Back from GASC and ALA

Wow, what a fun-filled, exciting weekend I had!

It started with a class on journaling at ScrapbooksPlus! in Chantilly on Wednesday night. (Yeah, I know that's not the weekend, but my weekends start early.) We had so much fun that Debbie Chabot has invited me back to teach journaling again. We've also scheduled a second dinner mystery theatre event for Saturday, September 11. So stay tuned for all the details because if you're in driving distance you'll want to attend, and last time this sold out fast!

Thursday my friend Becky Hutchison and I hauled bookmarks and cards and books to the American Library Association show floor at the Washington Convention Center. Becky is just one of the nicest people around. And smart? Shoot. She's an anthropologist, which is a career I would have enjoyed.

Then Friday began the Great American Scrapbook Convention in Chantilly. Scrapbookers are a riot. Here's a photo of one wearing a hilarious tee shirt. (If this is you, please tell me!)




One of the wonderful parts of attending such a convention is meeting talented people. Looking at the card below, I think you'll agree that Peggy Potter has talent to spare. It's a fabulous shaker card, and Peggy has me itching to make a few shaker cards of my own.




Of course, you can't attend a scrapbook convention without help from your peeps. Here I am with Esther and Susie from ScrapbooksPlus! Along with Louise, Erin, Christy, Deborah, my son Michael and my husband David, we met a lot of Kiki Lowenstein fans on Friday and Saturday. These cute "Kiki Lowenstein Fan Club" tees are available through ScrapbooksPlus! Call them at 703-263-9503 to order yours. You can also order signed copies of all my books from ScrapbooksPlus! They'll mail them to your door.

Up again early on Sunday to attend the American Library Association convention. Becky took this photo of me being a famous author. Yeah, my life is never dull. They don't tell you when you write your books that you'll also get to haul them around. Here I am at the Sisters in Crime booth huntin for a box of Cut, Crop & Die copies to sign.

Of course, since ALA is a gathering of librarians, you'd expect to meet lots of celebrities. Here I am with "The Cat in the Hat." Wow. I've always wanted to meet him. I like his style.

Just when I thought life couldn't get more exciting, I also met...Joanna Campbell. That's right. This gorgeous young lady shares my first name and maiden name. She saw my name on the program and came over to the Midnight Ink booth to meet me.

Okay, on Monday I slept late and read a book. (I deserved a day off, don't you think?) And today I'm going through all the stuff I collected, all the books we didn't sell, and all the requests for more information.

It was a super, super weekend. Don't you wish you were there with me?

The Winner of the Loot

Is Leanne B. of Maryville Heights, Missouri.

Thanks to all who entered.

Tomorrow I'll post about my exciting weekend at GASC (Great American Scrapbook Convention) and the ALA (American Library Association).

Free Loot Give-away

June is my birthday month, so I'm giving a present to you!

That's right, one lucky respondent will receive all this cool stuff: a signed copy of Photo, Snap, Shot; two I (heart) Kiki buttons, bookmarks, and a small album kit.

Just email your name and postal address to me at savetales@aol.com On June 27, I'll choose one lucky winner at random. Why not tell a friend?

By the way, I'm having some GORGEOUS tee-shirts made that say, "Kiki Lowenstein Fan Club," and I'll be giving one away really soon, so I urge you to become a follower of this blog.

Which leads me to an apology. I hoped to have more posts up. Have you missed me? I've missed you. I came home from my Kiki Lowenstein World Tour totally exhausted. Then I couldn't get my photos to upload. I kept trying and trying, before finally breaking down and begging my husband for help. He spent two nights working to get my computer to recognize the software to upload photos. Finally, he called his computer guru and took in my hard-drive.

Believe me, I HATE having my hard-drive out of my sight. Makes me physically ill. I mean, I have books, articles, beginnings of books, unpublished books, contracts...need I go on? You're getting the picture.

Turns out I wore out the USB port. Yep. Now we're accustomed to me wearing the letters off of keyboards, but this was a new low or high for me. So now we're back in business.

