It's More Than Crafting- CHA Edition

In the last few months, there has been some exciting new changes to my life.  Besides becoming a full-time child care provider for a good friend's little one (and continuing my part-time job caring for another), I accepted a position with Cindy deRosier of My Creative Life as Marketing Coordinator:

 http://www.cindyderosier.com/2015/12/introducing.html

I am beyond thrilled for this new experience in my life!  I have so much to learn, but it has been fun and challenging so far.

As part of the job, I had the privilege to attend the 2016 CHA Mega Show and attend classes related to social media, affiliate marketing and trends.  Of course, the icing on the cake was to walk the show floor and see what's new in the crafting world, talk to people in the industry and meet so many designers and craft celebrities I admire.

Once again, I was reminded of how much more crafting is than just a hobby.  Especially in the world of scrapbooking, you feel as if you know the artist behind the pages.  You watch their lives unfold onto beautiful papers and through personal photos. You see their children and families.  You get a peek into their happy times and tough spots.

I was so fortunate to be able to voice words from my heart to two of my favorite artists in person during the show.  I had hoped these moments would happen and that I would have the words if they did.

When Heidi Swapp lost her son suddenly 6 months ago, I know myself and crafters around me were so saddened by the news.  Yes, we don't know her or her family personally, but she has shared her family with her followers over the years and we could all feel the loss as women, mothers and humans.  I was full of emotion as I had the opportunity to share a moment with Heidi and share that even though we don't know each other, my fellow crafting friends and I prayed for her and her family. I'm so grateful for this small time with her, so much more powerful in my opinion that a post on Facebook or Instagram.

Heidi Swapp

My other"moment" at the show was spending time talking with Cathie Filian at the Plaid booth about her beautiful little girls.  Cathie and her husband have been in the process of adopting two sisters over the course of a couple years and have shared their journey with us, the fans and followers.  My crafting friends and I have been rooting for their family since Day 1 and I was thrilled to share that with her, in person.  She is such a kind and warm person!

Steve Piacenza and Cathie Filian

These moments, outside of product and business, were two of the best takeaways from my time at CHA.  Crafting is so much more than a hobby and being around people that "get it" makes that ever so more apparent!

2015 Recap

Happy New Year's Eve!

Tonight, after going out annual New Year's Dinner, we will be trying a new game (stay tuned!) and watching a slideshow of our year in pictures.

We all enjoy reflecting and looking back on family photos, especially when we can project them on the TV.  I recently made an album on Flickr with some highlight photos from throughout the year.  We use Apple TV in our home (we don't have cable) and there is a Flickr app that we can directly connect with to display our Flickr albums using the app.  My family doesn't know the photos I have chosen yet, so I am looking forward to lots of laughs and reminiscing.

Some of my favorites for the year are:

Do you have any New Year's traditions? How will you reflect on the past year?

Six Word Saturday (On a Sunday)

From The One-Minute Writer:

Will I ever wear a scarf again?

Reality

The One-Minute Writer

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One Word Wednesday: Reality Posted: 05 Aug 2015 03:00 AM PDT One Word Wednesday. Reality.

On the Eve of 40

So here it is, the night before I say goodbye to my 30's and hello to 40.  The 30's were a very significant decade of much growth, change, love and heartbreak:

• Had 2 out of 3 of my babies 
• Quit teaching and became a SAHM
• Made many new friends and my village grew
• Cancer was brought into our lives in many ways, some horrible, some victorious and always never giving up
• Continued to grow in what I love to do most- being creative
• Grew leaps and bounds in my marriage
• Learned more about my personality and what brings me comfort, happiness and contentment
• Learned that I can't carry every burden on my own and that I need something bigger than myself to guide me

There are so many, many more that I can't even begin to think about!

Exactly a year ago, tomorrow, I began my journey to complete 40 Things Before 40 http://mamabirdy-happinessishomemade.blogspot.com/2014/07/40-before-40.html

Somewhere around May, I realized that I needed to stop worrying so much about completing every task.  My life is busy!  I have 3 little boys that need me and a husband, as well.  We were knee-deep in baseball season and so much of our time was spent cheering on our oldest son.

