National Papercrafting Month Ending Soon

With the end of January and National Papercrafting Month we have to prepare to say goodbye the National Papercrafting Month exclusive Picture My Life™ Live Your Day scrapbooking program

and the Stamp Of The Month Beloved Bouquet.

If you are still "on the fence" about either item, here are projects I made with each:

The "hello bracket" was cut from one of the PML cards and layered onto the coordinating My Crush® Everyday Life Pages.

I plan to use the PML cards over-and-over as a reminder of upcoming birthdays. For a list of products and additional information about my creations, please visit my post National Papercrafting Month - Live Your Day Blog Hop. You will find even more ideas on my CTMH Promo Live Your Day Pinterest Board.

For more information about the cards, please visit my post Beloved Bouquet January 2016 SOTM Blog Hop. Other projects using the Beloved Bouquet stamp set are on my CTMH 2016 01 Jan SOTM Beloved Bouquet Pinterest Board.

Thank you for stopping by today.

Important notice Regarding Studio J®

It is with sadness that I share with you that Close To My Heart has "determined that the time has come to discontinue our Studio J service." While I did not use Studio J® often, I used it to create photo sizes that are not easy to get printed locally, especially the sizes that work well with Picture My Life™.

If you placed a Studio J® order in the past year you should have received a message about the service on January 19. CTMH also posted this information in Studio J®.

In case you missed it, this is the notice posted at studioj.com:
Important Notice ☜
Thank you for using Studio J® Online Design Software. We are glad to have been able to provide this tool for preserving your cherished memories. While we wish we could continue providing this service to you, we will be discontinuing Studio J as of April 30, 2016, or when our current supplies of photo paper are exhausted.

Since an announcement of this type is likely to increase the load on the system, there is an increased possibility that you may encounter technical difficulties as you create in Studio J, especially as we near the end of April. We invite you to place your orders as soon as possible for any layouts you may be working on or may have planned on creating.

Thank you again for using our Studio J software. We invite you to contact your Close To My Heart Consultant for more information regarding our complete line of beautiful and useful papercrafting products that make preserving your memories and telling your stories a work of art.

With this announcement item SJ1001, Studio J layout credits, have been discontinued. If you have already purchased Studio J credits, be sure to use them before the retirement date of April 30 (earlier if possible since Studio J could be discontinued earlier if the supply of photo paper is exhausted sooner than anticipated).

Send me an email if you have questions about Studio J®. If I do not have the answer I will do my best to track the answer down for you.

Seasonal Expressions 1 New Product Blog Hop

Welcome to the Seasonal Expressions 1 New Product Blog Hop. There are approximately 25 bloggers sharing projects they created with products you will find in Seasonal Expressions 1. If you are new to blog hopping, it is very easy. Just click on the link (typically near the bottom of the post) to visit the next blog and you will be taken full circle back to the blog where you started.

You should have arrived here from ***Gina's Littler Corner of Stampin Heaven by Gina Brandstetter***. If you get lost along the way, Melinda Everitt keeps a list of participants on her blog at If You Bling It.

I always try to take a little crafted something to holiday dinners and as soon as I saw the pint-sized container in SE1, I immediately decided to create one for Easter.

This is the container in the Idea Book:

And this is my version:

Before you head to ***Haley Dyer's The Inky Scrapper***, here are some details about how I created the sleeve and the supplies I used to create my project are listed further below.

First, I am sorry for the number of photos; I hope/think they aid with describing the process to create a sleeve that fit the My Creations™ Pint-Sized Container. To create the sleeve I originally tried a cupcake wrapper from the Cricut® Artiste Collection cartridge (Z3170), but the taper for a cupcake is not the same as the taper for the Pint-Sized Container (I have since completed a search to purchase coffee cup sleeves and it appears they and coffee cups are a pretty standard shape and size). No matter what I tried in Cricut® Design Space I could not come up with a sleeve that I was happy with. Since, when possible, I do try to reuse items, I had a coffee sleeve from national coffee chain in my office. I decided to take is apart to see how it looked flat and to get a feel for how it would fit on the Pint-Sized Container. Other than being too short, it was a pretty good fit. I traced the sleeve on a piece of copy paper sliding the sleeve at the straight end to make it longer. I decided that I might need it a bit longer so re-traced the sleeve placing it closer to the edge and at a slightly different angle to make it longer.

It is hard to see in the photo above, but I wrapped my template around the Pint-Sized Container, held it up to the light and marked where the template overlapped so I could get a better sense of the size it needed to be. It turns out that putting the template on a 12" x 12" paper or cardstock and using the full 12" width, that is I did not angle the template on the cardstock, made the sleeve fit on the Pint-Sized Container.

It was at this point that my need for perfection (or as close as I can get) kicked in. After all I am sharing this with the world and giving it as a gift so it had to look its best. [insert grin] It is hard to see in the photo above, but no matter how hard I tried I could not get a smooth cut from tracing my template and cutting it out with a craft knife or scissors. I tried to find a serving platter, cooking pot, actually anything around the house that had the shape I needed so I could cut against it to get a nicer edge, but to no avail. It was then that I decided to try to find an SVG file to use. Luckily I did at The Cutting Cafe, but I was back to making some test cuts to get the sizing correct.

My first cut using the SVG file (with the width set to 12") fit around the cup, but it was too tall. Almost all of the Pint-Sized Container was covered from lid to bottom. I duplicated it, enlarged the copy and used the slice feature to make the sleeve less tall (since the tab overlap will be covered I did not work to neaten the tab).

Since Close To My Heart only makes 12" x 12" cardstock, I knew I had to make my Cricut® think it had a larger paper to cut from. When previewing my design in Cricut® Design Space just prior to cutting, I moved the image to the 1" mark on the virtual mat. Then I placed my test paper on a 12" x 24" mat at the 1" below the top. As soon as I confirmed I positioned the paper correctly, I put my Paper Fundamentals on the mat, fed it into the Explore and cut it.

The cut lines near the bottom of the photo are barely visible, but I was able to cut the sleeve from this sheet of Paper Fundamentals.

I hope this information helps you create a sleeve, cut by hand or on the Cricut®, for your projects that use the Pint-Sized Container.

All supplies are from Close To My Heart except where noted:

• My Acrylix™ Spring Critters Stamp Set (C1638)
• Spring Critters Thin Cuts (Z3207)
• My Creations™ Pint-Sized Container (Z3137)
• Penelope Paper Packet (X7207B)
• Paper Fundamentals Whimsy (Z3127)
• 12" X 12" White Daisy Cardstock (1385)
• Black Memento™ Ink Pad (Z899)
• Watercolor Paints (Z3132)
• Paintbrush Set (Z3188)
• Limeade Washi Pack (Z3198)
• Cricut® Art Philosophy Collection (Z3171)
• 3L® E-Z Dots® Adhesive (Z3022)
• 3-D Foam Tape (Z1151)
• Supplies not from Close To My Heart: Cricut® Explore, Cricut® Design Space, Coffee Cup Holder Set Template - [SVG] Cutting File from The Cutting Cafe, glass mat, craft knife, Tattered Lace Baby Blue [die cutting] Machine

If you are not already working with a CTMH Independent Consultant, you may purchase all of the CTMH supplies I used on my Online Business Address.

If you have a moment, please leave a comment. I love to hear what people think of my creations.

Thank you for visiting today. So you do not have to scroll back up, the next stop on the hop is ***Haley Dyer's The Inky Scrapper***.

Family Reunion Silent Auction (or Raffle) Item

If you follow my blog you know that my family holds an auction (and/or a raffle) at our annual reunion to help cover expenses for future reunions.

In October 2015 I was lucky enough to win a seat at an online crop using the Cricut® Explore and Design Space, October Diva Days from Scrap Me Quick Designs, but it came at a particularly busy time and I was not able to complete all of the projects at that time. During my Winter Break I completed Project #1: Family Name Keepsake Frame and finally yesterday the light and weather cooperated so I could take a photo.

I found the frame at Hobby Lobby. So the paper would lay flat inside the frame I had to sliver a bit off from two sides, approximately ⅛" off from the top and right side. The background paper is a retired CTMH B&T from the Skylark paper pack, the green vinyl is from Cricut® and the tan vinyl was purchased many moons ago when QVC carried crafts and Silhouette products. The "base" Design Space file was shared with crop participants and we personalized it with our family information.

If you are interested in creating a similar frame, look for the "Family Name Keepsake Frame Class" on the Classes page at Scrap Me Quick Designs.

I hope my family will like this frame enough to want to add it to their home decor (and bid lots for it). Thank you for visiting my blog today.

Discontinuing Stamp Sets and New Clearance Items

I just learned that two stamp sets from the 2015-2016 Annual Inspirations Idea Book are being discontinued. The stamp sets are:

Instalife (C1615)

#makesmehappy - Hostess Rewards (D1658)

You will find Instalife on page 101; #makesmehappy is on page 8.

The stamp sets will no longer be available for purchase (or with Hostess Rewards) after January 31.

In addition, a few items from Holiday Expressions were added to the Clearance category on my OBA. They are 40% off and available while supplies last.

Nevermore Paper Packet (X7198B)	Nevermore Complements (X7198C)
Nevermore Assortment (Z3083)	intentionally left blank
White Pines Complements (X7200C)	White Pines Assortment (Z3077)
Picture My Life™ White Pines Scrapbooking Program (Z3176)	Designer Creations Mini Frames (Z2029)
Cut Above™ Deck the Halls Card Kit (Z3149)	Base & Bling Jolly Holiday Style Sheet (Z3175)
Base & Bling Red Bead Charm—Faux Silver (Z3139)	Base & Bling Red Bead Charm—Faux Gold (Z3138)
Base & Bling Jingle Bell—Faux Silver (Z3136)	Base & Bling Jingle Bell—Faux Gold (Z3112)
Base & Bling Snowflake Charm—Faux Silver (Z3135)	Base & Bling Snowflake Charm—Faux Gold (Z3111)

There are other items in the Clearance category on my OBA. They are from older Idea Books, but you still might find something you like. Or need. ☺

National Papercrafting Month - Live Your Day Blog Hop

Welcome to the National Papercrafting Month - Live Your Day Blog Hop. There are almost 20 bloggers sharing projects using the Live Your Day PML cards. If you are new to blog hopping, it is easy, just click on the link (typically near the bottom of the post) to visit the next blog on the hop. Ultimately you will be taken full circle back to the blog where you started.

You should have arrived here from ***Katie Skiff's Created by Katie***. If you get lost along the way, Melinda Everitt keeps a list of participants on her blog at If You Bling It.

When I received the Live Your Day cards I immediately had several different ideas for using them. The first is "long term" birthday and event reminders. My cards do not look like much since I have a small family compared to some, but I think the pages will be perfect to move from one year's planner to another (assuming the colors are compatible).

I prepared some of the PML cards from Artfully Sent and they are ready to cut and add to the Memory Protectors, but time got away from me and I did not finish all of them cut. Here is a screen shot of the cards I planned for the year (not in any order); some had to be converted from horizontal to vertical orientation using the slice feature. If you would like to use my Design Space file, you will find it here. I set the size to 4" height x 3" width, but when I cut the rest I think I might set the height to approximately 3.94" (3 15/16") so they are a bit easier to slide into the pockets. Three layers of cardstock does get a bit thick. The top layer of the PML cards are from My Crush® Everyday Life Pages and the bottom layer is Pixie and Glacier respectively. I love how the My Crush® Everyday Life Pages cut on the Cricut® and it is like having another paper pack in the Idea Book.

My second idea was for this card. I cut the focal from one of the PML cards and used some of the remaining card for the base under my stamping. I cut a My Crush® Everyday Life Page to the first layer applied to the card.

Since I found many of the cards motivational, I also have an idea for a book of encouragement, but a series of events the past week, e.g., a failed refrigerator and frozen locks on the two doors, prevented me from completing it for this hop. After I meet a couple of deadlines - hopefully no more unexpected things happen - I plan to get one completed before the month ends.

Before you head to ***Scrapbooking with Kirsten Jade***, the supplies I used to create my project are listed below.

All supplies are from Close To My Heart except where noted:

• Picture My Life™ Live Your Day Scrapbooking Program (CC1058)
• My Crush® Everyday Life Pages (Z3210)
• Cricut® Artfully Sent Collection (Z3168)
• 12" X 12" Pixie Cardstock (X5773)
• 12" X 12" Glacier Cardstock (X5770)
• 4" x 3" Memory Protectors™ (Z3191)
• 5½" X 4¼" White Cards & Envelopes, Value Pack (X254)
• My Acrylix™ Friendly Wishes Stamp Set (A1185)
• Black Memento™ Ink Pad (Z899)
• White & Gold Ribbon (Z3189)
• Gold Foil Tape (Z3129)
• Corner Rounder (Z1912)
• 3L® E-Z Dots® Adhesive (Z3022)
• Thin 3-D Foam Tape (Z2060)
• Micro Glue Dots™ (Z2089)
• Supplies not from Close To My Heart: Pilot Frixon Ball Erasable pens, Cricut® Explore, Cricut® Design Space, glass mat, craft knife

If you are not already working with a CTMH Independent Consultant, you may purchase all of the supplies I used at my Online Business Address.

I love to hear what people think of my creations; if you have a moment please leave a comment.

I hope you are finding many ideas for using the Live Your Day PML cards. Thank you for visiting today. So you do not have to scroll back up, the next stop on the hop is ***Scrapbooking with Kirsten Jade***.

National Papercrafting Month - Live Your Day

As I mentioned on January 1, to celebrate National Papercrafting Month CTMH has created an exclusive Picture My Life™ Live Your Day scrapbooking program.

The Live Your Day collection was designed to coordinate perfectly with the Everyday Life™ 2016 Planner Pages and My Crush® Everyday Life Pages.

Everyday Life™ 2016 Planner Pages (Z3209)

My Crush® Everyday Life Pages (Z3210)

[Speaking of the Everyday Life™ 2016 Planner Pages...you still have time to get organized for 2016 as the Planner Pages are now 50%. I believe this offer is for the remainder of the month or while supplies last.]

I edited this post to add the video CC: Picture My Life™ - Live Your Day that shows several ideas for using the Picture My Life™ Live Your Day cards:



Items featured in the video are:

• Picture My Life™ Live Your Day Scrapbooking Program (CC1058)
• Design 4 Memory Protectors™ (Z1951)
• Everyday Life™ Album—Black (Z3208)
• 4" x 6" Memory Protectors™ (Z3192)
• 4" x 3" Memory Protectors™ (Z3191)
• Everyday Life™ 2016 Planner Pages (Z3209)
• 12" X 12" White Daisy Cardstock (1385)

Coordination of the Live Your Day collection, Everyday Life™ 2016 Planner Pages and My Crush® Everyday Life Pages allows you to seamlessly integrate pocket scrapbooking into your 2016 planner.

The Picture My Life™ Live Your Day scrapbooking program offer is while supplies last or January 31. No qualifying purchase is required and there is no limit on how many Live Your Day collections you may order for $8.95 (before tax and shipping). Get this deal before January 31, 2016 or supplies run out.

Because I know some people like to see all of the designs in a collection, I took some photos of the cards.

There are three each of the white, pink, green and light purple "Birthdays" cards and the blank lined cards for a total of 12 "Birthdays" and 12 blank lined cards.

This close up of the "Birthdays" cards to show that there is a space in the line. My interpretation: the left side is for the date and the right side is for the name of the person celebrating on that day.

It is hard to see in the photos, but there is a slight, but not overdone, chalkboard effect on many the cards. If you are not a fan of chalkboard, do not worry as it is very slight (I keep looking at the cards under my Ott light so I am can be as sure as possible that I am giving you an accurate description).

I love the wording on these cards. They are so motivational. I think the cards would work wonderfully in a graduation or off-to-college album or a book created for someone who is trying to find their direction in life. I photographed some of the cards on the Versamat™ (Z1279) so you could be sure to see the card sizes.

I love the soft colors on the black background of these cards.

Some of the cards do not having wording on them. I think they would be great for journaling, for being a mat behind a photo or a layer on a card.

The subtle chalkboard shows better in this photo from CTMH Corporate:

I hope you found photos of all of the cards helpful. I am participating in a blog hop featuring the Live Your Day scrapbooking program. You will find my post here on January 7.

Beloved Bouquet January 2016 SOTM Blog Hop

Welcome to the January 2016 SOTM Blog Hop featuring the stamp set Beloved Bouquet. This month there are almost 35 bloggers sharing projects they created with Beloved Bouquet. If blog hopping is new to you, keep clicking on the link to the next blog (typically near the bottom of the post) to visit the next stop. Blog hops are circular so visiting the next blog will take you back to where you started.

The SOTM for January 2016, Beloved Bouquet, is a D-size set of 14 stamps that is $5 with a qualifying purchase. Alternatively you may purchase it for $17.95. Recommended CTMH My Acrylix® Blocks for this stamp set are: 1" x 3½" (Y1002), 2" x 2" (Y1003), 3" x 3" (Y1006) and 2" x 3½" (Y1009). The stamps in the Beloved Bouquet set are:

You should have arrived here from ***Paper Goodness: Creating from the Heart by Jacquelin Green***. If you get lost along the way, Melinda Everitt keeps a list of participants on her blog at If You Bling It.

I created two cards for this hop. I originally planned to create one, but the oval that remained after I created the first card kept calling out to me. I used first and second generation stamping and masking on both cards.

I also decorated the inside of this card.

On my second card I also used tone-on-tone stamping which makes it a little difficult to see the second generation stamping, but I am still pleased with the resulting card.

I have not decided if I will also stamp inside or just add the note I have planned.

Before you head to ***Snips, Snaps, and Scraps by Kathy Burrows***, the supplies I used to create my project are listed below.

All supplies are from Close To My Heart except where noted:

• My Acrylix™ January 2016 SOTM: Beloved Bouquet Stamp Set (S1601)
• My Acrylix™ Spring Critters Stamp Set (C1638) - sentiment
• My Acrylix™ Pretty Petals Stamp Set (C1599) - sentiment
• 12" X 12" White Daisy Cardstock (1385)
• 12" X 12" Gypsy Cardstock (X5757)
• Penelope Paper Packet (X7207B)
• Kaleidoscope Paper Packet (X7202B)
• Thistle Exclusive Inks™ Stamp Pad (Z2640)
• Pixie Exclusive Inks™ Stamp Pad (Z2644)
• Pear Exclusive Inks™ Stamp Pad (Z2197)
• Gypsy Exclusive Inks™ Stamp Pad (Z2190)
• 5½" X 4¼" White Cards & Envelopes, Value Pack (X254)
• 3L® E-Z Dots® Adhesive (Z3022)
• Thin 3-D Foam Tape (Z2060)
• Cricut® Art Philosophy Collection (Z3171)
• Oval - #M4339D - page 32 - I re-sized the oval in CDS
• Supplies not from Close To My Heart: Cricut® Design Space, Cricut® Explore

If you are not working with a CTMH Independent Consultant yet, you may purchase all of the supplies I used at my Online Business Address.

I love to hear what people think of my crafts, so if you have a moment I would be delighted if you leave a comment. So you do not have to scroll back up, the next stop on the hop is ***Snips, Snaps, and Scraps by Kathy Burrows***.

Thank you for visiting today. I hope you are enjoying the hop.