still me

teacher appreciation!

Ok, tomorrow is the last day of school here in Mesa at Las Sendas Elementary for my kids!! They are so excited, and I am finally having to face the reality of S U M M E R   vacation… what to do, what to do!! we have to get some plans, and routines in line quick so we don’t all freak out…. (ok, it’s really just me freaking out!)
Lots of us are in the same boat… time to think about the teachers… and the graduates in our lives!! The last couple of nights I have been playing with this HELLO TEACHER kit that Rhonna created to make some quick and cute little cards and tags…
I can’t tell you how much I APPRECIATE my kids teachers and administrators!! Of course, we sorta bombed in just about 7 weeks ago, and everyone totally bent over backwards to get the kids in and settled! Really, there is nothing that I can do for any of them to express my appreciation. So, I think that it’s the thoughtfulness, and expressing the appreciation… probably teachers are under-appreciated in general! Aren’t they just amazing!? My kids have really liked their teachers. But it’s really everyone at the school… they all know my kids: nurse, office ladies, cafeteria ladies… the recess aids and crossing guards…. ‘it takes a village’… and I am just so grateful..
Anyway…
For the office ladies and administrators I created these… cause they really do DESERVE chocolate!

For the kids’ teachers, I just got them some mindless reading (magazines) and $10 itunes cards… pretty token. I know that they are all doing something as ‘class’ gifts, so it’s nothing big.. but I think it’s good to know we care!  I made these little cards using the notes from the ‘hello teacher’ kit and cute kid faces… I did cut the faces out and put a little square a cardboard behind the faces… (can’t find my pop-dot stash yet- so annoying).

 

The ‘hello teacher’ kit comes w/ both the digital files as well as the PDF format print outs… SO CUTE!! I went a little crazy. These simple little ‘thank you’ cards print out on one 8 ½ x 11 page, and I will have my kids each write a little something…a SPECIFIC memory, and tuck a little photo in there.

I made this card for the pricipal of the school… she made special efforts for us, and I know she does for all the kids. Tough job. And she is awesome… I cut out a bunch of faces and an apple and then some of the note cards that are also included in the PDF printable…

Here are some other thoughts that teachers might enjoy:
Beach towel and sunscreen (time for them to hit the pool!)
Barnes and Nobel gift card
Movie tickets
Scented candle
Bath and Body Hand Sanitizer
Bubble Bath
Sidewalk Chalk
Restaurant Gift Certificate
Colored Sharpies

Last but NOT LEAST… I got these COOLING GEL EYE MASKS at Bath and Body Works.. and they are HEAVEN… I am NOT kidding. Ok, so I stay up too last most the time, and I wake up w/ puffy eyes… and in the past I have just put a little preparation-H under my eyes and it’s helped! But ever since I got this cooling eye mask, I put it on when I go to sleep and I have NO puffyness in the morning. it’s MAGIC!! Not to mention, it just feels FABULOUS! (right now they are on sale for $3. in the store BONUS)

Head over to www.houseof3.com and grab THIS…

Pick up some Chocolate or gift cards or even just a magazine! And say T H A N K S!!!

do you have any great ideas for teacher gifts??
leave a comment... i am going to give away a "hello teacher" kit for free...


PS... one last little thing... i need a favor..
it's my friend Janet Hopkin's birthday today!! if you could pop over to her blog and give her a birthday wish, that would be AWESOME!!

p.s.s. if anyone saw the FIRST version of this post... with the big 'mis-spelled' word... i had to crop it out cause i was so embarrassed!! 8 of you caught MIS-SPELLED  words... pretty funny! DEB BESCHLER   was the first one to catch the "HOORAY" problem... congrats.... email me and i'll get you a FREE 'hello teacher kit"...

quincy's baptism day

This weekend was one of those forever-memorable in the life of miss Quincy… who not only turned a spectacular 8 years old… but also was baptized into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.  She was SO excited… it was SO cute. It’s hard to believe that she is really old enough… and that we were there. It really happened! She is growing up so fast. She is really SO responsible, and helpful and smart. She is such a huge help with the little ones, and helps me in so many ways. She has been writing and singing songs, doodling all the time… always running, jumping… she has SO much energy (all the time). We love, and appreciate the little ball of light and energy she is. She was so awesome yesterday too… taking everything very seriously, and responsibly. I was so proud of her!  We had a little pool party afterward, and it was SO fun to have people over… swimming and eating. I think I forgot how much I love that.

My parents came to town for Quincy’s Baptism, and Eric’s mom and brother’s family were able to be there… and of course my sweet friends Jodi and Emily. Liz was even there because her nephew was being baptized as well. What a happy, good event. I am happy that my folks were able to come… they are busily getting ready for their mission in August…so I am thankful for anytime we have together.
Looking forward to a great week… when my parents leave, Katie (my little sister) and her 2 kids are coming. More fuN!...  

I have been writing my TO DO lists… it is the LAST WEEK OF SCHOOL here… YIKES!!
**need something for the kids’ teachers... playing with THIS
**working on the Creative Escape idea book
**putting together some new classes…getting excited about teaching again!
**arranging the final details for Edmonton!...can’t wait to see you all!
**playing more w/ my YUDU…creating a cool class.
**AND, perhaps the most exciting of all… I am counting down the days until I go to RANGER U!!! am I SOOOO LUCKY or what??

Lots going on… as always… happy it’s Monday!
Enjoy yours………

beautiful butterflies.. and sneak peeks!

This week has BLOWN by.
So funny cause my brother-in-law Ty came by this morning to work on the pool, as he does on Thursday mornings… and I went out to say ‘hi’, and said ‘I thought you come on Thursdays’… he said ‘it is Thursday’. Don’t you hate that!? and of course, I totally knew that it was Thursday- I mean, yesterday was Wed!  I went to an AMAZING girls lunch that I totally have to share every detail! Cause it was SO fun. and had Quincy’s ‘friend’ birthday party after school.. and they had a blast! And today my parents came! Quincy is getting baptized on Saturday-which I can hardly believe! I think that I just WISH there was an extra day in there somewhere in which you could just play catch up… I would catch up on sleep to tell you the truth. And usually that is the LAST thing I want to catch up on. But my body is in a full revolt. Chuckle.

 

For Quincy’s birthday party, (guess where i got this CUUUTE party invitation!?) I thought it would be super fun to silk screen t-shirts using my NEW and fabulous  YUDU machine. OK< this is the funnest toy since the easy bake oven! No joke. I have had the best time learning how to use it… I have to give credit to Liz Eaton… I leant the thing to Liz because I was heading out of town, and I let her figure it ALL OUT, and then just teach me all the tricks… she has been making the coolest t-shirts for her son Dax who is the same age as Connor… she even went to the effort of DYING the Hanes’ shirts first and then screening them. WOW… so cool. Even Cory scored one of her creations and he tried to wear it to school 2 days in a row. (he thought I wouldn’t notice) I need to get some photos of her shirts. They are so cool.
Anyway…
I decided that I wanted to have a couple options for the girls to choose from, so they felt that they were ‘designing’ their shirt. (I picked up little shirts from Target). I have 2 screens for my machine… ( I think I need to do a whole video about this… so stay tuned). I had 4 designs (2 on each screen)…  let me go back a step:
1. printed out my favorite art from houseof3.com on transperancy
    I chose the round and round swirls and butterflies from the Easter brushes
2.  burned them into the emulsion to create the screen
3. used silver and black and later white and pink mixed to pull the designs.
4. bought some heat set jewels and placed a few on each shirt, and set w/ my iron

as you can see, my models were quite proud of their creations!
It was SO fun, and SO easy.. and I am TOTALLY addicted.
After I had done a bunch of t-shirts for the girls, and also for Jodi, and her friend, and a few other things that could use a little butterfly screened on … I still had one more t-shirt… and I started to play around a little more w/ mixing colors. The very last one was my favorite! My ‘masterpiece’… and it was a crack up… quincy came in this morning and said, ‘hey mom, I want to wear your masterpiece to school today, where is it?’. really, so cute. I will add a photo tomorrow when I can take a pic in the daylight.
Holy cow, it’s opened a WHOLE NEW WORLD!!! Oh, the possibilities..
In fact,  I am even designing a class that we’ll be screening in the project! I can’t wait to figure out all the logistics! I love having a new toY!
 


  

For all of you in Edmonton, check the Treasured Memories blog (they have SO much stuff on there..) and Urban Scrapbook store also has an awesome site!! i am hoping to swing by these spots when i come to visit!!… I have donated a couple spots that are up for grabs for my ‘Edmonton All Day’ Event. It’s not long now… and all the arrangements have been made and are in place!  Those of you who are coming… here are some sneak peeks of the KITS you will be receiving… in that cute pink box that you will all receive are 10 (ten) exclusive silhouette sets!!! SO cute! You will love them! 

In the technique class… HKS Secrets… you will be receiving all 4 of the huge Mega Masks!! …so get EXCITED!!

 There are still just a few more spots remaining… you can check out the registration here.
(and read about it here)

Going to go play in my studio… it’s soooo nice to be back in there. I love it.

sunday nite.

