Reflecting Back On 2013

This year has been A-M-A-Z-I-N-G and I am extremely thankful for all my experiences, memories & accomplishments. I thought I'd take some inspiration from Wendy over at Stamping Rules! and write a fun list focusing on 2013.

Now before you get your hopes up, my list isn't going to be as awesome at her lists are, but it's an appropriate format for something I have been thinking about sharing for a while. 

1) Family - we seem to have bonded and grown closer this year, which is hard to believe because we're a tight knit group already! As far as big events goes, we celebrated my youngest nephew graduating from high school and my Gram's 95th birthday!  They are my rocks and I don't know what I'd do without them. Love you all!!

2) Close to My Heart Events - I am not sure how I pulled so much travel off this year, but somehow my "strategy" of just go, worked!  My travels took me to 2 CTMH Album Retreats and the CTMH convention in Orlando.  I was able to see two of my BFFs during these travels too - bonus!  I had so much fun!!  Thank you for making these events possible for me.  

In April, I also attended Stamp Camp - it's a weekend getaway for us local scrappers (including some CTMH consultants), just to be disconnected & have a fun productive time.

Album Retreat in Salt Lake, UT (March)

Convention in Orlando, FL at Disneyworld (June)

Album Retreat in Salt Lake, UT (October)

3) Go Blue! - My BFFs took me to my first Michigan football game. It was such a fun and surreal experience. Those big schools are serious about their football. LOVED it!! The Big House was crazy & I am hooked. I promised to take my brother to a game since I beat him too it. Hehe

4) Friends - I love and adore my friends. Life would be difficult and boring without them. My BFFs, who, regardless of the distance between us, are some of the most important people in my life. I also have my work peeps, soccer peeps, CTMH peeps, Fair peeps, and long-time peeps from school. This year has definitely had it's challenges & it has reminded me how fortunate I am to have each person in my life. You all make a difference in me. 

5) Ankle! - In August, I celebrated my one year anniversary to my first ever life altering injury - an ankle sprain. I sprained it again 5 months later (January 2013); next month will mark the second one-year anniversary. It's an accomplishment I do not want to take for granted. 

6) Student loan - I paid it off!! Enough said. 

7) Golfing - I learned to play golf this year...my work friends finally convinced me and I am hooked.  I have only been out a handful of times, but I'm getting it.  On my second time out, I hit the green when I shot from where you tee-off... ya I am still learning all the lingo, so don't laugh too much!  I am looking forward to getting out on the green more next year.

8) Soccer - Playing soccer is a passion and it helps keep me active/fit, while I get to spend time with some talented and great people.  I am now playing on 3 indoor teams each week!  The more I play, the better I am.  I'm no Alex Morgan, but I believe I can hold my own and contribute.  I primarily play forward and then I also split the time in the goal for one team.  It's a blast!  My Monday team won a session Championship too!!  

9) Just Fun -  Throughout the year, I got to go and do lots of things: watched my cousin play competitive soccer; go to a Cirque du Soleil show in San Francisco; a handful of crab feeds; outings with friends; wine tasting; Giants baseball game with my cousins, etc.. I also got to go to watch Women's National Soccer Team play against New Zealand - what a blast!!

10) CTMH Success!! - I really wanted to focus on the CTMH business this year.. Going to each of the CTMH events helped with my inspiration, motivation and business strategy.  I joined Instagram (love it!) & eventually Twitter (reluctantly but only because I have a program that automatically tweets for me).  In addition, I started this blog and created a specific Facebook business page - all of this in hopes to better inspire you and grow my customer base.  To keep my creative mojo flowing, I have participated in a handful of blog challenges and even won a couple of the Color Dare ones!  I am happy with my accomplishments in this area - sometimes I don't know how some of the other consultants find the time. lol  Throughout this past year, I also created 3 (or more) albums for Make-A-Wish wish recipients - it is an honor to give them something to cherish and remember their wish with!

THANK YOU again for helping make what I do possible.  Happy New Year!!

Designer Decor Flip Flap Album Meets Artbooking

I was planning on attending the CTMH Fall Album Retreat in October and there was a contest to utilize the Designer Decor Flip Stand Album.  This summer, my family and I had photos taken by my amazingly talented friend, Heather, with Heather Jean Photography, and having just gotten my hands on our pictures, I knew I wanted to create the project featuring those.  Then I'd also have something to give my parents for Christmas (that was finished WAY ahead of time for once!!)

I also challenged myself to utilize the Cricut Artbooking cartridge - I really hadn't had the opportunity to try it out yet due to my crazy busy schedule.  As far as a color combination, I went with a similar palette to the photos - Pear, Pacifica & Slate - so they were the focal point.  It turned out beautifully!!  I am very happy with it and even though I didn't with the Album Retreat Contest, my parents LOVED it.

  

layered flowers, raised with 3D foam tape & a stud from the Rosewood Mini-Melody collection

to accent the center of the flower; a sparkle flourish flowing away from the flower 

only bad thing about these pages, which are two of my favs, are that the camera

gets caught on the flower when the pages are closed - something to watch out for

you can see better the pear overlay at the top; 

added slate glitter paper and cardstock behind the photo mat to pop the accents

the base of the flip stand

Cricut Craft Room was a huge part of this project, as I had to manipulate the mini-album pages by size and also hid the holes from the side.  If you have not used Cricut Craft Room yet, it is a MUST & it's FREE to use.  Just download the program to your computer, hook up your Cricut to your computer, and go!  It's easy and also allows you access to their free images for the week.

