Blog Award

WOOOHOOO... I got another blog award. (I love awards!) Thanks to Jennifer at www.thecrafgindivainme.blogspot.com and Karen atwww.karenpedersen.myblogspot.com for awarding me this "One Lovely Blog" award. I proudly accept and will now pass it on.

The rules for this one are:

1) Accept the award, post it on your blog together with the name of the person who has granted the award, and his or her blog link.

2) Pass the award to 10 other blogs that you’ve newly discovered.

Remember to contact the bloggers to let them know they have been chosen for this award.

Here are my choices (in no particular order)

1. Kathy- www. fabulousflamingo.myblogspot.com
2. Melanie- www.scrappindipity.myblogspot.com
3. Jenn- www.mullertime.myblogspot.com
4. Barb- www.barbssnigletsandsuch.myblogspot.com
5. Tonya- www.inallsassiness.blogspot.com
6. Brenda- www.roseblossomlegacies.blogspot.com
7. Debbie- www.texasbluebonnetscrappersblog.blogspot.com
8. Vanessa- www.everlastingheartmemories.blogspot.com
9. Carnley- www.catherinescapers.blogspot.com
10. Shannon- www.stampinbuds.com

Ready To Trail Blaze

After 10 years of driving a Ford Focus Station Wagon, Kent thought it might be time to get a new car. He was off from work yesterday and we went car shopping! After looking at everything under the sun, we decided that a Jeep would be a perfect fit for our lifestyle! This pearly lace princess is about to have an affair with a four wheelin' mud bogger. WOOHOOO! Life is GOOD!

Color Me Monday- A New Leaf

Every week, Jeanette Lynton, founder of CTMH has a color combination on her webiste. This weeks Color Me Monday's color combination is Sweet Leaf, Twilight, Tulip and White Daisy. I thought the color combination was so pretty that I had to design a card using those colors. (At 10:13 in the evening, after stamp club... like I said... I love my job). I am on a circle card rush, so I pulled out Wishes Card Program and I came up with this design! I hope you like it!

Recipe:
Cardstock and Ink- Tulip, Sweet Leaf, Twilight and White Daisy
D1354 Sweet Wishes
C1257 Happy Birthday
Colluzle Circle Template
3d Foam Squares
Foam Songe
Wishes (Card Pattern)

I scanned the card so the colors are a little bit off. But, I think you will be to get the idea. It is a happy card that makes me smile. Thanks Jeanette for your inspiration!

I love my Scrapbook Clubs!

Bella Workshop

It is 9:02 and I just finished teaching a scrapbook club. We had so much fun tonight. We stamped, we scrapbooked and we ate munchies... (thanks Kate). I teach this workshop two more times... tomorrow. I am so lucky to have such great customers, downlines and friends. Scrapbooking is my passion and I am so happy that it is my job too! Life is GOOD!






If you live in Pensacola, Navarre, Ft. Walton Beach or Destin, I would love to have you join us. Email me for times and availablility!

Tina

Scrapbook Page of Seashell Collecting

Living on the Gulfcoast, I seem to be using Moon Doggie on a daily basis! On Monday, I posted photos of our Seashell Collecting Adventure from the weekend. Yesterday, I scrapbooked those photos. This layout was so fun and so easy. It took me less than 30 minutes. The thing I love about scrapbooking is that it can be easy or elaborate. Yesterday I opted for easy and I love the way it turned out.

Tina

Circle Cards from Wishes

I had fun making a few circle cards. The pattern is in our new "HOW TO" book- wishes. Both cards took less than 30 minutes, design and all. I am thrilled with how they turned out. I just love sending handmade cards. They are always so appreciated.

Recipe:
Bella Level 2 Paper Packet
Bella Stickease
Smokey Plum Ink Pad
3D Foam Squares
Sparkles (used on the border- you can barely see them in the photograph)
Window Charms (for the middle of the flower- again hard to see)

Enjoy-

Tina

Friends are Forever!

Meet Becky! Becky is my oldest friend. (Longevity wise, not age wise..LOL) We met when we were 6 years old, walking home from school. She was on one side of the road, and I was on the other side and we started talking (or should I say yelling) across the street. My throat got sore and I asked her to come across the street and talk to me. She said "no, she was not allowed to cross the street". Then she asked me to cross... and guess what I did. I said "No, I wasn't allowed to cross the street either!" (that probably surprises everyone). We were very good girls. We went home and asked our Mom's if we could play together. The rest is history. Becky and I spent endless afternoons solving worlds problems. We were great friends until we graduated. Then we both got married and moved away. Becky and I have kept in touch until our 20th class reunion and then we lost touch. But... thanks to Facebook we found each other again. She was in town this weekend and we met for dinner at the Fish House. It was so great to see her! She is as beautiful as ever and I felt like it was just yesterday we were doing cartwheels and talking about our boyfriends. FRIENDS are forever and I am so grateful to have Becky as my "oldest" friend.

