Black Friday

Yesterday was "officially" the start of the Christmas Holiday Shopping Season, also known as Black Friday. Kent and I were up at 4 a.m. and in line at 5 a.m. at Circuit City. We actually got to Circuit City at 5:05. We had to wait 45 minutes to get inside the store... but we got the TV that we wanted. YIPPEE SKIPPEE. Only on Black Friday would we do such a thing!

We had an awesome day shopping and looking for bargins. The stores were crowded and the holiday season has begun. Ho, Ho, Ho!

The agenda for today is Christmas Trees. It is time to put them up! I can't wait to get all decorated!

Tina

Whew... I did it! Thanksgiving Dinner was a success!

We did it! We cleaned the house, cooked dinner and had everything ready when the family showed up at 4! Our meal was wonderful and the kitchen is cleaned... all in time to watch Grey's Anatomy!




Our dinner was wonderful. Our menu included Smoked Turkey, Dressing, Mashed Potatoes, Pineapple Casserole, Cranberry Relish, Homemade Rolls, Pumpkin Cobbler and Turtle Pumpkin Pie! Yum!

The Turtle Pumpkin Pie was THE BEST! For those of you who love to cook... TRY THIS RECIPE!

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Turtle Pumpkin Pie

Ingredients:

1/4 C + 2 Tablesppons carmel Ice Cream Topping
Graham Cracker Pie Cruse
1 Package Chopped Pecans
1 Cup Reduced Fat Milk
2 Boxes (4 serving) Vanilla Instant Pudding Mix
1 Cup Canned Pumpkin
1 Teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
1/2 Teaspoon Ground Nutmeg
8 ounces of whipped topping

Steps:
1. Pour 1/4 cup of th carmel topping into the pie crust. Sprinkle with 1/3 cup of the pecans.
2. Whisk together milk, pudding mixes, pumpkin, cinnamon and nutmeg. Stir in 1 1/2 cups of the whipped topping. Chill at least one hour.
3. Top with remaining 1 1/2 cups whipped topping and 2 tablesppons EACH of carmel topping and pecans just before serving. Makes 10 servings!

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Enjoy the recipe. I am off to watch Grey's and then to bed. I'm getting up at 4 a.m. Tomorrow is Black Friday and I need to help support the economy! WOOHOOO!

Have a Great Thanksgiving!

Tina

Thanksgiving Morning

Today is Thanksgiving and I feel so blessed. My Mom and Dad, My Aunt and Uncle and cousin Christan will be coming over for dinner this evening at 4 P.M. Right now it is 8:06 A.M. Dinner is in 8 hours. I couldn't resist showing a few photos of my house.

Yesterday my Handy Dandy DH pulled up the carpeting in our bedroom. All of our furniture is in the laundry room, the kitchen, the hallway, the back porch! Yes... here we go again. We are installing wood flooring in our bedroom this weekend. Kent was off from work yesterday, so he decided to start the work the day before Thanksgiving. Yikes!

8 hours... Kent is outside swinging his golf club and I am blogging... will dinner be on time? At least the table is set! I'm not even going to attempt to explain why we won't be eating in the Dining Room!

Happy Turkey Day!

Tina

Flip Accordion Book

Supplies Needed:
6 x 6 My Memory Showcase Album
Level 2 Background and Texture Paper of choice (sample done with Evensong)
My Stickease of choice
Adhesive

Cut the following:
Outside Cover- 2 pieces of Background and Texture Paper 6 X 6
Inside Cover- 2 pieces of Background and Texture Paper 6 x 6
2 pieces of Cardstock- 4” x 6”- Top Front
2 pieces of Cardstock- 2” x 6 – Bottom Front

Front of Fold Out Pieces- all Background and Texture Paper
==> Cut 2 – 3 ¾ x 5 ¾”(top front piece)
==> Cut 2- 2 ¾ x1 3/4 (front left square)

Back of Fold Out Pieces- Coordinating Background and Texture Paper
==> Cut 2- 2 ¾ x 3 ¾ (top back)
==> Cut 2- 5 ¾ x 1 ¾ (bottom back)

Directions:
1. Score 2 inside pages at 3 inches. Fold like Mountain Peaks!



2. Glue 4 x 6 cardstock to front of pages.



Glue the 2 x 6 to back of pages.


3. Decorate the bases of inside pages with Background and Texture Paper.
4. Decorate Front and Back Cover.
5. Embellish with My Stickease and photos!

Team Holiday Party

Yippee... December is almost here! December 16th is the date of my CTMH team Holiday Party. We will be participating in a Cookie Exchange. Not only can we stamp... we can cook too!

I put together this adorable recipe album using our My Creations Display album! My friend and grandma upline Bren Yule inspired me to make one. How cute would this be to do for a gift or for family recipes.

I have made up a few extra Workshop In The Mail kits for this album. If you would like to order this kit- I can send you everything you need to make one. The cost is $25.00 plus shipping! In your kit you will receive the following- Display Album, Evensong Level 2 Paper, Embellishments and directions!

I hope you enjoyed the artwork.

Tina Sutton

Check out Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is a week away! I thought I would share something that touched my heart!

Check out Thanksgiving Here!

Bad Dog Dixie

My darling Dixie....

For those of you who do not know Dixie, she is my 10 year old lab. She is the best dog ever! She minds well, is very loving, an all around good dog. When she is home alone, she is able to roam the house freely as she never misbehaves. Daisy, my springer, is another story, as she has to stay in a crate. Daisy has separation anxiety.

