American Cancer Society

my friend, julie, is walking for the American Cancer Society soon! i am excited for her and this cause! i lost a very good friend to breast cancer a few years ago and do everything i can to help support the fight against this horrible disease!

here is a little off of the website:

"Today, there is more hope than ever for people facing breast cancer. However, there is much work to be done to find promising new treatments, increase awareness about the importance of mammograms, help all women get access to screenings and care, and connect those impacted by the disease with the information, day-to-day help, and emotional support they need to wage their battle against breast cancer."

i know that money is tight for everyone right now, but if you can donate, please do.
every little bit counts!

thanks and have a great weekend! :)

CE

creative escape was such an amazing experience for me!

a true "once in a lifetime"...

there were 9 amazing teachers and 8 creative projects.

here is a glimpse of these teachers and classes.

loved it...

deb crouse & paula cheney- hidden treasures

deb and paula were incredible! they work for 7 Gypsies and have a great portfolio/trunk show of very imaginative projects.

their trunk show was very cool! they had a card that was made out of metal window mesh! i really liked it!

it was fun to start this adventure with these gals! they started off

the class with a great video. they wanted to remind all of us why we scrapbook and why we create. it was very emotional and it really brought all of this back home!

the project was created out of chip board. i will probably put mine on an easel. we learned some great techniques about building a surface for our project and inking. we had made an embellishment the day before at the "technique boutique" for this project and that was very informative.

i didn't finish the project in class, but i really loved it! and enjoyed these ladies energy, creativity and sense of humor! what a great start to a great week!

heather bailey- free spirit bird book

heather's trunk was full of such bright and cheerful colors! she designs not only great scrapbooking supplies, but fabric too! she has some really cute patterns!

my favorite is the birthday

candle ring stacker! she also has a fun purse pattern too!

this class was a bird mini album that was filled with all of the

heather's colorful designs and papers. lots of chipboard and flowers too!

it was a pretty cute project and supplies, but the class felt very rushed to complete! lots of steps, pages and parts to

each page. i had to skip a few steps, but finished the album for the most part.

i learned lots of neat technique,

just lots of stuff packed into this

project!

carol wingert- crowning moments

carol had a cool trunk too!

kinda an old world feel to her stuff.

this project was a 3 dimensional pyramid that let you see inside the box. it was done in all white, which seems to be a signature for carol.

we weren't really looking forward to this class- the project didn't seem really functional. however we were pleasantly surprised with how much we loved carol's style and the versatility of this project! throughout the class we grew to like the concept of the project more and more.

it can be used for lots of holidays and activities.

baby/wedding showers... favors or treats.

halloween... candy corn colors filled with treats.

christmas... tree shaped and paper.

very cool pattern that i will definitely use again!

tim holtz- moments from the journey

tim... where do i start! he is absolutely amazing!!! he is funny, creative, fantastic and great!! :)

his trunk was full of very vintage things... that is one of the things tim is known for- lots of vintage touches.

the project was a tiny little scrapbook album sitting in a mini suitcase. it was a fabulous class! i really loved tim and his sense of humor, his style of teaching, project and techniques using grunge board. we used his ink dabbers, alcohol ink, tim's stapler and distress stickles.

at one point time told us "when the paint dries, sand the board... when do we know it's dry? if you touch it and it isn't wet- it is dry!" HA HA! so funny! he said "you laugh, but i get that question more than any other!" wow! his sense of humor kept us laughing most of the class!

he focused on: Imagination- Anything is possible. he played parts from willy wonka and the chocolate factory- he loves willy wonka because anything really is impossible. your imagination can take you anywhere. very inspiring!

sorry... this picture is a tad fuzzy! bummer!

lynette carroll- unforgettable wall art

lynette is such a cool lady! she is from austrailia and has a fabulous accent! her trunk was very cool! lots of details in her work!

her project was a cool black and white wall hanging. very classy looking. lots of details! lynette loves the details! she

said that when she scrapbooks she doesn't use a paper

trimmer... she uses an exacto knife and a ruler! wow!

we also used foam tape as a major adhesive. she said she loves foam tape- even buys it in bulk! it was fun to give a little dimension to the project!

and... what a small world it is in the scrapbook industy! kris and lynette got talking and realized that they had met before! lynette used to work for K&I and taught at the conventions that kris and i used to teach at. several times kris would teach in the same classroom and they would swap projects! :)

debby schuh- my creative escape

debby had a great trunk! her ideas were very inspiring! she did so many things that i had never seen before!

