Kim is a CARD!

Believe Workshops on the Go ( :

2012-01-16T06:20:00.000-08:00

Okay - so I KNOW this is SUPER late getting on here - Aaron has kidnapped my computer and has held it hostage over the past week so I blame him ( :

With the snow we may need to move class around anyways - I will send out an email today to see where everyone is at and we will play it by ear and watch and see what the weather brings us.

This month we are working with the Believe kit - you will need the following for class:

Fiskars Paper Trimmer
Believe Kit (paper packet, stamp set, brochure, embellishments)
Scissors,
Adhesive - bring refills if needed
Paper piercer
Tombow Blender Pen
Trinity Stamp Set
Finishing Files
**LAYOUT CHANGE - if you want to build your layout on Colonial White cardstock as we discussed then you will need 2 sheets for every layout you are creating - I built both of my layouts on Colonial White so 4 sheets were needed for me.

Glue Dots - for the dimensionals and the ribbon
**if you are making cards - I used the White Daisy card bases - you could use Colonial White as well with this packet.
CARDS as well - I added the old glitter brads we had from jingle a few years back so if you have some of those you could put those with this ( :

Inks:
New England Ivy
Holiday Red
StazOn Black

Photos Needed:
Layout 1 (brochure layout): 3 - 6x4 PORTRAIT and 2 - 3 1/2 x 2 1/2 PORTRAIT - if you have additional photos this is one layout you could add flip flaps to.

Layout 2: 3 - 5 x 7 LANDSCAPE and 1 - 3 1/2 x 5 PORTRAIT

CHANGES:

LAYOUT 1:

I'm missing the 3rd photo on this layout right now but you will need 3 - 4 x 6 photos!

Obviously I swapped out the white daisy cardstock as mentioned above - this then ads a small issue with Santa as he is stamped on the page. You can opt to still do this and then use either our liquid applique (bring your heater if you choose to do this) OR you could use a glue pen and fun flock to fill in either his coat or beard. I opted to just stamp him twice on white daisy cardstock as well and cut out his coat pieces and beard. You could also just stamp him once on white daisy and then cut out the entire image to put on the page and that would solve the problem as well.

I omitted the blue journaling spots - I will probably add in either sweetleaf pieces or colonial white pieces when I add that onto my layout.

The brochure tells you to trace around the stars on the B&T paper and then to cut them out and glue them onto the paper - I find this harder for me than to just glue the star to the paper and cut out - I always use the finishing files afterwards though to clean up the edges. You can cover your stars however works best for you though ( :

LAYOUT 2:

I swapped out the holiday red cardstock for Colonial White instead - and then turned over the striped B&T pieces I'd cut for that layout and used the red plaid b&t that was on the back - so and easy change. I again opted to take away the blue on this layout so I needed to cut an additional piece out of the New England Ivy cardstock in it's place. I also cut out the circle to be 2 3/4 instead of 3 1/4 - for me that larger circle was just too big / :

CARDS:

I had just scraps of paper left for these as I've used this packet for other projects - so I was only able to make a couple of these.

LEFT CARD:
4 1/4 x 5 1/2 New England Ivy Cardstock

3 3/4 x 3 3/4 Green star & swirl B&T
2 x 3 3/4 Blue w/ white polkadot B&T
2 x 2 New England Ivy CS
1 3/4 x 1 3/4 Green star & swirl B&T
cover 2 stars with the red plaid B&T
red zip strip 3 3/4 piece

RIGHT CARD:

4 1/4 x 5 1/2 Crystal Blue
1 3/4 x 2 3/4 New England Ivy
cover the large star w/red plaid b&t
**this would be super cute if you wanted to use sand paper to distress the cardstock - I was in a hurry and didn't do this but would look great if you did!

Typeset sample

2011-12-05T08:36:00.001-08:00

A big thank you goes out to Sheri Rottler for sharing this cute Typeset layout w/me ( : enjoy!!

to complete this project you will need:
black cardstock as follows:
2-12x12 sheets, 1 1/2 x 4 1/2, 3-4x4, 1 1/4 x 6 1/4, 4 x 6
bamboo cardstock:
6 x 12, 4 x 6
desert sand cardstock:
2 - 2 x 5, 3 x 5, 2 1/2 x 5
juniper cardstock:
3 x 12 (optional: use 3 x 12 B&T instead of the 2 1/2 x 12)
creme brulee:
1 x 6
ABC B&T paper:
2 - 2 x 6, 3 x 6, 2 1/2 x 6
Juniper B&T paper:
2 1/2 x 12, 6 1/2 x 12 (includes the zip strip)
** Cricut cuts:
3 - 2" creme brulee stars
bamboo tag cut to match stamp
Letters:
U, R, cut 1 3/4 in black cardstock
4 - bamboo banners cut to match stamps
bracket UR special cut to fit stamp
Letter boarder 1" black cardstock
Large rectangle bracket 5 1/2 juniper

Additional supplies - corrugated shapes (comes in kit), can use bronz glitz gel (small dots on banners, large dots where they connect and in the "valleys" of the corugated shapes), copper decorative brads, black and desert sant ink pads, vintage type stamps, wotg stamp set - distress in desert sand ink - all shapes, all creme brulee pieces, desert sand & bamboo pieces.

Sanoma

2011-12-05T08:13:00.001-08:00

For December I chose to work with the Sanoma kit - I know that some of you will have chosen Typeset or maybe even Elemental. Below are the samples of what I've made and a couple of cards as well - if you have picked a different kit to work with and need help let me know.

Materials needed:

YOUR kit chosen (mine is sanoma)

Fiskars Euro Trimmer

Scissors

Adhesive

3-D foam if desired

blocks needed for your kit - if you are doing sanoma then you will need 1x1, 2 x 3 1/2 & 3 x 3

Sanoma also uses a sponge w/cocoa ink, corner rounder piercing tool

I used the new Kraft colored cardstock on my cards

Cardbases - colonial white card/envelope pack

Inks for sanoma are:

Cocoa

Smokey Plum

Olive

I've not put my title on the first layout yet but will add that - they use the Bohemian alphabet

Photos for Sanoma:

layout 1:

3 - 4 x 3 PORTRAITS

layout 2:

photos:1 - 5x7 LANDSCAPE

3 - 5x3 PORTRAIT

I made no changes really to the layouts at all - absolutely loved them ( :

Cards for this brochure are all in 6x6 format so I took 2 of them and recreated them basically in a standard cards size (4 1/4 x 5 1/2)

Card 1 is the Grateful Hearts card

cut 2 3/4 x 5 1/2 pinstripe B&T paper

1/4 x 5 1/2 Cocoa Cardstock

3/4 x 5 1/2 Kraft paper

1 x 5 1/2 Kraft paper - use the scalloping corner rounder along one side of this

2 x 2 Olive CS

1 3/4 x 1 3/4 Colonial White CS

Card 2 Thank You card

2 x 5 1/2 floral B&T

1/4 x 5 1/2 Cocoa Cardstock

1 1/2 x 5 1/2 Kraft Cardstock

1 x 5 1/2 Floral B&T - use scalloping corner rounder along one side of this

2 1/2 x 3 Cocoa CS

2 1/4 x 2 3/4 Colonial White CS

scrap CS for flowers

**I used the Colonial White MyAccents for these cards

Mischief Layout

2011-11-09T09:23:00.000-08:00

Okay - so we will be working on the Mischief Kit this month for classes - I unfortunately only have this one layout ready to post - so this is what I'll post for you ( :
I cut everything to what is listed in the brochure on this layout - no surprises here. All of the pieces are sponged in black and then the images are stamped in Colonial White Pigment Ink - remember when using this ink that you want to ink the image carefully as this ink is much pastier than the regular ink - you will need a stamp cleaner OR damp paper towel to clean off the image as it will not just stamp clean.
Here are the materials you will need this month for class:
Mischief Kit (brochure, paper, midnight felt sheet & stamp set)
Paper trimmer
scissors
adhesive
1 x 1 block
2 x 3 1/2 block
3 x 3 block
3 - D foam
Sponge (for black)
colonial white card bases & envelopes if you are doing cards
**I will put my craft heater in the bag - you may want to use it to set the pigment ink if you stamp it too heavy.
Posterboard Alphabet
**I also used the A Type set we got for free in August for my trunk or treat words

Inks:
Black
Colonial White Pigment Ink

Photos:
6 x 4 PORTRAIT
2 1/2 x 3 1/2 (wallet size basically) PORTRAIT
2 1/2 x 3 1/2 LANDSCAPE

Second Layout Helps:

the brackets you see below the "she is" and then for the journaling area - I believe you could use cricut image Rectangle 8 on page 65 to create this. Hit cut to length and do it 7 1/2 inches and then cut off the top which you wont need or share it with a friend ( :

for the journal area - you may need to play around with that - I don't know what the width will be on that 7 1/2 cut - if it makes the piece 5 1/2 tall or larger then you can just cut 2 of those as you will need that journal piece to be 5 1/2 tall.

The rest of this layout is straight forward - I will try to get mine finished up and posted as soon as possible but didn't want to delay any longer getting this stuff on for you ( :

See you soon!!

Mischief Cards ( :

2011-11-09T09:03:00.000-08:00

Thought I'd give you a card sample done 3 ways this month for the Mischief kit! I actually "created" this card myself so I will give you all the measurements below for each card - it's the same card just rotated ( : So let's get started!

first you will need to make a few cricut cuts:

Black cardstock:

Card 1:

square 4 pg 53 cut the LAYER piece 1 3/4 size

pg 53 square 4 piece 1/2 size (x3)

pg 64 rectangle 3 cut the FONT SHIFT piece cut to length 4 1/4

Card 2:

pg 63 square 5 LAYER piece 1 3/4 size

pg 63 square 5 piece 1/2 size (x3)
cut out of the autumn terracotta cardstock and then spone w/black ink:
pg 66 shaper 5 FONT LAYER piece cut to length 4 1/4

Card 3:

pg 33 square 2 LAYER piece 1 3/4 size

pg 33 squre 2 piece 1/2 size (x3)

pg 62 oval 5 FONT piece cut to length 4 1/4

all the cards use these 2 measurements for the card bases - the large piece is 4 x 4 1/4 and the small piece is 1 1/2 x 4 1/4. On card 3 I added a 1/4 x 4 1/4 strip of the autumn terracotta b&t paper - has the demask pattern on the back. I also added sparkles and 3-D foam to all of the cards to jazz them up a little. Feel free to sponge the pieces in black if desired. The ink used is Barn Red and Black - with the Fringed Phrases stamp set being used.

October Technique Class Christmas Card

2011-11-09T08:45:00.000-08:00

This is a super easy card to make that is postage friendly ( : start by taking a white card base and stamping an image in the middle - in this case - I stamped the center tree. Next you will need to make a mask of the center image - you can easily do this by stamping the image onto a sheet of thin copy paper - cut the image out on the line and then use a temporary adhesive to attach the mask over the top of the stamped image on your card. This will protect that image as you add the chalked skyline. Next take a piece of copy paper and place it across the card where ever you'd like your skyline to begin at - I did mine almost half way up in this sample. You can use that same temporary adhesive to adhere the copy paper to the card base to keep it from slipping. Then using a pudgy (the chalk tool that looks like an eyeshadow puff) you will drag the chalk starting on that piece of copy paper you've adhered to the card pulling the chalk upward. I started with a light purple color and then added a darker purple and then finally a little dark blue on my card to give some color. There is no right or wrong way to create this cool background feature so play with it and have fun! Once you are satisfied with your skyline - gently pull off that piece of copy paper and rub off any remaining temporary adhesive - do the same for the mask piece that you have placed on the tree (or whatever image you've used). Then fill in with whatever additional images you desire. In my case I've added a few more trees to my forest and a couple of snowflakes. Finish it w/glitter and a sentiment and you are off! I love this card! It was super easy to make and best of all cost regular postage for mailing since it's flat! woohoo ( : happy creating!

October Projects - ROXIE ( :

2011-10-12T12:34:00.000-07:00

This month we will be working with the Roxie kit - I absolutely LOVE this paper packet ( : it is so fun to work with!!

You will need the following for class:
Fiskars paper trimmer
scissors
adhesive
Roxie WOTG kit (paper packet, brochure, stamp set, embellishments etc)
3-D foam (if desired)
Black Ink
Desert Sand Ink
Tulip Ink
Craft cardstock OR colonial white card bases & envelopes for cards
brochure uses Chocolate alphabet small for title

BLOCKS:
1x1
2x2
2x3 1/2
PHOTOS NEEDED:
Brochure layout:
3- 6 x 4 PORTRAIT
1 - 3 x 3

Second layout:
1 - 4 x 6 PORTRAIT
2 - 4 x6 LANDSCAPE **if you want to add more photos - this is a great place to do flip flaps (:

NOTE:
This kit does not call for cricut cuts - but I cut 2 of my pieces using the cricut to give you an idea of how to start adding in cricut accents.

Piece C - is a 9" circle - Cricut cut: Circle 3 - 9"
Piece F - is a 2 x 11 - Crictu cut: Petal 1, Font, Shift - scalloped boarder - I would click "fit to page" so you can get as long of a piece as you can.

**Keep in mind that you should have your paper saver button clicked so that you get the most from your paper.

Second Layout - I've added a cricut cut frame so far - my cricut actually had to be exchanged w/Cricut and I haven't gotten it back as of yet so haven't cut any additional pieces for this layout - that said - I plan to cut a boarder for the 2 circles on the left side of the page that would match the small frame on the right.

