Cosmo Cricket

Is it Winter in Minnesota?

Every year, Cosmo Cricket heads to Minnesota and the Mall of America for Scrapfest. I didn't know what Scrapfest was until we started Cosmo Cricket. Our first year in business, Archivers asked Lindsay to host their "Crop Until Dark". Talk about baptism by fire...... there were male models..... there was alcohol........ there were women asking for men's shirts rather than the scrapbooking prizes that were being offered..... I decided right then, what happens in Minnesota, stays in Minnesota!

This year, we are teaching some fun classes and make and takes. We also get to do an event called the "Crop Around Town"...... the most fun for me! I love the atmosphere and I have a really great time with all the attendees. I think these are already sold out, but we will also be teaching this same album at The Scrapbook Shop in Circle Pines and they may have some spots still available.

If you are not in the Minnesota area, I will be uploading the instructions soon, along with the supply list.

By the way, this album was originally designed by Emilie Ahern. Those are photos of her cute daughter. I re-made the album to be 100% Cosmo Cricket.

Cards For Kate

Hi everyone! As you know, I don't usually blog on the weekend, but I was sent a link to a Cosmo Cricket layout on a blog. I went to check it out and found this great opportunity to make cards for a young girl recently diagnosed with brain cancer. It just breaks my heart!

Here's the link from the blog I first saw it on, thanks Jessica!

Jessica pulled it from Jennifer McQuire's blog, here. I think you can get all the details at either location.

I hope that you'll all join me in spreading the word and helping bring a smile to this little girl's face. Here's what her parents have said,

"And yet, somehow God has also given us a glimpse of the best in spite of this ugly disease. We have seen the kindness of strangers like never before. People reaching out to our daughter from across the world to try and brighten her day and lighten our load."

I don't know about you, but I want to be a part of that!

   

We have a couple of fun projects from our bloggers that I thought I would share. The first one comes from Deborah Prass, in Brazil, and is titles "Ode Ouvir", which means "listen". She used the Early Bird line and does a terrific job!

The second is a card using Earth Love and The Boyfriend from Danni "Doodles" Reid. I'm telling you there is a lot of talent out there.

Next, the winner of Julie's drawing for a heap load of goods is Patti W. Who posted at 9:56 AM yesterday. You scored girl! Email kristen@cosmocricket.com and wait to hug your UPS man.

Last, my wife today, helped explain her secrets on how she buys so much for so little. I do have more information which will follow later.

First she said that she goes to a website called www.grocerysmarts.com. She thinks that each state probably has there own code or a program similiar to this but she's not sure.

For Utah, she keyboards in g84ccc. Outside the state you can also go there to get an idea of what their doing.

 I went to there website and they encourage us to share this information. They coordinate with the ads in your Sunday paper from Smart Source and Red Plum.

I'm a guy and I might be screwing the whole thing up, but i think this might put you on the right trail. She left for out of town, but told me she would share more details later.

I'm not sure how it works outside the U.S. but hopefully this will give you some ideas. If you have questions feel free to blog and ask and I will see if I can get her to answer them this weekend!  Yesterday she bought a ton of Sobe drinks and paid like .30 a piece. On a bill that is $100.00 she saves between 50-and 75%. I have Cereal that will last me until the world ends.

 Lets all have a great weekend, check out the website above, with the money we save, buy Cosmo Cricket products, and ...................be careful!

Emails from Friends

Hi Everyone. I get the best emails from my friends. Lindsay's wife sent me the following email yesterday and I've mixed it in with some fabulous projects that you all have emailed to me too.

This email was written By Regina Brett, 90 years old, of The Plain Dealer, Cleveland, Ohio.

"To celebrate growing older, I once wrote the 45 lessons life taught me. It is the most-requested column I've ever written. My odometer rolled over to 90 in August, so here is the column once more:"

1. Life isn't fair, but it's still good.
2. When in doubt, just take the next small step.
3. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.
4. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends and parents will. Stay in touch.
5. Pay off your credit cards every month.
6. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.

