New Zealand - CTMH Incentive Trip!

WOW!! Not even sure where to begin when describing the wonderful trip to New Zealand, courtesy of Close to My Heart! I'm still working through organizing the zillions of photos I took in only 1 week. It's truly amazing how much we were able to see and do in the span of 1 week!

Breathtaking...approaching Mt Cook, absolutely amazing scenery...can you believe the water?

Milford Sound - so many beautiful waterfalls and we went right up to them...amazing!

Milford Sound

Looking over Queenstown

Punting on the Avon in Christchurch

CTMH Teacher Gifts - School Days

These were the gifts we gave our boys teachers for Christmas. Trey & Caden both have the same Pre-K teachers (Trey in the morning and Caden in the afternoon). Short of handing them large stacks of money to show them our appreciation...I wanted to be able to give them something to express to them how very much we appreciate their patience with our boys (who are lovely angels in pictures...but 3D can be a bit much at times).

I used the retired Close to My Heart School Days levels 1 and 2 paper packs for these projects. The 9x9 accordian album fits nicely in the Memory Keeper box, and the bucket (especially with all the fun ribbons) and post-it note holder all complement each other.

I enjoyed working with this paper pack...was so excited to receive them in some of my goody boxes that were offered last year...expecially with the boys just starting school!!!

CTMH Studio J - California Beaches

The beaches in California are so pretty...however, coming from the Texas heat in June...we were not quite prepared for the "chilly" weather when we got to California! I always picture the sun and beaches when I think of California...so was surprised when we found that we needed sweaters...and ooooooh, was the water cold! But did that stop us...heck no, we didn't drive all that way for a family vacation to not enjoy the beaches! As you can see...the kids were a bit braver about the water than I was (I just don't do cold!) ;0)

These are also Studio J layouts...I was able to create them as one of the beta testers for the software, so I played with a lot of the different paper packs so I could test them out! What a great job to have! It was such fun creating these layouts and I loved being among the first people to check out Studio J! You won't want to miss it...it's going live in March for our customers (and Consultants have access now!!)

CTMH Studio J - More California Adventures

I'm almost done with our California Album...just some final layouts I need to sit down and finish up...it was such a fun trip and as we normally do on vacations, we crammed tons of stuff and zillions of photos into that week. Here are some additional layouts created in Studio J. Once this album is done, it'll be time to organize all our New Zealand photos and start working on that album! I can't wait for all my friends and family to have access to Studio J...it makes scrapbooking so fast and easy...even for those who've never considered themselves a "Scrapbooker"! Stay tuned...it's tentatively scheduled to be released to customers at the end of March! It was just released this week to ALL Close to My Heart Consultants...yeah!

Legoland was AWESOME!!! The boys so want to go back again...we only had time to explore one small area of the "cities" built from legos...so of course we spent our time in Las Vegas! ;0)

I love this layout...the boys were so super excited about all the Cactus on our drive...so when we stopped to get gas and they saw this big cactus, they ran right up and touched it...ouch!! So funny...some lessons must be learned first-hand! ;0)

CTMH Studio J - Disneyland

Last June we enjoyed a fabulous family vacation to Disneyland! We all had a great time and the boys were at a great age to truly have a blast and enjoy the excitement of the characters, rides, and snacks (I guess we are all at the right age for that!)

I love that I was able to create these layouts so quickly in Close to My Hearts Studio J online studio! It was so quick, easy and fun!

Veranda, Close to My Hearts NEW Spring Paper

Oh this new paper pack is so beautiful! I was delighted at the Close to My Heart Advisory Board retreat in September to be able to play with this collection "ahead of schedule"...and am so happy to be able to share it with all of you...isn't it gorgeous!

Featuring Creme Brulee, Cocoa, Garden Green and Juniper, this paper collection has a spring feel but with the versatility to use in so many projects, cards and scrapbook pages!

To embellish this collection, add some of our new Just Blooms Spring Blossom Paper Flowers (Z1266) and our new Filigree Charms (Z1269).

Happy New Year!!

Welcome 2010!!! It's so exciting to be starting a new year...so full of possibilities and opportunities! I'm not big on New Years resolutions...but I am big on Goals! So it's time to map out my goals for 2010...and always at the top of my list is to GET ORGANIZED!!!

So I'll be spending the next few days organizing my crafting supplies, business papers, and family calendar! Oh...and then it's time for taxes! ;0) But this post is about the fun and excitement of the new year!

High on my list is the release of our BRAND NEW Spring 2010 Idea Book and all the fabulous new products released by Close to My Heart.

In just about a week, we'll be boarding a plane to New Zealand, courtesy of Close to My Heart and the support of all my fabulous customers! I'm looking forward to using our new Studio J online scrapbooking to complete my New Zealand album...can't wait to share.

Then there's the excitement (and nailbiting) that goes with my daughter turning 16 and getting her drivers license!

And all those things are just in the first few months of 2010...yup, it's looking to be one EXCITING New Year! I hope it's absolutely a fabulous year for you!!