Felicity kit now available

Have you been buying for everyone else? Well now it's time for a gift for you from Close To My Heart. So get ready for the awesome Felicity Scrapbook Kit, that is offered for National Papercrafting Month......
This collection features beautiful decorative die-cut papers , patterned paper and cardstock and a D-size stamp set that includes a WHOLE alphabet, flowers, flourishes, bird and more! This is a must have for your stamp collection and one that will be used all the time! There are five ways to get the Felicity collection right now: Purchase it at full retail price for $34.95.• Place an order of $60 or more in full-retail priced stamp sets & receive 1collection FREE!• Place an order of $125 or more in full-retail priced CTMH products and receive one collection FREE! Hostesses get the collection FREE with Home Gathering sales total of $400 or more, or new Consultants who join Close To My Heart between January 1–31 will receive the collection FREE in their New Consultant Kit. You would receive over $300 in product, plus the Felicity kit for just $99. WOW! Felicity is pretty enough when you view it online, but I promise it delivers so much more in person, so let me help you have it arrive at your doorstep. You can place your order on my Shop Online page at jeanie.myctmh.com or if you would like to host a gathering local or long distance please contact me basket55992@yahoo.com, or if you are interested in starting a wonderful journey of becoming a consultant and getting the kit FREE please contact me with questions...and don't forget I always give an extra bonus for new team members...so you could really rack up during the month of January.
This is a limited time offer and is available while supplies last , so don't delay...let's talk and be sure to get yours today.

Oh. . . there is one more way to get Felicity FREE . . . WIN IT! Go to htpp://nationalpapercraftingmonth.blogspot.com daily and leave a comment. You may be selected to receive the kit free.

Holiday Cookies - here and gone!

Here are the cookies I took to a recent cookie exchange.

Martha's Dried Cherries Cookies

1 1/2 c. flour (plus a little more)

1 tsp. baking soda

1 c. butter

3/4 c. white sugar

3/4 c. brown sugar

1 egg

1 tsp. vanilla

1 c. dried cherries

1 c. chocolate chips

1 c. Skor toffee bits

1 1/2 c. quick cook oatmeal

Cream butter & sugar, mix in egg, add remaining dry ingredients, then add cherries, chips and bits. Form into three logs. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill. Slice 1/2" to 3/4"thick for baking. Bake at 350 degrees for 8 to 10 minutes. Makes 2 dozen 3" cookies (or close to 6 dozen holiday bite size cookies). NOTE: I add a little extra flour and make smaller cookies. Instead of 3 logs, I made 6 or 7 logs about 1 inch in diameter. I figure at Christmas you would like to sample many kinds of cookies, so smaller is better! Enjoy!

I plan on making another batch of this dough tonight and baking the cookies tomorrow morning. Hopefully, some of these will get bagged for gifts and a few will be left to take for Christmas Eve. I find that these cookies are good right from the oven, but I like them better in a day or two. The cherries seem to soften a bit. These are a crispy cookie.

How are your Holiday plans going? Getting on top of the shopping and baking? I find that I'm not stressing too much - just getting done what I can, enjoying the time I am doing holiday activities and the time spent with friends. Next Tuesday is the final weigh in for a work weight watching challenge that started back in October. I sure hope the final number is down from my starting point. There haven't been any drastic weight changes, up a little one week and down a little the next. When I think that I have gotten through Halloween, Thanksgiving and the beginning of the Christmas parties without a weight change, I think that is a WIN!!

Christmas is COMING! It's snowing!

Here is what I was facing as I started organizing ornaments to pull together a Christmas tree this year. I'm not doing much entertaining at my place this year, so decided to do a test run of an idea for a Festival of Trees tree for next year. These ornaments have been gathered with the idea of doing a colorful tree - not sure what it will be titled yet. Have any ideas?

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This run through for the ornaments has shown me what to look for on sale after Christmas! Now, I still need to find a Christmas tree skirt for this year. Seeing the colors on the tree, I'm thinking it may need to be a custom job!

Here is the tree with the camera flash off and the room lights dimmed. It's kind of fun to do something different. Some years I have had three trees up in the house, so I'm kind of missing seeing my "special" ornaments gathered through the years - they are going to stay boxed this year. It's been snowing all day, so need to check how much we have gotten since I got home from work - they are talking for us to get 10+ inches! Well. . . no evidence that I ever drove in the driveway tonight. The flakes have been small all day, but tonight they look like prisma glitter when the light hits the ground! It might be a long drive into work tomorrow!

Thanksgiving Thank You cards

Here is a shot of the Thank you cards I made with CTMH Grace paper using the words sheet and the clear My Acrylix stamp set Flourished Blessings (D1379). Back in September I participated in a 10 mile cancer walk and haven't sent any thank yous to my contributors. Well that is happening now, with these cards.

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Here is a close up of a single card. I used the rock and roll second generation stamping technique (ask me to demo this for you the next time we are together) on the background paper when it was 12" x 12" and then cut down to cover the front of the card. The green leaf is cut and embossed on the cuttlebug using a sheet of paper from CTMH Abundance set. The pink ribbon is also cut using my cuttlebug.

Later today I hope to play with CTMH's Studio J for the first time! That is the carrot I am dangling in front of me if I have a productive day cleaning and organizing today. I took just a few photos of Thanksgiving yesterday, but hope to use those on a two page LO. I don't know if I'll be able to post right away, but ask me to see my Studio J layout. Studio J will be available to all our customers Spring 2010. I get to preview now because I attended CTMH leadership at Long Beach CA this past summer. Now I get to play and offer feedback to this new product! How exciting!

