CHA Brief (very) ReCap

I spent 4 days at CHA this year and it all started with some special Certification training with these babies...
The certification was taught by Marianne Walker and was about 5 hours of intense coloring. 
Ok, that sounded ridiculous but if you know anything about Copic Markers, you would know that these little babies are amazing little tools.

And this woman is seriously a Copic marker master.
Day 2 was more education as well as some sneak peeks from Fiskars and Creative Imaginations before CHA on Friday.

The highlight on Day 2 was that I got to spend a couple hours with this guy and I finally know what the heck to do with alcohol inks.
On Friday, CHA officially started and I was lucky enough to get to hang out with Michele for the day.

She was our "average shopper" assigned to help us pick things for the store that people will love.

It's a real tough job... but someone has to do it.

She looks miserable at the Hero Arts Make and Take... doesn't she?

I was officially in charge of making sure this chick ordered the best things at CHA and trust me, I made sure all things fabulous were ordered.
And I got to see some friends on Saturday.

Like Emily, who is the fresh face in Creating Keepsakes August.
And I ran into my girl, Josie, who I don't see nearly enough and we live in the same town.
And we got a picture for the store with this lady.

I know you aren't gonna believe this one but she actually told me she watched one of my videos.

Me?

Seriously? 

And even more amazed that Debbie Olson and these 2 gals, JeanneS and BadSherry even knew who I was.

These ladies are stamping royalty, I am a mere peasant.
I met a whole bunch of other bloggers who I didn't even know before and was again flattered at the proclaimed stalking they are apparently doing.

Stalk away ladies, I don't think I am stalk worthy at all.

And it was so nice to hear people's excitement about the store, so cool.

Keep spreading the word ladies.

I took a bunch of videos and pictures which will be up at CraftCritique soon.

I have hours of editing to do.

This year's CHA show was OK.

In past years it has been absolutely outstanding but this year was about half the size and not too many must-have products like in the past.

In my opinion, kind of a disappointment.

There were a couple cool things though.

And I will leave you with just one picture of the most amazing stuff I saw at CHA.

Flower Soft.
And yes, we will have it in store with classes as well.

More to come soon.

If life wasn't crazy enough already...

It is CHA week here in town.
And starting tomorrow, I will be living at the Rosemont Convention Center.

Michele and I will be at Copic Marker training for hours and hours tomorrow.
Then more classes for the store on Thursday.
And then back on Friday and Saturday to shop for the store and do a little taping for Craft Critique...did someone say CHA videos?
Yep, this year a press pass will let me tape all the coolness of CHA.

So, if you are going to be there just look for the wacky chick with the video camera blabbing about how we will fit all the new papers in the store.
And be sure to say Hi!

Life is BIZ-AY!

Yes, I am still alive and kicking.
(thanks to all the nice people who sent emails to make sure I was still among the living)
I am so super busy these days that I am amazed I find time for eating and sleeping.

The kid is at Nerd Academy now til August 1st and it is majorly hard.
I am having difficulty helping with most of the homework.
He's only in 7th grade.
And there is a ton of homework which we didn't really expect.
Some homework would be fine but 4 hours a night is just painful for everyone.
Only 4 more weeks to go.

And the commute to the Nerd Academy from home each morning is a nice tour of the city.
I am amazed every morning that I don't see cyclists strewn along the streets.
With the way they ride and nearly cause accidents left and right...there should really be more tragic accidents.
After leaving the drop off in Lincoln Park, I head north to the store each morning and lemme just say...some mornings I am leaving my house at 8a and get to the store just before 10a!
Road rage is so much clearer to me now.
And I am having a problem staying awake on the road in the mornings, the traffic and lengthy commute make my eyelids super heavy.
I have started a regime of Red Bull in the morning the past couple days and it seems to be helping.
Last week I would drop off Max and tell him, "Have a great day and pray I don't die in a fiery wreck today!"

The store is great!
Our website is now up and awesome, thanks to Karen.
(If you are looking for anything web related, Karen is the gal to go to!)
She got the website up and running and even re-vamped our blog.
Now all we have to do is get the online store running and we are totally set.

Our Grand Opening was last weekend at CraftFancy and it went great.
I am just amazed at the power of word of mouth in scrapbooking.
My buddy, Greta blabbed about the store online last week and low and behold...2 girls from Fremont, Illinois (3 hours away!!) showed up to shop!
If I ever doubted the power of Greta, I don't anymore.
And everyone is telling everyone, which has really been the best advertising we could have ever hoped for.
So, thank you to all the blabbing crafters, you keep us in business!

I am officially moved, again.
Anyone who has known me for a little bit will know that this is the 3rd time I have moved in 3 years.
Yes, I am insane.
Well, the last time was just up a flight in the same building.
That was stupid now that I think about it.
But now I am temporarily moved into the man's apartment.
We are attempting to buy a house and it is taking longer than expected to find a dream home we can afford in the city of Chicago, so for now we are all cramped into his place.
So far, we are all surviving but it's only been 3 weeks.
And if he doesn't let me use his computer, since we don't have ours connected yet, I may kill him in his sleep tonight.
So, I'm definitely not a single gal on my own anymore.
Although, I am still technically single, no ring on the finger yet.
Not that I am holding my breath, I don't really care about such things.
I'm just happy we're all happy and all together...finally.
So yes, me and the baby daddy have shacked up.....Finally.
And once we find a bigger house for all of us and the dog, I will be even happier.

I am still creating like mad.
Especially with the store needing so many samples and classes.
It's what I spend my days doing, in between business stuff and chatting with crafty people.
And I couldn't be happier.
Even with the life-sucking commute.
It is my dream job.
Jealous?

And here's a little proof that I still make stuff:
It's the new SEI Poppy Collection.

Have a wonderful holiday weekend!
I am looking forward to relaxing and having a few days that I don't have to work, pack or move anything.

Off to make something fabulous....