Artbooking Made Easy!

My absolute favorite Close To My Heart product has got to be their Cricut cartridges. There are currently three different ones to choose from - "Art Philosophy", "Artiste", and the latest addition, "Artbooking". It's no coincidence that there is "Art" in each of their names! With over 700 images on EACH cartridge, you are never going to run out of reasons to use these collections. And since the latest cartridge, "Artbooking", is so unique, CTMH has put together an entire series of videos entitled "Artbooking Made Easy". Each episode focuses on two theme-related pages in the cartridge's booklet. The latest release - "Artbooking Made Easy - All-Star Scrapbooking!" Use the two "team-related" pages in the booklet to create fun & sporty layouts for your scrapbooks. Watch the video and be sure to go to MY WEBSITE to view more episodes!

From Bland to Beautiful!

I am very excited to be one of the vendors at this year's third annual Uxbridge Women's Club Craft & Vendor Fair on April 12. There are so many things I would love to showcase, but I really have to narrow it down due to space constraints! One item I really want to share is the "My Creations™ Journaling Cards Box" because it is the perfect place to store my "Picture My Life" cards. It also has a magnetic closure, and is made from a very sturdy white chipboard:

Here it is open with my "Picture My Life" cards in it:

Nice, right? But kind of plain (who are we kidding - it's horribly plain!). But this is the beauty of this, and all, of CTMH's "My Creations" line - it is a blank canvas just waiting for you to embellish it! I decided to dress mine up with patterned paper from the "Ariana" Paper Pack, a bow from the "Ariana Assortment", and a bit of Bronze Shimmer Trim. I also used our Scallop Border Punch with some Crystal Blue cardstock to create the scalloped edge along the top of the cover. Here it is all gussied up:

Whoa! MUCH better, right? I painted the whole thing with matte Mod Podge so the paper wouldn't get worn. I love it!

I hope you will be able to come out on April 12 to the Craft & Vendor Fair! Check out the Facebook Page HERE. And to order Close To My Heart products ANYTIME, visit my website at funforyou.ctmh.com!

Win Your Own Picture My Life™ Scrapbooking Program!

Sorry this post is coming a day late. Working full-time leaves me no time for anything else! Perhaps I need a time-management class....Anyway, I wanted to be sure to let you know about a contest that Close To My Heart currently has running until the end of this month. You can win your choice of one of the eight, brand new, Picture My Life™ Scrapbooking Programs! I will let Kristine tell you all about it (because she's a lot more fun to listen to!). Be sure to enter your comment at all three places to increase your chances of winning! Good luck!

What's New for March

Each new month brings fun and exciting new things from Close To My Heart. Today I’m here to tell you about what the month of March has to offer. First and foremost, is the new Stamp of the Month, “Happy Place”:

This set of seven stamps has a mix of images and sentiments, making it a versatile set for scrapbooking, card-making, or any of your paper-crafting projects. You can purchase this set for $17.95 – which is a great price – OR...you can get it for JUST $5 with a $50 CTMH purchase! Now that’s a deal!

Next up – “Rediscover Home” this month with a special FREE download from Rediscover CTMH:

If you go to my website, under the “Promotions” tab, you will see “Rediscover CTMH”. Click on that, and it will bring you to the latest download, “Rediscover Home” – a set of spice labels that you can print onto label stock and punch or cut out to add a fun and unique look to your spice rack! How fun!

And last, but most certainly not least, is this month’s special: Studio Savings! 

During the month of March, order your Studio J™ layouts—including ones using the new Photo Express Collection—for only $5 each! Quickly create gorgeous, personalized studio layouts using an incredible selection of papers, collections, patterns, and embellishments. And don’t forget to check out the templates in the new Photo Express Collection, which allow you to design layouts comprised entirely of photos. Now you can use Studio J for your photo processing as well! Print photos in a variety of sizes – 4” x 6”, 3” x 4”, 3” x 3”, 2” x 2”, and more. And what better time to try it out then when it’s just $5 a layout – that’s only $2.50 per 12” x 12” page! “You’ve taken the photos. Now keep the memories.™” If you’ve been following me at all, you know that I LOVE Studio J, and that it is the only thing I use for my 12” x 12” scrapbooking. I encourage you to log on and play! If you choose to purchase any layouts, this month is the time to do it at just $5 each! Have FUN!

