Mother's Little Helper

Tuesday Trigger: Sweet Dreams

Did I happen to mention that I met Cath Edvalson, Herself, at CHA?  You know, PaperCrafts Magazine's Trends Editor and of Moxie Fab World fame?  ('scuse me for a second while I pick up that name I just dropped...) What's that?  You don't believe me?! Well, here's proof:

(From left to right: me, PC Go-To Gal Kim Kesti, Cath Edvalson, Kim Hughes and Karolyn Loncon.  Don't we Paper Smooches gals look sweet in our aprons?  Kim Kesti made those - ain't she somethin'? ;)  By the way, let this also serve as my BEFORE picture.  Jenny Craig update: I lost 2.8 lbs my first week!  Woo-hoo!  Only 33.2 left to go...)

My buddy Karolyn is always telling me how much fun she has playing in Cath's Moxie Fab challenges, and heaven knows I could stand to get a little Moxie-Fabber in 2013.  Thus, today I created my first Tuesday Trigger challenge entry. Here's some flair, to break up all my chatter:

For those of you who are similarly Moxie Fab-less, the Tuesday Trigger is an inspiration challenge.  Here's the current inspiration photo, which I puffy-heart:

Oh, how I wish my bedroom was this clean and bright!  Not sure I'd like an exterior door right there next to where I sleep, but as a teenager, wouldn't that have been super-handy for sneaking out?  Anyway, here's my attempt at Moxie Fab-ulousness:

It's cloudy early-evening here, so I had to use my lightbox to take the photo.  It's hard to tell, but the bottom 'love' actually is a pretty good match for the pomegranate-colored rug in the photo.  I wanted to keep the white, light, and bright feel of the room, so I embossed white glossy cardstock with a quatrafoil embossing folder from Paper Studio (Hobby Lobby).  Glossy cardstock is nice and shiny, much like I imagine the high-gloss painted woodwork is in the trigger photo.  The 'love' die is from Taylored Expressions' new Love Tree die set, and I die cut several of those from various Lilybee Designs patterned papers and some SU! Purely Pomegranate cardstock. 

The stamps for the 'you forever' sentiment are from one of my stamping besties - Carolyn King's - newest stamp set from Gina K. Designs, Stamp It BIG!  I like the contrast of the sans-serif font with the cursive of the die cut.  The sentiment was stamped out in Taken With Teal ink (SU!).

Okay, gang.  That's it for me getting out of my comfort zone today.  Thanks for stopping by to visit me, and I'll see you bright and early on Monday morning with a new Mojo Monday sketch.  Have a happy weekend! :)

Wanda's Got a Gun...

Hello, hello!  I'm back home from CHA (the winter Craft and Hobby Association show, which was held in Anaheim, CA, from Jan. 12-15), and let me tell you, I had a blast. I'm not going to rub your face in it with a bunch of photos of me hugging crafty friends, though, as I think I got my camera out a grand total of twice.  And those pictures were less than flattering of not-so-little ol' me, if you catch my drift. Oh, all right - I'll show you just one of me waiting on a bench in the hotel lobby...

*sigh.*  Now you know why I'm once again hanging out with my buddy, Jenny (Craig, not "From the Block").  Anywhoodle, WHEN - not if, WHEN! - I get down to my goal weight, I will update my photo.  Assuming I lose 2 lbs. per week, that should be sometime in late May (just in time for our bi-annual trip to Navarre Beach, FL).  I'll keep you posted on my progress.

In the meantime, I want to show you a card I made for a sweet and special friend I had the opportunity to meet IRL (in real life) at CHA - the one and only WANDA GUESS!  Last Saturday night, I went to dinner with a bunch of gals from the Taylored Expressions Baker's Dozen (besides Wanda, the group included THE Taylor VanBruggen *Herself*, our dynamic DT Coordinator Jami Sibley, our nifty newsletter/SCS guru Regina Mangum, super-sweet Shannon White, and totally-talented Tammie Edgerton). Wanda and I were seated next to each other at dinner, and let me tell you: the hilarity ensued! I confess, prior to the dinner, I wondered whether the TE crew might be just a little bit too nice for me and/or me just a little too... bawdy for them. 

