Saturday, January 29, 2011

Who loves...

...a great deal? I know that I do, and you will notice that I added a new little banner over on the right side, right under my picture, that advertises the best deal that Stampin' Up! has each year, Sale-a-Bration.


In order to get everyone in the mood for getting a great deal, I decided to share this little card with you:




This one is made with the most popular Sale-a-Bration set, Punch Bunch. While I have to say that I love all of the offerings in this year's catalog, I have a particularly soft spot for this little owl. That combined with the fact that the stamp works perfectly with our owl punch guaranteed that this was the first SAB item that I ordered!




This card is going to be featured in my February workshops as well, so if you would like for me to come to your house and show you and your friends exactly how to make it, then let me know. I love the chance to teach people how easy and fun it is to make cards for any occasion, and there is nothing better than spending time with your friends discovering what we knew as children: a little paper, some ink, and a stamp can make for a really fun time!




Also, this year Stampin' UP! put a digital content CD in the Sale-a-Bration mix! It has all of the new items shown in the catalog on it, and will really help expand your possibilities when using My Digital Studio. For those of you who don't know or haven't looked at my class schedule for February, I am offering a "How to" class on My Digital Studio this coming Wednesday. Check out the details and call or email me to save your spot. I will be teaching how to get started with MDS, as well as how digital downloads work and basic design of cards and scrapbook pages. (The price is especially nice for my girls who have already purchased the software!)




Now, if the thought of getting some free stamps isn't exciting enough for you, how about not paying shipping costs to get them? Because tomorrow is the Sunday before the Superbowl, I am offering a super deal that includes free shipping. Just click here and scroll to the bottom to see all the details, then email me your order at baxter1@austin.rr.com to get your stamping order without paying the shipping charges. Remember, this deal is good for tomorrow only, although if you email your order this evening I will hold it until tomorrow and you will get my special offer, too!




I hope that everyone is enjoying their weekend and making time for all kinds of fun, whether it is watching the big game or stamping up some great cards. You know there is still time to work on your Valentine's day stuff. (I should know, I am putting together 20 of them for Little Miss' 1st grade class party!) So, stay dry and warm and busy, and until next time...Happy Stamping!




Kim

Monday, January 17, 2011

Back in the saddle...

..again! I think it is a sure sign that I am getting older because it takes me much longer to recover from a trip away now than it did 10 years ago. However, that being said the loss of sleep was well worth it when you consider all the amazing things we got to see and do at Leadership.

For instance, here is a view of one of the 4 different atrium areas that was inside the Gaylord:

That is a 30 foot waterfall inside the Cascades area. I ate a cafe style restaurant near that waterfall twice while I was there. The sushi was great, but the crab bisque was absolutely wonderful! I enjoyed walking through the area late at night when it was not hustling with people and all the little twinkle lights were on. Simply gorgeous!


The first night we were there those of us who were at the title of Manager or above got to go have a night out at the Wildhorse Saloon. There was plenty of fun to be had, starting with all of us receiving our cowboy hat, decked out with an Early Espresso ribbon hat band and antique brads to embellish it. Then we loaded up the buses and went off for an evening of great barbecue and line dancing with Dave Robbins and then Brother Trouble entertaining us.



When we arrived back at the Gaylord, we were greeted by Stampin' Up staff who gave us our Leadership bags that look just like all those cute Vera Bradley purses you see everywhere! The trim on them is the striped ribbon, and inside the tag is red rubber and has the Stampin' Up! logo on it!




The next day was filled with classes. I am just going to post some of the pictures that I took so that you can enjoy them!

This is a project from one of the Mainstage presentations. I have a strong feeling those of you who attend my classes will be seeing this one again in the future!





A great sample from the display area. I love how they used the new Springtime Vintage fabric around the main stamped image...beautiful!









And speaking of display boards, see the top left corner of this board? Yes, that is my swap card that got picked out of the Stampin' Up drop basket to go up on display, along with around a hundred and fifty or so other cards. That was a fun new experience for me!
The Delta courtyard area at night. This is in another area of the resort from the first picture I posted. It was a lot of fun to just walk around and enjoy the beauty of this grand resort. It is hard to imagine that on May 2, 2010, the Gaylord flooded and had water 12 feet deep in it, causing over $200 million in damages. They were able to clean up and reconstruct it in just 6 months.











The best part of the entire time is the people! I got to have fun with friends, both new and ones that I have known for years. The picture on the left is me, Mel (who works in the Concept Art department for SU!), and Lydia during Make and Takes. The one on the right is my upline, Megan, and one of my sidelines, Celia, on Thursday night. We were all making cards for the Ronald McDonald House. Always a fun time!

Finally, one last Mainstage project, this super-cute album that is made from products featured in the new Occasions Mini Catalog. What a nice gift for mom on Mother's Day!

I hope you all have enjoyed the photos, and I would love to be able to take a large group of demonstrators with me to Leadership in 2012, especially since it is going to be in San Antonio, Texas! If you would love to get to go do what I do, let me know. I still have one FREE starter kit that I can give to a new demo this week only, so drop me a line at baxter1@austin.rr.com or leave a comment on my blog if you are interested. You will never get a better deal on the starter kit, and what a way to start a new business that can be anything you want it to be for you and your family!
Thanks for spending some time with me, and until next time, Happy Stamping!
Kim







Friday, January 14, 2011

HUGE WOWS!!!

I am finally back in my room after two full days of jam packed stamping classes and fun here in Nashville. I promise when I make it home and grab a couple hours of sleep I will be posting all kinds of pictures, but right now sleep beckons and I have a 7 a.m. flight to catch.

I will say this: Stampin' Up has made an incredible offer to every demonstrator here, one that I have never ever seen before. The theme of this year's Leadership is "Plus One", and to get us all to bring one more demonstrator into the Stampin' Up family, each of us who attended can offer a free starter kit!

One free starter kit will be available through me for one week. Here are the details:

The Independent Demonstrator Agreement must be filled out on paper, not online.

The paperwork must be submitted to SU by January 21st.

I am looking for a person who wants a chance to build relationships with others who love stamping and crafting. If you have ever said to yourself, "I really wish I could do what Kim does. I want to have my own business doing something that I love," then let me know. I would love to add you to my team, and what better way to start than with a free starter kit?

If you are interested, please contact me at baxter1@austin.rr.com or leave a comment here in the comments section. Make sure to leave a valid email where I can reach you tomorrow, and I will get in touch with you once I am back in Austin.

I look forward to talking to some of you soon!

Until next time, Happy Stamping!

Kim

Wednesday, January 12, 2011

Live from Nashville...

...it's Leadership! I am safely at the Gaylord Opryland resort, and all I can say is "Wow!". It is absolutely stunning and HUGE! Very, very huge. There are so many amazing things to see I have just spent the last several hours wandering around and seeing the sights.


So, let me start by showing you our room:


It is very spacious, gorgeous bathroom, and for the first time ever since I have been traveling for Stampin' Up it is just Meg and I sharing. We usually have to share, but this time she is going to have to stop my snoring from 5 feet away. Good luck with that, Meg!









Next up, swaps! I made the same design in two different colors, so here is what I will be giving out to the other demonstrators:



I love this technique of embossing on vellum and then laying it over the top of Designer Series Paper. I have seen some of the swaps that other demos are working on, and they look amazing! I am really looking forward to getting some great new ideas.








Finally, a shot of the Cascade Garden area fountains, and my tasty sushi lunch!

More to come, now it is time to get ready for Manager's Reception!




Thanks for stopping by, and until next time, Happy Stamping!

Wednesday, January 5, 2011

Happy Birthday...

...to my father-in-law, J.P.Williams! Jay will be 91-years old on the 17th of this month. He fought in World War II with the U.S. Army Air Corps. They didn't have an "Air Force" branch back then. It was before those days. He was born and raised in West Virginia, and other than his military service which sent him to Guam, and his several month stay with us last year, he has lived there all of his life.

He spent his life working hard, raising his one son, and just being a good man with a huge heart. He has always treated me like his own daughter, and don't get me started about how much he loves Little Miss, because I will be talking for days. I can say that I am a better person for having him in my life, and I can't think of anyone that I would rather send a card to.

So, since I know he doesn't visit the intergoogles and won't see this until it hits his mailbox, here is his birthday card:




I have loved the "Countryside" set ever since I first saw it, and knew that dad would appreciate the beauty of an older model truck sitting by a still, blue pond. I hope that he knows how much we love and miss him here everyday, and I can't wait until we can see him again.
In case you are wanting to know the rest of the details about the card, here they are:
Stamp sets: Countryside, Occasional Quotes
Paper: Crumb Cake, Very Vanilla, Marina Mist
Ink: Timber Brown Staz-On, Marina Mist, Old Olive, Sahara Sand, Real Red
Thanks for stopping by to take a look. Now, go stamp something for someone special in your life!
Until next time, Happy Stamping!
Kim