Happy Birthday Mama

Today was my mom's 80th birthday. She will no doubt hate this picture being posted, but doesn't she look great for 80? She is the best.

Everyone says that about their mom, but she really is the best. Amanda and I went down after work and bless her heart she had prepared a feast of fried chicken legs (the absolute biggest legs I've ever seen), fresh tomato slices, little ears of sweet corn, sliced green peppers, bread and butter......what a feast. We should have cooked her a birthday feast, but it was all ready for our visit.

And may I add, she is still the best cook I know! I delighted in that fried chicken because it was every bit as good as what she prepared and served so many years ago when it was not only five growing kids and a hungry farmer, but also multiple farm hands who enjoyed her cooking as well!

It's an awesome thing too, because there is a really special relationship between mothers and daughters. Early on a mom is a role model for the daughter and for the most part, we always got along...none of that teenage hate you business went on at our house. Thank heaven for that. I didn't even experience that with my own daughter, thankfully, but we are all three really good friends. Tonight felt like a girl's night out, and we had a great time!

Happy Birthday Mom, I love you and you will always be my favorite! XOXOXOXOXOXO

Every Noble Life

This is the sympathy card I made for Roscoe's family. I used three Stampin Up sets, Lovely as A Tree, Le Jardin Botanique, and Nature's Silhouettes. I needed something manly, in touch with nature and not too religious and the verse on the inside is borrowed from the Stampin Up set Farm Life. Not religious or sappy, but quite appropriate for our friend Roscoe. The verse reads "Every noble life leaves its fiber interwoven forever in the work of the world."

I never realized how difficult it could be to design a card to meet such specifics. I wanted it to be just right and ended up that the third attempt satisfied myself. Tonight is visitation and I need to shower yet and then hit the road. Guess I am riding down there with Mike and Joyce and the boys? The boys want to go, so I think they are allowing them for the first time. I know they loved Roscoe as much as the rest of us did. And of course Roscoe got a lot of joy from the little kids, regardless of whose they were. That is another good thing about aging Cherie, age softens the heart of the old and makes it kindred to the heart of a child.

Treasue each day friends, for our days are fleeting. God is good!

August Newsletter

Stamp With Heart

August 2009


Greetings Ladies! I am typing this a week before August in an effort to be on top of things and as prepared for next month’s workshop as I felt last time. Woo Hoo! Time will always tell, won’t it?

We enjoyed a successful vendor fair at Alisa’s yesterday. Well, it wasn’t a busy day, but I booked a workshop with Jessica, placed an order for An Angel Company Angel, and have three possible attendees for future monthly workshops, so I am feeling encouraged and like it was a day well spent. These vendors were terrific business ladies and I truly enjoyed meeting them. And then my one recruit showed up and we visited for about an hour or so! That in itself was a great visit as we have been friends for years and so seldom get to visit like old pals!

Anyway, I have one of the cards we will do at the August workshop all packed and loaded, except for some ribbon I have yet to buy. Working on a second design and technique and on challenges to send out to you. It’s going to be a fun workshop so here are the details:

Workshop on Sunday, August 16th from 2-4 PM
Held at , my daughter’s: 2422 SE 19th in Des Moines
RSVP at 515-865-4625
Or email me at miffbeth@q.com

Club members attend for free, all others are charged $5.00 to help cover the cost of supplies. Thank you!

Speaking of August, it is time to celebrate my 4th anniversary with Stampin Up! How awesome is that? One attendee’s name will be drawn for a $25.00 shopping spree through the catalog, so you don’t want to miss this month!!

We need to discuss how we will handle our club meetings for the upcoming year. Be prepared to discuss the possibility of a stampers 10 group, which I know can be burdensome at times, but it is the easiest method for me to meet the quarterly sales requirements and requires only a $15.00 commitment each month from you, if we can get ten people committed to the idea. $150.00 is the minimum sales requirement for a qualifying workshop, so with this mechanism in place, we could rotate the hostess benefits between the ten members. On the eleventh month, we will draw names for the hostess gift and free merchandise amounts. On the month that you are the hostess, you may hold a workshop in your home to increase your sales and free rewards or we can just hold the monthly meeting/workshop. Please seriously think about this option.

