Hey Guys!!!

MaraMay here! :)
I'm so excited to post my little peek today! I think I'm making some of my favorite projects EVER and I'm so happy to be sharing them with all of you who will be at this amazing event!
I think I'm pretty well-known for doing pages of myself. So YES, my class will be totally self indulgent! And guess what the dictionary say this means...
self-indulgent
Adjective
tending to allow oneself to have or do things that one enjoys
self-indulgence n
So basically it's gonna be fun fun fun. Ha
I've picked out tons of stuff that I LOVE to create with... Think bold, think bling, think flowers... Totally. Think. Girly! :)
I think the last project we'll be doing in my class is one not to be expected, but one to be completely loved. I can't wait, and I sure bet you can't either.
Without further adieu... Here's my little peekie poo...

Just one for now, but more from me later!
You guys hang in there... I know it's getting hard waiting for the day to get here, but while you wait go snap some self portraits! Yer gonna need 'em for this class. :)
xoxoxo

A Sneak Peek from Christine Middlecamp

I know that Summer is prime time for traveling and if you're anything like me, you're still well behind in documenting your travel stories. In my class, we'll be working on creating a medium size mini album devoted to traveling. No matter where you vacationed last year or the year before (I'm really behind), you'll finally have an opportunity to sit down and bring together a series of photos documenting a trip to some place special.

The mini album we'll be working with is a 10" x 5" ring chipboard album from Creative Imaginations. It's a great size album for holding multiple photos and loads of details. As is typical with all my classes, we'll focus on building multi-layered foundations and self-made embellishments. After the class is over, you'll walk away with a treasure trove of technique driven ideas and an album you'll never want to put down.

I look forward to returning to California for the "Reflections" event! In the mean time, stay tuned for more class sneak peeks from me in the coming weeks.

a little help from our friends

We are so lucky to know Cheryl. She is truely a gem! And if you know her you certainly know what we mean. And if you don't know her you will be the end of Reflections and you will have made a new and wonderful friend. Our wonderful friend is not only going to be doing a make and take on Friday using Fiskars and Cosmo Cricket but also had been our Fiskateer angel helping us get Fiskars as one of our sponsors. Here's a little more about her.

Hello to all . . . I’m Cheryl Waters and I’m thrilled to be a part of ‘Reflections.’ I’m married and a mother to a funny and sweet ten year old daughter, Abigail. I love to spend time with my family, my church family, and friends. I’m a big football fan by inheritance (I have a cousin who plays in the pros). We are definitely a football family.
I work full time in law enforcement. I am blessed to have occasional opportunities in my full time job to share my passion for art. I enjoying spending my spare time working with all kinds of mediums from paper to fabric to canvas. I enjoy teaching paper and altered art mainly in California and Arizona but have traveled throughout the US. I enjoy the many friendships that have been established as a result of teaching and being a participant in the scrapbooking community.
In 2006, I had the blessing of being a part of a groundbreaking movement in which Fiskars (the orange handled scissor company), a brand identity company Brains on Fire, myself and three other gals from different parts of the US were able to begin a community called the Fiskateers. I love this position and currently still serve as a lead Fiskateer. I have enjoyed serving in the past as a member of the creative team at my local scrapbook store for several years and have also enjoyed writing and creating projects for Stampington and Co. (Somerset Home, Somerset Memories – formerly Legacy), as well as Memory Makers books.
I am so grateful for all the wonderful and talented people I have met through this journey called ‘scrapbooking’ and deeply cherish the friendships that have been made along the way.

It’s official!

We have started to prep for the big event and we are so excited! We’re sure you will all be very pleased with the goodies coming your way. In fact the first surprise should be mailed out soon, so keep your eyes peeled on your mailboxes! (And we mean the old fashion kind of mailbox!)

More Cool Make and Takes by....

Hi, I’m Nora Griffin…basically just an avid scrapbooker who has been ridiculously lucky to get a few cool opportunities like teaching and guest designing. When I’m not trying to make stuff I’m busy attempting to finally be a good college student. I am working to complete bachelor degrees in Sociology and Women’s Studies at Cal State Fullerton. My son McIntosh has newly turned twelve years old, but thankfully still appreciates my sparkling wit because other than that I’m just the annoying person always crying out for him to clean his room. My husband Sean has put up with me and my crazy ideas for nine years now. He seemingly manages to love me despite the fact that it might involve punching out hundreds of patterned paper scalloped circles or painting a room in our house yet again. Other than that I’m boring…things like organizing a cabinet or spreading a ridiculous amount of butter on a piece of sourdough bread makes me happy…but it’s the little things in life, right?

