CHA part TWO!

Now some sights and sounds from my favorite new to me vendors at CHA....all the designer paper was absolutely scrumptious, the colors of all the design lines FAB and the atmosphere so "Pink Cotton candy"! {if you know what I mean} Just all Yummy!

This is My Mind's Eye's: "Laundry Line" line and Make and Take. It was so neat to see the booth set up with ironing boards. Their glittery paper was so gorgeous, I just wanted to stand there all day! They have coordinating paper, ink, buttons and all! The people at this booth were super nice!

Here is the line to go into the exhibit hall! There were Bagpipers playing for us. So funny!

Another favorite neat product I saw was "Core' dinations". This neat stuff has a color core that you can get to by sanding the outside of the cardstock to reveal a coordinating color inside the cardstock. Here was a "cake and candy" display showing off the ability to cuttlebug a design onto the cardstock, sand it to reveal the inner color and make a beautiful project. It was SOOOOOOO cool to play with this stuff!!

Here is another company that caught my eye in a big way. I just love retro school related stuff and all of Jenni Bowlin's stuff was retro....with a wonderful habit of miniaturizing everything she designs! Here is her logo and some products and a snap of Betty looking at all the cool cool stuff....I will definitely be on the lookout for Jenni Bowlin everywhere!!

Isn't it all so thrilling!? If only pictures could do the atmosphere justice!!

This was one of the products Jenni was displaying! She has an entire line of these Bingo boards as well as a set of miniatures! Check out her site (http://www.jennibowlin.com/) ....so so ADORABLE!!

Hope you enjoyed this little taste! I'm still packing....can you believe I leave soon!!??

CHA part ONE!

Have you ever seen one of those, what I call, "Sports miracle movies"?? You know the kind; the small town team struggling to win any games at all (you name the sport) and a coach comes along and makes such a radical change in attitude/skill of the team that they go on to the BIG GAME in some GIGANTIC, impressive stadium/court/field?? And as the team enters "the arena" there is a big 'hush' of awe and one team member whispers to another something like, "We made it! We're really here!"

That was CHA for me. The road trip with my friend Betty was priceless as we talked for hours and hours! The staying at Betty's friend's Sandy's house in Milwaukee was a great blessing as I felt like family there (and brushed up a bit on my rusty Spanish!) And then...the arena...wow! Pictures CANNOT do it justice, but here's a few...I'll post several times so you don't have to take it all in at once....it was HUGE and that's an understatement. We had classes on Thursday and familiarized ourselves with the convention center. I think I can safely say I saw about half of the show on Friday and Saturday. Then we left on Sunday. Still, wow.

One of the most exciting things was meeting some of the people I've come to know online (and are, like, my stamping mentors of a sort!) Okay, maybe it was the most exciting thing!

First!

This is me with some of the Cornish Heritage Farms designers and amazing creative artists! Me, Lori Craig, Julie Campbell and Lisa Silver. They had been training on Copic markers all day, but were gracious enough to stand in for a picture. I also met Becky Olson, but didn't get a photo with her. What a blessing to meet everyone! I love these ladies over at CHF!Lisa and I were able to talk a little bit during the show which was so nice! (everyone was very busy, but 'connecting' was a great pleasure, even for a bit!) I was also able to meet Richard Pomeroy, one of the CHF owners....he was great! I got a picture with him, but he is sticking out his tongue...so I won't post that one! Tee hee... ;)

This is me with Lisa Johnson! She designs for Papertrey Ink, but I also follow her Poppy Paperie blog. She also just released her first stamp set under PTI. She is a sweetheart

Finally......big drumroll!!! One of my very favorite people in the stamping industry....yes, I was (and AM) beside myself in wonder that we connected......I finally got to meet GINA K!!!! AHHHH! Oh my! Gina is one of the most generous and wonderful people and she was just the sweetest thing! Here we are in a now famous photo op: (famous in my house that is!!)

I also got to meet Deb Olsen, and Tim Holtz...two people whom I respect greatly in their creativity and craft. Deb and I shared a hug and Tim and I a handshake. More about Tim's workshop later....

There were a lot of other people I admire but didn't connect with during CHA...including Kim Hughes from CHF, Nichole Heady at Papertrey Ink, Em of Stamping Bella fame and Kurtis A (Stampin' Kub). I didn't really see them in the three days I was there, but I wished I had.

Oh, there's one more 'meet and greet' I never in a lifetime dreamed would happen....
Yes of course....it's Me, Cuttlebug, Betty and Cricut! Now that's a dream come true!! Til next time!

Quick hi and a mystery???

