Lisa's Corner

Christmas Card and gift in one!

lisascorner@wdemail.com (LisaBee) — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 19:12:00 +0000

This is a card I made for a fabulous swap with friends on Stampin' Addicts.com

You could call this folder card the Christmas card and gift in one, the snowflake removed becomes an ornament and the inside card is the perfect place for that family photo to share!

Retired Stamp Sets for Sale - updated 12/15

lisascorner@wdemail.com (LisaBee) — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 00:07:00 +0000

Some of you know we are working on finishing our basement. Along with that project is a new craft room for me! WooHoo! That's the good news...the bad is it is smaller than my current room and I really need to purge some things to make the best use of my new space. That means it's your lucky day - you get great stamp sets for 50% off!!! NUM = new unmounted, that's right not ever even used (sad I know).
I accept paypal for payment or contact me via email and we will work out all the details. Postage will be priority mail flat rate only. I will post updates as items are sold. Please contact me if you need to have a photo of a particular set.
Thanks for helping support my new stamping space!

A Light Heart $10
A Little Bit of Happiness NUM $5
Alphabits $5
Basket Full of Fun NUM $20
Best Yet NUM $5 pending
Big Blossom $5
Botanical Blooms NUM $5 pending
Collage Alphabet $13
Collage Numbers $8
Congrats NUM $5
Congrats NUM $5
Dear Friend NUM $5 pending
Delight in Life $5
Essence of Love NUM $9
Fontastic $5
Free & the Brave, The $15
Friendship Gardens $9
Furnished with Love $10
Headline Alphabet $20
Headline Numbers NUM $12
Independence Day $10
It's a Date $5
Itty Bitty Borders $5
Itty Bitty Buds $10
Lexicon of Love $5 pending
Little Layers $8
Little Shapes $5
Live Like You Mean It NUM $5 pending
Looks Like Spring $15
Make It Count NUM $5 pending
Occasions Collection $5
Playful Petals NUM $15
Punches Three NUM $5 pending
Punches Three NUM $5
Seasonal Birdhouses (well loved) $10
Seeing Spots $5
Simple Shapes $10
So Many Scallops $5
Stained Glass $12
Stardust $10
Stars & Swirls $5
Three for You $5 pending
Tropical Blossoms $13
Very Merry $5
Vogue Verses $5 pending
Watercolor Garden $13 Sold
Watercolor Minis $9
Whimsical Alphabet Lower $15
Whimsical Alphabet Upper $15
Whimsical Numbers $10

Stampin' Up! Retiring Stamp Sets January 4

lisascorner@wdemail.com (LisaBee) — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 15:42:00 +0000

The following stamp sets that are available for purchase, but are not pictured in the current Idea Book & Catalog are retiring effective January 4th. Don't miss out on your last chance to order these sets. Contact me if you need more information.

Item Number Stamp Set
113407 Back Woods
114492 Beautiful Baby
114486 Birthday Wish
113200 Branch Out
114496 Celebrations
113732 Central Park
113206 Classic Sketches
113226 Classy & Fabulous
114498 Flowers in Silhouette
113405 Font of You
113216 For the Bride
114494 Forever
109425 Friend by Definition
114488 Fun Flowers
113716 Garden Greetings
114490 Glad Friends
111580 Grand Soiree
113242 Hit the Road
113710 Lexicon of Leaves
113236 Man's Best Friend
114423 Ocean Commotion
113728 Playful Petals
109276 Polka Dot
111544 Putt Putt
113240 Quilt Quips
113754 Really Retro
113403 Sip by Sip
113726 Sweet Stems
113250 That's Funny
113688 Wonderful Watercolors
114028 Para la novia
114032 Acuarelas Maravillosas

Holiday Extravaganza!

lisascorner@wdemail.com (LisaBee) — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 00:46:00 +0000

Start your shopping engines and don't miss out on these great deals from Stampin' Up! now through November 30th.

Order through me or online through my Demonstrator Business Website by clicking on SHOP NOW.

Holiday Extravaganza Bundle Offering:

Item Description Regular Price Discounted Price

120280 Framed with Love Bundle
• Framed with Love stamp set
• Full Heart punch $43.90 $21.95

120281 Thank You Kindly Bundle
• Thank You Kindly stamp set
• Scallop Edge punch $29.90 $14.95

120976 Thank You Kindly Bundle (French)
• Tous mes remerciements stamp set
• Scallop Edge punch $29.90 $14.95

120282 Animal Crackers Bundle
• Animal Crackers stamp set
• Star Designer brads $25.90 $12.95

120283 Corduroy Button Bundle
• Kraft Corduroy buttons
• Pumpkin Pie Corduroy buttons
• Summer Sun Corduroy buttons
• Basic Gray Corduroy buttons
• Chocolate Chip Corduroy buttons $49.75 $24.88

120284 Game Night Bundle
• Card Games stamp set
• Game Night stamp set $40.90 $20.45

120285 Four Square Bundle
• Four Square stamp set
• Scallop Square punch $30.90 $15.45

120286 Heart to Heart Bundle
• Love You Much stamp set
• Heart to Heart punch
• Pretty in Pink 1/2" striped grosgrain ribbon $49.85 $24.93

120310 Heart to Heart Bundle (Spanish)
• Te Quiero Mucho stamp set
• Heart to Heart punch
• Pretty in Pink 1/2" striped grosgrain ribbon $49.85 $24.93

120311 Heart to Heart Bundle (French)
• J't'aime beaucoup stamp set
• Heart to Heart punch
• Pretty in Pink 1/2" striped grosgrain ribbon $49.85 $24.93

120287 Chipboard Letter Bundle
• On Board Timeless Type
• On Board Loads of Letters $25.90 $12.95
120288 Double-Stitched Ribbon Bundle
• Bashful Blue 1" double-stitched grosgrain ribbon
• Rose Red 1" double-stitched grosgrain ribbon $17.90 $10.74

120289 Ultimate Stampers' Starter Bundle* (while supplies last)
• Best Wishes & More stamp set
• Eight Great Greetings stamp set
• On a Pedestal stamp set
• Earth Elements Stampin' Spots
• Earth Elements assorted card stock (8-1/2" x 11")
• Whisper White card stock (8-1/2" x 11")
• Old Olive 1/2" striped grosgrain ribbon
• Flower Designer brads $127.70 $76.62

120290 Build-A-Brad Bundle
• Calendar Alphabet stamp set
• Pewter Build-A-Brad
• Antique Brass Build-A-Brad $40.85 $24.51

120291 Enjoy Every Moment Bundle
• Enjoy Every Moment stamp set
• Circle Designer brads
• Flower Designer brads $43.85 $26.31

120312 Enjoy Every Moment Bundle (French)
• Profiter de chaque instant stamp set
• Circle Designer brads
• Flower Designer brads $43.85 $26.31

120292 Cheep Talk Bundle
• Cheep Talk stamp set
• Note cards
• Pumpkin Pie Corduroy buttons $42.85 $25.71

120293 Sock Monkey Bundle
• Sock Monkey stamp set
• Sock Monkey Accessories stamp set
• Chocolate Chip Corduroy buttons $58.85 $35.31

120313 Sock Monkey Bundle (French)
• Sing-chaussette stamp set
• Sock Monkey Accessories stamp set
• Chocolate Chip Corduroy buttons $58.85 $35.31

120294 Alphabet Bundle
• Jayne's Type Alphabet stamp set
• Lovely Letters stamp set $87.90 $52.74

120295 Simply Said Bundle
• Simply Said stamp set
• Old Olive 1/2" striped grosgrain ribbon
• Full Heart punch $52.85 $31.71

120314 Simply Said Bundle (French)
• Amitié stamp set
• Old Olive 1/2" striped grosgrain ribbon
• Full Heart punch $52.85 $31.71

120296 On Board Bundle
• On Board So Tweet
• On Board Batch of Blooms
• On Board Essentials $42.85 $25.71

120927 Christmas Décor Bundle #1
• Holly Berry Wreath Décor Elements (Kraft, Real Red)
• Real Red Vintage Ornaments Décor Elements
• Chocolate Vintage Ornaments Décor Elements $74.85 $44.91

120298 Christmas Décor Bundle #2
• Holly Beary Wreath Décor Elements (Chocolate, Real Red)
• Real Red Vintage Ornaments Décor Elements
• Chocolate Vintage Ornaments Décor Elements $74.85 $44.91

120299 Christmas Décor Bundle #3
• Holly Berry Wreath Décor Elements (Old Olive, Real Red)
• Real Red Vintage Ornaments Décor Elements
• Chocolate Vintage Ornaments Décor Elements $74.85 $44.91

120300 For All You Do Bundle
• For All You Do stamp set
• 5/16" Neutrals Jumbo brads $36.90 $25.83

120315 For All You Do Bundle (French)
• Merci pour tout stamp set
• 5/16" Neutrals Jumbo brads $36.90 $25.83

120316 For All You Do Bundle (Spanish)
• Por todo lo que haces stamp set
• 5/16" Neutrals Jumbo brads $36.90 $25.83

120301 Striped Ribbon Bundle
• Bashful Blue 1/2" striped grosgrain ribbon
• Pumpkin Pie 1/2" striped grosgrain ribbon
• Old Olive 1/2" striped grosgrain ribbon
• Pretty in Pink 1/2" striped grosgrain ribbon
• So Saffron 1/2" striped grosgrain ribbon
• Real Red 1/2" striped grosgrain ribbon $47.73 $33.41

120302 Bling Bundle
• Sticky Pages
• Sticky Cuts Sweet
• Fine Supernova Stampin' Glitter
• Fine Galaxy Stampin' Glitter $43.80 $30.66

