What a *FANTASTIC* trip!!

Another city, another CKC Convention...

Welcome to Valley Forge, PA!

I've never been to Philly before and if you can believe it, I never even made it to get a "real Philly Cheese Steak!"
And I didn't get to see the Liberty Bell, either.

I was actually pretty disappointed, but some trips are just like that. This one we were real busy and I taught a lot of classes, (6 classes for a total of 7 teaching hours) so we didn't even go out for a relaxing dinner until Saturday. And we went to this Irish pub and the food was so good! Thoroughly enjoyed it!

Anyway...on to the good stuff!

The booth...we had lots of great product.
KaiserCraft...if you've not heard of them, check them out here. They really caused a splash at CHA-Summer!

Prima....flowery goodness. An addiction for sure!

Fancy Pants...YUM!! I just love the About A Boy line.
With a bunch of boys to scrap for, I am always looking for boy lines that I love. And this one fits the bill!
And of course, Bind It All! My single most favorite scrapbooking tool this year! What fun! And the Round-It-All is a close 2nd Place! And have you had a chance to check out the DreamKuts? If not, and you love to make cards....
this tool is fantastic!!!!! See all the Yummy Bind-It-All bags hanging on the back wall! Love 'em!!! This is Alex Ann. She was my roommate this trip and she's so funny! She's has 3 kids and she's like a super mom!


The best thing about a job you travel for, besides going to all the neat places I get to go, it getting to meet people. If you've met me in person or know me, you quickly figure out that I am a social butterfly. I am most happy when surrounded by people and if those people happen to be scrapbookers, than I am overjoyed because we all share a common bond. And this trip was a treasure trove for making and actually "meeting" new friends!

First, there are all the wonderful women in my classes! What a bunch of sweeties!!!! Smart and talented women, who could possibly teach me a thing or two about scrapbooking!

(and I met one new friend, who we both swear that we know each other, but couldn't find the connection....talk about driving you crazy! But, she and her friends were so sweet!)

Then, I had a red-headed beauty who was quick to chat and smile ever time I ran into her after class! I love people like her! (I just wish I was better with names.....it's just so hard when you meet hundreds of people in 3 days!!!)This is a pic of me and my friend Kelli! I met her thru the online scrapbooking site... ScrapbookerOnline.com. Those women on there are such a blast and so talented, too!

This is a pic of me and my new friend Julie. What a doll she is! She even offered to cook me dinner on Saturday night because she was grossed out by the dinner (if you can even call it that) that Alex Ann and I ate during the crop on Friday night. Isn't that so sweet!?

Julie is the mother to one little cutie-pie little boy and based on how sweet she was to us....I can tell she's a rockin' awesome momma! (and she's smart to boot -- a college professor!!) Like I said, I'm lucky to get to meet people like this! She sat with Alex Ann and I and kept us company while we worked at the crop. Then, she helped us with boxing stuff up and even offered to carry stuff. How sweet is she?!


I also met a new friend from Technique Tuesday...Sylvia! She was teaching the TT classes before and after my classes on Friday and Saturday (we were sharing the room!)

I wish I could have taken her class...I heard lots of good reviews! And who doesn't love Technique Tuesday?!

(and then I learned my friend Ana from TT has moved to my home state of Kansas...about an hour away! We are trying to make plans to crop together very soon! YAY!!)


One of the best things about this trip was my plan to meet up with Kim Frantz, who is a talented designer on the WorldWin Papers and The Paper Mill Store Design Teams with me.Since our team is spread all over the US and Canada...these opportunities to meet don't always present themselves. So, I was very excited to be able to hook up with Kim!

And we had a lot of fun taking this silly photo! (note to my boss, Kim H.....did you know the GGM works on leather purses and the RIA can stand in for a haircut?!)
I know...we are dorks! But, we were having FUN!!!

(and if you click on the FUN picture, you can watch a silly movie that Kim made of our short time together.....ignore me flitting around like a "Breck Girl"....nervous habit. Plus, I was checking on the booth to see if Alex Ann needed help.)


So, as much as I was looking forward to this trip already....I was OVERJOYED when out of the blue, one of my favorite scrapper idols sent me an email (yes, little ole' me) and asked if we could meet, since she was coming to the convention just for fun!!! And that was and easy answer for me....YES!

So, while I was talking to Kim...along came Emilie Ahern. (and Linda Barber was with her!) Turns out Emilie had been calling my cell phone trying to find me, but I couldn't get a signal in the convention center, so I didn't know. Bummer!
And she was looking for me!!! YAY! So, I intoduced Emilie to Kim and Emilie introduce Kim and I to Linda. (Linda works for Simple Scrapbooks and also is on the American Crafts Design Team. She's super talented, too!)

We all visited for about 10 minutes and took some quick photos. I love this one of Emilie and I.

Isn't she so cute?!?!
And she INSPIRES ME so much!
(and has two of the cutest red-head girls you've ever seen!)

And she has the same taste as me, too. She was wearing a shirt that I own, too. (It's one of my favorites...in fact, I had worn it 2 nights before while teaching my first class!)

Emilie....YOU TOTALLY ROCK!!!!!!!


Now, for the HUGE celebrity sighting story....

...so, on Thursday morning on the way to set up I passed a women on the way to the gym. She had her hair pulled back and at first it didn't compute. I smiled and said hi...like I would to anyone....and as we were equal to each other, I saw her eyes and I realized it was Stacy Julian.

Well, you know me and my mouth, and I exclaimed, "Shut Up! You're Stacy Julian!" (and I probably would have given her a playful shove when I said Shut Up...if we had been face-to-face, rather than passing each other!)

Stacy laughed.

I loved that I met her. Being real. On the way to work out.
Not in the "mode." I know "the mode." You have to get yourself there to successfully do this job.

It's hard being "on" all the time. When sometimes all you want to do is collapse. Or be alone. Don't get me wrong. I do love it. LOVE MY JOB. But, sometimes it is hard.

And I found Stacy to be very "real." Friendly. Accommodating to my Sophmoric crush on her. And she was kind.

I introduced myself. We discussed a mutual friend. (Hi Lain!)
I met her mother. (who Stacy looks like) No autograph. No photo. Just her time. And I was overjoyed!

Just that quick moment in the hallway, made me so happy! Great way to start the convention.

So, although I knew she was around...I didn't see her for a few days. She was teaching classes. I was teaching classes.

But, on Saturday morning, I was counting my class kits at a table and Stacy was at the next table over signing autographs and taking photos. So, I moved over next to her when there was a lull in the line and I was happy to learn she remembered me. (seriously, when you meet as many people as she does...I didn't think she would. But, she did.) And you know what...I found her to be funny, kind and genuine. Very Real. And that's good in my book!

I thought about getting her autograph. But, I don't have her book with me. Or a copy of Simple Scrapbooking.
So, I choose to skip that.

But, I did ask for a photo. And she was gracious and this photo makes me super happy! And reminds me of a woman who inspires me.