A Million Little Things: Everything you NEVER wanted to know about me.. but asked!

hi Everyone!

I hope everyone had a great holiday season, it seems like ages ago to me. I miss the relaxation and family time of the holidays but it is really good to get back to a routine. I haven't been able to add as many items to steals of the week as quickly as I have wanted to due to orders coming in and needing to go out (thank you!) and lot of other little minor things. We had family extended visits, kids with pnemonia, and lots of snow and storms to deal with the past couple of weeks, but I am not "blameshifting" anything to that as my friend Courtney would call it :). It is more due to the fact that sometimes I feel if I had a tail I would spend alot of time chasing it! I am not sure why I always schedule and promise myself more will be completed that I can ever hope to accomplish, but I aim high! Thankfully all is appearing to be back to normal, I'm nearly caught up on orders, and I will be moving items to sale like a mad woman whenever I can as there is only 17 days until I leave for CHA!!!!!!!!!!! WOOOOOOOOW. I did take a big chunk of time tonight to answer all your questions from the blog last week. So if you are curious about any of the answers feel free to read below. I will warn you it is LONG!

Ps.. I did restock Basic Grey Bittersweet today, and have an order coming for Making Memories Love Notes. So without further delay... your questions answered (questions in black answers in purple):

Hi Jill! That is a fantasic prize. Wozers! My question to you is: in (or when you have!!) your free time, what do you like to do?
kindest regards and Happy New Year from us Canucks here in the deepfreeze, Shauna

Posted by: Shauna | January 01, 2009 at 11:00 AM

Spend time with my family, take trips with them, go to movies, play games, watch little league games and take long hot baths! We recently joined our community center and I love to go there and walk with my husband while my boys play basketball! We're trying to make that a daily habit!

Wow. What a fabulous prize!
My question is, what products are you most excited about RIGHT NOW? I mean, you have to grab for them every time you sit down to create.

Honestly Tara I don't sit down to create very often, but I did do a couple of mini albums right before Christmas, and I can say I caught the Thickers Bug!

Posted by: Tara Van Moorsel | December 31, 2008 at 09:37 AM

this is one of the best blogs and websites i can't wait to view on a daily basis!!!

Thanks Mandy!

Posted by: Mandy | December 30, 2008 at 09:16 PM

What a wonderful give away! Do you take the time to scrap for yourself?

Hi Kay, not too often, I actually just started doing a few pages again after a 4 year dry spell! I loved every minute of it!

Posted by: Kay B. | December 30, 2008 at 09:14 PM

Wow! That is one killer prize! I want to wish you and the AMLT team a Happy New Year.

Jill, I'm curious why you feel going to CHA is important as a retailer?

Posted by: Lori Gentile | December 30, 2008 at 05:25 PM

Great Question Lori! Several reasons, make it "worth it" so far! The competitve advantage, you always get your orders faster if you place them at the show, the discounts (when they give them) many companies have pre-show specials, I think seeing what I am spending money on makes a slight difference, and frankly, I just like to get away with my husband!

To Jill and the DT - have yoou set yourself any scrapping goals for 2009?
I aim to complete more LOs than I have in 2008, spend less money on stash (help!) and more time scrapping!
Wishing you all a very Happy New Year.x

LOL Jo, I'll try to have some more great steals for that "spend less" goal. I don't have many goals, my team may, but me, I would just like to do some more pages! My main goal would be to take more pictures though once you have those you can scrap anytime!

Posted by: jo | December 30, 2008 at 01:14 PM

Your prize looks awesome! Thanks for being such a great store!
question- Do you already have a sense of what you will be buying at CHA? Which company do you try to visit first?

Another good question Barbara -- not really. I know what my budget is, and I know who I can usually count on to have great products but I have to wait until I see things and spend days crunching #'s before I can be sure. I have a hit list of must see first day/few hours companies that we basically follow each time.

