Monday, January 31, 2011

Valentine's Day Countdown - Day One - February Event Calendar

Welcome to the first day of the Valentine's Day Countdown Blog Hop! To start the month off, I've made my monthly Event Calendar topper.


This went together really quickly with the brand-new Sweetheart Level 2 Paper Packet and the stamp set Love Ya! The plaid heart is stamped directly on the cardstock, and the other heart is stamped on a scrap piece of cardstock, cut out, and mounted with 3D foam tape. Top it with a little ribbon knot, and you're done!

I always like to do a little random stamping on the calendar, too, almost always in second or third generation stamping. First generation stamping is using a fully inked stamp; second generation is when you stamp once on a scrap piece of paper then stamp on the cardstock without reinking.

Items used:
Paper: Sweetheart Level 2 Paper Packet
Stamp sets: Love Ya!; In the Month of February
Ink: Hollyhock; Blush
Embellishments: Black Mini-Medleys
Other: Event Calendar

All items listed are available on my website.

Check out the great artwork from other CTMH Consultants:

Sunday, January 30, 2011

Free, Free, & Fabulous!

Do you like FREE? I love "free" and would have been thrilled to have this opportunity when I became a consultant. When you join my team in February and achieve Straight to the Top, you will receive a rebate of $129 on New Consultant Kit, plus $100 in in select product credit rewards. That's right -- FREE kit, FREE select products (retail value up to $491 in products and business supplies)! I'd say that's pretty FABULOUS!



To achieve Straight to the Top:
  • Submit sales of $300 or more in your first month, and
  • Submit total sales of $1,200 or more during your first three months.
Then redeem your $100 in select product credit for My Acrylix stamps, blocks, Exclusive Inks, cardstock, paper packets, and more! This picture is just one of six options to choose from as you put together a kit custom-designed for you! Contact me for more information, or click on "Join My Team" at the top of this page for additional information.

Thursday, January 27, 2011

New Product Blog Hop - Fanfare Layout

In just a few days, the new Spring/Summer Idea Book will be available! Do you need a copy? Contact me to find out how to receive your own copy! For now, enjoy the blog hop with new product projects by CTMH consultants.

I just received my HUGE order of photos from our trip to Disney at Christmas, so I had to make a scrapbook layout using the brand-new Fanfare paper pack. It was perfect for this layout! Because the paper has quite a bit going on, I held back on the embellishments (hard for me to do!). I used the cute little black button brads in the black circles on the paper and also used brand-new Blue Collection buttons. I felt like the layout still needed something, so I added the new Sweetheart epoxy stickers and am really happy with the effect! This layout is from Imagine and is called Small Packages. The layout went together in about an hour, start to finish. I love our how-to books, and I'm also a big believer in planning my pages and ordering the right size of photos from scrapbookpictures.com.




Items used:
  • Paper: Fanfare Level 2 Paper Packet
  • Embellishments: Black Mini-Medleys, Blue Assortment Buttons; Sweetheart Level 2 Assortment
  • Stamp set: Giggle Upper Case Alphabet; Giggle Lower Case Alphabet
  • Ink: Black, Pacifica
  • How-to book: Imagine

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

A Perfect 10 for Studio J

If you haven't tried Studio J, February is the perfect time to dive in! During February, for every 9 custom-printed Studio J layouts that you purchase, you'll receive the 10th FREE! To receive the discount, just add 10 or more layouts to your cart. You'll see a discount reflected in your order total. You can even take advantage of this promotion by ordering in multiples of ten -- Buy 9, get 1 free. Buy 18, get 2 free. Buy 27, get 3 free. And so on!

If you're not a Studio J member yet, now is a great time to join. To take advantage of the February special, you can purchase a membership at two different levels:
  • 3-month membership - $30, then renews monthly at $10 per month after the initial 3 months
  • 12-month membership - $99, then automatically renews for a 12-month term at the end of the year
With a membership, you receive the following benfits:
  • Best pricing per 2-page layout
  • Exclusive, members-only layouts
  • Free high-res JPG files of all custom-printed projects
  • Free low-res web-ready JPG files of all custom-printed projects
For more information, go to my website and try out Studio J for free! There is no cost to create a layout; you only pay if you purchase a printed layout or the JPG to print your own. Want a membership for 50% off? Host a home gathering and earn it as a hostess benefit! Ask me how.

