Back in Business and Creative Happiness

I know it's been a long time coming but I am back in business with Close To My Heart and am once again immersed in the joyfulness of creativity and sharing my love of scrapbooking and papercrafting.

Here are a few items I have made with the new Skylark kit and coordinating stamp sets.

Dotty For You - Fresh Inspiration

I was recently challenged by some new friends to create some projects with Close To My Heart's new constant campaign paper package DOTTY FOR YOU. I was completely inspired by the fresh and cheerful colour combinations and light-hearted prints that were so easy to mix and match. I chose a variety of stamps to showcase the versatile uses of this paper and just had some fun creating in the Studio. I also played with some of CTMH's new accessories of the season including Color Ready Seam Binding Ribbon, that I dyed using our ink pads, as well as other fun items. I love how everything coordinates.

This card features A1120 Quick Cards - Butterfly stamp and I used a stencil technique to mask off the outer edges of the butterfly to then sponge the Sweet Leaf ink onto the wings before applying one of my favourite accessories - Prisma Glitter. So pretty!!!

Next is a fun 4x4 card featuring one of my new favourite colour combinations - Sunset, Grey Wool and Colonial White. I used the rooster image from the C1498 Country Life stamp set. The rooster is paper-pieced and stamped tone on tone onto Sunset cardstock with Sunset ink. It was then attached to the card and covered with a thin layer of Liquid Glass. The new accent Z1706 Durable Studs (available in round or square, in both pewter and gold tones) were the perfect choice to add some more dimension to this lovely card.

I think this is such a fun layout. I just let the photos guide me and the paper package had such a great array of prints that I had an easy time finding ones that were perfect. I also used a layout from CTMH Reflections how-to-guide to make creating this layout even simpler. I am a scrapbooker and I really enjoy showcasing my children in all of their wonderful silliness, like in this layout. I used C1458 Paper Lantern stamps and clustered the pinwheel image into groupings and accented them with colour-matched brads in various sizes. The extra special accent was creating a custom dyed ribbon in a variety of colours (Sunset, Lagoon, and Sweet Leaf) to complete the page.

Celebrate National Scrapbooking Month in May by mixing and matching to your heart’s content with our new Dotty for You paper packet! The trendy patterns on the front of the papers coordinate perfectly with the dots on the reverse side, giving you lots of options for crafting colorful layouts, cards, and other projects. Dotty for You includes 24 specially designed, coordinating B&T Duos^® sheets (2 each of 12 patterns) and an artwork idea insert to get your creative juices flowing.
There are three ways to get this exclusive Dotty for You paper packet, valued at $19.95:

• Place an order of $35 or more in products from the Spring/Summer 2012 Idea Book between April 17 and May 31, and add the Dotty for You paper packet for just $5*.
• Host a Gathering with a sales total of $400 or more (excluding tax, shipping/handling, and Operation Smile^® donations) between April 17 and May 31 and receive a Dotty for You paper packet FREE.
• Join Close To My Heart as a new Consultant between April 1 and May 31 and receive a Dotty for You paper packet FREE.

Celebrate National Scrapbooking Month in May with the oh-so-cute Dotty for You paper packet.

*Taxes and shipping/handling may apply. Offer good during above-specified dates, while supplies last.

Check out my website to place your order today or send me an email for more information.

Studio J IS Real Scrapbooking!

Sure, I admit it, when Close To My Heart first announced Studio J as an option for digital scrapbooking, I thought, "That's great. It will be great for those other people that don't really scrapbook." I was a little bit biased that "scrapbooking" had to mean hands-on with paper and photos and words and maybe embellishments. But after I thought about it, and I made some layouts with Studio J, I realized that Studio J IS real scrapbooking. It's paper and photos and words and maybe embellishments. It's preserving memories and sharing them. Plus it gives me a cool digital file I can share online by email or posting on Social Media sites like Facebook. It's incredible that I can resize or change the colour of photos instantly with a click of a mouse right in the program and if I don't like the results, just as easily change it back. Options have never been easier or more fun with my photos.

Close To My Heart offers Studio J in such a way that you can't help but fall in love with it. Printed in glorious 12x12 format, and featuring the papers, the layouts, the embellishments that you love about traditional CTMH scrapbooking, the results are gorgeous and easy to acheive.  Plus with Studio J, you can customize the papers and embellishments in ways that you just can't "in real life". Change embellishment sizes, colours, alter, overlap, and use as many as you like to create the layout in just the way you want. Love a print from the new Dreamin' My Reflections Kit but wish it came in shades of purple? With Studio J and the click of your mouse...it can! I love that I can make truly unique layouts that are unlimited by the printed paper that I have "on hand", and with Studio J, it's all "on hand" and ready to go whenever or whereever I am.

