On This Day mini album

So I have a dear friend... we will call her "The Scrappy Diva".
She contacted me about a week and a half ago and asked me to be a guest designer on her CTMH page.
Well... challenge accepted!!

I created, what I like to call, The "On This Day" mini album, and here is a sneak peek...

If you would like to see more pictures of this Mini album, hop over to her page at THE SCRAPPY DIVA and while your there "LIKE" her page, you won't be sorry!!

Now, what do you do with a mini album you created for the sole purpose of being a guest designer? You give it another purpose!! This mini album was donated to SAFE team rescues Kitty Crop and will be in their raffle tomorrow to help raise money for this great cause!! If you want to help SAFE with the fantastic work they are doing, HEAD ON OVER TO THEIR PAGE AND VOLUNTEER YOUR TIME OR DONATE FOOD OR MONEY!

Enjoy!
Jackie

Shhhh... A Sneak Peek

On August 1st Close To My Heart will be releasing their new Autumn/Winter Idea Book and I have a sneak peek at some of the NEW products coming out!!

The first and most exciting product is....
The Cricut "Artbooking Collection".
You can create Themed Mini Books, Scrapbooking layouts, and so much more!!

My Favorite paper pack in the new book...
"Babycakes". Soooo cute!!!

I love this paper...
"Frosted" paper pack.

Ahhhhhh...
"MyCrush" book!!
2 to choose from plus tons of coordinating accessories.

Yeah!!!  Boy paper...
"ProPlayer" paper pack. Love love love it!!!

So those are just a couple of the new products coming out on Aug. 1st.
Contact me if you would like to come to my Idea Book Release Party on Sunday July 28th @ 6 pm.
You can take a look at some of the new products in person and get your copy of the NEW Idea Book.

Enjoy!
Jackie

Canvas Art Kit

One of the things I love most about Close To My Heart is the Kits!! I love doing kits... Scrapbooking kits, Card kits, Home Decor kits, I love kits!!! And CTMH has 10 NEW "Workshop On The Go" kits in the new Spring/Summer Idea Book.
Here is The Canvas Art Kit...

I made this one for my Grandma using pictures of her with my kids.

This kit comes with 2 color schemes and is 12 x 12.

Enjoy! 
Jackie

"While Supplies Last" Sale

December 1st doesn't just officially kick of the Christmas season... It kicks off the "While Supplies Last" shopping season on my Close To My Heart site!! 
You won't believe these prices!!
Paper packs from $3.00
Accessories from $1.00
Now is a great time to stock up and SAVE.

JUST CLICK HERE TO START SHOPPING!!!

But remember... it's only while supplies last!

Joining In August Is In The Bag!

What a great time to join Close To My Heart! Starting today, CTMH is offering 2 new consultant kits and they are an incredible value!!

Want to join as a hobbiest? Thats ok!! Now you can join with the "Essentials" kit. This kit is valued at $130.00 worth of product for ONLY $49.00

Want to join as an active consultant? Now you can join with the "Master" kit. This kit is valued at $280.00. It includes everything in the Essentials kit plus more business supplies and 5 Studio J layouts!

WHAT???  THERE'S MORE???

When you join my team in August, you will receive an exclusive Damask Tote Bag for FREE!
(retail value $50.00)

This offer is "while supplies last", so if you are thinking of signing up, act quickly to ensure you get this wonderful bag.

This offer is good for both the $49.00 Essentials kit and the $99.00 Master kit.

Sign up now to get this awesome, coated canvas tote that can be slung over the shoulder, accross the chest or worn as a backpack.

CLICK here to sign up today!

Plus... when you join my team, you always get a discount on crops and workshops!

Announcing... Cricut Artiste

Yes folks... CTMH has a new Cricut Cartridge available August 1st and it is INCREDIBLE!!!! 


I will be hosting an Idea Book Release Party where you can order the new cartridge and take advantage of special 1 day sales, pick up your new Idea Book and view the new products. There will also be create & takes and snacks & refreshments!!

