National Papercrafing Month

  National Paper-crafting Month is in full force!  I have just completed my National Paper-crafting project; this very cute and versatile banner.  I am planning on putting pictures of my workshop class members on mine because my scrapbook night with the friends and workshop members is "my happy place."  Check out all the details here. This month we will be making 3- 12x12 2 page layouts in addition to the banner.  These layouts were inspired by my amazingly talented friend Karen Pedersen.  If you would like to join in the fun call or email me today and we can get you all set up for February's class.

Great Clearance Deals Online!

  Right now on my MYCTMH website are some great deals including the caboodle L2 paper packet for only $5. (reg $12.95).  The layout shown is using the caboodle paper packet. There are also stickease, card kits and accessories.  Items are while supplies last so don't delay!  You can find all the discounted items by clicking here. Or just go to my MYCTMH website click on shop online from the left hand menu and then select discounted items from the list under shop online.

  Also don't forget the other great deals going on this month with our new Inspirations brochure.  You can read all about it here.

Studio J: Tips & Tricks

   Today I would like to share with you a few more great feature when working with Studio J.  The first is that Studio J automatically crops your photos to fit in the photo spots. Just drag and drop you photo into place and Studio J does the rest.  From there you can click on the "hand" in the center of the pictures and slide the photo around so that it is just how you want it.  You can also scale in on the photos to cut out empty space so the focus of the photo is what is most important to you.  Remember that if you can't slide the photo over (up, down, left or right) it may be because it is already slid over as far as it can with out going past the edge of the photo.  Simple solution is to scale in on the photo using the tool in the photo menu box and then you can adjust the placement of the photo.

  Another way to spice up your layout is to add text right to a photo.  On this layout I have the picture on the left hand side that has all the kids lined up along the edge of the pool.  Although I know who they all are today others may not and I might forget so I used the title tool to create little titles with their names and then stuck them right on the photo following the edge of the pool.  You can also add other embellishments like the stickease and place them right on your pictures.  The "Good Times" stickease on the second layout or the diamond shapes on the top layout are just two examples.
  I hope these fun tips and tricks make your Studio J experience even better!  If you haven't tried Studio J yet WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR????  It is free to log on and create an account.  All you pay for is your finished layouts!  So get on today and try it out.  Here is a link to my Close To My Heart website.  Just click on the Studio J link in the left hand menu or click on any of the Studio J words in this post and it will take you right to the page to set up an account. I would love to hear what you think.

January Crafty Club Project

    Crafty Club Night is a fun new class I am offering each month!  This month at Crafty Club night we will be making these three elegant cards. The class will be on Wednesday, January 26th from 6:30 to 7:30.  Your pieces will be pre-cut to make assembly fast and easy. This class is $5.00 or FREE with a $25+ order. The class fee includes all the paper and accessories needed to create all 3 cards, 3 envelopes, the use of my stamp pads, stamp sets and embossing supplies. You will need to bring just your basic supplies including scissors, foam squares and adhesive (I recommend tombow, glue dots and bonding memory glue). You can read all the details about Crafty Club Night here.

inspired by the inspirations brochure

inspired by Karen Pedersen

inspired by the inspirations brochure

This class is FREE with a $25+ order! If you would like to go with that option let me direct your attention to the Inspirations Brochure. It is full of amazing deals that are only available this month! Do you just love the stamped images on these cards? They are all from the January stamp of the month Find Your Style! Getting this set FREE is even EASIER than ever before. This month, and this month only, if you purchase the Wings Workshop on the Go (see page 2-3 of the Inspirations brochure), and 4 other items from the Inspirations brochure, you get the Stamp of the Month FREE!

Call or email  me today to reserve your seat at Crafty Club Night and to place your 25+ order!

Monthly (no-commitment) Crafty Club Night

  Do you like to make fun projects at a great price or for FREE? Do you like to learn new techniques? Do you need a night away doing something you love with people who love it too? If you answered “yes” to any of these questions, my Crafty Club Night  is for you!
  Starting in January, my Crafty Club Night will meet the fourth Wednesday of each month at 6:30 pm at my house, however, you do not need to be local to be part of the club. My long distance members get their kits mailed to them and any orders they place will be drop shipped to them directly from the Close to my Heart office. The class will usually be just 1 hour.


