Tuesday, September 28, 2010

Heart to Heart Card Drive

I made this card for Cammie’s Heart to Heart Card Drive. She lost her grandmother to Alzheimer’s in 2008 and has been holding card drives each year since, to encourage the caregivers of those who have this awful disease. It is so hard to see a loved one suffer and those who take care of them are extra special and certainly deserve to be thanked.

Cammie is also giving away a TON of blog candy to one lucky winner who participates in the card drive. She has prizes from some great people who have donated everything from gift certificates, to crafting supplies, to handmade cards. Be sure to check it out here.
My cards were inspired by Susan’s BEAUTIFUL card here. (Be sure to check out Susan’s blog. She has an amazing eye for finding beauty in simplicity.) My second card below looked a little better without the vellum butterfly, but I think I am going to leave it so I don’t mess it up even more. LOL! Hopefully the recipients will appreciate the cards even if they didn’t turn out as well as the original card that inspired them both.
Supplies Used:
Stamps: PTI Background Basics Text Style, CTMH Treasure Life, CTMH A Little Thanks (available in November)
Inks: CTMH Bamboo, Baby Pink, Hollyhock
Other: Martha Stewart Butterfly Punch, Vellum, Scallop Rectangle Nestabilities, Foam Tape

Monday, September 27, 2010

Studio J Memberships are Here!

Have you heard about Studio J? Studio J is online design software that allows users to create custom-printed two-page layouts for 12" x 12" albums. There is no software to purchase and install; instead, simply log in to Studio J and start designing your layouts. You can create and immediately purchase your layouts, or you can save them for later completion and purchase.

Studio J is still free to use and the only cost is for the prints. However, Close to my Heart has come up with another WONDERFUL option. How would you like to get your layouts at half price? How about getting access to special Members Only kits and templates? How about getting FREE shipping every month and FREE page protectors? How about FREE JPEG files so you can email or reprint your layouts elsewhere? Does all that sound too good to be true? I am proud to announce CTMH’s new Studio J Membership Program.

As a Studio J Member, you get all of the above plus special promotions and extras. You can purchase a 3-month membership for $30 or a 1-year membership for $99. You can even purchase a 5-pack that doesn't expire. (The 5-pack makes a great gift!)

Click here to check out some FAQs about Studio J.

One of the things I love about Studio J is that I can create a layout for one of my kid’s albums and then copy it, make a few quick changes, and have a layout for my other child's album. It has saved me a TON of time! Check out the layout I did for my son’s album about his swimming lessons this summer. I made a few quick changes and had one for my daughter within about 10 minutes.
(Click on the photos to enlarge them.)
Plus when I put them in my albums with the other layouts, you can’t tell which ones are classic layouts and which ones are Studio J layouts without touching them. They blend together so well.

Here’s one I did for my own album about the weekend I got to spend with my Mom a couple months ago. I am going to make a copy for her too.
Here’s another one I did for our family vacation this summer. I plan to make 3 copies of it. One for each of the kids albums and one for our family album! Love having the option to make multiple copies!

Here are a couple of back to school layouts I did using one of the Exclusive Member Kits. I used the same kit for both layouts. I just changed the color of some of the papers and chose a different template and they look completely different. The options are endless! Pretty cool, huh?
Want to try out Studio for free with no obligation to buy anything? Click here and and then click on the link that says “I am not ready to create an account. Try it out.” I’d love to get your feedback on Studio J. Feel free to post a comment or question here or email me at lisa@myctmh.com.

Happy Creating!

Saturday, September 25, 2010

Papertrey September Blog Hop

As much as you all know I love my CTMH products, I am also a big Papertrey fan. I have lots of their stamp sets and really need to pull them out more often. I thought it would be fun to participate in Papertrey’s September Blog Hop because I really loved their challenge this month.

Here is the challenge:
“One of the most fun things about this hobby is the people you meet, whether in person or online, and the things you learn from them. Now is your chance to show off any skills you might have learned from a fellow stamper, and perhaps even give them a little shout out to thank them for the inspiration they have provided. Create a project using one of your favorite learned skills and perhaps after a little blog hopping, we will ALL learn some new tips and tricks and continue to pass on the love of this hobby!”

I wanted to create a quick card using a fun technique that I learned from my sweet friend Christine. (Be sure to check out her blog. She is amazingly talented!) She taught me how to make my own glimmer mist using 50% Create-A-Shade Pearl Paint and 50% rubbing alcohol. It is so easy and so much fun! She said that you can even mix some re-inker into it to make your own color. That is next on my list to try.

I used Papertrey’s Blooming Button Bits, Signature Greetings, and Inside & Out Thank You stamp sets along with an old Making Memories paper pad I found in my stash. It was fun to bring out supplies that I haven’t used in a while. I think I am going to try to do it more often. LOL!

(Sorry about the photos. The glitter on the flower in the photo makes it look a bit off, but the red color actually does match the patterned paper and cardstock pretty well. )
Supplies Used:
Paper: Making Memories Cheeky Collection - Emery; CTMH Tulip, Cocoa, Colonial White CS
Stamps: PTI Signature Blessings, Blooming Button Bits, Inside & Out Thank You
Inks: CTMH Tulip, Garden Green, Cocoa
Other: CTMH Colonial White Grosgrain Ribbon, CTMH Autumn Craft Button, CTMH Create-a-Shade Pearl Paint, Foam Tape

Monday, September 20, 2010

October Creative Club Project - Fall Home Decor

(Click on the photos to see them larger.)

October’s Creative Club will be held on Wednesday, October 6th and Thursday,October 7th. We will making this festive Fall sign. Everyone will get a Mix and Mingle Album Kit along with pre-cut cardstock, patterned paper, and letters. You will even have extra pieces from the kit to make more signs and/or wall hangings at home using your own patterned papers.

