Happy Halloween!

Hope everyone has a spooktacular Halloween! I'm kind of disappointed we haven't had many trick-or-treaters this year.

Last week I managed to spend a few hours making some Halloween cards for the family - something I haven't had time to do in a few years. It felt good making something "for fun" and using up some of my stash.

Now I'm back to creating Christmas projects for our holiday Open House next week. Just doesn't feel right when it's 81 degrees outside!

The good, the bad and the ugly

It's been quite a week - here's the rundown.

The good:  my little grandson came to visit for several days and I got in some great loving time!

The bad: I worked very long hours (making up for that nice trip!) and also attended a memorial service for a friend and student who died suddenly while I was away. (Rest in peace, Sandy - we love you!)

The ugly:  my Mac's hard drive is wiped clean and EVERYTHING is gone!  I'd been having problems and my husband took it in to Apple when we got back. They said they needed to erase the internal drive so he brought it home to back up files.  We discovered that my exterior hard drive had not been backing up, so he backed everything up before taking it back to Apple. They erased everything and when we got it back, we discovered that the back up had gone to the internal drive instead of the exterior drive. Devastating to say the least.  My only consolation is that my kids and my husband have copies of most of the babies' pictures. However, all my documents and inspiration folders are gone.  Lesson: be sure to back up all files and check to be sure they were backed up properly! Never assume anything!

I've spent most of my free time trying to recreate some of my files and haven't gotten to editing the many photos we took on the trip.  But here are a few to whet your appetite (I don't like posts without photos).

Courtyard of Versailles

Formal gardens - I was a little disappointed that they hadn't done the winter flower planting yet.

Entering the Louvre  Pyramid

Ste. Chapelle Cathedral - amazing stained glass

Arc de Triomphe at night

Notre Dame

Normandy coast

Omaha Beach, Normandy

American Cemetery, Normandy

Sacre  Coeur and lots of steps

Along the Left Bank of the Seine

Here's our own little frenchman wearing the beret we brought him

Only a few more days

to sign up for the "Art Smart" Canvas workshop at the LBH either Thursday evening (6-9pm) or Friday morning (10am-1pm). We'll be making this cute Halloween/Fall "twinchie" canvas while learning many fun techniques.  Check out more information on this post and call the LBH at 817-431-7930 to sign up.

Hope to see you there!

I'm back - and jet-lagged!

 We've returned from our Paris trip which was, in one word, amazing! Arrived late Thursday night (morning Paris time) and I'm still struggling to adapt to the time changes. We essentially lost a day somewhere! It rained most of our time there but it didn't stop us from seeing the sights.  We managed to stay up late enough our first night in town to see the Eiffel Tower lit up, arriving just in time for the five-minute twinkling light show.

One of the best parts of Paris, of course, are the patisseries (pastry shops) and boulangeries (bread bakeries) on almost every block.  Very dangerous...

 I loved getting to have my all-time favorite "pain au chocolat" again. It's a flaky crust rolled around two strips of chocolate which are smooth and creamy once baked. Below you can see the regular ones on the bottom shelf.  It wasn't until we were leaving that I saw these "maxi" ones - maybe a good thing...

One day we passed by this awesome chocolate shop with this huge chunk of chocolate in the window! They also had two chunks carved into hippos (see the book in front). 

Here's my last "meal" in Paris before going to the airport Thursday. Yummy chocolate crepes! I will definitely miss the food.

But the best part of the trip? Getting to come home through Austin and having some grams time with Carl.

Au revoir!

Leaving on a jet plane tomorrow and won't be back again - for ten days!  My husband and I are celebrating our 40th anniversary (Oct. 14) with a much-anticipated trip to Paris!  I was a student there my junior year in college over 40 years ago and haven't been back since so I am really excited to see how much I remember of the city and the language.  It will be a whirlwind trip as we want to do the city as well as the Normandy D-Day beaches, Versailles of course, and a few wineries in Champagne.

A bientot! (That means, loosely, see you in a bit.)

Art Smart - Oct. 25 or 26

I will be teaching this darling fall/Halloween-themed "twinchie" canvas at the LBH for Art Smart in October (two sessions to choose from: Oct. 25, 6-9 pm or Oct. 26, 10 am-1 pm).   Don't know what twinchies are? They are tiny little works of art only 2" square.  You will learn some fun techniques while making 9 different twinchies to decorate an 8"x8" square canvas. 

Cost is $20 and the canvas will be provided for you, along with instructions and supplies for the twinchies. (You may also choose to design your own unique twinchies!)  Please bring the following supplies to class:

Basic supplies (incl. scissors, Glossy Accents, pop dots, tape runner, black ink)

Heat resistant craft mat and heat gun

Small Halloween and fall stamps

Versamark ink

Paint and foam brush (your choice of color for background)

The sample is on display now at the LBH. Stop by or call 817-431-7930 to sign up now!

Hope to see you then.

Harvest Happenings!

Join us next week, Tuesday and Wednesday, from 10 am to 6 pm for our Harvest Happenings Open House!  We will reveal the new fall lineup of class projects and lots of new products.  Prize giveaways and a free make-and-take project from 10-2.  We can't wait to show you what we've created!

Card Keepers Class this week

Ready to get a head start on your holiday cards?

Join us tomorrow (Oct. 4) for the LBH Card Keepers class from 6-9 pm (still a few seats left).

This month we will be featuring the new Send it Clear diecut cards from Clear Scraps.  We have four different samples to share and will be teaching two (the bell and photo cards below), including some fun techniques to use with these clear cards.

Some of the designs feature interlocking shapes. Love this bell card!

Contact us at 817-431-7930 to sign up for class.