WOW!  Could I use a cup of joe right about now - still a few days left of the holiday party season and my brain is as frozen and ice covered as my driveway!

 

The holidays started off with the "3 Amigos" and a stomach flu, two mommies with really bad flu bugs and colds, two daddies with sore throats and stuffy noses and one grandma and grandpa in the midst of it all.

 

Anyone who has ever had one sick child knows that there is not enough coffee in the world to get you through it - so you can imagine what it was like with three little men who needed hugs, kisses, and diaper changes around the clock. 

 

My holiday gift wish list was diapers, wipes and more diapers as we were going through 20 diapers in less than three hours some afternoons along with healthy babies before Santa made his appearance.

 

The wish list came through, the healthy boys did not.  They were treated to two visits to the doctors offices and another two visits from Santa in 3 days along with lots of gifts from family and friends. 

 

So as the New Year Holiday approaches and the "3 Amigos" are once again on the move, crawling through the house, grabbing Bella's whiskers, shaking their jingle bells to holiday music, this Grandma has a few days to be thankful all is well again and she can pull out her stamps and paints and find a few quiet moments to create artworks that no one really wants but she needs to create!

 

Where will I start?  What will be the inspiration?  How much time do I have before the next round of diapers begins...these are the days that memories are made of, that rekindle the spark of family togetherness and make for humorous stories to pass down to the generations to come.  It is what connects us, what makes us human and gives us the stamina to face whatever comes our way.  It is what I will paint, draw, sew, or sing about as I create a life worth living.

 

While it may not seem like much, it is the ordinary stuff that dreams are made of when we look back at 2012 and look forward to 2013. 

 

May your year be colorful, your coffee cups full, your brain filled with ideas and your heart filled art room never empty or void of unfinished projects.

 

Happy 2013 - I am off to get myself a cup of coffee and three hugs!

 

Laura Anne and Bella Boo

 

 



 



One for the Money, Two for the Show.....

Three to get ready and OFF we go!

Bugawumps is Retiring!

 

DECEMBER 1st
we close our doors for good!

DON'T MISS OUT!

ORDER NOW!

 

 

 

It's Closing Time! 27% OFF STAMPS!

YES!  You heard right...

Bugawumps Rubber Stamps will be closing its doors as of December 1st.

15 years of fun with lots of fun designs, lots of miles on our car, lots of impresisons on our ink pads and most of all, the wonderful imprints on our hearts from all of you!

Our lives are changing and we are so excited and happy to be grandparents that we don't want to miss a minute a minute of it, so we have decided to retire and enjoy our children and our precious "three amigos".

SOOOOOO....GET READY!  Watch for the latest details on when and where our next convention will be - hopefully soon in either the Cleveland area or Michigan....we won't be back again in the spring - so this is will be your last chance to get your favorite stamps at reasonable prices!

Anyone who orders before October 15th will recieve  27% Off STAMPS and 10% OFF EXTRA DARK Pan Pastels and Sofft tools in stock.

Our prices will NOT get any lower than this - all stamps and Pan Pastels and Sofft tools will be donated to the Susan G. Komen foundation for breast cancer research when we finally close our doors on December 1st.

Happy Bugday to All!

Laura Anne and Bella Boo, the happiest puppy on the planet

NEW ! NEW ! NEW !

Lots of NEW things are happening here at Bugawumps! 

The Three Amigos

Meet Grandma's three amigos!

Friday, August 3rd brought with it one reluctant little fella into this world.

Meet Sean Jacob, the newest member of our Bugawumps family.

This photo was taken last Sunday, Colin (on the left) and Ryan (on the right) were the first to arrive into our family in mid-April.  Yep, you got it, twin boys with personalities bigger than they are. 

Little (and I say that jokingly as he weighed in at 8 lbs. 10 oz. and 21 inches on his arrival) Sean is still not impressed by his big cousins, but we are already certain that these three little amigos will become fast friends once they figure out that they outnumber Grandma Laura Anne, 3 to 1!  How many cookies does it take to keep three little ones happy....think I will need to take out stock in chocolate chips as they get bigger.....