While I love traditional scrapbooking, there is a place in my scrapbooks for Studio J layouts, too. I'm working on some gift albums that will all be the same, so Studio J is filling that need perfectly because I can create one layout and order multiple prints of the same layout. So easy! Here's a peek at one of the layouts:

Tuesday, January 25, 2011

Valentine's Day Ideas

It's almost that time again -- the 2nd Annual Valentine's Day Countdown Blog Hop! (How's that for a title!?) Starting February 1, visit my blog every day through February 14 to see a new project specifically for Valentine's Day. And it won't just be my blog -- there are dozens of CTMH consultants who will be participating. You can play along, too. Every day, there will be a "Mr. Linky" at the bottom of my post. You can grab it and put it on your own blog post. The hop participants will automatically populate on your post. Couldn't be easier!

To give you an idea of what to expect, here is a post from last year's Valentine's Day Countdown Blog Hop: Valentine's Day Countdown 2010 - Day 2. Take a peek and play along!

Krafty, Kool, and Kolorful!

The new Spring/Summer Idea Book unveils on February 1, and one of my favorite new products are the Color-ready Kraft Borders. You get 50 self-adhesive 12" borders (2 each of 25 designs) for only $5.95! Enjoy the video created by the CTMH Corporate Office to see what you can do with the Kraft Borders.

Monday, January 24, 2011

Miracle card

This is a sneak peek at brand-new product available in the Spring/Summer 2010 Idea Book on February 1. The paper is called "Miracle," and the bird is from the January Stamp of the Month, "Find Your Style." I stamped the bird with brown Staz-On ink and sponged on some Crystal Blue ink, then cut the bird out and attached it with 3-D Foam Tape.

The stamp set and sketch worked perfectly for two challenges -- Mojo Monday and Heart 2 Heart. Enjoy!

Items used:
Paper: Miracle Level 2 Paper Packet
Stamp set: Find Your Style
Ink: Brown Staz-On; Crystal Blue
Embellishments: Sweet Leaf Designer Ribbon (retired); Colonial White Designer Ribbon
Other: Bulk Colonial White card bases; 3-D Foam Tape

Sunday, January 23, 2011

Mistletoe Album

My dad and stepmom spend the winter in the Orlando area, so this year they flew all of us down to spend the holidays with them. What a great gift! We had a wonderful time (in spite of chilly weather), and I wanted to share some of the pictures with them as a little thank-you. I made this album for them using the My Creations 3-ring Binder, Flip-Flaps, and a Level 1 kit. It went together very quickly! It will go in the mail to them tomorrow.


The cover

The My Creations 3-ring Binder comes with five tabbed pages. I cut the tabs off and made my own. I also used a Flip-Flap on each page, so I was able to get a total of 3 photos on each page, leaving the facing page for journaling. I cut the Level 1 kit pages into 5 x 7 inch pieces (3 per page). The page is actually 7 1/2 inches wide, so I added a strip of colored cardstock on the edge of each page like a binding. I only had to add one sheet of New England ivy cardstock for the front and back inside covers. The rest all came from the kit!


Flip-Flap open


My sweet nephew Duncan



Flip-Flap open - My daughter and my youngest nephew Gavin
Items used:
Paper: Mistletoe Level 1 kit
My Creations 3-ring Binder
Stamp sets: Just for the Holidays, Picture Perfect
Accessories: Flip-Flaps, Mistletoe Level 2 Assortment (retired), New England Ivy Designer Ribbon (retired), Cranberry bulk ribbon, Essential and Autumn Harvest brads (retired)
Ink: New England Ivy, Cranberry

Thursday, January 20, 2011

While Supplies Last - Up to 90 Percent Off!

If you haven't visited my website in a while, you will definitely want to browse the discounted products section. There are some fantastic bargains to be found, some discounted up to 90 percent off the retail price! You can find everything from card kits to paper to ribbon. Click here to go directly to my website. Check back often, because new products are being added. I've pictured some of the available products here:
  

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

Organized

There are few things I enjoy doing more than organizing things. I know -- it's a sickness. Next to a scrapbook store, one of my favorite places to go is the office supply store. Or Organizer Heaven, otherwise known as The Container Store! When I read that the challenge on Heart 2 Heart this week was all about organizing, I knew I had to post!

My scrapbook room was my daughter's bedroom until she moved into her own apartment a year ago. I lost no time in staking my claim and was all set up before the weekend ended. I love my cozy little space.

This is the view from the doorway.

And the view from the opposite corner:


Now for some close-ups of my favorite organizational items:


Let's start with paper. I organize my cardstock by color families because that works for me. I am slowly getting each color in a zip-top bag so I can keep the scraps in the bag with the color. I tend to use them up that way. I used to throw them in 12x12 plastic drawers, sorted by color but accumulated WAY too many. To overcome that, I went through all the scraps while recovering from surgery a few years ago and cut the pieces first into a standard card size if it was big enough, then a standard size card front, then 4 x 6 pieces, all the way down to 3 x 3. I didn't keep smaller pieces, and those card bases and fronts have really come in handy! I'm in the process of sorting my retired B&T into color families, too, once I get down to a few smaller pieces. Until then, the retired paper packets are kept alphabetically in a plastic crate.

