Retiring Items/Get Them While You Can

It is hard to believe that it is already time for me to call your attention to items that will be retiring form the current Idea Book to make way for the new items that will be available to you in February 2014, but the time has come. You can view retiring items from my retail site at this link. These items will be available on a While Supplies Last only basis, so if there is something you really want, don't wait until the end of January to order.
One item I want to call particular attention to is Z4115 12x12 50 Top Load Memory Protectors Value Pack ($22.95). This has always been a very popular item as it averages out to $.46 each for our high quality page protectors. Now, before you panic, this item is not retiring entirely, but will be undergoing a price increase (for maybe the second time in the almost 15 years I've been a consultant) in February. The 50 page value pack will not be available again at that time.  So, I'm giving you a little heads up so you can stock up now if you are like me and like to have page protectors on hand.

Sparkle & Shine and Artbooking

I recently designed this layout using our Sparkle & Shine Paper, Glitter Paper and the Artbooking Cartridge. I just love the overlays that this cartridge produces! Can't wait to take some family photos to add to this layout.

Christmas Cards Sparkle and Shine

Here are the cards we made at my recent workshop. Most of the designs I adapted from ideas I saw on Pinterest and tweaked them to utilize stamp sets from my stash and other materials I had on hand. Products featured include our Sparkle & Shine Paper, Washi Tape, Shimmer Trim and Glitter Paper. I am really loving a bit of sparkle for the holiday season. You can never have too much glitter ;-).

What are you creating for Christmas? Hope you have been inspired! If you weren't able to attend the workshop but would like to make these cards, give me a shout. I can either sell you a kit or arrange a time to do a workshop just for you.
Happy Krafting!

Melissa

November Workshops

In preparation for the holidays I have scheduled two workshops for November.

Number one is a Christmas Card Workshop. Join me Tuesday, November 12th from 7-9 and make 10 cards (2 each of 5 different designs) for $10.  Please RSVP by November 10th. A preview of the cards we're making is coming soon.

Number two is the Fabric Necklace Kit (Z1905) for $14.95 on Tuesday November 19th from 7-9. This necklace will make a great gift or a special treat for yourself.  Order the kit from my online shopping site by November the 11th to ensure that you receive it in time for the class. Join the November Orders party at the bottom right hand corner when ordering to be eligible for the November Hostess gift drawing. If you don't do online ordering or credit cards, contact me and we'll work something out.  Once you have learned the easy techniques in this class you'll have the skills to make fabric flowers for additional necklaces or other craft items, cards or scrapbook pages. They are a very versatile item.

Hope to see your for some crafty fun in November!

Artbooking Made Easy: Festive Mini Albums (S01E09)

Here are some super fun mini albums you can make with Artbooking.

Let's Play Cards

I haven't had my semi regular card workshop in quite a while, so I have scheduled one for Tuesday, October 15th at 7:00. Cost is $5 for 5 cards. The theme for the cards this month is gratitude. If you can RSVP to me by tonight so I can make sure I have enough pieces cut that would be awesome! Bring your basic tool kit and adhesive. Here's a little sneak peek of 2 of our cards. Hope to see you! Melissa

Artbooking Made Easy (S01E04): Spooky Halloween Layouts

Artbooking Made Easy (S01E05): Halloween Mini Albums

Artbooking Made Easy (S01E03): Summer Mini-Albums

What a great way to highlight your favorite summer memories!

Artboooking Made Easy (S01E02): A+ School Layouts

Lots of great ideas in this episode. As usual I had some ideas for other projects that were not scrapbook related as well.

Artbooking Made Easy (S01E01): Getting Started with Cricut Artbooking

Intro to Artbooking -- This is the first in a weekly series from Close to My Heart to give you tips and tricks for using your Artbooking cartridge. Stay tuned each week for more :-)

National Stamping Month: September 2013

You will notice that I used the alphabet and one of the sentiments from this set on my Artbooking Owl card in the previous post. Can't wait to create some other fun projects with this set. You can link to my personal business site to get your own by clicking on the link in the side bar. This is a really fun set.

Inspired By- - - Owls

Recently I bought a new lunch box for work and these cute, whimsical birds caught my eye. The store was wise enough (sorry I couldn't resist) to place the coordinating water bottle next to it. I didn't really need a new water bottle, but who could resist?

Okay, I'll try to refrain from anymore puns. Earlier in the summer I created this cute birthday card with the stamps from our Whoo's Your Valentine Kit that we offered earlier in the year and some of the Dream Pop papers from the May scrapbooking month special. 

