September...come & gone...

So bad at blogging these past few weeks...

Most of you might know, my dear friend & co-owner of Frozen Memories, Becky Brunetti, had past away early morning of Sept 10th...she was a heart transplant recipient and I guess her heart didn't want to go on anymore. If you knew her, you were lucky! She had a big smile along with that big heart...she touched everyone and tried to live life to the fullest. I miss her terribly but can only imagine what her kids and husband are feeling. For those of you who wish to honor Becky, think about sending donations to Becky's charity: Have a Heart Foundation, 747 E. Boughton Road, Bolingbrook, IL 60440. Thank you!

Also in September, I attended a scrapbookers' retreat which I desperately needed esp. after Becky's death. It's been years since attending one and was lucky to hang out with my friend, Fiona! Met several new friends and it was good to be creative again. Definitely recharged my batteries - thanks, Fiona & Marie!!!!!

The last weekend of September, I had attended a Crop for A Cure (Univ. of Chicago Cancer Research Foundation) that my friend, Sarah, had organized. I was so excited for her when I heard that they raised $3500!! WOW! Hope she has another one next year...I'll ask her when she is recovered from this year's event! LOL!!!

Well, I think I'm caught up for now ...well, I emphasize NOW. LOL!!

Thanks for reading!

September 11th...

Today marks the 7th anniversary of Sept 11, 2001 terrorist attack against our Country...I for one cannot believe it's been seven years. We as a family witness this horrible tragedy from our backyard when we lived in NJ - our townhouse was right on the Hudson River across from Manhattan.

I wrote this two years ago on my blog and wanted to share here:

"Mixed emotions as I write this...I remember that beautiful peaceful blue sky day so well. I was taking my two boys to IKUEI Japanese international school. It was a straight shot north from West New York, NJ (Jacobs Ferry) to Englewood Cliffs, NJ...driving along the coast of NJ where the Hudson River was east of me...after I dropped off my happy little guys, I drove back the same route.

I had the radio on and that was when I first heard that there was a plane that crashed into one of the towers. The radio announcer didn't have much information as it just happened and speculated that maybe the pilot had a heart attack. I turned off the radio, thinking what a way to die and was anyone hurt in the building and down on the ground!I stopped by Target in Edgewater but no one was in the store...not even an employee! I spotted one coming in from the back door/the dock area and that's when he informed me that the crash was not an accident but a terrorist attack.

I went straight to the Japanese supermarket to get food (since it was the holiday weekend, we had no food) and saw what everyone was talking about on TV. My DH called me and told me he was on the ferry headed towards the Wall Street area but the Port Authority would not let them into New York so he was on his way home. Thank goodness...he had clients at the Towers and would pop in to say hello to them unexpectedly. Luckily he had such a heated conversation with the Tokyo office and decided he would go to work later in the morning.

He saw the second plane hit the Towers while he was on the ferry....he couldn't believe what he had just witnessed!I got home with bags full of groceries and we headed off to get the boys...the 15-20 minute drive took over an hour and half as the George Washington Bridge (GWB) was closed off (inbound to NYC). We finally reached the school and the kids were told that there was a HUGE fire in NYC and everything was closed. Our trip back home only took the normal 20 minutes because the police were worried about the GWBridge and we had taken the back road.

The back road was blocked on the way there so we had to go through Ft. Lee which is usually packed with traffic on a normal day. I found out later that they closed our street - River Road (we live between the Lincoln & Holland tunnels and the GWBridge) after we got home. All the fathers from the "IKUEI families" were safe...although it took them until 1 or 2am to get home.

We saw the smoke and what was left of the Towers from our neighborhood. When the winds shifted, we could smell that terrible smell and we were forced to close our windows. I am left with this empty hole in the NYC skyline...I've known that skyline all my life. When I graduated from university, I had celebrated my graduation with family friends in the Windows of the World Restaurant. I stayed at the Vista Hotel in the Tower on my business trips to American Express headquarters across the street, walked through to get places in the neighborhood. It will be sorely missed. I pray for all those who have perished and to those who were left behind to morn their loss. Hug your loved ones tighter tonight as I will with mine."

CHA - Spellbinder Wizard....