Catalogs are still available at $6.00 each or can be purchased through Stampin Up for $9.95. I have three on hand, so first come, first serve. For those of you who enjoy scrap booking, this year’s Stampin Up Designer Paper is absolutely Yummy! There are six new in colors this year: Rich Razzelberry, Melon Mambo, Crushed Curry, Dusty Dorango, Bermuda Bay, and Soft Suede!!! These colors are so awesome and are incorporated into the Designer Papers! You seriously need to check this out! I’m not a strong scrapper, but I love the papers and I love these new colors……available in ink pads, a set of six markers, 8 and a half X 11” and 12X12 cardstock!

Special offer from me for the month of August, buy all six new IN Color stamp pads, regularly priced at $35.70 for only $30.34 which is a savings of 15% for you. This is my special offer and is not available through Stampin up. This is a this coach only offer.

Now for our CHALLENGE cards. I will be sending each of you a separate email with a technique you and you alone will work on to bring to the August meeting. If you are a visitor to our meeting and not a club member and if you want to bring a show and tell card, feel free to bring a handmade card that you made to show. Club members will make their show and tell card from the individual recipes I send via separate email. Now I know that Rachel and Jennie will no doubt share their “recipes” as will Alisa and Jessica, but try not to share with anyone else so we will all be awed and inspired by the show and tell exchange!

Beth Cutwright
Stampin Up Coach
515-865-4625
miffbeth@q.com
http://www.bethartfromtheheart.blogspot.com/
http://www.stampinup.net/esuite/home/stampwithheart/
where inky fingers are happy fingers

Sylvester is made from Stampin Up punches. Isn't he the cutest with those BIG muscles of his?

Some Sad News

Well, I got to work today to find the message light on my phone lit up. The message was from Mom; our dear friend Roscoe had passed away in the night. Gosh I guess I have known him about as long as almost anyone in my life. I was ten or eleven when dad began working in the elavator trade

and he began working with Roscoe. It wasn't long after meeting Roscoe that he and Maxine and my folks became fast friends, spending many evenings playing cards, dining out etc. Roscoe had been a farm boy from southern Iowa and of course, dad's first true love was the farm. Roscoe seemed to spend a lot of time at the farm, helping out when and where he could and there is a mind chuck full of memories of Dad and Roscoe and farm stuff, and then elevator stuff. My favorite memory of Roscoe was going out to fetch the mean angus bull who had escaped. We never had Angus until this big guy came on board and he was mighty big......who would have known he could run so fast, being that big and all. I can remember Roscoe saying he'd bring that bull back and show him who was boss and across the field he strolled with a big tall stick in one hand and determination in his step. I was tending to the horses at the time, but Roscoe had not been gone too awfully long when from the backside of the far hill came two long legs and a raised cane at a far faster pace than he'd set out. Those knees were flying up and down and hot on the good shepherd's heels was that mammoth black angus bull, snorting mad as he pursued!!

It was a sight to behold and thank God, that man could run and jump a fence! It was the funniest sight I ever saw and I suppose I will chuckle often when I think back on it.

Roscoe was a good friend to both my parents. After Dad passed away and after Maxine had passed, Mom and Roscoe became friends and travelled together, kept each other company, took care of each other when it came to doctoring. He was truly good to my mom and I loved him all the more for it. I don't know what we will ever do without him and I know Mom will miss him horribly. As with most cancer, he had to endure alot of pain before he finally crossed over to a new life. And now he shares the secret of what lies beyond with all those who have previously gone before. A secret the rest of us will one day be allowed to partake in as well for death comes to all. And I think, in my mind's eye, Roscoe and Dad are sitting on a bank fishing together and catching up on old times. Someday I will join them there, for a time. For today, I am grateful to have been blessed with both of them in my life. God is good.

It's Been a Year now.....

Aren't these two a pretty pair? This stamp is from the Rubber Cottage and when I saw a card with these two lovelies, I just had to have it. Doesn't hurt that the horse stickin' her head underneath to catch a peak looks alot like my first pony, Beauty. Gosh I do miss her. The card front is colored with colored pencils; I love to color with my pencils.

