Out of the Box Technique with Nestabilities

I had a lot of very sweet comments regarding my previous card as well as some questions about how I did it, so I thought I would share a little tutorial so you could give it a try, too!

1. Color your image.

2. Choose a die that allows for some part of the image to stick out.

3. While die is on top of image, figure out how much of her foot you need to cut. In this case I need to cut her foot out to just above her ankle.

4. Carefully cut out her foot as far as you estimated.

5. Place the die back over your image making sure to foot sticks out over the die. As you can see here, my image isn't quite centered, so I will need to cut out a bit more.

6. Cut a bit higher and center the image again. Now my image is just as I want it.

7. Leaving the die exactly where you have it, run through your die-cutting machine to cut out image.

8. The back will look like this (I also embossed mine).

9. If desired, as a bit of sponging BEFORE you remove the cut image from the die.

10. Finish card as desired.

I hope you found this tutorial helpful. If you did, would you please let me know? I don't do tutorials often, but I do enjoy them.

Until next time....
~Korin

Growing Pains & Showers of Blessing

Do you ever wonder how you are going to get through something? Do you ever wonder if God is listening? Do you ever think things just can't get better? Well, my friend, you can, He is and they will! God's timing is perfect and he showers us with blessings each and every day, we just have to pay attention and trust in His sovereign care!

I have been dealing with some uncomfortable situations as of late, my dear friend Sandy likes to call them growing pains. She is so right! Just like the pains our kids experience as they grow, we must experience them, too, but they are necessary! The growing pains I have been experiencing have not been lacking in blessing. God is still here, he is still listening and His timing is perfect! He knows what is best for us and we have to experience those growing pains so that He can make us more like His Son!

Through my recent growing pains I have had to make some important decisions. I will get into those at another time (soon) but for now I wanted to share a card with you....


The set is this week's newest digi set at Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps called Showers of Blessing. When Courtney Fowler sent me this image and the lyrics to the hymn Showers of Blessing, I knew it would make a great set, but I wasn't really sure when I was going to release it. But God did :).

This morning it dawned on me that I still hadn't prepared a digi set for this week. Due to my recent growing pains I wanted the set to include some sort of scripture, because scripture is one of the main things that gets me through the tough times. All of a sudden, the light turned on in my head and I knew exactly what I was going to use---Courtney's Showers of Blessings set! So I opened the image and the work began. Before long I had this wonderful set that reminds us that God will shower us with His blessings in His time when we are in His will!


And would you believe as I read through the sentiments in the set I couldn't help but shed tears of joy :)!

Praise the Lord for His goodness, mercy and love!

May you not miss the wonderful blessings he showers on you each day!!

~Korin

Burdened for Kate

I just got this email from my cousin and I had to share it with all of you. I know how you prayed for my niece Janessa and I know you will do the same for little Kate.....

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I got this from my Aunt Janet from Arizona. It is so touching. Please pray for this little girl and her family. Kay

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Hello Everyone,

I received the e-mail, shown below, from one of my granddaughters and I knew that I had to widen the prayer circle. I just finished watching the video and reading their journal and what a journey they are on and will be for a long time! They definitely need prayers.

Thank you,

Jan

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A husband and wife who work for our church just found out their 5 year old daughter has a brain tumor and they're pretty sure it's malignant. There's video below to watch that gives info. They need prayers for sure so please pass this along to anyone you know who can pray for Kate. Thanks. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ese3zYZ-NA4 http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/mcraekate/journal

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The faith of this couple is just amazing. I pray that not only will God heal Kate, but that lives will be reached for Christ and that God will receive ALL of the glory!

Thank you for praying!!

~Korin

Getting caught up...

....sure ain't easy :)!! But I am doing my best! I really can't believe it's Friday again already!!! We went away for the weekend as a family, and came home as just a couple while the boys stayed a few extra days with their grandparents.

Our last minute trip to the aquarium on Tuesday was wonderful. I didn't really think much about it just being the two of us when we were planning for the boys to be gone, but it was so nice to have a few days of just us, a couple again.....it's been a long time since we were just a couple :). I must admit that it was really wonderful and as bittersweet as it will be I look forward to the the empty nest season of my life one day.

Now that the boys are home again we are getting back into the groove of normal life. I missed them and I love having them home. Absense surely does make the heart grow fonder.

Enough of my rambling....

Thanks so much for all the fun comments you left me during the blog hops this past week. I enjoy reading each and every one!


Today's card uses one of our new digi stamp sets by Tami Mayberry called Sweet as Pie. It is the cutest set! I used the pie image for the patriotic blog hop but for today's Sweet Stop sketch I decided to go with the apple image. Isn't this play on words adorable :)?


I have lots to do today: preparing to teach our Ladies SS class tomorrow morning, getting the house ready for visitors on Monday (Some of the SNSS DT are coming to my place for a fun day of stamping and fellowship!!! I can't wait!), & preparing make & takes for a class I am doing at a local stamp store on Tuesday, not to mention laundry, dishes, and all the other fun stuff that goes along with being a wife and mother ;).

Off I go......until next time,
~Korin

Blog Hop Blog Candy Winner!

I am very sorry I didn't post this last night like I intended. I ended up with a terrible headache and went to bed early.

So without further ado.....

The $100 Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps prize pack goes to JESSICA STOCKMEYER!

Congrats Jessica!

Please email me at korinstamps@comcast.net with your address and choices (for the items you get to choose) and I will get your prize off to you :).

I am heading off to Baltimore today with hubby. Today is his last day of vacation and since the boys are spending the rest of the week with their grandparents we though it would be fun to go to the aquarium :).

I'll leave you with a card for the SNSS Christmas in July Celebration. I made it for this week's Sweet Stop sketch.


Until next time....
~Korin

Oh Say Can You See Blog Hop & Blog Candy!

Please note: I am posting this a day early due to the Blogger scheduling issues.
The actual hop doesn't start until July 4th.

Yes, the blog hopping never ends!! Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps just had their blog hop and I am continuing on with another fun blog hop brought to you by Scrapbook News & Review and Card Universe.



This fun patriotic hop starts at the Card Universe and continues on throughout the weekend to over 90 blogs!!! HOW AMAZING IS THAT!? I hope you'll take some time from your holiday picnics and festivities to hop along with us!

I have some SA-WEET blog candy, too, so keep reading for details on what you could win! You seriously won't want to miss out on this one!

First my patriotic cards...

These first two were posted before but since they fit with this theme, I thought I'd share them again:

God Bless America

Supplies
Stamps: Birthday Buddies (Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps)
Patterned Paper: Doodlebug Designs
Card stock: CTMH & Neenah
Ink: Copics & Memento Tuxedo Black
Embellishments: ribbon, half pearls, star brads, Stickles




Celebrate America

Supplies
Stamps: Celebrate America digi set (Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps)
Patterned Paper: Doodlebug Designs
Card stock: Doodlebug Designs & Neenah
Ink: Copics & Memento Tuxedo Black
Embellishments: ribbon, half pearls, Stickles



God Bless America!.....& Apple Pie :)

Supplies
Stamps: Sweet as Pie & Celebrate America digi sets (Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps)
Patterned Paper: Doodlebug Designs & Imagine That
Card stock: CTMH & Neenah
Ink: Copics & Memento Tuxedo Black
Embellishments: ribbon, half pearls, Crystal Lacquer

Now, how about that bog candy :)?!

How does a prize pack valued at over $100 sound? I thought you might like that!

This AWESOME prize pack includes the following:

~Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps Owl Celebrations stamp set ($7.50 value)
~Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps Special Women stamp set ($7.50 value)
~Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps Frogetful Sam stamp set ($7.50 value)
~Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps Funny Farm stamp set ($15.00 value)
~2 Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps digi stamp sets ($10.00 value)
~2 Copic Sketch markers (you choose colors based on in stock quantities) ($11.00 value)
~2 bottles of Stickles (you choose colors based on in stock quantities) ($3.60 value)
~1 Basic Grey Lime Rickey 6x6 paper pad ($5.50 value)
~1 Basic Grey Archaic 6x6 paper pad ($5.50 value)
~1 box of memory book Glue Dots ($4.75 value)
~1 bottle Pewter Liquid Pearls ($2.00 value)
~1 pack of K&Co. Sweet Pea button brads ($4.75 value)
~AND a $20 gift certificate to Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps!

WOW, now that is a lot of goodies!!!!

So how can you be entered to win this amazing blog candy? Simply comment to THIS post being sure to include your name and email (this is important so I can reach you if you win!!).

Since I am scheduling this post ahead of time (I am out of town at this very moment) I will draw the winner upon my return Monday, July 6th by 9pmEST.

Thanks so much for hopping along with me. Your next stop is Adeline's blog where you are sure to be inspired!!

Until next time,
~Korin

Blog Hop Day 3 Final Stop

As usual, I have been amazed by all the great stamped projects the DT as been sharing. Are you lovin' or new DT members, or what :)?! We are so thrilled to have them join us!

For today's last stop I am sharing another card using the sweet fox image from Birthday Buddies.


I colored him brown this time to go with my patterned paper. It started out as a masculine card, but I just couldn't help but use one of the new crocheted flowers I got from Leah, one of our new DT members. She sells them in her Esty shop :). They are so pretty and make such beautiful embellies!!

I hope you'll join us again tomorrow for the final day of our hop. We will be continuing on with Teresa's blog. See you there!!

~Korin

A trip to the ER

Dan's fever got as high as 103.2 last night so I took him to the ER. What an experience that was!

Dan was never even seen by a doctor. The ER was PACKED! There were a few REALLY urgent patients and one who had to be sent to Hershey, I think around the time we finally left. I believe he was dying because the whole family was there and they were in tears much of the time and kept talking about other people in the family dying. It was really sad. I prayed for them much throughout the night.

The nurse saw Dan soon after we got there, took his temp and gave him some heavy duty Tylenol. Then we were sent back to the waiting area where we waited for close to four hours. Dan's fever went down and he felt lots better so he didn't want to wait any longer (I am actually amazed he waited as long as he did...not the most patient man ;), but what man is, I guess LOL). He told the lady at the desk he would just go see his doctor in the AM, and we came home. She said ok, I will mark it down and that was it! They never even got our insurance info, address or phone number! WEIRD! (We have never been to this hospital. It was the closest ER.)

I am getting ready to call the dr now to get him in this morning. He has a low fever still, so we definitely want to get him seen to be on the safe side.

If you have some time, please head to the SNSS blog for info about the special blog hop we are having today in honor of the 5 wonderful SNSS DT members whose term is ending today.

Until next time,
~Korin

A long day....

Boy, it's been a long day. Hubby is still sick, fighting a fever which is totally no fun. I have been trying to wait on him and the kids (as per usual) plus get the lawn mowed (we have 2 acres and it takes a few hours to mow the whole thing) so now I am exhausted and the boys want to go swimming! ACK! I am not making any promises there.

An update on the car......A friend from church who happens to be a mechanic came over yesterday afternoon to look it over. It seemed to be an easy fix but we really need a new air filter plus our tires are BALD and we are taking a road trip on Friday (Lord willing if everyone is healthy) so we are getting four new tires mounted and balanced on Thursday. I just hope we can swing it!

And just for fun....This morning while Dan was actually feeling well, we ran a few local errands. I really didn't want him to come along in case he starting feeling sick again, but he said he was feeling ok (at the time). We had to get gas for the mower, pick up the air filter for the car, order the new tires, pick up milk and eggs (ended up spending $30+...how does that always happen??) and ran into the hardware store to get Japanese Beetle traps (we have them BAD in our area, so bad I don't even want to go outside when they are out!). When we walked into the hardware store there was a box inside the door with a light over top of it. I really didn't pay any attention to it, but hubby said, "Did you see what they have in the box?", so I went over to take a closer look. Guinea Hen chicks! They are too cute and guess what? We came home with FOUR!!!! They feed on ticks (something else we seem to have an abundance of in our area) so Dan thought we should get a few to help with the problem :). Of course the kids were ecstatic! Can I hold one? Can I touch one? Can I feed them? Can I...? Can I...? Good times ;). I guess our next big project (as if we needed another) will be so build a small chicken pen for our new little friends. They'll have to live in a box for at least another month or two so we have some time.

PHEW...it's been a long time since I have shared such a glimpse into my life on my blog. I've actually missed it. I was reading old posts the other day and thought how cool it was to have my own online journal so you may be hearing more snippets from my life now and then :).

OK, so after all that, how about another sneak peek!?


This one is the third digi set we are giving away in July. It's called You Light Up Life...quite fitting, wouldn't you say :)?

If you are still here, thanks for sticking with me this long :)!

Have a great day!
~Korin

Something Special

Today I am sharing a card using the Do Not Open Till Christmas digi we will be giving away throughout July. To find out how you can get this adorable set, visit this post.


Check back again tomorrow for a sneak peek of the third adorable digi set we're giving away!

On another note, would you please pray for my hubby? He is really sick and it came on totally by surprise. I have a feeling he'll be staying home from work tomorrow. We are also planning a road trip the end of this week and our car wouldn't start this morning so there's that, too :). I am excited to see how God will bring us through it all though!

Until next time....
~Korin