Sunday, October 31, 2010

A few Trick or Treaters...

I had about 46 trick or treaters last night - and it seems they started later this year than in years past. Aren't these two a little old for trick or treating? Wait a minute, it's Katie and Katie - two peas in a pod! You have to really look close for the pod (behind them). This picture was taken with my phone, so no flash and a few shadows.
This little guy was not a trick or treater. He's just a killer bee. :) This is my great nephew who lives in Florida. Sweet Caleb. He will be 1 year in December. I'm not sure he is embracing the costume, though.
More tomorrow.

Bittersweet day at Paper Vineyard...

Saturday was my last day actually being employed by Paper Vineyard, a scrapbook store in Chandler. I will still be teaching classes there, but no longer on the payroll and no longer working the store. Danielle brought in a HUGE cookie from Paradise Bakery - such a nice gesture. Thanks, Danielle! I have had some wonderful times at the store - and I'm sure there will be more to come. I've met many great ladies and made some wonderful friends through my connection at PV. So... Saturday was a bittersweet day. Happy to have more time to myself and to focus on me, work just one job. This will be good.

Happy Halloween!

I am so looking forward to greeting trick or treaters tonight! Have a safe Halloween!

Friday, October 29, 2010

Here comes Spider Lady

You've heard me talk about my friend, Cindy. Well, here she is... all dressed up for Halloween at her office. She is the Spider Lady. The pictures are a little fuzzy, but you get the idea.
She made "spider cookies" (below) and a popcorn mixture that was oh, so good! (above in the bottom left corner of the picture)
Very festive, Cindy. Thanks so much for sharing!
Happy Halloween, everyone!

Thursday, October 28, 2010

Zumba!

On my quest to losing weight (which is working, by the way), I very recently took a couple of Zumba classes! Zumba - to put it simply - is Latin dancing. It is so much fun, you should really consider it. If you are looking to increase your heart rate, burn some calories, do a little Latin dancing, then you should really check out what is offered in your area. These are just a couple of random pictures taken off the internet - no one I know. Look at the smiles on their faces! Honestly, it is a whole lot of fun, you just want all of your friends to join you. My friend, Cindy, asked me to do it and I totally poo-pooed her. Then I thought, well, why not? So we went Monday and Wednesday nights at Freestone Rec Center in Gilbert. I am thinking of buying an annual membership just because of these classes. Last night, Adriana went. By next week, we'll have more recruits.
The first night I was so self-conscious about doing the dance moves and how everyone might laugh at me. By the middle of class, I realized nobody cares. We are all just having fun and trying to stay up with the instructor, Barbie, who was great! Our class had people of all shapes and sizes, different ages. We were totally outdone by a little girl who appeared to be about 6 years old!
If you've ever tried Zumba, I would love to hear about it.

Monday, October 25, 2010

November 20 Card Class

I am teaching a class at Paper Vineyard (Chandler, AZ) on Saturday, November 20, 2010, at 10:00 a.m. I am featuring Cosmo Cricket's Mitten Weather paper line. These cards are simple, but sweet. And the possibilities are endless. Pictured below are the finished cards... And these are the supplies you will start with. Each person will get to take home a complete set/package of the Ready Set Chipboard embellishments - you will be able to choose which ones you want to use. What a great little extra for you!
Thanks for checking these out!

Saturday, October 23, 2010

October's Card Exchange...

Our assignment for October was to come up with a black and red card (and one other color, of which I chose white). Here's my design. I am in the process of assembling them now, but I do have one finished. I used an EK Success border punch on both of the front layered pieces, along with using it on the white cardstock inside the card. The black and white polka dot paper is one of my favorites from Lasting Impressions. I actually used the same paper for the very first card exchange at Paper Vineyard. For this card, I stitched red and white zig zags on the front layered pieces as well. You know me, I had to stitch somewhere. I just LOVE that look now!
I really like this card (if I do say so myself). :) Very simple, but nice. I will share the other cards after Sunday. Have a great weekend!

Friday, October 22, 2010

Sneak Peak!

Take a look at three of the cards we will be making at the Home Spun Holiday event being held at Paper Vineyard Scrapbook Store in Chandler, AZ. I am teaching a Christmas card class featuring Graphic45's Christmas Past paper and embellishment line. It is such beautiful artwork - you won't want to miss this class. You will go home with ten gorgeous cards to start off your holidays. My class is Sunday, December 5. Stephanie Ackerman and other artists are involved in this holiday event. Check out the whole event at http://www.homespunholidayatthevineyard.blogspot.com/

Hope to see you then!

Thursday, October 21, 2010

Such a cute picture - I had to put it up...

This little boy came to a class with his mother. He sat next to her and read this book. Can you see the Title? "There's a Boy in the Girls' Bathroom." What a great photo!

Tuesday, October 19, 2010

Another Great Card Class!

Check out the photos below of my October card class. I get so caught up in taking photos of my "students" that I sometimes forget to take pictures of the finished product! Here's Valerie using scissors to distress the edge of her cardstock. Eileen is in the background, stamping images and sayings at the counter. Carol ... Sometimes Carol's two daughters sign up for class, which I love, but we missed them at this class.Celina and her niece, Suzanna. Suzanna was visiting - what a great way to spend the morning together! This picture turned out beautifully.
Another mother/daughter team - Colleen and Amanda. They are so loyal to me.
Another picture of Celina and Suzanna. In the corner is Rachel - who is always so very quiet. She sits down and gets right to work.
Thanks, ladies, so much for making Saturday a fun day!