CARDS:

This kit doesn't feature cards - but I came up with a couple on my own to share with you all. The brochure showed the Memory Box - and 3x3 chipboard that had been decorated - so I made 3x3 cards instead. Then I thought - what about a regular sized card? So I took the same designs and created standard sized cards as well :

Card 1:
I made this card up myself - it uses the zip top boarder for the background. Those pieces measure 1/2 wide - so you could recreate a similar look using multiple pieces of 1/2 x 4 1/4 wide pieces.

Add a 2" wide piece + a 1 3/4 wide piece and some sort of focal and you are good to go!

I added the zip top boarder for my focal and then 3 small cricut cut banner pieces cut 3/4" I believe - added a few mini sparkles and 3-D foam

Card 2:
This is a 3x3 card from Originals (Pieced Panels) on page 12 - those measurements are in the book. Here's the standard card measurements:
Piece A: 1 1/2 x 5 1/2
Piece B: 2 x 3
BACKGROUND behind piece C: 3 1/2 x 3
Piece C: 2x2 for mat or Cricut Cut: Square 2, Decorative Layer 2"
Add another cut of a 1 3/4 x 1 3/4 in colonial white for a focal
I added a boarder as well - cricut cut

Card 3:
This is a 3x3 card from Originals (Triple Triple) on page 12 - measurements again are in the book (:
Standard card measurements:
1 1/2 x 3 (cut 3 or in my case I cut 2 in one pattern and then cut 1 in another)
and a mat! That's it! I did a cricut cut mat as follows:
Shape 1 : size 1 1/2
Oval 1 - size 1"

Add Opaques or Sparkles to bling up your cards and you are off!!

CLASS DATES for OCTOBER, NOVEMBER & DECEMBER 2011

2011-10-12T12:00:00.000-07:00

okay - I have tried and tried to get the calendar thing to work and it's just not working - so here are the class dates for the next few months:

October:
Saturday 15th - 8am - 11:30am You Complete Me - cost $15 @ my place - reserve your spot
Saturday 15th - 9am - 11am Card Class @ my place Hostess is Dana!
Tuesday 18th - 7pm - 9pm Scrapbook club @ my place Hostess is Deb!
Wednesday 19th - 7pm - 10pm Everett Scrapbook club @ Melissa's this month ( :

November:
Tuesday 15th - 7pm - 9pm Scrapbook Club @ my place Hostess is Deniece!
Wednesday 16th - 7pm - 10pm Everett Scrapbook Club @ Jovanna's ( :
Saturday 19th - 8am - 11:30am You Complete Me - cost $15 @ my place - reserve your spot
Saturday 19th - 9am - 11am Card Class @ my place Hostess is Donna!

December ** we will move ALL classes UP ONE WEEK due to the holidays!!
Saturday 10th - 8am - 11:30am You Complete Me - cost $15 @ my place - reserve your spot
Saturday 10th - 9am - 11am Card Class @ my place Hostess is Judy!
Tuesday 13th - 7pm - 9pm Scrapbook Club @ my place Hostess is Renee!
Wednesday 14th - 7pm - 10pm Everett Scrapbook Club @ Adina's ( :

Hopefully this will allow you to set your calendars up and be ready for class each month - if you have any questions please feel free to email or call me ( :

Dreamin'

2011-09-02T11:24:00.000-07:00

Here's the projects for September! We will be working with the Dreamin' kit - you will need the following for class:
Fiskars paper trimmer
scissors
adhesive
Dreamin' WOTG kit (paper packet, brochure, stamp set, embellishments etc)
3-D foam (if desired)
Chocolate Ink
Goldrush Ink
Pacifica Ink
Shimmer brads (in kit)
Bronze Glitz Glitter Gel (in kit)
Edge Distressor (if desired - i didn't use it on mine)
Chocolate Sponge
small sponge wedge you can toss after for the glitter glitz
pudgies if you are using any cut lettering - so you can sponge the letters
Colonial White card bases & envelopes (if you want to make the traditional size cards)
OR Colonial White circle cards if you want to create the circle ones shown in the idea book

blocks:
1x1
3x3
2 x 3 1/2

**my titles are a combination - I used cricut to cut letters for the "We are BYU", stamped "Families are" with the Trinity stamp set and used Oxford color ready letters for "forever", used a Dimensional Alphabet Letter for the "Y" and then Trinity stamp set for "bound"

Photos needed:

brochure layout -

4 x 6 PORTRAIT

2 - 3 1/2 x 2 1/2 (wallet size) ** I did 4 of these to add more photos

bonus layout -
6 x 8 LANDSCAPE
2 - 4 x 6 LANDSCAPE or 1- 6x8 PORTRAIT **I did 4x6 photos and added flip flaps to give me additional photo space - the journaling area they show I have on the actual layout - then the flip flaps are on top of that area.

STUDIO J layout BONUS:

** I created this layout using the cricut cartridge - if you would like to create it as well - here's what you'll need:

2 extra sheets of Colonial White cardstock

Chocolate cardstock: 2 - 1 x 12, 1 - 4 1/4 x 12, 1 - 3 1/4 x 4 1/4, 1 - 5 1/4 x 6 1/4, 1 piece 1 3/4 x 12 (for decorative edge on left)

multi colored B&T paper: 1 - 4 x 12, 1 - 3 x 12

Cricut cuts:
**this is what I believe I cut on mine - you can adjust the size to suit your layout as needed
Goldrush cardstock: pg 45 star 3 - size: 6 1/2",pg 40 star 5 - size 4" and then size 2 1/2"

Polkadot B&T: pg 43 square 3 layer cut size 2", pg 42 decorative layer oval (use center of that cut) size: 2 1/2 (i cut 2 of these), size: 1 1/2

I have a template for the decorative edge on the left side of the page for you to use at class.

I sponged all the pieces for these layouts and cards in Chocolate Ink -

Cards:

Card 1:

blue B&T w/ white leaves: 3 x 4 1/4
goldrush cardstock 3 1/2 x 2 1/4
zip strip from paper for sentiment

16 " ribbon

Card 2:
brown B&T: 4 1/4 x 5 1/2
Zip strip from paper for 1/2 boarder across card
1/2 x 2 gold rush cardstock for sentiment

cricut circle 1: size: 2 1/2 in pacifica cardstock

Card 3: blue B&T w/white leaves: 1 1/2 x 5 1/2
1/2 x 5 1/2 Chocolate cardstock
3 x 3 goldrush B&T
I used scrap pieces for the ribbon sides
scrap chocolate cardstock for the leaves

zip strip from paper for sentiment

Card 4:
multi colored B&T 1 3/4 x 4

19" ribbon

Card 5:
blue B&T w/white leaves: 2 1/2 x 5 1/2
brown B&T 1 3/4 x 3
zip strip from paper for boarder across card
small piece of pacifica cardstock

zip strip from paper for sentiment

This month is Fanfare!

2011-08-10T21:45:00.000-07:00

This month we will be working with the Fanfare workshops on the go kit. For class you will need the following items:
Fanfare kit (paper packet, stamp set, brochure & embellishments)
fiskars paper trimmer
adhesive
scissors
glue dots
Scalloped punch (called for on the layout if followed as in brochure)
3-D foam (if desired)
bitty sparkles (if desired)
white cards & envelopes (if making cards)

Inks:
Pacifica
Cranberry

Photos:
layout 1: 6x5 PORTRAIT, 4 - 4x5 LANDSCAPE
layout 2: 5x7 PORTRAIT, 4 - 3x4 LANDSCAPE (or you can do 2 L and 2 P)

I have made a few modifications to this kit so take note of the following:

main layout: I used the FRONT of the main B&T paper instead of the all blue back - also added a paper inside the 2 white photo blocks on the right side - cut the measurements the same as for pieces I & K. I used the blue sponged looking B&T there and also cut a mat for the main photo on the left side of the page.

I used the NEW Trinity Alphabet for the title - LOVE this set! It's a MUST HAVE for sure!! Stamped the title using the kissing technique. I inked the letter in Pacifica ink, stamped it off 2x so that I now have a 3rd generation ink left on the image - next I took the star pattern from the July stamp of the month and inked it with Pacifica ink - then I kissed that letter (which has the 3rd generation ink on it) onto the star - and then stamped my project. It's a great effect don't you think?

second layout (Magic: Charmed pg 80):

Again I swapped the papers out on piece C & H and used the striped B&T there. I also wanted to carry over that dark pattern from the first layout so I used that B&T paper for pieces D & E.

The cute foam #4 is from the animal cookies foam number set (which I know many of you have - those work great with this kit!).

CARDS:

here's where I made some changes:
I chose to use some of the B&T papers instead of the cardstock for the background pieces - I love the way it just adds to the card! Add 3-D foam and sparkles for a little bling as well : ) Changing out the sentiment is also easy to do with these - I think this paper is great for making kids birthday cards!

The bonus cards are a 3x6 size - so I opted to make them as a traditional card size instead so I could utilize the card bases & envelopes we sell. It was easy to do! I looked up the card pattern in the Wishes book (pg81) and noted that piece A was 2" wide - so instead of cutting it to the 2x3 called for (for that pattern in the book) I just increased it to fit the standard card size 2x4 1/4. Piece B was then cut to be 4 x 2 1/4 and piece C was cut to 3 3/4 x 2 1/2. Now I truly didn't need to cut down these card measurements as they would have fit the card but I wanted to allow some of my patterned paper to show so I chose to reduce the size called for in the pattern by 1/2"

Making a few minor adjustments to a pattern is easy to do and it allows you to customize your cards or layouts to suit your needs.

Rubberband Therapy

2011-08-10T20:00:00.000-07:00

Recently I've learned about this "new" therapy program that's designed to help one eliminate stress and adjust to new situations in life. NOTE: to get the most benefit from this new treatment you will need the following materials: 2 rubber bands.

Here's how it works:

First, place the 2 rubber bands on your wrists. Once said rubber bands are securely in place you are ready to move on to the 2nd step.

Second, when you feel stressed by a situation - grab one of the rubber bands on your wrist and pull said rubber band away from the wrist creating a gap between the wrist and the rubber band. This gap should represent the level of stress you are feeling at that moment - so a small irritation might only require you to gently pull said band away a mere 1/8", while a major freak attack might require you to stretch the band to it's limits. Now that the band is stretched you are ready to move to step 3.

Third, release said rubber band and let it snap back! Yes, at times this will be only a slight sting but other times this 3rd step may seem unbearable but trust me - the pain will be but a small moment and soon you will find that rubber band back in place on your wrist and life will go on as if nothing happened.

I like this therapy - first off - it's extremely affordable for everyone who is in need of such a treatment. It's an easy reminder to be FLEXIBLE and to SNAP BACK when faced with a change or adjustment to things that you may be resisting. While change or adjustments aren't easy to handle, they CAN be handled and will last only a small moment in the big picture. The sooner you let go and allow yourself to snap back into place the sooner you'll be able to move on in your happy life.

Why am I telling you this? Cause CTMH has recently caused some of us to stretch recently. Some changes have come into place - some are WONDERFUL and are easy to handle no problem. Others are requiring us to stretch out of our comfort zone, and like I said, that can be slightly painful at times, but I promise that if you will allow yourself to snap back you will find some wonderful things in store for you with these new changes.

My website: stampnscrapkim.myctmh.com will be under going some changes very soon - and this is going to require me to move the calendar features and artwork to another place. This is where you will now find this information. I invite you to become a follower of this blog - and to come back and visit often as I will be updating this site several times a month with info and artwork that I hope will be useful to you.

May your personal rubber band therapy work wonders for you as it has for me! Looking forward to seeing you back here again real soon!

Have you ever...

2011-01-10T07:38:00.000-08:00

heard the phrase "Chatty Patty"? This has become a HUGE discussion in seminary these days as I say "it's a saying that means you talk to much" and my kids in my class say "you're saying it wrong! It's Chatty Cathy". Now I realize there was a talking doll that was Chatty Cathy - BUT there was also a Chatty Patty! To me the meaning is the same thing and Chatty Patty rhymes better! So here's my plea...Help me vindicate myself to these youngsters who obviously need to be schooled! Anyone out there remember such a thing besides me?!

Oh - and what about the phrase "Melvin Milk Toast"? I say that too - they've never heard of it and think I'm high for saying it. Melvin Milk Toast to me is someone who is wimpy, doesn't stand up for himself. I can't believe they've NEVER heard of these phrases before! Just what are they teaching these days? LOL

Anyone else heard of these terms besides me or do I need meds?

Any other "wonderful" phrases I can fling at them to really make their heads spin? lay it on me!! : )

It's a NEW year already!!

2011-01-07T18:04:00.000-08:00

Can't believe I've abandoned this for MONTHS! It's been a little crazy here since the end of summer - I was called to teach early morning Seminary for my church. Which means I get up at 4:30 each morning so that I can leave by 5:30 to get to the church building. Class starts at 6am and runs until 6:45 and then I've got a few hours of study time each day as well so that I can be prepared for the lessons. It's a lot of work but I must admit that I am loving it! I'm learning so much and while my class is a bit on the large size (19 kids who pretty much attend everyday) I have truly enjoyed the interaction with these youth.

I'm sure I've got TONS I could type in here but for the sake of time (and since I KNOW I will never be able to "catch up") I will just pick up from here.

I promise to get back to this again soon - so if you're still out there reading - thank you! If not...come back!! plea please?!

In the mean time - we have a NEW Idea book for Close to my Heart coming out in just a few short weeks, February 1st to be exact. If you would like a copy of the new Idea Book - let me know I'd be happy to get one to you. I've had a chance to play a little with one of the new One of the new products - a "spray pen" and it's really cool!

Here's a short video on how to use it:

and here are a few cards I made with my technique club:

I promise to post again soon!! truly : )

the AWOL Silhouette Box!

