Stamp-a-rama

Thinking of Fall...

2011-09-05T08:00:00.008-05:00

Hello and welcome to the Fall Fun Blog Hop! A group of online buddies decided the holiday weekend in the US would be a GREAT time to get inky together, and so we've put together a fall themed blog hop to inspire you as autumn approaches. As you meet our stampy bloggers today, you may discover that some have goodies for you, so be sure and visit everyone on the list. We have hoppers from all over the globe today, and they are amazing artists.

Thanks for visiting us - grab yourself a nice fall beverage and enjoy!

Here is the full list of our blog hoppers today:

Lydia Fiedler

Libby Hickson

Kim Williams

Michelle Single

Lee Murphy

Sara Henton

Yapha Mason

Lisa Adametz

Jimmi Mayo

Jeanne Streiff

Bev Gerard

Shannon Oellrick

Dana Keith

Joan Ervin

Maren Benedict

Teresa Kline:ME

Hannah Clark

Dina Kowal

Wanda Cullen

Korin Sutherland

Taylor Usry

Monika Davis

Harriet Skelly

Kim Schofield

Cathy McCauley

Mary Marsh

Julia Aston

Bridget Finlay

Alison Habetler

Leslie Hanna

Sue Farrant

Michelle Hanway

Misti Oblander

Judy Rozema

Jenna Barber

Tammy Hershberger

Eva Dobilas

Kerri Michaud

Cheryl Navarrete

Neva McMullen

Marianne Baugher

Samantha

Cindy Wallach

You know, I have to admit that I have a very hard time getting into the autumn mood when we are still breaking 100 degrees everyday here in Austin. So today, just to make sure that I could get myself thinking "fall" instead of "I want to fall into a pool of ice cubes but they would melt before I could do it" I turned the a/c down low, made a cup of my favorite coffee, and made this:

I find myself loving this stamp set more and more, since it works across every single season. Just grab some autumny colors and you are set! Here are the details on the card:

Stamp set: Field Flowers

Card stock: More Mustard, Soft Suede, Pool Party, Very Vanilla, and Spice Cake DSP

Inks: Soft Suede, More Mustard, Pool Party

other: distressing tools

Quick and simple and full of the fall spirit! I hope that no matter where you are that you are enjoying a gorgeous fall day, or if you are like me you are dreaming of that crisp air and cooler temps! Now, make sure to pop on over to Michelle Single's blog for the next stop on this fun hop!

Have a safe and Happy Labor Day...

Kim

Summer in Texas

2011-07-23T11:12:00.000-05:00

I love the summertime! My backyard fills with hummingbirds and squirrels, my dogs run around like they are crazy, and the weather gets, ahem, warm. If you have never experienced the joy of "Summer in Texas", you should try it once. However, if you can't get to the Lone Star State this summer, here is how you can live the dream that is the Central Texas summer:

First, go purchase a heat lamp. You want the biggest one you can find. Set it up in your kitchen next to the stove (you'll understand why soon). Position it up high so that it's light covers your entire kitchen floor, with the exception of a 2 x 2 foot square of "shade" for you to stand in.

Next, you need to procur about 10 hair dryers. Mount them on your kitchen walls so that they point in all directions. Set the fan speed to high on some, low on others, but make sure the temperature on all of them is "hot". Now turn them on.
Third step: the oven! Find the highest temperature you can set your oven to and turn it on. It really helps if you have a convection style oven so that you can use that fan to really pump the heat out into the room. Make sure that any potential sources of water are completely turned off, because we wouldn't want a hint of moisture to offer you relief.

Now, set your family up in a room that is a couple of rooms away from the kitchen. Make sure that the temperature in that room will not exceed 76 degrees. Give them comfy places to sit, a nice beverage, the works. We will call these your "friends who live in places north of Kansas".

Your kitchen should be ready, so go on in and just try to do some regular daily activities. Every now and then give yourself a "break" by stepping into your safe zone of shade. I would tell you to enjoy the breeze from the hair dryers, but hot air swirling in all directions does nothing more than mess up your hair and make you stabby, doesn't it?

If you still have any calm feelings in your heart, just call into the room that your family is in, and make sure you speak to the person who is "just burning up in this 76-degree heat" and see how much peace you can muster then.

Yep. That is summer in Texas. And, lest you all think that I don't love my new home state, I will make sure to post in December about "winter in Texas". It is why I make it through each July and August!

Well, the winters, and working on Christmas cards like this one during the hot summer months:

Card from my "Christmas in July" class

I hope you all are having a great time this summer. Stay cool, and come make a card with me!

Some days...

2011-07-17T15:21:00.001-05:00

...you just want to make something that is pretty.

I have no reason for doing it, other than maybe I feel I have neglected the girlie side of my personality, or I want to play with softer colors, but when the urge strikes to make something pretty I don't fight it. And sometimes, what you get is something like this:

Stamps: Elements of Style, Four Frames
Cardstock: Pink Pirouette, Wisteria Wonder, Watercolor Paper
Inks: Black Staz-On, Cherry Cobbler, Pink Pirouette, Old Olive, Wisteria Wonder
Accessories: Butterflies Die, Designer Label Punch, Pearls, Wisteria Wonder Ruffled Ribbon

This card was what we did in my Hostess Club this month. It used a technique where you mask off part of your embossing folder in order to get some blank space in the center of it. After that we stamped and watercolored our flowers, and then cut them out using the Big Butterflies die to make our gorgeous butterfly. It is amazing how a few simple steps can give you something very, very pretty!

If you would like a chance to come make some pretty things with me, just let me know! I am always starting up new hostess clubs and having classes, too. And, if you want to enjoy amazing friendships, expand your creativity, and earn great products while you do that, you should really go check out the $99 Starter Kit that is being offered this month only. I would love to have you as a part of my team!

I hope that you all find the time to make something pretty today!

Until next time,

Happy Stamping!

Kim

A Whale of a Tale...

2011-07-16T20:26:00.001-05:00

...or a "Tale of Two Whale Tails", take your pick. Either way, this is a story about celebration.

Let me take you back in time a few years. When Little Miss was about 18 months old, I got the bright idea that we would take her to Sea World. She was already showing signs of loving all thing aquatic, and I thought this would be a fun way to spend a day. A day. Turns out, she loved it so much that if there is ever a "Sea World Docent" job opening soon, I am going to put an application in for her, she loves it that much.

The memory that sticks in my mind as clearly as if it were yesterday is this one: We went to see the Shamu show. This was in the "good ole days" when the trainers were still allowed to get into the pool with the whales and basically get launched like a missile out of the water at 40 miles per hour by the orcas. At this point in her young life, Little Miss had never seen such a sight as this:

So, imagine her surprise when Shamu jumped out of the water. She stood bolt upright on my lap, pointed a chubby little finger towards the water, and shouted, "What's up, what's up....what's up with THAT!!!" I was laughing, the DH was laughing, everyone around was laughing. And, Little Miss was hooked. She began just casually mentioning (say 20 to 30 times a day) "I was just thinkin'.......about Sea World." Anyone who came to my house can tell you she never stopped thinkin' about Sea World. And we kept going with season passes every year since.

Now, fast forward to this year, last week to be exact. We decided to brave the heat and spend a day at the park. Little Miss still loves all things aquatic, and now has developed a love of the carnival games, too. So we were not surprised when she wanted to go to the Midway and take her turn to try to win a prize. Let me tell you, over the years we have amassed quite the collection of Shamus. Big ones, little ones, you name it, we have won it. I'm surprised that Greenpeace doesn't set up outside my house with signs saying "Free the Whales" we have so many. But we have never, ever, won The Big Prize.

Until this trip:

Yes, the hubby did it. He finally threw a little plastic ring onto the neck of a glass 2-liter bottle and captured the elusive Pink Shamu. It now resides on the entire bed of Little Miss. She does make this denizen of the deep go to the floor at night, but she has a couple of fish rugs from IKEA down there to "keep her company". Daddy has confirmed his "rock star" status for at least another year around here.

Needless to say, there was much celebration at Chateau du Williams that night, and all the next day, and pretty much every day since. The greatest moment for me was watching as the DH was carrying his catch out to the car and we were passing by all the other folks at Sea World. They would each say something about how magnificent his prize was, and each time Little Miss would just give him a little pat on the back and look up at him with pure adoration in her baby blue eyes.

Then I took money out of his wallet and took the kiddo to eat ribs while he carried the whale out to the car. Because isn't that his job? He hunts the quarry to take care of his family.

So, to celebrate I wanted to share this card with y'all:

Stamp Sets: Pennant Parade, Fabulous Phrases
Card stock: Island Indigo, Cherry Cobbler, Pool Party, Whisper White
Ink: Island Indigo, Cherry Cobbler, Pool Party
Accessories: Pennant Punch, Cherry Cobbler/white baker's twine

I hope you enjoy it, and take the time to celebrate the good things that are in your life today! Until next time, Happy Stamping!

Kim

Starter Kit Special

2011-07-04T14:16:00.002-05:00

Every now and then a deal comes through Stampin' Up that is so good I have to share it with everyone I know, and some that I don't know yet, too! This month one of those deals is here. First of all, have you seen the new catalog yet? For those who haven't, here is what you are missing:

It is my favorite catalog so far, and I love the multitude of amazing ideas and beautiful stamps and accessories that are in it. You can see all of the products available, as well as special sales items in my online store anytime you want.

Now, on to the special. For the month of July only, Stampin' UP! is offering a mini starter kit with new products for only $99! The kit contains two stamp sets, designer paper, ribbon, ink pads, cardstock, note cards, SNAIL, and a blender pen, as well as all the business supplies you need to get off and running. If you have ever thought about making some money doing something you love, now is a great time to get started.

Not only do you get the support that comes from Stampin' UP! in the form of the demo website, Stampin' Connection, and our monthly magazine, Stampin' Success, you also get training from me to help you set your goals and then reach them. Whether you want to just have fun with your friends and earn some products for free, or if you want to supplement your family's income each month, Stampin' UP! has a way to meet your needs.

Finally, when you sign up this month you will also receive additional products to make this gift box for free:

This free gift includes a stamp set from the upcoming Holiday Mini Catalog, which will go live on September 1st. The items in the free gift set total $40, so it really is a nice gift for you to receive!

I have always enjoyed working with Stampin' UP! It has met my needs throughout my five years, and I would love to answer any questions you may have about being a demonstrator and add you to our team. The friendships that I have made over the past 6 years have been amazing, and it is so much fun to celebrate the successes of my team with them as they reach their goals. If you would like to celebrate with us, just click here to go to my website. You can read more about becoming a demonstrator, and if you are ready to have fun while earning money, you can click the "join now" link in the left column to get started.

I hope to see you all soo, and until next time, Happy Stamping!

Kim

There's a new tab in town...

2011-06-25T16:31:00.005-05:00

...and it is to the right of my "home" tab.

You may be asking yourself, "Why is that new tab there?", and the short and simple answer is: because I have stamps everywhere in my house. And, even worse, there are new stamps coming out on July 1st. And I need them. Wait, did I say that was worse? Sorry, my brain must have gotten foggy from the huge pile of retired stamps that I need to find new homes for!

So, I am selling some stamps. My stamps, that I have loved and enjoyed over the years. Now, don't get me wrong, I am still hoarding...er, keeping, some of my all time favorites for myself, but sometimes you have to thin out the herd a little bit. The great thing about this is you can get some fantastic deals on new stamps, while I get to feel good knowing that they are going to people who will love them and make beautiful things with them.

Here are the "rules" for you to go over before you click that new little tab:

1. No one, and I mean no one, is allowed to tell Little Miss that I am selling stamps. It is like this: she is more emotionally attached to these stamps than anyone you could ever imagine, and when I sort them out she hovers over my shoulder like a little moth. A little teary-eyed moth that knows how to emotionally control her mother with pleas of "Oh, not that one! That is my favorite!", and "I remember when we made a card together with that one. Don't you, mommy?" Every time something goes into the sell pile she just lets out a little pitiful sigh that would break the average person's will. It really is a sight to behold, but I want to keep the trauma to a minimum.

Seriously, she is either going to win an Academy Award one day or be the most formidable trial attorney in the country. She is that good.

2. If you live in town you are welcome to come look them over and pick up here, or I can bring them to you. Out-of-towners can email if you want any descriptions or pictures of sets before you commit, and I will get a quote on postage for you as well.

3. Lastly, there is no limit to the number of sets you can get. If anyone emails me and says, "I'll take them all" then I will do a happy dance all the way to your house to deliver the lot of them. Of course, I don't expect that to happen, but a girl can dream, right?

I will update the list as sets sell, and in the future will be posting more sets as well, so check the page often. If you have any questions please feel free to email me at baxter1@austin.rr.com and I will be happy to answer them for you.

OK, time for you to click that tab and see if there is anything you want to add to your collection today! Until next time, Happy Stamping!

Kim

Happy Together

2011-06-12T22:13:00.005-05:00

You know, I have been spending a lot of time thinking about people. I am that person who is perfectly happy to go to a coffee shop or restaurant alone and just enjoy watching people around me. You can learn a lot just by taking the time to pause and be still.

My biggest issue when I try to do this is that my mind likes to insert a running dialogue, or make up some kind of back-story for the people that I am watching. Then, there are the times that I don't have to do that much, because their own story is remarkably public for everyone to know. For instance, when Little Miss was 4-years old (can that really have been 3 years ago?) we took her to Disney World. In August. Yeah, we were kind of crazy, I know, but it seemed like a great idea at the time.

Anyway, have you ever heard the saying, "Weddings and funerals can make in-laws become outlaws."? I would like to add that scorching hot Disney vacations can do that exact same thing. We always try to take the approach that when on vacation we have almost no structured itinerary. The husband and I understand each other's temperments enough to know that if we don't have a schedule, then we don't have a schedule that something can go wrong with, and that makes for a much happier group.

The poor family that we walked by on that fateful day obviously either didn't know that they had a "no schedule" option or they haven't taken many trips together, because they were in the middle of a meltdown. I don't know what transpired up to the point that we passed them, but we saw and heard a very passionate, "Oh YEAH?!? Well, everything was fine until YOU decided...".

Fill in whatever you want there:

"...to feed the kids ice cream before Space Mountain."

"...that we weren't going to pay $20 for a stroller."

"...to keep breathing air."

You get the picture. I honestly don't even remember if it was the mom or the dad that was launching this missile at the other, but I can tell you what I do remember. I remember that every time since then that the husband and I have perhaps wanted to lob a big verbal bomb at the other one of us will say, "Everything was fine until YOU decided," and then we both crack up with laughter. So thank you, hot and tired Disney family from three summers ago. I'm really sorry that at that moment things weren't going so well for you, but I truly appreciate that you gave me one of the best lines ever.

If I had your address, I would send you this card, in hopes that you are all ok and still happy together.

Stamp set: Happy Together

Cardstock: Poppy Parade, So Saffron, Whisper White

Ink: Poppy Parade, Jet Black

DSP: Build-a-Bear

Accessories: Scallop-edge punch

So, go be happy together with the people that you love, and even the ones that you don't. It will make your day better, I promise!

Until next time, Happy Stamping!

Kim

Already Missing You!

2011-06-07T23:14:00.003-05:00

This past week we saw the end to another school year. Little Miss has successfully completed the 1st grade and is already looking forward to starting 2nd. And, while her last day of school was Wednesday, by Friday of that same week we were "playing school" because she misses her class. And her friends. And the playground, and art, and music, and her teacher, and pretty much everything about school, except for the getting up early in the morning. That, my friends, no one misses. I mean, just the other day she slept in all the way until 7:07. A.M.

Can you feel the sarcasm dripping from my cyber-voice yet? Those who know me know that I believe everyone should be up by the crack of noon. Give me a gorgeous sunset over a crack-of-cranky sunrise any day of the week and I am a happy camper. Or happy stamper, as the case may be!

In any case, it brings me to the next year-end ritual: the end of the 2010-2011 Idea Book & Catalog. Time to give the retiring stamp list a good going over and remember all the great times we have had together. I have to say that I am happy to report I did not suffer any catastrophic losses in my sheer stamp volume, as has happened from time to time. (Anyone remember the Stampocalypse of a few years back?) Yeah, that one left me with six "current" sets in my repetoire.

This year, however, I am seeing some of my favorite sets go. Over the next few days I'll share with you some cards that I made to bid these stamp sets adieu. Today's entry into the "going, going, gone" category is this little cutie:

Stamp set: Great Friend

Paper: Pacific Point, Very Vanilla, Blueberry Crisp DSP

Ink: Not Quite Navy, Pacific Point

Accessories: Chantilly Crochet Trim, Pearls, Clear EP

This set, "Great Friend", has gotten lots of mileage from me over the time that I have had it. It is one of those go-to sets that calls to me whenever I am having a bad day. And, while it is retiring from this catalog at the end of the month, I am sure that it will live on at my house for quite some time yet. If you haven't added this one to your own collection, remember, you have until June 30th to fix that! After that, you will just have to look at all the pretty cards stampers around the world have made with it through tear-filled, angst-ridden eyes.

Don't let that happen to you! Friends don't let friends leave this little beauty behind. I hope you are enjoying some special stamping time very soon, and can't wait to come back with another soon to be leaving us sample tomorrow.

Until next time, Happy Stamping!

Kim

From Fun...

2011-02-10T18:56:00.006-06:00

...to flu. Just like that!

Have you ever had a week like that? It has been more than a little crazy around here. I was preparing for several workshops this week and really needed some time to get everything pulled together. I had to keep Little Miss home from school on Monday, because she was recovering from strep throat, but Tuesday she seemed great and I happily carted her to school so that I could get everything done for a big workshop that night.

Then, the school called. But not just the school. The school nurse. "Well, that is never good," I thought to myself as I answered the phone, and I was right. When I got to school I saw my sweet little girl laying on one of the cots, looking like she had been hit by a truck. I went down to her classroom to gather her things and came back to retrieve her. The nurse took her temp one last time and told me, "Well, she isn't running a fever, that is good!".

And it was.

And then we got to the car, and the full extent of her flu reared its ugly head.

