JoyOfStamping

I have always admired how much work and effort went into every “Tim Holtz” event… whether it be Ranger U, CHA, classes, demos, make and takes…. But I now have a new appreciation for it.

A few months ago, I tossed around the idea of going on Tim Holtz’s cruise to New England/Nova Scotia.  I tried talking my girlfriends Cami and Beate into coming.  But, things just weren’t panning out.  “Next Year!” I told myself.  “Maybe it will work out for us next year….”  Boy was I excited when Tim asked if I would assist him during the cruise.  He warned me that it would be a lot of work…. but I knew I was up for the challenge.

As time went on, I followed Mario on twitter and saw how much work was going into every event they attended.  Not only did they have a lot of work to do… but they were hardly ever home to get this stuff done.  So, I offered to help since Scrapfest and the cruise was just around the corner.  Well, they took me up on it.  And I’m so happy they did.  And these guys don’t mess around…..

I was on the first flight out Saturday morning.  I didn’t even know they had flights out at 6:45 in the morning…. especially on a Saturday.

MJ (Mario) was there to greet me as soon as I walked out of the gate from the plane.  I was happy he had a flight that arrived just minutes before mine.  Rarely do you get greeted at the gate anymore due to security…. But to see his smiling face was even more special! 🙂

As soon as I got to the house, I got checked in by my boss Michele! 🙂  I barely put my bags down and we were off and running.  Lots and lots to do!  My first task was to package one of the “gifts” to each of the cruisers.  Boy was it hard to work with so many yummy things to look at.  So much inspiration at that house.  But, I couldn’t get distracted… I didn’t want to get “fired”.  LOL!  But, when they say, “I need you to punch 320 circles” or “I need you to ‘on the edge’ 1020 of these papers… but after you cut them to the right size”, I did my best to concentrate and I could not believe how much time and effort each task took.  Tim, MJ, and Michele really do an amazing job with these class kits.  So much thought, effort, and love in every kit! 🙂

We worked every night until 11 pm and I would get up around 6:30 and get right back to work.  The days just flew by.  But time flies when you are having fun.  Although it was “work”, I enjoyed every minute of it.  I enjoyed chatting with sweet Michele.  She listened to me blabber and blabber since I was drinking 6 cups  of MJ’s coffee every day.  I swear he puts crack in it to make it extra addictingly yummy!  First cup at 7 am and one last at 9:30 at night. And who mind’s working when you get a view like this:

Did I mention food?  OMG!  MJ is the best!  We never went hungry…. and the food was delicious.  Pot Roast, Steak and Potatoes, grilled chicken sandwiches, BBQ chicken sandwiches with mac & cheese, hamburgers, nachos… (and blue moon).  Sorry this picture is so dark.  I grabbed my phone to take a pic before we dug in.

Here are just SOME of the things we were able to accomplish over the 4 days that I was there:

Sure miss it there…. Can’t wait to go back and “help” some more! 🙂  And I can’t wait for the cruise!!!!!