TERESA COLLINS

THIS WEEKEND...

Ty raced in his first BMX bike races in Farmington, Utah. He was thrilled! 

Due to my back pain, I was home when I got this text message with the photo. Ty came in 2nd place in all three races. He was over the moon excited. He had a special night with his dad last night. Ty came home and informed me he is going to be in another race in two weeks. I love that he has found a hobby that he loves again. 

McKay is home now and had a great time at EFY camp. Her favorite part of the camp was the dances, and on Thursday they did a spiritual testimony meeting. Thankfully she is feeling NO PAIN. Such a blessing!

I finally have been able to leave the house. I had lunch today with some friends- the Hicks family. It was so good to get to leave the house. We had lunch at Mimi's Cafe- love their Thai Chicken Wraps!!! I am doing a little better today. I am using ICY HEAT, taking ibuprofen, doing no bending or lifting and trying to relax more. It has kind of been a blessing in that I had to slow down the past few days. 

I'm now watching channel 613- CBS SPORTS NETWORK. The Triple Crown World Series game is playing now. Zach's team did really well, but they did not make all the way. They played three games today and finally lost. However, Zach competed in a skills day contest earlier this week and qualified to be in the home run derby tonight. I am not sure when they do it. I am thinking at half time or at the end of the game. Anyway, I am just excited that he is getting to participate and it will be a great memory! 

Staying strong....

McKay is doing so much better. She went to the doctor again just to be checked again yesterday. The medication is working and she was able to go back to EFY with okay from the doctors. So she is calling me and letting me know that she is having a GREAT time and so happy to go back.

Today, my son Ty is going to Farmington to be in his FIRST BMX bike race. Here is a quick phone photo:

He is super excited. He will be in the NOVICE category. He is a true beginner but so excited to do this. Ty is taking him and I'm unfortunately home with severe back pain. UGH! It literally rips my heart out to not be able to go watch him. Thankfully, his dad is taking the FLIP to film him for me. 

I am doing everything I can to figure out this extreme back pain problem. I have to admit, that the worst part other than the pain is being home bound for three days. ha! I am always very active and so the downtime is hard for me to adjust to. I am stretching, and being very careful. I cannot bend down without being in so much pain.  I am taking muscle relaxants and ibuprofen. I know this trial has helped me to realize what I do have and to be thankful for health and doing the simple things. I have missed two days at the gym and hope to be back on Monday.

Hope you have a great weekend!!!!!

 

Emergency Room... last night

Well, I got the call last night from McKay's best friend that she was in a lot of pain. In fact, I could hear her screaming in the background. Josilyn told me that they the camp nurse was giving her pain medication and wanted me to know. They thought she was just having severe cramps. I got two more calls. She was not doing better about 45 minutes later. I had asked McKay if I should come up until this point and she kept saying no. Again, thinking it was just cramps. When Josilyn called the last time, McKay is hysterically crying in pain and wanted me to come. I knew I needed to be there and drove way to fast to get to her. Thankfully, her camp is only 25 minutes from me. I about ten minutes away when I get the call that the counselor said "McKay is worse and needs to go to the hospital." I am driving and trying to call her dad and our family. We were going to met at the Emergency room.

I get there and McKay is outside surrounded by about 8 people helping her. She is hysterical and sobbing like I have never seen her. I had hurt my back yesterday and so I could barely move. It was about 10 pm at night. Josilyn insisted to go with us (she is like a sister to McKay). 

We drove straight to Primary Children Medical Center Hospital- the Emergency room. She was in so much pain that she was immediately put in a wheelchair. The other kids there were staring trying to figure out why McKay was slumping over and "wailing"- I guess that is how I would describe it.

Thankfully, McKay's dad came with Gentry, Taylor and Spencer. They got her back to exam her rather quickly. I knew by their questions that they thought she was or had been pregnant. They had us leave the room to talk to her alone. When they found out that there was no way she would or could be they tried to figure out what was causing the pain. 

We were there for hours. At one point her pulse went so low that they pinched her to get her to move. In the end, they do not know exactly what is wrong. They believe that she has problems with the lining of her stomach/intestines. Gastistis...soory- I know this is spelled wrong. I am going on VERY little sleep. The pain medication worked to dull the pain, but she is still having pain. They released her from the hospital and want her to be seen again today.

Right now, she still has the pain but not as severe. The pain pills are working, but I have to be honest. I'm a little concerned since we really do not know for sure what is going on. Thank you for all of you who have called, texted, emailed and face booked. THANK YOU!  

