Tis The Season

I recently returned from a wonderful trip to visit my son and his family over Thanksgiving.  Last year he was preparing to leave for Afghanistan and his little girl was very sick.  It was a difficult time. He was called away on Thanksgiving Day and didn't even get to eat this special meal with his family.  He then flew to Afghanistan for his birthday.  Happy Birthday right?  That is the life of a soldier.  It made this Thanksgiving so precious. We had so much to be thankful for.  He returned safely and whole from overseas and my granddaughter is doing so much better. We were also able to celebrate his birthday with him this year as it was on Thanksgiving Day. I haven't been able to do that for years. I am so grateful for every minute I get to spend with my boys and their families as that doesn't happen very often.  We are blessed that we are able to travel to visit them.

Since Thanksgiving was so late in the month, it seems that Christmas is right around the corner.  How many of you are hinting about what you would like for Christmas this year.  You will definitely want to put the Artbooking Cricut cartridge on that list for Santa.  It's the easiest cartridge I have for designing and making layouts.  Here is a video that shows a couple of Christmas layouts.  Enjoy!

Fall Into Artbooking

Every time I watch a video from Close To My Heart, I get more ideas about how to create beautiful pages using the Artbooking Cartridge.  This video has a Fall theme and has lots of information about using real dial size.  I can't wait to go down to my creative corner and make these beautiful pages for the hike we took over Columbus Day weekend.  The colors were just beautiful and we had a wonderful day.  But that is a story for another time.  When I complete the pages, I'll tell you the story.  In the meantime, enjoy the video!

Until next time.

As Promised

Here is a picture of the layout I made for my class at Singing Hills:

I loved working with the Huntington paper pack.  It has such beautiful Autumn colors to complement all your wonderful Thanksgiving and Autumn pictures.  This is the second layout from the Close To My Heart Workshop on the Go.  It was so easy to put together!  My students loved creating with this paper pack!  I still have to make the first layout.  When I do, I'll be sure to take more pictures.

This layout I made when I took a class from one of my friends, Nancy Hay:

This is such a cute layout using the Sparkle and Shine paper pack in our Christmas mini catalog. The picture doesn't do it justice.  I loved it so much, that I ordered the Workshop on the Go so I could get the adorable stamp set.  I can't wait to take pictures for this!  

I have two more layouts that I made while at Singing Hills, but I still have to embellish them before I can show them to you.  

Today I spent time looking for my husband's fishing pictures that we've taken over the years.  I was brought back in time while looking through the photos.  It was so much fun to look at all those precious memories we made over the years.  I realized how much work I have to get all those pictures scrapped.  I'm so glad that Close To My Heart is coming out with it's own Project Life.  It's called Picture Life and I cannot wait until it goes live.  Until then, here are a few peeks at what will be available in February!

Avonlea

Babycakes

Chantilly

Later Sk8r

Laughing Lola

Surf's Up

There's something for every occasion!  Aren't they just the cutest?  I cannot wait to order these.  

Back from Singing Hills

I just spent a wonderful weekend at Singing Hills with a group of scrapbooking ladies.  It was great to see the ladies who regularly make the trip for the weekend and it was wonderful to meet new ladies.  One of those ladies was very special.  Peggy had a wonderful personality and kept us all in stitches for the weekend.  I was so blessed to meet her.  While I was there, I had so much fun creating new layouts.  I didn't get many done, but at least I got a few done.  I meant to get some pictures of them today before the sun went down, but alas, the day got away from me.  For some reason, those pictures just aren't the same without natural light.  So here is a picture of the cards I created for one of my classes.  They were so much fun to make.  

Now it's time to plan my Christmas card class.  I love the new sparkle and shine paper,  but the lovely blues in the frosted paper are beautiful.  I guess I'll just have to use both!   Now that those warm summer days are gone, it's time to create once again. 

