Color Wheel Challenge, Kit Reveal, & CK Portland Review

 

 If you were to click on the word "challenge" from the search list on the right hand side of this blog, you'd be able to tell by the number of posts that came up, how much I love a good challenge. A few years ago, I even challenged myself to scrapbooking 30 layouts in the month of June- and succeeded!

The latest challenge over at Shimelle.com is to scrapbook with the color wheel in an unusual way; using split complimentary colors. "Split complementary means choosing one colour to start, then going straight across the wheel to the opposing colour and instead of that central colour, choosing the one either side."- Shimelle.

I also love to be resourceful when it comes to my patterned paper. Truth be told, it's a compulsion to savor each pretty printed sheet in it's entirety. I've been working on using the beauty I have in supply instead of continuing to hoard the ones I've pay money for. The physical cost, the joy of purchasing remembered when I see favorites, the textures of some, like the Indi Chic print from My Mind's Eye, at left.

When I went down to Portland for the Creative Keepsakes Convention with my mom and brother a few weeks ago,  it was with the intent to bring home some intel on what's to come over the next couple months in the scrapbooking industry. That, and to sit in on some classes as a volunteer. Oh, and to celebrate my younger brother's upcoming 30th birthday. Let me tell you how thrilled he was to be helping out when all 10 of the drying tools wouldn't work in our mixed media assist! And you know the ladies enjoyed seeing his smile- we shared the same orthodontist.

You'll see the artsy layout I made to commemorate that trip tomorrow, when I (gasp!) guest blog for my scrapbooking savior (Glitter Girl) Shimelle Lain. Today, I played with the contents of my Bible Journal Society kits. The die cuts are vivid and have a doodled or handrawn look that is so on trend, I can't help but adore them! Bo Bunny in bright, watercolored hues of turquoise and green are offset by orange and brown.

The focal photo is of my Grandmother's side of the family reunion, and the large arrow in the middle points to her and my Great Uncle, Grant. Preserving the handwritten year and family name were essential.

 Stretching my supplies is also a must for me, and there are layers of cut-apart frames behind the large quote at the right. All of these colors from Basic Grey in the background compliment the vibrantly hued curtain behind this group photo.
Complimenting the story of this family's migration to North America from Norway are a big bold globe, with arrows pointing to the respective countries. Word sentiments included in the set are so versatile, I don't even have to include journaling :-) But one thing I will do is put this pic up on facebook and ask my  relatives to identify their kin. Technologically enhanced scrapbooking, will this be my next big focus? hmmm.


Once I'd finished this layout, I couldn't just put my leftover pieces of paper away, of course I had to create one more layout! It has been a beautiful summer day, I was scrappin' outside in all of God's glory (read:bikini) and here I had the die cuts to exclaim my appreciation. Couple these bits with a devotional read through written by one of my favorite kit designers, and it was easy to whip up another page with a single candid photo of my girls about a year and a half ago.

That look on Sunday's face... What a little toughie.

Growing up isn't easy. There are all sorts of fears that young children face. There are simple times of joy when I want to sing it from the back pasture, Girls, don't ever feel alone!, and the watercolor quote on the left with the printed sentiment is then perfectly echoed by that pretty block on the right.   It would be fun to get some colored pencils, markers, or paints out to play against that bold black doodled designs Shelby came up with.

The amount of love that is included in each of these kits has actually been a little moving. From the sentiments, book marks, rub-ons, washi-tape, die-cuts etc, to the words and references in the included devotionals, my thoughts naturally gravitated towards appreciation for my family - and the time they afford me to pursue my pursuit for Craft Diva Superstardom!
I've had a surprising amount of mini albums surface from the depths of my craft space, and put a little kraft covered, twine closing cutie from Close To My Heart to good use with little 3x3 pics.

 

Hey, thanks for reading down this far! And...

 

Here's Your Video!

@EmbellishKits #BibleJournalSociety #EmbellishKits
@AnnaBradshaw #CraftWithAnna #makersgottamake

New Video-& A Scrapbook Kit Reveal Teaser

It's been a while since I've made a video, but I just had to before heading to my first ever Portland version of the Creative Keepsakes Convention I love attending. I'm looking forward to spending time with my favorite designers as well as visiting my favorite booths to stock up on my favorite paper collections! Can you tell I'm excited?

