End of the Month Recaps and Reminders!

   If you live in the upper Midwest like I do, perhaps you are like me and are ready to say "Good Riddance, January"! It's been such a cold month that I am looking forward to another month closer to warmer weather! I don't mind winter and I don't mind cold, but after almost a whole month of being in the negatives with wind chills; I am over it!

   However, the end of January also means the end of an Idea Book, retiring of products, end of National Papercrafting month, end of my Album Value Pack promotion, and MORE! So if you were hoping to take advantage of any of these things before they're gone....you have today left to do it! So here's a quick run down of everything that ends TODAY!

January SOTM: Cross-stitch wishes:

   Today is the last day to take advantage of this cute and homey SOTM! Here's some reminder images if you've forgotten:

January's FREE Rediscover Download:

   You also have a few hours left to download the January FREEBIE from the Rediscover series! These cute journaling cards can be download here; Candid Captures' Online Shop. Act quick, though! The download is only good until midnight!

National Papercrafting Month: Cloud 9 Kit

   Today is the last day to purchase the Cloud 9 Cardmaking Kit for only $15 with a qualifying order of $35 or more! There are not many of these kits left in stock, so act quickly if you want to get the set for yourself! You get enough supplies to make 15 cards (2 of each 5 designs), and you get brand new, not released yet, embellishments like the triangle durables, gold polka-dot washi tape, and teal shimmer trim! It's such a great set! Plus the stamp set that comes with it is so cute and versatile! I have used it on many different cards and designs! I love it! Here's a couple peeks of the kit and supplies:

Candid Captures' Album Value Pack:

   Today is the last day to take advantage of my Album Value Pack special! It's the perfect way to get your album and supplies to start your 2014 albums!You get to save 12% on your entire order when you bundle it today, and you'll get enough supplies to not only finish one album, but start another! It's an awesome deal, so make sure and take advantage of it while you can! If you have any questions, or would like more details, look under the Promotions & Specials!

Final hours of the Autumn/Winter 2013 Idea Book:

   There are only a few short hours left to purchase many items from the Autumn/Winter 2013 Idea Book that are retiring or expiring after today! All of the Workshops on the Go will be retiring after today, and some have already sold out: including the Babycakes Scrapbooking Kit and Sarita Scrapbooking Kit!

    Stamp sets from the Autumn/Winter 2013 Idea Book will continue to be available during the duration of the Spring/Summer 2014 Idea Book with the exception of stamp sets featured in the WOTG kits. The stamp sets from the Spring/Summer 2013 Idea Book that were not carried over to the NEW Spring/Summer 2014 Idea Book will no longer be available after today!

   However, the exception is that ALL stamp sets that coordinate with one of our Cricut® collections will still be available. You may view all available stamp sets on my Online Shop at any time!

   A complete list of retired items still available for purchase may be found on Candid Captures' Online Shop under "Retiring Items"! There is no grace period for retiring items either! This mean that I cannot order these items after January 31st as a consultant ! So be sure to complete your orders by 12:59 pm (CST)!

    I think I covered everything! If you have any questions on anything I mentioned today, feel free to contact me any time today! I would love to help you! Make sure and check back here tomorrow for new promotion announcements and exciting updates for the kick-off of the new Spring/Summer Idea Book! Happy Crafting everyone, and until next time:

 Here's to life, love, and creativity!

Pajama Party Tonight!

   Did you get registered? Are you ready for lots of inspiration and tons of giveaways? Make sure and join us tonight at Big Picture Classes for "Pajama Party with Close to My Heart"! It starts at 6pm (PST), which is 8pm (CST) for those of you in my neck of the woods, and is sure to be a blast! These ladies do an amazing job putting this on every month! So please check it out!

   Plus, if you register and for some reason cannot join for the live viewing, that's okay! The broadcast and project videos will be archived on your account for you to look back on when you have more time! It's an awesome deal!

This is the project that Pajama Party will be featuring tonight! It's the perfect design right before Valentine's Day!

