It’s a Girl . . .

I found out yesterday morning that the moment had arrived – and our lives were forever going to change.  My niece Gina had gone into labor and was headed for the hospital.  Lots of updates, but not a lot of progress during the day – late in the afternoon, all of the grandparents were told to prepare for a long night.

After work, I picked up Emily and we headed there for a quick visit.  Little did we know . . .

About 40 minutes after we arrived, my nephew Conner texted this pic out to the waiting room – Amelia Ann had arrived – the first baby girl in our immediate family in my lifetime.

 

About an hour later, Conner emerged from the birthing suite.  That was the second picture I took of him – the first showed how tired he really was after 12 hours of labor.  But he faked it well for the second pic – and then went around the room collecting hugs.

 

Lots of proud grandparents and great-grandparents.  Counting my mom and dad in Arizona, Amelia has four of each.  Times have changed since Ryan was born – skin-to-skin bonding with the mother is encouraged strongly, so none of us got to hold her last night.

  

But that changed this morning . . . love my brother’s shirt.  So Emily and I hightailed it back to the hospital at lunch today, so we could complete the process we started last night . . .

 

Please welcome to the world Miss Amelia Ann Smallwood – born Thursday, January 26, 2017 – 7 lbs. 3 oz. and 21¾” – with lots of dark brown hair and long fingers and toes.  I heeded Gina’s wishes and took no pictures of the new mother – yet.  But all are doing well, and we are grateful.

Tim Holtz Stamp Platform Is Unveiled . . .

The last Tim Holtz sneak peek was today – more than 20 minutes devoted to a single item.  And I have to admit that at first glance, I wondered what the big deal was about another MISTI look-alike – until I noticed that it’s reversible . . .

  
 

The Tim Holtz Stamp Platform has a reversible stamping plate – one side for cling mounts, and one side for rubber stamps.  And that does appear to make it more than just a look-alike.  You can see for yourself by watching the sneak peek on Tim’s website or Facebook page.  They are expected to arrive in April – as usual, advance orders are 20% off the MSRP with free shipping in the Continental U.S.

With that, all of the new Tim Holtz items are on our site – except the Sizzix Alterations items which will magically appear on Saturday.

New items from Spellbinders, Faber-Castell, and probably more that I can’t remember as I type this will also appear on Saturday – stay tuned.

Ranger Chimes In . . .

More new Tim Holtz items were announced today – this time from Ranger, with three more sets of Distress Crayons, Distress Oxide Ink Pads, a Designer Bag, and more goodies.

   

Due to the miracle of alphabetical order, all of the Ranger stuff shows up first when you click on this link to see all of the new Tim Holtz releases that we are allowed to show you so far.  Everything will be there by Saturday – advance orders are 20% Off the MSRP with Free Shipping in the Continental U.S.

Re-Change of Heart . . .

Apparently the CEO at Sizzix overruled those below him and decreed that we are not allowed to show you their new Tim Holtz releases until January 21 when “Creativation” (formerly CHA) 0pens.

That doesn’t mean you can’t look at them – you can click on this link and look at the Tim Holtz Sneak Peek.

But it does mean that you can’t place your advance orders until January 21.

So I suggest that you set a reminder on your phone.  I do this a lot – and sometimes it saves me.  Today was one of those days – my phone buzzed at 11:30 this morning and I had no idea why.  Then I read the message, and was reminded that Zoe and Nala had appointments at the vet an hour later for their annual checkups.  Two hours later, I had two grumpy pets who had been poked and prodded and pronounced healthy (two shots for the canine and one for the feline).

Tim Holtz New Release Season Begins . . .

It actually started while I was driving home from Texas – the annual January ritual of Tim Holtz new item announcements.  Today is my first day back at work, so in-between the normal “first day back after a show catch-up” I have been working on getting them on our site. 

But I knew I was going to hit a roadblock today – the Sizzix “sneak peek” was today, but Sizzix wasn’t allowing anyone to put any of their new items on their sites until January 21.  Didn’t make sense . . .

Gary called Sizzix – and they still said “not until January 21”.  But then they called him back a few minutes later and had a change of heart.

  

  

So along with lots of new Stampers Anonymous Cling Mount Sets and Layering Stencils like these, there will be Sizzix goodies and Advantus (Idea-ology) goodies and all sorts of other goodies that I haven’t even looked at yet.

And you’ll be able to see all of them as they magically appear on our site by clicking on this link at least once a day . . .

Of course, advance orders for each item are 20% off the MSRP until the first shipment arrives.

Health Updates . . .

Seems only fitting that the first post of 2017 is an update on the progress of three folks who spent part or all of 2016 on my prayer list . . .

This pic was taken last Friday morning, shortly after I regained my composure after being shocked from behind during setup in Grapevine, Texas by Ellen Sedgwick from Tessler’s.  After a year away from us recovering from an aneurysm, Ellen looks great – says she feels great – and worked their booth the whole weekend.  It was so good to see her!

Nami Nakamura from DeNami Designs had skin cancer surgery on her leg last week and is recovering slowly at home.  She gets her biopsy results sometime this week.  Nami posts to Facebook almost every day, and her positive outlook is contagious.  I think I would be losing my mind after a week stuck in bed.

And John Eberly from Purple Daisy Designs called me Monday morning while I was driving home from Texas.  He had hip replacement surgery on Friday morning, was home by Friday afternoon, and is recovering nicely at home.

All three asked me to thank you for your continued prayers.  Wasn’t that a great way to start the year?