The Memory Bee

Wild waves, wild women, and wild wind!

The sunshine has felt so good; the company and the food has been great; I had a great day at Ruban Rouge; and today I loved spending time with my son...our hair blowing in the wind as we drove to the beach and around. Love it!
Here's some pictures...

Thank you to Lisa and all the wonderful students at Ruban Rouge...I had so much fun with you yesterday! You are great...the best! Your pictures are in an album on the sidebar. After class I went home to dinner with Jules and Kip and the gang of "wild women"! I loved laughing with you all! I think that Barb may be starting a trend with the oversized reading glasses! :)

Today I loved having lunch at the beach and driving along the coast down to St. Armand's Circle with Jeremy (my son) in his little Miata convertible. It was so good to get to spend time together! What a gorgeous day!

Only a couple more days and I'll be back in the snow! I still have some shopping pictures to share...good stuff...soon!

Soaking it in...

I'm in Florida to teach at Ruban Rouge this weekend, visit my parents, and my son...it's so good to see him (and them!) We're heading to the beach today, but Jeremy works all day, so I'll see him in the evening and on Sunday. I stepped outside this morning and just had to take pictures of the hibiscus! So pretty! Planning to have dinner at the beach...watch the sunset...I know, should I feel guilty?

There are so many people signed up for classes this weekend! Can't wait to see everyone! I sent 45 kits to the store, so there's room for everyone! I've seen the classroom at Ruban Rouge...what a perfect set up...I'm so looking forward to Saturday. If you haven't signed up yet, you can call the store at 727-784-8600. The shopping is fabulous...I think they carry every scrapbook product out there!

The Mystery Class

I know students have been anxiously awaiting a look at the "mystery" class they've been signing up for that will make it's debut at Scrapbook 'n Such in Wichita Falls, Texas, March 21. I finally have a peek at it! I'm still waiting to receive the product to finish my sample like the Cosmo Cricket ribbons and chipboard, but this will give you an idea of the style and idea behind the book. Ever since I've made the promise that the projects we make in class will be meaningful and useful, it's put the pressure on me to make that be true! I've spent hours this past week thinking about what we should do...my gauge is, "Do I like it?" (would I pay to take the class if someone else was teaching it?) and "Will I use it?" If I don't think it's useful, then how can I expect my students to fill it with their pictures, thoughts, and memories?

The album for this class is called Just BE. The description is found in the tab on the side under Upcoming Classes, and I'll include it here for now.

"What do you want to be? Sometimes we are so busy DOing that we need to be reminded to just BE: be strong, be real, be happy…the list can go on and on…but just BE YOU! This 5x7” album will not only be filled with lots of the paper engineering ideas you love but will be a place for the reminders you need to just BE. Maybe you know someone who needs this reminder as a encouraging gift. There’s a girl who’s going on from high school or college who needs the encouragement to follow her heart. Maybe a friend needs encouragement as she goes through a difficult time. Maybe that someone is you! I plan to make this album as a treasury of the statements of affirmation and reminders I say to myself regularly and hope to pass on to others.
We’ll be using the new Girl Friday collection from Cosmo Cricket, along with products from American Crafts, Scenic Route, Maya Road, Prima, Creative Imaginations, Bazzill Basics, Hambly Screenprints, Tim Holtz, My Mind’s Eye, and more. This kit is packed with goodies!"

Here's a look at what the album will be like...I'll change out the pictures once I have all the products and can make the finished album.

CHA 2009: The Product

Thank you for all the concern about the plane crash. It's very strange to see Clarence Center on CNN and other national newcasts. As I said in my last post, we lived on Long Street just a few houses down from where the plane came down. Every person I've talked to knows someone who had someone on the plane or has a connection to someone. I didn't know any of the victims myself. I've been flying so often lately that sometimes I don't even realized we've taken off. They say that you have as much chance of being struck by a meteor as being in a plane crash. I don't think about it...I know God knows the number of my days...and I trust Him!

Now on back to a last report about CHA. I didn't take many pictures but I'll share a little about some things I liked.
I loved the new Sassafras Lass Vintage collection...I love the vintage Dick and Jane illustrations on them. Another favorite was the Girl Friday collection from Cosmo Cricket. (Just a reminder that you can click on the pictures to make them larger.) I'm going to use this line in a new class that will debut at Scrapbook 'n Such in Texas in March.

At the Fancy Pants booth I liked the new frames that you can scrapbook in. The thing that makes them different is that there is an acrylic piece in the window that you can sew on or scrapbook directly to and pop it into place and change when you want. I also loved their mixed media albums. My mind was racing with the possibilities, and I'm thrilled that they are going to provide them for my album track at CKU this year. The pages are a mix of acrylic, chipboard, and felt.

