Archiver's Memory Lab and Achiver's Chapter 11

                                                


Ok, last Friday's ScrapMania, I tried the new Memory Lab. You have to set up a free account with the Memory Lab to be able to print photos. I had an email that gave me some money off my photos for trying the new Lab. I had my camera and its memory card so I easily upload some photos to view before ordering. I had selected the photos I wanted to order but I had neglected to select the quantity of the photos. So I had to select the photos again, adding the quantity this time. I didn't realize that I could choose matte or glossy so my photos were matte. The Archiver's clerk was too busy to help me with the whole process of getting to know the new lab. It is similar to the Kodak or Sony kiosks but slightly different.  But once I had placed the order, she quickly processed my order. The lab was a computer setup with several options of linking various memory cards to the computer and very similar to ordering online with Shutterfly or Walgreen's.

Here's Archiver's price list for photos. They can do scrapbook pages, cards, and calendars and more as they add more products to the Memory Lab. The photo list is below. I think the prices are about the same as going to Walgreen's or Shutterfly before their coupons and sales. Archiver's prices will be high if they don't have a coupon or percentage off. The Memory Lab will be OK for me when I need one or two photos as I'm creating a layout but I'm not sure I would use it for lots of photos. Walgreen's will still get most of my quick-need photos and Shutterfly will be my go-to online developer when I have lots and lots of vacation photos to print. The price list is longer than shown here but it included pricing for other items that I don't need right now so I didn't add the other pricing.

The Memory Lab printed the photos nicely. They felt differently than other photos - smoother. The colors were good but maybe could have been a bit sharper. The Lab didn't add any marking to the back of the picture, which I do like. The Lab might have an option to do that but I didn't think of when I did my first order.

Standard Prints

Product	Price
4x6 Matte	$0.29
4x6 Glossy	$0.29
5x7 Matte	$1.49
5x7 Glossy	$1.49
6x8 Matte	$1.99
6x8 Glossy	$1.99

Square Prints

Product	Price
4x4 Print	$0.29
8x8 Print	$1.49
12x12 Print	$2.99

Enlargements

Product	Price
8.5x11 Print	$1.49
8x10 Print	$1.49
11x14 Print	$2.99
12x18 Print	$2.99
13x19 Print	$2.99

 

 Archiver's Chapter 11

Here's part of an email from Archiver's. They are going through Chapter 11. I guess that is why they had been closing several stores this first part of the year. The Easton store where I scrap at Table 7 is doing well and Archiver's main office is working to fix its finances. I do hope that Archiver's will make good changes. Most of the LSS had gone out of business and I personally think that it is due to the big box stores and Archiver's. Joann's and Michael's have increased their scrapbook/paper crafts aisles and have coupons all the time. Hopefully, Archiver's can develop a competitive coupon policy and maybe more/better sales. I have noticed more sales - they have this weekend where you buy any patterned paper sheet and get one sheet free. I will be missing that sale this weekend due to some family fun.




Well, thanks for listening to my opinions and reviews. Go try the Memory Lab. Explore it before you really need to order photos.

SandyBear

Card making on Fri. and Sat.

I did get to go to Archiver's Table 7 on Friday night but late. My dog had some surgery on Thurs. and I had to wait to pick him up from the vet. He looks rather silly with the Elizabeth collar but he needs it.

Anyway, I had a request from my hubby that he needed some sympathy cards for work. He has kept a few of them in his desk and that supply was gone. So, Friday night, I started a bunch and finished them today.

Purple plaid paper was on sale at Michael's as was the Martha Stewart stamp set. I stamped the flower box and cut it out then pop-dotted on the white rectangle. The stamp set had a bunch of tiny flowers, birds, leaves, and butterflies. I used the stamp with 3 teeny tiny flowers and made my own lilac flowers. I got the color shading by inking the stamp once but stamping the image twice. The sentiment is from Hero Arts. I  had been carrying it to and from crop nights before I finally used it last night. 

