Great American Scrapbook Convention

My friend Amy and I ventured to Grand Rapids yesterday (about a 45 minute drive) to attend the Great American Scrapbook Convention. I've been to other conventions so I had an idea of what one should be like. We were both pretty giddy as we approached the DeVos Place in anticipation of the goodies we'd find. I have to say there were some great vendors but I was a little disappointed that there weren't more. I realize that you can only have so many scrapbook layout booths and so many stamp booths but the truth is - it's all about pricing for me. We hit one vendor who was selling the $1.00 stamps that I purchased a few weeks ago at Joann's for $3.45!!! That is an insane mark up if you ask me. I guess it's a good thing that I'm anally frugal and do my research on prices for scrapbooking goodies. Makes my money go a lot further. My main goal yesterday was to find some new Cuttlebug folders and some embellishments that I may not have. Oh, and a few acrylic albums to alter.





Shortly after we arrived we came upon a booth that had the new Cuttlebug folders. I shouldn't have gotten them all but sometimes I am impatient, ok I'll be honest, I *AM* impatient and had to get all the ones that I liked. I haven't seen them in Michael's, Joann's or Hobby Lobby yet so the anticipation was killing me. I *should* have waited and used my coupons on them when they do get them in stock but I have some new toys to play with now! Check them out!

I also grabbed some two sided stickers to use with my Doodlebug glitter and flock. We'll see how sucessfull I am at making them look as good as they do!

All in all, we had a great time. We also went to a local scrapbook store in Grand Rapids. WOW! It had soooo much stuff! It's a good thing it's not local!

How are things on your end?

There is nothing sweeter than stumbling across a website that sells super cute stamps at an even super cheap price. A few weeks ago I was searching for some new stamps while I impatiently wait for the new SU! catty to arrive. I did a search for "clear stamps" and the site New Clear Dollar Stamps was one of the top search results. I clicked on the link and fell in love with the Clearly Delightful stamps by Laurie Wilson. In particular, Charlie the Horse. I ended up ordering all the Charlie stamps and many others. To top it off, shipping was super fast and that is always a plus in my book!

This week in one of my favorite card groups on CafeMom we had a sketch challenge was from a previous Bella sketch challenge (BSC35). I couldn't possibly use Bella since she is ever so popular right now so I figured I'd give Charlie a whirl. Isn't he just the cutest horse you've eva seen? I tried to stick to the challenge layout without any additions.

I used my SU pencils and blender pens since I hadn't gotten a chance to get mineral spirits yet to use with my Koh-I-Noor pencils. (They ROCK!) I used SU! DSP and CS. Sponged the edges to give it a bit of a softer look.

So How's everything on your end? On my end, I've lost my mojo :( Hopefully after I return from the scrapbook convention Saturday I will have some new fresh ideas. I'm hoping to come across some acrylic books. I saw one at the Little Scrapbox store and it look soooo cool. I'd sign up for that class if it wasn't so darn far away.

And an update on Zoe .... the surgeons looked over her CAT scan and MRI in depth today and it has been determined that she has 1 inch tumor on the front left of her brain. This is what is obviously causing the seizures and they are now trying to control them with epilepsy medication. Apparently two of the surgeons are having conflicting suggestions on the next steps. One wants to wait and watch the tumor for a few months to see if it changes and the other wants to go in immediately and do a biopsy for cancer. Unfortunately, the latter option would mean they would have to shave part of her head and drill a hole. Her family is going to the University of Michigan Children's Hospital to get a second opinion. Please continue to pray for Zoe and her family.

Praying for Zoe

This morning my mom's boss was heading to Tennessee on vacation with her mom, sister, niece and nephew when Zoe (her 8 year old niece) started having a seizure. They had only been on the road for 20 minutes which is sort of a blessing. They pulled over on the expressway and pulled her out of the car as she stopped breathing. They started CPR on her and called an ambulance. The ambulance would take over 10 minutes so they put her back in the car and drover her there themselves. They admitted her immediately and did a CAT scan. The news was shocking. She had something on her brain. They decided to do an MRI as well and on the way to the MRI she had another seizure. The MRI also shows something on her brain. At the moment, she is stable but they have called in a team of brain surgeons to go over the results tomorrow.



