"Look at me... I am a bold flower! WOW!"
That was one of the things I wrote in my post about the new Stampin' Memories catalog we used to have. What a dorky thing to say. I'm glad my writing has improved a lot since then.
Here is the rest of the post about the new Stampin' Memories catalog back in Sept. 2003
It looks as if this catalog is where Magic Mesh was introduced. Was it that long ago?
Letterboxing Craze
I remember when I was into Letterboxing. I really should get back into it again. Here is my original post.
Remember back in 2003 when a spider walked across my computer screen? Did I really write that?????!!!! There is a link on this post to my letterboxing clues too.
I picked up my letterbox from its hiding place about a year and a half ago because when I checked on it, it was waterlogged and yucky. I should get myself motivated again to make another letterbox.
Awww... how cool to read about when our kitty Wooster arrived!
Problem kitty at my husband's boss's house and Arrival of Kitty
Who doesn't love ice skating hedgehogs?
Remember when I made this card with the Holiday Hedgehogs stamp set?
I had fun making this card. I didn't win the SU WOW contest with it, but I sure loved makin' it! I still have it. One of my all time favs.
More lookin' back later...
Thursday, April 26, 2007
Wednesday, April 25, 2007
Do you Remember When? - We all went crazy when the 2003 SU retiring stamp set list was released?
I remember being so excited on May 14, 2003 when I got my hands on the retiring stamp set list. I posted the list immediately on my blog and called all my customers to tell them to check out the list to make sure they buy the sets they want before they go away. I remember when I owned a lot of these sets. Some of them I still have.
Remember when I ran the first stamp art contest on a blog and gave out what is now called "Blog Candy"?
Yes, I ran the first blog contest geared towards rubber stampers! I tied the contest in with convention in Las Vegas. As the only Blogger attending the Stampin' Up! convention in 2003, I decided to post updates about convention on my blog. Every day of convention I got email messages from stampers around the country asking me all about the new stamp sets. Back at that time, only convention goers were first to see what the new sets looked like. Every one else had to wait until they received their catalog. So I went back to my hotel room and posted convention updates on the blog... my customers LOVED the updates and loved "participating" in the experience by doing the contest I offered.
Stampin' Up! didn't have a computer room at convention that year. There were no computers at all at convention for demonstrators to use. All my updates were done in the hotel room with my upline looking on while I made stamping history.
Posted from the 27th Floor of the Las Vegas Hilton in 2003
Posted while laying on my stomach in front of the computer monitor and a 2003-2004 Stampin' Up! catalog in my hand flipping through to tell my blog readers which Stampin' Around wheels retired so they can make a last minute purchase if they need to... Back then they didn't tell us ahead of time which wheels were set to retire.
Post about the brand new Inspiration Sheets that Stampin' Up! will offer for demos to give out to our customers. I believe as of 2007 they will no longer be producing Inspiration Sheets.
I remember getting a special release "Happiness is Stampin' Up!" rubber stamp. Only convention-goers got one.
I had dinner with my upline and other demo friends at Caeser's Palace.
The Stampin' Up! "Top Ten" 15th Anniversary list was introduced
The top 10 things Stampin'Up! has learned in the last 15 years
10- Never yell free stamps in a room full of demonstrators!
9- there is never enough... bathrooms, elevators, hot water, etc at
convention
8- SU demonstrators are shy introverted people (not!)
7-there is a fine line between hobby and obsession
6- demonstrators love a man in uniform especially the UPS man and go weak in
the knees when they ask what has close to cocoa done for you!
5- It is possible to cram 99 demonstrators into one hotel room
4- SU demonstrators are just IT nerds in disguise
3- When all else fails and you can not get that retired set there is always
E-Bay
2- Nothing is safe around a demonstrator when it comes to stamping (not even
the dog)
1- Stampin' Up! -often imitated never duplicated.
Awww.... memories.... more looks back at the past later...
Remember when I ran the first stamp art contest on a blog and gave out what is now called "Blog Candy"?
Yes, I ran the first blog contest geared towards rubber stampers! I tied the contest in with convention in Las Vegas. As the only Blogger attending the Stampin' Up! convention in 2003, I decided to post updates about convention on my blog. Every day of convention I got email messages from stampers around the country asking me all about the new stamp sets. Back at that time, only convention goers were first to see what the new sets looked like. Every one else had to wait until they received their catalog. So I went back to my hotel room and posted convention updates on the blog... my customers LOVED the updates and loved "participating" in the experience by doing the contest I offered.
