CTMH Cherish the Day - SOTM Blog Hop

Welcome to the SOTM blog hop.  This month we are featuring a stamp set with 44 stamps called Cherish the Day.

If you came here from Jen Patrick's blog you're on the right track...just follow the link at the end of my blog to see more fun examples using the Cherish the Day stamp set.

(Artwork to come....was out of town and just got my stamp set... And then I had to make my Halloween costume.  Oops...I'm working hard to get it posted.  Sorry for the delay!!)


Next up, let's see what Shannon came up with...

CTMH Paper Hearts Team

One of the best things about being a Close To My Heart consultant, is the relationships you build with your customers, fellow consultants and team members!  Now that I've been a consultant for over 16 years, I have built some wonderful friendships with consultants from all over North America and every once in a while we get to gather together in the same room......

On Saturday, October 15th,  Bren Yule and Close To My Heart hosted an event called Leadershare.  We were treated to presentations from CTMH corporate staff and several local consultants, including yours truly.  You may have seen my silly video I posted here.

My upline, Bren Yule, was the local hostess for the event and you could see her little touches all over the room.  She truly made the day special.  She even set up a fun little photo booth area.  Of course we had to take a few pictures.

Sadly, my team member Lauren isn't in any of the pictures.  She was the one that reminded us to go do it...and then she had to leave before we were able to.  We may have to have a make-up picture day!

Patti, Dawn, Patti and Patty

How funny is that!!!  I actually have 3 darling Patty's (Patti's) on my team!!!  

You know...there's still a couple of days left on the consultant special!!  I have two more Paper Hearts team shirts that I'd love to give away.  And if your name is Patty or Patti, I just know this is the team you're meant to join.  If your name isn't Patty or Patti, we have room for you too!!  At least the whole room won't turn around when I say your name. 

My buddy (partner in crime) Candace posed with me too.  You gotta watch out when the two of us are together.  We are nothing but trouble!

Digi Scrapping the Studio J way

I know the words "digi scrapping" just struck fear into the hearts of more than a few of my customers.  Have no fear!!!  Just take a moment to read my series of posts and see what I have to share.  It just might be easier than you think. (I was surprised at just how easy!!!!)

Ok - so this is post number 1 in my Studio J series.  I'm going to give you little bits and pieces to slowly introduce you to all the amazing things that Close To My Heart's Studio J can do.  If you're a "techy" girl (or guy!) I'm sure you'll take one look and fall in love...the rest of you...  I'm sure you'll love it too, but we'll take our time and learn and explore together.

Here are a few reasons why I think you should try Studio J

1. You do not have to load any software on your computer!!  Just visit our Studio J website.
2. The software is absolutely FREE to use and you NEVER have to update!!
3. You never have to buy packages of digital images or paper.  Every pattern and every sticker is included.  (There are additional items available to members...but we'll talk about that later.)
4. Retired paper pack prints are still available on Studio J.
5. Patterns from our fabulous scrapbooking programs are included so you don't have to come up with your own design.  Just click a button and then customize to your hearts content.
6. Just wait until you see what we can do with the jpg images of your pages (jpg's are available for purchase but they are FREE for members!)
7. On vacation, want to scrapbook?  No need to bring any materials with you!  Just a laptop and an internet connection.
8. Quick and easy way to catch up on your scrapbooking.
9. You can change the color of any patterned paper to match your pictures or theme!!
10. Prefer to scrap the old fashioned way?  Design your page on the computer and then copy it with real paper and embellishments.  (Great way to see how patterns look together, etc.)

Want to see a couple of samples?  Here are the first two layouts I made with Studio J.

Ready to take a look for yourself?  Visit my website and see what you think of Studio J

Traverse City and Flushing - The Food we ate....

Half the fun of traveling is trying out the local food!  I was more than a little bummed when I tried to find little mom and pop burger joints when I was driving from Detroit to Traverse City.  I saw plenty of McDonalds, Taco Bell, Wendy's, Arbys (it seems like Arby's is BIG in Michigan) and Subway.  I'm sure there might be other choices, but you probably have to drive a couple of miles away from the highway to find them.

