Happy Cinco de Mayo!!

Today I'm choosing to blog about FOOD!!  MMMMmmmm

I'm a Hispanic originally from California, living here in Southern Manitoba, Canada.  Sometimes I really miss Mexican food!

So today I give my family the gift of home made treats that are not available to buy anywhere around here.

Here's a photo of me, my brother Mike, My sister Michelle, my dad Mike, my sister Sarah & my brother Daniel.

I'm making my dad, Mike's recipe for home made Chorrizo sausage. Here are pictures of the process with the recipe for you all to try to make at home too.

 Ingredients that you'll need~

 In a 10" skillet, over low to medium heat, cook 500g or 1lb of pork sausage till crumbly.  Do not drain grease.

 Add in 4 Tbsp of Chorrizo seasoning, 1 tps of New Mexico Chile Powder & 1 can of El Pato Mexican Style Hot Tomato Sauce and stir.

Continue to simmer of low to medium heat for about 25 minutes or until the liquid has reduced, stirring occasionally.

 Here's your finished product!

Now, this makes quite a bit as Chorrizo is very rich.  You only need a couple of table spoons to add to a huge pot of fried potatoes or to top some eggs.

Buen Provecho!  ~ Enjoy!

Now is the time!

If you are a paper crafter & would like to receive a discount on your scrapbooking supplies, now is the time!

Join Close To My Heart this April & you get a super deal~

You can get $245 worth of products for just $49!


Want more?

You can get $425 of items for just $99!

No matter which kit you choose, you will also receive the April, May, June & July Stamp of the Month's FREE!

Click HERE to get yours now.

Spring Fling at Camp Koinonia

What a fabulous weekend of crafting, fellowship & food at Camp Koinonia in Southern Manitoba, Canada.

We didn't get everyone in the photo who attended camp but here's on with most of us.  It was 3 glorious days at a camp where they make you feel at home & so special.

 Missy & Kevin are our camp hosts & they go above & beyond the call of duty.  Sunday afternoon, Kevin made us these super awesome desserts......soooo yummy!!

Thanks Chef Kevin!

We had a contest using the contents of the goodie bags that everyone received.  Here are our two winners' artwork who each received the same amount of votes from their peeps for the best artwork.  The prize was a $25 CTMH Gift Certificate.  Congratulations Sharon & Linda!

Here's Karine with her Grand Prize for winning the draw.  She had her choice of the Cricut Artiste Bundle or a $50 CTMH Gift Certificate.  Congratulations to all our winners!!

Looking forward to this weekend at Camp Assiniboia, just outside of Winnipeg, Manitoba.  Hope to see you out sometime!

Sign Up & Celebrate!!

It’s time to sign up as a Close To My Heart Independent Consultant! When you sign up as a Consultant in April, you’ll receive a little something extra for joining the Close To My Heart family—the April, May, June, and July Stamp of the Month stamp sets for free! These D-size stamp sets are great for a new Consultant to create artwork, bring to Gatherings, and show off to everyone. Now that’s a reason to celebrate!

There are two awesome kits to choose from.  We have the Essentials Kit~ Just $49 plus shipping.

Or...for just $50 more, you can upgrade to the Master Kit!!!  Such a great investment..just $99 gets you over $400 in CTMH Goodies!!! 

Click here to sign up.

PLUS~ When you sign up in April, you'll get the opportunity to set a sneak peak at the May, National Scrapbooking Special by ordering early!!

This exclusive paper packet includes 12 cardstock sheets as well as 12 B&T Duos^® papers that were specifically designed for this promotion only—you can’t get these sweet colors and patterns anywhere else! Start National Scrapbooking Month off right with a unique paper packet at a bargain price and get your creative juices flowing!

 Join my team in April & you'll certainly have reason to celebrate!!

January Blog Hop - Consultant's Choice

Welcome to the first Blog Hop of 2013. Our January Hop is featuring a “Consultants Choice”, so each consultant has a unique project to share with you. I hope that you will take the time to leave comments on our posts, as we love to get feedback from our viewers....whether it was something that you really liked or some new technique that was used that you would like to learn how to do....by leaving us comments, we get to hear what you like, and what you want to see. Thank you… now on to our hop! 

If you have just hopped onto my blog, you can start here as this is a circular hop, but if you want to follow us across Canada then please start at the beginning and join Michelle S. at My Crations with Michelle . If you came from Carol's Blog of Crafty Carol's Place then you are in the right place!

For this month's Hop I made some banners using the Dotty For You papers.  These are gifts for some super amazing friends of mine that I'm visiting in St. Thomas, U.S.V.I. next month.

These 3" chipboard squares are leftover from a previous project where I used the CTMH My Creations Memory Game.  I simply cut the 3" squares, attached with Mod Podge & then used the sanding block to round the corners.

I Cut 1" x 12" strip of patterned paper, scored every 1/4" & then fan folded to create these Yo-yo's.  It was easy to secure them with Liquid Glass.  I then used the Token Alphabet, stamped the sentiments in Gypsy ink on White Daisy Cardstock & punched out with the 1 1/4" Circle Punch.  Again, I used Liquid Glass to adhere the Yo-yo's & letters.

I finished off by using the Crop-A-Dile to punch the holes in the top corners & used 3/4" jump rings to secure.  I made sure to punch additional holes on the outside of each word so the recipient of this gift can add them all together is she chooses.  I also papered the back side of each square so she can add other sentiments of her liking.  I hope this gift brings her JOY.

I also made a name banner for a very special girl.  Juneshia lives in St. Thomas & as she and her family have very little in the monetary sense and I wanted to give her something special, just for her.

I sure hope she likes it!

Here's a closer look for ya'.

Your next stop on the Cross Canada Hop is Terry Ann's Blog of It's my Garage--I Can Craft In It!.
 If you get lost along the way, you can head to Michelle S Blog, http://mycreationswithmichelle.blogspot.ca, as she has the complete blog list. 


Thanks for hopping along with us - we hope we were able to inspire you to create your own projects using some of the designs and paper seen along the way. Join us again in February when we will be featuring new products from the 2013 Spring/Summer Idea Book.

Wonderful Christmas Memories

It was so nice to have the whole family together for Christmas!  My 3 step kids came out from Alberta to spend a week here in Manitoba.  It was the best gift that they could have given their dad.  My 3 kids were so happy to have the time with their brother & sisters and that makes my heart happy.

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas holiday too!

Love from the Lees Gang~

So exciting!!

The new Close to my Heart Idea Books are soon to arrive to us consultants!!  How beautiful are these books?!!

Let me know if you would like one...they become available on Feb 1st.

Christmas Card Blog Hop!

Welcome to our first of 2 Blog Hops happening this month. In this Hop you will find that each consultant has created 3 Christmas Cards using non-Christmas paper! We were given the challenge to create these 3 cards using either cardstock or another paper packet of our choice.

If you have just hopped onto my blog, you can start here as this is a circular hop, but if you want to follow us across Canada then please start at the beginning and join Deanne in Newfoundland at Treasures Heart. If you came from Michelle M.'s of Twirl 'n Time then you are in the right place!

For my first card, (4 1/2 x 5 1/2) I used the very versatile Moonlight Paper Pack.

 

I just love how easy it was to use this "Halloween" paper for "Christmas"!!

The card design is from the NEW Make it From Your Heart Sketch Book, pattern 24.  I did some random stamping on the Slate Cardstock with Slate Ink for the tone on tone effect.   The self adhesive Glitter Ribbon and Bling Gems really make this card POP!

Products used on this card include:

Moonlight Paper

Make it From Your Heart Sketch Book

C1510 Merry and Bright Stamp Set

Slate Ink

Sponge

Tombow Tape Runner

Scissors to cut background around rub On's in Slate Cardstock

Pear and Partridge Compliments Glittery Rub On's

Bling Gems from Boutique Assortment

Silver Shimmer Trim Ribbon

_____________________________

This card that I made is a 4 1/2 x 5 1/2 and features the new Clementine Paper Pack.

Products used on this card include:
Clementine Paper
B1412 Perfect Fit-Holidays Stamp Set
Sorbet Ink
Chocolate Ink
Chocolate Marker (retired)
Cottage Assortment
Brown and Tan Sparkles
Neutral Baker's Twine
Paper Piercer
Sponge
Foam Tape
Tombow Tape Runner
Cricut Artiste Cartridge images from pages 53 and 75.
___________________________________________

For this final card (5 x 7) I used the beautiful, Avonlea Paper Pack.

On this card, I had lots of fun with paper piecing the snowman's scarf, using Liquid Applique & playing with ribbon!!

Products used on this card include:
Avonlea Pape
Wishes Sketch Book (retired)
C1506 Flakey Friends Stamp Set
Chocolate Ink
Slate Ink
Twilight Alcohol Marker
Sorbet Alcohol Marker
Slate Mini Medley Accents
Liquid Applique
Heat Tool
Foam Tape
Glue Dots
Tombow Tape Runner
Craft Knife and Ruler to cut ribbon in 1/2 lengthwise
Silver Shimmer Trim Ribbon
_____________________________


Your next stop on the Cross Canada Hop is Terry of Terry's Blog .


Thanks for hopping along with us - we hope we were able to inspire you to create your Christmas cards. Join us again on November 15th when we showcase our versions of Advent Calendars.

Happy Halloween!

I just love making layouts in advance!  This makes it so easy for me to know exactly how many photos I want to take and their orientation too. 

If you haven't tried a Close to my Heart Workshop on the Go Kit yet, put it on your to do list!  They are a MUST HAVE item :)

Guess how many pictures I'm going to be taking tonight?

This is what the first layout will look like after I add my families photos:

Join my Canadian Scrappers Team!

You still have time to join my Canadian Scrappers Team for just $49 and you get the Damask Tote Bag for FREE (while supplies last)...less than 30% left!!

Simply go to my website and click on Opportunities to get started!  Ask me about all the great benefits you get when you become a consultant.

Awesome Deals!!

You can find some great deals on my website right now!  Check out the While Supplies Last section to see all of what's available. 

July Blog Hop~ Tags!!!

Welcome to the July Blog Hop : Art Philosophy style. We are a group of Close to my Heart consultants ) and will be showcasing Tag projects made using the card feature key from the very versatile Art Philosophy Cricut Cartridge.  If you are visiting from Amanda's Blog then you are in the right place, if not, please go and start from the beginning at http://www.creatingwithcourtney.blogspot.com

Here is what I came up with:

This card has a cute little pocket that contains 3 tags that can be used as book marks.  

I used the Art Philosophy Cricut Cartridge to cut out the card bases, one in Sunset & another in Colonial White.  I added a piece of Lagoon cardstock between the layers before attaching them together so the dragonfly stands out as well as a piece of Colonial White ribbon to secure it closed. 

 I cut 3 tags in various sizes and decorated with Stella Paper, Stella Zip Strips, Irresistibles Persnickety Journaling Spots, Color Ready Garden Wood Shapes, Life is Tweet Stamp Set & Paradise Baker's Twine.

 This really made a wonderful teachers gift!

Next you should go to Vanessa's Blog


If you get lost along the way here is the entire line up
 

1. Courtney - http://www.creatingwithcourtney.blogspot.com
2. Pam - http://i-candy-scraps.blogspot.com
3. Stephanie: http://quiltedscrapper.blogspot.com
4. Amanda : http://ajcreationsfromtheheart.blogspot.com
5. Brandy~ http://www.canadianscrappers.blogspot.com
6. Vanessa http://wwwpaperkraftsunlimiteddesings.blogspot.com/
7. Connie - http://conniescraftycloset.blogspot.com
8. Eva - http://www.loveofcreating.blogspot.com

Thanks for checking out our monthly blog hop!!  See you again soon.

July's Perfect Pairs!!

Here's a super awesome deal for July only!  Place an online shopping order of $75 or more during July and receive a paper packet and coordinating embellishment FREE—it’s a Perfect Pair! Which specific paper packet and embellishment you receive is based on the date you place your order. Here is a list for which products are offered on which dates.  Make sure to also check out the While Supplies Last Sale items!!

Order Dates	Perfect Pair	Original Retail Value
July 1–5	Mischief Paper Packet (X7144B) and Midnight Felt Shapes (Z1462)	$15.90
July 6–10	Dreamin’ Paper Packet (X7142B) and Harvest Charms (Z1633)	$14.90
July 11–15	Fanfare Paper Packet (X7138B) and Fanfare Level 2 Assortment (Z1400)	$17.90
July 16–20	Lucky Paper Packet (X7137B) and Lucky My Stickease® Assortment (X7137C)	$17.90
July 21–25	Mayberry Paper Packet (X7136B) and Mayberry My Stickease® Assortment (X7136C)	$17.90
July 26–29	Sophia Paper Packet (X7131B) and Sophia My Stickease® Assortment (X7131C)	$17.90
July 30–31	Believe Paper Packet (X7145B) and Holiday Pockets (Z1486) OR Wonderland Paper Packet (X7146B) and Wonderland My Stickease® Assortment (X7146C)	$14.90