By the time we drove the one mile to our house, her temp was 103. The rest of the afternoon was dedicated to sponge baths and popsicles and a big nap (like 12 hours long) for my child, while my amazing and wonderful friend Janas came in to rescue me and sit with the little one so I could go to my workshop.

See, I laugh that when I have my schedule all planned out nice and neat for an entire week that something like this happens to help me "re-prioritize" as it were. I believe I have finally learned that to keep my family well I need to take a more fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants approach to everything. So, be warned, my days of preparedness are OVER! ;-)

All kidding aside, the one workshop I was able to do this week went really well, and I had a great time with everyone that was there. I'll even share another project from it:

I love this Dreams du Jour set because of the great sayings in it, plus it has one of my favorite Stampin' Up butterflies as well. I have decided to take this saying to heart this year, and grow great with big dreams. Dreams of things like normal temperatures, and no calls from the school nurse, and no cedar trees in the entire state of Texas.

Hey, a girl can dream, right? Absolutely!

So, keep on dreaming, and I hope to see some of you soon. Until next time, everyone, Happy Stamping!

Kim

Who loves...

2011-01-29T17:55:00.005-06:00

...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

Back in the saddle...

2011-01-17T00:43:00.008-06:00

..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

HUGE WOWS!!!

2011-01-14T23:50:00.003-06:00

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

Live from Nashville...

2011-01-12T15:09:00.003-06:00

...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!

Happy Birthday...

2011-01-05T17:20:00.004-06:00

...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

We all have our issues...

2010-12-14T09:10:00.005-06:00

...and mine is my desk.

I did not realize it was an issue until this weekend, when I had the pleasure of participating in a great swap through Splitcoast Stampers up in Georgetown with my friends Lydia and Dana. We knew that we were going to have an amazingly fun day, because you cannot put the three of us within 10 miles of each other without a high amount of hilarity following. Little did I know that one little comment that I made would result in a near intervention right there at the stamping table.

It went a bit like this: We were discussing how brave it is of girls to post before and after photos of their stamping rooms when they are going from piles of supplies everywhere to a beautiful, organized space. I happened to say something about the fact that I cannot stamp if my stamping table is messy. Lydia looked at me like I just sprouted an extra head. "What exactly do you mean?", she asked.

"Well, I mean that if I finish a project and there is a bunch of stuff all over my desk I stop and put it up before I start something new. That way I know where everything is and can just free up my mind to design. Why? What do you do?"

You know that scene at the end of "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" where poor Veronica Cartwright sees Donald Sutherland out on a busy street, and thinking he is still human, runs up to greet him only to have him slowly outstretch his arm to point her out, all while emitting that high-pitched screech so that all the other soul-sucking aliens would realize she hadn't been transformed yet? It was kind of like that. I think I could have said, "I like taking candy from babies and kicking puppies," with a much gentler response.

"You do WHAT?!?" That was the collective response from everyone withing earshot. I seriously thought a crew from "Intervention" might just materialize and after making all my friends confront me haul me off to Riverton for stamper rehab. (Come to think of it, that would not be all that bad.) The consensus of the group was that poor Kim should be loved anyway, God bless her heart.

So, in the footsteps of those who have been brave enough to go before me, I shall show you pictures of my inner conflict in the "before and after" format. Here we go...

Before: As you can see there is a large amount of just "stuff" all over the desk. Stamps, swaps, Christmas cards that are awaiting envelopes, a full trash can, just a lot of things all over my table. Now, I can hear many of you right now saying, "But there is a ton of room to stamp. I mean, you can still see the actualy table for goodness sakes!" Now, to let you into my mind. If I were to sit there right now to stamp, nothing would get done. Not a thing. Because all I see is a ton of stuff that wants to be put up and out of sight.

So I do, and end up with this:

See? All better now! Everything is back where it belongs and I can easily see 93.2% of the table. My little corner has my grid paper, paper cutter, and stampin' scrub. At this point my mind and heart get all happy and sing a little happy stamping song and I can work on cards.

So, now that I have shown you a behind the scenes secret, it is time for me to get to that table and make some pretty cards for my thank you card class that I am having the week after Christmas. I hope that each of you gets to spend some time in your stampy place this week, whether it is cluttered with piles of fun stuff or cleaned and organized. Thanks for stopping by, and until next time, Happy Stamping!

Kim

Halloween Fun...

2010-09-18T16:34:00.004-05:00

...is about to start! I love Halloween, especially now that I have my own little trick-or-treater in the house, and this year I decided to make a few more decorations to enjoy. I took a page from the Stampin' UP! playbook and copied the cute white pumpkins that they showed us at Convention, and came up with this:
Cute, quick and simple using the new Spooky Decor Elements and the Black Rhinestones from the Holiday Mini Catalog. I was really surprised because I have never been able to handle the rub-ons without getting them stuck to everything I don't want them to stick to, but these are so easy to use it makes me want to decorate EVERYTHING!

So, if you come by and Bella has a big spider on her, don't swat at it, I probably just have her all gussied up for the holiday.

Onto other projects, Lydia and I have started a new Friday morning tradition. See, we typically meet up after I drop the kiddo off at school and have coffee and chat. I seriously believe we should have a film crew and buy some time on the TV because we would have an Emmy-award winning hit on our hands. Between the witty conversation and the fact that we know we can solve all of the world's problems if we were only allowed to handle things our way, it is a great time. Well, we finally got smart and added stamping to our Friday morning ritual, and it has been awesome!

I have actually made a self-imposed limit that I have to pack my stamping/coffee bag in 5 minutes or less to keep from overthinking what I will work on. Sometimes I just take one stamp and do a bunch of watercoloring, but this time I actually grabbed enough supplies to make a card, and came up with this little guy:

I had to put a close-up of the sweet little vampire on it because he is just too cute to be scary. Since I often forget to color faces (remember the disaster with the cards I made for Pioneer Woman?) I really like this little vampire because they are supposed to be extra pale, right? I have a feeling I am going to have a lot more fun with this set and the cool flocked polka-dot paper before October 31st arrives.

On another note, I think I am going to go trick-or-treating dressed up like a trauma victim since I have added a knee immobilizer to my own personal stash of orthopedic devices over this past week. See, on Thursday I decided to go out and check my mail. Now, for most people this is just another everyday thing to do, but I don't like doing anything the regular way so I thought it would be fun to see what I could trip over like a klutz on the way back into the house. Luckily, my driveway had a spacer that had come up from between the two concrete slabs, and I hit it in the middle of a full-on stride. I remember hearing the first few strains of Blue Danube Waltz while I began to soar.

Time slowed down to a crawl as I went full-on superman across my driveway. I can only imagine how spectacular I would have looked if I had had a cape on. My arms and legs both actually achieved a full horizontal position as I flung my mail to get that whole "ticker-tape parade" effect for myself. I mean, after all, I was flying!

The only problem with flight is one that I have heard from pilots my entire life: Take-offs are optional. Landings are mandatory. And, since I failed to think this entire thing through to the natural, gravity driven conclusion, I fell like a stone to the earth, striking my knees and foot first, with my hands to follow. The great news is my noggin did not get close to the concrete, which probably would have knocked me unconscious. The bad news is that somehow the part of my flip-flop that goes between my big toe and the second toe got shoved into my foot with enough force to break the big joint of my big toe, and I really banged up my right knee.

I can say that at first I was so happy to be alive that I stood up, gathered my mail, and the the little gymnast manuever where you throw both arms over your head to "salute" your judges and the crowd and to let them know that you are indeed finished with your show. Then I took a couple of steps. The funny thing about a nervous system is how quickly it lets you know that you are in trouble. See, I made it a good 4 steps before my nervous system overrode all of that adrenaline and said, "Hey, uh, Kim? Yeah, you got some broke stuff inside your body." I got into the house and to the sofa, where Little Miss fetched my tylenol and ice and eventually got herself a book and a snack for our trip to the emergency room.

Prognosis: broken toe on the left foot, really banged up knee on the right, and a knee immobilizer and "walking" boot, one for each leg. So, if you are worried about who the zombies will get first, well, I have you covered for the next 10 days because right now I cannot outrun them with these contraptions on.

I hope that you are all having a great weekend, and I just want to say if anyone got video of my stellar fall and decides to post it on YouTube, please, just spell my name correctly and don't put me on the same page as the full-on double rainbow guy.

Until next time, Happy Stamping!

Kim

M-I-C-...

2010-08-02T00:09:00.010-05:00

See ya' real soon!

K-E-Y....

Why? Because we like you!

M-O-U-S-E

Yes...we are officially in the Land of the Mouse. Funny thing is, we intended to do one day at Disney during this vacation. Just one. Because last time we were here, we did a full week at the parks. Seven complete days of all things Mickey, Minnie, and definitely a little Goofy. So this time, we decided to use some restraint, because anyone who has done 7 days at Disney knows that by day 5, you are looking at it like you are a hostage in a bad movie, and that doesn't bode very well for the small child in your life. Decision made! Just. One. Day.

Then we took Little Miss to dinner at Downtown Disney, specifically, at T-Rex.

Did I mention that they have "Build-a-Dino" there? Yes, it is Build-a-Bear, but with Dinosaurs.

This is Little Miss giving her pterodon a bath. I thought it was a pterodactyl, but I was misinformed. Little Miss said to me very matter-of-factly, "Mom, I have familiarized myself with the dinosaurs, and this is a pterodon, not a pterodactyl. You can tell because the top of her head is different." Yes. Of course I can. How could anyone not have known that? Guess I'll be doing a little remedial study on the different variety of flying dinosaurs when we get home.

I have always given it to Disney...they go all out on things like this. That is a full-sized T-Rex skeleton "buried" in the ice cave that leads to the restrooms, which were labeled...wait for it...wait for it...She-Rex and He-Rex. Notice the little pre-historic bow on She-Rex's head? Yes, that is a bow. Because, well, even meat-eating ginormously scary dinosaurs like to look pretty!

After dinner we did some shopping and sight-seeing. David decided to try on a Capt. Jack look, while Little Miss opted for the super cute route. Finally, a quick peek into the Bibbidi-Boppity-Boutique, where Fairy Godmothers turn little girls into princesses.

Yes, our intentions were great, but after this first night of fun we decided that we might ought to plan on at least 2 days at Disney, with a Blizzard Beach day thrown in for good measure! Tomorrow is a lazy day for us to just chill out, then it will be off to Mouse-land, where any little girl can be a princess and mommies and daddies get to see some pretty awesome smiles.

I hope that your life is filled with magic and love today! I promise we will return to our previously scheduled stamping program once I get home, but for the next week I am going to be relaxing and having all kinds of Florida fun with the family.

For those of you wondering about those cute little mutts that we left at home, well, they are safe with the house/pet sitter, who called today to let me know that Bella ate his cell phone. Nice. I wonder if a pair of mouse ears will make it up to him?

Have a great night, and until next time...Happy Stamping!

Kim

Wow...

2010-07-24T23:24:00.003-05:00

...is all I can say about this past week! We have had such a great time here, and I am sad to see it end (but I am so happy to get home and see my Little Miss again).

Here are a few random pictures from this past week for your enjoyment:

This is the Salt Palace Convention Center, where we spent the week learning more amazing things about stamping than I can begin to describe or share here. It is so pretty lit up at night, and we had a straight view of it from our gorgeous hotel room.

This is my group of friends that I call "SASS-y", which stands for "South Austin Sassy Stampers". At this convention it included Lydia (giving me bunny ears, myself, Cheryl, and Dana as well. This group is subject to change, and we really do accept anyone who is anywhere remotely near the South Austin area, drinks coffee, eats sushi, and is willing to play Twister. (Lydia abstained from Twister but she is the founding member of SASS-y so she can do things like that without endangering her position in the group.

Not sure if you can see it or not but some of us also have our faces painted in this picture. The entire party was amazingly fun, with hula hooping, twister, game show try-outs, and just general 60's and 70's frivolity.

Next up is one of my favorite pictures, myself and Meg on awards night. There are several reasons that it is my favorite, but one of the top ones is that I got to see Meg in several marches across the stage, one of which was the march for Founder's Circle. This means that Meg made the top 100 demonstrators in the country and is going on a special trip out to St. George, Utah in September. Way to go, Meg! We are all proud of you!

Now, I had a contest yesterday and really enjoyed reading everyone's comments on what your favorite Stampin' Up! products are. The winner yesterday was Susan Brown, who gets her choice of either a reusable grocery bag or a Stampin' Up! clear ruler that has a designer series paper design on it.

Once I get home there will be some more contests, and a lot more pictures. For now I am going to tuck in and get some sleep. I hope everyone has a great day tomorrow, and are ready for a fun week! I will be hitting the phones Monday to make a lot of phone calls because there is an August hostess special that you do not want to miss. In fact, the first four hostesses that book a workshop with me for the month of August will receive their order delivered in one of those ultra-cute new reusable bags. Imagine your free merchandise arriving packed in one of those bags. Yes, I said free merchandise, because for every workshop that closes at $350 in merchandise for the month of August, the hostess will get:

--any Level One or Level Two Hostess set out of the Idea Book & Catalog, the Summer Mini, or the Definitely Decorative catalog, plus

--$40 in free merchandise, plus

--an additional $25 in free merchadise.

That is a huge value in totally free merchandise, just for having a fun afternoon or evening with your friends. And with all the new techniques and designs I have just spent the week learning about, I promise it will be fun. If you need more fun and girl time in your life then get your calendar out because the calls will start on Monday morning. If I don't have your contact information but you would like to have a workshop, then please email me at baxter1@austin.rr.com and I will get in touch with you to get your date on the calendar.

I hope everyone enjoys the rest of the weekend, and until next time, Happy Stamping!

Kim

Breakfast with the Executive Team...

2010-07-23T00:54:00.004-05:00

...will be happening in the morning! I sure hope that they look in a little better shape tomorrow morning than they did Wednesday night. Just take a little look-see:

No idea who the man with the beard is, but the blond, peace-loving guy next to him is Mark Jessen, who is THE trainer with Stampin' Up. Mark is the guy who helps put together all the amazing training, both online and in-person, that the demonstrators receive.

Let's move on to the groovy couple on the dance floor. Those are none other than Shelli and her husband, Sterling. Even in 70's clothes, Shelli is so cute you just want to put her in your convention bag and bring her home with you. Not that I would ever do that, I'm just saying. Maybe I've said too much. I'll just show a couple of pictures now instead.

This is how the main stage in Demonstrator Theater is decorated. I will do my best to get some more shots tomorrow, as my camera has been ill with me and not wanting to work the way I would like it too, but the set looks like big, huge stamp blocks, a tag with an eyelet and the new ribbon, and on the sides are borders that are done in the eyelet and new scalloped edge border. So cute!

One other cute thing is the perk of bringing your roommates little gifts to welcome them. Now, last year I did not bring any gifts, but I was told that when you are a first time Convention attendee that you aren't expected to. It wasn't until about a week before I flew out of Austin that I realized that this time I would not be a "first timer", and I had better be making some presents, so I created these:

I just love how well the Friends Never Fade set coordinates with the paper. The best part about it is, I don't have to spend a lot of time trying to figure out if it will go together, because I know it will and that these colors look amazing together! The girls were very happy to get these little journals to take notes in for Convention.

So, before I head to bed, time for another contest. Just add a comment and tell me what your favorite new product in the Idea Book & Catalog is and why. I will take entries until 7 p.m. Friday night (Central Time) and will post a winner later that evening.

I hope everyone has a great night, and I will see you all very soon! Until next time, Happy Stamping!

Kim

And the winner is...

2010-07-22T18:30:00.003-05:00

...lucky comment number 4, which belongs to Kim M.! Kim, since I know where you live you will get your prize on Monday, which is this:

a designer reusable bag that features new Stampin' Up! colors and this super cute flower design! Congrats to Kim!

I am getting ready for Awards Night with the girls here. This is an amazing night because my upline, Meg, earned Founder's Circle this year! We are going to get all dressed up, and I promise there will be more pictures later and another contest tonight, so check back later to see what it is!

Until next time, Happy Stamping!

Kim

I promised you....

2010-07-21T18:02:00.003-05:00

...some pictures of all the wonderful goodies from Memento Mall, so here are a few:

The Christmas ornament that is so beautiful it made my eyes hurt! You can leave the sweet stamped image in it, or you can put in a favorite photo...whatever you want!

The tote that I will probably snuggle up with tonight! Loved it so much that I also got the matching laptop case to store my paperwork in, since my hubby (rock on, David!) got me a laptop that is too big for a normal case to handle.

Our fun, funky Convention bag this year! First of all, it is pink and orange, and who wouldn't be happy just to touch it, right?

Secondly, it is full of stamp sets, which we all know automatically increases its cool status to Defcon 4.

Finally, I got to experience one of my awesome downline girls get her first Convention bag! I hope that next year we have a slew of Stamp-a-Rama girls here together, having all kinds of fun! I can't wait to post more, and I am so excited to get home to share all the amazing things I am seeing with all of you. If you have ever, or never, thought about having a workshop before you are going to want one when I get back! I just can't wait!

OK, off to happy hour and then to the Flower Power party with the fun folks at Stampin' Up! Tomorrow we will be live from the Main Stage, where all the great classes and demonstrations will be held. I just can't wait! I hope y'all are excited and enjoying the little posts I am putting up here.

Contest for today: Who co-founded Stampin' Up! with Shelli, and what year did the company start? Answer in a comment on this post, and I will draw a winner from all the correct answers. Tell you friends to come check out the blog so that they have a chance to win, too! (Don't be the girl who doesn't tell anyone because you want a better chance for yourself...there will be plenty of love to go around!)

See y'all soon, and until next time...Happy Stamping!

Kim

Don't be hatin'...

2010-07-20T19:15:00.003-05:00

...since I stepped out of the chair massage and got to meet Brian Pilling and get a picture with him. And I didn't even need bail money afterward.

Neelam, Emily, this is for you!

For my downline girls...you will recognize the name because Brian does a ton of the webinars for Stampin' Up! and was a favorite presenter last year. He is so dynamic and fun that when he was doing a mock demonstration about how well the paper cutter worked that I actually thought, "Hey, I know I have one, but I could probably use another one!"

So, here is my first brush with fame at the Center of the Known Stamping Universe! More tomorrow, time for bed.

Have a great night, and Happy Stamping!