Here are the supplies used to prepare for Close To My Heart's project:

• 1" x 3 1/2" My Acrylix™ block (Y1002)
  
• 3" x 3" My Acrylix™ block (Y1006)
  
• 2" x 6 1/2" My Acrylix™ block (Y1010)
  
• My Acrylix™ spritz cleaner (1778)
  
• My Acrylix™ stamp scrubber (Z1782)
  
• micro-tip scissors (Z534)
  
• sanding kit (Z1294)
  
• 3-D foam tape (Z1151)
  
• *** Workshops on the Go™ Sarita scrapbooking kit (G1066) ***
  
• Adventure cardstock combo pack (use one sheet Cotton Candy, one sheet Hollyhock, and two sheets Cranberry, X5935)
  
• one sheet White Daisy cardstock (comes with 24 sheets, 1385)
  
• Blush Exclusive Inks™ pad (Z2106)
  
• Ruby Exclusive Inks™ pad (Z2170)
  
• Hollyhock zipper lace (Z1826)
  
• Pink glitter gems (Z1807)
  
• Lagoon Houndstooth washi tape (Z1850)

*** Currently this Workshop is completely sold out. However, if you are still interested in purchasing it, please let me know and I can try and find a kit for you!***

 

   If you have any questions about Pajama Party, or would like more information on products used, shown, won, etcetera, contact me any time! I would love to help you get started with some Close to My Heart goodness! Hope you'll join us tonight! Happy Crafting and until next time:

Here's to life, love, and creativity!

Meet Ivy Lane!

   There's only 5 more days before the new Spring/Summer 2014 Idea Book is live! I am so excited for you all to see this Idea Book! The colors, papers, images, and new products are so amazing that I am having a hard time deciding what to order first!

   Each month, I am going to feature one of the new paper packs from the Spring/Summer 2014 Idea Book along with coordinating WOTG kits and examples of artwork using the paper packs. Then my events, workshops, and classes that month will focus on the featured paper pack as well, so that everyone can get inspired while using these fun new products!

   I wanted to take some time today, though, and share February's featured collection just a little bit early! It's called Ivy Lane, and it's so beautiful! I have had a lot of fun playing with these papers this last week! Check out this new collection below:

Ivy Lane paper pack

Workshop on the Go: Ivy Lane Scrapbooking Kit

Ivy Lane 2 page layout example

Ivy Lane 2 page layout example

Workshop on the Go: Ivy Lane Cardmaking Kit

Ivy Lane Party Decor example

   I am putting some finishing touches on February's Workshop Wednesday project today and will be posting pictures of that later on, but I could not resist showing you all Ivy Lane now! The project we will be doing is using Ivy Lane to make a card box with 6 mini-cards for Valentine's Day! It's so cute, and a ton of fun! I hope you will join me to play with this beautiful paper pack yourself! The workshop is on February 5th from 12-2pm and again from 6-8pm! So contact me and let me know if you would like to sign up! The cost will be about $5-6 for the whole project! I will have other new products on display and the new Idea Books handy as well, so come take a look!

   Also, don't forget that most products from the Autumn/Winter 2013 Idea Book are only available until January 31st, so make sure and get your orders in before the new book goes live! If you have any questions, do not hesitate to get a hold of me to plan your order!

   I hope all of you in my neck of the woods are staying warm and staying in (and hopefully playing with paper)! Until next time:

Here's to life, love, and creativity!

Weekend Recap

   Happy Monday to you! I hope you all had a wonderful weekend, and got a chance to play with some paper! I spent the weekend with some wonderful ladies cropping the days away! I had an excellent time, and am so glad to have met this group of gals!

   I was so excited to share some fun new things with these ladies over the course of the weekend, and they were so excited about everything we did and talked about that I thought I would share some of these things with you today! One of the things I brought to the crop was a CTMH Make-n-Take kit with 5 different layouts in it! We had a great time putting these together, and I loved how well they turned out! Here are some pictures of the final designs:

Sparkle & Shine Valentine Spread: uses Ruby and Slate cardstock, Sparkle & Shine B&T paper, Artbooking Cricut Cartridge, Silver Shimmer Tape, "Whoo's Your Valentine" stamp set, and Ruby and Slate Exclusive Inks.

Claire Layout Spread: uses Colonial White, Hollyhock, Whisper, and Champagne cardstock, Claire B&T paper, Artbooking Cricut Cartridge, Opaques Licorice Gems, Slate Exclusive Inks Marker Set, "Honeycomb" stamp set, and Sunet, Champagne, and Hollyhock Exclusive Inks.

Avonlea Layout Spread: uses Slate, Juniper, Avonlea off-white, and Olive cardstock, Avonlea B&T paper, and Artbooking Cricut Cartridge.

Laughing Lola Layout Spread: uses White Daisy, Black, Crystal Blue, Laughing Lola Purple, and Laughing Lola Gold cardstock, Laughing Lola B&T paper, Artbooking Cricut Cartridge, "One-Way Borders" stamp set, "Framework Alphabet" stamp set, "Workshop on the Go: Laughing Lola" stamp set, and Black, Crystal Blue, and Pansy Purple Exclusive Inks.

