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

More Basketball Layouts

I love having days off from work to craft! I wish I had more time to work on my growing list of projects to do, but it seems like there is always something more pressing to do. (Of course...I guess we all feel like this most of the time.) I'm trying to make a better effort to work on projects more often, so we will see if that works out for me or not ;o)

I was able to get quite a bit done today. Below are some framed layouts I made for my some of my niece's teammates. This coming Saturday will be their senior recognition night and this will be my niece's gift to the seniors on her team. Each frame is 11 x 14 in size. This is probably the first project I have made in quite some time that has not used much CTMH product. I used textured burgundy and orange cardstock on each of the sides. I used CTMH white cardstock for the center section and as the matting around each picture. I also used basketball textured paper from The Paper Company in the middle section. The tags were cut with my Cricut and I used basketball brads on each tag. (FYI - There are three Samanthas on the team, so each girl has a nickname to tell them apart...hence, Samma!) The basketball net and ball on the left hand side is a Jolee's dimensional sticker.

Wedding and Sympathy Cards

Yesterday I was able to find some time to make a few cards thanks to the snowstorm. I officially measured 20 inches in our backyard last night. That was a far cry from the 8 to 10 that was forecast for our area. According to the news our county was the hardest hit from this storm. So...after spending half the night trying to find my car I worked on these two cards that I needed to make for this weekend.

I also tried my hand at a new technique. My upline, Nancy Brown, has been doing stitching on her cards for a while now and it always makes her cards look so elegant. You can see some of her gorgeous work on her two blogs, Creatively Artsy Card Gallery and Inspired by Stamps. I decided to give her a call last night to get some tips on how it is done. Although I was scared at first, I have quickly fallen in love with this technique! I'm going to find it hard to make cards without stitching on them now. (Thanks, Nancy!) I absolutely love what stitching can add to a card.

This wedding card is for some very close friends of ours. They have been together for over ten years and are getting married on Saturday. The card measures 6 in x 6 in. I used the CTMH paper pack Silhouette, along with the Childhood Portrait stamp set. The image was stamped with black ink and then embossed with clear embossing powder. The sentiment is from the For Every Occasion stamp set. The flowers on the sentiment are from a corner punch. The stitching is done with two strands of black embroidery floss.

The sympathy card idea was basically copied from my upline. The only exception is that my card is a 6 x 6 and I changed a few minor details. I used the Bella paper pack from CTMH. The stamps are retiring sets from Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps. The cross is from the set called Elegant Blessings and the sentiment is from Forget-Me-Not. These stamps will only be around while supplies last and they are currently 50% off! The stitching is done with brown embroidery floss. The ribbon is CTMH Hollyhock stitched ribbon.  

Basketball Page

One of my favorite things to do is watch girls' basketball games. When I was in high school, I kept statistics for my high school girls' team for three years. Lately, my husband and I have been following the Tamaqua Lady Raiders and the Susquehanna University Lady Crusaders. I started watching basketball seven years ago when my niece was the starting point guard at Tamaqua. Since then, we have watched her play almost every game in her high school and collegiate career. After she graduated from high school, we kept watching the Tamaqua home games. As an alumni of the school and a teacher in the district, I enjoy supporting our local school athletics. 

On January 28th, one of our starters scored her 1,000th career point. She is only the third junior in school history to reach this plateau. On that night, I took a ton of pictures with the intention of giving them to her parents. Once I got home I decided to make her a framed scrapbook page. Below is the final result before it was framed. I was so happy with how it turned out and her family loved it!

CTMH Products Used:

Game On Level 2 Paper Pack/Stickease

Colonial White Cardstock

Other Products Used:

The Paper Company Textured Basketball Paper

Basketball Ribbon (Michael's)

Basketball Brads (Scrappin' Stuff Sports - Online)

CD Case Calendar/Photo Frame

I think I have found a new favorite project! This would make a great gift for any occasion. This is the project I will be doing with my monthly scrapbook club this week. All you need is a new or used CD case (a thicker case, not thinline), some paper, and a few photos. When the case is open on a desk, it is a calendar for the user, and a photo display for the rest of the world. The pictures are from my sister and niece's trip to the shore this summer.