When our new Artbooking Cricut Cartridge came out and had these cute owls on it I knew I wasn't done with them. I love the woodgrain looking overlay and the dimension it adds.

What or who is inspiring you today?

:-) Melissa

Free Cricut Artbooking Class

It is time for the launch of the 2013 Autumn/Winter Idea Book & our latest Cricut Collection Artbooking! Trust me when I say you are going to love it! I don't know how the folks at CTMH do it, but they just keep coming up with amazing designs. As with all our Cricut collections you receive 3 coordinating sets of chip board and 3 coordinating acrylic stamps sets and there are over 700 images on this cartridge. Each key has all you will need to complete a layout or minibook of various sizes. The images can also be adapted to cardmaking and other paper crafting.

Join me August 14th from 7-9 for a Free Artbooking Class. You will get to make a project, receive a free Idea Book and see some of the other new products from the Idea Book. Order your Artbooking Collection before August 16th and I will give you free shipping! Please RSVP by August 13th (comment on the blog, email, phone or snail mail). Orders placed through the Fall/Winter Idea Book Launch link on my CTMH web address will be eligible for the Hostess prize drawing.

Join me for a fun evening and be inspired!

Surf 's Up

It's summer time and I know we are all spending time outside enjoying the sunshine and the surf!  For this month's blog hop, we are featuring the exclusive "Surf's Up" paper pack from Close to My Heart!    We're celebrating fun in the sun with this colorful paper pack that also has some amazing coordinating accessories and embellishment.

Not only are all of our creations going to use our Surf's Up paper line BUT they will also be using our exclusive Art Philosophy, Artiste, and/or the NEW Artbooking Cricut cartridges available exclusively through a Close to My Heart consultant!  What ?!?!? If you don't already have a Consultant that you are currently working with, please contact one of the Consultants in our hop with any questions you have!

In this hop, you will see projects featuring this versatile cartridges from many talented crafty ladies!  Enjoy our blog hop!  

If you have just hopped onto my blog, please start at the beginning at Lucy's blog – Love 2 Create . If you came

from Melinda's blog -- If You Bling It then you are in the right place!

Welcome Hoppers! Let me first confess that I spent a lot less time on this project than I would have liked due to a serious family emergency (more about that some other time). I had to decide pretty quickly what to take with me to work on this project before I left town and I will have to say that this is where our new Cricut Cartridge - ArtBooking (available 08/01/2013) came in so handy.

Because of the features on the cartridge that allow you to create a whole layout from one key I was able to quickly decide on the page themed elements that I wanted to utilize and not have to guess about what size to cut them at as you just set the dial size at one setting and each page element on that key cuts at the right proportion to fit your page. Genius! You are going to love it.

Forgive the quality of these photos, in addition to being in an unfamiliar setting with not so great lighting, the dog kept photo bombing me! Leo does not make a good photo assistant ;-). On the close ups you will notice ample use of epoxy bubbles/green and blue assortment (I finally had to make myself step away from the bling.) and burlap ribbon. The only other materials I used were the paper from the Surf's Up paper pack and the cuts made on my Cricut with the ArtBooking Cartridge. Sometimes less can be more.

I hope this has inspired you. Your next stop on our Surf's Up blog hop is Justine's blog, The Twilight Stamper .

Here is the complete lineup in case you get lost along the way:

1. Lucy ~Love 2 Create (link:  http://www.love2createitall.com/2013/07/surfs-up.html)
2. Theodora ~Celebrate Crafts (link:  http://www.celebratecrafts.com/2013/07/surfs-up.html)
3. Traci ~Paper Crafting 101  (link: http://papercrafting101.blogspot.com/2013/07/surfs-up.html)
4. Michelle ~My Flights of Fancy (link: http://www.myflightsoffancy.com/surfs-up-blog-hop  )
5. Melinda Everitt - ifyoublingit (link: http://ifyoublingit.blogspot.com/2013/07/surfs-up.html)
6. Melissa Harris ~ The Keen Krafter (link: http://thekeenkrafter.blogspot.com/2013/07/surfs-up.html)
7. Justine Hovey ~ The Twilight Stamper (link:  http://www.justinehovey.com/2013/07/surfs-up.html)
8. Heather Hunt ~ Creative Coconut (link: http://creativecoconut08.blogspot.ca/2013/07/surfs-up.html  )

Thanks for hopping along with us - we hope we were able to inspire you.

