CREATIVE ESCAPE PART 2

After classes on the first day, we had a "Friday Night Extravaganza" and all of the teachers from last year taught a 15 minute class using Heidi's big deck of cards. We stayed in our flower groups and the teachers rotated. They even used stop watches to make sure things ran smoothly and we got a BIG cropper hopper container full of supplies to make 2 cards with each teacher. The teachers were Stacy Julian, Pam Black, Kelli Collins, Carol Wingert, Heidi Swapp, Marti Jones (Mrs. Bazille), Tena Sprenger, and Amy Totty (this lady is hilarious!!!). When we got back to our room they had pink and green popcorn in little bags for us. The next day our first class was with Rhonna Farrer. We did a 21 day journal in her class and used all of her new stamps to stamp the pages of our journal. She is really fun and creative and full of energy. Our second class was with Heidi Lynn (she is the daughter of the Bazille's). She is wonderful and soo funny. She did a calendar class and we got a 12x12 Heidi Swapp calendar, a purple cows cutting tool, and supplies for the layouts as part of the class kit. Our third class that day was with Tracey Niehues. She works for K&Company and this girl created a book out of a clear office envelope. You need to see this to believe it. She had the instructions down to a science. She is super creative. Each class had a power point presentation with the intructions on a big screen. That was really helpful. Our last class was with Leslie Spafford. Her class was a card class and she did some really neat folding techniques for cards and we also did some tags in her class. Her husband was her volunteer and he baked over 600 cookies so everyone could have one. They were a cute team. That night we have a wonderful dinner. Of course we ate dessert first and man that stuff was good!!! After dinner they gave away a ton of prizes. Then Allison Tyler Jones did the keynote speech. She was sooo funny and moving at the same time. She had a great power point with some amazing pictures and music. After her speech all the waiters came out again and gave everyone a little chinese take out box. Inside was a fortunate cookie saying how thankful they were that everyone came, and inside one box was a certificate for her and a friend to attend Creative Escape next year free. Darn!!!! I wanted that!!!! Anyway I'm sure I left out some stuff but as you can see it was a great event. My cousin and I had a great time together and I really miss her because we only see each other about 2 times a year. We talk everyday on the computer but it was an experience I will never forget and be forever thankful that we got to go.

CREATIVE ESCAPE

I had such a wonderful time at Creative Escape!!!! My cousin Ann and I flew out of Memphis on Wednesday to Phoenix to attend Creative Escape. I cannot possibly tell you in one post all of the wonderful things I want to say. I will try and do my best but honestly it was AWESOME!! We were all divided into flower groups and Ann and I were Magnolias. We attended our classes in our groups and each group had 2 helpers. On thursday we had registration and met Heidi and Mr. Bazzill and then went to the "technique boutique". A card came with our name tag in a cute pink "Creative Escape" bag for about 15 stations that we needed to get checked off. At each station we learned techniques we would need to know in our classes for the next 2 days. We also got a TON of free stuff. Each station had a give away from adhesives, to a $40.00 cutting tool, acrylic stamps, a digital CE layout printed on 12x12 cardstock, free kits for mini books, etc. It was really cool. After that the teachers had a "truck show" where they set up big tables with examples of all of their work, and we could visit with each of them and take pictures. After this we went to the on site store!!!! Well, all I am going to say is that we each had a basket full. Ok no more details just in case John reads this blog.

All of the meals were included, so on the first day we got up early and ate a great breakfast and went to our first class. It was taught by Jennifer Wagner and we made a very cute little scrapbook purse. The unique thing about this event is that everyone attends every class. There is no signing up for classes. We all did each class. As you walk in the door they hand you these huge bags of supplies for that class. We did have to bring basic tools and adhesives. Each class lasted an hour and forty five minutes and it FLEW by! The CE people and the Bazille people had extras of everything in case you messed up and they absolutely made sure everyone was happy and had everything they needed. Each classroom had drinks and water. Every need was met.

The second class we went to was Heidi Swapp's class. We used Tim Holtz ink and masks to distress 2 canvas boards to make a message board. This was a relaxing class and we had alot of fun with Heidi. She is so genuine and generous. At the technique boutique she gave us a wonderful kit to make a banner that said "Escape" with all the supplies to make it included.

We had a break after Heidi's class and our last class of the day was with Chris Randall and yes we learned to solder. We bought our own kit and we really had fun and it wasn't that hard at all. At first we soldered around a chip of china. Then we moved on to a necklace. I'll do this again. I would have never tried this if I hadn't gone to CE. That night after our welcome meeting with everyone, we went back to our room and there were chocolates and a CE eye mask for us in our room. (How fun!) Ann posed in hers for me. I also bought us some matching scrap girl PJ's for our trip and it was quite funny to see me set the timer on the camera and put it on the dresser and hop on the bed and pose in 10 seconds! Ok that's all for today. Sorry it is so long but I wanted everyone to see all the pictures. Tomorrow I will finish up the last day of CE on my blog with more pictures.

