Rach-ology

Handmade U - Second Semester

2012-01-16T14:49:00.001-08:00

Hi Everyone,

As I am coming down from the excitement of a Wedding, Honeymoon, Holidays, Husband's Birthday, and being sick, I have a SUPER FUN event coming up to plan for!

Handmade U - Second Semester!! April 19-22, 2012.

The venue will be the same, Minglewood Lodge near Omaha, NE.

For all those who will be Sophmores, welcome BACK!! For those considering coming as Freshman, please come join us for your First Semester!

We have all new projects that will be sure to keep us Creatively Stimulated all weekend long!!

Check out all the details HERE on the Handmade U - Second Semester page!!

Sign ups begin NOW! Email me at mcgoughrachel@yahoo.com to sign up and arrange payment!

Be Crafty -

Rach

I am really still Alive - I'm Actually a Married Woman NOW!

2011-12-22T15:35:00.000-08:00

Cheers to YOU!!

Happy Holidays everyone!

I have been gone so long! After Handmade U, First Semester, I was focused solely on our wedding preparations and that took all our time.

Now that the dust is settling from all the events that were all so Amazing, we are headed to Dallas to spend our first Christmas together with Jim's family.

Once we get back from the Holidays I will be announcing Handmade U, Second Semester registration. The dates for the Spring Semester will be April 19-22. Hope you can make it!

Enjoy your holidays with your friends and family!! Thanks for being a reader of my blog in 2011!! Looking forward to 2012! More exciting things to come.

Peace and JOY to you all,

Rach

Handmade U Wrap Up - Cream Can Dinner

2011-10-10T15:55:00.001-07:00

This wasn't that long ago but seems worlds away!

The weather created the perfect prelude to Fall at Handmade U. It was a little chilly, which made the flannel PJ pants nice and cozy, a little misty, which gave us an even more remote country feel at our lodge and on the road to the Velder Log Cabin.

I really wanted to share with the students a real Nebraska "cream can dinner".

They may do this in other states, but we're in Nebraska, so it's a NE thang. My Dad has been doing these dinners for years and I always look forward to doing one.

Not only do I look forward to the food, the "event" that is it, but since it is so much food, it means that you are surrounded by friends or family to enjoy such a fun meal.

It is hard to describe to someone who hasn't witnessed it. Usually people picture creamed corn, creamed food....there is corn but nothing is creamed. We use an old can that people would keep cream in. The can is lined inside with corn on the cob, cabbage is added, carrots, sausages of any sort, and potatoes.

You could add anything else if you'd like too like onions, etc. Then the can is filled with Beer for steaming, and the top closes the can. DO NOT FORGET TO PUNCH HOLES IN THE TOP.....

One day you should hear my Dad's story about the sausages in the trees and cabbage all over the golf course when they did a Cream Can and holes were not added!!!

Anyhow, Minglewood Lodge doesn't not allow fires or cooking outside, so we ventured to the Velder Log Cabin to see the Cream Can in action.

Thanks to my parents for hosting this bunch of crafty women, everyone loved it.

We did get a quick peek at my mom's longarm quilting machine, and I think I could've left a few women there to learn more and they'd have been happy, but NO - there was more crafting to finish at Handmade U at Minglewood Lodge. So we left happy and full of a great dinner.

Oh and of course what kind of ART EVENT HOSTESS would I be if I didn't serve cupcakes!! Personalized nonetheless! The Cakery was the creator of these delicious cupcakes. They will be making our wedding cake in just over a month!! YIKES....

Shelley and Lisa came up from different cities in Oklahoma to be at Handmade U.

Here I am with Hope and Stephanie from Indiana.

The gals from Kansas, Lindy and Nora!

Michelle representin' Texas. We did miss Paige who had to leave the country unexpectedly!

Pam, our East Coast attendee! Virginia!

Yay for an Omaha girl - Mollie!

Not pictured Dee Ann from Kansas too!

Of course with this Handmade U team I wouldn't have been able to do it! My fiance Jim, my parents Gerry and Sara, and of course our fabulous Journal Instructor - Michelle Geller. Thanks again!!

-Rach

Handmade U - Coming down from the HIGH!

2011-09-20T12:34:00.000-07:00

Wow.

I don't even know how to begin to talk about the amazing weekend I just experienced. I knew most of the ladies coming to Handmade U's First Semester, and I knew we'd have an amazing time hanging out. I just didn't know HOW AMAZING it would be.

The weekend really began Wednesday afternoon when my parents came up to help pack up their car with as much as we could fit in, as well as mine. We also did our grocery store runs to load up on food. You just never know how much food you will need to keep this many ladies energized for a weekend of heavy crafting!! I erred on the side of LOTS of food!

In the evening Michelle Geller flew in. We stopped to get her a snack, and lo and behold, we just happened to be right next to Dick Blick's, so of course we had to stop.

Then a nice mexican dinner with Michelle and my fiance Jim helped get us psyched for the next day and to work on the few last touches late into the night.

Thursday morning came early as we packed up the few last things and headed to Minglewood Lodge. After getting the keys we brought everything in and started getting organized.

We set up the tables for the ladies! My Mom made these cute totes with the fabrics I found for each of the girls. She even embroidered each name on the bags! And the file folders I fell in love with...Anthropologie of course! The name badges were painted with chalkboard paint and written on with Chalkboard pens which are fun! I brought a bunch of candies too to share with the girls throughout the weekend. A bit' o honey treat in a glassine bag was put on each bed the first night. My fiance Jim helped package all of those up prior to the weekend. Thanks Jim!

Each tote held the wonderful giveaways from all our sponsors and I added a fun wooden ruler, and packets of these Handmade U pencils!!

We added some special touches to the lodge, which was already gorgeously decorated.

I added some fun crayons, papers, and ribbons on this wreath.

I had name plates on each bed to show where everyone was staying. We put their Handmade U t-shirts on their beds along with a little treat.

I've been loving these typewriters for so long!! Well Handmade U was a great excuse to buy one for everyone to use!

We worked til lunchtime and grabbed a Subway. My Dad was off to make the first airport run to gather up Pam, Hope and Stephanie. When they arrived we were all ready to welcome them to Handmade U! We chatted and anxiously awaited all the other Freshmen students. The lodge was filled with smells of Smoked Chicken that my Dad made, and my Mom's AMAZING Baked Beans. YUM...I think a few girls talked about sneaking more beans for breakfast!

When everyone arrived we had the most delicious meal, topped off with pieces of Chocolate Cake the size of your head!

The evening activity was creating small SLAM BOOKS as an ice-breaker get to know you project. It was more fun than I expected. The fun part was coming up with all the questions to go on each page with everyone, then filling in your own. After that we started passing each book around so everyone could put their answers in each person's book.

Throughout the weekend we filled each book in, we each decorated the books in our own unique styles, and had a little treasure to go home with!

We did take a break for what we all love to do at Art Retreats - SHOPPING! I brought all my fun French finds which I was excited to share with everyone. I will hopefully be able to add items into my etsy shop sometime soon!!

Michelle brought her ephemera goodies, double-sided tapes, and of course the very popular WASHI TAPE!!

Friday morning began by making tasty breakfast sandwiches for each woman as they came downstairs. I'm not a morning person, we probably only had a couple in the group (we love you Hope and Shelley!) but it was nice to leisurely get up and eat breakfast, with class starting at 10am. No rushing at Handmade U! No packing up and going from here to there, just come down, relax as if you were at Home.

Michelle started her Handmade Inspiration Journal class once we were all done with Breakfast. Can I just say, I knew Michelle was uber talented, I have loved all her journals that I've seen on Hold Dear and in person, but she went ALL OUT. This was her first major teaching event, an all day class, and she WAS AWESOME! The kits she laid out on each person's table were OVER THE TOP!! I think I could have just looked at all the goodies, papers, ephemera all day long and been happy not even creating the journal. However I did work on my journal, and wow it was FUN.

Michelle broke down the class into really manageable steps so no one got overwhelmed. We each created a fun cover, then varnished it!!

OK I think I have probably said before I LOVE MOD PODGE....and I do, but I hope Mod Podge doesn't get jealous when I say I LOVE LOVE LOVE VARNISH!! I may just start varnishing everything. It puts such a fun shiny gloss on everything. I think there is room in my heart for both Mod Podge and varnish, that's just the kind of crafter I am.

After creating the covers we sewed on the binding and threaded the sari ribbons that would be our way to attach our pages.

Then onto our pages. This was so much fun. Michelle had given us so much to choose from it took some time to plan out what each page would look like.

Friday night was PIZZA night, which was a nice and easy meal so we could get back to our pages and working on the journals! We did find time for a little piece of Carrot Cake, yum.

Here are all the journals nearly done!

Saturday we woke, had muffins, yogurt and fruit and prepared for Quilt Art with Sundries. Each person received a 12x12 art canvas and I had an industrial size bottle of mod podge to share!

I put together a pack of ephemera using papers from my recent France trips. Also my 6th Sponsor was MODA Fabrics!

They sent small charm packs of Kaari Meng's new French General line of fabric. Many of the ladies used those in their designs along with papers from our journaling kit too.

I had lot so paints to choose from and tons of embroidery flosses to add the stitching to the canvases.

I was so proud of all the girls' canvases! You really could look at each one and know who designed and created it, each was so personal. I taught some basic quilt pattern designs, mod podge techniques, and some painting ideas, and away they went.

Michelle Early did a cool block based on the Gee's Bend Quilts.

Pam created this beauty using the quilt block featured on my Mom's business card for Acorn Ridge Quilting. The red polka dots are from one of our napkins! She also showed us a little preview of here "doodling" skillz. We are hoping she shared more at Handmade U Second Semester in the Spring! If you want to see more of what she has to offer, hurry over here to purchase her doodling sets for digital download!

Here is Lisa working on her beautiful canvas!