Kim

We're here!

2010-07-20T14:40:00.002-05:00

We have survived a morning of flying to arrive safely in Salt Lake City. As promised, you will see a picture of Tamzin making her swaps while we waited at Denver Airport. What you can't see is that she and I are sitting at a little table with little stools designed for little children. It looked like the best place for some stamping and so we planted our little banner on it and camped out until it was time to board the plane.

Now I have to tell y'all something. I am operating on a miniscule amount of sleep here. I truly, madly, and deeply mean it. Sunday night I was busy working on some things at my house, and ended up getting a whopping 2 1/2 hours of sleep before I had to get up to get my hair cut. Then David and I went on about a squillion errands so that I could:

1. Insure that I would have a nice trip and look like someone you would want to invite into your home to show you how to make pretty things with paper, ink, and stamps, and

2. Make sure that there were enough "easy" foods in the house to give my Little Miss a fighting chance at maintaining some level of nutrition while I am gone.

That is what led to me coming home from those errands and getting into another round of projects that I absolutely had to complete before I left this morning at 5 a.m. for the airport. As the minutes ticked into hours I suddenly realized that I was at the point where if I did lay down, any rest I would get would be equal to a "nap" and not the much needed "sleep", so I ended up staying up. Let's just say that tonight, I have a feeling I will rest very, very well!

Speaking of resting well, here are two quick shots of our room at Hotel Monaco. The beds are beyond comfortable, there is a nice sitting area and since we have a corner room, so great views of the Convention Center where we will all be having fun tomorrow, as well as some of the gorgeous architecture downtown.

I am signing off for now, but expect the following tomorrow:

Pictures of roommate gifts (hey, if you thought the stuff that we see at Convention is great, you ought to see what we do for each other!)

Lots of squeals

Pictures from Memento Mall

More squeals

Pictures from the Gathering Place and Awards Booth

Yep...like little piglets

And the list goes on and on.

For all my girls back in Austin and in the rest of the cyberworld, why don't you leave a comment and tell me what you are most interested in seeing/hearing about from Convention and if you have any predictions on what we might see at Memento Mall tomorrow. I won't just be shopping for me, I am going to be shopping for prizes and the fun (for you) will begin soon.

Have a great night...and until next time, Happy Stamping!

Kim

Live, from Denver...

2010-07-20T09:51:00.003-05:00

...Tamzin and I are at Denver airport waiting for our next flight which will take us to the Known Center of the Stamping Universe, Salt Lake City! Currently Tamzin is working on swaps and I am hoping that we are able to get bumped off of this flight and onto a slightly later one because it means we can both get a flight voucher, which I will use to....wait for it, wait for it....go to Convention again next year! Or Leadership in January. Who knows, but I can tell you it will be used for the progression of all that is good in the stamping world.

I have to say I am grateful for Tamzin, who, when she saw me looking nervously out at the rainy, gray, clouded skies made a point to tell me, "Don't look over there! Look at me! I went to a lot of trouble to look radiant so that you could look at me and not out the window." I think she is afraid that I really will see a man on the wing of the plane. (Although I discovered that she has never seen The Twilight Zone and I must remedy this as soon as possible.)

For some reason my computer is not allowing me to add my picture of Tamzin diligently working right now, but I will try again soon. Until then, check back often because the updates will come as fast as I can put them in!

Happy Stamping!

Kim

Leaving...

2010-07-18T21:18:00.004-05:00

...on a jet plane! Of course, I know when I'll be back again. I am heading to the center of the Known Stamping Universe...Salt Lake City, first thing Tuesday morning. And by "first thing", I truly mean it. My wonderful friend and downline member, Tamzin, is having her equally wonderful hubby, Allan, drive us to Bergstrom at 5 a.m. so that I can calm down before our 7:10 flight out. Since I believe in full disclosure here I had to confess to Tamzin that I am a nervous flier.

I believe that I have a genetic mutation, inherited from my father, that makes it impossible for me to be fully comfortable on a plane. It stems from a number of factors, which are, in no particular order:

1. I like control. I like to know that at any given point in time, I am, or am capable of becoming, fully in control of my surroundings and actions. I do not get this feeling on a plane, particularly when a peach-fuzz faced pilot gets on board and is given the "knuckle bump" to the surfer dude sitting in the bulkhead seat. I want to ask, "Does your mom know you are here?", but I refrain and just silently pray that when death surely comes it will be quick and painless.

2. I see danger. Not like everyday folks see it. One of the drawbacks in having worked a long time in EMS is the fact that you see a lot of unbelievable things. People have a funny way of taking everyday objects and somehow seriously hurting themselves with them, and paramedics get to see it all (and hear the stories) firsts hand. So if I get to sit back and ruminate too long on the fact that I am in a glorified Coke can with wings on it, hurtling at 600 miles per hour and an altitude around 30,000 feet, my mind starts doing the statistics on the fact that if the flight attendant hands me my tasty bloody mary as we hit a little patch of turbulence, there is a strong possibility that the piece of celery in it will shoot up my nose and straight into my brain and I will no longer be me. It could happen. Don't judge me.

3. Ever see Apollo 13? One little part goes bad, and three very intelligent astronauts had to use all of their skill, plus the skill of a Mission Control that was jammed packed with physicists, just to make it back to Earth in one piece. How confident am I that the chick with purple hair at Lockheed-Martin was paying attention the day she soldered that wing into place?

4. I know that deep down, in the depths of my soul, the Twilight Zone writer who thought up that whole, "There's a man on the wing of the plane" bit had some kind of super-secret insider information that there is some weirdo flying cousin of the Yeti that can land on the wing and if not for an observant flier, such as myself, will bring the whole thing crashing to the ground.

So, to keep my mind off of the fact that I do not like to fly, I decided to do some more work on my swaps instead. You want a look? Just remember, if my little jet does not make it to Salt Lake City, Center of the Known Stamping Universe, that these were my last two really cute cards, and I left them here for you to enjoy.

I have churned out 100 of the "Artistic Etchings" one, and am finishing up around 50 of the "Friends Never Fade" card before Tuesday. I think my big plan is to leave all the adhering for the time in the air, so that my mind is busy doing something very mundane and Tamzin doesn't have to feed me Valium like a momma bird giving her babies a worm. Pray for Tamzin, she might need it!

I will be posting updates and as many pictures as I can from Convention starting on Tuesday night. I hope that you will follow along, and feel free to ask questions in the comments section. After I make my first run through Memento Mall (which T. and I are referring to as "Diagon Alley") there might be some prizes to try for here, so stay tuned and tell your friends to come check out my little blog as well.

I hope that everyone had a great weekend and is looking forward to a fun-filled week. Until next time...Happy Stamping!

Kim

Nothing like...

2010-06-10T13:31:00.003-05:00

...watercoloring to relax you when you need it. Lately, I've needed it. And nothing like a friend linking to your blog to make you realize, "I had better put a card up on my blog today". Thanks for the jump-start, Lydia! (You really need to click on her's because she is addressing a matter of utmost seriousness today. Seriously. OK, not life-and-death serious, but concerning nonetheless.)

I always lament the fact that I don't have enough good "manly" sets for cards for the hubby and father-in-law. This year, I pulled out my favorite stand-by, "For Father", and "Seaside" to make these cards:

On the first one I stamped the toolbox image from "For Father" using Black Staz-On then colored in with my Watercolor Wonder Pencils. One day, when I am old and gray and have nothing left, I intend to hide my pencils under my little-old-lady bathrobe and take them with me wherever I go. That is how much I care for them. They are well-used, and I find that I never seem to have to overthink what I am doing when I pull them out of the box. If you haven't tried them yet, you need to, and I promise that you will begin a life-long love of coloring with pencils, too.

I blended out everything with my Aquapainter and then roughed the edges up a little before I put it all together.

This card got multiple, many colored seashells stamped on it, then I stamped the starfish using Timber Brown Staz-On onto Creamy Caramel cardstock. I painted in some Ruby Red ink using the Aquapainter, which really helped to give the little starfish a personality! I like to think that all starfish are like Peach on "Finding Nemo", giving play-by-play insight to the other fish in their world, whether it is in the sea or an aquarium.

Forgive me, but as far as movies go, if it says "Pixar" or "Disney" on it there is a very good chance I have seen it 5 or 6 hundred times by now. That is what having a kiddo will do to you. What's that you say? "Finding Nemo" came out way before my kid was born? And you know for a fact that I bought it before I ever expected to have her? Well, that is just my business and you can't prove anything, anyway.

So, let me know what you think of the cards, and, if you are so inclined and need a couple of Father's Day Cards and want to spend a little fun time over at my house, shoot me an email and we'll schedule a time that you can make these up. Check out my SU website under "Events" for my full class schedule. (Even though this official class date has passed, I can still do one-on-ones as my schedule allows.)

I hope that you have a fun-filled, watercoloring day! Until next time, Happy Stamping!

Kim

It's the End...

2010-06-02T08:53:00.003-05:00

...of the Stampin' UP! year, as we know it. I know that I am super-excited for a couple of reasons.

First of all, I get to see what is retiring from the current catalog (you can too, just click here). Secondly, I get to plan a ton of fun classes this month (check out my events page).

But finally, more important than any of those things, I know that very soon I will get a chance to hold a fresh-off-the-presses, brand new catalog in my hands. I have to admit something to you all, because I know that you do not judge me. That new catalog? It won't look new for long. I will attack it with the tenacity of a mongoose going after a cobra, sticky tabs in one hand and a Starbucks in the other, marking page after page with my special color coded system until I will collapse in a heap on my floor, mumbling about designer series paper and new stamps.

It won't be pretty, but it will be fun!

In the meantime, I have been preparing for a Stampin' Up! Opportunity Night at my house tomorrow evening. If you would like to come to hear about the ways that Stampin' Up! can fit into your life, be it as a way to buy great products before everyone else and at a discount, or to help supplement your income, I would love to have you come out to visit. Just comment if you would like to attend and I will make sure that there is a gift bag waiting for you.

I hope everyone has a great day, and until next time...Happy Stamping!

Kim

Has it been...

2009-12-03T23:06:00.010-06:00

...three months since I last posted? That can't be right, can it? Well, I guess it can, and is, since I got all tied up with Little Miss starting school and me packing my schedule with as many classes as I could teach.

However, there are certain times when a girl has to take a break. A well-deserved respite to go see someone who has helped change her, even mold her into a better version of, I believe, the already pretty decent person that she was before. Now, I know you are saying, "But Kim, who could you even begin to mean? Who could make you better than you are?" The answer is as clear as this:

Seriously, if you have not allowed yourself to be swept into the world of Ree Drummond, aka Pioneer Woman, then you need to stop what you are doing this very minute and go visit her blog. OK, maybe you can just finish reading my quick little post and then go visit her. Because I can tell you, once you get into "From Black Heels to Tractor Wheels" it won't matter if I don't post for another three months, because you will be hanging on her every keystroke.

I first heard about PW from another friend/blogger whom I stalked...err...have had a respect for...for quite sometime. When I started reading Ree's blog I just fell in love. Her thoughts on the world around her and her place in it let you know that she is pretty down to earth. That trait is what makes you love her even once you figure out that she shoots amazing photos, homeschools her four adorable and equally amazing kids, writes like a modern day Erma Bombeck, and cooks food that would make Paula Deen envious. Oh, and did I mention that the cherry on top is that she is gorgeous to boot?

So, back to my little mini-break from laundry, stamping, and general housewifery. Ree and her family, complete with husband, mom, all the kiddos, and her sister and brother-in-law, came to Book People in Austin tonight for her to sign copies of her new cookbook, The Pioneer Woman Cooks. As soon as I knew she was going to be in town I knew that I had to be there to meet her for a couple of minutes and get her to sign my copy of the cookbook before I manage to get butter on every page. Trust me, my friends, if you are cooking her recipes there is a high probability that you will get butter on the pages, and that can be a very good thing.

I arrived with Little Miss in tow around 6 p.m. Luckily for me, Lydia had set up camp and was holding a piece of floor for the two of us. After getting my child settled in with a huge candy cane and a piece of paper to draw on we had a chance to chat about all of the goodness that is in the cookbook and get caught up with a little bit of gossip that we had not had the opportunity to discuss. We noticed the lucky bearers of the red bracelets in line to get a pre-talk chance to meet PW and started deciding how long our own wait would be. And, as we expected, as we waited and got to know our floor mates the room on the second floor of that book store began to fill up. Seriously. There were a lot of folks crammed into that space, and I began thinking of fire codes and how well were the load bearing walls of this building actually constructed. It is the medic in me. You see a fun evening with laughter and a chance to meet someone who wrote a book, I see a potential Charleton Heston film-like disaster in the making.

All of a sudden, I look up and see Marlboro Man in the flesh, surrounded by the kids. By the way, if by some miracle you are actually reading this Ree: You. Did. Good. I always thought you were just kind of teasing us with the Wrangler and chaps pictures, but now I must say, "Bravo!" He was even kind enough to sign cookbooks himself for all of the crowds waiting downstairs while you were busy with the lines of people upstairs. Even the kids were giving out autographs. And for every nay-sayer in the world who thinks that kids who are homeschooled lack socialization skills, all I can say is "Pbbbttt!" These children could be a walking advertisement for the merits of teaching your own.

Anyway, on to my meeting with PW. I made her a little stack of notecards with a cowboy kid on the front holding the reins of his stick horse. It wasn't until my 5-year old daughter pointed out to me that I failed to watercolor his little face that I realized he looked like one of the Twilight characters decided to go play on the ranch. Sorry about that one, Ree. I am sure that if you let the kids color his face in he will look a little healthier! She was amazingly gracious about the gift, and the fact that I was pretty much stammering to find the right thing to say to her. I am quite sure that I embarrassed myself as I was thinking, "OMG, OMG, OMG....it is Ree right here!". She signed the books, posed nicely for the above photo, and then it was time to move on to pick up a super-cute t-shirt and bundle up the kiddo for the drive home.

So, I have to say a heartfelt, "Thank you" to the Pioneer Woman. Thank you for the time that you take every day to include us in your life. Thank you for all the great prizes that you give away (I know one day I am going to win one!). Thank you for the pictures, the gorgeous pictures that make me believe that one day I will get a big-girl camera and take pictures like you do. Thank you for showing us your family with mud on them, your sink full of dishes, and all the parts of you that make you real. Thank you for being as nice in person as you are on your blog. It was a real treat meeting you, and I hope that you see all the success that you could ever want, and all the blessings that your heart wishes for.

And, thank you to all my friends who stick with me even when I don't post for three months! You are an amazing, eclectic group of women who have filled my life with joy and I love each and every one of you!

Until next time, Happy Stamping!

Kim

The Sisterhood of the Traveling Stamps

2009-08-15T21:49:00.006-05:00

Hi everyone out there in stamp-a-rama land! I am happy to say that I have returned safely home from convention and think that I have (finally) unpacked the last of my stuff and am ready to tell y'all some of the fun details about my week in Salt Lake City. I have to say that I missed each of you, and wished beyond all hope that I could have taken a laptop out there so I could have given you up to the minute reporting, but what I lack in timeliness I will have to make up for in details. So buckle up, buttercup! This is a fun tale of some of my western adventures.

Before I get started on the juicy stuff, can I just say one thing? If you are sitting next to me on an airplane, please understand that there are a few givens, and here they are in no particular order:

1. I like the window seat. I like to sit just behind the wing so that I can make sure that the pilot and crew are doing their job, that the flaps and ailerons are functioning correctly and that everyone is working in top form. No, I don't know how to fly an airplane, but I stayed at a Holiday Inn Express one time and if I feel there is an emergency about to happen you better believe I will figure it out PDQ. Also, I watched too much Twilight Zone as a kid and I just know that one day there will be a man on the wing of the plane.

2. Since I am planted firmly next to the window making sure that we stay airborne, that means that if you choose to be my seatmate you are going to be between me and the aisle. If you pretend to be asleep and I have to go to the lavaratory, this means that you are either going to have to "wake up", or I am going to lap dance my way over you. You don't want that. Seriously.

3. I don't want to talk to you. I am busy already talking to God, trying to make sure that the airplane stays in the air for the alloted duration of the flight. Don't think that your small talk about what you plan to do or the best place to eat matters to me. I am a nervous flier, and I am convinced that the sincerity and duration of my prayers help keep our plane where we all want it to be. Do you really want to be the person that interrupts that? I think not.

OK, now that those little ground rules for flying with me are out of the way, let's talk about the Sisterhood!
This is a picture of our Mother land, the Stampin' UP! headquarters in Riverton. I was able to take a tour there Wednesday before convention got into full swing. I have decided that if we ever leave Austin, we are moving here and I am taking a job, although they probably would not let me work in the shipping area, unless they don't mind me drooling on demo orders and trying to sneak stamps out every single day. Next year I think I am going to hide out in demo support until they close up and then just run around singing, "It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year". Yes, it is that good.

Here is the main stage area. I can't do it justice. Imagine a ginormously huge convention area that is full of 3000+ stampers. And guess what? They have SWAPS! Tons and tons of stamping goodness that makes me think, "You know, I think I can make 1,000 swaps next year instead of just 100." There is so much stamping goodness that you can just suck it up by osmosis. And believe me, I tried!

Here is the proof of that:

The first picture is me at Lydia's U-blue blogger's meeting. Lydia is on the left of the picture, next is Linda Hanson (OMG!) who has probably forgotten more about stamping than I could ever hope to learn, and then me with a smile so big I am surprised Linda even allowed me near her. Not that I gave her much of a choice on that one.

The picture on the right is me and Jan Tink. If you haven't ever seen her blog, just click on her name and go there now. I'll wait...

You're back? Already? Or have you been gone for a week and a half and now you're back? I understand, I truly, truly do. I had a plan in place for meeting Jan which my upline, Meg, was party to. Basically it was understood that I was in full stalker mode throughout the duration of convention, and that when I spotted Jan I would throw my camera at Meg, who was to turn it on and get it in focus as I tackled, er, approached Jan and ~~grabbed her against her will~~ asked her nicely if I could have a picture with her. Meg made me promise not to lick Jan's cheek, lest I get to meet the Salt Lake City police department, and in the end I think I did restrain myself very well. And if you are one of the people I shoved aside like an SEC linebacker in order to get to Jan during lunch on Saturday, I apologize. I really am a nice person, and I'll send you a get well card soon. I hear stitches are very stylish this year!

