Scrapbooking in the Studio . . . Studio J, that is!

It's been some fun scrapbooking time around here and not one sticker, stamp, accessory was used, at least, not in real life.

As easy as pushing a button, I created layouts lickity split and I'm still creating! Close To My Heart announced some amazing changes to the Studio J program and it's made scrapbooking even easier, and cheaper too!

First of all, no more memberships. Yeah! Membership gave you access to exclusive layouts, paper packs, and other perks, like free shipping, and free page protectors. All that's changed now. All the layouts and paper packs are available to EVERYONE. Yes, everyone. AND the price went down to $6.95 per layout for EVERYONE. Yes, everyone.

And that's not all. No, there's now some completed layouts where ALL the work has been done. No adding anything, or picking colors or wondering which layout to use. That's all been done by the designers at Close To My Heart. Just add your photos and presto, bingo, your layout is ready to order! How easy is that?

I challenge you to just log onto Studio J at http://studioj.com and give it a try. The cost is absolutely free to try the program and you will only be charged if you absolutely love your layout and would like to purchase it. Not into scrapbooking the traditional way and prefer the jpegs? You can do that too!



Faster. Simpler. Easier.
The Close To My Heart Way
Have fun creating!

How to . . . Adorable Candy Favor Box

Box measures 4"x3" and holds Ghirardelli chocolates!

Step 1: Cut two pieces of coordinating Cardstock or Background & Texture (decorative paper). The spotted, outer envelope is 10”x4” and the inner (not shown here) is 10 ¼” x 3”.

Step 2: Score the spotted, outer envelope as follows: 3”, 4”, 7”, 8”. Score the inner box at 1 ½”, 5”, 6 ½”, 10”, 10 ¼”.

 

Paper Scored. Inner box adhered to outer paper.

Step 3: Fold the outer envelope at the lines and set aside. Fold the inner envelope/box at the lines and glue together at the 10 ¼” to opposite 1 ½” side. Use strong, permanent adhesive. Squeeze the box front to front, leaving a soft inward fold, as shown.

Inner Box folds.

Step 4: Using permanent adhesive glue the inner box to the outer box, centering it in the middle of the outer box. The Top and Bottom of the inner box should be will be flush with the 4” outer box score line and the bottom of the outer envelope.

Inner Box view. Now add candies. :-)

Step 5: Use a Velcro closure or a tab to hold the envelope close. Decorate as desired.

Home again, home again . . . scrapity scrap

My roomie, Janelle, showing off her tiny book she made.

Ah, the sweet sound of peanuts being ripped opened and free sodas for all, as I wing through the air on my way home. I find myself reliving all the fun I’ve had the last 5 days. What a great Convention! My brain is full of all the new things in the amazing new catalog, stamping and scrapbooking projects, motivating speakers’ messages from Kristine Widtfeldt and Stacy Julian, and of course, the camaraderie of my team, friends, and my roommates.

It amazes me how fast the last 15 years have passed. My son, now almost 16, was a little 6 month old baby when I started selling D.O.T.S. and I’ve loved every minute of my journey through the levels of the company. I was called on stage Friday to collect my beautiful pin with a ribbon in the center sporting a little diamond chip.

I wear it proudly, along with my pin that denotes the fact I’ve been through the company training program and I proudly hold the prestigious title of PhD. This makes me a photo and cardstock doctor, so just call me Doctor Elaine. I can be called upon to help you preserve your memories; learn beautiful new techniques to make adorable cards, all faster, simpler and easier. 

The last event of Convention was a very fun Crop that went late into the night. There wasn’t just stamping and scrapbooking at those round tables; we had dancing to a D.J. and chit chatting with friends, both old and new. I made the two layout kits and am most pleased with my beautiful pages. Now I just have to find photos for the finished pages. If I can’t find pictures that match, never fear, I’ll just pose some. My kids are used to this. I once bought a set of scenes by the sea and we had to take a trip to Half Moon Bay to lounge in the sand so I could snap some fun sandy pictures. LOL

I didn’t get a chance to make the 6 beautiful cards last night. My brain went into over drive and I had to go sit in the hot tub to let some of the images dancing in my head have a chill session. With all these new stamps, papers, kits, doo dads, tools, and the new Cricut cartridge, I do believe I’ll be spending lots of time in my new Stamp Studio Room.