And I'm rested up. Here's my upcoming schedule:

Wed., June 23, 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., ScrapbooksPlus!, 14502A Lee Road, Chantilly VA (signing and class/ preregistration required for the class, phone 703-263-9503)

Fri., June 25, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., class from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m., Great American Scrapbook Convention, Dulles Expo Center, 4368 Chantilly Shopping Center, Chantilly VA (preregistration required)

Sat., June 26, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., class from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m., Great American Scrapbook Convention, Dulles Expo Center, 4368 Chantilly Shopping Center, Chantilly VA (preregistration required)

Sat., June 26, 8 p.m., signing at ScrapbooksPlus!, 14502A Lee Road, Chantilly VA

Sun., June 27, 10 -11 a.m, signing at Midnight Ink (Publisher) Booth, American Library Association, Washington Convention Center, 801 Mt. Vernon Place NW, Washington DC

Sun., June 27 11-1 p.m., signing at Sisters in Crime Booth, American Library Association, Washington Convention Center, 801 Mt. Vernon Place NW, Washington DC

Sat., July 17, 1 p.m., signing at Smithsburg Library, 66 West Water St., Smithsburg MD

And here are some of the guest blog posts I did recently.

Are They Nuts? At the Femmes Fatales Blog, I discuss scrapbookers who got in trouble with the law.



Scrapping Her Way to a New Career At my good friend Emilie Richards' blog, we chatted about who gave me the idea to write about a scrapbooker. Hint: Her initials are E.R.

Why Every Protagonist Needs a Sidekick is the title of the post I wrote for The LadyKillers Blog.

At the Cozy Chicks Blog, I shared a photo of the chaos in my office after a scrapbooking project, plus some thoughts about the nature of creativity.

I wrote about my creative toolbox, the tools I use all the time as an author, for my friend Sheila Glazov's blog.

You can see photos of me and my dogs at Meanderings and Muses.

Okay, that should hold you for a while!

June Appearances You Won't Want to Miss!

June is my birthday month, and I'm celebrating by spending lots of time with all of you!

Don’t miss my super new journaling class at ScrapbooksPlus!, 14502A Lee Road, Chantilly, VA, on Wednesday night June 23. We're calling it: “You Really Are the Queen of Everything." Hey, you are, aren't you? If not, you should be!

The class will be held from 6:30-8:30 p.m., and the cost is only $20. This session includes a month’s worth of journaling prompts, exercises to help you improve your writing, a handout package full of valuable ideas and an autographed copy of my fabulous idea book The Best of British Scrapbooking.

Then, get ready for The Great American Scrapbook Convention (GASC), which will be coming to the Dulles Expo Center, Chantilly, VA, on June 25 and 26.

I will be teaching two journaling classes at GASC. You'll get a great start on new journaling and a fresh take on any old stories you haven't captured in my sessions on "Fabulous Fast, Fresh and Fun Journaling." You can choose to come either Friday, June 25 from 6 to 7 p.m. or on Saturday, June 26 from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m.

You must go to the Great American Scrapbook Convention website to sign up for these journaling classes. Click GASC for more info. The price of the class includes a super handout and a copy of my book One Minute Journaling.

Concurrently, ScrapbooksPlus! will be having an all day crop on Saturday, June 26, from 10 am to midnight. The cost of the crop is $35 and includes lunch, dinner, snacks, drinks and door prizes. The Friday night crop is sold out and the Saturday night crop is filling up fast. Call today to reserve your place! The phone number is 703-263-9503. Admission tickets should be arriving this week so save a few dollars and purchase yours from ScrapbooksPlus instead of at the door the day of the convention.

Special Note: I will be at the ScrapbooksPlus! Saturday night crop signing my books and scrappin'! Come by my table at the convention and say "hi" and do a FREE make and take. Get your special 10% off coupon to the store while you're there.

I hope you can join us for a great weekend of scrapbooking and shopping!