Finally, a shot (one of many I took) of the Temple in SLC. The grounds were stunning, and if you are a fan of history and architecture I really recommend spending some time walking around and take one of the tours there. It is worth your time! Thanks for stopping in, and I will be posting more pictures from Salt Lake as well as some cards in the next few days. Until next time, Happy Stamping! Kim

Live, from Salt Lake City...

2009-08-05T17:26:00.002-05:00

...it's ME! I am actually here! And save for the fact that I am currently unable to upload pictures, please trust me when I say that convention is simply amazing. If you want to see pictures, go visit Lydia at Understand Blue for up to the minute reporting.

Now, I can tell you that I got a great new tote bag today with new stamp sets in it, spent the morning shopping at Memento Mall (OH! The goodness that came out of there today was unreal!) and then went on a tour of the Stampin' Up Headquarters. All of those things combined with the fact that my hair is looking awesome out here (thank you for low humidity, Utah. Sincerely, and from the bottom of my frizzy-hair DNA's heart!) makes me want to live here immediately.

While we were touring demo support at the offices I asked a great guy named Bill if he could get me an application to work there. He told me he would! How fun is that to even think of? Of course, I would never leave y'all behind, so everyone pack your bags and get ready for relocation.

This morning at Memento Mall I met a girl in Human Resources (see, I am getting in with all the right people to hook me up here!) and one of the designers for our wonderful stamp sets. I told her I loved her. I told her I loved everything she has ever done and will possibly ever do. Then I asked her to please, please design a billiard set for my husband who has wanted one every year that I have been doing this. I hope it works! I think hugging her and crying might have been a bit much, but hey, I was emotional.

OK, that will have to be all for now, as I am about to meet up with Lydia, Neelam, and Emily for a blogger get together! I hope everyone is as excited as I am, and I'll see you all very, very soon!

Until next time, Happy Stamping!

Kim

Little girls' birthdays...

2009-07-07T09:38:00.003-05:00

...are just the best! I love it when my daughter or any of her friends has a birthday, because it means that I get to make a super cute, sparkly birthday card. This week is especially wonderful because my niece is having her 4th birthday on Saturday (Hey sweetie! Aunt Kimmy loves you!), and one of Little Miss A's friends is having an "almost sleepover" birthday party on the same day. BTW--this is the best birthday party idea ever. The group arrives at the birthday girl's house in their pj's, get their toenails painted, eat cake, and then come home before the real bedtimes arrive. Jen, you get my smartest mom in the world award!

So, to celebrate both of these special days I wanted to make cards that would be cute, a little wild, and just perfect for both of these little ladies. Are you ready to see them? OK, here are the pics:

I love the Crazy for Cupcakes set. I just love the idea of someone bringing me a pink platter with cupcakes stacked from bottom to top, each one more covered in sprinkles than the one before it. The zebra paper was the idea of my little one, who saw it in a store the other day and told me that she loved it and wanted to make some cards from it.

What you can't see in these shots is that all of the white images are actually stamped on Shimmery White Cardstock, so they have a bit of extra shimmer all over them. I added Stickles as my icing on the cupcakes and then put Crystal Effects on the cherries to make them look juicy.

There they are! I hope that you enjoyed these cute little 15 minute cards today. And on your next birthday why don't you go ahead and request a platter of cupcakes with sprinkles on them? I guarantee you will have a happy birthday if you do. Until next time, Happy Stamping!

Kim

Some more animals...

2009-07-06T18:37:00.003-05:00

...from "Animal Crackers" have been demanding their fair share of the spotlight today. It seems that the giraffe from the set found out how to grab Wi-Fi from his spot on my display board, and when he saw that the bunny was on the Inter-web-google-twit, he threatened me with legal action if I didn't give everyone else in the set equal time.

I told them that I wanted to put them up on my demonstrator website, for the entire world to enjoy, but I believe that my initial order from Stampin' Up might have caused their servers to crash. (Hey, don't judge me. I only do it for you.) You'll be thanking me when you see my class line up this fall. So, in order to placate the cards while Stampin' Up tries to install hardware that will support my personal addiction, here they are!

Yesterday you got to see the cute, super-girly bunny from the set, and for today I wanted to show you the rest. This is my second class for this month, five cards, each one featuring a different little character from this stamp set. I had to load up on the In Colors, too. I heard through the paper grapevine that they already have a lawyer on retainer if they didn't get top billing from me. I don't need any of that kind of drama around here.

The giraffe and squirrel called out for more of the earthy tones, so I went with Soft Suede, Dusty Durango and some Crushed Curry. I was looking at the little squirrel (which in real life I'm kind of terrified of...just FYI) and thought it would be really cute if he was declaring his love to the tree that gave him that acorn.

The little penguin, having to live in the frigid cold waters down near the South Pole asked if he could have some Bermuda Bay to warm himself up with. (I apologize for the darkness of that photo...I have been doing some lighting experiments and that one just turned out...well...wrong.)

Finally, the wee little duck that quacks me up, on a 3" x 3" note card. I love how that Crushed Curry can look all earthy one minute, then you pair it up with Melon Mambo and it totally goes into a springy look. I just love colors! I hope that you do, too. And if you have this stamp set, I hope that these cards inspire you to create something adorable with them tonight! Now, back to my stamping table to work on a birthday card for Little Miss to give to a friend this weekend, then to the den to watch "Valkyrie" tonight.

I hope everyone has had a great Monday, and until next time, Happy Stamping!

Kim

Happy 4th of July...

2009-07-04T20:36:00.006-05:00

...so let's think about Christmas cards, shall we? I know what you are thinking, "Kim has lost her mind! It is 106 degrees outside and no way in the world am I going to even think about Christmas right now."

But wait! You haven't even seen them yet! So, take a peek at the Christmas cards we will be making at my Christmas in July class this month:

See! Don't they just say, "Cool weather is right around the corner?" I thought so!

Here is a close up of the window that the little snowman is looking out of. It is all frosty and chilly. Brrrr!!! I think I need a sweater.

So, if you feel the need to come inside, cool off, maybe indulge in a great cup of coffee or some of my southern sweet tea, just give me a shout and come on over to make a stack of these cooler weather cards!

I now return you to more meteorological correct card making, with this:

This is the cute little bunny from Animal Crackers. He managed to hop out of his box the other day to remind me that he has not seen ink. Ever. So, I did what I needed to do and got him and all his cute, bubble-headed breathren out and stamped them all day today. This bunny did me the courtesy of requesting some of the new In Colors for his own, so I had to oblige. He is colored in with Melon Mambo and then matted on Crushed Curry and Pumpkin Pie that have been swiped over with the Melon Mambo ink. I had to add a bunch of silver "whiskers" for him since it is the 4th of July.

I hope everyone is having a safe and fun weekend. Please stay hydrated in this heat...water is your friend. And, to my new Mr. Brown...just remember...you get my order to me early, and there is a big bottle of Gatorade in it for you!

Have a happy holiday everyone, and until next time, Happy Stamping!

Kim

I'm just saying...

2009-06-28T20:57:00.003-05:00

...that I found this pretty impressive for any group of people:

My hubby found this as he was looking at the new TV's on Samsung's webpage. We saw one at Fry's yesterday that literally left him speechless. It was high-def to the extreme. I'm thinking these guys in Scotland don't have high-def, but they do have an extreme amount of vision to pull this trick off. On a stamping note, my open house is planned for Wednesday night, and I will start posting new cards that I am making for it tomorrow. Some of them are featuring new sets, some new colors, and some are just new designs with a few of my favorite stand-by sets. I hope y'all will wander back here to see them. So stay cool, keep yourself hydrated, and until next time, Happy Stamping! Kim

Somedays I am...

2009-06-01T13:18:00.003-05:00

... a birdbrain! Now, I hear you all protesting, "No Kim, you are by far the most pulled together chick I know! You could never forget anything!" Well, this morning in my excitement over all the new sneak peek stuff that Stampin' Up has coming out, I forgot to pre-order my hostess sets, which means that I have to put in yet another order.

The upside to this is that I will get to see my new Mr. Brown at least three days in a row next week. I really think my old Mr. Brown tipped this one off, because instead of bringing my packages to the front door he leaves them in the breezeway. I think I am going to have to leave a trail of packing slips to get him to come to the front door so I can break him in right!

Now, in honor of the fact that I am a birdbrain today, I thought I would post a birthday card I made for one of my little girl's best friends in the world:

This one uses Pun Fun, and as you can see, every extra piece of ribbon that I had available to me at the time. In my defense, the little girl I made it for is so cute and sweet and girly that I knew she would appreciate all of the ribbon, which she did. I am so glad that Pun Fun made the cut and will not be retiring this time. If you haven't seen the list of retiring stamp sets, just click here. These will be available until June 30th when we transition to the new catalog. To see the complete last chance list, along with the accessories, go here and click on the "shop now" button.

I can tell you one thing about what I saw as a preview today...the new In Colors are incredible! You will definitely want to see them come July 1st. So, don't be a birdbrain like me! Call me or email to tell me you are coming to open house, and I'll see you then! Until next time, Happy Stamping!

Kim

Butterflies and Barracudas

2009-05-30T19:53:00.003-05:00

Sounds like a funny combo, doesn't it? Well, I can tell you that both butterflies and barracudas have one thing in common...Little Miss A. She has been learning everything under the sun about butterflies since her class studied them in preschool. She even got me to purchase a Butterfly Garden for her, and I finally decided it was time to send off for the caterpillars a couple of weeks ago.

It seems strange to actually pay for bugs to come to your home, but that is exactly what I did. And about 10 days after my check arrived in California, a box with real live caterpillars landed in Austin. We watched as they grew every day until they finally wrapped themselves in their coccoons (Little Miss made sure I knew that those are called their chrysalis) and then I moved them into the butterfly tent.

Now, in case you have never had cause to move a piece of paper as thin as a coffee filter with 5 cocooned caterpillars hanging on it, there is something you should know. They squirm. I don't mean just a little movement here and there, oh no, that would be far too easy to deal with. They were wiggling like a bunch of showgirls in Vegas while I tried not to scream in terror. At one point one wiggled so hard it touched my hand and I think I might have passed out for a second or two. The end result was ok. I managed to attach the coffee filter paper to the side of the tent just like in the picture and we waited for the magic to happen.

A week later, we were rewarded with 5 butterflies that were all hatched out and pretty. After three days I was finally able to convince the tender-hearted child that if we wanted the butterflies to have full, happy, productive little butterfly lives we needed to release them into our yard. I promised we would take pictures so she could always remember them, so here they are:

This is the kiddo with the tent in our backyard, and the shot below is one of our butterflies before it took to the wind.

The cool thing is all this butterfly time inspired me to make a few butterfly cards, so I hope you enjoy them. I have to say that I have been having some lighting issues lately and the color in the embossed card is Kiwi Kiss, not River Rock (which is what it looks like in this shot).

Finally, the barracuda portion of today's post. Little Miss had an away swim meet today. Last year she could not swim a lick, and we had her take a couple weeks of swim lessons. My entire goal was to have her be able to make it to the side of the pool if she ever fell in, and we more than succeeded at that. This year she begged me to let her join the swim team so she could swim "like the big girls". I relented because she is so doggone persuasive and she looks too adorable in her purple and black (Barracuda attack!) swim suit. Here she is just chilling out today at the meet:

Next we have lining up for the ready bench, getting her goggles in place, and finally in the pool doing her best half-doggie paddle half-freestyle stroke. The funniest part was we have been really encouraging her to not hold onto the lane line like it is the last life preserver on the Titanic. Today she was within 5 strokes of the finish when she had to grab the line for a second to catch her breath. As she looked to her left, she saw her little friend behind her, so she starts saying, "Come on, you can do it!" to cheer for her friend, forgetting that she is racing at the time. She finished just before her little friend did, and although her times are nowhere near the "competitive" level, we all had a great day! And how can you fault a kiddo who stops swimming to cheer for her teammate? I think my little butterfly is coming out of her chrysalis, and what a beauty she is!

I hope you all have a great weekend, and until next time, Happy Stamping!

Kim

I love...

2009-05-28T20:33:00.002-05:00

....when comedians cover my favorite popular songs. Case in point, Tim Hawkins, who is an absolutely hilarious Christian comedian. If you like Plain White T's, then you will love this, I promise!

Also, check back in because I have been at the stamping table and am actually happy with what has been coming off of it...so some new projects will be following very soon.

Hope everyone has a great night, and a good laugh!

Kim

Just in time...

2009-04-27T12:01:00.003-05:00

...for Mother's Day! I really do like Mother's Day, especially now that I have a kiddo of my own and have begun to really appreciate everything that my mom went through raising me! (Hi Mom! Thanks for not leaving me on someone's doorstep, shipping me off to boarding school, or actually stopping the car and putting me out on the side of the road all those times I deserved it!)

So, in honor of my mom and all the other great moms out there, I came up with this album class:

I really can't describe how cute it is here, but you should see it in person!

If you think this is something that your mom/grandma/or other special lady in your life would appreciate, then you don't want to miss this class. You can check out the class details on my website here.

Also, for those of you who are looking for something special for yourself or you mom, I am taking part in a multi-vendor event tomorrow, Tuesday, April 28th at the Villages of Shady Hollow Community Center (12006 Gatlin Gun Way). There are going to be a lot of cool things to see there, so come on out between 9:30 and noon and check it out!

I hope everyone has a great (rainy) day, and until next time, Happy Stamping!

Kim

Bock, bock...

2009-04-09T22:32:00.003-05:00

...said the little Easter chick. You can tell he is the king of all Easter chicks because he is holding his little crown on his fuzzy yellow noggin. Tres chic, my little yellow friend!

Then, you open the card to see that he is not poultry royalty (try saying that one three times fast...like an old vocal exercise from college!), but he is just making some deliveries for his bunny buddy!

I bet if he were a little bigger, he wouldn't hold his eggs on his head, but would put them in a cute little basket like this one to carry to all the little chicks in the barnyard.

Since I got an extremely late start on Easter this year, I decided to make a quick little 3 x 3 card to get me in the mood. That was followed by the basket, and I am sure that pretty much all day tomorrow I will be stamping out some super cute bunnies to make my heart feel spring-like.

So, if any of y'all are in the mood to come and be springy with me, just give me a quick call or email and head over this way! I hope everyone has a great night, and until next time, Happy Stamping!

Kim

Things I Love...

2009-03-06T16:08:00.002-06:00

...about my friends.

I have to say that I love all of my friends, and each and every one of you hold a special place in my heart. Every one of you brings your personality, your experiences, your charming ways into my life and helps complete a little bit of what makes me, well, me.

Today, I want to take a minute and talk about why I love my friends.

A friend can come into your home and not ask why you keep M&Ms in your bathroom, or even feel icky about it. She understands that those are little bribes for little kids when their little poop all makes it into the potty. She may even help herself to one or two if she is running low on CBC (circulating bloodstream chocolate).

A friend can shovel her way into your living room through the piles of toys, books, clothes, and kids and say to you with a perfectly straight face and sincere heart, "Gosh, your house looks great today! I wish my house were this clean." (Yes, I know it is a lie, but it makes me feel good to hear it!)

A friend will wipe your kiddo's nose/face/butt if she is closer to them than you are or if you look like you are getting your first nourishment in a week after taking care of sick kids/pets/spouses.

A friend will come when you need them, whether you asked them to or not. Sometimes it is just to bring a hug and a shoulder to cry on, sometimes they bring a snack or a meal, and sometimes they come, honk the horn, and whisk you away from everything that is horrible and take you out and make you laugh. (All variations of this are appreciated.)

A friend will help you move. (A best friend will help you move a body.)

This is for all of my great friends! I appreciate you standing by me, supporting me, listening to me, and loving me, warts and all! I hope y'all have a wonderful day, a spectacular weekend, and know that I just love ya!

Kim

Treats for Everyone...

2009-02-08T14:00:00.003-06:00

...are so cute and easy to make! Let me tell you, I love a nice piece of chocolate. Between all those feel good endorphins and just the plain ole tastiness of it, there is nothing like it. Until you do this with it:

Then not only is it sweet and dark and delicious, but also so cute that you want to keep it all for yourself! Of course, we know that it is better to share, which is why I made three of these cute candy pull cards. One for me and two to share. Or two for me and one to share, I haven't worked out all those little details yet. Don't judge me.

The point is, these little cuties can elevate even a simple goodness like a candy bar to new heights and show that you care with just a few minutes of time. And if you like these, you can make them to. I have class details on my business website so feel free to hop on over and check it out.

I have to say I think this little blue and pink number is my favorite one because of the butterflies. The new die from Sizzix really makes them so easy, and when you mount them in layers it adds a pretty look. I love tools that make me look talented, don't you?

The best thing about a project like this is that no matter what your skill level is, you can do this. You can make these as elaborate or as simple as you like, and I promise that either way they will be beautiful, and the person that you share them with will love it!

So try something new and creative today, and see where it takes you. I hope that everyone enjoys the rest of their weekend, and until next time, Happy Stamping!

Kim

You say she still...

2009-01-28T14:24:00.003-06:00

...has stamps? Yes, indeed, I do still have stamps and know how to have fun with them, despite the fact that my blog hasn't really reflected that here lately.

So, let me show you that all is not lost here by showing you these little numbers:

Both of these cards were made with the new "Love You Much" set. It is such a cute stamp set, and I can see using this well beyond Valentine's day. I can't tell you how much I really like that new triple-heart punch...it really adds something to the card on the left.

As most of you know, this stamp set along with the punch and the Candy Lane paper is available as a bundle for 20% off until January 31st. You can order it by clicking here and then going to the "shop now" button.

Now that I have dusted off the stamps, you can expect to see some more new projects heading your way very soon! I hope everyone has a great day, and until next time, Happy Stamping!

Kim

But I do like...

2009-01-12T20:25:00.002-06:00

...moments like these:

Little Miss with her friends giving everyone a hug at her birthday party. She had just finished opening presents.

Little Miss with the class bear, Sam. He even went into the operating room with her.

