Shipshewana Crop - August 2013

We had another wonderful weekend in Shipshewana, Indiana at the Farmstead Inn.  The Can't Stop Dreaming Team put on a 3 day cropping retreat with the Western theme!   We're doing it again January 24-26.  You can send your $25 non-refundable deposit to:  Barbra Otten  1247 W. John Beers Road, Stevensville, MI 49127.

The signs around the room were Western themed.  This was the table where you could trade items you no longer wanted, a donation to Operation Smile made the item yours.

 There's never a lack of food at the old bunkhouse, we had plenty of vittles for breakfast, lunch and dinner and in between!

Guests earned tickets all weekend long for the prize table or as we called it, The Gold Mine.

The brand new Close to my Heart Artbooking Cricut cartridge was our first drawing!   

The Flip Flap class was well attended and guests learned how to tame their photo overload!

The nametag contest is always a favorite activity!

The Close to my Heart raffle board gave these three winners gift certificates to shop!

It's always important to wet your whistle with a little sasparill-y (or as we call it, root beer).  

A complete card workshop was available all weekend long.  Guests could make cards when they wanted to for just a dollar per card.

Speaking of cards, the card contest was a thigh-slapping hit.

The pajama contest was Western themed, of course!

And the winner was Molly Raster!

A strange feller delivered little bags of gold to everyone.

Of course thar was croppin' all weekend too.

We would love to have you join us in January, only 60 spots are available so don't delay.

Card Workshop!

Do you wish you had more time to make handmade cards?  Do you hate the price you have to pay for a machine-made impersonal card at the store?  Then I have the value for you.  My card workshop allows you freedom to choose the cards you want, at a low price and lets you get away for a couple of hours to create.

The card workshop consists of over 20 different card choices and all the pieces are cut and directions are written out for you, no thinking required!!!  You can make as many cards as you can in two hours for just $10.  This is also a great class for beginners so don't feel intimidated, most of the work is done for you so no worries!

The address is:   6648 Ryno Road, Coloma at the senior center (no you con't have to be a senior).
The date is Wednesday, August 21 from 12:30-2:30.
We're in the first room as you enter the building and it's a friendly laid back atmosphere where you work at your own pace.  Join us and you will love it!!!  No reservations required!!

Consultant Training Camp!

Think being a Close to my Heart is all selling and hustling, nope!  It's mostly crafting, playing, meeting people and fun!   Here's just one example, our consultant training camp!  Fifty five wonderful ladies spent last weekend training, creating beautiful pieces of artwork, being treated like queens, and having an absolute blast!   We made cards, had a table contest, learned how to make artwork for display at our workshops and parties, we ate and received lots and lots of gifts.  It's easy to join us, take a look at the kit at the far right of this blog and click on the Time to Start a new Adventure link and let's get you in on the fun!

Artbooking Cricut Cartridge

It's official, the new Fall/Winter catalog is out and the new Cricut Artbooking Cartridge is the star!! 

 Take your scrapbooking to never-before-seen levels with the new Cricut® Artbooking collection! With oodles of images in each of 15 layout themes, you can create several coordinating pages for each theme using just two keys and one dial size. Images include accents, borders, titles, overlays, photo mats—in standard photo sizes!—and more. The Cricut® keys are optimized for creating 12" × 12" pages in a jiffy. You'll also love creating 10 themed mini books, also optimized for several different sizes using just two keys and one dial size. When you're finished cutting, use the coordinating stamp sets and Dimensional Elements shapes to add even more pizzazz!

CLICK HERE TO ORDER YOURS TODAY!!

Official Get out of the Doghouse Day

Did you know that today is official "Get out of the Doghouse Day?"  Isn't it funny that they have an official day like that?   It got me thinking though.  Have you let yourself out of the doghouse about your scrapbooking and crafting?  I'm betting you haven't.

Let's see if any of these ring true....

Do you feel guilty because you are "so behind" in your scrapbooking?
Do you feel badly when you take a weekend a way to get your crafting done?
Does the pile-up of unorganized supplies in your crafting room make you cringe?

All of these feelings are normal but today I want you let yourself out of the doghouse on each and every one of them.  Scrapbooking, cardmaking, and papercrafting are not going to bring you joy if you put unrealistic expectations on yourself.  Here's the reality....