This card was my favorite of the night.

The flowers are Hero Arts flowers I found at Archiver's last night. The banner is 2 pieces of scrap paper. The sentiment is from the same sympathy set by Hero Arts. The strips are a bit bold but somehow, I didn't have all the paper I needed the other night.

JilliBean double-sided paper and some scrap of burnt orange were used for this card. The flower is from the Hero Arts sympathy set and the tiny sentiment is from Inky Antics' Simple Sentiments set. I added a few gems.

This double-sized paper was from Archiver's but I don't remember the name of it. It has red and cream stripes on the other side, which I used too on another card. I used a bit of Queen & Co. washi tape and more of the Hero Arts flowers with some green pearls. The bits of green swirls are from the border punch I used on another card. The butterflies are from the Martha Stewart set.

The sentiment is from Inky Antics set.

I completed a stack of sympathy cards. I gave my hubby and my girlfriends a few each, and I'll take a few to school to have on hand. I don't like making sympathy cards so I make a bunch and just hang on to them.

 I made a few cards with scraps from Table 7's cropping. The girlfriends save the bits and strips for me throughout the evening and then I make a few cards for them, using the bits. Some strips are just big enough to stamp a sentiment  on while other pieces are big enough for a base. Thanks, girlfriends!!

National Craft Month - March 12 - Sketches #75 and #154

Two more Sketches done!! #75 and #154. I had puzzled over both of these 2 sketches for a while. But I finally completed them.

Sketch #154

I had purchased a package of polka-dotted 8 1/2 x 11" paper from Michael's Recollections paper while it was on sale. Then I was not sure I would use it. I cut orange paper with embossing on it for the small matte under the squares and then cut the squares. I cut the orange dots as a scalloped circle. At first I had just the big scallop cut in the orange but all the dots weren't playing together well. So I matted the orange dots on a slightly larger white scallop and I was happier. I had a bit of dotted ribbon and, when I ran out of that, I used dotted washi tape. The stamped sentiments had been in the birthday pile for a while so I placed it on the bottom. I had the shiny Happy Birthday stickers too and placed it across the cupcake, which I fussy-cut from a paper from a stack from Hobby Lobby.

Sketch #75

I had the tiger paper leftover from an album of a trip to the zoo. It was double-sided so I flipped some of the strips over. The sentiment was one stamp and I cut it into strips to fit the sketch. I added the sheer wired ribbon. I tried a bow but it was too big. I just tied a knot. I inked the edges of the strips to distress.

National Craft Month - March 10 - Sketch #163

Arrrgh, Maties! Tis Sunday and time for another Sketch!

I didn't totally follow Sketch #163 as I didn't use the little squares but I did put 3 little elements there. I had purchased a set of pirate stickers at Michael's last weekend for $1 and they have been sitting on my table to be put away. I had gotten a set of unicorns/flowers too but they will have to wait for another time/sketch. Then I saw this morning's Sketch #163 and thought they would work well for this.

The paper is DCWV from a boy's stack but I don't remember the name of it. I used most of a roll of the washi tape by My Mind's Eye 8 roll set from Archiver's. I inked the edges of the 2 pirate papers with brown ink. I cut the plain brown paper in the 4.5 x 2.25" rectangle and tore and inked the edges in black. I also crumpled the paper a bit and inked the folds. I matted it on paper I got at Tuesday Morning. It is called Uptown Gold and it is a metallic but you can't see it very well in the photo. The 2 word stamps are by Hero Arts Crafts' Pirate stamp set., which is a set of 18 tiny stamps (about 1" square). I could have used them but I had the colorful stickers and used them instead. I got about 24 cards done and could make a few more with the bits and pieces. The pirate stickers are almost gone and I have a lot of fish left. The little words probably should have been stamped and matted but I was done before I didn't like it as stamped. I didn't add any ribbon (shock) since the card is  for a kid/a guy. 