We decided to put all the "quilt blocks" together into one Quilt Art!

During Saturday afternoon some of the girls were needing a little pick-me-up. The Minglewood Mocha was born. Coffee with a little hot chocolate made these girls very happy!

Happy Michelle!

As some of the girls were wrapping up their Art Quilts, I introduced another new technique to them. I handed out a hard-bound 9x12 journal to everyone and we decorated the covers with different tissue papers,

Well...this I just don't know how I can explain it....

Dinner Saturday night was a special treat. More on this later!

Handmade U Fifth Sponsor!!!

2011-08-15T20:59:00.000-07:00

My lovely Creative Friends.

I can not say enough about them. I am so grateful to those wanting to help with my first event. Handmade U is coming up soon, and I had another friends Wanda May Clark reach out to put together goodies for our students bags!!

Follow Wanda's life as an Army wife and mom, and treasure hunter on her blog Rat's Pajama's.

She puts many of her finds on her etsy shop. Check it out! Wanda has been is many swaps with me, she has hosted quite a few, and always adds so many extras into the packages for us.

Thanks again to Wanda for helping out for Handmade U!! Wish you could be here with us Wanda, next time!!

-Rach

Handmade U - Fourth Sponsor!!!

2011-08-15T20:04:00.000-07:00

It is such a Brave thing to do to go to your first Art Event or two without knowing a soul. You walk into a room filled with women chattering about, looking for a friendly face and empty seat. It is a little nerve-racking, a little like the first day of school, but if I have learned one thing over the last two-three years of going to Art Retreats it is that you will ALWAYS find a friendly face among Creative Women.

Case in point - Fall 2009. Event- Spark 1. I walked in without knowing anyone. I see an empty seat with a chatty Red-Head sitting next to it, and a bubbly blond sitting next to her. I take a leap and sit next to them. Boy did I luck out! Dana Elkins - the red-head, and I shared a room at the next year's Spark 2 event, and Crystal Farish Beutler was the blond sitting at the table. She is a sweetheart, and we were at the next Spark 2 event again together.

Not only is Crystal a talented artist, loving wife and mother, but now she is a Art Event Hostess too!

R&R - San Diego 2012 Sometimes you just need a Break!

Crystal has been so kind to be a Sponsor for HANDMADE U!!! She will be sending along some gifties for our students!

Check out Crystal's fun blog, her event for next year, and her cute cute etsy shop!! Take a look at the Cherry Soda brooch that she has on her shop! SOOO cute!

Thanks Crystal for being a HANDMADE U SPONSOR!!

- Rach

Handmade U - Third Sponsor!!

2011-08-09T19:49:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone,

I've had the pleasure of knowing Hope Ellington for some time now. Meeting here and there at art events, and passing swaps through the mail we've gotten to know each other. Imagine my excitement that the Indy girls - Hope and our friend Stephanie were going to come to Handmade U!!

Hope is a very generous person as well! She has offered to provide our Handmade U students each with a soldered charm for Handmade U!! It will be a wonderful keepsake, and a special treat to have it handmade by one of our own students!!

Check Hope out on her Blog and say HELLO!!

THOUGHTS OF WHIMSY

Thanks Hope! Looking forward to Handmade U just about a month away!!

There are still spots left to attend classes and enjoy all the food and snacks!! Let me know if you are interested!!

- Rach

HandMade U - Another Project!

2011-08-01T14:46:00.000-07:00

Hi All,

I am so excited that Handmade U is just around the corner! Our Lodge spots are full, but we do have spots left to attend the whole days at the lodge and sleep nearby at a hotel, and/or add yourself to a waiting list for the lodge.

I know Michelle has completed two class samples for her class and they are featured on her blog Hold Dear. Check her out over there!!

My main class is shaping up. I love vintage papers, I love fabric, I love quilts, I love painting, I love LOVE MOD PODGE, I love stiching, and so I tried to create a fun project that would incorporate all of those into a beautiful piece of ART.

"QUILT ART WITH SUNDRIES"

We use the word sundries a lot. Sundries can mean a variety of things. Just a mixed media person's favorite thing "sundries". You can use fabric, buttons, glitter, papers, paint, texture pastes and mediums, and anything else your mind can dream up!

I started with a 12x12 canvas, and sketched out four quilt patterns.

Using vintage french papers gathered last month in the South of France, stashed vintage wallpaper, new scrapbook papers that I loved, tissue paper, MODA French General fabrics, paints, and more I began "piecing" this quilt together.

I love the look of tissue paper attached with Mod Podge.

I added some embroidery stiching where I thought some real quilting might show up.

A favorite bit of lace and buttons add a final touch.

Using Kaari Meng's new line of fabric for this block, with gold paint, and a patch I found at a French Flea market added some flair to this block!

I can't wait to see what creations my Handmade U students come up with!! Everyone will have a different take on this project which will be fun to see!!

Hope you can join us at Handmade U!! EMail me for more information!!

Happy Monday -

-Rach

Tuesday Brochante Day

2011-07-11T15:10:00.000-07:00

Bon Jour,

After our morning croissants and juice, we headed out anxious to see what Guy's old hat factory had in store for us.

Last year Lizzie took us to a hat factory that had closed more than 12 years ago.

It was as if on the last day they were opened, the closing whistle went off and the women left their machines with half finished hats in place and walked out like any other day.

That is how it looks yet today (mind the layers of dirt, dust, and god knows what else).

I wasn't sure what might be left since we did some damage last year, and I knew some of the girls last week, and was SURE they loaded up too! I have to say it did not disappoint. Cathy Mogull and Molly Meng armed with bandanas around their neck to cover their mouth while pulling down boxes from the tippy top of the shelves unearthed even more interesting items.

I walked away with some great deals, some items Guy didn't agree to sell to me since they were memories for him. Anything with his father's name on it he refuses to sell for good reason. So I left a few treasures there, maybe for next time when he is more ready to part with them.

I picked up more paper goods there for me Fall Semester of Handmade U!! Can't wait to share with you the project that we'll use them in!

Next on our journey for the day we stopped at Patrick Broughs. Kaari has been visiting him for years.

He has his brochantes in the garages of his backyard. The Chateau brought down tea and biscuits for us to re-energize here while shopping.

It was a fun day of searching through history, picking out items to reuse and repurpose into something special today.

More again soon. I'm just adjusting to the time, exhausted from the travel yesterday, but so happy to be home and see my kitties and especially my guy!

-Rach

France in Full Swing - Monday

2011-07-05T09:21:00.000-07:00

Bon Jour,

I made it across the ocean. Walking into the Chateau was wonderful, it was like I never left.

Sunday when I arrived a few of us were earlier than the rest. We had a wonderful lunch on the patio. Since we had time before the rest of the ladies arrived I took advantage of my room being ready and took a little much need nap.

We had a tasty dinner on the patio and an early night to bed.

Monday we were up and ready to head to Cordes for a farmer's market that was so much fun.

We started off with a walk through the LIVE market....all the cute little animals were going to be someone's meal at some point.

The smells of the fresh fruit, the meats, and Aligot were so tempting.

There were a handful of vendors making amazing smells food to take home. The paella smelled delicious.

After our market we headed back to the Chateau for a lesson on making foie gras and a strong mustard.

I'll have a tin to take home of the foie gras and jar of mustard.

After our lesson we had a tasty lunch of chicken and vegetables.

Then we had an afternoon of "trying" to learn to crochet. Susan did a great job of teaching it, I did a poor job of learning it. My test sample piece ended up being turned into a little necklace on a chain....I'll share a picture tomorrow.

Monday night was Wine Night with Laurent. A lovely sparkling wine with a Violette liquor started us off.

Peggy and I enjoying our sparkling wine.

Laurent only speaks French, so Lizzie, the Chateau owner, interpreted for us.

Here she is with her sweet kitty. What a life that kitty has wandering the grounds.

Then cheeses and breads feed us while we tried a number of whites and reds.

It was a wonderful day!

-Rach

France Bound

2011-07-01T12:46:00.000-07:00

I can't believe it was only a year ago that I traveled to France for my first time. And I can't believe I am leaving again to head over and enjoy this beautiful Chateau!!

I will believe it when I am sitting on the plane, or maybe stepping foot onto the soil of Toulouse, or maybe walking into that light blue door of the Chateau.

I am excited for a variety of reasons!

1. The Wonderful Hostesses!

Kaari and her mom Kick - so welcoming and fun.

Kaari's sister Molly - arguably one of the funniest people I know

2. The Food!

3. The Woading!

I have a scarf, a blouse, and fabric to woad.

4. The Sisterhood

Sitting around the table whether it is out front, on the side deck, or the breakfast table, gives ample opportunity to have conversations and bond with the other women attending.

5. The brochantes and negotiating!!

6. The relaxing!!

I hope everyone has a wonderful 4th of July!! Be safe!

-Au revoir

Rach

Handmade U - Second Sponsor

2011-06-15T15:18:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone,

I'm so excited to have another one of my favorite shops sponsoring Handmade U! France from Banana Fish Studios has been so kind to offer a small surprise to each lucky lady attending the September event.

If you are still interested in attending please let me know! I do have payment plans available if that works best for you!

Can't wait for the Fall Semester to begin!

Please visit France and check out her fun shop, it should reopen in mid July after her move!!

-Rach

New York Kind of Day

2011-06-02T05:00:00.000-07:00

Hello All,

Last weekend Jim and I ventured to NYC, the Big Apple, to meet his parents for a fun-filled weekend.

When we landed at LaGuardia, we met Jim's Godparents Anita and Al and had lunch with them at the airport. It was a great opportunity to meet them and visit for awhile. After our visit we headed down to Times Square which was bustling with activity.

We settled into our room at the Renaissance Times Square, and then met his parents to decide on a show for Friday night. The concierge mentioned that The House of Blue Leaves was a "dark comedy". It was starring Ben Stiller, Edie Falco, and Jennifer Jason Leigh, so how could we go wrong?!? Well I'll get to that.....