Date: Wednesday August 1st.
Time: 7:00 pm
Location: Leefield Community Hall (Fireside Room) 7910-36 ave.

And CLICK HERE to view all the images!!

Included with the NEW Artiste Collection: 

• Artiste Cartridge-featuring 700 images including themed projects, cards, font, shapes and 3-D Items. 

• The cartridge also comes with a detailed Assembly Instruction Booklet for the 3-D images.  

• 3-My Acrylix D Size Stamp Sets that coordinate with the Cricut images

• 3-12" x 9" Dimensional Elements in coordinating shapes

Jackie

1 week until Convention

Only 1 more week until I leave for Dallas to the Close To My Heart Convention. I can't believe it is almost time to leave. When I booked my flight, it was 312 days until I left, now it is 7 days!!!
I can't wait to see the new CTMH Idea Book which will be released at Convention, all the new papers & stamps... So exciting!!
I'm also very excited to see all the girls I met last year at convention. I made some great friends, some who I have kept in constant contact with since I left Disneyland last year.
This year I have made 5 different cards for the card swap all using the Florentine paper, and here is a sneak peek at 1 of my swap cards.

Enjoy! 
Jackie

Thank You Teachers!

So tomorrow is the last day of school and although I LOVE the end of school, it is a little sad. My baby will be done kindergarten and moving on to grade 1 in September. I am also very sad to be losing his teacher. Mac has grown so much this year and I am amazed by his progress and ability to read and write!
His teacher is such a wonderful teacher, the kind of teacher little boys need. She is very firm and I believe could have gone very far in the army (that is a complement, even if may not seem like it).
I love and admire all teachers because this is a job I know I could never do!
Thank you teachers!!

So here is the Thank You card I have made for Mac's teacher...

Enjoy! 
Jackie

Happy Fathers Day

Wow... it's been a long time since I have posted on here! I think about it a lot, but life gets busy, days turn to weeks and the next thing you know... It's Fathers Day.

So on this Fathers day, I not only honor my wonderful husband, who is such a great father to our 2 beautiful children, but 2 dads who were taken from us way to soon! 

My Father in law, Rene Lupien:

And my Dad, Gordon Block.

These men were everything a father should be and they are both missed so much! 

Jackie!

My Favorite Things

I know my blog is usually about crafts or Close To My Heart... but today my blog is all about ME! Today I decided to show you a few of my favorite things. This does not include my favorite people, because they obviously rank higher than "things".

I will start with my Favorite place to hang out...
MY CRAFT ROOM

This room is my favorite place to hang out, not only because I get to scrapbook and card make when I'm here, but because it is filled with pictures of my family, art work by my son, awards and metals my kids and husband have received... it's just my perfect place to be!


Next is my Favorite vacation spot...
DISNEYLAND

The first time I went to Disneyland was in 2000, I was immediately in love! We then went back in 2005, 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011.


My Favorite small appliance...
MY CROCK POT

I know people who have a crock pot and say they never use it. WHAT???? How is that possible???
I use my crock pot(s) almost every week. I have 3 crock pots and this is a picture of my newest one!
I love crock pot cooking!


My Favorite large appliance...
MY STOVE

I have never loved an appliance like I love my stove. When we got this stove, I knew it was until death do we part and, in fact, the sale of our last house almost fell through because I refused to give up this oven. I know it is just an oven, but I dreamt of this oven for so long, and once I finally got it, I was never letting it go!


My Favorite Book...
ROOM

Once I started reading this book, I could not put it down. When I wasn't reading it, I was thinking about it!!


My Favorite CD...
RICHARD MARX / STORIES TO TELL

This is my very favorite CD by my very favorite singer / song writer. This is my "go to" CD when I am scrapbooking or cleaning because I love every single song on it so I can just put it on and let it play through!


My Favorite Movie of all time...
SLIDING DOORS

I have alot of favorite movies, but this has got to be my ALL TIME favorite!!


