Kampen Restoration: TUB & TILE

I was pinteresting this morning while I could not sleep and I found this blog posting. The Melaleuca Tub & Tile is AMAZING!  Click on the link to read the actual blog posting...

http://kampenrestoration.blogspot.ca/2012/07/tub-tile.html

To font or not?

I always like playing around with fonts.  This particular font is called “Snickles” and it was free.  Of course I found it through Pinterest.This font is simply titled “Kool”.  I really like this font and it is titled “5th Grade Cursive”.

I have always liked fonts as far back as I can remember and I wish I had this “Banff” font when I used to write term papers in college with the Word Perfect program.

“Bleeding Cowboys" is the name of this font and for some reason it always reminds me of Prineville.

This font is called “Biondi” and I also use this one often.

Then we have the “Segoe Print” and the “Segoe Script” which my long time friend Simone turned me onto.  I love using both of these for personal emails.  I plan on using this script in one of my sales flyers soon since I think it gives a friendly feel to the advertisement.  Some fonts like “Ariel” just seem to be over used in print.  Times New Roman” seems to be used for headlines in the newspaper and Franklin Gothic Demi gets used a lot too.

I am now using “Brady Hand ITC” but I aspire to make my own font out of my handwriting.  There are several websites that you can print out a form and put your own handwritten letters into these little boxes and fax or scan it back.  Once you send it in they produce your own font and send you the file to enter into your windows font file.  No more settling for fonts like “Garamond” when you can have your very own handwriting.  There is a caveat to this though (here comes that “hindsight” thing again)… I have completed this form and had my font file returned but I didn’t like it anymore that this “Verdana” font.  It looked all funky like this “Bigtop” font.  Instead of writing smoothly in one motion like creating items on a “to do” list it was cramped and the letters didn’t all line up on the bottom.  It was kind of yucky like I think this “Freestyle” font is .  You have to put each letter in an individual box and make sure that it all lines up perfectly.  Of course I did not do this since my handwriting doesn’t look right when I have to force it.  I like my handwriting whether it is cursive or print.  It just kind of flows like this “College-Black” but it is not near as fancy.

Maybe I will just stick with downloading fonts that I find appealing like this “Book Antiqua” or the most recent find "Franchise”.  FRANCHISE LOOKS GOOD IN ALL CAPS but I also like it with upper & lower case.

I guess “Snickles”wins out for today.+I must get going so I can get some actual work done.  Just one last tip…if you are getting this in an email and you cannot see all of the font changes you may have to actually go to my blog.  Sometimes the email is funny like that and I wouldn’t want anyone to miss out on this messy post .

Tat Tat until next time…

Silver Lake Continued…

The continuation of the trip to Silver Lake is finally getting completed!  I have been just a bit distracted with school registration, school supplies, school clothes, school shoes and football equipment.  Gee, does anyone see a pattern here?  Yes, school is about to start but more about that later.

I think the last time I posted I went over or dinner at the Dinner Tree.  I do not think I mentioned the white butterflies that appeared everywhere when we arrived in Silver Lake.  There were swarms, flocks, groups, or whatever you call them everywhere.  They were all just floating around.  We woke up fairly early on Sunday and I was able to catch them resting in the pine trees.

Kim made us a wonderful sourdough pancake & egg breakfast.  Totally yummy – I need to get the sourdough recipe .   Here she is cooking away and Hunter enjoying his plate full of goodness.

After breakfast Al, Kim & I got down to business and created the artwork for “Al’s Welding Works” to be used on business cards and a vehicle magnet.  Here is the finished product.

That “retired” father-in-law of mine will be drumming up more business than he wants now   It was a really enjoyable work period for me.

We were able to visit a bit more on the back porch before we left.  We played ball with Shady and enjoyed the weather.

And then it was time to head back home.  I took a few parting pictures of the dragon flies and we said our goodbyes…

I especially enjoyed chatting and laughing with KIM.  We had a very wonderful visit and it will be nice to go back soon.