2010-09-21T10:58:00.000-07:00

Okay - so I know I posted eons ago that I would share my other box with ya'll but all I can say is life happened!! I got called to teach early morning Seminary and that has kept me busy - but that's a whole 'nother post all together. So for now, I will post some pictures of my Silhouette box - same concept as the family box below - this might end up a gift for Christmas : ) There are actually 10 pages per book - but I've posted only a couple of the pages - if you are interested in seeing more of the pages let me know and I'd be happy to post them.

Thanks to all who have stuck with me - even post-less - I promise to come back more frequently. Have a great day!

Operation Smile Success!

2010-07-22T15:24:00.000-07:00

On my last post I shared a box of mini scrapbooks I made for a very special auction that was to be held at convention this year to raise money for Operation Smile. This wonderful organization funds the desperately needed surgeries for children all over the world and I'm pleased to say that we raised enough money to cover 29 surgeries with this event!! Thank you Michelle Nist who purchased my mini scrapbooks in a box for $120 - that's 1/2 of a surgery!

Watch for a new post shortly featuring this box using our Silhouette papers!

This is no ordinary family!

2010-05-25T11:49:00.000-07:00

I recently ran across this phrase while searching on the internet for a few titles to use on a set of mini scrapbooks I was creating. When I read it - it took me back and made me chuckle a bit. First of all, what dictates an "ordinary family"? Is there really such a thing as an "ordinary family" anymore these days? In the dictionary the word ordinary is listed as: usual; customary; mediocre. So by that definition - our family for sure doesn't qualify as an "ordinary family". While we do have the customary family grouping - a mom, dad, children and pets - we are FAR from mediocre in my book. The second thing that I loved about this phrase was that it made me feel proud to state that "Hey! We are NOT your ordinary Family! We're AMAZING!" That may or may not be how the person who phrased it meant it to be taken but that is how I choose to take it and how I would hope many of you would choose to state this when speaking of your own families.

Who needs ordinary families these days? What the world needs is superior families! We need families to step up to the plate, to set the bar high and then raise to it. We need families full of love, who not only serve each other, but who are willing to make a difference in the world we live in.

The mini scrapbooks I was working on are for a Silent Auction being held this year at the Close To My Heart Convention to raise money for Operation Smile. If you recall - last year I was asked to make a piece of art as well that would be auctioned off. Well this year I wanted to be sure to make something that would bring in some $$ - I'm pleased with the finished piece, and hope that it will bring money to this worthy cause. These cute little scrapbooks are made from our new My Creations Board Book, the book is actually a 6x6 board book but I took the books down to our local print shop and had them cut down to a 4 3/8 x 6 book so that they would fit in one of our My Creations Recipe/Photo Boxes (which I must say I absolutely LOVE these little boxes! They are so much fun to play with!). Here's a sneak peek at the action piece. I smell a workshop coming up featuring this same project (maybe some different papers - but wow - the options are limitless!).

Here is a peek at the little books I made. The first one is titled "Our family tree is full of nuts" - of course I envision this cute little book filled with fun pictures of a wonderful family. We all take pictures of our families - and they aren't always formal, are they? I love random pictures taken of my own family doing the goofy things that only they do! It's a fun reminder that life is to be ENJOYED and not just endured! Families should have personality! Sometimes we forget to scrapbook our TRUE selves when we scrapbook - scrapbooking these little moments will tell the big picture of family life in your home.

The second book is titled "What keeps our family busy is..." and I thought about all the things that we do as a family together. Trips that we've taken - moments that we've shared, service that's been rendered. What about the work we do, the school accomplishments, the activities that we enjoy? What fills our time describes our families. It's how we fill our days; it's the very life that we live. It tells a big story about who we really are. Our lives these days are filled to the brim with lots of "good" things. Take a moment to think of all that keeps your family busy these days - are there some things that maybe need to take a back seat so that you can add something that's maybe "better"? or maybe the "BEST" thing?

The last book is titled "We may not have it all together, but TOGETHER we have it all!" and that says it all, doesn't it? Life happens, doesn't it? It throws us some loops at times and it's how we, as a family, pull together that shows the true character of our family unit. No family is perfect but TOGETHER we can move mountains! These tender moments that show our families unity, these are the moments that should be cherished forever. They stand as a witness to the strength of our family. Our family is NO ORDINARY FAMILY - that's for sure!

Here are a few more sneak peeks of the pages inside:

Studio J is HERE!

2010-04-26T10:27:00.000-07:00

Do you have your calendar handy? How about a red pen? No? Well, I'll wait a minute while you grab one. Got one? I hope so because this is a RED LETTER DAY...as in Letter "J." Studio J that is!

I am here to announce the customer release date of Close To My Heart’s AMAZING new digital scrapbooking program, Studio J. The 2 layouts you see here were made by little old me during our consultant testing period. Trust me, you're going to LOVE this! Our tagline is: Real life. Real scrapbooks. Real time.

You are going to want to carefully read this whole post. It will be worth every juicy little tidbit!

To answer a few commonly asked questions:

Q: Well, get on with it Kim. When is the dang release date?
A: TUESDAY, APRIL 27, 2010. 7 AM PST. Just go to my website (stampnscrapkim.myctmh.com) and there will be a tab added that day for Studio J. Click there and you can begin playing...for FREE! You pay NOTHING unless you order some layouts. Putting them together is TOTALLY FREE! I love free! In the meantime, if you haven't watched the Studio J introductory video yet, click here to do it!

Q: I LOVE traditional scrapbooking. Will Studio J take away from that?
A: Absolutely NOT! There is room for both in your life. I am living proof. I love them both for totally different reasons. I love the artistic feel of hands on paper and embellishments. I love the speed and ease and professional look of Studio J. Plus, you can always order Studio layouts and then add a few traditional embellishments of your own once they come if you have a serious need to do the tactile thing.

Q: I am not a traditional kind of scrapbooker. I have been scrapbooking digitally for years. Is Studio J something that I will like?
A: No doubt about it! I have looked at and tried several different digital offerings out there, and in my opinion, NOTHING can compete with Studio J in quality, concept, cost or beauty!

Q: So seriously, how much does it cost?
A: There is NO COST to use the program. You have no software or hardware to purchase or download. Unless you make a layout (defined as a two page 12 x 12 layout) and decide to purchase it, there is absolutely no cost. Once you decide to purchase, each 2 page layout is introductory priced at $12.95. That is WAY below the industry average! And, if you purchase 5-9 two-page layouts at a time, CTMH will throw in 5 free page protectors. 10 or more and you get FREE SHIPPING, as well as a package of 5 page protectors for every 5 layouts in the order. Cool beans! Once ordered, Close To My Heart prints your layouts on high quality photo paper (I wish you could see the quality of my photographed layouts above in person) and sends them to you. Mine arrived within days of when I ordered them.

Q: What if I make a layout and want to save it and purchase it with a group of layouts at a later date?
A: No worries, girlfriend! That is actually the smart way to do it anyway. CTMH will save your projects for 90 days. And, every time you make a purchase your 90 days start over. So, say you make several layouts and then purchase them on day 80. Your 90 day clock starts over. They are saved again. On top of all of that, CTMH even emails you periodically to remind you where your project clock is.

Q: In a nutshell, how does this "Studio J" thing work?
A: In a nutshell, these are the steps to creating an amazing 2 page layout:
• upload some of your favorite photos
• choose from one of the 54 awesome kits (including most of your faves from our Idea Books plus some that are exclusive to Studio J).
• choose a layout pattern. There are MANY to choose from. They are like the patterns you'll find in our wonderful "how to" books like Cherish, Imagine, Reflections. The possibilities are endless because all the patterns you can choose from can be rotated 3 ways and flip flopped.
• now personalize! You get to drop your photos in, add text, choose cardstock and background and texture papers from the kit, add accessories (just about every accessory item you can imagine!), distressing, titling, MyStickease, and so much more.
• save and/or buy your layout(s).
Q: If I'm not the techiest of techies, or even techie at all, will I be able to do this?
A: YES! This program is great for techies and non-techies alike. The program is VERY intuitive. I only had to refer to the user's guide/help document one time while I was creating my layouts.

I am SOOOOOOOOOO EXCITED about this program. I know you are going to love it too. So, take that red pen I made you run and get and mark Tuesday, April 27 at 7 am PST on the calendar. You won't want to miss it!

If you have any questions, I am MORE than happy to answer them. Email me at stampnscrapkim@myctmh.com. If you have lots of friends who love digital, you might even want to consider signing up to be a Close To My Heart Consultant with your own website so that you can make money (cha-ching) while they fall in love with Studio J! You can do that right now while you are waiting for Tuesday. Just click here, then on "Your Opportunities" and then follow the prompts. You can become a Close To My Heart Consultant for as little as $99!

8 months

2010-04-22T07:36:00.000-07:00

Eight months ago, Kara headed off for her first year of college at BYU. She was so young - only 17 years old and I was so worried about her. All of you mom's know exactly that type of worry. It's almost like the first day of school all over again - only their not 5 heading off to Kindergarten! It's not that you don't think they can handle themselves, for you know as a parent just how very capable your child is. It's that worry of will she get along with her roommates? Will they be nice to her? Will she be able to get up in time for classes each day? Will she be able to handle shopping for & cooking her own food, doing her own laundry, while getting her homework done etc? It's the fear of will she meet someone and get engaged? (YIKES!) Lucky for us, I had instilled in Kara a deep fear of death if she got engaged her freshman year of college! ULTIMATELY it's the worry of once she's tasted life on her own will she ever want to come home again.

Of course, the year has had it's ups and downs. She did get along with her roommates... most of the time. Her actual roommate was great, just never home. It's the fact that they have 6 girls sharing a dorm - that can get tricky even with the best of friends at times. She was able to get up and make it to class... most of the time. She ablsolutely loved her Book of Mormon professor, struggled a bit with Economics, but hey that's to be expected eh? It's a hard class! She did find a way to shop for food & cook it... most of the time, even learned a few new recipes from roommates (which I am excited for her to share with us when she gets home! YUM!). She did get most of her homework done, not all of it, but we won't go there. She DIDN'T get engaged - so YEAH she gets to live yet another year! Best of all she WANTS to come home again! Kara joined the RHA (Resident Hall Association) at the beginning of the school year. From what I understand they are over all the clubs & on campus housing groups and organize functions & service projects for students. This was a volunter thing although she did get school credit for it. But this has turned into a fabulous on campus job that she will be able to keep for the rest of the time she is attending BYU! Such a HUGE blessing, that will help pay for her schooling. She also was called to teach the gospel doctrine class at church, which I think she absolutely enjoyed doing. It gave her a stronger understanding of the Old Testament and I think she learned a lot about herself as a teacher as well.

Eight months ago I sent my little girl off to school. She was a little scared and nervous of what awaited her, and yet extremely excited at the same time. What a difference eight months can make in our lives. How thankful I am for the experiences that she has had while away at BYU for they have molded her into the woman who will shortly be returning to my home for the summer. I am so proud of her, so thankful to my Heavenly Father for sending her, for intrusting me with her care. She is my daughter, but she is also my friend whom I've missed dearly. I look forward to days filled with laughter,and nights filled with deep conversations & quiet moments.

Eight months seemed like an eternity to send her off for but truly flew bye. My worrying of what will happen while she is away of course is ended, for now I will enjoy the summer we'll have together for before I can blink an eyelid she will be off again to college. Off on a new adventure and my worrying will start all over again.

My heart is full right now as I think of the woman who will be returning home in a few short hours. I love you my dear! Welcome home!

All I can say is....

2010-04-19T20:39:00.000-07:00

Thank you for being my friends.

Recipe Card Box Workshop

2010-04-15T21:27:00.001-07:00

May 1st from 9am - noon I'm hosting an EASY recipe box workshop - there is NO STAMPING for this project! This cute box features some of the NEW products in the 2010 Summer Idea Book that goes live May 1st for Close To My Heart.

The cost for this project is $25 and it includes the Cherry-O My Card Kit (contains: 32 recipe cards - 4 each of 8 designs, 6 - dividers, 3 - 6 x 12 sheets of stickease), My Recipe/Card Box, 2 sheets Cherry-O B&T paper, Buttons & Waxy Flax.

This cute box would make a great gift or if you’re like me and LOVE to collect recipes then you can make this cute recipe box all for yourself! AND because it's SO EASY you could easily sign up to do multiples if you want.

Sign-ups are fast for this one - I need pre-payment by April 22nd to hold your spot. Let me know if you are interested in attending this workshop as space is limited.

Here are a few more images of this box:

A new one to me...

2010-04-08T14:18:00.000-07:00

Okay, so maybe I've been under a rock but I'd never heard of a "grandma shower" until I was invited to one back in November for the first time! My dear friend Sue was expecting her first grand baby and a mutual friend from church (waving to Kimmie!) invited me to attend a "grandma shower" she was throwing for her. What do you give the grandma-to-be? I actually googled it when I was invited to see if this was a "real" thing - and low & behold it is! Apparently I'm the only one on the face of the planet who hadn't heard of it!

Buying a gift is always tricky, even when you know the person you are giving the gift to. If you are like me - then you probably second guess yourself, "Will they like this?" "Will they use that?" This is one of the reasons why I like to make the gifts I give. First off, it will hopefully be enjoyed because you spent the time personally to make it and most people would NEVER dream of telling you "why the heck did you give me this?" or ask you where you bought it so they can return it. Hand made gifts are not returnable! Well, I guess that's not totally true - they could actually give it back but that would truly be weird!

