So–lots to get ready for both inside and out. Some sweet Hawaiian neighbors are cooking all the meat, noodles and rolls. WOW! I wouldn’t know how to cook for 300 people! If you’re in the neighborhood, stop by!

Collin and Ally have been friends pretty much their entire lives. So fitting that they will be speaking together in church on Sunday before they leave for their missions and to have this luau for them tomorrow night.

Now for the lemons. Can I just say I hate garage doors? I mean I love the practical use of them but . . .

September:
Hit review mirror on garage door while backing up; used duct tape to keep it from dangling until we got to dealership mechanic.

January:
Duct tape would no longer hold mirror in place; called dealership and he said $180.00 to fix; had to dangle mirror inside my car through window in below zero degree weather with snow blowing in while driving to dealership; pulled in mechanic garage and accidentally rolled window UP instead of DOWN crushing the mirror; mechanic looked at me and smiled and sweetly said: “It’s $640.00 now instead of $180.00.” Awwww! It’s okay–everyone’s safe. I can deal with this.

March:
Parked on busy street outside my hair salon; walked to my car and found the same mirror crushed and dangling–a car or truck must have hit it; drove to same mechanic; he looked at me and sweetly said: “It’s still $640.00.” Awwww! It’s okay–everyone’s safe. I can deal with this.

May:
Yesterday was running errands in the neighborhood; parked outside neighbor’s garage and leaned over to passenger seat to collect items that needed to be returned; car wasn’t in “park” as I thought; car moved forward hitting and destroying their two-car garage; estimator came out and can’t match it to the other single garage so all three have to be replace. Awwww! It’s okay–everyone’s safe. I can deal with this. Oh–and my neighbor was super nice about it (Thanks, Rob!)

Other hectic things happened yesterday too–does it ever feel like everything on the inside and outside of your house breaks at once! Trying to get it all fixed before the big weekend!

Late last night as I thought of the chaotic day, I was able to refocus and think of all the amazing things that yesterday brought too.

One more day with Collin.
Friends and family rallying around to help with the big weekend.
A great church meeting last night where my buddy, Al Fox, spoke.
Beautiful weather.

And I thought to myself: “Awww–it’s okay. Everyone’s safe. What a wonderful world.”

Hope you have a wonderful Memorial Day weekend!

Sincerely,
Lisa

P.S. If you have a garage door story, please share it with me. It will make me feel even better!!

I remember looking at the globe together and guessing where he’d one day serve his two-year mission. Never did it enter our minds that this little guy would go to one of the most beautiful places on earth with some of the nicest people you’ll ever find. He could not be more thrilled to be going to Wellington, New Zealand. We just found out today that he flies out on Tuesday June 4th and he is so excited!

And here he is today! Same adorable face – same darling personality – same vibrant personality.

Have I mentioned I’m going to miss this kid? A lot!

On Another note, Brecken made the most delicious meal on Sunday for guests here from Georgia. I must share the recipes but first and foremost – had to share this “Better than . . . Chex Mix” recipe. It is simply worth every.single.calorie. DELICIOUS!

“BETTER THAN . . . CHEX MIX”

8 cups Chocolate Chex cereal
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
6 Tbsp. butter
3 Tbsp. Light Corn Syrup
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1 cup MINI Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups
1 cup mini marshmallows
1/2 cup caramel bits
1 Tbsp. heavy cream
1/2 cup milk chocolate chips (more if you would like)
1/2 cup white chocolate chips1 tsp. coarse sea salt.

Pour measured cereal into a large microwaveable bowl. Line cookie sheet with waxed paper or foil. In 2-cup microwaveable measuring up, microwave brown sugar, butter and corn syrup uncovered on high for 1-2 minutes, stirring after 1 minute, until melted and smooth.  Stir in baking soda until dissolved.  Pour caramel mixture over cereal, stirring until evenly coated. Microwave on high for 3 minutes, stirring every minute.  Spread on cookie sheet.  Cool 10 minutes. Break into bite-sized pieces. Make sure Chex mixture is cool to the touch (so candy doesn’t melt). Evenly sprinkle mini peanut butter cups candy and mini marshmallows over the Chex mixture. In a small microwaveable bowl, microwave caramel baking bits and cream uncovered on high for 1 minute or until chips can be stirred smooth.  Use a spoon or fork to drizzle over Chex mixture. Repeat with milk chocolate baking chips and again with the white baking chips. Quickly sprinkly coarse ssalt over all the chex mixture while candy drizzles are still wet.Refrigerate until set. Break apart and store in tightly covered container.

