Wonderful Event!

Cammie is hosting a wonderful blog candy/raising awareness event. She is also donating all of proceeds to the Alzheimer's Association from her stamp set, Whimsical Autumn at Gina K Designs. Here is the card I created at a stamp camp, and I'm sending it to the Artman House, where Cammie's grandmother was taken care of during the last years of her life. I applaud any family/friend and/or caregiver who has been affected by Alzheimer's for their kindness. Please visit the sponsors of this wonderful giveaway, and thank them for donating to the cause. Also, send a card to someone you know who is a caregiver, or to the Artman House, and thank them for their kindness! Thanks!

Stamp Club & Craft Club

Well, I really lucked into a cool thing a couple of weeks ago. Some friends and I have been talking (for years now, even when we lived in Cincinnati) about starting a craft club. Basically, a group of people to get together and do crafts. In the beginning, we were going to have different people host each get together and teach some kind of craft. Well, the craft club kind of became a reality last week. I sent out emails to everyone I knew who I thought might be wanting to get together to do some crafting. It didn't matter what type of craft either. Scrapbooking, stamping, whatever you wanted to do. Just a time to get away from home and kids and focus on crafting. I sent an email to my friend Candee, thinking, "Well, I don't know if she's crafty, but I'll send it anyway. She'd like to get together and socialize anyway." Well, she emailed me back and told me about a Stampin' Up! stamp club she was in. She also asked me if I wanted to come to one of her classes! It was so much fun! I made the most beautiful card I have ever made! I never would have learned how to make that beautiful card if I had not emailed Candee. Here is this card:


and the inside:



Here is the other card we made. It is beautiful too.


I think I could have come up with that idea on my own, but the flower card? No way. I didn't know of this technique (huffing) until I met up with these ladies. Tonya is the demo, and she has a ton of great ideas and products!

Well, back to Craft Club. Everyone emailed and told me they would be interested and what days were good for them. So last Friday night was the first ever Kim's Craft Club. OK, so it won't really be named Kim's Craft Club. I just couldn't think of a name for it, and since I initiated the email to get this thing going, well, right now that's what it is. Once we get a little more formal and designate certain dates that we're going to do this, and get more people to come, then I'll come up with another name. We met at Aurora Baptist Church, Kara's home church. We've crafted there before and it's a great place to meet. It has a kitchen, bathrooms and lots of tables for crafting! It was a great night for all who attended. I ended up getting four or five pages done in my Lucy scrapbook, but that was it. I was too busy socializing and seeing what everyone else was doing! We are going to have to do it again sometime soon. In the meantime, I'm waiting for the next Stamp Club class, which is on Sept. 11. I'm too excited. Tonya came to the Craft Club the other night and I told her how I didn't use heat emboss powder too much, basically because I was no good at it. So she said the stamp club will then have lots of projects that involve embossing so I can practice! I think that will be cool. Plus, more ideas!

Just a quick note on the above photos: I was in a hurry when I took them, so they are not really that great. Kara and Jenni got me this really cool photo box type thing to set up an item and take really good pictures, but I was in a hurry and trying to get back to lunch on time. So for now, that will have to do. In the future, I'll use my little "photo studio" for all of my crafts and maybe they'll look better.

Well, we are leaving to go to Cincinnati this weekend to see the inlaws. I'm excited and ready to get out of town. J had to work late, so we're getting a later start than we wanted to. Oh well, they were gonna go to bed anyway and just leave the light on for us. So I guess it doesn't matter what time we get there. We just need to be quiet when we come in! Well, everyone have a safe and happy Labor Day! Kim

Organizing...really, I am!

That's what I'm doing, from now until...well, until I get done. And who knows when that'll be. I'm ashamed to say that I just took down my Christmas tree and decorations earlier this week. Yes, I know it is February. But, in my defense, DH didn't put the tree up until December 12th, and I usually want it up Thanksgiving weekend, so leaving it up a little longer than normal isn't too bad...is it? (OK, I've already admitted in a post last year that I am a procrastinator. I'm not sure if I've mentioned it before, but I'm not afraid to mention it now...I'm lazy too! I hate anything that has to do with work, especially cleaning.)

