Butterfly Hugs

How have you all been coping with the stay at home orders?  Me, I've been doing okay, I really don't go out much since I am a stay at home mom/work from home.  Now having the kids home with me for the past 3 and a half weeks, well, we've had some trying times, but so far everyone is still alive.

I have 3 children, ages 15,10 and 9.  They can be obnoxious, loud, irritating at times, but then again they are kids, and I'm sure at that age we were the same way.  Monday we started school from home for my high schooler and today we are starting the 2 younger kids.  I am not a teacher, so this should be entertaining to say the very least.

I hope that you have been finding time to still get some crafting done! I have been here and there between breaking up fights and housework.  Is it me, or does the house not stay clean when the kids are not in school?

Over the weekend my oldest daughter sat down with me and helped create 100 cards for the local seniors residence. Since then I've been making some more cards to send out to family members that are out of province and those that are now by themselves.

That is the theme of today's card using AHSC Sketch # 363.

I used some retired paper from the Boutique Collection, and I had the butterfly stamped from another project.  I used the Sending Hugs sentiment from the You Make Me Happy, Operation Smile stamp set.

Always craft with  

Share a Smile Blog Hop

Welcome to our Share a Smile Blog Hop!  

We will be featuring this month's Promotion featuring Punny Pals, a set of 36 stamps.  If you have come here from Melissa's Blog, you are on the right path! The blog hop is a great big circle, so you can start here and work your way all around.  If you get lost along the way, you’ll find the complete list of participating consultants on Melinda’s Blog. 

With the purchase of every Punny Pals stamp set, Close To My Heart donates $7 USD of the proceeds to Operation Smile™, an organization that provides surgeries to repair cleft lips and palates for children around the world. To bring these stamp images to life, we’ve made a coordinating set of Thin Cuts dies and an exclusive card kit! The card kit includes the dies, card bases, envelopes, paper, and step-by-step instructions for creating 32 cards, and it is available at a discounted price! 

This month we have approximately 19 Close To My Heart Consultants sharing their creations using this fabulous stamp set which supports Operation Smile, and other great CTMH products on their blogs. Now onto the blog hop, and this is so simple to do - just click on the link at the end of the post on each blog to move to the next one! Here we go!

I decided to go with some 3*3 cards, and just kept them really simple.  Now during this month you can also purchase an exclusive card kit with the coordinating Thin Cuts, my order with these additional items did not arrival on time, but I did have this super cute stamp set.  Here are some close-ups of the cards.

Now "Hop" on over to Wendy'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 that the Punny Pals stamp set supporting Operation Smile is available during the annual catalog, but the Share a Smile Promotional Kit is only available until October 31st!  Contact your CTMH Consultant (or click here) to see how you can get this stamp set at a discount!


Always craft with  <3

Brae-er's Team Blog Hop - Taste of Summer

Welcome to my blog...and the Brae-er's Team Blog Hop.  This month we are happy to be showcasing the Taste of Summer Paper celebrating National Scrapbooking Month. If you have just finished visiting with Jessica then you are hopping along in the right direction.  

I've made 2 cute cards following cutting instructions from Make it From Your Heart Volume 2.  Here are my cards.

For both my cards, I used the current Operation Smile Stamp Set, Happy Everything (D1653). For the first card I stamped the balloons directly on the card and then on scraps of the patterned papers.  I fussy cut them out and then adhered them to the stamped images on the card. Aren't the colors bright and fun.

For my second card I used the White Shimmer Trim, and colored it with the ShinHan Touch Twin Markers, The color I used was Marigold.  The sentiment is layered on Sweetleaf cardstock.

For more information about the promotional paper, and the matching stamp set that coordinates with the paper continue reading......or you can hop on over to Heather who has a Berry Cute layout. If for any reason you get lost along the way, you can pop to Brae's blog for a full list. Don't forget to leave comments for us, we love to hear from you. 

Celebrate National Scrapbooking Month during the month of May with our exclusive mouthwatering Taste of Summer paper packet, available for only $8.95 USD & CAD! Featuring bold, vibrant colors colours, this exclusive paper packet is perfect to pair with your sweet summery memories, and provides delicious designs for your layouts, cards, and more! Contact your Independent Consultant (or contact me) for information about workshops for this paper packet.  This paper packet is only available during May while supplies last, so get your order in early. No matter where you are or what the weather may be, you deserve a little taste of summer in your life! 

Plus, as a special bonus, during the month of May you can also purchase the exclusive Taste of Summer bonus D-size stamp set for $17.95 USD / $19.75 CAD.

Creative Challenges

Did you know that Close To My Heart issues weekly challenges?  I've played along for a few, and over the weekend I decided I would play along with the latest challenge.

The challenge was to use the Heartstrings Paper.  I really love this paper, it has a very strong Valentine's/Love theme, making it good for Weddings, Showers, Anniversaries and of course Valentine's.

I wanted to try to create something that didn't fit in those categories. Here is my creation.

I used Hollyhock Cardstock for my base, and then layered a piece of the Heartstrings paper, adding a layer of Arrow Washi tape across the top.  The sentiment is from the Operation Smile stamp set, You're the Bomb (C1617) which retires at the end of March.  I stamped it in Cranberry, Lagoon, 2nd generation Hollyhock and Black Ink.  The sentiment is layered on a piece of Lagoon cardstock, and I added 2 flags of Teal Shimmer trim, and some sequins which appears in the next addition of  Seasonal Expressions available April 1st.

You can find CTMH's challenges here.

Auction Winners

The winners of the Operation Smile are as followes:

Item #1 the Mini Album created by Rosalynd Kelly was won by Kim McArthur

Item #2 the For Always Frame created by Michelle Stewart was won by Darla Haverstock

Item #3 the Lighthouse card set created by Darla Haverstock was won by Susan Lefebvre

Item #4 the Quilled Mini FishBowl created by Michelle McNutt was won by Darla Haverstock

Item #5 the Shadow Box created by Suzette Conrad was won by Kim McArthur

Item #6 the Floretine Card Box & cards created by Kathy Woodsworth was won by Deborah Crittenden

Item #7 the Operation Smile card set created by Darla Haverstock was won by Susan Lebebvre

Item #8 the Avonlea card box & card set created by Michelle Stewart was won by Claudine Fougere Laforce

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Thank you to all those who have won, I will be in contact with each of you to make arrangements for payments and shipping.

Silent Auction Item #8

If you have been following my blog you would of seen the post about my Silent Auction for Operation smile. Well today is the kick off of my event. There are 8 items up for auction this weekend. Just as a reminder my goal for this fundraising event is to raise $240, which is enough to change 1 child's smile. (Click here to read all the details.) Please share this with all your friends and family.

This last piece is donated by me - Michelle Stewart.  I've also made a card box using Avonlea paper, the 6 matching cards also use the Avonlea paper.

You have until Sunday night at 10:00pm (EST) to bid on this item.  Simply post a comment below with your bid amount (in Canadian $) and your name and email so I can notify you when you win.

Silent Auction Item #7

If you have been following my blog you would of seen the post about my Silent Auction for Operation smile. Well today is the kick off of my event. There are 8 items up for auction this weekend. Just as a reminder my goal for this fundraising event is to raise $240, which is enough to change 1 child's smile. (Click here to read all the details.) Please share this with all your friends and family.

This is a boxed set of 8 cards by Darla Haverstock again and are hand stamped and hand water coloured using a stamp set created by Close To My Heart to advertise Operation smile. These cards make great go to cards for birthdays, teacher cards, cards for grandparents and much much more. 

Darla has also agreed that at the request of the winner these can be stamped with different sentiments and/or have the kids done with a different haircolour (please allow her an extra day before shipping to change the haircolour if that is requested). 

You have until Sunday night at 10:00pm (EST) to bid on this item.  Simply post a comment below with your bid amount (in Canadian $) and your name and email so I can notify you when you win.

Silent Auction Item #6

If you have been following my blog you would of seen the post about my Silent Auction for Operation smile. Well today is the kick off of my event. There are 8 items up for auction this weekend. Just as a reminder my goal for this fundraising event is to raise $240, which is enough to change 1 child's smile. (Click here to read all the details.) Please share this with all your friends and family.

This card box and card set is created by Kathy Woodsworth.  She covered the box with retired Florentine paper pack, and made some 3D flowers for decoration on top, then created 5 amazing cards to start off your card collection.

You have until Sunday night at 10:00pm (EST) to bid on this item.  Simply post a comment below with your bid amount (in Canadian $) and your name and email so I can notify you when you win.

Silent Auction item #5

If you have been following my blog you would of seen the post about my Silent Auction for Operation smile. Well today is the kick off of my event. There are 8 items up for auction this weekend. Just as a reminder my goal for this fundraising event is to raise $240, which is enough to change 1 child's smile. (Click here to read all the details.) Please share this with all your friends and family.

This Shadow Box created by Suzette Conrad uses a variety of stamps from the current idea book as well as some cricut cut shapes like the pinwheel, flowers and butterfly.

You have until Sunday night at 10:00pm (EST) to bid on this item.  Simply post a comment below with your bid amount (in Canadian $) and your name and email so I can notify you when you win.

Silent Auction item #4

If you have been following my blog you would of seen the post about my Silent Auction for Operation smile. Well today is the kick off of my event. There are 8 items up for auction this weekend. Just as a reminder my goal for this fundraising event is to raise $240, which is enough to change 1 child's smile. (Click here to read all the details.) Please share this with all your friends and family.

This Mini Fishbowl was created by Michelle McNutt. This fishbowl is a quilled project, a more masculine gift with a matching card.  You just can't add water to this fishbowl.  Inside if you are able to see clearly is a seascape, featuring a lighthouse, fish, starfish, and coral.

You have until Sunday night at 10:00pm (EST) to bid on this item.  Simply post a comment below with your bid amount (in Canadian $) and your name and email so I can notify you when you win.

Silent Auction item #3

If you have been following my blog you would of seen the post about my Silent Auction for Operation smile. Well today is the kick off of my event. There are 8 items up for auction this weekend. Just as a reminder my goal for this fundraising event is to raise $240, which is enough to change 1 child's smile. (Click here to read all the details.) Please share this with all your friends and family.

This box of 8 (4 of each design) hand stamped and water coloured cards is created by Darla Haverstock. These cards are very versatile and can be used for just about any occasion. Darla is also offering the winner of this item that she will stamp sentiments of choice on outside/inside if you'd like or can be left blank for you to write/stamp your own as you wish. Note that these are hand water coloured so no two are exactly the same and may differ slightly in colour from the ones shown.

(the plastic cover on the box somehow washed the colour out in the photo and 

You have until Sunday night at 10:00pm (EST) to bid on this item.  Simply post a comment below with your bid amount (in Canadian $) and your name and email so I can notify you when you win.

Silent Auction Item #2

If you have been following my blog you would of seen the post about my Silent Auction for Operation smile. Well today is the kick off of my event. There are 8 items up for auction this weekend. Just as a reminder my goal for this fundraising event is to raise $240, which is enough to change 1 child's smile. (Click here to read all the details.) Please share this with all your friends and family.

This Decorative Frame was created by me - Michelle Stewart.  I used the current For Always paper packet, and some Ruby Cardstock to make the frame and flowers.  Then the Home Sweet Home is stamped in Versamark on a piece of Glitter paper, and heat embossed in Black.  The Home Sweet Home can be switched out and replaced with your favorite photo.

You have until Sunday night at 10:00pm (EST) to bid on this item.  Simply post a comment below with your bid amount (in Canadian $) and your name and email so I can notify you when you win.

Silent Auction Item #1

If you have been following my blog you would of seen the post about my Silent Auction for Operation smile. Well today is the kick off of my event. There are 8 items up for auction this weekend. Just as a reminder my goal for this fundraising event is to raise $240, which is enough to change 1 child's smile. (Click here to read all the details.) Please share this with all your friends and family.

This Accordian Mini Album was created by Rosalynd Kelly. It was created using a 1212 True Fit Folio and retired Olivia paper packet. It features pockets and tags with lots of room for pictures and journalling. Great for use as a Grandma's brag book or to document an event. Displays nicely on a mantle or bookcase, makes a great gift.

You have until Sunday night at 10:00pm (EST) to bid on this item.  Simply post a comment below with your bid amount (in Canadian $) and your name and email so I can notify you when you win.

Upcoming Event - Operation Smile Silent Auction

I am pleased to be hosting an Online Silent Auction to raise awareness and funds for Operation Smile, a non-profit organization that repairs childhood facial deformities. This event will be running from 8:00 pm(est) April 19, 2013 to 10:00 pm(est) April 21, 2013 online at My Creations With Michelle .

Operation Smile was founded in 1982 by Dr. William P. Magee Jr., a plastic surgeon, and his wife Kathleen Magee, a nurse and clinical social worker. Since then Operation Smile volunteers have medically treated more than 100,000 children and young adults around the world. Operation Smile coordinates more than 30 medical mission sites in 25 countries annually.


Since partnering with Operation Smile in 2008, Close To My Heart has provided support to change the lives of over 1,500 children and their families.

Close To My Heart is an industry leader in innovative scrapbooking and stamping products, including the My Acrylix® line of clear stamps, My Reflections® scrapbooking kits and several top-selling How-To Programs. Headquartered in Pleasant Grove, Utah the company distributes its products at home gatherings through thousands of Independent Consultants across Canada and the US. For more information about this event, ordering exclusive CTMH products or becoming a consultant, visit my website, contact me via email or call me at 902-446-5439.




This Silent Auction contains many projects made and donated by fellow Nova Scotian Independent Consultants. All money raised minus shipping will be donated to Operation Smile. My goal is to raise enough to change 1 Child's smile, it takes $240 to change a smile. All other donations will also be excepted.


Here is a sample of one of the consultants donations: