"One in a Bugzillion"

Lately I have been thinking of the people in my life who have stepped outside their comfort zones and made or shall I say make good things happen for others.

You know the type, the neighbor who bakes wonderful cookies and then brings you a dozen = unexpectedly of course. The friend who makes you a tape of music that lifts your heart and has you dancing in the kitchen or dreaming of warm sunny beaches, or someone who rebuilds your life bit by bit with either wood, plaster, or sound advice.

These are the people who are "One in a Bugzillion" - so let's make them a card to say Thank You!

First, stamp our fun Large Squirm - 420C, as many times as you can on a 4" x 5.25" of white cardstock.

Mask all the images - I know it's alot of Squirms, but seriously, they are a breeze to cut out and well, really, isn't this special person we are making it for worth the trouble?

Brayer over ALL the images with a sponge brayer filled with a blue/green/turquoise rainbow pad. I love my Big and Juicy Waterfall pad but Kaleidescope has a nice pad with those colors in it as well.

Peel off the masks and color one Squirm with rainbow colors and the rest a lovely shade of yellow green shading in with a lime green.

Layer, Layer, and Layer after putting the original artwork on a piece of cardstock that is 5.50" by 8.50" scored at the 4.25" mark lengthwise.

Stamp in Our "You're one in a bugzillion" stamp - 7001E on the inside.

Add a few smiley faces if you like and sign it with love, admiration or a plain ol' "Thanks" and off to the post office you go.

Not only will it put a smile on the recipient's face, but yours as well.

After all, anyone thoughtful enough to make this card for their friend, family or neighbor is "One in a Bugzillion" themselves.

Happy Bugday!

Laura Anne and Bella Boo

A Little Wet Behind the Years....

I am feeling just a little bit wet behind the ears, or should I say "years".

Two weeks ago another terrible storm went through our town and while we weathered it with electricity this time, our sump pumps failed to keep up with the 8.5 inches of rain that fell in less than two hours.

We woke up to two sump pumps gurgling under 9 inches of water in our family room and work rooms as 28 years of "STUFF" had already begun to absorb what we had not.

It is all "STUFF - just STUFF" .

I kept telling myself this as the bulging swirling stained waterlogged walls and curling of peeling wallpaper took on a new dimension of home decor.

I can't begin to tell you how quickly we found ourselves moving whatever we could up the stairs, off the floor, and onto counters as our carpets floated effortlessly above the crystal clear rain water as we held back our tears. We have never had a flood in our home these past 28 years.

We saved the new son-in-law's 20 year old comic book collection (25 large boxes), 2 slightly wet red leather chairs, tables, a sofa, lamps, and most of the trains (60 years of model railroad stuff), and all of my stamping "stuff". Most everything that was wet, has dried out fairly well with just a few wrinkles as reminders of how much we have to be thankful for.

The under currant of our family bonds became stronger as we lost books, cabinets, carpets, tiles off the floor, furniture and energy as we struggled to remove the calf high water we were wading through to save what we could.

What we lost was just "Stuff". What we gained - "A stronger family unit".

Our Children, Matt and his wife, Abra, along with Kris and her new husband, John, worked with their Dad and I for 13 hours hauling, vaccuuming, drying, and bundling up stuff to take to the curbside for garbage pick-up. No one complained.

We just held on hour after hour as we realized that it was just that, "STUFF". We still have our "MEMORIES". We still have our "HEALTH". We still have our "HOME". We still have "US".

For those of you, your families and your friends who have ever experienced great losses through fire, weather, abuse, violence or economic hardship, my heart and prayers go out to you tenfold.
This was hard enough - I can't imagine losing my home, much less my family.

As I look at damaged walls, the left over "STUFF" in disarray, I will try to remember this day, and make sure that my heart is always in the right place and my priorities oraganized accordingly - God, Husband, Kids, Puppies, Friends, Neighbors, etc.

And yes, to still have paper towels to hand out to those who may need them.

Laura Anne and Bella Boo - who thinks "Puppies" should come first.

Deep Fried

Life is good. The storms have subsided for a few days. The sun is out and the carnival is in town.

All the wonderful sights, sounds and smells!

Roller coasters, Tilt-a-Whirls, Ring Toss, Games of Chance and the Food - the wonderful combination of greasey sublime gooey goodness!

