2011

I wanted to wish all of you the very best in 2011!!

embellish IT! has just finalized our 2011 schedule. in addition to consumer scrapbook shows this year we are also launching our play all day events & we are offering another cruise in 2011. here

2011 schedule:

march 5 - northern california - play all day
march 11&12 - louisville, ky - ck convention
march 25&26 - portland, or - ck convention
april 8&9 - st.louis, il - ck convention
april 15&16 - mesa, az - ck convention
april 29&30 - manchester, nh - ck convention
may 5-7 - novi, mi - great lakes mega meet
may 14 - orlando, fl - play all day
may 15-22 -western carribean - cruise
june 2-4 - arlington, tx - great american show
june 17&18 - buffalo, ny - ck convention
july 16 - boise, id - play all day
july 28&30 - valley forge, pa - ck convention
august 19&20 - tulsa, ok - ck convention
august 26&27 - charlotte, nc - ck convention
september 10 - southern california - play all day
sept 16&17 - san marcos, tx - ck convention
october 8 - mesa, az - play all day
october 21&22 - kansas city, mo - ck convention
november 11&12 - seattle, wa - ck convention

if you would like to help in the booth at any of our conventions - we pay well (cash), it is not hard & we have ALOT of fun! please email: shelby@embellishonline.com

we are very excited about our play all day events - we have 5 locations:

northern california
orlando, flordia
boise, id
southern california
mesa, az

our play all day schedule is as follows:
9am-midnight: open crop
11am-1pm: class #1
1:00 pm: italian buffet lunch
3pm-4:30 pm: class #2
* we will have various project kits available for sale at the event.

i hope you can join me for a fun day of cropping, classes, & prizes. i have missed so many of you in areas we don't do scrapbook shows anymore. i am very excited to get to know many of you better & scrapbook in an intimate enviroment. Please spread the word - invite your friends! I appreciate your support.

for more information & to register for play all day go HERE

i am looking forward to 2011 & have some exciting things in the works for a fabulous year! i appreciate the support in the past & hope to see many of your faces in the upcoming year.

Finally.... the winner!

Well I must say you have ALL done such a fabulous job responding to this challenge. I am so impressed with your use of products for pages that stretch the imagination and usefulness. THANK YOU to everyone who participated. Which brings me to our winner. I must say, I love Origins and what Chris has done with this page. The photos are just oo darn cute... I could never put bunny ears on my golden. He would mangle them in no time flat! LOL! I love the use of the leaf stickers and the cluster of embellies. Origins is the perfect collection to use with this set of photos. Job WELL DONE! And Congrats Chris. Please email Shelby at shelby@embellishonline.com to claim your $25 gift certificate to the Embellish It! online store.

As always, we thank you for giving us the opportunity to earn your business!

Have you met Oliver & Olivia?! And a contest!!!

One of the things I love most about Basic Grey products is their versatility. I love that I can use the products for subjects that are not necessarily what the product theme is. For example, in the layouts below I used the Oliver and Olivia collections - for travel pages. The colors in each collection worked well with the photos I wanted to scrap. With the wide variety of embellishments and coordinating products my pages came together in a snap... I love easy peasy!
In the layout "When the Clouds Dissipated" I used Oliver patterned papers, sticker elements, pieces, glazed brads, canvas tags, writer's blocks, take notes, buttons, clips,and micro mini letter stickers. Because everything is already coordinated for me this page came together very quickly. And even though this is a little boy themed collection it worked perfectly for my travel photos.

In these next two, single page layouts, I used the Olivia collection products. I used patterned paper, take notes, pieces, pops, writer's blocks, bloomers, micro mini letter stickers, elements stickers, and office tabs. The color palette of this collection complements my photos well, even though it is not a travel themed collection.

Now, for the contest... We would love to see your pages using Basic Grey products that do not fit the intended theme of the products. For example, Max and Whiskers is a wonderful pet themed product. Have you used Max and Whiskers for pages that are not pet themed? If so, we want to see them! Please leave a comment with a link to where your page is posted so that we can take a peek. One entry per person. We will draw a winner next Tuesday, August 24th. What will you win? A $25 gift certificate to the embellish IT! online store.

As always, we appreciate YOU, our wonderful customers! Thanks for stopping by the embellish IT! blog today! Good luck with the contest!

Shall we WANDER?!