Yes! I'm still trying to finish up my CHA comments! LOL!! Sorry I am slow! But wanted to share a product line that is finally getting some recognition in the market = the Spellbinder Wizard!

I have never had a machine that can cut, emboss and flatten like the Wizard! If you want a sturdy not made out of plastic machine, this is it. Granted I have my Sizzix, Sidekick and Silhouette but I go to this one more often. Although it is made out of metal, I think it is lighter than my Sizzix. I just finished a project which required cutting some QuicKutz Revolution dies and guess which did the job BEAUTIFULLY! Now they're coming out with an electric machine (quieter and for those who have issues with their hands such as arthritis, this would be perfect!)...hmm, this would be cool to have! LOL!!!

Anyways, I wanted to share my pictures of their booth and the beautiful make'n take I did with my friend, Beth!

This HUGE sign took about 15 minutes to hang...

There's my friend, Beth, working her magic!

The pretty blonde lady with the name badge is Stacey Caron, the owner of Spellbinder!

This is the beautiful make'n take that was done at their booth! Love this sunflower die...another one on my list! Heehee!!!!




So if you're in the market for a unique die cut machine, I highly recommend this one!

Going backwards to CHA-Summer...

Sorry for jumping around like this but I realized that I haven't even shared my CHA photos! SORRY!!

CHA...well, it happens so quickly and even working for a couple of days...I still missed a lot! Overall, attendance in retail customers & manufacturers were down but I had a lot of traffic @ my MnT (make and take/make items from that particular manufacturer's booth & bring it home with ya)on Friday and mixed on Saturday. Sunday was my off day and was able to visit booths leisurely.

This post I'd like to share pictures of my friends in the industry doing their thing @ various manufacturers' booths!


This is my good friend, Beth Pingry, from Spellbinders. You know those nice folks who has that awesome die cut machine - the Wizard! Love their stuff! Hi, Beth!! We've known each other for YEARS! Proud to call her my (sorority/Delta Zeta) sister...if she claims me! Heehee!!!! A very creative & talented designer :0)




The sweet lady on the left is my friend, Theresa Tyree, and a very talented designer who is on Piggy Tales' design team! The other sweet lady is Debbie Juden (with her little one) who owns this great company!



OK....this friend is the wonderful & VERY talented, Melodee Langworthy, who I just admire for her character & creativity!!





One of the companies I just adore is KODOMO (officially KODOMO NO KAO)!!! And these two ladies are the driving force of this company esp. in the U.S. I think this company is a hidden treasure and hope that many retailers get on board!



OK...not a friend but a friend's daughter (but she's a lot of fun, this one! LOL!). This is Teresa Collin's daughter, Taylor, and a real cool chic :0) Wanted to stop to say hi to Teresa but she left earlier to catch one of her boys' sports events at home. So in place to Teresa, I took this picture of Taylor (looks like her mom) in action! Thanks, Taylor, for the MnT session!


Now this young lady I have been anxious to meet for months...maybe it's been a year?! Is the ULTRA-talented lady, Wendy Veechi (here demo-ing for Ranger Inks)!!!! SO love her creative mind and she debuted a new line of stamp products with Stampers Anonymous - HOW COOL!!!! So happy for her!!



And of course, I had to find Robin Beam! Here she is at Amate Studio's booth and she is amazing at what she does! Now I may need to go back to jewelry making! LOL!! Love what she has created there in such a short amount of time! WOW!!





So those are some of my friends that I was able to capture on "film!" More CHA stuff to come :0)

Class @ Craft Fancy (Arlington Hts. IL)!!

Hey everyone!

Just wanted to toot my horn!
Looked over at our newest LSS (local scrapbook store)'s blog to see THIS!
WOW! Thanks, Simone & Carol!!!! I am excited to share this project!

I made one in TaDa Creative Studio's papers for their booth at CHA (Craft & Hobby Assoc. trade show) and everyone wanted to know how to make it. Well, if you're in the Chicago area, it's being offered at Craft Fancy! So come join us!!












The dates are:

Saturday, August 9th
11:00am - 1:30pm

Tuesday, August 12
11:00am to 1:30pm

TOOT! TOOT!! LOL!!

