Where was my camera?

Just shoot me now.  I spent 5 days in Cincinnati and where was my camera for the majority of that time?  In my purse of course.  After 20 years of attending the Stampaway convention someone finally told me about Graeter's Ice Cream, just up the street from Stamp Your Art Out, Connie's fabulous rubber stamp store.  Sharon and I paid them a visit on our first day and on our last. 

Yes, in case you're curious, it is just fine to eat ice cream at 10:15am on a Sunday.  Ask anybody.  That's Raspberry Chocolate Chip and yes, it does match her shirt perfectly.  Mine was Caramel.  And yes, it was simply divine.  Heaven in a bowl.

This was the last show for my friends at Artful Illusions.  So sad.  They were always my first fix on Friday night at the preview party where I would spend a minimum of one hour pouring over all their loot.  And then I'd make repeat visits throughout the day on Saturday.

I bought 4 more T-shirts to add to my collection.  Love the art work, and love that they never shrink.  And 2 bracelets made by Joni that were quite pricey, but worth every single penny.

I ran into lots of old friends...as in friends I've had for a long time, not friends that are old in years.  Kelly and I even took a class together making a marvelous book with Gaye.  Oh, that was a wonderful class.  And being able to take classes this year was also an added bonus.

Debbie was a busy little bee in her booth, Just For Fun, but I found time for a quick hug.  Rick was kind enough to provide me with bottles of ice cold water when I felt as though I was having a sinking spell.  Such great friends.

And I got a chance to visit with Carol and Denise, Cecile and Barbara, Kate & Bob, Kristen & Chris, Greg, Gary Burlin, Judi, Mary Jo & Elaine, and so many more.  Mary Jo said it was also the last show for her, or so she says.    My mentor for 20 years.  I wouldn't be who am I or where I am today without her.  I've heard it from her before so we'll see what next August brings.

Notice that there are no photos of these great friends.  My head and my heart were full during my visits...too full apparently to think of taking photos.

But here's a funny story for you.  I visited Invoke Arts quite a few times over the course of 2 days, disrupting Kate's demo repeatedly.  But it gave her a chance to get up and point out a few things she'd been working on lately. 

So as I'm flipping through her tag books I come upon this fabulous tag which I simply adored, and I asked if I could take a photo.  She just laughed.

Don't you just love it?  Well, it's no wonder I found it so appealing...turns out it was one of many that I created years ago when doing demos in their booth.  Ha! 

I still love their images and the collages you can create using them.

And apparently I wasn't the only one who loved them.  For the third year in a row I had stamps taken in my class.  I've always felt I was a very giving instructor, sharing supplies and giving away products, so I'm always stunned to find stamps missing at the end of a class.  And yet it continues to happen to me. 

And I'll tell you something else that surprised me this year:  Sharon has clearly spent too much time with me.  When we did our show & tell, you know, "look what I bought" before packing our luggage, I was beaming because we both purchased some of the same images.

Don't you think that's a great little image?

And how do you like it as the body for this paperdoll Kate created?  Too cool, right?  Well, Sharon and I are both the proud owner of that very stamp.

I bought this stamp last year.  Still haven't used it, but I did mount it on easy cling.  Kate created this sample by stamping the image on a transparency and coloring it with TomBow markers.  Can you even believe it???  So it was no surprise when Sharon pulled it out of her bag of purchases.  Now clearly we both need to use it and include it as part of our show & tell at stamp club next week.

Another of my tags on display in the Invoke Arts booth.  So much fun then and still so much fun today.  Have I told you lately how much I adore rubber stamps?  True love.