SOME GREAT NEWS!!!!

I'm so excited to announce...
I'm a new Design Team Member of
TWO CHICKS DESIGNS!!!!!!

How exciting is that?? (Pretty stinkin' exciting!)

TWO CHICKS is run by a wonderful girl named Christie and she sells all the cutie-cute Scrapbooking shirts that you see at the scrapbook conventions!

This is the next t-shirt I want to get! It's so cute!!
But, if this one doesn't suit you....then pick one of the many, many more!


So, I am so excited about this.

Because....I get to start creating with some of this fun stuff just released at CHA LAST WEEK!!

The whole collection is called Chicken'N Stuff!
HOW CUTE IS THAT?!!!

And individually known as Chick'N Noodles:

Which is a collection of single color ribbons, both print and solids.
Chick'N Noodles has over 12 yards of trims, cords, ribbons, laces and fibers to use for all your crafting needs. And being that I am addicted to ribbon, this product is right up my alley!!!
(or would that be down on my farm?!)

Next up is Chick'N Feathers:
Which is a collection of all kinds of soft embellishments for your page! These could include flowers, padded appliques, crochet flowers, real feathers, and more!

And last, but certainly not least is Chick'N Feed:Now, for being chick'n feed, this is some darn good stuff! (ha ha!!)
I just love this stuff! This could include rhinestones, including flowers, sequins,
glass pebbles, acrylic accents, brads, clips and buttons!

And, just for the release there are some Limited Edition Rainbow Chick'N Stuff!
If you're interested in those, go thee here and check them out!

I love them all!

So, stay tuned! Soon, you'll be seeing some new creations by me for Two Chicks!

Creating Keepsakes Convention - Kansas City

(don't ask about the hammer...it's a message for Alex Ann!)
Ha ha ha ha ha!!!!

CKC - Kansas City was *crazy fun* !!!!

Of course, this is my "home show" now that I live in Kansas, so it was fun just for that reason. It's fun when you know you will see someone that you know. And I did see a few people I know from Kansas.
But, I met some new people, too.

First of all, there are all the wonderful women in my classes!
I swear I have never met anyone that wasn't nice since I have lived in Kansas and it was the same way at the CKC Convention! Such nice girls!

Classes were fantastically fun! I just so love teaching!!

The biggest *fun* and the biggest challenge were one in the same. Alex Ann and I worked this show together, just the two of us. (Remember, you met Alex Ann here.) Yes, we had 3 booths and I was in charge completely for the first time. (nervous, I was so nervous!) But, we had trouble finding local help, so Alex Ann and I were on our own. But, we still rocked it! (normally, we hire local women to help in the booth....but this time, we had no one respond to our adds looking for workers) So, AA and I both rose to the occasion and really made it work the best we could. And it was GREAT!
She and I make such a good team. We really work well together and
we just had the BEST time!!! We are like sisters of something. We laughed so, so much! I totally love that girl!!!!

So...one cool thing was that we had the BRAND NEW Glue Glider Pro adhesive gun by Glue Arts! This thing is highly sought! And if you haven't seen it... here it is! It's so stinkin' cute, isn't it?! And it's so easy, too. All the cartridges are interchangeable. To switch to a different type of adhesive, you just pop out the cartridge in the gun and pop in the desired one, lickety split!
How cool is that?!

So, on the first morning of the convention, I'm working in the booth when a lady asks me about the Glue Glider Pro. I turn around to find....
CATHY ZIELSKE!!!

Oh. My. HotDog!!!!!!

Cathy Z is asking me for advice/info about something!
WOWZA!!!!

So, after deeming her as ~famous and fantastic~ ...both of which she graciously denied....I told her everything I knew about the new GGPro and she decided she had to have one! (and why not, Scrapbooks 'n Stickers has them bundled w/ the gun, and one of each of the 3 refills for 20% off the total price!) So, Alex Ann took a picture w/ my Blackberry to document my awe! FYI...Cathy Z is so nice and completely down to earth! REALLY enjoyed meeting her!! Take her class some day so you can meet her too!

