School is on our Minds!

It is so hard for me to believe that school starts for the county next Monday! We just finished our studies about 3 weeks ago so I am planning on taking another 2 weeks before we head back. That doesn't mean school isn't on our minds though. I have ordered their books and getting my plans together, school is never far from our minds.

When we were at the Beach a couple weeks ago and I was playing Studio J, I created a couple old school layouts that I was behind on. It doesn't matter if you are a consultant or not, I always seem to be behind in my scrapbooks! But, I keep trying and having the benefit of Studio J sure does come in handy :). Here are the layouts I created.

This one is of Bruiser as he started his first day of Mother's Day Out. As you can see from the date, these pictures are all the way from 2008!!! WOW, I can't believe I let this one escape me.

This next layout is one just from this past Spring when TinkerBell graduated from MDO. It was so hard to see her graduate knowing she was the last one of my precious babys to graduate from there. She had no problem though and was happy to be the center of attention. :)

Retiring Soon...

The new Autumn/Winter Idea book is about to be released and with it we are saying good bye to many products to make room for the ALL NEW Close to My Heart!!! There are many, many items retiring with the release of this new book and I wanted to give you a heads up to grab them before they are gone. Please note that all stamps in the current idea book will still be available even if they are not showing in the Autumn/Winter book but not so for the papers and embellishments. Also, you will be very excited with the price changes over MANY of the items in the new book, including stamps, paper packs, etc, but cardstock is increasing and they are discontinuing the bulk 24 packs of many of the colors. I will list out the paper colors for you so if you see a color you love and use a lot of, now is the time to get it.

Also, don't forget through the end of July, when you place a $50 order you can choose 1 of 5 off the special papers or card kits selections for only $1!!! Don't miss out on this deal as you go to catch you favorite products before they are gone. Shop http://heatherhicks.myctmh.com/ to get your favorite products before its too late!!!

Here you go:

Paper Kits
Bliss Level 1 -- X7132A pg 12
Bliss Level 2 -- X7132B pg 12
Bliss stickease -- X7132C pg 12
Miracle L1 -- X7133A pg 16
Miracle L2 -- X7133B pg 16
Miracle stickease -- X7133C pg 16
Sweetheart L1 -- X7134A pg 20
Sweetheart L2 -- X7134B pg 20
Sweetheart stickease -- X7132C pg 20
Wings L1 -- X7135A pg 24
Wings L2 -- X7135B pg 24
Wings stickease -- X7135C pg 24
Magnifique L1 -- X7127A pg 38
Magnifique L2 -- X7127B pg 38
Magnifique stickease -- X7127C pg 38
Olivia L1 -- X7128A pg 38
Olivia L2 -- X7128B pg 38
Olivia stickease -- X7128C pg 38
Hooligans L1 -- X7129A pg 39
Hooligans L2 -- X7129B pg 39
Hooligans stickease -- X7129C pg 39
Mistletoe L1 -- X7130A pg 39
Mistletoe L2 -- X7130B pg 39
Mistletoe stickease -- X7130C pg 39
Sweetheart WOTG -- G1017 pg 41
Lucky WOTG -- G1018 pg 41
Sophia WOTG -- G1019 pg 41
Bliss WOTG -- G1020 pg 42
Fanfare WOTG -- G1021 pg 42
Mayberry WOTG -- G1022 pg 42
Miracle WOTG -- G1023 pg 43
Wings WOTG -- G1016 pg 43

Cardstock: If you love the 24 packs of one color, most colors are going..going...Gone! Prices will go up to $14.50 per pack. I highly recommend buying your favorites even though some colors (mostly neutrals & fall colors) will still be available in packs of 24. So if you love New England Ivy for Christmas or Outdoor Denim, buy it now. If you love Cranberry or Olive, it will still be available but at the higher price ($14.50)
These colors will be discontinued in 24 sheet packs of one color and are only $9.50 until July 31.

Parchment
Taffy
Sunkiss Yellow & Sunny Yellow
Lilac Mist & Amethyst
Holiday Red
Sunflower & Goldrush
Moonstruck (everyone loves this color)
Sorbet
Spring Iris
Pansy Purple
The many other color cardstocks will be sold in combo packs only.

How will you be able to buy the colors in the new Catalog?
They will have 12 colors per pack/2 of each color (24 sheets total) for $14.95 and *NEW* 8 1/2 x 11 will be $11.95

They will also have Shade Packs colors which consist of 3 colors/4sheets per color (12 sheets total) for $7.95

The color I have listed above ARE NOT in the Shade Packs and will only be available in the 2 per color packs.

Colonial White & White Daisy as well as Kraft will continue to be sold in 24 sheet packs for only $9.50

Accessories:
Block Organizer: (Z185) For $22.95
(fill it now with these blocks that are being retired):
1 x 1-1/2 Y1001 $4.50
1 x 6 1/2 Y1005 $6.50
2 1/2 x 2 1/2 Y1004 $7.50
2 x 11 Y1007 $14.95
4 x 4 Y1008 $10.50
4 1/2 x 6 1/2 Y1011 $17.95

Check your stamps to see if you need these size blocks to use your stamps and BUY IT NOW! (We will be adding a *New* block of 4x5 for $15.95)

Kraft Borders: yes the manufacturer is discontinuing this HOT item!!!! Z1377

Some Ribbon Rounds: Sweet Leaf -Z1125, Buttercup - Z1154 & Cranberry Z1209

Chipboard: Borders Z1156, Booksmart - Z1223 & Framed Fun - Z1140

Irresistible Chipboards: Miracle - Z1354& Villa - Z1390

Sophia L2 Journaling Spots -- Z1357 pg 116
Mini Medley Accents Pear -- Z1339 pg 117
Mini Medley Accents Lagoon -- Z1340 pg 117
Mini Medley Accents Outdoor Denim -- Z1277 pg 117
Top Coats Framed In -- Z1211 pg 118
Rub Ons Across the Board -- Z1231 pg 118
Rub Ons Primavera -- Z1265 pg 118

All Envelope Flaps (Attn. Card makers)...

Markers and Stamp Pads- will be sold individually going forward not in sets. You can save some money when ordering in sets so if you see a group that you like and need - now is the time to order it.

Textured Cardstock White Daisy -- X5671 pg 124

Make your list now and go to my website at http://heatherhicks.myctmh.com/ to get them before they are gone!!!

Close to My Heart Stamps and CUTS!!!

OH MY GOODNESS!!! I am about to pop!!!! Close to My Heart is giving us a sneak peak at one of the hot new items that will be released in their new Autumn/Winter Idea book due to be released Aug 1st. As always, Close to My Heart has the top of the line products making scrapbooking and cardmaking faster, simpler and easier!!! Now, brand new, I am happy to announce CTMH has a special CRICUT cartridge created by CTMH with Provo Craft to work hand in hand with our My Acrylix Stamp Sets. You are going to be amazed at all this cartridge can do which includes giving us over 700 die cut images, creates 3-D items like pillow boxes and gift holders and a whole alphabet stamp set. Watch this incredible video to view a video showcasing the Art Philosophy Cricut Cartridge.

California or Florida?

Today is Leadership day for Close To My Heart's annual convention. The convention is being held at the beautiful Walt Disneyland in CA and this is the first year in 6 years that I have not been in attendance! With my husbands busy travel schedule this summer for work, there were no other options. So, I am waiting on pins and needles to hear all the details for the convention that is slated to be the biggest convention since the announcement of the My Acrylix Stamps! As soon as I hear the details I will post what I know. What I do know is that the brand new Autumn/Winter Idea book have left the corporate offices and are on there way to me. This idea book will be available to all customer August 1st and will hold all the secrets to the big reveal going on in CA right now. I am so excited I can barely stand it!!!

