Summer Break

Gals,

I want to take the time to let you know what's in the works. We won't be having a meeting in June. I repeat we WON'T be having a meeting in June. I'm bugging out with hubby and the grandkids to an undisclosed location where magic abounds. Mum's the word as they kids have no clue.

There are times when you get a surprise call in the night and you just want to shout it from the rooftop. I had such a call the other night. I was sitting in my beautiful Dusty Durango colored Lazyboy recliner minding my own business. I think I was either playing backgammon on my cell or Sudoku. Either way I was NOT expecting a phone call. It was rather late for an actual call, but once I figured out the call was from New Mexico I understood. (They are an hour earlier in New Mexico.) It was Dene Van Winkle from Imagine That Scrapbook store in Roswell, New Mexico. She sounded a little apprehensive about the call and my mind was racing trying to figure out why she would call so long after store hours. (Oh yeah it's an hour earlier there, the store might even have been open!) She told me that they had just heard from Tim Holtz and he would be coming in August! I was so excited. I knew the "bottom line" would be a kicker for me, but even after I told hubby the price he was "Sure you have to go". I'm still pinching myself. I paid my deposit and will be saving my shekels so I can pay for the rest of the classes. I'm not sure if all the spots are filled, but if they aren't you'll want to Google "Imagine That Scrapbooks" in Roswell, New Mexico and call them. It's a little pricey, but hey you don't have to bring a thing! In fact Tim insists that his students not be concerned with anything but being creative! I'm so excited. Two full days of altered art, crafting and everything is supplied. Fun and then some.

The Great American Scrapbook Convention in Arlington was last weekend and Vicky Mumme and a couple of her friends attended. By her Facebook post I'd say she had a blast, is exhausted and ready for a nap. She has graciously offered to do a special workshop at my scrapbook house in Gardendale for our July meeting. We have tentatively marked Saturday July 16th for the meeting. We will be doing make n takes based on what she learned at the convention. I will give you more details when I return from my vacation and write my next newsletter. Be sure and let me know if you're interested. Though I have several tables space will be limited and there will be a charge to cover the cost of materials. Vicky is a wonderful paper crafter and I love her work. You will too and won't want to miss this meeting.

Our August meeting (the 9th) will be focusing on creating and submitting things to the Permian Basin Fair. Their theme this year is "Deep in the Heart of Texas". I will have forms for you to fill out while there and you'll want to bring finished scrapbooks, cards or other paper crafts you created from September 2010 through August 2011.  If you have questions you can always contact me at cerwelt@gmail.com. Start looking at the things you've created and also think about creating something for the fair exclusively. Your submission doesn't HAVE to be Texas themed, but they have a special category devoted to Texas and IF you have something already, you'll want to share it. I'll be giving you more details the closer the fair looms. It's so fun to submit and then to win. I hope you'll be a part of the fun this year. I also need volunteers to help me man a booth at the fair. That means we need to decorate a display board with PB & J related stuff and also do "make n takes" at the fair itself. If you can devote an hour on Saturday or Sunday at the beginning or end of the fair I'd be thrilled. It gives me a chance to see the fair, eat and use the facilities. I need you gals, so please volunteer.

So I've yammered on long enough. Please comment on this blog. Also tell your crafting friends to "follow" this blog. It helps get the word out about events in our area. Have a great month of June. I know we will.

Until I return from vacation I will bid you farewell. Stay out of the sun.

Cerise Welter

The Love of Our Art

This past weekend is a blur. I can't believe it came and went so quickly! More amazing is that I survived and also made three new friends (amigas). Welcome Ana, Irma y Paula!

I had no idea when my little sister gave my a tiny little chipboard scrapbook that I'd end up having so many girl friends with a like hobby. OK, so some of you are more than hobbyists, but we'll let that be our secret Vicky! Oops, did I really type that Melinda? Yes Ammie I did. OK, so now three women are staring at me with their hands on their hips.

Every time we get together I learn more about the gals. Our instructor at the CROP, Annette, started a game where we recall funny stories. It was there I learned more about the girls who attended this CROP. It's funny, though we had a full house I miss several of the gals I met at Viv's store in Odessa. I miss Lisa and Tina and Cindy. I pray for them cause I don't see them much. I really pray for Viv and Cindy as they have had some real physical issues in the past year.

