The Gift of You

I am so honored to be sharing a new set with you today. Earlier this year my friend Courtney Fowler was blessed to adopt two little boys from China.  It was a long road for her and her family but they knew God called them to it so they pressed on and God blessed.  You can read more about their journey HERE.

 

When they were raising funds for the adoption I contacted her with a desire to help.  My idea was to design a stamp set with an adoption theme to help raise funds for her family. 

 

Unfortunately, things arose that prohibited the set from being released when I had hoped so her family was no longer in need of the funds.  Instead she suggested we donate to a wonderful non-profit organization called Henan Kids International.  After reading more about this organization and all they do for the precious little ones in Henan China, I agreed it was a great idea.  So here we are! 

 

With the help of Courtney and some of her adopting friends I give you...

The Gift of You

This special set measures 8"x6" and features 15 heartfelt sentiments. 

 

You can preorder it now for $24.00.

Preorders are expected to ship in early January.

Here is a card I made using this set and a fun pad of paper from Graphic 45 called Little Darlings.

I hope you'll check out the SNSS Blog today to see some other lovely samples made by the DT for this new set.

Have a wonderful weekend! 

Friends are Fabulous!

And so are blog hops!!!  Today I am thrilled to share both with you through the Friends of Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps Birthday Blog Hop.

I have met some of the most amazing people in the past 5 years of business.  Many of those fantastic ladies are joining us today to celebrate our 5th birthday!

Be sure not to miss a stop and check back throughout the day because we may be adding more stops!!

Why shouldn't you miss a stop you say?  Well, not only might you miss some beautiful eye candy, BUT you may also miss the chance to win a $15 store credit!

We are giving away (4) $15 store credits. The winners will be drawn at random from 4 mystery blogs in today's hop!

You'll have until midnight EST on November 30th to comment for a chance to win and I'll announce the winners on December 1st on the SNSS Blog as well as on our FB page.

Enough of the technical stuff....

I wanted to share something extra special for today's hop but I really had a hard time deciding what that should be so here are a few of my recent favorites...

For this card, I stamped the poinsettia on DP two times, fussy cut one image then cut out some of the petals from the other image to layer on top of it for dimension. I do love how it turned out.

Stamps: Poinsettia (Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps)

Paper: Christmas Home (Teresa Collins)

Ink: Versafine, Copic for shading of flower

Accessories: gold cord, gold stickles, scallop die (Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps), holly embossing folder (Sizzix)

For this card, I did two things I rarely do anymore...heat embossing and sponging.

Stamps: Old-Fashioned Christmas, Snowflake Flourish, Christmas Sentiments (Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps)

Paper: white CS

Ink: Royal Satin Kaleidacolor pad, versamark, versafine black

Accessories: ribbon, white embossing powder, corner rounder

And finally for this one I used a whole bunch of stamp sets to create this Christmas collage. I just love a country Christmas! :)

Stamps: Vintage Ornaments, Vintage Postcard, Grunge Borders, Holiday Baubles, Light of Christmas Background (Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps)

Paper: brown CS, kraft CS, Webster's Pages, flecked white CS

Ink: Cranberry (CTMH), Rich Cocoa (Memento), Copics

Accessories: pearls & twine

I hope you enjoy today's hop and find yourself inspired to create some of your own beautiful creations!

Tasty Sketches & A Pain in the Neck

No the two don't go together....I love a good sketch and I will get to that in a moment but first.....the pain in the neck.....literally...

Around 4:30 this morning I woke up with a searing pain in my neck and upper back/right shoulder. I don't know if it was the way I was sleeping or if it had something to do with my computer work yesterday (doing the same mundane thing with the mouse, over and over in the same position), but it HURTS...like the dickens, so much so that I was literally in tears at one point.  I have a sort of hunchback thing going on by the looks of the bulge between my neck and right shoulder and my head mobility is very limited.

