Tag: Thailand

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Sheltering in Place Projects! What are you making?

While sheltering in place last weekend, I hosted a virtual crop with my Close To My Heart team. Aren’t they beautiful? We had a fun time catching up, laughing and at times just working in silence — together.  It was so much fun, we have scheduled another one for next weekend!

We had originally planned to get together for a team day crop that Saturday, so we tried to make this as close as possible to an in-person crop. To to this, each of us tried to clear our schedule as much as possible just like we would if we were leaving home to spend a weekend with our crafting buds. 

Just like a face-to-face crop, we achieved three things 1) we escaped for a few hours from our daily stress and responsibilities, 2) we were productively creative and 3) we enjoyed the community with each other. 

Personally, I have neglected my personal projects for a long time so spent some time prior to the crop dusting off some projects. All together I finished 21 pages! The layouts below are from the 2018 Close To My Heart trip to Thailand. Most of these pages are from an album that CTMH gifted to each of us who earned the trip. I had “built” the pages prior to the trip but they have been waiting for photos for over 2 years. I’m so happy to finally have them done! 

The last three pages are from a live aboard dive trip to the Similan Islands that Eric and I added on after we said good-bye to our Close To My Heart friends. The pictures on the last layout were taken by fellow diver and photo journalist Lorenzo Moscia who generously shared his gorgeous photos with us. 

Other layouts from my Thailand album were posted on August 17, 2018, August 24, 2018, and September 2, 2018. I’ve got a couple more layouts still to go…maybe I’ll get them done during the next virtual crop. 

I hope by sharing these layouts, I’ve encouraged you to set aside some time to get away from the day-to-day struggles plus the more-than-normal trials that you may be going through. In addition, to cropping with my team virtually, I have also hosted virtual crops on my “Crafty Friends” facebookgroup for my VIP customers and friends. You are invited to join the funin that group! 

Whether with us, other friends or not, I hope you are able to carve out some time to create this weekend. Please share your projects with me! In the comments below, tell me what you are working on. If you can, post a link to photos! Can’t wait to hear all about it.

Have a wonderful (creative) weekend,

Rebecca

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#scrap20 Week 5 Check in: And Still More Thailand Pages

UPDATE: Auto post failed on Friday, so I’m a couple days late. Just a couple days left to report your August pages to be entered to win a new product bundle!

It’s time for the week 5 of the  #scrap20 Page Challenge check in. Through this challenge you can get some pages done, share artwork and earn a chance to win a PRIZE!

This week I finished 5 more pages from our trip to Thailand in January with Close To My Heart. These pages show some of the wandering we did while we were in Bangkok. I took these pictures before I finished some of the journaling, but I’m happy to report they are DONE!

The first couple pictures in this layout are from a shopping trip we took with my dear friend Jillene and her husband. We bravely took the ferry then skytrain to the MBK Center which is an 8 story mall with over 2000 stores! I tried to keep up with Jillene — wow, that girl can shop!

The day before Eric and I had gone to the Dusit Thani Hotel, which is where we stayed in 2005. On that trip, Eric worked a few blocks away while Emily (only 6 at the time) got very familiar with the hotel and the surrounding area. It was a walk down memory lane and I have several flip flaps loaded with additional pictures of the places including this lovely alcove which brought back memories struggling to focus on completing 1st grade school work.

During our prior stay, one of our favorite activities was exploring Lumpini Park which was just a pedestrian bridge  away. On the way, we loved to stop to watch the busy traffic from this “bird’s eye” view. Once in the park, we loved spotting the huge monitor lizards (many 6+ feet long) that lived there.

On this return trip, we revisited the beautiful park and saw many of the sites we remembered from the previous trip. In green haven right in the center of busy Bangkok we saw lots of activity: bikers and walkers on  the extensive walking paths, exercisers outdoor equipment, people paddling the swan boats in the lake and classes doing tai chi. We were hoping the monitor lizards were still thriving in the park and were not disappointed. We watched one fighting a flock of crows over a turtle for at least 10 minutes.

We love Bangkok and are so grateful to Close To My Heart for taking us back to this exciting city. 

Tally: My goal for August is to complete 20 pages. With the 5 I finished this week, my total is 21 for the month — yay, I did it! 

I know I did more than I would have if I didn’t do the challenge. My personal projects are usually packed up in my closet and when they are out of sight, they are out of mind. And they sit just waiting. 


So how did you do?


How many pages have you done? Comment your count below this weekend and you’ll be entered to win a new product bundle from the Holiday Expressions Idea Book! I’ll do the drawing on Tuesday, 9/4 at the Crafty Girls BINGO night. In the mean time, share your completed pages on social media using the hashtag #scrap20!

Can’t wait to see what you make!

Rebecca

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#scrap20 Week 4 Check in: More Thailand Pages

It’s time for the week 4 of the  #scrap20 Page Challenge check in. Through this challenge you can get some pages done, share artwork and earn a chance to win a PRIZE!

This week I finished two more pages from our trip to Thailand in January with Close To My Heart. The pictures on these pages are from the night we arrived in Bangkok. We landed around 10 pm and were checked into our room a little after midnight. You would think that  after traveling about 24 hours we would be exhausted and collapse into the bed, right? Well kinda…our bodies may have been tired, but our brains said it was about noon because of the 12 hour time difference from home. 

So instead of going to bed, we left our room and explored the beautiful Anantara resort. We checked out the pool, located the spa and breakfast area and wandered over to the dock overlooking the Chao Phraya River. This river is a major transportation alley through the city of Bangkok so during the day, it is busy with river taxi and other boats. But at night, it was tranquil and somewhat magical with the lights from the bridge and the market reflecting on the water.

Both of these pages have stamping using the exclusive Thailand stamp set we were given with the album kits, the Splash of Color stamps (love the splashes!) and the Pen Pal alphabetstamp set.

The title “LIGHTS” on the second page was cut from Canary cardstock using the Block Alphabet Thin Cuts. These die cuts are the perfect size for scrapbooking titles and you’ll see letters cut with them throughout this album. I popped them up with 3D Foam tape to add a little more dimension.

This week I nearly finished several more Thailand pages, but the deal with this challenge was that they only count if they are completely done. So that’s all I have for this week.


Tally: My goal for August is to complete 20 pages. I finished 2 this week which brings my total up to 16 pages and I have 4 to go! 



How many pages have you done? Comment your count below before next Friday and you’ll be entered to win a new product bundle from the Holiday Expressions Idea Book! We’ll have one final check-in next Friday (8/31) so be sure to check back in. I’ll do the drawing on Tuesday, 9/4 at theCrafty Girls BINGO night. In the mean time, share your completed pages on social media using the hashtag #scrap20!

Can’t wait to see what you make!

Rebecca

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#scrap20 Week 3 Check In: Thailand Page 1

Week 3 of the  #scrap20 Page Challenge is in the books — scrapbooks that is! Through this challenge you can get some pages done, share artwork and earn a chance to win a PRIZE!

This was one of those weeks that it was hard to find time to scrapbook. In fact 24 hours ago, I had not made time to work on any of my personal projects. The semester starts next Monday and I’ve been busy planning for my classes. Other than that, I’ve also been busy getting ready to roll out all our new Holiday products in September (can’t wait to show you!!!)  

But because of this challenge, I had to get something done this week, so I sit down and finished the first page of my Thailand scrapbook.  One page is better than nothing, right?

This page was designed by the Close To My Heart artists and provided as a kit as part of the incentive trip I went on earlier this year. This will give you an idea of how beautiful the pages in this album will be and it uses some techniques that I never take the time to do unless following a guide.

You’ll notice that there is lots of gold accents which really reminds a lot of the sites in Thailand. This page has gold in the Glitter Paper, Glitter Gems and Black Shimmer Ribbon.

This map of Thailand was one of the images on the exclusive stamp set provided in the kit. It was stamped on a piece of patterned paper and fussy cut out — something I never take the time to do, but I love how it turned out. It really pops because of the Saffron splatter behind it. The “splatter” actually an image on the stamp set Splash of Color (D1733). This fun stamp set is used through out the album to add extra layers of color. By the way, it retires at the end of August, so there are just a few more days you can get it.

This temple is another image on the exclusive Thailand stamp set. It is stamped with Momento ink and colored with watercolor pencils. You may know that these pencils went out of stock a couple months ago and I’m excited to tell you that we are getting them back in September. I love using them with our small waterbrush to make the colors blend to get that fun watercolor look.


Tally: My goal for August is to complete 20 pages. I only finished 1 this week which brings my total up to 14 pages and I have 6 to go!



How many pages have you done? Comment your count below before next Friday and you’ll be entered to win a new product bundle from the Holiday Expressions Idea Book! Then be sure to check back each Friday in August to update your count to get another ticket in the drawing. In the mean time, share your completed pages on social media using the hashtag #scrap20!

Can’t wait to see what you make!

Rebecca

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I’m Cruising with Close To My Heart!

It’s official! I’m so excited to share with you that I’ve earned my third incentive trip and will be cruising the Western Carribean with my Close To My Heart in February 2019! Who would have thought when I joined this company so I could get some beautiful scrapbook paper at a discount, that I’d be traveling around the world with some of my best friends that I met through this amazing company.

Before earning my first trip two years ago, I heard other consultants talk about how they were spoiled on the trip. But I had no idea until I experienced it for myself. There are lots of perks to traveling with Close To My Heart. Based on last year’s incentive trip to Thailand, here are a few of the ways that traveling this is different than regular traveling.

1) Travel companion. The package includes airfare and cruise for me AND a guest. I choose to take my husband, Eric, with me to Thailand and I’m so thankful we had this shared one-in-a-lifetime experience.

2) Scrapbook. Every trip earning receives a kit with materials to complete a beautiful trip themed album. The pages for these books use lots of fun techniques and you get all the products you need to complete it, including an exclusive stamp set. I just posted my pagesfrom the 2018 Puerto Vallarta trip last week. I’m working on last year’s Thailand album now and can’t wait to show you the beautiful embossing and other techniques in these pages.

3) Shirts. Each earner and their guest receive an exclusive trip shirt prior to the trip. Last year, there were several styles to choose from and we could purchase extras if we wanted. The picture below is of all of the Thailand trip earners in our coordinating shirts making “Close To My Heart hands”.

4) Welcome and Farewell Dinners. The first evening of the trip is a dinner with announcements, awards and gifts. It’s a great time to greet friends and meet new people while enjoying delicious local food. At the end of the trip we all gather together again before heading back to our homes.

5) Gifts! Our President Monica Wihongi is a gift giving queen. She always chooses practical and unique gifts. It’s so fun to return to our room and find a box filled with an assortment of items. Last year’s box included water bottles, hat, visor, back pack, cinch bag, cooling cloths, umbrella and fan.

6) Excursion. Our Thailand trip also included a dinner cruise on on the Chao Phraya River to see the sights of Bangkok, taste authentic Thai cuisine and enjoy traditional Thai dancing.

7) TLC. Several members of the Close To My Heart executive team and staff traveled with us. They worked seemingly tirelessly to make sure that we were safe and comfortable. As happens when traveling, there were times that plans didn’t happen quite the way they were supposed to and the staff made sure we were informed and patiently answered questions. Traveling in a foreign country can cause some stress and they did everything they could to ease our anxiety. After full days of touring, while we fell into our rooms to get much need rest, the home office staff fired up their computers to work with their teams in the US who were just starting their days. I honestly don’t know how they did everything they did it all and without dropping their friendly smiles.

8) Friendships. The thing I’ve gained from the two trips I’ve taken that I value the most is the friendships. There is nothing like traveling with a group of around a hundred people with common hobby and business passion. Can you imagine running into close friends while wandering around an exotic place like the Siam Paragon (mall) in Bangkok? I can because it happened! Multiple times!

For all these reasons and more I consider a Close To My Heart incentive trip the ultimate reward from my business. It is the best way to celebrate the work I do doing the year. I love that I can treat my hardworking husband to a thrilling vacation to the most beautiful places in the world.

James Bond Island

Thank you Close To My Heart for the opportunities you have given me. I’m also so thankful for all the support I receive from my customers, friends and family. That includes those who have made purchases from me, attended a workshop or crop, or offered words of encouragement. It all means so much and I feel blessed to have so many wonderful people in my life.