Oh....my....gosh! I am really really too tired to post a real post yet.....CHA was AMAZING and FULL of FUN! Pictures will follow soon....we are in the midst of vacation bible school this week, and I am storytelling every night (including setting up a new stage every day) so not much time online....and packing, too!!

But I do have a MYSTERY TO SOLVE!! On the first night of VBS, a package was left on my front door at my house....can you help me solve it?!



These were found in a bag hanging on the door handle! My first thought was an SBS9 sister who was in the neighborhood....but from England?? Shouldn't I know who was in town??? Or is this from my still mysterious Secret sister from across the pond?? Then I thought maybe a Splitcoast stamper person fulfilling a WishRAK, as they put only Kim Leach rather than Kim Marie...then I thought maybe my SBS sister Sue would be the culprit as that little smiley at the bottom is her trademark...but I just can't figure it out....Did you visit me, Sue??

Well in any case, THANK YOU!!! I was blessed....Tildas have become a new favorite of mine as my blog readers well know and now I have even more coloring to do!! Thank you to my secret pal...I'm only sorry I didn't get to hug you in person!! :(

Any help to solve this one would be appreciated!!!

Oh, and by the way......I LOVE THE FROG CARD! I just can't stop looking at all the glittery frogs! ;)

To CHA I go!! And then, the other side of the World!!

My friend and I are leaving to drive to CHA in Chicago very very early (like 5 AM!) on Wednesday morning, so I will be gone through the next Monday, but then I will be CRAZY busy as a storyteller/puppeteer for our VBS (Victory Kidz Club) every night the following week, so although I promise pictures of me meeting some of my stamping mentors...I think it will be a bit before I get back to blogland! And then I'll be getting ready for Africa!!!

These maps show my mission destination. The first is the entire African continent and the second, zoomed in, map has the city of Beira, which you can see if you click on the photo. Thinking about the fact that I will be eating in Johannesburg on my way to Beira is just under 3 weeks is too overwhelming! Better get back from Chicago first!


Have a blessed next couple of weeks if I don't catch up with you! Work on that sketch! I'll post any entries I receive through Tuesday pm.

Oh! My mom is finally entering rehab in the hospital! A major victory!! Thanks for--and please keep--praying!

God loves you! Me too!

Jumping for Joy!

I am so blessed!! I found out my name was randomly drawn to win two different sets of stamps. One is from Clear Artistic Stamps...I put my name in during the new release of their sets on my friend Wendi's blog. The girl whose name was chosen actually won twice (two different blogs) and she asked Wendi to pick again...(thanks Heather!) Wendi picked me next!! The set I won, Delicate Moments, is beautiful! Check it out!!

The second set I just found out about last night. It's Melanie Muechinger's "Jumping for Joy" set from Gina K!! I merely voted on a blog card posted for one of her challenges and my name was randomly drawn to receive one of her newest sets! Melanie makes the most FUN sets ever!! Click on her name to check out her really fun blog! And be on the look out for a card using this set in the near future!! I mean...African animals!!! Do you think that relates?! :)

For those of you saying, Kim, you win everything!! I want to encourage you! You can win, too! The odds are very good! Sometimes all it takes is a comment on a person's blog or creation. Be brave!! Also I choose a handful of blogs to visit regularly. You don't have to read a million different blogs (although is VERY tempting!) Just pick a few, check in and trust me, y0u'll have an opportunity to win, too! The more you try, the greater your chances!

Speaking of blog winning....have you tried my card challenge yet??? The prize packages are a SURprize! You'll see!

Jump for Joy today! It is a day of REST! Rest in God's presence today and I will guarantee it, you will have peace! God is so so GOOD!

Bloom!

Happy happy Day!

Gina K has a sketch challenge up on her blog and since the prize was wonderful (Koh-li-noor pencils) I decided to play along! This was my entry based on her sketch. I need a graduation card for today, and this is it! Isn't she (yes, she...eyelashes!!) adorable? The DP (you were going to ask!) is hand made...about a MILLION years ago, my now 22 yr. old--then 7 year old, son and I went to a crafting day at school and using water, oil and paints made this "stationary". It always looked like a pond and lily pads to me, so I have saved it til today!! All images are Gina K's Just so Hoppy and Baskets of Happiness sets. I stamped the frog on PTI's designer paper, Everyday blessings. The rest is scrap dp I received from wishRAK.

Speaking of winning, check out some easy to enter blog candy at Maria's blog! Fun!

http://mariascards.blogspot.com/

Bloom brightly today. God has given this day; its beauty is just for you!!!

Love ya!

So thankful! And busy!

