Stampfest Orlando: What fun we had!

Orlando in June...hot & humid, with thunderstorms and rain every day...and Stampfest with rubber stampers from far and wide. You just can't imagine the fun we had during the course of 4 days.

My flight arrived late on Thursday, which meant no supper. (Like missing a meal will kill me.) And my flight home yesterday connected in Atlanta where thunderstorms shut down the airport. We departed for RDU late and wouldn't you know it...the thunderstorms had arrived in NC by the time the plane arrived, so we were forced to circle elsewhere for a long time, getting me home at midnight. Despite the turbulence, we arrived safe and sound, as did my luggage. Yeah Delta!!!!

I met so many fabulous women, you just can't imagine. Talented, creative, generous women, (and one gentleman in my Gypsy Pendant class). Now how cool is that? A husband and wife from the Clearwater FL area attending their first convention. Faith took my Art Journal of Techniques class on Saturday morning and then brought hubby Paul on Saturday night, where they both made great pendants. Check out the photos.

We managed to complete 7 techniques before running out of time, so I handed out an 8th which was quick and easy for completion at home. I even took a few photos included with this post. The bangle bracelet class was smaller but the completed bracelets were divine. Sorry, I was having so much fun I forgot to take any photos, so if you were in the class and snapped a few, please share them with me.

My make & take project for the Friday night party was a major hit with everyone. Seriously, I had ladies coming back at the end of the night, as well as Saturday & Sunday while I demoed at the convention, raving about how much they loved the project. Check back in a day or two...it'll be the special project on my website, complete with a photo of the finished card we made. Again, there wasn't a free second to take photos, but we had 110 very happy ladies who came to play.

Saturday I worked in the Just For Fun booth, and you won't believe it, but I made cards all day long!!! I know, you've fainted at the thought of me making cards, but it's true. And the best part: I had fun doing it! Don't expect me to start making cards now; it's not gonna happen. But if I need a card I know how to make one that's quick, easy, and fabulous!!

Saturday night was the Gypsy Pendant class, which began with a huge thank you to my dear friend Lori Larson, who designed the project. We all loved it Lori!!

Debbie & Rick, owners of Just For Fun, flew me in for the event and I shared the Presidential suite with them and 4 other gals. It was like one big slumber party with junk food galore! Sandy & Kim, my roommates had me laughing every night long after we should've been asleep. (The first photo above shows Kim at her make & take table before the doors were opened on Sunday.) Hannah, their daughter, played under my demo table late Saturday, sticking bits of trash under and between my toes, making me laugh while trying to show ladies how to stipple & swirl color over templates. Debbie's dad and stepmom worked alongside everyone else and made me feel like I was part of the family. So a huge thank you to everyone for making my stay so wonderful.

I hope to be invited back to Stampfest 2009 in Clearwater and Orlando. Check their website and if you see me on next year's teaching schedule, come join the party!

Funny Story, Fabulous Books in Fabric

I talk fast. I walk fast. I do everything in a hurry, except it turns out, when I'm asked to create a fabric journal. Do I know how to sew? Nope. Did I make mistakes? You better believe it!!! My poor doll went through the wringer lots of times before I finished stitching her up, and then I still had to get her sewn onto the front of my journal, which had to be quilted by hand!! Have mercy, it was too much fun.

Just ask Ophelia who makes quilts to sell. We had lunch in the middle of the day and while she ate, I was still butchering that precious little doll, doing everything wrong. We laughed, and are still laughing about that poor thing, but I'm in love with the idea, with the techniques I learned, and with the end result.

Do I have a photo of mine to publish here? Nope. But I do have some fabulous journals I photographed in class. Drool over these til I get mine up here, and then email and rave about my talent. I dare you.

Art & Soul photos: Albie Smith's Class

I'm slow; I admit it. I wanted to share a few photos of finished books made in the MOST wonderful class ever!! Albie Smith and her daughter led us through all the steps to complete a fabulous Cross Structure book using colored gesso and paste papers. I'll try to remember to add more photos of mine later (it's the blue one).

If you ever get a chance to take a class with Albie, I'm not joking...run to the registration as fast as you can!

STARS Shine in Studio!!

Just as predicted, stamp club was a great event last night! So much talent, so much fun...don't you wish you'd been there? I snapped these photos during show & tell while everyone was still in their seats (except Sharon who's standing and me of course, taking the photos).

For our project last night I led them through the transformation of a 2-pocket report cover, turning it into a lovely portfolio. I'd taught a class on these years ago but with a different end result, so it was fun to see them using something old in a new way. Sharon was challenged with the application of her ribbon closure, which got lots of laughs. And Michele brought her new flip video camera which was passed around to everyone's amusement.

For refreshments I'd baked brownie bites and served them with individual cups of vanilla ice cream. How can you NOT serve ice cream in June!?

Enjoy the photos. More to come...

Holy Hannah It's Hot!!!

I'm gonna freeze the girls out tonight. Far too hot in the studio for all the running around I'm doing. Do you think they'll bring sweaters in June?

Jittery in June

Things have been crazy this month around my house. Both family members and friends have had surgery...my dog is sick in a bad way...and my husband's gotten himself a new job. Add to that my trip next week to Orlando for Stampfest and you can imagine how busy I've been.

I'm packing kits now for my 3 classes, making sure I've got everything needed for each technique, guessing at the bangle sizes I should pack, and making sure the Gypsy Pendant kits have all the itty bitty embellishments to make them unique. The good news: I'm flying out first class so I'm allowed to check THREE bags!! Which means I don't have to ship my supplies; they can go in my luggage instead. For the trip home I can nest one suitcase inside the next so I have just one bag to check. Life is good in the fast lane.

Hosting stamp club tonight in the studio. Wish I could say it was all neat and tidy, but there's still tweaking to be done. With luck I'll have photos to post tomorrow showing off all of our talent.