Stay tuned for new classes and a long overdue Team Gathering. (Don’t feel left out, there’s room on my team. Join so you too can be treated to a very fun Team Fun Building experience.)  Our kits now start at just $49! It’s never been easier, or as inexpensive, to join the best scrapbooking, stamping company. Just saying.

I am also actively looking for those that would like to plan a Girls Night Out or a fun evening/afternoon of stamping and scrapbooking. Just send me an email or comment below. I love to show and tell.

Thanks for reading along with my adventures of Convention. It was fun to share. Stay tuned for more sharing just as soon as this plane lands and I am home in my comfy Stamp Studio!

Get Ready . . . this is all about ART!

Yesterday I had my camera snapping away at some amazing artwork. I took the very best and am sharing it . . . it makes me want to go home and get some stamping done, that's for sure. I hope it inspires you too!

Pretty Card

I love these flowers!

I want to make this layout! Be ready, I'm taking pictures of friends!

My room mate, Janelle, submitted this in the art contest. It should have won! It's all about her dad, who recently passed away. I thought it was very good.

Thank you cards . . . you can never have too many!

This card looks crooked, but it's not, the photographer (me) didn't know what she was doing.

Corporate artwork that inspires me to play!!!

A little gift bag from my room mate, Joyce. She used the Cricut Art Philosophy to cut out a french fry box and then filled it with yummy candy. Very sweet design.

Stars Shine Bright at this Convention!

Our very cool new carrying bag! Full of scrapbook treasures!

Yesterday I had every intention of updating this blog, but alas, my brain was full to overflowing and my body was done. I was asleep well before 10:00 p.m. This makes it an early morning for me, so I came down to the lobby to give my room mates a little rest, from me. No one appreciated me singing the rise and shine monkey song so early in the morn. Go figure. LOL

In the opening session yesterday, Thursday, Jeanette announced that all the new product in this season's catalog would be as exciting as Christmas and boy, what an understatement. We are ALL so excited by everything that is in this amazing new issue of the Idea Book.

The Executive Corporate team put on a show, while they announced our new products and it was adorable . . . all the characters were dressed up like stars from Texas TV shows like Dallas, Beverly Hillbillies, Real Crafters of Dallas, Darlings of Hazard, and many more.

Among all the new products we now have; 53 new accessories, mostly Level 2 accessories coordinating with the Level 2 papers, 5 new house decorating products including a Bracket Frame you can hang on the wall, a large star, blocks to spell out words, and a display tray. I want to order them all and fill my house with my art.

My VERY favorite new product!? A new Cricut Cartridge exclusive to CTMH!!! It's called Artiste and includes 700 images, including projects, shapes, a font, and special card designs. But don't despair, the Art Philosophy cartridge is still available. Yeah! 

It was also announced that Workshops on the Go are no longer all about scrapbooks. Two of the kits are cardmaking based, 5 are home decor based . . . etc. I can't wait to order all those puppies. I love kits . . . all the thinking is done for you and if you can follow directions, presto wow, you have a beautiful finished product.

One thing that is a HUGE shift is our color palette. We now have 40 colors to choose from, not 60. At first I was horrified, until I looked at the list of colors and realized it really is a shift in dynamics from some colors that were not being utilized to colors that will be more in tune with the kits and projects and papers that we have available. Not only that, we have 6 NEW colors; Champagne, Cashmere, Saddle, Whisper, Slate, and my favorite -- Ruby! AND, you can now order the cardstock in packs of 24 again. YEAH!

And that's not all on the color front. We now have alcohol based pens. They are very similar to the copic markers. Our pens come in sets of two, one lighter or darker version of the pen name. I played with the pink ones yesterday and I have to say, I'm hooked. Coloring will be even MORE fun than ever!

There were Studio J changes also planned and I think you will be pleased. First of all, no more memberships . . . all the patterns will be available to everyone at one low price of $6.95. If you have a membership there are bonus things planned for us as our memberships phase out, so don't worry, Corporate will still take care of us!

15 Year Pin

Joyce and I . . . 15 years we've been friends! Congrats to us!

One important thing happened yesterday, Joyce and I received our 15th anniversary pin. Joyce was my very first downline all those years ago and I'm so pleased she's still part of this amazing team we have. Go California Dreamin' Team!!!

