November 30, 2014

Third Day of Christmas: A Huge Cyber Monday Special!

My Oh My!  (In the voice of Dave Niehaus for you Mariners fans.)  This is an incredible day to save with Close to My Heart!  Make sure you pass this on to your Santa!


Cyber Monday with 20% off all Cricut Cartridge bundles


Art Philosophy, Artiste, Artbooking and the new Artfully Sent.  All 20% off Dec 1st 12 a.m. - 11:59 p.m. MST.  Shop on my website or contact me.  And to add to that, you will qualify for the December month long special, DEAL of the DECADE.  Shop at MRowley.CTMH.com

Deal of the Decade with $10 stamps after $50 qualifying order



With a qualifying purchase of $50, including the Cyber Monday special, you can order "C" and "D" size stamp sets for $10 saving up to $7.95 per stamp set.  (Discounted stamps sets from the 2014 Annual Inspirations book.)  Shop at MRowley.CTMH.com


Seasonal Expressions 1 catalog supplement goes live

 

Chocked full on fresh new product for the later winter early spring, you are going to love the Seasonal Expressions.  View online at MRowley.CTMH.com




Cutie Pie Stamp of the Month
A sweet calorie free treat!  Great for any celebration and only $5 with a $50 purchase or $17.95.  This can be combined with the Cyber Monday Special AND the Deal of the Decade.  To see artwork made with this set, visit this wonderful consultant blog hop

 Mystery Hostess Tickets for each $25 ordered


 This is simple, the gist of it is, for every $25 ordered, you will get a ticket for the hostess rewards, combined over all the sales between Nov. 28th and Dec 10th.  WOW! 


Second Day of Christmas Album Special continues


 
See my Second day of Christmas Album detail here

Have fun saving! 
Michele

December Stamp of the Month Blog Hop: Cutie Pie



Welcome to our Stamp of the Month Blog Hop!  We will be featuring December's SOTM, which is Cutie Pie.  If you have come here from Michelle Battitori's blog, you are on the right path! The blog hop is a great big circle, so you can start here and work your way all around.  If you get lost along the way, you’ll find the complete list of participating consultants on Melinda’s Blog:  http://ifyoublingit.blogspot.com/p/stamp-of-month-blog-hop-list.html.

  This is simple to do - just click on the link at the end of the post on each blog to move to the next one! Here we go!


This set is so fun to use with our Shin Han markers.  I loved coloring the cupcake and hearts, playing with the blender pen to get highlights.  I used the Seaside paper packet to accent the whimsical style of this set.  Perfect for birthdays and special occasions.  Who doesn't love a cupcake...especially when it is calorie free!




Now "Hop" on over to Brenda Lapp's to see her work! Be sure to visit all the Consultants at their Blogs to get some great crafting ideas and other fun ideas! Remember, the Cutie Pie SOTM is only available until December 31st!  Contact your CTMH Consultant (or click here) to see how you can get this stamp set at a discount!

Sweet day to you,
Michele

Second Day of Christmas: Albums

On the second day of Christmas my true love gave me....Scrapbooking Albums!



Yes!  Close to My Heart has a new line of albums and they are perfect for storing your family memories whatever style of scrapbooker you are!  Classic scrapbook page fit work well in the post bound albums as do the Studio J online scrapbook pages.  If you enjoy pocket style scrapbooking such as Picture My Life, you will love the new D-Ring albums.  If you are like me and scrapbook is all these different ways...and combine them all in one album, you will love the versatility of the D-ring style.

And here's the deal!
  • Order one album and get a free pack of flips flaps and a ticket for mystery hostess rewards.
  • Order two albums and get free pack of flip flaps, a package of label holders, and two tickets for the mystery hostess drawing.
  • Order three albums and get free flip flaps, label holders, the stamp of the month for free and four tickets for the mystery hostess drawing. 
  • Order four albums and get flip flaps, label holders, stamp of the month AND $25 in hostess rewards, no ticket needed.   

