Getting my mojo back :)

Here are a few layouts I did this week. The Ladybug one was scraplifted from a talented lady on the CTMH boards Kate. I saw her layout using the Splendor papers and immediately thought of these pictures of Caidan discovering all the ladybugs in our grass. The other one was just great, getting dirty and inky fun! I've been wanting to use the Passages paper for a while and they just screamed grunge and distressing so I pulled out my inks and my new Tim Holtz dies and had a grand ol' time. It's nice to have a bit of my mojo back :)

Can I just say...

I am loving my 52 card pick up class at Big Picture Scrapbooking !! I'm learning some fun new techniques and some just "out of the box" ideas. I'm totally debating taking the Claudine Hellmuth class but not sure if I want to commit to another class over the summer. What to do..what to do... :D Here are some pictures from my current class...hopefully you'll be inspired to try something new too! The first picture is printed on a transparency, layered over pattern paper and stamped on with stazon. The second is using bleach and clear heat embossing to add detail. The third is painting with acrylic and using a glaze pen for journalling. The fourth is great for all the little scraps you have because you use them to create a mosaic and thus creating your own patterned paper. How smart is that?? And this is just a small sampling of the inspirations we've been given in just over 2 weeks...and there's 8 weeks left! It's going to be a great summer~

Jackpot June!!

In June, take advantage of a different deal each day at my CTMH website. Click on the Jackpot June link to see each day's deal. Each day will either be a Jackpot day or a Goodie Box day. Deals will run for 23 hours: from 9:00 am (MDT) to 8:00 am (MDT) the following day, while supplies last. (The hour between 8:00 am and 9:00 am will be used to finalize all pending transactions, clear the queue, and launch the next deal.)
On Jackpot days, 5 products will be offered for sale at special discounted prices. On each Jackpot day, we've selected one of the 5 products to be the Jackpot item for that day, but you won't know which one it is (isn't it exciting!). If you happen to order the Jackpot item, lucky you! We'll reward you with a fabulous Close To My Heart jackpot, which may be one FREE product or a bundle of several FREE products! For those of you who aren't risk-takers, you'll want to purchase all 5 items to guarantee you'll hit the Jackpot!
If you purchase multiple quantities of the Jackpot item, you'll receive multiple products FREE. So, buy as many as you'd like of each item—there's no limit—and you could be a big winner!
The free items will be featured on the Jackpot June shopping page, alongside the 5 discounted products. We'll send your FREE items with the products you've ordered—and we'll pay the shipping/handling for your free items! Special shipping is offered on the discounted products you purchase: just $0.99 US / $1.99 CAN for each item.
So, how do you know if you've hit the Jackpot? Each day we'll announce what the Jackpot item was for the previous day on www.facebook.com/closetomyheart and at www.closetomyheart.com.
On Goodie Box days, you will be able to purchase a Goodie Box filled with wonderful Close To My Heart products at 50% or more off retail value. The Goodie Box contents will vary by day (we're not revealing specifics but you'll be thrilled!) and will include favorite current and retired stamp sets, paper packets, embellishments, and other great scrapbooking, stamping, and cardmaking items.
We have made every effort to differentiate the Goodie Box offerings by date so you can purchase boxes on different dates and receive a wide variety of products. The prices of the boxes will vary but each will be at least 50% off retail value. The higher the box price, the greater your savings from the original retail value. We're also offering discounted shipping.
Important Notes: In order to give shoppers the best possible deal on products and shipping, Jackpot June purchases must include ONLY Jackpot June items (the Goodie Box or the discounted items) and nothing else. This will streamline the shipment of orders and is also how we’re able to offer discounted shipping for this exciting promotion. This means:

• On Goodie Box days, only one Goodie Box and no other items may be checked out in a single transaction.
• On Jackpot days, only the discounted items may be checked out in one transaction; no limit on discounted items per transaction.

My Bottle Swap goodies!

In all the excitement of the CTMH summer blog hop and then the not so exciting life of a mommy with a teething baby and not a lot of sleep I completely forgot to post the pictures from my bottle swap. Here are some pics of the bottle that I got in the mail from my swap partner, Ruthie, at Scrapbeach. It was so much fun to do this swap with her. The funny coincidence was that we are both CTMH consultants so we both had to think outside the box for swap items :) Ruthie sent me so many fabulous little goodies. I'll definitely have to do another one of these swaps soon! :)

On another note...teething baby syndrome has caused no creativity syndrome for me so I haven't been scrapping much lately. I'm hoping that will all change soon though since I signed up for this class at Big Picture Scrapbooking to work on over the summer. It looks to be a lot of fun. It's the first online class I've signed up for but I like that I can work on it at my pace (and in my pj's at 2 am if need be*lol*). Here's hoping it gets my creative mojo flowing again...although sleep might work too :D

Here is a cute layouts I did using the new Cherry O paper pack from CTMH. I wanted to show how to use it for a boy layout and LOVE how this one turned out!

Paper: Cherry O Level 2 kit
Ink - Chocolate
Embellishments: Sweet Leaf ribbon, Tulip mini medley, Clear Inspirations tags,misc. buttons

Sneak Peaks and more!

Welcome to our Close to my Heart New Product Blog Hop! Over 40 Fabulous Close to my Heart Consultants are celebrating the upcoming release of the Summer 2010 Idea Book by giving you a Sneak Peak of some of the great products available in the new Idea Book starting May 1st! These talented ladies have come up with some awesome ideas. I know I'll be getting a ton of inspiration from all their great ideas and I hope you will too!


If you have come here from Clerissa Lewis's blog, you are on the right path!
You can also find a complete list of Blog Hop participants at http://www.tazzygirl2000.blogspot.com
This is simple to do - just click on the link at the end of the post on each blog to move to the next one! And away we go!!

This card just came together for me. I love the Cherry O paper pack. It's so fun and versatile to work with and can be used with boy or girl layouts and works great with a variety of themes like summertime activities, cooking with Mom, and so many more.

Paper: Cherry O paper pack
My Acrylix Stamp Set: Chocolate Alphabet Small
Ink Colors: Chocolate
Embellishments: etc) Chocolate Waxy Flax, Misc. buttons


Now "Hop" on over to Georgia Hauglid's Blog to see her work! Be sure to visit all the Consultants at their Blogs to get
some great crafting ideas and see the great new Paper Packs and My Acrylix Stamp
Sets!

Remember, the Summer 2010 Idea Book goes LIVE on May 1st! Happy Crafting everyone!

Studio J is here!!

Studio J is CTMH's fantastic new digital scrapbooking site. I've been playing with it during it's testing phase and really love using it. It's so simple but the pages you can create are just amazing!

1. What is Studio J Design Software? Studio J is free online scrapbooking design software brought to you by Close To My Heart. (Did I mention FREE?) Studio J helps you easily create custom-printed two-page layouts using our foundational scrapbook patterns, exclusive color palette, and themed designs all delivered in 12 × 12 custom prints ready for your albums. It’s a snap!
2. Is Studio J easy to use? Studio J software is extremely intuitive and easy to use. The program walks you through five steps that include:
   
   
   1. uploading your photos
   2. choosing your desired themed kit
   3. selecting an exclusive layout pattern
   4. adding photos, embellishments, titles, and journaling
   5. purchasing custom-printed layouts ready for your personal album
   It’s super simple and extremely fun to use! 
3. I love Close To My Heart products. Will Studio J use the same great papers, patterns, colors, and embellishments? Of course! If you love Close To My Heart’s scrapbooking philosophy, then you will love Studio J.
4. Do I need to download any software to my computer to use Studio J? Nope! You only need an Internet connection, and then you simply log in to my MyCTMH website and click on the Studio J link to get started. Feel free to design to your heart’s content—you are not required to buy anything to get started!
5. Can I save what I am working on and come back to it later? Absolutely! You can create a customer profile that allows you to save and return to a project in progress at a later time. Your active projects will be saved for up to 90 days, giving you plenty of time to work on them. You extend that timeline for your active projects by 90 days each time you make a purchase, and your purchased projects will remain archived for one full year after purchase.  Better yet, Close To My Heart will even send you an email to let you know where you are at with your project timeline.
6. Do I need a printer that can print 12" × 12" pages to use Studio J? Nope. Your Studio J layouts are not available for you to print from a home computer. In fact, we take care of the printing for you. When you purchase your designed layouts, we print and ship them quickly and directly to you using only top quality printing technology and archival-quality papers.Mine arrived only a few short days after I purchased them.
7. What is the price? You are not charged a thing until you order your custom prints. The price per printed two-page layout is $14.95 (well below the industry standard). We also offer some fantastic rewards for larger orders. You can receive FREE Memory Protectors to protect your layouts in your albums, and FREE shipping/handling based on the number of layout prints you purchase in a single order as follows:
   
   
   • For 5–9 layout purchases: You’ll receive a pack of 5 Memory Protectors FREE!
   • For 10–20 layout purchases: You’ll receive FREE shipping/handling PLUS a FREE pack of 5 Memory Protectors for every 5 layouts in your single order.
8. When can I begin creating with Studio J? RIGHT NOW, Tuesday, April 27th!

Here are a couple of layouts that I created using Studio J. If you have any questions feel free to contact me!