Wish my house looked as Christmas-y as my blog!

I just got done adding a Countdown to Christmas gadget to my blog. That was a lot easier and faster than getting my house ready for Christmas. First on my agenda is to do a major cleaning when I have the day after Thanksgiving off - that's right CLEAN, not SHOP on the day after Thansgiving! I am hoping to tackle the Christmas decorating on Sunday. Today I have been working on Thanksgiving cards. Those who donated to my 10 mile cancer walk for Join the Journey in September are going to get Thanksgiving Thank You card. I will post a photo of them after I have them completed and mailed!
For me, Sundays are usually the day when I have the least commitment to others. I have started to treat that time as my time to do a few special things for myself. Part of the time is to help with my home based businesses - working on customer lists, updating records, taking classes or reading books that will help me develop my businesses (both Close To My Heart and Tupperware). These past few Sundays when I have been able to do that have made me feel better focused. Sometimes it doesn't need to be a large chunk of time to help me feel more in control!
Today I spent some time doing my own bloghop to catch up with some other CTMH consultants to see what they have been doing. I reviewed videos posted by Tresa Black and now have to play with glitter - oh. . . sounds dangerous! Hopefully, this will provide me with something else I'll post for you to see. The gears are churning in my mind - hope it works and turns out like I am visualizing! Oh. . . secrets are so hard. Stop in to my Shoppin' Saturday Open House next Saturday and you might get a chance to try this idea yourself. . . IF it works the way I think it will!

Plan to attend CTMH Shoppin' Saturday on Nov.28

I think I have recovered from my Saturday of craft show and Home based Business Expo. The day (8 a.m. - 4 p.m.) went fairly fast. Since Barb and I were covering the two booths we swapped locations every two hours so each of us got to work each booth. Thanks to everyone who stopped at either booth! Here is a photo of our CTMH booth (or at least part of it!) The Workshop On The Go shown is Jingle. For those who ordered it, the FREE work session is happening from 7-9 tomorrow night, Thurs. Nov 19 or from 10 -noon on Saturday, Nov. 21.

The next event to happen at Village House will be my CTMH Shoppin' Saturday Open House from 10 a.m - 4 p.m. Stop in when it works for you that day. Get a chance to see some of our new products up close and personal! I will have Cash and Carry Products available for purchase that day. You will be able to place orders and receive product in time for Christmas giving. Just tell me to wrap it and it will be ready for giving when you receive it! Don't forget to make your own "Wish List" to share with family and friends!

November is "stampaganza" - a great time to stock up on stamp sets. Order two sets and get a third of equal or lesser value for FREE! What a great way to move into December. You can go to my web site at http://jeanie.myctmh.com to order directly on my website, but you can also either e-mail me at basket55992@yahoo.com or call me at 507-732-7642 if you want me to place your order or to get more information. I know there will be some more stamp sets coming to stay at my place! Shoppin' Saturday is still in November, so you can get FREE stamp sets when you order that day.

I think I will be posting before Thanksgiving, but just in case I don't, let me wish you a great holiday. If you are traveling, do so with care. My Thanksgiving will be spent with one of my sisters and her family. One good thing is I only have to travel about 40-45 minutes. There is also the good company, good food and relaxed day that make it fun to get together. Hope for the best for each of you.

Two for One Opportunity

Next Saturday, November 14, the place to be will be the Rochester Civic Center. It will be the site of TWO great events. The Mayo Clinic Craft Sale and Home Based Business Holiday Expo are both happening the same day, same location and same time - from 8 a.m. (yes! Don't sleep in this morning!) until 4 p.m. The picture above shows four baskets I recently donated to the Minnesota Basket Weavers Guild fundraiser. I will have similar baskets for sale at the Mayo Clinic Craft Sale.

I spent part of yesterday getting these candy bars ready for the craft sale. They are Hershey candy bars covered with CTMH B&T paper I ran through my Cuttlebug using the snowflake embossing packet. Mickey and the Snowman were cut out with Cuttlebug dies and stamps are from CTMH. Merry Christmas is from set C1293 Wonderful Season and the snowman is part of set D1308 All Decked Out. Remember, November is a great time to add to your stamp set collection because Stamaganza is happening - buy two sets and the third set is FREE.

I will be at both shows! Barb and I are sharing display space at both locations. Our Mayo Clinic Craft Sale tables will feature handcrafted items including jewelry, baskets, cards, scrapbook pages, papercrafted items similar to the candybars and whatever else we get completed this week! At the Home Based Business Holiday Expo Barb and I will be representing our CTMH businesses. We would love to show you the products available to you at a reduced price or FREE by hosting a home gathering or the opportunities available to you when you decide to join our team, the Village Hearts! I know next weekend will be busy for both of us, but stop by to meet with us and mention that you have read my blog and there will be a special treat for you! You also will have a chance to win a personalized crop for you and 5 of your guests! If you are in the Rochester MN area, be sure to add this to your schedule for next Saturday on the 14th!

Well, I needed to get this added to my blog early this morning because I will be running the rest of the day. I have a day of vacation to spend getting projects done and errands run. These days off of work really get booked with many things! I am so glad I was able to get the day off in order to get these all done. It should help keep my sanity! Minnesota is having a weekend of Indaian Summer this weekend - temperatures around 60! That means I should also add yard work to my list - don't see that happending until Sunday evening if at all! I will be spending Saturday night and Sunday with college friends learning a new craft (beading around Christmas ornaments), eating good food and shopping! What could be better?! Hope your weekend is as good and don't forget to add the Rochester Civic Center to your TO DO LIST for next Saturday, the 14th.