We Caught A Critter

Well, we finally got a "Have a Heart Trap", (they were sold out for a long time). We knew something was eating my gerber daisy's, but recently we had some huge holes in our flower beds. I mean digging up plants and landscape light wires!! We also had our baby deer visitor so we weren't really sure which one was the culprit. The first night we put out the trap we caught this possum. We used cat food and bacon to bait the trap. It was cute but really mad. It showed it's teeth several times!! John and Seth and some of Seth's friends took it and let it out at Denise Lauerman's new house. hahaha not really Denise!! Got ya! They took it to a lake and let it go. I really felt sorry for it. The problem is..... that since then MORE daisy's have disappeared!!! We are putting it on the back deck now in hopes of catching the flower thief.

This is a fun exciting week for me!!! I leave for Creative Escape on Wednesday!! We are soo excited. They divided all the girls into flower groups and we are in the Magnolia group. I have packed up all my supplies and am ready to go. We got a list of all the women going and I noticed that Stacy Julian and Becky Higgins will be attending!! How exciting! They aren't in my group, but maybe I can get a picture with them. I can't wait to show everyone the pictures when I get back. Have a good week everyone!!

Lisa Bearnson!!

Ok, so John and I have been scheduled to go to Tulsa for months so John could get some continuing education hours. It's only for one night and we could go by Fayetteville and see Lauren on the way to and on the way home. I would have all day Friday from 9 till 4 in the afternoon to entertain myself and we would leave when John finishes. So I print off directions to several malls thinking no problem. Well, we are leaving Thursday afternoon and that morning I get a post card in the mail listing the Creating Keepsakes Conventions for the rest of the year. I am half way glancing over it and.........WHAT??? TULSA THIS WEEKEND!! Well, needless to say I went. It was really fun. All the major companies had booths set up and make & takes. It was fun to just walk around and watch all the excited ladies. I hadn't signed up for any classes, but the examples were all setting out and some of them looked pretty cool. Well about 3:00, an announcer says that Lisa Bearnson will be here in a few minutes if you want to meet her. What? How exciting! I was third in line and I had her sign my big K & Company bag. I had taken John's little camera in case I wanted to take a picture of the event to scrap. She was so nice and very warm and took her time with each lady. She is probably the first individual person I identified with scrapbooking because of her magazine. I admire her story and the way she raises her family. The next day Stacy Julian and several others were going to be there. I saw several groups of ladies together with matching shirts taking classes, laughing and shopping. Hummmm, maybe a group of us need to go next year??? Any Takers??

Heidi Swapp Creative Escape

Well, school has started and I must admit I like the routine. I think I just like change because, I love it when the seasons change, I love it when summer comes and Christmas break comes. I call those good changes. I got a little surprise in the mail yesterday!!! I got a FedEx box from Heidi Swapp's Creative Escape. It had a little travel journal, a black and white polka dot ribbon to tie around your luggage handles (for easy ID), 2 luggage tags in bright pink with Creative Escape on them, a CE button,a CE edge distressor, a little Fed Ex airplane, and 2 candy Fireballs (because it's really hot in September in Arizona). How cute is that! I leave on September 5th with my cousin Ann for Phoenix, Arizona for 3 days of the BEST scrapbook event. I will make sure I have some wonderful pictures to share. I have never been to an event like this before, and I don't know if they will have it next year because Heidi is moving to CHINA!! Yes she is, because of her husband's business. Anyway, I am so excited to be able to go!! In the meantime let's all think "Fall" and maybe we can wish these hot temps away!

End of Summer

Seth and I were home one afternoon this week and he started yelling, "Come quick Mom and look at this"! This precious little baby deer was just walking around in our front yard. Now remember we live in the middle of Indian Creek in the center of town. We started watching it from window to window. It was just eating some of the plants and calmly looking around. Several cars drove by the house and the deer didn't even notice. Eventually it just walked into the woods behind my house. I took this picture off the back deck.

