Checking in… ‘down under’ recap

So, I’m checking in…  it’s good to be home. I’ve gotten a few nights of sleep, done a little laundry and had countless hugs from my girls. I’m back in action.

It’s Sketch Friday. Fun sketch today, and last night Jenn sent me a link to an adorable card made with this image. You’d think I could find the link just 12 hours later, right? No luck. The image is ‘checking in’ from Mo’s Digital Pencil. Of course, I had to make mine a mac girl. <wink> And, I do wish I looked this cute at 7 am.

Lot’s of fun sketch-spiration today with the cupcake samplers: Monika Davis  • Lisa Hjulberg • Lynn Mercurio • Melissa Sauls • Alice Wertz • Rachel Sztonsky • Sherrie Siemens and Jami Sibley.

Here are a few fun pictures from my trip to Australia.  It was a working trip, and I really don’t have that many photos except for the fabulous people we worked with:

Our first stop was Homebush Olympic Village – this was the view from our room. Everything was so close. I had never been to an Olympic Village before, so it was very cool to see and imagine the hustle and bustle of all the events going on.

This is the Sydney skyline from Homebush. The bridge is right on the harbour where we spent night #3. It was about 40 minutes by car to the harbour from here.

Last Thursday, we taught a certification class in Sydney Olympic Park – Homebush. It was a great group of ladies and gentleman. They all enjoyed watching Marianne get crazy with her Copics. This was right before she wowed them by coloring her hair.

This was the view of Darling Harbour from our room in downtown Sydney. Beautiful.

We were able to walk around the harbour on our only morning in downtown Sydney before a early afternoon flight. Lots of shops and restaurants.

Darling new friends from Australia: Kathy Jones and Mandi-Lee Klinger. Loved these girls. Wish they lived next door. Thank goodness for Skype! You’ll be seeing more and more of them as they forge the way to certify all of the Australian Copic lovers. They, along with sweet Debra James will be teaching the certification classes in Australia and New Zealand.

Our most gracious hosts for the week, Jonny Felbel and Jacqui Kaplan. They are part of the X-Press Graph-X Team that distributes Copic in Australia and New Zealand. Thank you to both of them for their hospitality during our visit. Instant friends, and I cannot wait to see them again. If you head to CHA Chicago, you just might run into Jonny. Word on the street is that he’s coming to America!

We spent the last 2 days of our trip working with Jonny, Jacqui, Debra, Kathy and Mandi to prepare them for their first certification classes. They were long days, but so worth it and surprisingly, very fun. The windows had been cleaned off by the time this picture was taken, but imagine Marianne being turned loose on those beautiful picture windows with a big ole window markers. Good times.

Lots of bakeries on Acland Street – I didn’t sample anything, but things sure looked good. 🙂

Great place to walk around and window shop for inspiration.

Yet another bakery. Very traditional Australia dessert for special occasions, Pavlova.  It looked beautiful.

Finally, the lighting wasn’t so hot at 7:15 am, but this is right out the front door at our hotel in Melbourne – St. Kilda, near Acland Street. We so enjoyed being able to walk around this area – Acland Street at night, and the beach in the mornings. The beach was so quiet at 6 am. I could be a beachy kind of girl. I know I could.

Sorry this was such a long post. I hope you enjoyed the brief glimpse of Copic life ‘down under’.

Thanks for stopping by, and have a wonderful weekend!