Stampin' With Kim

The View

2009-03-01T05:30:00.000-06:00

Hubby and I took a drive a couple of weeks ago looking for property. I took this picture between the town we live in now and the town we are going to move to. Isn't it just gorgeous? We love it here. Of course, right now everything is brown and dreary... It's winter, what do you expect?
Some of you that are not from Southeast Texas (or other similar areas) will not be impressed with our hills... But for me (a lifelong Southeast Texas girl), this view is fabulous!

Easter Chick

2009-02-28T18:10:00.003-06:00

Since we have been moving and updating our house to put on the market, I haven't had a lot of time to create. So, when I saw the PCP sketch challenge and CBC's color challenge, I thought I would kill three birds with one stone (card)! I have made 58 of these little guys to send out as my Easter cards to friends and family! Woo-hoo!

And I noticed Courtney's post about the SRDT challenge for doing the inside of the card. That is always easy for me! I decorate the inside of my card every single time!

Anyway, I had a blast doing this. It was nice to have gotten my stuff unpacked to a point that I could get back to my desk and create!

Stay tuned. There will continue to be more to come!

Hello Again!

2009-02-27T00:08:00.002-06:00

Hello everyone! I bet you all thought that I had fallen off the face of the earth... But no!!! :)

Things have just been way more crazy than I anticipated. I won't go into details here, but suffice it to say that moving from the city to the country has its own set of problems that I never foresaw!!!!

We had our first country episode tonight. I'm smiling now, but I wasn't when it happened...

I was sitting watching a movie (argh - that's a whole other story) when I started smelling a smell that I can't even describe. The best way is to say that it smelled like some kind of chemical burning. My eyes started watering and my head started hurting. It was awful. I went to the back door and the odor was getting stronger and stronger. It was aw-w-w-w-ful.

It didn't take long and the whole house smelled like it. I went outside and it was worse out there. Then it dawned on me where I have smelled something like it... on the highway...

Well, it seems that a skunk walked past the fence in the yard and the dogs started barking at it. Well, Mr. Skunk did what all good skunks do and sprayed! Best I can tell is that he missed the dogs, but the neighbors will probably never forgive us for this! The smell lingered for about 2 hours outside.

However, when I left home to come to the PD to post this, my house still smelled awful! :(

Since things are beginning to get a little more back to normal, I am hoping to start posting more regularly again. Keep checking back for pictures and projects. ...and more tales of country life!

Absence

2009-01-04T18:17:00.002-06:00

Hello all! I just got back into Beaumont on my way to Stampin' Up! Leadership Convention in Orlando. Will try to post some entries from Orlando of photos that we take there. Will be at the mercy of others there with their laptops... So, we'll see!

Hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and Happy New Year!

Happy New Year

2008-12-31T17:37:00.003-06:00

Hello all! Happy New Year! I have been down for the count since Saturday with a wicked case of the flu. I am sitting in the police department in Sabinal checking e-mail and posting some blog comments. Have my dear hubby tapping his fingers and toes wanting me to hurry so that we can go home and go back to bed. This stuff has been hard to kick. Anyway, I wanted to post this to let everyone know that I haven't fallen off the face of the earth. Am just recovering from the flu and have no internet at home yet.

Hope you all have a great New Year's!

Day After Christmas Blahs!

2008-12-26T14:23:00.003-06:00

Well, my travel/move luck has held out! My husband (who is now a night owl for real) left to head back home at 1 AM this morning. He has to be at work at 6 PM to work a 12 hour shift, so he wanted to get home so that he could sleep at his normal time and try to get back on schedule. He took my car because one of his headlights went out on our trip here and we didn't get a chance to get it replaced before today. I was going to leave around 9 AM this morning and be there well before dark so headlight out would not be an issue for me.

Well, I got up this morning and got into the car to turn it around so that I could put my load in the car. When I got out and walked around the car to go inside, guess what???? Flat, I mean totally flat, tire! Tires are fairly new. Especially considering that this is the car that I have been keepin here with me while he drove my car back and forth from Sabinal!

Luckily Eric's uncle lives nearby and rescued me with a jack and tire iron! I then ran the tire over to the shop where we bought it. They are going to repair or replace at no charge, but they are VERY backed up today... I am still sitting at my house at 2:30 PM waiting on the call that the tire is ready and I can come and let them install it on the car... At this rate, I won't be in Sabinal until 10 PM... And will have driven as long without a headlight as Eric would have had to if he had driven the car this morning!

What a way to end the Christmas holiday!

Hope your day after is going better than mine!

Winter Break

2008-12-26T05:30:00.000-06:00

Hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and got to spend the day exactly as they wanted to.

I just wanted to let everyone know that I will be taking a break from blogging for a while... Longer than I would like... :(

We are moving the computer today. That doesn't pose a problem except that we do not have internet in Sabinal yet. Don't know when it will be installed either. I will call Monday and then decide if I need to just buy an aircard.

