Paper Expressions

Small Business Tips

This would really help out!

Thanks~have a creative weekend!

 

Visit my Facebook Page HERE

Be sure to click on the new catalog links on the right side of this blog! Check out all the gorgeous supplies!

 

 

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

Celebrating 15 years with Stampin Up!

Let's Salsa!

I want to share the news!  It's Salsa Time at our house!

I am so ready to pull up all the tomato plants in the garden!  My pepper plants aren't producing so well this year, but I do have a LOT of bees, HUGE bees almost on every flower out there and that is great news, but I also have Japanese beetles shredding my plants. Never let anyone tell you that bugs wont eat marigolds because its a lie! There is nothing that those beetles won't touch in the garden. I am using Neem spray on them but I just cannot keep up. They decimated the leaves in one of our trees and now they are driving me nuts on my garden plants. Rant over (for now)

Here are a few photos of my Salsa and if you want the delicious recipe,  you will need to leave a comment below and include your email address.

TRUST me! This recipe is delicious and was given to me by my neighbor Dottie.

And I have 3 more batches that I didn't take a picture of-  Now, if I could just sell the tomatoes I picked this weekend and then pull the plants~!

I hope your canning season is going well too!

hugs

Gwen

Say What?

HI!

My name is Gwen Mangelson and I am a Stampin Up! Demonstrator. I teach people how to make paper craft items like cards, journals, boxes, scrapbook pages, tags, etc. This November will be my 14th year with the company. This IS a business for me, and the income it brings from orders/sales/parties etc... helps us pay our bills and enables me to bring out the creativity in others. (and in myself!)
The reasons I love Stampin Up! are because of the integrity of the company, the quality of the products and THE FUN! I love meeting/making new friends, sharing my love of Stampin Up! and bringing out creativity in people of all ages they didn't realize they have!

I started this blog 10 years ago to share that love and my love/passions for gardening, sewing, quilting, food storage and many other things!  I love all your comments, suggestions and support! I want to say thank you to each of you who come here to see what fun I am up to lately!  I know a lot of other demos only share their stamping projects, I like to share my life with you too- there is way more to me than begging for your business (but I am not above doing that either! lol)  and I know there are many dimensions to each of your lives as well and it's fun to share and learn from each other.

The New Holiday catalog comes out September 1. If you want one I need to know right away so I be sure I order enough of them.

My only request is that you place your order from that free catalog with me on my website .   I have to admit, as demonstrators it makes us sad when people ask for free catalogs and then order from another demonstrator.  This is a business for many of us, not a "hobby".  I know you understand and I appreciate that!

I wanted to tell you today how much fun I have sharing my life with you here, hearing from you and answering your questions!

In case you didn't know I have a Facebook Page - Paper Expressions

Here's a cute project for you to create and share! The Sentiment can be changed to fit the occasion.

Stamps
• Beautiful Bouquet Stamp Set

Paper
• Calypso Coral Cardstock
• Old Olive Cardstock
• Pool Party Cardstock
• Tranquil Tide Cardstock
• Whisper White Cardstock
• Delightful Daisy Designer Series Paper

Ink
• Daffodil Delight Classic Stampin’ Pad®
• Night of Navy Classic Stampin’ Pad
• Pool Party Classic Stampin’ Pad
• Tranquil Tide Classic Stampin' Pad®

Accessories and Tools
• Rhinestone Basic Jewels
• Big Shot™
• Bouquet Bunch Framelits™Dies
• Mini Treat Bag Thinlits™Die

 

Have a wonderful creative day friends! Thanks for stopping by!

 

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

Making Fun

Hi everyone! It's great to see you today!

A few changes are occurring here in the Studio- mainly class scheduled days-   I will post classes only on my Stampin Up Website at THIS link

You may have to click to the next month to see what is coming up and when you have a class you want to take you MUST RSVP on the page that pops up. I will then contact you about pre payment for the class and prep your supplies in time.

Here are some photos of this weeks fun  This is Rose and her projects.........

 
And this is Sandy and her projects!

All our other gals were away on vacation but we had fun without them!

Class will now be on Thursdays as I am tending 2 boys ages 6 and 3 for a friend 3 days a week. They are good boys and we are having fun. 

Whatever pays the bills right?

And on the home canning front- these were processed last night- bread and butter pickles

and earlier in the week it was green beans and carrots and dilly beans. I decided to use the avery website to create fun labels for the lids of all my jars this year. That way there is NO arguing about what is inside or how old it is!  I have another set of 2 1/2" lables and 2"labels coming via amazon on Monday.

Its so hot this week, most of my plants are in wilt because I just can't keep it all watered enough. I did pick 2 gallons of blackberries this evening!

I am washing and freezing them on a cookie sheet them putting them in a food saver bag- that way they don't form a  clump in the sack!

I hope your weekend is going great and not as hot as ours!

hugs

Gwen

Taco Soup In a Jar

You read the title correctly!   I made 15 jars of taco soup  all I have to do is add to boiling water,simmer 35 minutes and supper or lunch is ready!  Thrive products make it SO easy and delicious to do this!

 

6 jars are meatless because I want to use the pressure canned meats from my pantry.  In 1 jar I used Thrive ground hamburger (the last of the can) and in the others I used the Thrive Seasoned Chicken.   All jars have an oxy absorber in them and will store as is for 5 years.

Who can beat a fast easy meal?

For anyone who joins our Thrive Family as a consultant, I will send you the packet of meals in a jar recipes I have and help you learn how easy it is to use Thrive everyday! I use our grocery budget for it-  I hardly have to purchase groceries and it's all delivered to our door!

 

if you want more info  message me!

hugs

Gwen

15 Jars in 1 Hour!

That's right!  Yesterday I made 15 Meals in a Jar of Taco Soup in just under 1 hour.

That is 15, 4 serving meals.  When we are tired and cold and hungry or have unexpected company, I LOVE grabbing a meal in a jar,  boiling the right amount of water and adding the Jar Meal whatever it may be and then in 25-30 minutes we are ready to eat! 

I line up my THRIVE ingredients  in order of the recipe along with the coordinating measuring cups or spoons and I grab a 1 qt WIDE mouth jar and just go down the line!  My friend/Thrive customer Sandy came and brought her own jar so she could see how I did it, and we had a blast!

Some of the jars have meat, either chicken or beef, (Thrive brand) and the rest have none.  Partially because I want to use my pressure canned meats I have done this year, partially to have no meat at all on the days I feel that way but want taco soup anyhow, and 3rdly because I forgot to add it to my last Q order! lol  So I used what I already had open in the pantry.  When my customers place a Q order,  I share my recipes with them. What's a Q?  It's groceries to your door!  You never have to use "Extra" money for Thrive orders because it comes right out of the grocery budget.  Click HERE for more info

I am loving the cooler weather and I will be spending the day in my studio downstairs "cleaning" up and creating.  Yesterday I made a birthday card for our granddaughter and a get well card for her brother and totally forgot to get photos,  ugh.

I have started a Gingerbread book using my Accucut and those gorgeous Candy Cane Lane papers, stamps and accessories and will snag some photos of the cut outs and then photos when it's finished.   Life has been wildly busy here with Kay's Business, my Stampin Up and Thrive businesses and we love it. 

I am also for the firs time in years having a  wonderful time "shopping" for gifts for Christmas because my son Morgan invited us to their home and of course Grammie has to bring presents!!!  But mostly I am excited to see my kids grandkids and my step kids and grandkids.  And I will get to see my Niece Michelle along the way and hug the stuffing out of her!!!

When you lose your only sister and both of your parents you really realize how important family is-  I already knew that, (Dad died in 1995)  but this is on a way different level of understanding. Especially when we live so far away from all of the kids and grandkids.

I will be back tomorrow-  I PROMISE with Stamping Show and tell.

hugs to all, hope your turkey day week is going awesome!

Gwen

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Canning Season Began

Between Canning, Gardening and a sick husband I didnt post much last week so I am going to try to catch up. Someone in weeding I got into some Poison oak or ivy- I have no idea but I know the 1 place on my left arm and the 4 on my inside right elbow are making me nuts itching and swollen red spots.  We have steroid cream from last summer left over that I am using but I think today benadryl is in order for the itching!

Here are some photos of a few of last weeks projects while it was raining outside like crazy!

This batch of beets is just that, beets. I have enough pickled beets and I love canned beets so that is how the rest of the crop will be processed  for winter eating.  Beets MUST BE PRESSURE CANNED

Here are my pickling cucs soaking in lime water to make them crisp before canning-  I made dill and kosher dill using the Mrs Wages mixes found in the canning section of any store.
Pickles are water bath canned

And here is our first picking of beets.  Bless Jessica for picking them while I worked in the garden!  Now we have to tip and snap them to pressure can with some onion and salt in the jars too.  NUMMY

Earlier in the week we took a meal and dessert to a family who's daughter was in ICU.   You have seen my posts about meals in a jar well here are brownies in a jar. It sure made it easy to get this meal ready for the family and their boys love me for the brownies!

With my husband still unemployed, we are "putting up" all the garden produce we can.

I hope you are doing well, and that your garden is growing without any weeds!

hugs

Gwen

IT'S LIVE TODAY!

 

View the new Catalog Online RIGHT NOW by clicking on this graphic!

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

Life Happens

My sweet friends, life has a way of happening to each of us. Yesterday my husband lost his job. We have no idea where or what we will be going/doing as it is still to early to tell.  He has such a specialized area of work that there are only 1000 or less jobs of his kind - and finding one available will be quite the trick.

I will be ramping up my Stampin Up! and Thrive Businesses to help with the paying of the bills. I appreciate all who are already my customers and business partners and I am just saying this in hopes of finding people who want a Stampin Up demonstrator and or Thrive distributor not only in my area (Southwest Missouri) but all over the nation.  I will be putting more classes together (for both businesses).

I have a LOT of retired stamps for sale here at my home. Over the weekend I will be adding even more as I transition to the new 2016-2017 Catalog.

Your prayers will be greatly appreciated as always.

hugs

Gwen

We Be Jammin

Monday I spent the day Jammin-  yep here are a few photos

25 pounds of strawberries from the berry farm up the road and last week it was 25 pounds and I froze them all with the help of my daughter, her boyfriend and my hubby! But here is my Monday project!

 Made into the best tasting strawberry jam I have ever made!  I only use Sure Jel for my jams and jellies.

I don't waterbath my jams or jellies. My first mother in law taught me 35 years ago the method of after putting the hot jam or jelly in the jar, adding a hot lid and tight ring to immediately turn them over as in the photo for about 15-20 minutes and then turn them back upright to cool and listen to the ping, ping of the lids! Works like a charm, I have NEVER had one not seal or go bad, but you CANNOT use that method for any other canning projects- ever as it will NOT work!

The table is full of jars- this is minus about 4 batches when I took the photo.  

The hardest part of any kind of canning is preparing the fruit or veggies. I have had toast and jam daily this week and confess that I have eaten a few spoonfuls of just the jam! lol

Have a great day everyone! I would love to hear from you what you are working on this week!

hugs

Gwen