I’m so excited to share this cute cake with you! I got the idea from a fellow consultant. Her blog post can be found here.  I decided that these would be great gifts for teacher appreciation day which is on May 5 this year. I only hope the kids don’t try to steal all the chocolates first!  So here’s my tutorial on making a Hershey nugget 3 tier cake:

 I tried to use stuff that I had laying around the house. I decided to use the new Close to my Heart Blossom Paper packet and the May Taste of Summer Packet. I love this packet and you can get yours beginning May 1 for only $8.95. No additional purchases necessary!  The Taste of Summer Packet has papers themed with lemons, oranges, and strawberries so it’s perfect for summer layouts, cards, and all sorts of projects.

 First I cut the paper strips 1×3 inches. I used 13 for the bottom layer, 9 for the middle layer, and 7 for the top layer.   I used my adhesive gun and taped both ends of the strips so they could be wrapped around the nuggets tightly.

I then cut a slice from the center of the 4“ Styrofoam ball about ¾ inch wide. I cut the end shorter and cut the edges off so it had a flat side to glue the chocolates to. For the top layer I cut about ¾” off a toilet paper roll.  I had tried using a cup for the middle layer but it was not stiff enough to support the chocolates.

I used a hot glue gun to attach the nuggets.

For the cardstock layers I used our Cricut Art Philosophy cartridge. I cut the bottom at 6”. The circles were 4 ¼ “, 3 ¼ “, and 2 ½”.  I used hot glue to assemble the layers.

For the top I cut ¼ x 6” strips and curled them around a pencil. The stamp was our “My Fave” stamp set.   I didn’t have any sticks to use for the topper so I took one of the strips and folded it into a stick.

So there’s the two cakes that I made.  I hope you love them as much as I do.  I can’t wait to give them to the teachers.  I’m not worried about transportation either because these things are solid as a tank.  I’ve picked them up to demo them at a fair and they are still going strong.  Thanks for taking a look and don’t forget to follow my blog.

I love surprises and in case you didn’t hear about our April Campaign let me fill you in. Every day in April you can visit my website and shop. When you purchase any current item then you qualify to get a grab bag. You could purchase the cheapest thing and qualify to get one. Each day at 5 pm Eastern a new grab bag is posted at a different price tier. There are 5 possible tiers ranging from $35 to $150 and it’s random which one will be posted. It’s so awesome to get your surprise and crack open the box!

Here are 2 videos you can check out to see what some of the things are we have received in our grab bags.

Here’s the $35 grab bag ($70 worth of product)

Here’s the $150 grab bag ($325 worth of product). Sorry in the video I said it was $340 worth of product but it’s $325. It’s still a huge amount of stuff!

Click here to order your grab bag today!

Look what you can do with our Cricut Artfully Sent cartridge.  I absolutely love it!  It’s so easy to use and so versatile.  Check it out:

Order yours today by clicking here.

In celebration of National Papercrafting Month, Close To My Heart invites you to reflect on the things that make you who you are and on what you want to accomplish in the coming months. Then, with the help of the Year >> Noted paper kit, record your experiences and goals! During the month of January, with a qualifying purchase of $50, you are eligible to purchase the exclusive Year >> Noted paper kit (which has a retail value of over $24 USD/$27 CAD) for only $5—that’s over 80% off retail! Or, for an additional $5, you can order the Year >> Noted paper kit with an accompanying My Creations™ kraft mini book. The paper kit for both options includes a C-size stamp set, stickers, cardstocks, and B&T Duos™ papers, all specially designed to coordinate with the My Creations™ kraft mini book so you can have a yearlong scrapbooking experience. This means you will receive over $34 USD/$37 CAD worth of product for only $10 if you purchase the kit with the accompanying mini book! But the fun doesn’t end there—included on the sticker sheet, you will find a large golden seal. Once the year is done and all the pages are filled, seal up your book and create a mini time capsule that you can open years from now. Remember, this deal is only available for January, so make sure to get your own Year >> Noted paper kit today for the perfect start to a crafty year!

*Offer valid January 1, 2015 (9:00 am MST)–January 31, 2015 (11:59 pm MST). Shipping/handling is calculated based on the full retail price of the discounted items (without My Creations™ kraft mini book: $24.56 USD/$27.02 CAD; including My Creations™ kraft mini book: $34.51 USD/$37.97 CAD).

Watch this video that gives you all the details and even shows you a layout you could make with this kit if you don’t want to do the book!

So head over to my site and order yours today!  Just click here.

This time of year is so busy for everyone!  Tomorrow may be busy for you too or if you’re like my family you’ll have big chunks of time to relax, nap, or catch up on things you usually never have time to do.  To help you start thinking about scrapbooking all those great memories you’ve created in 2014 here are some videos with some great tips!

Don’t forget that our new totes are in stock!  Perfect for all your organizational needs.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FBoPP7k3830

Every month my scrapbooking club puts together a Workshop On The Go but not all of the paper packets have a layout workshop.  My club loved the stamp set for Snowhaven and so I decided to create something for them using the Snowhaven Workshop and Complements.  I also added 2 pieces of B&T paper from a paper packet and 2 pieces of White Daisy Cardstock.  I used the patterns for 2 of the cards in the kit and made them a part of the layout.  I cut the cards in half and placed the front in flip flaps.  So now instead of 1 picture I will get 2 in that area.  I had to trim things a little to make it fit just right but never be afraid to cut your flip flaps!  So check out these layouts:

Don’t forget the special this month is the Deal of the Decade!  When you place a $50 order you can get unlimited C- and D- stamp sets for only $10 each.  It’s an amazing deal and you just have to click here to order now.

