Love it!

My first post of 2010 is about love :) And it's not because I am joining in the after Christmas rush to do all things Valentine's Day...I'm against rushing every holiday! Instead it's a CELEBRATION! of Love itself! We've just shared a day celebrating LOVE itself coming to earth as a baby sent by a loving Father who wanted to share love with his children. And as we begin this new year, I plan on sharing the LOVE I have for my family, my friends and my God with all of them! This is not a resolution either but rather a declaration that LOVE will be my focus and my goal for all I come in contact with! The love that Jesus gives to me...that's what I want to share with others! So in the vein of LOVE, here is my creation that I will be giving to my DH when he gets home...just to tell him I love him! My images are from Hand in Hand, Melanie Muenchinger's set by Gina K. I received this set from my DH for Christmas...and I'm entering this card into a Blog Hop Challenge by Melanie, too. Click here to enter into it! I've been wanting this beautiful set for SO LONG! And so I also thank him with this love note :) FYI....I'm the pale one...blame the red hair!! I also want to introduce you to my son and his girlfriend Kelly. They have just moved to Texas this week and I miss him already! Kelly is such a sweet nice girl and I thought a post about LOVE would be a nice place to show them off :) Isn't my boy handsome?! Looks like his dad, of course!! Well, friends! Have a wonderful Sunday! We've got snow here, but Life is Good! Yes?! Blessings!

Welcome SBS Sisters group 29!

Happy New Year!
Happy New Adventures!

Hi all! I'm so thrilled to begin another new year of life and with new years come new excitement! I have joined a new Stamping sisters group and this is my introduction post ;) Those of you who know my blog, including my precious SBS9 sisters, this is history for you, but hey! If you are patient enough to have followed my blog for so long, I know you are forgiving of my quirky ways!
So welcome to my new SBS29 Sisterhood group! I've now been blogging about 2 1/2 years and I still love it! Here is a revisit of what I call

The Kim Marie Tutorial ;)

I am a 46 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 18 and 23 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 26 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, although my son just moved to TEXAS! 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 have taken mission groups to Mexico and Mozambique, and look forward to whatever else God sets before us on our path! Given all that, 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 make a great effort to post once a 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 :)

Off to make a Gina K card!

Profound Season's Greeting

Blessed Thanksgiving!

These are a few projects highlighted last month on Clear Artistic Stamps Guest Designer Spot! One is a Thankful Journal that the guests at my house this year will write about whatever they are most thankful for! The other picture shows some napkin holders I made. So easy!

Thought I'd share them today and say THANK YOU for hanging in there and hanging out with me this last year! You are a blessing and I THANK MY GOD FOR YOU! You make me so
May God's light shine upon you and may the warmth of His peace fill your hearts and homes! Love ya!

Doesn't everybody love a sale? How 'bout CHF and Unity??

Do you love Unity like I do? Cornish Heritage Farms, too? Today and Monday, my good friend Betty is running a 50% off sale at her store Ye Olde Outhouse! She sells lots of different stamps from many different companies, and she is having an inventory clearance sale. Her website isn't functional right now, but if you know of a set you've been wanting, give her a call....she is also giving free shipping and will send out your order to you within two days of your call! It's today and Monday only! If there's a set you've been waiting to get, here's your chance! So what are you waiting for?!?! {I'm heading out to her store today, myself! }

Here's the 411:

Ye Olde Outhouse

7899 Mount Morris Nunda Rd

Mount Morris, NY 14510

585-355-7489

To whet your whistle, here is a card set I made for my student teacher's birthday present :) I used Unity stamps!

Blessings to you today!!

Fall JUGS ;)

Here's a card I made for a swap with some of my cruise friends...a pretty neat swap, too....each one of the 8 sent only the supplies for eight cards to one of the other swappers and then each of us made a card with whatever items we received, so really the card is a collaborative effort! And more of a challenge, as we had to use all of the supplies! This is the card I made with the items I received from Mary Lu. The card stock and the ink are from my stash, but all the rest came from one of my buds :) The card also fits the Just Us Girls (or JUGS) challenge to use a dimensional flower! ;) Check out the other entries....these ladies are TALENTED!! Click on the blinkie on the side bar ----------------->

This last pic is my wonderful family celebrating my DD's 18th bday. Aren't we cute?! Another milestone!

Are you having a FABULOUS week?! Me too....God is just so sweet and kind right now. Is life easy-peasy?? Honestly, no, not really. But is God good to hang out with anyhow? You betcha!! We are SO SO blessed. Thanks for being around and hanging in there with me!
You bless me!

Honestly!

Awww....so nice! My friend Wendy gave me this award! How sweet of her!

I have to list 10 things about me and then grant this award to 5 other creative people! I haven't done this is awhile, hmmmm.....

