I Love these cards!

My Molly was home sick yesterday but she kept busy by working on her book report project. While she was busy with that I was able to sit down and create the cards for my March Kit of the Month Card CLub. I love this stamp set and I love how these cards turned out! The set I used is called Bunny Love. The is is such a fun set. I enjoyed using my blending pen and ink pads to color in the adorable bunnies. I used the new Creative Basics paper pack. The vineyard berry ribbon this paper pack comes with is to die for! I like that it is a little thinner than ribbon my club members have used in the past. The participants of this class will create 3 of each design. Forgive me that this photo is sideways. I am, once again, having difficulty. The photo is right side up when I upload it but for some reason it gets rotated during the upload process. Not exactly sure why! I will have the cards posted under "my art" on my website so you can view them there, as well.

When I showed my club members the cards last night they, too, loved them. It always makes me happy when my members like the projects and show excitement in creating them. My goal is to please and provide the best creations and customer service possible.

If you are interested in creating these cards, you are most welcome to join the March class. All the details are below. Feel free to contact me to register today! I hope to hear from you soon! Kits to go are avialable for this class so if you live out of town you can still purchase the kit to go!

Here is the kit details. The class will take place on Tuesday, March 24th 6:30-8:30 p.m.

MARCH KIT OF THE MONTH-CARD CLUB KIT
Basic Kit: $36.05
#X5806 Creative Basics: $8.95
#3174 Blending Pen: $3.95
#Z1284 Winter Buttons: $7.50
#Z1142 Brown Staz-On Pad: $9.95
1 sheet of Chocolate Cardstock, 3 metal rimmed tags, 3 foam dots

Add-On Options:
#Z1104 Clear Sparkles: $2.95
#Z1088 Chocolate Waxy flax: $3.95
#Z2117 Crystal Blue Ink Pad: $5.25
#Z2157 Vineyard Berry Ink Pad: $5.25
#Z2153Sweet Leaf Ink Pad: $5.25
#Z2111 Chocolate e Ink Pad: $5.25
March Stamp of the Month: Butterfly Wings : DISCOUNTED!

I

THANK YOU COLUMBIA! THANK YOU KIM!

Happy Tuesday Everyone!

Do you know that today is National Pancake Day? It sure is and the McGrew family will be celelbrating by making and eating pancakes for dinner tonight!

As you know, I was in Columbia, SC this past weekend working at the StampScrapArts Festival. I wanted to thank all of you who stopped by my booth. It was a pleasure to meet and get to know you all! I look forward to helping you with all your stamping and scrapbooking needs in the future. Please never hesitate to contact me with questions. I am always here to help and I hope you will take advantage of my workshops and clubs or perhaps you would like to host a gathering!

For all you gals who joined my calendar or kit of the month clubs-I will be contacting you in the very near future. I am so excited that you have treated yourself to these monthly kits. You are going to love them! I look forward to teaching you new techniques in the months ahead!

CONTEST!!!!!! For all you ladies who came to visit my booth in Colummbia last weekend, please share in the comments below what your favorite CTMH product is. I will randomly pick a winner early next week. The winner will receive a free gift from me in the mail!

The weekend was an amazing success and I could not have done it without the help of my dear friend, Kim Auster. Kim, thank you, thank you, thank you!!!!! Your helping hands, your company, your love of CTMH and most of all your friendship means the world to me.

I have been asked many, many times, what do I love most about my job. Well, it is the friendships I make thorugh CTMH that mean the most to me. I met Kim about 2 years ago at a gathering another gal here in Charleston had hosted. Kim and I seemed to click right away. In fact, Kim was my very first true friend down here in charleston. I had a hard time adjusting to this move and once I met Kim things began to fall into place. Kim is a beautiful person on the outside, but more importantly, she is beautiful on the inside. Kim is always willing to give of herself to help others. She is an amazing mother, friend and wife. Kim and I don't get together as much as we would like to because we are both busy with life but when we are together it is always a great time. I am truly blessed to have Kim in my life. I thank God daily for blessing me with Kim's friendship.

Exciting Times at the McGrew Home!

