Sunday, January 31, 2010

CHA Details... Finally!

Finally! A CHA blog post. Sorry it took me so long! I have been running non-stop since arriving, I think. Plus, I came home to two sick kids that have been keeping my up nights, so that has depleted my stamina considerably.

First, let me tell you that the Couture Cardstock booth was awesome! We had an awesome show, and so much fun working together as a team. It was a blast getting to meet designers Natalie Dever, Veronica Jennings, and Broni Holcombe (my awesome roommate).
A few of the Couture girls (myself, Sally, CarrieAnne, and Wendy):


Sally, our clothed-in-cardstock mannequin:

Director of Customer Service Wendy Tartaglia, and Copic artist Broni Holcombe:

Now, about the other booths... so many goodies. Too many to mention. I will, however, admit that I spent a lot of time in the booths for Maya Road (must have it all!), Crate Paper (the Brook Collection is coming my way!!), and of course the show stoppers (for me): Prima and Websters Pages. There was not a SINGLE THING in either of those booths that I wouldn't LOVE to have.

As for the people... really, this was the highlight of the show for me! I got to meet some really cool people, like Teri Anderson (Paper Crafts Go-to Gal), Megan Hoeppner (Creating Keepsakes), Brittany Beattie (also CK), the Eclectic Paperie team (they are a blast, and fed us the best guacamole!), and Jennifer McGuire. I also ran into TIm Holtz (well, he ran into me, literally!) but I doubt he remembers, as he was in a huge hurry to get somewhere!

It was also a blast seeing Vicki Parker and the Scrap A GoGo girls. I met Vicki at last year's show, so seeing her again was totally a highlight of the trip. Oh, and meeting Erica Weinstock, the owner of YSS. Meeting her in person was awesome too, as I rarely get to meet fellow DT members or owners in person!

I also got to attend the SuperShow for a few hours, which was not originally part of the plan, but was fantastic fun. I acted as personal shopper for 3 of my friends, picking up new BasicGrey, GCD (Melody Ross... love it!) and tons of Thickers. My own personal favorite find: Hambly Screen prints chandelier rub-ons. They are white, and huge, and gorgeous... :)

So, that about does it for the highlights. To get the new stuff, keep an eye on the Your Scrapbook Stash store for the best of everything coming in soon. Erica ordered TONS of it, and she has the best sales too!

Ihope I didn't leave anything out... if I did, I guess I will write another post! I can't wait for Summer CHA... especially since it is in Chicago (my favorite city) and I get to attend with my dear friend Heidi Kelley! It doesn't get much better then a week of my favorite people, my favorite city, and my favorite hobby. :)

~Alyssa~

Wednesday, January 27, 2010

Coming Home

Today I am flying home from California. Back to the snow and ice. :( I will arrive REALLY late tonight and then I have to go pick up my kids on Thursday. But I will try to update you with all the details from the show on Friday morning. Hope you all have been having a fabulous week!

Sunday, January 24, 2010

My Sweet Banner- Get the kit!

Greetings from Anaheim, CA! We are having a great time at CHA. The show is going full swing, and there is so much to see. In the Couture Cardstock booth, we are doing Make n' Takes and having a great time meeting everyone. I love introducing everyone to this amazing cardstock.

Today I have some really fun news for you! I created this banner this some Pink Paislee "Cupid Collection" and a Maya Road chipboard mini. And the best part is, the kit is available in the YSS Store so you can make one too! Head over there and check it out. Here are a few photos of the banner.

Head over there and get yours now, while supplies last! :)

~Alyssa~

Friday, January 22, 2010

Flower Tutorial!


Today on the Couture Cardstock Blog: a flower tutorial created by Yours Truly. :)

Learn how to make these flowers by going HERE.

See you there!
~Alyssa~

Wednesday, January 20, 2010

Couture Cardstock layouts!


I have been waiting a LONG time to be able to share this layout with you. And now I can! I created this layout using the Working Man Monochromatic Family from Couture Cardstock.

This layout is also Working Man:

And a cute altered journal with Vintage Christmas cardstock and some Pink Paislee:

Today on the Couture Blog: a sneak peek at our new release and a layout I made with it. :)

~Alyssa~

Tuesday, January 19, 2010

An Apple A Day


This is what I did today. I used up the last of my Basic Grey June Bug. :)

Last night, I posted a peek on the Couture Cardstock Blog about the new 12"x24" papers we are going to be releasing at CHA next week. You can read all about it and see the colors HERE.

I am on the YSS blog today with another Studio Calico layout and a brief tutorial. You can see that HERE.

More projects to share tomorrow! :)

Sunday, January 17, 2010

NEW projects! I scrapped for me!!

No DT work today... I got to scrap for me!! It was so much fun creating this layout. I absolutely love this photo, and I have been itching to scrap it. So today I did... using whatever products I wanted with no constraints. I ended up using Couture Cardstock, a Tattered Angels stamp, some Glimmer Mist (can't live without it), and the Que Sera Sera papers from K&Company.