120303 Fresh-Cut Bundle
• Fresh Cuts stamp set
• Fresh-Cut Notes
• 5/8" Neutrals Jumbo brads $37.85 $26.50

120317 Fresh-Cut Bundle (French)
• Fraicheur exuise stamp set
• Fresh-Cut Notes
• 5/8" Neutrals Jumbo brads $37.85 $26.50

120304 Pendant Note Bundle
• Pendant Park stamp set
• Pendant notes
• 5/8" Neutrals Jumbo brads $39.85 $27.90

120318 Pendant Note Bundle (French)
• Adorable parc stamp set
• Pendant notes
• 5/8" Neutrals Jumbo brads $39.85 $27.90

120319 Pendant Note Bundle (Spanish)
• Un dia en el parque stamp set
• Pendant notes
• 5/8" Neutrals Jumbo brads $39.85 $27.90

120305 Sporting Bundle #1
• Large Night of Navy Sporting Décor Elements
• Night of Navy Just Sports Décor Elements $67.90 $47.54

120306 Sporting Bundle #2
• Large Chocolate Sporting Décor Elements
• Chocolate Just Sports Décor Elements $67.90 $47.54

120307 Sporting Bundle #3
• Large Black Sporting Décor Elements
• Black Just Sports Décor Elements $67.90 $47.54

114864 Ginormous Flowers I Décor Elements $39.95 $27.97
114863 Ginormous Flowers II Décor Elements $39.95 $27.97
112534 5/16" Neutrals Jumbo brads $7.95 $5.57
112533 5/8" Neutrals Jumbo brads $6.95 $4.87
112081 Scallop Square punch $15.95 $11.17
113693 Full Heart punch $15.95 $11.17
113694 Heart to Heart punch $15.95 $11.17
112091 Scallop Edge punch $15.95 $11.17
112571 Circle Designer brads $5.95 $4.17
112579 Flower Designer brads $5.95 $4.17
112572 Star Designer brads $5.95 $4.17
114785 Small Wonderful Flowers Décor Elements $39.95 $27.97
114786 Medium Wonderful Flowers Décor Elements $69.95 $48.97
114791 Small Wonderful Leaves Décor Elements $39.95 $27.97
114792 Medium Wonderful Leaves Décor Elements $64.95 $45.47

Thinking of Christmas

lisascorner@wdemail.com (LisaBee) — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 18:31:00 +0000

Yup, it's that time of year again. Time to think about getting those Christmas cards started and those pencils sharpened for shopping lists, to do lists, party and meal planning and let's not forget the all important cookie list. I have some family favorites I make every year, but I digress, this post is not about the cookies...save that thought for a future posting. This post is to get you started thinking about your Christmas cards.

This is one I did for a swap with other demonstrators - it is a Free Standing Pop Up card. It folds flat and fits in your A2 size envelope (depending on how much embellishing you do that is!). I used a non-traditional stamp for the main image. What does that mean? It means the image was not intended for use as a Christmas image, but as you can see it works perfectly well for it. Medallion is one of my current favorite stamps and I think it will remain in my permanent collection for a longgggg time to come. If you didn't see it before, check out the Medallion used in my Woodsheets post of Aug 31.

Deals of the Week Oct 19-25! Embellishments

lisascorner@wdemail.com (LisaBee) — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 16:44:00 +0000

Embellishments are a great way to add a little personality, style or just the "ooh, it needs a little something" to any of your paper crafting projects! Here are some great accessories for a great deal - this week only! To order contact me or go to my business website HERE and click on Shop Now.

Mini Library Clips 109857 Sale Price $8.99
Let your inner librarian run wild when you clip a tag to a project with one of our adorable Mini Library Clips. These clips are 1/4" x 1/2" and each package contains 12 each of 4 colors (Black, Silver, Antique Brass, and Pewter).

Circle Designer Brads 112571 Sale Price $3.99

These high-quality cast brads are so easy to use and come in custom Stampin' Up! designs. They're finished in our Styled Silver, and can be used separately or with our Hodgepodge Hardware.■ Assortments include 16 pieces; 8 each of 2 sizes (1/2" and 3/4")■ Use to embellish cards, scrapbook pages, and other paper crafts

Basic Jumbo Grommets 114348 Sale Price $4.49

Custom designed, these large grommets add some real spunk! These grommets can even frame small images for real art appeal. ■ Colors: Basic Black, Silver, Very Vanilla and Whisper White ■ 5 each for a total of 20 pieces

1/2 Inch Library Clips 112581 Sale Price $3.99
Let your inner librarian run wild when you clip a tag to a project with one of our adorable Mini Library Clips. These clips to add the right touch to your projects. ■ Contains 24 pieces■ 8 each of 3 colors: Chocolate Chip, Old Olive, Whisper White■ Powder finish■ 1/2" x 3/4"

Deals of the Week Oct 12-19th

lisascorner@wdemail.com (LisaBee) — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 19:35:00 +0000

This weeks deals are:

Flower Burst Stampin' Up! Embosslits Die 114515 on sale for $5.99With a little effort, this burst of sunshine will add volume and dimension to any project. The modern flower has an Eastern influence, and would look stunning used with the Eastern Blooms stamp set.