I won't go into details, but suffice it to say, those gals are as fun as they are talented (and that is saying A LOT!).  That's one of the best things about being able to meet up with crafty friends in person: finding you have even more in common with each other and an easy familiarity that's usually impossible with those you meet for the first time.  Wanda is delightful, FUNNY, and adorable, and I can't wait until we're able to meet up again. 

We agreed we would exchange Moka Wanda (named after *she* who came up with the concept) cards, and I'm making good on my promise.  Check it out:

Isn't that sentiment a hoot?!  I {heart} it!  And there are so many tiny details in the drawing that makes my heart go pitter-patter: those wee Copics and the Crop-A-Dile in her apron; the perfectly rendered heat gun, right down to the plug...

 

It was easy to create a card for Wanda because she's a blonde like me and wears glasses (see how much we have in common?!), and since I'm forever making cards in my own image... Don't you LOVE her glasses?!  I swear, every Moka I make from now on will be wearing them, thanks to the Glasses and 'Staches set!  We girls-with-glasses have to make up for many years of "men don't make passes" bad PR, and this will be my contribution to the cause.  Here's a close-up of this crafty cutie:

Wanda was stamped in Momento Tuxedo Black then colored in with Copic markers.  I drew the base-board with a Copic Multi-Liner, then masked her with Eclipse Masking Tape.  Next, I airbrushed her walls in Copic Y21, and stipple-brushed her carpet in Crushed Olive Distress Ink.  I used this week's Mojo Monday Sketch (#276, and designed by yours truly) as my blueprint.  I was too late to create a sample for Monday, but I'm still in time to keep true to my New Year's Resolution to participate in ALL the Mojo Mondays of 2013.  (Woo-hoo!  2 for 2! ;) )

Alrighty, gang.  I'll be back soon.  Have a good one!

Supplies you can purchase on the Taylored Expressions website:

• Moka Wanda stamp set
• Glasses and 'Staches stamp set
• Label Stacklets 3 Taylored Dies
• Banner Stacklets 1 Taylored Dies
• Copic Markers
• Momento Inks
• Best Glue Ever

Hello, Lovie

Did you watch Madonna's SuperBowl half-time show last night? Personally, I thought it was fabulous. I'm a big Madonna fan from way back; I even bought her first few albums on vinyl, if that tells you anything. I think she is an incredible entertainer and I love her music, but I don't really think I want to hang out with her. She doesn't seem like a whole lot of fun, to tell you the truth. And I doubt she stamps or appreciates papercrafts, so there's another strike against her. Oh well, Madge - you can't win 'em all. But thanks for singing a trio of my favorites last night. Vogue, Music, & Like a Prayer¹?  Pop music doesn't get much better than that, folks.

So - are you ready to see this week's Mojo Monday sketch?  It's another lovely layout, this time courtesy of Debbie Carriere.  Here it is:

And here's what I did with it, using Lil' Inker Designs Flags & Tags stamp and die set:

I kept it fairly simple and didn't add a ton of extraneous layers.  I worked the Paper Smooches Booth at CHA last week², and hanging out with Kim Hughes, Karolyn Loncon, and Kim Kesti (all amazing, talented and wonderful women/cool chicks -- each of whom I'd choose 100 times over Madonna; again, sorry Madge.  I know you read my blog, and I don't mean to hurt your feelings, but I owe it to the rest of my readers to be honest) really got me thinking about simplifying my stamping/cardmaking. One can still make darling, well-designed cards without investing hours at a time, you know? So I'm playing with the whole 'less is more' philosophy and seeing if I can make it work for me.  So far, I likey!  What's not to like about a flirty houndstooth background and that fun sentiment? "You're My Lovie" - so cute! And I love-love-love the font. The patterned paper is from Fancy Pants Designs' Love Story 6"x6" pad, and I used QuikCutz Geometric Circles embossing pad for a little texture.

Go by the Mojo Monday blog for all of the details about how to play along with this week's sketch and kickstart your Mojo.  And, since it is the first Monday of the month, it's PRIZE WEEK! If you participate and your card is deemed one of the Mojo-est Of Them All, you win a FREE stamp set of your choice from VERVE STAMPS!  For more visual inspiration, visit my fellow Mojo Makers to see how they interpreted this week's sketch:

• Debbie Carriere
• Julee Tilman
• Mary Fish
• Sarah Bigelow
• Teresa Kline
• Stephanie Kraft
  

Footnotes

1.  Speaking of Like a Prayer, if you like that song, you need to listen to this version by Sugarland with Little Big Town.  Let the choir sing!

