Artbooking Made Easy: Friendship Layouts (S01E13)

Clearly The Best: Curtains Sew Easy (S02E08)

HUGE Cyber Sale!

Thursday 11/28 - Monday 12/2

 

I have had a few requests for another Black Friday sale this year and I am more than happy to oblige. In fact, I decided to have a Black Friday sale that lasts more than just one day! The deals you see below are good from Thursday, 11/27 to Monday, 12/2 at 11:59 pm (Pacific Time). So you have 5 whole days to shop and save!

Have you been thinking about getting one of Close to my Heart’s Cricut Collections? Have you had your eye on the fun new Crush Books and coordinating Assortments? Do you have holiday gifts you need to buy? Whatever is on your Christmas list this year, now is the time to get it! Check out all of the great deals below and place your order online (select the Cyber Sale link) or email me your order no later than 11:59pm Monday, 12/2 to take advantage of these great offers!

Place an order of $25 - $50
Receive a free Dye Ink Pad of your choice or a Marker Set of your choice (up to $5.95 value.) This also entitles you to receive the Stamp of the Month for $5!*

Place an order of $51 - $75
Receive an A size stamp set (item # starting with an A) of your choice, or two M sized (mini) stamps (up to a $6.95 value.) This also entitles you to receive the Stamp of the Month for $5!*

Place an order of $76 - $100
Receive a free B size stamp set (item # starting with a B) of your choice or Level 2 Paper Pack of your choice (up to $9.95 value.) This also entitles you to receive the Stamp of the Month for $5! If your order is $100, you will also get to choose one of the stared items in the Holidays from the Heart Guide for FREE!*
Place an order of $101 - $149
Receive a free C sized stamp set (item # starting with a C) of your choice or a free Level 2 Paper Packet (up to $13.95 value). This also entitles you to receive the Stamp of the Month for $5! If your order is $100, you will also get to choose one of the stared items in the Holidays from the Heart Gift Guide for FREE! (This is a total value of up to $49.85!)*

Place an order of $150 or more
Receive $25 in free products of your choice, PLUS a free D size stamp set (item # starting with a D) of your choice (valued at $17.95.) You will also qualify to get a free stared item in the Holidays from the Heart Gift Guide and the Stamp of the Month for just $5! (This is a total value of up to $78.85!)*

PLUS, everyone who places an order during these five days will be entered into a drawing to receive a FREE Workshop on the Go Kit of your choice! (Winner will be notified on Tuesday 12/2.)

I've started working on our Christmas cards for this year. I already have pre-cut cards with matching envelops. The colors are Christmas, red or green. I have cut out the first border for all the cards, about 50. I'm trying to decide what to do next. I want to use a new stamp set from the new holiday stamp catalog.

I'll keep you all informed!

I made the 2 birthday cards from Close To My Heart Laughing Lola paper, inks, stamps and eye candy.

I love the Laughing Lola card stock. Most of the papers are double sided.

Artbooking Made Easy (S01E05): Halloween Mini Albums (+playlist)

Tools of the Trade Love it!

I have Micheal's, JoAnn's and Hobby Lobby coupons to share. Good for this week only. Be sure to print them out and keep them handy in your purse of wallet.

Have a great day!

Artbooking Made Easy (S01E04): Spooky Halloween Layouts

Super Stamp of the Month Savings (05)

My new hair do!

Today I went to my hairstylist and got a shattered new do. If I can get my husband to take a photo I'll post it. I have posted a video on my blog for the fabric necklace. I have seen some gorgeous ones that have added many different bling and ribbon!

Base & Bling Fabric Necklace Kit

Dance as if...

I finished the birthday cards for a cousin and mother-in-law. The cousin has a boisterous personality. I think this card will define her humor! I think she'll dance as if no one watching... Who can have her committed!

The mother-in-law is sweet and kind. When I think of her I picture flowers, ribbons and bows.

I just need to add a Happy Birthday on the card and I think it's done!

Paper and ribbon is from Micheal's; the metal flowers and crystals are from Close To My Heart. So many way to use different products together~!

Newsletter

Soon my newsletter will be going out to a select few. You can view the new Close To My Heart catalog for Autumn and Winter. The new Holiday catalog will be available. Let me know or go shopping at:

Coupons are a girl's best friend. Please enjoy these Michael Coupons while they last!

National Stamping Month: September 2013

Shop with me

9/11 will always be a day of remembrance and mourning. I loved that 2 million bikers decended on D.C. I wish I could have been there to see it. So after the normal chores of tomorrow I will create a remembrance card for those  who need one. I know I need one to continue to remember in my heart that those heroic men and women will live on in our memories, our children's memories and our grandchildren memories and that they will pass on the memories forever.

Here's a look at the Holiday brochure cover.

Wonderful trees can be made using Cricut!

5 Reasons Why I am a CTMH Consultant

I have gotten some questions asking why I chose to join Close to My Heart and I thought I'd give you my top 5 reasons - it was hard to narrow it down to5!

1) New Consultant Kit contains over $155 worth of product and you get it for $49 (plus ship and tax).  That alone is reason to sign up - the kit value, over 60% off if you bought the items separately!  Here's what's inside:

               Workshop on the Go Laughing Lola Scrapbooking Kit (#G1065)
               Laughing Lola Complements Dimensional Elements (#X7170C)
               Paisley Perfect Stamp Set (#C1556)
               Cityscape Stamp Set (#D1563)
               Swirls Around Stamp Set (#D1551)
               3" x 3" Acrylic Block (#Y1006)
               Petite Perks A Touch of Fall Stamp Set (#W2026)
               Black Ink Pad (#Z2105)
               Gypsy Ink Pad (#Z2190)
               Spinner (#Z1832)
               Reflections Scrapbook Program How To Manual (#9037) - full of layout sketches!
               Originals Card Program How To Manual (#9036) - full of card sketches!
               Autumns/Winter 2013 Paper Samples (#W1125)
               Close to My Heart cardstock swatches (#W471)
               3 Autumn Winter 2013 Idea Books
               5 Customer Order Forms
               5 Hostess Forms
               Intro Letter

As you can see by the list above, you get a lot of product. This was the one I started with.

2) Superior Products - If you have used the paper, you know it cuts like butter in the Cricut.

Have you seen the Cricut Art Philosophy and Cricut Artiste cartridges? They are outstanding - two of the best that have ever been released.  Each cartridge comes with three matching stamp sets and a set of matching chipboard elements.

What about the fact that there are over 60 stamp sets that match the shapes on those two Cricut cartridges?  The albums and page protectors are very high quality also.  The entire product line is superior.

3) Close to My Heart values all levels of consultants!
       
         Want to join and build a business, getting a 22% commission when you place orders of $300+ within a quarter?  Perfect!

         What about if you just want to buy as a hobbyist?

                  They also have a category of Junior Consultant which happens when you don't sell over $300 in a quarter.  You then go to being a Junior Consultant and get a commission of 10%.  You can move back and forth between Junior and Full Consultant levels, depending on your sales in the quarter.
       
           And after you sell $150 or more, you start getting product credit - money to be used towards product purchases.
          There are tiered levels, so the more you sell, the more product credit and percent commission you can make.

4) New Consultant Support - Now you've joined and you don't know what to do.  Close to My Heart has solved that problem in many ways:
           When you first start, you will receive emails from the Corporate headquarters welcoming you and introducing you to a series of weekly emails called Start with Heart.  Start with Heart breaks down the entire consultant training into manageable bites that include a weekly checklist download, videos and training tips.  If you don't want to wait, you can view all the emails on the main website and get your business started even faster.
            As your upline, I will be available to help.  I've been blogging for 2 months and I receive all my answers from my upline and on the CTMH site. If I don't know the answer, I can ask my upline, who's been in Close To My Heart for a long time and has a fantastic up and down lines. We’re on Face Book and you can ask and have an answer very quickly. .  We're here to help!

5) Professional Training Videos and Tips/Online Seminars from Successful Consultants:
           Close to My Heart has an entire program dedicated to learning all about using and demoing Close To My Heart products.  Not only that, there is an entire series of videos about the nuts and bolts of the business - setting up your website, ordering, social media, recruiting, holding classes, etc.

2 Cards that make you smile!

I love plaid and what person doesn't. Either could be used for male or female. The plaid paper (also the turquoise and gold) are from the Laughing Lola card making kit. They can be purchased separately.

The top stamp is from the set called Love Life Everyday Life, D1482. Inside I stamped Life with purpose from In the Moment Flair, C1565. The butterfly is from a Marianne Design die. The purple gems come with the Laughing Lola cardmaking kit.

I really enjoyed making these 2 generic cards. I'll make a Friend card and Thank you card next. Can never have too many cards! I hope you enjoyed looking at the cards.

So what have I been up to? I bought the Laughing Lola 'Workshops on the Go Cardmaking'. G1064.
3 card styles and more than enough paper etc to make the cards. These are easy to make and if you are adventuresome, do something different! I love the paper; purples and greens. Turquoise thrown in! I've already given one to my sil after surgery!  To order go to http://jansteffen.ctmh.com.

Happy Anniversary card

It is my brother-in-law and his wife's anniversary today. I made this card with 2 owls sitting on a branch . 1 owl looks at the other with love (pearls) in it's eyes as the other one says hoot, hoot. Look whoo's having a (pearl dimensional heart). Open the card to a large Happy Anniversary.

The 2 owls are Art Impressions. I stamped and colored in with non alcohol ink pens. I used lose To My Heart Liquid Glass straight from the bottle, covering the 2 owls. The Liquid Glass dries clear and shiny. I put dimensional pop up dots on the back. The card is stamped with a floral motif by Fiskers and 2 sentiments from Art Impressions. For a border I used a floral to coordinate with the Purple card (card stock is from Stampin Up).

Hope you like it.

Looked through my stamps today in order to design an anniversary card for my in-laws. Saw a card on one of the Facebook groups that had 2 owls and background was a Cuttlebug background. Decided to design one like it. I have stamped the owls, marker colors cut out, and used CTMH Liquid Glass for dimension and shine. I have the stamp that says "HOOT, HOOT". I'll find an anniversary stamp and some clever saying for the inside. Then I'll give it a post.

I have finished a card today that is in the 2013 Autumn/Winter catalog, page 21.

The base card is 6 x 12 with a fold in the center making the card 6 x 6. The 1st layer for all the other cuts is a midnight blue. The purple diamond pattern is on the back of the paisley card stock. The diamond gold print is on the back of the plaid card stock. All the card stock is from Workshop on the Go, Laughing Lola cardmaking kit.

To place an order just type in http://jansteffen.ctmh.com and you can order the paper or kit. You will also see the August stamping incentive, A Chocolate Affair. For the first order I will send 1 separately as a bonus and the full dimensions of the card above. The kit comes with cards and 3 different styles. So cute!

Thank you!

Thank you Note

Yesterday I made a quik thank you note for Lendia, a friend her lent me her gorgeous BBQ for a trip that went south after a week.

This is the same Sizzix embossing folder 'Fancy Swirl' that I used yesterday. The butterfly is one of the embossing dies from Spellbinders. I don't remember the name. It comes with 4 butterflies. 2 are background and to are fancy cut. The greenish color is the back ground and I'm sure you can see the cut out of the top butterfly which gives it dimension. The thank you is a Stampin Up older stamp. The border is from the 8 x 8 Mambi Sheets by Me & My Big Ideas.

I first cut the white card stock to fit the embossing folder. I embossed the card stock with my Cuttlebug. I cut the border sheet a little larger than the embossed sheet. I use adhesive onto the back of the embossed card stock and applied it to the border paper. I used black ink on the stamp. I adhered the border paper to the white card. Next I cut out the background butterfly and the front butterfly. I used several colored inks to give definition to both butterflies. I also gave definition by distressing the edges of the upper butterfly. I adhered the 2 together at the body and used glue dots to give it height.

I hope you enjoyed the card and explanation of the making of this card.

Just before I mailed the Thank You note I put 2 pearls at the top and bottom of the embossing. I thought about the fellers but decided against. Less is More!

A quick thank you note

I embossed the paper with a Sizzix embossing folder. I adhered it to the colored paper that is about 1/16th larger all around the embossed paper. I adhered the paper to the note card. Next I added the Close to my Heart stamp from Paisley Perfect Flair (C1556).  The butterfly was die cut and I used distressed ink on the butterfly. Underneath the butterfly are 2 pop dots to give the butterfly dimension. Very quick card.

Remember the Card!

Today I took over 25 photos of the Stampin' Up stamp sets I would like to sell. I tried to take out the card with the photos on, and , you guest it, it wasn't in there. Now I'm not selling all my stamps. Just the ones I don't or have never used. By selling the unused stamps circa 2000 - 2005 I free up space and money to reorganize my craft room. I have too many crafting ideas and projects. Not to mention the 15 quilting projects and 8 quilt tops to be quilted.

Before I tried to pull out the card with the photos I weighed each set and wrote name and weight for shipping. I am doing all of this because I received a notice from EBay that 50 products could be posted free. So now I have 50 projects to be photoed and posted on EBay today.

I have been slowly working on my husbands mini scrapbook. It is 1/2 way finished. I found the pink mini album that I had bought for me. That will be the next scrap project.

I have placed the card back into the camera. Now let's see how much patience I have.

Tell me how you like the look of the blog page. I'm experimenting.

First time!

This is my first blog post as a Close to My Heart consultant. At one time I was a Stampin Up consultant and had fin doing it until I moved away and lost contact with my upline. I became involved in quilting as a Square in a Square Certified Instructor. I have taken time off from quilting (I do have a long arm machine) to make cards fro my family.

What made me take the time off was stress and loss of me father-in-law. I sent sympathy cards I made using the Cuttlebug embosser. and stamps on the inside. Everyone loved the cards. So I went back to the Cricut Imagine and began buying cartridges online. What fun, EBay! I saw the CTMH Cricut Artiste and Philosophy collections. I like them and bought them online. Then came the Artbooking collection. I had to get it. I saw some of the beautiful paper and stamps CTMH carries. I knew I was destined to become a CTMH consultant.

My upline is in Temecula, CA. Just over the county border and where we do most of our major shopping. I follow blogs that have helped me to understand all the different ways to use all the cartridges I have and the CTMH stamps. I will post the blogs I follow and post photos of the cards and scrapping book layouts.

Jan