Show and Tell

I got a new lens for my camera, based on Karen Russell's recommendation and I LUV it. So I took some random pictures to share.


First, Heather Bailey's Home Companion cover, signed by the talented Ms. Bailey herself.

I took the Stationery in a Snap workshop at Archiver's with my friend Chris last week. Here are my results:

And of course I bought a lot of yummies while I was there:


Saturday night our friends brought over some morels they picked. Sunday I made a chicken dish with them and it was SO dee-lish. You can get the recipe here.


Saturday we had a picnic in the park. I used my new lens then tried some of the free actions from Pioneer Woman. Love 'em!

Skye:
Grandma:
Yvonne, Cindy and Wendy:


Lily:
Well, you get the idea. Can't wait to play more with my lens. Next I want to get a wide-angle. And a flash. And ...

luv, em

Comment City

Um, I love comments. My Inspired post below has 10 comments so far, my most ever. Holla!

And Tena is going to copy ME. I'm too cool for school. Just sayin'. Don't feel so bad about copying her album now ... teehee

I had a great "me" night. I ate Mexican at Señor Pique - Tacos a las Tres Marias (the most amazing little chicken/cilantro/onion soft corn tacos) with the most delicious side of potatoes. And a super tasty Mojito - my favorite drink.

After that I walked around Target since I had to return something anyway. Today I wore the cute little cami I got there the other day over a 3/4-sleeve white T - DD-style. The "inspiration" comes in surprising ways, let me tell ya! Plus I got to wear my favorite aqua Chucks. It was a good outfit day.

I topped it off with a scoop of PB & chocolate ice cream from Oberweis. Seriously, best food combination in the history of mankind.

When I got home I watched all the extras on my new Juno DVD. I so have a crush on Michael Cera. What other shenanigans can I get into?

Then I watched The Office from last night. How much do we love Jim and Pam?

I've been working on my CE charms. They're turning out so cute! I've come a long way from my Inspired charm.

My Poppy Ink kit came today. It's not really my cup of tea, but there are some cool things I'll definitely use.

Alright, well this post has officially gone in ten million different directions, so that's probably a good reason to shut up.

But wait! I forgot to mention the earthquake! How crazy was that?!?! We all woke up. A million things go through your head when your house starts shaking at 4:30 a.m. Then I heard Teddy get up and nothing ever wakes the sleeping bear, so I figured I'd go check it out. Mom put the TV on - like there was going to be instant reporting? Everyone at work said they thought it was their dog scratching or wagging their tail. Mom thought it was Ty but then realized he wasn't in the room. Ty was just looking around like, "Why are we all up in the middle of the night?" Then I couldn't go back to sleep for about an hour. I'm pretty much crashing right now as a result. I was the only one at work who felt the aftershock this morning. Here's hoping for a still night ...

Sweet dreams, em

Inspired: Letterman-style

The thought of blogging Inspired is kind of overwhelming to me, so I have decided to take Jilliene's approach and do a list.

Most memorable/best/favorite/unforgettable things about Inspired (in no particular order):

1. Wendy Smedley and Cathy Zielske. They were so sweet, down-to-earth and cool. They remembered me and waved hi anytime I walked past them. It just makes you feel good.



2. Tena Sprenger's class. I've been wanting to do an acrylic album forever, even bought several, but never really knew where to start. Now I don't want to do anything else.



3. Heather Bailey and her fabulous fabric. I just want to eat it, it's so yummy. We used it in Christina Lazar-Schuler's class.





4. My "Inspired" Lisa Leonard necklace. I've pretty much worn it every day since I got it. OK, I HAVE worn it every day since I got it. Annnnd ... I ordered matching earrings.





5. My DD camera wristlet. It's so dern cute I can't stand it.



6. My finished Jennifer Stewart project. This photo is before the bottles and lights, but now that it has those, I can't stop staring at it.



7. The hotel was SWEET! Grits every morning? I'm so in. Next year: Can you say spa appointment?



8. Awesome fellow artists. An otolaryngologist who scrapbooks? Wha? Sweet Sue - thank you for my first-ever ATC! Joyous Joyce and her inspiring attitude. My fabulous tablemates Mama Melissa and her BFF Traci.





9. Darling Claudine Hellmuth and my mini-me poppet that she inspired. I love it! Even though she got decapitated at Lambert Airport. So sad. She's got a little crack in her neck now but she's still cute.



10. Meeting Ali Edwards. Thank you for taking two pictures cuz the first one was fuzzy. She's just cool. Plain cool. I'm constantly amazed at the generosity on her blog - always posting the coolest projects and links. Did I say cool?



