Retail Therapy for a Bad Evening!

I just can't seem to get rid of this crud!  I've been sick since May 22...my birthday!  Pray that this stupid cough and wheezing goes away!  On the positive side I just learned that I have a beautiful new great nephew, Miles Wayne, born June  6th!

I just entered an order at JoAnne Fabric - for some texture templates; they are on sale.  I also found a coupon on the Retail Me Not site for free shipping and handling...yippee!  I saved almost as much as I spent!! very proud of myself other than I not suppose to spend on craft items at this time.  But it cheered me up from my "off" afternoon...if you know what I mean.  Shopping therapy!!!  I'll regret it terribly when my husband finds out though...LOL!  

For children of God, there is ultimate healing for each of us...

As children of God, our healing prayer can be:

“Heavenly Father, You are intimately aware of the struggle I am experiencing -- the pain and the despair. You know the desire of my heart to be healed of this illness. I ask now for Your healing touch. I know that You are able and that just like in Bible times, You can heal me.

“I also understand that You will chose what is best for me. I pray that through this trial, I will draw close to You -- that You will be my comfort and strength. I pray that ultimately, whatever happens, You will be glorified through me. I pray this in Jesus’ name, amen.”

Read more: http://www.allaboutprayer.org/healing-prayers.htm#ixzz1PWS37IYD

 BLOGS and STORES

I have an account with Gina K Designs/Stamp TV and was going through their card gallery.  Very nice cards in their GALLERIES.  I have just touch the surface of their gallery.  HERE is my site there.  I am posting the cards I like so I can refer to them later.





Darlene is the owner of Dutch Papercrafts.

  

One of the gallery members card led me to this site: Dutch Papercrafts. 

Dutch Papercrafts has some great ideas and some wonderful products.  I am tempted; but not today maybe some other day when I need some retail therapy. They have some very nice "detailed" diecuts that you should check out... The blogsite also has videos so you can lean to use their products.

 

detailed diecut butterfly



  






Lisa M. is the owner of this blog...You Made Me Ink!

 



I also just subscribed to

 "You Made Me Ink!"

There were a couple of cards that I like there. One in particular... Thank You Window which was inspired by Splitcoast Stampers - Tutorial Cards.  The card was entered into two different challenges; something I have never done yet.

One of them was:  Creative Inspirations Paint - Fun Fold Cards.  Their website is www.creativeinspirationspaint.com.  Their members who post to their gallery like to "think out of the box."

Creative Inspirations Paint also has some great ideas...Please check them out.  Have you ever made an explosion box?  There is a very beautiful one on their site.  You can check it out HERE!

It's funny how one blog can lead to several other blogs!  LOL...

I want to mention my friend at Creative Connections, Jeannie Kinney.  She has come so far in creating some wonderful cards.  She is a Stampin Up consultant and holds card classes as well as selling her cards.  Please check out her blogsite for all the projects she sells and can teach!  She is also a seamstress!  Something I could only dream of doing.

Creative Connection CLASS:

Don't forget my friend Jeannie at Creative Connections is having a card class this Saturday. From Facebook... my Facebook Friend also will have the NEW Stampin Up catalog at the class for you to look through! (this class is also mentioned HERE)

Creative Connections:  Saturday's workshop is Easter and Mother's Day cards. RSVP if you want to attend. I have an Easter treat for those who attend. Lunch is included. Next workshop is May 14th, Graduation and Father's Day cards. New stamps set every month!  Keep cheeking back with her blogsite because she is always having a card class.  If you have some friends and you want a class or show at your house; give Jeannie a call...



Vicky's card using one of their wonderful stamps.

I haven't mentioned my other creative friends in awhile and I miss them very much... Vicky and Jon at the Crackerbox Palace Rubber Stamps.  They have a store in 1321 West Court St, Janesville, WI 53548.  The phone number is 608.755.4638.

Crackerbox Palace Rubber Stamps also has an on-line store.  They sell various items including their own stamp designs.  Please take time out and visit their on-line store or drop in...tell them I sent you.  They are very fun and loving people!  Facebook...   

Crackerbox Palace Rubber Stamps have a Blog Spot which showcases their stamps... Both John and Vicky love humor. Their stamps are serious to light hearted and mostly made to make you smile.




