While my sister Loree was visiting over Thanksgiving, she introduced me to a store here in Minneapolis: the Paper Depot.  This place is like paper heaven.  I think Loree originally discovered this place when doing wedding invites, and she went back last Christmas for cards.  Paper Depot has an amazing selection of paper and envelopes, as well as some                    scrapbooking supplies.

I’m still VERY new to the blogging world, but I am slowly branching out.  I decided that it was about time that I had something to show people who were interested in my blog.

 I will eventually design a more permanent banner head and business card.  In the mean time, my limited skills in Apple’s “Pages” will have to do.  I printed this “card” onto computer paper and then attached it to colored cardstock.  I feel much more official already!

I love this free printable that is available to download here.  The quote is from the movie Elf.  I took down my “thanksgiving” printable in the entryway, and replaced it with this one.

My mom called me last night, wondering if I had any wine glass labels to bring along with to Thanksgiving dinner.  Seeing as I can’t actually remember the last time I used my wine glasses, I do not own wine glass tags.  So, I improvised.  I used my Slice gadget to cut 1.5″ circles from a sturdy piece of scrapbook paper.  I added a little metal circle (the name escapes me right now) from my collection of Making Memories scrapbook materials – but I could have just as easily punched a small hole.  Write the person’s name and attach with a ribbon.  Maybe next year I’ll experiment with different Thanksgiving images on each tag.

Mike bought me a Groupon to an art supply store a while back, and I finally got around to using it a couple of weeks ago.  I was thrilled to find a great selection of specialty paper that was 50% off, thanks to the Groupon.  I got this sheet of Santa paper for a few dollars.  Santa has been riding around in the back of my SUV for the past two weeks, and I soon began to worry about the wear and tear on the paper.  I know I am breaking my cardinal rule of “no Christmas before Thanksgiving,” but I decided to get Santa inside and in a safe place.  For now, I have hung the paper on our bedroom door.  I like using the paper as a poster.  Perhaps I will eventually do something more with it.

I saw this print on Pinterest and ordered an 8 x 10 right away.

 I think it makes a great addition to the entry.

Free Thanksgiving printables are available from sweetbits here.

During a 6-week study abroad program in Italy, we consumed plenty of gelato.  In fact, by the end of our stay, the lady in the neighborhood gelato shop knew us from our daily visit(s).  When I saw these cute ice-cream cone stickers, I knew I had a scrapbook page to put all of those gelato pictures on.

About a month ago, Mike hinted that he would like to go skydiving with me for his birthday.  I gave him an emphatic “no,” but made a mental note anyway.  The next week, I made a reservation with a skydiving company.  I then told Mike that I found a great wine and cheese tasting place to visit on his birthday (Mike hates cheese).  I knew he would act enthusiastic to protect my feelings.

My next missions was telling Mike of his surprise. I decided to put my Slice machine to work. I made cupcake cutouts on the Slice and then free-handed a parachute.  Here’s the end result:

I gave Mike his card at dinner the night before his birthday.  Due to bad weather, our jump was delayed by two days.  But when we did get to go, it was a beautiful day!

One evening last week, I left the apartment and told Mike, “I have a few things to pick up at Michaels.  I’ll be home soon.”  Two hours later, as I stood in a scrapbooking aisle of the store, my phone rang.  As I was apologizing to Mike, he told me not to worry because these are all things that I will use and enjoy.  I just told him to wait until he saw my total bill!

Anyway, the reason for the long trip had to do with a Slice machine that was on sale.  From what I can tell, the Slice is like the Cricut with less expensive cartridges.  For those of you that have no idea what either of these machines do, they are computerized scrapbooking “gadgets” that cut paper into precise shapes.  Since I am hardly one to pass up a sale at Michaels, I left the store with a Slice and three different cartridges.

As I began work on my Europe scrapbook, I found the perfect occasion to use my new gadget.  We spent a week in Spain, yet I managed to take only two food pictures – paella and sangria.  I knew I needed something else to fill a 12×12 page.  The “Bon Appetit!” cartridge seemed perfect.  After a bit to tooling around, I created this little page: