Man time flies!!! It's all good though!!! Exciting things on the horizon!!! But first, here are a few peeks at the TV segments we did at Scrapbooker's Paradise following our trip to CHA!! Due to some technical difficulties, I don't have all the segments we did... in fact, my favourite one promoting our Crop and Cruise HAWAII is currently "stuck" on my PVR... need to task my "gorgeous gadget guy" on that one to see what can be done about that!!! Meanwhile, though, here are a few snippets from that morning that I DID manage to capture on my computer!!!
This is always a super fun time of the year as products we saw at CHA begin to arrive in the stores and yes, even in our Canadian stores!! I know Scrapbooker's Paradisehas already sold out of much of their first CHA orders... YES it's that fabulous!!!! And if you really want to experience some of the new products, be sure to join us at Camp Croppin' in April and/or other awesome upcoming events (see links on right).
So besides the regular "life" stuff of soccer (both my kids are soooooo close to being in Provincials this year!!!), we are getting ready for my brother's wedding in Brazil!!!! Take a look at my new sister-in-law to be Clara and how happy she and my brother Mark look!!!!
Their's is quite the romantic story... sometime when I have more time, I'll tell you, but all I can say is never say never to love!!! At 52 years of age, my brother finally found his soul mate :)
And I'm looking forward to again being at the Chain Of Love orphanage while in Brazil (we were there about 5 years ago to visit our sponsored children). Not exactly sure yet what adventures await, but I'm looking forward to being back in that beautiful country and meeting my new family members (I'm going to be an auntie again with 2 grown sons of Clara's... sooooooo wild!!!)
And... some HUGE changes on the horizon with Brad's job are expected to come over the next few weeks!! It's been 20 years since Nortel hired him and he is ready for a change and God has graciously led him to a couple of REALLY great opportunities. The "icing on the cake" would be for him to get laid off, however, instead of just quitting and coincidentally they are doing that TODAY for a few others in his group so we are praying for a phone call for him as well to lay him off!!! CRAZY eh?
One final thing on my mind... we still have about 8 spots left for our Crop For Mexicofundraising event Saturday, March 10 and I would LOVE to fill them... my heart is sooooooo anxious to partner with others to change the lives of some needy families... we really do have so much to be thankful for living in North America and what a fun way to pay it forward by attending an amazing crop!!! If you can't make it for the whole day PLEASE come shop at our on-site garage sale of crafting goodies from 1-4pm :) Be the change you want to see in the world :)
This will be our 5th year running this life changing retreat for women and the team is busy getting all the lovely details in place to make it another awesome weekend!!! Here is our theme...
Click HERE to register starting Feb. 14, 2012 and please note that cabins will only be booked once we have received payment so if you are anxious to get into the coveted Aspen Lodge (with private bathrooms), then register and forward payment ASAP to secure your spot!! This also means that you don't have to be waiting on your computer at 7am to get in although you can as that is part of the fun :)
AND... for those asking about posting last week's TV segment, due to some technical difficulties with the station, we will need a bit of extra time to figure it out... I did do a "back-up" taping of it on my PVR, but have no idea how to get it from there to my computer to upload so I'm waiting for my engineering hubby to come home (today yeah!!!) from out of the country to help me with that :)
Meanwhile, you have until this Friday to enter to WIN some CHA goodness!!!! Simply comment on the CHA posts below and on Christy Riopel's blog and we will pick a winner :)
Here is a super brief overview of my time at CHA in Anaheim last week!! It was near unto impossible to try to fit in 2 full days and thousands of booths into 60 seconds or less, but I think I squeezed in MOST of my favourites (plus the token Tim Holtz appearance for those of you who insist on seeing what he's up to... and what new gadget he's demoing... and what he's wearing)!!
Others and MORE will be shown on my upcoming...
TV segment this MONDAY, FEB. 6, 2012
on Breakfast Television starting at 6am through to 9am!! We will be on-site shooting from the Scrapbooker's Paradise store in Calgary showing and demoing some of our favourite NEW products, tools and companies :)
My Top Picks include:
Tropical Travelogue line from Graphic 45... I could NOT keep my eyes off of this beautiful line and all the eye candy in the booth!!!! They really do set the bar high for CHA shows!!! And they're coming to Calgary in April!!! Can NOT wait!!!
