"Cherry On Top" Blog Award

I am so humbled and excited that Lori from "Organized Chaos" chose me to receive the "Cherry On Top" blog award! Thanks Lori!

The rules for receiving this award:
1. Thank the person that passed it to you
2. Copy award to your blog
3. List three things you love about yourself
4. Post a picture that you love to your blog
5. Pass the award onto 5 others

Three things I love about myself, (boy this is not very easy!):
1. My faith remains...even in the midst of very hard times, by God's grace, He continues to show Himself faithful and true.
2. My friendships...I have the most wonderful friends in the world - they must see something good in me - not sure what I've done to deserve them!
3. My CTMH business...I'm thrilled to be a CTMH consultant! It has given me wonderful opportunities to meet very special people who have become friends, customers, and team mates! It has also given me opportunities for increased income and all expense paid exotic vacations! And it gives me a creative outlet to celebrate the relationships in my life with scrapbooking and stamping, cards, and gifts! I love it!!

Here is one my all time favorite photos...it's my great grandmother as a young girl.


Okay, time to pass this award on. This is ALSO difficult to pick only a few....I'll try to pick those I haven't awarded in the past.....here are my five:

1. Annette at Annette's Creative Journey: I love her style and tutorials - especially this one!

2. Denise at Inspired by Heart: She is the most talented, perky person you will ever meet! Like the energizer bunny, she just keeps on going with a smile on her face! (Maybe it's coffee!!)

3. Karen at Karen Pedersen: Karen is one of the most inspiring artists I know! She is so consistent at posting beautiful projects - one after another! I don't know how she does it! I always enjoy reading about her family and wonderful recipes also!

4. Jeanette at Jeanette Lynton.com: Not sure she will officially "accept" the award, but I just have to direct you to her site if you haven't bookmarked it already! Founder and President of Close To My Heart, she has strikingly beautiful artwork posted, new color cominations, and fabulous recipes!!

5. Lisa at Lisa's Creative Corner: Lisa is a longtime friend and my Close To My Heart upline! Aside from that, she is one of the most talented people I know!!! I love her artistic eye for simple, classic elegance!

Art & Soul: Eclectic Elegance

Want to know what to do with our left-over embellishments, or how to make perfect bows and knots, what about ribbon ruffles and rosettes? Check out the latest episode of Close To My Heart's Art & Soul on my website here.

Strawberry Fields Salad

Most of you know I LOVE food! Especially fresh foods! This past week I made this salad for guests. (I like to experiment with real live people! Dangerous, I know!) It came out of Southern Living Magazine. Although it was good, if I made it again here is what I would change - substitute spinach for the spring mix and leave out the basil - it was a little too overpowering, I thought. Otherwise, very simple, very good, and very "good for you"!

Strawberry Fields Salad
Makes 6-8 servings

4 large nectarines, cut into 1/4" thick wedges
3/4 cup Lemon Poppy Seed Dressing (see below)
1 (10 oz.) pkg. gourmet mixed salad greens
2 cups sliced fresh strawberries
1 (4 oz.) pkg crumbled feta cheese
1 large green tomato, diced*
1/2 cup chopped fresh basil
1 (3.5 oz.) pkg roasted glazed pecan pieces

1) Toss nectarines with 1/4 cup Lemon Poppy Seed Dressing.
2) Layer gourmet mixed salad greens, nectarines, strawberries, and next 4 ingredients in a large glass bowl. Serve immediately, or cover and chill up to 8 hours. Toss salad with remaining 1/2 cup dressing just before serving.
*1 1/2 cups halved miniature heirloom green tomatoes may be substituted

Lemon Poppy Seed Dressing
Makes 1 1/3 cups

Process 2/3 cup vegetable oil, 1/2 cup sugar, 1/3 cup fresh lemon juice, 1 1/2 Tbsp. poppy seeds, 2 tsp. finely chopped onion, 1 tsp. Dijon mustard, and 1/2 tsp. salt in a blender until smooth. Store in refrigerator up to 1 week; serve at room temperature.

In the Month of August

A lot happens in the month of August. It's the time for last chance getaways before the school routine begins, pre-season football games are in full swing, teachers are preparing their classrooms, parents are shopping for school supplies & clothes, and most kids actually start back to school this month! So for my crop this month, I decided to celebrate August with our In the Month of August stamp set. I was inspired by Jeanette Lynton's blog post. I especially loved the little composition notebook on her card! But, alas, I didn't have THAT stamp set, called Good Work. So I found an Originals card pattern - Little Squares - and created a card using only the In the Month of August stamp set.


I used white embossing powder on black cardstock for the A+ to simulate a chalkboard!


I also included a CUTE coordinating pencil made from rolos and a kiss! This project was featured in Creating Keepsakes, but I found it thanks to fellow CTMH consultant, Pamela Korn-Eigenheer. (Thanks Pam!)

This is so easy to make! Take a 3 1/2" x 4 1/2" piece of honey cardstock and score it every 1/2" lengthwise. Use decorate scissors to create a deckled edge - or if you're like me and finally gave away all of those decorative scissors, you can create your own edge freehand. Then you wrap it around a tube of Rolos. Add a blush circle at the top, and wrap a 3/8" x 3 1/2" piece of blush cardstock around the top for the eraser. Then add a 3/8" x 3 1/2" piece of alum foil around to hide the seam. Add a Hershey's Kiss to the bottom (the side with the deckled edge) and embellish as you wish! So simple and So cute!!

The Originals card pattern (Little Squares) is a cute little 4 3/4" x 3" card and calls for a window to be cut out in the center square. I decided not to create a window in the little card. Then I modified the pattern for 7" x 5" card, below, and included the cut out window.



