cha-the product

okay, this is a very picture heavy post but these are some of my favorite things from CHA. If you follow me on facebook you know I totalled geeked on the Quickutz letterpress machine that works with the Epic. It is so cool, think it is retailing at $150, not bad to be able to letterpress in your home. I also loved Maya Road's new mist colors and bottle, Blue Skies of course from American Craft is super cute and of course Cosmo Cricket. I also loved the new slice,seriously thinking about getting one since I do not have a die cut machine....shocker I know! :) There was not a lot of embellishments with the lines I noticed too...which is my favorite part in creating.

I always love what Allison adds to her line. These elephants are super cute and they also are available in wall decals. I am telling you if I had a baby I would have them on the wall! The decals are also avaliable in birds, frames and chandeliers just to name a few.


The dress forms are genius! They look really good layered with the coordinating papers and rub-ons!


Tim Holtz-ideology line had this cute negative strip...swoon. A lot of us were elated over this one, so many possibilities!


Another favorite was the letter tray inspired atc display from 7gypsies. I would love this in mutiples to group together for home decor.


I love that Basic Grey finally made some halloween products! This bat laser cut sheet is so cool.
Halloween layouts are so fun and this would be so fun to use as a mask. ;)


They also have a super cute holiday line, the deer is adorable and I love pink in any holiday line. ;)

The paper reminds me of pucca (well the cute santa does) for some reason...ultra cute.
It is making me want excited to make something for the holidays now!


We R Memory Keepers had the coolest stamps! The tv, vespa and mix tape are great additions to any stamper's collection. They also had the new chompers out to test, I love the corner rounder, cuts thru thick acrylic!


Doodlebug colors are stunning and I love their alpha, these have glitter on them, love!! Plus they have some really cool glitter flakes in the same color that are new...should have taken a photo!


Bowled over with glee about these scalloped enevlopes by Maya Road!
They also had a really cool canvas mini album that I loved.


Jellibean Soup has a great line, love the soup staples one, can't wait to play with it. It has some weight to it too, which means great for misting! They are having a giveaway too on their blog, just leave a comment---->.... BeanTalk


You know I am huge fan and user of Jenni Bowlin's line. She is so nice and I loved seeing her booth again, plus she always has the sweets. :) I didn't take a photo of it but she also has a line with Core'dinations Colorcore Cardstock, her designs are embossed onto the cardstock, so you can distress, sand or ink it and Jenni's Design will show thru, like her die cut label paper for example. I am so excited about it!!!

Aren't these alpha circle stickers awesome, want them! The new rub-on singles are so beautiful too!


This geometric inspired paper from Sassafras was another favorite too. I also love their fabric brads!


Fancy Pants had some really pretty ornament overlays too! I love all of the glitter on them.


So that is the second portion of my cha recap, next the wonderful food we ate! :)
Have a great weekend! xo

really, really.

A more proper post tomorrow of my favorite products, just wanted to say that I had a super awesome time and enjoyed every minute at CHA with these wonderful, down to earth and inspiring women. I didn't photos of everyone but hopefully next time. I talked lots, walked even more, laughed super hard, ate wonderful food which all indicate good times to me! Another highlight was meeting the masters in my class at the show. They are just as sweet as online and wish I could have spent more time with them, :(

Being around all of these women and more totally recharged me and I want to say thank you to all I met over the past several days. :)

AND I HAD THE BEST PHOTOBOOTH ALIAS EVER!!! We, Morgan, Jen, Cindy and Wendy) totally rocked the hell out of the photobooth at Cafe Tu Tu Tango last night! :)

get messy!

dare 143 is up and I couldn't be more paint/ink happy. The dares are getting messy and lovin' it. The last two days at work have been a beast! So I haven't photographed the rest of my MMM entry will post it when I get back into town. Thank you for the sweet comments, the magazine will be missed for sure!

Currently on the hunt at photo booth locator, to find one in Orlando...I want photo booth pictures damn it. I have the worse luck here, they are always out of order....sorry tirade over, lol. My sister always laughs at me because I get so siked when I see one then bam it doesn't work!

If I didn't have a 1,000,001 things to do this weekend, I would so do this instead: Go Urban Adventures, think Amazing Race in DC, used to love that show! For sure on the list for next year!

Some people asked and the registration for my next delight workshop starts 8/10 with class starting the August 17th.

Well that is all I have and I hope you have a great weekend!
xo

a year ago.