Last Thursday was a very exciting day for my Payton Marie. She lost her first tooth! She came running off the bus all excited to share her news with me! She pulled her tooth out at school and her teacher gave her this cute "tooth" necklace to keep it in. Payton was beyond excited! This particular tooth has been loose since the day after Thanksgiving so she was more than ready to have it finally fall out!

The funny thing is...she really did "loose" this tooth. She was so excited and she continually opened the tooth necklace to look at it. So she was opening and closing it the whole way home from school on the bus. I noticed her doing it as we walked home from the bus stop. I suggested, to her, that she keep it closed to prevent her from dropping it and loosing it.

Well, we got into the house and of course I wanted to take pictures. She said she had to use the bathroom first. While in the bathroom she opend the necklace and...the tooth fell into the toilet and she flushed before she realized her tooth had fallen! Oh! She was so distraught! Talk about a tragedy for a 6 year old! Tucker, Molly and I confronted her and encouraged her to just write the tooth fairy a letter explaining what had happened. Payton eventually calmed down and did write a cute letter and colored a picture for the tooth fairy!

It's funny-I, too, got all excited when Tucker and Molly lost their first tooth. I have to be honest and share with you that I was actually sad when Payton lost hers. Payton is my baby and loosing her first tooth is another sign that she is growing up. Time goes by much too quickly. I am really trying to enjoy each day with my children and cherish the memories we create via scrapbooks so that I can revisit these special times over and over again...even as my babies grow up. I love that I scrapbook and perserve not only our special events , but the day-to-day happenings, as well!

Tucker also had an exciting experince last week. He had been working super hard preparing for his audition into Rowlings School of the Arts. He began preparing last summer. He had his paino audition in January and last week he recieved his acceptance letter! Out of 109 students auditioning only 24 were accepted. This is a huge accomplishment for Tucker and the entire family is so very proud of him! Tucker will attend Rowlings School of the Arts for 6th, 7th and 8th grade. He will recieve extra instruction in piano each school day. It is going to be an amazing exoerience for Tucker. He is thrilled to accepted into this wonderful school. WAY TO GO TUCKER!!!!!! Feel free to post Tucker a congratulations note in the "comments" section on this blog. Tucker would be thrilled!

I will certainly create a scrapbook layout highlighting Tucker and this amazing accomplishment!

I encourage you all to create a scrapbook layout today!

SMiles,

Amy

COME SEE ME AT THE STAMP SCRAP ART TOUR!

Ladies, I am leaving in the morning for the StampScrapArtTour in Columbia, SC. I will have a Close To My Heart booth at this event. There will be lots of product to purchase and several very affordable create & take projects to make on both days.
The show hours are Saturday, Feb. 21st 10-5:00 and sunday, Feb. 22nd 10-3:00.
The show is being held at the Jamil Temple Hall. The address is 206 Jamil Road.
Hope to see you there!

SMiles,
Amy

I love Acrylic Albums!

For Valentine's Day I made my husband this acrylic album highlighting the trip he took me on last year to Colorado in honor of my 40th birthday. What an aweseom trip it was! And I was thrilled with how the acrylic album turned out. I have to admit that I was not the original creator of the album. I pretty much followed the instructions from the holiday theme album we created at the CTMH convention last summer. I used the "Notebook " paper pack (LOVE THIS PAPER!) and embellishend with rub-on's (my customers say the Close To My Heart rub-on's are the easiest and best to use!), ribbon and sparkles. You can visit my website (http://www.amy.myctmh.com/) to view more photos of this album

If you love this album and would like to create on for a loved one, friend or even yourself then sign up for my workshop! All the details are below! This workshop is available as a "Kit to Go" too! Feel free to contact me for more details!

At this workshop you will decorate all the pages in this see-through fun scrapbook! The rounded page tabs and specially shaped die-cut pages offer limitless creativity.
Date: Monday, March 23rd 9:30 a.m.-12:30 OR Wednesday, March 25th 6:30-9:30 p.m.
Location: Amy’s House
Supply Fee: $35.00
Supply Fee Covers: Notebook Level 2 Paper Pack
Acrylic Album
Small embellishment Assortment
Add-On Options:
Hollyhock Designer Ribbon Rounds ($7.95)
Crème Brulee designer Ribbon Rounds ($7.95)


Nature’s Ambiance Rub-On’s ($9.95)
Love letters Rub-On’s ($9.95)
Love Story Rub-On’s ($9.95)
Sparkles ($2.95)
*When you add options to your basic supply fee you will qualify to purchase the Stamp of the Month at a discounted price or earn it FREE!

