Dreaming In Scraps

CHA Prep (and a few peeks!)

Today's the day...getting on a plane and heading to LAX. Suitcase is packed, itinerary printed, stack of business cards ready to go...California, here I come!

I'm headed to the Craft and Hobby Association Winter Show, also known as CHA-W (but never prounounced "chaw" -- trust me, that's a rookie mistake). Some people will tell you that going to CHA is work -- and it does involve long days of walking, talking, going to workshops, and a little schmoozing. But for me, it's kind of like going to Disney World...a fun-filled escape to a wonderland of activities (and people) I love.

I always have intentions to blog while I'm there, but usually I'm so tired by the time I get back to my hotel room at night that I just curl up and fall asleep. Really, I'm going to try to squeak in a post here and there, but no promises.

I'll leave you with a few peeks of samples I did for the We R Memory Keepers booth. In addition to some amazing new paper collections, We R has really outdone themselves this year with several really awesome new tools and even a set of crafting bags that I'm pretty excited to get my hands on. If you're at the show, be sure to check out their booth!

This collection is called Simply Spring...isn't it pretty?

And this one is For the Record. I love the cool colors and patterns!

The tool I'm most excited about? This clever Envelope Punch that creates matching envelopes for your cards in a variety of sizes:

It's already been named one of the Hot 20 new products by CHA, so I think We R has a hit on their hands with this one. I'm looking forward to never having to dig in my drawer for the right-sized envelope.

How about you? What are you excited to see from CHA?

Little teenager

My girls are big for their age -- as in tall -- which usually makes them seem older than they really are. Sometimes I have to remind myself that they're still just little girls. I don't want them to grow up any faster than they already do. But they want to be Taylor Swift and Bridget Mendler and Selena Gomez. They want to go to fabulous places...wear fabulous clothes...do fabulous things.

So they act all "mature" in their little girl way.

The camera is very good at capturing this. Too good, really. Because I end up with photos of a 6-year-old that make her look like a 16-year-old.

Not at all what I'm going for, but it's kind of fun to see a glimpse of the young lady she will be someday. I decided to just embrace the too-old-looking photo. Just this once.

Patterned paper, stickers, chipboard, fabric buttons: We R Memory Keepers Winter Frost collection; twine: The Twinery; adhesives: Scotch, Zip Dry (Beacon Adhesives).

Brrrrr!

This warm-weather girl has had just about enough of the heavy-coat-and-glove-wearing weather. Too much, actually.

Sure, it was kind of cool seeing big, fluffy snowflakes coming down on Christmas Day...right up to the point I had to chase my escaping dog down the street in my slippers. Then I was ready for the 70-degree temps to come back.

Still waiting...

It's not such a bad thing to be trapped indoors though. At least I did some scrapbooking.

Cardstock, patterned paper, stickers, crochet doily, fabric buttons, metal snowflake and title tag from We R Memory Keepers (Winter Frost collection).

Hope you're staying warm and toasty wherever you are!

My Word for 2013

New Year's Resolutions never really worked for me, so I stopped making them years ago. Instead, I choose a word that I want to focus on for the year. It's kind of a common practice in scrapbooking circles, known as One Little Word. It's much simpler than a resolution because you never really fail, as long as you let that word guide you all year. When you make a mistake, you think a little about it (maybe write a little about it), then get back on course.

I gave a lot of thought to what my word would be for 2013. There are plenty of ways I could go: relaxation, focus, contentment, home. All good concepts, but none of them really captured what I need to work on. In the end, I decided what I really needed to do was to stop trying to do all the thinking about what could happen or not happen in the future and be more aware of today...this moment.

So my word for 2013 is:

Present in the little moments, paying attention to the here and now.

Present in my kids lives -- at their performances, in their classrooms, talking about their day, listening to their ideas.

Present in my relationships -- tuning into what others really need from me without them having to ask (or beg). Just being there when they need me.

This will be a challenge. The planner in me likes to think about tomorrow, and the next day and the next task on my to-do list...and the next idea....and the next place to go...

But then again, it might be pretty refreshing.

I made a little pocket on my layout to tuck some thoughts into throughout the year. I figure it will be fun to read them at the end of the year and see how I did.

Happy New Year!!

Book-lovin'

You know what I love? When you discover you have more in common with someone than you originally thought. For example, you're talking to someone you've known for a while and the conversation turns to books. All of a sudden, you realize you've read the same books, like the same authors, etc. Then one of you says "oh, have you read....?" and you both end up adding a whole bunch more books to your Must-Read List.

Books I read in 2012: