Back to School!

Ok, I know I am probably a bit early, but before you know it the kiddos will be headed back to school! Every store I go in happens to be full of school supplies and my daughter is off to 4 year old kindergarten this fall so we are already making purchases.

I picked up this plastic school box for her and didn't think twice when I put it in the cart. Then when unpacking the bag I got this great idea to alter it. So that is exactly what I did. It wasn't easy because the patterned you see on top are all at different levels. Some are nested down and some are raised. I had to use thin paper to make patterns and then cut and trace on the patterned cardstock I wanted to use. Eventually I made it all work and then embellished it!

FREE Class update!

Ok, I've got some info on the free blog class I am going to offer!

Together we are going to be created a Mini album using the brand new Cosmo Cricket Haunted line! Oh man, there are so many ideas running through my head right now! Anyway, I have to wait to get the product in hand and then I will start creating the class.

I am also working with an online retailer who will actually make kits for this class so all you have to do is go to one online store and buy the kit for the class! She is very excited about doing this and will also be sending all her customers this way for the free class as well!

I am guessing at a timeline at this point. There are many variables. Because this is brand new just released product it will take store owners a little time to get it in hand. Cosmo Cricket is one of the companies that release product at show and then get it in the store owners hands fairly quickly. So it won't be like 6 months or anything. Then the online store (which I have ordered from many times and has excellent customer service) will need to order items for the kits once I have a list to her. Then I will post the info on my blog where you can order a kit for the class along with a link to her online store and you can place your orders! I will then allow a window of say 2 weeks at a guess for everyone to receive their kits and then class will begin on my blog. I am guessing maybe the class will begin sometime in September? Does that sound good to everyone?

Sound good? If you have any questions for me, please leave a comment and I will answer them in the same comment thread you post in. Thanks everyone.........I am so excited to get started.

CHA recap

Well I spent Thursday through Sunday at CHA in Chicago. What a great time I had! Anyway below is a summary of the event from my perspective.

I only had about 2 hours to browse the show so I didn't get to see as much as I would have liked to this year! I spent time on Friday and Saturday morning doing make and takes and demos in the Fiskars booth. Man, have they got some awesome tools releasing from this show....you really must check out www.fiskarscrafts.com where you can view the brand new summer tool releases in the PDF catalog. Friday night I attended the Fiskateer dinner at Giordano's Pizza in Rosemont. There is nothing like their Chicago style deep dish pizza and I am having some craving as I type this! What fun I had meeting so many of my online Fiskateer friends...hello everyone!

I also got to spend some time helping the folks out at Cosmo Cricket in their booth. Have you seen their new lines? You simply MUST go to www.cosmocricket.com and check them all out! There is Mr. Campy, a line for camper's but those patterned papers can be used for so many layouts and crafts, not just camping! Then there is Haunted...........my favorite halloween line ever. And I'm not just saying that because I love Cosmo Cricket. When you see the rich and beautiful colors in this collection it is unique and different from all halloween lines out there. It is where elegance and fun meet............and this is a stunning line! Jack's World is all about little boys and is absolutly darling. I think that the past two Cosmo releases have really shown some great boy stuff which I continually hear is lacking in the market. So there is something for everyone in the new releases from Cosmo! I know I am always talking about how great the Cosmo Crew is..............and they really are. Lets just say that by the time I left that booth early Saturday evening my stomach and cheeks were literally sore from laughing so much. They are the best!!!

Saturday eve I was off to the Two Peas social. What fun again seeing so many online friends. I hung out with the girls from Clear Scraps. I didn't get to spend much time in the booth but I know my designs were on display there! Unfortunately I did not win a prize, and there were so many given out! Maybe next time!

I need feedback for the free class!

Ok, it appears from the comments and e-mails I received that there are 37 people that would love to take a free online class! I was hoping for at least 25 and thrilled to get 37! Although please do not stop posting if you have not yet because the more the merrier!

Ok, I'd love a little bit more feedback. At this point I was considering doing a Halloween related mini book. I want to see if you are interested in that concept? Anyway, please leave some feedback and let me know what you think!

FREE is good, right?

Ok, I've been thinking about doing a FREE class on my blog. It would be a project broken down in lessons. So lets say I would decide to do a mini album, on the first day it might be the front cover and back cover. The next lesson would be a couple of inside pages, the next lesson a couple more inside pages. Anyway, you get the idea. I was thinking the class would last over the course of a week. Of course it would stay on my blog for a long time so you could always come back and check in later.

Anyway, I am trying to determine if there is enough interest for me to put the time into creating this. So if you could do me a favor and post a comment on this thread letting me know if you would be interested...........well, then I will have a better idea if there is a large enough audience for this. So send anyone you know that might be interested over to post and then I will see if there is enough interest to proceed. I will count the number of folks interested in a week or so and then post a follow up message.

If it is a go I would post a supply list first and give folks say 2-4 weeks to purchase the supplies and then we would begin. *****Note***** A few of you have already posted about finding supplies. I will be sure to put links to online stores where you can purchase the product and then try to give between 2-4 weeks for everyone to gather those supplies. I will make it as simple as possible. So I will be making a decision about the class in the next week and posting so check back at the beginning of next week for more info! I am thinking the class will start sometime in September and the supply list will go up at the beginning of August sometime. These are guesses at this point depending on how much interest I see on the blog!

So post below if you are interested..............

I couldn't resist!

So I was in the thrift store again looking for unique things to alter. Yep, that is my favorite place to go to find cool stuff I can alter for work at trade shows. (that and the Dollar Store) It is so cool because you find unique things from maybe years ago that are just treasures waiting for the perfect line of paper! Just ask my husband who reminds me often that the entire shelf covered in alterable items in our storage room needs to be organized!

So yesterday I am browsing and out of the corner of my eye I see the cutest little lantern. What did I immediately think of? Yep, the new Cosmo Cricket Mr. Campy line! So I grabbed my $3.00 purchase and brought it home and altered it!

I created the top of the lantern using small punched squares of patterned paper scraps. Can you believe that after making all these Mr. Campy projects shown on my blog I still have some patterned paper left? Anyway, I arranged these in a patchwork fashion and then trimmed the ends around the top circular opening and the bottom edge and then inked around the outside edges. Inside the lantern is a battery operated tealight for a cool look! The acorn on the front is the blackboard chipboard shapes that go with Mr. Campy and the cool thing Cosmo did was to make the die cuts self adhesive. And if that isn't enough the blackboard chipboard pieces are now self-adhesive. (whoops, no they are not, see Julie's post in the comments below)

BOO !!!

Scared? Ah, I didn't think so.....and you really should not be. These images are from the third line Cosmo Cricket is releasing at CHA Summer 08 and the name of the line is, Haunted. I am totally thrilled with this line. The colors are rich and beautiful! I have been seeing sneak peeks of a lot of halloween lines for CHA and I believe this one stands out. It is unique and different from the other ones being offered. It really makes you feel halloween. A bit of elegance with a bit of fun mixed in. You really have to see the colors in person to appreciate the look and feel of this line but trust me.........you are going to have to have it!