Happy Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving Day Prayer

Lord, so often times, as any other day

When we sit down to our meal and pray

We hurry along and make fast the blessing

Thanks. Amen. Now please pass the dressing.

But Lord, I'd like to take a few minute more

To really give thanks for what I'm thankful for.

For my family, my health, a nice soft bed

My friends, my freedom, a roof over my head.

I'm thankful right now to be surrounded by those

Whose lives touch me more than they'll ever possibly know.

Thankful, dear Lord, that You've blessed me beyond measure

Thankful that within my heart lives life's greatest treasure.

Thank you, dear Jesus, as you reside in that place

And I'm ever so grateful for Your unending grace.

So please, heavenly Father, bless this food You've provided

And bless each and every person that we have invited.

Amen! - by Scott Wesemann

May your day be blessed and filled with all good things!

Thanksgiving Sale!

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(When you check-out, click "join" next to Thanksgiving Sale)

Artiste Gift Bag

Every once in awhile we need a quick gift bag, and that's what I wanted to show you today.

I cut this bag using the Artiste cartridge.  How easy and quick is that?!  I used Sparkle & Shine paper with a little silver wired ribbon and gems from my stash.   The sentiment is from the Frosted card-making workshop stamp set, and it has easily been my favorite set this season!

Thanks so much for stopping in today!  I hope that today is a wonderful day for you!

Holiday Decor with Instructions

I think by now you've all noticed the trees on the cover of the Holidays from the Heart Gift Guide.  

They are so beautiful, and I've been wanting to make at least one for myself.  My favorite piece of paper in the Sparkle and Shine packet is the silver houndstooth, so I decided to go with a silver tree.

This paper is so shiny in itself that I wish I could have photographed that shine for you.    Now let me tell you what I did so that you can make your own tree. 

You will need 5 sheets of paper and your Artiste cartridge to cut the yo-yos.  You can actually choose any one of the several yo-yos on the cartridge, but my "go to" yo-yos are always two on page 55 of the handbook.  They are accent 4 or 3-D object + shift.  I used the one on the 3-D object key for this tree.  You will have to cut two of each to make the yo-yo, so there is a total of 22  die-cuts.  

CUTS

1"

1-1/4"

1-1/2"

1-1/2"

1-3/4"

1-3/4"

1-3/4"

2

2-1/4"

2-1/4"

2-1/2"

Punch twenty-two 1-1/4" circles.  Once you've got the pieces accordion folded, form them into yo-yo by adhering two together with Liquid Glass.  Put a dollop of Liquid Glass on one of the circles so that you have a solid base for your yo-yo.  Then put Liquid Glass in the center of the yo-yo and add a circle to the top.  You may have to hold it for a second or two, but this is going to be an extremely strong yo-yo!

Stack all the yo-yos to create a tree.  Simply use Liquid Glass to hold them together.  When this was done, I added some Stardust glitz gel to the edges of each yo-yo.  Again, I wish you could see how shiny my tree is!  You'll need your Artiste cartridge again to cut the snowflakes.  I used silver glitter paper (cuts beautifully in the Cricut!), and cut the snowflake on page 79 of the handbook at 1-1/4".  I have 18 snowflakes on my tree, and I adhered them with Liquid Glass. 

I went back and forth on what to use for the topper, but I love the bow on 55 of the handbook (Accent 2).  I put two bows back to back on my own tree, so I couldn't imagine why it couldn't be done on this one.  I cut two bows and ribbons at 1-1/4".  Of course, I used Liquid Glass to put them on the tree, and then I searched my stash for some big bling buttons.

The tree took about 3-1/2 hours to make.  Because of materials and time, I think this is the only one I'll make this year, but it was a super fun project!  I think all the glitteriness (yes, I did just make up that word!) will really be pretty in the shimmering lights that we put up for Christmas!

Thanks for stopping in today, and I hope that you are having a most blessed Sunday!

December Club Pages

It has a been a joy to work with Sparkle & Shine to create December's Club pages!  I especially loved working with an Artbooking overlay on the first set of pages.  Don't you love those hanging ornaments?

The garland on the second set of pages is from the Sparkle & Shine assortment.  They are actually circles that have been stitched together.  I cut the tree using the Art Philosophy cartridge.

This is beautiful paper, and it looks especially nice when sponged with Slate ink.  

