Stargazers in my Dining Room!

For no reason at all, my sweet husband surprised me with this beautiful taste of summer today! Stargazers are my favorite flower - this picture cannot even capture the beauty. Nor can it capture the fragrance flowing through my house. Yes, I'd say he loves me!! :)

Whole New Way to Look at a Level 1 Kit

Do you have a Level 1 kit sitting around that you just don't know what to do with? Make cards! I have a great pattern that will make 18 cards from a Level 1 kit!! Less than a dollar a card!! Watch the announcement of the upcming class! I can't wait to

teach you how to use your Originals & a Level 1 kit together! Very unique and very fun!!

Hey There Cupcake

I was playing with my Cupcake Sprinkles set again, and I came up with this cute little 6x6 card. I just love the glitter on the cupcake and frosting. And of course, I can never resist putting a Pretty Pin in the mix somewhere!!

• Daydream Level 2
• Black Archival Ink
• Tulip, Blush, Lilac Mist, Sweet Leaf Ink
• Cup Sprinkles Stamp Set
• Sweet Leaf and Blush Ribbon Rounds
• Winter Cozy Craft Button
• Prisma Glitter, Liquid Glass
• Pretty Pin
• Just Blooms Pig Pink

Pretty Pins Blog Candy!

OOOoooh, these are one of my favorite embellishments in the Spring 2009 Idea Book! They are so much fun to use!! First of all, I am HUGE into packaging, and would you look at how these cute little pins are packaged? So nice. I LOVE it. I love when a product makes me feel special just by buying it!

They are so tiny and sweet. Just the perfect size for tucking in a piece of ribbon on a card or on a layout. And at the price point of just 35 cents per pin, they are a steal!

What would you do with these? Where would you put them? Do you like them? Let me know! There's some BLOG CANDY in this for the winner of this random drawing! I am going to send this package of Pretty Pins to the winner when I draw their name on Saturday, February 14th!! You don't have a chance of winning if you don't enter!!

Something Pretty in the Mailbox!

It is so much fun to open a package and get something pretty - for no reason at all!! Isn't this hand-crafted bracelet beautiful? My sister Linda made this for me, and I just love it!

I was a little worried because I talked to her last week, and she asked me if I had received the bracelet she sent. I had not! And I'm quite certain she was waiting to hear how I like it!! So yesterday, there the package came. It took15 days to come from northern MN to me! But I opened the package while I was on the phone with Linda, and I wish she could have seen my face! I was thrilled! I have other pieces that Linda has made, too, and I cherish all of them. Truly, handmade creations are just the best. Better than Brighton in my eyes...

Cards, Cards, Cards

I had so much fun just going through the Originals book and creating this afternoon! What a great book filled with tons of inspiration!! If only there were more hours in the day!!

This card is fun because it is so "pink." With a husband and son, I rarely get to work with the pinks, and this was a fun card to come up with! I used:

• Daydream Level 2
• Big Pinks
• White Organdy Ribbon
• Blush Ribbon
• Pretty Pin
• Autumn Garden Mini Medley
• Winter Craft Buttons
• Cupcake Sprinkles Stamp Set

When I saw this new stamp set, I knew I would have to pull out this favorite paper packet of mine. It was just the perfect paper for this 6x6 card.

• Silhouette Level 2
• Love Always Stamp set
• Cranberry Embossing Powder
• Black Embossing Powder
• Silver Embossing Powder
• Versamark
• Black Designer Ribbon
• Colonial White Designer Ribbon
  

This makes a perfect children's birthday card. Stardust is a fun paper, and the coordinating stamp sets and new flexi-labels add a TON to this paper.

• Stardust Level 2
• Believe in Your Dreams Stamp Set
• Wishing Star Stamp Set
• White Embossing Powder
• Versamark
• Moonstruck Ink
• Honey Ink
• White Photo Hanger
• Moonstruck Organdy
• White Grosgrain
• Prisma Glitter (pretty hard to see!)

Stardust Flexi-Labels
I am always trying to fashion a good man's card. I think tis is a HUGE challenge. Really. Look through your stamps. You are going to find a lot of cute stamps, flowers, kids, but not a lot of manly things. My husband is a tough critic, too, so I know if I run a card by him and he likes it, then it's gooooood.

• Emporium Level 2
• Intrinsic Backgrounds (don't you love that grass?)
• Adventure Stamp set
• Pewter Brads
• Natural Hemp

This card was fun to make! For those of you that don't know, I DO NOT SEW. So it is no small task that I sewed by hand on this card. I love those Botanicals and don't they pretty hanging in the window and under the clear buttons?

• Unforgettable Level 2
• Aspiration Stamp Set
• Sorbet Designer Ribbon
• colonial White Emroidery Floss
• Fancy Cut Botanicals
• Clear Buttons
• Colonial White Waxy Flax

I made this card the other day, but thought I'd add it in:

• Colonial White Textured CS
• Cocoa Textured CS
• Dessert Sand Textured CS
• Pewter Brands
• Colonial White Designer Ribbon
• Aspiration Stamp Set
• Intrinsic Background Stamp Set
• Sparkles

Winner of Contest!!

Thank you all so much for entering the very Rose Blossom Legacies contest!! What fun to just answer a question and be eligible for a prize!!