About a year ago I decided to enter the Memory Makers Master contest. After my first trip to CHA I finished my entry and sent it off to Memory Makers with great deal of angst but a feeling of great accomplishment. I very rarely submit to calls, contests or publications so this was big for me personally. I was nervous and scared because it is frightening to put yourself out there. I will never forget the call from Patty and Katie, my heart about jumped out of my chest not to mentioning the screaming afterwards- all of this while in the car with my children...lol! With that said, it was an honor and a blessing to work with the people at MM as well alongside the incredibly talented masters team in 08/09.

I am sad that the magazine is no longer but happy that I took a leap for my personal goals and submitted to the contest. :) This week we are sharing our submissions to the contest at the Master's blog. I will have my full entry up tomorrow, check out the rest of the masters', entries because they are beautiful.

As mention above I was inspired by my trip to Chicago, this is one of my entries, photo taken while I was siting on the floor waiting for Karla to check into her flight. We were going back home and I love to people watch...find it fascinating and always wondering where people are going, who they are going to see, etc... Not the best picture of the lo, since it was cloudy this morning, the cardstock is ultra black and I used all of my favorite products on my pages and lots of paint. I didn't know much about spray ink then, boy have times changed. :) Just a quick share and thank you!
Have a great Thursday!
xo

yes!

Yes, we have some jalapeno peppers coming in! Never mind the plant, yes it looks a little ragged but I am ecstatic that peppers are growing, they weren't there on Sunday, went out to water the garden this morning and look what was there!! Now if only the squirrels, rabbits, not sure what,will stop eating my zucchini blooms! Tomato plant is in bloom no sign of said tomatoes yet however!

I am really enjoying teaching my delight workshop this week! Here is a little sneak at what we are doing this week! I love ink and the girls in the class are awesome! Some people ask if I was offering this class again and the answer is yes. :) I will offer it again August 17th sounds good?

Forgot to comment on trueblood... it was awesome as always! I can't believe Bill's maker is back and Lafayette was back to his fine self! I really love Jessica, she cracks me up and Tara just keeps getting suck in deeper and deeper with miss thang Maryanne. I am wondering how long Sookie, Bill, Eric and Jessica will be in Houston? I think that twist is brilliant! Dare I say that Eric is my new vamp crush...sorry Edward...lol
happy hump day!
xo

eyecandy.

With CHA around the corner, it is so much fun to see all of the new releases coming out! I can't wait to see these next week. Here are some of my favorites ( sure I will have more after the show)! Do you have any favs..link me up! :)

Cosmo Cricket-The Boyfriend

I always love Cosmo Cricket's vintage flair with their lines. I am in love with those woodgrain letters and the entire boyfriend line. I love the muted colors, bicycles and they totally had me at the Polaroid! :)

Crate Paper-Little Sprout


Crate Paper is another favorite, I know this isn't a new release for them but it is one of my all time favorites. I love the weight of their papers, perfect for misting! I am on the hunt for the mushroom paper, totally adorable!

KI Memories-Good Tidings


KI Memories is an old time favorite of mine! I always love their Christmas line and that they always include pink!

Maya Road-more peeks here


I am in love with the animal sheers, they are just precious and they have robots too! I am partial to pandas! I want must have this postal mini chipboard album as well. I love that their albums average at $2.50 too, can't beat that!

American Crafts- Blue Skies

Flair and thickers are just a few of my favorite products from American Craft. I love how they add deminsion to pages and totally excited that they are adding more fabric thickers to the collection! I am not a cat person but that flair is just too cute, this release has a lot of buzz around it, can't wait to see it as well!

As you can see I am in "love" with a lot of new product, lol. I don't buy new product much but I do like to have product that I know I am going to use, inspires me and will reach for often. I am also looking forward to Hambly, Sassafras, Making Memories and Jenni Bowlin! I am sure I will have lots of pictures to share next week!
xo

better late than never.

I finally sat down this morning and did my version of the current jack! We have a great prize this month, a $25 gift certificate to scrapgal.com will go to the winner! I think that is pretty awesome and scrapgal is one of my favorite online stores!

Today as you know is my favorite day of the week, laaaaa la laaaa!! Super congrats to my girl Karla, they are now a family of 7!

Off to finish dinner, have family night and watch Defiance and Vicky Cristina Barcelona...love Javier Ángel Encinas Bardem! have a great weekend! xo

i.am.