Basic Grey released a new collection called WANDER. It is chock full of amazing patterns, colors and embellies... so PERFECT for your travel photos! For the example below I used some of the Basic Grey Designer Cardstock in red and white for my background. Other than the letters spelling "Sitka" everything else is from the WANDER collection. I've added some close-up photos so you can see some of the smaller details of the products I used.

I used a combination of patterned papers, element stickers, epoxy brads, epoxy stickers, ribbon doilies, and pieces to pull this all together. The layout holds 5 - 4x6 photos.

In addition to the new BG WANDER collection, we also have the new BG PYRUS and JOVIAL
collections available for pre-order. These collections will ship in mid-August. Get your orders placed soon so you can be one of the first to get these gorgeous collections.

CHA summer brought many other wonderful products as well. We have, in stock, all four NEW Fancy Pants collections, Graphic 45 Halloween and Embellishments, and Imaginisce Apple Cider and Birthday Bash.

As always, we thank you for the opportunity to earn your business. Have a great day!

bday bash & winner

birthdays are one of those things that happens every year & everybody has them! imaginsce has done an excellent job on this collection - it works for girl or boy & could be for adult, kid or even our furry friends. i am really excited to play with these papers & super fun NEW embellishments.

these are adorable new paper candles - love them!

springy stickers - these are calling out my name for some easy & adorable bday cardsimaginisce rub-ons not only are great designs but also go on very easy!

click here to see the full bday bash collection

our winner of our halloween wonderland collection by graphic 45 is:

aubrey with the elephant costume.

congrats aubree!! email me: shelby@embellishonline.com with your address & we will ship your collection to you.

hallowe'en in wonderland

we have all heard of christmas in july but what about halloween in july? graphic 45 has just released a new collection & we think it is amazing! this new collection is sure to get you in the halloween mood already!

go here to see the full hallowe'en in wonderland collection

comment on your favorite halloween costume & win a FREE collection pack. the winner will be randomly selected from those who leave a comment on monday, july 5th.

have a happy & safe 4th!

HUGE SALE

i can not believe it is june already - twenty ten is half over already? time is just flying by faster & faster. july is a big month for the industry as all the manufacturers showcase their upcoming products at CHA. then, depending on the manufacturer - some are ready to ship product & others ship 3-6 weeks after their debut. with this on the calendar, we decided we needed to sell through much of our existing inventory. and the best way to do that is to slash prices. so that is what we did. we are having a half year sale. more than 1000 products are now 50% OFF. we have just under 2000 products in our sale section for up to 75% off. this sale ends june 16, 2010. a few things to note:

crate paper: all products 50% off - once they are gone they are gone. we do not intend on reordering any of our existing crate paper products.
imaginisce: all products are 50%-75% off (except the brand new line cherish). we do not intend on reordering any of the older imaginisce lines.
fancy pants: some of our most favorite lines like rough & tough, all fall, daily grind, frosted, trick or treat, etc. are all drastically reduced. all of these older lines have been discontinued.
basicgrey: again, some of the older lines but also some of our favorites have been drastically reduced. some have been discontinued & basicgrey has no more inventory but some we have just reduced until june 16th.
bazzill: most trio/monochromatic/mulitipacks have been discontinued by bazzill. i know, bummer. so all of our existing inventory has been priced to sell. great time to stock up on bazzill.
technique tuesday: we still have some stamps & they are now priced way below wholesale. webster pages: all older lines reduced - some products in newer lines are also on sale. note: webster's is starting to sell out on many of their last release. so, if you have wanted any of their last release - now if the time as we have the last of their collection inventory.

this sale is bittersweet for us. it is hard to let so many products sell for less than we paid for them but at the same time - it is something we have to do to allow us to bring in all the new products. we appreciate you helping us out with this :)

if you have any questions - please feel free to email: customerservice@embellishonline.com

click here to check out our half year sale

Ready for something HOT!

If you haven't indulged in Webster's Pages Seaside Retreat Collection then you really need to give it a go. There is so much to this collection. The collection has a whole array of beautiful HOT colors perfect for all your summer photos. Summer is just around the corner so now is the time to stock up. On the page below I used a bunch of different elements including trim, vellum, 6x6 papers, bloomers (have you seen these!?!), journaling card, storytellers, and stickers. I love how everything in the collection coordinates so well. And it's not just for beach or summer or travel photos. I've seen some wedding, baby, and graduation pages too.


We would love to see what you put together using the Seaside Retreat collection. Post a comment with a link to where we can find your creations. Happy creating!
Thanks for stopping by today! We appreciate the opportunity to earn your business!

