Bridal shower coming up!

Whew. . . the invitations are in the mail! These cute postcard invites were fast and easy to do using CTMH computer fonts. I have both CDs loaded on my computer. I used Daydream for the who, what, where and when info. Don't know what I am talking about? Turn to page 99 in current CTMH Idea Book to see all the great fonts you can add to your computer. I used two current stamp sets to add a little spring pizzaz to these invites (Express postage D1262 for the wording You're Invited on the postage side of the card and Thoughtful Seasons D1299 for the umbrella and heart). The umbrella stamp comes as one stamp, but I cut (YES, CUT) my stamp into two pieces to make it easier to do two different colors of ink.
These inivations are for my godson's bride-to-be Kaylan's bridal shower I am hosting along with his cousin Amanda. When I got married he was 16 months old and his dad was part of the bridal party. Our service was recorded by the minister as a gift to us and you can hear Matt crying that he wants his dad! Where has that time gone! Let's see, back to the invites . . . I used honey, topiary green, tulip, and star spangled blue for the colors.
I had moved my laptop back into my home office and have found that I post less frequently than when I had it based in my bedroom, so it is moving back in the bedroom! The printer is still in the office, but I can manage to take it there when I need to print. A wireless printer sounds like fun, but I am holding out for a printer that I can use to print 12 x 12 cardstock. I don't even dare to begin looking for that yet!
I went to a chili tasting fundraise for a 3 day cancer walk team tonight and I am paying for it now! That's why I am up at 4:20am. My next project is to go to Studio J and to begin building layouts from my recent Caribbean Cruise. Anyone who wants to know more about Studio J, just send me an e-mail and not only will you get whatever info you need, but you will also get a little "giftie" from me. I am having fun with Studio J since I can scrap in bed with only my laptop - no scissors, glue and paper to fall asleep with! LOL! No, seriously, I think even the most committed conventional scrapper should give our new product, Studio J, a try. Just ask me how! Come to my next Scrap Day on April 10 and see the layouts I am going to make with Studio J - no reservation necessary, no cost to see and play, but you may want to just let me know you are coming. Bring a friend who is new to CTMH and I will have something here for both of you to take home with you! Hmm. . . what could that be? Come and find out on Sat. April 10 from 10 am to 4pm. See you then!

How can it be March?

Hi Everyone, Sorry I haven't been posting very regularly so far this year. Last year I saw some scrappers/photographers who were taking a look at their lives by taking a photograph a day. I knew that was too ambitious for me. I thought I might be able to do "52 Sundays" since Sundays are my day where I have flexibility to do many different things. Well, that didn't work (at least didn't get completed). I decided to try something different for 2010. I decided to review photos taken during the month and posting a picture depicting something to remember about the month. Here it is March and no photos about that posted, so here goes . . .

January 2010 -Snow, cold and car troubles! February 2010 - 7 day Caribbean Cruise!

For some reason I prefer to share some info about February instead of January! I went cruising for the first time! It was a basket making cruise which meant when we had sea days we had basket classes. What could be better? Sound like something you'd like to do, then contact me for more information about the cruise taking place in 2012. Pack your bags for a 02-11-2012 departure. Vickie and I both went on this trip. We came home with unfinished projects, which is pretty typical for me on any weaving venture. I did complete one out of my four projects, had a little bit of a tan from time on the beach pictured above and many great memories. Tomorrow I will post more about my plans for CTMH during the month of March. If you have ever thought about a career with CTMH now looks like the time! Check back tomorrow for more!

Caboodle WOTG set for Sat. Feb. 27

Order your kit of Caboodle in time to attend my FREE 2 hour work session on Saturday, February 27 from 10 a.m. til noon. There are two ordering options; Basic for $29.95 includes the Level 2 paper pack, an exclusive stamp set titled This Way and the workshop guide. Get the Best option by adding Z1271 Tiny Tabs for $3.95 and the Sweet Leaf Ribbon Rounds for $7.95.

You will have the option to work on either cards or scrap booking layouts during the two hour work session.

Donation for Haiti

Order any 12” x 12” textured cardstock combo pack at full retail price and receive a second textured cardstock combo pack of your choice FREE. and with every offer purchased, Close To My Heart will donate $2 US to Operation Smile’s Haiti relief efforts.
Eligible packs include:
• X5747 Basic
• X5681 Spring Harmony
• X5745 Summer Celebration
• X5669 Autumn Harvest
• X5670 Winter Cozy
(See pages 100–101 of the current Idea Book to view the available colors and details about the textured cardstock combo packs.)
For only $14.95, you get two packs of 12” x 12” textured cardstock (a great deal at about $.30 a sheet!) and Operation Smile* will receive $2 US to benefit the urgent, important cause in Haiti.
There is no limit! You can buy as many as you want, and get the second free! Customers can have multiple qualifying textured combo packs on one order and receive multiple free textured combo packs. Note: You may choose a FREE textured combo pack that is the same or different as the full retail combo pack.
Dates: February 1-28, 2010
How do I order?: Online of course… Press the Close To My Heart button of the right side of your screen.

*Operation Smile is always a fantastic charitable partner—offering free facial reconstruction surgeries to needy children throughout the world. They’ve currently marshaled their medical teams and resources to provide emergency relief in Haiti, and the donations given as part of Hearts for Haiti will be used exclusively for Operation Smile’s efforts in Haiti. For more information on their on-the-ground response, you can visit www.operationsmile.org/haiti.

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!