So if you are wondering where we have been, where we are going, or just what we have been up to, this photo says it all!  At HOME, enjoying snuggling, milky mouthed, cooing and smiling little babies.  Nothing beats stamping except this!

Look at our catalog, check out our sales pages - Buy One, Get one of equal or lesser value FREE STAMP SALE, be "WOWED" by our Pan Pastels and the Sofft Tools (Laura's Article appeared in RSM in the summer issue recently) and then see where we are going on our Road Shows Page. 

I can't promise you that we will have the Three Amigos with us at the conventions, but I can promise you alot fun and information if you have the time to come and see our demos at the conventions.

Life is Good - Hope you feel the same!

Laura Anne and Bella Boo, the very tired people puppy sitter

Dog Days of Summer

WOW!  It is hot out there and I am feeling the heat so let's get this party started....

How about me giving you a BOGO sale?  I think I shall...you buy one stamp and I will give you another stamp of equal or lesser value for free....sound good....then hit that catalog tab and get pickin'!

Hopin' I hear from you soon beacuse seriously, this deal is too hot to pass up.

Now, off Bella and I go to get our walk in before the cement burns our pretty little feet!

Have a Hot and Happy Bugday!

Laura Anne and Bella Boo




Oil Pastel Techniques

Chicago in the summer is about as challenging as Chicago in the winter.  The only difference is that I do not have to shovel snow but instead haul around the hose to keep the gardens watered!

It has been HOT! HOT! HOT! here  so I thought I would give you all a COOL little present today and post my "OIL Pastel Tips and Techniques" so that you can play in your air conditioned craft rooms and have some indoor summer fun.

ENJOY!

1.  Let's start out with the BABY OIL TECHNIQUE - Use 3 of the softer lighter colors and color in your background and even one of the bugs if you like - REMEMBER to color in ALL areas HEAVILY for best results.

2.  Now take a cotton ball and use 2 drops of baby oil on it - this will take a little elbow grease - but wipe off ALL the oil pastel you just put down.  (We don't want to saturate the card, just remove the excess oil pastel.) 

3.  REwipe with a clean cotton ball and you will be left with a nice soft colored card.

************************************************************

1. The CREDIT CARD TECHNIQUE is easy once you get the right hold on the credit card.

2.  Matte cardstock - Lay down three colors (friendly colors - those that live next door to one another on the color wheel work the best for this technique)  Lightest color get put down heavily from the upper left hand corner of the cardstock to the lower right hand corner.

3.  Second mid-tone color goes on either side of the lightest color.

4. Darkest color (third color chosen) will go at the very outer edges of the card stock filling in all the white.

5.  Take the credit card, hold it taught at a 45 degree angel and pull up a small section (1/8th) of oil pastel.

Spread it down somewhere else on the card. Repeat this procedure until the entire card is to your liking.

6. Heat set.

7. Stamp with permanent ink over the oil pastel background and heat set again.

Wishing you all a colorful day in a cool place!

Laura Anne and Bella Boo

Life is a Celebration!

July is here and the warm summer days have turned into melting pools of humanity as we see the temps here in Chicago, IL creep into the triple digits on a daily basis.  We are doing all we can here at Bugawumps to keep cool and limit the drool.

Still, we find time to celebrate all that is good and right with the world.

Independence Day is America's way of celebrating freedom - the freedom of man, the freedom of speech, the freedom of liberty, and right to create our own life.

These two little men are just beginning to explore the world as only they will know it.  They touch the lives of everyone they have met.  They are loved beyond words by many gruncles and grants (great aunts and uncles), one great grandma, aunts, uncles, cousins, second cousins, cousins once removed, their parents and of course their grandparents (all 4 of us are still here to share in these two miracles.)

I dream of the day when I can put a crayon in their hands much less a stamp and see what colors they choose to create their world.  Will they be writers; will they be scientists or mathmaticians; will they be singers or songwriters; will they be electronic innovators?  Most of all I ask myself, will they be able to find their happiness in this world as they find their way as well as make it a happier place for others?