I did one time make brownies for a gal (not as a shower gift mind you - but just because it was her birthday and I thought it would be a fun treat to pop over to her). Well it didn't go over very well for when I took them to her house she opened the door, she smiled and then after she held the plate in her hands she gave it back to me saying "OH! NO, NO we don't eat sugar" and then closed the door! It was truly the weirdest thing I'd ever beheld! I stood there for a few moments thinking - hum...why didn't she just smile, take them and then put them in the trash after I'd left rather than telling me to my face - "OH! NO, NO blah blah blah"? WEIRDO ALERT!Anyways, MOST people would NEVER dream of doing something like that - and I'm sure most of you have never and will never experience it either, but it does make me take back the words of "handmade gifts are not returnable" because you could encounter a freak like I did who just might return or reject your gift. Shame on them and it's their loss eh?

Anyways, I opted to make an ABC book for Grandma Sue to use with her new grand baby and the many grand babies to follow. It's small enough to tuck into a bag or purse and I love all the bright colors & pictures to keep the little kiddos busy if even for a few moments. Knowing Sue, I knew she wasn't a freak who would reject my gift and even if she chose not to use it - she would never tell me that she didn't like it. I've attached the pictures of the album for you to see - it's simple to make and I googled the pictures and printed them out myself.
While I didn't shop for the gift, I did give of my time and it is a gift that came from the heart. A gift that hopefully she will find fun and that she will take advantage of those small, quiet moments when her dear grand babies will climb in her lap to sit with grandma as they sing the ABC's, point at the pictures, count numbers or name colors.
It's those tender moments in time that will be the thing that they both will treasure in the years to come a head. Congratulations Grandma Sue! Enjoy!

It's about time!

2010-04-06T08:34:00.000-07:00

When we bought our house some 6 years ago - it was definitely a fixer-upper. It had been a foreclosure sale and the "homeowner" was not excited about having to move out! She gave away plants from the yard. She poured candle wax down sinks. She had locked her dog in the family room area and he had torn holes in the walls, pee'd on the carpet and torn up the window sills throughout the house. She had a bird which must have flown freely in the upstairs bedroom for there was evidence of bird everywhere! These are just a FEW of the things we encountered as we took possession of the house. Needless to say, we spent some 6 weeks working on the house to get it in shape to live in, and then decided to take a break.

Well, that break turned into 6 years of break - how does that happen? We did some little things along the way, we repainted the whole outside of the house one year, refinished the deck in the back (which unfortunately needs to be redone now - ugh!), we started a landscaping project - never completely finished that project though - note to self, put that back on the to do list!

I guess part of our long dry spell in fixing up the house was that we had to do so much work to it when we bought it. We truly had patched and mended so many spots that the thought of putting holes back into the walls wasn't very appealing. I loved the paint color we chose for the inside of the house, it's a tan shade but in certain lighting it looks green and in other lighting it looks grey. I have found it refreshing to just have a 'clean look' but truly it's needed to be "decorated" for a while and I've just not wanted to even tackle it.

As I mentioned a few posts back, I did tackle the kitchen cabinets a few months ago - sanded, painted, and put new hardware on etc. When I bought that paint for the cabinets I also bought a Barn Red colored paint to add a few accent walls in my house - so I've recently painted those.

When we purchased the house the windows had salmon pink colored window coverings with ruffles - they were putrid to say the least - we quickly tore those off the walls and put in hampton style blinds, but I have thought about adding curtains for a few years now. Recently I found some that I liked, but I now wonder if it's a little too much red with my red wall as well - but I like the warmth that the curtains offer to the room for sure, so they'll be staying for now. It just feels more "homey" if that's a word!?!

When Jeff & I were married we received a clock as a wedding gift. It's lasted all these years and still works just fine but it's a little dated if you get my drift so I set out to find a cute wall clock that could fit in the same space the other had been. At first I wanted a large clock but then felt it would overpower the small space I had for it. The spaces that would fit a large clock I already had large pieces in - like my star and window panes. I finally found this cute London Kensington Train Station clock - which I thought was fun since we'd ridden the trains in London a lot! I hung it over the top of this picture of the Sacred Grove which I absolutely love.

Many of you know that I have a thing for old windows - and that I've purchased a few which hang throughout my house. I also have a couple of old doors - one has been made into a headboard for my bed. The other has a cool handle & lock on it and I've just wanted to hang it on the wall somewhere as decoration. For YEARS it has leaned against a shelf in the garage - and if we've needed to get to something on that shelf we've pushed it to the side to try and get behind it. Doors are so dang heavy! It's sat there because it had a hole in it where the previous owners had their deadbolt. Now, I could have hung it up with the hole but I wanted to find a cool lock to put there or something that would fit the cool lock and handle on the door already.

Our anniversary is in November, Jeff and I took a trip out to Leavenworth this past November to celebrate (it was our first time out there since we've lived in Washington - I know how sad is that?!) - anyways, as "tradition" (which is a joke - poor Jeff knows that I love jewelery) he was going to buy me a necklace I'd seen while window shopping there but what I really wanted was this wrought iron wall art that was at the cute little french crepe cafe' we ate lunch at. Now to be honest, even though I loved the wrought iron I wasn't sure they would sell it as it was a piece of their decoration for the cafe' but I asked the manager anyways if we could purchase the piece that was hanging in the restaurant - the clerks were sure the owners would say no - but to my much happiness they said yes! Jeff thought I was nuts but said we could get it if I really wanted it - you should have seen the looks I got as I strolled down the walkway with my huge wall art piece & a grin on my face headed for the car!

Back to the door, so after Leavenworth Jeff & I set out for Snohomish in search of something that might work to filling the hole in the door. First we thought of getting a lock that would match but locks were nowhere to be found - at least nothing that would work - fit the hole or match the look of the door. I did however come home with a cool circular cover - that was for a doorknob - so it would make the hole smaller at least. It was actually a few days later that I found my big "score" - I'd been on a massive shopping trip - had hit WalMart, Costco and Albertsons and was just heading home when I spotted the old door outside of the antique shop there with a huge sign that said "free" on it! I quickly pulled over - rearranged my car and loaded in the old lead filled door so that I could nab the cool knob off of it! It was truly a find - cool old iron knob that looks amazing! The only thing I would change is to move the lock to the top portion and the knob down but for now - I'm just happy it's up and I can look at it! Maybe in another 6 years from now I'll get the knob moved to the correct placement.

We also got a new light fixture for the dining room. Now if you are like me and love to watch the Amazing Race then you know what a "candle-a-bra" is right?! I just absolutely fell in love with this scrolled fixture and knew I had to bring it home so I could have my very own "candle-a-bra"! Isn't it fun?!

When Kara was a baby we bought an oak dining room table set which I've refinished several times over the years. That table is in super shape still but the chairs had seen better days! I set out to find a new table set - not an easy feet to accomplish - but was pleased when I found this cute black set. Best of all it was VERY affordable and will look great as it gets banged up over the years. Nothing beats a great farmhouse table if you ask me. Anyways, Jeff asked what I wanted to do with the old farmhouse table we'd had - "put it in storage?" Quickly I told him to "cut the legs down so it could be a coffee table". You should have seen his face! I just love how the living room / dining room have turn out - it makes me happy to sit in there.

Now I just need to put the pictures into my window pane that hangs above my couch, oh and then I might need to get new couches...oh the list goes on and on doesn't it?

It's the age....

2010-03-29T09:23:00.001-07:00

When you're a kid you get invited to birthday parties several times a year. As you get older, say marrying age you start going to bridal showers & wedding receptions - that of course NEVER ends from that time forth. From there you start going to baby showers. When you get to be my age, people stop "celebrating" birthday's with parties (unless they are "over the hill parties"), the bridal showers, wedding receptions & baby showers that you are invited to grow because you no longer are going to them for your "friends" but for your friends kids who are now going through that stage of their lives. It's a never ending thing I guess.
Recently though my dear friend, whom I could easily be her mother but we wont go there - well she had a baby. Now, I know that I could just run down to the store and buy something, and maybe there are times that the receiver is thinking "why didn't they just go down to the store and buy something?!" - but I decided to spend a little time and make her a something that hopefully she & her family would enjoy for years to come.
I took one of Close To My Hearts My Creations All-Sorts Mini Albums and with the help of Kim's husband sneaking me some photos was able to make this cute book:

Thanks Kim for letting me share your book online. Doesn't she have a cute family?! Photos are amazing! They can bring us back to that very moment in time when we captured them and they bring a well of emotions with them! Powerful isn't it? It's what we do with those photos that becomes the legacy. Leaving them on our camera, on the computer or in a shoe box is such a shame. They're your memories, your keepsakes...what have you done with yours recently?

Hum....what came next?

2010-03-18T12:23:00.000-07:00

Oh yes...after dropping Kara off at the Y, Jessie and I came home and tackled the kitchen cabinets! A couple years ago we'd planned to do a remodel on the house - well long story short that fell through big time and so the kitchen has stayed its Ugly Betty self - but after visiting my dear friend Tracy in Utah and seeing her fabulous kitchen cabinets I got a wild idea to paint mine! So I did! Jessie and I headed off to Home Depot and met the paint expert "Norm" in the paint department. Norm was AMAZING in so many ways! lol He IS the paint expert but not only that, he is HILARIOUS to talk to! Let's just say that Norm has a few idiosyncrasies that make him so much fun! While I do have a picture of Norm (which Jessie sneaked on her cell phone!)- it wouldn't be nice to post it without his consent so no pictures to share of our new friend. Anyways, after looking at the 50 billion color swatches that are out there I came to French Roast and fell in love. To compliment it I found a Stone color and then a Barn Red to match and off I went with all my painting glory to tackle the kitchen.

Now if you have ever painted something in your house you know that it seems at first like it will be a cinch, but it's a lot like childbirth - you sort of forget how difficult and painful it is until you are there at that point again - why is our memory so selective? We think - "I will never forget this" and then we do! It's only when you start that next birth experience that you realize - DANG IT! I was NEVER going to do this again because it's so painful! Or in the case of painting - DANG IT! I was NEVER going to do this again because it's a pain! Even though you swear you would never do it again - you and I both know that holding that new born baby in your arms wipes away the painful memories of the birth experience and seeing the beauty of a finished project eases the pain in your shoulders ever so slightly. So even though you know it's going to be VERY painful you move forward. Now if you know me then you know that once I get my mind set on something that I have to have it done yesterday (my husband HATES this about me!). So even with the memories of past projects quickly rushing back into my mind, complete with a faint ache in my shoulders, I decided to continue on with my nightmarish task which was at hand to accomplish.

The kitchen cabinets in my house are old, and the finish has faded & peeled in spots - but the wood itself is just fine. So I started with the lower cabinets, I emptied the drawers, removed the doors, took off the hardware, and then took the doors & drawers out to the deck to start sanding. Now like I said - painting is not my favorite thing in the world these days but can I say that actually sanding is truly NOT my favorite thing in the world these days! Sanding those darn doors and the cabinets to prep them for the paint was laborious. But once you start a darn project like this you truly don't have any choice but to finish it. It took all day and my husband had a set of raised eyebrows when he came home that night for he could not see the "grand vision" that I had of what my new kitchen would look like once completed, but at the end of the day - I was excited and loving how it was beginning to take shape.

Jessie was supposed to help me complete the kitchen but with all the excitement of how cool it was turning out she was eager to start in on her own project (we'd purchased paint for her to redo her own room). So long story short - she ditched me so she could head up to her own room to get busy painting and redecorating it. Thus leaving me to my own nightmare the next day - sad day!

Of course that meant emptying the cabinets, removing the doors, and the hardware and then sanding everything down. Now on the upper cabinets since they were going to be lighter I chose to paint the brown into all the crevasses so that I could distress the cabinets after I was through painting and reveal the dark spots on all the edges. This step took a little longer to complete than I had thought but the end result was worth it!

Once all the cabinet doors were hung and hardware was back in place I pulled out my cute little Close To My Heart sanding block and went to work on all the edges - sanding and distressing yet once again, but this time with purpose. The result is a beautiful effect that makes the cabinets just pop!

Now, I know that Home Depot makes their money because they know all of us "home improvement buffs" who think we can do it ourselves will have to come back and forth to their store a billion times to get "one more thing" and so it was with this project - we'd miscalculate how many hinges we needed to replace or knobs or wow - now that the cabinets are done - we need to fix the lighting in here - the list goes on and on doesn't it? So after you've signed your life away to slavery in order to pay off your dept to Home Depot your work is complete and you can now enjoy the labors of your hands.

I love how the kitchen cabinets came out - it makes me so happy to be in my kitchen now that it's completed. Who'd have thunk that I could have painted my cabinets and actually have them turn out?

I need some Ketchup and how fast!

2010-03-16T10:17:00.000-07:00

Man oh man, life happened and then it happened again! I thought I would be so good and would be a postin fool but I had to eat my words because I posted and then disappeared. If anyone is still out there a readin' my slop you are truly my friends who have stuck around and waited so patiently for me to get my ketchup a going. Thank you!

Let's see how much I can cram into this one bitty posting...

Where I left off last - oh ya - I'd headed out to California last year for Leadership. I stayed a few days with my dad and visited my grandma while I was there as well.

Can I just say that it was sweet visit with my grandma? I over heard her saying her morning prayers one day and was so touched as she sat on the edge of her bed with her head bowed praying to be "a better mother, grandmother and friend". I thought of my own life and was I praying to be "a better wife, mother and friend"? As my dear friend Cheryl would say: A small "spoonful of the gospel" was fed to me that morning and I have tried to take note and follow the example that was shown me.

After my visit I headed off to my Leadership conference. Convention and Leadership are the highlights of the year - so much fun!!! I get to see my dear friends, see all the new products and make a few crafts - it's just the best! We get spoiled with gifts and the food is amazing! This year we had the most decadent chocolate desert - it was just chocolate death to die for!

