Make a Difference

I can’t remember exactly what triggered the friendship between Teresa Shaw (jtkshaw) and myself. It’s been going on a long while. It might have been the exchange of some stamp sets or SCS forum chatting.  I know if geography permitted we would definately scrap and stamp together. She’s so fun. She’s a paper genius. And, she knows me….would you check out that shimmer! Check out her blog: Inkfully Yours! She has some wonderful new catalog stuff posted in the last few  days!

Thank you, Teresa! You are a doll! And, it was so sweet of you to think of me!

It seems that Monday was our day to be moo-ved by the Holy Spirit! The teenage girls group at our church, Acteens, is getting ready to go to a national conference to discuss missions, Christian life, loving Jesus… They have worked so hard since the fall to raise the money required to attend. Now they are fundraising for their mission project: Locks of Love.

Locks of Love is special at our house because both of our daughters gave their ‘never been cut’ hair to Locks of Love last fall on the anniversary of the death of their Mimi. The wigs and the ability to ’slap hair on’ was something that gave our oldest the giggles and special moments with her Mimi during their last visits together, so Locks of Love was indeed an appropriate mission.

Back to the Acteens, there is this cow named Betsy that they are ‘moo-ving around Marshall’ with a note that says she was ‘moo-ved by the Holy Spirit to visit you!’ You have to pay to get Betsy removed from your yard, you pay double to insure she isn’t coming back, and I - being the supporter that I am - paid even more to make sure she stayed where we sent her at least through rush hour the next day. See Betsy has been known to hop 4 yards in one day…She’s quite the cash-cow! Laura (our sitter on the left) is getting excited for the trip!

So how fun that I would get this INCREDIBLE RAK from SoCal Sweetie, Amanda Sewell (who lives in Phoenix <wink>) on the SAME day!

Amanda is just a doll! She and I sat next to each other at SoCal Stamp Mania in April, and had the best-est time! She is an awesome stamper and so incredibly SWEET! I was disappointed when she couldn’t stay the night on Saturday to visit more. She drove to SoCal from Phoenix (there and back) all in one day! I’m glad she made the effort, and next year, I hope she can stay a little longer! I am thinking this is a Penny Black, and it is fabulously shiny on Vanilla Shimmery Cardstock, flocked chickens, Cosmo Cricket Dutch Girl paper….OH MY!! Check her out at: Inkspirations!

Special thanks to Kim Howard for this adorable Bella Blogger RAK. This is the first time I have seen the ‘Bellas, live and in person! How stinkin’ cute! Make sure y’all check her out at The Basement Stamper! Thanks for thinking of me, Kim.

Without a doubt, THE highlight of my trip to SoCal last month was to meet some super sweet people who have inspired me so much in the years that I have been a part of Splitcoast. It warms my heart to now call these ladies, ‘friends’. When you meet folks IRL with whom you have ‘chatted’ for years, you realize you all have the same day to day type of lives with a passion for rubber and ink…can you imagine if SCS was confined in a 10 mile radius…ah, the damage we could do.

Check out this sweet, donut card that I received from Valerie Stangle, paper genius. It was so fun to spend time with her, chat about real life and watch her stamp. Her blog is about ‘creating paper sunshine’, and after meeting her, there’s no doubt in my mind that she creates sunshine where ever life leads her. Thanks, Val!! You are a doll!

Brenda Taylor sent me this beautiful birthday card 2 weeks ago, and it has just resurfaced on my desk. This card is so pretty. Brenda used a Stampin’ UP! favorite, Mixed Bouquet, a classic layout and combo of SU! classic and craft inks to make the images just pop off the page! Thank you so much, Brenda!

A few more RAKs to show you this morning. Sure makes going to the mailbox a fun thing to do again. Remember when you were a kid, and it was so fun to see what was waiting in there…even when it was never for you? Thank you, thank you, ladies! Take a look at these beauties ~  

 Beate Johns ~ Fresh and Fun

Pam Downs!

A couple more gorgeous RAKs that have made their way to Missouri recently. Look at these gorgeous cards! Thank you ladies for making me feel like a princess!

My sweet friend, Angel

uber-talented, Jami Sibley!

OK…not hand-stamped, but I laughed until I cried…from my dear friend, Jill! Check out those plaid pants….LOL!

More of those BEAUTIFUL RAKs to show you. Here’s another 3 for you to oogle at. Special thanks to all the ladies who have send some happy mail my way. Gorgeous, gorgeous cards and great techniques.  Check these out!~

Love this sparkler, Lynn Mercurio ~ Lynn in St. Louis

Thank you, Kara Bidelspach ~ hulkabigtoe

Thanks so much, Kerney Whitman ~ mom2grace

I have a small mountain of BEAUTIFUL RAKs to show you. I thought I would post 3 a day to give you some eye candy. Special thanks to all the ladies who have send some happy mail my way. Gorgeous, gorgeous cards and great techniques.  On with the show ~

From Debbi ~ stampinCPA

From Debi Klason ~ bottomphish

From Angel Wilde

WowZa! What a week!

I had several happy mail days in the last week! Just thought I would share.

First off, I have a beautiful card from Nancy over at Nancy’s Creative Mess! This card arrived well over a week ago and got mixed in with a stack of papers that I set aside to revisit after my taxes were done! (Taxes are done! Taxes are done!) So, my apologies to her for not acknowledging this beauty much quicker. Please check out her blog and let her know what you think about her beautiful cards!

 The base is Morning Marigold and it’s layered with Rose Red and Artichoke. The Thinking of You is from an extremely versatile Stampin’ UP! set called Take Three. Very classic, warm look. I just love this card! Notice how her flowers are 3 different colors. Nancy has colored directly on the stamp with 3 different colors of marker. This technique is called “Omitting” because it allows you to ‘omit’ parts of the stamped image that you don’t want to show in your final project. Thanks for thinking of me, Nancy!

Then just 2 days ago, this gem showed up! Jeanine Eckert sent me this beautiful Bloggers RAK. You can see her blog by clicking here: Stamping With Jeanine! Give her a quick (or long) visit and take a look at her loot. I know she’d love to have you stop by.

This beautiful card is with the raging popular, Doodle This, from the Stampin’ UP! Spring Mini catalog. The colors are Cranberry Crisp and Cool Caribbean. (Oh, how I will cry when Cool Caribbean leaves the Stampin’ UP! color line in July!) The doodles are colored in, covered with bit of Crystal Effects for depth and texture, cut out and mounted on to the white base. There is also a row of Crystal Effects dots around the Cool Caribbean layer for an extra punch. Very pretty card! Thanks for thinking of me, Jeanine!

 Lastly, I got an envelope on Thursday from my upline, Phyllis Shepherd. It seems I was in her top 25 for sales in January and February. She is so gracious to send out awards every quarter to women in her group who excel.  Phyllis, thank you for your continued support of my business. Who can ever have enough SNAIL adhesive, and you were speaking my love language with the Accents and Elements tin, Little Reminders. These adhesive die-cuts are awesome for quick, cute projects…check with your demo to order before the Spring Mini goes away!