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

Joyfully sharing some quick easy and fun projects!

Well, back to school and back to work! How weird is it to experience "Monday" on a Wednesday and realize IT'S ALMOST THE WEEKEND! Woo Hoo!

Well, my friends, here are some projects that I worked on over the holiday season and month of December! I couldn't share them before because it would have..shall we say, "Tipped my hand"?
They were all very simple projects, but they have some great pizzazz to them! Everyone who received one loved it, so I was pleased with how they turned out! Nevermind that I was up until midnight over several weeks...it was just TOO MUCH FUN!

First, I made up some of these tag and pin tins for my friends at school who work really hard to make my job easier! My kids at school need a lot of support, so I made these gifts the aides and assistants in the classes I teach in! I got these perfect 4 oz. tins with clear lids from Papertreyink.com. They are awesome and come in a package 3 for $4. A great deal! I then used a Gina K's punchy Words stamp set and inked the sentiments with real red and Night of Navy (LOVE that color!) and punched the circles and glued them to the red, green and navy blue scallops! I also added a few snowflakes from Stampin' Up's Snowflake set to the 'tag pile'. Then I used one of the snowflake tags, added a peel and stick pin backing (Yes, they call me 'Shortcut Queen') and voila! I put 30 tags in each tin, topped it with the pin and then covered the tins in SU's Cerise Designer Paper with a ribbon bow! I also glued one of the scalloped tags on top of the tin! Easy, quick and fun!

This next project was for the families in my family that have kids! From a tutorial on Nicole Heady's blog (of Papertrey ink) I put together these accordian albums in a tin! Even though I ADORE PTI's stamp sets...of which I own four...I didn't have the one she used in the tutorial...so I used Gina's K's Let it snow set and the sentiment from her Punchy Words set (I actually cut the sentiment in half and mounted it in two lines onto the acrylic block so it would fit better :) I didn't take a picture with it open, but if you click on the link above, you will see how it looked! How CUTE is that snowman!? I didn't add any pictures, as I am leaving the moms to do that! Quick and easy! Oh, forgot to mention that I added SU dazzling diamonds to the SU snowflakes on the cards! I used soft sky and...you guessed it! Night of Navy cardstock, as well as CHF's Ice Gold Prismatic cardstock I showed in my last post! Oh, hey, almost forgot to mention that I punched a hole in the top of the tin with my DH's rivet tool punch! I added a ribbon from SU's summer collection so I could hang it on the tree!

Finally, here are some candy bar wrappers I stamped up for my students! I am totally in LOVE with this stamp set of the month for December, Joyful Winter wishes from Cornish Heritage Farms! I even bought them as gift sets for two of my dearest friends!

I measured the paper and then used SU's cool Carribean, real red and night of navy ink to decorate the paper. Then I wrapped the Hershey bars and signed my name on the back and VOILA! Quick and easy! And fun! Of course the kids went 'gaga' over the candy and a gift from their favorite speech teacher!!!!

The only drawback of this project was the sad and mysterious disappearance of my snowman!! I think he may have gone the way of the burn barrel when I picked up all my scraps! EEK!! I had to QUICKLY order a new set before the end of the month! Phew! I love the set too much to give it up! You should check out the CHF site....you can pick up your stamp of the month set for a special price (one you won't believe!)....and don't forget to get some of that Ice Gold cardstock....trust me, you NEED some!

Well, this was a QUICK post! Glad you came to visit! Three posts in three days! There! One New Year's resolution down!!

Hey, why not leave a comment on your new's year's resolution?

Be blessed!

Kim

More to share!

Happy new year, everyone!! We had a great time welcoming in the new year with some good friends in our town's church, playing games and watching a movie...we saw Secondhand Lions...if you haven't seen that movie, I suggest you rent it...I loved it! Great family movie!