After gathering my composure, I popped a couple Aleve and tried to go back to sleep.  I can only lie in one position, flat on my back, completely straight, with a pillow propping up my head a bit...pretty much like a dead person in a coffin which is not how I typically sleep.  I'm a curled up in a ball on my side sort of sleeper.  After a while, thankfully I did manage to get some rest after the Aleve, but when I woke up again, the pain was still quite strong.

I don't know how long this ailment is going to last but I surely covet your prayers.  It's going to effect my ability to complete many day to day chores and possibly even my ability to drive.  I can sit and type (thank you, Lord), but no heavy lifting or quick movements. It really hurts even when I take a deep breath....and that is after the Aleve.  :(  Why does this sort of thing always happen on the weekend?....that's what I'd like to know.  Pffft... ;)

Ah well, this too shall pass.....anyway, onto that tasty sketch....

Today over at The Sweet Stop the girls are featuring tasty treats with the sketch.  I thought I'd play along so I made a tasty gingerbread man card.  

I've been making lots of Christmas cards lately and using a lot of the traditional red and green, so I thought this time I'd go with a softer version, pink and pale green.  I think these two colors work very nicely together.

I used some creative liberty and changed the sketch up just a bit, but it's still recognizable.  Don't you think?

Stamps: Gingerbread Man (Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps)

Paper: Holly Jolly (Echo Park)

Ink: copics & memento

Accessories: ribbon, stickles, machine stitching, button, SNSS Scallop Border Dies

Nothin' Like a Cuppa

A brief post today...

Our Digi Sale at Sweet N Sassy stamps started yesterday and runs through next Wednesday the 21st. All digis including the 3 new releases are 25% off!!  YAY!

Today I am joining the SNSS Digi Challenge with a shaped card I made using two of the new releases  Kiwi Koala's Cuppa and Eskimo Kisses Sentiments.  Isn't Kiwi adorable?

Digis: Kiwi Koala's Cuppa and Eskimo Kisses Sentiments (Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps)

Paper: Winter Park (Echo Park)

Ink: copics & memento

Accessories: gingham ribbon, SNSS Scallop Border Dies

Sadness & Joy

Sometimes the sad things really weigh us down, don't they?

Late yesterday afternoon, maybe a mile from our home, a farmer lost his livelihood to a devastating barn fire.

I was sitting at the dining room table on my computer when my husband called and asked what was burning over this way.  He was on his way home and could see the smoke from miles away.

I looked out the front window and saw the dark smoke billowing from the valley behind our subdivision.  Suddenly, the sirens were coming from all directions.  We didn't know what was going on, only that something BIG was burning.  As time went on the smoke got lighter in color which was an indication to us that the fire departments on scene were getting it under control.

When we left for church after dinner it was already dark outside but you could see the smoke hanging in the air and the smell was fairly heavy. When we returned home, it was even worse.  Our house even smelled of smoke, but none of that compared to the tragedy and loss for that farm. 

This morning we found out that 78 cows died in that fire and the barn in no more. They were so scared and confused when the men were trying to get them out that they ran the wrong direction and the roof of the barn collapsed.  I can only imagine how helpless those men felt.

I drove by the farm this morning after taking the boys to school and the rubble was still smoldering.  Such a sad, sad sight to see.  The Good family will be in my prayers and I invite you to pray for them as well.

In spite of this sadness I feel for this family and our community, I am joyful for another reason.  Today is my 15th wedding anniversary.

I really have no words to express how grateful I am for the last 15 years and for my dear husband, Dan, who has stood by my side even when most people would have turned and forsaken me.

I thank God for the tremendous gift He has given me in my husband.  A gift I certainly did not deserve and I pray that He continues to bless our marriage for many, many years to come as we seek to honor Him through it.

So there you have it....sadness and joy....all in the same day.  My heart kinda hurts, to be perfectly honest.  Cherish the blessings God has bestowed upon you.  You never know when they might be taken away.

