Happy St.Patrick's Day!!!

I know I should be posting something 'green' today, but I did post three cards and a layout in festive St. Patty's Day colours yesterday and now I'm all green'd out!

So I'm moving onto one of my favorite things...my niece!

As I'm sure you've gathered if you follow any of my posts, I am spending a lot of time creating layouts using photos from our Christmas/New Year's holiday to Mexico...

I have a habit of taking oodles of photos of any kinda event because, you know, it's digital!!! and of course the progression of my nieces hair braiding is no exception :)

In the creation of this layout, featuring a wonderful sketch from Let's Scrap, I was rummaging through my never-ending STASH for some pink papers. I actually do not have a ton of 'pinks' because my girls are no longer 'pink lovers' and I find that I scrap them in some of their favorite colours...anyways, I'm getting off topic :) I stumbled across 4 or 5 sheets of this Crate Paper 'Pink Plum' collection and luckily I also found the coordinating chipboard sheets I bought a very long time ago! 

I have to say if I was to instill any scrapbooking wisdom your way...when you purchase papers of a certain line, make sure you also get at least one coordinating embellishment...whether it is a  package of decorative brads or a sheet of chipboard bits, because when you do, it sure does make for a FAST layout...you don't need to labour over what matches what because the manufacturers have already done that for you!

I took a 4X6" piece of coordinating patterned paper and after typing up a quick journalling bit, ran it through my printer and I was done! Super fast, simple design using TEN photos! Take some time this week to do this sketch too!

It's been a while since I've shared some of my layouts for the fun of it! 

After my weekend away at the Ultimate last weekend, a very snowy weekend away, I had a great time and I also did a little scrapbooking ;)

All the photos are from our recent trip to the Barcelo resort south of Cancun, the Polé ruins are located on the Xcaret grounds. Xcaret was a fun place to explore with lots of natural and cultural activities to see and do! I've use a Let's Scrap sketch for this one (5-4-11).

I am still loving CTMH's cork alphabet...inked in Cocoa above...

I had to do a layout with photos of all the Iguanas we saw at Xcaret and everywhere we went! These are just six different Iguanas we came across here and there at the Xcaret park...the guy on the far left actually charged at me! 

One of the challenges my friend Sandra and I had for each other this past weekend was to try to use up random items in our stash...add a brad to each layout was one of the challenges we had for ourselves...myself, I don't feel like the layout is complete unless it contains a brad or button, twine or ribbon or fabric of some sort (crocheted flower)...lots of layers :) The Iguana-Ville layout was inspired from a Valerie Salmon sketch I came across.

Using up some of the CTMH corrugated shapes...inked again in Cocoa :)

I love the texture you get when you layer different products; crocheted flower, paper stickers and epoxy brads.

I'm Organized and I'm Outta Here!!!

Well I'm packed for my weekend at the Ultimate! Record time and organization considering we just returned from the Maya Riviera in Mexico on Sunday...

I thought I'd touch base on my preparations 'to go' with you in the event you get to have a night or weekend of scrapbooking from time to time. You can also take these steps to organize layout kits ahead of time so when you have limited time, you are already to go!

I have learned from my years of retreats what works for me. Back in the day I would literally pack it all! Now I go with a plan...that is to literally plan each page :) It takes some time, I'll admit...but when you arrive and are ready to go...you do!

I'd love to tell you that I'm creatively designing original layouts when I am away on these weekends, but that is not so...I am the slowest scrapbooker I know when I'm busy dreaming up my own layouts...spending far too much time on the exact placement of brads and papers and photos ;( 

My solution to this is to come prepared with sketches!!! Now you've seen many layouts here and elsewhere featuring Close To My Heart, Let's Scrap, Page Maps, Scrapbook Challenges, Mojo Mondays, Scrapbooks Etc., Canadian Scrapbooker...you get the idea. There are so many FREE resources out there as well as books you can purchase that help get your ideas flowing. 

Close To My Heart sketch books

Sketches are fantastic when you're sitting with 7 photos in your hand that you really want to use and you don't know where to start! At a retreat or evening crop, your time is valuable and you'd like to get as much done there as possible because you have an opportunity to work uninterrupted!

Page Maps PDF's printed off website

I've printed off sketches, slipped them into page protectors and put them in order into a 3 ring binder, I have many Page Maps PDF's so it has it's own binder!