ANOTHER CONTEST!!!!!

Last Thursday evening I held a "Celebration" theme gathering at my home. Fun was had by all. The gals in attendance were great participants as we played, laughed, joked, learned new tips and tecniques and created this cute paper wallet. We used the new Day Dream paper pack to maek it.

I know a handful of you wanted to attend the gathering but had conflicts that evening. No worries-I am planning to host another gathering sometime in March. Hopefully you will be able to attend that event and join us in making a very cool (and FREE!) project!

Here are photos of the paper wallet the gals made on Thursday evening. I taught how to use "liquid applique." This is a very fun embellishment that makes the cupcake look like it is covered with coconut. The photo does not do justice. It is really very cute and oh so easy! Liquid applique can be used for so many different things.

If you have used it in the past please share how you used it or if you know of a cool way to use it to enhance a project please share in the comments section. I will pick one random winner to receive a FREE tube of liquid applique early next week.

I look forward to hearing all your ideas!

(Sorry that this photo is sideways-I have tried over and over to rotate it but even when I rotate it-it still comes up on the Blog as sideways! Hopefully you still can get the idea of how cute this paper wallet is!)

I'm back!

Greetings Everyone!

Sorry for the delay in posting this past week. I was preparing for the 1/2 marathon up in Myrtle Beach. My family and I drove to Myrtle Beach on Friday afternoon. I competed in the 1/2 marathon on Saturday and Stan did the 30 mile bike ride on Sunday. It was a great weekend for the entire family. The kids were troopers-getting up WAY TOO EARLY both days and cheering for both Stan and I. This was my first 1/2 marathon and Stan's first bike race. We loved every minute of it and will certainly do more in the future.

After the race on Saturday we went back to the hotel and got cleaned up (and rested a bit!) and then we had our family Valentine's Day celebration. We went out for lunch and then saw a very cute movie, "Hotel For Dogs." It is a perfect movie to take your young children to. We all enjoyed it.

Valentine's Day is one of my favorite holidays. I love cards, I love creating cards and I love to surprise those I love with small little sentiments that show how much they mean to me. I have added some photos of our weekend here for you. Enjoy!

NEW! Technique Club Forming

Would you like to learn some fabulous stamping techniques all while creating a wonderful 6 x 6 handbook that you can refer to over and over again? Well, I have the club just for YOU!

Be sure to stop in and visit my blog later this week for all the details! Here is a sneak peak at the techniques and layouts you will be creating for your handbook at the first club meeting!

I will be sharing the details at the Anniversary Bash I am hosting at my home on Thursday night from 6:30-8:30. If you are local and would like to join in on the fun, please LMK NOW! I still have room for you!

Make ia a wonderful day!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

Today is my husband's birthday. Those who know Stan, post a birthday comment here on my blog and I will be sure he reads it! We actually celebrated on Saturday because Mondays are always busy with work, school and after school activities.

Like me, Stan loves Almond M&M's. Molly gave Stan a big bag on Almond M&M's in honor of his special day. Stan was thrilled!

I thank God on this special day (and every day) for blessing me with Stan. I am so grateful he was born and so lucky to have Stan as my husband.

Happy Birthday Stan! Hope your day was as special as you are to me, Tucker, Molly and Payton!

We love you!

Greetings!

As I promised last night, I am sharing some of the artwork I did yesterday using the Febraury special Close To My Heart if offering all month long. I shared with you the other day that Close To My Heart is celebrating it's 25th anniversary! In honor of this special event, CTHM is giving us all a gift! When you purchase $25 in stamps CTMH will send you this fun stamp set "Good Times" absolutely FREE! I have had so much fun creating with these images. They are a must for every occasion! Cupcakes are all the rage right now-the cupcake image can be used for so many different things. All the sentiment images that come in the set can be used for ,not only birthdays, but anniversaries, graduations ,new job, new home-the list goes on and on! The balloon, star and present images can also be used for a wide varity of events. I think you all will want to own your own set! Feel free to contact me if you would like to own your own!

