Alter This

Surprised??!!

So I know what you're all thinking -

"OMG she's finally updating her blog!".

Sorry to dissapoint you all but this is not Cheryl - it's her friend, Dawn. I am hijacking her blog! 

Some of you may know me, I help Cheryl in her classes (usually getting thrown under the bus for something missing from a kit!) (;  

Cheryl and I have known each other for several years. We have alot of laughs together. We come from similar backgrounds and share several things in common: Chocolate, papercrafting, chocolat, Blue Moon, el chocolate, photography, la cioccolata, shopping, schokolade (are you sensing a pattern here?)

We have also shared many adventures. I like to compare us to:

Lucy & Ethel

   

Laverne & Shirley

and

Thelma & Louise

For those who know Cheryl, let's have a little fun! Leave a comment on who you think represents Cheryl the best in each pair. 

I will share some of our adventures as the weeks go by (unless Cheryl changes her password and locks me out!).

I am also going to help her get more kits up on her blog so you can create some of her beautiful projects at home. If you are lucky enough to have Cheryl coming to a store near you, make sure you take a class. If your even luckier and she is teaching close to home then you will get to be entertained by both of us!

In true Cheryl tradition,  I end this post with a quote:

"A best friend is a sister that destiny forgot to give you!"   

Happy Easter

Sometimes family gatherings are best when done on the fly.  This year we had alot going so a traditional family dinner was just not in the cards.

With my oldest moving, my husband on call, Stef and my youngest son working and a flight to catch for me......well it really was a challenge.  

Rather than miss out on celebrating, we decided to opt for a brunch on the waterfront in boston.  Truly a perfect choice as the weather was sunny and warm and the views spectacular.  If you are in the area be sure to stop in for brunch at Sam's at Louis as the food was wonderful. 

If you have been visiting my blog, you know how versatile my music taste is, from rap to jazz - i love it all! Lately my Ipod has been filled with James Blunt's {his concert was amazing} and Adele!  I have been unsuccessful so far in obtaining tickets to Adele.  BUT my son just moved across from the BOA pavillion so I may have to visit him that night and sit on his roof deck!

Honestly Adele's entire CD is so good -  my two favorites? -"Rolling in the deep" and "Someone like you"!

The lyrics and her voice are so powerful!

check them both out below

This girls is off - have a plane to catch! 

blessings,

cheryl

 

 

 

Is this thing on?

I know, I know, I am sooo bad at updating my blog ....geesh. Everytime i post i vow to keep up with this little olde blog of mine and then my life gets all crazy and well i don't blog. I have to be honest though finding time to post a quick hello, or where i am teaching, or the "assistants" photos are sooo much quicker on Facebook. So if you want more frequent updates visit me there!  Updating to Facebook is so easy - most days I do it from my phone! 

Now onto some updating - shall we?

Lots of emails asking where i am and where i am going (concerns over my lack of blogging)?I have been home since Christmas {well other than two weeks in California in Jan/Feb}.  I have enjoyed my relaxing time with my family and friends!  The "assistants" are getting soo  big!   They love to watch Toy Story and Monsters, Inc, laughing when i recite a line or two {watched these way too many times}  In fact, they love Toy Story so much i bought them both a talking Woody - which they take to bed on their sleepover nights!  

Here are a few photos from this past weekend!

 

Braeden and Brody....

Serious Brody

Silly Braeden

These two are so fun to be with - they are still not talking much but they do sign to us...and i love that!  They have a whole life ahead to be chatty so i am fine with their twin language until then!

My time home is about to come to an end...i leave Easter night {after moving my oldest son to his new apt} for California for a few days.  I will be bouncing around between 7 states over the next few weeks - coming home for a few days at a time. 

Here are a few of the classes i will be teaching:

Birdhouse altered book is one of my newest dies from Accucut Craft!

I am using the new BG Curio collection with new Petaloo Flowers, May Arts Ribbons and Luminarte paints!

Butterfly Album is another die from Accucut Craft!

This time i am using the new Mable Collection from My Minds Eye, Petaloo flowers,and Luminarte!

Altered Inspired Butterfly Canvas Album uses the new Petaloo flowers, Memory Box stamps, IOD Devotion and Luminarte paints!  A really fun class with lots of techniques!

And the gorgeous new IOD Beach Cottage is the base of this Envelope book!

