HELLO LOVELY!

Have you ever had the blahhhhhs and been unmotivated to do anything?  Well, that's where I have been lately.  But, the Blue Bonnets have bloomed and they have me in a new mood for Spring!  With that said, I have decided to get back into my Close To My Heart business with a lot of spring in my step (get the pun?).  

I'm really pumped about the summer products coming up in May. You will love them. But in the mean time don't miss out on this month's Constant Campaign. It is focused on quick easy layouts that can be completed in a few minutes. They are called Cut Above Kits and they are on 50% off this month. So, if you are new to scrapbooking or just to busy to invest too much time, go here to see them.

Also, to help me get restarted, if you book and hold a qualifying party with me during the month of April, I will reward you with a free gift valued at $6.95, in addition to the already great hostess rewards you will earn! Hurry, available dates are filling up fast!

PLANNERS GONNA PLAN

Discover your inner artist while staying on top of your schedule with our new 2017 planner system. Featuring seasonal designs you can color by hand, this exclusive planner system combines the worlds of work and play to give you a planner you can truly make your own. Choose a bundle with either the Everyday Life™ Sea Glass, my favorite, or the black and white stripes album, or purchase just the planner pages if you already have an album—the choice is up to you!

To see the two album choices, go HERE.

The exclusive bundle price is $31.90 and includes the Everyday Life™ album and the 2017 planner pages, which come with a clear pencil bag and three gold paperclips. (2017 planner pages are also sold seperately).

While you are on the shopping page, don't forget to get the watercolor pencils and page protectors so you can add photos of your loved ones.  The options for decorating are limitless!

Get your planner today because this planner system is only available while supplies last!

October 2016 Constant Campaign

During the month of October, hostesses have another fantastic option for using their Hostess Rewards credit—they can apply it toward a New Consultant Kit!

When you host a Gathering that reaches $250 in sales, not only will you get 50% off a product of your choice, but you can also choose to use your $40 in Hostess Rewards credit to get a discounted New Consultant Kit! With higher Gathering totals, you can save even more! Do you want to experience the Real Rewards of joining the Close To My Heart community!

In conjunction with this month’s campaign, we will be holding a series of Opportunity webinars for potential Team members. You are invited to join one of our webinars.

What a DEAL!

Who is a paper freak?  It's time to treat yourself to brand new scrapbooking paper. And, want another treat...how does getting even MORE paper for free!* During the month of August, when you order our Whimsy, Adventure, and Enchantment Fundamentals papers, you can choose to get either the Rustic Home or Uptown Fundamentals for FREE! Both of these Basics packs feature foil designs and specialty materials for making your artwork unique. Yep, this deal is basically the best! This month's Constant Campaign is a great way to get our new Fundamentals in your hands to start creating soooo many layouts and cards.  The possibilities are endless.

* With qualifying purchase. Offer valid August 1, 2016 (9:00 am MDT) – August 31, 2016 (11:59 pm MDT) while supplies last. Shipping/handling rates are based on the full retail price of free items. Tax is not charged on free items.

CRICUT ARTFULLY SENT CARTRIDGE RETIRING 7/31/16

Today I want to let you know that Close To My Heart will be retiring 3 of their Cricut Cartridge Bundles: Artfully Sent, Art Philosophy, and Artiste.  So, if you have been waiting to order one or all of these cartridges, now is the time before they are GONE, that's right, GONE!

With over 700 images available on each cartridge, the options are limitless.  I was in need of a birthday card so I created the following card using the Artfully Sent Cartridge, Calypso Paper Pack, and some flowers from my stash.

Can you say ADORBS!

The other thing this particular cartridge will make are a variety of pocket style cards to add the extra flair to your pocket pages.

I used the cartridge to create the pocket card "Oh Happy Day" and the words "You Rock" in this layout using the Florence Paper Packet (available through August 30th, 2016).  

If you want to order these products before they are gone, head on over to my webpage.  Keep your eyes open for other soon to be retiring items.

CALYPSO SCRAPBOOKING KIT

I recently hosted my first crafting retreat weekend that was themed Pau Hana Retreat.  Pau Hana means "finished works" and yes some of the ladies did finish some of their unfinished projects while the rest of us did a bit more celebrating that our work was finished for the summer (we work for schools).  Anyway, with that theme, how could I not use the Calypso Scrapbooking Kit to create some original artwork.  I thought it would be great to create a mini scrapbook to put all the pictures we took throughout the weekend.  Here's what I created:

Isn't that just too cute?  If you order the Calypso Scrapbooking Kit Workshops Your Way on my webpage by July 31st, I will email you the directions to create this cute mini scrapbook.

