Watercolors How To...

I just found this great video by Jill at our home office showing off our new watercolors, watercolor papers and giving a quick how to.

Take a look:

I was in a Flash Mob!!

I am so embarrassed that I have not blogged more recently.  Our newest idea book is here and absolutely amazing!!! You are going to love it.  I have been dying to scrap and show everything off but we have had a whirlwind summer ending with a quick trip to NY to visit family last week.  Needless to say I am more behind then ever.  However, I didn't want you all to think I had forgotten about you.

I had told several of you I was going to participate in a flash mob when I went to convention and yes I did!  It was a blast and I am so glad I did it.  Here is the video for you to see.  This is a video from another consultant so I can't point out exactly where I am but my good friend Barb Carrico is the one you see when the camera goes all the way to the left each time.  Fun, fun!!!

I hope it makes you HAPPY!

Win a Free Paper Fundamentals pack!

Each month, founder and CEO of Close to My Heart, Jeanette Lynton has a special giveaway on her blog. This month she has Monica telling us about the fabulous Paper Fundamentals papers and just how versatile they are for all your crafting needs.   Watch the video here and then post under comments on the YouTube site what your most fundamental crafting item is.  You will be entered into a drawing for your own pack of the Basic Paper Fundamentals!  Don't think you have a chance at winning? Well, two of my own customers won from the June contest -   Congratulations Linda and Jeanenne.

Fun New Contest With CTMH That Anyone Can Win!!!

Close to My Heart is having another fun contest, this time celebrating our brand new Picture My Life Scrapbook Programs. If you haven't seen our newest Idea Book, you may not know that we came out with our own, fun, easy to use scrapbook cards to enhance your photos creating scrapbook pages quick and easy!  Here is a quick peak at all the fun Picture My Life Scrapbook Programs we carry.

 

Now click here to go to our founder, Jeanette Lynton's blog to see a video showcasing the collections and to enter find out how to enter the contest.  Easy Peasy. Good Luck!

Studio Savings!

During the month of March, Close to My Heart is running a special allowing you to order your Studio J layouts for only $5!  If you have been creating on Studio J and were waiting for just the perfect time to print your pictures, now is that time.  What about have amazing quality on your regular pictures. Use Studio J for all your regular picture printing needs. Just upload your photos into the specially formatted pages for a full 12x12 page of pictures that you can cut apart at home for use on your traditional scrapbook layouts.  These formatted pages, come in all size photo wells, allowing you enlarge your pictures all the way up to 12x12 or down to 2x2.  Great versatility, huh!

Here is a video all about Studio J and this months special.


 Click here to get creating and printing now. It is completing free to play and create. Just pay when you print!

Artbooking Everyday layouts

I told you in my last post how I was organizing my office and I thought I would give you a quick peak in to see what my table looks like.

 
Now I'm not proud that all these layouts are still not in albums but I am pleased that they are at least completed :).  Actually the only reason they weren't in albums was because I don't scrapbook chronologically but just as the pictures fit the paper I have.   I have been scrapbooking so much these last few years, I couldn't keep up with putting them in my albums.  I'm hoping that is no more.  These layouts are in semi-stacks (o.k. messy stacks) showing at least 7 albums worth of layouts.  The kids have been having a blast coming in my office and going through them this last week.

While I have been cleaning my office, corporate has created another video showing you how to use the Cricut cartridge Artbooking to create everyday layouts.  I love how she points out the overlays used from the mini album pages and tells you how to create them for your 12x12 layouts. 

I hope you enjoyed the video. Happy creating and remember to e-mail or post your creations for us all to see.  Happy creating!

P.S. If you still don't have your own Artbooking cartridge and you know you need it - click here.

Lots of New Video's coming soon! The best first...

Close to My Heart just made a series of videos ranging from learning about their products to using fun techniques to create beautiful layouts, cards and home decor. 

I was excited to see one yesterday that had pictures of my sweet Tinker Bell as the subject of the layout.  The papers used were my favorite new papers too - Laughing Lola. 

Watch the video below to see my sweet girl and to get a quick explanation of our My Reflections papers and embellishments.

New in Stamping...

Sorry for my lack of posts lately.  We had to take an emergency trip out of state but I hope to be back in action soon.

Here is the latest video from Close to My Heart showing off what's new in Stamping.   Enjoy!

Pajama Party!

Close To My Heart is teaming up with Big Picture Classes to bring you a live webcast with step-by-step instructions for making our Happy Thoughts kraft container. The FREE webcast will air this Thursday, May 30 from 7:00 pm to 8:00 pm (MDT). Anyone with an Internet connection can watch, so be sure to tell your customers and then tune in!

If you would like to interact on the message board, participate in live chat, post to the gallery, download handouts, or enter any contests, you will need to register for the event and log in to the Pajama Party “classroom.”