Lately, I've been thinking about some of the changes that have occurred in our home over the last year... not going into detail here, but more reflective thoughts that I nonetheless would like to scrapbook in some form or another. Next week I'll have a video to reveal my solution, as well as a review of the trends I spot this weekend on the convention floor.

If you're not already subscribing to my CraftWithAnna YouTube channel, do so today~ that way I don't have to worry about you missing my next video release :-) Take care, friends, and keep it scrappy!

CKC Contest Winners Drawn!

Thank you to everyone who entered and have been or are now following along on my mildly epic CraftWithAnna-dventures!

Queen of the Crop Contest Details & A New Video Too

The last few years, at the close of the Creating Keepsakes Convention, I've drawn the winning name for a prize from one of my favorite vendors, Queen & Co.! This year is no different, and there are quite a few ways to win.
You can subscribe to this blog. Doing so will get you emailed versions of all my blog posts- so you never miss a chance to CraftWithAnna!
You can subscribe to my YouTube channel, which is just a purple icon click away- look for that on the right hand side of this page with other social media icons.  Instagram follower yet? That will get you an entry too!
You can also comment on any of my recent videos, including the one that hit YouTube TODAY- the November scrapbooking layouts from EmbellishKits.com. 


Or, you can comment on this blog post. I loved hearing from a follower at the convention this year!

With so many ways to win, I bet you're wondering what the prize is... well all I will say is, it's going to be some bangin' bling bling baby (the contest name is Queen of Bling)!

Favio Flavor

 It's not every day you encounter a large group of ladies that each bring a smile to your face whenever you encounter them just by their sheer exuberance of FUN. One of the bunches I spent time with at the convention this weekend was having a lot of fun playing with our Red Carpet Crop theme, and being the blogger that I am, I snapped pics and promised to put their hilarity online... your welcome!

But really, thank you ladies, for inspiring me to get my own card board cut out selfie with the dreamy young dude from the Vampire Diaries. At least, that's where his card board claimed he was from. It's a truly sad day when you realize, not only are you too old for a guy on tv, but that you're old enough to not even know why he's on tv. Just that he's cute. And that's kind of creepy. But I'm ok with that.

Stay tuned in this week as I debut another incredible kit from the fine crew at EmbellishKits.com, as well as my Queen of the Crop convention closing contest. Hint- you'll want to be a subscriber!
 

 

A tale of two Shelbies

 For the past few days I've been working in Tacoma as a volunteer with the Creating Keepsakes Convention. This event is one I look forward to all year long. About six years ago my DF took me to my first show in their old Maydenbauer Center location, and I've never looked back! Lucky for me, Ray picked me up after that first show and was immediately aware of the craft hysteria that both precludes and concludes each of these weekends. He has graciously given me the gift of time away and sometimes even sends me off with some Make and Take money :-)

 Thursday afternoon I TA'd for one of my favorite teachers, Shelby Bywater! I love her sassy crafty instructions and there were cool techniques flying left and right. I will never look at a transparency the same lol.


She created a custom flair necklace!

Later in the day more ideas for creativity were introduced at the Technique Workshop. I thought it was so clever that one of the students was making cards from her scrapbook kit. So you know what I did- made layouts in my cardmaking class the next day!!! What a rebel. A copycat rebel but still.
When my volunteer shift started Friday afternoon I was reunited with my new class crashing comrade, Betty- what a sweetie! Since I'd got her coffee the night before, she returned the favor and got my night Rollin right. Craft without coffee? I don't think so!
By the time I got back home, my mind was reeling from all the exposure to (caffeine ) like minded crafters. Cause, you know we speak our own language, right. "Crop," "distress," "inking;" all verbiage that's part of our toolbox.


Janice has the warmest smile

Tammy, my late night bird of a feather

Shelbi & I getting Lei'd at a crop- a first for us both (I think)

I slept not a wink and decided to make that video I put up yesterday.  So I started the day with another favorite teacher, Shelby Dredge. At the crop THAT night, I caught a pic getting lei'd with Shelbi B., so I started and ended my day right I'd say.
With more fun for the day in store, I've got a lot more pics to put up and the details for my convention-closing contest, featuring a prize or three from one of my favorite companies, Queen & Co.! If you aren't already a subscriber to this blog or YouTube channel, now is the time. It's just one of the ways you can enter this year's Queen of Bling contest. Consolation prizes will be from email updates of the latest blog posts from this CraftWithAnna channel, so, it's pretty much win win... 