And here I am again...to share some of my card making mania! I know Christmas is over, and you have all finished your cards and such, but it's never too late to get inspired for next year! On Splitcoaststampers, they have a Christmas card challenge...you make just 10 Christmas cards a month , same or different, and by Christmas next year, you are all set for cards! What a great idea! No, I probably won't do it, but I could!! And so, I hope these cards inspire you!

Most of you know that my DH (that's darling hubby!) is a letter carrier. He receives nice thank yous from his customers on his route. He has been very blessed this year, as many of his "people" love and appreciate his smile in all kinds of weather and how he will go out of his way to bless them. Of course, he wants cards to thank them and of course he wants HANDMADE cards!

Awww, forced to stamp! Poor me! Tee hee! Today's post highlights all the cards I made up for him....I actually had to keep making more as he was REALLY blessed on his route! The warm winter wishes card above used CHF's Prizm Ice Gold cardstock....BEAUTIFUL, addictive stuff!!! Hard to see well in the picture, it is white with a gold undertone. I actually ordered it by mistake, but I LOVE it! I used SU's Warm Winter Wishes stamp set and Frost Blue Kaleidoscope ink pad. I also used Encore's Metallic Gold ink as well as SU's gold cord. I think it came out pretty...warm and cold at the same time!


Now this card is my favorite I think! I GOT A
CUTTLEBUG for Christmas!!! It's a cool "press" machine to emboss paper in just seconds!! It was number ONE on my Christmas wish list, and my hubby got it for me!

So, you will be seeing LOTS of use of it in my cards! The background of this card is embossed with the D'vine swirl folder and I used Gina K's Got snow? and Let it snow stamp sets. I colored with Prismacolor pencils and Gamsol mineral spirits. I used SU's retired Liquid Applique for the snow falling....isn't it adorable? Notice the boy wearing my two favorite colors...Kermit green and Syracuse orange :)


This next card was also "cuttlebugged" with D'vine
Swirl (I only have two embossing folders so far!) And this card also uses Gina K stamp set, Punchy words. The holly paper is from a Walmart DP pack my girl gave me for Christmas :) and SU's Real red paper is the card base and strip. I used Perfectly Clear stamps for the bric-a-brac strip inked with SU's craft white ink; I added a bit of glitz with SU's Dazzling Diamond glitter while the ink was wet. Love that sparkly stuff! I punched the scallop and edged it with the white ink. Simple, yet kind of elegant, don't you think?




Finally, I made this card using some DP I bought from Current, Inc. a million years ago! I added some gold snowflakes from SU's Warm Winter greetings set as I used the Ice Gold paper for the tag and inked the Make merry stamp in the metallic gold ink (stamp from SU's tag set). The beautiful ribbon is from Hallmark and the cardbase is Real Red. A gold brad for the tag and I was done!

Do you know that I made more cards for his Thank Yous than I made for us to send out? That's what happens when you make 10 at a time....hmmm....maybe that Christmas challenge is something I should do!!

Well that's it for today! I have some projects to show you later in the week, so stay tuned! I wouldn't want to overwhelm you! (Who me??) Isn't this so FUN!? (By contrast I must now work on my lecture notes for the grad class I am teaching this Spring semester...love augmentative communication and all, but it's not as FUN as stamping!)

Hey, feel free to leave me a comment! Lots of you send an encourageing email, but it's nice to know you've been here! I check in when I can!

Blessings to you all, for today and for all of 2008!

Kim

PS The "spots" on the pictures are not on the cards...my camera has ghost spots that turn up here and there...gotta figure that one out! :)

Joyfully sharing a true Man Card

Wow! You are in for a real treat! This is a card made by my pastor for his wife for their anniversary! They celebrated earlier this fall, but I just found time to put it on the blog!

Long story short: I first introduced our pastor's wife, Deby to stamping and cardmaking when I agreed to host a women's craft group on cardmaking. Deby fell IN LOVE with cardmaking, at which she has proved to be a natural! She subsequently had such a great time that she has become an SU demonstrator (thank goodness! I need her resources constantly!)

