Tuesday, January 26, 2016

You'll Love This Valentine's Day Advent Calendar

The timeless love sonnet by Elizabeth Barrett Browning has inspired countless thousands of people to “count the ways” they love one another for over a century now. With Valentine’s Day just around the corner, we’ve come up with an irresistibly cute project to help you count the days! Take a look:

Didn’t we tell you it was the cutest? :) And it’s amazingly simple, too. Staring with our Designed Décor Red Magnetic Chalkboard, we added a big heart cut from the Charlotte paper packet. Next, we cut 14 adorable envelopes from a variety of cardstocks and glitter papers with our Cricut® Artiste collection. Have a look:

After cutting them out, you’ll need to fold your envelopes. Use a bone folder to get deep creases so the flaps will stay in place—no adhesive required! Then attach a set of hook & loop dots to each envelope. These Velcro-like dots make opening and closing the envelopes a cinch!

Now for the fun part: decorating and filling the envelopes! We attached a heart to every envelope and attached a number on top. Feel free to embellish your envelopes to your “heart’s” content!

What will you put in your envelopes? A note with something you love about your significant other? A little piece of candy? A picture of a favorite memory? An act of love you’d like to complete that day? Whatever you choose, it’ll get you and everyone else at your house even more excited for the big day!

Make your own heart-filled advent calendar, so you can count the ways AND the days this Valentine’s!

Recipe

Happy Valentine’s Day Advent Calendar

X7025B Charlotte Paper Packet, 1246 Hollyhock Cardstock, X5927 Ruby Cardstock, X5760 Cotton Candy Cardstock, 1385 White Daisy Cardstock, X5780 Pomegranate Cardstock, Z3076 Gold Glitter Paper, Z2006 Designed Décor Red Magnetic Chalkboard, Z679 Liquid Glass, Z1805 Hook & Loop Dots, 1772 Memory Book Glue Dots™, Z1204 Bone Folder, Z3171 Cricut® Art Philosophy Collection, Z3170 Cricut® Artiste Collection, Chalk

Cricut® Shapes:

Art Philosophy

1" Shift (cut 14, p. 26) Various Cardstock and Glitter Paper

11 ½" Shift (p. 26) Charlotte Paper of Choice

Artiste

2 ¼" Shift+Card (cut 14, p. 61) Various Cardstock and Glitter Paper

½" “1234567891011121314” White Daisy Cardstock

All these products are available through Close To My Heart, and can be found HERE.

Tuesday, January 19, 2016

January Stamp Of The Month Artwork

We have been having some cold weather this year, but not much snow. It makes it hard to think about Valentine's Day coming up while I'm still wishing for snow. However, I have been challenged to create a Valentine's Day card for a contest, and I need to create some cards with the January SOTM, so I thought I better get started.

January's SOTM is beautiful. I love layering the colors with the two stamps and getting flowers with a lot of depth. With the cold bare landscape around this time of year, flowers are a bonus... even if they are made from paper and ink.

Here are a few of the cards I came up with using the Close To My Heart La Vie En Rose Paper Collection.

I think the cards turned out great. The stamp set is so versatile, I was able to make a Hello card, and a Thinking of You card too. I'm sure I could use it for some Mother's Day cards too.

I decided to use this card for the contest. I think it is my favorite.

I just LOVE the depth the flowers have from layering the stamps and the ink. You can get the La Vie En Rose Paper Collection HERE, as well as any of the supplies you need to make these cards. And don't forget.... the SOTM is only $5 with any purchase of $50 or more.

Don't forget to enter my contest to win a New CTMH Planner too. I will be drawing a winner from the comments, so you have until midnight January 30th to comment. I will draw a winner on January 31st. ENTER HERE, or comment on any post in January.

**If you are having trouble commenting, please email me and let me know. I will be sure you are entered while I work out the technical difficulties.

Tuesday, January 12, 2016

Starting The New Year And January Promotions

It's hard to believe we are already into the second week of the new year. Does it seem that the time is flying, or is it just me?

I thought I would take a few minutes to share my plans for this blog for the year, and to share this months promotions. The new year is a great time for starting fresh on a lot of things, and so I thought I would start fresh on my blog. I have decided to only post once a week, and will be posting on Tuesdays. If Tuesday doesn't seem to work well, it might move to Monday or Wednesday, but I plan to keep it on Tuesday.

My thinking on this, is that I can post early in the week with my planned blog topic, and then leave the end of the week for any bonus blogs, or unexpected posts that come up.

I will be including any Close To My Heart (CTMH) promotions, as well as Stamp Of The Months (SOTM) info, early in the month. I will also be sharing my own artwork when I have a chance to work on any. I am hoping to start showcasing some of my very talented follower's work as well, so let me know if you would like to be included.

