Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween!

Enjoy your day Everyone!

The Stamp Behind the Mask

Check out this informative video teaching you about the masking technique.  So cool!  So Easy!

More Studio J and Pumpkin Carving!

Happy Monday!
I am praying for all my followers up and down the East Coast.  Please stay safe!
My parents are visiting us for the next 1 1/2 weeks.  I am so very thankful they are here with us in Charleston, as they live in Connecticut and storm Sandy is hitting their area as we speak.  Luckily their neighbors have called and are keeping us posted on my parents house and have taken all their food out of my parents fridge and freezer.  The ironic thing is it was exactly a year ago (while my parents were visiting us) that Connecticut was hit with the major snow storm.  My parents had almost all of their trees fall down during that storm.  They just got rid of the last pieces of wood 2 weeks ago.  The good thing is now there are no trees that can fall on their house.   I do have a brother in NYC and another brother just an hour east of NYC.  We are praying for their safety.  The weather was been so scary these last several years.  Again, please stay safe and know that prayers are being said for you all.

Yesterday was pumpkin carving day here at the McGrew Home.  What fun we had.  Tucker wanted to carve a squash this year.  The girls were excited to carve their pumpkins.  Molly carved an Eiffel Tower   in her pumpkin and Payton did a jack-o-lantern with a mustache.

Last night I worked on some more Studio J layouts.  I completed another 10 layouts so my 10th layout was FREE!  This special hosted by CTMH is only available until WEDNESDAY.  Be sure to take advantage of for every 9 layouts you get the 10th one FREE!

Here are two of the layouts I did last night.

Ink It Up!

Have you had a chance to try out the NEW Close To My Heart Alcohol Markers and Pigment Ink Pads?  So many options, so many looks and oh so much fun!  Take a peek at the video below.  If you have any questions or would like to orders some of these markers and/or ink pads feel free to contact me!  I will be happy to help you!  If you live close by you are welcome to come on over and try both the markers and ink pads out!  Enjoy!

October Love Your Layout

Greetings!

THis is my 2nd post of the day.  If you did not see the one I posted earlier today be sure to check it out.

Below is a great video teaching you some fun techniques about Studio J using the Moonlight Kit.
hope you enjoy!

NEW! Workshop on the Go Card Making Kits

LOVE these Kits!
Check this out!

Sensational Studio J!

I had so much fun scrapbooking in Studio J yesterday!  I created 20 layouts!  And this month Close To My Heart is hosting a "can't pass up special!"  For every 9 layouts you create you will get a 10th layout FREE!
Have you tried scrapbooking in Studio J yet?  I, for one, was the scrapbooker who said I would never want to scrapbook online.  I love my paper and adhesives way too much.  HOWEVER, when CTMH came out with Studio J I had to give it a try.  Oh my!!!!  Am I ever glad I did!  I still love my paper and adhesives and all the other fun-ness that comes with traditional scrapbooking, but I have fallen in love with Studio J.  If you have not given Studio J a try I am encouraging you now to hop over to my website HERE and click on "products" and then "Studio J."  You can play and play and play for FREE!  You will only be asked to pay when you  go to purchase a layout (which will then be mailed directly to you and you can slip it into your album along with all your other layouts-both traditional and Studio).  Give it a try and then let me know what you think!

Alcohol Markers

I LOVE to color and I LOVE the new Close To My Heart alcohol markers.  I love that they come in pairs and that they allow us to get so many different shades with just two markers.  I am also have fun with the new alcohol blending marker.  Take a peek at the video below to see how easy these markers are to use!

Happy Hump Day!
Today is Wednesday, October 17th.  October is just a little over half way over.  There is still time to take advantage of the wonderful Studio J special CTMH is offering during the month of October.  Purchase 9 Studio J layouts and get the 10th layout FREE! Purchase 19 layouts and get 2 FREE, etc!
Now is a great time to document some of your memories that have not yet been scrapped.  Studio J is a super easy way to create wonderful layouts that will allow you and your loved ones to re-live some of your favorite memories.  Studio J is a simple, quick, AFFORDABLE and FUN way to get it done!  Hope on over to my website (amy.ctmh.com) and click on products, then "Studio J" and get started today.  Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions.  I am here to help!

The October Stamp of the Month is a MUST HAVE for all your stampers, scrappers and paper crafters!  The "Very Merry Christmas" set comes with 11 images perfect for just about every holiday project (cards, layouts, tags, etc)!  And you can purchase it for just $5.00 with a qualifying order (it is also available at full retail price).