By Antonia Krajicek

7. Cry with someone. It's more healing than crying alone.
8. It's OK to get angry with God. He can take it.
9. Save for retirement starting with your first paycheck.
10. When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile.
11. Make peace with your past so it won't screw up the present.
12. It's OK to let your children see you cry.
13. Don't compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.
14. If a relationship has to be a secret, you shouldn't be in it.
15. Everything can change in the blink of an eye. But don't worry; God never blinks.
16. Take a deep breath. It calms the mind.

By Kazan Clark

17. Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful.
18. Whatever doesn't kill you really does make you stronger.
19. It's never too late to have a happy childhood. But the second one is up to you and no one else.
20. When it comes to going after what you love in life, don't take no for an answer.
21. Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, wear the fancy lingerie. Don't save it for a special occasion. Today is special.
22. Over prepare, then go with the flow.
23. Be eccentric now. Don't wait for old age to wear purple.
24. No one is in charge of your happiness but you.
25. Frame every so-called disaster with these words ''In five years, will this matter?".
26. Always choose life.
27. Forgive everyone everything.

By Davinie Fiero

28. What other people think of you is none of your business.
29. Time heals almost everything. Give time, time.
30. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.
31. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.
32. Believe in miracles.
33. God loves you because of who God is, not because of anything you did or didn't do.
34. Don't audit life. Show up and make the most of it now.
35. Growing old beats the alternative -- dying young.
36. Your children get only one childhood.

By Melanie S.

37. All that truly matters in the end is that you loved.
38. Get outside every day. Miracles are waiting everywhere.
39. If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else's, we'd grab ours back.
40. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.
41. The best is yet to come.
42. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.
43. Yield.
44. Life isn't tied with a bow, but it's still a gift.
45. Friends are the family that we choose for ourselves.

Tell us a little piece of wisdom you live by and you could win a Little Man, Early Bird, Snorkel and Jack's World paper crafting kits. We'll pick a random winner in the morning. Now, smile and have a great day!

Mr. Clean Loves Little Miss Messy

Eric and I are both artists. We're both really, really tall people. We look a lot alike, often being confused as brother and sister..... weird, I know. But, maybe opposites do attract because Eric is Mr. Clean and I am Miss Messy.

Honestly, I don't understand how a creative, artsy person can be any other way. It just seems wrong to me. But whenever I walk into our office, I get a laugh. Here's how it looked this morning.

Eric's Desk:

My Desk (and this is actually fairly organized for me):

Did you know that it's been scientifically proven that messy people are more productive than their tidy friends. Don't believe me? Well, it's true..... I saw it on 60 minutes.... and I believe everything I see on TV! ;)

My messy method is how I planted more than 20 things yesterday and pulled out more than 6 feet of periwinkle ground cover, 6 shrubs and lots of grass. This is what it looked like when I was done.

Around five in the evening, I called Eric out to see my handiwork...... and to clean up all my piles. You know the best part..... I made him a tasty meal, arranged it beautifully on a pretty plate, took it out to him on our deck and he told me he had the best girl ever!

So, the moral of this story is: be as messy as you want, if you can cook a good dinner all will be forgiven and your man will even clean up after you and thank you for doing all the yard work!

Three Random Things

Hi Everyone. I've missed blogging, but it seems that Lindsay has done a great job keeping you all entertained.

Random Thing #1.

There are lots of fun Cosmo Cricket goodies out there right now. I got these cute albums that are available as kits as well as classes from Gabrielle Beck.

Then I also got an email for a kit featuring The Boyfriend at Scrapbook Circle. Here's what some of their designers did with the kit....... so any of you that can't find this line, will definitely want to check it out!

Random Thing #2.

I am not a coupon clipper like Tehawna (Lindsay's wife). But, I am a very thrifty sort of a girl. Did you know that fall is the best time to do planting in your garden? And, what's even better is that all the plants go on sale. Right now where I live, everything is at least 50% off.

The nursery I like to go to requires that you pay cash to get the discount. Well, cash is something I rarely have, but yesterday, I had two checks to cash and so instead of depositing the money, I headed to the nursery.

I got so caught up in the great deals..... like an Oak tree, a huge red-twig Dogwood and all the one gallon perennials that I forgot I was driving our teeny-tiny Nissan Sentra that had a trunk full of second had clothes waiting to be donated.

