I'm in Portland!!!

Elaine and I are at the CTMH Regional Celebration in Portland, Oregon. It was a rough road getting here, and I don't mean on the airplane. Portland has a light rail system that is very unforgiving. Let me explain. We got on the train at the airport and passed many stops on the way to our hotel. When we reached our stop, Elaine jumped up with her suitcase and headed towards the door. So did I, but the door shut when I got up to it and wouldn't let me out!!!! It was pouring rain and Elaine was standing outside all worried about me....and so was I. Fortunately for me, there were some seasoned travelers on the train that told me what to do. I was able to catch a train back at the next stop and soon I was with Elaine again. So here we are this morning. You would not have wanted to see the picture of us two wet rats last night!!! This is Jeanette Lynton the founder of Close To My Heart.

When we got into the convention room, our tables were filled with goodies. Here are some of the things that were in my bag.

And, here are some of the cards that we made with these stamps.

And, a layout too.

Pumpkins

Every year for our Fall Fest at work, we have a Pumpkin Decorating Contest. I work for a City and the pumpkins are from different departments. This first one is my favorite. It was done by our Police Department. The sign says "Don't Get Smashed". You can't see from the picture, but Barbie and Ken are all bruised up. This one is a "Veggie Burger"

This one is from our "IT" Department

And, this one is from the Fire Department.

Halloween Layout

I was in a scrapbooking mood yesterday and decided to scrapbook the pictures that I had just taken. This layout was pretty easy. The sketch is from the October Page Maps. The paper used is CTMH Twitterpatted and the stamp set is Frightenin' Fun also from CTMH. The font is from the Cricut Storybook Cartridge. The buttons and flowers are from Bo Bunny.

Happy Halloween

HAPPY HALLOWEEN Everyone. Hope you get lots of Trick-or-Treaters. Here is Lexi in her Alice in Wonderland Dress. I don't remember if I shared the story about the dress with you, but I must share. Last Spring, Jennifer and Ryan took Lexi to Disneyland. They bought the dress for her with plans of her wearing it for Halloween. Lexi wanted to wear the dress to school one day, and Jennifer let her. It turned out, that on that day, her class used pemanent markers to color with. When Lexi came home, the bodice of her dress had splotches of color all over it. The stains would not come out. Jennifer was upset and so was Lexi's Papa, Bill. He was so upset, that when he went to pay her tuition, he subtracted out the amount of the dress. The Head of the school would not accept that. And, so Bill told her "If you can get the stains out, then I will pay you the difference". Doesn't sound like such a bad idea. Does it? However, he took it one step farther and left the dress with her!!!! My sister, Chris who is a great seamstress, could have made a new bodice for the dress. So, not only is Jennifer upset with the whole situation, but so am I. So, Bill had to sheepishly return back to the school and retrieve the dress. Fortunately, for him the Head of the school wasn't there when he returned. And he got the dress back. Chris was able to fix the bodice of the dress...and I think we have stopped getting nasty letters from the school.

Carving Pumpkins

Lexi got to participate with the family in carving pumpkins this year. She had so much fun scooping out the guts...not my favorite part. She drew on the face and her dad cut it out for her.Here is Lexi with her Mom, Dad and Papa.

And the lit up pumpkins.

Ghost House Layout

Here is the second set of layouts from Lexi's trip to the Ghost House. She had so much fun playing games. Check out the Carmel Apples. Don't they look yummy? The paper that I used is from Bo Bunny.

Halloween Layout

There is an old house in Fremont that gets decorated every year for Halloween.
I have some fond memories of this old house. Many years ago when I was in Camp Fire Girls, our group would go to the Ghost House. It was so much fun.

I have taken my kids there and now Lexi gets to go to. I am so happy that it is still going strong. Not only do they have the house, but they have games and the most delicious Carmel Apples. I will share more layout when I get them finished. The paper that I used is from Best Creations. The house was on a beautiful, sparkly piece of orange paper. I hated to cut it up and was dissapointed at first. But once I started adding pictures and embellishments, it came together. The sparkly letters were cut out with my Cricut using the Storybook Cartridge. The bats are punched with a Martha Stewart Punch. The felt stickers are from Little Yellow Bicycle.

October Scrapbook Workshop

This months workshop will feature the gorgeous Grace Papers.This paper goes well with Family, Thanksgiving, School or any Fall pictures. This has got to be my favorite pack to date...although I say that with each one I get. We will get together on Saturday, October 24 at 10:00 am.

Maine Lighthouses

On Saturday, we visited the gorgeous Maine Coast Line. There are many lighthouses to visit, but we stopped by two of them. The first one is the most photographed Lighthouse in the US. It is called Portland Head Lighhouse.

Kennebunkport and the Bush Compound

This is the town of Kennebunkport and the home of the "Bush Compound". We had fun browsing the shops and purchasing blueberry jam, pumpkin butter as well as salt water taffy and fudge.

This is the "Bush Compound".

The Lobster Shack

The Lobster Shack in Maine.

I was told by somebody at work that I needed to try a "Lobster Roll". So our "tour guides" aka as Rick and Vicki took us the the Lobster Shack. Here I am all ready to dig in to my Lobster Roll.

A Lobster Roll is chunks of Lobster served on a toasted roll, sort of like a hot dog bun but better. It has lettuce, mayonaise and paprika and a pickle. It was so delicious.

Here is Bill enjoying his.

Emma Photos

Here is a picture of Vicki's daughter Brittany and her daughter Emma. She is such a sweet little girl.

More Fall Pictures

Here are some pictures that I took yesterday of the Fall Foilage in Mass. Loving it here.

The leaves are turning

We got into Boston last night at around 6:30 and Vicki and her husband Rick took us to an adorable restaurant near their home for dinner. We were exhausted and went to bed early...that is California time, but 11:00 Massachusetts time. This morning we got up and Vicki took us to some of her favorite picture spots. This lake has swans in it and I had fun getting close and photographing them.

Here is Bill and I. Notice the warm jackets? The weather was in the 40's. Here is a picture of me and Vicki with her grand-daughter Emma.

Off to Boston

I am on my way to Boston to fulfill a dream that I have had for a long time. I have always wanted to see the fall leaves on the East Coast and my sister-in-law Vicki has invited us to stay with her. We planned the trip last April, and there couldn't be a better time for me to get away than now. I love Fall so much. In California we don't get the full effect of the seasons and now I get to see in person all those beautiful pictures that I see in magazines and photos from Vicki. I will share pictures with you as I go. Thanks again for your thoughts and prayers.
Hugs,
Lori