Cbick's Ice Cream Card whick you can find on her blogsite!

 

The Crackerbox Palace Rubber Stamps also have a demonstrator and friend "Chick" who also has a blogsite: 

Chick's Crafty Chatter

Vicky and Chick have been together a long time and they BOTH do terrific work.  They are extremely helpful if you have any questions too.

We are

People who need to love, because

Love is the soul's life,

Love is simply creation's greatest joy.

'til next time,

Con

I've Been So Busy...

I know I haven't posted for a while but I have been busy with so many things...baby showers, friends, family, and most importantly my grandson Andrew and ....planning a vacation.

I'm not to please about vacation this year because my grandson will have his 1st birthday while we are gone!!! If the weather gets bad on our return home I'll miss his first Christmas too.

I like being a grandma...I call him my little buddy. He has me tied right around his little pinkie.

I bought a "Photo Cube Studio Light Tent Box Kit" so I can take better photos of my cards... I haven't tried it yet. I guess I'm a little afraid of it. When I get back from vacation I'll make it a priority to learn how to use it so I can take some pictures of some of the cards and scrapbook pages I have done. I would like to share with you some things I've done. But for now I'm letting my friend Jeannie try it out...her blog is Kindred Spirits Kards. Jeannie is more technically advanced than me.

My husband and I have taken his dad on vacation for the last two years during the month of December. We try to hide from the snow. LOL. My husband hates cold, as well as shoveling. I take pity on them and plan a whole month of travel. We drive about 4000 miles! I get the back seat and my father-in-law the front. This way I can do what ever I need to do to stay sane...I sleep a lot while they enjoy each others company. I take lots of pictures while on vacation. I still need to develop some from last year! The guys say I take too many pictures while I say, "You can never take enough!"

Our first stop is Branson, MO. We have never been to Branson before and I hear that the Christmas lights are fantastic. We booked a couple of shows too. After Branson we are going further south...Nacogdoches, TX (pronounced /ˌnækəˈdoʊtʃɪs/). Eventually we will end up at South Padre Island, TX for a week. This will be our 3rd holiday there with Dad. Jim and I have been there 5 years in a row this year! I think we are slowly becoming Winter Texans!!! Another "new" for us will be Grand Canyon Skywalk. Dad and Jim really want to see this engineering feet. On our way home we will stop at Lincoln, NE to visit Jim's two nephews and their family. We will be at Tombstone, AZ too...another yearly pilgrimage. We enjoy running into local Celebrity artist, Mark Brown. We've purchased three of his pieces that were absolutely amazing - he is an extremely generous person. My husband, Jim, loves the ribs at the Crystal Palace Saloon - you can also find Mark selling his pictures here. Tombstone is a very friendly place to visit.

NEW BLOG ALERT...

The Crackerbox Palace Rubber Stamps is blogging...go Vicky and John!!! Good luck and enjoy your blogging time. Thank you for asking me for input on your blogging journey. I pray you will get a lot of hits on your new site...XOXO.

The last time I was at the Crackerbox Palace store I took some pictures. I'm going to bring it to the store every time [if I can remember] so I can take pictures of their card samples...always looking for ideas;)

For all of you following my blog, Thanks for stopping by! -and please visit the Crackerbox Palace site too. Tell them Connie sent you...

May we always remember to support

our men and women in the military!

I went to a great Veteran's Day service in Hanover, IL. They hold it every year on September 11 at 11:00 a.m. My father-in-law belongs to the VFW post there. The vets there are very active in the community. They have a wonderful fundraiser comming up this Friday...all you can eat catfish! and my whole fammily is going. Yummy!!! I need to mention some sites that support our military. Take some time out and "thank" a military person and veteran.

Adopt a Platoon

Soldiers' Angels

Adopt a Soldier

Operation Write Home

(formally known as "Cards for Heroes")

'til next time,

Con.

Thank You - Crackerbox Palace

1321 W Court St, Janesville, WI 53548

(608) 755-4638

www.crackerboxrubberstamps.com

The Crackerbox Palace
Sells their stamps and other paper crafting items
at their STORE
and
the INTERNET.



