tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-63144635170517549672011-07-30T14:28:48.769-05:00Because scrapbooking is cheaper than therapy!chas-ghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03414361147533524769noreply@blogger.comBlogger371100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6314463517051754967.post-11197930074688088922010-05-08T07:57:00.002-05:002010-05-08T08:08:07.983-05:00

This month's Life Preservers Craft Club project is a two-page scrapbook layout using the brand new (and super beautiful) Splendor paper! I made this layout with my Easter pics. I used the Splendor paper and the Hot Diggity stamp set, which is also part of this month's kit. I also added some embellishments that coordinate with this super cute kit; the new Splendor brads, some white daisey ribbon,

chas-ghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03414361147533524769noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6314463517051754967.post-17866568539920501302010-04-20T15:50:00.002-05:002010-04-20T16:11:48.649-05:00

What is it about shopping that captivates us- is it the hunt? In today's economy the DEAL is more sought after than ever. We all love to find a good deal on a quality product. Close To My Heart always offers great deals on the products you love. Below is top ten list, voted on by Close To My Heart Consultants, of our favorite and most cost effective products under $10.Mini-Medley Accents: This

chas-ghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03414361147533524769noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6314463517051754967.post-82713276874707616592010-04-16T11:35:00.005-05:002010-04-16T12:30:38.241-05:00

The weather has been beautiful here in the heartland. Everything is green and beautiful and you can smell the lilacs blooming. It brightens the soul. But, this time of year has a big negative aspect for me. It's time for the "horse trailer parade" as we've come to call it. We live on a county road that connects two highways and is also kind of a gate to the back roads. If you're coming from

chas-ghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03414361147533524769noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6314463517051754967.post-31357071729901480342010-04-14T12:27:00.005-05:002010-04-14T12:42:04.550-05:00

Our club meeting is this Saturday, April 17th from 1-3. We'll be making these adorable 6x6 accordian albums. I have several of this type of album around my house, they make great decorations or gifts. We'll be working with the Unforgettable Level 2 paper which has the following colors: Cocoa, Desert Sand, Juniper, Sorbet. If you have your own ink pads in these colors please bring them along.

chas-ghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03414361147533524769noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6314463517051754967.post-48103305921010593062010-04-12T11:52:00.004-05:002010-04-12T12:03:56.332-05:00

Logic would say that with the weather being so beautiful I wouldn't be spending much time in my scapbook studio but, I can't resist the Spring products and Spring colors! For the baby layout I used paper from the Caboodle Level 2 paper, some dimensional elements hearts, the Authentic MyAcrylix stamp set, Filigree Charms, and ribbon from the Sweet Leaf collection. For the cute "you're special"

chas-ghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03414361147533524769noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6314463517051754967.post-62165391534177320512010-04-10T11:00:00.005-05:002010-04-10T11:04:31.295-05:00

I couldn't resist giving you all a little peek into the new summer products. I'll have the brand new Idea Books at our April Life Preservers Club meeting. You're gonna love em!

chas-ghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03414361147533524769noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6314463517051754967.post-36145933136256207022010-03-30T15:23:00.003-05:002010-03-30T15:49:35.279-05:00

Easter is my favorite holiday. And while Easter Sunday I feel joy for the victory over death that my LORD won for me all those years ago, Sunday is actually a refreshing end to the emotional roller coaster I feel that I'm on for days before hand. Usually the pastor preaches about Jesus' entry into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday and that starts the climb up to the summit, I can imagine the click, click,

chas-ghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03414361147533524769noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6314463517051754967.post-49690809277283191592010-03-25T09:35:00.007-05:002010-03-25T09:55:33.151-05:00

Success! Everyone I asked said that they had a good time at this month's meeting. I hope they liked the project we did. I'm still a little unsure of myself when it comes to creating projects for others. I know what I like but, I don't want to assume that everyone else will too. I don't have any complaints so far and most of the women in the club are close enough to tell me when they don't like

chas-ghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03414361147533524769noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6314463517051754967.post-26203546758009425122010-03-16T08:59:00.004-05:002010-03-16T09:49:21.048-05:00

My kids are all at a great age. Sometimes I wish I could just freeze them right where they are and not have them grow another inch. And I know when they grow up and I look back, this will be a time of great memories. I'm sure I won't remember arguing with my twelve year old that her shorts are too short or telling my ten year old to stop yelling at his sister or my six year old crying her eyes

chas-ghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03414361147533524769noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6314463517051754967.post-90255879141220443702010-03-12T18:13:00.004-06:002010-03-12T18:56:17.620-06:00

me and grandpaThere was one lesson I learned as a child that my mother had absolutely no problem teaching us and that was not to make fun of other people. Three of my grandparents suffered from a physical handicap. Both grandpa's walked with a limp and my precious paternal grandma lost a leg because of a serious car accident. Incidentally, the two children she lost in that accident were much

chas-ghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03414361147533524769noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6314463517051754967.post-1548494882846905262010-03-09T20:26:00.004-06:002010-03-09T21:07:59.395-06:00

We're making mini-albums for this month'sproject! This is the one I just finished to use as a demo. Do you have your Spring 2010 Idea Book handy? This month's stamp set is "Enjoy the Journey" on pg. 45. I really like this stamp set! Last month someone recommended that I let everyone know ahead of time which colors we would be working with so they could bring their own ink pads. That is a

chas-ghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03414361147533524769noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6314463517051754967.post-47604169678073587612010-03-03T07:47:00.004-06:002010-03-03T09:29:38.258-06:00

Okay, I know that my creative blog may not be the best place for this but, I'm home completely alone and NEED to let this stuff out! I'm not a philosopher by any means, just a child of God and studier of his word. I just finished watching Julia Sweeny on one of the movie channels talk about "letting go of God". I'm more than a little puzzled by the whole notion of atheism. The view seems so

chas-ghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03414361147533524769noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6314463517051754967.post-51542797383111552272010-02-14T20:12:00.005-06:002010-02-14T20:37:02.985-06:00

I am LOVIN the new Topstitch! I created this two-page 12x12 layout for my sweetheart. My Life Preservers Club will be using these products for our project this weekend and I'm sure they're gonna love it too. We'll be working with the Topstitch Workshop on the Go which is available on my website. The paper is Topstitch Level 2 which uses Baby Pink, Chocolate, Heavenly Blue, and Vineyard Berry from

chas-ghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03414361147533524769noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6314463517051754967.post-55503066739307425532010-02-01T14:18:00.007-06:002010-02-01T14:27:29.268-06:00

Our hearts go out to the victims of the earthquake in Haiti, and like so many of you, we’re eager to help. We’re excited to announce Close To My Heart’s February Constant Campaign, Hearts for Haiti—where customers can get a great deal while doing great good for those affected by the devastation in Haiti.From February 1-28, 2010, our 12” x 12” textured cardstock combo packs are buy one, get one

chas-ghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03414361147533524769noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6314463517051754967.post-66934427063186700512010-01-25T15:19:00.013-06:002010-01-25T16:03:19.043-06:00

Lately I've been trying to challenge myself to create projects that are not scrapbook pages. I love to scrapbook and my kids give me plenty of reason, but it's also great to find new and fun ways to use CTMH products. This is the first in a blog series called "Think outside the book". I hope you'll like these ideas and try them yourself. I'd love to hear your feedback!Lets make a flip-flop card!

chas-ghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03414361147533524769noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6314463517051754967.post-8764294173916096142010-01-16T19:06:00.003-06:002010-01-16T19:21:10.080-06:00

I just can't hardly turn on the television lately. It's so hard to watch what's happening in Haiti. My family lost our home in the great midwest flood of 1993 and one thing that I'll always remember was how people came! Friends, neighbors, strangers, just tons of people came to help sandbag day after day. We live in a very generous country. We are blessed to be surrounded by such caring people.

chas-ghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03414361147533524769noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6314463517051754967.post-7473594249913029512010-01-12T12:26:00.006-06:002010-01-12T12:38:52.334-06:00

I had my second mystery hostess event over the weekend, a retreat! We headed out to the woods and stayed at a beautiful cabin owned by a friend of mine. It was so much fun, I can't wait to do it again. I guess I got so busy talking that it didn't occur to me to pick up my camera and get some shots of everyone working on their projects. I took these picures before the guests arrived, while I was

chas-ghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03414361147533524769noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6314463517051754967.post-29477461856859977022010-01-03T16:43:00.003-06:002010-01-03T16:56:02.648-06:00

I have a funny story to share with ya'll. My Saturday morning Bible study meets at a cabin that overlooks a beautiful lake. When I arrived out there yesterday morning I looked at the lake and thought how great it would be to get a picture of my kids on the hill above the lake. It was snow covered and just breathtakingly beautiful. So after our study I ran back home and got the kids bundled up and

chas-ghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03414361147533524769noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6314463517051754967.post-15334646311255516912009-12-29T16:22:00.003-06:002009-12-29T16:38:16.982-06:00

A good friend of mine gave me the best tip once! She is a great crafter in many ways. She sews, scrapbooks, paints..... Well, she had been holding back the good stuff. You know, those pretty buttons, or that beautiful ribbon not wanting to use it because she felt that she should save it for some bigger or more important project in the future. Then one day someone told her "use your best and

chas-ghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03414361147533524769noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6314463517051754967.post-22351548114511227762009-12-27T16:52:00.005-06:002009-12-27T17:07:23.834-06:00

These are gift tags that I made for Santa to put on the kids gifts.

chas-ghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03414361147533524769noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6314463517051754967.post-83750340042892027772009-12-07T15:05:00.002-06:002009-12-07T15:18:07.441-06:00

I just finished a really cute Christmas card and wanted to share.I started with a 4-1/2" x 4-1/2" Daisey White cardstock card. I used a 4" x 4" piece of cardstock in Ponderosa Pine for my background, which I distressed by using an embossing stylus to create lines. I then sanded to reveal the white core of the cardstock. The red is Cranberry cardstock with snowflakes random stamped also in

chas-ghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03414361147533524769noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6314463517051754967.post-53363567505108070482009-12-06T20:21:00.006-06:002009-12-06T20:28:33.329-06:00

chas-ghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03414361147533524769noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6314463517051754967.post-79437565254303779402009-12-04T09:45:00.003-06:002009-12-04T10:08:32.376-06:00

I just finished a preliminary schedule of events for my January 9th retreat at the Agnew cabin in Lithium MO. Thought I'd wet some appetites and post it!Kit selecting- After everyone has arrived and settled in you'll get to select your kit for the evening. I'll have lots of paper from the new Spring 2010 Idea Book to choose from! This will include all the paper you need to complete the project

chas-ghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03414361147533524769noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6314463517051754967.post-88263174527523078432009-12-01T13:13:00.002-06:002009-12-01T13:15:32.594-06:00

This is just a big reminder that the January retreat is the 9th. I'm working on a schedule of events that I'll be posting for everyone to see what we'll be doing. Spaces are filling up fast and remember that accomodations are free this time, so call me today to reserve your spot!!

chas-ghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03414361147533524769noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6314463517051754967.post-20620726231057984122009-11-10T18:09:00.006-06:002009-11-10T18:15:21.101-06:00

chas-ghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03414361147533524769noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6314463517051754967.post-70020479959615054982009-11-03T18:24:00.002-06:002009-11-03T18:38:28.527-06:00

See which MyAcrylix stamp sets are retiring this year by visiting my CTMH site and clicking on "shop online". At the very bottom of the list of products on the left hand side you'll see "Retiring Stamp Sets". If you love to stamp like I do and are as addicted to the MyAcrylix stamp sets you'll want to make sure you purchase your favorites from this year before they're gone.Don't forget that for

chas-ghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03414361147533524769noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6314463517051754967.post-45022987780524818642009-11-03T12:53:00.003-06:002009-11-03T13:25:08.746-06:00

Fall makes me want to cook. This is kinda like the moons aligning in my world because I don't normally like to cook. My family typically gets spagetti once a week, maybe a meatloaf, a pot of soup or chili, and we probably drive through McD's way to often. Even when I do get into this once-a-year mood things have to be simple and easy. My sister-in-law, Kim is the fancy cook in our family and

chas-ghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03414361147533524769noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6314463517051754967.post-42792290070398601382009-11-02T13:51:00.001-06:002009-11-02T13:51:00.830-06:00

chas-ghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03414361147533524769noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6314463517051754967.post-23401379164160039162009-11-01T20:44:00.001-06:002009-11-01T20:44:44.702-06:00

chas-ghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03414361147533524769noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6314463517051754967.post-65395391557922969102009-11-01T18:43:00.004-06:002009-11-01T18:56:31.335-06:00