Today, I came home to a DIXIE MESS! I had been gone all day and I guess she got tired of waiting for dinner. When I walked into the door, she tucked her tail and ran into the bedroom. When I went into the laundry room, I found out why!

Darling Dixie became Bad Dog Dixie today! Enjoy the photos of Bad Dog Dixie. What a mess!

Still mopping the floor,

Tina

Market Basket Pensacola

I will be in Pensacola working the Junior League Market Basket for the next few days! I am so excited. This event is wonderful and is sure to put everyone in the holiday spirit! Last week I was at the Mistletoe Market in Ft. Walton. My favorite vendor- Bay Petal were there. Look at these darling holiday shirts that they had for sale. TOO CUTE! I hope if you are in the local area, you will come visit my booth!

Tina

Redneck Christmas Tree

Since I am a southern girl with southern roots, I feel that I am allowed to post photos of this Redneck Christmas Tree! A friend sent me this photo and I just had to chuckle! I have to admit it is actually very pretty, especially when it is all lit up! Hmmm, maybe I will have to start saving coke cans! What do you think?

I'm starting to get that Holiday Spirit!

Tina

Mistletoe Market

I am going to be out of the office until Monday. I will be working the Mistletoe Market in Ft. Walton Beach this weekend. If you are in the area, please stop by my booth and make this darling card! Hope to see you there. Ho Ho Ho!

Tina Sutton

I Love Snowmen!

I love CTMH's new snowman stamp set... All Decked Out! I had fun playing with it this week. This card was made with Life's Delights papers! Check out the ear muffs, they are made with Corduroy Brads- a CTMH exclusive. This card just makes me smile. Thanks to my friend Bren Yule who inspired me! Hope you enjoy it!

New floors in my office. LOVE IT!

It was a long week but the office floor is completed. We are so happy with it. The great thing about installing new floors is that you have to take everything out of the room before you install. Then when everything goes back into the room... you purge.Every piece of paper, every paperclip, every ink cartridge has a place . YIPPEE SKIPPEE! The scary thing is I cleaned out 15 ink cartridges. Only 4 work for the printers that we have now. YIKES... that's a little scary. Maybe installing new floors should be a yearly chore. LOL!

My friend... Ireland

One of my dear friends and downline- Jennifer Bohnart has a beautiful daughter named Ireland. I have a special connection with Ireland. She used to live in Navarre and I just loved her. Ireland used to make me beautiful cards!!!! The other night, I went to my corporate website (www.missgingerdots.myctmh.com) and on the front page was a layout that the CTMH artists designed with IRELAND on the layout. She is so beautiful and the layout show our amazing die cuts! I was so excited, that I called Jennifer right away. FUN, FUN, FUN! I just had to post this to my blog. Congratulations IRELAND! You make a beautiful model!

Home Improvement happening this weekend!

Carpeting... I am so over it. I vacuum daily, I shampoo monthly and it is still yucky! With two dogs and a hubby who won't take his shoes off, it is impossible to keep clean. I am DONE with it.

A few months ago, we bought new flooring. The challenge is finding the time to install it. This morning we woke up with lots of energy and cleaned out my office. Today we are putting down the new flooring. YIPPEE SKIPPEE! I am so excited. One room at a time!

Enjoy the before photos! The after will be later. I guess I won't have time for scrapbooking today! Heavy sigh...maybe tomorrow!

Friends

I had a long lost friend get in touch with me today. I can't begin to express how much I have missed having this person in my life. It made me realize how important friendships are!!!! I thought I would share this article. Enjoy and go grow some friends!

Creatively yours,

Tina

Best Friends: How to Grow a Friend
footsmall1.gif (879 bytes)Friendships. A twelve-step program footsmall.gif (881 bytes)Friends.

The best time to grow a best friend is before you need one!

Written or compiled by Joy Stevens


1. People Equal Friends.
There is a certain chemistry with friends just as in a love relationship. Therefore, contact with other people is the first building block to grow a friend. Friends can't grow in a vacuum. Best friends take time.
2. Talking Is Essential Among Friends.
Talking between friends requires reciprocity. In a mutually satisfying friendship, both friends talk and both friends listen. Friends talk appropriately to each other.
3. Friends Acknowledge Friends.
Friends acknowledge each other when talking. Many conflicts in your personal relationships can be avoided if you will take the time to acknowledge other's feelings and points of view.
4. Friends Listen to Friends.
Listening to friends in an important step in building a closer friendship. We often take listening for granted, never realizing what it means to really listen to a friend.
5. Friends Attend to Friends.
Friends focus during conversations. Friends pay attention in conversations. It means that your ears, your eyes, your body and your feelings are all focused on that person at the time.
6. Friends Show Empathy With Friends.
Empathy is identifying with your friend's feelings and seeing life through your friend's eyes. Confidences are freely given when they are received with empathy among friends.
7. Friends Touch Friends.
Touching is a warm form of communication between friends. When you see best friends communicating, you will notice friends "listen with their eyes," stand close together, and touch comfortably.
8. Friends Praise Friends.
Affirmation is a powerful tool for growing a friend. Genuine praise can affect your friends' lives. Be liberal with praise for all of your friends, including your casual ones.
9. Friends Are Loyal and Trustworthy.
Trust and loyalty go hand-in-hand for friends. Friends can trust you with their secrets, both large and small, because good friends never break a confidence. Good friends are forever loyal!
10. Friends are Equal.

Flip Album finished

This weekend I worked on a mini-flip album. I created it with CTMH Perfect Day Paper Packet and some photos taken in Malta! I am excited with the way it turned out, so I thought I would share. Enjoy!