It makes me think of this precious portion of Scripture:

Ecclesiastes 3

1 To everything there is a season,
A time for every purpose under heaven:

² A time to be born,
    And a time to die;
A time to plant,
    And a time to pluck what is planted;
³ A time to kill,
    And a time to heal;
A time to break down,
    And a time to build up;
⁴ A time to weep,
    And a time to laugh;
A time to mourn,
    And a time to dance;
⁵ A time to cast away stones,
    And a time to gather stones;
A time to embrace,
    And a time to refrain from embracing;
⁶ A time to gain,
    And a time to lose;
A time to keep,
    And a time to throw away;
⁷ A time to tear,
    And a time to sew;
A time to keep silence,
    And a time to speak;
⁸ A time to love,
    And a time to hate;
A time of war,
    And a time of peace.

 ⁹ What profit has the worker from that in which he labors? ¹⁰ I have seen the God-given task with which the sons of men are to be occupied. ¹¹ He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also He has put eternity in their hearts, except that no one can find out the work that God does from beginning to end.

 ¹² I know that nothing is better for them than to rejoice, and to do good in their lives, ¹³ and also that every man should eat and drink and enjoy the good of all his labor—it is the gift of God.

¹⁴ I know that whatever God does,
It shall be forever.
Nothing can be added to it,
And nothing taken from it.
God does it, that men should fear before Him.
¹⁵ That which is has already been,
And what is to be has already been;
And God requires an account of what is past.

Powerful words, wouldn't you say?  I hope you will ponder them in your heart.

In the meantime, here is a card I made that sums up how I am feeling...

Stamps: Season of Change (Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps)

Ink: Versafine & CTMH

Accessories: ribbon, button, twine, Season of Change leaf die (Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps)

Mornings are for...well, not me.

I am so not a morning person.  In fact, if you asked my family they would probably tell you to steer clear of me for at least an hour after I get up and definitely NOT until I have had my coffee.

Of course, when you have to get up early to get everyone ready for the day you just do it....very robotically, but done none-the less.

This morning was one of those typical "is it really 6am already?" mornings.  My hubby got up, gave me a hug and was on his way.  He makes me sick really.  He has no problem getting up and can be ready for work in 15-20 minutes.  It takes me that long just to open both eyes plus another 2-3 minutes to stagger to the bathroom without tripping over the dogs or stubbing my toe on the bathroom doorway.

When I finally managed to get myself "put together" and down stairs, my middle son was already in the kitchen making his lunch.  WHAT?  He takes after his father, obviously.

I packed the other two boys' lunches, signed Evan's weekend take home paper and put everything including his Spelling homework in his folder and stuffed everything into his backpack....all this BEFORE I had consumed even a drop of my favorite caffeinated beverage.  Can you see where this is going?

Next was the task of getting Evan up.  This is quite a feat because Evan is JUST LIKE ME.  After about 5 times of telling him to get up and he ignoring me, he grumbled and complained and got dressed.  He couldn't find his belt, which of course is no surprise, even though I knew exactly where it was.  He whined and complained because he was going to lose a light bulb for not wearing his belt (which is part of the school dress code) as if it were somehow my fault he couldn't find his belt.

I went down to the laundry pile and found his belt in the last pair of school pants he had worn, exactly where I knew it would be, brought it up and handed it to him.

"Perhaps you should take off your belt before you throw your dirty clothes in the laundry."

That comment resulted in a dirty look and a bit of stomping as he walked away to put the belt on.

Finally, I had a moment to make some beloved coffee.  By this time, we had just a few minutes before we had to head out the door.

I told the boys to grab something for breakfast FAST if they were getting it.  Everyone scooped up their things, I got my coffee and we were off. 

I drove the normal 35 minutes to school, dropped the boys off as Evan grumbled, "I am so tired" and something about not falling asleep until it was time to get up.  I think he may have needed some of that coffee, too.

When I arrived back home to a very quiet house I noticed a piece of paper laying on the table, up-side-down.  I flipped it over to find it was Evan's Spelling homework.  UGH.  I stuck LAST week's homework back in his folder instead of this week's homework.

I immediately called the school to let them know that I sent in the wrong homework, but I was probably too late. I am sure I will hear all about it when he gets home later. "I had to do it all over again and missed my recess."

I think tomorrow I should start with the coffee, which is also affectionately named, at least in our house, "mom's brain juice".

