Show projects & a reminder...

First, don't forget that tomorrow is the last day for the January Month By Month challenge going on over at CK! Pretty please go participate for a chance to win a copy of my book! This month's challenge is totally easy (just use orange, green and blue on a layout), so you really have no excuse. :) And, because I know it might still be a bit confusing, see my link over on the left about the challenges for more specific instructions, okay? Cool. :)

For what it's worth, I even played along. If you remember, my "Be Driven" list for my Lists of Me album was all orange, green and blue. So there. ;)

Now, I also wanted to share with you the layouts and project I did for Prism's CHA booth. Just some fun ones that, like so many of my layouts, illustrate how very awesome Prism cardstock is...

This first one is of my Micah and my sweet niece, Makenna (yeah, you'll likely see her in more layouts now that I finally have a little girl nearby to snap pictures of, LOL) just after she'd first moved here to CO last spring:

The wee bit of patterned paper (including the little journaling block that is cut from a larger piece of patterned paper) is from Teresa Collins' terrific Crush line. I also used some of the Teresa Collins big pink brackets (for mini albums) to create the bracket shape out of cardstock.

This next one is way simple:

I LOVE that bit of patterned paper from Graphic 45's Playtimes Past collection (the bit there with the bike). It was so perfect for this layout! It's hard to see, but I also went over that bike graphic with Glossy Accents to add a bit of dimension and it looks way cool in real life. :) (Oh, and for the record, the training wheels remain ON the bike...this was just a test run, lol.)

This final layout from the show is probably my favorite:

It also uses a wee bit of that Playtimes Past paper (the dominoes). Isn't my Micah the most adorable three year old ever?! (Course, he was two in these pictures.)

I also made this way fun crown out of cardstock for the booth. Jamie (Prism gal extraordinare) was supposed to wear it but I caught her without it on, LOL! She tells me she did wear it around the office when it first arrived:

Again, the bits of patterned paper are from Teresa Collins' Crush line and the little letter stickers read "Queen of the Crop." Fun, no? I actually made other projects for the booth that didn't get used due to space. I wanted to share at least one of those because I just think it's cool:

Just a fun wreath made out of Prism cardstock and Graphic 45 Botanica Bella papers. It's a bit bigger than 12" and didn't really take that long to make once I got going. Each little rolled piece is a quarter of a 6" circle. I used a cake tray thing for the base and a LOT of hot glue. ;)

Okay, that's all I wanted to say today. :) Don't forget to post a layout (or more than one layout) to my January MBM challenge and also remember to check out my CHA show favorites in the post below...

Wow.

So. I was at the CHA (Craft & Hobby Association) convention earlier this week. It was my first time attending (they happen twice a year). It was awesome. (Yes, I know I've heard that show attendance may have been down due to the economy and all that; but, for me, it was still pretty dang fantastic.)

So much to say...I think first I'll do a quick run-down of my time there and then post my list of favorites, okay? Okay. Bear with me. ;)

- Sunday morning...woke to discover snow (had been hoping it would have waited a few hours, as it's waited this long already, right?)...hurried to get ready and get to the airport despite low visibility and a windshield that wouldn't fully defrost. Made it to the airport with just enough time to park in the garage (having opted to forego the economy lot as I was wearing a skirt and didn't feel like hiking through the snow), run inside (literally, but at least it kept me warm), get through security, use the bathroom and board the plane. Whew.

- Sat on the plane for almost an hour while we waited for the plane to be de-iced. Fun times...so glad I was so rushed to get on the plane in the first place. :)

- Finally made it to LAX (which must be one of the most confusing airports...very poor signage, thank goodness for cell phones!) and met up with Brian Tippetts (CK Editor in Chief), who was picking up me, Erin Bayless (CK Creative Art Director...at least I think that's her title, lol), and Mandy Douglass (CK's 2008 Scrapbooker of the Year).

- Grabbed some lunch at Quiznos then headed for the hotel, where Mandy and I stashed our stuff in Erin's kid suite (complete with bunk beds, LOL) while we got ready to head over to the convention center (a short walk away)...our rooms weren't ready yet to check into.