Besides that, my last minute packing has come back to bite me "you know where"... :( I am just putting stuff in any old box that it will fit. So much for organizing as I packed and keeping everything neat and ready to unpack and go to work... Now it will take me twice as long to unpack... Yuck! :(

So, I feel certain it will be some time after the first of the year before I will get to start creating. That makes me sad. What makes me sadder is that I probably won't start creating again until after SU's Leadership!!! :( At least I don't have to worry about swaps... I have the perfect excuse for not having anything... "It's packed!" LOL

Hope you all have a wonderful New Year! I will "see" you again in 2009!

Merry Christmas!

2008-12-25T08:52:00.003-06:00

No images to send today... We remembered to get the camera in Sabinal and bring it to Beaumont, but forgot to bring it to family Christmas last night. So, I will be at the mercy of my Dad and sisters to provide me with images from last night! We had a good time, but it was bittersweet... We won't get to have nearly as many family get togethers like that with us so far away. :(

My sister has started the most wonderful tradition. Her and her girls bake a birthday cake for Jesus. Then, at our family Christmas on Christmas Eve, we all sing Happy Birthday to Jesus and cut Santa a piece of birthday cake! I thought that was such a great way to keep the little ones plugged into what Christmas is all about!

I did get a wonderful card and letter from an old friend that I met while "we" were in the Navy in Virginia. I haven't heard from her in 7 1/2 years! Renewed friendships... What a GREAT Christmas gift!

I hope that Santa brings you all exactly what you wanted. But I also hope that during this time with your friends and family that you take the time to stop and reflect what we are really celebrating: The gift of Christ our Lord.

Merry Christmas!!!

Candy Jars

2008-12-25T05:30:00.000-06:00

My sisters and I do not exchange gifts anymore. We just all get together and eat and play games on Christmas Eve. Works great for us because we don't have the stress of buying gifts. We just take that one evening during the holidays to relax and enjoy each other. After all, that's what it is all about! Big sis (me) can't follow that to the letter! Never has been able to! I always do stockings for everyone (even my dad!)... Since I don't have children and doing for my nieces is my only way to get to do all that fun stuff, my sisters tolerate my breaking the rules! :) This year my stockings are all packed and I don't even want to think about trying to find them in the maze of boxes at our house in Sabinal... So, I am giving gift bags and baskets for Christmas this year. Will contain all the same fun stuff. I made these jars today to put in my sisters baskets. I was finishing up packing my stamp room when I found these two empty Starbuck's Frappacino bottles that I had already washed and cleaned to make some of my ribbon holders. I decided that I could make a couple of candy jars instead to put in their baskets this year!

I just put a leftover rub on on the front of each jar (actually more than one on the front of each jar!). Then I tied a red and white striped ribbon around the neck of the jar. To cover up the logo on the cap, I put white rub ons on red cardstock and punched out using the 1 3/8" circle punch. Then I punched out a white 1 3/4" circle punch and attached the red circles to these. I adhered the circles to the caps with gold brads. Since the bottles were already prepped, this was quick and easy!

Hope you all have a VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

Snow Swirled Tree

2008-12-24T05:30:00.001-06:00

This is the third of my Christmas cards. Unfortunately, I won't be posting 4th and 5th because they went in the mail before I thought about taking a picture... I was rushing to get all of the ones that are going out of state out the door and just plain ole' forgot... I really like SU's Snow Swirled stamp set. It's simple, but so easy to make versatile! The only thing I wish I had done differently is added some gold embossed small snoflakes on the tree... However, after all the cutting and embossing that I did on the ornament card... We'll see!
This card is using Bravo Burgundy, Always Artichoke and Brushed Gold cardstock. I used Always Artichoke and Bravo Burgundy stamp pads. Rounded the whole card off with Bravo Burgundy 5/8" grosgrain ribbon.

What Was I Thinking??????

2008-12-23T05:30:00.001-06:00

Here is another of my cards for this year. The picture does not do this card justice. I just couldn't get anything that I was satisfied with. Each of the ornaments is several layers of embossed snowflakes... I used SU's Snow Swirled set. I stamped and embossed several of each of 2 of the snowflakes on Kiwi Kiss and Brushed Gold cardstock. Then I cut out the snowflakes. I cut away different parts of each one so that as I layered them, you could see parts of the snowflake underneath... Do you know how many snowflakes I have stamped, embossed and cut??? Let's see, 5 snowflakes for each card and I am making 20 of them... Oh, and I am putting 2 inside the card... Ok, have to stop thinking about it or I am gonna stress out!
But my friends and family are definitely worth it!!!!

Penguins, Penguins, Penguins

2008-12-22T05:30:00.001-06:00

Here is one of my Christmas cards that I am making. I get too bored making 85 of the absolutely same card, so I usually divide things up and make 4 or 5 different cards. I always make 20 or 25 of each. That means that I have some leftovers. But am I ever glad for those extras when I get that unexpected card... Just address it and drop it in the mail! That is going to be especially handy this year since so much of my supplies are in flux between two houses! And then, if I have some left over, I just stick them back and I am ahead of the game next year... I am constantly adding new friends to my card list, so they will typically get last years card... If there were any left!
To get the 3-D effect, I adhered the furtherest layer of snow and the left penguin with snail. The closest layer of snow and the snowman were adhered with a single layer of dimensionals. The middle penguin was adhered with two layers of dimensionals. The stamp set I used was SU's Punch Pals. I used Bashful Blue and Whisper White cardstock. Black Stazon, SU's markers and dazzling diamonds glitter round it out!

