I had such a blast teaching this past weekend at Lasting Memories retreat in Danbury, CT. Julie and Barb are the best hosts. They go above and beyond for their customers… loads of laughs and creating were had by all.

I have a few kits left over. If you are interested in purchasing one let me know. They are the Time Flies and Stories Told mini album kits and Happiness is you/Two Sisters (you will create 2 - (1-12 x 12 layouts) Layout Kit, and the Our House 1-12 x 12 layout kit. You will have lots of leftovers from each kit to use on future projects or layouts.

Their good friend Nancy celebrated her 50th birthday yesterday and all weekend someone was surprising her with some kind of birthday wish. Nancy took it all in stride even though I think she wanted to go and hide a few times. They surprised her with a birthday cake which is the best cake I have ever had in my life. It was insanely incredible and I am so glad there are 1000’s of miles between me and that bakery. Nancy also has me on a mission to get a cricut expression. She was showing me all the great things this machine can do and now I have GOT to have one. Sue tried to convince me I need the Pazzle but I am just too computer challenged. What she did show me was great. It is super cool too and has loads of neat features but I just cannot grasp all of it and fear frustration would be my main state of mind. That is unless Sue moves down here and does it for me all the time.

During one of my classes Ruth gave me the tip of the day… I tell ya I should be so embarrassed to tell you all this but I just have to let you know as I am sure there are others out there like me. Did you know the plastic part of the emery board file in the BasicGrey Precision File Set comes off? I NEVER knew this and I am so glad I didn’t throw mine away. I tell ya that was such a DUH moment for me. So THANK YOU RUTH for sharing this little tad bit of info with me.

I also want to thank all of you that came to my classes and left telling me you were so glad you came and you learned a lot. I was happy to hear you say you were going to apply some of the techniques you tried in each class in future layouts and projects. I know I put you all through the ringer with the craft knife but in the end I do believe you were all happy and will agree it is the quickest method for covering chipboard pages.

I must say there is one person in particular who I got to speak with for a bit before leaving to catch my flight who truly touched my heart. Livia pulled me aside to thank me for helping her in class as they were the first classes she had ever taken. She showed me the layouts she had been working on during the retreat and each one she added some of the tecniques she learned in class and told me where she planned on adding other techniques to other pages. Then the kicker was when she said, “You made me feel like I really can do this.” Yep, I can hardly type or think of this without having tears. I love teaching and that one comment is why.

Everyone really can do this!

Here is a sneak peek of another class I will be teaching at Lasting Memories. This “Family” class is full of techniques that can be incorporated into future projects and layouts. You can either hang your “Family” banner or you can set it on a table as a mini album. How you decided to display it is up to you. Either way, people are going to love looking at it.

Okay I am off to work on my layout classes. Sneak peeks will be coming soon.

Have a great day,
Lisa

While I was in Beaumont Alan and Ansley switched my scraproom and Ansley’s bedroom. I got a bigger scraproom and Ansley got the room with the polka dots painted on the walls (Terri’s old room). Ansley loves anything with polka dots. This was a huge task and I am so thankful I did not have to do it!!! I still cannot believe they got it completed before I came home. I think the 170 pounds of scrapping products all over the living room was a great motivator. I received a huge box of supplies from Fiskars while I was gone. So this on top of my MMM prizes I was in serious trouble. As soon as I got home Saturday started working on getting organized so I could fit all this product in my scraproom. Here are a few photos showing my storage solutions.

Vintage buttons stored in a glass jar I bought for .59 cents at a resale shop.

My basic supplies stored in old glass vases/planters. I found these at a resale shop for $1 each. They are the perfect size for my work area.

This little dish used to hold my Mom’s bubble bath when she was a little girl but now it holds my rhinestones and gems.

The plastic storage containers are from Target. The metal buckets I found at JoAnns on clearance.

These clear over the door shoe holders are perfect for my paints, embossing powders and punches.

Also… I have started blogging on the Memory Makers Masters Blog. You need to check it out. Each MMM will post off and on during the week. Lots of fun stuff to see, learn and read… layouts, techniques and ideas. I hope you visit and post to say hi.

This is most likely one of the last 8.5 x 11 layouts you will see from me. I just cannot create with this format. I thought I would try a simple clean layout and it was just plain torture. It just looks like it is lacking something but I’m finished with it and will have to move on. I don’t know how some of my friends like Celeste and Kimberly do it? I love their styles!

Although, I do love this photo of Sophie and Jessie. Sadly, they have both since passed from cancer. Sophie was given to me at age three by a breeder and Jessie was adopted at age 8 from rescue.

What a wonderful two weeks I had with my family. There is nothing like a new baby to bring loads of happiness. We are such a baby family. Isabella Kate is just the cutest and sweetest little girl. I cannot wait to see her again. I told my sister she better take lots of photos and send them to me! Here are a few more photos I took before I left.

I can almost smell the “Baby Magic” lotion on Isabella….why does “Baby Magic” lotion smell so good on babies and not on adults? Needless to say… you will be seeing lots of layouts and projects featuring Isabella.

I also got to go to one of Brittain’s baseball games. Poor boy, he is the only grandson out of 6 grandkids. I was so happy to be able to see him score a run. and I am even happier to have taken this photo for him! Can’t wait to scrap this one either.

I will post a few layouts I created using the Cocoa Daisy June kit later on today. Talk about a wonderful kit. Also, my “Whoo loves Who” owl mini album is nearly sold out. Tricia only has 2 left. So, if you want one you need to purchase it pretty quick.