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?!!!!!!!!

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.

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!

How Dumb Am I?

Or how to enjoy your summer....

First off, when you think you have the flu, and a stinkin fever that lasts way too many days, take heed of your friends' advice and go see the doctor. Because if you are a stubborn fool and ignore all smart advice, by the time you get to the doctor, you think you may be dying from the pain. Turns out it was a kidney infection but I am still not feeling up to par quite yet.

The good news is that I did manage to teach a Copic class and also make it out to the beach yesterday! I haven't put Copic cards on here for ages but thought I would share the three that we did this week in our advanced class - our focus was on backgrounds and we had a really great time. I have to admit that I really do love teaching Copics still... every class is different and people just love to colour - just like me!

Here are the three that we did:





These are all made with stamps from my new fave company, LaLaLand Crafts.
I just love colouring their images! This month's advanced class will be focusing on skin if you want to come play!

Busy Busy Busy!

Oh how I long for the lazy days of summer!!! Or maybe it is the sun I am longing for as it has been raining here for what feels like forever!

Just a quick post today to tell you all to have a peek over to the right hand side there and see my flashy new Copic button! I have an awesome boss at Creative Scrapbooks and she sent me to the very first Intermediate Copic Certification Course (in Canada) this past Saturday with the very lovely (and hugely talented) Sherrie Siemens.

We spent a lot of time colouring...so much so that my hand actually ached by the end of the class... and it was incredible! Sherrie did an incredible job and I came away feeling so inspired and just wanting to colour like crazy! I haven't been putting my Copics up here on the blog (long story so I will save you the details :) but think I might start again. It was a really nice getaway with my co-worker Michelle and I think we need to find more courses so we can do it again!

If you are in the Edmonton area, I have an Advanced Copics class at Creative Scrapbooks this Wednesday so come on out!

10 Things Tuesday

I almost forgot it was Tuesday today! And I am needing to write a happy list ... just to remind myself that all is well :)

Today's 10 things are from Pinterest! If you haven't caught on to this crazy site, I warn you that it can be very addictive! I have always been a blog surfer... clicking and clicking and clicking and finding the coolest things... well this is basically a website based on what people like - if you like something, you "pin" it to your board... and you can look at other people's boards too! I hadn't caught onto the craze until I realized that I was getting all these people visiting my blog from there - all because of this post that I did about my 10 favourite childhood games and someone "pinned" the photo that I used!

So here are some of my favourite pins - be sure to click on the links under the photos to check them out!:

STICK WREATH





AFFIRMATION STONES





CREPE PAPER FLOWERS





TREASURE JARS





WASHER ART
(wouldn't this look awesome in a boy's room... all grunged out?!)





HEARTS ON CANVAS





RUFFLE APRONS





OLD WINDOW ART





KIDS' WALL ART DISPLAY
(can I hear a BRILLIANT?!!!)






HOUSE ART
which I am IN LOVE with... simply beautiful!

Please share your pin boards with me too!!

What Makes Me Happy Wednesday

Oh it's a beautiful day here - supposed be 24 here today... Summer is on it's way!! I am doing a quick post because my parents are on their way for our yearly visit and I need to be cleaning!!

5 things that are making me happy today:



1. My Mom and Dad will be here sometime today - if you had told me 15 years ago that I would have the relationship that I have with my mom, I would have probably said some not so nice words. But I love that I have matured and she has changed some too and we respect and admire each other. I have always been a Daddy's girl... and it's helpful that he likes to ask me for a todo list while he is here! I love that they will get to be here for G's birthday this year - an extra treat!


2. Sprinklers - I am hoping it will be warm enough today to pull out the sprinkler. There is something about watching the kids run through it with reckless abandon that just makes me smile. I have to admit that I love it when they make me hold their hand and do it too!

3. Vicki Chrisman's blog - Appropriately titled "This art that makes me happy"! And it does - go check her out... especially THIS POST if you are looking for some crazy inspiration!

