I'm baaaack! :)

Whew! Another super-fun week of teaching, scrapping, shopping, big dinners, and airports. LOL :) The recap:

* Left out Thursday for GASC - Chantilly VA.

* Got set up early enough to hit a local Zumba class near the hotel. (yes, I am obsessive...why do you ask?) ;)

* Taught all day Friday -- Hambly Mixed Up mini album, Pink Paislee Fascinating Frame Up project, Cosmo Cricket Girl Friday Galore mini album, and American Crafts Crafty Girl album. All went really well. Lots of love to the VA girls who came to play and scrap and have fun with me! :)

* Snuck into the back of Crystal's 7gypsies Mini Album Madness class. Such an awesome project, but I figured out that I'm a totally sucky student. I'd be doing my own thing & hear this niggling "make sure you..." and realize that I was totally zoned. I'd look up and be 2 pages ahead so I'd just go back to working. Later, I'd hear again "make sure you..." and look up to realize that now I was 3 pages behind. LOL Oh well, it was worth it b/c my album is totally cute & based on Crystal's design but has "me" in it too--lots of handcut scallops and hearts, marker lines, etc. :)

ETA: Dude, look what I found on Crystal's blog!!! (her pic...that I was too focused to even realize she was taking! LOL)

* Taught Saturday morning -- Pebbles' Summer Scrappin' Fun layouts, KI Memories sketch class, and Sassafras Lass Wonderfully Whimsical layout. All went really well again. (whew!) I got to meet Michelle Vocke, who is the awesome VA local writer gal that did several write-ups on GASC (including special love on my classes!).

* Shopped all afternoon on Saturday and found some serious goodies!!!! Marla is proud of me b/c I bought stamps! I know...shocker! I actually bought 2 new Tim Holtz stamps that I've already inked to death (soon to post projects!). Lots of Teresa Collins goodies, AC flair buttons, repeat October Afternoon paper & diecuts to go with, Making Memories buttons, Cosmo Cricket stickers and more. Suffice it to say, my room is bombed! But I'm going for the "scrap with it" style of cleaning up, rather than actually, you know...cleaning. ;)

* On Sunday, I was the lucky bird with a late flight, so I'm went to Zumba again. Probably made a fool out of myself b/c I'm all-out-getting-down and the other ladies...not so much. Make no mistake, they were into it, but I'm a little...uhm, yeah...just a little more shigglin' going on in Staci's world! ;) But I'll never see them again & I'm sure I was their entertainment from Texas..."remember the time that crazy blue-hair girl came and was all low, low, low...." ;)

* Lovely reunion dinner with the kiddos and Bob on Sunday night.

* Monday morning -- dr visit. UGH! Poor Lilli has had allergies bad lately, but while I was gone, she got progressively worse. So I took her to the doc with what I'm sure was a sinus infection & double ear infections. Nurse Mom was right on. Plus, she was having so much trouble breathing, that she was wheezing...basically having a minor but constant asthma attack. B/c she doesn't have a history of asthma, we're doing the inhaler + antibiotics for now, but hopefully she'll wean off the inhaler in a couple of weeks. (fingers crossed) Speaking of fingers, while sitting there with Lilli, I noticed that Tayvan's suck-blister on her thumb was looking gross and infected. Showed it to the dr who kinda freaked a bit. Yeah, likely staph infection abscess. (yuck yuck yuck) Doc took care of it while I held Tayvan down (but Van was a total brave champ and barely cried). It's totally gauze-wrapped up now...so maybe this will be the hard-core jump-start to No.More.Thumb.Sucking! Well, I'm optimistic! ;)

* Today...rest, relax, chill...finally. :) Back to the grind tomorrow! :)

* Can't have a postie without pretties though, so here's some fun...

Memory Makers July/August 2009 feature article "7 Trends to Try"

These are my layouts for trend -- "peace symbols" & "kraft + color pop"

Back soon with more new goodies!

XOXO...Stac :)

Double Bonus Day...

Rushing out the door to shiggle, but promised a posting to a lil someone special... :)

So, lucky you, it's a double bonus day o'projects!

First up, a super fun layout I made last night with a mix of Cosmo Cricket and Sassafras lovin'. These flowers are the easiest-peasiest thing in the world, but so cute! :)

Then, as promised to several folks....drumroll please....

my Pink Paislee Fascinating Frame Up class goodies...

And I know everyone wants close-ups of these babies, so never fear...b/c they are here!

