This Stamp Set is Going ...Going.....GONE!

I mentioned on Facebook yesterday that a neighborhood Pampered Chef consultant had brought us some banana bread. Well I actually have a fun barter system worked out with this consultant. She makes yummies when I have a class and I make her Thank You cards.

I usually do a "kitchen theme" but wanted to do something different.
I made these cards using some of my favorites...the Twitterpated paper pack, October Word Puzzle stamp set, the watercolor pencils and the blending pen.

All of the Word Puzzle stamp sets will be retired in December. If you are interested in purchasing any of them, I would suggest doing so soon. November would be a perfect time with the Stampaganza special.

Anyway...these cards were fun to make. I have always liked to color and that is exactly what I did with the watercolor pencils. I used three different colors on the pumpkin and then used the blending pen to blend them all together. I was happy with the look when I was done.

It's Official

I am happy to announce that it is official! We will be fostering dogs for a local agency, Paws and Prayers. I have gotten our last two dogs from there and I think it is a great organization.

We actually brought home our first foster on Saturday. It was a VERY short foster....he was adopted on Sunday! Toby is a 6 month old German Shepard. He was fun and our 4 year old lab enjoyed romping with him in the yard for the short time he was with us.

I have had so many people say to me.....oh I couldn't do that ......I would want to keep them all. Mark , Jack, and I are going into this with the attitude we can give these animals a nice place to stay until they go to their forever homes. I hope if we keep that attitude it will be easier when it is time for them to move on.

I'll let you know how things go. We are scheduled to get another foster this weekend. We decided to wait until after Thanksgiving since dinner is at our house this year.

My Kind of CEO

As most of you know, Close To My Heart is dear to me. One reason is the values of the CEO, Jeanette Lynton. Jeanette started a stamping company in her home so she could be with her kids. As the company developed she continued to include her children in the plan. Family is VERY important to me, as it is to Jeanette.

I would like to share Jeanette's blog with you. Today she has Q&A. She also shares beautiful color combinations and artwork. Some days she she shares family photos or photos of the Close To My Heart team. To take a look at Jeanette's blog CLICK HERE.

Results of the Unofficial Scraps Survey

I took an unofficial survey a few days ago to see what other scrapbookers and stampers do with their scraps. Thank you to the ladies who responded on both facebook and my blog. Most of us keep those scraps and use them. Some eventually go through them and donate to day cares, schools, etc.

How are they stored? If it is CTMH paper usually with the original paper pack. Some use the drawer system I have come to love.

So the winner the this unofficial survey is Laura P. How did I pick the winner....just a random name drawing. I will be sending you some cute...cute holiday paper candy.

Since I am talking about scraps....again...I thought it would be appropriate to show a card I made last night with my scraps I had laying on my scrapbook table.

First I found these cute little doggie embellishments I had made when I was on a retreat. Such a cute stamp set. Sorry I can't remember the name but I know it has been retired.




Then I went through my pile of scraps that hadn't made it off my table yet and found some matching paper. I added a little ribbon and here you have it...a cute quick masculine birthday card.

Take a break today from your busy schedule and make a fun card or two. Enjoy!

Join My Team and Earn Extra Free Stuff!

Some of you may have read in my newsletter that I have a goal in my Close To My Heart business. Actually I have lots of goals but there is one I am working diligently on currently.

I want to become a director by the CTMH convention next summer. To be a director you need to have 20 active downlines on your team.

I have a great team but I want to add to it! I am adding a little motivation to sign up as a consultant in November!

In addition to the great products you already receive in the new consultant kit, I will be adding a FREE stamp set of your choice from me.

The basic consultant kit costs $99 and includes about $250 in products to get your business going. You also have the option of purchasing 2 bonus kits which provide additional CTMH products.

Close To My Heart has a wonderful training program for new consultants. In addition to the training offered by CTMH, I have started weekly calls with anyone new on my team to help them achieve their own personal goals.

To join my team, Croppers Connection, click here. Once you are on my website click on the
"Your Opportunities" section. Close to My Heart has been a great addition to my life. If you are interested in earning a little....or a lot or just would like the discount sign up today!

Scraps...Keep Em or Pitch Em?

I was checking out some message boards yesterday and read a discussion about scrap paper. It got me thinking about what other people do with their scraps. I am a person that keeps most of my scraps unless they are itty bitty. Storing them has an issue for me. I have tried zip lock bags, boxes and have finally come up with something that works well for me. I used one of those wheeled drawer carts. I seperate the scraps by color and find I have been using them a lot more often because they are easy to get to and see.

OK so what does everyone else do?

Do you keep scraps?
Do they have to be a certain size?
Do you use them?
How do you store them?

I would love to hear everyone's opinion on this topic. Everyone who posts a comment will be entered in a drawing for some fun holiday paper candy!

It is kind of funny when you think about it....only scrapbookers and stampers would chat about scrap paper.

JINGLE All the Way

I have had SO much fun using the Jingle paper pack! I love the color combinations and hint of nontraditional Christmas colors. I have used it with a variety of holiday stamp sets and it looks great with all of them.


This is the display board I used to show off how fun this paper is. Most of the artwork on this board was created by Pam Miner, my upline.