1. Balloons in the bathroom, 2. Untitled, 3. 相信溫柔以待, 4. .everyday life., 5. .share the love, 6. Backyards of Our Neighbors

Have lots of stuff on my mind today, almost all of it is good stuff! It is so hot today, DC summer is in full effect today...temps are in the 90's but feels way hotter due to the index. Currently I am:

-putting together a concept for the next workshop
-excited about the delight workshop that starts Monday, thank you to everyone who signed up!
-going to birthday celebration parties this weekend
- feeling super creative but no time to create therefore making my jack late, will post it tomorrow.
-really blessed to have a job
-thinking about crafty home projects.
-excited that my orlando trip is 11 days away
-daydreaming a little too much at work, lol
-still laughing at the thought of Lafayette on the last episode of True Blood!
-thinking my AA airmiles are only good for magazine subscriptions but I will take that!
- in love with the quote in the mosaic above....
xo

we are growing things.

This is our garden now, it is growing so much! I hope we will have some veggies coming in really soon! I took this picture Sunday and it has actually grown more! My dream for our fall garden is lots of lettuce, onions and other salad friendly goodness.

Things are starting to pick up, Saadiq starts football camp next week! I can't believe it and must admit I am still in a bit of denial but he is so excited! I am really trying to put my fears on the shelf. Before I know it they will both be back in school at the end of August. I remember as a kid it seemed like summer went on forever...now it moves at warp speed. I can't believe my baby will be in kindergarten, it seems like yesterday she was a baby. It makes me try to really soak up all of their sayings, thoughts, smell, likes/dislikes, voices because it is all is changing so quickly....okay this post really made a sharp left and down to sapville, lol, sorry about that!

*Today I am also yearning for a day at the beach....

1/2

We got one out of two things accomplished this weekend. We went to the farmer's market on Saturday but didn't make it down to the monuments yesterday because Synai hurt her toe. So we just chilled and went to Sam's Club, where she could be pushed in a cart. :) Hopefully will get it done this weekend instead.

While at the market I purchased some zucchini, purple onions, peaches and watermelon. Lot's of produce to choose from, which always makes shopping fun.

True Blood was awesome last night, you watch? Lafayette tripped me out, thinking I need to get some v if it does all of that...lol. I really love the story line this season and getting to see more of Eric. Sometimes, I think he doesn't seem like such a bad guy and Sookie isn't getting on my nerves as much. Jason is cracking me up at church camp, wondering how much longer that is going to last!

Happy Monday!

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Registration ends today for the delight workshop, thank you to everyone who registered already!

this is for my tweeps...

:) Happy Friday.... new dare is up! Twitter is hotter than a pot of hot grits right about now. You can easily make a page just from your tweets...you game,????
see how the girls rocked it-- here

The weather is simply sublime here in the DMV, I can' t wait to enjoy it this weekend. I have some plans for the fam, hopefully they will be down for a trek into the city to see the monuments at night. I haven't done that before and it is so cool to see the memorials lit up at night! Hopefully I can take some cool shots as well and not be to put off by the tourist or the real worlders gallivanting around...they have caused quite a stir, the real world cast not tourist, lol.

Also heading to the Amish farmers market for some fresh eggs, vegetables and other home grown/made goodies. I truly believe in supporting local farmers! Speaking of home grown vegetables, our garden is doing well, I saw some buds on the pepper plants this morning...eek getting excited! :)
Have a great weekend!
xo
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spots are still available for the delight workshop...details (here).

workshop details

First of all, thank you for the interest in my first workshop! I am excited to get this started, as you can see below the class will begin on Monday, July 20th. It will be a week long class in which you will receive: a daily prompt with instructions,a technique and an example. The cost of the class is $10 USD. Registration starts today and will end on 7/13. :) In 24 hours of your registration being received,you will receive a confirmation, supply list and invite to a private flickr group. Please feel free to contact me with any questions. :) In the end I hope you will create a minibook you will love and inspire you to take a leap into paint, getting messy and having fun...


------------------registration is now closed.

@ warp speed.

Not sure where this week has gone but it is moving fast...I think that is good, right?! I didn't recap my weekend, it was a good long weekend. We went to South Carolina and spent the holiday with our mom's brothers. She comes from a big family, so I am happy that S2 are getting to know them and love them as much as we do! We just had fun lounging around,saw some fireworks peeking out from the show on the river. They live really close to an active marina, so that was cool. We did see Transformers, it was good! No plot but I am a huge fan of Shia and the autobots so that more than made up for it! We are hoping for a third installment. :) Now we,me well I mean Saadiq is looking forward to GI Joe next month...

I was totally thrown off by my tv shows not being on over the weekend...two weeks for trueblood!! What were they thinking, oh that's right I am suppose to have plans for the 4th, lol.

Dare 141 in action, you can see the full version on the dare site: redo an old layout and show the before and after. I find I still love my inks and paint even though my style has slightly changed, I still use the same elements.