In the class, we make the big one with the house. But it's totally do-able for folks to make the other two at home. I made them strictly with the class kit products, except the hoops. So you can have your own little family of framed layouts! Soooo fun and easy, but with a big wow on the cheap! Best of both worlds! :)

And I'm off...

XOXO...Stac :)

Let's Rock...

We're total rock stars in our family.

Well, in our own minds at least! LOL :)

But don't tell Declan that.

Please.

He is certain that he's a rock star or will be one.

He is the coolest lil punk you'll ever meet.

Totally into rock music, skateboarding, doing tricks on his bike, skulls, and great clothes!

Love that guy!

Here he is...at his best... ;)

Lots of fun goodies from my stash--some Jillibean Soup, Cosmo Cricket, Doodlebug, & Reminisce. The patch is one that Declan earned at a skateboard thing last summer...saved it for the perfect layout and this one felt right. I can't remember the manufacturer on the skull paper that I chopped to bits...I'll keep searching or if anyone can clue me in, I'd appreciate it! :)

Gearing up for GASC-Chantilly VA! Just a couple more days till I'll be chillin' on the plane, heading to a weekend of super fun teaching & shopping!

Oh, and in a fit of total OCD, I've researched Zumba classes in VA that are within the 3 mile radius the hotel shuttle will take me. Hopefully, the few gyms/classes that I've scoped out will let me in & the classes will be as bootie poppin' as Dara's classes are! :)

XOXO...Stac :)

My fave way to scrap...

is when new goodies never even get put away.

They're just so inspiring that you gotta use them right away! :)

That's what I love about this layout from last night. The mess of goodies in my room in a little overwhelming right now, but I'd rather scrap than clean! LOL Hey, its double-bonus...it is cleaned up a bit & I got a layout done! ;)

This is me & my bestie girl, Shonnery! :) We were out for a Girl's Night Out, dancin' our azz off! :) A random country song came on (Friends in Low Places) and we didn't miss a beat...straight from bootie poppin' to 2-steppin'! :)

There's lots more stories from that night, including my knight in shining armour...Tom (Shonnery's husband). He literally picked me up and moved me when a guy got a little too close and I didn't realize it (oblivious!) and then almost got into it with another guy who was coming on too strong for Tom's taste too. Again...Staci = oblivious and didn't even know that the almost-fight was about me until 2 days later. My friends have taken to saying that I "require supervision" b/c I'm not so aware of my surroundings, especially when there's music/dancing involved. It'd be funny...except its true! Okay, I'll admit it...maybe that makes it more funny! ;) LOL

Off to gymnastics! Lilli moved to Level 3 (YEAHHHHH!!!!) and Dec is trying out Boys Gymnastics (wtg!). Back with more goodies soon...

XOXO...Stac :)

Literal Sarcasm.

bwahahahah. I can't help but laugh already as I remember the story behind these layouts. Lilli, god love her, is the most literal child on the face of the planet. She's frequently been told this (by us, teachers, friends, etc). You can "joke" with her, but chances are...she's not going to get it. ;) As re-enacted yet again by her comments this past weekend...

And with that story, it also reminded me that I hadn't quite documented the full breadth & depth of her lack of sarcasm-decipering. And with our family of Sarcasm King & Queens (aka me, Bob, my mom), that's not so good for Little Lilli. ;) So here's the ode to that...

Man, I love that girl! The best part is that I know she'll figure it out one day and joke along with the rest of us. And then it'll be the best story of "remember when Lilli said..." LOL :)

Scrappy wise, these are made up of my box of Studio Calico lovelies that I got! I did have to handcut some extra cork butterflies from a spare cork tag to match the one that was already in the Chatterbox set of diecuts. :) And those starburst Collage Press diecuts are a TDF fave! Wish I could get a whole sheet of those babies! ;)

Off to do homework and hit the pool!

XOXO...Stac :)

Happy Kids Make Me...

A Happy Mamma! :)

It seems so rare these days, but every once in awhile, my kids actually seem to like each other. I totally lucked into these shots! Lilli was reading to the little ones from their favorite Snake Dicitonary book (yes, really) and I was walking down the stairs with my camera. Total Lucky Moment! I was able to snap off several shots before Tayvan caught me & they started cheesin' for the camera. :) LOVE LOVE LOVE these candid shots...all pajama'd up, fingers in their mouths as always, snuggly in blankets...so them! :)

And of course, the pics were perfect for this little grouping of birdies I found in my new box of KI goodies. They're from various bits of the Friendship line. Awwww, Friends! I hope, with all my heart, that these kiddos are friends...forever. :) The birds were beggin' for a tree, so I went to my fave Tia Bennett digi one.

