New Product Blog Hop

Welcome to the Close to my Heart New Product Blog Hop! Over 40 Fabulous Close to my Heart Consultants are celebrating the upcoming release of the Summer Idea Book by giving you a sneak peek of some of the great products available in the new Idea Book starting May 1st.

If you have come here from Amy Edwards' blog, you are on the right path!
You can also find a complete list of Blog Hop participants HERE.

I have been meaning to scrapbook some old family recipes and this new Cherry-O paper is perfect with the retro fruit print. Love the bright and cheerful prints, yet it's faded and distressed enough to keep it from being too juvenile.


The title is a mixture of stamping with the "Cocktail Alphabet" set and Irresistibles (tm) stickers "Lots of Dots". Those dotted letters are so versatile, you can color them with inks or chalks, the dots resist the ink and stay white, so you can have white polka dots on any colored letter you like!



Now "Hop" on over to Dawn's Blog to see her work! Be sure to visit all the Consultants at their Blogs to get some great crafting ideas and see the great new paper packs and My Acrylix stamp sets!

Remember, the Summer 2010 Idea Book goes LIVE on May 1st!

Want a piece?

Miraculously Versatile, I Tell Ya...

This scrapbooking kit is amazing! I'm thrilled with how lovely these pages turned out, but the "whack yourself in the head, why didn't I think of that" thing about this kit is that you can customize it to your photos. See those gorgeous hot pink accents? Look how perfectly they suit my photos of my adorable ladies from Creative University, sportin' their awesome Create U apparel. Well... hold onto your hat... the accents in the kit are white and you can color them with ink or chalk, any color that suits your layout! Woo hoo, that is the best idea evah! And to make it even better, the chipboard is printed with resist ink, so the printed design stays white, even after you've added color. There's one more layout to make in the kit, and I'm thinking of using a deep yellow to match my photos taken in the fall. Hmmm... or maybe a terra-cotta... oh the possibilities!


The right page is interactive. The photos lift up to reveal more photos and journaling.

Both pages, side by side.

I love clustered embellishments. A big POW of eye candy, without overwhelming the page.

Want to get the Miracle kit and feel all giddy about it too? CLICK HERE for details. Hurry, it's while supplies last and they won't last long!

KISS: Keep it Sweet and Simple

A little sneek peek of new product from CTMH! These cards a just little quickies for my Creative Escape classes in May. Featuring Cherry-O papers, You're Sweet and Hot Diggity stamps sets. You can purchase these new papers and stamps beginning May 1st on my Close to My Heart website.

Getaway!

Sometimes a little getaway is all you need to recharge your batteries. No kids, no worries, just a lovely overnighter with new friends Rob and Lisa in Oregon.

Our getaway vehicle:


Our hosts:
Left to right: My hubby, Lisa, Rob.

The view (from their house!):



The happy results:

You are what you eat...

Once in a while, I take pictures of my food. What, you don't do that? Sometimes I just think my plate looks pretty, but sometimes I'll photograph everything I eat in a day or even a few days, just to keep myself honest about what goes into my body. It makes me more thoughtful before I eat, since I know I'm keeping track, and let's face it, healthy food is just prettier than junk food.

Breakfast: Scrambled egg with mushrooms and onions.


Lunch: Pizza slice with mushrooms and ham, green salad.


Dinner: Thai chicken coconut soup.

Mini Album part 3, Paper Ruffles

Remember my leopard print nails? I was shooting this video at the time, and even though they look a little odd with the lovely, traditional look of this mini album, there was no way I was going to take off that nail polish!

I've been meaning to create a video with the ruffle technique for a long time, so I'm happy to finally incorporate it into this series. You can use these ruffles just about any project, here's a card with a double ruffle.

Heart 2 Heart Challenge

If you're a fan of Close to My Heart products, you'll love the new blog, Heart 2 Heart Challenges. This week, a color challenge featuring Sweet Leaf, Sunflower and Cocoa. I haven't created anything "just for fun" in quite a while, so this was a perfect opportunity for me to get my fingers inky and have fun just playing with my stamps! I've been meaning to use this darling set, "Smiles" and I wanted to play up that doodle-y look, so I used a very wet waterbrush to give a handmade, sketchy look to the image. I also wanted to keep the color combo soft, so along with the three challenge colors, I added a lighter shade of brown (Bamboo) and yellow (buttercup).

Want to play along with the challenges or view other's artwork? Visit the H2H blog and check it out!

Toasted Peeps

Easter morning in the woods of North Idaho, the bunny had to hop a long way to find us. Who knew that peeps over the fire could be so delicious? The sugar carmelizes and makes a crunchy outer shell. Like Creme Brulee, on a stick. Mmmm.....