Monday, October 31, 2011

Halloween Home Décor Project

I wish I could take credit for this super cute piece of artwork. The CTMH Art Department actually created this using the Art Philosophy Cricut cartridge. The die cut circle shape has served as a mask to create a unique background using the spray pen. Isn’t that clever? They also used some Glitz Glitter Gel, Clear Buttons, Bling Assortment and Midnight Felt Shapes.

For more details on this project, visit Jeanette Lynton’s blog here.

To purchase the products to make your own home décor project, click here.




Don’t forget to enter my huge giveaway for $100 in CTMH products of your choice here

 






Also, don’t forget that TODAY is the last day to get a free add-on collection when you order a New Consultant Kit by the end of October. More details can be found here.





 

Saturday, October 29, 2011

November Creative Club - Petal Box Gifts


This month's Creative Club will be held on Tuesday, November 15th and Thursday, November 17th at 7pm. This month we will be continuing with our Christmas projects and be making this great gift. It includes 2 boxes, 4 mini cards and envelopes, and 9 countdown to Christmas candies, all tied up with a bow and gift tag. This is the perfect gift for co-workers, teachers, neighbors, etc. Plus you will also get the stamp set that goes with it, so you can make more at home.

Each kit will be $15 or $10 with a $25 order. (If you are not local, please add $5 for shipping.) You are welcome to order more than one kit. Extra kits (without the stamp set will be $7 each.)


Each kit includes:
  • (1) Countdown Stamp Set
  • (2) Die-cut petal boxes
  • (1) Piece of Chocolate Striped Ribbon
  • (9) Chocolate/Peanut Butter Candies
  • Pre-cut imgaes/shapes
  • Long distance kits also include step-by-step instructions.
The smaller box on top includes (4) mini cards and matching envelopes.

The larger box on the bottom includes (9) Chocolate/Peanut Butter candies. 
(So your recipient can "count down" the last 10 days until Christmas.) 



Contact me for more information, to sign up for this month's class, or to order your own kit(s). Please contact me no later than November 6th if you would like to join us or order a kit(s).

To find out more about my monthly no-commitment Creative Club, click here. You do not need to be local to participate!





Don’t forget to enter my huge giveaway for $100 in CTMH products of your choice here

 







Also, don’t forget that you only have a few more days to get a free add-on collection when you order a New Consultant Kit by the end of October. More details can be found here.





 

Only 3 More Days to get a FREE Add-On Collection!

During the month of October, you can get over $400 worth of CTMH goodies for only $99.* That means you only have 3 more days to take advantage of this great promotion! 

Sign up as a new Consultant between October 1–31 and receive one New Consultant Kit add-on collection of your choice FREE! Add-on collections are priced at $40 each and have a retail value of up to $130, making this an incredible deal!

For just a $99 enrollment fee, you'll receive a New Consultant Kit packed with business essentials and new products valued at over $280, plus a FREE add-on collection to enhance your kit! Then you can choose to buy one or both of the other add-on collections for just $40 each. It's an incredible deal!


If you love Close to my Heart products, there is a place for you within this amazing company. There is a place for everyone including the Personal Use Consultant and the Business Builder and everything in between.

Here are some links to some informative posts about this great special:

  • A list of reasons why you should sign up as a Close to my Heart Consultant TODAY! - Click here.
  • A little more information about me and my Team. - Click here.
  • What’s in the kit? - Click here.
  • Great Studio J savings as a Consultant - Click here.
  • Have questions? - Click here to contact me.
  • Ready to take advantage of this great deal? - Click here to go to the online application.
But hurry, you only have 3 more days to take advantage of this great offer!
 
* Plus tax and shipping. Value depends on which add on options you choose.

Thursday, October 27, 2011

Holiday Wishes stamp set for only $5?


Oh yes! You read that right. Starting today, you can get this beautiful D-size Holiday Wishes stamp set for only $5 when you place a minimum order of $25 in CTMH stamp sets* through the end of November. As a creative bonus, many of the images in the set coordinate with our Cricut® Art Philosophy cartridge for added cutting and stamping fun!

The images outlined in red coordinate with the Art Philosophy Cartridge. How great is that? Don’t have the AP Cartridge yet? No need to worry, you can add the AP Cricut bundle to your order and then qualify get the October Stamp of the Month for only $5 too! With both stamp sets and the sets that come with the AP Bundle, you'll be all set for your Christmas crafting!


Click here to start shopping now or contact me to place your order! 
 


