I need your help....

Hope you are having a GREAT weekend!!!! I have had a very productive day to say the least!!!! Will fill you in with more information on this later!

Meahwhile - I need your help... I am in the process of re-vamping and reworking my www.belovedkeepsakes.com website. The website in its current form is pretty much geared towards my photo jewelry. I am in the process of taking it to the next level and adding my scrapbooking diecuts (for those who do not own a cutter) and my electronic cutting files....

So - what I need from you - if you have purchased any of my files from Paperthreads, I would love to have a testimonial from you!!! If you go to my website right now - you will see all my testimonials are for the jewelry and I need some scrapbooking ones too!!!

If you wouldn't mind sharing a testimonial, and you don't mind me adding it to my webpage - please email it to me at: lori_mcdnld@yahoo.com and please make sure you include your first name and your city and state!!!

Thanks in advance - this means more to me than you know!!!

Until Next Time!

Cya~
Lori

Whoo Hoooo... A Sale...

So I just happen to have the inside track that my dear friend Shirley is having a Sale this weekend!!! Yep - all her files - I mean all 203 of them will be on sale at Paperthreads this weekend for 25% off (starting tomorrow and going through Sunday)!!!

This even includes a BRAND NEW COLLECTION - I have to admit I got a sneak peek at it and it is SUPER SUPER SHOPPING CUTE!!!! Check it...

For those of you that don't know - I would have never even applied to be a designer at Paperthreads if it hadn't have been for Shirley and Chris!!!

So if you want a good deal - and I am sure you do - make sure you check out Shirley's sale THIS Saturday and Sunday!!

And while your there - check out my new stuff and Chris's too!!!

Hope you have a GREAT weekend~
Until Next Time!!

Cya~
Lori

Icky Dreary Day...

So I woke up this morning to thunder and lighten - followed by a tornado warning, followed by three inches of rain in less than an hour and a half!!!!

This photo was taken this morning at 9 AM - yes 9 AM - see how dark - and that is the new pond in front of my house... I use to call it the street!!

Well, not being able to leave the house sucks for me - but is awesome for you - as I have gotten seven new files test cut this morning!!!!

I'll sneak you a peek sometime soon - hmmm and maybe even share one or two here... What ya think??

Meanwhile - my KNK is packed up and waiting for a new home.... Any takers?? Let's make a deal!!!!

Until Next Time~

Cya~
Lori

FOR SALE....

KNK ELEMENT!!!

I have had my Element for a very short time… As a matter of fact, I calibrated the machine, drew some files, and I have only cut three items!! Then just my luck they have just announced that they are bringing back the 13” machine!!!!So my bad luck – makes for your lucky day!! I’m selling my ELEMENT!

The Klic-N-Kut Element complete with the following:

* 2,000 True Type Font CD
* 2 Blades and Bladeholder.
* Pen Tool
* USB Converter
* Software Dongle-that allows you to install your software on more than one computer!
* Klic-N-Kut Studio for the Element
* Mat
* Small can of Krylon Easy Tack

This machine was designed with the scrapbooker in mind. It has a maximum cutting width of 8.5 inches and 500 grams of force. Perfect for cutting thicker materials like chipboard and funfoam. Retail price is $560

To sweeten the deal I am including the following –

1 – Wausau Astrobrights Print and Stick adhesive-backed paper. Retail price - $6.99

1 - 72 Color Cardstock Assortment 90 lb DoubleMates Two Sided Cardstock 12 x 12 in 36 Sheet Pack. This is one of the thickest papers on the market and I want you to be able to see it will cut like butter! DoubleMates is two sheets of cardstock in one. Each DoubleMates cardstock sheet is two cardstock sheets laminated together to form a single sheet with an embossed texture on both sides with light and dark shades of the same color on either side. The end result is a premium cardstock of unmatched beauty and versatility. DoubleMates is a solid color cardstock so there is no unsightly white core. Retail price - $19.97

1 Pack of BRAND NEW Cricut Expressions Cutting mats (2 mats in the pack). These mats are awesome for cutting with your KNK. They are 13x 14 so they fit in the cutters opening perfectly. They also have a grid on it to hold 12x12 paper in place – and you know it is straight every time!!! Retail price - $ 14.99

1 – CD of 1000 Best Fonts by Swift Jewel. 1000 fu, fancy, and formal fonts with a font browser included. Retail price - $12.99

And the best deal yet –

I am going to include a disk with all 52 of my personally designed cutting files in the KNK format!!! Yep – all 52 files I have for sale at Paperthreads could be yours!!!! (TOU will still apply!!!) This includes my bestsellers “Feeling Crabby”, “A Day at the Beach”, and “Got Game”

PLUS – five new files that are not up at Paperthreads yet!! That’s right - Be the first to own my very next five files!!

