What a grand-whirlwind of fun!! Convention is always a highlight of my year but this year it was so much better than any before- it really was magical!! We stayed right at Disneyland and had all the convention on-site, let me tell you that Disney staff really will bend over backwards to make you happy- they were phenomenal!! I took advantage of room service every morning (I know but it felt so good to spoil myself!!). I highly recommend the Mickey waffles with berries- very yummy!

Goofy was cooking up a storm right in our hotel- we had to take advantage of this and have a photo!

This was also my first convention as a Director- WOW is all I can say! Prime seating and a special dinner with park access and a show really helped to make this convention super-special!

I also had the pleasure of accepting the award for top team sales for teams of 1-25 in Canada!! This was a great achievement and I am super-proud of my small but mighty team for earning this award!!

Now I am focusing on recovery… and the new Idea book!! Contact me below or via email to get yours today!!

Well technically I do not fly out until tomorrow but today is really the last crunch day in preparations to leave for Disneyland in California where Close to my Heart is hosting out annual convention!!

This is always a time of year that I LOVE but this year is already more special- last month I made director which entitles me to all sorts of perks at convention (like special seating which for my 7 month pregnant self is GOLD!!). I also have been invited to the Directors Dinner where we get whisked away for something special and then have time to play in the park! Not sure what I will be able to do but I will enjoy it anyway.

This is also the time of year for annual awards and recognitions- my team, The Brae-er’s, has performed VERY WELL this year and I am pretty sure we may come away with an award (finger’s crossed!).

I will blog about all my adventures when I return- so see you in a week!!

Welcome to the July Stamp of the Month Blog Hop- my blog features the Canadian Celebration Stamp Set (which differs only slightly from the American one and is only available in Canada!)

If you have come from Judy’s blog then you are on the right path!

My card features a cranberry and dutch blue colour scheme. I created my background by stamping with liquid applique (a technique I love and recently taught at the Toronto Regional Celebration!). This allows my fireworks to have some dimension and makes the card extra-special! I also used a generous amount of our NEW red buttons and finished the card with the celebration sentiment which is popped up with foam tape.

If you are interested in the technique of stamping with liquid applique then click here to see my video tutorial post!

I hope you have a wonderful and Happy Canada Day if you are Canadian or a wonderful and Happy 4th of July if are American-they are both such great holidays and a fantastic kick off to summer!

Now hop on over to Angela’s blog to see her creation!

and don’t forget about my new facebook business page- if I get to 100 followers I am offering a great special and auction!

http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/pages/Brae-Montgomery-Independent-Consultant-Close-to-my-Heart/182386495143713

Here are the last layouts I have created so far for Ellery’s album- I am sure there will be MANY more to come (especially since my summer holidays start in one more day!!)

This layout uses the Cherry-O paper and stickease and some of our new buttons (if you have not checked out our buttons since the switch you really need too!)

And last this one features Sophia paper, our pink ribbon, Affection stamp set and a flip flap- this one will be for her first month (which will be September) so I will likely have LOTS more photos for this layout!

Here is the second part of the album I have been working on! This layout here is my favourite so far! For this one I used the Wings paper and one of the layouts out of Magic- it shows you step by step how to create the look you see with four flip flaps!

Looking at the picture below you should be able to make out that the middle page is actually 2 flip flaps and that they open and reveal another page layout.

Here is the other side to the layout. I also used the licorice opaques, Wings ribbon assortment and black buttons to finish off this layout.

I am really looking forward to adding photos to this layout- my son has been requesting for 7 years to be a big brother! This layout uses Mulberry paper and stickease, chocolate ribbon and the eclectic alphabet and some buttons for fun!

Another of my calendar pages- here I used Cherry O paper, pink ribbon, token alphabet and some clear and pink buttons (I really cannot get enough of our buttons!!)

Stay tuned there is still one more post of pages to go!!

As I zone in on my due date for my second child, I am having tonnes of fun prepping the cute and girly things that I can. One of the things that I have been working on is her Babies First Year Album.

For this album I decided to mix layouts that would feature the regular layouts you would have for a newborn- with layouts featuring calendar pages so that I can cleary see her growth and write down any special occasions along the way! The calendar idea I got from my good friend and sideline Alyson (who recently started a blog and is very talented so I recommend that you visit her at http://createwithalyson.blogspot.com).

This is just part one of what I have done- I have the rest ready to go and they will be posted later this week!

This layout features the Sophia paper, pink ribbon assortment, opaques, creme brulee ribbon and an image from the Ms On the Go stamp set.

This layout features the Twitterpatted paper, pink ribbon, a variety of our super- cute buttons and images from our Card Chatter- Love stamp set.

Here we have Mayberry paper and stickease with a few opaques.

This layout uses the Sweetheart paper and Sweetheart level 2 assortment. The two pieces of black are actually pockets where I can place some of the many mementos that babies come with! I cannot wait to fill it!!

Okay I have to admit that the blog and my facebook page have been suffering lately- I am now in my 7th month of pregnancy and feeling pretty tired and worn out- even small things like cleaning part of the house take A LOT of energy to recuperate from and for someone that usually gets it all done right away I am having a very hard time adjusting to this!
A few months ago I went to a corporate event in Toronto- there they had a Operation Smile Auction with items that the art department had created. I love supporting this charity and decided to leave with just one item! Thanks to the very nice Jan (who was bidding against me of the following item) I was able to be victorious and in the process help one child get closer to the surgery they need!
Here are some pics of the banner.

To create this they used the following product: Kraft paper, spray pen with white re-inker, scallop punch, Paper Lantern stamp set, Corner rounder, some buttons and sparkles and some of our DE alpahbet letters.

I love it!! The full banner says “Happy Birthday” and I guess I should hang it today since it is my husbands birthday- Happy Day Hunny!!