But alas all good things come to an end and before I knew it it was time to head back home. While it is always good to be home I knew that I would not be home for long and that my life would soon be changing. For if you remember, my oldest daughter Kara was accepted to BYU and would be heading off for college within just a few weeks of my return from Leadership. Getting her ready to head off to college was a hoot! We took several shopping trips to buy groceries and much needed items for her dorm room - packing it all into the car was the trick and boy did we pack it in there! We set off early in the morning as we planned to make the trip in one day. Can I just say that I do not enjoy the drive to Utah from where we live? It is just so boring and much of it you just see dirt blowing around. One thing that I did though enjoy was that we were able to spot so many temples along the way. So many have been built since I last made this trip via car and I'd not realized just how many stood out like beacons on the hilltops. Truly a magnificent sight to behold!
We spent the week at my aunts house while we got Kara set up in her dorm room, with her new orthodontist etc. It was a great week until it was time to come home. I actually was pretty proud of myself for keeping it together and not bawling my head off as we left Kara at the Y - and I probably would have done just fine but as we headed out that morning for home I looked in the rear view mirror and noticed how empty the car was now and Jessie chimed in "just think in another couple of years we'll be doing this for me too" and that was it - I just started bawling and I cried off and on again the rest of the ride home.
Of course life goes on and we learn to pick ourselves back up and keep moving as the pioneers did long ago. But the pain I feel for the loss of my child - knowing full well that she's still here but she's just not HERE - that pain is real. I knew that college would be the best experience for her and that it would stretch her and help her to become the wonderful woman that she is destined to become. That bright hope is the light at the end of my dark tunnel - the thing that makes it all bearable. Knowing it is for the best and meant to be. She is missed. Not a day goes by that I don't think about her, miss her keen sense of humor or absentmindedly sent a plate for her at the table. Someday there WILL be another plate that we will have to take away for Jessie as she too will head off to college and then for Aaron - but for now I'm grateful for the comfort of seeing those plates on my dinner table each night.

Where did it go?

2010-03-16T10:01:00.000-07:00

Time. Time and I have an issue to discuss. For some reason Time and I have not been friends as of late. While I have the best of intentions to be Time's friend, Time on the other hand thinks it's fun to just slip away and run in the oposite direction! I for one think that that is NOT what a friend does. Friends don't run in the opposite direction - they stick around and hopefully SLOW down to allow their friends to catch up. But Time is selfish and unfortunately hasn't waited for me and so alas I am on my own to catch up to Time and this blog.

I hope that you will still be my friend and will wait for me as I try to catch up to Time and this blog. Hopefully Time has not abandoned you but if he has, know that I am right there with you and I will not abandon you!

Stay tuned for more updates....

Service Auction goodies!

2009-09-16T20:22:00.000-07:00

Several months ago we had a "service auction" at church. There was a list that had several "tasks" on it and if you completed X task then you got X points towards a service auction. Truly it was fun to see how many points you could accumulate during the 3 week period prior to the event. For the event you were asked to donate an item of "service" to be rendered to the winning bid (using those points that had been earned).

I had decided to donate 2 items - first was a cheesecake - something my family absolutely loves and something I feel confident in making. The second item I decided to donate was a set of 24 assorted cards. Little did I know that both of these items would be heavily bid on and fought over! It was a little embarrassing and yet very flattering at the same time I must say.

A good friend of mine won the cheesecake and while I have delivered it to her - I failed to take a picture of the beautiful "cheese pie" as my son would call it. You'll just have to take my word on the fact that it was amazing - hum...maybe I could get Deniece to give me a testimonial on it's yumminess? Nah - that would probably cause you to drool - cause um ya - it is da'bomb!

The cards were fought over - finally a gal bid every last point she had - I think they sold for like 230 points or something like that. And again - I delivered them but didn't take any pictures! LAME!

BUT - the reason that I post this now is to BRAG about what I won! I had won produce from a gal in the ward whose husband is famous for his FABULOUS garden. Truly this garden puts all other gardens to shame. The bid won me 4 weeks of produce delivery - and little did I know how amazing it would be!

Just look at all this goodness! Besides all the yummy veggies she brought she also brought me some home made onion dressing, raspberry jam, current jelly and an apple/blueberry pie! I was totally spoiled and loving every second of it. If only it could have been for another 4 more weeks!

Shhhh....it's a secret!

2009-09-16T09:25:00.000-07:00

Or rather...it WAS a secret!

I received an interesting phone call on my business line back in July - and when I say interesting, I mean INTERESTING! It was from a gal who at first sounded like a telemarketer to me, but as she rattled off this "message" I soon had to stop her and ask "excuse me, but who are you again? and what is it that you want?". Now, as far as I could figure out by this point I really don't remember her explaining this and recently I had had several telemarketers trying to get me to do some advertising with "local" businesses - and actually these salesmen were scam artists at best. So needless to say I was a bit leery of what was on the other end of this phone call.

Now, when I said this it took the woman back a bit and she stopped her rattling and with an exasperated sound coming from the other end I finally heard this gal utter her name and with a "matter of fact" voice she stated that she was from Close To My Heart, and she'd been a consultant for blah blah blah.

Anyways, long story short - she was calling around to a few consultants to ask them if they would be willing to donate a piece of "artwork" for a charity auction to be held at our Annual Leadership Conference to be held down in Long Beach California. Her details were vague at best but I agreed and hung up the phone.

It wasn't until later that night that I starting thinking about this "assignment" and realizing that I had NO CLUE as to what she was expecting from me! Quickly as I could the next morning I located a phone number for her and called her back for some further details - thankfully she was a bit nicer that morning than she'd been the night before. With a new found "direction", if you can call it that, I set out to figure out a piece of art that I could successfully accomplish in the short period of time that I had to do it in as I was leaving for California early to visit family.
Now, I had been cleaning out Aaron's room, a daunting task I must say, we were in the process of weeding out some of his old toys that of course now as a 13 year old he didn't play with. While weeding through the mess I came upon a treasure chest that he had made at scout camp and that got me to thinking...wondering, "could I possibly recreate this using our product line? and if so - would it look as cool as I envisioned it looking?"
If you know me, then you know I'm the type of person who wants things done yesterday. I have no patience for waiting. When I come up with a task or a plan I want to do it NOW! So, off I went to see if I could recreate this "masterpiece".

I must say that it took probably a couple hours to create the main box and then once it was completed I set it aside for a few days as I thought about how to finish it off with accents & lock etc. I don't know if you would call it a "work of art" but it was successful in my book and fun to realize that I COULD indeed recreate something that I had seen out of our product line.

I'm happy to say that this little treasure chest brought in $55 for Operation Smile at the auction that was held. While it's not as much as I'd hoped for - I'm grateful for what it did bring. Some lucky child will gain a new outlook on life, they'll gain a smile.

And just as the insert in the treasure chest states..."you'll find the greatest treasure changing children's lives one smile at a time".

let's start at the very beginning...

2009-09-14T19:21:00.000-07:00

A very good place to start...okay enough sound of music let's get bloggin'!

Ever have a dilemma that you don't know quite how to solve and all of a sudden it's like the windows of heaven open up and plop down the way for it to all work out? Well, that's how I'm going to begin my "catch-up" for the lost blogging time.

You see back in May I was thinking to myself...Self, how are you going to earn the points for the New Zealand trip you need to earn this summer when typically summer sales are never as high since most of the clubs stop running during the summer? While I was fretting over how to do this - the wind blew my way the "Deal-A-Day" celebration from Close to my Heart - it was the answer to my dilemma - the answer to my prayers! Here was a way that I could earn those extra points that I would need to earn!

Can I just tell you what a weight that took off my shoulders? I was truly loosing sleep each night trying to figure out what else I could possibly do to earn those points, and along came the deal and it was just relief.

Can I ever express how thankful I am for my dear clients who supported me during that month? And yes, while I know they took advantage of some amazing deals, it was truly their way as well of helping me achieve what I had set to achieve for myself.

Now, isn't it interesting how the Lord blesses your life when you least expect it? You can be going about your own business, striving to do what is right, and BAM! a blessing comes your way. It may not be a big thing either, in fact sometimes it might even go unnoticed until much later when you look back and see how your life has been blessed by X happening.

Well, something like that happened to me - in fact at the time I was excited about the whole Deal-A-Day and gave the "credit" to CTMH. But truly the credit should go someplace else.

Do you remember a few posts ago when I mentioned sharing something that I prize dearly with a friend of mine? It was a gift - a gift that would change her life for the better, a gift that if she would receive it, if she would let her heart open up to accept it - she would forever be changed. It was during this time that I was worrying, this time that the "Deal-A-Day" thing came about that I was actually spending several hours of every week going back and forth to my dear friends house while she took the missionary discussions. She was baptized in July, it was a sweet experience that I will not forget.

I'm here to clear the slate lest I seem ungrateful to the true giver of the gift. I can honestly say that I KNOW that this was a blessing given to me. Some of you are shaking your head - thinking Kim's a wack job - but it's true (not that I'm a wack job that is). I'm a firm believer that things happen for a reason. That there is no such thing as things happening by "coincidence" in life. I truly believe that we are positioned in life that we can meet up with people we were destined to meet, destined to become friends with, destined to reach out to. Have you ever found that you're life has crossed paths with someone else several times before you actually met them? I know this has happened to me on several occasions. I was meant to meet this dear friend. We were meant to have this wonderful experience together and because of this experience I know that I was directly blessed with what I was in need of during that time frame. You may see it differently but I will stand firm on the ground that it was a blessing.

Can I just say how thankful I am for a loving Heavenly Father who knows me? Who loves me? Who blesses my life with the things I am in need of. Sometimes it's a temporal blessing, sometimes it's something oh so much more valuable than something temporal. But nonetheless He blesses me. More importantly, I KNOW that He blesses you too! You may need to take a step back, and analyze your footsteps, but I'm sure if you do this that you will find His footsteps along your path much of the way.

That to me is a very good place to start...

Is she out of words or what?!

2009-09-14T16:12:00.000-07:00

While this blog has been naggin' me to come back and type away, my life just has not cooperated much to allow me to do that. Too many things to go into with one blog entry so lucky you (or poor you depending on how you view my blogging style) - I'll have SEVERAL blog entries coming your way soon to get you all caught up! LOL

So lest you think that I'm "out of words" I thought I'd better post something quick -like right now - but if you are out there....with in the sound of my typed words...then stay tuned as I WILL be a "postin' freak" over the next few weeks as I get you all caught up "in the words of Kim".

And the WINNERS are.....

2009-07-01T21:37:00.000-07:00

During this past month of the Close To My Heart Deal-a-Day there have been some AMAZING deals to be had, but the fun doesn't end until the drawing is held...as promised I held a drawing for $25 in CTMH products. Now at the beginning I had planned to draw for one person to receive this fun bonus but there has been such a HUGE response to this amazing special that I've decided to draw FIVE names out instead of just one! As a reminder to have your name entered all you needed to do was place an order for Deal-a-Day on my website this month. For each order placed on my website for Deal-a-Day your name was entered. So if you placed several orders this month then your name went in each time. Below is a list of the winners for my drawing...one of them will actually win $50 in product! If you see your name below - email me your wish list of products - up to $25 worth - if you go over you can pay the difference no problem.

CONGRATULATIONS to:

Laurie Jorgensen
Dana Nyman
Deniece Gates
Melissa Shea

Thank you to each and every one of you who ordered on my website this month - I hope you enjoy the "deals" you all received this month.

Want more? Leave a note here, join as a follower & I'll email you a special coupon sheet with deals exclusively for July!

I'm full of it...

2009-06-25T09:20:00.000-07:00

We have a day once a year that we've set aside to give "thanks", but do we really have to wait until that time of year to recognize all the wonderful blessings we have in our lives? My soul is bursting with gratitude this morning and I hope you will indulge me as I share just a few of the things that I am so thankful for with you, and if you have things that you are thankful for maybe your heart will begin to burst too!

Strong Faith... I absolutely know that it is the foundation of who I am and it gives me the legs to walk through this life of trials and yet stand strong through it all. I absolutely love the saying "enjoy to the end" and I truly believe that by living gospel principles we are able to do just that. It brings everything into focus and gives direction to our lives. For this I am thankful. What a blessing it is to know WHO I am, WHERE I came from, and WHERE I am going. What the PURPOSE of life is and how to find true HAPPINESS. Why wouldn't one want to know these things? AND more importantly, when you KNOW them, why wouldn't you want to share it?

Family...need I say more? Our families buoy us through the storm and make life worth living. How truly thankful I am for my family. What a wonderful blessing my husband and children are to me. Loving someone changes your life. Life no longer is about you - it's about them. I don't know what I did to deserve them, I am truly honored to have them in my life.

Friends....I can't leave out my friends. These dear people who stand beside me and hold my hand through life. Who love me in spite of me. Who add the hot fudge and roasted almonds to my pistachio flavor which I exhibit. What would my life be like without them in it? Truly empty! Thank you my friends. Thank you for loving me, for laughing with me, and for giving me a shoulder to cry on when I need it.

Sharing is another thing I am thankful for...have you ever had something that has meant so much to you and you just want to share it with everyone so that others can have what you have? Some will nod their heads in a yes and others may feel more greedy and want to keep their "prize" to themselves. BUT truly, when you share something that you love with another, magic happens. It's that gift that warms your heart as you bring joy into the life of someone else. I've had this type of opportunity recently, I've had the opportunity to share something very dear to my heart with a wonderful friend. Sharing this has brought me great joy! Knowing that if she accepts this gift it will change her life FOREVER is something that cannot be expressed in words alone.