Scrapbooks Etc. sketches printed off website

Let Scrap Sketch site, printed off website gallery

• I start by looking at my photos on my computer
• I 'flag' only those photos I would like to use, this way I can refer to only the flagged photos when I'm looking at sketches...it's less overwhelming if I have oodles of photos on one event:)
• I'm usually thinking of layouts when I flip through my photos.
• Before I order photos to print, I look through my sketch binders/books and record the sketch name/number and which photos/layout I am using for them into a notebook which I will take with me.
• I only print out the photos I want to use for my layouts. If the sketch has a size other than the normal 4x6 I print out, I'll make a note of which photo I want to use in that spot and make sure to order only that photo for another size.
• When I'm planning one layout, I'll usually write in my notebook which photos I was thinking of putting where...this will save me time remembering what I was planning when I get to this layout.
•  I will also record some potential titles or info into my notebook so I can refer back to them while I'm working on the layout...sometimes I can think of several fun titles when I'm sorting through photos and I know I'll forget by the time I'm at my retreat ready to work :)
• Lastly, once I know my photos and hopefully my sketch too...I'll start looking at my papers and embellishments and try to pack up only items that are going to work with my photos and sketches

I have found that if I take the time to prepare for my weekends, not only do I exceed my own expectations of my productivity, but I also am not printing out photos that I won't use! I have wasted a lot of $$$ over the years with printing off way more than I ever use, and I don't know about you...but I have a very difficult time throwing them out...don't know why...I'm just freaky that way :)

Holiday Magic is all around us!

Welcome to the October Stamp of the Month Blog Hop! 

This month's featured stamp of the month is "Holiday Magic" S1110. 

If you are coming here from Debbie Little's Blog

you're on the right path.

I hope you've enjoyed all the inspiration so far from 
all these talented Close To My Heart Consultants!

Products Used:
CS: Grey Flannel, Colonial White, Smokey Plum
PP: Wonderland
inks: Smokey Plum, Petal, Grey Flannel
Colonial White Organdy ribbon
Licorice Opaques

Products Used:
CS: Colonial White
PP: Wonderland
inks: Twilight
Colonial White Twill ribbon
Mocha Opaques

Thanks for stopping by, I hope you've enjoyed your visit and that you enjoy the rest of the hop! Now head on over to Helen Onulak's Blog so you can continue on through our October Stamp of the Month Blog Hop!

Here's a complete list of all the hoppers in case you get lost along the way :)