Wow, I have Sketch #163 done for the week already. Now what other trouble can I get myself into?  It is so spring-like here. I have my new windows open and the dog is enjoying woofing at everyone walking/biking/running by our house. Have a great Sunday!!

National Craft Month - March 10 - Sketch #162

Sketch #162

I forgot to complete last week's sketch. I do like this sketch. Easy to do. Scrap wrangling or not. Fun.

I do kinda wished I had matted the 4 1/4 x 2" and the 2 1/2 x 3 1/2" pieces but they still look good. 

The saying is from Pebbles' stack of journal blocks and I had to cut it a bit to fit the sketch and to fit the scrap blingy paper I had in the right color. I did a few more cards, using some other sayings from the same package and I trimmed some of those. I added the brads (Making Memories Chloe's Closet) to the cards. A simple card but bright and cheery! Most of the paper is from Michael's 8 1/2 x 11" patterned paper in the packs that are frequently on sale.  

National Craft Month - March 2 - new washi tape dispenser, Dear Jane stack, and a book review

I usually go to Joann's and Michael's without my hubby as he gets bored there easily and he doesn't need to know exactly how much I spend in the craft stores. Imagine my surprise when today Hubby wanted to go to Michael's and did I want to go with him??? What!!! I had mentioned to Hubby that Michael's had little foam paint brushes 14 for $1. He has been redoing some woodwork and needed the small size. 

Of course, while he looked for the paint brushes, I found a few things at Michael's, papers on clearance, and a new dispenser for the washi tape explosion in my scrapbook room. I have the We R Memory Keepers dispenser but this is a stackable one. The one I purchased has 2 dispenser. I think they had packages with just one too. Fortunately, it was with the white storage cubes and matches the cubes' white finish. And the best part it was 40% off today on the last day of the sale. The paper labels covers the cutting edges. It has holes in the bottom and pegs in the dispenser so you could stack as many as you need. 

Hubby was still looking for jars so we went across the street to Joann's. He wondered around while I looked at the scrapbook aisles. I hadn't realize that almost all of the scrapbook items were 50% off. So I had to buy this new DCWV stack  Dear Jane. It is so pretty!! I loved the paper with the books and wish I could get more of it without buying the whole stack again. Half of the papers have foil on them. They have 2 or 3 designs that are in 2-3 different colors. Lots of pale pinks and pale greens and some that look like red work in embroidery. I think that the cards I make with these papers will have an elegant feel and will probably need lace/ruffly ribbon and doily paper too.

These papers remind me of a more recent book about Jane Austen. The Death of a Schoolgirl is written by Joanna Campbell Slan. The author has read a few reference books about scrapbooking, which deal with journaling and having your scrapbook tell a story. Then Slan started a mystery series about Kiki, who works/owns in a scrapbook store and solves mysteries too. Now the author has started another mystery series, using Jane Austen and her husband as the characters. Her books are good, the characters are fun, curious.  You can found the author's books on Amazon and her website. Here are some of her books. Hope you'll check a few of her books out.

Happy Dr. Seuss Day!!

OWH VCMP 2013 Challenge #2

Slowly, I am finishing the OWH VCMP 2013 Challenges. This one is Challenge #2.

Challenge 2:  My theme is 'All Creatures Great and Small; Cards for Kids!' 

http://deliteful-gifts.blogspot.com/2013/02/owh-vcmp-all-creatures-great-and-small.html

I had the little owls in the stickers/embellishments drawer for a while. I got them on clearance at Michael's. I cut the moon and the branch on my Cricut. The paper is from Tuesday Morning or Big Lots because it is a package of 25 sheets. I love the foil stars! I used a marker to highlight the moon's face. I printed the sentiments on my computer and matted them on  little bits of scraps. I think the card turned out cute and I hope a kiddo likes the owl's googly eyes. Hopefully, you agree. I think I have 15 of this card. I ran out of owls or I would have a few more. 106 was the previous total so 106 + 15 = 111 cards for the weekend.