Been spray paint playing a lot lately. After lots and lots of trial/error, I finally found a way that works for me. I am spraying onto transparencies (or chopped up page protectors in this case) from way up high. You get little splotches of paint without warping the paper. And best of the best, if I get too heavy-handed with the spray paint & its a bit too much, I can just save the transparencies for another project & haven't wasted my $$paper$$. ;) It might not be the best option, but its working for me for now! :)

Got lots done today too...birthday party-check, porch rockers-check, vintage formica table-check but too small so need a change of plans with him, lots of little jobs around the house accomplished today too (thanks Bob!).

Off to figure out dinner & then some late-night scrappin' after the kids crash tonight. :)

XOXO...Staci :)

Squeezin' some JUICY SUMMER!

I love mail days that come with big boxes of goodies! So ready to play! I have boxes o' stuff sitting ready for me to dig in...some stuff I bought at GASC, some stuff I "got" at GASC, some Studio Calico stuff delivered while I was at GASC, and then...da da da daaaaa.....a Big Box of KI Memories goodies! :)

The day I got the KI goodies, Shannon so very sweetly reminded us that we could use our new Juicy Summer stuff for this week's Focus On... blog post. YES! Girl, I love a deadline and a direction, so I got to work on some fun stuffs with the new Juicy Summer line. Couldn't help but throw some hybrid KI into the mix (Clark paper altered a teeny bit & the frame set), but mostly, it's all Juicy Summer papers & bits.

My GASC friends will know of my not-so-secret love for the pleated flower. Why yes, I am a Paper Pleating Princess! ;) So, of course, there's a papery flower friend on this one.

Here's pics...

Tonight, I'm hoping/planning to play with some Friendship line stuffs. And then oh-so-happily dig into my Studio Calico kit! :) I promise to post pics of more goodies as soon as possible this weekend!!!

Oh, and fingers crossed for me on the homefront! I am making some mega-major progress on my Summer Home Improvement to-do list. Bought rockers for the front porch, found a craigslist deal on a new kitchen table, picked out my new yellow paint yesterday. Next up, getting chairs put together (ahem, Bob!!!) and getting quotes for paint. I think I'm going to hit the floor outlet store to hunt some deals too! :) House pics soon too! ;)

XOXO...Staci :)

Lucy...I'm Home....

Back. Home. Now.
It's been a crazy-fun, super-busy, wacked-up weekend of scrappy goodness! I gonna say that GASC Arlington was a 110% success! :)

I had 4 days of classes...morning till night, literally all day. Mostly all great reviews. I warn folks about my hyperactivity and that they'll love it or hate it. LOL I think most folks love it, or at least can handle it in small doses. Bwahahahah! :) Poor Marla, she has to live with it for the whole week of crazy Staci! :)

Got some awesome deals too! Can't wait to scrap with the yummy Heidi Swapp goodies I got (love me some mirror butterflies!), Basic Grey chipboard alphas that I've been lusting for, and more. My biggest splurges were a surprise to all...stamps! I'm apparently fully infected with the stamp obsession. Got some **super love** Sassafras ones that you'll be sick of seeing b/c I'm so in love that I think they're my new fave & I haven't even used them yet! And shocker of shocks, I actually spent $19 of my own hard-to-let-it-go cash on one set of stamps from Technique Tuesday. But in my defense, they're Ali Edwards & there was a cute sample showing them so I was totally sucker punched into buying them! ;) I think they're by far the most expensive stamp I've ever bought...maybe even the most expensive scrappy thing I've ever bought! LOL :) I'm not sure that's a good line for me to have crossed b/c now I'll probably do it again & not give it a second thought! ;) (nah, I'm still too cheap for words!) :)

Let's see...what else? Found a fave booth at "Glue" with lots of flair button pins that I stocked up on. Also got some new charms for my junk necklace & a super cute wooden rolodex thing that I'm dying to play with...spray paint, here I come! :)

All in all, I need to clean up my desk space (ugh!), get all this scrappy inspiration to good use, and create, create, create! I also figured out that I need to get my teachy self out to some stores too! LOL I had no less than a bajillion people ask me 1. what store I teach at or 2. if I'd come to their store. The answers are 1. no where right now, and 2. heck yeah baby! Need to print my business cards again and mail those babies out! ;) (excuse me for a moment while I add that to my to-do list!) :)

