Apple Blossom Studio is looking for 3-4 new designers to show off our stamps.

This will be a really easy, low-stress partnership. If chosen to be on our team, you will be required to make one new layout/project, or two new cards monthly. You must be able to take good quality photographs/scans of your projects which will be featured in the ABS gallery and on our blog. You should also post your creations on your own blog and in your galleries at scrapbooking websites, and promote Apple Blossom Studio wherever appropriate.

In exchange you will receive all our stamps, with new stamps coming out every 4-6 months, and you and your designs will be featured on our website.

If you would like to apply, please send
FOUR photos/scans of your best work- any combination of layouts, cards, projects
your full contact info- name, email, address, and phone number
links to your blog, resume, and your profile/gallery for any scrapbooking forums you particiate in
to joy@appleblossomstudio.com by August 6th.

Our new designers will be announced on the 8th of August.

Thanks so much!
Joy.

I figure it would be easiest to do this life story style like Joanne did, so here we go.....

1. I was born in Vienna, Austria on April 5, 1982
2. eight minutes after my mother arrived at the hospital.
3. I was the most beautiful baby my mother has ever seen. (true story!)
4. I went to kindergarten for two years.
5. I peed my pants once in kindergarten.
6. I went to Austrian school.
7. I learned how to read and write German before English.
8. I was in 1-6th grade with my older brother Jeremy.
9. When I was eight years old I taught myself how to read in English.
10. In the Summer of 1990, we were in the states on furlough, and I went to Kansas Bible Camp.
11. That week I accepted Jesus Christ as my Savior.
12. Once, in the third grade, I wore a dress with little short socks during the winter, and my teacher told me that I would catch a cold in my belly and never be able to have children, and Jeremy and I laughed at her, and when she told my parents this, they laughed at her too.
13. During gradeshool I had a crush on a boy named Ronni. :)
14. In the 4th grade, for a writing test, We had to write an essay about someone of the oposite sex in our class, I wrote about him. (and he wrote about me too!) :) (i'm such a dork!)
15. For the 5th grade I went to Vienna Christian School.
16. It was my first year in an English speaking school.
17. That year my best friend's name was Johanna.
18. We would write secret letters back and forth to eachother in a diary that we each had a key to.
19. In 1993 we moved back to the States.
20. August 8, 1993 I was baptized, Jeremy and Tabitha got baptized that day too.
21. In the 6th grade I went to Lowell Elementary, accross the street from our house.
22. I had a crush on Joel Christy, my dad's boss' son.
23. My best friends were Jaime and April.
24. We walked to school together when we started middle school, but were all in different "halls" and didn't really stay friends.
25. I went to Salina South Middle School.
26. I was so good at 7th grade math that my techer had me take a test to see if I could skip pre-algebra and take algebra in the 8th grade instead.
27. The Summer before 8th grade I went to Jr. High camp at KBC the same week Micah Hawkinson did, and developed a terrible 7-year crush on him. :)
28. I highlighted the entire book of Micah in my Bible.
29. I took Algebra in the 8th grade, third quarter I had 19 missing homework assignments and got a D. My parents took away my tv watching priveledges for the rest of that school year, and I actually did all my algebra homework and learned to like it.
30. In the 8th grade, my best friend Angie and I were in a little play, we were two of the 3 little pigs.
31. I went to Salina Central High School.
32. Fall of my freshamn year I auditioned for the student-directed one-act plays and got a role.
33. For the winter musical that year I had a friend in German class that was head of the house crew and asked me to take tickets for the show, the show was Damn Yankees, and that's how I got started in the drama department at Central.
34. The summer of 1997 I stated staffing at Kansas Bible Camp.
35. I still had a terrible crush on Micah Hawkinson. :)
36. I worked with the horses that Summer and absolutely loved it. ( I hated it at first...I didn't even like horses, I was scared of them, I would only ride the ponies!)
37. In the 10th grade I took a drama class, my favorite things were costume and set design.
38. I wanted to be an ornithologist.
39. I spent the Summer of 1998 at KBC.
40. My first week of counseling was the last ever week of 6ers camp.
41. I STILL had a big crush on Micah. :)
42. In the 11th grade I spent many many many many hours working on the set and costume crews for our plays and musicals.
43. In the fall of 1998 I was inducted into the International Thespian Society.
44. I still give my parents a hard time about going to my ceremony, and leaving right away with their cake to watch Jeremy's football videos...from a game that they had already been to.
45. Summer of 1999 I spent at KBC.
46. I was best friends with Dorothy Denny that Summer.
47. During the 2-week CEF break we went road-tripping with Paul Page and Micah.
48. After we got to Manhattan, they left us there for a week to have "guy time" with Izzy Wasso.
49. Mrs Hawkinson taught us how to sew, we each made a little purse, and we hung out with all of Micah's siblings a lot, it was such a fun week!
50. I still had a crush on Micah. :) He he he, how many is that now?
51. Fall of 99 I got a part in the mainstage play.
52. I was a Senior in Drama 3 that year, and get to direct a one-act play.
53. I also slept through most of my classes that year, and still got As.
54. I was never as glad of anything as finishing high school.
55. I spent the Summer of 2000 at KBC.
56. I also got to go with Linda Newcome to Lost Timber Bible camp in Minnesota, they talk funny there....like Canadians.
57. I went to Emmaus Bible College in Dubuque, IA.
58. I had planned on going for four years to get my elementary education degree, but decided that I really just idn't like going to school.
