Happy, Thankful, and Blessed

I am so happy, thankful, and blessed.  I count myself very fortunate to know YOU.  All of my readers, customers, and those who learn from me.  I appreciate every single person that comes to one of my classes or buys one of my kits.  I am constantly working to find good learning environments and to teach you wonderful things in a way that are best for you.

Along with that, I am ever so thankful to be the leader of the Rose Blossoms.  These women mean the world to me, and I could never express how they have enriched my life.  I love checking into my team Facebook group to see what they are sharing.  These women are not just team members, but they are my friends, people I scrap with, and women that I learn from all the time!

All of this combined along with the extreme patience of my husband have helped me achieve a big goal!  I just earned my 5th Close To My Heart incentive trip!

I work full-time as a consultant, and it's absolutely the best job I have ever had!  I would never have imagined that I could get up in the morning, go to a home office, and LOVE every single minute of what I do.  Growing up as a small town girl, I don't even know that I would have dreamed of seeing some of the place I have because of Close To My Heart.  Let me tell you where we've been:

Incentive Trip #1

• Barcelona, Spain 
• Malta
• Naples, Italy
• Rome, Italy
• Florence, Italy ( I still have scrapbooking paper from there!)
• Tuscany, Italy (oh, what a wonderful visit!)
• Nice, France

Incentive Trip #2

• St. Croix
• St. Kitts
• Dominca (we found fabulous vanilla beans there)
• Grenada (one of the best beaches we have visited)
• St, Thomas

Incentive Trip #3

• Costa Rica Land Tour (this trip was a DREAM )

Incentive Trip #4

• Hawaiian Land Tour on Oahu

Our Upcoming Incentive Trip #5

• St. Thomas
• Tortola, British Virgin Islands
• Nassau, Bahamas

(These are the Baths in Tortola)

So you see, I have plenty of reasons to feel happy, thankful, and blessed!

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Do What Makes You Happy

Sometimes I feel like I run around in dizzy circles in the summertime.  There is so little summer in Minnesota, and we try to pack so much in.  I am lucky to be a full-time CTMH consultant for many reasons, but today is means I can grab all of my work and sit outside.  I love that!

Anyway, I picked up the Dizzy Circles stamp set this morning to make this card.

I have been trying to use my spray pen more often because it lends such a great feel to a project.  Let me give you a hint about what I do that makes my crafting time a little easier and faster.    I fill a spray pen 2/3 full of alcohol, and then I add the desired amount of re-inker.  I spritz a whole 12 x 12 sheet of paper at different angles and textures.  Then when I want a piece of sprayed paper, it's ready to go!  

Let's see, I've got some retired Juniper ribbon and buttons on this card along with the some wooden trinkets shapes.  These are on the While Supplies Last section of my website, and you will not regret having them!  The sentiment tag is from the Happy Birthday card kit.  (You know, just because these pieces are in a kit doesn't mean you can't use them elsewhere!)  The sentiment is from the Wavy Blooms stamp set.

Now, I've got work to do and artwork to create.  I don't think I have told you here, but I was asked to be an Extravaganza teacher at the Close To My Heart North American Convention.  I have been working on some pretty top secret stuff, and I am enjoying every minute!  I will look forward to September 1st when I can share this with all of you!!

In the meantime, try not to run into in too many dizzy circles this summer!!  Sit back relax, and take in the wonderful summer sunshine!

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Be Yourself

I wanted to share a frame I made for my 15 year-old niece's birthday.

I used Seaside paper to make this frame and cuts from Artbooking.  Such an easy and fun project!!

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Every Accomplishment

I needed a congratulations card this morning, and I couldn't help but think of this dimensional element from the Chalk it Up Complements.

I spritzed my white daisy background with a mixture of lagoon re-inker and alcohol.  Such a great effect to match this sentiment.  

I am a firm believer in just doing it.  

We can sit for days, weeks, months - and even years - wondering what might be if we try something.  We can imagine the outcome - good or bad.  

However, that's all it is.  

Simply our imagination.  

Unless we take the steps to try, we might never know what our greatest accomplishment can be!  

I live my life this way, I parent this way, and I lead my team this way.  

What have you been wanting to try?  Let me encourage you to "just do it."

And if you feel like sharing what going to try, please let me know.  I am pretty good cheerleader! 

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Memories with the Mouse

I saw the sketch by Lisa at Sketch-N-Scrap, and I knew just what I wanted to do with it.  The twist is to use Washi tape, and I loved that!!

Do you see all those rectangular phrases?  That is the Carnival Washi Tape, and I love it!  I can't believe how quickly I put this layout together using two sheets of paper, washi, and some embellishments.

Did you notice that my husband just doesn't know what to do with Mickey? I thought that was funny!