 

Now, Jennifer Nettles (Sugarland's lead singer)?  She seems like a cool chick.  I'd hang out with her.  But she'd need to let me borrow that hat. 

2. I need to make a post about CHA, too. I'll try to do that later this week. In the meantime, here's the abridged version: good times, good friends, good fun!

Around the World With Your Next Stamp!

Welcome to the Your Next Stamp CHA Release BLOG HOP! It's a very exciting time for this sweet company because Karen has taken YNS to CHA for the very first time!

That's right, as you're reading this Karen will be at Winter 2011 CHA at booth #4518! WOO-HOO!! So to celebrate this event, YNS is releasing some fab new YNS stamps just in time for CHA: 9 WORLD KIDS stamps plus a new Celebrate Collection from HR Designs and 7 new mini stamps. These new stamps are available to buy right now from the Your Next Stamp store along with all your YNS favorites.

If you would like to participate in the hop and you didn't arrive here from Sylvia's blog, please CLICK HERE to return to the start of the hop at Kerri's blog, as you don't want to miss these fab new releases!

When Karen asked me if I'd like to participate in today's hop, she didn't give me any hints about what sort of image I would be working with; she just gave me a list of countries and told me to choose one.  When I saw that Scotland was among the countries listed, I automatically picked it.  I'm Scottish on my mother's side (her maiden name is Cunningham), and have been fortunate enough to have visted the 'mother land' of my maternal clan twice. 

Well, when I received the image in the mail -- Ainsley, a wee lass in a classic Scottish folk dancing pose -- I squealed with glee!  I knew just what I wanted to do with her...

... dress her (and a couple of friends, created by masking the first girl off and then stamping another gal on each side) up in the Cunningham family tartan!  I found a downloadable pdf of the Cunningham tartan and printed it out on Georgia Pacific cardstock for the background paper.  Then I minimized it to about 1"x1" and copied that several times over to make the plaid small enough for the dance troupe's kilts and tams o' shanter. A little paper-piecing, coloring with Copics, and trimming out, and here are my own private Scottish dancers!  So cute and so authentic!  I'm absolutely in love with this stamp and can't wait to see the ones from all the other countries! 

Wouldn't it be fun to make some sort of "It's a Small World" project with all of the new World Kids stamps?  I've got my thinking cap/tam o' shanter on already...

Now that you've seen my project, you're probably anxious for all of the hop details and clues for where to go next, aren't you?  I knew it!  And would you like info about how you could win 3 World Kids stamps of your choosing?  Then read on...

The hop starts today (28 January 2011 at 08:00 EST) and ends on 2 February 2011 at midnight EST. As always, Your Next Stamp, has a wonderful prize for you to win. One lucky winner will be drawn at random from the links in the linky list to receive their choice of 3 of the new World Kids stamps! You will see that every stop along the hop has a linky list - this is the SAME linky list posted on every blog, so that you can enter the prize draw from any stop (although we hope you will visit all the blogs on today's hop). The linky will update itself on everyone's blog when a link is entered - how cool is that?

Please remember to only enter your name ONCE into the linky list during the hop - you do NOT need to enter your name at every stop and multiple entries will be removed. It's not a requirement for you to comment at every stop along the hop to be eligible to be entered into the prize draw, but the DT would sure love to hear what you think of their new release creations! Karen is also running some special bundle promotions, so be sure to hop on over to the YNS store once you've finished the hop. If you order all 9 World Kids stamps in one bundle, you will save 15% over the cost of buying them individually!

Here is a complete blog hop list in hopping order:

Kerri Michaud

Beth Ranney-Thomas

Chris Olsen

Cindy Haffner {Guest DT}

Crystal Irwin

Jenny Suchin

Maylee Pham {Guest DT}

Linda Cummings

Maureen Wong

Tori Wild {Guest DT}

Simonne Clay

Sylvia Blum

YOU ARE HERE! -----> Carole Burrage {Guest DT}<----- YOU ARE HERE!