See the flower I made? I plan to write a tutorial for it soon. It's all shimmery and looks almost lacquered... the depth of the color is amazing, and I can't wait to share with you how I made it.
I also created this card this week with some Couture Cardstock (some of the new line coming out! Shhh...) and some Graphic45. Oh, and what's not to love about those Jenni Bowlin circle letters?
Thanks for reading!

~Alyssa~

Saturday, January 16, 2010

More YSS projects


I have been busy creating more YSS projects! Today I thought I would share a few more projects.

This one goes along with this weeks' Weekly Sketch, and uses the Studio Calico HomeFront Line.

This one uses Crate Paper's Cottage Collection and is a lift of fellow team member Wendy Kwok:
All the supplies on both of those layouts are available on SALE at YSS this month!

5 days until I leave for CHA in California! I will be working with Couture Cardstock in booth #3947. Come chat with me and do one of our great Make n' Takes!

Happy Weekend to you all!
~Alyssa~

Wednesday, January 13, 2010

Giveaway and what I've been up to!


First things first: the giveaway is here. Just complete one of the DT sketches for this month to be entered to win. I will be adding one of my own original sketches to the mix on Friday, so check back to see that. I am using the new Studio Calico Home Front for my interpretation!

Now that that is out of the way, what have I been up to? CHA projects! I will have projects in two booths at the show, Couture Cardstock and Your Scrapbook Stash! This is a huge honor for me, and I am really looking forward to the show. I leave in 8 days! Yikes. :) During the show, I will be showing you my YSS project here on my blog, and giving you all the info about the kit you can purchase to make your own version. (Hint: it's very sweet!)

Over on the Couture Cardstock blog, I have added a 3-D vine tutorial, and tomorrow the layout using the vine will be shown. It's one of my recent favorites, so don't miss that.

I will leave you with one of my projects for YSS this month. I used the Crate Paper Cottage Collection for this layout, as well as a Making Memories Bling Frame. All supplies are available in the YSS Store.

Saturday, January 9, 2010

My 30 Minute Experiment


So, those of you who know me or have ever cropped with me know that I spend 2-3 hours, minimum, on each layout I create. On a really detailed layout, I can sometimes spend 6-8 hours. So, when I saw this weeks challenge on the American Crafts Blog, I knew I wanted to try it. I also knew that for me it really would be a challenge.

I forced myself to stick to the 30 minute limit. It probably actually took an hour, because of the constant interruptions from my children, but the actual time spent creating this layout was very close to 30 minutes.

I had to forgo my usual fussy cutting, because that is time consuming and couldn't be done in 30 minutes.I also have far fewer details then I am used to. BUT, I do like the results, and certainly, getting layouts done in 30 minutes has it's appeal. :) I think I will try it again sometime soon.

For this layout, I used the Blue Skies line from American Crafts, Delight and Rockabye Thickers, and some pearls from Your Scrapbook Stash. You can, in fact, get all of these supplies 20% off this month in the YSS Store. Just use the code THIRDBDAY when you check out.

Here is the layout I created:
PS. Anyone know what happened to my Blogger settings and how to correct it?
~Alyssa~

Thursday, January 7, 2010

Snow, snow, and photos


Well, we have already added another inch to the 3 we had last night... and there are 3-4 more inches still coming. Yikes! Welcome to January in the Midwest. I am certainly hoping that it all comes now and not in 2 weeks when I am supposed to fly to California for CHA. I REALLY do not want that flight to be delayed. At least my transfer is in Dallas, so not too likely to be delayed by 12 inches of snow there. :)

In the meantime, I am busy working on projects for Your Scrapbook Stash. I got some very yummy goodies in the mail yesterday and I have already completed one project. You can expect to see some things showing up here on my blog soon.

And.... I am on the YSS Blog today too. :)

Over at Couture Cardstock, we are busy preparing for CHA. We have a new release coming soon, and dozens of amazing cards, layouts, and altered items (think high fashion!) for the booth. I think we will be showing off some of the booth projects on our blog during the show, so you will want to hang around to catch that, if you aren't going to make it to the show to see them in person, that is. :)

On a personal note, we are all doing pretty well. We have started back into the preschool routine after the holidays and we are studying patterns, order (1st, 2nd, 3rd) and of course handwriting and some basic math and phonics. Milena is a fast learner, and for the most part likes school.

Elijah is a constant ball of 2-year-old energy and really misses being outside for 3 hours a day like he did all summer long. I miss him being outside all the time too! I am constantly on the lookout for new ways of burning off some extra energy indoors, so make sure you leave me any tips you have!

Here are a few new photos, take right before Christmas:





Thanks for reading!
~Alyssa~

Sunday, January 3, 2010

A few more days to enter...

... this giveaway:


Good luck!

~Alyssa~