Happy Valentine's Day to All of You!

Hi there! Today is a day to celebrate love, just in general. For friends, for family, and for spouses.

When I was at CHA a few weeks ago, I came home to a very nice surprise. My husband, well aware of my love for crafts, made me a little book to tell me what he missed about me each day I was gone. And, to make up for his lack of artistic ability (so he says), he taped a Snickers mini to each page. So funny.

So, for Valentine's Day, I made him a simple little book from 3 x 5 plain index cards and the Pink Paislee Valentine's line. In it, I wrote about my favorite memories of the past 7 years (how long we've been married) and I also included pictures and different thoughts, movie quotes about love and some funny "coupons" (like making a batch of cookies with no complaining!). Yes, it's kinda sappy, but he liked it and that's all that matters.

And, I was amazed I could keep it a secret for almost 24 hours - that's gotta be a record!

I also used some Tim Holtz embellishments and a Martha Stewart punch for the bottoms of the coupons. I love those punches!

Hope you are having a wonderful Valentine's Day!

A Project, Super Bowl Wrap-Up and An Earthquake!

Night before last, at 4 am, I was awoken by an earthquake. Yes, that's right - in Illinois! It measured 3.8 on the scale. It was really interesting because everyone thought it was something else - a train, a tree falling, a truck passing by. And, it lasted about 40 seconds for us.

Here are a few pics from what I served on Super Bowl Sunday! This server was a gift from Mom and Dad from Napa Style. I served pico de gallo, chex mix and veggie dip in it. It worked out perfectly! And, they have a lot of really cool stuff in their catalog.

Here are some close-up pics on what I am making right now. Can you guess what it is? I will put it up as soon as it's finished - complete with a list of products.

A Sweet for Your Sweet! - Valentine's Day Is Sunday

Time to get creating for Valentine's Day! I used the new Tie The Knot Cricut cartridge for this project.

Enjoy and make someone feel special this Valentine's Day!

Get Creative in 10 Minutes!

You DO HAVE TIME! This card was really quick. I created it in about 10 minutes. You will need:

- Your favorite Jillibean Soup Cardstock

- Stamping Cricut Cartridge (it's a solutions one)

- 3 different shades of cardstock - I used Core'dinations

- 2 buttons - These came from Jillibean Soup as well

-Scalloped circle cut in your favorite way (these are Jillibean, but you could use your Cricut or Nestabilities, or a punch that you may already have)

-Cross-stitch thread in coordinating color

Hope you like it! Happy creating and wishing everyone a great weekend and Super Bowl Sunday! Go Saints and Colts! What can I say? I'm Switzerland on this one!

Our Brush With The Jay Leno Show

I forgot to blog about a really funny thing that happened when we landed at LAX. We noticed some film crews and we recognized Dan Finnerty from The Dan Band. They do a bit on the Jay Leno Show and you may also recognize him from "Old School" and "The Hangover."

Here's a quick video from our star sighting.

The spot aired on The Jay Leno Show a couple days after we got back home.

Pinch me, cause I think I'm dreamin'

It was only a short 6 months ago that I attended my first CHA. I was fascinated by all the products and crafters. We did the tour. I saw some great people who I recognized, like Claudine Hellmuth and Suze Weinburg. I met some really great artists and just all around creative people. It's a great space to be in. And, I also remember seeing Tim Holtz in his booth and being scared to the point of star-struckdome. I still am. But, this year, I got a really cool opportunity.

Tim Holtz actually invited us to a personal tour of his new products at the Ranger booth (after we asked him, of course! But, it's all the same!)

Anyway, Miranda and I fought off sleep that night to come up with come pretty amazing interview questions. We wanted to not ask him the same questions he's been asked 1,000 times but we also knew that his time was/is very valuable.

Here's the magic we captured. It was pretty darn cool.

Part 2- I LOVE his story about how he got started:

Bottom line? All around super-nice guy. And, artsy to boot.

Weekend is around the corner - hope you've all got something fun planned!

Natalie

Basic Grey is oh so much more than basic!

What did we find at the Basic Grey booth, you ask?

Tell them, Miranda:

Lots, and lots, and lots of super cool new paper lines.

And lots of cool designs done by creative people:

More to come! Stay tuned!

Natalie

CHA 2010 Intro Video!

More CHA Photos Soon - I Promise!

Sorry - tonight was Idol and Millionaire Matchmaker...so I will post some more CHA pics soon. I just ran out of time tonight.

And, we are filming tomorrow morning. Which reminds me - it's time for bed!

Good Night Moon...

Memories, like the corners of my mind...

I am so thankful I got to go to CHA. I had such a great time meeting so many fellow crafters. When you have an experience like that, it's hard not to think to yourself, "Self, this is definitely where I should be in life." When you are with thousands of people who share the same interest and passion for an industry is it very overwhelming but so awesome.

Here is a quick video of someone we met while at the CHA Supershow. His name is Jake and he is what we in the industry would call a "man crafter." He is a Custom Crops fan and a Cricut fan. So sweet and he even brought us cards that he made - it got this reaction from Miranda:

Who knows, he could be the next Tim Holtz!

I have some great memories from the show (and many more postings to do!)

Hope you are enjoying your weekend!