About Me

Thanks for stopping by! My name is Beth Kingston, and for the last eight years I have been the Corporate Spokesperson for Xyron, one of the leading manufacturers in the craft industry. I have been so incredibly blessed to be able to make a living doing something I love – I am a regular guest on HSN (where I have also recently become the on-air spokesperson for Cricut - yahoo!) and have also appeared on “Scrapbook Memories”, “Create & Craft TV” in the United Kingdom, the Lifetime Channel’s “Balancing Act”, and The Shopping Channel in Canada. I have written craft articles for TLC.com and am also the host of a series of crafting videos for Xyron called Inspiration Station. It totally blows my mind every day! So that’s the “work” stuff…here is the fun stuff:

I am incredibly proud of my military husband (Don) and will shout it from the rooftops unabashedly. I believe he and his men and others like them (including firefighters and police officers) are absolutely awe-inspiring and are the best America has to offer. Am I blindly patriotic and think the US can do no wrong? Of course not. But I know what these men and women and their families sacrifice to serve this country, so the stories I share here about our military experiences might be mundane or uplifting or heartbreaking - but they will always be filled with pride.

I LOVE everything about food - especially those of the cheese and bread and wine variety. Over the last few years that has taken a toll on my aging body so currently Don and I are doing Paleo.  It just about KILLS me to admit this - but even though I hate it I do feel a LOT better.  That said -  I am TOTALLY obsessed with The Melting Pot. Every time I go home I make my parents take me, and Don and I once drove over an hour to one because that is where I wanted to go for my birthday.  There is one less than five minutes from the Xyron offices but no one will ever go there with me.  I think it is a conspiracy to keep me away from cheese.

If you ever meet me in person, I will be nothing like the heartfelt, emotional entries I will sometimes write here. My sense of humor is essentially the same no matter where you find me, but if I were to pour out my emotions in real life the way I do in my writing I would be a blubbering mess curled up in the corner of my bathroom with a bottle of Reisling. And it wouldn't be pretty. Instead – I’ll ask you if there is a Melting Pot nearby and then invite you to lunch.

Don and I were never fortunate enough to have kids so yes, I am going to talk about our dog Bizzy - our completely insane three year old mastidane and unofficial mascot of neighborhood craft night. I may occasionally talk about poop - because she is a RIDICULOUSLY big dog and there is a LOT of it - and sometimes I just need to ponder that out loud.

Don and I have moved 9 times in 13 years - Hawaii, Savannah GA, Virginia (for three months. THREE!), Columbus GA, Alaska, back to Columbus, Fayetteville NC, Kansas and now Washington State. Don't ask me how I do it...or I might have a nervous breakdown right here.  We are currently the LUCKIEST people in the world - we found a house right on the water in Steilacoom and so wake up to this glorious view every morning.  We have been welcomed in to the neighborhood with open arms and are completely in love with our little town, which will just make it that much more difficult to leave.

I am the only one of my HSN friends who watches herself (or himself) obsessively - at least the only one who admits it. I record it on my DVR at home, and the first thing I do when I get back from Tampa is plop down in front of the TV and watch each airing at least twice, sometimes three times. Then when Don gets home I make him watch it, and THEN I will delete it. There is one thing I do that drives me CRAZY (and no - I'm not telling you what it is, because then you will notice it even more than I already think you do) and I will obsess about it for DAYS after watching the videos, and then by the next time I get to HSN I have forgotten all about it. I have been repeating this process (and continuing to do the annoying thing) for almost three years. Therapy anyone?

So that's me in a nutshell. I hope you will get as much enjoyment out of this blog as I enjoy working on it. I wish for you inspiration, laughter, maybe a few new recipes, and as much happiness as I have been given through being a part of this incredible community of crafters. Thanks so much!