Christmas Mini Album

I am planning to host a workshop in February to make this adorable Christmas Mini Album, using all CTMH products. I did not create this album myself. Leanna Ott created and shared this beautiful album. I have changed just a couple of things to add my own personal touch. This album will hold 12-27 photos. If you are interested in participating in this workshop, please let me know. I am planning on holding the workshop on Sunday, February 21. The basic cost will be $25. Please send me an e-mail if you are interested, and I will send you the registration form. If you have any questions, please let me know.

New Spring Catalog

Hello everyone,

I can't believe (well, actually I can!) that it has been over a month since I've updated my blog. I know I have said this before, but life has just really gotten in the way of my keeping up with my blog. My daughter played both school and traveling basketball and with the holidays and all, it was just way too hard to fit this in to our schedules. The holidays will be over after this weekend and school ball finished up right before Christmas, so I am hoping to have some time back again to devote to scrapbooking and my blog.

My CTMH business went well for the first 6 months. I am hoping it will continue into 2010. There is a new spring catalog that goes live tomorrow, January 1, 2010. I will update my blog in the morning with the link. There are some really great new paper kits available, as well as some new stamp sets. You can see the new catalog by clicking on the picture in the right column of my blog.

Also, CTMH has lowered the price of their A-size stamps to $7.95. This is a great bargain!

Be sure to check back tomorrow to access the new catalog. I know you won't be disappointed!

New Felicity Kits Available

Get ready for the awesome Felicity Scrapbook Kit, that is being 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 three 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!

As of January 1st the campaign expands to hostesses and new consultants. 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 all for just $99. WOW! Felicity is pretty enough when you view it online, but I know you will love it 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 dotforbord.myCTMH.com or if you would like to host a gathering please contact me at dforbord@frontiernet.net, or if you are interested in starting a wonderful journey of becoming a consultant and getting the kit FREE please contact me with questions. This is a limited time offer and is available while supplies last , so don't delay...I know you won't want to miss this beautiful new kit.

even more cards.....

Here are a few more cards that we made at Regionals.

More Cards

Here is another favorite card of mine from Regionals. This is actually my daughter's favorite card that I made. I really did have a great time there. I learned some really cool things and met some awesome consultants, including my upline, Lori Leng.

STAMPAGANZA!!

What a great deal we have for you in November! From now through November 30, order any two of our stamp sets, and you will get a third stamp set (excluding our E size stamps) for free! You will have to pay shipping, but no tax on the free set. Also, the free set will be of equal value to the least expense set you purchase. Click on my link to the right to shop on my website. If you have any questions, please leave a comment here or e-mail from my website.

Cards

Back in October, I went to the Regional Celebration for Close to My Heart here in Minneapolis. We did a lot of artwork, which was a lot of fun for me! Over the next several days, I will post some of the cards/layouts we made, along with some of the cards I received in the swap I participated in. This is my favorite card from the ones we made while there. The color didn't show too well in this picture; it's much more vibrant in person.

Apology

This post goes out to anyone that has been following my blog or that has looked at my blog within the last couple of months. I have not been posting anything on a regular basis and I apologize. Life has had a way of getting in the way for me.

In July, I decided to become a consultant for Close to my Heart. I was drawn in by their wonderful acrylic stamps, and have now become a huge fan of all of their products. I only just recently started to get my 'business' moving along. I needed to decide how much time I wanted to, and was physically able to, put into this. I think I have figured this all out now, so I can move forward.

Right now I am off to work out at the gym (that is another area of my life I kind of let slip this summer, and SERIOUSLY need to get back in the routine of doing), and then after dinner I will be updating my blog with some great deals from CTMH for the month of November. I will also be posting some projects I have done. Hopefully the next time you check my blog, you will be impressed with what you see!

Above Rubies Studio

If you are a Cricut fan, there's a new website that has some awesome resources/ideas. You should check it out. It's called Above Rubies Studio, and she made a cutting guide of over 450 items for your Cricut so that you can get all of the dials (pressure, speed, ect.) right before you make your cuts. They are having a grand opening celebration right now. You should go check it out here!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY GYPSY

If you're a Cricut fan, you won't want to miss out on this deal. HSN is celebrating the birth of the Gypsy! They have an amazing deal with free shipping. But hurry fast before it's gone! Come and get yours now...check it out Here

Cricut's 100th Cart!!!