I had to make peace with myself that I would not complete everything before July 2, 2015.  This has been hard for me because I am a finisher!  I have decided to continue these challenges through my 40th year and see where it lands me this time next year.  Several of the items I am currently working on, such as visiting the Sawdust Festival over the next few days and completing a Good Morning Girls Study.  Some take time, but I know I can do this!

So, out of 40 personal challenges, I have completed....

19 out of 40!

I have had so much support from family and friends that have tried to help me get through my list. I appreciate it so much!

I am happy with where I am and I am looking forward to crossing off more items in the near future!

DIY General Cornwallis Costume

At my children's school, in the upper grade levels, the students participate in a program called "Walk Through Presentations."  Fourth graders "walk through" California, fifth graders "walk through" the American Revolution and sixth graders "walk through" Ancient Civilization.  

Each child memorizes facts and an important word or is assigned a role to play during the presentation.  The class is broken up into teams, with the objective to earn points through participation, knowing their part and positive behavior.

Fourth grade was a breeze for my son last year- a simple costume of a flannel shirt, jeans, a large-brimmed hat and a little black eyeliner smudged for the coal covered look of a miner.  I have been kind of dreading the fifth grade presentation because I always was intimidated by the the costumes that I saw on the other students and how much might have to go into them.

When my son came home, assigned to the role of General Cornwallis, I looked him up and saw this (and might have groaned a little to myself):

I honestly don't remember much about studying this period in history, so the following Saturday we hit up the library for some books about the General and then we were off to the Goodwill for costume pieces.

We were very lucky at the Goodwill that day!  My suggestion, if you are searching for pieces that are similar for this time period is to browse the women's department first.  There we found a frilly white top, that I'm pretty sure I wore in 9th grade.  I have to admit I had a laugh watching my 11- year old baseball playing, 100% boy trying this on in the store.  There may have been a look or two from other shoppers, as well.  We found a simple red jacket with shoulder pads that was just the perfect length on him.

On a different outing, I went to Hobby Lobby to find the buttons and other finishing touches.  Besides the buttons, I purchased a dark blue ribbon for the length of the opening of the jacket, fringe for the shoulders, gold ribbon for accents and a large jewelry pendant for his jacket pin.

This is the photo we used as inspiration and the finished jacket:

I machine stitched the blue ribbon on the length and shoulders of the jacket, as well as the fringe.  I sewed the jacket buttons, shirt buttons and pin by hand and used fabric glue to add the gold ribbon as the accent detail.

To make the wig, we followed the instructions listed here (There are other costume ideas listed here, as well.):

http://www.californiaweekly.com/walk-through-the-american-revolution/rev-student-intro/standards

For the finishing touches, we borrowed a red scarf from a family member, Dad's white socks, attached cardboard (painted gold) buckles to his shoes and sewed a simple white flag for him to carry, along with a toy sword, as props.  Of course, he needed some pants and his white baseball pants were the perfect pair for this costume.

When the day arrived, J did a fantastic job!  He said his lines perfectly with a British accent and had fun playing the role of General Cornwallis.

"I surrender!"

National Scrapbook Day 2015

Hello! I am currently reporting from the last few hours of a weekend-long, annual, National Scrapbook Day Crop in Orange, CA.
I have been working on various projects this weekend, including organizing my ribbon collection and finishing a project from a previous BPC class.  I wanted to also participate in an online crop my crafty friend, Cindy, was hosting over at her blog, cindyderosier.com.

I chose to do 2 out of the 10 challenges based on what supplies I have.

Challenge #1 was based on a sketch and needed to include polka dots. Here is my take:

Challenge #7 was to make a project using washi tape, and 3+ stars, but no patterned paper. Here is my layout:

I love these challenges- they always stretch my creativity and make me think outside the box. 

As this weekend winds down, I am thankful for the time shared with friends, the relaxation and the creativity we all shared.