Christmas Surprise!

Close to My Heart just announced a bunch of discounted items!  Embellishments for just $1.50!  Build your stash or perfect for stocking stuffers and get a surprise FREE D-Size stamp set for spending $20!  There will be new discounted items added daily!  So pop on over to my website click on "shop online" and then "discounted items."  Happy Shopping!

You Are My Sunshine!

Last night I created a page for Olivia's scrapbook...the first page that I have created for her!!  Not necessarily going to be the first page in her album though.  The picture is just one of my favorites, she is a very happy baby and has been so smiley since day one...this picture just captures it!!  One of my favorite songs to sing to her is "You are my Sunshine" so I wanted to be sure to scrapbook this memory for her...this is what I came up with!  I also can't believe that it has been just about 3 months since this was taken!!  Where does the time go!?!?!

Gettin' Sketchy!

I was really excited to see that the challenge this week was a sketch, always nice to have a little something to get those creative juices flowing and even better I was able to implement my new obsession...paper flowers! I have been having so much fun making all sorts of different paper flowers, I will have to do a blog post on them.  I also was able to try out faux stitching, so cool and easy...inspired by Tresa Black.  I wanted to make a plain note card to send along with a little "just because" gift, so I used this challenge as the perfect opportunity.  I used some scraps that I had left over from the Cherry-O Level 2 paper pack, Tulip ribbon & brad, Chocolate cardstock & ink.  The photos aren't the greatest as I just took them...need some natural light!

Prepare To Be Pleasantly Surprised!

Ok so everyone loves getting free stuff, right?  Well CTMH has done it again...with an irresistible promotion!  All you need to do is head over to my website and place an order of just $20 or more and you will get a FREE retired D-Size Stamp Set (that's a $22.95 value)!!  More than doubling your value!  This is the perfect time to get those items on your wishlist or grab those retiring items that won't be available after December 31st.  Click here for the list of retiring items. Get them while you still can and get a FREE stamp set surprise at the same time!  You can take advantage of this Plenty for Twenty promotion starting tomorrow (December 1st and will continue for the entire month).  As always happy scrapping and have fun shopping.

Ring in the Holidays

Looking for that perfect holiday gift or card?  Check out Shutterfly!  I just love using Shutterfly to create the memories that I have captured when I am not going to scrap them.  You cannot beat the quality or the price.  I have been using Shutterfly for four years and I continue to be impressed!  I have created several photobooks, greeting cards, and calendars.  Shutterfly is constantly having sales or specials to take advantage of; as a matter of fact they are having Cyber Week right now with discounts up to 50% off and free shipping through December 1st.  Every year I create a gorgeous calendar with photographs that I have taken throughout the year.  I make a calendar for my house, my parents, my in-laws, my aunt...the list goes on and on!  They always come out beautifully and the recipients rave about them...now it is expected that I will make a new calendar each year!  Not only is it fun to create photobooks and calendars on Shutterfly but it is easy peasy too!  I love the fact that I can be creative while using their backgrounds or templates.  This year I am even going to order all of my Christmas cards from Shutterfly...once I can decide which card to choose!  I'm not good at making decisions and this one sure is going to be tough with all the gorgeous designs to choose from!  I can't wait to see the final product!

Lollipop Flowers

I was blog surfing while Olivia was napping the other day and came across some really inspirational ideas and actually created something based on them!!  I always find really creative and cool projects that others have made and think, hmm I need to try that but never do.  So, I needed to make a thank you card to go along with the accordian album and these lollipop flowers were just the thing.  I must give inspirational credit to Tresa Black, the stamp goddess, and Jayma Malme...you must check out their blogs!! I usually don't make cards as often as I scrapbook but I had such fun making this card that I must say I plan to make more and try out more techniques!

Accordian Albums

One of my new favorite CTMH products is the My Creations Memory Showcase; it is an accordian album that comes in two sizes (6x6 and 9x9).  It's fun to create, makes a great gift or centerpiece and even better is very inexpensive!! You can create a gorgeous mini album in less than two hours! I made this 6x6 album as a gift for my parents from their new granddaughter that we are going to mail to them in Florida. As promised here are some pics!! Let me know what you think. This collage shows the entire completed album, front and back, as well as each individual page.

Here are a few photos of the first accordian album that I made using the 9x9 album and Veranda papers.  The idea and template came from my upline, Lynn.  I still have not put photos on the album because it is so beautiful I was waiting for something special and I think I found that...Olivia's baptism pictures!!  So stay tuned until December for the completed project!  But here are the layouts without pictures and please note the beauty of this paper pack gets lost in the photo.