Connect with Us through Online Events

I will be there - will you? I hope you can join me :)

If you have been missing out on the interpersonal connections that come from crafting together with your best crafting buds, we have some wonderful online opportunities coming up next month that we would love to have you join us for!

National Scrapbooking Day Celebration

As you may know, May is National Scrapbooking month, with National Scrapbooking Day being celebrated on the first Saturday of May each year. We are planning a FREE all-day event on  Saturday, May 2 to celebrate! The event will be held 11:00 am–11:00 pm (MDT)  on the Close To My Heart Facebook Page, and will feature creative projects as well as product giveaways throughout the day. Join us live or catch up on the video after the event has concluded! Get more details and RSVP to the event on the Event page. We're featuring six awesome creative projects as part of this event and would love for you to craft right along with us as we make them! To make that possible, we have created project bundles containing materials you'll need to make the projects. These bundles include brand new products that are not yet available to the public as well as exclusive items that are only available as part of the bundles! While purchasing the bundles is completely optional, you will definitely want to check them out to see the fun that we have in store for this special event. Get all the details about these bundles and see the artwork you'll make with each by visiting the National Scrapbooking Day page.

See Bundles

Later in May, we will be holding a virtual Album Retreat, which we are opening to all who would like to join us! At our Album Retreat, we will spend two days putting together an entire album of beautiful scrapbook pages, with an emphasis on elevated artwork techniques. The album we have designed for this retreat features 20 beautiful 12" x 12" scrapbook pages, including 8 two-page layouts, 2 single-page layouts, plus a cover page and a closing page. This event will be held May 15–16, and to participate, all you need to do is purchase the album bundle! There will be no separate registration fee; you can participate in this event for only the cost of the materials and the preparation work of cutting the projects and packaging them—oh, did we mention that the projects would be pre-cut? They will be! This will free up our time together to focus on technique instruction and assembly. We are even waiving the cost of the instruction, giving you an incredible value for participating in this unique event. We'll begin shipping project bundles for Album retreat on May 1, so we encourage you to order yours by April 30  if you would like to join us for the event!

Album Retreat Bundle

We hope you'll join us for one or both of these wonderful events! Whether or not you do, we hope you'll stay connected to us through our social media for continuing crafting inspiration and ideas!

Attention Studio J users!

This is just a sample of what you can do with Studio J - if you like this layout and paper - you may want to hurry! This is one of the paper packs that will go away by September 1!

Here is the list of items that will be going away to make room for more exciting paper kits for Studio J. Every other month we will get more updated kits, but they will only be available for a short time, so it will be worth your time to check out Studio J.

Blue Ribbon
Boom-Di-Ada
Caboodle
Cherry-O
Daydream
Elegant Bouquet
Emporium
Everlasting
Floral Tapestry
Grace
Hooligans
Ivy Lane
Life Delights
Mischief
Moonlight
More To Adore
Notebook
Paper Garden
Scholastic
Sweet Home
Sweet Pea
That's Amore
Topstitch
Typeset
Unforgettable
Veranda
Wishes and Fishes Girl

 Also, because we will be introducing new, limited edition Express Collections each month, we have determined that the following Express Collections will also be retired September 1:

Getaway
Little Man
Little Miss
School Days
Sports
Travels
Year in Review

Do you want to start your own Studio J journey - just start here. Have fun!

For a limited time only, you have access to a special new Express Collection in Studio J^® using the Yuletide Carol paper kit.

Now is the time to capture all your recent holiday memories! Express Collections make documenting your memories even easier by doing most of the creation for you. Just drop in your photos, add some journaling and personalized personalised titles, and order your layouts. Using this Express Collection, you will have your recent holiday photos scrapbooked before you know it! The Express Collection will be available only from January 1 to February 28, so make certain to place your orders before the deadline.
Contact me for more information and visit StudioJ.com to start creating today!

*Offer valid January 1–February 28, 2015. 

 

I love Studio J! I have used for the traditional purpose with my regular pictures. But I have also used it to preserve documents in the past. Here are some ways you can preserve items you may not may not have thought of:

• Documents

  Take pictures of baby bracelets along with those other precious memories of those first days :)

  All those bulky items, you just don't know what to do with, take pictures and add them to your pages that way

  Your children's artwork - from kindergarten. Now, you can discard them guiltfree. But you will always have them preserved!

  Newspaper articles - scan them and add them into your pages here.

  There are so many other ways you can utilize Studio J - you can make invitations, make your graduation pictures to hand out. Once your imagination gets going, it will take flight ... :)

  
  

  I will be more than happy to work with you one on one and help you to get going. If you are local, lets make a date. If you are long distance, we can chat.

  
  

  Don't let your memories get lost, let me help you show you how easy it can be.

   

Get your Golden Ticket in November with Studio J

Lucky 5!
Celebrate the five-year anniversary of Studio J® with 5 lucky ways to win!

Visit my website to learn more after November 1:

November marks the five-year anniversary of Studio J®, and that means it’s your lucky month, with five amazing ways to win through Studio J and Close To My Heart social media!
1First, throughout the month of November, all layouts purchased in Studio J are $5!
That is a savings of over 25% off of retail!
2 Your second chance to win big must come by sheer luck: every fifth order placed in Studio J during November receives a FREE surprise Close To My Heart accessory in its shipping box! The accessory has a retail value of $5 or more.
3 If luck doesn’t smile on you in that way, you might stumble upon it by finding a little extra something in your Studio J box. Five “golden tickets” will be sent out during the month of November with randomly selected Studio J print orders. This “golden ticket” is redeemable for one of Close To My Heart’s new D-ring albums* loaded with 10 Top Load Memory Protectors™.
4 For a fourth way to win, simply create new, gorgeous layouts in Studio J, select your favorites, and then post pictures of them on Close To My Heart’s Facebook page using the hashtag
#ctmhlucky5. After November 30, five lucky winners will be selected from the entries based on their artistry and creativity and each of these winners will receive their own D-ring album loaded with 10 Top Load Memory Protectors!
5 And there is one last way to win: take your new Studio J artwork and post a picture of it on Instagram using the hashtag #ctmhlucky5. Just as it is with Facebook, after November 30,
five lucky winners will be selected from the entries to receive their own D-ring album loaded with 10 Top Load Memory Protectors! To make things even more exciting, starting November 1, five brand
new kits from the Annual Inspirations idea book will be made available in Studio J, so you can create new artwork using the latest papers and embellishments from Close To My Heart. With so many ways to win, five may be new your new lucky number! Log in to Studio J and start creating today.

*Offer valid November 1–30, 2014. Pattern and color of new D-ring album to be given
to winners will be at Close To My Heart’s discretion based upon availability. New kits available in Studio J® on November 1 include Confetti Wishes, Snowhaven, Seaside,
Pathfinding, and Scaredy Cat. No tax or shipping will be charged on the free item(s). Studio J layouts ship in a protected box that can hold from 4 to 50 two-page layouts.
For additional information about shipping/handling, please visit StudioJ.com > Products and Pricing > Shipping Options.

Lucky 5!
Celebrate the five-year anniversary of Studio J® with 5 lucky ways to win!
let me show you how®
www.closetomyheart.com
© 2014 CTMH CO. UC 11/2014

March Close To My Heart Specials

March Close To My Heart Specials

Hello, March! Hello, sunshine (I hope)! Although I can't guarantee the sunshine, I CAN guarantee some great deals and beautiful specials this month. 

Here's what you'll find in today's post:
1.  Studio Savings
2.  March Stamp of the Month

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1. Studio Savings:  During the month of March, order your Studio J™(CTMH's digital scrapbooking program) 2-page  layouts—including ones using our new Photo Express Collection—for only $5 each! That's only $2.50 per page!!!!

Quickly create gorgeous, personalized studio layouts using our wide selection of papers, collections, patterns, and embellishments. And don’t forget to check out the templates in our new Photo Express Collection, which allow you to design layouts entirely comprised of photos in minutes. You’ve taken the photos. Now keep the memories™.

Begin your Studio J adventure on my website today. It's absolutely free to sign up and play. You don't pay a penny until you order the layouts you've created!  I'll be sharing Studio J layouts I've created throughout the month. Stay tuned...

Wait, maybe I'll share one now to start things off. This little layout is of Daci (Karen's

oldest granddaughter, who is now 5)  when she was just over a year old.  Those cheeks!

Here is a great Disney layout - it is so easy to create!






*Offer valid March 1–31, 2014. Studio J layouts ship in a protected box that can hold from 4 to 50 two-page layouts.

2.  March Stamp of the Month (Happy Place):  This "happy" little set comes complete with 3 Russian Nesting Dolls (in graduating sizes), a fun folksy looking heart, and 3 sentiment stamps. It's valued at $17.95 but is yours in March for $5 with a $50 qualifying order.  Get yours on my website. You'll be asked if you want to add it to your order before you check out.

 Karen created this 5" x 5" card you see at the top of this post (inspired by Chris Lothian, an amazingly talented Australian CTMH Consultant) using the products you'll see at the bottom of this post.  How about that? Top to bottom!   Here are a detail shot of the card as well as a photo of the stamp set.  I had fun doing a bit of paper piecing with this stamp set.

Technique Tip:  See how she has a patterned dress and patterned scarf?  To get this look, stamp your doll on your cardstock, then stamp her again on 2 more patterned pieces of paper, cut out the pieces you want from each and adhere them to the main image. Voila...patterned clothing!

March Stamp of the Month: Carrier Sheet Actual Size is 6" x 6"

More Studio J layouts and pictures

So, I only had an afternoon and I had to get these pictures on layouts and on a canvas somehow! I love Studio J, because I can get something done in a hurry! The first two layouts are really not layouts. They are our new freestyle pages for me to put the pictures on the page in whatever size I want them to be. I could actually have put them in a picmonkey layout and them downloaded them and print them through Studio J if I wanted to do that. But I need these pictures in some very specific sizes.