Carrie Newcomer (check her out on U-Tube), sings about the county fairs and all they offer. The fun, the lights and the imagination of those who can deep fry anything and make it sound good!

This is how I feel when I go to a convention and show you wonderful ladies our latest technique. I feel like a barker at the circus or a carnie with a show stopping daring twist of fate feat, when really all I am doing is using my Pan Pastels in a very simple way to achieve maximun color with minimum effort.

This Weekend Bugawumps will be in Novi, MI showing off "OUR" stuff and hoping that the crowds mimick those I saw at the carnivial tonight. For those of you who come, our Pan Pastels will be on sale for $ 5.75 each - a lower price celebrating our ad in RSM. For those of you who can't join us, the sale will continue on our website through Sept. 1st.

Add to that that we are also giving you a "DOG DAY" summer SALE - 10 percent OFF ALL STAMPS and you have yourself one very creative show stamping summer!

Feel the barker in me coming on again.......

Happy Happy Bugday!

Laura Anne and Bella Boo

Proud Moments

We are just back from the Colorado conventions, one in Longmont, the other in Colorado Springs and I am thankful that we withstood the daily torrential downpours, flooding in the streets and the lightening strike that took out the power in our hotel room.

None of that overshadowed the wonderful women who attended the conventions nor their generous spirits. I feel blessed that so many asked about the 3 Day Susan G. Komen 60 mile walk that my nephew and I did together for his mother, my best friend, in September almost 4 years ago.

Four special ladies, one who won our raffle basket as we were raising money for the walk, and three other ladies took the time to ask how it all went. To this day, I can't thank you all enough for making the "WALK" a possibility for my nephew and myself.

His mother was so proud of him that weekend - the twinkle in her eyes every time she surprised us at a rest stop was worth every mile and blister Charlie and I endured that weekend.

While his mother and my dear friend, Theresa, was not one of lucky ones who survived the disease, you gave her a wonderful gift, the joy of seeing her son do something "BIG" for her.

Bigger is better when it comes from the heart!

Once again, many thanks to the lovely ladies of Colorado for opening their hearts and their wallets to us that year and supporting us in more ways than one. You are all a "Gift" that Charlie and I will never forget.

Thanks for asking - it meant more than you will ever know.

Bugs and Kisses,

Laura Anne and of course, Charlie and our ever present, Bella Boo

Weather or Not......?

Memorial Weekend, the Springfield, MA Rubber Stamp Convention in the midst of cleaning up after a horrible tornado hit the city, my nephew leaving his wife of one year and three week old baby for his fourth tour of duty - this time in Kuwait, leaves me feeling sad as I head home to Chicago knowing that there is little I can do to change the conditions of what was, what is, and wondering what is to come.

We will not be attending the convention this weekend as vendors in West Srpingfield, MA. We chose to head home after hearing the terrible news and being told by the hotel management to change our plans as the roads were closed at the time we called them on Thursday morning to see what the damage had amounted to. The Expo Center was not harmed and the parking lot was accessible south of the city but still, as I watched the National Guard called in and the Red Cross show up, I knew that this was not the time nor the place for Bugawumps to be.

So we made the decision to turn back in Erie, PA and support those of you in West Springfield, MA by making a donation to the Red Cross on behalf of our customers who were directly affected by the the tornado. We needed to help those who suffered the loss of their homes, business, family, or friends with something more than a rubber stamp sale. We felt the need to give our support with a donation to the Red Cross instead of making a profit this weekend. We felt the need to help someone else.

We have attended shows in areas that had been hard hit by hurricanes and tornadoes in the past, Virginia Beach, VA and Houston, TX to be exact and the results were not good. So instead we chose to take the loss and use the dollars we saved by making a donation that would truly do some good for those in need.

For those of you who were hoping to see us in West Springfield, MA - we apologize and are offering ALL our customers free shipping along with 10 percent of the sale to be donated to the Springfield,MA Tornado Red Cross Fund if you place an order by phone or mail from our web-catalog between Friday, June 3rd through Sunday, June 12th.

In the meantime, prayers go out to all who understand that help is on the way and we are with you in spirit, hope, and faith for a better tomorrow.

Laura Anne and Bella Boo, Hubby, too