Check out the contest ProvoCraft is having on the Cricut messageboard to celebrate the release fo their 100th cartridge, Winter Wonderland. Click HERE for all the details.

Malisa's Blog Candy

Malisa is offering some blog candy over at Ya Buggin Me. Click here to check it out.

Unbelievable Blog Candy!!!

Steph over at 'Where'd All My Money Go' has some awesome blog candy up for grabs this month in honor of having over 100 followers on her blog. Go check it out here, you won't be disappointed!!

Coupon Holder

My LSS had a bunch of books and other creative things she had made in a basket. I saw a coupon holder that was very adorable and knew I had to make one! Mine is made similar to hers, but I changed it here and there. The biggest change I made was that I used the smaller envelopes instead of the letter size ones that she used. I figured the smaller one would fit in my purse better. I saw this paper in her store and knew that's what I wanted to use. It's from My Minds Eye. The inside pages are just Bazzill (I think) cardstock in coordinating colors.

I cut the sheets of cardstock for my inside pages just a little bit bigger than my envelopes. I taped them all together and then taped the envelopes on. I cut the bottom strip, then punched it with my MS border punch (forgot the actual name) and then scored it so the pages had room to expand with coupons in the envelopes. Then I attached velcro to use on the tab to keep it closed.

I used my mini monogram cart to cut the various sizes of the scalloped circle. I just cut the strip they are attached to by hand and stuck it under the brown border.


Here's the finished product. Now I just have to use it and see how well it holds up in my purse!

More Awesome Blog Candy

Leanne is trying to get 200 followers. Check out her blog candy here! Isn't this paper pretty!??!?

Look What I Got From Lorrie

Lorre is so nice! She always has something nice to say about everything and is willing to help anyone with a question. You can check out her blog HERE

I feel so honored that she thought of me! Here are the rules for this award: To pick up the Circle of Friends Blog Award cut and paste the award logo and use it on your own blog. Nominate 5 other bloggers you feel have become part of your circle of friends. Link to your nominees within your blog post. Include these instructions on how to pick up the award in your blog post. Link back to the person who gave you the award in your blog post, to show your appreciation. Comment on their blogs to let them know they've received the award. So, while it may be hard for me to only pick five I will give this award to.

Now the hard decision on who I should pass this on to:
1. Lori
2. Heather
3. Jenn (not a craft blog-but she gives me lots of inspiration anyway!)
4. Christina
5. Steph

MIA

I was going to try so hard to keep my blog up-to-date. This past week or so have been absolutely crazy! We got new computers at work, and along with that came the new Word 2007, which totally HATE!!! One of the features of Word that was a HUGE part of how we do things, is not the same in Word 07 so we have to figure out how to do things differently. So that has taken a lot of time just even trying to do simple things because it is so different. Then, I was out of town all weekend for my 25 year class reunion!! I can't believe it has been that long since I graduated high school. It sure doesn't seem like I am that old!! I also became a CTMH demonstrator in July, and I have been trying to figure things out and also figure out how much I want to/am able to put into that. Right now I am off to work, but I am going to try really hard to update with a project tonight. I made a cute coupon holder that I would like to share with everyone.

My First Blog Award

I received a very nice blog award, my first one, from Heather (chevygirl). Thank you, Heather. First you should check out her blog by clicking on her name. She is going through a hard time right now so check out her blog and give her some encouragement. I would now like to pass this on to 7 of the blogs that I visit regularly. Check them out; I'm sure you'll love them as much as I do!!

1. Lorrie (thanks for helping me!!)
2. Karel (thanks for your help, too!!)
3. Ashlee
4. Mary
5. Bridget
6. Missy
7. Melissa

Have a great weekend, everyone :)

Check Out This Wonderful Blog Candy

I came across this blog candy. Check it out, it's pretty generous!!

