This month's stamp is so cute and fun! I created this card for my stamp of the month swap. I used white daisy card stock for the base, pear card stock for the mat and then white daisy card stock for the top. I sponged all edged with pear exclusive ink. I stamped the bouquet of flowers and mason jar from the Candlelight Garden stamp of the month. Using our ShinHan markers, I colored in the flowers and used a pink embellishment in the center of the large marigold colored flower. Next I painted the blue water in the bottom of the jar using our fun set of watercolor paints. Using 2 sheets of B&T papers from the Kaleidoscope packet, I cut out 2 squares from each piece so I could see the design on both sides. Altering the designs, I placed them on the base of the card to the right. I then added the stamped top to the pear paper and attached that to the left side of the card. I cut out a rectangle of white daisy paper paper, stamped "Thank You" cut the right end, sponged all edges and attached it to the front of the card. The coloring and painting took a little bit of time, but putting the card together took very little time!

To order some or all of the products used for this card, I have listed all of the products below. Simply click on the "Come Shop with Me" icon on the right of this page to go to my online order site and enter in your order. All products will be shipped directly to your door!

Products used: S1512 Candlelight Garden December Stamp of the Month
Z2163 White Daisy Cardstock
Z2197 Pear Cardstock
X7202B Kaleidoscope Paper Packet
Z2205 Black Exclusive Inks (I would recommend to use the new Memento Tuxedo Black ink instead)
Z697 Sponge (I cut this into 6 equal sections)
Z3132 Watercolor Paints (LOVE!!)
Z3188 Paintbrush Set
Z2457 YR24, Marigold ShinHan Marker
Z2448 R11, Carmine ShinHan Marker
Z2454 GY234, Leaf Green ShinHan Marker
Z2466 G46, Vivid Green ShinHan Marker
Z2463 GY235, Sap Green ShinHan Marker
Z2464 RP198, Tender Pink ShinHan Marker
Z2462 P282, Peony Purple ShinHan Marker
Z2449 B262, Cerulean Blue Lt ShinHan Marker
Z3091 Pink Enamel Gems

Planners Gonna Plan: The Everyday Life™ Planner System from Close To My ...

I cannot wait for these to be available!!

I just looked on here and realized that I haven't posted since the 7th!  No excuses, just busy with life! So much to share with you, so I need to make sure I get on here more often!  

Our new book has introduced us to watercolors!  I love to paint, so I was really excited to force myself to add painting into my scrapbooking and card making ideas!  Here is a sneak peek at the start of my October cards.  I'll post more steps later.  I love the colors!

September Cards

I've been a bit under the weather for the last week so today I finally ventured down the driveway to my mailbox (I had to drive my car down since the humidity was so uncomfortable and I didn't think I'd make it back up the hill!).  I'm glad I took the journey because this is what I found in my mailbox!  I love getting my card fronts from my fellow consultants!  Here's what the 8 of us came up with using the September stamp of the month!  Mine is the gray and purple with the "hello" from the September special stamp sets.  Notice how the one right next to it is so similar!  I guess  great minds do think alike!

What Kind of Ink Should I Use?

I get asked this question a lot? What kind of ink should I use? What's the difference between this kind of ink or that kind of ink? Well, thanks to an email from Close to my Heart, I have all the answers to share with you, as well as an added bonus about a new product that we will be carrying in the near, very near future! I'm excited and want to share it with you right away! So, here's what you need to know about the different inks that we carry.

Exclusive Inks™ stamp pads: Our Exclusive Inks™ stamp pads, including our Black Exclusive Inks pads, are water-based dye inks. The dye ink absorbs directly into your paper and allows the colors to blend easily with the material. They dry quickly and blend easily. These inks are recommended for most stamping projects, but not for projects where you plan on using watercolors or coloring with alcohol markers after stamping the image.
 



Archival Black Exclusive Inks™ stamp pad: Our Archival Black Exclusive Inks™ stamp pad is our archival ink offering. This pad quickly sets an image that you can then color in using watercolor pencils, watercolors, or water-based inks with the blending pen.






