I'm off

This is my van last night when I was almost finished packing up my projects supplies...exciting!

More fun classes

Saturday was an awesome day of full classes at Stampin' Cat Studio. Including the first ever Crafty Secrets Bird Lovers Class, which went really well, and was actually over full. If you were hoping to attend that class and couldn't make it, don't worry, we will put it on the schedule again. One of the highlights of my day was meeting the sweet lady in the red shirt in the picture above. We had already gotten part way into the class when she mentioned where she was from, and all of a sudden I realized that this was the Tanya that I had been exchanging emails with...laughter and hugs followed. I love this industry!

I'm so excited! Guess what I get to do this week? Ok, I'll tell you. I get to spend my week at a middle school camp making cards and albums with 6 - 8th graders, and teaching them how to use Distress Ink and Alcohol Ink. I can't even begin to tell you how excited I am about this. Call me crazy, but I love middle schoolers, and I love watching them experiment and try new artsy things. Middle schoolers are so willing to just try things and see how it goes. It's so fun to see what they come up with. Anyway, I'll be out in the woods enjoying nature, and of course, will be without computer access, so...have a great week everyone...until next time,

I love summer!

I love it that my husband is a teacher! We have been having lots of fun since school got out. Of course this has resulted in me being very negligent in my blogging, but hopefully you can forgive me. The picture above is from a couple days ago. As a family we went to Scotty's Playhouse, an incredible indoor playground at our church. It is open to the public at no cost, built in memory of several children for our church who are in heaven now. If you would like to learn more about Scotty's Playhouse and the See Ya Later Foundation formed in honor of Scotty Banke, you can check it out here: http://seeyalater.org/Templates/ScottysPlayhouse.html
The next day, we took the kids fishing at Small Fry Lake, a part of Promontory Park. Small fry lake is a 1 acre lake, specifically for children to go fishing at. It is free, and is stocked with trout. The drive there is beautiful, and so is the lake. I love how they have made every part of they lake very easy for children to fish from, there are well-kept bathroom facilities on site, and just up the road is a tiny play area with a covered picnic table right there. So we fished for as long as the kids wanted to, then had our lunch right there by the slides and swings. It was such a perfect day, and that is even without catching any fish.
Noah wanted to hop right in the lake and catch them with the net. We could see them jumping, but we didn't get there until mid afternoon...not exactly prime time for fishing...so we didn't get to eat any fish. But then again we didn't have to clean them either :).

We have also been working on our landscaping some. It's always nice to see that project progressing. And, yesterday, I went to Portland with my friend Amy with no kids. I love my kids, but I rarely enjoy a relaxing shopping trip with them along. It was great. We had a long list of things we needed to do since she is going on vacation soon, but even with that list to take care of we had a great time. How can you go wrong when a day involves Starbucks, chocolate, The Container Store, and a beautiful $89 skirt for $15?

Guess what I did last night? Put together Crafty Secrets kits!!! That's right, it's coming up this Saturday. The first Crafty Secrets Bird Lovers Class...yeah! In spite of my blogging absence, everything is going along great. With days this good it is sometimes hard to find my way to the computer, but I will do my very best to keep you informed and throw some inspiration your way. In fact...stay tuned. I will post some fun projects with some brand new stamps soon.

New Class Pics

This is one of 4 cards we will be making in the Hero Art Thanks Phrase CardArt class coming up in August. The stamp will be included in the class fee, and we will learn some great techniques, as well as a variety of ways to use this wonderful stamp.
AND...here are more glimpses of the fun you can have in the Ir-resist-able Art Backgrounds class. This photo shows just a small portion of a couple of papers I made using the techniques and supplies we will be using in this class. I promise to supply loads of inky, messy fun! As well as some great ideas of ways to incorporate these spectacular papers into your projects.

Well, I guess "summer" has hit. Yesterday was Hannahs last day of Kindergarten. She's ready to go buy a new backpack and start first grade. She has no real concept of "summer break". It could be a long summer. Luckily we have some excitement to break up the length of summer...harvest. The kids always love being with their grandma and grandpa on the farm during harvest time. I love it too. The smell of grass seed harvest will always bring back lots of memories for me since I grew up on a grass seed farm too. And guess what, the end of the school year brought a pleasant surprise with it...warmer weather. The next five days or so are supposed to be in the mid 70's. Just perfect!

Now its REALL Y time...

It's time to announce a winner of this fun prize pack!!! Thank you SOOO much to each of you who participated!!! I've enjoyed reading your comments, and knowing that what I write does actually get read, it doesn't just disappear into the giant world wide web. Know that each of you are appreciated.
No computed programs were used in this drawing, we did it the old fashioned way. I wrote out the names on little pieces of paper, and my daughter drew a name, and the winner is...TINA ...YEAH! Congratulations! I will get your prize to you ASAP. I hope you have lots of fun with it!

Now, on to other things. Guess what I got yesterday??? A cuttlebug! I've had the embossing folders for a little while and had been running them through my pasta maker, but while the pasta maker worked, it was definately not ideal. It is so much easier to use them in the machine they were made to be used in. And of course I'm oozing with ideas. And yes, there is a cuttlebug techniques class in the works. Let me tell you...it's going to be a good one! I know I say that all the time, but really, my excitement level as I prepare this class is right up there with the Texture Tiles Sampler class. More details to come as soon as we get this class onto the schedule.
Today I've got sample boards to make so I'd better get busy...
Until next time,

It's Time...

This simple little card is just a teaser. It's time for the giveaway, and this card is just a quick idea of what you could do with your prize if you win. Thanks to Scrap-a-Latte for being a part of this great giveaway. Ok, enough talking, let's get to the prize package...
Prize includes some of my favorite items: Botanicals stamp set by HOTP, 5 White linen weave cards w/ envelopes, 1 set of Sweet Chips Chipboard Die Cut Shapes by Crafty Secrets, 25 Mauve flowers from Prima, 1 Chalk Ink Cats Eye Inkpad in Charcoal by Colorbox, 1 set of 50 self adhesive Pearls by Kaiser Scrapbook, and 1 1/2 yds each of green velvet ribbon by May Arts and Sienna Brown Crushed Velvet Ribbon by Maya Road.
Now, what do you have to do to win? It's simple, just leave a comment on my blog telling me something you love about papercrafting/stamping/etc. and let me know if it is your first time visiting my blog or if you've been lurking around for awhile...lol. Oh, and if you REALLY want to win, send your friends over to enter the giveaway too. If they write in their comment that you sent them, I will enter your name in the drawing again. Oh, and I know some of you are new to this whole process of commenting on a blog, so if you have trouble, just shoot me an email. My address is now listed on my profile. I think that's it, I will draw a prize winner on Saturday morning sometime, so between now and then, spread the word, and GOOD LUCK!