*Stamp of the Month, K-size customized name stamps, Cricut® Art Philosophy collection, and Workshops on the Go™ kits do not count toward a qualifying purchase. Offer valid October 27–30, 2011. Tax and shipping apply. You may buy one Holiday Wishes stamp set for every $25 in qualifying stamp sets you purchase.

Wednesday, October 26, 2011

Apple Camp - 15 Minute Studio J Layout

I created this layout yesterday in about 15 minutes. It is super simple, but what I love the most is that I was able to choose whatever kit I wanted and change the color to match my photos. I know there is a lot of blue and white, but hey, it was Apple Camp. Right? LOL!

Click on photo to enlarge.

Are you interested in trying out Studio J? You’ve taken the photos—now keep the memories. In five easy steps, create beautiful 12" × 12" two-page layouts showcasing your stories. When the custom prints arrive at your door, slip them into your cherished albums. No one will guess it only took a few minutes to design them!

It is free to play with and there is no obligation to order anything. (Although you may want to after seeing how much fun it is and how cute your layouts are.) Click here to try it now. If you like it and want to order your layouts, you have a few different options...

Full Retail
Per two-page , custom printed layout 
$13.00
Shipping per box of up to 20 layouts - $5.95 

 

Memberships
Save an amazing 50% off retail price by becoming a Studio J® member. Only members receive free JPG files of their layouts with each purchased custom-printed layout and also have the option to purchase JPG files separately. JPG files come in both high resolution and thumbnail sizes to print, share, or archive. Membership comes with other perks like exclusive patterns, kits, and free Memory Protectors®. On top of all that, members also get free shipping on one order per month that has a total of 4 to 20 layouts in the continental US.

 

Membership Options
12 month membership - $99
3 month membership - $30
  Per two-page, custom-printed layout (includes hi-res and low-res JPEGS) - $6.50
  Per two-page JPEG file only- $3.00
Minimum layouts per order for free shipping - 4

 

5 Pack
A 5-pack includes 5 two-page, custom-printed layouts, 5 Memory Protectors, and free shipping. Ideal for gift giving, or as an affordable way to try Studio J for the first time.
5-Pack - $55

 

Save even MORE!
Save even more by signing up to become a CTMH Consultant and getting an additional 22% off the 1/2 price cost making each two-page layout only $5.07! That’s only $2.54 per page! Plus until October 31st, you can get a FREE 12 month membership + 5 FREE layouts when you order the new Consultant Kit and choose the Studio J option as your FREE add-on collection. But you only have a few more days to get the FREE add-on collection.

 

Click here to try Studio J.

Click here for some FAQs about becoming a CTMH Consultant. 

Click here to sign up today!

Click here to contact me if you have any questions.

 




Don’t forget to enter my huge giveaway for $100 in CTMH products of your choice here
 






Also, don’t forget that you only have a few more days to get a free add-on collection when you order a New Consultant Kit by the end of October. More details can be found here.


 

Tuesday, October 25, 2011

PTI October Blog Hop



I haven’t played with my Papertrey Ink stamps in a while so I thought I’d pull a few of them out to make something for the PTI Blog Hop today. The challenge is to create something that is inspired by the photo below. I used PTI’s Background Basics: Text Style, Polka Dots Basics, and Botanical Silhouettes stamp sets. I also used CTMH’s So Grateful and Damask sets. The Orange Zest cardstock is from PTI and the Olive cardstock is from Close to my Heart. I also used Orange and White Daisy inks from Close to my Heart. (The White Daisy pigment ink stamps beautifully on PTI’s cardstock.)





Don’t forget to enter my huge giveaway for $100 in CTMH products of your choice here
 






Also, don’t forget that you only have a few more days to get a free add-on collection when you order a New Consultant Kit by the end of October. More details can be found here.


Monday, October 24, 2011

Leadershare Projects

Here are just a few of the many projects that we made at the CTMH Leadershare event earlier this month. All of the projects were made using the beautiful Sonoma papers. The fun Cork Color-Ready Alphabet, Wooden Designer Buttons, Heirloom Assortment embellishments, the Love Life stamp set, and of course the exclusive CTMH Art Philosophy Cricut Cartridge were also used.

The great clusters of embellishments on this layout definitely make it more interesting.


I love the 3-D flowers we made that were cut using the Art Philosophy Cricut Cartridge.


This box was also cut using the AP Cartridge. We stamped the sides of the box with the cool pattern from the Love Life stamp set. I changed mine up a bit and added one of the resin flowers from the Heirloom Accessory pack to the center of the stamped flower.


