BarbWire Designs - My Scrappy Place

Whoo Hoo! I tell you if it isn't one thing it is another around here! We have been through every virus there is lately but I think my family is finally on the mend! I am so glad!

I was finally able to get all the little things done to get these files in the store and now they are! There are 8 in all plus I put them all in a Collection for those of you who really want a great deal!



Also I would like to reward Dreamin and Nina for leaving me some feed back last time. If you ladies would pm me at Paperthreads I'd like to give you a free file!

It has finally started to warm up around here and my spring bulbs are starting to come up! I even have some daffodils that have bloomed! I love spring! But of course it comes with some not so fun chores... pruning my rose bushes for one! Which is something I am going to have to do today... where did I put those leather gloves anyway?

I hope everyone has a great day and can get out and enjoy the warm weather!
Barb

to recover from a really bad cold that settled in my chest. I have never had the feeling that I couldn't breath like that before and believe me I didn't like it! I am still a little foggy from the cold medication but wanted to let you know that I am still kicking and working on getting those bowling files up!

Have you seen the new Paperthreads Store? It looks so good! Michelle works so hard at keeping the store current and running smoothly! Not to mention the forum! She is one hard working lady! Make sure you tell Michelle how nice the store looks!

Maybe I should give you a little sneak peak at my bowling files... a few of them anyway...









Let me know what you think! I have some more that are almost ready to go and a layout that I did for my daughters bowling team.

Thanks for stopping in!
Barb

P.S. I would love some feedback from anyone who has bought and cut my files! I want to know if they are cutting well for you, if they are easy to assemble, etc. If you would like to leave some feedback please do so under comments, who knows... you may find yourself rewarded for it!

So this month has continued to be as busy (not as crazy) but as busy as last. My darling husband surprised us with a Road Trip over Easter weekend! I have lived in Utah for over 20 years now and have never been to see the Arches in Moab and of course neither have the kids. My hubby who HATES to drive just came home from driving to Farmington New Mexico for work and he was so taken with the beauty that he wanted to share it with us! Also.... I think he was curious about how well the navigation system in the new Aspen would work and I was anxious to see if my kids could spend 3 days in a car without killing each other! Good news is that both worked out just great! Now it wouldn't be me if everything went completely smoothly.... so here is the patented BarbSpin... my camera was getting low on battery and I knew it so I looked high and low for the battery charger to my newest camera, keep in mind that I have 2 other cameras that are in perfect working order and they take regular old AA batteries but I HAD to have this camera! I couldn't find the charger so I hooked it up to my computer hoping that it would charge from there (hint: it didn't!) So off we go on a quite possibly Once in a Lifetime Road Trip... Did I bring a back up camera? Well now that would have been the smart thing to do but then again no one has ever accused me of being smart! LOL! So the answer to that question would be a big FAT NO!!!! I did manage to get some great pictures of the Million Dollar Highway and the Hot Springs that we stopped at before the camera was completely drained then I bought a disposable camera and got some serviceable pictures at Arches National Monument and Dead Horse Point National Monument. All in all it was a FANTASTIC trip! Everyone was happy, the kids each had their own area so that they didn't have to touch each other or even look at each other! They were able to watch movies and play video games (scenery? Well that is what the pictures are for right?) I for one really enjoyed the scenery and the peacefulness of it all!

I promised Bowling files and they are on their way soon! I have to do a little bit of test cutting and scanning and they will be up soon! Thanks for everyones patience!

I will be back tomorrow hopefully with some pictures to share but right now I have to go fight a parking ticket that my daughter got last month! Wish me luck!