■ Use a Sizzix Big Shot machine, standard cutting pads, and multi-purpose platform with this die
■ 2-1/4" x 2-1/2"
■ Chemically-etched die that includes negative and positive images for cutting and embossing at the same time
■ Stampin' Up! exclusive die

Perfect Setting Stampin' Up! Bigz Xl Die 115961 on sale for $25.99
A perfect event needs a perfect setting. We've got you covered with our Perfect Setting Bigz XL die. With it, you can create cupcake holders and napkin rings from card stock, Designer Series paper, or other material. The cupcake holder is designed to hold a standard-size cupcake. This design is part of Shelli’s Signature Collection.
■ Can cut through multiple sheets of card stock, Texture Cuts wood sheets, window sheets, Décor Elements sheets, and more
■ Use with Sizzix Big Shot machine and extended cutting pads
■ Die size: 6" x 13-3/4"

Three Tier Cake Pop-Up Bigz Xl 116760 on sale for $25.49Order by contacting me or going to my website HERE.

Deals of the week are good until 9am Mountain Time Monday Oct 19th. Check back here next Monday for next weeks deals.

Deals of the Week!

lisascorner@wdemail.com (LisaBee) — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 00:40:00 +0000

Stampin' Up! is at it again! Super duper deals coming your way for a limited time only. Each week in October Stampin' Up! is offering Deals of the Week.

The Deals for this week are:
5 Petal Punch for $10.99
Trio Flower Punch for $10.99
My Way Punch $11.99
Punches are a quick and easy way to add interest, dimension, and color to your cards, tags, and scrapbook pages. You can glue punched shapes directly onto your projects or layer a sheet of card stock that has been punched over a coordinating card stock for a reverse effect.

Order by contacting me or by going to my website HERE

This weeks deals are only available until Monday morning 9 am MT. Check back here next Monday for next weeks deals.

Holiday Mini Swap

lisascorner@wdemail.com (LisaBee) — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 14:00:00 +0000

So this is for another Holiday Mini card swap - again using the square scallop...yup, sometimes you get a theme stuck in your head and you just gotta go with it. Oh and again with the iridescent ice embossing powder (and glitter all over the house!). All the snowflakes are done with the EP over Not Quite Navy craft ink. Serene Snowflakes is the stamp set and I love these snowflakes!!! The patterned paper is Bella Bleu Designer Series Paper. Ribbon from the Elementary Ribbon Originals. The new ornament punch too! I also used Very Vanilla CS for this to match the Bella Bleu.

Woodsheets

lisascorner@wdemail.com (LisaBee) — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 03:15:00 +0000

Finally playing with the woodsheets that are in the current Stampin' Up! Idea Book & Catalog...ah can you say LUV them! So easy to work with and stamp on. Lookie what I created in just minutes. The fabulous Medallion stamp in Old Olive on the woodsheet, DSP on the insides of the covers. A little binding and voila, a note book! Look for these fun notebooks at an upcoming class. A great inexpensive gift idea.

Head Start on Christmas

lisascorner@wdemail.com (LisaBee) — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 17:00:00 +0000

Here is another card I got out while "just stamping" on Wednesday afternoon. My friend had come over and we ooohhhed and aaahhhed over all the swaps I brought home from convention and then actually got down to business, her working on scrapbook pages of her too cute son and I to stamping.

This one is again using one of this years fabulous In Colors Soft Suede and the perfect coordinating ribbon of course! Stamps are Sweet Season and the scallops are embossed over with Iridescent Ice embossing powder to add a lot of sparkle (not so as you can really tell in the photo, but it is all "sugared" up) and garnished with a Rhinestone brad in the center. Oh and the fab scallop square shape came from the Bigz Clear Large Scallop Square die for the Sizzix Big Shot. This one I like so much I think I will have to use it for a Christmas swap!

Charming

lisascorner@wdemail.com (LisaBee) — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 00:16:00 +0000

I got in some stamping time yesterday, just stamping, not working on a swap for convention, not preparing for a class, just stamping! Something it seems I haven't done much of recently. Here is one of the cards I "just stamped".

This is using two stamp sets - Charming, which is featured in the upcoming Holiday Mini Catalog and shown in the catalog with the Simply Adorned jewelry pieces* - and Simply Thanks, which is one of the single under $10 stamps featured in the 09/10 Idea Book & Catalog. I also used this years In Color Melon Mambo (and you can kinda see in the background two others, one in Crushed Curry and the other in Rich Razzleberry) and used the coordinating In Color ribbon. Stampin' Up! is so smart giving me perfectly coordinating products like that! It was sooooo easy to come up with this cute (IMHO) card. I am pretty sure I need to use this for my Fine Line swap card for September. :)

*Reference the post below of the Build-a-Bear contest on Stampin' Addicts...I won the Simply Adorned piece shown on my bear and the stamp set Charmed too! It is so much fun to play with Free stamps!!!

