In E’s class today I was telling one of the teachers that my catch phrase right now is “add it to my list”. Seriously? Has been nuts around here, and I’m taking a breath + break to blog.
The girls bathroom is getting re-done (just the tile in the shower/bath) and apparently that takes weeks. (eye roll) So the guys have been blasting mostly “Classic Rock”. Sometimes I crack up, sometimes I blast my own ipod because I’m trying to block it out, and sometimes they’ve been playing the “all 90’s” music station.
Yesterday morning it was early 90’s music-a-thon… so awesome for a Monday morning. Totally took me back to Jr. High and I tweeted about it even… and apparently you really never know who reads your tweets:
Baby got back! So awesome – I had to take a picture + tell everyone. I love twitter.
I’ve also been in deadline MANIA with Big Picture – my next (coming September 2011) BPC class is going to be so cool… can’t wait to reveal more. For today, here’s a layout peek:
This summer I’ll be teaching in person (at Scrapbook Island in San Jose, CA on 6/25 and then at Stamper’s Corner in Elk Grove on 7/30) just a little bit.
I’ll also be spending a lot of time here in the bat cave plotting and having creative fun. (and sharing)
I got the new Margie Romney-Aslett brand papers in the mail. Oh yes… ok wow. Can’t WAIT to reveal what that’s all about. There may be no more Girls’ Paperie… but there is a fun future for Margie I can just tell.
Speaking of Girls’ Paperie-
I have a few extra kits from my summer layout workshop and they’re up in my etsy shop. Also? The leftover tea party workshop kits are now on sale (gotta make room!) and I’ll be getting the Altered Book kits up soon – I just want to finish one more video before I list them.
Have you made magic bars? Basically, brownie base + sweetened condensed milk + schtuff on top. Goes like this:
- Mix up a batch of brownies (store-bought mix) and put into a greased pan. I used a 11 x 8 (or 13×9) pan (VS 8×8 that I usually use for brownies) because you wanted them to be much thinner. Once poured into pan bake for 15-20 minutes at 350 degrees.
- Take the brownie out, and top with a bag of chocolate chips, sprinkle with walnuts, shredded coconut, and finally drizzle (all or just most of) a can of sweetened condensed milk over the top. The main thing is to just drizzle it all over and try not to get big pools of it in any one spot.
- Put back into oven (350) for another 25 minutes or so- until golden and beautiful.
- Take out of the oven and let it cool TOTALLY.
For my class this weekend I made 2 versions of brownies. One with chopped peanut butter cups topping them, the others ‘magic bars’ as explained above. Only I used chopped up almond roca + almonds (not walnut) and it was OHMYGODIWANTOEATITALL good. That was the universal opinion too. SO GOOD.
*the treats from this weekend’s class @ scrapbook territory *
For now though? I’m celebrating turning in the first 1/2 of content for my next BPC class, having mailed off my summer class samples to the local stores, and having my next (yes, as in 2 classes from now) proposal accepted from Big Picture…
how will I celebrate? By working on my to-do list, of course. End of year goodies for teachers, cleaning the studio (it got scary up in here!), re-painting the bathroom, writing some articles for Scrapbook Update, folding an obscene mountain of laundry, working on summer-izing the back yard, and enjoying some serious family time this weekend are all high on the list…
Ah yes, welcome to my crazy life. I wouldn’t have it any other way!!
Between teaching all day Saturday, end of the year stuff with Kindergarten, and a BIG deadline (fall BPC class)…
My brain is full. So much so? I forgot to blog!! But I’m back now. Oh yes. I’ll post pics of how scary the studio has become in the wake of my deadline mania…
As I have said before, you are one truly amazing lady. I do believe that you are living the life you dreamed and are loving the journey.
I used to make a version of your brownies, but it went by the name of Better than Sex Cake. I shall have to try it with the brownie base instead of a cake base. I always have a brownie mix in the pantry because it is a staple on my list.
Yummy!!! And your classes look so awesome!!!! Have to see if I can find the $$ to buy some more of your etsy goodies! (soon, I hope!) From one busy lady who loves it to another – you rock, girl!!!
I like the brownie base – it makes it so decadent… wish I still had some!!
I’lll join you in the crazy life. Baby up half the night, threw up her breakfast all over herself, and I found ants all over my kitchen floor. All…by 8:30am. I’m about done today.
I gotta ask though, where do you come up with all the ideas for scrapbooking classes? I sit here and think, “now if I was going to teach someone about scrapbooking, what would I teach?” I come up blank. Not that I want to teach, necessarily. But I have friends over every few weeks to scrapbook, and it’d be fun to may teach each other. I just wonder where you find the ideas.
I could just be too left-brained. I am a programmer, after all. I like maps and directions.
If you’re just teaching to your friends at home (for fun), I’d suggest having a “lift it” party where you share a sketch or project that you saw on-line and loved and lift it! I’d never recommend that for teaching in stores (your ideas really should be your own for that) – but with friends? Why not? Seems like it’d be super fun + easy since you have the starting point.
The other idea I’d have is to do a ‘theme’ (vacation, use red, challenges, etc) so that instead of a class you’re doing more like crop/workshop fun.
As for where my ideas come from… oh my. They’re just here!! I’ve been doing this a very long time (nearly 10 years now), so I draw on past ideas, my own projects that I’m making, and mostly I think about what I might like to take as a class and go from there. There are a LOT of factors to think about – and not all ideas translate into a class. This is one thing that I love about on-line workshops is that often something I want to do is too big for a 3hr class… but a month-long on-line class it’ll work great for!! 🙂
Have fun-
May
So COOL that he tweeted back!!
And so funny you should mention that song, as I had it stuck in my head ALL weekend after going to see a friend’s band last week and hearing them play it.
True story- my brother’s wife and I went to see the same band several years ago while my husband was away in Africa and my brother was away in Iraq. They were playing at this dive of a bar and I didn’t want to go alone, so I dragged her with me. She’d had a Sam Adams or two before they launched into “Baby Got Back,” and she turned to me (a little misty eyed) and said, “they’re playing our song!!!”
Okay, one nosy question- where did you get the cupcake tower? I’ve been looking for something similar to put my spray mists on in my scrap room.
Ooh can’t wait for your next BPC class!