I had a conversation with my 5-year old son Logan last Friday that I didn’t think I was going to have for many years. It went something like this…
Me: Why are you so cranky?
Logan: Because Gracie broke up with me today! (See picture below)
Me: She broke up with you? (trying to suppress a giggle)
Logan: She dumped me! She decided she liked the other Logan better. (There is another Logan in his class).
Me: Well I think you are way more handsome than the other Logan, honey. But sometimes girls change their mind about who they like.
Logan: But I want her to like me!
Me: I’ll be your girlfriend, okay?
Logan: Thanks, Mommy!
I had forgotten about the incident, but Logan brought it up Sunday night at bedtime snuggles.
Logan: If Gracie decides to take me back tomorrow, then I’m going to have to break up with you Mommy.
Me: (REALLY trying to suppress a giggle this time) You’re going to break up with me?
Logan: Only if Gracie decides she wants to go with me again.
Me: So I’m your second choice, huh?
Logan: Well…I’ll still be your boyfriend, Mommy. If Gracie says she wants to be my girlfriend, I’ll just dump her.
Me: If you’re going to be my boyfriend, are you going to be a good boyfriend?
Logan: Yep!
Me: Are you going to do things like open my car door?
Logan: Yes.
Me: And hold the door open for me and help me with my chair?
Logan: I’ll do those things. But Mommy?
Me: Yes, Honey?
Logan: I’m not going to do your laundry.
It took everything I had not to laugh. But I must be teaching him something right, if he thinks boyfriends do laundry! (My DH Tony is the laundry man in our house) I’m good at a lot of things, but laundry isn’t one of them.
We have travel galore this week! We have some general travel papers from Die Cuts with a View, lots of Ireland stuff and country kits from Latin-Oh. The full heat of summer is beginning and we have two beautiful summer collections: Tide Pools from Creative Imaginations and a collection from Best Creation. We also have many new styles of brads and eyelets from Eyelet Outlet.
It’s been a while since I bragged on how great our SYT designers, Tiffany and Jill are, but they have created some fantastic diecuts this week. It’s been so fulfilling to me to watch them stretch their creativity and strengthen their "creative muscles" each week. Tiffany came up with a highway exit sign that we can customize with any name or saying you like and the zebra border die cut that Jill designed took my breath away when she showed it to me. Click here to see all 212 items: http://www.scrapyourtrip.com/62508.html
You’ve been asking for Bo-Bunny and we have six collections for pre-order this week: Beachy Keen, Ella, Organic, Star Struck, Teen Chic and Xtreme Teen. We also have two Narratives collections from Creative Imaginations: Antique Cream and Bloom. Lastly, we have two papers and a sticker that Reminisce designed to observe the flooding that has devasted the Midwest. They are located in Iowa and their flagship retail store is currently under several feet of water. Reminisce is donating all the proceeds from the sale of these papers to the American Red Cross and Scrap Your Trip will be donating all our proceeds as well. The estimated ship date on these products is July 16, so if you need your other items sooner, please place them in a separate order. Click here to see: http://www.scrapyourtrip.com/remcibb.html. Today is also the last day for Heidi Grace pre-order. Click here to order: http://www.scrapyourtrip.com/heidigrace.html.
It has been quite a week in the Swatek household. My son, Logan, had a fever the night we left for our Utah vacation. The after hours pediatrics place said it was just a virus, but it turned out to be walking pneumonia. It has a 1-4 week incubation period and on Sunday, my daughter, had a fever and broke out in a rash all over her face. You guessed it, she had pneumonia too! In typical Lauren (8 going on 25) fashion, she wailed, "I can’t POSSIBLY go to summer camp looking like THIS!" She has quite the flair for the dramatic. I have no idea where she got it from.
I am so excited to say that our Wishlist is finally live! It’s been an adventure getting it all programmed (we had to switch programming companies mid-stream – that’s what took so long), but TA! DA!, it’s ready to hold all the items your heart desires. It will also hold your shipping and billing address, so you don’t have to type it each time (but not your credit card data). It has an order history, which as of right now, is just the orders that you place after you sign up. They are working on the programming to pull in your previous order history, so stay tuned! As of right now, it is just a wish list, a "bucket" to hold items you like. I can also have a registry feature programmed in (just like a wedding or baby registry), but I don’t know if that is something anyone would be interested in. I posted a poll below and I’d appreciate any feedback and/or comments.
