Scrapping buddies

I know one thing - scrapping buddies make this hobby the BEST. I was thrilled to see 3 of mine yesterday at a crop in Birmingham (hi, Janet, Audrea, and JoAnn!) In the past, we would get together every 3 or 4 months. But, it's probably been a year and a half since most of us were able to spend any time together. Scrap Etc. (the store that is doing the sold out Scrap Etc. 2008 Event in Nashville next April) did the crop and provided the food (it was yummy, too). I met some new friends, and had a great time...and I scrapped! lol I've worked today on tweaking and finishing those today. It felt good to do some pages :) Did you get to scrap this weekend? Do you like weekend crops?

Hello, Tuesday!

I know it's been a quiet blog. I've been working, and working, and working. I just can't share any of it, so it makes for a boring blogpost. I started prepping kits for my Simply Southern classes almost 3 weeks ago, and I'm down to the 10 days prior to the show. Still kitting here...and enlisting all the aid I can find (poor dh). I'm preparing over 250 kits, and some are mini books that have lots of little pieces. To give myself a break, I just finished bagging up 60 door prizes. Yes, you read that right - 60 prize packs. For each class, my students will have a 1 in 3 chance of taking home a little goodie packet. Product from K&Company, Mustard Moon, Heidi Grace, Autumn Leaves, and Karen Foster to name a few.

Halloween shopping?

Some people start shopping for Halloween costumes long before October. No, not me, but some people, lol. I snapped photos of a bunch of friends at our church Trunk or Treat last October (layout seen in October Scrapbooks Etc.)....and the way they were dressed HAD to have been planned in advance! I love this sort of layout - truly "slice of life" around here :)

She had a great one!

Mother's birthday surprise party was exactly that - a surprise and a great party! I wanted to share a more recent photo of us (my photos from the party did not turn out). This was taken last fall, and that is my sister, Debbie, between us.

A few more

Mom layouts :)

in honor of my best friend

My best friend is turning 60 tomorrow. She also happens to be my mom :D I thought it would be good to pull out some layouts from the past that feature her (not enough of them, I can tell you, and I plan to remedy that). First up, an 8.5X8.5 album I created several years ago, with some of her childhood photos. Lots of sewing and distressing on these pages. She sewed for me, and her mother loved sewing too, so I wanted to incorporate that aspect into the album.

Fall on the way?

We went to play tennis tonight, and there was a bit of a cool breeze! The end of those 100+ days, I hope :) A while back, I posted a teaser for this layout. I fully intended to share the whole thing, but it got picked up shortly after. The little owl stamp that we used for the tags is from Poppy Ink (kit club). This layout, along with 2 more of mine, are in the October issue of Scrapbooks etc. Hope you'll check out the magazine, as I think it's a great one - full of fun ideas to try.

Scrapfest at Mall of America

I just returned from Minneapolis where ScrapFest was held. The show is organized by Archivers and consisted of about 30 booths set up in the mall aisles. Each booth was manned by top scrapbooking companies like K&Co, Fiskars, KI, SEI, Creative Imaginations, MAMBI, Hero Arts, Bo Bunny, etc. Attendees could do make & takes with the latest products. There were also a large number of classes taught throughout the 3 day event and crops at various locations. Many of the classes were sold out, crops were sold out, and make & take lines were sometimes long. I was surprised at the HUGE turnout, but I think that is was typical for this very well organized event. I helped K&Company with make & takes in their booth, and I also taught a class each day. The projects for the class were 3 double page spreads using K&Company's Amy Butler lines (pictured above). These greens and pinks are difficult to photograph, but are so rich IRL. The embellishments are sparkly, glittery, and textured. I was also pleased that Amy herself was there for Saturday and Sunday. I know the students enjoyed meeting her, too. She is very sweet, and I enjoyed getting to talk with her between classes. She's just a very classy lady.

Archivers had staff helping with the classes - they were very organized and were a big help. Pam Lange (K&Co Senior Craft Designer and DT Lead) and Kara Ward (instructor and fellow DT member) were on hand to see that things ran smoothly (in other words, they worked their fannies off, lol). The rest of the K&Co team (Therese, Cherie, Michelle, and Sarah) were working hard in (and out) of the booth, but they were always ready with a smile. Attendees felt the K&Co Tim Coffey Halloween treat bag make & take was adorable and the line moved quickly. And I ate some great food, and shopped some too (hey, it was the Mall of America, after all!) My friend Vicki Harvey ate supper with me one night, and an "old" college friend met me for supper another night (he's going to love that "old" part, lol). I was able to grab lunch with Dana Smith. That girl is amazing - she taught a bazillion classes, and she still had energy to share. She also has a smile that doesn't stop! I was able to meet Susan Weinroth's little one, Evan. They claimed he had a little fit before I met up with them (too long in the stroller), but he was being a perfect angel when I saw him. Imagine them telling tales on him like that ;) Susan looked great, as I expected. Being a new mom agrees with her.

A note about Simply Southern Scrapbook in Huntsville in October - online registration ends on September 15th. Prices for all classes will go up for tickets purchased at the door. Just a little reminder, if you were planning to attend. I've got less than a month to get 8 classes ready, but I'm looking forward to it. I can actually drive to Huntsville in under 2 hours :D

weekend catchup

Another photo from my weekend in Carmel. From the left, Julie, myself, Carolyn and Peg, friends who drove down from Michigan, and Valerie.

This weekend I'm headed to ScrapFest in Minneapolis. If you are attending the Archivers event at the Mall of America, you can find me in the K&Company booth. Please stop by and say hello!