Video on CTMH's new Alcohol Markers

Check out this AWESOME video from Close to my Heart on how to use their new Alcohol Markers!  It only takes about 6 min. to watch and you will come away being able to color like a pro with the new markers!!

Learn how to use our markers with embossing, coloring in small images, and coloring the stamp itself with the markers then stamping.  I just LOVE how Monica and Christine are SO excited about the new markers!  

Thanks for stopping by!!

Hope this inspires you to check out the new Close to my Heart Alcohol Markers and create something fun with them!!

Happy Scrapping and Stamping!!

Jen

La Belle Vie...NOT My Favorite Paper Pack??

I know that we all have our own unique style of crafting.  That's what makes this craft fun!  What is your style?  Do you have a specific style that you are drawn to?  My style is more on the whimsical side....

For example, I LOVE the Clementine paper packet...the colors and prints are TOTALLY ME!!  Dakota and Moonlight are 2 of my other favorites in the Autumn/Winter Idea Book.  Clementine and Dakota are more countryish (is that even a word??)  Where Moonlight, even though it is Haloweeney (and yet another made up word!) has a more whimsical feel to it.  These are the types of colors/patterns that I am drawn to....

Which brings me to my post!  It was NOT love at first sight with La Belle Vie with me!!  It did not give me "goosies" when I saw it!  I really could not imagine in my head what I would even create with it...scrapbook pages OR cards.

WELL...the beauty of being a consultant who runs regular scrapbook groups and card classes is that even though I may not be in love with a certain paper packet, I have customers who have different styles than I do....SO I went WAY out of my comfort zone and decided to give La Belle Vie a try for my card class in December.

Each month, my card class creates 2 each of 5 different cards.  How the heck was I going to come up with 1 card let alone 5 using this paper pack that I was not a huge fan of??  I just took it little by little, starting with the paper that I like MOST out of the paper pack....then just went from there!

For this set of cards, I decided I was going to create the cards first, then look for a stamp set that fit the look, shape and feel of each card.  The first 2 cards, I felt, did not need any stamping on the outside of the card.  SO I stamped a Sympathy Sentiment on the inside....my group girls can either leave it blank, use the same stamp OR stamp a different saying inside.

This card and the one above use the "Country Life" stamp set that debuted in the Spring/Summer 2012 Idea Book.  I LOVED this set when I first saw it and ordered right away!  Well, that was back in January and I am JUST NOW getting around to using it!  Not that I have not thought about using it, or pulled it out to use on a different card, it just never seemed to speak to me till THESE cards and THIS paper pack!

This last card is my least favorite card of all 5.  I LOVE the flower...the paper and the pattern, just not a big fan of the sentiment....not sure if it fits the style of the card.  SO I may change it before class in December!  

Thanks SO much for stopping by today!!

Hope this has inspired you to step out of your personal crafting "style" and try using papers/embellies that don't speak to you.....you never know, they just might speak to your friends, family or customers.

Happy Scrapping and Stamping!!

Jen

Moonlight NON Halloween Cards!

Happy FRIDAY all!!!  WOO HOO!!!  The weekend is here, the weekend is here!!!  Everybody's working for the weekend....  well except for me cuz I don't consider what I do as work....sure there are business details that I have to take care of, but for the most part, my "J.O.B" is F.U.N!!!!

I am just excited for the weekend to be here because I have been going NON stop for the past several weeks.  Mind you, the last 2 weekends were spent doing FUN things with my business and my friends, but the days in between the weekends have been spent away from home as well.

My SIL has been fighting stage 4 Leiomyosarcoma cancer for the past 4 years and she is now losing her battle.  SO I have been spending the night 2-3 nights out of the week to give my MIL a MUCH needed break in the evenings, overnight and first thing in the morning.    Between my being out of town and my hubby being out of town AND my spending 2-3 nights during the week at my In-Laws, I have not seen much of my hubby and I am honestly going through some serious snugging by the fire while watching movies withdrawals!  LOL

 So, I thought while I was sitting here in my pajamas, soaking in the smell of laundry going and dinner cooking that I would share the cards that my card class will be making this month using Moonlight.  As with Dakota, I thought it would be fun to try something OTHER than Halloween cards with this paper...since my Scrapbook Group Pages are NOTHING BUT HALLOWEEN!!

If I do say so myself, I was PRETTY DARN TICKLED with the way these cards turned out!!  I hope that my card class is just as tickled to create them and send them out to their friends and family!!  I always worry about my cards or scrapbook pages not being cute enough for my group girls!

My club card kit included a Moonlight Paper Packet, Black Tulle, Black & Grey Sparkles and the Haunted Assortment.  Stamp sets that I used are Pun Fun, Bountiful Season, Trinity Alpha, Words of Comfort and 4 My Friend.  

Thanks SO much for stopping by!!!

I hope that this has inspired you to take a 2nd look at the papers that are themed and turn them into cards/scrapbook pages that are something completely different!

Happy Scrapping and Stamping!!

Jen

  

Dakota and Flakey Friends??