Here are the products I used to create this mini album:

• Calypso Scrapbooking Kit Workshops Your Way   G1109*   
• Cricut Artiste Cartridge Z3170 #
• Cricut Artistry Cartridge Z3167
• Cricut Art Philosophy Cartridge Z3171 #
• Hawaiian Hibiscus Acrylix Stamp Set B1527*
• Watercolor Paints Z3132
• Watercolor Paintbrush Set Z3188
• 3-D Foam Tape Z1151
• One in a Melon Acrylix Stamp Set C1650*
• Scrapbook Queen Acrylix Stamp Set C1646*
• Tickled Pink Acrylix Stamp Set C1651*
• Tickled Pink Thin Cuts Z3228*
• Twine of your choice
• Black Momento Ink Z899
• Honey, Pear, Cotton Candy, and Pixie Ink

#These items are retiring July 31st and are available while supplies last.

*These items are retiring August 31st and are available while supplies last.

CTMH Technique Blog Hop - Color Your World

If you are coming from Wendy Kessler's Blog  you are in the right place.

This month our featured technique is coloring.  The idea was to use markers, watercolor paints, or watercolor pencils. Since I am ready to escape to a beach, I was inspired to bring a little beach fun to me but using the Beach Life Stamp Set that is in the Seasonal Expressions 2 catalog.   

First I used our medium round waterbrush along with the desert sand watercolor pencil to paint a background.  Once that was dry, I then stamped the sand castle on top of it using the Desert Sand Stamp Pad.  By using the water based ink as the last step, it does not fade or run.  I stamped the bucket using the Momento Black ink and then colored it using our versa mark markers.  The card was complemented using the Calypso Compliments.  Now I'm ready to hit the sand!

Now hop on over to Kirsten Jade's blog to continue seeing all the fun coloring techniques!

If you want to order this cute stamp set, please hop on over to webpage and get all your summer, beachy, vacationy stamps, papers, and compliments!

Win a Picture My Life Scrapbooking Program

How would you like to win a Picture My Life Scrapbooking Program?

Hurry and order an album at 25% off along with a pack of page protectors and you will be entered in a drawing for the Picture My Life Scrapbooking Program of your choice.  I kind of love the one above, Beautiful You.  This offer is only good if your order for your album and page protectors is place by May 31st.  Earn extra entries by ordering more than one album/page protector set.  I will announce the winner on my blog, June 1st and then contact you to see which program you want.  You can order HERE, or place your order directly with me.  Don't miss out on this great deal on the albums.

Happy Times Blog Hop

Today's blog post is for a blog hop I am participating in using our National Scrapbook Month specialty paper pack, Happy Times.  If you are coming from Tonya Whitehurst's blog, you are in the right place.  Continue reading and then you will be directed at the bottom of the page for where to hop to see another example of great artwork created by my team members.

I used the pretty floral paper and cut it on a diagonal, then accordian folded it at the 1/2", then 1/4".  I used the resist technique by using my watercolor paints over one of the new watercolor Picture My Life cards.  I rounded it all out with cardstock and a flower fromt he Happy Times stamp set.  If you love this paper pack as much as I do, go here to order today.  Hurry because it is only available in May while supplies last.

If you started hopping with Melissa Robinson's blog, then you are at the end of the hop.  If not, click HERE to get back to the beginning.

CTMH Technique Blog Hop - Let’s Interact

If you are coming from Wendy Kessler's Blog you are in the right place.

What a fun challenge this Blog Hop is this month. I have made explosion cards before but I needed a special card for a special kiddo from school so I made this slider type of card.  Let me explain.  We have a great kid that is at the school I work at and I always have a big cup from Lambert's Cafe with me.  He asked me one day what the guy on it was throwing.  I told him it was rolls, that there is this restaurant in Missouri that is the Home of Throwed Rolls.  They will actually throw rolls from across the restaurant to you.  He became fascinated with this.  So, one day, my cousin had posted some videos of her kids catching rolls there.  I showed my friend Q and he thought they needed to change the 4th grade field trip from the Texas Capital to Lambert's Cafe.  So, since he will be leaving Erma Nash this year, I wanted to get him his own cup to hopefully remember me by because I will most definitely remember my little Gamer Buddy!  He's going to be missed by all of us!  I used some scraps from the Urban Paper Pack and the new stamp set "Smarty Pants Occasions" along with my watercolor pencils and the new Waterbrush Medium Point for blending.

