Studio J Layout: Feathered Friends

One of my favourite things about Studio J is the wide selection of papers and embellishments. Papers in colours I would admire, but never buy knowing they would sit in my stash never to be used. Most of my scrapbooks are filled with pages about my boys. There are very few with feminine subjects.

So when I get an idea for a page that can take on a feminine feel, Studio J offers a great range of digital papers unlike anything I'd find in my stash.

For this page, documenting my favourite back yard visitors, a family of goldfinches, I used the new Lucy line of papers and embellishments. Perfect for girly and baby pages, I thought the beautiful florals and co-ordinating green (Pear) papers were just right for a garden layout.

I used a Studio J template, but I personalized the papers and embellishments to make this page uniquely mine.

I began by replacing the cardstock background with a floral patterned paper.(The same pink floral paper on the left side of the photo row.) Then I altered the floral paper by switching from full colour to grey (Grey Wool). This gives the background paper a lovely, subtle patterns but doesn't detract from the photos or full colour papers.

After selecting the patterned papers and distressing the edges, I embellished the page with stickers from the Lucy My Stickease assortment. There was a lot to chose from! I also resized several of the stickers to fit with the scale of the layout.

Finally, I added stitching in several spots. Stitching is one of my favourite embellishments in traditional scrapbooking and even more so in Studio J scrapbooking where a half hour of piercing holes and threading is replaced with a click of the mouse! I used several different stitches in different sizes. The large cross-stitch across the top of the page grounds the title and unified the two halves of the layout. The smaller running stitch on the large floral paper creates a frame for the photos. And the adorable stitches flowers add a bit of whimsy.

Go ahead and try Studio J to break out of your usual scrapping themes and try something you might not even consider with traditional scrapbooking. With four convenient online options, there's a Studio J package suited to you. Click on the link to my online store on the right to learn more about s
Studio J.

Happy Scrapping!
Susana

Mystery Hostess

Want to take advantage of the Dotty For You or Stampaganza offers but not going to a Gathering? No problem! Join the Mystery Hostess Gathering on my website (just click the link on the right and join!) and you can place your order!

Order before May 31st to receive the Dotty For You paper pack with orders of $35. This 24 sheet collection is full of vibrant colours and perfect for summertime scrapbooking.

And as always, with orders of $50, the Stamp of the Month is available for only $5. May's Stamp of the Month, Friendship, includes two beautiful images of sunflowers. This D-size stamp set also has leaves and lovely sentiments. Use this versatile set over and over for cards, pages and home decor items.

Or...for the stamper who can't choose just one of Close To My Heart's amazing stamp sets, join in June for Stampaganza! This promotion offers a FREE stamp set for every two ordered. And that's on ANY stamp size.

Take advantage of this amazing offer to stock up on the stamps you'll use all the time--like the amazing alphabet stamps--as well as the ones that will help you make dozens of cards quickly--like the Quick Cards stamps.

Have you already bought the fabulous paper lines in the current Idea Book? Stampaganza is a great way to save some money to purchase the co-ordinating stamp sets! Just look up the paper line in the Idea Book and find the matching stamps. And remember to check out the co-ordinating colours for ink pads!

And while you're stocking up on stamps, check out June's cute Stamp of the Month. With it's doodle images and curly-cues, this stamp set is just "too tweet"! (Sorry, the Stamp of the Month does not qualify for the by two get one Stampagnza offer.)

But the great offers aren't over!! Place your order through the Mystery Hostess Gathering and you could WIN FREE HOSTESS REWARDS!! For every item you order through the Mystery Hostess Gathering, you name will be placed in a draw. The draw winner will win the Hostess Rewards for this Gathering. The Rewards start with Gathering sales of only $150 and the minimum Reward is $25 in free Close To My Heart products! The more the sold through this Gathering, the bigger the Hostess Rewards will be! Will it be $40 in free product and 1 item at 50% off? Will it be $80 in free product and 2 items at 50% off? We'll find out on June 10th when the Mystery Hostess and Hostess Rewards amount will be revealed.

Remember, your name will be entered into the draw for EACH ITEM ordered. So, if you're taking advantage of Stampaganza and the Stamp of the Month, your name will be entered 4 times! And as a bonus for customers who spread word of the Mystery Hostess Gathering, I will enter your name an additional FIVE times when a new customer places and order through this Gathering and mentions you. Spread the word!!

Just click on the link on the right to join the Mystery Hostess Gathering.

Enjoy shopping and good luck!!

Celebrate National Scrapbooking Month!

It's National Scrapbooking Month and there's a lot to celebrate! Not only is it time to take pride in a joyful hobby (or make time for that hobby) it's time to celebrate the yourself and what you've accomplished. Take time to look over your scrapbooks, scrapping projects, cards and home decor items. Take that walk down memory lane and enjoy the beautiful art you've created.

For me, this month is a special celebration of the first three months of my Close To My Heart business. As a THANK YOU to my customers and scrapping friends who have been so supportive as I've started out, I'm inviting all of you to a special Crop and Shop on May 11th. Meet me at A Gift of Art in Newcastle, from 6PM to midnight for cropping, a make and take, challenges and shopping. This FREE event has limited seating, so RSVP early. Email me for further details.

If you can't make it, but would still like to shop, just visit my website and join the Scrapping Celebration Gathering.

This is a great month to get those Close To My Heart items on your wish list. This month there are two great promotions.

The Stamp of the Month for May is a beautiful sunflower. There are so many possibilities. With your qualifying $50 order, this D-size stamp set can be yours for only $5! This Stamp of the Month is only available until May 31st.