One more Challenge to go for the OWH VCMP 2013. Still puzzling about it. Maybe I can work on it tomorrow.

OWH VCMP 2013 Challenge #10

Challenge #10 was another harder one for me. I have just gotten to the point of adding bling to my scrapbook pages, thanks to bling-loving Table 7 friends. To put glitz and glam on a card was a bit harder. Sure, I have added gems and jeweled flowers to cards but the thought of making a truly glitzy and glam-y card kinda scared me.

Challenge 10: My challenge for you is: Glitz and Glam Without Glitter. Make a glamorous card that is glitter-safe for our heroes.   http://104cards.blogspot.com/2013/02/owhs-presidents-day-virtual-cardmaking.html

I started with DCWV Green Tea stack as it has shiny, foil papers that I loved. I used two foiled papers from the stack for my card to make my card - a floral and a striped paper. I used a Valentine stamp from Michael's dollar bins for the sentiment but the sentiment is more of an everyday theme than a Valentine one. I haven't added the Diamond Glaze to the hearts yet but that is the plan when I clean off my work table to have some room to lay the 12 cards. I added a bit of shiny gold ribbon across the bottom and some jewels across the top of the matted sentiment. Not quite as glitz and glam-y as it should be but I like its slightly under-glitzed style.

OWH Virtual Card Making Party Challenge #1

I was visiting my sister when OWH had Virtual Card Making Party (VCMP) was going on so I didn't have a chance to make any cards that weekend. And it was crazy this week so I had to wait till Friday night at Table 7 to make the Challenge cards. I had a lofty goal of making 10 cards for each of the 10 challenges but I couldn't complete that goal. I did get 6 of the 10 Challenges done that night and 12 cards for each challenges to boot!

 I'm finally posting the cards today. My hubby had a birthday yesterday so we celebrated with dinner out. So no time for cardmaking yesterday.

 I copied a description of each Challenge to a word document for the evening at Table 7 and I'll add that description to each card Challenge's post.

Challenge 1: My challenge for you is to make cards using Zig Zag elements (or more properly known as Chevrons).  There's many ways to spice up your cards with chevrons  - Stamps, Scissors, Rulers, or even Paper.   http://scrappinintervention.blogspot.com/2013/02/zig-zag-your-cards.html

This first Challenge was using Chevrons, which I don't use a lot, so I wasn't sure what I would come up with. After wandering around Archiver's for a bit and looking at some of the new items from the latest CHA, I purchased one sheet of Doodlebug's Take Note Chevron paper and the little stickers too. 

The paper was double-sided so I used the strip left over from cutting my 6 bases to put the sticker on. I cut out cupcakes from some paper I purchased at Michael's. I added a few jewels. I used different stickers on the cards so a couple say "Thinking of you" and Heart You.

 Later in the evening, I won a prize at Archiver's and the prize was 5 sheets of paper, a package of jewels, a roll of washi tape and a pad of album insets of the new Doodlebug line Take Note!! So I was able to make 12 of the cards!

My Prize from Archiver's ScrapMania on Friday night!


Thanks for stopping by today. I'll be posting more of my Challenge cards soon.

Sketch #156

Sketch #156

I love this OWH sketch this week!! They post the new sketch on Sundays and I actually did the sketch challenge on a timely fashion this week. I was visiting my sister and I papercrafted while she quilted. Those quilters are fast!! They can get so much while I'm still cutting paper bits.

Back to the Sketch #156. It is fun to do, easy to do, and can flipped a couple different ways.

I used it for a few of quick cards, using some stickers from a SNAP set and from a journal stack. I had the pink paper from a package of paper from Michael's. It is printed on one side and solid pink on the other side. I used tiny stickers on the top and bottom of the cards and buttons on another card. 