My Favorite??? bed...
MY BED

I have such a comfy bed. Every night when I get into it, I just think "ahhh... I have been waiting for this all day". It truly is one of my favorite possessions.


My Favorite Drink...
OK, there's a tie!
COKE ZERO

and... COKE SLURPEE

There is nothing more refreshing than Coke!! So my heart belongs to the Coke slurpee (because I love slurpee's) and Coke zero!


My Favorite Food...
THE BIG MAC

I know how bad this is for me and I know how many calories it has and I know how many grams of fat... but there is no food I love more than the Big Mac! I could eat this every day (I wouldn't) for the rest of my life and never get sick of it. I remember in grade 7 we had to write some kind of story about our favorite food and I wrote mine about the Big Mac. This is how long I have loved this burger.

So those are a few of my favorite things and now you know me just a little bit better!

Jackie

Re-Inker: Not just for scrapbooking anymore!

Friday was Crazy Hair Day at my little guys school, but do you think I could find any temporary hair color!?!?! So being the resourceful kinda girl I am (with a room full of scrapbooking supplies) I came up with a solution... CTMH Re-Inker!! This was so scary... Would it come out? Would my little guy permanently have "Cranberry" hair? Ahhh.... it's only hair, so I went for it! And....

And just for those of you daring people out there... Yes, it came out!

Enjoy!
Jackie

Happy New Year!!

Happy New Year!! I hope 2012 brings you everything you need in your life.
Last year my New Years resolution was to get more scrapbooking done. I know some of you presume I scrapbook alot, but you would be surprised how little I actually scrapbook. At the beginning of 2011, I was officially about 5 years behind on my scrapbooks, I am now about 2 years behind, so last year I really made up some ground :)
Now, as for 2012... My goal is to be no more than 6-10 months behind by the end of the year. I don't think anyone should ever be completely caught up, that's just wrong. But I am off to a great start. On my week off work, I got all my pictures printed and organized right up till the end off 2011, so to you 2012, I say BRING IT ON!!!
Now, keeping in mind I still have monthly card clubs to keep up with, tonight I sat down and did my cards for the SU card club I am in. This was an easy one for me to do because I didn't have to really think about it. The technique I chose was the "embossing powder painting" technique Brenda taught us at a past SU card club and the design was "borrowed" from a dear friend of mine, Barb Sinclair. Barb is a very talented CTMH consultant from British Columbia. Last year she gave me a card at convention that she had made for her convention card swap and what an amazingly beautiful card it was!! So here is my version of that card (which is nothing compared to Barbs version)

Enjoy!
Jackie

Sweet Sunday Card Sketch Winner

So I have been doing a weekly sketch challenge on Sundays which is appropriately called "Sweet Sunday Sketch", and every week she randomly picks a winning card to highlight and this week I was the  Sweet Sunday Sketch Winner.
So this is good for my blog and I was pretty excited to see this. So thank you to Karen Giron for doing this great weekly card sketch challenge! 
Now I guess I should go do this weeks card challenge!

Jackie

Who is viewing my blog?

So today I was looking around my dashboard and found my "stats"... this is totally amazing!! For those of you who have blogs, have you ever looked to see were in the world the people looking at your blog are from?
I'm guessing a lot of these people have found my blog by "accident", but it is still cool to think people from all over the world are visiting your blog!

Here is a run down of how many people from which countries have visited my blog in the last 2 months:

Canada                 1115

USA                     362

Russia                   22

Australia                14

Poland                   10

Switzerland            8

Germany                8

Philippines              7

Sweden                  4             

Netherlands            4

France                    3             

Latvia                     3

Hong Kong            1

Croatia                   1

United Kingdom     1

Italy                       1

So were ever your from... WELCOME!!

Jackie

Super Mac

So I'm not sure if you know this or not, but I am the mother of a Super Hero!
He watches superhero movies and TV shows, he reads super hero books, he wears super hero shirts almost everyday and every toy, backpack and Halloween costume is some kind of superhero.
So a couple weeks ago, while browsing some of my favorite blogs, I came across a Superhero Cape on Daisy's Garden. Not only does she make Superhero capes, she customizes them for you!!!
So here are a few pictures of my Super little guy in his new cape...

