Seriously?!?!?

I just noticed that I have not blogged for over a month!!!!!!!  SHOCKING as I have so much to say and share and tell and show!!!  Where does one begin?????

Let's start with MEXICO!!!!  I'm leaving in just a few days to drive on a bus (yes a bus) to Mexico with about 30 of us to go build houses for 2 needy families!!!  The above layout was in my latest Canadian Scrapbooker Magazine article and tells of how I had a full circle moment during last year's trip to build in Mexico... so very powerful.  And here are the families whose lives will be forever changed this year...

FAMILY#1: Single mom, Lourdes (30) and her three boys, Reynaldo (17), Fransico (3) and Antonio (2). Lourdes works when she can, whenever she can get someone to look after Fransico and Antonio. In the afternoons she goes to school to finish her education. Lourdes works hard to keep her oldest son, Reynaldo in school and he is in the process of finishing up high school

FAMILY #2:  Bulmaro (24) and Isabel (19) and their son, Cristian (3). Bulmaro works 5-6 days per week in the fields and when childcare is available Isabel also works 2-3 days per week in the fields. Isabel comes from a very large family (we're talking 29 kids!!), many of whom live in the same area.  Their current house is made of sticks, cardboard and plastic. Somewhere you would not even keep your lawn care tools in! 

What's really cool is that the moms are sisters and live right next door so we will get to be VERY CLOSE to both families as we build their new homes right beside each other :)  And we will get to go back and visit the family we built for last year!!!!  HOW FUN IS THAT?!?!?!

And I am excited as this year, instead of going with my entire family, I'm taking my 15 year old son and 3 of his friends with me... yup... I'm going to be "Momma Orthner" for this adventure to 4 teen boys!!!  Can NOT wait!!!  If you'd like to follow along on the adventure (especially if you'd like to join me on something like this in the future!!), I'll likely post a fair bit on Facebook while in Mexico and here is a link you can also go to:

http://livedifferent.com/blog

Next... GRADUATION!!!  Well, sort of... Lindsey attends a middle school so graduation comes at the end of Grade 8 and next year she is in the High School (YIKES!!!)  But we had tremendous fun taking some grad photos with her and a couple of friends...

And one final topic for today... CROP AND CRUISE!!!!  Things are getting super exciting as we are planning all the fun details for this November in Hawaii!!!  Great sponsors are already coming on board...

And this is only the beginning!!!  Our featured instructors Christy Riopel, Jill Hildebrand and myself are cooking up some delicious treats for all our attendees!!!  We are capping both the LAND event and CRUISE event at 50 scrapbookers each and currently only have 10-15 spots left at each so if you were thinking of joining us for this ultimate vacation, REGISTER SOON!!!!

You had me at Aloha!!!

That will have to do for today as I am off to Banff for my 3 month check up with my knee surgeon!!  I am hoping that I will be given the OK to do most (if not all) of the activities while in Mexico!!!

AND... I still need to chat about the AMAZING Scrapbook Your Heart retreat we had this past June!!!  We were abundantly blessed in so many ways and by so many wonderful ladies... I will share soon, but here is a layout (yeah for Bo Bunny!!!) that shows just a small glimpse from our "Lessons from the Garden of Life" theme...

BIG NEWS!!! Featured Instructors Announced

We are so very pleased to announce:

Joining Allison Orthner 

as Featured Instructors on Crop and Cruise HAWAII in Nov. 2012 are:

Jill Hildebrand

and

Christy Riopel

 We are stoked to have these past Crop and Cruise instructors back on board with us by popular demand!!!!  Not only are they ridiculously talented (you will learn TONS and TONS of the industry's best TIPS and TRICKS just hanging with them and taking their classes), but they are also more fun than we can even put into words!!!  And if a picture's worth a thousand words, check these out from the last time the three of us were together to get an inkling of what's in store in Hawaii:

And as a special bonus, we will also teach you the top ways to wear Hawaiian leis...

The "Roman"

The "Bam Bam"

and the "Scrunchie"!!!

Watch HERE over the next week as we introduce each of these ladies a little better... we promise that their passion for crafting, photography and sharing their heart and soul with you will be inspiring!!!  We invite you to join us on this ultimate adventure!!

You had us at Aloha!!!

Fun at the Great Canadian Scrapbook Carnival!!!

What a blessing to be a part of the Canadian Scrapbooker Magazine Team!!!  Not only do I get to write about what I love (photography, crafting, etc.), but I also get to hang with some of the most creative and fun people in this country and meet new ones!!

The fun started on Thursday with the arrival of this lovely lady who was teaching for Westcott for the weekend...  Jill Hildebrand :)

Jill is one of those friends that it feels like we've known each other FOREVER, but it's only really been since 2007 when she was one of the featured instructors on our Crop and Cruise Scrapbooking Cruise!!  And I'm not the only one to feel that way!!!  She "reconnected" with a few other Alberta friends from the past...

And met some new creative friends like Susan Weckhesser who is an amazingly talented designer that has recently joined our CS team and has her own whimsical line of papers from SusieBee Studios.  I figured Jill and Susan would hit it off as their style is very similar and both are simply beautiful ladies!!  Jill had a lot of fun giving away some of Susan's papers at the crop :)

This year I had the privilege of hosting the 2-day crop, running our infamous "photo booth" and teaching my Lights! Camera! Action! photo class!!!  Here are some of my favourite photos from the day... first my "students" having fun in our photo class...

And the fun in the photo booth...

But the photos that make me smile THE MOST are these...