I just returned from an AMAZING scrap weekend with my girlfriends!!  I laughed SO much over the past 4 days that I am pretty sure I got a nice ab workout in without really having to work at it!!  We have been planning out this weekend for 6 months and I cannot believe it is already over.  When we first started getting together for our weekend scrap retreats a couple of years ago, we would start on Friday night and go through Sunday noon.  NOW we go from Thursday afternoon till Sunday evening!  This time we even talked about planning a WHOLE WEEK in the summer!  I wonder what will be next....a 10 day cruise??  LOL

ANYHOO...I got a TON done....I worked on my Card Class cards for October and December (November were already completed).  Plus finished my scrapbook pages for my December Scrapbook Group.  After I completed the projects that I NEEDED to get done...my girlfriends INSISTED that I work on my own stuff....SO I started playing with one of my FAVORITE paper packs, Dakota AND one of my favorite new stamp sets "Flakey Friends".

Who knew Dakota and Flakey Friends would be SO STINKING CUTE together???  I LOVE playing with papers and using them for something COMPLETELY different than what they were intended for. I added Crystal Blue to brighten it up a bit and OH MY GOODNESS did I have fun playing with it!

You know....I just realized that I USED to list my embellies and papers at the bottom of each post!  SO I think I will start doing that again!  STARTING TODAY!

Supplies are ALL CTMH and can be found on my website to order! 

Paper - Dakota with Crystal Blue CS added

Stamp Set - Flakey Friends 

Inks - Staz 0n Black, VersaMark, Black (for distressing) Ruby and Twilight Markers

Embellies - Black Sparkles (black and grey assortment) Black Sparkle Flourishes, Black Tulle, Black Opaques, Black Hemp, Pewter Badge Buttons, Pewter Mini Medley, Color Ready Ribbon

Tools - Embossing Gun and Edge Distresser and Cricut Art Philosophy

Other supplies used - Clear Embossing Powder, Glue Pen, Prisma Glitter

HOLY SMOKES that is one HUGE supply list!!  It was SO much fun using all of my WONDERFUL CTMH products to create these cards!!  There are MORE to come....so STAY TUNED!!

Thanks SO much for stopping by!!  

I hope this has inspired you to DO SOMETHING FOR YOU today!!  Schedule some YOU time and just PLAY!

Happy Scrapping and Stamping!!

Jen

CTMH Regional Celebration 2012

It's been a while since I have posted to my blog...so thought I should share SOMETHING!  LOL  Since I just returned from the Regional Celebration in St. Louis, I decided I would share some pictures of us girls doing what we do best at Close to my Heart events....HAVING FUN!!!!  OH and we do "work" a bit as well!  lol

Brenda and Lori waiting to get the party started on Friday morning.  Thanks to Stacey for bringing her personal Keurig machine, we were able to start the mornings off right with a cup of Java!  YAY Stacey!!

Vickie and Stacey ready for the morning session to start....registration did not start till 8am, but we were  up and ready to go by 7am!!  We even beat the corporate group down to the convention room!

This is us "working" hard at one of the MANY projects that Close to my Heart provided for us!!  

Lori looking all innocent....don't let her fool you for ONE minute!

Brenda looking SO guilty....what did you do now, Brenda??  LOL

Brenda, Lori, Vickie, Stacey and myself.....LOVE these girls!!  ALL of the girls on my team "Creativity in Motion" fill my life with joy!  I feel so blessed to be part of this AMAZING company!  It is because I am a part of this company that I have met each and every one of my "girls" and I can't imagine my life without ANY of them!  

Jan was our adopted team member this weekend!  She fit right in with the rest of us MISS FITS!  (i know I spelled it wrong....kind of on purpose!)

Lori, Brenda and Jan....getting ready for our evening Creative Session on Friday night.  GOOD TIMES, GOOD TIMES!!

Vickie taking a picture of me, taking a picture of her!

Me taking a picture of Vickie, taking a picture of me and Stacey!  Funny thing is I had NO idea Stacey was posing next to me when I was taking the picture of Vickie until Vickie posted this pic to our team's Facebook Group!  TOO CUTE!!

The girls just being silly....I think they like me!  lol

Can't you just feel the love??  

Stacey is my FOREVER convention roomie!  We are like 2 peas in a pod...  When my hubby saw this picture, he said we look like we could be sisters!  I guess we ARE CTMH Sistahs!

LAST BUT NOT LEAST....apparently the people who stayed in our room BEFORE us were smokers as they covered the smoke detectors with SHOWER CAPS!  Stacey noticed this as we were laying in our beds chatting at the end of the first night....  I swear, only Stacey and I would have the luck to find these in our room!  LOL

The Regional Celebration is on a much smaller scale than our annual Convention each summer....BUT I STILL LOVED EVERY MINUTE OF IT!!  Thanks to CTMH for putting on another AWESOME event for us to attend!  

Thanks SO much for stopping by!!  

If you have ever considered joining Close to my Heart as a consultant, I hope that this has inspired you to follow your heart and sign up!!  If you do not have a consultant....I would LOVE to have you join my team "Creativity in Motion" (click the link to find out how to join my team) where creativity keeps moving forward!

Happy Scrapping and Stamping!!

Jen