We'd love your input again...

(read this...and see how to save 40% off everything)


I can't believe that 2009 is coming to an end. I know, I know...there are 2 whole months in front of us. But, in our world, we only have 2 conventions left for this year...then just 5 weeks to get ready for the '10 season.

In 2008, we did 36 conventions. In '09, we will be completing 27. And, for 2010, we are scaling back even more...with plans for just 18 shows. It's all a part of my attempt to gain some balance in both my life and my business.

As many of you know, Keller is 14 now. That means he'll be gone in just a couple more years. I need to be with him more AND watch over him more...teenage years seem way worse now than when we were his age!

On the business side, I have made great efforts to balance out all aspects of our company, too. I don't want to just do conventions, although being in the classroom is my favorite place to be! I miss teaching in local scrapbook stores. I miss planning more weekend events. I want to do more cruises and make them even better.

And, I want to improve our customer service -- which I feel we've made great strides in the last few months -- and update our website. We have great changes in the works for our website, with the finishing touches being done within a couple weeks. We are so excited to show it to you soon!

I also am making more time for product development. I have so many ideas of new things to make & share...and have had no luck in adding hours to any given day, so BALANCE is my goal.

I've implemented lots of changes for us already, but have come to a point (as I always do) where I need your input. Also, as always, I will reward you for your time & feedback.

Just copy & paste these questions into an email to me: kim@acidfree.com and put "FIND BALANCE" in the subject line of your email. Then, I will email you a coupon valid thru Sunday for 40% off your entire purchase!

(Oh, and if you're the wonderful customer in PA who sent Keller a Philly's hat, please email me again...thanks!)

One last thing, if you want to order t-shirts, now is the time. I have until Monday to add to our t-shirt order...so feel free to use your 40% off coupon for those. And, if you have one on backorder, I will be emailing you personally today.

Now, to my questions...
Keep in mind, these questions cover a variety of themes...and we want your ideas & input, even if you feel like the question doesn't apply to you at all.

Here goes:

MONTHLY CLUBS:
1. Is price the most important thing in a monthly membership to you?

2. If you were in a monthly club, would you like the option to "upgrade" your monthly kit to include more embellishments?

3. Do you like FLAT RATE billing that includes shipping, or prefer price of kit plus actual shipping?

4. Do you like payment options? Monthly? Quarterly?

5. Are their any holidays you do NOT celebrate or prefer not to scrap?

6. Do you like gender-neutral or more girl-only and boy-only kits?

7. Would you like VIDEO instruction to go with your kits?

8. Any other ideas?


Product-related...

INKS:
1. What are your 3 favorite 'go-to' ink colors?

2. What are your next 5 favorites?

3. Any ink color you've bought & wished you hadn't?

4. Do you prefer small ink pads (under 2") or larger ones (3" - 4")

5. Would you like one ink that works for paper, acrylic, glass, & everything?


PAPERS:
1. What are your favorite types of prints? flowers? stripes? plaids? distressed or clean & crisp?

2. Do you prefer all cardstock-weight papers?

3. Do you buy 8.5x11 anymore or just 12x12 and cut it down when necessary?


Website related....we are going to have a new section to our site called "TIDBITS", where I will cover lots of the '10 minute tricks' that I share in my classes. What questions or ideas do you have for this section? Make a list...Keller's products & any other scrappin' related questions are appreciated. (just please don't get highly technical in all the gadgets & machines out there...save those for the specific companies who make them)

Of all the ideas I receive for TIDBITS, I will choose 3 lucky winners to win a stamp set of their choice!!

Thank you for the time you took to read this...and the time I hope you will take to answer this. I can't wait to see everyone's answers & ideas!

Kim

"Give Thanks" Accordion Tag

Don't you just love this time of year? I love fall! It's my favorite season...not that it's gotten below 90 degrees much here in south GA yet, but we are ever hopeful of cool & crisp fall air. But, I love the colors of fall...the holidays to come...friends...family...oh, and some football thrown in.

This accordion tag makes the perfect gift to give this time of year...a gift someone would love to display in their home...which makes me think that I might need to make another, as this one will probably stay put in my house!

And, it's so easy to make.

First, take 2 accordion tags (yukon gold is the color I used here) and adhere the last panel of the first tag ON TOP OF the first panel of the 2nd tag. Then, fold them accordion style, so it will stand as shown.

Then, cut mats for each panel. I used 2.5"x3" mats on this one....and they are Buttercream yellow cardstock.

