CHA

Hi Everyone!  I want to do a quick post on all the fun things I did at CHA this year and to show you all what I got while I was there:-).
This year the consumer part of CHA was done a bit differently.  It was actually combined with the Fashion and Jewelry show which made it so confusing for us crafters to figure out if there actually was a show.  My friend Nancy and I had so much fun last year and this year we were back and forth on if we were even going to go this year.  At the last minute we did decide to go on Friday and of course we were glad we did in the end but were disappointed in the lack of vendors. However, that did not stop me from getting a huge haul of craft goodies!  I am going to show them all to you here:-).

Thursday of the show I went to meet up with some other crafters, including Jess from Kinderstampo and Sarah from Pink Cricut.  Here is a photo of everyone.  It was fun to meet all of them.  (I am the one holding my son)

 Here I am with Tim Holtz, oh and my son Carter again.  I ended up going into the other part of CHA that day with Carter and just carrying him around as I oohed and aahed at all the booths.  My favorite was DCWV and there upside down Christmas tree with paper ornaments!

The next day Nancy and I went on our own (sans Kids).  Here are some of the Cuttlebug folders I got.

 Some bling! oh and a make and take we made. 

 Love how the little crystals fit the nestabilities perfect!

 Couple more embossing folders..

 Some glue (love this stuff) and a few other dies

 This is were I spend all my money!! Love these cute little stamps!

 They even have dies to coordinate with the stamps, so cute!

 I just had to get this for the sayings, I love them! 

 A couple of Unity stamps.

 Another make n take.  Love these flowers!

 Here is a book I "won" from Kinderstampo.  Jess and Sarah did a drawing for all the girls that came out to see them and I won this beautiful book!  She also gave everyone a cute Halloween tag.

 She is so talented!

 Inside, all the little tabs come out

Finally, Here is a very quick card I made with my new stamps. This was for a boy's graduation and I wanted to make it more masculine.  I haven't had much time to play with them yet... Need to get in my craft room soon!

Cocktails & Dreams Blog hop

Hi all!  Welcome to the Cocktails & Dreams blog hop!   I hope everyone is having a great summer!  I spent the last week at my Mom's lake house in northwest Indiana.  It was sooooo nice!  My 3 nieces and two kids spent practically all of their days in the water.  It was hard to get them out!  I love all the great memories they are making at the lake...
Anyway, today we head back home to enjoy the last few weeks of our summer vacation.  If you are hopping along with us then you just came from the very talented Lisa at Lisa Garrow, if not, and you want to start at the beginning, go ahead back to Gill's blog over at Creations by Gill M.
Once I heard Gill was hosting this hop I knew I wanted to take part in it. What a fun title, huh?  It conjured up images of the movie Cocktail, which then led me to thinking about beaches, which then led me to thinking of Jimmy Buffet.  Funny how that works, huh?  Anyway, my project is of a scrapbook page I did last year when my husband and I went with some friends to the Jimmy Buffet concert.  This was only my second Jimmy Buffet concert and it was a blast!

I stamped the title and used the retired Stampin UP! Tropical Party for the green palm like leaves, the flowers, the drink, and the little tree.  The patterned paper is also a retired set from Stampin UP!  The background paper is Stampin UP! Tempting Turquoise along with the ribbon.

 Here are the two pages together.

Thanks so much for visiting today!  Your next stop is the very crafty Jenn over at Cardstock and Coffee.

Scrapbook Challenges sketch 259

Hi everyone!  It's sooo hot here in Chicagoland.  Lately, all I can do is stay inside and enjoy some air conditioning!  Today I took my son to the mall to play which is normally something I do in the winter, oh well he enjoyed it and loved riding on the choo choo train!  I did get a little time to scrapbook today and here is what I came up with.

This is a double page layout based on the current sketch over at Scrapbook Challenges.  

 Based on this sketch...

I stamped out my title, I love doing this!

 Love this saying from the Stampin UP! Flight of the Butterfly stamp set.

Supplies Used:

Stamps: Stampin UP! Flight of the Butterfly, Schoolbook Serif, Dots background stamp

Ink: Stampin UP! Elegant Eggplant, Glorious Green, and Basic Gray

Paper: Stampin UP! So Saffron, Elegant Eggplant, Whisper White, and DCWV Blossoms and Butterflys

2011 July Calendar Page

Hi everyone!!  I know I haven't shared in a while but summer has just really gotten the best of me lately!  I have been having so much fun with the kids and just kind of taking a break from everything.  Anyway, I wanted to show off this cool calendar page I made for July.  If you have been following my blog then you know that I keep one of these on the fridge each month and decorate it according to whatever is going on.  I really love red, white, and blue and this stamp set from Stampin UP! I got last year called July Fourth.  It is perfect for all  my fourth of July layouts!  I even made my own firecracker out of ribbon.  I love how it came out!

Supplies Used: 

Stamps: Stampin UP! July Fourth

Paper: Stampin UP! Real Red, Not quite Navy, Whisper White, and Crumb Cake

Ink: Stampin UP! Real Red, Not Quite Navy and Versamark

Ribbon is just ribbon I had in my bins, along with a button I got from Joann

Cricut Cartridge Designer Calendar and the Star Punches from Stampin UP!

I've decided to enter this into the linking party over at You Had me At Craft:-)

My Craft Channel

Hi all!  Want to win an expression?  Check out the new My Craft Channel website!  They are giving one away every day for 20 days.  Check it out:-)  I am really excited about this new programming coming up in the fall!

Taken from their blog:

What is "My Craft Channel"?

My Craft Channel is the first of it’s kind online TV Craft Network. It goes beyond the simple web “how-to” home video and delivers broadcast quality programming. With over 20 different new shows there is something for everyone. Top experts, bloggers and craft celebrities in various niches from sewing, painting, scrapbooking, DIY projects, photography, mixed media and more have joined together to bring entertaining education to the web with TV formatted shows. Not only do the shows provide amazing inspiration, each day there is an opportunity for the “daily deal”, which gives our viewers an opportunity to try out fresh new craft items at discounted prices. Our goal is to be fun, educational, entertaining, and interactive with our viewers.