Wanna see my DH in action??

Our church is having a banquet for married couples on the weekend of Valentine's Day. One of our pastors put together a video to show in church to publicize the event. I have told many of you about the fact that my wonderful husband is also a wonderful cook...here he shows his best gift in costume...tee hee! Take a peek! PS The couple dancing are my friends Sam and Gail...darn cute, huh??

http://icelebrate.org/manna/CelebrateMarriage.wmv

I have a snowday today {high winds and some freezing 'stuff'...no snowman material! :( } so hopefully I'll be back today with some pics of creations!!!

Happy Birthday to my son! 22 years old today!! Love ya, Geoffy!

See you soon!

JOY! JOY! JOY! And in COLOR!

OMIGRACIOUS!!!

People! This is breaking news!!! YOU WILL NOT BELIEVE THIS!

Click here to see what I am talking about!!!!!! Go ahead, read it all!! Yes, I'm in there!

Do you know what it means....like WOW!


Okay, I am trying to calm down....breathe....breathe.....this is just so exciting! (you KNOW how I am!)


This marker set is worth over $150! They are alcohol based markers and so they are very versatile to use, from what I understand. And I get to play!! WOW! And I AM SOOOOOO BLESSED! God is so blessing me this week!


To be honest, Copic markers are the latest and greatest, but how many of you know that you can get pretty poor buying up all the latest and greatest, right? So here I decided that being in the SU marker club is good enough for me as I love their markers. And that if I was going to have any copic anything, I'd have to win it....and I DID! I am still beside myself. Now to choose??? Oh, gosh, choosing is IMPOSSIBLE! But I will do it....I must ;)


Whew! Just reading my name on Gina K's blog is so exhausting, 'cause I 'm so excited!!!


Do any of you have these markers?? What color set should I get??

AND.....I may have some more exciting news tomorrow..........................................

Oh, you'll just have to wait and see! Tee hee!

Wow. Sorry, I can't stop saying it. Wow.

Praise God!

Love ya!

Kim

A Wee bit of Joy!

Jackie's Blog Entry Challenge

One of my stamping blog sisters is having a "wee" contest on her blog (isn't it fun to say that?!) She is posting entries, but mine's still in the .jpeg stage :)

So for YOU, a sneak peek! This is my entry, but be sure you check out her blog as well, so you can see everyone's ideas and her challenge. It included using some kind of technique on the card.

For the flower and shamrock, I used the masking technique and to be honest...it's not the most fun technique for me to do...but I love the results! The challenge for me is that you have to think backwards. I used this technique on my winning card I made for CHF's stamp of the month, so long ago. Very challenging for "Mrs. Goal Oriented, Let's Move Forward, No Reason to Look Back" girl!! :) But you all KNOW I love a challenge and I never give up....so, Here it is :)

Hey, I'm going bowling with a bunch of friends from work, so I gotta go, but have a great weekend if I don't see you! Blessings!

Love ya!

Kim

What a joyful day to share!

My goodness!! God is SO good to us!! I just saw that I won a blog candy giveaway....of Prism paper!! Yes! Remember that Ice Gold paper I keep raving about?? The company that makes the paper had a blog candy contest awhile back and my name was drawn randomly!! How cool is THAT? I got to choose 2 packs of whatever color I wanted! and they are sending the accent pack of embellishments that match! Can you believe it??!! Praise Jesus!! Hey, they are having another contest....check it out!! You'll see me as the winner, but scroll down to see the next contest! {In case you have NO IDEA what blog candy is, keep reading...it's worth finding out, believe me!}

And although it was pretty snowy at work today....here at my house (18 miles away) there is just a dusting. Whew! No shoveling yet! Hey, if you like snow...go to the ski slopes! My hubby and girl went skiiing and snow boarding yesterday and had a great time. I stayed warm and cozy at home! We both win!

So really, I know you're here to check out my paint can gift project aren't you?? Well, here it is:

Yep, a paint can! Papertreyink.com sells these great, clear paint cans. I used my newly released PTI acrylic stamp set, Out on a Limb to decorate the vellum before putting it inside the can. It is a GORGEOUS set...click here to see it! Along with the sentiment Amazing Grace, I added a Helen Keller quote on the back.