Now that I have had my coffee and I am ready to tackle the day, I thought I'd share another card I made this weekend while Janette was here.

This one is for the Mojo Monday sketch from last week (#266).  I enjoyed all the layers but it sure was tough to pick out just the right papers to match. Isn't that sentiment so corny?  I love it! :)

Stamps: Happy Hoolidays (Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps)

Paper: Holly Jolly (Echo Park)

Ink: copics & memento

Accessories: fibers (CTMH), button, Nesties

Skeeball...It's not for everyone.

You know...the game at the arcade where you roll the wooden ball up an inclined lane hoping to land it in that hole worth 50,000 points.

Saturday night we braved the crowds of gleeful children (and their tired token purchasers aka parents) to celebrate Evan's 10th birthday.  He had been asking for a Chuck E. Cheese birthday party for a few months and because the first double digit birthday is kind of a big deal in the world of a child, we decided to give in, just this once.

As we pulled up to the building I was pleasantly surprised to see that there was ample parking available, however, when I looked through the large wall of windows I instantly went into survival mode.  There were excited, token carrying, ticket-winning-crazed children EVERYWHERE.

We had 3 extra children with us plus a few more who were on the way to celebrate Evan's special day.

Before we even got out of the van I went over the rules...

#1) Play nice

#2) If you have a problem with something or someone, please come to ME or Mr. Sutherland instead of trying to solve the problem yourself.  (This one was mainly for MY child who doesn't always THINK before he acts...and yes, he gets it honestly....from his father...hehe, okay, from both of us.) ;)

As we walked into the building with 5 children in tow I just smiled.  We were led to a table with a sign on it which read "Evan Party 5-7".  Yep, that's us.

The other guests began to arrive so we divvied out everyone's tokens and off they went.  I figured they'd all be back within 5 minutes since that would be about how long the tokens would last.

Fortunately for the adults in our group, the tokens lasted longer than 5 minutes.  Since it was so busy, waiting in line to play the games meant the kids couldn't spend them as quickly, so the packed house was working in our favor. Go figure.

Every so often I would wander the game floor to make sure the kids in our group were having fun and not running into any problems.

As I approached the row of Skeeball alleys I noticed Evan awkwardly throwing the ball up the lane.  I cringed at the thought of that wooden ball ricocheting into the neighboring lane and whacking someone in the head.

"Woah, Evan.  Let me help you. You have to ROLL the ball, not throw it.  Here, like this."

You see, when I was a kid I LOVED skeeball.  I wasn't really good at it, but I did okay.  So after seeing my poor uncoordinated child abusing that ball I just HAD to step in and help him.  He let me show him, reluctantly, but as soon as I rolled the ball and actually scored him some points, he thought he knew what he was doing, so he grabbed the next ball and proceeded to clumsily throw it up the lane a second time.

I braced myself again for impact with a neighboring player.  Phew, it bounced into the gutter.

"No, no. You have to ROLL the ball, Evan.  You are still throwing it." "OKAAAAY, MOM."

Oy vey....he just couldn't figure out how to roll that ball.  It took all I had to keep myself from taking the ball right out of his hand and playing the game for him.  Restraint is a hard thing for control freaks, you know, but I behaved myself and let him bomb the rest of the balls at which point he said, "I don't like this game."  Well of course not, sweetie, you stink at it.  Okay, I didn't really say that.  I did what any good mother should do and told him not to give up, that it takes practice to get better at it just like anything new and that it was a fun game once you got the hang of it.  Well, he didn't buy it.  He was off like a shot to find something less frustrating to waste his tokens on....like whack a mole.

On the bright side, he had a GREAT time at his Chuck E. Cheese birthday party, which is a good thing since it won't ever happen again. ;) 

One of the funniest moments of the night was when Chuck E. Cheese himself crowned Evan with an inflatable crown which held 8-10 tokens.  I thought he was going to die, he was so embarrassed.  He will be 10 after all (on the 26th), which is much too old to have a man/woman dressed like a rat place a fake crown on your head while everyone is cheering and snapping pictures.

