Retired Product Swap Card

Here's my swap card for this month's swap.

We are focusing on retired product and the paper and card stock that I am using are both no longer available. I love doing these kinds of swaps because I get some really great ideas and I get to use product that I no longer need!

This card is a fun card to make and is not your ordinary card and I LOVE making these kinds of cards. My convention cards both are not your ordinary cards too, check them out in my previous post. We will be making a card similar to this at this months club.

This is a picture of the inside of the card. The "Happy Birthday to You" pops up when you open the card.

Here's a better shot of how I popped up the sentiment



Hope you enjoyed my card and if you would like to come and check out my card club call me or e-mail me and I will make room for you!

Convention Bound!

I am going to convention!!!

The hotel room has been booked, the plane tickets have been bought and the convention registration has been completed it's official! I am so excited that I have already started my convention card swaps! I am such the procrastinator but when I get super excited about something I jump on things, I would already be packed if it wasn't 5 months away! LOL

CTMH convention is going to be in Washington, DC and that's another reason that I am so excited to go as I have never been anywhere on the east coast! Here's a picture of the hotel that we will be staying at:
This is the Gaylord Palms Hotel that is on the Potomac River in Maryland. Wow what a hotel huh? If you have ever stayed at a Gaylord Palms you know their hotels are HUGE! We stayed at the one in Kissimmee, Florida for the last CTMH convention and let me tell you, it's like several cities under one roof, they are totally AMAZING!

Swapping cards is one of the high lights about convention. It is a great way to meet other consultants and get tons of great card ideas for me to pass onto you! CTMH consultants are the most creative people and I have NEVER been disappointed in the cards that I have gotten from this swap! Here are two of the swap cards that I will be swapping at convention:

Both of these cards are very simple but the photos do not do them justice. They both use very little card stock and the glitter on them just gives them the right sparkle. You can't really see that on here but trust me, it's the cake topper!

Keep watching as I also participate in a 9x9 album swap. I will post my design once I finalize it. This is the best swap as I will come home with a completed album ready to add photos and journaling. The most fun will be showing you all the fun that we will have while we were there!!

Have a great day!

Fun Day With The Girls!

I had a little day trip yesterday! I went to Wisconsin to visit some of my scrapbooking friends! I first went to St. Croix Falls and picked up my friend Shelly

and then we headed to Turtle Lake to my other friend, Tammy and had lunch and little art day.

It all started years ago when one of my co-workers told me about these great prime rib sandwiches at the Turtle Lake Casino. Well for those of you who know me know that it is ALL ABOUT THE FOOD, and I have never forgotten how this girl raved about these sandwiches. I have wanted to go there ever since but have never gotten there. Well it just so happened that all three of us had the day to do nothing so decided to get together and go and try these out.

Let me tell you this sandwiche was HUGE! The piece of prime rib was almost bigger than the plate and it was served on a hoagie bun for $4.50! If you were to eat that anywhere else it would have easily cost over $10 for a piece that size. So not knowing how big it actually was I ordered Nachos too, needless to say the nachos came home and so did half of that sandwich for Dave!!!

After lunch we went back to Tammy's and did some art, Shelly and I snooped at all the great art work she has all over her great stamping room and then we copied some cards that I plan on using for club!

Once again we got hungry, can you believe that? ha ha ha so off to the Hotel Bar and Grill for dinner. Tammy is a regular at this place and she knew everyone and everyone knew her! Oh did I tell you it's a small town or should I let you think that she gets around? Ha ha ha No it's a small town and she has lived there forever!


Now as we walked in we were told it really wasn't the Hotel Bar it was really the "Hot L Bar".

You can see in my photo that the E is burnt out and I guess has been forever. This little bar was amazing, if you ever get the chance to go there do. They have a bar tender that paints on ceiling tile and for $40 you can have anything you want painted on a tile. Here's a picture of one that is in memory of Tammy's son Tony. There were a ton that looked like people's business cards, very cool.
We all tried to be good for dinner so Tammy and I both had grilled chicken salads and Shelly had a burger that was huge and she got sour cream and chive flavored fries. Well could you have passed up a sample of that? I couldn't and they were the best!! We also started out with something called Corn Nuggets and they were good too they were similar to a corn fritter if you have ever had one of those.