Note: Becky is holding a camera in her hand. WOOHOOO... she is a scrapbooker. Gotta love that!

Life is Good!

Kent and I started collected seashells a few weeks ago. Actually, it happened by accident. A few weeks we went to Navarre Beach and Kent brought his snorkel mask and started snorkeling. He was shocked to find beautiful seashells under the sea! One thing lead to another, and a new hobby was formed.

I took these photos yesterday, Kent must have spent two hours in the water collecting shells. I was in and out, helping when I had the urge, collecting rays the rest of the time . Together we collected two bags of shells, enough to fill a candy jar. There is something very rewarding about shelling. I think it is the Sutton’s newest addiction!


This is just a small portion of the shells we found! I had enough shells to fill two jars. FUN!



Ahhh... Life is GOOD!

Moon Doggie

Living in Florida, I go the beach weekly. My husband and I spend each weekend there- riding bikes, looking for seashells, riding our boat or wave runner. I have endless Beach Photos. That is why I love Moon Doggie! The papers are so beautiful and I have a tremendous amount of photos that I can use with those papers. Tonight I am teaching a class using the paper packet and the flip flaps. (gotta love the flip flaps). I thought I would share some artwork. Enjoy!

Tina


The ironic thing about this layout- is I have a million Florida Photos to use with this kit. The photos on this page were from our trip to Hawaii with our dear friends Chris and Charlie. This paper works for all beach, sailing, water activities. Did I say VERSATILE! Let your imagination soar and have fun creating!

I love Animal Cookies!

I had more fun playing with Animal Cookies. The colors are so fun and cheerful. You can't help but smile when you are creating with it. I wanted to share a few layouts. Enjoy!

This layout was inspired by LaJeanna Hicks. It was completely adorable and I lifted it! Love it, love it, love it! My dear friend Debbie Garrett had the idea for the lion mane. Check it out... SO CUTE!

Being Creative With Nature!

I spend so much time inside working in my studio or in my office, that I treasure time spent outdoors. I am blessed to live in Paradise- Navarre, Florida. Navarre is on the gulfcoast of Florida and we truly have some of the most beautiful beaches. On Saturday, our family spent the day on the beach. At 7 a.m. Kent and I got up early to go shelling. (I will post photos of the shells at a later time). We were out for 2 hours. In those two hours we collected bags of shells, saw dolphins, caught a crab, saw 2 sharks swimming between the sand bar, and watched a fisherman catch about a 4 foot black tip shark. Where else in the country can you do that? At 9 a.m, we went home, packed up the dogs and the boat and went out for an afternoon cruise. The dogs swam, chased balls, sticks and frisbees! We went home around 4, unloaded the dogs, unpacked the boat and hooked up the wave runner. Life is good! Enjoy the photos!

Tina

P.S.- Visitors Welcome!

I love flip flaps!

As promised, I am sharing the inside of my Beach Retreat album. I had so much fun putting this book together, as I used one of my favorite new products- FLIP FLAPS. If you purchase a package, you get 15 Flip Flaps for only $3.95. What a deal. I used the flip flaps to add photos to the My Creations album. The My Creations album comes with 6 pages, so you could put 12 photos in your book. But by adding Flip Flaps, I was able to get 36 pages in my album. LOVE IT! This book was so quick and so easy to put together. I just loved the way it turned out. I had so much fun with it, I can hardly wait to create another one.


The first photo below shows what the book looks like when it is open. Then if you open the flip flap, the second photo displays more photos, hidden under the flap. Cool huh?

(Open)

(Flap Opened)

View looking down on the book

Complete Recipe: My Creations 3 Ring Binder ($5.95), C1356 Extreme Happiness, Ink Colors- Blush, Tulip, Garden Green, Desert Sand, Bamboo, Dimensional Elements Monograms, Love Letter Rub -On's (using chocolate from package).

Tina

I've been scrapbooking

I have been extremely busy with CTMH! (Busy is good)!!! I have been lacking in my posting due to my schedule. I haven't had time to post or create until last night. Kent was out of town for one night and I stayed up and scrapbooked until the wee hours. I started working on a Retreat - My Creations Album. It is a perfect size for my team retreat photos. I actually created the entire cover last night. I thought I would share.

I would like to take credit for the color combination but I was inspired by Jeanette Lynton's blog post about Moon Doggie Goes Pink! That is how I came up with the binder cover. I love the way it turned out.

Tonight I am doing the inside pages. I will post them when I finish. Who would guess that Moon Doggie looks so good in pink. Thanks for the inspiration Jeanette.

