What a Great Birthday!

Yesterday I had an awesome birthday. MB and Lauren took me to lunch at Buster's in Seaport Village. We had a delicious lunch and then shared in a birthday Creme Brulee that was sooo yummy. It was the most beautiful day down on the embarcadero. Walked around a bit and took a couple of pictures. MB gave me a plate that has three beautiful, large, cone-shaped candles atop. She also made me a gorgeous handmade beaded potpourri pillow, but I can't have it yet because it's not quite finished. I'll be buggin' her for that because it's so pretty that I want it now. Lauren gave me a super cool kitty bed for Parker and Kirby. I've been wanting one like this for awhile...waiting for them to go on sale somewhere. Well, wait no more!

Last night was Book Club and Elena surprised me with a handmade present, dinner and a Starbucks. My present was a Kat doll that she made. She said, "I tried to put her hair up and make it messy like yours"...ha ha. She has glitter glass on her blouse, lots of bling, wings, and the sweetest face...just like mine...hee hee. The little word charms say "Kat Artista". I love her! She's the best present ever. Sandy and Allyson joined us for dinner, which was outside under the grass hut trees at Rubios. It was a pleasant evening for dinner outside, the food was yummy and the company was delightful.

Book Club was tons of fun as always. We started a new book, which is a handwriting book. The challenge is to bring something we made that includes journaling. This is a good thing for me because I typically type everything and seldom use my own handwriting...so it's truly a challenge for me. Our kit this month included the Tim Holts Tiny Attacher, which is a stapler that makes .25'' staples. The staples are cute if you want them to show, but they are also so small that you could hide them under a flower or button. We also got a mechanical pencil, which is something I use all the time, plus it's purple, so I love it, and a great Hi-polymer eraser. Oh, and we got a tent style nametag that we are suppose to journal our name on...good thing we have an eraser.

Jennifer made cupcakes and Lisa brought cupcakes so Brenda and I shared a birthday wish. It was fun that we had our birthday on the same day and it just happened to be Book Club day. Bonnie gave me a darling handmade Washie that she knitted herself. It's pink with intricate knitting detail. I was so surprised! Everyone wished me Happy Birthday all night. I felt so special.

Good Luck to Christine

My friend, Christine has made it into the Top 20 for the Paper Crafts Gallery Idol contest! You can see her card for the first round and read about details for voting here: http://creativejourney.typepad.com/creative_journey/2009/07/together-forever-paper-crafts-gallery-idol-rak-winner.html

Also, scroll down to the bottom of the blog post for a chance to win a free scrapbooking kit!
Christine and her husband own the Scrap Retreat House, which is a treat. Check it out.

Guinness Recording The World's Largest Crop at CHA

The Craft and Hobby Association, CHA is usually for retailers and wholesalers only. It is a trade show and not open to the general public... but this year they are hosting a Craft Super Show for everyone to enjoy! If you are any where near Orlando, Florida or can be there July 31 or August 1st, this is something you do not want to miss! Here is the website: http://www.craftsupershow.com/eweb/StartPage.aspx

Tickets are $10 for one day and $14 for both. There is a coupon code super08 that you can use to get $5 off. This is a very fun thing to do this summer and super affordable!

Scrapbook Royalty is hosting the World's Largest Crop Attempt! Friday July 31st from 5-11:00 pm. We will be giving away amazing goody bags, there will be fabulous make and takes, and we're having a raffle to raise money for the Leeza Gibbons Memory Foundation.

The cost of the crop is $30 and you will definitely be getting more than $30 worth of goodies! If you are flying in and don't want to bring your cropping supplies, there will be plenty to do and it is still worth it to come! Be a part of Scrapbooking History!!! Guinness will be there to verify our total and hopefully we will make it a World Record!

Can't wait! Hope to see you there!

Paper Source

Paper Source in Carlsbad invited Elena, founder of Scrapbook Royalty, and some of her friends to a party at the store. I was lucky to be on the invite list. Aubrey and Jill gave us the royal treatment with treats and a grand tour of the store, as well as a couple of cool make and takes. Lucky Elena was crowned Queen for the Day and given a lovely gift. It was lots of fun. Paper Source is in the Forum shopping center off of Leucadia Blvd. Walking around the center is a treat in itself. It's really nice. I recommend both the store and the center.

