Holiday Heyday

Need some EASY gift ideas for the paper lovers in your life? Then look no further. . . .

SIT BACK AND RELAX. I T ’S OK TO START YOUR HOLIDAY
shopping a little late this year, because the best deals start in December! You can buy everyone on your list a gift and stock up on much-needed supplies, leaving you time to enjoy the festivities!

Beginning December 2*, you’ll want to get in on the amazing deals like My Acrylix® stamp sets from $2 and My Refl ections® paper packets from $5. But that’s not all—we have “grab bags”
for $30, each fi lled with over $100 in retail products! Plus, great shipping deals on orders over $100. These products are only available while supplies last, so mark your calendar and be the
first to fill your shopping cart!

*Sale continues through December 17 or while supplies last. Shipping/handling: US orders of $100+ have a flat rate shipping of $5 US. Canada and non-continental US orders of $150+ have a fl at rate shipping of $10 US/ 12.50 CAN. Tax is charged based on discounted amount.

Peace on Earth

This is my Christmas Card this year. Its in a DVD envelope with a Christmas DVD inside. The tree and text are embossed with a glittery green.

Merry Christmas!

I hope you enjoy this card idea.

Christmas Gift Idea

This is the gift we are making for some of the men in our family this year. . . I just hope they aren't all regular readers of my blog. :-)

I used a 5"x7" photo as the base and printed the text on a piece of vellum and centered that over the photo. Pretty easy and a nice gift, too.

Home Sweet Home

Here it is! The November Stamp of the Month!

Think of all the fun themes you can do with these. . . . IE

"Home for the Holidays"

"No place like home". . of if you have just moved

"Our new home"

Do you have other ideas?

Share your idea by leaving a comment.

You can earn this set for FREE with a $100 purchase. SHOP HERE!

I am Thankful for. . . . .

. . . . my family, music, paper and STAMPS! If you are thankful for stamps, too you may want to participate in STAMPAGANZA!
Stamp sets make a great gift for you, your stamping friends or family members. Just buy two and GET ONE FREE!

Before and After

This morning my friend Julie and I put together these pages. This is a great idea when you want to do a layout with a "Before and After" Theme.

We chose one picture to highlight (the large 5x7 in the upper left corner), added before and after pictures in the bottom right corner (later we stamped "Before" and "After" above the photos) the yellow square we kept blank to add journaling and then. . . . .

. . . . used wallet sized pictures to show the progression of the the project. Added some ribbon, buttons and a bitty brad for embellishment.

Pretty great idea I think! Well done Julie!

Idea adapted from a pattern in IMAGINE by Jeanette Lynton.

Scrapbooking vs. Therapy

Sometimes life gets little hectic for me. . there always seems to be something to do. Often I think that I really want to scrapbook, but that I don't have enough time. Well yesterday I took a few minutes to work on some layouts while my youngest little ones were napping. I am so glad that I did because even though I only had about 20-30 minutes to use, I felt so rejuvenated afterwards. I felt refreshed was ready to face the rest of the day.

Other things that I think are therapeutic. . .

* a massage
* a date with my husband OUT of the house
* exercising
* playing the piano . . . loudly
* when someone else makes dinner
* doing something nice for someone else
* watching Close To My Heart TV
* making cards with friends
* laughing
* playing in the water outside with my kids

and my favorite therapy. . . . .

BEING GRATEFUL!

ART & SOUL: NEW! Sensational Simplicity

A new episode of Close To My Heart TV is up. I always look forward to the new shows. I hope you enjoy watching them as much as I do.

CLICK HERE to view the new show. If you've ever wanted to know what "random stamping" is, this is the show for you. Learn this and other fun techniques on this great new episode.

The coolest part of this adorable project is that they have a taken a stamp set called "gear up" it looks like the inner workings of an old watch . . . and it very boyish. . . and those gears have been stamped in feminine colors and what do think it looks like when you stamp "gear" shapes in blush and sorbet?

FLOWERS!

Gear shapes to make flowers! Pretty clever I think.

But I want to know what YOU think!

Favorite Five in July

Five Favorites for FREE

BECOME A CLOSE TO MY HEART CONSULTANT
Between July 1-31 and we'll send you your choice of five additional select products for FREE, with no additional shipping/handling or tax! It's a limited opportunity you'll want to jump on right away! Limit of one item each, up to five items total, while supplies last.

