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Last Days for Home for the Holidays


Don't miss out on the cute polar bear, candy, and other stamps that will help get you in the mood for Christmas and get a jump start on your holiday cards.  And check out our new Designer cupcake boxes. Decked out here with the Chevron ribbon you can earn with Ribbon Revelry.


Sweet Halloween Treats

Wednesday was the quarterly meeting for my lab at work.  We usually order pizza and pop to munch on while we update each other on what's been happening and what's coming up in our field work and research.  I thought it would be fun to give out a little Halloween treat to everyone.  We have several great kits in this year's catalog to help.  This super easy, really fun Halloween treat bag made the perfect gift.  


 The kit comes with 10 pre-cut paper bags, 10 plastic bags, 10 paper circles, several sticker sheets, and 3-d Adhesive.  The kit suggests using the Stamp set Sweet Salutations, but I used the Halloween set Perfect Fit-Halloween.  The reason that a stamp set isn't included with the kit is the idea that if you buy several of these kits, you don't have multiples of the same stamps, and it makes them more cost-effective.

 

I used Rolos as my candy.  I think any round candy will work, like Hershey's kises.  I looked at Peppermint Patties, but the packaging has changed since I remember.  If you buy off brand, you might find the more traditional foil wrapped mint chocolate candy.

Organize your Stamps

Before the advent of the smart phone and wonderful apps, I made a really neat rolodex type file to be able to flip through the stamp images to remember what I owned.  This was supposed to spare me from digging through my stamps and spending more time hunting than actually crafting.  I started it, for sure.  Even copied a few stamp images onto the pages.  

Rolodex-style stamp index
But it did not end up working for me.  I heard folks who used an app to keep themselves organized, not just with stamps, but with to-do lists or groceries, genealogy research, and reminders.  Evernote is a free, widely available cloud-based program to use on your smartphone and home computer.  I downloaded it first to my smart phone to use for grocery lists and reminders on the go. 

I could access it on my home computer through a login on their web page.  The website synched with the app, simply.

Evernote sign in/sign up page
But when I started this stamp inventory project, I downloaded the Evernote program to my desktop and it made the data entry a lot easier to handle.  I created a "notebook" for each company's stamps that I own.  Then each "note" has a photo of the stamp set.  For CTMH stamps, I title the note with the number coding, like D1245.  Then, I "tag" it.  Some notes have a lot of tags, flowers, Christmas, sentiments, etc.  That way, when you are looking for a specific stamp, you can search for those tags.  And if you want a specific stamp from a specific company, you can search for that also.  All three, smart phone, web browser, and desktop sync with the cloud so they sync with each other to have up-to-date notes.
Evernote Desktop Application

I can imagine all kinds of scrapbook and stamp organization possibilities, non-consumables especially.   No one likes buying something, just to get home and figure out you have it already.  We have our phones with us all of the time these days.  They are like an extra arm, anymore.


This system takes a bit to set up, but it has already paid off.  I have fully embraced Evernote. I use it now for even more things, like saving special recipes or even writing my dream diary.  It helps me keep my family history research and organize my stamps and other scrapbook supplies.

Finding your path



Fall always reminds me to think about what I am thankful for. It is a time when we spend more time indoors, surrounded by the people we love. 


 The Pathfinding kit uses beautiful colors that remind me of Autumn days in Ohio, crunchy dark red and brown leaves, orange pumpkins and crisp blue skies. It's a great backdrop for your gorgeous pictures of Fall.


Punches Punches Everywhere

CTMH offers an array of punches so you can shape your papers and add details to your heart's content! We offer our Corner Rounder and 1" circle punch that can be used in conjunction with any paper or cardstock. The corner rounder is well-suited to round the corners of your photos and can help you create your own additions to your Picture My Life cards and pages! And our 1" circle punch is perfect for punching out Base and Bling Style Sheets to go in our circle pendants.
All of our punches are designed to be easy to handle and use. They sit flat on your table for stability in punching straight lines and feature rubber grips on the base so they don't slide around. They are lightweight enough to pick up and transition to a handheld punch if you want a closer, more detailed look at what you are punching.

Our chevron border, triangle border, and scallop border punches can add that extra special something to your projects. Instead of shaping and punching the very edge of the paper, like the scallop border punch, the chevron and triangle border punches punch their pattern next to the edge of your paper, leaving a thin border. This feature opens up a world of possibilities to artistically express yourself. For example, you can back the negative space of the punch with contrasting paper for a pop of color. You could even weave paper strips or ribbons through the negative space for added texture. Or maybe you want to try taking the small punched shapes to use as embellishments or even confetti!
The punches also feature a clear trap at the bottom so you can see exactly where and what you are punching, in addition to collecting all of your scraps to keep your workplace clean until you're finished.

TBT: Stella


The colors in the Stella Scrapbook Workshop on the Go really went well with my next set of UM football photos.  And I could make it look less flowery pretty easily, with a few tweaks.  The first layout above includes Stella paper, but also a Picture My Life card from the Chalk It Up Scrapbooking Program.


The circle letter stickers used in all of the layouts are from the Magnifique Complements.  The two pennants are covered by cutouts from the Art Philosphy Cricut Cartridge.




Hidden behind the large photo of the score board is a printout from the newspaper.  This and many other hidden journaling can be found in the CTMH book called Magic.  I love being able to include newspaper articles, without taking up so much space.  If someone wants to read the article, they can. 



The first two page layouts are included with the Stella WotG.  The last layout sketch can be found in the Imagine How-To book.  It makes layout design so easy, and you can substitute photos for journaling blocks, like the Picture My Life journaling that I put in the bottom right corner.


Ribbon Revelry

During the month of October, with each qualifying purchase of $50 you will receive—as a special bonus—one of two chevron ribbons FREE! Each chevron ribbon—Ruby or Outdoor Denim—has an original retail value of $6.95. Either color of the ribbon could be added automatically to your qualifying order, bringing an element of surprise to this exciting promotion!

With a $50 order you also qualify to receive the festive Home for the Holidays Stamp of the Month set for just $5! That means that with the free ribbon and the discounted stamp set, you save $19.90 on awesome papercrafting products! Quantities are limited, so be sure to place your orders as early in the month as you can.

SOTM: Home for the Holidays


There’s no place like home for the holidays, and there’s no time like the present to get started on holiday preparations! The Home for the Holidays stamp set is just what you’ve been wishing for: a set with tags, ornaments, and other festive sentiments to liven up your gifts and décor. Make the most of this adorable holiday-themed stamp set while it’s available—and for a jolly good deal: the set is yours for only $5 when you place a qualifying order of $50 or more in Close To My Heart products. Available for only the month of October, this set will be gone before you know it. Order yours today!