Other exciting news? Oh yeah baby, are you tired of reading yet? We're actually expanding our territory. Currently we sell in the U.S. and Canada. Well, that's not all, soon we will be expanding our to Australia. Oh baby, we're growing in leaps and bounds.

Okay, that's all for now. I'm going to grab some breakfast and get ready for some more fun. Be sure to comment on my blog if you have any questions or want more details. I'll be checking it regularly and getting ready for another post later in the morning. One thing to look forward to? Pictures from the Art Gallery. My new camera is getting a workout, that's for sure.

I hope you are enjoying your updates. :-)
More later!!!!

Rootin' Tootin' Team Meeting

Tonight was the best team meeting ever . . . only it wasn't really a meeting at all. We're talking big country western themed party full of fun games, like blackjack, bingo, horse shoes, and a coin toss.

Then there was the Sheriff. I was thrown in jail for not wearing my bandanna, but that's not what my room mate's charge was. The Sheriff thought she looked hung over so into the slammer she went.

I say, I had no idea I had such crooked room mates. LOL

Joyce went panning for gold, only she was blind folded. At least she didn't end up in jail like somebody else we know.

And this is my very fun upline, Naomi, who hosted the fun party with a couple of other Directors. Doesn't she look cool all duded up in her country attire? Thanks, Naomi!!!

Now it's time to call it a night because I need rest for all that excitement that will rock this hotel tomorrow. I can't wait to get my hands on that brand new catalog.

Good night, partner!
See you in the morning.

Big Changes Coming!

At this morning's session, Kristine Widtfelt spoke about changes to the Studio J program. Starting tomorrow, all content will be free regardless of membership or not. Membership to Studio J will be phased out, but don't worry if you still have months left on your membership, there's a plan for that which Kristine didn't go over in any great detail. I'm sure we'll learn more in tomorrow's session.

Our next incentive trip was announced and it's exciting. Earn the incentive trip in 2014 and you get to enjoy an all inclusive resort in Costa Rica, ohhhh la la! That would be so much fun! I'm going to have to get this business going again to earn that. I can imagine myself chillaxin on the beach!

And speaking of imagining, we had an excellent guest speaker who taught us how to Train Your Brain to become more productive and successful by positive self talk and instead of negative thoughts, to come up with a mantra. If you say it enough, you will achieve or become what you what. My mantra is "I'm healthy and happy and my confidence is back. I will start actively sharing this wonderful company with my friends, family and current customers."

Janelle, my room mate, has the material for the seminar out and is trying to train her brain, mine unfortunately is in Costa Rica, without me. Darn it.

Purchase this beginning kit for just $49 and presto, you're a Consultant!.

The next exciting thing we found out about . . . two new recruiting kits. The essential kit is only $49.00 and includes the bare necessities. The master kit is $99 and includes more catalogs and forms and more non-consumable goods. This is going to make it much more affordable to join this awesome company. Yeehaw!

I'll leave you with this interesting factoid, the number one selling product this last year was the CTMH Cricut Cartridge, Art Philosophy. The second selling product was Studio J. Interesting, eh? I really hope there's another cartridge coming, wouldn't that be fun!

We'll find out this and so much more tomorrow. I can't wait, can you tell?

Let the fun begin!!!

So, here I am . . . FINALLY at Convention. Excited? Oh yeah. Opening session starts in exactly one hour and 10 minutes. I can wait, right?

The Hotel Anatole is unlike any hotel I've ever stayed at. There is artwork everywhere. Even our room has a statue of a Chinese style horse, like the kind outside of P.F. Changs. My favorite statue is this elephant . . . and I really think he could stand  in for my 6 foot chicken on the front porch. I'm sure my HOA wouldn't care if I placed an 8 foot marble elephant instead.

I also like the three women statue and their hair all going sideways.

And of course, I saw a Buddha statue somewhere last night on the way to the pool and he had his hands up in the air. It made me smile, but alas, I can't find him now. This place is so big, he could be anywhere. It's like a museum.

These statues have a windblown look.

So, let the fun begin. Stay tuned for my next post which will be a sneak peek of the products that are coming our way. I. Can't. Wait.

Instead of a 6 ft chicken for my front porch, how about an 8 foot elephant?