Blog Candy

2008-12-20T08:24:00.002-06:00

Hello all! Chrissy is celebrating 60,000 hits to her blog with BLOG CANDY! Go here to see more. She has the cutest tin with all kinds of goodies in it! She is so creative! You really should go see!

CBCC #19 & Belli #46

2008-12-19T09:09:00.004-06:00

Hey all! I have done both of these cards for blog challenges. I made them for the Created by Courtney Challenge #19. Go here to see more about this challenge. The other challenge that I had in mind while designing was the Belli Challenge #46. Go here to see more about this challenge.

For this card, I used a piece of birthday paper that has presents all over it. I cut out some of my favorite presents on the paper and created a cascade of gifts done the middle of the card. I used Basic Black and Whisper White cardstock. The Green Galore DS paper is from SU, but I don't remember which group (sorry)! The stamp is from SU's Upsy Daisy and stamped in Basic Black. A piece of Certainly Celery 5/8" grosgrain ribbon from SU finishes it off. This was definitely my favorite of the two.

For this card, I used a piece of wrapping paper that had those great glittery flowers all over it. You can see a small sample of the paper on the card! I used Rose Red, Pirouette Pink and Regal Rose card stock. The stamp is from SU's Wow Flowers and stamped in Rose Red. A piece of Rose Red Stitched Ribbon from SU finishes is off.
I am coming down with a cold, so I wasn't feeling all that creative today. But I wanted to make sure and get this posted today! I won't have any posts over the weekend. I am about to shut the crazy computer down (not really!) and get busy. I have to have all the last of the "stuff" packed before I go to bed tonight... :( More to come on Monday!

DS Paper Ornament

2008-12-19T05:30:00.004-06:00

I went to my niece's Christmas program at school yesterday. They had the halls decorated with the coolest ornaments made out of construction paper. I really looked them over and came straight home and made one! So this is courtesy of Kountze Intermediate School!

Believe it or not, this is made from a 6" x 6" piece of DS paper! It is cool enough to be stand alone...

However, it is only 1/6th of the star! Isn't this the coolest? And it only took 1 1/2 sheets of DS paper. This one is made with Riding Hood Red and Kiwi Kiss DS Prints.

When I get a few minutes, I will post a tutorial... However, it will be after this weekend. Gotta get this stuff packed!

Side note: When I made this, I used snail... Don't recommend you do that. Especially not in areas of high humidity like down here in Southeast Texas! My star was pretty sad looking this morning!

More Monkeys

2008-12-18T07:55:00.003-06:00

With all the packing that has been going on, I haven't had much time to do any stamping or scrapping! :( The fact that a LOT of my stamp room is already packed doesn't help either! While I was going through my samples to decide what to give away and what to keep, I found this and decided to post. It was so EASY, but I think it turned out adorable.
This is just a white SU bag. I scalloped one end of the cardstock and then folded it in 1/2. I used riding hood red and chocolate chip cardstock. The piece of checkered paper is from SU's Bella Rose DS paper. I added a piece of chocolate chip 5/8" grosgrain ribbon and the little frame from the styled silver hodgepodge hardware... And Voila'... A cute little gift bag with little effort at all!

Almost Homemade Christmas Ornaments

2008-12-17T05:30:00.000-06:00

For the Stampin' Up! Christmas party Sunday night, we were supposed to bring an ornament to exchange. Most everyone brought homemade ornaments last year. As usual, I waited until the last second and then just couldn't manage to think of anything... So off to the store I went to purchase an ornament...
I found these cool ornaments at Joann's. I thought their turquoise blue, brown, off white and gold stripes were just funky enough for me. Then on the way home, I remembered that I had some leftover Christmas rub-ons. I then rubbed on some images in the middle brown stripe and Voila'... Almost homemade!

New Stampin' Up! Sneak Peek

2008-12-16T05:30:00.000-06:00

For our Stampin' Up! Christmas party tonight, we are doing a card swap using the new SU products that will be out in the sneak peek...
This is my card. I used some of our new DS paper. I just love Kiwi Kiss with all these pinks! On this card I used Kiwi Kiss, Pink Pirouette and Regal Rose. It is also using one of the new embosslits that coordinates with one of the new stamp sets!

Big Shot Card

2008-12-15T05:30:00.000-06:00

I actually made this card to satisfy two challenges! One was Courtney's sketch challenge a few weeks ago. I wasn't able to get a picture of it until now, so I actually didn't get to enter the sketch challenge. However, it also satisfied my swap challenge for our Stampin' Up! group. We had to design a card using the Big Shot and medium other than paper or card stock.

If you can't tell, the two printed scallop circles are both fabric. I actually got out the needle and thread to gather the green scallop circle! I thought I had forgotten how!

It was fun meeting designing a card that would meet both needs!

Christmas Tin

2008-12-14T12:04:00.003-06:00

We are having our Stampin' Up! Christmas party tonight. We are doing an ornament exchange. Have to bring the ornaments wrapped.... so, I decided to kill two birds with one stone!

Courtney's challenge for this week is polka dots. I know this is not a card, but I managed to make a Christmas tin to wrap my ornament in and use polka dots... Lots of polka dots! There are even brown polka dots on the red trim on the little ornaments. Camera just didn't capture that very well!

Hope you all enjoy!

SNOW!!!

2008-12-13T12:49:00.003-06:00

Hey all! We had snow on Thursday. Eric and I spent a huge chunk of time Wednesday evening loading the U-Haul getting ready to hit the road on Thursday. We stopped short of completing because it was getting late and much too cold! :) However, on Thursday morning we were regretting that decision! We had to finish loading in the SNOW!!! News said that it was 5"!!!

Hard to believe that this is a picture of a Southeast Texas town that NEVER sees snow and definitely not before Christmas!

Of course, we had to stop our loading for a little while to have a snowball fight and play a little bit!

Blog Candy Winner

2008-12-10T09:11:00.005-06:00

Hey guys! Sorry that I didn't post yesterday. My DH (Eric) came home Monday night and we hit the floor yesterday getting ready to take a HUGE load of our stuff to Sabinal. And time just got away from me.

For those of you that don't know it, I am moving to Sabinal, Texas. That is one of the reasons that I really kicked my blog up a notch. I wanted to have a way to stay in touch with all my friends and customers from here!

So, drum roll please.... My first ever winner of blog candy is..... DONNA.

I am using post names because I am still too new to this and am not sure how to go and find out anything else!

Donna please contact me privately with your snail mail address so that I can get this candy on its way to you! (I have now put my e-mail contact on my profile page... Have patience, I am a newbie at this!) If you can get it to me today, I will get it mailed before I leave town today. Otherwise, I may have to mail it on Saturday. :(

Ok, so now the bad news... I will not be posting again until this weekend. We are leaving for Sabinal at zero dark thirty tomorrow morning and I won't be back until Friday night. And we don't have internet in Sabinal yet!

So, have a great rest of the week!

Way To Go Scrapbook Page

2008-12-07T05:30:00.000-06:00

This scrapbook page also uses the supplies from the card and tin. I thought it would be perfect for scrapbooking that picture of the touchdown, the soccer goal, the homerun, etc.

All three of the projects that featured the Rock Star Card Elements Kits were made from the same kit! And I still have lots left. I added some brads and some Bashful Blue Grosgrain Ribbon to the kit to change it up a bit. These projects are the projects that will be featured in the accessory club class on December 12, 2008 at my home. If you are interested in coming, please contact me separately for more details!

Rock Star Card

2008-12-06T05:30:00.001-06:00

This card was also created with all the supplies that I listed on the tin yesterday. The card elements kits from Stampin' Up! are awesome.

How cute to give that tin with a couple of Hot Wheels cars in it along with this card?

Another Teacher Gift

2008-12-05T20:22:00.004-06:00

Hey guys! Forgive for the late post. Just been a crazy couple of days. I went with 4 of my girlfriends to eat and see a movie at lunchtime! For someone that has worked almost every day of her life since high school (and, believe me, that is a lo-o-o-o-ong time!), I felt so decadent. It was fabulous!

Anyway, here is another great idea for a teacher or classmate gift.

I found these tins at a local dollar store. They had incense in them. I found them over a year ago. I bought all they had. Gave away the incense, washed them and left them open to air. I decorated using my star die for the Sizzix Big Shot, Stampin' Up!'s star punches and the Rock Star Card Elements Kit.

So, you never know where you will find the perfect little container to decorate and use!

Bagalope Tutorial

2008-12-04T05:30:00.002-06:00

Here is the bagalope tutorial. These are so-o-o-o easy to make and too stinkin' cute!

Here's what you need:

1. Plain envelope. I used the standard small mailing envelope. Not sure what size that is called.
2. Background stamp. Wheels are awesome for these.
3. Embellishment.
4. Ribbon.

Step 1: Seal envelope... Yes, seal envelope!

Step 2: Stamp your background image on both sides of the envelope.

Step 3: Cut off the top of the envelope. (If you use a #10 envelope, cut it in half and make 2 bagalopes!)

Step 4: Score 1/2" on the 3 uncut sides. (To change the dimensions of your bagalope, score at 3/4")

Step 5: Fold your scored edges and run a bone folder over them to make sure they have a good sharp fold.

Step 6: Insert your hand into the bag to pop it open.

Step 7: Push the bottom up. You will end up with two triangular shaped tabs on the bottom. Fold under like you would on a present. Adhere to the bottom.

Step 8: Punch two round tabs out using the Round Tab punch from Stampin' Up!

Step 9: Fold the round tabs over and adhere one to each side at the top of the bag.

Step 10: Punch holes in the top of the round tabs.

Step 11: Tie ribbon through the two holes in the round tabs to close bag. (of course, wait until you put your item in there!)

Step 12: Add your embellishment.