I am so lucky to work in an elementary school and get to have millions of smiles from great kids like Q.  I hope you all are as blessed to be touched by the innocence of children because there is nothing as wonderful!

Now hop on over to Kirsten Jade's Blog to continue the hop!

Mistakes are Opportunities for Embellishments!

First off today, I want to give a shout out to Sara.  Sara hosted a great class for her friends last night and we all went away with learning something new.  And, just in case Tara is checking up on me, I am updating this blog today just for her.

Last night we had some first time stampers.  They learned the hard way not to rock your stamp block and to double check for the ink residue before you stamp.  Miranda ended up with a black line going across the middle of her card.  But, being the creative force that she is, she came up with a great solution that gave the card a whole different vibe.  I love it and I'm going to scraplift it, (she gave me her permission).

See the heartbeat between the two?  And, there was ink smudged that we covered up with beautiful glitter hearts from our Fundamental Assortsment pack.  Everything is better with bling!

If you would like to host a class for you and some of your friends, please contact me.  My May is full and I only have 2 dates left in June so you better grab those dates quick!  the summer will be gone before we know it!

Crop Club Forming Now!

What is a Crop Club you ask?  

Well, it is a group of 6 - 10 people that love papercrafting and want to earn free products by hanging out with friends and crafting.

I don't have time?

This is a great opportunity to set aside a couple of hours each month for YOU TIME, YOU DESERVE IT!

How does it work?

As a group, you decide on your monthly spending committment, when and for how long we play, and then we rotate the Hostess Rewards among the members.

For Example:

I currently have a club that meets on one Saturday afternoon for four hours per month.  There are 9 members and they have committed to spending $35 each month.  The two months that they have met, the hostess's each earned $100 in free product and 2 half-priced items, averaging $152 in savings.

Great news is that we can meet at my house so noone has to clean or be worried about where to go with 10 people.

If you are interested in joining a club, please comment below with your email address and I will contact you.

SWEET 16

  

My baby girl is 16 today - Happy Sweet 16th Sydney!  I love you so much and am so proud of the young lady you have become.  

In honor of her 16th birthday, I made a special explosion card with the La Vie En Rose paper pack and some pomegranite and black cardstock.  She is my little punk rocker that loves playing the guitar so I cut some guitars out of a Cricut cartridge (one from my supply -not one of the Close To My Heart ones).  Take a look:

I am looking forward to making her a special cake and hanging onto, oops, I mean out with, her as long as I can.  

If you love the basic black and white patterns, you can shop for the La Vie En Rose paper packet HERE

Until next time, ROCK ON!.

Technique Blog Hop - RESISTING CAN BE FUN

If you are coming from Tammy Lubic's Blog you have come to the right place.

The challenge of this technique blog hop was to do the resist technique.  Here's my one page layout that I did of my husband's birthday celebration at TX Roadhouse:

I embossed the words CLICK! SNAP! SMILE! from the April Stamp of the Month Acrylix Stamp Set with White Embossing Powder.  Then, I applied a brushed hombre look over the embossing with our blue Watercolors.  FYI, the stamped camera is also from the April Stamp of the Month set.  Keep reading to see the full stamp set.

Here's the finished page!  I copied the layout from a past issue of our Idea Book.

Here's the April Stamp of the Month:

This stamp set can be yours for just $5, with a purchase of $50.  You know you can't "RESIST", (get the pun?).  You can shop for all the supplies you need to start using this great technique by going HERE

To continue to see other ideas, follow the blog hop by going to Belinda McLane's Blog .

Why I Love Being On This CTMH Team - Blog Hop.

 

 If you are coming from Katy Taylor's blog you are in the right place.  Now let me tell you my top 3 reasons I love being on the Heartfelt Sentiments CTMH team: 

1.  The Relationships 

The lines are blurred as to whether they are friends or customers but I definitely value the friendships more than the business!  My customers are the best friends ever!!!!

Also, the ladies I have met on the Heartfelt Sentiments Team are too much fun!  We live all over but get to come together for training and those have been some crazy times!  We are so in sync that when Melissa and Katy went to take the above selfie, the rest of us photobombed as if it were the natural thing to do!  

2.  My Upline:  Melissa Robinson

I have been in several direct sales companies and have never had an upline like Melissa.  She has been so supportive from the very beginning.  She will do whatever it takes to help me out.  She built my great blog and trained me on how to use it. She provides excellent marketing advise. She encourages my ambitious goals and visions. And above all else, she is a blast!

