Candy Cane Christmas

I have been having major troubles with posting on my blog.  I apologize for the gaps.  Here are some projects I've been working on for Christmas.  These are hostess gifts and projects for upcoming holiday workshops.

... and we're back:)

Sometimes, things get rolling in your life and you start to feel like you're in the middle of a giant snowball rolling downhill. Just before we left for vacation, my wonderful husband bought me a MacBook, so I could take it with my when we travel. My poor old Dell just wasn't holding up to travel anymore. Needless to say, I've been quite busy since we got back home, transferring old files and photos. I think I'm about done and can get back to figuring out how to do more with my blog. Bear with me...

About our vacation... I can sum it up in one word --- perfect! We went to the Outer Banks (yes, again) and this time we took our dog, Toby Joe. He turned out to be an excellent traveler and loved walking the beach as much as we did. His nose must be very tired now, because he sniffed at everything he saw on the beach. We had perfect weather for the entire week we were there and great weather when we were on the road, too. We collected more beach treasures, saw zillions of birds migrating, saw dolphins, and even a couple of sharks. One shark had just been caught by a fisherman. They took photos and then let him go. He was about 4 feet long. The other shark we saw was a different kind, but still about that size and he had just washed up on the beach. It is neat to see all their teeth. We took Toby Joe with us on our little shopping trips and many of the shops invited him inside. Needless to say, with his big tail, we didn't go into any shop with breakable items:)

Halloween is just around the corner!

I've been having terrible trouble uploading photos to my blog. I do have a lot of super fun new projects on my Stampin' Up Demonstrator Business Web Site. Please visit me there:
www.lanahorton.stampinup.net

The Joys of Being a Stampin' Up Demonstrator

Have you ever met someone that you just instantly liked a lot and knew you'd both really click as friends? That's happened to me several times in the past week. I've been in a flurry of activity in my studio all week --- preparing for and holding workshops and classes (the most I've ever had in one week) and yes, I'm tired, but so excited about the new people I've been meeting and the fun of scheduling their future workshops so we can have even more stampin' fun. I've seen people stamp who already had some experience at it and I've helped new people stamp for their first time. They all have a similar ritual when they finish their project. They hold it at arm's length and say (with a big smile on their face): "I really like this!" That's one of my greatest joys in being a demonstrator. We really mean it when we use the phrase: 'Love what you do. Share what you love.' If you've ever thought of becoming a demonstrator, September would be a great time to sign up. In addition to all the benefits you'd already be getting, Stampin' Up is offering a free craft tote (like mine:) in addition to all your starter kit. It's a great tote and holds a ton of goodies. I hold my downline meetings/opportunity events on the first Thursday of each month, so the next one is just around the corner. They're at 10:00 AM so just let me know if you'd like to join us or if you'd like to come but need a different time schedule.

Finally back to blogging!

Well, I told you I was finally getting back to stamping, but I didn't intend to neglect my blog. I truly have been having fun with all the new stamps, tools, and accessories from the new catalog. I will post some of my projects soon. In the meantime, the catalog party was a huge success and we had a ball! I can't believe how good people are at doing the limbo! Since the party, I've been swamped with prep for classes and workshops and have met some amazing new people. All is well and all is fun, fun, fun.

It Feels Like Christmas!

It feels like Christmas around here! Yesterday, the Stampin' Up 2010-2011 Idea Book and Catalog went live and I got to place my first big order. It was so difficult to decide what to get because it is full of wonderful products and I really wanted them all!

Today, our new couch and chair arrived. After all our disasters, it is such a joy to look at the family room end of my studio and see it looking beautiful -- no more floods and no more damaged anything. We had an entirely new back-up system put in, along with a brand new (larger) sump pump. We should be all set if we lose power during a storm.

Now, I can get back to stamping and creating projects with all my new stamping toys. I am busy creating new displays in my studio to show off some of our new products, not to mention working toward my Island Oasis Party to introduce the new catalog. Please contact me if you'd like to get a catalog, join scrapbook club, host a workshop, or even sign up to be part of my team!

Sorry...

Sorry I haven't posted for a while. We've had a string of disasters in our family and we just feel like we've been beaten up by life. I know others have had worse things happen, but when you hit 6 bad experiences in less than a month, it kind of piles up on you. We had a terrible blowout on the interstate coming back from our vacation and ended up buying all new tires. That put a real dent in the vacation budget... not to mention scaring us half to death.

The day after we got home, our ejector pump died and flooded part of my basement studio and the bath area with sewage water. We got that cleaned up and were waiting for new flooring and our beloved 11 year old cocker spaniel got very sick. It turns out that he had massive tumors in his liver and even extensive treatments offered us little hope. We didn't feel we could put him through that, so we had to say goodbye to the best dog we ever had. We still have a border collie mix and he has been grieving something awful. This lively and playful dog has become my Velcro dog and won't leave my sight.

During this time period, we were also busy trying to replace our couch and bathroom vanity. My husband decided to use my extremely sharp vegetable slicer without the guard and cut off a chunk of the end of his thumb. They had to put stitches through his thumbnail. After we get the thumb started on its way to healing, we got our new vanity base for the bathroom but they broke the old top trying to remove it so we had to order a custom made sink top to go with the new vanity base which was custom built to fit a specific space.

The sixth event happened when they were installing our new flooring. They were over half-way finished when a terrible storm hit and knocked out our power. We'd had so much rain that when the sump pump stopped working, the back-up didn't kick in and water ran into the basement and over all the new flooring and the storage room. I have a huge basement studio and everything was sitting in water. The flooring installers came back and helped us get all the furniture up on blocks. The restoration people came and set up a monster dehumidifier and 12 monster fans. It sounds like a wind tunnel coming up the basement steps.

Today, things are starting to dry out and we're down to 1 fan --- still noisy, but bearable. We're hoping for no more disasters for a long time. I'd settle for never! Through it all though, I realize that there were angels helping us through each crisis. There are a lot of good people out there who don't think twice about helping someone --- friend or stranger. We are so grateful. I am counting the days until I can get back into my studio and work on stamping and scrapbooking. I'm suffering from withdrawal. Yesterday, my lunch bunch friends surprised me by each making me a hand made card. See what I mean about angels?

Happy Anniversary!

Today is our 38th anniversary! Where did the time go? Bill's card to me says he hopes for 38 more years. That would be fine with me. Here is a photo a fisherman took of us on the beach at sunrise.

One of My Most Favorite Photos Ever

This is one of my favorite photos ever! I took it just as I was ready to head down the boardwalk to the beach. We love to go to the Outer Banks and walk the beach. If I'm not stamping, I love to walk the beach. I walk at the edge of the water and let the waves lap over my feet.

Look out blog world! Here I come!

I am entering the blog world beyond my Stampin' Up website. Stay with me as I learn how to do this.