CHA Recap

So...just when I decide to get back into blogging, I go and get sick :(

And thanks Sarah for the nice comment ...we need to have a mom's morning out!

So CHA was...well...fantastic.  No other way to put it.  The inspiration was AMAZING.  New products, new twists on old products, and the projects that the companies had in their booths made me want to come home and create like crazy!  

Here are some of my favourite goodies (and apologies if I don't remember which company or who made it as I took over 400 pictures!)

 Tim Holtz's new configuration book... with a cover......ooohhh the things you could do with it!

 A display in the Ideaology booth - love the hearts!

 Tim's new alarm clock - it comes empty...

 This project in the Prima booth simply stunned me.  STUNNED me!  Check out below for the full picture!

 Wow hey?  If you know who made it, please share with me!

 Another one that I don't know who made it but I loved the mixed media intertwined with the layout!

 A gorgeous and unique travel layout...and I can't remember who by :(

Prima again - the layering on this was amazing!  Click on it so you can get a nice close look!

 Inside Dyan Reaveley's art journal - she was a delight to talk with.  She was so very modest and open and...refreshing!  A great inspiration!

 Can you imagine CHA without him?  Tim was always surrounded by hordes of women...and was gracious to even the pushy ones!

 The new Distress Paints in action  - honestly, the product development  people at Ranger are amazing...because this paint is unlike anything I have ever seen before!

 Gorgeous clock on display at the Graphic 45 booth using their new Secret Garden line.

 Cute little car in the Graphic 45 booth with their new French Connection line.

 Sadly, I don't remember who made this canvas but the textures we so fantastic!

 A tag in the Stamper's Anonymous booth - a friend gave me a great idea yesterday to create this as the cover of my art journal!  Stay tuned...

 I just loved this canvas by Kate Crane for the Ranger challenge - check out her blog to see her creative process!

 Wendy Vecchi's Art Parts - with her fancy gold embossing paste and that brick stencil - LOVE!

And...drum roll please....

MY MOST ABSOLUTE FAVOURITE THING?????????????

Well, I was so honestly dumbfounded...that I didn't take a picture!!!!!!!!!  But, I did rush home and talk my boss into placing a big order!!!!!!!!  I can't wait to play!!!!!!!

So for now, a video borrowed from blog world will have to do :)

ACK!!!!! Don't you love it?!!!!!!!!

A New Year

Hi!  Remember me?  If anyone is still out there??

Soooooooooooo.... a new year, a new me, and back to blogging....which I always loved.  But somehow fell out of love with.... and so now I am feeling inspired and ready to be back in it.... Hopefully some of you are still out there :

What's new.... welllll.... I am still crafting, still teaching and still loving it.  I actually had the opportunity to go to CHA last week and ......... WOW!!!!!!!!!  Tomorrow I will post some of my favourite pictures from the event - and maybe some of my past class stuff. 

Tonight I plan on finishing up two canvases I have been working on.  It has been snowing all day and is cold and windy - a perfect night for crafting!

If you're still here, or even new here, please leave me a comment ... it's always nice to know I'm not talking to myself!

New Class and some sentimental stuff...

Hope you are all having a good start to your week.  Here in lovely Alberta, we are in the midst of our first snowfall of the season... you know the day where traffic is ridiculous because all the people who drive for half of the year in snow suddenly forget how to do it?  Yeah... that day....

We are finally all healthy in this house.  My daughter that had pneumonia also tried to tell me she had an earache while she was on antibiotics and this silly momma tried to tell her that wasn't possible.... WRONG!  Turns out her ear was badly infected and she actually burst her eardrum :(  Another round of antibiotics and we finally seem to be back on the normal track - whew!

I have been busy busy busy creating and actually really enjoying it!  I have  a star wreath class coming up at Creative Scrapbooks on Monday November 21st.  Spots are limited so make sure you sign up quick!

Here is a sneak peek for you...

It is full of sparkle (which the picture doesn't show very well) and I love the vintage look of it... Hope you can join me!

And I have to send a very special thank you out to a lady named Malynda.  While we were at Remembrance Day ceremonies on Friday, she had asked to step in front of us to take photos of her daughter who was with the Girl Guide group.  When I could see that she had also captured my daughter in her photo, I asked her if she would mind emailing me the photos.  I quickly scribbled my email address down and hoped for the best.... and today received some awesome photos from her!

To be honest, I didn't take my camera as I have a really hard time with Remembrance Day... This is my daughter's first year in Girl Guides and I felt nervous for her to attend the ceremonies... because I am a MESS when it comes to soldiers and war and .... all of it.

We met up with a friend and my first words to her were a warning... "I WILL cry" I told her.

I was pretty good until the Last Post was played on the bugle...

and then I sobbed....

My heart breaks for military families - I have no idea how they do it.  They send their loved ones off and never know if they will come home.  Or maybe they come home but are never the same....

My grandfather served in the war and never really talked about it with us.  I often wondered how my grandmother handled it... a newborn baby, living in a new place... and her husband in another part of the world serving his country.  In the days of no emails and probably no phone calls either...

As I sat next to an amazing family during the ceremony, I overheard a man about my age ask his elderly mother if she had brought a chair.  When she mentioned that she had forgotten it, I quickly told them I would run to my vehicle and bring her one.  I admit it, I LOVE elderly people....  I spent much of the ceremony admiring this woman and the stream of family that continued to arrive during the 2 and a half hours.... When I spoke with her, she told me that all of her family came every year (from near and far) to honour her husband who had served.  I felt honoured to speak with her... and when her family was the last one to lay a wreath in honour of her husband, I cried even more.