All Studio J layouts are printed on matte photo quality paper, much better than I would get anywhere else - unless I would go to a photo studio. Then I would pay a whole lot more than in Studio J. That is why we call it - Studio J! After convention, I will be able to post my layouts we will be making at convention with the photos from above - yes, convention will be fun again this year!

Studio J Custom Photo Wells

The wait is over - this is an awesome tool! Print any size photo you might need with this tool now. I love this option to be able to size my photos and manipulate them the way this new option allows me to do that. While I wait in our temporary apartment, I will have some time to sit around. I guess, I know what I will be doing - I will be sure to share some of my layouts with you!

Basic Stamping Technques

 

Another great video to help you get started in your stamping adventure! Its a great refresher or a great start - depending on where you are in your skills!

Hope you will have fun with this!

Cordinate your stamping with cricut

 

Hey there, here is another great video for you. Right now I am sitting at Starbuck's drinking my hot chocolate, eating a piece of my cake since I don't have internet yet in my new, old house (lol). The house is still a mess, but my scrapping room will look so cool! I've got it painted now, when I get back I will add some wall decor and soon I will have all my things back in there. I will have lots of room again to have workshops. I am so excited about that! Yeah! There will be room for my cricut as well - speaking of cricut - there are so many cool things you can do with the cricut! Oh the things you can do ... watch and have fun.

September Online Party - Yeah!

Its time again for our online party - yeah! You can still get our National Stamping Month special with your $35 order and once you hit $50 you can our Stamp of the Month for only $5! You can save twice this month. Both sets are stinkin' cute! Check them out on the website!

Hope you are taking advantage of all our great tutorials we are putting out. Close to my Heart is almost taking my work away by not having to show all the cool things you can do with our stamps - almost ... ha! I would love to show you more! So, get in touch with me - I would love to help you get started with your projects. Get those things out of the drawer! Things in the drawer are very expensive. Only when you pull them out and do something with them do they become a bargain!

If you are looking for a quick project - check out one of our Workshop of the Go kits. Everything is in one place. Love those kits!

Need to get quick pages done - consider our Express Layouts in Studio J. Check it out, play around - you don't pay until you press the purchase button. And yes - they count towards a party, hostess rewards. It cannot get better!

Remember - I always have a drawing for the free product from the orders placed in those online parties. The more orders - the more I can give away. Maybe you want to have your own party to get it all - :).

Take care for now and happy stamping.

Margit aka scrappingbee

Back from convention and here are some of my team members - actually Jo and Linda have been with me for eight and six years!

I have been with Close to my Heart for almost 20 years now and I must say, this has been one of the best conventions! It was great! We had a good time, great friendship and we learned a lot. It helped, that we received the best Idea Book yet!

Here are some of the new things coming your way:

• Alcoholic Markers
• Chalk Marker
• New Organizers - yeah, you will love them!
• Lots of new bling!
• Wonderful great new Workshops, including Home Decor workshops and card workshops
• Did I mention our great new Cricut Cartridge? You have to see it and all the great things it can do. I am working on a little video to show it to you! I brought it home from convention since I got one for free!
• New pigment ink stacks
• Studio J has discontinued memberships, but added great new express layouts - all layouts are only $6.95 and you get your JPEGS for free! You can do fast layouts.
• Bulk CS will be available again - but make sure, you get the CS that will be retired.
• A great new way to sign up as a consultant - only $49, our new Essential consultant kit. Available now!

Online gatherings - you don't have to clean your house for it ... :) Contact me and I will set it up for you. And yes, Studio J will count towards it, you can even earn Studio J layouts for hostess awards!

Whew, that is it, in very short version for some of the new items! But be sure to keep checking back, because I will show you in more detail how to use some of our new product. It was a lot of fun to see how versatile and easy it is to them. Our new cartridge can make mini albums. All you really have to do is set, cut, glue and put pictures in and oh, add bling - how much easier do you want it?

Want more pics?

 Oh yeah, I did say, we had some entertainment! While we had dinner, they sang for us! The Texas Tenors were great outstanding.

One other thing I wanted to mention about this years' convention, six years ago CTMH started a tradition to award a very prestigious award to one consultant - the Spirit of Close to my Heart. Our Team Leader, Karen Pederson was awarded this great award this year. Yeah - she really deserves it. We are part of an awesome team - the Pacemakers. So, if you join my team - you will be part of a great family and legacy :)

Studio J

While I visited my husband at Walter Reed in DC, I had some time on my hand. I was fortunate enough, that I did have some of my pictures loaded up in Studio J. I did not have to worry about having to carry any of my supplies. I was able to play with my pages and create some of them and even show my husband how to use the program himself. He established an account and now he can upload pictures and create pages of memories from Iraq. This is really a go anywhere design studio for anyone! Love it! Here is a sample from my work.