CHA hilights

My trek to CHA began much too early in the morning. lol My flight for Anaheim left at 6:35 am. It was necessary to leave early so we could get a jump start on set up. At least it was a beautiful flight. lol
Here we are after arriving and checking into our hotel. We went straight over to the convention center to start set up!

This is me with the darling Heidi Grace Kress. She is such a sweet person and was debuting her new product line, "Clever Handmade" at the show. I was honored to be able to create 3 layouts using her new lines that were featured in her booth. I was majorly excited about that!!!
I stopped by the American Crafts booth to take a peek at Amy Tan and Liz Kartchner's new lines. Suffice it to say it seems as though I am in love with just about anything these ladies come up with.I was super excited to get to meet David Tutera. He has an awesome show called "My Fair Wedding" that makes a brides dream wedding come true. He is genuinely a sweet man and I am glad that I got the chance to meet him at CHA. It was definitely a highlight for me.
I wish I had more pictures to share, but honestly, I was so busy working the WOW booth that I hardly had anytime wo walk the floor.
And after 6 days in Anaheim working the show and away from my family, this was such a welcome site.
Thanks so much for stopping by, I truly appreciate it.

Back from CHA

Hey, it's me! Finally coming up for air after all the CHA madness. I had such a great time and was so inspired by all the beautiful new products and talented friends that I saw. I'd like to share how I used the embossing powders to help decorate the fabulous WOW booth. My portion of the display was intended to display the "Candy Counter" collection and I created this inspiration board as my inspiration.
This is how my display all came together.

The WOW colors are so vibrant and highly pigmented. These were a few of the fun little additions to my display.See how vibrant the colors pop even on darker cardstock? I had such a good time working the booth and seeing lots of friends at CHA. I will make another post with more pics of some of the highlights.

Hope you enjoyed the little peak of CHA and thanks for stopping by.Please leave me a comment as I LOVE to read and hear what you think.

Free Bird

I'd like to introduce you to Free Bird...

Free bird is a new series of papers by Authentique that is a little bit different. Here is how Authentique explains it:

"We have named our newest product offering the "Free Bird Series." The reason? We are setting 6x6 papers free from the stifling confinement of being sold only in pads. Let's face it, most 6x6 papers are reduced versions of a 12x12 design. Until this release from Authentique Paper, 6x6 papers have not been sold individually or designed exclusively with a 6x6 outcome in mind.

Our unique merchandising approach allows us to sell these gorgeous double-sided papers on their own, one at a time, rather than only being sold in pads. Affordably priced and printed on an amazing, high-quality textured cardstock, you'll be able to purchase as many or as few of these 6x6 papers as you choose. While we may offer limited quantities in "nests," (our term for bundles or pads), this series will primarily be offered al-a-carte through retail locations worldwide.

The Free Bird Series will feature 32 individual designs in 8 color themes and will hopefully be shipping within the next few weeks. This first series has been designed by Sam & Tara using this Fall's hottest color trends. Now you can get just the right 6x6 design in just the right quantities. 12x12 papers are sold individually, why not 6x6 papers? Authentique Paper has set 6x6 papers free!

We will show you one of each of the eight new color themes over the next couple of weeks. Let us know what you think and ask your local scrapbook retailer to be one of the first to carry Free Bird from Authentique. Not only will it be affordable to you, the customer, but it will be affordable for your retailer as well. Don't worry, this isn't all we have in mind when it comes to setting things free, but we felt it was the best place to start!"

Pretty cool, right??? So now I bet you'd like to see what these lovelys look like. Here are a couple of samples of what's to come.
This is"Familiar" And this is "Fair Weather"Aren't they gorgeous? I am so excited about the new concept that Authentique is offering and can't wait to see what else is on the horizon. Thanks for stopping by.

YAHOO!!!