“She thinks my Tractor’s Sexy”
“GRITS” (girls raised in the south)
“Pilot in Training”
“Surfer Dude”
“You Wish”

That's a total of 57 custom designed cutter files!!! Retail price - $140.44

TOTAL RETAIL is $755.38 -

YOURS for $650

+ $25 shipping (via FedEx or UPS**) for a
TOTAL OF $675

**(My Element is still so new I still have the original box and packing that it came in!!!)

Will bill you via Paypal and will ship within 24 hours of receiving cleared payment.
I originally purchased my KNK Element from Michelle at Paperthreads – so you know that support will be available – and since I work there – you know you can always find me if you need help!!!

If interested, email me at: lori_mcdnld@yahoo.com

How did you do that...

Ok today is going to be brief - I have tons of stuff on the to do list...One of them - that you might want to thinking about is... I have decided to sell my KNK Element!!! Yep! I haven't had it long at all - and I have actually only cut three things with it (but let me tell you it cuts awesome!!!) and now I am selling it!!!

I bet you are thinking if it is SOOOO AWESOME why are you selling it.... well I have decided that for what I do (outside of my paperthreads files)... I really want the 13" cutting width! I have always wanted the 13" but when the price went up - I was like hmmm do I really need that.... and the when I was able to afford it - they had discontinued that size!!!!! So I got the element instead..... and then this past week I heard they are bring the 13" back!!!!!

After much talk with hubby - who said "I told you to get the big one to begin with!", I decided I will be selling my Element... and I am going to throw in some stuff with it to sweeten the deal!! So if you have been thinking about getting the KNK Element.... check back here!!!

Now - I have had several people ask how did I make the photo frame collage on my wall....

Well here you go:

I purchased 20 frames..... (Mine all matched but you could mix and match if you wanted) You can spend as much or as little as you want! I got my frames on 40% off!!!

5~5x7's

10~4x6's

5~3.5x5.5's

I got 70 1/2" cup hooks

I purchased 15 feet of black decorative chain from Lowe's

1 can of flat black spray paint

1 41x82 Curtain rod (from Walmart)

1 pack of (14) 1 and 1/2" black curtain rings with clips from Burlington Coat factory (as they had them half the price of anywhere else!!!)

I took the cup hooks and I spray painted them black and let them dry.

I then took my frames and laid them out on my dinning room table like I wanted them to look on my wall. I took the smallest frame and I placed my cup hooks 1/2" from the edge the frame.... I measured the distance between the two hooks - and this was my placement for all my hooks on my frames not matter what size the frame was. I center that distant and pre measured and predrilled small holes on the edge of all the frames to make screwing the cup hooks in easier! (This was the most time consuming part besides choosing my photos!!!)

Remember you have to put hooks on the top and the bottom edges of the first three rows of frames. On your bottom row you just put hooks on the top edge.

I then hung the curtain rod on the wall. I took the clips off the curtain rod rings... and placed them on the rod as well, centered then out.... then while my frames where on the table I decided how far part I wanted then and I cut the chain to fit between......

Then I hung it all up...

If you were looking at one line of frames it would go like this: the Curtain rod, then the curtain ring, chain, cup hook attached to top of frame, cup hook attached to bottom of frame, chain, repeat.....

Make sense???

Here some close ups:

If you have any questions shoot me an email!!!

Until Next Time!

Cya~
Lori

Print and Cuts!!!

Ok - I have a confession to make. I have owned my Wishblade for a year now. My KNK for a few months and I have NEVER done a Print and Cut until.... TODAY!!!!

Let me back up... Last Saturday I went to FL to visit my best friend and her family. They had recently purchased a new upright freezer and she asked me if I would like her old small chest freezer - and I jumped on it like white on rice!!!! (We had a chest freezer before and lets just say due to a power failure and hmmmm not paying attention on our behalf, there was no saving it from the stench!!!)

So I went down and picked up the freezer and brought it home... well my friend was also telling me about these cookbooks you can buy called "meals for a month" where you prep your food for two weeks or a month at one time and then you freeze it. Then when it gets time to eat dinner, you just thaw and cook. No more prep work the night you cook!!!

