UPS Warning About the NEW CTMH Fall/Winter Idea Book!!!

I just had to share this...

This time of the year has come around once again. Close To My Heart is releasing the New Idea Book and Catalog. Please be extremely cautious of Close To My Heart Consultants (CTMHCs) for the next two weeks.

How to Deliver the New Idea Book and Catalog:

1. Be sure you have fixed your squeaky brakes - if not, park your truck two blocks away so the CTMHC can not hear you coming.

2. Put in your earplugs and secure your safety glasses.

3. If you see children looking out the window, put your finger up to your lips and say "SHHHH".. They are on a "lookout" for you and are being paid to "alert" their mothers (CTMHCs) when they see you coming to the door.

4. Approach the front door and very quietly, set the package down in front of the door (Make sure you place it in FRONT so when she opens the door, the box will be in the way and give you a little more time to escape).

5. Back up as far as you can and reach for the doorbell, (BE READY TO RUN !!!). Ring the doorbell and make a mad dash back to your truck and drive away....DO NOT LOOK BACK !!!

The UPS corporation is informing you of this because in the past years, CTMHCs have been known to scream at the top of their lungs with excitement and try to tackle you with hugs for delivering their catalogs. After you have been smothered with appreciation for getting them their catalogs on time, watch out for flying packaging material as they will open up the box before you have had a chance to leave, or they have gone inside.

They have also been know to drive up next to you at a stop light in their mini vans and SUVs and ask if you have a package for them. Turn up your radio and pretend you cannot hear them. Do not let them approach your delivery truck at an intersection.

CTMHCs have been know to stop traffic and throw all your packages off the trucks until they find their new Idea Book and catalog.

Best of luck to you with this mission, and remember: Let's Be Safe Out There!!!!!

It's A Waiting Game...

Ugh! I am so ready for this little baby girl to be born! I am dying here...or so it feels like it. LOL! I have been preoccupied the last two weeks thinking she is going to be here any day now (I am 3 cm dilated...so something is starting to happen at least). Anyway...that's why I haven't posted in almost two weeks...so sorry!

Here's a brief update...

After having our baby shower, I decided to tackle my craft closet and make some room for all the goodies we received and also because my dh wanted his living room back to normal...according to him, the living room is his room and he doesn't want it 'baby'fied. Ü


There still is stuff from the closet all over my dining room but the good news is that I have all the new baby stuff in my craft closet neatly organized.


We have the pack 'n play upstairs and ready in our master bedroom and a new mini crib set up in my scrapbook room where my island workstation used to be (had to move it out into the dining area).

Of course...once I started this project, my energy level plummeted and I've had a hard time finding the energy to work thru all the stuff I pulled out of my closet!

I'm doing what I can when I feel up to it. For some silly reason...I keep thinking I'll have so much more energy after the baby is born...I just won't have the time then! I will feel so much better once I am able to work through all the mess and I have decluttered and reorganized everything.

For those of you looking for my latest artwork projects...here is one that I have done recently.



I submitted this 9x9 layout spread to CTMH for the Consultant Designer Ribbon Rounds Contest. I used a technique I learned from another blog using frayed grosgrain ribbon.

Last but not least, I'll leave you with my version of a self-portrait...thought this picture turned out kinda cool. I tried covering my flash so there wouldn't be a glare in the mirror. This is me at 38 weeks pregnant.


Sweet blessings to you all, Pamela

Baby Shower of Blessings

Yesterday, my daughter and I went to our baby shower that was hosted by some of my dearest Sisters in Christ....Vicki, Diana & Georgia. These ladies have been a hugh support to me over the last 1-1/2 years....encouraging me in my walk with Christ. It's been wonderful to go through this experience with them and to have them by my side. Ü

Pictured from left to right: Georgia, Diana, Vicki & I

Because of the shower, I decided I needed to get busy with the baby's scrapbook. I've never really created a baby scrapbook because my other two children were born before I was a scrapbooker and I've only done a few pages here and there using their baby pictures...sad...I know. Hopefully this baby will spur me into making their baby scrapbooks too.

So, to get the scrapbook started, I made pages Saturday evening for the baby shower so we would have a guest list for the guests to sign and a gift list to be filled in. Here are the beginnings of our baby scrapbook...

I'm really excited to have gotten this accomplished so that we were able to use it at the shower. It will be a very memorable keepsake. I decided to use CTMH's More To Adore Paper Packet with the Adorable stamp set and Believe Caps. I also chose to use my Cricut for the title using Base Camp. The layout concept is from CTMH's Reflections Scrapbook Program II called Conversion - Overlap. I used the same concept on both layouts, I just rotated one 1/4 turn to create a Title Topper layout.

I also wanted to share the hostess gifts I made. I created a set of 8 monogrammed cards with envelopes for each hostess and put them in a decorated cellophane lunch bag with some pink shreds and tied each off with some baby pink organdy ribbon.

Well, I just wanted to update you on the happenings of the last few days. I hope you are all having a wonderful Monday and enjoying your summer happenings as well.

Blessings to you, Pamela

Welcome To My Family & Friends!

Welcome to my little place on the internet! I am glad you stopped by to see what I've been up to lately. Please leave a comment on this post or one you find interesting so that I know you've stopped by.

If you are interested in keeping up with my blog, you can subscribe to it through a link on the right side panel. You will receive an email whenever I update my blog.