I fit the tree in the back seat with the top of it hanging out the window about two feet. The perennials were easy enough to fit in here and there. But, the Dogwood..... it was taller than the tree and much bushier..... it had to go in the passenger seat! Needless to say, I got a lot of looks and a few waves and horn honks on my way home. It was like driving in a forest..... literally.

Random Thing #3.

Although Lindsay and I are no longer sticking strictly to the five dollar diet, we are still exercising daily and eating healthy. I have started a new habit of photographing my lunches and emailing them to Lindsay. I tell myself that I do this to help keep him motivated, but really I think it's a secret desire to prove to him that I'm still going strong......... hey, there is nothing wrong with a little healthy competition (no pun intended).

They are a little blury.... my phone camera isn't the greatest, but if you're looking for a healthy lunch, you can't beat these.
This salad has less than 300 calories and will keep you full for about 4-5 hours depending on your activity level. Start with 2 cups romaine lettuce mix (it's really good on spinach leaves too), then add half an orange cut up, two sliced strawberries, some craisens and some cashews then sprinkle on some green onions. Now for my most exciting discovery...... Litehouse dressing makes a cranberry dressing that has only 25 calories for 2 tablespoons, 6 grams of sugar and is actually really yummy and perfect on this salad.

Almost this entire lunch is from my garden. These are zuchini pancakes and you'll either love them or hate them! They are made by shredding 2 cups of zuchini (make sure you use little zuchinis or you'll have too much liquid.... no baseball bat zuchinis) 1/4 cup pancake batter, 1 egg, 2 tablespoons butter and 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese. This will make enough for you, your husband and the one small child that isn't yet in school. I always add a fruit and sometimes a veggie on the side. Keeps you full until dinner!

I'm always looking for healthy, easy ideas for lunches and snacks, so if you have any, please share. Also, if you know of any great kits, classes, contests, etc featuring Cosmo Cricket, please share that too, or even send us an email so we can spread the word for you.

Dear Tim Tam People:

Good morning!

 Did anyone take me up on my movie suggestion? If you ever have a "must-see" recommendation, please share.

A couple of things, first, no worries, my wife is going to help out with her tips and tricks on saving money at the grocery store, hopefully this week. It's a little complicated but, not too bad, but WOW the results are amazing. I wish she would have known this when I had four growing boys at home!

When she is at the store, people watch in awe as she works her coupon magic.

She has been approached by more than one person in line wanting to know the ways of, how I like to refer to her as, "Thee Yoda Coupon Jedi Master".

Next. How do you like the project above? I love it. You guys are way creative! Thanks to Danni Doodles ( I don't think that's really her last name, but it could be. I hope I'm not in trouble-yikes!) I have more pictures. This is a great project!

And last, when ever we attend a trade show, there are always a few people from down under that share their Tim-Tams with us. I blogged about this early this year. The Tim-Tam company, bless their heart, saw that we blogged about it and sent us some very delicious Tim-Tams. They were so nice.

Here is today's letter to the Tim-Tam people:

Dear Tim Tam people wherever you are:

I hope life is terrific! Early this year we blogged about how amazing Tim Tams are and you were kind enough to send some out to us. I don't know if there is anything better than a Tim Tam and a glass of milk. Yum Yum!

Well...........In Florida someone brought us the most amazing Tim-Tams ever, Black Forest Tim Tams!

There was a riot in our trade show booth because everyone wanted more than one. They are heaven and they make me see fireworks when I eat them. They have helped my bald spot on my head to grow more hair. I can jump higher, run faster,.....and from what I could tell, they have helped to solve a lot of the worlds problems..........They are just so dang yummy!

If you get this letter and feel so inclined, please send some Black Forest Tim Tams our way. We will even pay for them!

If you send us enough, we would even be able to give them away on our blog and millions upon millions of people everywhere would become hooked just like us.

Regards,

Lindsay "the Black Forest Tim Tam Loving Man"

P.S. I was also wondering if either the Oompa Loompa's or Keebler Elves make them?

Julie/Julia, Cheap Groceries, The Boyfriend....Not neccesarily in that order

 

Wow! When I ask for something, you guys deliver! Thanks to all of you for your help. I now have a folder with Boyfriend projects that I will be to share throughout the rest of the year. I have a ton, so please be patient, I'll see what I can do about featuring you'res.