View Point Above Prineville

I was trying to think how long it has been since I was upon the Prineville View Point and I am thinking a little over 15 years.  Hunter kept reminding me that he wanted to go, I had told him I would take him, blah, blah, blah.  You know how it goes, they remember only what they want to hold against you.

So, on 7/6/10 we had some time to check it out after swim lessons.  Here are the pictures I took…

This is looking south east; the City of Prineville golf course is below – Meadow Lakes.  For those not familiar with the lay of the land around here, the hill I am on and the others in the near background are called rimrocks.  Prineville reside in a valley.  Our home is up above & around to the left of the rimrock you see in the center.

As we go we scan to the east and this is the lower Crooked River coming through on the edge of the golf course and then we have the sprawling metropolis of Prineville coming into view.

If you look closely you can see the courthouse in the top third of the picture dead center; my parent’s house is just a block south of that.  Unfortunately, the air looks kind of smucky.  Either we had a fire burning or they were burning fields.   (I have enlarged the picture below to show the courthouse)And here we see the new and improved bridge over the Crooked River that allows all of us to escape Prineville and head to the big cities of Redmond & Bend.

In this picture you see the blue buildings and this is the Les Schwab production facility.  For those of you not in the know – this is a tire production facility started by one great man named Les Schwab.  He employed a lot of people in this town over the years and they make great tires.  You will see his tire stores in California, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Utah & Alaska.  The production facility is blue but the stores are white with a red band around them and the logo is red & yellow.

The facility stretches along the river and around the rimrock we are standing on.

And that is pretty much the view from the rimrock of our little town.  Facebook is building up on the rimrock we are on but it is a couple miles beyond us so I could not get pictures.

Prineville grew a bunch over the last 10 years and a lot of people commute to Bend or Redmond for their jobs.  With the price of gas going up, lost jobs and the recession the town has shrunk in population; we won’t even go into the passing of Les Schwab and the move of corporate headquarters to Bend. 

You cannot see all of the empty houses nor the businesses that seems to pop up over night and then close the next month.  It is kind of sad to see the little town shrink because of all the people that are hurting.  On the other hand, I will welcome the return of that small town feel.

We hope that our business will continue to grow even though Prineville has stopped.  If you are in town and you see me please wave or stop to say hello.  I really like meeting new people and seeing old friends and… It is quiet possible that I will have a goodie for you!

Of course I had to include the advertisement on wheels sitting up on the viewpoint so you will know me when you see me…

 And a parting shot for this post :-)

Check out the reflection in my glasses – see how long my arms are? Ha! Ha!

Have an excellent day!

Finally Getting ATCs Scanned & Put Away

The ATCs have been returned and adored by me but they sat in a box for a very long time before I decided to get some scanning done.  I am the person who hates filing...

I am going to enter all of my lovely returns in this one posting and call myself caught up on swaps.  I will also post some fun goodies I received along the way in a future blog.

Here are some ATCs I received from the uber talented Melonscraps (AKA Marilyn Wiggins).  She always posts her left overs for anyone who wants them – I snag them any chance I get because I love her work.

And then we have another Valentine Swap from February 2010...

And from Pink Ribbon in March 2010...

 And Live, Love, Laugh & Dream in March of 2010 through ATC Lovers... 

And Circus from Art42 also in March 2010...

 Then we move onto ATC Lovers "Stamped"

 and ART 42 "Nature" in May 2010.

And then finally we have the Art 42 "Extras Swap" for all of those extras we made but never sent out. Here are my returns from June...

 There is so much talent & inspiration out there!  I love thumbing through the pages and pages of ATCs before I get started on a project - it really gets the thought process boiling.

As always, I cannot resist the temptation to work on more swaps.  I am signed up for one more twinchie, a tag art swap, a monster ATC for Halloween and a mini-zine.

The tag art is to make 3 tags and send to the next person on the list.