I do think maybe we should buy a skeeball alley for the basement, though.  Wouldn't that be fun?  Kinda like stamping...

I made this card yesterday for the SCS Featured Stamper challenge while my dear friend, Janette Olen, was here with her girls for an impromptu visit this weekend.  We haven't stamped together in what feels like forever. It was so much fun to giggle around the table while we made a huge mess with my stamping supplies.

Stamps: Vintage Ornaments (Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps)

Paper: Aspen Frost (Basic Grey), kraft CS

Ink: Cranberry (CTMH)

Accessories: ribbon, scallop border die (Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps), pearl, holly embossing folder (Sizzix), twine

Christmas Release Blog Hop

Hello friends!  Have you enjoyed the hop today?  Wow, I sure I have!  These ladies never cease to amaze me with their beautiful creations.

I'm the last stop on the hop today but I do hope you will join us over in our Member Company Forum on SCS for a fun day of challenges!  There will be 3 lucky winners from the participants of our Virtual Stamp Day so I hope you'll play along!! :)

For my shares today I am featuring 2 of the fun sets from our October release.  The first one is called Christmas Penguins.  This set features one of our newest adorable critters named Pippin.

Stamps: Christmas Penguins (Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps)

Paper: Christmas Home (Teresa Collins), 12 Days of Christmas (My Mind's Eye)

Ink: copics & memento

Accessories: rhinestone flourish , silver cord, snowflake brad, ribbon, circle punch, Stickles, machine stitching

Don't you just love him?  :)  Gosh, I would squeeze those cheeks if I could! LOL!

This next card features a lovely new set called Old-Fashioned Christmas.  It's perfect for those mass-produced cards because of the large silhouette image.

 

Stamps: Old-Fashioned Christmas (Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps)

Paper: white and black CS

Ink: Kaliedacolor, Versafine

Accessories: embossing folder, gel pen, pearl, seam binding ribbon

 Thanks for hopping along today!  See you next time!

Best Wishes

Happy Thursday to you!

My boys have off school the rest of the week so we are enjoying a lazy day of movie watching today.

Since I am chillaxing on the recliner I thought I'd share a CAS card I created a while back with a couple sets we release in August.  I had masculine in mind.  I think it works.

 

Stamps: Script Sentiments & Grunge Borders

Paper: white & kraft CS

Ink: CTMH

Accessories: twine & button

Be sure to mark your calendar for another fun release at Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps, Thursday, October 11th.  The fun starts on the SNSS Blog with a blog hop and then our fun Virtual Stamp Day of challenges begins at 10am EST in our Splitcoaststampers forum.  I hope you'll join us!!

 

Thanks for visiting with me today!

 

Be Merry

Hello friends!

Are you surprised that September is almost over already?  I sure am!!  What in the world has happened to this year?  It's going by way too fast!  Wouldn't you agree??

I thought I'd pop over here today to share a fun card with you since Christmas is just around the corner. 

Stamps: Santa Owl digital stamp (Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps)

Paper: Mistletoe (Bo Bunny)

Ink: Copics & Versafine for sentiment

Accessories: ribbon, twine, rhinestones

The layout is from Taylor's SCS sketch for today.  It's a really fun sketch so head over to SCS and play along!

Okay, on a totally different note...you may have noticed this on blog recently...

...and you may be wondering what in the world that is all about, so I thought it might be a good idea to explain why it appeared here all of a sudden... :)

A few months ago my sister signed up to be an Arbonne consultant to help with her family's struggling finances, so of course when she had her kick-off party to start her business I was happy to attend.  I really didn't know what to expect at her get-together but I was there to support her as best I could.

As the presentation began I listened intently while the consultant talked about the company and it's products.  Keep in mind, I was in various "direct-sales" companies in the past so I knew how these party things worked. However, this time I was intrigued and very impressed by Arbonne's commitment to excellence and their amazing line of products.  I was so impressed, in fact, that I spent a great deal of money that night.  I even signed up right away to be a preferred client, which only cost me $20 but gave me 20% off all of my purchases for a full year including that initial order.  It was a total no-brainer, really.  I fell in love with the products so I knew I was going to be ordering them often, plus it would be a benefit to my sister and her new business.

