Celebrate the New Year!

A new year means looking ahead and setting goals for future accomplishments. But it's also a good thing to be like Janus--the god who lends his name to January--and take a look back at the past year and take a moment to recognise and celebrate what you have accomplished.

Did you set goals and meet them? Did you make  2013 the best it could be?

Take some time today to look through your scrapbooks and remember what you've been up to the past few years. Celebrate those moments with family and friends you've so lovingly documented.

Birthdays are a celebration that always make their way into my scrapbooks. And I'm celebrating the creation of this page, because in it, I see the influence of my scrapping goal last year: to think outside the box and stretch my skills and supplies.

How did I do it on this page? Here are four ways:

1. Use more stamps: Though I did use four different stamp sets on this page, what I mean by "use more stamps" is to get the most out of each stamp set. To look at what can be done with the stamps beyond just the obvious. In this layout, I took the small "Let's Celebrate" stamp from the May 2013 Stamp of the Month set and stamped it several times to create a large title.

Dimensional Elements Heart stamped
with Washi Wonder

2. Mix and match: It's really easy for me to fall into the habit of using the coordinated papers and embellishments by themselves--Close To My Heart takes all the fuss out! But by adding a little more fuss in, such as by using the Gold Polka Dot Washi Tape from the upcoming Idea Book and dressing up Dimensional Elements Hearts with stamping, the visual interest skyrockets!

3. Use non-themed or off-themed papers: For this layout, I wanted to use the vibrant colours of the Sarita papers even though this is essentially a masculine page. The bright colours are temped by the Dark Denim which acts as a neutral on the page. By broadening beyond traditionally themed papers, my scrapbooks take on a unique, eclectic edge.

Dress up embellishments with
a little bling!

4. Bling it up: More and more in the past year I have embraced my inner sparkle and have been using shiny things on my pages. This is a big leap for me, but after much trial and error, I think I'm striking a balance between beautifying my pages and bedazzling them. And certainly for celebration pages, a little sparkle is just the thing!

My scrapping goal this year is to complete my 2011 yearly album. (I know...I'm so far behind!). Whatever your goals are, I wish you the best in achieving them! And remember, CTMH has lots of amazing scrapping products to help you reach your scrapping goals. Let me show you how!

Sneak Peek: Day 5

If you have a Cricut, you're going to LOVE CTMH's new offering. If you don't have a Cricut, beg, borrow or steal one because you're not going to want to miss out!

Take your scrapbooking to never-before-seen levels with the new Cricut Artbooking collection! With oodles of images in each of 15 layout themes, you can create several coordinating pages for each theme using just two keys and one dial size. Images include accents, borders, titles, overlays, photo mats--in standard photo sizes!--and more.

The Cricut keys are optimised for creating 12" x 12" pages in a jiffy. You'll love creating ten themed mini books, also optimised for several different sizes using just two keys and one dial size.

Celebrate birthdays, new baby, vacations, friends, sports, Halloween, Christmas, and more. When you're finished cutting, use the coordinating stamp sets and Dimensional Elements shapes to add even more pizazz!

The Cricut Artbooking collection includes the Cricut cartridge with 700 images, font, mini books and layouts; three My Acrylix D-size stamp sets; and three 12" x 9" Dimensional Elements in coordinating shapes.

Cricut Artbooking Bundle

You'll find pages, cards and mini books throughout the new Autumn/Winter 2013 Idea Book featuring Artbooking die cuts. If you can't wait one more week until the new Idea Book comes online, check out my Close To My Heart Board on Pinterest. New images are being posted almost every day.

Not ready for Artbooking? CTMH has two other Cricut collections: Art Philosophy (basic brackets, frames, flowers and font) and Artiste (featuring themed projects, interactive cards and more). Whether you're a new or advanced crafter, there's a cartridge for you!

Did you know the Cricut collections are designed with CTMH stamps in mind? Whenever you see a stamp image outlined in red, that shape can be cut with one of the Cricut cartridges. Just refer to the note under the stamp to see which cartridge is needed. Also, on the stamp carrier sheet, you'll find the settings you need to cut the shape to exactly the right size. CTMH has made using the Cricut cartridges, coordinating stamps and shapes fast, simple and easy!