I put all the names in a box, and I left it up to Shane to draw the winner. ( I get to nervous because I want everyone to win!!) He picked Jessica!!

Jessica - send me an e-mail and let me know what stamp set or paper packet you would like! Congratulations!!!

This was SO MUCH FUN! I can't wait to do something like this again! Watch for more contests in the future!!

CONTEST!!

What do you love about the NEW Spring Idea Book? Is it the stamps? The paper? The embellishments? Maybe you think this is the idea that has great ideas and how-to tips. Well, post here on my blog what you love so much about the Idea Book! you have a chance of winning a stamp set of your choice (a-d) or a paper packet.

On January 14, I am going to do a random drawing of all the responses. You could be the winner!!! Be sure to check back before you go to bed on the 14th to see if you've won!!

Yippee - what an easy contest to enter! Still need an Idea Book? Just contact me and I will give you one free of charge. You can either set up a time to pick it up or pay me for shipping. You are going to love what's between the pages of this book!!

Memory Keeper Box Workshop

I LOVE, love, LOVE our Memory Keeper Boxes! So this afternoon, I put one together for a workshop I will be doing on January 24th at 10:00 am. Everyone needs a place to store the cards they make for the upcoming year or even a place to keep the cards they receive! This is a fast and easy workshop, and I will be offering it with 3 different paper patterns - Perfect Day (as shown), Unforgettable, or Daydream. With everyone of them we'll be using the new Botanicals Diecuts. I love these amazing flowers! They are so much fun!
The workshop will only be $12, and you will leave with a beautifuly decorated Memory Keeper Box to use through the years! Click on my website to lead you to my e-mail to RSVP! While you're there, check out CTMH TV!!

Sassy Needs Attention...

I was on the phone and heard some rustling around. There was Sassy hunkering down right smack dab in the middle of my extra scrapbook table. I had everything laid out for some pages I was going to start working on, but Sassy must have thought it was a better place to sleep. Also when I sit at my craft desk she is staring right at me then, so I am thinking she wants some serious attention. Chanel has been chasing her around the house a lot today, so perhaps she wants to have a conversation about the over-zealous pooch we now have living in our house!

Fuuny story, though. We took Chanel to be spayed last Friday. It really knocked her for a loop, and she was really worn out. Poor little Beagle!! Sassy did not understand at all and kept walking up to Chanel and putting her paw on her and sniffing her. SO cute. So all that chasing and running they do - well, I think Sassy LOVES it!

Have a Cupcake!

Ooooh, I had fun making this card! It's a unique pattern and new product from the Spring Idea Book. There is nothing I love more than to play!

• Daydream Level 2 Paper Packet
• Cupcake Sprinkles Stamp Set
• Designer Ribbon Rounds Vlush Collection
• Pretty Pins
• Big Pinks
• Liguid Applique
• Prisma Glitter
• 3-D Foam Squares

Now this card is a perfect for a birthday. It has two slots, so one could easily be used to tuck a gift card into (everyone's favorite gift!). And that cupcake looks yummy enough to linger over - only no calories!!

Stop and Smell the Roses...

I delayed my scrapbooking craze for a bit to enter into card-making. This would be my second greatest love!! We have such beautiful new stamp sets again in the new Spring Idea Book, and I have been waiting to get my hands on this one. This is a criss cross card, and I like to make these for a bit of variety. Let me tell you what I used (all products are Close To My Heart unless noted):

• That's Amore Level 2 Paper Packet
• Ravishing Roses Stamp Set
• Designer Ribbon Rounds Chocolate Collection
• 3-D Foam Squares (these are awesome and my favorite for giving a pop!)
• Chocolate Stamp Pad

You'll see that I sewed again!! Don't ever ask me to sew on clothing, but I absolutely LOVE the look on paper crafts, and I must admit that I am hooked. Jerry thought this was a really pretty Valentine's Day card, so the colors must be right for a guy!

I Have Been Scrapping Like Crazy!

I have been working on my cruise book like crazy! This has been no small task with all those amazing pictures that were taken in Spain, Italy, and France. I don't feel like I got near enough pictures on the ship, but there is a CD of pictures coming from Corporate, so I am hoping someone thought to take pictures from there. I guess we were too busy being pampered and taking it all in!!

Anyway, yesterday Jerry and I spent the day out looking for a shelf for the living room for my albums. Right now I have 7 albums in the "works," so they are not on the shelf. However, when they are completed (and that is my resolution this year), they will go on the shelf with all the rest. I've already figured out where a matching shelf can go in the living room - LOL! I just knew one wouldn't be enough!!

We found this at the Amish Corner and we just love it! It goes perfectly in our living room!

Happy 2009!!

WOW - it seems very funny to see 2009 on the calendar! I hope you had a WONDERFUL New Year's Eve doing all the things you love the most. Jerry and I snuggled up and watched the ball drop from Times Square. Oh it looked so cold!!

Going to Italy in October was defintely the highlight of 2008 for us. We have always dreamed of Tuscany, and it was a true pleasure to visit the rolling hills and farm fields of the region. (Thank you so much Close To My Heart for honoring hard work!)

Mostly it was a tremendous pleasure to wake up this morning full of joy because I am blessed with a loving husband, beautiful son, family and friends that I adore, and a job that I love. I get to create and teach for a living - and with that I call myself blessed every day.

Here's to 2009 and wishing you all something to celebrate every day!