Wendy Ramlakhan

Karen Dedman

So now it's time for you to hop on over to Wendy's blog as she is the next stop on our hop, but I'd love it if you left me a comment before you go! Thanks so much for hopping with us today! I hope you enjoy the new YNS release as much as I am!

 

Happiness is... You!

FUN NEWS FLASH!  I'm one of February's Guest Designers for Your Next Stamp!  Check out the YNS blog for Karen's announcment.  (And leave a comment to the effect that she has wonderful taste in guest designers.  If you want to, that is.  No pressure or anything. But it would be a concrete demonstration of your love and/or affection for me.  Me and my fragile ego like that kind of stuff, you know.)  Ordinarily, Karen would wait until Feb. 1 to make such an announcement, but she's having a big C-U-T-E release just in time for CHA¹, so she wanted to get her guest hands on deck. Capice²?

I was super excited and flattered when Karen asked me to guest for Your Next Stamp as I think their images are so sweet and fun. My good buddy Jen works with YNS stamps quite a bit (methinks she might be a wee bit partial to their Ellie stamps... wonder why?! ;)) and I had the pleasure of doing so, too, during the November JiFFy Girl challenge.  And this card by my dear friend Amy Rohl absolutely made me swoon when I first saw it. 

Enough jabbering.  Wanna see what I created for Karen's blog announcement?  Okily dokily, here she is...

Now, be careful drinking hot beverages or eating ice cream immediately after you see this -- 4 out of 5 dentists conclude that an image this SWEET is bound to increase tooth sensitivity!  I used Tea Time Fhiona and colored her with Copics.  Then I masked her off and airbrushed the background.  I added some Fruit Punch Stickles to her hair-flower and the hearts, and some Eucalyptus Stickles to each scallop in the white circle layer.  I used the current MojoMonday sketch (#175).  The patterned paper is by Crate Paper, and I used My Favorite Things' Flower Border Die-namic to create the flower strip.  The rest is pretty self-explanatory.

Alrighty, peeps.  I must go.  I've got my first quiz of the semester tonight, and mucho pages to read in the meantime -- wish me luck!  I'll be back soon with another YNS creation, using something from the brand new release.  Wanna hint?  Okay.  Here it is: Lang may yer lum reek!

Footnotes:

1.  CHA is the big Craft & Hobby Association show that occurs each winter and summer, where buyers for stores check out and order all the new stuff from craft and hobby manufacturers.  It's being held this weekend, out in Los Angeles.

2.  Understand?

Just a note (with several parentheticals)...

... to let y'all know I haven't fallen off the face of the earth again.  (I realize I have a tendency to do that.) I've had a crazy couple of weeks, wrapping up my summer semester at school, attending CHA, and leaving today for a family RV trip to Colorado.  I hope to do a little blogging while I'm gone since a trip like this usually provides long periods of relaxation, and some rain which forces one to stay inside.  Of course, I'm infamous for also having marathon TV-series watching sessions, so I won't make any promises. (For example: the boys left a few weekends ago for 48 hours, during which I watched all 23 episodes of the first season of Law & Order: Criminal Intent; the depths of my laziness combined with a long attention span can make for black holes of productivity.  My husband was so incredulous at this feat, I think he was almost proud.)

Still, I do have a couple of TCP cards to show you, and lots of pictures from CHA.  The latter have to be culled through to find those that are a) not incriminating [as usual, we girls had way, way too much fun.  Get Amy Rohl and me together with both of us in the 'right' mood?  Oy.  And of course, the C & C Mayhem Factory -- name copyrighted by Boss/MFT Lady, Kim -- never fail to 'entertain'], and b) don't reveal my terrible secret [I suffer from a similar problem as Princess Fiona in Shrek.  See, I'm a beautiful maiden in real life, but once a camera comes into play, I tend to transform into a hideously unphotogenic monster.  It's a curse, but I try to valiantly bear it.  Burrage rhymes with courage, you know...]. 

Gotta pack up the RV and hit the road.  I'll hopefully be back to chat with you soon from a much cooler climate!

What I've Learned: CHA Edition

(Two posts in one day?!  Somebody better call Ripley's!)

