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I am thrilled to present you the first installment of my sneak peeks from the 2017 Occasions Catalog! It was my honor and privilege to be a Display Stamper for On Stage 2016 in Kansas City.

I will have to come back and re-share after the catalog goes live so I can share the supplies that were used on this pretty card.

Maybe my next photo will be better. I had a nice demonstrator join me in the hotel lobby one morning and shared some information for me to look up for improving my photos. For the sake of time, we will go with getting it done instead of perfection!

The 2017 Occasions Catalog is filled with amazing stuff and once again I find myself struggling to decide what to order. Sigh.

When I received my goodies to work with, I thought, “Oh, no! I would never have ordered this!” Guess what? I love this new bundle! Yep, sometimes you just have to be forced out of your comfort zone!

I will be sending all my customers, who have ordered this past year, a copy of this amazing 2017 Occasions Catalog. Want your free copy and haven’t ordered yet? Place an order of any amount before November 18th and I will add you to the mailing selector!

Request your free catalog using the link below! Be sure to not mark your order No Contact or I won’t know who to send the catalog to! Thanks for stopping by!

This was my very first On Stage event. I attended the event in Kansas City. It was great fun! I hope I can attend at least one On Stage next year as well. Kansas City was a drive a way, I had a friend to room with, and my sales were good enough that I did not have to pay for the registration fee out of pocket. All huge factors in making it possible to go!

Making it even more fun was being selected to be a Display Board Stamper. I’ve done a little recon work as it didn’t seem quite right that other demos could share pictures of the display boards after 2 pm CST today and I could not share my samples after all my hard work. I can share them as long as I also share pictures on Stampin’ Connection, so I will be working on sharing those with you over the next few days! Woo hoo!

In addition to being a display stamper – I found out that I achieved Annual Sales Level 1. I had no idea that there was such a thing! But, I got a pretty ribbon for it and got to stand to be recognized for it as well. I hope I can do it again over the next 12 months as it was the extra flex points that I earned from it that paid for my On Stage registration. Usually, my flex points are spent on things like free catalogs for you – but this time I could do both! It was also hard work – I hope I have the stamina to keep it up! haha!

The lanyard was from my roommate and friend, Brenda Myers. She lives Southeast of me, so I drove to her and picked her up on the way down (I let her drive from her place. haha!) The red leather book is supposed to be a passport cover (incentive to earn a trip out of the country). We had a package of 3 pens, our name tags and ribbons. Some demos had ribbon swag down to their belly buttons! We also got a planner which I shared on my Facebook page (some of these photos are there as well.)

Look at all the bags! Here is a close up:

The tables were all pretty and set up with secret supplies! I like how they used the Star Framelits and Punch to create the table confetti.

Stampin’ Up! was very generous and let us divide up the supplies afterwards. Even with 5 of us at our table we got lots of extra bounty!

My little bit of photo fun sharing the new catalog that we really can’t share yet! I have a similar one with my prize patrol winnings! Well – stay tuned – as I will be able to share my display stamper projects with you and my fellow Kansas City On Stage Display Stampers and I are collaborating to bring you a Pinterest Board! How fun is that?

The cherry on top – my hubby did not get a migraine while I was gone and he enjoyed his visit with our son (who came and stayed with him so I could attend, I just didn’t feel like I could leave him alone as he can’t take himself to urgent care and we have no family or close friends here).

Sometimes, life just makes the day-to-day hard. Don’t you agree? Because of this, I don’t always get a blog post done every day. I had every intention of getting one done yesterday. But life got in the way.

My husband gets migraines really bad. The kind where you have to lay perfectly still in order to not have the pain ricocheting around your head instead of just being in one place. For awhile we had a good maintenance program in place with an awesome physical therapist and acupuncturist. Then we moved and we have not been able to find such a good support system to help manage them. They have slowly increased in frequency and we are back to visiting urgent care regularly. That’s where I spent my morning yesterday as it was day 2 of the MONSTER.

Usher in a new friend, whom I don’t get to see too often. She’s a pastors wife and they pastor two churches, both about 40 minutes away from here. They live here in Le Mars, in the middle. So they are quite busy and she’s often in Sioux City or Spencer every other day. However, we had finally found a day that we could connect for lunch, and it was yesterday. In the morning I fretted that I may not be able to keep our date but we got home from urgent care in plenty of time. Our lunch date turned into an all afternoon adventure of stopping at some fun little shops in our area. My two favorites: 4 Speckled Hens, and Against the Grain Antiques. The latter was a grain bin converted into an antique shop.

My escape from the stresses of this life is my faith, prayer, friends, family, and stamping. However, as much as I felt like I needed to get my stamping work done, I have to confess, I really needed the fun day away from watching my husband suffer. It drains my energy. I’m glad my new friend was sensitive to this and asked me along for the ride.

Today, I am preparing to leave for On Stage in the morning. My son and grandson’s are coming tomorrow evening to spend the weekend with Jim so he is not alone during this migraine cycle he is in. He will need a driver for urgent care (hopefully, not needed) as he cannot drive after getting a shot. I am thankful that they can come. I am really looking forward to being away from the day-to-day and sharing the time with a stamping friend, sharing the excitement of a new catalog, and sharing all of my projects on the display boards. I wish I could be a little mouse and see all the reactions of the many stampers looking at my samples! (And, then again, maybe I don’t! Haha!)

Maybe, if I am lucky. I can get a handful of swaps done to swap. That would be nice. But I won’t stress over it.

Hopefully, I will get back to blogging next week. Stick with me! I do have some goodies to share! Thanks so much – and may all your troubles be stamped away! Your stampin’ friend, always.

This stunning swap card created by fellow demonstrator Toni Tessler is really a bad influence. The suggestion to buy is strong with this one. Just saying.

You see, when this stamp set came out as a bundle with the framelits, I was in the middle of trying to sell a house knowing that I would be moving here. It was hard to do classes with most of my things packed up and not knowing from one day to the next if the house would be sold, etc. So, as much as I loved it, I did not purchase it. I did not buy a lot that year, at all.

However, I love this card so much that I am starting to be swayed even though the risk is high that since it has been out for awhile, it could be retired soon. On the plus side, I have everything needed to make this card except for the Vintage Leaves stamps and Leaflets framelits. Does anyone want to place a big order so I can feel better about buying them? Ha ha!

For your convenience, here is a list of most of the items she used in the creation of this card. Clicking on any of the images will take you to my 24/7 online store where you can shop to your hearts content (please do!) Thank you so much for stopping by!

This swap card created by fellow demonstrator, Angie Brailsford really speaks to me. It has a simple message. In today’s world when we have so many voices clamoring for our attention it can be difficult to stick to our purpose.

The simple message to Follow the Star brings us back to our purpose of finding Christ and following after Him. That really is what Christmas is all about. I know that sometimes I get caught up in decorating, baking, gift buying and making, jolly fat elves, Christmas trees, and the what not; sometimes to the point of being overwhelmed!

Being overwhelmed is not His purpose for our lives. For that, I am thankful. Today, this swap card was a God sent message to slow down a bit, tune out all those other voices, look up to the heavens and seek Him. To bring Christmas into my everyday. I hope you enjoy the card, and the message.

For your convenience, here is a list of most of the items she used in the creation of this card. Clicking on any of the images will take you to my 24/7 online store where you can shop to your hearts content (please do!) Thank you so much for stopping by!

Rudolph is ready with Santa’s sleigh! He is prancing around and ready to go! I, on the other, am still dragging my feet on this whole Christmas thing. I am trying to self-motivate. Really, I am. So far, it’s not working.

This fun card was created by fellow demonstrator, Micki Antinone. I am under the impression (since the sleigh is empty) that Santa isn’t quite ready yet, either. He must be checking his list again…

I wonder if Santa has technical problems now, too. I spent all morning trying to resolve missing previews of all my thumbnails. Blog posts would be so much easier if my technology would cooperate. Thankfully, google had some suggestions for me. What would I do without google as my help desk?

For your convenience, here is a list of most of the items she used in the creation of this card. Clicking on any of the images will take you to my 24/7 online store where you can shop to your hearts content (please do!) Thank you so much for stopping by! 

Look at this cute little reindeer bleating out a very merry Christmas!  He was created by fellow demonstrator, Maria Grumaraes. (I hope I got that right!) I just love how she gave him legs and a bow tie. Stinkin’ cute!

For your convenience, here is a list of most of the items she used in the creation of this card. Clicking on any of the images will take you to my 24/7 online store where you can shop to your hearts content (please do!) Thank you so much for stopping by! 

Okay, you got me! This swap card by fellow demonstrator, Helen Kennard says absolutely nothing about Eskimo Kisses. However, that is what popped into my head and stuck there: so what’s a girl to do? Besides, why can’t mistletoe kisses be Eskimo kisses?

Since I can not list the markers used separately, I have indicated the colors used with ink pads.

For your convenience, here is a list of most of the items she used in the creation of this card. Clicking on any of the images will take you to my 24/7 online store where you can shop to your hearts content (please do!) Thank you so much for stopping by!

Christmas is the most wonderful time of year; even with the cold and snow! Wonderful smells, goodies, gift giving, family, and most importantly, the celebration of the birth of our Savior.

