still me

ANNOUNCING ....

I can’t thank you ALL enough for all your sweet birthday wishes… thanks to all my FB friends too!! Wow… that is so cool to hear from so many of yoU!  THANK YOU!

Today is also very special because at www.houseof3.com we have launched our FIRST ‘physical’ product… we have been working on it for awhile, and we LOVE it… and think you will too! It’s SO much fun… ok, so check these images out and just be INSPIRED with all that you can do with these…
While these are called ‘wall art’ they actually can go on ANYTHING! The amazing this is that they are REPOSITIONING vinyl stickers… (very sticky) but they come right back off…even back off of paper!  (we will be using the frames in one of the projects we’ll be doing in Houston this weekend!... can’t wait to show yoU!)… ok, but here is the twist.. they have JEWELS.. HUGE bling right ON the stickers... SOOO cute! and so sparkly!

I have put them on mirrors, windows, magnet boards… they would be SO fun inside lockers on your fridge, closet doors, bathroom mirror… in addition to walls!
We are running a very limited time offer to kick things off… if you purchase 2 ($19.99 each) then you get a 3rd for free!!! But PLEASE NOTE: when you go into the site, you must purchase 3 in your cart to receive the $19.99 ‘discount’…
Each style is a little different:
The Desk Lamp which is SOO fab, looks great on a shelf, a little side table or wherever!! It’s got GREAT bling.. all in a row along the edge of the lamp shade, and has some dangles… this is SO cute next to the bed, the bath tub… even right by the computer, sink or telephone! Really fun..
The Chandelier set comes with 2 …and TONS of chain!  SUPER cute… great for all girlie girl.. so cute to decorate for a party or anything! LOVE these… I have them on my bathroom mirrors.. but I LOVE these ideas on the frames! LOVE. I have to do that!
The Frame set has 4 different frames, different sizes.. and are SO versatile.. I love them on my fridge and on a cool magnet board. I have also bought 12” cork and 12” white board pieces from Staples, (i will show them when i get them hung up! we are still getting settled in! UGH)  and it’s SO cute on those.. perfect for in the laundry room, or by the garage door going out…

THESE ARE AWESOME, FUN and fresh Mother’s DAY gifts!! Order now so we can get them out to you! QUICK… (the boxes are SO cute!!)

They work just like a sticker… you don’t rub them on… they just  STICK on! You don’t  have to live with it there forever.. you can remove them. They are SUPER STICkY!  But they will remove… be patient with them! They come with some little replacement jewels if needed!  HAVE FUN!!

i would like to give away a set of Chandeliers... who wants one.. and where would you put it???

i'm 37

I was totally indulgent today, simply in PREPARATION of my birthday!! I was lucky enough to have a few hours to myself… my sis-in-law Kiley watched the little ones this morning while I ran a couple of errands, and got lost. (amazingly, a lot has changed in 19 monthts around here!) I had a little ‘retail therapy’ at Forever 21… My MIL picked up Mexican take out for lunch…I made choc. chip cookies… (I LOVE the Mexican vanilla she has here at her house)…then E came home, and I left again… doing my final details for the Houston trip; picking up the Bazzill components and stuff I needed from Staples. Then I got a PEDICURE and a Manicure. Oh, I enjoyed it!! went to a new place that emily recommended, and they are good massagers! My calves and forearms! It rivaled the foot rubs in Beijing! There were about a million darling little high school girls getting their nails done in prep for PROM this weekend… so cute.  As if I didn’t feel OLD since it’s my B-DAY tomorrow, sitting there with a bunch of teens did it! chuckle. Took me back a few years.. thinking about birthdays past! Last year for my birthday I was in South Africa! So much has happened in a year.  Nonetheless… my toes look fabulous, and it was a wonderful birthday indulgence. Then my sweet friend Jodi brought a Red Velvet cake over tonight! It’s my favorite…(it wasn’t as good as yours mom, but I still felt SO loved!) THANK YOU SO MUCH!!

So in honor of my big 37th birthday, I have selected the 37th commenter as the winner of the 2 spots to my Edmonton appearance! I wish I could just give you all a spot! Maybe you can play that ‘mother’s day’ card…and come and spend the day anyway!