 Also only available until May 31st is the Dotty for You paper pack. With a qualifying purchase of only $35, you can order Dotty for only $5. But that's not the only way to get it! If you book a Home Gathering for May and have sales reaching $400, in addition to Hostess Rewards, you earn Dotty for FREE! There are still spots available for May. Contact me now to book your Home Gathering.

Hope to see you at my Crop and Shop on May 11th!!

Happy Scrapping!

You Are...

FUN! COOL! AMAZING! April's Stamp of the Month is all these things. It's also versatile. With phrases in classic fonts to dress up sporty pages, use this exclusive stamp set for carnival, beach and character pages as well. For cardmakers, use the expressive sentiments to share your feelings on a special Mother's Day card, Father's Day card or birthday card. The two line pattern stamps are perfect for adding stripes or diamonds where ever you need them--on pages, on cards, on mini-albums and more.

Available only until April 30th, this D-size stamp set is only $5 when you spend $50 on your order. Just want this stamp set? You can also order the Stamp of the Month at the regular price of $17.95.

Have you been following Dotty? Next week CTMH's Dotty For You promotion begins. In celebration of National Scrapbooking Month in May, this exclusive 24-sheet paper pack is available for only $5 when you spend $35. Or host a Home Gathering before May 30th and earn this paper pack for FREE with sales of $400.

Combine the Stamp of the the Month with Dotty for You for a great bundle! With you Stamp of the Month qualifying order, you can choose the You Are...stamp set and the Dotty for You paper pack for $10. That's 72% off the regular retail price!

Check back on previous posts for a projects I've made with these beautiful papers and follow my blog for more inspiration in the coming weeks.

Dotty Template

Every Dotty For You paper pack comes with inspirational ideas. The layout below is based on one of Dotty's layouts.

I used the multi-coloured rose paper, the Smoothie coloured dotty paper and Smoothie cardstock. The letter stamps are "Bohemian Alphabet" (in Smoothie ink) and "Rustic Alphabet" (in Lagoon ink). I used the "Just For You" stamp set to create the flowers and leaves and embellished the flower centre with a Pewter Badge Button. For extra dimension, I popped up the Smoothie coloured letters and the flowers.

I'm so happy with the way this layout turned out. It's a great addition to my family album and a special commemoration of my mother-in-law and all her boys.

Dotty For You Video

Check it out! Here's a video showing the beatutiful Dotty For You papers. Watch and then call me to book your Spring Home Gathering and earn this 24 sheet paper pack for free!

Besotted with Dotty

It's here! My "advance" pack of Dotty For You papers has arrived! I love these papers! There are fun, colourful patterns on one side and beautiful dotty prints on the reverse. I'm a huge fan of Bo Bunny's Dot-to-Dot papers, and these dotty papers from Close To My Heart are just like them--but they come in CTMH's co-ordinating colours!!

Check out this Thank You card made with Dotty For You papers. I followed the Pretty Simple pattern from the Originals card confidence program and used Lagoon ink. Here's how you can make this card:

Make a 4" x 5 1/2" card base. Trim 2" x 4" blue and green fronds Dotty For You patterned paper. Trim 2" square and 2 1/2" x 1 1/2" strip from green Dotty For You dots paper. Ink edges of all pieces with Chocolate distress ink. Stamp sentiment on 2" square. Stamp flower image on 2 1/2" x 1 1/2" strip. Adhere blue and green fronds paper to card face, about 1" from top. Adhere 2" square on top of blue and green fronds paper, about 1/2" from the right side. Adhere green dots strip to bottom right of card. Trim 4" piece of blue and green grossgrain ribbon and adhere to card. Poke holes for brads at either end of ribbon and add Chocolate mini-brads. Poke 3 holes next to stamped image on bottom right strip and add 3 chocolate brads.

Pretty and Simple!

I also used the Dotty For You papers to create this little gift card--which will look great on my Mom's Mother's Day gift! This card is featured on page 108 of the Spring/Summer 2012 Idea Book. To create this card follow these instructions: Make a 3" square card base. Trim a 2" x 3" piece from the tags Dotty For You patterned paper. Stamp the dotted frame from the Crafted with Love Stamp set in Lagoon ink. Using a waterbrush, colour the open space in the centre of the stamp with Goldrush ink. Cut out image and trim the left quarter of image in a straight line. Trim a 1/2" x 2" piece of cardstock (same colour as the base) and stamp "just for you" sentiment in Goldrush ink. Trim ends like a pennant. Ink edges of all pieces. Adhere tags patterned paper to centre of card. Draw stitches down each side of patterned paper. Adhere dotted frame to tags patterned paper, about 1/3 up from the bottom. Adhere "just for you" banner over centre of frame. Draw 2 circles on either side of sentiment.

You could easily dress up this mini-card even more by using embroidery floss and stitching and using mini-brads or gems on the banner. You could even add a little dimension by popping up the frame or banner with adhesive foam.

Keep watching my blog over the next few weeks for more projects using the Dotty For You paper pack.

If you would like to get your own Dotty For You paper pack, here's how:

• Place an order of $35 or more in products from the Spring/Summer 2012 Idea Book between April 17 and May 31, and add the Dotty for You paper packet for just $5*.
• Host a Gathering with a sales total of $400 or more (excluding tax, shipping/handling, and Operation Smile^® donations) between April 17 and May 31 and receive a Dotty for You paper packet FREE.
• Join Close To My Heart as a new Consultant between April 1 and May 31 and receive a Dotty for You paper packet FREE.

Happy Scrapping!