Jolene's Paper Trail

My Creations Memory Game

2012-01-17T21:55:00.001-05:00

Look...two posts in two days!

CTMH has this awesome product called the My Creations Memory Game. One of the things I love most about being a CTMH Consultant is the amazing ideas that fellow consultants come up with for our products. Although I'm sure the original intention was that this product be used to create memory matching games for children, the things I have seen done with this box over the past few months are so creative!

A few months ago, my club decided that they wanted to spend one of our meetings working on making their own games. Although each girl came up with their own use for the boxes, they all came out wonderful. I am so excited to share my take on this project with you!

I first decided that I wanted to do this when I went to CTMH Convention in Anaheim last summer. During an event called Extravaganza, fellow consultant Sara Batkin shared with us this creative take on the Memory Game. Ever since I saw her project, I knew that I had to make one of my own.

The photo I used was taken by me a few years ago at Animal Kingdom in Orlando. I love tigers, and I think this picture was perfect for this project. The paper pack I used is a retired pack called "Expedition." I have been hanging onto this paper for the longest time, and I am so glad I had it when I was ready to make this box.

I hope you like what I did with my memory game!!!

So, so, so sorry!

2012-01-16T21:45:00.001-05:00

I have been a very bad blogger over the past few months. Despite the fact that I have done some crafting, and I even took pictures of my projects, I just never managed to find the time to actually write my blog posts.

For those of you who have been worried, I am so sorry! I promise I am okay. I've been insanely busy with work and classes, but I am fine. Things seem to have calmed down a bit, so I'm ready to get back into the blogging world. I would like to commit to doing at least one post a week, but I can't promise it will always happen. I can promise that I am going to do my best to be a better blogger in 2012 so please hang with me!

Cheers!

Paper Bag Project

2011-08-31T18:54:00.000-04:00

Well...school has officially started, and my blogging has taken a back seat. (((sigh))) I have had these pictures in my computer for a few weeks and just never had the chance to write a post because I was too busy getting ready for school.

Back in early August, we had a unit meeting and I was asked to teach a project to the rest of the group. I had seen something similar to this the week before and I just had to re-create it. I figured this meeting was the perfect opportunity to do that!

This is made from a small brown paper bag. With a fold and a few simple cuts, you can create this unique card. When it is opened, the top half and the bottom half both have pockets that you can insert a note, gift cards, money, candy, or just about anything small that you can think to add!

All of the stamped images are cut with the new CTMH Cricut Art Philosophy cartridge, and then stamped with our coordinating stamp sets. I used the Olivia paper pack on this project. Even the flourish on the front was cut with the Cricut cartridge. The flourish is embellished with mini opaque mocha pearls. I used antique copper brads for the flower centers, the lower pocket, and to hold the pleats in the ribbon. As always, click on each photo for a closer look!

Front cover

Inside of bag (opened)

Surprise!

2011-08-07T16:28:00.000-04:00

Today I had an interesting surprise that I had to share with all of you. Read on to hear what happened...

The past few days have been pretty busy with my CTMH business. My club meeting was Friday night and I attended a unit meeting/picnic yesterday with some great friends and 'sidelines'. All of last week was spent prepping for my club meeting and gathering all of the wonderful new products I wanted to share with my customers.

When I arrived home from yesterday's meeting, I went into my scrap room and was shocked to see that it looked like a bomb exploded when I wasn't looking! Since my hubby was busy, I started cleaning up and putting things away. I worked most of the evening, and finally headed to bed around 11:30.

This morning, I realized there was still another box of new product in the back of my car. So, my husband brought it in from the car, and put it up in my scrap room. Ugh! Still more things to put away...so around lunch time I headed up to get back to work! I had a TON of new stamp sets to put away, but I always turn the carrier sheets from my stamps around first so that you can see them from the front. One at a time, I started 'flipping' my stamps around. I got about half-way through when it happened...

I had just finished "flipping" one of the free stamp sets that we got at Convention this year. Right before I closed it and put it away, I felt a stamp on the outside of the carrier sheet. I figured I had just inadvertently put in on the wrong side of the sheet. But something felt funny...

Can you see it?!? Here's a closer look...

I found a rogue sticky-boy hanging out in this stamp set, waiting patiently for me to find him, since Convention in Anaheim! You see, I had shared stamps with a friend of mine, and I never even took this stamp set out of the pack. This little bugger was in my possession from Day 1 of Convention, and I never even knew he was there!

So...the moral of the story is:

When attending CTMH Conventions, look EVERYWHERE and in EVERYTHING! You never know when/where sticky-boy will make an appearance.

Needless to say, he made my day!! The only problem was that there was nobody here to share my joy (the hubby just doesn't understand the whole sticky-boy obsession), which is why I am sharing here. Hope you liked my story :o)

New Product Blog Hop

2011-08-03T14:45:00.002-04:00

I'm so excited to be a participant in this New Product Blog Hop! Fellow consultant Tresa Black started the hop as a way to share new product with all of you. Check out the fabulous artwork by some amazing consultants! (My card is #32 below!) I just love what these talented consultants have done with our wonderful new products. Fellow consultants are welcome to join along. Just go to Tresa's blog and check out her directions for participation.

Dreamin' Card

2011-07-29T22:16:00.000-04:00

Well...I think I have finally recovered from my whirlwind week in California. It took me a while to get over the jet lag, and I'm not sure that I'm completely recovered, but I am functioning again. Thanks to all of you who came along on the trip by following this blog. I've gotten so many nice comments from people who were following and I am so happy to hear that people were actually reading my posts :o)

I've gotten back to crafting this week and I have a card I can't wait to share with you! This card uses a lot of new product and I had so much fun making it for my mom to give to her pastor. This weekend will be his last service at their church, after 17 years as their minister. She wanted something special since there aren't many thank you cards for pastors. I'm sure he will be getting many duplicate cards, but I can guarantee this one will be one-of-a-kind!