My current paper packets are kept on this wire paper tower I bought from a going-out-of-business scrapbook store. One slot has the Level 2 Paper Packet, and the next one has the Level 1 kit. The paper packs are kept alphabetically so I can find them easily.

There are a few extra slots for pages in progress.

I found these cute little pink containers at Wal Mart. I bought them in several sizes and have several items sorted into them, labeled with my handy label maker. The deeper ones hold Petite Perks stamp sets and white self-stick notes; the shallow ones hold things like tape runners.

I love using this larger container for my blocks. The handles latch to the lid, so it's easy to take the blocks to crops. It fits on one of the shallow shelves in my black desk from Target for easy access.

Let's talk stamps. I have tried every way I can think of to organize my stamps, and I always come back to my reliable old cd baskets that I bought several years ago at Target. I keep them organized alpha numerically. Ignore the numbers written in the corners -- it was from a different system I tried. Fail.

What I ran into with keeping them organized this way was how to find what I needed and how to remember what I have. I finally decided to create a topical index of each stamp set. I wrote down every category I could think of and printed a label for each one. I also created pages for A - Z (words and sentiments), specific common phrases like "Happy Birthday" and "Thank You," and alphabets. I used old non-CTMH cardstock and just 3-hole punched it. I spent a weekend stamping and only got about halfway through. So now, if I use a stamp set that hasn't been entered in the index, I make myself stamp each image in the book before I use it. I also take the tiny stamp number and stamp it right next to the image. Makes it so easy to find what I'm looking for! Here's an example using the "Frames/Tags" page:

Another organizing item I'm proud of is the way I keep my Nesties and embossing folders. One day I looked at the My Acrylix stamp box and thought, "Perfect!" I dug out some self-adhesive magnet strips, cut down the Nestabilities cardboard insert and attached the magnets right to the insert. You have to use several strips to catch all the small inner dies. I can just flip through to see what I have! Plus it's very portable.



I like to use things that are pretty as well as practical, like the 3-tier wire basket (Target) and buttons by color families in glass jars:

I love my Ikea drawers, covered in Basic Grey paper. These hold my chipboard alphabet letters and numbers.



And last, but not least, is my beloved labeler. I couldn't organize without it! Well, I guess I could organize - I just couldn't find anything.



Thanks for visiting my scrapbook room! I hope you took away an idea or two to use in your own organizing. Have fun!

Friday, January 7, 2011

Wooden Photo Frame Tray - Find Your Style

I was in Hobby Lobby one day with some friends and came across this frame. My 40% coupon was burning a hole in my pocket, so I bought it with a vague idea that I would make it "perty" some day. The Wings paper seemed just right for this project! 

What really got me thinking was the Bohemian alphabet. I could see the word "CREATE" in my mind -- crazy, huh! 

I used the January Stamp of the Month. The dress form is in the "frame." For the butterfly and the shoe (don't you LOVE the shoe?!?), I stamped them in black ink and ~ because I inexplicably don't have black embossing powder ~ stamped over the image with VersaMark and embossed it in clear embossing powder. I then sponged ink over the images. The butterfly in the pewter frame is covered with Liquid Glass. I was too impatient to post the picture to let it dry completely, so it's still a tad cloudy. But tomorrow -- it will be bright and shiny!

This is my favorite part -- my sweet grandma and me on her 90th birthday a couple of years ago. She is one of my favorite people in the whole world and is a fabulous quilter. She is also the person who taught me to crochet. I love that we share the "crafty" gene. 
 And, yes, I have heard (once or twice or twenty) that I look very much like her. :)

Monday, January 3, 2011

Find Your Style in January

Have I ever had a good time playing with the January Stamp of the Month, "Find Your Style"! This 8" x 3 1/2" card uses a pattern from Wishes, "Roundabout." The new Wings paper is a perfect complement to the style of the stamps.

I did a few different things with this card. The scalloped edge was made using the corner rounder (Z578). Take the corner guard off, flip it over, and scallop away!

The dress form was stamped on the cardstock then stamped again on a separate piece of cardstock. I cut out just the "form" from the second piece and placed it over the stamped image using foam tape to give it some dimension.

I did some masking with the sentiment stamp. I wanted to use the bulk of the saying but use a different "Friend" stamp, so I inked up the entire stamp then placed a small piece of scotch tape over the portion I did not want to stamp. Then I was able to go back and fill in that section with the larger "Friend" stamp in a different colored ink (Vineyard Berry).

