Convention Layouts

At the Saturday make-and-take session of the CTMH Convention, we made these incredible layouts. I love this new Magnifique paper pack, and was so excited to see that we would be using it for our project. These layouts use our new, larger sized, flip-flaps. I love when scrapbook layouts have an element of surprise, and these layouts absolutely do have that! In addition to using my favorite paper, and the flip-flaps, these layouts also included some of my favorite accessories. Our new Mocha Opaques are adhesive backed pearls in three shades of brown (love them!!). We also used antiqued copper Foundry Flourishes. I think these are my most favorite accessory from the new catalog. I've included a close-up picture of these elements below. You can also click on any photo to get a better look at the layouts. (Please forgive the dark photos...I didn't use the flash because it left a glare on the pages). The combination of all these items make for some stunning layouts!

In addition to the Magnifique paper and the accessories mentioned above, these layouts also used the new stamp set D1438 - Circle of Love. We also used the new ink colors Lagoon and Pear.

I started adding photos to the layouts on Saturday, but decided to stop because I don't have any of the new cardstock colors yet. I prefer to mount my photos on colored cardstock, so I have to wait a until next week to finish adding pictures. The pictures I plan to use are from a friend's family trip to Discovery Cove in Florida. The colors work perfectly with this paper, and I can't wait to see how they look on the finished layouts.

Left Layout (closed)

 Left Layout (open)

Right Layout (closed)

Right Layout (open)

Accessory Close-Up

New Colors!

At Thursday morning's general session at Convention, corporate announced that they have updated the summer color palette. There are eight new colors in this color family. The cards posted earlier today use several of the new colors in the CTMH color palette. I thought I would post a picture so you could see all of the new colors at once. Although the picture is not the greatest, I can promise that the colors look so much better in person. Can't wait to get my hands on the cardstock I ordered at convention!!

Convention Cards

As promised, I want to take a moment to share some of the projects we did at Convention this week. During this post you will see the four cards we made at the make-and-take session on Friday. (Keep watching for the scrapbook layouts we completed on Saturday...you won't want to miss them!) We used a lot of new products during both sessions, including new papers, stamps, and embellishments.

Card #1 - Mistletoe Paper, Acrylic Stamps (D1436 - The Present, C1422 - Unity), Opaques (Mocha)

Card #2 OUTSIDE - Mistletoe Paper, Acrylic Stamps (C1422 - Unity, D1438 - Circle of Love,D1436 - The Present), Opaques (Mocha)

Card #2 (INSIDE)

Card #3 OUTSIDE - Olivia Paper, Acrylic Stamps (D1436 - The Present, C1422 - Unity), Opaques (Mocha)

Card #3 INSIDE

Card #4 - Olivia Paper, Acrylic Stamps (D1436 - The Present, D1438 - Circle of Love), Opaques (Mocha)

Convention Day 3

Well...I'm finally home and recovering from this year's convention. Saturday was another whirlwind day, which didn't leave much time for blogging. We were up until about one, and got up on Sunday at eight to head home. I intended to blog yesterday but sat down on the recliner and crashed for about four hours (Yikes!).

Here's a recap of our Saturday events: got up, ate breakfast, another general session (Jeanette, our founder and CEO, had a question and answer session where she answered consultant questions/short speaker about Operation Smile/several consultants played Jeopardy for free product credit), after general session we had lunch, create-and-take session was awesome!! (we made scrapbook layouts using our new flip-flaps...pictures coming soon), then we had two more business classes, after classes we took a few pictures around the hotel and started packing, finally we had our closing banquet (we had an amazing dinner, followed by the incredible comedy of Anita Renfroe!). It was a fabulous way to end the events of the week.

Here are a few pictures from the last day...

My roommate Crystal/My unit members/Me outside the hotel

Convention Day 2

Wow...what an amazing few days this has been! I am so tired yet exhilarated at the same time. Sorry this is a little late, but last night was a VERY late night! Here's how our day went...