Exclusive Inks™ Mini Pigment Pad Sets: Pigment inks behave differently from dye inks, in that they settle on top of your material rather than soaking into it. This allows you to stamp lighter colors on darker materials and to keep the true color of the ink pad when stamping on another color. Though they take longer to dry, when dried, they work well for coloring in with your markers or watercolor inks, as the pigment inks will form a permanent bond and will resist blending when you color over them.





StazOn™ ink pad: StazOn™ is specifically formulated for stamping on non-porous materials. Because StazOn is solvent-based, this ink works well when stamping an image that you will later color over with watercolors, but it is not ideal for use with alcohol markers.


   


And last but not least, our newest addition that will be making it's way to us in the near future is... 
Memento™ Tuxedo Black ink pad: The Memento™ ink pad gives you another archival quality ink pad that works for any stamping project and can be used with alcohol markers, watercolors, or any of our other coloring options.

September is here! First day to be able to order out of the new book! Yay! So many new and exciting items! Here's just a quick look at the September Stamp of the Month: the image of the stamp as well as a card I created using this stamp set and a mix of the stamps from the September special (sets shown all together). You can either order each stamp individually for $13.95 or all 3 for only $34.95 -- a savings of $6.90! This special is only good for the month of September so order now and don't miss out!

I had a great night at the Ladies Night Out Vendors Fair tonight. I love sharing Close to my Heart with others. There was a great deal of interest in Studio J. My last post on here was about Studio J! It's such an easy and amazing digital program! Check it out for yourself! Go to the Studio J icon on the right, sign up for an account and start playing! It's completely FREE! You only pay when you order your pages. Have fun!

We use to take pictures with cameras that used, maybe 24 exposure film. We were more cautious with our photography due to the expense of developing the film and not knowing what the photos were really going to look like. I use to send disposable cameras to camp with my kids. When I developed the film, the pictures would be blurry, dark, half of someone's head, the wall of the tent, the grass and who knows what else would print out! Now we use digital cameras and might take 600 pictures at one birthday party! We take the pictures and upload them on our computers, edit them and save them in a file to deal with later. I have thousands of photos on my computer. I have so many pictures that I actually have 2 external hard drives to store and save all of them. Thank goodness Close to my Heart came up with Studio J! I can now digitally scrapbook my photos with clearness and excellent quality! About 3 weeks ago, I uploaded over 500 photos to Studio J and within a couple of hours, if even that, I had 18 2-page layouts completely done and ordered! When they came in the mail, I too them out, put them in page protectors and placed them directly into an album! Done! If you have been looking for a quick and easy way to get those photos off of your computer and into your albums, please take the time to check out Studio J! It's well worth it! Simply click on the Studio J icon to the right and begin your digital scrapbooking journey!

It's here! The newest Close to my Heart Cricut cartridge! I've had so much fun playing with it and creating fun new pieces to add into my scrapbook layouts and onto my cards! The 3 stamp sets that are included are the best ones yet! I also love how they are no longer using chipboard or white card stock in the collections, but have changed to a combo pack of colored card stock instead! This is yet another must have cartridge collection!! To order your own collection, visit http://lauriesmith.ctmh.com or simply click on the "Come Shop with Me" icon on the right side of this page!

Get Organized!

During the month of August, order one of the two new organizers and get a special gift...FREE!! Order the new marker storage and receive the My Acrylix Balloon Wishes stamp set for FREE!! Order the new accessory roll-up and receive two of the newest Base & Bling style sheets for FREE!! I love FREE stuff! Don't miss out! You can start ordering these wonderful organizers beginning this Saturday, August 1st!

Here's the new Zoe Workshop on the Go! Mine should be arriving on Thursday! I can't wait to start playing with this new paper packet!

June Stamp of the Month Set

Here are the wonderful cards I received from my CTMH Consultant Stamp of the Month Card Swap. These amazing ladies came up with the cutest ways to use this month's adorable stamp set! Don't miss out on this one! For more information or to get your set today, visit my online business address by clicking on the icon "Come Shop with Me" on the right side of the page. Happy Shopping!

Let the summer begin!

