bella 12 step program...

The Bella 12 Step Program

• Step 1 - We admitted we were powerless over our addiction - that our lives had become meaningless without Stamping Bella
• Step 2 - Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves (Em) could restore us to sanity
• Step 3 - Made a decision to turn our extra cash and our stamping time over to the care of Em
  
• Step 4 - Made a well researched and careful inventory of our Bella stamps
  
• Step 5 - Admitted to Em, to ourselves, and to others the exact nature of our stamp addiction
  
• Step 6 - Were entirely ready to defend to the death our commitment to buy more Bellas
  
• Step 7 - Humbly asked Em to continue to give us new Bellas daily
  
• Step 8 - Made a list of all Bellas we own and became willing to make sacrifices to collect them all
• Step 9 - Made RAKs to people wherever possible, especially when to do so would cause them or others to get more Bellas
  
• Step 10 - Continued to search the Stamping Bella inventory and when we need more promptly admitted it
• Step 11 - Sought through PayPal and Master Card to improve our contact with Stamping Bella as we understand the Bella World and its power over us
  
• Step 12 - Having had a stamp awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to other addicts, and to practice these principles in all our daily lives

Hi, my name is Lorie and I'm a Bellaholic!

*This was written by Dawn and you can see her blog HERE!*

lattebella from debby

Ummm, yeah...how many of you are like me and wish you looked like Lattebella while drinking coffee? I got this super cute card with one set of images that Debby signed up for in the image swap. So cute...thank you Debby!

I have found myself totally stuck on a new kid's card for the swap that I'm in so I think I'm just going to have to go with what I have. It is so frustrating to want to do better but not be able to!

It is a slow news day today so I guess I'll sign off. Have a great Saturday!

teacher pails

I think I told you I wanted to show these little pails to you yesterday but I didn't finish them until yesterday afternoon so...sorry about that! These little pails I got in a package of three from the dollar spot at Target when we were there earlier this week. When Kyler reminded me that it was Teacher Appreciation week I, initially, wasn't going to do anything special as we've been doing things all year but then remembered these cute little tins and that I had some candy and went with it. The rub-ons are from SU! and are the package you could get at Sale-A-Bration this year. I'm not entirely sure why I put celebrate on the tin with the butterfly. It turned out okay though because that is the pail Kyler gave the student teacher so it could be seen as celebrating her time with the class. That would make sense, right? These little pails hold five of the new Hershey's Bliss candies. If you are wondering if they are good and if you should try them...I'd say YES! They are yummy!

I thought that you might want to see how many little candies fit into one of the Altoid tins...just in case you would like to make one yourself. I got a total of 12 candies in there. Now...I do have to say that I'm happy I was using a sleeve for that tin as the top did not close completely. Oh, and the Dove candies...those are Hazelnut Caramel Dove Candies. Ummm...yeah...those are good too!

So, that is it for today. I hope you all have a super fantastic Friday! I'm so glad it is finally here! See ya all later!

contact card

I've asked a few people to make me a stamped contact card. I asked them if they would please make it so that it represents who they are on one side and on the other side put all their info. This is one that I've received from my friend Debby. It uses a Riley Moose stamp from Hanna Stamps and she told me that the arrow paper is because that is how she feels in the morning before her coffee. How cute and creative is that? Love it!

Kyler did an excellent job at the dentist yesterday. We thought we were going to be all done but because it took a full 2 hours yesterday instead of the 1 1/2 hours he thought it would take (a little more work was necessary then thought on one tooth) we have to go back next week for a 1/2 hour appointment to finish. The good part? He doesn't have to be numbed up again! Yay! He did have to have a shot in his palette this time and oh, boy...he was brave. He said it really hurt but he was such a champ, I'm telling ya! If I figure out how to get pictures off my camera I'll show you the set up that they used for his mouth. Very interesting stuff!

Anyway, I hope you have a great Thursday! I'll see you tomorrow with the little gifts (little is the operative word) I made for Kyler's teachers.

pond life kid's swap card

Here is my first try at the swap that I'm in for kid's cards. While I think this is a cute card I do not think it is the winner for this particular swap. The stamp set is from PTI and the paper by DCWV. Although you probably can't see it the water has some Crystal Effects on it. Yeah...not sure what I'm going to do at this point. I want my card to be more boy oriented so...back to the drawing board.

