Recent Makings- how I find time for me!

It's been so long since I uploaded any of my work, I've been in such a frenzy of craftivity! To the right are a few cards, and below are some newly page-protected layouts I've built. Evidently, my exposure at the end of the year to the Adventure's of Glitter Girl (twopeasinabucket.com) has worked its way into my style! I'm journalling much more and completing pages with ease :-)

 

Sometimes as a scrapbooker it is easy to feel a bit overwhelmed; it can be as easy as trying to find the "perfect" embellishment that holds us back, and then of course there are always more pictures being developed of our continuing life events, which leads to more pages that "need" to be created, and often times months and even years worth of scrap gets left behind as our lives evolve and new products and techniques pique our interests! This month, I resolved to complete all of 2012's picture layouts before the end of the year... and I made a pretty hefty dent in what I had left in my photo stack! And yet, I always seem to still have "only 15 more layouts to go!" Instead of letting that reality interfere with my creative process, however, I am embracing it wholeheartedly. After all, what would I have to look forward to each day if I DIDN'T have that next layout to start?!

 

I find it great motivation for getting my housework done, too- I think to myself, after I get this vacuuming and dusting done, I am so going into my craft space! I've even made doing the dishes fun (!) (I can't believe I just wrote dishes and fun in the same space)- I pull up an inspiring craft video and before I know it, the dishes are drying, the house is cleaner, and my daughter and I are sharing some more quality craft time together.

Here's to meeting a few of your personal craft goals in 2013! Happy New Year!-Anna

 

 

 

Happy Fall Fun

A couple little cards I whipped up tonight before starting dinner!

I think I've finally figured out how to straighten up my pictures before posting them here... hmmm now the dilemma of, "should I post a backlog of projects? Or just make all new ones?!"

I'm pretty sure it will be the latter :-) Happy Fall Fun!

Using new Workshops on the Go® Kits

Everyone is different. From who we are to how we like to scrapbook, everyone has their own unique style. That’s why Close To My Heart has designed new Workshops on the Go® kits to appeal to an even greater audience of papercrafting enthusiasts, fitting anyone’s style! For those of us that like more home décor type projects, the scroll album and advent calendar are just the ticket. Or, if you would prefer to make cards over a scrapbooking layout, you’ll find the Avonlea and Partridge and Pear cardmaking kits are a perfect fit! With so much more variety available, you can increase your creative output,  and use these great new kits to showcase your personal crafting style.

“You’ve taken the photos. Now keep the memories.™”

We all have busy lives—they are fraught with crazy schedules and demands, but also joy and wonder. We know that people are taking more and more digital photos, but preserving their memories less and less. We have the photos; and those of us who are the family historians, the archivists, we also want the scrapbooks.
 Ultimately, weneed a solution that brings everything together in real time. Studio J is the answer: It helps you turn your photos into long-lasting memories—more quickly than you could imagine.
There are many exciting changes coming to StudioJ- including more layouts available, Express layouts which make the process unbelievably simply, and a significant price drop!
If you've ever wondered what it would be like to finish a scrapbook page that you love in an hour or less, ask me about how you can test drive StudioJ- Let me show you how!

There's Always One...

...One more sticker on that sheet, one piece of beautiful paper that I just can't use (or throw out), or in the case of the photo above, one more Easter egg to be hunted down!
It is so hard for me to get rid of a once treasured craft embellishment, even if it is ten or more years old! What a delight to match this background picture that has neared the garbage can countless times with some butterfly stickers obtained so very long ago. The two helped me echo the brilliant beauty of a Spring day reflected in this picture of Rainier outside finding the last of her hidden eggs in the yard.
With a little dash of bling (thanks Dear Friend!) and some more OLD stickers, my layout was almost complete, but seemed a little, Stark. A swipe of Vanilla colored Chalk Ink around the edges softened the dark green background and I knew it was ready to share.
Thanks for following along!

This is the color of a dream come true

Finally I have adhered my pocketful of confetti from the Prince concert!

I don't know why the picture above won't turn the right way, but it doesn't matter how you look at it, the page was a lot of fun to make.

I have kept a somewhat tidy pile of confetti on my crafting table for five months and now it is safely glued down. Reliving the experience of going to see Prince with my mom was not nearly as great as going!

I wanted to tell a lot of the story so I just filled up the white space, or in this case, red space, around my pictures and ephemera, including original ticket stubs. After this photo was uploaded here,  I added loads of bling and pearl stick-ons galore in little clusters. Heart shaped red blings on the photos finished 'er up!


The title of this blog post was inspired by a recent idea I read about sorting scrapbook paper. The idea was something along the lines of sorting the paper by emotions, or the feeling of the layout it may be included on. So, what is the color of a dream come true? Apparently for me it is a lot energetic red and fantastic purple, dotted with sparkle and shine!

Baby Boy Card 3 of 12

Baby Boy Card 2 of 12

Baby Boy Card 1 of 12

Whee!

