Button it!

In May I hosted a Scrapbook weekend for my customers and one of them was working VERY hard on this.  I asked if I could feature it on my blog and she said YES!

This was created by Becky R.  She took our Cricut Art Philosophy cartridge and cut the biggest H she could cut.  Then traced it and filled it with buttons!  How fun is this! 

She made this one for her son Harrison's bedroom.  She was also working on a Z for her friend Tara's daughter's room.  Her name is Zoey.  That one was in pinks!

I just LOVE these!  And it is a GREAT way to use up all those buttons you have accumulated over the years!

So start gathering all your buttons and make one of your own!

Cow Town?

Some of you may think Omaha is a cow town.  Well, that isn't TRUE!  Ok...maybe a little LOL  The other day we had a semi full of cows tip over and we had cows roaming the interstate.  My husband said the cows found out there were going to become hamburger so they all decided to shift to the left!  LOL   We are, after all, the home of Omaha Steaks!  LOL  But really we are a REAL city...paved streets and all!

Right now Omaha is the host to the Men's College World Series.  There are men who strive to get to come to Omaha.  This is a HUGE if you are into college baseball.  AND starting this week Omaha is  hosting the Olympic Swim Trials!  WOW!  Yep...more then just a cow town!

You may have heard of Mutual of Omaha.  They are here in Omaha and they sponsor the Olympic Swim Trials.  We went downtown the other day and saw this!  They had this swimmer in the front of their building.  How cool is this!  You really can't tell from this picture, but it is HUGE!  See the building behind the swimmer?  I think I come up to his bottom lip!  lol

The swimmers are going crazy over this!  Lots of people taking pictures!  It is just very cool to see this swimmer coming out of the ground.

 Then on the other side of their building the stairs that go into their building had this picture of a swimmer on it.  WOW!  They really went all out!  They just finished these stairs when we were there and the person putting this on told us in their cafeteria they made the floor look like water and had swimmers on banners all around the cafeteria.

So come on and check out Omaha!  And of course watch out for cows on the interstate!  LOL

Custom Color Ribbon

Do you wish you have the perfect color ribbon ALL THE TIME for your project!  YOU CAN!  Just watch this video by Close to my Heart and see just how easy it is to have custom ribbon with our Color Ready Seam Binding!  It is $6.95 for a 10 yard roll.



You can also use our spray pen with reinker and rubbing alcohol  to spray your ribbon too!  You just might want to get a few rolls of this ribbon!  I am going through it so fast!  Love that now I can have custom colored ribbon whenever I need it to perfectly match my project!!

Afghan for Operation Smile

IT'S DONE!!!  I finished my afghan for our Operation Smile auction at our annual convention!
It turned out great!  It is a beautiful Garden Green color with hearts all over it!  I thought since we are Close to my HEART, this afghan would be fitting.  Some lucky consultant will go home from convention with it!  All they have to do it be the highest bidder!

I finished May 30th (whew...it is getting warm here in Nebraska!).  And this time I counted my hours as I was making it.  It took me 26 hour.  But it is WELL worth it!  I can't wait to see how much  is raised for Operation Smile.  

I will let you know when I get back from convention on how it did!  I am just so happy it is done and am glad I was able to make it for such a GREAT cause!

Scrap LIFTED!

Have you ever seen a cute layout and wanted to scrap LIFT it?  I do all the time!  And a GREAT resource is our Idea Book/Catalog!  I saw a cute layout on page 12 of our Spring Summer Idea Book and I was on a mission to copy it!

First I went to my website>products>idea book>recipes.  I printed the recipes for each catalog.  It is only about 11 pages but I use it ALL THE TIME.  Now if you find a layout in our catalog, you go to the recipes and it tells you EVERYTHING they used to create the layout so you can recreate (scrap lift) it for your own.

Here is my version of the layout from page 12.  I changed it, so it works for me!  But they gave me the inspiration!  I used our Magic How to Book (which is ALMOST GONE by the way) and the layout is called Secret...page 120 & 121.  So if you have summer layouts to make you need to get this kit (Footloose) and get scrapping'!  

Below is a close up of the first page.  I used our Cricut Cartridge for the pennants and "paradise".

And here is a close up of the second page.  I also used our Footloose kit for these layouts.  This kit is ONLY available until July 31st, so get it while you can!

So get out there and start scrap lifting so you can get your pictures DONE!

Operation Smile

If you have read my blog or in one of my groups you know that Operation Smile is the charity Close to my Heart has chosen to help.  It is a GREAT organization as they help children with Cleft lips & Cleft Palate fix their smiles in order to eat, drink and suck.  Not to mention the amazing differences in the way they look.  To help a child it costs just $240.

I have a story of an amazing boy here in Nebraska with help from his mother have made a difference in a child's life!   His mom Liz is a customer of mine and was moved when she heard how CTMH is helping these children.  She saw her scrapbooking supply and had an idea...here's their story...


"The confirmation kids from St. Mark's Lutheran Church in Valley, NE. take-part in a wonderful activity called "Faith Projects."  Each confirmation student is required to choose an activity of some sort that is based on a self-less act that helps others.  Some of these wonderful projects that the kids chose to do were spending time with the elderly at a nursing facility, organizing a luncheon for Make-a-Wish, volunteering at an animal shelter, or even painting buildings at the local baseball field.  Ethan chose to raise money for Operation Smile as his Faith Project.  He and I created hand-made cards which were sold for $2.00 each.  Our family, friends, and fellow members of our congregation were all so very supportive of his efforts.  Ethan's goal was simple...he wanted to raise $240.00...enough money to pay for one operation helping a child with a cleft-palet or cleft-lip.  I am happy to say that Ethan far exceeded his goal and was able to raise $378.00!!