Hey guys, I've had my blog for a year now! Is that not awesome? Not that I blog every waking minute, but how time flies!

After our vendor fair I have decided I must get busy! I need to make up sellable items for the fair in September. I think I will make more Artist Trading Card aka business cards, some key chains if I can find the metal parts fairly inexpensively, cd scrapbooks which means I need to capture some pictures of girlfriends for my show and tell Friends scrapbook. Calling all friends! And of course, I think I will try and package some notecards and greeting cards as well. Hopefully these things will muster up some business, don't you think? I have to get my newsletter out this week too. And then it's on to the birthday greetings, the anniversary greetings etc......that should be enough to do to keep me in the house during August and the heat that comes with it. LOL. Can't believe I ever used to ride horses every day of the year. I could handle the heat and the cold and can't do any of that anymore. I'm such a WIMP! If anyone can think of ten good things about getting older, would you please email me and remind me what great things they be?

Til next time my buddies.....keep cool!

Today's the Day!

The Vendor Fair is over and what can I say? We had a beautiful day to be outside. I enjoyed myself tremendously and did not pack up until 2PM. Unfortunately it was a quiet day for attendance, but I did set up a booking with Jessica and placed an order for a new found friend, Marne'.
She sells for the Angel Company but she is a beautiful woman with a golden heart! And I even have three names who are interested in attending the monthly workshops....Woo Hoo! Maybe I will not have to get out of SU afterall......for the present time. I am so wishy washy. One minute I fear my physical being can't deal with it and the next, I really don't want to give up on it. I love the creating, and the fellowship of getting together with my ladies and teaching new techniques. What to do, what to do? On the other hand, being one's own best customer is not a really productive manner in which to conduct business.

And the absolute best part of today, was that my friend Pat, came over and sat with me and visited for an hour or so. We caught up on a lot of news from work and will have breakfast together on the 8th of August at Perkins. Oh it was so nice to see and visit with her again! We've worked together for years but now we are in different buildings and have been for quite some time. She made my heart very happy today!

Well today's card was what we featured at last week's workshop. It's called a Pyramid card and of course I learned the technique from the Technique Junkie newsletter. It's the same design stamped on the same size paper in 5 different colors. The darkest layer becomes your bottom layer, then on each consecutive piece of the pyramid, you cut an equal amount from all four sides of the piece and match the picture to the piece below, in a layered pattern. The cards are so cool in real life. My ladies really enjoyed making the card and it was a great afternoon.

I hear tomorrow will be as nice as today and I hope you all make the most of it! This has been a gorgeous summer in the midwest! That's all for now friends!

Vendor Fair

Well a long week at work has finally drawn to an end! And it just couldn't have come any sooner!
This weekend we are participating in a vendor fair at 1315 Washington from 9Am-3Pm......join us if you can. I am hoping for a lot of leads for workshops or at least orders. I am very close to ending the demo part of Stampin Up, so this vendor fair and the one at the ARL in September will be the decision makers for me. Sales are slow and I certainly can not make up the difference for the minimum sales due on a quarterly basis. And then there are the knee and back issues I am experiencing. That's alot of fun when you are on your feet demonstrating or lugging your creative accessories around......up to a third floor apartment on the hottest day of the year. With my age and great physique, well, you can imagine.....so we are at a crossroads. I don't think I will give up the craft though. Being my own Hallmark store is all I ever really knew I wanted to do. Maybe a little low ambition, but I do enjoy stamping and color and being an "artiste", LOL!

Anyway, the picture of three artist trading cards is for the vendor fair tomorrow. On the back side I have labeled my name phone # and email address, thus a creative larger than life business card! The three above were designed in 2006 and I will work on more tomorrow at the VF. Pray that this is a success and not a waste of time...join us if you can...it should be a lot of fun.
There will be dealers from the Angel Co, Close to my Heart, Pampered Chef, Tastefully Simple, Discover Toys, Party Lite, Avon, Tomboy Tools, Lia Sophia Jewelry, Longaburger, and several others. AND there will be prizes!!! Stop by for a visit! We'll show you a good time on a beautiful Saturday afternoon.