CHA is finally over…

WOW! CHA really kicked my butt this year. Prima had a huge party with lots of classes lasting two days and I was put in charge of making sure it all went smoothly. I have been so busy that I don’t think I saw my husband or even the inside of my house for the past 2 weeks! But it is all over now and I think things went really well. Everyone seemed really happy at the party and our booth at CHA was hopping the whole time.

Of course, that means that I haven’t had any time at all for creating. I finally sat down and made a page today, but I don’t want to post it just yet. I made something special for my mother-in-law and I want it to be a surprise when she gets it. So, you’ll have to wait to see that.

On a more personal note, I apologize for being absent for a bit. I went to court in mid-January to try and get some time with my son. As you know, I have been working hard raising money to pay for the attorney. Well, without getting into all of the gory details, let’s just say that I didn’t get what I wanted. I have completely lost faith in the court system. My son will be moving with his father to Canada. I’m angry and hurt and a million other emotions that I can’t even express. However, I’ve had some time to think about it all and have decided that God knows what He is doing. I must continue to live the best possible life that I can and hope that God will send my son back my way someday.

Lastly, I have some classes coming up this week. I’ll be teaching at Scraparazzi in Whittier on Friday the thirteenth… oooohhhh. Check out the cool layout class that I have in store:

We will be having lots of fun with Prima’s Printery paper line, so be sure to sign up now. The class is almost full and you don’t want to miss out on the fun!

I’ll also be in Poway this weekend at Stamping Details. We’ll be putting some fun cards together:

These cards are made using the Prima Romantique paper line. It’s the perfect way to have your Valentine’s Day cards already made… or maybe Mother’s Day. This class will be on Sunday morning… the perfect wake me up! I love a little crafting in the morning! Call the store for more details.

More crafty goodness coming soon…

Busy Vacation!

It has been a crazy and busy vacation week for me. Our offices at Prima were closed this week, so I got a, sort of, unexpected vacation. I’m so glad I did because not only was it much appreciated, but it was much needed!

Things with my crazy boy have not improved in the least. We went to court ordered mediation right before Christmas (the ex and I). Then, we went to our first counseling session (all three of us). Because I’m waiting for the outcome of the mediation and my court date is coming up, I don’t want to share too much publicly. Let’s just say that this was probably the hardest week of my life!

As a consequence, a good one, I spent a lot of time painting and crafting. I’ve been trying to forget about my troubles, at least temporarily, and have been losing myself in lots of Pinterest posts, painting, cooking and, of course, scrapping. Here’s a little sampling of what I’ve accomplished:

I am NOT a home decorator. I lived in my last place for over 10 years and I don’t think I ever really put anything on the walls. We’ve lived in our apartment now for 8 months and I am just now getting around to putting stuff on the walls. LOL! My husband loves my work, and he loves to see me “prettying” the house up for us. Too bad I’m a really, really, REALLY BAD decorator! My mom is so great at it. She would spend months looking for the perfect knick knack thing to decorate the house with. I just do not have the patience for it. But for a great man like my hubby, I’ll make an effort.

So, what do we have here… a collection of wedding photos highlighted by a very cool quote I saw on Pinterest. The 12×12 layout in the top left corner is one you have already seen before. I’ve had it laying around for months waiting to be framed and hung. LOL! I think it made its way around every flat surface in our apartment! The frame has been painted for about 2 months and was just waiting for me to sand it for a little distressing look. It took me all of five minutes to sand and hang it, but it seemed like such a big deal to get done. Ha!

(Please forgive the poor photo quality. I always seem to decide to take photos of my work for my blog at the darkest hour of the day!)

This is a 4×6 photo of all of my husband’s side of the family and my oldest son on our wedding day. The frame is just a $1 frame from Michaels that I’ve had for, oh… about 4 years waiting for me to do something with it. The paper covering the frame is from Prima Printery, some leftovers I had from the class I designed. The flowers are a mish mash of stuff I have in this giant drawer of loose flowers I’ve managed to collect over the years.

This is the centerpiece of the “collage.” Yeah, I know it has nothing to do with love or marriage or home or heart. However, when I saw this quote on Pinterest, I KNEW I had to paint it for myself. I need this reminder every single day. What better place to hang it but right over the TV in the main room of my home! I most definitely need to be reading this multiple times in a day!!

Not much to say here. Another 4×6 photo from my wedding. Another $1 Michaels frame that has been sitting around in the craft piles forever. More Printery leftovers… more flowers. I do have to add, though, that I really felt like this needed a little bit of charcoal help. The cream paper against the cream wall that I can’t paint was a little much, so I ran a charcoal piece around the edges and smudged it with my fingers for the shadowy effect. I’m really happy with it.