Ties That Bind

Wow! Do you want to be part of something extraordinary? You won't want to miss the Ties That Bind Art Doll that is being auctioned through Scrapbook Royalty for Ovarian Cancer Research Fund. This incredibly special "art doll" is made with ties and is covered with handmade charms that were created by more than 100 different artists. You can learn more by going to Ties That Bind. To show your support for Cancer Research and for an opportunity to win this unbelievable creation, head over to the website right now and purchase raffle tickets. 100% of your money will go to OCRF.

A Night With Jenni Bolin and Friends

LtoR: Kat, Jenni, Sally, Diane, Elena, Brook

I went to a Jenni Bowlin class at Paper Tales last night with Elena, Brook, Sally and Diane. It was a night of firsts... My first class with Jenni, my first meeting with Elena's friend, Brook, and my first time at Paper Tales in Point Loma.
Jenni and her husband, Jared are a warm, lovely, down-to-earth couple who had the ability to immediately make you feel like you are their new best friends. There were 30-40 women signed up for Jenni's class, which I think made them feel welcomed to San Diego. I loved the mini album that we created. It is a 4x4 mini and the theme is "Simply the Best." I won a raffle prize, which was a Jenni Bolin kit.
Brook is great and together with Elena, they are a hoot. Brook is adamant that she is not a scrapbooker, but I think there's a little creative soul lingering around in Brook-land whether she believes it or not. Loved meeting her and look forward to spending more scrappy time with her.
What can I say about Paper Tales...it's ADORABLE! Lots of cute little embellies everywhere. Thanks Paper Tales for a fun evening.

Paper Dolls

We made paper dolls at our Art Meetup at Jackie B's this week. The last time I made paper dolls, I think I was eight. It's not like riding a bike. It didn't come back to me naturally. In the end, my doll was all paper. I felt compelled to add other embellishments. I noticed that Sally and Bets made an effort to stick to theme of "paper" dolls. I'm going to try again and see if I can grasp it a little better, but in the meantime, here are some pictures of the cute dolls we made.

Book Club is a Hoot!

Some of the fabulous ladies at Book Club

Lorene and me muggin' for the camera

Have I mentioned that I love Book Club at the Pink Pineapple. Last night our guest speaker was Lorene Yost, an independent sales person for many scrapbooking lines. She demonstrated the Glue Glider, which was our make and take for the evening. She is also an author and has published several articles in magazines. She shared some of her zany experiences and suggested that if we want to write a book...do it and don't give up! I love her spirit and enjoyed her stories.

Elena showing Lisa's embellished toaster.

Christine's wall Collage.

Is this the cutest, pink, fairy doll...thanks Sally.

I feel completely honored!

My favorite part of the evening is everyone sharing what they have created. I absolutely loved the fairy dolls that Sally and Elena's swap group made. Lisa's toaster was so incredible...who would have thought a toaster could be so fabulous. Christine from Scrap Retreat House made this wall collage that absolutely spoke to me. I want it on my wall! That's just to name a few items because I could go on and on. What a talented and lovely group of women to be associated with.

Coin Envelope Swap

Last night was also coin envelope swap night. All I can say is Woot Woot! Look at all the beautifully decorated envelopes. I don't even know what's inside yet. I'm still getting so much pleasure from the envelopes.

Check out the kit that we received from Elena, our Book Club hostess from Scrapbook Royalty. The totally cool Glue Glider was our make and take. I was so busy running around having fun that I didn't get to finish embellishing mine...add it to the list! Tied together in royalty style, is a package of ephemera that I can't wait to play with. Yey! Thanks Elena.

Black White & Craft All Over

Elena, Kristie, Lisa, Yuko, Anita, Kat, Sally, Birgette, Miranda, Isabella at the Pink Pineapple

Thanks Kristie for a great make and take.

Peggy Sue Pugster isn't quite sure!

A couple of my pages.

