Sad Goodbye to NY

Well our fantastic trip is coming to an end. We are sitting in the British Airways lounge (which is pretty awesome btw) at JFK airport waiting for yur flight back home (I cannot wait to see Anthony and the boys). I have had the best time and will have so many photos to scrap when I get back.

I need to catch up on two days of Chicago don't I? We were so busy and shhhhh, don't tell anyone but my credit card has had a work out. Friday was the CHA Supershow where retailers and Companies demonstrated products and sold products to the public.

The three of us had a ball (we made friends with Julie from Fantasia - she is awesome). It was interesting and great to see how craft shows over here are done and to see what people liked. There were heaps of make and take stations throughout the show and lots of customers taking part. We began at one of my favourite companies, Papertrey Ink. They only sell online from the US, so it was great to stock up on some stamp sets and dies while we are here. Did I mention my credit card got a work out? But the line up for the registers ended up all around their stall and out the back of it. Amazing.

We then headed out to find some US craft stores (Jo-Anns and Micheals) and went on a taxi ride out into the suburbs. It was interesting to see the housing and local area. We were very disappointed when we got there cause Jo-Anns' wasn't that great and there was no Michaels to be seen. But as we were wandering over to a Wal-mart we spotted Archivers, which is a scrapbooking franchise here. It was great. Lovely big store with heaps of product and the credit card got a work out again.

On Saturday we teamed up with Julie again and the three of us went on a bus ride to Woodfield Shopping Centre. OMG!! Everything is supersized here in the US. Big Shops, Big carparks and Big shopping centres. This area was so big it had Trolley's (shuttle buses) to take you from one section to another.

I loved it and finally got to see the inside of an Anthropologie store.

Shabby Chic goodness!!

On Sunday it was Tracey's birthday so we started the day with 'Birthday Bacon' , yummy! Then we headed into the city for some sightseeing and shopping (again!!). Chicago is AMAZING. So clean and a really beautiful city. A mix of old and new buildings grace the skyline and provide so much to look at.

And of course we shopped the Magnificent Mile.

Then we ended the day with a lovely dinner for Tracey's birthday.

Yes, I proposed.............just kidding (it is a Pandora charm).

If you are still reading, thanks for getting all the way through this post. Will come back with some New York photos over the next couple of days.

Teresa Collins

I am so excited to have received an email from Teresa Collins today to let me know that she has featured our little video on her blog. How cool!!

You can check it out here.

This has been a big highlight of my trip!!

CHA Day 3

Ahhh, the last day of a fantastic show. It was great. We watched Tim a bit more today (again, he is amazing to watch). And his Vagabond machine.................want one, want one, want one.

Then had our photo with him again.

Said goodbye to people we had met in Brisbane, including the gorgeous Wendy Senger from Tattered Angels.

Then when the show finished at 3pm we headed to downtown Chicago with Sherry and Julie (from Fantasia) for some sightseeing and shopping. Here are some snaps!

Heading to the city

We shopped The Magnificent Mile

Love the fire escapes.

CHA Day 2

This morning started off a little bit later with a leisurely breakfast (with the best bacon ever), a little bit of work (blog updating) and then off to CHA.

Today was awesome. We got to meet Teresa Collins. She is gorgeous.

We talked to her Rep about distribution in Australia (I hate how hard it is to get her stuff) and then went off to watch "The Stampmaker" demonstration.

THIS IS A MACHINE THAT I CAN NOT WAIT TO HAVE. Want to see it? Well, I was lucky enough to DO a demo with Teresa and have Tracey film it for us. How cool is that?

The detail in this machine is extraordinary. Imagine making your own stamps of your kids names, or their handwriting, or your photos...............sigh!! love it.

Enjoyed the displays again today. This cute little cupcake on the Making Memories stand was made from the "in" thing at the moment - ribbon roses.

We did a bunch of make n takes today. That was cool.

A great day finished off with a lovely dinner across from the hotel in the seafood restaurant. Bedtime now. Need rest for tomorrow.

CHA Day 1

Wow, what a day. By the end of it, my feet were hurting and my mind was spinning. So many new products, display ideas and exciting people to meet and talk to. It was fantastic!!

We started the day by sitting down at the Prima table for a make n take and I got very excited when Donna Downey walked up to do the session. {insert Squeal of delight here}

And she was so gorgeous and delightful. My friend Liz jokingly told me to say hi to her (and Donna or course has no idea who either of us are) and Liz should know that of course I WOULD do it. And Donna was do darn cute and accommodating she let me record a message to send back to Liz. So cool!!

I was so excited to find Unity stamps here. I have wanted these stamps for ages but they are really hard to find in Australia. They won't be any more. We will have them at Pages 2 Scrap soon!! {insert another squeal of delight here}

Then I got to meet Jenni Bowlin.

Her displays were just gorgeous.

And then we saw Tim Holtz down an aisle and bailed him up for a photo. He is so gracious and accommodating.

And to watch him work was amazing. So much better in real life than on the computer. Can't wait to go back again on day 2 to watch him some more.

We only got about a third of the way around the show. So heaps more to do on Day 2.

We finished the day going out to dinner with Sherry and Julie (freom Fantasia) and then a little tiny bit of shopping at Bed, Bath & Beyond. It was a huge store, they do everything BIGGER over here.

Chicago

Well, here we are. In the Windy City - Chicago!! Yay!!

The trip started early Sunday morning with being picked up at 6.20am.

We had a great trip by being upgraded to Premium Economy thanks to Tracey's Qantas club membership.

Lots of room and menu dining and champagne before takeoff.

We arrived in Chicago 24 hours after being picked up from Ourimbah. Phew! Little sleep, very tired. But we ploughed on with a shopping trip to Target before dinner and bed. We slept well all night and woke up feeling fine. So off to downtown Chicago we headed.

We visited Navy Pier (forgot to take any photos!!!) and then back into the city for some shopping. We shopped ALOT!! It was so much fun. We found a cool Lego store which my boys would have LOVED!!! Huge Darth Vader made of Lego and a life size Woody!

So after buying some surprises we headed to Macy's for some personal shopping.

It was a fabulous day.

Creative Sharing

Thought I would pop in and post some of what I have been working on lately.

Here is the full page of the class I taught tonight. We used Graphic 45 Baby 2 Bride papers and elements, Martha Stewart border punch and Twiddleybitz laser cuts. Very girlie!!

And I have been busy creating a bunch of cards for a fundraiser I am off to tomorrow night.

Thanks for stopping by,

Alex

3 Weeks to Go!!

I am starting to get super excited now with only three weeks to go until I go to Chicago and New York with Tracey for work. I have my passport, I have a new little camera to take with me (thanks to a bonus from working stocktake - I love my job!!!) and I have borrowed some pink luggage from my gorgeous Mum to take with me. Gonna take my suitcases empty of course so that I can fill them with goodies from the States.

Here is my little bloggie camera that I will record my trip on:

If I work out how, I will upload some footage here to share with you.

So lately, I have been super busy creating all my class samples for July and August so that I am free to go. And of course our Retreat for Pages 2 Scrap is on the week after we get back. So that sample has been started. Want to see what I have created for the next couple of weeks?

This is a class called Q is for Quotes. In this class we play with masking and stamping.

Then this is the 7 Gypsies Photo Tray. I had so much fun creating this using the new Kaiser Up, Up & Away range.

And this is the Wedding Bells sneak peek. This class uses Twiddlybitz and Graphic 45, which I love Graphic 45. Although this is promoted as a wedding class, it would suit any feminine photo.

Call the store for dates, times and cost. Would love to see you there.

Thanks for stopping by.