Barb

It seems like things just aren't going to slow down but I am going to try to be better about keeping up with my blog. Here is a little recap of the last month and a half... first let me start off by saying that the city is about a 3 1/2 hour drive and we only usually go about 2 or 3 times a year, well not this year! It has also been one of the snowiest winters in lots of years and the car that I drive is rear wheel drive with high performance tires on it... not great in the snow and I never got around to putting the regular tires on it for the winter (the 20s just look soooo much better! It's like those fabulous shoes in your closet that are impractical and kill your feet but you just have to wear them because they are just so awesome!) Sorry, I'm rambling. Anyway this winter we ended up doing a lot more traveling than we usually do starting out with my son's wrestling matches, you see none of the other schools want to travel here so we almost always end up making the trip, especially in the Jr High. When wresting was over I thought we were finished with all the back and forth but ohhhh no! The next week we had to go back out for my husband's Dr. appointment, then my daughter's High School Bowling Team got to go to the State Tournament (They WON!! Whoo Hoo!) so that was another trip out and back. Everything was looking good for being home for a few weeks then my FIL had a heart attack and was flown out to a hospital for angioplasty (he had 98% blockage in one artery and they were able to fix it with a stint, he has recovered remarkably fast and is doing very well.) The next hurtle is my nieces Temple wedding which is the next weekend (Salt Lake Temple). The wedding is at 9 am, a brunch at 11:30 (which started late because the pictures ended up taking longer than expected) then straight home (3 1/2 hour drive), change clothes and to the reception! Wheew! I have no idea why they planned such a whirl wind day but I warned my other niece not to even think about doing it that way when it is her turn! LOL! THEN... my FIL gets into a car accident when he is almost home! Everyone was wearing seat belts (in both cars) and no one was injured Thank Goodness! It was the other guy's fault, there was quite a bit of damage to both vehicles. Oh yea, I forgot to mention that while we were getting ready to go to the Temple I get a call that my 88 year old Grandmother has also had a heart attack and will be undergoing angioplasty that day! She is in Georgia so there was no going to see her, I just had to wait for word, thankfully I had the wedding to keep my mind off of that until it was all over and everything worked out fine, she ended up with 3 stints and there was another artery that had to be cleaned out. My Mom was able to go be with her for a week and she is doing great. So we have made it through most of the winter in my car that hates the snow all the while my husband is whining about how we need an SUV and has been looking at different ones but we had a hard time finding something we liked that had the power I was used to (my 300 has a Hemi) So my Dad asks if I can go pick my Mom up at the airport in SLC and I was happy to do it. The weather had been beautiful for the last week and it looked like we had made it through the winter and now I could relax about the car until the fall but then...... it started SNOWING..... AGAIN..... I couldn't believe it! Why did it have to snow the day I needed to go to Salt Lake? so ... My husband freaks out about me having to take the car in the snow and he ends up at the dealership in the next town (he was over there selling a job anyway) He calls and says "hey on your way through why don't you stop here and look at this Chrysler Aspen? I think you will like it." So that was why I was late picking up my Mother at the airport, I was buying a new vehicle. And that my friends is why I haven't been very talkative lately! I have been working on some files for bowling that I am about finished with... making a layout to go with! Trying to come up with something springy, I am so done with the snow! We got another 4 inches last night... I have had to wash that new car 4 times since I got it! LOL! And to top it all off? All those trips to the city and I didn't even get to go to Roberts!! Sooo NOT FAIR! My friends and I are going to have to go out just for that and to learn how to use all the gadgets on my new car! I can enter a location for all of my favorite shopping spots in Salt Lake in the navigation thingy and I will always be able to find a craft store! WHOO HOO! Hubby is having second thoughts now!!!! LOL!


I was finally able to get a decent family picture when everyone was dressed up for the wedding.


My son absolutely LOVES to get dressed up! He says "I make this suit look GOOOOOOD!" He thinks he is sooooo HOT! He's 11..... lol!



My daughter is a little more camera shy than the boy... but then who isn't?



I will share some more pics later! Look for the bowling files to be coming soon.... I promise! OH and I will post a pic of my new ride as soon as I take one! LOL!

Thanks for stopping by,
Barb

I really haven't fallen off the face of the earth, just had a really hectic month! Among other things, my daughter's High School Bowling team took 1st in the State Championships! Whoo Hoo! I am so proud of her. So of course I had to make some bowling files, I will show them as soon as I get them finished!

Just wanted to let you know that I will be participating in the February 29th Sale at Paperthreads! All my files as well as many of the other designers' files will be on sale for 29% OFF so don't miss out, check it out!

I can hear the birds chirping outside my window and that makes me so happy! The snow in my front yard is still 3 feet high but it is starting to warm up and I can see a light at the end of this very long winter! Spring is my favorite time of the year and I can hardly wait for the snow to melt and the flowers to start peaking up through the ground.... ahhhh Spring!