After corner-rounding each mat, I distressed the edges with a rust color ink pad. I then stamped GIVE on the first mat, again using the rust ink. Curle Uppercase is our alphabet set used here, but any letters will work.

Then, I stamped 1 letter on the center of each mat... T H A N K S.

Next, I took 6 of our large circle white slide mounts and distressed them almost completely with the rust ink. Then, with a burgundy ink, I used our XL background Swirls stamp on each. I just love how these slides turned out! I added ribbon snips to a couple, then adhered them all to mats, showing off the stamped letters.

I adhered all the mats in place on the tag, then reached for the burgundy ink again & one of our Scroll stamps from the Whimsical set. I stamped that above & below the first mat, then abstractly across the rest of the tag.

Then, I reached for several of our Word stamps. I put one on each panel, so the tag now says "Celebrate...honor...enjoy...adore...and cherish family." Perfect this time of year & always, don't you think?

Lastly, I added some buttons with glue dots....and reached for our tan Raffia (one of my absolute favorite items to use on our accordion tags) to add to the top of each tag...just unravel raffia to flatten it out, then tie a loose knot in it...take the 2 ends & smoosh them thru the tag hole, leaving the knot on the front....the stand up tag ends as shown & trim edges if necessary. Not only does this look great on tags like this, it's the best way to put a knot on a tag for a layout or card...looks great like a bow, but always stays in place AND lays flat when tag is glued down!

Ok, that's it. EASY. DECORATIVE. FUN TO MAKE. THE PERFECT GIFT.

Want more ideas & project recipes like this? Let us hear from you. What do you want to learn to use of our product line? Post here thru the blog, or email us at kellerscreations@acidfree.com.

Thanks for being our customer!

Kim

Sketch 91

Layer Stackers to highlight special photos. Cut stamped title into pieces before adding to page.

Sketch 90

This page looks like it's for Halloween...switch up the colors, though, and it would be great for Christmas (white background, red & green Stackers) or any other holiday.

Sketch 89

This page has room for 6 photos and tuck your journaling into a pocket.

Sketch 88

Cut one of our 11-in circles in half and stamp Word Stamps along the edges.

Sketch 87

Square scalloped Stackers look great "hanging" from the top of the page.

Sketch 86

This color combination could be used for so many different pages...Disney, farm, favorite school or team (Go UGA!).

Sketch 85

Our Stackers look so great layered together! Choose your favorite color combinations to make this layout.

Sketch 84

You could get up to 6 photos on this one page-depending on where you add your journaling and title! The fold-out frame is great for a peek-a-boo photo.

Sketch 83

This sketch could be used in so many different ways...just flip the sketch in different directions. Our XL tags are great for photos or journaling!

Sketch 82

Simple print papers as "photo corners", 4 x 5 1/2 in mats, andXL slide mounts make a pretty page with "framed" photos.

Sketch 81

Print Rings and a single strip of paper make a quick layout! Add another strip of paper and continue the Rings on for a simple second page!

Our Newest Arrival...

How cute are our Mini Connectors??


You can use them for smaller wall hangings....

Or add them to 12x12 layouts...

I'm loving this new smaller size! I can't wait to use them to make cards...and to tie them together accordion style...oh, so many ideas & so little time!!

We'd love to see what you come up with...email us your creations at kellerscreations@acidfree.com.

Until next time,

Kim

Happy Birthday, Keller!

Can you believe Keller is 14?? Where does time go?!

Happy Birthday, Keller! We love you & hope you have the best year ever!!

Tracy & the Kellers gang

More of our Favorite Connector Ideas...

The Connector Craze

Just a few ideas pulled from our site, for easier viewing. Enjoy!

Stay tuned for more to come!

Don't forget...

If you post the answers to the cruise questions here on the blog, don't forget to email us for your coupon code!

Cruise ???'s

We want your feedback! Even if you would never in a million years go on a scrapbook cruise, answer these questions by posting a comment here or emailing us and you'll receive a special coupon just for your time. And, we hope you would consider cruising with us...it's so relaxing, so much fun, and the most value for your money in the travel world, I believe. Like our last cruise, for example, we had 7 days and nights accomodations, travel to & from 4 separate countries, all our food & non-alcoholic beverages, and tons of entertainment on board....all for $789! That's under $113 a day. I can't go from here (south GA) to Atlanta for that per day.

Ok, back to what we want to know...please copy & paste these into an email or post a comment here.....

1 - Have you ever been on a cruise?

2 - Would you consider going on a scrapbook cruise?

3 - Is yes, would you prefer to go with or without non-cropping family members?

