Bridges & Bends

For the Twitterpated workshop (see Twitterpated workshop post, same date) I chose pictures I took while we were at the West Virginia State Wildlife Center last October. It was a beatiful day and a beautiful park! After looking at the photos I took of the animals and surroundings, I was struck by 2 pictures of the paths ahead of me. I chose to write about my thoughts rather than the event......

The journaling reads:
BRIDGES

"A bridge is something or someone that helps you navigate over an obstacle. The "bridge" offers support, strength, hope, and confidence to safely cross over a seemingly impossible chasm.

The most important bridge in my life is Jesus Christ, who allowed me to cross from death to life. But there have been many other bridges in my life - dear friends & family who have helped me over and through many obstacles.

You know who you are & I love you."

The journaling reads:

BENDS

"Some people shudder with fear when they see a bend in the road. I choose to see it as a wonderful possibility. Who knows where it will lead! CS Lewis once said: "We are too often content with slums & mud pies because we cannot imagine a holiday at the sea." I must admit that I like to settle in to the status quo. But I am trying to embrace change - to lift my eyes off of my "mud pies" and listen intently for the soothing sound of crashing waves, life my face to feel the warmth of the sun, and breathe deep the fresh sea air as I round the bend in my road."

I think I might try to incorporate more of my thoughts on life and not limit my scrapbooking to people and events. After all, scrapbooking is about creating a legacy - not just documenting pictures of those I love and events we have shared, but actually sharing a part of ME with my family and future family for years to come!

Twitterpated Workshop

October's workshop features our new Twitterpated papers. I love the rich, warm colors in this kit! They are perfect for fall photos and celebrations!

In this workshop there are FOUR projects to choose from - (two are shown above). You can complete 3 out of the 4 with your workshop kit. There are two different 2-page layouts, and two different card sets (6 cards in each set). Choose only the scrapbook pages, only the cards, or a combination of the two!

Your basic kit includes:

• Hello There Stamp Set - this is an EXCLUSIVE stamp only available in this kit - NOT available in the Idea Book!
• Twitterpated Level 2 Paper Packet
• Designer Ribbon Rounds Chocolate Collection
• A Full-color Workshop Guide with step-by-step instructions

This kit is discounted at only $29.95!

To get the full benefit of this kit, I recommend adding some optional accessories:

• Z1230 Dimensional Elements In Color - Organic $3.50
• Z280 Natural Hemp $2.25
• Z1218 Brads Basic Assortment $4.95

Join me on Friday, 10/23 from 6pm-9pm or Saturday, 10/24 from 2pm-5pm.
Can't attend those dates or leave little ones at home? Order a kit to make this at home!

RSVP by 10/11/09.

Fresh Grounded Faith

Lasts week, we had the Fresh Grounded Faith conference here in Charleston, WV. It was fabulous! Featuring Jennifer Rothschild and Kathy Troccoli. Oh, I really needed this! Fun "girl time" but also meaningful "God time" too. If you don't know Jennifer's story, you should check out her website. She lost her eyesight at 15 years old. But God has shown himself faithful and continues to use her in amazing ways!

This event came at just the right time in my life. We, as women, sometimes isolate ourselves in our insecurities and problems, but we are all essentially fighting the same battles and struggling with the same root issues. What an encouragement to band together and support one another with hugs, an encouraging word, and prayer. I had such a wonderful time getting to know new friends, and working with an awesome group of volunteers! I can't wait until next year!

Here are a few photos:

Close To My Heart Bingo Bash!

This past Sunday, Pam, Heather, and I hosted our first Bingo Bash with lots of prizes and fun! I think everyone had a good time, but I certainly learned ALOT about how to make it even BETTER for next time!

I just wanted to give a shout-out to the winner of the grand prize, Claire from Danville! Woo Hoo!! She won a brand new CTMH shoulder tote filled with handmade christmas cards, and materials to make more: Jinge Creative Basics pack, cards/envelopes, Flurry Dimensional Elements, Liquid Applique, Prisma Glitter, and Bonding Memories Glue.

Congratulations Claire!