a sneak peek from Maggie Holmes

How often do you scrapbook about you? If you are like me, then you don’t do it often enough, if ever at all! And if you are like me you sometimes feel intimidated about dedicating an entire layout to the topic of “you”! Well, I have come up with a solution — the “I am...” mini album. This is a mini album/journal dedicated to you, and in it you will find a ton of journaling prompts that will help you discover and document what makes you unique and fabulous and well.... YOU! This smaller format takes away the intimidation and allows you to complete the journal/album a bit at a time... Whenever you want you can just pick it up and flip to one of the prompts and go for it! You can simply fill in the journaling and be done, or you can take it a step further and add in photos and other memorabilia that help tell your story. The open book format even allows you to add in extra pages and more journaling prompts down the road. The sky is the limit! Oh, and it is also packed full of my favorite products that are bright and happy and fun! And I will teach you some of my favorite techniques as well... So be prepared to get your hands dirty!!

Another fabulous Make and Take

We can't tell you how excited we are about Reflections! Not only are the classes amazing but the Make and Takes are going to just rock!! We wanted to introduce you to another talented designer who will be doing a make and take.

Hi, my name is Laura McCollough and I live in Southern California with my dear hubby, our three daughters and our adorable but deaf dog “Lady Scarlet Syrah of Glenwood”. I have been scrapbooking ever since I was a little girl but was introduced to the more current way of scrapbooking about 14 years ago. I love to create, design and teach others about this wonderful art form as it is truly a passion of mine! I also love how scrapbooking has blended together with the world of altered art. Making projects for your home with this art form is really where I love to play and experiment since I went to college for Interior Design. I own an online monthly Kit Club, http://www.akissonthechic.com/ where I design kits each month that have a blend of scrapbooking products, vintage finds and altered art projects. I also enjoy singing, cooking, playing tennis and traveling. We were so blessed to be able to take a year off and travel the world a few years back so I still find reasons to scrapbook those wonderful memories! I am continually inspired by so much that life has to offer and feel so blessed to be doing what I love for a living and sharing it with others!

Sneak Peak from Mellisa Phillips

Are you ready for some sneak peeks? We hope so!

Here's just a little tease from Mellisa Phillips.

Prepare to take home something you’ll love so much you can’t bear to ever put it away. We’re going to let our shabby side show as we use glitter, acrylic paint, sandpaper, and distress ink---all to create something unique and heartfelt. When you’re done with your mini masterpiece, you’ll smile each time you look at it and sigh when you open it and enjoy the extra special treat inside created from your own hands. I can’t wait to show you more.”
Melissa

Announcement

Dear Reflections Attendees,

By now you have received the news about Teresa. It was such a hard decision for all of us. We knew Teresa was overbooked and going to miss a big event in her daughter's life. She was feeling overwhelmed and her family was very upset with her. I think we all get ourselves in positions like that where we just don't know what to do and we're disappointing the people who are the most important to us. We believe that family comes first and we started trying to figure out a way to help Teresa but still give you the best possible teacher and event. Then we had a WONDERFUL idea. When we were at CHA the very sweet and talented Stephanie Ackerman was there doing all of Teresa's make and takes. The buzz in the booth was about some AMAZING book that were on display. And guess who made a lot of these book? Why yes, Stephanie! So when this came up with Teresa we thought maybe we could convince Stephanie to create a book for us and she said YES. The book is a totally unique, one a kind project. It uses Teresa's products and we think you will agree that it is something you will TREASURE! It is filled with TECHNIQUE and you will even make your own album. We're sure this is something you will "flip" over (and yes, that is a hint on the project). Stephanie got right to work and has been creating non stop since our discussion. We think you will agree the book is wonderful and unique. And could the title be any more perfect? Remember Family Memories. Please open attachment to see a picture of the album.
Stephanie is filled with creative, innovative, and very practical ideas.

Here's a little list of her resume.

· She had her own magazine, Homegrown Hospitality. If you don't recognize that name it became Home and Heart and Holiday Home this past holiday season.
· Her doodles are famous!
· She's designed stamps for Purple Onion Designs.
· She designed embellishments for Me and My Big Ideas.
· She designed a line for Bo Bunny.
· She's been on numerous design teams including Making Memories, Prima, Freckle Friends and Polka Dot Whimsy.
· She 's a Fiskateer- Nifty 50.

We want you to know that we did not come upon this decision lightly but we truly believe that family comes first. We also fully believe that you deserve the BEST teachers and WONDERFUL projects. We hope you will understand and support this decision. We are striving to make Reflections the best event you've ever been to! We hand picked the 7 teachers because they all have something special to offer. Stephanie fits in perfectly with the caliber of our other designers.
And to satisfy your curiosity sneak peeks will start next week on our blog.