Waiting in line to hit the vendor fair

Who is the Queen of Bling?

Contest Results! HUGE thanks to Queen & Co for providing those incredibly fun prizes, and to everyone who took the time to play the last couple of weeks. I have some exciting shares coming in my next post, so thank you again and come back!

PartyLite Tealight Box Mini Album Share

I must be on a mini album streak; I've made one each week! Okay, it's only been two weeks, and I have no plans for another on the near horizon, but STILL.

And on top of that, I seem to be on a little YouTubing spree here as well! So yes, for the third time in the last three weeks, I have another video for you too!

Remember, all your comments, subscribing hits, and blog followings will get you a contest entry, so if you're loving your friend, tell her about it before Saturday's end of day as well. Your friend could say something like, "I'm commenting for my friend ____" and then you could both win!

Another great comment would be to suggest a product for me to focus on using this month. Each month I've been working on my stash by using a certain product on each project I'm creating. Not every thing has got every challenge product but it has been a lot of fun at attempting to push my creative boundaries.

So how do you push yourself out of your normal 12x12 box of usual additions? I'd love to hear about it (and you'll be getting those additional contest entries).

Good luck and thanks for reading!

Halloween Scrapbooking Magic

So many things to talk about in this post:
*I printed my pictures before leaving for work of course, so as soon as I could get the chance, I could scrap my Halloween pictures in a super fast fashion!
*I had a kit of papers already prepared, consisting of the gifted Witch Hazel and Farm Girl collections and some Creative Imaginations papers I bought while visiting Long Beach, WA in August. I have cut a lot of the patterned pieces but still had a few cardstocks in warm peach and yellow gold. *Rainie is dressed as a kitty in velour and Sunday wore the monkey suit. It has been worn four years now! Pretty good value cause I think my mom got it dirt cheap at Old Navy. It is sooo cute...
*The embellishment clusters include paper strip layers, fussy cut icons, phrase stickers and die cuts. I used the manufacture's strip as a title.
*See the striped block on the right? That was inspired by a layout created by Embellish It!'s Sheby Dredge. Basically I took a screen shot of her last email and then used that image to build my foundation. Scraplifting, or using sketches is a way to get your creative juices flowing, and then where you go from there is up to your imagination!
*Learned that one of my favorite companies, Queen & Co., is going to be donating some goodies for my giveaway! So that's pretty awesome. Enter by commenting on any YouTube video of mine. Subscribe and or follow this blog and you'll get another entry in the contest!
*The winner of my contest will be drawn at the conclusion of the Creating Keepsakes Convention in Bellevue, WA- CKC Seattle. There is still time to sign up to volunteer I think, so if you don't have much money, this is an option to consider. All the knowledge but you just pay for parking!*You can find out where I got that mask and more contest details in this video

November Contest Details

First off, YAHOO! The 2014 Creating Keepsakes Convention is next weekend and man, and I ever ready for it! Every year my bestie and I head up to Bellevue for a day (or three) of laughter, learning, more laughter, make and takes, more laughs, and a little chocolate fuel to keep us going as we enjoy every moment immersed in the land o'scrap.
In honor of this occasion for fun and to celebrate my nearing 50 subscribers on YouTube (go subscribe now!) there is a contest going right now through the conclusion of CKC on Saturday November the 8th, at which time I will draw a winner for an exciting prize pack featuring embellishments from one of my favorite companies: Queen and Co! Double Yahoo!
So how to enter?
As mentioned before, subscribe to my You Tube channel, follow this blog, and or leave a comment on any of my videos, and you will get your name on an entry ticket for each of those. Oh and my gratitude for following along on my craftwithanna-Dventures!


Did you catch all three episodes in my Halloween Card making series? Watch my savings add up in my last haul and project share video? Just click the purple YouTube button to the right and you'll end up on my CraftWithAnna channel where all those and more are listed. Select a playlist and you won't even have to push play for the next video that pops up... yes, you can loop me for learning lol


I'd love to hear what you think my product of the month challenge ought to be for the month of November...Thanks again for playing along and GOOD LUCK!