Oh yeah, gotta get back to school work too...no Sarah, I haven't forgotten that I'm smack in the middle of my PTA spirit gear drive! ;) It's totally on my to-do list too! What's a mom, if not a multi-tasker extrodinaire?! :)

Those of you that took my classes...sooooo great to see your bright & smiling faces! I love to laugh with ya, or let ya laugh at me...it's all good as long as your laughing, smiling, and having scrappy fun! :) I'll have pics up of some of the projects soon...as soon as I find my camera again. It's buried in my suitcase of purchases! LOL :) And if you took pics in my classes...of me, of you, of us, of projects...please oh please email them to me!!! I'd love to see them! And if you don't mind, I'll even post them here for other folks to love too. :)

Well, as I'm back to Mom Mode today, I'm off to start the rounds of swimming lessons & tutoring sessions. Back super soon though with project pics, new scrappy fun, and more crazy Staci ramblings. Deal? :)
XOXO...Stac :)

Crazy Busy...

with Boxes e.v.e.r.y.w.h.e.r.e. LOL

I'm swamped with getting all the goodies ready for GASC in a couple of weeks.

But I'm doing pretty well on getting it all done. My prep checklist is getting more and more things checked off! WOO HOO! :)

Trying to finish out the school year goodies too. Still running the spirit gear sale for another week, but we made it through the carnival with flying colors. The kids had a BLAST at the carnival...bouncy houses, petting zoo, cotton candy...fun! :) And we are getting more comfortable with Lilli being...(gulp) a big girl. We let her run around at the carnival with friends (we could see the whole thing), whereas last year she had to stay right with us. I've been letting her & Declan walk to school sometimes too. Bob was home one morning to see my routine of watching them walk to the corner till they're completely out of sight. Then I run upstairs to watch out the upstairs window b/c there's 2 little peekaboo spots that I can see them. I still want to check that they're being nice & staying together, following the rules ya know! LOL Yeah, Bob was laughing at me hardcore! ;)

In KI news, I just got word that I have goodies on their way! WOO HOO...sooooo can't wait to play! :) I did have lots of fun with the May projects!! The first project was for my blog challenge to "get out of the box". I know that's totally cliche, but I wanted to encourage folks to play a little bit and try that product, that technique, that design...whatever has been floating around that sounds like a fun thing to try for a layout! :)

Here's that one...

For the second one, I played with more of the new digital papers! Gotta say again and again...love, love, love! Just an easy contrast boost and then printed in b&w.

Here's this one...

Also, been doing a huge gallery update at 2Peas with my Memory Makers goodies from the Masters column and book. I'm starting to upload my Contributing Editor goodies tomorrow. Check it out... 2Peas Gallery.

Well, back to the grindstone. More kits to pack, more instruction sheets to write, more scrapping to do! :) XOXO...Stac :)

Chocolate Induced Posting...

It's Easter Sunday.

We've egg hunted, eaten copious amounts of chocolate, run the sugar high off and now we're crashing.

The eggs are on the stove, boiling in preparation for dying. "Are they ready yet?" is a constant mantra at the moment.

So, what better time for a quick update? LOL :)

(total aside: I wish I could show y'all some of what I've been working on most lately!!! I just finished up a Memory Makers column that is soooooo *me* that I'm dying for it to come out! And I'm decorating the heck out of my kidlets school for Spring Carnival. I was on a ladder for 2 hours yesterday painting butcher paper to turn out front office into a bank! But no pics allowed. (pouting Staci) Trust me though...it's Cool!)

On the topic of things I can share, I wanted to share some KI lovin' first!

Has everyone seen this>>> KI Memories goes digi! :)

I'm getting ready to download it all! Happy Happy Joy Joy = Me!

Had some KI gallery fun for March too that I want to share...

This one is from the Focus On...Daydream line. Love the softie colors...so different for me, so I had to funkify it up! LOL The background is a page protector, chopped in half (so its only one thickness) and then crumpled to bits and painty perfection.

This one is for a blog challenge to "scrap a noise or conversation". More painty fun of course and still lovin' the grey right now.

How about another GASC sneak peek too?