Here is a picture of him making some cards and picture of the poster he made for church explaining his project.  Thanks for your inspiration with the beautiful afghan that you made to raise money for Operation Smile.  I am thrilled that Close To My Heart supports such a wonderful program!"

A HUGE THANKS to Ethan and his mom Liz for taking the time to help children in need!  YAHOO!  Great job you guys!  If you would like to help Operation Smile and help a child get a new smile, contact me to see how!  It doesn't have to be your own project like Ethan did.  Simply donate on your order.  And if you don't have an order going in, I will be happy to accept your donation and get it to Operation Smile!

WAY TO GO ETHAN!!  I pray this will make a lasting impression on you!  Knowing you changed someone's life!  How cool is that!

Quick & Easy Cards

Do you love to make cards, but you need to make them FAST!  Well you can with our quick cards.  And the thing I LOVE about our quick card stamps...they are ONLY $6.95!!!  AND, this quick card in the video is very easy to make using our Cricut Art Philosophy Cartridge!  The cartridge not only cuts the card, but you can cut an envelope too!  Watch this video and learn more!
Need our Cricut Art Philosophy Cartridge?  Give me a call/email or you can go to my website and order it.  There are 700 images on this cartridge!  It's great!  Then grab some of those quick card stamps and get creating!

June Group Layouts

I am so excited that it is June and we are ready for our Footloose kit.  I LOVE this kit!  These are the layouts that we will be making at my June Monthly Groups. I am using them for our Hawaiian Cruise pictures.  I used our Rustic Alphabet (E1002 featured in our Autumn/Winter 2011 catalog page 117).  I stamped them in Creme Brulee and then inked the edges in Smoothie ink before I stamped them.  This give them a multicolored look.  

 One of the things I just LOVE about this kit is that you don't have to have go somewhere beachy to use these.  Check out my blog on April 9th and you will see how my friend Julie used this kit that isn't water, beach or summer.  Check it out...you will love it!

This bottom layout I used our Reflections How to Book (currently unavailable...sorry, but if you have it...get it out!)  It is Main Frame - Charmed (left layout) and Bottom Border - Title (right layout).

If you would like to come and make these 4 layouts check out my "upcoming events" tab to see when one of my group meets and contact me to be out guest!  

FREE STAMPS!

YES, you read that right!  June is FREE STAMP MONTH!  Close to my Heart is having a special on STAMP SETS!

Simply purchase 2 stamp sets and get 1 free (of equal or lesser value) in the month of JUNE!  WOWSA that is a GREAT sale!  So if you have stamp sets on your list...you might want to get them now!!

You can go to my website and shop online or you can email me and I will put your order in with my next order!  But HURRY!  You only have until the end of the month!!

And we do have some stamp sets retiring...so check out the list below and see if your favorites are on it!  These stamps will not be available after July 31st!

C1466	Instant Memories	23
B1391	Zoology	30
C1463	Harvest Happiness	35
C1465	Unscripted	36
C1467	Sweet Moments	41
B1392	Key Moments	42
C1462	All Hallows Eve	48
D1494	Christmas Cheer	53
B1390	Countdown	54
D1480	Snowflake	59
C1468	Winter Joy	60
C1419	Harvest Home	65
C1426	Thanksgiving	65
B1395	So Grateful	66
C1423	Captured Moments	67
B1359	Fright Night	68
D1437	Party Animal	69
A1109	A Sip	71
C1424	Nature's Gift	71
C1420	Snow Days	72
C1472	Bundled Buddies	73
D1384	Snow Flurries	74
D1308	All Decked Out	75
A1115	A Holiday	76
B1381	Holiday  Cheer	76
D1446	Adorn-able	77
A1107	A Twinkle	78
B1361	Tannenbaum	78
D1493	Fill in the Blank--Holiday	79
C1427	I Believe	80
D1449	Father Christmas	81
A1110	A Timber	82
B1356	St. Nick	82
D1483	Glory to God	83
A1099	Angel Sent	84
B1394	John 3:16	84
D1436	The Present	87
A1108	A Flitter	88
D1306	Treasure Life	89
C1429	Party Pennants	91
A1095	Always Remember	92
B1362	Tag the Occasion	92
C1471	Happy Clusters	93
B1393	Joyful Jar	94
C1425	Month by Month	95
C1470	Gnome Garden	96
A1113	A Game	97
B1396	School Rocks	97
C1408	Live Inspired	98
D1373	Childhood Portrait	99
D1492	Christmas Love	101
C1469	December 25th	102
D1388	Card Chatter--Christmas	103
D1440	Everlasting Life	104
C1379	Holiday Commentary	105
C1382	Holiday Commentary--Spanish	105
C1383	Holiday Commentary--French	105
D1283	Say It in Style	106
D1444	A Little Thanks	107
D1401	Authentic	108
D1387	Made with Love	109
D1499	Live Your Style	110
D1386	Save the Date	111
D1397	Save the Date--French	111
D1398	Save the Date--Spanish	111
E1006	Baroque Alphabet	113
C1401	Friendship Alphabet Small	114
E1013	Field Trip Alphabet	114
E1016	Friendship Alphabet Large	114
D1136	Giggle Caps	115
D1137	Giggle Lowercase	115
D1267	Rustic Numbers	117
E1002	Rustic Alphabet	117

June Stamp of the Month

It's time for our June stamp of the month and here are some samples!  This set is called Life is Tweet!  I just love it.  It's such a fun set

 Remember as with all of our stamp of the months they are only available during the month they are featured.  So get this set before the end of June!  There are more samples posted on May 25th.

I also have a card workshop using this stamp set (see post on May 25th).  The dates for this workshop is Monday, June 18th OR Tuesday, July 17th.  If you would like more information regarding these workshops, please contact me!