If you don't have the round tab punch, you can just fold over the top of the bag (like a lunch bag), punch two holes side by side in the fold over and run your ribbon through there and tie.

Hope you have fun experimenting with these adorable bagalopes!

Christmas Light Bag

2008-12-03T05:30:00.004-06:00

While shopping on Friday, my sister was stressing about what to get her daughter's classmates and teachers for Christmas. If she included all the teachers (like dance teachers, speech teacher, day care teachers, etc.), she was going to have to get 60 gifts. If you spend $5 a person, that is still EXPENSIVE! So, I talked her into making the gift bags that are all the rage on the internet right now. For this one, I used all Stampin' Up! paper, cardstock and ribbon. I used a die from Sizzix to make the cute little light bulbs.

She added some playdough and candy for the kids and either a small lotion or large candy bar for the teachers. All those gifts and still within her budget! Miracles do happen!

Hope you like!

Glitter Flower Tutorial

2008-12-03T05:30:00.003-06:00

As promised (a week ago!), here is the tutorial for the glitter flower. What you will need:

1. White silk flower (I used the large one from the Pretties Kit from Stampin' Up!)
2. Crystal Effects
3. Ink Refill in your choice of colors (I used Lavendar Lace from Stampin' Up!).
4. Fine glitter. (Stampin' Up!'s fine glitters work GREAT!)
5. 2 styrofoam papers plates (or other disposal surface)
6. Old paintbrush

Step 1: Put about a quarter size of Crystal Effects on your plate. (this looks more than a quarter because it has spread out before I got the picture taken!) Add several drops of ink refill. (I used 3 for this tutorial)
Step 2: Mix the two together very well.

Step 3: Paint the Crystal Effects mixture all over the flower. Be sure not to be stingy with the mixture and cover the flower completely.

Step 4: Move the flower to the clean plate (this just keeps from wasting a lot of glitter on all the glue that is on the first plate). Cover the flower completely with fine glitter. Let dry completely.

Step 5: Just add a smaller flower and a brad into the center of the flower and it is ready to use in your glitzy and glam project!

Experiment with color by adding more ink refill. Or mix and match the color of your ink refill and your glitter to add some funkiness to your project. Let your imagination go wild!

Blog Candy

2008-12-02T15:09:00.004-06:00

For those of you that are new to blogging, blog candy is something that is given away after completing a few minor tasks set forth! I am posting my first ever blog candy! You can enter your name into a drawing to receive the items pictured below by doing the following:

1. Post a comment on this post (see below).
2. E-mail your friends (and copy me) about my blog.

That's it! Do these two little things and you will be entered into a drawing for the items pictured. I will draw names from those entered next Tuesday morning!

What is pictured?

1. Stack of 25 sheets of 2 sided patterned paper cut to 6"x6".
2. Stack of 50 sheets of 1 sided patterned paper cut to 6"x6".
3. Bag of Stampin' Up! colored eyelets (at least 50 in the bag).
4. Stack of 10 textured pink 3"x3" notecards.
5. 4 sentiment stamps.

That 's a lot of scrapbooking and cardmaking stuff all up for grabs!

Christmas Bagalope

2008-12-02T15:03:00.004-06:00

Hello all! Sorry it has been so long since I have posted. No camera, holidays, packing... You name it. So many things have kept me away. But I am back now!

I made this cute little bagalope for Created By Courtney's Challenge, but with no camera, I wasn't able to get it posted on my blog until now. But I just had to share it! It was just too stinkin' cute!

For those of you who have never heard of a bagalope... It is a little gift bag made from a plain old envelope. I have my sister's camera for a couple of hours, so I will create a tutorial and post later! Hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Glitter, glitter and more glitter

2008-11-24T09:38:00.004-06:00

Hey! Once I venture out and get the camera, I will post a tutorial on how to make this card. I am VERY proud of this one. I was the one that invented the technique for making the flower sparkle with glitter! I hope you like it... And remember to return to see how to make this fabulous flower!

Shopping With My Nieces

2008-11-24T09:27:00.003-06:00

Hey all! I have not gotten to get a camera yet! I didn't strike out on my own to do it since my sister had called and asked me to go to Target with her and her two kids (Kaytee - 6 and Emberlee - 3)... If I am at home when she has to go shopping, she typically gives me a call so that I can help with interference with the kiddos!

Anyway, when she picked me up, she asked if we could go to the mall for a minute because she needed to pick up the girls matching sweaters for this year. (that is the only thing that she purchases identical for her two girls. Every year she gets a Rugby sweater just alike for them to wear to family Christmas events.) Well, as is usual, a quick trip to the mall started to stretch out and wasn't just a one stop trip!

Now that you have the backstory, here is the real story! :) Emberlee fell asleep between my house and the mall (5 minute trip). So, she wasn't the happiest of little people when we got there and woke her up. While we were shopping, Kayla decided to use the old bribe of "If you are good, you will get a cookie before we leave"... Well, Emberlee decided she wanted her cookie NOW! And proceeded to announce to the entire mall in her little 3 year old shrill screech that she wanted a cookie!!! When Kayla reached the exit, I was at least 100 yards from her (she was pratically running) and could still hear Emberlee screaming for her cookie!