In keeping with the KI love, how about a sneak of the KI Memories class "Get Scrap Inspired"...all about maximizing your sketch love! :) These 2 classes are just about full, so hurry. There's one at 8am on Friday (before the shopping opens, you can be learning!) and one at 4pm on Saturday (get ready to crop with lots o'sketches!) :)

Check it out...

Back soon with more!

XOXO...Staci

More Sneaky-Peeky Pics...

Who wants more sneaky-peeky pics of upcoming GASC classes?

Well, I hope someone does! ;)

Here's some more GASC love...

My 2 most popular classes last year...ones that I got emails about months later were Cosmo Cricket and Jenni Bowlin. And I sooooo excited to be offering classes with them again this year! WOO HOOOOOOO!!! :)

* Jenni Bowlin

Vintage Hip class

The Thursday class for this one is already sold out, and the Friday and Saturday sessions are filling up *fast!* so if you want to be in this one...go now! I'll wait for you to come back....

doo doo doo doo doo doo

doooooooo

(that's my Jeopardy music! LOL)

Anyways, Jenni Bowlin goodies are one of my absolute faves in the industry. Nobody does vintage like Jenni. So starting with a base of *tons* of new goodies, I couldn't help but create the cutest stinkin' album evah! LOL :) This vintage looking gem has it all--glitter, bingo cards, journaling cards, pearl flowers, rhinestone buttons, a whole mini paper pack, felt, rubons, chipboard buttons, lace, and alpha stickers! Dude!!! That's like a scrap store extravaganza in a bag...plus the class! You know me...I've got all kinda of tips and tricks to make the most of your supplies, have fun, and add a little "you" to your album! :)

Here's a pic...

* Cosmo Cricket

Girl Friday Galore class

Everyonce in a while, a line comes along that makes me squeal like a little girl. I'll admit it...it's not my usual M.O. but sometimes I just can't help it. Girl Friday is that line. Girly colors that aren't too girly-sweet for me. ;) Plus, vintage images! Can you say BONUS! :) I'll let you in on a little secret to my work flow for this one...

I gathered my 4x6 pics, scattered the products all around me and BOOM! Lightening flash! :) Basically, I created a super fast, ridiculously cute Girl Power album! Really, it came together sooo quick that I got to bed before 2am! And that, my friends, is a goal in and of itself for this night owl! :) My album is all about my daughters and me, but it'll be perfect for sisters, your daughters girlfriends, your girlfriends, any group of women that touch your heart! :)

Wanna see?...

That's it for today!

But more to come of course! :)

I've still got Pebbles/Core'dinations, KI Memories, and American Crafts/Maya Road to sneak preview pics for!

See ya soon!

XOXO...Stac :)

Sneaky Peeky pics...

always make me go ooooohhh and make me impatient to see the whole she-bang! I know that's kinda the point, but I'm not exactly a long-attention-span-come-back-to-see-more kinda girl! LOL :) But I'm learning...and I hope everyone else is too...

b/c I've got some litle sneaky peeky pics...detail shots...and some love to share on these class projects! :)

First up, Hambly and American Tag "Mixed Up Mini Album" class...

From the very first second I started thinking about classes this year, I wanted to get some Hambly happening! I have a serious Hambly obsession and ocassionally have to put.down.the.Hambly and try something else (although sometimes unwillingly!) LOL :) Then, Marla introduced me to the "Tag Man" of American Tag Co. at CHA. I'll be honest...I would've normally walked past this booth b/c its very artsy-mixed media collage type stuff when you look at the booth as a whole. But Marla went in, and of course I followed. As I browsed, my heart rate went higher and higher! Dude, they are like the company that not a lot of scrappy folks know about yet that everyone needs to know about! I totally looked like this... :D with a huge stupid grin. They have envelopes, tag, ticket rolls, twine...all the coolest little detail stuffs. I was totally lusting over a mixed set of their tags (secretly wishing that I could puppy dog eye my way into a pack to bring home). So when I got them to sign on for sponsorship (yes, with *that* tag set!!), I knew they were a perfect match with my belovedly funky-fresh Hambly goodies! :)

This class has it all--Hambly metallic! papers, transparencies (including new release!), stickers, and rub-ons, then the American Tag mixed set of tags! SO MUCH FUN!!! And for the scrapper in you, I made sure it fits a ton of pics--12 to be exact!

So with no further adieu (is that how that goes?)...

Mixed Up Mini Album...

