Time Really Does Fly - faster than a canary...

Wow! Can't believe its been since March that I posted! I am sooo sorry to anyone that is reading my blog. I had/have huge plans to keep up with this blog but with working 2 jobs (basically 3 with my paper-Ed classes) I have had a hard time of it all. Spring has sprung and with it I am working on a mini garden. I have planted some seeds - Leaf Lettuce, Mesclun, and Spinach - they are starting to grow.

I have plans to plant these in a raised/standing garden - my hubby is gonna build one for me. I also have seeds for some herbs planted in some cute little tins I picked up at Hobby Lobby - Rosemary, Thyme, Basil, Oregano, Chives, and Cilantro.  Picked up two of the Topsy Turvy Tomato Planters at Westlakes Ace Hardware as well - one will get tomatoes and the other will get peppers - those I plan to put up in May. My mother-in-law also has a Strawberry planter that I am gonna use as well.  

All of this should give me plenty to scrapbook about - this is my first time gardening anything. Last thing I grew ended up dying - a cactus. I know...your wondering how do you kill a cactus - just give it to me! Hopefully I will do better this time.

Tomorrow I have plans to attend an all day scrap affair in Columbia. I am going as a sponsored guest of Michael's.  The event is called Table Scraps and its being hosted by the Food Pantry. A portion of the proceeds will benefit them. We will have a guest speaker/instructor - Lisa Bearnson - founder of Creating Keepsakes magazine. Looking forward to attending and having a great time. I promise to take lots of pictures and share them here.

Well...its late and I need to sleep - the crop starts at 7 a.m. and I have an hour's drive.

Time flies...just like a Canary....

Wow...its hard to believe its March already.  I feel a bit sad that I have been so busy lately that I haven't gotten around to posting all the juicy details. Let's just say that February was so busy I barely had time to sleep!  I am working two jobs - a full-timer and part-timer, I took classes to earn a teaching certification, and we also went on a weekend vacation to Lost Valley Lake. On with the juicy details...

First, you have probably noticed the new page listed across the top of the menu bar - SDU and PaperED Classes. I did it - I am certified to teach scrapbooking at Michael's.  I am looking forward to teaching my first SDU class in May - for now though I am planning to teach paper crafting classes until I complete a few more samples to complete my curriculum for the SDU classes.  So even though I failed to create my scrapbook page for February - March and April should more than make up for it.

Photos, photos, photos...omg photos! I have spent the last few hours sorting and organizing my digital photos. I am missing so many good ones after a hard drive crash and I'm hoping that my family can help me piece them back together.  I haven't yet begun to tackle my Facebook photos yet - I know I will recover many of my lost ones from Facebook.  Note:  If you haven't backed up your digital photo collection - now is the time!  My March and April scrapbooking sessions now have new meaning - I have about 15 pages planned, some single layouts, some double.  It all started last night when I attempted to go to Walmart to get photos made - I had over 3000 photos on my thumb drive and after sitting through the machine trying to load them all I gave up and decided I needed to do some more photo organizing.  (One of the things I will be teaching in my SDU classes beginning in May)


And lastly, I have plans to bring my classes into my scrapbooks. I have huge plans for my classes - I honestly want to get them rolling to where I don't have to do cashiering for my part-time income. I want to teach the classes instead. That may come quicker than planned though as I am looking at overtime at my full-time job. An employee left, several people got promoted, including my 2nd shift plate-maker, which means I have to hire a new plate-maker and until that happens its OT for a while. This next week will be even more hectic as I am covering third shift so that employee can take a much needed vacation... Craziness I tell you! Gotta love my life!  Have a good one and look for another post soon - I want to describe my SDU classes a bit and explain how they differ from paperED classes.

Later,

Me A Teacher?

I have been giving it some great thought and decided to take the plunge. I emailed regarding becoming a Michael's certified instructor for paper crafting.  I received a reply and have begun the steps.  It's gonna be an exciting endeavor that I hope to blog about here.

If you don't know anything about scrapbooking and paper crafting, I have found that SpottedCanary.com is the best place to start. They offer up free online classes and provide a nice little discount if you buy from their store.  Pretty decent.  Each of their classes also has a challenge - so far its looking to be a new challenge each month. I participated in one for the Designing in Layers class. That challenge ended January 31 - am waiting for the winner announcement. The winner gets $250 prize package.  

I'm not totally sure, but I believe you have to complete each of the Spotted Canary classes to get certified - suppose I should find out soon. My request to become certified was sent to EKSuccess as well - so I can become certified for presenting Spotted Canary classes at Michael's.  So far the online classes are amazing. I am learning a lot. I have sat through and watched Layers, Borders, and Steam Punk. 

I also watched the most recent class - Paper Blossom Bouquets.  February's challenge is to create a project using the Paper Blossoms.  I am still thinking on that one as we don't have to create a bouquet, as they did in the videos. We can choose from cards, scrapbook pages, etc.  Easter is coming up and a nice Easter bouquet would look awesome on my desk at work....

I am planning to continue adding photos of my projects to the blog and also to my spotted canary profile. If you haven't joined spotted canary, then please come join with me. 

Slice Project 2 - It's Your Day

"It's Your Day" is a birthday card I created for a co-worker's birthday. I used the Slice "Parties" design card. I recycled a bow from Christmas and used some pretty paper I picked up on clearance at Michael's - Creative Imaginations Debbie Mumm collection.

I was short on adhesives as I have been unable to locate my Tombow mono dispenser.... I used glossy accents to adhere the gold cording around the craft frame as well as to add the glitter to my paper present.  I purchased the gold letters at Michael's when they were half off the other week - they are EK Success Sticko brand letters.  

The inside of the card is just a piece of craft card stock and recycled lacy gold ribbon. The stamp is a cling stamp from the dollar bin at Michael's with the "to you" in the bottom right masked off.  

Hope she likes the card. I had a ton of fun making it. I have three co-worker birthday's this week...one more card to make and an altoid tin to alter/wrap.  Then I can start on my Valentine's projects. Have a good week! Will check in Friday with what I have done for Valentine's Day. 

Happy Stamping!