This has been a crazy couple of weeks. Of course when are they not crazy? I think that comes with being an artist. My kids refer to me as their crazy artist mom. Hmmmm…I wonder if that is a compliment? I think the craziness comes from working, having kids, being a single parent when my husband travels, and all the other “life” stuff.

Next week I am starting my new book projects. This is very exciting to me. I have been planning, and designing, and plotting for several months now and I feel like I am ready to burst. It is finally time to get all that stuff out of my head and transform it into something real and tangible. I kidnapped my mom yesterday and we went shopping for “book stuff”. It was so much fun. I just love being able to shop and call it work!

I am off to Las Vegas at the end of the week for the first Memory Expo of the year. I will be teaching for Fiskars and leading some very fun make and takes in the Michaels booth.

Post HIA (Hobby Industry Association)

HIA was held in Dallas this year. I must say that I got my exercise walking from one end of the show room to the other. Wow!

There was an enormous amount of "vintage" papers and embellishments at this show. I remember only one company at ACCI last year that had this look. Now....it seems to me that everyone grabbed that look and tried to make it their own. Come on people...have an original idea!!! Sorry, I will get off my soap box now.

The "buzz" of the show was a new "hot" (literally) tool that is used to make very unique textures with embossing powder. It looks like a wood burning tool but has three different tips. One of the tips looks like a little rake. It was exciting to see something new and innovative. Bravo!!

Retro paper designs are continuing to emerge. I suspect that we will soon see some really fun embellishments to go with the papers.


Here are some highlights from my trip to HIA.

•Lisened to Barbara Bush speak. I was very impressed with her. I really did not know what to expect. She was very funny and shared stories about her family, faith, and love for needlepoint.

•Watched Thomas Kincaid presented Barbara Bush with an original painting that he had created specifically for her.

* Worked in the Fiskars booth during the show. What a nice group of people!!

• Spent time with my designer friends Sandy and Patt. We missed you Jayne

•Taped a short craft segment for the Carol Duvall show. Way exciting!!!!!

•Found some wonderful papers that I want to use in my new book

•Saw enough scrapbook stuff to last a lifetime HA!!

We have two teenagers at our house as of February 1st. We celebrated Abbey’s thirteenth birthday last weekend and the weekend before that we celebrated Tucker’s seventeenth birthday. How did we get here so fast?

Abbey and I celebrated her milestone birthday with a Mother/Daughter trip to the Bonneville Hot Springs Resort and Spa. After the Hot Springs we went into Portland for a hair cut and make-up lessons. YIKES!!! I have been telling her…”no make-up until you are thirteen”… Now I wish I had said sixteen…What was I thinking?

Watch for projects in a new magazine titled “Paper Creations”. It will be published each quarter and I will be designing projects for each issue. Each set of projects will have a party theme for the season. It is really fun to be working with Jane Guthrie again. She is back at All American Crafts and is the editor of two new paper magazines.

Exciting news....

My book proposal to Northlight was accepted in December and I will begin working on the projects this week. Yippee!!

A tribute to my Grandmother

My grandmother was well known for her cherry pies. There was something special about her pie crusts. I tried to learn her technique one time but struggled with her measurement methods. She just knew that it was a handful of this and “about” this much of that.

She was also known for her beautiful crochet and needle work. She made very beautiful lace for pillow cases and table skirts.

I spent a week at my grandparent’s home every summer when I was is grade school. During those visits she would teach me embroidery stitches. She untangled many knots from my thread during that time. I will always cherish those memories.

Summary of December

We had wonderful holiday celebrations early in the month which included a family gathering at my parents home, a friendship dinner, and a Christmas celebration for Tim’s work group.

We were saddened by the passing of my Grandmother. We went to Idaho for her funeral and returned to Washington on Christmas Eve.

Summary of November,

The annual “craft and coffee” party was fun and we all enjoyed sharing our wedding and childhood photos.

Our family went to Idaho for Thanksgiving and were lucky to miss most of the snow storm on the way over the Blue Mountains