It's no secret... I love this job! And it's a good thing I like to travel, too. Since January, I've had the opportunity to fly to many portions of our great big beautiful country - to attend trade shows in Anaheim and Orlando, and to teach at Creating Keepsakes Conventions in Louisville, KY, Manchester, NH, Valley Forge, PA, and Nashville, TN.
Most recently I returned from CKC in Nashville where I stayed at the opulent Opryland hotel and taught classes sponsored by Paper Crafts, Creating Keepsakes, and Simple Scrapbooks. What an honor to share my passion with rooms full of willing students!
One student was none other than Rae Barthel, who was recently crowned Paper Crafts Magazine's Gallery Idol. I sure do like this girl, and I feel a certain kinship with her. We had an enjoyable dinner together and chatted about all things Paper Crafts (and a lot of other things, too). And it's awfully fitting to be mentioning Rae today, since the Nov/Dec 2009 issue goes on sale today and TWO of Rae's cards are on the cover along with a cute little shaped mouse card made by none other than Go-to Gal Kim Hughes.
Traveling to Nashville had other perks as well! I was able to have dinner with my cousin (actually first cousin once-removed) Karen, her husband Paul, and their cute and smart daughter Rachel. The Waters family lives only about two miles from the hotel, so it seemed like a no-brainer for us to get together.
After the teaching in Nashville was done, I was able to make a side-trip to the Cincinnati area where I was able to visit with scrapbooking friends Jan Connair, Barb Hogan, and high school friend, Craig Stevens. Jan, Barb, and I chit-chatted for a couple of hours about all things Facebook and scrapbooking, and Craig showed me his new life as a resident of Covington, KY, and an employee of Chiquita Brands International. On my way out of town on Monday morning, I took a breathtaking photo of Cincinnati at sunrise, and then headed back to Nashville to catch my flight back to Utah. To top it all off, I ran into a former student from Faith Lutheran in the Las Vegas airport. Erica has a BA in English and a law degree and may be moving to SLC - what a small world! What a great trip!
Today, the fun continues as the Paper Crafts Go-to Gals have gathered here in Utah to share their bright ideas with our whole team. We'll spend today pow-wowing and planning the upcoming issues of your favorite card making magazine at Brandy's house. Teri and Maren will arrive from Washington State, Kim K. and Kim H. will represent the state of Arizona, our yellow rose of Texas is Jessica, and Betsy (whom I'm excited to meet for the first time) will be here all the way from Iowa. Ooh, the creative minds all in one place - it's gonna be awesome!
We haven't had a giveaway in a long time (and we've certainly been gathering a whole lot of brand new yummy scrapping goodies), so in honor of ALL of the creative minds out there, we'd love to give you a box full of Making Memories Vintage Findings and other fun stuff from Pink Paislee, Bella Blvd., GCD Studios and Teresa Collins. Leave a comment here and you are eligible to win. One winner will be announced right here on Friday. Be sure to check back then to see if it's YOU!
Susan