I started with one of the new Kraft Die-Cut Cards (Z1474) from CTMH. I love the look and feel of these cards and know I will be stocking up on many more! Another new product I used on this card is the new Dreamin' paper pack (X7142B). I just love the new thicker paper, and the cool 'zip-strip' on the top of each page. I used this strip on the side flap and I think it just adds so much to the card. The stamped flowers and the interior sentiment are from the Treasure Life stamp set (#D1306). The "God Bless You" sentiment on the front is from the Card Chatter - Sympathy (D1476) set. I stamped the flowers using clear embossing powder on white daisy cardstock. Then I added color by sponging in honey ink over the flowers. I finished the image by sponging in chocolate around the edge of the flowers. The final touch was a series of Cream Opaques (Z1336) added to the scalloped edge. As always, feel free to click on each picture if you want to take a closer look. I absolutely love the look of this card and am so proud that I could give my mom something special for this wonderful man. Thanks for looking!

Card front

Card interior

California Day 6 (Convention Day 3)

2011-07-17T02:33:00.001-04:00

Today was the last day of Convention and although I am sad to see it end, I am definitely ready to go home. I miss my hubby :-( It's been a whirlwind week, and my mind is spinning with excitement about our new products. I can't wait to share what I've learned and saw this week with all of my friends and customers back home.

The sessions today were wonderful! In the first session, we learned a little bit more about the changes the company is making and the reasons behind those changes. There were also tons of new product give-aways, and I won one of our new paper packs! It's even better that it is one of my favorites too. Stephanie also won some of our new journaling pockets.

The second session was probably my favorite business class. During this class we made a memory game box. This is the first time that we have made something during a business class, and I must admit that it was a great idea! While we were working, the presenters discussed the new products and shared the benefits of each. Check out the picture below for the finished box.

At the closing session, we wrapped up the convention by reviewing the week, discussing the future, and watching a video from the past few days. My roommate and I were so excited to see that we made it into the closing video this year! We learned that next year, convention will be heading go Dallas, Texas. Hopefully I will be heading there this time next year.

Finally, Corp did something new this year, and held a crop session. We were able to work on our own projects or complete a mini album designed by the CTMH staff. The album is so cute, and it was so much fun to make. Again, the pictures of the final project can be seen below.

We took a few final pictures to remember our trip before retiring to our rooms for the night. Hope you've enjoyed these updates. Tomorrow is my last full day in California before heading out on Monday morning. One more day to do some last minute shopping and who knows what else. So long for now!

Another Roomie Gift

2011-07-16T11:46:00.001-04:00

Earlier this week I had mentioned that we exchanged Roomie gifts. After that post, we had one more person share her gifts with the rest of us. I would like to share the project she made. First, she gave us all a purple visor with our names to wear with our purple gear on the first day of convention. For each of us, she also created a mini album that we can use to write important dates we need to remember throughout the year. These books are super cute and I can't wait to start using mine! Thanks, Stephanie for all of your hard work and your very thoughtful gift. I absolutely love mine!

California Day 5 (Convention Day 2)

2011-07-16T02:45:00.001-04:00

Well, today was another busy day filled with fun and excitement! We started the day with a guest speaker from the Disney Institute. She was interesting and funny and had a lot of great things to share with us. One of my favorite things she mentioned was a quote by Walt Disney. He once said, "People may not notice all of the details, but they will sense the perfection." What a profound statement that I would like to try to remember whenever I create. Although my work is far from perfect, it would be neat to strive for that "sense of perfection" with every project.

After the general session, we had lunch. Since lunch was on our own, my roommate and I grabbed a bagel and some fruit from the hotel coffee shop. Then we headed to business classes. In one we learned all about the new Corp newsletters that consultants will be able to use to keep customers informed of what is going on with CTMH. The other discussed the ABC's of business.

Then came my favorite part of convention. We had our first Create and Take session! We made a beautiful two page layout (see below). But...before that session started, I found Sticky Boy! For those of you who don't know, he was the first ever CTMH acrylic stamp. Every year at convention, staff hides these different sizes of these little guys all over the convention center. It's quite a site when consultants find one. One thing is for sure...you definitely don't want to get in the way of a consultant who has spied a Sticky Boy! You could be seriously hurt if you do!

After the create and take session, we had a bit of a break before heading off to the Awards Banquet. This is the time that we celebrate the achievements of our fellow consultants after sharing a fabulous meal together. The meal was amazing! Throughout the evening, we were treated to singing, dancing, and skits by the Disney Entertainment Group. It was a magical night for sure!

Found one!!!

2011-07-15T17:32:00.002-04:00

After almost two days of searching, I finally found a Sticky Boy! Will post more later, but had to share :-)

California Day 4 (Convention Day 1)

2011-07-15T00:28:00.001-04:00

If I had to sum up today in one word, it would have to be WOW! I just have to say that love being part of this company. Their forward thinking ideas and philosophy have made them the front-runner in the industry and I am so thrilled to be one of their consultants.

The day started with our first general session. It was filled with magic and quite a few Disney characters too! We learned about all of the new products that are available in our new fall catalog. I'm going to try to list everything I can remember...my mind is still reeling!

First - All My Acrylic stamp packs are coming DOWN in price! Sets will range from $6.95-$17.95 with no change in the amount of product you will receive.

Next - Level 2 paper packs are also cheaper, but they will have a few less sheets of paper. The packs are now $9.95, but the background paper is now heavier weight. This is great because you can now use background paper as the base for a layout. There are six printed sheets in a level 2 pack, along with six sheets of solid cardstock. The top of each printed sheet has a bonus zip-strip. This strip can be removed and the one side is printed and can be used as an accent to your projects! No more wasted strip!

Corp has decided to update our mission statement to include more possibilities for the art of memory keeping!

Another big announcement was that the hostess program is being expanded to include more free product. You can now select Workshops on the Go, Studio J memberships, and Studio J 5 packs, in addition to all of the previous options when you are the hostess for a show grossing at least $150.

We have tons of new accessories in the new catalog! Check out some of them in the pictures below.

Now for the huge news!!! CTMH now has an exclusive Cricut cartridge. This cartridge cuts over 700 shapes and cards that coordinate with several of our stamp sets and dimensional elements! This is huge news and I can't wait to start using this new cartridge with our product and sharing it will all of my customers.

If any of you are not a customer of mine and you are interested in learning more about all of this fabulous product, please feel free to email me a jobarron@ptd.net and I will be happy to sit down and talk to you about how you can start using CTMH product!

