My Happy Stamping Place

Preserved Apples

I wanted to try my favorite Perfectly Preserved stamp set with some different paper, other than the Orchard Harvest dp.  I love the Orchard Harvest dp but I wanted to try other colors.  Yep, still love this set! It's hard to see, but I pleated the dp by scoring the paper. 

My husband continues to heal. I took him to see our son's first soccer game of the season yesterday.  That was a challenge to get his wheelchair over the grass but somehow, I did it.  Afterwards, we went out to dinner.  Those two things wore him out.  It's amazing how tired he gets but his body is doing a lot of healing.  There is another game this afternoon.  I think we'll skip the eating out afterwards.  The game will be enough for him.

Thanks for stopping by today!

Kathleen

Stamp club card

We made this card in stamp club.  I cased this card by Mercedes Weber. I love how she used the new coordenations cardstock with the new woodgrain embossing folder to make it look like a tree for the owl!  The coordenations cardstock has a core that isn't solid color all the way through(like our regular cardstock does) so you can sand off to reveal another color underneath.  So much fun!

Thank you everyone for your thoughts and prayers for my husband!  He is slowly healing and learning to get around as best he can with a wheelchair.  He is an avid hockey player and is determined to get back on that ice!  He still is in a lot of pain but that is to be expected with all of his injuries.  We're told the rib pain should settle down after a few weeks.  Some days it's the ribs that bother him, some days the shoulder, and some days the back.  The ankle isn't really a factor right now.  We just have to take it one day at a time.

I'm having a couple of my downline over Friday night for some stamping and sharing of ideas.  I could really use the stamping break!

Thanks for stopping by today!

Kathleen

 

Life changes in an instant

I have been missing in action for a little while.  My husband,Doug, had an accident while working on his truck. He was removing the drive shaft when it suddenly shifted into neutral and rolled on him. He knew immediately he was in trouble so he rolled his head away from the tire and got pushed part way down the drive way. He got pinned underneath the wheel of the truck on his stomach with his left arm and shoulder holding off the truck from rolling over him. He called out for help and luckily our neighbors, Steve and Diane,heard him. Diane put on the brakes of the car while Steve rolled the wheel just enough for Doug to wedge himself out. He immediately got up and walked across the driveway. That's the shock kicking in! He told Diane to cancel the ambulance but luckily she didn't listen to him. I was on my way to Target with our son,Nick, and no one else was home.He called me and said he did something stupid while working on the truck and it rolled on him so I would have to pick up our son, Sam,from gymnastics. I asked him if he needed to go to the hospital and he said no. After hanging up the phone I looked at Nick and said, "I think we better stop home." When we got there there were police cars, an ambulance and Doug on a stretcher. They took him to the hospital and I drove there shortly after in my car. He ended up with a badly broken ankle, 5 vertebrae on each side of his lower spine fractured, 1/2 of his ribs fractured, a broken shoulder blade, a slightly compressed lung, and many cuts and bruises. He was a scary sight but I couldn't believe none of his internal organs were effected. I believe he had an angel in his father who recently passed looking out for him.

Doug stayed in the hospital for 6 days. I was so happy to take him home Wednesday night, 8/15. We are adjusting to life in a wheelchair while his bones are healing. We've had some rough nights when the pain meds weren't doing the trick and finding comfortable positions weren't possible. We have made some adjustments at home to make life easier and to make him as self sufficient as we can. He is still in a lot of pain but is managing it with the pain meds for now.

I was able to take last week off and take care of Doug. I'm back to work this week. His mom is staying with him for a few days and then the boys will be around to help as well. I took our daughter, Rebecca, to college on Sunday, August 19. Doug would have loved to come but couldn't handle the 7 hour round trip in the car. With Rebecca gone I am the only driver for the whole family. Many people have offered to help with rides and I am definitely going to take them up on it.

We have been so gratified by all of the family, friends and neighbors rallying around us to offer help. The meals we have received so far have been great and much appreciated. Alleviating that burden a few nights a week will be a great help!

Our friend Rich had a ramp that he is borrowing us. This has been a lifesaver as I can get Doug in and out of the house unassisted. He likes to be "walked" around the neighborhood to get out and have a change of scenery.

When I can free up some time I will be using stamping as my therapy.  As the primary caregiver, I know I need to take care of myself so I can take care of my family. 

I will be back soon with some stamping to share.

Thanks for stopping by!

Kathleen

Birthday wallet

Last night I went out to dinner with my friends Kathy and Cindy to celebrate Kathy's birthday. I got her a giftcard for her birthday.  I always like to give a gift card in a fun way so I made her this paper wallet.

There's a pocket for the giftcard, one for a note, and even a place where you could put money if you wanted.  I didn't follow a pattern with this one, I just built it around the size I thought a wallet should be and what would fit the giftcard.  There are patterns out there though if you care to make one.  They are a fun way to give a giftcard or money for guys and girls alike!

I used Marina Mist cardstock, the new polka dots designer paper, the Always Eleanor stamp set for th label, and the Every LIttle Bit stamp set for the presents.

I think it was a hit!

Thanks for stopping by today!

Kathleen

 

Flowers in a jar

I'm back with the jar set again!  This time there are flowers in the jar.  I watercolored some blue in the vase and coated it with crystal effects to look like water.  The watercoloring cause the green stems to blur but that makes it look more like water.  At least that is what I'm telling myself!  The flowers were stamped in Raspberry Ripple and punched out with the 1 inch circle punch and popped up with stampin' dimensionals. 

Recipe: Stamps: Perfectly Preserved

Ink: Raspberry Ripple, Luscious LImeade, Basic grey

Paper: Soft Suede, Luscious Limeade, whisper White, Raspberry ripple, designer paper from the comfort cafe

Other: Paper Doily Sizzlit, Lacy Brocade embossing folder, cannery framelits set, stampin' dimensionals, crystal effects

I tried out a new chicken pasta recipe that everyone seemed to like! Success!  You don't know how rare that is.  It is rather fattening but that's not a concern for anyone in my family except for me. My boys could use a little fattening up!

It was a gorgeoous weekend here in Minnesota and I finally got out for a walk.  Monday morning came too quickly.

Thanks for stopping by!

Kathleen

Party Owl

The women's USA gymnastics team wins gold!  What could be more exciting than that?!  How about the Stampin' Up! Holiday catalog is released today! Yippee!  I have been sneak peeking you for weeks and now you can order from this wonderful catalog yourself!  To celebrate I have another card made from the Owl Occasions stamp set.  I call him my party owl!

Lots of fun stuff going on here.  The background is the new Woodgrain embossing folder.  This goes perfectly with the owl set and so much more! I used the new Window Frames framelit set. The party banner stamped just right at the top of this framelit.  The polka dot paper is from a new polka dot paper pack in the big catalog.  I Love polka dots!  I accidentally smudged the bottom of the balloon string so I placed one of the new dahlias by his wing to hold the balloon.  Gotta cover those mistakes! The Tangerine tango piece going across is die cut with the Tasteful trim sizzix die.

Do you want to get your hands on these fun new products?  Of course you do!  Go check out my online ordering website here or contact me by e-mail at [email protected] or by phone at 952-226-2190.

You can also sign up on my online website as a demonstrator. Join my team and experience the thrill of Stampin' Up!

Thanks for stopping by today!

Kathleen