To all the mom’s out there… I hope you had a wonderful day! that you felt celebrated, appreciated and reminded of your amazing, important and precious role in the lives of your children, husbands and families. I had a great day…it’s been a super busy week, and it was great to end it on Mother’s Day! My children made sure that I got a 3 hour nap this afternoon… which quite frankly, is the best gift they could have ever given me!

Just a week ago (tonight) we were starting the move in process and started sleeping here. now, a week later- it almost feels like home! Looks and feels back to normal…and I look around and truly feel grateful, and blessed.

This week has been non-stop… I was delighted to have the opportunity to teach at Scrapbooks ETC this week. there were a lot of familiar faces, and also met a bunch of new friends! i really enjoyed sharing the ‘energy journal’ class…I feel so lucky to be BACK, and get the chance to teach again. I forgot how much I love it. i will be there again on June 16th teaching an all technique class using my new masks and invisibles... if you will be around, come and plaY!

Friday and Sat. were the official Creative Escape Preview days- it’s the ‘run through’. We bring in all the teachers and event volunteers and teach all the classes… with actual kits, power points, tools etc. we are able to fine tune the classes, and kits to be sure that things will run smoothly! Things went so great this weekend, and I had a blast… the projects are so cool! I totally felt inspired…and tried some new things and loved to play! I know I have mentioned this before, but I feel SO lucky to get to work so closely with my friends at Bazzill. They are amazing. I can hardly believe this is the 4th year! It’s a GREaT group of teachers… and very cool collection of projects! CE will be here before we know it!

I am looking forward to a new week! (you know I love MondaY!) and tomorrow is my sweet Quincy’s 8th birthday… have much to do!

Check this out… I am creating something fabulous with it! I can’t wait to show…

happy birthday Chanel!!

It’s Wednesday morning and I have been trying to keep a good list of my ‘energy in’…
*went grocery shopping last night, and we have FOOD in the house!
*we have the house at least ½ setteled.
*my DESK is set up, and that gives me HOPE!
*got the kids to school on time
*read my scriptures
*love watching the kids play outside. They love it
*perfect weather …I LOVE that part of AZ, even the h e a t!!
*having a dishwasher
*my iphone… I love it!!
*I get to teach tonight (and tomorrow) at Scrapbooks, ETC… and I am excited and just feel so lucky to have the opportunity!
*sleeping in my house
*being busy, and productive
*DIET sierra mist ruby splash (you should try it)
*something to look forward to: CE preview day this weekend!
*staying on top of the laundry
*clearing boxes and bins OUT of the house.

Ok, so these are just a few… but I am feeling it. It’s amazing what happens when you THINK about what the energy INS are… you need that to account for everything. Totally powers you. I have been just struggling so much with all this upheaval in my life. I am afraid that I haven’t been a very good friend in all this craziness… and one of my very best, closest, dearest friends is celebrating her BIRTHDAY today!

 

She lives in Australia and with internet problems, time changes, and personal crisis… i have been a lame friend. (I have been a lame friend to all my friends actually), but I want to wish Chanel a wonderful delightful birthday… I am thankful to have you in my life, and as my friend! I have learned SO much from you, and admire you so much… thank you for being there for me. I love you! 

a new week...

I have seriously had the best weekend w/ the girls at By Design in Houston, TX. It’s just exactly what I needed… a weekend of my own hotel room, creativity and GIRL food! ALL the ladies that were in my classes this weekend were just genuinely good, wonderful people! I loved getting to know you all, and hang out and play along! There is a great vibe at the store, and I think it has to be the pink walls, the chandeliers and all the bling, glitter etc, etc etc… that made everyone so happy!!  I really had a great time!!
I just downloaded all my photos and a bunch of my images were corrupt! Makes me mad. There is something wrong w/ my card reader. It’s old, and this always happens w/ my little card. UGH.. grrr… so ladies, you have to send me YOUR photos!! Email me HERE w/ your photos… ok!! I want to make a project of photos of the weekend.. if anyone has good ones!
 I taught 3 classes in all this weekend! And we served up a couple very late nights! This store was just a place that everyone felt welcome… everyone seemed to know everyone else… like a big huge group of girlfriends! Friday night I taught the Energy Journal class.

 it’s totally a feel good class… and it has a couple little twist and turns (wink) that make it really interesting and fun. I really appreciated re-visiting the concept and thinking about my ‘energy’.  I have been more conscious of it the last few days as a result, I have been so much more attentive of my energy--- in and out!  I am teaching the same class Wed and Thurs at Scrapbooks etc., sounds like there are one or 2 more spots in each if you are interested and here in Mesa! it's a 3 hour class, and everyone completed it, ready to go home and add to it! it's so funny, i keep getting emails telling me about the 'energy in'... we were all focused on it all weekend!
Saturday morning I taught my first ‘house of 3’ class.. and it was designed ESPECIALLY in honor of the By Design ‘vibe’ (that I happen to LOVE)… pink and black (LOL).  So I used the new wall art frames, and created a shadow box wall hanging that is a ‘countdown calendar’ to whatever holiday you have coming up! the next holiday in our house is QUINCY’S bday! So she is LOVING this!