Wake up, shower, breakfast, go to first general session, hear business advice from Mary Christensen (wonderful speaker!), lunch, business class on updates to Studio J (WOW!! wait until you see what all can be done in Studio J now including photo editing...also annual memberships will be available on September 1st), another business class (where they announced the September special, Triple Play), make-and-take session (where we made four cards using new products like; clear cards, opaque pearls, new ink colors, and new papers...watch for pictures soon!), dinner, Awards Gala (where we were also entertained by pianist Jon Schmidt...WOW!), returned to the room and took pictures of us all fancied-up, then my roommates and I decided to try to prepare for the next make-and-take session (these things go super fast, and can be very stressful...our instructor told us some things we could do to make the next session a bit less stressful), bed at 1:00am! (Did you count all of the WOWs?!?)

Phew...I'm tired just thinking about it all again. Today should be another late night and another fun filled day. Looking forward to working on today's scrapbook layouts using our new, larger, flip-flaps and antiqued copper foundry accents! No promises for a post tonight, but a recap on today's events will be coming soon!

Convention Day 1

Hello everyone! Well, what an exhausting day...but exhilarating at the same time. First, let me say that I love working for CTMH! We are always on the cutting edge of new products and trends and our new catalog will not disappoint you. The new paper packs are fabulous and I'm sure you will love them almost as much as I do. There are tons of new products, 8 new colors, and even a new how-to book! Also, we are changing our catalog format to a bi-annual publication. There will now be two catalogs per year and each catalog will be 24 pages longer than the current format. I will be giving sneak peeks of these items (and more information) over the next few days and weeks...so keep checking back. I promise to post more tomorrow...I am too tired now to think straight. G'night all!

Roomie Gifts!!

I have been very busy crafting this weekend. Boy, does it feel good to create!! I am pleased to inform you all that I finally finished my 'roomie gifts' for Convention this week. I am actually ready for Convention two days early! I am so excited about these gifts and can't wait to give them to my roommates as a thank you for putting up with me for a few days. Please forgive the glare on some of the photos...it was hard to get good pictures because of the shiny surface. I cannot take credit for this project (as usual). The idea and directions came from fellow CTMH consultant Beth Ivanic. (Thanks, Beth...your directions were fabulous!) Crystal's gift used an older paper pack, called Boom-di-ada, and pictures from Convention 2008 in Orlando. Stacey's gift used Cherry-O paper and pictures of her family. Enjoy!!

Riley Calendar

As promised yesterday, I want to share with you a gift I made for one of our retiring teachers. She loves the Riley stamps almost as much as I do, so I had no choice but to make her something with Rileys. I decided to make a perpetual calendar for her to keep track of birthdays, anniversaries, etc. I used a CTMH Display Album. I am only going to share photos of the front side of each page for each month. The opposite side was a page I made on the computer with the days of the month and room for her to write events. I used all CTMH paper for this project.

January (with Aspen paper)

February (with That's Amore paper)

March (with Stardust paper)

April (with Floral Tapestry paper)

May (with Emporium paper)

June (with Animal Cookies paper)

July (with Stardust paper)
August (with Tinkerin' paper)
September (with Animal Cookies paper)
October (with Game On paper)

November (with Grace paper)

December (with Jingle paper)

Easel Card

This was a card I made a few weeks ago for one of our retiring teachers. She loves Riley stamps (who can blame her) so I knew I had to make her a Riley card. This easel card stands up and can be displayed after being given to the recipient. I used CTMH Animal Cookies paper, Stickease, Cranberry Grosgrain Ribbon, and Dimensional Elements on this card. As usual, Riley was colored with Copic markers. Needless to say, it was a huge hit! Stay tuned...tomorrow I will share the gift I made for her. You won't want to miss it!

Really?!?

Has it really been over two months since my last post?!? YIKES!! I am so sorry :o( Things here have been very busy, but I have been crafting...I just haven't had time to post anything. So...hang in there and I promise to post some artwork later today (and some more for the next few days too)!

Also...make sure you check in next week on Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. I will be posting updates from the CTMH Convention in Washington DC. You definitely won't want to miss this! Convention is the premier event of the year and all of the big announcements are made there. I'm so excited to be going and will be sharing information (and maybe even pictures too) each night.

