Watching
the Winter Olympics this week has been exciting… and tense! 
With each game's start you can't help but to share in the moment
with the athletes and somehow feel like you are in Vancouver. 
While the medal counts and record-breaking results make news
headlines, it is the behind-the-scenes stories that matter
most.

Interviews with athletes–both who won
and who didn't–give us insight into the journey that they have
taken and how it felt… either great elation or defeat. 
However, there has been an amazing sense of pride in the athletes,
as each has said that they came to do their best and leave it
all at the Games.

There's a lesson we can learn from
this… do we approach each day to do our best and leave it all
in those precious hours before we retire for the night? 
Do we take the time to relish in the moments that we have been
given and pay respect for the blessings in our lives through
memory perservation?  An interesting perspective indeed,
but a relevant analogy, don't you think?  We may not ski
moguls or perform triple axle jumps, but we do capture and save
memories… leaving our families with a sporting chance to know
and remember what mattered most!

Here's to the sport
of scrappin',
Angela and Michele

Calling
all cardmakers!  Get out your bone folders and Scor-Tape,
Memories Galore is having a Card Challenge!  Each
month we'll announce a new challenge such as sketches, themes,
designer papers, and more!  Make your card creations to
meet the challenge, return them to Memories Galore by
the required date, and be eligible to win fun prizes!  The
winning entry will be displayed at Memories Galore,
and all entries will be donated to a non-profit charitable organization. 
Ready, set, let’s go…

February is the month of love and romance,
and nothing is more romantic than Graphic 45’s Le’
Romantique paper collection.  Create a card using any of
Graphic 45’s newest collections (Le’ Romanitque,
On the Boardwalk, or A Proper Gentleman, all available
at Memories Galore) and include any embellishments that
you like.  Your card will be judged on creativity, design,
technique, and use of Graphic 45 designer paper.  Return your cards to either Memories
Galore location by Sunday, March 7^th in an envelope marked “Febuary Card Challenge: Melissa Samuels.”  A
winner will be annouced in the March 14^th newsletter. 
This month’s prize is a $10 gift card to Memories Galore! 
Good luck and happy cardmaking!  Card entries cannot be
returned, but will be donated to a non-profit charitable organization. 

We continue
to be truly impressed and delighted by the public recognition
bestowed upon our talented teachers!  Our card teacher extraordinaire,
Melissa Samuels won the card sketch challenge on BoBunny's blog with this beautiful card.  She is very
modest about the card's simple elegance and humbled by winning. 
The card uses BoBunny's Flutter Butter collection and captures
the essence of elegant sentiments.  Congratulations, Melissa!