I found out some exciting news last week.  Close To My Heart will have a new line of products in the Spring and Summer catalog that is similar to Project Life.  The name of this new product is called Picture My Life and I cannot wait to see what will be available.  I am always amazed at how Close To My Heart stays with the trends.  As soon as I get more information, I'll be letting you know.

Halloween Inspiration

 

What happened to September?  With all the hustle and bustle of the beginning of the school year it seems that September just flies by.  I absolutely love the Fall and Halloween is a fun time for the kids.  They just love getting all dressed up.  I still have to get last year's pictures scrapped and now that I have the new Artbooking cartridge, I can hardly wait to get my pages done.  Here is a video about making those Halloween pages.  I am still in awe with all you can do with this wonderful cartridge.  Enjoy!

 



I Just Love the Artbooking Cartridge

Last weekend I had the opportunity to go to a crop where I could just well, crop.  It was a wonderful Friday evening and Saturday where I could just sit and create.  I brought my brand new Artbook Cartridge with me so that I could share it and I have to tell you that I absolutely love love love this new Cricut cartridge that Close To My Heart has designed.  One of the ladies said that she loved the fact that the words are already welded together so you don't have to do anything.  I love the fact that with just one button you can design a whole two-page layout!  Here is another video that shows you some of the wonderful things you can do with this cartridge!

 

 

 

I'm sure you can't wait to try this cartridge out!  I can think of a few cute pictures that I'll be scrapping using the ideas from this video. 



Ahhh What Beauty

One of the things I noticed these past couple of months are the beautiful sunsets.  I don't get to see the sun rise where I live as my view is obstructed by trees, but the sunsets have been spectacular.  I am amazed every time I see the beauty all around me.  Soon I'll be taking out my camera to take pictures of the foliage.  It's almost peak season here. But for now, here are a few pictures I took during the months of August and September.

  

Every time I see these beautiful works of art I am reminded of how our God enjoys beauty and shares it with us.

I have been doing more than taking pictures though.   I have actually been planning my classes for the Singing Hills retreat, Memories that Matter.  Here are the cards I came up with to make with the ladies there this year.



I had a lot of fun creating them.  I hope the ladies enjoy making them as much as I did.  

Tomorrow, I'm off to scrap at my friend's crop to catch up a little and to create my layout and finish my mini scrapbook for Singing Hills.  I can't wait!



 

 Artbooking - The New Close To My Heart Cartridge

I have been wanting the brand new Cricut Cartridge from Close To My Heart.  The Artbooking cartridge is all about layouts and mini albums.  I am amazed every year that Jeanette comes out with a new cartridge that is even better than the last!  How can this be you wonder?   Well, take a look at the video series that just started, Artbooking Made Easy, and you will see what I mean!

 



The New Catalog is Live!

II'm writing this post from my sister's house as I spend the weekend with Mom.  I noticed that I have to update to the Fall/Winter catalog, but I don't know how to do this from my IPad.  I want to share my view as I write this post. 

Beautiful isn't it? 

This is what I created this morning using Laughing Lola and a layout from Make It From Your Heart Volume 2. Love this paper and love the new layout patterns!  

I'm taking this time to enjoy one-on-one time with Mom. I just don't know how many more of these times I will have. We just celebrated her 91st birthday almost two months ago.  I'm also using this time to play with my camera. More pictures to scrapbook!

I'm absolutely loving this beautiful weather we are having. Hope you're enjoying your summer too!

They Are Here!

Usually I don't get back on to post after my goodies arrive, but today I was good and took pictures of all of it to share.  I got all of this for free!  That's right free! Have I told you how much I love Close To My Heart.  I got three of the Workshops on the Go.  

Sarita

Pro Play

Frosted

I also got these three adorable stamp sets!

 This is what it looked like all together!

Okay, so now I've shared and I have to get back to work so that I can play later! Did I tell you I'm working on a 10-page layout with our Tommy paper pack?  Once I'm done creating, I'll share.   Oh, and I forgot to tell you, I have another box coming on Tuesday, Tee Hee.  More to be excited about!

