Let's Celebrate!!

It's my FIFTH year anniversary with Close to my Heart and I want to celebrate!! 

It’s time for a $1000 party!! As my anniversary gift to you, you can earn hostess rewards without:
Cleaning the house!
Making snacks
Sending out invitations
Trying to take time out of your crazy schedules!
Here’s the deal: This offer will be available to the first 10 people who contact me. (if I can get an additional 10 we will do a 2nd group, etc). Email me (caldreamin05@comcast.net) or call me at (989) 906-6420) right away to join! Once you join, here's what you do next:

Start collecting your order(s) of at least $100. All those who place the minimum $100 order will earn ONE of the following as their hostess reward:

*$100 in select product credit

*$60 in select product credit

*$40 in select product credit

*Your choice of a 50% hostess bundle OR any catalog item at 50%

*A free stamp set

So, every hostess will be a winner!!! If you collect $200 in orders, you’ll get 2 different prizes, $300, three different prizes, etc. Prizes will be awarded randomly.

We also want your friends to be happy with you, so you can offer them a free exclusive Petite Perk stamp set to everyone who orders at least $25 worth of product from you!

When you place your order, just let me know how many you need, and I’ll get those to you to hand out when your product arrives.

If you don't have a current idea book...head on over to my website http://barbraotten.ctmh.com to view it. Or call me and I will be happy to deliver one to you or put one in the mail.

Remember, you can collect orders from your friends-you can combine orders to reach the $100 minimum order, or place the $100 yourself (which also does qualify you for the $5.00 April Stamp of the Month!

I can’t WAIT to give away all those FREE and half price goodies!! You all know that is my favorite part of my job! :)

Why I'm a consultant for Close to my Heart

I find that when an anniversary comes around I have a tendency to reflect on the time that has passed and the reasons I've committed to the person or job or whatever that the anniversary celebrates. So here's my thoughts about my five years with Close to my Heart.

I've been a scrapbooker for over 15 years.  I started the week after my youngest was born.  How I had time to learn a new craft with two other kids and a newborn at home, I don't remember, but I did.  I remember seeing scrapbooking supplies at the local JoAnn's Fabrics and had a vague recollection of one of my distant cousins showing me her scrapbook at a family reunion.  I had plans to only do one book for the new baby but within what may have just been days I became hooked on this new craft. 

I remember that a few months after starting scrapbooking I ended up teaching it at a scrapbook store in Flint, Michigan.  It wasn't too surprising that I have taught this craft again and again over the years at many stores, crops, and parties because I used to be a school teacher and the love of teaching tends to stick with you. 

We moved from our little town near Flint to Stevensville, Michigan about eight years ago and though I still scrapbooked, I didn't have a place around here to teach it anymore.  Being new to town and a homebody, I also led a fairly solitary life for a couple of years, doing most of my socializing online with old friends.  I attended a crop with a bunch of these friends in 2008 and one of them, Michelle, was a Close to my Heart consultant.  Though she had been one for a couple of years she hadn't really ever asked me if I wanted to be a consultant before, but that day she told me I'd be good at it.  It took me just a few days to realize that it might be just the opportunity I needed.

I loved scrapbooking, I loved teaching and what was consultanting other than just a manifestation of what I'd already done before?!!  Within a few weeks I signed up (five years ago today) and am now a Senior Director with Close to my Heart.  I've won the Rising Star award, a recruiting award and earned two cruises!   I have a team of over 65 wonderful, wonderful ladies who's friendships enrich my life.  Every. Single. Day.   I have met so many scrapbookers and cardmakers who take my classes, have me over to their homes, attend my crops and buy my products but most of all, give me their friendship.   I've learned to be a better listener, a more caring person and a pretty good businesswoman too!

I honestly can't see myself ever leaving Close to my Heart. Age isn't going to be a factor and so, as far as I am concerned right now, I'm in it for the long haul.  Close to my Heart has given me so much and I am proud to be a part of such a great company.  So, thanks for helping me celebrate today, I hope you had fun, I know I did!