Select your Favorite Five during the online enrollment process. Shipping/handling and tax applies to the New Consultant Kit but is waived on theFavorite Five items. Offer good July 1-31, 2009.

List of products to choose from:
-My Acrylix® Thank You Stamp Set (retail value $22.95)
-Magic Moments Scrapbook Kit (retail value $34.95)
-Basic Textured Cardstock Combo Pack (retail value $14.95)
-Life Delights Memory Showcase (retail value $12.95)
-My Originals® Hello Birdie Card Kit (retail value $12.95)
-Creative BasicsT Silhouette Collection (retail value $8.95)
-HeartFeltT Whimsy Die-Cuts (retail value $9.95)
-All-Out Adventure Rub-Ons (retail value $9.95)

***That’s a possible $98.75 in extra product at absolutely NO COST to you – we’ll even pay the tax and shipping on these!

All this AND our Fabulous Consultant Kit! Our kit is only $99 and retails for over $350

AND don't forget our fabulous bonus packs, too. Add the scrapbooking kit for $60 (a $180 value) and the additional card kit for $50 (a $150 value)

Buy all three kits and choose your FIVE FAVORITES and you could be getting a total of over $725 in products for only $209 plus tax and shipping.

Sign up here! It is fast and easy...
ilovepaper.myctmh.com

Sign up online today or email me for more details. There has never been a better moment to sign up than right NOW!! Earn a little or a lot, get your own products at a great discount, share the fun with your friends.

***By the way, this is the best promotion I have seen for new consultants so far this year!!!***

You've Got Flair!

I've really been enjoying July's stamp of the month, "You've Got Flair".
At first I tried stamping the image with a dark color on a light paper and coloring it with colored pencils.
This was really fun, but I wanted to try something a little more "outside the box" . . . . sooooooo I did the opposite.
I stamped the image on a DARK background with a LIGHT colored ink -(white daisy ink) And I added a little sparkle to finish it off.

Sparkling Summer Card and Close to my Heart TV

I love watching Clost to my Heart TV. I am always checking to see if a new episode has came out. This card is from the most recent episode. . . I hope you will enjoy watching it as much as I did.

Watch Close to my Heart TV for instructions on how to make this card. Also, this stamp set is on a special discount right now. A must have for a Sparkling Summer.

Wallet Card for dad

This is a REALLY clever idea for a Father's day card.

The hard part is going to be figuring how many I need to make. I hope you like this wallet card as much as I do.

On a side note, one year I had the perfect present for my dad for fathers day. It was a Duck tape wallet. Now you have to know my dad to understand why that was so perfect for him. When he was a kid he didn't have a lot of access to tape. Apparently he was really intrigued with tape, so when we were all growing up, dad always kept plenty of tape around the house and all kinds too, electrical, scotch, masking. . etc. And doesn't every dad need a new wallet? So from those beginnings the humble duck tape wallet was born. A huge father's day hit indeed.

This year his present will be perfect again. . . the wallet card will include pictures of his grandkids. A perfect gift for a grandpa.

June 30 days of GREAT DEALS!

Don't miss out! Check ilovepaper.myctmh.com EVERYDAY this month! I'm sure you will find something you love! Watch for great deals on goodie boxes and some free items (with purchase) even shipping and handling is a great deal, too.

June Stamp of the Month

This set is called "Tender Tags" and is the stamp of the month for June. (Which means it is only available during the month of June).

If you would like to order this stamp set or would like to learn how to get it at a discount or even for free, let me know.

Add some sparkle . . . or "BLING"

This card was really fun to make. I used the stamp set *EXPRESSIONS OF LOVE FOR MOM.

This card is 3"x3" and it would be REALLY easy to use this on a scrapbook page layout. I think it would be cute to make three or four somewhat identical squares and use them as a repetitive embellishment on your scrapbook page. But I haven't even mentioned my favorite part of the card yet. . . do you see the little glassy circle to the left of "i love you"? Its a SPARKLE. They come in 2 shapes (circle and square) and 4 sizes. This is a fun way to add a little flash to your project. AND. . .added bonus. . they aren't very expensive. . . . and who doesn't want a good deal right now?

*This stamp set is specially discounted until May 31, 2009. Use item #AS1012 to receive the discount

We're Tickled Pink!

Celebrate National Scrapbooking Month.

This adorable set was created for National Scrapbooking Month and is only available from April 15th through May 31st.

