A PEEK INSIDE THE CHA SUMMER SHOW ’09

Well, I have been back from the CHA Craft & Hobby Association tradeshow & CHA Consumer SuperShow for a little over a week, and I am finally getting together a slideshow to show you some of the goodies that grabbed my attention. All of the manufacturers that I spoke with were so nice and I have to say how impressed I was with the quality of design work that was represented. The papers are some of the best selections I have seen in years! Kudos to all the awesome designers that made that happen. From cute snowmen and bright colors for Christmas to fun halloween designs that will make you howl and some of the most beautiful petal and pearl embellishments a girl could want, the summer show was full of eye candy! You will see a mix of products, project samples (some blurry, sorry, but at times I was cruising faster than my shutter speed and pulling my case and juggling my camera). But hopefully, these will give you an idea of some of the wonderful products that will be available this fall at your favorite online or local retailer. I put the photos in alphabetical order by manufacturer. If you want to view individual photos, go to my Picasa gallery.

Catch the LOVE bug!

Sunday will be mine & Dan’s 23rd anniversary. I can't figure out how this can possibly be, since I only feel like I am 23! I guess that my harsh reminder of my age. Here is a card I did a while ago using some papers from Around the block & adhesives from Glue Arts. The micro adhesive squares come in real handy for those tiny rhinestones! I used paper piercing for the floral stems...a quick and easy idea to use in combination with your diecuts. Just remember to do this prior to mounting the layer on your card and don't forget to use a matt underneath so you don't damage your furniture!

The anniversary verse is from Stampin’ Up!’s Hugs & Wishes set....such a great verses set that Ifind myself using all the time. I selectively inked the word Anniversary using a brown marker. It also use the scallop border punch from SU, too.

Hope you catch the love bug and stamp a fun card for someone you love today! I plan to do some stamping today, so hopefully I will have some new projects to post. Hopefully, I will get the girls to take a photo of Dan and I this weekend to post, too!

Days Like This!

Yesterday gave reason to why we love living in Florida. It was a hot summer day that was perfection by my beach standards. The breeze was blowing off the ocean, the water was refreshing, but not too chilly, and the waves made it fun to play and pretend that we were 15 again! Dan played volleyball with the kids and their friends while I soaked up the words in a fresh issue of O magazine along with some rays. I promised to never takes days like this for granted ever!

Now, we were refreshed and energized for the first day of school today...well, almost everyone....

Bella is a bit sad to see the girls leave and go back to the school routine again. For my youngest, it marks the first day of high school. Oh my, it just can't be true when I remember those days just like they were yesterday. And did I mention that Ashley, our junior, was driving her sister and friend Courtney to school? There they go!  

Our new routine will be full of volleyball practices and games for the next few months. I am already counting the minutes until they get home ’cause no matter how old they are, I still can't wait to hear all about their first day of school!