Now is the time!

If you have ever thought about becoming a consultant for a home-based stamping and scrapbooking company, now is the time to get serious about it. Through March 31, Close to my Heart has an unbelievable deal. When you purchase the consultant kit for $150, you can get any one of the four hostess collections for only $20! I have had three ladies do this and get Collection Four which has more than $134 worth of cardstock, stamp pads, markers, and embellishments all in coordinating colors. I am more than a little jealous! Not to mention, the consultant kit has an insane amount of products ($400) for only $150.

Click here more information.

I haven't talked much on my blog about being a CTMH consultant, but let me tell you... It has changed my life! I just signed up January 12, and already I have had so much fun, learned an immense amount about crafts, met great people, and discovered a lot about myself. I bought the kit with the sole intention of getting some cool stamping and scrapbooking stuff. Then I realized I had a wonderful opportunity in front of me. I never thought I could sell anything. In fact, I used to cringe at the idea of someone saying "no" to me. Now I feel the self-confidence I didn't know was inside me. For those of you who are even the tiniest bit interested, now is the time. Let me answer your questions and help you experience this. It is so incredible!

There are some great home-based stamping companies out there, but for me the choice was clear -- literally clear. My Acrylix clear stamps! You can totally see where you are placing your image on the surface. This has saved me a lot of time and frustration. In 2007, I actually cried and packed up my stamping supplies because I kept messing up a two-step rose I was trying to stamp for a Valentine's Day card. I didn't stamp a thing for the rest of the year! So, when I saw CTMH's My Acrylix stamps, I cried again -- happy tears this time!

Join me and become a Close to my Heart independent consultant!

Tag Challenge & Swap Goodies, New Camera!

Last week I broke my camera, a cute Kodak Easyshare 10 MP tiny thing. With the camera in my hand, I fell flat on my face while walking around the Petroglyph National Monument. Our department built a road through it, and we were exploring the tunnel underneath the road and the land bridge above it. Some say there are spirits there, and a curse can be placed upon those who disturb the land. I'm pretty sure a spirit pushed me and that is why I fell. That sounds more graceful than just plain falling down, right?

Anyway, I got a new camera, a Fujifilm Finepix S700.


The mirror in the bathroom was not conducive to picture reflection, so I used my favorite mirror, one in the shape of a cat, in case you are wondering...

I needed to get my SBS-12 stamped image swap finished, so I just sat down and did it! I stamped the largest image from the Simple Beauty My Acrylix set from CTMH. I also included a small butterfly from the same set.



Finally, I present the creation which made me happiest today: my Bella Tag. This tag was created as part of a tag challenge on the SBS-12 message boards. I had a blast making it!

Flower Pails

The last two nights I have stayed up way too late working on craft projects. Here is what I have to show for it:











Paper Garden
Friendship Blessings
Blush, Petal, Honey, Sweet Leaf
Mini Pails, Natural Wood Fiber (Cost Plus World Market)
Chipboard Coasters (stamponthis.com)

Paper Garden L.O. & Bella card

We have had 50 mph winds here since 11:30 today, and I feel like the wind. I have been rushing around from here to there, up and down, side to side. Oy! I have this burning desire to organize myself, my life, my work, my outlook. Perhaps it is Spring Cleaning? Perhaps I will have an upcoming post that will just be a brain dump. But for today, I present to you my weekend creations...

The scrapbook layout is from a gathering I did Friday night for a friend / coworker. There were only four of us, which made it easy to get some one-on-one time to show each participant how to get the various effects. This is CTMH's Gathering-on-the-Go, Create & Take project for April. All materials are CTMH.
Paper: Paper Garden B&T Duos
My Acrylix Stamps: Friendship Word Puzzle
Exclusive Inks Stamp Pads: Petal, Blush
Embellishments: Brads (Antiqued Gold) Ribbon (Blush Polka Dot Grosgrain)

The Bella card is my interpretation of Sketch #6 on My Paper World.
Paper: CTMH, It's a Guy Thing B&T Duos
CTMH Cardstock: White Daisy, Autumn Terracotta, Ocean (textured)
Embellishments: Reel Ribbon (Michael's), CTMH Brads (pewter)
CTMH Exclusive Inks: Autumn Terracotta, Kiwi, New England Ivy
Stamps: Javabella; CTMH My Acrylix Playful Flourishes

The other card is my daughter's interpretation of Sketch #6 on My Paper World. I am so very proud of her!
All CTMH Products
Paper: Silhouette B&T Duos
Textured Cardstock: Bubblegum, Citrus Leag, Amethyst, Heavenly Blue, White Daisy
Embellishments: Blush Polkadot Grosgrain Ribbon, Holiday Red Sparkles
My Acrylix Stamps: Friendship Blessings
Exclusive Inks Stamp Pads: Petal, Pansy Purple

Also, let me know how you like the Photobucket Slideshow for presenting the pictures.

Have a great St. Patrick's Day tomorrow!

Still recovering

I had no idea pneumonia could make a person so weak. One day I feel better and the next I feel as if I want to nap all day. I'm still working half time, which is nice. I'm hoping to work 6 hours a day next week.

Anyway, I have found some time to be crafty. I took a long nap this afternoon and evening, so I am still wide awake. Once everyone else went to bed, I played with my new chipboard coasters. The first project I made was an accordion photo album:








And I made a couple of folder cards to match:



I hope to make some more mini-albums with the chipboard coasters. I'm working on one now that I might post tomorrow.

I hope everyone is hanging in there!