So now Pastor Eric is surrounded by stamping supplies and stamping family members (their daughters stamp, too!) So while Deby was visiting her family in CA this fall, Pastor set out to make HER a card and this is the result! Wow, huh?
This was the inscription on the back of the card.....in case you can't read the bogus name of the website he wrote: Contact us at: coolstuffforguy.com/mancards

But my favorite part of the recipe is the color scheme he used. How do you like this?? Can you tell he is a hunter?? Deby shared this in church and we all roared with laughter!

Oh, how nice it is to have a man of God with a sense of humor leading our congregation!

How fun! Well, that's the time I have for now! I'll try to add some of my own creations tomorrow! Blessings to you all and HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

Kim

Merry Merry Joyful CHRISTmas!

Wow! Time really has flown this month and so many times I wanted to step out of the whirlwind to blog, but to be honest, all my time has been taken up with good things related to Christmas, so I just decided living a life worth blogging about was better than just talking about how I should be doing fun things to celebrate!

So, what's been going on? Well. there was the children's ministry party, the church leadership party, the work party, the Christmas concert, the stamping projects (and projects and projects) and just hanging out with my family for movies and dinners. My son Geoffrey is home from college and we got our Christmas tree today; I'm taking a little break to stop in here for a minute! So, forgive my hiatus, but I'll be back after Christmas to share some of the projects that have kept me up past midnight some nights! Okay, many nights! But isn't it fun????

I trust the Lord to keep you all happy and healthy during this season of Christmas magic and Love! From my house to yours:

Have a Blessed and Merry Christmas! Enjoy the celebration of when Christ came to earth as a babe to set the world FREE!

I love you all!!

"Let not our hearts be busy inns that have no room for Him."

(This quote is from a Heidi Satterberg stamp design...I CASEd it from Gina K's site-loved it! The graphics from J's Magic Galleries online)

My Joyful Girl and the blog!

My daughter thought I needed to show all my blog friends the snowman that she spent her snow day building! So here you go! Isn't she ADORABLE? Why my girl, of course! I like her snowman, too! Back to school tomorrow! sigh.

PS My list is half done and it's already dinner time!

Be blessed!

Kim

A Snowy Joy!! No school! No school!

Yippee!! A snow day! Praise the Lord! Here's a few shots outside my front door this morning. Keep in mind that yesterday we only had only a couple of inches in the morning on the ground....

Yes, those are three little lanterns that I have on my doorstep....and you can see the road a little on the left there where the guard rail is. I have to go out and shovel the walk sometime today...but no rush, right? As you can probably tell, it's still too early for me to go beyond the front door...cause I don't have too! LOL!! Maybe the sun will come out soon!

In this other picture are my Adirondack chairs that I have in the front yard. Now, I was going to put those in the garage last week....but I was holding onto that little bit of summer and fall I had left over! Now I'll have to wait for a thaw! Can you guess what that bump is in between the chairs? Go ahead, take a guess! I will put the answer will be at the end of this blog entry! Hey no fair scrolling now! I have more to share!

The snow is very pretty! Even on a gloomy day! This is all the nice part of winter...the driving is not so nice. Yesterday took me over an hour to get home from work (I work 25 minutes away) and coming home from teaching class last night was horrible...but after my hour + adventure, I asked my wonderful hubby to drive me to class and pick me up, which he did! What a trooper! The blowing snow made visibility a joke! But between my brave man and the Grace of God we got home safely! Praise Jesus!

Now, you wonder, what will I do with my day? Well, I don't want to spend it all on the computer, so after this entry, I'm starting with my list! Yes, even on a snow day, I have a list. Oh, come on, you do, too!! What's on it? Well, sunflower toast and coffee, first of all! :) Then a bunch of paperwork (ewww) that I need to do for my college students (probably take all of three hours!) then some school work I would have done anyhow (minus another hour!) then some cleaning (boo! but just a little!) and then CHRISTMAS DECORATIONS!!! We don't have a tree yet...heck we have 20 more days to get one! But I do want it to be a little christmasy around here, so I'll drag out all the stuff!!! (minus a bunch more hours!)