A group of us spent Monday doing the Black White Craft All Over event, which is an event that benefits Scrapbook Royalty. The object is to go to 6 craft stores along Hwy 78 and do a 2-page layout, make and take. It's an event that will be going on throughout the month of June. Please visit Scrapbook Royalty for more information. There's still time to sign up for this very fun event either through the website or at any one of the stores. You will receive your goodie bag and the list of stores to get you started.

Our 12 ladies were the test group. We did all 6 stores in one day. For the most part, the stores were ready for us and treated us exceptionally well...like ROYALTY! Everyone was very gracious and accommodating and all six 2-page layouts were cute and fun. At each store, we received raffle tickets for awesome baskets of scrapbooking goodies.

Next, we have homework. We take our six 2-page layouts and create something with them. I'm thinking I'll do a book. First step is to add one other color of my choosing, add pictures, and then embellish, embellish, embellish. Final step is to submit our creation to the stores Each store will pick a winner and honor that person with a $50 gift certificate. I'm scared to submit, but I think I may even give this part a try. Stepping out of that old box!

Peggy Sue Pugster

Yey! Peggy Sue can open her mouth!

Peggy waiting with Papa for her turn to see the Dr.

Peggy and her Dr. Jennifer De Berry at Veterinary Specialty Hospital

Awwww! Poor Peggy Sue has been very sick. She has a disease called masticatory myositis, an immune disease that affects the facial muscles used for opening and closing the mouth. She has been on meds for about 2 months now and she can finally get her mouth open enough to chew and pant, etc., but when she tries to yawn, she still can't follow through. Her little cheek bones are more pronounced because the muscles behind them have atrophied. We went in for a recheck today, had some blood work done, and we're waiting to hear if she is handling the meds ok, insofar as her liver and kidneys are concerned. She'll probably be on these meds for a long time, if not forever.

I am so grateful to the Doctors at Veterinary Specialty Hospital for correctly diagnosing Peggy's problem immediately. And, thankfully, once they determined what they thought it was, there was a blood test that verified it. Unfortunately Peggy's titer for this disease was off the charts. The good thing is that because of that, they know what and how to treat her so that she can eat and be comfortable.

Sister, I Love You

Had a change of plans yesterday and ended up in my craft room all day. I was going to work on the Coin Envelopes some more. Didn't get much of that done...but I did make this little collage for my sister. That's us in the picture, when we were little kids. She's actually taller than me now. I got the idea of using the back of a canvas from one of the published artists at Somerset Memories. I painted the canvas back black and purple, used a crackle medium and then painted it off-white. I love the way it crackled. I painted the lace with a homemade alcohol ink. I made the ink by adding pigment powder to a little bit of alcohol. That was fun! The picture was old and sort of crappy so I decided to change the colors just to give it a more artsy look. I gave the collage to my sister this morning and she loved it. I love that she loved it!

Embossing the Coin Envelopes

Oh my gosh...had such a fun weekend with my sister. We went crazy with the embossing technique. We made cards and then I decided to work on my coin envelopes. The Book Club is doing a coin envelope swap. The point is to decorate the envelope and fill it with ephemera. Isn't that a fun idea. There are a 17 crafters who are participating. We will each embellish 17 coin envelopes and then when we do the swap, we will each get 17 different ones back. My coin envelopes turned out pretty good. Each one is a little different. I still want to add fibers and, of course fill them. I think the swap is such a fun idea...thanks to Elena with Scrapbook Royalty.

Happy Birthday Darlin'

Spent some time with my girlfriend Sherry. We worked on our beading. I made this necklace and earring set for my daughter's 26th birthday. Happy birthday baby.

Art Meetup at Jackie's

Now this was fun! We altered bottles. We made dolls out of them. I just love this art meetup. When we took the picture of all the dollies, Duchess didn't have her face on yet. But here she is all dolled up with her face, hair and hat...the Grand Duchess Dolly herself.