Close To My Heart...Who would have thunk it? Who would have guessed that it would have brought me so many great blessings? I joined CTMH just to get a discount and NEVER imagined that it would bring into my life so much much more. Being a consultant has obviously had it's monetary rewards for my family, including the wonderful trips we've been able to attend. But it's so much more than that. It has brought many wonderful people into my life, people who have become dear friends. We have shared many precious moments together as we've discussed their families, their hopes & dreams and sometimes their beliefs. Close To My Heart is a "feel good" business and it's a family that is warm and welcoming. May sound funny to some of you, but until you have experienced it you will never know. It truly is more than just stamps!

My list could go on and on...and I hope yours does too. Yes, I realize it's not Thanksgiving today, yet my heart is full of it today, full of gratitude that is, is yours?

Time heals all wounds...

2009-06-16T21:57:00.000-07:00

It's hard to believe that is true...but it is. Time heals all wounds. At the point of hurt though it seems like nothing will ever be the same again.

Today my daughters heart is heavy, as time goes on she will mend, but for now she hurts. Breaking up with your boyfriend is never easy to do, but it was the right thing to do and it was time.

Now, I need to say here that her boyfriend is a great guy. There truly wasn't anything "wrong" with him, and so to some this may seem crazy to do, but for Kara it was the right time to do it. Both of them knew going into this relationship that this time would come, but that doesn't make it any easier. Nonetheless, he is a great young man and while his heart is also sad at this time, he too will heal with time and he will one day realize that this was a good thing. Let me explain a bit more...

You see he is going to be leaving soon to serve a full time mission for our church, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. He will need to focus all of his thoughts towards those with whom he will be called to serve. There will be no room for girlfriends in his thoughts. That's just the way it should be too. He will leave a boy but will return a man. As he serves others & his Heavenly Father he will truly find out who he is and what he is made of. It will be the hardest thing he will have to do and yet the best thing he will ever do all at the same time.

Plus, Kara will be leaving for school soon, and she too needs to be focused on school but more importantly right now for her - she needs to have the freedom to date if the opprotunity arrises. Two years is a long time to wait for someone, especially as young as they are. Lots of things can happen in two years. That said, I am in NO HURRY to marry off my daughter, so I truly hope she is still single in two years and enjoying college.

While it's hard for this to end it was the right thing and at the right time. These past few months they've become the best of friends. They've shared many good times, laughed and cried together. They've shared their thoughts and dreams of life and have known what it's like to love and be loved. They will both heal and while it doesn't feel like it now, it WILL be okay when all is said and done. Who knows what life will bring their way only time will tell.

If you see a happy face....

2009-06-09T23:58:00.000-07:00

In a few days Jessie will be turning sixteen. Truly - I think I could leave it at that as you know what that means. Sixteen is the "magical" age where you are allowed to date in our house, but more importantly (I know - more important that BOYS? hard to believe eh?) is that you can get your drivers license.

Now, here in Washington State you have to take drivers education and it is NOT done through the high schools like it was when I was young. Too bad too as it is VERY costly to take this class. Last year I searched high and low for the "best priced" drivers ed program and found a place up in Smokey Point where she could take the class. Only problem was she didn't have any friends who also wanted to take the class with her - so she was on her own. Now, to a teenage this sucks, but as a parent I was thinking "WOOHOO"! Jessie is my socialite and I figured that if she had a friend in the class then she would be a "chatty Patty" and not learn a dang thing for my $300+ that I was spending on this class.

Now - why on earth we feel it is worth it to spend that amount of money on a drivers ed class only to then turn around and pay for the kids to have a license, gas for a car, and not to mention the astronomical cost of insuring a teen is something up for debate! Is it truly worth all the cost we go through to have the freedom of not having to drive your kids everywhere, and to be able to have them run quick errands for you? To me? Why yes, yes it is! I truly was elated when Kara got her license and could drive her sister to seminary. It was then that I figured out that by the time Kara went off to college that Jessie would be driving - thus no seminary runs for me again - and it was only when I started to figure out Aaron that I saw my flaw in the birth of my children. When Jessie graduates, Aaron will have 4 months where he will not be old enough to drive - meaning - I'm going to have to drive to seminary again! YIKES! What was I thinking?! I so should have timed that better!

Okay - back to my topic...

So, Jessie has completed drivers ed and went last week to take her written test for driving (which she passed - yeah Jessie!) - when we went up to the desk afterwards the lady asked "do you want to take your driving test today as well?" and I looked over at Jessie who was frozen in her tracks and scared to death nodding no as fast as her little head could nod. That day we had driven the durango which Jessie had not practiced parralel parking with or backing around a corner with - so we opted to set up an appointment to come back so she could use the "kid car" which right now is being called "Kara's car". We let her call it that but she realizes that when she goes to college the car stays - she can visit it when she comes home but it is not her car.

Every day since Jessie took that written test last week has been spent practicing the darned parrelel parking & backing around a corner. Over and over we did this until finally the day of the test came (today!). I got Jessie out of school early and we headed up for the DOL - when we got there we were early - and I thought we'd have to wait forever - but low and behold the guy came to the car 30 minutes early! I thought Jessie was going to faint but she didn't - she actually did very well! Off she went with Mr. DOL and before I knew it she was back with the blessed yellow slip in hand (that's the magical slip that says you passed) - Jessie tried to fake a sad face but she couldn't hide that smile that was beaming from her happy face.

She'd passed her test - passed it! Woohoo - what a happy moment it was. Now we wait for that final moment when she actually turns 16!

It happened in a blink...

2009-06-05T22:17:00.000-07:00

Where does the time go to? It seems like yesterday that I brought you home from the hospital. So tiny. So pure, and precious. I remember counting your toes and loving your little furrowed brow. If I close my eyes and think for a moment I can still smell the sweet smell of your hair - apricots - it smelled like apricots. Long gone are those days when I would cradle you close in my arms each night and sing softly the words "teach me to walk in the light of His love, teach me to pray to my Father above....", yet while they are long gone they are not forgotten. My throat feels the hint of soreness and my eyes well up with tears as I think of those sweet moments that are now gone, but which the memory of is burned into my very being.

I remember when I used to look at people back then, people who were...gulp...my age that I am now, people who had "older" children, who had "freedom", who didn't have diaper bags and car seats. I would dream of the day when that would be my life - "oh, how sweet it would be" I would think to myself. Little did I know then that I would look back once I got here and long for those days when my children were young again. Why is it that we can't cherish the moments we are in when we are in them? Why do we always feel the need to hurry through life? Life should be enjoyed. EVERY LAST MINUTE OF IT - it just goes to fast and we shouldn't miss any part of it. Oh what I wouldn't give to have just one more tender moment where I could cradle you close Kara and sing to you once more as you nuzzled your small precious head close to mine.

Tonight Kara graduated from high school. I have dreaded and be moaned this day for the past 4 years and yet awaited it eagerly. It's a "bittersweet" moment for sure. While I'm so very proud of her, what she has accomplished in her life and the beautiful young woman she has become, and excited to see what will come next as she enters this new phase of adulthood, I can't help but be sad at the same time. I'm going to miss this beautiful girl and am going to long to hear her voice and see her smile.

Where does the time go to? It seems like yesterday you were a young girl learning to walk, then ride a bike, and heading off to the first day of school. I blinked and 17 1/2 years have flown by - you've grown up and are finished with those childhood things. Your a young adult who is ready to start off on a new chapter of her life. Enjoy this new chapter Kara because before you know it you'll blink and it will be done. You'll wonder what happened and it will seem like a dream. Then it will sink in just how fast our time here on earth really is....it's just a blink of an eye. Enjoy it Kara, treasure it, love it, live it. I love you!

Label: Public Enemy #1 - Loud & Obnoxious

2009-06-04T06:53:00.000-07:00

Even as I sit here now trying to type this...I'm not quite sure what to say. In life, we all know that there will be times when we will meet people who will for whatever reason just not "like" us, but even though you may have that knowledge it doesn't help soothe the wound when it hits.

I realize that I am an acquired taste - a taste that isn't for everyone. Truly I know that. In life you will find people of all sorts of flavors. Some are vanilla, some are chocolate, or strawberry. Me? Well, I'm pistachio! lol While it's wonderful to me - it's not for everyone. Aren't we all supposed to be different to a degree? How boring it would be if we were all exactly the same? But nonetheless, I know that not everyone will "get" that I'm truly just like everyone else, goofy one moment, serious the next, excited about life, needing acceptance and wanting a friend.

Some days I am my own worst enemy. Does that ever happen to you? Hard as I try - the words just don't come out right, and I come off sounding like a total goof or heaven forbid at times - rude (which truly I try so hard not to do - but at times I will admit I have "footinmouthitis"). Both of these though can be detrimental to friendship. Those who love you will overlook your goofiness and realize it is only a temporary lapse of brainpower and that soon you'll be back to normal. Those who don't, will write you off as a idiot. Those who love you will forgive your ailment of "footinmouthitis" and realize that you TRULY didn't mean it the way it came out because they will KNOW the intent of your heart and that it is good. Others will think the worst of you and worst yet, will always think you are a horrible person when truly you aren't, you just had a moment of "footinmouthitis". But then - maybe I'm the only one with that disease at times eh? I'm a pretty open person and I do tend to wear my emotions on my sleeve. While it can be a good trait at times it can also be a curse. You will never have to guess how I'm feeling as it is normally pretty evident with me. Being an open person though leaves you very vulnerable - as you can easily be hurt by oncoming labels or cross blows of glares.

When I was naming my blog, I was torn as to what to call it. It didn't want it to be just for business or just my family stories etc - I wanted to have a place where I could just be open, be myself - a place where I could express myself not only creatively but also emotionally - sort of a what makes Kim tick sort of spot. My sister Rebecca actually came up with the name "Kim is a card" which of course it is a play on words since I make cards & I'm also a goof - I love to make people smile. There is a saying Laughter soothes the soul. It brightens your life and makes the worldly cares of your heart fade away. There is a saying by Mary H. Waldrip that states: "A laugh is a smile that bursts" - I LOVE this saying. We need more smiles so they can burst. Life is to be enjoyed not just endured. Abraham Lincoln stated "most people are as happy as they make up their minds to be". I've used this saying many times in my life with my children when life has gotten them down, it's followed by "choose happiness". I truly do believe we can choose to be happy in life - it's up to us.

Anyways, today my heart is heavy and saddened. Try as I might my eyes aren't smiling and so neither is my mouth and I'm afraid I might not get that smile which would then burst into a laugh at all today. I'll get over it, the pain will lapse and a new day will bring new friends into my life but for today I am sad. I'm saddened by what could have been. By the friendship that is now lost, and the labels that seem to have been attached now to my forehead. Soon the super glue power will fade, and the labels will fall off. My wounds will heal and yes, I will make new friends. But, deep down I know that there will always be that feeling of loss. The wonder of what could have been a great friendship if only they could have over looked whatever moment it was that made them turn away.

I love the part in the movie "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" when the dad is toasting the bride and groom and he explains the meaning of both of the family's last names and how one means apple and the other orange. He says "while we are both different on the outside, we are basically the same - both fruits". Truly, this statement is true. We are all pretty much the same on the inside - even though I am pistachio - on the outside - on the inside I'm just a vanilla, chocolate or strawberry. I have the same feelings, hopes, dreams , aspirations, longings and beliefs.

Easy Road or Right Road?

2009-05-23T08:39:00.000-07:00

You know, almost everyday we are given the opportunity to make a choice, sometimes it's multiple times in one day but nonetheless we most often get the chance to make a choice at least once a day. The choices I'm speaking of are the choice to take the "easy" road or the "right" road - which in some cases is the harder road to go.

Now, this might hit a sore spot with some as it touches us deep with in as to what our foundation truly is - are we the sort who "glide" through life - taking the "easy" road, the one that takes the least effort, rarely cause us embarrassment, or allows us to blend into the crowd as much as possible? Or do we take the "right" road, which may make us seem different, may cause some embarrassment at times as we make that step out of our comfort zone and which almost ALWAYS takes more effort?

Our choice we make could be minor, such as whether to sit at the computer all day or whether to do our exercises or get the laundry done. While yes, there are consequences for not getting the laundry done or for sitting on the computer all day - they aren't HUGE in life,unless you do this everyday - then at some point you WILL become a Jello-Head and WILL start to stink and NOT FIT any of your clothes because you've not done the wash and haven't taken care of working off those darn peanut M&M's you seem to love. (-;

Other choices carry a little more weight, still not earth shattering but nonetheless tell us the kind of person that we are.

Recently my sister and I went to lunch at a relatively new place here in Marysville. She had visited there previously and raved about it's yumminess, so of course I wanted to go too! While there had been other patrons there when we first arrived - soon we found ourselves all alone. Now, whether this means anything or not we will see - but I want to set the tone for the moment. Anyways, as we were sitting there finishing up our lunch, an "older" woman came in - now I say older but truly she was probably 10 years older than me - maybe - or maybe she'd just had a harder life who knows - but anyways, she was wearing one of those rather short sundresses - you know the ones; the ones that have the slip under them and then an organza type pattern piece that flows over them? Now, she was not a...how should I say this kindly? She was not a small woman, but not a large woman either, but truly the dress wasn't probably the best choice for her that day. As she entered she walked up to place her order and out of the corner of my eye I noticed something that made me gasp. Her "slip" that was to cover her (backside and all) was stuck up in the back - well you can guess by what. To be honest it did make me gasp and I mentioned it to my sister. We both sat there for a moment and giggled, thinking "glad that's not me" - but then it hit me, if it were me, I hope someone would tell me, yes, I would be embarrassed for a moment but I would be so grateful to that person for telling me. I pondered that, struggled with that for what seemed like forever but truly was only a few moments - how would this woman receive me - would she be embarrassed that I'd said something to her? It would require me to definitely step out of my comfort zone to get up from my lunch and go over to her and say something. As she moved along the isle telling the servers behind the counter what she wanted I kept thinking - "if it were me...." - finally I could take it no longer, what if someone else walked in and saw, what if she was going out to meet up with friends or was headed back to work (which I don't know who wears a sundress like that to work but who knows - what if?) anyways, I mustered up the courage, and up I went to tell her - instantly she turned around so her back side was to the counter and with much chagrin she thanked me for telling her, made the necessary adjustments to said slip, and back I went to my seat. I was glad that I'd finally gotten up the courage to tell her, she finished her order and on the way out thanked me again, but as I sat there and as I've pondered that moment since, I can't help but be bothered by the fact that it took me a little bit to get up and go over and say something. Why didn't I jump up at the first notice? Would I have done anything differently if there HAD been other people still in that restaurant and we hadn't been alone when she entered. Would I have even noticed? While it was the "right" road to take - it would have been the better road if I had gone up a little faster to tell her rather than talk myself into it. I thought at the time it was hard - but truly it wasn't that hard. Yes, it was a little uncomfortable but truly when you think of it - isn't that when we truly grow in life? When things get a little uncomfortable we have to stretch and we grow right?

