Tuesday, March 31, 2009

Have You "Seen" Peggy W?

image credit

Hi there, friends! Do you remember my "Brad Bonanza" post? It's the one with the mighty fine picture of Mr. Pitt, so I'm sure it's burned into your brains. ;)


Well, I'm looking for the email address of the person who left me this comment:


peggy w said...
Brads are great. I store mine in a skinny drawer. They are all in their own little individual boxes by cropper hopper and some I picked up at Walmart. I put a hole in the top with my Cropodile and put one brad in the top, so that I know what is in each box. The boxes are only like a 1-3/4" square by 1/2" deep. I love it. I just need to open the drawer and I can see everything I have at a glance. Thanks for the contest. Your idea is great. It inspired me in other ways as well. Now I have other ideas in mind because of it. Thank you.
March 13, 2009 8:56 AM


I'm working on my "Tips & Tricks" column for the magazine I work for (CK) and want to chat with you about an idea I have. So, if you're Peggy W or you know Peggy W, will you please email at mhoeppner@ckmedia.com?


Thanks so much!

P.S. I was so inspired by so many of the comments on that post. Thanks for the great tips and ideas. I plan on contacting more of you soon about possibly working with me on my magazine column. Thanks for sharing your creative ideas!

Wednesday, March 25, 2009

Ring Ring...

"I’ll get it!” Growing up, these were the words I’d yell from where ever I was in our home whenever the phone would ring. I loved answering the call of a ringing phone. And there was a time when every phone in our home was of the rotary variety. I love the look of this old school tele.

Inspired by the retro rotary, I created this hello card.

More specifically, I was inspired by my Fossil watch tin, which so cleverly combines the Fossil logo with the rotary style.



Do you like?

I made this for our March card group. The cards from the rest of the group are coming to a blog near you (mine) soon, so please check back.

More Phones


Phone on a Leash
I had this phone a tiny tot. His eyes move up and down when you pull his string. In fact, it’s still in my parents’ basement somewhere, along with about a billion other play things.




Havest Gold Phone
We had a phone just like this one in our kitchen back in the day, as well as a Harvest Gold stove (that just bit the dust last year) and Harvest Gold light fixtures (which hang from my parents’ kitchen ceiling to this day).



Watch Whatchore Doin' Phones
Check out these cool rotary phone watches. I’d never strap one to my wrist, but the idea is fun.

The Phone Look
I would, however, hang a phone from my neck. In fact, I have a rotary phone necklace. Not this particular one from crafystylish.com, but I am considering adding it to my collection.
iWanted it so iBought it Phone
Did you know they make a rotary phone ap for the iPhone that lets you dial your phone rotary style? I just purchased it (it’s $.99) and gave it a whirl. It even makes the da-da-da-da sound as you dial. Fun!


iWant it and One Day iWill Buy it Phone
I love this pink polka dot phone from Pottery Barn Teen. I hope to give it a home someday.





Call Me Phones
These calling cards are happy.

Museum Montage Phones
I took this ring-a-ding picture at a museum in Colorado.

Vintage Video Phone
And this video is priceless.

Gotta run! The phone’s ringing.

Friday, March 20, 2009

Call it a cure for the birthday blues


So, I turned the big 2-8 last month. My birthday happened to fall on a particularly bad day at work…well, good and bad. Good, because my cute coworkers pinked up my desk and gave me a 3:00 cupcake party (thanks, team!). Bad, because it happened to be a day full of serious drama and my email box was flooded, and I mean FLOODED, with not-so-happy messages. Also bad because this was the first birthday of my life that I didn’t spend with my family. Since Mom is going through chemo, we have to be careful about her being around sickies, and yes, I was sick. Fabulous.

Here I am ten years ago on the big 18! I always have ice cream cake from Baskin Robbins. It's a must!
And ten years before that, on birthday #8! Mom always threw me the best parties. :)

Needless to say, I was feeling a bit woe-is-me that day. After the work day I had, I was ready to call off my birthday date with my cute hubby. But he wouldn’t have it, and I’m so glad. He dragged me to the mall (one of my favorite places), where we had sushi (one of my favorite eats) and shopped (one of my favorite activities). Guess what we ended up getting as my birfday surprise? A new iPhone! YEEEEEHAW!

We’ve wanted iPhones forever, but we haven’t been too excited about switching to AT&T. Well, we’ve finally given in, and I’m SO glad. I love it…and the AT&T seems better than it was when we were on it three years ago. Not great, but better.

One of my fav things about my fancy new phone is the aps. Have you heard of these things? They’re little programs that you can get through iTunes to use on your phone. (You can also get these for the iPod Touch.)