"The best and most beautiful things of the world cannot be seen or even be touched, they must be felt with the heart." Helen Keller

Helen Keller happens to be one of my heroes. There are other beautiful sentiments as well. They even have a quote from Martin Luther in the set! Really, check it out!

I stamped everything on SU vellum in Old Olive,Cameo coral and Purely Pomegranate ink. I finished it with pomegranate ribbon.

For the lid, I stamped a white CS circle with the branch and flowers again, and covered it in vellum with Blessings stamped on the vellum.

Then I included a small votive cup for burning a tea candle. I had a few of those disposable battery powered tea candles that will run for awhile so I put one in so she can enjoy the 'candle' now. Before you get all "Kim, you are amazing" (gee thanks my friends!! :) You should know that I was inspired by a Paint can in PTI's designer gallery!! See it here.

I also gave Erin a new stamp set from Gina K that you guys just HAVE to check out! It's called Dr. Feelgood! I figured a newly wed can make some cards for her new hubby! She LOVED them!

I also did some cards for a swap with CHF. I'll share them after the swappers get their cards....no reason to give any sneak peeks!

Oh, and for those who want to know what blog candy is....it's when a blogger has some kind of contest to give away free stuff!!! I have won a few in my time and it is always GOOD!! CHF is going to be giving away some free stuff (and they have great stuff!) to celebrate their new stamp release, so feel free to stop in a join in the fun!

Isn't life fun?

Love ya!

Kim

Sunshine and Joy on a Winter Holiday :)

Hi everybody! Happy Martin Luther King, Jr. Day! Such a pretty day today! Here in W. NY we have bright sunshine and frigid cold temps...but still...it's in the 20's! Some of my stamping buddies out there are really cold!! Gina K in Wisconsin has been below 0 this week! Eek! Still, only a dusting on my lawn, so I can live with it! My husband and daughter are snowboarding today....and here I am doing report cards and school work....warm and cozy, at least! ;)

I've also been super busy preparing for teaching my grad class...it's a new area of teaching for me (augmentative communication: do any of you know what that is?) and I am putting together the lectures...it will be a really tough class topic wise, material wise, etc. so pray for me, won't you? thanks! You guys are the BEST!!

Well, I have been stamping in my in-between times...my friend Betty is starting these monthly CREATE! nights at her house where we gather to stamp cards that will eventually go to a person needing encouragement...maybe a grieving parent, lonely man, anxious mom, etc. Betty received just such a card when her son was born as he had had a stroke in utero...he is a precious young man now, but Betty remembers what it was like to be so worried that you might lose your child. That card has meant so much to her and she wants to give to others what she herself received. So several of my stamping buddies got together and made some cards! It was fun! Here is a card I created using my "It doesn't get much better" Thomas Kinkade stamp from Cornish Heritage Farms!

This card only took about 15 minutes to put together. I used Tim Holtz' Distress Inks and my brayer on the stamp and on my first try: TA DA! Doesn't it look like a photograph? I really love how those stamped images look. Amazing really....now I have a nice guy birthday card, just like that!

Then I did some stamping for my friend Erin's b-day...but I can't share those pix until Wednesday...after I give them to her! I think you'll like them, though! AND I went to an SU party and we made two cute cards....so you see, I have been creating!

In fact, I can share a picture that my daughter was making...as she borrowed my prismacolor pencils. There are German words within the "webbing"...although off the top of my head, I forget what they were.

Here is a close up of the girl she was making. Cool, huh? She is aspiring to do something with her art such as graphic designs or something. You just never know what will come up!! :)

Isn't the hair so cool? Can't you just FEEL the wind blowing. The assignment was to make a fantasy-type picture. She just shaded the webbing to finish after her coloring was done. She "framed" it in DP that looked like a wooden door. Sorry, she was up too late for me to get a pic. Of course it was due the next day....of course!! Sigh!

Finally, today I wanted to share a few things that my pastor's wife brought back from Haiti...she thanked my family for providing a dinner to her family during the trip she and my Pastor were on by gifting us these cute things! This first one is an angel made by a woman in Haiti. I just love her! To think she came all the way from Haiti to here to us! What a blessing!

