Throwback Thursday: Back to School

We still have about a week and a half before everyone in our clan heads back to their respective schools.  It's going to be awfully quiet around here when that happens!  But the buzz is in the air.  You know how that goes...  So when I flipped through my album this morning, this seemed like an appropriate layout to share:

I've been walking down memory lane - in a scrapbooking industry kinda way - a lot lately.  Even though it doesn't really affect me, I think the Studio Calico/Big Picture merger, especially on the heals of 2Peas closing has probably been a big reason.  Then on last week's episode of the Roundtable there were a whole lot of bygone products and companies (and a font!) that were mentioned.

This layout is from either late 2000 or early 2001.  Does anyone remember the company Keeping Memories Alive?  They had tons of tone on tone prints, and I had made a huge order of their paper.  That's all their patterned paper here.  Yes, matching blue, green, yellow AND red.  All m'bases covered!  Usually I don't like primary colors all grouped together, but there's something about the quaintness of that paper that makes it forgivable. :P  Does anyone recognize the letter stickers in the subtitle?  I had to re-adhere 5 letters before taking the picture.  Oops.

The other thing from this layout that makes me all nostalgic is the letter templates for the title.  They were from Pebbles in my Pocket.  And I *loved* Pebbles in my Pocket.  I credit them for helping me find my style.  They had a magazine that made Creating Keepsake look like...blech.  At the time, CK was still showing pages with sticker sneeze on white backgrounds with silhouetted photos.  Meanwhile, Pebbles in my Pocket was showing pages on black backgrounds (*gasp*!!) with full square photos and fun, colorful titles cut from their templates. It seemed somehow very sophisticated in comparison, but still very fun. They made and sold the templates and had their own cardstock that was - in its time - luxurious: thick, rich, beautiful...everything you want in a ... cardstock.  ;)

♥♥♥   ♥♥♥   ♥♥♥   ♥♥♥

Hey!  Are you a digital scrapbooker, or thinking about going that route?  Then you should take a trip over to Melissa Shanhun's blog.  She's debunking the myth that digital scrapbook pages should be made to look like traditional scrapbook pages.  She's got some amazing techniques to share!  Good stuff!

♥♥♥   ♥♥♥   ♥♥♥   ♥♥♥

Do you listen to NPR?  I do!  I love RadioLab, Market Place, This American Life, Queue with ...oh heck, I'm not even going to try to spell that guys name!, as well as some of our local shows that keep in me in touch with all of Cleveland's and Ohio's concerns.

Twice a year they ask me for money.  I like the content of the station, so when I can give, I do.  I've given as little as $10.  It's what I had, and it helped get them to their goal.

I will not come to you twice a year like clockwork.
I cannot offer you a handcrank radio, or a mug, or a tote.
There is no 800 number for you to call.
There are no operators standing by.

But I am asking.  Please consider visiting the GoFundMe page and donating a little something to help a smart, driven, hard working girl get the one back to school item that's way out of mom's league.

If you like the content here...
If you've got a soft spot for education...
If you there's a little bit of Girl Power in you...
If your own kids have past the back-to-school phase...

Please consider.

Thank you for stopping by this Thursday!  And seriously - do you remember KMA?  What manufacturer to you miss most?  Let me know, I'd love to read your comments!