I had been using the back side of one of the Zippidee B&T papers, but decided to make one using the colorful side. This is also a 7" x 5" card, modified for a slightly older child.


Everyone at my all day crop on Saturday will receive the little card and pencil to pass on to their favorite student or teacher - assuming the chocolates last that long!

Baby Celebration Gifts

Okay - have you ever found yourself in a situation where you wanted to give a gift, but didn't have the resources to buy anything at all? Well that's the situation I'm in now....so let's put on our rose-colored, creative glasses and take a walk through the house to see what we can find!

So one of my club members just became a grandma - again! I always love to celebrate births and blessings in our club - any reason to celebrate, right? What do I have around here that I can make 10 little gifts out of??? I'm thinking pink, since it's a little girl. What about some little goodie bags.....I found some conversation hearts left over from Valentine's Day. Maybe I could use the pink and white ones! I dumped them all out on the table - no white and only about 5 pink in each box. Hmmm. The other colors are pretty bright....maybe I could toss in the purple ones and do pink & purple - those are girl colors.


So going with the pink and purple I put together these little cards - using a Wishes pattern - Window Wishes (4 1/2" square). I chose baby pink and amethyst to match the candies. I died the paper flower with baby pink reinker. Then used a little flower-pot baby from the stamp set Flower Child. (LOVE those little pots!) I used spring markers and spring chalks to color it in. Then tied a bit of blush waxy flax around the pot and added an amythist button from our Spring Craft Button collection. And of course lots of 3-D foam tape for dimension!




Then I found 10 white votive candles (fresh linen scent - mmmmm) and stamped "it's a girl" on white tissue paper, cut out and melted it onto the candle using wax paper and my craft heater. I added a tiny paper flower with a brad and voila! I have 10 little gifts to bring to club tomorrow night! Whew!!


Let this be a lesson to us all - don't dispair, don't be discouraged, just put on those rose-colored, creative glasses and start digging in pantrys and closets until you discover something once discarded that you can transform into treasure!

Something Splendid Workshop

Create 6 cards (2 each of 3 designs) using our August stamp of the month: Something Splendid!

We will also create a coordinating box to store your cards in, or use as a gift box, or even to hold your 4x6 photos!

This first card is so quick and simple - no cutting out images! I used a little Liquid Glass in the center of each flower - they look like faux brads!

This next card offers the option of layering your flowers for a 3-D effect. I also used a little Glitz Glitter in the center of each flower! (The pattern was taken from our Wishes card book.)

This last card also started with a Wishes pattern, but I modified it from a 5x7 card to a standard size top-fold card that will fit in our box!

Join me on Saturday, August 21 during my all day crop to make this project

or for an encore workshop on Friday, August 27th at 6pm.

This cost is $20 and includes everything you need to create this project, pre-cut and ready to assemble.

RSVP by August 13th.

Sugar & Spice Recipe Card Kit

Our Sugar & Spice recipe card kit makes gift giving so easy! These cards coordinate with our Cherry-O papers and fit perfectly inside our new My Creations Recipe/Photo Box.



This first box, I covered with our Cherry-O Level 2 papers and embellished the flap with one of the stickers from the card kit!




This next box, I used our Cherry-O Creative Basics paper along with stickers from the card kit. I love the pink and brown combo! Always have! :o)

These were SO EASY to create! Order your supplies today to quickly and easily create a custom made gift filled with a few favorite recipes from you to a friend. Or host a party where everyone contributes recipes to share - and everyone will go home with a box filled with new recipes to try! Contact me for more information!

Mega Online Sale - 8 Days Only!

2, 4, 6, 8, who do we appreciate? It's YOU, of course! We are shouting from the rooftops how much we love and appreciate you! It only makes sense to pass along our appreciation with amazing deals. So for 8 days, August 4th through 11th (while supplies last), you can purchase select My Stickease Assortments for only $2, My Reflections Level 1 kits for only $4, and My Reflections Level 2 paper packets for only $6 online! That's more than 50% off!!

In addition to these great deals, you can now add regularly priced items to your cart with these discounted items! Making it easy to get the stamp of the month at a discount or free! Be sure to select coordinating inks and accessories to go along with your sale items!


Click here to see a list of products available in this sale.

Click here to see images of the items (thanks to fellow consultant Dawn Ross!)

Click here to start shopping on Wednesday, August 4th at 11am Eastern Time!

Convention Roomies and Gifts!

One of my favorite parts of convention is hanging out with my roommates, getting to know friends better or getting to know brand new friends! This year I roomed with Lisa, Carolyn, and Diane. And part of the fun is always exchanging roomie gifts! Check out the SPLENDORific gifts I received!!


Lisa gave us each one of these cute little purses filled with a matching notebook, a mini calculator, kleenex, tigers milk bar, and gum!


Diane made us all this adorable heart shaped bag filled with Sweet Pea lotions and potions and candles! (I even found a little chocolate tucked in there too!)


Denise Anderson-Turley made each of her downline this cute little flip flap book. Actually she gave us each a kit and an online tutorial of how to put it together! Perfect idea - to show everyone how easy it is to make one of these beauties!


And finally, Carolyn - who is also a seamstress & quilter - made us each one of the amazing shoulder totes - each filled with Bath & Body goodies! I just LOVE mine! :o)

We had such a great time at convention. I am already looking forward to our 2011 convention in the Disneyland Hotel in Anaheim, CA! Woo Hoo! Want to join us? Ask me about our new consultant kit - packed with MORE value and MORE options than ever before!