59. There were a bunch of us from KBC there that year, we all hung out, they called us "The Kansas People."
During Christmas Break that year Adam Sallee, Eva Caudill, and Dorothy Denny and I all went on a road trip to Arkansas.
60. My favorite class was Church History.
61. I was part of a traveling performance group called "off the hook" and we got to go to Canada to perform once...that's the only time I've been to Canada.
62. While I was at Emmaus I instant-messaged a lot.
63. This is when I became friends with Magen. (on IM) :)
64. I graduated from Emmaus with the 1-year Bible Certificate.
65. Summer of 2001 I spent at KBC. :)
66. I also got to go counsel at Southwest Bible Camp in New Mexico, which was SO much fun, I even got to jump off a cliff!
67. At the end of that Summer Mom and Dad drove Lucile out to camp to pick me up.
68. My first car was a 77 Plymouth Fury named Lucile.
69. I loved that car.
70. In the fall of 2001 I had to get my first real job.
71. I worked as a cashier at the True Value Hardware store.
72. I was off work every other weekend, which is about how often I went to Topeka to visit the Wassos and Magen.
73. That fall I also drove to Lawrence to visit Eva and go to a Relient K/FIF concert.
74. I forgot to write down directions to Eva's dorm.
75. I stopped by the Wasso's on the way...Matt made me write down Eva's phone number in case I got lost.
76. When paying the toll on my way into Lawrence, I noticed a lot of smoke coming out of the hood of my car.
77. I knew NOTHING about cars!
78. I was so nervous about the car that I took a wrong turn.
79. I finally stopped somewhere with a pay-phone and called Eva, who came to pick me up.
80. We left the car there and went to the concert and had a great evening.
81. The next day we got Lucile and drove her back to Eva's building.
82. We went to walmart and talked to a guy in automotive and we decided maybe I needed oil, got some oil, put more oil in her, and we thought it was all good.
83. On my way home there was more smoke and the car was overheating.
84. I pulled her over on the side of the highway and started walking back to Lawrence.
85. I had no cell phone.
86. I walked about two miles before a cop picked me up, drove me back to my car, figured out that one of my heater hoses had a hole, fixed it, filled my radiator back up with water (it had been steam and not smoke) and sent me on my merry way.
87. After I got home my dad helped me replace all my heater hoses.
88. Over Lucile's life, we had many such experiences, but because telling that one took 15 of my 110 things...I will just list a couple more...my drive-shaft-yolk broke....just broke...when I was in Hutchinson, Jeremy Goering is still my hero from that one, and my starter gave out while in Topeka...when poor Sherry Wasso had my car, nonetheless! Rachel and Magen drove me back to Salina for play rehersal, and then Dad drove me back to Topeka that night and put a new starter in...in the middle of the night...he's still my hero for that one.
89. Speaking of play rehersal....I was in "A Christmas Carol" at the Salina Community Theatre December of....2002?, which is where I met Joshua and Ruth Matlack.
90. I started going to church with them in Minneapolis, KS.
91. In January of 2003 I wasn't getting enough hours at the hardware store so I got a job at The Green Lantern and started taking classes to become a CNA.
92. I loved working at the Baskin Robbins in the Green Lantern, I have such fond memories of that job.
93. I had a big crush on Josh Matlack....(sorry if you're reading this, Josh!)...I never told him. (Josh, if you're reading this, did you know even though I never told you?)
94. April 1st Josh wrote an april fools email about how their family was moving away, and I BAWLED until I got to the end and realized it was an april fool.
95. In May (I think it was May...maybe June) I went with Josh and Ruth to MACPAC...a Christian performing arts conference...and they broke the news to me that they were going to be moving away to Oklahoma.....I wouldn't believe them at first...cause we had just been talking about how horrible Josh's april fool had been...but it was really true. It broke my heart and I cried the rest of the day...and I was in a terrible funk for a week or two and couldn't talk to anyone without crying.
96. In July I quit working at GL, to work as a CNA...but took three weeks off to go work at KBC.
97. In September 2003 I started working night shift as a CNA at Salina Center for Long Term Care.
98. In January of 2004 Magen and Micah and Michael Khol and I took a road trip down to the Mission to take Micah back.
99. Magen and I stayed with Anne Denny...who had known about my highlighting of the entire book of Micah back in the day...and not imagining that Micah would ever be teaching down there, or that I would ever be visiting, had told her students about a girl who had a crush on a boy named Micah and highlighted the entire book in her Bible. We found it extremely funny...especially since Magen and Micah were dating...(or engaged?) (Were you engaged yet, Magen?)
100. Magen and I went to the Grand Canyon and all sorts of great things, I love road trips!
101. I took a couple years of Tae Kwon Do...I stopped at high green belt.
102. One night after TKD Elina Redden told me I should try eHarmoy.com...later that week while talking to Joanne on the phone, she told me I should totally try it....so while still on the phone with Joanne I started filling out my personality profile.
103. I was matched up with Jason on March 2ond 2004, and we stated emailing on the 4th, and emailed every day after that.
104. We met for a first date on May 15th in Dubuque, IA for Joe and Jessie's wedding.
105. We did the long-distance (700 miles) thing for a year.
106. Summer of 2005 he moved down to KS for the Summer, and when the Summer was over I decided I could't live without him, and moved up to Wisconsin.
107. Thanksgiving 2005 we were in Kansas and went out to Coronado Heights to take pictures (or so I thought!) and he asked me to marry him!
108. We got married on March 25th 2006. :)
109. In September on 2007 we moved to Oak Creek, WI.
110. um......um....and I like to scrapbook.