Stampin' Up! didn't have a computer room at convention that year. There were no computers at all at convention for demonstrators to use. All my updates were done in the hotel room with my upline looking on while I made stamping history.
Posted from the 27th Floor of the Las Vegas Hilton in 2003
Posted while laying on my stomach in front of the computer monitor and a 2003-2004 Stampin' Up! catalog in my hand flipping through to tell my blog readers which Stampin' Around wheels retired so they can make a last minute purchase if they need to... Back then they didn't tell us ahead of time which wheels were set to retire.
Post about the brand new Inspiration Sheets that Stampin' Up! will offer for demos to give out to our customers. I believe as of 2007 they will no longer be producing Inspiration Sheets.
I remember getting a special release "Happiness is Stampin' Up!" rubber stamp. Only convention-goers got one.
I had dinner with my upline and other demo friends at Caeser's Palace.
The Stampin' Up! "Top Ten" 15th Anniversary list was introduced
The top 10 things Stampin'Up! has learned in the last 15 years
10- Never yell free stamps in a room full of demonstrators!
9- there is never enough... bathrooms, elevators, hot water, etc at
convention
8- SU demonstrators are shy introverted people (not!)
7-there is a fine line between hobby and obsession
6- demonstrators love a man in uniform especially the UPS man and go weak in
the knees when they ask what has close to cocoa done for you!
5- It is possible to cram 99 demonstrators into one hotel room
4- SU demonstrators are just IT nerds in disguise
3- When all else fails and you can not get that retired set there is always
E-Bay
2- Nothing is safe around a demonstrator when it comes to stamping (not even
the dog)
1- Stampin' Up! -often imitated never duplicated.
Awww.... memories.... more looks back at the past later...
Tuesday, April 24, 2007
I got several emails this morning with photos of the new SU colors...
I have no idea who took these photos but multiple people emailed me this morning with these photos of the new SU colors. Since I received several emails spilling the beans, I may as well post 'em.
Monday, April 23, 2007
Do you Remember When? - My Ugly Pea Green Template
In 2003, there were only a select few blog platforms to choose from. The largest and most popular was Blogger (Blogspot). At this time, Blogger was not owned by Google yet. There weren't many blog templates available on the web either... so my first posts were all made on an ugly pea green blog template that I hated. Wanna take a look-see? YUCK, you may say!
But to this day I still have this statement on my current blog as I did back then: "Welcome to my Online Stamping Diary. Here I ponder all the mysteries of stamping and share ideas with new friends. This is where I chat about my "innermost stamping secrets". (Mom, if you are reading this, logoff!)"
If you read some of my posts in the Pea Green template above, you can see I experimented with a stamping survey - first one ever on a blog -
I also listed upcoming episodes of DIY scrapbooking that featured Stampin' Up!.
Remember the Stampin' Up! 15th Anniversary retired set re-releases?
In my posts on the Pea Green template link, I announced the re-release of selected retired sets! I had completely forgotten about those! Fish Frolics was re-released Oct. 15, 2003, Sept. 15, 2003 was Meow Meow and Architectural Elements, August was Definitely Decorative Noah.
One of the things I remember about the early Blogger is that back then, Blogger didn't have their own photo storage and upload system. The photos I put on my blog back then were uploaded on some free personal server space that I had and then I wrote the html in the post and linked out to my server. I no longer have any photos there anymore. Therefore, some of the photos in these old posts are not showing up any longer because they have been deleted off the server (I'm not using it anymore). Sorry... but it hasn't been a priority to re-upload all these old photos. I'm too busy working on upcoming stuff ...
Stay tuned for more walks down my bloggy memory lane...
But to this day I still have this statement on my current blog as I did back then: "Welcome to my Online Stamping Diary. Here I ponder all the mysteries of stamping and share ideas with new friends. This is where I chat about my "innermost stamping secrets". (Mom, if you are reading this, logoff!)"
If you read some of my posts in the Pea Green template above, you can see I experimented with a stamping survey - first one ever on a blog -
I also listed upcoming episodes of DIY scrapbooking that featured Stampin' Up!.