A few of my favorite aps:

FACEBOOK: Now I can keep up with my FB life from anywhere.

SHAZAM: This may be my favorite ap. It will identify songs for you that are playing. So, if I’m in the mall and I hear a song I like playing on the speaker, I put the Shazam to work. Not only will it tell me the name of the song, but it will also file away the information for me. Sweet!


SCOOPS: My buddy Brady told me about this one. It’s a game where you try and stack ice cream scoops on your cone without catching the falling veggies. Buyer beware: this one is addictive and oh so fun!


WHITE NOISE: My good friend Jennafer turned me on to this one. It has all of these calming sounds, complete with a timer, so you can set a sound to play at bedtime and time it turn off after a certain amount of time. I’m not kidding you, I use this about every night now. It helps drown out Cor’s snoring. My favorite: the thunder. It’s surprisingly soothing.


PACMAN: Need I say more?


PANDORA: Pandora Radio is an A-for-awesome site on the web that allows you to create completely customizable radio stations. And with this ap I can have it on my phone, too. There’s no charge, and the music is rockin’.


Are you into aps? What are your favorites? I’m always looking for new goodies to add to my list.

My birthday may have started out rough, but you could definitely call me happy by the time it wrapped up. Thanks, Bear, for bringing the happy back to the birthday. I love you!

Thursday, March 19, 2009

Card Group Creations: February



If you’re like me, you can never have too many birthday cards on hand. I like to keep some at work, at home and even in my car. You just never know when you’ll have one of those ‘crap, it’s so and so’s birthday today’ moments and need a greeting. Thanks to our February card group, I should be covered for a while. We exchanged handmade birthday greetings.

I made a little matchbook-style card, which means the flap sits snuggly beneath the scalloped piece along the bottom.

The sugary sweet P. Kelly also went the pink-cupcake card route.


As did Brandy with her sweetie-pie idea (borrowed from the amazingly talented Teri Anderson).


Beth lit up the assortment with her candle creation.


While Susan gave heat embossing a try. (Note: Susan is not at all a fan of stamping, so the fact that she heat embossed is really something. She couldn’t resist playing with the new embossing powders from American Crafts. And really, can you blame her?)


Bonnie made a beautiful card, perfect for a winter birthday.

Brenda went the opposite direction, creating a darling summertime card.


And Sara wrapped things up with her sparkling design.


Three of our card-swapping friends couldn’t make it this month, but we picked up their cards later. I’m sorry I don’t have pictures of those to share. I’m afraid they’re now part of my “at work” stash (since I received them while at work and, as I said, I like to keep a few birthday cards on hand in my desk).

Here we are about to begin swapping. It’s always so fun to see what everyone brings to the table. Thanks for hosting, Brandy!


When we were done swapping, we decorated birthday gift wrap (bags and boxes). After all, what good are all of those handmade cards without equally cute handmade wrap?


Speaking of birthdays, I happened to celebrate my birthday in Feb, so cute P.K. made me cupcakes. Yum!


This month we’re making hello cards. Check back soon to see what we come up with.

Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Brad Winners: Is the luck o' the Irish with you?

Top o’ the night to you, lads and lassies. Is the luck o’ the Irish with you tonight? It is for my three brad bag winners!

But, before I announce my lucky ladies, I want to thank you all for playing along with my giveaway. Thanks to you, I’ve reached a new comment record on my blog with a whoppin’ 136 comments for my brad post. Isn’t that exciting? I thought so.

To show my appreciation, I’ve thrown in three extra winners who will each receive some magnetic brad storage solutions. It’s the least I can do to thank you for your comments and amazing storage ideas. In fact, there are a few of you who I plan on contacting about using your ideas in some of my upcoming magazine columns (for CK). Thanks for the inspiration and blog love. Now, on to those prizes.


A great big Irish congrats to the following blog buddies, chosen by random.org, who will each receive a brad bag full o' brads:

Comment #21 from Sherry. She said:
"those brad cards are fab! I'd love to win them!my favorite way to use brads is in a cluster on a layout."

Comment #39 from Kathy. She said:
"Ahhh....Brad....he is gorgeous.I'm really new to scrapping. I haven't found a favorite way yet. I just know that I love them. Thanks for the gift!"

Comment #56 from Kate. She said:
"Playing with brads is my most fun thing at the moment. i've been experimenting with heat embossing my brads, and flocking, giving that extra texture...lots of fun!!thanks for the chance to win!"