Build-a-Bear

lisascorner@wdemail.com (LisaBee) — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 17:38:00 +0000

One of the coolest announcements at Stampin' Up!'s annual convention was SU is partnering with Build-a-Bear Workshop! Stampin' Up! will have exclusive BAB stamp images and Sizzix dies for sale beginning September 1st in our Holiday Mini Catalog.
At convention we demonstrators have what they call Memento Mall - a shopping place where we can purchase SU logo merchandise to keep for ourselves, give as rewards or incentives to our downline, hostesses or customers etc. The HOT HOT HOT item this year was the Stampin' Up! Build-a-Bear. Here is a photo of my decked out bear I named Caramel. She is decked out with one of the new Simply Adorned Charms, hand stamped and signed by Shelli! that I won during one of conventions prize patrols. You can find out this new product in the Holiday Mini Catalog as well.Now here is a way for you to get your hands on one of these great exclusive bears (and please note, yours will not come so adorned - to see the actual bear for adoption please see more details below):

To celebrate the release of the Stampin’ Up! Build-A-Bear Workshop collection, Stampin Addicts dot com is giving away an exclusive Build-A-Bear teddy bear that was only available at the 2009 Stampin’ Up! convention. Check out the contest rules by clicking on Build-a-Bear teddy bear above. To join the Stampin' Addicts forums click HERE.

New Catalog Swap Card

lisascorner@wdemail.com (LisaBee) — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 18:25:00 +0000

I did 30 of these cards for a new catalog swap at convention! This bright card uses the new Kaleidoscope Designer Series Paper and Made 2 Last stamp set.

I got some fabulous swap cards in return! If you want to see all my samples call me to book a workshop today! My schedule is filling up and you won't want to miss a thing!

Join Stampin' Up!

lisascorner@wdemail.com (LisaBee) — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 16:24:00 +0000

Going on right NOW is a great recruiting special to become an independent demonstrator with Stampin' Up! If you have ever thought about signing up to become a Stampin' Up! demonstrator, now is the time!

For only $85 you can join Stampin' Up! and get all the great benefits of being an Independent Demonstrator with Stampin' Up!

Here is what you get in your mini starter kit:

Become a Stampin' Up! demonstrator with the limited-time $85 Mini Starter Kit. The Mini Starter Kit contains the following products:
Item Code Page #*Description Retail Value**
115360 118 For All You Do stamp set $28.95
115658 155 Rich Razzleberry Classic Stampin' Pad $5.95
115656 155 Melon Mambo Classic Stampin' Pad $5.95
115659 155 Crushed Curry Classic Stampin' Pad $5.95
115654 155 Dusty Durango Classic Stampin' Pad $5.95
115655 155 Bermuda Bay Classic Stampin' Pad $5.95
115657 155 Soft Suede Classic Stampin' Pad $5.95
100730 155 Whisper White card stock (8-1/2" x 11") $7.50
115315 155 In Color assorted card stock (8-1/2" x 11") $7.95

*All page numbers refer to the 2009-2010 Idea Book & Catalog**All products may be substituted for like items; see Mini Starter Kit order form for details.

You can also purchase the full starter kit and receive the new In Color ink pads and variety pack of In Color card stock as a bonus!

Enjoy benefits such as 20% instant income/discount and much more!

Contact me for all the details! This mini kit offer ends Aug 30th!!!

Remiss in posting

lisascorner@wdemail.com (LisaBee) — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 16:16:00 +0000

I apologize that I have been remiss in my stamping postings. It has been a busy summer with all of our travels and time spent with family as we dealt with cancer surgery and other misc little things that seem to have evaporated summer. Well, not quite, we still have a lot of August left!
This week Tom and I celebrated our 7th wedding anniversary on Monday and Friday is his birthday.

Amongst all of the other things going on, I just got home from Salt Lake City where I attended Stampin' Up!'s annual convention! It was a blast and there are so many exciting things coming up starting with the Holiday Mini Catalog that is just around the corner September 1st. Be on the look out for more details on that soon!

For now I need to post about the great recruiting special going on with Stampin' Up!