After the general session, we got an awesome bag (see below) with our new catalog and supplies for our create and take projects. I'm still spending time drooling over the catalog. Every time I look at it, I find more awesome stuff!!!

I am heading to bed shortly, but wanted to share a few pictures from the day. Enjoy!!!

California - Day 3

2011-07-13T19:58:00.001-04:00

Yet another fun day is happening here in sunny California today! We started the morning in Disneyland again. We spent a few hours there and got some great photos and rode some of the classic rides. We hit up Buzz Lightyear's Astro Blasters, Pirates of the Carribean, the Haunted Mansion, and It's a Small World, to name a few. After a few hours, we headed to California Adventure. A few of the rides we were hoping to get on had super long waits, so we just took a leisurely walk around. We did manage to ride California Screaming, which was a super fun roller coaster! We also met Mickey!!!

Around noon, we headed to Downtown Disney for lunch. After lunch, it was time to register for Convention, so we headed to the convention center to wait for the doors to open. To our surprise, they started letting us register an hour early! We got all of our name tags and information for the convention. On our way back to the room we met Goofy!

All in all, it has been a fun day, and it's not over yet! In a few minutes, we are heading back to Downtown Disney for dinner and some shopping. We need to be back to the hotel for a team meeting at 8:00. I may post more later. If not, be sure to check tomorrow for great news from convention!

California Day 2

2011-07-12T20:33:00.001-04:00

Well, today was a little bit more low-key than yesterday (which is just fine with me)! Because my knee is still sore from the surgery, I decided to stay away from the parks today. My roommate and some other dear friends were set to arrive around noon, so I decided to hang around the hotel to wait for them to arrive.

I had my cereal breakfast in my room, watched a little TV, then showered and headed out for a little while. I took some time to walk around the hotel grounds to see what is all around us. I took a few pictures and then visited the hotel gift shops. When I came out of the gift shop, several of my PA friends were arriving at the hotel. We spent some time catching up, and before I knew it, my roommate and our friends arrived! I hung around with them while they checked-in and then we headed to our rooms.

Once they were settled, we exchanged roomie gifts! Roomie gifts are a CTMH tradition, and my friends never disappoint! This year, I got tons of great gifts! We also decided this year to include a few "virtual roomies." These are some friends who are not in our rooms with us, but are close friends that we wanted to share in this tradition. In all, there are six of us exchanging gifts.

The Mickey ears are from my upline, Nancy. I'm sure we will be wearing those a lot this week. (When I get home, they will be great for Crazy Hat day at school!) The ring was made by my roommate, Crystal. She used CTMH buttons to make this great accessory. She also made another ring with a CTMH mesh flower (not pictured). Jean made us all a gorgeous charm bracelet. Stacey made an adorable tag book filled with Disney quotes. The necklace with the cute little guy hanging from it was my gift to the others. That cute little guy is called Sticky Boy and he is well known in the CTMH community!

After we finished with our gift exchange, we headed to lunch. Since my friends were famished from their flights, we headed to Downtown Disney and I took them to the Rainforest Cafe, since in knew exactly how to get there from yesterday. We got a great table in the back of the restaurant, and it felt like we had the place all to ourselves. We had a blast and got some super fun souvenir pictures taken for the scrapbooks!

Right now, we are back in the room, deciding how we are going to attack the next day. Enjoy the pictures I'm sharing that recap what I've shared above. Hang in there for more updates!

California Day 1

2011-07-12T02:33:00.001-04:00

What a day! I have been awake for over 23 hours and am surprised that I haven't fallen asleep sitting up. However, I did promise that I would blog daily to let you all know how our trip has been going.

Here is a recap of today's events:

We started our day by waking up at 3am to get ready to leave for our flights to California. (If you know me at all, you will realize that this was no easy feat!) We left the hotel at 4:15am for the airport. We were officially TSA screened, frisking included, and then waited for our flight. The first flight was from Philly to Denver and it was a pretty turbulent flight. We arrived in Denver 45 minutes early, which was nice because we originally only had a 35 minute layover. The early arrival gave us time to hit the restroom and get our bearings before loading the plane to Santa Ana. The second flight was much less turbulent, and in a little over two hours, we arrived at the John Wayne Airport.

Once we had our luggage, we caught a taxi-van and were at the Disneyland Hotel in about 20 minutes. We had a few issues at check-in but eventually got it all sorted out and found our way to our rooms. Although they are a little bit of a walk from the convention center, it is totally worth it! The rooms are newly renovated and the walk is worth being away from all of the existing construction noise.

Once we unpacked and relaxed for a little while, we headed off to dinner and Disneyland. Dinner was a nice relaxing meal at the Rainforest Cafe. Once we got to the park, we managed to catch the afternoon parade, although sitting on a park bench waiting for it to start resulted in a lovely sunburn on my forehead and my nose! The parade was a lot of fun and I got some great pictures. (see some below) We rode a few rides, including Big Thunder Mountain Railroad and Pirates of the Caribbean, before my knee decided it had had enough. We came back to the room and I finished unpacking while my travel mates headed back to the park for the evening festivities.

Now I am in my PJ's, ready for bed! The last picture posted below is my favorite feature of our room. The headboard is a carved wooden image of Cinderella's Castle, and it is stunning on it's own, but there is a secret surprise. There is a switch on the light on the night stand. When it is flipped, the headboard plays music and the fireworks light up! They stay lit until you decide to turn them off. I may leave them in all night. It is simply magical :-)

Here are a few of my favorite pictures from the day. As always, click on any picture for a closer look. Enjoy!

My Scrap Shirts

2011-07-03T22:09:00.001-04:00

One week from today I will be in Philadelphia waiting impatiently for a morning flight to Anaheim, California. We will be leaving bright and early Monday morning for the 2011 Close to my Heart Convention. My friend, Nancy and I bought some shirts for our trip. We found a great website that had shirts on sale for $6.99. We thought it would be cool to have some scrapping shirts since the people around will completely understand what they are trying to say. Here are the shirts I decided to get for the trip. You can click on the picture for a closer look. Can't wait to wear them next week!

Watch for my next post when I will share my completed layouts from last year's convention in Washington, DC. I finally completed all of my layouts thanks to Studio J online scrapbooking from Close to my Heart. I did 15 layouts in five days! Can't wait to share them with you.