These hazy days are filled with preparations for my trip to Mozambique in August and packing for my road trip next week to the CHA convention with my friend Betty! I just wanted to show you a few small things I have been working in!

One project has been sending these thank you notes to those who have joined my prayer team for my trip! These little 3x3's use Cornish Heritage Farms Delicate Wings stamps, which were a stamp of the month last winter. You can still buy the stamps individually. The cardstock I used was from Current, Inc a company that I used to buy A LOT from in the "old days". The colors of their CS is just so vibrant and beautiful. And it seemed to fit my project perfectly!! I love Monarch butterflies! I tried using PTI's Plum pudding in and a bit of the ribbon on this next one....I think it turned out just as beautiful, don't you??













This next card is for a co worker...these are also images from Cornish Heritage Farms. Asela Hopkins designed these flower stamps, as well as the butterfly. And this sentiment is one of my top 10 favorite sentiments ever! I used SU's CS Confetti White and a scrap color as well as PTI's Spring Moss Twill ribbon.

Finally, here's my challenge entry to Jackie's blog. The challenge was to make a card with a scottish theme....and well, this little scotty dog is the closest I could come! This is a bella card as you can see...I received this image in a bella swap a long time ago...I checked my WishRAK DP stash and voila! Plaid (what clan? I have no idea! But some Scot women must have pink and green in their family plaid, right?? LOL!) The buckle made it seem more Scottish to me for some reason! Hoo boy! Although I happen to love all plaids and scottish accents, can you tell I'm Irish?? Well, Jackie I hope this will do! It was fun to think of how to make it work :) Thanks for the challenge! You know, she's opened up this blog candy challenge to everyone! Why don't you all try it??

Cheer up, all! It's a good day!

Cards for troops!

I know I talk too much, but it's kind of my special talent ;) Hey, I happen to make a living with communication! But I've decided the cards can speak for themselves today, so here is mostly cards, less talk!

Each card represented a different challenge over at SCS' WishRAK but we also were supposed to try and use something we've received through WishRAK. I chose my favorites here, but I made 13 new cards and am sending a total of 35....including my eagle card from my sketch. Want to send some cards you don't want/need? Email me and I will mail you an address! More is better!

Card recipes are in my album {kimmet123}at SCS if you want to see everyone's cards. Just type in WR4thCC08 plus numbers 01-17 after that (eg. WR4thCC0806 to see all the anniversary challenge cards) into the search. Anyone can see them without even joining, I think. Try it!

The first card was my fav! It uses Kim Hughes' Fall Silhouettes set from Cornish Heritage Farms! It was so fun to plan out the circles on the card! The other images are Gina K, Karen Lockhart, and of course Magnolia stamps! What fun!!


















What do you think about this less talking thing?? Yeah, me neither!! ;)

A Dad and His girl and more!!

Happy Sunday! Some things to post that I've had in the wings.......

These are some pics of the Whitewater rafting trip that we took on Father's Day! My church sponsored the event and 78 people participated! If two went from the same family, dad went
free! It was a lot of fun and here is my DD and her dad at a spot in the river where we took a break. It was such a great time to be with each other and honor the dads! There was a picnic at the end and boy, were we hungry!! We rafted 6 miles of river. Cool!

Also here are a few creations I've made recently...the pad of paper I made as a going away gift for a speech teacher who was working with me this year. I, of course, love all things "K" and this set from Stampin' Up (retired)! Her name is Katie, so it worked out perfectly... the DP, CS and ribbon are all from Papertrey ink's Perfect Match collection.


I spent any stamping time I had this weekend working on SCS' Card for troops challenge at the Wish RAK (random acts of kindness) forum. For those of you who don't know about Wish RAK, it's a wonderful forum where you bless others with images they are wanting and you in turn are blessed with wishes for stamped images you are wanting. The blessing is two fold for me actually:

1. I don't have to have every stamp set in the world, but can get some images from sets I like and use them to make cards. Much cheaper!! (Like FREE!)

2. I can actually use some of the sets that sit in my "stash" unused because there is someone out there who will use the images I stamp! It makes me so happy to bless them and I don't feel I've wasted my money to have it just sit there.

Wish RAK is open to everyone, but you have to join Splitcoaststampers first, then the RAK forum, then you "apply" to join the Wish RAK...then you are given three "free" wishes and are free to grant others' wishes...for every wish granted, you receive a bonus wish to wish for something else!! Really, the only cost is postage, which isn't at all bad for what you receive! You can actually mail 6-8 quarter pages of cardstock with images for only the 43c postage stamp. You can even wish for things like Prima flowers or cuttlebug shapes or whatever is stamping related. Some generous soul will see your wish and grant it. The whole blessing thing really is addictive once you start granting wishes to other people, too. I just would love to stamp images all day and fill envelopes!! Think about it! Go over to SCS...if you've joined already, click on forums at the top, scroll down to WishRAK and see what I mean! Let me know if you join! Fun!