Bo Bunny is ALWAYS a hit with everyone (including me!) but this year I had trouble picking my favourite NEW line... not because they didn't have good ones, but because they are all a little different... kind of like one for each mood I might be in!!!!! I like them ALL!!
Basic Grey is also a go-to line and they had some super fun ideas (and some super fun ladies... the top picture we are all "The Allison's"... yup 3 Allison's all with the correct spelling!!) and a photo of their new canvases... pretty cool!!!
Meanwhile, Christy and I ran into Donna Downey... she is HILARIOUS!!! And don't forget she's coming to Alberta this month (I get to teach with her!!!) and you can take her classes!!! Check out Cropaganza for more info!!!
Onto some home decor stuff...
Canvas Corp is a company I am anxious to better acquaint myself with (FYI they just bought Tattered Angels and also own 7 Gypsies so watch for this powerhouse of companies to bring out some amazing things!!!) Of course I just LOVED their beach line!!!
There were NOT a lot of new tools, but a "Stamping Gear" from Inkadoo helped create this beautiful canvas... sure had Christy's creative juices flowing!!!
And although it's not a "Tool", this new to me company (Unikeep) has some super funky ideas for travel albums!!! Has mine and Christy's creative juices flowing too for our
So this guy had us smiling with this innovative gadget called "Action Wobble Springs"... to see it in action, you need to watch the video, but we thought it was FANTASTIC especially for kids cards and animation!!
Another super HOT thing at CHA is jewelry and my favourite "design-it-do-it-yourself" line was from Vintaj!!! Check out this hot tropical looking necklace (how can you tell where my mind is)!!!!
And last, but definitely not least, was one of my personal favourites from the whole show...
I know it's still new technology, but the QR codes are beginning to appear everywhere and allow you to instantly visit a companies website, get info, etc. Sizzix, however, has figured out a super great way to bring them into the crafting world through "Talking Tags"... you purchase your own labels that have QR codes that you can record a one minute personal message onto and then you can glue or sew it to a special project or layout and it will be there to listen to for years every time you scan it!!!! How cool is that????!!!!! I can just imagine taping my kids' giggles or nana's voice and having it permanently recorded on a special quilt or card or layout or???? Just imagine!!!
Okay, enough from CHA...
Meanwhile, here is some of the trouble... er I mean FUN we got into while in LA!!! It all started with the "economy car" I rented... my fiery red FIAT car!!!! They kept asking me if I wanted one with more leg room... um... do I look like I need more leg room???? Besides, I get to play "JLO in LA"!!
I have to say that I mostly managed to stay out of trouble this time, but trouble still followed!! This time it was Christy!!!! It all started our first night when we were at a reception for vendors and we were at the bar getting drinks... Christy was trying to order me a drink with no alcohol, but the guy just wasn't getting it!!! And after we thought he finally understood, he still began to pour Vodka into my Cranberry juice and before she could think about what she was doing, Christy shoved her hand overtop of my glass and he proceeded to pour Vodka all over her!!! The look on both their faces was PRICELESS!!! Yup... a true friend takes a "hit of Vodka" for you!!!
Continuing on the theme of drinks... on our flight home, we were just settling into our seats after take-off when suddenly Christy and I heard a "pop" and were suddenly being showered with liquid!!! We looked up and to our horror the ceiling of the plane was "leaking" a brown liquid all over us (mostly Christy... I had just moved to the aisle seat)!! This is NOT a good thing on a plane!! So after a moment of panic, the flight attendant came running to discover that two rows up a mother had given her little boy a baby bottle filled with Coke and it had exploded!!! Now I've heard of moms giving their little ones, Gravol to keep them calm on a flight, but COKE??? Who does that???!!!!
Anyways, one of the highlights of our time in LA was renting a bus with all the other "Canucks" and touring the town!!! Below is a collage of our adventures including our "Star Gazing" in Hollywood... we went to the "Chateau Marmont" where numerous stars were in attendance following the SAG awards that night!! We got to see Glee stars, Modern Family stars, and Jesus!!!!
Alrighty!! Be sure to watch Breakfast Television on Monday morning for even more fun and eye candy from CHA and meanwhile, enter to WIN some goodies!!! You can enter on my CHA posts and on Christy Riopel's site as well and we will pick a winner later next week!!
Question #3: Which of the CHA products above (or in the video) are you most excited about?