And this will fill the hole. I just finished painting the frame a really cool Patina color and am waiting for it to dry before I frame this and hang it. This is my oldest son and me at my wedding reception. My husband took this picture and it is my absolute favorite picture of the two of us! It’s just perfect. The emotion of love that I feel when I look at this image almost makes me cry. I am so very lucky to have such a wonderful kid!

Lastly, I FINALLY finished this painting. I have known what I wanted to do with this for a very long time, but I just lost the passion to finish it. I finished the background months ago and the canvas has just been sitting by my desk waiting for me to finish. I decided it was time to just get it done. I think it was so hard because it’s such a “Mother” image. With me struggling so much with the youngest, I just didn’t have it in me to finish it. Anyway, it kind of still feels like it’s missing something, so I may be revisiting it at some point. But, for now, it’s hanging in my hallway. My husband absolutely loves this painting. I’m very conflicted about it. I chose to leave it for now…

Believe it or not, I think that’s about it. I did work on my blanket quite a bit and it’s almost finished. I cooked… A LOT. It felt really good to spend some time in the kitchen making yummies for my honey. I have another smaller painting in the works, but it’s another one that is hard for me to finish, so it’s sitting by my desk half finished.

Oh, and I discovered today that I did not take one picture the entire month of December! Can you believe that? I didn’t take anything… not that I had a lot to take pictures of, but still. With my birthday and Christmas in the same month, you would think I would have SOMETHING! Ha! I’m thinking of trying for that 365 photos – a photo a day for the whole year thing. We’ll see. Yeah, I know I’d better decide soon. But, I hate feeling like I HAVE to do it because of a project, you know. Then again, I probably need some projects and structure in my creative life!!

Upcoming Classes

Boy, things have just been crazy for me lately. Along with being super busy at work, and fighting for my son, I have been sick! I think I slept the entire weekend! But, I don’t have time to be sick when there are classes coming up and court dates to attend!

Romantique Card Class

First, I will be in Poway, California for this fun card class. We will be making 5 cards in different shapes and sizes using the Prima Romantique paper line. Cool techniques will be taught and lots of laughter is sure to be had! I hope you will join me. Contact the store to sign up today!

Saturday, January 7th at 10:30am
Stamping Details
14009 Midland Road
Poway, CA
858-513-8024

Printery Layout Class

Next, I will be in Whittier, California! I’m so excited about this class using Prima’s Printery collection. We will be making 3 layouts. You can choose 2 of them for a 2 page layout and have an extra one or you can make 3 one page layouts. Any way you look at it, it’s a super deal! This class will be on a Friday night, and I believe that there will be cropping at the store afterwards. I could be wrong about that, though. Anyway, we are sure to have lots of fun.

Friday, January 13th at 7:30pm
Scraparazzi
6743 Bright Avenue
Whittier, CA
562-907-0083

I hope you can join me for at least one of these great classes!

Well, it has been a crazy weekend of crafting, and it’s not over yet! As you can see, my craft table is a complete mess, along with the house, I might add. I have been making samples and making larger projects for the Craft Fair I will be selling at next weekend. I’m really excited to see all of the fun things that have been beating around in my head for a while coming to life! But there is still so much to get done.

Here are some photos of what’s in store… (Please forgive the crappy photo quality. It’s dark now, so I had to take the photos with a flash.)

I love how this snowflake wreath turned out! Glittered snowflakes with glittery ribbon… totally screams the holidays for me.

I’m not as excited about this as I’d hoped I’d be. It’s a little lopsided, I think, but I still really like it. This was my first attempt at making something like this, so I’m really happy with how it turned out. I definitely learned some lessons and will be making some corrections on the next one.

I adore these! I wish I had bought more tinsel so that I could have made more of them! If they sell, I will definitely be going back for more tinsel to make more of them. If they don’t, they will find a nice place in my home for sure!

Glittery Christmas balls in varying sizes and colors. I wish we were planning on having a tree because I would fill mine with these. If the glue would only dry…

I’ve been wanting to do this for years. This is my take on a craft that I did at the very first Inspired that I attended. Jennifer Stewart taught this incredible class where we made a mantle piece out of cedar garden fencing. Her’s was filled with vintage finds and family photos. It was so dang cute. However, I knew as soon as I did it that I wanted to make a Christmas version of it. I have never made the time to do it, but this was the perfect chance to get it done! I made 2 versions… the one above and this one:

I am super happy with them both and will definitely be finding a place in my home for them. (I will be “accidentally” forgetting one of each at home. ha!)