Have you ever read the feature “What I’ve Learned” in Esquire magazine?  Every month, a celebrity or public figure (Merle Haggard, Carrie Fisher, Salman Rushdie, etc.) will list bullet points of what he or she has learned about life.  No matter who it is, it’s always intriguing, and I look forward to it every month.

I thought I might sum up my CHA experience in the same fashion, to make it a bit easier on the writer and reader both. 

But first... a picture!
Back row: Alli Miles, Sherrie Siemans; Middle Row: Emily Block (THE Stamping Bella), Kim van der Sanden (THE MFT Lady), Nicky Manel, Alma de la Rosa (THE Cat's Pajamas), Jen del Muro, Jamie Middleton; Front row: lil ol' me, Christy Beckwith

(Editors note: I would normally put hyper-links to all the blogs of the people mentioned in a post, but for this particular one that would be very costly in terms of time and sanity.  You can access those who have blogs by clicking on their names on the blogroll to your right.  The editor thanks you for understanding.)

What I've Learned: CHA Edition
•    Shannan Teubner really does know the lyrics to every song ever written.
•    Jen del Muro will shamelessly get her picture made with even the most minor celebrity (i.e. a very pregnant Sabrina the Teenage Witch), then immediately call Susan Liles and leave a message about the experience.
•    When you meet people in real-life that you've heretofore only met online, you're in for a few surprises. Some people are much taller than you might think (Sherrie Seimans, Lori Craig, Taylor VanBruggen, Debbie Olson, Tosha Leydendekker), while others are so tiny they can fit into the palm of your hand (Julie Ebersole is as cute as a wee BUTTON!).  Still, there are those who are runway-model slender (the above-mentioned Taylor VanBruggen, Valerie Stangle, Alli Miles, Julie Campbell, Keri Sereika).  I’m not sure if I like those last few anymore… ;)
•    Anna Wight is as peachy as her delightful new Whipper Snapper stamp line, and her coloring is even more breathtaking in person.

Me, Anna Wight, Jen & Shannan

•    If you think Kittie Caracciolo is just some sweet little lady who sits at home and paints dainty card scenes, think again.  She is a wild woman! (in a good way, of course)
•    Meeting people you ‘know’ and like online is not remotely awkward, as you may have feared. Be prepared for lots of bear hugs.   
•    Behind every successful stamp company owner, there is a true-blue, agenda-free friend who helps keep said stamp company owner sane and grounded.  For example: Kim van der Sanden of MFT has Jamie Middleton, Stamping Bella Emily Block has Nicky Manel, and Tricia Ulberg and Meredith Ethington from Lizzie Anne Designs have Joslyn Nielson.

•    Mary Jo Albright has no idea how incredibly talented she is.  Which might be a good thing because if it went to her head, her neck would break and that would be painful.

•   MFT Illustrator Christy Beckwith may look like an eighth grader, but don’t let her sweet face fool you.  She has an old and mischievous soul, which is a rather awesome combination.

The MFT Lady, Kim van der Sanden and Christy Beckwith in front of the MFT display board.

•    Wear comfortable shoes and bring a rolly-bag.  Also bring a light jacket because it’s hard to get comfortably acclimated in the convention center.
•    The Paper Pretties girls (Joanne Basile, Julie Masse, and Jillian Winters were at CHA) are pretty on the inside, too, and totally devoted to their leader, Christie Ortman.
•    Ellen Hutson and Debbie Olson are two of the warmest, most genuinely nice people you should ever have the good fortune of meeting. 
•    Joy and Daisy from Eclectic Paperie are gracious hostesses and tremendously generous.  They have a customer for life in me.
•    Stamping mothers of three-year-old boys can bond over the prospect of the soon-to-be-released Thomas the Tank Engine line of stamps from Cornish Heritage Farms.  They can envision scenes from “James Goes Buzz Buzz” and “Percy’s Chocolate Crunch” in ink and Copics (← and that phrase makes sense to them).   Proof: Lisa Strahl and myself.
•    Jenn Balcer and Tosha Leyendekker are every bit as delightful and personable in real life.  In fact, most people are just like their online personas (or even better).
•    Two full days at the show are probably enough if you’re just walking the aisles and not working a booth.  Arriving on Saturday a.m. and leaving Tuesday p.m. should give you plenty of time for everything you want to do.
•    Alma de la Rosa from The Cat’s Pajamas is one cool chick and has fabulous taste in friends and stampers.  More on that tomorrow.