I am so proud of my children who were very serious with their questions and their respect.

God Bless every single person who has ever served or loved someone who served - 

and thank you for your sacrifices.

Happy Halloween Eve!

Just a quick post tonight as we are scrambling to be ready for everything tomorrow!  My daughter is on the mend so thank you everyone for your well wishes :)  We spent most of the day today making treats to take to school tomorrow.  Check out these cool eyeballs!

 And when I say "day"... I'm not really exaggerating that much because we ended up making 80 of them!

Other than that, I have been brushing out wigs, planning my face painting and .... hoping for a day that isn't too cold!  Stay tuned for the costume pics tomorrow!

And thanks to everyone for the nice comments on the giveaway post!  Thanks to random.org, I have a winner!!

 So Erin - please send me your address to icecheeks@yahoo.com and I will send you your prize!

Wanna Peek?

DON'T FORGET ABOUT THE GIVEAWAY BELOW!!!  Go here and leave me a comment for some goodies!

So if you aren't on Pinterest.... I'm not sure whether I feel sorry for you or happy for you... because I am ADDICTED to the freakin site and it keeps me awake for hours!   A friend had a baby last month and when I found this, I was dying to make one.  So today, I went out and bought all the goodies and made this...

Isn't it CUTE?!!!!
And speaking of cute... check out my class at Creative Scrapbooks on Thursday:

This is a really unique mini album to celebrate the exciting new arrival of a brand new baby!  Whether you are expecting or you want to give it away as a gift, it is perfect for recording all the milestones in a new baby's life!  A few spots are left so call the store if you are interested!

Other than that, I am tending to my daughter who was just diagnosed with pneumonia tonight... so if you have a sec, please send her some good wishes!  Have a great week everyone!

A Whole Lotta Classes Goin On!.. AND A GIVEAWAY!!!!

Yep, classes are going crazy....  T'is the season I suppose but yikes, it is hard to keep up sometimes!  I spent two hours cleaning off the top... JUST the top... of my scrap table because it was  getting to the point where I could only see the two front corners of it!  If you live close, I have the following classes at Creative Scrapbooks coming up:

Monday Oct 17th - Glitter Christmas Card Class - FULL

Sunday Oct 23rd - Mistables Frame Class

Thursday Oct 27th - Baby Mini Album

(picture to come soon!)

Tuesday Nov 1 - Advanced Copics

Sunday Nov 6th - Cardinal Christmas Watercolour Card Class

Monday November 21st - Star Wreath Class

Tuesday November 22nd - Beginner Copics

Tuesday November 29th - Advanced Copics 

Yowza huh?

Oh... and if you live in Lloydminster,   I am there this weekend to teach Copics and Alcohol inks at a retreat with Scrapbook Studio!  I feel very honoured to have been ask to come join Jackie, Shauna and the rest of the gals ... and I hear there are very few spots left open if you are looking for some fun!

Last month, we did monochromatic colouring with Advanced Copics and I have to admit that they are some of my favourite cards to date.  They look easy but it is a bit tricky colouring with unusual colours!  I realized that I have 2 of the same stamp so... tell me which card is your favourite and one lucky commenter will win that stamp (and maybe some other goodies from the stuff that I cleared of my scrap table)! 

SEPIA - (warm grays)

BLACK AND WHITE

SEPIA (brown tones)

Contest will close on October 28th!

Sadly, summer has come to an end...

Sigh..........

Yep, it's true, summer has come to an end.  We spent a fabulous 2 weeks on holidays in BC - Kamloops, the middle of nowhere, Whister, Vancouver and Vancouver Island.  Each year, it get's harder and harder to leave "home" (what BC will always be to me even though I have lived here for 12+ years) and come back to Alberta.  I am not quite back into the swing of things but hoping this week will allow me to catch up on housecleaning and class prep!

So, without further adieu, please enjoy some of my favourite pictures from our holidays this year... and stay tuned for upcoming class details!

 Danika giving Grayson a smooch goodbye - the boys all went horseback riding while her and I hung out with this pretty little thing...

Her name was Mia and she was so sweet.  Danika fed her a carrot and they became the best of friends... she followed us everywhere!

 Pavilion Lake- the prettiest lake in the middle of nowhere.  They have these neat little formations in them that have NASA and UBC scratching their heads and studying them as they apparently represent some of the earliest life forms on ancient Earth.

 I wish I could tell you the name of this place....it was a rest stop on the way to Whistler and it as stunningly beautiful.  But, I neglected to see a sign with the name of it... Google and I will let you know when we find it out!

 The three amigos as the same rest stop - the sun was glaringly bright, hence the squinty eyes, but still beautiful!

 Grayson riding his bike at the bike park in Whistler.  He learned how to ride without training wheels while on the trip and it's all I can do to get him to walk now as he wants to ride everywhere!

 The Olympic rings at night in Whistler.  We ventured down to the Village late one night for ice cream and it was crazy busy with a free concert going on but I still managed to sneak a picture!

 Spencer learned how to ride the quad this year at Mom and Dad's... all by himself... Momma got a little teary eyed realizing how fast he is growing up!  He only crashed once...into Grandpa's fence...but shhhhhhhhhh.. we didn't tell!

 Sunset in BC - do I need to say anything else?

My ever so serious Dad..... good thing he doesn't have a clue about blogs and such or I may just get in trouble for this one!

That's it for now... hope you all have a fabulous week!