Creative Team Meeting!

Yesterday was a fun filled afternoon with 2 of my local team members (Elissa and Christine) and a sister sideline
(Barb).


I thought it would be fun to start the new year off with a fun creative team meeting and something to get us organized too! I stumbled on the idea of these "dry erase" boards from another CTMH consultant- Kelly Rizzo, hers was so adorable!! I just felt the urge I needed to make one too and it is always fun to create something fun with friends- don't you think???


My daughter, Ireland, had to get in on the fun too! She loved picking out paper and the patterns she wanted for her board. She has already put hers to work and I just love seeing her excitement using it.

One of my favorite things beside scrapbooking is making fun altered projects where you take something that is very basic and dress it up and make it super FUN! I am so excited to start sharing this with my customers once a month during my Creative Time Class! This month we will be meeting on January 25, 2010 at 9:30am or 7:30pm and then on January 28, 2010 at 7:30pm. The project for January is an Event Calendar. The cost for the class is $12.00 per calendar- you decide how many you would like to make. Please RSVP to craftingdivas@cox.net no later than January 17, 2010 to hold your spot(payment is due at time of registration).

Scrap N Play!!!!

I am a little behind posting my layouts from December's Scrap N Play Club. I love the jingle layouts and had fun twisting the 2nd layout up a bit. I used the pattern in the guide but I changed the papers up a bit to have a little more holiday feel. I plan on making a 3rd layout with this paper packet and when I do I will share the layout I created. I always challenge my club members to take the extra papers in our kits and keep creating and when they come to club we have fun sharing our extra creations(plus they get a little "happy" from me for sharing!).

I love Club days and I know my customers look forward to their one day a month they get to come over and get their pages completed. It is so fun to have a day set aside once a month for scrapping fun! We would love to have you join us! If you are not local- no problem I do Club to Go! OR you may even think about creating your own club and being the teacher- I would love to have you on my team and train you to run your own fun group! Imagine getting paid sharing your love of crafting!!!

Page One

Page Two

Second Layout- this is the one I tweaked up the colors compared to the instructions. In the instructions I provided to my Scrap N Play and Club to Go customers I included my twist in the instructions. You can click on any of these pictures to see it bigger. :)
Page One

Page Two

It feels good to be getting caught up! I am looking forward to our upcoming Scrap N Play date on January 15, 2010- we will be using the new paper collection, Veranda! Plus I will have fun make n takes and the New Spring Idea Book all ready for my local customers. It is going to be a fun double feature day!! And stay tuned as my Newsletter readers know already I have added another fun workshop day each month called...Creative Time.

oh I am in LOVE with Felicity!!!!!

I had so much fun diving into this special collection of Paper tonight! The colors are so soothing, the stamp set so versatile and it works great with the January Stamp of the Month beautifully! I am just in love with Felicity and cannot wait to play more tomorrow!!! I used our awesome Wishes book tonight too to help me design the cards- love our how to programs!


I love that the colors are from masculine blues to soothing sorbets- so smart! You are just going to love to have this kit for yourself and you won't want to miss out!

from Wishes- Gallery

From Wishes- Collage

From Wishes- Lucky Layers

If you are dying to know how you can earn this special collection of papers and stamp sets for Free just read over on the side of my blog, view my website or shoot me an email- I will be more than happy to get you your exclusive set!

~Jennifer :)

for Grant...

Here is a fun project I made our adorable nephew who is turning 1 this weekend- Happy Birthday Grant!

So fun and easy to put together. I just took one of our Z1141 My Creations Binder and the Animal Cookies Level One Kit(x7112b)- cut the pages up, glued it add the fun Mystickease for embellishments and there you go! I love the flip out Cardstock pages so Carrie can add more pictures for each month and a journal entry! Super Easy and did I say super Cute?!?








Thanks to my friend Barb Carrico for a fun playdate in the fall where we had a blast making these books! I just love creating with my friends!

I am off to the post office tomorrow to mail out the fun new Spring Idea Book to my customers and my team's Happy New Year Cards- be on the look out for some fun headed your way!

it is a happy dance kind of day!!!

If you know me then you know I love having a Happy Dance and I just love having a Day full of Happy Dances- makes me perk up in this awful cold weather! :)

Okay so first Happy Dance- I am registered for Close To My Heart's Convention that will be held this July 2010 right here in DC!!! I am so stinkin excited! I am so excited to see my CTMH sisters, my team, and meet new friends- life is good!!! Plus I love learning all the latest fun exciting new products CTMH has up their sleeves- they spoil us rotten!!! I would love to have you join me at Convention!!!! I cannot express it enough how much my life has been enriched with CTMH- beyond words!

Which leads to my 2nd Happy Dance- I had a great lunch date today with a fellow CTMH Consultant, Melissa Laverty. Melissa lives about an hour away from me and we met in the middle to chat and share our passion! SO FUN! I cannot wait to chat again! This is one of the things that has brought me so much joy- meeting other fun ladies that are just as wacky and crazy as I am about paper, stamps, CTMH and all that we get to do! I am so thankful for my CTMH friends- where would I be without them???

I am in the midst of homework craziness and everything else but I just had to post about my fun Happy Dances Today! I hope you had one too!!!

~Jennifer :)

Gotta get back to Work...

What a great 2 weeks we have spent together over the Holiday Break! It has been wonderful! I cannot say we did anything extra special or exciting- we just enjoyed some serious down time and lots of days being together and low key- just the way I LOVE IT! Josh was even able to take a few days to chill out but tomorrow brings the Routine back again- kids back to school, Daddy back to a full time work schedule and Me- yup back to running this household and working the FUN CTMH biz! Oh my head is full of ideas and fun things to do- now to just find the time!

So first thing is first- THE NEW SPRING IDEA BOOK is HERE!!!! I am working on getting them packaged and ready to mail to my long distance customers(hopefully they will be postal by Friday). I am also prepping for my local Sit, Play, Stamp and Chat Day on January 12, 2010. I will have 2 sessions- one at 10am and the other at 7:30pm! I hope you will plan to join us for some creating fun and to get your Idea Book in your hands!!! And speaking of this great idea book so much to love but I have to brag so excuse me while I do, my adorable kiddos can be found on page 40!!! This is such a huge thrill and another fun perk of being a consultant! We can upload pictures that we take to the CTMH home office in the hopes that one of our pictures will be used in artwork they create. :) SO FUN! And the kids love it too. My favorite quote comes from Patrick who said, "AH YES! I made it this time! Not just sissy!" TOO FUNNY! In November 2008 Ireland's photo was the feature artwork for the November Constant Campaign. I just love the company I work for- they are the TOPS!

Secondly if you notice on the right I have updated all sorts of fun business info! During the Month of January you can earn the great Felicity Paper Pack Set! I love this collection! The colors and styling of this kit ROCK! I am working on a special workshop just for my customers that purchase or earn this special kit- whether near or far you will be included in this exclusive workshop! Speaking of workshops- I have updated our Scrap n Play Club info for January- cannot wait to play with this new paper kit!!!! SO PRETTY! and drumroll please.....I am going to start adding a fun paper craft workshop each month. For the month of January we are going to make an adorable Events Calendar- help us start the New Year off on a good foot and organize all those Birthdays and special annual events all in one spot that will look so cute hung in your house- more info to follow soon!

So as you can tell I am ready to get back to work, shake off the winter hibernation mood and get cracking again! I hope you will join me and as always spread the word and bring a friend- more fun in numbers!!!

~Jennifer :)

From our House to Yours.....

We wish you a very Merry Christmas and a joyous and healthy New Year......

here are some highlights from our Christmas Day....

As we reflect on another year passing, we have so much to embrace and celebrate! We are ever mindful of our military family members that are separated from their families- you are in our thoughts and prayers- may God keep you safe and protected. We hope that 2009 has been a wonderful year for all our friends and family. Our home is always open and we would love to see you and if you are looking to take in some DC cultural we sure can help with that!

God Bless,

Josh, Jennifer, Ireland, Patrick and MacKenzie

dreams do come true....

After living in Florida for about 5 years, I have longed for my kids to experience real snow and have fun with seasons! Well, I got my WISH- BIG TIME! Northern Virginia got a huge snowstorm today! It has been snowing since late Friday night and it just doesn't seem like it will stop-YIPPEEE!!! The kids have been out three times and Josh has shoveled the driveway 3 times! At 3:00pm he measured 17inches of fluffy white stuff! I wonder what our measurement will be tomorrow?!? Even our Westie enjoyed playing in the snow! She took off running and was so full of excitement- super cute!
Here are some pictures from our winter wonderland......

FUN Friday!

It seems it is a FUN friday for everyone in my house today! Patrick had a little presentation to do today on Family Traditions. He shared with his class about our tradition of baking and his favorite cookie- one his Godmother taught me how to make- Chocolate Toffee Chunk Cookies.







Then Ireland had a homemade gift exchange with her class today. They drew names and had to think of a fun thing to make the person on her list. It was so FUN to watch her think of something to create for her friend and I was so impressed with how she designed it, did it on her own and worked her magic!












And today was Josh's internal office Christmas party which I could not attend because I was teaching Scap N Play Club today. But his email with this picture stopped my breath! It was a joke but it totally caught me off guard and I had to run and call him to make sure! He was laughing!!!!!!









Lastly for me it was Scrap N Play and I had a full house this morning! It was so great to see my friends and make great layouts for Christmas- I will post pictures this weekend! And now I am waiting to pick up the kids from school and wondering how much snow this snow storm will give us!!

Tis the Season!

Oh my goodness...December has been FULL STEAM AHEAD!!!! It seems I have been out of touch for awhile but I think that I am not alone! We have been busy, busy, BUSY! I love this time of year and getting all things ready for the Magical Holiday Coming.
Josh and I went out last friday for his office Christmas Party- that is where this photo was snapped. We hardly go out on dates so this was super fun and the kids loved having Shannon, their babysitter, come and play! I even dragged my hubby out on the dance floor for a couple of spins(and seriously could my hubby be any more handsome?!? sometimes it is not fair standing next to him! HA!).

I had two outings this month with the Belvoir Officer's Spouses Club. The first was a luncheon at Mount Vernon. We had a great time and it was fun to see Chef Roland's amazing Gingerbread House-amazing talent!!! The 2nd was our book club meeting. We had a great potluck brunch, great talk about the book that we all were in agreement was a little dry(interesting topic-just not executed well), and a fun gently used "naughty santa" book exchange. Somehow two of the books I choose were both taken but I am excited with the book I ended up with and I received a beautiful card with an Irish Christmas blessing- how perfect was that!?!

The kids have been busy too and I can tell we are all ready for Winter Break! Unfortunately their school does not get out until the 23rd at 1:30pm!!!! They have their holiday parties on the 22nd but I think I have decided that I am not sending them to school on the 23rd so we can sleep in, hang out in our jammies and do some baking and other fun things together!!!

The other bit of news is my camera has been going on the fritz lately. And come the night of the holiday Party it just was not working- it was acting really goofy! The pictures all on this post are from dear friends that have shared their pics with me- THANK YOU!!!! Josh and I then got in a pretty hefty talk about what camera to get and all the fun that can be when you have different opinions! Tonight Santa(and my birthday) arrived early and I got a new camera!!!! We (or should I say me) decided on the Canon G11. I am pretty excited to start playing with it but feel like I should take a camera class- anybody want to join me?!?

I am looking forward to Friday. Patrick has a little presentation in the morning and then it is SCRAP N PLAY Day with my great customers!!! See the sideline to get details or email me for more details! I cannot wait to see everyone and have them come play in my organized room!

Hope you are enjoying the Season and taking time to do things that you and your family love!

~Jennifer :)

CLEARANCE SALE!!!!!!

ONLINE CLEARANCE SALE! Items are 50%- 80% OFF! Just in time for holiday shopping!

The sale starts TODAY- Wednesday, December 2nd, at 9 a.m. (MDT) and continues through Thursday, December 17th OR WHILE SUPPLIES LAST. Often times these items go fast, so plan on shopping early.

Go to my website- http://jenniferbohnart.myctmh.com and click SHOP ONLINE. Look for the link that reads Holiday Heyday Clearance sale.


Details:

*Sale has quantities restricted to FIVE per item to provide a smooth shopping experience for all customers.

*You'll want to get in on the amazing deals like My Acrylix stamp sets from JUST $2 and My Reflections paper packets from $5. But that's not all! We have grab bags for $30 each- filled with over $100 in retail products. Plus, great shipping deals on orders over $100. Orders of $100+ have a flat rate shipping of $5.

*Please be patient while shopping and checking out. Sometimes the server gets bogged down...so be patient and be thankful that you don't have to push and shove your way through the store and check out lanes! :)




*Here are a few of the items that will be available:
15+ Level One Kits (favorites like Vintage Travel, Laid Back, Free Spirit and more). $5 (regularly $9.95)
10+ Level Two Paper Packs (Caprice, School Zone, Expedition). $6.50 (regularly $12.95). Stickease $4 (regularly $8.95)
35+ Stamp Sets from $2-$8 (Let Us Adore Him, Let's Play Ball, Precious Alphabet, Card Sentiments, and other greats)
Embellishments like brads ($3), ribbon rounds ($4), chipboard ($3).

*Note that clearance items may not be combined with regular-priced items in a single shopping cart, and clearance purchases are not eligible for any Constant Campaign qualification or Stamp of the Month.