Blogtoberfest

So... another challenge! This one is put out to bloggers by Tresa Black, AKA Fabulously Artsy.
This one is a little different, it's a challenge to "step up our game" by treating readers to more artwork, more tutorials, etc.

So Tresa... challenge accepted!
Oh ya, by the way, I have no idea what I'm doing!! so this should be interesting.

Step 1: Grab blog button (you will see it to the right of the page, looks just like the picture above)
Step 2: Blog about "Blogtoberfest" and let readers know about the challenge (your reading it)
Step 3: Step up my game, celebrate my blog and have fun

So, here's to a wonderful month of blogging!

Enjoy!
Jackie

Liebster Blog Award!

Today was a special day for me... I received my very first blog award!! It is from fellow blogger Lisa House @ Shabby Mommy. Be sure to check out her blog!!

This is a different kind of blog award in the respect that it recognizes inspiring blogs with less than 200 followers.  This way some very worthy, but often over looked blogs benefit from some extra exposure...which is something every blogger can use!

Liebster is the German word for "beloved" or "favourite".  So it is now my turn to bestow this award to 5 of my most beloved blogs who have less than 200 followers (this was very hard, as I follow so many great blogs).  So be sure to check out the blogs listed below and congratulate them by leaving them some blog love in the form of a comment and becoming a Follower if you find them to be as inspiring as I do!


Simply Creating

Nancy's CRAFTY blog

Gr8scraps

Doing It With Ink

The Bling Diva

CTMH Convention

So today was a very exciting day for me. Today my wonderful husband booked my flight to next years CTMH Convention in Dallas.
I know its early (Convention isn't until July) but if any of you have ever tried to book a flight on points, you know it isn't easy. Even 10 months in advance, there were very few flights to chose from and they pretty much tell you when you are going and when you are coming home. I couldn't get the day I wanted to leave or the day I wanted to return, but I don't care... I'm going to convention!!!

Last years convention in Disneyland was amazing!! But the best part was the people I met.
I have been in constant contact with some of these ladies and we have been planning this trip next July since we left Disneyland.
It is so funny how you can meet people, spend 3 days together and feel like you have made life long friends.
So here are my room mates for Convention 2012...

This is Nancy, Jennifer, Barb and myself at Convention in Disneyland.

This is Jennifer and I right after we received our new Idea Books and beautiful bags from CTMH.

Enjoy!
Jackie

Proud Hockey Mom

So today was a big day in my little guys life. Today was the first day of hockey... ever! Yes, I am a hockey mom!
I was not in total agreement of this. I love hockey! I just didn't think MY son needed to play hockey. My husband disagreed, and after seeing the enjoyment on my little guys face, I guess my husband was right!
So here are a couple pictures of my favorite hockey player...

I Love Aprons!

I love aprons! I don't wear them a lot but I think they are sooooo cute! And when I do wear them when I am cleaning or cooking, I feel like I get more accomplished!?!?
So... I thought I would show you some of my aprons.

This is my Minnie Mouse apron. I got this from Disneyland a couple years ago. I love it, it is super cute!

This apron comes with a funny story... My friend Krystle has a company called Daisy's Garden. (Check out her website/blog. She is so talented, you will be amazed) She makes cloths and accessories (tutu's, blankets and yes, aprons!) for kids. Her stuff is so beautiful. One day I made a comment about her making those cute little aprons in my size and guess what I got for my birthday.... Isn't it SOOOO cute!!

This is my very first Close to my Heart crafting apron. I bought this apron as soon as I started with CTMH. I love this apron because it is so comfortable.

So here is my other crafting apron. I think this apron is really cute because it is kinda fancy and it is reversible. I don't really wear it very much as it isn't very comfy.

And here is the other side of my fancy crafting apron...

So those are some of my aprons... I hope you enjoyed my little fashion show.