The holiday spirit has really enveloped me this year. Not only have I done all of our usual holiday season activities, with the exception of the annual cookie making day with my mother----this year, I did something new. I scrapbooked my photos from last Christmas! How exciting was that???!!! I was super thrilled to get them out and start working on them, I just dove straight into the stack and didn’t let them intimidate me with their excessive importance. I wanted to get down all of my thoughts and memories about the holiday before my mind was filled with the memories from this new season. I completed 8 layouts in one day, on a nice quiet day with my family all gone visiting others. It was an article in the most recent Creating Keepsakes that really sparked my determination to just do it. I usually don’t get the chance to sit and read the whole magazine from cover to cover. I usually spend a quick half hour flipping through, and promising myself I will get back to it later. (which I never seem to do). But this time, I actually sat down and read the whole thing. Every article. Allison Strine’s article full of insights, advice and all kinds of motivational ideas really sparked me. I had been feeling like I needed something to get me back into my scrap room, working on the stuff I love the most. So, I thank Creating Keepsakes and Allison for giving me that push that I needed. I highly recommend reading this article!

Buddy Lea has been out of the country, Canada to be exact, visiting Garden Girl Tracy Kyle! She has arrived home just in time to join us for our Annual Two Peas Christmas Party---which was where she first joined us, arriving as a special joke gift. Buddy had a wonderful time visiting with Tracy and her family---she was treated so well! After our Party this weekend, she will be on the go again, hoping to join someone for the Christmas celebrations, or perhaps New Years Eve. I wonder where she will go next?

If you have not yet purchased your 2005 calendar, you must check out the Designing with 2005 Calendar by Autumn Leaves! It has been a huge seller for us, with more than 1000 calendars sold already. This week, we began offering a special discount for those of you who have already purchased your own and now want to purchase one for someone else. It makes a great gift!

Other new idea books include the Designing with Fabric book and the Quote, Unquote vol. 2 book.

Also this week, we will be offering a special deal on Tonic Studios products, be sure to look for that.

With this being the last newsletter of this year, I feel the need to say something special, and just downright sappy. It has been a rather stressful year for us Two Peas, particular the last half of this year. It seems to me that I say that every year. I wonder if it will ever not be busy and stressful? We have made a lot of changes internally, and have huge plans for 2005. I only hope to end this year happy, healthy and with a positive outlook for the New Year. Thank you to everyone who has visited our site, both customer, manufacturer and designer alike. We appreciate your business. Thank you for all of your support. Please accept our heartfelt wishes for a happy end of 2004 and a super start to 2005.

From everyone at Two Peas in a Bucket, Happy New Year!

 

"The Globe (London)" by Lisa Brown Caveney	"Birthday Girl" by Joy Uzarraga
"smiles, sprinkler fun, summertime" by Stacey Sattler	"Play" by Allison Kimball
"K" by Shannon Tidwell

We have a lot of products on order, and more yet to place orders for. We are trying to finish out the year, and will be hitting the new products hard after the first of the year.
Some of the new items:

When did you start scrapbooking? How were you introduced to it?
I began scrapbooking in late '97 after seeing a beautiful album that my cousin, Stacy, made for her daughter. I was interested in scrapbooking immediately because I loved the idea of creating something for my daughter that she could look at for years to come. I was also immediately hooked because I have always loved paper and stickers. :) Like Margie, I can clearly remember saving my allowance to buy those tear off stickers at the mall. Loved those rainbows and hearts! ;)

What are your sources for inspiration?
Inspiration is all around us -- sometimes in the most unlikely things. I can be inspired by a food label, billboard, or magazine ad. I also love to look at greeting cards (the Fresh Ink line from Hallmark is my favorite!) for inspiration.

How do you get started on projects (layouts, etc)?
I would love to say that I am a very organized person who plans accordingly to meet deadlines. Unfortunately -- it seems I am always scrapping like mad right before a Garden dealine to get things done. My biggest goal for '05 is to make time each morning for scrapping so I can put more thought into how I create each page. I always begin by trying to choose colors that will enhance my photos. Then I just work from there -- almost always doing something twice before I am happy with the results. I put down then pull up things often. :)

What things do you like to communicate through your work?
I want to communicate the love and pride I have for my family. I want to leave pieces of me on each page so that years from now someone can get a sense of who I am by looking through the albums I created. I not only want them to know my subjects -- but me as well.

What have been your biggest achievements or greatest layouts or moments with this hobby?
Being inducted into CK's Hall of Fame in '02 was a very nice surprise -- it still makes me feel a little giddy when I think about getting the news. Joining the Garden in May '03 was as equally exciting. I had been a part of the community here for awhile before joining the Garden ... so becoming part of something I had admired for so long was a great feeling.

What kind of goals do you have with your scrapbooking?
Like I mentioned before, I'd like to manage my time better so I can take more time on my pages. I'd like to begin submitting pages to magazines again. I'd like to take better photos ... I rely heavily on portrait-type shots, which can be very beautiful ... but I want to get better at capturing action shots.

Where do you scrap? Do you attend crops or conventions?
I scrap at home on a big old metal desk. I attended a lot of shows and CKUs when I worked for Scrapworks in '04. I am no longer working with them part-time, so I will be travelling much less this year. I will miss it in a lot of ways ... but in other ways I am happy that I won't be leaving my family so much.

Where does scrapbooking fit into your life? Do you scrap in the morning, evening, late night? when do you do your greatest work?
I used to be a late night scrapper -- I would often pull all-nights getting things done for deadlines. Now that I am married :) I am on a normal schedule of actually going to sleep at a decent hour each night. I am scrapping more in the mornings now -- which I am realizing I really like.

What does your family think of your scrapbooking?
My family loves seeing the pages I create for them. Chandler [my daughter, she's almost 12] usually tells me my page is "cool" and will ask me a few questions about the things I used on the page. Sarah [my step-daughter, she is 6.5] always smiles really big and says "Thank you, Shelley!" when she sees a new page about her. My mom (her 2Peas name is K29620) is definitely my biggest fan. Her continued praise and encouragement means so much. :)

Do you have a favorite product line, paper, sticker, or cardstock color?
Without a doubt, kraft cardstock is my very favorite "staple" of scrapbook supplies. I used to just use it a lot ... but lately I am reaching for it almost always. It's either kraft or textured white. I really like how these neutral cardstocks set off colors on a page.Other things I seem to always grab are Doodlebug "Just My type" letter stickers, Ki patterned paper, PSX pixie Antique Alphabet stamps, ribbon, etc.

What do you want the peas to know about you?
That I love my family, my life, my friends. I love that this hobby has brought so much to my life: wonderful friends, a creative outlet, a way to communicate thoughts and feelings now as well as 50 years from now. I love vintage stuff -- especially old greeting cards from the 30s and 40s. I am a movie buff -- I especially love oldies like Pillow Talk, That Touch of Mink, etc. as well as period pieces like Pride & Prejudice and Sense & Sensibility.