It's unlikely that you will ever catch up in your scrapbooking because time does not stand still and you are making new memories and taking new pictures each and every day.  Accept that fact and just work on the pictures that mean the most.  Every photo and every memory DOES NOT have to be scrapbooked and believe it or not, they don't have to be scrapbooked in order either!   Take it easy on yourself and do what you can do and let that guilt go hang out somewhere else.

When I was in MOPS (mother's of preschoolers), we had a speaker who talked about moms being like juice boxes, they get squeezed and squeezed with every request, every errand, every trip to the grocery store until there is not much juice left.  There is a way to fill your own juice box up though.  Take some time for yourself!  Do something that makes you feel refreshed and ready to go again and if that's a weekend crop or a cardmaking workshop with your friends, then that's what you need!  You are replenishing yourself so you are free to give again to your family and friends.  Go have some fun!

Ever heard of the FLYLADY?  She's a semi-famous internet star who helps people with their housekeeping duties.   I've followed her for years and so many of her techniques in getting people to clean their house work for crafting too.  One of the best is to do your organizing in 15 minute segments.  Organization can be overwhelming but if you don't look at it as something you have to do in one day, it will be less so.  Get yourself a timer and tackle that scrapbook room in small bits.  Turn the timer to 15 minutes and work on your room for just that amount of time.  When the timer goes off, stop!  This is very important!  If you don't stop then you have broken your promise to yourself and you'll begin to resent the timer idea.  You have to believe that you only will work 15 minutes.  The next day, do it again, just 15 minutes.  I know you're thinking that it won't work but you won't believe how much you can do in that amount of time.  Once you are seeing the progress, try using your timer twice a day.  Believe me, it works!

So, there are three ways to let yourself out of that smelly old doghouse and bring back the joy of your crafting.   Hope it helps!

Wonderful Article on Creativity

http://12most.com/2012/03/13/12-striking-tendencies-creative-people/

12 Most Striking Tendencies of Creative People by Kim Phillips


Ever wonder what makes those wacky, creative types tick? How is it that some people seem to come up with all kinds of interesting, original work while the rest of us trudge along in our daily routines?
Creative people are different because they operate a little differently. They:

1. Are easily bored

A short attention span isn’t always a good thing, but it can indicate that the creative person has grasped one concept and is ready to go on to the next one.

2. Are willing to take risks

Fearlessness is absolutely necessary for creating original work, because of the possibility of rejection. Anything new requires a bit of change, and most of us don’t care for change that much.

3. Don’t like rules

Rules, to the creative person, are indeed made to be broken. They are created for us by other people, generally to control a process; the creative person needs freedom in order to work.

4. Ask “what if…”

Seeing new possibilities is a little risky, because it means that something will change and some sort of action will have to be taken. Curiosity is probably the single most important trait of creative people.

5. Make lots of mistakes

A photographer doesn’t just take one shot, and a composer doesn’t just write down a fully realized symphony. Creation is a long process, involving lots of boo-boos along the way. A lot goes in the trash.

6. Collaborate

The hermit artist, alone in his garret, is a romantic notion but not always an accurate one. Comedians, musicians, painters, chefs all get a little better by sharing with others in their fields.

7. Are generous

Truly creative people aren’t afraid to give away their hard-earned knowledge. The chef can give you the recipe because she knows you won’t make it like she does anyway.

8. Are independent

Stepping off the beaten path may be scary, but creative people do it. Children actually do this very well but are eventually trained to follow the crowd.

9. Experiment

Combining things that don’t normally go together can result in brilliance or a giant mess. Trial and error are necessary to the creative process.

10. Motivate themselves

There does seem to be a spark that creative people share, an urgent need to make things. They are willing to run the inherent risks of doing something new in order to get a new result.

11. Work hard

This is probably the most overlooked trait of creative people. People who don’t consider themselves to be creative assume that people who are creative are magical, that ideas just pop into their heads effortlessly. Experienced creative people have developed processes and discipline that make it look easy.

12. Aren’t alone

The good news is that it’s possible for everyone to be creative. There are creative accountants, creative cooks, creative janitors, creative babysitters. Any profession or any hobby can be made into a creative pursuit by embracing and using creative traits.
Do you consider yourself creative? (Say yes.) Finding something you’re really passionate about will help you take a chance and might just result in something wildly creative.

What a deal!