Close to My Heart Monogram Stationary Set

I created this set for a dear friend's birthday. It features our monogram stamp sets, Perfect Fit Frames 1, Perfect Fit Frames 2 and Honeycomb as well as the Claire paper pack. All shapes were cut with our Cricut Art Philosophy and Cricut Artiste cartridges. I'm really pleased with how this came out. The monogram stamps are great for creating special gifts or including as a gift for your crafty friends and family.

Retired List

As mentioned in my recent newsletter here is a link to the list of items retiring from the 2013 Spring/Summer Idea Book:
https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B5B-mrVyhaGUOUwtRnp0UWtBYmM/edit?usp=sharing .

Part of what delayed me in getting this up was that I couldn't figure out how to post a table in Blogger and keep it readable and even though my version of Adobe Reader on the home pc is updated it keeps crashing, so I think I may need to remove and re-install, so rather than delay this any further my solution was to put the pdf document in Google Docs for you to access. I'm not sure if you have to sign up for Google Docs to view this or if the link itself will be sufficient. However, if you do need to sign up it is free.

Some items have already sold out. To check "real time" availability of an item you can go to my online business account (https://melissaharris.ctmh.com) and go to the shopping page and type the item number in the shopping cart. Everything on the list is "while supplies last" only. The list is a bit long, but you will notice there is a category column that states if the item is a stamp, accessory, paper, etc. Feel free to email me with any questions. Sorry to get this out a few days late, but I've been out of town for a scrapbook retreat and was in crazy get ready mode before that. I'll share some pics of some of the things I created later, but for now I am off to play with my preview copy of our new "Artbooking" Cricut Cartridge that was recently delivered and will be available to you in August. Happy Shopping!
Melissa

Close to My Heart Card with Tommy

I created this on a recent scrapping/stamping retreat I went on for a card swap we all did. I like that this card has multiple uses -- anniversary, encouragement. The red Glitter Glitz doesn't show up as well in this picture as it does in person. but it really is a nice touch. I used our trifold-diecut cards for a base. The stamp and papers are from the Tommy Workshop on the Go Kit.

Let's Get Patriotic - Supporting our troops and country

Show your support of troops and country with new patriotic stamp sets—available only from
June 1 to July 31, 2013! As a show of our support, Close To My Heart will donate $3 from each
B-size My Acrylix® Courage stamp set and $5 from each D-size My
Acrylix® Home of the Brave stamp set to the USO, the leading, most
recognized military-support and services organization in the country.
Show your support today—stamp style!
* Offer valid June 1–July 31, 2013. No qualifying purchase required. No limit per order.

D1576 Home of the Brave
B1437 Courage
D1575 Strong & Free

While supplies last . . .

Don't you just love that phrase? ;-) I just happened to check my online ordering site today and noticed that Close to My Heart has added some new items to the "While Supplies Last" page. One of my favorite items the Bling Buttons are there. Might have to pick a few of those up for myself. :-) You can check all the sale items here. They won't last long.

Card with May Stamp of the Month & Dream Pop

I used a recently learned technique (for me) to put this card together for a friend's birthday. Love the sunburst effect and the bright colors of the Dream Pop papers. Hope you are enjoying the start to summer and some warmer weather.

Supporting Oklahoma Tornado Victims

I'm pleased to announce that in support of the victims of the recent tornado in Oklahoma,  Close to My Heart is making this new stamp set (A True Thank You) from the Autumn/Winter 2013 Idea Book (active August 1, 2013) available for early purchase. One hundred percent of profits from sales of this stamp set from May 23 to June 30 will be donated to the American Red Cross to aid tornado victims in Oklahoma. Recommended My Acrylix® Blocks: 2" × 2" (Y1003).

You can follow this link to purchase directly from my website or email me if you'd like to pay by cash or check and don't want to order online. The price of M1029 A True Thank You is $2.95. 

The purchase price of this stamp set will count towards your qualifying purchase of $35 for the May Dream Pop paper promotion and also for the May Stamp of the Month - Pinwheel. Both May promotions are only available through Friday, May 31st.

My goal is to sell 50 of these stamp sets (plus my order will be 51) to equal $150 to the Red Cross. As an added incentive I will place your name in for a drawing for one free Workshop on the Go Kit of your choice from the Spring/Summer 2013 Idea Book for every A True Thank You set you order. Additional entries will be given for every $25 spent between now and June 30th. 