This next one shows some coasters and a little painting of Haitians. I really like this one, too. I always love when I can experience a place through the work of artisans from other countries. Gives you a feel of a page from their life. We are talking about taking a team from church to Haiti to do some building and such and bless the people there. I hope it works out to do that!

God is so good to knit our hearts together, isn't He? Even from a half a world away!

Well, people....more to do! Have a great week! I promise to come back this week and deliver those pics of the things I made for my friend!

Blessings!

Kim

¡Celebre con la Alegría!

Celebrating Friendship!

These two pictures show a project that I created for two friends of ours that we hold dear to our hearts! Jack and Sandy have been not only good good friends who have stood with and by us through the 'stuff' life throws you, but they have also prayed with us and for us just about every day. They've been on mission trips with us, laughed with us and cried with us. They are friends of the spirit and those kind of friends are {friends indeed}! We had dinner there last week and I made them this "3D Card". I used a bottle from that new FUZE drink...the bottles are BEAUTIFUL for this type of project! I was inspired by Stampin' Kub's project here, then I started to collect them. The best part was that I didn't cover the edge of the cap...it says "Healthy infuzions"...perfect descriptor for m&m's...don't ya think?? The paper is actually some DP that an SCS stamper sent me as a WishRAK and the letter stamps are Hero Arts acrylics. The sentiment comes from CHF's Kim Hughes collection, Scripty words...my new favorite sentiment set! So much fun to create!

This project is a gift for a friend at work who needs a daily encouragement! I used a butterfly from SU's retired Wonderful Wings set (I am still NEEDING this set...this was another image sent to me by a Wish RAK angel!). It is embossed on only orange CS and then I BLEACHED the inner image of the butterfly! There is a great technique tutorial on bleaching images here. Erika Martin used this image with a bleached card awhile ago, but I couldn't find her entry.

I also used the technique on this card I made this last fall. I was a little less scared with bleaching this time and the image came out a little brighter....I liked it! I then mounted the completed image onto a calendar that I picked up in the American greetings store for $1. It had a butterfly pic on it already, but it was very detailed. I knew this image would look better ;) The background on the calendar itself worked perfectly to complement my idea! I added some Prima flowers and brads to liven it up. What do you think?

How's the weekend going for you? Remember: The Joy of the Lord is your Strength! And having good friends only adds to the Joy! Our God is all about relationships. Celebrate them today!

PS for those SBS9 sisters who are wondering at my blog's name, click here!

Be blessed!

Kim

Joyfully napping and promises kept!

Do you just LOVE this card's image and quote??

Ah, to provide the world with some small understanding of the sweat and energy that go into our creations!! Okay, maybe not the world, but at least my hubby!

This sweet stamp set is from a new company, Clear Artistic Stamps, that has been launched by a stamping friend of mine, Belinda Landtroop.

This is a special edition set called Wistful Dreams

It is a limited edition, though, so if you like it, you better check it out! She has another limited edition set you'd love, too, called In a Peaceful Glade. I want them both! I'm saving quickly to get the next one before they are gone!!

Belinda is a very talented artist and I have used some of her art on some cards I have made in the past. She creates "gift art" online and shares them with other stampers. Her art is reminiscent of the artists who drew children's stories long ago, such as Beatrice Potter and Margaret Wise Brown. Soothing and wonderful art!

A Yahoo group forum for Clear Artistic Stamps has started, too, and you can join! Click here. That way you can get Belinda's free monthly Gift Art and share card ideas and techniques!

And! A card by my girl! She was watching me make cards and she said, "I want to make a bella card!" She looked through my bella stash and found Kittycattabella. Then she said, "I want to use the cuttlebug!" These are the only two embossing folders I have so far. Then she said, "Do you have small letters?" Um, yes. Then she said, "Do you have a small punch?" Um...YES! Then She made this creation!! Cool, huh?? She hates to admit it, but my 16 year old is catching the fever!!!! I love the colors on the cats! She just used my prismacolor pencils, Walmart stack paper and versafine black to ink in the bella. She also used SU letters and small circle punch.

