Teaching at CTMH Convention: Extravaganza 2011!

It's so hard to believe that after all the hard work creating for convention, the actual convention itself seemed to go by so fast!!! I can share everything now, no more secrets! :-)



I was given the My Creations® line as my teaching subject, which includes a lot actually: all the mini albums, cube, photo and recipe boxes, etc. There were also two new additions: the My Creations® Card Box and My Creations® Memory Game. So much fun! In addition to my regular three boards, I also had a lot of 3-D art showcasing the My Creations line. Don't you love our adorable Minnie Mouse aprons? Delaney thought they were hilarious; I thought they were cute! LOL





The top three boards were provided for us from corporate, and here are close-ups of the bottom three boards that were mine:







These were taken just before I mailed them off to corporate, so the open area on the bottom right was where the label went and the card in the middle board overlapped the middle crease, so it had to be attached later.

I organized my class into three main ideas:

• First, we went over the standard uses and techniques -- including ways to decorate and utilize the My Creations products showing how easy they are to use.
• Second, we explored some outside-the-box approaches to enhance our My Creations products in ways that everyone would delight in discovering.
• And last, we examined a variety of ways to not only create enchanting and memorable projects with the My Creations products, but also finish them quickly and effortlessly!

Here is a picture of the new card box and memory game:





Neat, huh? I'll share some more artwork in the days to come from convention. I also want to share some fun new tidbits about the BRAND NEW Autumn/Winter 2011 Idea Book! I LOVE IT! I can't wait for everyone to see it. The Open House is on Saturday, August 6th from 9am to 3pm - save the date!



There are eight new paper kits:

1. Typeset
2. Roxie
3. Elemental
4. Dreamin'
5. Sonoma
6. Mischief
7. Believe
8. Wonderland

I absolutely love all of them! If I had to pick one favorite right now... it would be REALLY hard... but I guess I would go with Roxie:






Nice, huh? I think since I got Dreamin', Sonoma and Elemental to teach with... their newness wore off just a bit for me... but I still love them all!

We also got some stunning new embellishments to perfectly "complement" each packet, simply amazing new stamp sets (all of which have had their prices reduced, with no reduction in the stamp sizes!), many items repackaged in smaller and easier quantities, and much more, with the BIG ANNOUNCEMENT that Close To My Heart has partnered with Cricut and are introducing an exclusive Close To My Heart Art Philosophy cartridge! Woo-hoo!!!





So much to see and share!

More next time, Dani

So much new art!

I have so many new projects that I have finished here recently, and I can't show you hardly any of it! All my art for convention is finally done and on its way. I wish I could share everything I've been doing, but... I can't! Here are a very few sneak peeks that I can show you, that doesn't have any of the fun, new, gorgeous new stuff in it!!!!













No worries, though. You'll be able to see everything at the Open House after convention. :-) Mark your calendars for Saturday, July 30th... more details to come!

Dani

You & Me: Stronger Together

Close To My Heart is having a special to help those who have been affected by severe weather. Flooding, tornadoes and storms have seemed to wreak havoc across the United States lately. Together we can make a difference!

This month, the exclusive You & Me Scrapbooking kit (which was available last month in celebration of National Scrapbooking Month) -- is available again for only $15! That's more than 50% off the retail price! A portion of the proceeds will be donated to the American Red Cross Spring 2011 Floods and Tornadoes relief operations. You will receive a D-size stamp set (which are regularly retailed at $22 each), cardstock and patterned papers, die-cuts, ribbon and opaque embellishments -- as well as an instruction guide!

Since the stamp set is hard to see in the flyer, here is a close-up of the beautiful set that is included:



Make sure to take advantage of this spectacular deal for yourself, and those in the weather-devastated regions will benefit too! Together we can make a difference; together we are stronger!

Dani

Celebrate National Scrapbooking Month!

We have a great special celebrating National Scrapbooking Month for the month of May! You can get the exclusive You and Me scrapbooking kit in three different ways:

• The You and Me scrapbooking kit can simply be purchased at full retail for $34.95 with no minimum purchase required.


• When you place a minimum order of $50 in Close To My Heart products in May, you can purchase the You and Me scrapbooking kit for the discount price of just $15 (more than half off the retail value)!


• Become a Close To My Heart consultant during May and not only can you receive the You and Me scrapbooking kit FREE -- you can also take advantage of purchasing our consultant kit for 50% off this month! What a GREAT DEAL!

If you have ever considered becoming a Close To My Heart consultant, this is the month to to sign up! Normally, the consultant kit costs $129, with $14 added for s/h and around another $10 for tax -- for a total of approximately $153.00. This is always a deal, giving you over $300 worth of products for about half the cost.

This month, however, you can get the consultant kit at 50% off! Now you are looking at $64.50 + $14 added for s/h and around another $5.50 for tax -- a grand total of only about $84! Yes, that's right -- only about $84.00 for over $300 worth of products. WOW! And not only that, you will also get the exclusive National Scrapbooking Month "You and Me" kit (an additional retail value of $34.95) for FREE! I'm not sure if we have ever had such a great sign-up deal before.

Our consultant kit is set up to allow you to tailor your kit to whatever your interests are, giving you 3 "choose me" collections with the sign-up price for the consultant kit. If you have our current Idea Book, the Spring/Summer 2011 Idea Book, on pages 128 and 129 you can easily see all the collections to select from -- otherwise you can simply check out the consultant kit flyer. And to take advantage of even more discounts, you can choose additional collections for only $40 each (the collections range in price from a retail value of around $70 to over $100).

Signing up to be a consultant is quick and easy! Simply browse on over to my MyCTMH site under the "Your Opportunities" tab, and you'll see the information on this month's special as well as becoming a hostess and a consultant! Click on the "click here" link towards the bottom of the page, and you are on your way to signing up to be a new consultant.

If you have any questions, concerns, or simply want to talk to me more about becoming a consultant -- don't hesitate to contact me! I'd love to talk with you!

I love being a consultant, and you will too!

Dani

May's Stamp of the Month: Chairs to You!

May's Stamp of the Month set, Chairs to You, is filled with fabulous images of 6 different chairs, along with a heart and flower, as well as some wonderful sentiments.

I simply adore this stamp set! Seriously!?! How cute is it? I was using our new Sweetheart papers with this set. The large recliner lends itself so well to paper piecing, and I used the polka dot pattern (black/grey side) with the small floral print pattern (colorful side). I just went to town utilizing our new buttons, some embroidery floss, the Villa Irresistibles, and just had fun with it. The sentiment "just be you" is another one from what I think is my favorite new set from the Idea Book: Fill in the Blank. Definitely a girly, girl card!!! :-)

Dani

Winning Contest Entries, Woo-hoo!

Close To My Heart has a Make It From Your Heart contest affiliated with each new Idea Book, showcasing the new products. There are several different categories you can enter, and I entered some of them this time around. I'm so excited that four of my entries placed! Woo-hoo! Here are my four winning entries! Under the My Reflections Miracle category, my Happiness is Celebrating card placed:

Under the My Reflections Wings category, my UR card placed:

Under the June Stamp of the Month category, my Be Mine card placed:

And last, but not least, under the July Stamp of the Month category my America Let Freedom Ring card placed:

Soooooo excited! Thanks for checking them out! :-)

Dani

April's Stamp of the Month set: Blessed

April's Stamp of the Month set, Blessed, has two wonderful sentiments along with some beautiful floral, bird and butterfly images.

I had a lot of fun playing with a couple of new products on this card. First, I used our new Kraft cardstock for the base and stamped with our White Daisy stamp pad. Then getting out our brand new Spray Pens (for the first time), I added a little bit of White Daisy reinker with some water. I lightly spritzed over the stamping, just to give a little bit of texture over the design -- trying to keep the top area with the bird design relatively spritz-free. Then for the main image, I colored the bird in with colored pencils and added some red Sparkles. The sentiment was stamped in Tulip. And to finish it off, I added one of the new Pink Collection ribbons ruffled on the bottom of the card. Sometimes I really like the "clean and simple" look: no-frills, modern and hip! :-) What do you think?

Dani

Hope for Japan

I just noticed this posting on Jeanette Lynton's blog - the founder of Close To My Heart. They are providing a wonderful way to help relief efforts with a special stamp set entitled "Hope for Japan." Our A-size stamp sets usually retail for $7.95, but this stamp set is available through April 30th for just $5.00! And, best of all, 100% of the profits will be donated to the American Red Cross to benefit relief efforts in Japan. Here is a link to her post, and here is a flyer as well as a picture of the stamp set:

Every little bit helps, and what a great way to assist Japan in this time of need and get a beautiful stamp set for yourself too!

Dani

March's Stamp of the Month set: Sensational Season

March's stamp of the month set, Sensational Season, is an adorable set of Easter images with sentiments.

I kept this card to a clean and simple design, limiting the colors to only light browns and pinks. The card base is our new Kraft cardstock, the patterned paper is from the Miracle Reflections set, and I stamped with Desert Sand ink. I chose the cute little bunny and decided to have him hold a heart. I found a small little heart in our T.L.C. stamp set. After stamping and cutting it out, I cut a small slit underneath his hands with our cutting knife. This enabled me to slide the heart just underneath his hands so it appeared he was "holding" the heart.

Using our piercing tool, I poked holes to create a frame and stitched with our Baby Pink embroidery floss. Then I simply added a few of our new Pink Buttons to finish the card off. How cute is that?

Dani

More New Art to Share and the Open House Grand Prize Winner!

It was great seeing everyone at the Open House; although, I think the snowy weather kept a few of you away. To those of you who were brave enough to withstand the elements, it was very nice to visit with you again. Our 2011 Spring/Summer Idea Book is jam packed with wonderful new products, so there was a lot of great art, projects and ideas to share. For those unable to attend, I'll share some of the art on our blog!