He he he he he...good enough? Sorry about any spelling/grammar errors...it's too long to proof-read.

Yesterday's winner is Rachel with "yours & vine." You guys have gotten so good at this stamp naming stuff! Rachel, I'll send that stamp out to you asap!

The winning name of the whole stamp set is "Run for the Border" by Greta. Greta, if you would email me with your address, I'll send that stamp out to you right away!

The random-draw winners are Tami and bassestsnbrits and Anne. Ladies, please email me with your addresses and I'll send you your stamps!

And I have big announcement! Anne House is going to start designing for us here at Apple Blossom Studio, so please welcome her and be on the lookout for her beautiful work around here starting next month! We're so excited to have her with us! :)

We're also going to be looking for a few more designers to join the team, so keep your eyes peeled for a design team audition post sometime next week!

Thanks so much, everyone, for playing my little game and helping me name the new set of stamps! Your help has been invaluable! ....ahem...now I've got to get to work on my list of "110 things you might not know about me." :)

Bye for now!

Today is our final day! Yesterday's winner is Jennifer with "You are the Bee's Knees." Jennifer, I'll send that stamp out to you asap!


Here are a couple of the layouts I used this stamp on...


Don't forget to leave your name in the comments of Thursday's post (the 17th) to be entered in a random drawing for the loop-de-loo stamp...you don't have to leave a name for the entire set, but since several of you have already, thanks, I'll pick one of those at the end of the week as well.

Tomorrow morning I'll post today's winner and the name they entered, the name for the whole stamp set and that winner, and the random winner from the post on the 17th.

Thanks so much for your help!