I hope everyone has a great day!
Barb

I apologize for not having anything for you last week. Things have been crazy around here... We had Jr. High State Wrestling last weekend. My son did well, his first match he pinned. His second match he was dominating all the way through but ran out of gas in the last few seconds of the third round and got pinned. He had the kid beat on points if he just could have held on! His third match went all 3 rounds and the match was real close but he ended up getting beat by one point. For his first State Tournament we thought he did real well. In honor of his wrestling I came up with this file. It will be in the store soon. I will be working on some others as well.



I got my son's wrestling picture back so I thought I'd share it with you.



He is such a cutie! When he first saw his picture he said "Mom, I look scared!" I guess he was trying to look tough, he's gonna have to work on that!

I ended up having to work on Monday and Tuesday which I was supposed to have off and then the family all came down with a really bad cold and sore throat so I didn't get a chance to catch up on the blog. I am still working on offering some term restricted downloads so keep checking back! I have some pictures to share with you of all the snow we have been getting lately! I so wish that little rodent hadn't seen his shadow! I am ready for spring!

See you next time!
Barb

I hope everyone was able to take part in Customer Appreciation Day on Monday! It was a huge success! Don't forget that a lot of the Challenges are still open, including both of mine! Here is list compiled by Jan...

1. ATC Card Challenge: hosted by Chris, Carrie, Jan - Ends 2/3
2. Bingo: As normal…hosted by Shirley - Ongoing
3. Scrapbook- Jounaling Challenge: CARRIE - Ends 1/27
4. Scrapbook- Sketch Challenge: MICHELLE - Ends 1/31
5. Scrapbook- Ad Inspiration Challenge: JEN - Ends 1/25
6. Scrapbook- About Me Challenge: MICHELLE - Ends 2/14
7. Scrapbook- Faith Challenge: JAN - Ends 1/31
8. Scrapbook- Outside the Box : BARB - Ends 1/27
9. Scrapbook- Mix and Match: BARB - Ends 1/27

Not much is going on around here this week, just your everyday going to school and work and such. My daughter is going to prison today though.... with her psychology class. The Jr. High State Wrestling Tournament is Friday and Saturday so we will be going to that. My son will be wrestling. He has to drop 2 pounds by tomorrow night which is quite a bit considering we have worked really hard to get him to gain weight. I am so glad this is almost over for the year. Do you know how hard it is to get a kid that we have encouraged to eat whatever he wants to start watching what he eats? It is very hard for him. I never thought we would have to deal with the making weight issue. That is the part of this sport that I really hate.

My hubby is doing well with his recovery. He is going to PT 3 times a week. He has good range of motion but is still in a lot of pain. It doesn't keep him down though, he is such a go getter.

I am going to figure out how to offer free files here on my blog and hopefully start having something for you soon!

Thanks for stopping by,
Barb

Well, it's finally here! What a great day this is going to be! We are going to be spreading the love with sales on all cutting files from 20% to 50% off all day long! And that's not all.....

Jan, Chris and Carrie are hosting an Artist Trading Card Challenge! If you are new to the ATC trend then this would be a great way to get introduced to this fun aspect of paper crafting! If you are an old hand at ATCs then please drop by and show us how it's done!

Carrie is also hosting a Make and Take Challenge, she is providing a file and instructions for a super cute Valentine's Day project!

Shirley is hosting a Cards and More Challenge. Shirley would like to challenge you all to use her Freebie from this month's Newsletter to create a great card or layout! Let your creativity run wild!!

Jennette is hosting a Challenge on her Blog so check that one out!

There are some other Challenges being held as well so check out everyone's Blogs and the Forum for all the details!

I will also be hosting a Challenge or two.... The first one is a Scrapping Outside the Box Challenge! This is how it works... I want you to look at our designs in a whole new light. Challenge your creativity by taking a file from the Paperthreads Store and finding a way to use it than is different than the way it was represented by the Designer. It doesn't have to be a newly purchased file and it doesn't even have to be one of my designs but using mine will earn you a free file of your choice from BarbWire Designs! Whoo Hoo!

The second one is a Mix and Match Challenge! We want you to be able to get as much mileage as you possibly can out of your files so I want to challenge you to Mix and Match some of our designs to come up with something totally unique! The requirements are simple, take different elements from at least 2 different files from the Paperthreads Store to create a layout... even better, take different elements from at least 2 different files that were created by different Designers! Again, you don't have to use my designs for this challenge but if you do I will give you a free file of your choice from BarbWire Designs!