Another highlight of the KC trip was meeting this fantastic chick! Even better was that I didn't realize she was coming.....ps...isn't she the darn cutest thing you ever saw?! Yep, she is. Even cuter in person! And SO NICE!
So, this is Charlotte. I met her online at Scrapbook Nook message board. She is friends with my *bestest girl* amber and therefore, my friend by association. So, I am working, demo'ing Bind-It-All and this cutey-cute girl came over and said, "YOU must be Roxann!" (well, I looked at her and she looked familiar -- so I figured she must have been in my class....NOPE...it was Charlotte from Scrapbook Nook!) WOO HOO! I was so excited!!!
I was so happy to meet her...and she was so super nice! We are trying to get a time to get together to scrap...and I hope we do very soon!

The most nutso part of the show was that we had a shoplifter. Not just us, but us and 7 other vendors were victims, as well. They got 2 packs of $4 KaiserCraft brads from us. (good stuff, she chose to steal...but reprehensible behavior, to say the least!) So, I am working hard, but all of a sudden I am approached by the head of CK and he asks if I can come with him for a moment. I could tell he was serious, so I was inside sorta freaking out. Well, as I followed him down the aisle, I leaned forward and said, "Did I do something wrong?" He turned and said, "No, we have a shoplifter." Well, if you know me, I really started freaking out. I hate cheating and stealing and it makes my stomach hurt! I'm just such a goody goody, that anything like that gives me a serious stomachache. So, I got the pleasure of identifying our merchandise and then identifying the accused. Then, I had to give the police officers my personal information. And the whole time, the accused is sitting right there, handcuffed in a chair, not 4 feet from me. Showing absolutely NO remorse. Apparently, this wasn't her first time. All and all...a nerve wracking experience. But, it mad me MAD, really MAD.

I worked so hard and on Saturday night, my hands, feet and ankles were so swollen, they looked like this....OUCH!!! I couldn't even get my ring on! The signs of hard work and not enough water!

The big thing I learned this weekend was about this:
THE OFFICE

Obviously, I've heard of The Office. I've seen the commercials. And of course, Ike has seen it a few times and has told me how funny it was. Well, Alex Ann is a huge Office fan, so she was making jokes from the office, that I really didn't get since I have never seen it. So, after hearing her talk about it all week, and knowing that Ike likes it, I bought Season 1 of The Office on DVD and brought it home to him. (after all, his job has been very stressful,so I thought it would be good for him to laugh!) And we got addicted to it. Over then next 3 weeks we watched every season, every episode of The Office.
I thought since I'm just a mom, I figured I wouldn't be able to relate or think it was funny. I was wrong. This show is stinkin' hilarious! So, if you haven't seen it, I highly recommend it! Rent it today and start the laugh marathon!

"That's what SHE said...."

The Projects

This is the result of the struggle.....the layout I did of my Momma.

I love it. The papers from the Melissa Frances Breast Cancer Page Kit are so
beautiful and combined with my feelings I put into the journaling, it was easy to
make it perfect. I loved her so very much and this layout was very hard to do.
But, I am so very glad I did it. Now that I've completed one, I want to do more.

But, emotionally, I was exhausted.

So, instead, I put together this sweet little "Think Pink" gift basket.
(supply lists for both projects are available at The Paper Mill Store Blog!)

I don't know anyone that has breast cancer right now, so if you know someone who is in a fight against breast cancer....leave me a comment and tell me how this person is special to you and I will draw a name on Friday. If I choose your name, I will send the basket to the person of your choice. (and it's filled with Milk Chocolate!!)
It might just be the right thing to brighten someone's day!

Finally, I'd like to thank all my loving friends who left me a comment or emailed me after my "Struggling..." post. You know each and every one of you are so important to me and you guys keep me inspired. You make me believe I can do anything.

Thank YOU!

A Beautiful Memento Box

What do you get when you take
WorldWin Cardstock from The Paper Mill Store.com,
add some patterned paper from the Melissa Frances Thankful collection
and use the Crafter's Companion to form it into something?!

THIS BEAUTIFUL MEMENTO BOX!!

