Happy National Scrapbook Month!

Happy National Scrapbook Month!  I hope you get to make lots of pages this month!


Celebrating the month in style, CTMH is offering a special paper pack during May only. 

Live Beautifully paper packet

16 – 12” × 12” sheets

(2 each of 6 double-sided designs and 2

each of 2 single-sided gold foil designs)

CC1212B, $14.95

My Acrylix® Live Beautifully stamp set

CC1212C, $17.95


If you are into the Cut Above kits - where everything you needed is included in the kit, except adhesive, then check out this special - using the same prints!

Cut Above™ Layout Kit—Live Beautifully

Includes materials for creating five 2-page

layouts and six 12" X 12" Memory Protectors™.

CC1212A $44.95


Stay tuned for samples of the artwork through out the month!

The Great Catalog Giveaway!

Come one, come all!  The new Seasonal Expressions catalog is here! And I'd love to give you one.  Just pick your best option:

• Place an order online, and a get a free new Seasonal Expression with your order.  Just make sure you select the option to receive one.
• Drop by my house between 11AM and 4PM on May 13.  Stay to chat, or just dash in and out!
• Request a copy in the mail - email me your name and address at decoratingdays@gmail.com.
• Meet me at Panera Bread, at Bridge Street, between 12:30-1:30PM (or close to it) on May 8.  I'll be in the outside eating area.

Last call for Spring!

April 30th is the final day to order from the January-April Sesaonal Expressions catalog.  With just two weeks left, certain items will become unavailable as the stock supply sells out. Because the wonderful stamp sets are manufactured at the home office in Utah, all of them will be available right up until the end.

A few things are sticking around for the next catalog - the pink, white, and sea glass albums (YAY!),  and these items - even though you won't see them listed in the new catalog:
Z3316 Shimmer Brush—Gold
Z3317 Thin Cuts Basic Hearts
Z3318 Thin Cuts Basic Circles
Z3312 Gold Glitter Gems
Z3313 Blush Shimmer Ribbon


Some of the items that have already sold out are:

CC1155	Thin Cut Swirly Seashells	3/31/2017
CC1156	Thin Cut Sweet Birthday	3/31/2017
CC1157	Thin Cut Wreath	3/31/2017
CC1219	Swirly Shells Stamp + Thin Cuts	4/4/2017
G1118	WYW Sugar Rush Scrapbooking Kit	3/31/2017
G1122	WYW Mother's Day Cardmaking Kit	3/31/2017
G1125	WYW Happy Congratulations Cardmaking Kit	4/10/2017
Z1984	Memory Protectors Top Load Value Pack (temporarily unavailable - expected first part of May)	3/16/2017
Z3117	Memory Protectors Mini 2" × 2"	4/13/2017
Z3259	Thin Cuts Hello & Thanks	4/3/2017
Z3260	Thin Cuts Hearts	3/31/2017
Z3279	#Life Overlays—Gold	2/28/2017
Z3300	Sugar Rush Cardmaking Thin Cuts Bundle	3/31/2017
Z3303	Dreamin’ Big Card Thin Cuts Bundle	3/20/2017
Z3305	Thin Cuts XOXO	3/27/2017
Z3310	Sugar Rush Dots	3/30/2017

Tip of the month - A working album

When you purchase a post bound album and pages from me, I will load the pages for you and provide the spacers to make your album complete.  The number of pages in an album vary depending on your scrapbook style.  The albums will hold a maximum of 50 pages.  This high number will work just fine if your completed pages are flat - not a lot of foam tape or bulky embellishments.
I like the foam tape and bulky embellishments, so I like 35 pages in my book.

Maybe you are a chronological scrap booker, or your book is for a particular event, such as a long vacation.  You might not be sure how many pages need to be in your book.  Using a D ring binder as temporary storage until you finish your book is a great way to work. You can flip and move pages easily, and load the right number of pages into your post bound album the first time!
Any D ring binder will make a working album.  Close to My Heart has 3 styles on sale in the clearance section for $17.50.  Ruby Floral, Cocoa Damask, and black.

April's Bells & Whistles - Soccer Days

April's Bells & Whistles workshop is a soccer page!  The workshop is Friday evening, April 28th from 7PM until 9PM.  Please RSVP by the 18th so I can have all the needed supplies.  Cost is $10.

What is a Crop?