We decided to get a quick bite to eat at Junior's which was very close to our theatre. Junior's is famous for their Cheesecake, and let me tell you the yellow regular cake with chocolate frosting was not bad either! (I know so sorry what was I thinking not to get a picture!!)

We then headed to the Walter Kerre theatre for our show.

It was a nice theatre and we had great seats. The show started and we quickly realized that it was no comedy at all, dark or otherwise. It was a very heavy topic, and although the acting was incredible, I mean you really didn't like Ben Stiller at the end of it, and you can imagine how hard it is not to like Ben Stiller! Kudo's Ben, Edie and Jennifer on your acting chops, however we left the show pretty disappointed in the story/heaviness. Perhaps just our expectations were not as they should've been.

After the show Jim and I walked around Times Square for awhile. We were talked into one of the late night comedy shows you buy tickets for on the street then they direct you to some basement theatre with a line up of comedian's you think you might have heard of before....but you really haven't.

Out of the 5 or so comedians, a couple were pretty funny, the others, well you kind of felt sorry for them. Man that is a tough job!!

We did see a famous person on the street.

Saturday morning we decided to try and do the touristy thing. We went to see if we could do the NBC tour, unfortunately it was sold out. So instead we bought tickets to visit the Top of the Rock.

We had time before our time to go up to run over to CRUMBS CUPCAKES!!! Oh yes. Even though we had had a big breakfast we found room in our stomachs for a little piece of heaven!

After our cupcake detour we headed back to go up to the Top of the Rock. How convenient that we had to walk through Anthropologie to get to the elevators :) (No I didn't buy anything)

The view from the roof deck was so amazing. I loved walking around and seeing all the landmarks from above. You really feel in the middle of it all up there!

There is a room on the rooftop that if you don't know what you are walking through you will miss out on some fun!!

Jim knew about it, and showed me the ways! When you walk through this room, there are lights above you that follow you as you walk through, or run through, or run around in circles! Pretty cool stuff.

After the Rock, Jim and I decided to head down to Macy's. On our way we took a detour so I could stop at my favorite NYC store, Tinsel Trading Company. How nice it was to see this in the window, as we were headed to register for our wedding at Macy's!!

I found some very cool ribbon to use at my upcoming art event Handmade U, and I also found navy vintage feather pins to turn into hair fascinators for my bridemaids!

Then onto the MEGA STORE! We spend a hurried couple hours in Macy's with Jim wielding the price gun zapper, and us going quickly through the list of items we decided to register for. We found a number of beautiful things and were so happy to get that completed!

Exhausted we headed back to our hotel to get changed for dinner and the main attraction- Spiderman!

The show is still in previews, but it had been reworked since it previewed awhile back. The spidermen flying around was cool, the costumes and scenery were also fun to see. The main actors were great and sang wonderfully. If you watched the American Idol finale and saw Bono singing, the actor he sang with was the lead in the show we saw.

After the show we headed back to the hotel and crashed! What a jam-packed fun day.

Sunday we had breakfast, went to church at a beautiful Cathedral and headed onto the airport at it's conclusion.

What a wonderful trip to NYC with Jim's parents. Thanks to them for taking us it was a great treat.

- Rach

March Moulin Rouge

2011-06-01T23:34:00.000-07:00

Bon Jour -

As long as I've known what an art retreat was I have wanted to attend one of Kim Caldwell's events. Over the top amazing does not begin to describe the effort that Kim puts in her events. I was not prepared for how beautifully decorated and extravagant the event was going to be. From the velvet gift bags filled with wonderful vendor donations, to the sweet table set ups and the tasty food we were served (along with cupcakes, thank you very much!!) it was all more than I could imagine.

I really lucked out and got paired up with an awesome roomie!! Denise Hahn iss not only super talented, but a fellow lover of cupcakes and treasure hunting. How could we not get along??! Denise was sweet enough to pick me up from the airport and we also picked up one of my favorite gals Michelle Geller too. More on Michelle to come....

We checked into the Hotel and it was so cute! Hotel Belamar. Highly recommend. It is very close to Susie Cakes cupcakes and new little wine shop across the street. Also there is a bagel shop that we took advantage of each morning, thanks to Denise and her car!!

We met up with Valita and the four of us headed down to the Fashion District in LA. We shopped hard, looked through beads, laces, and trims, OH MY! We could have spent hours there....but we had to stop and have lunch....it was a little late in the afternoon my time and I was fading fast!! Luckily, Denise, our native LA'ian...I know that isn't right, but sounds good....took us to an amazingly cute cafe! Here we are happy to be seated with a cool beverage!

The meal was so tasty, and I'll tell you it was the weekend of sweet potato fries! YUM!

To top it off and start the weekend right....mini cupcakes, one for each of us!

We all had started to dig in before someone with a more level head, I think Michelle, thought to take a photo!! So we all patiently put the cupcakes back on the plate for the photo :)

The floor of this cafe was even so cool...

After our shopping excursion we headed back to the hotel to freshen up before our welcome to Moulin Rouge.

Then we walked into our amazing art room for the weekend. Here is my spot:

First Sponsor - Handmade U

2011-05-19T20:02:00.000-07:00

Handmade U's first Sponsor!!!

Eve at Evalicious was the first person I thought of when I starting looking for sponsors for Handmade U. Since we are working on mostly Handmade Journals at our First Semester I thought of all the artists I've purchased journaling kits and embellishments from and Evalicious is at the top of the list.

Eve makes fun kits and the cutest embellie's to decorate your journals, scrapbook pages, pretty much anything needing embellishing!!

Take a look at her shop and give her some love. We'll have a goodie or two from Eve as one of our Raffle prizes at Handmade U!!

Thanks EVE!!

-Rach

Handmade U

2011-05-19T15:44:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone,

Please click on the Handmade U button on the left side of the blog to see all the information regarding my first ever Art Event!! First Semester at Handmade U enrollment has begun, and the small cozy event is nearly half sold out! We have two more spaces at the lodge, and about 9 spots left for those that want to join us and stay at a nice reasonable hotel nearby.

It is going to be fabulous, you don't want to miss the inaugural event!! Many more semesters to come!!

Hope to see you when the school bell rings!!!

-Rach

Denver Birthday Weekend

2011-05-16T14:55:00.000-07:00

Hi -

I have a client meeting in Denver nearly every year on or around my birthday. I enjoy it because I love celebrating with my client who is a friend and her consultant who is also a good friend. This year was no different. We had a great meeting and fun dinner.

Then Jim came in Friday for the weekend to celebrate my birthday which was that Saturday. I picked him up early Friday and we went straight to Snooze for breakfast. It is really one of the best breakfast places I've ever been to. They have very imaginative dishes, made with the freshest of ingredients.

They also allow you to do half dishes. I never can decide between pancakes or an egg dish.....At Snooze I didn't have to choose! I had one piece of cinnamon roll french toast, and one eggs benedict! YUM! We actually went back Saturday morning too!

Friday night we had dinner with one of my best friends Megan, who I've known since 7th grade. She and her boyfriend Mark joined up at Cuba Cuba, one of my favorite Denver restaurants.

We decided to have our engagement pictures taken at Red Rocks in Morrison, CO. Red Rocks Amp. unfortunately had a concert being set up so they wouldn't let us inside for pictures, but we got some great shots around the park, and then in the small town of Morrison.

Kevin from This Modern Life Photographers was great. We are actually having Kevin and his wife come take our wedding photos as well.

The photo shoot was a lot of fun, though it was really windy, I guess it gave me that windblown "natural" look :)

We ended my birthday at a movie - Win Win, which was good, and then dinner at White Chocolate Grill.

It was a fun day, unfortunately ended with a little stomach virus that put me out early and most of Sunday. However it didn't damper the weekend fun overall, and I was glad Jim was there to take great care of me! Thanks Jim :)

Here's to another year of great birthdays for everyone,

Cheers,

Rach

Broadway in Omaha

2011-05-16T14:49:00.000-07:00

Hello Everyone,

This April Jim and I attended a production of Les Miserables at the Orpheum in Omaha. The theatre is beautiful, although the seats are tight....once you're in you're in!

I really enjoyed the show, I really didn't know much about it before that night. I did recognize many of the songs.

I am excited we have tickets for Wicked that is coming to the Orpheum this June.

Even more exciting is our trip to New York that is coming up, we are seeing the preview of Spiderman! I'll share with you that trip soon!

Seen any good shows lately??

-Rach

March Trips

2011-05-15T12:00:00.000-07:00

March was a busy month. Jim and I drove down to Tulsa for two of his nieces birthdays. The first evening we stayed with my friend Lisa and her husband Doug. We had a nice sushi dinner and hung out for a bit before we crashed from the long drive down. Thanks Lisa!! I enjoyed meeting all her furry babies!

Saturday we had two birthdays parties so it was a great chance to meet most all of Jim's family. Here is our "meet the parents" moment.

The weekend after Tulsa we drove to Appleton, WI for one of Jim's best friend's son's baptism. Jim is the godfather and was part of the celebration. Here is Ed & Jen with their beautiful son.

Here is one of my favorite photos of Jim and I at the Baptism.

With so much time on the road, we started listening to the Hunger Games. I just finished the third and final book. Anyone else read/listen to them? I thought the first book was definitely the best of the three.

What other books are your favorites for road trips?

-Rach

February Brave Girls 2011

2011-05-03T15:03:00.000-07:00

Hi Brave People!

It seems like forever ago that I was in the Mountains of Idaho visiting the smiling faces at Brave Girls Camp for my second year!

I convinced (without much arm twisting) my friend Lisa Stanton to come again with me! It was a year before that we met at Brave Girls' the first time.

My friend Kara Ward also attended Brave Girls'. So nice to spend time with her!