Here are a few cards created with the "Very Merry Christmas" stamp set (#S1210) and the "Pear & Partridge" paper pack (#X7162B).

Advent Calendar Box Workshop

Happy Monday!

I have another holiday themed workshop I am offering.  Friday I posted details on a holiday card class.  You can read all about it in the Friday, October 12th post.

Here are the details on a unique project that is sure to bring delight throughout the entire holiday season.  Take a peek at the details and sign up today!  This class can be purchased as a "Kit to Go" as well as a private class for you and at least 5 of your family and/or friends!

Make it a happy day!

ADVENT CALENDAR BOX WORKSHOP

DATE: MONDAY, NOVEMBER 12th

TIME:  6:30-9:30 p.m.

Cost:  See Shopping List Below

This is going to be a FUN class!

Class is FREE-you are just paying for your class kit.  

Who wouldn't want to make this darling Christmas Advent Calendar Box?  I can't think of a single person. 

You can participate in this workshop in one of three ways:

1. Come to an in-person class (see dates and times below)
2. Participate long-distance
3. Host this workshop in my workshop with you and at least 5 friends.  You, as hostess, will earn at least $40 in hostess rewards and at least one half-off item (and that's only if everyone only purchases the Basic Kit. The more you sell, the more you earn)!

Call or email me to order a kit and sign up in one of those three way (843-207-8698 or stamperamy@earthlink.net). Read on for more details...

The finished project is 14" x 14" x 2 3/4" and each daily drawer is 2 1/2" x 2 1/2" square. It's a darling Christmas decoration and very functional. One of the things I love most about it is that the little drawers are so roomy you can easily fit enough treats in each one for each child or grandchild that will want to pull out the drawer each day in December.  I plan to fill each drawer with Hershey's Kisses and a scripture verses and holiday activties.

Here is a photo that shows a close up of a few of the drawers:

In person classes (if you want to attend my class, I need to hear from you no later than THURSDAY, OCTOBER 25th).

To attend the class, all you need to purchase is the Basic Kit.  Anything above and beyond that is up to you. I will be providing the items you see in  the Better and Best Kits for your use at the workshop, but you may want some of those items of your very own.

If you are participating in this class long-distance, I suggest you get the Better Kit. You'll need those few extra items to complete the workshop if you are not attending in person. If you already have the Artiste Cartridge and a Cricut Machine, you won't need the Best Kit. If you don't have them, you can either purchase the Best Kit or pay an extra $5 and I will cut your workshop papers for you before I send your kit.

Basic Kit Includes (add $5 to the total if you are participating long-distance):

• Workshop on the Go Advent Calendar Kit(includes My Creations Cubby, Advent Calendar Workshop Stamp Set, 15 Cardstock Sheets {3 each of 5 colors}, 1 Bitty Sparkles Pack, 2- 12" x 6" Dimensional Elements In Color Frames Sheets, 1 Instructional Brochure)

    * 1 sheet of white daisy cardstock

Total (with shipping and tax): $52.00

Better Kit = Basic Kit + the following products:

• Staz-On Ink Pas (this pad is fade proof and light and color fast. Great for home decor items that will be out in natural light):  $11.50
• Ruler:  $11.50

*Bone Folder:  $5.70

Best Kit = Basic Kit + Best Kit + the following products (this kit is the BEST value. When you purchase this kit, you get the Stazon Stamp Pad and the Bone Folder in the Better Kit FREE!):

* Artiste Cricut Bundle

Items you will need to bring to class:

Lots of Glue Dots

Tombow Adhesives

You do qualify to purchase the Stamp of the Month with this workshop!

Christmas Card Class

CHRISTMAS CARD CLASS

DATE:  Thursday, November 8th

TIME:  6:30-9:00 p.m.

COST: $23.00 (Kits to go Available for additional$5.00 plus shipping if I have to mail it to you)

r.s.v.p on/before WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 24th

The is a chill in the air and the holidays are right around the corner.  Would you like to get your holiday greeting cards made before Thanksgiving?  This class is for you!

These cards are perfect to send all your holiday wishes.

And with the unique magazine file storage system these cards will make a delightful presentation to give a loved one, teacher, co-worker, etc!  We will create 12 cards (3 each of 4 designs).

The class fee covers:

*All paper needed PRE-CUT!

*12 card bases and envelopes

*”Perfect Fit-Holidays” Stamp Set

*Mistletoe Assortment Embellishments

(this is a retired item!)

