Cover Story

What do you do with your friends?

Have fun? Talk books? Solve the world’s problems? Get more ideas here ....

By Melissa Westphal

ROCKFORD WOMAN

Apr 25, 2008 @ 12:01 AM

Fun idea: Start a stamping group
It’s one thing to buy wrapping paper, cards and picture frames. It’s another to design them yourself with custom-made stamps and a dash of artistic flair.

Most people pick up stamping as a hobby, and the hobby can evolve into an art form, said Dee Vowell, who ran Rubber Stamp Rendezvous in Rockton for more than a decade. Often, it starts with an invite to a stamping party.

“Usually when they start out, the stamps are cute, like teddy bears and flowers,” Vowell said. “After a while, people’s tastes change and they start to explore more artistic venues.”

Her customers buy stamps to make greeting cards, wrapping paper with matching cards and now, more than ever, for scrapbooking.

Stamp swap parties, in which everybody makes 10 cards on a theme, are popular, Vowell said. Partiers swap cards and leave with a unique collection.

Stampers can join clubs that meet monthly and participate in workshops. Look local but also try arts and crafts stores like Hobby Lobby and Michaels.

Vowell closed her store in March but hopes to still do mail orders and offer custom-made stamps (rubberstamprendezvous.com; 815-624-4954).

Another place to start is with a local direct-sales stamp party consultant. Here’s a look at some big names in the stamping business.

Stampin’ Up!: A global company that greets you in languages from seven countries at its Web site, . The 20-year-old company offers decorative stamp sets and accessories for greeting cards, scrapbooking, craft projects and home decor. A quick check of the Web site shows more than a dozen demonstrators in the Rockford area. More than 50,000 demonstrators exist in the U.S. and Canada; most come from California, Minnesota, Washington, Wisconsin and Michigan.

theangelcompany: A 10-year-old company that offers products for rubber stampers, scrapbookers and paper crafters. They advertise the Creative Cling stamping system, comprised of “deeply etched vulcanized stamps.” Visit theangelcompany.net for more information.

Close To My Heart: Started by Jeanette Lynton in 1984. Scrapbooking and stamping product lines were combined in 2000. Go to closetomyheart.com for more information.

“The Guy Not Taken”
By Jennifer Weiner
320 pages, 2006
Jennifer Weiner has become familiar reading in the so-called “chick-lit” genre. Her fifth book is a collection of 11 short stories written during the past 15 years that deal with everyday topics — dating, marriage, childhood and children — with humor and emotion. It’s a good preview of her writings.

“The Best American
Short Stories”
Various authors
448 pages, 2007
There’s a reason these stories are the best. The yearly series is a great read. This edition is edited by horror/fantasy author Stephen King. Get hooked on the format with other “Best American” books that feature collections of comics, mysteries, essays and more. Go to houghtonmifflinbooks.com for more information on the series.

“The Idiot Girls’ Action-Adventure Club: True Tales from a Magnificent and Clumsy Life”
By Laurie Notaro
240 pages, 2002
Who hasn’t changed since high school? This book is a collection of Laurie Notaro’s humor columns from the Arizona Republic. The stories offer a funny take on aging through realistic and sometimes inebriated eyes.

“A Three Dog Life”
By Abigail Thomas
192 pages, 2006
Abigail Thomas expresses lessons learned through essays in a collection of writings after her husband, Rich, was hit by a car. Rich was left with severe memory loss and suffered hallucinations and rage attacks, forcing him to live life in an institution. Her essays address the decision to move closer to her husband and the experiences they went through.

Serious idea: Are there enough OB/GYNs?
Pregnancy is complicated enough without worrying about whether a doctor will be available to deliver your baby.

But it’s an issue that local medical leaders are trying to address, particularly for medically underserved families in the Rock River Valley.

Winnebago County has about 4,000 births per year, a number that’s been consistent for the past eight years. The rate has decreased during the past 40 years; the county saw 5,614 births in 1960.

However, the number of people who rely on government assistance for health care has changed dramatically during the past 15 years.

Of the patients treated by Crusader Clinic in its Women’s Health services, 93 percent fall below the poverty level, said Steven Lidvall, chief medical officer for the region’s sliding-fee health care provider. Lidvall worked as a private practice doctor in Rockford for 30 years and joined the Crusader staff last year.

Crusader Clinic delivered 1,175 babies last year compared with 630 in 2003. The number accounts for 20 percent of births in the entire county, and the deliveries take place primarily at SwedishAmerican Hospital.

The clinic added two OB/GYNs in the past year and half and is hiring another nurse midwife this spring. Serving the need and finding space for the deliveries is a “huge issue in the community,” Lidvall said.

It is challenging to find OB/GYNs, partly because of the state’s high malpractice insurance costs, Lidvall said. And, he said, working with multiple hospitals for deliveries would create more confusion.

“It’s almost impossible to deliver at two different hospitals because it spreads that responsibility even more,” Lidvall said. “(SwedishAmerican) has been a good partner, but we’re pushing their capacity.”

Crusader has expanded its facilities, which allows it to do more prenatal care, but officials still rely on the hospital partnership for deliveries. Lidvall said officials meet on a biweekly basis to discuss the volume problems.

One idea is recruiting doctors from the private sector. Reproductive and women’s health education is also a key component to any solution.

“If people can recognize the bigger picture, it helps us in the long run,” Lidvall said.