Paper Expressions Rubber Stamping & Video Tutorials

Food For Thought..............

 

I certainly hope you will share this video with friends and family!

A SPOOKTACULAR OFFER IN AUGUST! A FREE GIFT

Yes, you read that right! We’ve got a spooktacular offer for you during the month of August!! 

It was announced at Stampin Up! Convention 2012 that all new demonstrators—will receive a FREE Howl-o-ween Printer’s Tray project kit!

This boo-tiful kit contains all the bits and pieces to create a super spooky Halloween decoration*—you won’t want to miss out on this exclusive offer!  *Project kit does not include ink

Everything in the picture is included, even a new Halloween stamp set called Toxic Treats! It also includes rhinestones, bakers twine, the new gray and black striped satin ribbon from the Holiday Catalog, and so many more items.

Now, I bet you are asking "how do I get this cute kit?"

Click HERE and become a member of my team.  Your fully customizable kit is only $99.00 and you will receive over $126.00 in product!

No strings! No sales requests, pushing or nagging from me about what you do after you sign up. I will give you as much or as little help as you want and no matter where in the USA or US territory you can join my team and receive this amazing offer for FREE!

Feel free to email me (click email me on top left column) with any questions and I will gladly answer them!

Click on the shopping cart to place your online order. All orders are shipped using UPS directly to YOU!

Now, Only $99.00 to Become a Demonstrator Your Way!

 

 

Lower Cost + Complete Customization = The Stampin' Up! Opportunity is Better Than Ever!

The new standard Starter Kit is here! Now, every new Stampin' Up! demonstrator can create a customized Starter Kit for just $99. This is just one of the ways Stampin' Up! is demonstrating the My Way philosophy of doing business-by making the Starter Kit completely customizable.

With the new, flexible Starter Kit, you can customize your creativity- your way. Each kit contains a business supplies pack (valued at $65)-things that every demonstrator needs to start their business. After that, the choice is yours to put together a kit with any of our high-quality products. You can choose $125 worth of any traditional or digital supplies to create a kit valued at over $190 that still ships for free!

Flex Kit Suggestions

Click here for more info and to become a demonstrator today!

Click on the shopping cart to place your online order. All orders are shipped using UPS directly to YOU!

Exciting News!!

We're excited to announce that Creating Keepsakes magazine has named Stampin' Up!'s wood- and clear-mount rubber stamps as one of its Top 10 Tools for 2011!

While Stampin' Up! has long been recognized in the stamping and crafting industry for producing high-quality rubber stamps and exclusive images in a variety of artistic styles, being recognized by Creating Keepsakes is just another validation that when you choose Stampin' Up! products, you are choosing the best!

It's Definitely Fall! Card and Details from Yesterday

Yesterday we had to take Katie to the Kansas City airport- yep an almost 4 hour drive one way and it was about 63 degrees and windy/overcast/rainy up there all day.  We left home at 1 am as her flight left at 6:40 and they want you there about 2 hours early-  ugh!   After dropping her off, Kay and I went to Waffle House for breakfast (that in my opinion, wasn't all that great) and then we went to the Independence Visitor's Center for the LDS Church and parked in the parking lot and took a long nap! lol   

We then visited with the Missionaries in the center, got directions to Richmond and headed on our trip home.  We got as far as Historic Downtown Independence and saw a Covered Wagon with mules pulling it and decided to take the 45 minute History trip.  WOW! Am I glad we did! That Mule skinner was fabulous with his tales of Missouri History and it began to to be more clearmo- a lot of the Church History we have from Missouri but that still doesn't make it "right" the way those pioneers were treated here in this state. We also stopped at every Antique store we saw on the way home until it was after 5 and they were closed.  The weather was VERY crisp and damp with some bits of rain yesterday. It got as high as 63 degrees.  We decided after taking the wagon tour that it was to cold to head to Richmond and we would save it for another day.

