And the Winner is.....

drumroll please ..... Kathy Northup!!! As you can see, I had the very adorable Danielle pull the winning entry. She's our 18-month old adopted "niece" and actually didn't have too much trouble picking one out of the basket and giving it to Aunt Janet. Then of course it became a game... let's take them all out of the basket.

Anyway, Kathy your package will go postal on Tuesday! And of course I remember you from CKU-Chicago. Looking forward to seeing you and everyone else again!!!

Enjoy,

Janet

Junkitz Goodness...

on Friday, Sandy and I were off to the Junkitz warehouse sale...as you can see from the photo you'd never believe this was the right place!!! Unfortunately it was not a nice weather day here in NJ so everything was inside instead of outside under tents. It was cozy and crowded!!! Lots of great stuff and great prices and they kept refilling the paper slots and racks...just missed meeting Kristin; she was running off with one son in tow and having to get back to pick up the other one at school....
In honor of my birthday and the Junkitz sale, I'm going to be giving away this lovely collection of Junkitz goodness to a randomly selected person who comments to this post. The collection includes:

Flowerz in acid green and pink
Stitched mini file folderz
Accordion mantel books--one is 5x8; one is 4x4
Paper from the Rhythmz collection--Pop Rock(pink) and Hip Hop(green)

In the comment, share where in the world you'd like to visit, either for the first time or a return trip. And just for fun, include your favorite candy. I'll be selecting a winner on Thursday night sometime after 9pm EDT.

And yes, I did bake that birthday cake; we surprised my Mom with it since yesterday was her birthday!!

Enjoy,

Janet

Happy Birthday to ME!!!!

Yesterday was the BIG DAY...nothing too special, I worked all day and had dinner with Mom and Dad like I always do on Thursday since Sandy is at work. Was going to bake my own birthday cake last night (and I probably still will bake it) but Mom had gotten an ultimate chocolate cake from Wegmans so we had birthday cake when Sandy got home at 10:15 pm. Pictures of my birthday present later; we're off to the Junkitz warehouse sale--hoping to meet Kristin B. there!

More later,

Janet

IT's a SISter Day....

so much fun today as not 1 BUT 2 great new scrapping communities and boutiques went LIVE today!! Lovin' what I see at both SIS TV (congratulations Jeanette and friends) and itkitstudio (way to go, Kelly)!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! My bank account will be smaller and my stash of great supplies larger. It amazes me the wonderful people I've met through scrapbooking and the friends I have all over the country because of IT.

It seems that Becca has decided to "tag" everyone who reads her blog so here goes:

Seven Random Facts about ME {thanks, B}
1. I love classical music-pretty much anything orchestral and/or choral but especially Baroque period and Russian composers.
2. I sang in the choir at a Billy Graham crusade. Really a neat experience!
3. I have a collection of about 75 baking cookbooks even some in German and French; love to bake when I have time!
4. I love funky necklaces. Nothing expensive mine you. Just really unusual ones.
5. Mannequins fascinate me. I'm collecting tabletop ones for my bedroom re-do and even managed to bring two home in my carry-on from Becca's last year. Gotta love Hobby Lobby.
6. Current scrapbook obsession is using rubber stamps to create custom looks. Right now I'm doing lots of fleur-de-lis, harlequins and swirls in my European vacation albums.
7. My college degree is in Home Economics Education and I have a Masters in Clothing and Textiles. What can I say??? It almost certainly wouldn't be that if I was in school now.

Enjoy,
Janet

The Lake is Gone and other Stuff...

Fortunately the outside lake disappeared the next day; our pump worked non-stop for a couple of days on the basement and we wet-vac'ed a bunch but mostly are just letting it dry out. Other than a few empty boxes we didn't lose anything.

I've been diligently working on the vacation pictures and I actually just ordered a few more so I'm at a hold point until they arrive. I'm about 1/3rd done. Need to order more American Craft customizable albums.

Did the NJ Quilt Shop Hop this weekend and actually made it to all 8 shops--this puts you in the drawing for all the really good prizes!!! Besides all the cool stuff in the next post we found some really cool purse patterns. Looks like we'll be raiding the stash and working to create "purse envy" real soon!

Registered for CKC-Valley Forge at the end of July. We're taking 4 classes on Friday and trying to decide whether to stay over or commute--depends on whether all the CE gals are getting together or not!!

My "Let's Escape" box went postal on Saturday morning---it should arrive at the hotel where Ali's staying in NOLA on Tuesday. You're looking at a "sneak peek":

Must go reheat leftovers for dinner---wonder what kind of trouble I can get into during a great night of TV---Dancing with the Stars(or House) and 24.

More later---

Janet

Piglet & Parakeet...

aren't just great colors, they're the colors of Creative Escape!! And as you can see, paper isn't the only thing that comes in these luscious shades. Sandy and I "did" the New Jersey Quilt Shop Hop on Saturday ( and I finished on Sunday after church) and picked up these lovelies along the way. What on earth could I be doing??? A little tease for now--all I'll say is it's got to do with CE, friends, and Becca's Crop for a Cure...

It really was a nice day to drive all over the state, and yes NJ is small, but we did 335 miles on Saturday. Yea for my Toyota Corolla which got 39 miles/gallon!!!!





More later--

Janet

Welcome to Lake Perry...

... that's right. It's Nor'easter season here along the midatlantic coast and this one is one of the worst on record!!! We got at least 5" of rain yesterday and we probably won't see the sun for another couple of days. YUK!!!! We actually have a lake (outside) and a swamp (inside :-( ). All kinds of road closures, creeks overflowing, etc. but of course, I had a managers' meeting this morning at 7am!

It was a fun day though since when I got home both mine and Sandy's "Let's Escape" swaps had arrived! After dinner we had fun opening them and checking out the fun stuff we got. And we didn't get any duplicates---especially nice since we share the "stash" and have similar tastes.

My outbound box is actually going in a couple of weeks because my partner is Ali W. who lives in Christchurch, NZ. I was prepared to send it "down under" but she's coming to NOLA for a conference so I'm sending it to her there instead! She may even get to meet Renee! My box came for Lysa C. in Napierville--lots of cool Heidi stuff, my favorite scent of Bath and Body, a big bag of dark chocolate M&Ms, lots of pink ribbon, some cool chipboard alphabet and clock circles, lots of Prima flowers, a Basic Grey Motifica collection pak, and a cool lavendar mini AMM tote!

I'll post pictures of what I'm sending Ali a bit later. I won't want her checking this blog or any of you telling her what she's getting.

More later!