Well I am one excited girl right now! Why you might ask? Do you see that little icon on my sidebar that says "Authentique Design Team Specialist"? It looks like this...
THAT would be why!!!! I am so thrilled to be joining the Authentique team as a design specialist. Their papers are a wonderful mix of bright, fresh, beautiful designs with a bit of a shabby chic flair. I absolutely cannot wait to share more about this amazing company and it's products with you. If you are a lover of paper, I am certain you too will fall in love with them as I have. In the meantime, here is a link to the blog post announcing the 2011-2012 Design Team and Design Team Specialist. Go check it out and see if there are any familiar names on the list. Thank you for sharing in my exciting news. See ya soon! :-)

Parents, Friend or Both?

"I am not your friend, I am your parent. I will stalk you, flip out on you, lecture you, drive you insane, be your worst nightmare & hunt you down when needed because I love you! When you understand that, I will know you're a responsible adult. You will never find someone who loves, prays,cares and worries about you more than me! This is my promise to you."

I recently saw this poster on Pinterest and quoted on Facebook and it got me to thinking... Hmmmmm, really? Do we really want our children to grow up believing friends are people who say “yes” to them, and that people who love them are controlling and punitive?

I work hard to have a loving connection with my children. The last thing I want to be is their stalker or their worst nightmare, but given the number of times I saw this posted as a status on Facebook, not everyone agrees. I get it; people have the impression that if you’re friends with your children that you let them do whatever they want — party with them, drink with them, get into trouble with them. But that’s an awfully narrow definition of friend — and not necessarily the definition of “friend” I want my children to have.

I try to be an example of the friend I want my children to be to others, and also of the kind of person I want my children to be friends with:

I am a leader. I think hard about the decisions I make so they’re good ones, even if they’re not popular. I want my children to surround themselves with thinking people — the ones who will say no to drugs or getting into a car with a drunk driver. It’s a lot to ask of anyone to make good decisions all the time, but it’s not too much to ask for them surround themselves with people who make good decisions most of the time.

I set boundaries. I don’t want my children to be givers or takers — I want them to be both. I want them to be generous, but I also want them to be honest when they need something. I want the people around them to be the same way, so no one feels taken advantage of or used. Friends need open and honest dialogue.

I am kind and gentle. Friends don’t hit each other, and they apologize when they get upset or frustrated.

I listen. Yes, I need to guide my children, but before I can tell them where to go I need to know where they’re coming from. My children want to be heard, even when they say disturbing or careless things. Most of the time, they just need a safe place to say those things without judgment or action. I want to be the person they come to, and I want them to be a safe place for others too.

I am their mentor. I want all my children’s friends to be people they admire and people they can learn from. Every relationship should add something to our lives, and it should start at home.

I respect them. I learn so much from my children, and I want them to be comfortable around people who learn from them too. Even though my children are my responsibility to feed, clothe, and keep safe, they have so much to teach me. I want them to be confident in their relationships with people of authority, so I show them how valued they are.

As a mother, I’m more than a friend to my children, but our relationship starts with friendship, and it’s a model of friendship I want them to carry with them throughout their life. If I never show them friendship, how will they know how to be a friend? How will they know what kind of friend to be?

I’m so proud to call my children my friends, and I hope that one day many people will be proud to call my children their friends too.

Just can't get enough

Lately I have been creating with my stash of Authentique papers. I've got some new goodies from October Afternoon and American Crafts, but keep coming back to these paper! I just can't get enough. lol This layout is about me and a couple of friends I just love hanging out with: Suzy West & Gina Vaughan Lideros. I love hanging out with these ladies. We shop, eat, scrapbook and always end up laughing! I have such a good time whenever I am with these girls. Suzy's daughter Sierra took this photo of us outside of an Antique store in old Elk Grove on a recent outing. She has quite a set of photography skills for a little girl. I love this picture lots and wanted to do a layout to celebrate my friendship with these two. Thanks for visiting, have a happy Monday!

Basically Bare rockin' my world!