Here are some close ups so that you can see how pretty the Sparkle & Shine Dimensional Elements are on these pages.  All of the patterns tie together so well!

The bottom left photo shows use of the Sparkle & Shine Washi tape.  

That is such a fun addition to any page! 

All of the Sparkle & Shine items are available only through December 31st.

If you are local, I have a two openings for club on Monday, December 16th at 6:30 pm.  The cost is $25.

Otherwise I would be most happy to mail a kit to you!  My kits are pre-cut, pre-stamped, and come with full directions.  The cost for a long distance kit with shipping is $30.

Thanks for stopping by today!  Only 32 days till Christmas!!

Sparkle & Shine Kraft Container

I wanted to start sharing some fun ways to wrap your Christmas gifts using Close To My Heart product.  I'll share the directions and shopping list so that if you'd like to make any of  the projects, it will be easy for you to do.  I will also offer a kit for each item.  Handmade wrapping is so pretty under the tree!

DIRECTIONS

1. The yo-yo flower on the top of the container is cut using the Artiste cartridge and candy stripe paper.  This is on page 50 of the handbook - key P + Accent 4.  You will need to cut two to form the yo-yo.  Liquid Glass is absolutely the best adhesive for creating a yo-yo.   
2. The dotted paper around the top of the lid is 1" x 10-1/2" .  I use Bonding Memories to adhere paper to the kraft container, but you can also use Liquid Glass.
3. The candy stripe paper is 4-1/2" x 10-1/2".
4. The ruby print strip around the top of the candy stripe paper is 1" x 10-1/2".  I used the scalloped border punch to create a decorate bottom to the strip.
5. I added one of the zip strips with words from the paper packet around the ruby print.
6. The red Christmas tree dimensional elements is adhered to the container with Liquid Glass, and I popped up the green tree with 3-D foam tape.
7. The tag is tied with twine that is wrapped around the container three times.
8. I chose one of the circles from the dimensional elements for the top and added a pearl from my stash.

ITEMS NEEDED

• Z1790 - Artiste Cricut Collection
• Z1833 - Kraft Container
• X7176B - Sparkle and Shine Paper
• X7176C - Sparkle and Shine Dimensional Elements
• Z1701 - Neutral Baker's Twine
• Z679 - Liquid Glass
• 1512 - Bonding Memories (optional)
• Z1151 - 3-D Foam Tape

WOULD YOU LIKE A KIT?

You will receive the Kraft Container, a full package of Sparkle and Shine Dimensional Elements, the pre-cut pieces of paper, twine, and pearl that you need to create this container.  The cost is $16 shipped.

Just click on the PayPal link to order!

Gratitude

Oh, the sketch is just so lovely at Cardabilities this week!  It's a windy and cold afternoon, and it's a good day to sit and play in my craft room.  

The warm colors of fall are my favorite to work with.  The light cashmere print of the Huntington paper is the same color as my craft room walls.  This color brings me such peace, and I enjoy creating in a room with this color surrounding me. 

I am also going to enter this into the following challenges:

• Pile it On - With Thanks
• Cupcake Inspirations - Give Thanks
• My Sheri Crafts - Fall/Thanksgiving
• Tuesday Throwdown - Gratitude

 Here are some of the items I've used to create this card:

Huntington - $9.95

Always Grateful - $13.95

Wood Mini Medleys - $5.95

Thanks so much for stopping in to visit me today, and I hope that you are having a most blessed day!

Simply Inspired Blog Hop

Welcome to Handcrafted Holidays!

You should have come to me from Debbi Fournier's blog.  This blog hop is a circle of  sixteen Close To My Heart consultants that I am sure will inspire you to create your own handcrafted holiday!  You can jump from blog to blog but should you get lost along the way, you can find the complete list HERE.

I wanted to create a piece of home decor for the top of our stairs.  I love the Close To My Heart display trays, so I used one of those along with some Sparkle & Shine paper.

I love all the photos of my kiddo from past Christmases, but these are three of my favorites.  It was so fun to create this tray and relive the memories from those years!

 I've used several fun embellishments that can be found on my website - Sparkle & Shine Dimensional Elements; Sparkle & Shine Assortment; Sparkle Clear Flourishes; Trim the Tree stamp set; Sparkle Holiday Shapes; Ruby Mini Medleys; Base & Bling Red Jewels; Base & Bling Floral Accents.