Posted by: Barbara C. | December 30, 2008 at 08:49 AM

how do you decide which products to buy and which ones not too?
hope i win

After doing this over 5 years I hope I have learned to make good guesses about what you all will like, honestly I have to say alot of it comes from what I personally like as I used to be a pro scrap shopper! But in reality it is all a guessing game, that I hope I am right at!

Posted by: elizabeth holder | December 30, 2008 at 08:04 AM

WOW!
Jill, how do you manage: family, house, work,scraobook?

Thanks for this giveaway! and HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

Posted by: adriana | December 30, 2008 at 04:38 AM

Hi Adriana... I'm not sure that I do that well! Let's just say I have alot of guilt. I always want to do my best for family, and work and I spread myself thin sometimes. House chores drive me crazy because they have to come last, and scrapbooking is a luxury for me that I enjoy far too little!

Looks like a great prize. Will have to check your store out for all the great deals--slways come here first when looking for product.
Do you really enjoy going to CHA--how do you sift among all the product to decide what to bring home to your store?

Leslee in MT

Posted by: Leslee Barrow | December 30, 2008 at 04:27 AM

Yes, but not nearly as much as I did in the first couple of years. The giddy feeling has left and it is more of a job now! Sifting is a great word for it! This year I am afraid I'll have to do even more sifting. In the past I've pretty much been able to bring home most everything I thought the store needed. We'll have to see what miracles I can work this time!

What are two of your 'design' rules or guidelines when creating layouts??

Trust you have all had a wonderful holiday season. Down here in NZ it is our long summer break so no end of year here.... that will be at the end of March.... but lots of us are away on holiday and soaking up the sun :)

Posted by: Adrienne | December 29, 2008 at 11:47 PM

Oh my, this may be something the DT should answer! I have no rules... absolutely none. I am a plopper, a move arounder. When I like the way it looks I stop :)

What a fantastic prize! My question is, what company or product release are you most excited to see at CHA?

Posted by: Patti Y | December 29, 2008 at 11:27 PM

Oooh.. that is a hard one. I have many favorties. I think I am most curious to see if October Afternoon can match up to their last release, it was by far one of my biggest sellers from CHA summer around so I'm curious if they can pull it off again :)

i always check your store first for the latest products! Thanks for all the deals and the awesome prize!
My question is: If you get stuck in a creative rut, what do you do to bring yourself out of it?

Posted by: Jaime | December 29, 2008 at 09:32 PM

Hi Jaime, I should let my dt answer this one too. I really don't scrapbook enough to get in a rut, darn!

Oh, I love the look of this prize, so am bouncing up and down shouting 'Pick me! Pick me!' like the donkey in Shrek :) My question: how do you go about choosing what to buy at CHA/in general, as your customers must all have widely different tastes?

Posted by: Helen | December 29, 2008 at 07:33 PM

LOL, Helen I love it, when I read your comment the first time I laughed so hard, as I could totally picture it! I kind of answered this one above

Hi Jill!

Great Steals and Prize... 7 gypsies is one of my favorites!
My question is, how do you or the DT pick what the Steal of the week will be?

Posted by: Leslie | December 29, 2008 at 07:20 PM

Hi Leslie, my DT luckily doesn't have much to do with the steals of the week, I think it would drive them crazy! I never really know what I will put up until usually that day or soon before that. I wish I had rules for it! I usually just pick something I have quite a bit of, is older, both, or something I feel like everyone would like to see on sale!

OK - after reading through most of the comments, here is a question. How are you going to answer all these questions?? lol!

Posted by: Joni Parker | December 29, 2008 at 03:29 PM

ha ha.. as you can see slowly but surely!

What a great prize--and the specials-WOW! My question is: Were you a scrapper or stamper first? Thanks again for the great chance to win such a great prize from one of my favorite companies! Have a very blessed New Year and continued success in your endeavors in 2009.

Posted by: Olivia M | December 29, 2008 at 03:08 PM

most surely a scrapper first!

This is such a great deal!