Tomorrow, I am heading to Houston… believe it or not, it’s my first time in Houston, and I am excited! check back, I will take you on a video tour of  By DESIGN, and give you some peeks into my classes and projects while I am there!

So Congrats to Tanya K:  see you on May 30th in Edmonton!  EMAIL ME

YOU WIN!!
Wow, I'd love to come! And I know just who I will invite along too :)
Posted by: Tanya K. | April 28, 2009 at 11:13 AM

Oh, and check this out… they are IN!

april 27...oh my

Where does the time go!? April has been a blur, no joke… I about fainted when I realized that today was the 27th. Not that I didn’t cram A LOT into this month, but I am feeling like I had a lot more that needed to be crammed in! 3 more days…smile. I am beat.

Friday night eric got home at midnight from traveling back to China, and Sat. morning we were in a 24 foot Budget rental moving van loading all our boxes that have been in storage, and transporting everything back to our home. Man, we have a lot of STUFF (that we don’t need). feels weird. but the desert looks stunningly beautiful this time of year…everything is in bloom, and it’s KILLING ME w/ the allergies, but it does look beautiful. And it’s so quiet out there. The stars are so bright and the view is incredible…I love it. I opened up all my boxes from my studio- all the stuff I left behind. It was so fun to open all my JUNK!!! Junk junk junk… I loved it. and if Capri and connor weren’t ripping through it just as fast as I was, I might have been feeling inspired! You know what is so great? My studio there in my old house, has SO many drawers, nooks and crannys…and I am totally rearranging everything… it’s feeling exciting! (how did I live without it??) … and Scrapbooks ETC  right down the road.  Great store the number is (480)854-2303… I am actually lucky enough to be teaching there on May 6th and 7th… I am teaching my ‘energy journal’ class… it’s a great project, definitely right in time for getting ready for the end of school, mother’s day-don’t you always feel that need to recharge your battery around mother’s day? … and taking a look at your ENERGY in and out. i am bringing along a SWEET little 'energy' in!! made special for us by Elizabeth Banks... the friendly neighborhood cook!  (so many of you bought her cookbook!! she only has a couple left! she was delighted!!)  i believe that there are just a few more spots available for that class… so check it out!  I will be teaching it this weekend as well in Houston at By Design. if you are in the area, please come say HI on Saturday! (big party!) I am thankful for the chance I have had to revisit the whole concept as I have been preparing my presentation. I need this ENERGY journal now more than ever. Smile. My weekend w/ the girls in Texas is coming at just the right time! I need a ‘girl weekend’!!! now THAT is ENERGY IN! you can never underestimate the power of CREATING!  And learning and trying something new. just totally powers the creative!
I am also teaching a full on technique class in Houston. It’s actually the same technique class that I am planning on teaching up north in Edmonton on May 30th! It’s going to be SO full of fresh ideas and possibilities! It’s going to be a fun one to teach. You’ll be amazed what you can do with a blank piece of cardstock…(the 2 top images are from a 12" page that we create starting with a totally WHITE piece of dotted swiss Bazzill Cardstock on sale right now at Scrabook.com!)  the class focuses on using my new ‘mega masks’… but combine them with other masks, stamps and my brand new invisibles. And of course, its ink-ilicious! Here is a little peek!! There are still spots available in Edmonton as well…

Last week, I gave away a spot to my weekend in Houston.. and I also would like to give away not ONE but 2 spots to my Edmonton ALL DAY event on May 30!! You can read more about what we’ll be doing that day HERE, and If you leave me a comment (be sure that you can COME on May 30th if you submit a comment!) I will be selecting ONE winner, and you can invite anyone you like to come with yoU!  how FUN is that?! totally an ENERGY IN!
here is to finding and focusing on all the positive energy flowing in, and giving you the POWER to do your thing!

welcome to HOUSTON!!!

the winner of the weekend in HOUSTON IS:

Is a fat dog heavy? Yes! I can come to Houston. My sister lives there and I have been wanting to go to Tracy's store when I visit my sis - and there is an IKEA there too. Thanks, CindyML

Posted by: CindyML | April 22, 2009 at 11:27 AM

and i have a fat dog actuallY! and he is heavy! email me Cindy... 

see you next weekend!! can't wait.