Giveaway Four

WE HAVE A WINNER, CONGRATULATIONS TO Heidi Baweja.

 

In honor of my fifth anniversary with Close to my Heart I'm having giveaways all day!  Here's the fourth one.  The third person to email me at caldreamin05@comcast.net and tell me how you started scrapbooking, cardmaking or paper crafting will win this felt monster packet below.  Good luck!

CONSULTANTS ARE EXEMPT FROM THESE GIVEAWAYS, SORRY.  Don't forget to scroll down to see the rest of the posts for today, I'm posting hourly.

 

Giveaway Three!!!

CONGRATS TO Jeanne Steinhilber, OUR GIVEAWAY THREE WINNER.  STILL LOOKING FOR A WINNER ON GIVEAWAY TWO.

In honor of my fifth anniversary with Close to my Heart I'm having giveaways all day!  Here's the third one.  The first person to email me at caldreamin05@comcast.net and tell me your favorite Close to my Heart paper pack will win a package of ribbon.  Good luck!

CONSULTANTS ARE EXEMPT FROM THESE GIVEAWAYS, SORRY.

Please scroll down to see other posts today, if there is no winner posted, giveaways are still open.

Interest Poll

I've attached a poll down at the bottom of the page. Please let me know what types of posts you'd like to see more of on my blog, thanks!!

Paper sorting

I'm no expert on organization or storage but I have found certain things that have worked for me over the past twelve years. Today I'm going to show you how I sort my paper. I have about six crates of papers because I've been collecting for so many years and also because I just can't resist paper! I like to just lay it out and look at it sometimes which I know is strange but I do it anyway. Since I have so much paper I am dealing with one crate at a time. This particular crate is my Close to my Heart paper. Being a consultant, it's important for me to keep that paper together and visible so it's easy to find for my business.

I found that it's best to keep the majority of my scraps of paper with the actual paper set they go with or I will never use them. I used to divide them all up and put them in baggies in a big box but they just sat there. When I keep them with the paper I'm more inclined to reach for them. My CTMH papers were definitely in a disarray, they were flowing over to a second box and the scraps were very disorganized. I laid them all out on the floor first. I like to work on the floor when sorting, throw in Dirty Dancing into the dvd player and work while I watch Patrick Swayze do his thing.

I can't say enough about baggies, small and large, they come in handy for so many things in my scrapbooking. I bought a bunch of new ones just to sort my paper.

A couple of years back I bought a ton of these crates. I think they were four or five dollars a piece and they have been a lifesaver. They fit 12 x 12 paper perfectly, even in a baggie.

Here's a set of Back Country paper for my first example. This wasn't in bad shape because I've been using it on the projects for this blog so I'd really used up a lot of scraps. One nice thing about Close to my Heart paper packs is that they already come in their own ziploc bags so I didn't have to buy baggies for this paper. I first go through the paper and pull out all the 12 x 12 that's still intact. I like to divide it up by pattern and cardstock color just so I don't have to search for the piece I need.

Those 12 x 12 pieces go in the front of the bag. I also make sure to put the label of the paper in front so I know what paper kit it is.

Next I deal with the scraps. If it's small enough to fit into a quart-size baggie, in it goes.

If it doesn't fit into that baggie I put it in the back of the 12 x 12 paper in the large bag.

Here's some Silhouette paper that is in worse shape than the Back Country. I had a lot of it due to a party in which we made full layouts. The pack of paper was very thick and taking up a lot of room in the crate causing the overflow into the other crate. I took out the full 12 x 12 sheets first and put it in the large CTMH bag it came in.

I then sorted all the scraps into piles by pattern and color. The small ones went in the quart-sized baggie, the large went in the back of the 12 x 12 paper in the large bag.

I took out the cardstock scraps and did not put them back in the large CTMH bag.

Here's the much thinner bag of Silhouette paper ready to be put into the crate.