Scrapbook Royalty Book Club at the Pink Pineapple

Elena, Cheryl, Jana, Jenny, Kristie

I joined Elena's Scrapbook Royalty Book Club at Pink Pineapple. I had such a good time. There are about 35 exceptionally talented ladies in the Book Club. They all showed their beautiful creations. Wow! I don't know if I measure up, but I think I will learn a lot from these ladies. Each 3-month cycle we work with a book or magazine. This cycle it is Somerset Memories and The Stamper's Sampler, which are extraordinary magazines. The pictures are incredible. Even the paper is special. A cup of tea and one of these magazines makes for a very nice moment in time.

Jana Holstein, Managing Editor of Somerset Memories, Jenny Doh, Director of Publishing of the Stampington & Company publications and Cheryl Waters, Lead Fisk-a-teer for Fiskars, were our inspirational speakers for the evening. Jana and Jenny shared their stories of finding their own creative spirits, and showed us examples of unique art that has been submitted for publication. They shared ideas and procedures of how to submit to the Stampington publications. Cheryl gave us the courage and the will to go ahead and submit our artwork. Cheryl also provided a make and take of an altered tag. I had never done tags before so I was very inspired by all the ideas she offered. All three ladies were so delightful and wonderful. I can't say how much I enjoyed the evening.

Uncle Harry

My Uncle Harry's funeral was on May 4th. He was 98 years old. He was a great guy and will be missed. Here's his obit.

Hays Jr., Harry*
HAYS Jr., HARRY A. "The Last of the Savoy Players" Harry A. Hays Jr., age 98, a resident of San Diego since July 4, 1925, and a 1928 graduate of San Diego High School, died April 7, 2009, at Brighton Gardens in Carmel Valley. Mr. Hays arrived here with his parents, Harry A. Hays Sr. and Ruby Kisman Hays, to join the cast of the well-remembered and much loved Savoy Players, a local theatrical stock company. His first performance at age 15, was as Joey Shanks in "The Copperhead" followed by many hits such as "Pigs" and "Unusual Weather." Mr. Hays was the first baby in arms to be permitted aboard the "Cotton Blossom" river boat made famous by Edna Ferber in her book Show Boat. After the river boat tour, the Hays family trouped through Louisiana, Texas, and California on what was known as a tent show called "Murphy's Comedians." Harry often told the story of jumping from one town to another in his father's touring sedan with his mom and dad in the front seat, his grandmother with seven canaries in cages, and himself in the back seat, and opening the door to let "Topsy" his pony in to stand in front of his grandmother and himself! His longest stay in any one town was 56 weeks in Sacramento, where his father invested in a theater which burned down. Other than that, his early years were spent in one or two week stands, sleeping in his dad's trunk, living in hotels and rooming houses. Mr. Hays was affiliated with the Delta Sigma Fraternity, holding every office including three consecutive terms as President. He was fundamental in reviving the chapter quarterly luncheon meetings and was awarded the honor of President "ad infinitum." He was also chairman of his 50th, 60th, and 65th high school reunions, all very successful. On December 7, 1942, during World War II, Mr. Hays enlisted in the Navy serving on Guadalcanal and returning to the San Francisco area before being discharged. Since 1957, he had been associated with the steel industry. Harry is survived by his son Daniel who lives in Carmel Valley, his daughter Melissa who lives in Mendocino, his sister Mary of McKinleyville, CA, and six grandchildren. Mrs. Olive Hays, his wife of 45 years, passed away in June, 1984. Mr. Hays' ashes will be interred at Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery.
Published in the San Diego Union-Tribune on 4/12/2009

Art Meetup - April '09

I'm disappointed that I forgot my camera today so I don't have pics of everyone's creations. But, here's mine and oh...what a fun day we had decorating switch plates at Jackie's Art Meetup. I decided to make mine into a little wall collage since I covered up all the holes to make it work as a switch plate. Already excited about next month!

Birthday Celebration in Coronado

Spent the day in Coronado with my sister, niece and daughter. What a fun time. It was an absolutely beautiful day. Celebrated Taylor and Chelsea's birthdays. We had lunch outside at the Village Pizzeria. The view of the city of San Diego was spectacular. I was born in this city and I still get blown away by it's beauty. Went to the Hotel Del Coronado for a little shopping.

