My Grandma's Teacups

This is one of my favourite finds this year. I have been growing my poor pathetic nails out since at least September (b.t.w. I broke a nail typing this post) just so that I can sport these truly amazing designs over the holidays. Thats not a gift you say? Its a gift to me from me in celebration of accomplishing my goal of growing my nails. I am also eyeing up the cute junior sets for my oh so lovely daughter who is just transitioning from disney princess nails to something a bit more mature looking.  I can't wait to introduce you to Charlotte. I asked her to give you a bit of background information on herself and her business. You are going to fall in love with this gift.

Ok, I know its a little bit self serving to present Close to My Heart on the list but I really am buying allot of my Christmas gifts from here. Close To My Heart is introducing so many fabulous new items that I know would be perfect gifts this Christmas.

 I just purchased my first My Legacy Album and it arrived yesterday. It was packaged so beautifully it looked like it was destined to be a gift. The albums look like they cost a fortune but they actually cost less than what you would pay at a local big box store. The great thing about these albums is that they expand to hold a whopping 60 pages. Of course if you actually put that many layouts in it you would hardly be able to lift it off your coffee table. Imagine this under the tree for Mom or Dad or filled with your layouts to present to your grown children.

Have you noticed all the ladies talking about project life? Well Close To My Heart has launched a new product to compliment that style of memory keeping. If you have someone on your list that loves to scrapbook but has been feeling to busy lately to have the time this is an excellent gift idea. There are several themes to choose from so you can find the one that suits their personality exactly.
Close To My Heart Offers an astounding array of acrylic stamps to suit every occasion. From elegant to  whimsical you will find just the perfect stamp set for the stamper on your list. I recently found out that you never know who is going to fall in love with stamping. Choose your stamp set and one or two exclusive shades of ink and you have an incredible gift for less than $25. This is one product that is on the top of my daughter's wish list.
 Every crafter loves to be inspired. Close To My Heart has an amazing collection of "how to" books that will set the scrapbooker on your Christmas Lists imagination on fire. From cards, Scrapbook Layouts and even Interactive Design these amazing books give you the hands on instructions to create beautiful pieces of art. I have all of the collection and I refer to them constantly. The beautiful full colour photos and wide assortment of designs never leaves me strapped for fresh ideas.





Visit http://www.mygrandmasteacups.ctmh.com to peruse the current catalogue. Remember there is still time to take part in the special Holidays from the Heart campaign and earn free products with every $100 purchase.

Visit My Website to See the Holidays From The Heart Mini

Christmas Gift Ideas Series

Just today I was on Twitter and someone said "Time to stop counting the months, we are down to weeks until Christmas". Weeks! Honestly I have not even started my Christmas shopping. I do however know what I am intending to buy for most of the folks on my list. This year I am trying to purchase the bulk of my gifts from independent business owners. Walmart gets the majority of my business all year so its only fair that I try to support small business with these year end purchases. I have some really fabulous small business owners that I am going to share with you. You can do your Christmas shopping in your jammies this year. The great part about this is that these ladies are so incredible you are going to want to continue doing business with them year round. Grab a cup of tea and let me introduce you to your new best friends.

Helen Mary Callaghan passed away on Saturday. That's not exactly surprising as we will all be there at some point. The beauty of the story is the 93 years prior to Saturday. In those 93 very full years she was a wife to her husband for 60 years until his passing. She had 8 children. One that she took care of until she had to leave her home a few months ago. 10 grandchildren, 11 great grandchildren and a whole community that she was revered in. She was a teacher, she was a musician, she was an avid card play (hmmm) and used to laugh at peoples faces when at over 90 she told them that she was not available to have tea because her group "the Happy Hookers" were getting together (knitters). I never knew what to expect from her. She had such a gentle way of telling you that you were an idiot that sometimes it was a few days until you figured out that you had been told off. I remember when I first joined the CWL. At 90 Helen was a very active president. She still attended conventions and regular meetings and was always on top of our church community. She even pushed me into being the secretary for a few years before I was let off the hook. She was one of those people that just inspire you by their presence. I am so thankful that I had the opportunity to be a honour guard for Helen today. I know she would have been smiling gently at me, telling me not to let the wax from the candle drip onto the carpet. Helen Mary Callaghan.....I feel so blessed to have known you.