BACK IN THE GROOVE

I came back yesterday from S.A.V.E. Scrappin Away Vacation Events and it was very productive by my standards. Now there are some very organized women who got 100 pages completed. I am not worthy but I did manage to scrap Lynn's baby shower, although I must admit that Michael is 5 years old. I also created a first day of school chipboard book to place all Gabrielle's photos. I took two classes and created 2 two page layouts and I even had photos for the one so I have it completed.

As always I try to reflect on what I learned from my experiences. There were some good times and some challenging times this weekend. So here we go...

"Keep your friends close and your enemies closer" only works in the Godfather movies. This is a 24-7 event, meaning that you are going to be sitting with a group of friends, eating with them and sharing a room with them. You really have to know yourself and know your friends. This weekend we had a roommate that we did not know very well and she treated my one friend who invited her very badly. She was politely told that next year she should get a group of her friends together to come up with. So I am actively recruiting for next year.

Pack Smart. Dena and Trish passed on a tip from the very organized women I mentioned from before. They put together their cardstock pattern paper and photos in these 12X12 clear plastic bags so that there have all their layouts ready to go and the weekend goes very smoothly. So Trish gave me some bags and I pulled together some paper and embellishments for the Christmas craft that I will be working on next. I will have this ready for my mini crop this Friday at Calvary Church of Souderton.

Price low at the yard sale. The purpose of the yard sale is to get rid of the stuff. If it is collectible then sell it on ebay or Splitcoast stampers where the collectors shop.

Back up adhesives are a must at a class. My ATG gun pooped out during a class and I did not have time to reload. So it is a good idea to have a back up ready to go. This is also an idea that I gleaned from Swamp People on the History Channel. Alligators on the hook are not going to wait for you to reload your gun.

Comfort is king or queen in this case. I brought a pillow to sit on and one of those As Seen on TV back pillows. Next year I am going to bring a slip cover to keep them in place. A scrappin queen needs a throne anyway so I will take the time to sew up a really cool one.

Vanity thy name is ... There is nothing worse than a bathroom hog. Please don't bring bathroom hogs with you to these events and if you are a bathroom hog then be willing to allow a roommate to pee. It is really annoying to have to wait around for breakfast when you were the first one up and ready to go or the one who has to wait to pee. Also I have sensitive eyes and the hotel dry air really irritates my eyes so no eyeliner or mascara for me next year. Also I should remember to bring saline and water to keep me and my eyes hydrated. Also this is one trip that I truely can pack lightly regarding clothes, I dress for comfort not fashion for this weekend. The rule is that you should have more bags of scrapbookin than of clothing or you are packing wrong.

Don't believe Gordon Gecko; Greed is not good. It is very tempting to spend lots of money. Seriously, get a budget in place, and only pay with cash. Rollie has great stuff and was running insane sales but I promised Bob that I would only spend the cash we agreed upon prior to my departure.

Make sure that the keys get turned in. There is a $100 key charge. Enough said on that one.

Only the Lonely

dum dum dum dum do wah. I love Roy Orbision. Anyway, I am halfway through my second summer class and I really like it. I wish that my professor was teaching in the fall too. She is such a bundle of energy. I really enjoy her enthusiasm.

Yes I am lonely because my daughter is at a sleepover and won't be back until tomorrow. I really love that she has friends that I am not afraid to have her around.

I had to drop my stampin up demoship but I will still be okay since I have Missy to shop from.

so sad about us

I am still having sadness. I don't know what it is. I just have no motivation. I think that this happens to me after placements. My philosophy when working with families is that I tell them not to paint me in a corner in which I cannot get out of without a court order. I try to keep children in their home whenever possible.

Anyway maybe I will cheer up tomorrow night when Mel and Deb and I scrapbook together! I will have something new to post.

I am still working on Corrie's baby scrapbook. I am finshing up a snow page.

Stampin Up Last Chance list

I placed my pre-order for some new stuff. Stampin Up offered one year of discounted pre-order stam sets in honor of their 20 year anniversary. This was the last pre-order because it has been one year duh. They are going back to one catalogue per year. I am happy about that. I think that some sets take a little longer to develop their full potential and by the time you fall in love it was being retired.

So I ordered a really cool circle set, cute animal set with a giraffe. The set Wild About You is being retired and I never got that one.

There is a second level hostess set called Christmas Punch that I will get alot of use out of. I am a Christmas stamper. I love the Christmas stamp sets and usually will keep those sets after they retire.

I ordered the curly label punch set because I like the labels and the punch can be used with the new Christmas punch stamp set. The accessories are available as supplies last and there are already things selling out. That is why I put thogether this little order.

I will place another order by the end of the month to get the new in colors. They are very vibrants and happy colors.

quilt square attempt

Some of my coworkers have decided to make a quilt for one of the retiring supervisors. This is my first attempt to do anything like this. The inspiration was "As for me and my house we will serve the Lord."hence the house. Service- because she is a social worker and she has not only retired from BCCYSSA but had already put in 20 years of service at DYFS in New Jersey and retired from there as well.

I then decided to put a heart on the side instead of windows. The inspiration was one of my favorite lines from the Wizard of Oz. It is the wizard telling the tin man that "A heart is not judged by how much you love; but by how much you are loved by others." I did not know her very well because she worked in a different division that I did not have much interaction with. I do know that she is very much loved by the adolescent unit and they will miss her terribly.

I am fusing the house onto a piece of muslin and then I plan to stitch around the outline with coordinating embroidery floss to give it punch. I would like to stitch the scripture on as well.

snappy birthday

Happy birthday to Becca.

I am still trying to use up my old stuff. Here's the recipe:
Crab & Co. retired stampin up stamp set, carmel gingham ribbon, pink peroette (spelled wrong but I am too lazy) 2009 in color soon to be retired cardstock. certainly celery retired designer prints paper, watercolor paper. I watercolored the crab with riding hood red classic ink (2009 in color which is also facing the same fate as the mispelled pink ink) and used markers in tempting turquoise, and certainly celery, apricot appeal and so saffron.

I

praying for a mission

I have been working on a paper for school. Everything is winding down to the finish for this semester. I have a Pumpkin patch layout for Corey that I need to upload. I like how I am dictating to her what she is going to scrap about LOL!

My mother-in-law told me about Angelfood ministries so I checked it out online. There are a couple of churches in the area are pick up places. Angelfood is an outreach ministry where the people order boxes of food a nominal amount of money and it is picked up at a local church. Anyway, I have really been drawn to Angelfood Ministries and I think that I should pray some more about it before I talk to my pastor. It is funny because my husband and I ran into him at the local Lowes today and I mentioned that a client asked me if my church had a food pantry because it is in walking distance to her house. So it occurred to me that since the location of the church is in a residential area that maybe it would be a way to reach out to our community. So I will continue to pray about this. I really need to find a way to serve.