I would recommend this Missouri History trip to EVERYONE and we will be taking the longer trip next time!  We heard about Harry Truman, Andrew Jackson, Quantrell's Raiders and more!  This guy is a fabulous Story teller and really brings history to life.  His Business is called Pioneer Trails Adventures

and you can find them on Facebook HERE

Here is a Fall Card we made for Class that I had forgotten to post- I love our Wednesday Card classes! I teach all kinds of techniques and we have show and tell!  It's from 10:30 am to 11:30 or 12 depending on how long we chat! The class is only $5.00 per person and you can usually purchase an extra kit for $3.00 and make a 2nd card to give away.  I know how you all like to keep the card you made in class! lol

I used:

#123804  Gently Falling Clear Mount Stamp set

#124066 Spice Cake Designer Fabrics

#102283 Versamark Ink  for the Emboss Resist Technique

# #119670  Early Espresso Ink for the Stamped Off Technique

#119783 Peach Parfait Ink for the Sponging Highlights

# 102892 Sponge Daubers

# 109521 En Francais' Background stamp

# 100730 Whisper White Cardstock

# 119686  Early Espresso Cardstock

#122924 Pool Party In Color Cardstock

#113439 Big Shot

#123129 Fancy Fan Letter Press Plate

#114615 Silicone Rubber Pad

#114614 Standard Texturx Impressions Pad

A very fun and quick easy card! These would make fabulous Invitations for a wedding shower, wedding, birthday, thank you, Fall party, Thanksgiving dinner or just a plain Thanksgiving card to say hello to friends and family!

Because it's Labor day

This is a must Read!

Mitt's Remarks at the VFW National Convention

It’s a privilege to be addressing the veterans who defended our liberty in the past, and who defend the memory and dignity of every veteran today.

 

I was born in 1947 – a quintessential baby boomer.  I grew up in the shadow of World War II, and then came the wars in Korea and Vietnam.  As a boy, I knew that it was American soldiers and sailors and Marines and airmen who had saved us from German Fascism, and who protected us from Soviet Communism. You were our heroes then, and you are today.

 

You know better than most that the world is still infected with purveyors of hate and oppression.  Some are jihadists, some are communists, and some are simply tyrants who clothe themselves in any convenient political manifesto.  And so once again, American heroes are called upon to defend liberty.

 

We rightly call our fathers and mothers the Greatest Generation, but every man and woman who has or now defends American liberty – from the beaches of Normandy, to the Mekong Delta, to the valleys of the Hindu Kush – shares in their heritage of greatness.  Every veteran is the greatest of his generation.

 

The quiet heroes who have fought for our country come from the most diverse backgrounds imaginable: from farmers and subway riders, Ph.D.’s and high school graduates, and from every ethnic background of the American melting pot.  But they are united by far more than what divides them.

 

They believe in America.  I believe in America.  We believe in freedom and opportunity.  We believe in the inherent dignity of every human being.  We have a deep and abiding faith in the goodness and the greatness of America.

 

But today we are united not only by our faith in America. We are united also by our concern for America.

 

25 million Americans are out of work, or have stopped looking, or have only part time jobs but want full-time work. Home values have dropped more than they did during the Depression.  National debt is almost as large as our entire economy, and we owe a huge chunk of it to China. Incredibly, unfunded government promises now total about $530,000 per American household.  This cannot possibly stand as the legacy we will leave the next generation.

 

And the peril of this mismanagement may even be more imminent.  We stand near a threshold of profound economic misery.  Four more years on the same political path could prove disastrous.

 

I am a conservative businessman.  I have spent most of my life outside of politics, dealing with real problems in the real economy.  Career politicians got us into this mess and they simply don't know how to get us out!

 

To win this fight for America's future, we will have to rise above politics.  When members of Seal Team Six boarded their helicopters, they did so not as Republicans or Democrats or independents, they did so as Americans.  And the final image that Osama bin Laden took with him straight to Hell was not a party symbol – not a Republican elephant or a Democratic donkey – but an American flag on the shoulder of one straight-shooting U.S. Navy Seal.

 

I start with the fundamental conviction that America is the greatest nation in the history of the world and a force for good.  And while we are not perfect, I will not apologize for America!

 

Our president has taken a different approach.  Have we ever had a president who was so eager to address the world with an apology on his lips and doubt in his heart? He seems truly confused not only about America’s past but our future. 

 

So critical was President Obama of America before the United Nations that Fidel Castro complimented him for his “courage” and “brave gesture.”  And Venezuelan dictator and thug Hugo Chavez joined in on the praise.

 

We can’t lead the world by hoping our enemies will hate us less. Ronald Reagan rallied America with “Peace Through Strength.”

 

American strength is the only guarantee of liberty.  American strength turned the Cuban missiles around. 

 

American strength caused the collapse of the Soviet Union.  American strength yanked Saddam Hussein out of his spider hole.  With freedom as our cause, strength is our only sure defense!

 

Today, President Obama is on a different course.  

 

First, the White House proposed cutting military spending by $400 billion over the next twelve years. Then, President Obama agreed to a budget process that could entail cutting defense spending by $850 billion.

 

The incoming Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff has called a cut of that magnitude “very high risk.”  

 

Defense Secretary Panetta has warned that it could have “devastating effects on our national defense.”  And that’s coming from a guy who works for President Obama.

 

This is the first time in my memory that massive defense cuts were proposed without any reference to the missions that would be foreclosed and the risks to which our country and its men and women in uniform would be exposed.  Cuts of this magnitude can only be the product of one of two mistaken beliefs.

 

On the one hand is wishful thinking that the world is becoming a safer place.  The opposite is true.  Consider simply the Jihadists, a near-nuclear Iran, a turbulent Middle East, an unstable Pakistan, a delusional North Korea, an assertive Russia, and an emerging global power called China.  No, the world is not becoming safer.

 

And so, on the other hand, that leaves us with the belief that America should become a lesser power.  It flows from the conviction that if we are weak, tyrants will choose to be weak as well; that if we could just talk more, engage more, pass more U.N. resolutions, that peace will break out.  That may be what they think in that Harvard faculty lounge, but it’s not what they know on the battlefield!

 

But American leadership is more than a budget fight.  America must lead with clarity of intent, a commitment of purpose and unlimited resolve. Unfortunately, when we look around the world today, we see a muddled picture of American policy and power.

 

In the Mideast, we are pressuring our closest ally Israel to make concessions while putting almost no pressure on the Palestinians. The administration was quick to criticize Israel but slow to confront Syria’s strongman, Bashar al Assad, even though he facilitated arming Hezbollah, allowed terrorists to cross his border into Iraq to attack U.S. troops, and turned weapons on his own people.  Instead of calling Mr. Assad a reformer, the administration should have labeled him a killer.

 

President Obama’s reticence to criticize Mr. Assad echoes his unwillingness to say a harsh word about the ayatollahs of Iran when they engaged in a bloody crack down on the dissidents who bravely protested the stolen 2009 election. The White House was so tentative in its criticism and so eager to continue its policy of “engagement," that Iranian protesters questioned whether President Obama was with them.  What a disgrace.

 

Now we have an unfolding revolution in Libya. First, President Obama acted as if it were a great surprise that a rebellion erupted, even though The Arab Spring was already in full swing in Tunisia and Egypt.  Our involvement in Libya was marked by inadequate clarity of purpose before we began the mission, mission muddle during the operation, and ongoing confusion as to our role in the future.

 

Today, Qaddafi is on the run and we congratulate the Libyan people and the extraordinary professionalism of our men and women in the armed services.  But when a president sends our men and women into harm's way, he must first explain their mission, define its success, plan for their victorious exit, provide them with the best weapons and armor in the world, and properly care for them when they come home! Anything less is not befitting a great nation.

 

In Afghanistan, the President has chosen to disregard the counsel of the generals on the ground.  I don’t know of a single military advisor to President Obama who recommended the withdrawal plan the President chose, and that puts the success of our soldiers and our mission at greater risk.

 

Across the globe, China is becoming not only an economic powerhouse, but also a military super-power. Properly considered, China's military spending is nearly half our own.  Its military build-up should give us pause.

 

As America’s veterans, you understand better than anyone that weakness invites aggression and that the best ally of peace is a strong America.

 

Our Air Force is now older and smaller than it has been for decades.  Our navy has fewer ships than it is has had since World War One. The Navy says it needs 313 ships to fulfill it missions around the world.  It only has 284 ships and we’re on track to drop down to the low 200s.

 

And while our output has declined, the bureaucracy has increased.  There is enormous waste.  Let me give you an example: During World War Two, we built 1,000 ships per year with 1,000 people in the Bureau of Ships – the purchasing department, if you will. In the 1980’s we built 17 ships per year, with 4,000 people in purchasing. Today, for 9 ships a year, it takes 25,000 people!

 

Let me tell you, as a conservative businessman who has spent most of his life in the private sector, I look at that kind of inefficiency and bloat and say, “Let me at it.”  

