Monday, March 31, 2014

April Stamp of the Month Blog Hop - Balloon Talk

Welcome to our monthly
Stamp of the Month Blog Hop!

April Blog Hop 500

Today we will be featuring April’s Stamp of the Month (SOTM), which is called “Balloon Talk”.  

Take a peek!! J

 
2014-4 April SOTM
If you have come here from Judy Burger’s Blog 
you are on the right track! J

The blog hop is a great big circle, so you can start here and work your way all around. If you get lost along the way, you’ll find the complete list of participating consultants here HERE


This month we have over
 50 Close To My Heart Consultants sharing their creations using this Balloon Talk stamp set!!
So, sit back and enjoy your tour as you click on the link at the end of the post to see what EACH Consultant has created!!

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How-to_Wishes_9041When I thought about creating with this stamp set - I was a bit challenged.  This stamp set is PERFECT for scrapbooking, but I decided I will make a card and chose to be inspired from CTMH’s Wishes How-to-book. 
It had been a while since I used this how-to book and I was excited to see so many familiar images as I looked through the patterns.
I chose to use the “Collage” pattern on pg. 97 of the Wishes book.
.  
Here is the card… 

april 2014 SOTM_Balloon Talk card DSC_0687
I chose to create a background with the fun words in this set. By pairing together the ink colors of cotton candy, blush, whisper & juniper, it allowed me to bring a bit of color into this card design. J

 
Can you guess what paper packs I used in my creating??
April 2014 SOTM_balloon talk_card_close up DSC_0688
I put together our Lollydoodle & some of the Timberline papers to create my own color scheme.   

I enjoy challenging myself to use a variety of paper packs in my creations!!
I LOVE the new embossing folders that CTMH has…and I needed a subtle background.  I really liked how the embossed dots turned out on this card design & I hope you enjoy it too!!


Here is a list of items used on this card…
9041                Wishes How-to book
S1404                Balloon Talk
X7183B              Lollydoodle paper
X7182B              Timberline paper
Cardstocks:         Juniper & Whisper
Z1924                Dot Embossing Folder
Z1978                Rhinestone Charms 
Z1922                Pink Glitter Paper                    
Z1753                Pink Glitter Sparkles
Z1921                Metallic Bakers Twine
Z1151                 3D Foam Tape
Inks used:           Whisper, Cotton Candy, Blush, Juniper




Now head on over to Michelle Jones' Blog  to see what she has created using this stamp set!  


Be sure to visit ALL the Consultants at their Blogs to get some great crafting ideas and other fun ideas!



****Remember, the April SOTM
~ Balloon Talk ~
is only available until April 30th! J


Contact your CTMH Consultant (or click here if you need a consultant J) to see how you can get this EXCLUSIVE stamp for ONLY $5!!!  



Blessings to you for a WONDERFUL day!!!
Krista J

Wednesday, March 26, 2014

Costa Rica with Close To My Heart

DSC_0471What an AMAZING trip!  A relaxing, rejuvenating time for my husband & I.  We are so thankful this opportunity that CTMH allows us to earn and a HUGE thank you that support me through CTMH!!! 


I am so grateful & so blessed by your continued support!! Thank you!!!

Come join me as I share a peek into our Costa Rica Trip of 2014!J


One of the highlights of the trip…we receive gifts each day!  Talk about being pampered! LOL!!!  What FUN!!! 

The packages were tied with ribbons & they all included a poem that gave you a hint of what was inside.  I looked forward to reading these poems each night! 
Costa Rica_daily gifts

The Westin Playa Conchal resort was beautiful!  There were so many flowers, animals, birds, landscaping that allowed us to just relax and enjoy.
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Our room was fabulous…we could have stayed in there the whole time!  With our sitting area, dining area, bedroom & bath - we really felt extra special with the royal treatment!! 

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We HAD TO use our dining room table, so we called room service quite often.  We loved that we could receive a plate of fresh fruit anytime of the day or night!


Of course there were many restaurants to choose from too!!  We didn't get to all the restaurants…but the Bamboo, Asian restaurant, was our favorite! 
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We had access to the public beach, right from the resort! 
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There were vendors to “greet” us J as we walked onto the beach, massages on the beach for ONLY $20 (we opted to pass this time)…but if we ventured a bit farther away, we were in our own little world.