I will keep everyone posted, but I feel comforted to know she is going to be okay. She was given a blessing by her dad and Spencer and it really reassured me and her. Unfortunately for me, my back is worse than ever. I went to the chiropractor yesterday and it did not help at all. Hopefully, it will get better soon.

 

LONG day....

You know how some days just seem to last a lot longer in time than others. Today was one of those days. The good thing is that I got a lot done. The flip side is that I felt at times that as much as I was doing, I could not catch up with all the things that I still had left to do. I started my day at the gym. We did the farmer's mile. It was tough and now I am extremely sore. I go to the gym in the mornings, since I know I do best by getting it over with. I would make excuses to not go in the evenings if I waited. Plus, the family is asleep when I go and Ty is there with them. They never even know that I'm gone!!!!

Today Zach called to let me know that he participated in the Home Run Derby in Steamboat Springs, CO tournament. He was so excited, since now he is one of six boys who will be on CBS SPORTS TV on Saturday to compete for the 13U Winner. They will televise the championship game and then show the home run derby some time during the broadcast. It is just one of those things that as a parent you are happy that your child get's to do something that they love and will remember for the rest of his life. As many of you know, Zach plays constant baseball. It is his PASSION. He is actually playing for another team that asked him to play in this tournament with them. He will come home and next week play in another tournament in Utah. It is something that our entire family loves and supports. 

McKay called and asked me to bring her food. She was hungry (at camp!). I asked her what she needed and she said...salty chips! I had to laugh. I asked when her dinner was and it was in 30 minutes. I then talked to her and Josilyn and they informed me that they are having the "BEST TIME!!!!!" I told her to take treats and snacks, but she did not listen. Lucky for her, her aunt lives right by the camp and is going to go take her some snacks.

Earlier today it was raining so hard that it started to flood our neighborhood. It was intense. I thought about how fast things change. It was a nice day and then suddenly it turned dark. It was a reminder  to me to be grateful for the little things. I had family and friends calling with concern for our family. Our city was on the local news and several homes were flooded.  

I wanted to share with you one of my favorite HAUNTED HALLOWS mini projects:

How cute is this mini book by Laura McCollough? I love how she added the die- cuts, the stamps, trims and chipboard to the book. I even see some black blingage jewels. Love the pumpkin shape book!

Here is a TRULY, MADLY, DEEPLY layout by Julie Jacob. I really love how she used the POISON labels paper. The photo is great too!

Today....

It's time for registration. So we printed off all the papers to get ready for school. They now email the forms to you so that you print them off and return them for school. 

Since Zach was leaving today for a week, I had him look over all the forms. He is now officially taller than me. This is his first time away from us (his parents) for more than a day. We are already missing him!

Ty is our little go getter. He printed out all the forms himself and then proceeded to fill them out himself. This is so his personality!

McKay was not doing her forms. She was checking her facebook. She actually cleaned her room prior to going to camp. She will be at EFY (Especially for Youth) this entire week with here best friend.

It was finally time to take McKay and Josilyn to camp. I was equipped with my camera. McKay told me that she did not want any photos and to PLEASE stay in the car. Josilyn then said, "Let's do take photos!!!" I decided to take two quick photos.

I know they will look back on these photos and remember this week. They have been best friends since 7th grade. I love Josilyn and am thankful that she is such a good friend to my daughter. In all the years, they have never had a argument.  How rare is this? 

It's hard letting our kids go away, but I know these moments help to define who they are. I am keeping myself busy by deep cleaning and working on new designs. Today I tackled McKay's nasty bathroom. Oh, it was not pretty! Her clean and my clean are two entirely different things.

I took Ty to see Captain America this afternoon. He is our only kid at home this week. I am going to focus on giving him lots of one on one time this week. We enjoyed it! 

I had a great workout this morning. I am signing up for two more months tomorrow. FINALLY, I have found something that I love and am motivated to keep doing. The workouts are never the same- each day it is changed. Today I was dragging tires, and more. It felt great to be back. I found out my gym will be featured on Channel 5 news next week- it's really a great gym. If your in Utah, email me if you want to know more and maybe try it out for yourself!!!!!

Last, I want to share a CHRISTMAS HOME layout by Jamie Harper-

I love the circles. She simply cut out various papers and elements from the line to create this beautiful layout. I love the added green stitching. She also used the stamps in the collection to create some of the circles. I seriously LOVE this! It could be a super cute advent calendar idea too.