We have some "magical" new items this week We have the Magical Memories Collection from Creative Imaginations to highlight those Disney vacations. Also from Creative Imaginations, we have a new Tropical Collection from Marah Johnson and just for Father’s Day, the "Old Guys Rule" collection. The SYT Design Team made lots of cute die cuts in celebration of Father’s Day, including a customizable beer mug! We have the just released L’il Davis Travel Collection, the What’s Cooking? collection from Flair and a Cruise collection from Moxxie (all with matching Bazzill packs, of course!). We also added all the new products from Memories in Uniform, including the GI Jacket Album. The fabric is removable so you can sew patches, etc. onto the cover. Lastly, many of you have been requesting ziplining die cuts. They’re here! None of us have ever been ziplining, so I hope we got them right. I guess I’ll have to take another vacation so I can zip through the canopy so that I know our die cuts are accurate. See what I’m willing to do for my customers? Click here to see them all: http://www.scrapyourtrip.com/61808.html.
We’ve been receiving lots of positive feedback from you on our pre-orders and the fact that we offer the entire collection. To quote our customer Mary B. "I love the idea of being able to pre-order things. No one and I mean no one offers the complete line of anything. Thank you so much." You’re welcome, Mary. Glad we can be of service!
We have four Heidi Grace collections for pre-order this week: A Little Bird’s Tale, Baby, Beyond the Sea and We Are Family. The estimated ship date for these collections is July 14th. As with all our pre-orders, all orders containing pre-orders will ship together as soon as pre-order items are available. If you need your other items sooner, please place them in a separate order. Click here to see the Heidi Grace items: http://www.scrapyourtrip.com/heidigrace.html. Today is also the last day to order KI Memories. We hope to receive and start shipping those items by July 2. Click here to order KI Memories: http://www.scrapyourtrip.com/kimemories.html.
P.S. There has been an event in my life in the past two weeks that has reminded me of the fragility of life and how we often take things and people for granted. Just a friendly reminder to hug someone that you love and to remind the people who matter to you how much of a difference they make in your life.
Well, I did it. I accomplished something I didn’t think was possible. I went on a 5-day business trip with just a carry-on bag! After the lost luggage fiasco in Utah, I decided I was going to attempt the carry-on route. I’m an admitted overpacker and it took two suitcase attempts and several unpacks and repacks, but I did it. I ended up with only one extra outfit, but used everything else in my suitcase. I have to say, it was very freeing. I didn’t have to get to the airport as early as I would have. We didn’t need to get a luggage cart when we got to the hotel. But the best part was getting off the plane last night and just walking right to the parking garage. I think I might be on to something!
We had a great trip to Chicago. Lani, my operations manager, went with me and it was one of the most fun business trips I’ve been to in a long time. It rained every day we were there and we didn’t leave the convention center/hotel the whole time, but it was still a lot of fun. Even after 5 days together, we weren’t getting on each other’s nerves, which is saying a lot when you spend 5 days with someone 24/7. We learned a lot and met a lot of great people, so all in all, I would say it was a success.
The Reminisce Signature Series is here! It has 44 different themes, each with 2 different double-sided papers and 2 matching stickers. Every theme you can think of is included, from travel to tooth fairy, moving to Marines. The SYT Design Room has made lots of cute die-cuts in themes including England, Japan, Southwest, Sports and Wine. We made quite a few summer vacation die cuts, including a custom theme park character hat (you know, the black one with ears). We’ll even "embroider" your name on the back!
We have one of Tiffany’s (one of our designers) favorite companies for pre-order this week: KI Memories. We have the Lace Cardstock, and the Love, Elsie Claire, Cody, Daisy, Forrest and Bloom collections. Of course, we have put together matching Bazzill packs and taken the guesswork out for you. The estimated ship date for this pre-order is July 2nd. If you need your other items sooner, please place them in a separate order. Click here to pre-order KI Memories: http://www.scrapyourtrip.com/kimemories.html. Since I’m a day late in getting this e-mail out due to my Chicago trip, I’m extending last week’s pre-order from Cloud 9 and Imaginisce one more day. Click here to order: http://www.scrapyourtrip.com/cl9imaginisce.html.
I hope you are having a wonderful week! As always, thanks for your business.
I just love to travel! But you probably wouldn’t have guessed that from someone who started the first travel-specific scrapbooking website, huh? Some people work to play sports, some to fish, but my husband Tony & I both work to travel. I love to see the diversity of the planet and realize that there is so much more than just my little tiny corner of the world. When we were at Bryce Canyon in Southern Utah, my daughter Lauren and I were sitting on a bench overlooking the canyon. I said, "Can you believe that these rocks have been here for millions and millions of years? Even all the trees are older than us. You know what I think about when I sit here and look at all this? Our life is so incredibly short compared to the time it took to make this canyon look like this. We’re only on the planet for such a small amount of time…We have to make sure that we live the best life we possibly can in the short time we’re here." I know she’s only eight, but hopefully she will remember this lesson someday.