Helen Onulak http://www.hookedonstamping.com

Kathleen Androlewicz http://BowlOfStamps.blogspot.com

Beth Naumann http://www.bethscreativeblock.blogspot.com

Gina Brandstetter http://gmbscrapper.blogspot.com/

Shannon Beck http://www.cardsfromthefarm.blogspot.com

Judy Burger http://www.makingtimeformemories.blogspot.com

Cindy Leek http://www.paperspadsandpictures.blogspot.com

Michelle Loncar http://michelleloncar.blogspot.com

Amy McVey http://www.clearlystamping.blogspot.com

Debra Van Patten http://memoriesoftheheartbydeb.blogspot.com

Doreen Guilfoyle http://whereisyourhappyplace.blogspot.com

Dawn Ross http://iamahappystamper.blogspot.com

Nancy Brown http://creativelyartsygallery.blogspot.com/

Wanda Riley http://Creatingwithwanda.blogspot.com

Georgia Hauglid http://inkygeorgia.blogspot.com/

Melissa Laverty http://www.fancymelissa.com

Carla Ironside http://carlacreates.blogspot.com

Adeline Brill http://www.adeline-brill.blogspot.com

Krista Ritskes http://kristaritskes-simplycreating.blogspot.com

Sheila Bennett http://sheila-bennett.blogspot.com

Jen Patrick http://roxybonds-scrappin.blogspot.com

Brae Montgomery http://thebrae-er.blogspot.com

Kami Welter http://www.scrappin4memories.blogspot.com/

Lori Brown http://www.savingmine.blogspot.com

Traci Godbee http://createwithtraci.blogspot.com

Pamela O'Connor http://cherishyourmemories.blogspot.com

Mary Eisen http://mestamp2.blogspot.com

Sarita Schraeder http://www.blessedscrapper.com

Susan Brooks http://stampingintheopen.blogspot.com

Melinda Everitt http://ifyoublingittheywillcome.blogspot.com/

Haley Dyer http://inkyscrapper.blogspot.com

Jen Rubio http://JenRubio.blogspot.com

Teresa Scrivens http://www.creatingwithinkypaw.com

Jill Lucas http://scrapwench.blogspot.com

Wendy Coffman http://www.stampingrules.blogspot.com/

Katy Donaldson http://www.scrappinkaty.blogspot.com

Tamytha Jenkins http://www.paperheartist.com/

Paige Dolecki http://PaigesPaperParadise.blogspot.com

Dawn Heuft http://stamptildawn.blogspot.com

Angel Sawyer http://RunningwithScissorsDesignCo.blogspot.com

Nicole Griggs http://www.nicolescreativezone.blogspot.com

Lisa Sargent http://www.lisasargent.net

Elizabeth Mindemann http://www.ejoym.blogspot.com

Traci Pasqualone http://ScrapiTraci.blogspot.com

Angela Tutton http://www.tuttonstreasures.blogspot.com

LeAnne Dudley http://www.dudleychickdesigns.blogspot.com

Shirley Ross http://www.momnmescrap.blogspot.com

Deanne Jacobs http://deannestamps.blogspot.com

Nikka Geers http://nikkageers.blogspot.com

Casandra Bennett http://casandra-scrappinbliss.blogspot.com/

Heather Schmuckal http://heatherjanedesign.blogspot.com/

Jean McNulty http://stampinmaui.blogspot.com/

Diana Soling http://mystampingspot.blogspot.com

Judy Faye Garner http://judyfaye.blogspot.com

Debbie Little http://www.makinglittlememories.blogspot.com/

Kristine Ponte http://kponte.blogspot.com

I have a confession to make...

Ok, so yesterday I was out delivering a scrapbook order into Chilliwack for one of my customers and after talking with her...I decided to stop into Classics (the local scrapbook store there)...now if you've already read my previous post from early this morning, you'll have read that I haven't bought any more paper recently...not so true anymore!


I kept it at a reasonable total...not going to confess that, but I will tell you that I got 27 sheets of double-sided patterned paper, an alphabet sheet from Thickers in sunny yellow! a ribbon embellishment pack, some sort of fiber'y sand coloured dust stuff...? and some of those 12x12 cardstock sticker sheets that co-ordinate with the patterned papers...that's all I can remember right now because I was really quick in putting it all safely away in my stash containers...


Now I have to say that I created a layout right away with some of it later on last evening so that part is good news, because usually I like to purchase paper and let it sit and nicely 'age' for months on end...not so this time baby!

Now a couple general points of interest on this layout are firstly...that I crossed this bridge! and secondly, that I wanted to try to incorporate a collage image instead of same size photos...

I am a fan of the Scrapbooks Etc. webpage and on it you have sketches, much like the ones on Let's Scrap...but they also have loads of tips and tricks as well as loads of collage templates! So I opened up my Photoshop, dragged and dropped and trimmed and Voila! a collage to resize to 8"X10" and sent it off to Costco.ca to print...I could have gotten the same look with trimming my own photos, but then I'd had to have resized most of them to smaller image sizes and on this collage template you can easily zoom in or out on an image...I admit that Photoshop is a bit of a learning curve and I am in no ways any kind of expert...far from it...but I did manage to get this one done in an hour or so...

I've used a couple of the BoBunny Et Cetera sheet I just bought for the background and some more of the patterned Simple Stories Destination paper and card stock stickers for the ticket border, compass, flourish and tabs.

These tags and camera die-cuts were from the Making Memories Passport collection that I have hanging around...

Super cute certificate that they give you once you've gotten all your stamps at the different check points throughout the park...including the Bridge, Cliffwalk, Tree-top Adventure and Historic spots...

I am loving Close To My Hearts new cork alphabets...think I'll need to add another package to my shopping cart for my next order...I had this die-cut sheet in my Making Memories Passport stash as well and I inked it up considerably...along with all the other paper on this layout!

I wanted to add some journalling but as per usual, I don't always like to see it front and centre...so I dug into my journalling tag bin...yes I need an entire bin to store them all...and found this one :)

I mentioned in my previous post that I have been buying the co-ordinating 12x12 card stock embellishment sheets to some of the paper collections I've gotten recently...it sure does make short work on putting the finishing touches on some of these layouts...