Patiently Waiting....Well Kind Of

I'm here waiting for the Fed Ex truck to arrive with some of my new product.  There are so many exciting things to share.  Once it arrives, I'll take pictures so you can see for yourself.  Once again we have a new Cricut cartridge that is amazing!  I don't know how Close To My Heart does it, but every year the new cartridge is exciting and with new options for scrapbooking and cardmaking.  This year's cartridge is called Artbooking and I can't wait to get my hands on it. Here are a couple of examples of what this wonderful cartridge can do.  First is a Surf's Up layout made by Gina Brandstetter and next a Tommy layout made by Melissa Laverty.  As you can see, the new cartridge includes cutouts to add to your page and cute photo mats!  And this is only a few things that this wonderful new cartridge can do.

Absolutely adorable don't you think?

  Unfortunately, today's package that I'm waiting for does not include this wonderful cartridge, so I won't be able to play with it.  But, if you would like to pre-order this cartridge, the price is $99 plus shipping ($106.87 with shipping), and I can get this to you on August 1st! Included with all of our Cricut cartridges are three sets of stamps that coordinate with the cartridge plus three sets of dimensional elements that also coordinate.   Each pre-order I receive by July 20th  will include an all new washi tape - lagoon houndstooth.  Email me at detty1957@hotmail.com to pre-order your cartridge today. Orders received after July 25th may arrive later than August 1st. So place your order before the 20th to get your free washi tape and a delivery date of August 1st!

Ahhh Summer

 

 

After the last couple of weeks with mostly rain, it seems that Summer has finally arrived here in NewHampshire. Since this time of the year tends to be very busy, I'm I planning to scrapbook using Studio J.  I have found that I have not been scrapbooking as much as I would like to and I do not want to fall too far behind, so Studio J is the perfect solution.  I wanted to let you see one of the projects that I recently completed.  I usually scrapbook traditionally.  I love seeing and touching the paper and embellishments, but sometimes life gets in the way, and I need to get caught up and it's Studio J to the rescue.  It is so user friendly and I get to make beautiful pages without having to crop one single picture.  When you see these pages in person, it's hard to believe that they are not 3-D.  These were pictures of a our son-in-law's 30th birthday party ahem three years ago.  I've found that I have not been scrapbooking chronologically lately and I'm less stressed.  So here are the pages I created.....

 

I love the fact that I can choose from so many papers, even those papers that are retired!  Looking at these pages makes me want to get back to my computer and create some more!







I'm Back!

I had the wonderful opportunity to spend time with my daughter-in-law and grandchildren a few weeks ago.  Who wouldn't love spending time in Savannah?  I brought my laptop with me hoping to get some Studio J layouts done and maybe even update my blog, but I forgot what it was like to have little ones around.  Our days were full of fun and sun.  We started our days early and ended late.  Did I get those things done I wanted to?  No I most definitely did not, but I had the best time playing with those kids.  I will never forget going to The Pink House in Savannah with my granddaughter and spending an evening just talking with my grandson while we relaxed on the lanai. I was so happy to go to a baseball game and a softball game.  It brought back memories of when I used to go to their dad's games.  I didn't get many pictures taken and those of you who know me know that that is not what usually happens.  But sometimes it's even more than the pictures.  Those memories will be with me forever.  I am so blessed to have had this blessing. 

 

I'm a little behind in watching the videos that Close To My Heart publishes, but I just watched this video and couldn't wait to share.  I love to learn tips about our products and this video shows you how to use our alcohol markers.   Enjoy!

 



It's Been A Long Time!

 

I'm still around and haven't forgotten about my blog.  It's just been one of those years.  Those of you who know me know that I have been having physical issues since December 31st.  I have no answers for why I'm having issues but I know that God has a plan.  So I will rest in Him. 

 

I just got back from a wonderful Scrapbooking Retreat at Singing Hills in Plainfield, NH.  What a wonderful time with friends and fellow scrapbookers. That will be a subject for another post.  It's so much fun!