So it was a very fun day and by the time I got home I was exhausted! I drug my stuff in and went to bed!

Oh Yeah I almost forgot to introduce you to my new friend "Barney". This is Tammy's cat and boy is he lovable! He took a liking to both Shelly and I but it was my bag that he loved the most!

Have a great day,

March Stamp Of The Month!

It's finally here!! It's the March Stamp Of The Month and it's my favorite one yet!!! You can see it on the last page of the current catalog and if you don't have one of those yet, call or e-mail me to get your very own copy!

Check it out!

It has a retro 50's style of font perfect for all of those happy occasions that come about
Check out these great samples of art using this great set:

There are several ways to get this great set and here they are:

Purchase it outright for $22.95
Get a discount of 25% off with a $25 order
Get a discount of 50% off with a $50 order
Get a discount of 75% off with a $75 order

Get it for FREE with a $100 order

You choose but this is a set that is a must have! If you are in my club we will be using this great set for some birthday cards!!!If you are not in my club and want to join or would like me to bring my club to you and your friends, give me a call or send me an e-mail. I would love to have you join in on the fun!

My card club meets the third Wednesday of each month at 6:30 so come and check it out! You will have to hurry though, this club is almost full!

Have a great day and Happy Stamping!

Help Wanted.......Join MY TEAM!

Do you dream of owning your own business? Well dream no more! Here's your opportunity to do just that and have a business you LOVE!

March Special- Get 4 Additional Stamp Sets (Value $91) when you become a Close To My Heart Consultant in March!

Here's what you get in the new consultant kit

Plus check out what you get for free when you join!!! Get all four of the Stamps of the Month for Summer 10 when you purchase your New Consultant Kit in March.
That's almost $400 in products for only $99! AND you'll get a lifetime discount on all of the scrapbooking stuff you love. Here's a picture of the 4 sets!

I am looking for consultants to join my team the INK-Credible Hearts! There are different levels and ways to be a consultant. Choose one or choose them all... the choice is yours!

Full Time Job - Work with customers to hold home gatherings, create clubs, have fun at weekend crops and host workshops. Make additional income to contribute to your family.

Digital Scrapbooker - You have fallen in LOVE digital or online scrapbooking. The ease and timeliness of creating these Studio J layouts works with your lifestyle. Between you and your friends & family, you are creating about 10 layouts per month at a 22% discount.

Club or Workshop Holder - You have a group of friends that love Close to My Heart as much as you do. Get 4 or more of them together once a month to create one of CTMH's Workshop on the Go and get at least a 22% discount on your purchases.

Personal Discount - You and a couple of your friends really like CTMH's products. You submit $300 or more in orders per quarter and get at least a 22% discount on all your purchases.

Junior Consultant - You like CTMH's products and can't resist getting more than $300 for only $99. You might order a few things a year at a 10% discount.

As you can see, there is a place for EVERYONE at Close to My Heart. We have sister consultants scattered all over the country and even a few in Puerto Rico and Spain!

How do you get started? The cost for the Starter Kit is $99, plus $20 UPS ground shipping and tax. You will also have an opportunity at the time you sign up to add additional bundles - a Scrapbook or Cardmaking Bonus Pack. After you register online, CTMH will send you a confirmation e-mail giving you more information for the online office and consultant website. Here is where you will find all the information you need to successfully run your very own business! The best thing of all is that you can train in your jammies whenever you want to! No need to go anywhere we bring it all to you! The best is yet to come, and that is when your UPS man comes to your door with your box of $300 in products and business supplies! You will want to make sure that you are home when it comes so that you can go through all of it, look it over and start creating!!! Every thing you need is in that box! After all of that excitement don't stop there, show all of your friends the greatest catalog in the world, the CTMH catalog and with all of your excitement they will be super excited too and will want to place orders, come to shows and workshops!!! Can you think of anything better?

