Romantic Mixed-Media Tags & Simon Says Stamp!

I'm a nerd, but I get so excited when I see an email from someone I LOVE hearing from! Simon Says Stamp recently emailed and asked me if I'd like to create a NEW project featuring fresh-from-CHA products. That's like asking me if I want a bowl of ice cream!

So I mixed a few of my favorite NEW Prima products together (Finnabair, Bloom Girl, Julie Nutting, Gold Foil Icons, etc!) to see how they would look and was so excited with the results! These tags could be PERFECT for Valentine's Day!!! Hop on over to see the three tags right here on SSS's blog! Pssstt: here's a peek of one of them.

Products:

• 911195 Julie Nutting Armoire Tag Pad
• 580070 Mixed-Media Cling Stamp
• 580124 Mixed-Media Cling Stamp
• 980399 Bloom Collection 6x6 Stencil- Spark
• 980429 Bloom Collection 6x12 Circles Stencil
• 980405 Bloom Collection 6x12 Ricket Stencil
• 990473Memory Hardware - Parisian Ruffle Trim
• 579746 Wood Icons with Foil
• 578930 Bella Rouge Journaling Card
• 961800 Finnabair Art Ingredients-Art Sugar- White
• 962593 Finnabair Art Ingredients-Micro Beads - Blush
• 961381 Finnabair Art Basics-3D Gloss Gel
• 580304 Farfalla Vellum Butterflies
• 582647 Aquarelle Watercolor Flowers
• 580667 Butterfly Flowers- Bette
• 580636 Butterfly Flowers- Pupa
• 581701 Isabella Roses-Dani
• 581954 Valentina Flowers & Hearts-Roma
• 577032 Lace Trim-Frosted
• 547424 Precious Metals Leaves-Gilded
• Archival Ink-Jet Black, Coffee Brown
• Other: tulle, ribbon

I'm Still Alive

I promise I am. But life has a way of just sweeping by and before you know it your blog has not been updated in a while. More like a few months. Gulp.

So in a nutshell...after Rome my hubby and I continued our trip to Capri,

and back to Rome, and then on to Paris!

 (more pics to come)

Then we flew back home! haha. It was an amazing trip together. We vowed to start doing this more often...you know...leave the kids behind and take off together. It was like being 19 again. :)

Then I had a tour in Australia and New Zealand....that was absolutely amazing. I LOVE both countries. The trip was long...and exhausting by the end, but the people I met and the places I saw made it all worth it. Really cliche, but oh so true.

Then Christmas hit like a tidal wave. However, I got a tree up, made truffles (well, the kids did), decorated gingerbread houses and got all the gifts bought on time. Christmas was wonderful (except my mom not being there. That was hard.)

Then we had a week of birthdays. Seriously...who planned this out? Who has kids born the week of Christmas? Haha. Happy Birthday to Billy (18) and Bethany (24)!

Then CHA hit! CHA is our big trade show for revealing our newest line of products. Prima always has a HUGE release and that kept me swamped all of January. The show itself was only 4 days, but it turned into a 9 day trip to California because of set-up, etc. I won't bore you with details. :) You know what is so cool about CHA? Seeing everyone again...and meeting new people. I love it. It makes it all worth it.

And did I mention our new booth? Our Creative Director is simply A M A Z I N G!!

Shortly after CHA I headed off to Paris to teach at Pour l'Amour du Scrap.

Hubby came along to eat French food and see the sights. I think he secretly LOVES hanging out with crafty ladies. While I was teaching he was chatting with my friends and adding them on facebook. Oh my. Did I mention that my hubby is on Facebook now? Yeah. Now I have to behave.

I'm home from Paris now and catching up on work...which includes a TON of prep for the Europe Tour taking place in March! YES, did you see our flyer? It's pretty cool.

And I know Israel is not in Europe...but they wanted to have us come in before the tour and I am more than happy to oblige people. :)

Here's hoping I don't wait another three months to update.

CHA Projects and Pics!

I really need someone to kick me in the pants to get me to blog more! Any volunteers??

So July was one CRAZY busy month! I did lots of creating with Prima's new releases for CHA-Summer...so prepare for a photo-heavy post!

This family layout shows off the new Londonerry line...

And this mini is using our new packaging and North Country papers...

I even did a few canvases! I fell in love with our new Art Tiles and wanted to create something that matches my home...so that is how this came about!

 Take a peek at the new Vintage Buttons too...sigh!

And here is Amariah...she gets scrapped QUITE frequently.

 And another canvas...this one was really fun to make....used lots of acrylic paints, stamping, Perfect Pearl Mists, old book paper and new resins and vines.

Working CHA is always exhausting, but I  ~LOVE~ meeting my scrappy friends again... and hanging out with everyone from Prima.  Summer CHA was held in Chicago again. What a fabulous place for yummy food.

 Ingvild Bolme from Norway came all the way over to the states to show off her new line with us at the show. Ingvild has been on our team for 3 years. Not only do we both scrap, but we are Norwegian sisters too!

 This time we (those crazy gals in the photo below) actually went sight-seeing! We took an architectural boat tour and got to put our feet up and enjoy the gorgeous views of Chicago.

 Hope you enjoyed the projects and the little tour of Chicago!