Please Bring to Class: your basic tool kit (scissors, adhesives, paper piercing tool)

If you own the “Perfect Fit-Frames” Stamp Set Please brig that along too!

Other products used that you can order if you want your own:

*3-D Foam Tape: $6.90

*Paper Piercing Tool: $6.90

*”December 25th” Stamp Set:  $16.25

*”Perfect Fit-Frames” Stamp Set: $20.75

*1 1/4 Circle Punch: $15.00k

*Cranberry ink Pad: $6.10. Olive Ink Pad:  $6.10

  

Cricut Cuts

I know y'all know how much fun I am having with the Close To My Heart exclusive cartridges.  The Art Philosophy and Artiste bundles are perfect for all my scrapbooking, card making and paper crafting needs.  The Artiste and Art Philosophy are fabulous when it comes to party planning. And the coordinating stamp sets and dimensional elements that come with both cartridges truly allow you to take your projects to the next level!  Take a peek at the video below.  If you would like to purchase either bundle (The Artiste Bundle is item #Z1790 and the Art Philosophy is item #Z1686) you can place your order here.  Or you can contact me and I will be happy to place the order for you.

Studio J Tricks and FREE Layout

Studio J® Tricks to Add Flair to Your Layouts

Categories: ART ATTACK

Even though Studio J^® is fast and easy to use, it is helpful to know some great tricks that can make customizing your layouts even more exciting. Here are some Studio J tricks straight from our professional Close To My Heart artists:
1. Customize your background and texture paper. You can change the color and intensity of the background and texture paper included in whichever kit you choose. Simply select the piece of background and texture paper, change the color in the color selection tool, and increase or decrease the intensity of the color in that same popup box.
2. Crop My Stickease^® quotes, titles, and tags. The cropping feature on the My Stickease images allows you to select a section of a quote, title, or tag to use as a border or other embellishment.
3. Create a customized My Stickease image. If you have a specific image in mind to use as an embellishment on your page, you can create a customized My Stickease to fit your theme perfectly. Simply add a text box, photo hanger, ribbon, ribbon slides, and Stickease to create the little suitcase! So easy! Be sure to crop or send elements behind other elements when necessary, and add several elements together for a unique look!

4. Select more than one element at a time. If you want to move several elements of your layout at once, simply click and drag your mouse around the elements you would like to select. Let’s take buttons, for example. After the buttons have been selected, you can click the icons in the popup box to choose to align the buttons vertically or horizontally if you desire.
5. Make faux washi tape with vellum text boxes. To create the look of a piece of clear washi tape, make a small rectangular text box, filled with vellum background (this is the default color for text boxes). You can make the tape strips as large or small as you want, or even layer them for more emphasis.

6. Stretch one photo across multiple photo wells. If you have fewer photos than photo wells, instead of deleting the excess wells, try scaling the picture to a larger size and then copying the picture to other photo wells and matching the photos up until they align with an almost seamless image. This trick works best with photo wells that are adjacent to each other.
7. Create ruffled ribbon. Select “Ribbons” in the drop-down menu under the Embellishments toolset. Choose ribbon tab and rotate the tab so that it is vertical on the page. Then layer several tabs on top of one another, sending every other one to the back to create a ruffled look.

8. Create a jagged border with text boxes. You can create a jagged border simply by rotating multiple text boxes about 45 degrees and making them the same color as the background. Put these boxes on top of a long, rectangular box of another color, and you’ve got a jagged border!

9. Change the background of your layout. Sometimes you may like the photo and journal arrangement in a layout, and yet want to change the background colors. Because photos sit on top of everything else, this is easy to do. Simply pull a journaling box over the space you want for a different background and fill it with a color from the color selection tool or a patterned paper from the Papers toolset. Then, send it backwards until the photo wells are on top of your new background.
Bonus Trick! Use keyboard keys to make embellishments. Did you know that some of the best tools for creating custom embellishments are the basic keys on your keyboard? It’s as simple as typing into a journaling box with no background color. Use periods to make a polka dot pattern, angle brackets to create a trendy Chevron look, overlapping pound signs to make burlap, question marks to make rope, and so much more!

October is the perfect month to give it a go because for every 9 layouts you purchase you will get the 10th layout for FREE!

Art Attack!

Happy Thursday!

