White Wishes

I just had to share this adorable card with you from my very best cyber sister, Sabrina. I love this card for many reasons... 1. It's from Sabrina! 2. I love this fold. 3. The color matches my blog, he. and 4. It's still freezing here but NOT WHITE. Thanks Sabrina! You are so talented, girl!

Here's another tastey recipe ta warm ya up...

Aaaah... Chicken and Rice Soup

1 to 2 boneless/skinless chicken breasts, cubed and cooked

7 C chicken broth (I use the powdered bullion.)

1/2 C chopped carrots

1/2 C chopped celery

1/4 C chopped onion (I use about 1 to 2 tsp minced onion.)

1 1/2 C uncooked instant rice

Heat broth. Add all ingredients except rice. Simmer 10 minutes. Add rice; remove from heat and cover. Let stand 5 minutes. Season to taste.

Inexpensive, low in calories, super fast to make, and VERY delicious. My kids FREAK over this soup! We eat it all year 'round. It makes us feel warm in the winter, better when we're sick, and happy any other time it's on the table. Hope you enjoy it as much as we do! Let me know and if you don't mind... share a recipe with me as well. I just love tried and true recipes from REAL people.

Warm Winter Wishes

Wishing you warm winter wishes as it is FREEZING here in Indiana! This picture of my sweet family was taking in the summer time of '07. I thought I'd use this photo for my card today to help me remember the warm SUMMER days and get through the chill of the real. I hope you can see the sparkle on the photo. I used a really cool embossing technique to achieve this effect.

You will need...

Versamark Ink Pad

Iridescent Ice Embossing Powder

Heat Tool

Here is how I did it...

1. Pounce the image (for my card I used a wallet size photo but you can stamp any image) with Versamark Pad.

2. Dust with Iridescent Ice Powder

3. Heat image. (If you use a photo for your image, you will want to be extra careful not to overheat as the picture will "bubble up.")

That's it! Pretty cool, huh?! Every card I've ever swapped having used this technique always WOW's me no matter what other details are on the card. I just love the effect of the "bling!"

HERE IS SOMETHING ELSE TO WARM YOUR DAY...

Saucy Chops and Shrooms

4 boneless pork chops, 1/2" thick

2 medium onions (I used 1 tsp minced onion.)

4-oz can sliced mushrooms, drained

1 envelope dry onion soup mix

1/4 C H2O

1 can of golden mushroom soup

Place chops in a slow cooker. Top with onions and mushrooms. Combine soup mix, H2O, and mushroom soup. Pour over chops. Cover and cook on Low 6-8 hours (I chose to cook for seven hours.)

My family loved this recipe SO MUCH I thought they were going to pull out a crown and bow to me, he he he... (thank God they didn't.) My daughter actually ate the meat WITHOUT KETCHUP. Whoa!

We served these yummy chops with mashed potatoes and baked beans. ENJOY!

Ringing in 2008 with a BANG!

ALL OF MY RETIRED SETS MUST GO!

ONLY $10 EACH

(plus postage, usually less than $5 for one set and less than $10 for more.)

If you live in my area, you are more than welcome to stop by my house to pick up your new goodies. Better yet!... plan on attending Stamp Club Sunday, January 27th at my home from 2:00 to 6:00pm. I will have your stamps good and ready for you then. If I am in your area, I can even bring your stamps to you. See individual photos to the right on my blog. Check back often as I will be adding and deleting sets as they sell. More will be added each day!

Better act fast! I only have one of each set and they will go fast for only $10! Email me to let me know which ones you want and when you've mailed your payment.

ONLY $10!!!

A perfect treat for yourself or someone you love!

