Happy Friday the 13th!

Just because the rumor's out it's an unlucky day doesn't mean it's fact!

Make someone feel lucky today and send them a handmade card. This is another super easy card using Grace. (It's the same pattern as in the last post, but this is the full color front of the B&T!) Add a simple tag from Salutations Seals and you're good to go! This card took 5 minutes to make from start to finish but it's going to put a BIG smile on my pal's face!

Warm wishes,
Trish

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Simple Scalloped Flower Card and Happy Anniversary Mom and Dad!

Brandon's parents are celebrating their 38th wedding anniversary this week. Isn't that fabulous? It seems like such a far away place from my vantage point of a modest 11 1/2 years. I can't wait to get there, though!

Grace seemed like a great kit to celebrate this milestone with. One awesome thing about Close To My Heart's B&T pattern papers is they have a monochromatic pattern on the back of the paper so it's like getting 12 B&T's in your level 2 kits! This pattern is quite bold on the full color side, but a beautiful and serene Bamboo on the back. Just right to highlight this simple scallop flower.

Using our 2" Scallop Circle Punch, make 4 twilight cardstock circles. Lightly spray My Spritz Cleaner and crumple them up. Let them set a bit to dry. Then stack them and attach with a brad. That's it! Instant Awesomeness and a card that works for any occasion!

Don't forget the fabulous deal this month for National Scrapbooking Day now through May 31st. You can get your very own consultant kit for only $64.95. With that you can get two options including a Studio J 12 month membership, Mayberry or Lucky deluxe paper and stamp bundle, scrapbook albums or stamps and a My Acrylix Holder all for FREE! You got it! Every one of these bundles are priced over 64.95 retail and you get to choose TWO for that price! Call or email me today for more information or join my team today by following this link. I'd love to have you on my team, whether you want a career or a hobby. YOU are the BOSS!

Warm wishes,

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Scalloped Flower Card

Hope everyone had a great Mother's Day and spent it with people you love. I had to work yesterday morning, but when I got home, I had two eager kids bearing gifts! They could hardly wait until I got in the door! Both Brook and Aidan had made gifts at school and decorated their own cards and artwork to give. Garrett, he was just happy to see "Mama!"

Brandon cooked me lasagna and we visited my Mom, where Dad treated us to strawberry cheesecake - my favorite! All in all, pretty great day. I didn't quite get the nap, but I didn't have to cook, dang it!

Here's another inspiration from Jeanette's blog. The pattern is from Wishes card confidence program and features papers from Dream Big. I random stamped the white daisy cardstock in Lilac Mist with a small snowflake swirly from my favorite snowman set to coordinate with the swirl pattern on the flowers. The large flower is made from 4 2" scallop circle punches. The petals are hand-cut. On the small flower, I used 2 scallop punches but trimmed the size down with scallop edged scissors and then added petals. The cute flower brads are from our White Daisy Mini Medley collection which is currently 33% off on my website and only $4 while supplies last!

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Happy Mother's Day Ladies!

Hey girls! Hope all of Moms are having a good day despite the crummy weather! I'm looking forward to lasagna cooked by my family for me and a strawberry cheesecake with my own Mom! Speaking of Mom, here is the card I made for her. It was inspired by Jeanette Lynton's blog. You can check it out here. She posts wonderful, creative projects weekly!

This card pattern is from Wishes and features the Miracle papers. I used A Tweet for the flowers. The 3 larger flowers are second generation then rock n rolled in Hollyhock. The small flowers are second generation in Hollyhock. The stems come from the cute photo corner swirls in Take A Picture. A Little Everything provides the phrase. Wrap it all up with some cocoa grosgrain and it's pretty as a picture!

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April 5 for $5 Card Class Instructions

Hey ladies! Thanks for your patience in getting these pictures and instructions up! We had a great class with some fun new ladies this month! Be sure to bring a new pal next class so you can pick a prize out of my goodie basket (valued up to $34.95!!) Kari, Anja and Becky all got to pick prizes this month! On to the fun!

This first card pictured is from the Miracle kit, which we also worked with during Play Dates. Featured stamp set is Fill in the Blank. The clouds are stamped using the flower stamp. Remember with our My Acrylix stamps you can position them on the block any way you want and they just spring back to their original form when you pull them off! So smush some clouds, baby! The butterflies are adhered only in the center to lift the wings up a bit as if in flight. Edges are distressed with Desert Sand using the Direct to Paper technique - just rub the ink pad along the edge for as bold and edge as you wish! The words on your Sweet Leaf piece are barely inked to give it a sponged effect. Remember to click on the picture to zoom in to see detail!

