simple dreams

Happy Mother's Day!

There is nothing more wonderful to me than spending a beautiful spring day in the park with my family. Yesterday I was given the very best Mother's day gift... time with my family. Running, laughing, taking pictures - simply the best. I want to share some of the magic of yesterday with you in hopes that the beautiful spring colors will bring smiles to your faces.

Washington Arboretum, Azalea Lane

 

Washington Arboretum, Rhododendron Lane

Washington Arboretum, Oak Tree

Wishing you a day filled with warm thoughts and happy memories! Happy Mother's Day!

-Ellen 
 

Paper Crafting Supplies are SO Handy for School Projects

It has been a busy time at our house. The fourth graders are currently studying Washington State and one of their projects was to create a 3-D project for their Museum Night at school. Trina dressed as a missionary and created a one-room mission school as she studied and shared information regarding the Whitmans.

Diligently working on this project for days brought about this gorgeous little scene below. I have to tell you that it is so fulfilling to let her use my crafting supplies when she works on her projects. With just a few tips, she then rushes in head-on.

Following are just some of the supplies she used to create this little school:

• Studio paint was used on the styrofoam,
• Distress Ink aged the popsicle stick siding and wood veneer door - the door then had a little hitch fastener doorknob - it was oh so cute :-D
• Memory Frame and Memory Glass windows,
• Embossing folder and Distress Crackle paint on Craft-a-board made the roof,
• Crackle Accents made a glorious stream.

What fun it was to watch her all dressed up, giving her speech in which she ended up showing everyone how if you could peek through the windows into the schoolroom, you would find a surprise inside. I was SO very bummed when I realized that I had left the memory card firmly planted here in the computer as I carried my camera around that night.  Can you tell I'm a very proud Mom? LOL!

The message tonight is to share some of your supplies with your kids and grandkids and let them create to their hearts content. It really is magical!

ETA: I just finished posting one more set of directions for a hybrid card I created over on In Touch :D

"Essentials by Ellen" - a gadget girl's story

Where does one begin with a story that could take hours to tell, yet needs to fit in to one blog post? If you are interested in the progression of my “ideas,” perhaps you should grab a cup of coffee or tea, because this might take awhile for you to read – LOL!

We have been receiving questions about some of the latest tools I have been developing, and I guess there is no time better than the present to just put it out here in cyberville, so that you will know what I have been up to! J

As many of you know I love tools – plain and simple I am a “gadget-girl.” As I became familiar with this industry and immersed myself in it, I came to realize that there were many things that I “needed,” that were not on the market. My passion for all things done in a “perfectionist” manner has led to some of the products that I see you all so very excited about, using and enjoying daily – for that I am absolutely thrilled! The emails you send to us here at work, thanking us for our service, are words that keep me moving forward.

I began my business in 2006 with the encouragement of my now dear friend, Karen Lockhart. I needed to help my family financially. As a Stampin’ Up! demonstrator and then as a concept designer, it was extremely difficult to earn enough money to even help begin to pay one single bill – LOL! It was upon Karen’s advice that I began selling Lockhart stamps on the internet in the fall of 2006. It was a small thing and was easy to accomplish from one shelf in my laundry room.

As I continued to surround myself with the tools of this trade, I found elements lacking. JulieHRR, Mona Lisa, and I would discuss at length our dissatisfaction with some of our tools – LOL! One of the things that would make me insane was my inability to cut the basic shapes and layer them in a precise manner. There was absolutely nothing in the marketplace that would allow me to layer the way I wanted, or mix my basic shapes together with scallops, pinked edges, or deckled edges in the perfectionist manner I wanted, or allow me to make shaped or scalloped cards. In my mind I had conceptualized the perfect die cut system. It was at that time that I worked incredibly hard to develop and bring my idea of a nesting die to the market place; it was the first of my product ideas that was developed.

For the next several months, I worked like a crazy woman, putting together this brand new product line – a product line that I knew was going to be the hottest thing to hit the market place in years. I knew I had conceived a tool that ever single card maker needed! If I needed it, you all needed it too – right?!? LOL!

It was also during this time that I began to research Copic markers. As an interior designer I was familiar with alcohol ink markers, but the Copics were a “new” tool for me. Yes, I am old – LOL! Copics were not in this country during my educational years, the years I trained to become an interior designer. We had “other” alcohol ink markers and in comparison those were ghastly, but just enough to make me want to find something that would be similar and work for a paper crafter. J

I was fascinated, intrigued and thrilled with what I discovered in the Copic product. Marianne became my Copic educator, and Karen and I began to educate Marianne and the Copic distributors about the world of “rubber stamping.” At that time, I needed to discover what inks worked best with these markers, what paper worked the best, what colors would be the most desirable for rubber stamp artists and so much more. I realized the value of this product and how it would become one of the most basic tools for all rubber stamp artists. I love to color and WOW, could I color with these markers. Not only could I color, but I could airbrush!!! The world of exploration was just beginning for me and I wanted to share it with all of you!

One individual cannot come close to sharing this amount of information with the world – the dies and markers were tools that I felt in my heart would be something we would all be able to use for many years to come. So I reached out to my incredibly talented friends and colleagues. I called my trusted friends and fellow designers; I asked for their help, offering them something new and different to work with. I am so humbled by the women who stood up beside me and reached back to help educate the world about these products. Nichole, Debbie, Michelle, and Trudee took on the challenge with a gusto and skill level that is unsurpassed - I thank you girls for the trust you placed in me, for the education and excitement you each shared with the rubberstamping world.

It was in March 2007 that I had shared my first idea of a die system that would layer precisely in 1/8" increments, allowing you to place simple shapes together with decorative shapes such as scalloped and pinked edges. In June 2007 I shared yet another of my ideas, a piercing product. Adding texture to a card front in a very simple, clean and precise method is something I enjoy immensely. The Ornare tools are wonderful. I love to pierce using them, but they are slowly disappearing from our marketplace and there were so many missing components to this product. There is so much more to this piercing concept and someday I hope to be able to share more with you, as well as bring this product through to a successful completion.

I am so fortunate to be blessed with many ideas. As I work with a product, I see a need. As I educate others how to use a product, I find missing pieces. I wanted to be able to use my dies with products other than paper. Testing product after product, figuring out what the dies would cut and what they would at least partially cut, brought about the development of Craft-a-board. To be able to make embellishments, books, and other “sturdy” projects using a low-profile die helped place one more piece in to the puzzle my mind had created.

This leads me to my latest endeavor. It was in December of 2007 that I saw yet another need. I knew I needed to have more control over my airbrush, but how would I make it happen. The masks that I had been using would tear my paper, leave sticky residue in place, or get soaked with ink. My dies and papers would blow and buffet all over the place as I would use my airbrush with these tools. I found it frustrating and started “jury-rigging” things together to allow myself to work hands free.

I got on the phone with my colleague and friend, Karen Lockhart, and we did what we do best – we brainstorm, we banter back and forth throwing out words. Karen, I cannot begin to thank you for being my sounding board, my support system, and my friend. It was during that brainstorm session when I asked Karen, “What sticks, but doesn’t tear paper when you remove it?” It came down to one word that my brain just glommed on to - magnets!!!

It was at that time that I conceived what many of you are now seeing in the COPIC Airbrush Papercrafting DVD – a magnetic, rotating, self-healing cutting board. The turntable is entirely magnetic and steel dies and other specific tools snap directly to the surface, allowing for hands free use of the airbrush!!! What you see is a prototype of the product I am working on. It is a product that I am extremely proud of. Once again, it derives from a need I have; a need that cannot be filled by any other product currently in the market place. My experience as an Interior Designer utilizing tools to aid me in completing drawings that would successfully share a presentation with clients, has helped guide me in constructing tools that I hope will make a difference in the paper crafting industry.

This product has had to go through the many hoops of the legal world. A patent is filed and I am currently working with a manufacturer to make certain that it works exactly as I have envisioned. You must remember – I am a perfectionist – LOL! Everything takes too long when you want it perfect. J I had hoped that this product would be ready for the market place in January of this year, but as with all things, there have been many delays. It is hard to make things “happen” when life is filled with turmoil, and boy have I ever had my share of struggles this past year. We are on the way though – we need a few more modifications, a graphic designer to make it all look pretty, packaging… and then I believe we will have everything in place to release what is going to be another tool that is going to lead you to creating at a whole new level!

So, for those who are looking for this product, the turntable prototype you are seeing in the Papercraft Airbrush DVD, it is currently not available for purchase, (but hopefully soon!) With the release of this product, you will soon be able to use the tools you already own in a much more satisfactory and easy manner!

As well, many of you have received our little “gift.”  When purchasing the papercrafting DVD from us, we have included a sample of a product that we are releasing with today’s “In Touch” post. In my newsletter post today, I share a starting point as to how you can put this magnet to good use. You must promise me that you will remember that this is just a starting point – LOL! There are still numerous components missing, but one just needs to get started at some level. Be certain to watch the CLASSroom as each of our designers shares their ideas for using our new Art Magnetic Masking material. These women are so very talented and I am SO very blessed to be surrounded by such honorable, gifted friends.

Due to the fact that these products are in the initial stages of development, it is an absolutely huge risk to tell the “world” about them in such a public manner. As with all new “good things,” other manufacturers are observing and taking notes. But I proudly stand before you to tell you that these are my ideas, as well, I have more new ideas and they all relate to my previous ideas and knowledge. I will teach you to use your dies, electronic cutting tools (Cricut, Silhouette, etc.), Copic markers and airbrush system, in a whole new way. You will have so much more control over your work! I hope it will allow you to look at things around you in your work room in a new way and to push you to explore your own creativity.

Educating others makes me happy! Sharing new ideas makes me happy! Having customers that share their appreciation for what we do, makes me happy!

I have been blessed; blessed with family and friends, who love me, support me and believe in me. We have been blessed with a customer base that shares their gratitude and supports us as they make their purchases. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for your kindness and amazing support. You all bless me.

With much appreciation. - Ellen

One of those "Trips of a Lifetime" and new Lockhart stamps, Basic Grey and more

It is special times like this that I will remember for a lifetime. I hope that our girls will also now have memories that they will look back upon, laugh about and remember fondly. Exploring "America" together has been so much fun - our girls are the perfect age for doing one of those Chevy Chase or Robin Williams like vacations. Unfortunately for our girls my husband and I are not nearly as funny - perhaps that is a good thing though - LOL!

Where to begin? I guess to begin at the beginning would be good. Karen once again surprised me - LOL! I knew that she had some absolutely fabulous new images ready to be released, but I had no idea when she was planning for them to become available. Wouldn't you know it - I get the call on Friday and we are leaving Saturday. SO I quickly planned the new stamp of the month project (to be released July 1st) and made the new thank you note to go in the July orders before leaving on our trip. I hope to do the full tutorial showing the coloring of this image upon our return next week, but for now I just want to let you know that we are providing two different varieties of patterned paper so that you can create two different looks as shown below.

The latest addition to the Lockhart collection is the "In the Window" series. Let me tell you that these two are just the beginning of a fabulous new collection. We will be seeing more of these :) Think Fall and Christmas and let your imagination take over.

I apologize for only having black and white images for viewing on the store at the moment, but I just couldn't get it all done before heading out on Saturday morning. I promise I will add color images and resize the images that are out of proportion (IB Peaches truly is not double the size from the other's - LOL) I do believe that I did get the accurate sizes listed next to each image so that you could better visualize the actual size though. I can just see the wonderful preserved tags that you can use the new Itty Bitty's for - I am so excited about these - it makes me want to make some strawberry jam and I most definitely will need to can some peaches. My mom made the best canned peaches and so I now try and do this for my girls, because they LOVE them so much!

Following are just a few of the amazing sites we have seen.

 

Mammoth Hot Springs, Yellowstone National Park

 

Old Faithful Geyser, Yellowstone National Park

 

I did not use a telephoto lens to take this picture! He was grazing beside the highway as we drove through Yellowstone. These bad boys are BIG! Needless to say I remained behind the closed doors of our van.

 

We experienced the girls' first rodeo in Cody, WY - I doubt they will ever forget the cowboys flying through the air. Thank goodness everyone remained safe.

 

I couldn't resist this picture. This father/son relationship was very sweet. I couldn't believe it when this little 5-yr old actually rode a small steer - it was definitely a "like father/like son" duo.

 

Only the most exciting stuff for this family on a road trip - LOL! So we stopped at Wall Drug in Wall, SD. This place should be named Kitchville, USA. So we go exploring and we see this sign...

 

and then this sign... so we must explore further.

 

Yes, we are a bunch of goofballs - LOL! Only the best for our children... only the deluxe bathrooms - ha! ha!

 

The home of the Jackelope - a must see place indeed!

 

We saw some spectacular storms and feel so incredibly lucky to have stopped short of the tornado this thunderhead produced.

Spending time with family in the Twin Cities was so much fun. I can't believe how much the kids grow in four short years!!!

The Badlands were spectacular!

The Jewel Caves were definitely interesting, but we have come to a unanimous agreement that we are not a "spelunking" family. The idea of spending four hours on one's belly crawling through small spaces, sounds more like torture rather than fun. We will stick to taking pretty pictures of sparkly things instead.

 

Begging Burros - aren't they cute!! Perhaps a little slobbery, but definitely cute. These pampered beasts were treated to carrots and apples the girls purchased especially for this occasion.

 

Signing off from Mt. Rushmore and wishing your family a very Happy Fourth of July! (Do you see the fireworks Trina is creating especially for you?)

We hope to be home soon and sleeping in our own comfy beds and being licked by our baby Jasper (yes, our little dog has been missed greatly.) I am being told that the new Copic markers are on their way to our warehouse and should be ready to go by next week (keep your fingers crossed!) and all the new Basic Grey(June Bug and Lemonade) are up in the store as well. I don't have all the links, but there is paper, brads, woolies, buttons and more.

Thank you so much for stopping by and once again I wish you a wonderful holiday weekend!

Moments of Humor and the 12 Days of Christmas

I thought it would be fun to share one of our moments of humor from Christmas eve with you. Each year since the girls have been little we have had the tradition of opening what we call "Christmas Jammies" on Christmas Eve. Well little Jasper (our pup whom we call our little boy - LOL) provided us with some gleeful giggles.

 

Here he is so seemingly quiet and oblivious to the goings on around him. Happy just to be "in the moment" with all of us.

 

Hmmm - perhaps being a part of the moment just isn't quite enough. Perhaps a closer vantage point might be in order.

 

Well... for Pete's sake... do I not get Christmas jammies or some other equally good "stuff". Sniff, sniff, sniff... I know there is something in here for me.. I know it, I know it, I know it!

He was a good boy though and when he knew that he had been caught red-handed he returned to his happy and oblvious sleepy self - LOL!

Now on to the other news - be certain to check out the Ellen Hutson LLC home page for our upcoming events and be certain to visit the CLASSroom to be a part of our Twelve Days of Christmas Celebration! Each day for the next twelve days we are sharing projects and a little "something" special. Thanks for stopping by and I hope that you have all had a wonderful time celebrating the special moments of this holiday season with your family and friends!

Wishing you all a Merry Christmas!

We are surrounded by snow here in the Northwest. I believe it will be the first white Christmas we have had in a very long time! It certainly has added a lot of excitement in the lives of our children, big and little alike. (Yes, those children do include some adults I believe - LOL!)

Our family would like to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and we hope that you are surrounded by those who love you.

 

Wishing you much happiness! -Ellen

Happy Thanksgiving!

I wanted to take this opportunity to thank you for being a part of my life again this past year. Your support of what it is that I (we) do means so much to me. Your care and concern for my well-being as I have struggled through surgery, and who knows what other goofy predicaments I have found myself in, warms my heart and tells me how much you care. I thank you from the bottom of my heart!!!

I would also like to thank those who work for me! The girls here at our office - Beth, Cathy, Malin, Carina, and Shirley - they are such wonderful women and work so hard to make certain that we provide you with top notch service. Thank you girls SO much for all you do to help make this business a success! This week has been a tough one for us being it is our second anniversary sale and I haven't even been at work, due to a few shivers and shakes going on (hate it when my body doesn't cooperate with what my mind has an agenda set for!) They have worked so hard to stay on top of everything, without me there to even assist this week. Thank you all SO VERY much! I hope that you are each enjoying a wonderful day today with family and friends!

Debbie, Sharon, Cindy and Trudee - your support, creativity, energy and enthusiasm are appreciated more than you could ever know! Thank you for working together with me - I could not ask for a more incredible team of designers to help educate our customers how to use the products we carry in our store. I could not ask for more thoughtful, caring individuals to stand beside me. You all never cease to amaze me - thank you!

Above all, I would like to thank my team for your friendship! It is this that I value the most!!! Please know that your support, thoughtfulness and kindness do not go unnoticed. I appreciate each of you so very much! I would like to publicly acknowledge each of you, because my life would not be the same without any one of you. I am thankful that you are a part of my life!

So now you just have to envision a pretty card here being my trip to the office to make one ended up with me just turning around and coming home - LOL! No eye candy - just a few "sappy" words expressed from my heart.

I am blessed by so many other things in life, but it is family and friendship that means the most to me. Thank you for stopping by today. I wish you a peaceful and healthy year ahead, one in which you are surrounded by the love and support of family and friends. Thank you for giving me this feeling of warmth - I appreciate you and am thankful for having you in my life!

Sale Day Today Only

Just a quick reminder that today is our "make-up" sale day and runs through midnight tonight. Thank you all so much for your patience with our store "outages" over the last week plus. It is driving us crazy that the servers are constantly going down we truly apologize for any inconvenience this has caused you! The promo code to receive 15% off your total order is: BTSF. Remember to look at each line item for the reduced total being our system shows it in the line item rather than at the end of the invoice. Thank you so much for your continued support - happy shopping!

