbookSteals.com came next and then KidSteals.com, which will celebrate its one year anniversary in October. Each store is supported by a strong and passionate community of mostly women. We love our customers! Thank you so much for supporting us!

We entered a little late this year so we need your help even more! We only have 13 days left of voting so your help is greatly appreciated. Thank you all for your love and support!

Can you believe it’s time for Midweek Mojo #5?  I honestly am a little stunned at how quickly time flies!  I love, love, love Wednesdays now and love the fact that I’m actually accomplishing completing some scrapbook pages, which otherwise would not be done!

As soon as I saw today’s steal I actually asked Melodee if she would move around the calendar so that I could use it for today’s Mojo sketch.  I know it’s not Valentine’s day, but that wasn’t going to stop me from using the super cute love papers to do a layout about my kids…..cause well…..I love them and the papers were just too perfect not to use!

<————- (Me….in <3 with the American Crafts “I Heart You” Kit)

One of our very loved Facebook Fans, Jennifer Collins was commenting about last weeks sketch and how it was going to be tough for her, because it was a one photo layout and she takes a gajillion photos (just like me), so I promised her a multi photo layout.  Another loved Facebook Fan, Stephanie Umpleby also commented that she loves doing 2 page layouts, so I upped the ante and decided to deliver a sketch that filled both of those requests!  So here you have it…..this weeks Mojo sketch….5 photos, 2 pages!

I think I knew right after I promised a multi photo, 2 pager, that I wanted to do a layout about the things that I love about my kids, especially after seeing the perfect “love papers”.  I haven’t done a layout featuring all of my kids for a very long time, so it was fun to make lists of the things that I love about them….right now.

I didn’t have the time or the ability to have all of my kids in the same place to take photos of them in coordinating clothing, or with a matching background, so I did the best thing that I could to eliminate the chaos of wayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy too many colors, and that was to simply change the photos to black & white.  This is such a great trick to use, if there are certain papers that you are positively dying to work with, and your photos just aren’t groovin’ with them, or in my case, where it would have looked like someone had an explosion with finger paints!

Not only do I love the linear design of this weeks sketch, which makes it very easy to scrap 5 – 3 x 4.5″ photos, but I love the ample amount of journaling space.

This would be a great sketch to do a layout about things you love (like I did), or a vacation page or even a birthday!

As always we love, love, love seeing your work on our Facebook Fan Page, and we love getting to get to know each of you through our community interaction.  It’s kinda like a big group hug!  We love our fans and we also love Random.Org, for selecting the winner for our Mojo #4.  Donna Zerber is our winner and has been such a wonderful addition to our community.  She always has great ideas to offer and our family wouldn’t be the same without her!

Donna, please send us your address to orders@scrapbooksteals.com and we will be sure to send you out a little scrappy goodness.

I truly look forward to seeing what you girls will create this week!  Remember, the sketch is nothing more than a springboard for an idea!  If you don’t love the heart, by all means….shake it up and make it your own!

Happy scrappin’!

We just hit 10,000 Facebook fans!

Thank you all for welcoming your friends into the ScrapbookSteals family!

We’ve got something fun in MIND for you!

Click here for a ♥ surprise steal ♥ Grab yours quick!