You can find me here

Cat's Creations - April 27- May 1st {texas}

She Scrapbooks - May 6 & 7th {Florida}

Whole Lotta Scrap - May 12-18 {Oklahoma}

Scrapbook N Such - May 19-21 {texas}

Okay signing off I have a concert to attend - one of my favorites {perhaps you have heard him on my blog?} James Blunt {swoon}at the House of Blues!! And if that is not enough Christina Perri will be prior to him!

Til then keep creating those memories!

Blessings

Cheryl

 

South Africa {part one}!

In one word...South Africa was AMAZING!  I would have to say it is the most incredible place i have ever visited.  Flying there however, was not incredible - more than 28 hours of travel all told - but i would do it again tomorrow ....well maybe not tomorrow - but I have been invited back again next October and I can't wait!

I arrived very early in the morning  - we enjoyed a few hours of my arrival at the most beautiful spa I have ever visited.  Ingaadi, surrounded by plush Olive trees and nestled in the heart of tranquil African savannah oasis.  The experience of this serene sanctuary made for a truly unique spa surrounded with its natural backdrop of African beauty!

View just outside of our massages....

The next day we prepared for our classes with some of the other teachers

Jerry {from bobunny}, Brent and Jen {from Making Memories}, Mona and Carol {from Bazzill Basics} and Marah and myself {Creative Imaginations}

Our signs that we were asked to make ...love the Oceana line by Christine Adolph!

Amazing store that we taught at Scrapbooking Aquila!

some of the sweet women in one of our classes.

The store is located at a mall that overlooks this golf course! Wow! Some days there were more animals than golfers...

Both Marah and myself had the most fabulous time teaching 10 classes and make and takes! We are grateful to all who attended and to Scrapbooking Aquila for inviting us! We both look forward to next year!

After we were finished teaching we spent some time shopping and then headed off to a four day African safari at Zebula!

Shopping in South Africa was so fun! I loved all handmade wares.  I must confess I brought home another suitcase. :)

Loved all the beadwork

Loved this shot...:)

I purchased the small drums for the assistants and 2 giraffe's for me! :)

side of the road shopping!

more side of the road shopping....

handcarved purses....incredible works of art!

but my favorite part of visiting South Africa was the people!  This beautiful lady and her son "paul" touched my heart! She had some beautiful handmade items in her booth to purchase!

a cobbler on the side of the road working hard.

I just love how the mom's hold their babies! Heartwarming. :)

I realize this post is too long already...i will be back  to post photos from our safari in Zebula! Stayed tuned for part two of South Africa!

But of course, I must post a few photos of the assistants and another quote!

Brody singing....

Braeden {love this photo}

Brody {love his elf ears...he wears them like this}

QOTD:  "He has the right to criticize who has the heart to help."

See you next year....

God Bless!

cheryl

 

Cruisin'....

I cannot believe in only a matter of days we will be saying goodbye to 2010!  These last few months have flown by! Seems as though we just said hello to Fall and today as I write this blog post I am watching the snow fall outside.

Since my last post I have spent the later half of October, November and the first part of December traveling extensively.  Looking back on where I have been is a bit overwhelming.    I am still editing alot of my photos but wanted to share a few of my favorites so far!

My first trip in October, Stephen and I spent a relaxing wonderful week on a cruise visiting Haiti, Jamaica, Cayman Islands and Cozumel.  While at sea, I spent my time teaching classes and hanging out with a wonderful group of women.

This was Stephen's first cruise and my fourth - and he loved it as much as I had hoped!   He has already agreed to accompany me again, and he won't have to wait too long - I am teaching on another cruise with Croptopia Getaways, this time to the Western Carribean next October! We will be visiting one of my  favorite islands, Roatan, Honduras!

Here are a few favorite photos from the cruise! 

Haiti {view from our cabana}

yikes almost didn't go in the water {i said almost}

Then on to Jamaica!

Jamaica - Dunn's River Falls!

Beautiful Coyaba Gardens

I love you Steve for always making me smile

and for being so patient while i took so many photos in the gardens...

 
nearly 300 of them....

and even this one....which clearly shows your patience. :)

and for buying me a camera to make me happy and to capture the peacock that followed us around Jamaica .

