Losing My Heart and Sharing a Recipe

I have a story to tell – and it’s a tale we crafters all know so well. I lost my heart and thought it was gone forever. Let me start by letting you know that the story ends well (which isn’t, perhaps, the most compelling way to encourage you to read to the end of my post), but we all love a story with a happy ending, right?

I was crafting in my Fungeon on a Sunday afternoon. My 3″ x 3″ card design showcased the small heart from the Ribbon of Courage Framelits Dies. For reference here’s the heart Framelit I was working with:

The heart is small – it measures about 1/2″ x 5/8″, but it certainly going to be safe on my clean stamping surface. I set the heart on my craft table, stamped my sentiment, cropped a couple of pieces of cardstock with my Paper Trimmer and then reached for the heart die. The die was not there! I froze in place and looked around on the floor before picking up each item on my stamp table. I scanned the bottoms and ran my fingers under everything – stamp cases, ink pads, my desk light. Nope. Not there. After moving the desk and moving my trash can (my Trimmer had been resting on the edge of the trash can), I was left with only one place to look – in the trash can.

I don’t remember throwing anything away during the two or three tasks I performed to create the card, but it was possible I had scooped up the die and tossed it in the trash. It was even more possible that the die stuck to the bottom of the trimmer before releasing into the trash can. I did the only thing any crafter would do – I started digging through the trash can. There was a lot of scraps of paper and ribbon in the large can. I don’t eat food in the Fungeon, so it was all trash (no garbage). After big pieces were pulled out and carefully sorted, I ran my hand through the bottom of the bin – nothing. I was about to give up and accept that my little heart was forever lost when I decided to, in a last-ditch effort, run a magnet through the bottom of the trash bin (I have a multi-hook strip with big magnets on the end that stick to my metal cabinet and allow me to hang things off the end). One quick swipe with the magnets revealed this:Can you guess how excited I was?! I told you there was a happy ending to this story – what a wonderful resolve to this adventure! It wasn’t a pleasant experience, and it wasn’t a joyful search, but it was a wonderful resolve. 🙂

Have you ever lost one of your stamps or dies only to find it later? How long did it take to show back up?


Last week I shared a cute gift jar I created for the Be Inspired Blog Hop (you can see both projects here). People make jars with cookie recipes or brownie mixes. One of my jars held the ingredients for a Baked Oatmeal Recipe I enjoy many cold, Winter mornings. Here’s a look at the jar:Mason Jars with Festive Designer Series Paper Covers and Christmas Tags, Stampin' Up!, Brian KingI’m accustomed to sharing the recipes for the cards and projects I make, but I wasn’t prepared for the number of requests I received for my Baked Oatmeal Recipe. Well, today’s your lucky day because I’m happy to share it with you. This recipe has been tweaked a bit from other recipes that I enjoy:


Brian’s Baked Oatmeal

  • One cup of each of the following: flour, raisins, old-fashioned oats and walnuts
  • ½ cup brown sugar
  • 1 teaspoon of cinnamon & 1 teaspoon of baking powder
  • Pinch of salt
  • 1-½ cup of milk or half-and-half coffee creamer
  • 2 eggs, whisked
  • ½ cup of oil or melted butter

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Mix all the dry ingredients together. Mix all the wet ingredients together. Mix all the ingredients together. Transfer the batter to a lightly greased 9″ x 11″ baking pan.

Bake for around 30 to 40 minutes, then let cool for 15 minutes.

You can serve warm, room temperature, or cold.


Today I shared a story about a heart lost and found, and I shared a recipe from my personal collection. Tomorrow, I share Stampin’ Up!’s 2018 Holiday Catalog. Yippee! I couldn’t be more excited!

Thanks for stopping by today!

Brian

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Bonus Days

Don’t forget – you can start cashing in all the $5 coupons you earned in August. You MAY want to wait until the Holiday Catalog is live tomorrow (September 5), but I won’t stop you from spending them on products from the Annual Catalog – they are your credits. 🙂

Bonus Days

Product Shares and Designer Series Paper Swatch Books

Last Tuesday, I announced my product shares (samples of select papers, ribbons and embellishments from Stampin’ Up!’s 2018 Holiday Catalog). I’ve included some options from the Annual Catalog. If you haven’t already, I hope you’ll take a look at the selection and sign up. CLICK HERE to read more. Today is the last day to sign up and pay for your shares before I place the order tomorrow morning. If you are interested in joining, please act now.