 

Although I haven't been posting, I have been creating so I'd like to show you a couple of projects that I taught in my classes at Singing Hills.  The women are always so appreciative of what they learn in those classes.

 

My scrapbook layout page was made using our Surf's Up paper.  It is such a fun pattern to work with and the colors are beautiful!  Sun rays are in style this year and Close To My Heart came out with a stamp set that has banners you can use as sun rays.  It makes life so much easier.

 



 

I'm blessed to live right next door to my daughter and her family.  I am able to share so many things with my grandchildren.  But I still get to visit with my sons and their families so I always have lots of photos to scrap.

 

My card class used the new Buzz and Bumble paper.  I fell in love with the paper once I saw it in person.  There are so many things you can do with the paper because our background and texture paper is double-sided. 

 

Another trend this year is the honeycomb and Close To My Heart has a stamp set to add dimensions to your cards and scrapbook pages.

 

I haven't forgotten my word this year, CONSISTENCY.  I don't have it down yet, but I'm working on it.  I pray that by the end of the year I will have been consistent in posting my blog and letting you know about some of the happenings in my life. 

 

Next month is National Scrapbook Month and Close To My Heart has a great special for the month.

Happy scrapping!

 



MEMORIES

 

As I wait for the Blizzard of 2013 to arrive, I can't help but think about the Blizzard of '78.  I worked in a bank back then and the bank actually closed!  I have the most adorable picture of my son in his snowsuit out in the snow (I'll have to look for that).  Thankfully, we didn't lose power because that would have been awful.  We lived in an old apartment building that had once been a large New Englander.  No power would have meant that we would have to stay with family who had a woodstove.  What I do remember is that we had time to enjoy our little family without rushing to get to work and getting everything done. 

 

 

As I read Facebook I see posts from some who can't wait for it to arrive.  I personally wouldn't mind if I never had to state "I lived throught the Blizzard of 2013."  Now that I am older, I find myself liking winters less and less.  I loved last winter. We didn't have many days, if any, below zero.  We had very little snow.  Winter came later and spring came ealier.  Ahhh it was refreshing.  Almost didn't feel like New Hampshire at all.  I guess we were due for this.  So what to do during this historic storm?  Well.... I have some new product to play with.  That ought to keep me occupied.  For now, I'll share a picture I took a little while ago.  I'll make sure to update that picture as we live through the experience.  But if I don't get it up for a couple of days, that means we lost power and thus lost the internet.  I hope everyone stays safe today.

 

 

 

As you can see, we had bare ground before this storm decided to pay us a visit. We actually had rain last week. This view will be very different in a few hours.    Welcome to New England!



Auld Lang Syne

 

I love all of the Close To My Heart patterned paper.  In fact, every year I love the paper and the patterns more and more.  I wonder how anyone could think of new patterns and colors that would be better than the last season's patterns and colors and then the new Idea Book is published and I am in love even more.  This month we will be saying goodby to some of our dear friends.  Some of the paper packs will be retired at the end of January.  That means that in February, we will have all new paper packs to choose from.  If you wanted to order any of the following paper packs that will be retiring, I have an open Gathering on January 12th.  You can place your order on my website, just click the Idea Book on the right of this post. 

 

 

It will be sad to see these beautiful patterns of paper go and some of the wonderful stamps, but wait until you see what is in store for February!  I gave you a glimps of what you could expect when I took a picture of the cover of the New Idea Book.  Here are the retiring stamps from the Spring/Summer 2012 Idea Book and the retiring paper packs, Workshops on the Go, and other items from the Autumn/Winter 2012 Idea Book:

 

