be yourself: live with passion

THE "WHILE I AM GONE" GIVEAWAY!

Yesterday, I promised to post about a giveaway...something to make up for the fact that I won't be posting for a while.

WHAT AM I GIVING AWAY?

I will be giving away an 8x8 3 ring chipboard binder from Maya Road (not available for purchase these days) as well as a large pack of paper, embellishments and ephemera suitable for a travel journal...travel being the theme because I'm traveling, right?  I've been getting emails from some of you asking if I would sell some of my flotsam and jetsam...well, this pack will include some of that!  ETA:  I forgot to mention that I'll also be including a metal pocket watch case which is fabulous for building a little collage on your cover! :)

Here's all you have to do...simply post a comment about your favorite trip...the place you loved most.

If you want to tell a story about it, feel free...you know how much I love your stories.

I'll keep the giveaway open until about noon on Monday, April 6th (when I will finally surface from "down under").

BTW, hubby asked me this morning if I was giving away the torso (in a tone that implied a definite not)...ummm, no, since those places are OUR favorite places.  But, you can build your own torso...instructions are included in my book, Lifelines.

Looking forward to hearing your travel stories.

2:30 a.m.

It's been happening for about the last week or so.

I've been waking up at 2:30 in the morning...and can't get back to sleep.

Deep breathing, thinking tranquil thoughts, visualizing something peaceful...even counting sheep, for crying out loud...nothing seems to help.

My brain is fully engaged and ready to get going...it's making lists...and those lists seem to have their own little sub-lists!

Interestingly enough, my days are going rather smoothly for having so much to do before leaving for Sydney.  Maybe nighttime list making is more effective than making a list first thing in the morning.   Honestly, though, I'd rather be sleeping!

All of the kits have been put together, boxed and labeled for shipping...I'm just waiting for the postal service to pick them up.   This afternoon, I need to catch up on our other business...get paperwork and bills all done for the time I'm gone.  I'm leaving on Friday and coming home the following Sunday...and it's been a while since I've been gone for more than a week so I'm a little stressed about that, especially with having two businesses that occupy my time.  Just wanted you to know that if you place any orders after Thursday, they won't be shipped until April 6th...since the main shipping gal (that would be me) won't be here!

Since I'm not sure about internet access while I'm gone, I probably won't be posting a whole lot.  Be on the lookout for a giveaway...I'll be posting about that tomorrow...and will pick a winner when I get home. 

And, if any of you are also plagued with the 2:30 brain wake-up call, just email me...I'm sure we'll have lots to talk about!

behind the scenes in kit making...

Just in case you think that a kit making business is nirvana...that everything is perfect...that there are no "out-takes" (so to speak), I thought I'd share a few funnies today.

I've been working on bagging ribbons for the Spring Fling kit which will be going out this week.  Since it's been so gorgeous out, I got the brilliant idea to set up outside on the patio.  Mind you, it was bright, sunny and calm as can be when I set up.  Just about half way into the job, a breeze picked up and then the wind started absolutely gusting!  There are a couple problems with that...first, the ribbon isn't exactly going to stay where it belongs and second, we have a huge mesquite tree right above the table that is both leafing out new growth and shedding last year's dried leaves.  Hmmm, not so good.  You may end up with more than you paid for in your kit...a bit of Arizona nature!  So, I grabbed my piles and moved the assembly line inside. 

Thought I'd share a pic of about a third of the ribbon bags...they are nestled in a large beverage server...nothing like repurposing, right?  These are in addition to the trim packs that I've already put together.

The same wind also picked up the hand dyed crocheted flowers that were drying on the bench and started blowing them around.  I really needed octopus arms (and hands) to keep up with that craziness!

Speaking of hand dyed...not only are the flowers dyed but so are my hands and fingernails...icky.  It's a water based reinker blend of pink, yellow and brown (it created a really pretty coral-pink color) but I'm having a hard time getting rid of it on my nails and skin.  Does anyone have a suggestion as to how to get rid of the dye (without using chlorine bleach since I HATE that smell!)?  I'm desperate...

Oh yeah, while I was dyeing (I originally wrote this as "dying", oy!) Little Miss Tudi was buzzing around...obviously she thought the pink liquid was for her!  If she wants to move in with us, maybe I could rent her a room...

So, there you have today's behind the scenes in the wonderful world of kit making!  For all of you who have volunteered to help, you could be in for a fun time! 

Thanks to all of you who ordered...the numbers are dwindling and there aren't many left...also, there's just one Book of 9 left...just sayin'.

Happy Sunday!

sharing some spring with you...

Well, the house has been abuzz this morning...quite literally!

I was pouring myself a cup of French pressed coffee and grating a bit of nutmeg on the top (a Saturday morning indulgence) when I looked up and saw a hummingbird in my breakfast room.  Seriously, like actually in the house.

But, it wasn't just any old hummingbird...it was Tudi, the queen of the backyard.  In all the years we've had feeders and hummers, there has never been a female quite as bold as this one...she's got attitude in spades!  She actually chases away the males...and drinks from the feeder when I'm carrying it to her spot after refreshing the food.  She's been hanging out with us every evening when we've been dining outdoors...guess she decided to pay us a personal visit this morning.

