Anthro

A great place for inspiration is found at the local Anthropologie store in Highland Village. (pssss - here's a scoop - it looks like we will have one at Town and Country mall!) There are a couple of gorgeous cupboards in the store. I haven't seen the white one in a while - it may have gone on to another store.

My love of wood makes me drool every time I see this beauty. Its somewhere between a library card catalog and a map file. Just makes me happy.

The other thing I've noticed about this store is that they have a couple of skylights in it, that brings in such a light and airy feel to the space. It's probably a good thing that I don't fit into their clothes - age or size because I find enough good stuff for the home. And it looks like now, with the new clutter free manifesto that I'll be going for inspiration only! I'm serious about this clearing out bit... I really am.

Now I'm asking you: who has the job to update Anthropologie's Facebook page? How freakin awesome would that be? And they have now posted their Fall Windows which, of course, look fantastic. Did you know there is a whole following of Anthropologie displays on Flickr?

The fall windows remind me of the Art League house from last year - the inversion house. Did you see it? Pretty amazing, up close and personal. I wish they had left it up longer.

Oh well, I have a Saturday to tend to which includes cleaning up the scrap room and then going to see Phantom of the Opera tonight. And yes, a friend and I are dragging our husbands to it and hoping they will love it as much as we do!

And then its an early flight to Bahamas for work, but back on Tuesday. Wish me luck.

I wish the sunshine outside wasn't so dang hot. It sure looks pretty from inside air conditioning!

From Round Top to Rome

I'm stressed out at work right now - and getting ready to make a quick trip to the Bahamas so that I can work. on Sunday. It's no luxury either - it's be hot, in the sun, in a nomex suit out on a jetty. And I have a fear about actually getting on the jetty in a basket. It's one of those times when you have to suck it up and be like the guys. And you know, these days I'm just not all that thrilled about doing that anymore. It will be a far cry from last weekend when I was scrapbooking in Round Top at this lovely place. And taking pictures of this lovely woman, Miss Barbara. I had such a great time - no chores, just playing with paper in my pjs. There is such a freedom in getting away and working on projects, and laughing and meeting really neat people. There is such a kinship with other scrapbookers. Sometimes it just amazes me.

The best thing that happened last weekend was that my neighbor said she would go to Rome with me in two weeks. Yep, just like that. I shake my head sometimes because the way it happened was really mystical. Boom - all of a sudden, I have a friend to go with me and besides that she's one of my favorite people, who is terrifically funny and so now it's all set. She's going to London to see her brother while I go to Rotterdam and finish business and then we fly home on the 5th. Easy peasy. About a month ago she got a strong urge to get her passport, worried about her grandson, Sonny Boy who is fighting over in Afghanistan. But the real reason now appears... it was to go to Rome this summer. We're going to have a great time.

I never did write about Carol Wingert's project for Inspired. Carol wow'd me in 2006 at the first Creative Escape when she took a file folder and folded it in half and made a travel portfolio. It just fascinates me when she designs such great books out of everyday office supplies. And this project was no different, but this time it was 3 projects in one, with lots of cool twists and turns (using aluminum tape from Home Depot) and glimmer mist - something I've not really been fond of - but with the parchment paper, it just pops! The project is two pieces of cardstock, folded to make a folder/book. Inside she added envelopes, folded accordian style, some canvas and her signature booklet that is "stitched". I'm sure there's some proper title for the style - saddle stitch or something... I don't know but it's a great addition to this project.

I also worked on Carol's Betwinchie kit and just had a blast with it - more book binding but what really appeals to me is the symetrical betwinches (1 and a half inch) on the cover. Very similar to Tim Holtz's project, Transparent Illusions. It's not finished yet, but I hope to soon.