4 - What length of cruise is your first choice? 4 day, 5 day, 7 day

5 - Where would you like to cruise from? FLA, ALA, TX, CA, other?

6 - Where is somewhere you've never been & would like to cruise to?

7 - Any additional comments??


Ok, easy enough, right?? Answer these questions & post your answers here & then email us...or just email us the answers. By posting here first, though, everyone can read each other's ideas...an extra step, but easy. Then, we will email you an amazing coupon just for your time. How about that?!?!? Everyone wins this time...no drawing names!


And, last night, I posted a video on YouTube with one of the entertainers we had on our last cruise...check it out here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u76tfZSroLA

Also, we posted pix from our last one on the blog a few posts back...be sure to check those out, too.

We really hope you'll consider cruising with us next year.

Kim

So creative...

See, it pays to 'kiss up' to your designers...a couple posts ago, I did just that to Kathy...and see what all she sent me this week! I LOVE THEM ALL!! So, I just had to share...


First, check out this single Connector...


She's used one of our newest patterns...in fact, we don't even have it online yet in the Mix & Match Collections -- but will in the next few days....and she mixed it with the dot print out of the Little Red Riding Hood papers. She's used the small center from the Rings sets of both groupings to layer on the flowers....LOVE this! And, see the 'tabs' on the top left side?? Those are slide mounts adhered to the BACK...oh, with another center circle from the Rings. I also like how, on the bottom picture, she mounted it on a white Stacker circle, then used a larger Ring around it, showing some of the background print of the Connector in between them. Ooohhh, she did the same thing on this page....

This page is GREAT at showing how versatile our Rings really are. She's used them on the top left and bottom right pictures to get "round" pictures WITHOUT use of a circle cutting tool...she adhered them to the TOP of her photos, then trimmed the edges with scissors. That's the whole reason we created this die...to have round photos in a jiffy!

And, the bottom left photo...so fun with a Ring to accent a 4x6 photo, no cropping necessary...and on top of a Stacker, too. And, for the "journal" circle, she used a small Stacker circle and the right size Ring to look like it's matted.

Add a couple flowers and stamped slides, with words stamped in them or our vellum Slide Spots...voila! An adorable page in minutes!!

Oh, not enough??? How about this one? LOTS OF RINGS for fun...a couple of Stacker circles....a couple of XL slide mounts for frames...all around our newest addition, the Fold Out Frame. And, I like the hands 'holding' the frame! ( those are in our mouse die packs online)

And, don't you just love this Mix & Match pattern for Disney stuff?

Well, how about making a couple cards with the rest of the pieces of the Fold Out Frames pack, the Rings, and the Stackers!

And, don't forget, we have envelopes (with coordinating liners) to fit 6x6 cards like these. It's such a value...one pack each of our pieces can do a whole mini album or lots of 12x12 layouts & extra cards. When you buy our stuff, we really want you to know how to use EVERY PIECE....otherwise, you won't get your money's worth!

From flowers & gals...to mud and boys....

There's just nobody better than Kathy & her ideas for our Connectors! Our frog has long been one of my favorites...but if at all possible, I love him more now!! Isn't he cute diving in & hopping around & through pieces on this wall hanging?!? And, only Kathy would think to use the patterns of the Little Red Riding Hood papers -- flowered print included -- for a BOYS project! I can't get over how great this works...and the Splats stamp on the slides is PERFECT! She also used some of our Ring Quotes inside the Rings...and all of this with our 4" letters...did I say I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this?!?!

And....she's done it again....

She took more of our 4" letters and added them to TAGS this time! So easy...so why didn't I think of that?!? I also am digging the way she used the Stacker pieces as background pieces with the tags and chipboard haunted house (in our $1 section)...it just all WORKS, ya know??

Oh, and again, she's mixed paper groupings...the Trick or Treat collection with the Itsy Bitsy Spider....one of the ones on sale 3 for $1, too! Kathy has such an amazing eye for color...mixes things that shouldn't work, but THEY DO. These collections are not even by the same company. Amazing.

OK, keep in mind, the best part of all this....WE CAN DO THIS, too! We can copy Kathy...at least learn from her. Keep lots of papers and pieces on hand. Mix it all up. Don't be limited by what is sold in one package together. Use prints & solids & squares & circles & tags & embellishments. Make it fast. Make it fun. Just make it.

Whew...I'm tired! Not from typing all this, but from thinking of all the fun things I want to go create. How 'bout you?? Ready to create??

Thanks, Kathy. Keep 'em coming. We love you! (and your ideas!!)

Kim