Best Christmas Present EVER!!!

Yesterday, I got the best present ever! We were finally able to go finalize Brianna's adoption! She has been with us for almost 7 months, and we have been so looking forward to finally getting a court date and officially making her a member of our family. I was so nervous/excited yesterday morning. The butterflies in my tummy were going crazy, I couldn't eat breakfast. We were at the courthouse a little early so that we could visit with our lawyer for a bit. The courtroom opened at 11:00 am. We were the first case #. We had to answer a few questions, and Brianna had to answer a few, you know like, "do you want to be adopted by them? - Do you understand what is happening?" type questions. The Judge, looked over everything smiled and said he was signing the papers then. We were so happy. It all took about 7 minutes! We went to Artic Circle for Egg Nog Shakes to celebrate, then later in the evening we had some of neighbors and friends over to have ice cream sundays and rock out to Sing Star.

January Card Kit

It's card kit time again! You will LOVE this stamp set and these cards!

In this kit, you'll receive the supplies to create SIX of EACH design shown above - so you will receive all of the consumable supplies that you need to create 12 cards total.

You will also receive 2 additional full color samples of "alternative" cards that you can make with the combined contents of the kit, as well as step by step instructions on how to complete each of the 4 designs.

Card Kit Price is just $15--that's 12 cards, plus envelopes for just $15!

Each month, the card kit also features both a Stamp Set of the Month and an Accessory of the Month. If you purchase the card kit, you may also purchase these items at 20% off.

January Featured Products:

· Always Stamp Set ($28.95) $23.16 with the purchase of the Card Kit
· Filigree Designer Brads ($5.95) $4.76 with the purchase of the Card Kit

What else will you need? See the list below for items that were used to create the cards in this kit. If you already have everything--just buy the card kit and you are ready to create!

If you don't have everything--place a product order with your kit (don't forget about the discount on the "featured products!")

Or--you can use the card kit to create your own designs using other stamps and inks that you already have--the choice is yours!

Orders for the Card Kits must be received by January 10th. You will receive your kits by the end of the month.

Call or email me today to order:
Deborah Larsen
(435) 279-8520
stampingsfun@yahoo.com

Please Note: I am glad to ship kits directly to you! If the kit needs to be shipped, there will be an extra $3 postage charge.

Products you will need to complete cards as shown:

· Sage Shadow Stampin' Write Marker ($3.95)
· Sage Shadow Classic Ink Pad ($5.25)
· Chocolate Chip Classic Ink Pad ($5.25)
· Stampin' Sponges ($3.50)
· ½" Circle Punch ($5.95)
· 1 ¼" Circle Punch ($15.95)
· Always Stamp Set ($28.95) $23.16 with the purchase of the Card Kit
· Filigree Designer Brad Assortment ($5.95) $4.76 with the purchase of the Card Kit
· Stampin' Dimensionals ($3.95)
· Paper Snips ($9.95)

The Card Kit ($15) Includes:

6 Pieces of 5 ½ x 8 ½” Sage Shadow Cardstock

6 Pieces of 11” x 4 ¼” Chocolate Chip Cardstock

6 Pieces of 2 ¾” x 2 ¾” Very Vanilla Cardstock

6 Pieces of 3” x 3” Creamy Caramel Cardstock

6 Pieces of 2” x 2” Sage Shadow Cardstock

12 Pieces of 1” x 4 ¼” Creamy Caramel Cardstock

6 Pieces of 3 ¼” x 2” Creamy Caramel Cardstock

6 Pieces of 3” x 1 ¾” Very Vanilla Cardstock

6 – 5” Pieces Sage Shadow ¼” Grosgrain Ribbon

6 – 14” Pieces of Chocolate Chip 1” Stitched Grosgrain Ribbon

18 – Silver Brads

12 – Very Vanilla Envelopes

Step by Step Instructions to complete 4 different card designs using the kit pieces

Love You Much Bundle & Last Day for FREE SHIPPING

Stampin' Up! has done it again! They have put together a fabulous bundle perfect for Valentines preparations! All of the products in this bundle will be available in the Spring/Summer 2009 Catalog individually, but from December 23-January 31, you can get the bundled items for 20% off!DON"T FORGET the last day to order and get free shipping is Tuesday, December 23. So order this cute bundle then and save yourself 30%!! You can shop for this bundle at my Stampin' Up! website, or you can call or email me as I will be placing an order on the 23rd, so everyone will get free shipping regardless.