Thankfully I was visiting family and friends so I was able to try a few fun places during the trip...

First stop - Flushing Michigan with Lori

Lori took me to her favorite local deli and we had a delicious philly sandwich on chipotle bread with spicy mayo.  Yummy!!  The staff was hometown friendly. (The Deli is in the building below along with some kind of town office.)

The Rye Bakery - Sadly the bakery is closed on Monday's and I was visiting on...you guessed it, Monday.  Thankfully the coffee shop next door had one vagabond pastry.  I am not a desert/pastry girl but oh my goodness, it was absolutely delicious.  So delicious that I made a special trip back through Flushing on my way home so I could pick up some to share.  I wish I had more time, the bakery was full of wonderful delights!

Next Stop - Frankenmuth

My hubby's family is German so Lori and I went to Frankenmuth to pick up some treats.  We found the most delicious Cinnamon bread at the Bavarian Inn Bakery (downstairs).  It was topped with a cinnamon type icing.

Traverse City

We had to return to two of our favorites in Traverse City - Pangea and Scalawags Whitefish & Chips.  The pizza at Pangea is delicious.  They have a wide variety of choices, but we love the pizza and can't seem to try anything else.  Scalawags is a family favorite.  We get the whitefish and chips and my mother inlaw always gets the perch.  One of these days I might have to try the perch.

Here's a weird little tip for Pangea's... make sure you stop by the bathroom.  Check out the amazing mural!  The entire bathroom is covered.  Rumor has it there's an eagle in the men's bathroom.  I guess the menfolk aren't as weird as I am.  They didn't think to take pictures. LOL

New favs - 

Flap Jack Shack 

We loved this place so much that we had to eat there twice.  It's a cute restaurant with a retro 70's decor that is done really well! Apparently I picked the best thing on the menu because everyone loved my choice so much, that the entire family ordered the same thing on the next trip... Corned Beef Hash and Eggs.  I love corned beef hash and tend to try it everywhere I go so it's a big deal when I say...this is THE best corned beef hash I have ever had!!!!!  Loved it!

Buffalo Wild Wings

I think this is actually a local chain restaurant.  It was a fun sports bar with tons of tv's all around the room.  We thought about going at night, but saw a big crowd outside so we went back for lunch.  The service was wonderful and the wings were good (I love wings and these were good, but similar to most wing places)...the thing you HAVE to try is the fresh pretzels.  They were absolutely delicious!

Back from Vacation!

I find it pretty hilarious that I just taught a blogging presentation and broke every single rule I shared. Oops!  In my defense, it wasn't entirely my fault.  I had the best of intentions, but sometimes life happens... I was busily prepping for my presentation,creating artwork and planning for my Michigan vacation when everything kind of collapsed around me.

I broke a tooth and the dentist found another tooth with a broken filling.  I spent two mornings with the dentist (and I still have to go back to get the work finished...) and then all of the sudden I was a sniffling, sneezing, eyes watering mess.   I mean MESS!!!!  I tried everything.  Do I have a cold?  Is it allergies?  Is it a sinus infection?  (I'm still suffering two weeks later, so if you guessed sinus infection, you win! LOL)

The last few days before I hopped on the plane are kind of a blur.  Packing was hilarious!  I just opened up my suitcase and started throwing things in.  I ended up forgetting three things: an umbrella, phone charger for the car and my jacket.  Did I mention I went to Michigan?  Yeah, jacket was kind of a big thing...but hey... shopping was fun!

The good news is that I took a ton of pictures in Michigan and started work on some fun projects to share, so give me a couple of days and I'll get my little blog back on track.

Here are a few things I'm working on:

Studio J Series  - (Digital Scrapbooking the Close To My Heart way!)
Hubby and I literally made my inlaws take the old family photos off their walls so we could scan them.  I can't wait to show you what I'm doing with them now....