Friendship Blessings

2011-07-03T18:36:00.001-04:00

As promised, I have been meaning to post the card that I created and taught at our last unit meeting. The card was pretty easy to make and incorporated a bunch of different techniques. I used the Friendship Blessings stamp set, which is one of my all-time favorites. The flower was stamped on chocolate paper and embossed with silver pearl embossing powder. Then I stamped the flower again on white cardstock. The white flower and the leaves were colored using the water brush and CTMH ink. Once they were colored, I set them aside to dry. Then I random stamped the background on the chocolate cardstock using chocolate ink. The border along the side is a kraft, color ready border with ribbon threaded through the holes. I then cut out the colored flower and leaves and glued them over the flower that was stamped on chocolate cardstock. The flower looked better when I glued it off-set instead of exactly over the original flower. I added a mocha opaque pearl to the center of of the flower to finish it off. The card is super cute and can be used for any occasion!

Twisted Easel Card

2011-06-22T17:45:00.002-04:00

In preparation for my trip to California in a few weeks, I wanted to see if I could figure out how to blog on my iPad. I recently bought the camera connection kit for the iPad so I can get images from my camera right onto the iPad without a computer. That part of blogging is super easy. Figuring out how to post has taken a little more work, but I think I've figured it out. This post is my first attempt at blogging on the iPad. If this works, I expect to be blogging frequently from California so that all of my CTMH friends and customers can get a first hand look at what is happening in Anaheim!

A few weeks ago, we had a unit meeting and each person was expected to teach a card to the rest of the group. This twisted easel card was my upline, Nancy's, card. The card was super easy and the results are stunning! The first image is the way the card looks closed. The second image is how the card looks when it is standing open. Watch for my next post where I will share the card that I made for the meeting.

Framed Flower Art

2011-04-25T20:39:00.000-04:00

I was recently asked to create some 'artwork' for a CTMH Leadershare event being held in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania this coming weekend. I wasn't given any guidelines and was just asked to create something nice. All of the donations will be used in a silent auction, with all of the proceeds going to Operation Smile. We are all hoping that this auction will result in the most money raised at any of the 5 CTMH Leadershare events held this year. I am so pleased with this way this project turned out and I hope that it gets lots of interest this weekend! In fact, I like it so much, I need hurry up and make one for myself!

The papers used on the flowers are from the new CTMH Sophia paper pack. The green printed background paper is from the Miracle paper pack. The leaves were cut with a Sizzix die called 'Branch with leaves.' I added dimension to the flowers using a Copic marker. All of the embellishments are from CTMH. I used our new buttons, waxy flax, ric-rac, and white daisy rub-ons on the frame. The corners and the bottom are embellished with hand-stitching. I also added some glitter to the flower edges to add some 'bling.' The frame was purchased at Wal-Mart on clearance for $5. (I actually went back this week and bought five more!)

You can click either image to get a closer look!

Front view

Side View (to show dimension)

Loving Studio J

2011-04-19T19:34:00.001-04:00

Have I told you all how much I LOVE STUDIO J?!? Studio J is my new guilty pleasure. I love that I can scrapbook on my computer, while sitting the recliner and watching TV. The best part is that the results are stunning!!! Here are four two-page layouts that I created in one evening! The photos are from our CTMH Convention in Washington DC last year. I'm trying to get all of my pictures from this trip scrapped before we head to Anaheim, California for the 2011 Convention in July. I decided that the best chance of that happening is to create an entire album of Studio J layouts. Now that my classes are over for a while, the chances of that happening just got a whole lot better! Click on the picture of each layout to see a closer look at the image. If you like what you see, feel free to email me and see how you can get in on the Studio J craze!

A Riley Birthday Card

2011-04-08T21:43:00.000-04:00

Here's a card I made recently for a very dear friend of mine. It is a 6x6 card made using the Animal Cookies paper from CTMH. The image is colored with Copic markers. The edges are hand-stitched using blue embroidery thread. Can't help but love these Riley stamps!!!

Clipboard

2011-03-14T19:40:00.000-04:00

This is one of my all-time favorite projects. A long time ago, my scrapbook club wanted to try their hand at making altered clipboards. We decided to use the CTMH Artboard, which is a bit larger than a typical clipboard. This was a lot of fun to create and embellish. I used a retired CTMH paper, called Emporium, and various assorted buttons from CTMH. This is a staple in my scrapbook room and I use it all of the time to hold paper samples, photos, color charts, and more! Click on it to see the image up close.

Terribly Neglectful

2011-03-14T19:25:00.000-04:00

Wow...I just realized that I have been terribly neglectful of this blog. As usual, school started and life got crazy after my last post! I'm going to try to give this blog a lot more attention from now on. Now...don't expect to see posts every day, but I promise to try to make up for being gone so long. Please forgive me :o(

Faux Flower Soft

2010-08-19T15:10:00.001-04:00

Here is the second card we made at our unit meeting this past weekend. We used the CTMH stamp set "Treasure Life" for the flower image. To add a little extra something to our cards, we made homemade Flower Soft (See the second photo for a close-up image. Click on the photo for a better look!). Flower Soft is a product you can buy on the market that is a pot of colored sprinkles that allows you to create text, designs and miniature floral embellishments. It’s acid free and is loved by card makers and scrapbookers alike, but it can be rather expensive. This weekend we learned how to make our own Flower Soft using styrofoam, rubbing alcohol, and CTMH reinkers. It's super easy and adds a great effect to cards!

Spring Card

2010-08-17T23:13:00.002-04:00

This past weekend I went to a unit meeting at my upline, Nancy's, place. We had a blast (as always) and made two great cards! Come back tomorrow to see the second card.

Tonight, I want to share a 'spring card' with you. This does not refer to the subject of the card, but rather the way the card 'springs' up when taken out of the envelope. They are super easy to make and provide that extra element that makes the card special. For this card I used the Twitterpated paper pack, adhesive pearls (colored with Copics to match the paper), a flower punch, and the new 'mocha opaques' from CTMH in the center of each flower. The stamped hedgehog image is from the Penny Black stamp company from the Wonderful stamp set. The image was colored with my Copic markers. Don't forget you can click on each image to get a closer look!

