So many Memories.... So Little Time....

We never seem to have enough time to capture our memories. Well, this month, Close to My Heart is making that a little bit easier for you. How about “15-Minute Memories”? Grab your photos, one of our Cut-Above® layout kits and create a beautiful 2 page scrapbook layout in no time (or less time than usual), plus 2 pocket pages.

And, for all of April 2017, they are half price!

Each layout kit includes two printed 12” x 12” printed base pages, die cut paper pieces (even photos mats), title and embellishment stickers, 12 pocket cards, 2 12” x 12” memory protectors, 2 pocket style memory protectors, and assembly instructions. That’s everything you will need other than your photos, journaling pen, and adhesive.

Watch this video to see how fast they go together! 

One more reminder: April is the last month for the Seasonal Expressions 1 items!

That includes all the items from the following collections:

Dreamin' Big Paper Pack

Some Kinda Wonderful Paper Pack

Hello Lovely Paper Pack

Sugar Rush Paper Pack

Some Items are already sold out (Dreamin’ Big Thin cuts bundle, Sugar Rush Scrapbooking Kit L ), so be sure to check soon if there is anything you want! It’s all “while supplies last” until April 30th.

You can order any of these things by clicking the links, or clicking here to go to my OBA and browsing the entire line of Close to My Heart products.

~ ~ ~

Have you ever thought about becoming a consultant? Whether you want to make it a business, or simply get a discount on your own purchases for your hobby, becoming a Close to My Heart consultant is extremely flexible, you can do a little or a lot. April is a fantastic month to join my team, You'll get all the fun of ordering from the Seasonal Expressions 1 catalog, plus the first look at Seasonal Expressions 2 (it will come in your consultant kit). A box filled with product and business starters, plus $50 in product credit for you to choose which products you feel will best help you grow your business. 

Jeepers Creepers!

Welcome to our JCB Monthly Blog Hop!

This month there are 5 of us highlighting the “Jeepers Creepers” paper collection. This blog hop is a great big circle so you can start wherever you want and continue through to see all the fabulous artwork incorporating the Jeepers Creepers Paper collection.
If you are coming from Von's Craft Studio, you are on the right track! I chose to do a scrapbook layout. Halloween is one of the favorite holidays at our house, and with a grandkid now who is old enough to enjoy dressing up, things are really getting fun again!

The base page of this project is the dark gray print, to give it a spooky night feel overall. I used the Cricut Artbooking cartridge to cut out a Haunted House and a fence (3x, welded together), and backed the windows with orange from the striped paper. Then I cut out some of the monsters from the monster print paper to inhabit the house. Behind the fence, I layered a strip of the spooky eyes paper, I was trying for the feeling of eyes blinking through the fence in the dark. Did I get it? I added a couple of the eyeballs from the assortment on the fence as well, for some dimension. For the photo wells, I used the Pansy circle paper, cut to 4 x 4 inches, which just about takes up 4 circles each. The photos themselves will be 3.5 x 3.5 when I add them (shown here with placeholders). I added the moon, sparkly bat, SCARY and Monsters from the complements. I think the Scary plus Monsters make a fun title.

Look at all the great papers in the entire pack - I have so much more to play with! Supply List for the layout shown above: Jeepers Creepers Paper Pack - X7211B - $9.95 JeepersCreepers Complements - X7211X - $6.95 JeepersCreepers Assortment - X4009 - $3.95 (Alternatively - JeepersCreepers Workshops Your Way - G1110 - $26.95 - comes with White, Pansy and Whisper Cardstock) Black Cardstock - 1386 (24sheets) - $14.50 Cricut ArtBookingCartridge Collection - Z3169 - $99

Thanks for stopping by! Please continue onto My Little Scrap Happy Corner where you will find some additional artwork by Danielle highlighting this Theme! Be sure to leave a comment and let me know what you thought of my variation and happy hopping!

Flash Sale and Retiring Colors

Convention is over, and I wish the catalog was going live sooner. There's been so much information flying about the airwaves! I'm still sorting out exactly what I can share when. The Annual Idea book does not come out until September, but some of the items are going to be available in August. Like a new Cricut cartridge, paper pack, some stamps... There are new colors... (which means some older ones are retiring-see below). As soon as I get my ducks in a row and know exactly what I can and cannot share, I will.

Meanwhile, Studio J, CTMH's online scrapbooking studio, is having a sale! If you've never tried it, or tried it and love it, you have two weeks to take advantage of a great price and some backgrounds that will be disappearing at the end of the month. I don't know for certain which ones. I am not sure that has been shared. I'm going to spend some time this weekend finally putting some of my older digital photos into layouts and moving forward with my long neglected scrapbooking. This is just such a good deal and a great motivator!

There they are, the magic seven... that are retiring. These colors are all from the 'Enchanted' group of colors, which in my opinion is good. It always drove me nuts trying to find the colors in the catalog out of a long list. Knowing these are all in one section saves some time. Retiring Inks.... Retiring Cardstock....

That's it for this post. The Jump on It In July deal is still going on; if you are interested in that, keep reading for details. Great way to stock up on some stamp sets!