4. Sarah - Sarah is a friend that I made in bloggy land... turns out we actually live very close to each other and we have met up a few times. If you read her blog (she actually has two) you can't help but catch part of her positive attitude. Sarah was the first person to come back to my long neglected blog (and send me a nice email to check up on me!) This is our year Sarah - we WILL meet up at a park this year!

5. A clean floor - I would show you a picture but I haven't done it yet! I love the look, smell and feel of a newly washed floor... so I am going off to do it!

Have a great day! DON'T FORGET TO ENTER FOR THE BLOG CANDY GIVEAWAY HERE!

Bear with Me

Please?
I hadn't blogged in so long that I thought I would get all smart and give it a makeover... never do this when you have about 5000 other things to do on the same day!
Needless to say, after panicking that I had completely mucked things up, I think I am now happy with it until I can figure out how to move that little bit up at the top outta the trees!
And if you are desperately seeking a new makeover, I strongly suggest this fabulous post I found today!

http://mamaof3munchkins.blogspot.com/2009/05/cute-blog-templates.html

What Makes You Happy Wednesday

This is my new Wednesday post - things that make me happy and hopefully you will share with me what makes you happy too!

This is what makes me happy.








Oh wait - you can't see anything? Right .... well about that..... There is supposed to be a picture of beautiful gerber daisies in that blank spot. Because getting flowers definitely makes me happy! I never get them and my friend Michelle was so thoughtful that she sent me some for my birthday and I took gorgeous photos of them.... GORGEOUS.... and then my son took my ds card for his Nintendo ds and..... ERASED ALL MY PHOTOS!!!!!! This does not make me happy :( but I am not going to dwell on it because this post is about what DOES make me happy. So please know that gerber daisies from an awesome friend really make me happy.

And a few other things that make me happy...

The Book of Awesome by Neil Pasricha - totally light reading but guaranteed to put a smile on your face!

Pedicures - I only do them about a few times in the summer ...and had my first one this week! My feet are so pretty and happy when they are rubbed and shaved and scrubbed and painted! I love that I can now take my daughter with me (she was the hit of the nail salon last week!) - the only thing that could make it better would be to have this

That, my friends, is deliciousness in a pretty glass bottle!!! Ogopogo's Lair Pinot Grigio by Prospect Wineries.... try it, you will like it!

And last but not least, I am hoping that this will also make me happy

Recuva

File Recovery

Accidentally deleted an important file? Lost something important when your computer crashed? No problem! Recuva recovers files deleted from your Windows computer, Recycle Bin, digital camera card, or MP3 player. And it's free!

HERE'S HOPING! HAVE A GREAT DAY!

10 Things Tuesday

It's been a while hey? So let's do this one nice and easy and tell you about 10 things I would like to learn to do:

1. How to crochet from a pattern - I have known how to crochet for years but get kind of bored with only making blankets. My daughter got the cutest hat ever and I need to know how to make one!

2. How to make a great omelet. I suck at this... truly suck. Somehow my omelets always turn into scrambled eggs and not the wondrous cheesy concoctions that I love at Sunday brunch. A friend just told me the key is in using a smaller pan so I will attempt it and see if it helps at all.

3. How to play a guitar/violin. Probably won't ever happen but it is one of those things I would love to learn. I can play quite a few instruments but these 2 elude me.

4. How to say No to things I don’t really want to do. I just can't say no. I try... but I'm not very good at it. And I hate that.

5. How to make sushi. I love sushi... but not the raw kind.... and I see all those cool "make your own sushi" kits and think I could do it... maybe.

6. How to make my own wine - because I keep hearing everyone tell me about their wine-making experiences and I feel jealous!! I hope to make something that doesn't taste like nail polish remover like homemade wine I tasted years ago but I figure if I learn how to do it (and not home brew it in the bathtub) chances are good!

7. How to look after my heart better (emotionally, but physically too). I am on a new eating plan and working out and things are going good in that department.... emotionally needs some sort of plan tho too.