- Made it to CHA! Brian and I did our scheduled book signings...me for Month By Month Scrapbooking and Brian for Get Creative With Type (though, unfortunately, Brian's book didn't get shipped correctly so he was taking names and addresses and will mail folks copies). (BTW, Brian's book is stinkin' awesome! I have some pieces in there as well!) Oh, and apparently while we were signing books we missed out on Paris Hilton's big appearance. She has a new scrapbook product line that let's just say I'll not be buying. :)

- After that, I walked the floor with Maurianne (one of the CK editors), gathering information. Fun stuff!

- The show ended for the day and our CKMedia group headed out to a scrumptious dinner at Tortilla Joe's in Downtown Disney. Yum!! Loved the stories shared!

- Back to the hotel but then back out to Denny's for some late night dessert with the Prism design team...awesome to meet everyone in person finally!

- Finally got to sleep around 1 am PST, having been up since just before 5 am MST that morning. Yeah. Wiped. ;)

- Monday was gorgeous (so much better than snow and ice!) as we ate breakfast and headed over to the convention center. Brian and I had more book signing time at the booth, had a lovely CK contributor lunch and got to put more names and faces together, and did more walking of the floor with both Maurianne and Lori Fairbanks (another CK editor, in charge of the Hot Spot and similar cool stuff). Oh! And I saw (from a slight distance but definitely within a few yards) both Jane Seymour (who was there promoting some paint products I believe) and Vanna White (who was there with Lion Brand Yarn). Cool.

- Memorable cab ride to Downtown Disney where the driver freely shared his opinion of palm trees...did dinner at Downtown Disney again, this time at House of Blues...where the key lime pie will change your life. :) (See Mandy's blog post...) Maurianne, Erin, Lori and Mandy were kind enough to put up with me while I stopped at the Lego store to get some goodies to take home to the boys (who obviously do NOT need more legos, LOL!).

- Made it back to the hotel earlier than the night before and had a leisurely evening of packing and watching tv and planning which booths I wanted to make sure to get to before leaving.

- Tuesday morning was a bit windier than previously but still sunny. :) Officially checked out and said goodbye to Mandy (who rocks!) and did a quick group picture:

(Borrowed from Mandy's blog since I didn't take a camera with me, lol. Me...Megan (CK Creative Editor and freakin' hilarious gal!), Maurianne, Lori, Erin and Mandy up front.)

- Tuesday I mostly wandered the show on my own, hitting the booths I really wanted to see and even getting to help my LSS owner do a wee bit of shopping at the Prima booth...yay!!

- Belatedly realized the time and said my goodbyes, hurried back to the hotel, caught my shuttle to the airport and then hung out for a bit before catching my flight home. Except for a bit of turbulence that I could have done without, it was an uneventful flight. Landed, collected my bags and drove the hour home in time to put the boys to bed around midnight. Whew.

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Since being home, I've been trying to catch up on emails, keep the boys on track with school work and stuff like that. :) Now. My top picks from CHA...(not specifically in any order)...

- Little Yellow Bicycle. Dude. Their new Traveler line rocks! Absolutely in love with it all and particularly loving their new journaling tablets and clear cuts. I also am thrilled that this travel line isn't full of airplanes or cruise ships...very versatile! If I'd had a camera, this is a booth where I'd have been taking lots of pics of their samples, as they were outstanding.

- K&Co. To be honest, K&Co isn't normally my style, but their new Actopus to Zelephant line is fabulous!! I'm pretty sure I'll be needing it all. :)

- Graphic 45. Again, I'm not usually as vintage-y as this company tends to be, but I'm in love with their new Communique and Transatlantique lines. Love the bright colors of the Transatlantique and the awesome graphic-ness of Communique.

- Prima. Wow. Prima has totally gone beyond flowers. I was drooling over their new Donna Downey canvas line, stitched mulberry papers (which is perfect for those of us who don't have the patience or courage to actually stitch on our own layouts...this is done already for you!), cute little clear stamps, laundry line felt and coordinating papers, Flirty Little Secret flocked papers (such rich colors!), glitter star sprigs (yay for stars!), and flocked and glittered transparencies. Yeah. Lots of good stuff!