 

I will slice billions of dollars in waste and inefficiency and bureaucracy from the defense budget.  I will use the money we save for modern ships and planes, and for more troops.  And I’ll spend it to ensure that veterans have the care they deserve.

 

The sacrifices made by our soldiers inspire. As governor, I had the honor and privilege of visiting our wounded in military hospitals here and abroad. I walked room to room and bed to bed, visiting with these young heroes. Their courage and determination extends beyond the battlefields, to these hospitals, and then to their homes. Amputees who fought for America now compete for America in the Paralympic games. A young father holds his child with prosthetic arms.

 

Others were not wounded, but they sacrificed in other ways. They missed a birth or birthdays.  They endured financial hardship and lost opportunity.

 

As governor, I attended a great many funerals and wakes. I met with families—parents, wives and husbands and children. As you know too well, it is heart wrenching.

 

I met with our soldiers in the anxious days before deployment to dangerous places. I welcomed them home, sometimes in celebrations. Sometimes in caskets.

 

I remember one day toward the end of my term when my office got a call telling us that a soldier’s body was being returned to our state from Iraq, coming in on a U.S. Airways flight. The soldier's family had not been notified in time to get to the airport to receive the body; I was asked if I would go to the airport in their stead. Of course, I said yes.

 

We drove over to the airport and the police car took me out on the tarmac. The jet came in and the people disembarked and then the luggage came down the conveyor, and finally, the casket came down, too. And the State Troopers who were there with me all saluted. And I put my hand on my heart.

 

And I happened to glance up at the terminal. There’s a big wall of glass at the U.S. Airways terminal in Boston right where the plane had come in, and the people coming off the plane had seen all the police cars, so they’d stopped to see what was going on. And the people walking down the hall saw the people leaning up against the glass, so they pulled up behind them. A huge crowd had formed up there.

 

Every single person I saw had their hand on their heart. And I couldn’t see tears through the glass, but I could see the faces, the sorrow, the admiration, the appreciation for that young soldier.

 

We are a patriotic people. We face extraordinary challenges. The American people rise to the occasion. They only ask for a leader who will tell them the truth, who will live with integrity, and who will actually lead them in the direction that will preserve this great nation.

 

We’ve lost a couple of years, but we haven’t lost our way. The principles that made America the hope of the earth are the principles that will keep us the great shining city upon a hill.

 

It’s time for us to come together and to carry our message across this country, that we’re taking back America, that we’re restoring those principles that made America the great nation that it is. Because we believe in America, we’re going to keep America strong, and worthy of the great sacrifice of America’s veterans and those young men and women who put their lives on the line for us even today.

 

Thank you very much.

 

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Census info video: nothing stamping in this post

Kay also said that you should have a clipboard when you asnwer the door and  you can ask for their badge write down the ID number and ask for the phone number of the office to verify them

and while they are staingd at your door (never allow them in the house they are a stranger remember?) have the person at the number verify their identity by describing to you what that person looks like (still never allowing them in your home for your safety)  there are so many people out scamming now do yourself a favor and be SAFE!

THE ONLY information you HAVE to give them is how many people live in your home- period!

 

good luck!

 

 

Census Information for 2010

Be Cautious About Giving Info to Census Workers

 by Susan Johnson

With the U.S. Census process beginning, the Better Business Bureau  (BBB) advises people to be cooperative, but cautious, so as not to  become a victim of fraud or identity theft. The first phase of the  2010 U.S. Census is under way as workers have begun verifying the  addresses of households across the country. Eventually, more than  140,000 U.S. Census workers will count every person in the United  States and will gather information about every person living at each  address including name, age, gender, race, and other relevant data.

The big question is - how do you tell the difference between a U.S. Census worker and a con artist? BBB offers the following advice:

If a U.S. Census worker knocks on your door, they will have a  badge, a handheld device, a Census Bureau canvas bag, and a  confidentiality notice. Ask to see their identification and their  badge before answering their questions.  However, you should never  invite anyone you don't know into your home.
 
    Census workers are currently only knocking on doors to verify  address information.  Do not give your Social Security number, credit  card or banking information to anyone, even if they claim they need it  for the U.S. Census.
 

 REMEMBER, NO MATTER WHAT THEY ASK, YOU REALLY ONLY NEED TO TELL THEM HOW MANY PEOPLE LIVE AT YOUR  ADDRESS.
 
