made in the USA...

Have you stopped to think about what is made in America lately...sadly not much! I had a good friend of mine, Jen, call yesterday asking if I could help her daughter with a craft project. I of course said yes and would love to- so much fun to play together! Her daughter, Hannah, is leaving on Sunday to go to Austria for swimming- WOW! One of the things they were asked to bring is something representing their country, made in America, a small item to swap. Poor Jen panicked when they went looking and everything said made in China! YIKES!!!! so that is when they called crazy, crafting, me!

Hannah came over this afternoon and we talked about different things we could make and she finally decided on altering two coasters that we connected together with a hinge that stands up to create a mini frame(you can click on the picture to see it bigger). Hannah had fun cutting the paper and stamping the fun USA images to the cardstock. Then she took great pride and signed her name to the back of each one! I have no doubt that all the girls will love her swap and be so impressed!!!!!






Thanks Hannah for a great afternoon!!!


~Jennifer :)

make it from the heart!

Whenever I can I like to make gifts from my heart for friends, family and my children's friends too! Ireland has a birthday party to go to today and then one on Monday. I finished the young ladies gift last night for today's birthday party. All of Ireland's friends LOVE these decorated and personalized clipboards plus they love the fun decorated memo pad holders! I made a bunch of Memo Pad holders done-up in their school theme for a Christmas Craft Fair- everyone just loves these and they are super cute and easy to make. I will post directions to make your own memo pad holder in a few days! :) Hope these little ideas inspire you to create something from your heart....means so much more (not to mention it is cost effective too).

Hope you have a great weekend!!!

~Jennifer :)

oh another Mystery BOX- LOVE IT!!!!

OH SO EXCITED....It's another fabulous GOODIE BOX! This one is worth over $50 retail and you get for just $25!!! These boxes have been so much fun to get...great way to stock up, grab for Christmas or Birthday gifts, who doesn't love a mystery!?!?

shop online today on my website before the sell out!



~Jennifer :)

So You Think You Can Dance....

Do you love this show??? Josh and I sure do...we never miss an episode. With all the craziness going on in my house this past week it is so nice to take a break from my reality and sit on my couch cheering these amazing dancers on and secretly wishing I could move like that! :) We have watched from the first season and truly love this show because it celebrates Dance and Dancers- what a great forum for a talent that does not get a lot of recognition. This season is amazing as it is packed with amazing dancers it is hard to pick a front runner so I will give you my top 4 couples: Ade and Melissa(okay her body is phenomenal!), Evan and Randi, Janette and Brandon, and then Kayla and Kupona. These are not in any order and it is sure hard to pick a top one but at this point I am cheering Melissa on....there is something about her dancing that moves me and her spirit!

Just to let you know why I have been quite for a few days and no artwork to share is my darling Ireland was diagnosed with the Flu on Monday. My poor girl started off summer break with the wrong kind of bang! She is starting to feel better but she still has a low grade fever and is not 100% yet. The doctor's said it would take a full week to recover once her fever broke. So we have been taking it easy- playing board games and hopefully not driving each other too crazy! So hopefully once she is back on her feet we can get summer kicked off the right way- with lots of summer FUN!

~Jennifer :)

catching up....

Oh I had a GREAT afternoon today! I finally got some of my own scrappin' done! It was so much fun to put these pages together today and remember all the fun I have with my CTMH Sisters! I scrapbook these memories in a special 9x9 album that hold all my Close To My Heart memories. I am so thankful for my FUN job and all the places it takes me- plus all the great friends I make along the journey!

I scrapbooked 3 different events today- one was our Scattered Hearts Team Scrapbook Retreat in Seaside, FL (Jan '08), Close To My Heart Regional Celeberation in April '08, and then a Surprise/Farewell Dinner (May '08).

I used all Close To My Heart products:
* Whoops A Daisy Level 2 Paper Pack,
*That's Amore Simply Snapshots,
*and Emporioum Level 1 Kit- which was so FUN to trim down to 9x9 and use! Level 1 kits are great but being able to use it in the 9x9 size too makes it so versatile!

hope this inspires you to get those photos out and get scrappin'!

