Articles by Heather

No more procrastinating, it’s time to get going on your handmade Valentines!  Make something simple or something elaborate, the key is MAKE it!  It means so much more when it’s handmade.  Note to my husband:  I’d take a handmade card over a dozen roses any day!  Grab some red and  pink cardstock you’ve got lying around at home, or make a quick stop at Archiver’s this weekend and get creative.  Need ideas of ways to share the love?  We’ve got literally hundreds on our website and in our store to inspire you.  Whether you want to create a simple card to send to Grandma, fun Valentines for your kids to hand out at school, or an elaborate handmade mini-album for your sweetheart, we’ve got you covered.

Quick, easy, and ADORABLE mini-cards are my favorite, I’ll be making a few of these this weekend to include with a few special gifts.

What are you creating to share the love?

If you’ve read my posts before, you know that I am no expert when it comes to crafting.  Although I work with a team of creative superwomen, I tend to gravitate toward the more simple, fast and easy projects and techniques.  For that reason, new creative tools are always a bit intimidating to me.  I’m intrigued by what they do, but not sure how they work, and skeptical whether  I can make them work for me with my lacking skills!  I’m pretty frugal too, so I don’t want to buy one before I’ve tried it, only to find out it’s not for me.  If you’ve ever felt this way, you’ve got to come to Archiver’s this weekend.  It’s your chance to see some of the newest tools we’ve got, learn from our creative experts how to use them, and even give them a try for yourself.

Join us at Archiver’s this weekend and try some cool tools for yourself.  I’m excited to try the new Imaginisce D-stress tool;  I hear it makes distressing faster and easier, my favorite qualities in any tool!

I have written many posts on this blog about simplifying scrapbooking.  For a long time I didn’t do any scrapbooking at all.  I bought a lot of albums and supplies and had lots of plans, but nothing got done.  For years, I had unrealistic expectations that made it hard for me to get anything done.  I wanted to scrapbook every photo, I wanted all my pages to be works of art, I wanted to write perfect captions and come up with the perfect titles for each page.  My expectations were so high, the thought of actually sitting down and doing it was daunting, so I just didn’t do it.  It wasn’t until I let go of the idea of a “perfect scrapbook” that I really dove in and started creating.

I think the turning point happened one day when I was at my computer sorting through photos to print.  My daughter Caroline came over and wanted to see the photos I was looking at.  We ended up sitting together at the computer looking at photos for over an hour.  It helped me realize that my focus was all wrong. In my quest for the perfect page, I had forgotten that scrapbooking is about the photos and the memories first.  My family doesn’t care if the page title is perfect, or if I used just the right patterned paper or ribbon, they just want to look at the photos and remember those fun times together.  It was then that I started to let go of my expectations, and started focusing on sharing photos and memories.

I am always on the lookout for products that help me with faster easier scrapbooking, so I can get to the sharing part faster.  I use We-R-Memory Keepers 3-ring binders so that I can mix in their pocket-pages with a few traditional scrapbook pages depending on how much time I have.  I’m also really excited about the new kits by Simple Stories that have just arrived at Archiver’s.  The kits work with the We-R-Memory Keepers system and are so easy to use.  Each kit contains cardstock and patterned paper cut outs that you just cut apart to fit inside the different pocket pages in your album, plus photo mats, journaling cards, border strips and more!

There are two kits, one general kit called Life Documented and one for school albums called Elementary.  Our designers even put together an entire album blueprint for each kit that you can copy to make it even easier.

So let go of expectations of perfection and get started on something now.  Remember what it’s all about and the pages will practically put themselves together! 

With working full time and being a mom, it’s hard to keep up with my scrapbooks.  I try to make time on the weekends every now and then, but I still struggle to find the time I need.  My resolution for this year was to catch up with my scrapbooks (I am currently scrapbooking photos from 5 years ago), and spend more time staying caught up.  Then, one of our store team members, Renee, shared this idea that she’s started with her family:

Last year, on New Year’s Eve, my family of 5 was sitting at the dinner table talking about what a great year we had each had.  Each person wrote down 5-10 of their own personal favorite memories.  I said, “You know guys, I have not documented any of these 2009 memories (because I’ve been so busy).  Do you still like that we have family scrapbooks that document all of these events?”  The whole family, of course, said “YES!”  So I said, “I cannot do this alone.  I need your help.  How about if each of us scrapbook our own favorite memories?  I’ll bring out all of my cardstock and stickers, and I’ll be happy to print pictures from your favorite event, and let’s work on this tomorrow (New Year’s Day).”  So we spent the rest of the day printing pictures and getting the kitchen all set up with any and all supplies.  And New Year’s Day we each created our 5+ layouts, laughing and sharing the stories together.  What we gained was:

A) A 2010 completed scrapbook in one day!

B) A snapshot of each person’s handwriting and personal artistic style (especially the 12, 10 and 4-year old kids).

C) A new appreciation of hearing about events from everyone’s point of view, not just Mom’s!!

D) The best day ever spent together!  And, a new family tradition for New Year’s Day!

Thanks for the great idea Renee!  I really love the thought of spending time scrapbooking together, and seeing my family photos and memories from my kids’ point of view in addition to my own.  My new and improved resolution is to get the family involved to help me catch up.  Get your family in on the fun too – set a date today!

The most common thing we get asked by customers, especially on Facebook, is “Why don’t you have an Archiver’s close to where I live?”, followed closely by “Do you have an online store?”. 

Today, the answer is YES!  We’ve been working for several months on our new website, ArchiversAnnex.com, with the goal of getting it up and running in time for you to shop online for supplies for all your holiday projects.  So now you have no excuse to put off your holiday cards, unique handmade gifts, and cute holiday decor any longer.  Don’t live near an Archiver’s?  You can still get inspired with tons of holiday ideas on our website, then shop online for the best supplies to get your holiday projects done! 

Want the newest holiday collection pack from Bo-Bunny, or some adorable new holiday stamps from Unity?  How about Martha Stewart’s new Scoring Board or a BasicGrey holiday card kit?  You can get all of this and more in our stores, or now, online at ArchiversAnnex.com. 

Get inspired and get started creating!  What are you waiting for?

Happy Halloween!  Is your camera battery charged, memory card ready for a bunch of fun Halloween photos?  Halloween is one of my biggest photo-taking holidays.  I always shoot lots of photos of pumpkin picking and carving, halloween cookie and cupcake decorating fun, and of course many shots of everyone’s costumes!  What to do with all those photos?  How about a mini-album, or even easier, a photo book from our partners at Shutterfly?

Right now, when you purchase $30 or more at Archiver’s, you’ll get a free 7×9 photobook from Shutterfly, the perfect size for a Fall memories album, or a fun Halloween book!  What to spend your $30 on?  You’ll find lots of fun Halloween supplies at Archiver’s, and we’ve also got everything you need for Holiday projects when you’re ready to start them.

So come into our store this weekend, get inspired to create something amazing, buy a few supplies, and you’ll be rewarded with a free photobook!  It’s a no-brainer – see you Archiver’s this weekend!

My pick of the week is a no-brainer; how could you resist this cool Tim Holtz reusable bag, especially when it’s free?

(Click image to enlarge)

All you have to do is find $30 worth of stuff to buy at Archiver’s, and you get to take home this great bag.  And with all the new products that have just arrived, plus holiday projects around the corner, now is the perfect time to stock up!  See you at Archiver’s this weekend!