Most of the resort attendees, liked to be by the beautiful pool…Westin_Piscina2

however, we ended up being at the beach instead of the pool the entire week! 
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Whether we were at the beach during the afternoon, evening or early morning- we always enjoyed hearing the crashing of waves, the gurgling of water, the shells rubbing together in the tide - we enjoyed being surrounded by God’s creation and realizing once again what an AWESOME, MIGHTY, CREATIVE God we serve!


We choose to go on a few excursions, outside of the resort, throughout our week in Costa Rica.J

Our 1st trip was the Palo Verde tour - a boat ride to see the famous crocodiles, birds, iguanas, etc. 
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I was THRILLED we also got to see macaw’s in the wild!!!  Beautiful!
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On another day, we went on the Mega Combo tour…this was my favorite excursion out of the 2 we did.

The day ran from 8:30-5:30 and it included: Zip lining, horseback riding, 400 m. waterslide (4 football fields long!) lunch, volcanic mud bath & natural hot springs.  
WOW!!J

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Here is a group picture of all 68 Incentive Trip Earners & 
the CTMH executive team!!
Costa Rica Earners

THANK YOU Close To My Heart for having this incentive trip available for us as consultants to earn!!  I have been to so many places in this world, that I never imagined I would go!  

I am so thankful & blessed and give Jesus the praise for allowing me to earn these trips!  My daily prayer is that I would continue to use the gifts he has given me to serve Him in all that I do!  J

Blessings to EACH of you!
Krista J
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Thursday, March 20, 2014

Emboss It Blog Hop

 Welcome to our 

Close To My Heart Emboss It

Blog Hop!


Embossing Folders_8.95_PicMonkey Collage



This month we are highlighting the
NEW 5x7
Embossing folders
from Close To My Heart!!



 
If you have come here from
 Pam’s Blog , you are on the right path! 







Emboss It 500The blog hop is a great big circle, so you can start here and work your way all around. If you get lost along the way, you’ll find the complete list of participating consultants HERE.


Its super simple to hop along with us - just click on the link at the end of each blog post to move to the next one!

Here we go! J
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I am REALLY enjoying the NEW Skylark paper pack, and used that paper collection with my creation today!
Skylark_flip calendar_karen morris swap DSC_2164
I am AMAZED at our new 5x7 Embossing Folders
and how much detail they can add to a creation, with just a touch!! 

I am creating pages that will fit on our Flip Album stand.  This stand can be used for so many creations!


The thing I love the most about
Close To My Heart’s Embossing Folders, is that they come in the LARGER 5x7 size AND what’s even better….


you can emboss up to  a 4” x 12” piece of cardstock!!  A perfect length to add to any scrapbook page, or add to your card creations!  Yay for possibilities!!

Take a peek at a few close-ups…See the detail that the dot embossing folder brings to this page!
Skylark_flip calendar_close up embossing DSC_2164
I’ve had some fun adding charms to my papercraft creations.  Here I used the rhinestone charm, but you can use these fun accents in a variety of ways!


I also am enjoying using the NEW white marquee shapes!  Incorporate these shapes with some baker’s twine, washi tape & shimmer trim - and you have some beautiful additions to make your creation shine! J
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CLICK HERE to see another way I used charms in a non-jewelry way!  Imagine the possibilities!

Products used for 6x 5 3/4” flip album page
B1439 - Dreamer stamp set
X7177C - Skylark paper
1388- Colonial White Cardstock
1301 - Bamboo Cardstock
Z1924 - Dot 5x7 Embossing Folder
Z1790 Artbooking Cricut Bundle
pg. 47- 2” overlay (cut in half)
base-and-bling-items_2014p. 73- 4” photo mat 2
 z1850 - Lagoon Houndstooth Washi Tape
Z1930- Woodgrain Washi Tape
Z1921- Metallic Baker’s Twine
Z1918 - Teal Shimmer Trim
Z1961 - White Marquee Enamel Shapes
Cricut-ArtbookingBundleZ1978 - Rhinestone Charms
Z1851 - Scallop Border Punch
Inks used:  Lagoon & Desert Sand







I hope you enjoyed this brief peek at one way you can use the FABULOUS NEW 5x7 Embossing Folders!!


 
Now "Hop" on over to  Pamela Ellison’s Blog   to see her AMAZING work!  Be sure to visit all the Consultants in the Hop to get some great crafting ideas! 



Thanks for stopping by & be sure to come back to my blog each week to see MORE creations using CTMH’s beautiful product!!



Blessings to you for a wonderful day!!!

Krista J