The New Seasonal Expressions catalog is here! Happy New Year!

The new Seasonal Expressions catalog is here, and with it come fresh papers, stamps, coordinating die-cuts, embellishments, complements, new organizational tools and a welcome breath of spring! (Something we could all use right now on these cold days) Check out this gorgeous cover art!

With every new catalog comes new papers: Let me make the introductions,

Chelsea Gardens - a pretty floral in soft greens and blues, perfect for those spring projects.

Making Waves - bright purple and teal with a mermaid theme

Stargazer - another bright theme, this time in blue and red.

Gimme Some Sugar - A fun theme in pinks and mints. 

All of these papers are available in paper packs, and Workshops for both scrapbooking and cardmaking. There are coordinating complements and ribbons as well as sequins or cork shapes or acrylic dots (depending on the kit). See the "Kits" section for more information.

In addition to the new kits and paper packs, Close to My Heart has re-designed it's traveling organizational system. Called Designer Travel, the system is modular, which means that the set-up is easier to lift than the previous one, and because it's modular, you can purchase the pieces as you need them, or only the ones you need. Though to be honest, if you attend crops, you will want them all.

There are inserts to hold paper, inks, markers, stamp sets, stamp blocks, and tools. You can use hostess rewards towards a special bundle of the set.

Speaking of hostess rewards, hostess only stamp sets are back! Hostess rewards start when your party reaches $150, and they just go up from there.

January's Stamp of the month - Bloom and Grow - is so pretty - it pairs beautifully with the Chelsa Gardens paper:

Each month you can purchase a new D-size stamp set, available for one month only, for just $5. When you place an order of $50 or more in Close To My Heart products, you qualify for this special Stamp of the Month pricing.

You can order any of the items listed above by clicking on the links listed, or by visiting my website here. Thank you for dropping by, I hope you will visit again. 

Happy 4th!

I hope you all are having a fabulous 4th of July (long) weekend!! If it's anything like around here, there are already fireworks (legal or not) going off all around your neighborhood. Stay safe!

My life in June was crazy, and I missed out on 2 specials at Close to My Heart. The Album special and the Cardstock special. I think that was the universe's way of telling me to use what I have before filling my shelves with more... pffft on the universe, what does it know about crafters? lol I did manage to get emails out to all my regulars, so that was something at least...

Now it's July... and there are things you Close to My Heart fans need to know, or be reminded of if you don't already know. July is the last month for the Annual Inspirations 2016-17 Idea book, and there is a Stampaganza going on.

So here's the skinny... a whole lot of the Idea Book is retiring at the end of the month (you can find out what's retiring by visiting this section of my OBA), after July, bye bye.

BUT.. on the flip side of that is... if there are any stamp sets that you wanted, this is the month to get them! For the entire month, buy any two stamp sets (M-, A-, B-, C-, D-, or E-size) at full retail price and get a third stamp set of equal or lesser value FREE! Add stamp sets to your cart and qualifying sets will automatically be free!

In addition - an exclusive stamp set of 22 stamps just for Stampaganza - the January Word Puzzle set, is available for $17.95. While it's hot and humid outside, you can be stamping with thoughts of cool January.

Don't miss this opportunity to nab those stamp sets you've had your eye on. Just like the fireworks on the 4th, July will be fleeting and so will this Stampaganza! 

Contact your CTMH Consultant if you have any questions. (or click here if you need a consultant)

FLASH SALE June 1-2

It's FLASH SALE Time! 

That's Right, get your mouse ready, because at 5:00 pm Eastern (4pm Central, 3pm Mountain, 2pm Pacific), selected products will be featured at 30% off their normal prices!

There will be products and bundles from the current Annual Inspirations catalog as well as from the Seasonal Expressions  2 mini catalog.

Sale prices will only apply to items ordered online at Close to My Heart, and are only good from the times listed above on June 1 - same times on June 2. I have no advance knowledge of the items that will be featured.