Rachel McCarthy who I met last year at Spark was also there. Many referred to her as Curly haired Rachel :) !! There were many name doubles at BGC that week.

I also met some fun new ladies, two of which are below. Megan and Kirsten. They kept me cracking up all week long! You don't say! I was lucky enough to see Kirsten recently for dinner in Lawrence, KS.

The cabin we stayed in was huge! The BG team turned a garage into this amazing art room!
There was a beautiful kitchen for Kathy and the team to create tasty food and treats for us!
Thanks to the whole Brave Girl Staff for taking great care of us and putting on a fun talent night to end our week with you. Inspiring to say the least!
Thanks to all the other Brave Girls for sharing and caring! Love you! The week was just as I expected, a wonderful retreat, a time away for reflection and creating meaningful art. I encourage you all to go!!

-Rach

What a difference 4 months can make!!

2011-05-02T18:10:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone,

I am still alive, very much alive. I can't believe I haven't posted since December, well I guess I can believe it, but I have missed you all!

I've been busy. Those that know me know I am typically "busy", but I have been "BUSY!!!"

In January I met someone very special, the love of my life, 9 weeks later we were engaged, and now we are well on our way to getting married on November 12th, 2011. After all these years of looking for the right person, it really does sometimes just smack you in the face, in a good way :)

Hugs -

Rach

Ho Ho Ho

2010-12-26T22:37:00.001-08:00

Merry Christmas to All,

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas weekend.

Mine was fun and very full.

Here a few photos of my decor around the house.

The tree (which is in the kitchen bay window - due to 3 frisky kittens not being able to get into the kitchen ;)

At the beginning of December I went to the Brass Armadillo Antique Mall and bought them out of retro vintage ornaments. I had seen a gorgeous wreath online which was priced pretty high...so I thought "I can do that"....which as you'll see below I DID! (however not sure it was for less than I could've purchased it online for when all was said and done....however I'm glad I made it myself since it'll mean more in years to come.)

Jennifer Murphy is one of my favorite artists. I am always excited when she has her website updates to sell her handmade pieces. I try and make sure I am near a computer at the moment the update is opened as her pieces FLY, and I mean FLY out the door within minutes. This time I was LUCKY enough to send in my request quickly enough to get my FIRST choice!!

Take a look at the cutest ornament! It is a vintage mitten filled with a mini mouse handmade by Jennifer, and a snowman spun by hand by Crystal Hanehan. Jennifer collaborated with Crystal on a few pieces, and I think their work nicely compliments eachother, don't you?

I was fortunate enough to be able to visit Wendy Addison's shop while I was in Northern California earlier this month. Jackie Cate and I ventured to the little out of the way studio and shop to be amazed by all the beautiful pieces. This was the ornament I picked out for my tree.

I purchase an acorn for my MOM for Christmas. (given her business is Acorn Ridge Quilting ;)

Speaking of her business and her work, take a look at this adorable quilt she created for me! My mom had asked me for pictures of my cats, the faces especially. I didn't know what she was up to, but when she sent me a number of JibJab greeting cards with my cats singing Christmas songs, I figured that was it!! Little did I know she was also creating this amazing quilt.

More to come on my holiday activites, but for now, I'm exhausted, and need some sleep. Working 2 days this week, so tomorrow morning is coming along quick!

Goodnight,

Rach

December Journaling Projects

2010-12-03T14:48:00.000-08:00

Hi Everyone,

As you may have learned if you've read my blog for awhile, on occasion, once in awhile, maybe once in a blue moon, I overcommit to too many projects or activities. I'm a born multi-tasker, however with work, moving and unpacking, and all the weekend workshops I've been taking, perhaps I should slow down on signing up for additional workshops or classes online, right?!?

I just couldn't pass up another Hope Wallace-Karney class. Although I have signed up for all of her journaling classes and haven't found too much time to work on them, I signed up ANYWAY! She is teaming up with her good friend Kari Ramstrom for this class. It is called WINTER STORIES.

I worked on the cover to my journal last night. This is what I came up with:

I am looking forward to working on this journal, and the other class I'm taking is Shimmel's Journaling my Christmas class.

Here is the journal cover for Journaling my Christmas:

The journal I purchased from one of my favorite shops for paper journaling items, Every Jot and Tittle. I also had purchased a cute valentiney mini book from her too.

Looking forward to working on my Holiday Manifesto's tonight and catch up with the last couple days!!

One of my favorite scrapbooks that I created when I use to scrapbook EVERYTHING, is my Christmas Albums. I have the few pictures we still have from our childhood in one and probably 4 or 5 years worth of the late 90's early 00's in one. I think it's fun to see year over year how people change, what fun things you do each year, and how many things remain the same.

What holiday memory recording will all of you be doing??

Happy Holidays,

Rach

Silver Bella Part 1 & December project Goals

2010-11-18T22:09:00.000-08:00

Happy Holiday Season!!

That originally said Happy Thanksgiving...but as you can tell I'm a little behind! I've been busy busy busy with the house, and trying to get "settled". I am getting there, slowly but surely, and with the help of my parents...big time.

I am starting to see the floor of my art studio! I can't wait to get it set up so I can actually finish unfinished projects and start new ones!

In the meantime I wanted to share with you my amazing time at Silver Bella. This is the third year that I attended. It was probably my favorite time too!

This year my friend Lisa Stanton from Oklahoma came up to Omaha for the event!! Yay. I love traveling and attending these events with Lisa, it's EASY, and of course lots of fun.

I will say the lighting in hotels is just the worst, and I'm by no means a pro at adjusting colors...so I apologize for the offcolor pics!!

This year I signed up for quite a few swaps. And per usual, every time I try something new, I realize how I need to UP MY GAME!! These Bella's are AMAZING! I really need to think WAY OUT OF MY BOX, and go beyond what I think I can do. AND EMBELLISH EMBELLISH EMBELLISH. MORE IS MORE!!

My swap that I hosted was the Cupcake Swap. I was happiest with this one in the end. I spent so much time on my pages, and doing the front and back covers, as well as making cupcake pin buttons, tags, and I included a cupcake pen or pencil with each. FUN. Labor of LOVE!

The yummiest fun of course was making my cupcakes to take the photo for my page. The unfun part was the few pounds I put on from eating too many :) Oh well, you only live once.

I'll take pictures of each page to share soon.

All the women in my swap were just terrific to work with, and so happy to receive their books. Here are just a few of them:

I'll include each with their links when I include the pages.

That is all for now...SO Much more to come.

I am working on two December projects, you know because December is just usually a boring and SLOW month ;) I have blinkies on the left for Hope and Kari's Winter Stories class, and Shimmell's Journaling your Christmas class. Both are really fun..I am REALLY hoping to actually finish these projects this month....(and not just print out the instructions!!)

Wish me luck!!

-Rach

New Home - Before and Afters

2010-11-01T06:02:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone,

As some of you know, I just moved permanently to a new home in Omaha. I've been here just about a month, and in that time feel like I've accomplished quite a bit, but still have a ways to go. My parents have helped tremendously!

Just waiting on furniture to come from work for my home office, and that room will be more organized. I also need to sit down and really REALLY purge my clothes. I'll give you a heads up when the nearby Goodwill will have some cool deals!

In the first installment of sharing my home with you, I thought I would show some before and after pics! I LOVE BEFORE & AFTER pics!! Hope you do too!

DINING ROOM

BEFORE

Note the 60's light fixture...retro, but not a COOL retro, also the "not my style" cream carpet.

AFTER

First things first, we removed all the carpet in the dining room/living room. Oh what a breath of fresh air, it made all the difference!! A bit of a bummer the prior owners used 95million staples on it, but beyond that the hardwood floors are in great shape! (Thanks to my Dad for taking out all the staples and tack strips!!)

Also you will see I purchased a new light fixture to go with the new dining room table and chairs/bench.

The wallpaper is still in the dining room....baby steps. The painting/wallpaper removal is probably a spring 2011 project!!

LIVING ROOM

BEFORE

Again note the carpet. I wasn't sure I was crazy about the mirrors on the walls, soooo 60's...but a friend has the same wall and said "good luck removing it"...so I thought I'd live with it awhile and see what I thought!

AFTER

It makes such a difference in a home when all your own things are in it. Once I got all the pieces in the living room it all started to come together, and even the mirror wall doesn't bother me. It just adds another layer of texture.

I'm still adding things, and taking things out as I unpack a few other odds and ends. But I feel pretty good with the living room/dining room.

Maybe a new rug or two someday, but for now I'll move onto other rooms to finish!

FIREPLACE IN LIVING ROOM

BEFORE

Again did I tell you how much I wasn't a fan of the carpet?

AFTER

Another addition that made a big difference were the red curtains. These windows are huge! My Dad and I picked up the hardward and then realized it was pretty tight given I didn't include the borders in the measurements!! Oops, however I don't think they'd have made hardware any longer..at least non-customized. We had a "make it work" moment and got the poles up. I had hours of ironing that weekend, 6 panels for this large window, 2 for the dining room, and 6 more for the downstairs window!

Hope you enjoyed the first installment of my New Home BEFORE and AFTERS!!

What house projects are you all working on??

-Rach

Happy Halloween

2010-10-31T16:50:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone,

Hope you are having a Happy Halloween!! I've had 20+ trick or treaters so far, and hoping for lots more. I think I over-purchased on the candy bars, and would hate to think there'll be bags of candy here to snack on all week!

Halloween Season this year included going to Vala's Pumpkin Patch a couple weeks ago, kind of by accident. It was something from another world! I suppose it is most fun with small children, but it does put you in the fall mood....and fills you with enough campfire smoke to feel like you've been out on the range. I picked up a cute bumpy pumpkin, and swan goard, and a little mini pumpkin.

Also this Halloween season I did an ornament exchange. We had such a variety of cute decorations, I was excited to put them on my Halloween tree! The kittens found a few of them with the frilly paper to be most interesting!

