headed to alt summit!

I'm headed to Altitude Summit (check out the great list of speakers)! I'm still running around like a mad woman getting ready.

Something obviously had to fall through the cracks and unfortunately it was my business cards. I had to get them printed at one of those quickie places using not such great paper and I DIY-ed the top half with my Cameo among others. The happy accident was that the machine couldn't cut through the thick stock—so I left the scored outlines. It'll do.

Now that that problem is semi-solved I still have some packing to do. Most everyone will be traveling tomorrow but I will miss half of the first day while I fly there. Oh well—this where the balancing act of mother/wife and self-employed designer come to play. I'm just rolling with it.

I'm excited. Nervous. Excited. Mostly nervous about my class but excited to meet so many people that I've known online for so long. I will finally meet them as well as so many other people too.

If you're in my class, get ready for some cutting fun! If you're not, don't hesitate to come up and say hello.

For those of you that won't be there—I'll be posting photos and comments on Twitter (I've added my stream to the blog too).

Catch you all next Monday!

Random blog stuff-- Love it! I can now answer your questions directly. Blogger has added threading to the comments section. Wonderful! 

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Consider this my ahead of schedule Friday Tidbit...

Please see the video below (via Indie Fixx) to learn more about SOPA and why we need to stop it! Copyblogger also has a great article explaining the whole issue and why it should matter to ALL of us.

See you soon!



PROTECT IP / SOPA Breaks The Internet from Fight for the Future on Vimeo.

I need to teach more often

For a few hours of the past two Saturdays I've had the opportunity to teach. It has been really, really fun. It's amazing how something as simple as some paper crafting can bring people together so easily. On the 16th, I made some trees with the class—and we made a terrific mess!

This past Saturday, I finally made good on my silent auction item, of teaching a class of how to use the Cricut cutting machine. The funny thing is that the class was supposed to last 2 hours and I think it ended up being twice as long. We just kept talking and making, talking and making. I really could go on forever.

These gift tags/small note cards are one of the projects that I made for the class (using shape No. 8 in the Accent Essentials cartridge). My intention was to show that even though the Cricut is mostly used for 2-dimensional projects there is no reason why you shouldn't give your projects some volume—it's so easy to do. I also wanted to show how you can get more milage from the cartridges. [The non-existent limitations of SVG files, that are used with other digital cutters, is what makes me so fond of them.]

These star-type shapes are cut in increments of 1/4" and all stacked one on top of another. That's it! Can you imagine a bigger one of these on top of a gift or as wall art inside a box frame?

I still thoroughly enjoy paper cutting by hand, but digital cutters are definitely a lot of fun to work with. At first I thought I was cheating by using them, but they are just a tool. The creativity that goes along with the use of that tool is what counts—just how a graphic designer uses a computer.

For those of you that don't have a digital cutter, the lesson you can draw from this project is that repetition and symmetry go hand in hand. If you cut out any symmetrical shape in different sizes and overlap them, the effects can be really interesting. Even hand cut elements can have a great impact as you saw in last week's flowers.

Like I said it's all in your hands—not in the tools that you have.

Have a great Monday!

teaching + book signing

We are safely tucked away in a hotel (below) watching the some rare snow fall. It has been a crazy week but at least the house is on its way to getting fixed. I'm just hoping that we can be back home in time for Christmas. Crossing fingers!



If you live in Houston or surrounding areas this may interest you - I'll be teaching a beginner level paper crafting class at 10:30am tomorrow at SewCrafty. It will be my first time to teach an 'official' craft class and I'm really excited about it. There will also be some Home, Paper, Scissors book signing going on — bring or purchase a copy there. I hope to meet some of you in the morning!

Have a great weekend everyone!



One of the two projects we'll be working on in class.

focus

I'm following through with what I said about teaching. I have a phone call set up, for nest week, with a very experienced teacher who has generously offered some of her valuable time. I'm really looking forward to hearing what tips and advice she will give me. I've also contacted a local group where I think it would be possible to teach a class.

I'm making a list of the possible directions my class could take. I need to narrow the scope of my ideas. So, this is where I need a little help from you. For those of you that would consider taking a class with me (whether you live here or not)- What would you like to learn from me? I would love to hear your thoughts on this.

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The kids are down to the second to last week of school and I need to get some things done before summer officially starts in this household. I feel scattered. So, I think a little blogging break is in order. Fear not I will have new goodies when I get back next week. In the meantime, enjoy the rest of the week!

The bowl is one of the originals from the cover on my book.