Fall Teaching Schedule

As you probably know, for the last 6 months my scrappy time has been devoted to working on my book, "Playing With Paper", for Memory Makers. I am almost to the "turn the final phase in and keep my fingers crossed" stage :D Of course, that means I'm finally able to think about teaching for late summer/fall. If you own a store and would be interested in having me teach some classes, send me an email (momtwoangels@yahoo.com). If you would like to have me visit your area, but don't happen to own a store, chat with your lss owner and have her/him send me an email. In any case, I'll be designing some new classes in the next month, and I'll be sure and let you know more info on that as it happens.

how many years?

did it take before I did it? Five. Five years I've been watching American Idol. Five years I've watched and never voted. I let the girls vote for Blake last season, but not me. Last night I caved. Last night I did it. I voted. Not once. Not twice. But numerous times! Ang has to step away from the AI. Well, not until Jason is gone ;) lol Honestly, when he's off, I won't care about watching anymore. I'll probably tune in for parts of the finale, but it won't be a big deal. I don't expect him to go to top 2, and it might be better for his career if he doesn't. I'll just look forward to his album :D Watching reality tv is one thing - actually VOTING?! Now if only we could vote for the Survivor winner :D

found a photo

One of the old friends I was able to see this weekend was Debby Schuh (pictured in the middle). I found this photo on her blog (www.debbyschuh.typepad.com), and I don't think she'll mind if I share it with you. I was able to meet Wilna Furstenburg for the first time this past weekend (on the left and her blog is www.wilnaf.blogspot.com). She and I have been online friends since we won CK HOF together several years ago. It was a treat to see these ladies, even if we didn't get to have a long sitdown chat. I'm so glad Debby had a camera! If we look a little tired (I know I do), this was the last class on day #2.

Home from Nashville

Oh my goodness! What a weekend that was! I've been looking forward to the SE Event for months and months. I designed the project last fall, in hopes of being very prepared and ready to teach 550+ people. I drove up with my mom, one of my sisters, and a friend. We talked so much, the 3 1/2 hours flew by. We stopped at the Cool Springs Mall for some food and shopping before heading over to the Opryland Hotel. Once the event started, we didn't see each other much, but, being used to traveling alone, just having them there was great!

My classes were a joy for me - Monique and staff packed my kits perfectly. BasicGrey sponsored the product and we had a bunch of fun items to work with in our kit - papers, buttons, ribbon, chipboard album, rubons, die cut alphas, and some sequins for sparkle. The group assistants were awesome - organized, helpful, and happy to be there. But, the students ARE the class, and the ladies at this event were the best! So many smiles that it made my job easy. Throughout the weekend, I was surrounded with joyful, fun women. You can't get any better than that! I will say, the only part I didn't enjoy was getting on stage for the Teacher Q&A. Don't get me wrong, the host, Jeannette with Scrap In Style TV, was very easy to talk to, but I would have been more comfortable sitting alongside the other scrapbookers in the audience :)

To all of you that shared the weekend with me, thank you for everything!! I enjoyed meeting new friends, and seeing old friends. If you have photos you'd like to share with me (I have a hard time carrying a camera and my class stuff), I'd love to have them. I have a big mailbox, so you can send high resolution images to my email at momtwoangels@yahoo.com. Thank you in advance! And when you finish your class albums, I'd love to see those too!

Long time

This past week I've been getting ready for the SE Event (starts tomorrow!!), filing taxes, and working on the book.

What did you think about AI last night?
Most improved - Kristy Lee. You gotta applaud her for improving each week. I don't like her attitude much, and country is not my usually what I listen to, but I think she's going to have a career.

On the flip side - I like Brooke's voice so much better. But, she's not improving. She's so very nervous on stage, and she doesn't have the stage presence that KL is.

I think Simon is hard on Carly because she HAS had the opportunities, and she DOES have the talent...but she's not pulling away from the crowd.