Needless to say our evening of shopping was over. When she dropped me off, I had completely forgotten that I needed to purchase a camera while we were out! So, I plan to get out today and get one!

Blog Candy

2008-11-22T22:28:00.002-06:00

Courtney has the most AWESOME blog. She is always giving away things and having contests. Here is the link to her latest blog candy...

http://createdbycourtney.blogspot.com/2008/11/i-am-so-thankful.html

You should hop on over and see what she has for grabs!

Blogging 101

2008-11-22T22:15:00.002-06:00

Well, you guys will surely notice a difference in my blog over the next couple of days. I have attended the "Created By Courtney" blog school tonight! Have learned lots of things and you guys will definitely benefit from it!

Right now my DH has our camera with him in Sabinal. I will be purchasing an inexpensive digital camera tomorrow for my very own so that I won't miss anymore opportunities to post pictures of projects to my blog!

So, stay tuned... There is definitely more to come!

Circles and More Circles

2008-11-17T07:00:00.001-06:00

No, this is not a post about how I feel like I am chasing my tail... Going in circles and circles! This is the last project from the Accessory Club on Friday night.

I wanted to design something that was like the birthday card I posted earlier. I just like the look of those colors together. And I needed to use the last two specialty brads that I featured in this accessory club: Stampin' Up!'s Build A Brads and Circle Brads.

I thought it came out pretty fun!

All products are from Stampin' Up!

Happy Stampin'!

Kim

Bella Rose Frame

2008-11-16T07:00:00.002-06:00

This is Kaytee. My niece that wants my husband to go to work for Walmart... Ok, ok... I know that that she is too cute for words, but please try really hard to look past her and look at the modified frame...

This is one of the projects that we made for the accessory club Friday night.

This accessory club was featuring specialty brads. This frame uses rhinestone brads as the centers of the flowers.

All products are from Stampin' Up!

Happy Stampin'!

Kim

Packing, Packing, Packing

2008-11-15T07:00:00.002-06:00

I have been packing and packing and packing... I am starting to remember how yucky it is to move! Oh, well! Eric is back in law enforcement and happy again! That makes it all worth it.

For those of you that do not know, Eric and I are moving to Sabinal, Texas. He has actually already rented a house and is living there now. I am still in Beaumont packing and getting ready to sell the house!

That reminds me. When my sister Kayla told my 6-year old niece Kaytee that her Uncle Eric had gotten a job far away and that we were going to be moving, she asked her mom... "Why can't Uncle Eric just get a job at Walmart or Honey Island General Store!?!"

Oh, for life to be that simple!

In the midst of my packing, I did manage to plan and hold the accessory club. This is the card that we did. I thought this little dress was just too sassy! I used one of the filigree flowers from Stampin' Up! (minus the brad) for the belt buckle.

I'll keep everyone posted on progress of our move.

Happy Stampin'!

Kim

Holiday Stamp Camp

2008-11-14T19:29:00.001-06:00

Hello all!

I am participating with two other demonstrators to put on a Holiday Stamp Camp. With all my packing and getting my house ready to sell, the other demonstrators have done all the work in designing the projects. However, I think that they are so precious that I have to put them on my blog for all of you to see!

Happy Stampin!

Kim

November Promotion for Stampin' Up! - Rub Ons!

2008-11-01T02:02:00.000-05:00

The promotion for Stampin' Up! for this month is 20% off rub ons after a $20 purchase. A link to the page is below... This is an awesome opportunity to stock up on rub ons!

http://www.stampinup.com/us/documents/rub-ons_1108_US.pdf

Happy Stampin'!

Kim

Party Hearty

2008-10-30T08:00:00.001-05:00

Well, stamp a stack yesterday was a great success! We made birthday cards and had birthday cake. All in honor of Stampin' Up!'s 20th birthday! We definitely "partied hearty"!

Ah-h-h-h to be 20 again!

Happy Stampin'!

Kim

Yummy Cupcake!

2008-10-29T08:00:00.001-05:00

Here is a male version of the cupcake card that I posted yesterday...
At least it has a cupcake too! You could even use this one for 4th of July!

Happy Stampin'!

Kim

Happy Birthday Stampin' Up!

2008-10-28T12:34:00.001-05:00

I made this card to use for my stamp a stack tomorrow... I thought it turned out SO-O-O cute that I had to post it!

I can just see giving this to a little "girlie" girl for her birthday!

Happy Stampin'!

Kim

Happy Halloween

2008-10-27T14:44:00.001-05:00

It finally dawned on me yesterday that Halloween is less than a week away... And I still haven't designed and completed my Halloween cards to send out to friends and family! So, I sat down for a minute yesterday and came up with this quick little card. I have cranked out 100 of these guys since yesterday afternoon. There are three different cards. All three use the same color scheme, stamp pad, stamp set, designer series paper and layout. I just made do with what I had. I thought they turned out too cute!

Happy Stampin'!

Kim

Pennant Banners

2008-10-26T02:15:00.001-05:00

I am having so much fun with my Big Shot Die Cut Machine! I have been creating some pennant banners for the holidays. Below are pictures of the ones that haven't already been claimed by my family! It's amazing how easy it is to make cute decor items when you have the right tools!