Please excuse me while I pick up all of those names I just dropped...

Gina K. and Inner Peace

Hi, there! Are you a long-time reader or first time visitor?  Not that it matters – I’m happy to have you visit my little corner of the blogosphere regardless of why you came.  I’m getting extra visits today due to the fact that I am  (drum roll, please) Gina K’s Guest Designer this month!  Yep, and today is the first day of my three-day gig with the lovely Mrs. Krupsky.  So be sure to visit Gina’s blog and see the first of three projects I made with her darling stamps.

I have a funny story about my Gina K. Guest Designer experience, but first I’m going to show you a picture.  I know some of you – SHANNAN – only like to look at pictures when you visit blogs, and I always aim to please.  Here’s what may be my favorite card I’ve ever made.

What do you think?  I just love the new “Serenity Now!” mini-set by My Favorite Things.  I don’t really practice yoga or meditate, but I admire people who do and I wish I did.  Maybe when the kids move out (in about fifteen years or so), I’ll get right on that.  I’m too busy being frazzled and disorganized to worry about inner peace… If you’re as constantly stressed as I feel like I am, then you’re the one who needs meditation or yoga the most.  I know that.  I would tell you that.  But I’m not one to practice what I preach.

Back to the card: the background paper is by Imaginesce (one of my favorite paper companies), and I cut it out and pieced it to resemble a mandala.  The coin-looking things in the corners are actually a stamp of the Om symbol (included in the set) inked in Elegant Eggplant and stamped on So Saffron then backed with metallic paper.  I covered my shirt (that’s me, sitting there meditating, 15 years hence) in purple Art Glitter (when I am an old woman, I shall wear purple sequins…).  And I ‘matted’ the card with a fringe of purple 1/4 inch grosgrain ribbon so that it resembles a prayer mat. 

I made this card for last week’s MFT release party, but it got lost in the haze and I haven’t had time to post it before now.  I like it so much that I may just have to frame it and keep it in my craft room as a reminder to take deep breaths.

Supplies used -- Stamps: Serenity Now by MFT; Paper: Elegant Eggplant, Always Artichoke, So Saffron, Georgia Pacific White, Blush Blossom (paper piecing of arms and upper chest), patterned paper by Imaginesce, gold metallic paper by Creative Memories; Ink: Brilliance Archival Graphite Black, Elegant Eggplant; Accessories: Copic Sketch markers, circle punches, ribbon, Circle cutter, dimensionals.

So, now for my funny Gina K. story.  Last Thursday, I was getting ready to leave for CHA.  I thought to myself, "You know, you should check in with Gina K. and see when your Guest Designer projects are due."  I've known I was going to be her GD in February for several months, mind you.  Anyway, around 1 p.m. or so, I was in Tulsa with Carter, doing the therapy thing.  I already had a full schedule and wouldn't be coming home before about 7:30 p.m.  I checked my email on my iPhone and learned that the GKGD projects were due by the 11th.  And I was leaving the next morning and wouldn't be home until the 13th.

And I had yet to start my projects.  Because I procrastinate.  And there was no way I was going to have time to get anything done in California, besides which the idea of packing all the random stuff I *might* need was way too daunting.

You know where this is headed, don't you?  Yep, it was an all-nighter.  And when I say all-nighter, I mean ALL-NIGHTER, as in my body never lay down on the bed, my head never rested on the pillow and my eyes never closed.  I didn't even pull one of those in college!  Obviously I take my papercrafting more seriously than I did my studies.  I have my priorities...

Anyway, I finally wrapped the last project -- which is the one you'll see tomorrow (and my favorite, I have to say, although I do fear it reveals more than a bit of my warped sense of humor; I really wondered whether or not Gina would be willing to use it!) -- up at around 4:30 a.m. Then there was the picture taking, photo editing, etc.  At about 5ish I began packing for my trip.  Are you surprised that I missed my 6:25 a.m. flight?

