In the Month of April Stamps

Have you seen all of our "In the Month of" stamps? Right now we have January - April and I LOVE them!

Here I used our April In the Month of Stamp set. This is 3 1/2 x 3 1/2 in size to fit on our Events Calendar. You can make this yourself or, in the fall I will be having a workshop making all 12 months to fill our events calendar. Perfect for gift giving! I also used our Caboodle kit.

New Close to my Heart Summer Catalog!

Want a sneak peek at our newest catalog? Here it is, the cover of our NEW SUMMER Idea Book/Catalog! It's so pretty! And that little girl is ADORABLE! And the paper, and the stamps!!

You will want to make sure you get your hands on it soon!

My open house is Sunday, May 2nd from 1:00 - 5:00. You will create a 12 x 12 layout using this cute paper from our Cherry O kit. Oh and, my birthday is in May and my husband has already asked what colors to get my cake. WOW! He's trained! LOL SO, you guessed it...Chocolate, Tulip, Sweet Leaf with a hint of Crystal Blue! To match this paper pack of course!

And my son's birthday is May 1st...he & his girlfriend have already be instructed to wear Barn Red, Brown Bag, Cocoa and Garden Green! That is just a little hint on another one of our great kits! Stop by my open house or give me a call after May 2nd to get your New Summer Catalog!

Yummy Breakfast

In the past year I have subscribed to several cooking magazines. One of my favorite is the Food Network Magazine. It is just $15 for 10 issues of yummy goodness!

We made this Lemon-Berry French Toast recipe from the magazine. If you love these flavors, you will LOVE this recipe.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Whisk 4 eggs, 1 1/2 cups half and half or milk, 1/2 t ground ginger, 1 t vanilla, 1 t sugar, and a pinch of salt in a shallow bowl. Heat 1/2 T butter in a non stick skillet over medium heat. Spread lemon curd on 4 thick slices of brioche (challah bread can also be used), top with blueberries, then another slice of bread. Press together; dip in the egg mixture, we let it soak for a little bit. Cook on skillet for 2 -3 minutes per side. Transfer to a baking sheet and bake until puffed, 8 - 10 minutes. Top with confectioner's sugar. We topped with syrup and next time I will throw some more blueberries on top.

This is VERY good. Not a quick recipe, but a VERY good one! Give it a try! I also recommend a slice or two of bacon or sausage.

Art & Soul Episode

Our newest episode of Art & Soul is now on my website. It is called Live Your Dreams. It features puddle pads (you will need to see it) and my favorite part...Jeanette (CTMH'S Owner) created wall art for her new office. Check it out!

Packing for Crops

Have you even gone to a crop, felt like you packed every single supply you own (had to rent a Uhaul) and yet when you got to your crop you still seemed to forget something?

I have a idea for you to help with this problem. Always keep a pack of post it notes in your scrap bag. When you have something you need to add to your layout, write yourself a note on the post it note, stick it to the layout and finish it up at home. This way you are less stressed.

So stop thinking you have to take EVERYTHING to your crops. Just bring a pad of post it notes!

It's a good mail day!

It was a good mail day! I went out to the mail box and I am always excited when I have a home made card in the box. And here it is. This is from my sweet friend Linda. She made this card using Caboodle kit and our April stamp of the month...Flower Pot.

I also LOVED how she took the dimensional elements circles and chalked them. They look just like brads! So if you have any little circles from your dimensional elements, save them! I mean USE THEM! Now we can have "brads" that are any color we want!

Close to my Heart Special

Starting Thursday, April 15th we have an AMAZING special! You can get our Miracle Scrapbooking Kit that includes all the goodies to make these 2 layouts! And trust me...there are some AWESOME goodies! My favorite is our Irresistibles Chipboard Die Cuts. They are dimensional elements with a resist on them. Simple sponge the color of choice on these and they will color the dimensional element, but not the resist area. VERY COOL! You can see them here in my layouts. They are the butterfly, bracket and vines just to name a few.

Here's how to get yours! Starting April 15 through May 31 (while supplies last) you can get this kit 5 ways.

1. Purchase it out right for just $19.95

2. Purchase $40 in product and get it for $10

3. Purchase $60 in product and get it for $5

4. Host a party with sales of $300 or more and get it free

5. Sign up to be a consultant in the month of May and get it FREE!

So get ready. This special is coming real soon! It is a very versatile kit and you use almost all of the kit! So very few left overs. Which can be both a good and bad thing! So you better get more then ONE!

CTMH Anniversary Layout

I have told you about my CTMH anniversary crop, now you can see the completed layout. This is actually the layout I made using our March Stamp of the Month and our Veranda Creative Basics paper. And YES, the cake matches the paper!!

Great Idea!

Have you ever had a GREAT idea when you were getting ready for work or your day and knew you could remember it? Then when you got to a place to write it down, you forgot it!

Then remembered it again when you are driving to work or on errands and don't have anything to write on?

This happens (happened) to me ALL the time! But I have a REAL SIMPLE cure for it. Now I keep a post it note pad and pen in my drawer next to my sink in my bathroom. When that great idea comes, I get my pad out of the drawer and write it down. I use post it notes so I can stick it to my finger so I know where it is until I get to my office. Sometimes during the bed making process I have lost them (temporarily) that is why I went to post it notes. They stick! lol

So whether it is a scrapbooking idea, cool idea for a card you want to make, getting low on makeup, a great idea for a workshop or picking up that new Summer catalog (coming May 1st), get yourself a pad of post it notes and a pen...now you will never forget those great ideas!

April Stamp of the Month

It's April and here is our Stamp of the Month.

This set is called Flower Pot and if you like flowers, you are going to LOVE this stamp set! It has 16 stamps and you can get it for $22.95, $17.21, $11.48, $5.74 or FREE!

Ask me how you can get it free! Or look on the inside back cover of our Spring Catalog!

The layout is from our Reflections book, layout Front & Center page 69. I used our Caboodle Level 2 kit.

The cards are using past kits (because I am using what I have) The 8 x 3 1/2 card is using our Emporium kit, the 3 x 3 using our Unforgettable paper and the 4 1/2 x 4 1/2 card is using our Veranda kit. All cards are from our Wishes How to Book.

I hope these have inspired you to get out the stamps, kits and stamp creating cards!