 

Here's how these play out:

"Don't try this at home"- Holly Humbert

"K4"- Jenny McAnnally

I "Heart" U- Rebecca Keppel

"Airplane Card"- Fionna Royall

The winner of drawing for the Boyfriend goods is........Drum-roll........... Carol Sheetz. Carol, simply email kristen@cosmocricket.com and the checks in the mail. Well...Sort of.

I also need to apologize to Claude, for poor spelling of her last name. I'm sorry. You can tell why I'm not such a good blog poster.

Also, to those who couldn't find The Boyfriend, it's shipping now and were hoping you will be able to find it at your local scrapbook store. If they don't have it in the next few weeks, maybe you can tell them how fun having the boyfriend is.

I also got a memo this week that there is a kit that was put together at www.scrapbookcircle.com You might check it out.

Okay, I have to share this with you. I went grocery shopping with my wife last Saturday. She bought 16 boxes  of Cereal (I know...that's a ton of cereal),8 boxes of Kraft mac and cheese, and some Guacamole dip. The bill $3.39!!! She saved like $65.00!!!  I asked her if one of these days if she wouldn't mind sharing on our blog. She said she would, but you guys will need to remind me......It has now become a competition with her and her sister.Crazy and fun!

Last, Date night suggestion for tonight- For those who haven't seen it, say no to G.I. Joe, but yes to Julie/Julia. It cracked me up. We went for my birthday a couple of weeks ago. I thought it was well done and highly entertaining. I give it 3 stars out of 4. (*Disclaimer- I am a man in the scrapbook business.)

Have a great weekend and we appreciate all that you do!

Lindsay

First Day of School...

Hi Everyone!

Since today is our first day of school, it's been a crazy morning! I actually had a panic attack at about 4:30am when I thought I forgot an appointment..... by the way I didn't it isn't for a month still. Then I couldn't go back to sleep because I was worried that I would be in a really deep sleep when my oldest got up for school. So I just got up myself.

Despite my uncharacteristically early rising, I was still behind schedule, which motivated me to set a new time record on my morning walk! YEAH!!

I got back and finished up getting the kiddos ready. Here's the fun pics that should be making their way onto layouts soon.

Here's my two girls pretending not to be too excited for school.

Jack wanted to be included. He is so sad that everyone left him this morning!

I'm sure he'll find some trouble of his own to get into!

Abby and her two friends. They are so sweet and innocent..... just wait a few years!

Kate and her two friends. Yes, it's all about the outfits, the accessories and the social life..... I just hope she remembers to be kind, polite and respectful!

Using the Boyfriend.........

 

I would like to thank those who are helping me out with projects this week, using The Boyfriend. I didn't mean using the Boyfriend, I meant working with our Boyfriend collection.

I know some of you commented about not being able to get your hands on it yet. Devin, who I call Captain Awesome, and his team, have been setting records each day shipping as much product as humanly possible. This line is killer!

The first card "Fly to the Moon", was lent to us by Claude Campear. You can check out more projects on her blog site at www.claude365.blogspot.com

The second comes to us by way of Diana Fisher. She also has a  blogspot and it is www.designbydiana.blogspot.com

Thanks ladies for sharing!

We have received a few more which we will try to share in the next couple of days.

Remember, for those who send me a Boyfriend project, they will be entered in a drawing for a 12" x 12" Boyfriend/Earth Love Double Deck paper pad, The Boyfriend Ribbon, The Boyfriend rub ons, The Boy Friend Stickers, and The Boyfriend Mini Deck 6" x 6" paper pad.

I think this is a great prize and hope you to do!

Next, our good friend Cath Edvalson is at it again. Today she has featured one of the nicest people in the world, who happens to be on our design team, and who I think is one of the very best paper crafters ever, Debbie Olson.

Debbie is terrific and you guys would love her! I should have asked, do any of you know her?

Check out http://www.moxiefabworld.com/2009/08/ask-around-debbie-olson.html

and see for yourself.

Have a great day and keep those Boyfriend projects coming my way!

Lindsay