Once I'd gone through all the paper packs and taken out any cardstock scraps (only) that made the packages too full or thick I divided all the scraps by color. I had a couple of packs of 12 x 12 cardstock that I'd bought separately from the paper packs. I divided it all up by color then went through the packs and added extra cardstock to any paper pack that needed it. Once finished with that I took all the leftover cardstock, both 12 x 12 and the scraps that went with it and put each color in it's only separate 2 gallon baggie.

Here they are divided up. I have not decided where I will put these yet but I will be labeling them on the front in big thick marker so I can reach for the color I need. These will probably go into their own separate crate but I don't have enough of them yet to actually stand up by themselves in a crate. My thought is that as I use my paper packs I will run low on paper scraps for them and transfer these back. At the very least, if they are labeled I'll know where they are when I need them.

I then took all the completed paper packs (Abundance through Whoops a Daisy!!) and put them back in the crate in alphabetical order. They all fit this time!! Now to do the other five boxes of paper!!

Blog Candy again!

Last month I offered a bunch of blog candy (handmade goodies, many from the tutorials themselves)for one person whose name I drew from all of my followers. Well, I'm doing it again. I've been already collecting some great items and I would love to give them to one of you! All you have to do to qualify for the drawing is to sign on as a follower (or already be one). I made it to 101 followers in June so I'm shooting for 150 in total for July! Thanks so much to all of you who are viewing my blog!

Frames to Share

I told you yesterday that I had challenged my team members to decorate their own $1.00 wooden frames and boy, did they come through. Today I am going to share their frames. There are no instructions but I wanted to show you how creative they are.

Here's Connie Hagood's. Connie and I met in college 27 years ago! We've remained friends despite me moving to California and her move to New York. She then moved to Washington D.C. and I moved back to Michigan and then she moved back to Michigan and now we live less than an hour away from each other. Connie joined Close to my Heart last October and has the most awesome workshops in Battle Creek, Michigan. If you want to check them out, contact her at hagoods@netzero.net. (Paper is Tinkerin')

Linda Hicks is up next. I met Linda when I started with Close to my Heart, she was at a party I did at Connie's house. Linda also started in October of 2008 and she has the best sense of humor. She actually did two frames, one for the unit meeting and one to go into the silent auction of our upcoming Scrapbooking and Stamping Fall Camp coming up in Clarkston, Michigan in September. All proceeds from that 3-day crop will go to Operation Smile, a charity that helps fix cleft palates for children in other countries. Contact me for more info on that crop and Operation Smile. Linda is big into clubs and crops at a workshop in her own home in Battle Creek. She can be contacted at linda-hicks@msn.com. (Paper is Perfect Day)


Sue Colby just joined our team last month under Connie. Sue has been a card-maker forever and has boxes of cards. As a matter of fact, she was our "teacher" last night at the unit meeting and taught us a card so terrific that I will be doing my own version and demonstrating it right here for you tomorrow. Sue has been amazing as a consultant already and has two workshops coming up in the next two weeks. She also lives in Battle Creek, more in the Bedford area and you can get ahold of her at her email Tabitha1197@hotmail.com. (Paper is Daydream)

Mystery Box #1 has arrived!

For those of you who are hesitant about ordering the mystery box, here's what was in the first one. Of course this is no longer available but it will give you a clue about what types of things you get in these boxes. Each box is supposed to be different than the previous ones. In mystery box #1 I received:

One National Scrapbooking Month Magic Moments kit. This was a constant campaign last year and contains enough paper to make 24 layouts. It has 24 - 12" x 12" Layout Pages, 8 - 6" x 12" My Stickease Adhesive Sheets (based on different seasons and holidays), 2 - 12" x 12" Colonial White Cardstock Sheets, 13 - 12" x 12" Memory Protectors, 50 - Cocoa Brads, 24' - Cocoa 3/8 Grosgrain Ribbon. The featured colors are: Barn Red, Cocoa, Hollyhock, Indian Corn Blue, Sunflower and Sweet Leaf. I believe the retail value was $35.00, might have been more.

One My Child's Reflections Scrapbooking Kit which contains 3 - 9" x 9" Preprinted Journaling Pages, 3 - 9" x 9" Preprinted Layout Pages, 1 - 9" x 9" My Stickease Adhesive Sheet and 3 - 9" x 9" Memory Printers, very cute! I'm not sure on the retail value of this one, probably runs around $12.95.

