Saturday, August 30, 2008

"I Love Your Blog" Award


Two of my friends have nominated my blog for this award. To return the thank you, I've nominated them, and a few others...

1. Born2Scrap (Kelly)
2. scrapsofourlife (Angela)
3. Allmomentsremembered (Stacey)
4. Corina Michelle (Corina)
5. That's My Story (Stacy)
6. Happy Paper Craft Happenings (Anita)
7. thescrapdiva (Tiffany)

Monday, August 18, 2008

Operation CKC~Charlotte

The alarm went off at 6:30 Friday morning. I'm nuts to get up that early on my vacation, but it was all worth it. It was a 2 1/2 hour drive to Charlotte, NC, coming from Anderson, SC. I went by myself. I got there easilly, with the help of the gps. I found a parking lot right across from the Convention Ctr. When I arrived I got my Vendor Faire pass. I used my $2 off, downloadable coupon and got my wrist band. I checked out the list of classes, and decided since I had plenty of time, I'd see what was still available. "Playful Pages" by Simple Scrapbooking had some room left and the price was reasonable.



My first stop was, of course, the Vendor Faire. I knew I had a couple of hours to kill before class, so why not shop? Isn't that what I was there for, anyway? I walked in and had to pick my chin up off the floor. This was my first, of any kind, scrapbook convention. I was in awe! It could've been disappointing to some pros and I wouldn't have known the difference. Scrapbook vendors all over the place, selling anything and everything. Wow! Yes, of course I took pictures. At first I felt silly. It was still early, and not many were walking around with cameras, just yet. But, heck, I knew I'd regret it, if I didn't.





I refrained from buying these....lol


Time went by fast! Next thing I knew it was time for class. I had to go up a few floors for the classroom.


We received our kits to work with and got to work, right away. Class was fast paced, but a lot of fun. We did the base of two layouts with instructions to add things later. We received a lot of different products to work with, with plenty left overs!
Here are the layouts I did. I added the title, journaling, and photos later.
This first one is, "Summer Vacation". The pp's by Scenic Route, Bookworks Mini Alpha & Number Series by EK Success, and Dill Blossom alpha stickers by SEI.
Words along the side read, "Waves, Sun, Sand, Beach, Lazy, Fun, Splash". We dotted some of our buttons with the Sakura White Souffle Pen.

Ok, this layout was supposed to be about family, but I kind of revised it, with the pictures I had in mind. It's called, "Animal Bonding". Products you see here are, Heidi Swapp ghost letters, BoBunnyPress Clowning Around & Pep Rally Stripe, Bazzill Cardstock, SEI stickers (again), 7gypies 97% Complete "family".
The journaling reads this, "an-i-mal One of the, several, definitions of the word, "animal", from www.Dictionary.com describes an animal as this, ~ "An in human person, brutish or beastlike person." The adjective is described as, "pertaining to the physical, sensual, or carnal nature of humans, rather than their spiritual or intellectual nature."
So, are these two animals? What do you think?"


Everything was included for the layouts, except the adhesive. Even though I had a hard time keeping up, it was fun, and I'd do it again!
After class, I saw Donna Downey! I've never met a scrapbook celeb before. Although, I didn't meet Donna because the line was too long. I was hoping to see Alli Edwards, Becky Higgins, and more, but I'm honored to have Donna's photo!

After seeing Donna and getting over the shock, I found a "make 'n take" and made this fun little clipboard! Everything was included here. These kits were for sale, but I didn't buy one. This would be a great activity for kids, especially if you had your paper pre-cut. So fast, fun, and easy!


By now it was time to get back on the road. Charlotte is such a beautiful city, I couldn't leave without several pictures!







Ok, so what did I get while I was there???? That's the most important question! lol. I made out really well, considering I was on a budget. I found the Queen & Co. $1 bins, and some goodies for future Cheerleading layouts! I also found...STICKLES!




PS...If you're at a CKC, don't forget to stop by the Skinny Cow booth for a FREE Ice Cream! Sorry, no pics :( lol

Thursday, August 14, 2008

Vacation Update

Sorry, I haven't posted all week. We've been traveling, out of state, during this past week. In case you haven't already known that.
We started out, early Saturday morning. Stopped over in Martinsville, VA to visit my grandmother. She's going to be 84 years old, this week. Bless her heart. She's the sweetest lady I've ever known. I'm the oldest grandchild and my girls are her only "blood" great-grandchildren. We had a short, but wonderful visit. Jim and I took the girls swimming, at Fairy Point State Park. It would've been too much for grandma, so she stayed home. The girls enjoyed swimming and playing in the playground...