she took an actual book and scrapbooked over it all! each page had a different design and twist! after looking at her projects we were excited for her class!

the project was a pink and black creative escape album that had an acrylic cover. it was a super cute album with lots of fun pages!

debby has a great way of making everything "scrapbook-able". each page was something different and unique! from felt to acetate. its a great start to the CE album i will make for my memories! debby was inspiring! her projects are so original.

marah johnson- my (not so) favorite things

marah had some interesting stuff in her trunk! including black glittered covered baby wipe boxes!


this was another class we weren't really looking forward too- the project was just not our style. the top of the box had a black shield, gold wings, a heart wrapped in wire and a crown.

the paper was flocked (fuzzy) and we did learn a cool technique to change the look by using glitter mist. we sprayed 3 colors on each piece and used a paint brush to blend it all together.



i have to admit i used my cheaper adhesive on the project so i could rip the paper off when i got back to the hotel room. i will re-do it with a much cuter paper and design!

the little books inside the box are cute... i can't wait to decide what just what i wanna do with them! the concept was cool.. just gotta do it my way! :)

heidi swapp- once in a lifetime

heidi swapp was the last class of the weekend and it was amazing!

when we went to the trunk show the line to see heidi was super long, so we waited to get our pic with her until our class! her trunk was delightful! lots of cool ideas and ideas!

i loved heidi! she is so inspiring and reminded me of why i love to create and save the special moments through scrapbooking/crafting.

She was inspired to make our project when her family took a "once in a lifetime" trip to Australia for Christmas. Our project had many layers- it just kept going and going! loved the ideas! we were given fancy buttons that she brought back with her from China! they embellish the cover of our project! so cool!

heidi was funny! she had great stories and antidotes to share with us! she truly is a classy lady and i am grateful to have met her!

my mommy...

today is my cute mommy's birthday!

we had a fun weekend with friends!

it is so great to have her here for her special day! :)

love you mommy!

happy birthday...

to my beautiful friend, kris!

kris is one of the kindest women i know! she has such a contagious laugh and so fun to be around! kris is very talented and inspires me to do more!

i love you, kris!

have a happy birthday! :)

more time for escape...

so i have decided to that i have so much to tell about my escape to arizona last week, that it might me easier to share it in chronilogical order...

so... i will start with our wednesday morning flight...

i LOVE the carpet in the phoenix airport! it has planes on it! i have traveled alot ... and trust me, it is the coolest out there! :)

we stayed at the sheritan wild horse pass resort. beautiful. huge. spread out. they don't believe in building up... they went out! the hallways zig zagged out... and we, of course, were on the the 4th zig... the last zig i might add!

we had a very pretty view... but since it was 114 degrees outside... we didn't go out on the terrace very often!

the beds were very comfy! kris and i both had to bounce a bit to be sure... :)

we checked into the resort about 8:30 am, rested a bit in the room

and then we were off to explore! we had an early lunch out by the pool under the misters! the food was good, but very hot! not only does the weather have some heat, so does the food! :)

we had some fun guests with us at lunch... birds! when the table next to us was cleared the birds started "helping" by taking the leftover food and sugar packets! it was quite funny!

i will post more later... can't wait to tell you about our bus tour of the bazzill factory!! :)

it's a safari!!

Creative Escape had a safari theme this year!

using zebra stripes, pink and green and the main colors! it was very cool to see everyone all decked out with zebra stripes!

one of the activities we could do was do a safari scavenger hunt! we were given clues to help us find 6 palm trees around the resort! at each tree there was an animal stamp to stamp our "passports" and a prop to take a picture with!

so much fun! but... i have to say... most of these cute palm trees were outside and it was 114 degrees!!! very hot! good thing i wanted to win the raffle! ha! :)

~ sometimes the hardest thing is to know which bridge to cross and which to burn. you may just want to cross this one. rocks dont burn, you would quickly learn.

~ it is said a strong woman and a waterfall always channel their own way. don't mess up this waterfall or the landscapers would have something to say...

~ you can always say you have been there, done that, and got t-shirts. but the memories at Creative Escape you'll always LOVE so much it Hertz.

~ when a mind and heart are on FIRE, creativity flows through your hand. in a summer in AZ, next to a fire pit, you don't really want to stand!!

~ let your hook be always cast. in the pool where you least expect it, will be fish. in this pool there aren't any fish, but you can jump in and cool off if you wish.

~ do you ever wonder what it would be like to escape to a deserted island? well, on this escape, there is an island you have to find, but expect sand.

hee hee! fun... but didn't win the raffle!