Exciting News...

I am so excited! Stampin' Up! is doing a one-day sale on almost all of our stamp sets! Every single set is 15% off, on Monday, October 29, ONLY. Look through our catalog and let me know which sets you need for Holiday projects, or any sets that have been on your wish list. Now is the time to order them! Or you can order directly from my Stampin' Up website. What a great time for this... just before all the holiday stampiness!

Here are the details:

• Starting at 12:00 AM (MT) and ending at 11:50 PM (MT), almost every stamp we sell will be 15 percent off.

This means all stamps in the current catalogs including

• Background stamps
• Personalized name stamps
• Incentive stamp sets from the supply list
• Cookie press stamps
• Single-image stamps

This DOES NOT include

• Hostess sets
• Bundled stamp sets
• Digital stamp brush sets

There is no minimum purchase, and no limit to the number of stamps you can order.

Also,  a few weeks ago we announced that until January 2, 2013, you have the opportunity to purchase single stamps from the Word Play, Perfectly Penned, and Seasonal Sayings Stamp Sets. Based on the interest we have seen so far, it appears that both demonstrators and customers love them! And now we are excited to let you know that we have added ten more individual images-including three images that you have never seen before! You can see the details on the single stamps at the following links:
Assortment 1
Assortment 2
Word Play
Perfectly Penned
Seasonal Sayings

Can't be all business... just have to add a little me in here too! We have our house listed with a realtor now... so excited to see what is to come yet!

Here is a masculine birthday card I had fun making with the woodgrain embossing folder:

Ingredients: CS- Sahara Sand, Always Artichoke, Not Quite Navy, Bravo Burgundy, Whisper White; Ink- Chocolate Chip; Extras- Apothacary Framlits, Scallop Oval punch, Buttons Sizzlits, Essentials Paper-Piercing Pack, Brayer, miscellaneous twine and floss.

 

It is bedtime so I best get off here! Thanks for stopping!

with a grateFUL HEART, carin

Stampin' Up! demonstrator site and online store

Stampin' Up! demonstrator site and online store

Thankful!

I am so excited... my Stampin'Up order from my 1st workshop came! I cannot wait to dive in! But I have a few things to do around the house first... we have a realtor coming this afternoon! Praying... praying... praying! It doesn't matter what the housing market looks like... my God is bigger than all of it! If He could part the Red Sea... He certainly can sell this house! Believing! Trusting! Praising!

I heard someone say, "What if you woke up tomorrow with only the things you were thankful for today?!" That really makes me think... so today I am living with a heart of thankfulness!  And I am sharing a "sample" card I made, using what I had to use... I saw a card like this somewhere but using a little different items.

Ingredients: CS- Pumpkin Pie, Old Olive, Not Quite Navy; Ink- same colors as CS + So Saffron, Rich Razzleberry; Stamps- Delicate Doilies and All Year Cheer 1; Extras- Apothacary Framlets, Scallop Circle punch, 1 1/4" Circle punch, 1/2" Circle punch, rhinestone, dimensionals.



Thankful that you stopped for a moment to share a little time with me!

Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good;
    His love endures forever. 1 Chronicles 16:34

with a grateFUL HEART, carin

Kindness Matters...

We have had such a gorgeous fall in northern Michigan! Although today it is dreary, but it makes the colors look all the brighter!  Even when the sun is behind the clouds we can still see God's beautiful painting in the trees! GrateFUL for that today!

Well, I did my first Stampin'Up workshop last Thursday... I had it here at home and had some terrific ladies come to support me! We had a lot of fun... I did anyway!  So I wanted to share the two cards we did as make-n-takes that night.  I had gotten the ideas from past Stampin' Success issues, but I had to change them to go with the very few stamps I have that are still in the catalog!

 Ingredients: CS/Ink- Pumpkin Pie, Daffodil Delight, Rich Razzleberry; Stamps- Papillon Potpouri, Kindness Matters, Delicate Doilies; Extras- Dazzling Details, Square Lattice folder.

Ingredients: CS- Very Vanilla, Chocolate Chip, Island Indigo; Ink- Chocolate Chip, Old Olive; DSP- Festival of Prints Stack; Stamps- Delicate Doilies, Kindness Matters; Extras- Scallop Edge Border punch, Pearl Basic Jewels.

 

Can you see a pattern with the stamp sets? Yes, I only have 3 sets that are even in the catalog, but after my workshop order... that will change a little! *Ü* If you want to pick up a little something fun from the new Holiday Catalog... I luv the Festival of Prints DSP Stack and it is only $6.95!