What is a crop?  Just a time set aside for a group of women to get together, socialize and scrapbook. The crop is open from 9am until 9pm or anytime in between that works for you. You will have table space, access to my Cricut and cartridges, my stamps (over 250) and the whole range of CTMH ink pads.  Bring your own stash and work on whatever paper project you have going.  We are a small group, always looking for others that share our passion.  Come find a friend, or bring  your own buddy, all are welcome.

Cost of the crop is $5 or free if you place a $10 or greater order.  Lunch, dinner and drinks are provided.  While I am a Close to My Heart consultant, whatever products  you have in your stash are welcome.  There is always the chance that you will use up what you do have and eventually need something I sell!

I hold a monthly open crop at my house, with plenty of space for YOU!  I'm located in Madison, Alabama, please contact me for the address at decoratingdays@gmail.com. 

April's crop is Saturday, April 22.  Hope to see you there!

April Stamp of the Month

April's stamp of the month!  How cute would these be brightened up with Shin-han markers or watercolor pencils!  Just $17.95 or $5.00 with a $50 purchase.  Available only during the month of April.

April's Special of the Month - 15 Minute Memories

Preserve your memories in minutes with Cut Above™ layout kits.

Save 50% on our Cut Above™ layout kits, which are designed to make memory keeping

easier than ever. Each layout kit includes:

• Two 12" X 12" printed base pages

• Die-cut paper pieces

• Title and embellishment stickers

• 12 coordinating pocket cards

• Two 12" X 12" Memory Protectors™

• Two pocket-style Memory Protectors™

Choose between two designs—Little One and Forever & Always—and then follow the

simple assembly instructions to create your beautiful two-page layout in minutes. Add

even more memories using the coordinating pocket cards and pocket Memory

Protectors included in the kit. You’re going to love how quickly you can preserve your

memories with Cut Above.

*Offer available April 1–April 30, 2017 while supplies last. Shipping and handling assessed on retail value.

Cut it Out! Super sale on Thin Cuts

All Thin Cuts - including those in a bundle with the coordinating stamp set are on sale for another 5 days - but only while supplies last!  The Dreamin' Big bundle (dragonfly and butterflies) has been sold out.   You can check out what's still available by clicking on this link.

Tea time! Cute card using scrap papers with instructions

I love the March stamp of the month - so super cute!  I will use it next time I have Disney Tea Cup ride pictures.  But I wanted to do something now, so I put together this little card.  This is one of those things I am going to make a few more of and just keep on hand, to slide a tea bag in when I need it.  I can attach my business card to the back and hand them out, give them to a friend or co-worker that is not feeling well, or trying to give up coffee, or when I find a new flavor I want to share.  Tea is very trendy right now, so it's a nice way to share some of my favorite flavors and my love of crafting!

Cut a strip of paper 4" x 11 3/4"
Score at 3 3/4", 4", 7 3/4" and 8" (four score lines)
Angle the paper on your trimmer so the 8" score line is on the 1/4" line at the top, and on the 1" line at the bottom corner.  (I've drawn lines on this sample so you can see better.)  Then slice!

 Using thick narrow foam tape on the short edge and along the bottom, make a pocket for your tea bag.  Add a second little piece for the words - start with a 3" square, cut at 3/4" angled to the 2 3/4" level on the far side.  I find this easiest to mark those two measures, then slice the distance between.

Decorate the top as desired.  I used Shin-han markers to color my tea cup and make a shadow around the cup.  I poked a hole near the top of the tea cup, then pushed white twine through the hole with the paper piercer.  I did the same thing with the tag, holding both in place, in the back, with a little scotch tape.  I then added a staple to the tea bag - not only do real tea bags come with a staple, for some reason this kept my tag right side forward!  It is loose, and will move as you  move the card.  If  you tag doesn't want to stay right side forward, a little foam tape will help it out.  I added a golden touch with the new gold shimmer brush on the plate and the top of edge of the cup,

I was able to find the papers I needed in my scrap basket. I'm always looking for ways to make that pile smaller!


This stamp set is only available through the end of March.  $17.95 or $5 with a $50 order!

Spreading the Joy

I have been a Close to My Heart consultant for 5 years and I love it!  I love sharing my ideas, encouraging others, attending Corporate events, socializing and my discount - plus free items! 

