{creative chick}

vermont getaway?? :)

while i'm knee deep in paper... prepping for a*muse*a*palooza AND my first round of the good ol advent calendar... i wanted to take a quick break and tell you about a fun adventure i have planned for september!!

i invite you to come away on a stamping get-away to Vermont!! Stamping Around Vermont will be held September 11 & 12th. There are a bunch of fabulous teachers who will be hosting classes.. including me!! :)

I was sooo excited when Julie asked me to join in!! A Muse artstamps will be sponsoring my classes.. and my hope is i'll be teaching with the BRAND new halloween images!! ;)

you can find more details here about the event... it would be great to have some familiar faces there AND i look forward to meeting a lot of new ones too!!

can you believe it.. a*muse*a*palooza is just around the corner!! I'm scurrying to get all my prep done so i'll have a relaxing 4th of july weekend with jimbo... :)
alot of my classes are almost full.. so don't delay in calling your LSS to sign up for a class with me :)

you can see the full schedule here

happy fathers day jimbo

sooo... i decided to stay island bound this weekend.. weather was supposed to be crrraaaaappy.... not much for jimbo and i to do if its not nice out. of course today wasn't bad.... figures. since my dad doesnt have a computer yet, i'll be sure to show him this when i see him 4th of july weekend :) since all the cool kinds were making them, i thought i would too..... i also realized how little pictures i have of my dad.... :( i will work on that love you dad.

fun times @ beautiful impressions!! and other randomness.. (as always)

I had such a great time with all the ladies at Beautiful Impressions in CT!! Teri was a fabulous hostess, and i look forward to returning on July 15th for my Summer Vacation Cards AND a*muse*a*palooza !!! I hope to see some familiar faces as well as some new ones, make sure you call the store to sign up!!

I will be back at ink about it THIS thursday 10-12 AND 6:30-8:30 teaching these "stinkin' cute" summer vacation a muse cards!! There are a few seats available.. hope to see you there!!

The A*Muse*A*Palooza fun has begun!!! Make sure you check it ALL out over at the A Muse BLOG.. tons of contests and fun countdowns until the events begin on July 9th!!  Get your vote in TODAY for secret squares.... who's hiding the prize?? ;)

Peek at my classes page to see the dates of my a*muse*a*palooza classes... most stores have already begun taking sign ups.... I will be teaching at
Beautiful Impressions Westbrook, CT
Colorful Creations Hyannis, MA
Ink About It Westford, MA
Stampassion Latham, NY

walking... it feels good

i really enjoy this whole walking thing.... i might not be losing a zillion pounds, but i feel good... i have more energy.. i miss it when i have a few days im too busy to go etc...

not sure i'll ever be a runner... but i haul a$$ :) and am not a sloooow one.... ( the dip you see is when i'm walking on the beach, and easily distracted by pretty shells and things ;) hard to not do a double take...)

i prolly wont post again before i head out on the road.. i'm at bella art 2morrow night and then beautiful impressions fri & sat ( i believe there are still spots open give the stores a call!)

a *new* way to see my upcoming classes....

i teach a lot of classes.. different types... different places.. and i decided to try something new to make it easier for you to see what and where i'm up to!! :)

peek at this new page.. and check back often!! i'll keep this updated, and post samples as they are created!

harley isnt super snuggly anymore.. just when he wants to be (typical cat ;) ) but a few nights ago. i had had a looong day and was in need of some snuggles ;) he must've caught on...

and also another new "harley qwirk" most evenings.. he has been choosing to jump up on the bookcase.. and sit next to watchers urn.. now i'm not a big believer in "ghosts" or "surreal" things etc... but i do believe that watcher is around ;) .... many times i sense hes there... still watching out for me... and maybe mister harley notices this too.. .... who knows....

lockdown, christmas, and white is the new black ;)

well, where to start.... i guess i'll start with my mister harley story.. since it's clear to me thats the only reason why i have blog readers ;) 

thursdy i left the island around 11a.. i had some things i needed to o before work... visiting the gym being one of thise things......i worked a late night ... and went out for a few drinks with friends afterwards... pull into my driveway @ 1:30a.....

