New Zippidee Kit

This layout was created with the new Zippidee Workshop on the Go Kit plus the Cocktail Alphabet Stamp set E1015.

The cute kids in the pictures are my niece and nephew, Ruby and Ian, at various ages. They are both in college now!

Happy Mothers' Day!

Happy Mothers' Day to my mama!

I have a Mothers' Day card to share with you today, with very little stamping! I decided to try out the flower technique on page 13 of the Summer catalog. I could use a little extra practice, and I think that my circle punch wasn't quite the same size that they used. . . .but I am still happy with the outcome! I used Veranda patterned paper, and added a Filigree Charm to the center of my flower. For the leaf, I just punched out another circle, crumbled it a bit, sanded it a bit, and tucked it behind the flower. (And the twine is just from the hardware store!) The sentiment is from Say It In Style. (Always one of my go-to stamp sets!)

TIP: Because my flower was getting a little. . .rustic (messy and not as precise as I wanted) I went in that direction and decided to make this a very RUSTIC card . . . I had fun distressing the paper, using scissors and my fingernail to rough up the edges. I do the same thing if I get an ink smudge somewhere. . . .I just go ahead and ink up the edges and rough things up a bit, and it often will totally cover my OOPS!

I hope you'll try out that flower technique!! I definitely need to play with it some more. . .I'd love to see what you can come up with! So link it up here, if you do some flower-making!!!

Happy Mothers' Day!!!! I love you, my Mommy-O!!!

XXOXOXO

Happy Birthday Laura Ann Tomaino Williams

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU LAURA!!!

And a Happy Anniversary to you and Eric today too!

Here's a picture of the day you met my dad, Grampa Grumps when you were just a baby! LOVE IT!!!

Happy Birthday Laura and a Happy Anniversary to you and Eric.

grow. . .breathe. . .enjoy!

Hello! Hello! Happy Thursday! Today's card is a bit larger than I normally work - 5x7. But this big wonderful tree just didn't want to be cropped or cut apart, so I used a larger format. These stamps are from Grown With Love. (There's another really cute sample from the catalog, if you click on that link to the stamp set! Seeing that card, makes me want to go play with this some more!) I also used Twitterpated paper and matching Dimensional Elements chipboard buttons.
There are some great polka dotted circles in this stamp set, but to make the circles on my tree, i just punched out paper, and then added some buttons. The leafy trio is also a stamp from this set, as are the little words scattered around - grown, breathe, and enjoy.

TIP: to create the brown background layer, I cut a rectangle, and matted my image. Then I used a circle punch, slightly larger than the buttons, punched out four brown circles, and matted them behind the rectangle.

Thanks for stopping by today!!!! Can you believe it's almost MAY!!???

Happy Birthday to him!

Gotta a little boy? Or a big guy? Here's just the card! I stamped the images on three squares, and then stamped them again and cut them out, adhering them with foam tape. (I added faux brads using my tip from a few weeks ago. . .the period from an alphabet set!)

These fun "boy" stamps work great for a little boy (like one of my little guys) or for a teenage guy, or even for a Father's Day card!

Thanks for stopping by today! See you next week!

(colors: Dutch Blue, Outdoor Denim, Citrus Leaf/stamps: Playin' Hard, Dainty Thoughts - sentiment)

Be Yourself

Wow! It's Thursday again! Today I have two new cards for you, using the set Be Yourself. This set was a Stamp of the Month a while back, and now it's in the brand new summer catalog. I am THRILLED, because I LOVE this stamp set!!! It always works well with the bright, bold color schemes I like to use! This color combo is Outdoor Denim, Bubblegum, and Kiwi. . .and I must admit, Kiwi is not available anymore, and I try not to use product that isn't available - BUT. . .I ADORE kiwi. It is one of my most FAVORITE colors ever. So my dear mama, and favorite CTMH consultant helped me stock up on it before it was gone!!!! But you could easily substitute Citrus Leaf, and it would probably look JUST ABOUT as good!! ;)

This second card I put together using scraps sitting on my desk from the first card. (The first card is based on Tami Mayberry's sketch for next week at Card Positioning Systems . . but shhhh!) I hope you like them both! And if you give this (or a similar) color combo a try, leave us a link! My mom and I would both love to see what you create!

See you next week!

TIPS: use your scraps and make a second card, while all of your supplies are out!

Sand the edges of cardstock (especially textured cardstock!) for an easy finishing touch.

Topstitch Baby cards

Happy Thursday! I'm back to share some more goodies with you today . . .I created two baby cards using Topstitch paper, and the Love You Forever stamp set.On this card, I paired the little birdie from Love You Forever (C1398) with the Congratulations sentiment from Forever In Love (B1345) ( it's a great little set of sentiments and flowers. (You'll be seeing more from me with this set soon!)

TIP: I was running low on ribbon, and I didn't have quite enough to make a bow. Instead, I folded the ribbon over, in the "shape" of a bow, and used a piece of twine to tie the center together. I kind of like the way it looks!

And on this card, using stamps from Love You Forever, I got crazy with the distressing. I used my little scissors, and my fingernail to really rough up the edges of this patterned paper.

TIP: No brads handy? Use the period from an alphabet set, to stamp faux brads in the corners. (I used Friendship Alpha small -C1401- to do mine.)

Thanks for stopping by to see me today! I hope you had a terrific Easter week! We are Spring Breakin' it up around my house. We've had a couple playdates, and yesterday we went to paint pottery. Hopefully I can occupy my little man with a nice long movie soon, so I can try to find some more STAMPING TIME!!!

See you back here next week, but in the meantime, come by and visit me at my blog too! Have a terrific weekend!

A Miracle Awaits You! Special

This beautiful scrapbooking kit is available beginning April 15 through May 31. You can order it outright for $19.95, place a minimum order of $40 and purchase the kit for $10.00 or place a minimum order of $60 and purchase the kit for ONLY $5.00.

The kit has all the supplies to create four 12 X 12 layouts. Not a scrapbooker? You can use the kit to create over a dozen cards! The cards I created using the kit are posted below.

Dream Big!

Hello, hello! I am so happy to be here to share a bit of what I'm up to, using some fun Close To My Heart products!

This is a clean and simple card that I decided to duplicate and try with a few different color schemes and stamps. (This first one is my favorite though!) I stamped the flower patterns using stamps from Dream Big, onto white cardstock squares. (I used Crystal Blue and Sweet Leaf on this first card.) I did some layering, and sanding and added a sentiment from Say It With Style. (This is one of my all time favorite and most practical stamp sets in my stash!!)

I'm looking forward to sharing my cards with you every week!!! I'll be back next Thursday with another card! (or maybe two!!) Happy April! Have a terrific Easter weekend!

Tip: Use a piercing tool to pierce a row of holes to finish off edges.

Stamps: Dream Big, Say It In Style

Coming Soon!

You've seen her artwork published in:

Cards Magazine

Paper Crafts Publications

Paper Trends

CardMaker

Scrapbook Trends

Simple Scrapbooks

CardMakers Sketch Book

Creating Keepsakes

and online all over the place!

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.

She's been on the following Design Teams:

Apron Strings

Card Positioning Systems

The Stamps of Life

4 Scrappy Sisters

Card Studio Designs

Scrapbook News and Review

Pink Persimmon

Unity Stamp Company

Keep In Touch Card Shop

Sweet n Sassy Stamps

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She's been honored with the following Contests Awards:

Kitchen Sink Stamps - best use of color

Kitchen Sink Stamps - thinking outside the box

The Pink Tomato

Impression Obession

Simple scrapbooks

Paper Crafts

.

.

And NOW....

you'll be able to see her fantastic artwork using Close To My Heart products

right here about every week beginning next month!

Don't miss a single creative inspiration by the very talented....

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Laura Williams

Stamp Fest by the Bay

Thanks to everyone who attended Stamp Fest by the Bay in Clearwater, Florida this past Saturday. What a great day to spend with friends doing something you love. It was great seeing old friends and making new friends.

The artwork by the vendors was inspiring, and I sure do love seeing all the ideas from so many talented people!

A great big thank you to Adeline Brill for her help and support!

New "A POSY" Stamp set

I love the new A-Size stamp sets. Not only are the designs great, but the new lower price is FANTASTIC!

For this card I used A Posy stamp set for the leaves, stems, and words. The colors are Sorbet and Sweet Leaf. I also used our clear buttons on this card and the Sorbet ribbon.

Christmas Tags

I love the stamp set, Merry Wishes (C1332) because you can create a bunch of tags quickly. Stamp your image on the fold of your cardstock and cut it out leaving the fold. Next add any one of a number of embellishments: liquid glass, primsa glitter, sparkles, waxy flax, ribbon, brads, eyelets, or pearls. You can also layer your image for more texture!

Announcing Tanner's Arrival!

Tanner is finally here! He arrived this morning at 7:13 am. Weighing in at over 9 pounds, he has very chubby arms and legs!

Bryce is excited

It was fun to watch Bryce meet his new baby brother. He was sweet and adorable! See for yourself!

Tanner 10 hours old!

A little more CPS inspiration!

Here are two more cards based on last week's Card Positioning Systems sketch, created by some of the CPS designers. Don't forget about the great deal, being offered through the month of August . . .

Save 25% off any CTMH order you place through me, Susan Tomaino, through August 31, 2009. To take advantage of this special please email me at JoeSusan@aol.com with your list and mention CPS. Visit my website for the complete line of CTMH products!

This first card is by Melissa Phillips. Be sure to visit her blog . . .it is always full of AMAZING inspiration, and super sweet projects! Melissa always makes amazing use of little embellishments and bits of this and that, and puts them together in such a lovely way!
The second card is by Lea Lawson. I am always inspired by Lea's use of color - her cards just make me HAPPY to look at! Be sure to stop by her blog! She is working on some amazing photography, and has lots of bright happy cards to share as well!

I am the CPS Sponsor - August 9

I am the CPS sponsor for the week of August 9, and I wanted to share a card I created using the design for my week. The stamp set is the August Stamp of the Month special, D1352 It's Your Day. The ink pad colors are Moonstruck and Dutch Blue. The paper pack came from X7109B Stardust.

Visit the CPS blog and check out all the other creations using this design and Close To My Heart products.

http://www.cardpositioningsystems.blogspot.com/

Creative Idea

My sister Nancy came to Fort Myers for a visit and I locked her in my "Art Room" (that's what my 4 year old grandson calls it) and made her create some cards! Although this picture isn't the greatest, I loved the card. Actually I loved everything Nancy designed, so watch for more ideas in the new few days.
The colors used are Twighlight, Sweetleaf, and Colonial White.

Animal Cookies & Backwoods

Sometimes you have to think outside the box. Traditionally we stamp our trees and leaves in shades of autumn, but I thought I would go primary with my color choices. The paper pack is from Animal Cookies and the stamp set is Backwoods.

New Layouts

The Workshops on the Go for the new Summer Idea Book are GREAT! Here's something to get you excited!

Using our new Tinkerin' paper pack and "Gear Up" stamp set, these layouts were really fast! Colors: Clover Meadow, Sunflower, Sunny Yellow and Twighlight.

Simple Scrapbook Magazine May/June

Hi Everyone,
I'm so excited and proud to share with you my daughter, Laura Williams, is published in Simple Scrapbooks Magazine. Check out Page 46 & 47 to see the cute layouts. Isn't Bryce adorable?!

Enjoy!

Susan

Liquid Glass Idea

This cute car is part of a scrapbook page created by my daughter, Laura Williams. I love the way she used Liquid Glass on the wheels and also as the glass on the window. Laura put Liquid Glass right over the photograph of Bryce and directly on the stamped image for the wheels. Great idea! Liquid Glass is a super product with many uses! It's also a fantastic adhesive for those big, bulky, or heavy items.

New Summer Idea Book Coming Soon!

I'm so excited about the new Summer Idea Book. Lots of new stamp sets and papers that I can't wait to play with! Watch for some new samples and ideas soon.

Ravishing Roses C1348

Ravishing Roses is just one of our beautiful new stamp sets.

Combined here with our new paper pack, That's Amore X7107B, our Pretty Pins Z1148, and D1331 Dream Wishes - this card can handle many different sentiments and purposes.

