I hope that no one falls off of their chair….but it’s little old me popping in to say a BIG MARYLAND HELLO and catch up! I was actually scared if I would have remembered how to blog and trust me…my fingers and toes were crossed that Word Press remembered me and that my fingers would enjoy hen-peckin’ away!

Where in the world do I begin….(hmmmm – kinda sounds like a song!!!) First and foremost…I am fine….I am actually great in so many ways that I could just KICK MYSELF that I have not been hen-peckin’ away little by little so it is not so darn overwhelming!

Lots has been going on but it is all good and the best thing is that I DID NOT shut down my Blog as I truly realize how blessed I am to have so many that care and enjoy my silly ways of blogging…my creative yet simple card designs…my tips and tricks – and also my silly and fun stories of life and my love for animals!!

I am no longer a Stampin’ Up! Demonstrator (it’s ok and YES – I am still stampin’ away) but I think that you know me well enough that stampin’ and crafting will ALWAYS be so near and dear to my heart. I do hope that this decision that I made will not make you leave my blog! (as that would just be silly as I do love to share, inspire and create)

I had so many wonderful years with Stampin’ Up!  and I made so many amazing friends (just like YOU) but I am so excited for this new chapter in my life. It was a hard decision to make but I will say that once I made the decision – I felt like it was the right thing for me!

There is SOOOOOO darn much to fill you in with and then once you see all of the pieces of the puzzle of my life coming together – you will see and hopefully say…..I am happy for Susan and I am glad that she is back!

Before we go any further I want to put this out there….loud and clear…I am NOT going to be affiliated with other companies and have affiliate links….I just wanna do what I love to do and that is….SHARE MY LOVE AND PASSION making clean and simple cards and inspiring you along the way!

I use so many different products from other companies (and always have) but you all know….the computer thing and I are not Peanut Butter and Jelly and I just want to keep things super simple and do what I love and what I do best….creating clean & simple cards and offer simple kits for you to create and send on to others to make them smile!

Just creating this blog post is a HUGE MILESTONE for me and I am hoping that this will kick start my energy to blog and have FUN with you all! I have soooo much BLOG CANDY to share and give away to you all….I just love to make you smile!

My years with Stampin’ Up! taught me so much and I would not have changed a thing as I truly am a happy person because of you all! When I reflected on what made me the most happy with Stampin’ Up! and what me me roll….these are the things that always came to my simple mind!!

  • My friendships made from my team and my blog…
  • My LOVE of designing and creating kits…
  • My LOVE for sharing and showing you tips & tricks to enhance this crafty fun…
  • My LOVE for doing Product Shares…
  • My LOVE for sharing stories of my wonderful PEEPS…sweet hubby…..and menagerie of animals!

 

The GREAT NEWS is…..that I can still do all of the above with the exception of Product Shares (but I still help team members if they need it) – I know that it is crazy but I truly loved doing Product Shares as I know how amazing that feeling is to get “the goods” in the mail! Heck, who doesn’t love happy mail!

So…..what does this mean? I am going to be doing some simple card kits but not like I have done in the past…..I am going to offer single card kits for you to be able to assemble. Some of you might have remembered in the Fall I did a WICKED Halloween Card kit and it was so well received!

My goal remains the same…to show you fun and clean ways to make a card that not only you will be proud of…but one that can be easily duplicated with other stamps and dies that you have!

I have shared this many times before but I truly believe that we are all so hard on ourselves and that many of us have a feeling of “I just can’t do that” and it is as simple as this….

 

THAT MINDSET MAKES ME SUPER SAD!

 

My Mom was the most wonderful person in the whole wide world but I noticed as she was aging that her self confidence in herself  was not as strong…again, that makes me sad and I also can see this happen to me at times…..so I am here to say…..

 

WE ALL HAVE GIFTS and WE ALL CAN DO JUST ABOUT ANYTHING…

 

What we need to do is so simple yet something that we all find that we need to remind ourselves (sometimes quite often)…. to be patience and not so hard on ourselves.

This is the MAIN reason I started making kits years ago….and trust me, it was a labor of love and many times I was told ….“are you crazy….why do you put so much time, love and hard work into them – you simply can’t be making money off of them”

 

I am a big believer in listening to your “gut instinct”

 

Here is what my heart always told me … – it is a passion within me to make sure that each and everyone feels positive and accomplishes something they set out to do….as WE CAN DO IT….and I know how it feels to not only accomplish something that you want to do but to also stand back and look at what you made.

In a nutshell….I get it – as I also can be in the same camp of – “WOW – that is great…..but I could not do that…” In so many ways I am a self taught – I love to watch YouTube Videos, I love to take as many classes as I can – I guess you can say that I am a big sponge that likes to soak up any techniques, tips & tricks that I can learn!

