Creative Escape Projects

If finally some photos of the projects I did at Creative Escapes. The layout was from 7 Gypsies designers Paula Cheney and Deb Crouse. The photo section flips up on a hinge and the flower section (can't see the glass bottle) also swings open. Looks simple but there are many parts and some major engineering design involved. This was my favorite project. The small suitcase was Tim Holtz project, which was also a fun and surprisingly, I picked up some great tips on how to work with ink. As always Tim was very entertaining and kept the class moving along. We also received a cool beaded lanyard to hold our name tag. One of the many nice touches of the event.

Creative Escapes 2009 - Helpful Hints

Something I do after all my trips, is make a list of all the things I wish I knew before hand. If you plan to attend (I've already signed up) Creative Escapes 2010 this will be a helpful list.

1) Arrive a few days early so you can shop at all the stores in the area, it's well worth it. You don't have to stay at the Wild Horse during this time since it's out in the middle of no where.

2) Bring a "big mama" of suitcase at least half empty or one packed into another suitcase, you will need it. CE will have boxes avaiable for a $1.00 and will ship your goodies home for you at a very reasonable rate. We shipped 68 pounds home for $23.00.

3) Although most people used those open square bag totes for the supplies in class, I found that things fell out of them (from the number of tools I saw on the floor walking to the classrooms) and there isn't any room on the tables for them either. The large sling type bags looked like they were working out well. I used an old Cropper Hopper zipper bag and just kept in on my lap.

4) Get a seat in the front row, it made a big difference in finishing the project even with all the teachers using Power Point

5) When you sign up for your group, pick the one with the least amount of people. Our group was not full, so we had room to spread out and more time with the teacher.

6) Mix up where and who you sit with at meal times so you can met other crafters.

7) There are no refrigerators in the room, so plan head. Wireless internet is spotty at best unless you want to pay $$$ to hook up to the hotel's service.

8) Although it's hot hot hot outside the conference rooms get chilly.

9) Shop at the conference store early. Some of the sponsors/manufactures are selling off discontinued items at a huge discount.

10) When it's time to check in for the CE event, wait a few hours before checking in so you don't have to stand in line. Remember there are over 625 people checking in.

11) The technique boutique this year only took 15 minutes to go through all the stations, so again go later and you won't have to wait in line.

12) Ask for a room near the elevators, which makes dropping things off in your rooms easier.

13) If there is a rumor going around - it's probably true.

14) Don't keep any open containers of drinks on the tables (which I thought most crafters already knew) some nasty spills happened.

15) If you are crazy enough to plan to be outside at the resort, bring bug spray.... mosquitoes, spiders (that bite) and other crawly creatures will be waiting for you.

Creative Escapes - OMG! $29,000 lamp

Just got back from the Creative Escapes retreat in Phoenix Arizona this afternoon and it lived up to it's name as being the best one around. Every detail to the event was taken care and the teachers were awesome. The Tim Holtz lamp (photo on the left) was auctioned off on the last night and it sold for $29,000 - yes count those zeros. My buddy Nicole (she's part of the Suzy West garage girls rat pack) was the high bidder and 100% of her very generous bid will be donated to the Leukemia and Lymphoma group. There was a lot of screaming and jumping around at our table last night. Tim Holtz and Heidi Swapp were on stage in tears. I think over $50,000 was raised for the charity. Thank you Nicole, you rock!

Michael Strong - Class this weekend

A sneak peek at the cards you will be doing if you were lucky enough to get into Michael Strong's class this weekend at Memories Live On. As always the cards are way too cool. He will also have his some of his sample for his classes in October. I've heard they are almost full, so call asap if you want to sign up - October 9 & 10, 2009

Cornflake Cards August

As I run around getting all the last minute details done for my trip to Arizona tomorrow, I had forgotten about my upcoming Cornflakes Card Swap. I knew I was going to do these card for them, but thinking I had more time (really need to get a bigger day runner) I'm really hustling to get them finished this morning. I think they are too funny in my strange sense of humor way. :)
Since they are so simple, I'm making both cards for everyone.

Creative Escape 2009

I will be heading out to hot hot Arizona on Wednesday morning to attend my first Creative Escape retreat. I've heard only good things about it, other than it's hotter than hot in Phoenix this time of year. There is a large group of crafters from the Bay Area going and we plan to hit all the local stores to check out what they have. I'm really looking forward to 24/7 crafting week. Will post photos and my reviews while I'm there if I can get on a computer.

Hi my name is ......

The votes have been counted and our new little kitten now has an official name, Miss Honey Bunny. Hubby thinks the election was rigged (he suffers from talk radio paranoia) and that those who voted for Honey Bunny will be getting free jars of honey. He is still going to call her Scooter but since I feed her the good stuff and play with her, she will come to Honey Bunny in no time. We have also found out that she likes water. For the past week she has taken two shower (and I mean stand under the water and get soaking wet) a day. You know how cats come running when they hear the can opener? Well as soon as the shower starts she's there waiting for her bath. Good thing she is a short hair cat.

Old Pattern Holder?

This was at one time build into a wall and I think it was to hold dress making patterns. It was in the outside junk lots (one step away from being thrown into the dumpster) and way too cool to pass up. I will be cleaning it up and taking into one of my booths this week. I'm sure someone will want to give it a good home.

Great Auction Find

My daughter (after her horrible experience with Ikea) decided to wait until I was able to find a cheap dresser that she could paint black for her new apartment. A pair of tansu cabinets came up for auction this past weekend. I bid on the tansu for her as a congratulations gift for her big promotion at work. No, she can not paint it black since it doesn't fall in the cheap category. I dragged home really old dresser in case she doesn't like this one.

Auction Week

This is auction week, (all the auctions happen in the same week for some strange reason) so it means a lot of running around from one auction house to another. Today I was lucky enough to get to the local auction in time to bid on some cool stuff. (I will post photos when I get everything home.) There is a lot of down time between lots, so I took a book to read. If you are a wannabe urban farmer this is a great book. The author Novella Carpenter lives in Oakland (a city not to far from me) who started a garden/farm in a vacant lot next to her home. I was planning on reading it on the plane ride to Arizona for the Creative Escapes event in two weeks but it's such a fun read I don't want to put it down.

Need Your Vote To Help Pick My Name

Mom and Dad have narrowed down the list of what my forever name will be. Please vote on what name you like best.

Scooter

Miss Kitty

Honey (Honey Bunny for short)

Honey Harvest Time

Hubby has been busy harvesting our honey and our "girls" once again did a fine job. The honey gets darker and darker as we head into fall. I'm going to be pulling out my garden early this year, since hubby hasn't gotten around to fixing the drip system and I'm tired of having to hand water everything around all the bee hives and bee equipment he has scattered everywhere.
Little Miss No Name was confirmed today to be a girl and got her first round of shots. I had to give her a temporary name for the vet's records so I named her Smith Smith, hubby's last name is Smith. Kitty is very little for being 13 weeks old. She only weights 2.5 pounds. She was the runt of the litter that survived (only 3 out of the 6 survived an emergency C-section) so that could explain her small size. She does eat like a horse and has the energy of an older kitten. She is a very sweet petite kitten but I'm still on the fence about keeping her.