Our travels in Alaska

lisascorner@wdemail.com (LisaBee) — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 00:55:00 +0000

I have to say I could not have asked for a better vacation. I don't always like traveling about like a typical tourist, but I must say that the experience was perfect for us this time traveling with Tom's parents.
The timing of everything worked out well for just enough with down time in between, ample driving time between places to stop along the way if we liked and to take our time.
We started out flying into Anchorage on Friday arriving at noonish after a 3 hour time change. Asked for a recommendation at the hotel desk for a place to eat and we were not disappointed in the Glacier Brewhouse. A quick stop after that at the Ulu Factory where they actually make an ulu with windows into the workshop. A restful evening. The next morning we are off to Denali park entrance area, but first a browse around the Anchorage S aturday Market. I am providing links to many of the places/activities we stopped at/for so as to not make this post a mile long!
On the road to Denali is where we spotted the black bear with triplet cubs (see earlier post for photo). We also stopped at one of the Denali viewing areas and although still a beautiful scene we were not able to see the summit today. See photo of the 4 of us in the earlier post. It was nice to get out and stretch the legs a bit.
Now we left all the arrangements as I said earler to the travel group. Sometime before we left I was notified that our hotel in the Denali entrance area was changed/upgraded due to some remodeling at our original hotel. No problem. So we arrive and the manager greets me and lets me know that they are overbooked, but not to worry. They have a view room for us at our original hotel and will reimburse us $100 cash for our trouble. Now, this worked out to our advantage for more than one reason...we catch the bus for our park tour at this hotel and we now are downgraded to a hotel that provides a continental breakfast. :) We are there for two nights so that is two free meals and not having to get in the car and park it before getting on the bus for the tour. Plus the cash. I think we did just fine. :)Sunday is the bus tour into the interior of the park. Kantishna Roadhouse Tour. It is a 13 hour tour that travels 90 miles into the park and back. The weather is unpredictable and it is a bit rainy on and off, but a good day none the less. We see moose,a moose with a calf, a brown bear and her cub (see below for photos), snowshoe hares, caribou and Dall sheep. I cannot even begin to tell how beautful the country is there in Alaska. Wild and true to it's name of final frontier. 1 in 60 Alaskans have a pilots licence as they aren't much for roads to places.This little guy decided he wanted to try my shoe for a snack, um, not exactly a good diet for a ground squirel. I was just fine with him sniffing it out but had to jump back when he decided to try a bite! It was a delightful day in the park, even with the bit of rain.
The next day we are headed north to Fairbanks and a visit to the El Dorado Gold Mine. A demonstration of sluice mining and we get to try our hand at panning for a grain or two of gold ourselves. We get to see, even hold a nugget worth about $40K but no big strikes for us five minute panners. Here is Vern and Irene trying their hand at panning.
The next stop was a side excursion to North Pole. North Pole Alaska that it. The street lights are candy canes and everywhere you look you would think Christmas was right around the corner. All the streets are aptly named for a town based on Santa.
The next day we travel on the Riverboar Discovery and get a sled dog demonstration from Susan Butcher's husband and a stop at Chena Indian Village. Another recommended spot for lunch at Wolf Run and on our way back to McKinley Princess Lodge. We arrive at the resort to a sight that happens only 20% of the time, a view of the summit of Denali! The clouds had dropped just before our arrival we were told and we were also told it had been raining and hailing for the days we were farther north. An even lovlier sight as we awoke to a clear view of the entire range before heading off on our glacier landing flight tour with K2 Aviation.Now as you know there is no way to convey the dimension of the real thing in a photo. It was an amazing sight! And even more amazing to fly amongst those mountains at 11,000 feet. The pilot told us when you get up there you lose all sense of size and he was right. It appeared we could reach out and touch the mountains and yet we were still a great distance from them. We landed on the Ruth glacier. Irene was not with us as she unfortunately was ill that day. The pilot took a photo of us with the summit as the backdrop.

I do believe this was the highlight of the trip. Especially for Vern. After this we drive to Girdwood on the south side of Anchorage. We stayed at the Alyeska Hotel. Talk about a fancy smancy place. We even got pillow chocolates before bed! We rode the tram up the hill to 2300 feet for a view.Tom and Vern taking photos over the edge.

The next morning we hit another recommended spot for lunch in Girdwood called simply The Bake Shop. The sticky buns are to die for and everything is homemade. Then we head to Seward.
In Seward we visit the Alaska Sea Life Center which was built after the Exxon Valdez oil spill. It is a research and rehabilitation center for sea life. We see a bald eagle on a nest in the park and have an ice cream cone in town. Every 4th of July the town's population booms from roughly 3k to 20-25k for the annual Mount Marathon Race. Now 3 miles may not seem like a race for marathoners, but at 3000 feet up over those 3 miles I think it deters the likes of me very easily!
Our last full day in Alaska we take a scenic cruise with Kenai Fjords Tours. The 8 1/2 hour tour takes us out to sea and up into the Aialik Bay to view the Aialik Glacier. Enroute we were blessed to see a few humpback whales, several Dall porpoise, sea otters and Stellar Sea Lions. The one whale gave us quite the show with his rolling and diving and breaching! So very cool!!!
At the glacier we get to see a few chucks calve off and a harbor seal resting on an ice chunk too. The Common Mere and Puffins are abundant everywhere too.I think my favorite baby animal shot is this Stellar Sea Lion pup. :)
A fabulous trip! If you ever get a chance to go to Alaska, no change that, be sure to make yourself an opportunity to get to Alaska someday! We certainly plan to go back again!

Alaska

lisascorner@wdemail.com (LisaBee) — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 23:18:00 +0000

We are into our last two days in Alaska and I have to say we have had a super time! I would recommend Alaska Tour & Travel to anyone looking for some guidance in planning a trip here. A couple of other recommendations we received from others were well worth passing on as well; For a great lunch in Fairbanks stop in at Wolf Run for a great soup/sandwich and please do not forget dessert! Fabulous and fresh! In Girdwood stop at The Bake Shop for another great sandwich on fresh baked bread or try their soup of the day. They serve breakfast too and I have to say no matter what you have, get a sticky bun!!! Melt in your mouth heaven!
I will add more to this post later with a bit of our itinerary and more photos. :D

Alaska

lisascorner@wdemail.com (LisaBee) — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 05:01:00 +0000

I haven't posted in a while, sorry, I really didn't even get the Zimbabwe experience finished up for you and here we are in Alaska on vacation. We are having a wonderful time, good weather and I am enjoying good fresh salmon (the "others" don't like salmon!). We started out in Anchorage on Friday, drove up to Denali on Saturday, took an all day bus tour through the park on Sunday into the interior to Kintishna Roadhouse and back. Today we left Denali and headed to Fairbanks and a gold mine demonstration and then North Pole, the city of North Pole, AK that is.
Here are a few photos of the wildlife we have been blessed to see. A black bear along the road trip into Denali with triplets! A rare occurrence according to a park ranger who stopped along side the road with the rest of us. I was able to get a photo of all 3 cubs in one shot!!! On the park tour we say the moose and a grizzly and her cub. Such a beautiful part of the country!

Video Summary

lisascorner@wdemail.com (LisaBee) — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 22:17:00 +0000

Tom produced this video as a summary of our ministry time in Zimbabwe. It's just under 9 minutes. All the songs they are singing are praises to God.

Thursday

lisascorner@wdemail.com (LisaBee) — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 23:19:00 +0000

Another full day again today. Again we do our planned intro at this school. This photo is our group singing for the kids.

This is one of many huge termite mounds/hills that we saw all over the countryside. This one is near the school yard. Tom is 6' 3" or better and as you can see that is a mighty termite hill!!!

Marilyn and I again have the youngest kids. Today she is teaching the teacher how to make balloon animals. We, along with two teachers and Pastor Jeffrey made a balloon animal for each of the kids in the group. The kids loved them of course!

We have also been teaching the kids songs...this is a photo of the kids doing the "ape" motion in the King of the Jungle song. They also loved the "bubble, bubble, bubble" for King of the sea.

While we are with the kids at the school, Tom was asked to speak to a group that had gathered at the church nearby. Public speaking not in Tom's comfort zone he went with Jack and Joshua and introduced himself, shared about what he does for a living, about his faith and answered questions they had regarding us Americans. He said afterward that his "box" (comfort zone) was completely obliterated. A very humbling experience.

This afternoon after lunch Ephesians arranged for us to tour the crocodile farm that is next to the place we are staying. Now looking at a lot of crocs up close and personal, even behind a fence is a bit disconcerting, watching them being tossed food was another thing all together! They move a lot swifter than you would imagine and thank God for the distance we had during that experience! A healthy dose of respect for such an ancient looking beast.

Jesus Film

lisascorner@wdemail.com (LisaBee) — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 02:25:00 +0000

While in Zimbabwe we partner with Life Ministry Zimbabwe, also referred to as the Harare team. Harare team because that is where their home office is. They receive the shipping containers sent by Gain and oversee the distribution of the aid. While here we also are partnering with the Jesus Film ministry.

3 evenings of our visit the Jesus Film team goes out and shows the film near or at the sites we visited that day. It was estimated that 1500-3000 people attended each showing of the film. It is a wonder to watch the people come and to see their reactions to the different parts of the film. The crowd may be small when the film begins but they still be trickle in as late as the 4th real of the film as they all are on foot and may walk many kilometers to get there. You get a huge turnout as the movie is entertainment and some may have never seen a movie before. The great thing is they all get to see and hear the gospel message. And many step forward to receive Christ or to be prayed for by our team. It is an experience beyond words as we lay hands and pray over hundreds of people; to hear what their concerns are for God and to feel the fever on those suffering from malaria, to see up close the need for clothing and shoes.I have seen the film now in three languages, none of which is my own English. I have seen it in Ukrainian, Shona and now Tonga. The movie still surpasses the need for words when you know the story being told.