Hi there, welcome back! Today I'd like to share a project I did using some gears from Basically Bare and a couple of vintage settings and epoxies from Epiphany Crafts and some papers from October Afternoon's "Rocket Age" line. The photograph on this layout is a little dark and a tiny bit blurry, but since I took it on my first trip to Chicago, I really wanted to scrap it. To keep the feel from looking too dark I used lighter papers to mat the photo and surround it which really helped a lot.
On the gears I misted them first with Shimmerz Coloringz. I used Valentino, Mama Sings the Blues and Anchors Away. On the red one I misted the gear, then sprayed a grid stamp and stamped on top of that. With the other two gears I wanted the effect to be a bit more subtle, so I unscrewed the lid and dribbled some of the pigment directly onto the pieces. The drops mimic the drops on the October Afternoon and help create greater unity to the page.
To finish them off I made two custom epoxies and placed those inside of a couple Epiphany Crafts vintage settings. Once everything was dry I traced around the gears to give them greater emphasis. Love the way they turned out. Hope you are enjoying your Sunday. See ya next time!

Art Manifesto

"I wondered what would be the worth of my words in the world
if i write them and then recite them are they worth being heard
just because i like them does that mean i should mic them
and see what might unfurl

i think of the significance of my opinions here
is it significant to be giving them does anybody care
just because i'm into this does that mean i should live like it
and really do i dare

art, art i want you
art you make it pretty hard not too
and my heart is trying hard here to follow you
but i can't always tell if i ought to

so i pondered the point of my art in this life
if i make it will someone take it and think it's genuine
will they be glad that i did 'cause they got something good out of it
will they leave me and be any more inspired

i question the outcome of the outpouring of myself
if i tell everyone my stories will this keep me healthy and well
will it give me purpose, to this world some sort of service
is it worth it, how can i tell

art, art...

Live a "splendid" life

Ready for more from Authentique gorgeousness? Okay...ready or not, go!
Today I'd like to introduce you to"Splendid". This is another one of Authentiques new Summer 2011 releases.
For starters my favorite paper has got to be the woodgrain print. It is seriously fabulous, is it not?! I really want to hoard this paper because I ♥ so!
My second favorite paper in this line is probably "Renown".
The colors of this line are appropriate for both boys and girls which makes it such a versatile line to work with. I, however, chose a non-human subject on this layout. I have always ADORED horses since I was a little girl. When I was about 4 or so my mom and I would stop by a pasture nearby my older sisters' school to feed the horses. Thus began my affection for these sleek, gentle, yet powerful four legged creatures.
See the flowers on the layout? I altered some 2 different sets of Epiphany felt flowers; Whimsy and Adobe and combined them with some wooden buttons and bling to complete the look I was going for. I also used one of the "Tea Room" Vintage settings and the Button Studio on the tag in the upper left hand corner.

Next up is Glowing! I have never liked a Halloween line as much as this. The papers have much more sophistication than the typical Halloween line.
I love to decorate my house for the holidays and decided to alter an extra large Ball jar to hold treats for our home.
For the front of the jar I used a large a tag and cut slits in the sides and put lace through the slits and tied it in the back. I used a couple of die cuts layered on top of a accordian wheel that I made. LOVE that skull and cross bones! Around the lid I cut strips of paper to fit and hot glued them to the side. I added lace and ball trim for added texture. I wanted to add a bit of height to the jar, so I made a little witch hat and adhered it on top. It's going to take lots and lots of will power to keep from dipping into this jar too often. hee hee
Hope you enjoyed checking out what I've been up to. See you soon.