One D - size Floral Elements stamp set, retail value $22.95.

One B - size Birthday Script stamp set, retail value $13.95

One C - size Fluttering Frames stamp set, retail value $18.95.

One Autumn Terracotta Ribbon Rounds, retail value $7.95.

One Cranberry My Accents, retail value $12.95.

One 12 yards Twilight Designer ribbon, retail value $6.95.

Here's the picture of everything, wow!!!

You've Got Flair card

As a consultant for Close to my Heart I try to show off the stamp of the month in cards, layouts and paper crafts during the month the stamp is available. The stamp of the month deal is a good one because if you spend $25 on products you can get it for 25% off. If you spend $50 or $75 in products you can get the stamp of the month for 50% or 75% respectively. The best deal is to spend $100 and get the stamp of the month for free. For July, the stamp of the month is one of my favorites because it's full of paisleys, it's called You've Got Flair. For me this immediately gets me thinking, "random stamping!" Not only do I love to random stamp but I also saw potential in this particular stamp set to try a technique I've wanted to try for awhile, baby wipe stamping. What is that, you ask? Well, keep reading.

Supplies you will need (not all shown):

Paper trimmer, Bubblegum and Creme Brulee paper, Bubblegum, Creme Brulee and Garden Green re-inkers and ink pads, a sponge, Glue Dots, the You've Got Flair stamp set (not available til July so choose another stamp set up til then, the Gratitude set is great for random stamping), a square window charm, stamp blocks, buttons and waxy flax that match, adhesive, a ruffled border punch and scissors.

My good friend and fellow consultant, Valerie Black, taught me how to use re-inkers with wipeys to make a multi-colored stamp pad. Up until I saw that I figured that I wouldn't have too much use for re-inkers until an ink pad goes dry but now, of course, I want them all! All you do is stack up 4 or 5 baby wipes in a pile and then squeeze droplets of the reinkers on them, allowing the colors to touch but not to mix too much or the colors will get muddied. Because I was using a large stamp I made sure that my inking area was large too.

Now here's the important part. Each time you stamp, using the wipeys as your stamp pad, you need to clean off your stamp. Because it's nearly impossible to place the stamp exactly on the colors the same way each time, you need to clean between stampings or the colors will get mixed up and brownish.


Now stamp over your paper. With random stamping it's good to try and think of making a triangle with every three stamps. Imagine that each time you stamp you are making one third of a triangular shape so that you could draw an imaginary line between the shapes that formed a triangle. It gives a little more purpose to your randomness, ha ha. With this particular stamp I also tried to turn it often to add variety to the stamping.

Once you've filled your page (don't forget to still use a sponge underneath your paper for good full stamp impressions), use a smaller stamp, I used the tiny flower, in between the larger stamps. This time I actually dipped my stamp purposely into the color of my choice, still using the wipes so that I could use the small flower as an accent for the big paisleys and complement the colors.
Cut the stamped paper about 7 3/4" by 5". Distress it with the Garden Green ink pad and a sponge. Then cut an 8 1/2" by 5 1/2" piece of Bubblegum paper.


Punch a ruffled edge along the short end of one side of the pink paper, distress then score and fold both pieces in the middle.
Attach the paisley paper to the pink, one side at a time works best so it folds smootly.

Stamp the sentiment on a strip of Creme Brulee paper you've cut 1 1/2" by 5 1/2" Attach to card about 1/4" above the paisley paper.

Choose another stamp off from the set you're working with and use it as an accent piece. I cut this 2" by 2" and then turned it diagonally. Distress and stamp the design.

Add the paisley embellishment to the left hand side of the card, about 1/4" above the bottom of the Creme Brulee strip.

Thread waxy floss through the buttons, tie them at the top, attach with glue dots.

Finally put the square window charm (remember it's self-adhesive)to the top of your embellishment, great 3-d look. You're all done, now go play and don't forget to check out the deal of the day.