My mind has been rumminating over the life cycle of buying, organizing but not scrapping - I've spent alot of time doing just that the past couple years and have two rooms that are crammed full of stuff. And I'm ready to change and do something different. I want to live a clutter free life and so I wrote a manifesto - it's only in draft form right now but it involves some serious change. No more aimless buying - at Michaels, or Hobby Lobby or local scrapbook stores or vintage or junk shops either. I want to narrow down the types of art that I do and haul off the stuff I'm not using. I'm concerned because I really don't do much stamping but I love stamps... that one is going to be hard to clear out. I've made a dent in my paper and gave away quite a bit in Round Top but I think I'm going to stack up the rest and sell it on ebay in lots. But if that becomes too much of a hassle, I'm just going to box it up and give it away. I'm just done with hoarding all this stuff that I couldn't use in a lifetime. It amazes me how many of us do that, part of me wants to understand why I do it (I think I know) and all of me wants to stop doing it or at least dial it down, way down. A real inspiration has been my friend, Tanya in New Mexico who has been working with Aby Garvey for inspiration and Peter Walsh from Oprah fame. And part of this change involves cutting down on emails and blog reading. I get emails from all kinds of sources about sales and I've already unsubscribed to 20 or so... and I delete plenty more now. It's such a drain on the brain - always trying to keep up with reading all this crap. Sure, it inspires me but I'm not spending my time making or creating, like I want. It's funny because with just these small changes I can feel a difference - I made 3 mini albums last week - poof! During the week... after work. It felt great. I'm ready for more of this. Bring it!

Oh and one last comment. I don't watch alot of TV but enough already about MJ. We really don't care. Just let him rest. Jeez Louise. I don't know how stay at homes tolerate it.

Travels

Texas heat. What can you say about it ... my neighbor says its better than snow, you don't have to shovel hot. I can go with that but dang, it is just stiffling right now... I had a great trip to Long Beach and Chicago and the work part was good too. I stayed over the weekend in Long Beach and visited Fabric Barn - a great warehouse of ribbons, trims etc. that are cheap! I picked up some tulle also in lucious summer colors of melon, lemon and peach. I took a chance on the hotel and stayed here. Its a bit scary at first - on the roof is a sign that says BATH IN EVERY ROOM. The Varden is a historic building (thus the sign stays) that's been modernized in modern European style and I loved it. The staff treat you like family and it was quiet - I abhor slamming doors and noisy children. The room was like a comfy cocoon and everything had its place (plugs for cellphone). For a neat freak like me - that works! Saturday I spent at the Tall Mouse in Cerritos and downtown Orange which has lots of antiques include Country Roads. I found a few tidbits but was saving my $ for the Long Beach Flea and its a good thing because it was FANTASTIC. It was vintage and cheap from A-Z - I was in heaven for 5 hours plus the weather was nice and breezy. I found all kinds of goodies and my feet hurt more than my arms so I wouldn't make a trip back to the car to drop my stash. I found vintage children's books for $5, stitchery, linens, cream colored iron picture frame. What was fun was hearing the conversations - seems that everyone knows each other - dealers and customers. So interesting. I even ran into SB Mary Smilove from Sweetpeas and Snapshots. Small world. I would definitely recommend the LBF and hope to go back again. (I'm having trouble with Blogger now).

This weekend included two classes at By Design with Debby Schuh. You can always count on Debby to include some nifty pages and this time was no different. My favorite was the second class - a vintage travel album that started off with grungepaper. The end result is just too cool - with some paint and ink - voila! a vintage look. And it was nice to finish both of the projects the same day (a little bit at home). Bonus was spending time with Ronda, Cindy and seeing Gigi.

My friend, Laurel has been on my mind all day. Her husband died suddenly last Sunday and I am keeping her in my thoughts. So amazed at her strength and wisdom. She is so beautiful and keeps talking about how proud she was to be Mrs. Gregg Witwen. Lovely and graceful. I am at a loss for words.

Oh those Boys

Forgive me for not being able to place this You Tube video in my blog. some people just can't!

Tell me if you can only watch THIS once... I couldn't. I think it's just the funniest - thanks to Silver Bella local, Linda for posting it on her blog. She always has clever stuff... pics, videos, projects... Love to read what she's doing. I'm off to Long Beach, CA and Chicago - both for work. I wrote my presentation for Chicago at 4:30 today... what can you do... I am staying over the weekend and going to the Long Beach flea on Sunday morning at 6:30 am! Looking forward to seeing what's out there in Cali. Hope you enjoy your weekend!

Ketchup

Here's a hint. Before you send that email... about some great Internet revelation or some awful thing that can happen if you wear your underwear backwards... go here first and type in a few words to see if it's real. or Internet fodder. It'll save you lots of time. and embarressment.

