Girl On The Wing

Best intentions

Well I had the best of intentions of keeping this blog up, but life once again got in the way. Thought I would do a quick update for anyone still reading this (hi MOM lol).

Several months ago I developed intense foot pain. I have had many twists and sprains over the years so I just figured it would go away on its own after a while. It didn't. I was diagnosed with tendonitis and plantars fasciitis, and started going to a physical therapist. My physical therapist discovered my legs are different lengths (who knew) and that I am a severe overpronator which actually sounds kind of disturbing but just means I walk with my lower legs rotating inwards. I also have some arch issues. So I got measured for custom orthotics to correct some of those problems, but when I went back to my orthopedist he referred me to a surgeon that specializes in foot and ankle issues. So I went to the new doctor, who said Good News you don't need surgery because Bad News your nerves are damaged in your lower legs and feet and there is not much surgery can do to fix it.

Deep sigh at this point...I am relieved I do not need surgery, using my new orthotics (goodbye all my pretty shoes - by the way my daughter who wears the same shoe size seems a little too happy about this aspect), and just trying to manage the pain. Things could always be worst - mostly I just miss taking my dog on long walks and hope to get back to that point soon.

Luckily, I have been busy at work which has at times been a pretty good distraction. Webster's Pages has four new lines for CHA and I think they are beautiful. You can see them HERE. I though I would share a few of my projects using them.

Hollywood Vogue is a new line that has kind of a 1940s Hollywood glamour feel. This works REALLY well with teenage girl photos, as we all know they tend to have a little bit of a drama queen in them. Here are two pages I did:

Here are a few cards I did with the same collection:

 

 

I had picked up this dress form at the flea market, and it seemed pefect for this collection:

 

With our Waiting for Santa collection, I made a wreath:

 

Finally I made these with our Sweet Season collection:

 

 

 

 

(I havent had a chance yet to use our Wonderfall collection, but I look forward to it.)

One of my jobs at Webster's Pages is to come up with new creative embellishments and I am really proud of what we are offering this release, and am thrilled to tell you that we already have plans for more beautiful embellishments.

Other than going to the doctor and working, I am overseeing our big bathroom remodel (I now know more about plumbing than I ever wanted to know!), and just enjoying being home with my kids this summer. Sarah and Sam are as always each other's best friends, though they now go off to the pool or to work out with their own friends. They are silly and sweet and wonderful company. Here are a few recent pictures:

like I said...silly!

 

 

This past weekend all of us, including Phoenix ventured to the Durham Farmer's Market but it was too hot to stay there for long. Our real purpose in going to Durham was to eat at Scratch, the new bakery opened by Phoebe Lawless, who trained under James Beard pastry award winner Karen Barker. WOW!! She has an amazing chocolate and sea salt dessert, Pat had a wonderful chocolate cake, we shared an amazing pizza, as well as sampling several other things.

 

Phoenix met a baby doodle:

 

Pat was silly (hmmm wonder where my kids get it from):

 
 Of course I was taking pictures so nothing really to share or me on that day, but I do have this recent one I like of me and Phoenix. That dog never gets sick of cuddling (see that crate in the background - she much prefers the bed).

Thanks so much for stopping by and reading my epic post!

He was doing what??

Thanks for all the comments from the last post - I always enjoy reading them. And for Rebecca who reads here without commenting...say hello silly!

Recently I have been losing all track of time. I came back from a crop Saturday night and decided to finish up something and next thing I knew it was 5 am! Tonight I thought it was about 11:30 and it is 1:22. What is up with that? Anyway I took my ambien but I think I have time to post before it hits me.

So here is the answer to "He was doing what??" I come home from going to Archivers with Karen tonight and Pat is downstairs on his laptop. Most nights he is on conference calls upstairs so I get excited when I think we might have a night to catch us with our super huge Now Playing list on Tivo (we have whole series that we haven't watched yet.) He looks busy though and I hate to bother him (too much) so I fast forward through American Idol while he is finishing up work. I finish watching the show (Tatiana... really???) and ask Pat if we can watch my favorite Lost. He says he is almost ready so I start watching something else. Then I hear something strange from his computer, and I realize he is a few feet away from me looking busy with work while he is stalking this very blog!! That is what I am waiting for...him to finish reading my blog?! You have got to be kidding me. So honey if you are reading this now...go do your real work so I can watch Battlestar with you!!

By the way we did watch Lost and it was good! Here is a link to a good time travel theory.