http://keepsakesbymelissa.blogspot.com/2009/07/my-blogaversary-giveaway.html

Softball Keepsake Book

Here are pictures of the book I made for my daughter's softball team. 7 of the 9 girls on her team have played together since Kindergaren-first grade. They couldn't start playing in the tournament and keeping score of their games until 3rd grade, so that is where I started with my pictures. I had to keep the book simple because I didn't think of doing this until about a week before their end of the season/ever-playing-together again party! They are starting junior high next year and most of the girls won't play summer slow-pitch softball anymore. I wanted to give them something fun to remember their team. They were awesome -- in the 4 years in the tournament they took First Place twice and 2nd place twice and they were either 1st or 2nd in the the division for the season for 3 of their 4 years! Anyway, so I made 7 of these and one that had 2 years worth of pics and one that only had this year's pics. For those two, I also included a few blank pages in case their parents had other softball pictures of their own to include. OK, enough blabbering.... here are the pics. First I cut out the pages for the books from posterboard and then covered them with the colored paper. For the title page, I used the Sports Mania cricut cart. For the second page I made a big template of the softball and then held it over the yellow page and inked it in red. The tag on the orange page was from my Label One nestabilities. I printed the journaling out on a piece of paper and then cut it out with my Cuttlebug. For the word Angels on page 3 I stamped it with my CTMH alphabet stamps and then embossed it with white embossing powder. On the opposite page, I stamped the background with a dotted circle stamp from one of my SU stamp sets, even though it's hard to see in this picture. Then I used my Bind It All to put them all together. The girls (and parents) loved them!!

Distressing

A couple of weeks ago, I took my first ever technique class. I was so excited. It was being held at my LSS. I had previously purchased a pack of Tim Holtz distressing inks from QVC (my first purchase from there as well!) Well, I have had these inks for about at least 6 months and never used them. When I saw my LSS was having this class, I decided that I had to go. I actually met a fellow Cricut MB member at a new dollar store in town first to check out their scrapbooking isle, and then we headed off to class. I did learn that the teacher learned everything online so I guess I could have done this at home myself, too, but I really enjoyed going there and trying things out with the group as she was teaching. Here are some of the tags that we made during that class. I learned some really cool techniques. I tried using this on my Scrap Sketch LO, but the colors just didn't fit with the page, so I will have to try that on another LO or card soon. Keep your eye out for it.

Trying to be better....

I have challenged myself to be better about updating my blog. I am going to try to post at least every three days, whether I have done something to share or not. I am hoping that by that, it will get me into a 'routine' of posting more often. I'm not always able to get something done every three days, but I usually will have something to blog about, even if it's not craft related. I hope no one minds if I put other things on my blog.

I did make a little book for each of the girls on my daughter's softball team for their end of the season. My next post will feature pictures of the 9 books that I made. I promise it will be posted within the next 3 days!!

Scrapsketch Challenge

Have you heard of Scrap Sketch?? If not, you should check it out. Each week they have a challenge open to anyone, plus sketches that the design team does. And there are some talented ladies on their design team. Here is the link to their site. http://www.scrapsketch.com/ You won't be disappointed. I have wanted to try their challenges for weeks now. I print out the sketch every week, and the poor thing sits on my scrap desk, all lonely. I had good intentions, but just never had a chance to actually do the layout. Well, this week I challenged myself to actually do the layout and post it to their website. I'm so proud of myself. Not only did I do the challenge layout, I also did one of the other sketches that were posted. I haven't done two layouts in a week (not counting when at the last SWARM) for a long time! Hopefully I can keep this as part of my weekly routine. I have A LOT of pictures to get scrapped!

The 'United we Stand' picture is the one for the 'real' challenge. You had to use the sketch and then a cut from your most recent Cricut cart. My most recent cart is Stand and Salute. It was kind of hard to find a cut, besides the star, to use in a dance layout, but I think I did OK.

Knit Dishcloth

A couple of years ago, I decided that I wanted to learn how to knit. So I went to a local knitting shop in the fall and took several classes. I first learned how to knit a scarf, then a hat, then mittens. I also, on my own, knit a baby blanket for a friend. That year for Christmas, several people got scarves and my kids got some new hats! Then, when summer came and it thawed out, I put knitting to the side. The next fall/winter, I didn't do anything as far as knitting was concerned. Then, this spring, someone asked me about knitting, and I decided that I would try to do some again. To my surprise, I forgot how to cast on!! I had to look at several You Tube videos to find one that 'taught' it the way that I learned. Once I got the hang of it again, it all came back to me! So I decided to make this simple dishcloth to get myself back in the swing of things. It didn't turn out too bad, if I do say so myself :)

More Grad Cards

Here are a couple more graduation cards that I made. They are pretty simple, but I procrastinated with each of them and finished them very shortly before leaving for the parties!!