Remember the Stampin' Up! 15th Anniversary retired set re-releases?
In my posts on the Pea Green template link, I announced the re-release of selected retired sets! I had completely forgotten about those! Fish Frolics was re-released Oct. 15, 2003, Sept. 15, 2003 was Meow Meow and Architectural Elements, August was Definitely Decorative Noah.
One of the things I remember about the early Blogger is that back then, Blogger didn't have their own photo storage and upload system. The photos I put on my blog back then were uploaded on some free personal server space that I had and then I wrote the html in the post and linked out to my server. I no longer have any photos there anymore. Therefore, some of the photos in these old posts are not showing up any longer because they have been deleted off the server (I'm not using it anymore). Sorry... but it hasn't been a priority to re-upload all these old photos. I'm too busy working on upcoming stuff ...
Stay tuned for more walks down my bloggy memory lane...
Do you remember when? - First post in a series honoring 4 years of stamp art blogging!
It was a cool spring day in Wisconsin - on April 30, 2003. I was updating a Library Science research blog that I authored for about 2 years - it was a blog where I posted links to great resources for the news reporters where I work. Well one night, I went home from work to prepare for an upcoming stamp class in my home and I needed to call all the ladies to make sure they bring certain supplies with them. I was thinking that there must be a more efficient way to inform them of supplies to bring as well as sharing with them lots of fun stamping links on the web.
It suddenly occurred to me that I have the tool that will serve my needs right under my nose and I'm already using it -- in the form of the Library Science research blog!
I practically bopped my head with my hand and a lightbulb went off in my brain... why not create a blog for my stamping customers? I could put projects up there, cool stamping links, stuff I've made, details about the last month's stamp class for those who couldn't attend... and since it would be a diary format, they knew to check the blog for latest updates... and blogs are free... and I can update it remotely...
As soon as the idea hit me, I did massive internet searches to find out if anyone else had ever used a blog to supplement their SU website... I'm a Librarian (with Master's Degree in Information Science) so it was not hard for me to conduct the appropriate searches and find out that THERE WAS NO ONE ELSE DOING WHAT I WANTED TO DO! I was floored. It seemed too obvious to me that no one had thought of it yet. But there I was... braving uncharted territory... It was just too good an idea not to do!
Also at this time, although I didn't realize it, another rubber stamping website called Splitcoaststampers was in its infancy... you could say that me and Splitcoaststampers grew up together. We both began at just about the same time and both developed side by side.
In fact, over the years, when I attended Stampin' Up! events, I have had countless demonstrators come up to me and say that they were introduced to Splitcoaststampers in the first place because of my blog.
Back to April 30, 2003 - almost 4 years ago... my first post consisted of 3 links:
My first stamping blog post
My first post was to the website of Cheryl Aldrich - a fan of rubber stamping who started a website to organize swaps. For awhile, I assisted Cheryl by sizing swap photos and writing html for her website. I remember Beate Johns participating in Cheryl's early swaps as well.
My second post was to Teddyland's Webshots site. At one time there was an album on her site with display boards from Stampin' Up! events. Going there now, I don't see any Stampin' Up! photos... she must no longer be a demonstrator.
My third post was the website called Christian Crafting. Since I'm a Christian and I love crafting, this site was a favorite.
Stay tuned for more Ink Artist memories of the last 4 years...
It suddenly occurred to me that I have the tool that will serve my needs right under my nose and I'm already using it -- in the form of the Library Science research blog!
I practically bopped my head with my hand and a lightbulb went off in my brain... why not create a blog for my stamping customers? I could put projects up there, cool stamping links, stuff I've made, details about the last month's stamp class for those who couldn't attend... and since it would be a diary format, they knew to check the blog for latest updates... and blogs are free... and I can update it remotely...
As soon as the idea hit me, I did massive internet searches to find out if anyone else had ever used a blog to supplement their SU website... I'm a Librarian (with Master's Degree in Information Science) so it was not hard for me to conduct the appropriate searches and find out that THERE WAS NO ONE ELSE DOING WHAT I WANTED TO DO! I was floored. It seemed too obvious to me that no one had thought of it yet. But there I was... braving uncharted territory... It was just too good an idea not to do!