- Fiskars. Somehow I very much appreciate that this company has decided to go back to its roots and concentrate on tools. Because I so love their tools! Their new border punches are fantastic (I'm particularly in love with Upper Crest) and I'm a big fan of their squeeze punches which work well not only for scrapbooking but for kids crafts. :)

- Anna Griffin. Oh my goodness. Their new Riley and Darcey lines are terrific! Riley is this adorable circus line and Darcey is very graphic and gorgeous! Love all the new embellishments they came out with as well! (Can't seem to find a better link where you can see more of the products...trust me, okay?)

- Fancy Pants. F.U.N. Loved their new mixed media albums (so cool! and they come in four shapes so you can mix and match...the samples were awesome!), their journaling notebooks (unique in that the pages are all different shapes and sizes...very cool and I think there's one for each new line), the Summer Soiree line (great colors!), their Kraft Kuts (particularly the half-bracket shaped papers) and their new frame things for home decor (instead of glass, the frames have clear acrylic of some sort that's easier to alter and I hear they're planning to sell insert refills so you can change out your frame pretty easily).

- Chatterbox. Their Fabulous Collection is, well, fabulous. Love the blues and the texture of everything. They also are coming out with these way cool album stands (for mini albums to hang from) that I can definitely see on my mantle as well as cute little canvas and denim 6x6 albums.

- Making Memories. I always love Making Memories' stuff. This time was no exception. Their Great Escape travel line was awesome...love the spiral journaling book, bamboo alpha, travel tabs, texture brads, and epoxy clips that came with the line. They also have a great Wedding line I may have to look at more.

- Daisy Bucket. Two things in particular stood out for me with Daisy Bucket. First, I loved their new really big chipboard pieces...so many possibilities there! If their make and take that used one of these would have fit in my suitcase, I'd have made one. :) Second, I fell in love with their little monster stamps.

- Jillibean Soup. This is a new company and I'm hoping they do really well. All of their papers were recycled...they had a great graphic feel to them...and they also had these fun little journaling "sprouts" that are so cute.

- Hambly. Sigh. I admit it. I'm a Hambly collector. I find their stuff so fun and beautiful I do tend to hoard it rather than use it. :) New for this show were lots of great things...three that stood out to me were these awesome little whimsical animal rub-ons (designs were taken from stickers they did years ago and they're stinkin' cute), new kraft cardstock stickers (I particularly liked the trees one), and rub-ons using their popular woodgrain design (formerly only a transparency/paper but now a run-on as well). I also loved the little moustaches that actually came out last show. :)

- Piggy Tales. While Piggy Tales has some new paper lines that were very cute (I especially noticed the Billy Goats Gruff collection that has tricycles and such and the It's Raining, It's Pouring line that has boy colored rain boots and umbrellas), I was most drawn to their interactive items. Their drawbridge album, pig tails, sliding books and hide & seek books are great (thinking I'll make a slide book for Micah for his birthday this year). They've also added sliding doors (like the slide book but as a stand alone accent to be embellished) and flower presses (exactly how it sounds but with so many more possibilities...made from acrylic so it's not heavy like glass but looks just as you'd imagine...great for flowers (obviously) as well as locks of hair or pretty much anything else you can think of).

- GCD. These paper collections come in a pad. The cool thing is that they've added all sorts of awesome textures...flocking, gloss and glitter...within each pad. And the collections are fantastic. I'm definitely thinking I'll need Provence, Debonair, Paris Nights and Bright Skies.

- Sassafras Lass. Okay, the new Bungle Jungle collection is adorable! I have really no idea what to use it for, but see myself buying it all the same! Beyond the paper with those fabulous edges, Sassafras has new embellishments this time round that are great...loved the felties, journaling cards (especially the Anthem line "retro deck") and the clear stamps in particular.

- Basic Grey. Basic Grey never fails. I seem to buy their stuff every time I go shopping. :) Their Lime Rickey collection is going to be a staple...I can already see this. The colors are so fabulously bright while still maintaining the Basic Grey "feel" kwim? Happy sigh.

- October Afternoon. Not sure if you heard, but sadly, October Afternoon's booth didn't make it to CHA. I don't have more details than that but do know that I love their products and would hate for them to not be listed simply because I didn't see stuff in person. I'm definitely going to be on the lookout for their Cherry Hill collection!