So, back to organizing. As I was cleaning, my craft table just got piled really high with junk. By junk I mean craft stuff that had gotten spread out all over the living room. So, after getting the rest of the living room clean and organized, I decided that I'm going to get my office clean (which is a feat in itself, lemme tell ya!), move the dining room table in my office (we never use it to dine at anyway...it's a small butcher block table that is PERFECT for stamping...I was gonna buy one at a thrift store, but DH said to just use what we got...ok!) and get my stamping/scraping/crafting area ORGANIZED!!! I've got some plywood that I got from a friend. I'm gonna have DH build me a rack to hang on the wall with dowel rods in it for my ribbon. I'm gonna have him put a couple of shelves on it for some stamp pads. Then I'm gonna find a permanent place to hook up my Cricut. I read on someone's blog that they used priority mail boxes for 12 x 12 paper storage. I measured one I had. Sure enough, it will hold it! I'll decorate it with pretty paper and no one will be the wiser! All this talk about organizing is making me want to start right this minute. But, well, one, I'm lazy (we established that earlier) and tired from work today, and two, I have to start getting ready for a meeting that I'm going to in an hour. And I would hate to start getting into what I'm doing and have to stop. So, I'll sit here on the computer some more! I'll post pictures once I have my area situated. I do have a couple of photos to share. The first one is of the Thank You card I sent to the animal hospital that took care of Lucy Dog. I didn't like it when I first made it, but when I picked it up a couple days later, I decided it was OK.



The next photo is of the Lucy Dog. I might have sent her mixed signals at the time this photo was taken. Lucy has reign over most of the furniture in the living room. She has ruined our couch and loveseat with her claws. It's her daddy's fault. When they were living in Cincinnati and I was down here, he started letting her sit with him on the couch. She rarely did it when I was living there, but well, when mommy's away, the kiddies will play. So, anyway, she has the loveseat and couch. She also "claims" any blankets that are around. There are two blankets on the couch and one blanket on the loveseat that have her patterned markings, kind of a circle like indention. Anyway, when we bought matching leather recliners, that was one thing that we said she would not get in. Well, she likes them just as much as we do. However, we put our foot down when it comes to these things. I usually keep my sketch clipboard in my seat when I'm gone, and I've got a notebook that I sit in Jason's chair. He doesn't remember to put it there whenever he leaves that often. And Lucy gets tempted very easily.



As I walked in the door at lunch, I completely caught her off guard, as she usually hears me and meets me at the door (and if she's been in the chair it is rocking and it's a dead giveaway). I yell at her, but I think she's so comfortable, she doesn't care. So, I scramble to find my camera to catch her in the act. Then I drag her butt out of the chair and scold her. Mixed messages?? Oh well. I just sent Jason an email with that picture and the subject was "Look Where I Found Your Dog!!" Thanks for reading!~Kim

Baby Shower

A few friends and I threw a baby shower for a couple of friends of ours. I made some really cute invitations and actually designed it myself!!! Surprise surprise! That rarely ever happens! I took ideas that I've seen on other people's blogs and came up with it all on my own! Here it is:





The Football baby stamp is from The Angel Company. The "It's a boy!" stamp is from Stampin' Up. The baby pin is also from Stampin' Up.


Then, for the shower, I made some nugget boxes! They were too cute! I even had someone ask where they could get the instructions to make it. I told them to go to www.splitcoaststampers.com and look under "Anything but a Card" and look for nugget boxes. She said she wasn't sure if she'd remember that. She was wanting to do something for her daughter's wedding. I told her that if she wanted something like that to let me know and I'd work up a price for doing them for her. She liked that idea!! That's too cool! I would love to make stuff to sell. I've purchased a web domain, but haven't done anything with it. Maybe this will give me the motivation! OK, anyway, here is a photo of the boxes:



Here's how I displayed them:



I also put them on the tables that everyone sat at to eat cake. Speaking of cakes, my friend Jenni made some wonderful cakes. Here they are:



The cakes were yummy! The football was chocolate (I didn't try it). The pennant was orange and the onesie was french vanilla and they were super good! I had to restrain myself!!