 

HOME FROM CHA....

The show went by in so fast. I can't believe how we prepare for months for a show and then it has come and gone so quickly. I am happy to report that the show was great and my lines were well received. So what is next?  I will be teaching and promoting the lines. I have so many things on my agenda in the next few months. Plus...it's time to start or finalize new products and collections. The cycle starts again. I will be doing several more episodes for the CRAFT CHANNEL network.

I want to show you a project that I did with the WORLD TRAVELER KITS. This line was so fun for me to design. The kits were a big hit! It comes with the kraft binder and all the papers are prepunched and designed for you. *note: added blingage to the book spine!

 

Booth tear down is always a mad rush. It's crazy how fast the booth is torn down compared to how long it takes to put it up. I had to leave a little early to go teach a class. It sounds like my girls, Nick and the MME boys (they were in the booth beside us) got into a little "fun time" as they waited the couple of hours for the crate to arrive. Trade shows can be so much work but a lot of fun too!!!!!

I want to thank my design team for all the beautiful projects that they created with the new lines. They inspire me with their creativity. I hope you feel the same way. 

I got to teach a workout on Thursday night at:

Creative Cuts and Crafts
486 S. Spring Road
Elmhurst, IL
630-279-4444
www.creativecutsandcrafts.com

The women were so KIND! I even had 

girls who flew in to 

take the workshop. I am so 

fortunate

 to get to do this!

The store is so friendly and has

 great products. The 

owners served cold beverages 

and brownies to the guests.

They really were so friendly 

to the customers. I really

enjoyed my time with them! 

I will go back....

A few more photos from 

the last day at CHA-

 

My friend Bridget from Imaginese.

I always love to see these girls. I can't wait to get to finally get to visit their store and teach!!!!

Teaching the workshop was just what I needed. LOVED seeing the reaction to my new lines for the first time by consumers.

This was at Crafter's Home. I have no idea this photo was taken. Looks like Nick and I were deep in thought/conversation. Gotta love candid photos! Love being a part of Crafter's Home.

I had a wonderful day yesterday- my birthday- with my family. We went to lunch ( I had my favorite Lettuce Wraps), and went to go see LARRY CROWNE the movie with Tom Hanks and Julia Robert's. I really enjoyed it! Still a little jet lagged and went to bed at 10:30pm. It was a really great day!!!! I love birthdays. I am thankful for every day that I have on this earth with my family and friends.

I am really missing boot camp.

 My bruises from flipping 

the tire has faded and my body is needing 

to be pushed again. 

It's a mental thing too. It feels

 good to move and sweat!!!!!

I am really proud of those of you 

who are joining me 

on your own journey to MOVE more,

 and challenge yourself 

to just do it!   Susan in GA... way to 

step it up and walk 3 miles every day. 

You have made me realize that

 sharing my journey was worthwhile. 

This is what it's about

in life. 

Tomorrow morning, I will be 

back at the gym. I know I will be sore

and it will be hard after a week off.  

Here are the winners picked randomly-

Ally White said...

I have been a serious fan of yours since day 1!! Love all the new lines! What a generous giveaway.

ReplyJuly 24, 2011 at 03:51 PM

Jessica P. said...

Love all those collections...thanks for the chance to win :)

ReplyJuly 20, 2011 at 03:12 PM

Maria said...

So happy to hear how great you are doing at CHA...of course everyone loves your new lines! They are gorgeous!

I would love to win them! Thanks for the chance!

ReplyJuly 21, 2011 at 10:44 PM

 

CHA DAY 2... Have you heard the news?????

This is Truike Bron. She is my CRAZY always smiling retailer from the Netherlands. She came to visit me today at the booth. She has three beautiful magazine and she came to the booth to show me all the projects designed with TC designs. The three magazines were FULL. First, I have to say... the designers in the magazine are amazingly talented. I loved seeing their work! Truike is a huge supporter of my company and even hosts a big event each year in a castle. Hmmm... watch to see who will teaching with her sometime in the future. wink! 

I wish I could post a photo of all the retailers that support TC designs. It is something that I value and appreciate. I work hard along with my sales team to offer excellent customer support. It is really important to me that they know how much I care and want to do everything I can to support them. I would not be working in the crafting industry if it were not for the stores that continue to support my lines. Of course, how can I not thank EACH of you...reading my blog who are buy the products and support me too? THANK YOU! Each trade show is a reminder to me of how much I love what I do and how appreciative I am for the retailers and customers who allow me this opportunity. 