Here’s a look at the Designer Series Paper Swatch Books I’ve created from this Holiday Catalog:2018 Holiday Catalog Swatch Books, Stampin' Up!, Brian King, stampwithbrian

 

30 Comments

  1. I too have had to go through the trash looking for a craft item. Usually, it’s a stamp. I have all my SU stamps stored on multiple DVD racks and sometimes the CD cases come open. (I hate that about the SU cases.) Anyhoo, my trash can sits right under one of the DVD racks so if a case opens, the stamps fall out, and periodically end up in the trash can. I could move my trash can, but that would be too easy! LOL

  2. thanks for the story and recipe; that has happened to me with a die or a stamp; sometimes found long time later.

  3. It happened to me just last week! The tiny die that is the top of the Christmas ornament (the part you would hang it with the hook) was missing when I was ready to run it through the big shot! I too went through the trash,and after no success started looking through all my Christmas dies! Yep, there it was tucked into the wrong envelope. Safe and sound!
    Thanks for the recipe! Love the idea for a gift and it’s perfect for a good jump start on the day! I’ll be trying it as soon as this heat wave breaks!

  4. I had to dig through the garbage disposal for the tiny heart in the Coffee Cafe stamp set. I found it, but it wasn’t pleasant! 🙂 Thanks for the great recipe Brian.

  5. I lost one of the circle dies. I looked and looked and finally gave up. I knew it would show up. Yep . . . in the box of embossing folders, about a month later.
    Thank you for the oatmeal recipe, I really can’t wait to try it.
    Have a blessed day.
    🙂

  6. From Canada – Yes I have lost a stamp and a die usually find it stuck to a stamp case or another stamp. One time I lost a small die for a year! So annoying.

  7. It’s comforting to know this kind of thing doesn’t just happen to me. I had a small, clear stamp stick to the bottom of a stamp case and I found it over a year later. I’ll have to try your recipe. I’m sure it’s delicious. Have a great day!

  8. Been there and done that. But, what about the card you were making?

  9. I once found a small photopolymer stamp stuck to one of the top sides of my ink caddy. Worst part was, I didn’t even realize it was”missing”!

    Recipe sounds delicious. I love outmeal in all guises. TFS

  10. Hi Brian! Thanks for sharing your story. I know anyone who has a Big Shot can relate to losing small dies, at least for a little while. I realized quickly I was going to have to have a dedicated place for dies in use. I found a small magnetic bowl at Harbor Freight (any automotive store would have them too) for about $4 & it works great! It even has a rubber bottom to prevent shifting. I gave one to my demonstrator who’d lost a small die & never found it. Have a great day Brian!

  11. I can totally relate to this, but mine has not had a happy ending….yet! I was stamping with the new Varied Vases stamp set. Made a set of 8 cards and when I was cleaning up I noticed that the small vase outline stamp wasn’t anywhere to be found. I searched everywhere I could think of, but to no avail. I still think that sometime it may show up, stuck to something else probably…but I may have to admit it’s gone. 🙁
    It was the fist time I ever used that set too, what a disappointment!
    Has anyone ever been able to order a replacement stamp in such a circumstance?

  12. I find that the small photopolymer stamps tend to disappear easily….a couple have run away from my workspace. Am happy to have the oatmeal recipe……thanks, Brian! I’m not a raisin lover but am going to try substituting blueberries. 🙂

  13. While making my swaps for CenterStage in April I lost my two largest stitched edge circles! I was baffled! I looked every where! In the trash(two different cans). They were not found. SEVERAL weeks later I was using my Stamparatus and found them stuck to the magnets on the bottom! SO , SO , SO happy!

  14. I haven’t lost a die but have lost the magnets that came with my Misti (which I bought before the Stamparatus came out dang!). I work on a folding card table. I looked for it, my hubby looked for it, my two daughters looked for it. A week later I was folding the card table up and the dang magnet was stuck to the metal under the top of the table. Now, if I lose a magnet that’s the first place I look. LOL
    Thanks for the recipe Brian, I too love a nice warm oatmeal breakfast come the winter snows.

  15. Glad you discovered the little heart! Fabulous idea to share the cookie recipe!

  16. I lost a spider web stamp that I looked for and could not find. Eventually I took out an ink pad that I used less frequently and there was my stamp stuck to the bottom of that ink pad.