Contact your Close to My Heart consultant for more information on any of this, or for joining the team. If you do not have a consultant, I would love to be yours! drop me a comment, or an email. To shop with me, simply follow this link to my OBA (online business address). Happy Stamping, Scrapping and Crafting!

May is National Scrapbooking Month!

May is National Scrap-booking Month.

As you know, I haven't been actively scrapping. This month’s Stamp Of The Month (Just Sayin') is designed for scrap-booking, so I felt I should create a photo layout.

 
I needed some inspiration, so I took a Blog Hop tour. If you've never been on a blog hop, they are a great way to be inspired! (the way it works is you start with one blog, and it will link you to the next one in the hop. And they are all using the same stamp or papers for that "hop"). Here’s where I usually start: If you Bling It.   

I also love to blog hop to see how others are using the stamp set. They’ll look at the same stamps in TOTALLY different ways! For example; I had never thought of flipping the stamp over and sticking it ‘design side’ to the acrylic block. (though it was a totally “duh” moment as soon as I read it). You’ll get the same shape as a stamp, without the design… a couple of the bloggers did that in their designs. BRILLIANT! And not something you can do with wood-block stamps. And of course, it only works with symmetrical stamps (like many of the shapes in this stamp set). I love new techniques!

This month's stamp set: These are not only great images for photo layouts. They are great on cards, adding a little extra to a set of pocket pages, gift bags, all those little things that we paper crafters come up with. As every month, the Stamp of the Month set is $17.95 or $5 with a $50 purchase. 

Anyway, you're probably wanting to see the full pictures of my project... and here I have been keeping you waiting. Well, I got SO much inspiration, I created a photo layout page with leftover Blossom paper from the pages I worked on before. Then I made a card, definitely getting inspiration from several of the cards I saw along the blog hop (thank you ladies!). I used my Cricut to cut out a slew of 1 inch triangles and 1 inch circles, and then stamped them up using Pear, Honey, and Smoothie Exclusive Inks. I ended up using some of the circles on the photo layout, and the triangles on the card. (I have a bunch of each left, still un-stamped, for other projects).

Once I started stamping elements to use on this layout, I really went crazy, I stamped all of them in several colors and then chose the one that I liked best. I have lots left that I can use on other projects.

Something I saw done on one layout (by Angela White of www.luvz2scrapbook.com) was to use the Liquid Glass over the stamped elements to make your own enamel look pieces for your layouts. Angela had made quite a few for her page, and it was really stunning. The other idea I saw was on jd designs blog, to use the 1 inch clear epoxy done stickers (that are meant for finishing off DIY bottlecap embellishments) on the circles to make your own "flair". Either way it's done, they look great! I recommend a to visit their blogs!

After I was done with my photo layout, I was still full of ideas from the Blog Hop, so I went ahead and made this card:

I purposely left the exact sentiment of the card blank. It could be a birthday, baby congrats, thank you, promotion, graduation, anything. I used the "This Day" stamp from the February SOTM "Choose Happy", but there are many small sayings in the catalog that would fit.

Here's a complete list of the materials used in the projects above:

Both:

May SoTM  - Just Sayin' S1505 - $17.95 (or $5 with a $50 order)

Exclusive Inks, Pear, Honey, Smoothie - $5.95 each

Daisy White Cardstock 1388 - $9.50 (24 sheet pack)

Sequin embellishments - Coral Reef- Z3042 - $3.95

Marvey Uchida Journaling Pen Z1979 - $3.25

'You & Me' Scrap-book Layout:

Blossom Paper pack - X7196 - $9.95

Kraft Cardstock Z1375 - $9.50 (24 sheet pack)

Han Shin Touch Alcohol Marker - Sap Green - Z2463 - $5.95

'This Day' Card:

Pear Cardstock - X5935 $14.50 (Adventure Paper pack - 2 ea of 10 colors)

Gold Shimmer Trim - Z1985 - $4.95

Pick up your own Stamp of the Month for only $17.95 OR get it for only $5 with a $50 purchase! Be sure to contact your Close To My Heart Independent Consultant before the end of May.  If you don't already have a consultant, I'd love to be yours.  You can find details on the "Stamp of the Month" by clicking on the "Stamp of the Month" at top of the page on the right or purchase your SOTM here. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact me.

Coming up next will be The Taste of Summer papers - a very Special Paper pack only being offered by CTMH this month! They are perfect for creating layouts to memorialize those sweet summer memories. Or to create some bright and cheerful cards to send off to make someone's day!



Please take a moment or two to check out the rest of my blog.  If you enjoy your visit, then please consider "following" me by email, and/or leaving a comment.

It's the Last Week...

Of April.      Of the Deal of the Day.      Of the Typed Note Stamp of the Month.

If you've been on the fence about these, it's time to jump off and grab them!

All it takes to get the Deal of the Day is purchasing one regular priced item. 

One.... Anything... Any... Little... Thing.

And if the Deal of the Day puts your order total over $50 you can then buy the 

Typed Note stamp set for just $5! How cool is that?

($17.95 without the $50 purchase)

Surely you could use some bright Carnival Washi tape? Some Glacier Extra Thick Twine?

A new ink pad? A journaling pen? Some My Acrylix Spritz Cleaner?

I'd love to see pics or hear about what you got in Your DotD. Please leave me a comment below.