MORE photos.....

Melissa is working nonstop with the make n takes. I really appreciate this! I know it's hard to stand and go over and over how to create the project. She has been patient and kind and helped out so much at the show. Trust me... it is hard to say the same thing over and over for 8 hours straight. 

Today was BUSY! The girls did not even have time to eat the lunches that we had for them. I felt so bad and kept telling them to just leave and go eat. Sesil and Gentry were die hards and would not leave if we were busy. So they worked all day with no breaks. I want to know that I appreciate them. I kept trying to force them to leave but they would not stop.

After the show- we headed to Harry Caray's for dinner. 

Gentry is posing by the Holy Cow....

I wanted to share a layout today since most of you are not at CHA...

This layout is by JAMIE HARPER using the HAUNTED HALLOWS new collection... really love this layout! loved the stitching too. Hmmm... I love HALLOWEEN!!!!

Also, finally it's TIME to announce a special event that I will be teaching at-

I will be teaching an album track. I am beyond thrilled. I have taught at more CKU's then I can count and remember. They were truly where I first started to teach and I feel I owe them so much. I am thankful to Emily Haskell and Paula Kramer who ran the events. I learned so much. It is the reason I love to teach and when Emily asked me to return as part of the CKU REUNION teachers...well, I did not hesitate to say YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I  hope you will join us.

Okay, I have to admit, I am really tired after a long day. I will be picking the three winners from yesterdays post soon. You can still enter the contest until the winners are posted. Thanks for understanding! 

CHA DAY 1- HIGHLIGHTS & PRIZE

Here we are in Chicago ready to start a 8 hour day of selling. 

I always look forward to seeing the retailers, and my friends in the industry. 

Nick Nash is my new sales director, Gentry, Sesil and Melissa.

They all worked hard all day. I am  appreciative for their desire and help in selling my products. It was so busy that they brought the food back to the booth and had to eat a few bites at a time in between helping stores place their orders. 

This is a view of the booth from the front.

Here is a few of the booth samples that were displayed. Yvonne Blair's mini books were pure eye candy. Look at her Halloween book below with Haunted Hallows- gorgeous!

H

The countdown album was another Yvonne mini book. Everyone wants to recreate  her book! Collette's black frame with Haunted Hallows was a beautiful display. 

Everyone seems to really love my new stickers, chipboard, 8x8 chipboard albums, trims and brads. 

 

I taped some segments for www.scrapbook.com.

So many people think Nick looks like Edward Cullen from Twilight. Nick enjoyed it and did a video segment for www.scrapbook.com as well. 

We kept very busy with order's, doing free make n takes and talking to our customers. The show ended at 6:00 pm and we were so hungry. There was a group of us that had pizza together. Great Chicago pizza and great conversation. I am so tired I hope that I can finish this post....ha!

So TODAY I will give away THREE  full collection pack of paper kit from HAUNTED HALLOWS, World Traveler and CHRISTMAS HOME- all three paper pack collections! Want to win???? 

POST a comment on my facebook page Teresa Collin's Designs at  www.facebook.com/tcdesigns)...  and here on the blog.

Good luck I will pick three winner's tomorrow night!

Also, watch Linda on TV for 3 HOURS on Wednesday 20th July on CREATE & CRAFT TV the ideal world shopping channel!
There are THREE 1 hour shows.....9am, 5pm & 8pm with her showing and selling the TC Stampmaker. 
She will be demonstrating the Stampmaker & actually making the whole process - personalized negatives, stamps, embosses & stencils & projects!!

Be sure and watch Linda on Create & Craft TV the Ideal world shopping channel
http://www.createandcraft.tv/tvschedule.aspx

 

CHA starts tomorrow- booth set up

Today started quite early. It was a full day of booth set up. I am lucky to have the best help and we make it fun together. It's hard to believe you start with your empty concrete space and with a day 1/2 you have a booth of creative magic. It's transformed to each companies own style. I thought I would share with you a few photos from today.

 

This is the spray painted white IKEA frames that hold a collage of the papers with the collection logo. Sesil Cratin did all of these for the show. She is amazing and truly goes above and beyond in her role in my company. She is truly the most hardworking girl. I am truly fortunate to be able to work with her each day and that she is a valuable and trusted assistant and friend. I value and listen to her opinion. I am so grateful for her wisdom and kindness in her decision making. I listened to my heart and knew that I finally found the perfect girl to share this creative journey with me. 