Sign Up Today! It is easy!!

If you have any questions or concerns, feel free to contact me. I'm here to help you!!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Well I know that Valentine's Day was yesterday but I thought I'd share with you what I got and what I got David.

For those of you who know me you know that I am just a big kid and love everything "Cutesy" and David knows that too so I got this really cute frog and one of the BIGGEST balloons that I have ever seen! Isn't it adorable? David was going to give this to me at work but when he drove through the parking lot and couldn't find a place to park he thought he had better take it home and give it to me there. Thank goodness he did, we were so busy at Red Lobster that he couldn't even get into the entry way!

Here's a closeup of the little frog:

Now David is just as big of a kid as I am, I guess that's why we get along so good. He collects Spider Man stuff and I just happen to find this great poster at a local dollar store, can you believe it, it was only $1.00! What a bargain hunter I am and he LOVED it!!! Here he is with his poster:

Here's the rest of the corny stuff that I found for him. He got a heart shaped basket with all kinds of chocolates in it and a really cute little monkey that has Velcro on it's hands so I had it hugging the basket and holding a balloon! Oh yea and a hand made card too!

I hope your Valentines Day was a fun one too!

February Stamp of the Month and a CTMH Special to help Haiti!

Check out this great stamp of the month set, what a great way to help celebrate the special times in your loved ones lives! Who doesn't love getting a handmade card or a hand stamped gift bag letting them know how special they are to you! This set is so very versatile you can make birthday cards, wedding cards or for any occasion you would celebrate with a cake!

You won't want to miss out on this great set which is only available in the month of February! This set is called "Piece of Cake" and you can get this great set at a great price or even free! This set can be purchased out right for $22.95 or with a qualifying order you can get it at a discounted price. Here's the breakdown:

Buy it outright for $22.95

Spend $25 and get it for only $17.21 (25% off)

Spend $50 and get it for only $11.48 (50% off)

Spend $75 and get if for only $5.74 (75% off)

Spend $100 and get it for FREE! (The best deal of all)

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Give & Get Back with Close to My Heart and Operation Smile

Hearts for Haiti

Our hearts go out to the victims of the earthquake in Haiti, and like so many of you, we’re eager to help. I'm excited to announce Close To My Heart’s February Constant Campaign, Hearts for Haiti—where you can get a great deal while doing great good for those affected by the devastation in Haiti.

Only in the month of February, our 12” x 12” textured cardstock combo packs are buy one, get one FREE—and with every offer purchased, Close To My Heart will donate $2 US to Operation Smile’s Haiti relief efforts. Operation Smile is always a fantastic charitable partner—offering free facial reconstruction surgeries to needy children throughout the world. They’ve currently marshaled their medical teams and resources to provide emergency relief in Haiti, and the donations given as part of Hearts for Haiti will be used exclusively for Operation Smile’s efforts in Haiti. For more information on their on-the-ground response, you can visit www.operationsmile.org/haiti.

The Textured Cardstock combo packs are as follows:

X5747 Basic
X5681 Spring Harmony
X5745 Summer Celebration
X5669 Autumn Harvest
X5670 Winter Cozy

Purchase one and choose the second one for free! Check out pages 100-101 in the current catalog for our exclusive color palette's for each set. You will want them all!

Here's a great technique to use with the textured cardstock:

Sanding This is a great way to give your cardstock that well worn, distressed look. With all of CTMH's cardstock we have a white core which means that the color is only on the top and bottom so the middle is white. Sanding your cardtock brings out the white center and gives your projects a two tone one of a kind look! Who doesn't have sand paper in their garage? You can even use a nail file to sand intricate places. I recommend using our sanding kit which is only $3.95 and includes:

60, 100, and 200 Grit Sandpaper

1-4 sided Sanding Block

3-sheets 4x4 Sandpaper

1-Emery Board

What a great deal and since you are ordering your textured cardstock why not throw that on your order too? Remember, the more you buy the better discount you get on that great new stamp of the month!