A New Love

On July 14, 2012, after 38 weeks and 3 days, our perfect little girl arrived at 8:10 a.m.  Eight pounds, 9 ounces and 20 1/4 inches of pure joy.  Please welcome Emma Alicia to the world! 

I Love My Job

The big drawing took place today, and the winners have been decided!  (As you can see, Charlie really wanted to help draw the numbers.  He did not want to hear me when I explained that thumbs were required for the task). 


In third place, taking home $25 in Hostess Rewards, is Jen Burkowski with Square Number 29! 

In second place, taking home a $50 credit to be used on absolutely anything in the Idea Book, is Jeanette Ramos, with Square Number 8! 

And finally, in first place, taking home a $100 CLOSE TO MY HEART SHOPPING SPREE is . . . Jen Burkowski, with Square Number 17!   It really does pay to buy the most squares in the pot!  :) 

Calling Jen just now to let her know she had won was an absolute giggle fest.   It truly made me love my job that much more! 

Congratulations to the winners and thank you to everyone who participated!  

Until next time. . .  

Tomorrow Is the Big Day!

I can't wait until tomorrow, when I get to pick up the phone and call the lucky girl who has won a $100 Close To My Heart shopping spree from me!  Customer Appreciation Month has absolutely flown by.  Now it's the last day and there are only TWO raffle squares left.  

Will you be the winner?  Get one of the last two squares and maybe I'll be calling you tomorrow!

Stamps for Everyone! Go Nuts!

It's a stamp celebration!  For the entire month of June, when you buy any 2 stamp sets from the current or Fall/Winter 2011 Idea Books, you automatically get a third stamp set (of equal or lesser value--you knew I was gonna say it) for FREE!  Don't you just love that?  And with my exclusive Customer Appreciation Special, you could really make out like a bandit this summer.    

I already snagged my first three stamp sets, and I know I'll be taking advantage of this special at least two more times this month.  I can't wait for these babies to arrive: 

I plan to make the "Blooming Flourishes" Bookmark Album on page 98 of the Idea Book with The Best Things stamp set.  I'll post a picture as soon as I finish it!  And of course, as my prize for ordering these two sets, I got this one absolutely free:

Now is definitely the time to stock up on alphabets, too.  This deal is truly scrapalicious.  Which stamp sets are you going to get?  

(Find stamping a bit daunting?  Don't!  Check out my tips on how to get the perfect image every time.)

June is Customer Appreciation Month! Well, for me it is, anyway.

I want you to know how much I appreciate you.  And with the baby coming in just a few weeks, I won't be able to see you as often at gatherings and playshops.

That's why I'm offering an exclusive opportunity available ONLY to my customers to win a shopping spree on me!  On July 1st, three lucky crafters will win! 

Here's how it works: I'm raffling off 35 squares for $5 each (payable by cash or check).  Each square is numbered 1 through 35.  You pick your numbers and you can buy as many squares as you want! Click here to get in on the fun.  The more you buy, the greater your chances of winning.  On July 1st, I'll draw three numbers at random.

3rd place will win $25 in select product credit, which can be used on stamps,blocks, ink pads, markers, re-inkers, My Stickease assortments, Complements, paper packets, all cardstock packs, Workshops on the Go kits, Studio J memberships, and Studio J 5-packs. 

2nd place will win a $50 credit to use on absolutely anything in the Idea Book! 

1st place will win a $100 credit to use on  absolutely anything in the Idea Book! You can finally get that CTMH Cricut bundle you've been eyeing. 


Click here to email me your number choices and to buy your squares!  Remember, there are only 35 spots!

Mad About Dotty for You

May is National Scrapbooking Month!  Honestly, no one does it better than Close To My Heart, do they?  I have been celebrating all month with the Dotty For You paper packet, which I got for only 5 smackeroos in honor of CTMH's National Scrapbooking Month promotion.  (You can, too!)

The kit comes with 24 specially-designed, coordinating B&T Duos sheets (2 each of 12 patterns) and an artwork idea insert to get your creative juices flowing.  Admittedly, putting some of the projects together on your own can seem daunting if you're a novice.  I myself went a bit cross-eyed trying to figure out the chevron pattern on the cardbox.  But succeed, I did!  I love how it turned out.     

And I created my own set of instructions along the way, so feel free to contact me if you want me to show you how.  The monogrammed initial card is super easy to make.  I think I'm going to make a whole bunch and a create a little stationary set for myself.  

I'm also working on this single-page layout, which I plan to use as the first page of the scrapbook I'm making for our little girl-to-be.  

Adorable, yes?  You need to snag this kit!  

Journaling Just Got Snazzier

I just discovered the coolest thing on Pinterest.  It's a template for printing on Post It Notes, but it struck me that this very template could also be used for journaling on cardstock.  I found the template in two sizes here. 

The instructions contemplate that you would place a Post It Note in each square of the template, but why not try using cardstock?  Simply trim the cardstock to the template size, adhere it to the template using removable, repositionable adhesive, and feed it into your printer.  Voila!  Easy, legible journaling that you can then peel off of the template page and slap down onto your layout.  What's more, the embellishment possibilities are endless.  You can mount your journaling tag on contrasting cardstock, distress the edges with an edge distresser or ink them with a sponge dauber, or pop it off of your layout with 3-d foam tape--just to name a few ideas.    

And the best part is, you don't have to worry about having perfect handwriting!  I know that's a huge reason why most scrappers hate journaling.  Well.  Problem solved.  Happy journaling to you!

Embrace the Philosophy of Fun (I know I am)!

Whew! With our baby girl on the way, I sure did let blogging fall to the wayside. But now that I'm in second-trimester bliss and no longer feeling like someone slipped me a Nyquil (or worse, like losing my cookies at any given moment), blogging is back on!

And at the perfect time, too. Check this out:

Close To My Heart is offering this crazy awesome deal when you sign up as a new Consultant between March 1–31: you receive a FREE Cricut® Art Philosophy collection! In non-CTMH speak, that means you get CTMH's exclusive Cricut cartridge, along with three stamp sets and three sheets of Dimensional Elements chipboard shapes, for FRIZZLE. The collection has a retail price of $99. This is an amazing deal! I heart my Collection. I can't believe we're giving it away for free. And if you already own the collection you can always give your free one as a gift or choose to receive $100 in select product credit* instead.

Contact me about how to embrace the philosophy of fun OR get started right away and enroll now!