Today's winner is Jenny with "i'm drawing a blank on this one" he he he he he he he he he. Ok, I was totally kidding, forgive me, I'm half asleep still. The REAL winner is Veronica with "wet paint." Veronica, please email me with your address, and I'll get your stamp to you asap!


Today's stamp I think is my favorite of the bunch, and here are a couple of layouts I made using it. He he he, I had to giggle to myself a lot as I sat there using my cutterbees to cut out the stamped image for the "do you love me?" layout....he he he he...get it? He he he...cause I used the cutterbee scissors and the stamp is a bunch of honeycomb shapes? He he he, really, forgive me, little scrapbooking joke there, I promise, I'll get more rest before writing tomorrow's post!


Don't forget to leave your name in the comments of Thursday's post (the 17th) to be entered in a random drawing for the loop-de-loo stamp...you don't have to leave a name for the entire set, but since several of you have already, thanks, I'll pick one of those at the end of the week as well. Thanks so much for your help!

Yesterday's winner is Debbi T with "candy striper." Debbi, please email me with your address, and I'll get your stamp to you asap!


Here are a couple of layouts using today's stamp, the first one was inspired by this website, and the second is one for my wedding album.....it's been more than two years and I STILL haven't finished it! ....he he he, and I should warn you, if you use this stamp with red ink, it kinda looks like blood, can we say, "ucky"?


Don't forget to leave your name in the comments of Thursday's post (the 17th) to be entered in a random drawing for the loop-de-loo stamp...you don't have to leave a name for the entire set, but since several of you have already, thanks, I'll pick one of those at the end of the week as well. Thanks so much for your help!

Yesterday's winner is Christi with "chain reaction." Christi, please email me with your address, and I will get your stamp in the mail asap!


You guys are super clever! Yesterday's stamp I thought was a really hard one to name, but you guys came up with names from every angle! :) I can't wait to see what you come up with today! Here are a couple of layouts showcasing today's stamp....


Don't forget to leave your name in the comments of Thursday's post (the 17th) to be entered in a random drawing for the loop-de-loo stamp...you don't have to leave a name for the entire set, but since several of you have already, thanks, I'll pick one of those at the end of the week as well. Thanks so much for your help!

Yesterday's winner is Magen with "inksy daisies." I will send you the loop-de-loo stamp asap!

You guys are making this really hard, there were so many clever options for yesterday's stamp! Keep them coming! (Today's is a little more difficult!) Just leave your ideas in the comments of this post and I'll pick a winner tomorrow morning! Here is an example of how I used this stamp.....

Don't forget to leave your name in the comments of Thursday's post (the 17th) to be entered in a random drawing for the loop-de-loo stamp...you don't have to leave a name for the entire set, but since several of you have already, thanks, I'll pick one of those at the end of the week as well. Thanks so much for your help!

:) Yesterday's winner is Nikki with "simply sweet scallops." Congrats, Nikki, email me with your address, and I'll send you the loop-de-loo stamp asap!

Here is today's stamp....

I'm totally enjoying each of your suggestions, keep them coming! Just leave your name idea in the comments of this post, and tomorrow I'll pick a favorite to receive the loop-de-loo stamp. This is how I used the stamp on a layout, and a couple of simple cards....


Don't forget to leave your name in the comments of Thursday's post (the 17th) to be entered in a random drawing for the loop-de-loo stamp...you don't have to leave a name for the entire set, but since several of you have already, thanks, I'll pick one of those at the end of the week as well. Thanks so much for your help!

:) Yesterday's winner is liannallama with "fresh foliage." Congrats, Lianna, email me with your address, and I'll send you the loop-de-loo stamp asap!

Here is today's stamp.....

Just leave your name idea in the comments of this post, and tomorrow I'll pick a favorite to receive the loop-de-loo stamp! I had a lot of fun with this one, used it in a curve to make a circle on this layout......

Don't forget to leave your name in the comments of Thursday's post (the 17th) to be entered in a random drawing for the loop-de-loo stamp...you don't have to leave a name for the entire set, but since several of you have already, thanks, I'll pick one of those at the end of the week as well. Thanks so much for your help!

Alright! Here is the first stamp that I need a name for.....