Picture My Life™ – In Cards! Part 2

This week I am showing you three more cards that I created using Close To My Heart’s newest scrapbooking program, “Picture My Life” (PML). These cards are, of course, fantastic for creating fast and easy scrapbooks, but being a card-maker at heart, I discovered that they are just as fun and easy to use for cards! So here are the second three cards I made - I’ll start by showing you the PML card that I started with (from the Skylark set), then show you the finished greeting card:

This one was easy – it’s practically a card front on its own. All I had to do was give it a background...

I absolutely love the notepaper cuts from our Cricut cartridges, so I used the one from the Cricut “Artiste” behind the card (after matting the card with Chocolate cardstock). Then I covered my card base with fun paper from the “Lollydoodle” paper pack. To add interest, I adhered the notebook paper and PML card to the card front at an angle, trimmed off the excess, and embellished with a tiny strip of Bronze Shimmer Trim, some Durables Triangle Studs, and a couple of Sparkles from the Brown & Tan Assortment. Fast and easy! 

Here’s the next PML card I pulled out:

I love the dainty scrollwork in the upper-left corner. It immediately reminded me of a stamp from the “For A Friend” stamp set. So I stamped the “Handmade Just for You” image on the card, then added a little color to the leaves with my Sweet Leaf Exclusive Inks marker.

Behind the PML card, I used a strip of patterned paper from the “Ariana” paper pack, a strip of Gold Polka Dot Washi Tape (backed with White Daisy cardstock), and some Neutrals Baker’s Twine. Once I adhered the PML card to the card front, I embellished with a swirl and stud from the “Rosewood Mini-Medley Accents Collection”, and Sparkles from the Brown & Tan Assortment. I love being able to use all of these different products on one card!

The last PML card I chose was one of the 4” x 6” ones:

I trimmed it down, rounded the corners, and backed it with a piece of Sweet Leaf cardstock:

The papers I used on the card front are from the “Lollydoodle” paper pack. A sparkly strip of Teal Shimmer Trim and some faux stitching, courtesy of my Legacy Writer pen, and another finished card! I love how easy this is!!

Well, if this post and last week’s post does not inspire you to go to MY WEBSITE right now and order yourself a “Picture My Life” Scrapbooking Program, I don’t know what would. These cards are fantastic – whether you are scrapbooking or card-making!

Picture My Life(TM) - Not Just For Scrapbooking!

OK, by now you MUST have seen, or at least heard of, Close To My Heart's Brand New Scrapbooking Program called "Picture My Life™". This system allows you to put an entire album together in a flash with only your 4" x 6" and 3" x 4" photos, a journaling pen, and a corner rounder (optional). Every "Picture My Life" kit comes with 122 double-sided cards in 3" x 4" and 4" x 6" horizontal & vertical designs, 10 Memory Protectors™ in mixed designs, and a 12" x 12" cover page to bring it all together. The programs, of which there are eight different themes/designs, are designed to pair with approximately 100 photos, but you are free to use as few or as many as you like! This is truly a fun & FAST way to scrapbook your photos.

But what about us card-makers out there? Isn't there something we can do with the "Picture My Life" kits? You bet! In fact, I can't remember having as much fun making cards as I did when I made ones using "Picture My Life" cards. I made so many the first night that I decided to show them to you in two parts. I will show you the first three cards I created using the "Picture My Life" Program this week, and next week I will show you three more. OK - let's get started!

First, I will show you the "Picture My Life" card that I started with. I used all 3" x 4" cards. The "Picture My Life" Program that I have is "Skylark" (just so you know):

My first thought when I saw this card was, "What a perfect place for a sentiment!" So I took out my "Country-Born" and "Distressed Backgrounds" stamp sets, my "Ariana" paper pack (I noticed that the colors in this paper pack matched/coordinated really nicely with the Skylark PML cards), and my Honey, Sweet Leaf, and Whisper Exclusive Inks Markers, and made this:

All of the cards I created are 4.25" x 5.5". See how perfectly the "Picture My Life" card fits right into the finished card? Oh, we're just starting to have fun! The next card I picked out was this one:

Again, I'm thinking perfect spot for a sentiment! This time I pull out my "Lollydoodle" paper pack, my "Word Balloons" stamp set (from the Cricut "Artiste" Collection), and my Juniper Sparkle & Shine Washi Tape (no longer available) to create this monochromatic masterpiece:

Look at how beautifully those colors blend together! You'd think they were made for each other. How fun! The third card I chose was this one:

I saw this card and thought the empty space in the upper left would make the perfect home for an embellishment - or focal point. I decided to create an accordion flower with paper from the "Ariana" paper pack, and give it a flashy center from the Rosewood Mini-Medley Accents Collection. I used another pattern from "Ariana" behind the card, as well as some Teal Shimmer Trim:

Nice, right? As a final touch of bling, I outlines the "Picture My Life" card with Stickles.

Well, that's it for now. But come back next week when I'll show you three more ways you can use these awesome "Picture My Life" cards in your cards!

NEW Spring-Summer 2014 Idea Book!

I had a lot of fun last month at my friend Julie’s crop (thank you, Julie!). I was able to break out my BRAND NEW products from the Close To My Heart Spring-Summer 2014 Idea Book! My two FAVORITE new paper packs are “Ariana” and “Lollydoodle”. I also really liked the look of the “Ariana Complements” and the “Ariana Assortment”, so I got those as well. I had fun creating! Here are the three cards that I completed at the crop:

This card uses the “Wishes Card Confidence Program”. It is the “Long Layers” pattern (6” x 3”) pictured on page 81 of the book. I used the “Ariana” paper packet and Compliments, as well as Slate Polka-Dot Washi Tape. With the Washi Tape, I adhered a length of it to a strip of white cardstock, then pleated it and adhered it to another strip of white cardstock for stability. I then layered it behind the “Smile” chipboard Compliment. I just love what it adds to the overall look!

This next card also uses the “Ariana” paper pack (love these patterns!) along with the “Ariana Assortment” (adorable self-adhesive bows!), Gold Polka-Dot Washi Tape, Smoothie Striped Washi Tape, and the “For a Friend” stamp set. The pattern comes from “Make it From Your Heart – Volume 1”, page 44, Pattern 23. Again, with the Gold Polka-Dot Washi Tape, I adhered a piece to white cardstock, then cut the piece in half and dove-tailed the ends to create two pieces of faux ribbon. I love this card because I was able to showcase every one of the paper pack’s six different patterns.

For this last card, I used the “Lollydoodle” paper pack, White Daisy Die-Cut Cards, “Art Philosophy” Cricut Cartridge, “Framework Alphabet” stamp set, Lagoon Houndstooth Washi Tape, Teal Shimmer Trim, Scallop Border Punch, Sweet Leaf Exclusive Inks marker, and Sparkles – Black & Grey Assortment. This pattern also comes from “Make it From Your Heart – Volume 1”, page 47, Pattern 29. After cutting the white cardstock shape from the “Art Philosophy” cartridge, I stamped my sentiment, colored it with my Sweet Leaf marker, then used a piercing tool to make holes all around the edge of the shape. I did this to create more interest and texture. I could have just as easily inked the edges, or distressed them with a distressing tool or the edge of my scissors. I then attached the piece to my card with 3D Foam Tape. I used the Border Punch to create a fun scallop with the Teal Shimmer Trim. Admittedly, this was a little difficult, as the adhesive from the back of the Shimmer Trim, even unexposed, kept causing the piece to stick to the punch. But I was able to, very carefully, get this piece to use on my card. It added exactly what I needed for the card to be “finished”.

I really hope that you take some time to look over the NEW Spring-Summer 2014 Idea Book. In addition to “Ariana” and “Lollydoodle”, there are five additional NEW “My Reflections” sets to choose from – “Skylark”, “Ivy Lane”, “Balloon Ride”, “Jubilee”, and “Timberline” – all of which are fun and versitile! And don’t miss the introduction of the NEW “Picture My Life” Scrapbooking Program. You will LOVE this for your quick, easy, no muss-no fuss scrapbooking, but also for incredibly gorgeous card-making! Oh yeah! Tune in next week when I post the first of two sets of cards created using 3” x 4” cards from the “Skylark Picture My Life” program. You are going to love it!