Playtime!

Missy, Mom and I have been trying to schedule "playtime" (scrapbooking, stamping or whatever) once a month for years now. Life gets in our way more often than not so when we do finally make it happen, it's always very special. Part of our ritual is shopping together. Depending on what we plan to do we usually always hit Michael's and sometimes Beach Scrapbooks and/or Walmart. Of course eating (dinner, snacking and breakfast) is another critical factor in our time together. Being creative is exhausting and hunger inducing! Missy made it over around 11:30 Saturday morning, quite a bit earlier than usual. Since we were going to see Straight No Chaser that night we hoped the "extra" time would help us get a little scrapping done. (Yeah right!)

We hadn't been to Beach Scrapbooks in ages - probably because I haven't scrapped since um ... December I think. Because we hadn't been there in so long we had to look at everything! As we browsed each aisle and shelf, we discovered all kinds of fun things - some simply had to come home with us and some had to be put back and wait for another time. Unfortunately, our funds are not unlimited when it comes to our hobbies (aka obsessions). Some of the things in my bag were some new beautiful papers, a couple more of the "stitching" templates, piercing mat, a couple of mini chipboard books and some Flower Soft. Here's my Beach Scrapbooks loot:

Oh yeah, before we could get out of there we saw a class sample of a canvas wall art hanging. It was gorgeous!! I/we have been wanting to play with some canvas for a couple of years now. (That's why I love classes. It makes me take the time to do the project.) The class was the next day! Sunday afternoon at 12:30pm! I could do that!! I was thrilled to find out the class wasn't full and immediately signed up. (Homework: I had to go home and find five related photos that would work well black and white or sepia.)

By then we were starving and Panera sounded perfect! After we got home and satisfied those nasty little hunger pangs, we decided a visit to Michael's was necessary. After all, we had 20% off entire purchase coupons!! Before we could even get into the store the "Clearance" bins outside stopped us in our tracks! 4 for $1! Now usually I just walk by these things and don't go bin diving - cuz ya know ya have to wade through muck to find prizes. Before I could blink twice Missy was pulling things out saying things like, "Look at this!!" OK, I'm hooked. I'll go with you. Fast forwarding, this is what my 4 for $1 loot looked like (couple of recipe boxes, some stickers and more chipboard books):

As we strolled through the scrapbook and stamp aisles more goodies just jumped into my cart! I swear they did!! There is no way I put all that stuff in my cart!! To my credit, I only bought a couple of things that were regular price - some plain white paint and tacky glue. The rest was either on sale or clearance:

Check out those socks!! They are waiting to be made into a monkey to match my "studio!" I have the perfect Morgan photos to use that centipede stamp. The little stamp set is a "traveling" theme. (If I ever scrap vacations again, I will use them.) The bigger stamp set is "Talking Circles," perfect for some Morgan layouts too. The ribbon spools were $1/ea and I couldn't resist. And those clips and grommets were on sale - they're just ... well, good to have in my stash. :)

By the time we got back home it was after 4pm and we had to leave at 6pm for the Straight No Chaser  concert. Needless to say I didn't get much done. My first priority was finding and editing photos that would work for my canvas class on Sunday. The ones that popped in my head immediately were of Morgan and Heidi and those are the ones I ended up going with. I found a Photoshop action called "Grandmas Attic" and it was perfect! After I got them uploaded for printing it was time to eat a bite and get ready to head out to pick up Mom ...