It’s Cyber Monday and to celebrate CTMH is offering a special that’s unheard of!  All of our Cricut Collections are 20% off!  That makes them only $79.20!

The Artiste Collection contains:

Cricut Artiste Cartridge

3 D-Size Stamp sets

3 Dimensional Elements Sheets

Features: 3 D items

 The Art Philosophy Cartridge contains:

Art Philosophy Cartridge

3 D-Size Stamp Sets

3 Dimensional Elements Sheets

Features: Tags, Shapes

The Artbooking Collection Contains:

Artbooking Cartridge

3 D-Size Stamp Sets

3 Dimensional Elements Sheets

Features Overlays and mini-albums

The Artfully Sent Collection contains:

3 Artfully Sent Cartridge

3 D-Size Stamp Sets

1 White Daisy Paper Packet

Features: Multiple designs of cards (pop-up, sleeve, etc)

The savings don’t stop there!!!  When you order the cartridge for $79.20 that qualifies you to get the Stamp of the Month for $5.  Which is an adorable cupcake theme!

But wait…. there’s more!!!

When you place a $50  that qualifies you to purchase ANY C or D-Size stamp from the Annual Inspirations catalog for only $10!  You can purchase as many as you want!  The savings are endless.  So head over to my site and get your Cricut Cartridges today!  This deal is over at 11:59 tonight!

I just ordered layouts last Friday and wanted to share them with you.  Don’t forget about our amazing deal this November.  If you didn’t know about it then click here to read my previous post.  They’ve already sent out 2 golden tickets and I’m hoping that I can get the third!  So let me tell you how fast this program is.  I uploaded my pics during the day while I was doing other things because that can take a while.  Organization is key to getting these layouts done quickly.

MOM- If you’re reading this …skip this part and just look at the pics!  I decided that I wanted to scrapbook our vacation from May of 2013 when we went on an amazing voyage through the Panama Canal with Disney Cruise Line.  The reason I picked this one is because I will make my layouts and then print 3 sets.  My mother and mother-in-law both went on the trip with us so each of us will get an album (Sorry Mom if you read this then now you know what you’re getting for Christmas).  Christmas just got so much easier because I knocked 2 people off our list!

We ended up with 3,000 pics from our 2 week voyage but were able to narrow it down to 700 that we want to scrapbook.  From there I’ll narrow it down even more as I place them in the layouts.  I picked categories to create my projects in Studio J that way I could “eat my way through” the 700 pics and wouldn’t be overwhelmed.  There’s also a limit to the number of pics you can upload to each project.  I decided that I would start with our day at Castaway Cay and our formal nights.  So when I went to Studio J and started my project the first one was Formal Nights.  It’s a very simple process and you’re walked through everything.  If you make a mistake don’t worry because you can delete the layout or go back and correct things.

So how long did it take me to make 15 layouts?  Not including the uploading time it took me 2 hours.  The thing that always takes me the longest is deciding the journaling.  But if you don’t want to journal you don’t have to.  Every box can be deleted or changed to pic or whatever you want.  So here are my layouts that I made:

I did rotate some of the pages to get the photo orientation I wanted.  The other thing I changed was the color of some of the papers because I wanted the Ruby to match our red dresses better.  You can also switch the patterned paper as well.  It’s all drag and drop!

So what do you think?  Ready to try Studio J?  Not only do I get the layouts printed out and up to 50 shipped to me for only $5.95; I also get the jpeg files like the ones I’ve shared with you and the high-res ones so that I can take my file and reprint it if I need to.  It’s amazing that you can print unlimited $5 layouts this month!  So head over and get started… don’t wait!  Click here and try it now 🙂  You want to get them done ASAP because every time we run a special like this a lot of people wait until the last day of the month and the system is way too slow to get anything done.

These great deals won’t last long so make sure you head over to my site and shop today!  Everything seen here is WHILE SUPPLIES LAST.

Click here to start shopping.  Get started on your Christmas projects now and don’t get behind or spend a fortune.

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!

1) Throughout the month of November, all layouts purchased in Studio J are $5! That is a savings of over 25% off of retail!

2)  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.

3)  If luck doesn’t 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™.

4)   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!

5)  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!

How awesome is this!?!  Start creating your layouts now… it’s free to play around with the program and create things.  Make them now and order them in November.  Don’t pass up this great deal and chance to win prizes!  Start making you layouts by clicking here!

Want to make this deal even better?  Make it a party.  With only $150 in orders you can get $25 in free product.  So make 30 layouts and get $25 to spend to bling them out or get more layouts for free.  Want to host an online party with friends or just use your own orders as a party?  Contact me!

Studio J layouts don’t have to be used just for scrapbooking!  Here are some examples of other things you could do with them:

1)  Use the small copy to make a Base and Bling Necklace

2)  Make your Christmas Cards

3) Wedding Announcements

4) Make a calendar and make multiple copies quick!  Check out a fellow consultants blog to see how she did it!

5)  Print out great quality pictures… you can use the No Limits layout to put as many pics on a 12 x 12 space as you want.  Did you know that you can fit 4- 5×7 pics on a 12 x 12 page?  That works out to $0.63 a pic!  That saves you $0.16 a pic over snapfish.

The list goes on and on for all the creative ideas.  Remember to like my page on Facebook because I’ll be posting various ideas throughout the next few weeks.

So get to it and start creating today!