I guess summer is almost over. We took Lauren back to school on Saturday and got her room all fixed up. She has a very nice room in the Tri-Delta house. She was sad and we were sad but no one cried this year. She is coming home for Labor Day and she has called me at least 4 times a day since she left. It is work week for the sorority this week for rush so they have been working from 8am until 11 every night. She is pooped! I think she is ready for classes to start on Monday so work week will be over. I miss her already and am counting the days until Christmas when I get her for a whole month! Yeah! Seth starts High School on Monday. I can't believe that. He is fully engrossed in the HS golf season. He shot a 74 yesterday in a tournament and was the low scorer for the team. We are very proud of him. He truly loves golf. I just hope he remembers as of Monday he has classes too! hahaha

Summer Happiness

I decided to do this layout using one color and printed it on 12 x 12 paper using my Epson 1800. I knew this printer could print 12 x 12 pictures, but I had never tried it before. My theme was happiness and I used some word stamps to frame the photo. I liked the way it turned out. Kind of simple. I have been busy scrappin lately. I have done 2 layouts and made Lauren a clock for her sorority room. We took it apart and put scrapbook paper on the face of the clock and added some bling. She picked everyhing out and it's already in the box to go to Fayetteville. She leaves on Saturday! boo hooo!!! I think she is as sad as we are. We love all being under one roof.

After I posted this I noticed when I scaned and stitched these together some of the words were blurry. I redid it and it was the same. This kind of thing drives me crazy. Oh well live and learn.

Fun!

I love this page! It reminds me of a quilt and I have collected quilts for years. I did this page for my Heidi Swapp "A Year to Remember" Class with Big Picture Scrapbooking. It is such a fun class with some great ideas. I am excited because it is less than a month and I will be with Heidi Swapp in Phoenix for Creative Escape!! My cousin and I signed up for this almost 6 months ago. I can't believe it is almost here!!! Yeah!

Pansy Can

I made this "Pansy Can" this weekend while I was taking care of Baxter. As pledge trainer Lauren needed something to pass around during the sorority meeting that members could drop nice comments in. After the meeting they read the comments out loud. I used this Tombow

Glue stick that I had never used before and I really liked it. I don't regularly use alot of glue sticks but this one really worked well. It seemed much thicker than regular glue sticks and it really held tight. Update: Baxter is doing good. He gets pain meds once a day and then sleeps. As evening gets here he is more active and today he was even putting his leg down just a little. Dogs are much tougher than humans. We would have still been in the hospital with a button for our pain meds. hahaha I hope everyone is staying cool!

Baxter's Surgery

My poor little Baxter had surger on Friday. He is 12 years old and his back leg kept slipping out from under him and he kept falling down. So I took him to Dr. Helvey and he said the cartilage on his knee keeps slipping off the knee cap and he looses control of the leg and falls. So he had to operate and carve out a bigger groove on his bone so it would hold the cartilage in place. Needless to say I am being a nurse this weekend to my sweet Baxter. They shaved his leg and he has this long line of stitches so I am just holding and loving on him this weekend. He only weighs 4 1/2 pounds so I have just been carrying him around or he is sitting in my lap. He goes back on Tuesday for a check and I am going to have to start a little physical therapy on him like stretching his leg out etc. I wish animals lived longer. He is like a member of our family.

Busy, Busy, Busy

First....no we have not caught that "critter" yet. John went to buy a large cage that catches the animals but doesn't harm them, and they were SOLD OUT!!! So we are waiting until they get some more in. I'll keep you posted.

Golf, golf, and more golf! Seth has been playing in so many golf tournaments from Greenville, Mississippi, to Pine Bluff, to Mountain Home and last weekend in Kansas City. The only tournament we have here is a wonderful tournament in honor of Chuck Morton. The Morton family has sponsored it for several years and it is a top notch tournament attracting top junior golfers from all over the state. Last year Seth won his age group and this year he got second by one stroke. He was fine with it. He still got a BIG trophy. Golf season for the High School starts next week. Last year they won the State Championship and they only lost one starter so it should be a good season.

When I wasn't at a golf tournament I was watching the movie "HAIRSPRAY"!!! Lauren and I have seen it 3 times in the last 2 weeks! It is right up there with my all time favorite "GREASE". I highly recommend going to see this. The first time we went to see it we went straight to Walmart and bought the last soundtrack they had. I hate to admit it, but I will be seeing it again!

I think we are home for a while so I will be better at blogging.

I'm going to get that critter!!

Ok I have had it!! I have beautiful Gerber Daisy's on my back deck railing. I have planters placed on the deck that you can see out of our master bedroom windows and all summer they have been just beautiful. I make sure they are watered and I pick the dead flower heads off. Well.......about a month ago some CRITTER during the night came and bit the flowers off and just left them laying on the ground. I thought to myself it probably won't happen again so I didn't take any action and it was probably just a critter traveling through the neighborhood. Well......... it has happened 3 more times. Just when the flowers start to grow back "Off with their heads!" Evidently, the thief has taken up residence in our yard. This calls for some action. I don't want to harm the animal. I just want it gone. We are off to buy an animal trap and see if we can catch it and then take it to the woods and release it. I'll keep you posted.

