Wedding Layout

Not just any wedding layout. It is finally MY wedding. It has been 13 years since I married my best friend and soul mate. This day means so much to me. I haven’t seen my husband in a month so maybe I can relect on these 13 years with a little more bias. My heart a little more joyful as he will be home today. We have been through some difficult times but we always come out stonger. This is the same man who made dinner every night and ate in bed with me when I was on bed rest for 3 months with Savana. All while he was working 3 jobs. He carried me into the house when I had foot surgery. He made my heart ache more than it ever had the day he left for Iraq. I also never knew such pride and honor as a military wife. Upon his return 4 years ago to the day, we waded our way through post deployment integration, Sofie’s Autism diagnosis and treatment and countless other challenges that life hands us on a daily basis.
A lot of couples would have thrown in the towel by now and many have. With the numbers stacked against us, we rely on our faith in God and each other to carry us through. No matter how defeated I feel, Scott can always lift me up with his crazy sense of humor. We were then and always be ‘Team Schraeder”. I could not have dreamed up a better man to walk hand in hand with through this incredible journey. Is he perfect? no. but neither am I which makes us perfect together.
13 years ago the theme of our wedding was “Unconditional Love”. I think we have been a pretty good representation of that. I am looking forward to many many more years of that same love.
This new paper Grace could not be more perfect for this layout. The elegance of the flowers is obvious, but the words on the printed paper are a hidden treasure. With words like family, love, thankfulness you can’t help but want to scrap your precious moments. I can’t wait to complete more pages of that day.
I encourage you to scrapbook your wedding photos if you haven’t already. I was so chicken and scared I would use the wrong paper and ruin it. If you feel the same way, just do it. You will have fun reliving that moment and your photos will thank you for surrounding them in beauty and Grace
Blessings-
Sarita

September Scrapbook Kit of the Month Workshop

I am LOVING the new format for the “Kit of the Month Club”. You get to create beautiful high end artwork while learning new techniques that you can use again and again. If you are tired of standing in front of paper aisles and then spending countless hours staring at your paper when you get home waiting for inspiration to show up, then you MUST join this club. Free yourself of the frustation, make new friends and above all else, have FUN!



This Kit includes:
Twitterpated Level 2 paper pack
Exclusive Stamp Set, “Hello There”
Chocolate Ribbon Round
Full color instruction guide with step by step instructions
All this for only $29.95 ( retail value $35.85)

You can add, well, you have to add the adorable chipboard buttons!
Z1230 Dimensional Elements- also known as chipboard buttons. You get 27 in different patterns and colors- so cute!
Z280 Natural Hemp
Z1218 Brads Basic Assortment

We will meet at My Creative Cottage on Sept 25 at 6:30 pm. Can’t make it? Get your kit to go!
Sign up for this workshop at my Open House this Saturday and you will get 3 tickets!Click here to find out more

Until then-
Happy Scrappin’
Sarita

Open House This Saturday!

Click on the picture to see a larger view. One you can actually read!
You don’t want to miss it! If you can’t make it and still want to order, be sure to let me know. Anyone who orders will have a chance to win $25 in hostess rewards. Be ready to be inspired and ready to celebrate my favorite time of the year, Fall!
See you soon!
Sarita

September Blog Hop Full of Treasures

Welcome to our Stamp of the Month Blog Hop!

We will be featuring September’s Stamp of the Month,which is Treasures, a set of 13 stamps. If you have come here from Juli’sBlog, you are on the right path! If this is your first stop, you may want to go back to Jena’s Blog and start from the beginning!***This month we have 71 talented Close To My Heart Consultants sharing their creations using this month’s SOTM and other great CTMH products on their blogs. This is simple to do – just click on the link at the end of the post on each blog tomove to the next one!
Here we go!

Products Used:
D1375 September Stamp of the Month (Treasures)
X7117B Grace Level 2 paper pack
C1366 Fringed Phrases
Z1136 Crocheted Flower from Mini Medley Accents White Daisy
Z1037 Mini paper flower from Mini Medley Accents Chocolate
Z1218 Basic Brads
Z670 Black Embossing Powder
Z891 Versamark ink pad

Now “Hop” on over to Michelle’s Blog to see her work! Be sure to visit all the Consultants at their Blogs to get some great crafting ideas and other fun ideas! Remember, the September SOTM is only available until September 30th! Contact your CTMH Consultant (or click here) to see how you can get this stamp set at a discount or even free!***

Additional Artwork Using the SOTM

I completely forgot I had done these cards for the September Kit of the Month. Enjoy the color combo of Sweet Leaf, Crystal Blue, Sorbet and Chocolate.

Wordle- Scrapbook Journaling Addiction!

Oh WOW! This is so cool! Have you heard of Wordle? Do you struggle with getting the right words down for your scrapbook journaling? Check this out.

You can do this too. Go to http://www.wordle.net/create and add your own words. How did I do mine? All I did was enter my blog web site and it chose these words. I am warning you. It can be addictive! Once you create it, if you keep hitting the randomize button you will get all sorts of diferent creations. How fun is this? Different colors and combinations. You can also choose your own words. I LOVE words, so this is so right up my alley.
The trick is, you need to have a PDF file creator. You can download FREE ones from the web. Once you save it in PDF form, then you can copy it to your clipboard and paste it in a document or Publisher. From there, crop and go! Save as JPG file.
I hope you enjoy it too!
Wordle ON!
Sarita

Work and Success Quote

I heard this today and I LOVED it. Anyone who knows me, knows I can’t resist a good quote.

“The only place you’ll find success before work is in the dictionary”

If you aren’t afraid of a little hard work then I invite you join my team of consultants. We are a group of avid scrappers and stampers who love our families and get to have FUN sharing our passion with others. For a small investment of $99 you could really start living the life you deserve.

The kids are getting back to school and you could too. With our comprehensive on line Training Academy you can start taking classes right away. From creative to business to personal you will enjoy the jam packed info sessions and still have plenty of time for your other activities. No matter how lofty or humble your goals are, I promise together, we can make
Close to my Heart work for you and your family.

Blessings-Sarita

Birthday Layout Make and Take

I LOVE stamps! I didn’t always. Matter of fact, until Close to my Heart My Acrylix came along I was anti-stamping. I was a scrapbooker and those did not mix. HA! how wrong I was. I LOVE grabbing my inks that match my papers and using them to create great layouts that work every time.
I have a party at Katies tomorrow night and a scrapbook retreat on Friday. I made this layout with our super versatile Emporium paper and our It’s Your Day Stamp of the Month. I like to keep make and take layouts gender neutral and very versatile. I think I accomplished that here using a super simple layout from our Reflections scrapbook How to Program book. Did you know that book has 100 12×12 layout ideas with dimensions and instructions? It really doesn’t get any easier than this!

I can’t wait to see you at one of my events this weekend! Do you have a group of scrapbookers that get together? I would LOVE to come and do a FREE make and take for you all too! Let’s pick a date this fall and we can all drool over the NEW Fall/Winter Idea Book together!See you soon!Sarita

Change is Good! CTMH is BETTER than EVER!

So, I just got back from Close to my Heart Leadership Conference. Well, it was a week ago but I needed some time to digest it all. First of all, time away from your family is a good thing. I actually missed them. I was a bit worried I might not! LOL! Scott and the girls picked me up at the airport and it was so sweet. Savana ran and gave me a BIG HUG. Sofie did a back into me hug. She even said “I missed you Mama”. My heart totally melted. She has started to add Mama to the end of every sentence. Honestly, she gets me every time. I have waited SUCH a long time for a sentence like that!

Anway, so I walked back on to “Planet Reality” and was expecting something different. Not bad or anything, just different. What I got was a clean house, fresh picked flowers everywhere, laundry done and dinner made. So, really, I need to go away more often. They really missed me! They REALLY missed me!

So, now look closer at my picture and what do you see? Melissa, my awesome roomie and soul sister had this amazing coffee mug made up with my “name, Blessed Scrapper” on it. I just about cried. I was a little embarrased as I handed her my hand crafted frame. But she accepted it graciously. You have to understand Melissa and I met in passing at convention, had a few conversations and just decided to room together at Leadership. I can’t believe how we think alike and can appreciate a good sense of humor. Nothing like a friend who can make you feel like your 10 again! Nothing like a new friend to remind who you are. I am so blessed!
So, her design inspired me to redo my blog. I love this look and plan on keeping it for ahwile. I guess it is a lot less work and time than repainting or redecorating all the time. I love change. When things stay the same I get bored and restless!
So, I LOVE all the changes that CTMH is making. I LOVE that I am with a company who doesn’t let me down and keeps me interested and my customers wanting more. The new Idea Book is like a breath of fresh air, the new Workshops on the Go format makes getting those projects done faster and easier than ever and Studio J which means now everyone and anyone can scrapbook. I am so excited! I have found my home with Close to my Heart. I am looking forward to my upcoming fall parties, classes and workshops so you too can see all that CTMH has to offer!
See you soon!
Sarita

Birthday Frame and FREE Close to my Heart Paper!

I created this frame using the super cute and versatile “It’s Your Day”, stamp of the month for August. I plan on giving this to my cousin’s daughter, Madison who will be 3 in September.

I couldn’t resist using the Day Dream paper pack for the little princess and of course lots of bling. I also added the liquid applique for dimension and “flavor” for the frosting. I can’t wait to see a picture of her in the middle with her cute round face and her gorgeous blonde curls. I think she’ll love it. Get your stamp set now at a discount or FREE click here.
If that isn’t all sweet enough, here is the icing on the cake. Close to my Heart is having an awesome promotion. Get in on it now, because it only lasts for 2 short weeks. It is so easy. When you place an order totalling $100 or more you will recieve a FREE paper pack hand selected for you by CTMH. Then, of course the stamp of the month is FREE. Which is always the case at that price level. But then, most of my customers already know that *wink. This special is only from Aug 3-17, so act now!

When you treat youself to this amazing deal you also receive as a special thank you from CTMH,
FREE tax and shipping/handling on the free products! Act fast, time is already running out. This Thanks-a-bration only lasts until August 17!
Well, after all this talk of sweets. I am off to tackle that half can of frosting in the frig. I’ll get to the gym tomorrow! *wink
Until Then-

Sarita

Oops and Leadership

Due to technical difficulties my blog hop art work will be post poned. As soon as I get home from Leadership I will have to post it. I am really sorry but I promise it will be worth the wait!

Now, onto Leadership. We have been whooping and hollering all day long. Close to my Heart is the place to be. The programs and product that are coming are way are so innovative! The new Idea Book is so awesome. Be ready for a change, that I think you are going to like!

Okay, I am off to bed. This time change is killing me!
Love & Miss ya all!
Sarita