Countdown to CHA, Day 8...Glorious paper

(To follow the entire saga, view my blog archives...this is my Quest to get into the Craft and Hobby association trade show in Atlanta...and yes. I'm going!)

Here we are with 8 days left until the big show.  I'm continuing to get feedback from sponsors who've responded to my tweets and Facebook posts.   My biggest concern?  Getting to the event on time! 

I know how bad Atlanta traffic is so I'm driving in the night before to spend the night at my cousin's house (hi, Tracy!), who lives 30 minutes or so from downtown ATL, all to cut my drive time Tuesday morning.  I'm hoping if I leave Marietta at 6:30 am, I'll arrive in an hour at the latest, and have 30 minutes to find where I need to be and get ready for the 8:00 workshop.  Whew!  Crunch time! 

No extra funds in my budget for a hotel room so you work with what you've got, right? 

Back to the show.  One of the workshops I'll be attending is sponsored by the ever fabulous Graphic 45.  If you love paper, especially vintage style, then you know who G45 is.  Oh my goodness, I adore and drool over ev-er-y thing they make!   Here's an Easter card I made awhile back with the Sweet Sentiments paper.   

One of the tools I need to bring to that workshop is a crop-a-dile.  As my husband succinctly put it, "that thing looks like a tooth extractor!"  Do I own one of these tooth extractors?  No, I do not.  So, I put out an all-call on Facebook and before the day was through, I had several crafty friends come to the rescue.  I drove over to my friend Deb's house to pick up one rather large dental instrument and got to meet sweet Gracie.  Isn't she adorable? 

Deb gave me a quick lesson on the features and use of this pretty awesome tool and I gained a new respect for one of We R Memory Keepers most popular products.  Deb, you are a lifesaver AND the master of heat embossing.  Hey, she taught me everything I know.
 

Keep checking in and travel with me on this extraordinary journey into the inner workings of what goes on at the Craft and Hobby Association trade shows.  It all starts July 29, 2014.  And I'll be there.    (Ok, that sounds so "Walter Cronkite")

** Check out my blog daily I'm about to celebrate some major milestones; 200 posts, 10,000 pageviews and coming up in August, my 1 year Blog-iversary!  I'll be having a giveaway any day now...and while you're at it...go visit my other blog, Mountain Plains Crafters.  We're having a Christmas in July blog hop on Friday, July 25th that you don't want to miss with a bundle prize from Clearsnap.  Can we say Smooch?