I hope you'll join me in supporting this worthy cause. I am truly grateful that Close to My Heart is a company that provides it's consultants with opportunities to give back to our community through special promotions such as this and the ongoing support of Operation Smile . I'll keep you posted on my progress.

Thanks in advance!

Melissa 

Butterfly Album Class

Reschedule of Butterfly Album Class

The April dates didn't work out so well, so I am going to try something a little different for the month of May.  

Given the craziness of graduations, Mother's Day and Memorial Day coupled with me working 2 Saturday's this month, there are not a lot of options for the weekends, so I'm going to try a day in the middle of the week. Here's your chance to get out of the house for a little me time and to feel wild & crazy in the middle of the week - our own Hump Day Madness if you will Ü. Please R.S.V.P.  and get your payment to me as soon as possible. I will pre-cut all the materials, so the assembly will be all that will be up to you. Hope you can join me for some crazy, crafty fun! Melissa

Wednesday, May 29th from 6:30pm to 9:30pm

Cost is $25 (I can take cash, checks or credit card -- see link below for cc/paypal or email me with your phone number to arrange payment via cash/check)

Payment needs to be received by me by May 19th. 

Wednesday, May 29th Butterfly Album Workshop

The following is a list of supplies you will need to bring for class from your toolkit:

Liquid Glass (or other strong "wet" glue of your preference)

Tweezers

Quilling Tool

Dry Embossing Tool or Rub on Tool with large metal ball on one end

Piercing Tool with Mat

Sanding Kit

Bone Folder

Also if you have your own inks in the following colors things will move along a little faster if you don't have to share with someone else:

Black

Whisper

Ruby

Dream Pop Paper Special

I love the bright colors of the Dream Pop paper pack! This is an exclusive product for the month of May in honor of National Scrapbooking Month. It is available for purchase for $10 when you spend $35 on Close to My Heart products of your choice from the 2013 Spring/Summer Idea Book. You receive 12 pieces of textured resist card stock and 12 pieces of pattered paper. These papers coordinate well with the May Stamp of the Month.

Make this purchase in May and you will be eligible for a free workshop with me in June featuring several scrapbook layouts and cards. Here is a preview:

You can shop online or contact me for an Idea Book. Don't let May get away without getting your hands on these yummy papers. You will really love them!

Creatively Cricut

Some awesome tips for using our coordinating stamp sets and Cricut cartridges. Especially love the tip of how to get a 12 inch border. Makes perfect sense to me and seems so simple, I just never though of it that way before.

Close to My Heart Card with March Stamp of the Month

I've been wanting to make something with the March Stamp of the Month, Floral Happiness. I decided on a quick card to let my parents know that I miss them. This is what I came up with:

I used a Cuttlebug Folder for a quick embossed background and then did some base and shade stamping with the roses from this set. I inked the edges of everything with the black stamp pad from our  Basic Pigment Mini Ink Pads Set and then added a little bling with some of the new Pink Glitter Gems. A few foam dots to add a little dimension and I was nearly finished except for the inside sentiment.

 I used this frame shape that I had cut with one of our Cricut Cartridges, but not used for the sentiment (honestly I can't remember if it was Art Philosophy or Artiste, but it was lying on my work table so I seized the moment). It started it's life out white, but there's nothing I can't color with a sponge and a little ink Ü. A little more bling and I was done. I'll be honest at first I kept thinking it was lacking something, but then I slept on it and was pretty pleased with the outcome at second glance. This is a beautiful and versatile set. I look forward to sitting down and playing with it some more. The base and the shade component of this stamp set intimidated me at first, but they really were very easy to line up.

If you plan on joining me for the Hexagon & Back Again Workshop you can try this set out and see if you just might want one of your own.

Happy Krafting!
Melissa

Sneak Peek for April and May Workshops

I don't have dates pinned down for these two workshops (I am open to suggestions), but I thought I would peak your interest with some pictures.

For April we will be doing this Butterfly Mini Album. It would make a great Mother's Day present or gift for the female graduate.

For May we will be making this Steampunk inspired box and cards. A perfect gift for dad or the male graduate in your life.

Just like the wonderful Hexagon & Back Again workshop these were also designed by the talented Wendy Coffman, who is a sister Close to My Heart Consultant. I haven't totaled up the kit prices for these 2 yet, but they should run the about the same as the Hexagon & Back Again workshop.

Hope these have you excited for some crafting this spring!

Melissa

Hexagon & Back Again Workshop

I am so excited to offer this workshop & I hope you will be excited too. Fellow CTMH consultant Wendy Coffman designed this (and 2 other workshops I am going to offer in the coming months). She does beautiful work and is so inspiring to me. I couldn't pass up the opportunity when she offered her workshop guides to us. Workshop number one features one of my favorite new stamp sets Honeycomb, rolled flowers from the Cricut Artiste Cartridge and the sweet Trinket Wooden Shapes.

For $25 you will make 5 cards with envelopes and one 6x6 Display Canvas. Both projects would make a great spring gift for someone special or to display for yourself!

Join me Saturday March 23rd from 10:00 to 1:00 or from 2:30 to 5:30. 

Workshop must be paid in advance. Deadline to order is March 14th.

There are several kit options that you can pay for online using the links below. Please specify in the comments when you pay which workshop you will be attending (morning or afternoon). If you are not comfortable paying online email me about mailing me a check or dropping off cash if you are local.

Besides the Basic Kit for $25 that you will put together using my stamps and inks,  you can add on a Tool Kit  for $18 containing your own container of silver glitter glitz, pearl paint, slate washi tape, and lagoon re-inker. You can add the versatile Honeycomb stamp set for $15. Finally, if you want it all - Basic Kit, Tool Kit & the Honeycomb stamp set you can order that for $55 and save $3. The Gotta Have It All Kit will also make you eligible to purchase the March Stamp of the Month for $5. As a perk to you I will waive the shipping/handling & tax on this item, just make sure you add it to your order. We will actually be utilizing the sentiments in this set in April's project ;-).

Saturday, March 23rd, 2013 

Hexagon & Back Again Workshop 

10:00-1:00 or 2:30 to 5:30

Kit Options (Order by March 14th)

Basic Kit $25.00 USD Tool Kit $18.00 USD Honeycomb Stamp Set $15.00 USD Basic+Tool Kit $43.00 USD Basic+Honeycomb Stamp Set $40.00 USD I Want It All (Basic+Tools+Stamp Set) $55.00 USD I Want It All+March Stamp of the Month $60.00 USD

Morning or Afternoon Workshop

Can't attend in person? Select one of the to go options and your kit will be shipped within 2 weeks of order via USPS Priority Mail for a slightly increased rate. An instruction guide will be included with your kit.

To Go Kit Options (Order by March 14th)

Basic Kit $37.50 USD I Want It All To Go (Basic+Tools+Stamp Set) $62.50 USD I Want It All+March Stamp of the Month $67.50 USD

Hope you can join me for this awesome class. Stay tuned for offerings for April (this would make a great Mother's Day gift) and May (something for Dad and so trendy right now). I will shortly be posting a list of basics you will need to bring from your stash to help you complete the project (which type of adhesive, scissors, paper piercer, etc.)

Stay Krafty my friends!

Melissa

Project Inspirations: Artiste Mini Album

So fun! I can't wait to try this. If you give it a try email me a few photos of your project or a link to your blog & I will feature it here.

Project Inspiration: Fabric

Here is a video featuring one of the many great new products from the new 2013 Spring & Summer Idea Book available now. Check it out online or drop by my open house on Tuesday, February 12th any time between 7:00 and 9:30 pm to check out new products receive, a free idea book and make a fun project. RSVP's while not required are appreciated. You can email me or leave a comment below letting me know you are coming. Also email me if you need directions to my house.

Hacked!!!

Sorry I am too disheartened by the work ahead of me and time lost during which I could be crafting to dig up a fitting picture to accompany this post. It appears my yahoo/att email which I have had for probably 18 years has been hacked. It won't recognize my user name much less my password to log me in and doesn't offer to let me answer security questions to change my password or anything. Can't seem to make any of the online support solutions work for me and getting live help is of course impossible. Instead of wasting any more crafting time on resolving this I am moving on . . . so if you have received spam from me please accept my apologies. The link for my roadrunner account is at the blog header, but I will list the address here also if you need to get in touch: mahisslp@roadrunner.com. Just when I think I have the migraines under control and can move on to getting my creative mojo back something else pops up. I want to papercraft, not fight with the internet demons! If it's not one thing it's another . . . Ü

The first person to comment with the Saturday Night Live character who uttered the last phrase will win a free stamp set from me.

Oh, and just so you know I have also had to activate the "captcha" word verification feature for comments. Sorry, but was receiving too many spam comments with it turned off.

Off to start the long process of updating everyone I can think of with my new email!
Happy "krafting"!
Melissa