Ships Ahoy

Is there anytime that passes slower than that of awaiting vacation?


And then, suddenly, it rushes towards you, and there is the flurry of what to brings and worry of will I needs and then


as the vacation swiftly disappears you try to grasp all that you can of that gloriously alive feeling to bring home in your soul


to sustain you


until

Hahaha so now you have a little spontaneous poetry from your crafty friend Anna. Used to be a little teen angsty and found some solace in putting down dark lyrical prose that only I would read. Used to have a wall built up within me that seemed to prevent journaling in a heartfelt manner or sharing my musings with any reader, but I seem to have gotten right over that now, lol.


Well, as the poem above mentions, I'm all set for a whirlwind of waiting to die down into my two most longly anticipated events, the Creating Keepsakes Convention in Bellevue, Wa November 7-8th, and then, FINALLY my dream vacation scrapbooking cruise yahoo! Both with my bestie what could be better?!


Turns out, the closer those events get, the more I've thought about how much fun it would be to take some other loved ones along on those events, but logistically it just won't happen. It would be great to find Additional vacations with my mom, grandma, and Ray and that may be a good basis for the word mantra I'll use for next year. (This year's was USE).


In the meantime, I'll daydream about walking through crowds of scrapbookers all "getting" the crazy impulse to aquire more embellishments! papers! stickers! dies! (I don't even have a manual die cutting machine and yet have had to literally make my hand drop. the. die.) Oh and did I mention WASHI TAPE! whew, and that's just in the first booth!


There have been a few changes to the convention over the years and it is always interesting to walk away at the end pondering the many little lessons and creative observations available in a weekend of learning. I'm taking my favorite teacher, Shelby Dredge's class on Friday afternoon. She's teaching on the cruise in February so it'll be fun to see her before then.


Ah, the cruise. Many cold afternoons with rain pouring down have I imagined myself lazily stirring my 2nd cocktail on the catamaran off the coast of I don't know which country while the sun beats down and my DF snaps a pic for me to instantly scrap upon our return to ship #instamaticEnvy #selphieEnvy


Okay, back to reality. I have a contest coming up in conjunction with the convention, so stay tuned for the last video in my Card Magic series. If you're not subscribing on You Tube, you can. And if you read all the way down this post by some alternate, non-blog-following path, I invite you to hit that button NOW.


The card above was created with die cuts by Storyteller's Collection. Many conventions ago I was a member of their club and the supply accumulated during the course of my subscription has lasted through many many many many projects.

Sons of Scrap-archy

You may have read before that I am a big fan of late night scrappin... well, if you've read enough of my blog to know that, you probably know that I'm a fan of anytime scrapbooking lol.
Earlier this summer I found that one of our tv trays works perfectly for creativity in the living room. On the one hand, I am forced to gather a limited amount of supplies to work with. This challenge can help me to focus and also flexes my brain to come up with alternate ideas. My craft room is 30 feet away, too so it's not like I can't go and find the item I think will make a layout perfect!
On the other hand, I get to spend some quality time with Ray after the girls are asleep. By "quality" I am referring to the type of interaction couples nationwide experience nightly- zoning out in front of the boob tube! We hardly watch any tv in our house, so binging on some Netflix can really be a treat. One of our favorite shows is the Sons of Anarchy. We also enjoy House of Cards and the Orange is the New Black- or, the Orange and Black as my hunny refers to it.
Well yesterday I was griping to a friend that I've been doing altogether to much house cleaning and that it is really interfering with my creating! It was no surprise to me that such a build up of not making had me in the mood to really crank out some craft last night, and I was able to create three layouts in their entirety. Go me!
Often times the lack of supplies on hand will have me making most of a layout or card, and then finishing it up the next day or sometime later in the week. Last night I managed to get pen to paper on all three pages as well, and tucked them into my brand spankin' new red canvas fall album. A much better feeling than the one I had the previous day, when the only crafting I managed was putting a completed page into the same album. Not working on the page, just putting it away... lame!
So, often times I'm asked how I'm able to whip out the pages so fast? A lot of times it is because I'm working out of a pre-assembled kit I've made. Have you ever seen  a collection of items on your desk and thought, gee that's pretty! Well, when I do that, often times I will enclose said collection of goodies in a sheet protector. I keep between ten and twenty of these on hand to grab and put with photos at a whim. By adding a few more embellishments, or sometimes just an additional piece of background paper, I can sometimes stretch these one-page kits into three or more layouts, like I was able to do last night.
For September, my challenge product of the month is going to be using my stash of pre-made kits. A lot of them have photos in them that I want to include in albums already moved out of viewing, and seeing what I wanted to scrap with last year is like having my own Throwback Thursday any day of the week!
If you'd like some tips on how to create your own scrapbook kit, check out this movie I made last year. Grab a pen and paper, jot down some notes, and then go shop your stash (or favorite scrappy outlet) and then go to town! Or, go to town, shop, and then stay up late making something awesome :-) The choice is yours, of course.
Thanks for choosing to spend some time on my blog today, and if you've got a good show for me to watch I'd sure like to hear of it... the Sons had their final soap opera style dramatic conclusion last night and Survivor is merely on the horizon of my viewing schedule!
Hmmm... anyone else extremely disappointed that "Jax" is no longer being considered for the role of Christian Grey...? He does bad boy gooood! I'm not saying he's a great actor, but I believe it when he gets into a heap of trouble episode after episode all while wearing his custom baggy leathers :-D