I was also gifted the sweetest little Halloween Box from my friend Lisa. She knows I love cats, especially black cats (don't tell the others).

In the past I always forced Harley and MaGraw into a costume for a few seconds, just long enough to get a picture. Well this year was no different. Yesterday I tried to put the kittens in costumes, but they were too wild.

I did get a good pic of Harley as Robin Hood.

So today I waited until the boys were just waking from a nap and were at their least wild state.

Here is Thunder as a piglet.

Bolt as a Shiny Dinosaur.

Noah as a Landshark.

Also each of the little guys (who aren't so little anymore) got a go as a Bumble Bee.

Friday my niece Allie and my parents visited for dinner. They found Allie a Pirate Costume so she tried it on for me. Bolt got into the act too!

Enjoy your Halloween, and Welcome November tomorrow!

- Rach

Creative Connection

2010-10-19T20:56:00.000-07:00

Looking back at September I packed so much in that I am happy to have made it through to the other side. One good reason I did, was that it was ALL good stuff.

I flew from Salt Lake City, (Spark 2) to Denver so I could have a work meeting. Then I flew back to Nebraska Tuesday, went to the Dave Matthews Concert that evening, then got up the next morning to drive to Minneapolis for the Creative Connection Event. Just a quick little 6.5 hr drive, no biggie...it wasn't like I had to drive to Denver the next week for a MOVE...oh wait, I did....but that is another POST..

The Creative Connection. My goodness! This was the brainchild of Jo Packham and Nancy Soriano.

I had already booked so many creative weekends this year, that I was hesitating on this one. After talking with Jo at the Savannah weekend I did back in May, I was leaning towards going....then leaning even more after realizing that Jennifer Murphy, my fav, was teaching, and then fell flat over and signed up once Lisa decided she'd go! I think Lisa and I are both enablers....which is one of my favorite qualities of hers!! :)

Anywho, the weekend was so filled with fun, and shopping at the Handmade Market, visiting with friends, it was great!

One friend I somehow didn't get a photo with was Shelly from Oklahoma! She brought her mom and friend Leslie who I had met in Savannah as well. It was fun to see them again, but it is never enough time to really get to hang out!

Here I am with Jessi. We are now practically neighbors! I can't wait to get my studio set up so we can have some fun crafty time together.

Ree Drummond was such a treat to listen to. She has such a cool story of how she became the "Pioneer Woman". Can't wait to get the first issue of Where Women Cook and she will grace the cover.
How excited were Lisa and I that our Brave Girl Sisters Melody and Margie stopped by the event! They were teaching classes at the Mall of America where Scrapfest was being held....(little did Lisa and I know at the time we drove over there for lunch)...anyhoo, so excited to see both of them!

Melody and I.

That would be me, my project - Harold, Jennifer Murphy and the little mouse I purchased that she handmade.
The work table as we created our handmade heritage bunnies.

The mouse I bought and the bunny that Lisa purchased from Jennifer.

I took Jennifer's 2nd class in which we made a cute bird ornament. Most were writing something holiday-ish on the little sign, however Jennifer suggested I have something more timely for me! So she wrote Welcome Home 2010 on my ornament for my new home!

As a special treat Jennifer also showed us how to make our own pom poms to create another bird ornament.

So we began with this yarn.... (sorry hotels have the worst lighting!!)

From that we made the little bird below! So easy and fun! I do need to learn how to make knots though....Cub Scouts or in my case Girl Scouts would've come in handy for crafting!

My third class was Dara DiMagno's class making necklaces out of spoons and old belt buckles! I will have to share a photo of my finished project sometime soon. Dara also was more than sweet to us and gifted us all a one of kind necklace of her creation! What a treat!

Here she is showing us how to use power tools and a HAMMER! Man take up necklace making out of spoons and you may see positive side results of your stress going down :)

At one of our lunches we had Ree share stories with us along with Jo Packham moderating. It was a fun talk. For lunch we were treated to a really tasty noodle dish with chicken from one of Ree's cookbooks. For dessert a red velvet cake! YUM.

At the Cupcake Fairwell, saying goodbye to new friends. Lisa what a great trip!

Krista, me and her friend, sorry I can't remember your name!! Krista and I met at Spark 2 the weekend before!

And would it be an art event weekend without a Cupcake???

All in all this was a super event, next year I believe they will be tweaking things that will make it even better. The organizers always learn a little each year, and the best events keep getting better!!

Until 2011 TCC!

-Rach

Spark 2

2010-10-18T20:37:00.000-07:00

Year 2 - Spark!

Last year I ventured out to Utah, gorgeous country, for the first time to attend a little event called Spark. Some lovely ladies, Margie, Rhonna and Elizabeth hosted a wonderful event.

I had such a great time, when I saw they were doing it all again I didn't hesitate to sign up! I planned on going with my dear friend Lisa, but due to a loss in her family she wasn't able to make it. We made up for it the following weekend at the Creative Connection....to be blogged about next :)

Luckily I checked in with my friend Dana who was also going and we coordinated times and decided to share a room. It worked out great and we had a terrific time.

I rented the car just in time to pick up Dana from her flight. We high-tailed it down to Dear Lizzie's boutique and bistro.

The picture below is just a little bit of heaven....the Dizzy Lizzie drink - YUM, the cupcake with a hint of almond flavoring - MAJOR YUM!! Man I love a good cupcake!

The rest of the evening we ran errands, picked up some last minute supplies for our classes, and tried unsuccessfully to find a good sushi restaurant in Utah....we found a sushi restaurant...the operative word was good.

Bright and Early the next morning we headed down to Noah's, the chosen location for the event this year. It was a beautiful facility and the decorations were SO COOL.

The ceiling was full of creative inspiration.

The tables were set with vintage goodness.

As you can see it is not Spark 1, it is SPARK No 2!!

One of my all time favorite things is an old fashioned photo booth. I loved that The Spark girls brought on in a photo booth and let us have at it...for FREE mind you, so great, so fun!

The most fun I usually have at these events is just connecting with old friends and new friends! Really makes an event better when you have fun and friendly folks!

So happy to get to know these two gals better, Rachel (great name:) and Jackie!

Day 2 was Margie's BIRTHDAY!! Of course she had to wear a birthday CROWN. Love you Margie! If you had to be stuck on a deserted island with only one person....and you wanted someone who would be positive, creative, and hilarious, I'll tell you what...Margie would be it! 'TM'

My roomie for the weekend Dana, she's a tell like it is gal! I love that about her.

It was great to see Crystal again too!

Of course the projects were a lot of fun too! We made a little mini album, a fun lampshade with fabrics to hang pictures from....need to finish and hang in my studio....

This is part of the Felted Wool Scarf I made. We were given a bag of raw colored wool. We wet the wool, laid it into the shape we wanted...and then using bubble wrap, WaaLA! Sooo not that easy, but there was a lot of rolling and kneading... let's just leave it at that.

Fun flower pin. A little glimmer mist here, and little shiny bauble there.
This was the canvas I did in April's class. I need to find a place to hang this. The word under the silhouette is Destiny.

I'd be remiss not to mention the food...more importantly the desserts. There were a ton of them. I decided to FOCUS, not spread my attention too thin...So I picked just one little cupcake...

It was tiny in the grand scheme of things...

Ok maybe it was a little more than I bargained for... one bite was about all I could do after the great meal that was provided for us....but it was a tasty bite!!

So great location, great people, great projects, great food (and cupcakes!!)...Great great great.

So what could top off this greatness?? Oh the Sparkers decided to throw in a little live music....but not ANY live music, not just some volunteer out of the audience to sign for us...no these ladies brought in the one and only Mindy Gledhill!! Her voice is so sweet and soulful. It was beautiful. If you don't have her new album, stop, go out and buy it, then come back. Poor thing was freezing, but she hung out with us, shared some stories and songs. What a cherry on the tippy top!

And to top top it off....two Rachel's. Nuf' Said.

When is Spark 3??

-Rach

Lauritzen Gardens

2010-10-17T17:37:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone,

I have finally moved to Omaha!! Yay. I'll be sharing photos of the house and neighborhood as I get settled, but for now I want to share some beautiful flowers I saw at the Lauritzen Gardens in Omaha last weekend.

Sunday was beautiful, the weather was warm! Even a little hot in the sun. It was the 10th Anniversary of the Gardens in Omaha, so it was 10 cent day! We were prepared to pay $7 each to get in and we were excited it cost less than a quarter! So you can imagine it was REALLY packed with everyone enjoying the Indian Summer.

There is an expansive Rose Garden at Lauritzen's that smells more wonderful than it looks.

The Gardens were full of many different beautiful fall colors of Mums. I have a purple Mum on my stoop, but these yellow Mums really drew me in.

The greenery throughout the walks were all so unique. It was fun to see the labels on everything!

This hidden gem was in a secret garden looking area. You could imagine it being on a beautiful old English Manor's grounds.

Sometimes it is nice to take a break from your busy life and smells the roses!

Enjoy those times!

-Rach

Sunday continues in Paris

2010-08-29T06:00:00.000-07:00

After our climb at Sacre Coeur, we wandered the beautiful neighborhood on the way down.

I love all the architecture...in my next life, I want to be an architect!

Love this pink little Cafe. Isn't it cute?

We stopped along one tree-lined street at this little Patisserie.

I had to try a macaroon. I ordered a pistachio one. OH. MY. GOODNESS. It was SOOOOO Good. I mean really WOW good. I know tomorrow we end up going to La Duerre, and yes those are good macaroons...but this one seemed just a little more homemade, a little more love in it. I want to go back just to visit this little bakery. Look at the ceiling at this place!! Love!

We then visited this cute little store, I picked up a couple beaded flowers, and odds and ends.

After the day of adventure we met one of the gals from our Chateau stay for dinner at Chez Julian. We got there a little early so Why not have another Hot Chocolat we asked?!? No good reason not to. We stopped at this little Cafe across from the restaurant.