Look for all the Challenges on the main page of the Paperthreads Forum under the heading Challenges, Games and Fun! There is also a place in the Gallery to post your Challenge pics called Forum Games and Activities. Please list the names of the files that you used for your layout and the names of the Designers. This isn't a contest so there won't be any voting but there will be a participation prize! I will be giving everyone who posts a layout to either challenge a new Valentines Day file that hasn't even hit the store yet! ummm, truth be told I still need to finish test cutting and will post a pic just as soon as I finish with it! And don't forget that if you use one of my designs I will be giving you a free file of your choice from BarbWire Designs!

Both Challenges will start on Monday January 21st and end on Sunday January 27th! That gives you one week to get a layout together! Challenges are a great way to get motivated and get some Scrapping done!

I hope you all enjoy Customer Appreciation Day at Paperthreads and are able to take advantage of the savings, not the mention all the fun and games! We wouldn't be able to do what we do without the support of this great community of friends and crafters!


Have a Great Day!
Barb

before I head off to work. My son lost his wrestling match last night but the trip was an over all success! He had a great time and was able to gain some life experience.

I wanted to leave the link for you to get to the Newsletter so you don't miss out on the BIG announcement! Not to mention all the great information that the others contributed. Jan's product review on Grunge Board is great... that stuff is awesome! Carrie did a wonderful tutorial on welding words to shapes in inkscape. Lots of good tips and tricks in this month's edition.

As for January 21... All of my files will be 50% off! This will be the first time in Paperthreads history that every file in the store will be on sale! Sales are ranging from 20% - 50% off all day! There will be other festivities with games and challenges and PRIZES!! You will not want to miss this!

Well it's off to work with me, I hope everyone has a great day!
Barb

at our house! As I have mentioned before my son is on the Jr. High wrestling team this year. Today he gets to ride the bus with the team for the very first time. Things in Utah are pretty spread out so we usually have to do most of the traveling when it comes to sports. Most of the schools in our region are on the Wasatch front which is about 3 1/2 hours away. This makes for some very long bus trips as I well remember from my own HS days as a Cheerleader. I am excited for him, it seems a rite of passage somehow, he is growing up and starting to do things on his own. I am also a little nervous, the team consists of boys from 5th grade to 9th grade, my son being in 5th. I am pretty sure that none of the 9th graders will hang him out the window by his feet but then again... if I'm not there to make sure that won't happen... My daughter will tell you that I am overprotective, but what 17 year old doesn't think that? I don't consider myself an overprotective parent but I do consider myself a cautious one. My husband says that I watched too much Oprah when our daughter was little, I say I watch too much NEWS! Anyway, back to the boy, I love that he is on a team and learning about team dynamics. It is so important to feel like you belong to something, the camaraderie he shares with the other boys on the team really warms my heart! He is still one of the little ones, annoying at times I am sure, but the older boys do seem to like him so hopefully he won't be traumatized when he gets home. Neither Gary or I can make it to his meet tonight (2 hours away) which is killing us both! This will have to be his trip, something that he does without us for the first time... I think I will go cry now! My baby is growing up which also means that I am growing old and I don't like that one little bit! LOL! On to other things.....

January 21, 2008 All the details about this fabulous day are revealed in this Month's Newsletter so check it out! If you are not signed up to receive the newsletter then you better get that way! Go to this link to get signed up!

Hope everyone has a GREAT day!
Barb

I have just added some new files to the store. This one is a Graduation file called "Hats in the Air"! I know it is a little early for Graduation but this was added as a prize for the winner of this Month's Bingo Game - Scrappin' through the Year, however it is in the store and available for purchase right now.



Speaking of BINGO... if you haven't checked out one of our Bingo games yet you should! We have an absolute ball! We usually start a new one at the beginning of each month! It is a great way to get to know people and also to win some great files! Shirley is hosting this month and we all know how much fun she is, so hop on over and check it out! Even if you aren't playing you can always hang out and chat!

I have also added Fall and Winter to my Bunched Up Months Series.





And for those of you who haven't already started collecting the Series I have put all 4 files into a Collection Called Bunch of Bunched Up Months.



Oh, and speaking of BINGO! Again.... I will be offering this Collection to the winner of a game sometime this month so keep your eyes open! A game within the Bingo game that is!

So that is what I have new in the store right now. Did you notice the new "packaging"? Let me know what you think!

Hope everyone has a great day!
Barb


P.S. Make sure you are around Paperthreads on January 21! You SO don't want to miss this!

I promised a treat and here it is! I am giving a coupon for 30% off my newest file "I wanna be a Rock Star". With this coupon it makes the cost of the file ONLY $1.74! What a great deal!



To use this coupon all you have to do is go to the Paperthreads Store and add the Rock Star file to your cart, then when you check out use the following code:

coupon code

BM_0108_zxsob

If you want this deal you better hurry though because this coupon expires at Midnight EASTERN time tonight.

I am so happy to be able to share previews and discounts here with you on my blog. I wasn't sure about this whole thing at first but now I think it is going to be fun!

REQUESTS

If anyone would like to make a request for a file please leave me a comment and I will do my best to come up with something for you! If you make a request and I make a file for the store I will give you that file for free!

What's going on around here...

There is a big event for our town happening this weekend, it is The Tournament of Champions high school wrestling tournament. There are usually about 26 teams from throughout the region that participate. We get schools from Wyoming, Colorado, Idaho and of course Utah. My husband has been a volunteer at this tournament since he graduated from high school (before that he was IN the tournament) his Dad and Mom have been helping since it started many, many years ago. Now the tradition has come to my family... this year not only is my husband at the head scorers table but my son will be helping on the mats, my daughter will be at the concession stand and I will be in the hospitality room! Since my son is on the jr. high team we are all asked to help out! It is a huge tournament with tons of people volunteering their time. It starts tonight and will run until late tomorrow night, the finals will be very exciting I am sure!

I hope every one has a great weekend!
Barb

Sheesh, yesterday was a long day! After running all my errands I had to pick my son up early from school to get him to his wrestling matches. Of course it started snowing again and my car hates the snow but that is a whole other discussion! As it turned out there were 3 other schools at this meet and we were there forever! Good news is my son did AWESOME! He got beat his first match but then came back strong and won his second match and PINNED his third match! Whoo Hoo! I was going to take pictures but I left my camera in my car. Like I said it had started to snow so I had my husband follow me home (he was meeting us there from work) because I was sure my car would NOT enjoy the new fallen snow... the point is that I HAD my camera with me to begin with but I left it in the car when my husband picked me up... so I have no pictures to share with you of his wrestling :( Wrestling is a hard sport for a mom to watch but I will get through it! LOL! The boy is only in 5th grade and this is his first year on a school team so I have a long way to go as I am sure he will continue with this until he graduates high school. The wrestling program around here is very popular. My FIL was Utah's first 3 time State Champion and he went on to wrestle in collage. My husband was State Champion his Senior year and placed his Sophomore and Junior years. He was offered 3 scholarships after high school but he was so burned out that he didn't take any of them. Our High School has won the State tournament too many times to count.

Today I am going to do some test cutting and hopefully get some new files up in the store! Keep checking back... there are still some treats in store for you!!

Barb

LOL! I know, I am soooo picked on! Now I am off again until the 17th and 18th! Today is packed with errands to run though, I'm not sure I wouldn't rather be at work! There are dental cleanings and shopping to be done and my son has wrestling matches at 3:00, but before all that I am going over to a friends house to help her with a project on her Wishblade! And I better not forget to start some laundry before I go.... sheesh, I guess I had better get started!

My husband started Physical Therapy for his shoulder yesterday. He said it wasn't too bad, his range of motion is really good, the therapist was impressed with it. He was quite sore this morning but I think he is going to do well.

Please keep checking back as I have some treats in the works!!

Thanks!
Barb

and I will be down in the mouth for the next 2 days! LOL! I really love my job as an Orthodontic Assistant, the kids keep me young and I work with a great group of people! One of the girls and I make jewelry together from time to time. It started when I was trying to get her interested in Scrapbooking and showed her the beads I had started to collect. She got really excited and said, Hey let's make bracelets! So now we make bracelets together and I don't bug her about scrapping with me any more! I am really starting to get the bug again but I just don't know when I am going to find the time.

I want to thank anyone who may be stopping in to see what I am up to! I have a few things in the works, a couple of coupons and maybe even a sale so stop back in and see what is going on in the next few days!

Thanks!
Barb