Spring Project

Fancy Cuts Botanicals

Have you seen the new Close To My Heart Fancy Cuts Botanicals (X1405)? The card above was created using some of the flower and center fancy cuts. The right flower is a paper flower that has been stamped with D1335 Intrinsic Backgrounds. The ribbon is our new Sorbet Ribbon Round, and the brads are from the Spring Collection.

The base card is Creme Brulee, my new favorite, and the sentiment is stamped in Tulip ink.

January PaperCrafting Special

NATIONAL PAPER CRAFTING MONTH - SOMETHING FOR EVERYONE!

Close to My Heart is proud to announce National Papercrafting Month—a January sensation that celebrates all the amazing things you can create with paper and a little creativity. And to make it even more fun, we're offering a fantastic kit that will enhance every one of your projects.

The gorgeous new Key to My Heart Level 2 paper packet features all of our luscious new exclusive colors: Tulip, Juniper, Sorbet, and Creme Brulee. The packet is accompanied by the awesome new E-size My Acrylix(R) Key to My Heart stamp set brimming with elegant, charming designs.

This beautiful combo is available through January 31 OR while supplies last. It can be yours at a substantial savings, or even FREE! You may purchase this gorgeous kit for $47.90; or when you order $75 you may purchase it for just $20; or purchase $130 and you will receive it FREE! To order, visit http://www.susan.myctmh.com/, email me JoeSusan@aol.com or give me a call (239) 433-2269.

What's more, if you join Close To My Heart between January 1–31, you'll receive the kit FREE in your New Consultant Kit. Enjoy National Paper Crafting Month!

Tampa Scrapbook Expo

A great big thank you to everyone who visited our booth at the Tampa Scrapbook Expo December 5 & 6. We had a great time!

Our next big event is Stamp Fest by the Bay in Clearwater on Valentine's Day and then in May at the Orlando Scrapbook Expo at the Gaylord Palms. Need details? Email me!

Below Adeline Brill is teaching a two-page layout during our Create & Take. It was FUN!

Snow in North Carolina

During our recent trip to our place in Sylva, North Carolina, we had some incredible weather. I was able to play in the creek with my grandson, Bryce. We had a blast. At (almost) 4 years old, Bryce really enjoyed the water. It was cold, but we laughed, played, explored, and never fell completely in the water!

A few days before we headed home, this is what we woke up to!!! It was a winter wonderland! It was still snowing when we got up, and it was so fun to watch. By afternoon it had all melted away! Good thing, I guess, since we had to get in the car and head back to Florida!

Creating Cards with My Stickease & Stamps

With the Notebook Paper Pack, the Notebook MyStickease, this card is super quick and easy. The ribbon is Cocoa, and the Photo Clips is Pewter. You can stamp any sentiment either on the front or inside the card!

Supplies from Notebook My Stickease and PP

The stamp used (bottom right corner) is from "Coffee Stain" (B1316). The paper is from Notebook (X7102b). The center is created from the Notebook My Stickease (X7102c).

Chicken Chili

One of the most popular meals I've served at my CTMH Unit Meetings or my all day Create & Crop is Chicken Chili. I thought I'd post the recipe here for anyone looking for a healthy, easy, yummy main dish!

Chicken Chili

1 can (16 oz) black beans, rinsed and drained
1 can (16 oz) white beans, rinsed and drained
1 can (28 ounce) diced tomatoes (entire contents) you can use flavored like Italian
1 cup barbeque sauce (I use lite original, but any flavor is good)
Cooked cut up chicken OR cooked hamburger
Optional 1 can (16 oz) kidney beans rinsed and drained
Heat together. I crock pot it for 3 hours
Serve with sour cream, cornbread, and or shredded cheddar cheese.

You can keep all the canned goods on hand and have cooked cut up chicken in your freezer ready to go! I've also put all the ingredients together the night before in the frig, and then I just gave myself a little more time to heat since it's starting out cold.

new stamps!!!!

its the first new set that i've gotten my inky little fingers on! (thank you mommy!) here are two cards I whipped up using . . ..ummm, what's that stamp set called, mom??? tee hee!!!