And finally, I want to post some creations over at CHF from their virtual stamping party last weekend. Quickly, I'll show you just two things I 'whipped up' on Saturday in the flurry of the 'party'. This one is a purse....gasp! Don't say that! It was one of the challenges! No I am not just giving an excuse to show off another purse! It was!! We were supposed to try to use a backgrounder stamp instead of designer paper. This one was CHF's scalloped lace BG with some curls and a sentiment from their Kim Hughes collection, Cute curls. I used faux stitching with a gel pen and some white brads and ribbon and voila! A cute little purse card. You like it! Admit it!

This next card was a quickly whipped up sketch challenge where you try to use your own ideas but follow a pattern. I was literally rushing, so the picture looks a little rushed...sorry! Also, there's a dark spot on both pictures that must be some shadow, but isn't really on the card. What do you think?

Busy weekend! I spent most of Saturday having a TREMENDOUS time hanging out with some of my best buds from my old job long ago! We get together every year (this was our 14th, we think) to catch up on each other's lives and have lunch and a Christmas ornament exchange. We luncheoned in an old inn on a hillside. We got just enough snow on Saturday to make it pretty. I forgot my camera or I'd share a few pix! This luncheon really kicks off the holiday season for me, so it is a lot of fun! Sunday, we took our daughter on a college visit to an art college 3 hours away. The drive was snowy and icy, but it was a good time together with my husband, daughter and I. Who knows what the next chapter will be in her story? How exciting to find out!

I also really appreciate hearing all the stories of our childrens' life adventures, both joyful and difficult. We are all really woven together as a tapestry and the colors of our lives are both bright and dark, dull and sparkling. What a wonderful plan of relationship God has! We need one another so much, that it a shame when some small thing (or even BIG thing) comes between friends and family! We all have our histories, of course, but one there is one quote I heard at a woman's conference a few years ago that has really gotten me through a lot just in the past few years....

"Forgiveness does not mean that the person was right, it just releases the bonds from within."

Wow. To me that is powerful. Really think on that one; I am here to testify that it will change some of the relationships you have in your lives. By letting go of those offenses from others, we are free to be connected to them again. Free to love and free to let God work in the relationship. After all, we know the forgiveness we received from God wasn't because we were right, right?

Well, hey, I have a long list to get to today! But I can do it on my own time, so I will enjoy every bit of it! You do the same, won't you? Listen, only 21 days until we can sing Happy Birthday to the one reason we have Christmas at all! Jesus! Be blessed this week!

Love ya!

Kim

PS The bump between the chairs? My pumpkin from early October! I guess it's frozen pumpkin now! Tee hee!!

So many things to Rejoice about!

Remember I told you about my friend Erin getting married? Well, here is Mrs. Erin and I after the wedding! It was a perfect prince and princess wedding and so nice to be included in her celebration! I think it has made me appreciate my own 24 years of marriage and how much my husband and I have come through to be so happy together! He really is my other half and I can't imagine doing this life without his wonderful-ness. He is truly my Esposo Favorito (one of my many nicknames for him! Our Mexican friends thought it was hilarious...Manuel said, "Esposo Favorito? How many husbands have you had???" Only one, thank you! I had a Stampin' Up party on Saturday, and he cooked the brunch for 13 of us! Then my friend, Gail, came over Sunday after church and we designed her Christmas cards together....and he cooked Duck with Mango sauce and Pumpkin soup! Oh my! It was incredible! Then today he took the day off to go with me to visit with my mom in the hospital! Love him!


I trust that all of your Thanksgiving holidays were great! Our church coordinates a "Thanksgiving to Go" event and we delivered about 270 meals on Thanksgiving day!!! Can you believe it! People volunteer every year and it was again a success! What a blessing to work together and make someone's day brighter! God is so good to give us these opportunities!