A few weeks later my sister told me about an awesome opportunity that I could bump up my 20% discount to the consultant discount of 35% at no additional cost to me.  I thought to myself, "Why in the world wouldn't I want to save another 15% on products I'm already buying?"  So of course I bumped up to consultant status...mind you, just for the discount.  I had no intentions of selling the products myself.

A few days later, after doing some number crunching with the family finances I found myself very overwhelmed and disheartened.  It was quite clear to me that we could use a boost in our family's income.  Between medical bills, rising gas and food prices, plus our boys' Christian school tuition, lower paychecks due to cutbacks at hubby's work and of course the current state of the economy, I decided it might be a good idea to just give the Arbonne business opportunity a chance.  I certainly had nothing to lose, so that's just what I did.

I am having a great time earning some extra money to help with our finances and the work involved has been very minimal.  The best part for me is getting out of the house now and then for some fun girl time while teaching others how important good skincare is for your overall health and well-being.  Many of us are so concerned about what we are putting IN our bodies but we pay very little attention to what we are putting ON our bodies....which most often gets absorbed INTO our bodies anyway!

Just in case you are not familiar with the company here is a bit more info. Arbonne is a highly regarded, premium brand with a Swiss heritage. The products are healthy, botanically based and inspired by nature. Our pure, safe and beneficial products are formulated in Switzerland in our own research and development laboratories and then made in the USA. We have a professional line of products that are represented by plastic surgeons, dermatologists, chiropractors, licensed aestheticians, massage therapists, professional makeup artists, personal trainers, beauticians and so many others. These products really are second to none!  The anti-aging line REALLY WORKS.  I am living proof! :)  Our health and wellness line is wonderful for those who want to get healthier with their diet or had started an exercise program. Our makeup is phenomenal.  I don't know what I ever did without my Arbonne Makeup Primer! ;)  And the list goes on....

I invite you to check the products out for yourself by visiting my website: http://korin.myarbonne.com.  I would love to share more about these products with you, so shoot me an email if you have any questions or would like to try a sample.

If you are somewhat local to me, I would be thrilled to get together with you and a few friends for a bit of pampering so I can share a little more about this company and it's fabulous products!

I also have a FB page for all things Arbonne, so pop on over and like my page so you can see what the buzz is all about: https://www.facebook.com/KorinsArbonne?ref=hl
Thanks for hanging with me through this little "commercial" of sorts.  I don't plan to talk Arbonne on this blog regularly, but I thought it would be a good idea to share a little bit about this new venture with you.  :)

Thanks for stopping by!!  May you be richly blessed today!!

Fall Frenzy Blog Hop

Hello stamping friends!!  We are so excited about Fall arriving

soon that we've decided to celebrate the season with a 

Fall Frenzy Blog Hop & Virtual Stamp Day!

The Design Divas have created some fabulous eye candy for you featuring our wonderful selection of Fall stamps so we hope you'll hop along with us today!

For your final stop in the hop I have a simple Fall card for you using a few of our August release stamps: Leaf Silhouettes, Tree Background and Script Sentiments

Be sure not to miss a single stop along the way because we'll be drawing one lucky commenter from a random DT blog to win a $25 credit to the store!!

Here's the list of blog participating in today's hop:

Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps Blog

Monika Davis

Jessica Fick

Cathy McCauley

Mary Faus

Kim Singdahlsen

Bridget Finlay

Dina Kowal

Jennifer Ingle

Kim Schofield

Ceal Pritchett

Giovana Smith

Jennie Harper

Korin Sutherland

When you're done hopping be sure to join us for a fun day of challenges over in our Splitcoaststampers forum.  We're giving away some fun prizes, too, so don't miss it! We look forward to seeing your fabulous Fall creations!

