Vacation time...

Here is the wonderful family that I am so grateful for. My husband and my daughter, they make me smile all the time. How can I not be thankful for them??
Now tonight I get to kiss them goodbye for a week...I am going on vacation-without them. I will miss them terribly, but will have a lot of fun. Let me explain...

A girlfriend of ours called up about a week and a half ago with an offer that I just could not refuse. She was going on a cruise (tomorrow) and her cabin mate had to back out. She offered me the chance to go with her. How could I refuse? Who needs time to plan and pack?? I am flying to Florida very early in the morning and getting on the boat on Sunday. We are sailing to Key West, Grand Cayman, and Jamaica. I may or may not be able to post while I am gone, but rest assured, I will show you pictures when I get back.

I must be ill because I am seriously thinking about bringing some scrapping supplies with me. I really do think about it all the time! I will have some catching up to do when I get home.

See you in a week...

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving one and all!

Even through all the tragedy that has struck our family recently, I truly do have a lot to be thankful for, starting with my wonderful family and network of friends. I hope they know how very important they are to me!

My friend Connie at work shared this recipe with me and now I am sharing it with you. Simple and delicious...

2 3 oz. boxes of Raspberry Jello
1 20 oz. can Crushed Pineapple
1 16 oz. can Whole Cranberry Jellied Sauce
1 apple, cored and diced

Drain pineapple, saving the juice and adding enough water to equal 2 1/2 cups. Boil then add Jello, stirring until completely dissolved. Add can of cranberries. Stir until dissolved then add pineapple and apple. Refrigerate.

Enjoy!

Enjoy a wonderful Thanksgiving with your loved ones,
Tammy

busy, busy, busy...

I bet you thought I forgot about you out there in Blog-land. I didn't, I have just been extremely busy lately...

Work is always there (gotta do what you've gotta do), and then comes the "fun" work that I do with Close To My Heart. I did a 2 day expo last Friday and Saturday. Then on Sunday I went on our annual shopping trip with my Mom, Sister, daughter, and nieces. We had a great time and I think I am even almost done Christmas shopping. Then my club girls came over last night to do a little creating. Here is the page that we made last night using our Aspen paper pack and the November Stamp of the Month, All Decked Out...I also did a little more creating, I altered a picture frame and added one of our Voice Recorders to it. It was a very tough one to make-many tears along the way-but it turned out great. A photo of our son and his voice is recorded on the Voice Recorder.

If you have children or grandchildren, I encourage you to get their voices onto one of these, they are very precious to have.Well, it is off to bed for me. I have to get rested up for Thanksgiving tomorrow.

Happy Scrappin'

Dazzling Die-Cuts

These fabulous textured cardstock die-cuts will give your artwork and layouts the attention they desire. Each combo pack includes 12-12x12 textured cardstock Dazzling Die-Cuts sheets (2 each of 6 colors), plus a 6x9 sheet of fun adhesive-backed Dimensional Elements. They are available in 6 different color combos. This one is the Winter Cozy Combo Pack.

When you place an order of $50 or more, you can purchase up to six Dazzling Die-Cuts combo packs for an incredible price of only $6 each. Each combo pack features one of our color palettes and comes with stars, hearts, flowers, alphabet letters, and more.

This offer is only good through November 30 or while supplies last so visit my website to see more or to place your order.

Happy Scrappin'

Scrapbook in a Purse

Here is a little Scrapbook in a Purse that I taught at one of our last team meetings. From the buzz I am hearing, there are several of the consultants that are making these for their Secret Sister gifts. I would be happy to teach you how to make one of these little babies, just contact me to find out how (tammyhellstern@myctmh.com or visit my website www.tammyhellstern.myctmh.com)

This one uses our Close To My Heart "Notebook" paper.
Enjoy and Happy Scrappin'

I LOVE gifts

I just love to receive gifts, don't you?

Here are the "Roomie gifts" that I received in San Antonio. Let me explain...when us Close To My Heart girls go on a trip together, we all make little gifty items to exchange with each of our roommates. What fun it is to receive such fabulous ideas from everyone.




Here is an altered comp book, pen, and paper clip from Celeste R. using our Aspen paper.








Danni T. did up a 9x9 My Creations Memory Showcase Album using the Sarsaparilla paper. Just look at the insides of it, too. Didn't she do a great job?
Another altered comp book from Donna W also using the Aspen paper.

Rachel S. used the Evensong paper pack to come up with this fabulous 2 page 12x12 layout. She also included a couple of cards. I can't wait to use these.


Sheri J. made Prayer Buckets for us using the Silhouette paper pack and filled them with all sorts of candy, gum, and goodies.

Donna B. made these adorable little mini albums using the Evensong paper pack and the cutest little elves from the Merry Pursuits stamp set.She even made little tags for all the inside pages!





Aren't these just the best roomie gifts. Did I already tell you how much I LOVE getting gifts?? Well, I do :)

Until later,

I'm home...

I'm home from the gorgeous city of San Antonio. Wow, it is much colder here than it was down there. Home it is 18 degrees and frosty, down south we had beautiful 70-80 degree days! I want to go back. I could have stayed in that city much, much longer. There is so much to see and do.

Our hotel was located right on the RiverWalk. How fun was that? We got to ride the water taxis down the river every evening when we went out to eat (they were much slower than a regular taxi, but that was not the point-we loved the experience and the scenery).



We tried a different restaurant every time we went out and of course, we had to sample the Margaritas! Yum, yum!! We were all flattered when we stopped at the Cafe Ole and got carded when we ordered our drinks LOL!

There is so much to see and do, I definitely need to go back with my family sometime.



Remember the Alamo? Well, of course we had to go see that while we were there. It was fascinating, and so many Texas Rangers, Whew!








Later on, I will take some pictures of my Roomie gifts and share them with you. I love getting gifts, and these were great.

Until later,

Hello from San Antonio

Good Morning and Hello from San Antonio, Texas!

I am here in San Antonio for the Close To My Heart Regional Celebration. What a fabulous time we had (it was over last night). I love re-connecting with the other consultants from around the country. Most of them I only get to see once every year or two. Then, of course, there are the new friends you meet every time you go to one of these events and the great friends that I traveled with. There were 5 of us that came down from Wisconsin together. The friendships I have made are wonderful! I cannot say enough about how great this company is either! We have learned soooo much and created many fabulous things. I will have to post pictures when I get home as I don't have that capability here.

We are just heading down to breakfast and then for a day of sightseeing. Our flight home is later this afternoon. I will hate to leave this beautiful city, but I am anxious to get home to my family, too. I don't think I want to leave this weather and head home to snow, though. I hear we got some of that white stuff while I was gone. I hope it is all gone before I get there.

I hear The Alamo calling me, so I will have to go. I promise, I will post some pictures of our new artwork when I get home and unpacked :)

Happy Scrappin'
Tammy

Trick or Treat Layout

Here is the layout that I made for Halloween. I saw one like it on our Close To My Heart bulletin board and "scraplifted" it, changing a few things to fit my needs. It is made with our "Game On" papers.


Enjoy,



**Are you happy now, my friend, Lynn??

Lynn called me and gave me a hard time about not posting new artwork on my blog, so I just have to give her a hard time LOL!