The mini-zine is a little more complicated.  It makes a mini magazine out of decorating and folding a 8-1/2" x 11" sheet of paper a specific way.  I have been working on this in my graphics program.  I am excited to finish the artwork so I can send it off and try out a new printer I have been wanting to use.

Of course, I will post it once I have them in my hot little hands!

I hope to make the mini-zine a catchy little way to advertise specific promotional products like golf accessories or embroidery.  Everyone loves a novelty...

Things Happen For a Reason…

People always say that wonderful life changing events rise out of the most horrible things that happen to us.  I think that is true in two instances and I never thought I would say this until now…

Warren got downsized June 23rd of last year from a company that will remain unnamed.  This came on the heels of me getting downsized from another unnamed company on January 15, 2009.  Oh joy! 

We were managing with his job and my unemployment until the other shoe dropped.  Boy did that make a deafening sound in our life.  To say the least, we became those people, you know, the one’s that the stuff happens to…

Warren had a very high stress job and it seemed that management changed regularly which created a very bumpy ride along the way.  Never the less, he was a trooper and kept doing his very best even though it became like paddling a canoe in white water rapids without an oar at times.  The layoff came as a HUGE shock after being there 9-1/2 years.

Fortunately, our marriage survived where our credit did not.  I guess you can call me lucky since I would rather have my husband than the best credit in the world.  What a way to use the word “lucky”…

In September, we were able to create Triple E Promotions and get trained in the promotional products industry.  The training is always ongoing since there are new products and companies coming on board daily.  This has been a blessing and I hope it will continue to grow and support us in the future.

The second and largest life changing event happened when Warren got a call from Nosler in October.  The request came for an interview based on a resume we had submitted back in June.  He did not have real high hopes since he had interviewed there in 2000 when he was shopping to get out of Bright Wood.

Thankfully, this interview was different.  Warren was asked to come back for a panel interview before he left the first meeting!  He got hired, he learned, he passed his required test, he was released from his 90 day probation and put on the regular payroll and is currently going on 6 months with the company.  He got a job but that was not the best thing…he is working for an awesome company with a family and people that are so wonderful and he is doing what he does best!  And guess what – they truly appreciate him!  I knew I could not be the only one who could see that he is awesome!

We, as a family, are truly grateful to the Nosler family for seeing Warren for who he is and for hiring him when we really needed some financial support.

I am personally thankful that there are still people who value hard work and honesty.  Somehow that restores some of the damage in my head created by lay offs that affected this home.  

The Mailbox Incident

I don't know how many people drive by our house every day but it has to be a lot.  We have a real bad corner before our driveway if you are headed to town.  People need to SLOW down but every once in a while someone loses control.   Thank goodness the house is at the back of the property!

This time last year someone rolled their jeep through our fence a little before midnight.  Warren was able to scab the fence together enough to keep the animals in until morning.  The next day he and Hunter spent the majority of the day fixing fence in the pouring rain.

This year someone came around the corner too fast on a late afternoon.  They missed our fence but took out the mailbox by shearing it off at the ground and got the neighbor's fence.  As if that was not bad enough, he got out to survey the damage, got back in his truck and took off!  We were looking right at him and were just heading down there when he left.

Kind of ticked me off so I called the sheriff and they happened to be in the right place at the right time.  They caught him at the bottom of the canyon and took him to jail.

Probably goes without saying but we needed to get a new mailbox; we have been dragging that one around for at least 10 years.  I got a real shocker when I saw the replacement price for our old box was $80!  So, we ended up with this jumbo model and I know this gal that does vinyl graphics.....

So, that gal being me...I designed, cut and applied the vinyl for the mailbox.

I wanted the business name out there anyhow and I guess this was a great opportunity to get that done.  It also solved the problem of the mail lady having to drive up to the house all the time to leave stuff that would not fit in the box.

The box is almost big enough to accept a miniature horse (definitely a few baby goats) now and I kinda like it.  I needed a change and I guess I wished loud enough... 