Max and Whiskers

Max and Whiskers is an amazing collection. Seriously, you can use it for pet pix and so much more! I've been teaching the novel "Where the Red Fern Grows" to my students. The story is about a boy and his dogs. GREAT story. I was able to get a local animal shelter to come give an assembly for the students about dog care, training, animal shelters and volunteering. With that in mind, for several weeks now, we have been collecting money for the animal shelter to present to them when they visit our classes. Well, I'm happy to say that we raised a substantial amount of money (mostly pennies, nickles and dimes!) The cannister was heavy! The folks who visited our class were so appreciative. It was a win-win all around!

To create the cannister I used an empty oatmeal container. I cut and inked the edges of 4" squares of patterned paper from the Max and Whiskers Collection Pack and covered the outside. I then made a "dog collar" with cardstock and embroidery stitching. I hung a "dog tag" made with one of the Max and Whiskers Pieces and a chipsticker heart. I covered the plastic top with coordinating paper and cut a hole big enough for money to fit through. I used one of the larger Max and Whiskers Pieces for the top with a dog and dogfood chipsticker. I love how it turned out and the kids thought it was cool... especially the stitching on paper... they were amazed by that. LOL!

Make something out of the ordinary with your Max and Whiskers products. We'd love to see what you come up with. Leave us a message in the comments section where we can see your creation!

Thanks for stopping by today! We appreciate the opportunity to earn your business!

cruise 2010

so we just returned from our FIRST scrapbook cruise. we went on a 7-night cruise to the mexican riviera (cabo, mazatlan, & puerta vallarta). we decided to take the 2 older kids & it was a blast! it was a great mix of scrapbooking, ship fun, visiting all the ports & family time.

we had the BEST group of scrappers - some scrapped every minute - even into the wee hours of the night & others enjoyed the ship more than they thought they would (ha!) but we were glad to see them for the classes ;) the most important thing to me was that everyone was able to have the kind of vacation THEY wanted. if they wanted to scrapbook 24/7, we had a super nice set-up with having the conference room & everyone had their own table (will not be able to always promise this but it was nice). everyone seemed very pleased with their goody bags (thanks to quick quotes, imaginisce, basicgrey, paperloft, scrapmart, & awesome albums). the classes went smooth - it is so different teaching in an intimate enviroment. all in all, it was a fabulous experience & everyone had the vacation of a lifetime!

my only regret is that i was so caught up in the moment that i did not take near as many photos as i should of. BUMMER! i guess, i will have to do it again so i can capture those memories one more time ;)

so... we are going to do it again ...

eastern caribbean: coco cay, st.thomas, st. maarten

7 nights: october 10-17th, 2010

royal caribbean Freedom of the Seas leaving from Port Canaveral, Flordia

we are joining transparent touches for the cruise. they will teach some of the classes & i will teach the rest. included in the scrapbook fee: very generous goody bag, crop time, 2 big classes, & 4 other classes. all classes will be taught on sea days & at night after dinner on the days we are at ports. cruise one did such an amazing job with our last cruise with booking everyone & making sure everyone got the best deal. we are using them again (that allows me to focus on the FUN part: designing the classes & surprises :)

for more info about the cruise go here

we would love for you to join us !!!

shelby-

It's Here!!!

We're so happy to let you know that the new Webster's Pages lines are in stock and shipping now. We have all the gorgeous papers, trims, embellishments, die cuts, journaling cards.... you name it!!! Here are a few samples from some of the collections.

The Celebrate card was made using the Garden party line.


The Stingrays Layout and Escape Card were created using the new Seaside Retreat collection.

And finally, this Real Layout was created using the Lullaby Lane product (along with a sheet from a previous Webster's release for the "frame".)

You won't want to miss picking up some of these gorgeous products. Patterned papers are always my first love. However, with this Webster's release I am totally LOVING all the gorgeous trims including the BLOOMERS. You must check them out.

As always, thanks for stopping by today. We appreciate the opportunity to earn your business!

