April snow squalls... bring... Fab Sales?

What a crazy winter we've had here in the northeast! It's the first week in April and we just had snow (with a little more expected next week!) I think the seasons are shifting on us.

Meanwhile, March roared in like a lion and passed so fast that I completely missed it. Maybe that's why it's still snowing.

Back to April, I hope everyone had a Happy Easter, filled with Family, Friends, bunnies, eggs, and most of all. memory making. I hope you took lots of photos, and I hope you will get them printed sooner than later! If you do not create your own scrapbooks, get them created via one of the online options (Persnickety Prints, Shutterfly, etc). As I read recently, no one is going to pass down a CD of photos. So get those albums made!

For those of you who enjoy creating your own scrapbooks, Close to My Heart is having a Friday sale every week in April. Called Fab Faves; select items will be offered at 25% off each week for 24 hours.

So mark this link, Fab Faves! and check back each week! 

Another Fab deal in April - if you have been considering joining the Close to My Heart team as a consultant... this is a Fab time to do it! The Fab Four  - in addition to the great consultant kit and the $50 in CTMH Cash that you get to purchase the supplies that work best for your business - if you sign up during April you will receive the next four Stamp of the Month sets FREE (a $71.80 retail value). Check out this link for more information.

Aren't the Stamp of the Month sets cute!! Gotta grab 'em all, and what an easy way? Join my team!

Don't you love surprises?

Well, we all love good surprises. And Close to My Heart has got a Great Surprise in store for us all!

Mystery boxes!

On Black Friday, for one day, and ONE day only, you'll have the opportunity to to get amazing crafting supplies at an amazing price.

Featuring themed mystery boxes filled with retired Close to My Heart products, all at a major discount!

These mystery boxes will have five different price points, ranging from $35 USD to $150 USD - some of those mystery boxes will be 50% off the retail value!

This starts at 12:am Mountain Standard Time Nov 25, 2016 for 24 hours ONLY, while supplies last. That means that once the boxes at any one price point sell out, they are gone. Gone, gone gone. 

So click here (after midnight MST) and grab a box for your stash fast!

Happy New Year! (Close to My Heart Style)

I can't believe it's AUGUST already! 

On one hand, I have been looking forward to it, because I have family visiting in a couple weeks (YAY!), and this is a relatively slow time at work. AND, the new Close to My Heart Annual Inspirations catalog is released! (squeals of joy are heard around the world!)

The new Fundamentals Paper packs are wonderful, the colors (look at the Adventure Combo) are so vibrant, well, I run out of superlatives when I try to describe the changes. I'll be showing these things in posts to come.

On the other hand... summer is practically over, back to school sales have already started, the last of the summer tourists have poured into Maine, and there's only one month left to the Spring/Summer Seasonal Expressions mini catalog.

This little booklet is filled with some amazing paper packs and stamp sets. I will be sorry to see them go (and glad I have them in my stash to use later - might be hoarding the paper for a while though, lol).

I've been itching to create with the Florence paper pack. This is a vibrant, boho sort of theme. Floral, rich tones, I just love it! So far, I have created 6 scrapbook pages, and 5 cards. I still have TONS of paper and most of the PML cards left, and still not sure what all I will do with it. Probably more cards, I love cards. So here are the pictures:

I experimented with wavy line doodles around my photo place holders. I don't think I will do that again. :) They do not seem to photograph well. (The straight line doodles look nicer in general and more consistent.)

The "Brilliant" and the little rose gold embossed heart (hard to see the metallic embossing in this photo), are from the Florence Complements Assortment. It's also hard to see in this photo the pretty Rose Gold foil tape. All the embellishments I used come in the Florence Workshops Your Way Kit.

"Genuine", another word from the Complements Assortment. You can also see a couple of the Florence Sequins up in the corner, they are in really rich tones for sequins!

More of the Complements package, Little flowers, and word pointers, There are those sequins again!

I hear you - Enough with the peeks already! Let's see the full pages!

The picture does not do the color justice - I have GOT to get a better spot to take photos, I apologize. But at least you get a look at the layout scheme. The layout itself is from one of Close to My Heart's wonderful pattern books. "Make if From Your Heart" Volumes 1 & 2 offer some great scrapbook layout and card patterns guide you into using their papers and embellishments. With all the measurements, and photos of finished page options as well.

Another layout from one of the Make it From Your Heart books. On both of the above layouts, I have altered the original layout pattern to add more photos, more journaling boxes. I haven't finished adding embellishments from the Florence Complements Assortment,sometimes I find that hard to do without the photos in place first.

I'll post the cards and third layout in a week or two. We are smack in the middle of repainting/reflooring part of our house, and doing all the furniture moving and DIY work while working full time etc, etc... well - we put it off only due to a humidity wave, but with family visit impending, it can no longer wait (the guest room is filled with furnishings).

The Products I used in my layouts (some not shown yet):
Workshops Your Way Florence Scrapbooking Kit - G1107 - $26.95
Whisper Cardstock, 2 sheets - X5929 - $14.50 (24 sheets) (always good to have on hand)
                                            - or X5933 Basics Combo $14.50  (2 sheets each color)


Future projects will also include:
White Daisy Cards & Envelopes Value Pack - X254 - $14.50 (50 Cards/Envelopes)

If you would like to order these or other products, please visit my Close to My Heart Online Business Address (OBA). Be sure you log in, or create an account, your shopping will be much easier, and you can save your shopping cart if you need to come back later and finish your order. You will also get the monthly email newsletter from Close to My Heart (if you choose to).

Lastly for today, the Stamp of the Month! Can't forget that. August's SoTM is SO cute! It's aimed at Halloween, but I'm already seeing other ways to use it. It's called "Purr-fect Halloween." And yes, it's cat themed.

The Stamp of the Month is an Exclusive D-sized set, available Only this month. You can purchase it for $17.95 (usd), or you can get it for $5 with a purchase of $50 in other Close to My Heart products.

If you've read this far, thank you for your time and support! I appreciate it and am blessed by you.

Summer Time, Lemonade and Retiring Stamps... not your usual combo...

For a lot of us, July =  middle of Summer Time. The kids are out of school (well, mine are all grown, but the kids where I work are gone), the weather may have finally settled into a summery pattern of warmth for most days, and cooking outside is more usual than not. Iced tea and lemonade are drinks of choice around my house.

It's also the last month for the Close to My Heart 2015-2016 Annual Inspirations catalog. And... This time around almost all the stamps are being retired. To put it another way, it was shorter for me to post a list of the stamp sets that were Not retiring, than the ones that were, LOL.

In addition to the stamps going buh-bye, all the paper sets, except for the solid colors, are also going to be changing. So if you like the Fundamentals sets, I recommend picking some up before the end of July. 

Also, the following Close To My Heart Exclusive inks and re-inkers will be retiring: Gypsy, Topiary, Pear, Honey, Sunset, Cotton Candy, Hollyhock.

Along with most of the decor, albums, a couple of shimmer trim colors, and 3 of the Cricut cartridge sets. But I can promise, the things that are coming in August - will wow you! I can't reveal yet, but oh my, so much lovely!

Anyway, in the meantime - happy shopping the retiring items and here's the Stamp of the Month!

It's called "From the Notebook" and is available July only, for $17.95. OR, for $5.00 with a $50 or more purchase. Stop by my online page and check out the entire catalog. 

One last thing. For the Month of July, if you sign up to be a consultant, you'll have the Early Bird opportunity to get some of the incoming products free with your New-Consultant kit. For more information, click here, or contact me. I'd love to have you on my team.

A Cute little Sunday Card

I've been itching to play with this stamp set since I saw it in the Seasonal Expressions 1 idea book. It's the Stamp of the Month for February; an adorable set of Balloon Animals! A couple of folks I know are expecting babies soon, so this is a perfect set to make congratulations cards.

I knew as soon as I saw the stamp set that I would make the cards with one of the new bright sets of paper. I haven't received my Penelope paper pack yet, so I used some of my Kaleidoscope pack, along with Pear and White Daisy Exclusive cardstock.  These colors are brighter in person! And a bit of Gold Shimmer Trim for some shine. I used Gypsy ink for the saying and frame, Pixie for the balloon Doggie, and a combination of Pixie and second generation* Sorbet on the Monkey to get a deeper, but not too deep look. I decided to keep this card simpler; no extra embellishments. I want those cute animals to steal the show!

Look at the other animals in the set, so cute! Also, note that the frame can be cut using your Cricut (That's what the red line around any stamp image in the catalog means). That's handy if you are making a set of cards - no fussy cutting!

*Second generation stamping - for those of you who may not know, is when you ink up your stamp, then stamp it once on scrap paper, then stamp it again on your project, giving a lighter image.

This adorable stamp set is a D sized set and is available ONLY for the month of February, for $17.95 USD, or for $5 with a $50 order. Shop online with me and I'll send you the measurements for the card shown above as well as two other designs that are coming later this week.

So Much New...

Wheee! It’s August! The summer is flying by far too fast for my liking and there has been SO much going on. Most days I feel like I can barely catch my breath.

So… while I have been hugely busy at work (I know, I say that far too much. And July usually is not busy all the month, but this year was an exception.), there have been things going on with Close to My Heart that have also kept me busy. I briefly blogged about the Studio J Flash Sale, and I saw that a few of you took advantage of that. I hope you are enjoying your layouts! I got 17 done so far, and they should be arriving this coming week, I am very excited! The sale was extended until August 3^rd, so there are a couple more days to take advantage of the $5 per layout deal (minimum of 4 layouts needed to place an order, but still... that’s 8 pages for $20!).

Now… on to the August goodies! In the past, August has been the month that Close to My Heart releases the new Annual Inspirations catalog and idea book. An eagerly awaited event, to say the least. This year, it was pushed out until September. But to bridge the time – the month of August – not only was the 2014-15 catalog extended one more month (an extra month to get those stamps and papers and embellishments that will be retiring….), but some things were released early to whet your appetite for the 2015-16 catalog.

Below is a list, with catalog numbers, of the items that have been released starting TODAY! Included in this basket of goodies is a new Cricut cartridge and accompanying stamp sets,Artistry. I have seen the pictures of all the cuts, and wow, is it versatile! I can’t wait to get my hands on it! I already have the Zoe paper packet and the Coral shimmer trim, it’s so pretty! August’s Stamp of the Month is another one of those all-around useful sets (see picture below). And if you’ve gotten hooked on Studio J, you can use the Zoe paper kit there too.

Cricut® ArtistryCollection (Z3167)
My Reflections™ Zoe Paper Packet (X7197B)
Zoe Complements (X7197C)
Zoe Assortment (Z3082)
Coral Shimmer Trim (Z3088)
Enamel & Glitter Duos Green Triangles(Z3123)
Workshops on the Go® Zoe Scrapbooking Kit(G1096)
Framed – August Stamp of the Month (S1508)
Zoe Studio J® Kit
Zoe Studio J® Limited Edition Express Collection (Live until September 30, 2015)
Marker Roll-Up (Z3120) and Accessory Roll-Up (Z3121) as part of the August Get Organized Campaign

There is also a great Buy this/Get that deal going on in the month of August. Called Get Organized, when you purchase either the new Marker Roll-Up or the new Accessory Roll-Up at full retail price, you will get the Balloon Wishes stamp set (with the marker roll up) or 2 Base & Bling Style Sheets (with the accessory roll up) FREE. Checkout all the details here.

I’ve been super busy not only playing with Studio J(creating layouts for digital photos as far back as 2007!!), but my husband and I have been doing some big stuff around our house and getting ready for out of town visitors. I did get the Zoe paper, but I am going to wait until I get the Cricut Artistry set before I really dive into it. SO… I hope you've been enjoying the images from Close to My Heart.

Please visit my OBA and take a look at all the wonderful products this company creates to help YOU create. If you would like to create your own online party, drop me an email, and I will give you information on how you can do that and earn free products. If you live locally to me, I can cometo your home and share the CTMH products with you and your friends, and you can see for yourself how easy it is to create something memorable. 

