How much do you spend on scrapping and stamping?

My mom and I were discussing this yesterday after attending a great card workshop by my friend and downline, Susan Colby. I was telling mom that many scrapbookers spend $100 and up a month on supplies.

It got me thinking. The minimum amount of sales that a Close to my Heart consultant needs to make is $100 a month ($300 a quarter). If a person joined Close to my Heart and just wanted to be a hobbyist, join for the discount and to sell to a few friends and family, it wouldn't even be a trial if she was already spending that kind of money a month. In fact, it would save her money because she'd get a discount on that $100. Not only a big discount but every month when she spent her $100 she'd get a stamp of the month for free and sometimes even more, like this month when she'd get a paper pack for free too. Hmmm...

Now what if that same person decided to get some orders from her friends one of those months and the orders total $150. Well then that person would get a free stamp of the month and $25 in free products on top of that AND her discount! If she did that every month she would have almost $150 in free products each quarter, keep her discount and stay a consultant in good standing.

Wow! If I weren't already a consultant I think I'd join today!

P.S. Did you know it's only $99 plus shipping and handling to join and you receive products and supplies totalling $300, just a little added bonus. Why aren't you a Close to my Heart consultant yet?

August Constant Campaign!! Wowee!

Talk about a great special! This is something I know I've been waiting for! From August 3-17th if you order $100 worth of Close to my Heart products you will receive not only the August Stamp of the Month for free but ALSO a current My Reflections Level 2 paper packet! Not only that but Close to my Heart will charge you no shipping or tax on either item, whoo hoo! That's a $35.90 value for FREE! Now here's the fine print:

There is a limit of one free paper packet and Stamp of the Month per qualifying order. No shipping/handling or tax on free items, but shipping/handling and tax will still apply on the $100 US/$124.95 CAN qualifying purchase. The paper packet will be chosen for you by Close to my Heart but will be a current and popular paper packet!

Now take a look at your catalog (or the catalog online here) and start your wish list! Make sure that you check out our August Stamp of the Month blog hop on August 1st to see wall the wonderful things you can make with the stamp set too!!

Top Ten ExcIusive Inks I can't live without!

Okay, yesterday I talked about my favorite stamp sets, today I want to give you my list of the 10 ink colors I can't do without. Of course, I have all of them because it's one of the perks of this job, free products!! I hardly paid for any of them but I know you are not all consultants as I am (although you could be!!!) so here are the ones I recommend if you can only have ten! Click on the color name and see a much better picture of the ink than I could have taken!

Number Ten...Smokey Plum. I believe you have to have at least one version of each of the six colors of the rainbow so this is the purple. It's a gorgeous color and makes perfect stamped flowers.

Number Nine...Outdoor Denim. Who doesn't love a pair of jeans, they always feel good and go with everything. Outdoor Denim is the same way!

Number Eight...Sweet Leaf. It's just the prettiest green ever and looks awesome on leaf stamps!

Number Seven...Creme Brulee. This is the yellow I love the most, along with Sorbet and Tulip it seems to be very popular in so many of our papers and you know, you want to match the papers!

Number Six...Sorbet. This is my favorite version of orange. I know, I know, it's nice to have a bright orange for Halloween but, believe me, you'll use Sorbet more.

Number Five...Tulip. Tulip is red but not too red. It is bright enough for kids stamps and papers but not too loud for flowers and hearts. You'll use it a lot.

Number Four...Blush. Pink isn't exactly one of the rainbow colors but we sure use it often, don't we? You need some soft colors in your palette and this is one of the best.

Number Three...White Daisy. It's a pigment ink which is different from the rest but it has to be, to work on dark colors. Remember when using it to either dry it with a heat gun, emboss it or let it set out for awhile to make sure it won't smear.

Number Two...Chocolate. You've got to have a brown, especially if you are big time into distressing like me. Chocolate is the most popular of our browns for good reason, it's wonderful!

Number One...Black. Now if you could only afford one ink pad, this is the one to get because you can always add color and decorations to your stamped image with other mediums such as markers, chalks, colored pencils, etc. once you've laid down the base in black. It can be used to distress too so make sure this is your number one ink purchase.

Okay, there's my list, do you agree? I'd love to hear your picks for the top ten ink colors so leave a comment!!