3.  Close To My Heart Corporate

In all my past direct sales endeavors, the Corporate Office has never been as supportive as Close To My Heart.  They provide mini trainings every quarter that are just a roadtrip away.  They provide simply everything you could need to make this a successful business from a free website, online training, marketing support, product support, creativity support, and annual conventions.  In addition, the home office peeps seem to be all about work hard but play hard too.  They actually played Pie In The Face on PI Day.  

If you have read through this entire post and find that you may be interested in joining our team, April is the right time to join!  The benefits are great.  Just $75 will get you started with this great team.  Talk to your consultant if you want to learn more about the April Recruitment Special.  If you don't have a consultant, I'd be happy to help you out.  You can contact me at cathy.bufano@gmail.com.

Now head on over to Debi's blog to see why she loves CTMH.

April Stamp of the Month - Life In Pictures

OK my little Photobugs!  Here is a great new stamp set that is available for just $5 this month with a qualifying order.  It is a must have and makes for these great cards!  I also used my Cricut Artistry Cartridge to make the cute film strip in the card below.


  

If you are interested in this cool stamp set, go HERE to see the details.

Baby I'm Worth It! And so are you!

If earning money—and rewards—through your love of scrapbooking and stamping sounds like a dream job, then now is the perfect time to join Close To My Heart. Believe us, it’s worth it! 

This is no joke folks!  I have been able to support my crafting habits as well as meet new people and earn great rewards.  If you sign up as a Consultant in April you will earn amazing rewards—including a FREE Cricut® collection! Signing up as a new Consultant with Close To My Heart during April is more rewarding than ever. When you sign up as a New Consultant you already get:

• New Consultant Kit with essential supplies for only $75
• $50 in Select Product Credit to spend on additional supplies
• The chance to earn fantastic Straight To The Top start-up rewards

And only during April, you can also earn your choice of a FREE Cricut® collection or an additional $100 in Select Product Credit when you submit $350 in personal sales within your first 30 days! That is could likely come from hosting just one crop!

I would love to talk to you about what a great company this is and all the rewards I have received.  Don't hesitate, call me, email me, or just go ahead and sign up already.  You know you want too!  (heehee).

Offer valid April 1, 2016 (9:00 am MDT) – April 30, 2016 (11:59 pm MDT). Cricut® collections available while supplies last. No tax will be charged on the free item. Shipping/handling will be charged based on the retail value of the free Cricut® collection.

FREE Cricut Collection????

Oops, looks like I was on the right track just a little early yesterday when I posted how great it is being a part of the Heartfelt Sentiments Team.  Today, our Corporate office annouced a new recruiting special for April.  Check it out, you can even earn a free Cricut Collection!  I'm pretty sure that this will be the best offer for signing on as a consultant this year!  Here it is:

Signing up as a new Consultant with Close To My Heart during April is more rewarding than ever. When you sign up as a New Consultant you already get:

• New Consultant Kit with essential supplies for only $75
• $50 in Select Product Credit to spend on additional supplies
• The chance to earn fantastic Straight To The Top start-up rewards

And only during April, you can also earn your choice of a FREE Cricut® collection or an additional $100 in Select Product Credit when you submit $350 in personal sales within your first 30 days!

If you love to scrapbook, make cards, or do any kind of papercrafting, being a consultant with Close To My Heart is a great way to earn your products for free and even make a bit of extra cash.

I signed on a year ago and I have loved every minute of it.  The relations I have built with my customers and the other Consultants will last my lifetime and then some because I am preserving these memories with our great products!

Come join me today.  YOU are worth it!

Hello Paradise!

Wow, as if you don't have enough stamp sets to choose from for the Stampaganza, CTMH has added an additional stamp set that will ONLY be available during the month of March.  This way, you can choose it as one of the purchase two, get one free deal!  With this stamp set you could create a complete vacation album before you even leave for vacation this year.  I'll even send you a downloadable file for a complete album if you order this stamp set this month. Ready to see it?  Here it is....

What are you waiting for?  Go HERE to start shopping for all your favorite stamp sets!

ROADTRIP!!!!!!!

Today is a perfect day for a roadtrip with the girls!  We are headed to Houston for the new Product Release that is coming your way May 1st.  Remember, you only have thru April 30th to order products out of the Seasonal Expressions I catalog, or while supplies last.  Don't miss anything from your wish list, go HERE.

Enjoy your Friday!