You can see the albums above, Black, Lagoon Chevron, and Red Floral.  Please contact me directly to take part in the special so I can include your free products. 

Offer is good through Dec 10th, 2014 through Michele Rowley, CTMH Independent Consultant.  

Happy Second Day of Christmas.
Michele






November 29, 2014

Did you survive black friday? Ready for the First Day of Christmas?

Today is the First Day of Christmas (in my countdown special) and it is also Small Business Saturday.  I have loved the opportunity to have a small business.  It has allowed me to stay home with my children, have a flexible schedule, meet great people, make wonderful friendships and earn two all expenses paid luxury vacations.  The connections with my family, community, friends and you is what makes it all worth it. 

Playa Conchal, Costa Rica

Have you ever wondered how this works?  I would love to share more with you and learn about your thoughts.

So here's the First Day of Christmas special.  I am offering you connection!  Schedule a phone call or in person meeting with me (meet up before February 1st) to get together. 

Need an incentive?  After we have met, you can choose a gift of either a My Reflections Scrapbook Kit or a My Acrylix stamp set(s) up to a $10 value.  Free product?  Yes! Just for meeting with me? Yes!  Not a crafter but still want to meet?  I will let you choose 10 handmade cards from my collection for your personal use.  Email me today or before Dec 10th to set a date. 

If you know me at all, you know I am not a pushy sales person and this is not about getting you into something that is not for you.  This is about meeting with YOU, getting to know YOU, and hearing YOUR story.  If CTMH fits into your story, Amen!  If not, then at least we have strengthened our connection, Amen!

Looking forward to a new year filled with stronger friendships,
Michele

November 26, 2014

HUGE Black Friday Happenings!

Happy Thanksgiving  

I hope you had a wonderful day with family and friends.

I am sharing the rewards with you at the start of the holiday season!  

Shop online today Friday November 28th between 12 a.m. and 11:59 p.m. and you could be the mystery hostess and earn all the rewards.  


With every $25 purchase made on my website, selecting "Black Friday Special", your name will be entered in a drawing to earn the total hostess rewards.  The rewards start at $25 in CTMH products and increase as more purchases are made!  I will draw the name on Saturday and notify the winner by email.

What is after Black Friday?  More opportunities to win hostess rewards.  Keep watching your email for details about how you can get entered in the drawing.  Watch or email for details.

Happy shopping,
Michele

November 24, 2014

Craft Daze "til Christmas: 30 Days Gift ideas for the crafters on your list


Holiday Ideas from Close to My Heart

CTMH has great gift options and stocking stuffer ideas.  Let me share a few!

For the memento keeper:
My Crush mini albums, with 60 spiral bound pages, are the perfect place to keep those special memories, ticket stubs, and friends’ photos, document a special event and more.  Add the My Crush assortment for embellishment.  Have lots of mementos to keep?  Add a set of flip flaps, which attach to the pages with a strong adhesive. 

My Crush books and assortment page 150-157
Flip Flaps page 185



For the crafty girl:
Bling is in and it adds sparkle to those creative projects.  Sparkles shimmer trim, sequins and more are self-adhesive making crafting less messy and a lot brighter.  Perfect little packages for someone’s stocking.

Sparkle sets page 170-171
Shimmer trim and washi tape page 172-173



For one who enjoys needle work:
Our micro tip scissors are great for those who love a pair of sharp scissors.  They come with a protective cover and fit the requirements for TSA and can be taken on the plane for those who stitch on the go. 

Scissors page 181




Need more ideas?  Don’t hesitate to contact me at 206-697-4373 or Michele@theRowleys.us Shop on my website MRowley.CTMH.com or by connecting with me.
Shop on Black Friday or during the 12 days of Christmas and you will be put in a drawing for the Mystery Hostess and the rewards that come from CTMH. 

November 12, 2014

Craft Daze "til Christmas: 42 days Photo Holiday Cards.