The person who comes up with my favorite stamp name by the end of today gets a free "loop-de-loo" stamp. I am ready to be dazzled with your wit! And there is this one in action...

Don't forget to leave your name in the comments of Thursday's post (the 17th) to be entered in a random drawing for the loop-de-loo stamp...you don't have to leave a name for the entire set, but since several of you have already, thanks, I'll pick one of those at the end of the week as well. Thanks so much for your help!

We're having a party and we need a little help!
This is a new stamp, "loop-de-loo"
and I want to give away a few.

The size of this stamp is about 4.75inx2.75in.
And here is how you can win one: Below is a little sneak peak of our second stamp set, over the next 8 days I will be posting each of the stamps individually and asking for help in coming up with names for them. You can check out the names we gave the first set on the Shop page. At the end of each day I will pick a favorite name for the new stamp, and the person who came up with the name will receive the loop-de-loo stamp. You can also win the loop-de-loo by leaving your name in the comments of this post and I will randomly draw a winner at the end of our blogiversary week.

Thanks so much for all your help!

Guess who got a bunch of pictures yesterday?!

It was me.

I got a pretty good start on them too.....I did most of these pages for the anniversary festivities going on over at Label Tulip this week. :)






Speaking of anniversaries...the ABS blog is having one this week! Today marks the end of our first year! Make sure to check back later this week for some fun and give-aways! :)

Last month I found and started reading Paige's blog. She makes all these amazing books and even though I wasn't spending any money last month, I knew I would be buing her e-book first thing this month....and I did. Now, I haven't really had time yet this month to go shopping for stuff to make a book, but yesterday while I was supposed to be cleaning up all my scrappy stuff I took a bunch of paper scraps and some plain old embroidery floss and did a little practice book. I wasn't really following the instructions or anything, but it was fun anyhow. :) So that's my little book made of scraps up there, fun, huh? I can't wait to really get into it and make a book with a cover and everything, so fun!

I love desserts, I love to eat them and I LOVE to make them. When my grandma sent me the recipe for this no-bake fruit cheesecake tart, I had to try it. It is super simple, and since it's no-bake, it's really hard to screw up! :)

FRUIT CHEESECAKE TART (Unbaked)
Crust;
1 1/4 cups finely crushed Vanilla Wafers (about 45}
1 stick butter, cut into pieces
Break wafers into workbowl of food processor, with metal blade at the bottom of the bowl. Add the butter pieces. Run machine until the wafer crumbs and butter form clumps.
Empty clumps into a 9" tart pan (Pan with low sides & removable bottom). Press onto bottom and up side of pan. Place pan in freezer while preparing filling. ( I didn't have a tart pan...I just used a plain old springform and it worked fine.)
Filling;
1 Package Original Philadelphia Cream Cheese
1 cup COOL WHIP Topping, thawed
2 cups mixed fruit*
3/4 cup boiling water
1 4 oz. pkg Lemon flavored Gelatin
3 Tablespoons sugar
1 cup ice cubes
Wipe out the work bowl used to make the crust with a paper towel. Cut cream cheese into chunks, and put in workbowl, with metal blade. Run machine until cream cheese is smooth. Scrape bowl to get the cream cheese into the bottom of the bowl, evenly. Add the COOL WHIP. Pulse until the COOL WHIP and Cream Cheese are combined. Do not over mix. Spoon into crust and spread out.
Arrange fruit over the cream cheese filling. Cover and refrigerate.
Put gelatin in bottom of a small mixing bowl and add the sugar. Stir. Add the boiling water and stir until disolved. Add ice cubes and stir again until the ice is completely melted. Refrigerate about 15 minutes, or until slightly thickened (consistency of unbeaten egg whites.) Spoon gently over the fruit in the tart pan.
Refrigerate at least 3 hours before serving.
*Fruit ideas: Use at least two kinds. Unpeeled and sliced Nectarines; Peeled and sliced Mango; Raspberries; Sliced Strawberries; peeled and sliced Kiwi.

Then, the other day after reading my blog post about my dream job, she emailed telling me about the Summer that she worked in a furniture/paint/wallpaper store and helped advise people on decorating, and she was offered a job with a builder decorating their show homes. That is a job that I would LOVE! It's funny that I didn't think of anything like that...since I've spent most of the past week on different builders' websites looking at their homes! I have a terrible fascination with floor plans...this one is my current ideal floorplan....