The world is a funny place and scrapbooking is a vent for some of us. It is also a place to reflect, to remark, to recall, to illustrate and to create. Hopefully no one will write some stupid "rule book" about scrapbooking. I can promise you I'll break every rule they make. Who says you have to have photos in a scrapbook? Who says you have to use little black photo corners? Who says you can't use a computer? It doesn't matter to the gals I play with, we do things our own way. We do love to share the arts we use in our chosen hobby. I refuse to call it passion, I reserve that for the Lord and Him alone.

I'm so in love with what I do that I do it for money! That is very unusual for me. I'm headed to my office in our other house to work on my passion. I don't just do scrapbooking, I also do paper crafting. I don't know why I love working with paper. It's such a fragile art and so susceptible to decay. I just love finding new paper. My friend Vicky is really good at finding paper. I love her style of art. I would love to just sit and watch her work. I haven't had time to do that yet, but maybe we will find time to share just how she gets the results she works for!

I'm learning the lingo of the scrapbooker. I know a few names now and can even "name drop" them with the more experienced artists. Tim Holtz is into altered art and I relish his finished products. K & Company feeds my artsy fartsy side. Bo Bunny has some awesome paper and cardstock goodies. Cricut is always innovating with electronic die cutting technology. Everyone should own a "Big Shot" or at the very minimum a "Cuttlebug". What would life in the handmade card making industry be without the Martha Stewart Scoring Board (Which can be had for $10 with a 50% off coupon at Michael's). Of course I'm a rep with Stampin' Up! and I love their stamps, inks and papers. I'm presently looking for "grungeboard" so I too can join the ranks of the industrial chic!

I hope you will post a comment and also tell others to follow this blog. I crave input and want to meet all the scrapbook artists, card making gurus, and you closet altered artists come share your gifts. If you'll link to me, I'll link to you! Follow me and I'll follow you on FB and Twitter!

May the force of scrapbooking be with you!

Cerise Welter
PB & J Paper Crafters
Ambassador and Evangelist Diva

Lady's Home Journal

I think there is a magazine with a similar name. Hopefully I won't be sued over using it in a similar yet different way.

I have been journaling since I was about 11. I have so many journals strewn around my life that I don't even know how many are stuffed here and there. Why do I journal? Lots of reasons. When I was young I had dreams, fantasies and aspirations for things higher than the present situation I found myself in. I also had a gift for it. Journaling comes easy to me. I started with a "diary" given my by my mother. That got me hooked. The little lock on it was so tiny and the key equally diminuative. I would start with the familiar, "Dear Diary". As I grew up the diary thing turned on me and several people invaded my world and made me regret ever fantasizing about anything.

I got over that. I no longer write fantasy down. Folks with weird perceptions don't understand that pretend and dreaming is normal to a teenaged girl. Let it suffice to say that I learned that I never put down on paper what I don't want the ENTIRE planet to know. People can't keep secrets and invasion of privacy is the norm not the exception.

As I grew to adulthood I learned that "talking out" my problems and perceptions helped me understand others better. I came to learn that other people don't necessarily think like I do or believe like I believe. I would document things God taught me along the pathways of life. I used it for a place to create poetry and song. I used journaling for documenting actual dreams that I felt were significant. I even documented other people's dreams in picture. I also have the ability to draw, another gift from God.

Journaling has become a regular thing with me. I don't journal everyday, but when something significant in my life comes along I write it down. Friends know that a journal is the perfect gift for me. I was given a most elaborate one recently. It was made in Tuscany (Italy) and is covered with tooled leather. It has a leather thong strap that wraps and ties around it. It smells wonderful and feels so textural in my hands. I only put my most imporant thoughts in it. It just seems right.

One of my favorite things to do when I make the time is to go and find old journals and revisit them. I see a cross section of my life during a specific time. I see how I reacted to hard situations and how I rejoiced at good times. I've seen maturity as it developed in my soul. I have even seen the seeds of patience sown in the soil of my heart, watered with the moistening of endurance and weeded of the roots of anxiousness. Those seeds have come to fruition over and over and made me know that God is working a work in me. He is not finished till the curtain is closed on my life and my journals become my memoires.