Fortunately, the fine folks at Southwest Airlines got me up in the air and to my destination not much later than originally planned.  But man, was I bleary eyed for the next couple of days...

Tomorrow: one more card using the 'Serenity Now' set and my final thoughts on CHA.  Be there or, well, you know...

CHA: It's Overrated...

I know most of you are probably quite tired of hearing how fabulous the whole CHA experience is.  Well, I'm home now, and I'm going to set the record straight.  You didn't miss a thing.  Really.  I mean, is it cool to meet so many of your online friends in real life, to find out they are even better in person?  Nah.  And walking through miles and miles of aisles of new paper crafting products, seeing what's going to come out before the rest of the free world gets a glimpse of it? Eh. You've seen one stamp or piece of patterned paper, you've seen 'em all.  And all the new tools?  They don't do anything you can't do with a sharp pair of scissors and a few hours.

So, be glad you stayed home and got to sleep in your comfy bed.  You're the smart ones.  But since I'm at the computer, I thought I'd go ahead and show you some pictures that were taken while I was there.  These people I'd never even heard of kept wanting to have their photo made with me.  I tried the whole heavy-sigh-exasperated-smile-"Uh, I guess..."-thing, but they couldn't take the hint. 

Okay, so this is me (obviously) with a really tall, pretty cute blond lady whose name is apparently Ali Edwards.  I think she is a scrapbooker and has a blog and perhaps a couple of books out?  Something about a 'life artist,' whatever that means... And on the other side of her is Shannan Teubner (known to most of you as steubner or steuby-booby).

And have you ever heard of Elsie Flannigan? She's got her own line of paper and embellishments by KI Memories called 'Love, Elsie,' and she's written a book or two herself.  I don't know, though -- she looks about twelve.  I hope this isn't a scrapbooking version of the whole Milli Vanilli debacle, but I'm a bit suspicious...

Okay, here's one with someone I know you're familiar with -- Jen del Muro.  One thing I learned about Jen this past week is that she loves to have her picture made.  Not that she's an egomaniac or anything.  And that woman in the center goes by the name 'Heidi Swapp.'  I don't know if it's an alias, though, because a bunch of the stuff that she was promoting has the words "SHE" all over it, which was a little unusual.  She's sort of attractive though, don't you think?

And last, but not least, is a very nice woman named Stacy Julian.  Come to find out, I'm currently enrolled in her Lifetime of Memories class at Big Picture Scrapbooking.  I guess she is the founding editor of a little magazine called Simple Scrapbooks.  Small world, huh?

Well, that's enough of CHA chit chat for now.  I may post one more time about my CHA experiences, but again -- I don't want to wear you out or make you start frothing at the mouth with envy, so I will continue to keep it low key.  I know you appreciate my sensitivity.  I just don't want to be one of those blogs you read that rubs it in, know what I mean?  You're welcome.  No, don't cry.  As I always say: I'm a giver -- I give!

And I'll also be posting some of the projects I revealed for last week's MFT release, using my new favorite MFT set 'Serenity Now,' as well as a cute Easter set.  There's also this new Twisted Sentiment set that is totally NOT my style (you know what I shrinking violet/prude I am), but I felt compelled to make a few things with it anyway.  I am nothing if not a team player...

Three-Fer and Howdy from CHA!

I've just popped back in my hotel room briefly to post this card.  Jen, Kim & Sherrie are waiting for me in the lobby, but I had to explain to them that my loyal readers are extremely important to me so they needed to just cool their jets for uno momento... (Okay, so I didn't really say that, but it sounded good, didn't it?)

This lil guy is named Wade E. Bug (get it?! hee) and he's one of the latest images from Paper Pretties.  Isn't he dapper?  He's dressed in the latest colors from this week's Bloggers Challenge (to use teal, pumpkin pie, rose red, and old olive), and his sketch is this week's Sketch For You to Try by my roomie, Jen del Muro.  Be sure to take a look at what Shannan (who gets here tonight) and Susan do with this ultra-versatile design.

I'm going to make every effort to post later about all the fun we're having and what we're seeing, but I want to start you off easy.  Baby steps, you know?  I don't want you to get dizzy or nauseated by all the fabulousness or hate me even more than you do because of the whole washer and dryer envy.