Happy Father's Day!

Wishing all those fabulous Dad's out there a great day! We are having a pretty low key day here...not what I had originally planned but when you have kids you soon seem to realize that is how it goes sometimes. :) Both our kiddos have come down with the flu...we feel badly for them and hope they recover soon. Looks like a doctor visit is in order tomorrow....oh the fun of parenthood.
I love this picture I took of Josh with the kids during Spring Break...LOVE YOU BABE! (and you can tell they adore him too!) :)




Here is a poem Ireland wrote to Josh for Father's Day:

Daddy
by Ireland Bohnart

Super Silly
works hard
tickles me
very strong
loves x-box 360
plays computer
cool Dad
rocks everyday
has kids
the best
one man
my Daddy
Happy Daddy Day

~Jennifer :)

Inspired!

It has been a crazy start to our summer break, not the way I or my daughter would have liked. Ireland came down with the flu on Friday and has been battling a fever and lightheadiness- poor thing! Just rotten luck to start your summer vacation this way! So I have been busy keeping her spirits happy and hydrated plus trying to keep Patrick from catching this...keep your fingers crossed!

Well I had a little bit of time this afternoon so I went and started organizing photos. I have to admit I have not kept up with having pictures printed and I wanted to start catching up. I came across a few pictures from our Mediterranean Cruise and looking at the photo my dear friend, Tina Sutton, took of Josh and I it was like a lightning bolt I knew the layout I wanted to use!!! Another friend, Karen Pedersen, had done a layout using a sketch from Creative Scrappers on her blog and I just LOVED it. Well when I looked at this picture that Sketch is exactly what I thought of. So I decided to create my version and I have the second page all done and ready for when I get all those cruise pictures printed!!! Thank you Karen for the inspiration and to Tina for a GREAT photo!Close To My Heart Products used:
*Perfect Day Level 2 Paper Packet
*Dimensional Elements Fresh Shapes
*Dimensional Elements Simple Alphabet (lowercase)

~Jennifer :)

Last Day of School!!!!!

Ireland and Patrick were so excited this morning- it is the LAST DAY OF SCHOOL!!!! Woo-Hoo!!! They have done so well and have loved their new school! I cannot believe I will have a 3rd grader and a 1st grader next year...WOW! The time is moving along. So here is three cheers for Summer Break to Begin at 10:50am this morning (they have early dismissal)- Hip, Hip, HOORAY!!!!

Bittersweet...

Wow...this year has flown bye! It seems just like yesterday that we made the big move from Florida to Northern Virginia! On July 1st it will be a year that we have lived here- how is that possible? I remember so vividly the agonizing packing and loading of our household goods but more than that I remember one of our Packers coming to me to let me see something in my son's closet and this is what I found....

can you see it??? My Patrick had written his name inside his closet in his adorable preschool handwritting! I asked him why he had done it and of course reassured him I was not angry and he simply said to me, "Mom I wanted the next kid to know this was my room." Oh he broke my heart and I just hugged him. I think slowly we realized this move was going to be hard on him. Patrick had only moved at 4 months old and 14 months old- he had no memory of it whereas his sister has moved 4 times since she was born. And to think about it the house in Florida he had lived in from 14 months old till 5 years old- that was the only place he knew, that was his home! So it will come as no shock to you when I say his transition to Virginia was rocky- big time!

Patrick started Kindergarten in the fall and I was full of emotions that my baby was off to the big school but I never imagined that for almost two months he would cry and scream every morning going to school. The Vice Principal had to pull him away from me almost every morning as he was holding on to my leg crying "please don't leave me...I don't want to go...can't you just home school me?!?" Oh he broke my heart every morning and it tears me up now as I write this and remember how the year began. Josh and I had one wish for him- to mature and handle change. I think our wish and prayers were answered as we look back on this year and we can see all he has accomplished!

Patrick is an amazing student- an excellent reader, great problem solver and he LOVES Math! His academic strengths are wonderful but it was his maturity and emotional side that we have seen really blossom! He is learning to accept change, he is a great leader in his classroom- has so many friends and even some of the kids you can tell look up to him, my how is has grown in height and in maturity.