The cute little pacifiers on the cake boards were made by Kara with Lifesavers and Jellybeans! Too cute. She also made several table arrangements and a couple of great flower arrangements. Here's a photo of one:



The punch was made by Colleen (with the help of her hubby) in a cute little bathtub. Here's a photo of that:




I also made a name plate for the baby. His name will be Peyton. His dad is a hardcore University of Tennessee fan. I had a really hard time finding TN stuff, but finally found some stuff to work with. Here is the finished product:



I don't know if they liked it, but they said they did. They were having a hard time finding TN bedding, so they weren't sure if they were gonna decorate the nursery in orange. Time will tell. Maybe they will still be able to use the name frame and the TN poster I had framed for them. Here's a picture of the poster:



Toodles! ~Kim

Thank You Cards

Here are some cards that I've made this month. I got a Cricut machine from my mom and dad, and started playing with it after I got over my Christmas Cold! I decided to make Thank You Cards for all of my family for the Christmas gifts I received. I loved it and had fun making them!













Hopefully I'm starting a good trend of posting frequently! Toodles! ~Kim

My laptop is fixed and I'm back in action!!

I am one happy camper today. I've been without my laptop since Christmas night and I've been jonesin' for it! I bought a new power plug on ebay hoping that would solve the problem. After waiting two weeks for it to arrive from China, I plug it up and it doesn't do one bit of good. So, it sat in my living room for a week before I finally found someone to take a look at it. 24 hours and $100 later and it's back in my arms again. Yep, I have a problem!

Here are photos of the cards that I made for Christmas gifts this year. I worked up till the last minute and the pressure was on! I made a resolution to get all of my gifts done before December 1st this year. Usually, my number one resolution every year is to lose weight. Well, not this year! So, since I have an empty spot, my Christmas gift resolution will be number one!

















There is a weird pattern over the photos. It's from the sun shining through the screen in the window! Who know that would show up?? I really wanted to make 12 cards for each pack, but I made these for eight different people, and I had a bunch more stuff to make, so 8 it was! Everyone seemed to like them. DH's employees said that I should sell cards. I told him to tell them next time they needed a card for someone, give me a week's notice, and I'll make it for them and they can give their money to me instead of Wal-Mart! I really enjoy making cards. It keeps me busy! Hope everyone likes them! ~Kim

Get Well Soon!

Below is a card I made for my daddy. He had an accident at work on Wednesday. He works at an outdoors store, and was climbing up to get something down from a shelf. He fell 10 feet onto a concrete floor on his back! OUCH! Miraculously, he didn't break a single bone! He's super sore. And he's got a huge bruise on the back of his head. He's stopped taking the pain medicine that was prescribed because it's making his tummy hurt (anybody that's been on Lortab for any amount of time will know what I mean! I've been on it for the better part of a year and it WRECKED my stomach...but oh, the pain was gone!!) Anyway, God sure was looking out for him.

Here is the card I made. I patterned it after a card I saw on Michelle's Blog. I wanted to try this type of card as I've got a great idea for a baby shower card for a friend that I think that will look great, but wanted to make sure I could do it first. Enjoy! ~Kim

I finally finished a Christmas Card!

Yep, you read right! I finally finished one. I've got hundreds of cards in the making, but none complete. Last night I had some friends over to scrapbook. I did some stamping, but no scrapbooking. Finally, towards the end of the night, I got my scrapbook out and started sorting some pictures, since the last time I scraped, I threw everything back in my bag and not in an orderly way! So, hopefully today, I'm gonna do either some scrapbooking or some card making. I'm going at 11 to get a massage, so I might not want to do anything but sleep when I get home, who knows!

