Solder...

I have been trying a new twist on my crafty ways. It is called "Soldering" (this link will take you to Wikipedia for more information if you are interested) and is the art of integrating glass, found objects and metal working. I grew up in a house where my dad used this technique on a daily basis for his business of repairing all kind of electronic items. So the magic of it has always held fascination in my eyes. What finally got me started was a kit from Ellen Hutson called the Simply Swank "Creative Art Kit".
The first pendant is for the Trend Watch post that I wrote today on the vintage invasion we are experiencing right now and is made using Webster's Pages vellum. The second is one that I made using Hambly rub-ons and Pink Paislee patterned paper.
I am addicted! I am wanting to solder everything now, my mind is looking at bits and baubles and wondering how I could get them wrapped in foil and covered in solder!

I am not sure how these words are supposed to be pronounced either, so if anyone has an opinion please share! I grew up hearing it from my dad who was trained in the Navy as "saw-ter" (using a phonetic spelling, please excuse!) and my children who have both learned this skill in their tech classes at school use the same pronunciation with no exposure or influence from my dad, that is how their teacher pronounced it. What is even more exciting to me is that Chloe is intrigued to learn how to create art and jewelry using this skill set and we have talked about projects that we can work on together! So happy to have something that we can do together, teens time is a scarce commodity, so any that she has to share with me is greatly appreciated and anticipated!!!
We had a very relaxing and beautiful Memorial Day weekend, we all needed some downtime before this crazy last week of school! Hope you had an enjoyable weekend as well!
B-

Ruffles!

Had a couple of fun posts go up in the CLASS room, one was a trend watch on ruffles and the other was using Maya Road's resist product.

Right now I am just trying to get caught up with the kids and the end of the school year events and happenings. This summer is going to be so much different for us, Laurel has a full-time job working at the Sports Mall as a day camp counselor, Chloe will be at the U of U all summer taking an eight credit university course with all of the corresponding homework and Tyler is enjoying the winter in Brazil. It will be Carter and I all day everyday and I am sure that he is going to get creative on finding ways to not be home too! Makes me kinda sad that our summers won't be about popsicles, trips to the pool and water gun fights any more.

I am of course very proud of all they are doing and while it does make me a little sad, they are my greatest source of joy!

B-

Back from my grand adventures in the great state of New York!
After our red eye flight, Brady, Erin and I spent the morning getting settled at our hotel and then walked over to the Javitts convention center for the first day of the Stationary Show. Both Brady and I were so excited to walk by the Bryant Park along the way! Both of us are avid Project Runway fans, so this was a huge moment of wow!!
The Stationary Show was incredible and we enjoyed seeing many types of products.
During our stay at the Helmsley at 42nd and 2nd we made day trips to the Garment district, SoHo, Central Park and many wonderful eateries and fun shops in between all of that! There was still so much to see and do that another trip will need to be planned, and of course I would like to do that much sooner than later, LOL!
























On Thursday the 27th Megan and I made our way to Buffalo, where we had the pleasure of meeting the FAB Julia Stainton in person! CKC Buffalo was so fun to attend, and I enjoyed being Megan's teaching assistant for our time there.

















Our last day was spent adventuring around the great upstate area of New York, and an amazing trip to Niagara Falls where we rode the Maid of the Mist into the center of the falls and got drenched!



After an exciting afternoon at the falls, we had to eat at the originator of the "Buffalo Wing" the Anchor Bar in downtown Buffalo. Very delicious and full of interesting memorabilia from the years of serving that world famous dish. Had to bring a bottle of the original sauce home to Dave so he could experience the burn too ;o)
















It is so good to be home after an exciting week of adventures, Dave gave the bad babies a bath so they smelled good and Laurel made a chocolate layer cake that was delish! I feel so loved and it is a wonderful feeling for sure!!

B-

Taking a Week Off!

The day is here! Tonight I take the red eye to New York to experience the joy Of the Stationary Show! I can't tell you how thrilled and excited I am that I have this opportunity, and how much fun I think it will be! My goal is to have my head explode with wonder from the show and New York City everyday! So in order to enjoy the whole situation, I am going dark. No computer, just a camera, my friends, some clean clothes and my phone to call home with.

Speaking of clothes, thought I would quickly share this super basic white T that I spruced up by turning two other white shirts that had seen their better days into ruffles! I just love how it turned out, and hope to share some of the tips I figured out on how to make it easy, with everyone here when I get back (if anyone is interested...)