HAVE FUN SHOPPING...Sit Back...sip your Coffee or Cocoa and Enjoy getting FABULOUS Deals! Or a Deal of a Lifetime as my hubby likes to say when he scores something FUN!

~Jennifer :)

ORGANIZE!!!!

So if you really know me you know that I cannot, I mean absolutely cannot, handle clutter and an unorganized house!!!! This time of year and before each kiddos birthday gets me in a mood to organize, pair down, and make room for new! And if you really know me then you know I am not 100% happy in this townhouse but I am making the most of it because deep down I know we will not be here forever! So you gotta make what you have work and every place that you are stationed at is what you make of it- heard this from a very wise Daddy of mine!!!

During Thanksgiving break, I had a night where I could not sleep well. Not sure if it was the cold medicine or my head so congested that sleeping did not make any sense- at any rate I laid there for hours trying to sleep and I had a VISION! It was a vision with an answer for my basement that has caused me such fits because there just didn't seem enough room for the kids and me- it is a very small townhouse basement. So I woke up with a plan and very excited to put my plan into work but the biggest obstacle to this plan was having Josh on board because I needed his help. Um I mean his muscles! :) LOL! Thankfully he was on board to try it and give it a whirl.

and here is the scrapbooker, memory keeper in me that WISHES I had a photo of what that space looked like before because it would give you a HUGE appreciation of how fabulous it looks now!!!! So with some pieces moved, a new shelf and some tweeking....I finally have a space that is starting to be a long the lines of what will work for me and the kids!

And my biggest goal was to give the kids more space as space is a premium here and we had SUCCESS!!!! (so now fingers crossed that we can extend our lease here for 2 more years since we think we will be here that much longer....)

Here is my Space....




And here is my own personal way I store my paper- I have fallen in love with VERTICAL STORAGE(by Cropper Hopper)! IT ROCKS! I have tried the towers with the clear plastic storage bins but I just don't know what is in there and after starting to switch to Vertical...I will tell you I can fit more this way and have a better understanding of what I have to work with! So here is what I do-

All Cardstock gets put in a Holder organized by Color. Then my Background and Texture Papers go into a Vertical Storage Holder that has dividers- oh this rocks! So take Perfect Day Level 2 Paper Collection for instance- I take out all the Cardstock and put it where it belongs. Then I take the remaining Background and Texture Paper and put it in its own Divided Section. LOVE IT! I am slowly (gotta work in the budget) working over to this system 100%.


So there is a little insight into my crazy world and how OCD I can really be! :) I am thinking this will be a MAJOR help to my loss of artisitc and creative drive! Now if I didn't have a "To-Do" List a MILE LONG!!! My next goal is a personal assistant- not holding my breath but that would be the ULTIMATE! :)

Happy December Friends!
~Jennifer :)

Turkey Recap!

Here are some photo highlights of our fabulous Turkey Day- my family is crazy I tell you!



And for those non-football people- The Packers played the Lions on Thanksgiving Day which is why Josh is proudly sporting the green and gold. I was too but managed to sneak out of photos as I was suffering a bad head cold! I have to say I love technology because Josh put the game on pause so we could eat at a reasonable time and not let football control EVERYTHING! tee-hee!

Patrick loves the big LEG!

Ireland LOVES Cranberry Sauce- the canned variety and she requested 5 cans this year!

Do you have a favorite recipe or two that you use with your leftovers??? I found this awesome White Chili recipe from a dear friend- Ms. Shirley Bailey and I love using the turkey meat to make this!!!!

White Chili by Shirley Bailey

1 lb Dried Great Northern White Beans
2 t Ground Cumin
2 t Ground Oregano
2 t Coriander
2 t Onion Salt
Pinch Cayenne Pepper
1 t Seasoning Salt
3 T Canola Oil
1 C Chopped Onion
3 cans chopped green chili peppers
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 QT. Chicken Stock
12oz Bottle Beer
6 Chicken Breasts, boned, skinned and cooked( this is where I use the leftover turkey meat)
Sour Cream for garnish
Green Onions, chopped for garnish

Soak beans in cold water overnight. Mix cumin, oregano, coriander, onion salt, pepper, and seasoning salt together. Set aside. Heat oil in a large stock pot and saute' onions until translucent. Add Chilis, garlic and seasoning mix, saute' 1 minute longer. Drain Beans and add beans , stock and beer to pot. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for about 2 hours or until beans are tender. Dice Chicken into bite size pieces and add to stock; cook another 15 minutes. Ladle into serving bowls and garnish with a tablespoon sour cream and chopped green onions.

ENJOY!!!!!!


~Jennifer :)