More Fun...

More Fun with Studio J! I have to say this new program is addictive! I am just loving it and I never thought I would love to create on a computer BUT this simply ROCKS!!!! I received my layouts from the last time I played and I was just blown away with the quality, vivid colors, and dimensional look- I will post those tomorrow! I love being able to create layouts this way and get caught up plus this helps with my number one big problem- never having the photos developed that I need or in the sizes I need! Gotta love the one stop shop!

Are you ready to play too? What are you waiting for? If you are a consultant already- I highly encourage you to play around and create- you will not be disappointed! If you are itching to play- just simply join my team for only $99! You will get well over $300 worth of product plus you will get a discount and the store ships right to you! I love CTMH because you can do as little as you want, we call that a Hobbyist, or as much as you want- make it work for you! I would love to share more with you about this great opportunity! After 4 years of being with CTMH, I have absolutely no regrets- it has enriched my life beyond measure!!!

And what is even better....during the Month of March when you Dare to Dream and join my team you will receive all the Stamp of the Months for the new Summer Catalog(May-August) for FREE in addition to all those great products you will get for just $99! what a deal!!!!!! That is over $400 worth of goodies for just $99- doesn't get any sweeter than that!

I am here to assist you near or far. My Crafting Divas are all over the states and stationed at military bases across the globe! I offer team trainig via email and phone calls- you are never alone.

okay I am off to play in my Creation Station.....

~Jennifer :)

Spring Cleaning...

I have been cleaning out and organzing closets since I have been spending a lot of time inside! I thought I would share on my blog before I posted on Ebay. Please email me at craftingdivas@cox.net if you are interested in any items.


Patchwork Skirt- $8.00- size 5/6
Flower Dress- $10.00- size 5/6
Headband to match both- $3.00


Red/Blue Plaid(halter style) Dress- $10.00- size 5/6


Chocolate/White Floral(halter style) Dress $10.00- size 5/6
Matching big bow $2.00
Chocolate/White Seersucker Capri Pant $6.00- size 5/6
Matching Chocolate Swing Tie Top $5.00- size 5/6
Chocolate Cotton Capri Pant $5.00- size 5/6
Chocolate/White Seersucker Swing Top $6.00- size 5/6
matching small bow $1.50


Blue/White Stripe Seersucker with red anchors Skirt $6.00- this is a size 7/8


Ralph Lauren Lime Green Skort $5.00- size 8
Ralph Lauren White Denim Dress with belt $6.00- size 6X


Gymboree Royal Blue Halter Top with Flip Flop embroidery- $2.00- size 8
Gymboree Top with Ribbon detail- $2.00- size 8


OshKosh Denim Skirt with embroidery $5.00- size 8- worn a few times
OshKosh Pink Skirt with embroider $7.00- size 8- new with tags still on


Cherokee Denim Jacket- size 7/8- $4.50
Cherokee Pink Top- size Medium- $1.00
Cherokee Aqua Top- size Medium- $1.00


~Jennifer :)

WOWSA!!!!!!!!

I am speechless, simply speechless! I went to my mailbox today and there was "happy mail" for me today- you know how much I love happy mail! What was even better was when I opened the envelope and out popped this AMAZING piece of artwork! As I sit here typing I am still in awe. This card was created by a fellow consultant and she is an inspiration to me both professionally and personally- Karen Pedersen. Karen knows I just love her to pieces and I post on her blog that she is amazingly talented but she is also a woman to respect and admire. Thank you so much for always being such a source of great inspiration!!!

and I had to share another WOWSA piece of artwork I received this week- my Valentine from my daughter. She created this at school and since they were out FOREVER...it came home a little late but no worries because it was so worth the wait!!!! This is another gal that just oozes talent and warmth from her heart....she makes me so proud to be a Mommy! Just wonder what her path and journey will be but until then I am enjoying every minute of her spirit here( but let me tell you there are days that her spirit needs to hang out in her room and calm down a bit!)


Thanks to all who posted on my blog with title suggestions- LOVE THEM!!!! It was so fun to read and I cannot wait to share some fun with my blog friends! Sheila if you could email me your addy I have something fun to send your way....craftingdivas@cox.net


~Jennifer :)

***and please let the winter angels guide this next storm a little bit north of us....seriously this town cannot handle anymore not to mention my kids need a Summer Break and I need to escape when I can!

Blog Candy for Grabs!

So as I mentioned in yesterday's post, I need some help with Titles for my pages(see yesterday's post for artwork). I am going to reward my fellow blog readers with the chance for some Blog Candy. This is my first time to award some candy and I am super excited! One of the things I love about the scrapbook pages is the pop the Sparkles give the page. I think everyone needs a bit of bling in their life! So the winning title will receive a FREE set of Sparkles from me as my thank you!

I cannot wait to see what you come up with!