Little Miss with Meme. We were on our way to the trail of lights when she decided to smile pretty for the camera and look right at the lens, all at the same time. Good stuff there!

There are no words...

2009-01-07T21:48:00.003-06:00

...to describe the yummy goodness that is coming in the Spring-Summer Idea Book and Catalog. Luckily for all of us, Lydia from Understand Blue is our reporter in the field!

Jump on over to her blog and check out the pictures and descriptions of what is in store. I can tell you one thing, I am putting my order in as soon as I can on January 19th, and Mr. Brown over at UPS had better have his big boy weight-lifter belt on when he comes to deliver those boxes.

I hope everyone is as excited as I am, and I am looking forward to seeing a bunch of y'all here for open house on January 19th. Have a great night everyone, and until next time, Happy Stamping!

Merry Christmas...

2008-12-25T20:07:00.002-06:00

...to everyone out in the blog-o-sphere!

I just noticed that it has been just shy of three weeks since I have posted, and it made me hang my head a bit. Then I realized that in the last three weeks I have been pretty much going non-stop, 90 miles-an-hour with my hair on fire trying to get things done. I know you can understand what I mean. It is like I wake up with a to-do list a mile long and the DH will say, "Oh, by the way," (at this point I know nothing good is going to come of this conversation, but I figure he is the hunter/provider and my job is the gatherer/doer, so I lull myself into a false sense of security for a couple of minutes). "By the way honey, can you go get a couple of cars inspected, run by the post office, pick up something at the grocery store, and blah blah blah Kim, blah blah, blibbity blah blah Kim."

At this point my hearing has gone to "cocker spaniel mode", where all I can hear is my name, and nothing else. This is my happy place. Don't judge me.

Anyway...the last three weeks. Little Miss finished up this year's preschool with their Christmas play which was so sweet it made my teeth hurt. She played an angel. Snort. Chuckle...Ho, Ho...BWAAHHAAAHAAA!!! I think they made her an angel because she is the tallest girl in her class and the angels have to stand at the back. In any case she was a cute angel and she knew all her words and motions and I loved every second of it.

A few days before the program we found out that she is going to need to get her tonsils and adenoids out and have a tube put in her ear as well, so that is helping to "firm up" my January schedule quite nicely, thank you very much. We are deliberately keeping details to a very, very bare minimum at this point in the game. No need saying anything about any body parts coming out of her, because she is pretty obsessive about her stuff staying close to her at all times, and I am guessing that if she cries over a missing Polly Pocket shoe she is going to be less than thrilled about some masked man taking part of her throat out.

In the midst of all of this, my mom made it safely to Austin to visit me (I'm sorry...visit my daughter. I might as well have been found under a cabbage leaf since giving birth to her granddaughter.) and spend time with us during Christmas and the upcoming 5th birthday party. She has been having great fun and has indulged Little Miss in so many games of Chutes and Ladders I am thinking Hasbro ought to give her some kind of award. I don't think my poor mom knew what to do today since I had the kitchen duties under control (brined turkey, anyone?) and all she had to do was sit in the floor and play Barbies all day long.

Somehow, in the daily fray I finally managed to stamp and send Christmas cards which I am calling "Christmas season" cards, since I know good and doggone well that not one of them made it out the door in time to be delivered before today. I also made and delivered all of the kiddo's birthday party invitations and got her goodie bag stuff picked up. If anyone wants to have a good laugh, feel free to swing by Goin' Bananas on Monday between noon and 2 p.m. Afterward, feel free to swing by Wine Styles where I will be "debriefing" myself from all the fun. Really.

I can say that today was wonderful though. We have been really explaining to Little Miss the meaning of the season and what makes it special, and she seems to understand it this year. Of course, Santa came by last night as well, and this morning was a fun sight to see. I love watching my daughter open presents, because she will open each one, look it over completely to get a better understanding of it, put it in her little presents pile, and then go for the next one. Very relaxed and fun, unlike her daddy and me trying to get the toys out of their super-sealed encapsulated packages. If only the NSA would contract out security to the companies that make toy packaging there would never be another problem on a flight.

You would step on board, at which point the flight attendants (who have been trained in the ways of the twist tie) would begin securing you to your seats with no less than 152 twist ties. They would then put a 2" wide strip of plastic around the back of your hair and sew it onto the headrest of the seat. Then, just to make sure that you will look good upon arrival they will put a semi-hard plastic case around you and hermetically seal you into it. I'm telling you, weapons on planes would not be an issue because you would not be able to reach anything if you tried.

OK, enough of that! I have a kiddo wanting to play Operation right now, and there is no way I can resist that! I hope that everyone had a wonderful day with friends and family, ate something tasty and maybe even got a visit from Santa as well.

Stay safe, enjoy the rest of this year, and until next time, Happy Stamping!

Kim

Oh what a difference...

2008-12-05T00:40:00.003-06:00

...the correct lighting can make! I have to say that I have never been overly emotional about the lighting in my stamping area. I mean, I have a good overhead light and a halogen torch lamp both burning when I work, but I have noticed that when shooting pictures things could get kind of dicey. Sometimes blues want to be grays and pinks and oranges get confused.

Just look at the following two pictures of the exact same card, inspired by a card made by Traci DeGolier that I received during swaps at Regionals:

They are indeed the exact same card. In fact, these two photos were taken less than one minute apart. The difference? The one on the top was lit with my Ott Light, and the one on the bottom was just my regular dining room lighting. It amazed me to see exactly how much the color shifted using my standard every day lighting versus the natural color of the Ott Light. The colors of this card that suffered the most under my "regular" lights were the Sage Shadow and the Really Rust. I was happy when I got my new little light, mostly because I got an incredible Thanksgiving night deal on it at the big craft store whose name we won't mention here (you know---the one that rhymes with "Nichael's"), but when I saw how well it worked I was hooked.

Here is another card that I made last night. All of the cards you see here are going to be featured in my Stamp-a-Stack class next week. There are still some spots open if you are interested, so drop me an email to let me know. I love this designer paper and have been wanting to spend more time with my Bella Blossoms stamps, so this is what came of that little adventure. Just simple, with only Baja Breeze and Basic Gray carrying the load on this one. (Forgive the shadow on this one, I'm still figuring out the best way to use the light when I shoot!)

Finally, my last card using Upsy Daisy and some more really cool paper.

So, that is all for tonight. I have to say thanks to all the folks who have hung in here with me during my creative slump the last few weeks. Between trying to get classes done, fighting bronchitis (still) and taking care of a kiddo who has been more sick these last two months than her entire life, I just haven't felt the good juices flowing at my stamping table.

Hopefully all that nonsense has come to an end and I can get back to making some pretty things that make me happy on the inside. I hope everyone has a great weekend, and until next time--Happy Stamping!

Kim

Time to shop...

2008-11-26T09:06:00.002-06:00

...for some new stamps and accessories!

Stampin' Up! is having a Holiday Extravaganza sale starting today and running for 5 days, and the prices on these bundles cannot be beat! So, what is for sale? Well, just pop on over to my official SU website at http://www.stampinkiminaustin.stampinup.net to find out. Once you are there, just click on the shop now button at the top right, then go to specials and "holiday extravaganza". I will be home all day if anyone needs help placing an order, so feel free to give me a ring!

And now, for the official Stamp-a-Rama Thanksgiving menu, complete with a recipie for the best turkey you have ever had in your mouth. Really. It will make you want to cry. It will make men want to give you jewelry. Trust me, I know of what I speak.

This year, we are having roasted brined turkey, cornbread dressing (yummy, sagey dressing!), sweet potato casserole with candied pecan topping, green beans, giblet gravy, and rolls. Dessert will probably be apple and pumpkin pies, both with insane amounts of whipped cream on them. Then I will have water and salad for the next two weeks to cleanse my system of all the rich, buttery goodness of tomorrow. But not today! Nope, today is preparation and tasting day, so that come tomorrow morning I can plop on the couch and watch the Macy's parade and only make minimal trips into the kitchen during commercial breaks only.

So, onto the turkey!

Do you ever get frustrated with trying to roast the perfect turkey? Did your mom used to set the oven to some insanely low temp and cook the turkey all day long, until it ended up like the one on "Christmas Vacation"? Well, no more, I say! Just follow along with me and I will lead you to the promised land of moist, wonderful, delicious turkey. Here is your cast of characters:

Brine ingredients:

2 cups Kosher salt (No, that is not a misprint. I meant cups, not spoons. And I meant TWO. Just get your mind over the fact that you think I am sitting here laughing at you, trying to get you to ruin Thanksgiving. It will all be ok in the end.)

1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar (I use dark brown, but light is ok, too.)

1 good handful of whole peppercorns

1 handful of crystallized ginger

several sprigs of fresh rosemary and thyme

any other spices or herbs that make your skirt fly up

4 boxes of Veggie or chicken stock (I buy those big boxes instead of the cans, not sure what the volume on one of those is off the top of my head.)

OK, let's get to cooking, shall we?

You want to bring your stock to a boil in a large pot, then add in all of the rest of the ingredients. Stir until the salt and sugar have completely dissolved, then let it simmer on low for about 20 minutes. Keep the pot covered while you are simmering. Take the pot off of the heat and let this cool completely on the stove top. I will be starting my brine as soon as I finish this post so that it can get done and let it cool. This part is very important: do not taste the brine! Just trust me, ok? Don't do it. Your mouth will get all askew and you will feel your tongue start to fold in on itself. It is saltier than you can imagine. We are talking Dead Sea here. Trust that your spices and herbs are working their magic and leave it alone.

Now, onto your bird. You can use any kind of turkey you want. I buy the absolute cheapest turkey in the store. There is no brand name. I'm surprised it doesn't come in the old black and white generic labeling, that is how cheap it is, but trust me, it will be tasting amazing tomorrow! Make sure your turkey is completely thawed out and you have removed the neck and giblets. (I feel compelled to put that disclaimer in here because we all know someone, or have been the someone, who cooked a turkey with the bag o' giblets still up inside of it.)

You will need a container large enough to hold your turkey completely covered in brine and a bunch of ice, so plan accordingly. I use a garbage can that has been deemed "the turkey can". It is only used for turkey, so don't think that I take my trash out and put my bird in. I do have some standards...lol! Plan on letting your bird soak in the brine for at least 12 hours, so you will need to do the next steps the night before you cook.

I put two layers of trash bags into my can to help me with clean up later. Put the turkey, neck side down, into your can. (If you are using a cooler or some other container where the bird is actually laying down in just put the breast side down.) Pour the cooled brine over the bird. If the turkey is not completely covered you can add enough water and ice just to cover the bird. At this point I roll the bags down over the top of the turkey and pack the top of the can with ice to keep it cool, then I put a towel on top of the ice as an extra insulation layer.

Typically by this time of year it is cool enough that I take my entire can outside and leave it on my deck for the night. The ice will keep the bird below 40 degrees, which is the safe limit. I will say that if you do this and you live in an area where the occassional coyote comes by you might want to put this in your garage so that he doesn't try to make off with a tasty midnight snack.

I know what a lot of you are thinking right now: "Kim, all of that salt is going to pull the moisture right out of the turkey! You have lost your mind!" You are indeed correct. The first few hours the bird is in the brine the salinity of the brine is going to pull most of the moisture out of the bird. You would not want to soak it for say, 5 hours and then try to roast it. That would be a disaster. However, after that first few hours a wonderful thing happens. Nature wants everything to be balanced, to be in a state of "stasis", so to achieve this balance the briny solution is going to start going back into the bird. And guess what! It is going to take the flavor of the broth, pepper, sugar, and herbs with it. It will be a flavor party like no other. Of course salt is like that one party guest that has a bit too much to drink and breaks something, you know the one. In this case, he is going to break down the tough fibers of the turkey. He is going to make them tender and wonderful and make them sing in your mouth. Yea for salt! (Kosher only for this recipe, though!)

So now you have let your bird swim around in his Dead Sea bath for at least 12 hours. Pull your bird out (you should still be seeing some ice in there folks!) and rinse him off, inside and out. Preheat your oven to 500 degrees. I know, another leap of faith here, but there is a method to my madness. Fire it up, girls! I want it to feel like star about to go supernova.

Place your turkey on a rack and into a roasting pan. If you don't have one, get out your broiler pan, I have used mine for years and it works. Now it is time for a little turkey massage. Get out some veggie or canola oil and rub your bird down. Make sure to get his little legs and thighs, too! They are tired from all that swimming he did last night! I will also put a cut up onion and apple (just cut into big wedges--no seeds please!) as well as some fresh rosemary stalks and sage into the cavity of the bird. These aren't for eating later, they are for flavor while cooking.

Since our bird is about to go into battle with a smoking hot oven, he needs a little suit of armor for later. Take a large rectangle of aluminum foil and fold it into a square. Take one of the points of the square and place it down where the turkey's little noggin used to reside, then press the foil over the breast so that you completely cover the breast meat and wings, but tuck it so that the legs and thighs stay fully exposed. Get it molded to the shape of your bird, the take it off and set it aside. Remember that this has raw turkey juices on it when you set it down. I usually put my little foil breast plate away from all of my other food to avoid cross-contamination, because nothing says "I love you" like giving your entire family salmonella on Thanksgiving day. The reason you want to make your foil cover now is because when you need it this bird is going to be super, super hot and you won't want to be trying to mold anything to it.

Now, put your greased up, nekkid bird into the oven and set the timer for 30 minutes. There will be some smoking as the oil heats up. Just leave the oven door closed, and keep any older female relatives away from the kitchen because they will try to turn the oven temp down on you, and this will be the death of your bird. After 30 minutes of not allowing anyone near the oven carefully take your turkey out and drop the oven temp to 350 degrees. Place a probe style meat thermometer into the thickest part of the breast and set the temperature for the thermometer to 161 degrees. Cover the breast meat with the foil and put everything back into the oven.

Now sit back and have a tasty beverage while your bird finishes its roasting. Do not baste. Do not open the oven door. Just let it be. Believe me, it is working right now! When your thermometer alarm sounds that the turkey has reached an internal breast temp of 161 pull the bird out, but leave the probe in place in the meat. Cover the entire bird with foil and let it rest for about 15 minutes before carving. This will let the juices get all settled into the meat and not come running out to lay on your cutting board instead of in your pie hole.

Cut, eat, and enjoy! One downfall, the only one in my humble opinion, about cooking your turkey this way is that you cannot use the pan drippings to make your gravy. They will be far too salty, so don't try it. The great news is there are other ways to make tasty gravy and the way this bird comes out is worth the small sacrifice.

Thanks for sticking with me during this long post, and I hope everyone has a great turkey day. I am going to try to get the hubby to shoot some step by step pictures as I make my turkey so y'all can see it later.

Have a great day y'all, and until next time, Happy Eating!

Kim

I'm baaaccckkk....

2008-11-23T08:47:00.003-06:00

...to stamping and cleaning the house and posting and all that fun stuff! Whew! I have to say that I missed all both of you and am happy to have a little one-on-one time with my computer, although I had more fun than should be allowed in the two weeks that my friend was here. The good news: we did not need bail money. I figure if you can say that after two weeks with your best friend that you haven't seen in 13 years, then you are doing pretty doggone good.

Now, how about a card? I was in a cool weather mood the other day and wanted to play with one of my retired sets, so out came Basket Full of Fun.

This card uses Really Rust and Sage Shadow for the cardstock colors. I ran the sage panel through my Cuttlebug with the Textile embossing folder. Then I went through one of my huge stacks of paper to find a pattern that felt autumnal to me. You know, it is hard to feel "autumnal" when it is still in the 70's everyday, but it is a fun word to say so I had to throw it in here.

I used the masking technique and stamped the leaves all over the ground, then masked a couple sets of them so that the bucket of apples could sit behind them. This was one of the trickier masking jobs I have ever done simply because I realized that I was not going to be able to remember or reproduce the way that I had turned the stamp all willy-nilly to get random leaves down, so I ended up making 3 masks and piecing them together.

Then I got out my trusty ink pads and a blender pen and went to coloring. I tried to draw from the colors of the patterned paper to tie it all together. These apples are one of my better attempts at producing light and darkness using regular dye inks instead of copics. After I finished the coloring I just sponged on some blue for a bit of sky above and some caramel for the ground under the leaves and put everything together.

I hope that everyone has a great day, and look for me to be posting much more regularly again! Now, it is off to work on some Christmas cards of my own, then I am going to figure out a timeline o' cooking for this week so that I can sit and enjoy the Macy's parade myself come turkey day instead of being trapped in the kitchen cooking all morning long. Check back soon for an incredible brined turkey recipe that will make your tummy sing and your guy offer you stamps for life. Yes, it is that good! Also, check back on Wednesday for information about an upcoming Stampin' Up! special as well. Until next time, Happy Stamping!

Kim

And we're back...

2008-11-09T10:22:00.002-06:00

...to painful ear infection land with Little Miss.

Last night my sweetie told me that her ear was hurting again really badly, and even after tylenol and ear drops we still spent the bulk of the night awake and trying to deal with it. Little thing is laying on the couch right now, and I am trying to find out if my pediatrician's office has some type of weekend clinic that I can take her to or if we are just going to go to urgent care. I wish I could just take the pain for her.

On the upside, my incredible friend Alondra came into town on Thursday and is spending two weeks with me. I have always felt that if you have even one friend like her you are extremely blessed, and I have a couple that are just like her. You know what they say, "A friend will help you move. A best friend will help you move a body." She is a body-moving friend. (No, we haven't actually done that---yet.)

So, no cards or stamping fun for the past few days as I have been showing Al around town and now dealing with a very forlorn little one. Hopefully I will have something light and pretty and fun to put up a bit later this week. I do hope that everyone is having a great weekend and enjoying the weather! Until next time...Happy Stamping!

Kim

A new addition...

2008-11-05T17:18:00.002-06:00

...to the blog. Now you can click the "Share What you Love" button on the right side of my blog and you will be directed to my SU homepage. From there you can shop online, anytime you want, 24/7!

When you click the button, just make sure that you see my name on the top of the page on the right. If you see someone else's name you aren't on my page.

