Monthly Archive: June 2016

Funny story…

 

StampinUp Father's Day card made with Paper Pumpkin- May2016 by demo Beth McCullough. Please see more card and gift ideas at www.StampingMom.com #StampingMom

I love the Paper Pumpkin kits!  I made this card for Superman’s Dad in about 30 seconds.  Don’t tell Grandpa Harold…I think it looks like it took much longer.  I love him enough I would’ve spend more time, but Paper Pumpkin makes it really easy! If you live in the Des Moines area you can come to my monthly FREE get together to put together your Paper Pumpkin kits and get alternative ideas of things to do with the kit.  Our next Paper Pumpkin get together is Thursday July 9 at 9:30am or 6:30pm.  Please email me at Beth@StampingMom.com and let me know that you want to come.  If you live anywhere else in the U.S. you can still do Paper Pumpkin with me.  I’ll send you alternative Paper Pumpkin ideas and you can Skype with us at our party.  The only charge is the kit that will be sent to your house.

Funny story…was coined in our family by our 20 year old son Ryan.  I believe the first time we got a “Funny story…” phone call was one month after he turned 16 and got his drivers license.  He was on his way home from a choir concert.  He had to be there early, so we drove separately.  Anyway, the phone rang and Ryan said “Funny story… I was turning left onto Ashworth Road and I just got T boned by a Suburban.  Ryan was driving our old Honda Civic.  I can’t believe it wasn’t totaled and thankfully Ryan wasn’t hurt.  Well over the last five years we’ve gotten a few more “Funny story…” calls from Ryan.  Ironically, I’ve yet to think any of these phone calls were actually funny.  Ryan’s very sweet and I believe he thinks it somehow softens the blow of what he’s about to tell us.  When Ryan’s kids start calling him with “Funny stories… he’ll better understand my perspective.

Imagine my surprise, when we were about to be dropped off at the airport to go to New York City for our 30th Wedding Anniversary celebration when Superman from the backseat said…”Funny story…” My heart dropped, was he using Ryan’s “Funny story” or was he truly going to tell me a funny story?  No such luck.  Steve has taken hundreds of plane trips for his job and we travel quite a bit as a family.  In 30 years we have never missed a plane… until now.  Steve’s funny story involved telling me he had misread the boarding pass and the plane we were there to catch, had already left.  We were in Moline, IL, a very small airport.  The plane we missed was also the last plane leaving that day.

OK… I thought, things don’t always go our way.  We asked Steve’s father to stay at the airport and we went in to see what our options were.  We actually didn’t know at that point that there were no more planes leaving that day.  Since there was no one at the American Airlines desk, we figured out the desk clerk doubled as the boarding clerk.  Yep, it’s a really small airport.  Anyway we walked down to security to see if we could talk to the American Airlines clerk.  The AA clerk came back from the gate as we were talking to the TSA security agent.  The TSA agent said since we had talked to her, we needed to go through security even though we weren’t getting on a plane that night. This seemed very odd to me.  Why did we need to go through security?  I couldn’t wrap my mind around it. Superman and I both have TSA Precheck so we don’t have to take off our shoes, get liquids out of our bags, etc.  Well, in Moline, IL, they only have TSA Precheck in the morning.  We got our liquids out and the TSA agent said the bag we had them in didn’t meet their specifications.  In the past it never mattered. because we never had to remove them.  At this point Superman was begging them not to confiscate our liquids, as we were going through security, for a plane that didn’t exist.  All of a sudden missing the plane, having no other planes leaving that day and having all my liquids confiscated was more than I could take.  I was pretty sure at this point that none of this was funny.  At the same time, Superman had planned a wonderful trip to New York and I didn’t want him to feel any worse than he already did.

After talking to the AA clerk we realized our best option was to drive to Chicago.  She told us we needed to be in the airport by 3am to fly stand by on a 5:30am flight to New York.  We got to Chicago and parked in the Economy parking lot at 11:30pm and set an alarm for 2:30am.  Not that I needed it, because I wasn’t able to fall asleep.  How do people living in their cars brush their teeth and wash their face before bed?  I can’t go to sleep without doing those things.  Yes, Superman snored for three hours (no way to plug in his breathing machine) and I sat and watched the time go by.  At 2:30am we took the shuttle to Chicago O’Hare airport.  The line to check the bag at American took us over an hour.  We went through TSA precheck and again encountered problems.  At Moline the night before when they finally agreed to give us back our liquids, I threw everything in my bag when I should’ve only taken my own.  Now my bag had too many liquids because I had Superman’s also.  TSA took everything out of my bag, put it through the x ray a couple times and practically strip searched me.  I handled it better this time because I had 12 hours to get used to the idea that it would take longer to get to New York than we had planned.  They also told me there was a foreign substance in my Vera Bradley bag.  Superman decided we were going to throw the bag away and get a new one for me in New York.  No way!  A Vera Bradley bag is too expensive!  I would rather be searched again going home and wash it when we returned to Des Moines.  Ironically, TSA in New York had no problem with my bag and I went through security unscathed on the return trip. Anyway, even though we were flying stand by, we did get two seats on the 5:30am flight and got to New York City by 9am.  At this point I had been up since 5am the day before, but was so happy to be in NYC!

Please subscribe to my blog and in a few days and I’ll be back to tell you about being “assaulted” in Central Park.

Yeah! I found out today that my Flower Shop thank you card from a few days ago was chosen as a Pals Paper Arts Pick of the week!  Yes, it made my day!!  See my card here.

Today is the last day to sign up for the ultimate bundle and get two free sets!  Don’t miss out!  Email me or click to sign up here.

