The Vancouver Report

It was cold in Vancouver this weekend. I was surprised to see snow on the ground, which is unusual for this harbor city. But the temperatures outside certainly didn’t cool off anyone’s enthusiasm for our regional activities inside!

We are doing something different this spring; we’ve planned a couple of regional evening events. Designed for our demonstrators who can’t make it to the full-day event (either Friday or Saturday), these four-hour events provide a condensed regional experience. We kicked off at 6 p.m., and I was amazed at how much we fit into a few short hours! There were Workshops Wows, great demonstrations and presentations, plenty of stamping, and—because the group was smaller (about 60 or so)—a chance to have a more intimate experience.

Because there were fewer demonstrators, I set a goal to at least say “hi” to everyone there. . . I’m not sure I made it, because I do tend to be a little chatty sometimes, but I sure hope I got around to everyone!

I have to admit that it made for a late evening. . .wrapping things up at 10 p.m. is certainly later than when we usually end (before 5 p.m.). But everyone seemed happy, and I’m hoping they all thought the late hour was worth it! I know I did!

Saturday was back to the full-day schedule, along with a full crowd. We had about 300 excited demonstrators, who warmed up the room (if not literally, at least figuratively!). I have to admit that there are few things that are more fun to me than getting together with our demonstrators—there’s no better group of people!

I can’t say enough about the things I saw. . . Workshop Wows, onstage demonstrations, swaps. . . fun ideas everywhere I looked! I know I say that every time, but it’s absolutely true! I always leave a regional with new ideas, or a different take on something I’ve seen before. It never ceases to amaze me the creativity that is shared at these events!

Coming back to my hotel room each night was a treat as well; I love the Pan Pacific. It’s a beautiful hotel on the waterfront, and I lucked out this time—I had a corner room with one window overlooking the city and the other window overlooking the harbor with the mountains in the background. I didn’t shut the curtains the entire time! It was an awesome view wherever I looked!

While my stamping presentation at this regional wasn’t terribly complex (in fact, it was one of the most simple projects I’ve ever shared), it was one I was excited about. I always show a current project I’m working on, and this project is Sterling’s pre-birthday present. His birthday is this week, and he’s actually going to be out of town for his birthday—he’s going to a horse convention, believe it or not!

Some wives may be a bit offended that their husbands would choose a horse convention over spending a birthday weekend together, but I understand totally. Horses to Sterling are like stamps are to me, and basically, he’s going away to attend the equivalent of a Stampin’ Up! convention! I can hardly blame him for being excited about that, now can I?

But I want him to know I’m thinking of him. So I came up with these four pouches (one for each day he’s gone). So simple—I cut a 12 x 12 Designer Series Paper (ones without flowers!) in half, then folded it in half and adhered the two sides together. Once I fill a pouch, I’ll close the top as well, then label the front so he knows which pouch to open on which day. I know the pouches will get ripped open in seconds, so I didn’t want to spend a lot of time creating the pouches, but I still wanted them to look nice.

So that’s my Vancouver report. I left Vancouver this morning, leaving behind cold temps and a little snow for colder temps and even more snow in Utah. Sigh. . . . but I know spring is around the corner!

A Spring Spread

Honest moment—the first time I saw the Ice Cream Parlor Designer Series Paper and the coordinating Ribbon and Button pack, I was less than enthusiastic. Not really sure why. . . maybe a little too bright or something like that? For whatever reason, they just weren’t my favorite Sale-A-Bration products this year.

Think again!

Phoebe came over to visit a few days ago, and she was in a “posey” mood, willing—and even wanting—to strike a few model poses for the camera. Those moments don’t come along very often, so I grabbed my camera and started shooting.

When it was time to scrapbook these adorable pictures, the Ice Cream Parlor products were perfect! The playful colors and accents worked great on this page about my youngest little granddaughter! I had so much fun playing with these products, that I decided I’m going to have to do a spread for each granddaughter, and maybe make a little album!

As an aside, I have to tell you that I ventured outside my box! I normally would NEVER cut photos in different shapes . . . squares, rectangles, that’s about the extent of my picture-cutting adventures! It was almost liberating to punch and play with these fun little photos. It’s certainly in keeping with the lively, fresh feel of the page!

I’m thinking another reason I’ve grown so fond of these particular Sale-A-Bration products is because I’m so ready for color in my life! I’m tired of the gray drab of winter and ready to embrace spring—and these are definitely spring colors!

Blog Break Is Over

I’m back to work—and to blogging! Sterling and I had a wonderful few days away from it all, but it’s always nice to get back.

We spent the first couple of days in Las Vegas. Many people go to Las Vegas to enjoy the show, lights, and night life—we went there because Sterling had a 50-mile endurance ride and I wanted to take in a couple of out-of-state yoga classes, just for the fun of it! We had dinner with friends one night and family another night, and we enjoyed the warmer weather.

After Vegas, we headed for Kanab. Sterling planned to do more riding there, while I had more work to do.. Unfortunately, the warm weather we enjoyed in Vegas hadn’t made its way to Kanab! It snowed most of the time we were there, and we so we spent most of our time  TV and movie watching, plus visiting with family.

And we didn’t mind! Neither Sterling nor I spend a lot of time in front of the screen, and I have to admit that it was kind of fun to watch a few movies. We stuck mostly to the Hallmark Channel, until the storm blew out the satellite, then we had to rely on good ole DVDs. We hunted around the Kanab apartment and found quite a few to choose from; my favorite was Somewhere in Time—I haven’t seen that in years!

In addition, I spent many hours cleaning out my e-mail, which is no small feat! I’m embarrassed to admit how many e-mails I had in my In box . . . it’s a much more respectable number now, although I could still use a few more hours! I discovered I could multi-task, holding Sterling’s hand with one hand, and pushing the Delete button with the other! (smile)

After a couple of very relaxing days in Kanab, we decided to head home a little bit earlier than planned. Because of the snow, Sterling realized there wouldn’t be any rides. And as much as we enjoyed the movies. .. well, we were a little “movied” out. So we came home, rested and relaxed and ready to get back at it!

Additions to the Holiday Vignettes

A few weeks ago I was over at Shanna’s house and noticed her Valentine’s holiday vignette (which is made up of home décor items I’ve given the girls in the past couple of years) and was surprised at how sparse it seemed. Then I was over at Sara’s house a few days later, and she had her vignette up as well, and hers wasn’t much better! “I better get on the ball,” I thought. “This is pathetic!”

So this year for their Valentine’s home décor gift(s) I focused on bulky items. I gave each of them some silk flowers in a vase and this beautiful frame . . . they fit the take-up-space bill nicely! I showed the frame filler at the Minneapolis regional last weekend, and the frame is the perfect finishing touch. I think the vignettes are starting to look better already!

Sterling and I are celebrating our anniversary this week and disappearing for a few days. (Actually, he’s involved in an endurance ride with his horses, and I’m taking along plenty of work, but I’m sure we’ll manage a few hours together!). I am going to take a little blog break until next week though. Have a wonderful weekend!

Keep Staying Tuned

I promised yesterday that I'd post the girls' Valentine's gift, but I'm at a hotel tonight and I can't get the photo to post. There's something funky going on and I'm technologically challenged . . . so sorry. I'll be in Kanab on Friday, and I know I can get it to work from there. So just keep staying tuned.