Last Chance!

Today is the last day to take advantage of the Close To My Heart "Holiday Heyday" super sale! You can check it out by clicking on the image at right...

Gift Certificates

It's not too late to get a gift certificate to give to someone special!

Here is a card I made recently to present the gift certificate in style. It is based on the Wishes pattern, Lower Layers (turned 90 degrees). I used my Evergreen and December Word Puzzle stamp sets and the Jingle paper pack.

Notice the Details Swap Cards

My group of swappers and I used the Twitterpated paper pack with the December stamp of the month, Notice the Details. (My card is the round one at the bottom left.) You need to see these in person to appreciate all the details!

I love how Pamela stamped the journaling block on Sweet Leaf and again with Crystal Blue, then paper pieced them together. On Bridget's card, not only does the tag come out of the pocket, but the card also opens! (Wouldn't it be fun to have a Christmas photo on the tag that could be hung as an ornament in addition to a Christmas card?)

Carla cut the acorn circle out of the B&T paper, then adhered a circle Window Charm to the image. She did an amazing job cutting the spiral paper edge to look like it's really been ripped out of a notebook! Camy's Crystal Blue and Sweet Leaf card really does celebrate the everyday. Can you see Taralyn's scoring details on her adorable little 3"x3" card? Chris' stamped border (square card at right) is so cute! Finally, do you see how Tonya stamped the "C" on B&T and on cardstock for her beautiful celebrate card?

"Felicity" CTMH Special: National Papercrafting Month Begins Early!

January is National Papercrafting Month, but the celebration is starting today!

The Felicity Collection features decorative die-cut paper, three gorgeous color schemes, and a D-size stamp set that includes flowers, flourishes, argyle, birds, and an entire alphabet! This collection has a retail value of $34.95. You can buy it outright, or get it free! There are two ways to qualify for a FREE Felicity Collection:
*Purchase a minimum of $60 in full-retail priced stamp sets (A, B, C, D, and E-size). (Excludes Stamp of the Month, Art & Soul®, Workshops on the Go™, and customizable (K) stamp sets.)
*Place an order of $125 or more in full-retail priced Close To My Heart products.

Limit of one FREE kit per order. The campaign also has enticing opportunities for hostesses and new Consultants. Hostesses get the package FREE with a Home Gathering sales total of $400 or more, and New Consultants who join Close To My Heart between January 1–31 will receive the package FREE in their New Consultant Kit. Shipping/handling and tax may apply.

Ask me how you can get yours, now through January 31!

Cousins at Christmas

Yesterday was the only day that we didn't have to go anywhere. It was so nice to be home, not have to rush, and get a few things done around the house. We did have fun keeping my nephews for a few hours. Here the kids are in their Christmas jammies getting ready to watch "The Polar Express."

Tonight, both girls read a lesson for our church's annual "Advent Lessons and Carols" service. They did a beautiful job, and the service itself was incredibly beautiful. It is such a nice way to prepare for the Christmas season and to remember what it's all about. So what that I still have cards to finish, gifts to buy, gifts to wrap, and so much more!

Winter Peace Card

I totally stamplifted this card from my friend Sarah. I thought it was beautiful in its simplicity. Go check out her blog if you haven't before, because she is one talented lady! I did personalize my version just a teeny bit with the Snow Flurries stamp set.

My card uses my Four Seasons and Snow Flurries stamp sets, White Daisy card stock, Juniper card stock and ink, Jingle creative basics paper pack (which includes the Juniper ribbon), and a stapler. My square scalloped punch is from Marvy Uchida (I think). I will be making more of these, and may add a touch of glitter to the snow. You can't go wrong with a little bling, can you?

Tri-Fold Shutter Card

This Saturday, my downline Debora and I hosted a Christmas card crop. She taught us how to make this cool tri-fold shutter card. I've seen them before but had no idea that they really aren't as difficult as they look. (It took me a lot longer to decorate mine than it did to cut, score, and fold the card base!)






Can you see the shine in glitter rub-on I used (the present)? I know those twinkle brads sparkle! (Please pretend that you don't notice how crooked they are!)

Here is the card stretched open. I will probably place some white card stock on that center Tulip polka dot space for a message. The ornament is supposed to spin as you open it, but mine needs a little work. Not bad for a first try, though, if I do say so myself. ;) Thanks, DQ, for the lesson!