Also at this time, although I didn't realize it, another rubber stamping website called Splitcoaststampers was in its infancy... you could say that me and Splitcoaststampers grew up together. We both began at just about the same time and both developed side by side.
In fact, over the years, when I attended Stampin' Up! events, I have had countless demonstrators come up to me and say that they were introduced to Splitcoaststampers in the first place because of my blog.
Back to April 30, 2003 - almost 4 years ago... my first post consisted of 3 links:
My first stamping blog post
My first post was to the website of Cheryl Aldrich - a fan of rubber stamping who started a website to organize swaps. For awhile, I assisted Cheryl by sizing swap photos and writing html for her website. I remember Beate Johns participating in Cheryl's early swaps as well.
My second post was to Teddyland's Webshots site. At one time there was an album on her site with display boards from Stampin' Up! events. Going there now, I don't see any Stampin' Up! photos... she must no longer be a demonstrator.
My third post was the website called Christian Crafting. Since I'm a Christian and I love crafting, this site was a favorite.
Stay tuned for more Ink Artist memories of the last 4 years...
Friday, April 20, 2007
Cruise News!
The following new In Colors were announced by Stampin' Up!:
Wild Wasabi
Purely Pomegranite
Groovy Guava
Soft Sky
River Rock
Blue Bayou
The Neutrals family has a new color: Basic Grey
New stamp sets announced: Pick a Petal, Hugs & wishes, Holidays & wishes (the last two are word sets)
We will be selling rhinestone brads in two color choices, Fire and Ice. Square brads have 2 sizes, circles have 3 sizes.
More Onboard chipboard called Blossoms and Basics is new too!
Wild Wasabi
Purely Pomegranite
Groovy Guava
Soft Sky
River Rock
Blue Bayou
The Neutrals family has a new color: Basic Grey
New stamp sets announced: Pick a Petal, Hugs & wishes, Holidays & wishes (the last two are word sets)
We will be selling rhinestone brads in two color choices, Fire and Ice. Square brads have 2 sizes, circles have 3 sizes.
More Onboard chipboard called Blossoms and Basics is new too!
Our SCS Virtual Magazine!
If you are new to Splitcoastbloggers and to blogging, you may not know about the Search Engine for all of our blogs. I hope you give it a try. Since blogging has become a popular pasttime with stampers everywhere taking up the writer's pen, it was increasingly difficult to keep up with everyone's tutorials and great ideas all over the stamping blogosphere. That is why I created the search engine that covers only Splitcoaststampers Blogs!
At the top of the Splitcoastbloggers blog under the banner there is a search engine box.
Put in a few search terms here when you are looking for ideas about a stamping or scrapping product. The results you will get will amaze you! Article upon article of our blog posts on your topic will be listed along with the link to the blog posts!
For example, entering the word "Cuttlebug" will give you these results. Are you looking for Cuttlebug articles written ONLY by the current and past members of the Splitcoaststampers Dirty Dozen Design Team? Click the link that says "Search Dirty Dozen Only, Click Here" and your search results will narrow to Dirty Dozen blogs only like this!
Think of these search results as your own customizeable online magazine of articles!
At the top of the Splitcoastbloggers blog under the banner there is a search engine box.
Put in a few search terms here when you are looking for ideas about a stamping or scrapping product. The results you will get will amaze you! Article upon article of our blog posts on your topic will be listed along with the link to the blog posts!
For example, entering the word "Cuttlebug" will give you these results. Are you looking for Cuttlebug articles written ONLY by the current and past members of the Splitcoaststampers Dirty Dozen Design Team? Click the link that says "Search Dirty Dozen Only, Click Here" and your search results will narrow to Dirty Dozen blogs only like this!
Think of these search results as your own customizeable online magazine of articles!
Wednesday, April 11, 2007
First 2007 Litter
For those new to this blog, I'm a foster mom for cats and kittens. Every year we take in homeless momma cats and give them and their babies a home with quality nutrition, socialization, and medical care. When the kittens are old enough we find homes for them. We just got our first litter of 2007!
Momma Larisa was a cat owned by someone in Racine who needed to move back to her home country of Serbia. She could not take the cat and kittens with her to Serbia and we agreed to take them in.
Here are some photos.
We named the kittens with Eastern European names to reflect their former owner's culture.