There are ENDLESS possibilities for the Designer Decor Flip Flap Album.  I hope this project has inspired you to create your own masterpiece.  I used numerous CTMH products (exclusively) throughout; if you are interested in something specific or a specific technique I used, please email me or leave a comment below.

Inspired By Blog Challenges - FMS#117

I totally got inspired yesterday by blog challenges.  Freshly Made Sketches has some great inspiration too and so I got crafting with scraps from the Cloud 9 National Papercrafting Month Cardmaking Kit.

I like the simplicity of the challenges from Freshly Made Sketches - here is what I created for their #117 blog challenge:

The Cloud 9 kit is ridiculously cute and gives a sneak peak at new products from the Close to My Heart 2014 Spring/Summer Idea Book.  The left picture is the outside of the card and the right is the inside of the card.  The sentiment on the outside "Today is a Good Day" is raised using 3D tape; underneath that is *new* Teal shimmer trim.  The gold polka-dot banner is actually *new* washi tape & the *new* Triangle Studs at the top left are self-adhesive.  Inside, the frame & sentiment are stamped directly to the card base. These scraps (the designer's goal for this sketch) worked out great to create this card!

To find out how you can purchase the Cloud 9 kit (starting January 1st) by emailing me, visiting my website, or reading my Cloud 9 blog post.

Featured Products:

- Cloud 9 Card Making Kit papers & accessories/embellishments

     - Durables Triangle Studs

     - Teal Shimmer Trim

     - Gold Polka-Dot Washi Tape

- Lagoon, Sunset and Honey Stamp Pads

- Happy Holidays MyAcrylix Stamp

-  All the Details MyAcrylix Stamp

- 3D Foam Tape

- White Daisy Value Card Pack

Inspired By Blog Challenges- MM#325 & CQ#221

I decided to kick-start my crafty mojo with some blog challenges and went to this week's inspiration from Mojo Monday & Colour Q.

 

This was a duel inspiration and I missed uploading this post to Mojo Monday #325 :( but still a go for Colour Q #221. None-the-less, the challenges did their job and got me crafting!!  Here is what I came up with:

The Close to My Heart colors I used, that were closest to the Colour Q (SU) colors, are White Daisy, Moonstruck, Lagoon, Chocolate, and Juniper. It's hard to tell from this picture, but the Happy Birthday tag is raised with 3D tape and there are bitty sparkles on the swirls of the cupcake frosting.

Featured products:

- Artiste Cricut Cartridge

- Art Philosophy Cricut Cartridge

- Moonstruck & Chocolate Stamp Pads

- Holiday Tags MyAcrylix Stamp

- Art Philosophy Collection MyAcrylix Stamp

- 3D foam tape

- Bronze shimmer trim

- Lagoon shimmer trim (sneak peak of new product from 2014 Spring/Summer Idea Book!)

- Bitty Sparkles

- Juniper Alcohol Marker

- Sparkle & Shine B&T paper

- Lagoon, Moonstruck, and White Daisy Cardstock

- White Daisy Card Value Pack

Frosted WOTG Card Kit

The Frosted WOTG Card Kit is probably one of my all time favorites.  Not only do I LOVE the paper, but the exclusive stamp set to this kit is awesome and the cards turned out great!  I can't wait to use the instructional brochure to make some birthday cards

Use the materials, kit-exclusive accessories, and instructions in the kit to create 15 beautiful cards (5 each of 3 designs) inspired by Jeanette Lynton! Some basic tools you may already have, such as inks, stamp blocks, or tools are needed to complete this project.  This WOTG kit is retiring at the end of January 2014.

Included in the Frosted WOTG kit:

1 – My Acrylix® Frosted Cardmaking Workshop Stamp Set (D-size)

2 – Frosted B&T Duos® Papers

5 – Cardstock Sheets (2 Colonial White, 1 Kraft, 1 Olive, 1 Ruby)

15 – Colonial White Cards & Envelopes

1 – Champagne, Colonial White, & Silver Baker's Twine (10 yards)

1 – Silver Glitter Gems (108)

1 – Instructional Brochure

The card by itself (to the side or the bottom) is exactly how the instructions said to make them; the other 4 cards are my alternate versions for some inspiration!

I wasn't kidding when I said I loved these cards!  I was inspired to make a set of 15 using the Sparkle & Shine paper pack also - they turned out awesome!!  So don't forget that the how-to-guide gives you endless possibilities!  Happy Holidays!!

Retired Item Back While Supplies Last

I LOVE this case and it was retired earlier this year. welllll.. it is on the "while supplies last" RIGHT NOW!!! And save $7- get it for $5.25! It's perfect for holding stamp pads, the M-size stamps, and other supplies. http://inspired.ctmh.com/Retail/Product.aspx?ItemID=11&CatalogID=1702 

Lots of goodies on the while supplies last list too. Shop now!!  http://inspired.ctmh.com/Retail/Products.aspx?CatalogID=1702 

December Stamp of the Month - Special Care

The December Stamp of the Month (SOTM) is Special Care.  Buy it at full retail price for $17.95* or earn it at a discounted price of $5* with a $50 order, before tax and shipping.

This sweet stamp will only be available through December 31, 2013.  Visit my website to get your SOTM today!! 

* - plus tax and S&H