Front View

Side View

Roomie Gifts (Received)

2010-08-07T18:54:00.001-04:00

A few weeks ago I shared the roomie gifts I made for my roommates at the CTMH Convention in Washington DC in early July. Today I want to share the gifts that were given to me! Both of my roommates used the Caboodle paper pack, which is one of my all-time favorites! Call me biased, but I think our room had the best roommates and the best roomie gifts EVER!

My roommate, Stacey, made this adorable box for me. She used a cardboard 'beverage' carrier (AKA six pack) to create a care package of items that we could use at convention. The box included a reusable water bottle, tissues, hand sanitizer, candy, pens, a notebook, and bubbles (for blowing from our atrium room deck...lol). She also personalized my box with a stamped name tag and made an adorable paper flower for the front of the box. How cute!!

My second gift is from my roommate, Crystal. This is a relaxation/spa kit and I thought it was such a unique gift! She used a My Acrylix organizer box, covered with Caboodle paper, as the carrier. Inside she put a rectangular tin with scented candles, a relaxation CD, and a My Creations Board Book full of spa recipes!

A New Look!

2010-07-21T21:56:00.001-04:00

When I logged into my blog tonight, I saw a message in the corner that my blog design was going to be deleted tomorrow! Apparently, the website that was hosting my design needs to make some changes. So...I went to their site to pick a new blog background, but it seems that everyone else was doing the same thing. The site was too busy! I tried to get into the site for over an hour and finally gave up. Instead I went to a new site and found this cute background! What do you think?!? Leave me a comment and offer your thoughts. Thanks for looking!

Christmas in July!!!!!

2010-07-20T19:56:00.001-04:00

Early this afternoon I received a visit from the 'Man in Brown' (the UPS man) with my Convention bundles! (It was like Christmas in July at my house!) Here's a sneak peak at some of the new products that will be available on September 1st. Feel free to click on any photo for a closer look. I can't wait until you can see this stuff in person...the pictures are nice, but they don't do these products any justice.

12x12 Dark Chocolate Faux Leather Album and Magic book

12x12 Black Faux Leather Album, Blue & Green Sparkles, Licorice Opaques, Hooligans Assortment, Acrylic Stamps (The Boo Crew/Party Animal)

New Color Assortment (Ink Pads, Markers, Red/Pink/Purple Sparkles, Sunset Accents, Pear Accents, Lagoon Accents)

Hooligans Level 1 Kit

Hooligans Level 2 Kit

Hooligans Stickease

Completed Convention Layouts

2010-07-20T15:39:00.000-04:00

I finally got around to adding photos to my Convention layouts and thought I would share. I'm so happy with the way these turned out and I can't wait to share them with others. The photos are from a friend's family vacation to Florida. Click on any photo to get a better look. The right layout contains pictures from their day at Discovery Cove, playing and swimming with dolphins. Both of these layouts feature our new (larger) flip-flaps and our antiqued copper accents. (LOVE THEM!!) Enjoy!

Left side (closed)

Left layout (open)

Right layout (closed)

Right layout (open)

Right layout (open with extra surprise)

Convention Layouts

2010-07-13T21:20:00.001-04:00

At the Saturday make-and-take session of the CTMH Convention, we made these incredible layouts. I love this new Magnifique paper pack, and was so excited to see that we would be using it for our project. These layouts use our new, larger sized, flip-flaps. I love when scrapbook layouts have an element of surprise, and these layouts absolutely do have that! In addition to using my favorite paper, and the flip-flaps, these layouts also included some of my favorite accessories. Our new Mocha Opaques are adhesive backed pearls in three shades of brown (love them!!). We also used antiqued copper Foundry Flourishes. I think these are my most favorite accessory from the new catalog. I've included a close-up picture of these elements below. You can also click on any photo to get a better look at the layouts. (Please forgive the dark photos...I didn't use the flash because it left a glare on the pages). The combination of all these items make for some stunning layouts!

In addition to the Magnifique paper and the accessories mentioned above, these layouts also used the new stamp set D1438 - Circle of Love. We also used the new ink colors Lagoon and Pear.

I started adding photos to the layouts on Saturday, but decided to stop because I don't have any of the new cardstock colors yet. I prefer to mount my photos on colored cardstock, so I have to wait a until next week to finish adding pictures. The pictures I plan to use are from a friend's family trip to Discovery Cove in Florida. The colors work perfectly with this paper, and I can't wait to see how they look on the finished layouts.

Left Layout (closed)

Left Layout (open)

Right Layout (closed)

Right Layout (open)

Accessory Close-Up

New Colors!

2010-07-12T20:11:00.001-04:00

At Thursday morning's general session at Convention, corporate announced that they have updated the summer color palette. There are eight new colors in this color family. The cards posted earlier today use several of the new colors in the CTMH color palette. I thought I would post a picture so you could see all of the new colors at once. Although the picture is not the greatest, I can promise that the colors look so much better in person. Can't wait to get my hands on the cardstock I ordered at convention!!

Convention Cards

2010-07-12T20:05:00.000-04:00

As promised, I want to take a moment to share some of the projects we did at Convention this week. During this post you will see the four cards we made at the make-and-take session on Friday. (Keep watching for the scrapbook layouts we completed on Saturday...you won't want to miss them!) We used a lot of new products during both sessions, including new papers, stamps, and embellishments.

Card #1 - Mistletoe Paper, Acrylic Stamps (D1436 - The Present, C1422 - Unity), Opaques (Mocha)

Card #2 OUTSIDE - Mistletoe Paper, Acrylic Stamps (C1422 - Unity, D1438 - Circle of Love,D1436 - The Present), Opaques (Mocha)

Card #2 (INSIDE)

Card #3 OUTSIDE - Olivia Paper, Acrylic Stamps (D1436 - The Present, C1422 - Unity), Opaques (Mocha)

Card #3 INSIDE

Card #4 - Olivia Paper, Acrylic Stamps (D1436 - The Present, D1438 - Circle of Love), Opaques (Mocha)

Convention Day 3

2010-07-12T11:01:00.001-04:00

Well...I'm finally home and recovering from this year's convention. Saturday was another whirlwind day, which didn't leave much time for blogging. We were up until about one, and got up on Sunday at eight to head home. I intended to blog yesterday but sat down on the recliner and crashed for about four hours (Yikes!).

