Denise at CHA 2010

This is a photo of Denise taking photos at CHA. She was having a ball photographing every idea she could see at the Graphic 45 booth. 

Zentangle at CHA 2010

Zentangle is a hot new art form spreading across the country. Find out how to do it from these Suzanne McNeill books by Design Originals! They will be on our All About Scrapbooking online store. Suzanne is always on the cutting edge of new ideas in the craft world. The books will be available after February 1.This is a photo of my second zentangle. It was very relaxing to make and I will soon be making shapes to zentangle and incorporate in my scrapbook pages and canvases.

Social Day with Sandy and a Little Scrapbooking

Sandy is my new friend in Arizona. She came and picked me up and showed me around Apache Junction. I now know where the shopping, the hospital, and, of course, a scrapbook store is!
The store was twice as big as ours and had an awesome class area. I hope they will still be in business when I come back. The manager said they were having a very hard time of it.

Sandy and I ate lunch at Olive Garden. She is a nurse for the VA and loves it. We had a wonderful time driving around. We ended up at her house where I met her husband who is very nice. We used the Cricut to cut things out. I didn't know how to use a Cricut so she showed me how. Denise is the expert on the Cricut at the store and I am the expert on the Xyron Wishblade so I had never used a Cricut.

This first photo is of the managers camp site where I am staying. They have a small scooter that their young granddaughter rides on for a couple hours a day. She loves the scooter and knows everybody in the park. It's very cute to watch outside my window.

The other picture is of my camper. It is a 1983 Winnebago Warrior. I bought if off EBay a few years ago and I still love it. I plan to come down every year from now on in January and February maybe longer if things go well.

This is the owl I cut out with the Cricut . I made him 10" tall. I don't have my scrapbooking supplies so I don't have a specific theme but I could use him for an outdoor hike, a zoo visit, or a Harry Potter page. If I were using it for a Harry Potter page I would add more of the orange gold colors their illustrations show especially around the eyes. Sandy had some small envelopes pre-made so I used them but it would really look better with larger envelopes or something that looked like a post card. I would also put names on them. If it was a zoo page I would put names of different kinds of owls. For a nature walk I would put owl names and then add at the bottom of the page info about that kind of owl. A Harry Potter page has all kinds of possibilities. If you were at a movie opening or in line to see the movie you could put the names of the friends you went to the movie with on the envelopes. For the Harry Potter page I would add a little brown and maybe use some glitter on him.
Well, that's all for now. I think I will go for a walk.

Amore Valentine ATCs

These are the cards I took to our January ATC gathering. The backing and heart are left over felt from another project. I like to embroider so I took some left over yarn and stitched it around the edges. I used DMC embroidery floss. I hope you like them. Remember you can also put these on cards and scrapbook pages. Last minute thought! You could also applique them onto a quilt with different words or family member names.

Last Leg of Phoenix Trip was Awesome!

I started out from Gallup about 9am. It was pretty cold with a light frost on the windows. By the time I had gotten gas it was already warming up! I 40 West was one beautiful view after another. Today I passed a lot of Indian signs advertising their stores and cute teepees and animal sculptures. There were two scenic views I stopped at and they were worth it. One was called Sunset Point. If anyone comes down to visit me we will have to stop for lunch there and the way to the Grand Canyon or Sedona. Flagstaff had snow on the ground and was a joy to drive through. If any of you travel out west I 44 West, I 40 West, and I 17 South are extremely scenic.
I got into the RV park about 5 and have been calling and emailing like crazy. I found someone to store my camper for me for a month or two for $40 a month. I am exciting about that. Most of the professional places wanted to charge $70 and I can't afford that.
The camp ground is clean and nice. I was one of the last campers in the park so I am by the trash bins but I don't mind a bit. I will get to know people faster! It's 60 degrees here right now! Aw, the sweet life!

Gallup New Mexico

The drive to Gallup was awe inspiring. As I drove along giant mesas appeared, purple mountains came into view, glowing red landscapes  jumped out at me. I would drive two hours then stop to get gas and go to the restroom. That way my "driving" muscles would relax. If I don't stop every couple of hours I get hand and back cramps. Well, I am here safe and thought I would just let everybody know. Love Candy

Phoenix Trip Joplin to Amarillo

I drove all day and am now exhausted so this will be short.
 Beautiful classic views all day. Oklahoma teepee picnic area/landscape in Oklahoma with mist all over the dark trees surrounded by  golden grasses giving off an orange radiance, an orange Texas sunset with fuschia and pink surrounding the brilliant orb/classic rundown Indian owned motel with a rundown "They Shoot Horses Don't They"  atmosphere restaurant down the street that had fabulous sirloin steaks--I could use all this for art inspiration--watercolor landscapes and the motel and restaurant for a short story!
I love traveling and am looking forward to the trip through New Mexico tomorrow. 
Adios!

Going Down to Phoenix

I decided at 5 o'clock today to start my trip to Phoenix. I drove in the dark the whole time and it was great because there is hardly anyone on the roads. On the way down there was a huge, lit up mushroom that had a sign that said Morels.com. I decided to stay in Joplin and get a room the first night out, that way I could charge everything I brought with me. I'm not ready to use all the camper yet. So anyway I went to the mushroom website. You ought to check it out. I learned a lot.
The motel looked a little scary but it was cheap! In the end except for everything being old it was an excellent motel.
That's beautiful sheep across the street. It's morning and I am taking off now.