This past weekend I had the pleasure of going to San Antonio to attend a Fiskars Fisk-a-teers Crafting Ambassadors event. I have never attended such a well organized, fun filled, action packed training session. Brains on Fire organized a weekend I will never forget. I got to take classes given by lead Fisk-a-teers Holly, Stephenie and Cheryl as well as Heidi Grace of Heidi Grace Designs (totally adorable and the funniest storyteller ever one minute she had us laughing the next she had us grabbing Kleenex) and Nancy with Cloud 9 Design taught an adorable calendar class using many of her great paper lines . Each class was filled with loads of incredible Fiskars products. We were taught how to use each one and then got to keep everything after we finished the adorable project they had for us to create .

My roommate was Patti Church Fiskateer #377. Talk about a perfect match. I was really worried about not knowing who my roommate was going to be, because I am pretty shy in settings like that but Patti was perfect. We clicked the second we met and laughed so much by the end of each day my face hurt. She is so FUNNY and will always be a great friend. We were lucky enough to get to attend every class together and thank goodness I had her to keep me on track. With so much going on it was extremely hard for me to stay focused. I have never cut so many pieces of paper wrong in my life or gotten lost in the directions that were explained so easily a kindergarten student could have figured it out. Thankfully I had “Perfect Patti” as my keeper. She was the best and I wish she lived closer because I really miss her.

I got to FINALLY meet Jane Hasty Fiskateer #329. I have so wanted to meet her and each time the possibility came up something happened. Jane is an incredible photographer. You really need to check out her blog. It was so fun to get to know her roommate Kimberly Brock Fiskateer #1044. Talk about always looking like a “Rodeo Queen” she always looked so dang cute wearing her Fiskateer hat. Gretchen Schmidt Fiskateer #51 also sat at our table. I have chatted back and forth with her for so long and it was great to finally get to meet her. Gosh the list of people I met could go on and on. It is great to be a part of the so called “Fabulous Fifty”. Bonds were formed this weekend that I know will last a lifetime. It overwhelms me when I think about being a part of this group.

Now my next task is to train 20 people that want to become Fiskars Demonstrators in the DFW area. If you are interested in teaching and want to become a Fiskateer Ambassador look for one of the “Fabulous Fifty” in your area. If you made it this far in my post I feel it only right to offer a RAK. Just leave a comment about your favorite Fiskars product and I will place your name into a drawing for a Stamp Press.

I can’t believe it has been a week… I’m sure all of you have seen lots of CHA photos by now. Sorry about that but I do have a great excuse for not posting. I decided to enter the 2008 Memory Makers Master Contest at the last minute. So for the past week I have been in a scrapping frenzy. Last week I was chatting with Caroline about some book ideas and before I knew it she had me entering MMM! Gotta love friends like her that give you that little extra push. I would not have entered but now that it is all over and my package has been delivered I’m really glad I did. Thanks C.

CHA is a great experience. Catching up with friends from all over, meeting online friends for the first time and the early mornings and late nights, to me are so addicting. I love the feeling of a deadline and that slight… I don’t think I can move exhaustion. I honestly love everything about CHA.

Here is a group photo we took in the Maya Road booth the last day of the show. I love all these women and find them all so inspiring.

From left to right…. Heather, Caroline, Jessica, Aubrey, Judi, Me and Deborah

Tomorrow I will share some of my photos of Downtown Chicago. Jess and I had so much fun and lots of laughs in the few hours we had until we needed to catch a plane.

Have a great day.

first man did we have some bad storms last night here in Frisco. We were without electricity for 7 hours. A portion of our fence was knocked down and our neighbors trampoline (they live 3 houses down) ended up in our backyard. Alan and I are amazed that it didn’t knock down that portion of our fence. All it did was break a few slats. Some areas of Dallas will be without electricity for a week.

I have been playing with some alcohol inks by Ranger and must say Ranger + Maya Road = pure delight! Look at how pretty these Sheer Blossoms look inked and accented with glass glitter. I will be using these for a project I’m working on for CHA-S.

I will be hosting a RAK for Maya Road. So get ready for a challenge to win some great products. I will have a photo of the RAK soon.Wishing you all a great day.

Here is just a peek of a project I am working on this week. I love making these little ribbon flowers. They are so quick and easy and make a great impact on any layout or project. I will be able to show you the entire project next week. So until then this little image will have to do.

I really need to prioritize my list of projects. I cannot believe how many things I need to get done in the next 10 days. If I think too much about it, I just might panic. So for today it is work on this mini album and go from there.

Hope you all have a great day. It is cloudy and rainy here… perfect weather for scrapping.

Here is a tag I created using the new clear stamps, twill and rub ons by Maya Road. These new products are incredible to work with… the stamps are great and the rub ons go on as smooth as butter. I LOVE great rub ons! The chipboard tag and flowers are also by Maya Road.

Now for my OMGosh moment… check this out Creating Keepsakes Thanks Judi for pointing this POTD out, I would have been so sad if I had missed it.
Well back to working on my heart binder and box for CHA. I tell you this has taken me forever to complete but I hold Deb and Caroline responsible for my delay. They keep sending incredible new products to play which causes me not to be able to stay focused on this project for more than a few seconds.