All supplies from Close To My Heart: Jingle paper pack, Jingle My Stickease, Tulip ink (for distressing), Glitter rub-ons, Crystal Blue waxy flax, Twinkle brads

Final Reading Class

Tonight is my final class of my 3rd and final reading endorsement course. This course has been a TON of work. I just hope at this point everything is up to par and I will be D-O-N-E. (And yes, Brian, D for "done" is fine by me, especially since this is basically a pass/fail kind of thing anyway!) The good news is that I will be a reading specialist (nope, no more moola in that). The better news is that I will have enough credits for recertification, and I don't renew again until 2013. (In GA, teacher certification is good for five years, and you have to earn the equivalent of 100 hours of course work every five years.) Doin' the happy dance about that!

Fortunately, my sweet husband will pick up the girls from school and his mom is taking Miss A to her dance class.

Have I told you lately how much I love my job? Friday a kid was sent home with lice; Monday, another kid threw up- on the carpet of course- so I am a bit frightened of what today will bring. Although, since I am a teacher, it's hard to scare me. No, I truly do love my job, but there are days when you just have to shake your head. I should have started writing a book looong ago!

Okay, thanks for letting me vent. Enjoy whatever you're doing today. If life hands you lemons, be sure to make lemonade (or margaritas)! A little celebrating may be in order tonight after class!

Photo A Day Challenge (Set 1)

Scrap Big (AKA the Big Picture Scrapbooking blog) has issued a challenge to take a photo each day in December. How fun is that? (I am thinking that I will print my daily photos wallet size and then create a calendar scrapbook page at the end of the month.)

Here are mine so far. For some days it was really hard to choose only one photo, and for other days, it's been hard to come up with a photo. Great challenge!

12/1 our Advent countdown calendar

12/2 the girls with Grammie & Grumps (my parents)

12/3 Ansley's 6th grade band Christmas concert

12/4 our first Christmas card (It actually arrived 11/30! It's from my lovely friend and downline Debora and her family.)

12/5 Let it snow! We had a lovely snow shower- our first of the season and very early for our area. Here is one of my driveway lamposts all decked out for the holidays.




12/6 Goofy Girls: "Mason" the detective with the moustache courtesy of Big Sis.

Thanks for looking!

Holiday Card Archive

Here's a great idea for what to do with those holiday cards, letters, and photos that you want to keep but don't know how.

http://www.scrapjazz.com/topics/Themes/Holidays/Christmas/1542.php

I have a basket full of old Christmas photos we've received. I've thought about trying to do a scrapbook page of each family and adding to it each year, but haven't ever managed to do that. What about decorated 6x9 envelopes with holes punched in the side and book rings to hold them together? You could get really fancy with these- or not. Or what about page protectors in a 3-ring binder? You could always use cardstock to make the pages stiff so that they don't flop around. If they sent a holiday newsletter, it would be easy to display it on the page, and you could just keep adding to their page each year. Ooh, one of our 9"x9" albums would be lovely used this way!

Okay, this is starting to sound like a fun project! Do you already do something like this? If so, please share! Is this post sparking any other fun thoughts of how to corral but preserve those special holiday greetings?

Fun in the Sun (Layout #54)

The weather here is definitely feeling like winter (with a high chance of our first snow tonight!), so I had to do something to warm up! This layout is actually the same as the Sweet Home workshop layout (Will's Baptism here), but I used the Tinkerin' paper pack. Doesn't it totally change the look and feel of the layout? Since I had so many photos, I decided to crop the four of the girls in the water together, which really focuses on the girls interacting with each other (what this one is all about!). I then put the photos on a strip of Twilight card stock with a stripe of Sunny Yellow running through it. I just cut the corners to make a tag shape, and then echoed that in my title block.

Aren't the little Badge Buttons fun? My August Word Puzzle stamp set (retiring 12/31/09) provided the perfect sentiments and images to complement my layout.

Also, I'd like to wish my Uncle Bob, who is also my Godfather, a very happy birthday today!

Hunting Island Lighthouse (Layout #53)

The weather is crummy here, but these pictures take me to summertime, the beach, warm weather, and happy memories!

This layout, using the Silhouette papers, showcases some of my favorite photos of the lighthouse at Hunting Island State Park (SC). We went camping there for several years but were unable to go up in the lighthouse (closed for renovations). Finally, when we went in 2007, we were able to climb to the top. The iron staircase inside is incredibly beautiful to me.

This layout will go in our "Places We Go" series.