I ended up holding back the wood blinds because she got herself in between the slats, and carefully opened the window...all the while chatting to her because she definitely knows my voice.  She allowed me to gently guide her to the open window and then flew away.  She'll probably be a little stressed this morning...nothing that a little fresh food won't fix!

Since the place is just bursting with life and spring, I thought I'd share some scenes with you...

A view down the side of the house...aloe and bougainvillea are what I see out the kitchen window.  This used to be a barren wasteland and the hottest part of our yard until we planted some trees and vines.  Now it's way cooler and actually pretty.

 

Gerbera daisies...one of my favorites...they are just so sassy in the early morning light.

 

The bougainvillea is so bright and beautiful against the green of the palm tree and the blue of this morning's sky...it's going to be a gorgeous day!

 

Trader Joe's daffodils on the kitchen counter, capturing a few rays of morning sunshine.  They make me happy!

   

 

And then there's Fred...you know that it's spring for sure...he's trying to escape...looking for a little spring fling of his own!  You can see the process here.  Passes by the hole in the block wall.  Sees an opening, i.e., an opportunity.  Backtracks.  Sticks himself into the hole.  Oops...deadend.  He actually can't get through the hole but we put a rock into that hole so that he can't get himself stuck.  He's a card...a little on the wild side!

Hope you enjoyed these snippets of spring.

BOOK OF 9!  Yesterday, I taught this class at Scrapbooks, Etc. and because I had gotten emails asking about this book, I made some extra kits while I was prepping for the class.  If anyone is interested in a kit (and there are only a few due to the fact that several of the papers are now discontinued), just email me.  Kits are $40.00 and I'll let you know about shipping...some of you may be interested in having it shipped out with your creatologie kit which is shipping early in the week, and that will save on postage.

ETA:  BOOK OF 9 KITS ARE ALL SOLD OUT.  THANKS!

HAPPY SATURDAY AND HAPPY SPRING!

 

 

Where was Barbara Eden when I needed her?

Obviously, I don't have it down.

That special arm position and eye blinking simply didn't work for me yesterday and I needed Barbara Eden to show me exactly what she did.

But, alas, Barbara Eden was not to be found and since I was minus one "Jeannie", I ended up spending my day yesterday with the quite overwhelming chore of cleaning up my messes.  Nothing like having company over for dinner last evening to get me inspired and motivated...and trust me, I needed a lot of motivation for the task that faced me.  For the past two months, I have created at least a dozen projects and have put together literally hundreds of kits.  With each kitted project, there's an assortment of "flotsam and jetsam" that accumulates in piles, boxes, on my sofas, etc.  Since I'm pretty much out of storage space, the challenge becomes what to do with all of the stuff!

So, I sorted and tossed and temporarily relocated (this means it will be back in the family room again) and cleaned...and my family room looks remarkable...like a room after all of the many Christmas decorations have been taken down and put away.  Simple, clean, uncluttered.  I'm basking in it right now...sipping my coffee and reading in our little reading corner...avoiding anything that's going to upset the look.

But, in a few minutes, it's back to business...I have a couple of things due tomorrow so am going to need to bring back some of the clutter.  Sad...

In the meantime, if any of you have seen "Jeannie" or if you have your own genie in a bottle, do you think you could send her my way?  I'd love for her to blink away all of those things I no longer need or use and to blink in all of those new treasures I want to keep!

Maybe I need to reposition my arms...do you think that might work? 

Sesame Street for Creative Adults.

To get into the spirit of this post, I'd like you to click here and watch and listen for just a minute.

Today's letter is the letter C, but you got that already, didn't you?

I'd like you to think about coffee filters, crepe paper, crackle paint, counting to 9, cute little tweety birds, chocolate brown.  What in the world do all these things have in common?

Well, they are all part of the bright, happy CHEERFUL project we are building as part of my CREATIVE Genius Workshop at Scrapbooks, Etc. on Friday, March 20th at 10:30 a.m.

This is such a fun list book and what makes it so COOL is that it's generic; i.e., you can fill in the title spot with your own words...9 things, 9 favorites, 9 reasons...you pick your own 9 things to list.

Add to that the gorgeous COLOR COMBO of aqua, CREAM, kraft, and CHOCOLATE...yummy!

This would make a fabulous gift for Mother's Day, a great spring CREATION, or just a fun list book for you to keep.  You don't want to miss out on this one!

Here's all you need to do:

• CLEAR your CALENDAR
• CALL the store at 480-854-2303
• COLLECT your tools
• COME!!!!!
• CREATE!!!!!

If you don't believe me that this will be an awesome CLASS, COME "C" for yourself!

And, by the way, did you know that the number "9" is the number of CHANGE? :))

Edited to add:  Does that mean I need to bring CHEESE, CRACKERS, and CARROT CAKE?   ;)

a virtual endurance ride

If you've followed my blog for any length of time, you know that Vern and Ashley are totally into horses and endurance riding.

