Wednesday, August 31, 2011

Rolling Along with TaDa Creative Studios

Hi, all!

Today is my turn at TaDa Creative Studio's blog. I've seen this technique done before but never had the opportunity to try it out until now...rolled paper! This is what I created...

Well, Hello! by Margie Higuchi
Supplies Cardstock: Recollection; Patterned Papers: TaDa Creative Studios (Frozen Tozen Collection); Marker: ZIG Writer; Stamp: The Cat's Pajamas; Ink: Ranger; Adhesive & Tool: ScraPerfect (The Best Glue Ever & The Embellie Gellie)

For detailed step-outs, go to Rolling Along at TaDa Creative Studios' Blog and I will show you how easy this is!

Hope everyone is doing well. Cannot believe it's the last day of August!! Where did the time go? LOL!!

As always, thanks for stopping by! I appreciate your comments :0)
MargieH

Tuesday, August 30, 2011

A Day with Julie Balzer :0)

Yesterday, I hung out with the FABULOUS Julie Balzer! She was in town for the 2011 CREATE Chicago Mixed Media Retreat workshops by Cloth Paper Scissors and Quilting Arts this past weekend. Thanks to Hurricane Irene, Julie ened up with an extra day in Chicago so off to The Art Institute of Chicago! I was thrilled that we could hook up and spend some time being inspired!


First we checked out The Modern Wing which was newest part of the Institute (open May 2009). VERY COOL!! Good timing too - they had a one-hour tour of the wing so we tagged along a bit before going off on our own.

Vater Staat by Thomas Schutte
Translates to "father state"
We had lunch at the Terzo Piano At The Art Institute of Chicago which has a wonderful view of the surrounding areas including Lake Michigan! Very relaxing lunch :0)


And right outside of the restaurant, look what we came across! WOW~! Had to get a picture of Julie with this wonderful FUN art!

Restless Rainbow by Pae White

Such an ARTful gal to hang out with! Thanks, Julie, for all the information and ideas to inspire me with. And speaking of information, please visit Julie's blog post on her adventures at the Institute!

I hope you have a safe trip back home!
MargieH xo

P.S. I'll be PM'ing you with pictures soon!

Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Let The Routine Begin!

Routine for me or the boys? LOL!!


Happy First Day of School, boys!!

Today is the first day of school for my boys. My youngest is entering high school this year...sigh. I hope they enjoy their high school and that they stay in one school! I, on the other hand, attended three high schools (York Community H.S., Elmhurst IL; Franklin Road Academy, Nashville TN; Am. School In Japan, Tokyo JPN) so you can imagine when I see a classmate, I sometimes pause to think which school he/she is from! LOL!!


Kwansei Gakuin University Chicago Dinner

Speaking of school, my husband's university chancellor was in the country along with the alumni director. Yes, the chancellor is female and an American! LOL!! My husband's unversity has an American/international background in its founding. Don't let the looks fool you - her Japanese is PERFECT!! After all the preparation and hard work, the dinner was a success. It was held at Maggianos in Schuamburg IL in one of the upstairs rooms....BEAUTIFUL! I was thrilled to hear that Chancellor Grubel is also an international school graduate, Nagoya Int'l School! Having an international school background, no matter what school, creates such a wonderful bond of friendship.

My ePub at Scrapbooking & Beyond!

I have an ePub in Scrapbooking & Beyond Magazine.com's projects page! Look for the title: "How to Scrapbook Using Homemade Adhesive Dots." My "Faith" card is featured and it shows how I used ScraPerfect products to put together one of my favorite projects.


My promise of a giveaway!

To celebrate and who doesn't like a celebation! Amy (ScraPerfect's owner) has a contest over at ScraPerfect FaceBook Page!


The Details:

TO WIN A PRIZE??? Just head over to ScraPerfect Facebook Page, find our "Want to Win a Prize" post and tell us where you heard about this contest for ScraPerfect Products. We'd also like to hear questions or comments about our Magically Perfect Craft Products...Where's you first heard about them? What do you love about them? How you use them most?....

THE PRIZE: The Best Glue Ever, Embellie Gellie, Perfect Crafting Pouch and two Perfect Cleaning Cloths.

CONTEST DETAILS: Contest ends November 15, 2011. Winner will be drawn at random from Facebook posts. Paid shipping to the US, as well as Israel & Brazil where our Design Team Members are based AND they can invite their friends to join in! How cool!!

Thursday, August 18, 2011

It's been awhile!

SORRY!!! I feel so bad it's been a month since I last updated!! Being summer, lots of things have been happening on the home front.

First off to LA to see my brother, Dave, and picked up my mom who stayed with us for a month. Both live in Japan. Bonus: an international school get together was happening that weekend in LA! Saw classmates that I haven't seen since high school graduation (let's just say over 25 years but who's counting - HA!



Then, Craft & Hobby Assoc. (CHA) Conference & Trade Show...







My oldest son is learning to drive! WAHHAA~! He's enjoying it. It's another step towards growing up...look at that happy face! Hold on to your wallet, dear dad (aka insurance rates)! LOL!!


My mom and my brother, Dan, with his family for a VERY short visit with us. His boys were in summer camp here in the U.S. and were leaving from Chicago O'Hare the next day. My mom left the day after for Japan too :0(


Manufacturers' Events at Scrapbook News and Review Magazine has started but prepping for them has been hectic to say the least. So far, they have featured four - I have been fortunate enough to design for three of them :0) Lots of work and planning behind the scenes, I appreciate the leaders, organizers and the MI admin. for all the hours they put into it. We just had a SRM Press Inc. Event - amazing sticker manufacturer yesterday. Go take a look yourselves BUT IT WILL BE THERE FOR A LIMITED TIME (I think until next Wednesday, the 24th) so look NOW!!


Door County Wisconsin Vacation! Hosho decided to take us to Door County (only two days' notice - YIKES!) and he made all the arrangements! After a hectic few months, he thought the family needed a break (esp. ME!). I have a great DH but I'm bias! HA!! This was a sunset night at Egg Harbor WI. So peaceful and relaxing - loved it!!


Next adventure...the first day of school! I have two high schoolers now and they are on the same schedule this year! Our town has two school districts: one for elementary schools/junior high schools and the other is just high schools. Can you imagine trying to get the right kid to school while the other has a day off?! LOL!!

Are you still with me? OK as a reward - next post (give me a few days - lol!!) will be a giveaway so stay tuned!!