Waiting to Dry

Resist Techniques

Today is the first day of an online class I am signed up for called "Inspiration Showcase" by Jennifer McGuire. I have decided it is just what I needed to get me back to stamping. I am really enjoying the class. I watched the video twice this morning and printed out the pdf that has all the instructions. I also checked out the comments from the other classmates.
Then I had some errands to run, friends to meet and a movie date with my daughters. Of course I had to get a few supplies. After coming home doing some chores around the house I was able to get into the studio for some creative time. I was just getting started good when Kenny started calling me.
My show "The Closer" was coming on in 15 minutes. Summer season finale! I couldn't miss it. Once the show was over it was back to the studio.
Unfortunately I was having some problem with my acrylic paint. It was a little old and not performing as it should. I check and found another unopened bottle of white paint and while it was still a little old worked much better. I was back in business. I finally finished the inking. Now I am waiting for all the pieces to dry. I will still need to cut out the shapes but wanted to go ahead and post. I know I will be redoing the piece with the two hearts but for the most part I am happy with the results.
There is an online gallery and while the other ladies are mostly posting finished cards (which are all gorgeous by the way) I just wanted to concentrate on the techniques today. We were doing 5 different pieces that all use resist techniques, from traditional with VersaMark on glossy paper to paint and even embossing powder. The piece I had the most success with was one that used a kiss technique.
More about the class tomorrow!

I am a big Tim Holtz fan. I love his blog and his products. I recently won one of his new journals from his District Market line and I love it. (thanks tim and mario!) It has a fabric wrapped cover with gorgeous embossed metal corners. It is a spiral notebook and has kraft paper pages. I have great plans to decorate the cover and use it as a handy reference for techniques, ideas and my stash list. I also won 3 of his distress stains and plan on using them inside the journal. You'll probably see a picture of the decorated cover here soon.

Tim will also be one of the guest teachers in the Jennifer McGuire's Inspiration Showcase Class I signed up for yesterday. Of course I heard about it from Tim's blog. I have only taken one online class before but enjoyed it. Usually they are more than my budget can withstand but this one was very reasonably priced, and I have most of the supplies on hand. This class looks like it will be very interactive and fun. Jennifer is also a Hero Arts artist and has her own blog, Jennifer McGuire Ink, so you can check here out there. She does beautiful work. Registration is closed for the class now but Tim will be having a random drawing for 3 spots. Just just post a comment on his blog by Tuesday 9/6 at 12:00PM MST. He is in Holland teaching but when he gets back he'll have the drawing so Good Luck!

Speaking of Tim (again) I was checking out some other blogs and found that there is a weekly challenge called GrungyMondays that I think I may just have to start participating in. It is a Tim Holtz technique challenge that is on the Studio L3 blog. Being a big Tim Holtz fan I really enjoyed looking at all the challenge entries so far to see how other artist are using his techniques and products.  I'm adding the blinkie to the sidebar because it just looks so cool and if you're interested in the challenge you can find it easily. When I post my challenge project, I'll post it here too.

One other blog I found today was Creations By Christie She has a great video where she is making charms with Tim Holtz Fragments and his paper and I love the way she finishes off the backs of her charms. If you have thought about using the fragments to make charms, you'll probably want to check it out.

Snowy Night

Valerie coaxed me outside into the cold last night to get our picture made in the snow. It is amazing when we get snow in Georgia. I love it. We'd heard the predictions for days and at around 9:30 it started with tiny misty flakes but with in a few minutes the flakes were large and fluffy and with in 30 minutes everything was being covered in snow. We ended up with 6 inches. Valerie took more pictures last night and today but I love the way this one shows us together with the snow coming down! Work is closed for both of us and Allen, Sarah and Ryan are off too, so no worries about children out driving around. Just enjoying a day bundled up and warm and looking at the snow. I've already peaked outside this morning and it is gorgeous!

I miss Betsy

I miss Betsy. We had to let her go. She was the best dog. She was a vital part of our family and we all loved her dearly. She was so sweet. I knew she was getting old and she had arthritis really bad in her hips. She couldn't stand unassisted and was on pain medication. But she rarely complained. When I came home Friday Valerie and Kenny had to let me know she was gone. Valerie just started crying. No parent ever wants to see her child hurting. It is so unlike her to cry, I just held her and finally she was able to tell me.
I can't really say much more, but Valerie posted a memoriam. You can view it here: betsy-in-memoriam.html

Family History Expo

Yesterday and Today I went to the Family History Expo in Atlanta, Georgia. It was at Gwinnett Center in Duluth, Georgia. Duluth is just a little north of Atlanta and part of the metropolitan Atlanta area and most people are more familiar with Atlanta than Duluth. This is Family History Expo's first year in Georgia and they plan on coming back next year. I had a great time. I took quite a few classes actually ran into some friends I hadn't seen in a while and had a fun filled two days with my daughters. If you want to know more check out Valerie's blog Begin with Craft . She was named one of their "Blogger of Honor" and along with some other wonderful bloggers also awarded this honor was there to help anyone with questions about blogging their genealogy journey. You'll find more info at her site.

Hero Arts is having a Blooming Fun Give A Way!

Well Hero Arts is having a new give a way. Of course hey have them all the time. They also have contest. And they have a really great Flicker group. And now you can follow them on Facebook and Twitter. As you can tell from my last post, they are a great site to visit and are a great source of inspiration. Unlike me they have daily updates. LOL!

The Hero Arts Blog

I went to one of my favorite blogs today. The Hero Arts Blog. If you enjoy stamping, card making, scrapbooking or any kind of papercrafting, you really should check them out. They had a recap of the year and were thanking all of their followers but I wanted to thank them so this is what I wrote.

"I have enjoyed the Hero Arts Blog. What a great source of inspiration, instructional and entertaining videos, best place to catch the Hero Arts news and just a fun place to hang out. Thanks for all the inspiration, and chances to ask my friends "Did you look at the Hero Arts Blog today?" To all the creative and talented people who have posted ideas thank you too. You are a great big part of what makes Hero Arts fun. I'm been mostly a lurker this year but for the New Year I hope to embrace the community, dive in with my eyes wide open and join the fun! Happy New Year!"