Western Caribbean Cruise!!!!

I just had to share my exciting news........I just qualified for the CTMH Western Caribbean Cruise!!! Woo Hoo!!! All expenses paid for TWO, including airfare, to the Western Caribbean for a FIVE day cruise! I can't wait! Thank you to all of my wonderful customers and downline who helped me to qualify for this exciting adventure!

This is my first incentive trip and I am SO excited!! Can you tell? I've decided to take my mom on the first trip since she has been VERY supportive of me and my Close To My Heart business. Love you MOM! Next year, I just might take my hubby -- if he's nice!

Woo Hoo!! Just wanted to share my good news with you all!

By the way, are YOU looking for:

• a way to get ALL your scrapbooking, stamping, and paper crafting supplies at a discount every day?


• additional income to add to your monthly budget?


• an opportunity to develop life-long relationships with other wonderful women while helping them create beautiful projects and preserve family memories?


• AN ALL EXPENSES PAID TRIP TO AN EXOTIC LOCATION EVERY YEAR?

Then contact me to see how Close To My Heart can help you achieve those goals. I'll come along side of you to help you acheive whatever goals YOU want to reach!

Peace on Earth with Pearls!

I love this simple little card. I used one of our new stamp sets called Snow Flurries along with our new connection club reward - elegant adhesive-backed pearls.

You can get your own package of these pearls as my gift to you when you accumulate $200 in purchases. Click here to see the stamp set and order your copy today!

All supplies are Close To My Heart:

Cardstock: Juniper, Tulip, White Daisy

Stamps: Snow Flurries

Other: Juniper ribbon (from Creative Basics Jingle), White embossing powder, adhesive backed pearls, 3-D foam tape (under sentiment), White Daisy cards/envelopes bulk pack

Mexican Cooking Class

This month's Imagine Club layout is called Leading Lady. In this class I'm going to show how you can use our fabulous Flip-Flaps to add an interactive layer of photos or journaling to your layout.



Here you can see I used the Flip-Flaps on the right hand side of the page. They are attached directly to the outside of the page protector so that you can easily lift the Flip-Flap to reveal more photos underneath! No more pulling out your pages to access those hidden layers!

By the way, I took this cooking class with a good friend, Nicole (now a CTMH consultant too!). We had a lot of fun cooking and even more fun eating!

All materials used are CTMH unless otherwise noted:

Paper: Animal Cookies L2 paper pack, Tinkering L2 paper pack, Crystal Blue cardstock, Black cardstock

Stamps: Extreme Caps (date)

Other: White Daisy Ric Rac, Clover Meadow Bigger Brads, 3-D foam tape, Flip-Flaps, CTMH font CD, Cricut Opposites Attract (for title).

Wishes Club - September

I just LOVED Karen Pedersen's card when I first saw it and wanted to find a Wishes pattern I could adapt to it for our club. I found a pattern called Sentiment Wave that worked!

Techniques used on this card are embossing with white embossing poweder, and chalk popping with honey chalk. Both show the virtues and versatility of VersaMark ink! The sentiment is raised with 3-D foam tape, and the scallop is made with our corner rounder (with the guard removed).

Here is one more Wishes card using this stamp set. The pattern is Medallion. It was a 5x7 card that I modified for 5 1/2 x 4 1/4 size. It is SUPER simple, purposely understated, monochromatic card with just a dab of glitter on the blossoms. This card was inspired by Vicki Wizniuk's card.



Inside card and bottom of envelope:


(I just love my CTMH sistas!!)

The stamp set used in these cards is our September stamp of the month called Treasures. This just shows a hint of the beautiful images and sentiments available in this stamp set. Click here to see more and also how you can get this stamp at a discount or FREE! Treasures is only available during the month of September - be sure and get yours before it's gone!

Jingle Gift Box, tins, and cards

I needed something to donate to a women's conference coming up this weekend and this is what I came up with. What do you think? Each box holds 2 nugget tins and 2 - 3.5 x 8 cards/env. I may also offer this as a workshop in November.

The card was inspired by fellow CTMH consultant Bren Yule and the tins by CTMH consultant Laurel Seabrook (thanks girls!!):


Front of box - I inked the edges of the DE's with juniper and covered with prisma glitter, topped with a crocheted flower and twinkle brad:


Side of box:


Inside box (filled):


Nugget tin:


Card - sentiment inside card reads: "its greatest gifts are family and friends:

Sweet Home Workshop

This month's workshop will feature our new Sweet Home papers. The soft blues and rich red and brown colors are perfect for black & white photos, heritage photos, or color photos!




In this workshop there are FOUR projects to choose from - (two are shown above). You can complete 3 out of the 4 with your workshop kit. There are two different 2-page layouts, and two different card sets (6 cards in each set). Choose only the scrapbook pages, only the cards, or a combination of the two!

Your basic kit includes:

• Enjoy the Journey Stamp Set - this is an EXCLUSIVE stamp only available in this kit - NOT available in the Idea Book!
• Sweet Home Level 2 Paper Packet (12 sheets of our B&T Duos, double-sided pattern paper and 10 sheets of color coordinating cardstock)
• Mini-Medley Accents White Daisy Collection (metal frames, flower brads, ribbon slides, and elegant crocheted flowers)
• A Full-color Workshop Guide with step-by-step instructions
  
  This kit is discounted at only $29.95!
  
  To get the full benefit of this kit, I recommend adding some optional accessories:
  Top Coats Framed-In overlays ($4.95)
  Designer Ribbon Rounds Buttercup Collection ($7.95)
  
  Join me on Friday, 9/25 from 6pm-9pm or Saturday, 9/26 from 2pm-5pm.

Can't attend those dates or leave little ones at home? Order a kit to make this at home!

RSVP by 9/11/09.

Around the Holidays Card Kit

Just in time for Christmas and gift giving, our new Around the Holidays card kit offers many possibilities. The kit contains 12 card bases (3 each of 4 different designs) 3 sheets of adhseive artwork to add, 12 envelopes, along with chocolate organdy ribbon and 3-D foam squares! This kit goes together in just a matter of minutes!



Lisa Stenz and I brainstormed an idea to make this into easy gifts to give neighbors, friends, teachers, club members, just about ANYONE! Here is what we came up with:

I attached one of the card fronts to the top of this CD tin:


Then I covered the inside bottom of the tin with the back of the card - I used our new Cocoa embossing powder for the sentiment and our White embossing powder for the snowflakes.


Finally, I filled the tin with 3 of the other cards:


I can get three sets of these out of just one card kit!


The cards are adorable just like they come, but I chose to add just a little liquid glass, prisma glitter, fun flock, and liquid applique in a few areas just for fun! You can find the tins at Specialty Bottle Supply. I figured I could give the tin filled with cards as a gift and the recipient could re-use the tin as a gift box! It would easily hold a gift card, jewelry, candy, or other small items!

New Autumn/Winter Idea Book now available!

Woo Hoo! Okay, so many of you already know Close To My Heart's new Autumn/Winter Idea Book is now available. Contact me to get your very own copy - or join me at our Bingo Bash coming up Sept. 20th - or click here to view it online!


I LOVE this time of year! Filled with grateful hearts, cooler weather, good food, and holiday cheer! It's a time to really focus on those you love, the things you are grateful for, and our purpose for living. What better way to show your love, gratitude, and purpose than by making handmade cards and gifts and getting your memories and thoughts into a scrapbook for all to enjoy and reflect on!


Close To My Heart has some WONDERFUL new papers, stamps, embellishments, and projects that are just PERFECT for this season! Here is just a sneak peek:


Our new Grace papers and stamps are a good fit for any occasion, monochromatic tones with a splash of color:


Our new Twitterpated papers are just infused with rich, warm colors - perfect for everything Autumn:


Our new Sweet Home papers and stamps will beautifully express your love of "home":


And our Jingle papers and stamps help ring in the Christmas season with style - BUT these papers are also perfect for any type of party or winter scene:

Contact me today to get your very own copy of our new Idea Book filled with great artwork and ideas to keep you busy all winter long!