it's been.....

(photo: Totally Rad Actions, The Sweet Tooth Fairy Cupcake, Hof3 Merry Swirled Background overlay on the photo by lil' ol' me.)

here's to choosing to see the good! (it's not always easy.)
xox
R

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas....

We've been workin' like little elves in 'the house'! Tons of new Christmas kits are in the store!
Lovin' the versatility of them! I was showing some friends the kits last night & they said, 'These don't have to be 'just for' Christmas!"...
absolutely right!

The above graphic was designed all in brushes! (those that came to my class on Wed. know just how to create something like this, huh?*wink*)

Supplies used:
Christmas Postcard brush
Christmas Word Art kit
Retro Christmas Tag Kit
Vintage Christmas Brush Kit
Chrismtas Border Set
& the Medallion Card Kit

mmmm....it IS begining to look a lot like Christmas! Be watching our Inspiration House for lots of ideas on how to use these kits!
and....
did you seee? A FREE Thanksgiving Blog Couture kit! enjoy!
R

Grateful for....

(House of 3 Gratitude kits used here!)

so many things.....How about YOU? This week, I've been asked to be a part of the Gratitude Blog Hop!






All week, you can hop from these amazing blogs & get inspired to be creative as well as remind ourselves of the many, many blessing we have! LOVE these women!
Becky Novacek
Debbie Hodge
Jennifer McGuire
Jodie McNally
Kelly Purkey
Lain Ehmann
Lisa Dickinson
Liz Hicks
Margie Romney-Aslett
Margot Potter
May Flaum
Patti Milazzo
me
Stacey Kingman
Stephenie Hamen
Wendy Smedley
Liz Kartchner
Allison Kreft Abad

Today, this sums it up: happy.
The sun is shining. The air is crisp. The leaves are falling....& I'm getting my creative groove on for House of 3! Our Christmas stuff is wrapping up....be watching oh.so.soon....

I'm also grateful for the fabulous people who were involved in the Digital Design Brush class the other night. So fun. So amazing to share this stuff...They even got a sneak peek of the NEW House of 3 Christmas stuff.....our mouths were watering!

I had to have the class shout with joy a couple of times cuz it's just too much fun to learn & create with digital brushes!
Thanks, girls! And thanks Laura at Dear Lizzie...it was a *fantastic* night!

cute Margie & Liz were there to support & be my TAs! & took some iPhone shots! thx, girls! love ya!
and, of course, my #1 super rock-star TA...my fab husband. SOOOO grateful for my #1 fan, my #1 supporter & my #1 hottie!

(photo by Liz)

LOVE him oh. so. much!...for putting up with my crazy shenanigans!
*sigh* so much to be grateful for....

what are YOU grateful for?
I'm sharing another couple of Comependium's Gratitude books...(just LOVE them!) So, tell me what YOU are grateful for & I'll give away 2 books next week!
can't wait to hear.....Happy Friday!
R

*wait! stop it right now!*
another thing to be grateful for....
good mail day!

Check out my new necklace from THE April Meeker of Second Sister Jewelry....mmmm! & I got these earrings, too! Just perfectly delicious & unique!

you are truly an artist, my dear! you should SEE how she packages this! Spark girls, you saw her cigar boxes...wow! wow! wow!
go. buy something from her store...you will NOT be disappointed!
I LOVE IT!
xox, April...love it! I will think of you when i adorn myself in this goodness! mmmm*wah!

Digital Design Class:: TONIGHT @ Dear LIzzie

Soooo excited! It's tonight! Totally looking forward to it!

Class is full, but look what we'll be doing!

Have you ever wondered how to add those swirls or images to photos? Or on your blog? Christmas cards?
Create something like this in a snap!Tonight, I'll teach you how to load, use, size, color, create, save, rotate & space digital brushes! And you'll be able to create a little magic, like this!


REMEMBER TO BRING:
Materials :
laptop
Photoshop CS4
(if you have a Wacom Tablet, bring it!)

The class will include an exclusive CD with 50 versatile & amazing brushes, a printed guide & step by step instructions so you can go home & practice.

Just to get you excited....look at what you can create with the kit you'll get!

(photo by Sande @ Spark! )

**Our class size is limited to 20 max! & it filled up! Thanks! So, can't wait to see you all there!
7:30 sharp...we have NO time to waste!
Tons to do until then!
R

P.S. I'm feelin' quite Christmasy lately....House of 3 is Deckin' the Halls...I've been working my fingers to the bone....can't wait to show you!

and....
It's coming...
Nov. 19th-25th

Happy birthday, Amy!

love you, sweets!
i'm the luckiest sister in the world!
xox
R

Spark Shenanigans...

(photos by Smile Now! Photobooth)

So, Day one, Friday....We'd planned on having a fun night of Shenanigans....just
playing!
letting loose!
getting to know each other!
laughing!
dancing!
riding the Spark Train!
taking photos!...I mean a hot pink photobooth? come ON! it was the icing on the cake!

After dinner we showed this fabulous movie Liz put together to set the mood...



This song totally pumps me up!....Liz nailed it! love it!

We split up in 3 groups:
Glitter
Sparkle
Shine

(photo credit:Sandee Sosa)

& we danced outside on the Spark Train>>

dressed up & took photos in the Smile Now! Photobooth>>thanks, cute Suzzi!


& in the fun Photo wall>>
(from Lori's blog!)

from Liz's blog...look how FUN this is! Just a wooden wall covered in old dictionary pages (by Margie, Meg & Brooke)...add some fab frames, cut out & a little swag on the bottom...makes for a fun photo op!