We watched as these two dogs met, sniffed, played/fought, whatever, the owners weren't concerned so neither were we! Good clean entertainment!

Chez Julien was simply delightful.

We ate outside under a canopy. Here was the menu:

Enjoyed some delicious wine, dinner and stories.

What an incredible day!

-Rach

Sunday in Paris

2010-08-28T05:00:00.000-07:00

The market in Paris was SO much fun. Booth after booth filled with wonderful goodies. The VERY first booth I found a few vintage stamps that I purchased. One is a Z stamp with a Zebra that I am using for my ABC vintage pages swap!

The prices were higher than the brochante shopping we did in the South of France, but we still managed to find some fun things we loved. Jackie found more rosaries, and Jeanne found a beautiful painting. Ann and I fell in love with one booth that had old cards with fabric samples on them.

I only took a picture or two at the market....I guess again I found my eyes and hands too busy looking for that perfect treasure to stop and take photos!

Anyhow I will share my finds with you soon once I take photos of them.

After our trip to the market, we headed back and ate at Cafe Trocadero right near the Eiffel Tower.

It was a nice break and I enjoyed some a Hot Chocolat.

Cheers!

And now onto some major touristing!!

We decided to head over to Sacre Coeur.

Little did I know what was to come. Jeanne was interested in heading to the top to get some glimpses of the amazing views. Ann and Jackie were ok to stay on the ground....I said SURE WHY NOT?!? I am not afraid of heights, so I saw no reason to NOT go. I figured the stairs would be quite a climb, but after the week of Chateau meals I figured it might do me some GOOD!

WELL...I didn't realize the stairway was SOOOO NARROW and twisty. I am a little clausterphobic! I would've take a photo but I was too focused on breathing and moving as quickly as possible to get to a point where I had OPEN space!

The pathway to the top was strange....lots of stairs of course, but some inside and some outside, basically climbing up the roof of the building! The above picture represents how I was feeling, gasping for air :)

Back inside up more stairs..and then I made it! ALIVE!!! (the Eiffel Tower in the distance) If I look a little tired and sweaty....I WAS!

What a beautiful view, it was worth it!

We walked all the way around the top.

The circular pathway gave you 360 degree views of the whole city. Awesome!

The stone work was incredible. Imagine how they got all the stone up so high!! I'm sure back in the day they didn't have a power lifter crane hoisting these babies up to the tippy top!!

I was a little nervous to head back down away from this open space...

The walk down was MUCH better I could see farther in front of me, and I knew about how long we were going to be in there.

Back on the ground again...happy to stay there for a little while :)

And the day isn't even half over!!

-Rach

And now onto Paris....

2010-08-27T19:46:00.000-07:00

Saturday morning we left our little Chateau to ride from Toulouse to Paris. It was quite an ordeal and sight to see us pulling our luggage down the stairs at the train station, under the tracks and back up to the other side....oh you haven't seen my other purchases yet...so you might not understand that my luggage probably weighed over 150 pounds, at least......oh yea.

Anyhow we managed with teamwork to get all the luggage on the train and stowed. I zoned out on the 6 hour trip and was happy to be off the jiggly train and into Paris that evening.

Jeanne, Jackie and I checked into our cute hotel room at the Marriott in the 16th and headed for a bite to eat with our friend Ann. After dinner we took quite a stroll around the area.

We saw the Arc De Triomphe. There are hundreds of people on top of that....if you look really close you can tell there are people there.

we thought about going in for a closer look....however this was the scene to run across the street to the actual monument:

I REALLY didn't want to die the first night in Paris. I really didn't want to be THAT tourist to be splat on the road.

So we enjoyed the view from here:

We walked all the way down the Champs Des Elysees and over to the Eiffel Tower of course. Please forgive the shaky picture, wasn't quite sure of the night shots without a tripod!

A long long day...and we have an early morning at the flea market on Sunday...but we were in PARIS!!!!

Night,

Rach

Our last evening in the South of France in FULL WOAD

2010-08-26T20:55:00.000-07:00

Our last evening at the Chateau was both fun and a little sad. It was such a great week at Chateau Dumas with Kaari and her family from the French General. I would so recommend attending next year if Kaari decides to host it again. Truly a trip of a lifetime!

We all wore our Wode for the last evening and our group shots!

Kaari and I - THANKS AGAIN KAARI for a Wonderful Trip!

Jackie and Michelle

The CREW!

Alexis, Jeanne, Me (apparently saying WE ARE #1), and Jackie

Thanks for such a great week LADIES! :)

-Rach

The Cherry on Top in France!

2010-08-25T19:48:00.001-07:00

After our shopping day Friday morning, we took one last stop. Little did we know what we were going to see behind this door. ..............

We were told we were going to an old, closed down hat factory that had some left over ribbons, etc. Ok, there could be some finds in there.....Then we walked in. Michelle had been here last year, and was as giddy as a school-girl....as we walked in and everyone fanned out across the two floors, the oooohs and aaaahs started, the hearts started racing, the empty boxes were grabbed and began to dawn on us that THIS WAS THE MOMENT!!! This was the moment we really were going to remember as the CHERRY ON TOP!!

We all grabbed empty boxes and started piling ribbons in. There were old hat labels, I grabbed a few rolls of those, grograin ribbon, satin, velvet, and seam binding.....all vintage French Ribbon......

I would have taken more pictures, but that would've meant less time I had to pile more ribbon in my box.....AND I should note that at no point while I was stacking the ribbons up, did I know how MUCH this was going to cost! None of us did....pile on, ask later.....

Aren't those drawers adorable?? I wanted to take that set of drawers right back with me, but didn't think American Airlines would check them....

We each piled our treasure on the ground and waited our turn for Gee, the owner, to go through and price it for us. His nephew was there writing the totals down for him. I think Gee got a kick out of the fact that all these crazy American women descended upon his old factory, which was apparent he still loved, and screamed, hysterically laughed all the way while picking treasures to take back to the US.

As I waited I had NO idea what the total was going to come to. I was bracing myself to either pay a small fortune or return some items to the factory.

I was SOOOOO pleased when he started adding items, and I would hear him say "gift" in French, which brochante owners would do on occasion too when you bought a LOT. Lizzie was telling me the count as he added it up, and she then said, Now he is coming down in price....and then he finally told me the total. I was amazed, not cheap, but NOT TOO much!!

This was my haul!!!

The blood was still coursing through my veins at an amazingly fast rate as we walked away all giddy from our scores. I stood next to the car waiting for it to be unlocked, and just said, "I am so happy right now!" And I really meant it!

Makes me smile just thinking about it!!

Soon you will have an opportunity to share in this amazing haul!!! More to come on this and my other AMAZING find....... (I know I used AMAZING far too much in the post....however, I don't take any of them back....because this day was AMAZING!)

Have an AMAZING night!

-Rach

Rainy Thursday in France

2010-08-18T08:00:00.000-07:00

Our Thursday morning was suppose to include a 90 minute hike to this small town, but the rain was coming down, and we opted for a little car ride to visit this wonderful church that had the most amazing OLD rugs just hanging on the walls.

This was the street just outside the church. I again love the blue shutters!! (Mental note, next house...blue shutters!)

We then visited this wonderful artist's studio. She has created wonderful rug art for years. It really is a dying art. These creations can take months or years to make. The one she was working on was really bright orange and purple and black, kind of a crazy cartoon design. She actually was RE-DOING it. Someone else had made one, and the person purchasing it didn't like the way it came out, so now she is doing it. AMAZING. Can you imagine sitting at this loom for months?! Talk about patience! I COULDN'T DO IT!

This is another one of her beautiful pieces. She takes a photo of a piece of art and can create a rug exactly like it!

The full loom below. It sure takes a lot of hand-eye coordination!

Even with the rain, we made the best of the day. We enjoyed a hot chocolat at a nearby coffee shop, and then back to the Chateau.

-Rach

Tea Party Anyone?

2010-08-16T06:00:00.000-07:00

Lizzie's Mother came to visit us on Wednesday. Mama Jo, as we all called her was such a special woman. She brought down all her cherished tea sets to share this wonderful afternoon Tea with us.

Mama Jo also made all the food which was all so tasty, especially her walnut cake. YUM-O!

We had little cucumber sandwiches,

little cupcakes, and more.

Drinking tea of out of a cute teacup just makes the tea taste so much better, this is totally true.

After we all enjoyed the tea and treats, we had one of Kaari's friends share with us some information about vintage fabrics, and she shared some of her recent finds with us. I love textiles! What a fun job she has created for herself!

What a wonderful Wednesday we had!! Still so much more to come! We haven't even gone to Paris yet!

-Rach

WOAD Day!

2010-08-15T06:00:00.000-07:00

Woad Day was Wednesday. Woad day was one of my favorite days in France. It was a relaxing day at the Chateau. We started by hearing a little history about Woad from the Queen of Woad, Denise. She taught us how it was made and how it went back ages for the Royal families in France. We then went out to the vats of woad that were ready for our linens, clothing, basically everything we brought, bought, or could scrouge up from our luggage.

Really once you get started you can't stop. The two vats were a lighter blue or lighter woad, and a darker one. I chose darker for most of my items, I just really love a dark blue...sorry dark woad! Think of woad like an indigo, but woad.

After you soak your item in the vat, you pull it out and it begins to oxidize when it hits the air. So basically it turns from a pee green color to the beautiful shades of blue that you see here.

It is an amazing transformation right in front of your eyes!

Kaari used some of her French General fabrics for some woading experiment. We were told there were only so many shades of woad that could be created. Kaari and her sister Molly took the challenge and won!

Some of my woad creations!! I had brought a number of items to woad, and grabbed a few others out of my suitcase! The floral bag was the gift that Kaari gave us, originally a Khaki color, but a few of us thought why not WOAD it!! I Love it WOADED!