I love to be creative in many ways…that is one thing that WILL NEVER CHANGE!!!

 

 


 

In the Fall, John and I purchased a home on the Eastern Shore of Maryland. Our new home is very close to my Dad (actually about 3 miles away). This was a HUGE decision for us and one that we did not intend to do so quickly. It was as simple as this….the moon and the stars lined up as we found a place that we could easily see us grow old together ….continue to make memories together….and the rest is history…(well kind of) – We are trading the 30 acre farm life to a 2 acre peaceful water life.

Below is my view …it is just so peaceful.

 

 

I took several months of thinking and soul searching as to what I wanted and needed to do (with Stampin’ Up! & the whole moving thing) – and 1st thing was to figure out what to do with the animals!!! It’s not as easy as it seems as they are so near and dear to my heart and I needed to make sure that this was settled.

I am sure many of you are thinking….what about Daisy? Well….she is still at the farm but she will be moving down here to the shore and will have a new home with a friend that lives on a farm and I am just thrilled with that! We do have a contract on our farm but it has not settled yet so we are taking care of (2) yards for mowing and weeding but hopefully that will be settled soon!

I know you will all get a kick out of how we have been moving….YEP…with the HORSE TRAILER…works like a charm but we always giggle while we are going down the road as we feel like Sanford & Son!!!

 

 

I have been living on the shore ever since the terrible Virus outbreak. I do and pray that you all are safe and healthy. This is just an unreal time that we all are experiencing and I feel very blessed that I am here with my Dad. He has been great with only coming and going from his house to mine (he is getting antsy)

I have actually been a card making machine during this stay at home time and I have also been a weed picker machine….I have sent out more cards in the past 2 months  – I think that when I sit and create I realize how simple yet powerful a card is to make someone feel special and appreciated!

I have a NEW HELPER….my Dad – he is now helping making cards with me. He loves the Big Shot but he gets frustrated with the magnetic plates jumping around (sounds familiar??? we all have been there!!!)….it truly has been a blessing for him to have us move here and I have learned to appreciate and cherish that we are spending so much time together.Trust me, I think that I am being tested with my patience at times but I do know that I am blessed and it is times like this that I miss my Mom so much!  She would have just been over the moon to have us so close!

 

 

 

 

Besides our new home, the other FANTASTIC news I have is…..(drum-roll)…I AM GOING TO BE A GRANDMOTHER! I am so darn tootin’ excited as James and Ashleigh are expecting a firecracker of a boy…the due date is July 4th!!! WOOT-WOOT!!! I just cannot tell you how excited I am.

My Mom was a “GiGI” and I have BIG SHOES to fill as she was just the best Grandmother…..and you can see by the smile on my face…I am excited!!!

 

 

 

Back to the blog…Back to Stampin’…Back to simple kits!

 

Like I did before, I am going to offer single card kits for you to make up and assemble. They will be $4.00 each and they are totally on a 1st come first serve basis. When I post card offerings they will be ready to go OUT THE DAY I BLOG ABOUT THEM but I am only making up a limited quantity so once they are sold…they are gone until I create and make up a new batch of card offerings!

This 1st batch of card offerings (3 in total) are made with stamps/dies from other companies but ones that I know you will love as they are perfect for the times that we are all going through. I will always use Stampin’ Up! Heavyweight White Cardstock & envelopes and also SU paper as it is just the best with the color coordination etc….. I am just like you – excited to see the NEW catalog and once I see that…..perhaps I will design simple card kits with Stampin’ Up! goodies. We all know that I have TONS & TONS of Stampin’ Up! stuff!

I will post tomorrow with the offerings but remember, when they are sold through….they are sold through! I am in the process of creating a space for me to stamp in at the new house…but it is under construction. I am actually doing pretty good but it is a good thing John is not here during the week as it looks like a tornado hit as I have things here, there and EVERYWHERE! We often Facetime each other during the week as he goes on a search and rescue at the farm for something I cannot find here!

Below you will see the space that we are transforming into my piece of hobby heaven…I will be able to sneak upstairs and be lost…I am sooooo excited!

 

 

 

 

Thanks for hanging in there for this long post but I hope that you can also see that I am going to be doing some fun things with my blog besides card-making….I am going to share “life stuff” with you all to inspire you…and to also express myself from my little corner of the world!

I must say, it feels GREAT to do “other loves” that I have….cooking, gardening, needlepointing….yoga & long walks…we all know this, Life is a precious gift and one that we all need to nourish and be grateful for.

I will be back tomorrow with some BLOG CANDY and the reveal of the (3) super cute card kits…do you remember when I would do blog candy that I would ask great questions to get you all go down memory lane….well – that’s what we will do with my 1st post back!

Below is a little sneak peak of one of the cards….something I love to do and something will all need to so…..SMILE!!!!

 

 

Until tomorrow…..sleep well!