I am thinking about doing a minibook workshop but want to poll the interest here first (it will be all things created with ink, stamps and layering)- please leave a comment if you are interested...

photography for me....

I love photography in all forms because of it's ability to capture a moment in time forever. This post is strictly what works for me and by no means do I think I am a professional....that's my disclaimer, lol. When I first decided to take the plunge and purchase a SLR, the blogging/internet world was very helpful and I want to keep the cycle going....

What type of camera do you have?
I have a Canon Rebel XT. It is a dinosaur compared to the newer versions (Canon has upgraded twice since I purchased mine) but I love my camera! It is a 8 Megapixel, not as high as the current version of the cameras on the market but still an awesome camera. It is also a great camera to get your feet wet to learn about SLR cameras. I think it is very important to have great lens and exposure knowledge...the camera alone doesn't always produce great pictures.

What is your favorite lens?
I would have to say my 50mm 1.8 (my 85 is a close second). It is a great lens and you cannot beat the price for the quality of this lens. Technically it is a portrait lens but it can be a great everyday lens as well. I also love that the lens is small and does not make my purse heavy when I am out taking photos in the city or while on vacation. It has a large (1.8) aperture, which means it performs great in low light and produces great bokeh. For example this photo was taken with the 50mm:



What lenses are in your bag?
50mm 1.8
85mm 1.8
Tamron 70-300mm Di telephoto zoom
on my wish list is a wide angle zoom lens :)

What lens would be good for capturing my children while playing sports?
That is a great question! I will be faced with that exact scenario this fall when S2 start football and cheer. I have mostly portrait lens... experiment, that is the best way to find out what ISO you need to be at to accurately capture the sport. Also get close, vary your levels of angles and take lots of photos! Another option is to use your sports setting on your camera. It takes the guess work out of finding the right setting.

What tips do have for self-portraits?
If you have seen my flickr stream you know I do take them, :). I do think it is very important to document you and scrapbook these photos of you including your thoughts, dreams, likes, etc... This is what works for me:

-I find that taking lots of photos is a must (not just with sp's)! To get one or two photos you actually like you must take at least twenty, sometimes more. But the joy of digital is that you can easily delete the ones you find not up to par!

-A remote can be your best friend. It really makes the process a lot easier and more fun! You can experiment easily in different locations, poses and you learn what works best for you when taking self portraits.

-Reflective (mirror) posing is great too, bathrooms are well lit. I also like dressing rooms, full length mirrors in stores, glass doors in shops, etc....

-Use a tripod. I have a joby gorillapod and I love it. It is not big, travels well, very flexible and more importantly it works for me!

-Watch your light source, experiment with sun flares, keep the "imperfect" ones too because those are sometimes the most beloved ones for your family and just have fun capturing you!



Do you shoot in manual?
No, I don't.... for me working in AV mode works best for me and still gives me the opp. to creatively decide how I want the photo to turn out. I keep my camera in AV mode always and adjust the ISO and apertures to my liking and just shoot away!

How do you decide on what to take photos of when you are taking photos?
I love to take photos of anything that I find "beautiful". I really try not to over think when I am taking photos, especially of people. I love to get emotions and expressions in the "moment". I am also inspired by flickr, friends and tumblr all;both push me to think outside the box when composing a photo.

I hope this was helpful...I had fun doing it! This week or next I will post a tutorial of my paint/spray ink technique that I use on projects.

ps...are you following TheDares on twitter? The 100th follower gets a rak....it is a pretty sweet rak, just saying....

hey listen...

I plugged the numbers into random number generator and it picked:

Sharonda said...
Send the goodies my way!!! LOLOL I hope your having a wonderful week!
9:23 AM

Congrats Sharonda (send me your info), thanks for the comments everyone...I am sure it will be another one this summer!


I started creating this morning (felt good), new dare for Friday. Okay...let's see tomorrow is Friday for me, we are going out of town for the holiday weekend, had to get a new printer, old one just stopped working and I just purchased new ink (bummer) and missed the premiere of Hung on HBO...thoughts,lol. I must admit it has me intrigued. I am pumped to finally see Transformers 2 this weekend! I couldn't go see it without my babies so off we go on Saturday.

Next week, I thought I would do a post dedicated to photography and my experience with being behind the lens. I have a few emails about my camera and lens, so thought it would be fun to do a post about it. If you have questions you want me to answer leave a comment or send me an email and I will answer them here! :)

I can't believe July is here already, I say let the adventures begin! I love summer, wow had more to write about then I initially thought...

p.s.- hi, to new readers coming from craft gossip, I am the featured blog of the week, thanks Francine!