I want to say a special hi to my first and always best friend, Elizabeth. HI BETT! I think I showed you the card I sent her for her birthday on an earlier post (no not the Happpy 50 years one!!). Isn't it wonderful to have best friends? They are there with you through it all and still they love you! Love you, Liz! There. My first personal hello on the giant web! tee hee!

I know what you are thinking....well, where's all the STAMPING???

Hey, I HAVE been stamping, but also so busy it's been hard to post!!If you can stand one more purse, read on. If not, well....read on anyhow!!

I used the emboss resist technique on this card! The backgrounder stamp is one of my favorites from Cornish Heritage Farms, Paisley. I used SU's River Rock paper and embossed the image with clear embossing powder. Then I used a sponge dauber and colored it with SU's Real red ink. The color of the base stays River rock. Cool huh? I was inspired by my MIL Joyce's shirt she wore to my house....and it matched perfectly! I gave her the purse but snapped a shot before I gave it away!

What do you think? She thought I was crazy! But she loved the purse :)

I am working on a bunch of things for Christmas right now, so I'll be sure to post them soon...well, the ones I can without ruining any surprises!

I sure pray that you are being blessed by God's goodnesses this week! I am just so joyful, and I know it is God's grace. Snow is coming and still I rejoice....now THAT'S grace! :)

I want to share a link that my friend Barbara sent to me....be blessed by it as it is so true! And God's word is always a lamp onto our feet....don't you agree? :)

Beautiful Video.

Love ya!
Kim

PS Can you believe it's only 29 days until Christmas!?!

Supporting Autism Awareness with Joy!

Good day! Those of you that know me well know that I am an educator who has a special corner of my heart set aside for those children I serve that have autism. They are usually my favorite kids in the world! Yes, we all have "Children of our hearts" and God has put these children in mine! Every kid I know with autism loves to laugh...they have the most ADORABLE giggle! With this in mind, I want to send you over to a Mockumentary that makes fun of my other favorite thing....STAMPING! Well, scrapbooking and stamping! The reason I am mentioning it is that these two guys have made a DVD poking fun in a fun way of what all of us do when it comes to stamping and scrapbooking (and that's why it's so funny...it's all true!!!) They are making this DVD available for $9.99...with FREE Shipping and Handling!! But the coolest part is, they are giving $1. of every sale towards Autism awareness. What better way to support a cause than to have fun doing it! Click here to watch a trailer of the DVD and then jump right in and support a great cause, Autism Support Daily. You'll feel glad you did! What a great gift for your favorite scrapbooking friends!! Be blessed today!!

Kim

Joyfully, it's the weekend! And a holiday!

First, I want to say THANK YOU to all the VETERANS and MILITARY MEN and WOMEN and FAMILIES who have sacrificed their love, time and lives to make my family safe and free! My uncle Weldon served in the Army for over 20 years. I remember praying for him during the Vietnam war. I am so blessed to still have my uncle here, but so many did not return. Won't you pray for our military families today?

We remember those we have lost and those we support today! Bless you all!!!!

Hurrah! It's finally the weekend! Life has been so crazy busy and high drama, that I am ready for a day to do little chores (and there are always LOTS of little chores, aren't there??). But I am thankful that I can get to them....do you find it as hard as I do to let them slide as you tackle the big things ? They just nibble at my thoughts and I keep thinking....'just wait. I'm gonna get to you soon!' So today's the day!

Before I begin my little adventures, though, I thought I'd keep my promise and post those little purses I've been creating....remember the shower I was coordinating? Well, it was a hit! and so were the purses! Fun!! First here is a pic of Erin (the bride to be!) and I at the shower. They are getting married next Saturday! She's the adorable one, and I'm the tired one on the left.

And here are the purses....well some purses and one tool box gift card for the groom to be. SU Designer paper works wonderfully on this project....I love it! On most of them I included a gift card "pocket" and you'll see one with a ribbon. They are so EASY to whip up in a pinch.

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I've also included one I made for my friend's birthday....a 'purse'-onal wish wouldn't you say so ;)

I think I will make Thank you cards for the other coworkers who helped me whip up that shower including Jane, who makes beautiful cakes!! Here is her creation below!! Yum!

Thanks for visiting my blog!! And thanks, too, to Keri for such a WONDERFUL purse tutorial! I love when I look at one of her tutorials and say, I CAN DO THAT! Check out her blog Pink Lemonade! And have a really JOYFUL weekend with your families and doing all those little things that need done.....now....where IS my toilet bowl brush??? Tee hee!!

Kim

PS forgive any spacing issues...some days they will not resolve!!!!

A Soggy, yet Eternal Joy

Well, it's a soggy night to be leaping, but praise God Joy is eternal and not dependent on our circumstances!

Tough evening. Our soccer girls played in POURING COLD rain tonight for the class title and lost after tieing the game, overtime, sudden death overtime, a shootout and finally a sudden death shootout with an ending 4 goals to 3. They played their hearts out for a third run to the state championships and just didn't make it! They remain the defending state champs from last year, but the opponent goes on to state play this time! Well, hope is eternal and I am confident that they will have a GREAT chance to go back next year! So we end the season with the this year's Division and Sectional titles for the class. Not a bad set of plaques :) The girls are sorely disappointed but nothing keeps them down for long!

On the down side, we had snow at work today. You know, I just can never feel ready for snow!!! And we hardly get any here compared to some of my stamping friends out west! Sigh. As if 100" a year isn't enough....pah!! More lake effect is predicted at work (higher elevation, that!) tomorrow. Thank goodness I live in the valley!




While I can, I'm taking time to post three things. One is a pic my hubby took on the river here in Letchworth Park. He's an avid canoeist and this trip was one of his trek and paddles a few weeks ago. Isn't it fabulous?! They call our park the "grand canyon" of the East. If you're ever in the neighborhood, let me know! We live less than a mile from the park and I'd love to show you 'round!



The other two things?? Shhhhh...don't tell her....but my friend Erin is getting married next weekend. We are having a shower for her at work on Thursday. Here are the card and a purse card I made for the gift cards we're giving her from the group! The purse card project is on my stamping buddy Keri Sereika's blog, Pink Lemonade. Try it out! Her tutorials are smashingly good!!

I used patterned paper from Current and my Autism Awareness set from Gina K Love you to Pieces. The embellishments are SU stitched ribbon in chocolate chip and the buttons are from my button box! Inside the sentiment "A perfect fit!" is stamped from the same set. I calligraphered their names. It opens in the center, obviously, so you can see I had to use an acrylic block to hold the card closed for the picture. It is flatter now :) I needed the card to be big so everyone who donated to the gift can fit their well wishes! I'm so excited for her!



They are a young, adorable couple and they are ready to take on the world together. Nothing's as good as a friend you can count on to be there forever...it's especially sweet when that person is your spouse!



Isn't this purse adorable? The paper is some I received from a Wish RAK and I'm not sure but it may be SU. The top flap is actually stamped with SU creamy caramel and chocolate chip ink and an SU basic backgrounder stamp. Matches well, doesn't it? Oh, and the ribbon is choco chip too! You can see on Keri's tutorial that you can glue a little pocket inside to hold a gift card if that's what you want. I'm going to make two more for the party...I'll show them to you when I can!

Hey! Enjoy the week the Lord has set before us! He will be with us in sunny or soggy weather. He promises! Be well and totally blessed!!!
Kim

Joy joy joy in a sparkly day!

Hi! What a sparkly day! First, today is my 24th Wedding anniversary! Praise God John has put up with me for this long!! LOL! Just kidding....us married people know it's a two way street! Yes, that's right....praise God for the grace to put up with him this long!! LOL!!

And! Kels' team WON the SECTIONAL TITLE girl's soccer game with God's grace!!!! So we continue on our run for a repeat showing at the state championships! It's still a long way away but we will concentrate on each game and see what's around the next corner!! If the worse happens, we will be done with varsity soccer games and practices til next year, so it's a win-win no matter what happens :)

So, I promised pictures! Here we GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO......