I decided to give it a whirl - especially since hubby will be home soon and I will have to actually COOK DINNER!!!! LOL

Well, I got to thinking about my spices and such...hmmmm my spice rack is about oh I don't know ten years!!! I decided it was time to trash the spices, clean the bottles and the rack and start all new.... the only problem I needed labels for my new spices.

So I sent out an S.O.S to my fellow designers and Jen Adkins stepped up to the plate and made labels for me!!!! Yep - I did my first print and cut today! And I have to say - that it was REALLY easy!!!!! (THANK YOU JEN!!!)

Here is some photos from today's Adventures!

Needless to say I am very excited!!! Make sure you check Paperthreads soon as Jen will have this print and cut file for sale there!!!

Until Next Time!

Cya~
Lori

Curve Balls and People you meet!

Sorry I haven't had time to post since Friday!! Life sure can throw you a few curve balls from time to time....

So I went to my mom and dads on Friday! My mom and I went shopping!! Fun, Fun, Fun!!! I mean hey - who doesn't like to shop? And it had been quite a while since I went shopping with my mom! I really need to do that more often! Throw in the fact that the end of the summer sales are going on!!! Oh boy!!!

Speaking of shopping - the other day I was in AC Moore getting.... hmmm, something!!! LOL

Anywho... there was these two lady's checking out in front of me... well they were talking about Mod Podge and altering items!! Have I ever told you how much I love love love Mod Podge? I have never heard of Mod Podge until my dear friend Susan told me about it!!! (Speaking of Susan - she has become Pampered Chef Consultant - oh there is nothing better than Pampered Chef - so email her if you need or want to order something!!!)

Anyway - back to Mod Podge.... so I got to talking to this lady checking out in front of me and asked what was she making... well she replied she wanted to do recipe tins - but that AC Moore didn't have any - so she was going to alter some other things!!

Well I ended up giving her my business card and told her I love to alter tins and such and that I knew of some websites that sold really cheap tins.... I also told her about my blog here and how I like to share my shopping deals with my readers!! And to prove to her I wasn't some lunatic talking to strangers - I told her she could check me out at Savannah Scrapbooking to see that I was on there design team!!!

I must not have freaked her out too bad as she emailed me for the information on the cheap tins.... so I sent that off to her and asked her if she would mind sending me some photos of things she had altered!!! She said not problem!

Oh - my new friend is named Dana! She is a photographer!!! You have to check out her website she is an AWESOME, and let me tell you I know awesome as my mother is also an awesome photographer!!!

Have you ever altered a tin? Wanted too??? Well here is a list of some great deals on tins:

If you are trying to make recipes tins - this is probably the best and cheapest place to get them... and they come with the inserts. (You can get them without the inserts too!!)
http://www.orientaltrading.com/application?namespace=browse&origin=searchMain.jsp&event=link.itemDetails&demandPrefix=12&sku=65/95016&mode=Searching&erec=8&No=48&D=tins&Ntt=tins&Ntk=all&Dx=mode%252bmatchallpartial&Ntx=mode%252bmatchallpartial&N=0&sd=BUY+BOTH+&%3B+SAVE+PURSE+TIN+AND+INSERTS

If you are looking for the Basic Grey ones.. Depending on how many you need - this lady on ebay has them the cheapest I have ever seen:
http://cgi.ebay.com/77-PIECES-BASIC-GREY-LUNCHPAIL-ALBUM-KIT_W0QQitemZ260097646095QQcmdZViewItem

Then if you are looking for some different ones - check here: http://www.bargainpack.com/ click on the left hand side for tin totes… and shipping from here is awesomely priced!!!

Then of you want a true lunch box shaped - there are here for $8 -http://www.lunchboxes.com/metal.html

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Now to help you get inspired - here are some photos that Dana sent me of some of the things she has altered!! CUTE CUTE CUTE!!!!

First is the doggie treat can! I love this!!! What a great idea!!

Then these are boxes of 25 assorted cards that shebought from AC Moore on sale for $5 (cards included). Dana plans to give them to my sons kindergarten teacher for presents!!! (Oh, I hope they don't read my blog!!! LOL)

And then this cute paint can to store crayons!

And then check out this index card box!!!

I hope the websites and the awesome photos get you inspired to alter something soon!!!! Do you realize there are only 99 days til CHRISTMAS!!!!! OM MY!!!!!

Until Next Time!

Cya~
Lori