Birthday Blessing

So much has happened since I last posted. It was the best birthday ever! I think we celebrated for 3 days. We had seen some wild sunflowers in an undeveloped part of our neighborhood a few days earlier, and we had been trying to grow some giant ones from seeds all summer. So on my birthday morning John told me to come outside with him. He had gone back and dug them up early that morning and planted them in the flower bed. He is so sweet! Ahhh. Then I noticed my car! Seth and his friend Brad Simens took some car chalk and "decorated" my car late the night before my birthday. They were so proud they surprised me. That night we went out to eat at 178 Club with my Mom and Dad and the kids.

We decided to wait and have the birthday cake on Saturday when my brother and his wife came to visit. My sweet daughter decided that she would cook the meal and plan the party, and I wouldn't have to do anything. She did the shopping and ordered the cake and bought the balloons...etc. On Saturday her and her boyfriend Ryan did EVERYTHING! They cooked, set the table, got drinks, and even cleaned up. She ordered this beautiful cake from Walmart!! She even got sparkling candles. She thought of everything. My Sister-in-law even brought a cake. It was absolutely delicious! It was strawberry creme and she got it in Little Rock. Lauren even bought a banner and set up a birthday table in the foyer with the cakes and the balloons. She is the most wonderful daughter!! I love her and she has such a sweet and giving heart.

On Saturday night we went to Beth Ann Ponder and Josh Davenport's wedding. It was soo sweet and you could tell God has blessed both of these families. The wedding was just beautiful and Beth Ann's dress was gorgeous! The reception was at ASUMH in the center part called Keller's Green. The weather was perfect and the setting was just magical. Nell Ponder is one of my most favorite people. She just makes me happy inside! I love her.

On Saturday afternoon Lauren received a call that one of her sorority sisters had been killed that morning in a car accident. She had fallen asleep at the wheel between Memphis and Little Rock. Needless to say Lauren was screaming and crying hysterically. It broke my heart to see her so upset, but what really hurt was thinking of this girls' family and the pain they were going through. I cannot even imagine how they can deal with this. I do know she was a Christian and her family has a strong Christian base. It helps to know that, but gosh i still can't quit thinking about how much pain her family is in. I will be taking Lauren down for the visitation and funeral on Tuesday and Wednesday. Please keep this family in your prayers. The girls name was Rachel Shadid. She was from North Little Rock.

Cherish everyday!

Cathy

This is a little clock that I bought at Target. I took it apart and added the crown and the bling on the numbers. I also glittered the hands and painted the second hand silver. It does seem like time is flying this week while we are on vacation. I am enjoying the down time and the time with my family.

Cathy

This is a little travel journal that I finished late last night. I am going to fill it with pictures and journaling the next time we go on a big trip. It was fun to do and I usually don't use a lot of orange, but I like how it turned out. Down deep I will always be a "pink" girl!

John is off this next week and we are staying home and swimming, and going to the movies, and John is of course.... golfing. I plan to do a lot of scrapping and just taking it easy. My idea of a great vacation is staying at home!!!

Cathy

I have been tagged! Alright Denise here goes:

My roommate and I once: played on our sorority football team.

Never in my life have I: touched a snake. I HATE THEM.

High School: was fun! I still talk to alot of friends from NLR Ole Main.

When I'm nervous: My neck turns red.

My hair: is sooo curly! It takes me 20 minutes to use a huge round brush to get it looking normal.

When I was 5: I fainted while the doctor stitched up my brothers hand.

When I turn my head left: I see cabinets with a murphy bed inside.

My favorite aunt is: Aunt June from Gulfport Mississippi.

I have a hard time understanding: morning people.

You know I like you if: I like everybody.

My ideal breakfast is: bacon and eggs.

If you spend the night at my house: you will stay up late and sleep in.

My favorite blonde is: my daughter Lauren.

My favorite brunette is: my cousin Ann.

Like to see flyng besides birds: cars.

I shouldn't have been: staying up until 2 am last night.

Last night I: worked on my Heidi Swapp class.

I've been told I look like: my dad.

If I could have any car, it would be: one that drove itself.

This is the June layout for my Heidi class. The theme was change and how we need to embrace change to grow. We used a butterfly mask and used Tim Holtz inks and a new foam applicator that is coming out this summer at CHA. Ink is used over the mask to leave the negative space over 2 solid and 2 pattern papers. The green butterfly is a ghost shape with patterned paper glued to the back and it's wings bent up slightly. I also used stitching on the page in several places. Inside the file folder is a hidden sheet of the things I want to change this year. This class really encourages you to try new things and I love that.

Cathy