I love my friend Cindy!

I met my dear friend Cindy Denning nine years ago at a Close To My Heart event when I first moved to the Dallas area.  Since then, and despite my many moves, we have remained great friends and have shared in some very memorable moments over the years.

She recently came to visit me and we had a wonderful time!  We enjoyed a yummy dinner at Hacienda Ranch and then headed out to hear a country western band (which was great as well)! 



Then, Corey treated us to breakfast the next morning at Cracker Barrel.  (It was yummy too!)

I had such a great time and am looking forward to sharing many more fun memories with her!  Who would have known how blessed I would become, in many ways, through Close To My Heart?  (Love ya, Cindy!)

Saturday Team Training

On Saturday, I had several team members and some Consultant friends join me for an all-day training.  My dear friend and downline, Xellina, hosted the event at her house and things couldn't have been better.  We worked on several workshops that I will host this month and next so watch my blog for more information on those details.  

Windy Leal, Xellina Wieland, Kristi Strickland and Lupita Garza take a break for a photo.



Xellina concentrates as she completes her Misteltoe layout.



Consultant friends Karen Grafford, Kimberly Simmons and Cherri Hardcastle post for a photo.



Then we enjoyed a delicious dinner at Rio Mambo in Grapevine - all in good company.



Windy Leal and I enjoying dinner.

Victoria, Xellina and Dan Wieland waiting for the good food!

I know I have said it before but I will say it again, "I love my team and all the fun I have through Close To My Heart!"  I can't wait until the next meeting!

Stamping on Candles!

Ok...so you really don't stamp ON the candles but it looks like you do! 

I was able to spend yesterday with several team members in the area.  We worked on two Christmas workshops and decorated candles! It was a FABULOUS day!  As promised, I am going to share how to do this fun technique that is super easy, takes little time but is a big hit and wonderful for gift-giving!  I learned this technique years ago and it's one of those tried but true things that always tend to wow people and makes a lasting impression!

This is the one I shared in an earlier post, designed with the October Stamp of the Month.

This one was made with the CUTE "Party Animal" stamp set, designed to coordinate with the Hooligans Paper packet.

So I didn't have to recreate the directions, I edited those posted by Jenni Mouer on Split Coast Stampers.

Supplies:  Candle - preferably white or cream, White Tissue Paper, Stamps, Ink Pads, Markers or some other type of coloring medium (chalk, etc.), Scissors, Wax Paper, Embossing Tool, Scotch Tape

Step-by-step Instructions:
1. Step 1 - Stamp on tissue paper. Use images that can be colored-in or solid images, in the ink color of your choice.

2. Step 2 - Color in stamped images using some form of coloring medium. If you would prefer not to color just use a solid stamp with your choice of ink.

3. Step 3 - Cut out your stamped images fairly close to the edges.

4. Step 4 - Take a piece of wax paper and cut it so that it is not any taller than the candle being used and long enough so that it wraps completely around the candle and then some. Use scotch tape to hold down the end of the wax paper for ease of holding the candle.

5. Step 5 - Take your first stamped image and place it on the candle. Then place the wax paper on top and wrap the wax paper around the candle. Make sure the wax paper is tight against the candle.

6. Step 6 - Heat up your embossing gun for 30-40 seconds until it is nice and hot. Moving quickly, wave it over the area where the stamped image is; be sure to keep the wax paper nice and tight. Every candle will have a different wax melting point, but you should see a change begin to take place within a few seconds. As the candle heats up, the pressure from the wax paper should push the image into the melting wax of the candle, embedding the image and leaving your image intact. Do not overheat!

Slowly peel the wax paper off the candle. Remember: every brand is different so if you are switching between brands you may need to adjust your heating times a bit.

7. Step 7 - Finish your candle.  You can put numerous images on one candle; just place another image and move the wax paper. It is best to try and not use the same spot on the wax paper for each image, but you can use 1 piece of wax paper numerous times. Add ribbon or other embellishments as desired.

NOTE: You can melt down the candle enough for a votive to fit in the “well”, allowing you to use the candle as a “candle holder”, preserving your image.

Have fun and I'd love to see what candles you decorate!

C-U-T-E altered holiday items!

So I was supposed to run in a store and grab something else when these cute and attractive little "bowls" caught my eye in the Halloween aisle!  And of course I thought to myself, "How can I alter these with our adorable Close To My Heart products?" and this is what I came up with!

Using our "Party Animal" stamp set and the Hooligans paper pack, I decorated the focal point on this Halloween treat!  Of course the candy corn lent itself perfectly to this theme!

And...look at the Christmas one I made using the October Stamp of the Month and our Mistletoe paper packet!  I dare you to tell me they wouldn't make cute gifts!  LOL  I hope you like 'em!

