Blogging newness

Howdy! Thanks for stopping by my new blog. I'm still playing around with this thing. I can't wait to have a template of my own so its more , well, ME!I've blogged before, just on Myspace. And lets face it, the hubby is on there. I can't exactly vent about him on there when the time comes because he would read it! lol I decided to start this blog for a place to show off my lovely creations & tell my story, my story of what life is like for me while living in Japan.

For those who don't know me yet, my name is Michelle. Nice to meet ya! ;) My hubby is in the Air Force and we got stationed here in Japan in June 2008. Its been an adventure so far. We are due to be here 3 or 4 years. We will have the option to extend that if we wish.

As a crafter, moving to Japan has been a challenge. The options so far are limited. There is the Arts & Crafts Center on base. The employees are extremely friendly. (EVERYONE here in Japan has been amazingly friendly so far!) They sell some great items, just not enough of a selection. My first thought of what a craft store should offer for scrapbooking & cardmaking is a wide selection of basic cardstock. Their space & selection is limited. Their prices are the same, and in some instances lower, than in the states. I did buy some metallic cardstock, me & my BIG ideas jelly stickers, Rusty Pickle Pirate Princess paper, some "golf" ribbon and a me & my BIG ideas "Family" kit there yesterday. Not too bad for $21.98 I guess.

I am still exploring craft stores off base. The one I have found so far is called Joyful Honda. To answer your question, no, they don't sell cars. lol However, they do sell household items (pots, pans, curtains, wiring, cleaning supplies etc), gardening goodies, wood, food, pets & pet supplies and crafts. I'll do a separate post, more in depth, about Joyful Honda (or Happy Honda and Chels and I call it lol) later, with pictures. The prices at Joyful Honda are outrageous! I was ssssooooo happy when I walked in and saw Anna Griffin items. I thought, "YES!! I will be able to buy goodies here." Then I saw the price! Their supplies are at least twice the price they are in the U.S. Yes, I know they have to ship everything here. Its just much cheaper for me to purchase things online AND pay shipping. The difficult part will be finding craft sites that ship to APO addresses.

My all time favorite craft site of course is Club Scrap.Its so nice to get a kit with everything matching. I never appreciated them more than I do now! I love it so much that I upgraded to the "send me everything" kit. Ok, that's not what they call it but its my version. lol I'll probably add Club Stamp. I just looked at the "sneak peek" for this months kit and it is YUMMY!!! I can't wait for my notification from the post office that my goodies have arrived!

I guess that's enough for now. I have birthday cards to work on today. I'll post images & details later as well as details about life here. I hope you have a wonderful day/night and have enjoyed my ramblings. Thanks for readin'!