I'd also like to suggest that you consider Be The Match - the National Bone Marrow Donor program. I joined several years ago after being a stem cell donor for my brother, who had Hodgkins Disease. In the past, obtaining bone marrow was a painful process - it isn't anymore. For me it consisted of taking 5 shots to build up my stem cell count (we got it up to 9 million!) and then the transfer process is about 4 hours and it's easy peasy. The worst discomfort is that you're cold - I mean really cold - so they cover you with warm blankets. Hmmm. I keep hoping they will contact me - I would do it again in an instant.

I'll share a funny story that happened after I donated the cells to my brother. It was right before Thanksgiving and they run your blood through TONS of checks, of course, HIV. Mine came back Positive and it was just so comical (now). I had just gotten married and so thinking about HIV was the farthest thing from my mind. They treat it very seriously (at the VA) and they warn you TO TELL NO ONE. NOT EVER YOUR HUSBAND. As if. (I'm lousy at secrets). Their logic was powerful - you're damned either way - if you've positive, you've got a whole world of changes coming about and if you're negative - after the holiday, you'll have to call all those people and say - guess what, False Positive, folks! And it was a 3 hour drive back to Houston - alone so I could ponder the possibilities. But I didn't. What was the point. It is just funny - looking back on it. The good news was that they couldn't transfer the cells to my brother, so he got to come home for the holidays. and it was his last - and that guy enjoyed his food. So we were all together at Thanksgiving. Good stuff. On Saturday I got the call from the head of the BMT unit that I was not HIV positive. Such a nice doctor - to call me at home - during his holidays. Very cool dude.

Memorial Day was vacation week for me and my hubby in Destin, Florida. Well, actually it was a week long vacation that included my favorite places: New Orleans, Destin and Canton... how's that for a home run! We spent the night in NOLA at my cousin's and enjoyed some amazing charbroiled oysters at Dragos (best ever!) and then spent 4 days at the beach - exploring new beaches (Grayton, Santa Rosa, Seaside) and a bit of shopping (Zoo Gallery, Belks). We took our time driving to all 3 destinations - stopping at a casino or antique store, whatever struck our fancy - all the way across Mississippi and Louisiana. Good fun. And great meals in Destin - at Bonefish Grill and The Back Porch. We had fun rummaging through the junk in Canton but I think I'm maxing out on "stuff" right now - I really need to open an etsy shop and unload some of this stuff... So, on Saturday we headed over to the Crafty Scrapper in Waxahachie. Man, I just love that store. And the Robin's Nest next door - both are just amazing places. (It's a good thing I received Karen Russell's online photography class book this weekend - all of my beach photos were overexposed. ugh.)

In my world, there is no such thing as a bad blogger. Blogging is optional. Guess I should put that on today's grateful list - since I'm not self-employed and it doesn't affect my livelihood - I can do it if I please. or not. Even though I am Catholic, I cannot go there - blogger's guilt. Nope.

So that's what I've been up to... All good stuff. I'm headed to Bahamas tomorrow for work. Wish me luck - last time didn't go so well so I'm hoping for a better outcome this week.

I was Inspired

I participated in Donna Downey's event in Concord, NC last weekend - with some of my peeps... And even though it was the second event in 2 weeks, I thoroughly enjoyed it with my creative flame ignited. The event set up really worked for me - the hotel was luxurious without being expensive - just the right mix. I loved having 3 hours for each class (and somehow we didn't finish the painting class). The on site store was downright addicting and I knew well enough to get into Jenni Bowlin's booth first thing. She offers the best vintage goodies and AT A FAIR PRICE, which I just love. It is so nice and refreshing - its like she shares her stuff with you, with a little money involved. The other booth, Random Arts had very eclectic artsy things for sale - most I didn't understand but I knew a few good things when I saw them - blue bird ribbon and copper plates. Of course the fabric store was inviting and the trim/button store had some lovely goodness that I selected - a vintage yellow puppy dog ribbon. I haven't unpacked much nor downloaded my photos so I'm either going to have to steal from someone's gallery or you'll have to wait. Better wait.

I have to say I was put on fire with Susan Edmonson's sewing class. First of all, kudos to Donna for having a nice large room, and plenty of sewing machines, that all worked and a great TA who kept them threaded and fixed for us. It was a joy and a pleasure - I've been to events where the electrical issues weren't thought out so this was great appreciated. And the fabric journal that we made just makes my heart sing... after all its sewing - machine stitching and since Silver Bella anything sewing really is making my creative heart dance! We even skipped the next class so that we could go to the fabric store, Sew Much Fun and get more moda goodness. I selected pastel fabrics and sewed 3 "pages", that still need buttons and writing etc., but they're sewed! It really was soooo much fun - just like scrapbooking but with fabric. Its a whole new world! I've also been grappling a bit with my creativity lately because it seems I only create when I have an end in mind - I want to make a gift for someone - and this was more about just putting pretty fabrics together, er - creating. Its not perfect, its my first time out but I just kept going. It felt so good and light and happy. I want to do more of it. I will do more of it. I learned how to thread the machine by putting my two index fingers together and putting the thread through the needle and it works! Okay, I'll cut the exclamation points - are they getting annoying? I just can't say enough, how much I loved this class and want to incorporate it into my creativity.

My favorite workshop (I did 4) was right as I stepped off the plane, with a Stampin Up demonstrator, Anna Marie Still. She put together a bracketed mini book made from a Big Shot and already embossed with gorgeous sparkly SU embossing powder. It was pretty and delicate and made me want to buy the stuff - good marketing tool. We watercolored with crayons (SU of course) and a water pen. Lots of fun play time with different technics, small project which was just right for an hour workshop. And I loved the pink version (there were three colors to choose from - green, blue, pink). Look down a couple entries on her blog and she shows them being kitted. I promise to photo mine this weekend. Promise. I have to say I was really taken back by her because she seemed such a confusing combination of a person and I mean this in a good way. She has lots of tattooes, but she's an SU demonstrator, she had a baby strapped to the front of her and yet she was dressed young and hip and so-not-mom like... It just makes me laugh at me for thinking old and trying to pigeon hole someone into one category. People can surprise you and I enjoyed her individuality.

Right now I have a little girl that needs to go to the beauty shop (Grace) and a job that's calling my name. I'll talk more about Inspired this week. Especially the heavenly goodness like Carol Wingert's journal, which I can definitely make over and over again.

FKS SSL Project Pics

Was that whiney enough for you? Sorry about that - it sure did feel good to sleep in my own bed. Late this afternoon we had a HUGE thunderstorm that knocked out electricity for a couple of hours. After IKE, I bought a large lantern that sure came in handy tonight. A little after eight, we were back on and I could start the unpacking process. Because I'm lazy, I'm stealing a couple of photos from other people to show some of the projects from this weekend. I loved the size and style of Cheryl Mezzetti's beautiful project - the colors from CI's Narratives line really resonated with me, along with a few fun techniques that she added. I knew nothing about her before the class, but with her BAWston accent and funny stories, it was a great class to close out the event. Loved the attention to detail.

I wish I had a photo available of the Clear Scraps Scrap St. Louis project that we made. It really is terrific - I loved making it and I love that it is so unique! Last year we made a cute Mickey Mouse album and this year was just as spectacular. I still haven't unpacked all of my goodies and my project was pretty close to finish. I'll take photos soon (don't you hate when people promise that kind of stuff - kind of like - let's do lunch).

Anyhoo, using Ten Seconds Studio metal, we made a very cool tag with Linda Cain. She was just delightful and so relaxed and easy to be around. I would definitely take another class from her. And like I suspected - I loved working with the metal.

Wendy Vecchi's project was cool - fun to play with grungepaper. I'm just a wee bit of a freak about getting all that ink on my fingers... I know - lame but thats just me. I liked the design of the project but I just wasn't firing on all cylinders for that class.

Okay, I was a total dweeb today. I saw this project on Layle Koncar's blog and went to Pier One at lunch and bought a bird stand. Also picked up a beautiful blue bird plate... not sure if I'll keep it on my desk at work or in my scrap room. I really wanted one of these beautiful pillows (it has embroidery on it), but I drew the line quickly. They had some very cute white patio furniture ...

Oh and one of the St. Louis ladies, Ann Caryl used a Mighty Bright light during class - spiffy and we all oooohhhed and aaaaahhhed over it. Think I just might need one myself. It uses LED bulbs and she says she's had it forever and never replaced one!

That's all I'm saying. Good night.