Anj requested this one because she LOVES buttons! Using Salutations Seals, we stamped the Buttercup piece then the White Daisy piece with the same stamp. Using the Circle Punch, punch your buttercup piece around the stamp and then using Micro Tip scissors, trim around the edge of the stamped image on the White Daisy piece. Adhere the white over the buttercup using the stamped image as a guide and set aside. Dry emboss the front of the hollyhock base every 1/2 inch, making sure the raised image is facing out from the front. You can do this by running your stylus down the groove in your paper trimmer - make sure the face is down. Then lightly sand the surface to expose the white core. Adhere as shown.

Over The Rainbow is such a fun, cheerful set. This is my dark twisted spin! Lol! Cut out the center, black rainbow band and adhere in the space between the two Pansy Purple bands. Then trim around the whole image. Cut out the cloud and cut down the center. I sponged the edges in Pansy Purple, also. Cut out the tags, "Somewhere" and "Over the" and Direct to Paper distress with Pansy Purple. In this image, the letters for "hill" are from the Lots of Dots Irresistibles cardstock adhesive-backed alphabet. For your kit, I just Cricut cut the letters in Pansy Purple to keep the cost for the kit at $5. You could achieve a similar result by stamping in White Daisy pigment ink and/or embossing with White Daisy embossing powder.

This is on a Desert Sand base and most if it is done for you! Cut out the red lantern and adhere with some 3D Foam Tape and the hanging "strings" with a Chocolate, Desert Sand or Black marker. This was inspired by Vicki Wizniuk's art.

This 5 inch square card is from the Hope For Japan set, available now until April 30th. It's discounted at only $5 for this A-size stamp set and all profits go directly to the American Red Cross and their efforts in Japan. Papers are a retired paper kit, That's Amore, plus Black and Colonial White Cardstock. The central image is stamped twice. Once on the main square pieced and once more on a scrap, then punched with our 2" Scallop Circle Punch. After sponging the edges of the scallop in black, the image is overlaid to match the image below with a little 3D Foam Tape. Card design by Karen Pedersen - yet another wonderful reason for becoming a Consultant on my team!

Thanks so much for stopping by! My next 5 for $5 card class is the first Thursday of the month, on May 5th at 630 pm. Let me know if you would like to attend or would like to purchase a kit.

Warm wishes,

Whole Wheat Bread

Who doesn't love fresh bread warm from the oven, er... bread machine? I know I certainly do - it's my worst weakness! I thought I would share with you this recipe. It's my best success story at a long line of failed bread recipes! Too, dry, too flat, too flaky, too doughy. You name it, we've tried it. This is the best recipe ever, though! Who'd have thought to try recipes for regular bread in the bread machine? Winner, winner, chicken dinner!

And speaking of winners, I just have to congratulate Yvonne Wickham on signing her first downline, Sara Armstrong! Welcome to the team, Sara! Now, without further ado..

Simple Whole Wheat Bread

1 cup warm water
5/8 (.25 oz) package dry active yeast (one slightly rounded tsp.)
1 Tablespoon and 2-1/4 teaspoon honey
1-2/3 cups all purpose flour
1 Tablespoon butter, melted
1 Tablespoon and 2-1/4 teaspoons honey
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup and 4 Tablespoons whole wheat flour
2 teaspoons butter, melted

1. In a small glass, mix warm water, yeast and 1 Tablespoon and 2-1/4 teaspoons honey. In the bread machine, add 1 2/3 cup all purpose flour, then pour in the yeast mixture. Mix until just combined and let set for 30 minutes or until big and bubbly.
2. Add 1 Tablespoon melted butter,  1 Tablespoon and 2-1/4 teaspoons honey, salt and 1 cup plus 4 Tablespoons whole wheat flour.
3. Start your bread machine cycle as directed. I set mine at the smaller 1.5 lb. loaf size, and light color. It shows 2 hours and 53 minutes on the display for the cycle time. (I actually stop it at about 27-25 minutes to go on the bake time.)
4. After the mix cycle and during the first rise cycle, brush approx. 1 teaspoon melted butter over the top. This makes the crust really soft. Then on the final rise cycle, brush the second teaspoon over the top.
5. Don't forget to pull it out early at about 27-25 minutes to go.

The recipe originally made 3 loaves in the oven in 9x5 bread loaf pans on 350 for 25-30 minutes in case you've a hankerin' to do it the old fashioned way.

I hope you enjoy it as much as my family does!

Warm wishes,

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Happy Birthday cards tonight

Tonight for my card class we're making a few birthday cards. Here's a sneak peak...