1. I love olives. Green, black, greek...doesn't matter! In fact my sisters used to give me cans and jars of olives for Christmas! Yummy!

2. I love mindless trivia...I will read ANYTHING I can get my hands on and love to learn little things about everything! Whether it's a book about something I like, or a hunting magazine, I will pick it up and read it.

3. I learned to weave cloth on a 12 harness floor loom in college and I have always wanted one of my own. They sell them for BIG BUCKS so I've never gotten one, but someday I would love to sit and weave for fun!

4. I love bags....tote bags, purses, wallets, big, small, adorable....I'm not a fashionista at all; most of my bags are bought at the thrift store or garage sales, but it's hard not to get them...many brand new!

5. I miss my grandmother. She was so special to me and she is the first person I want to see when I get to heaven.

6. I have 3 sisters and a brother and I am the oldest. I was the "boss of them" growing up because my parents were busy running a business to keep us in school clothes. I was often "baby sitting" for long periods of time and was responsible for them. I always wished I was not....I wish we could have just been playmates. It still makes me sad to have missed out on that.

7. I hate to shop at the mall or stores. I love flea markets and rummage sales. I grew up working the flea markets with my dad. I can walk around a flea market for 8 hours and not be tired. I'm ready to scream after walking through the mall for 15 minutes!

8. I love beauty and can find it everywhere. Frogs. Trees. Rocks. People. Words. Carpets. Purses. Everywhere. :)

9. I don't like driving. To me it is a mean to an end and if I could have a chauffer the rest of my life, I'd take it!

10. I love languages. I thank my God every day for His Word which is so rich and complex, yet so simple and honest. The bible is one big giant language lesson and a tremendous gift to all of us. God created mankind with the capacity to learn and use languages. It's like He gave to us a rich tapestry of "paints" to create all kinds of masterpieces. Without it, where would we bloggers be? ;)

And those creative stampers? Definitely these are a sample of some of my favorites:

Kathy Kathy uses her stamps to encourage more than anyone I know!

Roxanne Roxy is an amazing card designer!

Etha Etha is one of the first internet stampers I "met"! She has always been a creative inspiration to me!

Lisa I've gotten to know Lisa from the Clear Artistic Stamp forum. She has such a variety of "styles" in her cardmaking, she makes me feel better about my eclectic collection of styles! and she always has an encouraging word!

Heather Heather is also a friend from the CAS forum...she is also an encourager to me and I love her fun and colorful projects. I am always inspired by her and along with her creativity, she is also a generous person :)

Thanks for hanging out with me today! Have a tremendous week!!

Go Ahead, wish!

This is a card I made for a friend's birthday....she is battling an awful disease....depression. She has even tried to hurt herself several times, but by the grace of God has been unsuccessful. I want her to know that she doesn't have to worry about tomorrow or the next day or the next day...that God is with her everyday and she doesn't have to be afraid to go ahead and make a wish....God will be faithful to make it happen and she will be around for the blessing!

Below the card pic is a close up of the flowers....I used Versamark, ink and clear embossing powder on all of it....first I inked the images on the stamp with Versamark, and without stamping it yet, I added the color to the stamp with a dye ink (yes, on top of the versamark that was on the stamp already!) Then I stamped it, covered it in clear embossing powder, then used the heat tool until the powder was entirely melted! Voila! Images are from Unity Stamp Co. Kit of the Month. Love it!

Here's to wishing you all a wonderful day!! ;)

Coffee and toast, anyone?!

Here is another card using the paper piecing technique. When I use the Basic Grey Euphoria designer paper on my last card, a scrap piece fell out of the folder with one of my fav designs in the series and I thought....coffee cup! So I used the Unity stamp Co. September Kit of the Month from and made this card....the layer color is actually SU's most beautiful plum purple color in their in color set this year, as it the bright pink I used for the table cloth. The colors are all muted in the picture, though, for some reason.

Also my DH was so impressed that I put my breakfast he created last week on my blog, he insisted I take a pic of my apple-french toast from this week. He loves to cook and while card making is my gift, food is his....so I am DOUBLY BLESSED! and no.....he is NOT for rent! Sorry ladies!

Enjoy your week everyone!

Piece, Baby :)

I love language :) Don't you?!

In case you're wondering, though, my post title refers to Paper piecing...a fun technique and a personal favorite of mine because it always looks so cool ;) My friend Pam and friends have started a new Just Us Girls challenge blog and this is my 1st entry into it. I was glad the first challenge involved a technique I love! One of the little extras in the challenge was to include the color pink in honor of Breast Cancer awareness month. I am honored to do so and this card is for my friend Wendy....she is battling this evil disease for the second time. So for Wendy and all those of you affected by breast cancer in one way or another...tada!

Image and sentiment from Gina K Design Little Tees Stamp set, DP is Basic Grey Euphoria and CS: SU In colors 09

May God bless you today and always!