I hear a very VERY loud "meow...Meow..MEOOOOOW" i'm thinking " wow harley is super loud if thats coming from the bathroom window" (the closest open window)

"meow...Meow..MEOOOOOW" again... 

i look at my front door, and there standing on my front step is a black and white kitty... a mister harley to be exact

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

i immediately think " whos been in my place!?" i know all of hy-town knows where my hidden key is..... then i remember my key isnt there.... so now i'm all confused (remember its been a looong day ending with a few beverages....)

i get to the front door scoop a very grateful kitty up and get inside..... i snuggle mister harley and cover him in kisses.... realizing how lucky i am.. how lucky he was... he's not an out door kitty.. he hasnt been outdoors... theres all kinds of not so nice things that could've happened to him....

then i go on the search to find how the heck he got out.....

sure enough one of my bedroom windows... screen is completely ripped out of the frame

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

so harley spent friday while i was at work in lock down... aka NO windows open.... and he will continue to be in lock down until i figure out how to harley proof my screens.....

this weekend.... i spent hours, many many hours.... working on christmas and holiday related stuff.... fun? yes.. kinda.... today was beautiful out... that part was not so fun...

i have 10 stinkin cute cards designed for just a lil ol event happening in july ;) 

AND i have my advent calendar *almost* done!! I'm going to head into the store early and diecut some numbers... staple gun a lil wire... sand some wood... and then we'll be good!!

here's a sneak peek of the calendars pieces ;) hehehehe....

..... and ..... i'll leave you with a better pic of the new jetta ;) who BTW got "laid" this weekend!! (thanks peg-a-licious)

a mister harley post

i know i know.... everyone wants to know how mister harley is.... i guess i need to find a better balance between crazy cat lady AND crafty girl :) 

here he is ;) 

sharing hogging my crafty space

 

we finally made a compromise.... for a few minutes at least....

i knew there was some nesting going on outside one of my bedroom windows.. cause the birds were driving harley crazy.... i went around back to see what was going on.... to find a lil egg... hope the baby made it.... and then mister harley wondering why i get to be outside :) 

and as i sit in bed and type this... he is all snuggled @ the end of the bed :) 

weekend recap

sooo it was a fun filled weekend :) 

fred mullett rolled into town.. he was every bit of the character i thought he was going to be :) this is a good thing.. he fit right in with us {creative chicks}... we tried to give him a job, but he had other stores waiting for him :) .... we set up the studio for his classes.... and then before i knew it, it was 5pm and i drove my silver jetta to tracy VW to switch it with a sparklin new white 2009 jetta ;) i'm sooo excited and LOVE it ;) i'll take better pics soon.. this was just a quick on with the ol iphone!

saturday was a busy day at the store.. lots of fish swimming around :) then i got to take one of fred's classes... elegant mess.. i LOVED it.. and plan to use the techniques in my art journal i have been working in :) 

 

i was surprised with flowers from a sweet friend.. just cause ;) 

and then i got to go on a lil road trip with my new baby :) headed on my way to RI... to capture my car hitting 100 miles.. and celebrate a very special lil guys FIRST birthday :) 

BUSY BUSY week at the store this week... working every day... 2 classes... including these lil beauties :)  inspired by claudine

this weekend will be filled with good tidings.... aka i'll be  swimming in holiday stuff.... creating cards for upcoming events and classes AND creating "the advent calendar" for 2009 :) as i'm going to start teaching it in JULY this year... to give you plenty of time to make more for gifts... or hang it early ( some people keep theirs up all year long ;) )

shurkus

yep. that's me... that my name, in some cases my nickname.. but it has always meant a lot ot me.. my last name ;) thats why i bought shurkus.com.... thats why i know i'm one of only TWO jenn shurkus's in the US...

crazy things like that..
this past christmas i remembered to pack my tripod and remote to capture this very special photo.

3 generations of SHURKUS

my dad, my great aunt steppie.. and me :).... oh yea, AND i'm scrappin again yippeee!!

stolen? no, borrowed ;)

hey! i'm appreciating these lilacs waaaaayyy more then if i left them on the bush outside.. all by them selves...then they wouldn't get me sniffing them every 10 minutes ;) check out who else stole a sniff ;)

i love lilacs.. they are simply my favorite flower ... EVER.... so sad they don't last longer.. or come around more then once a year.