Convention 2012 - Part Deux

Hi there! It's me. THAT girl, who is finally posting more Convention pics...a week and a half after Convention ended. *sigh* My schedule hasn't allowed me much free time recently, but I figured better late then never, right? I did share another Convention post HERE, if you would like to check it out. 

On that note, I FINALLY cleaned up my stamp room today and that meant putting away all of my loot from Convention. Before I did, I wanted to snap a few photos to share all of the awesome treats we received in Salt Lake City, especially that fabby chevron bag! Eeek! 

Here is the big picture of ALL of the goodies I returned home with. (....not including the items from the famous Momento Mall) Oh my WORD!

Look at all of the stamps and paper! That's a lot of rubbah to get crafty with, folks! Not to mention, all of the inspiration we received from the thousands of sample projects on the boards and presentations at Convention. You have to see those boards to believe them! Every time I walked through, I found something new that inspired my creativity. 

Here is a close-up of my canvas wall art project from the fantastic "I'm a Pattern Mixing Pro" class presented by the always fun, Carrie Cudney. 

SO many amazing ideas in this class on ways to use DSP. Swoon...

A close-up on the dimension of the flowers and leaves. I actually put this all together after I got home (...yesterday, actually) because I didn't want to smash these little pretties in my suitcase. 

Don't you love this project? Well, if you are here in the San Antonio area, I will be having a class to learn how to make one of your very own. Stay tuned for details....I have a surgery on both of my feet to get through this Friday (can you say stressed out?) before I can set up my class calendar. I have 8-12 weeks of at-home recovery to look forward to. Hopefully the recovery will go as planned and my sweet hubby can wheel me into my craft room. I am optimistic about a class at my house in the next month. If not, then maybe HE can host a class...and who wouldn't want to come to that? 

Thought I would also share a shot of some of our fun at the Make and Takes with Ann, Ginger (who is snapping the photo), Amy and the fabulous Sandie Conner. Although I have to say, we chatted more then we crafted. Please excuse my "cheese-ball" grin...I think we had just received a free pack of rhinestones and I was still giddy from the sparkle. ;) 

Yes, I took a photo of one of our lunches. I realized on Saturday that I needed to take more pictures of this wonderful experience at Convention, so anything was fair game at this point! Lol! 

Saturday night we went to dinner at a yummy Brazilian restaurant in downtown SLC, Tucano's. Here is one of my favorite photo's from the evening, with two amazing women who always inspire me, in so many ways: Mary Fish and Ann Schach. I really needed to turn my flash on for this one, the lighting was not so great...but these ladies absolutely ROCK!! 

I can't say enough about my trip to Convention this year! I have TONS more photos but I'm sure you don't want to see them all. Such a great experience and such wonderful memories with all of my stampin' friends, old and new. Thank you Stampin' Up for hosting such a fun and inspirational event. I will see you again in 2013! 

Thanks for sharing more of my my Convention memories with me! 
Have a HAPPY day! 

Crock-Pot Swap

Hey there, bloggin' friends! No, I didn't take another vacation. Far from it, actually. I wish I could take another vacation to escape the craziness that has been going on here lately...busy, busy! Today, I wanted to share another recipe card I made for a swap at Splitcoast Stampers. The theme for this swap was to share a recipe to make in your Crock-Pot. I don't know about you, but I LOVE my Crock-Pot! There is something so fabulous about throwing a bunch of ingredients into it in the morning, then *POOF* dinner is magically ready 8 to 10 hours later. No fuss, no mess. :)


Well, enough about being in awe of the fantastical powers of the Crock-Pot. I decided to share a recipe for Swiss Chicken. I received this recipe a few years ago on a scrapbooking website and it has been a favorite every since. Although I make a few tweaks to make it a wee bit on the heathier side. You know, like using the "Healthy Request" soup, skim milk, low-sodium stuffing mix and that butter that really isn't butter (...but you just can't believe it). Haha! We don't usually go fat-free on the cheese though...fat-free cheese just tastes rubbery and strange to me. Why is that?? Here is a close up of the recipe, if you'd like to give it a try:

Thanks for stopping by today! I apprecate that you took the time to visit. :) Hope you are enjoying your week, so far. I will be back real soon...


Have a HAPPY day! :)

Apple Blossoms and Brownies

Happy Saturday! It is a gorgeous day here in Texas..finally cooling off a bit! Hey, anything less then 95 degrees is a sign that fall is approaching here. For some reason I woke up UBER early today. I decided to get moving, take my little "pupster", Ozzy, for a walk (it was 77 degrees this morning...YAHOO!!), then snag a little "creative time" while I had it. 

I have been wanting to create something with the new color combo at The Color Throwdown blog, since Wednesday. I love their color challenges. Maybe it's my recent addiction to my SU! Color Coach, but I am HOOKED on playing with new color combos lately. How FABULOUS is this color trio, by the way?? It makes me think of two things: fall and brownies! HaHa, not kidding...think peanut butter brownies with walnuts. Hmmm, just me? Okay, moving on...   

While searching for a sketch to pair up with this delicious color mix, I came across The Sweet Stop blog this morning (kind of ironic, don't you think?). As soon as I saw this sketch I IMMEDIATELY knew what I wanted to do. I love when that happens, when an idea just "clicks".

I adore the bold, solid images in the Apple Blossoms (hostess) set. I think this set is going to see a lot of ink in the future. It has quickly become one of my new favorites! The gold accents were my hubby's idea. He knows how much I love the *bling* and said the card "wouldn't be complete without something shiny"...oh, how I LOVE this man! He knows me too well! :)

Oh, and since I was so inspired, look what made their way into our house this afternoon...BROWNIES! Soooo yummy! Ozzy and I have a few more walks in our future because of them, but they were SO worth it!

Stampin' Up! Supply List:

Stamps: Apple Blossoms (level 2 hostess set), Short and Sweet

Ink: So Saffron, Chocolate Chip, Crumb Cake (formerly Kraft) classic ink

Paper: So Saffron, Chocolate Chip, Crumb Cake, Whisper White cardstock, Tall Tales DSP (retired) 

Accessories: Chocolate Chip 1/4" grosgrain ribbon (retired), hemp twine, mat pack, paper-piercing tool 

Non-Stampin' Up! Supplies: button, gold accents

 Hope YOU are having a great weekend! :)