Click on the link below to see the "Tickled Pink" Scrapbooking Kit and to learn more about it. You can print out the PDF if you would like.

https://orders.closetomyheart.com/CTMHConsultants/marketing/pdf/May09CCFlyerUS.pdf

Like what you see? Click here to purchase your own kit today.

Grab your STAPLER

I had a friend over to make cards and I was rememinded how fun USING STAPLES as an embellishment can be.

There are a few things that make staples unique:


1. They can be used to attach something directly to your card or scrapbook page layout.
2. They are easy to find, most of you reading this probably own a stapler.
3. They add an unexpected element to what ever you are creating. You just don't "expect" to see a staples - I like those kind of little surprises.
4. Metal is a fun look, you see all sorts of metal embellishments on scrapbook pages right now (IE. brads, eyelets, etc.) and even if you don't have those things, you can still GRAB YOUR STAPLER and JUMP RIGHT IN.

5. Easy to use! Just whack your stapler a time or two and you are done. Whew!

Here's a picture of two cards I used staples on, but it would be really easy to adapt this idea to your scrapbook page layouts. Generally, I like to use odd numbers when I am adding things to a card or layout, so you will see that the one on the left has three staples and the one on the right has more 2 groups of 3 staples (does that still sound like I am using an odd number?) I prefer the one on the right. And by the way, I didn't glue down the "love" accent I ONLY used staples to attach it.




Staple away!

Itsy, bitsy, teeny, weeny, yellow polka-dot, CUSTOM MADE SHEET PROTECTORS

Have you seen those cute "little" albums and had a hankering to make one, but weren't sure where to find sheet protectors to put your teeny tiny pages in? And if you do find any itsy, bitsy page protectors, what if they don't fit the album you may be planning to use? Well here is a GREAT solution and so CONVENIENT I might add. . . you probably already have everything you need sitting on a shelf at home.


So what's the big idea? CUSTOM MADE SHEET PROTECTORS - yellow polka dots not included.


You can make your own sheet protectors to fit your scrapbook page layouts. You are not actually "making" the sheet protector but rather converting an existing 8 1/2 x 11 inch sheet protector. This works particularly well for smaller sizes like a sheet protector for a 4x4, 5x5 or 6x6 album. I'll bet that if you are REALLY clever you could make it work for an 8x8 as well.


So, HERE'S HOW YOU DO IT:

Take a regular letter size sheet protector (8 1/2" x 11") slide your small page inside.
If you are making a 6x6 layout, trim your sheet protector 6 inches FROM THE BOTTOM (you want to leave the existing side and lower edges in tact.)
Then trim 7 inches from the side - and I mean the side without the holes -
you will actually be trimming the preexisting holes off.
Now that you've trimmed your sheet protector all you have to do is add new holes (and you can do that with a regular hole punch)and Viola! Custom made sheet protector. I think you can have a lot of fun with this idea.

WORLD'S BEST DAD April stamp of the month

Its time to start thinking about those Father's Day cards! (and you just can't have too many cards for all those special men in your life.) This year instead of just making a card for your dad, remember all the other special father's in your life, (IE husband, brothers, father in law, grandfathers, to name a few)

But don't just stop with Father's day cards, this stamp set is perfect to use on your scrapbook page layouts for anyone who is "outdoorsy" and for when you are ready to create a scrapbook page layout about a special fishing trip - you are going to want these stamps.

Do you like what you see? Click here to order a set of your very own, remember this stamp set is ONLY available in April. Remember to order ink and any acrylic blocks you may need, too.

It's DISTRESSING!

Have you ever looked at your scrapbook page layout and just felt that it needed a little "something"? When I start to feel distressed, I have a little trick that never fails. . . . . . DISTRESSING!

Have you ever tried distressing? It is so fun and so easy and REALLY gives your layout that "I've been around for a while" feeling. Today we will just talk about Ink distressing.

If you are going for that "aged" look then you will want to used either a brown, black or white ink. White ink? you may ask. Well the brown and the black make your pages look older and somewhat shabby (which I LOVE the shabby look) and the white makes your paper look like it is wearing out.

So after you have your scrapbook page all laid out and before you glue anything, take you ink and brush it along the edges of ALL your papers. You will want to do this on every edge to make your page look consistent.

You can either hold the ink pad in your hand and brush the ink pad along the edges of the paper,

or you can lie the pad on your table and brush the edges of the paper across the ink pad.

Try wadding up your paper into a ball (just like you are going to throw it in the trash can), then flatten it out and brush ink along the edges and creases. This creates a very unique and one of a kind look.

