tea-drinking stamper

It's winter in the north and often quite windy where we live. That means that air leaks under doors and around windows. Hence, the draft dodger (not to be confused with the Viet Nam draft dodgers of the 1960s). I have a snowman draft dodger I made a number of years ago when we still lived in Ohio to block the draft coming up from our basement. My granddaughter loves him and sits him at the table and carries him around with her. So when her mother, my daughter, had a towel rolled up in front of their door, I decided to make her a snowman draft dodger for her birthday. Kyah wanted to pose with him when she realized I had my camera with me. These are her poses—no coaching from me. She is such a bubbly, joyful little girl! I am blessed with four wonderful grandchildren, although the boys are considerably older (16 and 18). I still find it hard to believe I have a grandson in college!

Today is my daughter Meredith's birthday. But she's in New Jersey awaiting the completion of paperwork so she can bring their newly adopted infanthome. Karis was born Monday morning (January 16) at 1:38 AM and weighed in at 7 pounds, 1 ounce. What an exciting time! Obviously, it will be a little late when Meredith receives this birthday card. Although this might be too flowery for her taste, but I just love it! Everything but the basic card stock and inks is from the Occasions Mini Catalog. I just love the Twitterpated dsp and think the Apothecary Art stamp set coordinates beautifully with it. In fact, I think that even the Tea Shoppe stamp set coordinates well with it and you will soon see a card or two posted using that set. Of course, the Bordering on Romance stamp set was designed as part of the Twitterpated Product Suite and I did use that set as well in designing this card. And using the Apothecary Art stamp set meant I just had to use the Labels Collection of Framelits D...

I tend to think of myself as little more than a hobby demonstrator. I don't put a whole lot of time into scheduling workshops, although I do hold classes in my home. Once I got addicted to stamping, I realized I needed to find a way to support my habit. Thus began my venture as a Stampin' Up! demonstrator. In spite of that attitude as a demonstrator (or maybe because I need so much in order to support my habit), I have frequently managed to place in the top 10 for sales in our team of demonstrators, the Heartfelt Stampers. Each time I do, I receive a wonderful card from my upline, Aly Schilling. Since I haven't posted them in a while, I have three to share with you today. The first one was for placing 6th in November, which is also the month my first and only recruit signed up to become a demonstrator under me. I don't think I held any classes or workshops in December, but January sales put me in the top 10 once again. Designer Series paper, rhinestones, Hodgepodge Hard...

I am so humbled and so appreciative of the two fellow stamping bloggers who recently presented me with the Stylish blogger award! Many thanks to Patty Braun and Christina Dowty. What a delightful surprise. As a recipient of this award, here is what I have to do: 1) Thank the person who gave this award to me and link it back to her blog 2) Share 8 things about myself 3) Pass this award to 8 other individuals whose blogs I have recently discovered 4) Leave a comment so they can pass along the recognition So here are eight things about myself: 1) I have a very strong faith in God that affects my daily living. 2) My family makes my life complete -- my sweet husband of almost 42 years, two grown and married daughters plus their hubbies, one grown, single son, two grandsons and one granddaughter. And I can't forget my baby sister's family... 3) I'm a core leader in the Finger Lakes Community Bible Study. 4) I love chocolate way too much, especially milk chocolate! 5) I play the ...

I have been playing with My Digital Studio from Stampin' Up! The birth and adoption of our granddaughter provided the perfect occasion for a card that would be professionally printed. I first tried it using a designer template. It was a beautiful card, but somehow the photo just didn't look right on it, so I decided to choose the option to create my own design. I chose the colors to coordinate with the nursery. I was able to "stamp" the elephant on the front because all stamp sets are available to me through My Digital Studio (MDS). I could never afford to purchase all the stamp sets in the catalog, although I certainly purchase enough of them! I chose the 5x7 size option simply so it could be framed. Inside the card I have the "vital statistics": birth date, weight, length and parents' names (October 24, 2009, 5 lbs. 4 oz., 18-3/4 ins.)

I now have a new granddaughter whose photo will soon be added to the mini brag book I showed on an earlier post. My daughter and son-in-law are in the process of adopting a beautiful baby girl. They bring her from the hospital to their temporary home in the nearby hotel today. When the paper work for this stage of the adoption is completed, they can bring her to her permanent home and Grandma (Grandpa, too) can hold Kyah Nicole Williamson! That probably won't happen until next week, but it can't be soon enough for me or for them!

Just thought you might like to see a picture of the demonstrators on my team who gathered at my upline's home in Rochester for a day of stamping, encouragement and inspiration. I'm standing in the back - my head is in front of the mirror.