And if you're interested in becoming a consultant yourself, again, drop me a mail and I'll get right back to you with more information. It's a great time to join, the new consultant package has just been re-done and is better than ever!

Oh, I almost forgot... in addition to the year-long catalog release on Sept 1, the Holiday Seasonal Expressions will also debut - the Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas papers, stamps and embellishments! The Halloween paper this year... is spooktacular!

Jumping July

Happy July!

The busiest part of my work year is behind me… yayyyyy (Can you picture me flailing around like a happy Kermit the Frog? Lol) Now I can enjoy a little of summer.

In my crafting world… a lot of my Close to My Heart team mates are getting ready to head off to Convention in a week out in Anaheim. I am envious. Not because they are going to California, though I would love the chance to go to Disney, but because they are going to get to see the new catalog line first!!!! I’ll get to see it soon enough, but I can’t share it with you until September…

But, meanwhile, in the present time, July, there’s a new Stamp of the Month, and of course, a new promotion. And it’s really good, I have to say. The stamp of the month is called “Life is Wonderful”. It’s kind of geared towards scrapbooking, but when I played with it, I made cards. Lol. I just didn’t feel the scrapping vibe today.

The Month-long promotion is called “Jump on it July”. And you might really want to jump on it! During the month of July, when you purchase $25 (USD & CAD) in current, retail priced stamps, you qualify to receive either the July Stamp of the Month, Life is Wonderful, FREE, or any of the Hostess Rewards stamp sets featured in the Annual Inspirations 2014-2015 or Seasonal Expressions 2 for only $5 (USD & CAD)!

This is such a great time to build up your stamp library, and get hold of one of those hostess sets that you may have been longing for, but felt were out of reach.

So, on to the cards:

The first two I used the SoTM primarily, then I started branching off with the hostess stamps. I will list the supplies of each. Some things are not available however, as they were from the Deal of the Day box I got a couple months ago.

I decided to try the chalkboard look with the SotM, since I hadn't used my White Daisy Ink pad much. I chose to use a dark blue card stock that came to hand, I don’t think it’s CTMH (I recently came across a pile of office supply cardstock samples in my cupboard), but Outdoor Denim would work beautifully, I used a White Daisy card base. I used Outdoor Denim Exclusive Ink for the Wonderful, on White Daisy cardstock, and popped that out with foam dots. I had some of this curly-cue shimmer trim from some dollar-store haul that I thought would go well with the ‘Wonderful’, so I used that along the side (it did not peel off the plastic easily, I do not recommend it). Finished with three silver sequins to balance the bling on the other side. I thought this might be a good announcement card.

I made the next card using papers from the Jackson paper pack, Lagoon and Colonial White cardstock, and Lagoon, Black and Desert Sand Exclusive Inks. This is a more masculine card, so I kept embellishment to a minimum, using a metal badge button that came in my Deal of the Day. I used the Hostess set ‘A Thing Well Done’ as well as the SotM ‘Life is Wonderful’. Inside, I used the Congratulations stamp from the hostess set. A great Graduation, promotion, or even retirement card.

For this card I used the Hostess stamp, 'Exotic Flower', I just love this stamp. When I got it, I was inspired to pull out some old kaleidoscope ink pads that I had tucked away in my cupboard forever. I played around with them every which way I could think of with this stamp, creating some lovely effects (as shown by the assorted examples included in the picture).

For this card, I pulled out one of the pre-stamped ones that coordinated with Lagoon cardstock. Because of the size of the stamp, I felt it should go on a square card.  I used the curlicue corners from the SotM ‘Life is Wonderful’ as accents, and grabbed the saying from the Hostess set ‘Tagged With Love’. I popped that up with foam tape. Finally I added a crystal flower to the middle (another embellishment from the Deal of the Day box). There’s no sentiment inside, but I repeated a couple of the corner curlicues.

I hope you like these cards, please leave me a comment. You can get most of the supplies to make these cards by following the links listed, or this link to my OBA. If you have any questions, leave me a comment or send me an email and I will answer as soon as possible.

I’ll be making more cards and layouts using other Hostess sets soon, so check back again, or follow me to get notifications. Thanks for reading!