Item #	Item Description	Page # Spring/Summer 2012 Idea Book
A1104	A Tweet	90
A1111	A Tulip	68
A1116	A Melody	94
A1122	Bravo	92
A1128	Quick Cards—Shell	80
A1129	A Rainbow	85
B1365	Spring Up	71
B1369	Rosy Regards	67
B1374	Bee Happy	83
B1397	He Is Risen	74
B1402	My Peeps	72
C1439	Enjoy Life	95
C1440	Take a Picture	93
C1442	Tailor-Made	94
C1450	Eclectic Edges	99
C1452	Delight	71
C1455	Aspire	96
C1456	Heartfelt Treasures	68
C1457	Happy Camper	84
C1458	Paper Lantern	90
C1473	Remarkable Wreath	70
C1474	10 Things	105
C1485	Super Powers	47
C1498	Country Life	82
C1499	Perfect Day	80
D1195	The Works Alphabet	117
D1222	Tiny Typewriter Alphabet	117
D1296	Chocolate Alphabet Small	114
D1301	Hodge Podge Alphabet	114
D1303	Classmate Alphabet	114
D1462	Splendid Day	77
D1464	Card Chatter—Love	106
D1467	Trees & Things	76
D1472	Simple Memories	66
D1478	Bingo Alphabet	113
D1505	Roar!	89
D1508	Diverse Backgrounds	102
D1509	Magic Adventures	78
D1511	Kick Back	81
E1013	Field Trip Alphabet	114

 

Item #	Item Description	Page # Autumn/Winter 2012 Idea Book
Z1349	Shimmer Designer Brads	127
Z1360	Rhinestone Designer Brads	127
Z1361	Brads Red Assortment	127
Z1362	Brads Pink Assortment	127
Z1363	Brads Blue Assortment  No Longer Available	127
Z1364	Brads Green Assortment	127
Z1365	Brads Basic Assortment	127
Z1387	Wooden Designer Buttons	125
Z1391	Buttons Clear Assortment	125
Z1395	Irresistibles™ Eclectic Chipboard Die-Cuts (the alphabet)	130
Z1465	Irresistibles™ Make-It-Count Numbers	130
Z1681	Dimensional Elements  Numbers	131
Z1761	Dimensional Elements Ornaments	131
Z1762	Dimensional Elements Snowflakes	131
Z1765	Color-Ready Arbor Wooden Shapes	130
X7147C	Stella Complements Canvas Shapes	68
X7148C	My Stickease® Pemberley Assortment	68
X7150C	My Stickease® Victory Assortment	69
X7153C	My Stickease® Florentine Assortment	69
X7158C	La Belle Vie My Stickease® Assortment    No Longer Available	38
X7160C	Flirty Complements Dimensional Elements	50
X7161C	Moonlight Complements Dimensional Elements	56
X7162C	Pear & Partridge Complements Glittery Rub-Ons	62
Z1464	Milepost Shapes	128
Z1466	Bling Assortment	128
Z1695	Urban Felt Alphabet	130
Z1696	Keepsake Felt Alphabet	130
Z1709	Just Blooms® Petals Paper Flowers	129
Z1460	Foundry® Ribbon Slides	126
Z1711	Foundry® Binder Clips	126
Z1712	Foundry® Number Plates	126
Z1461	Décor Journaling Spots	129
Z1687	Bohemian Assortment	128
Z1689	Timeless Charms	128
Z1692	Tough Tags	128
Z1694	Bouquet Assortment	128
Z1741	Haunted Assortment	128
Z1749	Autumn Lane Assortment	128
Z1763	Boutique Assortment	128
Z1772	Dimensional Elements In Color—Holiday	128
Z1393	Mini-Medley Accents Black Collection	126
Z1316	Designer Ribbon Cocoa Collection	124
Z1385	Designer Ribbon Blue Collection	124
Z1615	Designer Ribbon Red Collection	124
Z1616	Designer Ribbon Green Collection	124
Z1388	Newsprint Rub-Ons	130
Z1700	Dark Chocolate Tapestry Velvet Rub-Ons	126
Z1733	Black Tapestry Velvet Rub-Ons	126
Z1743	Festive Velvet Rub-Ons   No Longer Available	126
Z1742	Parlor Velvet Rub-Ons	126
Z1407	6" x 6" Olive Quick Pic™ Album	122
Z1408	6" x 6" Pansy Purple Quick Pic™ Album	122