Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween everyone!  I hope you have a great time out trick or treating.  We will be home waiting for our little spooks to arrive.  Stay tuned tomorrow for my layout with their photos.

For now, I will share a recipe with you.  I was feeling a little domestic this weekend and decided to make a big batch of soup, a loaf of beer bread, and some M&M cookies.

When I said I made a big batch of soup, I meant I made a BIG batch!  I learned well from my Dad!  I also made dumplings using my husband's family recipe.  I will share that with you now.  They are easy to make, but I have to at least make 4x the recipe (of course, if you make a 'normal' sized batch of soup, you probably wouldn't have to :)

1 cup flour
1 cup cream of wheat
1 egg
Stir in cold water.
Dip spoon in hot broth and spoon dumplings into the soup.

Happy Scrappin'

5 Wonderful Years!

Have I ever told you how great Close To My Heart is?  Well if not, now I will.  I have been with this company for 5 wonderful years now!  This is the best company ever, and once you meet Jeanette in person, you will find out that she is just as great in person as ever!  I always knew this company was great, but now everyone else knows it, too!  Close To My Heart has been named the #1 Best Direct Sales Company for Women!  Click on this link to read the whole article yourself.

Just look what they sent me in the mail in honor of my anniversary with them!

I love this gorgeous charm!  I can hardly wait until my next big anniversary to get the next gift from Corporate.  They spoil us a lot!  :)

I first signed up to be a consultant only as a hobbiest (and you could too, just let me know)!  I was only going to sign up to get the discount on my own scrapbooking supplies...well, 5 years later, I am still going strong and loving every last minute of it!  Let's just say that it is more than just a hobby, it is the job that I love!

When you sign up as a Consultant with CTMH, you become part of a welcoming family that values and honors what makes you special.  Whether you join for friendship, creative, or business reasons, you are welcome here!

For only $129 you'll receive all the business essentials you need to get you going in the right direction plus your choice of 3 product collections that are sure to be perfect for the type of business you want to build.

You don't have to stop there.  If you want them all, you can have them all.  Purchase additional collections for just $40 each, plus shipping and handling, and save even more!  It's a one-time offer you'll want to take advantage of!

Watch videos and read stories of other just like you who have built a Close To My Heart business with their own personal style:  community, creative, or business focused.  Visit the Corporate website to be inspired by their stories.

Choose Me 1:  Enhance your business with an all-important web presence, complete with online shopping, event calendars, an art gallery, and more.  Retail value is $155.40.

Choose Me 2:  Create beautiful Studio J online layouts using exclusive patterns and papers with discounted prices with a 12-month Studio J membership.  Retail value is $99.00.

Choose Me 3:  You'll love the scrapbooking products, stamps, and instructional guide in this versatile collection.  Retail value is $66.30.

Choose Me 4:  A cardmaker's delight, this collection features a full-color guide and products for creating exquisite cards and more.  Retail value is $66.30.

Choose Me 5:  Preserve your memories in a beautiful, expandable album, then take it along in a pretty shoulder tote.  Retail value is $68.55.

Choose Me 6:  Make an immediate impression with these whimsical new stamps, complete with blocks and a storage organizer.  Retail value is $83.75.

If you have any more questions or if you are ready to sign up now, let me know.  I would love to have you on my team (whether as a hobbyist, a business builder, or whatever-there is always a place for you!)

Happy Scrappin'

Harvest time

Yep, you guessed it, it is time to combine the corn.  We have had a great growing season and now the corn is ready to be harvested.  Here is what my husband has been up to (and will be up to for a little while!)

Happy Scrappin'

I am one lucky girl!

Look what I found on the table when I came home from work!

Yep, a box like that could only hold flowers.

Long stemmed roses at that!  And a card that said, "Congratulations on Everything!"  (Just so you know, I am NOT a professional flower arranger :)

I had to call my husband right away to see if he knew who they were from.  Finally, he broke down and said that he had them delivered.  What a sweetheart he is!  He was so proud of my accomplishments lately, that he just wanted to show me (my weight loss being the biggy).  I cried right then and there...ok, I'm done crying now, but man was that nice!  I love him so much!

Happy Scrappin'

Hooligan's here we come...

Have you decided to join my scrapbooking club yet?  If not, you still have time.  We are meeting on Sunday at my house.  If you are long distance and still want to join in the fun, just let me know and we can work that out, too.

Here is the layout the girls will be creating.  (I just love the fact that I swap layouts with my girlfriends because then I can copy I mean scraplift something that they have done...it takes a lot of the work away from me!)  You will just have to wait until after Sunday to see the magic in this layout, though.  I am even waiting until after Halloween to put the pictures on the layout (how easy is that?  I even know how many photos I will need and what direction they need to be!)

How cute are these little hooligans?  They are adhesive backed felt monsters that coordinate perfectly with this Hooligan's paper pack.  Want some of your own, I can help you out with that :)

Stay tuned to find out the magic involved in this layout...