In three weeks, a third little bundle of joy will join these two munchkins and also spend time with Grandma on a bi-weekly basis.  My eagerness to meet this little one is filled with the same joy I experienced with these two.  I wonder what this little one will bring to the world and where it will take me on my creative journey....I have lots of ideas, now just to find the time to implement them!

So as I embark on the journey of being a grandma - an hopefully a good one - I will listen to their wishes, their dreams, and help them to choose the colors that suit who they are at any given moment that will help them to express themselves in a creative, kind, and loving manner.

Today will be colored red, white and blue.  Today will be colored with the freedom to be who we are and color our world a happier, safer, more creative place.  Today the ideals that I believe in and dream of are wished for every one in every corner of the world.

Color me happy!

Color yourself wonderful!

Laura Anne and the most famous puppy ever, Bella Boo



Abra Ca Dabra

Well, here it is June already and I am no further along than I was two months ago in all the plans I had to paint, draw, clean ( really who even wants to do that ), cyle, you get the picture!

Instead, what I have been doing here at Bugawumps is playing with babies, giving showers (for babies), feeding babies, and feeding my soul with the breath of milky smiles.  It is a wonderfully sweet time in the lives of my family right now as we watch these two little angels grow and await the arrival of their cousin in a few short weeks.

Aside from my annual trek to Kauai for a little R & R which is the inspiration for many of my drawings and cards, my husband  and I went to Cleveland this past weekend for his 50th college reunion.

Under hazy warm June skies we walked the "Quad" with his friends and their wives as a stain glassed moon shed its light over us from the college chapel. While the stars did not twinkle this weekend, the eyes of many did as the men shared their stories. The glasses clinked in cheers and the harmony of the laughter made for the most wonderful symphony of friendship of I have ever experienced.

Just like the "Bugawumps" if you listen close enough and watch carefully you will see more magic than you ever dreamt possible.  No wands, no tricks, just pure magic for 2 days and nights and it was everywhere;

in the eyes of the son who loving came with his father and helped him seek out a list of old roommates,

in the husband who handed his glasses over to his wife of 50 years so she could see someone's photos,

in the slaps on the back as one schoolmate recognized another,

in the story teller who not only made us laugh, but continues to help the next generation get jobs with  phone calls to classmates who make it possible,

to the adult children who flew in from San Diego to share the weekend with their dad and meet the classmates they have heard so much about,

to the daughter whose college reunion was the same weekend on the same campus at the same time who kept coming over to share her experience and still be a part of her father's reunion,

to the goodness of a friend who made sure another had a golf cart available to her all weekend to get to from one function to the other easily,

need I say more...

The magic is there, the goodness of life surrounds us even in the worst of times if we sit still long enough to see it, to feel it and  then acknowledge it. 

Today I am home, rejuvenated, ready to draw, to create, to paint, maybe to clean, certainly to smile, and most importantly to thank my lucky starts and stops that I stopped long enough this time to be a part of this weekend's magic.

So make your day special, even if it's  only having a tri-colored popsicle on a stick from the fast food store down the block.  Make today yours. Make it happy, make it sweet, make it twinkle.

Abra Ca Dabra!

Laura Anne and Bella Boo

Bugawumps Newest Arrivals

Matt and his boys.

On Sunday, April 15th at 9:18a our son Matt and his wife Abra were surprised with the early arrival of their twin boys, Ryan Emerson (on the left) and Colin Patrick (on the right).

What a wonderful blessing(s)!  Both boys are a bit small but a good weight for twins and Mom is doing well considering she is sleep deprived as I write this. Dad is holding his own with a big smile and a good sense of humor!

Grandma Laura, the head Bugawump, is happy it happened before she heads out for the Akron Convention the last weekend in April so she can rest easy and give all you wonderful ladies her complete attention.

This is a huge week for the new mom and dad and their boys.  They are slowly trying to get on a schedule as they get to know one another and figure out how to be the parents they want to be.  They are all "new bees"!

The learning curve is a "happening", just like when you and I started stamping and creating works of art.  Remember the struggles?  Which ink to use? (Which diaper brand?) What do I do next? (What do I do when they cry?)  Should I use Copics, markers, pencils...? (Should I breast feed, formula, schedule feedings or on demand?)