Thank you for all your support! We can't wait until May!!

Sincerely,

Susan and Karen

jamie's class

Hi all!
I just wanted to post a quick bit about the class I will be teaching. If you've been to any of my classes, you know that I usually take my daughter, Kira with me to help out. This time, to continue the tradition of keeping it in the the family ;), I am teaming up with my husband Chris as we will be teaching class that is half photography and half scrapbooking! We are hoping that you will bring your cameras and be ready for a hands on class with some fun people/things to shoot! You'll leave the class with a notebook decorated ala jamie waters style with lots of space for any photography notes you'd like to add! :)
We are excited to see you there! If you'd like to see more of our photography work, visit our blog, www.jacshoot.com/blog or if you'd like to read about our family, www.watersfive.typepad.com
Thanks!

You've Gotta Have Heart...

We are really excited that announce that Scrapbook Royalty is going to run the Friday and Saturday night crops! Do you know what Scrapbook Royalty is?

Scrapbook Royalty is a 100% volunteer run organization whose mission is to raise money and awareness for noble causes through unique scrapbooking and crafting events and to promote "creative" opportunities for crafters to give to others in need. 100% of the donations raised is given to the worthy causes we support.

If you've ever been to one of their events you know they really knock it out of the ballpark. There will be fun games, a silent auction and more. And the best thing about it is all the money raised will go to the American Heart Association.

When you sign up with Scrapbook Royalty you get to pick the charity you want to support. Karen and I thought of the American Heart Association right away. I don't think anyone out there hasn't NOT been touched by someone they love having heart disease. It is such a worthy cause. Since it is such a fantastic cause we decided that we will also contribute a portion of ALL THE PROCEDES of Reflections to the AHA. So not only will you be enjoying a great weekend away, learning something new, and making gorgeous projects, you will be helping as well!

Cathy Z picked a winner

Did you guys see that we were giving away a Reflections registration ? Well, Nancy won. Yeah Nancy! Her note was super cute. Here's what she had to say when Cathy told her she won.

Hey best buddy, best pal, fave simple scrapper, design teacher extraordinaire (that's French):I bet you thought I fell off the earth and did not know I won. Well, I did not know I won until about an hour ago! American Idol was too mind numbing on Wed to return to internet surfing, on Thursday I was too busy to check blogs only email, so today I resumed regularly scheduled blog surfing and OH MY GOSH, I saw my name and freaked out!! Being the anal person that I am, I had to immediately check out every possible cost involved and see if I could swing it, and of course, run it past the DH (he never did call me back, so I called him again). And so . . . the hotel, it still has the group room rate available (seriously?) I was shocked; called them directly. And the flights from Indianapolis, surely that would do me in. Priceline - round trip - to the airport nearest the hotel (not LAX) under $300, that is unreal. Shuttle service to/from the airport, probably $75 I'm thinking, no - FREE!! listed on the hotel website. So I guess Cathy, HOOK ME UP! This is probably the point where most people would say, "I never win anything," but I actually did win a free weekend at a hotel in Chicago once. How many times can I say thank you! or use exclamation points!! because I feel like saying THANK YOU again, and to the Scrapbook Oasis girls who gave this away! (I've been surfing their site and blogs, too). Not getting too much done here at work right now! Ever So Sincerely,Nancy Lockhart

This is EXCITING....

I spent some time this morning talking to Susan. I cannot express how excited that I am about teaching at this event. I know if anyone knows to to go "all out and Make it FABULOUS" it is Susan and Karen. I thought I should come on and tell you about "my workshop." I love BOOK projects so I will be teaching with my brand new CHA release- the 7x13 chipboard album covers, page protectors...and well, lots of gems and sparkly ornate things. I will be using the bind it all (PINK) in my classes- so if you have one, make sure and bring it! We are going to create a book on our FAMILY- and so start collecting your favorite photos.

I hope this book will become a TREASURED book of your FAMILY-

I've included a little peak of the papers we will be using in our class- the line is called FAMILY matters. So now girls, start collecting or TAKING photos of your mother, father, children, husband, YOU...well, anyone that is a part of your life.

much love,
teresa

New Yahoo Group

Come chat with us! We started a yahoo group so we can all get to know each other. Please join us. It's a great place to make new friends, ask questions, start swaps, etc.

If you are doing the payment plan please contact us if you have not received your February pay pal invoice. We had a couple people who didn't receive theres and we want to make sure everyone is up to date. If you are still interested in the payment plan I can adjust it to start now. Just drop me a note. We know times are tough and we really want to work with you so you can attend this amazing event!

Have a wonderful day!