Now for the other "he" in my life. There are no words for how much I adore my son. He is the only one in the house who would think to pick me up a special treat for no special reason, he asks me how my day was every day, he teams up with me in Monopoly if it looks like I might lose, and he just gets me. That said he is also trouble! He is always pushing boundaries, he can not seem to grasp the point of a hamper, and he does not have a lot of patience with people. But the thing we are struggling with right now is that he is a smarta**. He came home from school with these school pictures. The obvious intent was to make as goofy as a face as possible. Why you ask? Because he is trouble!

   

Now I handled this all wrong. I burst out laughing and could not stop. From Sam's perspective this meant mission accomplished! But then, I had to explain to him that this was terribly disrespectful to the photographer and the company who don't make a profit when the kid's have awful pictures, and I tried to explain that it could really affect their ability to put food on the table for their famiy. I also told Sam that as goofy as it is I actually like it better than most school pictures because it shows something about his personality (for better or worst) and wouldn't it serve him right if we plastered a big copy of it where everyone would see it when they walked in the house!

So if you made it this far...thanks for stopping by! Here is a page I did for a challenge yesterday that shows Sam when he was not being quite such a handful.

It's 2:05 am and I am ready to go to sleep. I did just want to mention that the beginning of March means new challenges at inspireME and you have to look at the gorgeous page Hilde did for the challenge and the projects from our crazy talented guest designer Sherry Wright. Our members have really stepped it up a notch over the last few months so if you have a moments check out the very inspiring gallery. We have some very cool things planned in the near future so keep an eye out for those too.

Take care!

CHA: Webster's Pages Sneak Peek

First off, I want to say thank you for all the nice comments on my last post. I appreciate all the good thoughts.

Next week I will be going to the Craft & Hobby Association (CHA) trade show. I'll be going to help out local scrapbook product manufacturer Webster's Pages. It will be my first time attending anythng like this and I am looking forward to it.

I am excited to share some peaks of their new product with you.

This is Reflections of Nature...one of Webster's Pages new collections. They are designed by the artist Terri Conrad, and are double-sided and cardstock weight.

This is the Inspired collection:

I'll post more tomorrow!

inspireME

If you have not already, I hope you scrappers out there will check out the new Webster's Pages site inspireME. It is a fun place to share your Webster's Pages creations and be inspired by the creations of others.

In honor of its launch, I have a fun RAK. I'll be sending the lucky winner a collection of scrapbook idea books and magazines. Some new, some older..all with great ideas.

I will select a random entry from everyone who posts here telling me what they like about the inspireME site or any suggestions to make it even better. Good luck!

Opportunity knocks

I am the kind of person who is easily amused by the silly things my dog does, happy when a favorite song comes on the radio (and why is it that it is more fun to hear a fave on the radio than CD?), and grateful that my pizza place delivers. In other words, it doesn't take much to get me excited. Still, I have had some great things come my way lately and I thought I would share them.

One of my favorite bands played a free concert here recently, and I was able to go. I don't usually do things like this because normally I would not go without my husband (none of my friends here like this type of music), and we don't use babysitters or have family nearby to watch the kids. But this was in the middle of the day, and Pat said he would work from home so I could go.

The band was Arcade Fire and they were amazing. The band members play a lot of different instruments and switch off playing them. It was really fun to watch. Besides being talented, they have such passion for what they do, which makes them great in concert. Here are a few photos.

Another cool things that happened was I opened up an advertisement that came in my email and say a little project I did on the cover of a magazine. It really only shows a peek, but like I said, it doesn't take much to get me excited. My mini book is on the far left, center.

Finally, I was asked to do some work for Webster's Pages, a local scrapbooking company. I love being a SAHM, but with my kids getting older and so busy with school, sports and friends, I have a fair amount of time on my hands. I am having so much fun with the projects they have asked me to help with. I love that I can do them and still be here with my dog during the day. 

Thanks for letting me share!

Some recent favorites

Can't sleep tonight, seems like a good time to share some recent favorites with you.

Remember the page I shared on the last post. I went to add journaling and decided I didn't love the page as much as I thought I did. So I made a few improvements. Here is the latest version:

Do any of you remember the Heidi Swapp clocks that came out some time ago? I bought one and never used it...until now.

I finally decided to make a clock. I decided to us Webster's Pages papers and I totally painted the clock (it was originally a shiny black). I did not worry too much about the numbers and only included a 9 and 3. Here is the result:

and a few close-ups:

 

I did a couple things I really like with the April Altered kit from Serendipity Scrapbooks.

This is the cover of an Easter mini book I did using new Dream Street. They have a new system that lets you add self adhesive papers to their mini book. It makes them so easy!!

I had tons left over to create a few pages. Here is one of them:

I still had enough left for cards, and created this one:

 

In March, I created these pages with things they sell at Serendipity Scrapbooks.

