Win a FREE 3 month subscription to Studio J

How would you like to have a FREE 3 month subscription to Studio J? With the subscription, you can order only the JPEGs of your layouts for $3 a two page layout, or you can have Close To My Heart print them for only $6.50 a two page layout. That's 1/2 off the regular printing price. Scroll down to the message below and learn about Studio J and leave your comments. Plus, be sure to subscribe to my blog for your entry!

Studio J Calendar

For Christmas this year, I wanted to give my Cruisin' Buddy something that she will treasure always. Here it is 2011 and we're still talking and scrapping our Mediterranean Cruise from 2008! When the project started, we thought we'd just scrap a few pictures from each of the wonderful places we visited and then put the rest in photo pages. Well, that's just not happening as we keep seeing more pictures that need to be scrapped. LOL!! Every time we sit to scrap we relive our days. So, for one of this year's gifts, I took some of our photos and scrapped them using CTMH's Studio J. Then I ordered the JPEG files for only $3 for each two page layout. Since each file comes through with both single files of each page and also the double page layouts, it gave me the opportunity to use each of the pages as a page in the calendar.

I then looked online to find one of the companies that would create a calendar with the 12x12 pages. Turns out that Snapfish was having an awesome special, buy 1 calendar, get 2 free! So, I was able to get a calendar for myself, and I also put together a simple calendar of photos of my husband and our grandson on all the different tractors and rideable (is that even a word? LOL) things that we have. We always joke that the grandson doesn't need to go to the amusement park as he has more rides here. LOL! Anyway, the calendar of my husband and grandson was the hit of Christmas and brought tears to our daughter's eyes. I just ordered another copy as a surprise for my husband. :)

Anyway...I digress! LOL! I opted for the black background on the 12x12 Snapfish calendar as the layouts also had black in them. Then it was just drag and drop of the layouts into the wells. I chose the "text only" option, and it allowed me to drop the whole page right into it and then there's a nice black frame around the layout. At the end of the year, my Cruisin' Buddy and I will be able to slip those 12x12 pages into page protectors and into our albums.

So, here's the layouts. I was trying to get them to link from Snapfish, but it doesn't actually show it as the calendar when you view my album. It's just the layouts. So, I made a slideshow of each of the pages instead. I hope you like it and it will give you some ideas for future gifts.

For more information about Studio J, be sure to click on the Studio J link.

How would you like to get a FREE 3 month Studio J membership? Simply enter for your chance to win a FREE 3 month subscription to Studio J.  It's Close To My Heart's quick and easy digital scrapbook program.  No software to purchase!  With a Studio J membership, you may choose to have CTMH print your layouts using their top quality printing services, or, you may order the JPEGs and have them printed at your printer of choice.

Please leave a comment and scroll down and click to Follow my Blog, and you will be entered in the drawing that will take place on Monday, January 9th, which was my Mom's birthday!

Christmas Tree

I was due for a change! For the last 13 years our tree has been decorated in shades of burgundy, pink and gold. It was time for something new, so, I went with blues and silver this year. I'm very pleased with how the tree turned out.

Club Projects

Where are the days going? I can't believe that Christmas is less than a week away! Have you finished your Christmas shopping yet? I haven't...hard to believe, isn't it. LOL! Heading out tomorrow to see how much I can get done.

Anyway, I wanted to post the club projects that we did in November. We used CTMH's X7142B Dreamin' My Reflections kit. This first set of pages is Rhapsody.


And this set is Perfect Prelude.

If you'd like more information on the Imagine club, just shoot me an email. For only $20 a month, which includes the shipping/tax, you'll get all the products that you need to create two double page layouts. Complete one year of the club and you'll receive a free My Legacy Album of your choice!


For our Stamp a Stack club, we used CTMH's C1473 Remarkable Wreath stamp set. I also used some of our October club's set, D1492 Christmas Love. Each month in our Stamp a Stack club, you'll receive a stamp set, all the papers and embellishments to make 10 different cards, plus full color instructions. At the end of a year of this club, you'll receive a free My Acrylix stamp box!

One doesn't have to commit to a full year of club, but the benefits are better if you do :)

If you have any questions about the clubs, or would like to join us, email me :)

Oh, if you haven't checked out the online catalog lately, be sure you stop by my website to view it. They've updated how the catalog displays and it's awesome!

Christmas Gifts

I made aprons for one of my nieces and my sister in law for Christmas. I'm really happy with how they turned out. They're done with a heavier fabric so that they'll handle all the kitchen duties that you hand them. LOL!

Add Cricut Flair to any Workshop on the Go project

Many Close To My Heart scrapbook and card patterns are easy to adapt to include shapes cut using the Cricut® Art Philosophy cartridge. Find out how to incorporate Art Philosophy shapes into the Dreamin' Workshop on the Go™ project; you'll be inspired by this great way to pump up your projects and use your tools!

New Discounted CTMH Products

Lots more goodies on my website! $5 My Reflection Kits, card stock, embellishments and so much more! Be sure to stop by and check out the bargains!

Love your Layout

Capture your life as it happens in Studio J®. We'll show you how to create this elegant layout, perfect for important occasions or special relationships. All you need to do is watch the video, and we'll walk you through each step, start to finish.

Pretty 3-D Flowers created with Cricut Art Philosophy

Quickly cut, stamp, and curl pretty 3-D flowers using Close To My Heart's new Cricut® Art Philosophy cartridge, My Acrylix® Hooray Bouquet stamp set, and your own creativity. Pick up more ideas for embellishing your layouts, cards, and gifts with fun florals in this how-to video.