To top off this day I not only had the most AMAZING massage I've ever had in the middle of the day, but after our Woading, we had a Delightful Tea Party....

That is coming up next!!!

-Rach

Our Day in Cordes-sur-Ceil

2010-08-14T18:43:00.000-07:00

We traveled up to Cordes-sur-Ciel for a day of hiking up the cobbled-stone streets, a visit to a block-printing artist, some brochante shopping, and lunch a top the hill.

Cordes received it's charter to become a Bastide (a medieval town) in 1222. The history there was beyond anything I'd seen before. 1222, wow.

We got some good exercise walking these streets. Which was great given you've all read the food entries!! (the walking and luggage carrying netted me about even on pounds for the week, maybe a gain of 1 lb! Thank goodness!)

Back to Cordes....The streets and alleys were full of beautiful old buildings.

I fell in love with all the great colors on the shutters.

I did meet a very cute Frenchman..... He was a little shy. He said he'd write :) But then I think I saw his nose grow.

We spent some time in this artist's shop, she does beautiful hand stamping.

We each got to try a little bit of the technique. Rhoina mixed her special magic powers with the paint (I think it was unicorn dust that made it magic :) And added it to the stamp for us. We each stamped a piece of muslin, then ironed it to set the paint. I am trying to think of some fun project to use the piece for. Perhaps a pillow or a bag. It has been added to my endless list of projects.

This piece is one from Rhonia's WORLDWIDE exhibition that is coming...but that is all I can say about that now......

We had a lovely lunch with a gorgeous view that I shared with you before, then onto a little shopping. I stopped by the Chocolat museum to purchase some wonderful carmels for my Dad.

We also stopped at a cute little shop full of salts, spices, essential oils, etc. I purchased a few essential oils to smell when I need some uplifting citrus scents. Pamplemousse and Orange :)

One of the things I noticed within all the little Bastides or towns we visited were the little doors on each of the homes. They varied in style, color and size. What I also loved were the small numbers they had for addresses. I am used to seeing an address such as 4092, or 7891, 0r even 10245, but not 1 or 2, or even 16! I want my next address to be 2!

We had such a wonderful day in Cordes. On the way home we did stop at a nice brochante. I purchased some vintage napkins with an 'R' stiched in red on each one. Also a vintage nightgown with RJ stiched on it (for Rachel Jane), and Ann and I split some cool old pins from a bowling type game. I'll share photos of all my goodies one day soon!

For now, have a great rest of your weekend!

-Rach

Happy Birthday Dad!

2010-08-12T08:00:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday DAD!!

My Dad turns 59 today!! It's been a crazy year, this time last year we were not only celebrating his 58th Birthday, but his successful 6-bypass heart surgery! What a difference a year makes!

I feel so incredibly lucky that everything turned out so well and he is doing so great!

Many more wonderful birthdays to come DAD!

I love you!

Rachel

Wine and Cheese Night with Laurent

2010-08-11T08:00:00.000-07:00

Bon Jour,

One of our favorite nights was when Laurent, our patient and kind sommelier came to visit us at the Chateau for some education on French wines and cheeses. I'm not sure if he has known so many women that take sooooo many photos! I hope we didn't embarrass him too much!

We began with a little champagne as he set up. Once we were set up outside on the deck, the bread was passed out.

Laurent had pairings of not only wine and cheese, but also suggestions of which breads to try with each cheese,

The wines all were wonderful, here are a couple we tried,

And the cheeses were all so fresh tasting,

It was such a treat to try all these unique cheeses!

Our dinner luckily was light after this event! We had our calcium for the day that is for sure!!

Cheers,

-Rach

Our Monday morning of Crafting, a Hat Factory Tour, and a Brochante!

2010-08-10T08:00:00.000-07:00

After the busy Sunday, Monday morning was a nice pace of breakfast and visiting the gorgeous studio that Lizzie has in her coach house across from the Chateau.

It was light and bright, and full of goodies from Kaari!

Monday we started with jewelry. I've taken Kaari's class before at Silver Bella, so with the basics down, I focused on putting all the charms on the bracelet and necklace, then making it my own. It was amazing that with nearly all the same options available to us, each of the talented ladies created their own one of kind special bracelet and necklace!

After a beautiful lunch we were off to one of very few hat factories still in production.

Chateau Willie's was so kind to bring us in and show us how they create wonderful hats today. They also showed us a peek of the backroom which housed hundreds if not thousands of vintage hat molds from years gone by. It was such a step back in time to see some of these old style hats!

During our visit there were two women working on the machines

The heat to set the hats is used on these machines

After our hat adventure, we stopped at one of the favorite brochantes.

In an upcoming post I will share with you what amazing find and purchase that I made here!! The purchase although exciting for me, did create the luggage poundage issue later in the trip :) Well worth it I believe.....the find was made just beyond those green doors!!!

Until tomorrow!

-Rach

The busy first day in France continues

2010-08-09T08:00:00.000-07:00

The Sunday we woke up in France we really packed it in from the Farmer's Market in St Antonine, the brochantes, the flea market,

enjoying the shade at the lake, (Jackie and I below)

the picnic,

relaxing after the picnic, (Jeanne and I napping, apparently entertaining Alexis and Jackie!)

a quick stop at a hat festival,

and finally a wonderful dinner, (Jeanne and I about to enjoy our favorite White Wine - Uni)

After such a full day I slept so well that night!

-Rach

Happy Belated Birthday Allie!

2010-08-08T22:45:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday Allie!

My youngest niece turned 9 years old on the 6th of August. This year we will be celebrating her b-day this coming weekend.

In the meantime I hope you had a great day Allie!

Love you,

Aunt Rachel

Cemetery of St Antonine

2010-08-08T20:33:00.000-07:00

St Antonine was one of my favorite little towns that we visited. Not only did it host such a wonderful Farmer's Market the Sunday morning we stopped by, but it held so much to see and photograph.

The cemetery was unlike any I've walked through before. It was located on a corner in town, and was full of large cement tomes,

porcelain prayers,

iron crosses,

cement crosses,

and beaded floral crosses

The bead work was amazing, and we all couldn't get over how well preserved it all was, no one had harmed the work, and it appeared to have been there a long time.

At the flea market in Paris and another little shop we found our own beaded flowers such as these that adorn this cross to take home with us.

More France to come.

-Rach

How do you say Meow in French?

2010-08-02T20:53:00.001-07:00

Just a quick little post for you animal lovers out there. I saw the friendliest and cutest animals while in France, and thought I'd share their sweet faces with you!

At the Farmer's Market our first full day in the South of France there was a little girl with a basket full of goodness. I think this white kitty looks so French to me! You can see the black kitty next to her, but there is also another black one underneath her if you look close!

I saw this sad little sign in St Antonine too!! Chat perdu - Lost kitty. Boy I hope they found their little guy.

I almost thought perhaps this guy in the first Brochante that we went to was perhaps the lost kitty, I double-checked the pictures, but alas they had different coloring. The antique shopping kitty could not be bothered to pose for a pic, apparently too busy trying to find the best deals!

I caught a glimpse of this sad looking mug under a gate in an alley we walked by. We said hello and hoped his day would get more exciting!

This cutie kitty was at one of my favorite brochantes, and he was entertaining all us ladies as we waited for everyone to purchase their treasures! I wanted to include him in my purchase, but didn't think he'd make it through customs!

During our day at Cordes we saw this peaceful little creature just owning this ledge. What a life!

And finally here is Lizzie with one of her two cats that have the run of the Chateau and it's grounds. Lucky guys! He is wearing an antique (woaded - more on that later) collar that Kaari had. We took our group photo this day. A funny sidenote was when Kitty decided to run off in the antique collar and as he was being chased by a few people tried to wiggle out of the collar...well not completely funny, since it damaged the collar a little, but still pretty entertaining! Just a pet being a pet!

Can this be my home away from home??

2010-08-01T15:14:00.000-07:00

Chateau Dumas

Now that we have the all important food mostly out of the way, I wanted to share with you a few photos of the beautiful Chateau Dumas. The Chateau is just 30 min North of Montabaun, an hour or so North of Toulouse France.

Kaari Meng of the French General found this lovely Chateau owned by our gracious hostess Lizzie. It was a wonderful find! What a week we had. This is the second year Kaari and her Mom, "Kick", and sister Molly Meng hosted this incredible week in the South of France.

This was the first photo I took when Jackie, Jeanne, Anne, Alexis and I arrived from the train station.

I had a lovely room called the "Lakeview" suite. A relaxing respite from the long travel day we had. In the morning after a heavy night's sleep I awoke to this view out my windows.

The intricate landscaping on the side of the Chateau.

The colors were really pretty, doesn't this just make you dream of pale blue shutters of your own?!? Lizzie has done an amazing job creating such a warm home to share with all her guests. Every detail is just impeccable. Lizzie has a wonderful eye for style.

So if you have a trip you'd like to take with 12-16 of your closest friends consider renting the Chateau for a week that will be the best of your life!!

-Rach

Still Hungry?

2010-08-01T09:14:00.001-07:00

More food to share from France!!

The first few days in France were warm. The evenings cooled down but during the day the sun blazed down and it was TOASTY!

This fruit ceviche appetizer was a delightfully cool refresher!

We enjoyed a nice salad, veggies, potatoes and a stuffed rolled turkey with pistachios.

One our trip to Cordes, a charming medieval cobblestoned hilly town, we had a lunch at an outdoor cafe. The memories included a beautiful view:

The mister drip being right above my head and getting a little soaked, but staying cool :)

And most of all this goat cheese salad! The main dish I had was some sort of duck which I didn't really care, for, but this salad made up for it, and I was satisfied for the afternoon!

For our dinner back at Chateau Dumas

The Mushroom Pate was divine start to the meal.