This month Close to My Heart is Celebrating five years of Studio J.  Now if you haven't seen Studio J, you need to try it and it is no cost to you just to play!  Here is a link to a getting started video and you can read the details of this month's special on my blog here.   This will explain all the ways you can WIN with Studio J this month but right now, I want to focus on Photo Holiday Cards.  



Yes you can use Studio J to create your own unique family holiday cards and best of all, Studio J layouts are on sale for $5 this month.  

Here's how:


1.  Go to MRowley.CTMH.com, click on products and choose Studio J from the drop down menu.

2. Once in Studio J- either log in or create an account if you are a new user.

3. Once in- begin a new project. I called mine Christmas Cards 2014.

4. You will then be prompted to upload photos- upload the ones that you would like to use on your cards (I did two different photo styles)

5. The select “create your own custom kit”

6. At this point you will be given lots of options for paper- my recommendation is to go with one of our holiday themed papers so that you will have access to the holiday ‘stickease’ and images that go with that pack.  You can put "Christmas" in the search bar and it will show you all the Christmas/Winter related paper packets.  For mine I chose the Yuletide Carol kit.  Choose your kit and click continue.

7. Next you will be given your choice of patterns, chose the ‘No Limits’ pattern and then click continue.

8. Your next option is for a kit mix- yours will all be blank – just click on one and continue to the next screen.  

9. Now you will start to create your cards! On the left you will need to click on the text and photo areas.  You want to add journaling areas to your layout- just drag the ‘add journaling’ option onto your page.  Once it is placed you will have a box appear where you can adjust things- you can choose your card size.  Regular envelope sizes are 5x7, 4x8, or 4.25 x 5.5.  I created mine 5x7 this year.   Once you have one box sized and placed (see the sample above for how you can place them to optimize space) you can click on your journaling box and the click copy at the top of the screen.  Then hit paste- this will give you a second box of the same size  that you can click and drag (and rotate) anywhere on your layout.  Do this 8 times until you have your page full.  It may look like the left side when you are complete this step.


10. Next click on the paper tab on the left.  From here you can drag and drop any of the patterned paper or cardstock options for the kit.  Have fun with this and feel free to use a variety- after all, you can!  Once you have those all in place you will want to get rid of the prompt to add journaling- just click on the box, select edit text, and delete the text.  Then click on the next box and do the same.  When done you may have something like shown on the left side.


11. At this point I think it is easiest to go in and begin to add photo boxes- go back to the add text and photo tab. Once there, drag and drop photo boxes onto your cards- I made mine a 4x4 size but you can do whatever size works for you and your pictures.  The toolbar that appears with each photo box will allow you to add a photo mat if you would like- and you can pick your desired color.  Once you have your boxes and place (and you can copy and paste them as we did earlier) then you can drag and drop your pictures inside them.  In the photo toolbar you can add a filter and make your photos black and white or even sepia- have fun with this!

12. Now your photos should all be placed and you are ready to decorate! You will find all the fun things to decorate under the My Stickease tab- use the drop down menu to navigate between different embellishment sizes but remember that you can always resize them by dragging down the bottom right corner of any image.  You will also find Holiday quotes and tags in this section that could make your card really come together!  

13.Then I added our family name.  To do that I added a smaller journaling box (you should be a pro at adding this by now) and just typed in the box with the font they suggested. I colored my boxes black and then chose a white font.  I also went to the distress menu and added sanding so it would look a bit like a chalkboard. 

14.  I added some ribbon and knots by using the embellishments tab, selecting ribbons, choosing my color, and then dragging and dropping them onto each card.  When you right click on the embellishment, you can send it back, which allowed me to put the ribbon behind the chalkboard journaling spot. 

Once you are happy with your card you are ready to order them! You may notice that I have two small photos on mine in the middle space- it was empty space so I dropped some photos in to fill it out. Once my pages arrive I plan to use those photos in some base and bling projects.  When ordering you can order as many copies of that page as you will need for your cards. Your pages will arrive in the mail within a week or so and you are ready to go! 

I hope you are inspired to give it a try.  If you would like a one on one personal tutorial, I am happy to schedule one with you.  Don't wait too long, you will want to take advantage of the special before it ends November 30th.  And just think, you will have one thing DONE on your holiday to do list. 