Join our community of Consultants and start enjoying these rewards:

• 22% base commission on product purchases and sales, with the potential to earn even more!  
• Opportunity to make money doing what you love: crafting!
• Flexibility to earn extra income while working your own hours.
• New Consultant Kit full of product valued over $200!
• $50 in Select Product Credit immediately upon sign-up.
• Free Consultant website so your friends can shop with you online!
• Opportunities for other exciting incentives, like trips, crafting products, and more!

For more information or to sign up - go HERE.  If you have questions this site can't answer or just want to talk, I'd love to hear from you.

Why Scrapbook?

 

I can only tell you why I do it, but it's for more than one reason.

Scrapbooks make great external hard drives. I have never had a great memory.  Little details from the past are always replaced in my brain with current events.  Scrapbooks help me dig up those older memories. They help my children see things in their past, from when they were too young to remember, and me to remember them when they were young. 

I have always scrapbooked, starting in my teenage years with a true scrapbook.  A bound book of papers in which I stuck all the little scraps of paper that meant something to me.   When I started travelling, I added pictures to those scraps of paper (ticket stubs, flyers, napkins).  When I am no longer able to go and do (at 90, 95 years old!), I want to look back and remember that I DID! 

I'm crafty.  I like to create, to make things.  I'm no expert creator, and sticking to paper keeps it cheap.  But I've always loved the paper side of it.  When I was about 7, I got a box of goodies for Christmas.  It was a big (for a 7 year old) cardboard box, filled with construction paper, glue, markers, a box of 64 crayons (with sharpener), pom-poms, magnets and pipe cleaners.  My mother has always thought it was one of the worst gifts they ever gave me as a kid; I've always considered it one of the best.

I think it's innate that we want to create or build something.  Quilts, cakes, gardens, paintings, jigsaw puzzles, whatever.  I love that my creating is something I want to keep and that has a purpose to me.  Others may look and the great ones actually admire my work, but ultimately, I scrap book for me. I scrap to tell myself the story of my life.

So. Why do you scrapbook?

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!  For me, it's a day to wear green, and laughingly pick on people who don't (I stopped pinching years ago).  One day, I'll make it to Savannah and watch them turn the river green, if they still do that.
In a tribute to the wearing o' the green, I'm introducing my April Bells & Whistles workshop.  It's a soccer page, complete with grass stains!

The workshop will be held on Friday, April 28, from 7PM until 9PM at my house.  Cost is $10, and you do need to RSVP so I will have a kit ready for  you.  If you would like a kit, but cannot attend, please let me know.  I create all the kits at the same time.
Credit where credit is due - this idea is from a Pinterest pin, from allicreate.blogspot.com.
This layout has a horizontal 5X7, for a team photo, two 4x6's (one horizontal, one vertical) one 4x4, and places for five 2x2 photos.  What?  You say you only see 3 small wells?  This kit comes with a 2X2 flip flap to go over one of the wells that you can see.  Soccer is one of those times where you may have to be at a distance from the action, and your subject can end up kind of small in the scheme of the picture.  If you don't have good distance photos, these small squares can always be filled with words, or soccer embellishments from your own stash.

Stock up Your Stash with a Party!

The fastest way to add free products to your private storeroom stash of scrapbooking supplies is to throw a party!  Hosting a gathering is easy - just find a place, invite your friends, and throw together a quick snack.  I take care of the rest.  You can even host the party at my house, or as a Face Book event.  If the event is in person, you can choose from one of four double layouts, which all guest will be able to complete while at your event, at no charge.  I offer a hostess gift, a door prize drawing and a small free gift for everyone who orders. 

How much you get free depends on the size of your gathering.

$150 party = $25 free

$250 party = $40 free, plus one item at half price (even the Cricut cartridges!)

$350 party = $60 free, plus one item at half price.

All it takes to quality for your free items is five to eight ordering guests, even if the orders are small.  The gathering is 1-2 hours, and when is totally up to you!  Contact me for more information or to set up your party, have fun and get free stuff!

Dreamin' Big kit

Back with more Dreamin' Big kit.  I love the colorful sequins in the kit.  They are smaller than our other sequins and come in green, rose gold, white and dark gray.  They are sticky backed and only $4!