I have been busy this week getting ready for my youngest daughter's birthday.  Payton Marie is turning 10 on Saturday.  DOUBLE DIGITS...I still cannot believe it!  Anyway, turing 10 is a BIG DEAL and calls for a BIG celebration.  Payton chose to have a GLAMPING party this year.  She and 5 of her friends will be glamorous campers on Saturday and will be sleeping in our family tent out in the backyard Saturday night.  I have been having a blast making decorations and goodie bags, etc.  The CTMH Cricut ARTISTE bundle has made it so easy!

Below is a fun video showing how to add "POP" to your party projects and every day projects, as well.  Gotta love the sponge daubers!  I think I order a pack with every order I place-thats how much I love and use them!

Enjoy the video!

Close To My Heart Specials

Happy October!
I love this time of year!  The leaves are changing color, the temps are starting to drop, pumpkins are popping up all over and...yes! we are even seeing a little hint of the holidays!

Close To my Heart's October Stamp of the Month stamp set is perfect for all your holiday projects-from creating gift tags, greeting cards, layouts and more.

"Very Merry Christmas" is a set of 11 images and is available during October only.  You can purchase it at it's full retail price of $17.95 OR you can purchase it for just $5.00 with a minimum $50 order.

You can place orders directly from my website here or you can contact me and I will be happy to place your order for you.

Close To My Heart has another special going on all month long!

During the month of October when you buy 9 custom-printed layouts in Studio J, you will receive a 10th layout for FREE!  To receive the discount you just add 10 or more layouts to your cart during the month of October and the discount will be reflected in the order total.  Buy 9, get 1 free.  Buy 18, get 2 free.  Buy 27, get 3 free.  Up to 4 FREE layouts!  Give Studio J a try (or continue to use it)for fast and easy memory preserving!

You can go to my website HERE to set up your account (if you have not done so yet).  Click on the Studio J tab at the top and the computer will take you step by step through the process.  It is totally FREE to play and have fun.  You are only charged once you choose to purchase one of your layouts.  Please contact me if you have any questions.

Yesterday I posted information about the Digital Divas CLub I would like to start.  YOu can read all about it on the October 1st post.

A Fun Way to Preserve Memories

  DIGITAL DIVAS SCRAPBOOK CLUB

DATE:  MONDAY, OCTOBER 22nd

TIME:  6:30-7:30

COST:  FREE

R.S.V.P:  ON/BEFORE THURSDAY, OCTOBER 18th

(special instructions will be given upon registering)

PLEASE BRING YOUR LAP TOP TO CLASS

I am so excited to start this club!  It is designed to help everyone become better educated with Studio J, offer a new approach to preserving memories and for us get the most out of the Studio J Scrapbook Program. Enjoy companionship, challenge, and creativity either in person or virtually.  Each month we’ll learn a new technique while creating a 2-page layout.  Complete step-by-step instructions will be handed out (or emailed to virtual members) at class.  These are yours to take home with you.  They will make a GREAT reference as you create more Studio J layouts at home.

Studio J has had some amazing updates!  No longer do you need a membership, and Studio J orders can now be associated with a  Gathering, meaning Studio J purchases may qualify for and contribute to Hostess Rewards.  

I will be hosting a monthly online meeting where participants can call in and log in on their computers and actually see and hear me demonstrate the monthly layout-this is especially for virtual Divas but all Divas are welcome!  Information about each virtual class will be given out one week prior to us meeting.

Our first class will be held on MONDAY, OCTOBER 22nd

Diva Drawings will be awarded for every layout you purchase and send me the JPEG!

I am eager to hand out prizes so we will get started right away:

I am inviting you to watch the first “How-To training video in Studio J titled “Step-By-Step Basics”  and then create a layout-when you do you will get your name in a drawing. One in every 5 people will win a prize.  If you purchase a layout and send me the purchased JPEG, you will get your names in twice.  

To get started log into StudioJ.com and scroll down to the bottom.  You will see a link to “Videos.”  Click on this to watch! Then you can go to my website (amy.ctmh.com) and set up your account (if you have not done so yet).  Click on Online “products” and then “Online Scrapbooking.” The computer will take you step by step through the process.  Please contact me if you have any questions.

Wait!!!!  there’s MORE!

During the month of October when you buy 9 custom-printed layouts in Studio J, you will receive a 10th layout for FREE!  To receive the discount you just add 10 or more layouts to your cart during the month of October and the discount will be reflected in the order total.  Buy 9, get 1 free.  Buy 18, get 2 free.  Buy 27, get 3 free.  Up to 4 FREE layouts!  Give Studio J a try (or continue to use it)for fast and easy memory preserving!