Have fun with this bundle, get your Valentines day treats, cards, and gifts done in January! If you have any questions feel free to call or email me anytime.

Lastly, I wish you all a very MERRY CHRISTMAS holiday! Drive safely, stay warm, and Cherish time loved ones!

And the Winner Is.......

It was fun to see your guesse for my decorating. Candice is the winner. She was the first to guess the Chocolate Life is Good.

Here is the picture of the landing, and below that a picture of the Decor Elements up close. My oldest sons most current picture is not in his frame though, I had to take it out of for a school project, but you'll get the idea anyway.
Thanks for playing!

Guess Which One I Got

I love all the Decor Elements. I can see so many places I want to put them in my house. The problem is I want to paint or do something to the walls first in every room! Well I finally decided and bought my first DE for my home. I even have it applied to the wall.

The master bedroom and 2 other bedrooms are upstairs. There is a wall at the end of the little landing/hall what ever you want to call it, that can be seen from the bottom of the stairs. That is where I hang our family picture and the pictures of the kids.

Well, I got the idea in my head and started to work. I took down the old eucalyptus swag that used to hang over the pictures. I scrubbed the wall and filled in the old nail holes. Then I painted it a nice lighter tan with some left over paint from when we finished my sons room this summer. I really liked the single darker wall. I just got my Decor Elements yesterday and promptly figured out the "layout" for it and the pictures, then applied the DE and hung the pics. I LOVE the result!! and it was so easy to do! Literally took 5 minutes.

What's that you say? You want to see it? You want to know which one I put up? Well, I am feeling a little playful today, so I want to see if you can guess which one and color I put up. Simply leave a comment to this post with your guess and the first person to guess it right will get a goodie! If no one guesses the right one by December 20, I will put the names into random.org and draw a winner. I think we'll play for your choice of Decor Element valued up to $10!

Let the games begin!

Pictures of my Manger

There are several people visiting my blog looking for the picture of my manger from my Christmas tradition I shared with Stampin' Up!. I am writing this update to let you know that I have posted pictures in the original thread HERE. I am so glad you are excited to see it! So, please check back.

A Sunday Afternoon Project

Sundays are always a pretty laid back day around our house. I especially like to stamp on Sundays. Usually I am preparing for an upcoming class or workshop, or putting together left over kits from previous classes or workshops. Yesterday, however, my children seemed to have much energy (perhaps from the freshly fallen snow outside) so we decided to make a project for them to give their friends.

I rummaged through the pantry and pulled out a few boxes of hot chocolate packets, the bag of marshmallows, some Hershey's kisses, and a box of peppermint sticks. Grabbed some of my Stampin' Up! Cello bags - love those!, and some Christmas bows. I printed out a cute little poem for snowman soup and cut some 4x6 cardstock toppers for the poem. Then I realized my workshop on Saturday didn't happen (I ended up in the marshes off the road on my way to the workshop-that's another story) so I pulled out my workshop bag and used the already pre cut DSP to teach the kids how to make those cute little pouches. I did the embossing for the Merry Christmas Faux Metal label.

They proceeded to each make 5 little snowman soup sets. They filled the small cello bag with 3 kisses and 12 marshmallows then taped it shut and stuffed it in the pouch and placed a peppermint stick in next to the bag. Then they put the pouch in a medium cello bag with the hot cocoa packet and stapled on a topper, added the poem and a Christmas bow. Then the hard part was choosing which friends to give them to.

This was a fun simple project that kept them busy for about an hour and half putting them together, and then another half hour while they ran around and gave them out. Give it a try!

Here is the picture of our finished project, I know it isn't the greatest, but that's what you get when scanning a 3D project. Maybe one day we'll get the USB fixed on the comp so I can upload pictures! In the meantime, please for give the quality.

Maybe tomorrow I will put up a tutorial on how to make the pouches.

Oh, and I have heard several different versions of the Snowman Soup poem, the one I used came from OrganizedChristmas.com.

Snowman Soup
Was told you've been real good this year.
Always glad to hear it!
With freezing weather drawing near,
You'll need to warm the spirit.
So here's a little Snowman Soup
Complete with stirring stick.
Add hot water, sip it slow.
It's sure to do the trick!