CHA

This weekend begins the semi-annual CHA trade show. CHA stands for Craft & Hobby Association. It's where the many manufacturers of craft and hobby products gather in Anaheim to peddle their wares to retailers throughout the world. My job is to take some of 7gypsies' new products to be released at the show and make something from it to show how the various products are used. In other words, I use their stuff to make something useful and lovely to look at. What fun that is! I get to play with the new stuff before anyone else gets to even see it! Oftentimes I use prototype products. For one of the projects this time I used a new board book (parenthesis), new transfers and lots of paper and embellishments. Here is the end result. I won't bore you with all of the pages/pictures, but here are a few of the Parenthesis Board Book.



Erin was gracious enough to let me use their pictures from their recent NY trip.

The second project is a Paper Bag Book using their new Gypsy Market papers, Gypsy sticker sheet, large photo turn, paper bags, and lots of embellishments.




The idea of this book is following a "gypsy" (read...junker!) in her travels as she searches for the perfect junk! The sticker sheet quotes and sayings (for the most part) are direct quotes from our girls' retreat from five years ago. Deb, Ellen (my sisters), Paula and Patty (sisters but not ours...but our VERY DEAR friends) met at Deb's for a week-long retreat filled with creating, junkin', traveling, laughing and at show at Gammage (Phantom of the Opera). It was one of the best weeks of my life. Such wonderful relationships and oh, so fun!!! The places in this book document just a few of the places we've gone together over the years in our search for the "perfect junque"!! Just a note of instruction...the paper bags lay sideways in the book and are bound together at their bottoms. In each bag is an idex card (from the Photo Carousel collection) with a picture, business card and some detailsl about various places we've been. It's funny to me that all five of us have such similar tastes and enjoy so many of the same things.
You can see all of the 7gypsies products at www.sevengypsies.com . But I'm warning you, you may get pulled into the gypsy van, and then you're trapped. You'll be a gypsy, too!

Friends Again!

I mentioned in my previouso post that Ellie was having a hard time looking at Grandpa (Mark) since his surgery. Well, today Erin needed to make a trip to Mystic Paper in Mesa and needed help riding herd on the girls while she shopped. So Mark and I offered to go along and help. Ellie did NOT want to go. She didn't want to see Grandpa again after her "traumatic" experience on Monday. Erin told her she could shut her eyes, so she agreed to go. When they got here, she was hanging onto Erin for dear life. But when Mark greeted them at the door, he let her see that he was okay and that he was a little better. One thing is that he wasn't "loopy" today like he was on Monday! Anyway, he showed her his wounds and that he could touch them and it was okay. He offered to let her touch his blue "whisker" (stitch end), but she wouldn't have any part of that. However, Eliza was game and showed Ellie that she could touch it and it was okay. Thankfully, Ellie warmed back up to her grandpa and they're great friends again. Whew! She even went for a little ride with Grandpa while we were at the store. They went to a nearby park and she had a great time.
I've been working on a couple of class projects for Scrap Happy Sisters. One will be on Jan. 31st and the other will be on Feb. 5th. I've also got a couple assignments for 7gypsies. CHA is coming up next weekend and I'm doing two projects for their booth. It's always fun to work with the new products before they hit the store shelves. I just wish they weren't discontinuing so many products. Of course, it's the stuff I like the best that they're cutting out. I may need to stock up!!
Someday, maybe, I'll get to do a project that I just "want" to do...one that isn't an assignment or a class!
Mark and I are still staying pretty close to home while he recovers. He went to the Dr. on Thursday and was told things are looking great. He was hoping to get some stitches out, but that won't happen until Tuesday next week. Mark was NOT happy with that news. The Dr. didn't think he should return to work until at least after he's seen him on Tues. Mark had an off-duty job lined up, but that won't be happening. Hopefully, he'll get the okay to return to full duty next week.
I'm still working on my Project 365. I've been successful, so far, to take a picture every day to document my everyday life.