Hey, I promised to post some pictures! I actually have a few more! I'll try to come back again this weekend!

Be ever blessed this weekend!

Have fun!

Kim

Shouts of Joy!

Hi Everybody!

I promise to post a project this week...but just wanted to check in and say, THANKS! to those who have visited my blog and to those who have left a comment! Each of you has blessed my day when I read your input! :)

{Added note! One of my SBS9 sisters told me about an online translator you add to your blog!(thanks Maureen and Manna!) I LOVE IT! You'll see it down on the right side...my site looks so cool in other languages! That's ONE of my one million obsessions: Languages! I speak Spanish, rusty Italian and fluent sign language! Now you know!}

We had these AMAZING winds today (up to 70 mph today)....leaving a lot of those I work with without electricity this morning! One of my coworkers showered with candlelight then came to work! wow! That's dedication!

Isn't God amazing, though? He gives us a January thaw (70 degrees yesterday!) just to give us a little rest from winter....he knows we'll need a rest before dealing with February and March!! The joy of the Lord is our strength and I am reminded of this everyday....everyday has it's hardships but we are victors in this life! The Spring is coming! Remember this:

The LORD your God is in your midst, a victorious warrior...He will exult over you with joy, He will be quiet in His love, He will rejoice over you with shouts of joy. Zephaniah 3:16-18

Isn't it great to know that God will rejoice over YOU with shouts of Joy? Shouts! Have a great week in the Joy of the Lord!
Blessings!
Kim

About me :)

Okay, SBS9...here's the stuff about me for my 'new' sisters on the blog....even if you know me, maybe you'll learn something new....

The Kim Marie Tutorial!

I'm a 44 year old wife, mom, speech pathologist, missionary stamper :) I have a million interests and obsessions (all healthy and clean, I promise!) and I love to laugh with my family and friends. I have two children who would argue whether they are still-indeed-children at 16 and 22 and two cats, Ollie and Grace. I don't cook much (my hubby is an AMAZING cook, but this is about me, tee hee!) but I DO love to chat and stamp! Card making is my real hobby...I've made a few small 6x6 albums without pictures, but I consider that making 20 card fronts and all is well. :) I've been married almost 25 years and plan on at least 40 more! We live in a rural part of NY near where my hubby and I grew up and, aside from the winter driving, love it! Our families are nearby! I work in a public school and for a local university teaching just one class a semester. I am very involved in our church and Mexico missions and whatever else God sets before us on our path! Between all that and following my daughter's soccer career, we are very busy people. Stamping has allowed me to slow down a bit when the 'stuff' is overwhelming! That's me in a nutshell! For further info, follow my blog! I am going to post once I week....there, I said it!!! Now, to keep my promise :) Oh, and, PS....I am NOT a KimBERLY....I am a Kim Marie....thus, my use of my middle name....so much better for me, as I am rarely "burly"! Tee hee :)

Oh, and a few more cards to see! These were also inspired by Kurtis' challenge!

The first one is a mother-daughter card, as my daughter the budding artist colored the image with my prismacolor pencils and Gamsol mineral spirits! We work so well together! When I retire to write children's books, I want her to illustrate them for me!

For the recipe details of the card, click this link. You may notice the edges of the ribbon are somewhat frayed. To be honest, the ribbon did not cut cleanly....so I decided to pull out some of the thread and use it as a style embellishment...it looks way better in real life!! This snowplay is a GOOD part of winter, which is why I bought this Gina K stamp set, Got snow? I have to find the reasons to enjoy winter!!

Did I tell you I have snowshoes? We're expecting high temps this weekend in the 30's and 40's, but when the snow returns, I'll be snow shoeing this winter!!

For the details of this card, click here! I made this one for a friend at work who is retiring to spend time with her grandchildren! Happiness in grandchildren grows BIG TIME, and kids grow so fast. I was happy she could take the time to spend the rest of her life enjoying them without work interfering!!

