Christmas Card Class 2012 - new changes

I have always loved my Christmas Card class that I do every year.  It has ALWAYS been such a fun time and I've made lots of friends. This year, I'm changing a few things.

First off... I'm doing it a bit earlier this year. I'd always done it in November... which I think just gets TOOOO crazy for most people to set aside several hours to play.  So I've moved it to September... it takes the Christmas Rush off and for those of you who do a family newsletter, that helps with the planning and scheduling of writing that.

I've always done 4 different designs.  I'm only doing 2 this year, so you'll make 10 of each design.  I sort of felt that sometimes doing SO many designs can be overwhelming for new stampers.  I think this will be a bit easier, plus you get a chance to "master" techniques that I will be using.

Another change... is that for the same price as I've always charged for the class ($25), I'm including a stamp set to take home.  What good is it to make such fun things if you can't go home and do it again? So with this years class, Everyone will receive a wood set of the Scentsational Seasons set, which we will be using in one of our card designs.  I'm doing the wood set instead of the clear because I want everyone to be able to use it right away... as much as I LOVE the clear sets, if you are new to stamping, you then have to buy the clear blocks and for newbies, I don't want for this hobby to be overwhelming. 

The last change that I'm doing... is basically because I've moved... Most of my customers are out of state. I MISS my girls so much.  And I would HATE HATE HATE for them to think I've forgotten them. I certainly haven't!  I know how much they looked forward to classes and clubs. SO I'm setting up kits to send to people who are out of state and therefore can't make it. (Don't get me wrong...I would LOVE to have visitors!!!) So kits will be $30 to cover shipping.  Everything will be pre-cut and ready to go. I would love if my old card club girls got together to play together, just like old times!! I would be there in spirit!!

So here is a picture of my flyer with all the details (minus the kit info, I forgot to add that! ooopsie!!) Click on the picture to enlarge.  I don't have pics of the cards we are doing... the ideas are in my head and I need to order my supplies still to put them together... but if you could see what's in my little head, you would be signing up and getting all your friends to come too!!

I do need prepayment for the class, so I don't order unnecessary supplies and so I can get a head count. So please contact me and prepay by SEPT 1.  Class is at my home on Sept 8 at 10am, until you finish.  Please no kids under 12 (and they must be signed up for the class)  My house is small, so there is limited space... if needed, I may add another time to do a second (or third, or fourth) class.

Well... um, what can I say... its been a while since I last did ANYTHING on my blog... Life has been a bit crazy, to say the least, and the blog was set on the back burner.

My sweet, hardworking crazy husband, David  finished school... for now. He graduated as a Respiratory Therapist in the spring of 2011... to celebrate, we went to Disneyland and Sea World. It was an amazing trip, one to not be forgotten.  Life has been revolving around school for so long, that we really didn't know what to do with ourselves.  I was still stampin' and crafting, but pictures, and blog writing, just weren't on the to do list.

I was also very busy with my sisters... my sister Deb, had lived nearby for years, but my sister Lisa moved to the area, so spending time with my family, spoiling nieces and nephews, having girly time made for lots of fun.

But real life had to take over... and David had to get a big boy grown up job, so the job hunting, state licensing was in our face.  We took a trip to Houston, TX, pounding the pavements to get a job. We LOVED it there... but no one was hiring "new grads". (will someone please tell me HOW new grads are supposed to get jobs if no one wants to hire them???)  My mother in law sent us a link to a job offer in Vernal, UT.  So David applied, interviewed over the phone, flew to UT and interviewed and was offered the job... we had to be there in 2 weeks!

AHHHHH! 2 weeks? How do you pack up 10 years of living in one city, increasing our family from 3 to 5 during that time, in 2 weeks?  You cram everything in boxes without looking at it, load the U-Haul, and don't count on getting any security deposit back from your apartment because you don't have time to clean!  We got here with 2 days before he started his work.  We lived in a hotel (at $500 per week)... because trying to find an apartment to rent over the internet is not possible here... (only because the common response was "we don't have that fancy internet thing here!" uh, Really?)  Rent prices are astronomical here... its an oil town, and oil companies pay for housing expenses (because who, in their right mind dreams of living here?.... don't get me wrong... I like it, but I wouldn't DREAM of living here).  So landlords can charge A LOT here.  But if you're not an oil worker, you are out of luck.  So we quickly started looking for houses, trying to figure out what school my kids would be in at the same time.  A lot happened in 2 weeks, and we ended up finding a house, that needs some love, that we could move into immediately, that wasn't in short sale, that we could BUY immediately! We rented it, until the closing date, and our mortgage is significantly lower than rent would ever be here.

Since then, we have made some really good friends. My hubby is adjusting, slowly to a healthcare job in a small town, where you bump into patients all the time. He is very cautious about HIPPA laws and does not want to violate anything. We have a great little neighborhood, with a great view of the LDS Vernal Temple and incredible sunsets. My kids can play outside without melting like they did in Arizona and I'm not stressing so much about crime, and horrible neighbors.

Meanwhile, I haven't done a lot of stamping and I miss it.  Our house is much smaller than we are used to, and the room I would use for my stamping and crafting, is also our laundry room, and until very recently, storage.  We built a shed in our back yard (we still need shingles on top), but I can start organizing my Stampin' Up! goodies... Business-wise, I get to find more customers. I still have a few in AZ who order... but now that my club is no longer active, my sales have dropped... (eek!)

BUT... I am so excited because I get to go to Stampin' Up! Convention NEXT WEEK in Salt Lake City!  I've made so many friends with other demonstrators, but never met in person, and that will change next week.  I wanted to do swaps, but I just haven't had the space to organize and get my Stampin' Groove on.  I can't wait for that to change, and I can get pumped at convention.

I'm sure I will come home with convention, with TONS of ideas and lots of inspiration to get things moving here in Vernal.

Stay Tuned...