To find out more about my monthly non-commit Creative Club, click here. You do not need to be local to participate. The cost for the October kit is $10 or $5 with a $25 order. (If you are not local, please add $5 for shipping.) Extra kits are $10. All of the cardstock and B&T pieces will be pre-cut for you.
If you like this project, click here for more details on my super fun club! Contact me at lisa@myctmh.com for more information, to sign up for next month’s class, or to order your own club kit(s). Please contact me no later than October 1st if you would like to join us or order your own kit(s).

*This project was inspired by the artwork on page 38 of the CTMH Idea Book, Kelly Triggs, and Annette Green.

Tuesday, September 14, 2010

Birthday Cards for the Kiddos

Here are a couple of quick and easy birthday cards for the kiddos. I used CTMH’s Little Princess and Birthday Boy stamp sets. I stamped the images with Brown StazOn ink and colored them in with CTMH’s Watercolor Pencils. (Love those things!) Then I blended the color with the Blending Pen. I used my rectangle and scallop rectangle Nestabilities to cut them out. I popped up the images with some Foam Tape to finish them off. (Sorry the photos are not very good.)You are probably wondering why I haven't posted much lately. Sorry about that. I have been working on a bunch of Studio J layouts. I will post a few of them soon and tell you all about the new Studio J Membership options! Until then, have a great week!

Tuesday, September 7, 2010

And the winner is...

I am so sorry that I wasn’t able to post the winner of the contest earlier. We had a “refrigerator emergency” and had to go out and buy a new one tonight. It is so hard for me to make such a large purchase decision last minute without time to do any research! (I research EVERYTHING! LOL!) Anyway, thank goodness Sears had their Labor Day sale through today! We got a good deal on a Samsung French Door fridge that will be delivered on Thursday! Woo-Hoo! Now we are just praying that we don't have another little flood incident until then. Ugg!

Thanks to those who posted your favorite new CTMH product. You all had some great ones! Random.org chose #9 which is Marie!
Marie said...“I love the new color Pear. I also love the new way Studio J is being packaged in 3 and 12 month memberships!” on September 6, 2010 11:56 PM

Congrats Marie! Please email me at lisa@myctmh.com with your contact information and I will send you your $10 gift certificate! *Ü*

Monday, September 6, 2010

Happy Labor Day

Happy Labor Day!

Have you heard of Swagbucks?

OK, so I may be the last person in the world to hear about Swagbucks. I found out about them recently and am really excited. It is so much fun. I created an account and have been able to save a ton of money on all kinds of things from getting discount coupons to my favorite restaurants to getting great deals on back to school items for the kiddos. The best part is that I can earn "Swag Buck" points and turn them in for all kinds of things. I am saving them up to exchange for some Amazon gift cards. How cool is that? It’s like free money!

If you have never checked it out, click on the link below and you can see some of the great things for yourself. If you create an account from the link below, we both get Swag Bucks randomly when you do a search using their search engine. How cool! LOL!

Search & Win

Here is how it works:

First off you should know that Swagbucks is a search engine powered by Google and Ask that pays you to use their site. All you have to do is just register with Swagbucks and instead of searching the Internet as you normally would using your usual search engine, you use theirs. It is that easy.

When you register with Swagbucks you do not need to give out any address, phone number or even any credit card info. Pretty cool, huh? When you register, you’re already started out with 30 Swagbucks in your account. They also have random codes that you can input to get extra Swag Bucks. Today on their blog they have a special Labor Day code that will get you an extra 9 Swag Bucks. Sweet, huh? After you are registered go fill out your PROFILES section for even more Swagbucks.

I then suggest downloading the Swagbucks toolbar because it’s a great source of free codes and you can always see your Swagbuck balance. Oh, they also give you a free Swagbuck daily just for having the toolbar too!

Once you have the toolbar, just enter your search terms into the search box as you would with any search engine. You’ll get your search results and every so often you’ll also be rewarded with Swagbucks. There’s no special way to search to win and there are no certain number of searches that you need to make to win. It seems to be a completely random process. You won’t win with every search, but you will win at times.

Happy Swagging. *Ü*

Friday, September 3, 2010

The new 2010 Autumn/Winter Idea Book plus a Fun Giveaway!

It's finally here! Close to my Heart’s new Autumn/Winter Idea Book is here and jam packed with some fabulous new products and amazing artwork! Click here to view the new Idea Book online or click here to email me and order your own FREE copy. Just pay $3 for shipping. Here are a few highlights of the new paper packets.

This is the new Olivia paper packet.
These samples highlight the new Mistletoe paper packet.
Here are some Magnifique samples.
Hooligans is the name of the paper packet that was used for these samples.

Do you know what my favorite new product is? It could be a new stamp set, a new paper packet, or a new embellishment. Or maybe it is something completely different! How about we have a prize for the first person to guess my favorite new product? I will give the first person to guess correctly a $10 CTMH gift certificate!* Post a comment here with your guess and the first person to guess correctly will win the gift certificate!

ETA: Congratulations to Corinne who was the first to post that my favorite new product is the awesome Magic How-to Book! She is correct. It is a fantastic book that come with templates and videos on a DVD that show how the interactive pages work! It is must-have for every scrapbooker!

Since I had a winner so quickly. I am going to give away another $10 gift certificate.* I would love to hear what your favorite new products are. Post a comment here with your favorite new product and I will choose a winner using random.org on Tuesday, 9/7. Remember you can check out all the new products here.

*Gift certificate will be redeemable only through Lisa Stenz. The CTMH Office will not be responsible for redeeming the certificate.