Friends with Flair Friday :) or FFF with Unity Stamp Company, of course!

Welcome to my first official post for Friends with Flair Fridays at Unity Stamps!

Those who have never heard of this weekly fun: on Angela's Unity Stamp Co blog, she lists blogs of some of her customers, having hidden a "blinkie" in the FFF posts on one of the blogs....if you leave a comment, you may be chosen to win a prize! If this post doesn't have a blinkie, you move on through the list til you stumble upon it!

I became a Unity Stamp Co. junkie from the first minute I saw their images...but since talking with them in person and selling their stamps in Ye Olde Outhouse at the summer CHA Supershow, I am now a diehard fan! I have joined their Kit of the Month and look forward to every package! I so love their fun, beautiful, and sometimes funky, images! And their WONDERFUL and AMAZING quote images have graced a card or few on this blog! The bike in this card is one of my favorite images. I colored it sparkly green, 'cause you KNOW it is my favorite color!! And if you have a green bike....well you must have an orange seat!! I think I will send this one to my son, the Downhill Mountain Biking Maniac! I kid you not...he rides down SKI SLOPES! {{Yes we bought him a helmet WITH A FULL FACE MASK!! No kidding! I paid A LOT for those beautiful straight teeth!}}

Here's the sparkly bike up close!! Isn't it SO fun??

If you are here blog hopping, be sure to go back to Angela's blog for the list and keep on going!! You could be on the road to a prize!! And please join my list of followers! I'd love to see you again! Blessings to you, my newest Unity friends!

Crisp and Windy fall days are here!

I don't know how the weather is for you all, but here the days are crisp and the winds are filling our yards with leaves GALORE! I love fall and fall colors so that saves the day for me even if my hat blows off!! This is a Gina K card using her Whimsical Autumn set. These beauties look like the ones sitting on my front stoop :) Enjoy your day!!

Happy Thoughts :)

Here's a WAY better picture of the card I made for WCMD (the one in the breakfast post) The challenge was to make a card showing what girlfriends do and also to have an 80's flair...so I went for big hair and striped pants and of course the times I get together with friends where work talk is forbidden and only fun and happy things are thought by all :) Oh and the background REALLY made me think of the dance floor on Saturday Night Fever! But from the start, I intended it for my friend Mary Angela for her birthday!And these are the cards I made using Gina K images that I put together for a gift card set for Mary Angela as well! ;) I just added envelopes to the cards and put them in one of PTI's acrylic card cases....very professional looking when it's all put together! She liked them :)
Well, I don't know about you, but today seemed like a Monday. Could be the full moon...the kids were all off a bit...or maybe I was?! Nah!

Oh, don't forget to check out the next project in the By Invitation Only Designer spot for Clear Artistic Stamps!
Blessings, dear friends!

This is how much my Hubby loves me ;)

As I was getting ready for church this morning I said to my darling husband, "I wish we could have pumpkin waffles with apple cider syrup for breakfast...I saw that in a recipe book once and it sounds so good today."

This was my breakfast an hour later...my request with a twist. You see, we didn't have pumpkin (we did have yams) and we didn't have cider (we did have frozen concentrate apple juice). So here are my MOST DELICIOUS Yam waffles with YUMMO apple juice syrup. Oh, and he made the coffee, too! The card you see in the photo is one I made yesterday for the StampingBella challenge for World Cardmaking Day, but it was sitting on the table already and it matched so I set it up for the picture! LOL!

Also on the table was another card I had made for the Splitcoaststampers challenge for WCMD...so I wrote a thank you note inside it and gave this card to my hubby. He so totally rocks!

Hope your Sunday was as blessed! Have a tremendously wonderful week, my friends!

Thrilled in October!! A Guest Designer spot :)

I have been asked to be a Guest Designer for Clear Artistic Stamps for the entire month of October! I know, right!! This is so exciting for me! I have always loved Belinda's style of artwork and whimsical designs, which remind me so much of my beloved story books as a child. I'd love for you to pop over and see my projects (click below)! A different one will be highlighted each week. What a blessing to share my craft with you!

By Invitation Only

Here is a card using some Clear Artistic stamps and felt flowers. The Rumble challenge on Clear Artistic's In the Cottage Studio blog is called "Inside out". You need to show both the inside design of the card as well as the outside! The images come from the Whispers of Dreams and the Sympathy Garden sets. Pop on over to the blog....there are prizes to win today if your comment is chosen! Also my card is in one of the World Cardmaking Day challenges over at Splitcoaststampers.com. There are prizes there for posting cards as well!

Blessings!

Happy World Cardmaking Day!! :)

Happy World Cardmaking Day!! Everyone! :)

I was inspired by a card similar to this on Splitcoast Stampers.com. I used the SU punch with three little flowers....I just fell in love with the idea of making a "Snoball" flower with the tiny ones all bunched together....I got a bit carried away (it just kept growing and growing!)

