Monday, July 25, 2016

Summer Celebrations

Summer is a busy time of year. The days are longer, kids are out of school, people are going on vacation & spending quality time with family. Lots of celebrations happen during the summer in our family; it's party central in June & July. 

This June marked the 50th wedding anniversary of my parents. We took an amazing trip to Alaska & Denali National Park. And when we got home, we celebrated with friends. It was a lovely party & I think my parents thoroughly enjoyed it! I did all the decorations; many using CTMH products - there was a lot of sparkle.


I made this mini album with photos from the past 5 decades, using the Kraft Mini Book, Gold glitter paper & Picture My Life (PML) "Our Story" cards (which will ALL be retiring at the end of the month, so get yours today!)

close to my heart, mini album
Kraft Mini Book
close to my heart, mini album
Gold Glitter Paper

close to my heart, picture my life
Our Story PML cards
close to my heart, picture my life, pocket scrapbooking
Our Story PML cards





I made a 50 Years of Memories banner using my Cricut cartridges, to display the 50 letters of memories from close friends & family. They were so thrilled to hear from so many folks; we created a display for the party to share the all the memories.
close to my heart, banners
Banner - Cricut Art Philosophy 
And finally, I used the Cricut Artiste cartridge to make rolled flowers for the card box. They came out so beautiful! This cartridge (and 2 others) will be retiring at the end of month too. 
close to my heart, banners
Rolled flowers - Cricut Artiste
Now it's time to start working on the photos albums & capture these memories. Whatever events you have this summer, I hope you're enjoying them. If I can help you create special party favors or organize your photos in pocket pages, mini albums or traditional scrapbooks I hope you'll shop my website.

Happy Summer!


Wednesday, July 20, 2016

Virtual Card Workshop

Have you checked out our Cut Above card kits? They make it faster, simpler, easier to make handmade cards for your friends & family. Kits include precut die cuts, designer card stock bases, embellishments & envelopes to make 10 cards. What a value!

Pair these card kits with your favorite M-size stamp & you've got all the materials you need.

close to my heart, card kits
Fiesta & Jubilee card kits
close to my heart, card kits        close to my heart, card kits


These 2 kits (below) will be retiring at the end of August, so order your kits while supplies last.

close to my heart, card kits
Beautiful Blossoms & Dapper Giraffe card kits
close to my heart, card kits        close to my heart, card kits

You're invited to join me for a virtual card workshop! Create beautiful cards like this from the comfort of your home. You pick the date & I'll Skype or FaceTime with you, at your convenience to put these adorable cards together. Contact me now to put a date on my calendar!

Monday, July 18, 2016

Stamp of the Month - From the Notebook

The July stamp of the month is perfect for planners - are you a "planner chick"?? If so, you're going to want to add this stamp to your collection! 

sotm, close to my heart
From the Notebook - acrylic stamp

But it's versatile enough for scrapbooking, as well. Want to see more inspiring artwork with this stamp set? Visit the consultant blog hop!

sotm, close to my heart
Artwork - From the Notebook

Get yours for only $5 with a $50 order this month.

Sunday, July 10, 2016

3rd Annual Log Cabin Retreat

In May, I traveled back to WA (yes, I had just moved from there a few weeks before) to spend 4 fun-filled days with some of my favorite crafty friends. We had a wonderful weekend; it was relaxing, productive & full of laughs -- and wine! 


Monroe, WA - May 2016
Craft-themed wine - thanks to Carla!
One of the projects we worked on was this adorable perpetual birthday book (inspired by Michele Rowley) using the Cricut Artistry cartridge & a Picture My Life card kit. Below is the list of supplies - this is a fun & easy workshop to do with a couple friends. Makes a great gift! Contact me to schedule your workshop. Most items are on the retiring list, so if you'd like to create this little book be sure to order your items before the end of July.
Close To My Heart, Picture My Life
Perpetual Birthday Book/Calendar





BIRTHDAY BOOK SUPPLY LIST:

My Creations™ Kraft Mini Book

Picture My Life™ Through the Year 

Purple Shimmer Trim 

White Glitter Paper
Whimsy Cardstock
Jennifer's Hand Alpha Stamp

If you're interested in attending a future retreat, please visit my Facebook Retreat group page!

Tuesday, July 5, 2016

Spring Recap

Greetings Crafty Friends! I've been MIA the past few months, but I'm gearing up & hoping to launch my CTMH business in my new community soon!

This spring my husband & I moved back to our "home" in South Dakota - where all our extended family lives. What a blessing it is to be able to spend "unlimited" time with our loved ones again after being gone so many years! Over the next few weeks, I'll be blogging with a recap of the past few months & the creations I made along the way.

We started celebrating in May for Mother's Day. It's been a long time since I spent Mother's Day with my mom! The weather cooperated & we enjoyed a beautiful brunch on the deck. I used retired papers to make the pinwheels & my Cricut Artiste cartridge to cut out "Happy Mother's Day" from our gorgeous glitter paper. This cartridge (and a few others) will be retiring next month, to make way for a NEW one. Personally, Artiste is one of my favorites. You can still purchase it while supplies last.


Check out the available glitter paper colors here. Many are retiring at the end of July, so if you love them like I do, stock up now! They cut beautifully with the Cricut.
Close To My Heart
Pinwheels

Close To My Heart
Glitter Paper

Close To My Heart
Cricut Artiste

I made my Mother's Day cards using the May special, Happy Times, paper packet & stamp set. Don't you just love the gold foil accents on the paper? Unfortunately, it's no longer available on my website, but I still have one paper packet in my stash...contact me if you're interested in buying it!
Close To My Heart
Happy Times paper & stamp
Close To My Heart
Happy Times - May Special


I filled paper bags with homemade cookies for all the moms. And I used dollar store clothespins, our base & bling glass covers & shimmer trim to create these "bag clips"- the base & bling stickers & many of the shimmer trim colors are also retiring items. You can still order them until the end of the month though!


Please come by next week to see how my annual retreat in May turned out!

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