June, 2012 | StampinByTheSea.com

Archive for June, 2012:

Busy Days Ahead!

Good evening great friends!

If you could see my calendar this week it would probably exhaust you. I know I'm already exhausted and we are just mid week. I'm working on quite a few things and they are all super exciting. I'm just worried I'm going to screw something up. If I would relax and not worry about perfectionism everything would be alright. Like that's going to happen?

This is my BIG Stamps in the Mail week where all the projects get prepped, cut and then mailed. Normally it's smooth as glass but Oh Kimberly changed things up a little. We skipped May so we could enjoy the new products in June. This means double the love in June and I'm giving them two bonus projects they will make. This all boils down to BUSY, BUSY, BUSY.

I'm also working on a slideshow for the 5th grade Promotion ceremony next week. I've cried twice looking at all these beautiful kids in the slideshow. I added Brandon's pictures to the slideshow last and then it hit me like a ton of bricks. My baby {{Brandon}} is going to the big boy school next year. I had sappy music playing on the slideshow to make it more emotional as parents see there little darlings and here I was bawling! <sigh> Brandon is glad that I chose this picture and not the one of him reading a book naked as a jay bird on the potty. I did use that against him the entire year and it worked for many issues. <smile>

I think big milestones like these make me sit back and reflect on how blessed I am that I get to raise these sweet gems. When I'm caught up in the daily grind of life I can easily forget how fast they are growing. Of course I can also have a day like yesterday where the kids have me on the brink of insanity and my eyes went cross eyed when Brandon decided he didn't want to listen. Oye! If you need to release a few good tears listen to this song by Kenny Chesney, Don't Blink.

This weekend is also a big Girl Scout weekend. On Saturday we are taking our troop to Washington DC for the big Rock the Mall event. It's the 100 Year anniversary of Girl Scouts so it's going to be a BIG DEAL. They are expecting 200,000 Girl Scouts. Holy COW. If you don't hear from me on Monday, please check on me. I may be in the funny farm.

I want to share a quick layout I did of my sweet mom. Her birthday was Monday. I sure missed giving her a birthday hug.

Here is another fun layout I did last week.

Downloads Used:

World Traveler Designer Kit-DSP, stamp brush
File Fun Punches
Designer Kits-Keep this Memory -Title Ticket
Arrow punch
Designer Kit-Check this Out
Square punch
Half Circle punch
Designer Kit-Get it Done Notepaper 3
Flag punch
Designer Kit-Candid Frames
Font-LD gregarious
Staples

You can see the LATEST downloads HERE.

You can find all these fun downloads in my Online Store.

As always, thanks for taking a few minutes to read and for listening to me. Have a GREAT week. XOXOXOXO

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Posted on : Jun 06 2012
Posted under Announcements, Digital Scrapbooking/My Digital Studio, Kimberly Van Diepen |

Rich in Color

First a BIG BIG Shout out to my Amazing Mom… Happy Birthday Mama. I love and miss YOU so much!

I hope by now you have a new catalog in your hand and you have browsed it from cover to cover. It's beautiful and rich with new colors, designs and beautiful products. This years new In Colors are very rich to me. I love them.

Today's card I am going to showcase all new products.

Here are two colors that I just love. The new Summer Starfruit reminds me so much of a color we had a few years ago, Crushed Curry. I love this color so much I have it painted in my office and our new piano room. LOVE IT. Pair this with the Midnight Muse and to me it just makes a very elegant card.

Below you will find the products I used for this card. The only difficult part with this card is the added sewing at the very top. Otherwise, it's a simple and fast card to make.

Products Used:

Cardstock: Summer Starfruit, Midnight Muse, Very Vanilla

Ink: Midnight Muse

Stamps: Layered Labels (127072)

Accessories: Gold Brads, Apothecary Accents Framelits (127003), Comfort Cafe DSP (126898), Natural Designer Buttons (127554), Fancy Fan Folder (127751)

You can find all these GREAT new products in my Online Store. Browse the website to see all the fun new products.

Check out my NEW Online Rewards!

Have a FABULOUS Monday!!

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Posted on : Jun 04 2012
Posted under Cards, Kimberly Van Diepen, Misc |

Family Update

It's been awhile since I posted about what's going on at the home front and there is SO much excitement today with the NEW Catalog going live. I feel like I'm running on hyper drive as I try to get everything updated, posted and of course run this little family of mine. I've had to wear my favorite Super Woman cape for the last few weeks so that I could complete all the tasks at hand lately. With Summer just around the corner and the kids almost finished with school I find this season of the year busier than Christmas. Do you ever feel like that? Stand by for lots of pictures and updates.

Our family has been doing great. So many fun things have been going on in our lives and everyday I feel blessed. The kids are outstanding. I've kept them so busy lately it's hard for them to get in trouble. However when they do get in trouble they get to do something like this:

Here is what's going on in our world:

*Brandon is very active in his new Boy Scout troop and loves it. He has been seeking Leadership positions in his troop so he can add a few more responsibilities in his troop and have more of an active role. The only trouble is that he's so new he needs to complete a few more requirements to be in one of these Leadership roles. Regardless, I love that he is seeking it and I love that he's enjoying it.

*Brandon recently watched "THE MOVIE" (birds and the bee's) at school. He got off the bus that day and looked at me and all he said was "GROSS!" I still can't stop laughing. I hope he continues to think it's gross for 10 more years. We sat down with him on the couch and asked him if he had any questions. He was 5 shades of red and quickly wanted the conversation to end. There were no questions, and he reiterated that it was GROSS. *snicker*

*Alexis has been one busy lady. She bridged from a Brownie to a Junior Girl Scout a couple of weeks ago. Very proud moment for me. She continues to work hard in Girl Scouts and loves the friendships that have formed in her troop. As a Leader for her troop I've enjoyed it more than I ever thought I would. All 21 of the girls in my troop are just amazing.

*Alexis has been doing gymnastics twice a week and the gym has become my new home. The gym is a little smelly at times but I enjoy watching her tumble and I'm so impressed with how much she has progressed in such a short time. This is where I do my Digital pages too. I bring my laptop with me all the time so I can sit and design while she tumbles away.

*New Family Additions! A couple of weeks ago the kids sat us down for a family meeting. Typically the roles are reversed and WE the parents are calling a Family Meeting. Russ and I sat down and the conversation started out something like this from the kids … "Now that we are older and more mature () we would like to make a proposal. Next Brandon started talking in his "mature" voice. Honestly didn't know he had that voice. They proceeded to talk to us about adding a hamster to our family. They listed the pro's and con's of owning a rodent. They listed the financial aspect of getting one and taking care of it and they also listed the responsibilities of taking care of it. At this point Russ and I were speechless they had done the research, typed it out on the computer and printed it. They also had a questionaire for Russ and I to fill out. The last question obviously was YES or NO. We were only given ONE minute to make our decision and they left the room. They literally gave us no time to even ask questions while the proposal was taking place. They are not stupid. We said yes and then the real research started. Russ took them both the next day to research which hamster was best for them. Once at the store they decided they wanted a Guinea Pig instead. The only problem with this is that the Guinea Pig likes to have a friend. Now we have gone from one hamster to TWO guinea pigs. The kids ended up looking for their special pigs for 4 days. Patience is not a God given talent either of my kids have but they did it. Since they were paying for all of it, they were trying to watch their costs. Russ called me on Day 4 of the big search and said he found two guinea pigs and cage that was perfect… but there was a catch. They were both females and BOTH pregnant. I said PERFECT. The kids will really see the responsibility that goes with these guinea pigs. So, off they went and we are proud to introduce you to Snowball and Coco.

The kids are in love. So far they are doing great with the care taking and every day tell us thank you. I still can't believe the whole thing, but boy are they happy campers. As of Wednesday night we are now the proud owners of SIX guinea pigs. Both mama's had their babies. Each of them had two babies each. They are so adorable and cute I can barely contain myself. The kids are beside themselves. Seriously, this is exciting stuff. We will be finding homes for our new sweet baby additions in about three weeks. I'll update you on how that goes. Alexis has named ALL of them and has already said something about why we should keep them. Oh good grief. Here is a pic of a few of them. These were taken with my phone so they are not the best quality. I plan to take some in a few days once they are a little more active.

They really are precious.

*Memorial Day weekend was the best weekend ever. We spent it at the pool, with friends and really relaxed. It was the first weekend we've had that we didn't have to be somewhere. It was AWESOME!!

We even had a food fight at my neighbors house. I wonder if she still loves me?

Now the kids have joined Swim Team and that schedule is CRAZY. 6:30 AM Saturday meets. SERIOUSLY??? What have I done???

Overall, May was a great month. Super busy, but super great. Now it's time to get busy with June. Lots of great things are going to happen in June. I strive everyday to update my blog with something creative for you to see. I realize my paper creations are lacking these days. My business has changed drastically over the last year with the kids activities, but I wouldn't change a thing and it's exactly why I have my business. I'm thankful everyday that I can be my own boss and I have the ability to be there for the kids. It's crazy busy, but I'm grateful. I cannot recommend Direct Sales enough to women. It's the best of both worlds. If you are thinking about becoming a demonstrator with Stampin' Up! now is the time. $99 and YOU pick the $125 in products of your choice for your kit. WOW. Plus there is a special this month for joining. I'll update later today with the new catalog and all the great specials that are starting today.

Thank you for taking the time to read my long message. You are the best ever.

Have a FANTASTIC weekend.

XOXOXO

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Posted on : Jun 01 2012
Posted under Announcements, Kimberly Van Diepen, Kimberly's Chatting |

Instagram Time!

One of my favorite app's on my iPhone is Instagram. I love this app because of the many filters it provides to change up your photos. I also love it because I can upload photos quickly to different social networks and add filters and fun frames. It's all about the small details I guess.

Anyhoo, I was looking at all of my photos on Instagram and there were TONS. Yikes. I thought it would be fun to create a monthly layout using my instagram photos because they really tell a story. I find that I take all of these fun mobile photos but I don't do anything with them. Let me share my layout with you.

My goal is to just re-create this layout each month using the basic design but adding my photo's from each month. Here is a video showing you how I created it.