Take a Break to Create with CTMH

So much has happened this last week that I still don’t quite feel like I’ve gotten back into my routine after the holidays and with the kids going back to school.

We had a pretty significant winter storm come through Monday night which brought us 4” of snow and Bevyn’s preschool shut down for Tuesday. The older kids still had to go to school.

Then my new Close To My Heart product order arrived on Wednesday, but I had a hair appointment and had already started cleaning & organizing my scrapbook room, so this morning was the first chance I’ve taken to create.

I thought I’d share a quick card and a little sneak peek of a new paper packet from the new 2012 Spring/Summer Idea Book (available to customers February 1st) and a card idea I found on Pinterest from October Afternoon!

Using the new Stella Workshops on the Go Kit, the My Acrylix Just for You Stamp Set, the Rock the Block My Acrylix Stamp Set, three Flutter Paper Shapes and my CTMH Cricut Art Philosophy cartridge, I created this…

I just LOVE this bold color combo using Sunset, Lagoon, Olive & Tulip with a touch of Cocoa! I cut the postage stamp shape using my CTMH Cricut Art Philosophy cartridge. The stitched lines are a stamp from the Stella WOTG Kit. This was such an easy card to make.

Below are a few highlights from this past week…

Our snow day fun…

My newly organized workstation in my scrapbook room…

Until next time…have a blessed day!

It’s All About Organization – Part II

The clean up has begun and I am starting to feel so much better about my space. =) I have found that the best way to clean up/organize is to move the clutter from the space first…move it into the next room…which happens to be our dining room. When I do this, I have to make a commitment to myself (and to my husband) that I will have it ALL done in a day or two. So, it works best to do it over a weekend when I have nothing big I have to do or some place that I have to be. This happens to be that weekend!

So, this is what my dining room looks like at the moment…

This is the top of my island that I have to work through…

But, check this out! Once all the clutter was been cleared out, I was able to wipe down all the surface areas and reorganize things a bit.

Ahhh…now I can sort/purge through the piles on the island and in the dining room over the next two days. I will be purging A LOT because with the unveiling of the Close To My Heart Spring/Summer 2011 Idea Book…there will be a TON of items retiring/discontinued. I will have a majority of those items for sale at my Idea Book Celebration & Crop next Saturday, January 29th from 10a – 8p. If you would like to reserve a crop space for the day please RSVP to let me know you are coming and I’ll have a special goodie for you! =)

Thanks for stopping by! I’ll share more of my adventures on the clean up with soon.

It’s All About Organization!

This MUST be the week to get my scrapbook room ORGANIZED because the challenge this week at the Heart 2 Heart Challenge blog is ORGANIZATION and it’s also ORGANIZATION WEEK over at Close To My Heart’s Facebook Page.

So, even though my scrapbook room is NOT organized right now, I thought I’d share some photos with you of my scrapbook room when it WAS organized. I’m hoping this will INSPIRE me to get in there and get it ORGANIZED by week’s end. =)

I have to laugh because these BEFORE pictures taken almost a year ago actually look almost like it does RIGHT NOW…

HOW in the world do I let it get this way???

NOW, after looking at the below AFTER photos, I’m starting to get INSPIRED to get in there and get it CLEANED UP!

  

Doesn’t it look so pretty ORGANIZED and CLEAN!?!

Now these pictures below really make me happy! This time last year, my island was in the dining room because there was a baby crib in my scrapbook room. So, to get my island back in my scrapbook room AND get it organized like THIS made me a VERY HAPPY momma! =)

 

I hope you have enjoyed my little tour of my scrapbook room. =) I will let you know LATER this week what it looks like by posting NOW pictures!!!

Have a blessed week and make it from your heart with Close To My Heart!

April 2010 Stamp of the Month Blog Hop!!!

Welcome to our Stamp of the Month Blog Hop! We are featuring April's SOTM, which is D1409 Flower Pot, a set of 16 stamps. If you have come here from Lori's Blog, you are on the right path! If this is your first stop, you may want to go back to Helen's Blog and start from the beginning!

This month we have over 65 Close To My Heart Consultants sharing their creations using this month's SOTM and other great CTMH products on their blogs. This is simple to do - just click on the link at the end of the post on each blog to move to the next one! Here we go!

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This month I chose to get creative with all the cardstock scraps I’ve been hoarding over the years (check out my tip at the end of this post). I grabbed my scraps that went along with Jeanette Lynton’s Color Me Monday post this week and created two cards from our card how-to program, Wishes and a layout from our scrapbook how-to program, Imagine. I just love how they turned out and I used almost all scraps to create these projects!

Products Used: D1409 Flower Pot (April SOTM) My Acrylix stamps set, C1399 On the Edge My Acrylix stamps set, Buttercup CS & ink, Blush CS & ink, Petal CS & ink, Sweet Leaf ink, Colonial White CS, Sparkles, Basic Brads Assortment, Winter Cozy Brads Assortment, Ricrac Collection, Just Blooms Paper Flowers - Big Pinks, Irresistibles Lots of Dots Color-Ready Alphabets, Blending Pen


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Now "Hop" on over to Kathleen's Blog to see her work! Be sure to visit all the Consultants at their Blogs to get some great crafting ideas and other fun ideas! Remember, the April SOTM is only available until April 30, 2010!  Contact your CTMH Consultant (or click here) to see how you can get this stamp set at a discount or even free!


Have a blessed day and make it from your heart!

Here's a little tip for sorting your cardstock scraps...


Sort them all out on the floor by color

Next, sort them into seasons

Pick 3-4 colors of scraps to create with

   
More details of how I store them coming in a future post.

Making Progress…

I am so grateful that my baby is now in her own room and in her own big girl bed! Because of this great achievement, we have gotten rid of the baby crib that was in my scrapbook room for almost 3 years. Hallelujah!

So that also means I was able to put my scrapbook island back into my scrapbook room. However, over the past  3 years, I have crammed as much junk in it as I could and now it’s time to purge and make room for new stuff!

Here is my work-in-progress picture…

I have really missed using this in my scrapbook room! Before the baby arrived, I had really come to love scrapbooking standing up. It is the perfect height and doesn’t make my back hurt.

So, this morning I pulled everything out of it and it now looks like this…

The below picture is a combination of stuff that I pulled out of my scrapbook room and this just some of what came out of it.  There is a pretty good pile of memorabilia that I have to sort through and lots of old projects from past workshops and swaps.

So, the purging, cleaning and organizing continue. Be back soon!

How To Get Your Scrapbook Room Under Control…Coming Soon!

Oh geez! I can’t believe I’m about to share this with you, but I have a sneaky suspicion that I’m not the only one with this problem…

My scrapbook room is OUT OF CONTROL!!!

I need FlyLady’s crisis cleaning help with this one!

I’ll be back in a bit to share my progress…won’t you join me!?!

My Special Day

What a wonderful birthday I had yesterday! I received so many birthday wishes by phone, email, Facebook, mail and in person.

Below is a picture of a few of my birthday presents which included some Bath & Body Works, a lovely beaded cross, some yummy Italian cream cake, a bouquet of flowers, hand painted watering can, and our family pictures from Olan Mills.

When I got home from work my Close To My Heart Exclusive Inks Organizer had arrived.  Here it is filled with all my ink pads and markers.

 

I love it! A big hug and thank you to my family for getting it for me. ;0)

Well, I best get busy getting us all ready so we can head over to my parent's house tonight for my birthday dinner.

Have a wonderful Super Bowl weekend!