Last January, I scrapbooked my entire family reunion album in 2 days during a snowstorm. I didn't have to worry about running out of supplies. I just needed my internet connection. I received the printed layouts back from CTMH in about 10 days and it was a sunny reminder of my family's love during those cold, dark winter days.

What I love best about Studio J is that you can try it for FREE!!! Yes, FREE!!! Nothing to download. No prepayments or kits to buy. Access it all and then only order and pay for the layouts you want. How awesome is that? Buy a membership and save on your layout purchases as an extra bonus. What's not to love?

My children also love that they can help make layouts about themselves and they look so professionally done or that I may do layouts just for them. Here is one I did for my daughter Grace wearing her silly 3D glasses with the lenses punched out. She looked so adorable that I couldn't help but create a special layout just for her. I could make the photos just the right size, cropping or enlarging as needed within the program. So easy!!! Embellishments were fun and guilt free... I think I added about 50+ brads to this layout - all for the one low layout price. Awesome!

What memories could you preserve and share with Studio J today? Whether it's traditional or digital...it's still real scrapbooking! Click the Studio J link badge at the right of my page to give it a try.
Cheers,
Barbara

Join my Close To My Heart team ....

as a Consultant this month and reap the rewards.

Campaign Basics

1. What are the campaign details?
   Dates: October 1 (9:00 am, MDT)–October 31, 2011 (11:59 pm, MDT)
   Featured Products: New Consultant add-on collections: Roxie, Elemental, and Studio J^®
   For New Consultants: New Consultants who sign up for $99 (US&CAN) with Close To My Heart between October 1–31 will receive one New Consultant Kit add-on collection of their choice FREE! Each collection is priced at $40 (US&CAN) and has a retail value of $80 US /$85 CAN–$130 US/$140 CAN, making this an incredible deal!

Campaign Item Information

2. What is included in the add-on collections?
   Check out the three add-on collections in the Idea Book on page 5 for a complete listing of what is included in the Roxie, Elemental, and Studio J^® collections.

Ordering, Shipping & Tax

3. Will tax be charged on this promotion?
   Tax is assessed on the $99 New Consultant Kit. In the US, tax is also assessed on the retail price of any add-on collection added to the order, regardless of whether it is free or paid, which is $40. No tax is charged for free items in Canada, but new Consultants will be assessed tax if they add and pay for additional collections as part of their enrollment.
4. Will shipping/handling be charged on this promotion?
   Shipping/handling is charged on the New Consultant Kit, but no shipping is charged on any add-on collections, free or paid for, that the Consultants adds.
5. How many add-on collections can each new Consultant receive?
   Each new Consultant may select a limit of one add-on collection for free but may purchase one or both of the other two collections for $40 (US&CAN) each. Purchasing all three add-on collections does not qualify new Consultants for another free add-on collection.
6. How does a new Consultant order their free add-on collection?
   During online enrollment, new Consultants will be able to select the add-on collection they would like for free. They will also have the chance to add the other collections to their order for $40 (US&CAN) each.

Availability

7. If a new Consultant already signed up but did not add their free collection, can they order it after the fact?
   No. The free add-on collection is only available during enrollment.

Check out my website to sign up directly. This offer available to residents of Canada. If you are a US resident, please check out the consultant locator on the main CTMH web page to find someone close to you.

Welcome and Congratulations!

Hello and a big welcome to all of my scrappy and stampy friends. And a big congratulations to me for tackling the Blog-demon and figuring out the Blogging world enough to get this baby started. Utilizing social media can be somewhat of a challenge but once I get the hang of it, I am in! Please be patient for however long it takes for me to get the bugs out. Thanks.

This Blog will be my way of sharing my work and the work of others, designed to inspire, delight and educate you in my role as a Close To My Heart Senior Director and papercrafting artist as well as share my life and loves through stories, photos and artwork.

The artwork above is just one of my latest card creations. It's a 4x4 card featuring paper from the Typeset My Reflections kit from CTMH, stamps that co-ordinate with the CTMH Art Philosophy Cricut Cartridge, and beautiful inks and accessories. I'm enjoying it today as a little "Congrats" to myself for a job well done. Have you congratulated someone recently? An easy but beautiful card such as this could be just the ticket....

Wishing you all well,

Barbara