So much to do, ...so little time...

I'm expecting a crowd tonight for stamp club and the studio is pretty much ready. Tonight's project is what else...bangle bracelets! I've narrowed down my make & take at CHA to a choice of about 5 techniques, and tonight the lucky ladies of STARS are going to help me decide which two will be the winners.

Of course I haven't finished packing for my trip tomorrow to Chicago, so that's got to be finished tonight for sure. Last night I wrapped my linen blouses in tissue paper and tucked them inside dry cleaner bags to help with the wrinkling, but toiletries, shoes, curling irons, etc still need to be used again before they can go in the bag.

Each of my decorated bangles needs to be packaged carefully to avoid damage in transit. Do I try to carry them all in my carry-on bag? I don't think they'd fit, but I suppose I could try that. Tuck in my toothbrush, and my journal, and my pj's, and at least one change of clothes. I sure learned the hard way that luggage can be lost...for 3 days in fact! What a nightmare that was to be hired by Just For Fun to do the make & take at Winter CHA in Vegas, only to have my clothes, toiletries, and art supplies lost somewhere between NC and NV for 3 full days and nights.

I'm flying American and get to check one bag at no charge, plus my carry-on, so I could manage with a fairly small bag. But what about all the goodies I'll be bringing back from the show? Gotta take a big bag for all that loot.

Have you noticed that black luggage is the most popular? A few years ago I used my Ranger Acrylic Dabbers to add polka dots to my luggage, making it easy to spot, but now those bags are tattered and worn to the point that I'm not confident the contents would arrive unharmed. Last month I purchased these bright green luggage tags, knowing I'd recognize my bags right away. Only one made it back home. Well, actually, only one made it back home on my bags. But I watched a guy grab his black bag off the carousel and I swear it had my green tag attached to it. Yes, I got both my bags with my contents inside, but I'm telling you, one of my tags found a new home.

I watch all those bags riding around on the carousel with ribbons &lace, string & tape, all sorts of things their owners will recognize. But I worry those dangling ribbons will tangle in the mechanism on the conveyor belt and mine will be stuck, never to be seen again. I hate to paint on my brand new set of American Tourister luggage, but a girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do...