Little Odds and Ends

Didn't get to make too much last week as I have been downsizing my collection of papers and momentos and have a ton of "junk" spread all over my workspace. Got so tired of that mess I shoved it all in a bag last night and was able to make two really cute cards you can see on my instagram feed today. (click the purple camera circle to the right to be taken there)

This card was made for a friend of a friend recently and was made with very little dimension, using stamps and lots of fun summery colors. I need a bit of something though, so I went over the heart with some Liquid Glass which turned it into a custom enamel shape. After this photo was taken I also added the glass effect to the Smile word too. Baker's twine and my favorite Queen & Co. bling twinkling dressed the card up further and then I drew on some stitching at the top left with my new alcohol pen freebie from the Scrapbook Expo last month.

So where does one house an incredible selection of acquired bling (brads are not included in this mix)? Why, in my Queen & Co. miniature suitcase, or trunk, of course! It's the perfect size for the tiny packages and I also recently organized it so I can show you how well all my rhinestones and pearls live together. There are also enamel dots in there. I have another trunk that I keep washi tape inside. A great reason to sign up for one of their classes at an event!

Speaking of, it's almost November! Well for most readers that will be insignificant and not worth mentioning, but for me it's the peak of my year as that month is when Seattle hosts the Creating Keepsakes Convention. You will see a lot more about this as it approaches so I won't spend too much time on it here, but it is on my mind of late and if you've never gone you ought to look into it. And start saving your money for the vendor fair lol (the paper is calling me DF)!

Anyway, having all my blings together in one place allows me to flip through them easily and also to reach for all my options with one lift of the arm. You can take a tour of my craft room here.
I'm considering a new shoot of my set up; some items have changed places since I uploaded that video, but for the most part my room is the same. More paperwork stuffed in out-of-sight places since last night, but otherwise... plenty of stash to shop from at home!

Thanks for stopping by today. I've got a new scrapbooking process video coming out this week, click on the purple YouTube link up at the top right and subscribe to my CraftWithAnna channel, do so and you won't miss any of my latest movies as they get online. Have a great week and make it crafty!

Add a Fourth of Fun

Today I'm sprinkling a dash of creativity, adding a Fourth of Fun, and mixing up a big scrap bucket of card fronts!
Occasionally, there are nights I successfully bring myself back downstairs after tucking the kids into bed. Earlier this summer I discovered a way to make a table I can work off while sitting on the couch and it's opened up a few more hours of crafting for me! As hunny and I watch our fill of the Orange is the New Black, I sort through my scraps and find interesting color combinations to play with. Sometime I'm really happy with the results, and sometimes I just love the idea of what I've made, but not really the card itself.