Michele

November 09, 2014

Craft Daze 'til Christmas: 45 days

We can't ignore it...the holidays are upon us and if you are a crafter, it is time to get your ideas for gift making in motion.



Or, you can join us for the Holiday Extravaganza on Friday Dec 5th 6:30 p.m. to create holiday gifts for teachers, neighbors, grandparents, and co-workers.  
RSVP  and more details will be sent to you.  In the mean time, here's my version of an advent calendar for this season.  









I used the designer creation bags in Ruby and Slate and added a bit of shimmer trim, kraft cardstock, and the numbers stamped in Ruby ink from the Magical Days stamp set.  It was fast and easy to put together.  I have chosen to hang mine with clothes pins but these bags would also look cute collected together in a small vintage suitcase or basket.

The items I used can be purchased on my website.  




Finally, you can find printable activity cards, scriptures and treat ideas on the Internet to include in your treat bags for a festive, family Christmas countdown. 

PS watch for my over the top Black Friday Special.  More information coming soon!

Happy Craftin',
Michele

November 06, 2014

Blog Hop: Artfully Sent

If you haven't heard, Close to My Heart has a new Cricut Cartridge that is the delight of card makers!  And you have arrived at the consultant blog hop featuring this cartridge and the wonderful cards you can create using it.



Artfully sent has 400 unique projects from 700 images, an assortment of envelopes and a new font.  For $99 you can purchase the cartridge and with it you get a bundle of products that include three different stamp sets: sentiments, frames and an alphabet.  These sets are unique to this cartridge bundle.  In addition you will receive a package of white cardstock to get your creating started.

If you have arrived here from Lillian's Blog, welcome!  You are on the right track and when you are ready to move on, you will go to Katy's Blog next.  

I have created a variety of cards using this cartridge and will be sharing them throughout my upcoming blog posts but today I am showing you a simple Sentiment card using basic cardstock.


The cards you can create with this cartridge include Pop-up cards, Scene cards, Sentiment cut outs, Sleeve cards, and Pocket cards.  Although the cartridge is designed for card making, the projects can easily be altered for classic scrapbook pages and picture my life scrapbooking.



If you want more information about Artfully sent, contact your consultant or click here to connect with me.  Ask me about getting it for a discount up to half price!


Chirp, chirp, happy cutting,
Michele
 



November 04, 2014

Craft Daze "til Christmas: 50 days



I have a Crush!  You may have heard about SMASH books, small "journal" style scrapbooks that you use to save your day to day memorabilia or photos and memories from a special trip.  Well at CTMH, it is called CRUSH! 

My friend and customer Cindy has used her Crush album to put together a recipe book for her daughter who is away at college.  I absolutely love what she has done and she gave me permission to share her photos on my blog!  (But if you know her daughter...please don't tell!)



She started with the CTMH Modville Crush book which comes with fun details printed on the page for easy embellishing!  She added her handwritten recipes, titled with a CTMH stamped font, and then used flaps as needed for double page recipes.  This is also a great idea if Haley wanted to take the recipe out of the book and to the kitchen, she can remove it and then replace it when she is done cooking. 



As I am writing this, it is getting close to dinner and these recipes look so yummy!  I might have to ask her for them! 

Another friend and customer surprised her kids with a trip to Hawaii for Christmas last year.  She took the Bluebird Crush book with her and each day she had her different family members write down a memory or experience.  And when she got home, she added the photos to finish it off!  What a great story!

CTMH has FIVE different Crush books, something for everyone!  Each book also has an assortment set, purchased separately, to add more embellishments, titles and details to your memories.

Click on photo for larger picture. 


How would you use a Crush book to create a gift for someone special? Or do you know someone who would enjoy keeping their memories and memorabilia in a Crush book?  This would make a great gift. 

Shop for your Crush book here or contact me if you need ideas or more information on Crush books. 

Happy Scrappin'
Michele