 I liked these quick cards but then I had another idea.
My sister plans quilt retreats and I make a card for each of the participants.
The theme of the next retreat in the spring  is Everything is Just Ducky.
So, I made the next 2 cards. The first card has the sentiment under the duck and it just didn't look right since it was under the water. So I moved the sentiment to the top. My sister really liked the cards. I used more paper from that package of Micheal's paper and I also used some ProvoCraft paper my sister had for a while. I used Viva Pearl Pen yellow for the three little circles in the sketch. I cut the ducks out on my Cricut, using the original Paper Dolls cartridge ( the water is from the same cart too) . The duck's beak and wing was colored with an orange marker and I added some of the Viva Pearl Pen yellow on the duck in various spots. My sister printed the sentiment on her printer for me since I didn't have any sentiment stamps with me at my sister's house. I popped the duck using Scotch foam tape and  a bit on the smaller water strip.

Thanks for stopping by.

Sketch #155

I didn't have an oval so I used my largest scalloped rectangle punch by Marvy to make the design for Sketch #155. I had stamped the guy at Archiver's at Table 7 on Friday. It is from Art Impressions. The embossed paper had been hiding on the shelf. The tools are from Micheal's and the "Hard at Work" from a sticker set from Hobby Lobby. I inked the embossed paper and added some Viva Pearl Pen on the Happy Birthday sign. The guy's head is popped up but not his body.

I didn't quite follow the design but it is pretty close.

Assorted cards from during Christmas break and today 1/13/13

 During the Christmas break, I spent a lot of time organizing the scrapbook room and putting things away. I did take a bit of time for a few cards.

Cards after going back to school

The January card is a subway art from Create with TLC. I added a couple of snowflake stickers and a Hampton art stamped sentiment matted and pop-dotted.

I have the typewriter in the stash of images and realized it was too big to use the way I had originally thought about. I used a strip from a glossy 12x12" paper from the DCVW Timeless Type to mount the typewriter on. I loved the old typewriter keys on the paper!! I used a free font to print my sentiment.

Below, the coffee cup and sentiment sticker are from Target's $1.00 bins. I used the Simple Elegance paper stack from Hobby Lobby again. The stickers had silver in them so they coordinated  nicely with the Simple Elegance's foil papers.

I love this pup on this photo-themed paper from Micheal's clearance bin over the summer. The double-sided paper had the pups and pictures on one side and the rows of cameras were on the other side. No sentiment yet and this one might be sent to my kiddo and not OWH.

I love Dearie Dolls at http://deariedollsdigis.blog.com/ . They are too cute. I used colored pencils on this cutie. The papers are actually from the Winter DCVW stack but it complimented the doll very well. A simple stamp from Inkadinkado tags expressions stamp set is inked on a small scalloped oval and I was done.

I had used this car from Create with TLC before on cards about a year and found more of them. Hopefully, no one will notice. The car is the same but the papers are different this time. Most of the papers were in the scrap corral bins.

More from the scrap corral. OWH had done a video about wrangling your scraps so that you use them up more often. I decided to call my scrap bins a corral. It is definitely not organized as OWH's Sandy's is but at least I have the corral near me for easier access.

That said, the purple card is from the corral. I had purchased the cake slice from Joann's on clearance and the letters too. They were in a chipbox by K& company. I ran out of some letters so I used flowers for the o's.

1/13/13's cards

Today 1/13/13,  it had been raining most of the day. My hubby had his own projects going on so I spent a lot of time today in  my scrapbook room. I did watch the Purdue basketball win and a bit of the Patroits football game. I got a few different designs done. I used lots of pink paper and items!! I made several of the giraffe cards but the rest of the cards are few than 5 per designs. I usually make about 25-30 cards per design so I have some for the box to OWH and some for the friend/family stash.

This fun blue one is made with 2 coordinating papers from a DCWV stack, a big sticker with snowflake gems, and a tiny sentiment from Pat Catan's (formerly Crafts 2000). 

Pink paper from the corral! The cute ribbon is from American Crafts, the VW was a $1.00 stamp from Micheal's that I fussy-cut out, and a little pink button.