That's the case with this card to the left; I actually like it a lot more photographed and here on the blog than I do in real life. It was fun to create though, and that's what matters most to me. The cute little paper flower was made by folding strips of paper and then topping it with a fussy cut flower and a pearl. A peek-a-boo sticker from the kids and an assortment of additional blings bring the focus onto the flower. Thank goodness I have every color bling under the sun to compliment all the shades shown here, thanks to Queen & Co and their value priced booth at CKC each year!

Speaking of bling, I need to go make some Fourth of July cards for the peeps I'll see. I've got some blue and red star blings that are just dying to get on something.
Have a safe and fun, festive Fourth- and make it crafty!

February Simple Stories DIY Calendar

Every month for 2014, Rainier and I are working together on this DIY Simple Stories based scrapbook calendar for her dad. I think it is so important for him to have a "pretty" place to document his observations and memories of our girls... his notes are like little written treasures!

Well, the idea of providing him with a tool like this came about four years ago at my 2nd Creating Keepsakes Convention.  My Dear Friend and I both purchased Basic Grey's 12 month, put-it-together-yourself kit. She chose to put photos that had already been taken into her calendar, while I chose to wait for a cute photo, taken within the first few days of the month, to accompany the gorgeous mini layouts (each page was 8x8). A tiny bit stressful, yes. The funny thing about giving a gift like this, is that you can't make someone write down their memories...okay, you can, but sometimes suggesting can sound an awful lot like nagging!

I chose another Basic Grey calendar kit the next year, struggled with the same print-in-a-timely-fashion conundrum,  and then decided to skip this creation the following (last) year. The contents were just a little too little, and I was having a hard time with feeling like this wasn't exactly a creation of MINE. Sure, I put it all together, but essentially, each month would look just like my friend's! Not a bad thing, but I was desiring a change. This last CKC, I chose a slightly more expensive, but to me, much more expressive DIY scrapbook calendar to feature monthly snapshots, keep track of birthdays, and yes, provide a place for those all important memories!

Before, I would desperately rush to put together the calendar days before Christmas (why do we do things like that?!). So the best part of creating it usually felt like the act of finishing it on time! This version is being created monthly, and the best part of the process is that Rainier and I are doing it together. She puts most of the stickers on, cuts the paper, chooses papers, and on this month, it was her brilliant idea to tuck that row of photos she chose behind the polka dot paper strip. Like any Fancy Nancy loving three year old, she also thought it was necessary to apply a lot of bling to that printed banner!

Sometimes bossy mommy threatens to ruin the creative process we are enjoying, but this session went spectacularly, and ended with her saying, "I want to do another calendar next!"

I'm looking forward to it too, sweetie :-)

#HalloweenMemories

Aren't some of the digital photo-editing apps amazing?! I haven't got a chance to lay down my own letter stickers for this page yet, but a couple finger pushes and slides, and what do ya know, my Fancy Nancy titles looks great! Hardly digital looking at all :-) Scroll down to see the accompanying page.

Sorry for the blurriness. That's kind of a theme for this time of year, right? Wow, Halloween and the beginning of fall have come and gone, and I suddenly realize I haven't really started preparing for Christmas (or Thanksgiving) in the way of cards or thought-of-you gifts for my friends and family. So this week Rainier and I made two presents for persons not decided yet. I love Lisa E's simple but oh so cute ideas (look under the I'm inspired By tab above) and her YouTube movie voice is so friendly! She made a tutorial showing a grocery list holder that I thought would not only be super easy to make but easily duplicated too. We took a piece of chipboard, or heavyweight cardstock or kraft paper. 8 1/2x11" worked great. Using paper scraps, washi tape, and stickers we created a notepad holder with photo of the girls, and another home decor piece with a set of three cards attached. Sometimes you find out a card is needed at the last minute, or intuition tells you to bring along a "nice to see you card " when you go to the post office....so this would be a handy holder for grabbing a card on your way out the door.

what? You don't get those need to bring a card with me twinges?
 

Anyway, after getting two done in three days, I'm feeling better about getting into the making for others spirit. There will be a special Holiday edition plus the December copy of DieCutCrazy coming in the next week or so to look forward to. It's funny that as disappointed as I am that Creating Keepsakes and Papercrafting are no longer coming via mail delivery, I'm so excited for a digital magazine to come out.  I have to admit it is thrilling to be published amongst the other talented contributors! Each month it is only a dollar, for tons of inspiration including tutorials and tips and just all around great designs to scraplift, er interpret.  Plus, I make a lot of stuff, and I forget what I share with whom and what I send to the magazine too, so by the time they are published I cannot honestly remember what I will be seeing lol . I have never limited my projects to the season. Writing and making seasonal cards and tutorials for DCC has got me more aware and excited of the way all of that influences trends and motifs and Im thinking, Pretty soon New Years and snow scenes and then spring scrapbook pages will be rolling through my creative space too!
 

But first, I delved into my massive ck haul of fall STUFF. Die cuts, 12x12" richly toned, heavy-weighted card stocks by Echo Park & Basic Grey, amongst other brands offerings. Glittery, leaf motifed everything and everything pretty much :-) Thank you for SEIs last hour sale heehee! $27of Awesome. I have filmed that second page above (sorry the photo is so blurry) coming together. You can find it below, as well as with the other process videos of mine under the tab above. I'm always surprised and delighted to hear of a dash of inspiration a viewer received!! So please, feel free to comment appropriately :-)

Well these two pages came together in about half an hour each. Uninterrupted, non child carrying craft time for me is so rare, and my fingers (both hands!) flew about my desk gluing down this and that. Because I had been gathering like -items prior to creating the pages, I could just reach in my bag of tricks and literally put it on my base and build up with confident decisions. Speed scrapping at its finest! I'm really lucky to have both the girls napping for an hour or two Almost everyday, at the same time, together, without me! right now. Like, three out of five days. Thanksgiving indeed!

Blessings to you and your family, or if you are my family, this week and alldays :-D ~Anna

CK Short Circuit!

Oh wow, it seems like its already been a year since last weekend's Creating Keepsakes Convention in Bellevue, but I guess time flies when you're not creating?!

So where to start, the amazingly great time I had catching and creating up with my Dear Friend, the wealth of knowledge I absorbed volunteering in classes taught by craft industry faves, or the inhibiting factors which didn't allow me to make another thing until yesterday afternoon?

I guess the first stop ought to be announcing the winner from my November 1-10th Blog-Hopping 10-Subbie Celebration Comment Challenge:

That sure was a fun way to say goodbye to CK for another year! I managed to make enough acquaintances in two days to hand out the 20+ Artist Trading Cards I made in preparation. So many talented and extremely nice people that I shared supplies, ideas, and most important, laughs alongside.

Megan You Are Ah-may-zing!

 Special thanks go out to my Director of Photography/Grip hahaha. And to Mike at Queen & Co for another year of allowing me to Vanna new products for him, as well as Megan Hoeppner and Shelby Bywater, two of CK's superstars! Also thank you to Melissa Frances, whose PSA and open conversation about her personal breast cancer discovery and recovery changed my view on monthly self-breast exams (DO THEM! MEN TOO!)

#MyTwoYearOldsAFearlessArtist

Well, usually I'm pretty reluctant to let anything get in the way of my usual chores-childcare-craft routine I've got established, but I really did miss my girls while I was away this weekend. As loud as the siren call of all my new kits, pretty papers, stickers, and unfinished layouts was, I ignored it in favor of trying to focus my attentions on my babes. Instead of crafting next to Rainier and offering half-hearted assistance, I stayed on her side of the art den and kept my hands off my stuff. Yuck and Yea at the same time! (Anyone else noticing the same craft hysteria face that Rainier and I are sharing in these photos?)

the lovely Ship Harbor Inn view

My go-to-guy also had oral surgery up in Anacortes on Thursday and he took the kids and I up early Wednesday night, so I had that to pack and plan for. We had a lovely time and his surgery went well, and before we took him to the dentist I even squeezed in a half page layout from a kit DF got me at the last minute. Was able to finish that and another layout with two more in the works while the house was napping yesterday afternoon...

MerryGoRound Love

I promise I will be sharing what I can remember learning over the next couple of weeks and months. Had a lot of brainstorming going on in our hotel room and it will be exciting putting some of those ideas into world-wide viewing portals :-)

Congratulations to my Big Comment Winner, who should be receiving a package in today's post, and for all who followed the contest and participated. You comments all made me feel like a true winner in the craft community!