Here they are - my pics from CKC! For those of you who don't know CKC is The Creating Keepsakes Convention - there are several locations across the US every year and they stretch out all year! Check it out HERE to see when the closest one to you is!

First some background info - sorry to those of you who just came for the pics - we will get to those I promise! What can I say I like to write! This was my second year attending CKC in Kansas City (or anywhere) Last year was my first experience of ANYthing of the sort. I was totally and completely OVERWHELMED! But I loved it! Last year I went with two friends I work with - their first times too. I also had Blake who was 10 days old at the time! He was VERY good btw. I took two classes last year, mostly to pass the time while my friends volunteered - I couldn't with Blake. I took a Baby Accordian album from Scrapbooks-n-Stickers which was fine and the Latest and Greatest by Shelby at Embellish-it. Both were good. The vendor faire was amazing and again overwhelming! I just walked up and down the aisles in awe! One thing was for sure last year - I was in love and this was going to be a yearly event!
FAST FORWARD to this year! I was hoping to take off work Friday and stay overnight and well that didn't work out and I wound up going BY MYSELF! Scary! I was kinda nervous but it was fine! Scrappers are such nice people! I went down for Saturday only and didn't rush too much. I checked in with the volunteer table cause I had signed up to TA - or be a Teacher's Assistant. I got my vendor faire passes and my half off coupon and my $30 voucher. I then went to the CK booth and chose a t-shirt for half off. It's pink and cute and v neck! Then I went and looked at the class samples trying to decide which class to take - I couldn't make up my mind so I decided to check out the vendor faire. I had a wish list and I was trying to stay within a VERY small budget. I went in turned left and started down the furthest row. The first booth that really caught my eye was PK Glitz - you got it GLITTER! There was a man (Jim I think) demoing embossing powders when it hit me - Powder Keg! I had read about their embossing powders in my blurfing. But it wasn't really him that caught my eye it was Janelle and the GLITTER!

Meet Janelle of PK Glitz formerly known as Powder Keg. She began a little demo as I was standing there, showing passerbys how to use PK's sticky paper and their hand dyed glitter- which matches their embossing powders! Isn't this pumpkin ADORABLE? Know what she did this with? A brass stencil! So pretty! Then she asked my name and gave it to me! I plan to chop off that part and turn it into a card! Watch for that soon! And it was so fast and so easy! There was a show kit but sadly my budget couldn't afford it! I am hoping to get some glitter though with my birthday money here in less than a month! I checked out the website which you can check out too HERE but the cool starter kits weren't there or any of the fine retailers. I am going to email Janelle to tell her about my blog post and ask how to order the starter kit!

Then I continued down that asile finding my highly sought after Pink Paislee Trick or Treat stamps! YAY! Last package in the whole vendor faire! It was my day! I turned the corner and was thrilled to see more BLING!!! It was a Tattered Angels booth! I hadn't even seen them on the vendor list! I was so excited you see I have a bottle of Glimmer Mist - everyone was talking about it on SCS so I figured I needed it and added to my order from not even sure where but I have never actually used it on a project. I've tried, I've started to but it's never made it to a finished project! Needless to say I needed help and so that's what I said when I sat down! And was shown by the owner Wendy Singer how to use the products!!!! She was sooo nice and funny and patient with my slow picky self! I made this cool tag using the glimmer mist and one of thier screens and then some glimmer chipboard for the own and his crown! It is so cool! I am in love! I want it all! I had NO idea what all you can do with this product! You can use it on raw chipboard on flowers, on acrylic, as a stamp! I am just amazed! You can check out all the AWESOME products HERE along with more demos but I recommend seeing it live!Oh and be on the look out for the tag and chipboard on a future scrap LO!

The other booth I HAD to sit down at for a DEMO was the Spellbinder's booth. This is the company that makes Nestabilities along with other dies that cut, emboss and stencil. This is another one of those everyone else has them I must need them! But really I had seen some very pretty SIMPLE cards made using these things (nestabilities or nesties) and honestly seems like every other card on SCS is using them! All my fave peeps use them Nichole, Lauren, Dawn and more! So I had them but I wasn't sure the correct sandwich for my Big Kick and I wanted to hear it STRAIGHT from a spellbinder's rep! This is Mary - doesn't she look happy to have me taking her picture?



I made two make and takes, one was the clear tag which was very cool using Alcohol inks and I don't even remember what booth it was all I cared about was making that tag and it was so worth $1! Be on the look out for it on a layout and more projects with involving alcohol - inks that is! Or hey you never know around here! The other was the card at the Archiver's booth. Simple but heck free!

It was almost time for me to volunteer so I HAD to choose a class and quick! I hemmed I hawed I read the descriptions 50 times and looked at the projects. I knew I wanted to make some layouts feeling those would be most "useful" instead of a mini book or home decor element. I was thinking a Heartstrings class which I had never heard of Heartstrings so I was leary or a Quick Quotes Canvas class ( I know I said no home decor). Then for a moment I considered the Connect with Cath class as in Cathy. I mean I wasn't sure it could be worth it I wasn't that "in" to scrap celebrities anyways now Lauren Meader or Nichole Heady? Yes please! But I had started to read Cathy's blog Bits and Pieces a while back and she was so flippin funny! So I asked the girls at the sign up for classes desk if the layout was 12x12 and one chirped up and said oh yes it is but you get other stuff too, just some of her fave products! The class is awesome take it you will love it and she does giveaways. Well ok I thought I will take the class. The class was AWESOME! It was amazing! Cathy is so real and true to herself and honest and inspiring to me and trust me I've seen A LOT of inspirational speakers (teachers must need alot of inspiring cause we are always having inspirational and motivational speakers!) Anywhoo - she ROCKED! She talked about her blog and her family and her scrap style and how it evolved and it really spoke to me and completely solidifed why I scrap and how I want to scrap and it was totally worth the money! So I then HAD to get my picture with her of course! Thanks Cathy! You were awesome! I literally cried and laughed at the same time!



Me and Cathy! Oh and it took 3 tries to get this!

Two of my fave purchases were my aforementioned Pink Paislee Trick or Treat Stamps from The Scrap Room booth and Bazzill in Stichz from Embellish-It. The Scrap Room was not a booth I remembered from last year - it may have been there but I remembered Embellish-IT and they are fab they are the ones who sponsor the Basic Grey Latest and Greatest classes. They have the Bazzill dyed to match the BG and other papers! I could go broke there very easily!

About being a TA. I totally recommend it! It was super fun! You don't always get the kits for the class - I didn't but that was ok. I was the TA for two classes and it was fun! They were card classes by a Home Party company and they pushed their monthly subscription kit pretty hard which annoyed me but I guess that's how they make money! I kept saying I am the CKC volunteer I am not with the company. And it made me glad I did NOT choose one of their classes. Harsh? Maybe but the girls themselves were VERY nice. Just not my style, not my thing! But I will definitely volunteer to be a TA again next year!



And here are the goodies I came home with! Quite a nice spread! And I really did NOT spend that much. I could have spent 3 times as much EASILY! Hello glimmer mist, PK Glitz, Spellbinders! Not to mention the papers and ribbons oh the ribbons, and so much more!
So my only question is - Can I go to the one in St. Louis? It's in April! I don't know if I can wait till next October!

*Live*Laugh*Love*Create*