Long Time, No Blog

Yep, that sounds about right.  This girl has little to no time for blogging it seems.  I was just blog hopping a bit, which is also something I have no time for, and realized that it had been over a month since I posted on my OWN blog!  GASP!  That is terrible.  If only I had more time for fun things.  Oh well.....life just sorta does it's own thing sometimes, ya know?

Like this....

 A kitchen remodel...

A new adventure at church as a leader in our kids club...

And of course, soccer season...

 That handsome boy wearing the black #7 jersey is my oldest son. :)

So those are just some of the things I have been up to.  Needless to say, life is busy!  I haven't really been stamping much, sadly, but I hope to get a little inky later this week.  In the meantime, I leave you with something I squeezed in last week for the Splitcoaststampers sketch I hosted.

Stamps: Vintage Ornaments (Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps) & Key to Joy (Unity Stamp Co.)

Paper: Echo Park, natural CS, brown CS

Ink: Memento, Copics & chalk ink for sponging

Accessories: lace trim, pearls, twine, embossing folder

 Thanks for stopping by!! 

Fall is in the air...

Ok, well, not exactly, but soon!! :)  The Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps August release is here and we are celebrating the beauty of Autumn with a blog hop and a virtual stamp day. 

I am the last stop for today's blog hop and I have two cards to share with you.

First up is this silly turkey who really wants you to enjoy beef this Thanksgiving ;).

I colored him with Copics.  The DP is from Bo Bunny's Forever Fall line. I added some twine and a heart brad for a bit of "pop", but it's overall a pretty simple card.

This next one features our adorable Pumpkin Kitty FREE w/$50 stamp set.  You can get this adorable set FREE when you place a $50 order through the month of August.

I colored this image with Copics as well and cut it out to pop it up on my layers of DP, which are also from Bo Bunny's Forever Fall line.  I just added some ribbon to this one so again, a fairly simple card.

Don't forget, the August release is now available for preorder on the SNSS website!

After you're done hopping and shopping be sure to visit us over in our SCS forum for a day full of challenges!!

Thanks for visiting with me today!

Happy Little.....Stockings?

Do you remember the artist Bob Ross and his "happy little trees"?  Well, I am not sharing happy little trees today but happy little stockings :).  I am having such fun with this new Christmas stamp set, Holiday Baubles.  There are so many things you can do with it!

Here's a not-so-CAS card I made for Christmas in July week...

The papers are new from Bo Bunny (LOVE) called Mistletoe. I simply stamped a row of stockings in different colors on a larger panel, then stamped the sentiment and added the DP above and below.  The scallops below the lovely Stampin' Up ribbon are from the Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps scallop die set. 

Thanks for visiting with me today!

May you feel the Lord's love and faithful presence today....and always!!

Christmas in July Continued

Hello friends!  The Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps Digi Team is continuing our fabulous Christmas in July celebration with another blog hop this time featuring our newest Christmas digis!  Your challenge is to create your own Christmas card for a chance to win the entire Christmas in July digi release!

You can find all of the blog hop details HERE.

Don't forget to check out our other Christmas in July festivities...a sale, prizes and freebies...find full details HERE.

And here is the list of blogs you won't want to miss in today's hop:

• Sweet 'n Sassy Digi Blog
• Cathy Wallington
• Ceal Pritchett
• Cyndi Bundy
• Melinda Gleissner
• Patricia Hays
• Stephanie Serrano
• Stephanie Wright
• Wendy Jordan
• Korin Sutherland<----you're here!

For my Christmas creation today I am sharing the lovely Poinsettia digi with one of the sentiments from the Christmas Sentiments digi set.

I also used our new Decorative Plaque dies and Decorative Frame Toppers stamp set.  The papers are from Echo Park and Bo Bunny.

Thanks for hopping with us today!  Now grab those Christmas digis and join the fun!

Blessings,

We're celebrating Christmas in July!

Hello friends!  I am thrilled to be participating in today's Christmas in July Blog Hop.  The Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps DT and a few of our friends have been busy little bees getting ready to share with you today.  By the time you finish this hop you will want to crank up the Christmas music, break out the hot cocoa and get started on those Christmas cards :).