I've been making a good number of cards and hope to be posting more soon!

Hope your World Card Making Day is full of creative mojo and warm cocoa!

It's in the 50's here in WNY!!

Blessings!

Remembering 9/11

My heart breaks everytime I think of that day.....

Immediately after 9/11, we NY'ers were wont to say, "On this day, everyone is a New Yorker", but really everyday, everyone here is an American. And proud to say so.

God bless every one the families and friends affected by this horrendous act of evil. Which is every one of us. Please pray today for our country, our president, our fellow men and women and our military. Thank you for visiting my blog.
Red, white and blue all the way,

Oh, you've got to see....

The beautiful posts on my friend Roxanne's blog! She used Clear Artistic stamps on two GORGEOUS cards! Check them out here! Bless her with a comment, won't you?! It's free!

By the way, only 5 people responded to my blog candy post and no one seemed to see that I had posted a question...so I put the numbers in a hat and pulled out post #5! Suzann, look out for a prize package! ;) thanks for your comments!
Blessings!

Wood you like to Rumble? Blog candy too?

Happiest of Saturdays everyone! I just wanted to share my card for the Clear Artistic Stamps Rumble #15. The Clear Artistic Stamp blog, In The Cottage Studio, announces these Rumble challenges that you can participate in and even win a prize ;) This week's challenge is to use wood in a project...or in this case "faux wood". Any wood, real or imaginged, is perfectly acceptable, even DP! And of course you can use any stamp set in your card to enter, but you get more entries by using a Clear Artistic set! I also used the shimmer paper that Belinda sells at the Clear Artistic stamp store. This card has both Midnight Starlight and Sunset Pearls shimmer paper.
Now I also have a confession to make! I STRUGGLE to stick with one stamp set/company when creating cards....thus, this card actually uses stamps from THREE different Clear Artistic sets! Two of them are from retired sets....the sentiment and the Clear Artistic stamp logo come from Lighting the Sea and an older version of Sparkles Christmas set. Can you name the third set? If you can, you will be entered into a blog candy drawing for some ribbon and embellishments, shimmer paper and Clear Artistic stamped images, and whatever else I can fit in the envelope!! If you mention the name of another set or images that you like from the CAS collection, you will get another entry! Drawing for the candy will be the end of my first day of school, September 8th!

I noticed that the sentiment on the card is hard to read because the shimmer paper I used reflects the light in a way that masks the words in the photo...on the card it's easy to read. For you, here is a close up. It says, "In the dark of night, one can always see the light".

Isn't that so true of the way Jesus comes into the dark places in our lives and shines a healing and joyful light of peace? If you invite Him into those dark places, He is faithful to bring His light with Him and you will feel the "peace that passes all understanding." Go ahead, give Him a chance to meet you today!

PS I know the dragonflies are big compared to the barn...they make them big here in Western NY :) tee hee!

Vacation is almost over...and a new year begun...

Good morning!

Well, back to school...the educators have gone in two days this week for training and preparing for the new year and I guess I'm ready....it's always hard to give up these last days of vacation...I always say I need "two more weeks, please" but even given that time, I'd still need "two more weeks, please"...I love my work, but I also love my time off :) Kids return the day after Labor Day, and my university teaching begins soon too! Here we go!

Here are two cards I made this summer for special events...

This first one is a wedding card for a dear sweet young friend who was happily married in August. I am always blessed by a wedding because as I sit there during the ceremony, I begin to "see" the future for them through the eyes of my own marriage , praying that God will always be a part of the their union and that His perfect plans are revealed to them as they go through the adventure of learning to REALLY love one another. It's a roller coaster of joy and sorrow, better and worse, richer and poorer! I'm so happy I stuck with the journey through thick and thin and I wish the best for them!

And I love the couple image from Gina K's Greatest Hits I set for this card...the colors of the wedding were black and white (very elegant!) and so the card reflects that...I also used the ribbon from the wedding invitation on the card for them...I wonder if they recognized it?! I also made an acrylic window in the card, sandwiching the acrylic between the cuttlebugged panel and the card front, both made with Gina K's Pure Luxury cardstock!

This second card is for a young man who completed his Eagle Scout badge in Boy Scouts. He was also one of my Tiger Cubs eons ago and we recently attended his big ceremony and celebration once his Eagle Scout community project was completed. I remember well when he was a cute little 6 year old and now he is all grown up! He graduated with my daughter this year and leaves for the Marines this fall. I thought this card appropriate for his big day.

I used Cornish Heritage Farm's America the Beautiful set, and the ripping technique with Core'dination paper...they were both perfect for this card, don't you think?

I am so excited to see young people grabbing onto the JOY of life. It is such a blessing!

May God bless your every day this holiday weekend! Celebrate liberty and celebrate LIFE!