You’ll repeat this recipe over and over again – promise!

Talk to you soon!

Lisa

This kid is bound for a two-year mission for our church to Wellington, New Zealand in just two short weeks:

Yep – this is what he will look like for two years! He will wear a suit and tie and probably ride a bike most of his mission.

He is so excited to go and I am happy for him. But – gotta be honest. This mom’s heart is breaking a little right now too. It’s so hard for your little ones to leave the nest.

I’ll post lots of pictures of all the events over the next two weeks. And I have so many great memories plus these recent Florida ones that will carry me for two years.

He looks like “Where is Waldo.!”

New Smyrna Beach is one of my favorite beaches in Florida!

Thanks for all your support!

Lisa

We ended up only going to three parks – the first one being Epcot. We were greeted by these lovely topiaries of Mickey and Goofy.

I made the mistake of going on a space ride while still feeling sick to my stomach and promptly had to go to first-aid for some Dramamine. Luckily it helped immensely and the rest of the day I felt great. Good thing, because WOW,WOW, WOW! You should have seen the flower festival going on right now in Epcot. Truly a site to behold!

Our next stop for the day was to Disney’s Animal Kingdom.

The Expedition Everest, houses the greatest rollercoaster ever! The majority of the time it goes backwards! Animal Kingdom is a nice, more relaxed atmosphere than the other parks,  which is a nice change.

Our final stop was Magic Kingdom. We walked into the park and I immediately started craving ice cream – something that rarely happens. So Collin and I both got mouse-eared scoops and I enjoyed every bite!

Of course I love Space Mountain and Splash Mountains in this park. And, there’s a new Monster’s Inc. show that’s really clever. We loved it so much we went again – back to back.

The weather today was beautiful and the crowds were fewer in number.

A great day to spend with my boy!

Thanks for all the great support on HSN!

Have a great weekend!

Lisa

P.S. We had dinner last night at Kona Cafe with a great friend. It’s in the Polynesian hotel and was so yummy! I love that hotel and the food – yummy!

Now that I have wrapped up my work, it is time to play! Collin and I are staying here in Orlando for some much needed Mom + son time. I got a kick out of this, while driving around:

Only in Orlando, right?

Last night, Collin and I hung out in Downtown Disney – sporting our very own mouse ears:

And, since this trip is all about Collin, he gets to choose what we do. His first choice was to watch the premiere of “Star Trek: into the Darkness.” I must really love this kid to agree (sorry – not my kind of movie). And to make it worse it was in 3-D on the IMAX screen. I walked out feeling like I had been on a roller coaster for 2+ hours. On the flip side, Collin LOVED it!

Collin’s big plans for us today? For us to hit up all four Disney theme parks! Wish me luck!

Lisa

Happy Wednesday!

Lisa

Another exciting edition to my trip this time around, is my son, Collin, has joined me. He is headed to New Zealand in a few weeks for a 2 year mission, for our church. I am extremely proud of his decision to serve and so happy to have some extra one on one time with him before he leaves.

I hope you all will tune in TODAY at 2:00 PM & 6:00 PM and then again tomorrow morning at 9:00 AM EST to see all the goodies I will be featuring. Here is one last picture of the beautiful set HSN has set up for me.

See you soon,

Lisa

PS – make sure to give us a shout out today on your social media tags: @lisabearnson,  #lisabearnsonHSN,  @HSN,  #HSNcrafts

Just want to say how much I love this brood. This is the last Mother’s Day I’ll have with them all together for several years:

Collin whipped up this little representation of our relationship together. On the back was a beautiful, heartfelt note. Yes, Collin. This Mama Bear will continue carrying her cub although we will be apart for two years. I’m gonna cherish every moment together these next three weeks!

So I mentioned last Friday that I’d share one of my TOP PICK HSN products I’m going to feature on May 14th most likely at 6:00 p.m. EST. (Just a reminder that my shows are at 2:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m. EST on May 14th and 9:00 a.m. on May 15th.)

