I'm up on the Elle's Studio blog today with this page I created using Elle's January cut files...head on over to Elle's Studio to see more and to read about how my layout came together...

A few weeks ago I was contacted by a super-nice guy named Tom who is part of The Murder Mystery Co.

That's right.

The Murder Mystery Co. 

As soon as I read it I knew EXACTLY what he was talking about.

Tom asked if I'd like to see a show and I was like...ummmm...YES!!!

A murder mystery is something I'd always wanted to be a part of...I mean, who hasn't seen these awesome dinner-theater shows played out on TV in almost every sitcom ever made? (Just between you and me, the murder mystery on Saved by the Bell was my favorite...no judging).

Now, if you're still unsure of what I'm talking about...here's a little snippet from the show's website:

.....

Tom got our show reservations all set up and we invited some of our best friends to join us for the evening.

Because the show is full of audience participation, you are asked to dress up in the style of the show's theme. The theme of our show was "Best Laid Plans - An Old Hollywood Whodunit" and it was so much fun! Our little group dressed in just fancier clothes...but when we arrived we saw that some people had gone all out with their costumes! It was really so cool...women with feather boas & gloves, men wearing 3piece suits and hats - really everyone looked so great...it makes me wish I had put some more thought into my outfit!

When we arrived at the venue we grabbed a few drinks at the bar and then were told that seating was beginning. We had our photos taken (with props!) and we were greeted by our host for the evening - Warren Peace - the owner of the "house" where the evening would take place and that night's murder victim (insert that dah-dah-DAH sound effect here).

Mr. Peace's maid, Oola La (seriously, the character's names were great...), led us to our seats and made sure we were comfortable.


And once everyone was seated, the evening began.

The "detective" assigned to the soon-to-be murder came around to all of the tables to introduce himself and to let us know how the mystery would go down...he also took this time to assign suspect roles to a number of people. My husband was even assigned to be a suspect! It was really pretty cool!

All of the "rules" of the evening were laid out and the mystery was underway...

Each of the chosen suspects was given a backstory they were allowed to share with everyone at their table. We were asked to circulate the room to ask questions of the actors and about the other suspects' stories - well, we actually had to bribe them for information (with "money" provided by the show)...and, every so often, one of the actors would divulge new information to us that would help us to solve the mystery.

By the end of the 2 hours, we had eaten a great meal and had acquired, presumably, all the info we needed to figure out the murderer. We were given just a few minutes to decide (as a table) whodunit and why and to write that information down.

And guess what??? Our table figured it out correctly! We solved the case! We didn't win the award at the end of the night, however, because a different table had a better explanation of what happened than we did - but we went home with the satisfaction of knowing how awesome we are at murder investigations...(smile).

We had such a good time at the show...we all laughed out loud and really enjoyed the evening.

The actors were really fantastic, too...really funny and great at improv. I mean - how hard must it be to act when half of the people you're working with have no idea what's going on?

All in all, the show was wonderful...and it was definitely something I would do again.

How about you? Have you ever seen a murder mystery show? Did you even know they were a real thing???

The Murder Mystery Co. has 2 types of events...public shows (like the one we attended) and private events. So cool, right? Can you imagine booking a murder mystery for an office or birthday party? Fun!!! Check out murdermysterydinnerchicago.com for all the info...

And guess what? If you head over to The Murder Mystery Co. right now you can get 50% off your tickets! What?! I know! Half-price, baby!

There are a number of different shows at 2 different venues in Chicagoland - but The Murder Mystery Co. has shows all over the US, so if you aren't close to Chicago - no worries! You can still be part of a fantastic evening! Click here to get more info on shows outside of Illinois.

Thank you so much to Tom & to The Murder Mystery Co. for a great Saturday night!

I just LOVE a fresh start, don't you?

A New Year...a million opportunities to begin again...to make changes, big or small...to just refresh.

And what's more? Today is the 10th! So you know what that means, right?

The Elle's Studio January Kit is now LIVE and it's SO AWESOME!

Here's the kit...




I just LOVE when Elle adds those pops of black to her cards...right up my alley...



And here are some of the wonderful extras that go along with this month's kit...acrylics, wood veneer & PUFFY HEART STICKERS! Plus that darling Olivia alpha stamp & Valentine's Day stickers!


And here are this month's printables and digital cut-files...perfect to use in digital OR hybrid scrapping!

OK...so now that you've seen the kit items, you wanna see the projects that I created with them? I used this month's cut-files in both of my projects...!!!









...don't forget: the limited edition, the exclusive January Kit is on sale right now for $9.99 - but at midnight PST that price will change to $11.99 - so make sure to get yours! Kit add-ons (which are created to coordinate with the main kit) are also limited and will no longer be available once they are sold out...don't wait!
PLUS! Elle's Studio is now offering subscription options as well! Woo hoo! 

Getting a subscription guarantees you a kit each month, locks you into the $9.99 price AND gets you FREE (USA) or reduced (International) shipping on anything added to your box on the 10th! So good, right?!



And just fyi...here are the direct links for all of the new stuff now available:

All NEW products can be found HERE

January Kit

All My Heart Stamp

Olivia Alphabet Stamp

Puffy Heart Stickers

Sequins - Love Mix

XO Stickers

Love Ya Wood Veneer Circles

True Love Wood Veneer

Brr! Acrylic:

Be Mine Acrylic Heart

Always Acrylic Heart

Acrylic Frosted Hearts

ValentineBanner Stickers

LoveYou Journaling Tags

TrueLove Printables

January2017 Cut Files

You know how Studio Calico offers the coolest Scrapbook, Documenter, & Planner subscriptions right?

Well did you know that you can add a corresponding Kit Workshop to your subscription each month that will give you ideas and inspiration on how to use those kits?

For just $5/month (I know! So awesome!) you will get (per workshop) - 3 projects, 3 process videos, 3 sketches, an exclusive digital file (!!!), additional contributor inspiration AND a private class message board!

I'm teaching this month's Scrapbook Workshop and I'm so stoked about the projects I've created! Here's a little sneak of one of them:


And my class contributors, Jen Schow, Ashley Horton & AnnaMaria Wolniak have put together some AWESOME inspiration - sure to help you work your way through any creative block!

The Documenter and Planner Kit Workshops (taught by Jen Chapin & Theresa Doan) are jam-packed with amazing, too! Here are a few sneaks...



So so good, right?

Want to learn more?

Just click HERE to read all of the details and to start your Workshop subscription...

...and then get ready to create, create, CREATE!

See you in class!

Happy New Year everyone!

I'm so so excited to announce that I will continue to be working with Elle's Studio as part of the 2017 Design Team!

I can't tell you how happy I am that Elle asked me to be on the team again...and I'm SO STOKED about the other designers I'll be working with!

Some of my FAVORITE DESIGNERS EVER are included in that photo down there!

Make sure to visit everyone's blogs (links below) to see more of their work...and stay up-to-date with all of our Elle's Studio work at shopellesstudio.com