I’m finished with the last day of the CHA summer show and 2 weeks of family vacation.  One more day left to check out the consumer show tomorrow, then I’m on my way home to sleep in my own bed for the first time in 3 weeks!

I’ll add photos from vacation and the show when I get back!

Until next time…
c.

And best wishes for everything good in 2009!  We had a wonderful get-together with old friends, as we do every year.    Though we were missing a few people this year, we still had a ball.

I’m hoping for a quieter year for my family, since the past few months have been quite hectic health-wise since September for us and for our extended families.  It sounds kind of silly to say I’m hoping for “nothing” to happen in 2009, but really, it’s the truth.  Plain, boring, old life is fine with me.

By the calendar, it’s a bit late for Christmas, but since my house is still fully decorated, I’m squeaking one last holiday card onto the blog before I move on to the new year.

This card was made with chipboard circles, beads, glitter, stamped phrases, pre-cut felt shapes, and Helmar adhesives (450 Stainless, Acid Free Glue, and Liquid Scrap Dots).  Hope everyone had a great holiday!

Until next time…
C.

After the Trick-or-Treat festivities wound down on Halloween, and the kids were running around willy-nilly, hyped up on sugar, my friends Niki and Chris and their husbands sat down with us to chat.  In a round-about way, the conversation turned to candy.  (Ok, who am I kidding.  We were stealing our favorites from the buckets while the kids weren’t looking!)

I have never met anyone who likes that mystery candy in the black and orange wax paper wrapper that sits in the Halloween bucket until Easter, when it finally gets thrown in the trash.  You know…this stuff.   The candy Wayne and Garth called mung and listed as the worst Halloween candy ever.   Blech.   Imagine my surprise when I found out not only does Niki like that stuff, her favorite candy list includes such wonders as root beer barrels, Necco wafers, and Boston Baked Beans.

I’m convinced she was conned into liking these by some sneaky relative who wanted to keep all the good chocolatey stuff for herself.  After all, that’s what I did to my sister!

Why am I bringing this up now, more than a week after Halloween is finished (aside from refusing to partake in Christmas until after Thanksgiving)?   Because our candy stash is starting to get a little picked over.  It has been raided and sifted through until all of the first-tier pieces are gone and we’re getting closer and closer to the grandma candy.  We thought we’d given all our mung to Niki, but we found a couple spare pieces near the bottom of the pail.  My daughter’s curiosity got the best of her, and she wanted to try it.

My daughter gobbled the stuff up and asked for more.

This chocolate fan just doesn’t get it.   Oh well, perhaps I can convince her to trade all her Snickers!

Until next time…
C.

Just a quick note to express my gratitude to quite a few people today.  I thought they deserved a bit of public recognition for helping me out lately.

First, my inlaws have been such a great help.  They dropped everything to help out when I was in the hospital, which is no small task, since they live hours away.  They would have come back again in a heartbeat if I needed them.  I have been blessed to have fantastic inlaws.  No complaints here, I couldn’t have asked for a better family to marry into!

Second, I have a wonderful support network of friends and neighbors who have graciously volunteered to bring us dinner over the last week after my inlaws went back to their own home.  It is amazingly helpful for me to not have to worry about shopping/cooking, since my energy levels are hovering around the zero mark.  Thank you, thank you all, for taking the time to care for my family in addition to your own.  Know that we appreciate each and every bite!

Next, someone who has been extraordinarly generous in answering some medical questions for me, even though I contacted her out of the clear blue sky after a google search.  Weirdly enough, we belong to the same mother’s group, but she was coming in as I started to attend less, and our paths never crossed.   Giant thanks to you Kim, if you catch this.

And last, but definitely not least, my husband, who has borne the brunt of all this crud, and who has pretty much had to be both dad and mom for the last 3.5 weeks, and who will likely have more of my work to take on as I cough and hack my way back to the healthy world.  And he hasn’t complained very much either.    He’s a good one.  Thanks hon.

