"Sew" what?

A friend of mine had her annual retreat in Idaho in February and made some DARLING! little cloth satchels for her guests...
Since Stampin Memories SB Getaway is coming up for us in May, I said to myself, "self, you can sew!"
Got that thinga-majig portable bobbin threader and powered up that sewing machine...
Now mind you that while Tresa is "Fabulously Artsy" I am absolutely Fartsy, and had some major meltdowns (seriously) but made it through...

She is sew Fabulous, that she even put the directions on her blog...check it out and click here.

Now...check out my version!



Oh and just in case you are one of the guests sneaking a peek, I won't say who this one is for. Yes...each one will be color coordinated to the recipient.

the FOCUS was on t!m today!

The "focus" was definitely on t!m today!
However, his decorated tin although suited for and made by him, could be the same said for "my frame of mind", too!
I love those antique refractors!

We were lucky enough to first have a little meet n greet as we headed back to the classroom. Then we watched er gawked as he went through all the cool things to do with his Grungeboard line...I love that stuff...had to grab some more in the store.
Then of course we gaped as he altered, distressed, scratched, poked, crackled (as in paint) more Grungeboard. (had to go back in store to get the "scratcher") That was forehead THUNKer #1 !
After this 45 min (is that all?!) presentation, we went out to do a make n take...with what else? Grungeboard! (cute strips to make a bracelet that had his sig-line) and we played with Daubers to distress it.
Headed out to get a bite to eat, run some errands, then back for the 2nd presentation. Man! That MAN knows his stuff! Especially the alchol inks, and really cool other techniques (this is where forehead THUNKIN #2 came in).
He also gave us the heads-up on some new "stuff" coming out soon too!

t!m is such a cool guy. Some of the gals who will be cruising with him to Alaska next month were there (hi barb from Redding) and I soooo wish I could hide in one of their suitcases!

I know my brain was on over-load (not unlike our annual Conventions) I couldn't even begin to describe all the awesome stuff he did...but just like any other entrepreneur, they are ALL available on his dvds!







what a fun day it was meeting the totally freekin genius t!m holtz!

Forget the nails, hair and frame show...t!m is coming to Elk Grove!

t!m you say? Who's that? and why would Terri go without nails, a hair cut and shopping for new frames???
Well, he's the coolest craft guru....totally out of the box dude!
Check his blog out for fun stuff ...especially the Grungeboard (which I have every package of and have yet made anything near as cool as him!)

Oh....t!m....yooo hooo!
Just to get tickets, I'll be camping out in the parking lot
(aaah...reminds me of the Beanie Babies days!!!)

Here's to the "old" guys!

Back to my Alma Mater, Encina High School for our 8th Annual Alumni Challenge.
Reflecting on the days of high school, some either hated it or considered it the best years of their lives.
For me, it was fun....full of activities (not always centered around sports). We were free to come and go on campus, and on any given day, something was always going on after school. We were priviledged to have a huge regulation pool, tennis courts, hand-ball courts, baseball diamond, weight room, music, drama, art, auto and wood shops. We even had simulators and real cars for Driver's-Ed!

Give us an excuse for a Pep Rally and we were all in for it. All four classes. Signs in the gym were a plenty. Spirit was unmeasurable for the Fighting Apaches!

Fast foward 26 years.
Politically correct regs changed our beloved mascot to a a four-legged butt sniffer complete with a metal studded collar. (I'm sure the spirits of warriors were rumbling in the there-after)
Fabulous pool? filled with dirt and covered.
Tennis courts? cracked, net-less weed filled cement.
Music, Drama Dept.? Closed and shut down.
Driver's Ed? Dial Bond Driving School and hope for an appointment before your 21st birthday.
I daresay the Art Dept survived because this gave the students an avenue to sell their wares, thus generating some desperately needed funding.

A group of Alumni (aka "old" guys) hatched an idea to have a BBQ and Basketball game with the intention of raising some money for the Sports Dept. And to make it interesting, let's have the current Varsity Team participate.
In 2000, the Annual Alumni Challenge debuted. Emails burned up cyber space with pledges and donations, and if nothing else, it was a great way to reconnect with a lot of former classmates.
A great time was had by all, and we raised an impressive $15,000.00!!!

Fast forward another 8 years, and the total amount raised so far has been over $340,000!!!

I haven't missed a game....I must say each game has been better than the year before. We've endured shattered backstops, injuries, nail-biting-double-overtime endings, unfair ref calls (come on!...give us a break...we're OLD!) and most recently the passing of one memorable Alumni. Each year proves that you don't need to bake and sell cookies, sell gift wrap or magazine subscriptions to bring in desperate moneys for programs for a school.
It's not all about Sports as it started....ALL departments benefit now as well as scholarships.

For all the Sacramento Kings and Monarch's games I have attended, I've never felt such an immense pride in the players as I do watching and cheering on our Alumni ...
I'll never waste the $10 on parking, or a $6 beer at a "pro" game again.
I'd rather save that money and drop it in the bucket for a better cause...
the kids at Encina High School.
They may not be as enriched with the times as we were, but they can surely become enriched by those that have come before them.

Oh...and this year's game? As you can see from the score board, it was another riveting ending and the total amount pledged was $45,000.!!!!

Class of 1974 and the Fighting Apaches