So, here is the card. I got the idea after seeing a challenge/blog candy that Allison had posted. (If you've never been to her blog, well, let me tell you, you are missing out!!! It is the only blog that I visit RELIGIOUSLY, as she always has links to everyone's challenges, new to her bloggers, blog candy and loads of tutorials, which I LOVE! Anyway, go visit her!) Well, I tried to get it done in time, but had some difficulties. I used SU! White Craft ink on the acetate and the black kromokote paper to begin with, and it would not dry. After 3 days and using a heat gun, it was not dry. So, I decided to throw it away and forget about entering my first challenge EVAH! Well, I just couldn't get the idea out of my head. So, last Friday when I was in Nashville for my Dr. appt., I decided to go to Hobby Lobby and JoAnn's (ya know, just to look!) Actually, I knew what I was looking for. Stazon White and Stazon Brown. So, last night, I decided to try the card again. I was amazed how fast the Stazon white dried! Blew me away! So, here is the card. My photo skills are lacking. (I can take great pictures of anything else, but when I try to take pictures of my cards, they always suck!)





I like the card so much, I might just make a few more and use them for my own Christmas cards. I'm not sure though. I like making one card and then doing them in masses so I know what I sent each year. I don't want someone getting the same card two years in a row! Plus, I'm not creative enough to come up with too many new ideas! Thanks for reading! ~Kim

99% Excess Body Weight...GONE!

I had my 18 month appointment with my surgeon. I've lost 99% of my excess body weight! Woo Hoo! I've lost a total of 217 pounds. That's a whole person...or two skinny ones! This whole journey has been absolutely amazing! I'm now wearing a size 8 in pants and a M in tops. I've learned that it can be fun shopping at thrift stores now. I think I'm becoming a thrift store junkie. I have to go at least once a week, and I'm always coming home with a bag full of clothes. Unfortunately, it's mostly jeans, and I need to stop wearing jeans to work so often. I'm allowed to, but they wish I wouldn't so much. I guess if they'd just tell me, you can't wear jeans, I'd stop. But until they do...

I asked my surgeon for recommendations for some plastic surgeons in Nashville. I'm looking to get some excess skin removed and maybe some other reconstructive surgery (implants). I don't have too much skin to be removed, but I'd probably be wearing a six right now if I didn't have the tummy skin. As far as the implants, well, I guess that's just something I've always wanted. I'm finally thin now, so I'm gonna go for it. Plus, if I get it done at the same time as when I'm having other stuff done, it'll be cheaper because of the anesthesia already being used, or something like that. I've been checking out pics on line of implants and tummy tucks. I'm starting to see what I like and don't like. I've tried to involve my hubby in the process, but I don't think he cares too much. I told my boss that, and he said, find a picture in Playboy that you like, get that done, he'll be happy. Problem is, I'm not sure 18 year old boobies would look good on this 33 year old body. Oh well, who knows!

Hopefully later on tonight I'll post come card pics. I've not made too many lately. I've been working on my Christmas cards and trying to get a big bunch of cards to send to our troops through www.anysolder.com . I want to send a lot of cards for them to send back home to their families. I know I get a lot of joy sending cards out during the holidays and receiving them too, so maybe it will brighten their day to receive some hand made cards to send to their loved ones. Anyway, that's it for now. After my batteries recharge, I'll download my photos and post a birthday card that I made for a friend. Her birthday was last Monday. She still hasn't received the card, cause I had not taken a picture of it. I'm a bad friend. Hopefully I'll take it to her at work tomorrow. Toodles! Kim

ETA: Here is the card for Kara! She finally got it tonight...I finished it off while she was here. We're scrapbooking/card making tonight...we'll, I'm not doing too much yet!

Finally...I finished my gift!

I finally finished making all of the cards that I put in that neat little card holder for my mom's best friend who was nice enough to give me some clothes on Independence Day. Yep, almost two months later, but still done, none the less! Now I just need to deliver it!