I have had this cute little giraffe from Meljean's for a while. I had sized it too big and somehow it got printed on a variety of colored papers. I used Copic markers on the giraffe. The pink one has more of the polka-dot ribbon from American Crafts to cover up the image's necktie. The pink paper is by Elsie and it is embossed with rainbows. Its sentiment was from a Hero Arts set. The yellow one has papers from the stash of zoo papers. Its sentiment is one I generated on my computer. I had printed it in dark yellow but it was too light so I had to reprint it in brown. The yellow one has black dots of Viva's Pearl Pen, which I am getting better at making small dots instead of big blobs.

More pink papers from the corral of scraps. The pink striped paper, ribbon and buttons (all from Hobby Lobby) were leftovers from the album I did for a friend's bridal shower. The sentiment is a favorite cling stamp.

#147

 Cleaning:

I had to stop for a bit for the holidays. And then I did a bit of reorganizing and cleaning up in the scrapbook room. I found my table, some stamps that had been MIA, and some books that I now have duplicates of. I have been better about putting items away when I'm done at the table. It has stayed neater for the past few weeks. Yes, my table still has lots of stored items on it but they are images to use on cards, everyday stamps, the brand-new stamps, and things like that. I did buy a couple more white JetMax cubes from Micheal's to store more paper. I have to fix them though. The cubes are not holding the shelves in place. Not sure what do with them as I do not want to unload a whole column of cubes.

Sketch #147

Finally, I'm working on the sketches again. Here's Sketch #147.

And here's my version. The lighting is terrible. The pattern paper with the letters and the pink and purple papers are all coordinating and then I added a green dotted Swiss paper for the middle piece. I matted the sentiment from Create with TLC on a bronze piece of paper and added a strip of the same bronze paper as a border. Three raindrop circles are on the sentiment. I was going to use a different image but it was too big.

Top Ten (ah, Twelve) Cards of 2012 for OWH

 1. This one with the AE's girlfriends created lots of peals of laughter in the office as I gave a few of these to friends/coworkers. I used some numbered paper tape from the stash.

2. Truck is from Stamper's Best. I used the Martha Stewart punch that I finally found online.

3. This little monkey was in a contest on the We R Memory Keepers's site but I realized it too late to get the vote out for it. The sentiment is from Hobby Lobby and the monkey is from Michael's .

4. I did a pink girly version too of this birthday card. Clear stamp set on sale at Tuesday Morning.

5. I love this stamp! I think it is a Fiskars clear stamp. It reminds me of my son and my future DIL, who played French horns together in college orchestra.

6. I love Dearie Dolls!! This little cutie is one of hers! You can find her free digi stamps at http://deariedollsdigis.blog.com/ . I used some red, white, blue ribbon on this one and a cute little sentiment that I got a garage sale.

7. Another favorite of mine is Riley. Here he is Mailman Riley. Riley's home is at http://www.rileyandcompanyonline.com/home so check him out there. I used the red, white, blue bakers twine I found online and ordered 2 rolls of it for OWH cards. 

8. DCWV stacks are my downfall. I created this card from one of their Christmas stacks.

 9. I seem to collect bike stamps and finally used one for this card. My older son rides bikes in triathlons. I really like this stamp set from Hero Arts. It has another cute sentiment in the set too.

10. Arrggh! a pirate card!! The little hats were on clearance at Archiver's and the pirate paper was from a DCWV stack.

11. I love bears and this one is from a British set I bought on my trip to Russia on Spring Break. Enjoy life is from Stampin' Up sale at an expo.

12. This card is another one I sent to OWH and gave a few to coworkers/friends. They loved the sentiment from Create with TLC. She has daily freebie digi stamps at http://createwithtlc-createwithtlc.blogspot.com . The lettered paper was in a fall DCWV stack.

Ok, that's my Top Ten (Twelve) Cards of 2012. I had blogged about some of them and others were neglected in blog posting. 

Hope you enjoyed my cards.  Happy New Year!! Time to welcome in 2013!