Page of the Month Program

this is a basic grey program & a great opportunity for you to use the NEWEST basicgrey products, complete a double-page 12x12 layout each month & learn a new technique.

page of the month (potm) details:

* includes generic themes

* always uses the newest basicgrey papers & embellishments

* get 12x12 sheets of paper & full packages of product = lots of extra supplies

* kit comes with step by step instructions with color copy of layout

* starts march 2010 & is for 12 months

* kits available 2 at at time (ex: march & april will ship together NOW- helps with shipping cost)

* $20 a month

* purchase all 12 months & receive an exclusive 12x12 d-ring album for FREE with your last shipment. these albums will not be sold - limited edition for the potm participants only)

embellish IT! will have the potm kits available along with their monthly kits - released 3rd sunday of each month. this month march & april are available. we feel with making these available with our other monthly kits it will help you get FREE SHIPPING on your entire order (all orders over $65 include free shipping). please keep in mind that ALL monthly kits are limited quantites. once they are gone - they are gone. if you want to prepay for the potm program for all 12 months to guarentee your kits - please email orders@embellishonline.com & we are happy to take care of that for you.

march potm featuring origins includes:

origins clips

origins pieces

origins mini monograms

2 sheets each of the following papers:

refresh, revitalize, mineral soak, authentic, & sugar pea

april potm featuring kioshi includes:

kioshi mini monograms

kioshi cozy posies

kioshi ribbon doilies
2 sheets each of the following papers:

ran, lilo, yuriko, rebun, & azami

if you have any questions with the basicgrey page of the month program - feel free to email us at orders@embellishonline.com.

go here to order potm kits

Something Sweet!

Just a quick post for you today. I've finally had a chance to play with some Sugar Rush and it was fun! I love the colors in this collection and the free-spirited designs. I never seem to come up with ideas for my own birthday pages. But this collection really helped to make it easy. Also, I'm not a huge fan of night photography when flash is required. I felt like Sugar Rush helped me to feel better about these photos.

Do you have a hard time putting together your own birthday layouts? What are the issues that you have the most difficulty with? I'd love to know. Maybe we can share some ideas and products that help make the scrapping process come together better for us. Leave us your thoughts in the comments section of this post. We love to hear from YOU!

You can find Sugar Rush and lots of other GREAT products at embellish IT!

Thanks for stopping by! We appreciate the opportunity to earn your business!

recipes

so, i did a sample of the nook & pantry recipe book. it turned out soooo good! well, i have had it at the last couple shows & the kit sold out (we do have some available online here) you can do this recipe book however you'd like but i did our favorite holiday recipes. the recipes are of the foods we traditonally have for easter, thanksgiving, christmas, etc. in fact, if i make quiche & monkey bread for breakfast my kids ask what holiday it is - LOL! anyways, i had so many request for MY recipes & i promised i would post them. feel free to use these recipes & the picture too if ya want (sorry about some images being smaller?!).

here they are:

quiche


3 eggs

1 1/2 cup milk

1 cup bisquick

1/4 tsp salt

5 TBS melted butter

2 cups grated cheddar cheese

1 cup diced ham

1/2 cup green onion

mix first 5 ingredients with mixer on low for 2 minutes.

add other ingredients (my mom adds mushrooms, sausage, olives, etc)

pour into greased pie plate & bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes

pretzel jello salad

bottom layer:

2 cups crushed prezels

1/4 cup sugar

3/4 cup melted butter

heat oven to 400 degrees. in medium bowl, melt butter then mix pretzels & sugar. press into bottom of 9x13 pan. bake 7 minutes or until lightly brown. cool.

middle layer:

8 oz soft cream cheese

1 cup sugar

1 tub cool whip

beat cream cheese & sugar on high until fluffy. gently stir in cool whip. spread on crust.

top layer:

1 lg. pkg of raspberry jello

3 cups boiling water

10 oz frozen raspberries (or strawberries)

stir boiling water into gelatin for 2 minutes. stir in forzen raspberries. refrigerate until slightly thickened (consistency on unbeaten egg). pour over cream cheese layer. refrigerate until firm.

awesome carrots

2 lb carrots

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/4 lb butter

2 TBS fresh ginger

salt

steam carrots until tender. mix other ingredients in saucepan on low & stir until blended. drain carrots. add sauce. cook low until ready to serve.

fabulous potatoes

8-10 large potatoes
2 cans cream of mushroom soup

1/2 cup chopped onion

8 oz sour cream

1 1/2 cups grated cheddar cheese

1/4 cup melted butter

corn flake crumbs

boil potatoes in skins. cool, peel & grate. combine soup, onion, sour cream & cheese in the grated potatoes & gently stir. do not add water to soup- this will be really thick! melt butter in 9x13 baking dish & pour potatoes in dish. cover top with corn flake crumbs & bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.

monkey bread

4 cans buttermilk biscuits, cut in quarters

1 cup sugar

1/2 tsp cinnamon

shake biscuits in a bag with sugar & cinnamon. pour 1/2 in bundt pan

sauce:

1 tsp cinnamon

3/4 cup brown sugar

1 1/2 sticks of butter

bring cinnamon, brown sugar & butter to a boil. pour half of sauce over top of half the biscuits in bundt pan. add rest of bisquits & rest of sauce over top. bake 40 minutes at 350 degrees.

homemade oreo cookies

2 pkg devils food cake mix

4 eggs

2/3 cup vegetable oil

beat in mixing bowl - it will be very stiff. roll into 1-inch balls, place on lightly sprayed cookie sheet & slightly flatten. bake at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes. cool.