So, if these photos make you want to see more...go to
The Paper Mill Store DT Blog
and get the step-by-step directions
to put this fantastic box together.

And once you've walked thru it once, step-by-step...
you'll want to make a million more boxes! It's just so fun!

Holy Crap!!!!

(is it wrong to say that on a Sunday?!)

So...you all know how much I admire the work of Emilie Ahern. To be honest, I can't even remember how I came across her work in the beginning, but once I started blog stalking her, I couldn't stop. Between her inspiring work and her awesome personality...."she had me at hello!" (remember what movie that's from?!) So, time passed, and as it did...I began to feel like I knew her. And I started leaving comments. And eventually, she left me comments on my blog.
And so began our online friendship.....

If you don't remember Emilie and I got to meet back in August at the CKC show in Valley Forge, PA. I knew we'd be friends. (read it here!) She was wearing the same shirt I own and had worn the day before we met! Kindred spirits, I tell ya!

So...imagine my surprise when I found THIS, this morning!
(although, she had sent me the pic of the LO a few days ago...
I had no idea it was going on THE BLOG!!)
So, color me happy!!

(Isn't it amazing this LO is Hybrid? It looks like it has so much dimension to me!)
That just goes to show you just how much talent Emilie has!

Thanks, Emilie for making my day! Your the sweetest!! :)

QuicKutz Silhouette FOR SALE!!!!

So....are you in the market for
a digital craft cutter?!

Up for sale is my
QuicKutz Silhouette!

I truly love this machine. The trouble is...when my laptop died, Big Daddy bought me a new one and it's a MAC. Well, the Silhouette is only MAC compatible with the use of Adobe Illustrator. And anyone who knows me KNOWS that I have the computer skills of a Raccoon! (do not ask me why I chose raccoon, but you get the point!) Point is...it's just sitting!

And that makes me sick.

This wonderful machine has been sitting in it's box unused for over 9 months! So, I've decided to sell it.

I have the original box and all packing material. I have all the manuals and cords and supplies that came with the machine. (shoot...I only used it less than 10 times, total.) I even have the little QK Pick-up tool, that helps you remove the shapes from the adhesive mat after you've cut them. (which I'll just throw in to be sweet!)

I paid $300 for this machine and it's been barely used.

If you are in the market for one or thinking of treating yourself, let me know ASAP. If not, it goes on ebay this weekend.......
(I just wanted to offer it to you guys first.....it's nice to get something used from someone you know and trust!!!!)

Scaredy Cat!

MEOW!!!!Who wants to make this Halloween Kitty?


Go check it out on the Paper Crazy Blog for the full instructions.

Every single time I look at him....I just crack up!

(and you can learn how to make my trademark "spit ball spider!"

Back to School Projects....

I love this little notebook. I saw it in my head and thank goodness I have access to the papers from 13 different paper mills with my The Paper Mill Store Design Team. So, it was very easy to find exactly what I was looking for in terms of paper. In this project I used papers from both TPMS and WorldWin Papers and then used my Bind-It-All to bind it together. I STINKIN' LOVE, LOVE, LOVE MY Bind It All!!!
(go to Scrapbooks-n-Stickers if you want a great deal on the BIA! ----
tell Kim in the notes that Roxie sent ya!)

Anyway, I made this before my 2nd trip to North Carolina for my deadline.
I finished it, but wasn't about to photograph it in the sunlight before leaving because it was dark when I finished it and it was still dark when we left for the airport.

No biggie, I think.....I'll just do it in North Carolina. Well, wouldn't you know it....the thing of hairspray that I packed for Marinne's flower girl hairdo BLEW UP in my suitcase....saturating the tip of the pencil and various items in my suitcase.

OH MAN....DID THAT SUCK!!!!!!!

Thank goodness, the wedding clothes were encased in plastic!!!!!!!

So, thanks to Big Daddy and his photoshopping skills, he was able to produce a photo that is indicative of the project before it was ruined with hairspray, but in reality....
...well, it's not good. BOO! (but, Yay to BD for coming to the rescue!)