I wish you could see World TRAVELER yourself...it is not shipping until August 1st- it is just one of my favorite collections EVER! 

Haunted Hallows... 

CHRISTMAS HOME

Here is Sesil and Gentry prepping the papers to be displayed on the wall. I love having my daughter work with me. She LOVES the shows and especially loves to be able to see the "other" side of what I do. She works very hard and brings so much fun to the show!

I have to thank AMY COON too. She has spent the last two days helping us set up the booth and more. I am so blessed to know her. We all need friends who love us and are truly there for one another. When you can be happy for each other's successes it is BIG... I think that is huge for both of us. We are each other's cheerleaders. 

During the last trade show, my gem chandelier was broken on the transit back to my office. When got here to Chicago and I had completely forgotten that there was no chandelier. So the girls and I found the nearest Home Depot and purchased this clear chandelier. It's just what I wanted. It was a great price too- $77.00. It's large too!!!!

 

The front of the booth...

The drapes always make me feel like I am "home." I like my booth to feel welcoming and inviting!

Christmas HOME

A few of the projects displayed in the booth-

CHRISTMAS HOME

We finally got the booth all done and we went to dinner with a large group of friends- I had never been to Gibson's before. It was delicious and the company was even better. Thank you Amy Sprague for this fabulous evening!!!! 

I need to get a copy of the group shot. We had 13 girls- but here is six of us. I made new friends tonight. I love this!!!!! 

Okay...getting late here. I will be posting daily from the show. I have decided to do prizes as well. TOMORROW... check back to see what I am giving away!!!!

 

TC HOST ANNOUNCEMENT and BIG give away-

Fifth Host Revealed: Teresa Collins & Bonus Giveaway

*sharing with you the blog post today at www.mycraftchannelblog.blogspot.com. Go there to ENTER the contest!!!! This is the post today announcing that I will be hosting my own craft show with them. This is very exciting. They have put together a team of industry leaders and I am honored to be asked to be apart of something this wonderful and big!!!!! 

What will my show be about???? Well I wanted it to be about my own personal style and how I really design both in my home, life and scrapbooking. Here is the show description that is on their site:

Celebrity Craft and Scrapbook Host Teresa Collins shares her love and the passion of paper crafting and scrapbooking mixed into the artistic flair of home decor. Teresa's chic style has taken the crafting world by storm. Watch as she shares her "secrets" to creating in simple, inexpensive ways to decorate your home, and life through crafting.  Teresa will showcase beautiful and stylish projects that features a collaboration of decorating, crafting and paper projects that bring the most exciting aspects of scrapbooking to new meaning to your creative life.

THEY ARE GIVING AWAY some GREAT products today to celebrate. This is taken from their site so that you can GO and WIN!!!! Please read below since your at my blog- you will need to VISIT http://mycraftchannelblog.blogspot.com to enter!!!!!!

GIVEAWAY + BONUS (scroll down)

To celebrate today's feature of the our newest hosts, we're giving away a Cricut E2 machine from Cricut

Here's how you enter to win:

• Teresa's Blog and subscribe for fun updates & inspiration - leave a comment here telling us you did this.
• Share with 5 MORE of your friends a link to this blog post - leave a comment here telling us you did this.
• Facebook, tweet or blog about My Craft Channel - leave a comment here telling us you did this.
• BONUS (optional) Entries: If you haven't already, follow My Craft Channel on Facebook, follow this blog or like Cricut on Facebook AND Teresa Collins Designs on Facebook. [Disclaimer: This contest is in no way affiliated with Facebook. By doing any of the bonus steps you are not automatically entered to win, you will not be entered to win a Cricut until you leave a comment here telling us you liked any of these optional steps.]

NOTE - If you are unable to leave a comment on this blog post, please email your comment to info@mycraftchannel.com. Your entry will count as if it was posted here.

You have until 11:59pm MST today to enter for this prize. 

We will announce the winner from today's post TOMORROW 

before we unveil our next host.

NOW FOR THE BONUS....

Our friends at Cricut wanted to support My Craft Channel and Teresa Collins, so they're sponsoring a great giveaway for all of you on their blog today too!

Yes, you can enter to WIN all three of my Teresa Collins Cricut Cartridges. HOW cool is this????????? Happy Friday. Today is going to be a great day. Good luck!!!!!