The Scrap It Simple Scrap Wrap
Scrapbooking Album
(See if you can say that 5 times fast)

Hi! It is me, Anne (HeyAnne on the boards) hijacking the newsletter. When Kristina asked if any of the GG’s wanted to take over the newsletter again (ala Miley), I jumped at the chance. I was lucky enough that my daughter took a nap at the precise moment Kristina wrote her query and was able to be online stalking, er, reading the message boards and was the first of the GG’s to respond. So she and you all are stuck with me this month. wink wink

I immediately thought of spring as my topic of conversation here. Over the last few years, spring has moved to the head of my list of favorite seasons and we are now actually in the season of spring as of March 20th. Here in Western Connecticut we woke up to a dusting of snow on the first day of Spring but my husband reminded me that Spring didn’t actually start until later that day, so Winter was able to get it’s last licks.

Fall used to be my favorite Season and although I still enjoy the splendor of autumn, I cannot erase the long cold winter that I know is coming right after those last leaves fall and sometimes it starts before they all fall off. When I lived in NYC I loved fall, I couldn’t wait for the colors to start showing up on the trees and I loved the temperatures, especially after suffering through the NY humidity and heat in the summer. I thought the colors of fall added something to my surroundings which were usually various shades of gray.

I knew winter would follow but living in the city, the snow would usually bring a respite from the busyness and dirtiness of the city. It gave you a chance to slow down and maybe go out and frolic instead of rushing here and there and it also caused a slow down in traffic which provide some peace and quiet, all needed to recharge your batteries. But winter never brought your life to a screeching halt like it does here in rural CT. You could always walk half a block to get some milk or a loaf of bread if you needed it. If you couldn’t dig your car out, you could always take the bus or the train to get around, so I never felt the isolation that I feel now when winter arrives.

Now at the first forecast of snow, I have to run to the grocery store and stock up on all the necessities because now I live the meaning of the phrase ‘snowed in’. If I leave my house while it is snowing, I might not be able to get back up my long steep driveway. School buses can’t start on the coldest of days and there is not even the possibility of some quiet because my boys have no school. If my ‘plow guy’ (who ever thought I would have a ‘plow guy’???) doesn’t show up, I cannot get my car out. It can get so cold here that running water freezes and yes I have the pictures to prove that. Some mornings my jeans freeze while standing waiting for the school bus to come. The best thing I can say now about winter is that you can buy some pretty cool winter scrapbooking products to make fun scrapbook pages with and luckily we just have to open our backdoor and we have a winter wonderland in which to use a backdrop for photos.

By the time March rolls around, I am desperate for the spring. I look outside and judge how much snow has melted and watch the water run down my driveway from the melting snow. Eventually those little ‘snow pop’ flowers peek out of the last layer of snow and you know that soon the leaves will be budding and the flowers will be blooming. I get an instant buzz of excitement running through my veins and my head becomes full of all the possibilities that warm weather brings.

When that first warm day hits, my husband and I usually take a walk around our property, looking for all the little signs of life that are coming up through the still cold dirt and usually have to fight for space with the leaves that we didn’t rake when they fell in autumn. We have lots of what I call ‘tiger lilies’ around our house, I believe someone told me that there were something else but I still call them tiger lilies. They are the second flowers to start growing here. They pop out of the earth like green rays of sunshine and in a couple of days they look like little babies wrapped in blankets. They bloom in July, so we get to watch them grow and grow tall and then little pods develop and you know the flowers are just waiting to open and then BAM the deer come and eat them so you never get to see the actual flowers on most of them! But that is another story I guess.

In the spring the birds come back and fill our mornings with the music of their little lives. I can catch glimpses of their activity during the day when they are in our yard, searching for food. It just feels alive out there. The cold dead solitude of winter is going away and life is coming back. I think ahead to BBQ’s and little splash pools and washing the car and sitting outside on the deck for breakfast or just reading the paper. It just fills my heart with joy to see the grass and trees turn green again (did you ever notice just how many shades of green there are?).

Spring makes me feel glorious – spring is Glorious. It is filled with new life, new growth and possibility. It makes me feel hopeful and excited to see what it going to happen in the coming months. When I lived in the city, we would sit on our stoops when the warmer weather started and you would connect with your neighbors that you just caught glimpses of in the cold months. Maybe you would get the chance to say a quick hello but nothing more but now you can catch up on their lives and share what has happened in yours. The streets become abuzz with the activities of the children playing while the Moms sit on the stoops chatting. You get to walk around your neighborhood, perhaps pushing your baby that hasn’t been out all winter, and look around and soak up your surroundings while you are soaking up the fresh air. You just feel alive, you feel happy, you feel positive, you feel blessed.

So spring is officially here on the calendar and also outside and I am sitting here with a smile waiting to see what spring 2006 brings.

Mustard Moon Its a Spring Thing Collection papers
Mustard Moon BiG Honkin stickers

preorders are ending on all of our CHA products. We anticipate them shipping in the first couple of weeks of April.
American Crafts Rub Ons, Letter Stickers, Ribbons, Bookshelf Paper collection and more.
Autumn Leaves new collections: Foofala, MOD, Rhonna Farrer and more.
KI Memories Choices 1 & 2 collections and Color Theory.
Doodlebug Spring collections
Basic Grey Urban Coutre, Baby Boy and Baby Girl, and more.

We decided to do another Monochromatic theme for the month of March this year. In previous years we have done Red, Blue, and Black/White for our Monochromatic theme. Green for Two Peas of course! I never realized how hard it is to work with the color green and only the color green. I think some of the other Garden Girls figured this out also and attempted to use the term Monochromatic loosely. As I said before, its all in the interpretation, right? All of the Garden Layouts certainly look awesome together, all coordinating colors.

Ashley Wren (username Mandarin9) was selected as our Guest Garden Girl for this month. Ashley joined Two Peas in February 2002.

When did you start scrapbooking? How were you introduced to it?
I started in 2001...the year of Paperkins. I have always been a journal keeper, I have always held on to mementos, I have always loved markers, and stickers, and fresh boxes of crayons. So while I was in the Air Force, stationed in England with a new baby I realized that I had to make a baby album. I couldn't forget anything that this little boy was doing, saying, and learning. So I went to the local book store, and it was there that I bought my very first scrapbooking magazine (that I still have to this very day) with a little boy eating a slice of watermelon, with the title "Creating Keepsakes". I have been slightly obsessed ever since.

What are your sources for inspiration?
New scrap goodies, magazines, the TV show Project Runway, quotes from my husband and children, song lyrics, a really amazing photograph, and memories that I never, ever want to forget. Oh yeah...and there's this place called Two Peas....

How do you get started on projects (layouts, etc)?
More commonly than not, its the journaling. Its the idea, the memory, the quote, the thing I want to get down. I have this huge fear of forgetting my everyday life. I read journals from just three years ago, and I'm like Julian said that? I went where? For some reason, it is so very vital for me to record as much as possible. The everyday things (as cliche as it sounds) are EVERYTHING to me.

What things do you like to communicate through your work?
Real life. No fluff. Nothing fake. My sense of humor, my love for my insanely demanding, spongebob watching, strawberry milk drinking children, my dedication to my husband, again, just everyday things.

What have been your biggest achievements or greatest layouts or moments with this hobby?
Wow...let's see...of course Guest Garden Girl. I'm still pinching myself...WOW. I also got the AMAZING opportunity of being in an upcoming Autumn Leaves Idea Book. (Freestyle) Alongside with some of my personal favorite scrappers...that still blows my mind. I still believe I'm getting PUNK'D. I am so grateful that they asked me to just do what I do. I didn't have to fake anything. They liked me for being me. I never set out to do anything, or be anything. But everything is totally appreciated, and I am totally humbled by every single good thing that has happened.

What kind of goals do you have with your scrapbooking?
The only goal that I have is to come up with some amazing, different, out of the box classes to travel around and teach. To meet different women, look at their pages, share my work, teach them something, learn something from them, the whole teaching experience. I want that. I crave that.

Where do you scrap? Do you attend crops or conventions?
I have a "scrap island" that is the length of the wall in my bedroom. It was my friends "trash" and it was totally my "treasure". Its got three shelves, it has my computer, and scanner on one end...and the other end has all of my scrap stuff. I love it. Kiwi Green and Chocolate paint. A big pegboard on the wall, a bulletin board on the other. Barstools....my little haven.

As far as crops and conventions...i love them. I totally get a ton done. I talk the whole time, but I still come home with alot of completed pages. Starbust and Peanut M & M's MUST be present though.

Where does scrapbooking fit into your life? Do you scrap in the morning, evening, late night? When do you do your greatest work?
Something about being pregnant totally sucks the scrapbooking juices out of me. So for now, it fits in when I get driven to do it. I feel that I do my best work when I have a deadline, or when it MUST be done. I like the crunch-time feel.

What does your family think of your scrapbooking?
I couldn't ask for a more supportive husband. Its just as big a part of his life as it is mine. He is sooo proud of it, and he thanks me constantly for doing it. He really and truly "gets" it. And the boys...well let's just say thank God for page protectors. They ADORE flipping through their pages.

Do you have a favorite product line, paper, sticker, or cardstock color?
I totally dig 7gypsies, I love all kinds of paper, but find it nearly impossible to work with geometric shapes. And as far as cardstock color goes, I have about 20 honeydew melon greens at all times. :o)

What do you want the peas to know about you?

• I am wife to Sean, Momma to Julian AKA Jude and Sandler AKA Bing.
• I suck at replying to email, but love getting it.
• I want to be an actress for Saturday Night Live.
• Stars, Polka Dots, and Flamingos are my thing.
• I was in the Air Force for 5 years.
• I'm 20 weeks pregnant, and am just now coming to terms with it.
• I am obsessed with baby names, always have been. I can name any celebrity's child. However, I can't come up with a girl name for my own.
• I always have a glass of sweet tea with me.
• I want to BE Gwen Stefani (What is she going to name that child???)
• My purses are always HUGE.
• I have a mild obsession with fonts but NEVER use them.
• I talk alot.
• I wish that I would stop looking at Urban Outfitters and actually BUY something.
• My son's name is Sandler but only answers to "Bing"....Think CHANDLA' BING on friends and switch it to SANDLA BING (you must be doing it in the Janice voice for the full effect)
• That I love this cozy place called 2Peas, and am totally appreciative for the wonderful friends I've made here.
• Ok..I'll stop here. Enough is Enough.

when did you start scrapbooking? how were you introduced to it?

during highschool i had a friend whose mom scrapbooked. we spent so many hours pouring over his albums and we loved finding ourselves in the occasional picture. after highschool i tried scrapbooking a few times and i never found something that i truly enjoyed. then, after a trip to europe i vowed to scrapbook all the pictures i had taken...and nine months later when my son was born i had a completed album. with the arrival of a wonderful new scrapbooking subject, and the almost simultaneous discovery of 2Peas, i quickly became hooked..and several years later, i'm still loving it and more obsessed than ever