I don't know what will become of my journals when I go. I'm not afraid to be transparent with others. God has shown me that folks really need to know there are people who aren't afraid of living life honestly before the world. I have nothing to hide. My past is gone and I am living for today. Tomorrow isn't mine until it becomes today. I am content with where I am and looking forward to the moments God gives me each day.

I would encourage the strong and those who want to become strong to journal. Go slowly at first. Just write down things that you are confident in. Things you personally have lived. Never write down mad feelings about others. Those will come back at you as weapons. Just a note written in experience. Write down hard things too. You may have a shell of iron built around you, but others need to know you have survived hardships. You may cover yourself with a fig leaf, but we all have things we want to hide but need to confess to someone, anyone.

I journaled this morning. I am journaling now. Blogs are electronic diaries and journals. They have become the confessional of this century. They are very cathardic and as hard as life is today, a real necessity for the masses.

I hope you have enjoyed this lady's home journaling.

Cerise

So Fun!

We had such a great time at our PB & J Paper Craft meeting. Our subject was heat embossing and using calendars in Scrapbooks and paper crafts. The meeting went so fast I was amazed when I discovered it was 9:00PM!

The gals had loads of good ideas and Cheryl brought a wonderful door prize bag. Ammie brought yummy peanut butter thumb cookies with Hershey's kisses! We have some great gals in our club.

We moved the meeting to Tuesdays after I took a vote via email. So it looks like for the time being we'll be meeting the second Tuesday of each month.

We're doing a workshop in February to make this "Forget-me-not" keeper. It us a wonderful organizational box for all your greeting cards. It has 12 months with a calendar for each month listing your family and friends' special days. We had eight gals sign up for the workshop, but will hold additional workshops should anyone else want to make one. This is a separate event, but open to whoever asks to be included.

I'm working on February's meeting. Looks like we're doing some sort of Valentine's contest, but I'll let you know more after I develop the plan. I'm also working on finding a great guest host.

I will be posting ideas and techniques we learned on upcoming posts, so be sure to join and follow this blog so you'll know when the good stuff is up online here.

Too much fun.

Cerise Welter
Ambassador
Permian Basin Jewels Paper Crafters

New Stampin' Up! Catalogs

Gals,

January 4th marks the beginning of some tremendous great sales at Stampin' Up! and although I signed up to mail catalogs directly to you, they had some flub up at corporate headquarters. So here I am uploading them to this site and notifying as many of you as possible. They are Adobe Acrobat formatted so all you have to do is download them and see all the great deals. I'd rather they go in paperback form to your front door, but since that may take a while you can at the very least see them on your computer monitors.

There are so many great things in the new catalogs. I love the new mountable stamps. They can be mounted on clear acrylic or glass blocks. They are priced lower than wood mount stamps and I'm happy.

Stampin' Up also has a new type of punch that stores flat, but opens for quick use. I have a couple and love them. Nothing is harder than figuring out how to store bulky punches. I have several of them and they basically get dumped in a large Tupperware container. My "solution" is overflowing with stamps now.

If you have any questions or want to book a party, workshop or start your own club and get great free products. You can reach me at cerwelt@gmail.com. You can order directly from my website at http://cerise.stampinup.net

Cerise Welter
Stampin' Up!
Independent Demonstrator

Back to the Future

Gals, we're back at Barnes & Noble for our January 12th meeting. We'll be back in the craft section of the store having a great time.

Barnes & Nobles
2617 West Loop 250 N
Midland, TX 79705

Our subjects for this meeting will be:

• Using calendars in your scrap booking and paper crafting
• Heat embossing

We'll have a couple door prizes and refreshments IF the volunteers from last month's meeting remember. Hey gals I'm depending on you.

Again we meet January 12th, 7:00PM at Barnes & Nobles.

