Have you heard about towns trying to generate revenue by creating "hometown tourists?" I know quite a few that have done this and my small town has been one too. They've had this thing they call "Hometown Vacation Fridays" where you meet up on Fridays and find something new in the town you hadn't seen/learned about before. SUCH a cool idea.
And so it relates to me. I've been in quite a funk lately and having a hard time being inspired to create anything - a terrible predicament when you do what I do for a living. So my sweet husband gave me an assignment last night to try and break me out of my rut. He told me to go be a tourist in our town and to take at least 10 pictures of cool things I saw.
You know what? It worked! I had such a fun time wandering around and snapping pics here and there. I know some people thought I was strange, but I didn't care! I think i took close to 100 pictures in only a 2 mile radius (LITERALLY!) from my house...including one OF my house and all the infinate boy items there seems to be laying around now that school is out for the summer! ;)
In any case, I strongly recommend it! Go - be a tourist. Enjoy all the wonderful things about your own city! You'll be glad you did! (And if you do, email me or link me here - I'd LOVE to see!)
So with that said, I'm going to tag a few people to get it started (you girls can kill me later ;)):
Nic Howard,
Kelly Purkey, Molly Peckham (I wanna see Hawaii, girl!),
Suzy Plantamura,
Stephanie Howell and
Shannon Zickel (and anyone else who wants to play along ;)).
Here are what the images are starting with the top left going clockwise, then center:
1.
Andrew Carnegie Library (one of the first Carnegie Libraries and it also has an 19th Century cemetary in the front yard), 2. Statue of Santana Lass. (
Shelbyville is the Saddlebred Capitol of the World and we take our horses very seriously. This statue sits at a prominent spot where Main Street splits with Washington.), 3. Antique Clock at 5th & Main. Not sure what's special about it but I think it's cool!, 4. Columns at the stunning
Wakefield-Scearce Gallery (My mom was best friends with CiCi Scearce growing up), 5. Beautiful Knockout Roses, 6. The plaque marking the historical meaning of the Shelbyville Fountain (also at 5th & Main), 7. Fountain in front of
Shannon's Funeral Home. Alot of my family have been buried out of here, including my grandmother., 8. A House on Main that I want one day. It will be mine (or one alot like it!), 9. Shelby County Courthouse, 10. Antique Stores on Main Street (and yes, I stood in the middle of the road to get this!), 11. Shelbyville Fountain created commemorating the Public Works., 12. Historic Home on Clay Street (one of my favorites in town. I just love the ivy!), 13.(Center) A gorgeous Southern Magnolia Bud.
And a huge thank you to
KP for her guidance in showing me where to create this awesome mosaic at www.bighugelabs.com. AMAZING!
on my driveway?? 
This month I had the honor of being a guest designer over at ScrapMagie.com, a wonderful Canadian-based website. Marina, the owner, is so charming and I couldn't resist when she asked a couple of months ago. 
Here are the samples I did for Marina and I hope if you have a moment, you go over and check out her bilingual site. You'll be glad you did! Thank you, Marina, for giving me this opportunity.
That was the official word on the way home late last night when I asked him if he'd had a good day. 
I'm so glad you had a wonderful day, my sweet boy, and your mama will try and adjust to the fact that you're getting as big as you are, but have patience with me. I think it's much harder on me than you. xoxo
Ok, so I know what an understatement that is...and trust me, I'm used to hot. 
I finally got to meet in person my longtime friend, Kim, who graciously picked me up at the airport and was my eversopatient tour guide for the day. I was in awe of the beauty that seemed to grow out of nothing. The flowers there were spectacular and thrived in those dry conditions...and sadly for her, I made Kim stop at each and every one for a photo. As gorgeous as it was, it was very strange to be in a place with no grass! We did the whole tourist thing, shopped the boutiques (so I could buy a piece of turquoise), bought shoes!, went scrapbook shopping at Scrapbooks, Etc (HOLY WOW!) and then ended the evening with a few cocktails at Tommy Bahama's with Laurie and Ally. It was an awesome day but let's just say I slept well that night! AND I managed to avoid purchasing scorpion suckers. (Don't ask.)
The next day I headed over the the Bazzill Warehouse for Creative Escape Preview Day. HOLY WOW!(again!) I can't even begin to tell you what heaven-on-earth that place is! Just imagine wall to wall stacks of paper (the "parent" sheets are about 2' x 3') in the largest warehouse you can imagine! I just wanted to roll around in all that yummy color! If I could have brought it all home with me, I would have! ;) Anyhow, preview day is basically a "dry run" for all the teachers so that we can get the kinks worked out of our classes before the actual event in the fall. I think that's such a wonderful idea and gives you just an idea at how committed Bazzill is to putting on a quality event. 
First up was Heidi, then me, Janet Hopkins and finally Laurie Stamas. I can't tell you what a treat it was to be able to sit in and take the classes of these amazing teachers beyond just teaching my own. The projects were absolutely phenominal and so unique. It killed me that I had to box all mine up and leave them at the warehouse until I come back in September. I want to play with them now! (Patience has never been my strong-suit!) We ended the day with a yummy dinner at Rumbi Grill and it was so nice to be able to sit and relax and catch up/get to know each other more.
Day 2 brought more classes with Jenni Bowlin (I LOVED hearing another southern accent there besides my own!), Tim Holtz and Jessica Guthrie (the Talent Search winner). LOVED these classes too and can I just say, that I have always loved Tim, but to take a class from him and get the "full experience" of his teaching style was off the charts! He's one dynamic man! After a quick dinner I collapsed back at my hotel for the early morning flight home. And now I can't wait to head back again in September! 
I wish I didn't rely on a special occassion to say what I am about to say, but if it takes a special day to get it out there to the men I love, then I am grateful for it.
I had to share this photo because not only does it makes me smile, but because it's so rare! ;) 
Last night I had a very special visitor (and no, I'm not talking about this cute duck family)!
It's not often that scrapping friends of mine are in my neck of the woods - usually I'm traveling far and wide to see some of them. But my sweet friend Reyanna is moving from Rhode Island to Texas (I KNOW!) and on her way, she stopped to visit! I was so excited to see her and quickly took her on a whirlwind tour of my tiny town. One of our stops was to a great farm where we always take the boys for their strawberry and pumpkin picking. There's a great lake with ducks and catfish as well as a petting zoo and more. Wasn't the sunset particularly spectacular last night? 
Of course we were visited by the ducks, special white ones who just had to be from Hollywood according to Reyanna because white ducks were only on T.V! ;) Too funny. And in keeping with tradition, I took a photo of Reyanna doing a handstand in Kentucky for her collection of handstand photos in every state she visits! HA! 
Have you heard about towns trying to generate revenue by creating "hometown tourists?" I know quite a few that have done this and my small town has been one too. They've had this thing they call "Hometown Vacation Fridays" where you meet up on Fridays and find something new in the town you hadn't seen/learned about before. SUCH a cool idea. 