And, I want to post how proud I am of one of my downline- Elissa Stong- she stepped out of her comfort zone and entered a FUN contest with Close To My Heart! I just love my team( you have heard me rave about how much fun it is- and it truly is!) and I would love to have you join our fun Crafting Divas Team! Back to the contest...so CTMH challenged us to create a you tube video that could only be 3 minutes long and explain to people why our stamps are Clearly the Best. Elissa took this challenge head on and I am so pumped for her! The consultant with the most views on you tube will win a grand prize from CTMH and I am cheering Elissa on!!! I would love if you would help support her in her quest....just click HERE

Remember to post your Title suggestions in my Comments block and I look forward to awarding some fun BLING!

~Jennifer :)

bring on some Clubbin FUN!

I am so ready to see my Scrap N Play friends tomorrow!!!! (if you are looking for pictures...keep reading there are TONS on this post...just scroll on down...) I know we all are looking forward to creating together and sharing our fun blizzard stories! I am also excited to see any artwork they created over our snowed-in time. :)

I LOVE the layouts for this month and guess what?!? I actually put pictures on both but I need titles for each of them- can you help a girl out?!? I would love to have some ideas for these layouts- so please comment with any fun titles, the title winner will receive some blog candy for me as a thank you!!!! Background on these layouts: the photos are from Bush Gardens Williamsburg. We went in August 2008 and had so much fun!!! Turns out Patrick is our thrill seeker as he LOVED the Big Bad Wolf Roller Coaster.

Here are the photos of the layouts for this months Scrap N Play! Would you like to play but are not local, no problem! I do Club to Go and you can have these kits shipped right to your house! So easy and fun!!!! Just email or call me for more details- craftingdivas@cox.net

feel free to click on any picture to see it larger...




I changed the first layout from the directions- if you notice I actually rotated the 2nd page to fit horizontal photos instead of the vertical photo slots. Another feature I LOVE- our layouts are so easy to alter and work in any direction!








Don't you LOVE how this Topstitch paper works so well for either gender! It is a perfect balance!

~Jennifer :)

Comfort Food!

Yes my friends it is snowing AGAIN!!!! oh my golly!!!! Today is Snow Day ELEVEN of missed school days due to snow---YIKES! They are scheduled to start tomorrow with a 2 hour delay and I am just keeping my fingers crossed!

I made it to the Grocery store today- HOORAY! And I could not believe there was a line waiting for it to open! I know I will not forget this stretch of winter EVER! It is one of those stories for the ages! When your area beats a historic record of Winter Snowfall dating back to the 1800s you know you are experiencing something eventful first hand for sure!

I have my monthly book club meeting tomorrow(again Fingers crossed!). We read Time of my Life by Allison Winn Scotch. It was a quick read. I read it back during the first 2 feet of snow we received(funny how I can just refer to that period of time). I will be interested to see what my fellow book club members say about the book. I will say that the heroin character was not my type of gal. She is a person that wonders about the past and if she had made other choices how would her life have turned out. I get that she was disillusioned with motherhood, had a troubled childhood and is trying to find her path but I don't like to see or reflect on life the way she did in the book. I found myself getting frustrated with her like you would a child. I wanted to yell at her and say GROW UP! I am a realist and not a dreamer- there would be the big difference between us. I am also a person that thrives on having my life experience help shape and grow me- I would not be me without them. I also believe in OWNERSHIP...own your feelings, your dreams, failures etc....don't try to dismiss things, you will never be happy in life.

Like I said tomorrow...will be interesting( and don't get me started on the two men she has to choose from in the book! why did she even think there was something to go back for?????).

We are having a Soup Potluck luncheon for our book club! The list of food sounds tremendous- perfect for Fat Tuesday! My contribution is Pasta E Fagioli! I love Olive Garden's Pasta E Fagioli and years ago I stumbled upon a recipe to recreate it and it has been a Keeper ever since! So I thought I would share with you too!


1 pound Ground Beef
1 small onion diced (1cup)
1 large carrot julienned (1cup)
3 stalks celery, chopped (1 cup)
2 cloves garlic minced
2 14.5 diced tomatoes
1 15 oz Kidney beans with liquid
1 15 oz Northern beans with liquid
1 15 oz Tomato Sauce
2 12 oz V-8 juice
1 can Beef Consumme
1 T White Vinegar
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp basil
1/2 pepper
1/2 tsp

1/2 pound Ditali Pasta( half of the box)

Brown Ground Beef in large Saucepan over med heat. drain fat

Add onion, carrot and garlic- saute for 10 minutes

Add remaining ingredients except for Pasta, simmer for 1 hour

50 minutes into simmer time, cook pasta, cook 10 min- al dente, then drain

Add pasta to large pot of soup simmer 5-10 minutes... it is ready to serve! sprinkle some parmesean cheese on top!


- ENJOY!!!!! my house smells super yummy!!!!

~Jennifer :)

what to do when you are Snowbound???