The paper medallion was fun and easy to make. I cut a piece of B&T paper 1/2" x 12" and accordian-folded it every 1/4". When it was entirely folded, I used the paper piercer to make a hole all the way through one end. I threaded a large needle with embroidery floss, stuck it through the holes created with the paper piercer, and loosely tied it together. Then I fanned it out into the medallion shape and adhered the edges together. Super easy! You can make them bigger by making the paper wider.



Check out some other great ideas from other consultants!

Sunday, January 2, 2011

Event Calendar: January

I thought it would be fun to have a quick monthly project this year. Toward the beginning of each month, I'll be posting a topper for the event calendar, a blank perpetual calendar. These make great gifts and are handy for keeping track of birthdays and other special events. I've even made them for "Baby's First Year" calendars -- a great way to track the special events of a little one's first year! Here is what the event calendar looks like:

My own event calendars seem to have gone AWOL, so I had to borrow October from an already-completed calendar to show January's topper. By next month, I'll have the real deal! I just covered up "October."


The top is a square about 3 1/2 inches. I painted the Dimensional Element snowflake with Creat-A-Shade Pearl paint then added Glitz Glitter Gel to really give it some sparkle. The bottom of the calendar has a space between 3/4" and 1 1/4", depending on the month. I just added a little paper for some color:

I usually do some random stamping on the calendar pages, too. Join me every month to create your own event calendar. At the end of the year, you'll have a wonderful keepsake to use for years to come!

Products used:
  • Event calendar (Z126)
  • Magnifique Level 2 Paper Packet (X7127B)
  • Dimensional Elements Flurry (Z1225)
  • Create-A-Shade Pearl Paint (Z1039)
  • Glitz Glitter Gel (Z1313)
  • Sparkle Blue & Green Assortment (Z1327)

Saturday, January 1, 2011

Inspirations - January 1 - 31, 2011


I am so excited about the January  offer - a sneak peek of new spring/summer products AND the opportunity to purchase stamp sets at a deep discount! The lovely new paper packet, Wings, is available a month early (before the February 1 launch date of the 2011 Spring/Summer Idea Book). Here are the details of the offer:

Customer Availability Dates: January 1, 2011, 9:00 am (MST) – January 31, 2011, 11: 59 pm (MST)


 
Featured Products: Wings Workshops on the Go™ Kit, new My Acrylix® stamp sets, new accessories, and the January 2011 Stamp of the Month

  
When you purchase a new Wings Workshops on the Go kit for $29.95 US / $33.50 CAN, it opens the door for you to participate in three exciting promotions. With the purchase of the Wings Workshops on the Go kit you can choose any or all of the following:

 
1. Purchase new Spring/Summer Idea Book My Acrylix® stamp sets at a super discount:

 
My Acrylix® Stamp Set - Discount Price - Full Retail

  • A Game (A1113) $5 / $7.95
  • Rosy Regards (B1369) $10.00 / $13.95 
  • Take a Picture (C1440) $15.00 / $18.95 
  • Dreams Come True (D1470) $18.00 / $22.95 
  • Bohemian Alphabet (E1019) $25.00 / $34.95 

 2. Get the January Stamp of the Month set, Find Your Style, at a discount or free by purchasing new Spring/Summer 2011 Idea Book products as follows:

 
Purchase a Wings Workshops on the Go™ kit and... Get the Stamp of the Month for

 
  • 1 item from the Inspiration brochure 25% off
  • 2 different items from the Inspiration brochure 50% off
  • 3 different items from the Inspiration brochure 75% off
  • 4+ different items from the Inspiration brochure FREE!

You can also earn the January Stamp of the Month with your purchases from the Autumn/Winter 2010 Idea Book following the standard Stamp of the Month program based on dollar totals rather than item totals. Mix and match new products from the Inspirations brochure and products from the Autumn/Winter 2010 Idea Book, and we will automatically calculate the greatest savings between the standard program and this promotion for you to get the best deal possible!

 
3. Celebrate National Papercrafting Month in January with a My Creations® banner project. Simply purchase a My Creations® Banner (Z1378) and you will be able to make the project with the remaining supplies from the Wings Workshops on the Go™ kit and the E-size Bohemian Alphabet stamp set. The how-to instructions are included with the Wings Workshop kit exclusively through the month of January.

I'm so excited about this offer! As a consultant, I was able to purchase these items early, so be watching for artwork to come in the next few days and weeks!

Please feel free to contact me if you have questions about how to order this amazing kit for yourself!