First, I'll start with one of the beautiful make-n-takes that everyone was able to create. I used the beautiful February Stamp of the Month, Friendship, with this card as well as the gorgeous new Wings Reflections paper.



I simply love this stamp set. The damask images also make beautiful background patterns. I also used some cute new little button brads in the new Mini-Medley Accents Black Collection.

Next I'll share our beautiful new My Reflections paper packets from this Idea Book. I'll start with the gorgeous new Wings My Reflections kit papers, since we used those with a make-n-take.



This set is filled with the deep, rich colors of Vineyard Berry, Black, Juniper and Sweet Leaf. Simply stunning! This was a card I had on display using these papers and a flower made out of the brand new coordinating pleated ribbon, Wings Level 2 Assortment. I was also using one of my favorite new sets from this book for the sentiments, Fill in the Blank. I used that set a lot, you'll see. :-)



Next, I'll go to the Sophia My Reflections papers, which were featured on the cover of this Idea book. This set features Blush, Goldrush, Hollyhock and Pear -- so yummy!



I made a fun little "We've Moved" card with these papers and the new set, Bless This Nest. And I'm using my favorite new set, Fill in the Blank, to create the arrow.



Moving on to the elegant new Bliss My Reflections papers. These set features Bamboo, Chocolate, Grey Flannel and Vanilla Cream -- you need to see these colors in person to believe how gorgeous they are!



I made a cute "I love you sew much" card with the new set Tailor-Made. Using the dress form, I folded a shirt to fit as well as made a pleated skirt. The Pearl Opaques Adhesive Gems, made perfect accents from a necklace to a skirt accent.



You may remember this new Reflections set, Miracle. This set was part of a special we had a while back, and it is just as delightful. While the colors in this set are very versatile (Bamboo, Crystal Blue, Heavenly Blue and Sweet Leaf), it does tend to really remind me of little baby boy colors -- so I made a baby boy card. :-)



I used the new Paper Lantern set with the Just for Boys set -- soft, sweet and simple.



I'm only halfway through the new paper packs! Can you believe it? Next, we have the Sweetheart Reflection papers, with colors Baby Pink, Black, Cotton Candy and Tulip.



I made a "You did it!" card with once again, the new set Fill in the Blank. I used the flower and sentiments from the set. I also added the color Sunny Yellow for a pop of color and the perfect accent for the flowers.

Come join us at Mayberry, an enchanting My Reflections kit with Cocoa, Honey, Olive and Smoothie.

Using another new stamp set, Bee Happy (which I HAD to get, as my son's school mascot is a bee), I created a "you're sweet as honey" card with once again, the Fill in the Blank stamp set (the butterflies and framed accent for the bumblebee).



Sometimes it can be a struggle to find papers for older boys, but no longer with these Lucky Reflection papers. The colors are just perfect with Desert Sand, Olive, Outdoor Denim and Sunset.

I created a "Together is the best place to be" card using the stamp set included in the Bliss Workshop Kit as well as once again, the Fill in the Blank stamp set (birds). That set is soooo versatile! The chipboard accents are from the new Villa chipboard sheet of die-cuts, with a resist pattern that shows when color is added. I used a sponge and Desert Sand to color mine.



And last, but definitely not least, are the Fanfare Reflections papers. These bright and colorful papers include the colors Cranberry, Pacifica, Sky and Sunny Yellow.

Which stamp set did I use in this card? Well if you paying attention, a safe bet to guess would be Fill in the Blank. And you would be correct! I used it for both the "you did it!" sentiment as well as the sewn star. I stamped the star and used it as my template to sew with our Cranberry embroidery floss.

This is just a sampling of all the art shared at the Open House! Hopefully you can make it next time, and if you still need your 2011 Spring/Summer Idea Book -- make sure to get in touch with me. This is a must-have Idea Book! :-)

And finally, it's that time again to unveil the grand prize winner of the 2011 Spring/Summer Open House:



(* drum roll *) And the winner is... Anne S! Congratulations, Anne! I think you are THE top winner of the Grand Prizes -- how many have you won now? Even though we've had some winners who only had one ticket in the drawing. Overall, it must help to have the maximum number of tickets in the drawing... having flashbacks to Trigonometry and Probability. YIKES! Anne, enjoy all your grand prize goodies, and everyone who won a door prize AFTER you left... your prize is in with your order!

Dani

New Batch of Retired Products Available Online!

Close To My Heart has a discounted section on our websites, "While Supplies Last" -- and right now there are a lot of really nice products on there! They are ranging from a little bit off to over 70% off, definitely some great deals are available.

Here are a few that are available as of today:

There are currently MANY other items available: several other rub-ons, a lot of other ribbon, many other embellishments, with a variety of other items.

In order to take advantage of these specials, you need to shop online at my website -- under the "While Supplies Last" section.

Hurry before they are gone! :-)

Dani