I used some stickers from a scrapbooking kit from Stampin' up. This kit was a hostess gift set from the last catalog. Even if you are a cardmaker, these kits are FULL of wonderful stuff and quality of the stickers is amazing! They are cardstock weight and look great on cards, I think! (No I don't sell the stuff, but I COULD!)

I used a direct to paper technique, dragging my purely pomegranate inkpad along the edges of the paper. I love that color. It turned out very pretty!

If you don't have it now, be sure to get some of that Purely Pomegranate ink before the end of the year (it is only available 'til July)! You know, I REALLY don't sell the stuff! :) But I DO have parties twice and year and order monthly, so if you need me to hook you up.....HA! shameless plug, sorry!!

Anyhow! I hope to check out some chickas blogs in my SBS9 group, so this is probably my post for the week! Hope you liked it!

Blessings!

Kim

Sketching with JOY!

Welcome, sisters of the stamper's blog! Thanks for all you nice comments! First, I want to share some cards I talked about making in an earlier post. I was following a sketch provided in a stamper's blog I follow, Kurtis Admundson. He is an amazing designer and his cards always make me happy :) Here is my take on his sketch...Hey, check out his blog while you're online!

Kim

I think this is my favorite one of these two, although the more I look at the cards the more I like both of them equally! I used a black card base...I know...so NOT me! But my aunt gave me an AWESOME assortment of random stationary stuff and in it there was a batch of black base cards. I wanted to use this Martha Stewart ribbon I got at Michael's (50% off after Christmas! SCORE!) so I thought it might look classy to put it on black. I used SU's real red ink and the Baroque Motif set I've been DYING to use for months. Adding a diamond brad in the center of the flower and two black brads on either side finished it nicely, don't you think?? I love clean lines!

Do you think I should add something else?

Now this card, I decided, needed that bohemian touch...and Baroque Motif works for that feel too! I earned this paper at my last SU party; it came in a scrapping kit Happy Me, I think....this Soft sky textured paper is so pretty! It's the subtlest of blues...it almost looks grey here, but the blue is obvious in "real life". All the stamps are from the set with the exception of the 'so' which are clear stamps from an alphabet set I also bought at Michael's. The corner was dying for an embellishment, so I added a prima flower and then punched the blue flower from the bordering blue color cardstock and ink I used to layer the kind image and as the contrast strip and flourish ink. A sky blue brad pulls it together. I distressed the edges of the paper with my bone folder (I don't have a distressing tool....YET!! :) I love blurry lines :)

What do you think?

More sisters?! JOY!!

Yes, I know...I have three wonderful sisters already! And I love all three of them! Hi Kelly, Kristy and Kori!! Today, however I have joined with some Stamping sisters and am now a member of the Sisterhood of the Blogging Stampers Group 9. Hey! Nine is {FINE} You can see the banner to the right of this post.

I know, right. Pink.

Yeah, well the other colors wouldn't post right....and just my luck, pink worked! Ah well, it's a good contrast to my ever so greenness! (It's just that the color combo reminds me of college...anyone out there remember the Izod shirts? Yeah, eek!)

So, what's this sisterhood all about, you ask? Well, for one thing I get to 'meet' even more stamping pals...or as my daughter would say "stamping cult buddies"! LOL! And it's an encouragement forum where we can all look at each other's blogs and say, "Cool stuff." And those who know me well, know that encouragement is a gift God has blessed me with, and wants me to share with others. And who better than fellow....ur, uh, I mean to say Sister....stampers. {Okay, I encourage a few fellows, too. Love Stamping Kub's blog! Inspiring!} So it sounds like fun, doesn't it?!

In a few days, when we get the official, "this-is-everybody-in-your-group" list, I'll post a link to the other stamping bloggers blogs in my group and we'll officially begin the fun! I've already read a little about those that have already signed on...they're from all over the world! I'll post an "a little about me" post too, as a way of introduction! I adore meeting new people! See you in a few!!

Oh, and I'll share some pictures then following a sketch Stamping Kub has on his blog! My camera battery is charging or I'd do it now! Zing!

Be blessed this weekend, my friends!! Woo-hoo....it's the weekend!!! (Well, it's so CLOSE, I can feel it!)

:)
Kim