Wednesday Ministry Sites

lisascorner@wdemail.com (LisaBee) — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 01:46:00 +0000

After a full day yesterday and a debrief of what was working and what may need to be tweeked, we slept fast and were up and at 'em early again. We ran our program today about the same as the day before. Today after we are done with the classes though we help with lunch prep and feeding the kids. The feeding program uses food packaged by Feed My Starving Children and partnering with Global Aid Network for distribution in over 40 countries.

We each took a turn at stirring the pots to keep them from burning over the fires as well as a turn dishing up the kids. While we are stirring the ladies who cook for the kids each day are hearing the gospel and recieving an apron from the ministry. These aprons have the same colors as the bead bracelets that we use to tell the gospel message to the kids.

The needs here in Zimbabwe are evident every where you look. The torn and ragged clothing and lack of shoes. The lack of clean water and the many bore holes (wells) that were not functioning. The lack of medical care - there were many children with malaria in all of the schools we were at. No school supplies...how does one learn without anything to take notes on or with? And with no furniture in the classrooms and some without classrooms, just a tree and a chalkboard on the outside of a building. It is a humbling sight to see the need and to hear the children sing and see them dance in their barefeet.

Tuesday's Ministry Sites

lisascorner@wdemail.com (LisaBee) — Sun, 31 May 2009 01:12:00 +0000

Lots going on today. First we travel to school site #1. A long and bumpy road. Bumpy is an extreme understatment to be sure! We regularly looked out the rear window to see if we had left any parts laying in the road, and in fact had to stop after one of the vehilces quit running. A bit of duct tape and Tom and we were back on the road. It is truly a miracle those poor trucks made it to the school and back again and to run the remainder of the week. At the school sites we are greated in an assembly fashion and go through the group introduction. Jaye performs some magic tricks with the kids and we do a song and skit. This was the same for each of the school sites. The students sang for us as well. The photo is the entire school body trying to cram into the shade of one tree. Personal note...there is no personal space what so ever here (here being Zimbabwe).
Then we break into 4 groups (which with 300-1000 students at each school our groups were rather large). In our smaller groups we share about ourselves, sing songs and present our sanitation and hygiene training, the gospel message and then each of the students received pencils and toothbrushes (for my age group - the older kids received carepacks). For the team I was on, we also gave away stickers and balloons and finger puppets. Marilyn and I, along with Pastor Jeffrey had the grade 0-1, the youngest of the children at each site. We use glitter to illustrate germs and for that age group focused on hand washing and teaching them to cough and sneeze into their elbows instead of into their clean hands or not covering at all. After leaving the school site, we visited a village that supports 53 people. These two women are the Chief's wives and the matriarchs of the village. We were able to witness how these people live everyday and see how slowly time moves here in this area in regards to changing of traditions and rituals. It was a culture shock for most of us...the women and men are very much separated and have their distinct roles. They demonstrated for us grinding of cornmeal and we even got to give it a try. Those women have arms of steel, not to mention the abuse their knees get! The Chief told the men how he would protect his village from lions. We installed/left a water filter with the village and demonstrated the difference before and after water quality. Water samples were taken from both before and after and tested for bacterial contamination. The photo is water before and after the filter. It was a truly amazing sight!

Being in the village left us with a feeling of being in an episode of National Geographic. After that unique visit we traveled back to the school site where our lunch was brought in and then were off to visit the community at the church near the school.
At the church visit our team leader, Jaye, spoke and shared with the people why we were there and two of our team also spoke, sharing their testimonies.

Onward to Binga

lisascorner@wdemail.com (LisaBee) — Sun, 31 May 2009 01:01:00 +0000

After breakfast we head out in the trucks for Binga. Six or so hours later with a roadside stop for meat pies for lunch we arrive in Binga and meet our Binga and Bulawayo Teammates. The two Bulawayo guys are on the Jesus Film Project team and two Pastors and another interpreter form our Binga team. The Binga and Bulawayo teams will interpret the Tonga language for us as our Harare team primarily speaks Shona. Most of these guys actually speak several languages.

At our home here in Binga as we drive in we see two signs...Beware of Crocs and Beware of Hippos!!! Don't tell my mother - I promised her we were safe in going to Zimbabwe! Really Mom, no danger at all.
And Ah, okay...but they forgot about the beware of giganticly huge ugly harry spiders too!!! Same as last trip I had to find a spider the size of Montana in the wardrobe in our room - and Tom had to dispense with it! At least I managed not to scream, unlike another of our teammates who also had a vistor in her room - which brought about lots of laughter and guys making fun. Our dear Ephesians was actually trying to catch it not kill it to prove to us it was harmless...ah, pass thanks! And we just won't talk about the bats and listening to them sqeak living in the ceilings of our rooms...
Anyway, we did not have the opportunity to view the resident hippo and babies, but did hear them. And besides the scads of crocs in the river (no croc sightings at the hotel either) we were across the inlet from a crocodile farm that we were able to visit while we were here. More about that later.
This evening we review the sanitation and hygiene materials and the plan for the next day.

Sunset at Kulizwe over Lake Kariba.