You found your way through the maze of stamping options until you found "your" style.  They will find their groove as well as the four of them become a strong family unit.

I love this time - the new "bees" - the struggles make it "the best of times and the worst of times".  The human spirit is amazing as it works it way through the problems and finds its way to a solution.  Creativity and parenting go hand in hand.  

Color it magenta, aqua, or neon green.  Make it bright and happy and fun.  Stay away from the dark side and know that by the end of the hour, the day, month or year, you will have grown as an artist, a parent, or a grandparent! The struggle makes the goodness all the more worthwhile.

I love my grandboys, I love my children and their spouses, I love my stamps and I love my ability to see all the options. Open your eyes. Open your heart. Keep it light.  Keep it bright. Make it happy. It is yours to make whatever you wish!

  

May today be as bright as your favorite ink box and tomorrow even brighter.

Bugs and Kisses!

Laura Anne and Bella Boo

Words to Live By...

"Be Yourself...after all, everyone else is taken."

Have you ever wondered who you would be if you were born under a different star?  I used to wonder that all the time.  

What if...what if...what if...

I think that I wasted a lot of time wondering about all the "what ifs" and not accepting who I was as that given moment.  I realized as I got older that life is truly a journey and that sometimes I carried more baggage with me than I needed and at other times I didn't carry enough.

As we await the precious little ones and watch their parents struggle with the questions faced by all new parents I hope that I have been a good example of parenting and that it will come easy for them.  I hope they will be themselves as they are incredible adults just as they are and not get lost in the competition of parenting that may have them questioning who they are.


I used to try to be like all the ladies in the neighborhood - it is a fancy neighborhood and if anything, I am not a fancy lady.  I am just a lady that likes to make fancy things.  With that being said, my hands are always playing in the garden dirt planting flowers, digging up grass for a new garden, painting walls, painting windows, painting cards, painting my soul with colors that are bight and happy and shiny.  It is who I am.


I am rarely bored but find these fancy ladies and their painted finger nails and immaculate houses boring.  I would rather be on my bike with the wind in my hair than playing a game of bridge.  I have a clean house, but don't obsess over what the cleaning lady cleans with as I am my own cleaning lady...after all, who knows my house and my likes and dislikes better than myself.  Besides I am cheap and very capable of doing it myself!


So as I watch my children build their homes, have their babies, and build their lives, I hope they never spend as much time as I did wondering "what if..." but instead say "Thank heavens my parents were who they were so I could be what I am today....strong, capable, funny, creative, smart, athletic, or whatever they want to be that will make their lives as wonderful as I realize mine is and has been.

I hope that you have found a place inside yourself today that makes you feel good about all your accomplishments; that you can enjoy who you are, your likes, dislikes, and make friends with those who appreciate you just the way you are.

You are perfect just the way you are so get out there and be different!  Make the change in the world that you live in just by being yourself...that is more than enough!


Happy bugday!


Laura Anne and Bella Boo

 

 

This may not be the view from my front porch but it could be with the warmest March on record in the Chicagoland area. 

We are rockin' low to mid 80's for the past week with bright blue skies and sunshine every day with promises of another 5 days of this awesome weather to come.

This my friends, is a gift!  This card made with Pan Pastels is also a gift.  Every color in the rainbow as bright as can be that lays down perfectly smooth that can be stamped and embossed on without missing a beat. 

Now that I have your attention - let's get this card started!

Here's what you will need: Large Post-It Note Pad, 1 1/2" or 2" Jumbo Punch, Cardstock - 4.25" x 5.5" - white, non glossy, die based ink pad - black, violet, or navy blue, Pan Pastel Colors, Dairylide Yellow, Orange, Red or Magenta, Pthalo Blue, and Violet (that's only 5 colors for those of you who need to purchase them!) Large Oval or Square Angled sponges - guess what, we sell those too!  If your purse strings are a hurtin', wedge make-up sponges are an option but the results may not be as spectacular.

Punch out a large (and I mean large - like 2" in diameter) circle with your largest punch in two pieces of Post it Note paper. The reason I punch out two is because I get a cleaner cut and have and extra to spare when I am ready to make another card.  Make sure that you get that hole punched in some of the sticky stuff at the top to make the job easier!