I WISH THAT ALL OF YOU COULD COME AND PLAY!! love and hugs to all of yoU!

catching up ... and a GIVEAWAY!!

Not even sure where to start! Lots going on, and it’s really HEATING up around here! 100 degrees F yesterday here in AZ, and we got in the pool for the first time! still a little chilly in the pool, so it felt great.

Ok, I have a story for you, and I am only sharing it because it will make you feel REALLY good about yourself! …I am such a dork.
SO, my folks are taking a little R&R in St. Geroge, and I decide to throw the kids in the car and head up for the weekend. Quick trip, but didn’t want to rain on their post-tax parade too much. Eric’s office gets wind that I am driving to St. G and ask me to pull a trailer w/ a door (all crated up) to meet a guy that will be picking it up there. I figure, no prob, and after we get all loaded, we swing by and pick up the  load- off we go.  We have the set up, so that we can play a video ipod through the TV in the car, and the kids are happy! We are all singing and dancing to Yo Gaba Gaba  and Disney Channel shows (I hate them SO bad). Ok… so, we get to the Hoover Dam- and I pull up to the ck point and the guy tells me no way is he letting me past w/ this wooden crate. (it’s all screwed closed, you can’t get in it) so, I ask for some tools- I’ll pop it open. They don’t have tools on hand. (silly me). SO, I am TICKED cause we have to turn back and go around, up through Laughlin. Well, maybe 5-6 miles back up the road, there is a road crew working and I pull off and get them to pry the box open to reveal my load. Turn back around and we breeze through security and on to wait 2 HOURS to get over the flipping HOOVER dam. So we were starving and needed a break and stopped for some play place in Vegas. I had 1/ 2 tank of gas, and figured lets just power to St. G (another 2 hours).  We are moving good, and we get to Mesquite, and I still have over ¼ tank of gas, and opt NOT to stop… had some good momentum! About this time, my phone battery starts beeping that it’s dying and I don’t have a car charger w/ me. (do you see where this is going). It’s about 9:30 at night, and we have about 45 min through the gorge to get to ST. G.  We power through the gorge which is this really winding, up hill mountain pass, and about the end… my gas light goes on, and I realize I am in trouble. I suddenly remember that in this car, when the gas light goes on, you are OUT. …and my phone dies… SO, we get a few more miles, and I feel the car kill and we coast as far as possible and die right in front of an exit sign that tells us that there is ¾ mile before the St. G exit. UGH. 10:30 at night… 5 kids in the car…phone dead.. out of gas… (see, aren’t you feeling good about yourself!)  after weighing my options, I get out and flag down a car, a couple guys stop (a little scary but super nice) I use their phone, call my folks, they come w/ gas and save the day. no worries… but still. After my dad put 2 gal of gas in, my tank registered almost ½ tank… so I guess the gauge is off a bit. NOW I know! After that everything was perfect.
We went to the park, the pool ate pizza and even got in on a great sale at Old Navy!  Smile…

sippy, blankies, grandma.. what could be better? This was the first time we had been together in almost a year! so TOTALLY WORTH THE TRIP!!

Monday I spend the day at Bazzill photographing the trunk show pieces from the Creative Escape teachers… such awesomely talented people. It was so fun to open the boxes and see each of their pieces and photograph them. Amazing work, and each so unique and reflective of the artist. Every year at CE, I am in awe of the teachers.. this year is no exception!   … this year Debbie Crouse is one of the teachers… I had the pleasure of working with her on the Designing With books, way back when… and as per usual, I LOVED pulling her projects out and just ooohing and aaahhhing. I LOVE her stuff! She and Paula Cheney are teaching together, and their projects came wrapped up like presents! Seriously! i was feeling SOO inspired.

Yesterday I was ULTRA productive and it felt great! On my to-do list was getting some photos of the House of 3 FAB new Jewel Wall Art… we are getting ready to release it on the site, and it’s SOO cute! Here is just a sneak peek! (check out the chandeliers SO CUTE!…) MORE images and ideas to come!! Get READY!!  we are also planning some GIVES so watch for that!