I'll post my Troop Challenge cards tomorrow! Enjoy the day!!

Edited to add: {PS Hey all...I did figure out the blog staying on top deal...actually, I didn't solve it, I just tried again and it worked this time!! LOL!! Don't forget to put a link to your blog entry or gallery (CHF, SCS9, etc!) so we can all see it!! I'll post them in a separate post closer to the deadline!
Blessings!

A Blessed Holiday to you!

Happy 4th of July!!!

Thanks to all our men and women who have given their lives and their time to bless us with freedom and the chance to be independent every day!!

Happy Birthday, Mom!! We are visiting my mom today in the hospital and my sister Kelly is bringing in a cheesecake! Mom can only have artificial flowers in her room, so I'm bringing in a big bouquet! Here's the card I made to give to her! This Magnolia little girl was part of the images sent to me in my SBS secret sister package...paper and all! She loved me using my copics to color her...here's the rest of my package:

My SBS sister must know I LOVE GREEN! This DP is gorgeous! And I don't know if you can read the stamp set, but it talks about hugs being healthy. I was so excited to get this little set....it's magnetic! Something new and fun! And I am ALL ABOUT THE HUGS! My DH just said "hoo boy! Did you pay this person to send you hug stuff just to get me to hug you more than I already do?" I told him, "Not at all...it's just a GOD THING!!" Tee hee!!!

For those of you who are asking....I'm more than half way to my goal for my trip! God has been so amazing to me...It is so wonderful to be Fully Relying On God..... and you know I love that acronym!! FROG!!! LOL!!

Have a safe and blessed Holiday!

My first Belli Challenge Post :)

These are some gifts I've made to say thanks to some friends who have helped me tremendously!!

They are unwavering in their faithfulness and always willing to go the extra mile!!

They are the teacher aides and assistants that bless me all year long with the commitment to the children we teach. Most of my favorite students brave multiple and severe disabilities. Most of them have an aide assigned to them specifically. They all get speech services from me. I love these kids, but I know that without the tireless help of the aides and assistants, my job would be impossible! I salute them every year with a little thank you gift.

On my limited budget, I made myself think long and hard about how I could bless them without breaking the bank. So this is what I came up with!

I made these pins using the Define your Life stamp set from Stampin' up. I used Papertrey's DP from their Guidelines 6x6 DP pad and PTI's Plum Pudding ink. I used some peel and stick pin backings I buy around Christmas time by the bagful. I let each person choose the pin they felt reflected their personalities. I was really surprised by some of the choices. Just goes to prove I don't know everything!! **gasp** :)



This card was also made using some DP I have in my stash...most of it small pieces. The BG DP is from an old SU patterned paper pack. Thanks to the hint from my friend Holly Brown, I realize that both of these projects meet the Belli Challenge!! Hey, who am I to hold back fate?? Challenges are fun to do....you should try one sometime!! You can win prizes! Check out Chris' blog for the challenge and you could be her next winner!

My sketch is up!! Try it for a challenge! And a prize!!

THIS POST WILL REMAIN ON TOP! SCROLL DOWN TO SEE MY MOST RECENT BLOG ENTRY!!!

My turn! This is the SBS9 challenge sketch for the month of July. Use the sketch to create a card, then comment on this blog post with a link to your blog or a card gallery where the card is posted!



Here's my take on the sketch card!!


AN IMPORTANT NOTE: I made my sketch and card red, white and blue!! You can follow ANY COLOR scheme!



I will send out TWO prizes! One prize goes to an SBS9 sister and the other prize goes to a NON-SBS9 card maker....and you will have a few extra weeks to get your card into the "drawing" as I will be out of country July 30 until August 11th. I promise to give out prizes when I come back! So get creative!!

This post will stay at the top of my blog for the month of July so you can find it easily. Be sure to scroll down to see my latest posts!

This is my first ever sketch challenge...I don't have any of those fancy graphics programs, so I used my computer's Paint program...it's very NOT user friendly so forgive the off center shapes. Someday I'll have to get photo shop or whatever it is everyone uses...I can't even get it to make a water mark to put "on" my cards...sigh. Poor me, huh!? ;)

Oh! The card's images are Cornish Heritage Farms. They have the greatest images and this is from Kim Hughes' America the Beautiful Collection.