it's all about the details

friends to be thankful for

Living thousands of miles away from our beloved Midwest is hard for us (I do believe we've mentioned that on more than one occasion), but we are truly grateful to two very wonderful people who've made an impact on our lives here in Utah. We are so thankful for the friendship of Cath and Mark. 

I swiped this cute picture of the two of them from Cath's Facebook page (hope she doesn't mind!).

Cath and I work together in the creative environment of Paper Crafts magazine, and I hang out with Mark once a week for our band's practice (he plays lead guitar).

Last Friday, Beth and I were invited to their lovely home for dinner to celebrate Beth's new job and to just enjoy each others' company. They are some of the best hosts I've ever met! The perfectly paced evening and effortless conversation were delightful. The food and drinks were absolutely delicious, and the festive November decor was cozy and a befitting backdrop for an evening with good friends. 

Thank you, Cath and Mark, for your wonderful friendship. We are so fortunate to know the two of you!

Susan

ode to my brother

One time I punched my brother right in the face. I was baking, someone came to the door, and he thought I should answer it. I lost my temper and clocked him one. Sorry, Kurtie.

Once he stayed at my apartment in Dearborn when he was in town for a seminar. He said some lovely things about my hospitality and graciousness that I have never forgotten. Thanks, Kurtie.

Once he and his family moved to Turkey to be a Christian presence in a Muslim world. It was hard for me to adjust to him being so far away. I missed you, Kurtie.

Today, Kurt is back in Michigan. In fact, at this very moment he and Anna and the boys are moving in to their new place in the Detroit area. In a few weeks we'll all be together for Christmas. I love you, Kurtie.

As seen in Super-Fast Pages with 4 x 6 Photos by Creating Keepsakes

And to top it off, it's his birthday. Join me in wishing him well. He's a great brother, super father, loving husband, and faithful friend. Happy Birthday, Kurtie!

Beth

my life in cheerleading

Having been a cheerleader is a big part of who I am, but not for the reasons you might suspect. For me and most of the cheerleaders I've known as a squad member or coach, it wasn't about the cute skirt and the pom pons; it wasn't about hanging out with the football or basketball hunks; it wasn't about bouncing around in front of the crowd; and it wasn't about winning trophies (though all of that was fun!).

Cheerleading is smiling and staying positive even when hope is dwindling. It's performing a service even when you don't feel like it (rain, snow, illness, family problems) and refusing to wallow. It's accomplishing amazing death-defying feats without looking like you're trying. It's supporting others and believing in them. It's trusting your teammates, and it's doing your part.

Say what you will. Buy into the Hollywood stereotype of the promiscuous, narcissistic airhead who wears her skimpy costume every day. But I know differently. Here's an old layout about my years of cheers. The photography isn't great because the pictures are mostly scanned from newspaper clippings or yearbooks, but it shows the impact of cheerleading in my life.

The way I see it, the world would be a horrible place if it weren't for cheerleaders. So the next time you're tempted to turn your nose up at those perky girls and guys on the sidelines, maybe--just maybe--you'll entertain the notion that spreading CHEER is a pretty darned cool thing after all.

Beth

paper crafting meets the lwml

After a bit of a hiatus, I'll be teaching a card class (with Beth's help) right here in Utah tomorrow night. Based on a class called Kick-Start Christmas taught at Creating Keepsakes Conventions all over the country, the students will be making these two cards:

I designed the one on the left and the one on the right is inspired by a card designed for the CKC classes by my friend and co-worker, Brandy Jesperson.

We'll be teaching the class to the LWML ladies at our church (Light of the Valley Lutheran in Riverton). I think my mom's gonna be super proud about that. You see, she IS LWML (Lutheran Women's Missionary League). Every since the early 1960's, she's served the church in the LWML from her local congregation, to the Michigan District, all the way to LWML International. She's met some life-long friends along the way, too.