If you have a blog of your own, I would love to visit it and link to it. Just let me know and leave me the website address.

Again...thanks for stopping by!

Sweet blessings to you, Pamela

Instructions for 9x9 True Fit Folio Mini Album

To view photos of album, click on the labels link at the end of this post called 'Mini Ablums'.

Instructions:

1. Cut folio down to 9" (when open it is 9 x 24).

2. With folio open, score at 2-7/8" from right panel edge (tab should be on the left towards the bottom).

3. Next score at 2-7/8" from the left panel edge (measure from the edge of tab).

4. This should give you two 9" x 9-1/8" layouts in the center.

5. Decorate the inside and outside as desired.

6. Adhere a velcro circle to the inside of the tab flap to close album.

Yet Another Challenge Complete!

I completed the Cherish Challenge for the CTMHFriends yahoo group over the weekend. We were suppose to use the Cherish Concept - Treasure Tags featured on pages 110-111. I decided to use the colors in the Color Challenge again and use up some of my scraps from the MRK Laid Back. I am hoping that you can click on the picture below to get a better view in a new window...sometimes it works, other times it doesn't.

I completed my layout and didn't really have a good spot to journal, so I decided to do some hidden journaling under the main photo on the left side of the page. I used some White Daisy hinges to create a flap to journal underneathe the photo. I've been trying to do more journaling/storytelling and sometimes using interactive flaps is just the thing!



I also played with my new Photoshop Elements 5.0 and learned how to scan in and stitch my layout together! Still trying to learn how to use all the other cool tools in it though.

Enjoy the day! Pamela

A Refreshing Challenge

I created this 'refresh'ing card for the CTMHFriends yahoo group July Challenge (Card Sketch & Color Challenge). After a little thought, I realized that the color challenge of Sunflower, Dutch Blue & Vineyard Berry were the colors of the My Reflections Kit - Laid Back....and having sorted thru all my kits yesterday...I challenged myself to use some of those scraps. So, the entire card is made from scraps! Ü How great is that?!?!

Feels great to have created something from all my hard work yesterday! Now it is time to hit the sack and get 'refresh'ed for another day of organizing tomorrow.

Blessings to you all, Pamela

The Nesting is Setting In...

Whew! Today was finally a good day to get some things accomplished in my scrapbook room. As I was finishing this project up tonight and I was waiting for my dh to come home, I thought...only a true scrapbooker/stamper would understand this accomplishment. LOL!

I worked all day collecting/sorting thru several years worth of CTMH My Reflections Kits and organizing them ALL into my 12x12 file drawers! You must understand what a hugh job this was...I not only filed them alphabetical order into these two drawers, but I sorted thru each kit and pulled all the cardstock and cardstock scraps from the kits and then filed each kit into a 12x12 file folder...I have 72 CTMH My Reflection Kits!!! Next I had to type and print labels for those that I didn't have tabs for and then I reorganized the tabs so I could see all the labels when looking for a particular kit. Once all that was done, I had to put away all the cardstock that I had pulled from the kits (I have a basket full of cardstock scraps that I still need to sort and store).

Below is something I accomplished a week or so ago...I moved all My Acrylix Stamps from a cabinet with doors to an open shelving unit, so that I could access them a little better and it made more room for my photo boxes/photo albums inside the cabinet with doors.

Remember a few posts back??? I had a pile of magazines sitting here on my counter...no more! It's nice, clean and organized! Ü




Here are the piles of magazines and catalogs that we will be taking to the recycle center on Friday! I still have a pile under my computer desk to go thru and pull any ideas/articles that I want to keep. Hopefully I'll get thru them by next week.





I've finally managed to clear off my sitting work area! Up until recently, I have been doing all my scrapbooking/stamping standing at my island on the other side of the room. But because the baby's crib will have to go where the island is now (moving the island into the dining room or the closet...if I ever get it cleared out) I will need to start using my sitting work area again. However...

I can't quite get to my sitting work area yet! LOL! This is what I have to sort thru and organize next! Ugh! Will it ever end???

Hope you enjoyed the adventures of a nesting scrapaholic! Ü

Until next time...Count your blessings, Pamela

Awesome Swappers

Since I haven't been able to do any stamping recently, I thought I'd share a recent swap I participated in. The items I received are awesome, of course...that's why it's called the 'Awesome Swappers'. Ü All items use CTMH's Majestic Blue Paper Packet and the July Stamp of the Month, Typewriter Keys (visit MyCTMH website for more information).

This is a 4x4 card created by Lynn Como...love the antiquing and the tag element.


The next one is a 4-1/4 x 5-1/2 card created by Cindy Walker...she used a clear dimensional square over the 'u'.

This 3-1/2 x 8 card was created by Deb Brandics...she used D1209 Love Flourishes on the Crystal Blue CS...it says 'friendship'.

Love this 6x6 card created by Jody Pyne...great use of the NEW Creative Clips!

Another great card by Cindy Walker...it's a 5x7 tag card with Hollyhock CS and ink used.

This is a Braggin' Tag created by Kathryn Wafer...it can be used as a element on a scrapbook layout.

And a 9x9 layout created by Amanda Mueller...love the photo hangers with the ribbon behind the title.

Hope you got some inspiration from these fabulous swappers! I can't wait to share with you what I accomplished today...the nesting stage is setting in already. Ü

Sweet blessings, Pamela