A New Year's Stamp Camp

ALTERED ITEMS January's Stamp Camp will feature altered items. We will be altering three items including a tiny scrapbook tin. This camp is only $15 for all three projects. PLUS, each stamper will receive a complementary two piece stamp set. Registration for this camp is required by emailing with your RSVP and by sending your camp fee upon registering. Each new year brings about changes... come see just how fun changing can be when we change these ordinary items into treasured pieces of art. Email me at kgettelfinger@sbcglobal.net

With Stamping Sympathy

This card was created with sympathy for the Gardner family who lost their dear Heather, Shelli's mother, this past Sunday. Having just experienced the loss of my 94 year old grandmother just last week, I have deep empathy for Shelli and her family to have to endure this event at Christmas time. However, my grandmother was 94 and had lived a wonderful life until the past year and a half. Heather went unexpectedly and no doubt the suddenness of her leaving wieghs heavy on this dear family. For that, my greatest sympathy goes out to them. Never is a good time, but no greater time is now. Just as one would experience the sweet smell of a rose (and I see in my mind the memory of my adorable little great neice toddling around the funeral home this past Friday evening offering to everyone a chance to smell a rose given to her by my dad,) may Shelli and her loved ones experience the sweet smelling love of Christ.

"The widerness and the solitary place shall be glad for them; and the desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the ROSE. It shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice even with the joy and sining: they shall see the glory of the Lord, and the excellency of our God." Isaiah 35:1,2.

Are you ready for 2008?

Check out this fun planner we created at my Stamp Club Appreciation Party! How fun is this?! This simple planner uses a simple school folder and some fun Stampin' Up! Darling Doodles Designer Series Paper. Here is how we made this planner...

1. Fold the folder BACKWARD. Then fold each side forward to create an accordian.
2. Trim 12x12 Designer Series Papers at 4". You will have three pieces from each sheet.
3. Adhere one full strip to the front and one strip to the back of your planner.
4. Trim four pieces of paper so that half will fit on the top part of each planner "page" and the other half will fit on the bottom. These measurements may vary depending on the folder measurements.
5. Use a stretchy hairband decorated with ribbons to hold your planner together.
6. Trim lined notebook paper to fit in one panel. Clip paper together with tiny clip.
7. Trim the end of one long envelope and stamp "receipts" along the opening.
8. Cut a smaller envelope in half and stamp "stuff" along the opening. Adhere this envelope to the smaller section of one panel.
9. Download or stamp calendar pages to create planner calendar. Clip calendar together with tiny clip.
10. Embellish as desired.

A Whole Lot of Gratitude

This is one of the three make & take projects we stamped up at my Stamp Club Appreciation Party recently. If you missed these fun projects, not to worry... join Stamp Club 2008 and you will be set for a ton of stampin' fun! There are so many great things planned for next year's club. This card was super easy to create especially because of Stampin' Up!'s great punches. The focal blossom of the card was created by completely using these fun punches. I LOVE the saying, also by Stampin' Up!. It is exactly what I want to say to ALL of my Stamp Club members, present and future.

Embellished Gift Cone

I decided to embellish my gift cone with Stampin' Up!'s Pretties Kit. It turned out to be so much easier than I had thought it would be. I colored my flower with my craft Very Vanilla ink. So easy! The inked flower wouldn't stick by using a glue dot so I had to use Crystal Effects. The jewels were threaded through a peice of silver cord, then inserted through the slight opening at the bottom of the cone and held in place by a drip of CE.

To create the cone, I traced the biggest dinner plate I could find onto a piece of Designer Series Paper by Stampin' Up!. After cutting it out, I quartered it. One quarter will round together to create this cone. I used Sticky Strip to hold it together.

I can't believe Stampin' Up! is retiring Merry Merry! But they are! And along with so many other fantastic sets! I'm not sure who was more disappointed... me or my husband, he he he... I am sure he is thinking, "Great! That means she is going to go purchase another snowflake set!" he he he... Not neccessarily, buuuutt... ya never know! I do really like Merry Merry and I don't think I will ever get rid of it. Sooo... stampers, you better order yours while you can because once January gets here it will be too late! And don't forget about Frosty! Can't believe he is leaving us also. He is rather up in age but he is still one of my absolute favorite stamp sets! And what about Headline Alphabet?! Love, love LOVE that alphabet! Ooooooooh.... makes me so excited about the new Spring Summer Collections Catalog!!!

Door Prizes!!!

Are you ready to PARRRTY?! Check out this gift set that will be up for grabs as a door prize at our Stamp Club Appreciation Party! Better make sure you are there on Tuesday, December 4th at 7:00pm. Come early if you want some home-made chicken and dumplings. Yum! The kitchen will close PROMPTLY at 6:45pm so we can "get the party started!" Someone will win this adorable gift set as well as the project patterns and instructions. Be sure to email or call me to tell me you are coming! Are you ready to PARRRTY?! I am!