It's hard to see in this photo of the photos in my layout, but at the Capilano Suspension Bridge park, they have an area where they teach us a thing or two! Here I've photographed the tags that are wrapped around these insanely huge and OLD trees...the top one is not really readable but it says: Douglas Fir...205FT tall...20FT circumference...1300 YEARS OLD! and the lower photo says: W.Hemlock...165FT tall...9FT circumference...300 YEARS OLD!

Ticket 2 Ride

Good Morning! I've been playing with CTMH's new Cricut cartridge called Art Philosophy and I am having FUN! Granted, I haven't really played with the Cricut like most people have...but I took my girlfriend's machine when she wasn't looking so I could do some experimenting with it!

While I can't show you the full layout yet, (it's a sketch for the coming weeks at Let's Scrap) I thought I'd show you some of it...this 'sun' is actually the 'award' from the Plantin Schoolbook cartridge (took that too while my GF wasn't lookin')

This ticket tag is from the Art Philosophy cartridge...I had a little trouble writing the journalling, forgetting words etc. but you can see the ticket...the centre part is actually the reverse side of the paper...I just lifted out the centre as it was cut and flipped it over, stamped the lines and journaled in Pacifica ink.

Ok...these banners are quite the rage right now, but with the banner setting on this cartridge, it sure made short work of it! I literally set it to cut and did something else while it was working away...nothing like a machine working on your layout at the same time as you are! Love it! Can you tell this Cricut thing is new to me!??

Thanks for stopping by and enjoy the Lazy Days of summer!

Check out this video to see how easy it is to use our new Art Philosophy Cricut cartridge to amp-up any of your current layout or card projects...

I am still waiting for the Purolator Dude to deliver my order of new CTMH stash from our soon to be 'live' Autumn/Winter 2011 Catalog! stay tuned for some CTMH artwork coming soon!!!

CTMH BlogHop featuring the July SOTM

Welcome to the Close to My Heart Stamp of the Month Blog Hop for July. In Canada, we are featuring the stamp set "Canadian Celebration".

I had a lot of fun working on this project for the first official Hop with our Yahoo CTMH bloghop Group started by Diana Soling. This is a group for everyone that loves inspiration! All CTMH consultants, customers and friends are welcome to join.

Now this month we have a variety of artwork featuring our CTMH stamp of the Month, both the Canadian & American versions of this stamp AND artwork highlighting a picnic or party theme...so you will have loads of summertime inspiration as you Hop Along!!!

If you've come here from Kathleen's Blog, you are on the right path. If this is your first stop on the hop, that will work too (just keep hopping till you get back here again). 

To continue along the hop, just follow the link at the end of each post to go to the next site. We hope that following the hop will give you lots of inspiration and ideas for using this month's stamp sets, along with inspiring you with your summertime creations. I hope you enjoy all the many fabulous CTMH products you'll see in each post! 

Every year here in Canada, we celebrate Canada Day with a parade and fun times at our local Rotary Stadium...and of course top it all off with some fireworks...for the past few years my daughter has danced in the parade and this year I got to enjoy sitting on the side lines to watch it...I thought it might be fun to play with this Canadian Celebration stamp set on my Canada Day layout...

I admit that at first glance this layout is a bit overwhelming...well for me anyways...but I love how it turned out...and of course I love all of these CTMH products...click on each image for a larger view if you'd like

my title is made from our Irresistibles Eclectic Chipboard Die-Cuts inked in Cranberry. This layout was created with our Fanfare paper collection featuring our Cranberry and Pacifica colours. The little stars are punched from the Cranberry cardstock.

of course with most parades, you take plenty of photos...I was no exception there so I decided to print out a couple photos I wasn't going to feature in this layout and instead use my star punch on them...this way I've got a little taste of the image and I've created an embellishment in the process...two birds with one stone I say :)

the Canadian Flag stamp worked perfect for this space and I really like the star explosion as well, even if it was a little more challenging trimming it out...

I couldn't resist having a little play on words here...I've been told that I say it ALOT...being Canadian, I guess that's ok...I used some of our Oxford Colour-Ready Alphabets and stamped some of the fireworks in Cranberry ink...notice my star punched from one of my photos too!? The layout design is courtesy of Let's Scrap, the inspirational sketch site...look for sketch tag 7-6-11

I hope you've enjoyed your visit here and that you find loads of inspiration as you hop along to Lela's Blog...remember that this 'Canadian Celebration' stamp set is available from your CTMH Consultant for the month of July only!

Cards, cards and more cards

Ok, so not everybody can rock the *card*...I am one of those people that can't...well maybe I can, but it takes me a ridiculous amount of time because I do 12x12...large scale stuff, not small scale stuff and honestly, it throws me for a loop! Weird huh? well thankfully there are plenty of resources out there for those of us that find card making a challenge :)

Jeannette Lynton, founder of the 'Close To My Heart' scrapbooking and stamping company, has created two beauties in her 'Originals' & 'Wishes' card how-to-books. Without these babies I would truly be lost in cyber world surfing for inspiration. Very time consuming and frustrating for some...

These cards on the other hand, I created with the paper scraps I used for my son's Rugby layouts I posted a couple days ago...made them at the same time...between layouts actually...didn't take me too long and didn't stress me out overly ;)

This card design is called 'All Tucked In' (page 94 ~ Wishes) & I used the 'Enjoy Life' and Birthday 'Card Chatter' stamp sets

  

This card design is 'card 5' (page 114  ~ Wishes greeting card workshop) & I used the Birthday 'Card Chatter' stamp set

This card design is 'Curtain Call' (page 94 ~ Wishes) & I used the 'Enjoy Life' stamp set

Check out these links for some inspirational Card sketches/maps:

Let's Scrap

Page Maps

Mojo Mondays

Now remember that any sketch, with a little thought and creativity, can become a page layout or a card layout...remember this post where I used a card sketch from Let's Scrap and created a single paged layout! I hope you find these resources helpful and have a great Thursday!

Mayberry Magic

Here's another great video tutorial from CTMH's Corporate Office...they are using our 'Trees & Things' stamp set...a great summer addition to your stamp collection...

I've used mine with our Mayberry paper collection and created a cute little mini-album from our retired Kraft 3X3 mini-album (now available in White Daisy~Z1141)

Here's some pics of my album and supplies:

I've used the Irresistibles Lots of Dots alphabet stickers inked in Honey and Smoothie inks and stamped our canvas button badge with Honey ink using an image in the Token Alphabet set (E1020)  

I used the Trees and Things stamp set(D1467) as well as the Horizon stamp set(C1454)

Thanks for stopping by...enjoy your day!

Newsprint Alphabet Rub-Ons

Happy Rainy Friday...well if you live in Beautiful British Columbia...that's what you've got today...well in my town we do! I love the rain, one of the reasons I couldn't think of living anywhere else...four distinct seasons, lasting around 3-4 months each...well, maybe a little light on the winter months, no igloos here...but those rainy days that I love so much always get me into the Workshop for some guilt free scrapbooking time...after the laundry and the chauffeuring around is done of course!

Today, Close To My Heart is showing how great and easy the new Newsprint Rub-Ons are...they are super easy to remove from the packaging as they are in letter rows...with multiples of each letter and more of our frequently used letters to boot!

They are so smooth to apply and the perfect size for scrapbooking or cardmaking...whatever your pleasure, a pleasure they are to use and enjoy. Get yours and discover how great they are for yourself! Check out some of the ideas below by clicking on the play button!

Sunshine is all around this long weekend

I thought I'd take a minute to post a few layouts I created on my ultimate 'Ultimate Scrapbooking Retreat' retreat :) at the end of April...four glorious days and three nights to eat, drink, relax, sleep in, stay up all night and of course SCRAPBOOK!

I have to say that out of all the years I've been treating myself to this escape...I have been the most productive ever this past time in April...now I could easily say that it was because I was away for four days VS. the usual three days retreat...but that would simply NOT be the truth...honestly...this was the most organized I've EVER been...I could have been more organized, but wanted to leave some of the creativity for when I was actually there...

Firstly, I made a list of the events/pictures I wanted to scrapbook...seemed easy enough, but still took time.

Secondly, I looked through various Map/Idea Books...I went to my CTMH books, like Magic, Imagine and Cherish...as well as Page Maps and Scrapbooks Etc. Maps...once I found some maps that looked like they'd work for my event, I made reference to that on a sticky note...listed off what resource (MAP location), page or design title...this was stuck to my printed picture when I got them home from printing.