We even made this necklace using CTMH products and a washer from a Home improvement store. How cool is that? My talented friend, Bren Yule has instructions on her blog here, if you’d like to make one too.






Don’t forget to enter my huge giveaway for $100 in CTMH products of your choice here




 

Also, don’t forget that you only have a few more days to get a free add-on collection when you order a New Consultant Kit by the end of October. More details can be found here.

      




      Happy Monday!
      Creatively Yours,

Saturday, October 22, 2011

Huge Giveaway Time!


I decided that I don’t do enough giveaways on my blog, so I thought I’d offer a big one to make up for lost time. LOL! (I do plan to offer giveaways and host contests more frequently.)

How would you like to win $100 in Close to my Heart products of your choice? You can even use your $100 gift certificate to get the new Art Philosophy Cricut Cartridge Bundle! Just fill out the form on my Giveaway page and get (1) entry each for following my blog, “liking” and following my CTMH Facebook page, signing up to receive my monthly newsletter, and/or sharing a link to my blog on your Facebook page or your blog. It’s that easy! You can get up to (4) entries.

Click here to visit my Giveaway page and enter. Good luck! *Ü*

Thursday, October 20, 2011

Faux Letterpress using Art Philosophy Cricut Cartridge


I have always loved the simple, elegant look of letterpress. Although, as we all know, letterpress is a very expensive process. I have played around with various metal dies over the years and was happy to get a faux letterpress look at a fraction of the cost.

I was playing around today with some of the images that I cut using the CTMH Art Philosophy Cricut Cartridge and was pleasantly surprised that I was able to get a similar look using just cardstock and my Cuttlebug. I cut four 2" snowflakes out of CTMH cardstock and layered them on top of each other. (With both the shift and layer keys selected, press the last key on the top row to cut the snowflake image I used.) Then I played around with various Cuttlebug sandwiches until I came up with a good formula to use with the CTMH White Daisy cardstock. 

Here’s my “recipe”:
  1. C Plate
  2. 1 sheet of CTMH cardstock
  3. Card base
  4. 4 die cut images lined up as perfectly as you can
  5. 1 sheet of CTMH cardstock
  6. B Plate
Run your sandwich through your Cuttlebug and viola, you have a faux letterpress card for mere pennies.


Wednesday, October 19, 2011

A Heartfelt "Thank You" and a "Giving Thanks" Box

Thank you so much for the thoughtful emails and comments on yesterday’s post. I was so comforted by all of the love that you sent my way. Tears welled up in my eyes as I read each of your caring comments and emails. I loved that many of you felt comfortable enough to share your similar stories with me. The technology that we have today, although frustrating at times, is really wonderful. It is incredible how we can share such emotion from one side of the country or even the world, to the other with a simple email or comment on someone's blog. That is something that my Dad would have loved. Thank you again! xoxo

Being as thankful for all of you that I am, I thought today I would share another “Giving Thanks” Box. A gal from my church asked if I would be willing to do a class for the high school group teaching them how to make a “thankful” box where they could keep their prayers, scriptures, and other notes about being thankful. They wanted to try to keep the cost down to $10, so I took this box and reworked it to create the one below.


I printed the text on my computer using a free font called Chopin Script and cut it out using the Art Philosophy Cricut Cartridge. I used one of the papers from the versatile Elemental paper packet, a little Sweet Leaf Stitched Ribbon, a 3-D flower cut with the AP Cricut Cartridge, and a few Bitty Sparkles


The inside has a few scriptures about being thankful, which are also cut out with the AP Cartridge. I hope the girls will like it, but most of all, I hope it helps them remember that they have a lot for which to be thankful, as do I!

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

In Loving Memory of my Dad


It is hard to believe that today marks the 20 year anniversary of my Dad's passing. I know I have posted about him in the past and I will spare you the details of his accident, but I just can't let this special day go by without mentioning him and trying to honor him in some way. If you are interested, I posted a little story last year about the last time I saw him. You can read it here.


Before his funeral, I was asked to write a few things about him to be read at the service. I recently found the paper I wrote. (It's amazing how my hand writing has changed over the past 20 years.) Remember that I was 21 years old, still in college, and not yet married. This is what I wrote...

“When I was asked to write down one or two things about my Dad, I sat for a long time before I realized that I can’t narrow 21 wonderful years of memories into one or two sentences. Many things ran through my mind from dancing on my Daddy's feet when I was 6, to waving good-bye to him after moving into my college dorm.

So many people keep telling me how lucky I was to have had such a wonderful father. If these people only knew just how wonderful and caring I thought he really was. Tell me, how many people would keep a log book for their 7 year old daughter, so she could follow in his footsteps and someday become a pilot herself? (That never happened. I hate to fly! LOL!) How many fathers would take off work during his busiest season to take his daughter and her boyfriend fishing for the day? Not too many!

Those of you who knew my father well, already know how special he was. But those of you who didn’t...well...all I can say is listen to those who did, because they know what they are talking about.

The selfish side of me keeps asking why he had to die so young, before he could give me away at my wedding or before he could play with and spoil his grandchildren. But the reasonable side of me says that I indeed was lucky (blessed) to have had those 21 wonderful years with him that many children don’t get in 50 years with their parents. 

I also realize that he’s never really gone in spirit. He’ll be at my wedding someday and he will find a way to touch his grandchildren’s lives. He will always live in my memory, and rest assured, he will always live in yours.”

(My younger brother actually walked me down the aisle when I got married. It was a bitter sweet moment. I LOVED having him with me, but it would have been so nice to have my Dad walk with with me.)

So today, on the 20th anniversary of my Dad’s passing, I want to honor him by letting everyone know that he was an incredible man with a huge heart! I loved him very much and miss him terribly! I love you Daddy!!! Rest in peace.


Sunday, October 16, 2011

Leadershare Highlights

I am home from Leadershare and happy to say that I had a wonderful time. (Was there any doubt that I would? LOL!) I still need to take some photos of the fun projects we made, but I thought I’d share a few fun photos that we took at the little photo op area that was set up in the back. 

This is me with my beautiful upline Denise Anderson Turley.

Bren, Me, and Denise

This is a photo of some of my awesome team members that were able to attend.
Don't we make lovely princesses?

I also have to share a video of my talented friend and one of my Leadershare roomies, Bren Yule. This woman is amazing. She is incredibly gifted, has a HUGE heart, and is just an overall sweet person. She hosted the event this weekend along with the CTMH Corporate peeps. What a team! Anyway, I hope you enjoy her song, “The Stampin' Blues.” This was recorded at the event yesterday.



If you’d like to join us at the next CTMH event, all you need to do is sign up to become a CTMH Consultant. Click here for more information on the great October sign-up special!)

Friday, October 14, 2011

CTMH Leadershare and Personalized Gifts

I am heading down to San Diego today for a fun-filled weekend! One of the benefits of being a Close to my Heart Consultant is that I get to attend many of the amazing events that the company sponsors throughout the year. This weekend my sweet friend and amazing Consultant, Bren Yule, has volunteered to host an incredible event along with the Corporate Executive Team called Leadershare. It will be an event packed with business classes, creative sessions, contests, auctions, and a fun evening crop to end it all. I have the honor of teaching a class on the Art Philosophy Cricut Cartridge. (You all know how much I LOVE that thing!!!) It will be hard to keep my class down to only 30 minutes. LOL!

These are some gifts that I made for my team and my hotel roomies. (My team knows that whenever they attend an event with me, they always get some type of goody!) I made each of them a little stack of personalized mini note cards and matching envelopes. I used the Unscripted stamp set for the cards along with a personalized name stamp that they will also get to keep. (Did you know that Close to my Heart sells personalized stamps? They make great gifts!) The envelopes were made using the Art Philosophy Cricut Cartridge. I love that I can make envelopes in whatever size and color I need.


Each set of mini note cards and matching envelopes is wrapped with some Natural Hemp. I put each little bundle of cards in a clear bag with the customized name stamp.



I hope to post some photos of the event while I am there if I have access to the internet. If not, I will definitely post when I get back.

I would love for you to join me at the next CTMH event. If you have ever thought about becoming a CTMH Consultant, October is the perfect time to do it! Click here for some great information about signing up.

Have a great weekend! I know I will!

Tuesday, October 11, 2011

Holiday Magic - October Stamp of the Month


The October Stamp of the Month called Holiday Magic is soooo cute. The card above is one that my talented friend and downline Vanessa Garcia made. She used the Elemental Paper Packet, the White Daisy Die Cut Cards, the fun Foundry Pin Clips, and, of course, the October Stamp of the Month

Did you know that you can either purchase the Stamp of the Month for $17.95 or get it for only $5 with a $50 order? What a great deal!

 

Click here to start shopping now and make your very own Holiday Magic!