Cupcake Love

Went with Elena, Dawn, Sandy and Patty for cupcakes at Cupcake Love in Solana Beach. What a cute store! The cupcakes are total eye candy and taste scrumptious. I had a German Chocolate, which is my favorite cake and it was the best German Chocolate cupcake I have ever eaten. They also make cupcakes to order. It's the way they are decorated that is so darling.

Also, did a little shopping at Cedros. Does it get any better than having a fun day with the girls.

Opportunity for Charity and Fun

Black White and

Craft All Over 2009

SCRAPBOOKERS,

YOU ARE GOING TO LOVE THIS!

Once again, my favorite charitable organization,

Scrapbook Royalty,

is sponsoring a very unique and fun event.

June 1-30th, 2009

For $35 Registration Fee, you will get a

"License to Scrap"

and visit six wonderful stores during

the month of June.

You will be treated like Royalty as your travels

take you along the 78 freeway from

East to West...Escondido to Oceanside.

At each store you will complete a 6x6, 2-page layout,

make and take using different techniques,

all in the black and white theme.

At the end of your journey, if you choose,

create a "work of art" using your 6 make and takes and

submit them for a contest to win

$50 gift cards from each store.

You have the whole month of June to complete

your make and takes.

Plus, you won't want to miss the surprises and discounts.

For more information and registration go to:

Scrapbook Royalty.

Doesn't this sound like a blast!

March Was a Fun Filled Month

March was a fun month. My sis had a birthday party and I had the opportunity to spend some time with family. Loved getting to know new friend, Robin better.

I volunteered at the Royal Slumber Crop for Scrapbook Royalty. That was a great experience. In the past and present, I am the behind the scenes gal...doing computer work. Now I have a better idea of how things actually come together. It was a huge event and the volunteers worked very hard to make it a nice time for 140 scrapbookers. Together they raised over $26,000 for Cancer Coping Center and the Boys and Girls Club of San Marcos.

Went to the Price is Right at CBS Studios with the girls. What an experience that was! Had tickets! Up at 4:00 a.m., arrived on the CBS lot at 8:30 a.m. for the 1:00 show. Too late! People had been waiting since 4:00 a.m. WHAT! ARE YOU KIDDING! We were told we had a good chance of making the 4:00 p.m. taping. Received our number, went to the French Quarter for a great breakfast, back by 11:30, waited until 2:30 only to be told that we were not getting in to see the show. They had overbooked by more than 100 people. We were very disappointed. Came straight home, went to flower fields, and dinner at Islands. Even with the disappointment and constant driving all day, it was a fun day just being with my girls.

Elena, founder of Scrapbook Royalty, sponsored a trip to the Scrap Retreat House for a weekend for some of the SBR volunteers. What a blast! I stayed up until 4:00 a.m. both Friday and Saturday nights. We scrapbooked around the clock. The Scrap Retreat House is located in French Valley, CA...East of Murrietta. It's a lovely home that has been designed to cater to weekend scrapbookers. It sleeps 12 and every room has a bathroom. Each guest gets their own bed and a six foot table for scrapping. There were 6 in our group, another group of 2 and a group of 4. We all scrapped together and it was completely comfortable and fun. Our group of 6 played the Pass the Page game late Saturday night. We took a photo of all 6 of us and Elena printed it 6 times. Then we each started a page that included the photo. Every 10 minutes we passed the page to the right and someone added something else to the page. We each ended up with a page for our scrapbooks that was completely unique and awesome! It was really fun! I could go on and on. You really must check out the Scrap Retreat House for your next getaway with the girls. I can't wait to go back.

This month also included several beading days with my beading friends. I made a jewelry set for the Silent Auction at Royal Slumber Crop and I made a couple of sets for the Rescue House Silent Auction that's coming up later this month.

Lauren and I went to South Sun one day and we both felt and acted like kids in a candy store. They had just gotten a huge shipment and the place was full. If you've never been there, it's a warehouse of beads. They had sales galore. It was so hard to choose. Both of us were broke, but we each ended up going home with big bags of beads and findings because the sales were so good.