I LOVE this acrylic stamp kit:

Just look at the designs you’re getting and guess what? I’m giving you FREE cuts for each stamp set! Yippee!

Here are what the stamps look like:

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And here are some of the fun things you can do with them:

I love the look of stamped images that have been precisely cut around the edge with a cutting machine (like the Silhouette Cameo or Portrait). S0, just click on the links below to download the FREE cut files that are the perfect companion to the Iconic Stamps.

For this FREE cut file, go here:

For this cut image, go here:

For this cut image, go here:

For this cut image, go here:

For this image, go here:

Remember when using your cutting machines that .DXF and .SVG  files are for your digital cutting machines. If you are using the Studio software that comes with Silhouette machines, please download the .DXF file for the standard software and .SVG for the designer version. Please remebmer, if you are using the .SVG files that you need to turn on the cut lines for the best results. Enjoy!

I”m off for HSN today. Can’t wait to share my pics and experience with you!

Thanks for you support!

Lisa

This is my niece, Chelsea and Brecken’s fabrics in her quilt are the same (I haven’t been able to get a moment with Brecken for a picture – track meets are taking up all her time lately):

On the back of each quilt is this sweet label.

I’ve created a special “Quilt” scrapbook for Mother’s Day for my mom that houses photos of quilts and messages from each grandchild. I’m so excited to present it to her–I can hardly wait! Oh–and of course I used Project Life to create it – fast and simple.

My mom is in the process of creating another quilt for each of her five girls. Again she let us choose the fabric and pattern. I chose these colors and a chevron pattern. This is a VERY rough draft of what it will look like:

Thanks, Mom, for this amazing memory for me and each of my children. You are the greatest example and friend a gal could ever want. When I grow up I want to be just like you! Happy Mother’s Day!

So – only a few more days until my HSN shows.

I will show you one of my most favorite NEW products on Monday plus FREE downloads that you’re going to love.

If you didn’t pick this “Sticker Bliss” Mega Sticker Kit up the last time I was on air, you must grab it before it’s too late.

It’s honestly one of the best sticker values I’ve ever seen–over 3,000 stickers included in the organizational box. The designs are cute and the customers who received them said they “love the high-quality card stock stickers (they aren’t flimsy) plus the large variety of styles and designs.” Other reviews said “Couldn’t be happier with the variety and quality,” “everything and more is in this kit,” and “bright colors and extremely cute designs.”

Just had to show some fun pages with this kit. Oh – and when they’re gone, they’re gone. There aren’t a lot to go around.

Talk to you on Monday and then I’ll wave at you in your living room on Tuesday (2 p.m. and 6 p.m. EST) and Wednesday (2 p.m. and 6 p.m. EST)!

Sincerely,

Lisa

Just look how creative and colorful all the girls were:

Just a few more days until I leave for HSN in Tampa, Florida. I’m super excited to present some great items plus I get to spend a week with my son, Collin! After HSN we will venture to Orlando for some fun. He leaves for New Zealand on June 6th – right around the corner. This mom’s heart is happy and heavy. I’m going to miss this kid so much.

Just a reminder of my hows:

May 14th 2:00 p.m.

May 14th: 6:00 p.m.

May 15th: 9:00 a.m.

This product is one of my favorites that I’ll be featuring:

It is honestly one of the best trimmers I’ve used. In fact, I have a very expensive one I’ve used for years and this one rivals the pricey one!

I love the long 19″ arm that easily opens and closes on the trimmer allowing for small and larger items to be cut:

I love the SIX drop and load cartridges that easily allows me to change the edge on my pages and projects:

These cartridges include straight, wave, perforated, decorative, pinking, scalloped and scored blades and they are stored right in the trimmer itself.

This trimmer is portable yet perfect for your counter top. It also shows you exactly where your cut will b – no guessing games! And – it’s a great price!

The decorative edges makes a big statement on your pages without being overbearing:

Check out the creative use of the Baker’s Twine on this page.

As my German boy, Konsti, would always say:

Auf Wiedersehen–good bye until tomorrow! (Good news–Konsti is coming for a month this summer!)

Lisa