The CLASSroom and our BTS08 Promotion

I just wanted to add a little reminder here for those who are not yet familiar with our new Ellen Hutson LLC blog, the CLASSroom. We have been busy adding all sorts of fun projects together and sharing  new ideas there.

I also want to remind you that our big Back to School promotion is going on for the next two days - so don't forget to purchase your "school supplies" during our sale. The price of our Best Value Complete Classic Shapes can't be beat - if you do the math the price on each die set included in this packet is only $14.87 during our special promotion. Grab them as quickly as possible because it is on a first come first serve basis. Head on over to our store, Ellen Hutson LLC, and place your order using promo code BTS08 (0 is for zero) now Ü

ETA: Oops - I guess it would help if I told you what the promotion is - LOL! It is 15% off any and all products that we have in stock and are posted on our webstore during these three days! Thanks for stopping by Ü

Paper Gardens with Susan Tierney Cockburn

 

Today I had one of those days that you just get to dream about most of the time. Even though my life is spinning in circles I knew that there is no way I wanted to miss out on the opportunity of spending time with the oh so talented Susan Tierney Cockburn.

Gardening is one of Susan's passions and this love, added together with 120 inches of snow, lead to the development of a craft that is absolutely exquisite - paper flowers. These are no ordinary paper flowers though as you can see on the cover of the latest book Susan has authored - Paper Bouquet.

What an absolutely delightful and gracious lady Susan is. I had a wonderful time learning how to create a simple paper flower with Susan today!

This is Susan showing me the beginnings of a Tiger Lily I hope to complete on my own. We colored with Copis, airbrushed, glitterfied (just slightly)... oh what fun to see the workings behind these beauties. Gardening was once my passion as well and many of the flowers in Susan's book grow in my garden here in the Pacific NW. Can you tell that I would like to create more of these? Ü

This is one of the beautiful creations that Susan shared with me today, showcasing how she is using the Inchie Squares to create an interesting background. Susan also designs the stamped backgrounds for some of her flowers and I will give her a ring tomorrow and put a link into this post to share the site where you can purchase the supplies and information regarding this wonderful craft should you be interested. I also need to follow up and learn where it is that Susan will be teaching classes in the future so that you can have the privilege of learning firsthand the delicate workings of these gorgeous flowers. So please check back tomorrow for these links and additional information.

This is my very first paper peony. (So please don't  look with too critical an eye - LOL!)

As Susan and I talked, I shared with her how I thought I would use it on an oval nestibilty - she finished my sentence for me - "almost like a cameo pin." Perhaps it should have been placed just a hair higher, but I just couldn't bear to possibly destroy it by tearing it if I lifted the glued flower from the paper.

Susan, if you are reading this, I thank you for sharing a bit of yourself and your love of flowers with me today. You are an absolutely wonderful teacher and I enjoyed having you here so very much.

I will close by sharing the beautiful peony card that Susan gifted me with and wish you all many gorgeous blooms and smiles brought to your lives today.

ETA: Supplies to create these beautiful flowers and Susan's book can be purchased from Ellen Hutson LLC.

Blog Candy Winner!

A huge thanks to all those who left a quote or story about friendship! You brought a smile and a few giggles to me as I read through them. Yes, I do read through them. Sometimes I don't have time to respond to all the questions in the comments, but if you have a need for an answer I promise you that if you email us here at [email protected] we will do our very best to get the answers back to you.

Our lucky blog candy winner is...

Random Integer Generator

Here are your random numbers:

32	

Timestamp: 2008-06-09 21:12:28 UTC

that means after counting through the posts I have arrived at...

This project is so over-the-TOP Ellen! I can't wait for life to settle down for you. I truely miss your amazing creations!
My friend story: Bevie Pearl calls and leaves me a message on my cell almost every day. She comes up with the most hilarious fantasy trips that we are going to take. When I listen to them at the end of the work day I literally laugh my whole way home! She's a keeper that BP!
So are YOU!!!

Posted by: hb | June 07, 2008 at 09:02 AM

OH MY GOODNESS! HB is my friend!!! Congratulations my sweet friend - we will get this off to you promptly - I can hardly wait to see what you make! You can all watch for results on HB's wonderful blog "Happiness Blooms" - she has so many beautiful projects for you to oogle!

Stamp of the Month, May

Thank you all SO VERY MUCH for the well wishes, healing thoughts and prayers! I truly apologize for the HUGE gap in time with my communication. I feel that the surgery went well, but it will be some time before I really know the outcome. I am feeling very optimistic being I am getting around extremely well considering everything they did, but it takes the bone 9-12 months to heal and so I will not know for at least another 3 months whether or not they were successful in the reshaping of my femoral head (the bone that fits into the hip socket). Sitting (and walking any length) are still a little difficult (OK, so a lot difficult some days Ü) my behind feels like it is on fire if I sit for too long - LOL and so I have been trying to treat my body "gently" in order to maximize the healing in these first weeks.

It has also been a bit of a challenge for me to have my creative "stuff" separate from my office. I am at the mercy of my DH's schedule right now in getting my "studio" put together at my office. I will then have all my creative supplies moved down there as well and thus will be able to be a lot more efficient. When this is completed I will take photographs and share them with you. I have put quite a bit of thought into the organization of this space and so I hope that everything will have a spot so that I don't waste time looking for stuff - LOL! You know how that goes - we accumulate things to try and then they don't get a home, so we then can't find it when we want to use it :D Well hopefully the storage solutions I am trying will rectify that. J.J. will be working like a trooper this week to get all that IKEA furniture put together and then move my "stuff", so hopefully I will be up and running (well, not literally LOL) by next week.

Now on with the creative end of this post :D

When creating this month's stamp of the month packet I wanted it to be versatile enough to be used for the upcoming month's events. With Father's Day and Fourth of July right around the corner, and it starting to feel a lot more like summertime, grilling and outdoor cookouts are much more on my mind. I also wanted to showcase a fun layout that would incorporate Inchies in to it, thus I picked the IB Hot Dog and IB Hamburger as my focal point.

I stamped these images directly on the White Inchie Squares using Memento Ink. One of the things I had noticed when I stamped on these dense Inchie Squares with any of the other inks I have been using with Copic markers I have always needed to heat set it. So I wanted to try the newest Tsukineko ink with the Copic markers. I must say that I am truly taken with these! I did not have to heat set! I will be carrying these new inks in my store when I get around to being able to place an order, because I was so impressed.

I apologize for not being able to recal all the Copic colors that I used on my Hot Dog and Hamburger. If you are in need of the colors please post below and I will pull them back out and do my best to figure out which colors I used. Everything happened in such a hurry the end of last month and with surgery on May 2nd my life just started spinning out of control - uggh!

The black square was then cut to the size of 1 5/8" wide by 3 1/4" high. I mounted the white Inchie squares, leaving a gap in the center. I then place my two red brads to add some punch in that center.

There were a number of phrases I thought about using, but being I wanted to use this as a Father's Day card I thought the phrase "What's cookin' good lookin'?" would be fun. I printed it out in Word on a sheet of paper. I then cut out my Double Ended Tag. I affixed it using a temporary adhesive directly over the printed words on my sheet of paper and sent it back through the printer again. When I can't find the stamp I would like to use, this is a wonderful way to be able to say whatever I would like.) I then placed my tag back into the die and embossed it.

Next I mounted my tag by running the ribbon through it, putting adhesive on the back and mounting it on my card front. I then mounted the Inchie squares panel and ended by adding a little piercing to give the card front some additional texture.

Thank you all so much for your patience with me during this time. I am most definitely looking forwards to being back on a more consistent basis with more creative stimulation soon!!!

Updates and Inchies

As many of you know there is a LOT going on in my life right now. The good news is that we are continuing to make it through each and every day and prepare for the next - LOL!

It's official we have a move date (or perhaps better said approximate move "dates"). We (hope to) begin the move on Wednesday, May 7th and (hope to) be completely finished and packing and shipping orders again by Friday, May 9th. This is all dependent on other's getting their jobs done in a timely manner and being this is out of our control we just have our fingers crossed. Our goal is to have it all happen smoothly next week being we have been working hard at preparing for this, but please know that we will be "down and out" for a couple of days. We will not be able to ship your orders on the same or next day to when we receive them for a couple of days. I do want you to know that we will have as many of the girls working on orders as possible as soon as we have our supplies unpacked in the new space so that we don't run too far behind. As soon as our new phones are connected I will post those telephone numbers here on my blog as well as on the home page of our storefront. Until then we will continue to answer the phones as best as possible at our current number, as well as try and keep up with the emails.

In addition to the above, my hip surgery is happening this Friday - so any extra positive thoughts or prayers will be greatly appreciated! Being I do NOT ever want to have to do this again I will be following doctor's orders to the letter, so the above move is going to seriously make me insane - LOL! Not being able to just get the job done by pitching in myself, causes me major heart palpitations, but...

On to some brighter news Ü

Sometimes there are times when I just get giddy over the littlest of discoveries. You know how I am a stickler for color - I am thrilled to share the latest bellies I have found. They coordinate BEAUTIFULLY with the Memory Box papers and when all piled together look absolutely scrumptious. I'm not certain why paper, flowers and buttons could ever be scrumptious - but they are! LOL!

Look at these and these!

Then there is the spring or pastel version of the buttons and flowers!

And last, but certainly not least we have a neutral version (buttons and flowers)!

Simply scrumptious I tell you Ü Well the card I was planning on making is going to have to wait being I am off to Katrina's music concert. I do have the new stamp of the month card that I will show you tomorrow - I am so excited about it. I hope that you like it as much as I do - LOL! Be sure to check out the Inchie INKlings blog for some new material as well. Thanks for stopping by and I plan on some eye candy here tomorrow Ü

Buried

I truly apologize for not being here or on Inchie INKlings for the last week plus. Life is currently zooming down the highway full speed ahead. This week is Spring Break, so my kiddos are hanging here with me. We are also in the main throws of planning a business move to a different location. With that move comes a LOT of planning in order for everything to run smoothly. You know me - all i's must be dotted and t's crossed - LOL! This move will take place the beginning of May. I will be certain to keep you updated in case we have any glitches with our phones or computers. That is my primary worry - but fortunately we can still operate from here if things do not get up and running quickly in the new location, so please do not worry about it - we will still be giving you top-notch customer service. Your needs come first and I am confident that we will be able to continue to take good care of you.

When it rains it pours - life is perhaps a little insane being my hip surgery is scheduled for May 2nd. Fortunately it is not a replacement and so I plan on walking out of the hospital the same day. It's all good - I truly am looking forwards to moving ahead with a more painfree life soon Ü

So one challenge at a time! I am so grateful for my business associates Debbie Olson, Michelle Wooderson, Trudee Sauer, Cindy Lyles and Sharon Harnist. The incredible inspiration and education they provide to each of you on my behalf is so appreciated! Please continue to check in on their blogs to see what amazing projects they have created to inspire you and share new ways for you to use the products which you have purchased from us. I hope to be back soon with my own inspiration. Each day I have told myself that today is the day that I get to create, and alas the day has passed wtihout any creations.

Please do not forget the Inchie INKlings challenge. Remember there is a prize package awaiting some lucky participant. The submissions are trickling in - so chances are pretty good that if you particpate you just might win Ü We will be posting those submissions soon, so if you have sent us an Inchie or an Inchie file we will be putting the gallery up in the near future.

We are also in the process of creating our second newsletter - sign-up at the bottom of our homepage. Be certain to scroll all the way to the bottom of the page to where it says "Join our mailing list", to receive special tutorials, news and store offers delivered to your email box.

Thank you again for your continued patience and support!

Reflections and Goals

2008... WOW - how can it really be? It was only yesterday that we brought in the year 2007. As I sit here and reflect on this past year of creating there are many things that run through my mind. Never did I realize how little discoveries would bring such change to some areas of this crafting industry. In setting goals for this new year I had to ask myself what I was proud of accomplishing this past year in hopes that it would lead me to what I would like to pursue business-wise this next year.

I am thrilled with how much you all love the Nestabilities. Being an integral part in the design of these little tools is something I am tremendously proud of. For those of you who didn't realize it, this was in a big way part of my brainchild, so if you don't like them please don't tell me - LOL! OK, so I'm just kidding. It is important for me to hear the negatives as well as the positives so that I can continue towards creating things that really "work". To know that you all appreciate the value, versatility and creative options these offer makes me grin from ear to ear. Knowing how much you appreciate these makes me want to strive to achieve other products that will utilize these three qualities.

My next "baby" this year was the COPIC markers. To see the response that has evolved just blows my mind. Research and education are such an important part of who it is that I am. So it once again thrills me to know that I have had a part in bringing a fabulous tool to the papercrafting community. Sometimes there are things out there just waiting to be discovered - they are there, they have been around for many years, but no one really knows about it, being that it's from another "arena". This quality product is a joy to work with and I believe that we are just beginning to discover the beauty we can create with these special tools. I look forward to the year ahead and hope for more time to create, share and educate.

So this brings me to a couple of my goals for this coming year - I hope to continue to keep on designing and innovating things that will be useful in your arsenal of crafting tools, I hope to keep educating you as to how to use the products we are involved with, as well as share more of my design education with you all and we hope to continue to provide you with the best customer service humanly possible.

So with that I would like to bring in the new year by celebrating - I would like to celebrate each of you. My life is made so much more special each and every day by YOU. The messages you send to me, to all of us here at Ellen Hutson LLC brighten our days - they make us want to work even harder for you and give you the best that we have. They bring smiles to our faces - YOU are special and I would like to celebrate you to begin the start of the year 2008!

Just a brief note about this card so that it makes a little more sense. Try turning your Inchies in to an Inchie clip - what a fun way to hold a group of papers together, or put a magnet on the back and attach those notes to your fridge in a much more appealing manner. Be certain to tell the recipient of your card that they need to use their Inchie - LOL!

"Cheers to you - thank you all for being here with me!"

Christmas Blessings

I just wanted to take this opportunity to wish each of you the warmest wishes and blessings this Christmas season. My thoughts are with my Mom tonight and I just wanted to share these pictures, especially with her. Thank you Mom for learning to use the computer! I LOVE YOU!

One of the biggest enjoyments for me is observing my children. The wonderment that is in their eyes, the joy that just comes - it is different when they are small. It seems as though some of that disappears as they get older. The first picture was taken on our annual trek to see Santa. I truly enjoy this for two reasons - first is the facial expressions and wonderment that is in the little faces of those who visit Santa. I love capturing those expressions on film so that I can hold them in my heart for the rest of my life, because I know that these expressions will eventually disappear.

The second is to watch the amazing changes that occur in my children with each passing year. These are the photos that really seem to capture this to the fullest being that we have been consistent in taking them. To lay all the photos out and look at the changes that occur each year fills me with a sense of wonder. Wonder at how time can pass so fast - it just seems like yesterday that my girls were babies.

This last is one of those moments that captured Katrina at her truest. Each year I get the girls Christmas jammies.

Sheer delight in the little things! Do you think she likes them? :D

I was hoping to get a card made today with one of the angels to wish you all a most happy holiday. I love the new sentiment "light fades, stars appear, evening angels gather here". I hope that you can feel the comfort and peace of the angels surrounding you this Christmas eve.

(1) Who are we? Part 2

As I set forth with this little dream of mine to share creativity with others I did not anticipate the number of hours of "work", as in not crafty, creative, fun stuff "work", that it would take to just keep going once the store became a reality. With that reality came the realization that I could not do it all by myself. I don't just want to sell stuff to people. That's not who it is that I am. If someone purchases something from me I want to provide them with as much knowledge, information and inspiration as possible. I felt that I was failing in that regard because I just didn't have enough time. I felt that I wasn't able to share enough projects with our customers; I just wasn't doing it all justice any longer. That is when we, Karen and I, made a decision that we needed help.

 

Life just happens to happen. I have always admired Debbie Olson. The incredible precision with which she completes a project - her artistry and creativeness, these have always shone forth in my mind. Debbie and I became friends - she is a wonderful woman and I feel so lucky to now call her my friend. I believe we were brought together. Debbie became the first to assist us by sharing her beautiful creations, using the Lockhart stamps, with the stamping world. Debbie, thank you for being such a pleasure to work with. Thank you for being my friend and colleague. You are sweetness personified. Your wit and charm are priceless! I loved spending time with you this summer.

Debbie, with her husband Rick and son Benjamin, live in Norway, Michigan. After attending her first rubber stamping event in November 2000, Debbie was thoroughly hooked. Stamping provided the perfect creative outlet.

 

Favorite things to stamp include nature, especially flowers, and vintage images, but Debbie also has a great appreciation for clean and graphic images as well. She adores embellishments--the more the merrier!

 

Debbie was privileged to be in the very first Splitcoaststampers Dirty Dozen Team and has since served on several design teams, including Technique Junkies Turbo Team. Currently Debbie does freelance concept design and home schools her son. She enjoys blogging about stamping at www.debbiedesigns.typepad.com.

 

Michelle Wooderson, or perhaps better known as Mish is also a dear friend that I have known for a number of years. We met at a Stampin' Up! convention several years back after having gotten to know each other on Splitcoaststampers back in the very beginning of SCS. I have always enjoyed Mish's wonderful attitude towards life. When I learned that she was looking to expand her business I knew that she was someone I could always count on, laugh with and look to the positive in life. She makes me want to come and sit on her front porch amidst the beauty and sip lemonade with her! After that we could go down into her craft space and giggle for hours as we busy ourselves stamping. I know she would come up with some funky wonderful fold, or pocket, or... Someday Mish I am going to show up on your doorstep you know! Be prepared – Mish has completed her first kit and it is a KNOCKOUT. I hope to get everything completed and get it up on our site ASAP. Watch for an announcement soon!