While I’m hoping to get back to the crafty blogging soon, I didn’t make a darn thing in September to show you.  Not one.  Perhaps to break up the thoroughly exciting posts about sickness, I’ll pull something from my crafty project files to post for you tomorrow.   A post with an actual photo?  Egads!   You’ll think you’re in the wrong place!

Until next time…
C.

I’ve always loved that old “Gone Fishin’ ” sign I always used to see hanging on the door of quaint shops in old TV shows.   That little notice that life was too much fun and needed to be lived in the moment.   Last week, I hung one of those little signs on the scrapcave door and went out to enjoy life.   It seems like summer ends earlier and earlier each year, and as much as I love fall, I wasn’t ready to bid summer goodbye just yet.

The kids and I spent a long weekend in North Carolina with my friend Niki, and let the kiddos play.   They hadn’t seen each other since Niki moved in May, and had a ball playing together.   Surprisingly, the kiddos were fantastic. I had been dreading the drive alone with all three, but they were amazing travelers.   Aside from the logistics of getting all of us in and out of the bathroom for necessary stops, the drive was great.   Except for the 50 minutes I spent parked on the expressway for construction. EACH WAY.   Oh, and the swerving truck I had a bad feeling about colliding with the cement median barrier right where I used to be before I passed him.   But the kids?   Perfect.   Amazing.

Found all necessary school supplies at great prices. I’m not sure why I get such a sense of satisfaction from buying 22c crayons and 5c notebooks, but I do.   I now have enough to last us until the last one graduates, even after donating more than 2/3 of it all.   We’ll see if I can resist the free glue that I don’t need this week.

Made a batch of homemade salsa from tomatoes and peppers fresh from the garden.   Oh so tasty with whole grain tortilla chips from Trader Joe’s.

Drove to Lexington on Saturday, when a wonderful friend’s daughter tied the knot.   The service and reception were beautiful, and the bride stunning. Though I felt a wee bit ancient when I realized this was the first wedding I’ve attended where I’m friends with the bride’s mother rather than the bride herself.   EEK!

The wedding also gave me a chance to chat and catch up with another scrap friend, Barb.   I’m a regular follower of Barb’s blog, as she’s a fantastically funny writer and a heck of a photographer to boot.   Though I felt woefully inadequate having chosen to pop the pocket camera in my purse rather than the dSLR, I got to watch the photographers (Deb and Grant) and Barb talking shop, trying lenses, and figuring out they probably hung out in the same room at the same time in college and never met.    Small world.    Cool stuff.

Check out Barb’s link for some better photos of the wedding.

While the calendar says it’s still summer for a few more weeks, our summer officially ends tomorrow, with the arrival of the big yellow bus to the driveway.   School begins, and my nose must be replaced back to the grindstone.

Until then, I’m going to nibble on some Ikea hazelnut chocolate, sip an icy cold diet sundrop I brought back from the Carolinas and hop outside to enjoy the sunshine.

Hope you are enjoying it too!

Until next time…
C.

I finally got my CHA photos downloaded from my camera and once again I barely remembered I brought it along with me.  It never fails, I take a few photos on the first day, and the camera spends the rest of the weekend in my show bag.    I snagged this video from Adrienne’s blog.    At least one of us was on the ball, recording the silliness that happens behind the scenes at the Prima booth.

Here are a few shots I actually took before the camera went into the bag:

Chicago skyline as I was driving in on Tuesday.

Denny finishing up the last-minute details.  Love the duct tape!

Sharon, Cari, and me, just before the show started.

My favorite of the new releases.  Those flowers on the top row are called “Lollipops”, and I love them.   They’re fun, bright, and funky, and totally my style.    The card in the photo is mine as well, from one of the marathon sample-making nights in the hotel before the show.

Not even one photo taken after the bagpipers strolled by.    No shots of dinners with friends.    No shots of the wonderful products I saw around the show floor.    No recorded memories of colors and patterns and textures,  designer events, or doodads that caught my eye.    Pathetic.    My only excuse?    I was having too much fun!    Oh well, there’s always January!

