Two Peas kicked off summer last week with a special week-long sale. We had a lot of new items for presale (new SEI lines, National Cardstock Quartet line, new Autumn Leaves font CDs), previews of new books (The Book Book), a lot of new items came in and we had several sales on popular items. We gave away a whole box full of new cutting tools from a new manufacturer, Tonic Studios. It was a fun week. We hope to have another super cool week like this one around the time of the ACCI trade show in July. Thanks to all of you who participated on the site last week!

So now that summer is officially on its way, school is letting the students out for break, and the warm weather attracts us all outside. Unless you live somewhere like where we are and it has rained almost daily for the last 2 weeks, setting records for most rainfall ever. I am so glad it is finally sunny here in Wisconsin and we have a seven day outlook with more sun than rain. When I think of summer, I always think of summer picnics, barbeques and parties in the backyard, sunny days on the boat in the middle of the lake, family trips and lots of time spent together. I hope you all have a lot planned for your summer. Get outside and enjoy the summer. Remember to take a lot of photos and jot down all the important stuff in your journals. Think of all the memories you will record and pages you will make on the next rainy day.

I will make sure that all the latest and greatest products are here waiting for you when you need them. We have been busy getting in all sorts of new products, and still expecting more to come. The warehouse has been moved, reorganized, shuffled and shifted in the last month. We are looking at new spaces and anticipate a move to a larger warehouse within the 2004 calendar year. We are looking forward to a new larger space, while also dreading moving all of our warehouse again.

Please make sure to welcome our newest Garden Girl, Daniela Berkhout. Daniela has such an impressive portfolio of photography! We are really excited to have her onboard.

 

"a mother/daughter "whatever" journal (KI Ice Tiles)" by Shelley Sullivan	"Memories of London" by Carrie Colbert
"S: Inspired by Scrapbooking with Faye Morrow Bell" by Shannon Tidwell	"Film Strip Tag - Narratives" by Jennifer (Ditz) McGuire
"Newsletter - Stitched Cardstock" by Tracy Kyle	"New Art Warehouse:Date Book" by Shannon Tidwell
"New KI Memories Ice Candy:Love Note" by Shannon Tidwell	"Superstar * New*" by Tara Whitney

When did you start scrapbooking? How were you introduced to it?
I have always been a bit of a pack-rat with memorabilia and photos. In high school and college I made magnetic album scrapbooks. Then in the summer of 2000 I caught a glimpse of Scrapbooks etc. at Wal-Mart. The obsession started. I soon discovered Two Peas and a year later became a Garden Girl.

What are your sources for inspiration?
Well, of course my son! But after that it's probably the products. Nothing puts me in the mood to scrap more than new scrap stuff. I love 'playing' with all the amazing products available. And I am so happy to be surrounded by color!

What do you do to get started on projects and layouts?
I usually start by looking at my 'To Do' list to figure out what I need to get done. Then I dig through my boxes of pictures to find one that will work with the theme I need to do. Next I choose several patterned papers. I pull out more than I will actually use so that I can figure out the mix I want. As I'm assembling the layout I add embellishments as I go. And unfortunately my journaling is usually last. I need to work on that.

What do you like to communicate through your scrapbooking? 
First and foremost my love for my family. I am so happy that I am preserving the memories of my son's childhood. I already love going back and looking at his baby layouts. I would also like to communicate a little about myself in my layouts...my love of color, my eclectic personality, and my sarcastic humor.

What have been your greatest layouts or achievements with this hobby?
From a professional standpoint I think my greatest achievements have been being asked to be a Garden Girl and getting to travel and meet people through design team work.

Personally, my greatest achievement was the reaction I got from my brother after I gave him an album. It was the themed album last summer, I did it about his swimming career from the time he started through college. It was mostly about the friendships he made along this path.

He had never been a fan of 'homemade' things. He even told me once not to make him anything. What a brat, huh? But I knew that one day he would appreciate an album about his swimming. And he did. He loved it. But the best part was in his thank you note, he apologized for saying that he never wanted anything handmade from me. He said he never should have said it. That was a BIG moment for me.

What kind of goals do you have with your scrapbooking?
I don't really have any goals. I just want to make sure that I'm always enjoying my hobby, because that's what it is, a hobby.

Where do you scrap? Do you attend crops or conventions?
I scrap at home always. I'm not a planner so there is no way I can take everything with me.

I don't attend crops although I would like to. Not for the scrapping, but to meet other scrappers in my area. I am going to make a point of doing that this summer.

In the last couple years I have started attending more conventions and trade shows. I really love the travel and getting to meet up with my online scrapping buddies. And of course getting to make new friends.

Where does scrapbooking fit into your life? Do you scrap in the morning, evening, late night? When do you do your greatest work?
Scrapbooking is 'my' thing. I love that I have my hobby and that it's all mine! I usually scrap at night. Every now and then I scrap a little during nap time. My greatest work probably comes late at night, since that's when I scrap most. But it comes and goes in spurts!

What does your family think of your scrapbooking?
They are extremely supportive. My husband is so good about getting Maddox out of my hair when I need to work, like right now!

Do you have a favorite product line, paper, sticker, or cardstock color?
My favorite product lines would have to be KI Memories and Li'l Davis. Those are the ones I find myself using the most. But I really love all products. I love mixing and matching between lines. Patterned paper, ribbons, letter stickers, and anything red are my favorites!

What do you want the peas to know about you?
Yikes, I don't know. I feel like we all 'know' each other through our pages. I guess just how much I love our community that we call 'Two Peas in a Bucket'. If it weren't for Two Peas there's no telling where my scrapbooking would be. I am so lucky to have met some wonderful and supportive friends through this site. It's funny that if I want to find out about current events, or who won American Idol, I turn to Two Peas, not the news sites. You ladies know all! I do wish I had more time to surf the boards and Gallery. Most of all, thank you for your support of the Garden. It is appreciated more than you can imagine.