8 oz soft cream cheese

1/2 cup soft butter

3-4 cups confectioners sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla

beat in mixing bowl cream cheese & butter. add sugar & canilla & mix until smooth. spread on bottom of half of the cookies & top with remaining cookies.

* i add food coloring sometimes: ex: orange for halloween, blue for baby boy, green for xmas.

bead art

we are so very excited about a new avenue we have dabbled in ... bead art. i have had numerous emails telling me i better not abandon scrapbooking & move into jewelry so for the record let me just say: NO, NEVER - i am so passionate about scrapbooking & will never quit! however, i have been having a blast with bead art & i think that it is ok to do both :)

WatchArt: watch faces with interchangeable bands that are not only adorable but functional as well! Simply pick the style of watchface you want, then pick from the many different styles of watchbands available...choose one or choose several bands. everyday i have a different favorite (hahaha). the kits have been designed & includes everything you will need to make your watchband & includes step by step instructions & a color copy of the watchband. these are super easy to make - my 8 yr old daughter makes these with me. we even have a video tutorial here that christy tomblinson did that shows how easy it really is.

here are some of my favorite WatchArt for today:

ocean breeze

vanilla cream

fruit punch

we have some super cute watch faces too:

NeckArt is just that - beads that can be worn on a necklace. it attaches with a lobster clasp so if you already have a chain no need to buy one (but we have chains if you need one). again, these are totally interchangeable so you only need 1 chain but can get several different designs. some customers have attached these to their keychain, bag, even scissors (i could only think about how much that would annoy me LOL). anyway, i LOVE these & just think they are so fun!

black metals

tortoise shell

i am almost sure that once you make one of these & get all the compliments you will get addicted to these just as we have (and when people ask, "did you make this" you can confidently say "YES, it is so easy!!"

these make GREAT gifts for just about everybody from teenagers (or 8 yr old in my case) to grandmothers. they are a very affordable gift for teachers, friend's birthdays, family, etc.

go here to see our watch art

go here to see our neck art

And the WINNER is....

Congratulations to our winner of the $25 gift certificate to the Embellish IT! online store:

Liss C

Please email news@embellishonline.com with your particulars so Shelby can set up your gift certificate.

Thanks to all who stopped by and played along. We LOVE hearing from you.

Have a great day! And, as always, we appreciate the opportunity to earn your business.

All things NEW and a PRIZE!

Well, we have stocked up on so many NEW and EXCITING products from CHA last week. Some products are in stock now and shipping while others are on their way to the Embellish IT! store and available for pre-order now!
To share our excitement with YOU, our very valued customers, we will have a drawing for a $25 gift certificate to the embellish IT! online store. All you need to do is visit the store, find your favorite NEW item, and tell us which product is your favorite in the comments section of this post. We will draw a winner on Monday night - February 8th. We will announce the winner in next Tuesday's post - February 9th.
So go ahead, have a look around embellish IT!, and be sure to let us know which piece of the new products tickle your fancy! Have fun and good luck!
As always, we appreciate the opportunity to earn your business!

new graphic 45

we are so excited about adding graphic 45 to our line up. graphic 45 specailzes in the most unique paper with irresistible texture & imaginative designs. the papers have the decade-old appeal that is familiar & endearing but also fresh & appealing. icredible richness in designs is combined with vibracy in colors. they are releasing 3 new lines at CHA next week and we have them & are shipping TODAY! we are so excited & know you are gonna love there papers!

le' romantique

a proper gentleman

on the boardwalk

christmas past

domestic goddess

best part about their paper is the BACKS!!! i know, call me crazy. don't get me wrong i think the designs on the fronts are so unique & beautiful but also understand how they can be intimidating to some. but the backs. oh my gosh - seriously, my favorite ever!! i am in love!!! click here to see all the backs (and of course, more fronts :)