Place the punched out Post-It note on top of the cardstock covering the entire piece with extra Post-It note paper to keep it clean.

NOw - here's the trick - Put the Dairylide yellow on one end of the sponge.  Drag the yellow across the bottom of the circle about 2/3's of the way up. Clean the sponge lightly on a paper towel - no water please! Put some of the orange, red, or magenta on the edge of the sponge and repeat only this time start at the top and drag the color into the yellow working your way across and down the circle.

Place the Hole part of the Post-It note over your sun.  Load up the sponge with Pthalo Blue and go over the rest of the card.  Using violet and starting at the top of your card, pulling across and down add some violet.

Stamp in a dye base or pigment your silhouette florals, tree, birds, etc. around the bottom of the card as shown above.  If you want to add more dimension, now is a good time to emboss on top of what you have already stamped.

Using the sharp edge of your sponge, add those wonderful fine lines across the sun and into the sky.

This card takes a maximum of 5 to 8 minutes to make.  The colors are wonderful. Your effort, minimal.

How's that for a St. Paddy's Day Gift kissed by the leprachaun's?!

Hoping you have a pot of gold or at least a friend or two who are worth their weight in gold on this glorious warm sunny March Day!

May the Luck 'o the Irish be with you,

Laura Anne and Bella 'O Boo

PS.  We are both wondering when the snow storm will hit - after all it is March in Chicago ...

"Hold on to your Dreams"

Spring is just around the corner and the sun is shining bright here in the mid-west.  The temps are in the mid 50's which is unheard of on this last day in February, a leap year on top of it all.  

                     

While the grass is not green and there are no leaves on the trees, the birds are chirping and dancing around my back yard.  If nothing else, I am sure that they are delighting in the momentary glory of this wonderfully unexpected warm day while I am busy baking cupcakes for the ladies who will attend our daughter-in-law's baby shower (The twins are due in May!), I am reminded of dreams come true, untold miracles, and the wonder of life.

Matt and Abra have waited  a long time for these two little babies and are anxious for the day when they will arrive and greet the world with furrowed brows, wrinkled toes and fingers, along with cries of joy - at least that is what I call it.  These two babies will be loved, nurtured, and encouraged to grow into strong wonderful men ...someday...for today, we will just love the babies for who they are at this moment. 

I dream of a wonderful family made up of my son, his wife and for right now, two little boys.

I dream of Abra holding them and singing to them in the wee evening hours with crickets seranading her and her baby boys as she rocks them to sleep with milky smiles and large yawns.. 

I dream of my son holding them up high in the air over his head and making them giggle and drool all over his shirt and shoulders.

I remember my own dreams when my children were young.  I remember the laughter, the tears, the chubby hands holding my own and most of all, I remember how good it was that my dream came true and continues to do so as the generations move forward.

These days are good ones.  The dreams we had waaaay back when are dreams that were worth chasing and are now worth holding onto.

As you enter your day, your week, and a new month, Bella and I wish you wonderful dreams both past and present to draw upon when the mood to be creative hits you. 

Next week - another card will be on display for your to make so hang onto your stars today and stamp until the sandman cometh!

Laura Anne and Bella Boo

Happy Valentine's Day!

Let's make a card for "The One I Bug"!


Stamps Used:  346G - The Great Vine
                           105F - Birthday Bug
                           102F - Sweetie Pi
                           706D - To The One I Bug
                            any small star stamp


Inks:  All dye based Vivid Black and Sky Blue

Colored markers, colored pencils, sponge or stipple brush

Let's Go!  

Stamp "The Great Vine" off to the left hand side of the card on a 3.75" x 5" pice of white cardstock ( 60 to 80 lbs flat) stamping 1/2 the image off the side of the card and the other 1/2 on the card.


Stamp "Birthday Bug" and "Sweetie Pi" so that they are under the vine and facing one another.

Color all the images in with Copic Markers and highlight and shade with colored pencils. Shade under the tree with various greens in colored pencil.
***** A good trick here is to use water colored pencils and then use your Copic Blending marker to blend the pencil color into the marker.  Works like a dream!