I adore this swap card created by fellow demonstrator, Jill Arenovski. I fell in love the stamp set Wonderful Year as soon as I saw it and put it on my list immediately. The little gingerbread man with the Candy Cane Lane designer series paper and color combo just really make this an eye-catching card. Fabulous card, Jill!

For your convenience, here is a list of most of the items she used in the creation of this card. Clicking on any of the images will take you to my 24/7 online store where you can shop to your hearts content (please do!) Thank you so much for stopping by!

Yummy…wouldn’t it be nice to be smelling gingerbread cookies right now? Looking at Cookie Cutter Christmas gingerbread men for a few hours has been getting to me – ha ha!

This yummy card was created by fellow demonstrator, Kay Capps. I love how she used the Best Badge punch to get the scallops along the bottom of her card. Brilliant!

For your convenience, here is a list of most of the items she used in the creation of this card. Clicking on any of the images will take you to my 24/7 online store where you can shop to your hearts content (please do!) Thank you so much for stopping by!

It’s beginning to look a lot like the holidays. Let’s face it, the holidays seem to appear earlier every year. They also have the uncanny knack of showing up when we are at our busiest. We have holiday gatherings and parties. We have places to go with the kids. Presents that need to be bought. So many things that just have to be done. 

Wouldn’t it be nice to have creative ideas delivered to your inbox? 12 days full of great holiday help. These ideas will cover gift giving, decorating, and card making. They will be packed full of inspiring ideas. Just when you need the inspiration and the ease of great projects, I’m available to you, ready to help you though the busiest time of the year.

The holidays are a time of sparkle and wonder. Handmade gifts and decorating add to that in a way that is uniquely your own. Having inspiration for great projects that are simple and easy to do, can be a jumping-off point that will spark your creativity. Adding your own personal touches to decorations, cards, and gifts really show that you care enough to go that extra step.

Sign up for the 12 Days of Holiday Helper. Just add your primary email address and click submit. I’m here to help you add that sparkle and glitter to your holidays!

I concede; this witch on her broom may not be sweeping the moon…but…after hundreds of blog posts do you have any idea how hard it is to come up with yet another blog post title? hahaha

This stunning swap card was created by fellow demonstrator, Nancy Endwright. She did an amazing job using the masking technique and layering colors with sponging.

For your convenience, here is a list of most of the items she used in the creation of this card. Clicking on any of the images will take you to my 24/7 online store where you can shop to your hearts content (please do!) Thank you so much for stopping by!

This card is amazing…and very simple! My kind of card! This lovely swap card was created by fellow demonstrator, Dianne Teslak. The only thing I may have done differently would be to layer it on Basic Black to help the rest of the black pop out. It’s amazing how a small thing like that can make such a difference!

For your convenience, here is a list of most of the items she used in the creation of this card. Clicking on any of the images will take you to my 24/7 online store where you can shop to your hearts content. Thank you so much for stopping by!

Ewww! Candied eyeballs sounds a bit gruesome, doesn’t it? I just had chills! (Okay, it’s probably because I am in the basement where it is chilly…)

This gruesomely fun card was created by fellow demonstrator, Jeanne Moss. Jeanne used the Jar of Haunts stamp set to create this simple, albeit gruesomely WOW, card.

I love how she offset the shelf with the jar. It gives the card great balance!

For your convenience, here is a list of most of the items she used in the creation of this card. Clicking on any of the images will take you to my 24/7 online store where you can shop to your hearts content. Thank you so much for stopping by!

The days are getting shorter (and I am getting slower) and cooler. Soon we will be raking leaves and having bonfires! I love Fall and cozy clothes and wish we could stop the clock right there! However, time keeps marching on and before we know it, Christmas will be here! If you don’t believe me, you can find out how many days are left and watch the seconds tick away right here:
http://www.xmasclock.com/

This card was a make and take at my Grand Annual Open Houses. I have to say I giggled a little to myself while creating this card. Here I am trying to create a card that evokes the feeling of a cozy Christmas and all I can think about is ugly Christmas sweaters! I truly hope I captured none of that!

It can be a challenge to come up with simple and easy cards that show a lot of product. That is usually my goal with my make and takes. I like for everyone to experience a good sampling of the new things so they can get an idea if they like something. With so many items to choose from, it can get overwhelming.

The new Cable Knit Dynamic Folder quickly became a new favorite. For another project and a video of how to use the folder, CLICK HERE.

If you would like to see how this card comes together, I have a FB Live video for you here:

For your convenience, here is a list of most of the items I used in the creation of this card. Clicking on any of the images will take you to my 24/7 online store where you can shop to your hearts content. Thank you so much for stopping by!