Since I don't ride with them, my only experience with what they're doing is through the telling and retelling of their ride stories. When Ashley offered to show me a video clip she captured while competing at McDowell Mountain in Scottsdale a couple of weekends ago, I was happy to view it...seeing a few minutes of the ride made me wonder how or why they would willingly do 50 miles of this!  Guess that's why they call it "endurance"!

 Warning: Poster is not responsible for dizziness which may be caused by viewing this clip.

Ashley is definitely a good rider...she started lessons when she was 7 and has done pretty much everything- showing in English and Western, reining, gymkhana, jumping (which terrified me!), competitive trail riding and now endurance riding. She and Mimi LOVE endurance! How Ashley can ride on that trail and on that pony one handed is beyond me...and when she turned around to photo Vern and Beamer...yikes! I have a new respect for her riding ability. If you are interested in reading her ride stories, check them out on her blog here. She's a good writer...I've often told her that she could have a career in writing, but she's definitely sold on court reporting!

Maybe some day... Hope you enjoyed your trail ride in the desert today...Happy Trails!

the view from my seat...

If you were sitting in my chair right now, here's what you would see:

Last night, Ashley cut the trims for this month's kit and I've been sporatically working on putting them together in cute little packs.  Because it's kind of tedious, I've been breaking it up by creating a project (the parts and pieces are on the other side of the table).  The project is for one of my Australia classes...just got a box of product to work with yesterday.  It's kind of a fun way to create...here's what you have to work with...now make it unique and doable in an hour and half.  Love challenges like that.

I'm sipping on my last cup of coffee, Point of Grace is singing on Pandora Radio (love those chicks) in the background and I can hear the fountain out front and waterfall in the back yard...and, oh yeah, can't forget those loud and obnoxious black birds that are building their nests in the ash trees in the yard. 

If you were sitting in my chair, that would be life right now.  If I were sitting in your chair right now, what would I see and hear?

think spring...think fall

A title like this requires some explanation.

Here in Arizona, we are experiencing spring at its finest.  But, my mind is starting to drift toward Australia, where it is now fall.

Why is my mind drifting toward Australia?  Well, because I'll be going there at the end of the month!

I really am going back.  I had the privilege of being there in 2004 as a guest instructor for a Pride Publishing convention; it was the trip of a lifetime for me.

Who would have imagined that something like scrapbooking would have taken me to Australia?  Not me, for sure.

And now, I'm going back.  Wow.  This time, I'll be participating in Scrapbooking Industry Australia (SIA), which is Australia's CHA for the scrapping industry.  I'll be teaching a couple of classes and giving a breakfast "talk" for lack of a better word.  I've been told that people want the scoop on me...and my response has been that it will take 5 minutes or less for that to happen so what else should I talk about?  Tee Hee... 

What an honor to be asked!

This time, I will be staying a few extra days to do some sightseeing, shopping, junking, etc...so looking forward to it.  Just can't wait...I got my itinerary last week and applied for my visa this morning...it's really happening now!

Just wanted to leave you with a few pix of the backyard this weekend...definitely spring!

A busy bee in a blood orange blossom.

 

Blossoms on the Mexican Hat Plant, aka The Mother of a Thousand Children.  Seriously.  The leaves have tiny little leaves that grow on the very outside tips and they fall to the ground and start another plant.  You can potentially have a forest of these!

 

African daisies stretching out to catch the sun.

 

And finally, our goofy Bodie resting her chin on the rock while we were doing yardwork.  It looks to me that she, our camera shy dog, was actually posing for the camera.  Maybe she's figured out that when I snap her picture, she becomes a blog star! :))

Hope you are enjoying the beginnings of your spring...or for those of you that I will be seeing in a few short weeks, your fall!

A walk to the "North 40".

Our house backs up to a canal.  In Arizona, the canal system is used to bring in water for irrigating farmer's fields as well as to generate power.  The canals are also part of a trail system for hiking, biking and horseback riding and are well maintained and, in some areas, really beautiful.  Over the years, we have taken all of our dogs out on walks on a very regular basis...in fact, a couple of them actually went into the canal...that wasn't fun at all-just ask Vern, who had to get them out!

This morning, we took Bodie on the North side of the canal.  We walk up to a property toward the end of that portion of the trail...we call that property the "North 40", as in 40 acres.  It's really not that big...although it has a lot of farm animals that you can interact with from the trail.  I've been meaning to take my camera along for a while now and always seem to forget...today, I remembered.  There is a herd of sheep that I just love to watch...they are an interesting community that definitely take cues from each other.  Here are some of the pix I got.

  There was definitely a good bit of curiosity about the camera.

 

Love how these guys ended up looking stacked!

 

The goats are always in their own little herd away from the sheep.  Interesting.

 

Bodie, who is a Bouvier (part of the herding breed) is staring quite intently at part of the herd.

 

It doesn't take her too long to lose interest in them...at which point, most of the time, she just gives them her butt!  Go Bodes!

 

Love this one's sweet face.

That's it for the farm tour today...I think that Vern and I are definitely throw backs to the farmer genes in our backgrounds!

Happy Sunday.