Life is a test. Are we cheating and taking the "easy" road or are we truly being tested by taking the "right" road, the harder road at times. While some say life is to be endured, truly I feel life is to be enjoyed. We can do that more fully when we take the "right" road, as it is then and only then that we can hold our heads high knowing we've passed the test without cheating. There will be choices we will be faced with at times in our lives that will be "earth shattering", they WILL point our lives in one direction or in another. I think our little daily choices help us to stay on the straight and narrow path which of course will bring us the most happiness in life. By making the "right" choice in the little choices we make, we will find it easier to make the "right" choice in those that are harder, life changing choices that will come our way.

What kind of a person are you? Do you glide through life taking the "easy" road or do you take the "right" road, the road that makes you stretch? How are you teaching your kids to seek that "right" road? Tell me about it - maybe together we can all grow from this.

Simple Snapshots Workshop

2009-05-14T14:27:00.000-07:00

This is my latest workshop - it's featuring our 9x9 Simple Snapshots. These are normally for making easy scrapbook pages, but I saw another consultant use them to make cards and thought...hum..how can I "improve" upon that idea? I made a few alterations to make it work for ME and here you go - Faster, Simpler, Easier cards - cards you can make SUPER fast - which are simple but have an elegant touch to them.

I'm excited to offer this workshop, as times are tough, money is tight and so is time. These cards are so stinkin' easy to make, you'll easily be able to complete all 24 of them in less than an hour. Plus they are WAY affordable - how's $25 for 24 cards sound?With envelopes!

PLUS, I'm going to be offering a simple card organizer for just $5 more that will hold a dozen of these cute little cards - making it a perfect gift for under $18 (12 cards $12.50 + $5 for the holder) who can beat that?!

I'm offering it in Silhouette (shown above and next to me here), Let's Get Together (also shown above), Free Spirit, Moon Doggie, Sweet Pea, Rough N Tumble, Perfect Day & That's Amore.

This workshop will run May 30th from 9am - noon and then again that evening from 7pm - 10pm and then again on June 2nd 9am -noon and 7pm - 10pm.

Come join the fun...make a few cards for someone you'd like to celebrate life's moments with, because we all have "moments 2 celebrate"!

Look for details on my website - hurry to sign up as space is limited!

She wore the "perfect" dress.....

2009-05-12T13:38:00.000-07:00

Prom night...an event that teenage girls dream about from the time they enter middle school. It's something that comes for many of us just once in a life time(unless you are my sister who went to three different proms in 3 weeks! lol), and for some of us not at all.

This last weekend was the MPHS prom night - a night long awaited in the Lohberg household. We'd spent the time searching for the "perfect" dress - which I'm happy to post a picture of now - isn't it cute?! While it might not be every one's "perfect" dress, it was the "perfect" dress for Kara. The colors were just amazing and she just glowed in it.

We spent the day getting manicures & pedicures, making her "one of a kind" jewelry to match her outfit, fixing hair, picking up the boutonniere etc.

At long last it was time for him to pick her up. I'd given him a hard time about taking some photos before they left so he showed up a little early just for me to do that - smart boy!

Then they were off to take group photos over at the park by his folks home. We of course followed behind so we could take more shots! lol - I was glad to arrive and find ALL of the other parents there as well to take pictures of their children - so we weren't the ONLY freaks to be paparazzi-ing the kids.

They took it all in stride and seemed to have a blast while doing it as well. I mean just check out these "cool" shades! Kara and Barry both work at the local theatre that had recently shown a 3-D movie - pop out the crazy lenses and voila - you've got fun, funky glasses! Of course they thought it was hilarious to wear these cool shades during the group photos - not sure how all the other parents felt - but personally I was on the "that's hilarious" side!

Right after prom comes graduation - it's the signal that high school life is coming to a close and before you know these two will find themselves starting new adventures. Barry will soon be off to serve a full time mission for our church and Kara will be heading off to BYU in the fall.

Soon they will leave their childhood life behind, and embrace adulthood.

While, I'm sad to see her leave our home, I can't help but be excited for her to experience life and all it has to offer.

How grateful I am to have had these special years with her. How I will long to spend every second that she will be willing to share with me as she will now have a busy life of her own.

Yes, prom may be over and graduation just a blink away but the memories are locked up tight in my heart and are here to stay.

Recipe Book....

2009-04-22T20:13:00.000-07:00

Okay - so I mentioned a few posts back that I would be posting the recipe book that I was working on. It will be featured in a workshop on May 7th, 8th & 9th and the cost will be $18 to make it. While it's not meant to hold EVERY recipe you've ever made - it will hold several of your favorites. It would make a great gift for a newlywed, college student, friend or for yourself to house those family favorites. Here's a picture of the cover of it - you can email me for more details or visit my website: stampnscrapkim.myctmh.com

Finding the PERFECT dress...

2009-04-22T07:46:00.000-07:00

There are a few times in your life where finding that perfect dress means everything. As a baby, our mothers search for the "perfect dress" for us to be blessed in. I remember making a blessing gown for Kara when she was a baby out of material from my wedding gown.

When you're 8, sometimes you search for the "perfect dress" to be baptized in (of course my girls never had that option as our stakes always had jumpers they wore but nonetheless this is about dresses - and that is a time you find the perfect dress as well).

When your Kara's age, your "perfect dress" is for prom and that is the "perfect dress" I want to talk about today.

I never went to prom when I was Kara's age, my sisters ALL went to proms - in fact, some went to SEVERAL proms, I believe it was my sister Laurzia who went to 3 proms in 3 weeks! But alas, no prom for scary old me, so I never did the prom dress shopping as a youth. Needless to say I was a little excited to take Kara out to find the perfect dress.

We figured out that Monday would work for both of our schedules and so after doing a little internet shopping & investigation of local shops, I found a few places within 25 miles that we could visit.

Kara came home from school, grabbed a snack and off we went. It was such a beautiful day, the sun was shining (which for Washington is amazing) and it was just the kind of day that makes you want to rejoice in nature - live outdoors, hit the beach, take a long drive - anything that would allow you to soak in the warmth and beauty that surrounded you. Of course, we were dress shopping and that's unfortunately an "indoor" activity, but as we drove in the car that afternoon I was in heaven at the fact that I needed sunglasses.

Anyways, we first went to a little shop in Snohomish and spent what seemed like hours trying on dresses, it was actually only a little over an hour but hey when you're locked in a little space with a sea of poofy dresses it can seem like an eternity. One major problem when shopping for the "perfect dress" is that there are NOT very many dresses that are modest, in fact almost ALL the dresses we saw were extremely immodest, and we all know that "modest is the hottest," so we knew that we were probably going to have to find something and then alter it in some way to make it work. Well we found a dress, and while it was pretty - and it looked nice on Kara - you could tell that it just wasn't THE dress. We did however put it on hold and thought we would try another place just to see, and then if we couldn't find anything at least we had it to go back to. So, on went the sunglasses (OH YA BABY!) - and into the sunshine we went again in search of the "perfect dress."

Our little adventure took us next to Lynnwood to David's Bridal. Instantly we spotted this quirky dress in the window as we approached the store and Kara sort of lit up, I on the other hand was a little surprised that she like it. We went inside and started to pull dresses, one by one off the rack and had them placed in a fitting room for her to try on. Just for fun Kara thought she would try on the quirky dress we had seen in the window, we found out that there were only 3 of those dresses in the whole store, the one on the mannequin, and two on the rack, one a size 2 and one just Kara's size, so we pulled it off the rack and off to the fitting room we went.

Now anyone who's been shopping for a wedding dress knows how you just feel like a princess when you are trying on those beautiful gowns - and they place you on a pedestal with mirrors all around, and when you have a dress that isn't right - the mirrors are BRUTALLY honest, but when you've found just the "perfect dress" it is a thing of beauty to behold, am I right?

Dress after dress she tried on, until finally she put on that quirky dress we'd seen in the window. Her face just lit up and we knew that she'd found the "perfect dress" - a dress made just for her. She just glowed in it and truly it is an amazing dress. Unlike any dress I've ever seen, to be honest. Here's a little peek at the fabric:

Of course it needs a little doctoring to make it modest enough - so off to the mall we went in search of the perfect shrug, lol, we walked through the mall, searched through a few stores and found a shrug we thought was a color that would match, so we bought it and headed back to David's Bridal to see the two together.

Kara tried the dress on again and put on the shrug - it was just PERFECT. The whole package was vavavoom fabulous I must say. She looked absolutely beautiful and radiant.

So, 5 hours of shopping on a sunny day, a few hundred dollars, but a priceless moment between a mother and daughter that won't be forgotten, it will be treasured in my heart for years to come.

What happened to my little girl? She's grown up in the blink of an eye, and has become a beautiful woman. Someday, in the not too distant future, we will head out yet again in search of the "perfect dress," and it won't be for a prom, it will be the dress she will wear on her wedding day. Time, it just goes too fast.

She's been MIA.....

2009-04-15T18:58:00.000-07:00

Okay - so I've been a little MIA the past few weeks...what can I say - life happens and it has been happening! LOL

First off - we spent a week in Washington D.C. for spring break. Sharon, my dad's wife wanted to take the kids there and I got to go along too - yeah me! While it is fun to get away, the end result is you have to return and then get back into the swing of things - which is my next saga...

So - we head home to be met at the airport by Jeff who is flying out that very day to see his folks in Arizona. Quick kiss at baggage claim and he was off while we waited for luggage to arrive. What was to be a 3 day trip for him turned into a LONG week as his father had some medical issues the night before he was to leave and ended up in the hospital. So, needless to say not a great trip for him.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch (aka home), I was madly trying to catch up on business that needed to be attended to, with the monthly clubs & now workshops that I'm throwing into the loop, plus hair appointments I keep pretty busy.

Anyways, I'm here now, been a little frazzled but here. So - I thought I would post something that we did in the technique club this month. This is a card we did which uses the technique of Masking.

I love my technique clubs - they meet monthly and we learn a new technique every month. We also make an instruction sheet that they can refer back to so they can remember how to do it later.

If you'd be interested in joining a technique club, let me know - there's always room!

Anyways, that's a little of what Kim's been up to - while she was MIA, she has been found and she promises to post on here again real soon - watch for my creative cube to be posted soon & then right after that I'll post a cute recipe book - both of these will be featured in upcoming workshops in May - watch for details to post soon!

And remember...Whoooo loves you? That would be me baby!

Keeping the memories alive...

2009-03-23T16:31:00.000-07:00

We all take pictures so that we will "remember" those special times in our lives that we hope to never forget, but oft times those precious moments get stuck in a drawer or in a box up on a shelf in the closet. They are tucked away neatly in an envelope, with the promise to someday look at them again. How sad is that?

While we don't need to scrapbook every photo we ever take - we should scrapbook the photos that speak to our hearts. You know the ones I'm talking about, they are the photos that bring a smile to your face, or a tear to your eye, and bring you right back to that moment that you had originally taken that photo.

This past fall we had the opportunity to take a trip to Europe as a family. It was an amazing trip that I was able to earn as a consultant for Close To My Heart and because of my fabulous clients & friends. It is a trip that we will not soon forget or at least that's what it feels like now. But I know deep down that in order for us to keep these memories fresh and alive I must scrapbook some of those wonderful moments.

We were fortunate enough to be able to spend a few days in London, we'd specifically taken our family there so that we could visit the London LDS Temple while there. This trek to the temple touched our hearts and set the tone for what would become an amazing trip to be treasured forever. If I haven't already shared the details with you - ask me sometime!

I've recently created a little acrylic album of our trip to Europe that I'm really excited to share with you. I absolutely LOVE these little albums and thoroughly enjoyed creating it. I will be featuring this as a workshop the end of April, if you would like to come - check out my website: stampnscrapkim.myctmh.com and look under the calendar for the month of April for details.

This was taken in Ville'franche - what an cute little town - I could LIVE there for sure!

This is London - the train became our best friend & the temple was so beautiful!

This area features some of the ports we went to like Malta, Rome, Florence and of course Ville'franche!

Not sure if you can see this - but there is a half page in there that I've attached the journaling to - you can then view the photo from behind since it's acrylic.

There is a half circle page here....

and then another half page overlay that I've added journaling to...

While it is not meant to "house" all my memories of this once in a life time trip - it spotlights our adventure and will make a fun little table book to keep those memories alive for years to come.

What special memories do you need to preserve and what are you doing to keep them alive?

It's in our very nature....

2009-03-22T08:30:00.000-07:00

Why do we create? What is it that makes us look for "creative outlooks"? This is something that I've pondered many times in my life. I know some will say "I'm not creative" and to that I say BONK! I KNOW deep down that EVERYONE can create - it's just a matter of developing that talent - a talent that we as women all share. But WHY do we have this urge to create? What is it that gives us such satisfaction when we do create something?

While visiting a blog that I follow recently, I found the following video clip. It had been posted on YouTube as well, and has been made from a talk that was recently given by President Dieter F. Uchtdorf, a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. While I do not wish to use this space to preach about my religion - it goes without saying that my religion is very much a big part of who I am, and I would be remiss if I did not share this with you now as I feel it answers the questions that I have posed above. Take a second to watch it...

The post that I follow listed the following words - I want you to THINK about these words for a moment next time you think you are not creative:

Improve

Beautify Extend

Smile
Cultivate Develop

Create

It's true, we can't help but create, it's in our very nature, it's who we are, it's what defines us.....

Don't forget....

2009-03-17T10:22:00.000-07:00

I'm a list maker. I LOVE to make lists. I LOVE even more to cross things off my list! Yes, I am a red pen / crosser-offer (is that even a word? if not it is now) addict. I too am a slacker (see previous posts) - I will admit it openly and freely. I have the best of intentions but often just plain forget things (maybe that's because I'm "old" or maybe the kids did it to me - can I blame them?). If you are like me (which I am not saying any of your are freaks like me) but if you ARE like me - then you might be a little forgetful too sometimes. Anyways, I saw this cute message center a few months ago and thought it would make for a fun workshop so I finally got around to making one.

I will be featuring this project in a workshop April 10th - you can check out the details on my website or leave a comment below if you'd like to make one too.

It's an easy project to make - I've got several paper colors you could choose from - this one just fits me. Make one for yourself or make one for a gift for someone you love so that they can get the much needed "help" they need to remember! You may even get a thank you note out of it, that is if they remember to mail it.

that's it for today - I'm going to whip out my red pen and check off my list - blog posted! over and out.

Kim's first GIVEAWAY...

2009-03-14T21:29:00.000-07:00

Okay, so I'm getting sucked in.....a few of my friends are doing sort of a "Pay it Forward" giveaway. Of course after reading their blogs on this I thought it would be a good idea to join in on the fun!

I figure, if there is ANYONE ACTUALLY reading my blog then maybe you would join in as well on this fun experiment. If no one is reading my blog then I'm off the hook to do anything! LOL

So here's the scoop (on my end):

The first 10 people to respond to this post will get something made by me! My choice. For YOU!

This offer does have some restrictions and limitations:
1. I make no guarantees that you will like what I make!
2. What I create will be just for you.
3. It'll be done this year. Hopefully sooner than later.
4. You have no clue what it's going to be...well, you may have a clue as I'm a paper crafter so - it will probably involve a little paper & some inking in some way!
5. I reserve the right to do something extremely strange. Okay, that sounds frightening - I promise it will not be strange.

The catch? Oh, the catch is that you must re-post this on your blog and offer the same pay it forward opportunity to the first 5 people who promise do the same by posting on your blog.

Let's spread some love people - one craft at a time!

So, JUST so you are clear - I'm going to do this for the first 10 people (mostly because I found this on two of my friends blogs & want something from both of them - I have another friend who is doing it too - waving to Brittney - but I'm not sure I can commit to 15!

So - the first 10 for me - and then you will do only the first 5 people who post on your blog saying they too will participate in the "pay it forward" game.

Be sure to leave a comment telling me that you are doing it too so that you can win a FAB-U-LOUS handcrafted gift by me! :) Be sure to post pictures of what you won when you receive it!

Ok, let's get in the crafting spirit! Leave me a comment telling me that you're going to do it too. The first 10 are going to get something amazing from me! Well - you can only hope it's amazing - if it's not then just tell me it's amazing and then you can secretly cry and talk smack about me behind my back okay? Good luck!

Error on the page....

2009-03-07T08:16:00.000-08:00

Holy Cow - those are the most frustrating words to see when you are eagerly working on submitting an application for something, while worried that you will be "late" doing it!

Today at 8am (MST) was the designated application time for housing at BYU - so dutifully we arose at 6:45 our time (PST) so we could be online at 7am (which of course is 8am MST). That in and of itself was a feat since it's Saturday morning and hey, we like to sleep in if possible.

The anxiety was killing us as we were striving to get Kara into her chosen housing dorm,once we logged in we saw we were 553 out of 553 in line to submit at that early hour. Within seconds the page refreshed and our number went down into the 400's out of 600+ then it refreshed again and the first number continued to go down as the last number began to jump into the 1000's. At 7:05 (remember that is 8:05 for them) we were number 37 out of 3652 - and we were extremely excited to be such a low number when so many were now online striving for the very same thing we were striving for. We knew that in just seconds that we would soon be able to submit the much anticipated application, and we saw the seconds ticking away 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1...and we waited, waited, waited, only to have those cheers turn into tears within seconds, as the link went to take us to the application page we got an "error on the page" code - nervous that we had lost our "spot" online we clicked refresh (which is what the page instructed us to do) of course we just got that error on the page code again. We hit the back button - got our "number in line" page - waited for the page to refresh and back we were to the error code page yet again. This continued for 15 minutes - poor Kara was so upset - heck, I was getting upset - but I kept my cool - no bad words were said, not even my stand by of "oh cuss word". I just kept at it - clicking the back button, the refresh button, whatever I could do to get it to work. I even uttered a prayer that it would go through.

Finally, success was ours - we had made it to the survey page so I screamed for Kara - she came running and filled out the page(our time stamp was 8:20 and some seconds - so not first in line s we had lost those 15 minutes with errors, but hopefully early enough to get a spot in her desired dorm). She filled out the survey and hit continue button only to get yet another "error on the page" code. This continued again for another 15 minutes , Kara got so frustrated, she muttered "this is stupid!" and gave up and went back to bed. I was a little ticked off as this was HER application not mine, but she did work last night and has been up early every day for seminary and has to work again in a few hours, so being the "good" mom that I am - I kept at it. I filled out that darned survey a bunch of times as it kept putting me back on that page - I tried calling the housing office, but got the stupid busy signal. It was just about 8 when I finally got through to their office on the phone, I'm sure the poor guy on the other end had had his fair share of calls this morning. Anyways, he told me that we were good to go - we had our date & time stamp and that we were relatively early on the list so we could come back later in the day to complete the papers when the servers were not as busy.

WOOOHOOO!!! We'd made it - well, sort of - at least I didn't have to stay online, hitting that darned refresh button, back button & fill out that "cuss word" survey yet one more time - we had our time & date stamp and that was all that mattered, well that and the fact that I stayed relatively calm, cool and collected - that in and of itself was a small miracle. In the words of Miss Brooks (a whole other story) "Thank you Jesus!"

I'm not famous, I'm a freak...

2009-03-05T23:28:00.001-08:00

Okay, so many of you know that I absolutely adore Stacy Julian. Well, I saw her on my "friend finder" for facebook. Apparently we have friends in common. Of course without hesitating I clicked to add her as a friend only to think after the fact - wow - she doesn't even know who I am - she's going to be thinking...stalker freak! LOL

My good friend Jen & I often chat in scenario style, you know when you start talking and then you embellish it a little and make it into something that is NEVER going to happen? Well, we are the queen's of doing that - it's actually quite fun and something I might even dare to call a talent. My kids are pretty good at it as well...don't know where they learned to do that?!

Anyways, Jen & I have often had this discussion how we are Stacy Julian's BFF's and how we should show up to her place to scrapbook. Of course we would never do that because first of all - she lives in Spokane, and secondly she doesn't even really know either of us. (notice how that is second on my list?heehee) - anyways, Jen does have a slight connection through her sister Tracy who did a piece of artwork for Stacy when she came as our keynote speaker to convention, but that was years ago.

So - tonight when I told Jen that she'd never guess who I was now "friends" with on facebook, she started rattling off names of Close To My Heart corporate people. As she did this I was all...oh, ya I'm friends with them already, I'm friends with her too, ya her too. Jen went through a list - finally after a few hints she came up with Stacy and then gasped. Of course I had to tell her about how I added her and then how I had felt weird after the fact for doing so, and of course we giggled as we do in our devious way thinking we are naughty and cleaver at the same time.

At the end of our conversation I said to Jen - "Ya, I'm friends with all these corporate gals & Stacy but they don't even know who I am" and Jen said, "No, your famous! They know who you are" to which I quickly replied "No, I'm not famous, I'm a freak! Both start with "F" but there is a BIG difference!" So - there you have it - I'm not famous, I'm a freak - both do start with F - but just thought I'd better clarify that just in case there was any confusion on the matter.

Oh and if you ever read this Stacy - sorry for being a stalker -but hey your my BFF right?

Happy Birthday from a slacker...

2009-03-03T15:04:00.000-08:00

I have been reminding myself for over a week to send off a few birthday cards, but did I get it done? NOPE!
I've been working on a birthday card workshop that will be held at my house next week, so there has been a constant reminder of "birthdays" here - but did that help me? NOPE!
Last week my sister Jennifer celebrated her birthday (happy belated birthday Jen - wave wave) - her card is sitting here along with a gift that needs to be run to the post office. My brother-in-law Nate's birthday was last week as well - he too has his card & gift sitting here and the sad thing is I don't even have to mail it to him, cause he lives down the street. Today is my dad's birthday - and go figure - his card is sitting right here - not in the mail but on my counter!
Typical for me I tell you....funny thing is (or not so funny thing as the case may be if I owe you a card) I have NO excuse for not getting it off to him or to any of them for that matter, so they can have their birthday recognized on time. I don't have to shop for cards - I make cards - and I always have a stack of cards on hand! That's how it is when you are a card maker, you always have cards on hand - trouble comes in remembering to mail them off!
So here I am confessing that yes, I'm a horrible sister, sister-in-law, daughter, wife, mother, friend. Face it - I'm a slacker. I am owning up to it - in fact I own the term "slacker" at least when it comes to sending out birthday cards.
So, please keep in mind when it comes to your birthday that you are in my thoughts, truly you are, and most likely you will have a card sitting here, on my counter waiting for you for whenever we meet again or whenever I finally realize that "hey - I never mailed that out". From your slacker _________(fill in the blank - see above) - Happy Birthday!

Wanted: swift kick in the butt

2009-02-27T11:27:00.000-08:00

I'm a pretty black and white kinda gal - I like a real straight forward approach to things in life. I tend to wear my emotions on my sleeve - which some might say is a flaw, others though find it refreshing...as you will always know where you stand with me ;-). If I'm happy - you know it. If I'm upset you know that too. What I find interesting is seeing how people react to this. They either a) try to ignore whatever the emotion is or b) they try to "console" you (like if you're sad or something) or c) they give you a swift kick in the butt (which for me is a motivator). Recently I've seen all three of these options in my life.

Seven years ago I became a consultant for Close To My Heart which has been a wonderful and rewarding experience. I signed up to get a discount on scrapbooking & crafting supplies that I wanted but couldn't afford to buy, but didn't realize just how much I would truly enjoy being a consultant and how much it would bless my life. Not only do I get my much loved scrapbooking supplies at a discount but I've also had the opportunity to meet many new friends through parties & monthly stamping clubs that I've taught. I have also been blessed to earn 2 incentive trips with my company, a trip to Alaska that Jeff & I were able to take 2 years ago and then this past fall we went to the Mediterranean with our family - truly amazing trips that we've been able to experience because of Close To My Heart & the amazing group of clients I have! I'm currently working on the next incentive trip - a trip to New Zealand which would be my husbands trip of a life time. It's been a long hard haul as the economy is so sluggish right now. I'm "on track" to earn this trip but I've got a long, steep road a head of me before it becomes a reality.

Some of my friends know that I'm working on this trip, they know it's been hard because of the economy, but choose to not to bring it up because they either don't know what to say or they are afraid I will hit them up to host a party! Some of my friends try to "console" me - they try to ease my pain by telling me "It's okay, you'll earn the next one", while this could be true, it doesn't help me with the "failure feeling" I'm having right now. Then I have a FEW friends who choose option C and they give me a swift kick in the butt and tell me to get to work.

Can I just say THANK YOU to them?! I truly need a swift kick in the butt sometimes to get to work.

My family has a "motto". I say that cautiously as it probably wouldn't be something every family would call a motto - but we call it that. It's "Suck it up we've all got problems". Sounds harsh I'm sure to some - but it works for us. We've all got problems, things we are or need to work on. We can either mope around or we can get over it and fix it. Option C - the swift kick in the butt is just like "suck it up we've all got problems" get over it and get to work! So there it is - my swift kick has been administered, and while I might be a little sore from it, it will serve as a reminder of what I need to do - I need to suck it up and get to work!

2009-02-26T14:08:00.001-08:00

Kim is a card...or Kim's a card - either works for me and yes both are true to a degree. Life's too short to spend it being serious all the time and I love to make cards & scrapbook! There is a time and place to be serious but I truly believe we need to learn to enjoy life. I use the word "learn" because it truly fits - so many people just don't know how to enjoy anything.

Things make me happy quite often - and I use those exact words when I find myself happy. Let me give you an example. I teach scrapbooking & card making classes several times a month - and as I am working I find myself saying things like "I love that color, it makes me happy" or "I like that stamp it makes me happy". Obviously I say this a lot because I had a client of mine comment the other day - "lots of things make you happy Kim"! I thought about what she said for a while, because I know I say this a lot - but it's true - things do make me happy. It doesn't have to be big things mind you - it's just that I try to find joy in the little things in life and this is my simple way of expressing that something has made me happy.