Cyber Monday 20% Cricut Collections

	Cyber Monday Only: 20% Off All Cricut®Collections! For the first time ever, Close To My Heart is offering a Cyber Monday Sale on Monday, December 1, 2014. There has never been a better time to buy Close To My Heart’s exclusive Cricut® Collections for 20% off the retail price. Whether you love scrapbooking, cardmaking, or creating 3-D projects, our four exclusive Cricut® collections make the perfect addition to any craft room! Sale starts at midnight (MST) on December 1 and ends at 11:59 pm Monday night.  You will be able to take advantage of this special deal on my website, or you may email your order to me.Orders must be submitted between 12:00 am and 11:59 pm (MST) on Monday, December 1 in order to get the discount on your selected Cricut® collections. Enjoy extra savings on Close To My Heart's exclusive Cricut® collections this Cyber Monday!

5 o

A Belated Happy Thanksgiving!

As I sit here writing this post, I'm smelling the turkey in the oven.  Yes, I'm a couple of days late. I was sick on Thanksgiving and didn't feel well enough to do the work.  While prepping the bird this morning, I was reminded of a couple of Thanksgivings that were quite the adventure.

  Back in the early 70s, my dad was racing horses.  The meet closed where he usually raced, and since the horses were still fresh (meaning they hadn't raced a lot recently), he decided to take them to a track in Montreal and race until they closed their meet for the winter.  Dad was there for Thanksgiving, so mom, my brother and I drove up to have a meal with him.  It's a quick, easy 3 hour drive from home to Montreal.  That said, taking the interstate did have us going through the mountains...do you see where this is going? LOL  Anyway, we had our meal and decided to head back to VT as it was supposed to snow later in the day.  Mom thought it would be a good idea not to take the interstate back because of the mountains.  So, we head off on another road (can't remember what the number was, but it was one number off what the interstate is).  We drove, and drove, and drove...until the road just ended!  Right there...there were no exits, no left or right turns...it just ended.  We were in the Northeast Kingdom of VT!  Let's just say that's an area that God made and forgot about.  If you want to avoid the snow, that's not where you want to be.  We finally found someone to ask for directions, and got a map.  From that we were finally able to make our way to Montpelier and on home.  Six hours later we are walking in the door to the phone ringing.  It was dad checking to make sure we arrived home safely.  No more navigation for my mother!

The second story is from the late 80s, early 90s.  It starts out with a 40 pound turkey...our vet decided to raise some birds for Thanksgiving.  Evidently, he over fed them.  LOL  We knew we were not going to have Thanksgiving on Thanksgiving day as we had horses to race a few hours south of us.  When my husband left at 5 am, it had already started to snow.  Of course, back then there were no cell phones, so once he made his destination, he called to say he was ok and that it had taken 10 hours to get there.  It should only take 3-4 hours.  All the while he is on the road, the snow is just piling up by the foot.  He has the truck that the plow goes on.  It wouldn't have made any difference as I have no clue how to put it on anyway.  So, every few hours, I go out and shovel enough of the driveway so he can get the rig off the road when he comes back.  In between that, I'm pulling pin feathers from the 40 pound bird!  I decide to put the bird in the oven with the temp down some, as I have no clue how long to cook a bird that big.  Around 1am, I'm out shoveling AGAIN.  This pickup truck with a plow comes around the corner, toots and drives on by.  How rude!  LOL!  One would think that he would stop to see if I needed help.  I know my husband would!  At that time of the morning, unless it was necessary, I don't imagine too many people are shoveling a driveway when it's still snowing.  I would have gladly paid him to clean out the driveway.  Oh well, his loss.  To end the story, my husband finally made it back home at 5 am Friday morning...24 hours after he left.  We ate the turkey...it was a little dry, but not bad.  And, we had sandwiches for the whole week.

I hope you all have a story or two about your Thanksivings.

Studio J Christmas Cards

I've had so many wonderful comments on my Studio J Christmas cards.  Thanks so much!  Since we are all so busy this time of year, I've decided to make it easier for you to create the cards, or for consultants, to offer them to their customers for only $10.

Here are the four layouts:

Mistletoe

Pear and Partridge

Sparkle and Shine

Yuletide Carol

When you order, you will receive the top quality jpg files. You will simply drop them back into Studio J and add your photos. Full instructions will be included in your files. You will then order the prints from Studio J and you will receive the top quality prints from Close To My Heart.

After payment, you will receive your files via email.

If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to email me.

Lucky 5

Good morning from upstate NY.  I woke up to a coating of snow on the ground.  That's ok, as it's no as much as other areas are getting!  I'm such a warm weather gal :)

It's a great day to stay in the house and get some scrapping and card making done!  Here's the details of the November Lucky 5 Studio J promotion.

November marks the five-year anniversary of Studio J^®, and that means it’s your lucky month, with five amazing ways to win through Studio J and Close To My Heart social media!

First, throughout the month of November, all layouts purchased in Studio J are $5! That is a savings of over 25% off of retail! Your second chance to win big must come by sheer luck: every fifth order placed in Studio J during November receives a FREE surprise Close To My Heart accessory in its shipping box! The accessory has a retail value of $5 or more.

If luck does not smile on you in that way, you might stumble upon it by finding a little extra something in your Studio J box. Five “golden tickets” will be sent out during the month of November with randomly selected Studio J print orders! This “golden ticket” is redeemable for one of Close To My Heart’s new D-ring albums* loaded with 10 Top Load Memory Protectors™.  Here's one that is now in stock and ready to ship.  Isn't it cute?

For a fourth way to win, simply create new, gorgeous layouts in Studio J, select your favorites, and then post pictures of them on Close To My Heart’s Facebook page using the hashtag #ctmhlucky5. After November 30, five lucky winners will be selected from the entries based on their artistry and creativity and each of these winners will receive their own D-ring album loaded with 10 Top Load Memory Protectors!

And there is one last way to win: take your new Studio J artwork and post a picture of it on Instagram using the hashtag #ctmhlucky5. Just as it is with Facebook, after November 30, five lucky winners will be selected from the entries to receive their own D-ring album loaded with 10 Top Load Memory Protectors!

*Offer valid November 1–30, 2014. Pattern and color of new D-ring album to be given to winners will be at Close To My Heart’s discretion based upon availability. New kits available in Studio J^®on November 1 include Confetti Wishes, Snowhaven, Seaside, Pathfinding, and Scaredy Cat. No tax or shipping will be charged on the free item(s). Studio J layouts ship in a protected box that can hold 4 to 50 two-page layouts. For additional information about shipping/handling, please visit StudioJ.com > Products and Pricing > Shipping Options.

Photo Christmas Cards

It's getting close to that time!  Can you believe Thanksgiving is less that two weeks away?  And, we all know that as soon as Thanksgiving is over, it's Christmas!  Have you thought about your Christmas cards yet?  I have!

Look at these cute photo Christmas cards I created using CTMH's Studio J software.

Pair and Partridge

Mistletoe

Sparkle and Shine

Yuletide Carol

Each set includes eight 4" x 8" cards, plus two random 4" x 4" photos.  Let me do the work for you.  Simply send me the photo that you have chosen for your cards, plus two random photos for the 4" x 4" slots.  Minimum order is 4 of the double pages, mix and match.  This is a deal with the $5 Studio J special.  You'll get 32 cards for $20 plus shipping and tax.  That's only a little more than $.60 a card, plus you will have some that are different from the standard photo cards sold in the stores.

If you have any questions, just holler!

Email me for more info.