We always hate to say goodbye!


On our way to Anderson, SC, we stopped by the Joe Gibbs racing center. Guess what, come to find out, we saw Joe Gibbs, himself, in the parking lot! We didn't even realize it was him, at first! Had we known, he might've signed Sarah's shirt, that we got. Oh well. But here are just a few pics of our adventure. I can't believe how clean these floors were...even in the bathrooms! lol. So shiny, they looked wet, but dry as a bone! This place is gorgeous!




We finally arrived in SC, early Monday evening. What's a trip to the lake without some swimming and a boat ride, right??? We've waited all summer, just for this! (We won't talk about the little bit of sunburn lol).




And, what's a vacation without some scrapbooking involved??? Here's one of the layouts I did, last night. We played a "mean" game of pool the other night. Some, good, family fun! Speaking of scrapbooking, tomorrow I'm heading north to Charlotte to attend my very first scrapbook convention! (CKC-Creating Keepsakes Convention). I'm sooo excited!

Tuesday, August 5, 2008

Pink Paislee at AMR!!!!!

No, ladies, I didn't say BRAD PAISLEY! lol PINK PAISLEE. You know, the awesome scrapbook line!

Check them out, here, at Allmomentsremembered....
http://allmomentsremembered.com/osstore1/index.php?osCsid=5953d8273a0edbe1ba1ff763a02e74cb&manufacturers_id=54&osCsid=5953d8273a0edbe1ba1ff763a02e74cb

Tons in stock! Will ship as soon as you order!!!

Feel free to check out the AMR Message Board and the rest of their store, too!

Friday, August 1, 2008

ACEO's!

An offshoot of Artist Trading Cards are the "art card, editions and originals" (ACEO). ACEOs originated when some artists began to create cards to sell, in addition to trading among themselves. The selling of these cards is a sore point with some ATC enthusiasts; but, of course, the provision that cards should not be sold is not an enforceable one. Trading cards in other areas such as sports have also been traded and sold. The practice is meant to explore the temporal miniature in art, to augment the income, increase visibility, circulate small works more widely, as well as increase their patronage

Artist Trading Cards are individual art miniatures which pass hand to hand. Some sources have credited M. Vänçi Stirnemann, who began trading sessions in Zurich, Switzerland, in 1997, as popularizing ATCs in the modern era, although modern ATC's can be traced back to portrait miniatures and to a kind of business card popular with Impressionistic era artists.

Artists have produced miniatures for trade or self-promotion in many eras and places, and the current trend is thus part of this larger context. Historically there were few standard rules or guidelines to art trading cards, and many variances in sizes can be seen in older cards. The standardization in size of baseball cards is credited with creating the standardization in size for art cards. Today the only rule for these cards is their 2.5 by 3.5 inch size (64 x 89 mm), same as baseball cards and collectible card games. There are, however, certain conventions usually observed by those who make and trade these cards, such as the expectation that they be traded, not sold, and that they be created as unique works or small limited editions of prints. Artists generally sign and date the back, and may also include a title and contact information. The face-to-face trading session is considered an integral part of the concept, although many people find each other via the internet and trade by mail.

Artist Trading Cards are typically made on a base of card stock. However, ATCs have been created on metal, stiffened fabric, plastic, clay, glass, balsa wood, leather, embroidery canvas, acetate, heavy watercolor paper, and many other materials. The art on the cards can be done in any media: textile arts, pencil, watercolor, acrylic, oil, collage, scratch board, mixed media, assemblage, digital art, calligraphy, beadwork, rubber stamps, carved soft block stamps, pen and ink, colored pencil, airbrush, pastels, and many others - anything artists use.



This definition of the ACEO is from Wikepedia.

In efforts to increase sales and exposure to my Etsy shop, I now have ACEO's available for sale. Most ACEO's will include images that are already listed in the shop. However, the more I learn about Paintshop Pro, the more the graphics will very and go beyond the photograph.

The link at the top of the blog shows the ones I listed this morning. You can visit my shop to see the full size images.

www.IrresistableImages4u.etsy.com