I hope everyone has a fantastic week!!
B-

Technique Tag

A fun post in the CLASS room for using Scrap HD digital files from Jenni Bowlin, real wood from Creative Imaginations and Silver Adirondack paint from Ranger. If you love learning new techniques, I think you will enjoy this post!

I am busy chipping away on a long to do list, not sure it is all going to get done, so figuring out how to prioritize it all as well. There are definitely going to be some things that are left undone, but it will just have to be.

B-

Happy Tuesday!

I hope everyone is having a happy Tuesday! It is one of those days for me where nothing is going seriously wrong, and loads of things are on track. Taking time to appreciate those kind of days is what I am trying harder to do. That is definitely a qualification for a very happy Tuesday.























I was fortunate enough to share Mother's Day with my mom and sister, and I made a delish Tres Leches cake that was gobbled down in no time at all. For my mother's day gift from my mom I got some gourmet chocolates and help sewing a skirt and for her I made her a large pack of birthday cards that she can have on hand for those just in case moments. How was your day? I hope fantastic!





















And while we enjoyed the family time together, the highlight of my day was getting to call Tyler.
Still on cloud 9 from our hour long chat, and so were Dave and the other kids. He sounds fantastic and of course misses us but is having a great time in Campo Grande, Brazil. He even has a Portuguese accent when he speaks.

It is getting really cold down there right now and so he found himself a warm beanie and is wearing as many layers as he can when he is out and about. He has lost a lot of weight, He wasn't a huge guy when we sent him out, just about average, but he is thin as a rail now from walking about 35 kilometers a day. (I don't know the math on exactly how many miles that is, but it is probably close to about 20+) No wonder he is cold, he doesn't have any body fat left to keep him insulated. ;o)
























He has about 10 months left before he gets home and the next time we will get to speak to him will be on Christmas Day. He will turn 21 this October, and that is going to be hard for me to not be able to celebrate that milestone with him. But we will have a big shindig, with all his favorite foods, for him when he gets home.

Anyhoo, the rest of the week I am going to be spending getting prepared for a big adventure to New York City, I have a red eye flight Saturday night! Will spend a few days there and then the next Thursday will find me in Buffalo at the CKC event there. Will get to meet my dear friend Julia in real life!!!
If you have any advice on what I need to bring or where I need to go, would love to hear it!!!

B-

Just a Couple More Days

Mother's Day is just a couple more days away, and I can I just say that I am so excited! We don't have any money, so there aren't any expensive gifts that are coming my way, but I will be getting one of my bests gifts ever anyway. Tyler will get to take a phone call from us for an hour, and we couldn't be more thrilled. The last time we talked to him was on Christmas for an hour and let me tell you that time flew by! We have a list of questions that we can't wait to ask, and I am sure that there are a few things that he will be asking us about as well.
After we visit with him, we will get in the car, drive for half an hour, and end up at my parents house for dinner with the family. I have plans to make a Tres Leches cake, and enjoy the company of my goofy family in spite of how much I will be missing my oldest son.
I feel so blessed.

B-

Take Flight

A layout that I made for my Trend Talk Tuesday post today. Pearls were the trend that was identified and these Zva swirls were so fabulous that it made sense to put them center stage!
Some Green at Heart paper and Chloe looking gorgeous in her prom dress make for a fun project!

B-

Have You Heard of Harmonie?

It is always so fun to play with new toys, so when Harmonie contacted me to introduce themselves as a new Canadian manufacturer of scrapbooking products, then asked if I would have some time to try a few pieces, I was thrilled! They have quite a few extensive collections, each as beautiful as the last. The papers are well designed, the buttons are darling, the ribbon silky and perfectly matched and the other accessories are clever and easy to use. I took a little time on {inter}National Scrapbook Day (Saturday May 1st) while I was hosting a crop, to play with the wonderful things that they had sent to me, and I ended up with this really fun two page layout that I really like!! The die cut paper was a great place to start, and the other papers complimented it so perfectly, it literally fell into place. I am looking forward to making a few cards and another layout with the goodies I have left.

It was loads of fun to host a crop on {i}NSD too, we had loads of cupcakes thanks to Brenda and Sesil and lots of fun thanks to the ladies who all knew how to relax and enjoy the moment. I hope we don't wait another year to get together again ;o)

B-