I didn't know I had this layout to make until I noticed an idea printed in a catalog received. 30 minutes later, this Basic Grey infused layout is ready for journaling!

Greeting each day with a smile

As my journaling square reads, not every day in Washington is "nice." I love the rain, though, and that makes it easy to have a smile on this bright despite it being around seven o'clock in a late  December morning!

Go Dotty!

When you place an order of $35 or more in products from the Spring/Summer 2012 Idea Book between April 17 and May 31, you may add the Dotty for You paper packet, valued at $19.95, for just $5. Dotty for You includes 24 specially designed, coordinating B&T Duos^® sheets (2 each of 12 patterns) and an artwork idea insert to get your creative juices flowing. But that's not all- ask me how you can get this exclusive paper packet FREE!

Scraplift!

I have been working on this layout for months! Well, in my head at least. I saw a page in Creating Keepsakes that was really inspirational. Then a few "perfect" embellishments made their way to my home and voila!
-Anna

Notice anything New?

Those who have logged in to Studio J^® in the last week may have noticed some improvements in this innovative and exciting software. The most exciting changes give you the ability to:

• Move, crop, resize, and rotate the pre-placed toggle accents
• Send backward and bring forward using new buttons on the toolbar
• Select multiple items and send backward or bring forward as a group
• Add distressing directly to photos

These new improvements make the Studio J creation process even easier and quicker than it was before. Log in to Studio J to try out the new functionality!

Here is my crafty daughter Rainie at the Ben Franklin in Redmond, our first stop on the NW Paperchase. She loved their child- sized baskets for shopping!

National Scrapbooking Month Promotion “Dotty for You”

Celebrate National Scrapbooking Month with Close To My Heart's exclusive Dotty for You paper packet! Dotty for You includes 24 specially designed, coordinating B&T Duos® sheets (2 each of 12 patterns) and an artwork idea insert to get your creative juices flowing.

Please, allow me... a personal challenge, shared...

This layout featuring a vintage photo of my mom and I really brought a lot of emotional pondering my way as I created. The beautiful die cut from Close To My Heart's Felicity collection helped me to bring a "full-circle" feel to the page. A few new found notions collected on the Northwest PaperChase now happening added a few little pops of fun! 

Do you struggle with journalling on your scrapbook pages? I sure do! A swirl of thoughts surrounded me while I was creating the elements on this page. I thought of how much I enjoy doing mundane chores around the house with Rainier by my side. I thought about the fact that my mom was probably just as scared at being a first-time mom as I am! And that sometimes you just, "Fake it till you make it." That I'll always be better at ordering dinner than making it, haha. I thought of how motherhood has helped me to walk a few miles in her shoes, and that we have so much more in common than I ever acknowledged! As I crafted, I couldn't help but consider my relationship with my daughter, and how I may be influencing her, as my mother influenced me and who I've become in countless ways. She truly was my first teacher, and continues to remind me that like any good teacher, mothering is a lifetime of work! I've always been shown the utmost love from her.

Along with an underlying message of love, some life lessons I hope to pass on to Rainier include... to have a lot of Confidence, Courage, Compassion, and CRAFTING!

I challenged myself to journal on this layout. Not achieving that personal challenge, I figured, okay, use the confidence instilled in you and broadcast your emotional response to this layout to the World!

 lol, you know, MOM upside down is WOW, and I just have to say "Wow, Mom, you have really helped me to be the best mom I can be. Thank You!"

Paying it forward...

My friend Angela will love the birthday card she's getting tonight, which happens to have been created by another of my friends named, Angela!
Follow this link http://tuttonstreasures.blogspot.com/2012/02/floretine-spiral-flower-card.html to view Angela Tutton's creative cache of treasures.

Put the "heart" in Close to My Heart during this Valentine's Day!

During this Valentine week, if you order the 5 for Free Studio J special for your loved one (or love for yourself too!) then I will gift you the Red Glitz Glitter Gel for FREE!*

Now THATS a sweet treat!

5 for Free Special Information: For each Studio J^®5-pack you purchase this February, you will get one 5-pack of two-page layouts free!

 Visit StudioJ.com for a set of instructions for creating five beautifully crafted two page layouts in Studio J. Now is the time to try it! There is no obligation to buy anything, you can try out the program for free. Then, if you decide to purchase your layouts, I can hook you up with some freebies!

5 for Free Dates: Offer valid February 1, 2012–February 29, 2012.

*This offer is only available from me, your Close to My Heart consultant and is available until 2/18/12 at 11:59.

BusyBusy

I am trying to get a lot of scrapbooking done this year... so far, so good!

Focusing on pictures taken from July to January,

 I have counted over 20 layouts completed. Of course, StudioJ by Close to My Heart has helped me to create a wealth of beauty on paper with their easy to use program of online scrapbooking.
Having a little one around doesn't make it easy to immerse myself in the fun of glue and glitter, but it is really compelling to try to squeeze in a few embellishments while she is napping :-)