New card

Here's a card I recently made using some of the new products to be released by Stampin' Up! in the new mini coming out soon.

I will share the recipe soon.

Making a Difference

At Stampin' Up!, we believe in making a difference in the lives of others--whether they're our demonstrators, our employees, the people who use our products, or children in need of a way to express their creativity. Since 2005, Stampin' Up! has been honored to participate in the TODAY Show's Holiday Toy Drive. This year, Stampin' Up! will be donating over $500,000 worth of stamping and paper crafting products to the following organizations: Action for Boston Community Development Inc. Alliance for Children's Rights Boys & Girls Clubs Harford County Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of New York Community Partners of Dallas - Rainbow Room Diocese of Saint Augustine Friendship Project Help USA Interfaith Nutrition Network (INN) Kids In Need Foundation National Council of Jewish Women, Cleveland Section - The Dignity Project Operation Homefront Puerto Rican Family Institute St. Luke's Roosevelt Hospital Stephen Siller Foundation/Katrina Fund Welcome House Youthbuild USA In conjunction with the donation, Stampin' Up!'s Shelli Gardner will make an appearance on NBC's TODAY Show on Tuesday, December 6. We are honored and excited to once again participate in this annual holiday tradition of giving back and making a difference!

Online Extravaganza!

SAVE 20 to 60% on Stampin' Up! products!  The Stampin' Up! On-Line Extravaganza Sale is here  Please click here to do any shopping . The On-Line Extravaganza Sale ends Nov. 30.

• Here's a PDF link to everything on sale during the On-Line Extravaganza.
• There is no minimum purchase required to participate in this promotion.
• For product bundles, you must use the bundle item numbers provided. Bundle discounts will not be applied if individual item numbers are used. 
• Additional products from current catalogs may be purchased on the same order.
• Discounts range between 20 and 60 percent.

24 HOUR SALE TODAY ONLY!!!  For the next 24 hours, take advantage of a 20% discount on two of Stampin' Up!'s hottest new products, Simply Scored Scoring Tool and Sweet Pressed Cookie Stamps.  The 24 hour sale ends at midnight MST today!

Item	Description	Retail Price	24-Hour  Sale Price
122334	Simply Scored	$29.95	$23.96
125152	Sweet Pressed Cookie Stamps	$16.95	$13.56

Card & More

Today was our Stampin' Sister meeting.  I've been so bad about posting pictures of any of my cards so while I was thinking of it and had 2 seconds I thought I'd share the card I made for our swap.I actually like how it turned out.  I have to give Dawn kudos though since I CASE'd her card.  :-)

Not the  best picture but love the new Lucky Limeade paper and the Snow Much Fun stamp set

. 

This is the inside of the card.  See the tiny bit of dazzling diamonds there?

 I also want to share a few pictures of Emma since it's been awhile.  She's getting so big and is still the joy of my life.  :-)

4th of July

Playing in the sand at Myrtle Beach

Our beauty while at our condo at the beach

Mending

Hello!  How are you?  ::::tapping the mic hoping I'm not talking to myself::::

Surgery went OK.  I had the end of the collarbone shaved off and a bone spur removed with some other cleaning out I believe.   I had a HORRIBLE time after surgery though.  They had given me morphine which I don't tolerate well and I was extremely nauseous all day.  Every time I moved I felt sick.  The following days have been tolerable with my pain meds although I'm trying hard not to take them until I absolutely need to.  I was able to take the bandages off on Easter Sunday and unfortunately that made me sick and I missed church.  I've been trying to not push myself too hard so it can heal some.  Just straightening out my arm is very painful.  Most of the time I have my sling on.  I went back to work today and although there were no students, it was an extremely long day.  I'm sitting with ice on as I type and I did take my percocet so if I make no sense, chalk it up to the drugs!  hehe  I started physical therapy yesterday.  OUCH!  Trying to make my family understand I still can't take of Emma on my own and can't cook and do everything they are used to me doing has been the difficult thing.  Thank goodness for my parents who do understand.  My Dad even came today to get Emma out of her carseat and my Mom is coming tomorrow to do the same for me and stay in the evening since the kids both work and hubby has bocce. 
I'm going to miss my demo meeting the first weekend of May since we'll be in WV that day but I decided to participate in the card swap so I can see all the great cards my sisters come up with.  My card is almost finished since I wanted it all done before my surgery.  I'm hoping to take a picture and post a few pictures in the next week of some things I've done recently.  Cross our fingers.

Lastly, WW is having it's annual Walk-It Challenge and Kelly has emailed me that she's organizing a walk on Sunday, May 22 at Penn Middle.  It's at 9:30 a.m. and a 5k.  No entry fee.  Just show up and walk.  Amy's sister's baby shower is that day that I'm helping throw but I'm hoping to at least stop and say hi if not walk with everyone.  Please join if you can.  It's a good time with good people!

One day at a time.......

Blessings

MANY prayers have been answered for us this past week.  My job and all those in my small building will be secure for the next year at least.  A day later my hubby was offered a job with the company he's been longing to work for.  He gave his 2 week notice on Friday and I think both our hearts and minds were instantly lifted back off the ground.  To be unhappy in your work is a miserable feeling.  Many nights he couldn't sleep and I know the stress was really wearing at him.  We also did some financial stuff which should make life much better for us.

OH and I can't forget....another blessing I have is to have a wonderful upline in Stampin' Up!  Kim is not only my upline but a friend.  I'm so thankful that she's added another time and day to her stamp camps and I can now attend again.  What beautiful cards we made Saturday at her house.

I didn't make it to Weight Watchers because of the job offer and the discussions hubby and I were having but I know that when I can make it, they will welcome me with open arms.

We are very thankful for all the blessings that have been bestowed on us this past week.  God IS good!

Baltimore Regionals

I want to share some of my pictures and experiences from the Stampin' Up! Baltimore Regionals which I attended yesterday.  I traveled with 7 of my Stampin Sisters on a very rainy Thursday to Baltimore.  We arrived later than we anticipated and then played a game with our catalogs that our fabulous uplines had us searching high and low through for prizes. They also had some awesome gifts for us. Then we headed to dinner and afterward headed back to our rooms to meet and do some shoebox swaps.  What fabulous ideas everyone had!
Yesterday morning we got up early and headed to the Baltimore Convention Center.  We swapped cards with other demos while waiting in line.  Dummy me forgot my nametag so I had to stand in the longer line.  Went inside and traded swaps until mine were all gone.  As I went back to our table, a lady approached me telling me she follows my blog but had never left a comment.  She'd thought of emailing me but hadn't.  I have to tell you, Betty, you made my day!!!  I've always said I blog for myself but it's sure nice to know someone reads what you type.  It's like Kelly will tell me....you never know who you might touch with your story if you tell it.  Before the day was over I had to have a picture taken with her....so please visit Betty's blog: Stamps - More or Less to see some beautiful cards and a genuinely nice person.  Even though her eyes were closed and my hair is a mess...here we are:

The speakers were just awesome, the cards inspirational, and I won a stamp set!  Plus 2 of my stampin' sisters, Jana and Jenny both won the main prize for fabulous cards.  WOOHOO!  Only problem was that right after the convention was over, Jenny had to be taken to the ER.  Unfortunately, she experienced some more problems today and I've not heard how she is and I'm waiting to find out.  Her husband met the car she was in to get her to the hospital again today. 

Here are the 2 winners Jenny and Jana:

 

Here's a picture of all 8 of us(thanks Glenda):

Front: Heather, Kim, Lynne (our FABULOUS uplines...bowing down!)

Back: Laura, Jana, me, Kimberly, Jenny

Here's my roomie, Kimberly, and I:

Last, I can't say enough kind things about how wonderful Kim, my upline, is....she's 

so generous, kind, giving and supportive I just love her.

I promise to show some pictures of my cards and projects soon.

 We had some bumps along the way but what a TERRIFIC time it was.

Bad hair and all!

Just sayin'

Sign Up and No Weigh In

Last night I went to Kim's and signed up to be a SU demonstrator.  YAY!  Except right now I'm only planning on doing as a hobby demo which means for myself.  That can always change in the future which is part of what I love....the flexibility of the company to grow and change as you do.  Being with the Stampin' Sisters on Saturday really inspired me.  I've found that even though I've been incredibly busy the last few days, stamping is constantly on my mind.  Kim's a HUGE inspiration also and goodness am I fortunate that she's come into my life.  Not only because she's so willing to share her talent but because she's an awesome person!
Our WW mtg. was canceled this week since the church where it's held had a function.  I originally planned on attending another meeting tonight but woke up with swelled feet, on very little sleep and a need to spend some time at home.  Only problem was it didn't work out that way.  Found out my cousin and her husband are visiting from VA Beach so I headed out to one aunt's to visit with them.  I took Emma who was a bit clingy and fussy because she had shots today. (Poor baby!)  We sat on my aunt's deck outside and had a great visit.  (Sending a big WOOHOO out to Jackie since I heard you've joined the WW family)  I LOVE my family time.  It was worth being tired again tomorrow cause I'm running on empty.  Well, OK, if I'd sleep some it would help....darn arm!
Emma weighed 14.3 pounds and is a bit over 24 inches long.  Such a sweetheart!
I'm heading to my one sisters this Friday to see my nephew graduate on Saturday.  Go Bryan!  LONG trip for a very short visit since we'll have to head home on Sunday since Zach has 2 parades on Monday morning.
Did I mention I'm SO ready for summer!

Sweet Scoops

Here's my card I made for the card swap on Saturday.   Thanks to Rachel who's card I used for inspiration.
Everything on the card was made using SU products.

Birthday Boy

Today is my son's 19th birthday.  Happy birthday, Zach!  I love you more than words could ever say even when we fight tooth and nail because we're so alike.
We've had a very good day.  It's been an incredibly busy weekend.  Lots of shopping topped off with dinner out tonight and then family over for cake and ice cream.
One of the real highlights for me though was attending a SU demo meeting to see what it was like and if I had enough interest to join.  I was incredibly nervous about our card swap but wasn't there long and gave some of the girls a peek for them to all like what I'd done.  WHEW! LOL  I enjoyed the meeting immensely.  A lot of the other girls are all new so I felt it would be super place to also be learning.  The girls are so supportive of one another and give each other tons of positive feedback.  Just thinking about it again now brings a smile to my face.   They also are extremely willing to share business tips with one another.   So I've decided to go ahead and sign up as a hobby demo.  Tuesday is the day :-)
I'll have to get my camera out and take a picture of my card.  I'm thinking of starting a new blog just for all my Stampin' Up stuff so keep an eye out for that.
No Tuesday meeting for Weight Watchers this week.  The church has a function so we can't meet.  Am planning on attending a different mtg. on Wed. but we'll see how the week goes. LOTS to do this week as we get ready to leave Friday for a trip to Indy.  My nephew graduates from high school on Saturday morning and we will be there!  Staying only until Sunday since Zach has 2 parades Monday with the band.
Whew! I'm getting tired and haven't even started the week yet.  Thank goodness my house is clean and that's one less worry.
But it all works out and is all good.  Life is good.  VERY good!