Using a stipple brush or a sponge, start sponging the blue ( I use Vivid's Sky Blue) around the bugs and the tree. Build your color up so that the color around the images is lighter than the edges of the cardstock.


Stamp your stars with the same Vivid Sky Blue pad you used for stippling or sponging.


Layer, Layer, Layer your card and stamp on the inside "To the One I Bug"  and sign it with Love!


Easy to make; easy to color, easy to love!


Happy Valentine's Day everyone!


Laura Anne and Bella Boo

The "Bugawumps" Baby Boom!

Well, believe it or not, Bugawumps is bursting
with even more great news!

Less than a year ago we were in the midst of last minute wedding preparations for these two, Kris and John, our daughter and now new son-in-law, and they too, are now expecting a "little Bugawump" as well.

Their little one is due in late July giving us all  time to adjust to a new life schedule with the twins before this one joins in the fun.

As parents and now grandparents-to-be, we feel as though we have "hit the jackpot"!  Great children with great spouses and now 3 little ones in less than 3 months.  Overwhelming at the very least!

We will still be around as our family grows and we glow with new babies and new ideas from those wonderful little beings, so continue to watch our site to see where we will be doing shows and what new stamps will becoming your way.

Like I said, traveling to shows this year will be difficult but not impossible, so we hope to sign up and attend whatever we can between births, celebrations, and all that comes in between so watch our "ROAD SHOWS" for the latest updates on shows and contact numbers.

If you feel the need to get "BUGGED" please shop online either here or on our website at www.bugawumps.com and if you find all that too confusing, give me a call at 1.847.498.5188 or fax me at 1.847.498.5198 and I will get right back to you with an answer, words of encouragement, or whatever I can do to speed up your creative juices.


As we enter a new year, a new month and add three new dimensions to our lives we wish all of our customers as much joy, good health, and happiness possible.


Next week, we'll be making a new card so get your stamping supplies ready, set, and off we go!


Laura Anne and "Auntie in Waiting" Bella Boo
 

New Arrivals!

Welcome 2012!

The times they will be a changing for Bugawumps Rubber Stamps and all of us who started this wonderful journey 14 1/2 years ago, Laura, Dick and Bella Boo (only 2 years into it) Jacobs.

Our son, Matthew and daughter-in-law, Abra, are expecting twin boys in late April leaving us all overwhelmed with anticipation.  It will be the first grandchildren on both sides!

Due to the arrival of these wonderful little "critters" as Grandpa Walt (Abra's father) calls them we will not be doing as many shows this year. 

With the flooding of our offices late last summer and the twins coming right in the midst of the show season we are hoping that our customers understand that we are running like crazy just to finish the reorganization of our offices along with planning for the arrival of these two wonderful little boys. 

We are still alive and kicking so please place your orders from either this sight or our website - http://www.bugawumps.com/ , you can PHONE your order in at 847.498.5188 or FAX it in to 847.498.5198.

Our order processing and shipping will remain the same.  We normally ship within 48 hours so your stamping needs will still be met in the same speedy manner that we are known for! 

If Grandma Bugawumps doesn't answer the phone, leave a number - She will get back to you ASAP!  Many may not know this but she wears a "super woman cape" under her streetwear.

We are scheduling shows as time allows so keep watching our site and this blog for the most updated information.

SHOWS Scheduled so far: for more information contact the websites listed below:

March 10th & 11th  - ROCKFORD, IL -  http://www.stampscraparttour.com/

April  28th & 29th - AKRON, OH - http://www.adventuresinstamping.com/

We are still looking into some more summer and fall shows - so watch our website and this blog for the most updated information.

Add to all this excitement that Laura has just written an article about her Pan Pastel  demonstration that she does for all of you at the conventions. It will appear in the summer issue of  RubberStampMadness magazine - so grab it at your local hobby and craft store or order it for your Kindle, I-Pad, Nook or cranny.

In the meantime - wishing you and yours a creative 2012 with lots of new ideas and new adventures!

The future,
Grandma Laura Anne and Auntie Bella Boo