Last month was pastor appreciation month, so everyone at church signed up for a day of the month to honor the pastor (we have two). We signed up for the end of the month, baked cinnamon and banana bread and added a card of appreciation. I couldn't POSSIBLY use the same card TWICE, could I??? Ah, well, more stamping!! I do so love monochromatic cards, but I also had to try out my prismacolors I recently....ahem..."acquired". This one went to our senior pastor and the next one to our associate pastors. We so appreciate these men of God in our lives!

In case I never told you where to get these amazing stamps---run right now on over to Cornish Heritage Farms! They just recently released a new set of Thomas Kinkades! The lighthouse is on my Christmas list!


The scripture is CHF as well, and it is the Psalm that tells us to delight ourselves in the Lord and He will give us the desires of our heart. Pastor Eric, our senior pastor, once challenged us with this scripture...he thought that perhaps it isn't a promise that God will always give us what we want, but that God himself will put the desires for the things He wants for us into our hearts. I love this way of thinking of things. If we delight ourselves in God, He will reveal for us what He has placed in our very being. Cool, don't you think?

Oh! You want to see a few more cards? Okay! Here is another bella card. I made it for my son's girlfriend's birthday. Kalene is dear to our hearts and I can't wait to see her to give her presents! She is at college, so I'll have to wait until thanksgiving! Grrrr....waiting is not my favorite thing to do!!! (Yes I KNOW patience is a virtue....I just don't know WHY! LOL!!)



She is a blingy girl,so I HAD to add the sparkly butterflies! And she also wants one of those little dogs someday, so this card was perfect for her. I received this image as part of a swap at SCS; I don't have the stamp itself. I used sparkly gel pens for the dress and prismacolors for the doggie! Then I used SU's patterned paper and also the three flower punch and stamps for the just for you. Gina K's Make a wish! sentiment is stamped on twill and BLING! A card!

If you click on the pic, you can see finer details :)

You know, with all this fun, I'm beginning to think working is really putting a downer into my stamping time! (Just a random thought).

Alright, friends, I have time for one more shared card....but I DIDN'T MAKE THIS ONE!! Deb Ring is an amazing stamper I have "met" through the CHF stamper's forum. She and I have exchanged cards several times and her designs always bless me! This one is particularly cool...She used a stencil and then BLEACHED the card!! The lighter color you see is the color that the cardstock changed to after the bleach was applied. Isn't that BEAUTIFUL??? Then she edged the picture with glitter (sparkly!) and put some of that poofy ribbon on the side. I don't have her full 'recipe' for the card so forgive my adjectives! If you want me to get the details from her, leave a comment and I'll see what I can do :)

You all, it's been fun updating you tonight. I have to go to bed and get some sleep so I can help those speech needy kids tomorrow. Be blessed tonight! I'll let you know how our game turns out!!!

PS If you have left a message on my blog...thank you!!! What an encouragement. For those of you who have emailed me....thanks for that, too!!! You are God's gift to me! Arrivederci!

Kim

Joyfully GREEN!! (And Turf green at that!)

G'day! Sorry to say I don't have a lot of time for blogging what with Kelsey's team in the soccer sectionals again this year and games coming at a fast pace!!! We go to all the games so it is a whirlwind of tiresome but exciting times! Her team has clinched the division, but must win tomorrow night to win the sectional title! She was pictured in the paper this week heading a ball! whoo hoo!

So suffice it to say I will keep with a quick post to let you know I'm still alive and leaping :) And we are again in the green on the blog as well as the soccer turf! Yeah! Please continue to keep those struggling with breast cancer in your prayers, however! And be blessed by this gorgeous indian summer if you're from around here! Hey, I think I have a few cards to post that I made for pastor appreciation day but that'll have to wait for the weekend....almost there!

be well blessed!!!
Kim