Blessings,

Beth 🙂

 

 

 

 

Two free stamp sets (any price) and purchase Stampin’ Up! at a discount!

This is the best deal ever!  If there is anything in the Stampin’ Up! catalog that you plan on purchasing, I suggest you get the ultimate bundle!  You choose two free stamp sets, any price.  There’s a couple wood sets priced up to $49 each.  You also get to choose any products up to $125 and pay $99 with no shipping (normally 10%)  Thursday June 30 is the last day to get the two free sets when you select the ultimate bundle.  If you choose expensive free stamp sets, you could be getting $225 for $99!

SO WHAT ELSE DO YOU GET WITH THE $99 KIT?

  • For $99 you choose:   Up to $125 worth of Stampin’ Up! product for your kit.  That’s$26 in FREE product.  Choose TWO FREE stamp sets, ANY PRICE as a bonus for your starter kit.  June 1 – 30 only!  Products can be from any current catalog, including 10% off bundles. Free shipping: The kit ships to you FREE, for another 10% savings
  • Fill your wish list at a minimum 20% discount:  Once you join, you can stock up and save 20% or more on your favorite Stampin’ Up! paper, stamps, inks and tools PLUS earn more free and discounted products thru Stampin’ Rewards and special promotions.
  • Be first!  Receive FREE catalogs and an opportunity to preview and purchase new products in advance–one of my favorite benefits.
  • Earn extra MOOLA and/or free products!  Stampin’ Up! offers a fun opportunity to share your passion for stamping and earn extra income and product.  The choices are yours!
  • No risk.  From the time you join through the end of the first full Stampin’ Up! quarter you can “test drive” demonstrator discounts and benefits. Stampin’ Up! quarters are Jan. – March, April – June, July – Sept., Oct. – Dec.
  • No penalty to drop!  If you reach $300 in sales by the end of the first full Stampin’ Up! quarter, you renew your demonstrator discounts and benefits for another quarter. If you don’t reach $300 in sales, you can “drop” with no penalty.
  • DO IT JUST FOR YOU!  There’s no obligation to host workshops or parties, sell products to others or personally purchase anything beyond the kit!
  • You also get a group of instant stamping friends.  For some, this is the very best part!

Lynn and Linda already purchased their ultimate bundle from me this month and are getting to know the rest of our team.  If you live anywhere in the United States, you can be next to join our team. You’ll have access to a huge group of demos, Facebook groups, prizes and more. Click here to purchase the ultimate bundle and join the fun or email me at Beth@StampingMom.com

Remember it doesn’t matter where in the US you live and you have no obligation to purchase anything beyond the kit.

lynn's card

Here’s a card made by Lynn.  Congrats Lynn and thanks for joining my team!  Please check out her blog here.

Linda

Here’s a card made by Linda.  Congrats Linda and thanks for joining my team!

I hope you’ll be next to let me know you are ready to have stamping fun with us! What do you have to lose?

Blessings,

Beth 🙂

Flower Shop Thank you

Guess what?  This card was chosen as a Pals Paper Arts pick of the week!  Thanks so much to the PPA design team for choosing my card!

Yeah! I’m back!!!!  I’ve been to New York City, Okoboji, and Kansas City all in the last two weeks. It’s time for me to stay home for awhile.  My puppies missed me and my gardens and stamping have been suffering.  I’ve also missed sleeping in my own bed.  There’s no place like home!

StampinUp Thank you card made with the Flower Shop stamp set designed by demo Beth McCullough. Please see more card and gift ideas at www.StampingMom.com #StampingMom

new header hinge clear

UYS # 227 Good Things in 3’s! is the challenge at Use Your Stuff Challenge Blog this week. Here’s my threes: 3 flowers, 3 kinds of polka dots, 3 colors.  Please play along here.  I’m a designer for this challenge blog. 🙂

 

PPA-306-June23

I love the sketch challenge at PalsPaperArts this week.  Please play along here.  I hope to be a designer for this challenge blog some day!

StampinUp Thank you card made with the Flower Shop stamp set designed by demo Beth McCullough. Please see more card and gift ideas at www.StampingMom.com #StampingMom

With all the fun things in the new Stampin’ Up! catalog, don’t forget to use the awesome stamps that have been around for awhile.  This flower from the Flower Shop stamp set is one of my favorites because of it’s whimsical look.  I also love that I can punch it out with the Pansy punch.

StampinUp Thank you card made with the Flower Shop stamp set designed by demo Beth McCullough. Please see more card and gift ideas at www.StampingMom.com #StampingMom

Please subscribe to my blog or follow me on Pinterest here.  Thanks so much!

Superman did his second triathlon of the season today.  He did awesome!

steve-swim

They swam 1/2 mile.  These blue swim cap guys are the 40 and over men.  There were five other groups that started their swim in staggered heats.  Elite men, elite women, under 40 men, under 40 women and over 40 women.

steve-bike June 26,2016

Biked 16 miles.  Biggest obstacle was that his iPhone holder fell off his bike three times.  He lost about 5 minutes in total retrieving it.  His speed is usually at least 20 miles per hour, so his iPhone case did a great job. The screen did not break on his phone.  Needless to say he has now used Gorilla glue on the phone holder on his bike and it will never fall off again!

 

steve-run June 26,2016

Ran 3.2 miles.

There were actually a couple hundred people doing the triathlon this morning, but I noticed in most of the pictures, Superman is there by himself.  Just assume it’s because Superman is winning! 🙂  Not really, but he did do very well!

Blessings,

Beth 🙂