Next up is Pink Paislee Fascinating Frame-Up class:

Okay, so this class is one that my husband thinks I'm a little crazy for. But he's not scrappy-crafty-trendy like I am...or you are! ;) I read lots and lots of blogs (too many if I'm honest!). But one of my faves is SouleMama. She makes me want to be a better mom...the kind that sits in the grass and knits while the kids have time for super-creative freedom to run around the woods. (Instead, I'm running here and there...PTA to soccer to gymnastics to girl scouts to room mom with a line of rotating kids behind me in the minivan...repeat tomorrow) Anyway, I digress... The point is she's a Fabric Queen and has often showed pics of her fave fabrics hanging in embroidery hoops all over her house. So gorgeous...and so cheap! Two of my fave things! ;) I've also seen this happening in the scrappy world a bit lately...at CHA, on 2Peas, in my lss. It's definitely a hot up-&-coming trend with all the scrap-jumped-to-home-decor style we've got rollin' right now. So, inspired by the Fabric Queen & more, this Pink Paislee class centers around marrying a gorgeously polka-dottie paper stylishly into an embroidery hoop...with all the associated distressing, wrinkling, curling and more! Makes such a fun backdrop for the stickers, chipboard, brads, and more that we'll pile onto the middle to make a fun framed layout! :) Did I mention that Pink Paislee *rocks* the generosity gene and this class is stacked with Fascinating line goodies? So, you can get more embroidery hoops and have enough product to make a whole wall of "Frame Up" layouts! Dude! :)

Here's the pic:

Okay, one more for today...

by special request...

Art Rebel Junk Gypsy banner class with Glitz and Canvas Corp.

In case you don't know, I have a bit of an obsession with color...lots of colors. But one of my fave combos is always red/turquoise/black. So you can imagine my joy when I saw the Glitz Rebel line! Well, the name probably helps too...wanna-be Rebel that I am! ;) So gorgeously grungy makes me a happy girl! And when they said that they'd sponsor, but could I please use the roller doodles in the class, I was like "Uh, YEAH!!!!" Love those little guys...so cool and sometimes hard to find! So then I started thinking of a project and came up with the coolest inspiration. A friend has previously hooked me up with the Junk Gypsy site...to drool, wish, and dream about the day that I can afford a $100 bracelet of vintage baubles! Ding, ding, ding...I can't afford it, nor is it scrappy in the least, but by goodness, I'm gonna turn that bracelet want into a scrappy love project! :) And so was born this class "Art Rebel Junk Gypsy banner". I think you'll agree that we totally get Junk Gypsy'd in this class...with a bunch of vintage-inspired buttons, nailheads, distressing, bottlecaps, rub-ons, and more! And the banner part? That's thanks to Canvas Corp., a company that is crossing over from the home interiors side of the crafting world to the scrappy side with a new line of canvas blanks, perfect for banners, canvas albums, wall hangings, tags for traditional layouts, and more! Their booth was like a free pass to an art store, but with super nice folks that would actually help you and not look at you crazy when you said "What's gesso?" LOL :) Remember those roller doodles I mentioned? We're roller doodling onto...Canvas!! Yep, I said it! And it is ridiculously COOL!

So, here's the peek-a-boo...

How's that looking? Sounding good?

I hope so b/c I'm super-duper excited about these classes! :)

I'm off to the gym to shiggle these pounds away (darn Christmas fudge...still), but I'll be back with more sneaky-peeks and some KI lovin' too. :)

XOXO...Stac :)

At what point...

do you say that blogging just isn't for you?
I don't know.
I pretty much just ignore this blog till Marla yells at me to "Do.It." and so here I am.
You'd think that as much as I chatter all day, I could post stuff up, right?
But somehow my chatter is much more endearing in person with full effects than bland on a page.
Well, we'll see...
:)

Update of the E*Crew variety...
Rounding out the last 9 weeks of school and making summer plans! We can't wait...long days of sunshine, picnics, gym playdates, sleepovers, and of course...tutoring! LOL :)

Everyone is healthy for the moment...Thank Goodness and touch wood! Hoping it stays that way. :)

LOTS and LOTS and LOTS of prep going on for Great American Scrapbook Convention.
I'm teaching tons of classes and am sooooo excited about each and every one of them. Wanna see my schedule...and maybe come along?