The coolest thing about the shop online feature is the fact that there are special projects on there that are not listed in the catalog or anywhere else! You can look through these projects and not only do you see a great card, but also everything it takes to make it. With one click you are able to add it all to your cart, or just the parts that you need.

So, even if you don't feel like ordering this way, go and check out the projects and all the other features available. If you have any questions, just call or email me and I will be happy to answer them. And as always, you can call or email me to place an order.

Thanks for stopping in! Until next time...Happy Stamping!

Kim

It's beginning to look alot....

2008-11-05T11:52:00.003-06:00

...like Christmas? Hard to imagine that Christmas is a mere 7 weeks away when it is still 80 degrees outside! My hubby and I always laugh about buying our Thanksgiving turkey in shorts and sandals, but I do wish it were at least cool enough that I could wear the cashmere sweater he bought me years ago when we lived back East. Oh, well, a girl can still dream!

So in the spirit of that Christmas dream, here are the two Christmas cards that I am featuring during my card class this month. The first one has a little stamping on the inside, but mostly focuses on using your paper and bone folder. Plus, it is making me sit down and use the paper that I have stockpiled up like I am anticipating some type of stamping apocalypse.

Come on, I know you! I know that you have a secret paper stash somewhere in your house! It's ok, you are among friends here. We understand and do not judge at Stamp-a-Rama. This is the paper-hoarder's "safe place".

The next card is so easy, and I really think that the simplicity of it is what makes it. This one uses the faux metal tag technique that is just a lot of fun! I think I might have settled that this is going to be my one, true card this year, but I am figuring out the logistics of making 60 of these tags. I still think it will be easier than the year I did 60 watercolored extravaganza cards....yikes! Too. Much. Work.

If these cards tickle your fancy, then let me know, and feel free to check out my calendar over at http://www.stampinkiminaustin.stampinup.net/ to see what else I have in store.

Now, onto "Confessions from Kim" time.

I think my UPS man is getting ready to break up with me. I didn't want to believe it was true, but I have been noticing some changes with him lately, and I must say I don't like them one bit. I have to admit, I only have myself to blame. I let my hubby answer the door last week, and between the fact that he was shirtless and had all kind of scary hair going on I believe he scared Mr. Brown and put him into some kind of post-traumatic stress disorder state that he hasn't fully recovered from.

Yesterday I vowed to make it up to him. I knew he was coming by, and I had kicked the hubby out to go to work and then prepared myself for his arrival. I decided that this time I would not stalk him like I normally do. I put the dogs up (no dogs--no early arrival warning system for me), got Little Miss occupied on an activity, and even put on just a dab of Bigelow's Peppermint Lip Gloss. OK, I did not put the lipgloss on for him. That was purely for me, but just give me some poetic license here, ok?

I saw my knight pull up on his shiny brown steed, and made myself promise not to fling the door open at the first sign of the box hitting the step. I heard his quick little cat-like footsteps come up to the door, the box drop, and the bell ring. And when I opened the door, I saw my Mr. Brown in the truck and some new Mr. Brown (I'll call him MB 1.2) walking back to the truck! Apparently my guy just can't take it anymore and has decided to pass the torch onto MB 1.2 and he didn't even tell me!

The new guy smiled and waved and thanked me, but I am heartbroken. After all this time, all these years, I didn't even see it coming. I am still holding out hope that my guy is just training MB 1.2 and that when he grows up he will get his own route and let me continue to scare/stalk my guy the way I like. I don't think I can train the new guy in the ways of the Stampin' Up box. In fact, I don't think he can handle the SU box.

OK, that is enough of that! Mr. Brown, if you are reading this today I just want to say I'm sorry. And I'll get rid of that snare trap in front that scares you so badly. And I will never, ever let my hubby answer the door with scary hair and no shirt on again. Stamper's Honor!

Until next time everyone...have a great day and Happy Stamping!

Kim

A few pictures...

2008-11-01T10:32:00.004-05:00

...of how we spent our evening last night. Little Miss A is old enough now to have a plan for Halloween that involves getting the most candy she possibly can by using all the cute she can muster. Let me tell you, she can pony up on the cute factor when needed! Here she is all decked out as Cinderella, complete with glass slippers on her nicely painted little piggies. We made a deal last night.

I agreed that she could wear the glass slippers to Miss Lydia's house, but after that we were switching to sandals for the rest of the festivities. This was a simple matter of good planning on my part, because I knew that those slippers not only had a heel on them, but would surely cause her feet to blister up. I, for one, do not relish the thought of being a half-mile from home and carrying an almost 5-year old and her 30 pounds of candy. No thank you!

Here is the little ham showing off her jack-o-lanterns on Wednesday. She and my DH are so much alike. They both wanted to have cool looking pumpkins outside, but neither one wants to touch the "yucky insides". So that left me doing all the initial cut and scoop work by myself. I did force my DH to carve the one on the right (with all the teeth) while I did the one on the left (note the big round "O" mouth that is very easy to do). He actually did reach into the pumpkin to pop the pieces out as he cut, but I noticed the speed at which he got to the kitchen sink to wash his hands off afterward. Coward.

First stop on candy night was a drive over to Lydia's house where the princess scored major loot! All chocolate in the bag...woohoo! She did manage to pose for a couple of pictures for me and on the way home she ate a Reese's cup and then the lack of an afternoon nap tackled her. The sleeping picture is her in the back of the car less than one mile from Lydia's house. I almost made the decision to just bring her home, put her in bed, fill her little candy bag with the stuff at our house and tell her, "Oh honey...don't you remember? You went all over the neighborhood last night getting candy. See? Your bag is full! You did great!"

Then I figured that she is too smart to be fooled by that on and woke her up. It still might have been worth a try!

After we walked all over our neighborhood she shed her costume and we took her to Sonic for a corn dog and ice cream. I know, I know, you are all impressed by what an incredibly good mother I am, looking out for the nutritional well-being of my charge. But, before anyone calls CPS on me, I want to say that there are a few days a year when you just have to kind of pitch all of the rules out the window, and doggone it, Halloween is one of them. We are back to well balanced meals today, I promise.

Besides, while we were at Sonic we got to meet Vice-Presidential candidate Sarah Palin! What are the odds that she would be in Austin last night? I have to say her costume was pretty cute, and her hubby was dressed like the leader of any one of many Middle Eastern countries. I spent a couple minutes talking to this lady after I took her picture and she said she had a gun and a baby in her car for props. I told her that what she should have done was dress her hubby as a moose instead.

All in all, a very fun evening was had. I did not impose a stiff "mommy tax" on the child's candy, but I do admit that a couple of the mini Reese's cups were handed over to me by her as payola. Aren't kids great? Have a fun, safe, hopefully not over-sugared weekend! Tomorrow is the Komen, so I will be taking photos and posting afterward! Until next time everyone....Happy Stamping!

Kim

Preschool Projects...

2008-10-30T23:55:00.002-05:00

...that are perfect for Halloween.

I know I posted earlier this month showing some of the treat bag toppers that I had done, but after working on them in large scale tonight I figured I would share what I was up to this evening in the stamping room. Little Miss has her Halloween party tomorrow at school. I spent the day baking various bat, pumpkin, and black cat cookies for her to take to school, but decided I wanted to make little treat bags for all of the kids. I started by cutting some card stock 4" x 5 1/2" and running it through the Cuttlebug with the spiderweb folder. I prescored each piece at 2 3/4" before dry embossing it to make folding a little easier down the road.

I then stamped my Booglie Eyes monsters and colored them in using blender pens and ink pads, and rubbed the edges of the torn cardstock with the same color of ink that I mounted the stamped image on.

I stamped the sentiment in matching ink as well, then added the little creatures to the actual cellophane bags using Staz-On ink. (Am I the only person out there that loves the smell of this stuff? I know that one day I am going to find out that it is made of methyl-ethyl bad stuff and I will have suffered a fatal dose by then, but until then I will still take a sniff every once in awhile.)

Then I took the chance to put a little Three Muskateers, Hershey bar, and Krackle bar in each bag and seal them up. I figure by the time all of our kids get home they are going to be on such a sugar high that they will crash long before the actual trick-or-treating begins. While we are on the subject of candy, what is your favorite Halloween treat? What would you fight your siblings over after the trick-or-treating was over? What did you know you had to hide from your mom to keep her from eating? Post a comment and let me know.

I will admit that I do impose a "mommy tax" (as Cecile calls it---love that!) on all of Little Miss's candy. What this entails is simple. After we get home from her hitting up all the neighbors for candy I will go through her stash to make sure it is all safe. (Man, the mom that thought this ploy up is a genius!) As I go through each piece I look for signs that it isn't "safe" for my darling daughter. These include open wrappers, strange, foreign looking candy, or anything that has the words "Reese's" or "Snickers" on it. Now, she does not have any kind of food allergy that would prevent her from enjoying the peanut butter cups or Snickers. This is simply the mommy tax that she must pay for me escorting her around the neighborhood and/or carrying her if her knees start getting all bendy or if she gets all melty.

With temperatures in the upper 70's tomorrow night I would say that there is a slight chance of melty with scattered bendy in her forecast. That is all for the night. I hope that everyone has a safe and fun Halloween, and until next time...Happy Stamping!

Kim

Little Miss makes her debut...

2008-10-30T23:02:00.003-05:00

...into the card making world. Now, don't get me wrong, she as been stamping with me since she was just a little over 3 years old so she knows her way around a stamp pad and paper. But I have never heard her put on a demonstration like she did at our dinner table on Wednesday night.

Now, I know that there is no stamping at all in the following images, but we are going to forgive her that. The materials you see here are courtesy of Keli, who brought Little Miss a Simply Sent Kit box full of various cute papers and stickers a little while back. I have found that over the past few days, LM has been really enjoying using them even more than normal for her. So, let me tell you about the rest of this story.

As many of you know, every Tuesday at 1 p.m. on PACT channel 11 (on Time Warner Cable---Hey, TW!! I am still mad at you for making me miss a month of "Chuck") my friend Lydia has a 30 minute show called "Understand Blue Paper Arts", during which she features some incredible cards and projects, some simple, some more complex, but all worth watching. This has become one of my daughter's favorite things on television. It is my favorite thing on TV because the nice, comforting tones of Lydia's voice ALWAYS lull my rambunctious 4-year old into the blissful arms of silent slumber. I just never knew how much her little brain continued to process while she is sleeping until Wednesday night.

We are sitting at the table, and Little Miss asks if it is ok if she "makes a card" while she eats. I am intrigued at what might come of this, so I tell her that will be fine. She goes to her little box of goodies and comes back with a sticker sheet and piece of stationary. Then the magic happens. She looks up and me and the hubby and starts: "Tonight I am going to make a very cute little card with a star on it. This is so simple you can take it anywhere."

At this point I think that both of our jaws were hanging open as we realize that she is actually doing a demonstration, complete with product statements built right in.

"The first thing I want to show you is how to make a cute little pop-up star! You just take this sticker," as she retrieves the little "boom box" sticker you see on the left, "and fold it in half. You put half of it onto your star, then the other half on your card and stick it down, and you have this."

She stops at this point to do the Vanna White hands and showcase her lovely pop-up star that is proudly at the top of her card. Now, I know for a fact that I have never, not once, ever done any kind of pop-up card with, around, or near her. The fact that she figured out how to do a little fold to make the star come up makes me believe that she is absorbing all the stamping goodness she can from every source available to her at this point in her life.

Now she is convinced that we are thoroughly impressed, she moves on to her next step.

"These windows are very plain right now. But if you just look for some more stickers that fit in them, you can make it much prettier." Only four and already the concept of "embellishment" is firmly planted in her psyche. I could cry I am so proud. She pulls off two more stickers to

make her card prettier and puts them in the windows. "And there you have it! A pretty card with a pop-up star that didn't take too long to make!" She held up her card and waited for our reaction.

I kicked the hubby under the table and we both started to clap and tell her how great it is. I must say that her cabin looks like a fun place to visit. We already know it is in Texas (hence the Lone Star at the top and center) and it has good eats available, as evidenced by the chips and ice-cold lemonade just waiting for you in the window. I only regret that I did not have the presence of mind to grab the video camera and tape the entire event.

So, the next time you are perusing your channels be on the lookout for a new stamping show in town. And Lydia...you better watch out. Little Miss might try to steal your production team from you, and she isn't even a whole hand old yet...lol!

I hope everyone is having a great night, and until next time...Happy Stamping!

Kim

A Little Halloween Story...

2008-10-29T20:48:00.002-05:00

...that will make you cringe.

Remember the great Edgar Allen Poe story, "The Tell-Tale Heart"? Well, I feel like I am living that story, except my version would be "The Tell-Tale Smell".

This all started on Saturday after I returned from a wonderful day at the Stampin' Up Regionals event in San Antonio. I was glad to be home after the long day and really was just looking forward to fetching my child from our neighbor's house and then taking a relaxing bubble bath before dreaming sweet dreams of stamping in which every door prize would come to our table and not to everyone else's, and my entire group would be asked to join Shelli for dinner because no one in the room could match our raw, unbridled talent. (Hey, it was my dream, so I am allowed a little poetic license there!)

I get my stuff in the door and notice a bit of an odor in my kitchen. My first thought is that the garbage can most likely needs emptying. Why would it need emptying? Well, because the same family who does not know how to get sustenance from the big, cold box to the smaller, scary hot box and to the table surely does not know that the stuff that gets left on the plate ends up in the neato green thing with the swinging door, and from there to the REALLY neato green thing outside. All they know is that every Monday morning at 6 a.m. little magic garbage fairies must come to take our refuse away, since it all miraculously disappears into the west like Shane did at the end of the movie.

So, I take a whiff of the garbage can and realize that is not what I am smelling. Now, here is a little inside information for you. When I worked as a paramedic nothing fazed me in the visual sense. You could be on the side of the road with any number of horrific injuries and I would help you out without so much as a blink, as long as you did not smell bad. Smells, it seems, were my downfall. This is the reason that I learned very early on in my career to always carry Vicks VapoRub in my little fanny pack to help ward off any evil that might try to waft its way into my nasal passages. Trust me on this...it works. Sure, your eyes may water like you were slicing onions, but once you shove Vicks up your nose you aren't going to be smelling anything else for awhile.

I began to make my way through the house trying to identify what the smell was, and more importantly, where it was coming from. I finally narrowed it down like I was playing Clue. "OH...is it a dead rat somewhere in the wall of my bedroom...killed by the packs of rat poison my hubby put out in the attic?" Yes. Unfortunately, I had found the correct answer.

As Lydia wrote of earlier today, here in Austin we have a rat "issue". Specifically, they are Norwegian roof rats. I know what you are thinking. The same thing I thought when I first heard of this particular breed: the only things that come out of Norway are cool sweaters, Olympic skiers, and hunky fishermen. And, while our house has one less Norwegian Roof Rat running around outside, this one decided that as his final act of revenge he would manage to squeeze his way into the ridge vent on my roof, crawl into the wall that sits right behind my vanity, and lay off his mortal coil. I wish someone would invent a Norwegian Roof CAT, we could sell them here in Austin and make a small fortune at it.

For those of you who always asked yourself, "Self, I wonder why they say love, honor, and cherish in wedding vows?" let me give you some working examples of these verbs.

"Love" is when your hubby will bring you a ponytail holder, a wet rag, and a sprite after you have thrown up.

"Honor" involves any trip to the store where a stroll down the "feminine products" aisle, and purchase from said aisle in your absense, is warranted.

"Cherish" is crawling Navy SEAL style across the darkest recesses of the attic to try to fish out the corpse of a rat for your wife so that she can sleep in bed again and enjoy her now long overdue bubble bath. All I can say is "thank you" honey! I am going to make you a pot roast tomorrow night for the manliness of your actions.

Thus ends my story of the Tell-Tale Smell. I hope that you were able to stick with me during this one...and if you gave up, well, I can't say I blame you. I do have some great card ideas floating around in my mind tonight, so I am going to stay up and stamp for awhile and tomorrow will bring some pictures. I hope everyone has a wonderful, rodent free evening. Until next time...Happy Stamping!

P.S.---The Komen 5K is just around the corner! You can still register at the Komen race center at 1107 N. IH-35, or contact me for more information. I would love to have you come jog/walk with me this Sunday!

Kim

Cute stuff from regionals...

2008-10-28T22:49:00.008-05:00

...and a retake on an old project. First, here are a two of the six projects that we made this last weekend at the Stampin' Up! San Antonio regionals.

This first card actually uses the snowflake from Scandanavian Season as the template to make the ribbon flower. I wish I could take credit for thinking of this, but unfortunately one of the many talented folks at SU came up with this one before I did, and this is the super-cute result! Next up is a watercolor card using the same stamp set, along with some paper-piercing to highlight the stamped image.

If you ever get a chance to get to a regional, by all means you need to go! This was my very first SU event and I had a blast (of course I was in some great company!) and I am looking forward to the next one. BTW...I think I have the hubby convinced to let me go to convention next summer. I just have to find someone to take care of the soon to be 5-year old. She is really easy to take care of because she already knows everything, so if you are up for an adventure, just let me know. I'll be manning the phones as I am sure offers of child care will just come flying in.

I'll be putting up more pictures from the actual event in a couple of days. My personal favorite is me with some of the girls I went down with and Shelli Gardner herself. I promised I would not get excited if she happened to be there, but I am pretty sure my heart was up in my throat the entire time we were with her. She is so pulled together and at the same time so down to earth! You want to be jealous, but you just can't because she is really quite sweet. Just. Like. Me.

What? I almost kept a straight face when I was typing that!

So, I love the "Always" set. I always have, and always will. (Hey...maybe that is how they came up with that name!) Anyway, I wanted to play with it and the "Sweet Always" DSP that matches it, so here is what I came up with. This is based on a card I cased from Valerie Stangle quite awhile back. I used the colors that are found in the designer paper, which includes the gorgeous new Pink Pirouette. I scalloped the bottom edge of the card then added the little one-inch border of the DSP in the polka dotted pattern. This is such a nice, simple design it is easy to turn out a stack of these in no time flat.

Before I sign off for the night, I have to tell one little story that made me love Little Miss even more than I already do. She was looking through my stack of goodies from regionals on Sunday, particularly the make-and-takes that I had completed. She looked up at me and said, "Mommy, when I get to be your age, (uh-oh...this could take an ugly turn), when I get to be 15 years old like you...".

