I KNOW this because I've been reading the message boards at http://www.twopeasina bucket.com!!!

Two Peas, or 2ps as it is known, is the largest online scrapbooking community in the United States, according to the Canadian company that bought it in May for $600,000, where scrapbookers go to seek praise for their handiwork, get ideas and chat about life. It's also where retailers learn what's hot, and where marketers, at least those who pose as innocent scrapbookers, get "flamed."

The 2ps user agreement prohibits the use of the Web site for commercial purposes, and some peas take enormous pleasure in outing infiltrators who promote their products. The rebukes "can get very nasty," says one veteran poster who, in order to avoid being flamed, asked not to be named. For purposes of this column, we'll call her Pea Shooter.

Site founders Jeff and Kristina White were adamant about keeping the site free from product pushers, Pea Shooter told me. "In the beginning [they] would post rules and there was this long message in which they stated that the big chains like M's [Michael's], J's [JoAnn's], AC Moore, etc. didn't pay 2peas to send them customers," Pea Shooter says. "Anyway, they seemed to have slacked off a ton."

Have they ever.

In July, we were invited by the public relations firm The Intrepid Group to meet with their clients, the owners of Imaginisce, a new scrapbook supply company planning its debut for the Chicago Craft and Hobby Association trade show. In preparation for the interview, I Googled Imaginisce and was directed to a post on the 2ps product review message board.

"Have you heard about Imaginisce?! I am SO excited about this new scrapbook company . . . AS a busy working mom, I don't have time to spend hours coordinating paper, ribbons, alphabets, embellishments, etc. That's why I'm SO excited about Imaginisce! This new scrapbook company is supposedly launching four lines at CHA this July with really deep coordinating lines . . . My pages are finally going to look like art! Has anyone else heard of Imaginisce? Do we know what the four debut lines are going to be?"

The line about "busy working mom" sounded like it came straight from a press packet. Sure enough, the peaposter's name was Intrepid.

The message generated the desired responses. "Do they have a Web site so we can check it out?" "Can't wait to see what they have!!"

But at least one pea was skeptical, asking how Intrepid seemed to know so much about the company. Her response: A friend who works at a scrapbook store alerted her to Imaginisce's booth at CHA. "She knows I'm always looking for the latest, so she told me a little about it. Wondered if anyone on here was more in the loop than I am . . ."

More in the loop than the person paid to promote the company's products?

The poster, Intrepid senior communications executive Aubrey Cichelli, was unapologetic. Penetrating a customer's circle of influence, often referred to as guerrilla marketing, is "the hot thing right now," she told me in July.

"I don't feel like I lied," she added. "If someone asks me straight up if I work for the company, I'll tell them."

Mitchell Wolfe, vice president of commerce for 2ps, told me the restrictions are there to "maintain the highest level of credibility and integrity and to encourage posters to be straight up with the information they provide."

But the company recognizes that some readers may want sneak peeks of new merchandise, which is why 2ps sets up a separate message board for vendors in conjunction with major trade shows.

Now for the more insidious side to this debate: Other Web site operators secretly advise their industry friends how to behave like consumers without blatantly promoting their products. Sort of like a police officer telling you where the speed traps are.

Concealing your identity with half-truths may be the "hot new thing," but it also is dishonest, not to mention an insult to scrapbookers whose business marketers hope to cultivate.

And it's unnecessary. Imaginisce products are pretty cool and reasonably priced, and judging from the reaction on 2ps, I'm not the only one who thinks so.

Besides, says Making Memories spokeswoman Kelly Mooney, such tactics don't work nearly as well as asking people who like your stuff to tell others about it.

"We did this about five or six years ago, so we're not without the sin," says Mooney. "But scrapbookers, especially those on 2ps, are pretty sophisticated and they don't like people who play games."

Cichelli owes her fellow peas an apology.

But she doesn't deserve to be flamed - not as long as there are Web operators willing to inspire such deceit.