Thursday:
8:00 - 9:30 Girl Friday Galore (Cosmo Cricket)
10:00 - 11:30 Vintage Hip(Jenni Bowlin)
12:30 - 1:30 Details soon! ;)
2:00 - 3:00 Summer Scrappin' Fun (Pebbles / Core'dinations)
3:30 - 5:00 She's a Crafty Girl (American Crafts)
5:30 - 7:00 Art Rebel Junk Gypsy banner (Glitz / Canvas Corp)

Friday:
8:00 - 9:00 Get Scrap Inspired! (KI Memories)
9:30 - 10:30 Details soon! ;)
11:00- 12:30 Art Rebel Junk Gypsy banner (Glitz / Canvas Corp)
1:30 - 3:00 Girl Friday Galore (Cosmo Cricket)
3:30 - 5:00 Vintage Hip (Jenni Bowlin)
5:30 - 6:30 Summer Scrappin' Fun (Pebbles / Core'dinations)

Saturday:
8:00 - 9:00 Fascinating Frame Up (Pink Paislee)
9:30 - 11:00 She's a Crafty Girl (American Crafts)
12:00 - 1:30 Vintage Hip (Jenni Bowlin)
2:00 - 3:30 Mixed Up mini album (Hambly / American Tag)
4:00 - 5:00 Get Scrap Inspired! (KI Memories)
5:30 - 7:00 Girl Friday Galore (Cosmo Cricket)

Plus, I'm going out early to get everything prepped and about 90% sure I'm teaching a special class on Wednesday too! All in all, I'll be gone from Tuesday to Sunday! Whew! It's gonna be a whirlwind of fun! :)

I'll be back in the next few days (promise!) to post up some sneak peeks of the projects!
And don't forget to hit the GASC site...registration goes live super soon so you better figure out your schedule! :)
XOXO...Stac :)

KI Lovin'....

Havin' a blast! :)

Got back from CHA to a box of goodie fun! I can't wait to dig in! The new stuffs are just so gorgeously glittered and I love the new designs and embellishments and, and, and...just all.of.it! :)


Head over to the KI blog too!

I'm the "Meet the Team" designer this week. The interview questions were fun and I love the layout that is with the questionnaire. :)


Also, I'm doing the scrap challege this week to scraplift yourself! So many options to play with out of your own scrapbook, so have a blast with it! :)


Here's the layout I lifted from the Memory Makers Scrapbook Idea Gallery magazine and the KI layout that I created for the challenge:





I'd love to see what y'all create too! Make sure to post it to the KI thread so we can all love on you and your layout! :)
XOXO...Stac :)

Last Day of CHA Fun... :)

Woo Hoo! Another fun day on the CHA floor! Are you ready for the longest list of goodies yet? Yeah, I thought you might be! ;)

Kaiser: With some of the coolest wooden mini albums and wall art I saw, I was a happy girl in the Kaiser booth! One of their new lines hits on a hot trend of the stacking dolls, but these are my favorite ones b/c they are just so cute in their bright dresses! :)

Prima: Every. Single. Thing. Is. Absolutely. Breath-takingly. Fabulous. I know that I’m a little excitable in general, but this whole booth was full of the most gorgeous goodies. I don’t even know where to start b/c I wanted it all—beaded butterflies, flowers, stems of sparkly stars, stitched papers, canvas art, super cute paper lines, great clear stamps, album ring cozies, and more, more, more. Every. Single. Thing…really. :) Also, I was lucky enough to meet Adrienne Looman who designed their new Rebellious line, a rockin’ hot pink/lime green/black combo full of punk rock fun.

Anna Griffin: There are lots of jungle lines here, but Anna Griffin took it one step further and the animals are full of circus fun! Some great flocked monkey patterns and some other fun patterns too. All ready to add to the cute little mini albums. Oh, and the diecut papers that go with the lines are beautiful too—the lined up turquoise elephants for the Riley line make me laugh out loud! :)

Teresa Collins: As always, just totally gorgeous lines! The manilla ledger bases and journaling cards are so awesome for every layout. :) I saw some *great* new transparencies that are so coming to live with me asap! Love the little alphabet papers too…just want to chop them to bits but they look great uncut too as a layout base. Double Bonus! :)

K & Company: The totally cutie Actopus to Zelephant line made me want to create a mini-album immediately! Then, even better, I saw the way they’d used an extra big version of it in their display and decided that my kids will be needing a little alphabet wall art thing in the toy room instead! F-U-N!