Beth and I have participated on a few occasions as pages and helpers at the Michigan District conventions, and in the summer of 2003, we were the convention song leaders. Now this is no small potatoes. In 1988, I sang the Canadian National Anthem at the open ceremonies in front of a crowd of nearly 1,000, and at the 2003 convention, Beth and I lead the singing for 700+. Not only did we sing, we also performed little skits and wore costumes (see below). It was good bonding time with Mom, and a great way to serve the Lord. 

Through the wonders of the Internet, we've even connected with a scrapbooker by the name of Melissa Salomon who is the Community Life Director at Concordia Lutheran Church and School in Chula Vista, CA. She is an LWMLer who keeps it truly international by traversing the US/Mexico border weekly to share God's love.

Most Missouri Synod churches have an LWML, and we are honored to be sharing our paper crafting passion with the Utah ladies who Serve the Lord with Gladness!

Susan

a card a day... keeps the doctor away

Get your Christmas wish list handy and put this book at the top of your list! The brainchild of Wendy Sue Anderson, A Card a Day: Your Ultimate Resource for Inspiration, Design, Tips & Techniques gives you ideas for making one card every single day. From general ideas like birthday, thank you, and get well cards to holidays like Valentine's Day, Mother's Day, and Christmas, you'll never be at a loss for card design ideas.

But what about those lesser known holidays like National Blah Blah Blah Day, International Literacy Day, and National Grandparents Day? Yup, there are ideas for those as well, because really, every day is a reason to send a hand made card!

Have you ordered your copy yet? Or at least dropped some hints? You'll be so inspired you just might burst!

Susan

playing the part

Oh, I'm well aware that we are nine full days into November, but Halloween wasn't that long ago, right? I mean it's way closer than Christmas (and I've already heard Christmas songs on the radio). Let's take a moment to relive Halloween 2009 with the Opel sisters.

First, let me introduce to you the Paper Crafts magazine's staff costume - Polygamist Frankenstein and his 9 Wives. Yep, only in Utah can you pull that one off. With our lone male Matt Anderson as Frankenstein, the rest of us (including our two interns) gathered up our Goth and went all out for our green-faced cutie. Each lady brought her own style to her costume. From somber to pregnant and everything in between, Frankie had his choice of fine lookin' chicks.

My look was  pretty simple to pull off, since all of the clothing came out of my closet or Beth's. I simply bought sparkly eyelashes for a touch of glam as well as a blonde wig to create my hair streaks. By using the cut off end of a water bottle, Beth was able to make my hair stand up like that.

And now for Beth's costume - far less elaborate, but way more accurate, don't you think?

The two of us headed off to a party on Friday night and made a quick stop at the grocery store. People kept smiling at Beth and some boys in the bakery section were just amazed at how much she looked like Flo. What is it about Flo? She's just HAPPY - a lot like Beth, and since she's been told she looks like Flo, it was any easy choice. She bought nothing for the costume - just created the button, name tag, and "Progressive"on the computer.

Dressing up sure can be fun, but I was glad to get those fake eyelashes off by the end of the day!

Susan 

the grand unveiling

Elizabeth Kartchner is one of those chicks whose guts you just want to hate. First, of course, she's gorgeous. There's that. And then she's got this hilarious, handsome husband. Dang. And wouldn't you know it, her daughters are just unfairly perfect and adorable. Crap. To top it off, she's really talented and has a devoted blog following. Where does she get off?

And then you meet her. And you discover that she is grateful and modest, sensitive and compassionate, and one of the most hardworking and giving women you've ever met. And suddenly you find yourself giggling with her and admiring her and wanting to do everything in your power to see that she gets good stuff back for all the good stuff she puts out into the universe.

That's why I've been eagerly anticipating this day for a long time. Over a year ago, Liz and I discussed the possibility of her doing a book for Creating Keepsakes. The CK team brainstormed the basic concept as a follow-up edition of the original (and very popular) 52 Scrapbooking Challenges book, and I was honored to be given the responsibility of manager of the project.