I posted some pictures of our trip below and on the blog (only 10 out of 378). If you ever have a chance to go to Southern Utah, take it! This is our second trip and it is absolutely spectacular scenery. I actually prefer the Colorado Rockies to the Utah Rockies, but for "red rock", Southern Utah, can’t be beat.
We have a really wide variety of new items this week. EK Success has been hard at work redesigning and adding to the Jolee’s line and we have over 80 new embellishments, ranging from travel to sports to wedding, even one for scrapbooking a job interview! We have a beach collection from Flair and four new collections from Creative Imaginations – Asian Fusion, Germany, Australia and Canada. We have both boy and girl pirate collections from Rusty Pickle and some awesome new outdoors and hunting papers and stickers, including some new Realtree® papers. We have also done the work of matching Bazzill cardstock colors for you and each line has a coordinating Bazzill pack. Of course the SYT Design Room was hard at work, designing die cuts for summertime and travel, color guard, choir, dance, bowling (including a custom bowling jersey). My favorite this week is the red-eyed tree frog. He’s so cute! Click here to see all the items: http://www.scrapyourtrip.com/60408.html
We also have the Cinnamon Stick and Cocoa Mint lines from Cloud 9 and four new lines from Imaginisce for pre-order. The estimated ship date is June 25th, so if you need your other items sooner, please place them in a separate order. Click here to see the pre-order lines: http://www.scrapyourtrip.com/cl9imaginisce.html. Today is the last day to pre-order Crate Paper and Scenic Route collections. Click here to see: http://www.scrapyourtrip.com/preorder.html.
I just unpacked, but I’m going to have to pack again because I’m headed to Chicago this weekend on a business trip. One part of the trip is a user group meeting for our back-end software so I can learn how to run our business more efficiently. The other part is the Internet Retailer Conference where I am speaking on "Practical Tips for Small Business". It’s the largest conference of the year for people who sell online and I can’t wait to learn all sorts of new things to keep making Scrap Your Trip better and better. I can almost taste the Portillo’s chocolate cake shake already!
Lauren & I hiking down a steep hill at Kodachrome Basin. This place seemed like we were on Mars!
Lauren wanted to use the camera. Usually she’s a much better photographer than this!
Lauren, Logan and I at Bryce Canyon. At the top of this canyon was a plaque with the following inscription from Henry David Thoreau – “I need solitude. I have come forth to this hill… to see the forms of the mountains on the horizon – to behold and commune with something greater than man.”
We all went 4-wheeling on ATV’s – one of the highlights of our trip. When we went to get on the ATV’s, Logan was really mad because he wanted to know where his was! Tony “let him drive” for a bit, but he said the front was “too scary!”. I slid around a corner and half took out a tree, but only minor damage to me and the tree.
A slot canyon we were able to visit on our ATV tour.
This was a road named “Main Street” that the GPS told us to go down!
Tony and the kids at the Sundance Resort.
Tony and the kids goofing off back in our room.
The kids at the “sand cave”. The sandstone walls of this cave had sand of all different colors…red, orange, purple, black, white, tan, even green. The kids made layered sand bottles. This place was really cool!
The sign the SYT staff made that was waiting for me when I got back. We get a lot of use out of our laser!
Logan and Gracie on the day they got “married”. To them, that meant they hugged and danced around in a circle.
Lauren & I hiking down a steep hill at Kodachrome Basin. This place seemed like we were on Mars!
Lauren wanted to use the camera. 
Lauren, Logan and I at Bryce Canyon. At the top of this canyon was a plaque with the following inscription from Henry David Thoreau – “I need solitude. I have come forth to this hill… to see the forms of the mountains on the horizon – to behold and commune with something greater than man.”
We all went 4-wheeling on ATV’s – one of the highlights of our trip. When we went to get on the ATV’s, Logan was really mad because he wanted to know where his was! Tony “let him drive” for a bit, but he said the front was “too scary!”. I slid around a corner and half took out a tree, but only minor damage to me and the tree. 
A slot canyon we were able to visit on our ATV tour.
This was a road named “Main Street” that the GPS told us to go down!
Tony and the kids at the Sundance Resort.
Tony and the kids goofing off back in our room.
The kids at the “sand cave”. The sandstone walls of this cave had sand of all different colors…red, orange, purple, black, white, tan, even green. The kids made layered sand bottles. This place was really cool!
The sign the SYT staff made that was waiting for me when I got back. We get a lot of use out of our laser!