Front (Case Closed)

Inside

Back (Case Closed)

Outside

CTMH Supplies Used

Caboodle Level 2 Paper Pack, Caboodle Stickease, Crystal Blue Buttons, Colonial White Waxy Flax, Creme Brulee Paper Flower, Colonial White Suede Pinwheel, Filigree Charms

Other Supplies

CD Case, Calendar (found in the dollar bin at Michael's)

Envelope Purse

A few months ago I saw this idea while looking for projects on the web. The original project can be found by clicking this link to Stamp Paper Scissors. I adapted the project to fit my own ideas and to accommodate stationary sized envelopes. I love this idea and have been meaning to try it for quite sometime. I finally got around to creating this envelope purse with pictures of my niece. The left and right side of the open purse are stationary size envelopes that have been covered with paper. The project is a lot of fun and it's nice that the envelopes contain areas for hidden pictures or journaling.

Purse closed

Purse Open

Purse Open to show hidden panels

CTMH Products Used

Bella Level 2 Paper Pack, Bella Stickease, Twinkle Brads, Eyelets, White Organdy Ribbon

Flip Flap Photo Book

This photo book was created using CTMH Flip Flaps. I used seven flip flaps for this project. The front and back cover were created using the Key to my Heart paper pack.

CTMH Products Used

Key to my Heart Paper Pack, Flip Flaps, Spring Bigger Brads/Accents, Creme Brulee Ribbon, Token

Name Frame

Okay...so I know that my posts have been non-existent for a while. Part of this is the fact that I have just been so busy. I have been making projects and taking pictures but haven't gotten around to posting. It has been tough to adjust to the idea of blogging. I promise to try harder from now on! As a way to make up for being missing for so long, I will be adding several posts today to share some of my recent creations.

This is a project that I made for my niece when she painted her bedroom. Her room is purple now and these papers matched perfectly. The letters were cut with my Cricut and then covered with colored glitter. I just love the Martha Stewart brand glitter. The colors are so vibrant! The project was framed in an 11 x 14 cherry picture frame, but I forgot to take a picture after it was framed.

CTMH Products Used

Bella Level 2 Paper Pack, Autumn Paper Flowers, Clear Sparkles, Chocolate Ribbon, Colonial White Spiral Clip, Colonial White Ribbon, Smoky Plum Bigger Brad

My Scrap Room

I thought I would take a moment to share some pictures of my scrap room. A few years ago we turned my step-daughter's bedroom into this room. She had moved out and was living in Rochester for a while, so we figured it was safe to convert. We were bored during the big Valentine's Day snowstorm and started painting. It only took a few days to complete. I love my room and spend a lot of time there!

Basically, I started taking pictures in the doorway and walked in a circle to get pictures from different angles. You can click on each picture to see a larger image. Hope you enjoy the view!

View from door

Corner behind table

View from corner behind table

Top view from corner behind table

Corner view of cabinets (There are five cabinets...starting by the wall next to the window.)

Corner view of all cabinets

Wall next to door (notice CSI: Miami on the TV...lol!)

Tri-Fold Shutter Cards

Yesterday I attended a unit meeting and we made a bunch of Tri-Fold Shutter cards. (The directions for these cards can be found at Splitcoaststampers.)

Here is one of the cards I made.

Card Closed

Card Open

CTMH Products used:

Grace Level 2 Paper Packet and Grace Stickease

I also made this Riley snowman card. This will be my Christmas card this year. I love my Riley's and think this card is super cute!!

Card Closed

 Card Open

CTMH Products Used

Jingle Level 2 Paper Pack, Prisma Glitter, Liquid Applique

Other Products Used

Copic markers, Nestabilities Dies

Welcome to my new blog!

My name is Jolene Barron and I have been a Close to my Heart Consultant since March of 2005. I have created this blog as a way to share my art and my love of paper crafting. I plan to post artwork and other pictures that I believe others will like to see. Please feel free to comment on any post and share your opinions with me. I look forward to meeting new people and sharing ideas through this blog.

In addition to being a Consultant, I am also an Elementary Technology Teacher for students in grades K through 5. I have been a teacher for ten years and I love my job! I am currently a student in the Ed.D. program at Wilkes University. Between work, classes, and life it is tough to find time to craft, but I continue to do try to make time as much as possible.

I hope you enjoy what you see here, and return often!