7gypsies had a fabulous new release...lots of goodies that I can't wait to play with. The new things don't come out until later in March, so I'll have to plan classes with some of these things in the upcoming season. The album below uses the new paper bags to make an album. I loved the chalkboard wall at Heidi Swapp's booth. Her new Invicibles look really cool!

One of the most inspired displays was the wall of houses made by different artists for Ranger. Each one was so full of inspiration and creativity. Here's a few of them: There's only one that I can't remember who the artist is...
Amy Powers and Becky Olson...Donna Salazar

Claudine Hellmuth...?

Tim Holtz (sorry the picture isn't better!)...Charlotte Lyons

Wishing lots of love to you all and love to my valentine!

The plane crash

Can't sleep while the tragedy of the Continental plane crash is unfolding just a couple miles away. I used to live on Long Street when I was in elementary school. It's so shocking that this has happened in a little town like Clarence Center. It used to be out in the middle of nowhere but suburban sprawl has made it seem much closer, and now that we live in Clarence it's just down the road. There are lots of new subdivisions there, but Long Street is lined with homes from the 40's I'd guess. Just a quiet little place. I can't imagine what life will be like for the neighborhood for time to come.
How my heart goes out to the families with prayers for all they'll go through.

CHA 2009: The People

Finally it's time to talk about the people I saw at CHA (Craft and Hobby Association trade show.) For me it's right up there with seeing the product (I'll talk about that in another post.) I think this was my eighth year at CHA, so I really look forward to getting a chance to catch up with all the friends I've made through the years. The first couple days of the show, I just wandered and spent time with people and then the last two days I focused more on the product.
I loved meeting Terri who owns Scrapbook 'n Such in Wichita Falls, TX. I'm teaching FIVE classes there the weekend of March 20...I can't wait...I know there are people coming from all over the country...we're going to have so much fun! I love teaching in Texas!

It was great to meet Elizabeth, the owner of Simply Scrappin, in Layfayette, Louisiana, and Teri and Christina who are part of her creative team. I'm going to be teach a class about "what's in your bucket?" at her Simply Inspired event next October with Jenni, Margie, Teresa, and Layle. Registration is filling up, so if you're interested, check out the details here.

Heidi Swapp and I are going to be spending some time together in the next year and we were able to catch up on things at her booth. We'll be together at Creative Escape in August and are both teaching on the second Ultimate Scrapbook Cruise next year in February 2010. (Lots of people have already put down a deposit on the cruise...Mexico is our destination! Come with us!)

It was fun to catch up with Suzy and Erin...they were manning the My Little Shoebox booth...lots of cute product! Always lots of smiles with them!
My buddies...Michelle and Helle...joined my roommate KL and I for a relaxing dinner at the hotel. We always have such a good time catching up on all the news!

I loved Brenda Walton's new collection for K&Company! It was so nice to finally get to spend some time with her. She's been friends for a long time with Tina Higgins who is my friend that I met in NYC in Tinsel Trading and then got together with in Phoenix last year. She's one of those people you meet and immediately feel a connection with. Such a talented and nice person!

I loved meeting Tina's long time friends and having a fabulous Thai dinner together...Kathleen, Dena, Brenda, Tina, and me. They had recently made the Wonderful Things album that Tina made in my class at Melrose Vintage into a birthday book for Dena. It's so gratifying to see one of my class projects being used!
No trip to Anaheim is complete without a trip to Disneyland, so KL, Dina, Amy, the Norway girls...Mari and May Lis, Angie, Heather, and I headed over there on Sunday night. We had a blast going on the rides and doing a lot of laughing...what fun!



Thanks for so much fun and for all the Norwegian chocolate! Fabulous!!

A Boston Weekend

I had a wonderful weekend in Boston with my hubby...a little getaway with a some teaching added in! I get daily updates from airfarewatchdog.com that give airfare specials that they find from your airport. They sent an alert back in December that JetBlue was having a six hour sale from Buffalo to Boston for $9 each way...that's $18 round trip! The dates were very limited but we decided to have a little adventure! I used Priceline to bid on a hotel and got the Hyatt Regency Boston for $80 a night and so we were all set for a relatively inexpensive trip. In the meantime I was contacted by Ink About It asking if I could come and teach at the store if I was ever in the area. Everything fell into place perfectly. Even the weather cooperated with beautiful sunshine which helped make the freezing temperatures a tiny bit easier to bear!
We'd both been to Boston before, but we decided to just bundle up and be tourists! The first day we had a fabulous lunch at Papa Razzi's on Dartmouth St. My rissotto was the best! It was so cozy...we enjoyed our tableside window and the view of the church across the street and the brilliant blue sky.

