Christmas Decor Blog Hop

Welcome to our December Blog Hop featuring Christmas Decor.  To purchase any of the items seen in our blog hop today, contact your local consultant to place an order.

We hope that you will take the time to leave comments on our posts, as we love to get feedback from our viewers....whether it was something that you really liked or some new technique that was used that you would like to learn how to do....by leaving us comments, we get to hear what you like, and what you want to see. Thank you… now on to our hop! 

If you have just hopped onto my blog, you can start here as this is a circular hop, but if you want to follow us across Canada then please start at the beginning and join My Creations with Michelle. If you came from Chris' Creative Life then you are in the right place! 

I was inspired to make this project after seeing one made by Megan DiFeo. You can check out her YouTube video here.
 
Thanks Megan for allowing me to share your creation too!

Every year our family receives so many fabulous Christmas cards. I wanted a way to better preserve them and this was just the ticket! I love how many will be able to fit into this album and that they can be any shape or size. To decorate the cover, I used the Yuletide Carol Paper Pack, Yuletide Carol Assortment and Red Shimmer Trim.  I created the title from the Artbooking Cricut Cartridge and simply set my dial size to 7". This will cut out the title in proportion to a 7" layout...how awesome is that?! 

The Kraft Album is 8 5/8 x 9 and is perfect to also be able to use with 8 x 8 Cricut scrapbook pages.

I created a template to be able to use when I hole punch all of my cards. 

Here's a visual of the dimensions of where my holes are punched.

Your next stop on the Cross Canada Hop is Terry Ann Diack's~ Just a Tad Crafty.

If you get lost along the way, you can head to Michelle S Blog, My Creations with Michelle, as she has the complete blog list.

Thanks for hopping along with us - we hope we were able to inspire you to get creative using some of the designs, products and techniques seen along the way. We hope you will join us again next month when we will be featuring Valentine’s Day creations.  So mark January 15th on your calendars and hop along with us.

Designer Creations& Designed Decor

Welcome to our November Blog Hop featuring Designer Creations and Decor.  To purchase any of the items seen in our blog hop today, contact your local consultant to place an order.

We hope that you will take the time to leave comments on our posts, as we love to get feedback from our viewers....whether it was something that you really liked or some new technique that was used that you would like to learn how to do....by leaving us comments, we get to hear what you like, and what you want to see. Thank you… now on to our hop! 

If you have just hopped onto my blog, you can start here as this is a circular hop, but if you want to follow us across Canada then please start at the beginning and join Julie at 12 x 12 Travels. If you came from Chris' Creative Life then you are in the right place!

I wanted to create a meaningful gift to give my friend at her wedding. I used her wedding invitation and made her a piece of home decor so she and her husband can clearly remember their special day.

The shadow box was perfect for this project. It has a wooden frame with hinged back that opens for easy loading. Magnetic closure. Sawtooth hangers on back. Interior dimensions: 12" × 12". Tray depth: ½". Total depth when frame is closed: 1¼".

I used the retired For Always paper for the background paper, secures with liquid glass. You can always print this paper in Studio J!! 

I rolled lots and lots of paper flowers that I cut using the quilling tool and both the Cricut Art Philosophy Cartridge  as well as the Cricut Artsite Collections from Ruby, Glacier & White Daisy cardstock. I sponged Ruby ink on the white cardstock before I rolled them, for a soft look. The vines & leaves are cut from Olive cardstock and I finished it off with some clear sparkle flourishes. Finally I gave it a coat of clear Krylon spray sealant so it stays nice for many years to come.

I made the bride & groom a card that matched their gift, using some retired ribbon, inked with Glacier ink. The sentiment is stamped with Slate ink.

I wrapped the frame in the bubble wrap in came in with a few pieces of ruby cardstock to hide the gift from view. I tied it closed with the free ribbon that came in my CTMH parcel in October....love the black and white stripped grosgrain ribbon!

I hope I left you feeling creative and ready to craft some fun creations of your own.

Your next stop on the Cross Canada Hop is Terry Ann's blog, Just a TAD Crafty.

If you get lost along the way, you can head to Michelle S Blog, My Creations with MIchelle.

Thanks for hopping along with us - we hope we were able to inspire you to get creative using some of the designs, products and techniques seen along the way. We hope you will join us again next month when we will be featuring Décor for Christmas.  So mark December 15th on your calendars and hop along with us.

LUCKY 5!

November marks the five-year anniversary of Studio J^®, and that means it’s your lucky month, with five amazing ways to win through Studio J and Close To My Heart social media!

First, throughout the month of November, all layouts purchased in Studio J are $5! That is a savings of over 25% off of retail! Your second chance to win big must come by sheer luck: every fifth order placed in Studio J during November receives a FREE surprise Close To My Heart accessory in its shipping box! The accessory has a retail value of $5 or more.

If luck doesn’t smile on you in that way, you might stumble upon it by finding a little extra something in your Studio J box. Five “golden tickets” will be sent out during the month of November with randomly selected Studio J print orders! This “golden ticket” is redeemable for one of Close To My Heart’s new D-ring albums* loaded with 10 Top Load Memory Protectors™.

For a fourth way to win, simply create new, gorgeous layouts in Studio J, select your favorites, and then post pictures of them on Close To My Heart’s Facebook page using the hashtag #ctmhlucky5. After November 30, five lucky winners will be selected from the entries based on their artistry and creativity and each of these winners will receive their own D-ring album loaded with 10 Top Load Memory Protectors!

And there is one last way to win: take your new Studio J artwork and post a picture of it on Instagram using the hashtag #ctmhlucky5. Just as it is with Facebook, after November 30, five lucky winners will be selected from the entries to receive their own D-ring album loaded with 10 Top Load Memory Protectors!

Plus, there is a bonus Consultant-only way to win. After the campaign has ended, the top five Consultants who had the greatest number of customers who order during the campaign will also get a D-ring album loaded with 10 Top Load Memory Protectors! This sixth way to win is only open to Consultants, so make sure to encourage every one of your customers—new to Studio J or not—to start designing now.

And to make things even more exciting, starting November 1, five brand new kits from the Annual Inspirations idea book will be made available in Studio J, so you can create new artwork using the latest papers and embellishments from Close To My Heart. With so many ways to win, five may be your new lucky number! Log in to Studio J and start creating today.

*Offer valid November 1–30, 2014. Pattern and color of new D-ring album to be given to winners will be at Close To My Heart’s discretion based upon availability. New kits available in Studio J^® on November 1 include Confetti Wishes, Snowhaven, Seaside, Pathfinding, and Scaredy Cat. No tax or shipping will be charged on the free item(s). Studio J layouts ship in a protected box that can hold 4 to 50 two-page layouts. For additional information about shipping/handling, please visit StudioJ.com > Products and Pricing > Shipping Options.

Dates: Offer valid November 1, 2014–November 31, 2014. 

Hop on over to MY CTMH WEBSITE to shop now.

Monthly Newsletter Sign Up

I welcome you to join my Constant Contact mailing list to receive my monthly Close To My Heart newsletter.

All you have to do is CLICK HERE to opt in.

I'm so excited to ensure my business continues to thrive while being in compliance with the new Anti-Spam law so I can serve you better.

Homemade Tomato Soup

We had frost last week, so I pulled all of my green tomatoes to ripen indoors. Today I had a bunch of beautiful red tomatoes. My husband does so much for me and for our family that I wanted to make him one of his favourites~ Tomato Soup!

I started by washing and chopping the tomatoes into chunks. Placed them on a cookie sheet in a single layer, topped with sea salt, cracked pepper and olive oil. 

Baked them at 350 Degrees for 15 minutes and they turned out beautifully!

I use lots of veggies for my soup...tomatoes, onions, garlic, celery & carrots.

 I chop them into small pieces while heating a sautee pan on medium-high. I add olive oil to the hot pan and then toss in the onions for about 5 minutes, letting them caramelize.

I then add in the garlic, carrots & celery and cook them until they become tender, about 8 to 10 minutes.

Then I add a few pads of butter and some chicken stock (about 4 cups) and simmer for 10 minutes over medium heat.

 I put the tomatoes through the food processor so that they are not chunky and then strain it to remove all the peelings and seeds.

You're going to want to discard the seeds & peels. This leaves you with a nice, smooth tomato puree.

Add in the veggies that have gone through the food processor to create a nice, hearty soup. Finish it off with some additional salt & pepper as well as some tomato paste to give it a deeper flavour.

 

MMmmmmmm Good!!!!

Atlantic Heart Sketch Challenge

I'm so grateful and honoured to have been asked to be the guest designer for the Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge. 

Michelle designed a beautiful sketch for this week.

Here's the card I made using some of Close To My Heart's awesome products. I started with light, patterned paper from the Yuletide Carol paper pack, sponged with Cashmere Ink and the Designer Creations Ruby Paper Bags for the polka dot paper. 

I stamped the tree from the Best Wishes stamp set in Ruby, Topiary, New England Ivy & Ponderosa Pine Pigment Inks and applied them with our Sponge Daubbers. 