All these emotions came flooding back to me today as I spent the morning playing with the kindergartners during their Field Day. I had a blast and I was so thankful I could be there to share in the FUN! To see Patrick today- confident, full of life, and determined made me so HAPPY and Proud of him. My how he has grown!

....and I can just get a glimmer every now and then what an incredible leader, athlete, and person he will be....
I love you my Patrick!!!

Thank you Karen!

Oh goodie, goodie, gum drops!!! I earned my first ever blog award!!!! Thanks to Karen from www.karenpedersen.blogspot.com for awarding me this "One Lovely Blog" award. I proudly accept and will now pass it on. Karen is such a great inspiration as an artist, CTMH consultant, friend and mother- I treasured the little bit I got to know her on the cruise....looking forward to more CTMH events to see each other! :)

The rules for this one are:

1) Accept the award, post it on your blog together with the name of the person who has granted the award, and his or her blog link.

2) Pass the award to 15 other blogs that you’ve newly discovered. (I hope it's OK that I only awarded 7. I just don't know that many bloggers yet...so new to this.)
Remember to contact the bloggers to let them know they have been chosen for this award.

Here are my choices (in no particular order):
1. Tiffany (http://allthingsgrizzle.blogspot.com)
2. Barb (http://www.barbssnigletsandsuch.blogspot.com)
3. Elissa (http://www.scrapbookingmomofthree.blogspot.com)
4. Shannon (http://www.stampinbuds.blogspot.com)
5. Cherie Lynn (www.awescrap.com)
6. Michelle (http://www.islandtimeblog.blogspot.com)
7. Tina (http://missgingerdots.blogspot.com)


~Jennifer~ :)

loving the Color Me Monday Inspiration...

Jeanette Lynton's Color Me Monday: A New Leaf from 6-8-09...oh I love this color combo! When I saw it I knew I had to play and then I was inspired to play with our July Stamp of the Month and the new "Wishes" book too! I created these two cards yesterday evening after I spent the whole day cleaning out my Creation Station- boy was that a HUGE task! I have organized it from time to time but not done a deep clean out since we moved last summer...just never seemed to have the time. I am so happy with the progress I made and looking forward to trying to keep it organized and ready to go! I just get so frusturated when things are a mess and I cannot seem to find what I am looking for.
Once I have things picked up and clean it is like that clean space begs for me to create. So I disappeared for a little while last night and I am pleased with the cards I made. I am looking forward to sharing them at my Crafting Divas Team meeting this afternoon. We are going to have fun making a Liquid Glass Technique book ( a dear friend and fellow consultant- Barb Carrico- shared it with me) and then they can pick one of these cards to create as well. I just love getting together with my team and sharing artwork, business successes, and our life stories- LOVE IT!

Scrap N Play!!!!

Woo-Hoo!!!! I love my Scrap N Play dates with my friends! We have so much fun creating 2 12x12 double layouts! Plus it is great to share stories and have girl time! I have a great group of gals that come once a month during the mornings while our little ones are at school. During the summer we are going to meet on Friday nights at 7:30pm- July 17th and August 14th. Would you like to come create with us??? We would love to have you!

Here are the layouts we made today....

Grab a BOX!

Oh the Deal today is a BOX!!!! It is full of Close To My Heart product worth $80.00 that you can get just for $40.00 plus discounted shipping for only $6.00.

I wanted the last Box that they offered but I missed out because they SOLD OUT! You don't want to miss this great deal!!!!!! Simply go to http://jenniferbohnart.myctmh.com and click on the deal a day box.....Happy Shopping!


I am going to go order mine now! :)



~Jennifer ~ :)

did you ever have one of those days?

Have you ever had one of those days that started out badly and just continued that you finally felt like you should have stayed in bed? Well that exactly sums up my day today.

