CYBER MONDAY & DEAL OF THE DECADE!

 I don't believe it!  

I typed this email up a week ago thinking this 

Deal of the Decade

was awesome and then I get an email from Close to my Heart this morning telling me that they now have a Cyber Monday special too!  And it's a doozy!   

Check it out down at the bottom of this newsletter,

HANDS DOWN, IF YOU LOVE CLOSE TO MY HEART, TOMORROW IS THE DAY!

It's time for the.....

DEAL OF THE DECADE!!

This year marks the 10-year anniversary of Close To My Heart's revolutionary My Acrylix® clear polymer stamps-and we can't wait for you to celebrate with us! 

With a qualifying purchase of JUST

$50 during the month of December, you will be eligible to purchase ANY
C- or D-size
stamps from the Annual Inspirations 2014-2015 idea book

for only $10.

That's up to 

$7.95 USD/$9.75 CAD of savings on a single stamp set! Plus, once you achieve the qualifying order total, there is 

no limit

 to the number of eligible stamp sets you can purchase at this 

discounted price. 

A purchase of $50 will also qualify you to receive the December Stamp 

of the Month for only $5, so if you purchase both the discounted Stamp of the Month and 

additional stamps at this special campaign pricing your savings will compound! 

It is truly the deal of the decade.

*Offer valid December 1, 2014 (9:00 am MST)-December 31, 2014 (11:59 pm MST). Shipping/handling is 

calculated based on the full retail price of the discounted items (C-size stamp set: $13.95 USD/$15.25 CAD; 

D-size stamp set: $17.95 USD/$19.75 CAD).

WHEN ORDERING REMEMBER THAT THE DISCOUNTED STAMP SETS ARE ONLY THE ONES IN THE ANNUAL INSPIRATIONS CATALOG, NOT THE SEASONAL EXPRESSIONS.  HOWEVER, ANYTHING IN THE SEASONAL EXPRESSIONS CATALOG CAN BE PURCHASED TO GET YOUR SALES UP TO $50!

But it gets even better because on December 1st, our new Seasonal Expressions catalog goes live!  It contains ALL NEW PRODUCTS and you're going to love it!!

The other cool thing is that the cutest stamp of the month comes out in December too.  When you spend $50 you get it for just $5.00!!!  It's called Cutie Pie and it's so adorable!!

AND HERE'S THE ONE DAY ONLY CYBER MONDAY SPECIAL!

Wow!! CTMH is offering a Cyber Monday Sale!!

20% Off All Cricut® Collections on Monday!

For the first time ever, Close To My Heart is offering a Cyber Monday Sale on Monday, December 1, 2014. There has never been a better time to buy Close To My Heart's exclusive Cricut® Collections for 20% off the retail price. Whether you love scrapbooking, cardmaking, or creating 3-D projects, our four exclusive Cricut® collections make the perfect addition to any craft room! Sale starts at midnight (MST) on December 1 and ends at 11:59 pm Monday night. Make sure to share the news!! Here's the link to the 4 collections:

MY WEBSITE!

 So there you have it, FOUR great reasons to visit my website throughout the month of December!   Have fun and Merry Christmas!

Simply Amazing!

This is a picture of everything you get in ONE (of two) of the new Close to my Heart consultant kits! Incredible right?!? How amazing it is to be able to choose between two kits, one geared for cardmakers the other scrapbookers? During the month of October, my team is having a team building challenge to sign up one new team member a day. I'm looking for people who need some extra money during this holiday season or someone who likes buying their crafting items on sale ALL THE TIME!

If that's you, go check out the kit at this link, I would love to have you on my team!
http://agarino3.ctmh.com/ctmh/what-we-do/be-a-consultant.aspx

Cricut® Artfully Sent is FINALLY here!

How exciting!!!! Today we were informed that the newest Cricut® cartridge is now available for purchase!!! 

Cricut^® Artfully Sent Collection

 

Cardmaking has never been easier or more fun! With our newest Cricut® collection you can make handmade masterpieces in no time at all. Choose from cards with sentiments cut directly into them, or combine several cutouts to create your own pop-up scenes. Featuring more than 25 different themes and 5 different card formats including dynamic interactive designs, this cartridge has a card for any and all occasions—even if the occasion is “just because”! Card styles include pop-ups, scenes, sentiments, sleeves and pocket cards. Order your Cricut^® Artfully Sent collection (Z3017) today.

How cool is this? I can NOT wait until I get my own cartridge! It will be easier than ever to make cards for my family and friends. :D

Check out CTMH's video to see what Artfully Sent is all about! Click HERE if you want to get this collection for yourself!

A Birth Certificate shows you were born, a Death certificate shows you have died, however a Photo Album shows how you have lived!

Recently {well about a month ago} I had an encounter with a lady who was looking to swap with another consultant so she could make her minimum. I offered to swap with her but she said she was not interested and would just buy from herself. 

She told me that she just doesn't have time to scrapbook. Scrapbooking doesn't have to be time consuming or expensive. My view is, if you really want to preserve your families memories and stories, then you will. You won't make excuses as to why you can't but you will find the will to get it done. 