Oh blogging friends I am going nutty! We have been stuck in our house for 6 days and counting! My kiddos have been off from school(yes please feel for me) and even my hubby is stuck at home- totally unheard of! I will just tell you the Man needs two things- work and exercise and he is doing without both-ack! And what weighs most on my mind is I do not see an end in sight!

So to help break up the craziness for all I invited some friends of my daughter's over to make Valentine's! 2 of her friends that live nearbye came over and one of the friends has an older sister and she invited her friends too. I had 6 fun girls from grades 3rd through 9th over for some crafty fun! I brought out all my scraps, cardstock and pattern papers plus fun stamps, inks and punches I have on hand. They let their creative juices flow and it was so fun to see them get into it!! This definitely helped us all break up the gloom and doom of being trapped!

These are Ireland's finished Valentine Cards for her classmates!!

~Jennifer :)

Snowmageddon!!!!!

Yes we are still here but I think we will be stuck in our townhouse for a few days!!! As of 1:00pm today, we have 2 feet of snow and it is still SNOWING!!!! Unlike the December Blizzard this snow is the HEAVY, Wet stuff! My poor hubby only shoveled half of the driveway and half of our deck and he roughly calculated that he shoveled about 2 Tons of the white stuff!!!!!!









So what to do when it is snowing??? I am fighting the hibernating urge big time!!! I wish I could say I am cranking out pages and fun things like crazy but I just don't have the motivation. so sad! I did get a burst of energy and whipped out some cute "happies" to give my ladies at my upcoming workshop in Bethesda(see yesterday's post)- and serious fingers crossed that the snow will eventually stop and this town will dig out!

So here are the cute happies I made and filled them with some yummy chocolate hearts- I had to sample a few too!




The small boxes and pillowboxes are old items that Close To My Heart use to sell. I love these little guys- so fun to embellish. And this year I am in the use what I have mode- I think a lot of this are in this groove. My dear friend, Cherie Lynn, said it the best "Our products are not like eggs- they never spoil or get old!"

Current CTMH products I used- The February Stamp of the Month- D1407 A Piece of Cake, B1297 Heartfelt, X7107B That's Amore Paper Collection
and Chocolate and Tulip Exclusive Inks.

Here is hoping your weather is better than ours and if you are in the same boat as me- hopefully you are enjoying the downtime and peace that comes with being snowed-in!

~Jennifer :)

another peak...

The days are counting down to my card making party where I will teach a fun group of ladies how to make 8 cards using the concept from Basic to WOW! I am super excited for this class and cannot wait to meet all the wonderful ladies that are attending.

The class will be held in Bethesda, MD on February 13, 2010 at the Davis Community Library Small Meeting Room. We will start creating at 1pm and finish up by 4:30pm. If you would like to join us please email me at craftingdivas@cox.net and I will make sure I have a kit prepped for you to create! This workshop is free for those attending- which is a special treat as I usually charge $12+ for a workshop.

As I sit here blogging away...I have my lovely monsters home from school. They are projecting another HUGE snowstorm for this area starting this afternoon. But the crazy thing is that the schools were too nervous to have the kids go to school so they called the day off! They have had 5 snow days already this school year. This is a crazy winter for Northern Virginia and although the snow is pretty and fun to behold I am getting very antsy for Spring to show itself! :)

~Jennifer :)

Happy Birthday....

Seems I am always in the need for a Birthday Card and I just cannot send a store bought one- go figure! Today was one of those days when I looked at the calendar and went OH NO!!! I need to get a card in the mail ASAP! My sister in laws birthday is in a few days and whipping together a card became top priority this afternoon!

I was so jazzed that I would be able to feature the February Stamp of the Month too with this card- this stamp set is PERFECT for all those fabulous birthdays that pop up!

I used this exclusive Stamp Set which you can earn for FREE or discounted based on the sales of your order! So easy peasy! I also used the That's Amore Paper Collection, Choocolate Ribbon, inks- chocolate, tulip and creme brulee and PRSIMA Glitter! Everything looks better with a bit of bling, don't ya think?!?

If you need a super fun stamp set to create some super CUTE birthday cards- be sure not to miss this one!

~Jennifer :)

stock up and HELP at the same time!!!

Hearts for Haiti!

Our hearts go out to the victims of the earthquake in Haiti, and like so many of you, we’re eager to help.

From February 1-28, 2010, our 12” x 12” textured cardstock combo packs are buy one, get one FREE—and with every offer purchased, Close To My Heart will donate $2 US to Operation Smile’s Haiti relief efforts.

Operation Smile is always a fantastic charitable partner—offering free facial reconstruction surgeries to needy children throughout the world. They’ve currently marshaled their medical teams and resources to provide emergency relief in Haiti, and the donations given as part of Hearts for Haiti will be used exclusively for Operation Smile’s efforts in Haiti. For more information on their on-the-ground response, you can visit www.operationsmile.org/haiti.

I love our textued cardstock and I think you will agree with me this is a great way to do something for others...

~Jennifer :)