Card Positioning Systems (CPS#74) Challenge...

Hey all!

I will post about my experience with CHA in a while but I wanted to post my take on a card sketch over at CPS (Card Positioning Systems). I have not made a card by using a sketch and thought this was fun after seeing all the others (boy, the stuff you can put on a little card! LOL!!).
So here's mine...













Supplies used:

Stamp - JustRite Stamps
Patterned Paper - TaDa Creative Studios
Cardstock - Die Cut With a View
Chipboard accent - LaserLine
Circle Cutters - Coluzzle, Fiskars 2" circle punch
Paint - Acrylic Dabbers (Ranger Ink)
Ink - Stampin' Up

It's a very simple design. I'm really liking these paper flowers I have been folding...they're all 2" circles. Then I snuck in a little "H" in the middle. These papers are new TaDa papers introduced at CHA last weekend ~ aren't the colors beautiful?!

Thanks for looking!!

CHA - LaserLine (#4114)...

Hey all!

Getting final touches for CHA (Craft & Hobby Assoc. trade show) somewhat completed (between panic attacks!) - LOL!!

Attendees for CHA, hope you all come & visit LaserLine! I will be doing a make'n take at the booth on Friday & Saturday! One of my favorite mini album designs...so far! LOL! TaDa Creative Studios had kindly provided their cool papers for this MnT! Thank you, TaDa!!!

Details listed below - along with pictures of a sample I just put together this afternoon.

10:00am - NOON (Friday & Saturday)
2:00pm - 4:00pm (Friday & Saturday)

This would be the cover/frame....

I spread the pages out so that you can see what it looks like...

The last page of the MnT...that's my niece, isn't she a cutie?!

Thanks for looking & hope to see you there!

CHA Sneak Peek - TaDa Creative Studios (#2325)

Here's the sneak peek for TaDa Creative Studios!!! Hope you all like them as much as I do!

Well, what do you think?

Collection comes with coordinating tags and pockets have been laser cut, as opposed to die cut. No pesky white tabs! All folds are scored for easy assembly.

Here's what I did with the "Daddy 'O" line:

Card Frame Kits by TaDa Creative Studios are plain die cut cardstock tri-fold bases that come with assorted frames that can be layered over the photo window. What a great idea to send photos of the kids to loved ones! Once received, the card turns into a free standing personalized photo frame! GO GREEN!!! LOL!!

I used the kit to make a "Cute Sweet" card! These papers are, of course, TaDa Creative Studios too! AND they're cute & sweet...don't you agree? LOL!!

Playing with the background design of those "dots" - I pop-dotted a few as you can see on the side picture of the Card Frame Kit. Love this kit...you can use it in SO SO MANY ways!

The best part for you CHAers, come join Tracey Wilder as she will do demos on Saturday from 10-12 and 1-3.

Please take a peek at my fellow TaDa DTers' blog like Julie's & Tracey's for more eye candy!

Blog lag...

as to opposed to jet lag! LOL!! Which my parents are probably experiencing right now as they are back in Japan.

Catch up of June events:

I thought summers were supposed to be "lazy days of summer" but no! I have been driving around taking little boys (well, not so little anymore) to camp. And of course, the two locations are one end to the other! GRRrr!

Also I have been holding scrapbooking classes but not as much as during the school year. But I have been fortunate to have a huge interest in them! So thank you to all my scrappers for hanging out with me between camp times! LOL!!

It is also CHA time! This time around I have a break! LaserLine (Booth # 4114) has extremely busy with some new accounts! YEAH!!! Good for them! So I won't have new products out...just designing a new MnT. More on that in a different post (when it come closer to CHA, I'll post).

I want to thank all my friends for a very happy birthday wish (June 14th=Flay Day!) and want to wish my fellow June babies good wishes & fortune on their day too! So here's a card for you made from mostly TaDa Creative Studios (CHA Booth #2325), of course! LOL!!

The sprinkle stamp is also from TaDa, "birthday wishes" stamp from Stampin Up! as well as the inks & markers. The bling (aka Stickles) is brough to you by Ranger.