Happy Shopping!

Dreamin' of Spring

Here in the Northeast, it feels like winter has been arriving a little bit later the last few years. As in, really kicking around mid-January. This winter has been no exception, we got some major snow-fall at the end of January and in the beginning of February.

I love the snow, especially sitting and watching it quietly snow and snow, on days when I can stay home from work, snug and warm. However, getting so many storms, so close together, tends to wear out its welcome very fast, and start many of us thinking about the spring thaw all too soon. (Which we won't see until late March)

With that in mind, I started playing with one of the paper packs from the latest Close to My Heart Seasonal Expressions mini-catalog. It's called "Dreamin' Big" and it's really cute. I'm not done with the whole layout yet, so I'm only going to give you a little peek. The rest will come later this week.

Close to My Heart is offering different deals every day all week long. Every day, between 3:00pm (MST) and 2:59pm (MST) the next day, a number of items will be 50% off. It's a mix of retired and current items, some bundles. All great deals.

What's the catch, you ask? No catch, only one caveat - you must submit your order before 2:59 (MST) the day of the deal or the discount will no longer apply.

Check back every day to see what new deals await!

Also available this month:
  New 2017 Planner pages, with special bundles.
  Mini Album Bundles - two sizes for so many memory keeping options.
  And don't forget the Stamp of the Month - Thoughtful Flowers

Last but not least - Saturday, December 31st, is the last day to order from the Holiday Expressions mini catalog.  Don't miss these wonderful papers and holiday stamp sets.

Pumpkin Spice Everything...

'Tis the season for Pumpkin Spice... in and on everything. After so many years, it's sort of annoying.
but I digress. I just wanted to use it as a title. lol

Pardon my late posting, I was in Florida at the beginning of the month, visiting family on the east coast. They are all safe, as are their neighbors. I was delayed getting home to my northern climes by a couple days, but it gave me the chance to help put the house shutters up before Matthew came to visit. Being an area watching all the hurricane prep was an interesting experience, and I continue to keep all of you who live in the hurricane belt in my thoughts.

Meanwhile, the month moved on and I neglected getting things updated here. eep. October has brought a new Stamp of the Month, Yuletide Joy (see the SoTM page and pic to the side), and a thrilling option for hostesses interested in signing on as a consultant.

For October - you can apply your Hostess Rewards to your consultant kit! See all the details here!  And I would love to have you on my team.

A sampling from the consultant kit.

Of course, being a hostess has always been a fabulous way to earn free products from Close to my Heart. Look at all the rewards you can get.... FREE! Being a hostess is easy, you can even have a gathering online, rather than in-home. Leave me a comment below

Big news! ALL - yes ALL the ink colors are now available in the New ink pad design! If you have been holding off buying ink-pads waiting for that great new magnetic inkpad... wait no more! At least pick up the Black. You will love it, I promise!

AND... I almost forgot this... The Happy Happy Christmas Album Bundle (say that five times fast, I dare you!). As if an album, protectors, cardstock, complements, Picture My Life cards, and My Crush pages... plus instructions on how to create five 2-page layouts for the album weren't enough. On top of that, there are instructions on how to create extra projects using the leftover materials. There are two album kits, one for post bound, and one for D-ring. links below, as well as the list of items for the extra projects.

Happy, Happy Christmas Album Bundle (Post Bound) - CC1180 - $69.95

Happy, Happy Christmas Album Bundle (D-Ring) - CC1179 - $69.95

Purchase one or more of the products below, and then follow the instructions to use your leftover supplies from the layouts to create even more Christmas crafts! 

• Designed Décor Red Magnetic Chalkboard (Z2006) • Display Tray (Z1750)• 5" × 7" Hinged Display Tray (Z1838)• Everyday Life™ Sea Glass Album Bundle (CC1181)

That's it for now, still trying to dig out of luggage (I hate unpacking as much as I hate packing), I always overpack! I'll create something to post this weekend....

National Scrapbooking Month

May is a big bright month. We're FINALLY seeing some regular sunshine and warmth here in the far Northeast, the days are longer so it feels like there's more time, and Close to My Heart just released not only the Seasonal Expressions 2 mini catalog, but May is also National Scrapbooking Month and that means that Close to My Heart has issued a special selection of papers and a coordinating stamp set JUST for May to celebrate.

the Happy Times paper pack is SO pretty, and so perfect for spring layouts, or cards (for us card-making folks). All pinks, and peachy corals, and florals. There are two ombre tones, one in greens and one in orange to magenta. The pack comes with 2 of each double sided paper, for 12 sheets of paper for $14.95. Or.... you can get this gorgeous paper FREE (with a $60 purchase).

The coordinating Happy Times stamp set is a D-size stamp set, and is $17.95. 

To help celebrate National Scrapbooking Month, and help you get those lovely papers, Close to My Heart is offering All of the My Legacy™ Albums for 25% off. At $26.21, that's a lovely deal. 

And let's not forget, there's a Stamp of the Month as always. This month's is called "Celebrate with Cake" and is perfect for coloring, or stamping on colored paper and cutting out. The cake layers are separated, so you can stamp a one layer cake, two layers, three, or let your imagination soar to the rooftops with a crooked cake of 10 layers! The Stamp of the Month is also a D-size stamp set, and available for $17.95 - or for $5.00 with a $50.00 purchase. (Which means, that if you qualify for the Happy Times above, you can have your cake and stamp it too!)

I don't have time today to get to the new products, but I will shortly. Very shortly - I'm already playing with the bright and cheery new papers. If you've been waiting for themes that included the Caribbean, Mediterranean, or a certain magic kingdom... wait no more! You can check them all out in the new Seasonal Expressions 2 now. 

If you'd like to order these or any other Close to My Heart products, please click on any of the links in this post, or go here. Thank you so much for supporting me, you all are a blessing and I appreciate every one of you. If you have any questions, please drop me an email, and if you would like to join my team, I'd certainly love to talk to you about it!

(Small update as of May 25 - CTMH has made some changes to the shopping part of their site, and some links in my older posts may take you to my order home page instead of straight to the product. I'm sorry for any inconvenience.)

Creative Live Broadcast

I have a really quick share today - Close to My Heart is doing a HUGE broadcast on CreativeLive. It was live on Nov 20-21, but they are re-broadcasting it, and it's free to watch, just sign up.

If you haven't heard about CreativeLIve (I hadn't before this), it's an online learning platform that broadcasts live classes (and also rebroadcasts them). Everything from how to set up a blog, to how to sew a dress, step by step, to many other things. I won't go into it all now, because this post is about Close to My Heart, not CreativeLive, lol.

So here's the link to CreativeLive, create an account, then look for this broadcast: Scrapbooking Paper Crafts Stamping and More. I promise you, you will learn SO much about Close to My Heart, more than I have been able to share with you in the short time I have been blogging, but that I have wished I could. This is the excitement I have about the products, the process.

Enjoy! Then contact me and let me know your thoughts!

Get Ready, It's Coming!

Before you know it, the new year will be here! The November Stamp of the Month, Cheers - 2016! is all about celebrating the incoming New Year. It's great for scrapbook pages, as well as for making cards for those who don't (or didn't get around to) sending out December Holiday cards. My sister has been sending New Year cards for years now. I keep saying I am going to adopt the idea, but I just love Christmas stamps... anyway... Cheers!

Some images from the Close to My Heart website:

This stamp set just screams for using some glitter paper or shimmer trim, lots of sparkle and sequins.

What a great way to send off some holiday photos to family and friends, or remember the New Year's Day Dreams you plan with your family.

Speaking of PLANNING... Stay tuned... in the next week or two, definitely before the end of the month... Close to My Heart is introducing a Planner! I'm really excited about this. I'm a little late spreading the news (it was on the CTMH Blog on November 2, 2015), but I will surely not be when it's available! It was previewed at the AustralAsia convention to rave reviews, and has been the buzz of the CTMH Facebook groups ever since. There will be a package deal to start with, so definitely mark it in your current planner to be ready to jump on this opportunity!

This month there is a fabulous special going on for scrapbookers! The Simply Fundamental Scrapbooking Bundles are available only the month of November, and will give you a great jump start on your holiday and 2016 scrapbooking. Here's all you get in a bundle ($71.80 USD):

• Album of your choice (D-ring or Post-bound)
• Paper Fundamentals Enchantment (1 pack)
• Fundamental Stickers Enchantment Pack (1 pack)
• Fundamental Assortment Peacock (1 pack)
• White Daisy Cardstock (3 sheets)
• Memory Protectors™ Value Pack (1 pack Side Load or 1 pack Top Load) 

------

Today I finally opened my White Pines paper pack and made some Christmas cards. 

I recently got the "Believe in Christmas" My Acrylix Stamp Set, available in the Holiday Expressions catalog. I love all the sayings. After much staring at the paper pack, and Pinterest, I finally came up with this - which was inspired by... nothing I saw, lol. 

I laid all 3 sentiments on one block and stamped them at an angle in Chocolate ink on one edge of Colonial White cardstock, then again down the other side, offsetting them so they were next to a different saying. I used a small pine branch from another set in Fern ink to add a little color to that piece of cardstock, then I layered it onto a piece of Cranberry cardstock. 

I stamped the banner in gold pigment ink on a cut out banner and heat embossed it with antique gold embossing powder (it looks chocolate in this photo). 

I used the "Seasons" stamp set that comes with the Art Philosophy Cricut Collection to stamp the tree. I topped off one tree with a small wooden partridge (or maybe it's a dove?), and the other with a star, just for variation. And I gave one of the trees and the banner some dimension with foam tape. The banner and trees were cut out of Colonial White cardstock using my Cricut Expression and Art Philosophy and Artistry cartridges.

Finally, I doodled around the edge in black (I wish I had used brown), and added some gold sequins for ornaments on the tree.

There are other really pretty papers in this pack, and I plan to create some scrapbook pages soon. The complements that are available are so cute! White Pines set.

October Already?

Oh my, where did September go? I had so many plans of things to make and share... and then I got hit with a cold. The cough from that cold lingered for most of the month, and if you've ever tried to stamp or craft when you are having random coughing fits, you know it's nearly impossible. So the month just slid by and here it is October! I am SO not ready for Halloween! And it is pretty much my favorite holilday!

But, I will share a couple of quick updates from Close to My Heart; the Stamp of the Month (called Twinkle) this month is Christmas themed (because if you make your own cards, or are thinking about scrap book pages, NOW is the time to work on them.. December will be too late!).

And if you've been considering signing up with Close to My Heart, this is a Great month to do so! This month, in addition to the new consultant kit that just started going out, CTMH is giving all newly signed consultants the bag that consultants got when they attended convention!! I am jealous! I couldn't attend convention, and that is one cute bag! If you'd like more information, drop me an email at marion.strauser@gmail.com and I will be happy to tell you more about the opportunity. I'd love to have you on our team!

I've been crafting some recently, mostly for a craft show I participated in last weekend. It was the first time I put my cards up for sale en masse. Let's just say,  it was either too early in the season, or that venue wasn't the right audience. I had a few last minute hiccups with my printer that meant I couldn't promote Close to My Heart the way I planned. But I learned a LOT, and will be much better prepared for the next one, whenever that may be. :)

I saved my new papers though, and all that manic card-making did fuel my imaginative juices, so be prepared to see some fun stuff in the weeks ahead. I need a week to recover, and then I am sure my brain will start to see Cricut cuts and card patterns again. :)

Until next time, I hope you are paper-crafting too!