Happy Holidays!

We had a wonderful Christmas filled with family, friends and fun. Also filled with so much great food, especially those desserts! I spent too many days at the mall trying to find the perfect shoes for my 13 year olds Christmas dress. All the shoes seemed to have 4 inch heels! If you find yourself in this position, take it from me: Nordstroms first then Macy's!
This holiday season I really overcommited to swaps and holiday projects. I signed up for 13 swaps, mostly atcs , a few inchie swaps and two holiday deco page swaps. I just could not say no, but the wonderful packages and envelopes the mailman brought made it all worth the extra effort and stress! I gave him a little extra Christmas bonus as he was always kind enough to ring the bell and deliver my large packages instead of folding them to fit in the mailbox, great guy! Who says Santa always has to be in a red suit! OK, I am starting to think about my New Years Resolution. I will fill you in later, how about you? What is your New Years resolution?

What I've been up to

I have been so busy with Halloween,Thanksgiving and Christmas classes swaps and projects. Above is a 2 inch by 2 inch mini-mini book/ornament class I will be teaching at Scrapbook U as part of their children's program. Next to it is a collection of inchies I made for an inchie club I belong to for Christmas. I love the vintage images off a sheet I ordered from Ten-Two Studios. I am also hosting two swaps this month: The 12 Days of Christmas and A Collection of Christmas Row Houses!

Inchies Rule!

This past week-end I participated in the Spooktacular Halloween event at My Daughter's Wish, a local scrapbook and paper arts studio. As a member of their design team I had a booth where I introduced folks to inchies by way of an ATC! We made six inchies and then attached them to an inked 3 1/2 x 3 1/2 card. In addition, participants moved from table to table making different Halloween decor and art.
I also have a picture of an inchie quilt made by one of my on-line art friends. We each made 9 inchies and then sent them to her to swap . She then arranged them on a paper covered foam board to resemble a quilt. Isn't she clever!

So Many Things to Share!

I was so lucky last week to attend a workshop up in Portland. Oregon with Sally Jean: Soldering Queen. I made so many lovelies and finally mastered soldering jump rings! We shopped, we dined, we had the most amazing cupcakes at Cupcake Jones and ended the trip with the Soldering for Virgins Workshop. I will share more later but first a glimpse into the wonderful workshop of Sally Jean!

Haunted House News!

Here is a picture of the tall haunted house book I just finished. I used creative Imaginations paper with Melissa Francis arrow book. It has lots of fun embellies inside along with creepy and fun imagery. I will be teaching this class as well as offering a kit, let me know if you are interested.
My Haunted House ATC swap is underway with ten sign-ups. Let me know if you want to join in the spooky fun. And I just finished my set of Halloween inchies. I used a spider web stamp, a black confetti spider and some doodles, way cool. If you would like one just leave me a comment with the word inches in it and email your snail mail addy to me at:valerieLmyers@yahoo.com

A new ATC Swap coming up!

I will be hosting a fun Haunted House swap to set the mood for Halloween! An ATC will be trimmed into the shape of a house and then decorated with fun Halloween spirits and such. Each participant will make a set of six houses and mail to me by October 3rd! It promises to be spooky good fun! Email me at valerieLmyers@yahoo if you want to join in!

An Amazing Day: September 3, 1910

Today is an amazing day in my family's history! My maternal grandmother turned 98! This truly amazing and inspiring woman has been through so many pivotal events in history. I always wonder to what she owes her longevity , is it diet, exercise or genes? I know that we always walked or took the bus as she never wanted to drive. She walked to and from work and then to pick me up from school. In her free time she grew beautiful flowers and in later years added fruits and vegetables. She ate and grew organic food before they were in vogue.

She still lives in her home, cooks her meals and gardens when she can. She reads four novels a week and enjoys her monthly gardening club. Several years ago while at a doctors visit at UCLA, her doctor brought in a group of doctors, actually interns. He introduced her to them and asked if she could spend some time with these young doctors. He said it is rare to meet a person of her age with such vigor and intact intellect and so these budding doctors asked her questions, listened to her recollections and enjoyed her wisdom and sharp wit!

It is from her that I believe much of my creativity stemmed, as she quilted, did needlepoint and sewed beautiful clothing throughout my life. She always encouraged my artistic nature. She bought me my first drawing pencils and sketch pads. She sat me in the garden to draw what I saw: plants, flowers and animals. She was always there, for the triumphs and the tears. Today is your day Grandma, Happy Birthday, I love you!