Thirdly, I sent my final cuts for photos to my Desktop, I find that clicking and dropping the pictures I want to print onto my Desktop, saves me loads of time later at the upload stage as I can then later grab and drop my chosen pictures into my Upload Photos page of the Costco online photo page (I like Costco's print quality for the price here where I live)

Fourth, when I was in the photo ordering page in Costco online photo site, I made sure to tag each photo with the actual crop size and location in the layout...I know this seems excessive or maybe a little OCD...I know, but when I got to my retreat...I knew exactly what my plans were with the photo as it was printed on the back of each picture where I wanted it to go in the layout as well as the layout Map...this saved me time.

Lastly, when I got to the retreat, the only thinking I needed to do was pick out paper...which, for those of you that know me...takes me some time :) Once I had some paper in hand...grabbed my photos which were seperated with my sticky notes with the layout design I was planning on working with and the printed photos/enlargements when needed...and...away I went!

The prep ahead of time saved me from 'creators-block'...just made that one up...and allowed me to whip the layouts up! In Kristine-time...probably much faster in your own-time...I am still reeling in the pleasure of how much I accomplished...maybe you have some great tips for making the mnost of your scrapbooking time...I'd love to hear them, just leave a comment below !

Here's a couple of layouts that I did on that retreat weekend...thanks for stopping by and enjoy your Long Weekend, hopefully the sun is shining where ever you call home :)

Art Attack from CTMH Corporate

My Acrylix^® Dreams Come True Stamp Set

Categories: ART ATTACK, NEW & NOW

Featuring the My Acrylix^® Dreams Come True stamp set, this video is packed with inspiring artwork and creative techniques. Discover how to create a beautiful banner using the My Creations^® Mix & Mingle album, learn how to use the embossed resist technique for gorgeous lettering, clip away part of a stamped sentence for a whole new meaning, build a card sentiment like a puzzle, and more!

Remember that the Emboss Resist Technique can be used anywhere! Do you have some plain chipboard bits and pieces at home in your scrap storage? Next time you are creating, pull some product out and alter is with this great technique...or try tracing out some chipboard letters like they did in this project and create your own unique Emboss Resist designed title using ink, paper and scissors. If you don't have any embossing ink like Versmark or clear embossing powder...I can hook you up, just send me some mail

Studio J ~ Focus on the Photos

Studio J has just published a fantastic tutorial where they are focussing on the photos. They are showing you some of the FAQ's you might have after playing with the online software. I found it very helpful for myself as I am new to playing in Studio J...remember that Studio J is available online FREE...purchase only those layouts that YOU want...otherwise, maybe think of using this online software when you are sharing the couch with your family...at the same time creating some scrapbooking layouts...

Maybe you don't like the look digital scrapbooking? 

If that's the case with you, I encourage you to play with the software and use it like a 'dry-run' before you go and play with paper and scissors...create some layouts, save them and then the next time you are ready to sit down and play with paper...pull up your pre-done designs on the computer and copy them using your actual product...this way you have some fast and easy layouts to produce...you've only printed out the photos you need for the layout and  you've just saved yourself money and TIME.

Cosmo Cricket and Crate Paper together...lookin' good

My little girl is growing up...makes me sad to think back at all the memories and know that in a few short years this little baby is going to be on her own...my only consolation is in knowing that we raised an independent, strong and wonderful little girl into the young lady that she is today...we had a special little escape to Fort Langley for her 16th birthday in November...right after stopping into the Motor Vehicle office so she could write her Learner's Test...she passed of course...then drove us to Fort Langley!!! One of the charms with Fort Langley is all of the little Antique stores and little specialty shops like this fantastic hat shop...

Does this layout look similar to the one above...same Close To My Heart design...just completely different looking theme's and paper...why re-invent the wheel when the layout works and looks great...just make another one...might just speed up your create-time and challenge you to take the same layout and add touches to each of them to make them appear different...it'll even give you extra time to maybe add or try some different techniques like ribbon flowers or hand stitched stars...?

Remember to keep some of your layouts clean and simple...some photos tell their own story...journalling is important, but not always required...I'm planning on leaving these layouts the way they are right now...perhaps I'll add a few words later...maybe

Studio J®: Step-by-Step Basics

Wow! What an event...this past weekend at the Scrapbook Carnival in the Art & Crafts Expo at the Tradex was so much fun...special thanks to my BFF Tania for all her help as well as my fantastic daughters...it was so awesome to be able to connect with so many lovely women...and the odd husband here and there too :)

I was thrilled to be able to show everyone how great Close To My Heart products are and let them play with our Acrylic stamps, inks, papers, waxy flax and distressers. I hope to see some of those lovely ladies again in  the future :)

April is starting off with a bang! We have two specials for customers in the month of April, one for orders on myCTMH website and the other for Studio J members...

One of the things I love about Studio J custom prints is how easy it is to jazz them up by adding a few simple embellishments. See how a few Sparkles and Opaques gems were added to this Studio J layout? It only takes a few seconds because the gems are peel-and-stick. And don’t you think it gives nice dimension to the page? This month, Studio J members get a free package of each of these embellishments when they buy 10 layouts. Now’s a great time to get online and get caught up on all your scrapbooking, and when you receive your prints in the mail, you can glam them up with these adorable Opaques and Sparkles!

Close to my Heart has just uploaded a youTube video tutorial on our online Studio J Scrapbooking  program...click on the video link to see how they created a beautiful 2 page layout in under 8 minutes!

It is soooo easy to create some beautiful pages quickly and with a Studio J membership you will benefit from some fabulous savings to the layout costs and shipping that you will wonder why you haven't been creating with Studio J sooner than now! 

You will want to use Studio J online Scrapbooking in conjunction to your Classic scrapbooking so you can create some faster.simpler.easier layouts when you are short on time....and when you want to play with paper and scissors...all of your CTMH supplies are going to match with all the Studio J papers online!

If you've had a chance to play online with Studio J, you will notice that all the page kits consist of ALL of Close To My Hearts past and present paper collections so you can dig into that stash of papers in your rooms and get creating once you've been inspired with the patterns and layouts you see in Studio J...remember that when you play with the layouts online, you can simply turn to your own paper stash and create off the designs you've just created on Studio J!

In April you will receive a package of Opaques and Sparkles with each 

Happy creating ladies :)

Swap Layouts are in the Mail!

Lots of trimming, but they are all done :) I've really enjoyed working on these Funky Swap layouts but I'm glad they're done...now it's time to get busy on next weeks Workshops and my weekend retreat at Timberline! I thought I'd post a couple pictures of the work in progress...

I absolutely can not scrapboook without my Ranger blending tools by Tim Holtz...that and the craft sheet that you can use for so many things...I like how my blending tool glides along the craft mat and allows me to ink the edges softly.

Just a  little bit of trimming involved there...I love how the titles turned out...little rock n' rollin' with Honey, Olive and Smoothie inks...

This is for the Female Child layout...the base page is with CTMH's new Kraft cardstock...I'm lovin' it

Supplies used are all CTMH unless otherwise noted:

Cardstock; Kraft, Colonial White, Chocolate, Smoothie 

B&T Duos; Mayberry paper collection

Stamp Sets; True Happiness (D1365), Over The Rainbow (D1426)

Punches; EK border, SU

This is for the Female Adult layout...I've used the Wings paper collection, I really liked how this layout for my CTMH Consultant's Swap turned out...5 spots are for 3"X 3"photos and 1 spot for a 5"x 5"...or a little larger as the Juniper mat is 6"X 6"...this design is featured in the MAGIC how-to-book, page 116, Magician's Choice...I'm afraid I can't take credit for this design...just my interpretation of one of the many great designs in Jeannette Lynton's newest book...MAGIC

I incorporated small words to capture my feelings about my friend in this layout...I could have used the black rectangle on the right side page to put some journalling as well, but I liked the random words scattered here and there instead...this way I am leading the reader from picture to picture...

Supplies used are all CTMH unless otherwise noted:

Cardstock; Vineyard Berry, White Daisy, Black, Juniper

B&T Duos; Wings paper collection

Stamp Sets; Bohemian Alphabet (E1019), Dreams Come True (D1470), Take a Picture (C1440)

Embellishments; Opaques Licorice, Green Asst. brads, Mini-Medley Black, Level 2 Asst. Wings

Punches; 2"Round Scallop & 1.25" round punch, EK border, Martha Stewart butterflys