I'm so excited about this month's constant campaign! I think CTMH headquarters must be feeling the Christmas spirit early! Drumroll please.......Call or e-mail me today to find out more! I'm really going to enjoy being a CTMH consultant this month. I'm going to feel like Santa Clause giving out the great MyAcrylix stamp sets FREE! And don't forget to mark you calenders for the January 9th

chas-ghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03414361147533524769noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6314463517051754967.post-20711506752216944992009-10-28T08:55:00.003-05:002009-10-28T09:15:52.615-05:00

Don't you just love accomplishing something you never thought you could! I've had this privilege a few times in life and it aways surprises me. I graduated Cum Laude from college and I never ever thought I could pull that off! In high school I was much more concerned with cheerleading and boys than making grades. Well, after setback after setback in my "real career" this recession hit and my

chas-ghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03414361147533524769noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6314463517051754967.post-87500113088741331122009-10-08T10:53:00.003-05:002009-10-08T11:08:43.336-05:00

I just earned my Close to My Heart Bachelors Degree!! Yeah! I'm so excited about my new business and the online courses are terrific for learning everything from Creativity to Leadership skills. I'll get started on my Masters tomorrow. I'm also excited about the events I have coming up. I'm holding a Mystery Hostess event next weekend that grew out of just one hostess not wanting to wait to see

chas-ghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03414361147533524769noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6314463517051754967.post-47030406764451267362009-10-05T11:54:00.003-05:002009-10-05T12:05:16.924-05:00

Autumn is my favorite time of the year. I like to see the leaves turn golden and break out the hoodies!! Us country folk love our hoodies. This year brings extra excitement because my son is playing football. Not only do I love to watch and cheer for football, I recently discovered I love to scrapbook it too!! I made this layout to celebrate my son's rookie year (uh, oh. Is that strictly a

chas-ghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03414361147533524769noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6314463517051754967.post-22041964477755743452009-09-17T13:17:00.007-05:002009-09-17T13:55:38.420-05:00

I've turned my passion for scrapbooking into a new business venture. I recently became an Independant Close to My Heart Consultant! I've always loved CTMH products and this gives me a chance to share my love of scrapbooking with friends and make a little money too. I have several gatherings in the coming weeks and I'm planning a retreat for my connections club members in January. Connections club

chas-ghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03414361147533524769noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6314463517051754967.post-71404420316664344612009-01-29T08:49:00.006-06:002009-01-29T10:07:50.564-06:00

We finally got some snow here in the midwest. My kids thought it wasn't going to happen. So today, they're on their third snow day in a row and I predict they'll be bored by 1:30. I'm very thankful for all my mom memories, I have a treasure trove full. One of my favorites always comes back when it snows. December 20, 2004- they were cooped up in the house and getting really bored. My daughter,

chas-ghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03414361147533524769noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6314463517051754967.post-76279941065236302009-01-13T13:09:00.009-06:002009-01-13T14:02:54.873-06:00

>Every Christmas my family and many of my parents' friends play a gift game at our party. Everyone brings a gift worth approximately $10. We put all the gifts in a pile under the tree and everyone draws a number out of a hat. Whoever draws number 1 goes first. This is the unlucky number to have. That first person picks a gift and opens it. The second person has to choose, they can either open

chas-ghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03414361147533524769noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6314463517051754967.post-3797852669852304992008-12-23T13:57:00.002-06:002008-12-23T14:21:56.571-06:00

I'm excited to open this site and start sharing my thoughts online. When I was a kid I had dreams of writing a book someday. Lately, I've been trying my skills in my journal and filling notebooks with commentary about everything from the news to my bible studies. I've come to realize that I kinda stink! I need practice. I need to broaden my vocabulary. I'm hoping this will help me, since I'll be

chas-ghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03414361147533524769noreply@blogger.com0