The mom is Larisa.
The male kitten is named Boris (Yeltsin)
The 3 female kittens are: Tatiana, Svetlana and Natasha.
They have just begun eating solid Baby Cat food and are being litter trained as we speak.
Momma Larisa was a cat owned by someone in Racine who needed to move back to her home country of Serbia. She could not take the cat and kittens with her to Serbia and we agreed to take them in.
Here are some photos.
We named the kittens with Eastern European names to reflect their former owner's culture.
The mom is Larisa.
The male kitten is named Boris (Yeltsin)
The 3 female kittens are: Tatiana, Svetlana and Natasha.
They have just begun eating solid Baby Cat food and are being litter trained as we speak.
Saturday, April 7, 2007
Thursday, April 5, 2007
Sidebar stuff re-uploaded
One of the benefits of a three column blog is the additional space for posting links and widgets near the top of the blog.
I really liked my three column blog. It worked well for me.
The reason I've changed looks is because the 3 column template I created was not designed to be used with the updated version of Blogger - I was one of the last blogs to make the switch to the new Blogger upgrade due to the size of my blog.
Therefore, I had outdated code in my template that was causing some problems for me when I tried adding newer elements. There were also some problems with newer browsers reading my old code. I needed to completely get rid of the old style code for newer widgets to work.
I miss my 3 column blog already. I don't have enough space for all my cool links.
For now, however, I will stay with this 2 column blog. I will be able to upload larger photographs. With my previous blog, I was not able to upload photos larger than a certain size or it would throw my columns out of wack.
I will get the remainder of my links posted soon. I think I put all the important stuff back up for now... more tweaking later...
I really liked my three column blog. It worked well for me.
The reason I've changed looks is because the 3 column template I created was not designed to be used with the updated version of Blogger - I was one of the last blogs to make the switch to the new Blogger upgrade due to the size of my blog.
Therefore, I had outdated code in my template that was causing some problems for me when I tried adding newer elements. There were also some problems with newer browsers reading my old code. I needed to completely get rid of the old style code for newer widgets to work.
I miss my 3 column blog already. I don't have enough space for all my cool links.
For now, however, I will stay with this 2 column blog. I will be able to upload larger photographs. With my previous blog, I was not able to upload photos larger than a certain size or it would throw my columns out of wack.
I will get the remainder of my links posted soon. I think I put all the important stuff back up for now... more tweaking later...
New look for the 4th anniversary of this blog!
Four years! That is how long this blog has been around. Four Years of my life...
Trends have come and gone in those 4 years...
Stay tuned in the next few weeks for a nostalgic look back at some of my best posts from times gone by.
Also, be patient while I re-add my links and dust away the cobwebs...
Trends have come and gone in those 4 years...
Stay tuned in the next few weeks for a nostalgic look back at some of my best posts from times gone by.
Also, be patient while I re-add my links and dust away the cobwebs...
Tuesday, April 3, 2007
Blogger RAK from Kristin Soboloski!
I think I need a stamp that says "The world is a better place with shimmer in it!" because I love shimmer! Stamper and blogger Kristin Soboloski shows me what she can do with products that create shimmer on the card she mailed me. Check out the shimmery layer of "WOW" Diamond Dust paper on this card! Beads too! and some Pearl-ex mixed with Lumiere (I think) and gold embossing! and silver cord!
With all this shimmer, you'd think the card would come out overdone... but it is PERFECT! It has just the right amount of shimmer in just the right places!
Thanks Kristin!
With all this shimmer, you'd think the card would come out overdone... but it is PERFECT! It has just the right amount of shimmer in just the right places!
Thanks Kristin!
Blogger RAK from Teresa Otto!
The double ribbon and layering on this card by Teresa Otto is lovely. Teresa states that her card was inspired by a card made by Beate Johns. The name of the stamp set used on this card is Polka Dots and Paisley, by Stampin' Up! and the images were stamped in ink that matches the cardstock colors for a subtle effect. Teresa used the Stampin' Up! large oval punch for the tag. This stamp set is in the current Spring mini catalog.
Thanks Teresa!
Thanks Teresa!
Blogger RAK from Charmaine!
Polka dot grosgrain ribbon sets this card apart from all the rest. Blogger Charmaine Ikach mailed me this one!