Christy Riopel is a soul sista extraordinaire and although she has met Jill numerous times over the years, it simply warmed my heart to see the two of them getting a chance to really get to know each other this weekend... and THIS is the result...

Simply too much fun!!!!!!  And now, we get ready to do it all again next weekend in EDMONTON!!!  Be sure to make it out!!  All the details are at www.CanadianScrapbooker.ca under "The Great Canadian Scrapbook Carnival".

Photography Class and Special Guests!!!

If you've always wanted to take my classic 

"Lights! Camera! Action!"

photography class and learn my best tips and tricks for capturing photos, NOW IS YOUR CHANCE!!!

I'm teaching in both Calgary and Edmonton this Fall at the Great Canadian Scrapbook Carnival sponsored by Canadian Scrapbooker Magazine...

 

Several instructors from our Canadian Scrapbooker Team are going to be there including my soul sista Christy Riopel 

(you MUST take her Design Secrets Class if you haven't already!!!)

AND... guess what other super special, talented and fun featured guest is going to be in Calgary teaching for WESTCOTT????

Jill Hildebrand!!!!!!  

We are so excited to have her join us in the fun in Calgary!!!!  Make sure you pop by her booth to say hello and pick up a special "FREEBEE"!!

And guess who's coming to Edmonton to play and teach for WESTCOTT???

Michelle Zemlak!!!!

Our favourite shabby chic super sweet lady!!!! 

I am sooooooo excited to hang with all these amazing ladies and get to play with all of you too!!!  I'm hosting the crops in both cities (think both are sold out!), but remember, this event is 

OPEN TO THE PUBLIC

for shopping, playing, hanging and taking classes so be sure to check out all the details HERE!!!!

All of us would love it if you came by!!!

Crop for Mexico & Final CHA picks and Giveaway!

Before I pick up again with the final CHA reveal, I have a most exciting invitation for YOU!!!

If you would like to be part of something truly important AND have tons of creative fun at the same time, I'd love to have you attend our Crop For Mexico event!!!!

We have 2 super fun things going on April 2 here in Calgary...  

1. A crop event where 100% of your cost goes towards building homes in Mexico for needy families!  We have special guest instructors and you get to choose a class from one of them as part of your registration (see link for more info and class photos) PLUS you get lunch, supper and tons of goodies!!!!

2.  A "Garage Sale" of new and gently used craft items where 100% is again donated to our Mexico homes!!!  You do NOT need to attend the crop to come SHOP at the Garage Sale!!!

Registration for Crop For Mexico opens TODAY!!!

Now back to some eye candy from CHA!!!

One of my all-time fav companies is Basic Grey and Christy Riopel showed you a peek at some of their fantastic new lines, but here is what caught my eye!!!  Ribbon Doilies!!!!

And still in partnership with Basic Grey... Core'dinations has sandable cardstock that coordinates with Basic Grey!!!!!!!!!!  Just check out their scrumptious patterns and colours!!!!

And YEAH for Canadian companies like MyStamp Box!!!!  Here is a fantastic new set of stamps that has HUGE potential!!!  If you want to see some layouts, check out my good friend Jill Hildebrand's amazing work as she designs for MyStamp Box!!!

Now this got my attention!!  I'm not actually familiar with the Vintage Street Market company, but I'm in love with this Tinted Tape product and it's potential!!!

Looks like you can add a fun edge to your papers and of course I'm thinking of photos!!!!!!!  It comes in a variety of styles like the "soot" one above and the "aged" one below.  Definitely going to be checking out this company!!!!

And I'm always on the look out for new tools and this one from We R Memory Keepers caught my eye as it can help me "sew" or at least look like I've sewn on my layouts with ease!!!  Hence the name "SewEasy"...

And not sure if this is a new release or just newer to me, but I got to see this Distressing tool by Zutter called the "Distrezz-it-all" in action a couple weekends ago at a retreat I was at and the local store sold out of them once we saw it work!!!!  I distressed an entire layout with a ton of assorted pieces in a matter of minutes!!!  It was a beautiful thing :)

Okay... I know there is so much more, but this will do it for our recap for this Winter CHA 2011 event!!!  I must say I missed seeing all the goodies up close and personal and really missed catching up with some of my friends in the industry (and our Crazy Canuck dinner we always do), but I've been busy with some pretty important "LIFE" stuff so I don't regret my decision for a moment!!!

Final question you can enter to win (remember that we will pick a winner on Monday... VALENTINE'S DAY between all entries from all days on my blog below and on Christy's blog!)

If money were no object, what "creative experience", event, tool, product, etc. would you splurge on?

Guess who made the Nikki Sivils Design Team??

So I met Nikki Sivils at CHA last winter and she is simply one of those really talented artists (and cute to boot!) that you can tell is genuine and loves this industry!!!  Her booth was right by the exit that Christy Riopel and I passed by each day so we popped in a fair bit to see all the lovely eye candy she had!!!!

So recently when I heard that Nikki had a design team call out, I immediately thought of one other talented and genuine artist that I thought would be a perfect fit!!!  When I contacted her, she was already on it and was anxious to apply and so it came as no surprise when we learned this week that she made it!!!!!  Many of you are very familiar with her... my "scrappin' soul sista"...

Jill Hildebrand!!

Here's one of her stunning cards she made...

So please join me in congratulating Jill and all the other talented artists that Nikki Sivils announced this week and be sure to watch for her fabulous supplies at your local scrapbook store (and if it's not there, ASK FOR IT!!).  And be sure to check out Jill's BLOG to see more of her work!!