Until next time…
C.

I am happy to report that my Kids Crafting projects have been located!  Many, many thanks to Sandy Laipply, who coordinated the scrapbooking room and noticed my projects sitting alone.   She kindly picked them up and brought them back home with her.   I am very thankful for the friends I have made in the CHA Designer Section.  Though we usually see each other only at shows, everyone looks out for one another.  THANKS SANDY!!

Here’s a quick photo of my notebook for the summer show.  I make a new notebook for every show, purely because I enjoy the quick and easy project and they are more fun to carry.  Paper, flower, rub-on letters and button are American Crafts, wood swirl is Kaisercraft, tag is from my stash, and sparkle is Glimmer Mist spray.

Have a great day!

Until next time…
C.

Tired and energized all at the same time.  I just returned from the CHA summer show in Chicago, and it was exhausting.   I worked in Prima’s booth on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, had designer meetings and the showcase on Saturday and Sunday, helped Prima tear down on Sunday after the show, and left Monday for home.   After a 6 hour drive home, I was beat!    Though I love the excitement of the show, I’m glad to be home again with my family.   I’m pretty sure I drank gallons of diet soda in Chicago (why, WHY must they serve Pepsi?  Ugh.)  and my body relied on the caffeine and adrenaline to function.  I crashed on the couch in sheer exhaustion last night as soon as all the kiddos were tucked safely in their beds.

Unfortunately, a huge storm came through around 2:30am, which resulted in all the children needing to be re-tucked, and my sleep remained less-than-stellar for the rest of the night.    But even in the exhausted state that always comes after CHA, I am once again energized by the colors and patterns, the new products and ideas, and the promise of opportunity the show brings.    I can’t wait to create new projects from the ideas in my head.

Also, if anyone has picked up any wayward projects from the Kids Crafting display, please let me know!  In my rush to get back to help in the booth, I forgot to pick up my projects after the show was over.  By the time I could get back in the building on Monday morning they were gone.  I’m still holding out a little hope that some kind designer rescued them on Sunday afternoon, and they didn’t end up in the garbage.   My business card was attached on the back, so if you happened to pick them up, please let me know.  I don’t have photos of the projects, since I finished them right before I left, but here is a quick description:

1.  Brown 5×7 painted frame with a band of turquoise and green buttons, chipboard swirl, and felt heart.  The photo was of 3 cute kids.

2.  Texture-painted beach-themed shadow box in sand, white, and blue.  Same 3 adorable kids, with seashell and starfish accents.  Approximately 12 x 7 inches.

At least there are only 2 (3 including my press kit box) missing projects this time, instead of the entire suitcase full that was stolen last year at the summer show.    Chicago seems to be a vast black hole for projects of mine.

Loved meeting new people, and seeing all of my old friends again.  I had a blast!

I’ll post the few photos I took as soon as I unearth my camera!
Until next time…
C

Hi all! No more issues with wordpress, so here are the promised photos from the meet-up!

I finally had a chance to download my photos from the trip I made to the outlet malls last week to meet up with my friend Lauren. Lauren is a designer friend I met at CHA, who was witness to the madness that was my set-up for the designer showcase. In addition to being a fabulous artist, she is also a total crack-up! She was in Columbus last weekend teaching, and Niki and I were able to meet her half-way for an impromptu afternoon of fun. We had a ball (in spite of Lauren’s dislike of shopping). She had me in stitches for most of the afternoon!

One of the best things about designing is the friends you meet along the way. Here are some snapshots from the parking lot before we left. It was unbelievably difficult to get a photo. One person took the first shot, and 3 more people wouldn’t take a photo for us! I’ve never had that happen before. Unreal. So we made do with a goofy self-portrait. Oh well, it fit the silliness of the day.

C.

…wait for the photos, they’ll be here soon! WordPress is having issues!