Watch for the files and instructions on House of 3.. ( I will let you know when it’s ready to go).

For lunch sat, Jessica (one of Tracy’s crew) made everyone these darling little box lunches that had a yummy croissant sandwich, a refreshing salad and this cake w/ glittery sparkles all over the top!! But the OVER the top part was that she used a HS crown mask to put a little crown on the top of each box. Too fabulous!! check these out! so fun!

I did a couple hours worth of demo-ing in Tracy’s store as people came in and out on National Scrapbook day… and I had a great time playing around w/ the elements and create samples for my class! I was using the RANGER distress inks w/ the Invisibles and other printed papers.  I loved meeting all of you that stopped by!

At 4pm we started the ‘Technique’ class…the goal was to complete 5; 12” layouts which we did! (nice work ladies)! I just LOVED seeing finishing touches come together, and everyone be SO excited about what they learned.

Afterwards  we ate pizza and wrapped up those projects, we re-convened and I did an hour long ‘House of 3’ tutorial teaching and explaining about how the House of 3 works.  It was so cool to talk to people about it… answer questions and get a better idea about what people understand, and what they don’t get. I shared my limited photoshop knowledge…while somethings on photoshop are certainly VERY complicated…the things that I know, and use are SO easy! Made it fun to talk about!
After all was packed, straightened, cleaned up etc, I SHOPPED! I even did a scrapbook page (no photo yet)  *yay!! I LOVE the MM ‘chillin’ line. SO cute. Especially these button brads and  And the Peyton ANNA GRIFFIN stuff… I mean look at this and this!!   What an awesome weekend!  And it was a good thing that I totally gained so much ‘energy’ all weekend… because I came home to a house FULL of boxes. Our container from China arrived, and Eric got everything unloaded and in the house… we slept here last night (Sunday night) for the first time since moving back. And let me just tell you, it feels like mass chaos! LOL… we are happy to be in, and looking forward to feeling settled. It’s so funny, cause I can’t even remember where everything used to ‘go’.  My scrapbook room  is the biggest disaster other than the garage. I have no CLUE what is in all those boxes. Ridiculous!

Tracy, and ALL the girls at By Design, thank you SO very much!

Ok, this is SUPER long, and I need to get to bed… but I have selected a WINNER of a box of Chandeliers!!
And the winner is :   MADDIE GIRL!!!
Email me HERE with your address!  C o n g r a t s!!

Check back on WED, I will be posting some peeks from the classes that I taught in Houston (and what I am teaching in )Edmonton on May 30th… I prepared a limited number of extra kits, and will be posting details about purchasing those….

pretty pictures!

I have a few things that I just want to just mention really quick, then I am off to the store to get all ready for tonight!! I am so excited…

Um.. don’t you love these pics… Rhonna took them, and will be posting tons of FAQ’s about the wall art and some of her TIPS and TRICKS… this just totally made me happy this morning.. SO cute..

these photos totally tickled me today.. got me THINKING crazy thoughts!! love it... thanks Rhonna!!
you can get some just for you HERE!! keep in mind the promotion.. that is only for a limited time: purchase 2 and we'll give you one for free!! wink... you need all three of course!

And I was talking to Tracy, here at BY DESIGN and I heard more about the class that miss Janet is teaching at their ‘retreat’ in just a couple weeks. Here is a sneak peek photo.. there are still a few spots, and man, if I could swing it, I’d fly back here to take it. Janet is an AMAZING teacher.. she is hysterical.. and this project will be AMAZING!! Trust me… those of you who have taken classes from her know… she doesn’t disappoint. I love her.. she’s great… so call the store the date is: Sat May 16th… at the Danbury Retreat… sounds awesome!! (play that mother’s day card.. only comes once a year!)


And for you AUSSIE girls that love a little HS in your stash… we are clearing out the last of what is left from our little store at Create ’08!! It’s basically an ‘online garage sale’… so ck it out here.. there are 2 kits avail…at great deals…maybe go in w/ a friend!!

Ok, gotta get to work!
Have a great Friday!