Summer is finally here and I can spend some time doing what I love...surfing the net, browsing for hours through Pinterest, and spending endless amounts of time in my scrapbooking room! Here's a great stamp to kick off your summertime pages and cards! I will be working on my display board later today and will post some amazing card fronts made by my Stamp of the Month card swap group! Let the summer begin!

On the back of the Seasonal Expressions book, there is an adorable stamp set called "You're the Bomb". When you purchase this stamp set for $13.95 anytime before March 31, 2015, Close to my Heart will donate $3.00 of the proceeds to Operation Smile. Operation Smile was founded in 1982 and has performed over 220,000 surgical procedures to correct facial deformities on children. Help in reaching the goal of sending enough money to Operation Smile to cover corrective surgery for at least one child this year. If everyone bought just one stamp set, we would be well on our way. You can also donate by rounding up your total to an even dollar amount. Every penny counts! I challenge you to help a child this year through Operation Smile! To order, simply go to the Shop with Me icon and enter item #C1617.

Albums for All

If you are trying to find the best album for your needs, be sure to check out what Close to my Heart has available.  New D-ring albums are great!  I love these albums.  If I find photos later on that I need to add in, I can without having to pull them all out from the back!  I can also use these in place of our old "Work in Progress" albums which I loved using so I didn't have to scrapbook in order.  Once I had filled a Work in Progress album, I could sort the pages into smaller albums.  To order, simply click on the "Come Shop with Me" icon to the right and start enjoying these wonderful D-Ring albums!

Picture My Life™ scrapbooking programs

Here's another great video featuring one of my favorite programs/products from Close to my Heart, Picture my Life!  With digital photography, we take thousands of photos and they either sit on our SD cards or we print them and then we have piles of photos that we can't keep up with.  Picture my Life helps us get our pictures preserved safely in a faster and simpler manner.  I love the pages that I have completed using this program.  I still do full 12" x 12" traditional pages that you will find throughout my albums, but I've been able to get twice as many pages done using my Picture my Life page protectors!

Clearly The Best: Subway Speak (S02E09)

I ran across this video tonight when I was looking for something else and I love the technique done on here.  We no longer carry the pearl paint, but I'm sure you can find something similar in a craft store or on-line.  We do have all of the other items that are used in this video.  I have everything except for the canvas so guess what I'm adding to my wish list!  I tend to stick with the same thing all the time...paper, markers, ink pads, embellishments and stamps.  I need to be more adventurous this year and branch out to some of our other products and start to think outside the box!  Once I order the canvas and complete a project I will post it on here.  Don't expect anything until at least February or March though!  If you try this technique, be sure to let me know and I will post it on here if you want to share!

The following stamp designs, last featured in the Spring/Summer 2014 idea book, are being retired. They will no longer be available to order after January 31, 2015. Order now so you don't miss out on one that has been on your wish list!! You can simply click on the "Come Shop with Me" icon to the right to order now! A1124 A Tree A1139 Congrats Graduate A1141 Be Still A1154 Friendly Thoughts A1156 Flower Confetti B1418 Love Doily B1423 Hoppy Easter B1439 Dreamer B1440 Fancy Fair B1441 Buggy Love B1444 Greatest Love B1445 Happy Hive B1450 Owls C1571 You're the Best C1573 Do Your Best C1574 Believe in Yourself C1577 Mother's Day C1579 Coming Up Roses C1583 Robot Family D1547 Paper Doll D1579 Windy Day M1035 Newlyweds M1036 Perfect Polka-Dot Day M1037 Balloons M1038 Shooting Star M1039 Good Job Stencil M1040 Parasol M1041 Hi M1042 Colored Egg

I enjoyed making all of the cards in the Snowhaven Card Kit from Close to my Heart, but before I worked on that kit, I used the new Heartstrings Cardmaking Kit that is in the Seasonal Expressions book. Instead of making all of the cards in the kit, I chose one and made these for my new card club that I'm in this year. I hope all the ladies like them! In the picture below, I chose to make the card on the left side. I have discovered a new favorite embellishment from making these cards: the extra thick twine! I never thought I would use it, but I forced myself to follow the directions exactly as they are in the guide and it required the use of this twine. Love it! I will be stocking up on this before it is no longer available!! This kit is only available for a limited time, so order before time runs out! (March 2015)