We spent some time with the locals...loved his donkey and flowers were gorgeous

and who can forget our rainforest visit to Carl "the spiceman"

and Cayman Islands

Our favorite island on this trip was Cayman even though the weather didn't cooperate as much as we liked, we still had a great time!

where we spent a bit of time at the beachfront bar enjoying a beverage or two while we waited out the rain.

Went for a walk on seven mile beach where steve found me this...

a "heart" shape rock {I have a collection from steve and the boys}

 

Our last stop was Cozumel so we decided to get up really early to see the sunrise...one of my favorite things to do!

Just Beautiful!

Last stop Cozumel!

we spent the day at a resort on the water

perfect view...:)

Leaving Cozumel....{if you look close you can see the beautiful tanzanite ring steve gave me}

Steve bought a package of photos from our time on the ship, but this is my favorite - an impromptu photo taken by a couple on our last day.

Great memories from our trip...tomorrow i will post some photos from my time in South Africa!

I leave you with a quote and snapshot of the assistants!

Blessings,

Cheryl

QOTD: "One day is worth a thousand tomorrows....~ Benjamin Franklin

Fall is in the air!

I have been away for a couple weeks enjoying some sunny, warm {perhaps a bit too warm} weather in Florida.

So when I arrived home on Friday I was a bit sad knowing Fall had arrived while I was away. Cool, crisp days, apple picking, pumpkin patches and football are all part of the norm replacing warm days spent at the beach, barbeques and pool parties!  As much as I love the warm colors of the Fall, I never can really completely enjoy this Season.  I know that Fall will evidentially lead to Winter and this girl is not a big fan.  *sigh*

So with Fall in the air, i did what any good 'honey' would do, i made plans to take the assistants to the their first pumpkin patch!

Which way to the pumpkin patch?

Checking out the 'mean' birds....

Poor brody was bit by the 'mean' birds....:(

Grampy giving boo boo kisses...:)

Picking out the perfect pumpkin

Grampy I want a pumpkin "this" big!

climbing mt. pumpkin

Braeden's pumpkin

finally two perfect pumpkins!

Guess who threw their pumpkin?

Brody following his brother's lead!

Oh oh........we have pumpkin pie!

This was the perfect ending to a fabulous weekend! I think the best part of traveling so much {besides seeing so much of this wonderful world} is coming home to my family!  I didn't stop all weekend, impromptu dinner with Stephen at a favorite restauarant friday, Saturday morning football with Samuele and spending Saturday night and Sunday with Michael and Ashley. 

Today is exactly two weeks til Stephen and I leave for our Carribean cruise.  He does not often travel with me when i am teaching so i am excited that he has decided to join me this time! My schedule is very crazy for the next two months, I arrive home from our cruise and leave the next evening for London and then South Africa!  I am excited but will miss my family very much.  

And of course a few favorite quotes...the last one I am holding near as I start back running tomorrow...my goal is to run the five mile this Thanksgiving! Wish me luck!

"The love of a family is life's greatest blessing" ~ Author unknown

"If I had my life to live over....I'd dare to make more mistakes next time." ~ Nadine Stair

"People rarely succeed unless they have fun in what they are doing"~Dale Carnegie

 Wishing you a blessed day!

Honey....

As most of you know, ever since the assistants were infants, we have kept them overnight a couple of days a week.  Even with my hectic travel, we still try to maintain this schedule with them. 

Yesterday they arrived for their Thursday sleepover {Tuesday this week as Thursday is their birthday}. After changing them and giving them breakfast, Braeden hugged me and finally called me "Honey" {a name for grammy}. 

Melt.my.heart! 

 

Assistants at the Zoo with Stef!

September!

September is always a big month in the Mezzetti home!  The "assistants" as i love to affectionately call them, will be turning two on Thursday. Very hard to believe that another year has gone by!  I want to stop time as i love this age so much!  They are both so inquisitive, active and chatty!

I think Stephen and I are the only two that can tell them apart now, Jon and Samuele have to ask us, and i admit sometimes it takes me a minute too.  But their expressions always give it away for me!

Braeden taking Brody for a ride.

 

The boys yelling to grampy to come back!

Bird watching errr chasing! :)

 

Love this little face!

