NEW HOLIDAY RELEASE: Part Deux... and some news!

Oh, hey! You’re back and so are we. Good timing, too, because it’s the first day of our big November HAPPIEST HOLIDAY release sneak peeks!!!

I hear what you’re saying, ALREADY!?! Oh, yes, more fun to tempt you with, and I think it might be our best ever!!!

This release snuck up on me a bit, because this past week has kind of been a blur. May I tell a little story before we start revealing the sets? (Scroll on down to the stamping goodness to skip this part!)

Now, I know you folks don’t know me all that well on the personal level, but I’ve shared here a few times that I have a boyfriend named Doug. I’ve also made mention that he is the love of my life. I mean to tell ya, we are CRAZY about eachother. Doug and I started dating close to 5 years ago, after we ran into eachother at a skateboarding event for old people. (After my divorce, I was trying to get out of the house and keep myself fit, and thought, heck, maybe I’ll try something I haven’t done in a long time... skateboarding!) I’d heard a bunch of my friends from the old days were getting back into it, so why not me? No matter that I was 38. So, there I was at the “Old Man Skate Night”, dropping in on the ramp and eventually, pulling some of the tricks I used to do back then. I was, dare I say, stoked.

Skateboarding at a local ramp in 1988 (frontside grind, my favorite move)

But easily the most stokable part of the night was noticing that a skateboarder on whom I’d had a teenage crush in the 80s was on the ramp, too: Doug Scronce.

We talked throughout the session .... he was also now divorced ... we both had two children, and our kids were the exact same ages! We knew lots of the same people, and had several funny connections and stories. He made me laugh, he was sweet and witty and charming, and boy, was he cute. We ended up talking that night over Facebook messages, set up a date, and honestly, we knew within a week that this was different. THIS WAS IT.

Since then, we’ve been inseparable (albeit living in separate-but-not-too-far-from-eachother houses), our little family of six has gone on adventures to the beach, excursions through the woods, and have had some of the most memorable times just hanging out at home. Our oldest daughters have their own band called WaterColor. Our younger two are always wearing costumes they’ve concocted and cracking eachother up. It’s been wild and wonderful and fulfilling and at times challenging, but above all, these years have filled us with happiness. 

It is with a big smile that I share with you that last week, Doug asked me to be his wife.

I said YES! :) Our kids are super excited, and we can’t wait to have their help planning the wedding. Finn has already asked if he can be Doug’s “Man of Honor.”

I’ll be sharing more of the fun here on my blog, and you might end up seeing a wedding flower set coming down the line. Because just like Law & Order, my set ideas are ripped from the headlines!

Speaking of sets: Here’s what you may have come to see in the first place before I got sidetracked with skateboarding and engagement stories... Our first set from HAPPIEST HOLIDAY: PART DEUX...

 

Bough Wow Wow will give your projects major POW! Knock ’em out with a punch of CUTE! I’ve drawn two central bough images, each inspired by vintage ornaments, ribbons, and greenery (excuse while I break into “these are a few of my favorite things!”) — but each is totally unique! Oh, the fun you’ll have! There’s hand lettering and lots of little accents to choose from. There are so many directions to take these — or just stamp in a single color and get those cards churned out in style! Well, let us get those creative wheels turning by visiting the bodacious blogs of the BLOOM BRIGADE!

Ladies, take it away:

Julie Koerber
Dawn Burnworth
Stacy Morgan
Allison Cope
Christine Okken
Tosha Leyendekker
Danielle Kennedy
Leslie Miller

I hope to see you back here tomorrow, because we have more to share from this special holiday release! Woo hoo!