 

 

Michelle resides in Kansas with her husband and two daughters.  Her favorite hobbies include attending and coaching her kids’ sporting events, cooking, gardening, canning fruits, vegetables and jams, decorating, photography, sewing, and paper crafts.  She loves the vintage style and get lots of inspiration from old quilts, fabrics, dishes, furniture and found objects she finds at yard sales and flea markets.  Michelle’s background includes a degree in Interior Design with lots of emphasis on art, and she has been published in Paper Crafts magazine as well as serving as a design team member for A Muse Art Stamps and on the Dirty Dozen team at Splitcoast Stampers.  Her favorite part about paper crafting is sharing ideas, tips and giving someone the gift of something homemade.  You can check out her blog here: www.michellewooderson.blogspot.com

 

Trudee Sauer - I love Trudee's giggle! If you have heard it you know exactly what I mean. If not then you must envision the most contagious laugh imaginable. During this last year I have had the opportunity to get to know Trudee and listen to what her dreams for her future might be. Trudee thank you for now helping fulfill my dream - the dream of bringing creativity to others. She does such an incredible job of putting "her touch" on each piece she creates. Always look for that glamorous bling – you’ll know Trudee was there Ü

 

To Trudee, home is the mountains of Western North Carolina. She is Mom to 3 beautiful dogs and a little old man cat (age 17). Trudee has been a crafter for most of her life, but found stamping and papercrafting in 2003. The moment she made that first card, she knew she had finally found her bliss. While she currently works full time for a major US bank, she is actively pursuing a career in the paper crafting industry. Visit Trudee’s blog at www.trudee.blogs.splitcoaststampers.com

Now I arrive at the next adventure in our tale. We are so thrilled that both Cindy Lyles and Sharon Harnist said “Yes” when we invited them to work together with us to share their talents and ideas with others using the Lockhart Stamp Company images!!! Who are these new girls?

 

Cindy Lyles - altered artist extraordinarie. Cindy has been a fan of the Lockhart images for some time. I know this because she has quite the collection already. The things she has made have always enchanted me. She works with jewelry, Ranger products, 7 Gypsies and... I am SO excited to see what it is that Cindy is going to create with the Lockhart stamps. I have known Cindy for some time as well and have been so lucky as to spend time with her on two occasions - first at a Stampin' Up! convention and then at a wonderful retreat with some dear friends. She is a FABULOUS teacher. I must tell you that she does EVERYTHING fast! Man, does this girl move - she accomplishes so much in such a small time frame!!!

 

 

Cindy is the owner of a fabulous on-line E-bay store called Starlitstudio. I would like to invite you to visit her store. The customer service she provides is five-star! She carries a wonderful assortment of altered art embellishments and a host of other wonderful goodies! I have learned SO much from Cindy - her willingness to share information with me when I first started  - I can not thank her enough.

I’ve been playing with paper all my life, and creativity was expected and encouraged in the home I grew up in.  In continuing the tradition, creativity is encouraged in my home with my children as well. 

From a creative childhood, to working for international collectible companies in the product development arena, creativity has always been a major force in my life.

 

In 1999, the local need for unique invitations, thank you notes and so forth, designed and delivered became the cornerstone of my business, called “StarLitStudio”.  I create mostly at night, when the house is quiet and the stars sparkle brilliantly in the night sky. 

 

This business developed into not only custom invitations and design work, but an online store, providing embellishments and ephemera for the do-it-yourself crafter, specializing in the 7gypsies product line. 

I am ever so thankful that what I do for a living is what I so enjoy. 

Cindy Lyles, StarLitStudio

 

Visit Cindy's Blog at: www.starlitstudio.blogspot.com and her store at StarLitStudio.

 

And finally we have sweet Sharon Harnist. That southern accent will just get you every time. The lilt in her voice just makes me grin. I “met” Sharon when we worked together on the Thomas Kinkade team. Again she is someone whose work I have always admired. The books, altered items, scrapbook pages and cards she has made are all exquisite. We were actually on the phone today because I just was jumping up and down in my chair when she shared a project she was working on. She is yet another wonderfully talented individual that blows my socks off!

 

Sharon is a native of Texas and has been involved in many different types of crafts all her life. She started scrapbooking in 1996 and was first introduced to rubber stamping in February 2004. Shortly after, she became a demonstrator and instructor of rubber stamping, cardmaking & scrapbooking in May of 2004.

 

Sharon's favorite papercrafting projects are coloring stamped images, altering 3D items, cardmaking and scrapbooking her two young daughters' photos.  She has been married for almost 14 years and is currently a stay-at-home Mom, developing a career in the papercrafting industry. You can visit her blog at: www.paperfections.typepad.com.

 

I would like to take this opportunity to thank these women for sharing their creative talents with the crafting world on behalf of Karen and myself. We look forward to the year ahead and to sharing many fun new ideas with you all.

 

To close I would like to extend my most heartfelt thanks to all of YOU! I could not have this business without you! I would not be able to work together with those I value without you! Thank you for being here, thank you for supporting us with your hard earned dollars. Please know that we will always do our best to continue to provide you with as much creative inspiration as possible. You make this possible for us - we thank you!

Well this crazy old computer - LOL! It has really messed up my post. Or perhaps it's the fact that I'm REALLY, REALLY tired and it is a human error - Ü. I think I will leave it as is for tonight and will attempt fixing it in the morning :D Sorry for the weird spacing and misplaced pictures!

(1) Who are we? Part 1

The women who work with me are so incredibly special. I hope that they know how much they mean to me and how much I value them. Their friendship, support, encouragement and incredible talent never cease to amaze me.

This post has been far to long in the making. I kid you not that I have taken numerous photos in my attempt at getting here. Finally I have arrived. It has been a year since this adventure began - it all started as I worked with Karen.

The first person I would like to thank tonight is Karen - her encouragement and support have meant the world to me. Karen moved from California when her hubby Scott started a job here in the Northwest. I feel so lucky to have her within 20 minutes of my home.

Who is Karen? She doesn't like to say much about herself so I have to come up with a bio for her - LOL! Karen, did you know how dangerous that might be?!? Her experiences in life have included working in the gift industry and also working as a personal chef. Her culinary skills must be excellent, but I can't tell you being that she has never cooked a meal for me - LOL! See Karen - I told you this could be dangerous - I just invited myself to your home for dinner sometime :D

We talk on the phone almost daily. Each conversation is filled with laughter. When we get together to share ideas and create I can almost feel the electricity in the air - it is so incredibly stimulating to work together as a team.

Then there is Nicholas! What a darling little boy - he is definitely the apple of grammy's eye. Guess who gets to go on the Polar Express with Big Daddy and Grammy this weekend? I love hearing Nicholas stories - they make me laugh!

There is so much more that I could tell you about Karen, but being I have numerous other bio's to include I will stop for now. We didn't get a chance to take a "headshot" of Karen to include in this post and so I will just have you visualize a beautiful, smiley face. Karen I appreciate you! and you are NOT off the hook for writing a little something about yourself SOON!

Left to Right: Beth, Malin and Malena

These three women are my lifeline - I kid you not! Beth began helping me once the kids were in school this fall. She is my CFO Ü She works daily helping with the bookkeeping and customer service. Her quick wit and fun sense of humor make me happy to have her here! Malin, my dear friend who watches out for my kids, my dog and my well-being - Malin, who made me get tears in my eyes when I read the bio she wrote today. Malin and Malena help receive inventory, organize, organize and then organize again. They pack boxes, ship boxes, help me in whatever capacity I need. Malena came to my rescue this summer when Malin headed back to Sweden for the summer. She has continued to stand by my side since that time. They all nod when I ask them if it looks OK - LOL! When I ask for suggestions they are there to help me make decisions. All three are an absolute delight to have around and I thank them from the bottom of my heart for rescuing me on a continual basis from my overcommitments.

I guess I should include our littlest of helpers here as well - I'm thinking you might get a grin out of this picture.

Left to right: Buddy, Nino and Jasper - they are sitting atop a chair in our family room, looking out the window waiting for the kids to come home. Somehow they have this sense of time and they just know when to start watching for their opportunity to distribute lots of kisses and tail wags.

Yep, they are all Havanese. We joke with Beth that it is a requirement to work here - ha! ha! So perhaps sometime we will have four in this picture :D These three adorable little boys get in trouble constantly. They provide us with plenty of kisses (licks) and quite a diversion when we are supposed to be working, with their adorable antics. Buddy is the youngest and belongs to Malena, Nino is the oldest (it's his fault - I fell in love with him you know) and he belongs to Malin. Then there is my little Jasper - who looks enormous and scruffy right now being that he is in desparate need of a haircut. That is to happen this Saturday. He brings so much sunshine to our lives each day. I had no idea that my heart could be stolen by a puppy as it has been.

Following are the girls bio's in order of who started with me first:

Malin joined me in May of 2007.

Hi, I'm Malin. I moved to Seattle from Dublin, Ireland 7 years ago with my family. We bought this gorgeous house (your first house is always fabulous) in this great community and the first people we met were Ellen and her family. It was a perfect match. She has two girls and so do I, plus we have our little Prince Charming. We have the same interests in Food, Photo, Skiing, Hiking and last but not least STAMPING. Our husbands with the same initials, J.J., enjoy the odd Pickle Ball and Poker game together. It's at least 5 years since Ellen and I were introduced to the magical world of Stamping. We took the same class and it was a lot of embossing powder at that time... anyway, we both loved it and got hooked a.k.a. had to buy it all. Ellen is a great Artist and when she became a Stampin' Up! Demonstrator she took it to a whole other level than any other I have seen.

As time goes by the kids grow up, the girls are now in High School and Middle School, and Katrina and Max who used to be the cutest little couple together, are now on opposite sides of the fence. One is a mature well-spoken girl and the other one is an energetic, sporty and very afraid of girl-germs boy... oh well, I guess we just have to wait a few more years until Prince Charming is back in town.

Ellen started her business a year ago when she had more time for personal development as Katrina was in school fulltime. The Business took off like a rocket and she asked me if I was interested in helping her out a few hours, until it had settled down. Well girls I can only tell you this... it's not slowing down and I love every minute of the day working for Ellen and with Malena and Beth. It is a great privilege to be able to enjoy your work, have your friends as your colleagues, walk home for lunch, bring your dog to work, and have the kids play or do homework at your job while you finish up and see to it that every last order that can, is shipped out.

I don't know what else to tell you. I'm Swedish too. We left Stockholm 11 years ago for a two year adventure in Dublin and see, here we are in the most Beautiful City... in at least the States... Seattle. We love the Mountains and the Ocean and everything in between. Where else would you ever want to live when you can go to Sweden for a summer vacation to see family and friends and then come home to sweet Seattle and your great job with Ellen.

Insert teary Ellen eyes here - I THANK YOU Malin!!

Malena arrived in June 2007

My name is Malena. I am 45 years old and have been married to Anders for 18 years. We have two kids. A boy, Daniel, who is 17 years old, and a girl, Ida, who is 15 years old. We moved here from Stockholm, Sweden a little more than 6 years ago. We all love it here, but of course we miss all our family.

I started to work for/with Ellen in mid-June 2007 because my friend, Malin was going to Sweden for the whole summer. She already worked for Ellen and needed a substitute. I told her I will work for her... and Ellen thought it was a good idea... *smile*. So here I am... still working and having a really good time doing it.

I really like crafts of all sorts even though I don't do very much right now. I also really like to bake cakes and cookies. I read books and love to watch a good movie. And of course, spend time with my family and friends. In Sweden I worked as a receptionist and switchboard operator. I studied marketing economics, but didn't get a chance to work with it since we moved here just after I graduated.

When I am not busy with work, I am busy with our kids' activities; competitive cheerleading, acting/modeling and soccer. It takes up a lot of our time, but our kids really enjoy it, and we love to do things with our kids.

Then we have the latest addition to our family... Buddy, our little Havanese puppy. Since Malin has one and Ellen just got one, we just had to cave in to our kids plea and buy one too.

Well, this was a little bit about me. Now you know who to blame if there is something wrong with your order *giggle*. To end this... I really enjoy working here and to pack/ship your orders!!!

My Dear Malena - you are a treasure - thank you for being here and being a part of this adventure!

Beth, our latest "victim" (chortle) began in September 2007.

I'm Beth. I relocated to Issaquah, Washington 8 years ago where I began my life as a stay at home suburban mom, complete with mini van and everything. I have 2 children, nine-year old Michael and six-year old Connor. We have gone from being dog people to cat people. After my black lab Sadie and my golden retriever Dusty died, we have an adopted cat named Lexi who has feline HIV. I get my dog fill from licky Jasper, pom pom Buddy and lap-lover Nino. That being said, I am an animal lover and all my pets have been from rescues.

I grew up in the seacoast area of New Hampshire. I went to college at the University of New Hampshire. My family is still there so I get to visit yearly. While I am loving the Pacific Northwest, I am a bit homesick for the beaches of my home. I also lived in Denver, Colorado, Wash park area, for 12 years. I love Colorado. I miss the sunshine, city living, and of course the skiing. I am a skier, and may work weekends as a ski instructor at our local ski area, Snoqualmie this winter.

As all moms are, I am striving for balance so I can pursue my passions, which are the environment (I am a green wip), teaching children (this will never end), and heal and fitness (another wip). My favorite TV shows are Dancing with the Stars and Greys Anatomy. My favorite drink is my first cup of coffee in the morning. My exercise of choice is rollerblading and swimming.

That's all I can think of for now.

Beth, I value so much how you treat each of our customers with kindness and how you can help bring a laugh to our days!

OK - so this is a LOT longer than I thought it would be so I am going to break it up in to two parts :D I hope have enjoyed meeting the girls I work with every day - leave them a note if you are so inclined. It is fun to get feedback and I know that it wasn't an easy task for them to talk about themselves :D Thanks girls for all you do to help me each and every day!!!

Much to be Thankful For!

I wanted to wish you all a wonderful and blessed Thanksgiving! Sorry it's a little late, but I was the chief cook again this year, thankfully my hubby was the bottle washer and the potato peeler and the go to guy for all the heavy lifting, my little one was the vegie washer and my older one was the floor washer and table setter Ü. There is so much for me to be grateful for this year! Even with all the little mishaps life threw our way we still have been so fortunate to not have lost any loved ones this year, to not have any major health scares and most of all to have the love and support of family, friends and all of you!!!

This card was made some time ago, but I wanted to share it here again today - it is sort of representative of who I am - LOL! A little nutty (the acorn - ha, ha), sort of colorful, fluttering about in life like a leaf - tie it all together somewhat neatly in a fun way and hopefully it will bring a smile to other's faces. That's me - all I want to do is bring happiness to others and I hope that in a way this little blog and business that I run does that for others. Lastly top the card off with a thank you to each and every one of you who have hung in here with me over the past year!

I know that I have not been posting nearly as frequently over the last two months and I apologize. I have been looking for ways to "repair" my body - thus I have been having to spend far too much time meeting with numerous specialists trying to figure out how we are going to proceed with my hip and foot. After numerous tests (and possibly a  few more to come) it appears more and more like I may be in for yet another hip surgery. If you have any extra room for prayers and positive thoughts left in you I would appreciate you putting me in them in hopes that the doctors will make the right decisions.

Finally what you have all been waiting for - I'm just going to commit to November 30, December 1 and December 2 for our One Year Anniversary Sale! Watch for more news over the next couple of weeks - I think that you will be excited about what we have in store.

Now I'm off to just rest :D Hugs to all of you!!!

ETA just a few card details:

I stamped the image on Arturo using Palette Noir. I then used Adirondack reinkers and my waterbrush to color in the image and create the soft washed background. Finally I used my Copic Multiliner to doodle the "frame" and add the word "thanks".

We're Back Ü

Florida was WONDERFUL! The sunshine and warmth rejuvenated our bodies. To be in 70-80 degree weather is pure novelty - LOL!  We had so much fun riding the rollercoasters, collecting signatures from the characters (Katrina in particular loved this part) and watching the fireworks parades and shows.

We also enjoyed the wildlife at Sea World. Feeding the dolphins was a highlight for us! The sounds that they make when they know the fish are coming and the "smiles" that they give when popping their heads up for those tastey morsels - well it was awesome.

I just have to share one picture of the girls with Cinderella - it was amazing to see that Maddi is now just as tall as all the princesses - where does time go? The last time we were at Disney she was Katrina's age and size! My little "princesses" are growing up (that is what all the Disney characters would call the girls - LOL!)

I wanted to share two new kits with you that went up over the last couple of weeks. Items I haven't had a chance to talk about. The first is a wonderful kit, Christmas Bracelet, that Debbie Olson put together with the Antique Silver bracelets. Once again Debbie has done an amazing job of selecting items for this kit. These will be ideal to wear during the upcoming holiday season!

Then I finally received the last of the product in that was needed for the Sweet Treats Cornet. This particular Cornet really appeals to me because of the vibrant colors. I can totally see putting little treats in these, hanging them on the doorknobs of friends homes, ringing the doorbell and running. You could also hang them from the backs of guests chairs, on your tree or package them up with goodies to give to a friend.

It may be hard to see in the photo, but the red paper has snowflakes on it. Below is a picture of the first step of the project so that you can see what the paper above actually looks like Ü

This photo also shows why I recommend the plastic as a template. It is so easy to position your template when you can see through to the pattern below.

I am still awaiting the arrival of a few more goodies for the one last cornet. Hopefully it will be soon being that the holiday season is rapidly approaching. I also have a few more surprises that I'm working on this weekend - I hope to get them done pronto being that I think that they will add a fun twist to your Christmas decorating and gift-giving this season.

Product updates:

Lockhart Stamp Company - we have some oh SO awesome new images coming very soon!!! I have yet to determine the countdown for these items being that I am trying so hard to get a handle on the availability of all the items. I will announce it shortly Ü

Copic - more glitter pens are finally on their way and are scheduled to be delivered on November 19th!!! UPS typically delivers late in the afternoon and so we will do our best to get those orders out to you pronto. We actually have the boxes ready to go and are just waiting for those pens to slip in, seal up and ship. We are so anxious to get these to you as soon as possible.

Copic SU Color Coordinated Sketch Markers - I would like to update you on the whereabouts of these. I have crossed my fingers and toes, and legs and ... well you get the picture - LOL!... that these will arrive the first part of December. I know that many of you have them on your Christmas wish list and so I am hoping that we get them SOON!

Spellbinders - yes, we are awaiting our shipment just like everyone else. I have been pestering them for weeks now - LOL! They know that when we call we NEED an update. Well here is the update - they are to ship out our order on Monday or Tuesday of next week. With Thanksgiving in there I am guessing that they will not arrive until the following Monday - November 26th. I wish so badly that there were a way to pick up the pace. I sincerely apologize for this delay and wish that there were some way for me to snap my fingers and have the product appear, but unfortunately it doesn't work like that. I will keep you informed as to whether or not the shipment actually goes out and for those of you who have had the faith to preorder from us I can assure you that we have those boxes ready and are anxiously awaiting this shipment as well. Promptness and accuracy are so important to us and so it is incredibly difficult for us to sit here and wait - LOL!

The last little tidbit I am going to slip into your ears is that we have a ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY coming up Ü Ü Ü. I can't believe how quickly this year has zoomed by. With that anniversary will come a sale of course - LOL! I know you have all been anxiously awaiting word on this. I am still trying to nail down the dates. I don't want to have any preorders on our calendar being that it is such a nightmare to fulfill those orders when this happens and so I am trying to get everything lined up before announcing the dates. I was hoping to be ready for Black Friday or Cyber Monday, but alas the products just aren't here and I know how important it is to have as much as possible available to you for that sale. So please cross your fingers for us that we can get everything organized in the next week or so and announce those dates to you!

It's good to be back - even though it is pouring outside. I'm off to photograph the new dew drops and other fun new things that have arrived. You are going to LOVE the new colors!!! So check out the "New" section of our store when you have a minute and watch for changes over the next few days. I will be updating it frequently Ü

Spending Time Together

This week I had the wonderful opportunity to spend time with my DH. Thanks to my dear friend Malin, who mothered my two girls and dog for us, we were finally able to spend a few precious days together, just the two of us!!! J.J. had to head to Las Vegas for work and invited me along being there was going to be "down time" between work sessions. Let me just say that 11 years is far too long of a time to wait to spend some time without children - LOL! This was definitely a treat!!!

When J.J. wasn't working we went exploring. There is a LOT to explore in Vegas. We mostly just went from hotel to hotel looking at the different themed lobbies and shops. I felt sorry for J.J. being that he had to push me pretty much everywhere in a wheelchair. I still can only manage a block or two before needing to rest and it takes a LONG time to walk that short distance - I think it was a 1/4 mile just from the check-in desk to the elevators in our hotel. I've never seen anything quite like it! He certainly got his exercise and I learned to just accept and enjoy the ride (for the most part - there were some pretty bumpy rides at times though - LOL). The Venetian was incredible with indoor canals and architecural details that are so well thought out. Some day you will see their inspiration in designs I create Ü I studied the patterns and color combinations in the carpeting, tile work, fabrics and gift items. Being surrounded by such diverse creativity was so inspiring. It's funny how even when I leave work behind my mind still buzzes with all things creative - LOL!

The Bellagio entrance, with the Dale Chihuly glass ceiling and the Conservatory prepped in all it's fall glory, was stunning. Each season the Conservatory is changed out - the old mill below was just one of the featured buildings. Large glass leaves were "tumbling" down from the ceiling throughout the Bellagio. The light shining through these leaves made them so incredibly beautiful. My pictures just couldn't capture the effect of the light. There were apples, squash, berries, mums and a myriad of other beautiful fall flowers clustered around the structures of wood, iron and glass. All were artfully arranged.

One of my favorite pictures was of the fountains at Bellagio - overlooking the Paris Hotel. This was my favorite "free" show Vegas had to offer. These fountains are absolutely spectacular, especially as they "dance" to the music during the night time hours.

Now that we are back we have a LOT of catching up to do, but to take this time was so important. Thanks for sharing in my adventure and I hope to be back with some creative projects soon.

I Feel like Dancing :D

Well - perhaps that's a bit of an overstatement, but I just have to share my good news for the day. I'm WALKING!!! Now how elementary is that?!? LOL! I got the thumb's up today to walk without crutches!!! It's going to be a bit of a long-haul still, but I am SO thrilled to be on my feet again - literally!

One more week in this boot cast, then transitioning in to a shoe/boot week and then finally a shoe! AND I'm driving! VERY carefully, but driving none-the-less Ü

Can you tell I've been a little depraved? It just feels too unreal to finally be able to take my first baby steps. There is a LOT of healing yet to come - it appears that I might have a "floater" bone, so please, please, please say your prayers that it just goes to places in my foot that it doesn't irritate. Also I have something called "Morton's Neuroma", which essentially means that a nerve has become enlarged. Needless to say it doesn't feel good Ü We are hoping that it is going to be a "Morton's Neurightis" though - LOL! In doctor's terminology it was his joke that he is hoping it heals right and after 4-6 weeks it will just disappear. So please wish me luck as I continue this healing process.

Another bit of good news is that we have made a HUGE dent in the Nestability orders. There are only a few left to go!!! We are working so hard at it. Last night it was after midnight when J.J. and I finally went to bed and tonight - well it's 11:15 and we are giving up - LOL! Talk about dedication - are we two crazy hoot owls or what?!?

Well - I'm going to sign off for tonight with one last BIG tease - can I tell you that the latest Paper Trey release is going to blow your doors down? Get ready, get set, because tomorrow is GO! I had so much fun with these sets - once again they provided me with that creative release that doesn't really tie me in to "work". My mind just floats free and I get to create. My work isn't quite as polished as usual, being it's tough to get things done in the state I'm in - but I am thrilled with the concepts I'll be sharing on Nichole's behalf and hope that you can see yourself getting a new energized creative boost from the ideas that will be shared.

"Should I give you the bad news first...

or should I give you the bad news first?" Tim the orthopedic specialist asked me. "Well I think I would actually prefer the good news first," I answered. So I am happy to report that I don't need surgery - LOL and reflecting on my circumstances I am even happier that this is not life-threatening in anyway. Unfortunately I did learn though that the doctor at the Swedish ER totally misread the x-rays and I can now comprehend why it is that I have been struggling so hard to manage over the last week.

My leg is now encased in a lovely blue cast from right below my knee to the tip of my toes. That sucker is not moving - which is a good thing and a bad thing - LOL! OK - so how does one scratch the inside of the top of a foot cast when your foot itches? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Can you tell that I am trying to keep this rather daunting next six weeks light? The reality is that I need to stay off of that foot for two weeks - crutches are my new best friends. This is not an easy task when the 14 stairs from the top level of the house go straight down without a landing - let's hope I manuever these well. Let me tell you that I will have a death grip on that railing and I will be moving ever so slowly down those stairs, in fact I may resort to the mode of transport that small babies use - perhaps I'll go down on my back side, stair by stair - on purpose this time though :D

So I guess what I am trying to say is that for the next six weeks I am having to make some major adjustments. Please hang with me as I transition more responsibilities to the incredible girls who are helping me each and every day. I currently have at least 50 red-flagged messages in my email inbox. If you receive some rather odd email answers or requests over the next few weeks please know that it is in an effort to try and maintain the level of customer service that I find important that these are sent. In many cases it may appear that the head doesn't know what the hand is doing (or perhaps in my case the foot - insert rolling eyeballs - OK, so it's not real funny :D), but that is because we want to be certain that we are not leaving important pieces of information out of orders, or follow-ups to questions, etc.

I would also like to take this opportunity to thank so many of you for your thoughts, prayers, well wishes and cards. Needless to say the tears pool in my eyes with each beautiful creation I have opened over the last few days. I thank you from the bottom of my heart. The friendship, support and help that has been bestowed on me this past week brings tears to my eyes. I literally could not do it without the people that have come to my rescue - I thank you again and again.

So for now there is no new August stamp of the month - I hope to rectify that one in the next couple of days. I hope to add a stamp of the month packet as well, but for now my creativity is kind of waning due to pain levels. I will try and do a few posts from my "bed station" or my couch potato status as soon as my head clears a little and we will continue to be diligent in following up on those red-flagged email messages. Again thank you for your patience and support - how could a girl get so lucky as I am to have these many well wishes. Hugs to you all!!!

Ankle Balloons

So life is going along great! and then I take Jasper our puppy out one last time before bedtime... miss the last step and down I go. Not pretty or graceful - LOL! Thank goodness my DH was home and after helping me inside we take off my shoe and watch my ankle and foot inflate - turning it into a very unique balloon variety. Needless to say we headed to the ER. It's a good news/bad news story - the good news is that I did not break it - hallelujah!!! The bad news is that I must stay off my feet and elevate it for the next THREE to FIVE days!!! How can I do that???? Well I guess the answer is simple - I must. If I don't want to end up in worse shape then I already am, I must.

Today my brain is a complete fog - pain does interesting things to your ability to think. I apologize over and over to those who have sent emails, those who are awaiting answers, etc - being at CHA I got behind due to lack of time to stay up-to-date, as well as I just couldn't get my messages to send from the hotels I was staying at. So here I am behinder then ever. I sincerely hope that in the next couple of days I can begin sharing the incredible things I learned while at CHA, as well as continue to play catch-up on all the emails and orders that are in pending status or need special attention. Again I am so sorry for not being able to get to these immediately. Katelyn is here shipping orders and doing her best to help me through this - I don't know what I would do without her! My little DD's are my left and right hands - talk about little troopers. I keep reminding myself how lucky I am! I hope to be back soon to share with you the amazing times we had at CHA and pull life back together again! Thank you all so much for your understanding and patience!!!

Thank you!

I'm going to take a few minutes break here to eat some pizza - I'm SOOO hungry - LOL! After that I think I might just fall in to bed (insert very tired eyes here - LOL) I truly apologize for not being able to be here today to play or even respond to my blog - boy talk about a guilt complex!

Once again I thank you from the bottom of my heart for your incredible support and enthusiasm! The kind messages of support and patience make my heart swell with happiness. To be involved in the process of developing a new product line that is truly one of the more remarkable that I have ever come across has been a gift to me. The thought that I know that it is going to be a good value, space conscious and something that can and will be utilized on a daily basis makes me so happy. Thank you!

I thought I would be here today to have all sorts of blog fun - being that the questions came quicker then I could respond that just didn't happen. I can finally say that I have at least said - I'm here and I'll help over the next few days with those who have telephoned, sent email messages, etc. We hope to carefully review everything and get those orders out as quickly as possible so that you can get your new toys to play with and enjoy. I will continually update the shipping information here so that you know what the status is on your Nestabilities and Copics.

So instead of playing today - I'm going to draw out the fun for the next couple of days! I want to thank you all for your incredible support and patience. Please know that I appreciate it more then you could know.

THANK YOU FROM THE BOTTOM OF MY HEART!!! I now have a lot of reading to catch up on and hopefully I will be able to answer any of the questions that slipped away from me throughout the course of this day.

I REALLY AM HERE!

So sorry for not being here to play with you - can I say one word - BUSY! That's what's happening at the moment. I promise that we will play the games because I have some goodies here for you that are NOT going to believe! SO SORRY for the delay, but I must answer questions and they are coming in much quicker then I can answer. I'll be back - I promise - even if it is tomorrow - LOL! THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH!!!

ETA WOW, WOW, WOW is the day ever rushing past me! Please note the following information:

• an approximate range of measurements is noted next to each set of dies right on the site - double click on the item and another screen will pop up with a larger picture as well as measurements and other information.
• I apologize for missing that the Classic Scallop Circle, Large and Small sets did not make it in to a "set". They are available individually and I just ran out of "mind" last night (insert blushing face). I have been doing such a mad scramble thus far today that I haven't been able to get it uploaded. I will be asking Katelyn to come and help me do so shortly. THANK YOU for your patience with me - I think I feel like the Scarecrow in the Wizard of Oz right now - LOL (I do believe I could utilize another brain right now :D

THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH!

Welcome!

Good Morning!!! I'm here and the code is active Ü Remember that you must enter the code exactly as written - 131313-V2 - it doesn't have to be red though. I have only made it red so that it is easier to see.

Again my body gave up last night and so if you are looking to purchase individual COPIC markers - that list is coming. We anticipated that the entire order had shipped, but unfortunately not all the colors were available and included in this shipment. Therefore I have been trying to place all of these in the preorder category and will update that information as soon as I can go through the boxes in my garage and figure out what is truly here. It will be approximately 2-3 weeks for the remainder of markers to be received here in my inventory. I apologize for the delay, but we were really pushing to get them here for the sale today. Therefore to be able to offer the 13% discount I just went ahead and put them up. Thank you so much for your understanding and patience.

I'm going to rock and roll on those again right now and then I'll be back to start the fun! Have fun exploring!

Midnight Stalkers (I mean stampers - LOL) - Friday the 13th is here!

Awww - you didn't think that I would forget you - did you? Well the midnight oil is burning and I'm still editing and making certain things are right at the site. So whomever is lurking here waiting for me - I will reward the first person to leave me a message cheering me on with the work that is still ahead of me tonight - LOL! Perhaps you can send a cup of coffee through these internet wires as well. Over the next while you will see items coming up in the store, I'll be back later to post when all is ready to go. Thank you for your patience with me, but I'm trying to be thorough and offer options :D Your reward for this long awaited day will be a stamp of your choosing from the brand new Lockhart Stamp Company images. So go in search of them soon and if your name comes up as first, then later as you have had a chance to see what's new you can email me with your request Ü

I'll be back!

ETA: Oops I forgot to mention that the code is not active until 6:00am Pacific Daylight Time - West Coast Time, so please be patient :D

ETA: OK girls - a lot of it is up and running (correctly I hope). I'm going to crash for a few hours, but I'll be back at 6:00a to finish up the individual Copic Markers, Refills etc. I truly wish it would have all been done already, but I've been working until 1:30 every night this week to get these last additions made. It's a LOT of typing - LOL! Thanks for hanging in there with me and I'll see you in a few hours Ü

Jasper... Our little blessing

Who could resist a face like this??? Isn't he the sweetest little puppy?!?

Yes, I guess those who know me will call me certifiably insane - LOL! WIth everything I have going in life I did make the decision to have a little puppy join our family. It's a "good thing" as Martha would say :D

Jasper is thirteen weeks old and is the sweetest little Havenese pup you could ever meet. He has just enough "spice" that will make life interesting, but his sweet gentle nature is already incredibly apparent. Do you see happiness in these little faces?

I will do my best to return all phonecalls and emails tomorrow. Sorry for being out of touch the last few days. We made a "trek" to get our little buddy for our girls the last few days and so you might say I'm even further behind - is that even possible? LOL! But this is a wonderul start to summer here in Seattle - I'm a happy mom!

So much to talk about...

I thank you all for your patience with my blogging this past week - what a whirlwind!!! I think I'll start at the beginning and try and make my way through this past week with a number of posts over the next few days.

First I went camping with my little Brownie! Our Girl Scout troop has nine girls and all nine, plus all nine Mom's went camping. What an adventure!!! I am truly grateful to our wonderful troop leaders for their amazing planning and leadership. Kim, is a fabulous leader and had us doing "real" girl scout "stuff" - LOL! Thank goodness that she did have a wonderful cabin to shelter us though, because Saturday was quite the day. Rain, mist, wind - WOW - we were quite the sight, but we kept at it.

I will share just a few of our adventures with you. On Saturday we donned our rain gear and off we went on a shell hunt. We then made concrete stepping stones embedding some of our treasures within - I will definitely be having Katrina help me find a spot in our garden to nestle this delightful creation.

We also made pizza from "scratch" and then get this - we actually cooked them on the beach in nine (yes, 9) individual "box ovens". I kid you not!!! The wind was whipping, the sand was blowing, but we did it :D I had never even heard of a box oven before - LOL! Basically you turn a large fruit box in to an oven. By lining it with foil and using charcoal briquettes, tin cans and more foil you make an oven. Here we are - grinning from ear to ear enjoying the moment together. Daniela - thank you for sharing this picture with me. Of course I am like every good mom - I never take a picture of myself, so this is a rare treat to have one of the two of us :D

The next day turned out to have MUCH more pleasant weather! We did not get drenched and were able to enjoy the incredible sights that nature provided. We strolled the beach, built sand castles and I even snuck in a few moments to get a couple of shots of the beauty of nature.

There is nothing as precious as watching a child explore the beach - and to see nine of them... well... you get the picture.

Complete abandon - total enjoyment - nothing else in the world but the smell of salt water, wind in your hair and my beautiful little baby growing right before my eyes.

The hummingbird that flitted around these gorgeous, exotic flowers was playing mind games with me - LOL! I think he knew how much I wanted to capture him and thus just would not cooperate. So instead you just get this electrifying flower to help you with your next color challenge. It sort of reminds me of the colors I selected for the latest Paper Trey Ink image release. Don't forget - it's tonight that you can get the newest Text Boxed stamp set. It's a TRUE beauty - snap it up NOW!

What is it about a weathered, windswept fence that captures our hearts? Then to add a few flowers on top of it all - I just had to take this picture :D

To sit and enjoy the snail's pace of life for just a few moments was soothing. It helped prepare me for the adventures to follow and now I have a whole new set of warm memories and beautiful images to hold in my heart. So sorry if you were looking for creative inspiration tonight, but I just had to share some of my little treasures with you all. Off to bed for me now - gotta get some shut eye so that tomorrow's adventures will be a little more organized then today's :D