But there is more to come. My amazing husband helped me make a template for some Christmas village houses. I found some really high quality chipboard in my stash and he will be cutting the houses out for me tomorrow. I’ll be working on those tomorrow night. I’ve also got a couple of frame ideas, but those may not get done. Oh… and I found an apron that I had completed last year that is especially for Christmas! And of course, I couldn’t go to a Christmas craft fair without some cards and gift tags in tow. I have ideas for those… just need to have about 400 more hours to get it all done this week!

The craft fair will be in Corona, California at Calvary Chapel Living Water – 1065 Railroad Street. It will be from 9am – 12pm. What doesn’t sell there will be listed in my Etsy when I return. You can see information about the craft fair here.

Ok… back to it!! Lots to get done…

Crazy Week…

Well, last week was just crazy and I didn’t get to make my Sunday update. Thanksgiving was good, but without my sons with me, it felt a little empty. Don’t get me wrong, I had an amazing weekend with my husband. It was very relaxing and peaceful. I just missed my boys.

Patrick and his girlfriend did come over to visit for a while on Saturday, and that was really nice.

But the youngest boy would not come. I did speak with him on the phone for a bit, which basically reinforced my opinion that Operation: This Mother’s Love is still a good idea.

That being said, I did work on some crafting goodies over the weekend. I was able to finish the apron I’ve been working on forever.

I’m super happy with the way it turned out. I can’t wait to hear what the girl who bought it thinks. I hope she likes it as much as I do. After I posted a photo of it on my Facebook page, I got some comments that made me think I should possibly make a few more of these. So, what I’ve done is listed it on my Etsy shop as a custom order. Basically, if you are interested in buying one, you will need to pre-pay for it. I will be making them to order. They take about two weeks to complete, but they are worth the wait. If you are interested in one, check it out in my shop!

I’m also excited to announce that I will be participating in my first craft show! It’s a small one that my church is holding, but it will be the first time that I do anything like this. So, I will be crafting away for the next couple of weeks. The craft show will be held in Corona, California. You can read more of the details here. It will be on Saturday, December 10th from 9am – 12pm. It should be a lot of fun. I’ll definitely be sharing photos of some of my goodies in advance!

Alrighty… of for more crafting… uh, and to make dinner for my hubby! Have a great week!

Here’s another one of my favorite photos. This was taken in December 2009. I think it perfectly depicts what it is like living with 2 teenage boys. We were setting up the Christmas tree and I gave the camera to my oldest son, Patrick. This is one of the photos that he took that night. It makes me laugh every time I see it. Patrick is now 20 years old. He is an incredible kid. He’s in college, has a full time job and just got his driver’s license! I cannot tell you how incredibly proud I am of him.

Donovan is there in the background. He’s an amazing kid as well… when he wants to be. This last year has really done a number on him, as it would for any teenager in his situation. He is angry… really angry. He spends most of the time, when he actually accepts my phone calls, blaming me for all of the wrongs in his life. I have tried to reason with him many times with no success. My hopes through all of this is that he will get into counseling and once again remember how very much I love him.

But I digress… Here’s what’s been going on around here lately:

Lots and lots of supplies hanging around waiting for new homes. We have raised over $400 in less than a week! You guys are absolutely amazing. I really do not know how to thank you enough. We are almost a quarter of the way there and I’m feeling really encouraged that I will be able to get my time with my son back soon!

I’ve also been working on this:

I think I have all of the difficult elements done now for the apron I’ve been working on. Now I just need to spend some time with the sewing machine! YIKES! If any of you know me well, you know that the sewing machine and I have a very tumultuous relationship. Just the sound of a sewing machine running can give me the hives! Ha! Ok, maybe I’m exaggerating just a bit, but I will never claim to be a good seamstress. Thank goodness I only need to make a few straight stitches with the machine. Everything else will be hand sewn. I’m really excited to see this finished, though. I hope that the person who bought it will love it as much as I love mine! I’m pretty sure she will!

Anyway, I’m taking the rest of the night off! I need to get a little R&R before I head back to work tomorrow. Hooray for a 3 day work week!! So looking forward to some quality time with my hubby this weekend… since the little one won’t be making it for Thanksgiving. I thank God everyday for my biggest supporter…

Isn’t he cute? I really don’t know how I would get through this mess without him!

Please remember to keep sharing my blog with everyone you know. I know that I only have so many friends and that you all can only do so much. But I also know that there are so many scrappers and card makers out there. You never know who might be looking for a particular supply that I might have listed. They say it takes a village to raise a child. I’m going to need lots of villages to help me win the right to raise a child! Here are the links to my Etsy store and my Ebay listings again:

Etsy
Ebay

All of my thanks for the love you have shown to me!