Before I get to my shares for today let me give you some important info...if you didn't start on the Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps blog, you will want to head there now.  There is a lot of info you won't want to miss about our celebration!

The best part about this fun Christmas in July blog hop...we want YOU to play along with us!  Just create a Christmas project using Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps and add your link below so we can enjoy it, too!  You have until Sunday, July 22 at 11:59 PM EST to play along.  We will 1 randomly selected participant to receive their choice of one Christmas clear stamp set! 

How about those cards I promised....

My first few cards feature a couple of our fabulous pre-released Christmas sets, Holiday Baubles & Christmas Sentiments.  You can get the pre-released sets while supplies last and then not again until they are officially released in September or October.

This set is so much for fun CAS cards like these.  You could have your Christmas cards done in no time flat! A Kaleidacolor ink pad and some Stickles and viola---CAS at it's finest :).

The next few cards feature the pre-released set Vintage Ornaments.

I love this set, too!  It makes fabulous CAS cards, but also amazing layered cards :).

That's all for me today, but I will be sharing more Christmas cards throughout the week so come back often!

Here's the full blog hop line-up...

Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps blog

Kim Singdahlsen

Bridget Finlay

Jennifer Ingle

Taylor Usry

Monika Davis

Cathy McCauley

Mary Faus

Ceal Pritchett

Giovana Smith

Lee Murphy

Jennie Harper

Kim Schofield

Julie Ranae
Jessica Fick

Korin Sutherland

A Different Kind of Hop

Good morning, friends (new & old)!

My blog is typically dedicated to my stamping passion, but today I am going to be sharing something a little bit different.  I hope you will join the fun and be encouraged!

A few months back I stumbled on a blog called MOB Society....MOB stands for Mothers of Boys.  Being a mother to three boys, this blog intrigued me, so I read on and I have been reading on ever since :).  This blog is full of encouragement for us MOBs, plus it's packed with plenty of fun stories, giggles and resources, too.  If you have a son or more than one son, I invite you to check it out.  You won't be sorry!

The MOB Society Blog is holding it's annual Boy Mom Blog Hop and it starts today!  I thought it would be fun to participate to not only help spread the word about this fabulous blog, but also to tell YOU a bit about MY amazing boys :).  The pictures are not all current (which you can tell by my varying hairstyles), but they are some of my favorites, so I wanted to share them with you....and maybe brag on them, just a little ;)...

I'll start with my oldest.....

This is Aston.  He's 14 and he is a leader.  He has a fabulous sense of humor and LOVES to make people laugh.  He is often found in the center of the action (which is often his youth group laughing their heads off or goofing around).  Aston has a knack for working with his hands and although he isn't a big fan of school or reading because he prefers doing something more active, he is VERY smart.  He has grown a great deal this past year, physically but also spiritually and I am looking forward to seeing what God has in store for him.  I am so proud to be his mother.

This is Aidan.  He's 12 and he is a tenderhearted encourager.  He loves learning and always strives to do his best.  He loves cooking and computers and, like his brother, has a great sense of humor.  When we are together I often find myself giggling at the funny things he says.  He's not the rowdy kind of boy, but he does enjoy swimming and wants to start playing soccer this fall at his small Christian school.  This past year his teacher nominated him for the Jr. National Young Leaders Conference in Washington, D.C. He also earned the citizenship award, which was another exciting achievement. I am so proud to be his mother.

This is Evan.  He's 9 and he is a fireball of energy!  He doesn't like to sit still for very long and he always keeps us on our toes.  He loves telling others about Jesus and wants to be a missionary when he grows up.  He also has a fabulous sense of humor and says some of the funniest things I have ever heard come out of a young child.  He loves making new friends and is very good at it.  He just learned how to swim, which he is quite excited about and he can't wait for school to start again so he can see his friends ;).  I am so proud to be his mother.

Well, there you have it---my boys, my joys.

If you want to learn more about ME, feel free to look around my blog and check out my About Me tab.

Thanks for visiting with me today.  I hope you enjoyed this little detour and I will see you again soon!

Remember to be a blessing to someone today and you in turn will be blessed.