September is a memorable month for our family, besides the birth of these two adorable boys, we will be celebrating our 26th wedding anniversary and my son Michael's 29th birthday! On a more serious side, September is a time of reflection for me, this month marks another year of remission for myself and my son, Jon.  I pray that we will see an end to cancer in my lifetime. In the meantime, we are truly blessed and I am grateful to celebrate these special moments together. 

On the designing side of life, I have been creating in my studio for lots of travels coming up..  First stop next week - Minnesota Mall of America to teach two classes!

 

This Brings me Joy Class at Mall of America

I am only home for a few days and i am off again to Florida to teach for Tim Collins Retailer event.

Vintage Christmas {new vintage IOD Night Divine and Gorgeous Petaloo mulberry flowers and leaves and these incredible new ribbons by May Arts!} 

I will be extending my stay in Florida and teaching at three stores my Fall pumpkin book, tree album and new Christmas tree album!

Above images fall pumpkin book
You can find this class at these three stores {all three classes will be taught at Cherry Blossom Studios}

Scrappy Boutique in Orlando

Whim So Doodle in St Petersburg

Cherry Blossom Studios in Coconut Creek!

It is the beginning of a very busy couple of months with my teaching schedule! I am excited to be one of the teachers for Croptopia Getaways Cruise to the Carribean and then off on a dream trip to S.Africa!

I leave you with some quotes that have spoken to my heart this week

"A decision today changes tomorrow forever." ~ John De Lemme

"No matter what you've done for yourself or for humanity, if you can't look back on having given love and attention to your family, what have you really accomplished"~

"A successful life is one that is lived through understanding and pursuing one's own path, not chasing after the dreams of others."~Chin-Ning Chu

Last day of August!

It is hard to imagine my life without these two adorable boys.  It is even more difficult knowing they will be turning two in only 9 days, where has the time gone?

I am so focused on remembering everything about their first two years with hundreds, okay thousands of photos of every milestone! This past Summer has been wonderful with my new camera and these two moving so fast I have managed to take nearly 10,000 photos. Yikes!

Here are a few favorites over the past couple of weeks!

 

bye bye!

 

Braeden

Brody

New haircuts!!! Brody looking adorable!

Playing at the beach this past weekend - perfect weather!

These two love the water

 

Grampy making sandcastles...:)


A quiet moment.

And those quiet moments will be getting shorter - these two are starting to talk. Some words this past weekend, brother, momma, boat, ball, thank you, Braeden. 

I am grateful to have enjoyed most of the Summer with these two with only a few weeks of travel.  That being said, my travel schedule is about to take off, so for now i am going to treasure all these great moments over the past few weeks and keep them close while i am away.

I have received quite a few emails to purchase kits -- thank you for your support.  I will be adding some more later today -- be sure to check out my sidebar.  I am also updating all the stores that i will be visiting - thank you for all the requests to teach I am honored!

Have a blessed day!

It is that time of the year!

Love this time of year when all the new scrapbooking products start being released! All the excitement to see each collection and new tools! I am looking forward to the CHA show, so if you are at the show make sure you drop by and say hello - i will be  working for Creative Imaginations demoing in our booth!

I have been busy creating with some of the new products for both Creative Imaginations and Petaloo! And in my spare time {ahem} i have managed to create 3 new dies for Accucut!

The first two are my new Album builder dies and are truly one of a kind! Layer on the shapes for an amazing 3-D effect.

 

This album can be fall or Halloween just by switching out the front layering piece.

 

My second 3-D layering die ~ Snowflake Album!

The album building die series allows you to purchase only the front covers as the inside die {shown below} remains consistent for each of the books. 

And my new "family" tree die that is 3-D as well! The die allows you to layer the top of the tree add little birds! This sample i used Creative Imagination's new wood veneer and ran it through the Tim Holtz bark embossing folder for an even more realistic trunk! I added our new cinnamon brown Luminarte dauber to color the wood and bring out the dimension!

 

 

I can't wait to head off to Chicago and the excitement at the show! 

Marah Johnson and myself will be co-teaching a class using my flower album die and lots and lots of IOD loolah,Christine Adolph Boho Girl, Petaloo's beautiful flowers and the gorgeous luminarte product!

 

The details for this class and others can be seen here.

And I can't leave you without posting some favorite photos of the assistants..

 

Fascinated with the ants....kept them busy for awhile.

 

Brody...:)

Lookout!!

Braeden waving goodbye to Brody!

 

Have a blessed day!