Something a bit new this year, will be a monthly FREEBIE. Each month, I will offer some sort of FREE promotion for my followers. It might be a FREE random drawing, a FREE gift with purchase, FREE shipping, or any other fun thing I can think of.

I am also putting together a project club right now. I hope to start offering this in March, and it will be offered every other month to start. If, it works out, I will consider monthly. SO, if you have any project ideas you would like to see, let me know, and I will be happy to see what I can come up with. Right now, I will be doing things like card sets, journals, and a few 3-D decor items. I will share more on this in mid-February.

Ok, that was a lot of info, and I still haven't shared the promotions yet. January is National Papercrafting Month, and CTMH has a Wonderful way to celebrate... Pocket scrapbooking cards for your everyday life.

Celebrate National Papercrafting Month with the exclusive Picture My Life™ Live Your Day scrapbooking program—available for one month only! This collection was designed to coordinate perfectly with the sensational Everyday Life™ 2016 Planner Pages and My Crush® Everyday Life Pages, so you can seamlessly integrate pocket scrapbooking into your 2016 planner. Whether in the planner or on their own, these cards make it easy to preserve your everyday moments all year long. Get yours today for only $8.95 before this offer is gone!

And since the Pocket Scrapbooking Cards are designed to work with Everyday Life™ 2016 Planner, I have decided to have a random drawing this month for a FREE Everyday Life™ 2016 Planner (includes planner pages and binder)!!

All you have to do is post a comment on this blog by midnight on January 30th. Then, on January 31st, I will draw one lucky winner from those who have commented to receive the Everyday Life™ 2016 Planner FREE from me. It's that simple.

We can't forget about the SOTM set either. Each month you can purchase a new D-size stamp set, available for that month only, for just $5! When you place an order of $50 or more in Close To My Heart products, you qualify for this special Stamp of the Month pricing. January is a 14-Stamp set called Beloved Bouquet. I think it is BEAUTIFUL!!

Shop now, and take advantage of the promotions this month, and get your own exclusive Picture My Life™ Live Your Day set and Beloved Bouquet stamps before they are gone.

*National Papercrafting Month Offer valid January 1, 2016 (9:00 am MST)–January 31, 2016 (11:59 pm MST) while supplies last. Shipping/handling is calculated based on the full retail price of items.

Wednesday, January 6, 2016

5 Tips For Acheiving Your Goals This Year

It’s time to make New Year’s resolutions again! Are you making goals to spend more quality time crafting or to try new techniques? Maybe you’re already great at accomplishing the goals you set, but for those of us who could use a little extra help, here are five tips for goal-setting success:

1. Choose goals you'll enjoy, like dancing instead of running

It’s hard to commit to something that doesn’t inspire your passion, so make goals to do things you love! Even goals about things you know you should do can be fun. For instance, if you want to exercise more but hate running, join a dance class or go walking with your friends instead. You’re much more likely to stick to a goal that you enjoy!

2.Tell someone else about your goals

Share your goals with a friend who can help you succeed!

Whether it’s a spouse, parent, or friend, make sure someone else knows about the goals you’ve set. This will help you be accountable—you’ll want to be able to tell them how well you’re doing! Plus, your loved ones can also encourage you or even pitch in to help when the going gets tough. It’s also great to have someone who can congratulate you on your successes. That’s what friends and family are for!

3. Record your goals

Create a mini book to record your goals!

You’ve heard it said that a goal not written is only a wish. So create a beautiful spot to record your New Year’s resolutions that you’ll want to look at again and again! For example, our next post will give you some ideas for creative ways to write down your goals in an adorable mini goal book you can keep with you and reference throughout the day or week. Stay tuned for that post!

4. Track your progress

Use the Everyday Life™ planner system to track your progress!

It's important to record your goals, but it's also important to remind yourself each day to work toward them. That’s one reason we’ve created our planner system: to give you a place to track your goals and activities day by day! You’ll be able to use tools like our water goal stamp and bright stickers to see your progress. This will keep you focused and encourage you to stay hard at work!

5. Reward yourself for goal milestones!

When you reach a goal milestone, give yourself a reward like the January Stamp of the Month!

When you’re busy or discouraged, the spa trip you promised yourself for achieving your goal will feel very far away. Instead of planning one big reward for completing your entire goal, set up several smaller rewards—like a new stamp set or an extra hour of crafting—for hitting milestones along the way. They’ll keep you motivated all along your journey!

Worthwhile goals are the path to self-improvement, and these tips will help you become your very best self. What do you hope to achieve in 2016? Share your goals in the comments so we can cheer for one another!

Friday, January 1, 2016

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year!!

I hope 2016 brings a wonderful and prosperous year for all.