Frosted Layout Spread: uses Kraft,Colonial White, and Slate cardstock, Frosted and Typeset B&T papers, Art Philosophy Cricut Cartridge, Frosted My Stickease Complements, Silver Geometric Washi tape, Clear Sparkle Gems, Clear Sparkle Flourish-Small,  "Workshop on the Go: Sparkle & Shine" stamp set, "Workshop on the Go: Babycakes" stamp set, Cocoa, Bamboo, Slate, Twilight, and White Daisy Exclusive Inks.

  
   The other project I brought to share was the free make-n-take card that I am also offering at the upcoming Preview Party on January 22nd! The ladies loved the new "Skylark" paper pack and new stamp set "Give A Lift" that we worked with! They also loved learning how to mask stamps to create different looks and colors with one image! I cannot wait for the rest of you to see this technique and play with these new products at the Preview Party! Here's a sneak at a similar card to what we made:

4x4 Mini Card: uses Colonial White cardstock, Skylark B&T paper, Desert Sand and Juniper Exclusive Inks, and a Teal acrylic flower.

   The last thing I brought to demonstrate was the Artbooking Cricut Collection by Close to My Heart! The ladies loved learning all about the cartridge, how to utilize the cartridge using Cricut Craft Room, and other tips and tricks to using a Cricut Expression machine! We had a wonderful time making layouts and die-cutting images for our projects! I will be demonstrating and making more projects at my upcoming "Crafting with Cricut" class on March 14th! Make sure you sign up today so you do not miss out on this awesome opportunity to learn more about your Cricut machine!

   I also started working on the project for February 5th's Workshop Wednesday, too, and I think you ladies are going to love this cute little Valentine's Day kit I'm putting together! I still need to put finishing touches on it before I post pictures, so stay tuned to see the final results this week! Oh and make sure to sign up for the class because spaces are filling quickly for all of my upcoming Workshops! Here is a little sneak peek of the Valentine Workshop Project for you to swoon over:

   I hope you all  have a very wonderful Monday, and, for all of my friends in the Midwest area, stay warm these next few days! Until next time:

Here's to life, love, and creativity!

You Don't Want to Miss This!!!

   Happy Tuesday, paper crafters! I hope you all are doing well and enjoying the beginning of your week so far! I have been busy getting ready for my upcoming workshops, classes, and clubs! I cannot wait to show you all the new and exciting products coming out in February! I think you all are going to LOVE this new Idea Book!

   However, I am also sad that there are only a few short weeks left to order some of my favorite products from the Fall/Winter 2013 Idea Book. Especially since there are a LOT of items that CTMH is retiring this month! Have you had a chance to check out the list? Many items have already sold out, and what is left is going very quickly! Here is a glimpse at some of my favorite embellishments on the retiring list:

    I love all of these products! The Opaques sets are definitely some of my "go-to" embellishments for all my projects, but you cannot go wrong with any of these shown here! Make sure you pick up your favorites before they're gone! You can shop for these items and more in my Online Shop; 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and get them shipped directly to your house!

    Another product that is retiring that I'm going to miss dearly is our Studio J 5-pack! Studio J is still going to be available and you can still design, order, and print pages from this amazing digital program, but you will no longer be able to buy them in pre-ordered sets of 5!

   I love buying the 5 packs because they never expire and it gives you 5 sets of layout spreads (2 pg layout style) that include the printing, shipping, and handling costs! That's less than $3.50 a page!

   CTMH's printing quality is fantastic and beautiful! The printed colors and inks are perfectly matched to all of CTMH's 42 vibrant color choices, and you get to design and print using a ton of CTMH's signature collections! Including paper collections you can no longer buy from the Idea Books! It's such an amazing program to play with!

   If you are interested in printing and ordering some Studio J layouts, I encourage you to purchase a couple 5-packs to use! Any 5-packs purchased before January 31st will not expire and will be honored indefinitely! It's a great price and a wonderful way to get started organizing and printing your layouts for your 2014 album! 

   Did you know you can use Studio J layouts to print your pictures, party invitations, and photo cards? It's super easy, and you can choose any photo or card size as long as it fits within a 12x12 page! I can print 36 Instagram photos (2"x2" size) on 1 page, 16-3"x3" photos on 1 page, and 9-4"x4" photos on 1 page! It's the perfect way to get all the photos off my phone and get them in my albums! Check out the start of my Insta-layout:

   Notice that on one 12"x12" page I was able to fit 12-2"x2" pictures, 4-3"x3" pictures, and 3-4"x4" pictures, and I still have 1" left to print a border strip to go with my project! That's 19 photos and a border strip ordered, printed, and shipped for less than $3.50! It's so easy and convenient!

   The other great thing that I HAVE to share with you about Studio J is how awesome it is to jump start your creativity! I know many of you love traditional scrapbooking (me included), but, if you're like me, sometimes it's hard to come up with a new idea or layout design. This is where I use Studio J to help get my creative juices flowing!

   I have a cropping event that I am attending this weekend, and I needed to come up with 5 layout spreads using different styles and paper packs. I was really having a hard time trying to come up with something new and different. So a couple weeks ago, I opened Studio J on my tablet and started playing with the paper kits I wanted to feature at the upcoming crop. I found 4 layouts I absolutely loved and wanted to put my own spin on. So I saved them in my Studio J account, and, when I was ready to scrap, I opened my tablet and used these saved layouts to guide the spreads I wanted to create! Let me show you what I mean!  Here is a picture of my designed layout in Studio J:

   Here is a picture of what my actual layout turned out to be once I started playing with the papers and design:

   If you have not had a chance to play with Studio J, you need to check it out! You can access it by logging on using your CTMH log-in information or registering for a CTMH log-in on the Studio J Home Page! It's completely FREE to play and design with, and, when you're ready to order, you may contact me to take advantage of the awesome 5-pack pricing! Remember, all 5-packs must be ordered on or before January 31st in order to qualify!

   If you have any other questions about Studio J or would like more information, please Contact Me!

   Enjoy the rest of your day, and until next time:

Here's to life, love, and creativity!

Pajama Party is BAAAAACK!

   I am so excited to share this with you! I have attended all the previous Pajama Parties this fall, and the CTMH sponsored ones are my absolute favorite! It's so much fun! They even gave away a Cricut Expression 2 and the Artbooking Cricut Cartridge last time!!!

   Close To My Heart is teaming up again with Big Picture Classes to bring you a FREE live webcast with step-by-step instructions for making a Valentine’s inspired scrapbook page with an adorable love-themed stamp set, Glitter Gems and Zipper Lace.

   You can follow along with the awesome ladies at Big Picture Classes on Thursday, January 30 at 8:00pm (Central Time) on the Big Picture Classes website. You will want to register ahead of time (it's FREE to create an account!!!), though, so you can log-in during the class to "interact" in the message boards, download handouts/instruction guides, post to the galleries, and enter the FREE contests! Also, note that if for any reason you cannot be in front of your computer during the "class" time, you can always find full videos and downloadable content in your profile archives anytime after the webinar has ended!

   If you want to follow along with the project and make the “Lucky in Love” scrapbook page, you will want the following CTMH products on hand:

G1066 Workshops on the Go™ Sarita Scrapbooking Kit (stamp set only for this project)

X5935 Adventure Cardstock Combo Pack
1385 White Daisy Cardstock
Z2106 Blush Exclusive Inks™ Pad
Z2170 Ruby Exclusive Inks™ Pad
Z1826 Hollyhock Zipper Lace
Z1807 Pink Glitter Gems
Z1850 Lagoon Houndstooth Washi Tape
Z1151 3-D Foam Tape
Z1294 Sanding Kit

   You may order any of these products, and more, on my Online "Get More" Store now! PLUS, remember that if you order $35 or more in January you qualify to purchase the "Cloud 9 Cardmaking Kit" for only $15!

   Let me know if you have any questions or need any assistance placing an order for all your crafting goodies! I hope you all get a chance to "attend" this FREE event and play along with CTMH! Until next time:

Here's to life, love, and creativity!

Last Call for Holiday Gift Guide Orders!

   Monday, January 6th, is the last day I can order any products from the Holidays from the Heart Gift Guide! If there is anything you would still like to get, Contact Me over the next two days to place your order! You will not be able to order these items through my online shop since it is now January. However, I can still get these items under my name for the next two days!

   There are some great items that will no longer be available after the 6th like the Hip Pics Album Kit with the super versatile stamp set for only $12.95! Or the bundles of Washi Tape for only $14.95! So act today to get your hands on these amazing products before it's too late!

   I hope you all are staying warm! Happy Crafting, and until next time:

Here's to life, love, and creativity!

Toasts to Cling, Songs to Sing, Happy New Year, 2014!!!!

   Annnddddd.....just like that we have entered a new year! Wow! I hope everyone's holidays have been wonderful! I cannot help but feel so overwhelmed by the happiness and blessings that I feel this time of year! It is always so wonderful to reflect on an entire year's worth of amazing adventures, and I am glad I get to share new adventures with you in 2014!

   I know you cannot wait to hear all the wonderful promotions and new products releasing this month! It's an exciting month for CTMH fans, and an amazing kick start to the new year!

   The highly anticipated Spring/Summer 2014 Idea Book is almost upon us! I was able to get a sneak peek at the book after Christmas, and, let me tell you, it does not disappoint! My wish list is 3 pages long, and I'm not through the whole book yet! I cannot wait for you all to get your hands on one of these amazing Idea Books!

   If you are on my Idea Book & Catalog mailing list, you will be receiving your copy within the next couple weeks! However, you will not be able to order from the new Idea Book until it goes completely live on February 1st! This also means that there is a Candid Captures Preview Party in the near future!

   The Preview Party will be January 22nd at my house in Hastings, MN from 12-2pm and again from 6-8pm (weather permitting). In case of inclement weather, the Preview Party will be re-scheduled for another day within the last two weeks of January (please check the Facebook page and this blog for updates on weather announcements). This special workshop will feature a preview of CTMH's Spring/Summer 2014 Idea Book & Catalog which is not set to release to the public until February 1st! Come see it before you can buy it during this FREE event! We will be assembling a FREE make-n-take project using the new supplies and products, and I will be showcasing tons of the new product lines! Anyone that attends will also have a chance to be in the Preview Party Giveaway! Please RSVP for this special workshop by Contacting Me through my blog or on my Facebook page by January 13th ! If anyone is interested in Skyping about the Spring/Summer 2014 Idea Book, please contact me through this blog, email, phone, or Facebook to set up a date and time!

   January also brings new promotions and specials to take advantage of as well! First is the January SOTM, Cross-Stich Wishes. This cute set includes images that look hand-stiched and sewn! It's the perfect set of stamps to give your cards and projects that element of "homemade" and "homespun"! These images would also work well on tags attached to homemade gifts! Here are a couple preview pictures of this cute stamp set:

   Cross-Stitch Wishes can be purchased for $17.95 or, with a qualifying order of $50 or more, you can get this cute set for only $5!

   That's not it, though! January is also National Papercrafting Month, and to celebrate CTMH is offering a special card kit promotion called "Cloud 9" for only $15 when you place an order of only $35 or more! In this kit you will be able to make 10 adorable cards (2 each of 5 designs) with funky, trendy messages from an exclusive stamp set, teal shimmer trim details, Gold Polka-dot Washi Tape accents, and fun and trendy triangle metal embellishments! This kit has a retail value of $46! So that means you can get this WHOLE kit for ~70% off the retail value! That's a steal! Plus when you qualify and purchase the Cloud 9 Cardmaking Kit, you then will automatically be qualified for the January SOTM for only $5 more! It's perfect!

   New Consultants who enroll in January will receive a FREE Cloud Nine Cardmaking Kit when they have submitted total personal sales of $300 or more within their first three months as a consultant! Add that to the Consultant Kit packed with tons of great goodies at a steeply discounted price of only $99, and January becomes the perfect time to join as a consultant!

    The last promotion to take advantage of this month is Candid Captures' Album Value Pack! Now is the perfect time to use some of that Christmas cash to stock up on supplies for your 2014 albums! This value pack comes with everything you  need to get started documenting your memories all year long! To see a complete list of supplies and to get more details on this discounted value pack, visit the Promotions and Specials section of the blog!

   Two more quick announcements to share with you today before the new year is officially rung in! Make sure and check out the Event Calendars tab for an updated listing of upcoming workshops, classes, and crops for the start of 2014*! If you have not participated in a workshop yet, please join us in 2014! They are a ton of fun, and we make lots and lots of awesome projects using CTMH's fabulous products and trendy stamps!

   Last exciting detail of the day (I told you 2014 was going to be an exciting year)!!! With the beginning of the month comes the beginning of a new FREEBIE download from CTMH's Rediscover series! This month CTMH's theme is "Rediscover YOU", and the download features journal cards to use as prompts on your scrapbook pages or in coordination with with the Project Life Scrapbooking Program! You can download these FREE, printable journal cards on my online shopping site, Candid Captures Shop! Make sure you get yours downloaded before it expires at the end of the month, though!

   Okay that's it! You have been officially welcomed into 2014! What better way than with some paper crafting goodies and freebies? If you are ready to place your order and take advantage of the awesome Cloud 9 Cardmaking Kit and the January SOTM: Cross-Stitch Wishes, Contact Me today to get started! I hope you all have a wonderful New Year's Day, and until next time:

Here's to life, love, and creativity!

*Event Calendars subject to change based on weather and unforeseen circumstances. Please continue to check the Facebook page and this blog to receive the most updated information as each event draws near!