8. How to take really good photos with a professional camera. The slight hitch in that plan is the professional camera... but it will happen one day! For now, I will settle for my Kodak :)

9. To make this bracelet - http://blog.craftzine.com/archive/2011/04/remake_it_soda_can_tab_belt_or.html because that is so cool! Hmmmm... but I don't have any pop cans......... stay tuned!

10. How to use an ereader - because I REALLLLLY want one of those darn things!

11. I forgot, I have a number eleven so today is actually 11 things Tuesday - I really want to figure out how to change my font to a way cooler one than Blogger lets me use. I have tried and tried but no luck as of yet.... if you have a cool font and an easier tutorial than the ones I have found, link me up!

That's it for now - have a happy Tuesday :)

Don't fall outta your chair....

I am alive!
And yes, I do still scrapbook... and cardmake.... and create.

A lot has happened since I last posted - I will do my best to fill in but I will list a few highlights in the creative department....

1. Taking a class with TIM HOLTZ! He is an awesome teacher and it was even more fun to take it with some great friends. I also got to take some great classes with Graphic 45, Bo Bunny, Little Yellow Bicycle and much more!

2. Flying out to New Brunswick to join the APOS girls at a retreat and teach some classes. These girls are so much fun and it was an honour to join them. No sleep for 3 days almost did me in but it was the best time. Thanks Alissa again :)

3. Copics Copics Copics - I am teaching Copics like crazy. A beginner and advanced class every month and they are going great. Our store (Creative Scrapbooks) has a lot of new teachers and the classes are building like crazy. If you live in the area, don't miss out!

4. I just finished teaching my first online photo editing class through A PILE OF SCRAP!

We realize not everyone will have Photoshop - so one class will be Photo Editing with Photoshop ($30)
and one will be with a free program that I will provide you with links for the free download.($20).

These to lessons will teach you how to do the following:
Cropping a Photo
Changing a Photo to Black and White or Sepia
How to Use Text on your Photos
How to Use Photoshop Brushes
How to use Photo Masks
How to Eliminate Unwanted Objects from Your Photos
Focal Black and White (colouring parts of the photo but leaving the rest black and white)
How to Use Photoshop Actions
How to Use Photo Plugins
How to Create a Photo Collage
How to Brighten and Sharpen your Photos
How to Create and Place a Watermark on Your Photos


You will receive the 10 lessons in your email so that you can work at it on your own time. Only those that have paid for the class will have access to the information. The information will stay there for you to refer to after the class is done and I will do my best to answer any and all questions! If you are interested, please leave me a message and I will send you the info!

And that is it for now - but look out, I may go post crazy this week!

SOTW Sept 20-26 and a few other things...

Hello!!!! Is this thing on??.....

I think I almost forgot how to log on to my poor old blog. Last week, I made a new best friend - his name is Buckley... if you haven't met him, be thankful....but when you need a friend, let me tell you that you won't find a better one... he looks just like this:

And let me also tell you that the pillow that my Momma sent home with me in the summer was also well loved last week - but the good news is, I am back and raring to go!!

I did a quick sketch this week after a bunch of girls were chatting over on the forum about using your well-intended saved up scraps....


You know that big box that we all fill with leftovers and then somehow never use?? It's kind of like leftovers in my fridge - I can't bear to throw it out but then getting around to using it just seems like it's never what I'm wanting... but my new rule is that I must use scraps to create cards so I will see how well it works for me. In the meantime, I am gonna do this sketch three times over this week (one for each of the kids) and see how different I can make each one look.
APOS has also started carrying a new brand of chipboard embellishments so Alissa decided to offer up a contest on both Facebook and the Forum - they aren't in the online store just yet but if you're lucky enough to be able to get some in your hands, be sure to enter!!
I am off to teach another Copic class tonight - this time it is a nice little class so it should go a lot quicker than normal! I have some more exciting Copic news to share.... as soon as I get all the details!!
Have a great week!!