11. Bill Downey. Thank you for organizing shuttles when all us crazy women started freaking out about airport transportation. Thank you for knowing me as soon as I walked up to you the first time. Thank you for making sure my mom was comfortable, happy and busy. Thank you for spray-painting extra dress forms at 9 o'clock at night in the hotel grass.



12. Soft pretzel day. Need I say more? Brilliant, Donna, brilliant.



13. And last, but not least, Donna Downey. I love you for your "18 cats" story and your funky glasses and for ever even thinking of Inspired and for all the little details and because you're not comfortable with emotion and that you look hot in your size 10s and for stamping and stitching 200 name tags and for saying yes without hesitation when I asked if I could help behind-the-scenes next year and for yelling at me to get back in my class when you were going to do giveaways and for ... well, I guess I could go on forever. Thank you Donna, it was real.


Um, next year, could we maybe get a picture together that is IN focus?!?

Things I have learned/wish I had done/hope to do next year:

1. Get a picture with Cathy Z. What the heck was I thinking? I was distracted by her kindness in signing my book and thus missed the photo op. She's my new favorite scrapbooker. Where have I been?

2. I wish I didn't follow the instructions so specifically and had made the projects more my own. I'm so obsessive-compulsive about these sorts of things - I want it to be perfect and just like it's supposed to be. It's REALLY hard for me not to do that, but I'm always glad when I do, so next time I'm going to try SUPER hard to express myself and to interpret the concept rather than do an exact copy. Watch out Creative Escape!

3. Take advantage of more of the happy hours. Who needs dinner?

4. Not getting my Claudine Hellmuth book signed. I asked her to, but I think she got distracted after signing my Inspired manual. I just discovered it this morning. Boo.

5. No photo with Stephanie McAtee - she's the only teacher I didn't get a photo with. She kind of scared me. Kal's class was already out of the box for me, so Stephanie's just about blew my mind!



6. Be OK with the fact that I am linear (sorry Kal) and I don't like matte accents or color wash all over my fingers. Be OK with the fact that I would rather be teaching and helping to organize and plan rather than be a student. Be OK with not being able to crochet. CD, I'm so glad you can't crochet either. Props to you for sticking the class out at least.




7. I left my rose in my room. Totally forgot it. Blast! I hope the housekeeper took it home and enjoyed it.




Phew. This post doesn't even cover half of it! I haven't even mentioned Renee Pearson or getting to see Mathy's or North Carolina BBQ or all my delicious finds at the mall or ...







If you've read this far, you rock. Please leave a comment! Until next year ...

luv, em

Inspired - the end.

We're just going to skip Inspired - Day Two and Three for now until I have more time to get my head wrapped around it. It was good times. I'm pooped and my upper back is killing me from working on all those projects and carrying around all those bags.

I can't wait to post pics of all my fun stuff. Gotta run, we're heading over to the outlet mall.

More soon, em

Inspired Day One - in the books

We arrived in Charlotte via American Airlines without a hitch! Phew. We met our first Inspired peers at the airport where we all took a shuttle to the hotel. I ran down and got checked in right away and got all the mini workshops I was interested in. We got a cute green bag with some goodies inside. I bought a necklace, T-shirt and some little pins for my lanyard.

I shopped the market fair and bought a few books and some Ranger paint dabbers. I still haven't got any of my books signed yet - that's my mission for tomorrow. I wish I could remember if I bought Ali's Life Artist book at home or not! If I did, I should have brought it for her to sign. Duh.

I took a little mini-book class and a photo transfer class - both fun. Time for bed after a long day. Hopefully I can post more tomorrow. Sweet dreams, em

Leave for Inspired tomorrow!

Mom and I leave tomorrow morning for Inspired! I have a lot of work to do when I get home to pack and get my supplies together. I'll post photos and a recap when we get back. Happy Wednesday, em

Please check it out

I got an email that I'm a semifinalist in this Alicia Keys contest. Please comment on, or favorite, my entry. I can win a trip to see Alicia Keys in Las Vegas!

Go here: http://www.treemo.com/users/backporchpoet77/channel/item/252833

Click on Favorite or leave a comment. Thanks!!

Inspiration

Wow. Want to be inspired? Check out Tara Anderson's photos. I don't know who she is, but I just came across her craft room photos and was blown away by the amazing colors.

More exploring produced her blog and etsy shop.

Where have I been? I'm probably the last person on earth (the crafting world) to find her.

Happy Wednesday, em

PS Inspired is a week from tomorrow!! Sooo excited.