Between the guys, I think it comes down a personal preference. They are all talented, and with the right songs, all will succeed. I can't help but compare David Cook with Chris Daughtry, and I much prefer Chris's voice. I once told my husband I'd watch Brad Pitt hang out laundry, lol. I enjoy Jason every week, and even singing songs that don't "fit" him, I prefer him to the other 2 guys. I thought he did really well with the Mariah song (and "Somewhere" last week), and he seemed more invested in this performance than he has in past performances. It showed, and Simon agreed (I tend to agree with Simon 90% of the time). I thought David A did okay, but it sounded blah - not memorable to me.

I've been enjoying AI so much more this year than in the past, and my girls are begging me to take them to a tour performance. I don't think they'll have to twist my arm much :D

SE Event homework info

For those of you attending the event in LESS THAN 2 WEEKS (yah!), there have been some questios about my homework. It really isn't homework, because you can add your photos later, BUT for those that want to attempt to finish the project at the event, here is some info that I hope will help.

I forgot to say "choose one relationship and bring the following photos" in my "photos to bring to class" info. You will only use photos of one relationship, but if you bring two, it will give you an option - you'll be able to choose which photos/story best fit the project. Or, you can come without photos, and add them later. Really, any of those 3 choices will work fine. This project is something you can easily customize to suit your photos.

It is designed for 5-8 photos as noted here:
(all measurements are in inches and are noted as widthXheighth)
Inside cover – 4X5
Page 1 – 3 1/2X5, optional additional photo 3X5
Page 2 – 6X4, optional additional photo 2 1/2X41/2
Page 3 – optional additional photo 6X3 1/2 (found mistake - UPDATED size)
Page 4 – 4X4 1/2
Page 5 – 4X4

Of course, you can crop the photos to fit your finished pages in class, but I wanted to give you an idea of the sizes we would be using for the project.

Another note: the floss, the distressing tool/sandpaper, inks, and corner rounder are optional items. I don't think you'll get to threading the buttons in class, and you might not want to distress or ink your project (I didn't). I love, love my large lavendar EK Success corner rounder, but it's not something you have to buy. The project will be fine without it.

If you have any other questions - post here, and I'll answer ASAP.
I'm excited to meet you all!

American Idol

I missed AI at 7pm, because I was at softball practice with Michaela. I've really been enjoying this season of Idol. Hubby won't sit and watch it with me though. Since I've always liked Dolly, I was looking forward to seeing the show, and I stayed up to catch it at 10pm. Did you notice she didn't offer advice, but just listened to each as they sang? Was this the edit, or her choice to just hang out with them?

My little review:
Brooke - she really rushed the song. And, she's still coming across very nervous and awkward on stage. I like her voice, but she doesn't seem to be growing or becoming more comfortable with performing.

David C - did a great job. Really liked his haircut too. He looked less sleazy.

David A - no lip-licking, and he sang the song really well.

Ramielle - that was awful. I felt bad for her, as she seems sweet. I didn't like her outfit either.

Carly - she sang one of the songs I really like, and I thought she did a great job. Best I've heard from her. Her outfit looked bad though.

Kristy Lee - she sings better than Kelly Pickler did in her season, and she's very pretty. But, I don't think she's got the maturity or range or uniqueness to stay in the competition.

Syesha - I thought she sang really well, but would someone PLEASE tell these kids that singing a Whitney song is the kiss of death? And, I don't think Syesha's spunky personality is coming out on stage.

Jason - one of my favorites that isn't living up to his potential. Yes, it was better than last week (but last week was not good at all). It wasn't a good choice, AGAIN (didn't like the song at all). And, he needs to get out from behind the guitar and concentrate on vocals. If he doesn't do something really strong next week, he'll be going home early, hopefully not tonight. Top 7 is going to be a really tough competition.

Michael - FINALLY the guy shows what he can do. This is the Michael I've been waiting for.

What did you think? Who is your favorite?