My mom's boss is a fabulous woman. My heart aches for her and her family. I knew I just had to make a card and send it to Zoe. I got a new order of stamps from Stampingbella today and what better stamp to use than Ella and LooLoo. Please keep Zoe and her family in your thoughts and prayers while they go through this difficult time.

So much fun!

A few weeks ago two girls from Cafemom that I chat with and swap cards with were talking about a Bella class they attended. I too, love the Bella's and was eager to join them. I had emailed Christa and Carol about the class and quickly called made arragements to join them for a class. The first one was cancelled because the Bella's weren't going to be there on time. Not a big deal as we were all able to reschedule to a few weeks later. The picture of us (L-R)- Me, Christa and Carol.

Well, I can't even begin to tell you how excited I was to make the almost 95 mile trip! Yes, it was quite a long, boring drive but well worth it. We met at Red Robin for dinner where Carol greeted Christa and I with goodie bags filled with yummy smelling candles, candle holder and a cute notebook. We chit chatted over dinner and then made our way to the scrapbooking store. I walked in and felt like a kid in a candy store. The store is amazing and so is their classroom area. This picture is not even the whole store... Check it out!

The class was 2 hours long and I even learned a new technique! I had purchased the Koh-I-Noor from GinaK Designs but hadn't had the chance to pick up the mineral spirits to use with them so I have been using my blender pens. I LOOVE how the mineral spirits worked with the pencils we used last night and can't wait to use them with my Koh-I-Noor pencils!!! I have to admit that most of my time was spent coloring. I only managed to put one card completely together. How sad is that? Between talking and enjoying the coloring time flew by! Afterwards I was able to shop and picked up a few goodies for my SCS Secret Sister. I sent her first package out this weekend so she should be getting it soon.

Anyway, I had a blast, the food was yummy and the girls were as fun in person as they are online!

I wish I lived closer to them. They were so much fun to hang out with and I hope to head down there again. Perhaps for an all day crop or something and without a doubt...another Bella class!

My future stamper

Most of the time when I head downstairs to my scrap area in the basement my daughter wants to tag along. It gives us time together and daddy a break. Usually she keeps herself busy coloring, playing in her cozy cottage or with her plethora of Little People. Sometimes she gets bored of that and decides she wants to scrap with mom. I love it when she pulls her little chair up next to me and says "Mommy my turn". She usually wants to play with my paper cutter or the Cuttlebug. A few weeks ago I was making a card for my Secret Sister and needed to pull out my Cuttlebug and she decided that she wanted to play with it too. I look over and she was busy putting one of my birthday cards through the Cuttlebug. Check her out..

Chillin'

It's been rather hot in the upper 80's to low 90's with 85% humidity. Needless to say, I have been spending much of my time in the air conditioned house. This doesn't necessarly help me in the financial department because the more I'm inside the more I spend! I purchased two sets from My Favorite Things (http://www.mftstamps.com/). I love their stamps and had a hard time picking just two. I've had my eyes on the set "Baby it's Cold Outside" for a while so I grabbed that one. Even though I hate the cold Michigan weather I have an obsession with snowmen. I couldn't resist this set! No particular reason for this card other than I was dreaming of cooler weather!

So many new goodies

Once again, I've not been able to keep up with my blog. I have gotten so many new goodies in the past few months that I've been busy working on cards and other projects. I ordered some GinaK stamps and I have to say that I'm now addicted! They are so much fun! One in particular set; Owl Always Love You is fabulous. I was browsing the gallery on SCS and came across a card made by Faith (aka Markie's Mom - http://stampinwithmarkiesmom.blogspot.com/ ) and I had to see if I could come remotely close to her card. I gave it a whirl and this is the end result. You can see her card on her blog as well. Her cards are breath taking. The colors are soooo vivid.

Here are the two that I made...