Against All Odds

I am blessed to live in the Space Coast area of Florida, where the beaches and dunes are preserved for Turtle Nesting. This little hatchling was battling both the waves and the odds to survive his return to the sea. He was turned around and getting pounded by waves near the shore, when he encountered some little rescuers who scooted him out further beyond the crashing waves. If you have ever watched a mother turtle nesting, it is an amazing experience, and one I will never forget. Out of hundreds of eggs, only a couple of hatchlings actually survive to adulthood. Many don’t make it past the first few days of life. There are some days that I can relate to the hatchling where the odds seemed so stacked against me and the obstacles seem too large to overcome. Ever had a day like that?

Within the first few months of living in Florida, we experienced four hurricanes, ironically, the first one starting on Friday the 13th, August 2004. Was that a message? Many friends asked if we regretted our move here, but we pointed to the many upsides of living where we do...and we still love it here. Recently, we were impacted by Tropical Storm Fay. Entering from the west coast, who would have thought she would have left such an impact on our tiny east coast town...flooding, tornado warnings and almost 30" of rain — half of our yearly amount in just 3 days, and miraculously we remained dry and with power! (We're hoping it stays that way!) Who would have expected Fay to cancel 4 of the first 5 days of school; she was merely a Tropical Storm who parked herself over Melbourne, FL. So if you never knew where I lived before, I am sure from the news, you have now at least heard of Melbourne.

Although our hurricane season doesn’t end until November, nothing compares to watching a turtle nesting, seeing the shuttle launch on the Fourth of July, taking a walk on the beach whenever time allows, not being confined all winter long, spontaneous shell hunting and feeling even closer to God while watching another beautiful sunrise. So the next time you feel like that little hatchling, embrace all the good that surrounds you, and you too, will survive the worst.

Get ready for Back to School in style!

Send your favorite student back to school in style. This "Hip Clipboard" project is a great way to organize papers, fill out forms and look stylish while working on homework. I used the See-D’s Echat mini and Funky Flowers stamp set from Inque Boutique. The ribbons are all from Walmart...the really thin ones. Takes a little bit of patience to tie these onto the clip, but it really adds color and texture! The colors and stamps can be changed out to appeal to boys, too. Think robots or spaceships! I found this clipboard at Walmart during last year's back to school season, ready to decorate.

Never A Better Time to Sign Up!

There are many new and exciting things happening at Stampin’ Up! Whether you are an avid scrapbooker or stamper and would simply like to receive discounts on your supplies or maybe now that the kids are returning to school, you are looking to earn extra income, there has never been a more affordable way to sign up to be Stampin’ Up demonstrator. For only $99, you can choose from 3 focused starter kits: stamping, scrapbooking or home decor. Or if you want the larger, standard starter kit for $199, you get to chose an additional free stamp set from the brand new catlog valued up to $41.95! Wow! With lots of fun, new products to offer, including a new spanish catalog, there has never been a better time to sign up. And it is so easy. You can do it online from my demonstrator website. Click on this link!

Be sure to check out my special promotions going on now through September 30th!

Not So Clear Skies Ahead!

In light of the fact that a Tropical Storm (soon to be "Hurricane Fay") is looming in the Keys and is on its way here, I thought that it would be appropriate to post this card called Butterfly Skies. It features one of the recently discontinued Stampin' Up In Colors, Soft Sky, with Basic Black ink on Whisper White Cardstock. This spotlighting technique was done by stamping the entire background with bold silhouette flowers and butterflies. Next I used a square punch to remove a section of the background and matted the square in a rounded off black frame before layering on card front. To create the faux wide ribbon effect, glue a strip of b&w gingham ribbon around a strip of black cardstock . Tie white taffeta ribbon around strip, mount "thinking of you" verse on top of layers and adhere to card front. Mount all layers to soft sky card stock to finish.  This was created with one of my favorite new stamp sets, the Essence of Love set from Stampin' Up!

Here's to seeing clear skies again in Florida and for everyone to safely weather this oncoming storm. What a way to start off the new school year.