In the presence of greatness

Hey Y'all! I spent all day down at The Stamp Art Shoppe today. First I got up at the actual crack of dawn to go down and sign up for the Tim Holtz classes that they will have there in November. I got in! I think they are pretty much full now tho. Then I took an awesome class called Collage Masterpiece from Joanne Burkett. Wow! It was worth staying up until 3 to get my photos printed! Check out her blog! http://www.burkiworks.blogspot.com/ These photos are of some of my collage pieces and you can kinda see the canvas underneath.

Seroiusly tho, I felt as though I was in the presence of a great artist. I tried to be a sponge and absorb all her tips and advice! I especially like the part when we got to get our hands all mucky and dirty to glue the papers down! My canvas turned out great with Joanne's helpful advice and I am still working on my collage pieces. I know I need to relax a little more with it, but I am working on it!

I love the discovery of art, whether you are learning something new or just discovering "happy accidents". I love that feeling when you know it is right and that wonderful kind of "Aha" moment. My mind usually is overrun with about a million ideas at that moment that were inspired by my discovery. It's quite a rush! Who needs drugs!

I know I have said this before, but I encourage you to play with your supplies more. You will discover things and create things that you never imagined. Another tip from Ms. Joanne was to give yourself a deadline and just throw some stuff together as quickly as you can. You may be surprised at how much you can overthink something into boring. I guess what I am trying to say is take risks! What the hell, its only paper, right?

Okay, I am going to leave you with one of my favorite quotes.

"Believing in our hearts that who we are is enough, is the key to a more satisfying and well balanced life." Ellen Sue Stern

I have to remind myself of that every now and then!

Have great day!

Susan

My first sale and my first comment!

Life is good today! I got my first 2 sales today on Etsy! I also got my first comment here! So Denise, you are getting and extra little goodie along with your Etsy order! Thanks for your support! Thanks to Monica and Denise for my first orders on Etsy. They are being packaged as I type, sort of. I have 4 more little surprises for the next 4 people to comment, so don't wait around!

Okay, I have to take care of some business here. I always promise pictures of what I have worked on so, here goes... The first one is Jake's graduation party invitation and some of the decorations we used for his party. He was such a good sport to let Mom do what she wanted! I love you, Bud! The second and third photos are of the little Thank you cards with pictures we gave out at the party. What a handsome kid!

More pics coming soon! I gotta go to bed now!

Susan

It isn't fall until football starts....

Hellooo! I encourage everyone to check out my etsy store! I now have 5 items listed there! Ooooh, aaaah! One of them is this adorable little Halloween mini book. It is so cute! Check me out at www. qdesigns.etsy.com.

Okay, this Friday is going to be very exciting! Check it out, I have my first class of the quarter in the morning. It is a Halloween card class at Stamp Art Shoppe in Roseville, CA. The cards are so cute, I can't wait for the students to make them! Then I have a couple of hours before going to Nick's first football game. I am really excited about that! I love watching my kids do their stuff! I am so proud of Nick's accomplishments. He is a solid player and such a great kid. I will be exhausted by the end of the day!

Hey if you are reading this post, send me a comment and I will send the first 5 people a little thank you gift! Talk to you soon!

Have a great day!

Susan

Getting back into the groove

Wow! Long time no post! I have been busy preparing my samples for classes this fall at the Stamp Art Shoppe in Roseville. I have also posted 2 items for sale at Etsy.com. I have so many cards and mini books to sell I am sure you will see a lot of my stuff on there really soon.

Life has been very interesting this summer. We lost two friends, one of ours and one of our son's. It was a tragic start to the summer. School has started back now and everyone seems to be getting back into the groove. Jake will be interning at Toyota this year, and Nick is a sophomore at Rocklin High and playing JV Football.

We do have some good news, though. We adopted a one-year old puppy from a friend. His name is Hank and he is a sweetheart. Nothing like a puppy to heal hearts. Well, that's it for now. I'll be in touch!

Susan

Hey y'all! How's it goin'? Here are those pictures for the baby album. The album is cute, but the baby is beautiful! I can't wait to see her pictures in it!

Senoir Ball is behind us and graduation is almost here so things are buzzing around the house! I am busy working on party invites and a few other projects for the grad party. I'll post those soon.

Here are a couple of pics I promised from Christmas! This was a Christmas album I made for my favorite Auntie. This paper reminded me of her. Classy, beautiful, and stylish. I love you, Auntie!

Okay, gotta go!

Stay cool Fools!

Susan

Twice in a Week!

Whoa! Twice in one week! I think I peed a little! Just kidding. I got to play a little recently and I made a cute album for a coworker who is having a baby. The baby is a girl and her name will be Jolie. I used the Jolie Chocolat paper from SEI. So cute! As it turns out, the baby's room is pink and chocolate too. I'll post a picture soon.

Got a big birthday celebration this weekend. Jake turns eighteen tomorrow. Saturday we will have a BBQ here and celebrate with family and friends. Hard to believe I was going into labor in a couple hours 18 years ago. Time flies.

I'll try to catch up again on Monday.

Peace out, Dogs.

Susan

Wishing....

Remember me? I'm the retard who keeps promising to post... Well, here I am! Better late than never!

Ok, so here's what's new. I left my teaching job at GT. It was time. It just wasn't a good fit for me and the way I work. I wish Kelly and Paula their best in the business.

My grand-nephew was born in January! Sweet and perfect little Jovani Luke! I've already scrapped 2 pages for him!

My boys are happy and healthy right now. Jake is gearing up for graduation. We just received senior pictures, bought senior ball tickets, and are planning his eighteenth birthday party. (sniff, sniff) Nick has a girlfriend, and has been to a dance or two himself, and working hard at weights after school, and gearing up for football season. (I can't wait!) Dave is the wonderful and loyal husband as always. He's my rock.

Recently, I was extremely flattered to be asked to join the fabulous teachers at The Stamp Art Shoppe in Roseville. I will be teaching a card class over the summer there. I'm so excited! Wish me luck! Come and see me!

The picture above is a "heart quilt" that I made with the "Hey Sugar" paper collection from Cosmo Cricket, and some Grunge Board from Ranger, as well as some bits and pieces from other companies. I got the idea from the Jan/Feb issue of Scrapbooks Etc. It was fun to make and I learned that it works better if you keep the squares simple because it gets busy when they are all together.

I am wishing for some free time to play. It's just been busy, busy, busy. Work, kids, chores. No time to play! I can keep wishing...

Talk to you soon! (I promise!)

Susan