Here's a recap of our Saturday events: got up, ate breakfast, another general session (Jeanette, our founder and CEO, had a question and answer session where she answered consultant questions/short speaker about Operation Smile/several consultants played Jeopardy for free product credit), after general session we had lunch, create-and-take session was awesome!! (we made scrapbook layouts using our new flip-flaps...pictures coming soon), then we had two more business classes, after classes we took a few pictures around the hotel and started packing, finally we had our closing banquet (we had an amazing dinner, followed by the incredible comedy of Anita Renfroe!). It was a fabulous way to end the events of the week.

Here are a few pictures from the last day...

My roommate Crystal/My unit members/Me outside the hotel

Convention Day 2

2010-07-10T08:09:00.000-04:00

Wow...what an amazing few days this has been! I am so tired yet exhilarated at the same time. Sorry this is a little late, but last night was a VERY late night! Here's how our day went...

Wake up, shower, breakfast, go to first general session, hear business advice from Mary Christensen (wonderful speaker!), lunch, business class on updates to Studio J (WOW!! wait until you see what all can be done in Studio J now including photo editing...also annual memberships will be available on September 1st), another business class (where they announced the September special, Triple Play), make-and-take session (where we made four cards using new products like; clear cards, opaque pearls, new ink colors, and new papers...watch for pictures soon!), dinner, Awards Gala (where we were also entertained by pianist Jon Schmidt...WOW!), returned to the room and took pictures of us all fancied-up, then my roommates and I decided to try to prepare for the next make-and-take session (these things go super fast, and can be very stressful...our instructor told us some things we could do to make the next session a bit less stressful), bed at 1:00am! (Did you count all of the WOWs?!?)

Phew...I'm tired just thinking about it all again. Today should be another late night and another fun filled day. Looking forward to working on today's scrapbook layouts using our new, larger, flip-flaps and antiqued copper foundry accents! No promises for a post tonight, but a recap on today's events will be coming soon!

Convention Day 1

2010-07-08T21:47:00.000-04:00

Hello everyone! Well, what an exhausting day...but exhilarating at the same time. First, let me say that I love working for CTMH! We are always on the cutting edge of new products and trends and our new catalog will not disappoint you. The new paper packs are fabulous and I'm sure you will love them almost as much as I do. There are tons of new products, 8 new colors, and even a new how-to book! Also, we are changing our catalog format to a bi-annual publication. There will now be two catalogs per year and each catalog will be 24 pages longer than the current format. I will be giving sneak peeks of these items (and more information) over the next few days and weeks...so keep checking back. I promise to post more tomorrow...I am too tired now to think straight. G'night all!

Roomie Gifts!!

2010-07-05T11:17:00.000-04:00

I have been very busy crafting this weekend. Boy, does it feel good to create!! I am pleased to inform you all that I finally finished my 'roomie gifts' for Convention this week. I am actually ready for Convention two days early! I am so excited about these gifts and can't wait to give them to my roommates as a thank you for putting up with me for a few days. Please forgive the glare on some of the photos...it was hard to get good pictures because of the shiny surface. I cannot take credit for this project (as usual). The idea and directions came from fellow CTMH consultant Beth Ivanic. (Thanks, Beth...your directions were fabulous!) Crystal's gift used an older paper pack, called Boom-di-ada, and pictures from Convention 2008 in Orlando. Stacey's gift used Cherry-O paper and pictures of her family. Enjoy!!

Riley Calendar

2010-07-02T20:47:00.000-04:00

As promised yesterday, I want to share with you a gift I made for one of our retiring teachers. She loves the Riley stamps almost as much as I do, so I had no choice but to make her something with Rileys. I decided to make a perpetual calendar for her to keep track of birthdays, anniversaries, etc. I used a CTMH Display Album. I am only going to share photos of the front side of each page for each month. The opposite side was a page I made on the computer with the days of the month and room for her to write events. I used all CTMH paper for this project.

January (with Aspen paper)

February (with That's Amore paper)

March (with Stardust paper)

April (with Floral Tapestry paper)

May (with Emporium paper)

June (with Animal Cookies paper)

July (with Stardust paper)
August (with Tinkerin' paper)
September (with Animal Cookies paper)
October (with Game On paper)

November (with Grace paper)

December (with Jingle paper)

Easel Card

2010-07-01T19:50:00.001-04:00

This was a card I made a few weeks ago for one of our retiring teachers. She loves Riley stamps (who can blame her) so I knew I had to make her a Riley card. This easel card stands up and can be displayed after being given to the recipient. I used CTMH Animal Cookies paper, Stickease, Cranberry Grosgrain Ribbon, and Dimensional Elements on this card. As usual, Riley was colored with Copic markers. Needless to say, it was a huge hit! Stay tuned...tomorrow I will share the gift I made for her. You won't want to miss it!

Really?!?

2010-07-01T12:25:00.001-04:00

Has it really been over two months since my last post?!? YIKES!! I am so sorry :o( Things here have been very busy, but I have been crafting...I just haven't had time to post anything. So...hang in there and I promise to post some artwork later today (and some more for the next few days too)!

Also...make sure you check in next week on Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. I will be posting updates from the CTMH Convention in Washington DC. You definitely won't want to miss this! Convention is the premier event of the year and all of the big announcements are made there. I'm so excited to be going and will be sharing information (and maybe even pictures too) each night.

Gift Card Holder

2010-04-25T20:14:00.002-04:00

Isn't this the cutest stamp set?!? I think it is my new favorite set. There are four different bugs, including a dragonfly, firefly, ladybug, and this butterfly. There are also a few other word stamps in the set. It's called 'A Little Buzz' and it will be available in the Summer catalog, which goes live on May 1st, 2010.

I can't take credit for this project idea, but I do think it is awesome, and I will be using it quite a bit! My neighbor, Karen, was making these gift card holders for her son's teachers and I thought it was such a great idea I had to steal it. I used the Caboodle paper set, sorbet stitched ribbon, and copper brads. The image was stamped and colored with Copic markers. Then, I covered the entire image with adhesive and placed a used dryer sheet over the adhesive. Finally, I covered the dryer sheet with glitter and rubbed it onto the image. The glitter goes through the holes in the dryer sheet and sticks to the adhesive. The entire image has a softened, glittery look and the photos do not do it justice. Enjoy!