Happy Scrappin'

Wedding Invitation making day

What a fun day.  Amy, her Mom, and her bridesmaids came over today to make her wedding invitations.  We got them all done in one day, whew!  A lot of work, but they turned out great!

Here is everyone working away

And the bride-to-be with the finished product - ok, she was camera shy at first, but then decided to show one off :)

The ladies all did a great job, I delegated lots of jobs, but they were all up for the challenge and completed the job beautifully!

If you have a wedding (or some other occasion) coming up, I would be happy to either make your invites or help you put them together.  Just let me know, I have lots of samples to share with you.

Happy Scrappin'

Share the Magic and an angelic Happy Birthday

Finally...here is some artwork using the October Stamp of the Month - -Share the Magic.  Thank you so much to my friend Sheri, who created all this artwork.  She is one talented gal!

First up is her layout

And then an altered picture frame

And some cards

Clear cards are pretty hard to photograph, but I tried!?!

Today is another one of those tough days for me.  It would have been my sweet angel's 19th Birthday.  She is greatly missed by us and will never be forgotten!

**Is it any wonder that this color green is my new favorite color??


Happy Scrappin'

42, 42, forty, forty, forty, forty, forty-two!

*OK, you need to chant that title like a cheerleader*

42...What a great number!  I just came from my weigh-in and that is how many pounds I have lost so far!  Can you tell that I am just a little bit excited?  Well, I am-in case you didn't notice!

OK, on with a little artwork.  When you are ready to book your party, one of the perks of booking with me is that I will send out handmade invitations for you.  All you need to do is give me your guest list!  This is what the invites for this month look like.

If you have not booked your party yet, you better read this post.  Hostesses can earn extra freebies!  contact me right away to save a date for your party.

Happy Scrappin'

Apple Crisp Pizza recipe

Fall has arrived and it is my favorite season for many reasons:  the apples are ready, the fall colors are gorgeous, the weather is perfect, and the scrapbookers start getting serious again!

Today I have a yummy recipe for you to try out.  It is kind of a cross between apple pie and apple crisp-the best of both worlds-and even better, it is super easy to do!

Apple Crisp Pizza

Pastry for single crust pie (I even use a store-bought, pre-made pie crust)
2/3 cup sugar
3 Tbsp. flour
1 tsp. cinnamon
4 apples, peeled and sliced

Topping:
1/2 cup flour
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup oatmeal
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 cup butter, softened

1/4 - 1/2 cup caramel apple dip or ice cream topping

Roll pastry to fit 12: pizza pan.  Combine sugar, flour, and cinnamon.  Add applies and toss.  Arrange in circular pattern on crust (OK, I personally just dump them on and spread them out, but if you want it to look pretty, you can arrange them).

Combine topping ingredients and sprinkle over apples. Bake at 350 for 35-40 minutes.  Remove from oven and immediately drizzle with caramel.  Enjoy!

See, I told you it was easy!

Happy Scrappin' (and baking),

Happy 10-10-10

Today is 10-10-10 - not that it means anything special, but I thought it was kinda cool!

Have you thought about booking a CTMH party?  If so, October is the perfect time to do so as Close To My Heart has an awesome special going on for the month.  You can Jump for Joy!  Every party help this month that reaches a minimum of $450 in sales (and this is easier than you think-my parties usually average at least $550), hostesses will be able to "jump" to the next level of Hostess Rewards-which means more FREE products and more items at 50% off!  And it'll be so easy to do, because October is the ideal time for guests to buy scrapbooking, cardmaking, and papercrafting supplies to preserve their memories.  It's eno9ugh to make you Jump for Joy!

Contact me today for more information or to book your home gathering or book party today!

Happy Scrappin'

Fawn-Doe-Rosa

Last Sunday we had an awesome time with 'our Grands.'  Little explanation here...little Tyler is named in memory of our son Tony (his name is Tyler Tony) and we pretty much consider him our Grandson.  Well, he has an older brother and sister (Avery and Clara).  They are our surrogate Grandkids that we will never get the chance to have otherwise.

We picked the kids up and headed to Fawn-Doe-Rosa.  What a great day and what great kids they were.  They were all so well behaved, but even so, we have forgotten how much work it is...car seats, diaper bags, strollers, keeping an eye on 3 kids...the list goes on!  While we loved every second of it, we were exhausted by the end of the day!

Here are a few pics of our day...

 Tyler was fascinated watching the ducks from the bridge.

 Monkey see-monkey  do!  Everything his older sister and brother do, Tyler has to do, too.  It was so cute!

 Avery being silly again...what else is new with him :)

 Tyler was all smiles.

 Clara holding a bunny.

 Here is all of us sitting down taking a little break.

 As you can see, we were not the only ones tuckered out!

Stay tuned as I'm sure you'll be seeing these photos on some great scrapbook pages soon!

Happy Scrappin'