Tina

SCRAPBOOKING TIP- If you notice the "E" in the word Retreat, you will see it is not all there. I goofed it up and didn't realize it until after I took the photo. My good friend Barb (waving to Barb) shared a tip with me. If you take a piece of tape and put it over the part you want to remove... it comes up COMPLETELY! I couldn't believe how easy it is to fix. I just added a new "E". My book it totally fixed and I am so happy. I am too tired to take another photo tonight. I will post the cover again, along with the inside pages tomorrow so you can see. EASY PEASY!

Memorial Day Fun

Chocolate Chip Pie

It is Memorial Day Weekend and yesterday we had my family over for Sunday Supper. We grilled steaks, corn on the cob, tortellini salad, and Chocolate Chip Pie. The pie is so yummy. If you serve it with whip cream, ice cream and chocolate sauce, it is irresistible. Here is the recipe. Enjoy!

Recipe For Chocolate Chip Pie

1 Unbaked Pie Crust (I use Pillsbury)
2 Large Eggs
½ Cup flour
½ Cup Sugar
½ Cup Brown Sugar
1 ½ Sticks Butter
1 Cup Semi Sweet Chocolate Chips
1 Cup Nuts- Optional

Preheat Oven to 350 degrees.

Beat eggs until foamy. Add flour, sugar and brown sugar. Beat in Butter. Stir in Chocolate Chips and spoon into pie shell.

Bake for 55-60 minutes. Serve with ice cream, whip cream, chocolate sauce or ALL OF THE ABOVE!

Makes 8 servings.

Seagrove Retreat

One Awesome Beach House + Seagrove Beach Florida + 12 Close To My Heart Consultants + A house full of Close To My Heart Products + 12 pairs of the cutest pink pajamas around... flamingo sunglasses included = FUN, FUN, FUN!

I just returned from my annual team retreat. It was held in Seagrove, Florida and I had 12 team members spend the weekend with me scrapbooking. I can't begin to tell you how much fun we had. We worked on our scrapbooks, we rode bikes, we hung out at the pool, we ate, we stayed up past midnight and some of us slept until noon! It was a FABULOUS weekend. I am so blessed to have such awesome ladies on my team and to call each one of them my friend! Words really can't describe the weekend, but the photos tell the story. Enjoy! I know that these photos are going to make awesome scrapbook pages. I can't wait until the next retreat when I actually get to scrapbook them.

Creative Hugs,

Tina

Wishes Do Come True

I am doing the happy dance! Jeanette Lynton's newest book- WISHES has just arrived. This book is beautiful and jammed pack with fun, trendy, and beautiful cards. Included are tons of new patterns along with three bulk card "workshops" that help you make 8, 12 or 16 cards in a snap. It also features stamping tips and techniques that offer hours of inspiration and fresh ideas. A CD is included so that you will have all the templates that are used in the book. Groovy huh? Once you get this book, you won't be able to put it down. (well maybe just for enough time to make a card or two!) I got my book last night and took it to bed... AFTER I created a card using it!

The card that I made is at the bottom of this post. I hope you like it! Hurry and order your book today. You won't be sorry!

Order your book here and now! Only $29.95

Recipe:
Stamp Set- Extreme Happiness
Inks- Desert Sand, Sorbet, Garden Green
Paper- Crystal Blue, Desert Sand, White Daisy, Garden Green
Background of Card- Rubber Band Stamping

Rubber Band Stamping- Wrap several rubber bands around your block. Dip into ink and stamp. It makes a fun and interesting background!

Baby Emmerson is Here!

My dear friend Lindsey had her baby girl last night. Baby Emmerson was born at 10:15 and weighs 8 pounds 5 ounces. WOOHOOO! I am off to the hospital to visit this morning. I have been up since dawn making this card for her. Just thought I would share.

Recipe:
Papers- Daydream
Watercolor Pencils
Watercolor Brush
Stamp Set- Ms. on the Go


Creatively yours,
Tina

Happy Birthday using Animal Crackers Paper

I love the new Animal Crackers Paper that is in our summer catalog. It is so bright and cheerful. I used it to create a birthday card for a friend. I used the flip card pattern that I shared last week. For the cupcake icing I used Liquid Applique for the actual icing and then punched bright colored cardstock circles using a small hole punch and scattered them on top for the confetti! The candle flame has liquid glass on it! It is a happy, happy card! Here is the official recipe:

X7112B Animal Crackers Paper Packet
D1336 Celebrate Stamp Set
Z2119 Dutch Blue Ink
z308 Liquid Applique
Z1282 Buttons- Red


Click under project instructions for card directions!

I hope you enjoy the card.

Tina

Our Crop was a blast

I'm still recovering from our FUN- FILLED crop on May 2nd. Navarre, Florida was the place to be this past Saturday. I want to thank all of those who attended our crop. It was a great time! Enjoy the photos from this awesome event!

Tina