Today is a pretty busy day for me and it is topped off this evening with the mother/daughter banquet at church. You don't have to have a daughter to go...just be one so I'll be there! It is always a fun night out. And the boys wait on us. Yay! But first I'll take Kyler to his dentist appointment which got moved up to 11 a.m. and that means he'll miss his planner party at school. I feel really bad he has to miss it but we must finish this work up.

Today we are to have wind gusts up to 50 mph so I'll be trying to stay indoors as much as possible. I hope your day will be a little calmer than mine and that it is a super Wednesday!

image swap is closed...

Please scroll down if you are here to read my daily update OR better yet sign up to be part of my image swap and then read the newest update!

Sounds like there are several people interested in an image swap so I'm going to go ahead and put this out there for sign ups. Here are the guidelines...

1. Vendor: Any Would you please let me know what you plan on sending. Everyone will be so excited to know what they are going to be receiving. Please be sure to use images that you'd like to get back...no little 1x1 images or that type. Good examples are Bella, Magnolia, Sara's Great Impressions stamp is soooo cute. You get the idea I'm sure. Please just use excellent judgement. And as always...please be sure to ask if you are at all not sure if what you want to use is appropriate. Thanks.

2. Card Stock: Quality White Card Stock (SU!, PTI, etc.) Not sure if your paper is acceptable? Please leave a comment here or e-mail me.

3. Waterproof Black: Staz-on, Adirondack, Pallette. If you are sensitive to the needs of COPIC marker users and have something other than Staz-on please use it. SU!'s classic black in is not acceptable for this swap as it smears with water, COPIC, and other coloring mediums.

4. Sign up by May 10th.

We will do it in groups of 10 people. You will send me 22 clearly stamped images with at least 1/4" border around the image by May27th. You will receive 20 back to be mailed by May 30th. Please make sure that you put the images in a Ziploc type baggie. Please be certain to provide me with postage and an envelope to return your images to you and make sure your envelope is at least 5x7 as you may be getting images back that are larger than you think. I will list the people that have already responded positively to my past inquiry. Please comment on this post if you'd like to join us! Oh, and please make sure I have your e-mail address so I can get a hold of you if necessary. Please e-mail me when you are done with your swaps so I can give you my address. Thanks!

Group 1
1. Debby T (Riley in a hammock...yay!)
2. Dani (Billy)
3. Katie (Cupcakeabella) Thank you for the cute card, Katie!
4. Shannon R (cupcake tower)Thank you for cute Studio G stamps...love them! And, your contact card? Adorable!
5. Courtney (MFT How Sweet It Is)(thank you for the super cute card!)
6. Lorrie (Winobella!)
7. Judy H (Thank you for the lovely card and extra images...exciting!)
8. Bela
9. Sarah (Garden Fun by Great Impressions So cute!)
10. Christi (Thank you so much for the beautiful card!)

Group 2
1. Diane L (High Hopes Froggy Gift)
2. Debby T (Stella with an olive on top...this one will be fun!)
3. Stephanie (SU! Horse stamp)
4. Debby M
5. Liane Donovan (American Art Company image) Thank you for the super cute card! The images are great!
6. Khristi Drabbs (CTMH)
7. Vickilyn (Glam Girls) Thank you so much for the charms...they are fabulous!
8. LeAnn (Stampendous Monkeys)Thank you for the cute card, stamps, and post-its...they are adorable!
9. Deborah (Deb sent us all a nice little gift! An extra set of images! Wait til you see them!)
10. Shannon (High Hopes Elephant w/ribbon on trunk) thank you for the cute card and extra images!