Saturday, October 16, 2010

Diana's Tea Towels

My friend, Diana, who I both work and craft with, made a Christmas tea towel by sewing this reindeer design onto a tea towel. Isn't he so cute? I am hoping to make some for my mom, sisters, and sisters-in-law for Christmas. Just a little something to give them to let them know I am thinking about them and their families over the holiday season. The back looks amazingly neat and clean!

Friday, October 15, 2010

I see you...

Miss Myah went to work one day with her mother this week because they had an appointment to get to later in the morning. She is sitting under Nicole's desk reading her book for school... and now talking to me. She had no clue her mom snapped a photo, then sent it to me - while we were talking. So I was able to ask her about her clothes, and her multi-color hair. So sweet!

It's not a car. It's a canvas!

I went shopping with my daughter, Kimmy, and her friend, Ashley, on Wednesday night of this week. We went to Tempe Market Place and Kimberly notices this car... I didn't get a picture of the trunk lid, but people have written all over it, signing their names, little sayings, whatever comes to mind, I suspect.
Here's the interior..... doesn't it look like Pepto Bismol tablets?
Kim thought these color chips were paint samples, cut up, then glued on.
It's a new kind of body wrap? Only in America? Pretty creative. It's just that I wouldn't think of doing this to my car.

Tuesday, October 12, 2010

Remember the storm we had last week in Phoenix?

My friend, Sheridan's dog, Jack, checking out the hail in his yard.
The double rainbow after the storm.
Sheridan snapped this photo of her neighborhood. Look at the size of that hail - AMAZING. Sheridan said the hail ripped through screens and broke windows. Remember this storm took place on October 5 and we are still having hot weather here in Phoenix!

Monday, October 11, 2010

Christmas already? Really?

I try to get together with my very good friend, Cindy, to make Christmas cards. Our plan is this: we each design two cards, then make kits to make 5 cards. So on a given night, we are making 20 cards (4 designs x 5 cards each). I generally make about 80 cards to send each Christmas and doing it this way kind of breaks up the monotony of doing a stack of the same cards. I find I get bored with that. So here's what we did Friday night: Aren't they beautiful? I just love them all.
This is all BasicGrey paper from both last year and this year's collections (Eskimo Kisses and Jovial).
This is an older BasicGrey line - Dasher, I think.
I am about 25% done with my holiday cards - not bad for one night. Have a great day, everyone!

Friday, October 8, 2010

What a storm!

These photos are NOT of Phoenix, but we had a nasty storm Tuesday night, with buckets and sheets of rain and even some hail! It literally poured on and off all night long. Winds were fierce. We had a small bit of a clearing/dry spell about 8:00 p.m. I went outside to bring my garbage can in and it was really dark, but the sky was totally electric. The photos below look something like the sky, but I couldn't find the exact picture I wanted. Do you remember the scene in The War of the Worlds (with Tom Cruise and Dakota Fanning)? It is this scene where they are looking up at the sky. Remember it? Well, that's what the sky looked like in my neighborhood last night. It was as if someone turned on a strobe light behind the clouds. It was very creepy. I just wanted to get back inside my house. So tonight when I went for my bike ride, I took a couple of pictures of the damage done in the neighborhood. This big tree was literally broken in half.
This is normally a dry spot where kids/dogs can run. It is like a small lake, with a lot of debris in it. Again, limbs down. While riding, I heard many electric saws cutting down trees. It was kind of an eerie sound. I'm sure we needed the rain, but we also got a lot of hail.

Thursday, October 7, 2010

October All Occasion Card Class - 10/16/10 @ Paper Vineyard

For 4 of these cards, we are featuring a line of Inkadinkado stamps of children's sayings. Plus, I threw in a Halloween card - just because! The class will be held at papervineyard.com on Saturday, October 16, 2010, at 10:00 a.m. Fee is $20 and you walk away with 10 cards (2 of 5 different designs).
I love these two (above picture). You can see, I made a paper ruffle and stitched it on the machine. You know that's one of my favorite things to do.
We will be using one of our new Accu-Cut Diecuts for the card above.
A play on "sweet" friendships. Check out the card class - it is the best deal in town!

Wednesday, October 6, 2010

My new/old bike:

I have a GT bike that I bought back in... maybe 1994. I can't remember exactly, it may have been 1993, I just know that I had it before I bought my townhouse in Apple Valley, Minnesota which was in the fall of 1994. I really like this bike. Not too many, but enough features to keep me happy. We used to do a lot of bike rides in Minnesota and I do miss the beautiful bike trails that run along the river banks. Sadly, it has been stored outside for 5 years and it was a total mess. So I packed it up in my car and took it to ... Tempe Bicycle. Ta Dah! Here it is all spiffed up, new tires, new seat, handle grips, cables, you name it, it's new, except for the frame. I am so excited to have it in great working order. I have a new helmet, too. Doesn't it look sharp? Tempe Bicycle did a great job of fixing it up.
On my first bike ride, I thought I should take pictures of things I've seen. Look real close, under the mailbox and you will see the butt of a rooster. He was trying to get away from me.
Here are some cattle, but I didn't do such a great job of taking the photo - it is slanted, as you can see.
But I got this mailbox, which is kind of fun. I had to stop to be sure I got it centered in the photo. There is some horse property very close to where I live, and I rode my bike through there. It makes for a very nice morning ride.
I have taken my bike out a couple of times. My goal is to ride every other day. I know they say you don't forget how to ride a bike, but I sure felt rusty to me. Have a great day!