New manufacturer, new love

Hi friends! I have something I'd like to share with you today. I was introduced to a new manufacturer called "Authentique" a couple months ago and it quickly became one of my favorites. Not only do they have beautiful paper lines that double sided and printed on heavy weight cardstock; each of their lines boast rich colors and fabulous, usable patterns as well. Initially this is what captured my attention. Upon further investigation I learned a bit more about the company and that is when my true love affair for Authentique began. The companies philosophy is about being genuine is the only way to live. They celebrate the individual creative spirit, family, preserving memories and many other philosophies that resonate deep with in me. In all of my years in the paper crafting industry I have never seen a company takes my "hobby" to the next level and promote the deeper reason of why I craft. With that being said, if you haven't already become acquainted with Authentique I'd like to share them with you now.
Introducing Uncommon
I recently created two layouts using this line. It is pink, girlie and has a vintage flair; three things I love wrapped into one feminine line. I made this layout titled "Love so sublime" using Uncommon. I recently visited one of my favorite vintage stores in old town Elk Grove called "the red door" and wanted to create a layout about this unique little place I discovered. For this layout I fussy cut the doilies out of "original" and the rose cluster out of "Unique" to add softness to the layout design.
Here is an example of one of the die cut sheets called "Icon" and a few of the papers I used on these layouts.
"Special" (back)
"Original"
"Distinct"
"Gifted" (back)
"Unique"
Aren't they all lovely???? If you haven't had the opportunity to work with these papers yet I'd encourage you to get your hands on some. If you live in the Bay Area, stop by my friend Sarah's store "Our Paper Place". She has all of the newest lines in stock including the alpha's and die cut sheets. Hurry and get yours, she sells out of this stuff QUICK!
Thanks for coming by and reading about my new heart throb. lol Be sure to come back soon, I have another layout to share that I made using Authentiques line "Splendid" and a cute little Halloween candy jar using "Glowing". See ya soon.

Epiphany Crafts and Best Creations in the house!

Hi all, it's me again! Today I am sharing some layouts I made for a swap between Epiphany Crafts design team and Best Creation Inc. I was given the entire "Travel Forever" line to play with! That worked out wonderfully for me since I had some photos of some of our summer excursions that I had yet to document.
This first layout is of Brad taking in the landscape at Stinson Beach. It just so happened to be a clear summer day on the typically foggy California coast line, so we were taking full advantage!
I call this one "Live in the spirit of adventure". He has such an adventurous spirit and love for life. It is one of the things that we have in common and something I hope that he never, ever loses. I feel like this picture sort of captures his adventurous side (especially since I know he had to hop a fence to be able to hike up to this peak)!
This picture is from that same day. It details some of our activities that day. We had a good time playing frisbee, flying the kite, boogy boarding and having a picnic on the beach.
This one is from when Brad's parents made their very first trip from Ohio out to California to visit! We had a great time showing them around San Francisco and succesfully exhausted them and ourselves in the process. lol We showed them the Palace of Fine Arts, The Golden Gate Bridge, Lombard Street, Ghiradelli Square and dined at Alioto's just to name a few! See what I mean? Exhausting!
Thanks for stopping by and taking a look. If you get a chance stop by Epiphany Crafts and Best Creations and take a look at some of their newest offerings.

Nature walk

One day while we were camping at Patrick's Point me and my little man set off on a little adventure. He wanted to see where each path and fork in the road led and I obliged him as I knew it would be a little bonding time for us as well as a great opportunity to take some photos of the foliage around the area. With camera in hand, or on back rather, we set off on our nature walk.On occasion he would check to make sure I was still with him since I was stopping here and there taking photos of stuff. This pretty little flower is called "Queen Anne's Lace". It grows wild and some were over 6 feet tall!Look at how they close in on the trails.Ferns were growing all over the place. There were parts of the forest that felt kind of tropical with the flowers and ferns even though it was in Northern California.These flowers bloomed from what looked like pea pods which I thought was pretty interesting.You can't really tell from the picture, but these creatures are actually pretty large for a slug. They are called "Banana Slugs" and I think it's pretty obvious as to why.I loved this little leaf because it looks like a heart. ♥This is actually a weed and not a flower, but I loved how the condensation had settled inside the little prickles.The are is so green and lush.We took some time out to enjoy the beautiful views.
And to allow him some time to enjoy one of his favorite features of the area, "The Sand Wall".

Our little excursion ended up lasting several hours and we were both pretty tired when we returned, but we wouldn't have had it any other way.
Thanks again for spending a little time with me.