John Deere Floor Puzzle

Here is a cute gift that I made for Brayden for Christmas (it was supposed to be wrapped and under the Christmas tree but I just finished it today).  I used our My Creations Memory Box for this project.  It is the box with a magnetic closure and it has 24 - 3"x3" chipboard squares inside.

I used the Creme' Brulee' B&T from the Elemental Level 2 paper packet along with Black and Desert Sand cardstock.

In our family, John Deere is #1!  Dean has worked for our Texas/Oklahoma industrial John Deere dealership for 27 years so we are "eat up with John Deere!"  Our kids and grandson learned at an early age that "John Deere is #1".  That is the saying around our house, so that is what I decided to put on the lid of Brayden's John Deere Puzzle. 

I used embellishments from the Black Mini Medley and the Pewter Mini Medley assortments.  I used the Vintage Type stamp set and the Blue Ribbon stamp set.  My mom gave me the cute twine that I tied around the lid (it was in my stocking). 

Side one of the floor puzzle is a backhoe that Brayden, Connor and Dean drove a year ago in September.  They dug a big hole with it; stood in it; and then covered it back up.  Brayden and Connor each took turns with the controls!

Side two is a photo of them sitting on an Articulated Dump Truck.  They didn't get to drive it but had a fun

time climbing on it.

To help Brayden out a little, I stamped a "1" on the side one pieces and a "2" on side two pieces.  I used StazOn ink and the Countdown stamp set.

Wishing You a Very Happy Holiday Card

This 4 1/2" square card is from the Cricut Class last week.  The card base; red and striped background pieces; holly leaves; and the focal point piece were all cut on the Cricut.  If you are interested in which keys were used, please email me and I will give you that information.  I used  "A Holiday" and  "Holiday Cheer" stamp sets.  I embellished the card with Red Sparkles and checked ribbon. 

The Best Thing About Being a Close To My Heart Consultant

When I was a new consultant (over 10 1/2  years ago), I attended a "Regional Celebration" in Dallas that the CTMH corporate staff planned.  Many top consultants spoke at that event, as they do at all of our events.  At the time, it seemed foreign to me that the consultants would say...."The CTMH family is the best thing about being a consultant."  At that time, I did not have any downline yet and I hadn't been a consultant a year.  I remember thinking that

I  might never feel that way. 

Many things began to happen in my CTMH life.  I did begin recruiting downline; I attended convention in Dallas (and now I will never miss that event! - unless a grand baby decides to come the same week!); I amped up the amount I was working/teaching classes/holding home gatherings and I met so many wonderful customers and made life long friends;  I served on the CTMH Advisory Board; I began earning CTMH incentive trips (and have gone on some fabulous vacations!); the list goes on and on!  Many of you, Corporate staff included, have seen me through many

challenging times and now I can say.....

"The BEST thing about being a Close To My Heart Consultant

is the "FAMILY" that it creates."  My life wouldn't

be complete without all of you!

On Sunday, our All Keyed Up Consultants celebrated Christmas with a casual get together at Vicki Witt's home (which is beautiful by the way!).  We each brought a Christmas treat along with the recipe.  We exchanged ornaments; which were each beautiful and unique.  Here is the picture of the lovely consultants that were able to attend.

Left to Right:  Aaron Brown, myself, Tiffany Owens,

Jeana Culbert, and Vicki Witt

To those of you who weren't there, we missed you!  To those who were, it was great catching up and meeting some new faces!  I pray that you all have a very Merry Christmas and that you are richly blessed in the New Year!

Santa's Treat Pocket

This cute little treat pocket was originally created by Lisa Stenz who is also a CTMH Consultant.  I thought it was so cute, that I made one to show at my Cricut Class last week. 

The heart pocket is on the <shape1> key

on page 27 in the cricut booklet. 

1.  The combination of keys is:  Font Layer; Shift;

<shape1>.  I cut my pocket at 11". 

2.   I creased all of the folds for the pocket

(don't adhere yet) and then added two strips of

White Daisy Cardstock that were 3/4" each. 

3.  I also cut a "belt" from Black Cardstock that was 1/2".   The belt buckle is on the <square1> key

(keys:  Tag; <square 1>.  I cut the buckle at 1").

4.  I used 2 button brads from the Black Mini

Medley Assortment for the buttons on the "coat".

5.  I used a piece of Cranberry checked ribbon as the

hanger and attached it with 2 small

black brads on the sides.

6.  The final step is to adhere the pocket together

at the side.  I used Terrifically Tacky Tape for that. 

TTT is a very permanent bond which is what you

want on all of the little treat boxes!

7.  The last step is to fill the pocket.  I put Christmas

candy and a Sonic gift card in my pocket!

Turning Over a New Leaf

Well, I had an epiphany last week!  My son said that it is very meaningful to him, when he "creates" something, that his Granny's "play" with him and try out his creations.  He has been watching You Tube for weeks and learning how to make paper guns, ammo, swords, and knives....your typical boy things.   

After he said that, it started my thinking about his comments.  I don't know about you and your situation, but I am home with my son and grandson to raise them, teach them things about life, and help mold them into decent, responsible human beings that will eventually contribute to society in big ways! 

With all of my memories recently of MY grandmothers, I realized that they stopped and took time to play - play games, teach us crafts, teach us to cook, make root beer floats, etc.  They didn't work the entire time we visited and spent the night with them.  THEY TOOK TIME -- to love us, hold us, teach us things about life, and help to mold us into the adults we are today (the "we" is my brother, Stacy, and my sister, Billie, and myself).  

I want to be the Mimi that Brayden tells cool stories about when he grows up.  I want Connor and Stephanie to be able to say that I actually taught them something special!

So, last Thursday night, Brayden and I started making Christmas candy.  You must know that he loves to scrapbook with "Mimi" and he also enjoys setting up the classroom for all of my classes.  He is a great helper!  I want to teach him some other fun things in his little life too.  I know that all too soon he will be busy with sports, scouts, etc, and won't really care about such things.

We started off with simple candy and made "Rolo Cookies".  They are really easy to make.  Brayden unwrapped all the rolos and placed them on the pretzels.  We asked Connor to help and he told us that he didn't want to do it until he saw how much fun we were having.  Then he jumped right in and helped (he wouldn't let me take his picture!).

We baked them for 4 minutes at 350 degrees.

The final step is to add a pecan halve by gently pressing the pecan into the warm chocolate.   Let cool and they

are ready to enjoy. 

We also made Graham Cracker Toffee....thanks to Anna who gave us the recipe!  It is a new favorite around our house.  That was a little tricky because the caramel sauce has to be cooked on the stove top.  I stood Brayden in a chair and he helped me stir the pot.

This is a photo of the toffee as it is cooling off.  It is O-SO yummy!  We took some of each kind of candy to the beauty shop (that Brayden's mommy works at) as a Christmas treat.

So, in closing, I am going to try to be better about building memories with both boys.  If you are a busy mommy, be sure to hold and "play" with your kiddos!  If you are a busy Mimi/Grandmother  be sure to hold and "play" with your grand kids!  They grow up too fast and then that time is gone.  Enjoy them everyday!