They also have an Ebay Story...
1 Rubber Room

I cannot tell you enough how much I love visiting the
Crackerbox Palace!!!!

As I sit here and write this post...I wish I was there. I enjoy their quaint store, their down home personality, warm smiles, and wonderful, quirky since of humor. Whenever I get a chance to go there I am made to feel right at home. And I just adore their dog, Savannah. She is at the store with them. ..usually in the basement with John. She is so gentle and wouldn't hurt a fly.

When I was looking for some background information on the Crackerbox I found two wonderful reviews that I just have to share with you [because I agree with them]:

Innovative!: This is a hidden charm! I wish I lived closer to attend the card making sessions often. Wonderful array of stamps and great ideas. Charming staff too!

by mcrojo008

The owners are the most "REAL" people you will ever meet. Get your own personalized stamp made to mark your cards. The card swaps are wonderful and I pretty much live at the store. I even joke that if my husband could never find me he could call there. Plan to stay. There is sooo much to see. AND BUY!!!

by peyattriot

They are the greatest. Chicks demos I really enjoy so much, she does them on most Wednesdays and the last Sunday of each month, but in July she is doing her demo on third Sunday and her demos are all day long. Several of my friends and I try and go as much as we can, we drive from Kenosha it's about 1 hour drive one way, most of the time we end up spending the day.

Vicky Briggs [with glasses] was born and raised in Fort Atkinson but now lives in Janesville, WI with her husband, John. She loves to play! Her crafting got started with her grandmother’s help, who taught her how to quilt, embroider, cross stitch, crochet, knit and make new treasures from the “saved treasures”. They would cut up old cards to make new cards and placemats. Vicky vividly remembers her excitement in being able to use a few treasured buttons to embellish them. She started stamping 20+ years ago when her children were small. Her kids still remember how the card stock would brown in attempting to emboss over the breakfast toaster. Her grandmother told her “never quit playing”, and I don’t think she ever will.

John and Vicky opened the Crackerbox Palace stamp store in Janesville, WI. In addition to retailing from numerous stamp companies, they also make custom stamps that are shipped world wide. Currently they have taken in to a new level and are introducing their own line of stamps.

Chick Alizadeh [in black] is from Wisconsin, but lived overseas for nearly twenty years. When returning from Iran in 1998, she discovered the phenomenon of stamping. Although her standard job is teaching English as a second language, she has always been interested in Art, but she feels because of being away from drawing for so many years that she had lost her drawing skills. Stamping filled that hole. Although at first, unimpressed with the basics of stamping, through Vicky Briggs of the Crackerbox Palace, she was introduced to techniques. It didn’t take long for this association with Vicky to become a bonding of talents. Chick self claims to be an addict of everything new, and is especially in love with experimenting with new techniques, many of which she has developed on her own. Her answer to people coming in and saying they were virgin stampers, “If there is such a thing as a virgin stamper, then I must be the “whore stamper”. She says, “I’m so excited to be going away from my home area to stamp and teach… As a teacher I truly believe that one is taught by one’s students…I’m looking forward to learning as much as I teach."

This information about Vicky and Chick was gathered from DOOR COUNTY RUBBER STAMP which also have a show but unfortunately the Door County Rubber Stamp, Scrapbook & Paper Arts Escape! had already ended by the time I made this post. The show was May 29-30-31, in Bridgeport Resort, Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin.

Crackerbox Blob/News

*** D I D - Y O U - K N O W ***

Crackerbox Palace

Will be one of many vendors
At the One of a Kind Rubber Stamp & Scrapbook Show.

Date: November 21 & 22, 2009
Time: 10-5 Saturday, 10-4 Sunday
Where: Alliant Energy Center Exhibition Hall, Madison, Wisconsin

Classes all day Friday, Saturday Sunday!

*** P E T - T I P ***

Love you Savannah!

Did you know that Xylitol, the artificial sweetener in many chewing gums and some "sugar-free" baked products, is very toxic to dogs. Two or three sticks of gum can cause a 20 pound dog to have weakness, vomiting, seizures, or even liver failure. Another reason that people food is for people only! [New Hope Veterinary Clinic newsletter]

'til next time,


Con

"Helen" can be bought at Crackerbox...she is my "icon" on Facebook!