Smell of Snow

Although it is not snowing where I am, it is very chilly and the smell of snow is in the air. The kids and I got all the Christmas decorations out today and Dean hung the house lights. Ooooooohhh, I just love this time of year. I created this EXTREMELY simple card today. I think it just might be the most simple card I've ever made... and I love it! It reminds me of a day warm inside while the beautiful snow gently falls outside. Speaking of the "smell of snow..." I love cold days with the crock pot fired up. I am a big crock pot cooker so mine is usually going all year round. But there is just something about those yummy crockpot recipes in the winter time. Here is one that my entire family freaked out about today...

*Spicy Pot Roast*

3-4lb pot roast

salt & pepper to taste

3/4oz pkg. brown gravy mix (I used 3TBsp of brown gravy powder.)

1/4 cup ketchup

2tsp. Dijon mustard (I used Beer & Brat Mustard.)

1tsp. Worcestershire sauce

1/8tsp. garlic powder

1C water

In slow cooker, sprinkle meat with S & P. Combine remaining ingredients. Pour over meat. Cover. Cook on Low 8-10 hours or High 4-5 hours. (I cooked on High.)

Please send me your favorite crockpot recipes! Just email me! I love sharing recipes!

Split Negative Technique

Well this was fun! I used the Split Negative technique for the first time. It was really very easy. You can find the instructions on Split Coast Stampers. What an amazing website! Trust me, if you are a bit intimidated by the site, I totally understand. There is SO MUCH stuff on that site and more than half of it doesn't even relate to stamping. However, what DOES relate to stamping... mm! I love it! So if you really like this technique and think you might want to try it, visit http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/ and click on "resources" found at the top righthand corner. Look for Split Negative in the list of techniques. And there ya go! Be careful! If the site doesn't overwhelm you... it will addict you... he he he...

A "Can-do" Project

Would you believe this is a VEGETABLE CAN?! I am lovin' my Crop-a-dile! It punched holes right through the can like it was going through butter. Awesome! I used the new hostess stamp set, "Time Well Spent" (sent FREE to all active Stampin' Up! demonstrators as a thank you gift) to decorate my treasured little "gift can." I can't wait to give it away! (The can, that is. Not the the stamp set. he he he... how selfish is that?!)

Family Benefits

In honor of Stampin' Up!'s "All in the Family" promotional benefit (find out more at http://www.stampinup.com/) going on now until the end of November, you can attend a FREE STAMP CAMP when you purchase the "All in the Family" stamp set from ME. The projects you see above are what we will create at the camp. The camp is THIS SUNDAY from 6:30pm to 8:00pm.

When I first glance at the stamp set "All in the Family," I think of a stamper having small children... what a fun set for scrapbooking and birthday cards! I just LOVE that SU! is offering ALL PROCEEDS of the sales from this set to benefit one family in need. That is just SO GREAT! So... you need to see how this set is NOT JUST FOR STAMPERS WITH SMALL CHILDREN. The little tree and the big gift just crack me up! The tree is actually one of the dresses. What a hoot! I left the inside of the gift card holder blank for your choice of sentiment. And who wouldn't get a "lift" by receiving the little puppy card?!

I will also be showing you how to use the Write Me a Memory CD to create your own greetings. This is one area I think there could never be enough stamps. Greetings. I like making up my own so they really coordinate with my image.

Please RSVP by emailing me and telling me you would like to help serve a family in need by purchasing the "All in the Family" stamp set. With your RSVP your Stamp Camp supplies will be cut and ready for you to stamp.

Can you COPY?

If I've heard it once, I've heard it a ga-zillion times... "I'm just not creative." Bla, bla, bla... Sorry to be gettin' in your face if you are "one of those" "I'm not creative" type people. This is what I tell EVERYONE I come in contact with while there is a stamp in my hand... If you can COPY, you can CREATE! You don't even have to have the same image... not even the same colors... not even the same tools. The above card is my copy of a card I recently received from a SCS friend. Notice the only thing the same is the basic layout. My challenge for you today to to be a "copycat." Go ahead... BE CREATIVE!