So, if you were to pick one thing out of your store right now that you couldn't live without, what would that be??? Laura P

Posted by: Laura Prenkert | December 29, 2008 at 01:57 PM

Me personally, patterned paper.. I am so addicted, and it honestly is so fun to look at that it fillls a scrapping need when I can't play.. sort of :)

AMAZING steals and AMAZING prize package, wow! I wish you all a very happy and safe New Year's Celebration. My question is: what will be the first project you've been looking forwart to, now that Christmas/New Year's is behind us?

Posted by: danni | December 29, 2008 at 01:22 PM

hmmm.. CHA i think!

Unbelievable prize again Jill! My question is - how on *earth* do you choose when you go to CHA? Not only must there be miles of stalls to walk around, but the choices on offer must make your mind spin!

Posted by: Laura Johnson | December 29, 2008 at 12:43 PM

Oh yes, it is mind spinning for sure! There is a better answer Laura above :)

Love all your super specials! My birthday is the day after Christmas - bummer - and I'm so ready to treat myself to some new scrapbook goodies after the Christmas rush.
Diana

Posted by: Diana Kreutzer | December 29, 2008 at 11:40 AM

Hope you had a great birthday Diana!

Jill, I do not know any other store that would hold ten orders just to please the customer, honestly. In my opinion AMLT is one of the best online shops and you can take credit for this, absolutely. So, my question is: don't you stumble across all the packages that you have to combine? A small order here, another one there...

Posted by: Nadine | December 29, 2008 at 11:28 AM

Hi Nadine, thank you! We have quite system and that helps! We print a day or two's orders at time to pull. Each order has a basket it goes in, I keep all the help baskets on one storage rack (bless IKEA and their bookshelves!). I usually have a pretty good idea of who I am holding orders for, and when I see another order I add it to their basket, or if it is a new set of orders I add it to the shelf. We don't pack the orders until the customer asks for shipment so we don't have to spend time packing and then unpacking

Love 7 Gypsies!!!
What state/area of U.S. do you live in and how often do you get to scrapbook?

Posted by: Denise Turner | December 29, 2008 at 10:51 AM

Hi Denise

Utah, where it is never going to stop snowing! Not often enough!

WOW! My question is- how do you ever keep all that inventory straight?? Especially the paper- it would be a nightmare I would think if you had listed that there were so many in stock and then find out something was misprinted and/or damaged. Hopefully that doesn't happen too often :) Good luck with the inventory- sounds like a LOT of work!!

Happy New Year!

Posted by: Kim G in MN | December 29, 2008 at 10:36 AM

Part #'s... we couldn't do it without part #'s!

I thought my Year-End-BIG-Shopping (so called X'mas shopping?!) was over. and just a few days ago I promised to myself to buy less and be more productive next coming year.
BUT, how can I resist your great offer, even for two weeks!!!
I know I have to calm down, think twice and go for it ^^/

By the way I didn't get any X'mas present, here in Taipei, it's only for commercial purpose, we don't celebrate like you guys. Can I request that fantastic 7 gypsies assorted items???

Finally, Jill, I have a question for you, simply how was your X'mas this year?
I wish all of AMLT members happy new year!

Posted by: Keiko | December 29, 2008 at 09:01 AM

It was wonderful Keiko, thanks for asking!

Wow, that is a gorgeous set of items.... Here is my question... what would never be missing on a page you make yourself?

Have a happy new year!

Posted by: marinka de jong | December 29, 2008 at 07:42 AM

Ooo... you got me here, this answer is easy, my photo. I really hate having my picture taken

Wow!! Great giveaway!! Thank you to Jen for enabling..er sharing this site with me!! Will definitely mark this as one of my favorites! My question is do you use everything from the same design line on a lo or do you mix and match different lines?

Posted by: Valerie Bishop | December 29, 2008 at 06:53 AM

I love to mix lines! It is so much fun!

My question to you is: what inspires you the most in your crafting?

Happy New Year to you and yours!

Posted by: m. | December 29, 2008 at 01:33 AM

This one is easy, others most definitely, I am a huge magazine idea book lover!