I am sure you will find a lot of different projects to use this technique on, just make sure you use the same technique on the whole project, this is important to create continuity. Here is a sample page for you to look at, be sure to notice the distressing I did with white ink.

Now that you are a pro at Ink Distressing, try the same technique with different colors.

Who doesn't LOVE a good deal?

I love a good deal just as much as the next person, so here's a great deal for all of you who love creating scrapbook page layouts. When you sign up to be a Close to my Heart Consultant, not only will you get an amazing kit to get started and products to use on your own layouts, right now you can get 50% off of two organizational products of your choice. Click here for more information about the organizational products and pricing.

Click here to see what comes in the New Consultant Kit.

PLUS there are two additional kits you can add - but you can only add them when you sign up as a new consultant, take advantage of this great deal, I did and I know you will be glad you did too.

Butterfly Wings

Isn't this beautiful?!? This is the stamp of the month for March. As with all of the "Stamps of the Month" they are only available for one month so if the sight of all these beautiful butterflies makes your heart flutter, click here and make "Butterfly Wings" your own. Want to see what the stamps themselves will look like? Click here

Do you want to earn a discount or get "Butterfly Wings" for free? Click here and do a little shopping first.

Something to “adhere” to. . .

So there seem to be a lot of questions about what kind of adhesive one should use when creating scrapbook page layouts. Can I use Elmer’s glue? What about a hot glue gun? Will tacky glue work? What if I want something more permanent - can I use super glue?
What you want to remember when you are creating your scrapbook page layouts is that it is of the utmost importance that the materials you use will PRESERVE your memories and not age them prematurely in any way!
So then the question is, what should I use to adhere things to my scrapbook page layouts?
Here are 5 guidelines everyone should adhere to before adhering anything to your scrapbook page layout.
1. Make sure your adhesive is ACID FREE. THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT!!! You can find glue sticks or glue runners or glue dots - depending on what you prefer, just make sure they are ACID FREE!!!
2. If you are adding an embellishment to your page use something a little more substantial than a glue stick to get good results. Glue dots are a good idea if you want to stick on something that is heavier that a regular piece of card stock.
3. Do you want more of a 3D look? Then Foam Squares are what you need. They are strong and can be used the same way you would use glue dots. Since they are thicker than glue dots, your embellishment will stick out more and add more dimension to your page, making your page more interesting to look at. I promise this one simple trick can really change the way your embellishment looks on your page. SO EASY!!!!
4. Decide if you want to adhere your item PERMANENTLY or just TEMPORARILY. Some adhesives will allow you to do both, but most won’t so make sure you read your adhesive. This is a good idea when you may want to remove an extra special family photo from your book that you would like to frame now. . if you adhere it temporarily in the beginning, you will be able to move or change it later.
5. Make sure you use the right size. This applies more to the use of glue dots or foam adhesives. If you use a teeny tiny embellishment, then you are going to need a teeny tiny way to stick it to your page. You will get more mileage out of your adhesives if you use the right size for the job.
When I am a creating a a scrapbook page layout, I like to use BONDING MEMORIES® GLUE. It can be temporary or permanent depending on what you need - I am sure you can imagine how convenient that is. The directions on the package clearly explain how to do this.
Another thing I like is MEMORY BOOK GLUE DOTS® . These are the best thing for adding embellishments to your project. And they come in a small size too. The MEMORY BOOK MINI GLUE DOTS® are PERFECT when you want to add something tiny like all those cute little buttons or the teeny tiny rhinestones you are seeing on lots of scrapbook pages.
When I want something to really POP, I use 3-D FOAM SQUARES, STRIPS, AND MINIS. The best thing about these is that they come in a variety of sizes. So convenient and they really add great dimension to your project.

Can you tell which bee is attached with a foam square? If you look closely, you can tell that the one on the right seems just a little more dimensional - you can see the shadow behind it. I LOVE using these!

Last but not least, I have to mention this one last thing because the possibilities are endless and you will have so much fun with it! Do you ever want to add more sparkle or pizazz to your page? When I do, I use WRITE ‘N RUB™ PEN because this is what you want when you need super tiny things to stick. Now think about this, not only will you be able to add glitter or confetti, to just name a couple of things, but because it is a PEN you can can write out a name or a special word and just add sparkle to that particular word. I haven’t tried it, but I would bet you could add SAND from your last trip to the beach right along with your pictures of that trip. . . . if anyone tries that I want to know about it.