Today, it’s back to Bazzill for another CE meeting! We are like 3 weeks away from our Preview Day …which is when we do the full run through of all the projects with all the volunteers. I can’t believe it’s here already! Sneaking up on us, just like the HOT weather!
I know that there are still people waiting and wishing for a SPOT at CE…we are STILL filling spots. The Lottery process is kinda a tedious one, as we give each winner the option to take one or two spots, and give everyone a few days to decide. I know that the majority of the spots are filled, but we are still notifying people that they are in… so don’t give up hope yet!

ATTENTION HOUSTON AREA LADIES:

I am spending National Scrapbook Day at By Design Scrapbook Boutique!  The pinkest store anywhere I think! I will be there all weekend… but on Sat, I will be doing demos and hanging out all afternoon to say HI! So come and stop by for the party! I’ll be showing some tips and tricks with my NEW products in the ‘BISTRO’…  of course, I am coming to teach, and I am teaching 3 classes: my Energy Journal Class, a TOTAL technique class (we’ll be cranking out 5 12x12 layouts) and then a cute little House of 3 project. We offered the weekend as a package deal with Friday and Saturday night crops and Lunch on Sat… and from what Tracy told me it sold out before she knew quite what to do!! I asked her to reserve just ONE spot for me to give away right here on my blog.
This $200 value – weekend with me AND at Tracy’s FABULOUS store… can be yours if you leave a comment… I will pick a number THURSDAY EVENING (april 24)  and I will post it here on my blog!!
Here is the CATCH: you HAVE to be able to COME TO THE STORE and BE THERE May 1st and 2nd.  SO… we are talking HOUSTON. WE are NOT willing to mail the kits or other goodies that will be happening on that day. SO, if you enter you have to GUARANTEE that you can get there… (this is pretty much a locals only deal!)  Classes are Friday night, Sat morning and Sat afternoon. LUNCH Sat. is included! GOOD LUCK!! We will have a select number of kits to sell in the store that weekend as well.

so tired!!

i have been a bad blogger... it's been a busy few days, and i have just NOT had any time to blog...
it's not even 10pm, and i can't keep my eyes open... so i am going to have to get serious about a catch up tomorrow.  so... check back. so much to share!!

congrats...

Tonight for dinner, I opened a jar of spaghetti sauce, and poured it over of ready-made tortellini and added some grilled chicken. Admittedly, while I was in China, I WISHED I could do that! chuckle. I read through the comments and had to laugh! A lot of us LOVE cookies. The winner of the my favorite Elizabeth Banks’ cookbook wrote this:

I could SOOOOO use this cook book! We are so bored with the six things that I know how to cook. Tacos, Spaghetti, roast dinner etc. Yikes... that is pretty much it.
Create a beautiful day!!
Andria B.

Posted by: Andria B. | April 15, 2009 at 10:40 PM

CONGRATS Andria!! This should help out!! email me HERE!!

And a BIG CONGRATS to all you accountants out there! Esp. my dad, and the crew at Kasteler, Fenton and Assoc. Every year, it’s a major huge ordeal to get through the ‘busy season’, and it’s always such a relief when it’s over!!  Just to punctuate the end of this 2009 busy season, my mom and dad GOT a special letter in the mail yesterday! They have been waiting for quite a while… they received their mission call! And they have been called to serve in New Zealand!! They report to the MTC on August 3rd. I am so excited for them, and just can’t wait to live vicariously through their WHOLE adventure. I mean seriously, who wouldn’t want to live in NZ? I LOVE NZ! Neither of them have ever been there… so cool! So… to you mom and dad……..CONGRATS!! we love you!

you need this cookbook!!

Cory had a great birthday! 10. Wow. We open presents in the morning, before school… as if our mornings aren’t chaotic enough! Chuckle. All Cory wanted was an ‘airsoft’ gun, or money, so he could buy an ‘airsoft’ gun. So, just to give him a hard time, we wrapped up presents that are NOT interesting to a 10 year old: socks, pencils, new shorts, new shirts and ugly teeth gag gifts. (ok, there was a little candy in there that was somewhat redeeming!)  And just to torture him more fully, I color copied 10 dollar bills, and taped them on top of the gifts. There was ONE real 10 dollar bill (smile!)… well, he then caught on and figured out that there was something else, and found the ‘airsoft shotgun’ under colton’s bed. He was SOO excited.  after I took a Sonic Chili Cheese Cooney to school for Cory for lunch, and donuts to the classroom, Cassie took them for Sonic treats after school and Eric and I took Cory to the restaurant of his choice for dinner. (He chose Chilis!) … SO, we had a great daY! Cory was happy!! I love Chili’s…

ok, so check this out:

This is my most favorite cook book ever.
Now, I am not a big ‘cook’, but you know, families like to eat. This cook book has been my staple cook book, the fall back, the true blue…awesome. And it’s got it all: desserts, breads, appetizers, main dishes…etc. I love it.  ok, so just a few days ago, I mentioned ‘Elizabeth Banks’ on my blog- the one w/ the easter goodies!… it’s her cookbook. She is a family friend, that I feel like I have known her forever… she is just an all around totally awesome, feel good, taste good cook. Ok, so anyway, I dropped a little thank you thing off, and we got talking and I asked if she has more of those cookbooks… I mean, I thought surely they were long gone! GOOD NEWS!! She has just done another run, and so she has some to sell! I was so excited, because I think they are awesome gifts… anyway, she usually sells them for $15. but is offering them for $12.99. (sweet deal) you can email her HERE if you would like to pick one up! she has given me ONE to give away!! So if you would LOVE to have my most FAVORITE cookbook ever… leave me a comment and tell me what is your favorite thing to cook!  I love her salads, the texas sheet cake recipie is in there, tons of cookies and yummy realistic meals, tasty soups. It’s a winner, I TOTALLY recommend it.

holy cow.. she makes the BEST sugar cookies ever.

a Concroption WINNER!

YEA... and Congratulations to................

*please EMAIL ME here to get me info on where to send you the kit you just won!!!

last night i had fun w/ some of the house of 3 easter stuff ! i took a few minutes and created 1.5 digital scrapbook pages... this is the one i finished, and the 2nd is still a w.i.p. (work i progress). i have SO many cute photos... and i really should have bee working on another project requiring immediate attention, but i needed something relaxing and chill. i love to sit on the couch and create digitally... i am so not good at it yet, and i have SO much to learn, but it is fun to play... and i think that the H of 3 stuff is just YUM. now that the holiday is over, and we all have celebration photos and memories... now is the time to create! watch for something REALLY fun that i have been working on!
for now... this makes me smile!

this is quincy and her cousin alyssa.. they are so cute together, and just having cousins is reason enough to be bacK! especially when it's traditions and holiday! they are so blessed to have each other!

just fyi, this is what i used:
background kit (pdf and png)
medallion brushes
monogram kit (pdf and png)
eater cute brushes (butterflies, beautiful
definition brushes
definition printable (pdf and png)
april calendar in easter bundle

ok, so i have to share my 'mother of the year' moment  (not) ... seriously- nightmare!! i had to run out to our house, working on getting our utilities switched into our names. i was all ready to leave, buckled Capri and Connor in their car seats, and shut the door -and boom, i had somehow locked the doors w/ the key in the ingnition, and the car not running. holy cow, i immediately paniced. we live quite out in the boonies , and i had eric's truck w/ no extra key or hide-a-key. i called 911, and eric called a locksmith and the fire department arrived  first. Capri and Connor both kept  happy and calm as we played 'peek a boo' and made silly faces and it only took about 35 minutes before we had the door open. if  it would have have been hot, they would just break the window... anyway... UGH. i have to be more careful!  i just felt horrible. i gotta get a hide a key for both our cars. sheesh. i did the same thing back when Colton and Cory when they were little, but that time the car was running. 

ok, we are off to take CORY to dinner for his birthday!  today is his 10th birthday... he is LOVING celebrating! we did the whole treats for his class, presents and tonight he gets to pick ANY restaurant of his choice just with mom and dad. so cute. can't believe he's 10! SO awesome. he's a great kid. happy birthday CORY PAUL!!

get creative! WIN!

I am sorry to report that after church, by the time we got home, and I was wanting to take photos, at exactly NOON…I was not the only one that was totally OUT of patience. Not very many cute shots. Of course, I am sorry now that I didn’t just give everyone a purple foil wrapped choc egg and get a little sugar in the system… but I was OVER it. don’t you hate that. I guess I got a couple cute ones, but this was my favorite…I think we’ll work on some individual portraits later- but I have PLENTY of great photos and fab memories!
We really had a fun, fun Easter.
So a few things that I wanted to share.. kicking off the week! (yay for Monday!)

these 3 looks the cutest for Easter anyway!!

here is a closer look at what I made for my friend Tricia at Concroption.com… Capri is totally into the ‘interactive’ books and all that kind of stuff. She I loving the matching colors, and pictures and that kind of thing, so my brain has been working on ideas to keep her interested. She LOVES photos of herself (so cute) and actually everyone. she likes to name of everyone she sees, and remember what we were doing in the photos. I am amazed at how much she remembers. Of course, I love that.
This is the front: i was having to use the scraps cause i did the inside first. for the title i used the new handwriting stamps and a SMILE stamp... i love that one.  i also used 2 of the stamps in THIS set.

SO, this project is really for her! (connor is just not quite old enough). The kit that Tricia sent me had some of my new papers, a sheet of Daisy D’s stickers, some ribbon flowers, lower case chipboard alphabet, a library book check out paper,  this really cool 13” album cover that was bound with pink bind-it-all (I think)… it also had this super cute chipboard bird set (6 birds)from Maya Road. Immediately, I thought about doing something that would be interactive. I wanted the birds to Velcro on and have photos behind, and underneath. There are no real pages inside the book, just the 6 sections with 6 birds. Capri loves it.

this is what it looks like when all the birds are in place

and this is what it looks like w/ the birds removed.

in addition to the Concroption kit, I also used some stuff from House of 3. For the ‘capri’ bird, I used a print out of the blog header from the April Bundle..(lots of you got it for free)

I LOVED how it managed to tie in all the colors. I think that is my favorite bird! (it’s the middle on the right side).  I also used the definition printable, and printed it out a little smaller (70%). I used it on the front of the book and on the bottom right bird.

I also used one of the background from the easter backgrounds on the top left bird.

 You might also see 2 shrink plastic butterflies- I used the House of 3 butterfly brushes, and printed them on white shrink. Can  you find them?
From my little ‘heidi swapp’ stash… I used some bling, a lime green paper flower, some ghost mini butterflies, my crown stamp (on top of the Capri bird). I also used my NEW chipboard letters- the ones in the swatch book. They are great for little areas. I seriously have almost nothing to work with…everything is on the water coming back.. but I was glad I had my paper knife, my trimmer and of course sandpaper- can’t scrap without it.
 I really loved making this, and have enjoyed sharing it with Capri! It’s spurred even more ideas that I want to play with.  I also really loved having a KIT come. I thought it was a perfect way to get my creativity going… no rules, no limits.. just GO FOR IT… CReaTE! It was perfect for my ‘transition’ time… we are still staying with my MIL, and I don’t have all the junk I am used to playing with- so it was just perfect.  You can pick one up here at concroption.com. I want to thank Tricia for giving me this fun chance to play. She had to send me the kit twice because I moved so quick (sorry tricia!!)  She has posted ALL of the photos w/ the fronts, backs and insides, up close shots etc HERE... so go check the whole thing out!

WOULD YOU LIKE TO PLAY ALONG FOR FREE??? Tricia has given me a kit to GIVE TO YOU!... so leave me a comment, and i will choose a winner by 5PM (AZ time) Tuesday April 14th.

SPEAKING of kits…

I got an email from my friend, Chanel. She had just rec’d the NEWEST copy of Scrapbook Creations Mag (it’s a gorgeous Aussie publication) and they did a beautiful job highlighting our Create ’08 event.  It was so fun for us both to read about, it got us thinking about doing it again.. and even kicking around some dates!  So stay tuned for more info!
We also decided to take an inventory of what we had left over from the event, and get things cleared out. We are offering our remaining stock at a steal.. check out the Create ’08 blog there are a few kits from the Create 08 event (the kits ROCK if I do say so…) they will include instructions, photos etc. and there are also just some extra product kits offered at killer deals. Sooo, email create08hks@gmail.com if you are interested in a kit, or instructions or even just being added to our mailing list so we can keep you in the LOOP for the next event (wink, wink)

Ok, making dinner. making jodi's spaghetti. yum. over and out.
leave a comment to WIN!