October Kits!!

(this is a sweet old minature scale by the way)

I think this one should be called "Heart and Home"- it just gives me a warm and fuzzy feeling! Alot of exclusive stuff here- JBS felt flowers in exclusive colors just for this kit as well as a special printing of orange tickets. And check out this month's repro. photo- isn't that house cool? You can even see the family standing in front if you look closely. The photo above is missing two products by the way- new 7gypsies velvet leaves and Kaisercraft green flower rhinestones.

Okay- I'm not sure if there has ever, in the history of Scrapbooking, been cuter Halloween product then these stickers and Blackboard from Cosmo Cricket. I had the idea for the jointed skeleton ever since I saw the new product in their booth. Everything else just progressed from there. Orange glass glitter, black tinsel trim and black crystals add the detail. If you haven't already bought a package of the skewer sticks (available at any grocery store) you may want to do it! I am addicted to this stick concept - there will be more! The kit instructions will show you how to make 5 different "sticks" but you will have a ton left over to make more!This is the Add-On kit. Lots of vintage stuff. It's hard to tell, but in the upper left corner you will see a Coca Cola receipt. That is actually a book - you get the whole thing! I scored them at the flea market this weekend. Most of them have 50 pages or more in them. See the site for all of the specifics.

And finally, a pillow box filled with vintage Halloween goodies!

You can find this under Limited Edition Kits.

Tonight at 12:00 midnight, central time. Be there!!

P.S. - kits will ship a little early this month, on the 7th and 8th, so as to give plenty of time to play with the Halloween goodies before the big night!

Couple Quick Updates!

Check back here tomorrow evening for October Kit previews (on sale tomorrow night at midnight)!

I will be loading some more things into the September Gallery from Rita and myself so take a look over there too tomorrow night (I did a sweet little "Flat Stanley" book for Christian's class about his travels to South Africa).

Check back on Wednesday evening to see the winners of the 1st ever Jenni Bowlin Studio Designer contest!

And, take a look at this baby. . .

I finally got this Epson RX680 hooked up and started printing. If you are looking for a printer that can do everything but load your dishwasher this is the one for you!

This is why I like it:

- it prints out superb photos that I send from my PC

- my 10 year old can run in and load his memory card right at the unit and print out photos without even touching my computer. (he just needs to learn some restraint when it comes to paper and ink)!

- it also has a scanner. You can make a quick copy without even going to your PC but it also comes with scanner software so I can ditch my other scanner altogether (one less piece of electronics -yeah)!

Of course the key to printing a good photo on an Epson printer is to use the Luster paper. I love it! I'm not sure where you can buy it brick and mortar store wise but I order mine from the Epson site.


Happy Monday!

Comfortable

I grew up in a place that most people would think was pretty cool. After all, people travel from all over the world to Washington D.C. to see the museums, the Lincoln memorial and of course the White House. Like most "locals" to any city, we spent very little time there. In fact, I can't ever remember a time when my family went into the city. Of course there were field trips to the Smithsonian and the Air and Space museums, but we never went as a family.

My Dad was a police officer while I was growing up. In fact, he spent a year of his career in the Homicide division in P.G. County MD, which at the time I believe had the highest murder rate in the nation. A year was all a 2 time Vietnam Vet could handle (he deserves a medal for the year).

I think my Dad spent alot of his time protecting us from the worst of life. This had alot to do with why we didn't go into the city. We vacationed every year- always to the East Coast to the beach or up to PA to visit family. Once we went to DisneyWorld - my first plane ride! My mother will probably post and correct me, but I don't believe any of us, singular or as a whole, left the US. (she traveled a little with her job as a civilian with the Air National Guard but I believe it was all domestic. Okay, maybe Greenland?).

(Stay with me - I do have a point to make)!

It wasn't until I started traveling for scrapbook conventions that I ever left the East Coast. Traveling to CA for the first time was a BIG deal for me. Seeing the Grand Canyon and Sedona for the first time was a BIG deal. Seeing the magnificent dairy barns in Massachusetts was a BIG deal.

The thought of getting on a plane and heading toward a foreign country across the map was a BIG deal. So big that I actually shed tears and made myself sick with worry for months before I left. Silly me.

So here is my point. . . (I told you I had one)!

Being comfortable is a good thing, no doubt. But being so comfortable that you miss out on grand opportunities to see the world in a new light, in a way that the 10:00 news just can't communicate would be a shame (and I almost missed my opportunity).

I guess I went through the trouble to type all of this because just saying "South Africa was great" didn't seem like enough. In the end it meant alot more to me then just seeing Lions and Elephants (which were of course AMAZING). The people I met (have I mentioned how warm, friendly, and laid back everyone was?) have changed me. The level of poverty I saw has changed me. The history has changed me. Knowing that something near 1 in 5 people around me had AIDS changed me. Seeing beautiful children laughing and playing in the midst of it all (as all children do) has changed me.

Don't get me wrong, this certainly wasn't a missions trip. But somehow in the midst of all I did see (watch a sunrise over the African savannah and see how your perspective changes!) I came back with a new outlook on life.

I want to thank Glenda and Louise for the opportunity to be a part of the convention. It was more then I ever imagined it would be and I find myself missing the two of you so much (and Gary and Auntie)! I also want to thank all of the ladies who attended the convention for their warm welcome and hospitality. I hope to be back soon!!

Hello from South Africa!

We are having an amazing experience in South Africa. We have just finished up two days of teaching at the convention (to the most wonderful and warm ladies)!! Tomorrow we head out early to our Gaming Lodge.

On our first day there we went on a tour to Soweto and visited the Regina Mundi Church. So much history there. We ran into a group of beautiful school children there. I took this little video for Christian's 1st grade class to share with them when we get back. Enjoy! More soon -

Ahhh- I must be crazy!!!

Well I'm back from Creative Escape in AZ (what an amazing group of women and an incredibly well run event)! I had a great time getting to meet everyone and ate alot of great food. It is always great to see Heidi (I don't know how she does it) and I enjoyed getting to hang out with the other teachers (and my fabulous room assistants, Pam and Jamie)! Of course I have no photos to post as usual. I really have to get better at that. Janet and Tim did talk me into getting a Flip video camera which I picked up tonight so I'm hoping to start posting video soon!

I am off again Wednesday morning - this time for two weeks in South Africa. I am hoping to post some from there but I'm not sure about Internet capabilities at the moment.

So. . . it could be a little while before I am here again. I will be back soon though- and this time with pictures!