It's the October Stamp of the Month Blog Hop!

Welcome to the October Stamp of the Month (SOTM) Blog Hop! We are featuring "Share the Magic", a set of 12 stamps.

If you have come here from Wendy's Blog you are on the right path! My blog marks the end of the "hop" but if this is your first stop, you may want to go back to Kathleen's Blog and start from the beginning! This month we have 70 Close To My Heart Consultants sharing their creations using this month's SOTM and other great CTMH products on their blogs.

This month I was inspired to make a couple of items with this stamp set (with more to come).  The first is this Circle Card - made with our NEW Circle Cards - already cut in circles with square envelopes to fit them! 

Using our beautiful Mistletoe paper and a pattern from our Wishes book, I "blinged up" the Christmas tree image from this stamp set using our Opaque Pearl Adhesive Gems and Red Sparkles.  I was able to achieve a "shading" effect when coloring the tree as I outlined it first using the New England Ivy Marker and then colored in the image using the Waterbrush pen and the New England Ivy Ink Pad.  Despite not having much artistic ability, the shading effect is doable with these supplies!  I finished off the card with some Cocoa Grosgrain Ribbon.

Next, I created this candle using the snowman image.  (Check back on Sunday for directions on how to stamp on candles.  I am teaching this technique at my team meeting on Saturday and will share information then.)  Wouldn't these make great gifts?

Be sure to visit all the Consultants at their Blogs to get some great crafting other fun ideas! Click here to start the blog from the beginning by visiting Kathleen's Blog! Remember, the October SOTM is only available until October 31, 2010. Contact me (or click here) to see how you can get this stamp set at a discount or even free!

To view other projects that have been made using this Stamp of the Month please click here. Happy hopping! 

Halloween Wall Hanging

Using drink coasters from Outback Steakhouse (no, I didn't steal them), I made this fun and CUTE wall hanging using the ADORABLE Hooligans Level 2 Embellishments!

I used background and texture paper from the Hooligans Level 2 Paper Packet to cover the coasters and attached them with some hemp!  I have these cute thing hanging on my wall and I love it!  I hope you do too!

NEW Circle Cards!

One of our new products are "Circle Cards" - available in both Colonial White and White Daisy.  Our awesome "Wishes" how-to program has several designs for circle cards and now you have bases to work with!

Last night I had my Card Club where we made these four cards and a cute hanger which I will post tomorrow (have to spread out my creations, you know).  :0)  These cards were a big hit with my club members and I hope you like them too!

Altered Jars

I purchased these plain jars and used some of our Rub-Ons to decorate them.  This is just the front view but there are various rub-ons around the four sides of the jar. 

I put colored tissue paper inside the jar for ease of seeing the decorations and figured preferred candy (or other items) could be put inside for the recipient.  Of course, I had to make a coordinating card! 

This one, of course, had a "wintery" them.

This was just more general and a spring/summery theme.

Cowboys 50th Anniversary

Corey and I had to make the opening day homegame for the 50th season of the Cowboys.  We set out early to have a yummy breakfast at Cracker Barrel and then made our way to the stadium to get a great spot in the Party Pass section! 

The weather was beautiful, the atmosphere great...but they lost...to the Bears!  There was a pretty good Bear representation in the stands so they did quite a bit of trash-talking.  While it was an enjoyable time it would have been even better had they won.  In any case, here are a few photos from the day.

And this is a photo (without having to zoom in) of Hall of Famer, Tony Dorsett!  He was exiting the stadium when we were - a few minutes before the end of the game.  I was going to ask him for a photo op but this one girl was ALL OVER HIM!  I think she scared him away and so I missed my opportunity!  It was great to see him though!

Boo!

I hope you have had a chance to look at the NEW Autumn/Winter Idea Book!  It is absolutely fabulous and is probably my favorite in awhile - and I always love every issue!  You can view it online but it's even better in person!  If you would like a hard copy, please email me with your request and I am happy to oblige.  It is adorned in the beautiful Magnifique paper pack - absolutely beautiful!

I fell in love with the NEW Hooligans Level 2 Paper packet and Hooligans Level 2 Assortment (a.k.a. "The Fuzzy Monsters") the minute I saw them and had fun making these Clear Cards!  We had the square and scalloped Clear Cards, released in the last Idea Book, but the new 4 1/4 x 5 1/2 cards (standard-size) are new with this issue!  I did not do any stamping on these cards but instead used the fun paper, that has various monster eyes and sayings on it, to create the sentiments.  I hope you like these as much as I do.  Thanks for stopping by and I would love to hear what you think of them!

Here are close-ups of the cards!