I like this one because there is a room and a full bath on the ground floor, which would be really handy for when my parents are too old to take care of themselves (sorry mom and dad!) since older people don't generally do too well with lots of stairs. Also, it can be used as a guest bedroom until then. I also really like the large loft area on the upper level, I think that it would be a great crafting/office/computer area where everyone can hang out together, mostly cause I don't want my kids using computers in their own rooms, only where I can see exactly what they're doing...what can I say, I don't even have kids yet and I'm paranoid already. Also...what's not to love, it's HUGE! It would probably be a pain in the butt to have to clean a 3000 sq. ft. house when there's only two of us living there....but there's something to be said for buing a house and staying in it for a LONG time...since I HATE packing up and moving.

So...I wasn't all that impressed with the couple's routines this week....either they didn't dance well or the music wasn't great on most of them, but I totally loved last night's group routine, very fun!

In other news...I ordered 91 photos this morning only to realize that I totally forgot to order matte....so I've got a buttload of glossies on the way...ugh....but I'm too cheap to re-order, so I guess they will have to do!

I need to go to the grocery store...but I'm waiting for like....100 photos to upload to Winkflash right now. (thanks for the pictures, Joanne!)

I've been thinking about dream jobs. You know what I wanted to be when I was in the sixth grade? An interior decorator. My favorite thing to do was to put together those little rooms inside of shoe boxes. I love fabric and furniture and pretty things, and I love putting them all together. I love decorating, but I'm not sure I would like it as a job.

My sweetie so often comes home from work bummed because he MUST be creative for his work....he does an awesome job....and then the client comes along and messes everything up. It's a hard thing to have to design for someone else...who knows exactly what they want...but don't know how to tell you what it is that they want...or even worse, they know what they want...and it SUCKS.

I would hate that...to design a room, put my heart into it, only to have it torn apart.

Sometimes I think I might like to go back to school and take some interior design classes....but I don't know if it would be my dream anymore after it happens...you know? I just don't know if I would even enjoy designing for someone else. BUT then I got to thinking...what would REALLY be my dream job is to like.....style rooms for a magazine or for a store or something...that's got to be a job, right? But it would have to be something where....I get to do whatever I want...and no one could change it. :)

Until a couple of weeks ago the ranunculus didn't have much competition as my favorite flower, but then I saw a Martha Stewart show with a segment devoted to Dahlias, and they showed these ones that are all puffy and ball-like, and I just think they're adorable!

I love flowers...but I tend to be a fan of the less-than-obvious choice. What are some of YOUR favorite flowers?

Here's a couple of really quick cards I made with the Swirly Girly stamp, a little ribbon, some stickers, and of course, plenty of scallop-y goodness.

Today we saw Speed Racer....why did no one tell me how awesome it was??! I am totally in love with this movie. I thought it was the perfect combo of live action, CG and cheezy cartoon, LOVED it. It is definitely one of my new faves.

We also slept in together, snuggled lots, watched several episodes of season one of "How I Met Your Mother." (we love that show!) We worked on the new website design....it might take FOREVER to finish it, but it will be well worth it! And I worked on putting a big stamp order together...putting the finishing touches on stamp set #2. Can you believe it's already been almost an entire year since the first release??! It's about time! :)

I hope you all had a GREAT fourth of July!

I totally forgot to do my final update yesterday....I read the book "Don't Spend Your Raise" last week...not too much in there that I didn't know...BUT...did you know that by paying one extra house payment a year toward the principal of the loan you can pay off a 30 year mortgage in just 20 years?! I think that's useful info. I know DR says never to get a 30 year mortgage...but....sometimes you just don't have enough income for a 15 year loan.

Man, it is a GOOD thing that the month ended yesterday cause someone...ME...ran out of adhesive last night while making some cards. So I totally stocked up today. :)

Jason was given a gift card as a "thank you" for all the website and technical work he does for the church...so we even got to go out to eat last night.....and it was really nice...I was so ready to eat out by the end of the month!

Believe it or not, Jason wants to try the no spending thing AGAIN! He's saying August, but I think that's just too soon...maybe we can come up with a bit of a compromise. :) We'll see.