BUT, God is good, and if I couldn't go to CA, He brought me to the other side of the nation and planted my big tush at the beach! YEAH!!! The kids and I are having a blast. Mike has been working tons - late nights and over the weekend . We have barely been able to see him but thankfully he was able to get out at about 6pm last night and we all decided to go to the beach and do a little swimming together. Our big purchase for this trip was buying everyone goggles and snorkels so we could all search for fish together. It has been amazing watching all the fish swimming around our feet. We even got to see a Sting Ray!!! It was so cool!!! Without the goggles we wouldn't have been able to see him. God and his infinite wisdom created the big thing to match the bottom of the ocean perfectly! It took me a little while to see him after Mike did, but as he moved, he caught my attention. I followed him for a little while and was able to watch him and see how cool he really was. He was about 2 1/2 feet in length and absolutely beautiful!!! We stayed out for about another hour and then saw hundreds of fish all in one area. It was like being in the Finding Nemo movie. Everywhere we looked we saw hundreds of fish as far as the underwater eye could see. It was stunning! It was also a little terrifying as we realized it was probably close to feeding time which meant it was time for us to get out of the water! It was, however, absolutely beautiful! I wish I had an underwater camera so you could see just how beautiful a sight it was!

The Best Thing I Have Ever Seen on the Beach

We took our daily trip to the beach today. Princess met a new friend who was here from Colorado and they spent the day together riding her boogie boards and searching for seashells. In a mess of seaweed that came floating upon them, they found a small crab that they affectionately named Claw. All the kids were super excited and spent most of the day watching himself bury himself in the sand in their bucket.

While watching the crab, Bruiser came running over and yelled, Mama, look over there.... those people are getting baptized. Sure enough their was a group of about 50 people looking upon a 3 people in the ocean, one of whom was getting baptized. It was so awesome to see them proclaim their faith to all who were there. Everyone stopped to watch and many cheered!!! Tears were filling my eyes as I rejoiced with the people and the angels as one after another proclaimed to everyone they loved Jesus! It was absolutely beautiful to watch and be a part of. Praise God!!!

Hello from Boca Raton, FL!

My hubby has had to travel a lot this summer, something that we are not use to at all! After several trips away, we all realized this was not working for our family. We decided a couple weeks ago that we would tag along. Our first destination was OH. This was a very simple trip but the kids loved the indoor pool and the hotel was great on providing a full breakfast every morning and even a full dinner one night of our stay. That trip went so well, we decided to tag along on this next trip. Mike was going to be gone for 2 weeks - 2 weeks was way to long for us to be with out him! This trip was much further away but would definitely have more a vacation feel for me - Boca Raton, FL! Actually we are staying at the Delray Beach which is absolutely beautiful!!! Poor Mike has had to work long hours every night and all this weekend but we have been enjoying the beach and sunshine.

The hardest part about these trips is that I haven't been able to work on my scrapbook and card projects. We didn't have enough room in the car for me to bring my supplies so I had to say goodbye for a couple weeks. I got so sad today that as I was flipping through channels on the tv, I came to a Spanish channel that was scrapbooking. I sat and watched for a whole half hour just to feel like I too was scrapbooking!!! :) How sad, I know. That's o.k., now is the perfect time for me to use Studio J and have some fun. Once I complete my ten layouts that I get Free Shipping on, I will post the layouts for you to see.

Here is a small card I created when I was in OH. I had only minimal supplies and papers that were pre-cut and left over from a CK expo that I did several years back. Remember, my supplies were minimal but I thought that it came together pretty well. I used the July Stamp of the Month for the shooting stars at the bottom of the card. I will probably add a small star dimensional element when I get home but for now this is what I have. Enjoy!

Perfect Placement with Studio

The last of the Studio J tutorials in this series - Perfect Placement. I've shown you how to change the papers, pictures and now it's time to work on the embellishments. Embellishments like brads, buttons, ribbons and the like are what can take your layouts from blase' to fabulous. This video will show you just how easy you adding embellishments can be with Studio J. The best part, you can use all the embellishments you want with Studio J - with no extra charge!!!