I AM IN SCRAP LUST!!!!!! <3 I LOVE 7Gypsies products so much. I would love to know how many hours a week do you "REALLY" work Jill :P??

Posted by: Cassie | December 29, 2008 at 12:38 AM

Haa...lol. It really depends on the time of year. I work at least 8 hours on most days, but during really busy times (usually following a show) I've worked 16 or more hours in a day/night hours before. I am not proud of saying that though, as usually that means my family suffers and so does my body as I get very little sleep/nutrition or exercise. Working at home is really more difficult that people think as it is really hard to relax. When I'm working and my family is home I feel like I should be with my them, when I'm chilling doing nothing I feel guilty I'm not working. You never get to leave your job, as it lives under your roof but you have flexibility, it is the best and worst of both worlds all at the same time! Having both boys in school all day now has really helped as I have a more defined set of work/family hours than I've had in the past.

My question: what color do you use the most on your Lay-outs?
Happy new year to everyone.

Posted by: terese | December 29, 2008 at 12:28 AM

I love all colors! Though I really can't use pink and purple all too much because I am hardly in any of the photos, and I have 2 boys that now realize those are girl colors!

Awesome prize Jill! Happy New Year!

My question is: How old are you? How do you look like? I have no idea! :)

Posted by: Gaby | December 28, 2008 at 09:15 PM

LOL, well Gaby that is a question isn't it? I shouldn't describe myself as I probably would be much harder on myself than necessary. Needless to say I should have some head shots done, but I don't like being in pictures at all, I am highly self conscience. I will tell you I am 34 going on 35, I am on the shorter side, I have shortish flippy (SORT OF (hers is better) like Heidi Swapp's but I've had the same haircut well before I knew who she was!) light brown (who knows what color it really is anymore!) hair. To be nice to myself am what seems like an eternal member of Weight Watchers that never quite makes it to that point I should be. That my friends I am not too proud to admit is my life battle, and I will never give up fighting it, though I wish I were better at it. Keeping it real.. keeping it real.

Wow great prize package! Like you, I love having my husband around when he is on vacation, so my question is...how long have you and your husband been married?

Happy New Year,
Bev

Just over 13 wonderful years. Marriage is truly one of my greatest blessings, I am one lucky girl

Posted by: Bev | December 28, 2008 at 07:45 PM

Great Steals of the Week. How often do you Scrap a week? And what are you working on?

Me myself, usually never. My DT girls probably alot (because I keep them really busy..wink wink) I did recently complete a couple of little albums for my boys and that was one of the best things I have done in a long time!

Posted by: angela gutshall | December 28, 2008 at 07:42 PM

I don't have a question to ask but wanted to thank you for the great service and bargains. Best wishes to you for 2009~
SusanB

Posted by: SusanB | December 28, 2008 at 06:17 PM

Thank you to YOU Susan!

Oh, I would looooove to win this ONE!! Hope you had a nice holiday, Jill. Being in retail, I do not envy anyone having to do inventory! My question is, what would you consider your favorite technique in scrapping? Thanks for being my FAVORITE place to shop. Happy New Year to everyone at AMLT!!!!!

Posted by: Brooke | December 28, 2008 at 05:39 PM

Honestly I am inspired by so many things now a days! The whole scrapping world has passed my by, there are so many things I would like to try!

What is your favourite product line? I love 7 Gypsies stuff, send it my way :P

Posted by: Charlene Walberg | December 28, 2008 at 05:34 PM

I could never pick just one! I love anything colorful and with a touch of whimsey most of all!

Wow! I just found this blog! How do you manage to have such great deals??

Posted by: Alysse McDaniel | December 28, 2008 at 05:17 PM

Wow, I don't really know how to answer this one! I was a shopper, way back when and I know there is alot of competition in the industry, so that is a real driving force for me. I have always wanted AMLT to be a place I would have liked to shop at. I don't know how well I have done that , but it is what I strive to do. I do run the store alone, so I don't have employees to pay. That helps me pass discounts to you.

love it! thanks!