Thanks Charmaine!
Thanks Charmaine!
Blogger RAK from Anna Zuniga!
Blogger Anna Zuniga sent me this adorable card with a turtle. It is so sweet of her to mail me a little bit of springtime in an envelope! Nice striped, textured paper Anna!
Thanks!
Thanks!
Monday, April 2, 2007
We've hit the 500 mark - 500 bloggers strong!
We've just added the 500th blog to the Splitcoastbloggers list.
The 500th blog added was Lorrietori's Stamp Spot!!!
Stop by Lorrietori's blog and check it out! Welcome to our 500th blogger!
The 500th blog added was Lorrietori's Stamp Spot!!!
Stop by Lorrietori's blog and check it out! Welcome to our 500th blogger!
Cindy Brockes joins us as Splitcoastbloggers Admin - More help needed, volunteer today!
Please welcome Cindy Brockes over at "My Inky Fingers!"
I've added another volunteer to the Splitcoastbloggers admin team!
On Friday I added Cindy Brockes to the team. I chatted with her by phone and she is *super* motivated to keep the site updated on a more consistent basis.
Blogs have been taking over the stamping world like a tornado and reinventing how all of us communicate with each other. It has taken me more and more time to maintain Splitcoastbloggers and while my stamping business is growing at the same time, I needed to seek some help.
Another Volunteer Needed!
In addition to adding Cindy, I'd also like to get another volunteer to help with some other SCSbloggers related features. I need someone with good organization skills, willing to be consistent in the hours they volunteer, ideally have some copyrighting skills, and have enthusiasm for stamping. This is a volunteer position, but of course you will have the honor of being listed as a Splitcoastbloggers admin. Does that description fit you? Email me at stampinkitty at sbcglobal.net if you'd like to come play!
I've added another volunteer to the Splitcoastbloggers admin team!
On Friday I added Cindy Brockes to the team. I chatted with her by phone and she is *super* motivated to keep the site updated on a more consistent basis.
Blogs have been taking over the stamping world like a tornado and reinventing how all of us communicate with each other. It has taken me more and more time to maintain Splitcoastbloggers and while my stamping business is growing at the same time, I needed to seek some help.
Another Volunteer Needed!
In addition to adding Cindy, I'd also like to get another volunteer to help with some other SCSbloggers related features. I need someone with good organization skills, willing to be consistent in the hours they volunteer, ideally have some copyrighting skills, and have enthusiasm for stamping. This is a volunteer position, but of course you will have the honor of being listed as a Splitcoastbloggers admin. Does that description fit you? Email me at stampinkitty at sbcglobal.net if you'd like to come play!
Busy life moves blogging to the back burner
I took a week and a half off from writing here. The main reason is because I've been two busy with doing workshops and preparing for the Illinois Burbs Shoebox Swap, which happened on Saturday. Sometimes it is necessary to take some time off writing here in order to take care of business.
In this last week I did 2 workshops, finished up working with a blog consulting client, prepped for another workshop and prepped for and went to the shoebox swap. All this while working full time. The week before that, I had 2 workshops as well as a blogging client not to mention working on the dreaded taxes.
I look back and I seriously wonder how I was able to get it all done.
Things have slowed back down for me now and I have less workshops booked for the month of April. However, I do have the Kindred Kitties fundraiser this month which will take some time. I also have 2 more blog consulting clients this month as well.
Last week I was supposed to write an article for Craft Critique about the Cricut. I've had to postpone it to this week and I'll start working on it tomorrow.
Some of my emails have gone unanswered this week and I'm catching up with that too.
In this last week I did 2 workshops, finished up working with a blog consulting client, prepped for another workshop and prepped for and went to the shoebox swap. All this while working full time. The week before that, I had 2 workshops as well as a blogging client not to mention working on the dreaded taxes.
I look back and I seriously wonder how I was able to get it all done.
Things have slowed back down for me now and I have less workshops booked for the month of April. However, I do have the Kindred Kitties fundraiser this month which will take some time. I also have 2 more blog consulting clients this month as well.
Last week I was supposed to write an article for Craft Critique about the Cricut. I've had to postpone it to this week and I'll start working on it tomorrow.
Some of my emails have gone unanswered this week and I'm catching up with that too.
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