That's All Folks!

Well, sorry to throw so much stuff at you guys all at one time. I'm not sure why, but I hate downloading things from my camera to the computer, so I save it all up and do a lot at once. I will try to get better so that I can post things more regularly and not all at once. Hope you all have a good night.

Last but not least for today, I made a gift card holder for my daughter's friend. Andi made the birthday card, but she asked me to make the gift card holder so it could be a little more special. I learned this pattern from Dawn's Stamping Studio. If you have never checked out her site, you should. She has LOTS of really cute ideas using SU products. Here's the link to her blog if you like to check her out. I highly recommend that you do. http://dawnsstampingthoughts.typepad.com/dawns_stampin_studio/. Back to the gift card -- I can't remember the paper I used, but the frog and the sentiment came from the Pond Pals set at Clear Dollar Stamps. I then colored the frog with Prismas and mineral spirits.

Here are the gifts I made for my daughter's teachers for the end of the school year. She had one main teacher, and then two others that each taught one subject. Kind of a prep for what is to come next year in junior high. Anway, I wish I could say that I thought this up on my own, but I got it from my LSS. I just thought it was the cutest thing. I used Locker Talk for the pencil and Making the Grade (I think) for the apple and #1 Teacher. I used George to make the circle for the cover and then printed the wording from my computer. They were filled with Smarties and DumDum suckers. For her main teacher, I also made a set of the butterfly coasters that I had made for her dance teacher. I thought they would go well with situation since this was my daughter's last year at that school, and next year her teacher is switching from 6th grade to Kindergarten.

Here's another card that I made for a friend of our that graduated. We weren't able to go to his party because it was the same day as our niece's. I made this card in less than 30 minutes. I guess it didn't turn out too bad for being so rushed. I really need to start planning better so I'm not finishing the card the minute before I am walking out the door!!

So our main trip to Fargo, well actually Moorhead, but Fargo is where Hobby Lobby was, was to attend our niece's graduation. Heather is my husband's godchild, so it was very important that we attend. Unfortunately, the day before was our kids last day of school, and there was a big party planned that my daughter would have disowned us if we didn't let her go (it involved a limo!!), and the day after the grad party my daughter and I had to be in a totally different town for our Girl Scout finale. So we got up early and drove the 4 hours to Moorhead, attended the party and then drove 4 hours home! We have never made that trip in one day, and I don't think I'd want to do it again any time soon. However, poor Heather's dad is in Iraq and couldn't be there, so we had to make sure that we were there for her. This is the second graduation that her dad has missed because he has been over in the big sandbox. Anyway, after all of that, here is the card that I made for Heather. It isn't anything too fancy, but I think it turned out good.

Hobby Lobby

Last weekend I got to go to my very first Hobby Lobby!! I only had about 10 minutes to look around cuz hubby was in the car and we were on the way to niece's grad party, but all I can say is OH MY GOODNESS!!!! There were so many cool things in there, and not just scrapbooking things. It probably is a good thing the closest one is 4 hours away, otherwise I'd probably be broke all the time :)

A Few Cards

Here are a couple of cards that I made. The top one was a birthday card for one of my friends. The middle one was the card I gave to my BFF with her book, and the bottom one I made for a boy in my son's Scout troop that had earned his Eagle rank.

Gift for Dance Teacher

I saw these coasters over on StampTV by Gina K. I thought they were so cute i had to order the stamp set and then I made a set of the coaster's for daughter's dance teacher. My coloring wasn't perfect, but hopefully that adds to the charm!! Now I'll have to find other cool stamps I can use to make more. If you want to see the video, here is the link: http://stamptv.ning.com/video/tile-coasters

Thank you card for dance teacher

Mother's Day Card

Here is the Mother's Day card my daughter made for me. She surprises me sometimes with her creativity.

Dance Layouts

I have been working on finishing my daughter's dance album. She is 12 and has been dancing since she was 3. She decided at the beginning of this year that this was going to be her last year for dance. She starts junior high next year and wants to focus on basketball. Here are some of the layouts I have gotten done recently: