Renewed Excitement!

I've been lost in lala land for a little while.  The busyiness of the Holidays and the stress of some personal issues coupled with some uneventful dieting had put me in some doldrums.  Not that my muse has been lost, NO! I've been creating classes as they need to be created but I haven't been looking ahead too far lately.  But I'm ready for a change! 

A few things have changed recently that I'm very excited about! 

Let's see, where to start? 

Well, Patrick made me a fabulous cabinet for my studio as well as a place for all my stamps.  This piece really is exactly what I needed!  All my most loved and recently purchased stamps plus some items I always seem to be looking for are here. 

and then behind me is this giant cabinet...

It's got three shelves inside and is really high up on the wall.  I put some dry erase paper on it to write my to do and up coming lists on it.  I whited them out here but you can see, it's a lot of space.  See that picture in the background?  My very talented friend, Mandy made that years ago.  I did some hypnosis with her this past Summer and she gave it to me.  I love it! 

After spending about a week organizing those cabinets, I thought I'd jump right on the bandwagon and get to creating.  Well, it wasn't so.  I guess as with everything, it takes some getting used to.  I love both pieces and already have seen how much of an asset they are to my studio.

I've been asked to teach again online at My Creative Classroom.  I'll be teaching 5 classes coming this Spring Semester.  The Metal Sampler and Art Journals, Hand Bound from last semester as well as Advanced Metal techniques and More Art Journals, Handbound.  There's a card class in me waiting to come out too but it's not until very late in the semester so I haven't done much to start that.  Speaking of My Creative Classroom, did you know that if you join as a Fan on their Facebook page that you are entered to win a gift cretificate for $30!  That's one, maybe two FREE classes!  Check them out here: 
My Creative Classroom Facebook Page

There's been lots of research and development regarding my classes.  I've been purusing through a few books:

I've been using my sketchbook (which, I'm ashamed to say needed to be dusted off !!) and I even found a few things I'm going to be playing with soon.  I found this at an auto supply store...

and this at Home Depot:

Hmmm... lots of interesting ideas swirling through my mind!  Now to use that dusted sketchbook and get them out!

So what's got me all fired up and ready to rock and roll?  A few more things.  I've been exploring taking other classes for myself.  It's tough and draining to come up with 5 to 6 classes a month plus teach them without getting any feedback from other sources.  So, I decided that what I really needed was to expand my craft knowledge.  My friend, Susan, and I are taking sewing classes at Saftlers on Monday's.  It's a 10 week course and I'm going to make one of these...

Oops, sorry it's sideways but you can see what it is!  I've picked up a few more patterns.  I'm hoping to incorporate more sewing into my crafts.  I've even got my eyes on a quilting class in March.  I'm hoping I easily grasp the sewing knowledge to be able to make it to that class.

Then last Thursday, I took a painting class. One Stroke Certified Instructor Jean Belbin taught me how to make this:

It looks hard but just as the teacher promised, it was easy and just takes practice to get the hang of.  She's doing another one of these classes at the Scrapbook Cupboard next week.  I believe it says it's the next step up from this class or maybe it says advanced but either way, I don't think this is a pre-requisite.  Jean proved to be a patient teacher and everyone left with something they were happy with.

Then last night I took a class with Jane Davies at Ink About It.  The class was called Book Proposal Workshop.  Jane was very informative, had lots of information and answered every one of our questions.  It really got me excited.  Writing a craft book takes a lot of work, long hours and little pay but if you are looking to get some knowledge out there or to see your name in print, it may not be as hard as you think!  I'm going to mull this information over for a while longer.  I hate overextending myself but I've got lots to think about and perhaps some day another iron to put onto the fire!

I'll be back up at Ink About It on Thursday,  February 4th for a daytime class.  I'll be there teaching the Metal Sampler.  Class is almost full there, so if you are on the North Shore and interested, call them now!  If you aren't interested in traveling to Westford or can't make it to a weekday daytime class, the Metal Sampler is available this Sunday at the Scrapbook Cupboard or online at My Creative Classroom starting February 9th.  Lots of options to learn!

My teaching doesn't stop there, either.  Blue Hills called in late December and I'll be doing an 8 week Scrapbooking workshop at Blue Hills Regional School District on Monday nights beginning March 1st.

Whew!  See why I'm getting excited?  Oh, and I almost forgot one of the biggest roles I was hired for!  Yikes!  Not only am I the 2009-2010 TrailMaster winner at Stampers Quest Ezine, but I'm also now their Product Guru Review writer!  My first article will be published online next week.  If you are on the Stampers Quest home page, you can sign up for notification of new articles and you'll get it delivered to your email box!  My first article is a two part-er and is goes in depth on something that us Stampers use every time we stamp!  Can you guess what it is?

On a personal front, the kids are doing fabulous.  Patrick is just about to take on a better position in his company.  It's not in stone but I'm hoping.  We really need it to happen.  And yesterday, I signed up to be a Tastefully Simple consultant.  After my consultant told me how much I spent on the food each year and how much I could save, it was kinda a no-brainer.  So now, if I didn't think I had enough to keep me busy before...  well, maybe that will help push me in the right direction!

More is coming.  I've given the blog a make-over and now, I'm ready to create and share.  Are you ready?