Another thing...happy father's day to my dad and to my dear hubby from the boys! They made a mini album for their daddy. We got him a sport shirt since he joined a health club and wanted to add to his wardrobe! Thank you for all you do for us, dad & Hosho! xoxoxo

OK..back to work on my CHA projects! Just got a box of new stuff from TaDa and can I just say I love it!!!!!!!! LOL!

Reflection...

on Memorial Day is probably the theme of the day.

I spent the day with the family by taking a walk (about 30-40 mins - our boys can only last so long! LOL!!) in a place where you can get some exercise and reflect on your thoughts. As the day was Memorial Day, I thought of my friends' spouses that are serving overseas and how their families are spending this day without them. Made me feel how lucky I am that I can spend the day with my family...it was a beautiful day in more ways than one!

Got to sleep in a little in the morning and in the late morning, we went off to Spring Valley Nature Center & Heritage Farm in Schaumburg for our walk. Of course, we had to "bribe" the boys into going by having a late lunch of RAMEN and bubble tea at MITSUWA's food court. You can only imagine how fast two boys can move to get in that car! LOL!!!

If you are ever in the Schaumburg IL area (aka Woodfield Mall), you'll have to make this one of your stops! I never went to the back of this place....there's a farm (duh!) and took some great pictures! I'll share some below:




Can't get over how tall my oldest DS is getting!







This statue is placed by the vistor's center and is such a sweet piece! Definitely one of my favorites!







Can you tell how excited my boys are to be walking in 80 degree weather?! LOL!!! "Deal with it!" HA!






One of the scenes before arriving to Heritage Farm :0)








Such a magnificant bird! Was gobbling all day long! LOL!!





Look at the colors on this one! He is a beauty! This one was the quiet one. There was another who didn't know what time it was...he kept going all day long too. What is up with these birds - it was a very noisey bird coop! LOL!!







I made a friend!








This is Heritage Farm's visitor's center.




It was a very nice way to spend a holiday and after a week's worth of cold weather too!

Hope you and your family had a wonderful holiday weekend....hope that you also reflected a little about those who serve, served and sacrficed.

Have to share.....

OK! It's about two months to this day that I rec'd something really special from my friend, Jen (aka Race Goddess)! To back up, I had a RAK to give out around CHA-Winter when I had debuted my newest line with LaserLine....acrylic-shaped mini albums! Well, Jenn won my scalloped heart mini (one of my favorite)!

Look at her creation!!!! I am so honored and thrilled that she took the time (out of her busy schedule) to make this wonderful album.











Sorry that it took two months to finally post...as you can see I haven't been posting much! LOL!! Thank you, Jen! You rock!!!! xoxoxo

Where did April go?! LOL!!!

Hey all!
So sorry to be slacking in the blogging department....

Many things happening as it is the beginning of the school year for Japanese school and guess what! I was "chosen" (by lottery) to become my oldest DS' class mom (8th grade). Somewhere in the definition of "volunteer," the translation forgot to include own free will. LOL!! Each year, the mothers pick out a number from the "hat" and if you are in the top (at least) five, you're it. It also gives you an automatic "in" to the PTA "inner circle" which means you have to draw a number again at the end of the year to see if you are "it" on the executive board or committee head. Lucky for me that I have a "partner in crime"...almost all classes have 2 class moms. She is very cool so I am lucky to partner with her..well, maybe she isn't so lucky to have me! LOL!!!

Also we had a stamping/scrapbooking open house toward the end of April for the Japanese community. I had only two full days to prep as my parents were visiting from out of town. I think my best seller was the personalized papers that had either CUBS, SOX, BEARS or Chicago landmarks on them. I had some people interested in pursuing scrapbooking so that's always a PLUS!










Here are some of the things I made for the open house. The single flower has a stamped imagine on the back....in this case, either "Happy Mother's Day" or "You're so Sweet." I thought it would be cute to have a 3D "card" rather than just a regular card. The mirrors turned out really nice..my favorite was an all-pink w/ cupcakes on it! CUTE! Unfortunately I did not take a picture of it. That one sold in the first few minutes of the show! LOL!!!!

