Live The Moment To The Fullest

It is this time of year that I find it so difficult to savor the moment we are in and not "rush" through this precious time we have with our loved ones. I love the holiday season and I am trying so hard not to fly through it. I am really enjoying taking this time to take in all the signs of this fabulous season. The colors of the leaves, the cooler air, the cozy nights. I love it all.

What does any of this have to do with my love of scrapbooking and teaching others to preserve their memories? EVERYTHING! It makes me remember how important it is to make time for my family. Make memories that are worth preserving. Make time for myself to do the one thing I love to do. It gives me the chance to regroup, decompress, and really think about the moments shared. Fall is one of my favorite seasons and the main reasons are the crisp, cool air, and the amazing colors. Close To My Heart offers this beautiful paper, Olivia, that has the awesome fall colors, and amazing textures and prints . Pictured here is the fanned out deck or tags I added to my recent layout to add more space for pictures and journaling. It is a super fun technique and it is shown in our new "how to" book "Magic".

It has been awhile.....

since I have posted on my blog (I am so sorry about that). As many of you know, I wear many hats. I am a wife, mom of 3, a teacher, and a crafter. Since the beginning of school, my schedule has been something fierce BUT I love every minute of it. Though I have taken a break from my blog, I have NOT taken a break from creating. Matter-of-fact I have been whipping up some pretty cool creations and I cannot wait to get the ball rolling again with sharing them all with you. So let's get started with catching up.

We just finished up one of the first holidays of the most exciting time of year for me and my family. Halloween was so fun this year. My younger two girls decided to "create" their own costume this year (I wonder where they got that from). They were hobos. As for my oldest, well she was a fortune teller. I spent some time thinking about whether or not this will be the last year trick-or-treating for her. She still seems to have so much fun with the neighborhood gang.

The girls and I also had fun making some fun treats this year to share with our teachers and others that are a part of our daily schedule. We decided to try making chocolate dipped pretzels. We used some fun molds like, pumpkins, skeletons, and rats. Of course, I had to make some fun tags to put on them using CTMH's Hooligans paper. What a fun paper! I am having a blast using this cute pack. Just add some assorted, felt "Hooligans" and some opaques and you are all done.


I have been having a great time hosting the "Do you believe in magic?" club. I am helping my girls put together some really cool layouts and making the most of the page "space" by making them more interactive. We meet once a month and get down to work.....pictured here is the most recent layout we did using CTMH's "Olivia". The layout was in the newest How-to book "Magic" and we altered it using a gift tag style "deck" that you can add pictures and journaling to. What is really neat is how the deck fans out (like a deck of playing cards). A ribbon attached to the base cardstock holds your tags in place when pages are closed.

Create With Danielle September 2010 Newsletter via #constantcontact

Create With Danielle September 2010 Newsletter via #constantcontact

Tic Tac Toe Fun!

On August 2nd, my middle daughter turned 9 years old. What a great day we had! Her birthday sleepover will be celebrated with some close friends soon and we wanted to have the girls make something different and a little special. So, together, we came up with making a game box using "Zippidee" from Close To My Heart. The theme for this one was TIC TAC TOE.....the game pawns were made using CTMH's Clear and Tulip craft buttons. We filled the box with these pawns along with a gel pen and post-it pad for score keeping. These boxes can also double up as a special place to keep little trinkets (even Silly Bandz).........

$2, $4, $6 Paper Sale!

Get ready to shop because this one is a biggie! Now you only have 8 days to take advantage so don't delay. Because CTMH appreciates their customers so much, they are bringing this great deal to you. Starting 9am on August 4th until August 11th, you can purchase assorted My Stickease for $2, Level 1 paper kits for $4, and Level 2 paper kits for $6. More than 50% off!The only way to shop this sale is to visit my website createwithdanielle.myctmh.com so set your alarm clocks for the morning of August 4th!!! As always, bring me your questions.....