We had a bad line of thunderstorms this morning that knocked out the power while I was sleeping, but thankfully my oldest came in asking, "Mommy what time is it? Why is the time flashing?!?" Oh the panic set in! How much did we oversleep? Can we hustle and get to school? Where is a clock to find the time? Thankfully when I found my watch it was only 7:30am. We had 30 minutes to hustle for school. We made it and off they went. And as I watched them walk into school I thought to myself, "Thank goodness only 9 more days of school and then morning freedom for a bit!" I then spent the morning trying to get with the program for the day but just felt out of it and ucky. My daughter had a Music Open House that I knew I had to get ready for and be there by 1:30pm. I made it to the school by 1:15 and was so proud I was early and ready but as I approached the gym I had a bad feeling! Why were there parents already in there watching kids? Oh that must be another class....NOPE...it was Ireland's class and I was 20 minutes late! UGH! I came in and a friend had graciously saved me a seat, she knew I was not feeling well, and we both laugh when I saw the look Ireland gave me. You can just imagine an almost 9 year old happy her mom was finally there but also upset that I was late! It was at that point that I thought, "Okay I just should not have gotten out of bed!" Yes you can call me Mother of the Year, but hey our kids need to know that not everyone is perfect and that we all make mistakes sometimes. Right?!?

So that was my crazy Tuesday and I am happy to say I am going to end it with Card Crazy Club with friends and I know we all will get a great laugh out of my day today! Here is hoping you had a good Tuesday and if not just know you are not alone. :)

~Jennifer ~ :)

Card Crazy Club is Tomorrow!

I just love these cards! Last year my dear friend and director upline, Tina Sutton, shared these CUTE cards with me. I love them so much that I wanted to share them with my new customers in Virgina too! They are just so simple, cute and easy- doesn't get better than that!

We will be making 2 of each design, for a total of 12 cards! We would love to have you join us at 7:00pm in my Creation Station! The cost for this workshop is $14.00. Hope to have you join us from some Card Crazy Fun!!!!!

~ Jennifer ~ :)

Here is my Acrylic Album Completed!

I had so much fun creating this album and I cannot wait to make more. I am not sure why I have been avoiding playing with these....now I just cannot wait to have more instock to play with! If you have not made one yet...it is so FUN and easy! I hope it inspires you too!

and of course when something is made with love and your heart...you just cannot go wrong!

~Jennifer~ :)

My Secret Project- Sneak Peak...tomorrow I will show you the completed project!

SYTYCD....

There are some reality shows that I just love and So You Think You Can Dance is definitely one of my all time favorites! Did anyone catch last nights episode? Is anyone a little sadden and confused with (I think her name is..) Shannon's cut (tall, amazing red head)???? Can I ask the executives and more importantly Nigel...WHY?!? Why did they give about 4 other dancers the opportunity to dance their hearts off and sell themselves and they did not give this chance to Shannon?!? UGH! That makes me so sad! Why did they not fight for her and why allow some the chance to prove themselves and others not? I try to be a fair person to everyone and when I see things like this it makes my heart sad and it FRUSTURATES ME!

Thanks for letting me get that off my chest this morning as it is still bothering me. I wonder if I am the only one feeling that way? I am off for a busy, busy day today! Please leave a post if you feel the same way or if you might shed some light on their decision! Thanks so much!

~Jennifer~ :)

oh Happy Day!

The UPS Man came two days ago and I finally got to PLAY today! I was so excited because the "Wishes" book was in my shipment- WOO-HOO!!!! Oh to say I love this book is an understatement! The cards are awesome and the bulk card patterns ROCK! If you do not have this book you just simply have to have it! I promise you will not be disappointed!

The first card was made using the Silhouette Paper Collection, June Stamp of the Month and some Rub Ons- I think I am in a Rub-On creative mode! The rub-ons are so quick and easy to use and the great thing is if you need a quick card and don't want to think too much the rub-ons are perfect.
I have been working on a secret project this week and cannot wait to show you after the weekend. I am just so excited with it and I hope you love it too...cannot ruin the surpise yet though. :)

This second card was used with the new "Wishes" book too and also using Jeanette Lynton's Monday Color Challenge- visit www.jeanettelynton.com. I have to admit I changed one of the colors- I used Grey Flannel instead of Grey Wool because I didn't have Grey Wool...think it still looks great! I love visiting her website and seeing the AMAZING artwork she creates...maybe one day I will be as creative and talented as Jeanette!
Oh my goodness...I just went to Jeanette's blog to grab this color challenge for you and I cannot believe we both created a card using the same layout from "Wishes"...you have to check it out...how cool is that!?!

Enjoy and if you haven't played with "Wishes" or Rub-Ons yet...they are a must do! :)




~Jennifer~ :)

Christine's Jump Start Party!

be yourself...

The title of May's Stamp of the Month- Be Yourself was so appropriate! I had fun playing with this stamp set and making some cute cards. I still have some of this stamp set in stock if you missed out...so versatile and FUN to play with.

And if you have this stamp set maybe some of these cards will inspire you to create some fun cards to give your friends! The first two cards were created with our bulk 4 1/4 x 5 1/2 cards and envelopes- love these. As well as the Whoops a Daisy Paper Collection. I tied a simple white daisy twill ribbon to the top and stamped the sentiment at the bottom right- thanks.

The last card was so fun to make and everyone loved it at my Catalog Open House at the beginning of the month as well as at the Jump Start Party yesterday. I had so much fun giving my newest downline, Christine, a great start to her Close to My Heart Business. Christine is going to do great and her friends were so fun and just loved hearing how easily they can create too. Christine's warmth and gracious personality make everyone feel special when they are with her...I cannot wait to watch her soar! I think that is one of the fun things about my job- meeting great new people and sharing our love of crafting. If you had asked me 5 years ago when I joined if I thought my Close To My Heart business would look like it does today I would have laughed! I just joined to get a discount and have the fun delievered to my door! Of course I still love that part too but having a team, meeting fabulous friends via CTMH, and having this amazing outlet has been one of the best decisions I have ever made! I LOVE MY FUN JOB!

Directions to make this card:

card base: Black Cardstock cute 4x12 to make a 4x6 card- it is a top fold card

Polka Dot Paper from Notebook Collection: 4 x 3
Desert Sand Cardstock: 3 3/4 x 2 1/2
Black Cardstock: 3 1/2 x 2 1/4
Colonial White Cardstock: 3 1/4 x 2 and 1 x 1/2
for the inside- Colonial White CS 5 3/4 x 3 3/4
tied a square not at the top with Hollyhock Twill Ribbon.

I used the May Stamp of the Month Stamp Set- Be Yourself as well as Friendship Word Puzzles.
ink colors- black and hollyhock and black distressing ink.

~Jennifer :)

The month of June= Deal a Day!!!!

June= Deal A Day and it starts TODAY!

Oh I am so excited for this exclusive promotion found only by visiting my website! It is so exciting...you will want to visit EVERYDAY to find out what the special DEAL is for that day! I will also update from time to time on my blog this exciting promotion!

June is the time to stock up on all your creative supplies for scrapbooking, stamping, and cardmaking with our Deal-a-Day special. Most of June you'll have the opportunity to grab a popular Close To My Heart product free when you make a purchase of one My Acrylix stamp set! We'll also have exciting goodie boxes available on several days where you'll get a bag-full of products well below retail price! You'll want to stock up now while you can save big. Visit my MyCTMH website every day to save money and fill your craft room with everything you're going to need.

important things TO KNOW:
*you will receive reduced shipping rates during this promotion!
*Also note that in order to give shoppers the best possible deal on products and shipping, Deal-a-Day purchases must include ONLY Deal-a-Day items and nothing else. Simplifying the guidelines will streamline the shipments of orders and that is also how we're able to discount shipping for this exciting and unique promotion.
This means:

On "Great Goodies" days, only one "Great Goodies" box and no other items may be checked out in a single transaction.
On the "free item with qualifying purchase" days, only one stamp set and the free item may be checked out in one transaction.

June 1-30, 2009 (the last item posted on June 30 will remain online until July 1, 2009 at 8 a.m. (MT) or while supplies last.

It's a different product special each day!

Take advantage of a different deal each day during June only on my website....www.jenniferbohnart.myctmh.com
Each special will run for just one day-23 hours to be exact, from 9 a.m. (MT) to 8 a.m. (MT) the following day.