Whew. I'm sure I'm probably forgetting something but hope this will help in your own shopping endeavors as these new products become available in stores... ;) What do you think? Do you have a favorite that I didn't mention? Would love to hear your take on the new lines that are coming out as I prepare my upcoming columns!

Three quick things...

First. I realized I haven't posted the last two weeks' Lists of Me pages. Here they are:

That second one was from this past week...we read the Value Tales book about Louis Pasteur and believing in yourself. I thought it might be fun to tackle a list like this...have you?

Second. Don't forget that you only have a few (okay, six) more days to complete a challenge layout for my January Month By Month challenge over at CK. The link to the group is over on the left side there, and details can be found in the group posts. This month's challenge is so easy (simply use orange, green and blue together on a layout), so there's really no excuse for not participating! :)

Third. I'm off to CHA in the morning and am totally stoked!! I'll update when I get home but will be busy the next few days. :) Woohoo!

Okay, I lied. One more quick thing. ;) I know there were some questions about my 2009 Weekly album and promise to address those when I get home from CHA, okay? Just wanted you to know I'm not ignoring those. Thanks!

2009 Weekly

Oy. It's 2/3 into January, isn't it? Sorry. In any case, without further ado, here's my 2009 Weekly album that I'm going to keep up during this year:

I found this fun binder at an office supply store (I *think* it was Office Depot, but don't hold me to that). Love the acrylic covers and metal binding! For the title page, I just used some scraps and made a quick page. Now that I look at this picture, I'm thinking I may go back and add some rub-ons directly to the acrylic cover. The title page, itself, is actually in a normal page protector as the first page of the album.

Inside, I used many, many more scraps and 27 baseball card holder style page protectors (they're not the actual baseball card holder pages but are designed specifically for scrapbookers...made by Ultra Pro and purchased at Hobby Lobby at half off)...

I'm seriously so stoked about how many scraps I used up here!! (Yes, I've already gone through and filled each of these slots with patterned paper and/or journaling cards or other tags...part of the beauty of this is that it's ready to go, so it's not as overwhelming each week. That's also partly why this has taken so long to get ready to share, lol!)

For the record, on this first page, that calendar is by Teresa Collins, the number stickers are American Crafts, the number in the circle is from this Etsy shop, the little day of the week journaling spot is by Heidi Swapp, the journaling card is by October Afternoon (it's in the middle row on the far right), and the scalloped circle day of the week card is from this Etsy shop. Yay! (Okay, I'm not going to list out supplies every time, but wanted to give you a feel for what I'm using. I actually have a little baggie of odds and ends that I have dedicated just to this and will add things to it as I go.) Here's a shot of the next two weeks:

As you can see, I've added photos and other stuff and will continue to do so...might even add smaller pages between the page protectors with a photo or two. Again, I'm just so excited by how much of my stash is going to get used up on this project alone! :)

So. What do you think? For those of you tackling the photo a day dealio this year, how's that going? This, for me, is going to work easier than a photo a day. :) Process-wise, I've been jotting down thoughts through the week and then just taking a few minutes at the end of the week to put them all here.

And, just because, here's a photo from this afternoon:

It was stinkin' gorgeous outside! (Sunny and in the high 60s or 70s...though a cold front and possible snow is expected Friday, of course.) Obviously, then, we had to go out and take advantage of the nice weather. I love the look on Asher's face here as he "beats" Noah back to their starting point. (Incidentally, shortly after this photo was taken, I did insist that he take the sucker out of his mouth while riding, lol.) After bike riding, all three settled down for some sidewalk chalk action and a quick game of tag before we left the house for our late afternoon music class and errands. What a nice afternoon!

Taquito ice cream.

Just a quick Micah funny...

So, we were on our way to the mall where I'd promised the boys a stop at Dairy Queen if they behaved themselves while I got some shopping done (needed to use those Gymbucks, lol!). They did, and we headed to DQ for the promised ice cream. When I asked them what they wanted, Micah kept insisting that he wanted "taquito ice cream." Seriously. That's what he was saying. Asher and I were baffled, but Noah figured it out...Micah actually wanted COOKIE DOUGH ice cream! Ah. Why didn't I think of that? ;)