One amazing trip finished and I am about to embark on another!

A L A S K A... simply breathtaking!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I have just returned from an amazing week aboard the Princess Star which set sail from Seattle and headed for 3 different ports in Alaska and finished off in Victoria before heading back to Washington. It was a different sort of atmosphere aboard this ship than the cruise I did in February to the Caribbean. I guess it was because of where we were going. Everything was very quiet aboard this vessel so we took it upon ourselves to create our own fun:) That is not saying that there were not fun things on the ship... that is not the case at all! It was just very mellow (everything was quiet after 9pm!!!). Oh well, I was honoured to have been given the opportunity to be a part of the Northridge Media Team (Scrapbook Trends, Cards, Simply Handmade and Beads Magazines) and look forward to working with these guys again.

So not only am I the luckiest gal in the world to be able to travel the globe and teach... but get a look at my team this time around.
Awesome bit of eye candy, eh! David from Northridge Media was one of the handsome men who invited me along to be a part of their teaching team on the Alaskan cruise. Could I seriously turn down that offer... uh... I think NOT! This guy provided some serious good times! the ladies were swooning over his charming ways and he was such a help. I nick named him the King of Distress as that boy could work some sanding block magic! Anything that needed roughed up a bit, I turned over to Mr. Dave used some of his braun and he made it look like a masterpiece:) Actually, he just scuffed it but it sounds sooooooo much better the other way...lol!

And then there was Jody... what can I say... I am a lucky gal to have such a great friend like him:) We have worked together for more than a year and a half and I was impressed with all that I learned about him during this trip. Most guys in this industry don`t actually walk the talk, know what I mean. Well, Jody does! YUP! Not only is he passionate about his job, but he has no qualms about sharing his stories with us to inspire us to continue doing the scrapbooking that we do... continue to get the stories down so that future generations can enjoy our efforts. I think his little speech in our class made a lot of girls hearts melt;) And I for one was honoured to be a part of this event with him:) Thanks Jody for bringing me along, I had a blast and I can`t wait to do it again... you rock:)
Then there was Becky. WOW!!! What a wild girl she turned out to be! I knew from our very first emails that we would hit it off but I had no idea she would catch me off guard and cause me to bust a gut laughing to the point I was crying!!! Thanks for such a great week Becky!
So that was the WORK stuff... then there was the play. And PLAY we did!!! Yup... we played shuffleboard, danced in the nightclub scrapped in the lobby and one of the best things was sitting out by the pool watching a movie on the movie screen under the stars. We would gather a few wool blankets and bundle up in the cool Alaskan air and watch a movie on occasion. Twilight is sooooooooooo much better of a movie under the stars!!!

Here we are after one of our formal dinners on the ship gearing up for a bit of a show. Lovely way to spend an evening!!! OH! And that cutie second from the right... a fellow Canuck I met from Vancouver, Carole, who was a BLAST! I loved her and can`t wait to see her again soon:) We had plenty of fun on board and I am sure we could cause some serious trouble together under different circumstances;)
Here are a couple of my favourite shots of us (carole and I)... so cool when you meet someone with whom you just CLICK!



So now for some of the things we saw and did... first port was Ketchikan... AMAZING! Loved this quaint little town Saw some pretty cool things (like the marina below) and wildlife.

Then there were some pretty cool buildings and stuff too:)

Jody was all about the Eagles so we were all pretty lucky when on his quest to see some, we all managed to get up close and personal with such an amazing creature!




Then there was this beautiful owl. It was so tiny. I always thought they would be larger but not this kind. Simply adorable!

The we hit Juneau. Funky little town too. Becky and I had enough of the slow moving crowds so we hired a private Taxi to take us to the glacier that is a must see while there. BEAUTIFUL and so much more enjoyable when not surrounded by hundreds of other tourists. We timed it jsut right as we were leaving just as the tour busses were arriving!

We also visited Skagway which was a fun town. I had a great time trying on a $58,000.00 ring!!! And better yet, had a great time dickering with the guy getting him down to 10G and walking away!!! LOL! I am soooooooooooo bad!

But by far, my favourite part... VICTORIA! Yup, my dear freind Trena (we have been buds since 7th grade) came and picked us up and took us to see the sights and for dinner. A friends from back in the day (Jennifer) also joined us. Super cool to see her afterall these years and she is a scrapper too!
I love this girl! Thanks Treenie for making my trip! Can`t wait to see you again soon! xoxoxo

So there you have it... a quick (NOT) recap of my Alaskan adventure:) A huge thank you to Oh My Crafts who put together a phenomenal event and I am so grateful to have been able to come along as one of the instructors and look forward to doing it again this fall (October 3-10)... this one sets sail out of NYC ( my DREAM destination!!!). I cannot wait! Stay tuned for further details:)

An extra special thank you also gos out to all of our class sponsors! Without you, these classes would have been a whole lot of nothing and I know all the participants LOVED all the goodies you provided for our classes! Thanks to Graphic 45, Tattered Angels, Riff Raff Designs, Hambly, Beacon Adhesives, Making Memories, My Mind`s Eye, American Crafts, Acme United (Westcott), Prima, Vintaj, Fiskars and Quick Quotes and the list goes on and on! I know all the participants LOVED all of the goodies you provided to make these classes super cool. Thanks again and know that we all appreciate your generosity!!! With that... I will leave you with this beautiful Alaskan Sunset pic. GORGEOUS!!!!
So GUESS WHAT!!!!!!!!!!!! I leave for the Netherlands tomorrow (wednesday!) YAY!!!!!!!!!! I am sooooooooo excited about this one! I am travelling to Amsterdam to teach for my friend Carla who owns Simpel Scrappen. She is an amazing gal who I met about 1.5 years ago at CHA. I am looking forward to sharing 5 different projects with those girls over there! We are sure to have a blast and I cannot wait to get that party started! I have my bags just about packed and I will be topping them up with as many different prizes as I can squeeze in the remaining nooks and crannies:) I have heard amazing things about Holand and cannot wait to see it with my own eyes. For those of you in my classes... prepare for a great ti e and I look forward to meeti ng you all!!!!!!!!

Kay folks... I REALLY have to run! so much yet to do to get ready!!! Talk to you when I get back:)