Pebbles: Walking down an aisle, I saw a wall with framed papers so delicious that I had to break the up-&-down each aisle rule to go check them out! Lucky for me, Pebbles new lines were so worth the rule-breaking. The new lines are bright, cheerful and flat-out gorgeous with little birds, houses, flowers…I want to frame them too! Then I turned around and saw the cutest (& smartest) packaging idea in ages. Pebbles has great new chipboard sets, some with glitter, all done up in…wait for it…”chip bags”! Totally adorable little potato chip looking bags with awesome glitter embellishments! Betcha can’t eat, I mean buy, just one! ;)

Technique Tuesday: The new Ali Edwards stamps aren’t flashy and ooooh-inducing. What they are is 110% useful, cool and totally Ali. Translate that to…I want them so bad I can taste it!! :) These are the stamps that you’re going to pull out again and again to add a little extra detail to every layout.

Fancy Pants: This was a release that I was sooo excited to see! And they totally did NOT disappoint. The watercolor rainbows and sunshines made me smile like a 9 year old all over again! So pretty, fun and sweet. Around the corner was the new kraft line, which was equally fabulous with pale little sweet rainbows, trees, and animal friends. Then I saw my new mini-album obsession. New album set-ups with a mixture of pages—felt, transparency, chipboard…all in one convenient package. Guess who is getting to work on one asap? Yep, that’d be me…and you too!

GCD Studios: Have you felt this paper? Really. You need to. Its super thick, linen textured and double-sided. Totally rich luxury with glitter, flocking, foils…yum! The new Spring line was my fave here with fun rainbows, kelly green damask-type designs, and big polka dots. There was a great fabric-inspired line too that looked like home décor fabric swatches. I had to touch them to see if they were really paper! LOL

My Little Shoebox: Between the lines, the sample layouts, and the girls working, this is the sweetest booth at CHA I think. Every paper line has a little pink or coral in it…but the mix of colors make them all unique! With lines featuring happy little birds, houses, flowers, owls, rainbows, and more, they’ve got you covered and will bring a smile to your face. MLS also has my new fave alpha of the show that I’m ready to stock.up.on! Awesome little alpha sets in a variety of colors designed to match MLS lines plus about every line in your scrap stash. These are a total must-have in every color.

Glitz Designs: Can you hear my rebel yell? Okay, so maybe I didn’t literally yell out in the middle of CHA, but I wanted to so badly! The new Rebel line has a totally me mix of turquoise, red, and black with lots of grungy fun. The rub-ons are like buttah—smooth and easy. And I saw lots of folks begging for the distressing stamp set, which apparently was a HIT in the Glitz class.

Chatterbox: Okay, I want to make sure to mention the gorgeous paper line with fab blue, brown, and yellow combo of stars, flowers, and dots. Because the papers are truly fab. Okay, now…cover your eyes b/c I’m about to start kissing embellishments! ;) The goodies that go with the new line are so ridiculously awesome that I didn’t want to leave them. Fun cork shapes, gorgeous deer cards, butterfly and bird die cuts, transparency frames…every single one in the whole set are so usable and fabulous, which is so rare. But Chatterbox nailed it perfectly. So that I can maximize total usage of these fabulous bits, I think I’ll have to play with one of their great new albums too—maybe the denim one? Or the canvas one? Or the one that goes on the stand? Hmmm, maybe all of them! ;)

Basic Grey: Two words for you—Lime Rickey! This is my absolute fave of the new lines because it is full of bright colors that are going to carry us through the spring and summer months with lots of scrap happiness. The Marrakech line is gorgeous too, with pretty details that go with the stacking doll theme I was seeing.

Maya Road: Heaven…pure and total heaven! New yummies everywhere I looked that are so awesome I wanted to bring them home…NOW (please!). LOL ;) Maya Road was showing new spray mist colors (amethest to go with all the purple goodies), luxury crushed velvet ribbon, cute baby pompom ribbon, and mini velvet flowers with rhinestone centers. They also had more fabulous albums that I can possibly work my way through but I am sure going to be happy trying—all the shaped acrylics, layered chipboards, and mix-up ones with chipboard and envelopes all ready to be your new fave mini! :)

Whew! Well, that’s it for this round of CHA coverage. I am finally back home in freezing cold Texas after almost spending the night at the airport, flying through an ice storm, and slip-sliding our way home. Comfy and cozy with my family around me, California seems like forever ago already. But so many of the goodies are going to have me rushing to my scrapbook room asap! I’m sure they will do the same for you too. ~*~Happy Scrapping!~*~