My Brothers Surprise

I have an older brother that totally surprised me this Christmas. He built me this beautiful cabinet with antique glass, wrought iron hardware and warm wood tones. He built it to store my quilts and my scrapbook albums ~ my 2 favorite hobbies.

Rich does things in a very quiet way. Last winter while my parents were in Florida he rebuilt their fireplace, added a beautiful handmade mantle and built an entertainment cabinet, repainted both their family room and their bathroom, just because he wanted to. Also he has spent a week at my sisters home in Michigan, painting and doing repairs ~ just because. He does this from the kindness of his heart, not for any other reason.

Rich, I will always treasure this wonderful gift from you.

stamping hugs,

Too Cute!

Natalie loved her new sweater! She opened the package and pulled it out of the box and said "COAT". Brian put it on over her p.j.'s and she didn't want to take it off. It is big, but better big than small.

Now I can scrapbook the pictures - so much fun all around!

stamping hugs,

Knit with love

Several months ago while camping, Mindy, Michelle and I found this cute knitting store in Galena, IL. Mindy thought this sweater would be so cute on Natalie, so I bought all of the supplies and knitted this sweater. Yesterday I finished the knitting and sewed the seams together. Then it was time for the buttons and since the weather was really quite messy out, I looked thru my antique button collection and found 6 matching Mother-of-Pearl buttons that were just the right size. The sweater is all wrapped and under the tree for my special little granddaughter. Can't wait to see her open it and scrapbook the pages of her wearing it!

Merry Christmas to each and every one of you and your families.

stamping hugs,

Moving

Monday, Don and I moved his 83 year old mother to a Retirement Home. This was a very hard decision for her ~ to let go of her home of the last 13 years, and the last place that she lived with dad. This was hard on Don and I since there are no siblings to help with the decisions, plans, and to convince her that this was the best. She had been fighting this move for the last couple of years, but with her declining health we couldn't leave her alone any longer. Now that she is moved in and has spent a full day there, she told us last night that she thinks it will be o.k. We appreciate all of the people at the home that have welcomed her, showed her around, taken her to dinner, and we feel at peace knowing that she is safe.

So, no artwork today, but now you know why.

stamping hugs,

Another Studio J

I can't help but post another Studio J layout! This is the second post for today, so make sure you scroll down and see the other layout.

Now you know who helps me pack up your orders!

stamping hugs,

Studio J

I am so excited to share with you my first layout created with Studio J! What fun I had designing this layout using pictures from Michelle and Jon's Engagement Dinner. Now, I love classic scrapbooking with all of my papers and embellishments, and I will never stop creating the classic way, but this is a great addition to my scrapbooking. One bonus about Studio J is that I can order more than one copy of a layout to share with others who would like to have this layout in their scrapbook.

Watch for Studio J to become available for you to play with in March. There is nothing to download to your computer, no sign up or fee to pay. The only charge is when you purchase your finished layout.

Are you interested in playing with Studio J in January? Sign up today to become a CTMH consultant and not only do you get to play with Studio J in January, you get a discount on all of your orders!

Email me with any questions that you may have.

stamping hugs,

My WHY

Why do I love Close To My Heart? Because of the people!

Not too long ago I had a garage sale to clean out some "stuff" that Michelle had decided that she didn't need anymore now that she was married. This is the first garage sale that I have had in over 17 years, usually we just bring everything to the local Thrift store. On one table I placed some of my retired wood stamps that I had been hanging on to for a long time. A nice lady stopped by and kept looking at the stamps. Her daughter lived out of state, but loved to stamp. She couldn't decide which stamps to purchase so I offered her ALL of them. We packed them up in a box and I could tell how pleased that she was. The other day I received this beautiful card in the mail from the daughter, and not only the hand made card, but also her beautiful words made my day.

Thank you Jen for making my day and thank you CTMH for introducing me to the greatest people!

Make someones day special and mail them a card :)

stamping hugs,

Let It Snow!

What fun I had today watching it snow outside and coloring snowmen in the house! (These little guys were hard to photograph, so you may have to click on the picture to see a better view.)

I made 18 snowman refridgerator magnets for a church group function for this coming Friday. The magnets are round favor tins found in the bridal section of many craft stores.

*I stamped snowflakes on a 2" white circle and adhered the circle to the inside back of the tin.

*The snowman is from the stamp set Magical Season and he is watercolored, cut out and adhered with foam tape to the circle.

*I added a tablespoon of glitter to the tin.

*The clear top stays in place with an adhesive strip of paper stamped with snowflakes. The adhesive paper strips are included with the tins.


~I love snow and even if you don't see snow outside your windows where you live, you can have a snowman in your house!~

stamping hugs,

Gratitude

I love the set that I used on this card - Gratitude.
Gratitude is such a great word and expresses my thoughts for my family and friends. As I leave for church this morning, I will continue to think of this special word.

This card is one of the cards that was made this month in my stamping workshop. The picture doesn't show how cute this card really is with it's layered ribbon and raised up flowers.

Enjoy your day and think of the word gratitude.

stamping hugs,

Holiday Heyday Clearance Sale

Holiday Heyday Clearance Sale ~ Save 50-80%

This amazing sale starts Tues, Dec 2nd and continues through Dec. 17th or while supplies last!

My Acrylix stamp sets from $2!

Paper packets from $5!
Grab bags, worth $100 in retail – ONLY $30!!!
Get your amazing deals from my website TODAY!!!!
Only available on my website ~ http://stampingjoy.myctmh.com/