This is another layout from the instructions in the kit.  It's basically just two borders at the top (one is zip strips) and one border at the bottom.  The instructions show you how to create two blocks of photos, one on either side of the layout.  It adds a few additional pieces of paper and PLM cards. My photos, for which the colors went well and the explore-dream-discover strip suited the theme of sightseeing, they didn't fit into the designated photo wells.  So I chunked that part of the instructions and went with what did work!  On the left, it's a 2X6 inch photo that serves as my title (as I completely forgot to do anything else for one!).  the next column is a 4X3 PLM card on top and a 4X4 photo on bottom.  Next column is a 4X6 on top and two 2X2's below that.  On the right side, those are 4X4 and 6X4's.  I flipped the flower paper to be bugs (cause I like the bugs!) and added some flowers from the compliment packs - much as the instructions call for.  If  you got 'em, use 'em!

Great deals on clearance items!

The special of the month of March is 25% of thin cuts, but Close to My Heart always has a sale going on.  You can find it in the clearance section of my online site.  Order on line and for $5 have it all shipped directly to your home!  Clearance items must be ordered online; they cannot be added to club or gathering orders.
I am placing an order through this site on Friday.  If you live close and would like to reduce the shipping from $5 to $1 (and come pick up from my house or day job), please send me your order by Thursday, March 9.  My tax rates will apply.
Clearance items are no items longer available in the regular catalogs.  But they come at great prices!  Here are a few samples:

Our Story PML cards - $3

4 embossing folders - $10.75

Ruby D Ring album - $17.50

Zoe Compliments - $1.75

Quantities are while supplies last!

March Stamp of the Month

This is the March Stamp of the Month. It's only available during the month of March. It's $17.95 or $5 with a $50 purchase. 

Some samples of artwork with this cute set:

Dreamin' Big kit, Adventure is out there

Here is another CTMH kit that seems to be flowers - AGAIN!  And for those of you who have girls or love flowers above all else, it's a great kit.  But I know many of you have those other things - BOYS!  The flip side of this flowered paper is BUGS!  I love it!  I have all girls, but I don't want flowers on every page.  If the layout called for the flower paper, I flipped it over and used the bugs.   I am thrilled with this new addition to our print options.This kit is called Dreamin' Big but when I dug into it, it was all about exploring.  Maybe the idea was to explore the outdoor world.  But I explore new places.  And this paper pack worked better than I expected for my travels.  There are no traditional travel details in this kit.  But the embellishment pack has this great set of stickers that reads Adventure is out there.  How fabulous is that?  I used it on a page of us sight seeing in St. Augustine.  Again - I was pleased with the way the colors went with my pictures.  This layout is from the instructions in the kit.  I did flip the horizontal border from the juniper side to the colorful polka dot side because it has some red in it, which went with the red pirate sash.

Cut it Out! - March's Special of the Month

Thin Cuts give you a fast and easy way to cut all kinds of shapes for your crafting, and

this month they are all available at 25%-off! Choose from titles, sentiments, and a wide

variety of shapes to stamp on, so you can get precise, dimensional shapes in no time! 

Bundles include the stamp set.

$32.95 Thin Cuts - now $24.71 in March

School Kids Bundle - CC1222

$31.95 Thin Cuts - now $23.96 in March

Swirly Shells Bundle - CC1219

$28.95 Thin Cuts - now $21.71  in March

Hello Lovely Bundle - Z3301

$23.95 Thin Cuts - now $17.96 in March

Sugar Rush Bundle - Z3300

Dreamin' Big Bundle - Z3303

Some Kind of Wonderful Bundle - Z3302

$18.95 Thin Cuts - now $14.21 in March

Swirly Shells - CC1155

Sweet Birthday Bundle - CC1220

$16.95 Thin Cuts - now $12.71 in March

Wreath Bundle - CC1221

$15.95 Thin Cuts - now $11.96 in March

School Kids - CC1158

$14.95 Thin Cuts - now $11.21 in March
Hearts -  Z3260

Stars - Z3261

$13.95 Thin Cuts - now $10.46 in March

Happy - Z3258

Celebrate - Z3256

$12.95 Thin Cuts - now $9.71 in March

Basic Hearts - Z3317

Basic Circles - 3318

$11.95 Thin Cuts - now $8.96 in March

Hello & Thanks - Z3259

$10.95 Thin Cuts - now $8.21 in March

Love - Z3257

XOXO - Z3305

Wreath - CC1157

$9.95 Thin Cuts - now $7.46 in March

Happy Birthday - Z3304

Sweet Birthday - CC1156