My mind kind of blanked out there from the pure joy that my precious baby thinks I am only 15. Yes darling, that is right! Mommy had you when she was 11!

She continued on, "...I want to be an ambulance doctor and make pretty cards just like you do." I absolutely love that I am not "an ambulance driver" or a paramedic to her, but an "ambulance doctor". Gives me a sense of authority about all the nights I spent getting thrown up on by folks in the downtown bar district.

I would love to continue to perpetuate the myth that I am but a young lass of 15, but I am afraid it would backfire badly on me once she starts public school. I can almost see the CPS worker getting the phone call from school in my mind. They would be rushing to my house to (presumbably) rescue me from my old, sleezy hubby who must have broken an untold number of laws to wed a youngster then have a child with her, only to find a middle-aged housewife who is cleaning a toilet with her hair up in a ponytail and listening to the soundtrack from "Footloose" in an attempt to relive her salad days.

Not that I dance around like Lori Singer while I do housework or anything. Why? What have you heard?

I hope everyone is having a great week out there! Have fun this week, and until next time, Happy Stamping!

Kim

Regional swaps...

2008-10-20T12:02:00.003-05:00

...are finally done. I have to say, I think I really need Regionals to get some stamping mojo back, because I have been in a stamping slump lately. Every morning I get up with the full intention of just sitting down and creating something, and every day I get sidetracked by, what is it? Oh yeah, LIFE!!!

It seems like I have been playing catch up for far too long and I have been kind of blocked creatively. So, here are the details on this card:

Stamps: Upsy Daisy

Paper: Tangerine Tango, Kiwi Kiss, Chocolate Chip, Hawaii Papaya DSP, Whisper White

Ink: Tangerine Tango, Chocolate Chip

Accessories: Watercolor Wonder Pencils, dimensionals

I think the only change I am going to make is once I ink up the stamp in the tangerine I am going to go over the stems in Chocolate Chip marker to bring them out a bit more. I used a technique that I saw Lydia do where after I stamped the image I went over a few spots on each daisy with a watercolor pencil to add a little more shadowing to it, then I blended it out a bit with a blender pen.

Let me know what you think about it. I still haven't settled that this is "the one" and am planning (really, truly I am) on getting in some stamp time today. In fact, I have a piece of cake with Little Miss' name on it that is worth at least 30 minutes of stamping time. Yes, I just said I am going to bribe my 4-year old with cake. Don't judge me. Tell me you have never "paid off" someone so you could play with your inks. Yeah...that's what I thought.

OK, off to the table. I hope everyone has a great day, and until next time, Happy Stamping!

Kim

Thanks...

2008-10-16T22:37:00.007-05:00

...I think.

Let me explain. Whenever I sit down to create a new card or work on a new art element I do some of my best work alone. I think more clearly, and I find it much easier to design when I am by myself, but I always have a "post-design" ritual.

If it is during the daylight hours, I run my card by Little Miss. The thing I like about this approach is two-fold. First of all, she is brutally honest. If she doesn't like something I have done she will tell me flat out, and let me tell you, if you haven't had your bubble burst by a four-year old, you should try it sometime. The second part of this gamble, however, is she will always tell me something nice about even my very worst cards, which proves to me that she has a kind heart and is empathetic to the feelings of those around her.

Either that or she is preparing for a future career as an HR director for some large computer/software corporation. I can almost hear her in my mind right now:

"Well, Tom, I'm sorry to have to come here today and tell you that your new tattoo that shows all of your co-workers nekkid running down the length of your arm is considered offensive, and the row of strangely accurate voodoo dolls lined up in your cubicle might be creating a 'hostile work environment' for those around you, so those things have to go. But, I must say, your latest manifesto against the 'Capitalist Corporate Man' that you had delivered to the CEO and the Board of Directors was all spelled correctly and did not contain a single comma splice. Nice job with that! Now, if you will just go with these gentlemen out the door..."

I bet Tom will even thank Little Miss for her approach one day.

Now, if it is after hours for the pre-schooler I go to the next best critic in the house, the dog...err...my husband. I finished this card the other night and showed it to the husband, and do you know what he said?
He actually looked right at me, and (most sincerely and without a hint of the danger that he was putting himself in) said, "Wow, honey! I really like that. It's like a real card."

I'll just let y'all digest that for a couple of minutes.

Now, those of you who are faithful readers know that I like to watch Discovery Channel, Animal Planet, all of those great nature type shows, so I'll try to relate what he said to one of those shows. You know those penguins all waiting to jump into the water that has that one killer whale just waiting right there for a tasty little Oreo-cookie looking treat? Now, you know that one penguin that gets all cocky and thinking that he is invincible so he is going in the water before everyone else? Does it ever end well for that penguin? It does not. And the last look you see upon his face right before he gets to meet Shamu all up close and personal like is the exact same look that was on my hubby's face about 0.2 seconds after he gave me that "compliment".

I haven't seen that kind of backpedaling since Ringling Bros. Circus was in town and one of those high-wire guys was on a unicycle trying to get from one end of the rope to the other. I have to give him credit, because he suddenly found a lot of great things to say about everything on my craft table, including a piece of cardstock that had a coffee stain on it and nothing more. I think I am going to have to catch him off guard a bit more often. It is almost as much fun as stalking my UPS man.

As for the card, I have spent a lot of time admiring from afar the talents of Michelle Zindorf and telling myself that one day I would try some of her brayer techniques out myself. This card is the result of my first try at it. Here are some details on how I made this card. I started using my Martha Stewart circle cutter (thanks for this tool, Martha!) to cut a 1 3/8" circle out of a post-it note. I stamped the image onto my stamp-a-ma-jig so that I could use it as a guide to line up where I wanted the moon to be on the glossy cardstock.

When I had it lined up I held down one corner of the imaging sheet so I could slip the moon mask into place. Then, it was time to get down with the brayer. I started by putting Baja Breeze ink over the entire piece of cardstock. After that I brayered/sponged Pacific Point and Basic Grey onto the bottom of the cardstock, then sponged some of the Pacific Point in the upper right corner. I lightly sponged a little Grey onto the top part of the sky.

I removed the mask and then lightly sponged some So Saffron ink onto the moon to add a little dimension to it. Next I lined up the imaging sheet so that the moon outline on the stamp met the edges of the masked moon on the cardstock, then stamped the house image using Black Staz-On. The green mat under the card is Kiwi Kiss that has been swiped with the same color ink as well as Basic Grey ink.

I encourage you to try some of these new masking/brayering/embossing techniques to see what kind of art you can come up with. And if your hubby/significant other tells you that this one looks like a real card, call me. I'll come post your bail.

Have a great weekend everyone! If you get a chance, check out my friend Lydia's booth at Maker Faire...it is sure to be great. And, before I close this one, I want to give a little "WooHoo" to my friends, Kim and Cecile, who were picked to be on the Stampin' Up Survey Panel. This means that out of thousands of folks across the country that entered a chance to be on this team, these two ladies were selected to help steer the direction of new products for Stampin' Up, and in return they are going to be getting some free goodies from Stampin' Up! I just can't tell you how happy it makes me as a demonstrator to see my customers benefit directly from the company. Way to go, ladies!

That's all for now! I'll be working on my regional swaps this weekend, so there will be new pictures up soon. I hope that everyone enjoys the weekend weather and until next time, Happy Stamping!

Kim

A Card and a Hat Trick...

2008-10-09T21:38:00.003-05:00

...is my offering for tonight. The card I made on Tuesday and just haven't had time to post yet. It is a card that will be in this month's Christmas card class, and here it is:

Not a complex design, but sometimes the prettiest ones are monochromatic (except for the Chocolate Chip) and simply designed.

This one really showcases how easy it is to use the scalloped edge punch. You can see how nicely the two edges line up, which is made super simple by the little "hash marks" on the base of the punch. You basically just center your cardstock, note which marks you are in between, then punch your center first. Move to the side and punch it out, and repeat on the other side. If you follow this pattern every time your scallops will line up no matter how many layers you add.

And, for the hat trick. This morning at 6 a.m. Little Miss came to my bedroom to tell me that her throat hurt. I gave her some tylenol, checked her temperature, which was normal, and let her sleep with me until time to get up for school. Checked her out again, she said she felt fine, no temp, so I took her to school. Today happened to be field trip day and I had agreed to drive her and one of her friends to tour the HEB. Now, everything was fine when we got there, but then I noticed that she was being very quiet, which is not Little Miss' style at all. By the time we got to the chocolate milk portion of the tour, and she said "I don't want any, I just want to go home" I knew I had a sick kiddo on my hands.

We leave right away, with me having to turn over the other little girl to the teacher (I still feel so bad about that!) and came home to call the doctor who agreed to see us in just a couple of hours. I go to feel my little one's head to find that she is burning up, which was confirmed with a temp of 103.6. Off to the doctor where she was diagnosed with "viral pharyngitis", which is basically a really bad sore throat that is not strep. I figure, good enough, we'll just weather this storm and everything will be ok.

I get her home, and within a couple hours she has vomited multiple times, is running a horrific fever, and now starts telling me that her tummy hurts "really, really bad". Now, let me tell you the good thing about being a paramedic: you are equipped to handle emergencies. You know how to remove yourself from a situation and systematically break it down bit by bit until you come to a "working diagnosis" and go from there. You know the thing about "good things", though? There is always a "bad thing" to go with it.

The bad thing about being a paramedic who happens to have a sick child with fever, vomiting, and really bad belly pain is you remember every single kid you ever took to the hospital to get their appendix yanked out. I made a quick, cursory call to my pediatrician in an attempt to hear, "I think this is just part of her viral course, just keep pushing clear fluids and wait it out." What I got instead was, "If it were my kiddo I would already be out the door on the way to the hospital".

You don't have to tell me twice.

We get to Dell Children's and get through triage and into the back where we are put into a very nice, private room so that Little Miss can be evaluated by the doc. We are met by a doctor that we are familiar with, not necessarily in a good way, who proceeds to roll her eyes when I tell her about the progression of today, and then tell me how kids who "really have something wrong with their belly" won't do this or that or the other. Then we are told that "I've seen 50 kids today with this same thing." Let me tell you something. I don't give a rat's patootie about the other 50 kids. I'm not a bad person for saying that, either. I care about the one kid that I brought in for an evaluation that my husband is going to end up paying for because we know how "great" our insurance is. After a couple of hours we are sent home with the doc trying to save a bit of her name by saying how "I'm not saying it couldn't be appendicitis, I just don't think it is" and telling me to watch her for the next 12-24 hours.

Like any mother would need to be told that.

So I bring my one kiddo home, where she immediately spikes her temp back up into the 103 range again. Let's just say that I plan on giving Dr. Crocker a nice little email sometime tomorrow, once I can see my doctor again and make sure that Little Miss is ok. And, God forbid, if another ER trip is in her immediate future, I will travel in another direction with her so that she doesn't get blown off like she did tonight.

OK, I am climbing down off the soap box to get back to my sleeping baby. I hope everyone has a good night, that everyone's kids are happy and healthy, and that the sun will shine a bit brighter on us tomorrow!

Until next time....

Kim

Are you lookin' at me?

2008-10-07T12:10:00.003-05:00

Well?!? Are you lookin' at me? That is what this squirrel seemed to be saying to me this morning when I caught him trying to make off with my hummingbird feeder. Let me tell you something about squirrels. They are sneaky. Oh sure, they look all cute with that fluffy tail, sitting in the grass eating acorns and stuff, but deep inside, there is a dark, seedy side to squirrels. Just look at this one...working on unhooking the feeder from my tree. Now mind you, my dog is asleep less than 5 vertical feet from this occurance while the little rodent is attempting to commit petty theft.

I go outside with my camera thinking that I will document his thievery for the record, and he just looks up and gives me the stink-eye. Look at him there, all big and bad and not concerned for one iota of a second that I have caught him, red-pawed, trying to take my hummingbird feeder away for his own nefarious purposes. Makes you wonder what happened to him that turned him into the daytime burglar that he has become.

I know that some of you will wonder why I feel this way about such a cute, innocent woodland creature. I promise that someday soon I will post a story about my experience with a squirrel while visiting our nation's capital that will have you running in fear every time you see one of these bushy-tailed beasts, too. I will tell you this much: squirrels easily feel threatened by bushy pony-tails on top of your head. More to follow.

So, to continue with this "are you lookin' at me" post...how about some cute, glittery, heart shaped eyes? Yes, I know, they are attached to a skull and crossbones, but they are glittery, and everyone knows you can't be scared of stuff that is glittery. There are rules of etiquette about this. If Jason Voorhees had just bedazzled that hockey mask up a bit no one would have run from him. Heck, he would have been the life of the party out there at Camp Crystal Lake!

Here is the rest of this card that I made using the cute Halloween set, "Just Jawing".

I wanted to keep the overall effect pretty simple with only two colors of cardstock, but I gave it some dimension using the Weathered Stripes Cuttlebug folder on Baja Breeze card stock, then rubbing the panel with Kiwi Kiss and Baja Breeze ink to rough it up a little. The flower was stamped in Baja Breeze and rolled in Pacific Point, then cut out and added to the skull using dimensionals, and the eyes are done with Stickles, which are one of my favorite ways to add glitter to anything.

Believe me, if I could I would put Stickles on my dogs because they make everything prettier. Of course they are onto me and whenever they see glitter come out they generally walk away quickly so that they don't look like they spent the evening drinking sangria and watching Xanadu or something.

Finally, one last card that I had the time to get finished. This one will be in my Christmas in October class. I love the "Snow Swirled" set and have all kinds of ideas on how to play with this one. We have been doing so many red and green Christmas cards that I wanted to change the focal color of this one to a deep purple, so I went with Elegant Eggplant, backed up with Bravo Burgundy and Old Olive.

The background is stamped using the two snowflake stamps in the set and the olive and eggplant ink. The tree was stamped first with eggplant, then I lined up my stamp-a-ma-jig and overstamped it with Versamark (This should go to show you what a great tool the stamp-a-ma-jig is!) The two images matched up perfectly, and then I was able to apply Iridescent Ice EP to the entire tree. I cannot describe how shiny and iridescent this is IRL...I could not get a photo that did it justice. You will just have to come to my class and make some of these beauties for yourself so that you can see it.

I hope that everyone has a great day! Enjoy the gorgeous weather, but keep a wary eye out for squirrels. You never know what they are up to!

Until next time, Happy Stamping!

Kim

World Card Making Day...

2008-10-05T10:36:00.003-05:00

...was so much fun for me! I want to send a special thanks to everyone who came out to Wine Styles to spend some time with Lydia, Neelam, and myself. I only wish I could have been feeling better, but I did manage to get some good rest last night and now I am a bit more confident in my survival of this bug.

For those who couldn't make it yesterday, here is the full view of one of the cards that the ladies made. I love cards like this because it gets back to the basics of stamping. Three colors of cardstock (not counting the white), four colors of ink, and the entire card comes together in just a couple of minutes. Here are the details on the card:

Stamp: Pocket Silhouettes

Card stock: Baja Breeze, Close to Cocoa, Certainly Celery, Whisper White

Ink: Pacific Point (for the sentiment), Baja Breeze, Certainly Celery, Close to Cocoa

Accessories: Scalloped Edge Punch, Baja Breeze ribbon

I wish I had more pictures, but due to the fact that sometimes I am a dorkfish (if you don't know what that is, I encourage you to google Bill Engvall right this second) I forgot to bring my camera with me to the big event. I meant to bring it, but I forgot to put it on my list and if it isn't on the list, it isn't in the bag. Lydia remembered her camera, but none of us remembered to take pictures until the last 20 minutes of the event.

I will tell you that all of the cards were gorgeous, the company was fun, and everyone left with a smile on their faces. It was the perfect combination of stamping, friends, and fun.

I am hoping to spend some meaningful time in my stamping room today working on some upcoming projects. I hope everyone is having a great weekend, and until next time, Happy Stamping!

Kim

Does this sound familiar...

2008-10-04T01:33:00.002-05:00

...to any of you ladies out there? Here is the situation:

Your husband gets sick. You, being the concerned wife, make an appointment for him to go see his doctor, take him there, take him home, go back out to the pharmacy to fill his prescription, come home and give him said medications, tuck him into bed, take care of the kid, the laundry, the cooking, the yard, etc., all while making sure to check on your husband in a regular fashion and make sure he is indeed still breathing and trying to recover. You do this for as long as it takes until he makes a decent recovery, at which time you still "pick up the slack" so that he doesn't get himself sick again.

Now, let us look at the next scenario.

You get sick. Your husband, whom you know loves you dearly, allows you to lay on the couch for about 20 minutes. Then he comes over and asks, "Hey, sweetie? The kiddo is hungry...what do I feed her?"

"She's almost 5, just ask her what she wants. Open the refrigerator. Throw a pop-tart to her. You have a degree from a decent university and spend your days making sure that a zillion people get the correct medications, you can figure this out."

"Oh. OK. So, what do I feed her?"

You get up off of the couch, look your sweet off-spring in the eye and say, "Honey, what do you want to eat?" You then give the child the item and lay back down on the couch so your body can continue trying to fight off the 101 fever you are now running.

Twenty more minutes pass.

"Mom? MOM? MOMMMMMYYYY!"

Husband: "Honey, be quiet. Mommy is sick. We need to let her rest as much as possible."

Child: "But I need mommy to help me find the glass slippers for my Cinderella."

Husband: "Honey? Can you tell me where the glass slippers for Cinderella are?"

At this point, I am glad that I have a half-way decent brain-to-mouth filter, because the first answer that pops to mind involves where I would like the glass slippers to go, and it is nowhere near sweet Cinderella's feet.

This scenario continues to play out until you decide it is easier to continue performing all of your normal day-to-day duties than try to get any kind of rest because your family thinks that mommy/wife has some kind of switch where we can put our fever and body aches on hold until everything else in their world is good. AARRGGHH!!!

I should not complain, I truly should not. I mean, I did get the hubby to fetch me a couple ibuprofen and a glass of tea to choke them down with. I'm just wishing that there was a time-clock installed in my living room so I could clock out for just a couple hours to get some really good rest. Then, to add insult to injury, my body decides to follow its weird Circadian rhythms and start waking up around 11 p.m., insuring that I will not get any appreciable sleep this evening.