The "Winter Cheer" sentiment was stamped using New England Ivy Ink on a 1 3/4" scalloped circle that was cut from the Art Philosophy Cricut Cartridge in White Daisy Cardstock and then again at 2" in the Desert Sand Cardstock with some 3-D Foam Tape between the layers. I finished off the card with a Gold Bling Gem and some Bronze Shimmer Trim.

I finished the card off by stamping the inside with the sentiment, "Warm Wishes to you and yours." in New England Ivy Ink, adding a strip of the patterned paper and Bronze Shimmer Trim.

I hope you stop over at Atlantic Hearts and play along.

September Blog Hop - Our Favorite Things

Welcome to our September Blog Hop featuring our Favorite New Things.  To purchase any of the items seen in our blog hop today, contact your local consultant to place an order.

We hope that you will take the time to leave comments on our posts, as we love to get feedback from our viewers....whether it was something that you really liked or some new technique that was used that you would like to learn how to do....by leaving us comments, we get to hear what you like, and what you want to see. Thank you… now on to our hop!

If you have just hopped onto my blog, you can start here as this is a circular hop, but if you want to follow us across Canada then please start at the beginning and join Julie at 12 x 12 Travels. If you came from Chris' Creative Life then you are in the right place!

There are so many new products in this new Annual Inspirations Idea Book that I LOVE... some of them are featured below to get you inspired. There are so many new Picture My Life pocket scrapbook programs in additions to the ones previously available. This first card features the Chantilly Picture My Life (PML) along with Autumn Teracotta Cardstock, Slate Diagonal Ribbon, Teal Shimmer Tape and the AWESOME NEW mini staples!!

This next card also uses the same PML kit with Thistle cardstock and accented with Thistle Diagonal Ribbon.

Your next stop on the Cross Canada Hop is Sandra at Paper Sage .
If you get lost along the way, you can head to Michelle S Blog, My Creations with Michelle, as she has the complete blog list.

Thanks for hopping along with us - we hope we were able to inspire you to get creative using some of the designs, products and techniques seen along the way. We hope you will join us again next month when we will be featuring Trick or Treats,for Halloween.  So mark October 15th on your calendars and hop along with us.

NEW CTMH Annual Inspirations Idea Book!!

The new Annual Inspirations Idea Book is now ready for your viewing pleasure!

Hop on over to http://brandy.ctmh.com/ to see the new book including 9 fabulous, new paper packs, brand new Picture My Life~ Pocket Scrapbooking programs, the awesome new Shin Han Touch Twin Markers and much, much more.

Close To My Heart has given us an awesome special for August!!  PICTURE PERFECTION

In addition to this great deal, when you have an order of $50 or more, you qualify to purchase the Stamp of the Month for just $5!!

Here's the fun August Stamp of the Month, What A Hoot!

If you want a little, place an order.

If you want a lot, host a party.

If you want it all, join my team.

Thanks for stopping by!

CTMH Retiring Products..Just a few days left!!

There are just 5 days left where you can order from the current Close To My Heart Idea Book...

As of August 1st we'll have some amazing NEW products but NOW is the time to be sure to get those items from your wish list before they're GONE.

All items are available while supplies last so be sure to place your order soon.

Simply go to http://brandy.ctmh.com/ to shop and be sure to click on JULY ORDERS to get your name entered into a draw to win a FREE ink pad!

Here are a sampling of some retiring items...

 

 Remarkable Wreath

 Stitched with Love

 Swirls Around

Words of Comfort

Remember that with each $50 in orders, you qualify to purchase the Stamp Of The Month for just $5!

Don't miss this month's SOTM, Circus Alphabet ONLY available in July!!

 

Here's some fabulous artwork to show you some ideas to use this amazing set!

Happy Sunday to you all and thanks for stopping by!

Close To My Heart Convention~ Meet Mickey Mouse and Freinds!

At the CTMH Convention, held this year in beautiful California, when you held the title Director or above, you were invited to a special supper... and this year we got to have a photo session with none other than Mickey Mouse!  Isn't he just the cutest?!

 

 
Highlights from Close To My Heart's Convention 2014 in Anaheim, California at the Disneyland® Hotel and Convention Center.

Here are two fabulous ladies from my, Canadian Scrappers Team who joined me at this years Convention.  Rose and Judy are sisters and I know they enjoyed the event so very much and learned so much to bring back to their teams too.

I have the best friends and the greatest room mates a gal could ask for.  This another of the many reasons why Convention means so much....the relationships you build across the world will live with you forever.

Who would have thought that almost 8 years ago when I decided to join CTMH here in Canada, simply for a discount on my scrapbooking supplies, that I would also end up earning a full time income and add to my family.  I'm so very blessed!

So who want to join me at the Close To My Heart Convention 2015 at Disneyland California?