And a hip-hip-hooray to these fine folks who will each receive some magnetic storage containers for their brads (or ribbon, or eyelets, or whateva):

Comment #19 from Lori Y. She said:
"I enjoy adding brads to almost every scrapbook page or card I'm making. Love the little things. Right now I keep my brads in baby food jars, but I'm really liking the cork board idea. Thanks."
Lori will receive this storage system from Strano Designs.

Comment #57 from Thespa. She said:
"FABULOUS! FABULOUS! FABULOUS! BRAD, ER.... IDEA TO STORE BRAD"S". LOL What an amazing idea! I love it and am going to try this tonight! Thanks sooooo much for posting it. I use brads like crazy and I love the chance to win! Thanks, Have a Happy Day!"
Thespa will receive an assortment of colored magnetic containers (brads not included) from Pebbles.


Comment #42 from Sandee. She said:
"I LOVE my shaped brads,colored brads, epoxy brads..any kinda brad...mainly cause they are so EASY to use! Who couldn't use a few more?"
Sandee will receive a magnetic strip with containers from Target, similar to the one below (only blue with three containers and two decorative magnets).

If you're one of my lady lucks, please e-mail at M2E2G@aol.com with your full name and mailing address, and I'll send you your goods. Thanks!
And a happy St. Patrick’s Day to you all. I hope you’ve enjoyed a pinch-free day (unless you’re into that kind of thing) and plenty o’ kisses! ;)

I’ll leave you with this picture taken at work today. Just look at all of the delightful green!

Monday, March 16, 2009

I've Grown an Inch!


No, I haven’t reached the 6’ mark (thank goodness), but my hair is longer. Today is measure-in day #2 and my hair has grown an inch since my last (and first) measure-in on Jan. 9, pictured above.


For those who’ve joined my blog since my last hair post, I’m growing out my strands to donate for Locks of Love. My sweet mom is in the process of treating breast cancer, and this is something I can do to show support. You need to have at least 10" of hair in a ponytail to donate. I'm at 9", but that's only if I go super shot with the cut. As I've mentioned before, I'm not a huge fan of short-hair Meg, so I may shoot for 12" before I make the cut. At least that will leave me with a little something to hide the birthmark on the back of my neck. ;)
Mom Update

I’m happy to report that Mom just finished her first round of chemo. Can I get a hip hip hooray!? This is a major milestone for her, and I’m so glad she’s reached it. From what I understand, this first round can be the most difficult, and I can see why. Poor Schmom has been very ill. She’s also had a few complications along the way (blood clots and fevers) that they’re working to get under control. And, sadly, she’s lost her pretty head of hair. I’ve purchased several hats for her and she has a couple of wigs, which she's not wild about.

Do you know of any good places to buy quality wigs online? Mom wants a new wig and I want to get it for her. If you have any ideas or suggestions, I’d so appreciate it if you’d share. Thanks!
Facebook Group

Thanks so much to all of you who’ve reached out during this difficult time. Your thoughts, prayers and kind words mean the world to me, both on my blog and in my Facebook Group. Since my last post, we’ve had 52 people join the Locks of Love FB group. Yeehaw! Your stories and support mean so much.
Here’s some of what’s being said:

* I'm planning on donating about 11" of hair this next month. Then I will let it grow out again and donate again.—Laura H., Salt Lake City, UT

* I donated over a foot of hair two years ago and plan on donating another foot of hair this year. Good thing I have reaaaaally long hair! This is such a wonderful cause and so many children in my area donate their hair to help others all the time. Such a blessing to help others! Deitra Hart (Lynchburg, VA)

* My son, Zane, is growing his hair out for Locks of Love--he is 9 and should be there in about 1 month. I hate to see his beautiful hair go--but am happy it will go to a child. I am moved to grown mine out too! Cindee Campbell Ellenbarger (Stockton / Modesto, CA)

* You GO girls!!! I donated 16 inches this summer, and it felt great!! JJ Sobey (Montreal, QC)

* I am in. I got quite a ways to go since i got buzzed in the summer but away i grow. Jeffrey Dean Hoeppner (Denver, CO)

That last one is my big bro. Isn’t he cool? And he has awesome hair that’s going to make a kickass wig someday. (Why is it the boys always get the great hair and lashes? Well, if they’re donating it to good causes, as Jeff is, then I’m glad they do.)

The Inspiration

None of this would have happened without my friends Angie Lucas and Wendy Smedley. Wendy suggested the idea in the first place, and she and Angie are both growing their hair out with me. Sadly, they too know what it’s like to watch close family go through this hell. Check out their blogs (linked above) to see their latest measure-in results. Here’s where they stood last time we checked in (measure-in #1 on Jan. 9, 2009):

Wendy was at just over 5".