 

And finally, my sweet friends at Paper Playground asked me to guest design for them using their March kit. (I think they might still have a few of these left if you are interested. If you decide to get one, tell them I sent you over from my blog.) Here are some of the things I created with this kit, which was huge!

 

The countdown begins...

Just a few more days and I am off to Las Vegas. I can't wait. I am going with my friend Diane, who I have not seen in years. We are staying at my very favorite hotel, The Wynn, and are going to gamble, eat and just have fun. Before I go, I wanted to share a few things.

I am guest designer this month for Noel Mignon. She has the most beautiful kits - I love the January kits, especially the Gingersnap and Sugar Cookie kits! As guest designer, I did this page featuring Sassafras Lass papers:

I also had the honor this week of being featured on the Maya Road design team blog. See the mini album - that's mine!

Remember how I mentioned it was Phoenix's birthday last month. Did I mention she had cake? Here is it:

Have a good week and wish me luck!

North Carolina Scrappers

There are a few upcoming events I want to share with you.

Scrapbook Yard Sale

First off, there is a yard sale this Saturday between 12 - 4 at Paper Playground in Apex (5452 Apex Peakway). As many of you know, Paper Playground is a scrapbook store that recently closed. Lucky for us, the owner Kathie is letting us have a scrapbook yard sale there Saturday. This is from the email about the event:

Sat., Dec. 8, 12-4 p.m

Just in time! 

Great bargains for gift giving and guilt-free additions to your own collection When our store was open, we held a Yard Sale once or twice a year with great success.  A group of graduates from our last Get Organized Challenge (who purged many exciting items from their personal stashes), as well as some of our regular power sellers, lobbied us for the chance to share their stuff. 

Each seller will set up and maintain their area and collect all payments.  All sales will be Cash and Carry.  Each vendor may decide whether they want to accept personal checks.  We cannot process credit card sales.

There will be something for everyone in the load of goodies your fellow scrappers bring to fill toy boxes near and far.  These bargains will thrill and delight you. Just picture this -- Pounds of PAPERS and STICKERS, Tons of TOOLS and TOTES, Scads of SCRAPBOOK ALBUMS, Mounds of MAGAZINES and IDEA BOOKS, Rolls of RIBBONS, a Flood of FIBERS, an Enormous selection of EMBELLISHMENTS, and Oodles of ORGANIZATIONAL ITEMS. Spread the word and bring your friends. It's always a great day when you can play!

Fiskars Training

Second, I am so excited to offer a class in which you can become a Certified Fiskars Demonstrator. This is for scrappers that have a passion for crafting, and would like to make some extra money helping others learn about craft tools.

This 4-hour workshop sponsored by the Fiskateers is an opportunity for you to:

• Make extra money by getting paid to demo in local and craft chain stores across the country.
• Craft with Fiskateer friends in your area.
• Further your creative skills.
• Win cool prizes from Fiskars, Heidi Grace, Cloud 9 and Li'l Davis Designs.

At this class you will learn to use and how to demonstrate some great crafting tools. Even if you have used them before you can gain new tips and tricks. You will also receive a training CD and Certified Fiskars Craft Demonstrator Pin. Once you are certified, there are many opportunities to demonstrate Fiskars products in stores, at shows and events. (Scheduling and payment are between crafter and store. Fiskars is only responsible for verifying that you have been trained to demo our products.)

You will also have opportunities to win monthly prizes from Fiskars. Training is scheduled for:

Date: Saturday January 19th

Time: 1 - 5 pm

Location: the former Paper Playground store, 5452 Apex Peakway, Apex, NC

Register: Email me to register. Make sure you send me your name and phone number.

If you have any of the following items, please bring them to class. If not, you are welcome to share my tools and I will have extra cardstock and patterned paper too.

Trimmer [PPT, Desktop Rotary, Portable Rotary or Bypass]

Ultra ShapeXpress

Border Punch and/or Embossing Border punch

Circle Border Punch

Squeeze Punch

Eyelet Tool

Texture Plate and Stylus/Texturizing Tool

Craft Drill

8 sheets cardstock

8 sheets patterned paper - any pattern

Come create with me! 

Woo hoo - I'm going to Texas!!

I am so honored to have been invited to San Antonio, Texas by Fiskars for an all expenses paid weekend. This was totally out of the blue for me, and I can't tell you how excited I am to have been selected and to have this opportunity. Along with 49 other scrapbookers, I will be trained as a certified demonstrator. I can't wait to use my new knowledge to develop and teach some new classes at Carolina Memories.

Even though I lived in California for many years, I never made it to Texas. I can't wait to meet the other girls and learn new things. Thank you Fiskars!