The Beginning!

Hi everyone! My name is Stephanie but I went by my middle name, Kaye, until I was 27 when I met my (now) ex husband who preferred Stephanie. As time went on, more and more people knew me as Stephanie and those who knew me as Kaye were old friends and family. Thanks to the Internet, it often confused people when they knew me as Kaye and someone called me Stephanie and vise versa, so I inevitably started referring to myself as StefiKaye as a way to combine the two.

I'm starting this blog as a way to showcase some of my thoughts, inspirations, "pay it forward" ideas, great products I want to share with the world and crafts that I either create or adore. Over time the site may evolve into more but I thought this was a great place to start. I admit that I was once a Facebook addict and would spend entirely too much time on the site for no apparent reason. I "temporarily" disabled my Facebook account at Midnight on New Year's Eve as a way to break away and get more involved in more productive things and get back to things I love, like my crafts......

I seem to be more of a collector of craft products than anything these days but I am going to put a stop to that and actually utilize the products. What a concept, I know! In the past I have cross stitched (since I was about 12...which wasn't just yesterday! ha) and made jewelry more than anything but I have an obsession with collecting gift wrapping products. My latest obsession, that I haven't even started yet, is paper crafting/card making. As a single gal without children of my own, I tend to buy myself a few nice Christmas gifts. Who am I kidding, I buy myself a few nice gifts year round but in December I'm able to justify them as Christmas gifts!

Back in November one of my four sisters, Pam, mentioned die-cutting machines as she has a couple of Cricuts. She showed me a review website ranking the top 10. That's all it took. I was determined to research each of the top 10 and decide which would be my prize. It didn't take long for me to realize that the Boss Kut Gazelle (#2 of 10) was the chosen one, however their website did not help influence that decision as it seems rather unprofessional so I feared it was not going to be a company with a solid foundation and support as other more professional sites offered. Boy was I wrong. They provide great tech support (Terri rocks!) as well as an online forum (one for visitors and a separate forum for registered owners). They provide many video and written tutorials and have great software that is included with the Gazelle. So don't let the website fool you!! It's a top-notch company.

If you are in the market for a digital die-cutting machine, you must check them out:
BossKut

The Top Ten Review that I mentioned is located:
Top Ten Reviews

Although the Gazelle was on backorder, I put down $30 as a deposit and got in line with eager anticipation. That got the ball rolling. I spent hours and hours and hours watching tutorials and craft projects and card making YouTube videos. I got inspired by so many great blogs and sites showcasing individual projects that while waiting for my Gazelle, I managed to spend several hundred dollars in purchasing even more products to use for my paper craft projects (i.e., embossing machine (although the Gazelle does emboss, as well as engrave), card stock, rubber stamps, tons of inks, alcohol markers (I really wanted to buy the Copic markers but could not justify the cost (they run $5-7 each) so I compromised and bought a set of Prismcolor markers, which was still over $100 for 48), cutting mats, emboss heating tool, sets of good scissors, embellishments, ribbon, twine, and the list goes on and on). I also bought several storage boxes/compartments and reorganized my office space to have room for all my new goodies. I'll admit that my office still looks like a bomb went off in there as I now need to find places to put all the stuff I moved around. But at least I've got a space cleared for the Gazelle and my new All-in-One computer that I also gifted myself for Christmas.

Soooooo I received a notice that my Gazelle finally shipped this week and it is set for delivery on Tuesday! YAY!!! I am ecstatic but had hoped to get it over the weekend since I have Monday off for Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. Would have been nice to have uninterrupted time to register, take some owner tutorials and learn a bit about the software so I could get this party started and get to crafting!! Patience is not my virtue at times.

I hope that at some point I will be good enough that I will buy a little video camera and even video some of my projects so I can post online to inspire others to get to crafting as well. Until then, I will just post various pictures of the project (possibly in different stages) with detailed instructions and list the products used.

I will also note on this blog various products that I use (not just crafts) or sites that I come across that I just love enough to share with the world. I am a very enthusiastic person when I come across "the best thing ever" and I want to make sure that I spread the word. I'm also a strong supporter of paying it forward and random acts of kindness. They can literally take no time and no cost but can change the life of someone or at the very least make someone's day. When someone doesn't have a smile, give them one of yours!!

Until next time! Thanks for your support and please check back to see what projects I come up with and must haves that I recommend.

Now go out and be FABULOUS!!!

Bubye!
StefiKaye