Not sure if it's cold where you are at, but it sure is cold here! Regular air temperature is -5 degrees right now and will continue to drop throughout the night again! It was somewhere around -20 degrees today with the wind chill, from what I heard! School was cancelled for today so I got to stay home. Wondering what tomorrow will bring. I was going to work in my scrapbook room today, but stayed up way too late last night with my son who wanted to play video games since it wasn't a school night! Then I got on an organizing site and then at 1:00 this morning I was cleaning out a dresser. Needless to say, I was less than productive today. I did some much needed housework instead and am actually cooking dinner, not a normal thing for me! So with the thoughts of the cold, I pulled up a picture of a card I made last weekend using the Snowhaven paper pack from Close to my Heart and the Polar Bear Holiday stamp set, also from Close to my Heart. All ink, markers and embellishments are also from Close to my Heart. Winter Cheer!

I am in love with Close to my Heart's Picture my Life program! If you are not familiar with it, it is very similar to Project Life, but with Close to my Heart exclusive designs! One of the newest sets is the Heartstrings PML (Picture My Life). Absolutely adorable! I think these would make very cute Valentine's cards or pages, anniversary cards or pages and so many more ideas are running through my mind right now! I have this on my wish list for the month of January so I can also get the Noted paper pack special! Be sure to check that out too! Hope everyone is staying warm tonight and for the next couple of days during this wonderful arctic blast! Perfect time to stay inside and scrapbook!

In celebration of National Papercrafting Month, Close To My Heart invites you to reflect on the things that make you who you are and on what you want to accomplish in the coming months. Then, with the help of the Year >> Noted paper kit, record your experiences and goals! During the month of January, with a qualifying purchase of $50, you are eligible to purchase the exclusive Year >> Noted paper kit (which has a retail value of over $24 USD / $27 CAD) for only $5—that’s over 80% off retail! Or, for an additional $5, you can order the Year >> Noted paper kit with an accompanying My Creations™ kraft mini book. The paper kit for both options includes a C-size stamp set, stickers, cardstocks, and B&T Duos™ papers, all specially designed to coordinate with the My Creations™ kraft mini book so you can have a yearlong scrapbooking experience. This means you will receive over $34 USD / $37 CAD worth of product for only $10 if you purchase the kit with the accompanying mini book! But the fun doesn’t end there—included on the sticker sheet, you will find a large golden seal. Once the year is done and all the pages are filled, seal up your book and create a mini time capsule that you can open years from now. Remember, this deal is only available for January, so make sure to get your own Year >> Noted paper kit today for the perfect start to a crafty year! Dates: Offer valid January 1, 2015–January 31, 2015. To order, click on the "Come Shop with Me" icon to the right of this post!

Yesterday I worked on and completed 8 card fronts for my Close to my Heart Stamp of the Month card swap. Since I already had the supplies out, I worked on and completed 10 cards for my new card club that I joined. I felt very productive! Today I am finishing 15 cards from the Snowhaven Workshops on the Go Cardmaking Kit. I have bought the Scrapbooking Kits before and have enjoyed those, but usually don't buy the card making kits. I don't know why, but they have never been on my list of items that I really wanted to purchase. Well this is no longer the case! I bought the Snowhaven Kit to show customers all the great items you get in the kit and also bought the new Heartstrings Cardmaking Kit, which I already used last month and loved it! If you haven't purchased a card kit before, this should be on your list for 2015! Try something new! Pictured below is the guide, pieces I have cut and stamped and some of the supplies that are included or are needed to complete the cards, along with a picture of one of my completed cards. I plan to buy all the card kits that are in the Annual Inspirations and the Seasonal Expressions this year and, I plan to actually use the kits!! So much fun in one package!

Totes To Go

Ladies, here are the 2 totes I have been drooling over and cannot wait to get!  I'm thinking crops and even a travel bag for my trip in June!  While these are currently unavailable at the time due to a big strike at the dock, I'm checking daily for availability!  I love the design and the durability of this tote!  Perfect size, but with all of my storage containers, I just might have to get myself 2 or 3 or...???!!!  This will be the best purchase of the new year!