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Crazy Big Sale and New For April

I'm a day late sharing the new April stuff because of April Fool's Day. If you didn't read my post, you SHOULD! You'll be amazed. I know I was! Scroll down to yesterday's post or read it here and leave me a comment!

Before I get to the April specials, though, I just had to share that there is a Crazy Big SALE going on right now on my website! Check it out here. Close To My Heart has bundled some paper packs, stickease, and accessories together and priced them at over 50% off, some much more than that! It's only while supplies last so get yours TODAY!

Take the photo you see above, for example. This bundle includes the Cherry-O Level 1 scrapbooking kit ($9.95 value), Level 2 Paper Pack ($12.95 value), the Cherry-O MyStickease Assortment ($4.95 value) and the Cherry-O Connections Textured Stickers ($4.15 value). This bundle's total value is $32.00 and is on sale while supplies last for $15.00. No foolin'!

Remember, if you spend $100 (before shipping and tax) on my website during April, you'll not only get a Level 1 Kit of your choice FREE ($9.95 value), but you'll also get the April Stamp of the Month FREE ($22.95). That's about $33 worth of FREE stuff. That deserves another YOWZA!

Ok, so I mentioned some of the great campaigns for April, but here they are outlined for you:

. The April Stamp of the Month looks like this (remember, the actual size of the carrier sheet is 6" x 6"):
My good friend Karen Pedersen has created some Mau-velous cards featuring this stamp set using the color combo of Chocolate, Cotton Candy, Pear and White Daisy. They are just beautiful and I'll show you a few of them throughout the month with the details on how to make them. Now, let me tell you how you can get this set at a discounted price...or even for FREE!

* earn it FREE when you spend $100 or more (before shipping and tax)
* earn it for 75% off ($5.74) when you spend $75 or more (before shipping and tax)
* earn it for 50% off ($11.74) when you spend $50 or more (before shipping and tax)
* earn it for 25% off ($17.21) when you spend $25 or more (before shipping and tax)
* purchase it for full retail price ($22.95)

You'll notice in #2 below that special hinges on spending $100 as well. When you spend $100 in April you not only get the Stamp of the Month ($22.95 value) FREE, but you also get a Level 1 Kit ($9.95 value) FREE. That is a total of $32.90 FREE when you spend $100 on my website in April. So what are you waiting for? Start shopping!

2. April's "Lovin' Level 1" Special: During April, when you place an order of $100 on my website, you’ll receive one My Reflections^® Level 1 kit ($9.95 value) of your choice FREE. Choose from several popular Level 1 kits. You’ll also qualify for a free April Stamp of the Month ($22.95 value) set! Now that’s a deal. Start shopping on my website here.

3. April's "Sparkle with Studio J" Special: This April, it’s time to let your Studio J^®layouts shine with this exclusive, members-only campaign! Studio J members get free bling when they buy 10 layouts this month. Bling it up and bling it on with FREE packages (one of each) self-adhesive Sparkles and Opaques Pearl gems! Click here to start with Studio J.

4. Hope For Japan: This is a special stamp set designed just for Japan and the current crisis. 100% of proceeds go to the American Red Cross to assist with their efforts in Japan. I don't make any commission on this set and it's important to me that you know that. I think this is a great way to help do a little to help a lot! This set is available until April 30th and you can buy as many as you want. They'd make great gifts, wouldn't they? My set just arrived yesterday and I can't wait to get started on some great art. It makes me feel good knowing I'm doing my part.

How's that for a fun-filled, jam-packed, truer-than-true, no foolin' post for April Fool's Day?


Warm wishes,

Happy April Fool's Day!

The joke is, apparently, on us.

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Last Round

This first layout today, is a pattern that is exclusive to Studio J members. In addition to patterns, there are also paper kits exclusive to Studio J Members. Then on top of that there are Studio Paper kits that are not available in traditional paper kits. Still with me?

Fantastic! This layout was super easy! I changed the chocolate base from a Colonial White one, but all the other elements are the same as what was suggested. It took me about 20 minutes from starting up the computer to adding this to my shopping cart!

Yay! The final page! This one illustrates the toggle effect. When you select a kit it will have some basic embellishments suggested for you. If you don't like what they suggest, you can simply turn them "off" by toggling the switch located under "Embellishments" on the left tool bar. If you have the gray showing of an uncolored embellishment, it will print that way (you get a warning at checkout), but if you toggle them off they disappear as if they were never there. If you change your mind you can toggle them back on. For this layout, I actually put ribbons in the same general places, but the original one on the left page went right across Aidan's face. You can't simply move one that is one of the originals, so I toggled off and added my own. Then I changed the ribbons on the right side to match. Perfect!

Warm wishes,