Probably better watch out for what I wish!  Wouldn't want that pile of money I've been thinkin' about just laying around on the porch when is it delivered since the mailbox isn't big enough. :-)

New Window Graphics

I think I am just giddy over my new window graphics on the Suburban.  It took a lot of hard work since it has been so cold but I am finally done and here is the final product.

This is a close up of a side window.

This is the close up view of the rear window.

The windows look far better than the dirt all over the rig!  What can I say, I'm not a big fan of car washes when I live on a muddy road :-)

I think the graphics really jump off the rig and catch your eye.The vinyl cutter is my new friend and I have all sorts of plans.  I am waiting for the weather to warm a bit before I install on a customer vehicle but meanwhile I am working on some pretty cool graphics that are more bumper sticker size.

The Triple E Promotions Blog

Wow - the holidays have finally passed (yeah, it has been over a week - I know!).  I went from the holidays to working on taxes and organizing in my office.  No one should be punished like this!

I did manage to post the second installment on the business blog today.  In case you did not get a blast on the new blog please visit and share it with anyone you know.  The address is http://tripleepromotions.blogspot.com/

I think that I am a sucker for taking on more than I can possibly do in one lifetime so I guess that would explain the additional blog.  I will eventually be able to keep up with one...but two?  I have a plan for that though (remember, I used to be a planner in my previous life?) - I plan on posting to the business blog once a week with a new picture of products that we are selling and some promotional tips.

So, I am hoping to take the occasional break from taxes and post to the blog over the week.  Stay tuned because I have a mountain of pictures to get the new year started - or the old year caught up!

Vehicle Magnets Anyone?

Vehicle magnets are pretty cool and you can move them from car to car or you could put them on a metal door!

This is a picture of the very first set of vehicle magnets that we have sold through our business. 

First Official Print Job

Check out this print job...

We have been doing a lot of printing but it has all been for our own business promotions.  This is the first official job off of the pad printer.

  I know I am REALLY bias but I think they turned out very nice.

First Business Dollar :-)

This is a diaper bag that my niece, Jenn, purchased from one of our apparel catalogs.  She bought it as a present for a baby shower she was giving.  I ordered it to be sent directly to our embroiderer, she did her fantastic work and I picked it up for delivery to our customer.  The bag was done and in her hands before the shower - all in under a week! 

I love this bag and all of it's pockets!  I am thinking about getting one for all my stuff that I pack with me on a daily basis.  Diaper bags are not just for diapers anymore!

This is a picture of our first dollar for the business.  Thank you Jenn for being our first paying customer!

Craft Bazaar on 12/5/09

I finally did it!  I went and paid for a table at the Christian School Holiday Bazaar on December 5th.  I am going to advertise the business, sell twisted pens, scrapbook saying buttons, altered tins (tins decorated with themes), altered file keepers, note keepers and possibly a rag rug or two!  That means that I have to start burning the midnight oil a whole lot over the next few weeks...

I need to get a couple more rugs going...

I need to keep working on my altered tins...

Gotta make the file keepers and the note keepers...

I'm sure I will think of some other items along the way when I see something in my craft room - like the jeweled bookmarks!

A New Line of Buttons

I started thinkin' the other day - yes, I know that is scary!

I started playing with scrapbooking expressions and then I created some buttons.  I have for sale now  and they are scanned in this picture - they look better in person.  The picture is not great because I don't want someone hijacking it :-)

The cool thing about these buttons is that I can make them as magnets!  I am off to the scrap store in town and Bend tomorrow to see if I can get any bites on my new wares.  Wish me luck!

Just a sample of what we can do....

This is the front of one of the many mugs Warren printed for our own promotional items.  We have aour logo with the business phone number and then when you turn the cup around...

You see that we can "...Print Anything On Just About Anything!"  This is a really neat thing to be able to do for our customers.  There are endless possibilities of items that we can print on and customers can play around with what they want to say on their products.

Here are a bunch of letter slitters that Warren and Hunter printed up for our business.  I will have to take some more pictures of products and post them soon.  Until then, you can visit us at www.TripleEPromotions.com.