lisamitchell

Care to practise your Spanish...?

Hi there! Well I finally got my photos of Ranger U edited just how I like 'em, and I've posted them all up on my blog. The only problem is that it's my...Spanish...blog.

I hope you don't mind. It just seems like a heck of a lot of work to duplicate all those photos on both blogs.

Ranger U was a blast for me--international travel (getting to watch THREE entire movies on the flight with no interruptions! ;), hanging out with adults all day (a novel concept!), playing with all my favourite stuff...I was tickled to be there.
And to meet such a wonderful gang of women. As I got to know some of them a little bit better, I realised how hard they work, doing their best to keep their crafting businesses up and running in this challenging economy...while of course simultaneously busy with households, families, and a million other things all at once...doing that funny "pat your head, rub your tummy" dance. Not easy. 

I had some great laughs and really enjoyed spending 3 days in their company. I hope to run into them again, somewhere...sometime...hopefully doing something crafty and getting messy with ink and paint!

And of course it goes without saying that the Ranger Educators, Tim Holtz, Claudine Hellmuth and Suze Weinberg were all lovely to learn from. Very professional, yet all so easy-going, fun, and there to help us learn the best of everything Ranger. I can honestly say I'm happy to be a Certified Ranger Educator.

 

Anyway, if you'd like to see my photos from Ranger U, they are over here on my Spanish blog. (The post are in reverse chronological order)...Hope you enjoy 'em!

We're off for a few days to the country for some Easter holiday R&R. Hope you have a good week, wherever you may be! ...and Hoppy Easter!!

ps. here's a cap I bought myself in Newark airport. I just couldn't resist. I've had many people ask me if it was in Swedish...even by Swedish speakers!!

 

Gettin' organised...!

Well hey there! Howz it goin'?

I've been aiming to get some time to organise and edit my photos so I can share a bit on all the fun I had at Ranger U in New Jersey...however it just hasn't happened yet! (You know the John Lennon quote, "Life is what happens while you are making other plans"?...that's the skinny on it! :)

I do have a lovely group photo of everyone our last day:

 And in the meantime, I do know that Mario (of Ranger) was very busy with his Twitter posts and photos during each of the three days of Ranger U, so if you want to see a bit of what it was like, here's a link to his pics!

...I hope to be back soon, with those photos!

I'm goin' to New Jersey!

 

 This coming 12-14 March, I will be participating in Ranger U! (For those of you who have never heard of Ranger U before, or are not familiar with Ranger Industries Inc., I shall explain a wee bit!)

Ranger Industries Inc. is a well-known manufacturer of products in the stamping, scrapbooking, mixed media, jewellery and home décor industry. Twice a year, they offer a carefully-selected group of 24 store owners, instructors and published designers the opportunity to visit their New Jersey headquarters and receive training as “Certified Ranger Educators” via their training program, known as Ranger U. 

Ranger U is a full 3-day advanced hands-on curriculum with some 75 techniques that features Ranger products and the Tim Holtz, Claudine Hellmuth and Suze Weinberg signature lines. We work with Tim, Claudine and Suze throughout the duration of the course and have the opportunity to learn their “tricks of the trade”, up front and centre! Participants also get a behind-the-scenes look at Ranger Industries, their manufacturing facility, and learn about how Ranger products are made. 

Here are a few links to blog posts that Tim, Claudine and Suze shared about their sessions last year, just to give you an idea of how much fun is had at Ranger U!!

Tim 1

Tim 2

Tim video

Claudine 1

Suze 1

Suze 2

Suze 3

So it is indeed an exciting opportunity for me to be able to travel to the other side of the world to take part in this education and training experience! For someone like me, who loves Ranger products and uses them in just about every project I create, I don’t feel at all unlike Charlie when he’s about to visit Willy Wonka’s factory! 

Not only am I excited about everything I'll be learning, I am also looking forward to having the opportunity to meet and chat with the other participants who are all a part of the industry: store owners, instructors and designers coming from all over Canada, the US and Europe. 

I don’t doubt that I will be bursting with new ideas and inspiration when I get back from Ranger U, so if you’re interested in knowing how it all went, check back here sometime after the Ides of March!

Cheers and happy trails until then!