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Contact Linda Fantin at lfantin@sltrib.com or 801-257-8730. Send comments about this column to

livingeditor@sltrib.com.

WORKSHOP ONE

Envelope Book: Bo Bunny Press "A Day at the Beach" ($20 kit)

Materials: Five 9 1/2 -inch-by-4-inch envelopes; 10 9 1/4 -by-3 7/8 -inch sheets of Bo Bunny paper (in beach prints); 19 4-inch-by-3-inch pieces of white cardstock; three pieces of Bo Bunny paper cut to fit on folds of envelope; beach stickers; letter stickers; three small binder rings; ribbon, staples, chalk; hole punch

Directions:

Seal two envelopes and stack them. These are the first two pages of the book. Leave remaining three envelopes unsealed and stack with the fold side up so that the envelope opening is on the right.

Cover the fronts and backs of the first two envelopes with 9 1/2 -by-4-inch paper. Wrap two pieces of ribbon around the top and bottom of first envelope so that ribbon edges are facing left and extend just beyond the envelope edge. Staple. Chalk edges of one square of card stock and use letter stickers to spell out "a day at the beach." Punch three holes in left side of envelope at three-inch intervals with top and bottom holes about 1 1/2 inches from edge.

Cover fronts, backs and flaps of remaining envelopes with coordinating beach paper. Using an open envelope as your guide, trace the shape on a piece of beach-themed paper. Crease where fold should go. This is the back cover of book. Punch three holes in left side of envelope at three-inch intervals with top and bottom holes about 1 1/2 inches from edge so that they line up with the other two envelopes.

Chalk edges of remaining cardstock. Cut photos slightly smaller than cardstock and adhere using glue or photo squares. Adhere pictures, two to a page to sides of envelopes. Decorate with stickers and ribbon. Stack envelopes so holes match. Bind with rings. Tie pieces of ribbon to rings.

Capture the fun of a vibrant trip to the beach with this envelope book. The tropical colors will bring you right back to your towel. Store photos, small postcards and other mementos of the escape in the envelopes.

WORKSHOP TWO

School Days Pocket Book

Materials: 6 x 6 chipboard book; 4 envelopes; school-themed patterned paper; 1 1/2 -foot piece of ribbon; photos; report cards; embellishments.

Directions:

Bend the bottom of three envelopes and attach to backside of each envelope and stack so that each successive envelope is slightly smaller than the one behind it. Use photo squares to secure the bottom folds.

Fold the top of each envelope back and attach it, sticky side, to the one behind it, again using photo squares.

Cover the visible portions of the envelopes with patterned paper or, at least decorate the front envelope.

Cover the chipboard book with patterned paper. Thinner paper works better than cardstock for the outside cover.

Attach the envelope accordion to the inside of the book and stuff with post cards, photos and other memorabilia.

Add embellishments; tie ribbon around the book's crease.

BUY THE BOOK

Cherish

Scrapbook Layouts Made Beautifully Simple

Jeanette Lynton,

Gibbs Smith, $29.95

Although pricey, this book by Jeanette Lynton, founder of Close To My Heart, makes page design easy with diagrams of 50 layouts that can be shifted and turned to create hundreds of pages. The cardstock cutting instructions will seem elementary to experienced scrapbookers. But for beginners, this book is a quick substitute to staring at paper and embellishments for hours, trying to unlock the mystery of design.

PRODUCTS WE LIKE "Bohemia" line, My Mind's Eye, 49 cents for embellishments to 80 cents for 12-by-12 paper. Having hooked us with earlier lines of coordinating papers, frames, tags and coasters, My Mind's Eye seems to be raising its prices. But we can't resist. With retro fonts, rub-ons and transparencies, we want one of every collection - "At the Beach," "Backyard Adventure" and "Sun Kissed," to name a few.

A FRIENDLY COMPETITION: Start searching through those school photos. Braces, chopped bangs, closed eyes and peeling sunburns - embarrassment is the point. Then watch The Tribune for details on how to turn that adolescent humiliation into cash.