tifsmith

I [heart] Portugal

2012-05-17T10:21:00.000-06:00

Two weeks ago a returned home from Portugal with a promise that I would blog about it. When I sat down to do it I discovered that my blog was having some major issues (possibly due to neglect) and was not publishing. So after much fussing I am finally able to post!

Oh Portugal, how I love you! I think that I should be make an official ambassador of tourism. I have never been anywhere so beautiful with such warm and amazing people.

It was my privilege to teach an album class at the Chocolate Quente XL 2012 This is my third time teaching at the event and each time just gets better and better.

This years event was held in Lisbon so the day before we did some sight seeing in Sintra, an amazing city in a wooded hill top. Leonor was a great guide and we were in awe of her ability to parallel park in the tiniest of spots.

This years teaching team consisted of myself, Patricia Villas-Boas, Teresa Collins and Paula Pascual.

Patricia has become on of my dearest friends, almost a sister. She is the owner of the event as well as a distributor and shop owner in addition to being a wife and mother of four beautiful children. I often wonder how she manages to do it all and with such grace and love. I have known Teresa causally for several years now but over the course of our trip got to know her much better. We found that we have so many common experiences and views, a new friendship to be cherished as well. And then there is Paula, Patricia told me that I would love her and she was right! Paula is a wonderful person and so incredibly talented! I loved hearing her stories of how she and her husband met and came to be married. I hope to have many more opportunities to spend time with her in the future. We all had so much fun talking and laughing it was hard to go to bed at night.

All photos are borrowed from Patricia, Teresa and Paula since I had to leave my big camera home for Kensie to use for school.

This is my first class at the event. They were a fun and rowdy group! At the end of every class we would all compare notes and tell each other that we just had the best group. I love getting to know each of the students. Some of them have been coming for all three years and for some it was their first experience in scrapbooking ever. You would never be able to tell that Scrapbooking is new to their culture. They are all so talented! They do everything from bookbinding to carton making. All with precision and incredible attention to detail. I may be the teacher but I have learned a lot from them.

I feel so blessed to be a part of these events and I look forward to the next time and seeing all of my new friends again.

And the winner is...

2011-08-08T14:25:00.000-06:00

Thank you so much to all of you who commented. The lucky winner is Laura Evangeline! If you would email me at tiffani@tifsmith.com, I will make sure that you receive your package of Country Drive.

Country Drive giveaway

2011-07-29T12:00:00.009-06:00

As a special thanks for stopping by I am having a give away. Comment on this post for a chance to win a package of my Country Drive paper collection that I designed for Echo Park. I'll announce the winner on Monday, August 11th. Good luck!

Welcome

2011-07-29T12:00:00.002-06:00

I am nervously excited to get this site up and running. I hope that it will be a good way to share what I am dreaming of and working on. I am looking forward to sharing my thoughts and designs with you.

I have been working in the scrapbook industry for several years now. Although, I have loved everything that I have done, I have always longed to create products of my own. I decided that the time was finally right to pursue that goal and I am happy to say that my first paper collection Country Drive, was released in June. This is a new and exciting chapter in my life and I am excited to share it with you all.

My home and studio are connected together in a way that it is sometimes hard to know where one part of me starts and the other ends. My husband and children are a constant source of inspiration for my work so I am sure there will be a mix of design and family life to be found here.

Thanks for stopping by!