I mentioned my parents were in town..it was so nice to have them here. The boys just loved having their grandparents over. This time was a VERY SHORT trip. So we'll have to make a trip to LA (next time they're in the States) or to Japan (which is long overdue). Thanks for coming, mom & dad!!! xoxoxoxo

My scrapbooking classes have been keeping me busy! Right before my parents' visit, I had classes almost everyday! LOL! I don't know if that is good or bad but I'm having fun!

Lastly, I do want to wish everyone a very Happy Mother's Day...hope it is a day full of good memories!

Yikes! It's March!!!!!

So sorry for the lack of posting in February!

Been trying to keep up with things...you would think that CHA was hectic but life in general gets a little nutty too! LOL!!

Well, March was started off on a real good foot! I was able to go and crop at a dear friend's MS Crop! First time this year that I was able to just hang out with friends! I did more laughing than scrapbooking but isn't part of the fun?!


This is where we were seated. I came in the night before to help set up....they didn't need my help. They had at least a hundred volunteers here!! Holy Cow!






This is the main hall where the congreation have their services - it's huge!






And here are my tablemates! Loads of laughter & fun! Thankful to know them and to call friends! Miss you all already!



Then it was tennis for the boys - thank goodness I can take them at the same time and the same place! Hopefully that will last for a long time! LOL!! I really like the coaches at Schaumburg Tennis Plus (STP) - a park district facility!


Taka returning a serve...he's improving and has gone to Team Schaumburg II. A jump from starting tennis (after a 2.5 year "break") in the late summer of '07 at summer camp to last month from Team I to Team II. These players are aiming to be on the high school tennis team or already on the team.





Hiro just started with the beginner's class. He also has been playing when we lived on the east coast but it has been several years since picking up the racket. He has been enjoying his sessions and I am happy for him!



As for me, I continue to teach basic scrapbooking to my Japanese friends. The Reflections project is a big hit - I am happy to report! It is the altered mirror that I had mentioned about in a previous post. For April's project, I know what to make...just need to make the sample! A minor detail! LOL!! Will post when I finish :0) Here are some of the mirror projects....

















Aren't they wonderful?! Makes me so excited to see other's style on one little idea! I love this job! LOL!!!

OK....off to bed! Will post more often! Thanks for visiting!

A little "TaDa" moment...

Well, I had this square mirror, some TaDa Creative Studio paper (their signature line), Prima flowers and Ranger's acrylic dabber paint (Mountain Rose)!

And this is what happened!













Actually this is a sample for my Japanese scrappers. It's their March "Reflection" project. This picture will be included in their newsletter that I will send out tomorrow but thought I'd post a sneak peek :0)

Guess you can tell I'm SO READY FOR SPRING!!!!! LOL!!!

Thank you!!!

A couple of thank yous are in order...

First, to my friends - thank you for your good wishes for being selected to the TaDa Creative Studios' design team! Can I just say "I'm so stinkin' excited?!" LOL!! Can't wait to get the first designer's package from them :0)

It arrived today!!!! My prize from my MayaRd/RangerInks guru, Wendy Vecchi! I was about to leave to pickup my oldest DS from junior high and I hear the doorbell. The mail carrier was admiring the box - low & behold, Miss Wendy done some wonderful designing on my address! It was so beautiful that I opened the box from the bottom! LOL!!!!!!!!!!



I think you'll agree it was the right choice!


And then I continued to open the package and I see this!

Isn't this the most beautiful thing you ever seen?! I had been admiring this item from her blog but NEVER expected this to be in MY home!

So Wendy if you're reading and you realized that you sent this by mistake...uhuh, IT'S MINE!!! TOUGH! LOL!!! The details of this piece is just incrediable and I LOVE crackle paint! THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!!!

And that wasn't enough, she included her BEAUTIFUL limited edition business card (she handmakes her business cards but not for long - you're going to be so popular, you'll need to have them printed - seriously!)!!! You see it resting against my (new) laptop! PLUS she sent me a flat blossom CB book, some awesome ribbons (colors that I don't have and including the scallop ric-rac & sheer ribbon) and the sheer People keychain - all of course from Maya Road! Thank you, Wendy!!! I cannot wait to meet you @ CHA-Summer!! But hopefully we can meet sooner ;0) xoxo