The Perfect Day!

Yesterday (July 28th, 2011) was one of "those" days. An unplanned, the stars aligned, perfect kind of day. It started simply enough with Brady scooping me up from home at 8:00 am for a hike in Little Cottonwood Canyon. We decided to see if the wild flowers that Albion Basin is famous for were in full bloom yet. The temperature was perfect, the skies clear and the mountain lush and inviting. There were beautiful niches everywhere to explore, and Brady found an old ski lift chair that provided a quick respite from the vigorous climb to that point.














We got to the meadow and found that some of the blooms were on, but the majority were not quite ready (a reason for another hike to this beautiful location in a week or so!) for their debut. We found many more tranquil spots as we continued our hike on up to Cecret Lake, and gloried in the solitude that had been afforded us in this national park. It soon got busier as the time wore on, and we had to share the space with a few more people who had come to revel in the clean and crisp mountain air.

When we arrived we found Cecret Lake as full as could be and many snow field still melting into her body. This made for the magical sound of waterfalls tinkling from any of the crevices that would allow moisture to flow through. These sounds are so rejuvenating as are the visual glory and luscious scents that nature provided for us. We sat on an outcropping of rocks for a while and just soaked in the incredible beauty that surrounded us on all sides. We did eventually have to head back to the valley, but did so with full hearts, happy spirits and clear heads.



















Then the hubbers and two oldest kids whisked me away (after a quick shower) to catch a matinee of Captain America in 3-D. What a fun movie, and I enjoyed that time with my family so much!

We arrived home from that just in time for me to change into some jeans and comfy shoes so I could go spend the evening with Brady and Chef Andrew at Sur La Table for a cooking class called "Indian made Easy". We had the best time! The fellow class mates were all foodies as well, and it was so fun to learn about a food type that I love to eat but had never learned to cook. Chef Andrew is an incredible instructor, his energy is so contagious and his enthusiasm for sharing his passion is evident in all he does! His menus are perfectly prepared and so thoughtful, and his attention to detail makes each of these classes a complete delight to attend.

And of course we eat, a lot!

 After class had ended, Brady presented me with a large pastry box and inside were a dozen delicious and adorable red velvet cupcakes that he had made for me after our hike! Seriously, do I have the best friends, or what?!!! Nibbling on a cupcake while watching the Project Runway Season 9 premiere as I was crocheting was how I rang in the beginning of my 45th year. It truly was a perfect day, and one that I hope I can remember every sweet detail of for the rest of my life. I think if I had tried to plan a day that amazing I would somehow have messed it up, but the way it all came together was truly amazing. I am a very lucky and blessed girl.

B-

p.s. It is my 45th birthday today, and I have been overwhelmed by the outpouring of birthday wishes. Many thanks to all of you who have thought of me today, it means so very much!

The Goodies Go To...

Thanks for the kind and thoughtful comments, you made me feel better when I was feeling very challenged!

The goodies are going to Heather, so please send me an email with your shipping information.

This card will also be coming to you Heather, I just made it for the CLASSroom and the details on how to make one like it can be found in this post: Embossed Metal Foil.

Here in Utah it is Pioneer Day, so we are celebrating by doing a whole lot of relaxing and maybe roasting some marshmallows for s'mores in the backyard fire-pit :o)

And while the last week was really challenging, and my camera will be on its way to the Canon facilities, my computers hard drive was replaced and I found all of my backed up files on my external hard drive. So I am breathing a big sigh of relief that my other hardware did what it was supposed to! We do so need our technology to make our lives easier, and so I am very grateful for the recovered images and data!

Here is to some happy crafting and lazy summer days!
B-

Pictureless Post

Well, it has been an interesting week! (to say the least!)

This will be the first pictureless post in I don't know how long, and it isn't because I don't have loads to share, cuz I do!! It is because on Wednesday my Canon 40d started reporting and error 99 message and won't shoot anymore, and then on Thursday my desktop with all of my images on it had a massive crash and is now in the shop with an expert trying his best to resuscitate it. Not only that, but it has been a week of massive deadlines and such so to say the least, I am spent!

The good part about being so spent is that I have a lot of good stuff to share though, so if you happen to be lucky enough to get to the Summer CHA tradeshow, please go by the Graphic 45 booth and ogle all of the amazing projects that have been created for the gorgeous new releases. If there is a paper on flower something, I made it, if there is a little puffy star with glitter, I made it, and the holly wreath, hand inked each leaf. The cute little Cat's Eye ink pad is now completely destroyed, but the effect was well worth it! (thanks for your sacrifice to the cause little ink pad, you are so appreciated!) Besides that, Allison Kreft from Hambly overnighted some of the new product release to me that I got on Thursdays, I then made three layouts and sent them off on Friday so she would receive them on Monday, giving her enough time to get them on display. No work for Doodlebug this show, but they have a really great group of releases too, all of it is clever and oh, so cute!!

Another set of deadlines comes in the form of having the opportunity to work with a local store now. I will be a member of their design team, and also teaching classes for them about once a month. The store is called Heartland Paper, and you can find a link to there blog on my sidebar if you are interested in learning more about them. I am really enjoying working with Donna and her team, they are all very nice and so talented! I hope to be sharing more about this as things move along. The two teaching dates that I am scheduled for right now are September 29th, and I will be teaching a class using the Magic of Oz product from Graphic 45 and then October 20th where I will be teaching a class using the Scor-Pal to create cute gift packaging from Doodlebug's Monster Mania Line. (which as I mentioned earlier, is SO adorable!!) The open house to sign up for classes is going to be on August 10th, so mark your calenders if you are local and interested! And of course there are going to be loads of wonderful classes to take, so if what I am sharing isn't appealing, come look at what the other instructors are offering, there is something for everyone!

In non-paper news, the family went to the midnight release showing of Harry Potter and we LOVED it!! What an exciting, bittersweet, beautifully made film! We will be going back to see it again on the big screen, it was incredible in that format, and to only experience it once that way would be a shame.

Well, that is that for now! I hope to have my desktop back soon, and share some of what I have been so excited about with all of you! If you have made it this far you must be a saint, so leave a comment, and I will randomly select someone from the comments to send a goody box to!

Happy Crafting!!

B-

No Paper Crafts Gallery Idol For Me

Darn, I didn't make the cut. But given how hectic my schedule is, I am thinking it was a blessing in disguise. The people that did make the cut are very talented, so this will be a fun competition to watch.

So even though it wasn't my day ;o)
Congrats to all of those gals, and good luck!!

B-

Paper Crafts Gallery Idol 2011

It is July 5th already? Today is the day after the deadline for Paper Crafts Gallery Idol and I have a paper crafting hang over I think! Besides having a wonderful July 4th that I spent with my family and friends, I was able to paper craft most of the day for the Gallery Idol contest and for the submission deadline that Paper Crafts had for their Jan/Feb 2012 issue. I feel so lucky that I have the opportunity to spend my day like this, and this makes me even more grateful for the freedoms that I have been blessed with as an American.



















The theme challenge for the Gallery Idol competition opening round was "Congratulations" and I submitted 8 cards along this line. Yeah, with over 1600+ entries my chances are pretty slim to get into the top 20, but I am keeping my fingers crossed, and hope maybe you can keep yours crossed for me too!! If you are looking for inspiration along these lines, pop into the Flickr photostream to see what many talented people have done to throw their hats into the ring.

B-

Hi!

Hi!

B-

p.s. Hambly card gift set made for a friends birthday :o)