I will also be bringing CDs of great free printable projects I've found online. I'm asking the gals bring $5.00 to cover the cost of the CDs, labels and envelopes. It would be great if you would email me and let me know if you'd like one. They are full of cute New Year and Valentine's day projects as well as a lot of fun kid's projects as well. All can be printed from your computers and then cut out to make some really fun projects.

For more information, to vote for your best meeting date or to let me know you want a CD you can email me at: cerwelt@gmail.com. Please join the "followers" on the right of this blog so that you'll know when I update this blog. I keep all sorts of information posted about what's going on in our area. I will also link your site to this blog if you ask, so ask!

Looking forward to seeing you this month.

Cerise Welter
Ambassador
PB & J Paper Crafters

PB & J Minutes (December 2009)

Hey gals,

We had the third meeting of PB & J at "Scrapbooks and Such" in Odessa, TX. Vivian couldn't join us as she is also a very busy pediatric nurse and was on duty that night. Her mother, Jackie, graciously opened the store and then after we were through allowed us to shop "after hours".

We had a contest to see who could wrap a package so well that no one would want to open it. Vicky won. (See illustration) I picked the gift (random drawing ) after we all voted her gift, "Present we least wanted to tear into." When you look at it you'll swear she used duct tape for the sleigh, but it isn't gals, it's silver textured card stock. I should have known it wasn't duct tape as it was much too wide for any roll of tape I've ever seen.

Vicky also made the most delicious oatmeal chocolate chip blondies I've had in ages. Then she whisked it away after the meeting. :(

The meeting was all about recycling everyday stuff in your paper crafting. I demonstrated how you can use cereal boxes, tablet backs, Puff's Vicks boxes (they are made of chipboard lined in silver) and a whole lot of other good stuff. The thing the girls were most impressed with was making a small gift bag/grocery bag from half of an envelope. Perhaps I'll figure out how to photograph the process and post it here. My little sister showed me this goodie!

Our next meeting will be at Barnes & Noble in Midland, TX. We've moved it to the second Tuesday of the month after a vote was taken. We'll try Tuesday for a while. Thanks to Joyce at Barnes & Noble we can pretty much have our meeting whenever we want it.

Next month I'll be demonstrating heat embossing techniques and also using calendars in scrapbooking and paper crafting. If you're coming and have used either in what you do, please come with your favorite ideas and a sample of your wares.

Hope you can make it.

Signing off for now.

Cerise Welter
Ambassador
Permian Basin Jewels Papercrafters

November PB & J Scrap/Paper Craft Meeting

Hey gals,

It's that time again. Time for the monthly meeting. of the Permian Basin Jewels Scrapbookers/Paper Crafters. Our guest speaker will be Stephie Anne. She will be sharing the basics of a good digital camera as well as demonstrating how to frame a shot and take decent pictures.

Bring paper and pen to take notes. We are meeting at Barnes & Noble (in the cookbook section where else?) The meeting begins at 7:00PM and ends when we're tired of talking and having a good time. That's in Midland, TX for those of you who accidentally find this post.

We will share announcements regarding upcoming CROPS and classes at our local scrapbook stores and hangouts.

We will have refreshments and discussion as well as FAQ time with Stephie as time allows.

For more information and directions you can email me at cerwelt@gmail.com or call me at 432-550-7642.

See you there.

Cerise Welter
PB & J Scrappers/Paper Crafters
Ambassador

Our First Meeting

The Permian Basin Jewel-Scrappers/Paper Crafters invite you:

Hey all you scrap bookers, photographers, paper crafters and card makers we're going to have our first meeting!


When: October 12th, 2009 (MONDAY) 7:00PM-9:00PM

Where: Barnes & Noble
2617 West Loop 250 N
Midland, TX 79705
(432) 682-8880

Why: To share our love of paper crafting in its many forms.

Guest Speaker: Vivian Popenhagen, owner of Scrapbooks and Such in Odessa.

There will be discussion about all aspects of scrapbooking and paper crafting. We will elect officers. Afterwards we will have a presentation by our guest speaker and then snacks and door prizes.

For more information: Call Cerise Welter 432-550-7642 or 432-528-6400 (cell)

Invite a friend and get an additional ticket for our door prizes.

See you there!