A new twist on a picture frame...

2010-03-28T11:08:00.002-04:00

Did you know that you can turn any picture frame into a dry-erase board? It's true! The glass surface acts the same as a dry-erase surface. This opens up so many possibilities for awesome boards!

Here is my very first board. I made this for my niece for her birthday. It matches the name frame I gave her last summer and it will go great in her purple bedroom! I used the pattern Main Frame - Quilt Blocks from the CTMH Reflections book for the layout.

This frame is actually an LP record frame and it measures 12.5 inches x 12.5 inches. You can also buy 12x12 frames if you want to use a scrapbook page in the frame. Of course, any size frame will work...the possibilities are endless. The thing I love most about this project is that you can change the layout at any time. I hope you like this new twist on a picture frame!

More Layouts!

2010-03-25T21:37:00.003-04:00

Here are a few more Studio J layouts for you to check out! Hope you love them as much as I do. Keep checking back for more information about the launch of Studio J. Visit http://www.studioj.com for more information on studio scrapbooking!

More Studio J

2010-03-22T21:21:00.003-04:00

I hope you enjoyed yesterday's peek at my first Studio J layouts. As promised, I am including a few more. I can't tell you how quick and easy these are to make. I am eagerly awaiting my package to see how they look in person. Rumor has it that they are fabulous!! Enjoy :o)

Visit http://www.studioj.com for more information on studio scrapbooking!

Keep checking back...I have more to share!

Introducing Studio J!

2010-03-21T11:59:00.007-04:00

Close to my Heart has always been on the cutting edge of scrapbook innovations. Let me tell you...they've done it again! Coming soon, customers will be able to create their very own digital scrapbook pages!

For more information on Studio J, visit the Studio J website at http://www.studioj.com.

More details will be coming in the near future, but in the meantime, I wanted to share a few layouts of my own. I've created ten 2-page layouts in a matter of a few hours. Studio J is quick, easy, and the results are fabulous! I'm sure you will agree. Below are a few of the layouts I've created...keep checking back, I'll be posting more later!

Click on each image for a better look!

Riley Thank You Card

2010-03-04T20:05:00.003-05:00

Last night I dug out my Riley stamps and made a thank you card for a colleague. Our technology director was a huge help in making the arrangements for me to attend the state technology conference in Hershey last week, so I wanted to make him a card to show my appreciation. I used all CTMH paper and colored the image with my copic markers. It's hard to see on the photo, but I added liquid glass to the computer screen. The card is super-cute in person (of course, I think anything made with a Riley stamp is super-cute!) For more information on Riley stamps, go to the Riley and Company Website.

CTMH Products used: Tinkerin' Level 2 Paper Pack, Twilight Cardstock, White Daisy Cardstock, Sunny Yellow Cardstock, Card Chatter-Thank You Stamp Set, Assorted Buttons, Hemp

Other Products: Cyber Riley

Another CD Case Project

2010-03-04T19:56:00.002-05:00

Sorry I've been MIA for a while. The last two weeks have been super busy. I attended a conference in Hershey for five days, and have been catching some girls' basketball games. Our local high school team has been making a pretty good run in the playoffs. They won the league title two weeks ago and are playing for the district title tomorrow night. I finally had some time to make a few things last night. First, I made another CD Case Project as a favor for a friend. This is the same idea as the one I posted a few weeks ago with different paper.

Front Cover

Back Cover

Inside

CTMH Products: Stardust Level 2 Paper Pack, Across the Board Rub-ons

Other items: Calendar, CD Case

More Basketball Layouts

2010-02-15T20:48:00.003-05:00

I love having days off from work to craft! I wish I had more time to work on my growing list of projects to do, but it seems like there is always something more pressing to do. (Of course...I guess we all feel like this most of the time.) I'm trying to make a better effort to work on projects more often, so we will see if that works out for me or not ;o)

I was able to get quite a bit done today. Below are some framed layouts I made for my some of my niece's teammates. This coming Saturday will be their senior recognition night and this will be my niece's gift to the seniors on her team. Each frame is 11 x 14 in size. This is probably the first project I have made in quite some time that has not used much CTMH product. I used textured burgundy and orange cardstock on each of the sides. I used CTMH white cardstock for the center section and as the matting around each picture. I also used basketball textured paper from The Paper Company in the middle section. The tags were cut with my Cricut and I used basketball brads on each tag. (FYI - There are three Samanthas on the team, so each girl has a nickname to tell them apart...hence, Samma!) The basketball net and ball on the left hand side is a Jolee's dimensional sticker.

Wedding and Sympathy Cards

2010-02-11T11:11:00.007-05:00

Yesterday I was able to find some time to make a few cards thanks to the snowstorm. I officially measured 20 inches in our backyard last night. That was a far cry from the 8 to 10 that was forecast for our area. According to the news our county was the hardest hit from this storm. So...after spending half the night trying to find my car I worked on these two cards that I needed to make for this weekend.

I also tried my hand at a new technique. My upline, Nancy Brown, has been doing stitching on her cards for a while now and it always makes her cards look so elegant. You can see some of her gorgeous work on her two blogs, Creatively Artsy Card Gallery and Inspired by Stamps. I decided to give her a call last night to get some tips on how it is done. Although I was scared at first, I have quickly fallen in love with this technique! I'm going to find it hard to make cards without stitching on them now. (Thanks, Nancy!) I absolutely love what stitching can add to a card.

This wedding card is for some very close friends of ours. They have been together for over ten years and are getting married on Saturday. The card measures 6 in x 6 in. I used the CTMH paper pack Silhouette, along with the Childhood Portrait stamp set. The image was stamped with black ink and then embossed with clear embossing powder. The sentiment is from the For Every Occasion stamp set. The flowers on the sentiment are from a corner punch. The stitching is done with two strands of black embroidery floss.

The sympathy card idea was basically copied from my upline. The only exception is that my card is a 6 x 6 and I changed a few minor details. I used the Bella paper pack from CTMH. The stamps are retiring sets from Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps. The cross is from the set called Elegant Blessings and the sentiment is from Forget-Me-Not. These stamps will only be around while supplies last and they are currently 50% off! The stitching is done with brown embroidery floss. The ribbon is CTMH Hollyhock stitched ribbon.