  17. I have lost several small stamps and small dies over time. Luckily, I have a boyfriend that seems to always find anything I have lost. Now when I say “Honey, can you come here a minute?” His response is always “What did you lose now?” He knows me well LOL!! Glad you found your heart!!

  18. Hi Brian, so happy the heart showed up! My sister (a fellow stamper) gifted me with a magnetic bowl, not too large. I have it on the base of my metal desk lamp (IKEA) and the bowl is awesome! I put the small dies in the bowl and they don’t get lost.

  19. We learn our lessons the hard way Brian. After I lost a die due to my negligence, I made a trip to Harbor Freights and bought a Magnetic Parts Holder. They come in 4″ & 6″ dishes. I bought a 4″ for my portable tool bag and a 6″ for my workspace. Now I faithfully place my framelits in the dish until I am ready to store them in their designated place. While I was there, I also bought a Telescoping Magnetic Pickup Tool for those times when a framelit falls in the floor. Lord knows I don’t want to get out of my chair much less go down on my hands & knees. I haven’t lost a die since.

  20. Love your giant magnet! That thing is fab! And thanks for that delicious, easy recipe. It sound soooo yummy

  21. Oh Brian, been there my dear, loosing small acrylic stamps and dies too.
    The good thing is that, after a while, they reappear, but it’s frustrating to know they must be in the craft room somewhere so, when this happens, my craft room is off limits to anyone, specially the kitty.
    The last thing I lost was one of the smaller dies in the “Botanical Blooms” set, you know? the one that looks like a little star.
    I literally emptied my trash can on the carpet (I also do not eat stuff in here, only drink coffee) and sat there until I found it.
    My last resort is to vacuum the room with a new bag, I found a small acrylic sentiment that way, Sheeesh!!
    Anyway, I’m so happy of your happy ending story.
    Lets all be super careful when we work with small stuff, shall we?
    XO

  22. Thank goodness you found it.
    I will be making your oatmeal tomorrow morning! Looks delish.

  23. Oh my, I had a big laugh (not funny when you’re looking in same place you look 3 times already) reading your lost and found story. And, more laughs reading everyone’s post.

    I have lost and found several things(as I feel like I’m in the twilight zone), only have lost one thing, my smallest square of the retired original squares. That little sucker totally gotta way. Never putting any food or food-wrappers in the scrap-trash is a sign of a true crafter. You never know when you might have to dig through. ?

  24. You have the best stories! I have lost dies in paper recycling (and found) and I lost a photopolymer Halloween haunted house stamp that I never found. It drives me nuts! Can’t wait to see your Christmas catalog creations.

  25. Thanks for sharing with us you’re story and this great recipe. Awesome post!

  26. Hi Brian, I lost a heart die about 5 years ago. Like you I looked everywhere. I had it in my hand after running it through the Big Shot. My arthritis got to me and it started to slip out of my fingers. In an attempt to catch it, I hit it with my other hand. It was airborne!!! It went in the vicinity of the vertical file cabinet that I keep all of my papers in. My Big Shot lives on top of the cabinet. I spent weeks looking for it!!! I finally decided that it had to have gone behind the file cabinet. There was no way I could move the cabinet to get behind it. I figured that die was history. A few months ago I re-did my craft space. I emptied all of the paper out of the file cabinet & moved it to a new location. I was so excited that my set of dies would finally be complete again. Much to my dismay, it was not there. I still have hope that someday it will show up, but very disappointed!!!

  27. It’s so good to know I’m not alone in my crazy craft moments. At 67, I always attribute it to old age (even though inside I don’t feel old at all). So it’s comforting to know it’s really not an old age thing at all. I’m always elated when I discover the missing item. Glad you found your heart ❤️

  28. I recently “lost” my small star from Star of Light set. After tearing apart my messy craft area I resorted to checking the garbage and voila- it was there. Thankfully it was paper scraps only ?. Love the magnet tip. Will definately use that next time!!

  29. I have misplaced tiny photopolymer stamps as well clear ones. And I have done the same with tiny dies. They’ve always been in my craft space, but I’ve had to do a LOT of looking just like you all. I don’t think it has to do with the size of our craft areas … I’d like to say it was because mine is so small, but they just are sticky or magnetic little buggers???
    Thanks, Brian, for this discussion.?

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