Several of the projects I am sharing with you were inspired by my good friend and fellow consultant, Karen Pederson. enjoy!

BELIEVE

I read this quote in a Donna Downey newsletter and LOVE it! I spent a good part of today creating artwork using the "Good Times" stmap set that you all can get for FREE this month (i has so much fun!). I will be shairng the artwork with you tomorrow so be sure to come back and take a peak!

Hope you enjoy this quote as much as I do!

"believe in your creative potential, enjoy the creative process, try something new, explore new possibilities, but most of all believe."

February Stamp of the Month

Here you will see the February Stamp of the Month. This set can be used for so many things, other than Easter Eggs! The eggs transform into the perfect flower petals! They can be used as balloons, too!

This set is available until february 28th. You can purchase it for $22.95 (plus shipping and tax) or you can earn a discount- place a $25 order and receive 25% off the Stamp of the Month, place a $50 order and receive a 50% discount, place a $75 order and receive a 75% discount or place a $100 order and receive the stamp set ABSOLUTELY FREE!

I love free things, don't you...

Greetings!

I am so excited for February! Close To My Heart is celebrating their 25th anniversary and they are giving away presents!!!!!!

Is this not the cutest stamp set featured in these art projects? If you order $25 in stamps Close To My Heart will send you this adorable "Good Times" stamp set absolutely FREE! It is their way of saying thanks for celebrating with CTMH!

You can place your qualifying order on my website (http://www.amy.myctmh.com/), you can email me your order or give me a call. It is that easy!

If you live in the Charleston area I would like to invite you to a celebration party I am having in honor of the 25th anniversary. The details are below. I hope you can join in the fun!

SMiles,

Amy

COME PARTY WITH ME!
When: WEDNESDAY, Feb.11th
9:30-11:30 a.m.
OR
THURSDAY, Feb. 12th
6:30-8:30 p.m.
For: A CLOSE TO MY HEART’
25th ANNIVERSARY BASH!
R.S.V.P: 207-8698 or stamperamy@earthlionk.net
*R.S.V.P On/before Feb. 9th*
Join me in celebrating the 25th anniversary of CTMH!
The theme is “BIRTHDAY” so come ready to celebrate.
We will:
*take a look at some of the new product in the awesome Spring 2009 Idea Book
*create a very COOL project (it’s FREE!)
*earn tickets to a grand prize
*view samples of upcoming workshops & clubs
*eat yummy treats
IT IS GOING TO BE A GREAT GIRL’S MORNING/NIGHT OUT!
Earn tickets By:
*R.S.V.P for party by the date mentioned above
(R.s.v.p on/before Feb. 5th and earn 2 tickets)
*Bring a friend to the party
(bring 2 friends I do not already know and earn 5 tickets!)
*Wear a party hat to the party
*Arrive 5 minutes early to the party
*place an order at the party
*schedule a gathering at the party- 20 TICKETS!
*sign up for a workshop at the party (must pay registration fee)
*join a club at the party
*tickets can be earned for every $25 you purchase and/or order
RECEIVE PRIZES IF:
*you are 25 years old
*you have been married for 25 years
*you bring a wish list with 25 CTMH products on it
*you bring an outside order of $25 or more (from another person unable to attend the party)
*THERE WILL BE A FREE GIFT FOR EVERYONE IF 15 PEOPLE ATTNED EACH PARTY!!!!!
(15 at the morning session and 15 at the evening session)

And the winner is....

It was so much fun reading about your cupcake test results, your recipes and your decorating ideas! Thank you for sharing! Be sure to continue visiting my blog, as there will be more prizes to be won in the future!

I neglected to set our alarm last night so we woke up this morning and had to rush to get to the bus stop on time. Thus, we had to wait until after school to draw a winner of the Cupcake Sprinkles Stamp Set. My son, Tucker, was the one to pick a name from the bowl.

And the winner is... KERRY LOEHRKE!!!!!! Congratulations Kerry! I will order your free stamp set tomorrow morning!

Enjoy the photos of the "winning moment!"

SMiles,

Amy