Basketball Page

2010-02-07T19:47:00.003-05:00

One of my favorite things to do is watch girls' basketball games. When I was in high school, I kept statistics for my high school girls' team for three years. Lately, my husband and I have been following the Tamaqua Lady Raiders and the Susquehanna University Lady Crusaders. I started watching basketball seven years ago when my niece was the starting point guard at Tamaqua. Since then, we have watched her play almost every game in her high school and collegiate career. After she graduated from high school, we kept watching the Tamaqua home games. As an alumni of the school and a teacher in the district, I enjoy supporting our local school athletics.

On January 28th, one of our starters scored her 1,000th career point. She is only the third junior in school history to reach this plateau. On that night, I took a ton of pictures with the intention of giving them to her parents. Once I got home I decided to make her a framed scrapbook page. Below is the final result before it was framed. I was so happy with how it turned out and her family loved it!

CTMH Products Used:

Game On Level 2 Paper Pack/Stickease

Colonial White Cardstock

Other Products Used:

The Paper Company Textured Basketball Paper

Basketball Ribbon (Michael's)

Basketball Brads (Scrappin' Stuff Sports - Online)

CD Case Calendar/Photo Frame

2010-01-20T12:57:00.004-05:00

I think I have found a new favorite project! This would make a great gift for any occasion. This is the project I will be doing with my monthly scrapbook club this week. All you need is a new or used CD case (a thicker case, not thinline), some paper, and a few photos. When the case is open on a desk, it is a calendar for the user, and a photo display for the rest of the world. The pictures are from my sister and niece's trip to the shore this summer.

Front (Case Closed)

Inside

Back (Case Closed)

Outside

CTMH Supplies Used

Caboodle Level 2 Paper Pack, Caboodle Stickease, Crystal Blue Buttons, Colonial White Waxy Flax, Creme Brulee Paper Flower, Colonial White Suede Pinwheel, Filigree Charms

Other Supplies

CD Case, Calendar (found in the dollar bin at Michael's)

Envelope Purse

2010-01-20T12:01:00.005-05:00

A few months ago I saw this idea while looking for projects on the web. The original project can be found by clicking this link to Stamp Paper Scissors. I adapted the project to fit my own ideas and to accommodate stationary sized envelopes. I love this idea and have been meaning to try it for quite sometime. I finally got around to creating this envelope purse with pictures of my niece. The left and right side of the open purse are stationary size envelopes that have been covered with paper. The project is a lot of fun and it's nice that the envelopes contain areas for hidden pictures or journaling.

Purse closed

Purse Open

Purse Open to show hidden panels

CTMH Products Used

Bella Level 2 Paper Pack, Bella Stickease, Twinkle Brads, Eyelets, White Organdy Ribbon

Flip Flap Photo Book

2010-01-20T11:20:00.004-05:00

This photo book was created using CTMH Flip Flaps. I used seven flip flaps for this project. The front and back cover were created using the Key to my Heart paper pack.

CTMH Products Used

Key to my Heart Paper Pack, Flip Flaps, Spring Bigger Brads/Accents, Creme Brulee Ribbon, Token

Name Frame

2010-01-20T11:03:00.007-05:00

Okay...so I know that my posts have been non-existent for a while. Part of this is the fact that I have just been so busy. I have been making projects and taking pictures but haven't gotten around to posting. It has been tough to adjust to the idea of blogging. I promise to try harder from now on! As a way to make up for being missing for so long, I will be adding several posts today to share some of my recent creations.

This is a project that I made for my niece when she painted her bedroom. Her room is purple now and these papers matched perfectly. The letters were cut with my Cricut and then covered with colored glitter. I just love the Martha Stewart brand glitter. The colors are so vibrant! The project was framed in an 11 x 14 cherry picture frame, but I forgot to take a picture after it was framed.

CTMH Products Used

Bella Level 2 Paper Pack, Autumn Paper Flowers, Clear Sparkles, Chocolate Ribbon, Colonial White Spiral Clip, Colonial White Ribbon, Smoky Plum Bigger Brad

My Scrap Room

2009-10-21T11:20:00.009-04:00

I thought I would take a moment to share some pictures of my scrap room. A few years ago we turned my step-daughter's bedroom into this room. She had moved out and was living in Rochester for a while, so we figured it was safe to convert. We were bored during the big Valentine's Day snowstorm and started painting. It only took a few days to complete. I love my room and spend a lot of time there!

Basically, I started taking pictures in the doorway and walked in a circle to get pictures from different angles. You can click on each picture to see a larger image. Hope you enjoy the view!

View from door

Corner behind table

View from corner behind table

Top view from corner behind table

Corner view of cabinets (There are five cabinets...starting by the wall next to the window.)

Corner view of all cabinets

Wall next to door (notice CSI: Miami on the TV...lol!)

Tri-Fold Shutter Cards

2009-10-18T16:07:00.021-04:00

Yesterday I attended a unit meeting and we made a bunch of Tri-Fold Shutter cards. (The directions for these cards can be found at Splitcoaststampers.)

Here is one of the cards I made.

Card Closed

Card Open

CTMH Products used:

Grace Level 2 Paper Packet and Grace Stickease

I also made this Riley snowman card. This will be my Christmas card this year. I love my Riley's and think this card is super cute!!

Card Closed

Card Open

CTMH Products Used

Jingle Level 2 Paper Pack, Prisma Glitter, Liquid Applique

Other Products Used

Copic markers, Nestabilities Dies

Welcome to my new blog!

2009-10-18T15:45:00.006-04:00

My name is Jolene Barron and I have been a Close to my Heart Consultant since March of 2005. I have created this blog as a way to share my art and my love of paper crafting. I plan to post artwork and other pictures that I believe others will like to see. Please feel free to comment on any post and share your opinions with me. I look forward to meeting new people and sharing ideas through this blog.

In addition to being a Consultant, I am also an Elementary Technology Teacher for students in grades K through 5. I have been a teacher for ten years and I love my job! I am currently a student in the Ed.D. program at Wilkes University. Between work, classes, and life it is tough to find time to craft, but I continue to do try to make time as much as possible.

I hope you enjoy what you see here, and return often!