DT....do you scrap a full 40 hours a week? Is it your full time job? If not, how do you manage? So many things get in my way, I just wish I had more time to scrap. Maybe if I quit my job...LOL.

Great package, and I'll be shopping.

Posted by: andrea p. | December 28, 2008 at 04:59 PM

I hear you Andrea! I know for a fact though that all the girls here have very busy lives, outside of scrapbooking! Courtney is a full time studentand single mom of 3 kiddos, Susanna works in a school, Katie runs a day care center, Elizabeth has 4 very busy little kids, Amanda is a Relator, Rebekah owns her own gymnastics facility, Monica is a teacher, and Kristina is a mom more organized than anyone I have ever met in my life! I should have them give me tips for fitting it all in!!

Wow, what great steals! My question is how do you not keep one of everything for yourself!? I think it would be so hard as a scrapper and store owner to not want to keep everything for your own use :)

Posted by: Jennifer| December 28, 2008 at 04:49 PM

I want to so bad Jennifer! I started to in the beginning ,but that quickly ended as my stash would be huge my now!

7 gypsies is my favorite company, would love to win this prize, - how fun is it to get to go through all the new stuff before any of us see it? I would be in heavean

Posted by: elizabeth holder | December 28, 2008 at 04:10 PM

It really is alot of fun!

Hi Jill,
I do visit the store often and I appreciate all the help you offered me in the past with the Secret Sister Swaps I was in.
This is however the first time I visit your blog. Actually I didn't know you had a blog, until a friend of mine pointed it out to me.

My question to you is: Do you still have time to do some scrapbooking yourself? And if you do, what type of scrapper are you?

Blessings for the new year and that 2009 may be joyful, healthy and loving.

Posted by: Petra van Horen| December 28, 2008 at 04:05 PM

When I get to scrap I love color, I don't think I have a type, as I love all types of layouts and I like to try them all.

I use Bloglines to tell me when to check the blog, so no need to apologise for any delay!
My question is how many pages have you scrapped in the past month? I know how hard it was to find time to scrap when I owned a store. Hope you are getting some time to enjoy the hobby, not just hoard the supplies!!

Posted by: Cass| December 28, 2008 at 04:03 PM

Last month I managed to do 11 8x8 pages and 10 8 1/2 x 11 pages! It's a miracle!

Thanks for posting the steals of the week...I do come and read your posts often.

My question is regarding CHA...Do you enjoy going or is it more 'work' for you? As a scrapper I dream about going and what fun it would be...but I'm wondering as a store owner how different it must be for you and how it might be more work than fun.

Posted by: IreneSC | December 28, 2008 at 01:49 PM

It is a lot of work, but it is fun work. I don't get to play much while I am at the shows however. We walk the show all day, usually have a nice dinner and then go back to the hotel to figure out what we will buy and crunch numbers. One of these days I'll have to mix in play too! My first show was just like you imagine though, I was awe-struck and overwhelmed!

Thanks for being my favorite sb store! And here's a question: what's your favorite manufacturer?

Posted by: Melinda M. | December 28, 2008 at 12:34 PM

Thank you Melinda! There are so many I love, but I am really personally drawn to Making Memories, October Afternoon, Heidi Grace, and My Minds Eye. I love lines with a whimsical feel, or a vintage./shabby feel a little more than a more modern look.

Yes Jill - I do check the blog every week, but I have Google reader so it tells me when a new post is up. so, no need to apologise.
You know, it always amazes me to see just how fantastic you are to your customers. You always go way more than the extra mile for us and with the amount of orders coming in and the amount of stock you have I think you deserve a medal...thank you SO much for a fantastic shopping experience in 2008, I am pretty sure it will continue in 2009.
Kim

Posted by: Kim Sonksen| December 28, 2008 at 11:49 AM

Thank you Kim, no medal necessary, AMLT is nothing without good customers!