The main dish was a cornish hen with stuffed zucchini and oh so good scalloped potatoes!

Dessert was such a treat as well...the food was all so fresh, you knew it came straight from the farms to our table.

Being someone who has a touchy stomach, I was a little worried to eat all this Rich French food. I was pleasantly surprised that I felt great eating all the food at the Chateau, even all the cheese, which was so fresh tasting.

For lunches we typically ate fairly light, a big selection of fresh salads and vegetables to choose from. I typically chose ALL of them!

One of my favorite appetizers to eat are Artichokes. The White Chocolate Grill has wonderful artichokes, and in Omaha M's Pub has a tasty one as well. I've also made Artichokes myself just by cutting off the top and steaming them for 45 minutes. Add a little butter dipping sauce and you are good to go.

So you can imagine my excitement when I saw this set down in front of me!!

There was a light aoli dipping sauce they created for this artichoke as well.

Our breakfast the next morning was a real treat. Renee made crepes with marzipan cheese. So good.

It was dessert for breakfast!

On a rainy day, we visited a beautiful cathedral and then ran over to a neighborhood cafe to have something warm.

I opted for a chocolat. Very warm and comforting, one of a few chocolats to come.

Lunch consisted of a little cheese and bread of course first....

Then again a buffet set with inspired dishes. A delicious quiche, salad, roasted cauliflower, and meatballs.

Dinner that evening was one of my favorites!

Appetizer salad with toasted cheese bread.

The main dish was two different kinds of sausages that were out of this world along with lentils I believe, and roasted zucchini and tomato. I am begging Lizzie to put together a Chateau Dumas cookbook!! PLEASE PLEASE!

One of my favorite desserts was this fresh apple pie. Such a light and flaky crust.

Breakfast on Friday was wonderful for fueling us to shop on the last day in Montabaun and the vintage hat factory which I can't wait to share with you.

More salads for us at lunch!

Dinner the last evening started with split pea soup, real creamy goodness, with homemade croutons that were addictive.

The main dish was roasted chicken, asparagus, potatoes and salad.

The dessert was a very special chocolate cake that they set up outside on the balcony with candles. As we ate our cake we shared our favorite part of the week. As you can imagine beyond the friendships and beautiful Chateau we stayed in, the FOOD had to be at the top of all of our lists!! Thanks Lizzie and team for a wonderful week of eating!!

-Rach

Bon Appetite - beware - you will be hungry after reading this POST!

2010-07-31T16:28:00.000-07:00

Bon Jour,

I'm home from my French General - French Adventure, getting back in the swing of working, trying to sleep based on my time zone, and missing all the French Food!!

One of the first questions my friends and family have asked since I've been back is "How was the Food?!?" One word - AMAZING. The Chef's at the Chateau were incredible, making each meal better and more special than the next. I thought I would share the first set of my meals for this first post on France.

Bon Appetite!

Our first evening at the Chateau was such a nice welcome. We arrived from Paris on the train to Montabaun and arrived at the Chateau as the sun was setting. The rest of the ladies were enjoying wine and cheese on the balcony when we joined them.

Our first course was a trio of cold soups from gazpacho to a mint soup and mango with a onion puff. So tasty.

The main course was roasted vegetable, potatoes and a stuffed pork dish.

Dessert was a nice cap to the long travel day. Berries and cream. Mmmmm.

At the Sunday Farmer's market in St. Antonine there were many vendors with fresh fruits, (the strawberries were little pieces of candy they were so sweet!)

olives,

foi gras, and the below delicacy L'Aligot, which was like a cheesy mashed potato. Very rich, and pretty tasty!

After the market and a stop at a Brochante (much on these later) we went to a beautiful park and had a picnic lunch near the lake.

Lizzie (owner of Chateau Dumas), Renee (one of our brilliant Chef's) and Ollie (our resident do it all guy), set up a lovely spread for us.

The main spread included duck, onion tart, roasted vegetables, green beans, potatoes, and more.

The dessert was a flaky and sweet fig tart.

Dinner back at the Chateau was on this lovely set up out front.

We started with creamy hummus:

Then dinner was surf and turf, however I opted for a little more duck vs the beef. The roasted garlic spread was SOOOO good, luckily all of us ate it :)

The dinner was topped off with fireworks from a small town nearby, it was quite a show!

Breakfasts at the Chateau were easy and relaxed. Everyone woke at their own pace and joined in on breakfast when they came downstairs.

One of my favorite things was the muesli. It is hard to explain what exactly it is, but a kind of cold oatmealish cereal with fruit. I used to eat it all the time at the Corner Bakery in Chicago, for those with Corner Bakeries nearby! Of course there were croissants on the table each morning, along with a special dish each day. This day's dish was a cheese omelet.

The little chive just added such a great flavor to the omelet.

I realized I have MANY more photos of meals to share with you, but I figure I have made you hungry enough from this post, I'll wait to share more with you soon!!

Until then Good Eating!!!

-Rach

A Few Updates before my French Adventure!

2010-07-15T20:43:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone,

I have been so behind in my updates, it is terrible!! However I will be missing most likely for the next couple weeks still since I leave TOMORROW for FRANCE!! Yes that is right France.

It doesn't quite seem real. I signed up for this adventure last fall, and now in about 12 hours I will be boarding a plane to Chicago then onto Paris. It will be a little Planes, Trains and Automobiles. There will be four of us taking the Train from Paris to the South of France to meet up with the other gals for our week long stay at the Chateau. Then Jeanne, Jackie and I will be back to Paris for a few whirlwind days packing it all in!!

Check out the adventure that I'll be on if you'd like at the French General.

In the meantime I thought I'd share a picture from my Californian getaway back in May to attend Jenny Doh's Crescendoh Launch Party. It was a Blast, and so good to catch up with my Brave Girl's.

I'll share more about the wonderful weekend once I return.

Until then Bon Jour! Is that hello and goodbye?! I really should've learned some French!

Hello Helpful Phrase Book!

Rach

Mary Engelbreit Workshops

2010-05-03T22:55:00.000-07:00

Hi Friends -

The weekend in St Louis was so great. It was relaxing, engaging, inspiring, and so enjoyable with Lisa and Kara. It was fun to see many other familiar faces too - Claudine , Charlotte, Kaari, Shelley, Jemelia, Peggy, and more!

I drove down to Kansas City on Wednesday night, it was pretty late once I finished up enough work to take off a couple days. I stayed with Kara and Thursday morning we took off down the road to St Louis. When we arrived we checked into the Hotel Indigo which was just a block away from the Chase where the workshops took place. It was a great deal and had fun bright rooms.

Kara and I walked over a few blocks for our Mary Engelbreit studio tour.

Mary's studio is located in the Central West End of St Louis which is a cool fun area.

The tour was really interesting, we saw Mary's office, and her work table where she creates her artwork. There were fun "Mary" touches all over the space - even the restroom!

The front desk was colorful and bright.

Here is Mary's desk, and all the amazing colorful markers and pencils she uses for her artwork.

Great colors!

I took note of Mary's computer which held the quotes she looks at each day:

"There is no failure except in no longer trying"

"until you make peace with who you are, you'll never be content with what you have"

"never pass up a chance to keep your mouth shut"

"It's hard to learn from a mistake that you don't acknowledge making"

After our tour we met Lisa who drove up from Oklahoma to join us for the weekend.

As we walked into the welcome reception we ran into Charlotte Lyons, one of my favs! And this little lady was just hanging out saying hello to people as they entered....Yeah that is me with my arm around Mary Engelbreit. She is so cool and really approachable.

I was also excited to see Shelley who I just met the weekend before in Savannah.

Kara, Lisa and I had dinner after the reception at a fun Italian restaurant, I think it was called Bar Italia. We sat under a big white tent outside. As you know, I love love love outdoor dining. The host was very friendly and you could tell he thoroughly enjoyed his job and making everyone feel welcome.

Friday bright and early started the workshops. 8am Kara and I took Wendy Addison's Glitter Chandelier class. The project was amazing....however the nearly 2 hours of cutting chipboard with a knife was a little much for my poor hand...but it'll be well worth it once I have a studio to hang the piece in!! Wendy was sweet and amazing. I loved hearing how she came to love and search out German Glass Glitter. Lots of history there!

My second class on Friday was with Charlotte Lyon's, who I have met at Silver Bella in years past. Charlotte is not only uber-talented, but her warmth is what really draws you in. Friday we made cuckoo clocks out of chipboard. (If you visit her blog, my clock is red with white polka dots and is featured in her post) Very fun.

Saturday started with the awesome Kaari Meng's class on Millinery Flowers. She brought her gorgeous fabrics for us to choose from and we went to town. I made two flowers. The one below was my favorite since it coordinated so well with my outfit :) I wore it on my belt. I can imagine these flowers being fun to add to gift packages, to bags, and many other ideas. I can't wait to make more while we are in France at the Chateau Getaway in July :) So excited about that!!

My last class on Saturday was again with Charlotte and we made traveling folding trays out of a cereal box! What a totally green idea. I love mine and will use it on my dresser to hold change, rings, earrings, etc. I need to take some pictures of all my projects and I'll share those soon.

As we left the hotel to grab a final dinner in St Louis' Central West End we stopped to take some pics before it got too dark.

The fountain was along the main street with beautiful houses across the way. There were wonderful restaurants to choose from too!

Lisa and I were so happy to be at another art event together that we signed up for SPARK 2 Friday night!! We are both really excited to see Margie again and hopefully more girls we know, like Elena.

It truly wouldn't be an art event without a cupcake. I think they go hand in hand. I am not sure if it is a law in certain states, but I don't want to take the risk, you know what I'm sayin'?

So being the law abiding citizens that we are, we stopped at The Cupcakery, maybe twice - just for good measure...

The whole weekend was a treat. I can't wait for the next one!!

Thanks to Mary and Barbara Martin for throwing such a wonderful event!!

-Rach