We decided to stay mostly indoors and shop in the Prudential Center and Copley Place. I'm sure you can imagine how sad I was about that! We had a wonderful view of the city from the top of the Prudential Center. That evening we went to The Beehive, a great restaurant and music venue owned by Pam Keravuori's son. We loved it! The jazz band playing that night was one of the best we've ever heard and we love jazz music! What a cool place...they hired artists to decorate different parts of the restaurant...even the restrooms! My favorite thing was the curtain behind the stage. A fabric artist created it out of a whole variety of laces sewn together in a seemingly random way. I want it in my home! It's in shades of creme and tan, not the red that it appears in the picture...that's a light shining on the stage. The mix of industrial with the chandeliers and art is just fabulous!

 

The next day we did the trolley tour thing and saw all the sights around the city. We got off and explored in the Beacon Hill area, slipping and sliding down Acorn St. and eating lunch on Charles St. We continued on the tour and got off again at the Old North Church and Paul Revere's house stop. Then we continued on to the Bunker Hill and USS Constitution stop. Dave went up to the top of the monument (I made it 75 steps before I gave up and didn't continue all 294 steps!)

We walked from there across the Charlestown Bridge for dinner at Joe Tecce's. I'd been there years ago with Mary Lawlor when we both taught at CKU in Boston for Canson. Her sister is Linda Tecce, but we missed seeing her there this time! At barely 20 degrees...it was cozy to walk around to keep warm!

On Saturday we headed out to Westford to Ink About it where I taught two classes. It was fun to meet everyone...hope we get to create together again sometime! Your pictures are in the photo album in the sidebar. Thanks for being so sweet!

A price drop? That's right!

Good news...I just found out that the price has actually dropped $300 for my upcoming cruise of the Mediterranean! With prices climbing on most things...this is unbelievable! Now is is only $1489.00 pp to see cities in Italy, France, and Spain! All those places for the same price as the Caribbean or Mexico? I can't wait! There are just a few places left and the payment plan is still in place. Jim West is also having a contest on his blog where he is giving a free trip to a registered guest whose name he posts if they comment within five minutes on his blog. (I once won 50 cent round trip tickets to San Diego in a contest similar to that!) This is even better!

Another price drop is for CKU (Creating Keepsakes University)! Registration begins tomorrow, February 4, for CKU in Nashville at the end of May. I'm teaching an album track again this year and am so excited about what we'll be making in our eight hour class together. The album is called "Once Upon a Time." Here's the description:

"Once upon a time...Every great story begins with those words and so does the story you have to tell! Using the darling Cherry Hill papers and embellishments from October Afternoon, you'll make an album to treasure. Story and photo prompts will guide you in telling your story, so you can come to class prepared to create this beautiful album. The possibilities are endless...you might want to tell your story...what and who has made you who you are today; you might want to tell your mom's or grandmother's story or the story of becoming a mother; you might want to tell the story of a treasured friendship. The album will be bursting with happy colors and will contain Debby's usual mix of techniques and clever use of the products in a brand new mixed media album from Fancy Pants."

When I saw the new Mixed Media album from Fancy Pants Designs, I knew this was the perfect album for us to use to tell our stories. We'll be using the bracket shaped album and be painting and sewing and altering and folding and adding lots of goodies into the album. We're using the Cherry Hill collection from October Afternoon...love it! Crisp, fresh colors with a vintagy look that I really like! Here's a look at both sides of the papers...

 

Seats in my album track are very limited so don't miss out! Email me if you have any questions about the cruise or CKU!

Not just playin'

In between all the fun sight-seeing I'm doing, I'm actually working! Well, almost working because it feels like playing because I LOVE what I do! Last Saturday, I taught a great group of gals at Scrapbook Oasis and yesterday taught two fabulous classes (I mean the ladies were fabulous!) at Scrapbook Island. I love seeing my students who are more like friends and meeting new people who are now new friends, too! I've put our pictures in the photo albums on the side. Thank you to everyone who came and spent this time with me...I hope you'll fill your albums with photos and journaling that you'll treasure for years to come!
I just have to put one picture here of the teacher's pets! Love these two!! My cheerleaders!

Today I ventured to the Alameda Flea Market...alone...my shopping buddy, Kerry Lynn, had a sick one at home, so she missed it and I missed her! It's cool to see the San Francisco skyline in the distance across the bay. I found a few treasures, but they had to be small to fit in my already over-stuffed suitcases. I'll take pictures of what I got when I get home. Here's a few pictures...it was so sunny that it was hard to get many good ones.

From there I was on to Berkley to explore along 4th Street. Another Anthropologie and Paper Source! I stopped in Castle in the Air...cool store... and Scrapbook Territory. Lunch was at Bette's...another fabulous meal! I'm going to have to really watch it when I get home after all this great food!

I've got one last night in my fourth hotel in a week...I'm SO ready to be home for a couple days before I head to Boston for classes at Ink About It. I've heard so many nice things about this store...can't wait to meet everyone there and play again!