Janelle and I are having a great time . . . stay tuned for more details.

What a day!! But I'm in DALLAS!! Yeehaw!

Traveling, the hurry up and wait game frustrates me, to say the least. The long lines and grumpy people at 5:30 in the morning make me want to not make eye contact. I was one of them . . . no time for coffee yet as I waited, first to check my bag and then the TSA Security line. Yes, I did in fact have a naked scan, perhaps they can forward it to my doctor for my next xray. ha ha

One trick I have when that stressed out, annoying line gets to me is to smile at those standing near me and make nice comments. Not, “these lines are awful!” or “why aren’t there more employees checking us in?” No, instead I find it helpful to ask where others are flying or just simply, what about those Giants? I met several nice people that way this morning. I love to hear about where others are going and their adventures they are embarking upon.

Necessary!

 

My adventure, in case you didn’t know . . . awaits me in Dallas, Texas. What am I doing there? Oh yeah, baby! Stamping and scrapbooking and perusing that brand new catalog await my arrival. Oh my! Thursday cannot come fast enough. What new things will there be? New albums for my finished scrapbook pages? New colors to expand my color palette? Or maybe, and this is my favorite, more doo dads. I wouldn’t even mind a new Cricut cartridge. It’s a BIG surprise similar to waiting for Santa Claus. Maybe I’ll find Jeanette, the owner of the company, and she’ll share a catalog before anyone else.

Okay, I can dream, right?

My flight was uneventful, the most exciting thing that happened? I was horrified when the woman in front of me told her two toddler aged children that the mean flight attendants were making them throw out their juice. Oh, and the two people who attempted to fly on to Dallas so the count was off and the flight attendants had to check everyone's address and be sure we were on the manifest. I bet those 2 people were embarrassed to have been singled out like that. Seriously though, this plan is destined for Dallas! If you aren't going to Dallas, get off the plane. LOL

I'm now at the hotel Hilton Anatole which is a 4 or 5 star, truly beautiful. My next blog will be pictures of the hotel. You want to know, right? LOL

Stay tuned!

Is it time to leave? Is it time? Huh, huh, huh.

My suitcase includes all the normal things you'd expect from someone going to a convention:

Camera
Sweater for those cold conference halls
Casual Business Attire that's comfy to stamp in
P.J.s for getting relaxed while I'm perusing the new catalog
Snacks to get me through those long nights of dreaming about all the new products I must have. Must.

Ready to go!!!

Then there's the paper cutter and the adhesives, the blocks, inks, and hole punches. A corner rounder to make a pretty scallop or round the square edges of a photo . . . it's all in there too, right there with my toothbrush.

Makes me wonder what the TSA authorities will think when they inevitably scan, screen, and search my luggage. It also makes me wonder when across the nation thousands of women have packed exactly the same thing. <hee hee> Wish I could be there to see them talking in the break room about all the weird travelers. :-)

Did I mention I'm excited. I board my plane in just a few short hours. I hope I sleep tonight because . . . you know, I'm excited!

Get your boots on, girls, we're hitting the town in stamping style!

Dallas here we come!!!

It's almost here . . . Convention 2012 and I'm SO excited! My bag is packed and ready by the door and my flight, at an early 6:15 a.m., will not bother me in the least, because I'm on my way to the event of the year!


Every summer, Close To My Heart sponsors a Corporate event in a new venue, aimed at exciting, enticing, and driving their Consultants wild with excitement. This year we are descending upon an unsuspecting Dallas hotel. There's nothing like a few thousand stampers and scrapbookers, all sporting matching Close To My Heart attire and wheeling in every imaginable scrapbooking and stamping tool known to the current market, to frighten the local populace. It's like an invasion and remember if it doesn't move it's gonna get stamped and if it does move, you hold it and I'll stamp it!


Convention is the place to be to get a jump start on the new stamps soon to be released to our market, including new lines of fun paper, doo dads, and gadgets galore. Thursday morning every Conventioneer will receive a hot new catalog and lots of time to browse, dream, play, and create with the new things. Ohhhhhh, did I mention I'm pretty excited?


This is my 16th Convention and it just gets better and better. Stay tuned to this blog and find out what's new and exciting. I will also be positing my adventures and fun times, so don't miss out.


Yeehaw! Dallas, here I come!!!!