And here's a coordinating collection I did........pretty much a little bit of everything!


The layout matches the color pallet, but I actually used a photos from Logan's last day of school last year. (because that's what needed to be scrapped!!) But, the layout can easily be used for the first day of school, just by changing the title!

I used the Maya Road Sheers for the first time....What a NICE product!!!
The next project was an altered lunch sack gift bag.
What better to give a gift to your teacher in?!?


And why not bring an apple for the teacher, with a super cute tag attached
and some school supplies with pizazz?! An altered composition notebook
and an altered eraser both personalized with her name!!


The next project is a post-it-note holder. Isn't it cute?!?! I've been making these for about 8 years or so. I used to make them out of a real "chipboard" I bought at Hobby Lobby years ago, which was like a very thin wood.
I hand cut them with an exacto knife and put them together.

I used to make them for teachers gifts when Logan started Pre-K like 8 years ago.
But, I often did it at the end of the year, when I knew the teacher better and
made them using color schemes that matched the teacher's preferences.

It's a great thing to carry a notepad in your purse!

(Step-by-Steps for this project are available on TPMS DT - Paper Crazy Blog.)


And last but not least, is the super-cute pencil holder for the teachers desk.

I just had to stickle one boy and one girl....it just had to be done! :p


As a former teacher, many people do not realize exactly how many school supplies teachers buy for their own classrooms. ( I sure did when I was teaching full-time before I had kids! And I suspect that teachers are doing it more and more these days!) School budget cuts and the slow economy just make it worse these days.

So, I thought this was a great gift!! A pencil holder and dozens of pencils!

Add a little tag that says, "Help Yourself!" and it'll make any teacher happy!

Reveal of the CHA project....

CHA was last week and because this project was lovingly created for the show, I had to wait until my DT Coordinator gave me the green light to share it on my blog. I had to wait for it to show up on The Paper Mill Store DT blog.

I really struggled at first designing my CHA project. I had been assigned a mini-album and I finally chose to do a Halloween album. So, I had this idea of using 3 pieces of chipboard to make the house "3-Dimensional" and then fill in between with cardstock pages as needed. I wasn't sure I could pull it off, but I was excited to try.

First, I drew some sketches on some pages from a white Marriott hotel paper pad. (do you think I travel enough or what?!?!) Once I had the 3 chipboard pieces figured out...it was time to put the plan into action. Once I started, I couldn't stop. I was like a woman obsessed. All I did was eat, sleep and dream about the haunted house mini.
(i know...it really is an illness......)

Keep in mind, this album is 100% my handiwork. Every single piece was drawn out by hand and then cut with a Fiskars craft knife. I spent a few hours cutting out that tree alone!! The entire album is made of WorldWin Papers cardstock and chipboard.
All embellishments are handmade except the few sequins that are in the book and the sequins I used to make the roof tiles. Everything else is handmade.

And 5 days and some 60-ish hours later....my mini was finished!

Let me know what you think.....

Now, I'd like to take a moment here and note a few things.

Number one, I had to take these photos in full sun before I sent the album. They are really bright and actually a bit overexposed, despite me trying to fix them in iPhoto. Any color that seem harsh, is delightful in real life.

Number two, I was betrayed by my most favorite white pen. For some reason, it was really rubbing off the cardstock. When I took these photos I had not realized it was happening. IRL it isn't as noticeable, but in the pics it looks awful. I went back an erased all these marks with my favorite adhesive remover square....and all was well again. But, I apologize for the messy looking photo. I've never seen this pen do that before, but most of the time, my layouts aren't rubbing against each other, as they do in this mini album. (and because the album was used in person as a display item for our booth....I didn't need to retake pictures that were clean.


Here are some close-ups of some of the details:


First: The pain was Black Soot Distress Paint by Ranger. Isn't that crackle paint look awesome. Tim Holtz is a genius and that's all I can say about that...... This was so fun to play with!! (and it was my first time and after one trial/error try, it was pretty easy to figure out!) And the glitter is Stickles, also by Ranger. (my favorite color ~ Black Diamond...oh, Black Diamond, I cannot live without you!!)

