Embrace the Philosophy of Fun (I know I am)!

Whew! With our baby girl on the way, I sure did let blogging fall to the wayside. But now that I'm in second-trimester bliss and no longer feeling like someone slipped me a Nyquil (or worse, like losing my cookies at any given moment), blogging is back on!

And at the perfect time, too. Check this out:

Close To My Heart is offering this crazy awesome deal when you sign up as a new Consultant between March 1–31: you receive a FREE Cricut® Art Philosophy collection! In non-CTMH speak, that means you get CTMH's exclusive Cricut cartridge, along with three stamp sets and three sheets of Dimensional Elements chipboard shapes, for FRIZZLE. The collection has a retail price of $99. This is an amazing deal! I heart my Collection. I can't believe we're giving it away for free. And if you already own the collection you can always give your free one as a gift or choose to receive $100 in select product credit* instead.

Contact me about how to embrace the philosophy of fun OR get started right away and enroll now!

My Favorite Things

I have had a fantastic weekend.  With the hubby away in New Orleans for a bachelor party, I was able to fully indulge in my favorite things:  scrapbooking and cooking!  (With the television tuned at all times to either HGTV or Food Network, of course).  

In addition to the corn and poblano rice pilaf I mastered, I created this adorable Event Calendar* featuring our Pair-a-Phrase stamp set (which I got for frizzle in August) and every single one of our eight paper packets!  And you can learn how to make one too at my Event Calendar class on December 15.  Email me for the deets.  

Now I'm off to design some Christmas cards . . . and then it's time to cook shrimp scampi for my H.B. as a homecoming present!  :)  Hope you had as much fun this weekend as I did.

* Inspired by CTMH Consultant, Jen Rubio.

Somethin' to Scrap About

On September 11, 2011, I was in our nation's capitol with my amazing husband, who was competing in his first-ever Olympic triathlon.  (The swim in the Potomac was cancelled because of debris, so technically it was a duathlon, but we won't talk about that). 

I have never been so proud of him!  He started the bike ride near the Lincoln Memorial, passed the Washington Monument during the run, and finished the race just beyond the Jefferson Memorial.  I ran all around the course filming him and taking pictures that I can't wait to scrap!  Here he is crossing the finish line: 

(I, um, didn't realize when I turned the camera vertically that the video would not also be vertical, and instead would simply be turned on its side and give me a crick in my neck when I watched it, but you get the picture (literally)!)  

Anyway.  Just wanted to take a moment to gush.  Love you, HB! 

How I Became an Open House Veteran

My Open House took place this past Tuesday, and boy, was it a hit!  With wine, cheese, free gifts, a scavenger hunt and all kinds of scrapbooking fun, how could it not have been?  If you missed it, you'll be thrilled to know that it was such a success, I've decided to make it a semi-annual event.    

And now, some photos of the highlights of the evening . . . 

And the hunt for answers to the scavenger hunt begins . . .

The benefits of being a CTMH Consultant!  What's your dream?  

The scavenger hunt continues!

One of my BEST customers placing her order.  :)

Thanks to all who came!  Till next time . . . 

Swap Your Heart Out

I participated in my first ever Idea Book Swap with fellow CTMH Consultant, Julie Reynolds, and it was such a blast!  I now know why people do this!   I chose to create a 4 x 4 card using our brand new Elemental paper packet and the Color-Ready Cork Alphabet.  

I made 41 of them, shipped them off to Julie, and then patiently waited by the mailbox.  Look at all of the amazing artwork I got in return!  

Wanna see all of this beautiful artwork in person?  Come to my Open House on Tuesday, August 30.  Stop by any time between 7:00 PM and 9:30 PM.  You'll get your FREE Idea Book and you can play with all of the exciting new scrapbooking and cardmaking products I'll have on display . . . including the new Cricut cartridge!

And of course, in the grand scheme of parties, I will also have prizes, games and free give aways.  Oh, and snacks and cocktails, too.  RSVP so I know to be expecting you.  :)  

See you then! 

The One I Didn't Know I Loved

Of all the paper packets featured in our Spring/Summer 2011 Idea Book, I think I liked Sophia the least.  I don't mean to say that I didn't like it at all.  But it did strike me as sort of little girlish when I first laid eyes on it.  I suppose I just couldn't imagine using it for a layout because I don't have children yet.  

But like most things in life, the Sophia paper packet looks much more stunning in person.  And as it turns out, it's the perfect paper for honoring your best friend! 

 

So here's to Sophia, the one I didn't know I loved. 

What's Better Together than Chocolate and Peanut Butter?

Why, stamping and die cutting, of course!  Now, I'll be the first to admit that before Jeanette Lynton announced two Thursdays ago at Convention that Close To My Heart and Provo Craft were pairing up to create an absolutely breathtaking 700-image Cricut cartridge that coordinates expertly with our stamp sets, I had lukewarm feelings about this die-cutting gizmo.  And as long as I'm making admissions, I'll be honest and say that my feelings had very much to do with the fact that I couldn't offer Cricut products to my friends and customers through my Close To My Heart business.  

So when my mother, who owns the big-daddy Cricut Expression Machine, moved to Chile last year and was unable to take it with her, I shrugged and said, "Eh," when my sister asked me if I wanted it.  I felt no sense of loss when she happily packed it into her car and drove it to her home in Tampa, clear across the state (and a three-and-a-half-hour drive) from where I live.  

Well. Needless to say (but yes, I'll say it anyway!), my feelings have changed.  Was I excited when Jeanette made the announcement? Yep. Did I squeal? Oh yes. Was I among the thousands of consultants jumping up and down with her hands in the air? You betcha.  I guess I had always coveted (secretly, of course) the crisp, perfect shapes this machine can make, but couldn't fathom a life sans stamping.  This partnership makes perfect sense.  It's one thing to embellish your layout with say, a precisely cut cardstock star or, depending on which side of the stamping/die-cutting fence you fall on, a not-so-precisely cut but beautifully stamped star.  But 'tis a far, far better thing to embellish your layout with a star that is both stamped and precisely cut!  It's a marriage built to last!   

And speaking of marriage, I would like to take this opportunity to thank my husband for so graciously agreeing to drive three and a half hours out of our way coming home from Maclenny last weekend so that I could retrieve my mother's Cricut from my sister.  And mad props to my sister too, because she like, totally understood and handed it right over. 

So there you have it:  I have officially jumped on to the Cricut bandwagon.  I must say, it feels good.  I am counting the minutes until my Close To My Heart Art Philosophy Cricut Cartridge arrives so I can put this bad boy to work.  Ain't nobody got nothin' on us now!