Here is one of the cards in the bunch:


I put a total of 12 cards and envelopes in there. Some are really cute cards. Others I'm not as fond of, but who knows, she may love them! '

DH and I are heading to Cincinnati tomorrow for Labor Day weekend to visit his parents. I'm too excited. I miss living there and really enjoy the visit. Plus, I get to go shop at Archiver's and now that I'm into stamping, there is a store I want to visit called "Stamp Your Art Out". I want to see if they have any kind of watercolor crayons or pencils. I have some cheapo pencils from Wal-Mart and a set of SU! Bold Bright Watercolor crayons. Unfortunately, I really need the Earth Elements to color my Thanksgiving cards. And I hate to spend $10 just for shipping something so small. :( So I'm just gonna take my Christmas cards with me to keep me occupied. Yep, I have to be entertained at all times!

Here's a couple of cards I made (maybe I'm a bit scatterbrained too!!):






This one I made for my aunt for her birthday. We are going to Florida for vacation with her and her partner next month, so I knew she'd enjoy a card with a beach scene on it!



Sorry the color on the photos aren't that great. I tried to set up my own photo box (wasn't exactly like the instructions said and I think that was the problem) but it didn't work too well. Maybe some time I'll follow the directions and the color will come out better!

Hope everyone haves a safe and Happy Labor Day!

Latest Card

Here is a card that I made today. I cased it from someone...not sure who. I've looked at so many people's ideas that they all run together! I used paper and ribbon from Walmart. The brads are making memories, the black ink is Staz-on. The colored pencils are Kimberly Watercolor Pencils. I like the way it turned out. I made it for a couple of friends who are leaving for Africa on a mission trip in a couple of months. They are home for the week, and then leaving to go train in Virginia for two months and then off to Africa for two years. I'm best friends with Joe Joe's sisters, and work with one of them, and I know they sure are gonna miss them. It was bad enough when they just lived in Lexington! I told them if they let me know what they wanted, I'd send them care packages, as I love sending care packages!

So, here's the pic. It's blurry, as I didn't take a pic at home, and realized as Joe Joe was about to leave, that I didn't get a photo, so I took it with Jason's camera phone!! It looked much better in real life! So, here it is!

It's Share Time

OK, so I've finally taken the time to download my photos of the cards I've made so far. I've made a total of five. The last one, I've made four times, because it seems I work better by mass producing. I've made a list of everyone I want to give a set of cards to, therefore, they're all going to get the same cards until I get inspired to do something else! So, without further ado, here they are. Since I'm new at this blogging thing, I haven't kept up with what I've been using. The stamps are all Stampin' Up! The paper is either Creative Memories, something from Walmart, or some random paper from work (working at a printing company does have advantages!) The tools I used were my CM 12" paper trimmer, my personal cutting tool (also CM), my CM tape runner, my CM corner rounder, my Making Memories eyelet setter and I think that's it. (I'm a Creative Memories Consultant, in case you couldn't tell by all the CM stuff I've got! I love it! Now if I could just get back to scrapbooking!) The glitter is something I found at Walmart, along with the flowers on the one card. Who knows where the eyelets came from. I've had them for a long time. The adhesive that was used for the glitter was Zig two way glue from Walmart, the ink pads I used were black Staz-on, Bordering Blue by SU! and Versamark. OK, I'll shut up now...here they are!











The only original idea was the "Thanks so Much" card. Everything else was ideas I got from Splitcoast Stampers. Unfortunately, I was scribbling on a notepad the ideas, and didn't write who they were from. Sorry if it was you!! Let me know!

Here's one more thing for me to share...my puppy dog Lucy. She's the best little girl a family could have.



Well, I'm not sure if anyone will read this, but if you did, I hope you like it. Send me links to your blog and I'll list you as blogs I visit. I love looking at ideas and techniques that others use. The only disadvantage is that I look too much instead of creating! Happy crafting!