I loved taking this break today.  I don't know that I announced it here, but I am an Extravaganza teacher at the Close To My Heart convention in July.  What an honor!  This means that I get to play with a lot of product that is being released to you on September 1st and it's all top secret.  It's fun...so much fun...to create with all of you in mind!!

Anyway, that is what the focus has been in my craft room.  So I don't get to post very often right now, but I promise that things will get back to normal in mid-July!

Thanks for stopping by today and taking a break with me!

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Upcoming Card Buffet Samples

If you are local, I would love for you to stop by the Andover Senior Center next Tuesday, June 16th.  This is just a small portion of cards that will be available to make!

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Kits for Sale and June Stamp of the Month

I don't know if you noticed it yet, but I have a new tab on the top of my blog called KITS FOR SALE.  Instead of the right side bar, this is where I will put all my kits once I have announced them.  I'll remove the photo and link once they have sold out.  I thought that it would be much more convenient for you to have them in one place!

Now, on the stamp of the month Ice Cream Dream.  This is such a fun stamp set!

I created this card using the banner journaling card from Artfully Sent.  I put some teal glitter paper behind the banners to dress it up a little.   The yellow paper behind the card is Canary Paper Fundamentals.  I colored the ice cream cone with the golden yellow and mahogany markers.

The stamp of the month is a great buy - just $5 with a $50 purchase!

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Retiring Items

It is that time of the year again to let you know that Retiring Items have been announced.  These items are now considered "while supplies last" so when they are gone, they are gone for good!

CLICK HERE TO VIEW RETIRING LIST

Items will be retired as of August 31, 2015.  Don't be sad...this means we are making room for all kinds of new items that will be released on September 1, 2015!!

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Happy Everything Card Kit

A couple of my customers requested that I create a quick and easy card kit for the summer months.  Of course!  My Jackson card kit sold out in less than a week, so I wanted to make sure that you had something else for summer.  (Note:  I ordered some more supplies for the Jackson card kit, so I will have 6 more available next week.)  

Don't ever hesitate to ask if there is something in particular that you'd like because  I am here to help you out no matter your paper crafting needs! 

Now, I only have 14 of these kits, and I won't be creating more.  If you'd like a kit, order quickly!

This Summer Card Kit is a mixture of Jackson and Seaside paper. The kit will include photo instructions, pre-cut pieces, stamped images, 10 cards & envelopes, and a full package of Coral Reef Sequins.  Your recipient will love receiving one of these cheery cards!

The cost of the kit is $14.00 shipped directly to you.

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Life Moves Pretty Fast

I was thinking about that this morning.  We tend to pack as many thing into 24 hours that we can sometimes, don't we?  I am guilty of that a lot!  So I thought of this Chalk it Up Picture My Life card.

One of the reasons I watch birds is because if forces me to stop.  I can't good photos if I am rushing around the birds.  There's peace in slowing down, and that's a good thing.

Picture My Life cards are so easy to use!  I rarely use them for pocket scrapbooking.  I use them for gift tags, cards, journaling blocks, notes in cards.  There are just so many uses!!  Add a few embellishments and your card is done.

Thanks for stopping today!  I hope that you are finding yourself blessed today!

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Rose Blossom Blog Hop - Ice Cream Dream

Welcome to the Rose Blossom blog hop!  Today's the 1st of the month, so we are so excited to share this month's stamp of the month, Ice Cream Dream.  I know when you see what the Rose Blossoms have created, you are going to want this set!

This hop is a great big circle.  You may have come here from the talented Amy's blog, and that means that you are already following the circle.  Should you get lost along the way, come on back here for the full list.

I have fond memories of the ice cream truck.  I grew up in the country, so we didn't have an ice cream truck.  However, my dad worked in a creamery and brought home the BEST drumsticks home!  So I guess you could say that old Ford was our ice cream truck ;)  Now, we raised Shane in the city, so when he heard "that" song, he was off and running for bubble gum or cotton candy ice cream treats.  So I've made you a pink ice cream cone using a Tender Pink shinhan marker.

To color the truck:  Light Blue for the truck, Tender Pink for the door, Leaf Green for the shade and wheels, Pastel Peach for the chrome on the truck, and Mahogany for the cone.  I grabbed my glitz glitter gel from my stash for the cones, and I added texture to the background with the dots embossing folder.  If you don't have any of the shinhan markers, why not give them a try this month with this stamp set?  They are certainly fun to use!!

Now it's time to move on to Lynn's blog.  I've only seen a sneak peek of her project, so I can't wait to go there myself.  In fact, I can't wait to hop through all of these blogs!!

Brenda - YOU ARE HERE!

Lynn

Marg

Barbara

Shelly

Kim

Morgan

Mary

Amy

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