Gift Card Holder

Isn't this the cutest stamp set?!? I think it is my new favorite set. There are four different bugs, including a dragonfly, firefly, ladybug, and this butterfly. There are also a few other word stamps in the set. It's called 'A Little Buzz' and it will be available in the Summer catalog, which goes live on May 1st, 2010.

I can't take credit for this project idea, but I do think it is awesome, and I will be using it quite a bit! My neighbor, Karen, was making these gift card holders for her son's teachers and I thought it was such a great idea I had to steal it. I used the Caboodle paper set, sorbet stitched ribbon, and copper brads. The image was stamped and colored with Copic markers. Then, I covered the entire image with adhesive and placed a used dryer sheet over the adhesive. Finally, I covered the dryer sheet with glitter and rubbed it onto the image. The glitter goes through the holes in the dryer sheet and sticks to the adhesive. The entire image has a softened, glittery look and the photos do not do it justice. Enjoy!

A new twist on a picture frame...

Did you know that you can turn any picture frame into a dry-erase board? It's true! The glass surface acts the same as a dry-erase surface. This opens up so many possibilities for awesome boards! 

Here is my very first board. I made this for my niece for her birthday. It matches the name frame I gave her last summer and it will go great in her purple bedroom! I used the pattern Main Frame - Quilt Blocks from the CTMH Reflections book for the layout.

This frame is actually an LP record frame and it measures 12.5 inches x 12.5 inches. You can also buy 12x12 frames if you want to use a scrapbook page in the frame. Of course, any size frame will work...the possibilities are endless. The thing I love most about this project is that you can change the layout at any time. I hope you like this new twist on a picture frame!

More Layouts!

Here are a few more Studio J layouts for you to check out! Hope you love them as much as I do. Keep checking back for more information about the launch of Studio J. Visit http://www.studioj.com for more information on studio scrapbooking!

More Studio J

I hope you enjoyed yesterday's peek at my first Studio J layouts. As promised, I am including a few more. I can't tell you how quick and easy these are to make. I am eagerly awaiting my package to see how they look in person. Rumor has it that they are fabulous!! Enjoy :o)

Visit http://www.studioj.com for more information on studio scrapbooking! 

Keep checking back...I have more to share!

Introducing Studio J!

Close to my Heart has always been on the cutting edge of scrapbook innovations. Let me tell you...they've done it again! Coming soon, customers will be able to create their very own digital scrapbook pages! 

For more information on Studio J, visit the Studio J website at http://www.studioj.com.

More details will be coming in the near future, but in the meantime, I wanted to share a few layouts of my own. I've created ten 2-page layouts in a matter of a few hours. Studio J is quick, easy, and the results are fabulous! I'm sure you will agree. Below are a few of the layouts I've created...keep checking back, I'll be posting more later!

Click on each image for a better look!

Riley Thank You Card

Last night I dug out my Riley stamps and made a thank you card for a colleague. Our technology director was a huge help in making the arrangements for me to attend the state technology conference in Hershey last week, so I wanted to make him a card to show my appreciation. I used all CTMH paper and colored the image with my copic markers. It's hard to see on the photo, but I added liquid glass to the computer screen. The card is super-cute in person (of course, I think anything made with a Riley stamp is super-cute!) For more information on Riley stamps, go to the Riley and Company Website.

CTMH Products used: Tinkerin' Level 2 Paper Pack, Twilight Cardstock, White Daisy Cardstock, Sunny Yellow Cardstock, Card Chatter-Thank You Stamp Set, Assorted Buttons, Hemp

Other Products: Cyber Riley 

Another CD Case Project

Sorry I've been MIA for a while. The last two weeks have been super busy. I attended a conference in Hershey for five days, and have been catching some girls' basketball games. Our local high school team has been making a pretty good run in the playoffs. They won the league title two weeks ago and are playing for the district title tomorrow night. I finally had some time to make a few things last night. First, I made another CD Case Project as a favor for a friend. This is the same idea as the one I posted a few weeks ago with different paper.

Front Cover

Back Cover

Inside

CTMH Products: Stardust Level 2 Paper Pack, Across the Board Rub-ons

Other items: Calendar, CD Case