***Bold means that I have received the images.***

Questions? Let me know!

kit card and so sweet

Yesterday was such a fun mail day here at my house! First in the mail I received my May 3 Little DReaMs kit. It included a massive amount of stuff and because I want you know all the great stuff you get in your kits so here is what I got. Beachabella, Life's a beach sentiment, 2 sheets of designer paper (one stripe you see here and one circle with similar colors), 6 12x12 (will be 8 1/2 x 11 in the future) sheets of Bazzil paper in a mustardy color, baby blue, and fun green, a Brilliance dew drop black ink pad, Fruit Punch Stickles, 2 colors and types of ribbon, 2 kinds of brads...okay so are you getting the idea that you get a ton of stuff? Now, because I'm a dork and I can't remember, I do know that a couple of those things are from the add on kit but for $8 bucks extra...it is totally worth it! I may have to go back and add it onto the two (yes two) kits that I ordered for June. Yep, I got both the Bella kit and the SNSS kits! I mean how do you pass on Bikeabababella and those cute owls? As much as I told myself that I'd never subscribe to a kit type of thing again after a very frustrating experience with another company like Katie's...I love Katie, her kit is fabulous, and the price is fantastic so I may just have to subscribe!

Okay, yes...you do see Kyler again. A week or so ago Lorraine told me that she had put something in the mail for Kyler for being brave with his dental appointments and such and I thought that was so sweet of her. Well...yesterday it arrived and holy cow it brought tears to my eyes! Can you see the super cute card? I love that part and Kyler loves the Toys R Us card (yep...TRU...can you believe it?) but what we both appreciate the most are the very sweet words that Lorraine wrote inside. You see...apparently she's been showing her almost 5 year old son, Randy, pictures of Kyler's whole mouth ordeal as we've gone along and Lorraine told Kyler that Randy said "I am going to be brave just like Kyler the next time I have to go to the dentist." And then told Kyler that he is Randy's hero. Kyler could hardly believe that someone who is almost 5 years old would look up to him. You see when you have two older brothers you do a lot of looking up and not much looking up happens to you. So, Lorraine...you have made an impression on Kyler that will not soon be forgotten and I don't think I can ever properly thank you BUT I'm going to try! So, he ends his ordeal tomorrow when he goes back to the dentist to finish his root canals. He is really looking forward to being all done with it all and honestly I don't blame him. Oh, and doesn't his smile look great without the stabilizing bar across it? We are then onto getting him to enjoy the water and learn how to swim. But you know what? He can and will do it!

All right you guys we need several more players for the image swap that is listed at the top. Do you have some friends that might like to play along? Invite them! Surely we can get two full groups! Also, you can join both groups if you'd like but you would need to use two different images.

I hope you all have a super fantastic Tuesday...maybe today could be your day to do something nice for others!

last tin for a little while

Well...here it is the tin for my grandpa's wife. Melanie had a really cute idea on her blog to wrap the tin in card stock rather than decorating the top and bottom separately. My first try was a miserable failure. While she uses regular card stock it did not work for me as I think my wrap was a bit tight. Anyway, I decided to use some elements from the SU! SS Kit Summer Day. I did cut my paper the same size as hers but I then scored mine to make it easier for me to put around the tin. I then just added some fun elements and it is all set to go. I am going to get some of that new Bliss candy to put inside of this tin with a little note or poem maybe and off it will go.

How was your creativity this weekend? Get lots done? Let me see! Don't forget about the image swap above I have a second group open so plenty of room for everyone. Have a super fantastic Monday and I'll see ya later!

surgery survival

I had decided some time ago to make a tin for my grandpa for after his surgery. Wasn't sure what I was going to do but I was definitely inspired by Melanie's What's in your tin? sets. I know...this looks like the tooth fairy tin but different paper and stamped sentiment...and it is but isn't it a great guy tin? I love the colors and the fact that I could use a ribbon and different patterns and it still looks good!

Above is what the tin looks like closed. The papers are SU! and DVWV. I love DCWV stack packs as you get just the perfect size. The stripe on the top is DCWV and the rest is SU!.

This is the view inside. If you can't read the list for items for some reason just e-mail me and I'll come back and edit the post for ya. I am still making one more tin for my grandpa's wife and then I think I'll be done with tins for a little while as I need to move onto other things. HERE is where I got the info for the survival kit.

Don't forget to check out my image swap at the top of my posts. Feel free to join us! Have a super Sunday and see you tomorrow!