Another Cupcake....

This is a cupcake I finally made using a kit from fellow CTMH consultant Christine David. Then, the same week, I received this CUTE card from one of my downline, Kim Hurst! It's so cool - it holds a gift card inside!! They make a perfect pair, don't you think? I wonder who will get this special gift? :o)

Hey There Cupcake!

This month I'm celebrating big with another birthday workshop!! In this one we will create a cupcake that holds a gift card along with a coordinating card!

Check out this scrumptious delight!

I learned how to make these fun cupcakes from a fellow CTMH consultant, Tresa Black. Trust me, she IS fabulously artsy! Check out her video tutorial here.

I put liquid applique on the frosting, a little sprinkle of the red glitter used on the cherry and a dusting of prisma glitter, all topped off with a Tulip Twinkle Brad!

Want to make one too? Join me on Friday, February 26th at 6pm.

Contact me for more information....

Piece of Cake Cards

February's Stamp of the Month is my ALL TIME FAVORITE!!! And SO MUCH FUN to work with!! Here are the cards we will be making at one of my workshops this month...

This is the first card I made. I used a Cuttlebug embossing folder called Swiss Dots to emboss the Hollyhock cardstock, then lightly sanded it to expose the white core! I paper-pieced and raised the cake and platter on 3-D foam tape. I also added Liquid Glass to the candles and flames. There is a little Prisma Glitter on the red part of the flame....

This is the next card I made. I love how simply changing the paper color creates a whole new purpose! I really think this could be a wedding card with Congratulations instead of Happy Birthday! This time I added some of our new Bitty Sparkles to the cake!

This next card is a pattern from our Wishes book called Center Circles. I heat embossed the sentiment and dry embossed the dots. The cake is raised on 3-D foam tape and I again added a little Liquid Glass to the flower centers and candle. I added Liquid Glass/Prisma Glitter to the flame.

This is another Wishes card called Corner Shop. I added Liquid Glass and Prisma Glitter to the swirls on the cupcakes only. Once that dried, I added Liquid Glass to all of the cupcake frosting! The cupcakes are raised on 3-D foam tape.

This little guy makes a cute little gift card. It's also a Wishes pattern called Mini Window. I added Liquid Applique to the frosting and Liquid Glass/Prisma Glitter to the cherries! And of course, raised them up on 3-D foam tape! Everything is better in 3-D! LOL!

This workshop is scheduled for Monday, February 22nd at 6pm. Contact me if you are interested in joining me to make these cute cards!

The BEST Spaghetti Sauce

I must say, I really like my homemade spaghetti sauce. But after having some of Kim's special sauce, I'm tossing my recipe and going for hers! LOL!

We had our quarterly team meeting at my house last Saturday and we always share lunch together too. This time we had an Italian Feast! Spaghetti, garlic bread, salad, and topped it off with homemade Tiramissu! Woo Hoo!

Anyway, here is Kim's recipe. Not only is it delicious, you cook it in a crock pot! How easy is that!

4 pound of hamburger (DO NOT brown first)

3/4 cup sugar

1 tablespoon salt

1 lg chopped onion or dry chopped onion

4 pkg of THICK AND ZESTY SPAGHETTI MIX (found at WalMart or Krogers with the gravy packets)

4 cans tomato paste

2 cans tomato sauce (~15/16 oz cans)

1 can water (from the tomato sauce can)

Place hamburger in large crock pot. Place all ingredients on top of hamburger and mix WELL. You can mix after each couple of ingredients you add. Cook on low for about 8-9 hours. Sauce should be smooth and there should not be any large pieces of hamburger.

That's it! Bon Appetit!

Topstitch Workshop

This month I have workshop that is just in time for Valentine's day. The papers, accessories and stamp set are PERFECT for heartfelt sentiments!

Here are the layouts you can create with this kit:



Here are the cards you can create (2 of each card for a total of 12 cards!!):

The basic kit is discounted at only $29.95 and includes:

Topstitch Level 2 Paper Pack

Love is in the Air (exclusive stamp set)

Mini-Medley Accents Colonial White Collection

Full color, step-by-step Workshop Guide

There are a couple of optional accessories that I recommend to get the most out of your projects:

Dimensional Elements Hearts - $3.25

Clear Sparkles - $2.95

Embroidery Floss Neutral Assortment - $3.25

You can join with me on Friday, January 29th at 6pm to create these projects OR order the kit to make this at home!

Topstitch Card

I just love our new Spring paper packs!! Each one has its own unique personality! One of them is Topstitch which features Baby Pink, Chocolate, Heavenly Blue, and Vinyard Berry colors! The combination of these colors are PERFECT for girlie projects, the pinks and blues are great for baby projects, the blues and browns will also make great "guy" projects, and the soft blues will also work well with SNOW pictures and projects!

This paper pack and the coordinating stamp sets also features stitching, along with cool circles, distressed elements, and flowers.

This paper is also perfect for Valentine projects! Here is a simple little card using left over scraps!

I also used our new stamp set Togetherness for the faux stitching, heart, and "love". This card also features one of our Just Blooms paper flowers and our new Bitty Sparkles. Each guest will be making this card FREE at a gathering at my house this weekend. The pattern is from our Originals How-To Card book called Center Accent. If you have the Originals book, you can follow this pattern and create your own as shown or with ANY combination of paper scraps and embellishments! The possibilities are endless!

January's Stamp of the Month

This month's stamp of the month is called True Friends. It has 4 cute frames, 4 friendly sentiments and 3 different brackets to choose from. I see LOTS of possibilities with this set! Click here to see the stamp set and how you can get it for free!



Here is an altered binder clip I made using this stamp set and our new Topstitch papers and Togetherness stamp set.

Felicity Calendar

Have you qualified for and received your FREE Felicity kit yet? I just LOVE the 12x12 die cuts, the beautiful papers, and the versatile stamp set! I just LOVED one of the card projects shown on the idea sheet that comes with each kit. I modified it slightly to use as my new calendar cover!

Be sure to click here to see how you can purchase your kit or get it absolutely FREE!

Don't forget, you can enter win a kit every day, simply by clicking here and commenting on each day's post!

New Consultant Opportunities!

Do you crave creative time?
Could you go for some girl time?
Do you desire deep discounts?
I've got just the thing for you!
Join my team as a Close To My Heart consultant this month and you'll get some incredible bonuses!

First of all, the new Spring Consultant kit contains everything you need to get started with both new products to create artwork and necessary business supplies. This kit contains approximately $300 in product and is available to you for only $99! What a deal!



In addition, you have the option of adding either or both of our bonus packs! Our Scrapbooking Bonus Pack contains our incredible Imagine book along with the new You Rock papers, stamps, and accessories valued at approximately $165, available to you for only $60! Another great deal!



Our Cardmaking Bonus Pack includes our wonderful Wishes book along with the new Topstitch papers, stamps, and accessories, valued at approximately $150, available to you for only $50! Wow! Another great deal!



But WAIT, there's even MORE available this month. Sign up in January and you will receive the Felicity Kit, valued at $34.95, absolutely FREE!




And the deals don't end there! I will also give you a FREE VersaMat (a must have tool), plus provide one-on-one training to help you get started as either a hobbiest OR business builder!

AND, beginning January, all CTMH consultants with websites will have access to the new Studio J software! This is something you just have to see to believe! And as a consultant, you will have access before the general public does in March!

Finally, you will be eligible to join us in DC this summer for our annual convention! This year promises to be the absolute BEST EVER!!!

PLUS, Close To My Heart rewards those who get off to a great start with up to $150 in FREE products plus a FREE stamp set of your choice from me! (Ask me about our Straight the the Top program.)

Oh, and did I mention, you get a discount on all products, every day? What a deal!!! Interested? Click here or contact me for more information or click here to sign up today!

Wishes Club & Workshop

I wanted to do one more of the workshops that are outlined in our fabulous Wishes Card Book. This workshop will show you how to make 16 cards using only 2 1/2 pieces of 12x12 paper and your card bases. The workshop includes 2 each of 8 different card designs. I've decided to break it up and just do the 8 cards per person. This is our Wishes Club project this month, but I also wanted to make it available to everyone, so I'm holding a separate workshop as well. Be sure to sign up!



I'm using our new Veranda papers (warm and creamy, just gorgeous) along with our new Just Blooms paper flowers in our Spring Blossom colors (LOVE THESE - 3 different flower shapes in 2 different sizes each along with butterflies all in 3 different colors), we're also using my favorite embellishment in our new Spring Idea Book - Filigree Charms! Eight different pewter brads in differing filigree styles.

I've used a variety of stamp sets - some old, some new:
D1406 - True Friends - this month's stamp of the month filled with "must have" frames and friend sentiments! (ask me how to get yours for FREE!)
D1418 - Felicity - this exclusive stamp set is available FREE in a special kit this month! (check out more here.)
B1338 - Follow Your Heart - this exclusive stamp set is available in the Veranda worshop on the go kit! (Ask me how to get yours!)
D1416 - State of Mind - this is one of my FAVORITE new stamp sets! Great for cards, journals, scrapbooking, etc.
D1361 - Thank You - such a versatile set!
C1364 - TLC - this is a sweet stamp set with many uses
D1265 - Gracious Greetings - This is a very elegant script to easily add class to your projects!

If you are not a Wishes Club member, you can join me on Friday, January 22nd to make these cards. They are purposely simple and understated to show how easy cardmaking can be!

8 cards with all embellishments and coordinating envelopes and adhesive for $15.

Bring your own adhesive and the workshop is only $10!

Ring in the NEW YEAR with our NEW SPRING 2010 IDEA BOOK!

Hot off the press and ready for YOU today is our new 2010 Spring Idea Book and Catalog! This new book is PACKED with gorgeous new papers, to-die-for new embellishments like bitty sparkles, flowers, glitter rub-ons, a new "manly" card kit, a cute and easy journal, and SO MUCH MORE. Here is just a sampling of the new products and some creative ideas for you.

This artwork features our new Veranda papers, our new Spring Blossom paper flowers, our new filigree charms, and 2 new stamp sets Authentic and So Sweet.

This artwork features our new Caboodle papers, our new Tiny Tabs, Irresistibles Lots of Dots alphabet, and two new stamp sets Playin' Hard and Boys at Play:


This artwork features our new Topstitch papers, new soft suede Pinwheels, along with two new stamp sets Charmed and Togetherness:


This artwork features our new You Rock papers, our new Top Coats Rockin' transparency die cuts, new Remarks Glitter Rub Ons, and two new stamp sets Star Power and Rock Star:

If you aren't able to make it to my Open House on January 9th (click here for more info) to get your very own copy, simply contact me and I will be happy to get one to you!

Click here to browse the online Idea Book now.

Click here to start shopping!

Happy New Year!!!