I am passionate about what I do because I really don't have anything from my childhood. I have first hand experience with not being able to pull a baby picture out to share.  My mother and I haven't spoken in years and will probably never speak. All the pictures she has (had) are lost to me.  I see what having completed albums has done for my kids. I see how their friends, who have nothing, wish all the time that they had the same thing. 

For me scrapbooking isn't about being artsy (although I do like it at times). It is about preserving the photos and stories. Each person has to decide how best they want to that. If you just aren't creative well guess what, there is a program called Picture My Life and it was designed for the people who want the albums, don't have a lot of time and don't want to get all creative. 

I have helped friends get albums completed without breaking the piggy bank, without them having to do much work at all.  I love making pages, traditionally and digitally. I love being able to had a completed album to someone, seeing how happy they are to have such a treasure.  

What legacy do you want to leave behind? How do you want to be remember? It all comes down to one thing, do you really want to preserve the photos, stories and memories you claim to cherish?  

Father's Day and Timberline are the perfect combo!!

Well here is my second post. I had every intention of posting this blog BEFORE Father's Day! As they say better late then never ... right?!?  I am going to have to remember to take pictures of my work as I am working!!
I wanted to make a couple of Father's Day gifts using the Timberline papers (because I absolutely LOVE this paper pack)  It has the perfect colors for the men in our lives especially ones that love to camp or fish.  (Which mine do!) I will post about the mini album I made using this same paper pack another day (sooner than later)!!! :)

For this project I used the following CTMH products: 3-4 sheets from the Timberline paper pack {X7182B}, 2 [3x4] and 2 [4x4] flip flaps {Z1747}, some bitty sparkles {Z1263, Timberline Assortments {Z3005}, and D1342 World's Greatest Dad stamp set (retired).  Tim Holtz products: Configuration box, tissue tape, compass coin, game spinners and knob.  I used some dimensional fishing stickers and metal letters.  Some tools I used: the sanding block from my sanding kit {Z1294}, liquid glass {Z679}, 3-D Foam tape {Z1151} and some glue n' seal (multi-purpose glue and sealer).

With the left over paper I made matching Father's Day cards :) Which I forgot to take a picture of before I gave them away :( 

I love this paper!!! I wanted to show off the paper so the only thing I added was the Tim Holtz knob.  The newspaper-like tape on all of the edges is Tim Holtz.  The first thing I did was put my tissue tape on all the edges. I sanded all of the paper edges before I glued them down.  Once I had everything glued (and it had dried) I then used some glue n' seal as a sealer over all the edges.

I was going to use a 4x6 flip flap but I wanted the sunset from the bottom picture to "peek" through so i used 2 [3x4] flip flaps instead.  I liked the way it turned out!

View of the inside of the box. I was careful that the embellishments on the inside cover landed within the boxes on the right side, so the book would still close. I used the liquid glass to adhere the Bitty Sparkles.  Once it had dried some (about 2 mins) I then covered the metal letters with a thin coating of liquid glass.  I used the 3-D foam under the compass coin.  I wanted the game spinner to be able to spin :)

I used 2 [4x4] flip flaps in the center of the book.  I adhered them to the book rather then the removable boxes. I added a piece of cardstock behind the pictures in the flip flaps for a spot to journal.  I also used 3-D foam tape under some of the pictures to give a dimensional feel to them. I decided not to glue down the boxes or use tissue tape on the edges.  I wanted the ability to move the boxes around.  I had thought about putting tissue tape around each box but decided I didn't like the look of it so left the tissue tape off.

I really like that it's a shadow box so you can add dimensional embellishments but it still has a cover, so if we decide you don't want to display it, it slides onto a book shelf nicely.

I had a ton of fun making this (Tim Holtz) configuration box!  I have never made anything other then albums. If you would like to try making a configuration box using Timberline or any other paper packs, you can order the CTMH supplies I used at my website.  You'll want to order soon though, because Timberline (and all the paper packs in the current idea book) are being retired 31 July (only to make room for all new (9) paper packs!!) 

Here are some videos from Tim Holtz.  They are about his configuration boxes.  Not exactly the same but you get the idea! :)

Thanks for stopping by!! Please let me know what you think and leave a comment! Hope you have a blessed week.  Enjoy!

~Alex~

Newbie to the Blog world!

Good Evening All!

I have spent most of the afternoon creating my blog and I am finally ready to add my very first post!!

I am a Close To My Heart Independent Consultant.  Even though I am new to CTMH I am not new to the scrapbooking world.  I was with Creative Memories prior to finding my way to CTMH.  I LOVE LOVE LOVE Close To My Heart's paper, embellishments, stamps ... heck I love it all! I am a hybrid scrapper so being able to create layouts traditionally and digitally with the same papers is a MUST! I have been scrapbooking for over 15 years and preserving my family's history for over 24 years. :) There isn't ANYTHING I would rather be doing then preserving my family's memories.

I am extremely excited to start my new adventure with this amazing company.  I love paper crafting and being able to teach, share and making projects with my friends and family. 

I also have a Facebook page, stop by, say hi and of course a like too :-) visit me here

Thanks so much! I can't wait to share artwork, projects and layouts. I hope I can help inspire some creativity in others.