Oh well. One thing is certain. Everytime a wife/mother/woman gets sick it reaffirms to her family that without her they are but a pizza delivery service away from reverting into a wandering tribe of nomads, scrounging around the land trying to figure out how to put the toilet paper on the roller or get food to magically go from the big cold box to the big hot box and then to the table on clean plates. This is a good thing for them to remember every now and then, even at the expense of a fever...LOL!

I hope everyone out there has a great weekend. I promise for those of you who are coming to the World Card Making Day event tomorrow that I am going to have my lysol hand cleaner out on the table and I will be sufficiently medicated to make it through our day. In fact, I am pretty sure that a couple hours of stamp therapy is just what the doctor ordered for me.

Until next time, Happy Stamping!

Kim

Free stuff from Stampin' UP!

2008-09-30T20:11:00.002-05:00

I just found out that Stampin' Up is doing a survey for non-demonstrators that includes a chance to be on a SU! panel. Why is this important to you? Because if you get selected to be on the panel and participate Stampin' Up! will send you "goodie boxes" with free stuff in them!

How cool is that???

Just go to www.stampinup.com/survey for the chance to be picked as well as all the details!

Remember, if you are a demonstrator you are not eligible! Everyone else, check it out and good luck! Let me know if you get picked, because I would love to see first hand what kind of fun stuff you get.

Until next time...Happy Stamping!

Kim

Trick or Treat...

2008-09-30T10:59:00.003-05:00

...has got to be one of the favorite things Little Miss says all year. She, much like me, has quite the little sweet tooth and loves Halloween! So, in order to make her treat giving a little more fun this year, we are making Halloween treat bags with
little toppers.
These quick little watercolored cuties are made with one of my very favorite Halloween sets that is no longer with us, "Booglie Eyes". I mean, who can resist a little green faced vampire when he has those great big, fun-loving eyes on him? I tell you, not since George Hamilton played in Love at First Bite has a vampire seemed so, well, approachable.

These are 4 of the 5 toppers that we will be doing in my Halloween treats class this week, along with 2 cards to go with the theme (although I think we will be using some new sets for those cards!).

Now, a quick update on the DH: we went back to the doctor today and he definitely still has pneumonia. He has been referred to a pulmonologist for further consultation, so we are just waiting to hear from that doc and get the appointment set up.

My dear friend and blogger extraordinaire, Lydia over at Understand Blue decided to tag me, so I have to share 7 facts about myself to the general reading public. Being a person of many hats but very few secrets, I have been pondering what you might not know about me, and here are my 7:

1. I was not born in the United States. My father was stationed in Sukiran, Okinawa and my mom was able to come overseas with him, so I was born on the US military base there. When we returned to the states I spoke as much Japanese as English, but now my Japanese is limited to "Good morning, how are you", and "Thank you".

2. I had my little brother absolutely convinced for the better part of a year that the shark from "Jaws" lived in my room and would eat him if he dared to come in there. I cemented this in his little 4-year old mind when I was 12 by hiding under my own bed, waiting for him to come into my room, and singing the ominous, "DAAA-Dump....DAAA-Dump-Bump" tune from the movie (which I forced him to watch when my mom wasn't looking). Oh. Hi mom! I never did that...err...hey! At least he doesn't swim in the ocean and scare you like I do!

3. Ironically, I am now terrified of sharks. This is only all the more cemented by the fact that Discovery Channel airs "Shark Week" every year right before we go to the beach for a week. I still go in the water, but you better believe I am on the constant lookout for anything that looks remotely like a shark. Also, and this is important if you are ever in the ocean with me, remember that I know I don't have to outswim the shark. I only have to outswim you.

4. I worked my way through college as the midnight shift police dispatcher for our university police. Oh yeah! Telling cops where to go and what to do all night long for $5.00/hour. That was fun. Although I have to admit you find out alot about the seedier side of college life when you get to help process the folks that come in between the hours of 11 p.m and 7 a.m.

5. I have a Bachelor of Science degree in Music Education, with a minor in Science, and I finished my degree when I was 20. I know I am dorky now, but I was the super dork back then. I even started work on my Master's Degree in Education before I decided that a better career choice would be to ride around like a monkey with my tail on fire in the back of ambulances playing "Johnny and Roy" for a living. "Rampart, this is Squad 51." If you don't know what I am talking about, please click here to find out about what the subconscious mind of a young child watching TV can do to a girl.

6. I met my DH on a blind date, and married him exactly 6 months later. We were set up by a police officer we both knew at the time. About 2 months into us dating the I completely stood the hubby up on a date, which caused him to say, "OK, I'm not going to see her anymore," until he found out that I had broken my neck playing softball that afternoon and was a little too, um, how can I put this?? Oh yes! A little too nekkid in the trauma room of the local hospital to let him know I wouldn't be able to see him that night. This weird series of events is what led me to knowing that I did really love him because once I got home from the hospital he would come by and just leave me books, videos and CDs on my porch in the morning after he got off from work so I would have something to look forward to each day. Kind of proved himself to be more than I ever imagined, and I do not wish that injury away because of it.

7. After college I spent the summer marching with Phantom Regiment Drum and Bugle Corps. Since my instrument is flute (just like Sarah P.) I knew I would not be able to audition for a "musical" spot. Instead, I learned how to spin a flag. I did not make the cut the first year I auditioned (1990), but got the last open spot for the 1991 season. It was the hardest and at the same time the best thing I have ever done, and if any of you ever have the chance to get down to San Antonio to see the big DCI show there, you will not regret it. If you know any kid that wants to march drum corps, you need to really encourage it. I promise, they teach a level of discipline there you won't find anywhere short of the Marine Corps.

OK, that is all for now! Just a few little tidbits about me, hope you enjoyed them! I hope everyone has a great night, and until next time....Happy Stamping!

Kim

Pretty blue flowers...

2008-09-26T21:42:00.001-05:00

...all over my card. I have been wanting to play with this set ever since I got it, and finally found some time a couple of days ago. I love any images that lend themselves to watercoloring, and this one fits the bill.

I started by diving into the vaults of my retired paper and getting out the Cool Caribbean. I loved that blue. I miss that blue. I have my own private stash of that blue but I will deny it if you ask me. So, if anyone asks you, dear readers, just tell them that I found one lone sheet of the coveted blue and used it for this card.

I paired it up with Pacific Point Blue (you better bet your britches I'll be stockpiling...err...stocking up...on this color before the end of the catalog year as well), Kiwi Kiss, and Chocolate Chip. I stamped the flower images and then colored them in using Cool Caribbean, Pacific Point, and Summer Sun ink and a blender pen. Usually, I like to do these kind of images with an aquapainter, but the first one I tried got too washed out and the Pacific Point ink did not stay as saturated as I wanted it to. After the card was finished and the pictures were shot, I spent some time

looking at the centers of the flowers and decided to add some Diamond Dust Stickles to them to sparkle them up. The greeting was stamped using a Spectrum pad (if you look closely you will see the variation of the ink from left to right.)

The delicious velvet ribbon was a find...I wish I could just weave it into a blankie and wrap myself in it when I stamp. Anyone have a loom? No? Well, I guess I will have to parcel it out one card at a time then.

I want to encourage anyone who doesn't think they are any good at watercoloring to keep on trying, and start with an image like this one, where there are areas of darkness to act as your coloring "guide". Just remember, start with your lighter color, then add in your darker shade over the dark stamped areas and blend back in. It may be just finding the right tools for you. I prefer inks with an aquapainter, with watercolor pencils and aquapainter coming in a very close second. You can use crayons or pastels if you prefer. Or combine more than one color medium to get a great look.

The best thing about watercolors? Think Monet. His flowers were just beautiful strokes of color...not incredibly detailed petals. Watercoloring is very forgiving, and perfection is not a prerequisite.

I hope this inspires you to stamp some images and start coloring them in. I hope everyone has a great weekend, and until next time...Happy Stamping!

Kim

What if Martha had a contest...

2008-09-24T11:15:00.002-05:00

...and I won? That would be pretty awesome!

Martha Stewart is having a blog contest right now. Just click on her name to take you to her page and look it over. If you have a blog and want a chance to win, just follow the directions and enter. I have to say, I am in love with the new Martha Stewart circle cutter that I got the other day. So in love that you will be seeing a card here very soon featuring some of those circles!

I have to take a brief moment to tell you my story of woe from yesterday. I was running around late yesterday afternoon, trying to get a week's worth of errands completed so that I would be free to stay home and take care of the DH this week. One of the errands was to fill the car with gas, so I headed up to the Randall's station at Manchaca and Ben White because I had earned some discounts there. As I am filling the vehicle, I realized that my credit card was in the pocket of my jeans and thought, "You know self, you need to put that back in your wallet." I figured I would do that when I got back into the car to leave.

Well, as fickle fate would have it, the credit card fell out of my pocket as I got into the car. Did I notice this? Of course not! I drove away and didn't realize this until I was literally 7 miles away from the gas station.

Ponder this little question for a moment: with gasoline at almost $4/gallon, where is the last place on earth you want to lose a credit card? At the GAS PUMP!! I called the station, and a wonderful attendant (thank you Maribel) went right out to look for it. Of course, Mr. Murphy being who he is and loving his little "law" so much, it was not there. Gone. I still went back to look around myself, hoping beyond hope that I might spy it somewhere and the damage would be minimal. No such luck. I turned my car again towards home and made it here as fast as I could.

Now, you want to know something really funny? When you call the 800 number to report your credit card stolen they ask you (or the little automated voice-mail girl asks you) to please enter your credit card number! Ho, Ho...HAHAHA...AARRGGHHH!!!! If I had my credit card number that would mean I would be looking at the card that I am calling to report lost! I finally managed to get through to a real live person just as I was logging into my online account.

Then, my faith in the goodness of humanity was instantly restored. As I finished logging in I saw, "This account has been closed. The card was reported lost/stolen." Do you know what this means? There was someone, some wonderful individual who found my card at a gas pump and had the decency to pick it up, call the number on the back, and report it lost to my credit card company. They didn't fill their tank. They didn't go on a shopping spree. They were honest and empathetic about someone that they didn't know.

I doubt that this wonderful person will ever see this blog, but if by some chance they do, I just want to tell them thank you very much! You saved me a lot of worry and frustration and I truly, truly appreciate that! You could have used that card to fill your car and probably never been caught, but you were a good person, and even if I never know who you are you are one of my heroes!

I hope everyone has a nice day and has a chance to do something nice for someone that they don't know. Until next time, Happy Stamping!

Kim

Back to life...

2008-09-24T11:00:00.005-05:00

...and back to some stamping! Finally, I am getting back to my table and getting some cards made. I wanted to give just a little peek at what you will be making at my table during the World Card Making Day event that is happening on October 4th. I say at "my table" because this is a joint venture with me, Lydia, and Neelam. Everyone who attends is going to be making 9 great cards, 3 each of 3 designs, for free! How can you say no?

So, without further ado, here is the sneak peek:

Now, onto a little early Christmas card that I have been wanting to do. I am a big fan of several different techniques, and emboss resist is one of them. I just really like how the finished product comes out, and it kind of has that Mr. Miagi, "wax on, wax off" serenity to it. Very zen-like.

This card uses a new stamp set that is in the Holiday Mini Catalog, "Scandinavian Season", as well as the new designer series paper, "Ski Slope". I used the colors that were in the patterned paper, Real Red, Old Olive, and Baja Breeze, and paired all of this up with the Alpine felt ribbon. Little Miss declared it a complete success, so who am I to argue with her obviously impeccable taste?

Today I am going to be working on my Halloween treat bag toppers and cards, as well as tending to the sick hubby who was officially diagnosed with what our doctor called "a serious case" of pneumonia and told to stay home and for the most part in bed the rest of this week.

I hope everyone has a great day, and until next time, Happy Stamping!

Kim

Today on Cooking with Kim...

2008-09-18T19:39:00.010-05:00

...meatloaf! The ultimate in comfort food, nothing satisfies quite like a wonderful meatloaf with a pile of mashed potatoes and gravy next to it. I have a lot of friends who are looking for easy recipes, and even more friends who claim to not be able to cook. I wanted to show all of these folks that you can reach a state of culinary nirvana with just 6 simple ingredients and a little bit of time.

Now, let me preface this by saying that this recipe is the result of years of failed meatloafs. My husband hated meatloaf until I finally started using this recipe, and now when he comes home and smells this in the oven a smile the likes of which one normally does not witness from a husband unless 50-yard line seats to a ball game are involved erupts across his face.

I asked him one day why he hated meatloaf so much. He lovingly explained that his mom used meatloaf as a sort of evil conduit to hold all manner of vegetables that he has never, nor will ever like in the slightest. She used to pack her meatloaf with "chunks" (this is important later on) of tomato and green bell peppers to the point that he would literally gag when trying to eat it. Now, I have to have full disclosure here: the DH can be a bit of a picky eater, but when it comes to the entire meat family he is pretty laid back. A typical conversation at our house:

Me: "What would you like for dinner, honey?"

Him: "Meat, no bones. No nuts, no coconut."

Me: "OK."

Pretty much gives a girl a bit of leeway, don't you think?

So, here is the cast of characters for this production. First of all, ground chuck. Now, now, don't get all, "But Kim, that has 20% fat content! It is evil in a tube!" Normally, I would agree, but trust me, we will deal with the fat and you need a "non-lean" meat to make this all come together properly. Also, I do not normally use 5 pounds, I use about 2 1/2, but today I was making 3 big meatloafs to put in the FIL's freezer, so you are seeing a 5 pound portion of meat.

Next up, the mix-ins. There is no need to get fancy with this dish. Simple really is best here and will yield the best flavor and consistency. I use (per meatloaf) 2 eggs, a pack and a half of the onion soup, and a healthy dose of Worcestershire sauce and Italian Seasoned bread crumbs. YUMMY!!!

So, put your meat, eggs, soup mix, worcestershire sauce, and bread crumbs into a very large bowl. You want to have room to work, so don't put it into a "just big enough" bowl. Trust me, your pets will love you as bits of meat go flying, but you'll be crying in your chopped cow.

Now, here is the part that is important. Do not use a spoon, dough hook, food processor, or any other implement of destruction to mix these elements together. Use your hands. Both of them. Relive your childhood and all the times you played with Play-Doh, clay, mud, or whatever floated your boat and get in there. This does two things for your meatloaf. First, you are able to really get things incorporated in a nice, homogenous manner. This means no bite will have a big honkin' taste of onion soup or bread crumbs or anything else in it. Each bite will be as delectable as the one before it. Secondly, the heat from your hands is going to start melting the fat in the meat which is going to lead to a more cohesive loaf.

If only I could squish and squeeze all those crazy world leaders together...

OK, back to cooking, I'll have to work on world peace tomorrow sometime.

After about 8-10 minutes of squishing meat between your fingers you will see it all really starting to stick together. Now, I do not measure ingredients when I cook something like this. I do that when I bake, because you have to. Cooking like this is more about sight and feel, so all I can tell you is when you are mixing this together if it feels too mushy and looks too juicy you need to add another couple of sprinkles of bread crumbs to help even it out. If it gets too dry or stiff, you can add a little evaporated milk, not to be confused with sweetened condensed milk, lest your relatives start looking up the names of places like "Restful Manor" or "The Retirement Center" for you to live in.

Trust me, at the slightest sign that you are off your cooking kilter they will.

Now, take your big ball of meat in your skillful hands and start forming it into a loaf. Pack it tightly as you work with it, and remember that because this meat has 20% fat content there will be shrinkage.

Ha-Ha....snort...oh, "shrinkage". Can anyone name that Seinfeld episode?

Now, important thing number 528 to remember: your meat loaf should never, ever, under any circumstances and penalty of being whipped with wet noodles, ever see a "loaf" pan. We aren't baking bread, we are cooking meat. And if you put this into a loaf pan it is not going to get the heat it needs and it is going to sit in its own rendered fat. Not tasty at all. Get thee a rack and placeth it on a baking sheet, one with at least a little side to it.

Unless you are particularly fond of firemen, do not place this on a cookie sheet. You need a pan with a slight side (like a jelly roll pan) to keep the grease away from the bottom of your stove where the heating elements live. Trust me on this one, the fire department will come and save your burning oven, but they will laugh at you later on. Not that I've ever had that happen to me. I just read a lot of stories like that.

See how my loaf is perched nicely on a rack? That is a happy hunk o' meat.

At this point, if you want to go for the full on, tastes like my mom made it only better effect, start squirting on the ketchup. Cover that entire top, do not be shy about that. I usually spread mine out a bit with a spoon so that I have a good coverage. Now, pop that bad boy into a 350 degree oven, set a timer for an hour and walk away. Let the irresistable aroma of baking bovine goodness fill your house and soul.

YUMMY!!

I check my creation after about an hour to see if I think it needs more time. This one took about an hour and twenty minutes to cook all the way through. You should be able to push on the side with your finger and have it spring right back. Also, any juices that are coming out of it should be completely clear.

After you remove it from the oven, cover it loosely with aluminum foil and let it sit for at least 20 minutes. I know, it smells good! I know, you want some right now, but trust me, if you cut into it all those great juices are going to run out of it and be gone, and your tasty leftover meatloaf sandwich tomorrow will be a dried out mess. Leave it alone! Let it take a little nap so all those juices will settle down.

The best part? You can't really tell from the picture above, but there is a lot of fat in the bottom of that pan. This is why you want it on a rack, to give that fat somewhere to go. Now, if you have dogs with stomachs of steel, like Baxter, then the kindly thing to do after your remove the loaf from this pan and cut it would be to take a few pieces of bread, let them soak up the greasiness in the pan, and give those to the dog.

If you have a pup that throws up when she looks at table food, like Buffy, don't do that. I know that they are looking at you all pitiful with those big brown eyes, but the aftermath of that indulgence is too ugly to write about here.

I hope you enjoyed this, my final post from West Virginia. I am really looking forward to getting home and seeing you all, and getting this blog back to cards and card making. I wish everyone a happy weekend, and until next time, Happy Stamping!

Kim