You can't imagine how exciting it was to come up with a contributor list, invite these top designers to participate, and then see the amazing pages pour in! I will never forget the day that Liz sent me her first batch of 30 or so pages. I sat in front of the computer with tears streaming down my face--her work was just that incredible, and I knew that people were going to love this book.

So now that it's finally available, I'm giddy to see what you all think of it!

In addition to Liz, you'll marvel over inspiring pages by:

Cindy Tobey

Amanda Johnson

Keisha Campbell

Sheri Reguly

Kelly Purkey

Sasha Farina

Mou Saha

Shelly Aldrich

and ME!

So get on over to the CK website or your local scrapbook supplier or bookstore and grab yourself a copy before they sell out! I'm telling you, this is a must-splurge item! Don't waste any time...you're guaranteed to be inspired over and over again.

Here's one last sneak peek: one of my pages from the book. The challenge was to base your layout on a grid...in my case, a calendar:

   

Copyright Creating Keepsakes. Posted with prior permission from the publisher.

Thanks for letting me be a part of it, sweet Lizzy!

Beth

motherly love!

Hello, blog-friends! Guess whose birthday is today?

Yep, it's our Mommy's birthday today - 74 years young (and cute). Could you give her some birthday love today?

Susan

brotherly love

Beth and I are fortunate to have two brothers that we love a whole lot! We are elated that our brother Kurt and his family have returned to the US after two years in Istanbul, and we adore our brother Paul (who resides in Baldwinsville, NY). On Labor Day weekend, Paul made a trip to Utah to celebrate his birthday (August 29) and Beth's (September 3) and to see what the Beehive State was all about.

While in Utah, Beth and I showed Paul the sights, and in Opel family fashion that included some serious road-trippage. One of our first trips took us to Flaming Gorge National Recreation Area which spans portions of both Wyoming and NE Utah. It was a glorious way to spend quality sibling time together topped off with one of the most outstanding meals ever at The Foundry Grill at Sundance Resort in Sundance, UT. We highly recommend the ceviche!

The rest of the weekend included a trip to the Park City Olympic Park which hosted the bobsled, luge, and ski jump events in 2002, an attempt (and fail) to watch the WMU vs. U of M game on TV in Park City, lunch at The Red Iguana which has been featured on Diners, Dives, and Drive-Ins (Paul was even mistaken for Guy Fieri who had been there a few months earlier), dinner at home courtesy of the grillmaster himself, and finally a trip around Utah Lake ending in Provo for a look at BYU.

We're so glad that we had the chance to spend a fun holiday weekend with one of our favorite people on the planet! Love you, Paulie!

Susan

i wanna rock & roll all night!

Hey, friends!

If you don't already know, I'm the lead singer of a rock band called Natural Causes. It's such an honor to sing in front of four super talented guys who've been making music for years: Larry on bass, guitar, keyboard, and vocals, Mark on guitar and vocals, Russ on guitar, keyboard, and vocals, and Joe on the drums. We'd love for you to become our fan on Facebook!

Last night at practice we discussed that it was time to learn some new songs, and they asked me to come up with a list of songs that I'd feel comfortable singing lead. Here's where YOU come in! Can you help me come up with a list of awesome songs for us to try? At this point these are the songs that we already perform with me singing lead:

• Hurts So Good - John Mellencamp
• Walking on Sunshine - Katrina & The Waves
• Heartbreaker - Pat Benatar
• I Love Rock & Roll - Joan Jett
• Call Me - Blondie
• The Warrior - Scandal
• Lights - Journey and
  
• Hit Me With Your Best Shot - Pat Benatar

Think Janis Joplin, Heart, Joan Jett, Melissa Etheridge. Strong female ladies who aren't afraid to let it rip. Think about songs you know all of the words to. Songs that make you wanna crank the radio. If you think of a singer - what song? I'm excited to hear your suggestions! And don't be afraid to pick songs with male singers. If it rocks, it just might work with a few changes of lyrics.

*raising my rock horns*

Susan