Once you’ve registered for the FREE class, follow these steps for entering the classroom:

1. Scroll to the bottom of any page and click on “My Classes” under the “My Account” category.
2. On the My Classes page, click on “enter classroom” next to the Pajama Party line item.
3. Now you’re in the classroom! On the night of the event, you can go to this page to interact via the live chat, enter the giveaways, and download the free Close To My Heart project handout.

If you liked the kraft container I posted yesterday, you will want to check out this webcast as it was filmed during our corporate album retreat in March and my Dream Pop container was created based off its design.  See just how simple decorating these containers can really be!

Love your Layout: Black & White Photos, Borders and Layered My Stickease

Close to My Heart just released their newest Studio J video showcasing the Surfs Up paper pack and my sweet daughter - yeah!!!

Click the video below to see just how easy it is to change your photos to black & white, add borders and layer your My Stickease to give you a unique, one-of-a-kind embellishment.

Cricut Party - Wise Old Owl!

Whether you use one Cricut^®-cut piece or several, you can create cute party favors and decorations using your Artiste cartridge. Combine your Cricut^® pieces with unique stamping techniques and you have projects that will knock your guests’ socks off! Want some recipes and tips for how to make this adorable artwork? Below are instructions for creating two pieces from the “Clearly the Best: How to kiss—with stamps” episode. Combine the Cricut^®-cut pieces for these projects with the kissing stamping technique taught in the video, and you have a stellar 3-D item! Want to learn more about the kissing stamping technique? Watch this video

Recipes and Tips

Party Banner
Stamp set of your choice
X5668 Honey Cardstock
X5764 Pear Cardstock
1272 Cranberry Cardstock
Z2197 Pear Exclusive Inks^® Pad
Z2163 White Daisy Exclusive Inks^® Pad
Z1751 Baker’s Twine Harvest Assortment
Z1311 1¼” Circle Punch
Cricut^® Shapes:
Artiste
1″ Shift+3D Object (cut 56, p. 57)

Art Tip! This banner only uses one type of Cricut^® shape, but the finished product is still stunning. Use stamp kissing to randomly stamp across the pieces using the stamp set of your choice. Score with the help of the Cricut^®-cut score lines on the shape and piece together to create little globes. Tie together with baker’s twine and voila!

Owl Miss You Bag
1385 White Daisy Cardstock
1292 Crystal Blue Cardstock
X5668 Honey Cardstock
X5930 Slate Cardstock
Z2162 Honey Exclusive Inks^® Pad
Z2117 Crystal Blue Exclusive Inks^® Pad
Z1349 Shimmer Designer Brads
Z1752 Sparkles Clear Assortment
Z1311 1¼” Circle Punch
Twist Ties
Thread
Cricut^® Shapes:
Artiste
4½” 3D Object (p. 77)
4½” Shift+3D Object (cut 2, p. 77)
1″ Shift+Accent 2 (p. 51)

Art Tip! This project uses many Cricut^® shapes and all the pieces coordinate so nicely for an adorable finished product. Use the Artiste assembly booklet to put the bag together and then add the embellishments. The feathers are created with punched circles that are stamped using the kissing technique; however, if you don’t have the circle punch, you can easily make these using the Cricut as well. The eyes were created using Shimmer designer brads, but you can use any large brad or button to create the same look. Finish with the “owl miss you sentiment” for a special touch.
Don’t have the CTMH Cricut Cartridges?  The wise ole owl says- Click here for more info!

2013 Close to My Heart Album Retreat Rocked!!!

Wow!  What an amazing trip this weekend was!  I was blessed to be able to go to Utah for the weekend to take part in an amazing, scrapbook filled weekend, hosted by Close to My Heart staff for their consultants.  This was a closed event, for consultants only  - I just love being a CTMH consultant!!! 
The Album Retreat was exactly what it sounds like, one weekend to create a complete scrapbook album. The theme – me.  Now, I have to confess that I didn’t know what the theme of the album was going to be about when I signed up for the retreat – I was just ecstatic that I was going to be able to participate in an album retreat from CTMH.  I have always heard awesome things from everyone regarding the past album retreats and I knew I didn’t want to miss this one if I could help it.  Once I heard the theme, I was a little nervous – I mean who ever scrapbooks about themselves.  We scrapbook about our kids, our husbands, our trips and travels, just about everything else but never ourselves!
The homework started rolling in (homework  -i.e.., what we want you to do to prepare for the retreat) and I was having to find pictures and journal about my favorite things, people, best friends, spaces, colors, etc. – WOW,  was that tough!  I think this had to be one of the hardest projects I have worked on in a long time but the end result – AMAZING!!!
Over the next several posts I will share some of the things we received and created, people I saw, what’s going on with Close to My Heart and so much more but until this check out this cute gifts I received as soon as I arrived.
This is a picture of a lanyard that one of my roommates made out of our For Always Textiles.  The beautiful flowers were made using our paper flowers, sparkles and Black Tulle Ribbon.  Isn’t it gorgeous!!!

Kristine Winfield from our corporate office, recently did a video on the Textiles and how to use them. You can watch it below.


If you would like to try the Textiles – you can get some here on my website.

Digital Delights continues!!!

Close to My Heart recently announced that they would continue their Digital Delights promotion until March 15 instead of ending today, February 28th!  This is a great special as it allows you to create a fabulous layout with our amazing Studio J program for only $5!!!!

In addition to continuing the special, they recently released this short video highlighting one of our new paper kits - Later Sk8tr and how to add paint-splattered accents, stacked My Stickease and dates. Gives these techniques a try on your next Studio J layout!

Enjoy and happy creating on Studio J. 

Emboss Resist Stamping

With all the new products that we are constantly coming out with, it is easy to forget about some of older products. One specifically that I wanted to show you today is the Embossing powders.  I absolutely love embossing powder and try to use it as much as I can. In fact, this is the first year I did not use my embossing powder for my Christmas cards but was so pleased to receive cards from many of you who have!  By the way, thank you for sending your cards - I love receiving them!!!

Well, apparently Close To My Heart, even with all their new products about to be released in February, thought that the embossing powders needed a little recognition again because they created this quick video to show you an oldy but a goody technique - Emboss Resist Stamping.  Take a look at the video here and watch how they create some beautiful cards, quick and easy. Isn't that beautiful!!! Now, go get out your clear embossing powder, Versamark Ink pad and heating tool and create something beautiful! I would love to see it here too so feel free to upload and show off your awesome artwork! If you don't have any of these items but love the technique and want to order your own supplies, shop on my website now! Don't forget while your there to pick up your Whoo's your Valentine kit for only $10 and your Happy Valentine's Stamp of the Month stamp for only $5 with your $50 purchase.

Cluster Stamping

Here is the newest of videos from Ms. Kristine and Ms. Monica with the Close to My Heart staff showing just how easy it is to use multiple stamps on a card or layout with one easy press.  Love it!!!  Enjoy!

The Magic of Monograms

The latest of Close to My Heart's videos has just been released using our new Mini Monograms.  These are such fun little stamps that at $2.95, is a very inexpensive way to make a big statement on your home decor, cards, and gift giving items.  During last months Christmas card workshop, we used this little stamp to put a finishing touch on our envelopes.  Enjoy the video below and happy stamping!

Bend it, Curve It, Stamp It

Our corporate office has been doing a series of videos showcasing some of the awesome uses of our clear acrylix stamps, many uses that can only be achieved with our clear, ply-able, amazing, stamps. 

Here is the first video showing some simple but fun technique to take our stamps and mold them to fit an array of projects. 



I would love to see what you create using the techniques shown here. Please post so that and everyone else can see too! If you have never tried our fabulous stamps, you must!  Click here to go to my website and choose from hundred of sets.   Have fun and happy creating!!!

Cricut Artiste is EASY!!!

Our new Cricut Artiste is Hot, Hot, HOT!!!!!!  I absolutely love the cartridge and where I would never make a box or gift bag before, I can have something super easy and super cute in a matter of minutes.  If the whole idea of boxes, bags, banners, flowers and party favors from a simple pieces of paper confuses you - watch this quick video where Brian explains how the cartridge and booklets work together to create fabulous projects.  It is super easy with even more explanation then ever before; Look even a man can do it! :)



Here is one more quick video that corporate made to explain how the coordinating images use the same size on the size dial for all the cut pieces - like eyes on a halloween bag.



If you are ready to get your hands on your own Artiste Cartridge, click here to order yours now.

And, don't forget about our September 8th all day crop.  I will have my Artiste Cartridge at the crop for us all to use and create with.  Hope to see you there!

It's National Scrapbooking Month Again!!!

YEAH!!! It is National Scrapbooking Month again and CTMH has come out with a cute double stamp set - "It's Your Day" to celebrate.  Watch this quick video below to see how cute and fun this stamp set is for your everyday moments.



Don't forget to come to my Open House Saturday, August 18th to see a preview of MANY of the new products in our Fall Idea Book, have a little to eat and play with the products.  You can place an qualifying order there or hop over to my website and start shopping now.  While you are there, don't forget to select the While Supplies Last button on the bottom of the list to the right, to see all the items on Clearance.  These items have been going fast, so you better check it out soon!

Decorate for a quick, fun Space Party!

Love this new video CTMH created showing off our new Cricut Artiste cartridge.  Their are so many themed buttons on this cartridge and so much can do with them that you will be thinking up reasons to have a party. 


To get your cartridge with 698 unique images on it, click here.