This is a more fun Christmas one!

This is a more traditional themed Christmas one!

And you can't forget Thanksgiving! Really it is more of a fall one!

I can't wait to make more!

Happy Stampin'!

Kim

Felt Flower Scrapbook Page

2008-10-25T15:05:00.001-05:00

The last project we did for the accessory club is this scrapbook page.

It not only incoporates felt flowers, but also a hat pin and half pearls from the Pretties Kit.

More Flurries

2008-10-24T02:19:00.002-05:00

Here is the gift bag that I designed for October accessory club. These bags like this are so simple, yet so cute. It is easy to move from Christmas to birthday to just because...

Happy Stampin'!

Kim

Monkeying Around

2008-10-23T14:30:00.001-05:00

My niece, Kaytee, needed a monkey shirt for school tomorrow... Something to do with red ribbon week. I think the theme is get the monkey off my back... Anyway, Kayla appealed to me to stamp a sock monkey on the front of a white t-shirt for her. I tossed and turned all night last night worrying that my stamping technique on fabric wouldn't be good enough. So, I found this adorable monkey on a piece of fabric. I cut it out and adhered it to the shirt... I thought it came out so good that I had to post it!

Happy Stampin'!

Kim

Felt Flowers & Flurries

2008-10-23T14:16:00.002-05:00

Hey gang! Stampin' Up! has some wonderful new felt snowflakes in the mini catalog. I am featuring them and the felt flowers in the accessory club for October. Here is a picture of the card that I designed using the snowflakes. I especially like the color combination. So unusual for Christmas!

Happy Stampin'!

Kim

Hurricane Ike

2008-10-11T01:17:00.001-05:00

Well, life is now back to normal. We finally got internet and cable back yesterday. It has been almost a month... So, this is the reason for absolutely no posts for some time!

We were so much luckier than others in our area. We had some minor damages... But we are safe and still have our home! I hope that anyone reading this that was within the reaches of Ike faired as well as we did.

We did not evacuate until Saturday afternoon after the storm. The only reason we evacuated was Eric was recovering from bronchitis and was really having a tough time in the heat.

The storm was an awesome sight. It was scary... But the sheer power of what was happening was awe inspiring. Don't let the news reports of what a hurricane looks like fool you. They all show the wind blowing extremely hard, but straight... All in one direction. We stood on the porch at our house during the wee hours of the morning while the storm was at its worst. I felt like I was in a washing machine! The wind was churning like the water in my washing machine!

We did get some damage to some of our electronic equipment due to power surges. My scanner/printer was one of the things that suffered! So, I will start getting some pictures taken of projects I have done since the storm to post!

Happy Stampin'!

Kim

Convention 2008

2008-08-02T22:10:00.000-05:00

Hey all! Convention has been an absolute blast! The new catalog is AWESOME! We have some great new stamp sets, but the accessories are the best! I've learned so many awesome ideas. I can't wait to share all of it with you guys. Being a Stampin' Up! Demonstrator and having the opportunity to meet and share with all these awesome people that have the same love that I have. Of course it's not all work, we do take a little time to have fun. This is a picture of me and several of my Stampin' Up! buddies. I have really enjoyed being in Salt Lake City. But, I am really looking forward to getting home and seeing my hubby. AND starting to put some of these great new ideas to use!

Happy Stampin'!

Kim

Retiring Stamp Sets

2008-07-16T12:08:00.001-05:00

Hey all! The retiring stamp sets have been released! Please see the link to the right to get your copy of the retiring list. Some I am sad to see go. However, I am getting over it quickly because that means new and exciting things to come!

From now until August 10, 2008, I am offering no shipping/handling or tax on any retiring stamp set. So look over the list and get that order to me so you don't miss out on purchasing your favorite stamp set!

Happy Stampin'!

Kim

Craziness at Home

2008-06-09T10:13:00.001-05:00

Hello all! I know that I haven't posted anything on my blog in like forever. So, I dug in the stamp a stack archives and found this one. I thought it was pretty appropriate since Father's Day is around the corner. Anyway, the reason that I haven't posted anything in a while is that my husband has converted a closet in our den into a "computer nook". This means that he has vacated the study and it is ALL MINE! I have spent the last week piddling in "my room" trying to figure out how I want to arrange everything. Haven't spent any time stamping... Other than to make a souvenir for everyone in Janet's downline that is going to convention. Can't post that here... Wouldn't be a surprise if I did!

Back to "the nook"... He built a computer table into the wall in his nook. Because of this I now have 2 desks! One for creativity and one for actual desk work! It is so exciting and so overwhelming! Hopefully I will get enough done this week that I can take some pictures and post. I feel like a kid in a candy store...

Have a great week!

Happy Stampin'!

Kim

Birthdays Are The Best

2008-05-23T07:45:00.002-05:00

When I was planning the last of the projects for the Styled Silver Hodge Podge Hardware Class, I wanted to do something simple. I wanted to show that you can take a very simple card and make it pop with a piece of the hodgepodge hardware. I think I accomplished this with this card!

It has very little stamping, takes less than 5 minutes to make. Without the hardware, it would look like a simple card that you threw together. But add the hardware and BAM! you have a card with a little pizzazz.

Hope this inspires you to take that simple card and add a little pizzazz!

Happy Stampin'!

Kim

Dahlia Fold

2008-05-21T07:13:00.002-05:00

Good morning! Hope everyone is well and having tons of fun stamping and scrapping!

As I have been planning my projects for the hodgepodge hardware class, I have continued to get stumped. It seems that planning a card around a brad or a frame is not easy! And I set myself a pretty high standard. We will use all the pieces in the hodgepodge styled silver set in this class! Well, designs are just about done and I have only one piece to go!

You saw the earlier post of the scrapbook pages for this class. Here is a card that I made using the dahlia fold with the scallop punch. Once you master the fold, it is really easy to use.

I took my inspiration from a lot of places. Layout from a card on the Stamper's Showcase on the SU Demonstrator Site... using the scallop punch for the dahlia fold from the Splitcoast Stamper Gallery. I layered a little differently, used different cardstock and DS paper, added ribbon and hardware... Voila' a design that is uniquely my own!

I hope you like.

Happy Stampin'!

Kim

Wild, Wild West

2008-05-15T13:32:00.001-05:00

For the first time since I have been a demonstrator, we are "swapping" scrapbook layouts at our demonstrator meeting this month. It is so much easier for me to be creative with scrapbook layouts, so I was EXCITED! However, we didn't have a theme... Not so excited!

As I lost sleep wondering what theme I was going to use as my scrapbook layout, I realized that I could kill two birds with one stone. I still needed to design the scrapbook sample for my upcoming hodge podge hardware class that is featuring the styled silver hodge podge hardware. So, I designed this two page layout that uses a brad and a frame from the hodge podge hardware! It is a great layout for the dude ranch vacations, the horseback ride at the beach or just the visit to Grandma and Grandpa's "farm"... Now I have to get pictures of my nieces standing on the fence looking at the neighbor's horses!

Happy stampin'!

Kim

Ribbon Scraps

2008-05-06T12:18:00.001-05:00

Do you ever feel like you are drowning in a sea of ribbon and fiber scraps? I know I was. One day when I walking through a local craft store, I saw a bottle with felt flower petals in it. Presto! The idea was formed. I could do the same thing with my ribbon scraps!

This is made with a Starbuck's Frappucino bottle (small one). I decorated the lid, tied a little piece of ribbon on the neck of the bottle and decorated the front of the bottle with a Stampin' Up! rub on. Voila! A different bottle for each color group of ribbon scraps! And they are pretty enough to leave out on a shelf for all to see!

Now I am not digging through baggies with individual scraps of ribbon (how I saw in a magazine to organize your ribbon scraps!) for that perfect piece of ribbon. They are all displayed in view for me to see most, if not all, of the yummy pieces of ribbon and fiber that I have! I wonder what else I can put in jars like this? Starbucks is going to love me for my Frappucino purchases! LOL!

Happy Stampin'!

Kim

Bermuda 2008

2008-04-08T10:54:00.000-05:00

I am back from Bermuda! We had so much fun! Everywhere that we went, the people of Bermuda were so helpful and friendly. They are obviously very proud of their country and love to tell tourists about it. The water was way too cold for us to get in and actually do much water sports. However, it was way to beautiful for me to not get in to some degree! This is me standing in a little cove on the northern part of Bermuda. The water is VERY cold.

Why is this on my stamping blog? I won this trip by being a Stampin' Up! demonstrator and attending convention! Just another reason that you should consider becoming a SU demonstrator. Why knows? If you sign up now and go to convention, maybe they will give away rooms in Hawaii... and you could win one!

Hurray for the USA!

2008-03-20T17:13:00.002-05:00

Hey guys! When I was planning my projects for my Occassions Mini Catalog, I wanted to do something that was looking forward to Memorial Day or Fourth of July. This was the project that I designed. It incorporates a star from the Onboard Simon Upper, real red card stock from the hostess designer series prints pack and the In The Stars stamp set from the Occassions Mini Catalog. I punched the star out with our new large star punch. I just love our punches!

Again, this card is so simple, but it's bold primary colors are so patriotic that you just want to stand up and salute!

Happy Stampin'!

Kim

Occassions Mini Catalog

2008-03-19T12:42:00.000-05:00

Hello all! I am just loving the Occassions Mini Catalog. I can't decide which item is my favorite. I love the new twill ribbon. It is such a wonderful size and has such a nice feel to it. And the new rub ons are great! Let's you add some dimension with ease. And what about the new silver hodge podge hardware? I love the large decorative brads and the silver flower ribbon slide... and the new size frames. It is just all so wonderful!

I made the card featured above with the ribbon slide, the new Summer Picnic Designer Series Paper, Phrases For A Friend stamp set and the new old olive poly twill ribbon. I love the simplicity of the card. Isn't it great that old olive works for spring/summer, not just fall?

Happy Stampin'!

Kim