Look at how cute Sandee & Kim are...I love these photos Sandee took! (thx for letting me snag them, my sweet! you are so good!)and games in the Spark Clubhouse>>

laughing.
getting to know each other.
yes...it was a night filled with Shenanigans....lights hanging in the trees,

music piped in the streets & just a magically delicious time was had by all!(photo credit: Wynona Robison)

It was a night filled with Spark....
can't wait to share Day Two, Saturday with you!
R

Spark>>Day one>>it's happening!

After all the hard work that was put into the event, it was almost surreal to see it all come together.
I designed these signs that were at each main building & for the first day we had the welcome in the Spark Clubhouse. The tables were decorated with puffy, colorful tissue paper pom poms, balloons & old dictionary paper! Colorful sparklers were adorning the bright windows at registration to remind everyone to sparkle! *wink*
Registration was decorated by Dear Lizzie & manned by our fab volunteers, Michele & Lesli....2 incredibly Sparky friends & whom we owe so much to. They are talking to Amy Redden & Sande Krieger here, 2 other FAB parts of Spark! Thanks, girls!
Margie got us going & laughing...I tell ya...anything this woman says or does throws everyone into a laughing tizzy...so much fun & laughter at Spark!


So many helpers, it was amazing! We thank you all from the bottom of our hearts....seriously, it was a family effort for all of us & our dear friends all helped to bring it to life! Can you say: paper chains & decor coming out of our ears? yea! Our homes were filled with this goodness for months before. **After Spark was over, my kids commented on how sparse our home felt after having sooo many garlands hanging all over!**

Day one was our Show & Tell with various artisans. Melissa Blackburn WOWED everyone with her amazing fabric flowers. She's a dressmaker & her artistry shines through
in her work. She's seriously amazing. It was so fun to see her at work during the Show & Tell mini-class demos.We had them set up in 2 different buildings: see these cool, fab chunky old work tables? I want them in my studio..they were divine!
Fiskars & Sassafrass Lass had FAB tables set up with such fun projects! Look at that ink! Thanks, guys!

April Meeker was amazing with her hand carved stamps...she talked about how she uses them in her jewelry making. Then, had our Spark Girls stamp...glitter, fun! Smooches, April!
Emily Sparks (love her name, how could we NOT have her involved!) showed the Spark Girls how to crochet these little flowers. so so cute!

Getting to know each other & the photo coffee filter swags were a fun touch that added the SPARK to the event....truly, the event was brighter with everyone's Spark added! We love you, Spark Girls!



The General Store was up the entire time with our artisans' art to buy...it was a little Etsy store with lots of cool stuff! Maren's beautiful paper products were a huge hit!


Look at how delicious her papers are? Loved seeing her share her techniques of paper folding with our Spark Girls!

Karli & Gabe from Dear Lizzie Sparked everyone's creativity with owner, Laura Jarman's, Junk Bows. Complete with the most amazing huge pink crystal pins to tie it off! wow! I want to decorate my Christmas tree with this stuff! Just find newspapers, tissues, paper towels, ribbons, lace...tie it togethr; add bling you've got at home& voila! So fab!
Jen Sorenson showed us how to make these most amazing little vellum books! They were so delicate & gorgeous! Thanks, Jen!
Robyn Werlich wowed us with her amazing project that included cool techniques with stamps & vintage papers, flash cards & COLOR. It was amazing! & I loved that her cute husband came with her!
Look at these girls Sparkin' it up! inking, creating, so FAB!
Megan Faulkner-Brown from The Sweet Tooth Fairy was the icing on the cake...no pun intended. She showed us how to make these deliciously gorgeous fondant roses! Everyone was in awe at 'how easy it is'....She's so super to come & share this great talent she has with us at Spark!
Thank, Megan!
Spark sponsored a Cuff Buffet. (we almost called it a Cuffet! *wink*) We collected tons of buttons, fabric strips, lace, ribbon, felt, & all the goodies you want at your fingertips to create!
We had Quickutz machines to diecut fabric, glue guns, sewing machines, needles & thread...it was a huge hit! I think everyone loved that they could just sit/stand & make these however they wanted.
Lots of great ideas for Christmas prezzies! *grin*

Provo Craft had a whole crew there showing us all how the fabulous home screen printer, YUDU, works! And screen printed right onto our canvas art journal pages for the next day's class!

Noralee & Lori were showing everyone how to get creative with the Cricut Expression machine & cut out chandeliers, crowns, etc. for everyone's art journals!
And Vintaj (THANK YOU!) donated some fabulous metals to emboss in the Cuttlebug embossers! wow! so fabulous. (Thanks, Liz, for the fab photos!)

The Pink Chandelier made those amazing Spark charms for every. one. yes. you read that right. Can you believe it? Thanks, again, Jessica!

**P.s. Big Thanks to Mike & YUDU for screenprining our bags!
The bags were full of swag! My dear friend Anna, added HER Spark to the bags by sewing fabric, ribbon & adding the tulle & Spark buttons on them! Loved these bags!


Our hearts are full with the amazing things we learned from each of you. We broke down in tears many time throughout the event when we heard your inspiring words, experiences, WHY you were at Spark, & WHAT you were getting out of it! It Sparked us!

more to come & lots more to share!

(photos by Collin Kartchner, Amy Miles, & Wynona Robison. Thanks! Still haven't found my cord to my camera...ugh)

and...Anne posted this great slideshow...checky.