Ok, now here's the funny thing. See the spider hanging down off the tower? Well, he was made with the "spit ball method." You see, I wanted a 3 -D spider and I knew I didn't want to buy one, so I figured out how to make one. I tore up a bunch of WorldWin Papers Deep Heritage Black paper into little pieces. Than I ran water over them to make them stick together. I squeezed the water out and rolled them into a ball, but I didn't want to wait the time to figure out if that was going to work. So, I squirted some Sakura Crystal Lacquer into the ball and let that dry. It worked like a charm. Then I added the Stickles Magenta eyeballs to make him look a bit more sinister! (although, he still mostly just looks cute!)

(see photo above!)


Vellum and Acrylic moon, Crafty Board and Ruche tree.
(see my little owl peeking out?) Strangely enough, I had a really good time making these tombstones!!

The photo above and below both have the wonderful Elan Metallic cardstock in Obsidian. It has so much glitter in it! I LOVE IT!!!!! And it's available in so many wonderful colors! You should get some and play with it!

These gumdrop candies were so fun to make. I knew I needed a way to make 3-D candy and as you can see above, making the candy corn was easy. It took me a while, but I tried something that worked like a charm to make these wonderful gumdrops! You won't believe what they are!!!

Here's my GINORMOUS SUPPLY LIST!!!!!

WorldWin Papers / Crafty Board

WorldWin Papers / Deep Heritage Black / ColorMates
WorldWin Papers / Deep Orange Dream / ColorMates
WorldWin Papers / Deep Groovy Grape / ColorMates
WorldWin Papers / Deep Terrific Teal / ColorMates

WorldWin Papers / Sunshine Yellow / DoubleMates

WorldWin Papers / Black / Cascata
WorldWin Papers / Pink / Cascata

WorldWin Papers / Cocoa / Ruche

WorldWin Papers / Plum / Metallic Vellum
WorldWin Papers / Silver / Metallic Vellum

WorldWin Papers / Obsidian / Elan Metallics

WorldWin Papers / Black Stripe / High Gloss

Zutter / Bind It All Machine
Zutter / Black / 3/4" O-Rings

Sakura Hobby Craft / 3D Crystal Lacquer

Acrylic

Accucut / Circle Shape (only partially used for moon)

Ranger / Black Soot / Distress Crackle Paint

Ranger / Black Diamond / Stickles
Ranger / Orange Peel / Stickles
Ranger / Aqua / Stickles
Ranger / Icicle / Stickles
Ranger / Diamond / Stickles
Ranger / Purple / Stickles
Ranger / Magenta / Stickles

Clearsnap / Black / Color Box Cat's Eye Chalk Ink

Tsukineko / Jet Black / StazOn Ink

Tsukineko / VersaMark Watermark Ink

Walmart / date stamp

Signo / White / Uni-ball Pen

Too Marker Products / Pink / Spica Pen
Too Marker Products / Clear / Spica Pen
Too Marker Products / Turquoise / Spica Pen
Too Marker Products / Black / Spica Pen
Too Marker Products / Orange / Spica Pen
Too Marker Products / Lavender / Spica Pen

Zig / Pure Black / Artist Pen

Marvy Uchida / Orange / Liquid Applique'

Therm-O-Web / Zots Mini 1/4"

GlueDots / Pop Up

GlueDots / Vellum

Stampin' Up! / Sun Sparkle / Stampin' Glitter
Stampin' Up! / Coral Crystals / Stampin' Glitter
Stampin' Up! / Razzle Berry / Stampin' Glitter

Marvy Uchida / Embossing Heat Tool

WesTrim / Black / 24 gauge wire

Horizon Group USA / Craft Sequins

Novtex / Magenta / Sequins

Stampin' Up! / 12" Guilliotine Trimmer

Fiskars / 12" Trimmer

Fiskars / Heavy Duty Craft Knife

Creative Memories / Self-healing Mat

Walmart / 1" foam brush

Anita's / Grey / acrylic paint

ribbons/fibers: Offray, Michaels, Wrights, Hobby Lobby, JoAnn's