Bicycling in Michigan
Yep, we made it...Hubby thinks I was in stage one hypothermia, but we were able to sneak in a bike ride between storms.

Fly and Rent a Car - Best way to see someplace new!
The absolute best decision I made for this trip, was to fly to Detroit and drive the 4 plus hours to Traverse City!!  I think I might plan every trip this way.  I got to see so much more of Michigan.

So stay tuned!!  Some great blog posts with gorgeous pictures, are headed your way!

Fall Blocks

Here are the cute Fall blocks we made at the last workshop.

Supplies Used:
Dreamin Paper Pack
Art Philosophy Cricut Cartridge (letters)

My friendly woodcutter, Ivan, cut the blocks for me.  Check out his blog to see the adorable wooden toys he makes!

My Blog Song...

I had the amazing opportunity to do a presentation on Blogging at Close To My Heart's San Diego Leadershare yesterday. I was so excited to talk about blogging!!! I've been saving it all up for 10 years. hahaha! There was a point when all my friends thought I was a little weird because I "blogged." I can't lie. I kind of love the fact that now they are asking me for tips so they can start their own blogs.

I got a little crazy when I was preparing my presentation and I sent my manager, Bren Yule, the following text message..

"You know what would be really cute...a blog song a la the mom song...listing all the things you could blog about."

Sometimes I should just stop and think before I say (write) things like that!!

So here are my suggestions before you watch the video

• I know I can't sing.
• If you focus on the words written below me, it kind of keeps you from concentrating on how dorky I look. 
• I promise, it's the last time I'll sing on a video.
• These blogging tips are geared towards CTMH consultants and not "blogging" in general so you may disagree with my suggestions and I know they go against some of the "norm" for regular blogging. 

Get a Fab FREEBIE in October!

Have you ever thought about becoming a Close To My Heart consultant?  Want to join my Paper Hearts team?

Well this just might be the time!!

Here's a picture of the Basic Kit - $99

Become a Consultant in October and get one add-on collection FREE*!

Here's the Roxie Add-on Kit.....

Or...

Want to try Studio J?  You can pick the Studio J 

Add-On Kit

Or....

Were you lovin all the Elemental Samples I shared a while back?

You could pick the Elemental Add-On Pack... 

I would love to have you join my Paper Hearts team

Click Here to contact me

or 

Click Here to Sign-Up Now

Sign up as a new consultant between October 1-31 and receive one New consultant Kit add-on collection of your choice FREE!  Add-on collections are priced at $40 each and have a retail value of $80, making this an incredible deal!

For just a $99 enrollment fee, you'll receive a New consultant Kit packed with business essentials and new products valued at over $280, plus a FREE add-on collection to enhance your kit!  Then you can choose to buy one or both of the other add-on collections for just $40 (US&CAN) each. It's an incredible deal!

*Shipping/handling and tax may apply. Offer good October 1—31, 2011. Limit of one free add-on collection per new Consultant. Available only during enrollment. Contents of the New Consultant Kit and Add-On Collections are subject to change at any time without notice.

CTMH Art Philosophy - It's Border Time!

I hear ya, I hear ya... Now that you have dusted off your Cricut and have your CTMH Art Philosophy Cricut Cartridge in your hot little hands... you want to make borders!

The good news is that the borders cut beautifully and they work exactly like they are designed to work.  It's just that WE want them to do more and more. LOL!

Today's video concentrates on how to use the borders using just the Cricut.  We have a ton of Cricut newbies that just invested in the cartridge and the machine and they aren't quite ready to buy a Gypsy or learn how to use software.  Not everyone has a laptop to take with them to crops... You get the idea.

So sit back and enjoy my video where I share a few tips about

• how the cricut measures borders
• increasing the size and length
• adding embellishments to hide border seams
• and much more.

I'd love to know if this video helped you, so please leave me comments and feel free to let me know what other videos you'd like me to make!