There are just so many ways to handcraft a holiday, and you will find many ideas along the way.  Now it's time to head over to Melissa Laverty's blog to see what she has created!

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Ho! Ho! Ho!

I have a Gathering this afternoon, and this is the card we will be making.

Close To My Heart designed a Christmas Card workshop using the Sparkle & Shine papers, and this is an adaptation of one of the cards.    I added grey wool baker's twine, two patterns of washi tape, and some clear sparkles.  The workshop that Close To My Heart designed looks like this and creates 10 cards:

If you would like to create this 10-card workshop, I would be more than happy to send you the PDF instructions along with a shopping list of what you need!

Thanks for stopping in today, and I hope that your Sunday is most blessed!

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We had our first snowfall this morning, and it was really so pretty!  So I decided to pull out my Frosted paper again and create a Christmas card.  I used the lovely sketch from Filipinos Scrapbookers.

I've used the Classic Doily stamp for the focal point, and the sentiment is from Yuletide Greetings.  The snowflakes were cut using the Artbooking cartridge.  Let me tell you, that is a cartridge that every household needs.  It has such wonderful cuts, and I love the intricacy of the snowflakes.  Because of those flakes, I added just a little piece of delicate lace.  Of course every Christmas card needs bling, so I pulled out some trinkets pins and gems from my stash.

Thanks for stopping in today and have a most blessed day!

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Light in the Soul

Th Stamp of the Month, Illuminate, has so many pretty lanterns that are fun to use.  But I when I read the sentiments, I knew that they would go along perfectly with the church in the Christmas Village set.

The peacefulness of Frosted paper along with Champagne paper and ink seemed the right fit to go along with these two stamps.  The result is a very serene monochromatic card.

Thank you for stopping by today, and I hope that your Monday is blessed!

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November Club Pages

This month we are working with Huntington in scrapbook club.  Jerry and I recently visited the North Shore in Minnesota, and the photos are perfect for this paper packet!

I never get tired of the waves on the shore of Lake Superior.  For both Jerry and I, there is much peace near  a lake.  We visited Tettegouche State park and walked the trail to the High Falls.  What a great walk!  In a 20-minute span while we were walking, we experienced sun, sleet, rain, snow, and then sun again.  So these are just a few of the photos we took.  You will see many more in the days to come!

Thanks for stopping by to visit today!

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November News, News, and More News!

So much fun this month, and I am thrilled to be sharing it with you today!

NEW CONSULTANT SPECIAL!!  

Picture Your Life at Close To My Heart

From November 1—December 15, new Consultants who enroll with either the Essentials or Master New Consultant Kit may also receive a brand-new exciting product from the Spring/Summer 2014 Idea Book. (To be eligible for the free product, the new Consultant must remit $300 in commissionable personal sales by March 31, 2014. That means that you have 5 months to get a good start!)

What's the new product? It's the gorgeous new Picture My Life™ scrapbooking program. There are 8 fresh and stunning design themes to choose from, each one featuring 122 double-sided, designed cards in a mix of 3" x 4" and 4" x 6", plus a 12"x12" cover page to bring your album together beautifully. You also get 10 Memory Protectors™ with new formats designed just for this program and lots of your photos. It's a retail value of $24.95 but it’s FREE to qualifying new Consultants! 

Here is a photo of the new consultant kit (if you are local, I have one on hand, so you could get started right away!).

I would love to help you "picture your life" with Close To My Heart on the Rose Blossom team! E-mail me at girlygirlrose43@msn.com for more information or if you are ready to join, go to my website HERE to sign up! I can't wait to call you a Rose Blossom!!

Stamp of the Month - Illuminate

Each month you can purchase a new D-size stamp set, available for one month only, for just $5 — that’s over 70% off retail! When you place an order of $50 or more in Close To My Heart products, you qualify for this special Stamp of the Month pricing.

Here is a clean and simple card I created with it.  I love these beautiful sentiments!

And finally...

Don't forget about my $100 gift certificate giveaway!  When you place an order of $100 or more between now and December 31st, your name will go into a drawing for a $100 gift certificate.  The other way to get your name entered is to join my team!!  I will be drawing the winner's name on January 1st, and that lucky person is going to be treated to one fun shopping spree!! 

I love when I have all this good news for you...and that's easy to do.  

Close To My Heart just keeps better and better!

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