Angie was at about 7".

Speaking of Angie updates, I’d like to welcome Angie to the blogosphere. She has her own new piece of the blog pie. “Yeah, Write” is as cute as its title suggests. Check it out. You won’t be disappointed.

Well, I suppose I’ve covered everything for measure-in #2. One more inch to go (or three, depending on how short I want to go with the new do). We’ll see if I’m there on measure-in #3. Wish me luck!

And, again, thank you. From my heart, thank you. Your support is helping our family get through this.

Warmly,
Megan

Sunday, March 15, 2009

A Bloggy Birthday Wish


“Sending Birthday Cards” is inevitably a repeat offender on my list of New Year’s resolutions, but since I resolved not to make any resolutions this year (see my "Realistic Resolutions") I’m happy to report that I’m not failing miserably. No, this doesn’t mean I’m sending cards in a timely manner; it just means I’m not messing up my resolution. What a relief!

I know this is about as tacky as it gets, but I’d like to at least start doing blog shout-outs to my birthday buds each month. It’s better than nothing, right? Or is it worse? Ugh. I don’t know. I’ll still do my very best to get cards to people, but at least I’ll have my blog birthday bases covered. That’s a start. So, without further ado…


Here’s Hoo:

Mikayla Dickey
Junko Barker
P.K. Smith
Cathy Zielske
Jenny Willden
John Miyake
Angie Lucas
Kacey Patterson


Much love and birthday happiness to you all!

Wednesday, March 11, 2009

A Near and Dear Cause

About Best Buddies

Have you heard of Best Buddies? No, I’m not talkin’ BFFs or blood brothers. I’m talkin’ a charitable program, established as a mentoring program for people with intellectual disabilities. Primarily in schools, it motivates young student leaders to be mentors and friends with fellow students who have intellectual disabilities, but it also helps adults find jobs and support.

My Experience

When I was a junior in high school, my peer leadership team (PLT) instructor asked if I would be the president of our school’s Best Buddies program. I was honored and delighted to introduce such a heartfelt program in our school. To be honest (and I’ll probably sound awful for saying this), I thought the most gain I’d get from this was something impressive to put on my resume, but I was SO wrong. I learned so much about strength and compassion. And, more importantly, I gained a number of amazing new friends in the process.

Today's Status

Today, 11 years later, this program is still going strong. In fact, it’s in its 20th year of operation. I just heard on the news that there are now 12 high schools and 4 colleges participating in the state of Utah, as well as global involvement with 42 countries. This growth is amazing and wonderful!


The 20/20 Campaign

To celebrate the 20-year anniversary, Best Buddies is looking for donations in the denomination of 20 ($20, $200, $2000). This money will be used to raise awareness and get the program in more schools. Please, click here to read more about this worthwhile cause and donate.

Your Schools

Is Best Buddies in your school or your child’s school? If not, please express interest and see what you can do to get the program introduced (it goes in jr. high-college). It will change your lives for the better, I promise.

Learn More

The founder of Best Buddies is visiting Utah to raise awareness. He’s speaking at my Alma mater tonight, Westminster College, at 4:00 PM and again at 7:30 PM. If you have time and are in the area, I encourage you to attend and learn more.

If you’re not in the area, you can learn more about Best Buddies, visit http://www.bestbuddies.org/.


Thanks!
Your BFF,Megan

Tuesday, March 10, 2009

Brad Bonanza


I love brads, and I'm not talkin' Brad Pitt, though he is pretty yummy, especially in the movie Troy. Who knew a guy could look so good in a leather skirt? And those arms. Oh, those arms...





Wait. Where was I? Oh, yeah, brads, with an "s." Do you want some new decorative brads? Well, you're in luck. I've been cleaning out my craft space and have some delicious brads in need of new homes. Brads from such fine companies as American Crafts, Doodlebug Design, Making Memories and more!





How to Win
To win a Brad Bag (AKA grab bag o' brads), simply leave me a comment between now and Monday, March 16 that has something to do with brads. It can be your favorite way to use 'em, your preferred method of storage, anything. From the comments I receive, I'll randomly select three winners. Easy as pie!




It's a Brad Bonanza
Now, let's talk storage. There are lots of ways to organize brads, from baskets and bins to drawers and jars. But have you heard of Brad Boards? I hope not, because I'd like to think this idea is a Megan Original. Check out my most recent post on the CK blog for more on this fresh, easy and affordable way to store brads. It's far from the PITTs, I promise. ;)