Here is more information on the Crafty Club Night: You may join the club at any time and there is no commitment to stay in the club for any length of time or to place an order. There will be a small fee (depending on the project) for the supplies used for the projects we make which will range from cards to small gift items, to home decor, and more. Class Costs will range from $5.00 to $20.00 depending on the supplies needed for the project. So how do you get your kit for FREE?  When you reserve you spot in the class, if you also place a $25+ order you get $5 OFF the class fee.  So if the class is $10 and you place a $25+ order then you only pay $5 for the class.  If the class is $5 and you place a $25+ order then you get the class for FREE!! Long distance members pay an additional $5 to have their project kits mailed to them.

I will provide all the materials needed to create the projects. I will also be pre-cutting most of your pieces. You will need to bring just your basic supplies including scissors, paper trimmer, 3D Foam Tape and Adhesive (I recommend tombow, glue dots and bonding memories glue).

Contact me for more information, to sign up for  classes, or to order your own club kit(s).  Check my blog regularly for upcoming crafty club night projects, promotions, Studio J tips and for details about my workshop group.

January Brings "Inspirations"

   Close To My Heart had done it again! They have introduced an amazing line of paper and products that are absolutely GORGEOUS!!!  Close To My Heart is making a transition from a triannual catalog to a biannual catalog.  So to cover the month of January (the new biannual catalogs run from February-July and then August-January) they have released the Inspirations Brochure.  You can flip through this gorgeous 12 page brochure online by clicking on the link or by going to my website and clicking on the image in the bottom right hand corner. You will find it full of amazing deals including a beautiful new E-size Bohemian alphabet set for only $25! (regular price is $34.95).  You can unlock all the amazing deals with your purchase of the Wings Workshop kit.  All the items in the Inspirations brochure can be purchased on my website or by calling or emailing me directly.

  It is also National Papercrafting Month! So to celebrate you will also receive inside your workshop kit the instructions to create the beautiful banner found on the back of the Inspirations brochure. To complete the project you will want to add the brand new My Creations Banner and the Bohemian Alphabet stamp set I mentioned before to your cart. (All promotional items can be found by clicking on the "shop online" button in the left hand menu and then click "special promotions" from the list on the left or by simply clicking on this link)

Event: Disney World 2010 - DONE! Made possible with Studio J

  Back in August my family took an amazing 10 day vacation to Florida.  I love taking these trips and always come home with literally HUNDREDS of pictures.  In fact, from this trip alone I had over 400 pictures. As you might already know, I create a family album and then another album  for each of my kids.  Thinking about scrapbooking the entire trip and then duplicating those layouts for each of my kids use to be very overwhelming! Sadly, I haven't even finished duplicating the layouts from our last Disney trip in 2005 and I only had 2 kids back then! :(  But all that stress is eliminated with Studio J! Yep that is right, I have already created all 10 layouts and duplicated them 5 times (family album plus 4 kid albums)!!! That means I completed 50 layouts!!! Are you impressed?
   I have posted the first two layout here and will continue to post them over the next couple of weeks.  With each layout I want to point out a few little tricks or tips that I used that will help make your Studio J experience even better.

   I would like to point out 2 quick features that I use all the time when I am creating a Studio J layout.  The first one is the quick title tool.  On the "Island of Adventures" layout I used the quick title tool to create the title.  I was able to space, size and stick the letter stickease all at once instead of one letter at a time.  Also, with this particular alphabet set I was able to choose whether I wanted a red or blue letter.  Some of the alphabets have the option of choosing capital or lowercase letters.  Once I had the title looking just perfect I was able to stick it all at once to the page.  This is a lot faster then dragging each letter over individually.  Try it out for your next title!
  The next feature that I use ALL the time is adding journaling boxes to my layouts.  I had a lot to say about our trip so I had to add extra journaling boxes to almost every layout.  This is easy to do as well.  Just select the "text" bar in the left hand menu bar. Then click and drag a journaling area onto your layout.  You can re-size the box to fit in the space perfectly.  Then type away.  Don't forget to check out the different font options and photo mat options.  Oh and if you are like me I always spell check and reread my work before ordering my layouts. I added a journaling box to the bottom left hand page of both layouts. The journaling box on the right hand page of the "Making Magical Memories" layout is backed with vellum.  You can also distress the edges of your journaling boxes. 
   If you have set a new year resolution to get caught up on your scrapbooking or to just make some major progress let me recommend you hop on over and check out Studio J.  You won't be disappointed! It is so fast and easy to use and perfect if you don't have the space to create traditional scrapbooks. Please feel free to call or email me with any questions.  If you would like to sign up for a 3 month or 12 month membership and get 1/2 price layouts, free shipping and free sheet protectors I can help you with that too.

Mistletoe - December Workshop

This month we will be creating three festive layouts using the gorgeous Mistletoe paper packet and coordinating accessories.  I do love the poinsettias in the Mistletoe level 2 assortment.  Between the three layouts I use every single accessory in the set.

This last layout is for my Christmas morning pictures.  I did use one of my favorite products, 12 inch flip flaps to add more space for pictures.  The big 5x7 photo mat on the right hand page is for the picture of Christmas morning before the excitement begins. When you flip open the flaps you get to enjoy the pictures of all the excitement.  I also used some of our new dimensional element Ornaments on this last layout.  I sponged, stamped and bedazzled the ornaments to really finish the layout.

If you would like to join the workshop group so that you can make our future layout projects leave a comment, email or call me today! All the products used on these layouts can be ordered online anytime on my website. As an added bonus with an online $20 order you will also receive a surprise D size stamp set for FREE! That is a $22.95 value.

Family Photo Shoot

My sister-in-law needed a recent family photo. We don't have a single picture with only our family in it since we had our family photos taken last fall. (that would be over a year ago) So I decided we would have a little impromptu photo shoot in our family room. Well Brock, Mikele, Kassie and even Jason were cooperative. Allie on the other hand had her own ideas of how this would work. The kids were sitting along the wall waiting for everyone and she decided that would also be where she was sitting for the pictures. Of course that didn't work very well because she is the smallest and needed to be in the front.

So we tried to get her to want to sit on Jason's lap by making her jealous of Kassie.

Ya, she didn't care.

Then Allie would go play with her toys or wander around the room until she heard the timer beeping on the camera. Then she would come running over and find her spot.  After the picture was taken she would get up and go check out the picture on the back of the camera with me and then we would start the whole thing all over again.

Luckily we did end up with a cute photo of the whole group looking at the camera and almost everyone is smiling.  My Mom always says that family pictures must be really important or they wouldn't be near as hard to pull off.  I totally agree!

Plenty For $20!!

PLACE AN ORDER OF $20 OR MORE* ON MY MyCTMH website from December 1–31, 2010, and we’ll reward you with a popular, retired D-size stamp set for FREE! Talk about getting more for your money—the free stamp set is valued at $22.95 US/$26.95 CAN! We’re sure you’ll be thrilled with the set we pick out for you. We’re also giving you FREE shipping/handling and tax on your free stamp set. That’s a lot of Plenty for your Twenty! Grab Plenty for Twenty in December by visiting my MyCTMH website and making a qualifying purchase today!

*Excluding tax and shipping/handling. Qualifying purchases must include shippable products (Studio J® layout purchases excluded, Studio J memberships and 5-packs will count toward a qualifying order only if shippable items are also ordered).

And there is More. . .

Or should I say "Amore." While you are getting your plenty for $20 don't forget about the new December stamp of the month Amore. Here’s how to get a fabulous deal on your very own Stamp of the Month!

You spend	You save	You pay only
$25	25% off	$17.21
$50	50% off	$11.48
$75	75% off	$5.74
$100	100% off	FREE!

To sum it up with a $100 order you would get TWO FREE stamp sets for a total of $45.90 in FREE product! Now if that isn't more bang for your buck I don't know what is!!!