 

Ok, enough of that... Just a word of encouragement...

 

"Because Your loving-kindness is better than life, my lips shall praise You." Psalms 63:3

 

with a grateFUL HEART, carin


Just Sharing...

I have been slack in my posting... it is not because I don't have a grateFUL HEART, but because I have let myself be too busy. Oh, I also have been practicing the art of procrastination too! Not good!!!

I have some news to share... I am now a Stampin' Up demonstrator... I signed up under my sister, Renee Ondrajka. Not sure where I will go with this as a business... time will tell.  I luv Stampin' Up products and if I can "play" and it is actually considered work... how great is that!?

Also, my hubby has gotten a new job. He has been hired by the Helena Chemical Co. working out of the branch in Shelby, MI. It is 25 miles from where we want to move (when our house sells)... it is just over a 100 miles from where we live now.  The way this job unfolded was definitely a God thing... and just another step on the path He has for us.  We are so very grateFUL for this opportunity!

We were gone on vacation last week to Big Cedar near Branson, MO.  We had an incredible time! When I got home my SU kit was waiting for me, so finally yesterday I dove into that box.  I made a quick little card for a friend to show her the new In-Colors.

 

Of course I had to get the Elegant Butterfly punch, along with the Papillon Potpourri stamp set. I used the Gumball Green CS, Primrose Petals, Raspberry Ripple, Midnight Muse, and Summer Starfruit inks. I also used a page from the DS Festival of Prints Stack with a little Bakers Twine and Apothecary Framelits. I know it is really simple, but I just had to get my hands into my new stash!

Okay, last thing for today are verses that I wanted to share:

"Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.  Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” Matthew 11:28-30

 

God allows unpleasant things in our lives... not to see how much we can take, but to see how quick we will turn it all over to Him! He wants us to need Him more than anything else! He is my peace... He is my comfort!

 

with a grateFUL HEART, carin

Comfortable Waiting?

What a beautiful summer we have had! The lack of rain was not so great, but the weather, I thought, was gorgeous!  It has been a busy summer.  We have spent a lot of time running the roads, so I am sure that is why it has seemed so busy.  We have our house for sale and so that has led to me de-cluttering and having a garage sale.  I am procrastinating about getting into my office/craft room to clean though... why is it such a big deal???  It makes my stomach nervous just thinking about it!

I have been learning a great deal about patience and waiting too. Waiting on the Lord is not comfortable… but I keep reminding myself the true source of my comfort is God! And only by keeping my eyes focused on Him will I find His comfort.  While waiting… it is a great time to be renewed! (Isaiah 40:31)  I am trying to take this "in-between" time and really prepare my heart and my life for the things God has set before us!  I have to look at it as a time to gain spiritual strength so when the path is clear I will be able to run and not grow weary… to walk and not fall by the wayside.  Waiting can be a struggle so many days, but I know as I look back at this time I will be so thankful that God gave me this time to just be. I believe God has great things ahead for Luke and me; and I need to be rested up for the next step.  I love how God keeps teaching me to let go of trying to control things, He has given me “blinders” to put on… so the only place I can keep looking is to Him… that is if I want to keep my sanity and if I choose to put them on!

"Comfort, comfort my people, says your God… And the glory of the Lord will be revealed, and all people will see it together. For the mouth of the Lord has spoken."  Isaiah 40:1 and 5

Here is a masculine card I made for a birthday. I love the Fleur-de-Lis! It has such great meanings!

Okay, I am going to go into the craft room now to start the chore!
with a grateFUL HEART, carin

Elementary Elegance....

Oh my goodness... I have not posted on grateFUL HEART in so long!!! It is the first day of August... already!?  The summer has been crazy busy... so much good... some not so good, but through it all... I give God all the glory!

In my hubby and my transition, we seem to be on the road a lot! We try to stay overnight in Ludington only every other Saturday, but there have been so many things going on with our church family there that we have been there many, many weekends, not just Sunday for church services.  I am not complaining... it is exciting to see how God is moving in our life!

A couple weeks ago, my daddy was diagnosed with cancer... it is located in his stomach where the stomach attaches to the small intestine.  That is the bad news... the good news is they caught it without any symptoms! Praise God!  It is so early and the doctor told him if he had to have cancer, thyroid cancer would be the best one to have and this cancer would be the second best!  I know that through this all... God is drawing our family closer together and closer to Him.  I can already see all the good God is bringing to pass through this! Prayers for my daddy would be appreciated as he goes through a month of radiation treatments.

"Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning." James 1:17



Just a simple birthday card to share today... I luv that SU set!

with a grateFUL HEART, carin