  While the Census Bureau might ask for basic financial information,  such as a salary range, YOU DON'T HAVE TO ANSWER ANYTHING AT ALL ABOUT  YOUR FINANCIAL SITUATION.  The Census Bureau will not ask for Social  Security, bank account, or credit card numbers, nor will employees  solicit donations.  Any one asking for that information is NOT with  the Census Bureau.
 
  AND REMEMBER, THE CENSUS BUREAU HAS DECIDED NOT TO WORK WITH ACORN ON  GATHERING THIS INFORMATION..  No Acorn worker should approach you  saying he/she is with the Census Bureau.

  Eventually, Census workers may contact you by telephone, mail, or in  person at home.. However, the Census Bureau will not contact you by Email, so be on the lookout for Email scams impersonating the Census.
 
Never click on a link or open any attachments in an Email that are supposedly from the U.S. Census Bureau.
 
For more advice on avoiding identity theft and fraud, visit  www.bbb.org
 
PLEASE SHARE THIS INFO WITH FAMILY AND friends

I HAD a FANTASTIC MORNING!

First of all let me say this-  I am NOT impressed with the Springfield, Missouri City fathers and planners and their lack of regard for the numerous Supporters of McCain/Palin. Their planning was poor, their lack of regard for weather, the elderly, children and the rest of us astounds me! Now, with that out of my way..... on to the good stuff!

My kids and I stood in line 4 hours along with WAY OVER 15,000+ people (I have never seen anything like it in my life) to attend the Sarah Palin Rally in Springfield, Missouri today and it was TOTALLY AWESOME!  Naomi Judd spoke about knowing Sarah from a long time ago when She and Wynona had been in Alaska and performed for the troops and how much she admires and likes Sarah and what a great family they have and about Sarah's personality etc... and then she introduced Sarah. The atmosphere was totally electric and the crowd went WILD!!!  

For the record:  I am AGAINST socialism and liberalism and it is refreshing to hear politicians talk about what they will do for the people not for themselves. Sarah is a middle class hard working mom just like we are, and understands more than the liberal media gives her credit for. I know that they pick on her because they can't find anything bad to report so they have to make it up or taint it! Fair and real journalism?  Nope! want to see my Hockey Moms for Palin button I bought?

The clothes and the shoes?  Are not her property, they are the property of the Republican Party and will be auctioned off and the money will be given to charities- so where is the publicity about that?  If we talked about the liberals like they are talking about Sarah,  we would be the bad guys, but they are allowed to spew lies and distort the truth in the media and people let it happen! That makes my blood boil!

And charging travel to the state? Its allowed for all governors but does the media report that?  The media needs to look into more of the politicians budgets then because they all have a family travel allowance! But Sarah uses commercial planes not the "politician planes" as all the others use. She is putting revenue back into the economy by choosing to fly commercially after selling the governors personal plane to help her state- what are the rest doing to help the economy, are they still flying around in expensive planes that we the taxpayers pay for or are they using commercial planes putting revenue back into the economy? And before you get started on Sarah's supposid spending, you better check out Nancy Pelosi and her spendthrift ways first!

oh .... Do you REALLY think Obama paid for his trip to Hawaii out of his own pocket this trip? Gimme a break, it came out of his campaign funds. Isn't that the pot calling the kettle black?

  Momma Judd as she called herself on the left and Sarah's daughter on the right.  We were so far back that it was hard to get this photo over the top of the crowd and the next photo stinks but I am sharing MY view of Sarah from the crowd (see this is part of the poor planning I was talking about.  We hardly saw her as she spoke because of that black thing (something to do with photography) was in the way! Anyhow- it was still wonderful and I am glad we went!

http://www.kspr.com/  for the full speech from today's rally.

I realize some of you will be mad at me for posting this today- for that I do not apologize-  My constitutional rights allow me freedom of speech just as they do you and, after all, this is my blog and you could have chosen to skip it after seeing what was in it instead of getting this far.  It was your "choice" to read it so please do not flame me for I am not flaming you only sharing my thoughts, my excitement and my concerns for the future of my family.

Here is a SNOPES report  maybe everyone should read it.  http://www.snopes.com/politics/soapbox/huntleybrown.asp

I hope your weekend is wonderful!  Here is one more newspaper article that I know will be small print but you can enlarge it just save as to your desktop and use your photo editing to enlarge it to read it.